Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Prince Death Investigation; Indianapolis Newspaper Slams Trump; Pediatric Center Bombed; BYU Allegations; Trump at Holiday Inn. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 29, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:25] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

New developments this morning surrounding Prince's sudden death. Officials say there is no evidence Prince had a prescription for the painkillers found on him after his death. Police now releasing the last three years of 911 calls from the late singer's home. In all, four medical related calls were made, including one on the day he died. Stephanie Elam live outside Price's Paisley Park estate with more.

Good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

It's also worth noting that at Paisley Park he also threw dance parties in one part of that area there at this compound you can see behind us, so really four calls really not that much when you think about what could have been happening here over the three years.

What we do also know is that we are understanding that the DEA is now working with local investigators to look into where Prince was getting this - this amount of opioids that were found, not just on him, but also in his place here at Paisley Park. We also know that there was a search warrant that was conducted here. However, a judge ruling yesterday that the contents of what was found, that they will be sealed for now, so we won't know what they found. Of course, what was in his body, eventually we should hear that because of the toxicology and autopsy reports, but it will probably still a couple of more weeks before we find out what they have determined there, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Stephanie Elam reporting live from Minnesota this morning. Thank you.

A brutal editorial in "The Indy Star," five days from the Indiana primary. Let's just say the editors in Indianapolis are not fond of Donald Trump. They call him, quote, "wholly unsuited to serve as president," and argue that, quote, "a President Trump would be a danger to the United States and to the world."

With me now, Tony Cook. He's a reporter for "The Indy Star."

Good morning and thank you for being here.

TONY COOK, REPORTER, "THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR": Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: I will only say that "The Indy Star" isn't the first newspaper to trash Trump's candidacy. Do you really think it will make a difference with voters?

COOK: You know, I'm not sure. The - of course the editorial operation at "The Indy Star" is separate from the news gathering operation, so I wasn't really involved with that decision.

COSTELLO: I understand that. So why don't we talk about the voters, because you - you talk to voters all the time in Indiana. Is Trump resonating with them or is it Ted Cruz?

CRUZ: Well, you know, there's a lot of evangelical Christians here. And so you would think that that would - that Ted Cruz's message, a very socially conservative message, would resonate with a lot of those folks. And to some degree I think you're seeing that. But a recent poll showed that the evangelical vote is actually split right now between Trump and Cruz. So I think one of the factors in that is, there is a lot of industry here in Indiana. It's a big manufacturing state, the most manufacturing intensive in the nation. And I think a lot of those workers have seen a lot of economic turmoil over the years and Trump's message seems to be resonating with a lot of them.

COSTELLO: Sources tell us that internal polling, you know, among Cruz's people, show that he's slipping. You know he once had pretty good support in Indiana. Now he's eight to 10 points behind Donald Trump. Some people were saying Bobby Knight is the reason that more people are gravitating towards Trump because these rallies that Trump held in Indiana with Bobby Knight attracted thousands of people. And this morning on Fox News, Bobby Knight and Donald Trump were there. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY KNIGHT, BASKETBALL COACH: Indiana, you can, in this week, you can make a - you can make a decision that will be something that will go right along with our founding fathers and George Washington, what you do here with Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Tony, did that resonate with Indiana voters in a big way?

COOK: Well, it certainly got Trump a lot of attention. I mean Bobby Knight is, you know, obviously, very well known here. A lot of people interested in him and what he has to say. I don't know how much stock, you know, people put in his endorsement of a presidential candidate. But certainly it adds to the entertainment value of the Trump events, which are drawing, you know, very large crowds here in Indianapolis. And he held an event yesterday in Evansville, where I believe there were, like, you know, even larger crowds there. So it's definitely been a spectacle. Indiana's a huge basketball town so, you know, I don't want to discount anything related to basketball here.

[09:35:12] COSTELLO: Absolutely. I know it is. It's crazy.

So Indiana really, really matters, especially to Ted Cruz. Are people excited about voting?

COOK: I mean, people are excited, I think, to have the attention. Indiana's primary is so late in the calendar, voters here aren't accustomed to all this kind of attention. So I think the Hoosiers are appreciative of the fact that the candidates are coming here and trying to make their case and there is a lot of excitement for sure.

COSTELLO: All right, Tony Cook from "The Indy Star," thank you so much for being with me this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, who bombed a hospital in Syria that killed 50 people? We'll have a live report for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:39:58] COSTELLO: A top U.S. commander of U.S. special forces is expected to lose his job today over the accidental bombing last October of a hospital in Afghanistan. That air strike killed at least 42 people. The Pentagon will announce that up to 16 American military personnel will face discipline over that mistake. No criminal charges are expected. Pentagon officials say the targeting of the hospital was not done with criminal intent.

Another hospital hit by air strikes, this time it was a charity pediatric center in Aleppo, Syria. At least 50 people were killed, including children, doctors and nurses. Secretary of State John Kerry is pointing the finger squarely at the Syria government, saying it was a deliberate strike and calling it appalling. CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Beirut with more.

Hi, Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, what's so important about this strike on the hospital, aside from the ghastly loss of over 50 lives in this strike, is that it comes at a time when Syria's supposed to be experiencing, quote, a cessation of hostilities. Now there's always been a little bit of a pretense, frankly, because of how muddily that's being divided on the battlefield between the U.S. and the Russians, who try to impose this, but it really brought home to view how many lives have been lost in the past week. Two hundred around Aleppo alone, 123 on the side in rebel held territory, including, get this, a staggering 18 children.

Now, the strike against that hospital many are concerned is part of a broader optic in regime backed by the Russians, military activities against that eastern side of Aleppo that's held by the rebels. And that was emphasized today when we heard from activists of 20 more air strikes against various targets in those rebel-held areas. One activist saying as many as two people have lost their lives in those. A lot less of a death toll because people, get this, staying away from hospitals because they're potentially scared of being hit there, and mosques and schools are closed in those areas now as well because of the risk of those air strikes.

This really makes people concerned that we may be entering a new, much more active military phase around Aleppo. The peace talks that the U.S. and Russia forced the regime and the opposition to sit around the same table, that, well, they've fallen apart, frankly, days ago now. The fear is that if you listen to Syrian state media, they're looking for an offensive in the days ahead to try and retake all of that rebel-held area of Aleppo, which is going to take a long time, but as that happens, many lives could get lost.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Nick Paton Walsh reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the newsroom, anger and outrage on a college campus. Several women say they were raped. And when they reported the crimes, they were punished.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:47:06] COSTELLO: Several women say they were assaulted and raped and then new trauma was inflicted by the college that was supposed to protect them. The students at Brigham Young University say the school kicked them out for allegedly violating a strict honor code. It forbids drugs, alcohol, and pre-marital sex. CNN's Ana Cabrera sat down with the women and school officials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGOT CRANDALL, RAPE VICTIM: They had taken photos and videos during the rape, and he threatened me to expose those.

BROOKE, ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM: And he started like touching me and stuff, so I tried to get up and leave.

MADELINE MACDONALD, ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM: I've got boundaries. I've got these, you know, like strict lines you're not crossing and he didn't care about those.

MADI BARNEY, ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM: I was just sitting there crying say, I don't want to report. I can't do this. What if BYU finds out?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their stories of rape and sexual assault, traumatic and horrifying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does it take for us to change the way we address sexual assault?

CABRERA: But it's what happened after their school found out that's sparking outrage.

BROOKE: It was just really scary.

CABRERA: Brooke's (ph) nightmare began in February of 2014. She says she had taken hallucinogenic drugs just before being assaulted. BROOKE: Over the course of the next 45 minutes, in like different

ways, he raped me.

CABRERA: She reported it to police, but too afraid to face her alleged attacker in court, decided not to press charges. Three months later, she told her school, Brigham Young University.

BROOKE: I thought it would be a simple process to report him and have him be kicked out, you know?

CABRERA (on camera): Because he was a student?

BROOKE: Yes. He was a student there.

CABRERA (voice-over): But instead of getting support, Brooke was suspended. BYU, a private university run by the Mormon church, determined Brooke had violated its honor code, a student code of conduct that prohibits the use of illegal drugs and alcohol, as well as premarital sex.

BARNEY: And I waited about four days to report, because I was scared of my standing at BYU.

CABRERA: Madi Barney only reported her alleged rape to police. It happened off campus. So she was shocked when she got a call from BYU's Title 9 office, which investigates sexual harassment and sexual violence.

BARNEY: What she eventually said on that phone call was, we received a police report and in it, a, we think you may have been raped, and, b, it looks like you probably violated the honor code as well. I felt so betrayed because they read every single thing that happened to me and they just kind of didn't care.

CABRERA: In fact, she says, now she's facing backlash from BYU for not answering all their questions. Her attorney told her not to until after her criminal trial this fall. The school won't let her register for future classes until she cooperates with the honor code office.

CARRI JENKINS, BYU SPOKESWOMAN: There would never be an honor code review for reporting sexual assault, for being a victim of sexual assault.

CABRERA (on camera): How does that victim then end up being disciplined by the honor code office?

JENKINS: I wouldn't know. I wouldn't be able to speculate on any one situation.

CABRERA (voice-over): While the school can't talk about specific cases, it did issue this addition statement, saying in part, "sometimes in the course of an investigation, facts come to light that a victim has engaged in prior honor code violations. In all honor code proceedings, the university strives for fairness, sensitivity, and compassion. The university's overriding concern is always the safety and well-being of its students." [09:50:20] BARNEY: I think their first and foremost protecting is

protecting the university. It's not protecting the students.

CABRERA (on camera): And I see you shanking your heads. You guys agree?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes, they've made that very clear.

CABRERA (voice-over): Since Barney went public with her story, other victims have felt empowered to share theirs.

MACDONALD: You're not reporting someone else. You're reporting yourself when you go in. Like, that's at least my perception of the Title 9 office. Like you are presumed to be guilty.

CRANDALL: As soon as they got the legal document say that my rapist had been convicted, that's when they gave me accommodations and helped me withdraw from classes, and they didn't offer any of that until they had the court documentation.

CABRERA: Anger is growing.

KELSEY BOURGEOIS, RALLY ORGANIZER: I'm a sexual assault survivor. I was raped here in this community while I was attending BYU.

CABRERA (on camera): Did you report it?

BOURGEOIS: No, I did not, for this exact reason.

CABRERA: You were too afraid?

BOURGEOIS: Yes.

CABRERA (voice-over): Kelsey Bourgeois recently led a protest march through campus with a petition signed by more than 100,000 calling on the university to give immunity to those who report rape or sexual assault.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be happy to take these and we'll personally deliver them to President Worthen.

CABRERA: The university says it is now studying current practices and procedures.

JENKINS: We want to look at the relationship between the Title 9 office and the honor code office. We want to look at whether and how information is shared. We want to look at the perception that students have.

BARNEY: It's not a perception. It's something that's actually happening. And that's them again not believing us.

MACDONALD: I don't know why they even feel the need to do a study. Like there's overwhelming evidence. So many people have come forward.

BROOKE: It's just a school whose policies are very messed up right now and aren't in line with what love and mercy is.

CABRERA: Ana Cabrera, CNN, Provo, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right, Ana Cabrera reporting.

I want to take you back to that Hillary Clinton event here in New York. She's speaking to inner city school children. Let's listen as I take you to break.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's thrilling for me to be with you. There are so many -

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:56:36] COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 56 minutes past.

A man is hospitalized with non-life injuries - non-life threatening injuries, I should say, after walking into a Baltimore television station in a panda outfit and threatening to blow it up if they didn't give him air time. The man then ripped open his bear costume flashing what appeared to be an explosive device. After a short standoff, police shot the suspect. The device turned out to be chocolate bars wrapped in aluminum foil connected by wires.

The first commercially developed test to diagnose Zika virus in the United States getting emergency authorization from the FDA. Quest Diagnostics says it plans to make the tests available to doctors by early next week. The hope is that the test will expand testing and speed up diagnoses.

Happy anniversary to Prince William and Kate. The duke and duchess of Cambridge celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary today. But, you know, it's just another excuse to show cute pictures of Prince George. I hope we have them for you right now because I cannot get that image of little George in his bathrobe -- isn't he the cutest? Oh, yes, happy anniversary to his parents.

Donald Trump owns some pretty swanky hotels. So when he ended up at a middle of the road hotel chain to rest his head the other night, it caused a stir. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He may have no experience in elected office, but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm at a Holiday Inn. Can you believe? I'm at a Holiday Inn and I do it.

MOOS: And by checking into this Holiday Inn Express in Evansville, Indiana, The Donald joins the non-surgeon -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's his BP? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One twenty over 80. You're not Dr. Stuart (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

MOOS: And the non-nuclear scientist averting a meltdown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Close the flow channels, activate the hydrogen recombiner (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meltdown in to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, actually, I'm with the tour group, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

MOOS: The non-politician checked into a room that goes for about $140 a night. Not exactly Trump Tower.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His $100 million tri-level penthouse is inspired by Versailles.

MOOS: Versailles, this ain't. You can bet a famous germaphobe like Trump instantly yanked off the bedspread before stretching out to call Melania. There's more gold plating in Trump's airplane lavatory.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the master bathroom with a shower and 24 karat gold plated sink.

MOOS: Than in this entire hotel. This is his second stay at the chain since the campaign started.

MOOS (on camera): And where better for The Donald to express his opinion of the Holiday Inn Express than in a tweet, "new and clean, not bad," he wrote. What were bad were the tweets from detractors. "Are you qualified to be president? No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." The Donald did what we all do after checking in.

TRUMP: I'm watching television at my Holiday Inn Express.

MOOS (voice-over): Instead of commercials featuring a non-pilot -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not the pilot?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I've never done this before, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

MOOS: Now Holiday Inn Express can advertise using a non-commander in chief.

TRUMP: At my Holiday Inn Express.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wee!

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:00:00] COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM, chaos in California.