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Family Calls for Jailed American's Release; More Commercial Flights Hit by Laser Beams; Trump Takes Another Swipe at Perry; View of Hillary Clinton Sours in Swing States; Obama to Make First Trip to Kenya as President. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 22, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:31:43] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

For the family of journalist Jason Rezaian, the past year has felt like an eternity. Today marks one year since the "Washington Post" reporter was taken into custody and locked up by Iranian officials. Among the charges against him, espionage -- something his family and the Post vehemently denied.

Early this morning, Rezaian's family called for his immediate release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI REZAIAN, BROTHER OF JASON REZAIAN: During this time he's been subjected to months of interrogation, isolation and threats. He's been deprived of basic medical attention, exacerbating minor medical issues and risking permanent physical harm. He's frequently threatened with indefinite detention unless he confesses to crimes which he did not commit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Rezaian isn't alone. At least two other Americans, including a former marine, also being detained in Iran. American Bob Levinson, a retired FBI agent, disappeared back in 2007.

Critics have slammed the United States for not doing enough to bring these people home especially in light of the recent nuclear deal with Iran.

Joining me now, Sarah Shourd. She was held captive in Iran herself for more than a year and recently wrote an article in the "Daily Beast" called "Negotiating with Iran for hostages in a nuclear deal. Is it nonsense? Trust me, I was one." Thank you Sarah for being with me this morning. I appreciate it

SARAH SHOURD, IMPRISONED BY IRANIAN GOVERNMENT: Yes, thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: What do you suppose those American hostages in Iran are going through?

SHOURD: Well, I think that Amir and Jason and Saeed are probably feeling ecstatic but also very conflicted about the deal. When you're in that kind of suspension for so long where you have absolutely no certainty about your future, you're totally isolated from the outside world, I'm hopeful that they're hopeful but they're also probably extremely uncertain.

COSTELLO: Do you think they are hopeful? Do you think they know about the deal with Iran?

SHOURD: Word travels fast inside Evin Prison. Yes, I think that word has gotten to them. But I also think that -- even in isolation, there are whispers down the hallway. There are guards that will give you information from the outside.

So I'm hopeful that they know and that they also know that their future is tied up in this deal.

COSTELLO: Even though President Obama says that there was no negotiation for these hostages in return for a deal.

SHOURD: Well, it's not common diplomatic practice directly between the U.S. and Iran to directly tie political hostages to the nuclear issue. But there's no doubt that they are tied. Our case was directly tied -- or indirectly tied, I should say, and that came out years later through the government of Oman.

They know that their situation is carefully calibrated with the temperature of U.S./Iranian reason relations. They just don't know if this means they're going to get out tomorrow or if there's something else that's going to block that. But this deal is a really good deal and it's going to ease tension on both sides.

And the most important part of it is that personally, for me, is that it decreases the incentive of the Iranian government to use the tactic of holding Americans hostage in the future.

[10:35:08] COSTELLO: What if lawmakers refuse to endorse the deal?

SHOURD: That would be devastating for the Americans being held there. And these men have done nothing wrong -- maybe that doesn't need to be stated. But just to reinforce it, Jason Rezaian was over there trying to be a bridge between cultures. He was doing really constructive journalism. The Iranian government has never shown any evidence against him. And it's shameful for the Iranian government to continue holding them.

I hope that our government is doing everything that it can. But I would also call upon our government to do more. Both sides hold a degree of responsibility because this hostility has been going on between our governments for decades. And so many people have suffered in the balance.

I mean Jason and Amir and the other hostages are in the deep end of that. But Iranians have been suffering for decades under sanctions, Iranian-Americans can't see their loved ones. I mean I know people who had a grandmother or an aunt on their death bed and they can't say good-bye. So this deal is really important for the future of so many people.

COSTELLO: All right. Sarah Shourd, thank you for sharing your insight. I appreciate it.

SHOURD: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

New developments involving lasers and passenger planes. Just last week we told you about some scary moments in the sky. Well, it's happened again.

Let's bring in CNN's aviation correspondent Rene Marsh. She's in Washington. Good morning.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Carol. The FAA says that this happened last night between 9:25 and 12:10 a.m. Now, we're talking about, according to the FAA, four commercial airliners -- American, Express Jet, Shuttle America, as well as Spirit. But now the Port Authority is telling CNN they received reports of two more laser strikes, that would include a United Airlines flight as well as a United Express. So that's a total of six in the New York/New Jersey area alone just last night.

Of course, this comes on the heels of just last week we were talking about 35 aircrafts struck with these lasers. They are still looking for the person or persons behind those incidents. But what we have seen over the last decade is really just a spike in the number of these laser strikes that pilots are dealing with.

And you just look at that video there. That's what it looks like inside of a cockpit. Imagine being thousands of feet up in the air and you're blinded -- temporarily blinded by this light.

I do know that based on my conversations with the FAA, at the pace that we're going now, they tell me that 2015 is set to essentially top the number of strikes reported just last year, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Rene Marsh reporting live. I'll be right back.

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[10:41:49] COSTELLO: Now to the 2016 presidential race.

Donald Trump once again wades into the illegal immigration debate head-on. Tomorrow, he will go to Laredo, Texas for a tour with U.S. border patrol agents. But today, he's starting yet another firestorm on Twitter.

Jeff Zeleny is CNN's senior Washington correspondent. Hit us. JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol --

I mean once again Donald Trump is firing back. Usually he does it through an interview. But today he's doing it through his device.

And he's hitting back on Rick Perry who, of course, has been very vocal about the divisiveness that he says Donald Trump has added into the race. He sent this tweet that says this. I'll read it for you. It says, "Governor Perry was in my office last cycle playing nice and begging for my support and money. Hypocrite!"

So, of course, now he's pointing out as well as with the photo on Instagram that Rick Perry was once seeking Donald Trump's support, asking for his money and now is one of -- and now is speaking out against him.

This is just coming out a few moments ago. But this is just another example of the back and forth, the name calling. It really has devolved into something of a sophomoric fight. But, you know, that's what is happening in this race here.

I think Rick Perry would say, look, that's before Donald Trump made any of those comments about Mexican immigrants coming to the U.S. That's what he first attacked.

But Carol, I mean those -- just imagine what's going to happen tomorrow when Donald Trump actually visits the border. I think we may have a whole new round of comments to discuss.

COSTELLO: I know. He's going to Rick Perry's territory. So what do you suppose Rick Perry will do?

ZELENY: I mean we'll see. I don't know if -- he's not the governor of Texas anymore. He's the former governor of Texas. But he certainly lives in Austin, not that far away. So, you know, I assume that immigration will be front and center in this debate and Rick Perry will probably fire back.

But all the while, Carol, I can tell you that Democrats are laughing, smiling all the way perhaps to the bank on this because the Republican internal firing squad is at it like I've never seen before in the five presidential elections that I've covered.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, let's talk about something else -- somebody else in the race besides Donald Trump.

Let's talk about Hillary Clinton, shall we?

ZELENY: Let's do it.

COSTELLO: There's a new Quinnipiac -- let's do it -- a new Quinnipiac poll came out. And it shows something Hillary Clinton might not find so pleasing.

ZELENY: That's right. I mean in the key battleground states of Iowa, Virginia and Colorado -- these are three states that are critical in any general election -- they are showing that her unfavorable ratings are very high and she is actually losing head-to- head -- hypothetical head-to-head match-ups with Marco Rubio, with Jeb Bush.

So the question really here is what is going on with Hillary Clinton? Why are Democrats and even independents not sort of attaching themselves or excited by her candidacy? And it's a question that's being asked inside the Clinton headquarters as well.

There are still serious questions about her trust, her credibility and her likability, frankly, that the campaign knows it needs to work on. Now, all this Donald Trump stuff has been sort of a respite. But the reality here is for the Clinton campaign is that they are still working on trying to make her a little bit more likable to voters.

[10:45:06] And these polls, Carol, are a fresh reminder that the general election race next year, if she happens to win the nomination, is almost certain to be a very, very tight race in a very divide country.

COSTELLO: Right. Jeff Zeleny -- thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.

ZELENY: Thanks -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, President Obama making his first trip to Kenya as president. The big question, will he visit his father's village?

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COSTELLO: In just a few days, President Obama will head to Kenya for his first trip as president to his father's homeland. News of the visit sparking excitement throughout the country all the way to the highest levels of government where one air force official accidentally published the arrival and departure times for Air Force One -- oops.

And while the President is expected to take part in a business summit and meet with political leaders, it isn't yet known if he will meet with members of his extended families. But some of those family members are speaking out exclusively to CNN ahead of the President's visit. They sat down with Brooke Baldwin who's here with me now.

Hi Brooke -- tell me more.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, good morning.

This was such an exciting trip. I've been working on this interview with Dr. Auma Obama, who's the President's older sister, for a couple of months. And I just got back from Kenya. And it's really significant because this is the first time that the President has gone as commander-in- chief to Kenya in his presidency. The last time he was actually in their ancestral village was back when he was then- Senator Obama in 2006.

And so we got to go because Auma was lovely enough to invite me and we were there featuring her foundation Sauti Kuu where she's helping all these young people. But to be there and to be walking down the same path that I know Barack Obama has walked down, to be able to talk to his grandmother, they call her grandmother Dani Enguo (ph) which is their tribe where they descended.

To see there are lots of kids there named Barack Obama. Schools are named Barack Obama. You walk around and you say the Obama. You want to check out in the hotel, they find out you're covering Obama, no problem.

But on a much more serious note, at this family homestead which was where we visited, these are pictures of his 93-year-old grandmother.

[10:50:00] And this was the grave of Barack Hussein Obama Sr., his own father. I stood over it with his sister just a couple of days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Your father passed away when he was 43. You at least got some years with him.

DR. AUMA OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S SISTER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Your brother really didn't. And so when your brother really reached out to you with that letter in the early 80s and you visited with him in Chicago and then you returned the favor and had him come to Kenya. I'm wondering, what were some of the questions he wanted to know about his ancestral family and specifically about his dad?

OBAMA: It was really easy talking to my brother. We kind of hit it off. And all the questions he asked, I kind of anticipated them. He wanted to know everything. He wanted to know everything about us, everything about my father, everything about our family. I took him to so many relatives. My brother just wanted to know everything.

I can't answer that question any other way. And I think it's normal because it was part of finding about his own identity.

BALDWIN: When you got the letter to first meet Barack Obama, you thought it was your father's handwriting?

OBAMA: It was like my father's handwriting, definitely. Definitely.

BALDWIN: What do you think is the one thing your father would say to his son?

OBAMA: He'd be extremely proud and say well done. But then he'd add, but obviously you're an Obama. He is very proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And they share -- Auma and Barack Obama, our president -- share this father but technically they would be half-brother and half-sister. But they don't do the half thing as Auma said to me over and over. It's brother and sister.

And so as far as the President arriving in Nairobi in a couple of days, he's there for the entrepreneur's summit meeting with President Kenyatta in Kenya and a number of other global leaders. The question is, will he go back to Naemgamako Kogelo (ph) in western Kenya? There's a sense of anticipation and a sense of hope that he will --

COSTELLO: Do they regularly talk at all or was it just that one time -- they do.

BALDWIN: Oh, definitely. Auma Obama and Barack Obama are definitely in touch. He is fiercely protective of her brother, fiercely private. So to be able to speak with her and have her open us with us has been pretty special, pretty special. And through the rest of the week and especially today on my show at 2:00, she really opens up about moments she's had with her brother, how proud she is and especially talking to their 93-year-old grandmother in her living room, knowing that pictures of the first family are on the walls and how she remembers as if it were yesterday the first time when Barack Obama came to Kenya and when they first locked eyes. She tells me that story. We'll have that at 2:00.

COSTELLO: OK. Can't wait to see more. Brooke Baldwin, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, you've probably been there, a crying child ruining your dinner. Wait till you see this story.

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[10:55:55] COSTELLO: Checking some of the top stories for you at 55 minutes past.

Bill Cosby calling for court sanctions against one of the women accusing him of rape. The comedian says Andrea Constand breached their confidentiality agreement by leaking the full deposition from a ten-year-old case. Constand says Cosby tricked her into taking drugs before sexually assaulting her. Now Cosby's lawyer is speaking out for the first time.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of these women, more than two dozen women, all of these women are liars?

MONIQUE PRESSLEY, BILL COSBY'S ATTORNEY: I'm not making conclusions and you know that I can't about whether someone is lying or not. What I am saying is that Mr. Cosby has denied the accusations that have been lodged thus far. The sheer volume or number of people who are saying a particular thing does not make it true.

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COSTELLO: Cosby and his legal team maintain the sex and drugs detailed in the deposition were consensual.

California's Interstate 10 will reopen on Friday after severe storms washed parts of it away. The heavy rains causing one of the eastbound bridges to collapse. The Interstate connects L.A. to phoenix and usually sees about 55,000 drivers per day.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Halloween, isn't it? It's only July but Walgreens has already started selling Halloween candy. Blogger Jill (INAUDIBLE) with super couponing found these goodies on store shelves in Illinois. She even put the local newspaper in the picture to prove the date -- wow.

We've all been there, trying to have a quiet meal in a restaurant when somebody's kid just will not stop crying. What one diner owner did in that situation seemed to silence the toddler but the Internet erupted, not to mention the child's parents.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's nothing appetizing about a cry-baby in a restaurant. Here at Marcy's Diner in Portland, Maine, a crying 21-month-old has provoked an outcry, all because owner Darla Neugebauer (ph) did this.

DARLA NEUGEBAUER, OWNER, MARCY'S DINER: I turned around, slammed both hands on the counter, then pointed at the child and said, "This has got to stop".

MOOS: That's not how the toddler's mother remembers it. Tara Carson told WCHS that the owner was --

TARA CARSON, MOTHER: -- screaming in her face like "shut the hell up". I think I was just in pure shock because I've never seen behavior like this before.

MOOS: The two stories diverged in other ways.

NEUGEBAUER: I know after 40 minutes of screaming, I'd had enough.

CARSON: But the mother says the toddler was crying, not screaming, for little over ten minutes, not 40. The owner had asked the parents to take the child outside at least once before but the mom says it was raining.

The parents vented their anger on the Marcy's Diner Facebook page. "The owner is an absolute lunatic, may karma bite you in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED). In her f-bomb laced responses, the owner called the toddler that monster and the beast. The back and forth prompted a deluge of comments, pro and con, though way more seemed to side with the owner. The morning shows chewed over the topic. NEUGEBAUER: Her parents said, are you screaming at a child?

Yes, I am. And she shut up.

MOOS: So far, the egg seems firmly on the grill rather than on the owner's face. Jeanne Moos CNN --

NEUGEBAUER: This has got to stop.

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Wow. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: How did Sandra Bland die? Anger boiling over after video surfaces of the traffic stop that sent her to jail. You'll see the tense confrontation.

Plus, we take you inside the jail cell where she died.

[10:59:56] And on the border, with Donald Trump, the lightning rod candidate announcing a big trip as new polls surface that show Hillary Clinton has swing state problems.

And forget your bank password, folks. Hackers now able to breach a Jeep on the highway from the dashboard to the brake --