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Europe Facing Migrant Crisis; Tornado Threat in Midwest & South; Protesters Clash with Baltimore Police; New Questions About Clinton Foundation; Italian Police Arrest 18 Suspected Extremists. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 24, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: One of the worst swing-to- hit ratios, in a sport that's all about swinging and hitting.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes?

CUOMO: Baseball fights. Next time you see one, they swing and miss.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: They don't land a lot, do they? That's a good point.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Hockey is much better for that.

CUOMO: Football players make better contact and know they're punching a helmet in almost every case.

All right. We want to turn now to exclusive video, as Europe faces a growing migrant crisis.

CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Libya where many of the refugees are going to risk everything for a chance at a better life. Now, warning, some of the video is a little tough to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Europe's migrant problem seems small from the Libyan coast. These are Libyan navy pictures showing the volume of those they save or stop, and even how this man was pulled to safety by above his sunken boat.

Yet there are also those beyond rescue, 70 killed in this one episode, bodies often without names or pasts, adding to a toll that's hard to count properly, many fleeing wars that refuse to stop.

(on camera): When asked how to solve this almost unsolvable problem, many European politicians have suggested destroying the boats that smugglers use. But in a coastal country where so many lives dependent upon the sea, where frankly would you start?

(voice-over): Outside Tripoli, 350 migrants are held here for what must seem like forever. A third here all officials say detained trying to cross to Europe. They deny that and just want to go home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prison to prison, prison to prison. Now, what I need if they want to deport people, let them deport people. If they don't want to deport people, let them leave.

WALSH (on camera): Does your family know where you are?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no. They don't know my condition, no.

WALSH: What do you think they think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe they think I'm lost. I don't know that.

WALSH (voice-over): Among them so many pregnant women we're told because women choose to cross like that hoping their child is born in Europe.

This Somali woman's journey to Libya took seven months. Her baby Sabrine (ph) born just a week after she was arrested trying to cross.

She told us when she got on the boat she knew she was in trouble but had no choice but to go on.

The prison here admitted there is no system in place to send these people home or let them go. Life for them so hellish they were willing to risk it to flee instead see it passing by here caught between countries that don't want them.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Tripoli.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Amazing reporting from Nick on the crisis that's going on there.

We turn now stateside to the weather. This big threat for tornadoes today for the Midwest and for the South. More than 33 million people are in the path of storms today.

Let's get to meteorologist Jennifer Gray taking a look at this.

Quite a dangerous system.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Michaela, the ingredients are coming together for that classic system for severe weather. Much cooler temperatures in the east, on the other hand, though, we actually have freeze watches and warnings from middle Tennessee, all the way up to the mid-Atlantic. On the flip side of that very, very warm air on the other side of this warm front. Temperatures will be in the upper 70s to low 80s across East Texas, northwest Louisiana.

We had that dry line to the west, so the warm, moist air is going to collide with that dry air as that dry line moves to the east throughout the day today. We are going to see the possibility of severe weather, could also see tornadoes as well.

Throughout the day, we'll see rain off and on across the Deep South, but by late this afternoon during the heat of the day that's when we'll start to see these thunderstorms start to bubble up. This is 6:30 Eastern Time, 5:30 Central Time right around the Dallas area. That's one of the areas that we're going to be watching closely.

They do have an enhanced risk of severe weather. Dallas, Shreveport included in that, Little Rock you are right on the fringes. You have a slight risk, also into Kansas. We are going to look for the possibility of tornadoes, very large hail and also damaging winds.

When you look at that tornado threat though, this is the area we're really going to be watching, the striped area with the black lines. Dallas, outside of Shreveport, Texarkana included in that and also right around Wichita.

So, it's going to be a dangerous setup as we head into the afternoon and evening hours. And then keep your eye on the sky for Saturday as well. That severe threat has gone up, especially right around the Nashville area. We could also see storms in Atlanta, New Orleans. So keep that in mind, guys, especially if you're traveling today or tomorrow as well could see some delays at those airports, especially in the south.

CUOMO: All right, Jen, we know you'll stay on it and it's all about knowing as far in advance as you can and taking the appropriate action.

GRAY: Exactly.

COUMO: Thanks for keeping people with their heads up there.

[06:35:01] All right. So when we come back, the Clinton Foundation, the reality is they take in a lot of money. The question is what do donors get in return? We have the latest reporting and we're going to test how much this matters or should matter to Hillary Clinton's presidential run.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Good to have you back with us here on NEW DAY.

There had been heated protests overnight in Baltimore between police and the demonstrators that are demanding answers in the death of Freddie Gray. Meanwhile, Freddie Gray's mother prepares to lay her son to rest on Monday, but not before an independent autopsy's performed to try and get some of those answers.

Here with us this morning, Reverend Jamal Bryant, pastor at Empowerment Temple Church.

Reverend, thank you so much for joining us.

I understand you were down there --

REV. JAMAL BRYANT, PASTOR, EMPOWERMENT TEMPLE CHURCH: Good morning.

PEREIRA: -- for a bulk of the time yesterday. You were praying with the demonstrators. You were leading them in chant, saying you're calling for justice, not revenge.

Give us a sense of the mood inside the group.

[06:40:01] BRYANT: You're really feeling the dynamics of post- traumatic stress. It's what Malcolm Gladwell l calls the tipping point that Baltimore finally is saying enough is enough. Since 2011, Baltimore has had to pay out in excess of $5 million because of excessive force by police. And now the Band-Aid has been ripped off and the citizens quite frankly are frustrated and fed up.

PEREIRA: Let me ask you, do you feel as though you're being heard? That is always the big question. You can make these calls, you can raise your voices, do you feel as though the demands are being heard?

BRYANT: Absolutely. The whole world is watching. There have been entities who've been raising this banner for quite some time. But now, you've been able to peek in and see that this is a culture of corruption.

It is our hope and aim now that we have a new attorney general that there's going to be a clean sweep across the country on how it is the penal system has been portrayed and practiced towards African- Americans.

PEREIRA: Yes, we're hearing reports protesters in Baltimore cheered when they heard of the confirmation of Loretta Lynch, the first African-American female attorney general.

I want to talk specifically about Freddie's case. In fact, we know that in the Baltimore police policy, it is policy that when suspects are apprehended and taken in, they are to be put in a seat belt, to be put in a seat belt constraint.

We understand Freddie was not. He was handcuffed. And we understand his legs were shackled. But in the back of the van being transported, he was not in a safety restraint.

Does the family have any plans to maybe take that up with authorities?

BRYANT: Well, absolutely. The first point is he had no business in the van. If you look at the first police report it says that they had absolutely no probable cause. He should have never been handcuffed. And as a consequence he should have never been placed in the vehicle.

These six police officers are really out of order. And as a consequence all of his constitutional rights were violated. The union police officer said that we ought to give these policemen their due process, and regrettably, Freddie Gray was never given his.

PEREIRA: Police for their part have cited a Supreme Court decision that allows police in high crime areas though to stop people who run unprompted from police. What do you make of that?

BRYANT: I think that it's the lost episode of how to get away with murder. When you would consider that this is not a mystery, these six police officers have not come forward. And it's really just a legalistic way to justify driving or walking, in this case running while black. That is not a crime in Maryland or any of these yet to be United States of America.

PEREIRA: I want to show you a little bit video that we got from the scene. A videographer recorded Freddie's arrest, his takedown and his arrest. I want to show this to you and get reaction on the other end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had him folded up like he was a crab or like a piece of origami. You wonder why we dislike the police or why we're so aggressive toward the police, this is why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: It's so interesting to hear him use that word origami. That he was folded up like origami.

And many are asking why would medics or medical attention not called to him at that point.

BRYANT: The mayor and her initial press conference earlier this week I say that there was a medical crisis that he in fact asked for assistance and it was not given.

We still have not heard what happened in the lapse of time from when he was initially picked up. I think some area of 43 to 48 minutes have gone by unaccounted for and what you have to be mindful of, they were just two blocks away from headquarters.

And so, there's a whole lot of malfeasance that's at stake. And there's some answers the community demands and the police commissioner has not been forthcoming.

PEREIRA: Lastly, I want to ask you, Monday we know the funeral is set for the family of Freddie Gray. How is the family doing as they head to that somber occasion?

BRYANT: Very fragile, overwhelmed with emotion, grateful for the love and support. But still bewildered why their 25-year-old son and brother are now going to be laid to rest with no answers. We don't know why he was arrested. And we still don't know why 80 percent of his spine was severed. And we're praying that before the funeral on Monday, we'll be able to get some of those answers.

PEREIRA: And we hope that the community can wrap their arms around that family. They're going to need that kind of support going into this very somber occasion on Monday.

Reverend Bryant, thank you for joining us. We appreciate it.

BRYANT: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela, it's time for CNN Money now.

Alison Kosik is in our money center.

Alison, big news for stocks?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: There is. Good morning to you.

The NASDAQ just hit a new record.

[06:45:00] Yesterday the NASDAQ topped its closing high that was set in March of 2000 at the height of the dot-com bubble. Wait a minute here, could we be headed for another crash? It's a fair question, but it isn't your father's NASDAQ. These companies are well-established, they make money and they have cash on hand.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams yanked off shelves because of listeria contamination. Jeni has more than 20 stores and sells ice cream at grocery stores nationwide. Earlier this week, Blue Bell ice cream recalled all its products too.

Keep in mind, this is only a voluntary recall. No one has been linked as to getting sick yet from these ice creams.

CUOMO: I think there's going to be something like the same plant as Blue Bell or something like that. We're going to have to dig deeper into that.

Alison, thank you very much.

Now, when we come back, there is new scrutiny of Hillary Clinton. The question is, did the Clinton Foundation try to hide who was donating? Was Hillary involved in a quid pro quo situation while she was secretary of state?

Those are the questions top insiders debate. You decide, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:03] CUOMO: Hillary Clinton, we know this for sure, she's under the microscope. And why? Foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation. It's so bad the "New York Times" editorial board is now calling on Clinton to address it.

Here to weigh-in CNN political commentator and political anchor for New York 1 News, Errol Louis, and CNN Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

Guys, thanks so much for being here.

So, Errol, I want to start with you, this "Clinton Cash" book, her people, her supporters dismiss it as a right wing hit job. But it's not going away. Let me read to you what the "New York Times" editorial says about this, about the idea that the Clinton Foundation took some inappropriate funds.

"The foundation's role and the lives of the Clintons is inevitably becoming a subject of political concern. Clinton is aware of the complications she and Bill Clinton have created for themselves. She needs to do a lot more because this problem is not going away."

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that is probably true. What we know for sure, the book isn't out yet, but a lot has been disclosed. But CNN's own reporting, "The Wall Street Journal," "New York Times," "The Washington Post," they've put out extensive information about instances in which big speaking fees were paid to Bill Clinton or money was donated to the foundation and not disclosed as Hillary Clinton agreed it would be disclosed. And that money is coming in some cases from individuals, corporations and governments that had business before the State Department while she was in charge of the State Department.

It is as clear a conflict of interest as you can possibly imagine. It contradicts what she had promised to do. And more explanations are indeed needed.

CUOMO: Now, Jeff, he's making two points here. And both need to be tested. The first one is that they were clear conflicts of interests because of how the foundations were working with donations and fees where Bill was involved at least. And the second is that this was a violation of the rules that Hillary had agreed to with the administration. Test both of those.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The second one is definitely true. She agreed with the administration when she became the secretary of state. After questions were asked by senators in January of '09 during her confirmation hearings that they would disclose all of these contributions.

That did not happen. The campaign is acknowledging that that did not happen. $2.35 million from this Russian company were given to the foundation. It was not disclosed.

So all the smoke that the campaign is throwing out, saying this author is stirring things up unfairly, they are not denying she didn't disclose that.

CUOMO: Well, they say that they got the amount right, but they didn't list all the people they needed to list. That's their hedge on it. They say it was an oversight and that's why they're refiling the 990s. Do you buy that?

ZELENY: And they're refiling five years of reports.

The big picture here is there's no huge smoking gun so far in this book as we know now.

CUOMO: Why not? Jeff, why doesn't the Clinton -- Bill Clinton taking the money, going with this organization over to Russia and other places to help them with their business interests, why doesn't that qualify as a serious situation?

ZELENY: I'm not saying it's not a serious situation. That's going to be up for voters to decide and the campaign to clarify, but there is no direct link that she was involved in this decision as secretary.

But to me that raises a question as well. Why did she not sign- off or recommend approval or disapproval for this project?

But the reason this is going to be an issue going forward is, and the reason it's a legitimate thing to bring up and questions to ask, what if she's elected president? If she's elected president, what happens then? What will Bill Clinton do then?

That's why this is a story for the next 16 months whether they like it or not.

The big question is why didn't they clean this up before this campaign began? This is feeding into all these questions about honesty and trust and credibility, even if not true, and that's why this is a political problem.

CAMEROTA: Just in case our viewers don't know what the case and point is here, it's called Uranium One, this is a uranium mining company. And as we heard from Jeff this company made a donation of $2.3 million to the Clinton Foundation during the time that the state department was deciding whether or not to sign off on a deal.

Mitt Romney yesterday was on a radio show. He spoke about this in very harsh terms. Listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It looks like bribery. I mean there's every appearance that Hillary Clinton was bribed to grease the sale of what 20 percent of America's uranium production to Russia. And then it was covered up by lying about a meeting at her home with the principals and by erasing e-mails.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, I mean, Errol, Republicans are not going to let this go away. Does she need to confront it head-on?

LOUIS: Well, as usual they have sort of overplayed their hand. I mean, this is --

CUOMO: How?

LOUIS: Well, to say it's bribery. I mean there's absolutely no evidence of that. It goes too far.

I think the appearance of the conflict is serious enough, the fact that 20 percent of uranium reserves in the United States are now under the control of basically the Russian government for all intents and purposes, that's serious stuff -- I mean, that's real enough.

[06:55:05] But to say that she was bribed, you don't have the evidence for that. Mitt Romney doesn't have the evidence for that.

CUOMO: The campaign says there were nine government agencies involved in authorizing this deal. The State Department was one of them and done by lower level people. It never came to Hillary's level so she didn't have to recuse herself.

Do you buy that?

LOUIS: Well, they don't say that exactly. What they say is there's no evidence. I mean, the secretary of state is CC'd on a lot of these things, but as you say it would typically be handled, but there are some state department veterans saying something this important would normally get kicked all the way up to the principals.

So, we really don't know. That's the kind of disclosure required now of Hillary Clinton.

CAMEROTA: You know, Jeff, we've had Hillary supporters on the show this week, they've said this is not what the American voters care about. The American voters care about their own jobs, their own pocketbooks. So, I mean, the question is does this evaporate or escalate? If you're Hillary's campaign, how do you deal with it?

ZELENY: Well, they are dealing with it head-on. They are taking this very seriously because they know that this type of things with the Clintons simply festers. And more questions are raised and things.

No, of course the voters aren't directly interested in this because they don't know enough about it yet. But the reason it is legitimate for people to raise these questions, the reason that they will have to keep answering some of these questions is because if she is president, what happens then? What happens going forward here?

This is a very unusual situation where you have a former president, a former secretary of state. So, I think all these questions will be raised.

And it will be up to voters to decide and for, you know, the Democratic challengers and Republican challengers to decide if this, you know, actually is something that she should answer for on a debate stage or whatnot. So, of course, it's not, you know, the exact thing that voters are talking about right now. But that's not quite the point.

CUOMO: What do you think, Jeff, what's a better chance -- quick answer on this, do you think there's a better chance Hillary comes out and deals with this, or Bill Clinton?

ZELENY: I think Hillary because she's the one who's running for president.

CUOMO: All right. Lunch on that. I take the other side.

CAMEROTA: OK, there you go.

ZELENY: Deal.

CAMEROTA: Jeff, Errol, thanks so much. Great to see you guys.

What's your take on this story? You can tweet us. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

CUOMO: The story about the Clinton Foundation is a big one, but there's a lot of news this morning including breaking news about the Vatican. So, let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Al Qaeda suspects arrested in Italy. The Vatican could have been a target.

CUOMO: Among the suspects, two of Osama bin Laden's former bodyguards.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone screaming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like a dog pile down in the pit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was about an eight-foot drop. And it just collapsed underneath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. drone strike killed two Western hostages held by al Qaeda.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As president and as commander-in-chief, I take full responsibility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And some objects are being thrown --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freddie's gone now. Enough is enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Patriots day at the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing could spoil a moment like this.

OBAMA: With the Patriots in town, I was worried that 11 out of 12 of them would fall flat.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone.

We do have breaking news on NEW DAY this morning for you.

A major terror takedown in Italy. Officials say their suspects had high profile targets in mind, possibly including the Vatican.

CUOMO: Now, we know this so far. There have been a dozen arrest warrants issued in the terrorist sweep. Some details revealed by police wiretaps show suspects in contact with supporters of Osama bin Laden were making plans. And one of those targets may have been the Vatican.

So, let's get to CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson liver from the London.

The information still coming in, but what have you been able to identify so far?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is, Chris. The Italian police only just beginning to roll out these details. So, the real headline here is potential attack on the Vatican.

However, what the police are saying is this is an investigation that's been going on for a number of years. This group they say are all Pakistanis, 18 different people that they're targeting, two of them may have been guards for Osama bin Laden. These arrests taking place as far apart as central Italy, as northern Italy and the Italian island Sardinia.

So, this wide ranging, this is the first of this scale of operation, the police are saying. But they're saying that this group not only was an organization that had weapons, that were shipping cash around the world trying to fund terrorism in Pakistan, they were actually planning and plotting terror attacks inside Italy, sending people to Pakistan to perpetrate those attacks.

One of them was a horrific attack of a border town in Peshawar in Pakistan, more than 100 people killed in a market attack there in 2009, but we're also learning from the police and this is very worrying details for the Italian authorities because they say this group had imported to Italy somebody they describe as sounding like a potential suicide bomber and left in there in Italy plans they say to target locations in Italy.