Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Train Derailment in West Virginia; Prosecution Expected to Rest Cast in American Sniper Trial; Winter Blast Hits 1 Million People in U.S.; Egypt Pounds ISIS as Terror Group Grows

Aired February 17, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now hundreds of people in West Virginia can't go home after yesterday's massive train derailment and explosions that followed. Residents are told there not to drink the water. The train, with more than 100 cars, was hauling crude oil. 27 of those cars derailed.

Joining us now for more on this on the phone is a spokesman for the West Virginia State Police.

Lieutenant, thank you for jumping on the phone with us.

What's happening out there right now?

LT. MICHEL BAYLOUS, POLICE SPOKESMAN, WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE (voice-over): Right now, we're just continuing to provide a presence out there while the tanker cars are burning and we hope that they burn down rather quickly so they can get in and start the cleanup process.

BOLDUAN: So right now, even though it's almost 24 hours out, it's still too hot that they haven't been able to start looking into it?

BAYLOUS: The federal investigators that come in will look at what caused the derailment but there were 26 tanker cars that derailed near Armstrong Creek with crude oil and 19 of those caught fire. Several are still burning at this time. CSX was able to get in and detach some of the other cars and pull them away from the scene there.

BOLDUAN: Is there any risk at this point of further explosions? We're showing our viewers how huge these explosions were overnight. Is that still a risk?

BAYLOUS: You know, it's hard to say. That's why we have the area still evacuated. Not allowing anyone in there other than those that need to be in there and controlling the scene.

BOLDUAN: What's the expectation at this point of when residents are going to be able to head back in? I think I saw that one home was destroyed. Amazingly only one person injured. When will folks get back in, do you think?

BAYLOUS: It's hard to say. We hope that fire will extinguish itself this afternoon sometime. It's just hard to say at this point. You are right. There was one home that was completely destroyed and a few others that were damaged that we're blessed at this point there were no major injuries or even deaths. There was one person who was treated for smoke inhalation and released from the hospital.

BOLDUAN: Lieutenant, this does remind me when you talk about residents not able to drink the water right now as EPA will be doing testing. This reminds me last year, I believe, there was another issue in West Virginia. A chemical leak that contaminated water and folks couldn't drink the water for many days. Is this the same area?

BAYLOUS: No. This is outside of Charleston a little bit. The river does run into the same water supply. Our National Guard is there on the scene and they've been conducting testing and so far the testing has been pretty good. So at this point it doesn't seem like it's that significant of event as it was before with the drinking water.

BOLDUAN: That's going to be definite good news for residents when they are able to get back in. What do you think attributes to that? Those cars, they started leaking oil and that river was right there.

BAYLOUS: Yes, the possibility was there for that to happen but fortunately it appears that some of it got in a creek but hasn't hit the river and the initial reports were wrong about a tanker going into a river and pumps were shut off there in Montgomery so it seems that they have it under control and National Guard and other agencies there are doing a fantastic job.

BOLDUAN: Lieutenant, do you think weather could have played a part in this derailment?

BAYLOUS: You know, it's hard to say. We did get a significant amount of snowfall across the state. Six to eight inches of snow in that area. Hard to say. That's something we'll have to be patient and wait for federal investigators to come in and it may take time before we know exactly what happened.

BOLDUAN: First things first. You have to get those explosions and that fire under control and out if possible.

Lieutenant Michael Baylous, thank you for jumping on the line with us. We appreciate it.

BAYLOUS: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us -- of course. Coming up for us, "I've got tons of people eating on my soul right now." That is the confession of the man who admits to killing American sniper, Chris Kyle and one other person. Will those words sway the jury into believing the insanity defense that they have put forth? Details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Prosecutors in the American sniper trial are expected to rest their case today and then the defense will try to prove that Marine veteran, Eddie Ray Routh, was insane and belongs in a mental hospital and not a prison. They'll also have to explain this crucial piece of evidence. Video of Routh's interrogation and his confession after the killings where he rambles about killing Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield and but also says, at a couple of points, he said he knows what he did was wrong.

Paul Callan is joining us.

I'm surprised that the prosecution is resting its case. Why?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They have really laid out everything that they have to prove. They've proven he fired the fatal shots. And they've also been able to establish through these confessions and through other things that he knew the difference between right and wrong and remember under the Texas insanity statute, insanity is not the same as mental illness. If you know the difference between right and wrong, then you are sane under Texas law, even if you sound rambling and totally crazy.

BOLDUAN: Let's get to rambling and totally crazy and right from wrong. This came out from interrogation. Here are a couple quotes that struck me. He says, "You can't let people eat your soul up for free, you know. It's not what it's about. It's about having a soul that you have in you for yourself." And he goes on and on talking about eating souls. Then on the opposite side, he also says, "I would tell them" -- talking about the victims' families -- "I would tell them I'm sorry for what I've done." It seems that he goes in between sounding quite crazy to being sorry.

CALLAN: He goes back and forth. I think, of course, prosecutors are laying all of this out on the table because if they didn't, the defense attorneys would bring it out and it would look like they were trying to hide something. In the end, the prosecutors are going to say, you know something? Even when he's talking about things like eating a soul and I took his soul because he wanted to take my soul, they're going to say all of those things indicate he knows the difference between right and wrong. He knows that if somebody tries to take your soul, that's wrong and you, therefore, have the right to shoot them in self-defense. They'll say this indicates understanding of right and wrong.

BOLDUAN: Also when you look at the time line they are dealing with, he kills Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, then takes the car and goes to the uncle's house and sister's house, to taco bell and then his parents' house and leads police on a high-speed chase. Does time line matter here?

CALLAN: He matters only because he looks sane enough to have planned an escape and to have consciousness of guilt, and prosecutors would argue that means sanity. But in the end, this is so confusing to ordinary people. How can someone rambling like this be sane? I think sometimes jurors kind of put the law on the side and just say, how crazy is he? If he's really, really off the scale, he's going to get the benefit of an insanity defense regardless of what the law says.

BOLDUAN: So what does the defense do? The prosecution wraps up and they think they made their case, if you will. Defense steps in. What are they going to do next? CALLAN: You'll see a forcible presentation by the defense. They'll

call psychiatric experts to say that the kind of delusion that he has indicates a lack of understanding of right or wrong to give the jury something to hang their hats on. And also they're going to build up his military background so this jury has sympathy for PTSD --

BOLDUAN: What he's gone through?

CALLAN: Yes. And maybe to cut him a break and give him insanity defense.

BOLDUAN: I couldn't believe some of the quotes coming out of that interrogation. It was interesting.

CALLAN: Shocking stuff. The whole case has been shocking.

BOLDUAN: It really is. It really has.

Thank you so much. Great to see you.

CALLAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, check out this. Also check out this. We go inside the American sniper controversy and the story's incredible real-life twists and turns. Watch "The Story of American Sniper," tomorrow night 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

Also for us, it's definitely one for the record books. The snow, the cold weather snapping trees and breaking power lines and leaving death in its wake. We'll take you into the heart of the storm. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: More on the wintry blast hitting one million Americans in the Midwest and south right now. Drivers from southeast to middle Tennessee and into the Carolinas are being affected. Ice is a huge issue this time around, especially in some areas of the south. Just look at that. Officials are pleading with residents to stay off the roadways for obvious reasons if at all possible.

Sunlen Serfaty is in Washington where federal offices are closed today after the winter blast. Ryan Young is in snow-bound Boston.

Ryan, let's start with you. I was just on the phone with the mayor talking about they just have to keep doing what they're doing and trying to dig out. What are you seeing?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's snowing again. I heard the mayor tell you that but there's a light dusting coming down. We're just outside of Boston. You really have to feel for these people. Look at this snow that I'm standing on top of. This is some of the 50 inches of snow they received. It's record breaking snow. I can tell you this mountain is not the easiest to walk across. We're in a snow farm. The whole idea of the snow farm is to make sure that they can pack this and then on top of that they'll melt it and that backhoe that you see just over there, that backhoe they'll use it and they'll move some of the snow over to a snow melter and start melting the snow. There's more than 300 yards of snow mountain. That's 25 feet high at least. Now this is causing issues with transportation in the area because snow is impacting the lives. They are paying $30 an hour to clear some of the snow off those tracks. All this on top of your roof makes it very, very dangerous. You have to think, people back to work, all this stuff is going on at the same time. You know they're tired of it.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely, Ryan. I talked about that with the mayor. The mayor said that he thinks about eight days where everything was completely shut down. There's still a parking ban. There's still a lot of issues with public transportation there. What are you hearing from folks -- I don't know if a lot of folks are hanging out at the snow farm but how are folks in Boston handling this?

YOUNG: Meeting people here in Boston, they are a strong group of people. I want to show you work going on behind us. I'll turn the camera this way. There's as guy with a front loader. There are firefighters here. They all are doing this in an effort to try to melt the snow to help residents. You can understand that they feel sorry for the people who are trapped around the city especially with this stuff continuing to fall. On the side streets, that's where the main issues are. We saw a lot of people trying to walk the streets, the sidewalks this morning. You know they're trying to get to work, trying to earn an honest living and it's so difficult with all of the snow everywhere.

BOLDUAN: Everywhere.

Ryan Young on top of the snow mountain that hopefully will melt very quickly. Can't promise you that though. Ryan, thanks

Let's head over to Washington where Sunlen is.

Sunlen, how are things looking in Washington today?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, this is the most snow that Washington has seen all season. Nothing compared to Boston. But you know as well as others it's enough to shut down this city at least partially. Federal government is closed today. D.C. schools are closed. Show you what accumulated overnight. This is about four to five inches. Fluffy snow. People coming out. We've seen some cross- country skiers building little snowmen here. Take a look at this iconic view of the Washington mall. Just blanketed with snow. Some people today are starting to come out.

President Obama was also affected by this snowstorm. We'll show video of him arriving at Andrews Air Force Base on Air Force One last night. He was immediately hit by the snow and the cold. He was forced to take a motorcade back to the White House instead of the Marine one helicopter. The sun is coming out. It is bright blue skies out here but the temperature is still low, about 20 degrees. For that reason, officials say they are keeping the D.C. Snow emergency in effect until they can properly plow the streets here -- Kate? BOLDUAN: As you know, and I know from living there, D.C. continues to

earn its reputation of even if there's a threat of any snow, federal government will shut down. It's just one of the ways that D.C. works.

Sunlen, thank you so much.

Talking about brutal weather in the United States, but brutal weather is impacting some of the most vulnerable people outside of the United States around the world. Millions of refugees in Iraq and Syria are living in flimsy shelters not equipped to deal with the winds and the bitter cold of this winter leading to the spread of illness and disease in many refugee camps. World vision is helping by distributing simple but necessary items like blankets, coats and hats. You can help them do their good work. Logon to CNN.com/impact.

Coming up for us, target, terror. Representatives from around the world are gathering in Washington right now working on a plan to destroy ISIS and its followers. The latest on the fight is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Egypt is ramping up its fight against ISIS. The Egyptian Air Force pounded ISIS targets again in Libya yesterday after the terror group killed 21 Egyptian Christians. And the global community at the very same time is worried that ISIS is growing at a rapid speed and spreading its reign of terror beyond the borders of Syria and Libya.

Let's bring in CNN terrorism analyst, Paul Cruickshank, is here to discuss.

It's not even a worry at this point. It seems ISIS is spreading beyond its strongholds in Iraq and Syria. But the big question is when you look at Libya and where it's positioned, especially, do you think ISIS can get that same kind of a stronghold, foothold in Libya as we've seen what they've done in a place like Syria?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: They're rapidly expanding in Libya. They're taking advantage of the simmering civil war there to spread their operations from the east part of the country, Derna, all the way over to Tripoli. They have several strongholds in Libya. So there's certainly a lot of concern about their expansion.

A few obstacles for ISIS. One is there are so many different other armed militia groups in Libya. And the other one is you don't have this sort of sectarian divide like you do in Syria and Iraq. So perhaps the conditions won't be as advantageous for ISIS in Libya. But very remarkable expansion from them.

This is the southern shore of the Mediterranean. The first time ISIS is on the Mediterranean, the southern shore of the European Union. Crete is just 200 miles north of Derna where ISIS have a very big presence right now, just a few hours in a speed boat. And there are a lot of refugee floats from Libya to Europe, more than 100,000 last year from Libya. So they have opportunities now to infiltrate people, perhaps into the European Union, potentially even to launch attacks.

BOLDUAN: It's noteworthy, hearing it from you and others who watch this closely, you even say it's surprising how quickly they're making this effort to expand in places outside Iraq and Syria.

In talking about the influence of ISIS, maybe not physically or just inspiring other terror attacks, I want to ask you about the Danish gunman. Right before he began his terror attack, he pledged on his -- apparently, on his Facebook page, allegiance to the leader of ISIS. What do you make of that?

CRUICKSHANK: We think it was just minutes before he started --

BOLDUAN: Just minutes, yeah.

CRUICKSHANK: -- this attack. He puts an update on what appears to be his Facebook page, a pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. That shows he was probably radicalized by ISIS propaganda. ISIS put out a lot of calls for lone wolf attacks, including in the month after the "Charlie Hebdo" attack in Paris. And one of the gunmen involved there also pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

BOLDUAN: Could there have been direct communication between the leaders in Syria and this guy?

CRUICKSHANK: The officials don't think so. It appears he was radicalized in prison. Involved in gangs before that. This is somebody inspired by the ISIS propaganda. But the worry is ISIS will make a lot more propaganda out of there, they'll eulogize him and more people will be inspired by what he did. He was probably inspired by the Paris attacks. Somebody else will be inspired by what he did.

BOLDUAN: Inspiration or direct communication, doesn't matter, because it's just as deadly when you look at these terror attacks.

I want to get your final thought as we talk about this. In Washington, some representatives of 60 countries are trying to get together with the president and the vice president to talk about ways to combat violent extremism at home and abroad. What do you expect to come out of something like this?

CRUICKSHANK: Some sharing of best practice. There's some really interesting pilot programs going on in various parts of the world, in the U.K. but also here in the United States. In Minneapolis, empowering the Muslim community to front this ideology. And that's going to be how this is won in the end. This is kind of important.

BOLDUAN: Proactive taking on terror rather than reactive when the terror acts have already happened.

Paul, thank you so much.

That's it for us. Thanks for joining us.

LEGAL VIEW with Poppy Harlow starts right now.