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Tensions Heat Up on Fifth Night of Marches; Jolie Speaks to U.N. on Syrian Refugee Crisis; Jeb Bush: GOP Frontrunner No Longer?; Diet Pepsi to Remove Aspartame. 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 24, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:36] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Overnight, tensions in Baltimore flared for a fifth night; protesters clashing with police. Brian Todd was there when it happened.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nearly just got some other man. We're being -- easy guys -- we're being pushed but you can see this going on. When they try to arrest someone they're being swarmed by these protesters. Ok, ok now. Thank you.

And some objects are being torn. I'm not sure why that man was arrested. Couldn't see what he allegedly did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. To be clear, the protests were mostly peaceful.

Happening right now thought, activists have gathered at a local church demanding a change in Baltimore police leadership.

Joe Johns is following the story from Baltimore. Good morning -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Carol. It's almost inevitable when you have these allegations of police misconduct in big cities that you see a call for a change in the leadership. This is apparently part of the dueling news conferences here in Baltimore City. We're also expecting to hear today from a coalition of groups calling for the governor of the state of Maryland to use executive action to try to address some of the issues that have arisen out of this case that has sort of taken the city by storm. Also expecting today to hear from the mayor of the city in a news conference for the first time in a couple of days.

Behind all of this, of course, the investigation into Freddie Gray's death. What precisely happened and whether his most severe injury may have occurred while he was inside the transport van and that, of course, is a huge question here or whether for example that injury might have occurred on the street.

The police department remains mum right now on the investigation though they do expect to try to wrap it up by a week from today. We know also that a funeral for Freddie Gray is expected to be held on Monday at 11:00 Eastern time right here in the city. There is another large demonstration expected to occur on Saturday.

Carol -- back to you.

COSTELLO: And just to gather a little bit more information from you Joe, you know, when Freddie Gray was being transported inside that police van at some point were both his hands and ankles in restrains and he was not seat belted. Do we know that?

JOHNS: What we know is the police commissioner has been quoted as saying he was not seat belted inside the van. We also know the Fraternal Order of Police has said they do not believe he was seat- belted inside the van. It's important information because in the city there's been at least one other case dating back to 2005 of an individual who was not seat-belted inside the van and sustained very serious injuries becoming a paraplegic and eventually dying -- a huge lawsuit stemming from all of that.

So we know this issue of a rough ride inside a police transport van is an issue in the city of Baltimore and there are some concerns that that could have been what happened though all of it is inconclusive until we hear from investigators -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Joe Johns reporting live from Baltimore.

I want to take you back live to New York now and inside the United Nations Security Council, Angelina Jolie is a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador. She's talking about the Syrian refugee crisis and it has reached crisis point right now.

Let's listen.

ANGELINA JOLIE, U.N. GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: -- of a conflict they have no part in. Yet they are stigmatized, unwanted, and regarded as a burden. So I'm here for them because this is their United Nations.

Here all countries and all people are equal from the smallest and most broken member states to the free and powerful. The purpose of the U.N. is to prevent and end conflict, to bring countries together, to find diplomatic solutions, and to save lives.

We are failing to do this in Syria. Responsibility for the conflict lies with the warring parties inside Syria but the crisis is made worse by division and indecision within the international community preventing the Security Council from fulfilling its responsibility.

[10:35:12] In 2011, the Syrian refugees I met were full of hope. They said, "Please tell people what is happening to us," trusting that the truth alone would guarantee international action. When I returned, hope was turning to anger, the anger of a man who held up his little baby asking me "Is this a terrorist? Is my son a terrorist?"

On my last visit in February, anger had subsided into resignation, misery and the bitter question, "Why are we, the Syrian people, not worth saving?"

To be a Syrian caught up in this conflict is to be cut off from every law and principle designed to protect innocent life. International humanitarian law prohibits torture, starvation, the targeting of schools and hospitals. But these crimes are happening every day in Syria.

The Security Council has powers to address these threats to international peace and security but those powers lie unused. The U.N. has adopted the responsibility to protect concepts saying that when a state cannot protect its people, the international community will not stand by. But we are standing by in Syria.

The problem is not lack of information. We know in excruciating detail what is happening in Yermuk, in Aleppo, in Homs. The problem is lack of political will. We cannot look at Syria and the evil that has arisen from the ashes of indecision and think this is not the lowest point in the world's inability to protect and defend the innocent.

I say this as someone who is proud to have been a part of the U.N. system for 13 years. I don't think enough people realize just how many people are fed, sheltered, protected and educated by the United Nations everyday of the year. But all of this good is undermined by the message being sent in Syria. That laws can be flouted, chemical weapons can be used, hospitals can be bombed, aid can be withheld and civilians starved with impunity.

So on behalf of the Syrian refugees, I make three pleas to the international community. The first is an appeal for unity. It is time for the Security Council to work as one to end the conflict and reach a settlement that also brings justice and accountability for the Syrian people. It is very encouraging to see ministerial representation from Jordan, Spain and Malaysia here today but I think we would all like to see foreign ministers of all the Security Council members here working on a political solution for Syria as a matter of urgency.

In the last few months we have seen intensive diplomacy at work elsewhere in the region. So now let us see what is possible for the people of Syria. And while these debates are important, I also urge the Security Council to visit Syrian refugees to see firsthand their suffering and the impact it is having on the region. Those refugees cannot come to the council so please will you go to them?

Second, I echo what is being said about the support from Syria's neighbors who are making an m extraordinary contribution. It is sickening to see thousands of refugees drowning on the doorstep of the world's wealthiest continent. No one risks the lives of their children in this way except out of utter desperation. If we cannot end the conflict, we have an inescapable moral duty to help refugees and provide legal avenues to safety.

And third, the barbarism of those inflicting systematic sexual violence demands a much greater response from the international community. We need to send a signal that we're serious about accountability for these crimes and that the only hope -- and that is the only hope for establishing any deterrence so I call on member states to begin preparations now so that Syrian women are fully represented in future peace negotiations in accordance with multiple resolutions in the Security Council.

[10:40:00] And if I may make a wider final point to conclude my remarks, the crisis in Syria illustrates that our inability to find diplomatic solutions causes mass displacement, traps millions of people in exile, statelessness and displacement. 52 million people are forcibly displaced -- a sea of excluded humanity. And while our priority must be ending the Syrian conflict, we must also broaden out the discussion to this much wider problem. Our times will be defined not by the crisis themselves but by the way we pull together as an international community to address them.

Thank you.

COSTELLO: All right. Angelina Jolie there before the United Nations Security Council about the Syrian refugee crisis and, of course, the U.N. is calling on European nations and the United States to take in some of these refugees because there are just so many.

As you heard Angelina Jolie say, so many are dying. You know about that boat that capsized off the coast of Italy -- hundreds of people drown. Should the United States accept some of these refugees into our own country? That matter will certainly be up to debate in the future.

We'll talk about that and much more on CNN in the days to come.

I'm going to take a break. We'll be back with much more in the NEWSROOM.

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[10:45:05] COSTELLO: All right. Let's return to the growing anger in Baltimore over the death of a man in police custody. His name is Freddie Gray.

I want to bring in HLN legal analyst Joey Jackson, and Maryland House Delegate for Baltimore, Jill Carter. Welcome to both of you.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

JILL CARTER, MARYLAND HOUSE DELEGATE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So Joey, I want to start with you because the autopsy report will be coming out soon. And people are very curious to know obviously how Freddie Gray came to have a broken vertebrae and a crushed larynx. We now know his hands and feet were shackled inside of that police van. We now know there was a previous case in which a man died after being transported in such a way in the back of a police van because police do this rough ride thing, right? To kind of shake up the prisoners in the back. JACKSON: Right.

COSTELLO: So will the autopsy report give us any hints as to if that occurred?

JACKSON: You know, I think it will be very significant, Carol, for the following reasons. There's a medical explanation, right, as to exactly what occurred. What an autopsy will show is the severity of the injuries, the extent of the injuries, the extent of the break, there would be no speculation on that. And certain things happen in certain ways.

And so people can say anything. Police can say anything. Obviously we would hope and pray that the truth is out there. But what you say has to match the physical evidence that's out there. So I think the autopsy report will confirm the injuries and then we'll find out how these injuries generally occur in the common course. Is it something that requires real pressure? Is it something that requires just absolute intentional action or is it something that could be sustained if someone were otherwise negligent or careless like a rough ride? Very critical information.

COSTELLO: Yes. And I should have mentioned that there was no seat belt involved either so he supposedly rolled around inside that police van.

Delegate Carter, the mayor is supposedly going to hold this news conference later today. I don't know if the autopsy report will be made public then. But when it is made public, should people get to know all of the details?

CARTER: I think it's important that people know the details. One of the things that is going on, why people are so outraged and coming out and protesting is because of their fundamental belief that something is amiss and the history and legacy of lack -- of non-transparency in the Baltimore police department.

COSTELLO: Delegate Carter, you say the problems between the Baltimore police department and the community notably worsened during Martin O'Malley's tenure as mayor. This is the same Martin O'Malley who is thinking of running for president. During O'Malley's time as mayor, he had a zero tolerance policy. That means people were arrested for minor infractions.

According to the "Baltimore Sun" in 2005, there were 100,000 arrests in a city of 640,000 people. That's one arrest for every six people. Tell me how that zero tolerance policy affected the community.

CARTER: Well, it's actually much worse than that. Between the period of 1999 and 2006, there were 750,000 arrests total and data has indicated that between one-third and one half of all of those arrests were unwarranted and many of them lacking probable cause similar to what appears to be the case with Freddie Gray. That over arresting, that hyper policing and arresting people without charges a lot of times resulted in a horrible disconnect and distrust between many people, many communities, and the law enforcement and police. There's a culture of policing that has been very aggressive for many years in certain communities and has resulted in people very often being in as much fear as the police as they are of criminals. I think that's what you saw when the Freddie Gray when police say Freddie Gray ran when he saw police. I think that's a very typical and common and a reasonable response based on the climate in these communities in Baltimore City.

COSTELLO: And I was just looking at Joey Jackson's face when you were telling us the numbers, Madame Delegate -- Delegate Carter, and you were shocked.

JACKSON: Well, I mean you know, certainly if people are engaged in wrongful acts, they deserve to be arrested. But one in six people and then for Delegate Carter to say that it was actually worse than that? And so you can see where there's some systemic distrust with the police in the event that police are arresting people for minor infractions.

I mean where is the confidence? Does it bridge the gap and the divide even further? What you need at a time like this is certainly for that trust to be restored. If people are engaging in criminality, it's one thing. But certainly if there's no probable cause as Delegate Carter was suggesting, it becomes very problematic and very difficult to solve a deep seated problem.

COSTELLO: Joey Jackson, Delegate Carter, thanks so much for joining me. I appreciate it.

JACKSON: Thank you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM: is the race to become the next Republican nominee wide open? Why a new poll shows so-called frontrunner Jeb Bush may not be the first choice of voters.

[10:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Marco Rubio's bid for president appears to be gaining traction among Republican voters. New polls out show the freshman Florida senator topping their wish list for the primary; Jeb Bush coming in second with Scott Walker rounding out the top three.

Jeb Bush does lead in another poll but probably not one the potential presidential candidate will be all that excited about. When voters were asked which candidate they quote, "could definitely not support for the Republican nomination, Bush ranked number one with 17 percent. Weird, right? He's followed by Chris Christie and Rand Paul.

Let's talk about this and more. Joining me now Washington Republican -- I mean Republican strategist and CNN political commentator Ana Navarro.

ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Miami.

COSTELLO: You're in Miami I know. What am I saying? Good morning Ana -- thank you so much for being with me. NAVARRO: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: What do you make of this statistic or this poll number for Jeb Bush? that he's the leading candidate that voters would definitely not support for the GOP nomination.

NAVARRO: You know, I think a lot of people are reacting to his last name frankly. There's an entire faction in the Republican Party who wants anybody but Jeb because of where he is on immigration and because of his last name, because of education, because he's too tall -- you name it, because he's a Paleo (ph) diet. I think Jeb Bush is very aware of that.

[10:55:06] COSTELLO: What, he knows the paleo diet.

NAVARRO: Oh God, yes, you know.

So the carb lovers are offended. If you don't offend one people -- some people you offend the other. But I think Jeb Bush is very aware of that. I was in New Hampshire last week -- heard him speak several times. And he knows he has to show his heart. He knows he has to show who he is and introduce himself to the country so that folks don't just know his last name but they know his record. They know what's in his heart.

I think he's approaching this with a great deal of patience. A great deal of humility and he knows that it's going to require perseverance and discipline. I think he understands -- and by the way as a Republican I think it's a good thing. I'm very happy that on our side we're not having a coronation.

There's only one establishment candidate running in 2016. Her name is Hillary Clinton. We are going to have a vigorous debate and a very tough competition on our side.

COSTELLO: I'm sure it will. I'm going to go back to that Quinnipiac poll for just a second because it's coming amid a report that Peter Schweizer, the conservative scholar behind the book, "Clinton Cash". He's planning a book about Jeb Bush's finances.

CNN asked Bush about the Clinton book and this is what he had to say about that.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A question about "Clinton Cash", a book that's coming out in May. You heard of it and do you have any response to the allegations that Secretary Clinton used the State Department to benefit the foundation?

JEB BUSH (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: I haven't -- I heard of the book -- this is the Peter Schweizer book. I haven't seen any of the contents of the book. I really can't comment. Look, she's going to have to be held accountable like all of us about dealings. That's part of the process, right?

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COSTELLO: It sounds like he's going to have to answer questions, too, as Mr. Schweizer puts out another publication about Jeb Bush's finances.

NAVARRO: I've got good news for Mr. Schweitzer, that's probably going to be 10 to 15 Republicans running in the primary so he can write a book a month between now and the election and keep it going. I think Jeb Bush answered it just correctly. It is part of the process. Being scrutinized -- every part of your life is going to be scrutinized. You are running in the major leagues now. This is very different than running for the senate or running for governor or running for mayor. This is a completely different ball of wax. And with today's 24/7 media cycle and just the sheer amount of media outlets that are out there.

I think that everybody who's putting their hat in the race should expect that their records will be scrutinized and that includes their financial dealing. Well, the concept is a particularly problem because you just see so many conflicts of interest. There's all of these blurred lines between politics, business and philanthropy. And somehow it all ends up in money making.

So I think there's going to be a lot that she has plans too, But certainly every single person that decides to run. Better know that they're going to look into everything and everyone.

COSTELLO: All right. Ana Navarro -- many thanks to you -- I appreciate it.

As I told you earlier, some of the most popular soft drinks in the country are about to undergo a major change. By the end of the summer, some of your favorite diet Pepsi drinks will no longer contain the artificial sweetener aspartame.

Why? I know you're asking that question and so am I. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us by phone. Is aspartame dangerous?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): It's been around for a long time and there's been a lot of studies on this and in terms of impact on human health, the big question people ask is does it cause cancer. There's really no evidence that it causes cancer.

There's been a concern recently about artificial sweeteners in general -- Carol. Two things; one is that, they may not actually help you lose weight as much as people think and in fact there are a couple studies that show that people who drink diet drinks regularly versus other drinks actually had no benefit in terms of weight loss.

And the other thing is more of the impact on the body. People who drink a lot of this type of diet artificially sweetening drinks tend to still crave sugar. There's a possibility they need sugar because they're not getting it from diet sodas.

But in terms of overall health impact, there really hasn't been evidence that shows that aspartame causes an impact on human health.

COSTELLO: It's replacing aspartame with another artificial sweetener. Do you know what that is?

GUPTA: Yes, it's a combination of sucralose and another chemical asultin potassium. It's another artificial sweetener Carol which I think was sort of the -- in some ways the big takeaway from me. They're not going to a natural sort of sweetener. Coca-Cola for example has a natural low calorie sweetener that they're starting to use. We're not doing this. They're going to replace it with another artificial sweetener so more of a perception issue.

COSTELLO: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- thanks for your insight. I appreciate it as always. And thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

AT THIS HOUR With Berman and Bolduan straight ahead.