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New Day

CNN Heroes; U.S. and China Tensions; "White Helmets" Bring Civilian Aid to Syria Conflict. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 22, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:32:36] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go with the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

At number one, the man suspected in the murders of four people at an upscale home in Washington is due in court today after being taken into custody late last night. He was captured after a week-long manhunt that took from - police, rather, from Washington to New York and back.

An explosion reported at a packed Shiite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia. That blast going off as worshipers were in the midst of Friday prayers.

The Senate still has unfinished business before its holiday break. A bill giving President Obama a free hand to negotiate a Pacific trade deal and deciding whether to allow the NSA to keep collecting bulk phone records.

New threats against police in the wake of the deadly biker gang shootout in Texas. A bulletin by the Texas Department of Public Safety revealing that the Bandidos gang blames police for shooting their brothers. Nine bikers were killed in that Sunday shoot-out.

Crews in California now working 24 hours a day cleaning up after a massive crude oil spill near Santa Barbara. Officials say it could take years before the full extent of damage is realized.

For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

Alisyn, I'll send it over to you.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Michaela, you'll love this story. For nearly three decades, this CNN hero has been introducing a world of nature and possibility to city kids used to living in a sea of concrete. If you know someone deserving like Marilyn Price (ph), tell us about them at cnnheroes.com. But first, here's Marilyn's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARILYN PRICE, CNN HERO: I've been riding since age four. I've just always loved bicycling. It has changed my life. A lot of kids have really never left the city. To them, everything is concrete. I decided to take kids who've never had my kind of experience on mountain bike rides.

OK, you guys, let's hit the road.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't trying at school. I got expelled. When we go on bike rides, I kind of feel like it clears my mind.

PRICE: Looking good.

You bring them where there are no buildings. It is like, wow, I didn't know that this exists.

And then we have our earn a bike program where kids in the community come after school.

So the chain's loose?

[08:35:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PRICE: They learn how to work on bikes and they earn points towards bikes as their own.

This bike's getting quite an overhaul.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now I have As and Bs. They're like my guide to a better life.

PRICE: There is opportunity to see that, yes, I have been able to accomplish what I thought I couldn't. It is not just biking, we are imparting life lessons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foreign military aircraft, this is Chinese navy. You are approaching our military alert zone. Leave immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That was a warning from the Chinese navy to a U.S. surveillance plane in the South China Sea. Our Jim Sciutto was aboard that flight exclusively. The moment highlighting escalating tensions in that disputed region where China's apparently building man-made islands.

Want to break it down with former U.S. undersecretary for political affairs and former State Department official, Ambassador Nicholas Burn.

Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us this morning. I know it's a busy weekend. You're likely trying to get a little break yourself. This is really concerning and quite a lot of drama as we see our colleague aboard this Poseidon P8. A really aggressive reaction from the Chinese. How concerned are you about this?

[08:40:03] AMBASSADOR NICHOLAS BURNS, FMR. U.S. UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Well, this is a major problem that the United States but many other countries have with the Chinese. Most of the South China Sea, the air space and the waters are international waters, international air space. China doesn't own them. But China is asserting this extravagant claim to nearly 80 percent of the area of the South China Sea. It's contesting the sovereignty of Vietnam, the Philippians, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

The United States is not part of this, but we're the major military power in the region, so we have a right to fly our aircraft, like that Poseidon aircraft, the P8, through international airspace. We have a right for our naval vessels and our commercial vessels to be in international waters and we can't have a situation where China believes it owns everything when it doesn't have any basis in international law.

CAMEROTA: And not only that, Ambassador Burns, I mean not only are they trying to say that it was a security alert zone and not over international waters, but what about the man-made islands that they're creating? I mean that's what the U.S. surveillance plane that Jim Sciutto was aboard was trying to look down at. What are they doing creating these islands?

BURNS: Well, the Chinese are calling it facts on the water, in the sense that they're building up these isolated reefs. The suspicion is they're going to turn them into military airstrips and military fortifications. And, you know, possession is nine-tenths of the law, right? They're just going to take this land, they're going to create more of it, and they're going to say that it's theirs, when it's not theirs in terms of the U.N. law of the sea, which is the relevant international treaty here.

So it's very important that China understand that it's isolated. All of its neighbors are upset about this. They're looking for political protection from the United States and from Japan. And they're hoping that eventually China is going to be convinced to seek international mediation and not try to resolve this by the use of force or warning American aircraft and others from doing what they have every right to do.

PEREIRA: So these military - these military outposts that they're looking to - it's theorized that they could be trying to build there, they've expanded in just the last two years by 2,000 acres. This is substantial. It is deeply concerning for the players in the region. What do you think the end game is?

BURNS: You know, we see under President Xi Jinping that China's now pushing out to assert what it wants to be - have, which is dominance in East Asia. The problem with that, of course, is that the United States has been the predominant military power there since the close of the Second World War. We have a major alliances system. Think of our alliances with Japan, with South Korea, our defense agreement with the Philippians. All these countries, the Southeast Asian countries, they're much smaller than China. They can't compete militarily. So they want the rest of the world to stand up for their rights in terms of their legal rights.

The United States, interestingly enough, doesn't try to be the umpire here. We're not saying we know who owns which of these disputed islands. But we do believe it's very important this be done in a legalist way, the resolution of this conflict, and not by the use of force and not by intimidation. And we don't want to see an Asia where China begins to use its muscle to dominate and coerce its neighbors. So that's the principle at stake here. Very important for the United States Navy and the United States Air Force to be able to conduct operations in clearly international waters. This is not China's legal territory.

CAMEROTA: So, what should the U.S. do about this? I mean after that sort of ominous warning given to the plane, how is the U.S. supposed to respond?

BURNS: We have to continue to assert our right to sail and to fly in this space. We also have to - President Obama's going to have to appeal to President Xi Jinping to get control of his military. We've seen a pattern over many years where the People's Liberation Army, the Chinese military acts quite independently of the civilian government in Beijing. They're much more truculent and aggressive. We've seen threats in the past and it's clearly the responsibility of Beijing to assert control over this very independent and very aggressive military.

PEREIRA: Yes, you think about that area, there's maritime ships that are going through hat area. I guess there's a deep concern about trade and those ships getting through to the route. Is there any concern - I'm just even thinking about what we saw happen play out in such dramatic fashion, Ambassador Burns, is there any concern about commercial airliners going through that area?

BURNS: You know, I think that the United States government has warned the Chinese in the past. I know the Obama administration has been onto this, has been working very hard on it to convince the Chinese that they'll be the big losers here if there's an incident. There are trillions of dollars of trade that benefit China that go through the Straits of Malacca from the Indian Ocean up to the South China Sea. This is one of the major commercial waterways and air spaces in the world. And China has an self interest in keeping it peaceful.

[08:44:51] I think China has too much respect, frankly, for the power of the United States Air Force and Navy to try to take us on. And I do - I don't believe that the - that there's a probability, a high probability of conflict between us and China. But this was a very worrisome incident that Jim Sciutto, your correspondent, witnessed while he was onboard that airplane.

CAMEROTA: Yes, it's a - I mean it's an eye opener for all of us to see it courtesy of Jim Sciutto's reporting.

PEREIRA: Sure. CAMEROTA: Ambassador Nicholas Burns, thanks so much. Have a nice weekend.

BURNS: Thank you. Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Volunteers trying to save lives in a country where so many have been lost. Up next, Dr. Sanjay Gupta with an exclusive, takes us inside Syria for a look at this heroic and very dangerous work.

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CAMEROTA: Syria's civil war has tragically dragged on for years. Some 300,000 people reportedly killed. But amid the carnage, there is heroism. Syrian volunteers serving as first responders risking their lives to save others in the war zone. They're called the White Helmets.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, imbedded with them, getting an exclusive look at these heroes in action. Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn and Michaela, as you know, Syria has been in the middle of this civil war for five years and there are these zones within Syria that are essentially fire-free zones. They are getting bombed and shelled indiscriminately.

[08:50:04] Hardly anyone is there to help, except for an organization called the White Helmets. There are there to fill that void and I embedded with them to see exactly what they're doing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(AMBULANCE SIRENS)

GUPTA (voice-over): You're watching an extraordinary rescue in Aleppo, Syria. For 12 hours these men have been digging and drilling, and they are about to save the life of a 2-week-old baby. The baby's saviors, known only by the iconic protective gear they wear on their heads. In an area of the world bursting with too many men in black hats, they are the calvary, the White Helmets.

JAMES LE MESURIER, FOUNDER, MAYDAY RESCUE: They have all chosen, they have all chosen to risk their lives to save others, and that makes every single one of them a hero.

GUPTA (voice-over): James Le Mesurier is the architect of the organization.

LE MESURIER: In Syria, there is no 911 system, there is nobody that you can call. You can't pick up a phone and call the fire service or call the local police department. They don't exist.

GUPTA (voice-over): This group of ordinary Syrian men and a few women have organized themselves to fill that void.

Zuhara Amanzi (ph), was once a blacksmith. Ibrahim Azope (ph), a barber. Amah Rahaul (ph), a detective. He is supposed to get married next week. But for the time being, they have left their previous jobs, their previous lives and now volunteer to run toward when everyone else is running from.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GUPTA (on camera): We're traveling along the border between Turkey and Syria, we are with the White Helmets. They've just gotten a call, we wanted to see exactly what they do.

GUPTA (voice-over): This is all part of an intense training to become even better, even faster.

GUPTA (on camera): All of a sudden this area filled with smoke. There is concern that there may be another bomb or another attack coming, so they've asked for all the lights to be turned off. They don't want to be a target themselves. But you can see just how challenging that makes their job.

GUPTA (voice-over): The concern is that. The White Helmets tell us this video is of a barrel bomb being hurdled from a chopper by the Syrian government.

As you see, they can be wildly inaccurate. As you hear, they are incredibly vicious.

LE MESURIER: A barrel bomb dropping on your house is like a 7.6- magnitude earthquake 50 times a day.

GUPTA (voice-over): These bombs are so malignant, full of explosives, rebar (ph), wire, nails, anything else that can brutally maim and kill.

But now the White Helmets are concerned about a newer enemy; fluorine gas. They were able to save these children, but belief fluorine gas led to the death of a family of six. And it gets even worse.

LE MESURIER: Helicopters normally carry two barrel bombs and they drop the first barrel bomb, which then explodes, and the pilot then remains in the sky, circling where the explosion took place, waiting for a crowd to gather and waiting for rescuers to come to the scene. When a crowd gathers, they release the second bomb, and that is a double tap.

GUPTA (voice-over): 84 White Helmets have now been killed, mostly by double taps. It's why Syria is one of the most dangerous places in the world, and why being a White Helmet might be the most dangerous job in the world. And yet, they go on. 2,600 have saved the lives of 18,000.

GUPTA (on camera): How long more does it go on do you think?

LE MESURIER: One day at a time.

GUPTA (voice-over): Because for the White Helmets, another day is another chance to save a life.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Alisyn and Michaela, I should point out, simply getting to the training, simply crossing the border from Syria into southern Turkey, doing that training and getting back to their homes, that in and of itself is potentially life-threatening journey. They have to oftentimes cross the border by night, sneak across, they have to risk their lives in order to do this sort of thing, just to learn how to take care of others. There are really no words for it. I have never seen anything quite like it, but I can tell you, having seen it firsthand now, many lives are saved because of the White Helmets. Alisyn, Michaela, back to you.

[08:55:05] CAMEROTA: Sanjay, so powerful. Thank you so much for showing us that reporting.

PEREIRA: There are angels among us, aren't there? Alright. We need some "Good Stuff." It's next.

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PEREIRA: We brought you some "Good Stuff." I want to introduce you to Robert Hren. He is a determined homeless veteran, a marine in Florida, who is working hard to build a better life for himself. He says he was tired of struggling, so he enrolled in a technical college. Five days a week, for an entire year, he walks to school, rain or shine, never missing a day, and now he can almost taste the finish line.

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ROBERT HREN, HOMELESS VETERAN SET TO GRADUATE WITH HONORS: I didn't know if I could make it, if I could do it. So you got to kind of put your fear behind you. You have got to want it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: And, boy, did he want it. He is set to graduate in June with honors and a 4.0 GPA. He said some of the troubles that got him there were of his own doing, but he wasn't going to let that stand in his way, he's going to go ahead and get it done. How about that?

CAMEROTA: Perseverance. That's really the answer to everything, isn't it?

PEREIRA: Especially now with so many convocations and graduate ceremonies going on. We wanted to show you that one. Somebody overcoming the odds.

CAMEROTA: That's a great one.

PEREIRA: Yep.

CAMEROTA: Alright. Have a nice weekend.

PEREIRA: I will. You, too. CAMEROTA: Thank you. Time for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

PEREIRA: And you three, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much, I appreciate that. "NEWSROOM" starts now.