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"Affluenza" Teen, Mom Arrested in Mexico; Belgium Arrests 2 Over New Year's Terror Plot; Storms to Impact Travel in Northeast; CNN Poll: Americans Divided on Obama Legacy; Iraqi Prime Minister: ISIS Will Be Out of Iraq in 2016. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired December 29, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The so-called "affluenza" teen. He and his mother are now in custody.

[05:58:51] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were found near the popular resort town of Puerto Vallarta.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This is a mother that needs to be held accountable for her actions, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Millions bracing for their first snowfall of the year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Up to a foot of snow in the forecast for parts of New England.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This will be a test for us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no faith at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it can't get any worse than last year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was awful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities in Belgium believe they have foiled a possible New Year's Eve terror attack.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police recovering military style uniforms and ISIS propaganda materials.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, December 29. It is 6 a.m. in the east. Chris and Alisyn are off. Don Lemon and Christine Romans join me here this morning.

And we begin with breaking news. After being on the run for several weeks, Mexican authorities have apprehended the so-called "affluenza" teen. Ethan Couch and his mother were picked up overnight near the resort town of Puerto Vallarta. They are both now awaiting extradition to the United States.

LEMON: That's right. He is 18 year [SIC] old. The fugitive went missing after failing to keep a mandatory meeting with probation officers a week ago. Couch was two years into a ten-year probation sentence for killing four people in a 2013 drunk-driving crash.

I want to get right to CNN's justice reporter, Evan Perez, who broke this story. He has the breaking details this morning.

Good morning, Evan.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Don.

The U.S. Marshal Service in recent days alerted Mexican authorities that they had tracked down Ethan Couch. Police in the Pacific Coast region near Puerto Vallarta moved in yesterday to make the arrest, and they found the 18-year-old fugitive with his mother.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREZ (voice-over): Breaking overnight, the so-called "affluenza teen," Ethan Couch, captured in Mexico, the Jalisco state prosecutor's office releasing this photo to ABC News, showing Couch with noticeably darker hair, mustache and a beard.

The manhunt ending when Mexican authorities nabbed the 18-year- old along with his mother, Tonya, nearly 1,000 miles from their hometown in Tarrant County, Texas, detaining them both near the popular beach resort town of Puerto Vallarta.

The mother and son duo on the lam for more than two weeks, leading U.S. Marshals on a massive manhunt. Couch went missing earlier this month, and officers issued a warrant for his arrest after this video surfaced on social media, appearing to show Couch playing beer pong at a party, a violation of his probation.

At the time of his conviction, violating probation meant up to ten years in prison.

Shortly after Couch vanished, Texas authorities placed his mother, Tonya, on a missing persons list, as well, believing she might be helping her son.

DEE ANDERSON, TARRANT COUNTY SHERIFF: Our hope is they will both be locked up for some time.

PEREZ: Couch first made headlines two years ago after only receiving ten years' probation in a drunk-driving crash that killed four people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had over 180 years of life taken, and two of those were my wife and daughter.

PEREZ: Couch's defense attorney argued that he suffered "affluenza," meaning his wealthy upbringing was to blame for his behavior.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREZ: Michaela, Mexican authorities are expected to turn Couch over to the U.S. Marshals for his return to the U.S., and that could happen as soon as later today.

PEREIRA: All right, Evan, thanks so much for that.

I want to bring in CNN law enforcement analyst, Tom Fuentes. He's also the former assistant director for the FBI.

Tom, we have a fugitive and his mother now in custody. I've got to tell you, Puerto Vallarta, a lot of Americans vacation there. You surprised they picked such a high-profile location to hide in plain sight?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Actually I was surprised, Michaela. You know, normally, and we have hundreds, if not thousands of fugitives that flee to Mexico.

PEREIRA: Yes.

FUENTES: And have been apprehended by Mexicans. And they normally go to Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Cancun, one of the renowned resort areas, and they get caught. The U.S. Marshal Service, the FBI included, have an outstanding relationship with the Mexican authorities when it comes to getting fugitives.

So it's interesting. We worry about the bad people, according to Trump, that come from Mexico to the U.S. Nobody pays attention to how many Americans go there.

PEREIRA: An arrest warrant was issued for this guy and his mom on December 11, some 18 days ago. The time line of this, did it surprise you the length of time it took? Or was this speedy in your estimation?

FUENTES: I think probably about average. You know, it takes some time to try to get the investigative leads out there, to put the word out internationally, with his description, and then conduct investigations that determine did they cross the land border driving. Since it was 1,000 miles, isn't insurmountable of a drive. Or did they fly in and then try to get all the flight manifest records and passport control records and that type of thing. It's about average.

PEREIRA: Well, they would have worked with Mexican authorities. Obviously, they did, because they are the ones that apprehended the suspect and his mother in -- in Mexico.

But in terms of getting over the border, are they going to be able to track back how they were able to do that? And wouldn't they have been working with border authorities along the way through the course of the search?

FUENTES: Well, that's possibly how they led to this. I mean, the marshals leading the investigation, I'm sure, started with that, with the idea that they went nearby to either Mexico or Canada and possibly flew to Europe or somewhere else. But given that they had the financial means to go just about anywhere.

But yes, they would certainly be doing that. You know, again, they weren't wanted at the time they fled. You know, they turned up missing, and were probably already there, probably already crossed the border without any problem, because there were no warrants issued at the time they went across.

We have mug shots of the two of them after their apprehension. He's changed his appearance a little bit, grew a mustache and a beard. And looks like he's darkened his hair.

We also saw a picture of the mother there. I'm curious: what do you expect will happen to this mother now?

FUENTES: I don't know. I think in the short run, they're both going to be deported rather than go through the lengthy extradition process. So the Mexican authorities' deportation process sends a person either back to their country of citizenship or the last country from which they entered. Both in this case would be the United States.

[06:05:15] So they'll both be not wanted in Mexico and immediately then turned over to the marshals to be brought back to California. So I think that that's going to happen to them. Whether she's charged upon return will be a good question.

PEREIRA: You think that extradition/deportation process, the transfer -- let's put it that way, the transfer -- do you think that will be fairly speedy? Should we anticipate his arrival back in the United States today?

FUENTES: Yes, that normally is within a day or two. They'll verify his identification. You know, the U.S. embassy in Mexico City will get involved, verifying that the -- that they have the certificates of the arrest warrants and all the documentation that says it's him.

PEREIRA: Right.

FUENTES: But then the Mexican authorities can move very quickly and deport him.

PEREIRA: And then what now for that teenager? Because he was on probation. He violated his probation by fleeing. We don't know if he violated his probation for drinking. There was a -- people suspected he might have, because he was seen on video playing beer pong. We don't know if he was actually drinking at that said beer pong party. What happens to him now?

FUENTES: That's a great question. I think if it goes back to the same judge, he could revoke his probation. He could get up to ten years in prison from the original sentence. Given how, you know, he's been handled up till now by the judicial system down there, they might put him in a time-out and give him a spanking.

PEREIRA: You don't seem to think that he was given the right kind of sentence here.

FUENTES: I didn't say that. I just said that he was handled very leniently. If that stays consistent, we don't know what's going to happen when he gets back.

PEREIRA: What do you think should happen to him?

FUENTES: I think he should go to prison.

PEREIRA: All right. Tom Fuentes, we will see. We appreciate you joining us today.

Again, he is in custody now, Ethan Couch and his mother, awaiting exchange with the U.S. authorities. He'll be back here to face his future. Thanks for joining us -- Christine.

ROMANS: More breaking news overnight. Authorities in Belgium believe they have foiled a possible New Year's terror plot in Brussels. Two people are under arrest, and now the city is raising its terror alert level for all police and military buildings.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin live for us in London this morning with the breaking details -- Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, we're getting some startling details of that potential terrorist plot thwarted in Brussels. This morning, according to a statement released from the Belgian federal prosecutor's office, authorities have uncovered, quote, "a serious threat of an attack targeting several emblematic sites in Brussels during the New Year's celebrations."

Now the statement did not disclose the sites that were believed to have been targeted, though Belgian media is reporting that one of the targets was the police station near the Grand Place in Brussels. And this morning, Belgian authorities are raising the threat level from a two to a three out of a possible four for military personnel and police in Brussels, meaning that an attack is possible and likely.

All of this following a series of raids that took place in Brussels area as well as other parts of Belgium, Sunday into Monday. During those raids, authorities say they found ISIS propaganda, military training outfits as well as computer equipment, though no guns, no explosives were found during those raids. They've arrested two individuals and charged them with terrorist-related offenses. The identities of those individuals have not been disclosed, as this investigation is very much ongoing -- Don.

LEMON: Thank you very much for that.

We want to turn now to the extreme weather that is blamed for more than 40 deaths across the country. Residents in the northeast waking up to the season's first winter storm; and snow and freezing rain pummeling the region. It's going to disrupt the travel throughout the day.

Let's go to CNN's Boris Sanchez live on I-95 in Newtown, Massachusetts.

Good morning, Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Don.

You know, the storm isn't really overwhelming for the northeast. It's only one through three inches of snow. But as you noted, what's really out of place here is the timing. It's almost December 30, and this is the first snowfall they're seeing in the northeast.

This is an area that typically starts getting snow in early November. Again, it's one through three inches. In the past hour or so, it's transformed into kind of a sleet mix. So it's making conditions on the highway very dangerous.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, though, has things covered. They have more than 1,200 crews out, trying to make sure that the snow and sleet is off the road.

Despite that, just a few hundred yards from where we're standing, we actually saw an accident unfold this morning. A driver lost control and slammed into a guardrail. Rescue crews had to come out an help him.

[06:10:02] The same storm we're seeing here in Massachusetts was in Texas over the weekend, hitting Dallas and other areas with very hard tornadoes. And even as those tornadoes move out, recovery is going to be very difficult, because today they're seeing freezing temperatures in that area. So as residents there try to move on from the storms, the weather isn't really helping them out.

It's also slowing things down at airports. There are more than 30 cancellations right now. Excuse me, more than 30 delays right now, more than 20 cancellations. They're concentrated in Boston, in Detroit and Chicago. That number, however, expected to continue to climb as the storm keeps moving eastward -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: And of course, it's that busy travel season right now. A lot of people still traveling for the holidays. Best to check with your airlines before you head there.

All right, Boris. We'll check with you again.

So meanwhile, how much snow and freezing rain will the northeast see today? And where will those travel delays be the worst specifically?

CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray is the forecast. I heard hail on my window last night. It's finally getting cold here in New York.

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, finally is. Temperatures are trying to get close to freezing, but in New York, it is mainly rain. We have seen a little bit of a changeover in Central Park, but New York City will primarily get rain.

We will see delays anywhere from Philly, New York, all the way up to Boston. In fact, Boston could pick up a couple of inches. They are getting a little bit of a wintry mix, though, with temperatures hovering around freezing.

So a closer look at the radar. You can see mainly snow right inside Boston. But look at that: right on the outskirts we are getting that mix, and then eventually, it will all change to rain as this moves out.

The good news about this system, it's a fast mover. It's mainly going to be out of the big cities by this afternoon. We're looking at the ice, though, accumulation, anywhere from quarter of an inch to half an inch, places like Albany, even in some of the suburbs of Boston could pick up some ice. And we know it only takes a quarter of an inch of ice to bring down some trees and power lines. So we could even see some power outages across portions of the northeast.

The snow forecast, the big amounts are going to be in northern New England. We're looking at 8 to 12 inches, possibly, in Portland, 2 to 4 inches across places like New Hampshire, Vermont. So the heavier snowfall amounts are going to stay to the north. But it looks like we are finally kicking off the winter season in the northeast. A little late, but nonetheless, picking up some snow, guys.

ROMANS: A little late but here it is. All right. Jennifer Grey, thank you for that.

A new CNN/ORC poll taking the pulse of Americans heading into the final year of the Obama presidency. How is his legacy taking shape? And did he deliver on his promise to bring about change?

CNN's Jim Acosta live in Honolulu with the vacationing first family.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

President Obama is getting his end-of-the-year grades, courtesy of our new CNN/ORC poll. As you might expect, given some of the heated rhetoric from the campaign trail this past year, Americans are outraged with the way the government is being run back in Washington.

Take a look at this. Our poll shows three-quarters of Americans are dissatisfied with their government. And consider this one: 69 percent say they are either very angry or somewhat angry with Washington. That's perhaps no surprise when you listen to the rhetoric out there.

Despite the president's hope as a candidate back in 2008, to heal the bitter political divide in Washington, as you mentioned, Christine, our poll finds most Americans are pretty much split on what Mr. Obama has achieved in the Oval Office. In terms of significant change, most Americans believe he has

brought significant change to the country. But look at this: 37 percent say that change has been for the better, while the same number, 37 percent, say that change has been for the worst. So pretty even divide there.

Our poll finds one bright spot for the president, and that is on the economy. Fifty-two percent say they like the way the president has handled the economy; 47 percent say they disapprove.

That is likely one reason, guys, why the president has much higher favorability numbers than Congress, which is barely in the double digits in our CNN/ORC poll.

So all in all, heading into his final year in office, the president has the potential, Don, to be remembered for his handling of the economy more than anything else. And as we know, Americans vote with their pocketbooks, so that's a potential upside for Democrats heading into this campaign year -- Don.

LEMON: Better favorability than Congress. That is not saying much, Jim Acosta. All right, Jim Acosta, traveling with the vacationing president; first family in Honolulu, Hawaii. Thank you, Jim.

You know, want to get to that devastating shooting now. The family of Tamir Rice, they are venting their frustration after a grand jury decides not to indict the officers involved in the 12-year-old's shooting death.

In a statement, Rice's parents say prosecutors sabotaged the case, and they no longer trust the justice system.

Prosecutors said it was a perfect storm of human error, mistakes in communications by all involved; and there was no criminal conduct by police.

PEREIRA: Meanwhile, the Chicago police officer charged with the murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald will be in court later this morning for his arraignment. Jason Van Dyke is expected to plead not guilty.

In the meantime, the father of a 19-year-old shot and killed Saturday by Chicago police has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is cutting his vacation in Cuba short to deal with all of this. He is expected back today.

[06:15:08] ROMANS: Puerto Rico's governor has declared three days of mourning on the island after three officers were shot and killed at a police headquarters in the city of Ponce. The suspect is one of their own colleagues. He is in custody. Investigators say an argument preceded those shootings.

LEMON: We are following breaking news, two suspected terrorists in custody in Belgium. The latest details concerning their plot, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We have some breaking news for you. The new threat level being raised in Brussels after authorities in Belgium foiled a possible New Year's terror attack. Two people under arrest now. All this just weeks after Brussels was shut down by a terror threat.

Let's bring in CNN's Paul Cruickshank, terrorism analyst and editor in chief of CTC sentinel.

Paul, as I understand, you have some new reporting on this. What do you know?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: That's right, Don. Just being told by a senior Belgian counterterrorism official that they believe that this plot was inspired by ISIS but not directed by ISIS. And so the inspiration coming from the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq. But they've not seen the travel flows back to Syria and Iraq that they saw in the Paris plot. This is more like a San Bernardino-type plot where the inspiration comes from ISIS.

[06:20:08] But the plot which they've uncovered and which they have thwarted was to attack New Year Day celebrations here in Brussels, iconic sites in Brussels, tourist attractions in Brussels.

Belgian media also now reporting that a police headquarters just off the central square, the Grand Place here in Brussels, was also going to be a target.

Not clear how far advanced this plot was. The police did not find weapons or explosives. And that suggests that they hadn't got to the final stages of planning, Don.

LEMON: Paul, I want to the ask you this. I know you've been meeting with Belgian counterterrorism officials on the threat and how seriously they take this. But I'm wondering, though, if they think it's connected.

Remember, we were talking about Vienna yesterday and the larger, broader plot they believe that's part of Europe. How seriously are they taking that, and is it connected?

CRUICKSHANK: There is no evidence at this point that there is any connection whatsoever to that alert several days ago that went out in Vienna, when a friendly intelligence service told Austrian authorities that there was some concern about a number of individuals who might be back in Europe and who might pose a risk.

That kind of chatter is constantly coming in to European intelligence services, much of it from the Americans. It's difficult for them to evaluate, but obviously, post-Paris they can't take any risk. But it may well be this is a separate threat which they thwarted here in Belgium, more of a home-grown threat inspired but not directed by ISIS. But it comes at a time, Don, where there's a really unprecedented

concern right across Europe, including here in Brussels about the terrorist threat to Europe, that ISIS is pivoting towards launching attacks against the European countries that are targeting ISIS as part of the anti-ISIS coalition. And of course, Belgium is one of those countries. They're flying air sorties over Iraq, targeting ISIS over there. ISIS have called for attacks against Belgium and many other European countries.

And this comes just a few weeks after this capital was essentially closed down for several days because of a terrorism alert that went out here. They went up to maximum alert.

I'm also finding out why that happened. It was because there was a text message that was intercepted on that day, November 20, a week after the Paris attacks. And that text message suggested that there was a possibility of a terrorist attack here in Brussels within a day. So they had a sense, back then, a few weeks ago, of a really imminent threat against the capital.

Eventually, they were able to lower that threat level. But it's been ratcheted up against police headquarters now just in the last few hours, with this new plot thwarted. Everybody on high alert, everybody very worried here in Europe about what happens next.

LEMON: Paul, as you know, many of the Paris attackers are believed to have been based in Belgium. So there's particular concern about this.

Ever since those attacks, Belgium, of course, has been on high alert there. And we're wondering about Abdeslam. And -- because they still not have found him. What is the latest on that and his possible connection to Belgium?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, I've spoken to multiple officials about this now. And they all tell me the same thing. The trail for Saleh Abdeslam went totally cold the day after of Paris attacks.

He was last known to be back in Brussels. A couple of his friends picked him up that night after the Paris attacks, brought him back to Brussels. But he went to ground in Schaerbeek, which is a district very dear to me here in Brussels. He may be hiding in a cellar here in the Belgium capital.

But what the Belgian authorities are doing right now, Don, is that they're shaking the tree. They are arresting a lot of his known associates, accomplices. They're trying to narrow the space that he can operate in. Because he'll be seeing on the media that all his friends, his associates, are being rounded up by the police. They're being questioned. And so his world has become very, very small, that he can operate in right now.

So he may be in deep hiding somewhere, perhaps still here in Brussels, perhaps somewhere else in a country nearby. I think there's some skepticism now that he could have got all the way to Syria, Don. LEMON: All right. CNN's Paul Cruickshank with the breaking news

this morning about the alert in Belgium and the larger alert in Europe. Thank you very much. We appreciate that.

Michaela, over to you now.

PEREIRA: All right, Don. Fighting words from the prime minister of Iraq. He is vowing to terminate ISIS in his country. He's putting a very tight focused time frame on that goal. We're live in Iraq with the details for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:28:22] PEREIRA: Twenty minutes past the hour -- 28 minutes past the hour.

Defiant Iraqi prime minister now predicting ISIS will be dealt a fatal blow in 2016. He says the terror group will be pushed out of Iraq next year, on the heels of reclaiming Ramadi.

CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir live to Baghdad with the latest on these strong words from the Iraqi prime minister -- Nima.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is absolutely no doubt that Ramadi is incredibly strategic, and it's a huge achievement post that humiliating defeat back in May when Iraqi forces fled an oncoming ISIS contingent from that city.

But we still do know that there are continuing ISIS fighters, and ISIS -- pockets of ISIS fighters inside Ramadi. And we're seeing that reflected in the continuing intensive coalition strike. Seven this morning alone, claiming to have hit five tactical units.

The Iraqis contend that, although the purge is ongoing, that what they've done in Ramadi is create a blueprint that they believe that they can replicate in Fallujah and in Mosul. One of the more -- most strategic ISIS cities.

We're also getting reports on the ground that civilians are able at the moment, while ISIS is currently in this state of disarray, to move out of some of those ISIS territorial possessions in other parts of Anbar province into the safety of that centrally held district in Ramadi.

So while the Americans are cautiously optimistic, not quite yet ready to call it fully liberated, there is definitely a sense here on the ground that there is finally momentum in this fight against ISIS.

Back to you, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Nima for us this morning in Baghdad. Thanks for that.

The fugitive "affluenza" teen captured at a popular resort town in Mexico. Will his next stop be to prison back in the U.S.? Our legal experts weigh in next.

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