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Philippines Pounded by Super Typhoon; Interview with James Reynolds; Talks on Iran Nuke End with No Deal; Veterans Day Deals; Incognito Breaks His Silence; Navy Bribery Scandal Widens

Aired November 11, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And just in time for the holiday shopping rush, big news for Amazon.com this morning and you.

NEWSROOM starts now.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello, thank you for spending your Veterans Day with us. This is what it looks like in Washington, D.C., at the Tomb of the Unknown. Later this morning President Obama will join others at Arlington National Cemetery. It's just one of many events honoring our nation's service members and this morning, U.S. troops find themselves in a familiar role, helping those in need.

U.S. Marines now on the ground in the -- in the Filipino city of Tacloban, which took a direct hit from a super typhoon described as possibly the strongest hurricane in history. They're spear-heading relief efforts from the city's airport which reopened today to limited commercial flights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. PAUL KENNEDY, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I brought my contingency command post down here, working with the United States agency for international development so there's a lot that we can do.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are we going to be seeing more --

KENNEDY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: More airplanes coming in today?

KENNEDY: And on the leading edge of it. So you're searching more Marines landing probably within a few hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, the official death toll in the Philippines is now 942, as many as 10,000 people feared dead. The United Nations estimates more than nine million people have been impacted by the storm, and for those who survived, the situation is becoming desperate.

One man waving a white flag to get the attention of aid workers, another writing the short but powerful message on a basketball court, "We need food." But amid all the devastation a sign of hope, this baby born at the Tacloban airport in a makeshift hospital. The storm which has weakened to a tropical storm now is moving into southern China after making landfall in Vietnam.

Early reports are that the damage will not be as extensive in those countries as it was in the Philippines.

Well, let's now go to Cebu, Philippines. That's 60 miles where the storm came onshore, and that's where we find CNN correspondent Anna Coren.

Good morning, Anna.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol, yes, this is where I am at the Cebu air strip which is very much the staging ground, if you like, for this massive military operation that is under way.

You mentioned those hard-hit areas not far from where we are and they are in desperate need of food, freshwater and medical supplies. You know, they have going without them for some four days now and they are really struggling.

We traveled with the military by chopper to the north of Cebu which is also, you know, hit extremely hard and places have been completely wiped out. You know, 90 percent of the islands completely gone so these people are desperate, they're in need of these supplies and they need these convoys to get to them as soon as possible.

C-130 Hercules, Carol, have been taking off from this airport throughout the day. They've also been not only shipping out supplies but also bringing in survivors from those hard-hit areas. And you know, we spoke to some of those people and they're absolutely shell shocked. You know, they have lost everything. Their family, their friends, their homes, so it really is, you know, a dire situation here in the Philippines. And it's only going to become more so in the coming days, as more people arrive -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Anna Coren reporting live from the Philippines.

Blinding rain, ferocious winds, deafening sounds, that's how my next guest describes this deadly super typhoon which came ashore just two blocks from his hotel. The chaotic scene captured on video as trees bending to the force of winds gusting up to 250 miles per hour. Storm surges dumping between 40 and 50 feet of water on the streets as residents used whatever they could find, including mattresses to escape.

Joining me now from Hong Kong is storm chaser James Reynolds who took that incredible video.

Good morning, James.

JAMES REYNOLDS, STORM CHASER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Tell me what it was like to be in the heart of that storm. REYNOLDS: This was a terrifying event to go through, the sheer ferocity of the storm, as it came ashore over Tacloban was really just unimaginable. I've covered many typhoons before, but this was just off the scale, compared to anything I've seen. I've documented and been through.

The winds just screaming, debris hitting off solid concrete hotels so hard that we could feel it shaking and then of course the terrifying force of the storm surge and the rapid speed at which it swamped the downtown parts of the city.

COSTELLO: And we hear this kind of thing all the time, that the initial storm doesn't cause most of the damage, the storm surge that comes after causes the most devastation. Explain that to us.

REYNOLDS: Well, yes, as the storm moved over our location, it was when the backhand wind started blowing the water into the bay which Tacloban sits on. These on shore winds just pushed this big wall of water right into the city and swamped it and those fragile, vulnerable communities right along the coast. It was essentially like they were hit by a tsunami.

I was out in that area just two hours after the worst of the storm had passed and people, their properties just completely wiped out, bodies being pulled from the rubble, shell-shocked residents trying to salvage what little belongings were left in the rubble.

COSTELLO: Just sounds devastating. Thank you for sharing your pictures and your story, James Reynolds reporting for us live from Hong Kong.

Tonight's CNN's Anderson Cooper will be in Manila for a close up look at the destruction and how aide workers and survivors are coming together in an effort to recover. That's tonight at 8:00 and 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

And for more on how you can help the survivors of this disaster in the Philippines, please visit CNN.com/impact.

No deal yet with Iran over its nuclear program, a weekend of intense talks in Geneva failed to strike an agreement that would have stopped or curbed Iran's enrichment of uranium. For a while it looked like a deal was close, could have eased the way for Iran to get out from under crippling economic sanctions. Secretary of State John Kerry this morning downplayed the failure to reach a deal saying it was all part of the process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: No agreement has been reached about the end game here. That's the subject of the negotiation. The sanctions were put in place in order to bring about a negotiation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Reza Sayah joins us from Tehran with that side of the story.

Good morning.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. A lot of people here in Iran, and I think in Washington, all over the world very eager to find out why a deal, why an agreement wasn't reached during the nuclear talks in Geneva, and I think until all sides meet again a lot of people are going to dissect every statement made by key officials including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Here in Iran it's widely believed that the agreement wasn't signed because the world powers were not in agreement. That there were divisions. And it's widely believed that France and its foreign minister played the role of spoilers. There were reports that Iran was prepared to suspend uranium enrichment at 20 percent, if so that would seemingly make it impossible for them to make a nuclear bomb but there's speculation that the French foreign minister said that's not enough and demanded more.

However, earlier today, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that that was not the case, that the world powers were on the same page, that they had an agreement drafted and ready, and it was Iran that balked it signing it.

So you get an idea how difficult these negotiations are, clearly a lot of Iranians are disappointed, it's perhaps Iranian people, Carol, who would gain the most with an agreement because it would probably help ease some of these crippling sanctions they've suffered through, through so many years -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Reza Sayah reporting live from Iran this morning.

U.S. technology chief Todd Park has been subpoenaed to testify about the Obamacare fiasco to a House panel Wednesday. But a group of technology experts with ties to the White House get their wish, he will not be testifying at all. They've actually launched this Web site with a simple message, "Let Todd Work." They say he should be -- he should be working to fix the problem, not spending hours preparing to testify before the House oversight committee. They say this is a mess he did not make.

This Veterans Day, restaurants and retailers across the country are saying thank you by offering some big discounts to veterans and active duty military from breakfast to dinner, vets knowing where to go could save them some big bucks.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange to further help them out.

Good morning, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, vets can eat like a king or a queen all day today and in most cases all they need to show is a military I.D. Denny's is giving free all- you-can-eat pancakes from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. today, both today and tomorrow. Vets can get any pizza and non-alcoholic drink at California Pizza Kitchen for free. The Golden Corral has deals as well, as offering a free buffet, dinner and drink. Krispy Kreme, Red Robin, Starbucks also offering deals as well and lest we forget, Hooters, if veterans buy a drink there they can get a $10.99 dinner for free, but seriously, you know, it is hard to ever really thank our country service members enough but restaurants at least offering these small tokens to them -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. That's nice, Alison Kosik, reporting live for us, you'll be back. We look forward to it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it's being called a telling non-answer interview, with a lot of PR bunk. We're talking about the Richie Incognito one-on-one that everyone is talking about and Andy Scholes is here with that story.

ANDY SCHOLES, THE BLEACHER REPORT: Incognito gave his side of the story and after hearing it, is he still to blame for Jonathan Martin leaving the dolphins? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 14 minutes past.

A 16-year-old boy is facing attempted murder charges after police say he shot two people at a skating rink in New York's Bryant Park. Reports say a 14-year-old boy was shot in the back and his family fear he may never walk again. The second victim, 20, was shot in the leg. An argument over a coat is believed to have sparked Saturday's shooting.

A one-ton satellite burned up as it reentered earth's atmosphere this morning. The GOCE satellite have been mapping the earth's gravitational feel since 2009 but it recently ran out of fuel and began descending back to earth. Its re-entry into the atmosphere stretched from Siberia to Antarctica.

Do not be shocked if you see the Postal Service out delivering packages this Sunday. Online retail giant Amazon and the Postal Service have struck a deal for Sunday deliveries in New York City and Los Angeles. This could be the start of a wider Sunday delivery system for Amazon including Dallas, Houston and New Orleans that would begin next year.

More than two years after the Washington Monument was damaged by an earthquake the National Park Service says the repair work is finished.

This is a live look at the monument. The scaffolding around the moment will begin coming down today. A process that's expected to take about three months.

Richie Incognito says he's not a racist and those vulgar text sent to Jonathan Martin, they were a sign of love. For the first time since Martin left the Miami Dolphins Incognito is telling his side of the bullying story. The suspended Dolphins lineman spoke to FOX News -- or FOX Sports reporter Jay Glaser. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHIE INCOGNITO, NFL PLAYER: This isn't an issue about bullying. This is an issue of my and Jon's relationship where I may -- I've taken stuff too far. And I didn't know it was hurting him. My actions were coming from a place of love. No matter how bad and how vulgar it sounds, that's how we communicate, that's how our friendship was, and those are the facts and that's what I'm accountable for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Andy Scholes joins with us more and this leaves me more confused than ever.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: It is very confusing, right, Carol, it seems like these two guys were friends and after that interview, Incognito proved they had over 1,100 texts between himself and Jonathan Martin and it's funny, they were actually texting after Martin left the Dolphins.

And here's what Incognito had to say about those texts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INCOGNITO: He texted me and said "I don't blame you guys, I blame some stuff in the locker room, I blame the culture. I blame what was going on around me."

When all this stuff got going, swirling and bullying got attached to it and my name got attached to it, I just texted him as a friend was like, what's up with this, man? He said, it's not coming from me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Carol, if Incognito is the real reason martin would leave the team and so mad he basically quit his job because of the bullying from this guy, why would he text him a few days later, good game, sorry this is happening, it's not coming from me. Very confusing, right?

COSTELLO: But it did come from him because it's making me second- guess myself. Incognito's name came from Jonathan Martin.

SCHOLES: It came from Jonathan Martin's lawyer. Now, we've not heard from Jonathan Martin himself yet, and he is the one who can really clear up this thing and figure out what's going on. Right now, Incognito makes it seem Martin left the team and he needed a scapegoat and Incognito was the convenience choice.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, I'm sure you'll continue to follow this story.

SCHOLES: I'm sure will.

COSTELLO: Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a Navy commander accused in a bribery scandal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The U.S. Navy suspended two senior officers access to classified material in connection with an ongoing bribery investigation. Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless and Vice Admiral Ted Branch have now been put on temporary leave. The Navy says there's no indication there was a breach of classified information but neither admiral has been charged with the crime.

The NCIS is investigating possible illegal relations with a Navy contractor.

Confused?

Kyung Lah will ferret is out for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. attorney is implicating you in a bribery scheme.

(voice-over): Dressed in the civilian clothes for court --

MICHAEL MISIEWICZ, NAVY COMMANDER: I'm sorry. I can't comment.

LAH: -- Commander Michael Misiewicz had nothing to say about his role in a suspected multimillion-dollar international bribery scheme. Prosecutors say Commander Misiewicz received thousands of dollars in gifts.

In Tokyo, tickets on see "Lion King".

In Thailand, more tickets, this time to Lady Gaga.

Then, there were prostitutes and free hotel rooms.

Why? This man, Malaysian businessman Leonard Glenn Francis known as "Fat Leonard" for tipping the scales at more than 400 pounds. Francis runs defense contracting firm Glenn Defense Marine Asia that helps port U.S. naval ships.

Prosecutors say Fat Leonard and Misiewicz became close friends over private e-mails, calling each other big bro and little bro. After Misiewicz received some gifts, a Fat Leonard associate eventually declared, "We got him". Prosecutors say the two men moved U.S. Navy ships around East Asia like chess pieces, using classified information, ending up at ports where Francis' firm would overbill the U.S.

CAPTAIN KEVIN EYER, U.S. NAVY (RET): I think it would be fair to say they were seduced by Mr. Francis.

LAH: Retired Navy Captain Kevin Eyer understands this like few others. He served 30 years and was a commanding officer of a ship in Asia that frequented some of the same ports where Fat Leonard operated. He even attended parties with the lavish businessman.

(on camera): Having looked this man in the eye, can you see how that seduction could happen?

EYER: I do. He is very charming. He is very social. You know where I might go, I might be at this party and I'll have a Budweiser. Leonard is drinking Dom Perignon.

LAH (voice-over): Only the finest for Francis says Captain Eyer. The big man loved the big life, from fast cars, women and travel. And he seemed eager to share with his military friends.

In court, Francis appeared next to his alleged co-conspirator, trading in his tuxedo for a jailed jump suit and shackles.

EYER: You can kind of see how if you fell into the mode of socializing with him, it might be possible to get swept up by that. And that's why, you know, so many military officers are a little bit wary of him.

LAH (on camera): Court documents reference a wolf pack, it's unclear how many people that references or how far this will widen. All three officers who have been charged have pled not guilty.

Kyung Lah, CNN, San Diego.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And still to come in the NEWSROOM: in spite of that story the vast majority of veterans deserve praise on this Veterans Day. We honor their heroism and also recognize the challenges many face when they come home, as in homelessness. The story behind this viral video when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

You're looking at live pictures or just about to from the New York Stock Exchange.

This morning, before the opening bell rang, two minutes of silence to honor our veterans, also as you can see, ringing the bell this morning, the superintendent and members of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, joined by veterans in charge of companies like Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase and Footlocker.

Across the country, companies are ramping up efforts to hire veterans. This morning, Wal-Mart announced it hired more than 20,000 veterans since Memorial Day. Earlier, the company pledged to add more than 100,000 veterans to their workforce.

And Wal-Mart is not alone in its efforts. Starbucks and JPMorgan Chase also pledging to hire or cater to veterans.

Retired General Spider Marks is here to talk about, talk about that.

Good morning, General.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Hi, Carol. Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning and thanks for being here.

You wanted to highlight what's happening on the New York Stock Exchange this morning. We can guess why this is a good thing.

But tell us from your perspective as a military guy. What's the significance?

MARKS: First of all isn't it cool you've got the superintendent at west point, his first captain, great young lady, his command ant, cadets and all those veterans that are senior executives and some tremendous companies ringing the bell to open the trading day on Veterans Day. It's magnificent.

And what that really symbolizes is veterans concerned about veterans, and interested in hiring veterans. This isn't a charity. This isn't an outreach of some form of -- it's just a huge thank you on the part of these great executives to say look when you hire a veteran, you're hiring an incredibly talented young man or woman or old man or woman, doesn't matter.

What they bring to bear is leadership initiative and they're all finishers. You give them a task, they'll finish the task.