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Violence in Ukraine; Extreme Turbulence; Protests in Venezuela

Aired February 18, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Looks like crowds and obviously smoke, fires.

We have been watching this intermittently and loud flashes here. This is what we're learning right now. We're going to bring our correspondent in, in just a moment.

But listen to that. The U.S. Embassy is warning American citizens to stay in their hotels because of what is happening here. I can tell you, this is according to our reporting. At least nine people died in protests Tuesday, seven of them civilians, two police. This is according to authorities we have been contact with in the Ukraine. Clashes with police officers, dozens injured.

According to the Interior Ministry there, the violence has continued on. This is pervasive throughout this city, and metro stations and transportation hubs have been closed and Kiev officials urging folks who live there to stay away from the city center, which is precisely what you're looking at to avoid danger, avoid danger.

We are working to get our correspondent there. I believe it's Phil Black who is standing by, who we will talk to who will help set the scene. We're working on getting him. Talking to the control room in my ear, so, guys, just let me know when we have him and we will take you live to Ukraine.

We will move on, though, talk about this just awful plane ride. Without warning, within seconds, extreme turbulence hits a United flight, sending passengers flying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRI MULLINS, PASSENGER: It was just instantaneous. Everything that everybody had in their hands were flying through the air. People were screaming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Passengers say the plane was shaking so violently, a baby was tossed right out of her mother's arms.

United Flight 1676 was traveling from Denver to Billings, Montana, with 114 people on board. Five were injured and three of them were crew members.

And at this hour, a female flight attendant is the only one still in the hospital.

Joining me is meteorologist Chad Myers and also on the phone, Laurel Linde, a passenger on board that flight.

Laurel, are you with me? How are you doing today?

LAUREL LINDE, PASSENGER: I'm doing just fine. Thank you for asking.

BALDWIN: OK.

I understand you were a little banged up, but OK, but take me back to this flight. So, you're sitting, what, with your son eight rows back, pretty easy flight until the plane begins to descend, and then what happened?

LINDE: No, you're absolutely right. It was pretty uneventful, kind of an early afternoon flight. We were all kind of dozing, no indication from the crew that there would be any turbulence whatsoever, until, all of a sudden, we felt the plane kind of jerk to the right a little bit and then we took a huge fall.

It almost felt like an impact from below the plane, it was so sharp.

(CROSSTALK)

LINDE: And the things and people were flying everywhere.

BALDWIN: Flying everywhere. Describe. What was flying everywhere? Drinks, babies, apparently?

LINDE: Yes, babies, yes. Luckily, from what we have heard, that baby was fine, landed in an empty seat, so that was good.

There were other folks that were not strapped in, as they were instructed to at the beginning of the flight, that also flew, hit their heads on the roof of the plane. In fact, there was one gentleman that was a row or two in front of us that did just that. He flew up out of his seat, hit the roof of the plane and ended up on the other side of the aisle on top of a woman on the side, so pretty pandemonious, and, yes, just things going all over the place, things that people had with them on the flight.

BALDWIN: I mean, listen, I get nervous when the pilot gets on board and tells the flight attendant to stay in their seats and no drink service. This takes turbulence to a whole other level.

We know that United Airlines says its flight safety team is investigating. NTSB is telling us the same.

But can you tell me, in those moments of people out of their seats and drinks going here and a baby going there, who was getting on the loudspeaker? Were you getting guidance from anyone?

LINDE: There was no one on the loudspeaker whatsoever. And I don't know. I thought it was a little bit curious at the time, but as things unfolded, it was for sure that there was someone injured in the back of the plane, pretty severely injured.

Most of the flight attendants were making their way back to that person. And as they passed us, the flight attendants were walking very low, as they had probably been instructed to do when there is severe turbulence. And they just asked everybody to remain seated, keep their seat belts on and keep the aisle clear, because they were going to be going back and forth.

We didn't hear from the pilots at all for the rest of the flight.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Laurel, it's Chad Myers.

I want to know where you were in the flight. How long did it take you to get on the ground from when this turbulence happened?

LINDE: The flight was scheduled to be one hour and 12 minutes from Denver to Billings. And we -- I think we were about 25 minutes from landing.

And from what I understand, it was right as we started our descent. And this is pretty normal for us in the Mountain West. When we start that descent, there's a lot of times when we're going to hit a lot of turbulence, but this was incredibly crazy.

BALDWIN: Laura Linde, I'm glad you're OK. I'm glad your son is OK.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Some news just into us here at CNN I want to pass along to you, this as it pertains to raising the minimum wage.

Raising the minimum wage across America would help get people out of poverty, but there's a but. It would costs hundreds of thousands of jobs. This is what we're just getting from this brand-new analysis by the CBO. That's the Congressional Budget Office. The hypothetical minimum wage used in this report, $10.10.

CNN global economics editor Rana Foroohar joins me now.

So, Rana, the poverty part makes sense, right? That's not surprising, but the number of jobs that would be lost because of raising the minimum wage is. What do you make of that?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN ANALYST: Absolutely.

This has been a really hotly debated issue in economic circles for a long time. The conventional wisdom has always been that if you hike the minimum wage, you are going to have job losses. But over the past few years, some liberal economists have argued that this is actually not the case and that actually the jobs that would be lost wouldn't be ones that we would want to have anyway, that we want to raise the skill level and raise the types of jobs in our economy.

But this CBO finding does find a substantial amount of job losses, about half-a-million resulting from an increase to increase to $10.10. There's another option to raise the minimum wage to $9, which would cost only about 100,000 jobs. So, that might be a less painful option.

BALDWIN: Is it because employers only have so much money to go around and the issue would just be they would have to hire fewer people because they were paying more?

FOROOHAR: That's one issue and that's one that pertains more to small and mid-sized businesses.

BALDWIN: OK.

FOROOHAR: Big global companies of course can put jobs anywhere, so the argument is that, well, if wages become less competitive in the U.S., those jobs can just go overseas. That's a big argument and that is a risk.

BALDWIN: What about the big picture? Because you weigh the pros with the cons. Right? You look at the hundreds of thousands of people who would be out of poverty if we raise our minimum wage or the 500,000 or so jobs, poof, being lost.

FOROOHAR: That's right. And this is the sort of exercise you can only see in real time, frankly.

There are big arguments to be made for raising the minimum wage, because we're a consumption economy. About 70 percent of the economy is made up of consumer spending. When people don't have enough money in their pockets to spend, it slows down job creation and business growth and it basically dampens the overall growth of the economy. That's the argument that folks that would like to raise it will be making.

BALDWIN: Again, just hypothetical out of the CBO, Rana Foroohar, thank you, as always, very much.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

BALDWIN: In the war on terror, there is one phrase we have over and over, that being the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists.

But right now, the U.S. appears to be doing precisely that, reviving the idea of a prisoner exchange. So the U.S. telling the Afghan Taliban, if you give us one of ours, we will give you five of yours.

Those five in question are Taliban operatives held at Guantanamo Bay. The American in question here is this young man, Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl held captive since 2009. And in January of this year, the U.S. was sent this video by the Taliban. It's a proof of life video which some predicted was a sign they were ready to negotiate for his release, this after his father made the promise to his son, we will never leave you on the battlefield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BERGDAHL, FATHER: A father does not leave his son alone on the battlefield.

I do not live here. I live in Afghanistan. My cell phone is set on Afghan time. I will not leave you on the battlefield, Bowe. These people here will not leave you on the battlefield. Your country will not leave you on the battlefield. You are not forgotten. To the people of Afghanistan, may the peace of God and the blessings that come from God be upon you.

May we somehow after 12 long years find peace in Afghanistan, so that our soldiers and our American personnel can come home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, CNN's Ed Lavandera.

Ed, you have been in touch with the Bergdahl family, you have been all this story since he went missing. What are they saying about the latest talks with the Taliban?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Mr. Bergdahl, you heard him, that was from last summer, when there were talks of this prisoner exchange and there was -- the family was very hopeful back then. And these talks have come up several times, and they have fallen apart every time, in the past.

So, you know, the family very cautious. They have been here before. It's been a long, incredibly brutal ordeal that they have gone through. You see that video of Bob Bergdahl. He started growing that beard as a sign of solidarity, a symbol of solidarity with his son who has been held captive. That is a beard that is almost 5 years old this summer.

So with the renewed interest in the story and some of the information that is coming out, the family put out a statement today that reads: "We welcome this development and we applaud the unity of purpose and resolve at the White House and other U.S. government agencies involved. We thank all involved for this renewed effort and we hope everyone takes this opportunity seriously. We are cautiously optimistic these discussions will lead to the safe return of our son, after more than four-and-a-half years in captivity."

You know, the Bergdahls have been here before. They have seen this happen. And they have also seen it fall apart every time before. So this is something that they watch closely. You know, they go about their lives there in the small town of Idaho where they live. But it has been a long, long ordeal for them.

BALDWIN: Ed Lavandera, thank you very much.

Coming up next, it started as a simple prank. Teens egged a car, tossed some toilet paper on it, but then it took a drastic turn, because a man inside that home came outside and what he did next has his community in shock, parents calling for action.

Plus, Americans given a warning in Ukraine, as violence in Kiev spirals out of control. We will take you there, live. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Let's take you back to our breaking news and these live pictures. This is Independence Square in Ukraine, in the capital city of Kiev.

We are hearing now that the U.S. Embassy there is warning American citizens to stay in their hotels.

Phil Black is in Kiev for us, our correspondent there. Phil is joining me by phone.

And, Phil, let me just back up, because for the American viewer who has not been following this story quite as closely as you have, can you first just explain to all of us, who is protesting what?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm sorry, Brooke, forgive me. I'm having a bit of trouble hearing you at the moment.

At the moment, I am just walking in for the first time into Kiev's Independence Square. This has been the center of the protest movement in this country for the last few months, and it is where we're seeing some fairly dramatic pictures coming live from London.

On the streets of Kiev today, there was some pretty terrible violence. And it has resulted in the death, we believe, or the deaths, we believe, of at least 10 people, around seven protesters and potentially three police officers as well.

As I say, I'm just walking into the square at the moment, and the reason why we are coming here is because we understand that the authorities are threatening to clear this place out tonight. It has been occupied for something close to three months now. It resembles a large fortified camp (INAUDIBLE) and as I get close, we are hearing a lot of explosive-type sounds, could be fireworks, but we were told that police officers were using flash bangs, stun grenades today to clear out this crowd.

I have come up to what is the last barricade now, and tried to see around it. We believe there is some sort of police operation going on here, right now, and that they could possibly be clearing out the square tonight, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Phil Black, be safe, stay close to your phone. I know you're having a tough time hearing me.

So, Nick Paton Walsh, let me bring you in, because I think it's so important for the bigger picture, for the U.S. audience -- Nick Paton Walsh, let me make sure. Are you with me as well?

OK, Nick Paton Walsh,let's back up, because this has been going on. This is my remedial, you know, explanation, because the president there, President Yanukovych in Ukraine, essentially reversed this decision, this deal with the E.U. some months ago, would prefer going more toward Russia, which has inflamed all of these people in the Ukraine. Is that correct? NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.

This has been going on for over 10 years, Brooke, in many ways.

BALDWIN: Wow.

WALSH: 2004, the Orange Revolution, that's when Ukraine pushed out an old autocrat, Leonid Kuchma, and tried to move West. That didn't work. They moved back towards the East, the current president, Viktor Yanukovych, taking place there.

He looked like he was moving toward the E.U., signing up with a good deal there, but at the last minute, changed his mind. Many saying he was pressured heavily with economic potential consequences by Moscow. Moscow then moved in, offering billions of dollars in hard cash. Remember, Ukraine is in a real economic mess right now, and the simple answer, I suppose, in Kiev, for leaders there was, let's take the Russian cash.

That caused people to pile on to the streets, many of them feeling that that pro-Russian government, that Eastern-looking way of life was corrupt, wasn't bringing them the standards of living they wanted. They wanted to move more West, more towards the E.U.

That's where the standoff begun. And it's ratcheted up tension, bit by bit, as we have seen protesters abducted, beaten, some even turning up dead in some places, and then increased violence and standoffs, the protesters better dug in, more right-wing radicals in their ranks, and now the police increasingly violent, emboldened, setting an ultimatum, 6:00 local time today to clear that square, and nobody did.

They're staying in force. That's why you're seeing these quite remarkable pictures of violence now in the very center of Kiev. That's Times Square that you're talking about in comparison to Manhattan -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Talk about the tension. This is a fiery manifestation of this tension that's clearly been bubbling, as you described for years and years, and especially most recently. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much. We will keep a close eye on Kiev and also stay in close contact with our correspondent there on the ground.

Let me move along, though, because the next question we're asking is will Americans flock to a new movie about the Bible? There are multiple movies coming out this year, one this week. So we're going to take a closer look at the business of the Bible.

Plus, it started as a simple prank, some teens egged a car, tossed some toilet paper on it, but then the story took tragic turn, because the man inside the home came outside, opened fire, and a teen was killed. There is now talk that he could use a stand your ground-type defense. We're on the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: The teens involved call it a prank, but the vandalism police say they committed may have triggered a much worse offense. The shooting death of 15-year-old Adrian Broadway, seen here on Facebook.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Love you, Adrian.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just going to miss him, all the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Family and friends gathered to remember the young girl. They called her Goofy, the life of the party, and someone who lived life to the fullest. But the teen's life was cut short Saturday after her friends reportedly egged a car belonging to the father of another car.

Josh Berry from our Little Rock affiliate KARK has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pow, pow, pow, pow.

JOSH BERRY, KARK REPORTER (voice-over): But those shots Welton Alexander (ph) heard just before 1:00 Saturday morning didn't surprise him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes, you hear some shots in the park there.

BERRY: Little did he know at the time, those shots were much different as his neighbor from just down the street, 48-year-old Willie Noble, now faces first-degree murder charges in the death of a 15-year-old girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said it was him this morning, and I was just I was just amazed.

BERRY: Little Rock police say it may have all started with a prank.

LT. SIDNEY ALLEN, LITTLE ROCK POLICE: This is an ongoing friendly feud between teenagers.

BERRY: This time, things took an unfriendly turn when Noble heard noises in front of his South Little Rock home and came out to find his car vandalized.

ALLEN: There was toilet paper on the vehicle, a bag of leaves, some eggs and mayonnaise had been thrown on the vehicle.

BERRY: And police say a car full of several teenagers, including Adrian Broadway, sitting in the front seat, tried to get away.

ALLEN: At that point, he came out of the residence and fired multiple shots at the suspects as they fled the residence. BERRY: Police found the teenagers and the cars with bullet holes in the side at the Kum & Go down the street, inside, 15-year-old Adrian Broadway unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head. She died shortly after at Children's Hospital.

ALLEN: When those kids left to go out and do this, they by no means did any one of them think that this was going to be a horrible event. They thought it will be a mischievous thing. They didn't think that it would end up being a deadly prank, and this ultimately ended up being a deadly event.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Willie Noble is being held on a $1 million bond. It appears Noble does not have an attorney, at least not yet. News Web site Arkansasonline.com reports that Noble told the investigators he only meant to scare the teens when he opened fire.

The mother of the shooting victim's friend addressed the question, where were the parents?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLENE CLARK, MOTHER OF VICTIM'S FRIEND: I know it was late for them to be out. They went to the movies and they went to get some Taco Bell and they just decided to play a joke. You aimed at a vehicle with teenagers. Everybody played a role in this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin.

And here we have a young woman lost her life. It was a horrible prank. What defense would this guy even have?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, believe it or not, I think there is the potential for a defense here.

He clearly has shown remorse, though, saying he only meant to scare the kids, but the bottom line is while Arkansas doesn't have a traditional stand your ground law, Brooke, I have learned that they have sort of an expanded Castle Doctrine law, which means not only can you defend yourself and your property inside your home, you can also do it around the perimeter of your home.

Now, remember, these kids were outside of his home, but on the perimeter of his home, basically, you know, egging his property, his car. And so, under Arkansas law, it is quite possible that he has a defense to first-degree murder.

And that's why this kind of thing just infuriates me. Brooke, you know you and I have been talking about this for years. It's about sort of not only stand your ground, but guns, and the protection of those to just use them stupidly in a case like this. Who uses a gun to scare kids? Who does that?

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I know. It is a whole other conversation. We have had it and I'm sure we will have it again. But here's what else I'm thinking, because I'm thinking ahead.

If -- you know, if there was a trial and there was a jury, because of this teen's crime, it's perceived as a prank, even though, I guess, it's a felony, how do you think that would play with jurors?

HOSTIN: You know, I think we have learned, at least from the Zimmerman case and from the Dunn case, that we can't really predict what effect certain testimony will have on jurors, but again, given the state of the law and given the state of the laws all across our nation, I think it's very possible that a juror, at least one or two, may think, well, they were there committing a crime.

Remember, we heard about Justin Bieber committing a felony by egging someone's house, $20,000 in damage. So who's to say there's not someone on the jury who's going to think, you know what, they were on his property, committing a crime. He has the right to defend himself and his property. I suspect that we're going to be covering this one also for a little bit, Brooke. I mean, I'm so tired of talking about kids and guns and death.

BALDWIN: I know, here we go again.

(CROSSTALK)

HOSTIN: But here we are again.

BALDWIN: I'm sick of it too. Sunny Hostin, thank you.

HOSTIN: Thanks, Brooke.

A major twist for a story that has international implications. Protesters in Venezuela take to the streets again in a strong show of defiance against the government, but today their leader has been arrested. Wait for him. You will see him in a white shirt. Here he is. What is next for him and his followers?

Plus, the Bible on the big screen. Several movies are coming out based upon the good book. Why the sudden surge, we're asking? We will look into the business of the Bible ahead.

Plus, much more of our breaking news out of the Ukraine. Anti- government protests are erupting in the capital city there. This is Independence Square, live pictures. Americans at this moment are being warned stay indoors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)