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Malaysian P.M. Declines to Say Flight 370 Is Lost; U.S. Journalist Freed; Ukrainian Forces Kill Five Pro-Russian Militants; Ferry Company Patriarch A Mystery; Base Jumpers Set World Record; Yankees Pitcher Suspended for Cheating; Common Uses Non-Profit To Help Chicago Youth; Apple Shares Soar on Split News; GM Recall Costs $1.3 Billion

Aired April 24, 2014 - 15:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Here we are nearly 50 days since Flight 370 vanished without a trace, and since that moment the Malaysian government has been accused of secrecy and conspiracy, has even been called murderers by the families of those on board this missing plane.

But today in an exclusive interview with CNN, Malaysia's prime minister is defending the handling of this investigation telling our own aviation correspondent, Richard Quest, that he doesn't feel comfortable saying the flight is lost, exactly one month after telling the world that the flight, quote, "ended in the southern Indian Ocean."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAJIB RAZAK, MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER: On the balance of the evidence, it would be hard to imagine otherwise, Richard.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: But the significant is that until Malaysia says the plane has been lost, the compensation packages, the next stage of the proceedings under the Montreal Convention can't go ahead.

So I ask you again, Prime Minister, are you prepared to say that the plane and its passengers are lost?

RAZAK: At some point in time I would be --

QUEST: But not now?

RAZAK: Right now I think I need to take into account the feelings of the next of kin and some of them have said publicly that they're not willing to accept it until they find hard evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: As for the finding of that hard evidence, the search so far has been fruitless. The U.S. Navy's underwater drone, the Bluefin-21, now has scanned 90 percent of all this area considered most likely to be holding these black boxes, and so far not a trace, not a shred.

And with just hours left in its deep sea search mission, the chances of finding anything? Slim to none.

BALDWIN: Hours ago, we have learned that an American journalist reportedly held hostage by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine has been set free.

He is Vice News journalist Simon Ostrovsky, and in fact, he has taken to Twitter, saying, "I am out and safe. Thank you all for your support. Had no idea I had so many good friends."

Now Ostrovsky's release came hours before President Obama stood before this microphone and announced that the United States is on the verge of slapping more sanctions on Russia here, we're talking days not weeks, for tampering with Ukraine's independence.

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, is talking retaliation. Putin threatened consequences, his word, if Ukraine's army strikes against pro-Russian groups in the nation.

Ukrainian forces reportedly killed five pro-Russian militants in this push to reclaim an occupied city in eastern Ukraine.

So to Donetsk we go in eastern Ukraine. CNN international correspondent Arwa Damon is live for us.

And, so, Arwa, let's talk about these Ukrainian troop movements. I understand there is some news there? What are you seeing and hearing?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, the government in Kiev said that they were launching, as they call it, this anti- terrorism operation.

And the images, the reports that we were getting this morning were fairly dramatic with large plumes of black smoke rising on the city of Sloviansk, very much in the hands of these pro-Russian militants, the Ukrainian government saying that they had managed to take over three checkpoints.

It would turn out that it's not quite as dramatic as one would have initially imagined nor is it a massive, widespread operation.

Our CNN team that was on the ground there earlier today at one of those checkpoints was speaking to some of the pro-Russian militants that had retaken up their positions there.

They said that the Ukrainian military advanced on them. They torched the tires at this checkpoint. No direct confrontation between both sides at that one particular checkpoint.

Varying reports on the death toll, the self-proclaimed mayor of Sloviansk saying that that one pro-Russian protester had been killed, but this most certainly is an escalation of what is an already very tense situation, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Arwa Damon, live in Ukraine, thank you.

Coming up, base jumpers shattering the world's record with this unbelievable jump from the very tiptop of this building which is the tallest building in the world.

You know where I'm talking about? We will show you this amazing video, coming up.

Also ahead, South Koreans call him "The Millionaire With No Face." Up next, the secret alter ego of the man believed to head the family that controls that company that operated that sunken ferry.

Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to that South Korean ferry disaster and questions about some renovations that happened just last year, a South Korean lawmaker says that the top floor of this ferry was actually expanded to make room for extra cabins, and investigators now want to know if these additions made this ferry more likely to capsize.

We do know that they suspect the ship was not overloaded with cargo at the time it began to list and tip over.

Rescue divers have now pulled 180 bodies from the wreckage. One- hundred-twenty-two remain missing.

And authorities also arrested more employees today, so that number is up to 14. Fourteen crewmembers face charges now.

[A portion of this transcript has been removed]

BALDWIN: Coming up, video you absolutely have to see. You know where the tallest building in the world is? Looks perfectly nice to me to look at it from the ground.

Imagine doing this, jumping off of it. More of this stunning base- jumping video here.

Also ahead, tonight is the series of the special CNN series, "CHICAGOLAND." I talk to rapper, artist, philanthropist Common and what he says is his most important duty as a person who calls Chicago home, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to this video we keep teasing. Finally we show it to you, these two base jumpers, breaking this world record by jumping off the world's tallest building. Watch.

And my stomach just dropped watching this for the 13th time here.

You have this 2,700-foot tall building -- this is The Burj -- in Dubai, and these two men, we're told, are French skydivers. They set the official Guinness World Record for base-jumping from a building more than half a mile straight down, and off they go again.

They spent a week practicing jumping off of a Swiss mountain to get ready for The Burj in Dubai. Yikes!

And now to this. We have an update for you, proof that cheaters never prosper. Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda will be riding the pine, as in the pine bench, after getting caught using pine tar during the baseball game last against the Red Sox.

Major League Baseball suspended Pineda for 10 games. Since he's a pitcher, that means he'll miss a couple of starts.

Pineda did a very, very bad job of hiding that tar. In fact, he wasn't hiding it at all on that side of his neck. Sox won anyway, five to one.

And, most incredibly, Pineda was nearly caught doing the same thing in his last start. Don't do that.

Now to this, Grammy Award-winning rap artist, actor, philanthropist Common is helping his city of Chicago take back the streets.

You know he started this nonprofit foundation, it's called Common Ground, to empower young boys and girls to build better lives.

But he's also been featured here, some of his efforts, in the CNN original series "CHICAGOLAND."

And so I talked to him recently about his role in this series and also in the place he calls home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And Common joins me now from Chicago. Common, awesome seeing you. Thanks for being on.

COMMON, GRAMMY-WINNING ARTIST/ACTOR: It's great to see you, Brooke. How are you?

BALDWIN: I'm doing well.

And I want to talk about the show "CHICAGOLAND" because you appeared in episode four in which the mayor of the great city of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, you know, he says to you, please can you help me promote the city's youth programs.

What was that experience feel like?

COMMON: I felt honored that he wanted me to be a part of helping out with the youth, because that's what I'm driven to really help out our young people here in Chicago.

And the fact that the mayor, you know, recognized my passion for the young people and it was an honor for him to ask me and I felt like, yes, let's do this.

I mean, because I'm not big on -- a big politician, but, you know -- I'm not a politician at all, actually, but, you know, I love when politics has a great cause.

And the fact that we want to provide jobs and help out our young people is important, no matter what party you're with or what your background is.

We just want to help out Chicago young people.

BALDWIN: Common, I know so many people reach out to you, right?

Here you are. You're an artist. You have a foundation. You have this influence. You carry much influence.

How do you help out and reach out by being in Chicago?

COMMON: Well, I definitely had people reach out to you. Like my mother was the first person that reached out to me. She meant a lot because she's an educator, and she is the person that just -- I saw her caring for other people and caring for the kids that she taught.

And, you know, I feel like this is my duty to reach out to young people in Chicago. It's like my way of giving back, because I've been afforded a chance to go out and live out my dreams and I'm still dreaming.

And I want to, you know, inspire and open up the gateways for the younger people in Chicago to pursue their dreams, and we've been doing that.

I've been doing it like with my foundation, the Common Ground Foundation, but beyond that we just had an initiative that we became a part of where we're getting young people jobs.

We teamed up with the city and the Chicago Urban League and Donda's House, which is an extension of Kanye and run by a gentleman who used to rap and still raps named Ron Fess.

So, like, we're coming together with people in the city of Chicago to make movement and provide opportunities for the younger people of Chicago.

BALDWIN: Keep helping. Keep doing what you need to do because a lot of people need, clearly, the help, but it's amazing to see the bright stars and the bright spots in this amazing city.

Common, thank you very much.

COMMON: Thank you for having me. Love.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And don't miss the finale of CNN special series, "CHICAGOLAND," tonight, 10:00 Eastern, 9:00 Central, right here on CNN.

Coming up, we're minutes away from the Closing Bell, and Apple stock is exploding after a huge announcement, and here's a clue, not a new iPhone.

Alison Kosik is standing by. She'll joining us live with the news, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You ever thought about buying shares of Apple stock, but you were a tad intimidated because of the -- cha-ching -- the price tag?

Well, some big news for you today, because shares of Apple are about to become a lot more affordable.

Alison Kosik is following that for us. She is live at the New York Stock Exchange, and so, you know, it's been about 500 bucks a pop, right, for a share. Now what?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: $567, just to be exact. at the moment.

So, yes, when Apple, Brooke, handed out its corporate report card yesterday after the bell, it also announced it's splitting its stock, seven for one.

So that means, if you're a shareholder, you'll get seven shares for every one share that you have.

And if you're not a shareholder, guess what? There's a better chance that you can be a shareholder, because in June the stock price is going to be much, much cheaper.

This could really be a sign that Apple wants to make shares more accessible to a larger number of investors, because $75 a share of Apple is a lot more affordable than $567 a share Apple.

What this also could do is pave the way for Apple could to be included in the Dow. It's currently only in the NASDAQ and S&P 500.

As far as how the company is doing in the latest quarter, it really knocked this one out of the park, selling more iPhones than expected.

Brooke?

BALDWIN: Last question for you, 60 seconds, General Motors, some news there today?

KOSIK: Yeah, General Motors, coming out with its earnings, saying that the price tag for all those repairs for those recalls are going to cost $1.3 billion, not just for the recalls that we've heard so much about about those ignition-switch problems that led to 13 deaths, but also for all the recalls this year, really taking a bite out of G.M.'s bottom line. It made just over $100 million in the first quarter. Compare that to $1 billion at the same time a year ago. It's a big price to pay for a part that originally cost 57 cents that Gm knew didn't meet specifications.

Brooke?

BALDWIN: Knew many years ago.

Alison Kosik in New York for us, Alison, thank you so much.

KOSIK: Sure.

BALDWIN: And that does it for me. I will see you back here, same time, same place, Friday.

Meantime, let's go to Washington. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.