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Presidential Candidates Court Black Voters; U.S. Intel: Plane Purposely Flown Off Course. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired July 31, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:03] BERMAN: The books just keep pouring in every day. Matthew is going to read every one of them and share them with other kids who need them.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh.

PEREIRA: Kids should have book. They should have books.

CAMEROTA: That's beautiful. He's also cute, too.

PEREIRA: Love it.

CAMEROTA: That's a great story. Thanks, John. And thanks for being here always.

PEREIRA: Well done.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you.

All right. Time now for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

Good morning, Carol.

PEREIRA: Happy Friday.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Happy Friday, the best day of the week, don't you think? Have a great weekend.

NEWSROOM starts now.

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

Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush taking turns on the very same stage this morning. As you can see it's Clinton's turn now. She's reaching out to black voters by addressing the National Urban League in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Let's listen for a bit.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Looking into our hearts, examining our assumptions, and fears. And asking ourselves, what more can I do in my life to counter hate and injustice? How can I make our country a better, fairer place?

Let me be clear. I think all of us need to do that kind of introspection. But those of us who have not experienced systemic racial inequities, we have an extra obligation. We need to do a better job of listening when people talk about the seen and unseen barriers they face every day. We need to practice humility. Rather than assume that our experiences are everyone's experiences.

(APPLAUSE)

And, yes, we need to try as best we can to walk in one another's shoes, to imagine what it would be like to sit our son down and have "the talk," or if people followed us around stores or locked their car doors when we walked past. That empathy, that's what makes it possible for people from every background, every race, every religion to come together as one nation. That's the kind of generosity of spirit that makes a country like America endure.

And given what we've seen and experienced over the last two years, this is an urgent call for people to search their own hearts and minds.

COSTELLO: All right. We're going step away from this speech by Hillary Clinton before the Urban League in Florida. And let's talk about what she had to say with Washington political correspondent Jeff Zeleny. Jason Johnson is also with me. He's a professor of political science at Hiram College.

Jason, I'm start with you. What do you think?

JASON JOHNSON, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, HIRAM COLLEGE: I'm shocked. This brand new empathetic Hillary Clinton seems to have actually taken hold. I think the substance of what she's talking about, the importance of empathy and connecting that to policy, I think substantively it's good. But even personally. She really seems to be connecting with the audience, and she needs to, given how well Reince Priebus was received when he spoke at the Urban League earlier this week.

COSTELLO: Well, it's interesting that Jeb Bush will soon appear on the same stage. I think there's a speaker in between the two. But you know there was this controversy over black lives matter. You remember Hillary Clinton said, you know, black lives do matter. Then the Republican side came out in the form of Jeb Bush who said, you know, all lives matter. And why are we sticking to that? I just want to play you what Jeb Bush had to say about that, Jeff. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, we're so uptight and so politically correct now you apologize for saying lives matter? Life is precious. It's a gift from God. I mean, I frankly think that it's one of the most important values that we have. I know in the political context, it's a slogan, I guess. And should he have apologized? No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Jeff, when Jeb Bush takes the stage, do you think he'll bring that up? JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's

going to be interesting to watch. I mean, the full context of that is -- I mean, he says that, yes, black lives matter, but also white lives matter and all lives matter. So we'll see if he mentions that this morning. But this has been something that has -- has tripped up a lot of candidates. And Hillary Clinton in South Carolina just a couple of weeks ago, she said, yes, black lives do matter.

But it was just a few weeks before that in St. Louis when she came under some criticism herself for saying all lives matter. And some people in the Black Lives Matter Movement said that she was not being sensitive enough. So she has retooled a bit.

[09:05:05] And of course the whole slogan of black lives matter has taken on such an important meaning, an important -- feeling in just what's happening.

COSTELLO: Let me interrupt you on that point because she just mentioned black lives matter so we're going to go back to Florida.

ZELENY: OK.

CLINTON: A growing number of Americans are realizing what many of you have been saying for a long time. We can't go on like this. We are better than this. Things must change. Now, it's up to us to build on that momentum. And we all have to do our part. But those of us who strive to lead have a special responsibility. I'm very pleased that many presidential candidates will be here today to address you. It is a signal that the work you've been doing, laboring in the vineyards for decades, is getting the political attention it deserves.

But the real test of a candidate's commitment is not whether we come to speak at your national conference, as important as that is. It's whether we're still around after the cameras are gone and the votes are counted.

(APPLAUSE)

It's whether our positions live up to our rhetoric. And too often we see a mismatch between what some candidates say in venues like this and what they actually do when they're elected. I don't think you can credibly say that everyone has a right to rise and then say you're for phasing out Medicare or for repealing Obamacare.

People can't rise if they can't afford healthcare. They can't rise if the minimum wage is too low to live on. They can't rise if their governor makes it harder for them to get a college education. And you cannot seriously talk about the right to rise and support laws that deny the right to vote.

(APPLAUSE)

So, yes, what people say matters, but what they do matters more.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll step away once again.

Jeff, that was an obvious slam on Jeb Bush, right?

ZELENY: No question -- no question about it, Carol. Right to Rise is the name of his supportive group, his political action committee. And he talks often about the right to arise. So what Secretary Clinton is doing right now in front of this audience in Florida where Jeb Bush will be appearing within the hour is saying that this audience should pay attention to the policies behind these slogans and speeches and things. So it is a direct shot or perhaps an indirect shot, because she didn't mention him by name, at the policies that Jeb Bush and other Republicans are putting forward.

But, Carol, the important political point is this. Hillary Clinton is trying to court black voters across the country. Of course they overwhelmingly vote in high numbers towards Democrats. But her challenge is getting them to vote in as high of numbers as they did for President Obama. To build this coalition that sent him to the White House twice. She needs a very, very, very high percentage of the black vote.

And it's an open question if some of the black vote is open to Republicans right now. So that is an interesting sort of subset of what's going on here today at this confidence.

COSTELLO: Yes, and I'm curious, Jason, what you think, how Jeb Bush will be received today when he takes that podium.

JOHNSON: I mean, he's always going to be received politely. But as you can see, what Secretary Clinton is doing right now she wants to end her speech on such a high note. She wants Jeb to be the guy who has to, like, follow a Bruce Springsteen drum solo. Likes she wants him to come on stage and not be able to top the job that she did.

Jeb Bush has a huge mountain to climb with African-American voters. He's going to do well with Latino voters, but this is a group of people that he really has to demonstrate himself to and so far he hasn't done that good a job. And his comments about black lives matter, all lives matter, it's not just a slogan. It is actually a political movement that a lot of people are involved in. He's got to be able to address or he's going to have some real trouble -- that's going to matter for Republicans and Democrats next year.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see what happens when he takes the stage.

Thanks to both of you, Jason Johnson, Jeff Zeleny. I appreciate.

I'll be right back.

[09:09:33]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: New details in the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Malaysia now confirming that this piece of debris belongs to a Boeing 777. Investigators are trying to figure out if the wreckage could be the first clue to solving one of the biggest aviation mysteries in history. Hours from now that debris which was discovered on an island in the Indian ocean will be transported to Paris. It will be then taken to southern France for identification.

Here's why investigators believe this could be the real thing. This component number found on the object matches the schematic for a Boeing 777. In the meantime, U.S. intelligence reveals someone deliberately changed the flight's course. And if this search hasn't broken tough enough, volcanic eruptions and cyclone warnings threatened to hamper efforts to find more debris.

So let's talk about all that and get to CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir. She's on Reunion Island where that object was found.

Good morning.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Carol. Well, as you said, as if this wasn't complicated enough, they're now having to deal with two cyclone warnings and operation to evacuate the slopes of the volcanic crater here, which is why time really is of the essence in getting this debris out. We understand from French prosecutors that the debris will be leaving on a flight to Paris this evening, due to arrive tomorrow morning, Saturday morning.

[09:15:02] It's going to be taken to Balma, which is just outside of Toulouse in the south of France. The lab there that's planning on having a look at this debris, this is the same lab that was instrumental in the investigation into that 2009 Air France crash. So, they feel pretty confident that they have what they need, they have it takes to finally start giving the families some answers.

We will, of course, let you know as soon as we know that the debris has left Reunion, Carol.

COSTELLO: Has anyone found any more wreckage, any more debris?

ELBAGIR: They are looking very carefully. We've been hearing the police search helicopters flying overheard most of today. The theory that investigators are working on is that if this is MH370, then there is a counter current that will have been responsible for bringing these two loads of debris, the one that came in on Wednesday, which is the plane's segment and then the other is segment which investigators are making part of this investigation, but that looks to be more like a remnant of luggage.

They think that that current that could have possibly brought it here, that will give them a sense of the path that other debris might have taken and give them a sense of how broad this search needs to be, because it's really moving away from that original epicenter south of Australia.

So, they are looking very, very closely and trying to get a sense of anything that's washing up on shore. So far nothing has come here yet, Carol.

COSTELLO: Nima Elbagir, reporting live from Reunion Island in the Indiana Ocean this morning. As we told you U.S. intelligence suggests Flight 370 was deliberately steered off course by someone inside the cockpit. Findings are based on available evidence, including satellite information. It's raising new questions about what happened after the pilot signed off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PILOT: Good night, Malaysian three seven zero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You remember that. Those would be the final words from inside the cockpit before 370 vanished. It is important to point out: investigators never found any evidence that either of the pilots are responsible for the plane's disappearance. And even study their body language on airport security cameras.

Let's bring in CNN's aviation correspondent Rene Marsh to parse this out.

Good morning.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Sources are telling CNN's Evan Perez that this was an assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies. They came to the conclusion that someone in the cockpit of MH370 deliberately directed the aircraft's movements before it disappeared.

Now, this assessment, as you mentioned, is based on satellite as well as other available evidence. We know that an analyst looked at the multiple course changes that the aircraft made after it deviated from its scheduled course. Remember, in March of 2014, it left Kuala Lumpur headed to Beijing. Now, the analysts determined that the flight path was the result most likely of someone in the cockpit deliberately programming the aircraft to fly to ever specific way points, crossing Indonesian territory and eventually going towards the south Indian Ocean.

Now, this assessment was done for internal U.S. government purposes. And we should mention it is totally separate from the investigation being led by Malaysian authorities. As you mentioned, Malaysian investigators, they found no proof of wrongdoing by the airplane's crew.

But in speaking with some of any sources within aviation, they say, look, it is quite possible when you look at that flight path that of course someone may have deliberately set the path. But they make the point that just because someone deliberately set the path doesn't mean there is necessarily malicious intent -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Rene Marsh, reporting live from Washington, thanks so much.

Let's talk about all of this with our panel of experts. Joining me now CNN aviation analyst Richard Quest, CNN aviation analyst and former NTSB managing director Peter Goelz, and Miles OBrien. He's a pilot and CNN aviation analyst.

Welcome to all of you. We all see (INAUDIBLE) that will make me feel a lot more comfortable.

Peter, I want to start with you, because this piece of debris is on its way to Toulouse, France. What will happen once it gets there?

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, they're going to look at it very carefully and then they're going to dismantle it. They'll take it apart, look into the interior of the flaperon and to check registration numbers that will be on in many of the internal pieces. You know, when a plane is manufactured, every piece virtually of that plane has a pedigree that can be checked.

So, we've checked back on pieces at the NTSB that are 30 years old to manufacturing procedures to see whether there was a flaw in that. So, this final identification will take place very quickly once it's in Toulouse.

COSTELLO: And, Richard, as investigators look at this piece of debris, they're going to notice the jagged edges on one side and it's smooth on another. What might that tell them?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It will tell them a considerable amount about how it became disengaged from the aircraft.

[09:20:07] The forward section you see there or the leading edge has virtually no -- nothing on it at all. Whereas the trailing edge is completely jagged, which suggesting that it was yanked off in some way as it went into the water, possibly because it was deflected downward at that moment. And so, they'll learn a lot about the mechanisms of what happened to it. But they won't know why.

Now, that's not to denigrate that information, because it helps build the picture. And at the moment, frankly, Carol, they've got so little information, that any is a really good start.

COSTELLO: Well, that's true. And, Miles, some observers are painting a big picture from a very small piece of evidence, right? Because they say because it's jagged on one side and smooth on the other, that's proof it was attached to the plane in the air and possibly came off while the plane was still flying.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: That is what I'm hearing from people who are trained to look at this kind of damage. Of course, you know, the final word will come from Toulouse. If indeed it was still attached to the wing when it hit the water, you might expect -- you would likely expect to see some damage at the leading edge, at the front of that device as it became disengaged from a water impact.

So, is it possible this was a high speed dive and this is one of the pieces that might have come off as it was over stressed in the airstream? That's one of the things to look at and does say a couple of things, first of all, about what might have been going on in that aircraft. And it also helps refine the search a little bit. COSTELLO: Yes. I want to get into that a little more, Peter. So, if

that flaperon was still attached and came off in the air, what does that tell you about how the plane eventually crashed?

GOELZ: Well, what it would simply confirm is the flaperon would show what they call compression damage if it was still attached to the aircraft. I think both Richard and Miles are correct. I think this piece separated at some point in the final moments of flight and floated down by itself, because it simply doesn't show the kind of damage that it should have had it been still attached to the plane.

COSTELLO: Richard, you want to add to that? Because just remind people what the flaperon does?

QUEST: It's on the back of the plane. As you can see on that, it literally flaps up and flaps down. It has two functions. One is to help the plane in the bankrolling left or rolling right. And the second is to give it extra lift. What -- we know, of course -- well, we don't know. The best thinking is the plane ran out of fuel. And the test, of course, is how did it leave the air at that particular moment?

And so, the numerous studies have been done about what happens when a plane does leave the air with fuel exhaustion? The traditional view is it doesn't go straight nose down. The traditional view is it glides and then goes into a bank and then spirals down. But we just don't know.

COSTELLO: Well, you never know what this little piece of debris can tell us. I don't know. Let's talk about the investigation for just a second, Miles, because -- I mean, you've been hearing what Evan Perez has been reporting that investigators now think this plane was deliberately flown off course. Do you believe that?

O'BRIEN: Yes, I do believe it was deliberate, Carol, you know? And Richard will quibble with me.

But basically up to the point where they said "Good night Malaysia" and all of a sudden everything went silent, all the communication, all the radar tracking capability, instantaneously virtually went silent. So, that supports right there some sort of catastrophic event on the aircraft, something akin to a raging fire or even an explosion.

So, then you see the turn to the left. That still is consistent with a crew that has a really big problem and they want to get back to land as quickly as possible. Where I diverge from those who suggest a mechanical problem only is the right turn at Penang. It's very difficult to come up with a scenario that allows for that right turn to occur if this was some sort of catastrophic event. And then, further, it flies on and there's an additional left turn and about seven hours of flight.

If something catastrophic happened right there at the left turn, how did all the rest of that happen? And that's where people say, there's a human hand involved here. I don't know who did it or why, but I do know a human being was involved in this event. COSTELLO: All right. We'll have to leave it there. Miles O'Brien,

Peter Goelz, Richard Quest, thanks so all of you. I appreciate it.

Still to come in THE NEWSROOM: the world wide protest over the killing of that beloved African lion is taking a new turn. Could that dentist be extradited to Zimbabwe?

[19:25:00] It's looking more likely this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

The American dentist who hunted down Cecil the Lion now has to worry about more than public scorn. Zimbabwe's environment minister said today her country has started extradition proceedings for Walter Palmer. Zimbabwe officials say Palmer is guilty of well orchestrated and well resourced poaching. They're urging the United States to cooperate and it just might.

With worldwide protests growing, the White House will now review a public petition to extradite Palmer. That petition has well over 100,000 signatures.

David McKenzie is live in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more on this.

Tell us more.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. It's pretty extraordinary this global outcry about the killing of this iconic lion, Carol.