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A-Rod Suspension Likely Today; U.S. Extends Embassy Closures; McCain, Graham Heads to Cairo; School Bus Beating Caught on Tape; San Diego Mayor Enters Counseling; Dogged By Sex Scandal; Severe Weather Sweeps Across U.S.

Aired August 05, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, high alert: 19 American embassies and consulates shut down, an unprecedented closure and threat from al Qaeda. Is an attack imminent?

Plus, speed ball: A-Rod and word of a major 214-game suspension. All eyes on the Yankee slugger as he's set to play in tonight's game in Chicago -- is that going to happen? Will he take the field?

And sex counseling. The mayor of San Diego to enter his two-week intensive treatment following a slew of sexual harassment claims. But is it too late for him?

NEWSROOM starts right now.

Good morning. I'm Brianna Keilar in for Carol Costello. The sports world is waiting on what could be the largest number of drug suspensions in baseball history. Of course, at the top of the list is Alex Rodriguez. Today Major League Baseball is expected to suspend the Yankees third baseman with some reports saying the suspension could last until the 2015 season.

CNN's Rachel Nichols has been following the story for us from New York. This is a huge day today, we're expecting, Rachel.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. But here's the crazy thing in this circus that's been going on. Alex Rodriguez could be hit with a huge suspension today. There are some reports it's going to be more than 200 games. Yet, you could still see him on the field for the New York Yankees in Chicago tonight. That is because he is expected to be able to be appeal that suspension and still stay on the field.

We know he's going to be allowed to appeal it no matter what. It's expected that he will be penalized under Major League Baseball's drug policy. Last week, baseball had kind of leaked out that they were leaking about punishing him under the commissioner's special discretion. That would have been meant that he would be off the field. That the punishment whatever they admitted. He would have to sit and wait while he appealed it. It seems he's going to be suspended under the regular drug policy. The reason baseball might want to do this is it's a safer route.

If they stick to the regular drug policy, there's less for an arbitrator to overturn on appeal. It also means that the U.S. court system doesn't get involved because A-Rod's lawyer threatened to file an injunction if they tried to keep him off the field during the appeal. So this is the safer route, but it's certainly going to be the crazier route because we are going to see Alex Rodriguez playing in the middle of this circus.

KEILAR: Who knew? So strange but it sounds like that's what we're going to see. Rachel Nichols, thank you so much. Now suspension or not, A-Rod says he plans to play tonight for the Yankees against the Chicago White Sox. You just heard that.

CNN's Jason Carroll is in Chicago. He's waiting to see if A-Rod shows up, which we're expecting and Jason, there's just so much drama surrounding this game.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If he shows up, Brianna, he's definitely planning to show up. That's what he said this weekend when he spoke to reporters out in Trenton, New Jersey. I was there. He was asked about a number of things, the allegations, the suspension, didn't want to talk about any of that. He said his main focus is to get back with the Yankees and back with his teammates today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX RODRIGUEZ, NEW YORK YANKEES THIRD BASEMAN: Excited to be playing tonight even more excited about Monday. I feel I can't wait to see my teammates. I feel like I can help us win and be a better team, and I haven't seen a lot of my brothers in a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: And as you can imagine, this has been the type of story that sports writers just dream about, the type of story that basically writes its own headlines. One sports reporter that I spoke to called it a perfect soap opera, and when I got together a group of sports writers to talk about a number of topics, including that very controversial comment that Rodriguez made where he said that he basically felt as though he was being targeted because he's a high profile, highly paid player. Listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Do you believe he is being targeted because of the amount of money that he makes and because of that lucrative contract that he signed? Is he a target?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's because of that. I think it's more because major league baseball feels that he kind of got one over on them before.

CARROLL: So you believe that Major League Baseball is out to get him, Rodriguez? CHUCK HIXSON, "USA TODAY": I think that there's a little bit of a grudge because, you know, he has admitted it and yet, they haven't been able to do anything to him.

CARROLL: And in some ways he would be an easy target. He's admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in the past. He's not been playing particularly well by his own admission and making a lot of money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The money's a factor. He's owed nearly $100 million. You can't take that out of equation.

CARROLL: What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the reason they don't like him is because he's always been sort of a fly in the ointment. He's never been a particularly likable person.

CARROLL: Why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's pompous. He's, you know, he's always -- often has thought of himself as bigger than the game.

CARROLL: Do you believe he loved the game so much he would be willing to do anything to play it?

ANDREW MARCHAND, ESPN: Well, I mean, look, if you look at him in this current scandal when he did the performance enhancing drugs they're alleging, it was after he already had his big contract. Is that will vanity? Is there some integrity there? I don't know.

CARROLL: What do you think?

MARCHAND: I think it's a combination, again, this is alleged if he did it or not. We don't know for certain. But if you go on the assumption that he did do it, I think there are some vanity and a performance level that he wants to achieve even though he already has the money.

HIXSON: I don't doubt for a second that he loves and respects the game. I don't doubt that at all. You know, there's a lot of pressure on a guy. When you get that kind of contract, I think you do want to put up certain numbers and maybe you do buy into that a little bit where you need that extra help to do it.

CARROLL: Should he be allowed to play while he's --

KEN DAVIDOFF, "NEW YORK POST": That's a great question. There are two different legal avenues to take there. One is, yes, he can. One is, no, he can't. I mean, there's two different routes that maybe baseball can take.

CARROLL: What do you think? What would you like to see happen here?

DAVIDOFF: For my own selfish purposes, I'd like to see him play. In terms of justice, I think either way could be justified. CARROLL: Thoughts on that?

HIXSON: I think he can fight away, as well, to be fair, he probably should be allowed to play because if it were to come back that he didn't do these things, then you've penalized him for nothing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And Brianna, I've spoken to some of those in the Rodriguez camp and I've spoken to Rodriguez himself. The impression that I really get is that he wants to do whatever he can to get back in the game. He wants to prove the naysayers wrong. He wants to be able to prove that not only can he still play the game at his age, but he also wants to problem that he deserves to be out there with the rest of the Yankees playing the game, as well -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Jason Carroll, thank you.

Now, the Obama administration is taking no chances. It is extending the shutdown of U.S. embassies and consulates across parts of Africa and the Middle East over threats from al Qaeda. Nineteen diplomatic posts will be closed all week. White House correspondent Dan Lothian is following the latest in Washington. Hi there, Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Brianna. Well, you know, I was talking to a senior administration official who told me that the president continues to get briefed on the latest developments today. He had some briefings yesterday, as well. This follows a high level meeting by some of the president's national security team, including his national security advisor, Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry, also Chuck Hagel from the Defense Department talking about the latest information on this threat and what kind of actions officials need to take.

This all follows the president early last week directing his national security team to take these extraordinaire actions. The steps that as you pointed out have now resulted in some 19 diplomatic posts closed now for a week and all of this officials telling it us done really just out of an abundance of caution -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Now, it's interesting, Dan, because there's a lot of the folks who normally are not people who are in the corner of President Obama who are reacting to this and some people might be surprised what they're saying how the administration is handling this.

LOTHIAN: That's right. You know, we're hearing from a lot of lawmakers and some of them have gotten intelligence briefings who are talking about the credible nature of the threats, talking about how they are alarming. But you're right. We are hearing from some of the president's harshest critics who seem to be on the same page with the president when it comes to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I appreciate what the administration is doing. They're taking the right approach to this. Benghazi was a complete failure, the threats were real there. The reporting was real and we will basically drop the ball. We've learned from Benghazi, thank God, and the administration's doing this right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Brianna, as you know, over the last several weeks, there's been in national conversation about NSA surveillance programs and, of course, Edward Snowden has been at the center of that. Now with this latest threat, there's this other conversation as part of that, which is how much or if any this -- these programs played in uncovering these threats. That's something that's been debated but that's certainly now part of this national conversation about the NSA surveillance programs.

KEILAR: Lindsey Graham saying that, as well. Dan Lothian for us at the White House. It's always great to see you.

Now checking our top stories, twos U.S. senators are due in Cairo today. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are making the trip at President Obama's request in an effort to break through the political impasse there. They're expected to meet with Egypt's interim president, Addly Mansur. The country has been embroiled in chaos since Mohamed Morsy was toppled last month.

Now police say he was quote, "bent on doing evil," the 38 years Nathan Campbell is locked up this morning charged with murder. This video is heart wrenching, that is him allegedly driving down could the crowded Venice Beach boardwalk Saturday. The woman he allegedly killed a 32- year-old from Italy. Her husband told police they were there on their honeymoon. A dozen more people were hurt, one of them critically.

Closing arguments are set to begin Monday in the trifle James "Whitey" Bulger accuses of 19 murders is during his 20-year reign of terror in Boston. Each side has three hours to make its final case before the jury decides his fate. At 83, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Bulger says the trial has been a sham.

A brutal school bus beating caught on tape. A 13-year-old boy attacked by three 15-year-old boys back in July. This is obviously video that's very difficult to watch. You really get a sense of just how brutal it was. The victim here left with a broken arm and the three boys who attacked him now charged.

This many video went viral. Now questions are being raised over why the bus driver did not jump in to do more. Pamela Brown is joining me live now from New York with more details on this. Pamela, why didn't he jump in?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot of questions surrounding this, Brianna, but the school bus driver is saying that he did all he could do. He followed school bus policy during this horrific attack. But as you mentioned, he did not physically step in to protect this victim and that has sparked mixed reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. You have to get out somebody here quick, quick, quick. They're about to beat this boy to death over here. Please get somebody here quick and they're still doing it. There's nothing I can do.

BROWN (voice-over): The school bus driver, John Moody, looks on in horror, pleading with the dispatcher to send someone to stop the vicious attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got a fight. I need help in a hurry. I've got a fight. I need help in a hurry.

BROWN: Police say three 15-year-olds attacked a 13-year-old after he told school officials that one had tried to sell him drugs.

You can hear the 13-year-old's cries for help as he's mercilessly punched and stomped. Police say the attackers broke the victim's arms and stole his money. The three boys were arrested on aggravated battery charges. According to Pinellas County School policy, the driver is not required to intervene, only to call dispatch. Moody says he was too afraid to step in.

JOHN MOODY, SCHOOL BUS DRIVER: The three boys just jumped on him and started pounding on him. I did all I can. I was looking. I was in shock. I was petrified.

BROWN: Pinellas County leaves it up to the driver, but many counties actually forbid drivers from physically stopping fights. Gulfport police say Moody won't face charges, but that the 64-year-old could have done more.

CHIEF ROBERT VINCENT, GULFPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT: There was clearly an opportunity for him to intervene and/or check on the welfare of the child in this case. And he didn't make any effort to do so.

BROWN: While his attorney says that was not an option, Moody says he's haunted by the attack, wondering if he could have done more.

MOODY: I wanted to help him so bad. I wanted to help him so bad. I wanted to help him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And asked why, Moody will not face charges. A Florida state attorney said it wasn't like he was looking out the window while cleaning his finger nails. They downplayed the victim's injured after the attack saying is he skedaddled right out the door after the attack. The driver said this was his only problem in 18 years on the job. Brianna, he retired two weeks after the incident.

KEILAR: It's so the horrific to watch this video because you're surprised almost that this boy walked away with only a broken arm and some bruises. You mentioned that some counties actually for bid drivers from physically breaking up a fight. Is that the case here? His lawyer said the bus driver didn't have options. Did he? BROWN: He followed policy. He had the choice in this case, Brianna, to jump in physically. There was nothing forbidding him to do that in this particular school district but you know, he argues look, this could do more harm than good physically intervening. The reason why these other school districts don't allow that is for that reason in particular and also, you know, it could lead to lawsuits and all sorts of issues if the driver does jump in. So he does have a case to make. There is a reason why he wasn't -- why he's not facing charges.

KEILAR: He's 64. I mean, if you're 64, you certainly aren't choosing to get into a battle with three 15-year-old boys. You can see how he wanted to do that or many people would.

BROWN: It's a no-win situation.

KEILAR: Yes. Pamela Brown, thank you for that report.

Now still too many could, the mayor of San Diego is headed off to that controversial two-week behavioral therapy clinic in the midst of his sex harassment scandal, that story after the break.

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KEILAR: A look at your top stories. A sky diving instructor is dead after his equipment malfunctioned. The 66-year-old instructor jumped out of a plane with a student on Saturday but he had to cut the parachute away and use a backup in mid-air. He was found dead about a mile from where he was supposed to land. The student is hospitalized in critical condition.

The ex-cop convicted of murdering his wife will be sentenced today. Brent Seecac was found guilty in June of killing his wife and setting fire to their home two years ago. His wife was reportedly seeking a divorce at the time of her death.

Today is the day San Diego Mayor Bob Filner is headed to the controversial two-week behavioral clinic in the midst of a sexual harassment scandal. Over the weekend, another woman, the tenth woman accused the embattled mayor of making unwanted sexual advances. The crude allegations range from unwanted touching to sexual advances and the chorus calling for Filner to quit is growing as you can imagine. He refuses to step down though or even appoint an interim mayor in his absence.

Casey Wian joining me live for more on this. Hi, Casey.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brianna. This is really one of the more bizarre stints in rehab that we've ever heard about. Usually you think about somebody going into behavioral therapy or some rehab stay and think they'll be completely removed from society basically and concentrate on their therapy.

Filner is going to be briefed twice a day, with us in the morning, once in the evening on city activities. He's going to retain his powers as mayor during this two-week rehab assignment at an undisclosed location. While he is away, is he going to be required to give testimony in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by his former spokeswoman that was the first woman to come out and publicly accuse him of this bizarre behavior?

And also, this evident to get him out of office, the recall effort, actually two of them were going on at the same time competing recall efforts. Over the weekend, those two have now joined forces and say they're now working together to get him out of office. But for right now, Filner is showing no signs of being told to step down.

KEILAR: I think that's why a lot of people are sort of wondering, is he really trying to work on himself or is he just buying time here? He's not appointing an interim mayor as you mentioned? How is all of this impacting the city of San Diego?

WIAN: According to people in San Diego, it is having a very real impact. While he is at rehab, he has delegated many of his responsibilities to underlings so he's not going to be running the city on an hour by hour basis. Also, the former mayor of the city of San Diego who now runs the economic development department there, we have to point out he's a Republican, Filner is a Democrat, but he says the city is losing some business, companies that may be thinking about expanding there are shying away interest San Diego because of this mess in the city government -- Brianna.

KEILAR: That is such a shame. It is a beautiful city, and certainly this -- it's almost gross to watch how this is affecting them in a negative way. Case I, thanks for your report. So where do we go from here now.

Still to come, record rains have left some parts of the country flooded over the weekend. It isn't over yet. We're going to have a look ahead at the forecast right after the break.

From the high plays to the stormy south, we've got severe weather making its way across many parts of the country. In Colorado you had damaging hail, hitting the rocky mountain state over the weekend, a floating there on floodwaters, amazing pictures. This is Wichita, Kansas, where the streets look like rivers as heavy rains is soaked the region leaving cars stranded, forcing some residents to evacuate. So where do we go from here? Indra Peterson is live for us from New York, any relief?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That is unbelievable video. I wish I could say there was relief. This was yesterday morning in six hours, almost 7 inches of rain. You're talking about thunderstorm after thunderstorm. That's what they're dealing with. Today in the forecast again, more thunderstorms in the forecast, they're going to add rain to this. All throughout the week till the upcoming weekend a threat of thunderstorms each day. So the flood risk is going to be extremely high. We say it all of the time. Six inches of water is all it takes to take you off your feet. Two feet of water takes a huge SUV away. Please do not drive through floodwaters.

The other thing is we're talking about today is the severe risk. The threat potential going anywhere from Montana down through Kansas and now expended even in through Iowa. We'll watch for that threat of isolated tornadoes definitely out there. More likely just damaging winds and large hail in the forecast in that region. Into the south, rain has been the story. Every day it almost seems like we're talking about rain in the southeast.

Still the picture again today, another several inches of rain possible, this is the warm humid air, the thunderstorm potential remains high. Where it is actually beautiful is here in the northeast. Sorry I'm smiling about this but you know it's so hot for us a couple weeks ago, temperatures down into the 70s well below normal.

By the second half of the week, chances for rain entering the northeast, as well. In case you're wondering, we have the august outlook. The trend below normal in the northeast is staying with us. Above normal temperatures all the way to the west especially in Texas where the drought essential is high and they cannot seem to get relief. They need some of the rain we just showed is you out in Kansas.

KEILAR: Zero degrees in Washington while I'm away, of course. What a bummer. Always the way it goes. Indra, thank you. >

It is safe to say, Madonna started it and it is safe to say that lady gaga followed suit, but now the two of them are in hot water with Russian officials. We'll tell you why.

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