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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Democratic Nomination Contest Discussed; State Department Warns about Potential Terror Attacks in Europe; Zika Virus Issue Examined; Athletes Concerned About Zika May Skip Rio Olympics; Frantic Calls To 911 After Gorilla Grabbed Boy. Aired 4:30-5p ET
Aired June 01, 2016 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:30:02]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, have you gotten any of them to change their mind?
Have you -- I mean, have any of them come forward and said to you, or even privately said to you, we're going to -- we're going to be with you at the convention, even though, publicly, we're with Hillary Clinton?
JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, that process has just begun on our part.
As we have said, we want to let the voters speak first, and then we're going to intensify our efforts to reach out to the superdelegates. And that process will start in earnest when all the voting is complete. We will let the voters speak first. And then the superdelegates can play their designated role, which is look at the situation in the race, see who can best defeat Donald Trump.
And you have to agree that the polling is pretty consistent. Bernie Sanders beats Trump by much, much larger margins than the secretary. And in some cases, in battleground states, with respectable polls, she's losing. So, that's a very serious consideration for superdelegates.
TAPPER: The polling is absolutely very consistent.
The counterargument brought forth by the Clinton people is Hillary Clinton has been through decades of critical coverage of her, and Bernie Sanders has not.
WEAVER: Well, I would disagree with that, Jake.
There's been some hard-hitting and nasty stuff in this campaign. I think there's been a number of news articles and political analysis pieces which have debunked that particular argument.
And the truth of the matter is, is that Bernie Sanders has kept this as a campaign on the issues throughout. He has not talked about a lot of the personal and character things that the Republicans are going to go after quite hard. So, I think that Bernie Sanders has been through the ringer in many
cases. I think there have been a number of Clinton attacks, Clinton surrogate attacks that have been quite nasty. He's certainly in Vermont lived through some nasty and devastating attacks. So, I think he's well-prepared to go forward and deal with that kind of scrutiny.
TAPPER: All right, Jeff Weaver, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
WEAVER: Any time, Jake. Happy to be here.
TAPPER: Coming up, is Europe safe? As massive crowds from the globe are about to flood Paris, the State Department tells Americans they might want to rethink traveling overseas this summer.
Plus, an NBA champion threatening to boycott the Olympics because of his concerns about Zika? What does he need to hear before he will agree to go to Rio? We will ask him in minutes.
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[16:36:30]
TAPPER: In our world lead today, a new and alarming warning for Americans planning to travel to Europe this summer.
The U.S. State Department is cautioning American tourists about possible ISIS-inspired attacks. The government specifically cited three different events in Europe that will no doubt attract massive crowds from all over the world.
Let's bring in CNN justice correspondent Evan Perez.
Evan, do we know of actually any serious credible threats in Europe?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they don't know of any actual plots that are under way, but they are particularly worried about a couple of big events that are coming to parts of Europe this summer.
And that includes, beginning on June 10, a month-long Euro 2016 soccer tournament, which is going to bring thousands and millions of fans at venues all over France, and then later in the months, World Youth Day, where we expect millions of Catholics to gather in Krakow, Poland.
Again, we're talking about big events and that's what the State Department is warning about. Let me read you a couple -- a little bit of the warning that says: "Euro Cup stadiums, fan zones and unaffiliated entertainer venues broadcasting the tournaments in France and across Europe represent potential targets for terrorists, as do other large-scale sporting events."
Now, one of the things that we have been talking to officials here in the United States and also in Europe is about the fact that this concern about ISIS-related terror attacks, especially in light of what happened in Paris and what happened Brussels, and the fact that they don't believe that they have rolled up all members of the larger cell that were behind those events, Jake.
So that's part of the concern. I have talked to French intelligence officials and U.S. officials. They say they are expecting this summer in Europe to be a lot like what we had last summer. If you remember, there was a tremendous concern about ISIS attacks here in the United States. The FBI did dozens of arrests to be able to quell that concern.
TAPPER: All right, Evan Perez, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
In our sports lead, some athletes train a lifetime for the Olympics. Now one of them tells me he may sit out the Games because of the Zika virus. An NBA All-Star explains why he might not go to Rio next.
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[16:42:55]
TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.
In our health lead today, another baby born with Zika-related birth defects, this one a baby girl born in New Jersey. Doctors say her mother became infected during her second trimester in Honduras, where she normally lives.
This is the second known case of a baby born with Zika-related microcephaly in the United States, and now we're seeing more heartbreaking side effects. Here's a 9-month-old baby born with an abnormally small head in Brazil being tested for new glasses because of vision problems now associated with the virus.
The virus is not only a threat to pregnant woman, of course. Men can be infected as well and past on the disease to women. Additionally, cases of paralysis and even death have been linked to the virus, which can be spread by mosquito or through sexual transmission.
And this is exactly why so many people, including some athletes, are concerned about attending the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the nation which has been a Zika hot zone.
I want to bring in Pau Gasol, two-time NBA champion currently with the Chicago Bulls. He's also representing the Spanish national basketball team.
Thanks so much for joining me, Pau Gasol. Appreciate it.
PAU GASOL, NBA PLAYER: You're very welcome, Jake. Thanks for having me.
TAPPER: So, you spoke out earlier this week saying that you're considering not playing at the Rio Olympics. Have you decided whether you are certainly canceling your plans or is it still up in the air?
GASOL: No, it's still up in the air.
They asked me about it, whether I was going to play or not or whether I was considering not playing, and I said that I'm thinking about it, because there is a concern about the situation in Brazil. And I feel like, especially when I came back to Spain, there was not enough information.
It was not really talked about in the media. So I just wanted to kind of open the conversation and people to be aware of what is going on and demand information and to be able to make the proper decision, whether you want to be exposed to certain risks or not.
TAPPER: Has anyone from the International Olympic Committee reached out to you or any of your teammates to provide you with the kind of information you're seeking?
[16:30:02] GASOL: No. No. No one from the IOC. I've talked to the president of the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee before I spoke to the media the day after.
TAPPER: What are you specifically concerned about?
GASOL: I mean, mainly -- not just my health and the health of my family but also the potential of epidemic to spread around the world and we're seeing more and more cases. I think they are showing up.
I think yesterday the first baby with Zika was reported to be born in the U.S., in New Jersey. So we see a lot more consequences from the Zika virus and I think that might continue to increase and so it's bad timing, weird timing.
It seems like more stuff is coming up. There's an ongoing investigation the virus and we need to be aware of what is really going on to make a proper decision because it affects and can change our lives.
TAPPER: U.S. soccer player, Hope Solo, also has said that she's concerned about the Zika virus and a possible outbreak worldwide. But she's not cancelling her plans to attend the Olympics. Instead, she plans to stay inside the hotel during her stay except when she has to compete or practice. What do you think about that plan? Is that a possibility for you?
GASOL: Well, I mean, there's going to be -- if you decide to go, obviously, you have to take -- you're going to have to take a lot of measurements and precautions. You might find yourself feeling, because of that uncertainty and maybe fear as well that you just want to be inside as much as possible and feel like you're in a safe place most of the time.
Which is also kind of weird and an awkward feeling when you're enjoying one of the top sporting events. So that is kind of a bummer that it has to be that way.
TAPPER: All right, well, stay in touch with us. Let us know of your decision. We appreciate it. Pau Gasol, thank you so much.
GASOL: Will do. Thank you, Jake. TAPPER: Screams and panic 911 calls revealed a pandemonium at a zoo as a gorilla grabbed a 3-year-old, one that had fallen into his cage. But do these calls answer what we all want to know, how did the child get in there?
Plus, did you just buy a brand-new car? Well, you might want to listen up, a disturbing new report says there could be something deadly inside that car. We'll tell you what. Stick around.
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[16:51:39]
TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. Now time for the National Lead. We just learned that the family of the boy who ended up in this gorilla enclosure does not plan to sue the Cincinnati Zoo.
The video is still astonishing to watch and now new details about what you do not see calls for help. This as investigators questioned how this boy ended up by the gorilla's side and the zoo's decision to kill the gorilla to save the child from whatever threat that existed.
CNN's Jessica Schneider joins me now live at the Cincinnati Zoo. Jessica, we know that the mother called 911.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake. You know, it was 90 seconds of helpless horror from that mother as she called into the dispatchers at 911 while also simultaneously trying to calm her son. Her call was just one of several on Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOTHER: Hi, my son fell in the zoo exhibit at the gorillas. The Cincinnati Zoo, my son fell in with the gorilla. There's a male gorilla standing over him. I need someone to contact the zoo, please.
DISPATCHER: OK, we do already have that started -- we do already have help started there, OK?
MOTHER: OK -- be calm! Be calm. Be calm.
DISPATCHER: How old --
MOTHER: Be calm! He's grabbing my son! I can't watch this! I can't -- I can't, OK, I can't watch.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: But it slammed it against the wall earlier.
DISPATCHER: OK. Can you -- is any of the zookeepers next to you right now?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Oh God. It's got his pants. He's taking the baby.
DISPATCHER: OK, Ma'am, listen to me.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: He's taking the baby into the cage. Oh, my God.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: And that 911 call right there may have been part of that imminent danger that zoo officials were talking about when that caller says the gorilla, Harambe, was moving along with the toddler into a cave and that maybe, Jake, why the Dangerous Animal Response Team felt that it was so necessary to move in after 10 tense minutes and they finally shoot and kill Harambe -- Jake.
TAPPER: Jessica, we've seen the inside of the enclosure where the gorilla was, but now you can show us what the outside looks like.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, that's right. You know, a lot of people wondering how did this toddler get through this barrier that the zoo says was secure? Well, we now have video that was actually shot just one day prior to this incident.
You can see moving up to it, it's a rail barrier. Officials say the boy slipped underneath it. It's about three feet tall. He then went into the thick brush there that also has some protective wiring, went up on to the moat wall and dropped ten feet or more into that moat.
So that was exactly how zoo officials say that he did it, that those tactics by that toddler. In addition today, the Cincinnati police, of course, investigating the family.
The family did release a statement today in large part saying that they are grateful for all of the efforts of the Cincinnati Zoo staff and also saying that their boy is safe. But also saying that they don't want your money.
They said that they have gotten some responses from people offering to give them money. They say instead, please give their donations to the Cincinnati Zoo in honor of Harambe -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Jessica Schneider at the zoo, thank you so much.
In our Money Lead today, could your brand-new car come with potentially deadly recalled items? A new report says yes and it's perfectly legal. That story, next. Stay tuned.
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[16:59:14]
TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. Our Money Lead now, a shocking report, your brand-new car could contain a recalled item that's been blamed for more than a dozen deaths.
At least four automakers are still selling right now new cars with those defective Takata airbags. The same type of airbags that have been linked to 13 deaths and a hundred injuries and prompted one of the biggest recalls in world history.
This is according to a new report out from the Senate Commerce Committee today. Fiat, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Volkswagen, all admitted to equipping some new cars with the airbags totaling more than two million vehicles sold in the U.S. since March.
It is legal for the companies to sell the cars, but all of them must be recalled by the end of 2018.
Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter @jaketapper. Tweet the show @theleadcnn. That's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. Turning you over to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
