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Kerry Resumes Talks with Iran; British Teens Suspected of Trying to Join ISIS; Suspect Admits Firing Gun, But Not Targeting Police; Ohio River Crests Six Feet Above Flood Stage. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 16, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

<05:58:28> JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Negotiations between the U.S. And Iran has begun.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This letter was absolutely calculated directly to interfere with these negotiations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to apologize for this letter?

KERRY: Not on your life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three British teenagers facing terrorism charges are out on bail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The teenagers were stopped in Turkey.

BERMAN: It's believed they were planning to join the group ISIS.

Could a TV series finale have uncovered the truth?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do this documentary about a murder, and then you come up with this amazing evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Killed them all, of course.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the reality for an island nation like this one?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The buildings are all gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've lost their main source of food.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CO-HOST: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, March 16, 6 a.m. in the east. Chris is off this week, and we are happy to be joined by John Berman all week.

<05:59:29> But up first at this hour, the United States and Iran back at the negotiating table. Secretary of state John Kerry meeting with Iran's foreign minister in Switzerland. The deadline to get a nuclear deal done just two weeks away.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CO-HOST: The White House increasing pressure on Congress to stay out of the negotiations. This as the author of a controversial letter sent by Senate Republicans to Iran says he has, quote, "no regrets."

We begin with our CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He's live in London.

Good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Michaela. Foreign [SIC] Secretary Kerry and the foreign minister of Iran, Zarif, have been meeting for about three hours already this morning. Zarif, when he arrived in Switzerland at the weekend, said that he believed that these talks were about technical issues.

Secretary Kerry, for his part, has said, "Look, there are some technical issues to get through here." But he really believes this is now a matter of political judgments.

They were supposed to meet Sunday. That didn't happen. Zarif off to Belgium later today to meet with the European leaders -- French, Germans and British -- there to brief them on an update. So two weeks away from the deadline, it doesn't appear that we're sort of close to crossing that final hurdle, if you will, Michaela.

PEREIRA: Yes. The British foreign minister saying that there's a long way to go there.

Also want to talk to you about an interesting development. Secretary Kerry also speaking out about a willingness to sit down with Syria's Bashar al-Assad. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: Everybody agrees, there is no military solution. There is only a political solution.

I am convinced that, with the efforts of our allies and others, there will be increased pressure on Assad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you'd be willing to negotiate with him?

KERRY: Well, we have to negotiate in the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: How does he explain that seeming shift in strategy, Nic?

ROBERTSON: Well, this is being explained this isn't a change in strategy but this is merely where things were when the talks were sort of parked over a year ago. And really they're sort of outgrowth of talks that started back in 2013, the so-called Geneva talks.

So, yes, ultimately, you have to talk with the Assad regime. But that's a -- that's a part of the process of removing the Syrian president.

But look, I was at those talks last year in Switzerland and Geneva in January that didn't work, that didn't go anywhere. Back then, it was all about getting Russia to put pressure on Assad to make agreement there at those talks. That didn't happen.

So you know, we know the relationship with Russia has really deteriorated significantly over the past year. So who is going to put this magical pressure on the Syrian government to come to the talks? It's not clear. But this is the -- this is the language that we're coming back to at the moment, that talks are still possible and still hopeful.

CAMEROTA: OK, Nic. Thanks so much for all of that background.

Let's talk about this with Peter Beinart. He's our CNN political commentator and contributing editor for Atlantic Media. And Bobby Ghosh, CNN global affairs analyst and a managing editor of "Quartz."

Gentleman, great to see you. Thanks for being here this Monday.

Let's talk about this bulletin that has just crossed the Reuters news wire. It's from the British foreign minister about the talks that are happening as we speak.

Here's his quote: "They're closer than where we were, but we have a long way to go." This is, like, the nothing statement. But Bobby, is there any way to divine what's going on inside that room?

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It's like criminology now, really. We're reading tea leaves.

This much is clear. Zarif and Kerry have -- seem to have a genuine personal chemistry there. They've sat down for a lot of talks over the past couple years. They seem genuinely to like each other.

We know that Kerry and the Obama administration is very keen for a deal. We know that Rouhani and Zarif are looking for a deal, where a little -- but both countries have hardliners who don't want a deal. And so that's pretty much where we are.

We're not -- here's what we don't know. We don't know whether they're any closer to the question of sanctions. Iran wants the sanctions to be limited -- lifted immediately. The sort of western powers, if you like, want to wait and watch a little bit.

We don't know about the duration of the deal. Is this a ten-year deal, a 15-year deal? What happens at the end of that? And then there are other smaller sort of mitigating -- how much enrichment will Iran be allowed and so on?

CAMEROTA: Peter, we also know that Secretary Kerry did not like the letter that was sent from the 47 GOP senators. And this weekend he was asked about that. He said once again that it was ill-conceived. But he was asked if he would have to apologize to Iran for that letter. Here's what Secretary Kerry said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: I'm not going to apologize for the -- for an unconstitutional, unthought-out action by somebody who has been in the United States Senate for 60-some days. That's just inappropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Is it possible that this letter is hurting the negotiations?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think so, necessarily. I mean, in a certain kind of way it's helped, but the Obama administration has been benefiting by the fact that the Republican efforts have backfired to some degree.

The Democrat -- Obama administration is not worried about the Republicans. They're going to oppose this deal no matter what. They're concerned about the Democrats. And because this has become such a partisan issue, because of things like this Tom Cotton letter, I think it's made it harder for the Democrats to oppose the administration. I think that makes it a little bit easier, actually, for them to believe they can sell this deal.

CAMEROTA: We've heard how wildly complicated these negotiations are because of all of the conflicting interests, including obviously, those outside of Iran but in the Middle East.

Here is what the Saudi Prince al-Faisal told the BBC about this deal. Let me read it to you. It says, "I've always said, whatever comes out of these talks we will want the same. So if Iran has the ability to enrich uranium to whatever level, it's not just Saudi Arabia that's going to ask for that. The whole world will be an open door to go that route without any inhibition."

<06:05:10> CAMEROTA: So Bobby, I mean there are -- the ripple effects from these talks stretch far beyond what Iran is going to do.

GHOSH: Well, this is a little bit of a shot across the bow. I think the Saudis and other Gulf Arab states have been saying over and over again, "Don't make a deal that leaves Iran empowered against us." And there is a sort of traditional rivalry between Iran and Shia states; Saudi, the Sunni states. Both of them are petrol states. This is -- I'm not sure that the Saudis will start building a uranium processing center immediately after the deal is made, but this is then saying, "Don't sell us down the road."

CAMEROTA: But doesn't -- but doesn't it give other countries the green light to do so if the U.S. is seen as going easy on Iran?

BEINART: I'm not sure why they didn't have the green light to begin with, frankly. I mean, a number of countries that have wanted to develop nuclear weapons capacities, whether Pakistan, for instance, have been moving in that direction over many, many years.

I mean, it's -- there are costs to doing this. It's very, very expensive, and it can jeopardize relations.

I think the larger context here is that, if the United States develops a better relationship with Iran, we become less reliant on Saudi Arabia. Saudi influence over the United States diminishes.

America used to have a good relationship with both the Saudis and the Iranians before the Islamic Revolution. We have become more dependent on the Saudis because of our hostile relations with Iran. They are in a weaker position if our relationship with Iran improves.

CAMEROTA: Bobby, can we quickly talk about what Secretary Kerry said about Syria? Basically, he was saying that to end the five-year conflict there, we will have to speak directly to Syria? Is this a big change in rhetoric and focus?

GHOSH: Well, this is the consequence of not doing anything. This is the consequence of drawing a red line and then allowing Syria to trample over it and not responding. Five years later, now the administration doesn't have a lot of chips to play here.

And if a deal is made with Iran, then perhaps the Iranians can talk to the Saudis [SIC]. After all, that is their proxy government. But the administration essentially has painted itself into a corner with Iran -- with Syria and really has no other -- no other options at this point.

CAMEROTA: Is that how you see it, Peter?

BEINART: Yes, and the question, a lot has changed. First of all, as Bobby said, the United States has not had any success in empowering the moderate opposition to Assad. And ISIS has become much stronger. And we're now fighting a huge war against them.

So as painful as it is to admit that the United States has not succeeded in its goals in Syria, I think to some degree, one has to recognize the reality that overthrowing Assad right now and having a failed state, with ISIS getting even more control in Syria, might make a terrible situation even worse.

CAMEROTA: Peter, Bobby, thanks so much for all that context.

And coming up in our 8 p.m. hour, we will speak to State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki about what she knows on this Iran nuclear talk -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Alisyn. Three teenagers from the U.K. are now free on bail facing terrorism charges, authorities in Turkey foiling their alleged plan to travel to Syria to join up with ISIS. They were quickly returned to London before they could cross that border.

Arwa Damon is following developments for us live if Istanbul -- Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And Turkey is pointing to this as an example of how things should be

happening when it comes to intelligence sharing. British intelligence alerted their Turkish counterparts on Friday that two out of the three teenagers that were eventually detained and deported would be traveling to Turkey, Turkish authorities picking them up at Istanbul's secondary airport and within 24 hours, sending them back to the U.K.

Turkey has been under much criticism for not doing enough when it comes to trying to stem the flow of foreign fighters. Turkey for its part saying that Europe needs to do more when it comes to intelligence sharing and even preventing these various individuals from leaving their respective countries.

Turkey has compiled what is called a full list back in January, February. It contained around 10,000 names of individuals that had been flagged, barred from entry into Turkey. Now that list has gone up to around 12,000. But Turkey still says more needs to be done on a wider scale when it comes to international efforts and intelligence sharing to stem the flow of foreign fighters.

BERMAN: All right. Arwa Damon, thanks so much.

A 20-year-old protestor has been charged with shooting two police officers during last week's protest in Ferguson. He admits to pulling the trigger, but he says the officers were not his target.

Stephanie Elam live in Ferguson with the latest. Good morning, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Jeffrey Williams has been taken into custody for this shooting. Now, what he has told police is that he was shooting at someone that he had a dispute with who was out in the crowd, one of the demonstrators. And he was not targeting the police. They're saying he was shooting from a car and that he hit the two officers, who were standing side- by-side.

They said that he has admitted to doing the shooting. Hey have him in custody. They've recovered the weapon, as well. So that's not in dispute. The question is whether or not he was truly targeting those two police officers.

<06:10:10> ELAM: Now one thing that we did here, we heard the prosecutor say that he was a known demonstrator.

I talked to a couple of people who said he was not a demonstrator. One man even visiting with Williams in jail after his arrest, and he tells me that he not only knows Williams from the community but also as an organizer knows he was not out here protesting. And that Williams even admitted to him that he was not out here demonstrating and has never been involved in any of the protests since August and the Mike Brown shooting.

So still, the investigation continues. They believe he is the shooter. But they say that he may have accomplices, so the investigation will continue to look into that aspect of it, guys.

CAMEROTA: OK, Stephanie Elam, thanks so much for all of that explanation.

Violence erupting in Pakistan after suicide bombers attack two Christian churches, the angry mob killing two suspected terrorists. The Pakistani Taliban say they are behind the blast, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 70 others. The terror group also issuing a warning that more attacks are coming.

PEREIRA: Back here at home, New York real estate heir Robert Durst apparently confessing to three murders on national television. Durst is sitting in a New Orleans jail, arrested on a murder warrant just before Sunday's final installment of "The Jinx," the documentary on HBO about Durst.

During an unguarded moment on the show, with his microphone still hot, Durst is heard whispering to himself, quote, "What the hell did I do?" Then he quietly answers, quote, "Kill them all, of course." Durst is linked to two unsolved murders and the disappearance of his wife.

We need to mention also that HBO and CNN are owned by Time Warner.

Really interesting and really timely and frightening.

BERMAN: Well, this is a documentary this guy agreed to be a part of, so it does...

PEREIRA: I'm sure his lawyers didn't want that.

BERMAN: And apparently, you can see that throughout the episodes. I mean, the question, you know -- begs the question, "Did he want to be caught?" At 71 years old, is he asking, essentially, to be arrested for these incidents?

CAMEROTA: Well, that's one possibility, or maybe his ego is undoing him. That often happens.

PEREIRA: Or maybe a bit of both.

CAMEROTA: Yes, could be. But we're going to have a lot more on that case, including speaking with the judge of the -- one of the former cases that he was involved with, about these new developments.

PEREIRA: Yes. Judge Susan Criss was part of that trial. She'll be joining us a little bit later.

BERMAN: She has a lot to say. Let's see what she says about this case.

All right. Boston, it made it official. This is now the snowiest season that that city has ever seen. Actually, Boston didn't do it itself. It had help from Mother Nature.

The melting snow and rain caused flooding along the Ohio River, which crested its highest level in nearly 20 years. Want to get to meteorologist Chad Myers, keeping track of it all. Good morning, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John.

That furry rodent got its way, didn't it?

Record snowfall up in Boston. The rainfall was here on Saturday. But it moved in. It turned into snow by the time it got up to the north and got colder. It is now one inch above the 2014-15 season, one inch above the old record. And I don't think this snow is all that done yet.

The rain, though, melting a lot of the snow that was in the Ohio Valley. That water getting into the Ohio River and into the Mississippi. Flood warnings all the way up and down and certainly flood watches, as well. But we are going to see some river floods this year as this snow melts. This amazing snow pack has to go somewhere.

Finally, though, the storm pulls away. It could be a little bit of snow for Boston coming up tomorrow night. But a little bit like flurries. Nothing like inches I don't think. You're not going to be shoveling inches. It will just be some rain across the south here.

And the rain continues in places that will not need more rain. I know there's been a huge drought in Texas. But you take this day. And you put that rain back up into the Ohio Valley, and you get more potential flooding.

A couple great days for weather, though. Look at New York today, 54; Atlanta, almost 80 degrees.

PEREIRA: It would be nice if we could spread the love, the rain go to where it actually needs it.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: Let's have class outside today. It's 54 degrees. That's what I want to do.

CAMEROTA: That sounds great. Well, we just told you about the 20- year-old Ferguson suspect arrested for shooting two police officers. He says police were not his target. So who was he aiming at, and did anyone help him? We're digging deeper on that.

PEREIRA: It could be one of the worst disasters the Pacific has ever seen. Relief workers describing complete devastation in the wake of Cyclone Pam. How bad is the human toll in Vanuatu? We'll have a report for you ahead.

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PEREIRA: Good to have you back with us here on NEW DAY. A 20-year- old from the St. Louis area is now in custody for that shooting of two police officers last week in Ferguson, Missouri. Jeffrey Williams is his name. He was arrested late Saturday, charged with first-degree assault. Now, he admitted to firing the shot. However, he claims that the

target was not police.

Let's bring in the managing editor of "The St. Louis American," Chris King. Also with us, CNN law enforcement analyst, former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes.

Good morning. Happy Monday to the both of you.

Tom, obviously, a big question here is motive and intent. Bob McCulloch, the prosecutor, at the press conference said he understood that Williams had said there was some sort of dust-up with some other people he had, some sort of beef, and that he went to find them, opened fire and that the police were not his targets. Do you buy that?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Actually, Michaela, I don't buy it.

PEREIRA: Why?

FUENTES: Having been to the scene and looked at it, you know, we learned that the demonstrators have pretty much been moved off the street and the police and the people who are witnesses from down below on Florissant, directly in front of the police department, where the police were standing, said that they were positive the shots had come from up the hill.

And having been up on that hill with a reporter, looking back down toward where the police were standing, we were told that that street was wide open, that car traffic had not yet opened up on Florissant. The demonstrators had been moved off the street into parking lots on two sides of the side street. And there really weren't demonstrators on the street to shoot at, at the time of the shooting.

Now, up the street -- up the side street in the darkness where the shots come from, there might have been other people up there. So it's a possibility that he was trying to have, you know, a discussion, altercation, whatever, with other people up there.

<06:20:09> But the fact that four or five rang out and two hit police officers standing side-by-side when he claims he's shooting at somebody else is just a little bit farfetched, I think.

PEREIRA: What about -- what about you, Chris? Do you buy it? I mean, the prosecutor said some evidence supports his claim, others don't. The investigation will continue. But what do you think?

CHRIS KING, "ST. LOUIS AMERICAN": I've also been up on the hill and, you know, it's a pretty good elevation fall. So if you don't know how to shoot downhill, who knows what you're going to hit?

There were still protestors on the scene. I talked to plenty of people who hit the ground when the bullets rang out. And if you look at statistical probability, sorry to say, it's very common in this area for young men to shoot at young other men in the mist and hit somebody else.

PEREIRA: So the fact that nobody else was shot is such a mystery to so many people.

Now, this point about whether this guy was or was not a demonstrator seems to be kind of a key factor. Chris, you know the make-up of this crowd. You've been following it. You've been covering it. You've been down there on the ground. Do you know this guy to be one of the demonstrators?

KING: Absolutely not. Lawrence Bryant (ph) shoots for "The American" at night. He saw the night protest. He shot every single one since August 9. He saw this young man Wednesday, as he said hanging around on the protest. But he recognized him specifically as a new face, because people are wary of new faces.

PEREIRA: So Tom, does that say to you then, following your line of thought, that this guy was an outside agitator? Or was this somebody who just happened to be in the area and had other intentions?

FUENTES: I don't know. You know, I really don't know that, Michaela. We don't know if -- when the crowds were bigger and noisier and people were on, you know, different parts of different streets, whether he had been out there before or not. You know, it doesn't sound like he had been a regular protestor, if at all.

But I think that, in a way, you know, there's no way to know positively whether he had been out there before.

PEREIRA: Chris, what do you think the overall effect of not only the shooting of these officers but the arrest of this young man? What kind of effect do you think it will have on the overall movement and the demonstrations and the feeling of the people who are wanting their voices heard there in Ferguson?

KING: There are two critical things here. Jon Belmar, the county police chief, announced that people from all strata of the community, including people from the protest community, cooperated with the investigations. That is critical and beautiful.

On the other hand, I do believe the chief and the prosecutor both overplayed the emphasis that this kid is a protester when he really isn't, and that -- that really damaged the possibility for this to be a step forward.

PEREIRA: It's an interesting thought. Now Tom, in terms of law enforcement, do you think this is going to change their reaction to the demonstrations, to the presence of people on the ground? The fact that two of their own were shot, do you think it's going to cause them to step up their presence or change how they police there?

FUENTES: I don't think so. I think they're still going to, you know, perform about the way they have. And it should be noted that when these shots rang out, the police just didn't wildly shoot back and, you know, hit other members of the crowd, but they were disciplined, at least not returning fire in a difficult situation. But what the police have been used to from the beginning is that, you

know, starting later in the night, after midnight, after 1 a.m., I refer to this as the normal clientele of the police. People come out that are not part of the protest, that are not demonstrators. They're outside agitators, maybe even inside agitators. But they're out looking for trouble.

And a lot of these people would have been on the street, causing trouble if there had never been a protest, never been an incident with Michael Brown. That's just the nature of what police deal with late at night in most places in this country. So having been a street cop six years, that's who comes out after midnight.

PEREIRA: Unfortunately, there's a good level of truth in that.

Chris, I want to end with you. Final thought here: What do you expect is going to happen next? Do you think we're going to see more arrests? Do you think there's going to be lack of confidence in the mayor? What do you see happening?

KING: I don't see Jeffrey Williams as likely having some elaborate operation behind him. I spent time on his Facebook page last night. He's really interested in himself, it looks like, and a little bit of whiskey, maybe. I don't think he's a part of some ring that's out to kill police or protestors. And I think we have the same problems we had before of this as if he's guilty. This knucklehead squeezed off two shots that night.

PEREIRA: Do you think the mayor survives?

KING: Mayor Knowles is not an important player. The city council of Ferguson makes the decisions. The mayor is just a voting member at large at the council. His role in this is grossly overstated.

PEREIRA: Chris King, Tom Fuentes, always a pleasure to have you. Thanks so much for joining us.

KING: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela.

Let's talk about this cyclone of historic proportion. It's tearing away Vanuatu. That's the Pacific island nation.

<06:25:00> And it is in ruins this morning. Witnesses describing unimaginable destruction. CNN will take you there live.

BERMAN: And four months after the president nominated her to be the next attorney general, Loretta Lynch is still not confirmed. The top Senate Republican insisting that a new issue now has to be resolved first. So how long will this take now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAMEROTA: Secretary of State John Kerry meeting with Iran's foreign minister at this hour, trying to hammer out a nuclear agreement. Kerry insisting he will not apologize for the 47 GOP senators who wrote that controversial letter to the Iranians. The secretary of state also signaling a willingness to negotiate with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to end that country's deadly civil war.

BERMAN: The monster Cyclone Pam has wiped out a big part of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. Relief workers are now starting to arrive there. They describe an unbelievable scene of destruction.

CNN's Ivan Watson joins us now live from the capital city of Port Vila. Ivan, what's it look like there?

06:30:00

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, Vanuatu is often described as a home to some of the happiest people on the earth because of the incredible beaches here, the beautiful waters, the tropical climate.