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Belgian Authorities Identify Brothers As Airport Suicide Bombers; Taxi Driver's Tip Sparks Terror Raid; Europe On High Alert After Brussels Attacks; Massive Manhunt for Brussels Third Terror Suspect; Clinton And Trump Win Arizona Primaries; Cruz Takes All 40 Delegate In Utah; Sanders Wins Utah & Idaho Democratic Caucuses; Jeb Bush Endorses Ted Cruz; Cruz Sparks Backlash With Call To Patrol Muslim Neighborhoods. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 23, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[05:30:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Alisyn Camerota in Brussels. This is NEW DAY that you're watching. We have major developments in the terror attacks investigation. Chris and Michaela are in New York this morning. They'll have more on the results of the U.S. elections in just a few minutes.

But we do want to begin with Belgian authorities identifying, now, the two suicide bombers who detonated those two powerful explosions inside the departures hall at the Brussels airport. A massive manhunt is underway at this hour for the elusive third suspect who was captured on security cameras. Authorities say that his suitcase bomb failed to detonate.

This, as the U.S. State Department is warning of "near term attacks throughout Europe." We have this story covered the way only CNN can. We're going to begin with senior international correspondent, Nima Elbagir. She joins me now with the latest. Nima, great to have you here. What is your new reporting?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the new reporting is the naming of the two men involved in the attack, Brahim and Khalid El Bakraoui. I just want to remind our viewers of how this all unfolded. Take a look at this, Alisyn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELBAGIR: This unidentified man, a key suspect, remains at large after coordinated terror attacks that rocked Brussels on Tuesday. Two of his accomplices captured on airport surveillance cameras are presumed dead.

A senior Belgian security source tells CNN they are brothers, known to police, suspected to have ties to the Paris attack. The pair, thought to be suicide bombers, detonating two bombs inside the departure hall at the Brussels airport. The horrifying moments after the blast captured in this cell phone video.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We say doors flying, glass ceiling coming down, and smoke and everything.

ELBAGIR: Officials say the man at large left behind a third bomb concealed in a suitcase that was later detonated by the bomb squad. Now investigators want to know if he then traveled just a few miles away to carry out the second attack at Maalbeak Metro station an hour later. That blast charring a subway car. Survivors desperately fleeing in the dark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt an explosion and the train stopped in his tracks. The lights went out, the power went out, everyone dropped to the ground. They were screaming.

ELBAGIR: The station just blocks away from a number of European Union landmarks, including the European Parliament. ISIS claiming responsibility for the attack.

The first victim to be identified, Adelma Marina Tapia Ruiz, killed during the attack at the airport. Originally from Peru, Tapia Ruiz had lived in Belgium for six years. She was at the airport with her husband and twin 3-year-old daughters.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will do whatever is necessary to support our friend and ally, Belgium, in bringing to justice those who are responsible, and this is yet another reminder that the world must unite.

ELBAGIR: The world lighting up in Belgian colors, vowing never to let terrorism win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELBAGIR: It's, of course, still very much early hours here in terms of the investigation, in terms of the information we're getting. The Belgian prosecutor is saying that he might be speaking out a little later this morning.

CAMEROTA: OK, Nima, stick around because we have a lot more questions for you. But we also want to mention that this major break in the terror investigation about these two brothers came from a taxi driver. The driver recognized the men in that airport surveillance picture that was released because he had driven them to the airport. So he alerted investigators, who then raided a home and found more evidence there.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is live in the Brussels suburb of Forest outside the bomber's apartment. Fred, what have you learned?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I think one of the frustrating things, Alisyn, for the investigators must be that last Tuesday it appears as though they may have had the two brothers who then went out to conduct these attacks cornered, right here in the building that you see behind me.

They raided this place and they found three people inside who immediately opened fire at them. They killed one of those people who then later also turned out to be a senior operative implicated in the Paris attacks. But, two people got away and they now believe that those were the Bakraoui brothers who managed to escape from here.

They also found the DNA of one of the other Paris attackers -- of Salah Abdeslam -- who they later then captured. Now, after the attacks took place yesterday at the Brussels airport, a taxi driver said, listen, I recognize these people and I can show where I picked them up. He took them to a suburb called Schaerbeek, where they then raided an apartment there. They found a nail bomb, they found chemicals, they found an ISIS flag.

They believe that that apartment in the district of Schaerbeek could be the place where the bombs were made that were at least used in the attacks on the airport. So, as you can see, the group of people who appear to be implicated in this appears to be narrowing down, at least in one occasion. It seems as though the police here in Belgium may have had the two people who were implicated in the airport attack cornered right here, but they got away.

[05:35:00] CAMEROTA: Just amazing, Fred. Thank you for that update. Europe, of course, is on high alert after the Brussels terror attacks. Nearby Netherlands, tightening checks at its borders, and France says it's beefing up security at all public transportation hubs. CNN's senior European correspondent, Jim Bittermann, is live for us in Paris with much more. Jim, what's the scene there?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, they've put another 1,600 security officers out at the various transportation hubs and airports around France. It's quite a nervous situation, I think, for a lot of the authorities here. An illustration of that took place this morning. The Toulouse Airport was closed down and evacuated just for a few minutes, but it was a suspicious package apparently. That really got people rattled.

It's the kind of thing that we see happening quite a bit. There's also something that's appeared and that is at some of the train stations around there are now bag searches being taking place at the entrances to the train stations -- not systematically, but occasionally. So, there's that kind of thing that's going into place. They've canceled all French school trips, for example. The education minister canceled all school trips to Belgium and school trips that would pass through Belgium just because of this worry.

The prime minister of France on his way to meeting the prime minister of Belgium this morning. They're going to talk about security, and he's also going to meet with the head of the European Commission, again, to talk about security. What more measures can be taken, what better cooperation they can achieve because, in fact, one of the things that's been criticized from the very beginning is this lack of cooperation across borders -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Jim, it's so interesting to hear other countries canceling school trips and advising people not to travel here to Belgium because when you're here it feels bustling and you wouldn't know that there's any sort of lockdown. People are out in streets, but we'll talk more about that because first, we want to discuss the massive manhunt that is going on now.

CNN's senior international correspondents, Clarissa Ward and Nima Elbagir, are here, along with Fred Pleitgen to talk about that. Clarissa, share with us what your latest reporting is on the manhunt and everything else.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there's a lot of concern, Alisyn, because at present the man on the right in the surveillance video, in the white jacket with the glasses and the hat, is still at large. He could, potentially, be a real threat. Belgian authorities are keeping extremely tight-lipped about the details of these searches.

They've asked media to refrain from reporting on a lot of these raids that have been ongoing, but there are also questions as to the whereabouts of the so-called bomb maker, a man called Najim Laachraoui, who was connected with the Paris attacks. He is believed to have built the explosive vests that were used in those attacks and there are now questions about whether he is also involved in these attacks.

You've heard Nima, before, talk about these overlapping networks between Paris, between Brussels. Certainly this is an ongoing fluid situation. We also heard France's prime minister say they now know that at least 30 people were involved in those Paris attacks. Many of them have been arrested or killed, but some of them are still on the loose and may be connected with these attacks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: You've spent a lot of time in Brussels, and when you're here it feels as those it's active. As I said, you wouldn't know that they suffered a terrible terrorist attack yesterday. You see parents out with children walking to school. You see commuters heading to work today, and yet, there's always an undercurrent here of tension. Explain how that works with the investigation.

ELBAGIR: I think part of that is conscience. I think people are choosing to come out on the streets. They're choosing to be seen out on the streets after yesterday's lockdown. There's definitely a message those we've been speaking to have wanted us to send, which is we're still here. We're undefeated. We've lived at the specter of the potential for this to happen in our city since the Paris attacks. It's happened. The worst has happened and we're still standing. So, there is part of that.

But, you're right. When you walk through these picturesque squares -- we're just in front of the National Theatre here -- it really then comes as such a shock to you to realize what is going on in these neighborhoods the police are failing to get a penetration into. When we were here working on an investigation it took so long to get people to speak to us, and so many people refused to.

CAMEROTA: And why is that? Because they don't trust the authorities, or they're scared, or what's happening in these neighborhoods that are so insular that we keep hearing about?

ELBAGIR: Well, I think it's a combination. One man we spoke to, who's been very vocally anti-ISIS and anti-radicalization, and working in the communities against these networks, he turned up with a bodyguard. How, in a European city, do you not trust the authorities to keep you safe to the extent that you're taking it into your own hands in that way? And that's really what lies under the surface here and what the Belgian authorities need to get a handle on. Otherwise, they will never get one step ahead of these networks.

[05:40:00] CAMEROTA: Fred, investigators had been trying to connect the dots between Paris and the terrorist attack that happened here, and the apartment -- the raid -- where you are -- that helped put some of the pieces together.

PLEITGEN: Yes, they've certainly been trying to do that. And you know one of the things that's really frustrating for the investigators is that it really is always the same sort of small group of operatives that seems to pop up in all of these places. If you look at the raid that happened here, there was a senior operative of the group that apparently conducted the Paris attacks and was on hand here -- who was in a firefight with the police.

Now, the police -- when they got to this location they didn't even know that there were going to be any people here. They thought the apartment here would be pretty much empty. They didn't come with any firepower. They didn't come with a lot of officers. And, therefore, when the firefight ensued, two people were able to get away. It now appears that it is likely those may have been the Bakraoui brothers.

Yesterday, we were in the Schaerbeek neighborhood, which is another place where apparently the bombs were made for at least the attacks in the airport. And that same neighborhood was also one where there was a bomb factory that was used in the Paris attacks, as well. So, it certainly is difficult for the authorities, apparently here, to connect the dots between these many places.

But, again, it seems as though, at this point in time, the group of people who keep popping up and who keep connecting these various places is one that isn't very small, but it certainly is limited. And yet, the authorities are having trouble tracking all these people.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and Clarissa, that's what is so frustrating is that, actually, these brothers were known to authorities.

WARD: They were known. They had extensive rap sheets, they had extensive involvement in petty crime. They knew how to source guns, they knew how to stay below the radar, they know how to evade detection by law enforcement, and this is a model that we have seen replicated over, and over, and over again.

They've called it the so-called hybrid model. Petty criminals become radicalized. It's a toxic brew because, on the one hand, they have the zeal to carry out these horrifying attacks, and on the other hand, they have the criminal know-how to actually make them happen, Alisyn.

ELBAGIR: And that similar to the Abdeslam brothers. They also were petty criminals and they were busted for drugs and alcohol in the bar that they owned in Molenbeek. And then they went on to be involved in the Paris attacks.

CAMEROTA: We'll talk much more about this. Great to have all of you with us with your expertise. We'll have much more of our continuing coverage from Brussels here, but we want to get it back now to Chris in New York -- Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: All right, Alisyn. Some big election action here. Did Clinton and Trump gain, or did the races get closer after the primaries in three western states? Who's up, who's close to out, plus the latest delegate count, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:47:00] CUOMO: We have new developments on the Belgium terror attacks, but we do want to turn right now to some significant events in the U.S. elections. An impressive showing for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, both scoring major victories in Arizona. There were five important contests in three western states. Voter turnout huge. Lines of voters stretching for a mile or more in some cases. One polling site actually did run out of ballots, Mic.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: You want to look at numbers, I got numbers. Let's break it all down for you. A really big night for Sen. Ted Cruz. He claims all 40 delegates in Utah, after taking 69 percent of the vote. Trump coming in third place, 14 percent. He does not receive any delegates in that state.South of Utah to Arizona, Trump dominating in that state with 47 percent of the vote. He will take all 58 delegates. It is a winner-take-all state.

At this hour, the grand total -- we know they're trying to reach 1,237. Trump inching closer to that magic number. He's got 741 delegates. Ted Cruz, 461, and 145 for John Kasich. He gains no new delegates.

We turn now to the Democrats. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders picking up two states, winning in Idaho by a massive margin, 78 to 21 percent for Clinton. He also took 79 percent of the vote in Utah to Clinton's 20 percent. But I think the biggest capture for Clinton was Arizona. Look at this. Nearly 58 percent of the vote here for Hillary Clinton to Bernie Sanders' 39 -- almost 40 percent.

Now, it's worth noting that while Sanders won two of three Democratic contests tonight, they were both smaller states with far fewer delegates and none of them were winner-take-all. So the grand total, at least at this hour -- it brings the Democratic delegate count to 1,711 for Hillary Clinton, 939 -- the magic number they're looking for 2,383.

And, of course, Chris, we know they've got a big weekend ahead. We've got what? A primary in Alaska and two caucuses in Hawaii and Washington, so the Democrats will have a busy weekend.

CUOMO: Every vote counts --

PEREIRA: Absolutely. CUOMO: -- especially in this race. All right, so let's break down what happened last night and what it means going forward. We have CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for The Atlantic, Ron Brownstein. And, CNN politics executive editor, Mark Preston. It's good to have you guys. Mark, you got some insight intel on what we're going to hear in terms of endorsements. Give it to me.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: We do, Chris. Big news will be coming out shortly. Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, will be endorsing Ted Cruz this morning. Jeb Bush, who just got out of the race about one month ago, is going to get behind Ted Cruz. Yet, another sign now, Chris that the establishment is trying to line up behind Ted Cruz to try to derail Donald Trump's run for the nomination. The question is, will it be a little bit too late at this point?

CUOMO: Romney, Cruz -- that was first. Now we have Bush, Cruz. I thought he didn't want the establishment types on his side. I thought he was against that. How does this play?

PRESTON: You know, for him I think it plays in a way that he needs it. He needs as much support as he can get. He also needs the Bush donor network to get behind him at this point. Every delegate counts, every little bit of support counts. And right now Ted Cruz, which is fighting an uphill battle against Donald Trump, who Michaela just noted had a very big night in Arizona -- look, you've got to do what you've got to do, and having Jeb Bush on your side is probably not a bad thing.

[05:50:00] CUOMO: Ron, I want to put up the upcoming primaries calendar --

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

CUOMO: -- for the GOP, and you tell me what you see and what you don't see in terms of probabilities, not possibilities.

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

CUOMO: Well, it's up there now. You know the states we've got. We've got North Dakota, Wisconsin, Colorado, New York, Connecticut. What do you see?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, the challenge is for Ted Cruz is you're moving into the parts of the country where he has performed the weakest. Ted Cruz has been overly dependent on evangelical voters to some extent, now on Mormon voters in the west. But among voters who are not evangelicals, he has not won a ferality (ph) of them in any state, including his own state of Texas.

And as you look at that map, particularly as you turn toward the northeast, there is no precedent so far in this race for him being able to compete there, which is really why John Kasich is hanging around in this race despite very weak performances again last night. So, the challenge for the establishment can't -- you have all of those Republicans who are dubious of Donald Trump. The problem is Ted Cruz is not really in a position unless he dramatically expands his coalition, to be the vehicle to slow him down.

Really, at this point, Chris, the only thing we're talking about is holding Donald Trump below 1,237. I mean, that's really the only hope for Republicans who are opposed to him. There's no real prospect of anybody else finishing ahead of him. The question is can you deny him a first ballot nomination and then allow the convention to kind of move in some unpredictable way?

CUOMO: All right, let's stick with the state of play right now. The Cruz statement about patrolling Muslim neighborhoods. He says there is precedent for this. It happens in high gang activity areas. There is it. "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." This got heavy and angry pushback, Ron Brownstein, from the commissioner of the police for New York City, Mr. Bill Bratton. What's the plus-minus on it?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, the plus-minus is it's very different in the Republican primary than in the general election. If you look at Donald Trump's two signature proposals -- one about deporting 12 million undocumented immigrants, in 16 states that's been asked in the exit poll -- in 14 of them a majority of Republicans have opposed the idea.

On the other hand, the idea of temporarily banning Muslim immigration in the U.S. is popular in the Republican electorate. And you see that magnetic poll -- really on both ideas -- on Ted Cruz kind of moving further and further in the Donald Trump direction.

The problem is so far, at least, these have not been majority propositions for the public overall, though that is not inviolate, I think. And, as the threat of terror gets more real and the drumbeat becomes more ominous, I think that there is the potential for the public to go for ideas that it has not before. But so far, the Republicans are in this dynamic where this is a popular idea within the Republican electorate, but not in the country overall, yet.

CUOMO: Mark, what are you hearing? I'm hearing that that's all they care about right now, is finding a way through this nomination process, and there is significant momentum still in place to stop Trump and to embrace Trump. They're not even thinking about the general right now except in terms of what happens if it's Trump. What's your take? What are you hearing, Mark?

PRESTON: Well, Chris, I think you're right. You can't fight tomorrow if you don't today, and I think that these anti-Trump forces that are out there are trying to figure out how to stop him. And Ron's absolutely right. It's all about denying him 1,237 delegates and trying to take it to the convention floor thinking that if they get it right to the convention floor, at that point they think that they can win and they could put up their own candidate. In this case, it looks like it could be Ted Cruz.

But, the question is can they stop Donald Trump from getting there? Mathematically they can, but he also has a good shot of getting those 1,237 delegates. Listen, the guy continues to win. Donald Trump has proven to be a politician that is appealing to people right now at a time when they're very scared.

He was on air with Wolf Blitzer yesterday and he was talking about his own views and ideas about interrogation and waterboarding. And as he was saying his support for it, you saw these images of the airport -- in the aftermath -- and I've got to tell you what. It was very powerful for him to link where his thoughts were to these images -- these ghastly images we saw yesterday.

CUOMO: Context is often a catalyst. Gentlemen, we've got to leave it right there. I have to take a break. I'll get back with you in just a little bit. Thank you, fellow. Coming up in our 7:00 hour, Republican presidential candidateTed Cruz joins us live to make his own case for what last night means and why he can win going forward -- Mic.

PEREIRA: All right, so we will bring you up to date on the Brussels terror attacks investigation. Police are now identifying the airport suicide bombers. They are brothers. They are known to police. The very latest, live from Brussels, next on NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:58:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't explain. It looked like war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard an explosion and all the ceiling is going down.

CAMEROTA: ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw many injuries. I saw people dead.

CAMEROTA: There was another explosion at a subway station.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone dropped to the ground. They were screaming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A massive manhunt is underway at this hour for the prime suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so scared. I feel like it's the end of the world.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm also very proud to have --