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Record-Breaking Floods Devastate Houston; Floods Devastate Texas Town of Wimberley; World Soccer Officials Arrested on Corruption Charges; Should U.S. Change Its Middle East Approach? Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired May 27, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, good morning. You know, the water has receded here in some areas of Houston, but the worry is still high. A lot of folks waking up to extensive water damage inside their homes.

And here's how one resident put it. The water rose so quickly she had to jump on her kitchen counter to stay dry and then think of ways to jump to her roof to stay safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[07:00:06] FLORES (voice-over): The catastrophic aftermath of record- breaking deadly flood waters in Houston, Texas, revealed this morning. More than 11 inches of rain fell in a matter of hours Monday night into Tuesday. A wall of water rising with frightening speed leaving thousands traveling in their vehicles racing to escape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn around, don't drown.

FLORES: Rows of vehicles left abandoned on a Houston highway. Some cars almost completely submerged underwater. Emergency crews scrambling to pull people from the flood waters. But for some it was too late. One woman says she witnessed the discovery of a body in a flooded truck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a woman. And it was dead by the time we got there.

FLORES: Thousands of people are now without power.

The flash floods rushing through thousands of homes. Houston's mayor says at least 4,000 residents may have suffered significant damage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We first were on the couches, then on the table, then on the counters.

FLORES: One Houston resident, her family narrowly escaping the flood, shows me the devastation the rapidly rising tide left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water got right up to this lip on the counter.

FLORES: Over a dozen people including children are still missing. And the death toll in both Texas and Oklahoma continues to rise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: And here's some more bad news. I've been monitoring the number of people without power here in the Houston area. A few hours ago it was 8,000. Right now it's up to 14,000. And, Chris, like you mentioned, the ground here is saturated, and we're expecting more rain.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Rosa, we'll stay on that. Thank you very much for your reporting this morning.

Now, Houston was not the only area hard hilt. Hays County is also underwater especially the town of Wimberley. And that's where meteorologist Jennifer Gray is this morning.

What's the situation?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Chris. This is one of the hardest hit areas. Of course, this is where it all began, the flash flooding here. It all flowed downstream, and then the rain just continued as it pushed toward the Houston area. As of right now, the numbers: 18 deaths, 13 missing. That's across the southwest.

Here in Hays County alone, we have three deaths, 11 still missing. Of course, they recovered a body late last night. They have recovered one female and two males, all three from the Blanco River. We're standing just on its edge. It's a haunting scene here, because you can't see the river yet. The sun isn't up, but you can hear it just raging in the background.

And then of course, you can see some of these cabins that are just all piled on top of each other. There's actually three pushed in this direction. You can see debris just littered all over the roads. And then about ten yards ahead of me, you can't see that yet. We'll show you when the sun comes up. There are just three empty slabs. And so it just gives you an idea of what went on that day.

The river has gone down quite a bit, but it rose so quickly. It rose to over 44 feet just this weekend. And so the fear in people was just remarkable.

We've also talked to people around town. We talked to a college student last night who said he's not going to work today. He's coming in. He's going to help clean up. A lot of volunteers are going to be help cleaning up. The trees, the debris that's all along the river banks. And school is closed again today. Searchers will be out again looking for those 11 people still missing in Hays County, Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Such a task at hand, the recovery of those people and then, of course, trying to get back to business as usual. All right, Jennifer, we'll check back with you.

Breaking overnight, an international scandal rocks soccer's governing body. Top FIFA officials arrested in raids in Switzerland, including its vice president. Twin investigations are now unfolding, one in the U.S., the other in Switzerland. CNN justice reporter Evan Perez is here with the breaking details. Wow, this is quite a raid.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's true. This is an amazing night in Zurich, where you had seven FIFA officials being arrested as they were getting ready for their -- for a vote for who is going to lead FIFA, which is widely expected to be -- to be Sepp Blatter, which is -- he was the president of FIFA and is going to win another term.

What we have is 14 people indicted in the -- by the Justice Department. We expect charges are going to be announced this morning here in Brooklyn, Michaela.

According to the Justice Department $150 million in bribes were being solicited by these officials over two decades. Basically, they're calling this a criminal enterprise that has been going on.

And if you remember, five years ago the United States lost out in the bid for the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. That is what got people thinking about how rigged the process is, how corrupt this organization is. And now we see the result of this investigation by the FBI and the IRS.

We have Jeffrey Webb, who's the current FIFA vice president among those that has been arrested and charged. The former vice president, Jack Warner, is also charged. And we have officials from Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Costa Rica, all now under arrest. And we expect more arrests happening around the world now.

CUOMO: You have two interesting dynamics. One, you've got the head guy isn't going down. But those around him are. And you have the FBI is involved, which obviously raises the question of the U.S. connections here. They were up for the bid that they lost to Qatar. What is the tie-in here?

PEREZ: Well, that is very much what got this all started, is that people saw the bidding process and knew it's widely believed that it was rigged. Interestingly enough, they didn't bring charges related to that. The Swiss are now investigating that bidding process, Chris.

But, you know, some of the bribery happened here in this country according to the indictment that's been filed in Brooklyn. At least one U.S. sportswear company paid bribes for sponsorship of the Brazilian Soccer Federation, again that's part of this investigation. So the U.S. believes this is part of their jurisdiction to police soccer.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Tell us about the guy who investigators convinced to wear a wire.

PEREZ: His name is Chuck Blazer. He's an American who was a former top executive for FIFA. And he wore a wire during some of these parts of this investigation. He went to meetings in Zurich and London and wore a wire so that the FBI says they have recordings of some of these meetings with officials. Some of them are smart enough not to show up for some of these meetings. PEREIRA: But drill down more on the why now? Because we've been

talking about this. There have been allegations of bribery and corruption for years within FIFA. Why is it -- is it only now because we lost -- the U.S. lost out its bid that people took it seriously? Or was it Loretta Lynch pushing for this? What was it?

PEREZ: Well, yes. I mean, Loretta Lynch oversaw this investigation. She's now the U.S. attorney general. But she was running this case when she was in Brooklyn just until a few months ago. And so she definitely was pushing for this.

This is, again, as you said, this has been an organization that's been rife with corruption. Sepp Blatter is going to win re-election on Friday, because he's believed to have already bought the votes from federations all over the world.

CAMEROTA: So then in that case, why isn't he going down with the other officials? Why is the president somehow dodging this bullet?

PEREZ: I'm told the investigation is continuing. The Swiss are now investigating him for this bidding process in 2022 and the 2018 Russia World Cup. And the FBI says that they're not done yet.

CUOMO: Ironically the biggest threat to him now are the guys who are getting taken down.

CAMEROTA: Sure.

CUOMO: What they do to cut deals will be threatening. Not to unfairly paint him with any allegations, but that's always the concern, is that the first round of arrests leads to the second round.

PEREIRA: What about some of these companies? You talked about the fact that some of these companies involved in sponsorship. American companies sponsoring, for example, the Brazilian soccer team. There's going to be a trickledown effect that's going to reach a lot of people in a lot of places.

PEREZ: That's what's interesting is that the companies -- there's one company that's being charged right here. It's called Traffic Sports USA. They put on tournaments around the region in Latin America.

But the big names, we know all the big names that are tied with soccer around the world. Those are not named in this indictment. It appears that the government knows that they paid some bribes, but they're not charged with anything right now.

CAMEROTA: So who got rich here? All of those second-tier officials?

PEREZ: Well, this is the thing that makes FIFA work. Is that they dole out the money around the world, according to the investigation here by the FBI. They send money to make sure that people are happy all over the world. And they buy elections. And so this is how this works. A hundred and fifty million dollars in bribes over two decades. I mean, they're charging these people with racketeering. That's like mob like what they're talking about. PEREIRA: When you think about it, too, in so many of these countries,

especially in South America, where there's such abject poverty, right?

PEREZ: Right.

PEREIRA: And it's the sport of the masses. It's just -- it's going to leave such a bad taste in people's mouths when they hear about this.

PEREZ: Some of my -- some of my earliest memories are kicking a soccer ball in Belize, you know, in the streets of Belize. And so for me and for people like me who grew up watching the World Cup, you know, this strikes right at home. This is a big deal.

CUOMO: Except at the same time, because it's been such a part of the culture, they felt that FIFA was dirty, maybe now there will be vindication.

PEREZ: Right.

CUOMO: During the World Cup they sent me down there to cover that, and all people would talk about is every time you'd say FIFA, they'd be like, "Oh."

PEREIRA: Yes, roll their eyes.

CUOMO: It's a corrupt organization. But we've never seen anything like this.

PEREZ: Exactly.

CUOMO: ... of this magnitude. This is a first.

PEREZ: And again this investigation's been going on for years. And so this is not something that they just started yesterday.

CAMEROTA: All right, Evan, thanks for all the breaking news.

PEREZ: Thank you.

CUOMO: Another big headline this morning, ISIS is fighting back and fighting dirty. Thirty Iraqi soldiers killed by ISIS suicide bombers at a military outpost in Anbar province. This as Iraqi forces make a must-win push for the city of Ramadi.

[07:10:08] We have senior international correspondent Arwa Damon monitoring developments from Baghdad -- Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

And that attack happening between the city of Fallujah that is fully under ISIS control and the town of Gudma that has been contested for quite some time now. But ISIS most certainly demonstrating its capabilities to strike back employing those three suicide bombers. Now, in and around Ramadi, the Iraqi government forces, the

conventional units that is the army and police, along with the Iranian-backed, predominantly Shia paramilitary forces, as well as the Sunni tribes do have, according to state television, the city encircled.

We've also just been hearing reports that to the south of Ramadi this force has managed to recapture Anbar University. It was hit in a number of airstrikes last week, we were told, by a number of sources in the area. And now it is with this government-backed force at this stage.

But ISIS holding the neighborhood and other neighborhoods in Ramadi still quite firmly within its grips. It seems at this stage that the Iraqi government strategy is mostly to try to cut off those key logistical resupply routes to prevent ISIS fighters from being able to ferry around their troops and their weapons with the ease that they used to employ before.

But this is still a very fluid battlefield, Alisyn, with multiple, multiple front lines across numerous provinces.

CAMEROTA: OK. Arwa, thanks for that important update.

Well, Afghan security forces killing four Taliban gunmen after they tried to storm a hotel in a diplomatic corridor of Kabul. Afghan officials say the attackers were killed in an intense hours'-long gun and grenade battle. They also say no civilians or Afghan security force members were killed. That hotel is owned by the son of Afghanistan's former president and a destination for many foreigners.

PEREIRA: Israeli warplanes responding to a rocket attack, with airstrikes in Gaza hitting four locations described as, quote, "terror infrastructure targets." The Israeli military calling the attacks a message for Hamas.

Early Tuesday, sirens sounded in southern Israel when a rocket fired from Gaza landed 20 miles inside the Israeli border. No one was injured.

CUOMO: The city of Cleveland will force its police to change. The new rules of professional conduct come as part of an agreement with the Justice Department, which found Cleveland police officers engaging in a pattern of excessive force and civil rights violations.

However, there's concern that any sense of progress could be erased by the verdict in the police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Now, later this hour we're going to speak with the attorney for the Rice family, his name is Benjamin Crump. He was involved with the Mike Brown investigation as well as Trayvon Martin.

CAMEROTA: OK. We look forward to that.

Meanwhile, President Obama facing problems in the Middle East on multiple fronts, as you know. Is his approach to solving them too extreme? Our next guest thinks that maybe he should not try to fix them at all. We'll explain.

CUOMO: We also have a sneak peek at the spectacular One World Observatory before it even opens to the public. We're going to take you there live 102 stories up at 1 World Trade Center ahead. It is spectacular, even in the clouds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:17:04] MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON: We believe that ISIL eventually will be defeated in Ramadi and elsewhere in Iraq. Yes, we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Well, that was Marie Harf at the State Department, saying the U.S. can defeat and destroy ISIS. But our next guest has a different suggestion for the problems in Iraq and the Middle East. Stop trying to fix them.

Aaron David Miller is vice president for new initiatives and distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. He's advised several secretaries of state on the Arab-Israeli peace process. Great to have you in the studio with us.

AARON DAVID MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT FOR NEW INITIATIVES, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: Pleasure to be here, Alisyn.

You say stop fixing the problem, what does that mean?

MILLER: Well, we're stuck in a region we can't fix. We're transforming, we can't leave. We have interests, allies, and we have enemies. We have to fashion a policy.

The reality is we're never going to solve comprehensively any of the four or five core issues that we face. So we have to determine what are America's vital interests? Forget the discretionary ones. Drill down and try to figure out how to manage. Because in the end, it's conditions to be managed, not problems to be resolved.

CAMEROTA: OK. So is the getting rid of or destroying ISIS a core American interest?

MILLER: It is. And the reason that the president reengaged in Iraq isn't because he's interested in another trillion-dollar social science project in order to create an Iraqi nation.

He got into it because ISIS started beheading Americans. You had senior American officials worried about the possibility of an imminent ISIS attack.

So what he's doing seems to me in Iraq is enhanced counterterrorism. Limited Special Forces, air power, good intelligence, reliance on local allies. We're not going to see thousands upon thousands of American boots on the ground. Maybe this will preempt and contain ISIS from attacking the United States. But under the circumstances, it's about the best the president can offer. CAMEROTA: OK. So you think just hold here, don't do anymore with

fighting ISIS. Because, you know, people like Senator John McCain, Senator Lindsey Graham have suggested that we actually need boots on the ground to effectively fight ISIS.

MILLER: I mean, there are things you could do. We're only flying 15 airstrikes a day. In Libya we flew 50, Afghanistan 85, in Iraq during Iraq War II, 800. You could ramp up air power. Perhaps you can embed Special Forces in Iraqi units. You could start supplying weapons directly to Sunni tribes.

CAMEROTA: Is it advisable to do those things?

MILLER: I think it's risky, because all of this military stuff is happening within a broken, angry and very fractured country where you have a Shia prime minister who's worrying about empowering the Sunnis. You have an Iranian neighbor that has a different vision of Iran than we do and probably most Sunnis do.

So military power's an instrument to achieve a specific set of goals. Those goals have to be realistic. As far as I'm concerned, it's trying to keep ISIS on the defensive, check it in Iraq. And we haven't even gotten to Syria yet, which is the mothership here.

CAMEROTA: You know, it wasn't just that the Americans were being beheaded that got the U.S. involved with ISIS. It was also the Yazidis. You'll remember the Yazidis were trapped on that hilltop, and it was very hard to watch that humanitarian crisis...

MILLER: Right.

CAMEROTA: ... unfold. And Senator John McCain has basically said that it is unconscionable for the U.S. to sit on the sidelines while civilians are being massacred by ISIS. Does he have a point?

[07:20:09] MILLER: Well, the senator makes a good point in our values and our interests. Our interests are our values.

But I mean, come on. We've seen 250,000 Syrians, even if 40 percent of those are combatants, members of the regime, or militias that we don't like. You're still talking about an extraordinary tragedy. The largest single refugee flow since the end of the Second World War.

The question is after the two longest wars in American history, where the standard for victory was never could we win but when could we leave, you have a risk-averse public. And frankly, with all due respect to Senator McCain, you have a risk-averse Congress, as well. No one wants a major commitment of men, women and trillions of dollars expended in the pursuit of these enterprises.

CAMEROTA: So is what we're seeing in Ramadi today the answer? Let the Shia militias, let the Sunnis, let the Iraq defense forces all fight it out with ISIS themselves and maybe we can help with some air support, but that's it.

MILLER: Well, we have a supporting role to play. But look, whether it's the will to fight, the lack of capacity to fight you're not going to fix this unless you figure out how to stand up Iraqis who are prepared to make a commitment to actually fight, not just as Sunnis and Shia but as Iraqis. That's a long-term process. And as I said think outcomes, maybe some are favorable to the United States, not solutions.

CAMEROTA: How about Iran? What's -- what's the U.S. relationship with Iran during all of this?

MILLER: Administration's made a bet, basically. Another outcome, not a solution. That's got to find a way to avoid war over the nuclear issue. But it's gone further than that.

I think it actually believes that Iran, if it can be transformed, would be a positive force to help the United States in Syria, in Iraq, even in Yemen. And it's -- you know, the president's critics think he's naive or worse.

The reality is these nations that are authoritarian in character, they don't change easily. The Russians, the Chinese, even the Cubans. This is a generational proposition. And my concern is at the end of the day is that you're left with an Iran that's empowered with billions of dollars in relief in sanctions and business.

CAMEROTA: Because of this nuclear deal.

MILLER: Exactly. Still in a position, should the Iranians choose, to weaponize. That's a real risk and certainly as plausible an outcome as the one the administration may paint that's going to transform Iran, make it part of the global international community. That doesn't look the way it is now.

CAMEROTA: So if you think that that's a real risk, then why should the U.S. still be pursuing this deal, this nuclear deal with Iran?

MILLER: Well, you know, life is a choice between highly flawed and imperfect alternatives. No deal seems to me there's a reasonable chance of the following, particularly if Congress or the administration pushes for too much. Sanctions regime probably implodes.

The Iranians may not push for a weapon now, but they'll probably accelerate their program, leaving the Israelis and/or the United States in position of having to strike.

I think the president wants to avoid war. Doesn't want to be the first president on whose watch Iran acquires a nuclear weapon, but he also doesn't want a major U.S.-Iranian confrontation on his hands either.

CAMEROTA: Aaron David Miller, somehow even though these things are so complicated, we always feel smarter and better after talking to you.

MILLER: Alisyn, too kind. Good to be appreciated (ph).

CAMEROTA: Great to have you here. MILLER: Great to be here.

CAMEROTA: What's your take on all of this? We'd love to hear it. Tweet us using the hashtag #NewDayCNN or post your comment on Facebook.com/NewDay.

Let's go over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Republican Rick Santorum is getting in the race for president. Now, in 2012 he did shockingly well, for a while at least. So why is he so low in the polls now? John King tells us on "Inside Politics."

And we are going to take you to the top of New York City with the preview of the spectacular One World Observatory, opening this week in New York City. We're going to take you live way up there, in fact 102 stories up. If the fog will clear, we'll give you a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:28:00] PEREIRA: Just what Texas does not need, a flash flood warning now in effect for the next several hours in several Texas counties, including Houston, with another powerful line of storms moving through. This following floods that killed at least 18 people in Texas and Oklahoma. There are still a dozen people missing, 11 of them alone in Hays County, Texas. Little relief is in sight: more storms are approaching through the rest of the week.

CUOMO: Breaking overnight, potentially the biggest takedown in the history of sport. Top officials at FIFA -- that's soccer's worldwide governing body -- they've been arrested in raids in Switzerland including the vice president. The arrests happening as investigations unfold in the U.S. and Switzerland. The question for the U.S. authorities is did the U.S. lose the World Cup bid in a rigged bid? That and other allegations are being tracked down by the Swiss and the U.S. There will be more to come on this.

CAMEROTA: New details this morning about the murders of that Washington, D.C. Family and their housekeeper. Law enforcement officials say they are still actively investigating two women who were with Wint when he was arrested, possibly as accessories after the fact. The women were released from custody last week after being held less than 24 hours. Police do not believe Daron Wint committed the quadruple homicide alone.

PEREIRA: You know, we've been having such spectacular weather here in New York City, just blue-blue clear sky, not a cloud around for days. We thought, "Why don't we go and give people a chance to see a preview of what visitors will see in New York City like never before from the top of this new observatory atop the Freedom Tower"?

Well, well, Mother Nature happened. That's what happened. Chad Myers is up there on the 102nd floor of the observatory. And I understand there's not a lot of a clear view from where you are right now.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, no. If you talk to my wife, my nickname at home is Pigpen. You know how that guy kind of has a cloud around him? That's me. This is the only cloud in the state, and it's right over me right now, so you can't see out the background.

This is the observatory that will be the centerpiece of Lower Manhattan. And for that matter Manhattan in general. This is so far way and above what we've seen from other high-sky observatories in the city.