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Manhunt Continues for Two Escaped New York Prison Inmates; Interview with Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin; Man to File Police Brutality Charges against Orlando Police Department; Jeb Bush Visits Poland; Interview with State Department Spokesman John Kirby; New Therapy May Help Insomniacs. Aired 8-8:30a ET
Aired June 11, 2015 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New York's governor asking everyone in the particular area to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. And, Alisyn, as a result, they have to follow up any lead they have for the possibility that it might end up leading them to these very dangerous men that they're looking for.
[08:00:08] In terms of Route 374, in terms of how long it will be closed, at this point still, no idea. Alisyn?
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Jason, keeps us posted for the next hour, please. Meanwhile, these developments come just hours after officials had expanded the search already to Vermont following word that the pair had discussed crossing the border to avoid the large police presence in New York. CNN's Polo Sandoval is live outside the prison in Dannemora, New York, this morning with more as well as more on that prison worker who authorities now confirm is being questioned in the escape. Tell us everything you have, Polo.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn, good morning. We're essentially on the west side of that segment of road that's closed. In fact, the roadblock just a few yard from where I'm standing in front of me. To put things into perspective, look off in the distance here in Clinton County, that is the Clinton correctional facility from which these two men are believed to have escaped.
So now the question is why the investigation has pretty much shifted back here to Clinton County. Meanwhile, I can also tell you that while we're tracking the manhunt here there's also one that continues in the neighboring state of Vermont. Yesterday we heard from the governors of New York and Vermont saying that one of those hundreds of leads lead investigators to believe that they could have crossed state lines.
Meanwhile, much of the focus of the investigation today will be on the prison guard that you mentioned, Joyce Mitchell. She's believed to have provided some form of support to these men. Meanwhile, her loved ones are speaking out, essentially saying that 95 percent of what's being said is untrue. You see one of the quotes here from her daughter-in-law Paige Mitchell which she basically says she's disgusted at the idea that her mother-in-law would knowingly help them, Chris. So again, so many different key players weighing in as this investigation continues. And of course that police presence continues to intensify in this part of upstate New York.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Polo, thank you very much. Let's bring in the governor of Vermont. He's become critical in this process. His name is Peter Shumlin. Gov, thanks for joining us. Let me ask you. We keep focusing on this.
GOV. PETER SHUMLIN, (D) VERMONT: Great to be with you.
CUOMO: It's a pleasure. We keep focusing on this one prison employee. But to your knowledge, are investigators widened the circle at all? Have they found other points of contact, other people they think may have been involved in helping these two bad guys?
SHUMLIN: I can't comment on the ongoing investigation because obviously, Chris, we don't want to get in the way of apprehending these guys and getting them back where they belong. Both Governor Cuomo and I are extraordinarily concerned about this. You can understand this is a governor's nightmare. We're trying to protect the public safety, take care of our folks. These guys are dangerous. They're desperate. And they would do anything to continue their freedom.
So we're following every single lead. I'm convinced that it's highly likely that in a situation like this with the aid of the public we're more likely to catch them than simply law enforcement working on their own. So we're following every single tip on both sides of the lake. And we just want to get these guys locked up back where they belong.
CUOMO: Governor, you mentioned both sides of the lake. And that's instructive here, because if it is true that these murderers were thinking about maybe hopping over to your state for whatever reason, it's not that easy to get there, is it? What are the different ways that they would have to find their way across the border?
SHUMLIN: If they go too far north they hit the Canadian border. The Canadian border is heavily monitored in the woods and everywhere else with cameras and other things that would tip them. These are smart guys, so chances are they're not going to try crossing that border unless they want to get locked up fast.
So obviously navigating the lake without using the bridge, the Crown Point Bridge, would be the smartest strategy at night. Now, if you think about it from their perspective, the less motorized noise you're making, the better off you are. There is some indication based on the information we had that they had a canoe on their mind or something one could cattle. So these guys are smart. They're probably trying to seek anyway quietly to get over to this side. Whether they've done that or not, we don't know. We really have no idea where they are. We do know that their only indication of where they were headed was the state of Vermont because they felt from a law enforcement perspective it would be cooler. We're changing that drastically right now.
CUOMO: And now with the cooperation of New York state you're in a state of high alert to be sure. What kind of numbers can you give us in terms of resources involved? SHUMLIN: We have plenty of resources. We've now basically created
with Governor Cuomo and my team a seamless system. We've given Vermont state police embedded with the New York State Police. We've given them authority to cross borders at any time. We don't care what state they're from.
And obviously the challenge for all of us is to follow the hottest leads and put our resources where we think we've got the highest likelihood of success. So we're keeping our fingers crossed. As I mentioned, anyone in the public who sees something suspicious, call law enforcement. Most importantly, don't get near these guys. Don't go vigilante on us. Don't think you can go solve this one on your own.
[08:05:04] These guys are dangerous. They'll do anything to get their freedom. They don't mind killing folks. These are not nice guys. And stay away from them. Report to law enforcement any suspicious activity. Both Governor Cuomo and I are pleading with citizens not to go vigilante.
CUOMO: Good warning to heed. Governor Shumlin, thank you very much. Good luck in your efforts.
SHUMLIN: Thank you so much.
CUOMO: Ana?
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, another police department has come under fire. Two officers in Orlando are now accused of using excessive force. They were caught on camera kicking a man as he sat on a curb. That alleged victim has filed a battery complaint. But Orlando's police chief says there's much more to this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: Two Orlando police officers are accused of police brutality after the release of this video. An onlooker captures 30-year-old Noel Carter sitting on the curb kicked repeatedly and Tased by police arresting him, resulting in several injuries.
NATALIE JACKSON, NOEL CARTER'S ATTORNEY: He was being kicked. He was being hit. And he was Tased while he was doing nothing.
CABRERA: Carter claims he was having a disagreement with his girlfriend when police approached him and beat him before he ran away.
NOEL CARTER, MAN TO FILE EXCESSIVE FORCE COMPLAINT AGAINST ORLANDO POLICE DEPARTMENT: I was shoved. I was sprayed. And I was essentially battered prior to any conveyance to what my disorderly conduct could have been.
CABRERA: But police say that's not the whole story.
CHIEF JOHN MINA, ORLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT: What you see in the segment to that video is only a small piece of what happened. CABRERA: Officers David Cruise and Charles May say Carter was using
physical force against his girlfriend, grabbing her, refusing to let her leave.
MINA: Based on witnesses and also reports it is clear that Carter was intoxicated, resisting officers, uncooperative, and attempted to flee multiple times.
CABRERA: The officers say they tried to arrest him, but Carter fought back, arguing, struggling, even lunging at them as they tried to subdue him.
This witness video taken outside the club shows Carter running from police, resisting their commands, as one officer Tases him twice, another hits him with a baton. A third video captures Carter sitting down as the officers give chase. Then they kick, hit, and wrestle him to the ground. Carter denies the police accounts and is filing battery charges against the officers.
JACKSON: You do not have to look at the totality to see the abuse that is done and the unlawful use of force by these officers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: Carter was arrested on several charges including domestic battery and battery of a law enforcement officer. His attorneys of course are fighting those charges, and there's an internal investigation underway to determine whether excessive force was indeed used. But right now those officers are still on active duty.
CAMEROTA: Jeb Bush is in Poland this morning, part of his six days European tour, the overseas trip coming just days ahead of an expected presidential announcement. Let's get right to CNN's chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash. She's life in Warsaw. Good morning, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. This trip, not unlike other presidential candidates who have come before him, is all about burnishing his foreign policy credentials, making people in the United States feel comfortable seeing him on the world stage.
So to that note, he spent the morning actually more of a tourist than a foreign leader. He went to the Warsaw museum to commemorate the Warsaw uprising during World War II. He and his wife Columba put flowers on a wall that actually has American names on it to remember the Americans who died during that time.
And then he also had a meeting with a pretty controversial figure here in Poland. Up until yesterday, Radoslaw Sikorski was the speaker of the polish parliament, but yesterday he resigned. And the reason why he resigned is very much related to the U.S. Chris, as I toss it back to you, I'll tell you that he was caught on tape talking about the way that he believes Poland is subservient to the United States, using rather colorful, sexually explicit language which I will spare our viewers from at this early hour. It's a family friendly program. So it will be interesting to see the way Jeb Bush explains the fact that he still had this meeting even though this man resigned in disgrace, Chris.
CUOMO: Dana, by telling me nothing you seem to have told me everything.
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: Thank you very much for the report.
BASH: It's an art.
CUOMO: We have new evidence thank you very much that the Israelis may be eavesdropping on the Iran nuclear talks. The "Wall Street Journal" is reporting a cyber-security firm based in Moscow has detected a computer virus frequently used by Israeli spies, where, in three European hotels. All three hotels have hosted the nuclear negotiations. The virus in question allows hackers to infiltrate computers, phones, and WiFi networks. The Israelis, no comment.
CABRERA: Intense video you have to see as the Coast Guard makes every moment of this dramatic rescue count.
[08:10:05] Watch as they respond to a May Day call of a ship sinking right off Alaska's coast just seconds after they pull the last man off the 73-foot vessel. The boat rolls underwater. You can see they're having to use these cages to get them out of the water. All four men are OK. It's unclear, though, what made this boat take on water in the first place.
CUOMO: Just in the nick of time. See the guy floating? He's in a survival suit. I learned that from "The Deadliest Catch."
CABRERA: Imagine the fear.
CUOMO: The temperature of the water, everything that they have to deal with.
CAMEROTA: They are amazing. They do these impressive rescues all the time. It's Herculean, whether they go out in storms, high seas.
CABRERA: They put themselves at risk.
CAMEROTA: They do. Good for them for getting those guys back in time.
All right, so we are following the manhunt for two dangerous fugitives. A tip has triggered a search just a few miles from the prison.
CUOMO: And President Obama says, no plan -- how about this? I'm sending 450 more men and women on the ground in Iraq. But they're just going to be training partners. Is this enough?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't yet have a complete strategy, because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis as well, about how recruitment takes place, how that training takes place.
[08:15:05] And so, the details of that are not yet worked out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: That was President Obama on Monday, admitting the strategy against ISIS is incomplete.
Now, the White House set to send 450 more troops to Iraq as early as this summer. Will that defeat the terror group?
Rear Admiral John Kirby is the State Department spokesman and he joins us now.
Good morning, Admiral Kirby.
JOHN KIRBY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Good morning. Glad to be with you.
CAMEROTA: So, does this complete the strategy?
KIRBY: What this will do is allow us to do a lot better and help the Iraqis do a lot better in Anbar province. It will give us a chance to help with the outreach to Sunni fighters, help improve ISF or Iraqi security force competence on the battlefield there in Anbar, where we've seen ISIL maintain a very aggressive posture.
CAMEROTA: But, I mean, if the ultimate strategy is to defeat is, does this 450 additional troops defeat ISIS?
KIRBY: These 450 additional troops as to the troops we already have there doing very similar missions inside Iraq. A key component of this strategy is to improve the Iraqi security forces, improve their capabilities and their competence on the battlefield. This extra group, this 450 will do that in a specific place in al Anbar province. It's a key component of the strategy we're executing already.
CAMEROTA: This move is being criticized even by some fellow Democrats. Here is Congressman Charlie Rangel talking about what he thinks about the additional troops being sent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: This is exactly how Vietnam started. And if you don't think you're putting them in harm's way, then you're not living in the real world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Admiral Kirby, what do you think about the Vietnam analogy? KIRBY: I think we need to be careful making historical analogies,
particularly in war. No two wars are ever alike. Each one has to be evaluated and judge on the circumstances and the unique environment.
This is predominantly -- and it needs to be. People need to remember -- this is Iraq's war against ISIL. Yes, there's an international coalition trying to assist and support them. We're a member of that. We're a leading member of that.
But, ultimately, this is a group that's going to be defeated in Iraq by Iraqis. And in order to keep that defeat sustainable, in order to make it stick, it has to be done by Iraqis. We're trying to help them do that.
CAMEROTA: I mean, what the critics say is the common theme between this and Vietnam is mission creep. And let me just put some numbers up on the screen for our viewers, to show how we've gotten to this level of 3,500 troops here.
In June of 2014, we sent 275 troops. Ten days later, 300 troops were added. Four days after that, 200 more troops were added.
Three months after that, 350 troops. A week later, 475 troops. A few months later, 1,500 troops. And now this June, 450 troops.
People say it's mission creep. How do you see it?
KIRBY: Well, it can't be mission creep if the mission isn't changing. Mission creep means the mission is changing and evolving and growing.
This 450 extra advisers that are going in are actually contributing to deepening and furthering a mission that we're already conducting in Iraq and four different sites, and to joint operation centers. So, it's very much in keeping with the mission itself. And 450 is not thousands.
I'd remind everybody that on the ground we're going to have about 3,500 American troops in Iraq. It's a far cry from the more than a hundred thousand we had at the height of the war, you know, about four years ago. So, I think we need to keep it in perspective. But it's not mission creep if the mission is not changing. And the mission is not changing.
CAMEROTA: Correct me if I'm wrong, but we've heard that the problem is not the number of trainers. That might be adequate. It's finding the number of trainees, the recruits, who are -- who can make it to the spot, and who are willing to be trained.
KIRBY: Well, one of the things these advisors will do are help the Iraqis improve their recruitment practices. That's part of the reason we're putting these advisors in there, to help them build a professional cadre inside their army. Yes, there's going to be some challenges in that regard. But if you're not there and you're not helping them figure that kind of stuff out, you're not going to have success ultimately. CAMEROTA: Admiral Kirby, before we let you go, can you tell us where we are today with the Iran nuclear deal? The deadline is the end of this month. People are saying they give it a 50-50 chance.
KIRBY: We're still committed to the June 30th deadline. That's what we're working on. Secretary Kerry is very, very focused on this. He's been in touch with our team over there negotiating almost every day. Wendy Sherman, his chief negotiator, was just here this week. She went back, of course. But we're very, very focused on that. Again, we're all working toward that June 30th deadline.
CAMEROTA: OK. John Kirby, at the State Department, nice to talk to you.
KIRBY: Thanks.
CUOMO: We are following breaking news here: police in upstate New York pursuing a new lead in the hunt for two fugitives on the run after escaping from a maximum security prison. We have the latest, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:23:57] CUOMO: Breaking this morning, police activity in the search for two escaped prisoners in upstate New York. The surprise is where this is going on. It's just miles from the prison where convicts managed to escape.
Schools and roads are being shut down. Police are searching by foot and by air. And CNN is all over it.
Let's get back to Jason Carroll in West Plattsburgh, New York. That is the new search area -- Jason.
CARROLL: It is. And when you say miles, Chris, we're talking just about seven miles east of where the prison is.
If you take a look, you can see, that's where the roadblock has been set up there, not allowing nonresidents into and out of this particular area of West Plattsburgh. About a seven-mile stretch of Route 374 now closed to most of the traffic here, this after they got some sort of a tip last night that something suspicious was spotted in the area. That triggered this manhunt shifting to this particular section of this rural area.
You had businesses being closed. You also had residents who were in the area being told to stay inside if they had exterior lights on, to make sure those were turned on, to keep their doors locked.
[08:25:04] This reminds me of another sighting on Tuesday. That was also in response to a lead. Basically when you have out here, Chris, any time there is any sort of significant lead, investigators have an obligation to follow up and respond with the type of response that we're seeing out here today. In terms of how long Route 374 will be closed, this particular section, we're hearing from New York state police it will be closed until further notice -- Chris, Alisyn. CAMEROTA: I'll take it, Jason. And please keep us posted for all the
developments out there.
Time now for the five things to know for your NEW DAY.
Number one, our top story, that search that we've been talking about for those two missing fugitives are underway. The new search, as Jason, is within miles of the prison that the pair escaped from Friday night in upstate New York.
The Texas police officer who resigned after that clash caught on video at a pool party, speaking out through his attorney. Former Officer Eric Casebolt said he let his emotions gets the best of him while handling that group of teenagers.
Two Orlando police officers accused of using excessive force, caught on camera kicking a man as he sits on a curb. Orlando's police officer deciding not to pull the officers off the street.
And a Massachusetts man was killed while fighting ISIS in Syria. He had joined up with Kurdish fighters. A State Department official confirms Keith Broomfield was killed outside the northern city of Kobani.
House Republicans clearing the way for a vote tomorrow that would give President Obama fast track trade authority, bringing him one step closer to finalizing his signature Pacific rim trade deal. Go to CNN.com for all of the latest.
Ana?
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This is something that I think hits home with the group here. Trouble sleeping, suffer from insomnia, not getting enough sleep? Well, before reaching for your sleeping pills to catch some Z's, listen to this, a new study finds a certain therapy may be more effective and safer.
Here to explain in today's NEW DAY, new you, CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Hello.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
CABRERA: You're wide awake. You must be doing cognitive behavior therapy. Chris used to some.
What is it?
GUPTA: You know, look, first of all, as you mentioned, a lot of people have difficulty sleeping. What they decided to look as were people who had the most trouble insomniacs, which are defined as people who have trouble sleeping for at least a month in a row. So, a pretty significant problem for them.
And they divided them into two groups. One group got sleeping pills. The other group got this cognitive behavioral therapy. Which are sort of the short-term sessions with a psychotherapist where they talk specifically about their sleep problems and give you strategies to fall asleep quicker, stay asleep, and have better quality of sleep. That's what they focused on.
And they decided to sort of put this to the test and see which group performed better and they found that in the long-term the people who got the cognitive behavioral therapy tended to actually improve in all those counts. They fell asleep more quickly, stayed asleep and their overall quality of sleep was better.
They didn't say that using a pill every now and then was a bad idea. But they say in the long run, cognitive behavioral therapy is going to give a better, better result.
CAMEROTA: What does it do?
GUPTA: There's a few things. Firs of all, it teaches people about stimulus control. When you say it's time to go to sleep, you go to bed. If you're having trouble sleeping, a lot of people stay there and toss and turn as opposed to getting up and leaving the bed.
CAMEROTA: And which is the answer?
GUPTA: Getting up and leaving.
CAMEROTA: Oh, is that right?
GUPTA: Yes. You should get up. If you can't sleep, the answer is to leave the bed. The bed is for sleeping.
So, if you're just lying there and not able to sleep, it's one of those things they teach you to actually leave the room --
CABRERA: So, you reset a little bit?
GUPTA: Yes, reset --
CUOMO: Where do I go?
GUPTA: You don't go watch television. You don't go do something stimulating. They teach you meditative exercises, relaxation techniques, things that actually put you back into a frame of mind of sleeping.
And again, I want to emphasize, some people take sleeping pills from time to time. They're not saying that's necessarily a problem. It's not a sustainable solution.
So, the question really is, what are the sustainable solutions? These are people who have significant trouble sleeping. As a result of being insomniacs, they are gaining weight, they are becoming more depressed. They're more at risk for heart disease. So, this is a real problem for them.
CABRERA: This is something that you only to do can benefit from if you have some serious sleep problems, or could each of us take something away from this?
GUPTA: No. You know, it's interesting, I ask that same question, because occasionally -- I think we all have occasional sleep problems. And getting to a psychotherapist, doing it a few times can be challenging, just to incorporate into your schedule.
So, for people who have less sleeping problems, there's online programs as well. So, if it's not as severe, you're not a chronic insomniac.
CABRERA: You get a few tips.
GUPTA: These online programs, I actually tried a couple of them last night myself.
CUOMO: Which one? What did you do?
GUPTA: I did one called calm.com. It's a free app. You can download it. There's sleep training on there.
And it actually talks you through some of the same things. It's a stimulus control sort of program. Again, it focuses on relaxation, but also reminds you that if you're sitting there tossing and turning in bed for a long time, it may be time to get out of bed and do something else for a period of time.
CABRERA: Anything wrong with using sleeping pills?
GUPTA: I don't -- I don't think so.