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Travel Alert for Middle East and North Africa; A-Rod Facing Permanent Suspension; Michele Knight Speaks in Court; Inside Ariel Castro's Mind; Michigan Murder Mystery

Aired August 02, 2013 - 11:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everyone. I'm John Berman in for Ashleigh Banfield today.

We begin with a new terrorism threat against American targets overseas. In response, the State Department is closing key embassies in the Middle East and North Africa, including those in Egypt and Libya. This latest threat comes as we near the one year anniversary of the terror attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi in Libya. That attack killed four Americans, of course, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Chris Lawrence joins us now live at the Pentagon with the latest on this. What can you tell us about this new threat?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, one source says that this was more than just the usual chatter. And a U.S. official told me on background last night that the threat is considered both credible and dangerous, enough so that they are closing at least 17 diplomatic posts around the Middle East and that region.

And earlier this morning on CNN's "NEW DAY," the chairman of the House foreign affairs committee went further.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE ED ROYCE (R), CALIFORNIA: It's my understanding that it is al Qaeda linked, all right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

And the threat emanates in the Middle East and in Central Asia.

LAWRENCE: And we just learned that the State Department has now released a travel alert for U.S. citizens who are traveling in the Middle East and North Africa.

Separately, a U.S. official tells us that they are monitoring a specific threat in Yemen, the capital of Yemen.

You remember, just this Thursday, President Obama met with Yemen's president in the White House. Counter-terrorism was one of the main topics they talked about. And so far, the only al Qaeda affiliate that has shown both the desire and ability to attack U.S. posts overseas is al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or AQAP, which is based in Yemen.

John?

JOHN BERMAN, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Chris, as you just said, there is this new travel alert that came out just seconds ago. Let me read you a little part of that.

It said, "An attack possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," so clearly, there are some very specific fears for that region.

One of the things we mentioned, Chris, is the date right now. We're about a month before September 11th, of course, the attacks here in New York in 2001 and also the one year anniversary of the attacks on that compound in Benghazi in Libya.

Any sense that this now round of threats that are causing the embassies to close this weekend and now this travel that warning we just received, any sense that those are connected to the Benghazi anniversary?

LAWRENCE: It's possible. None of the officials that I spoke with are necessarily ruling that out, but they're not tying it to that either.

There are a lot of connections you can make to Sunday. It's President Obama's birthday. It's also the day that Iran is inaugurating its new president. Benghazi is an obvious tie as well.

But most officials seem to think this may have more of a tie to Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, which is coming to an end now.

BERMAN: All right, Chris Lawrence for us at the Pentagon, thank you so much.

Just to reiterate the news again, U.S. embassies in the Middle East, North Africa, closed this weekend, and also now a travel warning to Americans who might be headed to the region.

And this just in. Notorious crime boss "Whitey" Bulger will not take the stand in a Boston federal court. He will not take the stand. The defense has rested its case.

Bulger is accused of participating in 19 murders as part of a racketeering conspiracy in a 32-count indictment. That includes extortion and money laundering charges.

That is a big development. We'll get more on that in a little bit.

Other news, a worse than expected jobs report for July. One-hundred- sixty-two thousand jobs were added last month. That's about 18,000 less than the CNNMoney estimate. However, the unemployment rate did fall to 7.4 percent. U.S. consulates around the world will extend the same visa privileges to same-sex spouses as to other married couples. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to announce that policy change today.

A senior official says the move takes effect immediately and applies to legally-recognized spouses of U.S. citizens and non-citizens. The decision is a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned the Defense of Marriage Act.

The fight over Martha Stewart coming to an end in a New York courtroom, retail giants Macy's and J.C. Penney have been fighting for the past six months in court, all over the exclusivity of Stewart's merchandise.

Closing statements were yesterday. The judge is expected to rule as early as next week.

Casey Anthony now officially owns her life story. This is part of an agreement with her bankruptcy estate.

So how much is her life story worth? Try $25,000. What still is not known now is, while filing for bankruptcy, how she can scrape together $25,000.

The New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez getting ready to take the field tonight in Trenton, New Jersey, for a minor league team, part of his rehab, but Major League Baseball could bench him instead, possibly for good.

A suspension could come as early as today for his connection to performance enhancing drugs.

CNN Sports Rachel Nichols has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS: Alex Rodriguez is in the middle of a delicate dance with Major League Baseball. And as the Yankee third baseman's career hangs in the balance, baseball fans are left waiting and waiting and waiting.

So what's the holdup? Baseball is giving A-Rod the chance at a lesser suspension if he admits to wrongdoing and promises not to appeal, similar to a plea bargain.

That's the route former National League MVP Ryan Braun chose. After his admission of guilt, Braun was suspended only 65 games, down from the 100-game mark baseball reportedly started at.

Initially A-Rod's representatives insisted they had no interest in making a similar deal, but baseball officials have spent the past few days working to change their minds.

They've reportedly presented, quote, "volumes of evidence." They've also leaked that the commissioner is considering a lifetime ban for A- Rod, a threat meant to further pressure him at the bargaining table. Publicly, A-Rod still remains non-committal. In a recent interview with CNN, Rodriquez declined to address his situation directly.

ALEX RODRIGUEZ, YANKEES' THIRD BASEMAN: There's so many he-says leaks, leaks there, I think it's important that we a process. I think we have a good system with Major League Baseball. And let's let the process play out.

NICHOLS: It's a process that has turned into a waiting game, possibly the most important game Alex Rodriguez has ever played.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: A lot of money, a lot of prestige at stake, Rachel Nichols joins me now.

So, Rachel, what happens if there is no suspension this weekend? We're all waiting on pins and needles today and over the weekend. Could A-Rod be back in the Bronx as soon as next week?

NICHOLS: The Yankees actually play in Chicago on Monday. And, sure, technically, if baseball decided not to move forward with the A-Rod matter right now, separate him from the players they are expected to suspend in the next couple of days, yeah, he could rejoin the team and be in Chicago with. But nobody expects that to happen.

Not only does baseball want to group all these other players together and there's some other players who are facing a time crunch. But, look, at some point in this negotiating process, you've to have an end date.

These two sides have very separate interests. They're not likely to come to an agreement unless there is a lot of pressure on them.

Baseball wants to see Rodriguez suspended for a long time, even if they do come to some sort of plea bargain deal. It's not like they're going to let him off lightly, even if that happens.

They feel that Rodriguez was very heavily involved with this Miami clinic. They feel like he even tried to impede their investigation by trying to buy off some evidence, so they're looking for a significant suspension from him, even if they come to an agreement.

Alex Rodriguez, on the other hand, not interested in that, certainly has some trouble with the idea of having to admit to wrongdoing, the idea of losing a very significant part of his very pricey paycheck, being away from the game he loves so.

We'll have to see over the next couple of days if they can work something outside. Of course, baseball holding that big stick, that possible lifetime ban, we'll see if that moves things along.

BERMAN: Again, and we'll bring you those developments the minute they happen. Could be today, could be tomorrow, could be Sunday.

Rachel Nichols, thanks so much, really appreciate it. Got to show you some amazing video, really one of the amazing things you'll see. This was taken from the dash-cam of one semi-truck. And there you just saw another semi- going airborne over the overpass.

Look at this! This looks like a movie. This happened in Greensburg, Indiana. You can see the one semi- just launch into the air over the overpass there.

Local reports say there were two people in that truck. Incredibly. neither was injured. No idea how or why it got up in the air like that over that overpass.

But, honestly, it looks like a stunt of some kind. Unbelievable that no one was hurt, lucky.

Eight minutes after the hour, convicted rapist Ariel Castro is going to be in jail for the rest of his life. And one of his victims, Michele Knight, had some very tough words for him in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELE KNIGHT, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: I spent 11 years in hell. Now, your hell is just beginning. I will overcome all this that happened, but you will face hell for eternity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You will hear her brave, courageous words right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We saw something extraordinary during the Ariel Castro testimony yesterday. The young woman held longest in that Cleveland home spoke to her captor.

Michele Knight put her 11 years of torment behind her in just a few minutes. In court, Knight told Castro her time in hell is over, but his is just beginning.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KNIGHT: My name is Michelle Knight. And I would like to tell you what this was like for me.

I missed my son every day. I wonder if I was ever going to see him again. He was only two-and-a-half years old when I was taken.

I look inside my heart and I see my son. I cried every night. I was so alone. I worried about what would happen to me and the other girls every day.

Days never got shorter. Days turned into nights. Nights turned into days. The years turned into eternity. I knew nobody cared about me. He told me that my family didn't care even on holidays.

Christmas was the most traumatic day because I never got to spend it with my son. Nobody should ever have to go through what I went through or anybody else, not even the worst enemy.

Gina was my teammate. She never let me fall. I never let her fall. She nursed me back to health when I was dying from his abuse.

My friendship with her is the only thing that was good out of this situation. We said we would some day make it out alive, and we did.

Ariel Castro, I remember all the times that you came home talking about what everybody else did wrong and act like you wasn't doing the same thing. You said, at least I didn't kill you.

For you took 11 years of my life away, and I have got it back. I spent 11 years in hell, and now your hell is just beginning. I will overcome all this that happened, but you will face hell for eternity.

From this moment on, I will not let you define me or affect who I am. You will live -- I will live on. You will die a little every day.

As you think about the 11 years and atrocities you inflicted on us, what does God think of you hypocritically going to church every Sunday, coming home to torture us.

The death penalty would be so much easier. You don't deserve that. You deserve to spend life in prison.

I could forgive you, but I will never forget. With the guidance of God, I will prevail and help others that suffered at the hands of others.

Writing this statement gave me the strength to be a stronger woman, and know that there's good -- there's more good than evil. I know that there is a lot of people going through hard times. But we need to reach out a hand and hold them. And let them know that they're being heard. After 11 years, I am finally being heard and it's liberating. Thank you all. I love you. God bless you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It is Michele Knight who deserves the last word in this case, her words so brave and so courageous. She is a survivor here.

So despite all the evidence that came out of Ariel Castro's house of horrors, the convicted rapist, the kidnapper, he claims he is not a bad person. How could he be so wrong about this? How could he say this out loud? We'll ask a mental health expert right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. So Ariel Castro, he had a chance, he had a right to talk yesterday. But what he said was strange, and some people might even say it was offensive. Although he pleaded guilty to 937 different charges, including rape and murder and kidnapping, he says he's not a monster. He says that he's a family man who couldn't control his sex addiction. He says he's sick. This is a sampling of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIEL CASTRO, CONVICTED KIDNAPPER: I'm trying to get at that (ph). People are trying to paint me as a monster. I'm not a monster. I'm sick. (INAUDIBLE) My sexual problems have been so bad in my mind, I'm impulsive.

I'm a happy person inside. I'm not trying to make excuses here. I know I'm 100 percent wrong for doing that but I'm just saying -- they're trying to say I'm a violent person, I'm not a violent person. Most of the sex that went on in the house, practically all of it, was consensual. These allegations of being forceful on them, that is totally wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's try to understand what's going on. Joining us now from Chicago is clinical psychologist, Sheela Raja. Thanks for joining us right now. What due make have that performance? What do you think he was trying to do in court?

SHEELA RAJA, AUTHOR, "OVERCOMING TRAUMA AND PTSD": Well -- and I think the word "performance" is exactly correct. I'm so happy to talk about something that's so as a topic. Basically, I think it was very manipulative. There are small grains of truth in some of the things he said, like, oh I watch so much violent porn all the time, it took a toll on the way I see women and the way I see sex. Sure. You know what, this is not a man that shares the same conscience that you and I do. This is a man that does not have a moral compass.

BERMAN: You say it was manipulative. We should point out one of the women that he abused and tortured for so long was in the courtroom at the time. Who was he trying to manipulate there?

RAJA: I think it's another form of trying to abuse these women. He did it physically. Let's not overlook the psychological abuse these women have suffered, by promulgating rape myths, saying things like well they weren't virgins. I hope everybody watching who was just as shocked and disgusted by these statements, the way we can help these women heal on a larger level as a community is to challenge statements like that. There are not good victims and bad victims. It doesn't matter whether someone was a virgin, not a virgin, short skirt, not short skirt, drinking, not drinking. And those are the kinds of things where he's trying to make them feel like they're responsible for their own victimization, and it's so wrong.

BERMAN: He says he's not a monster. He claims that he's sick. Really?

RAJA: You know, again, I think that there's probably a level of psychopathology there, but, you know, this is clearly a man, like I said, that doesn't have the same moral compass as you and I, and is clearly a threat to public safety. So you can decide whether he's fit to live with the rest of us. I think most of us would say absolutely not.

BERMAN: Sheela, let me ask you one last question here. Michelle Knight, as we said she was in the room. What must that have been like for her? How can she stay strong in the face of a display like that from Ariel Castro.

RAJA: She is so brave and incredibly resilient for doing that. And I think she pointed out so many things where obviously these victims are going to have life-long issues with trust, with fear, with anxiety. There are good evidence-based treatments that can help them with that.

In addition, she mentioned having a strong support system. She mentioned having a sense of life purpose. Now, she wants to reach out and help other victims, other people that are hurting and suffering. I hope that we as a culture also get out there and challenge these things and say, again, no good victims, no bad victims, we are with you. We'll stand with you.

BERMAN: Great points. Sheela Raja, thank you for your insight and being with us here today.

RAJA: Thank you.

BERMAN: 24 minutes after the hour. A Michigan medical student is killed on campus with a single gunshot wound. Who could have killed him and why? We will have details about this mystery right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: A possible new lead in the murder of a University of Michigan medical student but as CNN's Ted Rowlands shows us, it may just be another dead-end in the investigation.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, many people here in Ann Arbor are understandably on edge because it has been more than a week and still no arrest in the murder of a medical student whose friends say seemingly had no enemies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: Police hoped they had a possible break of solving the mysterious murder of 25-year-old third-year medical student Paul Dewolf. A potential witness caught in surveillance at the crime scene showed up Thursday at the Ann Arbor police department. But after interviewing the man, police told CNN they, quote, "don't believe he's connected to the case in any manner."

Dewolf, who was training to be a surgeon, was found dead in the basement of the Phi Rho Sigma house, a fraternity for med students where he'd lived for the past three years.

Police say he died from a single gunshot. No weapon was found, nothing known was stolen and there was no sign of a struggle.

Resources have been pouring in to help solve the murder including investigators from the Air Force. Dewolf was a second lieutenant attending medical school on an Air Force scholarship and was planning to serve full time after graduating. Also helping the University of Michigan, where students have been told to keep alert while investigators continue to search for the killer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is definitely unnerving, just bee hassling all the roommates, making sure doors are locked at all times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see more public safety and Ann Arbor police around here, do think they're definitely patrolling the area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Locking my car and dorm room and keeping areas out of common areas and kind of looking over my shoulder.

ROWLANDS: Handsome, athletic and intelligent, those who knew him say they can't imagine anyone wanting to kill Paul Dewolf.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paul was a modern day renaissance man. He excelled at everything that he did. He will be missed. The community lost a hero and it's tragic that this had to happen to such a wonderful person.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: Ann Arbor police are telling people here, especially students, to stay vigilant, beware of their surroundings until they can solve this murder. John.

BERMAN: Ted Rowlands, thanks so much.

Other stories we're following right now, an Arizona Cardinals cheerleader was arrested recently for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend. This is police video of the night it happened. Investigators say Meghan Welter (ph) and her boyfriend had been drinking heavily when an argument turned physical. She is an Iraq veteran who made headlines for trading her army uniform for pom-poms.

Cleveland police now say 75 officers violated department rules in connection with a deadly high speed chase last November. They will all face some form of discipline, some are being cited for things like driving too fast or refusing to break off the chase. As the chase ended, officers fired 137 shots at the car, killing two people. The shooting itself is still under review.

A 17-year-old boy is back in court today. We are hearing more testimony about why prosecutors think he allegedly helped to kill his younger stepbrother. That's next.

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