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Vegas Strip Driver Faces Murder Charge; Donald Trump Uses Vulgar Term to Describe Hillary Clinton; ISIS Using Civilians as Human Shields; Former Taliban Captive Arraigned; Manhunt for Affluenza Teen and Mom; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 22, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[10:00:02] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's disgusting.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Also, one of New York's finest killed by a suicide attacker in Afghanistan. What kind of guy was Joe Lemm? The kind who surprised his family with a homecoming.

STAFF SGT. JOSEPH LEMM, U.S. ARMY: Can't wait for a pizza and a nice burger.

COSTELLO: What the Taliban is saying about the attack.

Plus, new information about the mother accused of plowing into the crowd on the Vegas Strip. What we're learning about her life before the deadly crash.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. This hour the fate of that deadly hit-and-run driver on the Las Vegas Strip will be in a judge's hands. 24-year-old Lakeisha Holloway is facing a murder charge. The judge expected to decide as early as today whether to proceed with a case against her.

Police say Holloway drove her car repeatedly onto a sidewalk on Sunday night, striking nearly 40 people and killing one woman. That woman, 32-year-old Jessica Valenzuela. She's from Arizona.

Our Ryan Young is in Las Vegas with more. Good morning, Ryan.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. We believe there'll be a probably hearing and that judge will be seeing some of that evidence before Lakeisha Holloway actually has to come into court. We believe that may happen on Wednesday.

I want to give you an update about the people who are involved in this. Of course, there's that one unfortunate death that was involved in this. There's three who are in critical condition, two people in serious condition. There was a doctor who's actually driving down the road and his wife said she noticed something as people were starting to fly into the air. They were actually noticing the attack. They pulled over to help out.

So many people are wondering why this happened. The sheriff's department says Lakeisha Holloway was homeless for about a week here in the Las Vegas area and had been kicked out of several different parking lots before coming down the Las Vegas Strip. Now there's questions about what happened to this young lady in the years since this video that we're about to show you where she talked about changing her life and actually stepping forward with hope for the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAKEISHA HOLLOWAY, SUSPECT: My mom always tried to do what was best for my sister and I. As a single parent with an 8th grade education it was all a struggle for her. And later down the line it became all too hard for her. She drank more and cared less.

Today I am not the same scared girl I used to be. I am a mature young woman who has broken a cycle many generational cycle that those before me hadn't. Being homeless and on my own taught me how to stand on my own two feet. Not only did I manage to beat working dead-end jobs that I had seen our mother struggle with, then I managed to land a federal job at 21. Now that is what I call living the grand life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Carol, the real question now, what happened in this young lady's life that led to all of this that happened here. The sheriff's department saying they believe that a dispute maybe with the child's father led her to Las Vegas and with her being homeless again.

We're told that the 3-year-old is in protective custody at this point. Of course so many people still have questions about exactly what happened out here. Dozens of people obviously injured after she rammed her car into them several times here on the Las Vegas Strip -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Ryan Young reporting live from Las Vegas.

A Texas grand jury has decided not to indict anyone in Sandra Bland's death. The 28-year-old's death in police custody raised questions about excessive force and the role of race. Bland was found dead in her jail cell in July three days after she was arrested for allegedly failing to use a turn signal. Police say she hanged herself with a plastic bag. But her family is now questioning that and calls the grand jury process flawed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHARON COOPER, SANDRA BLAND'S SISTER: I feel that the grand jury process and the secretiveness of it is reflective of our experience with Waller County officials to date in terms of what has been furnished to us. The fact that five months after Sandy's passing we don't have that report that gives us cause for concern.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Darrell Jordan, the special prosecutor handling the case, insists the grand jury process has been thorough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARRELL JORDAN, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR IN BLAND CASE: We have left no rock unturned. And the grand jury, anything that they've asked for, we've done our best to get it to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Jordan also says the case is still open and the grand jury will reconvene in January to consider other indictments.

All right. Let's talk politics now. A new poll that suggests Republican voters may be looking for someone other than Donald Trump to be their next presidential nominee. That's the finding of a new survey by the Quinnipiac people at Quinnipiac University. It shows Ted Cruz closing in on Donald Trump. Trump still leading with 28 percent but Cruz a close second at 24 percent. Marco Rubio, Ben Carson and Chris Christie rounding out the top five and Jeb Bush, well, he's now in sixth place.

Trump's latest win in the polls comes after a fiery rally in Michigan where he took aim at the frontrunner on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:05:03] TRUMP: Everything that's been involved in Hillary has been losses. If you take a look, even a race to Obama. She was going to beat Obama. I don't know who would be worse. I don't know. How does it get worse? But she was going to beat. She was favored to win. And she schlonged. She lost. I mean, she lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joe Johns is CNN senior Washington correspondent. He joins me now to tell us what that word means. Just kidding.

(LAUGHTER)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I don't think I'm going to go there, Carol. This feud between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is sounding very personal now, isn't it? And it's the kind of fight that fires up supporters of both candidates. Now that said, this is pretty rough stuff compared to the language Donald has used to describe other candidates in the race. In a public forum directed at Hillary Clinton is just surprisingly personal, using that derogatory term to describe how she was defeated by then Senator Barack Obama and even making comments about the bathroom break she took during the last debate. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I know where she went. It's disgusting. I don't want to talk about it. No, it's too disgusting. Don't say it. It's disgusting. Let's not -- we want to be very, very straight up, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Trump's rallies of course have always been a lot of stream of consciousness and one-liners, sprinkled with a bit of script and so far at least it's been seen as part of Trump's appeal to Republican voters. Sam Clover with the Trump campaign said on our air this morning that they've gone out of their way to be very direct in their language with the American people and that one of the things that has attracted so many people and such a diverse group of people in the rallies is the fact that they speak plainly, so no backing down there of course from the campaign. There were, by the way -- yes?

COSTELLO: But another step they may want to watch out for in that Quinnipiac pole, 50 percent of all voters would be embarrassed if Trump represented the United States.

JOHNS: Yes, I know. And I think you also pointed out probably the biggest deal of all, although it is a national poll, it does show Ted Cruz closing on Donald Trump. So it looks like problems for him, quite frankly. And perhaps this is part of that.

There were also several protesters at the venue in Michigan last night who got thrown out after heckling Donald Trump. So a lot of stuff going on, on the Donald Trump front right now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. You're earning your money, Joe Johns. Thanks so much.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNS: You bet.

COSTELLO: Ted Cruz may owe that surge in the polls to tougher talk on the campaign trail. Here he is live, stumping in Tennessee. The "New York Times" in a piece called "Cruz Sharpens Tone" in a nod to Donald Trump, writes, quote, "Mr. Cruz has sharpened his already uncompromising language, eager to retain his own hold on popular anger against the political class. And to demonstrate conservative purity and attacks from Senator Marco Rubio over immigration and national security policies."

That shift in rhetoric on display in a grand new ad released by a Cruz super PAC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When millions of Americans rose up against Obamacare, I was proud to lead that fight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sticks to his guns, doesn't apologize for what he has to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has been consistent on every issue.

CRUZ: When millions of Americans rose up against Planned Parenthood, I was proud to lead that fight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel as though he is a man of conviction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do I support Ted Cruz? It's because I trust Ted Cruz.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trust is everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to get it right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's what this country needs.

CRUZ: When I tell you I'm going to do something, I'm going to do exactly what I said I would do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A spirited ad, right? Here now David Chalian, CNN political director, and Tara Setmayer, former communications director for Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. She's also a CNN political commentator.

Welcome to both of you.

TARA SETMAYER, FORMER CAPITOL HILL GOP COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So shall we talk Cruz first or do you want to talk about that word that Donald Trump used to slur Hillary Clinton?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Dealer's choice, Carol.

COSTELLO: Because the Clinton camp is now responding. In fact they just -- Jennifer Palmieri who's part of Clinton's team --

CHALIAN: The communications director. Yes.

COSTELLO: Communications director. She tweeted out. Would you like to read it, David?

CHALIAN: You can go read it if you have it in front of you.

COSTELLO: I do have it in front of you. She tweeted out, "We are not responding to Trump but everyone who understands the humiliation this degrading language inflicts, all women should." And I'm not allowed to say the word. But maybe we're all familiar with it right now.

So I'll ask the woman on our panel. Does that word -- word.

SETMAYER: Yes.

COSTELLO: Inflict damage on women everywhere in the world?

SETMAYER: No. I think it's overstating it a little bit. It's a little melodramatic but it's completely inappropriate, completely inappropriate term for Donald Trump to use, for a presidential candidate to use. Maybe not for Donald Trump because this is par for the course with him. But for a presidential candidate.

You know, Marco Rubio has an ad out now where he says at the end of the ad he says, you know, have an America we can be proud of and, you know, that represents America, or you know, a president that represents this country.

[10:10:10] Yes, because that's a direct attack against Donald Trump and his antics and this kind of behavior. Like it's been entertainment all the way along. That whole spiel that he did there was pure entertainment, talking about Hillary Clinton going to the bathroom. And this and that. Give me a break. We've got ISIS cutting people's heads off, we have people shooting each other and terrorist attacks in the United States, and he's making comments like this?

So I think that's partially responsible for Ted Cruz's rice because I think conservatives are finally saying, OK, maybe this is -- the show has become -- is starting to get old now. We need to look at someone who can actually be commander-in-chief.

COSTELLO: Because the other interesting number in that Quinnipiac poll, only 23 percent would like to see Donald Trump become president.

CHALIAN: Right. Although I think that question's a little odd because it's -- you know, he's in a Republican nomination race right now. He's not in a general election contest. I do think, though, politically this is solid turf for him to be on because Republicans, even those that are with other candidates, do like to see these candidates take it directly to Hillary Clinton. So maybe the language is not exactly what they would --

SETMAYER: Right. Right.

CHALIAN: But him taking --

SETMAYER: Opens him up for these kind of criticisms.

CHALIAN: But him taking the fight directly to Hillary Clinton is something that Republicans, beyond his core supporters, can rally around. They want to see somebody who is going to be tough against Hillary. And he's starting to do that now.

COSTELLO: OK. Let me ask you about this because this was in the "Washington Times" this morning. It said that the Democrats are purposely goading Trump because they want him to become the nominee, right? So --

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: You saw the "Saturday Night Live" clip, right?

CHALIAN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Where, you know, the two Hillary Clintons were saying, yea, Donald Trump, we're going to win the election. So is that plausible? I mean, do Democrats really do that? CHALIAN: I mean, I think --

COSTELLO: I'm pretty sure they do.

CHALIAN: I think Democrats are as confounded as Republicans and those of us in the media, as to this cycle in terms of gaming out who the nominee is going to be is sort of fool's errand right now I think. Do I think that they think Donald Trump is a candidate that they can beat? Yes, when you -- I talk to senior Democratic strategists in the Clinton campaign and outside throughout the party, and they do think that he is a very vulnerable general election nominee. One they certainly would not mind running against.

COSTELLO: But don't primary voters pay attention to that? And isn't that part of the reason that Cruz is surging? Because when you pit Ted Cruz against Hillary Clinton, they're tied in the Quinnipiac poll.

SETMAYER: Yes. That was interesting because that was not the case before. That was part of the concern for many folks on the GOP side saying, I don't know if Ted Cruz can win against Hillary Clinton in a general. This shows that not only is he closing the gap with Trump, but the fact that he's tied with Hillary Clinton in a general election, it's good news for the Cruz campaign.

You know, Ted Cruz people -- he's run a very smart campaign. And his campaign is modeled after Barack Obama's. Very successful, grassroots, 50-state strategy. He has a strong social media presence that a lot of the Republicans were slow to getting into that. Understanding the importance of social media. So now those dividends are paying off. It's particularly in places like Iowa. And he's starting to creep up in New Hampshire, South Carolina. He's building a southern -- the southern states for the March primary, the super Tuesdays.

That is something that he's been creeping up doing. Everyone else is paying attention to Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz has an excellent campaign organization and a lot of money in the bank while people like Carson are fading away and Marco Rubio is trying to figure out how he's going to split hairs here, you know, in the moderate lane and the conservative lane. And if you notice, Ted Cruz is using language now against Marco Rubio saying, well, he's more moderate. He's going to take in the moderate. The establishment is coalescing behind him. Because he knows that's a poison pill in the GOP primary, with conservatives who come out in larger numbers than moderates do.

COSTELLO: So help us -- help us make sense of the polls then, David, because national polls, like the FOX News poll, for example, shows Donald Trump at 40 percent and Ted Cruz at 18 percent. This Quinnipiac poll shows them, you know, nearly tied, running neck and neck.

CHALIAN: It's always best to compare polls to polls. Right?

COSTELLO: Right.

CHALIAN: Like Quinnipiac poll today, compare that to the Quinnipiac poll three weeks ago, right? As opposed to comparing different polls to different polls. And in the Quinnipiac poll a few weeks ago Donald trump was at 27, today he inches a point, up to 28 percent. Ted Cruz in those last three weeks gained eight points from Quinnipiac poll to Quinnipiac poll. Marco Rubio went down five points.

So that -- you want to look at the trends within a given poll as they move forward. And to explain it, I mean, I do think that you are right, Ted Cruz is building beyond just the early states. He's building something nationally that is starting to reflect in the polls. And he has enough money and enough data and information about these voters and how to motivate them to stay in this for quite a while.

SETMAYER: And the immigration issue is probably the reason why Marco Rubio slipped five percentage points. He was dinged up pretty badly on that issue last week during the last GOP debate.

[10:15:07] And you're seeing that for sure, that debate back and forth, Marco Rubio was on the losing end of that for the GOP primary voters.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

SETMAYER: General election, maybe a different story. We've got to get out of primary first.

COSTELLO: Gotcha. I got to leave it there.

Tara Setmayer, David Chalian, thanks to both of you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, ISIS fighters now using civilians as human shields.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The battle now under way for control of Ramadi. Iraqi troops fighting ISIS forces trying to retake the city. Iraqi Defense Ministry sources say they moved into the center of Ramadi but they're having trouble because the ISIS terrorists are using civilians in the city as human shields.

Let's bring in CNN's Robyn Kriel to tell us more. Hi, Robyn.

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. CNN has just learned the following. According to officials from Anbar command, that's what the Iraq forces, 20 ISIS militia killed and a number -- dozens in fact is the word -- vehicles have been destroyed in this morning's assault.

As you said, though, it is an incredibly slow and sensitive assault because of the fact that ISIS has forced a number of civilians to stay within the city and to essentially act as human shields. So in order to minimize casualties, the Iraqi Forces, special forces, they're a part of the elite counterterrorism unit, U.S.-trained, are having to advance very, very slowly throughout the city.

Another reason that they're having to go very slowly of course is because ISIS has had a number of months in which to entrench themselves. That means to build a -- to dig rat holes throughout the city to plant snipers. That means to plant a number of improvised explosive devices to act as booby traps for these troops who are going in to try to recapture the city.

[10:20:12] There are also -- there's also the threat of things like vehicle-born IEDs and other such items. So this is part of the reason why this advance is taking such a long time to try and reach the city center. It did begin back in November and leaflets were distributed on Sunday by Iraqi forces warning people -- civilians to try and get out of the city before this all began. But as I said, a number of militants taking civilians hostage and holding them captive to act as human shields.

We do understand, Carol, that around 250 to 300 ISIS militants remain in Ramadi City at the moment. They will be putting up the fight against these forces. They will likely, if this is anything like the battle of Sinjar, fight until the death. Now what happened to the rest of those ISIS militants, they would have likely just blended in with the population and filtered out the last few days and will probably likely, if history is anything to go by, launch counter assaults in the next few -- in the next few weeks, days and months.

Now the reason that the city is so strategic, Carol, is because it is located about 60 miles west of Baghdad. And really, there's nothing between Ramadi and Baghdad, nothing blocking that, so they can launch strikes from the city very easily. It's also going to be a huge psychological boost to the Iraqis who were obviously massively humiliated when the city fell with such ease to ISIS earlier this year -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Robyn Kriel reporting live for us from London, thank you.

A bit of breaking news to pass along to you. That arraignment is just wrapping up for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. It's taking place at Fort Bragg Army Base in North Carolina. As you know, he's a former Taliban captive. He's being court-martialed for deserting his unit and for misbehavior before the enemy.

Nick Valencia is on the phone. He was inside that hearing. What happened, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Actually, Carol, a bit of more breaking news. We're watching Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl walk out of the courtroom right now flanked by his co-counsel. It was about 9:49 that Bergdahl walked into the courtroom to wait for the judge. He was dressed in his military blues, military dress, clean-shaven, shaved head and sat essentially expressionless waiting for the judge to arrive in the courtroom.

Once the judge did arrive, the arraignment lasted just 10 minutes. The judge asked him if he was OK with his counsel to which he responded, sir, yes, sir. And that's really how he responded to majority of the questions that the judge asked him. He deferred to enter a plea. He did have that opportunity, Carol. He was also asked whether or not he wanted a trial by a judge or at least five officer members of his peers. He deferred that. And also waived his right to hear the charges against him in open court.

Part of the controversy, of course, is the type of court-martial hearing Bergdahl is facing. In a preliminary hearing the presiding officer recommended a special court-martial that would carry a maximum one-year sentence in custody. The top brass in the U.S. Army decided not to follow that recommendation. Now instead pursuing this regular court-martial case.

He's been charged with desertion as well as misbehavior in front of the enemy. And that desertion charge, Carol, could face him with life in prison if he's convicted. And again, we're just watching Bowe Bergdahl take off here from Fort Bragg courtroom facility where the arraignment against him has just wrapped up -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Nick Valencia, reporting live for us, thanks so much.

Still to come in NEWSROOM, charges filed in the deadly Vegas hit and run. What we're learning about the driver's past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:27:01] COSTELLO: The manhunt for a Texas teenager and his mother is intensifying. The so-called affluenza teen, Ethan Couch, and his mother have been on the lam for a week now. The 18-year-old was convicted of killing four people while driving drunk two years ago. His defense, he was a rich kid whose parents coddled him. He got probation, and not jail and now he's on the run and on a wanted poster.

Authorities have also released photos of his mother Tanya. They think she is helping hide her son.

CNN's Alina Machado joins us now with more. Good morning.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Investigators are tracking down hundreds of leads. They're getting tips from all over the world and across social media from people who believe they may have spotted Ethan Couch and his mother. Authorities are searching for this dark-colored Ford F-150. They released pictures of that truck yesterday, along with a photograph of Tonya Couch.

They've also added Tonya to the missing persons list. The 18-year-old was serving a 10-year probation sentence for driving drunk and killing four people back in 2013. And his probation officer was unable to locate him. And that's why a warrant was issued on September 10th.

Now the Tarrant County sheriff says he knew it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF DEE ANDERSON, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS: This didn't surprise us in law enforcement at all. Those people who dealt with him at the accident scene and the post-accident scene saw absolutely no remorse. We saw absolutely no guilt or bad feelings or sympathy for the four families and the four lives that he'd taken and the families he shattered. And I said then two years ago, we're not through with Ethan Couch. He will be back in the criminal justice system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: Now the sheriff also believes a video that surfaced on social media earlier this month may have prompted Ethan Couch to go on the run. The video seems to show Couch at a party playing beer pong, even though he had been instructed to stay away from alcohol. The FBI and the U.S. marshals are also helping search for couch and his mother, carol.

COSTELLO: So where's the father?

MACHADO: Well, the dad -- authorities say they're talking to the dad. They talked to him just a few days after they got that detention order. The sheriff says he told them he hadn't heard from Ethan or his mother in the past two weeks. They say he was polite and cooperative but didn't really have any information that was helpful to the investigation.

COSTELLO: Alina Machado reporting live for us this morning, thank you.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Any moment now a judge in Nevada will review police evidence against the driver in that deadly hit and run on the Las Vegas Strip. 24- year-old Lakeisha Holloway is facing a murder charge. The judge expected to decide as early as today whether she'll face additional charges of child neglect and attempted murder for multiple injured victims.

Police say Holloway drove her car repeatedly onto a sidewalk Sunday night, striking nearly 40 people and killing one woman. And now we know more about this suspect.

(END)