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U.S. Prepares for World Cup Match; Serena Williams Drops Out of Wimbledon Due to Illness; Tension in Israel

Aired July 01, 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: And we continue on, hour two here. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Here we go.

The first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is upon us. It could ruin -- sorry -- ruin Fourth of July celebrations all along the East Coast.

Tropical Storm Arthur formed today off of Florida, and it could spin into a Category 1 hurricane by Friday.

Chad Myers, you have been watching this roll off the coast of Florida.

Talk to me about the conditions right now.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: An unexpected shocker today at Wimbledon. Tennis champ Serena Williams has dropped out because of a viral illness. She was preparing to play doubles with her sister, Venus, when she appeared to lose focus, physically falling apart.

What is happening?

CNN Sports anchor Rachel Nichols is following this one from New York.

And I started to see some of the tweets coming in and worried because I remember the pulmonary embolism a couple of years ago. She just released a statement. What did she say?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she was talking about the fact that she has had this bug for the past couple of days. She fought she could fight through it, but in fact she could not and that was obvious from the minute she got out on the court for warmups.

The video was really amazing as we were watching it come down. Here is Serena Williams, right, is synonymous with power, one of the most authoritative figures in women's tennis, and she just couldn't move out there. She has the strongest serve in the game and yet she couldn't get the ball over the net.

She obviously looked like she was maybe having double vision because she was trying to bounce the ball on the court and was missing the ball several times and then, as you can see here, just dissolving in tears with the medical staff, so obviously trying to be a gamer, trying to be a fighter, trying to go out there and play with her sister anyway, but it just wasn't going to happen today.

BALDWIN: She's tough, no doubt about that. So bottom line, everything appears to be OK. This is simply a bug?

NICHOLS: Yes. I mean, look, as you said, this is a person who, three years ago, was in life-threatening danger. She had a pulmonary embolism. The clot went up to her lung, knocked her out of the game for a year. She's had health issues, but she's very proud of herself.

I saw her just about a month ago down in Miami. She's very proud of herself for having fought back, regained that number one ranking. There were people who thought, hey, at the time, you're 30 years old. Maybe you just hang it up. Instead, she fought back to be number one in the world.

I don't think this is going to stop her either, but certainly a disappointment. And you have to wonder. When she was ousted from the singles a few days ago, maybe she was coming down with this. It was a surprise ouster back then.

BALDWIN: Do you have that statement, Rachel, to read?

NICHOLS: I think you guys have it in the studio.

BALDWIN: Let's throw it up. Can you read that?

Or I can read it for you.

NICHOLS: Great.

"I am heartbroken I am not able to continue," she said. "I thought I could rally this morning because I really wanted to compete, but just that bug got the best of me." She said she wanted to thank her sister, the opponents in the match.

Remember, she and her sister have won all of these Wimbledon titles. Doubles is not a big deal for a lot of single players, but it's a big deal for them. Serena goes on to say that she's looking forward to a great match, but unfortunately didn't happen. "From the bottom of my heart," she says, "I thank all the fans for their cheers and understanding." She says she looks forward to returning to Wimbledon next year.

So, as you can see, Brooke, not going to get Serena Williams down.

BALDWIN: We wish her well. We absolutely do. Rachel Nichols, thank you so much for the update.

And now let's talk about this. There we go, the United States vs. Belgium. The clock is ticking. The U.S. team, should it win this game in Brazil, will reach the final eight of soccer's World Cup. It could happen as well, even though America is the underdog. Here's the news out of Brazil. This is what you need to know. Sidelined American star Jozy Altidore

has now been cleared to play. He will not start. Belgian star Vincent Kompany might not play. He has an injury.

Here on the home front, in San Francisco, old fans, new fans, folks who want to party, they are getting pumped up as we speak. Live pictures here as folks are getting ready to watch this match. That's on the left side of your screen in California.

On the right side, Chicago, fans are filling into Soldier Field for this outdoor viewing party with massive TV screens. America, welcome to World Cup fever.

Let's talk about this match with former American World Cup star Cobi Jones. He's back with me today and we're grateful for that.

Also, though, let's go to New York first, capital of everything crazy, it appears, with Richard Roth.

I hear the noise. Richard, can you hear me? Set the scene for me.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, I'm always talking to you in a bar, except you're in one location and I'm in another.

This is the round where the U.S. was eliminated four years ago against Ghana. We're in Nevada Smith's, one of the many soccer meccas in Manhattan. And it will get very full here shortly.

With me, some fans.

Let me ask you Whitney, what do you like in this match coming up against young and talented Belgium?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, there's no denying it, Belgium has got the (INAUDIBLE) but there's no question (INAUDIBLE) We're changing the way we play. We're changing the tactics. I like our chances.

ROTH: (INAUDIBLE) a lot of the favorites are having trouble. Belgium is favored over the U.S. Give you any hope for this match? What is your prediction?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don't care about the favorites, because if Spain can go home, Italy can go home, I like our chances. If Costa Rica is making quarterfinals, I like our chances. I believe that we can win.

ROTH: Brooke, with me is a CNN producer who is a citizen of the U.S. and Belgium. His mother was Belgian.

I want to know who Dom Dottley (ph) wants to win in this match.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want Belgium to win. The lack of specifics from American fans is astounding. I believe that they will lose. Every single player on our team is international. They play amazing soccer. They play for great clubs. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like his attitude right now. I really

don't like it.

ROTH: Should I have management fire him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should. We should let go of him. I don't like his attitude. Why..

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it turned personal for no reason with American fans. I'm just commenting on the soccer. We're better.

ROTH: All right. We will be giving out his home address during the show, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes.

ROTH: Back to you and Cobi. That's the scene here. It's going to get much more passionate in a little less than an hour as the U.S. goes against Belgium.

BALDWIN: I don't know about that Belgium fan. Get him out of the bar.

Richard Roth, thank you so much.

Cobi Jones, so you just heard one of those fans talking about America's chances. I just have to put you on the spot. You have been there. How is team USA looking? Can we pull it off?

COBI JONES, FORMER U.S. WORLD CUP SOCCER PLAYER: Look, I believe the U.S. has a great opportunity to win this match.

When we look at how the U.S. has played at times and the confidence that they have, nothing seems to get them down. While the Belgium team, yes, they went through the first -- the group stage all right, but it wasn't good play for the entirety of matches. It was just a few spells when the subs came in and they got the goals.

So I think the U.S., if they can get a goal early and then kind of wait it out, they have a great opportunity to pull this game off.

BALDWIN: We are minutes away, some minutes away from this match. I mean, what's happening now, be it, I don't know, on the pitch or in the locker room? How are these guys getting themselves prepared?

JONES: Right now, this close to the match, it's all about self- reflection. Everyone is kind of visualizing what they need to do, how they need together. The players are interacting as well in the different combinations around the field.

The central midfielders are talking to each other. If it's Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman, they are talking about their game plan. If it's on the wing play, if it's Fabian Johnson on the right-hand side talking to whoever is going to be in front of him. it's the goalkeepers. They are making sure that not only as a team that they're tight, but the little individual parts of the field where they will match up against the opponent.

BALDWIN: OK.

Let me run through some scenarios. You know this very well. These are the nuances of soccer, especially now that we're in the knockout rounds that I want everyone to understand as we approach this time. So, the game will end after 90 minutes of play and plus the whole injury time. Right? That's pretty simple.

But if after all of that the score is tied, they have this 30-minute overtime. It's not sudden death. So, they play the whole thing, plus a couple more minutes injury time. If they are still tied, because we like to play out all the scenarios here, five players from each team tries to get a shot past the goalie and then the team with the most goals wins.

If they are still tied, Cobi Jones, if you're still hi me, if they are still tied, more penalty kicks, this time around, sudden death. Can you just, Cobi, describe for me the pressure of these penalty kicks both for the kicker and the goalkeeper?

JONES: Yes, it's intense pressure. Look, I'm on the side from the player on the field, so I think it's a little bit more pressure for the player actually taking the penalty kick because it really doesn't have anything to do, you know, with those 120 minutes-plus that happened before. It's just the one moment where you get to walk up, make that walk from half field, all the way up to the spot, place the ball.

And the whole stadium is watching you. And the expectation is actually for the player to score that. For the goalkeeper, for him, they really don't expect him to make a save. If he gets one or two, he's done his job. But for the kicker, he has to put that in the net.

BALDWIN: I was looking at the stats today and more times than not, the kicker converts into the point, but still for the goalkeeper, if they are doing their homework -- correct me if I'm wrong -- they should know which way the ball goes and ultimately it's a 50/50 chance, right?

JONES: Well, I wouldn't say 50/50. At this stage right now, like you said, there's been homework done.

I can guarantee that each coach knows, has gone back and done their homework on an individual player when they have taken on a penalty kick and knows which way that that player usually kicks. And they have given that information to the keeper and they will give it to him right before those kicks.

So it's really up to that kicker to decide, OK, am I going to stick with what most likely the other team knows, the kicker knows, or am I going to switch?

BALDWIN: No pressure, Cobi Jones. No pressure.

(CROSSTALK) JONES: Just a little. Just a little bit.

BALDWIN: Thank you for coming back. I think you coming is good luck for team USA. So, thanks for coming back on. Hopefully, we give them a bump.

Much more coverage of the World Cup frenzy coming up this hour, including this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL FERRELL, ACTOR: If the game is close, I will bite -- I will bite you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Recognize this guy? Will Ferrell. You had Hulk Hogan. Celebrities showing their support of the men's team with videos and on social media. Coming up in about 20 minutes, we will take a look at some of the biggest Hollywood stars cheering for team USA.

We also have new developments in another story a lot of you are talking about today. This missing boy found alive in his father's basement, HLN's Nancy Grace giving the father of the news in the middle of this interview on TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST, "NANCY GRACE": We're getting reports that your son has been found in your basement. Sir?

Mr. Bothuell, are you...

CHARLIE BOTHUELL, FATHER: What?

GRACE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Here's the update. The 12-year-old has spoken to police, reportedly telling them who was forcing him to stay in that basement. He is also explaining scars on his body. We're talking live to Nancy Grace about the newest developments in this story. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Shocking new accusations in the bizarre case of this Detroit boy found barricaded in his dad's basement. So, today, we are hearing these reports that his stepmom was the one keeping him there, this reportedly coming from court documents obtained by "The Detroit Free Press." Just a quick reminder here, 12-year-old Charlie was missing for days.

His dad was out in the neighborhood going door-to-door, looking for his son. And the dad comes on our sister network HLN for this interview with Nancy Grace, and then this happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Charlie, we're getting reports that your son has been found in your basement. Sir?

Mr. Bothuell, are you...

BOTHUELL: What?

GRACE: Yes. We're getting reports that your son has been found alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So that was that interview from a couple of nights ago. Remember that bloody PVC pipe that was apparently found in the home that police removed?

Well, again, from "The Detroit Free Press" they're reporting that Charlie says that his dad drove that pipe into his chest and apparently he has the scar to prove it.

Nancy Grace with HLN joins me once again here with this update.

Nancy, we were talking about all of the twists and turns in the case. You took the story on because you had -- you know, you were sympathetic for this fire who was pounding the pavement looking for his son and now these new details.

GRACE: Yes.

This -- the story first spoke to me when I put myself in the father's shoes, running from door to door, banging on doors, trying to find his son. Then I found -- quickly find a series of facts. For instance, the father's polygraph was inconclusive, that the stepmother refused a local polygraph.

What's happening right now as you and I are talking is that little Charlie, he's Charlie V -- the father, Charlie Bothuell IV -- is being questioned, a child forensic interview by the FBI. And right now local police are on stand by to take the results of that interview to the Wayne County district attorney's office. Why?

Probably, and I'm just guessing, I'm speculating, based on expertise, this is about whether the father and stepmother abused the child. As to that PVC pipe, there are reports that blood was found on the PVC pipe and the defense attorney for the father says, oh, yes, that blood is because little Charlie has eczema and he scratches.

What, he bled on a PVC pipe? We know that bloody clothes were found in the home. We have let to link them to the little boy. But I'm waiting for that detail to emerge.

BALDWIN: What about -- we're talking about the dad. What about the stepmother? Because if she was hiding this little boy, even if it was to protect him from abuse -- and, again we don't know, we can't connect those dots -- she did allow police and FBI to investigate this missing child case. Would there then be charges filed against her?

GRACE: Absolutely if she misled them. That is absolutely a chargeable offense. That's obstruction of justice, when you have got the FBI, local police, volunteers, everybody is looking for this child, and the mom, the stepmother knows where he is and she's been hiding him all this time?

And I will tell you another thing, hiding and forcing your child to live in the basement and live off cereal and soda are two very different things in my book.

BALDWIN: I don't disagree. You're staying on it. We will watch tonight, HLN.

GRACE: You know it.

BALDWIN: Nancy Grace, 8:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.

Thank you so much, Nancy. We will stay in close contact with you to see where the story goes next.

Coming up here on CNN, thousands show up to remember those three Israeli teenagers found dead in a field in the West Bank. And as Israel goes on the offensive targeting Hamas, the country's president says -- quote -- "Terror is a boomerang." So is another big attack on the way?

We're live in Israel next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In parts of Israel today, it looked like a sea of sadness. Mourners gathered for the funeral of those three teenagers who were found yesterday in that open field in the West Bank more than two weeks after they were kidnapped on their way home from school.

After speaking at the funeral, Israeli's prime minister -- Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stepped into a security cabinet meeting.

CNN's Atika Shubert is live for us now in Jerusalem.

And, Atika, Hamas says they are not responsible for the abduction and murder of these three young boys, but that's not stopping Israel from stepping up those airstrikes.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No.

As far as Israel is concerned, Hamas is responsible. And in the words of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas will pay. And Israel has already targeted dozens of areas in the Gaza Strip with airstrikes. They have a very aggressive campaign in the West Bank at the moment, arresting hundreds over the past two weeks.

In fact, six people have been killed in those arrests already. And so this is bound to continue. That was according to the prime minister when he spoke before a Cabinet meeting. We understand that Cabinet meeting hasn't started yet. The question is, will there be more? Will there be an escalation and will this trigger another cycle of violence?

We have already seen rockets fired from Gaza into Southern Israel in response, and there are concerns that this could get worse -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: It certainly could escalate and aside from any sort of initial response, we're also, Atika, seeing these clashes on the ground between some right-wing Israelis and police. What's going on there?

SHUBERT: Well, what's happening is, there is this tremendous outpouring of anger and grief. And what we have seen here in Jerusalem is a number of small groups of mostly men demanding revenge and taking out their anger.

In a number of places, we have seen them actively seeking out any Arab residents here in Jerusalem and making some very, very strong threats. And so there's been -- the police have been trying to contain some of that anger, try and calm tensions down a little bit.

But it's difficult. There is a lot of grief and frustration out there and this is part of the reaction that we're seeing from the government responding to this public anger and pressure.

BALDWIN: Atika Shubert, we know you're watching in Jerusalem for us. Thank you.

And just a quick note to you. Last hour, I interviewed one of the teens' cousins who lives here in the United States. He's lived with him or spent some time with him in Israel. It was a pretty emotional interview. And I just want to urge you to check it out on the Brooke blog. Just go to CNN.com/Brooke.

Coming up, Republicans and Democrats agree on something. But this something was not very publicized -- why the quiet move by Congress is outraging all kinds of groups who demand accountability from our politicians.

Plus, World Cup fever, live pictures coast to coast, fans across the U.S. gearing up for the big match. Live pictures here from a bar in San Francisco on the left side of your screen and Soldier Field in Chicago on the right. We will take you to some of the biggest watch parties.

Plus, hear what some celebrities are doing to cheer on team USA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)