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New Day

FBI Investigating Spike in Airline Threats; Hernandez Murder Trial Set to Begin; Is Romney Reinventing Himself?

Aired January 29, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The FBI launching an investigation into a spike in online threats made against airlines. Authorities say there have been more than 50 threats made since mid-January.

Aviation correspondent Rene Marsh is tracking latest developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Planes diverted, passengers evacuated. Law enforcement and bomb-sniffing dogs close in. All because of fake bomb threats on social media.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't know until we landed.

MARSH: It's happening more and more. A U.S. official tells CNN online threats increased after a bomb scare on a flight from Atlanta to Raleigh, January 17th. Fifty similar incidents followed.

In New York, this flight swept for explosives. Military jets scrambled after a tweet said bombs were on board two planes bound for Atlanta.

Brian Bennett was on board.

BRIAN BENNETT, PASSENGER ON DELTA FLIGHT 1156: They did have canine units on the tarmac, as well as a number of police from different agencies, I saw the Atlanta Police Department, TSA, and some FBI agents out on the runway and we were asked to place our items on the ground and have the canine units go through them and check those first.

MARSH: And a tweet claiming to be from the terrorist group ISIS targeted a flight from San Diego to Dallas.

JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I want to see those who are responsible for that kind of activity tracked down and prosecuted.

MARSH: The head of homeland security, Jeh Johnson, told CNN today, even false threats are dangerous to public safety.

JOHNSON: They cause certain reaction, certain overreactions. Very often fighter jets are scrambled to address the situation.

MARSH: The FBI is investigating the social media threats, tracing computer IP addresses.

JEFF PRICE, AVIATION SECURITY EXPERT: It could be a small group of people, or just one person with a few Twitter accounts and a really dumb idea. No devices have been found. But we can see how much it disrupts the system.

MARSH: These threats tax law enforcement. Airport and military resources, it's also costly for airlines and passengers.

PRICE: Every time a threat comes in, it has to be taken seriously. Aircraft have to be turned around or landed at the nearest location. Thousands of dollars are lost every minute that plane is unexpectedly delayed.

MARSH: Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Next hour, we'll dig in with our aviation experts on that very topic.

Meanwhile, ISIS has set a deadline of sunset in Mosul for Jordan to release a female terrorist or Jordanian pilot captured last month will be killed. Sunset in Iraq is about three hours' time from now. The message purportedly came from Japanese ISIS hostage Kenji Goto.

Top Jordanian officials say they are willing to make a swap for the pilot but they want proof of life from him and have yet to receive.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: New details this morning about the final minutes of AirAsia Flight 8501. Indonesian officials say the co-pilot was flying the plane when it went down. The question now was, was that a factor? A question plays in to what was recovered from the data recorder.

The jet climbed several thousand feet in less than 30 seconds. That's much faster than it's designed to climb. It then changed direction twice before spiraling out of control and into the Java Sea. The cockpit stall warning sounded for four minutes before the crash.

CAMEROTA: So terrible. One person dead and six more injured after a massive fire tears through a residential building in San Francisco.

You can see here in this video, the flames shooting into the night sky. It took more than 100 firefighters more than four hours to get the fire under control. Many having to retreat from the building because the heat got so overpowering, no word yet on what sparked these flames.

PEREIRA: Change of tone here. This elaborate five-minute viral video is kind of like "Glee" in real life theater arts. It features Scot Pankey of A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School in Dallas, getting down to Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk", my favorite jam. It's an incredibly choreograph video that involves a huge group of students from the school. That video has already gotten about 6 million views so far and has that song in my head cemented for the rest of the day. It's a gigantic amount of choreography and to get all of kids in lock-

step was amazing, brilliant.

CUOMO: He was Manero-esque. I respect.

PEREIRA: So are you, dear, so are you.

CUOMO: The Federal Reserve is not raising interest rates, comma, yet, period.

Chief business correspondent Christine Romans is here with CNN Money now.

Tell us what is behind the movement.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Federal Reserve, Chris, is promising patience, but low interest rates can't last forever. The Fed says the U.S. economy is getting stronger, especially the job market.

It sounds like a good thing, right? Yes. It means the Fed could soon take off the training wheels and raise interest rates. If you're refinancing a home loan, do it now.

Facebook is winning on mobile. Two-thirds of Facebook ad revenue now comes from mobile. That's very important as users switch from desktops to phones. Facebook also added more users, now, guys, 1.4 billion users around the world.

And McDonald's CEO Don Thompson is retiring after months of lousy sales from McDonald's. The fast food giant struggling to attract a really important demographic, the millennials. They gravitate to more customizable fast casual options like Chipotle. McDonald's chief brand officer will take over in March and try to change that -- guys.

PEREIRA: Well, Christine, thanks so much.

Well, forget deflate-gate. Patriots coach Bill Belichick and team owner Bob Kraft have a far more serious matter to be concerned with. They are on the witness list in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial. The question is, will they have to take the stand?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Former New England Patriots Star, Aaron Hernandez, going on trial for murder this morning. Jurors are going to be sworn in, then opening statements will begin. With Super Bowl just three days away, guess whose names appear on the prosecution witness list?

Let's bring in Susan Candiotti, live from Fall River, Massachusetts -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Michaela.

That's right. As you can imagine in the next few days, the owner of the Patriots, Bob Kraft and Coach Bill Belichick, are certainly concentrating on developing a winning strategy for the Super Bowl on Sunday. But as soon as that event is over, Michaela, they may very well be preparing for a very, another very important role -- and that is, possibly testifying for the prosecution in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): For Aaron Hernandez, the opposing team takes the field first, with prosecutors attempting to prove he is a killer beyond a reasonable doubt, alleging he orchestrated the execution- style murder of Odin Lloyd.

If his former bosses, team owner Bill Kraft and Coach Bill Belichick take the stand, they're expected to testify about their conversations with their one-time superstar. Just days after the bullet-riddled body of semi-pro player Lloyd is found. A law enforcement source says both Kraft and Belichick spoke face to face with Hernandez, Kraft alleging Hernandez flat-out denies he had anything to do with Lloyd's murder.

A source says Hernandez also tells Belichick the same thing. He wasn't there.

As the Patriots get ready for the Super Bowl, former teammates still trying to make sense of it.

MATTHEW SLATER, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS WIDE RECEIVER: A lot of people definitely affected by that situation. So, they're all in my prayers.

CANDIOTTI: At first, it seems there's a mountain of circumstantial evidence against the star tight end who has pleaded not guilty. Eighteen months later, the case isn't the same.

MICHAEL MCCANN, UNIVERSITY OF NH SPORTS LAW INSTITUTE: The universe of damning evidence has shrunk.

CANDIOTTI: Shrunk, thanks to a defense team scoring some victories. Arguably the latest, a text message from Lloyd to his sister about who he was with, sent minutes before Lloyd was killed. Lloyd writes, "NFL, just so you know."

A judge ruling its inadmissible. Not enough proof Lloyd thought he was going to die.

Yet, prosecutors say they have surveillance videos of the victim getting into a car with Hernandez and co-defendants Earnest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, who have also pleaded not guilty to murder. Video of that same car driving into an industrial park.

And later, Hernandez back home, less than a mile away, holding what prosecutors say is the alleged murder weapon. But, it was never found.

MCCANN: There is no murder weapon. Or a witness that's credible would testify that Aaron Hernandez did it. There is no such witness.

It just isn't the slam-dunk case it seemed to be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: And the judge has also ruled out any mention that Aaron Hernandez is also charged with a double murder in Boston for which he has pleaded not guilty. Nor, can there be any mention that a former good friend of his, a kind of bodyguard to him, Alexander Bradley, is currently suing Hernandez for allegedly shooting Bradley in the eye just a few months before Odin Lloyd's murder -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: So many pieces and parts. Here's a question for you -- will Aaron Hernandez' girlfriend Shayanna Jenkins, is she going to be called to testify against him?

CANDIOTTI: Shayanna Jenkins is his fiancee and the mother of their child. That's a good question. We do know this -- very recently, she had an immunity meeting with prosecutors. This is a big deal, because prosecutors believe that she threw away the murder weapon.

But will she flip on her fiance? We don't know, because it's all being kept a secret. But defense attorneys want that answer right now.

PEREIRA: Susan Candiotti in Fall River, Massachusetts, we'll be watching it with you here at CNN. Thank you so much.

CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela.

House Democrats head to Philadelphia for a weekend retreat. Will it be kumbayah or knock-down drag-out? And how about Mitt Romney's new image?

John Avlon and Margaret Hoover here with their thoughts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Is Mitt Romney reinventing himself before our very eyes? He was in Mississippi last night, so let's break down what he did and said there.

Joining us to discuss is CNN political analyst and editor in chief of the "Daily Beast," John Avlon, and Republican consultant and Sirius XM host Margaret Hoover.

Great to see you, guys.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning!

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, guys.

CAMEROTA: OK. So either Mitt Romney is sort of coming up with a new image or just revealing the inner Romney that we didn't get to know very well. He was in Mississippi for a speech yesterday. And he went to a Ribs joint, a barbeque joint.

CUOMO: Strong. (CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: And he ordered a pulled pork sandwich.

CUOMO: Strong.

CAMEROTA: And let me show you a little moment of his interaction with the folks there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I sure wish you were there in the White House right now.

MITT ROMNEY (R), GOP 2012 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You're very kind. I wish I were there right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the new Romney now?

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY: I didn't know I had a choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: In case you couldn't here, the guy said, "I sure wish were you in the White House right now", and he said, "So do I", and the a reporter said, is this the new Mitt Romney, eating in front of the cameras? And he said, I didn't know I had a choice.

What are you seeing?

AVLON: Romney 3.0, now with authenticity. I mean, it's very difficult to rebrand yourself third time around as authentic. But I got to say, think it is the way forward for Mitt Romney.

One of the things that documentary "Mitt" revealed is that, you know, when you're so tightly controlled, you don't let people in. And he is a decent family man and an interesting guy with a pretty good sense of humor. That tight restriction on his image I think actually really hurt him. It made him seem stiff and shallow.

So, it's difficult to rebrand yourself as more authentic, let alone a defender of the middle class, but it's a smart move.

CUOMO: Was it just about his inability to project what he is or kept changing what he is? And does this play into that, Margaret, that now all of a sudden, you know, he is a barbeque-loving populist?

You know, if you change who you are all the time, kind of smacks --

HOOVER: I mean, that was his initial problem, Chris. He was changing his positions all the time, and Romney 2.0 refused to go back on Romney-care. So, that was good. At least he wasn't a flip-flopper.

But, look, the fundamental problem for Mitt Romney is first of all, no Republican, only Richard Nixon in the 20th century has gotten the Republican nomination twice, and he had a very big amount of time in between the first time he lost the presidency and the second time. The Republican field and I think the Republican electorate they had a really hard time getting behind Mitt Romney last time at all. It was a strain to read the editorial page of the "Wall Street Journal" endorsed Romney. I mean -- and that's I think how conservative felt universally. So, I don't think that Mitt Romney is running for redemption is going to get enough conservatives riled up or excited.

But I like this Mitt Romney. And frankly, this Mitt Romney is really good for the conversation the Republican primary, because we should be talking about inequality and we should find a way to address the stagnant social mobility on our side.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: And maybe this is the real Mitt Romney. Maybe he is finally untethered. Maybe he is, but let's talk about the substance.

AVLON: Sure.

CAMEROTA: I'm going to take your side as a segue.

So, let's talk about the substance of in which he said, he gave a speech in which he went after President Obama and Hillary Clinton, sounding like a candidate. So, he said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton coolly pressed the reset button for Russia. It seems like history on his side now in terms of that.

So, what do you see -- here's another thing he said, he said pressed reset button for Russia, which smiled and then invaded Ukraine, a sovereign nation.

So, he's talking foreign politics?

AVLON: Yes. I mean, you know, look, saying Russia was the primary geopolitical threat to the U.S., Romney seems pretty vindicated in the eyes of history, unlike his prognostication about the economy. So, that isn't surprising. But he is certainly talking like a candidate. He's trying to play his strongest hand.

What's interesting is him adopting Paul Ryan's post election message is how do the Republicans help the middle class, particularly the poor? That's a real stretch for Mr. 47 percent. But it's an important message, as Margaret was saying. Whether he's the best messenger, we all know he ain't. But maybe he can actually build that bridge.

CUOMO: Something that he's encouraging but is now a growing problem in politics in general, which is you're rich. Don't tell me you care about people who aren't rich.

What is going on with that? Is it something that has to be addressed in terms of attacking the premise or is it a new political reality.

HOOVER: Look, I don't think Mitt Romney's problem is that he's rich. He's rich.

By the way, Hillary Clinton is running up against this, too, she's going to run up against it in the Democratic primary populists.

Mitt Romney's challenge was in CNN exit polls the majority of people said who cares more about somebody like me? And everybody else beat Mitt Romney over on that statistic. So the issue isn't that he's rich, it's that he hasn't convinced people that he has policy solutions that he's actually empathetic about fixing.

AVLON: It's the empathetic. I mean, you raise the larger, more important point, I think, which is, is class entering American politics? Historically, American politics have been obsessed with race, not class. One of ways we're different than other nations. But with income inequality, people really feeling.

The gap between Wall Street and Main Street, you're starting to see class debates, class accusations enter new American politics, particularly within the Democratic divide, and the growing Dem civil war. It is a political issue now and it will be for the foreseeable future.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the Dem civil war, because this weekend, they're having this closed-door retreat. This come to Jesus moment where they're going to be I guess figuring out what they did in wrong in the midterms.

What lessons are they gleaning, John?

AVLON: One of the really interesting things is actually, how they try to navigate the deep divides in the Democratic Party and growing, between sort of an urban base that is increasingly progressive and populist and there's sort of centrist, Clinton era Democrats from swing states in suburban districts. There's a deep divide, politically, increasingly philosophically.

The Democratic Party has got the beginnings of a Tea Party movement of its own. You're seeing in this particular retreat, the CBC, the Congressional Black Caucus, pushing back on Nancy Pelosi and plans maybe to strip some subcommittee chairs of their leadership, they're angry about that. It's one sign of the divide.

CUOMO: The advantage for your team, is that even though the Democrats are like herding cats, they still unanimously re-elected Nancy Pelosi as the minority leader. What does that tell you? It tells you they don't really know who they are.

And do you think the Democrats, Margaret, make the case for why they can't win back the middle class? Because that's what's happened, right? Your party has taken that they're the advocates of the middle class. They've taken the American flag as a symbol.

Why can't the Democrats win it back?

HOOVER: Look, that's what, that is the question of the 2016 election. Will it ultimately the candidate that will prevail is the candidate that can convince the middle class that they're going to represent them. I don't know that the Democrats can't do it. I don't know the Republicans can't do it, but this is where we're going to have a really robust debate about how do you fix wage stagnation, how do you increase social mobility.

They're calling it inequality. Republicans, will we win this messaging war about -- is it really inequality and income stagnation? Or is this about social mobility and being able to really pick yourself up and go from being middle class to becoming the American dream? Is the American dream dead or not? Which party has policy solutions that can address that?

AVLON: This is the heart of the '16 debate as its shaping up. Jeb Bush talking about opportunity and opportunity society. Mitt Romney as well. Hillary Clinton talking about the middle class, the middle class -- Bill Clinton's old formulation.

That is the jump ball. The question is, the Democrats have more credibility on the middle class than necessarily the Republicans do.

CUOMO: Why?

AVLON: Because historically they've looked out for the little guy, in terms of pure, broad stereotypes.

HOOVER: That's not true. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan was the guy from the middle class. At this moment it's only because of the Mitt Romney in the 2012 election.

CAMEROTA: John, Margaret, we're going to leave it there. Thanks so much. Great to see you, guys.

CUOMO: This is one story, but we're following a lot of news this morning. Bu what do you say? Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: The clock is ticking, will the Jordanians comply with the terror group's demands?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure that Jordan can go ahead without an assurance they're going to get their pilot back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will never give up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're holding the world hostage by doing this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't seen snow like this since '78.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one is pretty brutal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my gosh! It was a mess, up to my hips.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water was moving so fast, we had waves in the back yard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These four windows and they all came out.

CUOMO: There have been more than 50 online threats against flights since mid-January.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We take these threats very seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to see those who are responsible for those, that kind of activity tracked down and prosecuted.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY, with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to NEW DAY.

A life-and-death decision. ISIS demanding that a female terrorist be released by sunset in Mosul or they will kill a Jordanian pilot they're hosting hostage. That threat delivered in a new audio message purportedly from another hostage, Kenji Goto of Japan.

CUOMO: Now, from the outside, this presents like a negotiation. But remember, we're talking about terrorists here. So, there's a lot that doesn't make sure. Will both hostages be freed in the prisoner swap or just one? The obvious risk in dealing with demands at all is that you may give legitimacy to kidnapping as a tactic, and even legitimatize a murderous corps. So, it's a tough spot for Japan to be sure.

Our coverage begins with Will Ripley live in Tokyo -- Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, we continue to get new information about this prisoner swap. If it does happen within the next two and a half hours, which would be sunset, the apparent ISIS deadline, it would be on the border between Syria and southern Turkey, about 50 miles from Raqqa, which, of course, is the ISIS Capital. And, by the way, that is where the Japanese journalist, Kenji Goto, was headed in October, when he was believed to have been captured by ISIS or at least captured by a militant group and turned over to them.

What would happen? The showdown that's the stage that would be unfolding here is Sajida al-Rishawi, the Jordanian prisoner, she's an Iraqi woman, she's been in custody in Jordan for a decade. She would be exchanged according to the latest ISIS propaganda message, for Kenji Goto, the Japanese journalist who we had seen appear in several different propaganda videos where he's been forced to read statements, doing everything from shaming his own government to threatening both his life and now the life of this pilot, Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh, the Jordanian pilot who is threatened to be killed if this exchange doesn't yet happen in the coming hours.