Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Train in Spain Crash Appeared to be Too Fast; Weiner Continues Campaigns Amidst Scandal; Snowden Awaits Russia's OK; Armstrong Fights Doping Lawsuit; Congress Grills Cruise Line Chiefs

Aired July 25, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM. The timeline of the text.

LOU COLAGIOVANNI, CONFIDANT OF SYDNEY LEATHERS: She initially contacted him through Twitter.

COSTELLO: Brand new details emerging right now on the Anthony Weiner sex scandal. What happened, when it happened and how money could be behind it all.

COLAGIOVANNI: This is an opportunity. You should make money from it. It's your story.

COSTELLO: Sydney Leathers' confidant breaking his silence and speaking only to CNN.

Also, crushing injury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Braves pitcher Tim Hudson trying to cover first base last night and he gets his ankle stepped on by the Mets' Eric Young, Jr.

COSTELLO: The possible career-ender and the surprising moments right after the injury you just have to see.

Plus, back pedal. Fallen and disgraced, and now finger pointing. Once great cycling star Lance Armstrong now blaming his old sponsors, saying they should have known he was doping.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Good morning, thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello.

Major developments this morning in that deadly train crash in Spain. We are now learning there were Americans on board that train, although we don't know how many.

Also just into CNN, this incredible video, the entire crash caught on camera. Oh, there you see it. The train leaving the track, slamming into the wall. And right now police are questioning the driver of that express train after a top transit official said it was going too fast when it derailed and then split apart.

So far 78 people have died. It's unclear why this train was speeding so fast or exactly how fast it was going. Rescue crews are still going through the debris. And they expect to find more victims inside the wreckage.

Jointing me now from Santiago de Compostela in Spain is Karl Penhaul.

Karl, tell us more.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let me just set the scene for you, Carol. Behind me, that's the curve where the train derailed. Rescue workers on been going on for the best part now of 16, 17 hours since that crash happened, and approximately half the train, half the wagons and the locomotives have now been taken away for crash investigation.

Again, to put the scale of this tragedy in perspective, a full one- third of the passengers aboard that train have died and really nobody walked away unscathed. We're told that 95 people are still in hospital receiving treatment for their injuries.

One of those train wagons at one point leapt more than 18 feet into the air, landed right on top of the railway embankment 45 feet away from the track. So, of course, everybody is asking now, what caused this accident.

Yes, certain ministers from the government have said that they believe that speed could have been a factor in this, but there is no consensus on this right now. Investigators and the government say they're keeping all possibilities on the table.

And you mentioned that chilling video of the moment of the crash. That was filmed by surveillance, a CCTV camera just down here. As you would expect with those type of cameras, no sound on there from what we can tell but you see the front locomotive, the rear end of that slewing off the tracks and crashing into that concrete pillar.

But if you look a little bit closer, a fraction of a second before that happens, about midway back along the train, you see a puff, a puff of smoke, a puff of dust. Something happened at midpoint in the train, and then you see the front locomotive slewing off the tracks. And so that right now will be a main focus of the investigators, looking to see what really caused this tragic derailment -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. I can see the puff of smoke now. Do you have any idea how fast the train should have been going?

PENHAUL: This train is not the highest speed train that runs on Spanish tracks. It's a grade below that. It's still an express train. It's a hybrid. Part of it runs along high speed tracks. Some of the part of a track runs along conventional tracks.

Now it can run at speeds of up to 155 miles an hour but we have no official word right now on how fast it would have been going when it hit this curve. This is one of the tightest curves along the six-hour route. One would expect that it was going much slower than its top speed there. But this right now is the subject of speculation.

We have seen some media reports suggesting that it was going much faster than it should have been at this point. But crash investigators are yet to tell us about that officially and certainly what the government is insisting is that we cannot take anything off the table.

But of course, a key piece of evidence will be that chilling video that we have had a look at. Yes, we see the front locomotive slewing off, but by that point he front locomotive, it must be said, had cleared the tightest point in that curve. It was the wagon that was still coming around that curve. The jury is still open on this one -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Karl Penhaul reporting live from Spain.

And as we told you, we suspect some Americans were injured in that crash. When we get more information on that of course we'll pass it along.

New York mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner in disgrace. His future very much in limbo this morning.

Weiner returned to the campaign trail in the hopes of salvaging his bid to become New York City's next mayor. We'll hear some of his comments that raised both eyebrows and laughter. But his spotlight could soon be stolen by his self-described sexting partner.

CNN has identified her as 23-year-old Sydney Elaine Leathers, and yes, that is her real name. There are reports Miss Leathers could go public as early as today. In the meantime we're hearing from one of her friends, her confidant, who spoke exclusively to CNN's Laurie Segall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: You don't know if they ever met, but from these chat logs and from the -- what she showed you, do you know if they had any kind of sex?

COLAGIOVANNI: Absolutely. There was tawdry phone sex that went on between these two for months on end. You can see by the some of the chat logs, the descriptions, Anthony Weiner apparently has a shoe fetish and he also apparently has a domination fetish. And that was the basis of their relationship.

Sydney thought the basis of a relationship was going to be some sort of mutual respect, loving, you know, as idealistic as that would have been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. Dana Bash is CNN's chief congressional correspondent. She's covered Weiner's years on Capitol Hill before his 2011 resignation, and she continues to cover him now.

Good morning, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, you know, it's not every day that a candidate for public office on the campaign trail reveals he is still in therapy because he has been sending dirty messages on the Internet, but that is what happened on the trail with Anthony Weiner here in New York yesterday. And it's why even some of his friends are calling his campaign an unfortunate circus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): With Anthony Weiner on the mayoral candidates' panel, an innocent question about using Facebook or Twitter is really awkward.

ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: All I can say is, god, don't ask me.

BASH: A lighthearted moment to lift the tension after one opponent confronted Weiner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And people around the city have called on you to withdraw. You're distracting from focusing on the middle class and ideas.

WEINER: If you want to play to the cameras, that's your -- I'm having a serious conversation about issues. That's what these good people came to here. Let's honor their being here.

BASH: A day in the life of scandal-plagued Weiner. A rousing speech on public housing.

WEINER: The fact of the matter is that we need to change the way we do things.

BASH: Minutes after a silent protest, a handful of women turn their backs on him.

His indiscretions literally followed him. A man dressed as Carlos Danger, Weiner's screen name for lewd messaging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you steal my name?

BASH: Weiner admitted to reporters he fumbled his comeback by not disclosing that he sent sexual pictures and texts to strange women a year after resigning from Congress for the same thing.

WEINER: Perhaps I should have said it's going to come at this specific time and this specific person, but there isn't a lot better way for me to answer these questions.

BASH: He still isn't answering all our questions.

(On camera): What do you say to people who say yes, this is personal, but it's beyond personal. It's also an issue of judgment? And do you have the judgment to be in Gracie Mansion?

WEINER: I think it's a fair question and people have to answer that question for themselves.

BASH (voice-over): We asked New Yorkers ourselves.

(On camera): Doesn't bother you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I mean, a lot of politicians have their issues, and I just -- I think this one we can put behind us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's kind of creepy. So I don't think I would want that as my mayor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now one open question is what did Weiner's wife Huma really know about his relapse into sexting a year ago, a year after resigning from Congress. A source close to Huma tells our Jessica Yellin that she found out in the fall, she was furious, she said that's it, this time I'm leaving, but after a little bit of time she obviously reconsidered.

And the reason is because of their young son. They have an 18-month- old and -- who was not even a year old at the time and decided that this was an important decision to make to stay together for the sake of the family -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Dana Bash reporting live for us this morning.

The drama continues in Moscow. America's Secretary of State on the phone with Russian officials trying to stop Russia from granting Edward Snowden a temporary visa. Still all it could take is a few pieces of paper and the NSA leaker could be free to leave Moscow's airport.

Snowden has been stuck there in a transit zone for more than a month after admitting he leaked details on the NSA's controversial phone and Web surveillance programs.

His lawyer says at any moment Russia may grant him permission to leave the airport while the government considers his asylum application.

CNN's Phil Black is live in Moscow to tell us more.

Good morning, Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, just a few pieces of paper that's in theory all he needs. And Snowden's lawyer says he's eligible to receive those pieces of paper, but he still hasn't. We thought yesterday it seemed likely, his lawyer thought he was going to get them, Russian media thought that he was in the process of getting the necessary documentation to actually leave the airport, but it didn't happen. Now his lawyer says that it is taking longer to process his asylum application than normal because he says it is complicated, it is unprecedented. It is however possible there were other things in play here. The decision in this case are being made high up within the Russian government the Russian government knows if it lets Snowden out of this airport then that will very likely trigger a very angry response from the United States.

So it's approaching five weeks now since Snowden arrived. He has no choice but to continue waiting. His lawyers is trying to make life more comfortable for him. He's brought him a change of clothes, some shirts, some books, and some classic Russian literature as well to help pass the time because he says he's now very much involved in Russian culture and Russian language -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So, Phil, Secretary of State Kerry was on the phone with a Russian foreign minister yesterday saying -- I would assume -- don't do this. I mean, how much are Russian officials taking American concerns in making -- in making in this decision?

BLACK: We have no way of knowing for sure, Carol, but I think the fact that Snowden has made little progress so far is perhaps a sign that they are indeed quite concerned about this. We've had this very almost contradictory Russian position through this whole issue, where Russia refuses to send Snowden back, but at the same time hopes that doesn't damage U.S./Russian relations.

They say that's a concern for them. So the fact that he has not been released from this airport, the fact that there has been no solid opinion one way or another on his asylum application would seem to indicate that the Russians are not ready to rush into this just yet, to do or to trigger this sort of angry response that could in some way have some lasting consequence for the relations between these two countries -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Phil Black reporting live from Moscow this morning.

Let's head to Brazil now where Pope Francis is embarking on another day under heavy, heavy security.

You're looking at live video now from Rio de Janeiro. In just a few minutes, the Pope will meet with Rio's mayor at city hall and receive the keys to the city. He also blessed the Olympic flags that will fly during the 2016 games. And any minute now the Pope was expected to head to one of Rio's shanty towns known as (INAUDIBLE).

The visit fits squarely with Francis' devotion to the poor, but it sure to give his security detail heartburn. After his car got pinned down in a crowd Monday, the Pope's security was raised from medium to high risk.

A tropical storm is swirling across the Atlantic and it could reach the United States next week.

Indra Petersons is in New York.

So who may get it?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We have a lot of uncertainties surrounding it but here's the thing, Carol, currently today strong tropical storm. Steady winds at 60 miles per hour. Remember 39 miles per hour make a tropical storm. You see steady winds. Higher we start to get towards the hurricane status.

So we're watching here how it's going to strengthen, whether or not it will strengthen. The one thing we all want to know is where is it going? We're talking about high pressure steering it at west north, westerly direction. So with that, here is the current thinking. This is the path it's currently to take. Now assuming it holds together, by Monday, 65 miles per hour, so still a tropical storm.

It is expected to be right around Puerto Rico but north of it, and it's small so that's good news. Not expected to make a direct hit to the island, really just some rough seas and some stronger winds there. And by Tuesday kind of moving right over the Dominican Republic.

But here's the thing. It's that if factor. There's a lot of uncertainly we're looking at. Where is it going to go thereafter and also sea surface temperatures are cool and also some wind shear. So the good news is we're hoping it doesn't stick together and it won't actually make it there.

COSTELLO: We hope not.

Indra Petersons, many thanks.

A painful, freaky play will end the season for Atlanta Braves' pitcher Tim Hudson. This is hard to watch. Hudson was covering first base on a routine ground ball, and -- when his right ankle was stepped on -- stepped on by the Mets' outfielder Eric Young. It looks painful.

As you might expect, the 38-year-old pitcher collapsed. He has a broken ankle and in the spirit of what's great about baseball, the Mets' Eric Young, he immediately ran to Hudson's aid. Young apologized over and over again. He was visibly upset, even wiping away tears when Hudson was carted off the field.

Look, they shake hands at the end. Tim Hudson telling Young, "Hey, it's OK, it's OK." After the game Eric Young said this. "I saw his foot as I'm going for the base right there in the middle. And as I came down, I knew I didn't get any of the base. He said there was nothing I can do about it. That made me feel somewhat better, but still bummed that he's going to be out for a while."

The Braves pitcher, as you might expect, will need surgery to repair his broken ankle, so our prayers are with Tim Hudson, who is 38 years old.

COSTELLO: Just ahead in THE NEWSROOM: another shocking claim by Lance Armstrong. For years, Armstrong denied rumors of doping, but now, he says his sponsor should have known he was doping.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: An outrageous claim for one of the most hated athletes in sports. Lance Armstrong now says the Postal Service should have known he was doping. That's his defense to a $120 million federal whistle- blower lawsuit. Armstrong's team sponsor, the U.S. Postal Service says, he and others defrauded the government with the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong's image, as you know, has taken a huge beating since he came clean about doping. The disgrace cyclist said he didn't expect this kind of backlash, though, as he explained just a few days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE ARMSTRONG, CYCLIST: The reaction and fallout was more than I expected, but that's life. I'm a big boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: "Wall Street Journal" reporters Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell join us now.

Good morning.

VANESSA O'CONNELL, WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER: Hi.

REED ALBERGOTTI, WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Hi. So, you guys broke the story. I mean, seriously, Lance Armstrong is blaming the U.S. Postal Office as team sponsor for his own doping?

ALBERGOTTI: It's a legal defense with a lot of chutzpa. I mean, it basically says you can't sue us for -- you know, you can't sue me for defrauding you because basically my fraud was all over the news and there were rumors of it. So, you know, it's a very interesting defense.

COSTELLO: But, Vanessa, he denied doping.

O'CONNELL: He denied doping. And in this country, a lot of people believed his denials, of course, for so long. That's why this is all so shocking right now. So, it's interesting that his lawyers are arguing essentially that the U.S. Postal Service renewed sponsorship at a time when there were allegations about doping about Lance's doping.

Most of the allegations, though, were covered in Europe, but didn't really make their way to the United States. The Postal Service, in fact, did renew the sponsorship in 2000 -- November of 2000. Around the time when there were some allegations uncovered in Europe that Lance was a doper.

Even so, of course, Lance issued these vehement denials, and the Postal Service renewed its sponsorship of the team, spending $40 million essentially to sponsor Lance and the team.

COSTELLO: Wow. So, Reed, the U.S. Postal Service didn't exactly investigate these charges, right?

ALBERGOTTI: No, they didn't. That's one of the things that Lance argues in his lawsuit. Or I should say Lance's lawyers.

Look, I mean, the time to investigate this was actually years ago. There were allegations in the press, as Vanessa said, there was an investigation going on in France into whether or not the team was doping, and they just waited too long. That's another tenet of their legal argument, you know, this is past these statute of limitations.

COSTELLO: So the suit against Armstrong is, what, $120 million, Vanessa? It makes me wonder what his finances are like.

O'CONNELL: Well, one of the interesting things about Lance and this case is that also Lance's lawyers are arguing that beyond what the Postal Service spend, the $40 million that was spent, they got a publicity value from Lance that far exceeded what they spent on the sponsorship. So, that is one of the ways that they're sort of tallying up the value of sponsoring Lance.

Now, we know that lance made many, many millions of dollars while he was cycling, while he's racing for the Postal Service, not to mention all the endorsements that he had that added up to about $75 million, and he lost a lot of those, as we know, last year.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

ALBERGOTTI: One of the things we should explain is that the sponsorship value over the years was $40 million, but under this whistle-blower law, plaintiffs can actually recover up to triple the total damages.

COSTELLO: Wow.

ALBERGOTTI: And the plaintiff here is Floyd Landis, who's actually a former teammate of Lance Armstrong, as they were close friends. Now, obviously, they're bitter enemies, and Floyd is I having to profit off of his knowledge of the doping of the team.

COSTELLO: Well, it's a fascinating article. If you want to read more, go to WSJ.com or "Wall Street Journal."

Thanks so much for joining us. Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell, we appreciate it.

ALBERGOTTI: Thank you.

O'CONNELL: Thanks for having us.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

After the break, we'll talk about rough sailing. The CEOs of two major cruise lines get a tongue lashing from members of Congress. Will their apologies result in better service on the high seas? That's next in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's no pleasure cruise on Capitol Hill.

The CEOs of Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International got grilled by members of Congress about the rancid conditions passengers endured on some recent trips. The hearing came as lawmakers are pushing the Crew Ship Passenger Protection Act with guarantees like easier access to information about alleged crimes onboard the ships.

Joining me now from Washington is Rene Marsh.

So, what happened in this hearing?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, Carol, you know, the bottom line was to fight for the consumer -- the people who are taking these cruises. And the focus was making sure that they are safe on board and if and when things do go wrong, they want said these folks to know what their rights are.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH (voice-over): The stench on the carnival poop cruise, the fear on the Grandeur of the Seas, the tragedy on the Costa Concordia -- all on displayed on Capitol Hill.

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: I have been assured repeatedly by the industry that things will get better. Take a look at the events over the past 16 months and tell me if this is what you think better looks like.

MARSH: Memories of February's Carnival Triumph cruise when thousands of passengers were stranded for five days in the steamy Gulf of Mexico on a ship lacking power and adequate toilets lingered at the hearing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It smelled like sewage and human waste.

GERALD CAHILL, PRESIDENT, CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES: We seriously put our guests in an uncomfortable position and that bothers us a great deal.

MARSH: The cruise industry says its new Passenger Bill of Rights addresses the problem but critics disagree.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A deeper look indicates the Passenger Bill of Rights is filled with empty promises.

MARSH: Into the troubled water comes this -- a report alleging that serious crime on cruise ships is underreported. The report says cruise ships have reported 959 serious crimes to the FBI, but only 31 are posted on the Coast Guard's public Web site. That's because the database discloses only crimes no longer under investigation by the FBI.

ROCKEFELLER: Consumers have no way to find out what their real risks are before they take a cruise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: All right. Well, the industry told lawmakers they quickly adopted that consumer Bill of Rights, which spells out what passengers are entitled to when things do go wrong. It was an effort to really restore consumer confident.

Now, the industry says now they're in the process of rewriting the fine print on both those tickets as well as cruise ship contracts, so that it can essentially reflect all that is on that passenger bill of rights -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Rene Marsh, reporting live for us from Washington this morning.

Up next in THE NEWSROOM: by his side and behind his wounded political campaign. We'll talk a look at Huma Abedin and her decision to stay behind her embattled husband, Anthony Weiner.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)