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New Day

Remembering Prince; Manhunt in Ohio; Cruz & Kasich Team Up. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired April 25, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:41] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Tributes for the late, great music legend Prince keep pouring in. Over the weekend, those closest to him attended a private memorial service at his Paisley Park compound outside of Minneapolis. Fans also gathered just outside. Others lucky enough to have seen his last performance in Atlanta a week before his untimely death, one of those, singer, songwriter, producer, great man in his own right, Ceelo Green. He joins us now.

Brother, I know you have a heavy heart today, but I appreciate you joining us to talk about your time with Prince. You've been influenced by him. And I understand you were at that last show. Tell us about that evening.

CEELO GREEN, MUSICIAN: Yes, I was. I - well, we - we just felt very fortunate that - that we were getting the opportunity to see him, being that the initial cancellations had disappointed quite a lot of people, probably the entire city of Atlanta. And so for him to come back with so much - so much strength and perform two sold out, back- to-back shows was just - it's just something I'll always remember. And I feel very fortunate because of it.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: What do you want people to remember about Prince as we start to figure out what his legacy will be in not just the months but the years to come? What should people know about him?

GREEN: Well, I will say that I'm - I'm fortunate in having the opportunity to have known him personally in my lifetime and he had always been such a - such a mentor of mine. And I just want people to remember him through his music and through his charitable efforts and - such a - such a brave, such a unique, such an original individual and just remember what he has set out to do. And for those of us who are able, for those of us who feel inspired to stand up and step up and continue the work. And that's what I plan to do with my - my professional career.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Ceelo, as you're talking, we're watching, you know, old Prince videos and listening to the music and it's so tragic because you just realize how much of our lives are - were set to his soundtrack, you know?

GREEN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: You know, every single one of his songs reminds us of a time in our life. And I know you had a great opportunity to actually perform with him. And tell us about that moment when - when you both sang "Crazy."

GREEN: Well, I had heard through the grapevine that he had been covering "Crazy" and he did reach out to me and gave me the great pleasure of being able to perform with him, open up for him, as a matter of fact, at Madison Square Garden. And it's just - it's just a wonderful memory. Even looking at this clip now, I can't believe that - I can't believe that that even happened in my lifetime. You know, he was one of my all-time favorites. He is an idol of mine. And - yes, but that - that was one of a few times I got the opportunity to perform with him.

PEREIRA: For another artist that you so greatly admired to play one of your song has to be bananas. What was your favorite song of his? Did you have one? It's hard to almost county, right?

GREEN: Yes. I have favorite albums from Prince. But - I know most people would say "Purple Rain." They would say - you know, "Let's Go Crazy," "1999." But my favorite song from Prince is a song called "Do You Lie" -

PEREIRA: OH.

GREEN: And it's a - it's a - it's a - a great little diddy on - on Prince's "Parade" album.

PEREIRA: OK.

GREEN: So, yes, I think of all the Prince fans out there, the true fans, they'll know this record.

PEREIRA: Absolutely.

CUOMO: Now, you mentioned something that people who are close to him say we can't emphasize enough. You said you knew him for his music, but also his charitable efforts. I was talking over the weekend with an artist that he gave a start to and she said, no, I don't want to talk about that. I don't want to talk about all the hit records that he helped me with. I want to talk about urban farming. Now when he found out that I was going to try to help people in inner cities with food, he said whatever I can do -

PEREIRA: Right.

CUOMO: My music, my money, whatever you want. Was he different that way?

GREEN: I believe that he was very different in that way. I believe that he was a very well-rounded and dynamic individual. So many sides to Prince. And just his music and his persona was just - it's just the tip of the iceberg. You know, but I mean, but this is a very selfless and a very soulful individual, very sweet and very compassionate person. And I believe that this is the - the root of all that he was able to accomplish with music, it came from this very sweet soul that he had. [08:35:00] CAMEROTA: Ceelo, when he canceled the shows and you said

that so many people were disappointed, what did you think was going on with him? Did you know him to be sick?

GREEN: No, it's - it's strange to think about it, but, you know, Prince is one of those individuals that you just - you just wouldn't - you wouldn't assume that, you know, anything - you would think he would live - he would live forever, you know what I mean?

PEREIRA: Yes.

GREEN: A devout Chris -- Jehovah's Witness, a vegan. You know what I mean, just very healthy, very nimble, very consistent and full of energy. You just wouldn't think anything would happen. And so when we heard about the sickness, I mean, it's flu season, so that's pretty, you know, typical in general. But when I got the opportunity to see him, he did not look anywhere near death or anything of the sort. And so, therefore, it was very perplexing because he had just done two stellar performances back-to-back.

PEREIRA: Yes.

GREEN: So I - just, you know, I just can't believe it.

PEREIRA: You know, you, like many people, took to social media to sort of mourn, you know, this loss. I think we're all trying to make sense of it. And I know that all of us are trying to imagine a world without Prince in it. And that's one of the things you said in your Instagram. "I find myself being afraid now, feeling alone in the world without him." Alone. You know, there's a lot of great musicians, yourself included, that are going to carry on his legacy, no?

GREEN: Absolutely. You know, death is definitive and so I believe an awful lot of possibility dies with Prince. And that's the most saddening part. I mean so many things that I'm sure he had in mind or intended to do. I just wish I could have known him. I wish we could have had those conversations and, you know, I wish in some formal way he could have, you know, passed that torch to me and so maybe - maybe essentially and ultimately it's what it means. And I just have to assume the position now, you know, in remembrance and in respect of Prince.

PEREIRA: Ceelo Green, it is a delightful to speak with you, albeit with heavy hearts all of us have. Thanks so much for making time for us and joining us here on new day, OK, love.

GREEN: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Be well.

CUOMO: Just 57 years old.

CAMEROTA: I know.

CUOMO: Who knows how much more music, how many different iterations of the man and the music - PEREIRA: But here's the thing I keep thinking about -

CAMEROTA: Of course.

PEREIRA: What he would do. He would want to know that the next generation, the seed had been planted, right? And that there are, out there, potential - not princes or princesses, but others that are ready to take the torch and find that creativity.

CAMEROTA: I'm just going to have a whole Prince fest and listen to all the music definitely, but I will - I do want to listen to "Do You Lie." It's sad because that was his favorite and I don't know that one.

CUOMO: You could be quoting it for the rest of the campaign.

CAMEROTA: I will do that.

CUOMO: All right, we're going to take a quick break now. When we come back, we do have these new details of this horrible series of murders in rural Ohio. The discoveries made at the crime scene have led investigators to believe that eight family members were killed because they were specifically targeted. Why? That's where we take you next.

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[08:41:51] CAMEROTA: Police in Ohio are searching for the suspect or suspects behind the cold blooded killings of eight family members. Authorities say it was a planned execution, meaning the family was specifically targeted. CNN's Nick Valencia is following developments from southern Ohio.

What have you learned, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

This tragic story took a very interesting twist over the weekend when authorities announced that a sophisticated marijuana-growing operation was discovered at three of the four crime scenes where the Rhodens were killed at their residences. That has certainly fueled speculation in this community that the execution-style killings had something to do with drugs. Local residents tell me that there is a huge drug problem in this area, a lot of methamphetamines, a lot of heroin. But even still, authority will not make the direct connection to this being drug related.

There is no suspect or suspects in custody. No clear motive. And with someone who is responsible for this still on the loose, there are many people in this area that are concerned for their own safety.

Yesterday at a press conference, the attorney general and local sheriff addressed those concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE DEWINE, OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL: This was a preplanned execution of eight individuals. It was a sophisticated operation.

CHARLES READER, PIKE COUNTY SHERIFF: I've spoke with the family. It's very evident that they were a target of this horrible crime. I cautioned them that they were a target and I told them to be armed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: We know the family was targeted, but why? I asked the best friend of Dana Rhoden, who was one of the victims, if the Rhodens had anything to do with drugs or if they were tied to a nefarious underworld. That best friend told me everyone has skeletons in the closet, but overall the Rhodens were good people.

Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Nick, thank you so much for that.

We pivot now to the five things to know for your new day.

Ted Cruz, John Kasich teaming up to deny or try and deny Donald Trump the delegates he needs to clinch the Republican nomination. Trump blasting the duo, calling it collusion and a horrible act of desperation.

Meantime, Hillary Clinton hoping for a clean sweep in the northeast tomorrow. Sanders - Bernie Sanders admitting he has a tough path to win the nomination, but believes, however, he can do it and isn't going anywhere.

President Obama sending 250 additional special operations forces to Syria. The president saying they won't be leading the fight on the ground but rather serving in an advise and assist capacity to local forces in that fight against ISIS.

The Brussels metro station targeted in last month's terror attacks reopened to the public today. That suicide bombing at the Maelbeek stop killed 16 people, caused extensive damage.

Friends and family saying their final farewell to music legend Prince. His remains were cremated over the weekend. Questions still swirl over who will oversee his estate and, of course, what caused him to die.

For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com.

Ali.

CAMEROTA: All right, Michaela.

[08:44:45] Ted Cruz and John Kasich forging an extraordinary alliance to stop Donald Trump. But why would the rivals team up now when there still attacking each other on the trial. We have a member of team Cruz join us next.

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CUOMO: You know what they say, keep your friends close and your fri- enemies (ph) closer. Ted Cruz and John Kasich teaming up to stop Trump in three of the upcoming primary states. Really it's all about Indiana for Ted Cruz. So, why are they doing this? Will it work? Let's hear it right from the Cruz camp's mouth. Cruz's national spokesperson Ron Nehring joins us.

[08:50:01] Well, well, well, Mr. Nehring, what a turn of events we have seen from, I'm going to beat Donald Trump, I will get to 1,237, don't talk to me about conventions, you cannot deny the will of the people, and now this. How do you justify this action?

RON NEHRING, CRUZ NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON: Well, I had a funny feeling you were going to bring this topic up this morning.

CUOMO: Yes.

NEHRING: You know - you know, political campaigns are dynamic and - and we have a long - a 19-week long process in order to choose a Republican nominee. The nature of that contest has changed, you know, very much so from - from our original win in Iowa and then through super Tuesday and now to where we are today, looking forward to June 7th. And we have to insure that Donald Trump is not the nominee of the Republican Party because it would be a disaster. It would turn the White House over to Hillary Clinton and the Congress over to people like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and the like and we can't have that. And so we have to move forward in a way that meets the strategic realities at the time, and that involves competing very strongly in the state of Indiana coming up, gathering as many delegates as we possible - as possible in tomorrow's April 26th primary states -

CUOMO: All right.

NEHRING: And then moving on to wrap the campaign up in California.

CUOMO: I get the theory of the case now, but I'm saying pragmatism aside, what about principle? Your man, Ted Cruz, said, this has got to be about - forget about the convention. That's not how these things are supposed to be done. That's the insiders. That's the bad, bad, bad. Now he's got both his arms wrapped around it like his favorite teddy bear at night. How do you take Ted Cruz at his word when he changes what matters?

NEHRING: You know, a smart political campaign is one that adapts to the strategic realities that are - that are on the ground today. You know, when we set out this campaign, we - our goal, of course, was to reach flat out majority at the convention. That was always the goal. That was the best scenario for us, to reach that majority in the first ballot, just like most other conventions have gone that way. But that's not going to happen. And Donald Trump, even though he has the most delegates, is unable to consolidate the Republican base around him.

These primaries that are happening so late in the process, you know, by most - you know, if you use history as a guide, the race is already consolidated by now. But Donald Trump has such high negatives, even within the Republican Party, that he can't consolidate the base going forward. We want to make sure that by some accident, by some fluke of the rules whereby Donald Trump is gaining more delegates that he has earned a share of the vote, he doesn't become the Republican nominee and lead this party to a disaster.

CUOMO: Right. The question becomes, how does this work, though, going forward for Ted Cruz, if it does go into a convention? And you have Donald Trump who's saying, this is exactly the kind of shenanigans that Cruz said that he was against. He calls it collusion. He says it's desperate. He says it's weakness. Do those words apply?

NEHRING: You know, for the guy who calls himself Mr. Flexible and Mr. Unpredictable, you know, Donald Trump is probably the most predictable person in this race judging by the fact that we all knew that he would -

CUOMO: What - I think he called himself delightful today. What - he came up with a nickname for himself today. Someone in the control room, remind me. What did he call himself? Wonderful. Wonderful Donald Trump. You're lyin' Ted. That's who you're representing. And he's saying this is -

NEHRING: Yes, well -

CUOMO: This is an example of that, Ron, because you said one thing and now you're doing another.

NEHRING: Yes. Yes, Donald Trump, the great man of humanity, you know, and Mr. Unpredictable here. But, you know, the reality is that we're going to make sure that Donald Trump is not the Republican nominee and that we have the opportunity to elect Ted Cruz as the Republican nominee for president of the United States. It won't happen on the first ballot. Everybody knows that. And - because there has not been that type of consolidation. And you know, when we started with a 17 person race, you know, the notion that we would get to a majority of delegates on the first ballot at the convention went down. And it's gone down since then. And that's just the - the reality.

I think where the math really changes in those five states that lead up to New York, Donald Trump, of course, winning New York, but we won the five states leading up to that. And he knows he doesn't have the math. He's not going to get the altitude. He's especially not going to get the altitude now in order to get a majority of the delegates and the rule also not going to be changed for Donald Trump. You know, this is a guy who likes to file a lot of lawsuits, you know, when he doesn't get his way. But the rules -

CUOMO: But -

NEHRING: The rules, ultimately, he has to get to a majority. He can't get there.

CUOMO: But is that genuine? I mean your man was arguing probably most intelligently in the entire field against exactly the rules that you're now embracing as part of this. He was saying, what rule? 1,237. They made that up. This is about who gets the most support across the country. And now this change. I mean isn't that the problem? And, of course, the practical problem will be, what happens if he doesn't win in Indiana? What if it doesn't work?

NEHRING: Well, we have to deal with the world as it is. And like I - like I said when I opened, the camp - the nature of the campaign itself has changed going down from 17 candidates down to, you know, two or three at this point. Only two who can really ultimately emerge, you know, as the Republican nominee. So we have to adapt to that. it's an extraordinary election. You and I have never seen anything like this in our lifetimes and we probably won't see another election like this in our lifetimes. But we have to deal with the reality as it is now, and that's exactly what we're doing.

[08:55:11] CUOMO: And when times change, all we have to fall back on is the principles that we will not. How will that play into this conversation? We'll see in the days and weeks ahead. Ron Nehring, thank you very much for making the case for the Cruz camp, as always.

NEHRING: Thank you.

CUOMO: All right, so, what do you think? It's Monday. You're getting that little stretch going. How about some "Good Stuff" to motivate the day, next?

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CUOMO: Time for "The Good Stuff." Columbus, Ohio. So, as often happens, "The Good Stuff" starts with something that was decidedly not good.

CAMEROTA: OK.

PEREIRA: Not so good.

CAMEROTA: All right.

CUOMO: A group of police officers in Ohio stopped for a bit to eat after attending the funeral of a fellow SWAT (ph) officer.

PEREIRA: Oh, goodness.

CUOMO: So, you know, heavy hearts, right? I mean they were just trying to be together, get something to eat. They certainly didn't expect what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They shook my hand and that was enough for me, just to have police officers who serve and protect every day. I mean that's their jobs and they are thanking me for something I did. That's all the thanks I needed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:0:02] CUOMO: What is she talking about? She was their server. She heard what they were talking about and understood where they were coming from, so she picked up the bill and left a note saying, "I can't imagine the day you've all had, let alone what you go through every day."

PEREIRA: Way to go, Jessica Dunbar (ph). You're stellar.

CAMEROTA: That's wonderful.