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At This Hour

Loretta Lynch Sworn in as A.G.; Search Continues for Earthquake Survivors in Nepal; Funeral Services for Freddie Gray; Huge Challenges for Rescuers Reaching Rural Areas of Nepal. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired April 27, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00] LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.

And of course, thanks to my wonderful family. As you can see all around you, we are quite the force multiplier.

(LAUGHTER)

Many of you have come to know my father throughout this process.

(LAUGHTER)

He has been at every hearing and every vote, but he didn't just start now. I remember looking up as a young AUSA preparing to do my very first trial and seeing him in the gallery. He was there for every one thereafter. He has encouraged me in all things, even when my choices were not the ones he would have made for me. And in that, he's been the best of fathers and I thank him.

(APPLAUSE)

LYNCH: I hope you know that without him I would not be standing here before you today having just been sworn in as the 83rd attorney general of the United States of America just one week after his 83rd birthday.

(APPLAUSE)

LYNCH: And of course, my mother who could not be here today but is never far from my thoughts or my heart. My mother grew up in a world where she was always told what she could not do or who she could not be, but she always knew that she could soar. She did what would have seemed impossible in a small North Carolina town of her youth. She raised a daughter who she always told, whatever the dream, to be a lawyer, a prosecutor, or the attorney general, of course, you can. I thank her as well.

And I have to thank my wonderful husband who has supported all my choices and my dreams. I would not trade his love and support for all of the riches in the world because, to me, they are all the riches in the world.

(APPLAUSE)

LYNCH: Many thanks to my colleagues and friends here in the Department of Justice in the Eastern District of New York and beyond.

But even more than that, tremendous thanks go to some people who could not be here today. The literally thousands of people, many of whom I never met personally, who expressed their support throughout this process, from the sisterhood of my sorority and Greeks that came together, to the churches and schools that wrote letters and made calls, to people on the street who stopped me and just said a word or two. Please know that sometimes those words made all of the difference to me as I traveled this road. I thank you.

I thank you all as I prepare to join once again with the outstanding people of this Department of Justice. It has been the honor of my life and privilege of my profession to have stood shoulder to shoulder with you twice before from the eastern district of New York. You are the ones that make real the promise of justice and redress for all Americans. I am honored beyond words to step into the larger role today as your attorney general as we continue this core mission of the protection of the American people.

Now, all of us at the department are here because, at some point, and maybe we were just a little boy or little girl, we said I want to be a lawyer. I want to be a law enforcement officer. I want to be a federal agent. I want to be someone's hero. At the heart of that, for me and for all of us, whether attorney or agent, staff or principal, is a desire to leave the world a better place for us having been a part of it, and the challenge in that for you and me and for all of us that love this department and love the law is to use the law to that end. To not just represent the law and enforce the law but to use it to make real the promise of America, the promise of fairness, the promise of equality, of liberty and justice for all.

I've been reminded recently that we're all just here for a time, whether in this building or even on this earth, but the values that we hold dear will live on long after we have left the stage. It's our responsibility, it's our mission while we're here to breathe life into them and to view them with the strength of our convictions and weight of our efforts. I know this can be done. I'm here to tell you, if a little girl from North Carolina, who used to tell her grandfather in the fields to lift her to the back of the mule to see way up, Granddaddy, can grow up to be the chief officer of the attorney general of the United States of America, we can do anything.

(APPLAUSE)

[11:35:31] LYNCH: We can imbue our criminal just system with strength and fairness for the protection of both needs of victims and the rights of all. We can restore trust and faith both in our laws and in those of us who enforce them. We can protect the most vulnerable among us from the scourge of modern-day slavery so antithetical to the values forged in blood in this country. We can protect the growing cyber world and we can give those in our care both protection from terrorism and the security of their civil liberties. My friends, we'll do this as we've accomplished all things both great and small, working together, moving forward, and using justice as our compass. And I'm here to tell you, I cannot wait to begin that journey with all

of you. I want to thank you all for being here today not just here in this room but in my life over the years.

Thank you all so much. And I look forward to working with you as we make real the manifest promise of this, our Department of Justice. Thank you so much.

(APPLAUSE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: You see there history has been made. Loretta Lynch, the first African-American woman to become our nation's attorney general. A sweet moment up there when she not only is saying what an honor for her to take on this post, honoring her family who is there with there, saying as she becomes 83rd attorney general of the United States, it comes a week after her father's 83rd birthday.

You see it right there, the crowd at the Justice Department. Vice President Joe Biden handling the official swearing in. Loretta Lynch, our nation's 83rd attorney general, after a near historic record- breaking delay, which made a lot of news leading up to this moment. We'll be following that.

Let's also get back to our major story that's unfolding as we speak coming out of Nepal. Right now, in Nepal, rescuers are desperately searching for victims buried in the rubble still hoping upon hope to still find survivors. The death toll from Saturday's earthquake now more than 3,900 people. And for tens of thousands more families who survived, well, they are now living outdoors. Many lost their homes but others are too afraid to go back inside in the face of the aftershocks that have fallen.

Joining us now, 17-year-old Ayushi Aryal.

Ayushi, can you hear me?

AYUSHI ARYAL, NEPAL CITIZEN (voice-over): I can.

BOLDUAN: Just so everyone knows, Ayushi, you're finishing your senior year of high school in Nepal. Your family is there with you as well. You lived through this horrific massive earthquake. Tell me, how are you? How is your family?

ARYAL: It's a scary situation over here. I'm doing well. We're all safe. My family is safe. Physically, as I said, we're all fine. Emotionally, we're just drained and we just can't wait for this to be over soon. We're just hoping and praying it's going to stop.

BOLDUAN: We'll show some of the images. You have been spending your time obviously dealing with your family situation but you also have been trying to share images and pictures of what you've seen. I want to stick on this picture here that's startling of what you came across. It looks like a massive crack either in a sidewalk or a road. Just how the strength and devastation that this earthquake brought about. What was it like walking around seeing something like this for you? The devastation that's been brought to Kathmandu and beyond. ARYAL: It was just horrible. I've never been through something like

this before. I've been through earthquakes before but never something so big. It still feels unreal. It brings tears to my eyes. I'm just thankful that my family members are not hurt and I'm praying for everybody who has lost their lives and it's just very sad.

BOLDUAN: It's absolutely sad. As we continue talking, Ayushi, just for viewers, a lot of this is video and pictures that you have taken yourself so you can see this is the firsthand look at the devastation.

We see here, Ayushi, some video of makeshift tents, people sleeping outside. Your family is also sleeping outside right now. Is that because your home was devastated or are you too scared to go inside right now?

[11:40:24] ARYAL: We're just too scared to go inside right now. Given the situation there are tremors going on. We can see aftershocks. We decided it was better to just stay outside for now.

BOLDUAN: What have you done? Have you built a tent of some sort?

ARYAL: Yeah. We used bamboo sticks and a tarp to sort of give us shelter from the rain and stuff. We're just using a few carpets and stuff and we just are sitting on top of all that and we're all just staying together and we're trying to stay warm. We have makeshift tents using a tarp.

BOLDUAN: Do you have any idea -- I would imagine since you are still feeling tremors and aftershocks as we speak, really, when do you think -- have you guys started talking about when you're going to want to move back inside? What it's going to be like to do that?

ARYAL: We're just -- we have no idea. We talk about it. We're trying to figure out when this is going to stop. Every single time we think it stopped, a few minutes later there's another tremor. It just keeps on going. We're just trying to stay positive. We haven't thought about going back inside so far.

BOLDUAN: With what you hear from your neighbors, what's the thing you all need most right now?

ARYAL: We definitely need water and medicine. From what I've been seeing every time I have access to the Internet, I see that a lot of rural parts of Nepal have no access to medicine or any help. My heart is just reaching out to the people who live in the rural areas of Nepal where it is already difficult to contact the people but now the earthquakes have done a lot of damage to the roads. I think for now a lot of people need medicine and water and just food to get through the days for now.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

Thank you so much for jumping on the phone with us. I know the connection is not good most of the time. We're just thankful that we were able to connect with you. And good luck to you and your family. Stay in touch with us and thank you for sharing your images. Your story is being heard and you're sharing it with the world. Thank you so much, Ayushi.

ARYAL: Thank you. And on behalf of all Nepal, I would thank to every single person and everybody who has helped us, who has sent positive thoughts our way, prayers and donations. It really means a lot. Thank you so much.

And thank you, CNN, for helping and covering this story.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Thank you very much.

Amazing the optimism and positive attitude that she has in the face of it all.

As Ayushi was saying, there's a way for you to help. Go to CNN.com/impact to try to help people like Ayushi, her family and many others devastated by the earthquake in Nepal. We'll have much more on that.

And also just ahead for us AT THIS HOUR, thousands of gathered in Baltimore right now to honor the life of Freddie Gray. We'll head there live, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:47:45] BOLDUAN: Happening right now in Baltimore, Maryland, the funeral services for Freddie Gray are under way. The man died mysteriously after being taken into police custody. He died a week after being taken into custody. He will now be laid to rest finally today. His family, of course, mourning the death but they are also at the same time calling for calm after protests over his death turned violent this weekend.

Athena Jones is there live with much more on the funeral services and the investigation that's still going on.

Athena, what are we expecting today in the funeral services for Freddie Gray?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. The funeral is getting under way. People were able to come and view the body of Freddie Gray starting at 10:00 this morning. A constant stream of people coming inside. One of those people was Freddie Gray's twin sister, Fredericka Gray. We have those pictures of her overcome by emotion as she said good-bye to her twin brother. It was an emotional moment, the first of many we expect to see here as Freddie Gray's family and friends and this community say good-bye to him.

They of course, are angry. There are a lot of people asking a lot of questions still about how he came to be so gravely injured in that police van ride two weeks ago. Those questions have not been answered and may not be answered for some time.

Among the speakers who we're going to hear from, Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings, who represents about half of the city of Baltimore. I spoke with him yesterday about the message he wants to deliver. He said that he was still coming up with what he wanted to say but he had a lot to say to me about the problems he has with how this incident came to be. He wants to see changes in the Baltimore Police department so that they can start following the rules and regulations that are already in place. He wants to see the Baltimore Police Department become a model police department for the rest of the country. He also talked about the importance of remembering what the Gray family is going through and so in speaking about the Gray family's call for there not to be any protests today or yesterday at the wake so they could focus on honoring their son and brother. He said the family needs time and space to heal so we could we could hear some of that from congressman comings. And we'll hear from Reverend Jamal Bryant leading some of the demonstrations we've seen in the last several days. We'll hear from Gray's stepfather. Also the Reverend Jesse Jackson is going to speak.

And I should mention there are several White House officials who are in attendance, including the chair of the president's My Brothers Keeper Task Force.

So a lot of folks here. We expect to see a lot of emotion. Questions asked and maybe even some anger as we watch the service -- Kate?

[11:50:40] BOLDUAN: Athena Jones outside the funeral services that are under way. You can see them here in Baltimore, Maryland.

Athena, thank you so much.

And we do have some breaking news coming out of Baltimore we need to tell you about. Police officials there, they're now saying they've learned that several gangs, including the Bloods and the Crips, they've teamed up and they have threatened to, in the words coming from the police, the Baltimore Police Department, "to take out police officers." Authorities say they believe the threat is credible. They're urging law enforcement agencies nationwide to take extra precautions to keep officers safe. This is, as Athena was talking about, exactly what the family of Freddie Gray has spoken out against, and said that they do not want to see protests, they don't want to see any violence in relation to the death of Freddie Gray. We have got this coming from the Baltimore police as breaking news coming out of Baltimore, as the funeral services are under way. We'll continue to follow that for you.

Also coming up AT THIS HOUR, desperation in Nepal. Disaster response teams are headed to rural areas to assess the earthquake damage there, but getting to some of those spots is a huge challenge in some cases could take days. We're going to talk to one group behind that effort, those rescue-and-recovery efforts under way, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:55:24} BOLDUAN: AT THIS HOUR, devastation and a desperate search now for any more survivors in Nepal. The country is dealing with its worst national disaster in generations. Saturday's earthquake has taken the lives of nearly 4,000 people. It destroyed thousands of homes, historic landmarks, including Hindu temples. We even don't know the worst yet. That's probably the worst fact of all. The epicenter of the quake is in a remote area of Nepal and there are really, I'm told, countless remote areas that they're going to need to reach. Rescuers haven't been able to get into many of these villages, these remote areas. It's estimated that 70 percent of the villages were completely decimated.

Joining me now to discuss this, Matt Darvas, with World Vision, one aid group that has been working on the ground to help in the aftermath of this disaster.

Matt, can you hear me?

(INAUDIBLE)

BOLDUAN: Matt, it's Kate Bolduan. Can you hear me?

(INAUDIBLE)

MATT DARVAS, WORLD VISION: Yes, can you hear me there?

BOLDUAN: Yes, I can hear you.

I know you and your group, you are on the ground, you are trying to reach some of these most remote areas to understand and get a sense of the devastation. We're looking at some of the pictures that you've sent in. Lay the ground for us. What are you guys seeing?

DARVAS: Right. Well, where I am currently, I am speaking to survivors that are starting to come in from the outlying villages. But the biggest issue, there are still entire villages unreached, villages where there are 700 people, one village, and we're hearing 90 percent of the homes in those villages have collapsed trapping mainly children and people under the debris.

BOLDUAN: Have you -- what are your folks seeing on the way out there? Is it getting worse as you're getting into the remote areas? I would assume so. How are they even getting there? Describe the challenge of simply making it to these locations.

DARVAS: Convoys are slowly starting to roll in. World Vision is sending emergency supplies, tents and tarps and nonfood items like water purification, hygiene and sanitation kits. But the worst stories are from villages that can only be accessed (INAUDIBLE) haven't been able to land in the villages surrounding me. We are hearing simple reports the one thing entire villages have been wiped off the face.

BOLDUAN: When do you think you'll have a more complete view of the devastation in those remote areas? Do you still think it's days out, maybe even a week, to get your hands around it?

DARVAS: (INAUDIBLE). I spoke to one man who arrived here the day before the earthquake. He spoke (INAUDIBLE) where he learned that 70 percent of the village and 60 to 80 people, (INAUDIBLE) successfully and this story of one village in Nepal indicative of dozens if not hundreds of others we simply cannot access them. It's two days on. I cannot imagine what it is. We need helicopters to access these places and we need them fast.

BOLDUAN: That was my one question. Our connection is tough. I want to get this question, what is most need? You need helicopters. We heard from the president, medical supplies and surgeons in Kathmandu. What do you think is the biggest need right now?

DARVAS: Yeah, I have to stress to the world's response that right here in Garkha, they need helicopters and professional rescue workers that can get to these remote villages. Some of these villages have no contact, there is people buried under rubble and no one to assist them. Seven days' walk some of these villages from here, seven days' walk.

[12:00:00] BOLDUAN: Seven days' walk after this massive earthquake and the aftermath and the tremors and aftershocks that continue.

Matt Darvas with World Vision.

Matt, thank you very much. You have so much on your plate. And the connection, of course, very difficult to get from those very rural places, but thank you so much for your time.

Thank you all for joining us AT THIS HOUR. We're going to continue this coverage. But let's get you over to "LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield. It starts right now.