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CNN NEWSROOM

Investigation Continues into New York Prison Break; French Terror Attack Targets American Company; Crowds Gather to Honor Clementa Pinckney; A Winning Week for Obama. Aired 9:30-10:00a ET

Aired June 26, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


[09:30:00] MARLON KIMPSON, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SENATOR: But more important - but equally as important, we want to send a message to the families that we're going to be working to improve race relations. We're going to be working to be united. And we're going to work very hard, very hard to get rid of this state - the symbols that divide us. But equally important, come away with a substantive agenda.

So this is a day for mourning and grief, but we need to afterwards use this opportunity to bring transformation to the United States.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, State Senator Marlon Kimpson, thanks so much. I appreciate your being with me this morning.

And for ways that you can help in Charleston, log on to cnn.com/impact.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Investigators now looking at whether prison guards would sleep during shifts on the same block that housed those two escaped killers. An official telling CNN, they're trying to figure out if Richard Matt and David Sweat went virtually unsupervised as they prepared to escape. The search for Matt and Sweat is about to enter its fourth week now.

In the meantime, Gene Palmer, the second guard charged in connection with their escape, admits he gave them tools and paint and other items that unintentionally made it easier for them to break out. He's now been suspended without pay. CNN's Boris Sanchez is live in Owl's Head, New York, with more for you.

Good morning.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

About a dozen state inspectors are at the Clinton Correctional Facility, going over policies and protocols that may have made it easier for these men to escape. Now, no one is specifically under investigation for directly helping these men escape other than Joyce Mitchell and Gene Palmer. But some of the things that Gene Palmer has told investigators is raising red flags. He says he struck deals with these inmates, getting paintings and information from them, in exchange for things like paint, paint brushes, information about the movement of other inmates, as well as access to that electrical panel behind their cells on that cat walk where they realized how they could get out of the prison. While Palmer has not spoken publicly since the escape, he did speak in a public radio interview in 2000 about the psychological ramifications of working at the prison. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE PALMER, PRISON GUARD: With the money that they pay you, you'll go bald, you'll have high blood pressure, you'll become an alcoholic, you'll divorce and then kill yourself. It's a negative environment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: You know, we learned today, as you mentioned earlier, that Palmer has now been suspended without pay. He'd been suspended with pay up until yesterday. He's now in the process of getting a new attorney and he's due back in court on Monday, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Boris Sanchez reporting live for us this morning, thank you.

Still to come on the NEWSROOM, from shutting down a heckler to the Supreme Court holding up a key part of Obamacare, what a week for the president. Is it a defining one? We'll talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:37:45] COSTELLO: All right, we're following an unfolding story right now. A string of terror attacks across the world. Here are the sites of this morning's strikes, European, the Middle East and northern Africa. In Tunisia, gunmen stormed a beach front resort and the death toll there keeps climbing. As of now, at least 27 people are confirmed dead. In Kuwait, ISIS claims responsibility for the suicide bombing of a mosque. Dozens are believed dead and wounded.

But possibly the most barbaric unfolding right now in southeastern France, near Lyon. A hotbed of radical Islam. The target, an American company. And the details are chilling. A severed head is put on display along with a message.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin is following all of this from London. She has more.

Good morning.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, the details we are hearing out of France are stomach-turning. Now, the attack took place at around 4:00 a.m. Eastern, 10:00 a.m. local time. A vehicle going at very high speeds crashed into a factory site, into a building holding gas canisters. French President Francois Hollande said it was an apparent attempt to blow up the building.

Also at that site, a body found that was decapitated. That body carrying with it a message. The French interior minister says they are working to decipher and analyze that message. Now, an arrest has been made in all of this. Thirty-five-year-old

Yacinne Sali (ph). He was under surveillance between 2006 to 2008 for radicalization, although authorities said that there was no indication in the months building up to this attack that he was participating in any sort of terrorist activities.

Authorities also saying that it's possible that another individual was involved. We're waiting to hear for more on that.

Now, in terms of the apparent target, Carol, as you say, an American company called Air Products. Now, that company is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It's not clear why that particular company was targeted. It is a soft target. And that's something that French authorities are coming to terms with in light of the heightened security situation throughout France post the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks that took place earlier in the year. Authorities really struggling to secure these soft targets in France.

Carol.

[09:40:05] COSTELLO: All right, Erin McLaughlin reporting. And, of course, President Obama has been briefed on the situation in France. We'll keep you updated throughout the hours on the NEWSROOM.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: When President Obama arrives in Charleston today to deliver the eulogy for the pastor, Clementa Pinckney, he'll be nearing the end of what could be a defining week of his presidency. From talking bluntly on race, to a huge win on health care, here's a look back on his drop the mic moments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[09:45:31] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I know what I'm doing and I'm fear less.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For real? You're not pretending to be fearless.

OBAMA: Right, you're not pretending to be fearless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's exactly right.

And when you get to that point?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's freedom.

OBAMA: And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

OBAMA: Hey, yes, listen. You're in my house. (LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: After multiple challenges to this law before the Supreme Court, the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president has been fighting for months to try to get this bipartisan majority built in the Congress to finally pass the full trade package that he was looking for. We finally got that through the House today. So, that's headed to the president's desk.

(ENG VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Multiple wins for President Obama. Joining me now to talk about this, John Avlon, editor in chief of "The Daily Beast," and Van Jones, a former Obama administration official.

Welcome to you both.

VAN JONES, FORMER OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Good morning, Carol.

JOHN AVLON, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "THE DAILY BEAST": Glad to be here.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

John, I just want to point "Politico's" headline, it's this, "Obama Bounces Back." And they write in part, quote, "The Supreme Court decision capped a week of major and very personal victories for the president, Obamacare's secure, a discussion on race gained new urgency after he purposely used a word that most agreed only he could say. Obamatrade is headed to his desk pretty much how he wanted it less thank two weeks after it being declared dead. They all have his name and face on them and he won them all."

Wow. So, he's supposed to be a lame duck, John.

AVLON: Yes, look, this is a president who has not stuck to the lame duck script. He's been liberated by the fact it's the fourth quarter of his presidency, I think liberated by the fact that he doesn't have to look after Democratic congressional control or his own re-election, so he's doing and saying the things he think are right. And when you pursue leadership from that kind of confidence and moral autority it can be powerful, particularly at a time when the country is debating race, but also with those significant victories with Republicans in the House on trade and the Senate, without any Democrats, it should be added, and the Supreme Court yesterday.

So, he's had a big, big week leading up to a very big speech today. There are some storm clouds on the horizon, Iran and other issues, but he's had a big week in a confident stage of his presidency rather than trying to slink out and look exhausted as he had sometimes in the past.

COSTELLO: Van, maybe every president should just serve four years and be a lame duck, seems (ph) that's the answer.

JONES: Well, I think what you're seeing now is what I would call Obama 3.0. You know, when Obama first came on the national scene he was able to bring people together. He was considered kind of, you know, purple guy. And even when the racial conflicts came out around Reverend Wright, you know, he gave that speech and he was tough, but he was tough on both sides. He brought people together.

Then he got into the White House. When he tried to speak about race with the Skip Gates affair, suddenly he just got hit with a wall of criticism and on race he became Obama the pinata, just the racial pinata, being beat up on all sides. Black folks saying he's not strong enough, white folks saying he's playing the race card. He just kind of cowers on race for almost four years.

You are now seeing the Obama 3.0. This president, he's fearless. He's showing he's fearless. He is -- I guarantee you today he's going give a speech that's going to touch the heart strings. Obviously we in the face of a real tragedy, but he's not going to pull any punches to talk about some of the tough stuff, some of the hard stuff America has not been willing to deal with.

And this is the Obama 3.0. This is a very different Obama on race and every other issue than we have seen.

COSTELLO: And I hope Van Jones is right, John, because I think this is the time, because it seems to be a tipping point what happened in Charleston.

AVLON: I think in many respects it has been, and one of the strengths I think Obama has is, you know, he's lost a lot of political battles and even cultural battles, push backs on his presidency.

[09:50:04] But in terms of the long-term demographic changes in the nation reflected in the millenial generation, President Obama is something of a prophet figure because he presages, and I mean that solely in the sense that he is a symbol of the kind of America we are going to be increasingly in the 21st century. And a lot of the sort of retrenchment, resistant, and reactionary impulses in our cultural debate, symbolized in part by the Confederate flag, those things now increasingly seem on the wrong side of history like people who are trying to fight the gay civil rights movement that we're experiencing and expecting a Supreme Court decision on.

So, he's surfing that wave, and he can do it with real political power that not only exists in this moment, but may extend beyond his presidency.

COSTELLO: And it's interesting, Van, that this tragedy in South Carolina has drawn both sides together because there's a big Republican delegation going to Reverend Pinckney's funeral as well.

JONES: Yes. Well, I mean, I've been here. I was here earlier in the week. I'm back. The emotional roller coaster of this small town is hard to describe. One moment people are very proud, they feel very uplifted, they feel very hopeful, black and white. And then the next, despair, anger, frustration and the sense that, you know, there's so many issues even beyond the Confederate flag that people are afraid once the cameras leave may not be dealt with. Let me say one thing. I do hope the president does not speak to the

Confederate flag issue. I think it's a very touchy issue here. I think the momentum is already with reform and with change. I want to see that flag taken down and put in a museum, but in the south to have a northern president speak to this issue I think would be not that helpful. I think he should speak directly to the issue of race and the reasons to come together, economic future, but I hope he does not go on this question around the Confederate flag. Let that work itself out the way it is being worked out based on local momentum.

COSTELLO: I have to say, John, there's no need because that battle's already been won, right?

AVLON: No, I mean, I think to Van's point, this is something that's occurring. But again, it's important to appreciate the speed of the change. The political calculus and commercial calculus that's occurred around the Confederate flag in really just a week and change after 150 years of stalemate, this being an issue that politicians couldn't touch. That's a symbol of the kind of cultural shift that can occur at pivot moments, and this is a pivot moment in the great city of Charleston leading the way in some respects.

COSTELLO: John Avlon, Van Jones, thanks to both --

JONES: I want to say --

COSTELLO: Oh, go ahead. Go ahead, Van.

JONES: Well, I was just talking to a local mayor who said that a conservative white church is going to be taking the Confederate flags off of graves right outside. So, when you're talking about a conservative white church in South Carolina taking the rebel flag, the Confederate battle flag off graves, that's a major sea shift. I think that should be allowed to speak for itself.

COSTELLO: All right. Van Jones, many thanks. John Avlon, thanks to you as well.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Charleston remembers. Ahead of the president's eulogy today, crowds lining up attend the service for Clementa Pinckney, one of the victims in last week's church massacre.

Martin Savidge also there. Good morning.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, the lines began forming long before the sun came up. This will be another very emotional day in Charleston. And for the president, it will be personal. I'll have more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:57:35] COSTELLO: All right, this news just in to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP) COSTELLO (voice-over): A second suspected terrorist has been arrested in connection with a terror attack at a gas factory in southeastern France. This is according to CNN affiliate BMF TV. And this was a particularly gruesome attack. Authorities found a decapitated head covered with Arabic writing. It was found at the front gate of this American-owned company called air products. They make industrial gas. Two terrorist suspects are in custody right now. Authorities say they're unclear of the motive at this point, but they do suspect terrorism because a black and white flag was also found at the scene and there was Arabic writing on this decapitated head. I'll have much more for you on this a little later in the NEWSROOM.

All right, let's head to Charleston, South Carolina. This was the scene last night there as hundreds lined up to mourn the death of Reverend Clementa Pinckney. We're just about an hour away from the start of a tribute program for the late senator. The funeral begins at 1:45 p.m. Eastern.

The president will speak at 3:00 this afternoon Eastern time.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

COSTELLO (on camera): I want to bring in Martin Savidge now and Jason Johnson who joins us on the phone. Jason is a CNN political analyst. He worked with the Reverend Pinckney on his Senate campaign.

But, Martin, I want to start with you. Set the scene for us.

SAVIDGE: It's going to be another heartbreaking day in the city of Charleston, of course. Reverend Pinckney is just one of nine people that were brutally murdered inside of the Emanuel AME Church. So, this is something Charlestonians are going to go through over and over and over again. And of course the president is going to be here and that adds a certain significance. But every one of these funerals is emotionally heartbreaking for an entire community and devastating for their families.

Already the arena's half full. The lines of people that were waiting to get in far exceeds the capacity of this place. It is clear not all will get in. There are other viewing stations that have been set up. And it's important to point out that the reason people stand in line is not just for the president, it's for the man, it's for what happened here.

COSTELLO: A very special man. And I know, Jason, you worked with state Senator Pinckney on his campaign. Tell us about him and what he might think of today.

JASON JOHSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think, you know, I've spent a lot of time thinking about this. I couldn't possibly use the words as lovingly and creatively as Clem Pinckney, but I do think this, I do think he, too, would probably be suggesting forgiveness and probably talking about how the community can come together to create change in the wake of a tragedy. I know he wouldn't want all this attention focused on him. He would want it on the message, the movement and the different ways that we can make not only Charleston but probably the whole country a better place.

COSTELLO: Martin, have you gotten a chance to talk with people? What are they saying?

SAVIDGE: Oh, well, I mean, you know, first of all people here want to express that the unity of this community. And you feel it. I mean, it isn't something people have to come up and tell you. You spend one minute outside of Emanuel AME Church in front of the growing memorial, in front of the people who pray, or the people who have come from all across the country to pay their respects in a kind of pilgrimage.