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Egypt Erupts; Two Killed in Alabama Plane Crash

Aired August 14, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Egypt erupts today. Peaceful protests turn deadly. Government bulldozers target two makeshift camps. And now leaders declare a month-long state of emergency.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): He is accused of sexually harassing more than a dozen women. And now CNN has obtained the San Diego mayor's city credit card statements. Guess what? Taxpayers footing the bill for various expenses, including hundreds of dollars for a hotel room.

A 15-year-old needing a new heart to live, but doctors say they won't give him one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have given him a death sentence.

BALDWIN: Now a dramatic decision by the hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the man behind this tweet that increased Apple's stock value by more than $12 billion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And here we go, hour two.

We begin, of course, with Egypt. And you may have seen it here live on this show just a short time ago. We heard from Secretary of State John Kerry condemning today's killings in Egypt. The latest death toll is 149. That is 149 dead, plus more than 1,400 wounded.

The killing erupted at dawn as Egyptian security forces moved in to clear these two camps of peaceful protesters. Both of those camps are empty now. And as we look at a live picture here as night has fallen, Egypt is under a state of emergency for one month starting today.

Secretary Kerry says the whole thing is deplorable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Violence is simply not a solution in Egypt or anywhere else. Violence will not create a road map for Egypt's future. Violence only impedes the transition to an inclusive civilian government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Arwa Damon, CNN senior international correspondent live for us in Cairo.

Arwa, I know those have cleared. Tell me what's happening in other parts of Cairo, and has it calmed down significantly where you are?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems to have for the time being, especially when compared to the widespread and intense clashes we saw taking place earlier in the day.

But, you know, Brooke, despite the fact that those two old sit-in areas were cleared out, we have seen these pro-Morsi demonstrators taking over another area that's a few miles away from the sit-in that was taking place at Cairo University.

We were down there earlier in the day. A few hundred of them were there. There was a fair amount of gunfire in the area. And then at one point, actually, it got a bit too close. We ended up having to duck for cover, eyewitnesses there saying that for about six hours, security forces, they're saying, fired at them, that they were unprovoked, that no one there was armed.

We returned later on after the gunfire had subsided, spoke to medics. They had set up something of a makeshift field clinic just as they had at the two other sit-in areas. They were all saying that they're going to keep going. The government, the security forces might clear them out of one area, but that they were going to continue, perhaps not in the same large numbers that we had been seeing up until now. But they're still out there. They're not going home, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Arwa Damon for us in Cairo.

We heard from as we mentioned Secretary of State John Kerry discussing specifically this violence, calling it deplorable, calling it not at all the answer for those in Egypt.

I want to bring in Jill Dougherty. She's at the State Department there.

And, Jill, Secretary Kerry not mincing words.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

And that may be the problem, Brooke. He's not mincing words. He's using many of the same words that they have used before. Granted, it's a little bit more intense, deeply concerned, condemn the violence by both sides, oppose a state of emergency, he said, and violence will only lead to economic disaster.

But he didn't go any further in saying will there be any consequences for the military and the government for taking these steps. Let's listen to exactly what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: Today's events are deplorable. And they run counter to Egyptian aspirations for peace, inclusion and genuine democracy.

Egyptians inside and outside of the government need to take a step back. They need to calm the situation and avoid further loss of life. We also strongly oppose a return to a state of emergency law. And we call on the government to respect basic human rights, including freedom of peaceful assembly and due process under the law. And we believe that the state of emergency should end as soon as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: All right. So one of the things that the U.S. could do, of course, would be to end that aid, $1.5 billion to the Egyptian military. But there was no statement of that.

In fact, right after the secretary left, we were briefed with Jen Psaki. That is ongoing right now. She was asked about the review of aid. Is there any? And apparently the review is ongoing, but no determination about that. And she also said, Brooke, we can't force this situation.

So, obviously, the U.S. still standing by looking at this with horror, but not clear exactly what the U.S. at this point can really to about it.

BALDWIN: Still condemning, but no major change. Jill Dougherty, I hear you loud and clear. Jill Dougherty for us at the State Department, appreciate you.

In St. Joseph, Louisiana, one hostage is dead, another is in critical condition after police ended a 12-hour standoff with a gunman at a bank. This gunman, take a look at him. He was Fuaed Abdo Ahmed. He was shot and killed by police as they stormed in, but not before this man shot his two hostages, killing one of them. And police say Ahmed was mentally ill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MICHAEL EDMONSON, LOUISIANA STATE POLICE: He was mad at people. He was mad at people that were he said were mean to him, that he had voices in his head. Of course, one of the demands was he wanted to have this device that was implanted in his head removed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The gunman originally took three hostages, but let one of them go.

Now to just an awful scene, deadly scene in Birmingham, Alabama. The NTSB just released these photos of a UPS cargo plane that crashed there this morning, killing both the pilot and the co-pilot. They were the only two people on board. The plane, an Airbus A-300, slammed into a street that runs parallel to the Birmingham Airport.

Right now, investigators are still on the scene collecting evidence from the crash.

David Mattingly is there for us in Birmingham.

David, the first obvious question is, you know, what do we know about what might have caused this and what was the NTSB saying?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The NTSB so far is not talking about any sort of preliminary findings. They have only been on the ground here a couple of hours.

And I have to tell you, Brooke, we have a dramatically different viewpoint of this crash site than we had for you an hour ago. You can see it behind me just over my shoulder, right where this aircraft hit the earth on a hillside right outside of the Birmingham Airport. We have been hearing all along about how this aircraft went down about a half-mile away from a subdivision.

That is accurate based on what we see here. But that's not telling the whole story. About a block away from here, there are pine trees that have the tops ripped out of them, just splintered like a tornado came through here. There are power lines that have been brought down. So this plane missed hitting houses by a matter of feet as it was coming down to its final impact spot, what you see behind me.

Right now, everybody speculating about what kind of causes there could be. A lot of people here on the ground, officials, ruling out the possibility of weather. They say there was some precipitation in the area at the time, but nothing that they would think would be a problem for air travel.

People are talking a lot about possible mechanical problems with the plane, people hearing the plane fly over before dawn. I spoke to one man who lives nearby here. He works for the Civil Air Patrol, used to be an aircraft mechanic. He said it sounded like the engine was backfiring as it flew over his house.

And immediately after that, he heard the engines race as if the pilot was trying to give every bit of power to those engines to gain altitude. Now, again, we're all just speculating here. No one knows exactly what they heard. But we have heard from other residents who talked about it sounded like the engines were possibly out of gas or sputtering as it came over. Some very interesting and unusual things being reported by people here. We're waiting to get more details from the professional investigators, the NTSB.

BALDWIN: So as they are working the investigation, I have to ask, because this was a UPS plane, I imagine, full of cargo. Do we know what was on board? Is everything gone?

MATTINGLY: You can count on that being one of the top three questions from the NTSB. What was on board this aircraft?

We have not heard from UPS publicly about what this plane was carrying, if there was anything on board that might have contributed to the explosions that people heard when this plane made impact or if there was anything on board or something that happened on board that might have contributed to the crash in the first place. Nothing at this point, information-wise, to go along those lines of questioning. But you can bet that is one of the top three questions the NTSB will be asking as they look at this. What was on board? What were the conditions? And what did the pilot know and when and how did he act as it was coming down?

BALDWIN: David Mattingly, thank you.

And now to the latest chapter here in San Diego. The embattled mayor, Bob Filner, a recall petition against him is expected to begin collecting signatures next week. Filner has thus far refused calls to step down. His city-issued credit card is now under scrutiny for charges, including a $30,000 trip to Paris, $3,000 to an image consultant. A hotel tab of more than 500 bucks and a $128 juicer.

CNN's Kyung Lah took a good, long look at those expenses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN FAULCONER, SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL: Unfortunately, we have a mayor who is out of touch with reality.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out of touch in every way, says San Diego City Councilman Kevin Faulconer who is now demanding answers about this. CNN obtained Filner's city credit card statements from January to May, all paid by taxpayers.

(on camera): What are these, do you think?

KEVIN FAULCONER, SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL: When you see statements like this, it raises questions about city business being done or not. He doesn't think that the rules apply to him.

LAH (voice-over): Expenses investigators are very interested in, over five months, $511 spent at the Westgate Hotel at least one charge was on a Sunday.

(on camera): The mayor's office is over here at the City Administration Building. The Westgate Hotel, right across the street, just steps away. The regulars at the bar tell us that the mayor was often here and usually with a different woman every time.

(voice-over): Why that matters? "The U.T. San Diego" reports the mayor's security detail told investigators that Filner took women to the Westgate. Faulconer, a Republican, and on the city's audit committee, is looking into a junket Filner took to Paris that appears to have little to do with San Diego.

Faulconer says it cost taxpayer's $30,000. Filner has promised to pay it back, but so far no proof of a refund. Other credit card charges that raise red flags to Faulconer, $3,000 to an online reputation management firm and oddly $128 for a juicer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can turn ordinary food into super food.

LAH: We tried again to talk to Filner's chief of staff, Lee Burdick. She still doesn't have anything to stay to us, but she spoke at a luncheon meeting. When asked if the mayor can still lead she replied --

LEE BURDICK, MAYOR BOB FILNER'S CHIEF OF STAFF: I don't know if you know this, the mayor has not resigned yet and consequently I'm drawing the conclusion that, yes, he does believe that he has the way to achieve the objectives set out in his vision.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Kyung Lah reporting. Now, some local businesses are boycotting the mayor. Hooters, which is known for female waitstaff, posted a sign saying Filner is no longer welcome there.

Coming up next, we're going to take you live to Los Angeles, where Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson's ex-wife, just took a break from testifying in court. She's back on the stand in just about an hour from now. We're live in L.A. next.

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BALDWIN: To Los Angeles we go, where Michael Jackson's ex-wife is on the stand today in the singer's wrongful death trial. Rarely seen or really heard from in public, here she is, Debbie Rowe. She was called to testify today by concert promoter AEG, which is blamed on Jackson's death because it hired the doctor who treated Jackson's insomnia with the anesthesia propofol.

Ted Rowlands is live for us outside the courthouse.

Ted, why did AEG Live call Debbie Rowe? What were they hoping for in her testimony?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they want her to establish their narrative. And that is that Michael Jackson was abusing drugs for decades, but nobody knew about it except for very inner, inner, inner circle. His family didn't know. And AEG absolutely didn't know when they hired him to do this concert tour.

We didn't know what to expect from Debbie Rowe because she was thought of as maybe almost a combative witness. She didn't want to be here. But 45 minutes in, boy, oh, boy, she is delivering a lot of information about Michael Jackson and his drug use.

We had to just break for lunch. But she talked about first establishing a relationship with Jackson and then went through after the Pepsi incident. Remember when he burned his hair in that accident during a Pepsi commercial. She said after that, that's when the pain meds started in. And she said there were competing doctors going after each other, trying to basically impress Michael Jackson with how they could control pain.

She said that his tolerance was so low and his fear of pain was so high that these doctors would compete and they were like vultures. She at one point said these idiots were going back and forth competing with each other. She broke down in tears a few times. We have gotten to the point just before he went on tour in Europe.

This is what AEG wants to come out. We will get it back after the lunch break. They want her to talk about how he was using Diprivan or propofol to rest during this concert tour, again, establishing that he was a drug addict for decades, but only a few people knew about it.

BALDWIN: OK. Ted Rowlands -- there goes the car alarm. I will ask you a second question.

ROWLANDS: Very annoying.

BALDWIN: I was waiting for that. Nice job, by the way. Quickly, just because we really rarely see her, we know she has this relationship with Paris Jackson. How did she seem? How did she appear?

ROWLANDS: She appeared very confident sitting down in the chair and taking all the questions, telling a few jokes. And then she broke down in tears, like, immediately talking about these doctors and the way that they were prescribing drugs to Michael.

I'll tell you, she was all over the place, but very compelling. I'm sure this jury is going to be remembering everything she says, because they were locked in. She was very compelling. And we will get more after the lunch break in about 90 minutes.

BALDWIN: OK. Ted Rowlands, thank you very much in L.A. for us.

Coming up, unbelievable video from this jail in Miami, maximum security here. All the cell doors, watch this. They all, poof, open at once. And out come the inmates. Wait until you see what happens next.

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BALDWIN: It is the shocking video that's now launched this internal investigation. This surveillance camera footage we're showing you here from this maximum security jail in Florida shows the moment. You see the cell doors open. The inmates armed with makeshift weapons creep out into the hallway here and wait until you see what happens next.

Sara Ganim picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): June 14, a maximum security prison in Miami, this dramatic footage captured on surveillance tape and obtained by "The Miami Herald."

A shirtless inmate being chased jumps over a railing on to the floor below. That inmate is Kenneth Williams. The jump broke his ankle and vertebrae. Another inmate seems to come to his rescue after he falls, standing over him like a shield. Just moments before he takes the leap, you can see all of the cell doors of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center open at the same time. Inmates walk out of their cells. It's not the first time there's been a security breach like this at the jail. There's a central system that corrections officers have to activate to release all cell doors, and it was also mysteriously pushed back in May.

That time , there wasn't an incident. But this time, "The Miami Herald" reports corrections officers used pepper spray. They also found at least two homemade knives. The incident and the question of who pushed that group release button is under review.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: So I saw the video. I had a couple of questions about this. I talked to "The Miami Herald" reporter who broke this story and asked him about this mystery surrounding the sudden opening of all the inmate cell doors and why this particular inmate was targeted. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID OVALLE, "THE MIAMI HERALD": The corrections officers have access to the button. Now, they insisted from the beginning that there was some sort of malfunction with the panel and that the lights went off on the panel. The company went through and ran a check. And there was no malfunction, according to the company, that it was operator error was how they described it.

BALDWIN: OK.

OVALLE: But, of course, the corrections officers there say, no, nobody pressed it.

BALDWIN: You see this one guy in the orange shorts, he's the one who hops the railing, hops the balcony, because clearly they're after him. Who is he?

OVALLE: Well, you know, Kenneth Williams is a reputed gang member from Liberty City. He's a pretty, apparently, you know, notorious person within law enforcement, supposedly runs a gang at a housing project up there. He's no saint, if you talk to the cops. But it certainly is -- it certainly is, you know, made some enemies apparently from earlier altercations within the jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: David Ovalle from "The Miami Herald," thank you.

We should tell you CNN reached out to the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. They say they won't be commenting on the incident while an internal investigation is under way. We will stay on it.

Coming up next, a teenager in need of a heart transplant, mere months to live. There's now a drastic change, drastic development in this story. New hope for this guy. That story is next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)