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Sir Lanka Officials: Jihadi Group Planned More Attacks; Midweek Grades for 2020 Democrats. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired April 24, 2019 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:30:37] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We have breaking news right now because a high level intelligence official in Sri Lanka tells CNN that the jihadi group they believe carried out that highly coordinated series of bombings on Easter Sunday was planning a second wave of attacks across the country. This comes as the death toll continues to rise. Now 359 people killed in catholic churches and hotels.
CNN's Ivan Watson is live again for us in Negombo, Sri Lanka, with all of the breaking details.
What have they learned, Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.
First of all, I'm in a -- in a fresh cemetery here where you have at least 40 freshly dug graves. These are people buried, victims, just a fraction of the 359 innocent people killed and more than 500 wounded by the terrorist atrocities that were carried out on Easter Sunday across three different cities here in Sri Lanka. Now, these funerals, this mourning process, which is so hard to just wrap your head around. People -- I spoke with one husband who lost his wife and 10-year-old daughter. I spoke with a head mistress of a catholic school who said eight of her students were killed in one of the Easter blasts.
The people can't even mourn properly. There is a massive security presence. You can't see it entirely here, but it's all around us. Police and soldiers carrying rifles. They are working very diligently. We've heard them conducting controlled detonations, several in this town, of suspicious objects because the government believes that the perpetrators of this were planning a second wave of attacks. In other words, that funerals like this could have been targeted, planned targets to hit the mourners as they gather here.
They say there were nine suicide bombers. And here's what's chilling and disturbing. They were Sri Lankans and they were financially independent, upper middle class, well educated. A senior defense official saying that fact is very, very worrying.
John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Ivan Watson for us in Sri Lanka. Ivan, we'll have much more on this ahead and these new developments and connections with ISIS as well. Thank you.
North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un has arrived in Russia for a summit with Vladimir Putin. Kim said he is happy to be on Russian soil and that it will not be his last visit. Kim's meeting with Putin will take place tomorrow. Russia's state-run news agency says there is no plan for the two leaders to sign any agreements. This meeting, of course, comes on the heels of the failed summit in Hanoi between Kim and President Trump, which happened in February.
CAMEROTA: The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is asking for public's help to find the family of a three-year-old boy who they found crying in a cornfield near the U.S./Mexico border in Texas. Agents say the boy had his name and a phone number written on his shoes. Authorities believe he was traveling with a larger group that ran away when border agents approached them.
You know, John, just another story about the human toll that obviously affects the most vulnerable, a three-year-old there. We've obviously heard the audio of other little kids who were taken away from their parents crying. This is just important to remember as lawmakers continue to debate what to do there.
BERMAN: Or do nothing about what to do there. A three-year-old with his name written on his shoe.
Sri Lanka is on the edge this morning after officials say a second wave of attacks was planned. We are also learning about new possible connections to ISIS. So what is the impact there, the global implications of a possible ISIS connection? That's next.
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[06:38:18] BERMAN: A high level intelligence official in Sri Lanka tells CNN that the local jihad group that they believe carried out the deadly Easter Sunday bombings was planning a second wave of attacks.
Joining us now is Paul Cruickshank. He is the editor-in-chief of "CDC Sentinel" and the co-author of "Nine Lives: My Time as the West's Top Spy inside al Qaeda."
And, Paul, perhaps the most important development over the last 24 hours in these incredibly deadly bombings, the video that ISIS released of these eight killers where they are pledging allegiance -- pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. We're only going to show a still picture of this. But you say this is crucial.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Yes, it's strong evidence of a direct ISIS link to the attack, according to CNN reporting. It really does feature the suspected ring leader, one of the suspected suicide bombers, Zahran Hashem. You see him there, the unmasked figure in that screen grab. So that does suggest a direct ISIS link to this attack.
Now, it is possible that the group only established contact with ISIS -- BERMAN: Sure.
CRUICKSHANK: After the attack, sent them the video after the attack, and that would be a weak direct link, but there could also be the possibility of a stronger direct link where you could see planning, coordination, the comments by the Sri Lankan prime minister yesterday of overseas involvement, foreign links, coordination, training, travel overseas. All of that was suggestive of an international terror conspiracy.
BERMAN: Right.
CRUICKSHANK: We've seen 32 plus Sir Lankans gone -- gone off to join ISIS in Syria in recent years. One of the question will be, did some of them come back to carry out this attack or did some of them coordinate this from overseas?
[06:40:02] BERMAN: Look, there will be an investigation about whether it was just inspired by or coordinated by ISIS. We'll find out much more in the coming days. But there seems to be no question now that there is a link.
Paul, you also note that the type of person who was involved with the bombing, that these bombers, they come from a certain class that should be of concern.
CRUICKSHANK: This is very striking, educated background, elite background, people who were university educated, including some people, at least one of the attackers who traveled to attend university overseas in Australia, the United Kingdom. That reminds me very much of the al Qaeda generation of terrorists, the al Qaeda terrorist network that carried out the 9/11 attacks. They were middle class, they were university educated. That gave them a lot of skills at the kind of organizational capacity to put together the most -- the biggest terrorist attack in history.
And this would -- if there is an ISIS link here, this would be ISIS' biggest ever international terror attack in terms of fatalities. And so a very, very worrying development indeed that they can attract this skill set now potentially
BERMAN: Sure. And, look, this is happening as ISIS has lost its territory in Syria. So, yes, the caliphate doesn't have its land any more but what do you see as the future for ISIS or what does this tell us about what they can do?
CRUICKSHANK: Well, not withstanding this attack, ISIS' international capacity has been degraded. They lost all that territory in Syria and Iraq. More difficult for them to train and recruit and send foreign fighters to launch international terror attacks. But very worrying indeed that they could be sort of now sustaining to some degree this international terror attack capability, moving it to new theaters around the world.
And there are around 40,000 plus foreign fighters that went to join ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Officials believe 10,000, maybe as many as 30,000 of them still survive. The worry is these will be the officer class of future terror networks.
BERMAN: Potential recruits going forward.
Paul Cruickshank, thank you very much for being with us.
So, she spent years working as a professor, but will Senator Elizabeth Warren make the grade in professor Chris Cillizza's class? Cillizza's "Midweek Grades" are next. You won't want to miss this.
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[06:46:13] CAMEROTA: All right, it's a big week in the 2020 race. CNN hosted five town halls with the leading Democratic candidates on Monday night and then tomorrow the frontrunner at the moment of the race, former Vice President Joe Biden, will jump into the race.
So let's get "The Midweek Grades" with Chris Cillizza, CNN politics reporter and editor at large.
Chris Cillizza, I've looked at your grades. You are a tough grader this week
CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, man. I'm not -- I'm not building in --
CAMEROTA: Yes, you're getting harder, I feel.
CILLIZZA: No grade inflation here.
CAMEROTA: No, no, no, no, this isn't even on a curve.
Let's start at the top of the class. You give Bernie Sanders an A minus. What's that about?
CILLIZZA: Yes. OK. So, I think Bernie Sanders -- first of all, I watched all five town halls because I like politics/love politics. I'm a --
BERMAN: It's also your job.
CAMEROTA: Your job.
BERMAN: It's your job.
CILLIZZA: And I'm a loyal CNN employee. And I did my job. Whatever, Berman. And point being, I thought Bernie was the best out of the group. I thought he was candid. I thought he -- he sounded smart, sounded reasonable. I thought his answer on impeachment was quite good.
The only reason I give it an A minus rather than an A is because his answer on felons currently incarcerated voting, including the Boston bomber, should he be the nominee, and he acknowledged this, but should he be the nominee, that's going to be a TV ad against him.
BERMAN: I'm not sure that it's not already an issue because every other candidate has staked out a position in opposition to that.
CILLIZZA: Yes.
BERMAN: So I'm not so sure that your minus might be -- you know, not quite enough to take that into consideration.
CILLIZZA: Well, so the issue with Bernie is, you always have to balance, I think, the genuineness is what appeals to people. The willingness to say things that were once considered outlandish, Medicare for all, free college -- free public college, that he then would argue, well, the things that I said that people said were extreme are now part of the mainstream dialogue.
I don't think felons currently incarcerated voting is that, but I probably wouldn't have said Medicare for all was going to be a position that the majority of the serious candidates adopted in this election four years ago. So --
CAMEROTA: OK. Listen, the person that I've heard viewers say, as well as political analysts, deserved an A from the town hall was Elizabeth Warren. And you give her a B.
CILLIZZA: Yes. So I do think -- I think this was a very good, has been and is a good week for her. One of her better weeks of the campaign. I do think she was quite solid. I think she's good --
CAMEROTA: Why not an A?
CILLIZZA: Because I still think that there's -- there's a start of something here very policy focused. She got a lot of attention on impeachment. She got a lot of attention when it related to debt-free college. But still in terms of polling, she has now been passed by Pete Buttigieg. She's in right around with Beto O'Rourke. And she's still far behind Biden and Sanders.
The good thing is, I get to do this every week. So, I think, you know, we've got a lot of weeks between now and even the first votes. And so I think she's moving in the right direction.
BERMAN: Chris did not know he was going to be treated as a hostile witness this morning.
CAMEROTA: I feel like he's hostile --
CILLIZZA: No, I'm -- I like it. I'm ready.
BERMAN: I didn't think --
CAMEROTA: (INAUDIBLE) he's getting tougher on these grades.
BERMAN: Tomorrow, Joe Biden will actually be a candidate.
CILLIZZA: Oh, my gosh.
CAMEROTA: Supposedly.
BERMAN: And you've got a grade for him already.
CILLIZZA: Yes. I mean I just think, look, he gets very little buzz out of the he's going to be a candidate thing because he's going to have going to have been a candidate, John, for a really long time. Yes, I think he'll get some positive attention for the announcement and then his sort of -- the early part of his tour. I just think what you have seen -- this is like -- I was thinking about this this morning, it's like the -- it's like the NFL draft, which is coming up, right? If you are seen as the number one guy, like Kyler Murray out of Oklahoma is, everybody spends all that time nitpicking you. Well, maybe, is he too short, can he throw from the pocket. They spend all that time nitpicking at you. That's been Joe Biden. He has had -- he has been in the spotlight in negative ways this entire last few months. And I just don't think it has helped him. I think they want to stay out to build momentum and make him look inevitable. I don't think that's happened.
[06:50:06] BERMAN: Joe Biden is a lot taller than Kyler Murray.
CILLIZZA: Way taller. I can confirm that.
CAMEROTA: Great -- great point.
BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: All right, meanwhile, what do you have, professor, against Beto O'Rourke? You give him a D this week.
CILLIZZA: Well, I don't have much against him, but like I feel like, just to carry on the class metaphor, I feel like Beto O'Rourke, this week and the last few weeks, he's that kid like slouching in the back of the class. You know he's like, you're like, is he asleep? Is he awake?
He's -- when he talks or he hands his papers in, they're good. He obviously has potential. But we just haven't heard much from him. Mayor Pete has kind of stolen a lot of his buzziest candidate thunder. He's just not out there in a way that say Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders are.
Now, he may be -- I guarantee the Beto people are rolling their eyes and saying, it's a long campaign. We don't need to be out there on, you know, the middle of April. We'll be there when it matters. And maybe they will. I'm just saying, for this week, it just feels like there's not -- he's not around much, you know. It's like, if you don't come to class three-quarters of the time, I can't give you an A.
CAMEROTA: All right. Well, we now know your class rules. It's going to be a tough semester.
BERMAN: Maybe -- maybe -- maybe O'Rourke thinks he's taking the class pass/fail.
CAMEROTA: Well, that's --
CILLIZZA: Always. Always. Just audit it.
BERMAN: Which is if -- if you have the option is always the right way to go.
Chris Cillizza, thank you for being with us, professor. Appreciate it.
CILLIZZA: Thank you. Thank you.
BERMAN: All right, basketball now. The buzzer-beater. And that wasn't even the best shot of the night. The picture during Portland's celebration that is still trending this morning.
CAMEROTA: I love it.
Oh, but -- I was so engrossed by sports there for a moment.
BERMAN: You were like into that. It was also the read.
CAMEROTA: All right, meanwhile, but first, see what happens when victims and offenders of violent crimes meet face to face on CNN's new original series "The Redemption Project" with Van Jones. The series premiers Sunday night at 9:00 p.m.
Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN JONES, HOST, CNN'S "THE REDEMPTION PROJECT": We like to imagine that after there's been a verdict, that the story is over. The reality is, whether they're the offender or the victim, the journey is just beginning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a sheriff's deputy at the door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said (INAUDIBLE) is dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got some drugs. I used.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took a gun from you (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember shouting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it to his head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I pulled the trigger.
JONES: And what is it that you want to know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want him to look me in the face and tell me why he killed my mother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): My redemption. How long till I drink from the fountain. Redemption. How long to the top of a mountain. How long?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know where we're going to land. But we're all in, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:57:13] CAMEROTA: Severe thunderstorms are rolling through Texas and the southern plains this morning.
CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has our forecast.
That sounds scary, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Really. Some flooding today, Alisyn. It -- there was even flooding overnight in Dallas-Ft. Worth with 20 high water rescues and more rain to come today. A lot more rain in some spots. Could be four to five inches of rain in the hill country of Texas. The hills then funnel that water into the valleys, and that's where we see the flash flooding.
This weather is brought to you by Shark, self-cleaning brush roll. Now the vacuum that deep cleans, cleans itself.
Back out here to the south and southwest. This is where the severe weather could be as well. Could be some tornadoes on the ground today. That's typical of Texas in the summertime or in the springtime. This isn't breaking weather. But you will have to pay attention if you're in the area today.
And to New Orleans for tomorrow, where there could be five to six inches of rainfall as this storm moves to the east. If you're in the east, John, unlike you, temperatures, though, very close to normal. Very nice days stacked in a row.
Back to you.
BERMAN: All right, Chad Myers for us. Chad, thank you very much.
The Portland Trailblazers moving on to the -- in the NBA playoffs. They beat Oklahoma City in dramatic fashion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lillard, long-range three. And it's good! At the buzzer!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) liked it. The remarkable 37-foot three-pointer by Portland's Damian Lillard gave him 50 points to clinch the win.
CAMEROTA: Even I appreciate this one.
BERMAN: Lillard waving good-bye to the Thunder as the Blazers took the series in five games. And then in the celebratory scrum, Lillard struck a pose. Look at that. The picture is trending on Twitter.
CAMEROTA: He's like, yes, that's right.
BERMAN: He scored 50.
CAMEROTA: That's really cool.
BERMAN: That's good.
CAMEROTA: That was good. Even I recognize that that was a good sports moment. It had my attention.
All right, meanwhile, the comics taking on CNN's town halls with the leading Democratic candidates. Here are your "Late Night Laughs."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": The town halls were pretty interesting. And take a look at the beginning of Bernie's event.
CHRIS CUOMO, MODERATOR: All right, how about our first question? We ready?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Why not.
CUOMO: Why not indeed.
SANDERS: What else do we have to do?
FALLON: That's actually his campaign slogan, Bernie 2020, why not? What else do we have to do?
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will give the United States Congress 100 days to get their act together and have the courage to pass reasonable gun safety laws. And if they fail to do it, then I will take executive action.
TREVOR NOAH, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": That's a powerful threat. Although I don't know if it's going to work. I mean it's kind of like a boss tell his laziest employee, I need this report on my desk by the end of the day or God help me I will stay here and I will write it myself. Don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with me, Brian (ph). I'll write this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) report. I'll do it all myself, Brian (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: There you have it.
CAMEROTA: Funny.
All right.
BERMAN: Thank you to our international viewers for watching. For you, CNN "TALK" is next. For our U.S. viewers, the Trump White House stonewalling Congress, giving them nothing. This is a new strategy.
[07:00:08] NEW DAY continues right now.
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