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New Day

ISIS Releases New Propaganda Video; More U.S. Military Advisers Deployed to Iraq; New Report Details Protocol Breaches in Joan Rivers' Death; Protests in Mexico Shut Down Acapulco Airport

Aired November 11, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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

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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, ISIS releases a new video promising the fight against them only makes them stronger. This as U.S. troops enter Iraq's Anbar province to help Iraqi forces beat the terrorists.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: New violence, Israel on edge after deadly knife attacks claim the lives of a soldier and a woman waiting for a bus.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Also intense clashes at some of the regions police sites. We have a live report on the growing tension.

CAMEROTA: Growing controversy, a new city rule in Ft. Lauderdale makes it illegal to feed the homeless in outdoor public spaces. Now a 90-year-old man faces jail time for ignoring the ban. Should it be a crime to feed the homeless? We'll speak with the city's mayor.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Beautiful shot of freedom tower here on this day of Veterans Day. We thank all the veterans and their families for serving our country. It is November 11th today, and it is 8:00 in the east. I'm Chris Cuomo with Alisyn Camerota here. Thanks for joining us on NEW DAY.

And, again, we want to show you this video, this is coming in from ISIS, it's a new warning, a disgusting video. We're not going to show you the parts that they would like us to. However, the message is clear. Also, dozens of U.S. soldiers arrive in Iraq's Anbar province. The mission there is not to fight the terrorists but to help the Iraqis do that job.

CAMEROTA: So up to 1,500 more non-combat American troops could be arriving soon on top of the 1,400 that are already in Iraq. The deployment comes as the Pentagon tries to confirm whether ISIS chief al Baghdadi was killed or even wounded by an air strike this weekend.

CUOMO: Let's get the late-breaking developments from Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr and then we'll go to CNN's Reza Sayah in Tehran. Barbara, let's start with you.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris, Alisyn. That video perhaps needs to be seen as yet another ISIS propaganda video with the message that they want to put out, which is that they will have inevitable victory against the coalition. That's what sources are telling me, this is ISIS' message, they will be victorious. The coalition, of course, begs to differ.

Much of it very violent, very graphic, showing us that ISIS takes its cameras right out into the battlefield to show their version of what is going on. It does come as those U.S. troops, of course, are arriving in Anbar province. The coalition really building up the effort now to get the Iraqis, the Iraqi forces back in the fight. Chris?

CUOMO: Very important to note the U.S. troops are not supposed to be fighting, but what will they be doing?

STARR: I think that's really important. The distinct point you're making. The troops are not on the ground in a combat role, but they certainly could face a combat situation. They are in Anbar province. This is the beginning of this training mission, if you will. These 50 troops went to al Asad airbase in Anbar province, Sunni stronghold, ISIS stronghold, very violent, very tough fighting. They are setting up the way for more U.S. trainers, military personnel to come into al Asad airbase, the goal to get the Iraqis back on the offense.

But make no mistake, even this training, it will take a long time, it will be tough going according to U.S. officials. They make no mistake about it. And a good chunk of those troops that will go to Anbar province will be there for what the military calls force protection, protecting the other U.S. troops that are there. Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Barbara, thank you very much. Obviously the key to this coalition effort is having other countries come in to help. The question is, should one of those countries be Iran? The president reached out to the religious leader there. Let's bring in Reza Sayah live in Tehran. What do we understand this morning, Reza?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, Iran is obviously watching closely U.S. military strategy in Iraq, but recently they've been driving home their own very bold message, and that message is that we are doing more than anyone else in helping Iraq fight these so-called Islamic State. In recent days the Iranian state media has really hyped up their efforts in Iraq and hyped up a senior military leader, General Qassem Suleimani, the head of the Quds force. He is getting all sorts of credit in pushing back the Islamic State late last month when Iraqi forces pushed back and defeated the Islamic State in villages surrounding Baghdad and other towns. It was Suleimani that was credited as devising the strategy for those victories. We haven't independently confirmed these claims.

Iran continues to maintain that they don't have boots on the ground, that they're only advising military officials in Iraq. But it really signals Iran's growing influence in Iraq, Chris, and it also is an indication of what the U.S. can gain if it improves relations with Iran and if these two sides work together. So far they've given one another the cold shoulder. Maybe that changes if there's a nuclear agreement two weeks from now.

CUOMO: All right, Reza, it's good to get the word from Tehran. What happens next? We will have to see about that, but the problem certainly needs better solutions. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: All right, Chris, let's turn now to our CNN military analyst to talk more about this, retired lieutenant colonel Rick Francona. Good morning, colonel, nice to see you.

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, what do you make of the 1,500 more troops heading to Iraq?

FRANCONA: I think it's a realization that the Iraqi army is in probably worse shape than we thought, and give the administration credit that they recognized that there's a continuing problem and that more people were needed, and he's deployed the troops to do that. Moving them out to Anbar province is a good idea because Anbar can be a bell weather of what's going to happen in Iraq. As Barbara said, it's a very volatile area, and it's a place where the Iraqis need to go back on the offensive. And if they can do it there, that might portend well for the rest of the country. So this is really a test case, and I think we're putting a lot of resources into it. I think that's the right thing to do.

CAMEROTA: We've talked about historically how dangerous Anbar province has been. What is the status of this today?

FRANCONA: Well, you've got, ISIS is really trying to take the Euphrates Valley. You see them going after the strategic areas. Al Asad airbase is a good place to start from, but that's also a very dangerous place. They're also look at the Haditha dam. So it's also a good place for it shows what the Sunnis can do against ISIS where there's two tribes out there, al Bunimir (ph) and the Dulamis, who are anti-ISIS. And we're going to work with them to hopefully to recreate 2006 and 2007 with the Anbar awakening. So what we're looking at is the beginning of putting the Iraqis back on the offensive to go after ISIS. So I'm cautiously optimistic, but I remain a bit skeptical of Iraqi army capabilities right now. This is going to take time.

CAMEROTA: Colonel, can you explain to us what the role of these troops really will be, because they're being called advisers, yet we just heard in Barbara Starr's report that they are there for, quote, "force protection." So if they are called upon to protect the force, doesn't that turn into combat?

FRANCONA: Absolutely. There's two groups that are going up there. There's the people that are going to do the actual training and then there's a security element, we call them force protection. And those are going to be combat capable troops. Now, they won't have a real combat role, but if they come under fire of course they're going to fight back. So we do have combat troops there, but they're not technically in a combat role.

They're also going to be provided air cover. There's going to be Apache helicopters watching them, plus you've got all the coalition air power in the area. So there could be firefights around that airbase, and I would expect ISIS will try and make an example of that by taking on the Americans. We saw that video this morning and we've seen the threats from ISIS. They're spoiling for a fight with the United States because if they can deal us a blow they think that that might break our resolve. So I expect we're going to see a lot of action up in that Anbar province.

CAMEROTA: Very quickly, colonel, we are waiting to learn if al Baghdadi, the head of ISIS was injured or even killed. If he is, what is the significance of that to ISIS?

FRANCONA: Well, it will be a psychological blow but it won't really change what they're doing. ISIS has set themselves up as a state. They have a Shura Council, a council of advisers. They already have a succession plan. They've announced that quite some time ago. They have capable people ready to step in. There are already two successors that could step in, both very qualified, both with the Iraqi military, senior military experience. So it won't change what ISIS is doing but it will be a psychological blow that the Americans were able to do this.

CAMEROTA: Colonel Francona, thanks so much for all the information and thanks for your service. Happy Veterans Day.

FRANCONA: Sure, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's go over to Chris.

A wave of knife attacks has Israel on edge this morning. Palestinian attackers allegedly stabbing an Israeli woman to death at a West Bank bus stop. This happened just hours after an Israeli soldier was stabbed to death in Tel Aviv. Let's get to senior international correspondent Nic Robertson in Jerusalem with the latest. Nic, to be clear, these are not being seen as ordinary crimes, right?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're not. At the same time, they're not -- the security advisers here tell us these are not being seen as an orchestrated set of attacks but certainly a sort of copycat effect here. Additional security forces have been, Israeli security forces are positioned in the West Bank. But in the last few hours a clash in the West Bank, what the Israeli defense force described as about 200 violent Palestinian demonstrators inside a village, they say that a young man, a young Palestinian pointed a homemade gun at them. They fired a shot, there was a hit. We understand the young man, a 21-year-old Palestinian, was killed in those clashes, his body transferred to a hospital.

So the tensions that are existing after these stabbings, after these sort of dRivers who have been driving into people waiting at bus stops, all this is adding up to a very tense time, and the concern is that this could potentially escalate. And when you have situations like this young Palestinian shot in the last few hours, all these things contribute to the tension, potential for escalation, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Nic, thank you very much for the reporting. We'll keep up on that. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Chris, there's a new report this morning that details some shocking medical errors by a New York City clinic that investigators say contributed to the death of Joan Rivers. The 81-year-old died in September a week after going into cardiac arrest at the Yorkville Endoscopy Clinic. This is during a routine procedure on her throat. So how did things go so horribly wrong? Here's CNN's Jean Casarez.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A probe into the Manhattan clinic where famed comedian Joan Rivers was treated before her death reveals that they made mistakes. A 22-page report issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found a list of disturbing issues during Rivers' procedure, including a staff member snapping a photo of Rivers while she was sedated, violating the faculty's policy on use of personal cellphones in any patient areas.

The CMS report quotes that staff member as saying "Maybe patient number one would like to see this in the recovery area." Rivers' name is not mentioned in the CMS report and CMS would not confirm the person referred to only as "patient number one" is Rivers. However the report matches the date, circumstances, and age of the late comedian.

Other disturbing details found the clinic failed to identify Rivers' deteriorating vital signs and failed to consistently document the dose of the sedative Propofol, failed to get Rivers' informed consent for each procedure performed, and failed to ensure she was cared for by only authorized physicians.

Yorkville Endoscopy addressed the report in a statement that says in part, "In response to the statement of deficiencies, Yorkville immediately submitted and implemented a plan of correction that addressed all issues raised."

Melissa Rivers' lawyers addressed the finding saying "Miss Rivers is outraged by the misconduct and mismanagement now shown to have occurred before, during, and after the procedure." Now her lawyers say Melissa working toward ensuring what happened to her mother doesn't occur with any other patient.

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CAMEROTA: And Jean Casarez joins us now with more details. Jean, so one of the things that jumped out at me from the report was that the anesthesiologist wasn't monitoring the dose of sedation of the Propofol?

CASAREZ: It's very interesting, the anesthesiologist states in this report "I would love to talk with you but my legal counsel tells me not to." But it also is documented in this report that the amount of Propofol documented at the time of the procedure was 300 milligrams. Later that afternoon around 2:30, the anesthesiologist changed the report saying no, it was 180 milligrams. My finger pressed the button twice earlier today so that's wrong.

At the same time in that afternoon the anesthesiologist wrote notes about Joan Rivers' personal doctor that was there and performed two additional procedures that were not part of the procedure that was to be performed. Additionally she wrote a handwritten note letter, the anesthesiologist, saying that the staff ENT doctor, the staff doctor, took photos during the procedure by his cellphone of a sedated Joan Rivers and her personal ENT, photos plural, that's what the report says.

CAMEROTA: And that's what we had heard, that there had been a selfie taken, which obviously is not allowed, but they were taking photos while she was under sedation. You remember, there were reports, "She'll like this, she'll think it's funny later," but that's against all protocol.

CASAREZ: Exactly. And blood pressure was 118 over 80, pulse 62 right before the procedure, that's normal. Went down to the pulse at 47 and the procedure was still being performed. And then after that, according to the report, her own personal ENT doctor came in once again to do a procedure, then finally 9:28, 9:30, while that was being done they realized there was an issue.

CAMEROTA: That's terrible. Jean Casarez, thanks so much for all of the information.

CUOMO: That's the problem. It's not just the photos. It's that they should have been monitoring other things at the time, and now Joan Rivers is gone.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. Jean, thank you, keep up posted.

Let's bring in Michaela for other news.

PEREIRA: Yes, we have our headlines right now. Fourteen minutes past the hour.

President Obama is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping one-on- one this morning in Beijing. On Monday, the two nations reached a deal to extend the time visas would be valid for visitors from both countries from a year to a decade. Now, according to the White House, the president also had some brief exchanges with Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing Iran, Syria and Ukraine.

The captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized in April has been faced to 36 years in jail. He had been facing the death penalty for jumping to safety leaving passengers stranded on that sinking boat. More than 300 people, most of them students, died in the disaster. Prosecutors are not happy with the sentence. They say they will appeal.

McDonald's recalling more than 2 million Hello Kitty toys from Happy Meals because the whistles that come with the toy can pose a choking hazard to little ones. The fast food chain said two children have put those whistles in their mouths and coughed out pieces. One needed medical attention. The toys were distributed nationwide and in Canada, from October through the first week of November.

Check it out, here we go, a group of friends going spear fishing off the coast of beautiful Santa Barbara, California, come face to head with a hammerhead shark. The close encounter was quite a rare one. The hammerhead was said to be from some 500 miles away where you'd normally find one and from the looks of it not so friendly, probably because he was being poked with a spear. I would be cranky, too.

CAMEROTA: Yes, don't do that if you don't want to annoy a shark.

CUOMO: How about getting out of the water.

PEREIRA: I don't think hammerheads are necessarily known to chomp on you, are they?

CAMEROTA: Let's not test it.

CUOMO: Just give you a stern talking to?

PEREIRA: Let's dangle your feet in the water and see what happens, Chris.

CUOMO: Thank you very much. Appreciate that.

CAMEROTA: I like that suggestion.

All right. Meanwhile, another top story we've been reporting for you this morning, rage is rising in Mexico today as desperate families question the government's announcement that 43 missing college students were actually killed by a drug gang. Why haven't the probable mastermind as they're called and his wife been charged? We'll take to you Mexico.

CUOMO: And the list keeps going, Oregon, Alaska, D.C., just voted to legalize marijuana. Now listen to this, New York's police department is relaxing pot punishment. Is this the right move? We're going to bring you the latest. There's a study.

CAMEROTA: And we'll debate it.

CUOMO: And a study.

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CUOMO: Demonstrations are not letting up in Mexico, as families demand answers about the fate of 43 kidnapped students. Perhaps even worse than the loss of their family may be the people who were behind it.

CNN's Rosa Flores has the latest from Mexico.

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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 1,000 outraged protesters take to the streets of Acapulco, facing off against law enforcement at the international airport. A show of defiance in response to the disappearance of 43 students in southern Mexico, all 43 lives were abruptly interrupted by what authorities call an organized criminal ring involving the mayor, his wife, the police chief, and drug traffickers.

(on camera): The students were on this highway headed towards Iguala, they belonged to an ale male teachers college that's known for protesting against the government.

(voice-over): City Mayor Jose Luis Abarca didn't want them in town and ordered the police chief to stop the students according to authorities.

(on camera): This is where the plot thickens. The last place these 43 students were seen alive. I want to show you this wall, because you can still see bullet holes, what federal authorities say could be possible clues of an ambush by local police who would later turn over students to a cartel.

(voice-over): Four days after the students went missing, officials say Iguala's mayor and wife went underground because investigators were eyeing them. They evaded police for more than five weeks until they were finally arrested.

(on camera): Federal authorities say that three cartel members confessed to driving up this road which leads to a public dump for Fercula (ph), a nearby city, and they say that they were driving two trucks filled with about 40 people.

Then, federal authorities say that the bodies were dropped to the bottom of this pit and set on fire.

(voice-over): Video confessions released by federal authorities revealed the remains were placed in plastic bags and taken to the San Juan River.

(on camera): According to authorities the suspects came to this river and emptied out most of those black plastic bags except for one. That one was found sealed.

(voice-over): According to officials the remains are an advanced state of decomposition and ID'ing them will be difficult.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Rosa, we know that the protests have gotten worse in Acapulco. They shut down the airport for several hours.

How are authorities responding in terms of finding a way to calm down the situation?

FLORES: You know, what we have found is that in some ways, authorities are actually standing back. We were at a checkpoint that these students set up a few days ago and we literally saw the military rather than going through the checkpoint that these students had set up, they went around the checkpoint. So, what we've seen is that they really do not want to confront these protesters because to be quite frank, these protesters mean business.

We've seen them burn cars, a few days ago burning the door of the national palace, and they've been marching and they have told us, Chris, very clearly, the spokesperson that they plan to get more and more radical.

CUOMO: Seventy-four people have been arrested we heard. You were mentioning in your reporting about video confessions. What about prosecutions? What's going on?

FLORES: You know, the mayor and his wife have been in custody for about a week. They're being questioned. It's important to note that they have not made a public comment about their side of the story. What they're saying, we have, of course, know that authorities have said three times now that someone has been arrested, that they have confessed that these students are dead and that remains have been found, but in at least one case, Chris, they determined that the DNA evidence was for a family.

And so, there's a lot of skepticism and there is no word yet on charges for these 74 people, especially people looking at those two very important people, which are the mayor of this particular town, which authorities say are the possible masterminds of this painful mystery for these families.

CUOMO: Justice delayed is often justice denied and you have the need for closure for these families. So many kids involved in this.

Rosa, thank you very much for the reporting from Mexico -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right. So, let's talk about legalizing pot. Five states have already done it. Now, New York city will give pot smokers tickets instead of arresting them. So, we will debate the pros and cons of legalization. Stick around for that couch conversation.

CUOMO: Plus, should you be thrown in jail for feeding the homeless? No, I'm not taking pot right now, this is real. It's going on in a Florida community. We'll talk to the mayor of Ft. Lauderdale and find out why going after people feeding the homeless is part of the solution.

CAMEROTA: Did you just say taking pot?

CUOMO: What did I say? Maybe I am high.

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