Return to Transcripts main page

Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Large Part of Missouri and Illinois Under Water; Natalie Cole Dead at 65; Chicago Releases Emails in Teen's Killing. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired January 01, 2016 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00] THOMAS VON ESSEN, FORMER FDNY COMISSIONER: Certainly, it is a big city. It is a very proud city. It is a symbol for the progress of the whole area. So, millions of people watching, and hundreds of thousands of people watching and coming there to see the display in person.

So, it is a big deal, and I can understand the concern and the desire to go forward with it. They have prepared for it probably for a whole year, and lots of money involved and positive and money spent, and money comes in for it. So, it's a big event for them and I can see the concern.

And it looks like they were fortunate. They had it, and we would have been concerned if it was certainly in our area, and we had to make that decision. But that's what leaders do, and this time, they got away with it.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, certainly fortunate that nobody was killed. Thomas Von Essen, thank you. Diana Loesch, thank you as well.

We are still seeing incredible images of flooding in Midwest. We're going to be following the story as it continue to carry out there with river waters still rising.

Have a listen to a witness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is unbelievable. This is like totally, totally crazy. I have never in my entire life seen anything like this before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: She is talking about this -- rivers around St. Louis, Missouri, including the Mississippi, are out of their banks covering the entire town, even houses up to their rooftops.

About 9 million people in 17 states right now are either out of their homes or nervously watching the waters rise around them. The flood levels in Illinois and Missouri will definitely be a record, but that's a conversation for the days after the water recedes.

Local officials right now very focused on their levees and whether they will hold.

Meteorologist Jennifer Gray is in Valley Park, Missouri, today. She's been there by the floodwaters for the last couple of days.

Jennifer, that's the Meramec River, I believe. You are about 15 miles from the Mississippi River. What's happening now, because as you and I have talked about this over the last couple of days, the concern has been that that water has got to go somewhere and as it goes downstream, the communities downstream face danger?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this is going to be a concern not only for the days, but the weeks ahead. All of this water for the Meramec at least is flowing into the Mississippi and all of this water is going to make it down into the Gulf of Mexico. So, we are talking about it reaching Baton Rouge and New Orleans area by the middle of January. So, this is going to be something that we will be talking about for quite a while.

Where I am in Meramec River, it crested in the wee hours of yesterday morning. And so, the water has gone down about six feet since then. It's still an incredible amount of water behind me, but signs are showing us that it is going down. These green signs right here, the water was only about a foot below the bottom part of that sign yesterday, and you can see how much it's gone down.

But take a look at this on the ground. This is just what's going to be left behind. Look at this. All of the silt and the mud from the river, anyone's home or business, even the streets that are all flooded, this is what going to be left behind, and so folks are going to have to clean all of this up, and not only that, but there is sewerage in the water, there's trash in this water.

And so, they're going to be cleaning for days and weeks, Jim. It is going to be a long road ahead for the people around the St. Louis area, and points south.

SCIUTTO: Well, I could see, I remember that the first time we talk to you, that bridge behind you, that overpass bridge, was nearly covered up to the top. So, it's nice to see the water is coming down.

Jennifer Gray, thanks very much.

On the phone with me now is the mayor of Arnold, Missouri, Ron Counts.

Mayor, you're right on the middle of there. I know you got the Meramec River, the Mississippi River on two sides of you, kind of do a pincer movement as these waters have risen, tell us about the condition of your town and the immediate danger there?

MAYOR RON COUNTS, ARNOLD, MISSOURI (via telephone): Well, right now, we are doing I think in the next step in this phase that I would call it. The good part is, we've got Jeffcoat Boulevard open now. We've got Interstate 55 open, and Interstate, actually 231 open.

But the problem is that we had become an island, and you know, it gets a little scary for people. The fact is that the water is receding, and the report this morning it is at 45.4, and the crest now, as we speak, the crest top edge was at the highest 47.26.

And so, as you can see, it is receding which is awesome. The next process, of course, that we're going to be dealing with is the cleanup. But with that cleanup, I guess that one of the most important things for the residents is we want to get the electricity.

Ameren Electric had to turn off the electricity. They decided to turn it off, and they had to because of the safety issues.

[12:35:03] And this is, now, they are going through the process of cleanup, and doing the inspections, and we've got people on the ground now, and have our inspectors there, along with Ameren Electric, and we're going to try to get power back to these folks as soon as possible. And along with that, we're going to have weeks and weeks and weeks, maybe months of cleanup, because I'd say there is toxic materials and stuff that we have to be very careful of. It cannot be disposed of in a normal procedure.

SCIUTTO: And, Mayor, you have said this is the most devastating flood in the history of Arnold, Missouri. What kind of help do you need in the coming days and weeks as you prepare to cleanup and recover?

COUNTS: Well, you know, we have reached out, we have wonderful, and I really mean this, a plan emergency management group, and we kicked it in, and I think that we have really ahead of the issues that a lot of the communities didn't have, and our response team was ready to go, and we had boots on the ground are from day one. We have been working hard, and reached out.

Now, we've got the National Guard has been wonderful, they are in the town helping us. We've got all of the different e entities -- the fire department, all of these different entities are together. We meet every morning at 10:00 to find out what our needs are and assess that and then move forward. We've got a call. We've got three call centers, and command centers for people to call in and they get one answer.

You know, one of the biggest problems that we have had in of course in the news media and you realize is the misinformation that people get. And, you know, people sometimes just want to hear what they hear. And that's what we're trying to stop that.

But actually right now, we are doing well. We've had great resources in the area. Walmart has come to our help and aid, Home Depot, Lowe's, and we have had these groups that have come to help us. And we had convoys coming in, and they are bringing in clean supplies that's going to be available at the local rec center where the people when they get into the cleanup area, they will be how to cleanup period, and what to do with it.

If you, you know, touch the water, an all of this, and I mean, there is sewer areas up river broken and that's going to create some issues for us. So, it's just not clean water, it's contaminated water, and so, it has to be specifically dealt with in a certain way. So, you know, if you put it together, I think that right now, we are looking good. We are addressing the issues that we have. I mean, we've got tons of people on the ground. Today is New Year's, and I've got inspectors out there on the ground. And we got Ameren Electric for us and we are doing what we can.

SCIUTTO: Mayor Counts, our hearts go out to you. We are thinking about you. We hope you get what you need to help. And we wish you good luck as you recover from this. Thanks for joining us.

We have breaking news now, news that singer Natalie Cole is dead. She was 65 years old, the daughter, of course, Nat King Cole. We'll have more on this sad news when we come back from this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:41:46] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

SCIUTTO: Breaking news and this is just in, Grammy Award winning legendary singer Natalie Cole has died. That confirmed by her publicist. The daughter of the late Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole, was a standout figure in R&B and pop music for decades. She did suffer from a variety of health issues in recent years.

In her 2002 autobiography, she revealed her struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. Her family said in a statement that Natalie Cole died at a Los Angeles hospital Thursday night just before midnight. She was 65 years old.

Our Paul Vercammen is in Los Angeles with more.

Paul, what are you hearing now?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I just spoke with Maureen O'Connor. She is the publicist for Natalie Cole, and she confirmed that she passed away at Cedars Sinai Hospital. That was last night, from various complications stemming from her myriad of medical struggles. She had a kidney transplant. She suffered from hepatitis C.

And the family has issued a statement. It says, "It is with heavy hearts that we bring to you the news of our mother and sister's passing. Natalie fought a fierce, outrageous battle dying how she lived with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain unforgettable, in all cap, it says in our hearts forever."

And, of course, that "Unforgettable" is one of her biggest hits. Others will also recall songs such as "This Will Be" and "Everlasting Love". Natalie had a huge crossover hits. She took Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac" and revved it up and it made her popular with both R&B and rock fans all over the world.

Many reflecting on her voice as being a signature voice of her generation. As you pointed out, Jim, the daughter of Nat King Cole and her mother. That's Marcia Hawks Ellington. So, she had the DNA and the chops as many people would say. And as you alluded to, there were struggles with drug addiction, but somehow, someway Natalie Cole always seemed to pull it out and survive and make a comeback after comeback. And one thing that is extremely interesting is that she received the kidney back in about 2009.

And the way that the story goes, the publicist was telling me that a nurse at the hospital was well aware that she needed the donation, and when her niece was in a car accident, that niece donated the kidney to Natalie Cole after the niece had passed. So, that is yet another example of Natalie Cole finding someway somehow to survive. That is what the family is alluding to in the statement, when they said that Natalie Cole unforgettable in all capitals, as we said, Jim.

SCIUTTO: And what a story, unforgettable, and some may remember she recorded that song with her father posthumously, kind of blending their voices. I remember we have a clip of her performing "Unforgettable" here. I just want to play that for the viewers here so they can remember her incredible talent.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:48:43] SCIUTTO: There is still more fallout from death of Laquan McDonald at the hands of Chicago police. Fourteen months after the teen was repeatedly shot by an officer now charged with murder, one month after the city released this video supporting that charge, thousands of e-mails to and from city lawyers and officials and aides to Mayor Rahm Emanuel have been made public. They show this case was high on the radar at city hall long before it was a national outrage.

CNN's Rosa Flores has been doing a lot of speed reading of these e- mails.

So, Rosa, as you and I have talked about, there have been allegations in Chicago that the mayor sat on this video in effect so as not to affect his chances for reelection. Do you see anything in these e- mails that support that?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jim, we are still reading through them, because there are thousands of pages. But so far, no smoking gun, nothing that indicates what you were saying.

But let me put you up to speed here. So, CNN requested all of the e- mails that were either written by the mayor or sent to the mayor, received by mayor involving the Laquan McDonald shooting, and so, we received thousands of pages.

Now, here's the gist of it. What is happening here is that we are looking at the behind the scenes of what is happening while the rest of the world is learning about the Laquan McDonald shooting, while the city is learning about the Laquan McDonald shooting, while the community is learning about this.

[12:50:12] And so, what we are reading in the e-mail, these e-mails is the back and forth between the communications department, the legal department, messages to the independent police review authority, to the state's attorneys office, the conversations about how to craft the message, but again, Jim, we are looking through the e-mails, and trying to figure out exactly if there is a smoking gun. We haven't seen one yet -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Rosa Flores, I am glad that you are part of the team that got these e-mails out, and made them public. Thanks for joining us today.

The founder of Apple, Steve Jobs left an indelible mark on America, indeed, the world. He is the subject of a documentary from CNN airing this Sunday night, and CNN "LEGAL VIEW" anchor Ashleigh Banfield gives us a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN'S "LEGAL VIEW" ANCHOR: The founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, has been called the pioneers of the personal computer. In more recent years before his death, he introduce d to us the iPod, to the iPhone, to the iPad. But there is more to man than the products and his company.

CNN Films is presenting "Steve Jobs: The Man and The Machine" on January 3rd and it explores the myth, the mystery and the man behind that machine.

Here is a peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steve had long hair down his back. He had a Ho Chi Minh beard, cutoffs, Birkenstocks, and Wozniacki was maybe a little bit upscale from that, but no much.

STEVE JOBS, APPLE FOUNDER: I used to like Intel's advertising, so I called them up one day. And I said, who does your advertising? They said Regis McKenna? I said, what's Regis McKenna? They said, no, it's a person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: "New York Times" op-ed columnist Joe Nocera is here with me live, because you have written about Steve Jobs, you are interviewed in this film and you have a certain understanding of the man and the machine, I should say.

What don't we know about this guy who seems to have a headline even after his death every month?

JOE NOCERA, OP-ED COLUMNIST, NEW YORK TIMES: Ah, I think that there is a fair amount that we don't know. I think that the main thing that people don't understand is how he changed. How he went from being -- he always had this bratty side all through his life, and a lot of people felt including me toward the end of his life, when he called me to yell at me about a column I was writing and he doesn't mince words, and he doesn't have time for the pleasantries, so on and so forth. But he went from the kid who founded a company, but didn't really know

how the run a company or even a division or how to manage people, or who is kind of the bad side was omnipresent, to being a mature leader who had a core group of five or six or seven guys who stayed with him for a decade, and who created one great product after another.

To me, that is the essential thing that people don't understand him.

BANFIELD: And one great product after another does not begin the change that this man has created globally. And honestly, I don't think that there is anyone else who has singly had such an effect on the communication in the world.

NOCERA: I think that's right. Well, in terms of the communication, you have to go back to the invention of the telephone or the telegraph before that. In terms of the revolutionizing the way that people live, you know, you think about the automobile, maybe.

BANFIELD: But I think a lot of people, while they revere what this person has put into our hands, don't know about the darker side of him. I mean, he was not always playing clean.

NOCERA: That is very true. He basically lived his life believing that there was a set of rules for everybody else that did not apply to him, which is why he drove a car with no license plate, and he would park in the spot reserved for the handicapped, and he would be blunt and brutal to people.

You know, all of that is true. And one of the things that the film really does pretty well is to bring a lot of that out.

BANFIELD: I mean, there are some who say that he would be in jail today for some of the underreporting of the income, and harboring income overseas.

NOCERA: Well, harboring the income overseas is not illegal.

BANFIELD: But talking about it and not reporting is it.

NOCERA: It's something that every company does, is he holds a lot of income overseas.

BANFIELD: But if you are evasive to authorities about the accounting practices you're your reporting practices, that is where you're going to get into trouble.

NOCERA: Well, I think there were two issues with him vis-a-vis the SEC. One is, should he have disclosed more about the health as probably the single most important CEO in the country, the person most valuable to his company than anybody else, and did he have a responsibility to tell people, to tell investors more about the health? I argued the answer to that was yes, he said, no, the SEC decided not to do anything, in part, I think because he was Steve Jobs.

[12:55:05] There was also a fairly serious accounting issue having to do with the backdated stock options. He clearly was at the mastermind behind this or at least kind of caused it to happen. Other people took the fall including a former general counsel and another man. And again, the feds decided to not go after Steve Jobs in part I believe because they were intimidated about the idea of what kind of blowback they would get if they went after him.

BANFIELD: Intimidation for them if they went after him?

NOCERA: I -- yes, that investing community, and the populace at large would be outraged that --

BANFIELD: He's too big to prosecute?

NOCERA: Yes, him and Bank of America. There you go.

BANFIELD: Joe, thanks so much for coming in and talk to us about it, and glad you took part in the film as well. I didn't realize you interviewed him back in 1996.

NOCERA: That's right.

BANFIELD: So, you got an early look at who he was and who he became. So, thank you. Appreciate it.

NOCERA: Thanks for having me.

BANFIELD: And, by the way, you can see Joe on the film. CNN Films, "Steve Jobs: The Man and the Machine" this Sunday, January 3rd, at 9:00 p.m., right here on CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Thank you very much for watching. I want to wish you a very happy New Year in this 2016.

Brianna Keilar is in for Wolf Blitzer again today and she'll be with you right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Wolf Blitzer. It is 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 7:00 p.m. in Munich, and 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem. Wherever you are watching us, from around the world, thanks so much for joining us.

And we are going to start now with some breaking news. This comes out of Israel, where a shooting happened in broad daylight on the streets of Tel Aviv. Two people are dead, killed by a man witnesses say was dressed head-to-toe in black, with what appeared to be an assault rifle.