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AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Computer Glitch Shuts Down United Airlines; S.C. Lawmakers Debate Removing Confederate Flag; Hillary Clinton Discusses Immigration, Republicans; Bizarre Revelation in San Francisco Murder. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired July 8, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: AT THIS HOUR with Berman and Bolduan starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: An entire airline shut down. How did that happen? And what does it mean for the thousands of people stuck at airports across the country right now? We'll have a live report coming up.

And will it stay or will it go? Right now, in South Carolina, the fate of the Confederate flag is on the line. Lawmakers are in the middle of an emotional debate deciding, once and for all, whether to take the flag down.

And the Cosby accusers are speaking out. But if he admitted a decade ago to getting drugs to use for sex, why wasn't he charged then? The D.A. who handled that case is speaking out.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. John Berman is on assignment today.

Let's begin with this developing story. United Airlines was forced to shut down all flights nationwide this morning because of a system-wide computer issue. Just last hour, the ground stop was lifted but still thousands of passengers are impacted by the delays and the ripple effect lingers.

Let's discuss. CNN aviation correspondent, Rene Marsh, is in Washington tracking that. Meteorologist Chad Myers is in Atlanta. And CNN aviation analyst, Miles O'Brien, is in Boston for more perspective.

Rene, let's start with you.

What do we know at this point and what happened?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION & GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Some good news first, off the top. We do know that flights are resuming now. The situation seems like it is slowly being resolved. I spoke with United Airlines a short time ago. Just to give you an idea of the scope of this whole thing. Some 4,900 flights have been impacted by this computer problem that they experienced. This affected their operations worldwide. So not just here in the United States, but beyond. We do also know -- I spoke with a pilot just a short time ago, United

Airlines pilot, who said that they've received a bulletin from the airline essentially telling them that their schedules may need to be changed because perhaps some crews as a result of the delays because of these computer problems, the crews may have run out of hours, so alerting these pilots that their schedules may have to be changed. So although the computer system seems to be up and running, passengers and crews, nowhere out of the woods just yet. Now they have to deal with the issue of getting passengers on flights. They also have to deal with rearranging their crews that perhaps may have run out of hours.

United Airlines putting out an updated statement a short time ago, not only acknowledging that they've had this connectivity issue this morning but also understanding there may be some passengers who may be negatively impacted by the delay, may miss their connections. So they're telling passengers they can get a waiver for a new flight if the delays aren't working for them and that would mean they wouldn't get the change fee in changing their flights. So quite a mess if you were booked on a United flight. But the good news is they're working out the kinks AT THIS HOUR.

BOLDUAN: Quite a mess is right. And this is the United Airlines statement they put out.

Thank you so much, Rene.

Chad, let's bring you in. You're taking a look at the bird's-eye view of this. 4900 flights impacted world wide. Rene said it was quite a mess. I'd say so.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, 272 planes now in the sky. An hour ago, we were down to 152. So 120 planes have got into the sky that were just delayed, waiting to get there in the first place. So it is getting better. It's going to be a slow recovery across the country and not every plane is going to make it today. There's just not enough time left in the day to get all the planes that are backed up into the sky and landing where they need to be. Just going to run out of daylight in some spots and a lot of these airports can't land after 11:00 or 12:00. If you have a late flight, you may not even get to that flight. So make sure you logon, if you can, and find out what's going on with your flight. A lot of people wondering whether it could delay other flights on other carriers as well. It's a potential but only if there's a gate issue. So many times United will only use the D2 concourse gate and no other planes can get over there. We don't see any crossover at all here so far.

BOLDUAN: Quite a mess still. Thankfully, flights will be starting to take off at the moment.

Let's try to get to the bottom of what this means.

Chad, thank you so much.

Miles, you've been listening to the latest reports about what they think happen even though it doesn't seem quite clear yet. The airline and the FAA call it a network connectivity issue as well as an automation issue. What does that mean?

[11:05:00] MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Kate, I think what we're talking about is the system which allows pilots to determine the weight and balance of an aircraft before they take off. And this also includes the passenger manifests. A couple of issues here. First of all, before you take off, you need to know exactly how much your aircraft weighs. You get a proper power setting. You have assurance that the balance of the aircraft is correct and safe. That's one thing that has done by computer, a central computer that is run by the airline. The other thing that's part of this is that the passenger manifest lists which are part of this whole system are cross-checked with the TSA no-fly list. And if they can't produce a verified passenger manifest to jibe with the FAA, TSA, Homeland Security list, they can't take off either. These are systems that are heavily automated. A long time ago when traffic was a lot less, it would have been done by hand, by phone. And we wouldn't be seeing this problem. But in this case, the airlines rely on computers to do it. It's not safe to fly without a proper weight and balance check. And we all know the security concerns. So unfortunately it's inconvenient and it's a reminder that we do rely on those computer systems intrinsically in the airline business.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And we're seeing pictures of gate agents handwriting tickets. How would that work in this day and age, especially when you talk about how much we rely on these automated systems?

O'BRIEN: I'm old enough to remember that they put a sticker before you even get a seat. You can imagine trying to use the system we have today by hand, it's just not going to work. That's why we're seeing mayhem here. In 2010, United merged with Continental. And I think we're still seeing all these years later, some difficulty meshing the computer systems between these two airlines. It takes a long time to get those data-driven systems to kind of talk to each other well and merge in a seamless way. And there's been some problems along the way for United after this merger.

BOLDUAN: It would be amazing if this is another one of those problems after that merger.

Miles, thank you so much.

If you're flying on United, might be a bit of a problem today.

Also happening right now for us, the Confederate battle flag on trial, essentially, in South Carolina. Lawmakers in the statehouse are debating a Senate bill to remove the controversial banner from statehouse grounds. Of course, this debate comes after the race- driven murders of nine African-Americans in a historic black church in Charleston. The suspect, Dylann Roof, he's seen in photos holding the Confederate flag. Supporters of the flag, though, claim they do not support Roof or racism. They are trying, they say, to preserve a symbol of their southern heritage. That is basically the two sides of this debate.

And it's all happening in Columbia, South Carolina, where Nick Valencia is at this moment.

Nick, the debate is happening right now. Where do things stand this morning in terms of a vote?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. I was just inside the House chambers and things really had not gotten under way yet. They were just going through roll call. What we're learning today is the House of Representatives will have the second reading of this controversial bill that will permanently remove the Confederate flag from state grounds. Yesterday the Senate voted in its final vote, 36-3 in favor overwhelmingly to remove that flag. Today, the House will have its chance to discuss it and carry on the debate.

What we've been told by some of the lawmakers we've spoken to is that there is a chance that amendments may be introduced today, as many as 20 of them. One of them mentioned is replacing the Confederate flag that flies here behind me on the state capitol, that Confederate monument, with another flag. One that's mentioned is the South Carolina First Regimental Infantry flag. Some of the House Democrats concerned because they say there may not be enough votes to push this through. There needs to be a two-thirds majority in both chambers in order for this to become official. Others are optimistic this could all be done by week's end, either tomorrow or Friday. A final vote, eventually to get to the governor. Governor Haley has five days after she receives the bill to sign it and make it official.

This whole conversation accelerated by the shooting last month at the historical AME Emanuel Church. Dylann Roof has been charged with nine counts of murder. We've learned this morning he's been charged with three additional counts of attempted murder for his role in the shooting in Charleston -- Kate?

[11:09:50] BOLDUAN: Sure seems there's a range of views even at this moment in terms of how confident people are, one way or the other, on how this is going to fall. It really kind of increases the drama of what's playing out behind you. You talk about those amendments that people are proposing, more than 20 amendments. I'm sure Democrats and those who want the flag to be taken down, and have that be the only issue, they must be absolutely against that idea. Are you hearing these amendments are seen more as a poison pill than an attempt at some kind of compromise?

VALENCIA: We talked about to house of Representative Republican Jonathan Hill yesterday. And what we know on the bill is it bypassed the committee and he says he's not trying to create a stall tactic. Public pressure has been fierce and he says he understands that. But he feels this bill is so controversial that they need to take their time. Still, though, there are especially those in the Democratic Party and even some Republicans who are saying this needs to happen, this is a really bad mark on the state of South Carolina and the world's attention is on the state.

We should mention if any amendments are made to this Senate bill that it needs to go back to a special committee in the Senate before it can go forward -- Kate?

BOLDUAN: It will absolutely slow things down. That's just the way the legislative process works no matter what statehouse you're in.

Nick Valencia watching it all, minute by minute, for us as the flag sits over your shoulder right now. Nick, thanks so much.

Coming up for us, would you vote for someone you do not trust? Nearly six in 10 voters said they do not trust Hillary Clinton. So how does she answer that question?

Also ahead, court documents reveal Bill Cosby admitted that he acquired prescription drugs to use on women for sex. Might his own words land him in court yet again? That is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:15:03]BOLDUAN: CNN's exclusive with Hillary Clinton. During this first national TV interview since launching her campaign, immigration was one major topic. She was quick to blame San Francisco for the mishandling of the case of an undocumented immigrant now charged with murdering a woman there. Clinton also then took on the entire Republican presidential field, calling them hostile toward immigrants. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They are all in the same general area on immigration. They don't want to provide a path to citizenship. They range across a spectrum of being either grudgingly welcome or hostile toward immigrants. And I'm going to talk about comprehensive immigration reform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Let's bring in CNN's senior political reporter, Nia-Malika Henderson; as well as CNN political reporter, Sara Murray.

Nia, first to you.

Right after this happened, Jeb Bush put out a statement attacking Clinton, calling her a flip-flopper, saying she'll say anything to get elected. What I saw in that statement was not only this is a presidential race but it seems she may have hit a nerve a bit on this immigration question during this interview. Why is that?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: That's right. She hit a nerve. She's tap-dancing on this. Flash back to 2012, we remember when Mitt Romney talking about immigration reform and illegal immigrants, talking about self-deportation. And then the Republican Party went through some soul searching saying they needed to figure out a way in tone and in policy to be a party that's more broad -- to broaden their appeal to Latino voters. So what you see now is the party is fighting a two-front war on this. On the one hand, there, there's a battle between the 14 or 15 or so candidates in terms of what the proper course is --

(CROSSTALK) BOLDUAN: Though she says they're all the same on this issue.

HENDERSON: She does. And she's not right there. She's trying to conflate Donald Trump, conveniently, with the rest of the party. But there's a much wider spectrum in terms of what they would do in terms of immigration reform. They're fighting that internal war in many respects among themselves but then they're also having to go up against Democrats who definitely see themselves with an edge with Latino voters on this -- in this issue of immigration reform. So I thought in that interview, she was trying to do something very clever trying to lump everyone with Donald Trump.

BOLDUAN: Sara, do you think the Clinton campaign really sees an opening here, the opening being, look back at the 2012 exit polls and you see that Romney only got 27 percent of Latino voters. Does she see then, let's keep that or make the number even worse?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, this was a smart political attack from her point of view. I think while Republicans don't all feel the same way as Donald Trump, she knows that they already have a problem reaching out to these voters and the fact of the matter is, Republicans haven't coalesced on a position for immigration. So it's easier for Hillary Clinton to say, I'm for a path to citizenship and all those other folks are not for this path to citizenship. So you can just sort of lump them together. The reality is this is not the tone of conversation about immigration. That Republicans were hoping to be having at any point in the cycle. And while it's less likely to hurt Republicans in a primary, this is going to be incredibly important in the general election.

BOLDUAN: And they have to show where their differences are. Hillary Clinton will continue to try to lump them all together saying they're all the same on this immigration issue.

Another important issue, Nia, in any presidential campaign is the issue of trust, and the trust that Clinton -- she was asked about that. The fact that almost six in 10 voters in a recent CNN poll say they don't think she's honest and trustworthy. Listen to what she had to say about that and talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I can only tell you, Brianna, that this has been a theme that has been used against me and my husband for many, many years. And at the end of the day, I think voters sort it all out. I have great confidence. I trust the American voter. So I trust the American voter 100 percent.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Would you vote for someone that you don't trust?

CLINTON: Well, people should and do trust me. And I have every confidence that will be the outcome of this election.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BOLDUAN: What's really interesting, Nia, in her answer she accepts no responsibility. She says it has nothing to do with her, the fact the numbers are so poor. Does that surprise you?

HENDERSON: No, not at all. The Clinton camp very much believes this has been a common theme going back to 1992, that whole idea of Bill Clinton as Slick Willie. And then, in 1996, his favorability ratings in terms of whether or not people thought he was trustworthy is where Clinton is now. This is baked into the cake in the Clinton campaign, and in terms of politics, more general. And they also think as the campaign goes on, you'll see some of these same numbers across the different candidates. Once these attacks start against Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio or any of the other folks on the other side of the aisle, they'll see some depressed numbers as well.

[11:20:29] BOLDUAN: Sara, do you think the answer she gave to this question, similar along the same lines as some of the other answers, tailor-made for appealing to Democratic voters here. That answer was, the right is attacking me and that's why it's impacting maybe the public image right now. Is this just a tailor-made message for Democrats?

MURRAY: Sure. This is one way to rally your supporters to say this honest and trustworthy issue is just Republicans coming after her, a big right wing conspiracy. But the reality is even when you look at these numbers among Democratic primary voters, in our poll in New Hampshire, 28 percent of Democratic primary voters said she was the least honest candidate in the race. And that is a real problem because people want to trust their candidates on the issues. But they also just want to inherently trust them and feel comfortable about the person they're casting a ballot for. So the idea this is just going to be a problem with Republicans is fallacy at this point.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely seems a clear area where if it's her fault or not, it's going to be her responsibility to make a change to those numbers if she cares so much about it.

Nia, it's great to see you.

Sara, great to see you.

Thank you both.

HENDERSON: Good to see you.

BOLDUAN: A reminder to all of you, speaking of Donald Trump and this immigration issue, Donald Trump will be Anderson Cooper's guest tonight on "A.C. 360." Watch that at 8:00 p.m. eastern.

Coming up next, the gun used in the shooting death of a San Francisco woman may have once belonged to a federal agent. How does that happen? We'll have a live report from San Francisco.

A complete collapse also in the stock market is happening right now in China. So how does the meltdown there hit investors here?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:25:42] BOLDUAN: A bizarre revelation in the death of Kate Steinle, the woman shot and killed while simply walking with her father on a busy San Francisco pier. A source close to the investigation tells CNN the gun used in the crime belonged to a federal agent. The man charged in the murder is an undocumented immigrant, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez has now pleaded not guilty.

Dan Simon is in San Francisco. He's been following all of this.

Dan, how did a federal agent's gun end up in this man's hands?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a great question. One of the questions from the very beginning -- and believe me, there have been many -- is how does somebody like this get a gun? You're talking about somebody who's been convicted of seven felonies. He's been deported five times. How does he get a gun? We now know that that gun belonged to a federal agent and there's a report that it actually belonged to an agent who works for the Federal Bureau of Land Management and it was stolen from his car. We reached out to BLM and they tell us that law enforcement is still trying to trace the origin of the weapon. But nonetheless, it's a pretty significant development. We should tell you that Sanchez -- you see him there on your screen -- had his first court appearance yesterday. He pleaded not guilty. He's being held on $5 million bail. I have to tell you, though, watching the footage, seeing him there in the courtroom, he didn't appear entirely lucid, Kate. The judge would ask him a lot of questions and he just kept saying "not guilty." So whether we're talking about a cognitive issue here, it's hard to tell. But his lawyer said he did appear to understand what was happening in the courtroom but he also added we're talking about a suspect who only had a second-grade education.

BOLDUAN: To that point, Dan, we had just this week heard him on camera telling a local affiliate there in San Francisco that, yes, he had shot this woman. But now there's a question if he even understood that question when he was asked in a jailhouse interview, right?

SIMON: Exactly. The question was asked to him in both English and Spanish. And people who have seen that footage in both languages say, well, maybe he didn't really know what he was talking about. And his lawyer tried to essentially knock it down. And that's what lawyers do, if your client is pleading guilty to something such as murder. You want to try to knock it down. But I think there are real questions about this guy's mental state. Keep in mind, remember, he spent many years in prison. We're talking about somebody who was deported five times, and clearly that was not a deterrent for him to try to come back to the United States -- Kate?

BOLDUAN: And still an innocent girl is dead and her family is left to try to pick up the pieces here.

Dan Simon, thank you so much.

Coming up for us, if Bill Cosby's testimony had come out years ago, let's say, would it have been enough to put him behind bars then? We'll hear from the former prosecutor on the case about why he decided not to bring charges.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)