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David Sweat: Joyce Mitchell's Idea to Kill Husband; 68-Year-Old Man Attacked by Shark Off Outer Banks; Unprecedented Efforts to Keep July 4th Safe; ISIS Attacks Military Sites in Egypt; Trump Defends Derogatory Remarks; Dozens Dead after Ferry Capsizes in Philippines; Prison Chief, 11 Staffers on Paid Leave after Escape. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 02, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Convicted killer David Sweat revealing shocking new details about his escape. He got to an underground passageway. And in that passageway they found a sledgehammer.

[05:59:10] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're rapists.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a horrible thing to say about anyone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see drip, drip, drip. Corporate America turning away from Trump.

TRUMP: Macy's was unable to handle the pressure. They folded like dogs.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Feel the Bern. Bernie Sanders with a huge turnout in Wisconsin.

BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To the billionaire class, you can't have it all!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a shark, approximately 6 to 7 feet long.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The seventh shark attack in North Carolina in the last few weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a little scary. I don't remember seeing so many shark attacks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to NEW DAY. It is Thursday, July 2, 6 a.m. in the East. Chris Cuomo is off this morning. John Berman joins us. Great to have you.

BERMAN: Fact check true.

CAMEROTA: All right. So far so good.

Up first, there's a new warden in charge of the New York prison at the center of the highly-publicized escape, and he is implementing all sorts of new security measures.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: This morning we're learning more about what captured killer David Sweat is telling investigators about the tools used to break out and why the fugitives finally split up. There are now contradicting accounts about who wanted to kill Joyce Mitchell's husband. We begin our coverage with CNN's Jean Casarez, live at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York.

Good morning to you, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

There are many changes the Department of Corrections is instituting in the prison behind me, so many. But the big looming question still remain. Can David Sweat be believed?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ (voice-over): This morning a major shake-up behind these prison walls. Clinton County Correctional assigning a new superintendent along with new rules, including weekly cell wall inspections, random bed checks, and new gates that will now be placed inside the tunnels inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat used in their brazen escape.

Meanwhile, Sweat continued talking to police Wednesday. The convicted murderer claiming it was Mitchell's idea for the duo to kill her husband, Lyle, after escaping from prison. Mitchell's attorney says she denies that allegation.

Sweat also telling investigators that he had no sexual contact with Mitchell, claiming instead it was Matt who had the sexual relationship with the former prison employee.

Sweat confessing he and Matt found a sledgehammer in the underground passageway, possibly inadvertently left behind by a construction worker, and they used that tool to break down a brick wall.

Once on the run, Sweat told investigators the two initially got along, but Sweat soon grew frustrated that Matt was physically out of shape and had trouble keeping up. Then, Matt began drinking. After breaking into a cabin, Sweat says, he became so upset they split up.

In the final days Sweat pushed ahead, getting closer to Canada after hearing Matt was killed. The former fugitive now recovering from two gunshot wounds to his torso at a lockdown center at this Albany hospital. The medical director says inside two guards watch each patient, and inmates are often shackled in their hospital beds. DENNIS MCKENNA, ALBANY MEDICAL DIRECTOR: How confident do we

feel that this patient is not going to escape from the hospital? I feel very confident.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: And that new superintendent, the head of this prison, his name is Michael Kirkpatrick. He's been the first deputy superintendent at Elmira Correctional Facility. It's about five-and- a-half hours away from here. But even more than that, he has been the head for the last four years of CERT, the Correctional Emergency Response Team of correction officers. Those are the ones that were searching for Matt and Sweat -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Jean, it will be interesting to see all the new changes he implements there.

Meanwhile, another story. Beachgoers on high alert after a seventh person was attacked by a shark in North Carolina. This is just in the last few weeks. The victim airlifted to the hospital and said to be recovering this morning. But what's behind this sudden rise in shark attacks at these popular beaches? And how will it affect the holiday weekend?

CNN's Alina Machado is live in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, with more.

Good morning, Alina.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

You know, that 67-year-old man told authorities that he actually felt the shark right before the attack, suggesting that perhaps he may have accidentally bumped into the animal before it bit him.

Authorities tell me he was alert. He was talking to first responders, even though he had severe puncture wounds from his hip down to his knee, as well as several bites on his calf.

Now this attack happened in the Outer Banks. It is the seventh to take place off the North Carolina coast in the past month. The victims of some of the other attacks include a 13-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. Each of them lost an arm in separate attacks some 90 minutes apart just south of here on June 14.

Bites have also been reported in South Carolina and in Florida.

Now some experts say warmer water and drought conditions could be contributing factors, but also a factor, simply put: more people are heading out into the water. More people are out enjoying the beautiful beaches. And the higher the number of people who are out in the water, the greater the possibility that someone is going to have an encounter with a shark.

Now, as you mentioned, this is a busy holiday weekend ahead of us. It's the Fourth of July weekend. Many people are expected to head out into the water. If you're among them, it sounds like common sense, but really the best way to protect yourself is to be aware of your surroundings -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Unfortunately, you have to be shark aware, especially on a long weekend when most people will be enjoying the beach. Alina, thanks for the cautionary tale.

U.S. Counter terrorism officials are laying out extra precautions to keep Americans safe on the Fourth of July. In the face of growing terror threats, the big concern: ISIS and the call for attacks through social media.

CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown is here with all of the latest for us ahead of the holiday weekend.

[06:05:05] PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And we heard from NYPD yesterday, and John Miller said that it has the most complex counterterrorism plan in place this year ever.

And here's why officials are so concerned. First of all, Fourth of July is a symbolic holiday, and it falls at the same time as the holy month of Ramadan. ISIS has been encouraging its supporters to launch attacks during this time.

Also, the way ISIS is using social media, very different from what it was doing last year around this time. And officials say it is growing increasingly harder to detect an attack before it happens.

In addition to all of this, there have been near-simultaneous attacks around the globe. All of this has officials very concerned. And here's what John Miller said about what NYPD is doing in preparation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MILLER, NYPD DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INTELLIGENCE AND COUNTERTERRORISM: They are following the ISIS call. And the ISIS call, as well as that of other terrorist groups, has been to use what you have on hand. And that means if you can make a bomb, you're a bomber. But if you can't, use a gun. And if you can't find a gun, here's a knife. And if you can't find a knife, use a car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So NYPD will have these so-called Hercules teams, which are basically Special Forces of police; more bomb-snitching dogs out; utilizing all the circuit cameras around the city, putting in a lot of measures and a lot that we won't be seeing, as well, come Fourth of July.

Also, just to put this all into perspective, officials are now tracking hundreds of potential ISIS followers. And just this year, there have been 49 ISIS-related arrests in the U.S. and likely more to come.

BERMAN: Yes, Pamela. And as you know, one of the concerns here is this all comes on the heels of a series of other attacks around the world: Tunisia, France, Kuwait. And now this morning, we are learning new details of what's going on in Egypt. ISIS launched simultaneous attacks on military checkpoints in north Sinai. At least 17 soldiers killed there.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh tracking the latest for us -- Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, some security officials in Egypt are describing this assault that we saw taking place in the northern Sinai on Wednesday as unprecedented, something that they have not seen before.

According to the Egyptian military, they say that at least 300 militants launched this offensive, targeting multiple checkpoints, using car bombs and different kinds of weapons, heavy and medium.

And we also heard from ISIS in a statement, claiming responsibility for the attacks, saying that they targeted 15 military checkpoints. Also saying that they used at least three suicide bombers.

Now this assault was focused on a town in that region close to the Gaza border. And residents there were trapped. They were caught in the crossfire. And they really describe what sounded like a heavy battle that went on for hours there.

But the Egyptian military says now that it is in control of the area after using its air force to carry out airstrikes, killing at least 100 militants, they say. Seventeen security forces killed, but the death toll could be higher. And a lot of concern about what this means. Is this a new chapter in this insurgency that the Egyptian military has been struggling to contain in the Sinai over the past couple of years?

Alisyn, back to you.

CAMEROTA: We'll be exploring all that with our terrorism experts here, as well. Jomana, thank you.

Well, presidential candidate Donald Trump continuing his verbal attack against illegal immigrants in a new interview with CNN. This as yet another major corporation pulls the plug on a business partnership with Trump.

Still, the GOP candidate surges in the polls.

CNN's Athena Jones is in Washington with the very latest. What do we know, Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

You're absolutely right. Donald Trump touts his success in business and deal-making as one of the reasons voters should pick him to lead the country, but with more companies cutting their ties to Trump and others coming under pressure to ditch him, that success story is getting a bit of a rewrite. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (voice-over): After Macy's joined the ranks of big companies dumping Donald Trump over his derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants, Trump is firing back.

TRUMP: People can't handle pressure. And that's what they did; they did a total fold. And that's OK with me. That's OK with me. It's a very small business. Let them do what they want to do. I never loved the business with Macy's, because the ties were made in China.

JONES: The retail giant decided to cut ties with Trump after this comment made last month.

TRUMP: They're bringing drugs; they're bringing crime; they're rapists; and some, I assume, are good people.

JONES: The company says, quote, "In light of the statements made by Donald Trump, which are inconsistent with Macy's values, we have decided to discontinue our business relationship with Mr. Trump."

But Trump telling "Entertainment Tonight" he was the one who severed ties with the retailer, not the other way around.

[06:10:04] TRUMP: They told me they were having pressure. I said, "You know what? Have your pressure. I'm not doing it."

NISCHELLE TURNER, "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT": They did have a petition, where hundreds of thousands of people...

TRUMP: Hundreds of thousands is nothing. I have 5 million people between Facebook and Twitter. Who knows why they did it. I don't really care.

JONES: Taking the dispute a step further, Trump lashed out at Macy's in a series of tweets. One reads, "For all of those who want to make America great again, boycott Macy's."

But the fallout doesn't start there. According to The Golf Channel, four major golf organizations are now distancing themselves from Trump's controversial remarks, issuing a joint statement that says, in part, "In regards to his recent statements about Mexican immigrants, we feel compelled to clarify that those remarks do not reflect the views of our organizations."

Despite the controversy, Trump's two-week-old campaign is polling well, coming in second in a new CNN poll, Trump trailing Jeb Bush by just 7 percent nationwide.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: And the hits keep coming. Now a new petition on Change.org was calling for Amazon.com to pull Trump's books from its website -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, we'll talk about this more ahead on the show.

Right now we have some breaking news for you overnight. Dozens are dead, and rescue operations are underway after a ferry with 173 passengers on board capsized off the coast of the Philippines.

CNN's Kathy Novak has the very latest on the rescue efforts there -- Kathy.

KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that we're told by the Philippines (ph) Coast Guard that 36 people have already been confirmed dead. And fears for more who remain still missing.

We're told that, including the crew, there may have been as many as 189 people on board, which would mean about 35 people are still missing. And it's getting dark right now in the Philippines, so the rescue efforts are becoming much more difficult.

We're seeing some of the video of the frantic rescue efforts going on. And you can see the small boats that are going out in these choppy waters and people being pulled from the water, including little children. These are people from all walks of life who have been on this boat.

My family is from the Philippines, and I have some relatives who live in this province of Leyte. And I can tell you this is very regular kind of boat that goes between islands ferrying people. People are bringing things like groceries.

And we're told by our colleagues at CNN Philippines, quoting the Philippines Coast Guard that they may be getting some idea of what may have caused this. They say that the Coast Guard has told them that the boat may have left port too quickly and that people may have stood up suddenly, turning the boat off-balance.

Of course, we are trying to get more confirmation as those investigations and that search effort continues.

BERMAN: All right. Kathy Novak for us. Thanks so much.

We have other breaking news to tell you about. Overnight, 5,000 residents are under a mile-wide evacuation order in Tennessee. That after a CSX freight train carrying flammable and toxic liquid derailed and caught fire. This happened around midnight in the town of Marionville, which is just south of Knoxville. We're told about 12 emergency responders, which are being decontaminated after coming into contact with that liquid.

PEREIRA: The Justice Department is investigating major U.S. airlines for possible collusion. Officials are looking into whether they conspired to keep their planes packed and ticket prices high. Four of the carriers being investigated, American, Delta, United, and Southwest, now control 80 percent of domestic flights. The airlines say they are cooperating fully with investigators.

Sure to be fallout about that, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela.

Back to our top story now, a new prison superintendent is in charge at the Clinton Correctional Facility. So what charges will he -- what changes, I should say, will he make? Joining us is Michael O'Connell. He's a former corrections officer at Clinton Correctional Facility and a friend of Gene Palmer, the officer facing charges in this escape.

Michael, thanks for being here.

MICHAEL O'CONNELL, FORMER CORRECTIONS OFFICER AT CLINTON CORRECTIONAL FACILITY: You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: OK. You have an interesting history at the Clinton prison there. You worked there for 12 years. You were a visiting room guard. You've guarded the notorious prisoners like Tupac Shakur; Son of Sam; Robert Chambers, known as the preppy murderer. So you know a lot about what went on in this prison. What do you think of nine prison staffers, including the three top guys, the superintendent, now being put on leave because of corruption?

O'CONNELL: Well, I can only assume, because I haven't been to work here. I don't know the circumstances behind who they are. The officers, I can only speak for what I know about when I worked here.

CAMEROTA: And what did you see when you worked there? What sorts of corruption, if any, did you see?

O'CONNELL: I imagine it's the same type of corruption, except we had money, we had towers, we had all kinds of security that was taken away from us. And I think that's a lot of the reason that things are going on the way they are in Dannemora. Because the guards that work here work, you know, their butts off. And they do the best they can for each other.

[06:15:13] CAMEROTA: Yes, I hear you. You think that they're generally good guys. And yet, there's this prison culture that happens that those of us on the outside don't necessarily understand. For instance, you said that guards often do favors for prisoners. Such as, like what?

O'CONNELL: Well, not so much favors, but, you know, like, you can warrant information if you hear there might be drugs or there might be weapons hidden somewhere. Maybe an inmate will come up to you and will ask you for a TV privilege or, you know, sandwich off the food cart. And, you know, if you want to find out those things so people don't get hurt, inmate or guard, you know, you try to do the best you can and do that.

CAMEROTA: I understand. So in other words, it's not favors. It's just a quid pro quo. What -- what's the harm in giving them a sandwich if they're going to give you some information about a weapon or drugs?

O'CONNELL: Well, I don't see any difference between that and a detective on the street having snitches. You know, it's a rough job. People think it's an easy job. I've seen people stabbed. I've seen everything from, you know, stabbings to poured oil on people's faces. I've seen it all. You know, I've worked six different jails, and they're all the same.

CAMEROTA: So you worked with Gene Palmer, who's the prison guard who has been charged in this case now...

O'CONNELL: Right.

CAMEROTA: ... for possibly helping to smuggle weapons to these two escapees. What was your impression of Gene Palmer?

O'CONNELL: My best friend for 12 years in a band. I sang with him, and worked with him in prison. He'd be the first person I'd want -- for a level (ph) if anything was happening with me or any other guard. And I've spoken to many correctional officers now that I've worked with (ph) who said the same thing. Gene is a great officer. And I just think he got mixed up.

When I worked here, there was a hobby shop where you could buy things such as those paintings that Gene had. They don't have that anymore, because of the Brooks (ph) Law or something or other. I didn't know that. There was no hobby shop here until the other day.

CAMEROTA: In other words, they changed it because prisoners can't make money any more on their arts and crafts.

O'CONNELL: That's correct.

CAMEROTA: And so do you think that Gene Palmer knew what he was doing when he passed those weapons in the frozen meat?

O'CONNELL: I don't know that Gene passed any weapons. And if he did, the meat, I believe, you know, that probably was true, but I don't believe he knew there was weapons in those -- in that meat.

CAMEROTA: Well, Michael O'Connell, thanks so much for sharing your memories of what went on inside Clinton. It's fascinating to hear about the subculture in there. Thanks for being on NEW DAY.

O'CONNELL: Well, I appreciate it. And Clinton strong.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

O'CONNELL: Thank you very much.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. So we've shown you the CNN/ORC polls that show Donald Trump rising in the polls. However, the hits keep on coming on the business side in the wake of the conversation he's been having about immigrants. We're going to take a closer look at the fallout and the potential impact on the Republican presidential race ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:22:42] TRUMP: If you look at the statistics of people from -- I didn't say Mexico. I say illegal immigrants. If you look at the statistics on rape, on crime, on everything, coming in illegally into this country, they're mind-boggling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That was Donald Trump defending himself in an interview with CNN's Don Lemon last night following those derogatory comments that he made about Mexican immigrants.

Macy's is the latest corporation to end its relationship with the billionaire presidential candidate. No matter how bad it gets for Trump, his poll numbers keep getting better. Could this all backfire, though, with Republicans in 2016?

Joining me now is Latin-American political analyst and radio host and blogger, Ana Maria Salazar. She joins us from Mexico City. We have a bit of a delay, but we'll power through it.

Good morning to you, Ana Maria.

ANA MARIA SALAZAR, RADIO HOST/BLOGGER: Good morning, Michaela.

PEREIRA: So I'm going to play another little bit of sound from Don Lemon's interview with Mr. Trump from last night. Don actually asked him to clarify his comments. Don said he had seen the reports. They're really about women being raped, not criminals coming into the country. Take a listen to how the Donald responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Somebody is doing the raping, Don. I mean, you know, it's -- I mean, somebody is doing it. You say it's women being raped. Well, who's doing the raping? Who's doing the raping?

I mean, how can you say such a thing? So that's -- look, the problem is you have to stop illegal immigration coming across the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Ana Maria, I think many people are expecting to hear Donald Trump sort of clarify with more in-depth language, but essentially, he keeps doubling down. What's your reaction to all of this?

SALAZAR: I'm outraged, Michaela. I keep on thinking if Donald Trump was talking about African-American or if he had talking -- if he was speaking about the Jewish community or the Italian-American community, there would have been different reactions.

I can't understand how is it possible that a presidential candidate for the United -- who wants to be president of the United States can speak and use hate language and continue to use it now on a daily basis as his platform, his political platform.

[06:25:02] And that is the problem. This is hate language. This will incite violence, not only against Mexican-Americans, Mexicans and also against migrants. And it is -- I think it's great that you're starting to see more companies and more corporations distance themselves from Donald Trump, but it's not soon enough. He has hotels; he has golf courses.

PEREIRA: What more you want to see, Ana Maria?

SALAZAR: ... stronger language. Well, let me just put it this way. Why doesn't everybody boycott his hotels to start with? I mean, I want -- I can't imagine him saying this -- using the same language against any other ethnic group in the United States, and there wouldn't have been an outrage.

PEREIRA: There's been outrage here...

SALAZAR: ... from governors and the White House...

PEREIRA: I'm interested to get your take on why -- I'm interested to hear your take on why you think we haven't heard from anybody in the Republican Party sort of distancing themselves or any sort of pushing back on what Donald Trump is saying. That's why I'm asking you, why do you think that hasn't happened?

SALAZAR: Who has distanced themselves? For God sakes, the main contender, Jeb Bush, his wife is Mexican. She's a Mexican migrant. Jeb Bush's kids are Mexican-American. He's speaking about Jeb Bush's family. He's speaking about my family.

And the only thing we hear is that we keep on focusing on this debate surrounding migrants, surrounding what should be the, you know, U.S. immigration issue. What should be the bilateral relationship with Mexico. This is hate language, and he keeps on speaking. And he keeps on getting -- and he keeps on accusing Mexicans and Mexican- Americans of being rapists. We want more from him (ph), because he's a presidential candidate.

PEREIRA: OK. So let's talk about the fact that 2016 we're watching; we're 494 days away from the election. You're a political analyst and commentator, as well. We did the CNN/ORC poll, and it's interesting that the poll was done after these derogatory comments that he made. And look, second place. So what do you make of that?

SALAZAR: Well, what do we make of it? That there is a segment within the U.S. society that supports that type of position against not only migrants, but also Mexicans, Mexican-Americans.

So that's why I think there's a point where the Republican Party has to make a decision: are we going to include under our umbrella people like Donald Trump, who speak and use this type of language as part of the Republican platform? And you know, this is beyond whether he's going to win or whether he's going to be the candidate or not.

But throughout this whole process, you can't have someone like him going to all these interviews and speaking and saying the things he's saying without any kind of consequences. I would have expected by now that there would have been a call to boycott all of his hotels, all of his golf courses, major corporations saying, "You know what, Donald? We're not going to take our conferences or our events to your hotel."

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Ana Maria, we certainly know that money -- money talks. And we've already seen some of the groups cut ties with him, NBC Universal, Mexico pulling out of the Miss Universe pageant. We've seen Univision, and we expect that there's going to be a backlash, if you will. We really appreciate you bringing your passion to this conversation to us on our air here on CNN. Thanks so much for joining us. Ana Maria Salazar, we really enjoyed hearing from you today.

All right. John.

BERMAN: Thanks so much, Michaela.

Secretary of State John Kerry now in nuclear negotiations with Iran that have gone into extra innings, past the real deadline. Now a new deadline set for next week. Can a deal be struck, and is John Kerry, is the president, are they ready to walk away from a bad deal? We're going to press the State Department next.

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