Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Obama Snubs Russia; Family Friend Sought in Abduction; Usher's Ex-Wife Seeks Custody of Kids; Ariel Castro's Home Destroyed

Aired August 07, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Inside the rift with Russia. Why President Obama is pulling the plug on his one-on-one with Vladimir Putin.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

After Usher's son nearly drowns, the singer's ex wants a court to step in.

Allegations of torture, abuse and murder at a reform school. Bodies of boys never found. But Florida is making a dramatic move to change that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's take all of these boys, white boys, black boys, join together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Plus, did a dad make the right move in addressing his daughter's suspected kidnapper?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT ANDERSON, FATHER OF MISSING CHILDREN: If you have a chance, you take it. You run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And, a college professor's deep, dark secret revealed. Years ago he murdered his entire family. And today the mayor wants him gone. But the school and students, well --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's very intelligent. He's almost a genius.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Thank you so much for starting your hour with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Take that, Putin, no summit. Barack Obama is backing out of that big meeting planned for Moscow, marking a new hard line from the White House. He's likening Russia's leaders to Soviet-style despits (ph) and expressing disappointment in Moscow's decision not to hand over Edward Snowden.

I want you to take a look at this statement with me. This is from the White House. Quote, "we have informed the Russian government that it would be more constructive to postpone the summit until we have more results from our shared agenda. Russia's disappointing decision to grant Edward Snowden temporary asylum was also a factor."

Here was the president just last night with Jay Leno.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Were you surprised that Russia granted Snowden asylum?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was disappointed.

LENO: Uh-huh.

OBAMA: Because, you know, even though we don't have an extradition treaty with them, traditionally we have tried to respect if there's a lawbreaker or an alleged lawbreaker in their country, we evaluate it and we try to work with them. They didn't do that with us. And in some ways it's reflective of some underlying challenges that we've had with Russia lately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, no September summit. And did you notice in that interview with Jay Leno, no attempt by the president, no attempt whatsoever to ingratiate himself with Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: There have been times where they slipped back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality.

LENO: Right.

OBAMA: And what I consistently say to them, and what I say to President Putin is, that's the past and, you know, we've got to think about the future. And there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to cooperate more effectively than we do.

LENO: Yes. And Putin seems to me like one of those old school KGB guys.

OBAMA: Well, he headed up the KGB.

LENO: Yes. Well, that's what I mean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, as we said, take that. No September summit. The president has just backed out. With me now from Washington, Jake Tapper, chief Washington correspondent and host of "The Lead." And also from Irvine, California, Bob Baer, former CIA.

So, gentlemen, I have to confess here, I missed the Cold War. But, Bob Baer, let me ask you, does this bring back any memories?

BOB BAER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, absolutely. You know, Putin is an unreconstructed KGB officer. He thinks the Cold War is still on. He's looking at Snowden as a great victory over the United States. And he's going to squeeze everything he can out of it. So why should the president go to Moscow and just add to his propaganda theater?

BALDWIN: Jake?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reason that they -- they canceled the summit, obviously, ultimately, it looks as though Edward Snowden was the straw that broke the camel's back. But senior administration officials tell me that they were already thinking very seriously about canceling it because they hadn't made any inroads in negotiating with Putin and the Russians when it came to missile defense, when it came to reducing the numbers of missiles, when it came to economic and trade agreements, when it came to human rights. So the relationships are pretty bad.

I asked them -senior administration officials what exactly the president meant when he talked about them slipping back into Cold War mentality. And I was told the number one way that they view the Russians as being -- holding on to this Cold War mentality is when it comes to negotiating the missile defense treaty. That the Russians still believe that the Americans have some sort of nefarious intent when it comes to building up strategic missile defense and they tend to view the relationship continually as a rivalry when the Obama administration doesn't see it that way.

BALDWIN: OK. So that's what the administration's telling you and your sources.

So we know about Edward Snowden. The president's clear, you know, he's clearly disappointed with that. We know about this big dispute over Syria. Russia's still backing President Bashar al Assad. And you have this arms control stalemate. And now we have, as I know, Jake, you and I have been reporting on this, this international outrage, right, at Russia's new laws that target gays and lesbians. Let me play one more clip. This is, again, the president with Jay Leno.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LENO: Suddenly homosexuality is against the law. I mean this seems like Germany. Let's round up the Jews, let's round up the gays, let's round up the blacks. I mean it starts with that, you round up people who you don't like. I mean I'm -- why is not more of the world outraged at this?

OBAMA: Well, I've been very clear that when it comes to universal rights, when it comes to people's basic freedoms, that whether you are discriminating on the basis of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, you are violating, you know, the basic morality that I think should transcend every country. And I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgendered persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Strong words from the president, right, the two words, no patience for countries that discriminate against gays and lesbians.

Tapper, are we about to see another, you know, huge struggle with the Russians over human rights here?

TAPPER: Well, I mean, the Obama administration is always pushing when it comes to human rights. That's one of the reasons I think that the Russians have granted Ed Snowden asylum so that they can push back and say, look, this is -- the shoe's on the other foot. Here's somebody who claims he would be discriminated against if he were in the United States.

But something else interesting that President Obama said in that answer to Jay Leno, was he talked about all the African countries that he's visited where there is horrific discrimination against gays and lesbians and how this is something that needs to change on an international basis. I don't think - I do think that there will be something of a showdown when it comes to the Olympics, not just with the U.S. but with other countries as well. But I don't think there's going to be any major push when it comes to gays and lesbians, U.S. versus Russia.

BALDWIN: OK. Jake Tapper, Bob Baer, thank you both very much.

Jake, we'll check back in with you next hour. As we know, the president will be speaking in California at Camp Pendleton.

And a quick reminder, watch Jake on "The Lead" every day, 4:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

Her husband gave his life battling wildfires. One of 19 elite firefighters known as the Granite Mountain Hotshots. Remember this tragic story? This was back in late June. Now his widow is battling an Arizona city for the benefits she says her husband earned. She is Juliann Ashcraft. She says her family should get the lifetime health insurance and salary full time firefighters in the city of Prescott receive. But the city says some of the Hot Shots were considered, quote/unquote, "seasonal employees" and, therefore, not eligible for the payouts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANN ASHCRAFT, WIDOW OF HOTSHOT FIREFIGHTER: I wanted to be able to just spend time with my family. I want to be able to grieve the loss of my husband. And that's what's been the worst part. You know, my son started school on Monday and every chance I get, every time he comes home and I pick him up, I'm rushed off to another meeting. There's a lot of these administrative things I'm trying to take care of and I don't get to enjoy my children the way that I want to. I don't get to make sure that they're OK going through this the way that I want to. So it's been incredibly stressful, lumped on top of something tragic. It's -- I can't wait for the resolve of it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, the city of Prescott says it is following its policy. Stay with us. We're going to talk about this and analyze this legally, what rights does she have, what about other firefighters takeaways. That's next hour.

Meantime, the nationwide search for a 16-year-old girl and her eight- year-old brother has now gone international. Mexico is now involved in the hunt for Hannah and Ethan Anderson who have been missing since their mother's body was found Sunday inside a burning home in Boulevard, California. This is near the Mexican border. A source close to this investigation tells CNN that a second body, found inside that home, is, quote/unquote, consistent with an eight-year-old child. So you have this desperate manhunt underway. A nationwide Amber Alert is in its second full day for a 2013 blue Nissan Versa with California tags.

And take a good look at this with me because this is the man police believe is the driver. This is James DiMaggio. He is described as a longtime family friend of the Andersons who's known both of these kids since they were itty bitty, since they were born. At a vigil just yesterday, the children's father and a cousin spoke about this man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT ANDERSON, FATHER OF MISSING CHILDREN: The gentleman that was a friend of ours for a long time has taken everything. Hannah will come back. And Ethan and Tina, I love you both. We all love you.

HALLIE LANDY, COUSIN OF MISSING CHILDREN: Jim, if you're watching this, please don't hurt my family and my only little cousins. Could you please bring my cousin home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Marc Klaas lost his daughter, Polly, to a sexual predator who snatched her from her bedroom in 1993. He joins me live.

Marc, nice to see you again.

You know, in reading about this story, I keep thinking about this father and going back to his words that we saw on camera just yesterday. And just as the parent of a once missing child, how are you prepared by police to -- to, you know, talk to a kidnapper via TV cameras?

MARC KLAAS, DAUGHTER WAS KIDNAPPED AND KILLED IN 1993: Well, when I was involved in the disappearance of my daughter, they were telling parents to go sit by the telephone and wait for the -- wait for the ransom call to come in. So, I mean, there really wasn't any backup for me. But I think that this dad did an incredible job. I mean, he did what he had to do. And he addressed his daughter specifically and gave her the action plan. If you have an opportunity, get out of there and we'll find you. BALDWIN: That's exactly right. That was the one thing that really jumped out at a lot of us. Let me play that in case our viewers missed it. This is the father talking to Hannah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT ANDERSON, FATHER OF MISSING CHILDREN: Hannah, we all love you very much. If you have a chance, you take it. You run. You'll be found.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You run. You will be found. I mean heaven forbid you find yourself in a situation like this, Marc. What is the right thing to say? Is there a right thing?

KLAAS: Well, I think that he did say the right thing. I mean, first of all, he's been betrayed by a good friend who murdered his wife, possibly his son, and now has stolen his daughter. He exercised a tremendous amount of restraint. I'm sure that he wishes that he could have just reached through the camera and wrung this character's neck. So I think he did a very good job. And I think the most important aspect of it was that he went straight to his daughter and addressed her and gave her the action plan.

BALDWIN: And, Marc, a lot of people in California were shocked when this Amber Alert went off on their cell phones, right? This is the first time this was done on a statewide level in California. And I just want to show our viewers who are sort of learning about this, Dennis, come on over and I can show you how to turn it on or turn it off. So, right. So if you have an iPhone, for example, you find settings. And then you go to notifications. You scroll all the way down. You can see all my apps. All the way down. You see where it says "Amber Alert" and "emergency alerts" on the very bottom? Amber Alert? You can turn it off. Mine doesn't want to turn off. Mine's on, right? So, with this, though, Marc, I hear you are not too impressed by this Amber Alert technology. Why is that?

KLAAS: Well, first of all, I think people have got to quit whining about this. I think that the rollout in California was pretty abysmal. I think that it should be more geographically located than state located. I think given the circumstances, they should have probably done a 200-mile radius distribution on that. I know I received it very late at night, as did my wife, and we had no idea it was coming. We were rather alarmed by it. And we were unable to really find out any more information about it. So there are definitely steps that can be taken to improve this. But if you don't like it, you can do just as you explained, go into your settings -

BALDWIN: And turn it off.

KLAAS: And turn it off for most things.

BALDWIN: Marc Klaas, thank you so much, as always, for your perspective. We so appreciate you.

KLAAS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, just hours after Usher's son nearly drowns in a swimming pool, the singer's ex-wife is asking the court to step in. My legal panel debates this custody battle.

Plus, today in Cleveland, as crews demolish Ariel Castro's nightmare home, one of his victims makes an emotional appearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE KNIGHT, ARIEL CASTO'S VICTIM: Nobody was there for me when I was missing. And I want the people out there to know, including the mothers, that they can have strength, they can have hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We've got some breaking news for you. I want to just - if we have live pictures of Philadelphia Airport, we can pull them up. And I can just tell you that there has been a plane, it has just landed, just about 20 minutes ago into the airport in Philadelphia. Made this emergency landing. Here you go. Live pictures from WPBI.

A U.S. Airways flight. It began in Shannon, Ireland. Just landed in Philadelphia. According to this person, it received a threat. We don't have details as far as, you know, where this threat came from, who made this threat. Police are on the scene. You can see buses by the plane. And a number of emergency vehicles.

So as soon as we get more information on this, again, threat made to this flight coming from Ireland, landing in Philadelphia. As soon as we get more information, we will pass it along to you from there.

Now a judge has ordered R&B pop star Usher Raymond to appear in a court Friday afternoon after his ex-wife asked for an emergency custody hearing following their son's near death accident. Tameka Foster just lost her 11-year-old son who was Usher's stepson. That was in a boating accident last year. And then, just this past Monday, she and Usher get a phone call that their five-year-old son, Usher Raymond V, nearly drowned in a pool at Usher's home. Little Usher got his arm caught in the pool drain. Usher's aunt and a housekeeper noticed he got stuck. They couldn't get him out so two sound technicians at the home rushed in and saved him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENA ODEN, USHER'S AUNT: My nephew was in the pool. And he -- he went in and I couldn't get him. I couldn't -- I couldn't get him. I tried to get him. And they got him out and they're doing CPR on him. He's five years old.

911 OPERATOR: OK. Stay with me. Is he awake?

ODEN: Huh?

911 OPERATOR: Is he breathing?

ODEN: Is he breathing? Is he breathing? He's breathing. Yes, ma'am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Usher, who has primary custody of his two sons, wasn't home at the time and that is one of the many issues his ex-wife now is bringing up when it comes to his parenting and in this fight. So speaking on behalf of Foster, her attorney filed a motion saying this, "that the minor children are at risk while in the care of third party care givers and it is not in the best interest of the minor children to be left alone with third party care givers while petitioner travels around the world for his work related obligations."

Let's talk about this. On the case today we have criminal defense attorney Darren Kavinoky and former criminal prosecutor Faith Jenkins.

Good to see both of you.

Darren, let me begin with you. You have this ex-wife here. She is - I mean the kids are the number one priority. I know that. You have this ex-wife. She's demanding temporary custody. Does what happened with the pool on Monday give her an advantage?

DARREN KAVINOKY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, maybe. I mean certainly in the court of public opinion, it doesn't make Usher look good. But, Brooke, you're exactly right, that ultimately what controls in a case like this is what's in the best interest of the child. And since there was an original court order that gave primary custody to Usher, what we now have to be dealing with is whether or not there are sufficient changed circumstances to warrant revisiting that -- that previously ordered arrangement.

And at the end of the day, even though this was a horrible accident, I don't know that this is the kind of thing that's going to warrant that kind of massive change. It's unforeseeable that this would have altered had the child been in her custody rather than Usher's. This is just one of those freak accidents. Chalk it up to stuff happens. But it is a great opportunity for her to get back into court to try and shake things up.

BALDWIN: Well, whether it's stuff happens or not, you have this ex- wife saying, you know, that this child is in the nanny's custody too much.

Faith, let me just read you part of the motion saying, Usher would rather have, quote, "the nanny raise the children than his ex-wife, even when he's out of town." I mean, when you look at the custody battle, she lost, but can he continue to shut her out of parenting here?

FAITH JENKINS, CRIMINAL LAWYER: Well, especially when you have a five- year-old who is now in ICU who's had a near death experience. She's arguing this wasn't just an accident. She's blaming this on negligence and lack of adult supervision and using the example of Usher not being around, not being there again, and using that as an example of why she should now get custody of these children.

It is a change of circumstances because now you have harm to a child. Now you have a five-year-old who's in ICU. That is going to be a significant argument. I think this judge is going to look at custody and re-evaluate the situation based upon the seriousness of this incident.

BALDWIN: And as we mentioned there -

KAVINOKY: Well, but - hang on.

BALDWIN: Quickly. Quickly here.

KAVINOKY: Yes, well, the circumstances - yes, the circumstances haven't changed. It's not like Usher has this new gig which is now all of a sudden causing him to travel the world. This has been a long standing career for Usher. So I really don't know that this is going to be the kind of thing that will cause the judge to alter the order.

BALDWIN: We'll see what happens.

JENKINS: Well, there's a five-year-old in ICU.

BALDWIN: We'll see what happens - we'll see what happens on Friday, you two. Darren Kavinoky and Faith Jenkins, thank you. We'll see you next hour.

Coming up next, it was a prison for three women for a decade. And now it has been demolished. The house where Ariel Castro held these three young women is no more. Hear Michelle Knight in her own words, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Moments before Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro's home was destroyed forever, survivor Michelle Knight celebrated by releasing yellow balloons up into the air. Knight says these yellow balloons are symbolic. Are symbolic of hope for every missing child everywhere. And now that home on Seymour Avenue, gone. It was a gruesome reminder for the city, for this neighborhood, of these heinous crimes committed inside. Three women kept as sex slaves, chained up, beaten, starved and now they're free. Survivor Michelle Knight showed her incredible determination to thrive. She says there is hope for every missing person.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE KNIGHT, HELD CAPTIVE 11 YEARS IN CASTRO'S HOME: Give the missing people strength and power to know that they are loved. We hear their cries. They are never forgotten in my heart. They are caterpillars waiting to turn into a butterfly. Why it was important to be here today is because nobody was there for me when I was missing. And I want the people out there to know, including the mothers, that they can have strength, they can have hope and their child will come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Incredible to see her out there today, Martin Savidge, in and, of course, you know, her brave words last week in court. Also, Martin, we know that Gina DeJesus's aunt, she was actually manning the controls for that first strike on this home. What did she say to you?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She - well let me tell you how that all begin. You know, the work crews were all set. They had the equipment there and the big excavator, which is still at work behind us. They've been going seven hours. They came to some of the family they knew were across the street and they said, hey, who wants to take the first swipe?

BALDWIN: Wow.

SAVIDGE: And the aunt said, me. And she literally went across the street, climbed into the cab, had a little coaching from one of the wrecking crew, and then she brought this just claw down with a really satisfying crunching sound on the roof, which triggered just a cheer amongst the -- all those watching.

And she came out and I went up to her and I said, well, how'd it feel? And she said, it felt great. Then she burst into tears. I mean it was really, you know, kind of this release, I guess, cathartic, maybe. But she said that it's closure. That's what she kept repeating. It's closure.

Remember, you know, it's not just the three women who were victimized here. You know, their families for so long had feared that they were lost. And so many have suffered. And glad to see that go.

BALDWIN: And good for her with helping destroy this home. So here you will have this -- this -- what will replace this home on Seymour Avenue, Martin? Do we know?

SAVIDGE: We're getting a sense of things. First of all, there are two other houses right next door that have been boarded up and been an eyesore for some time. So they're going to come down over the next couple of days as well. Which means you've got a large space there that the community is going to try to figure out what to do with. And, you know, talk of maybe a park, talk of maybe a playground.

What they all will say is that it's really the first choice of the young ladies themselves to determine what they would like to see there. Michelle Knight has already made it known, she would like to see the statue of an angel. Again, symbolic of hope. Wipe away any thoughts of horror.

And the last thing I heard the councilman for this area said, in a couple of weeks they're going to have a big block party for everyone on this street and for the victims' families. Nobody else. No media absolutely invited. Their final chance to really say, we are finished with that dark chapter.

BALDWIN: Finished. Done. Martin Savidge, thank you so much for all your reporting for us in Cleveland. We appreciate it. Coming up next, new clues in a decades old mystery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ERIN KIMMERLE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA: These are children who came here and died for one reason or another and, quite literally, have just been lost in the woods. And it's about restoring dignity and helping -- if not putting a name to them, at least marking them and acknowledging that they're here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What a mystery this one is. The governor of Florida, his cabinet, has now made this major decision on this mass grave site at a boys school. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)