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CNN NEWSROOM

NTSB Mission Searching for Answers; Biden Super Pac Releases First TV Ad; Foiled Nuclear Smuggling Plot; MSF President Calls Hospital Bombing a War Crime; South Carolina Dam Secured; Airbus Proposes Split-Level Seating on Planes. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 7, 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] ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The picture here in terms of finding some of the answers that the NTSB is looking for. We do know that the voice data recorder does have a 30 day battery life. That's why, of course, the focus is able to remain on finding any survivors that could be out there. There is some time to try and retrieve that voice data recorder.

It should be pinging by now, though. Once it hits the water, it should start pinging. And we understand that it records the events that happened 12 hours prior to the time that it hits the water. So it should have a very clear snapshot of what was going on, on board.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, those poor families.

Alexandra Field, thank you very much.

Hello, again. Thanks for staying with me. I'm Ana Cabrera, in for Carol Costello. Glad to have you with us.

Joe Biden's decision about whether to jump into the 2016 presidential race could -- and we stress that world "could," be made this weekend. A source close to the vice president tells CNN that's when a, quote, "family conversation" will be held to discuss his potential candidacy. This news comes as Draft Biden, the super PAC urging him to run, releases its first national cable ad. This features the vice president in his own words. The title is "My Redemption."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Things can change in a heartbeat. I know. Six weeks after my election, my whole world was altered forever. I got a phone call. My wife and three children were Christmas shopping. A tractor-trailer broadsided them and killed my wife and killed my daughter. And they weren't sure that my sons would live.

The incredible bond I have with my children is a gift I'm not sure I would have had, had I not been through what I went through. But by focusing on my sons, I found my redemption.

Many people have gone through things like that. My dad's definition of success is when you look at your son and daughter and realize they turned out better than you. And they did. You're on the cusp of some of the most astonishing breakthroughs in

the history of mankind. Scientific, technological, socially. But it will be up to you in this changing world to translate those unprecedented capabilities into a greater measure of happiness and meaning, not just for yourself, for the world around you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I want to bring in Jeff Zeleny, CNN's senior Washington correspondent, and Steve Schale, the senior adviser to Draft Biden and a former Obama 2008 campaign strategist.

Jeff, to you first. Tell us more about this ad.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, this ad is going to start airing next week, on Tuesday, in fact, in the run-up to the first Democratic presidential debate. Now, Joe Biden is not going to be on stage in Las Vegas. We're told he's not taking steps to prepare. We don't even know if he'll be a candidate at that point. But what this ad is designed to do, it's by the Draft Biden movement, which is a group of supportive Democrats who want him to run and believe that he is on the cusp of running. They want to tell his life story and get his sort of word out there about what makes Joe Biden Joe Biden. And by doing this ad, a very interesting 90 second ad, very different interesting 90 second ad, very different than most political ads we see on television. This will certainly inject a lot of Joe Biden into the conversation next week.

The question is, will we have an answer to if he's not running by then or not. He is having a family conversation this weekend. It's not the first conversation. It's, in fact, one of the last conversations before he actually makes up his mind. So we'll have to wait just a couple more days to at least to know what he's doing. But this ad really interesting and gives the sense of the type of Joe Biden who would be out there presenting himself to the American people if he decides to run.

CABRERA: And, Jeff, stay with me. I want to bring Steve into the conversation and ask him more about the intentions behind running this ad now.

I understand one your fellow advisors tells us that it wasn't meant to lure the vice president into the race but why now? Why put it out there before he's even officially declared?

STEVE SCHALE, SENIOR ADVISER, DRAFT BIDEN 2016 SUPER PAC: Well, I mean, obviously, the attention is being turned to the Democrats with the debate on Tuesday and we wanted to be part of the conversation. And, frankly, Joe Biden's story of being knocked down and getting back up is this constant sort of struggle between grief and redemption and the fact that he's never sort of lost hope in the greatness of America despite all he's gone through. We think it's an important part of his story and nobody better to tell it than himself.

CABRERA: Let us into your circle and behind the scenes. Any feedback from the Biden camp on what they're planning? SCHALE: You know, I think Jeff probably knows more than I do at this

point. You know, we're in the window that they pretty much have been indicating for the last few months will be when the vice president will make up his decision. I mean they -- they were very honest that he was going to get through September, get through the governing side of the vice presidential -- his job with the pope coming to town and with the Chinese premier. So I think we'll know something in the next few weeks.

[09:35:16] CABRERA: And, Jeff, the Biden family conversation we mentioned scheduled for this weekend. Even if the family is on board here, does Biden have the support among the Democratic leaders and the donors that you've been hearing from?

ZELENY: Well, that is a key question. I mean there are many Democrats who would like to see more competition on the Democratic side. I am here in Iowa where Hillary Clinton is going to be speaking behind me at a rally in an hour or more. So we talked with several Democrats yesterday. Some, in fact, want him to run. They want to see more competition. Of course, Democrats have been watching the Republican side of this race with great interest. So many options. So some Democrats would like to see a few more options on their side.

But others, I have to say, wonder if Joe Biden is going to complicate things for Hillary Clinton. Is he going take voters away from her? They do occupy basically the same sort of lane of establishment Democrats here. So the question is, is Bernie Sanders going to be sort of the winner in all this? He is the insurgent, the outside -- the outside Democrat candidate here who's really inspiring these liberals and these progressive Democrats. So it's a mixed bag among the voters we talked to.

But the money will be there. I have -- I have no doubt that a sitting vice president, someone who's been in public life as long as Joe Biden, will be able to raise the money to be competitive in this presidential race if he decides to get in.

CABRERA: Well, him waiting is sure creating a lot of talk about him nonetheless. Steve Schale, Jeff Zeleny, our thanks to both of you.

And don't forget the first Democratic debate is now less than a week away. The CNN/FaceBook Democratic debate is next Tuesday, six days, at 8:30 p.m. eastern.

We've got some breaking news just into CNN. A U.S. law enforcement official now confirming that the FBI helped stop a plot to smuggle radioactive and even nuclear materials. Now this is a concern that is going to get into the hands of terrorists, possibly even ISIS and other groups. And Moldova is where it's all taking place. And justice reporter Evan Perez joining me now on the phone.

What have you learned, Evan?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Ana, this was a law enforcement operation done by the Moldovan authorities and the FBI's role was to help them carry out -- there was essentially a sting operation. The concern, as you mentioned, is that smugglers in that region, this region where you can pretty much buy anything, anything you want to buy is available in that area, and the concern was that there would be smugglers believed to be tied to a Russian region (ph), which is right next door, and who were trying to target their sales of uranium, radioactive material, stuff that could be used to make a dirty bomb, and try to sell it to extremist groups, perhaps even ISIS. Again, there was no actual jihadi groups involved in any of this but -- but the concern by the Moldovan authorities was that this is where -- this is where this market was going to head to and so they brought in the FBI and with that assistance they were able to arrest a number of people who they believe were responsible for the smuggling.

CABRERA: Are the investigators pretty confident that they have this all under the wraps, or are they concerned there are others out there still trying to infiltrate these organizations with this dangerous material?

PEREZ: Well, you know, they don't have a high degree of confidence that there aren't other smugglers out there that they are not keeping tabs on who may be trying to do some of this same stuff. Again, this is a region, it's a very lawless region on the Russian border there, and it is -- it's very easy to buy pretty much anything. You can get smugglers to sell, you know, any type of raw materials to make dirty bombs. And so the concern that the FBI has had and U.S. intelligence has had is that, you know, these things could end up in the hands of some very bad people and could end up being used either in an attack in Europe or the United States or somewhere else. And so that's -- that's why they're keeping tabs on it and that's why the FBI got involved.

CABRERA: All right, Evan Perez, thank you very much.

Still to come, the president of Doctors Without Borders condemning the air strike on a hospital in Afghanistan and using some very strong language. That plus new reaction from the secretary of defense, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:44:05] CABRERA: Just in to CNN, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter reacting to that deadly U.S. air strike in Afghanistan which officials say mistakenly struck a hospital during fierce fighting in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASH CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: For the United States to take responsibility for any mistakes that resulted in the loss of innocent life in Kunduz in recent days. We're conducting a full and transparent investigation and we'll make the findings of that investigation known as they are found. And we'll hold accountable any responsible for conduct that was improper in this connection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Meanwhile, these are some new images of that hospital before the air strike. The attack killing 12 medical staff and at least 10 patients.

[09:45:03] The president of Doctors Without borders is now calling the bombing a war crime and has requested an independent investigation. All of this as a top U.S. commander recommends the president revise his plan for withdrawing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson in Kabul. Nic, fill us in.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well the assessment is by General Campbell, who is making the recommendations to President Obama about drawdowns and what those drawdowns should look like, is that not only are you now facing an Afghanistan, a stronger Taliban, tens of thousands; you have al Qaeda coming into that mix. You have ISIS coming into that mix as well. You have more -- more militants coming across the border from Pakistan.

So the picture has changed. The Taliban has gotten stronger. So have some other groups. The Afghan army not really measuring up to the task at the moment. The U.S. invested so much in training and helping the Afghan National Army, and the thinking now is that process may need to go on longer.

To the point about the air strike that hit the hospital in Kunduz, the Doctors Without Borders hospital. We've heard now from the president of that organization say not just a war crime but the strike on this hospital is a strike against the Geneva Conventions as a whole. And what they want is an international independent investigation. They say that it should be done by the International Humanitarian Fact- Finding Commission. Not just any organization they plucked out of the air, but this is an organization set up under the Geneva Conventions to investigate such situations. They are saying, the president of Doctors Without Borders is saying what happened there cannot be written off as a mistake. This is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JOANNE LIU, PRESIDENT, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: It is unacceptable that the bombing of a hospital and the killing of staff and patients can be dismissed as collateral damage or brushed aside as the mistake. Today, we are fighting back for the respect of Geneva Convention. As doctors, we are fighting back for the sake of patients. We need you as members of the public to stand with us to insist that even wars have rules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: What they are saying is not that they want people necessarily to be held to account in a legal way, a long process of ten years or something, they said. What they want quite simply is to know if the rules of engagement have changed. They understand them. They adhere to them from their side. If they have changed from the U.S. side or anyone else's side, they say they need to understand so they can make a decision whether or not they go into these conflict zones, which they do with their eyes open, very carefully, knowing the environment and situation. Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Nic Robertson reporting in Afghanistan. Thank you.

Still to come, we have breaking news out of the flood weary South Carolina. One dam now stabilized. But officials are dealing with another very serious situation this morning. We'll have details when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09;52:31] CABREARA: Let's take you to South Carolina where officials say they have secured this dam, fearing it was going to fail at any moment. That's the good news. But now officials say they're facing another very big challenge.

We have our Nick Valencia there in South Carolina with some breaking news for us. Nick, what's going on?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDNET: Sad news to report right now. We just got confirmation from the Richland County Sheriff's Office that an active search is under way for two missing people. Divers are searching the waters right now. They believe these individuals went around a barricade and were swept away by still-active floodwaters. Three people were able to get out of that truck, but two people did not and they are currently missing.

This just speaks to the situation. Yes, it's not raining. The weather has gotten better, the sun is out and some of those floodwaters have started to recede, but it is still a very dangerous situation for many of the residents here.

We're staring now at the Beaver Dam, the stabilization of that dam. The sheriff's office telling me that more than two tons of rock have been used since Sunday to put this dam back into a good situation. That situation, though, is still volatile, Ana. The sheriff's office tells me that they're taking abundance of caution. Still only voluntary evacuations.

I was speaking to some of the residents in this neighborhood. They said they feel safe for now. They don't feel that they need to evacuate. The sheriff's office saying that it's their choice to say. However, the situation still volatile and fluctuating by the hour. Ana?

CABRERA: Right, we heard there were 12 or so dams that had breached or were failing. There were 35 dams that they were concerned about. So Nick Valencia, we appreciate you keeping us honest on what's happening.

If you want to find out how you can help in the South Carolina flood relief, head to CNN.com/impact.

Still to come here on NEWSROOM, forget fighting for the armrest on your next flight. But it's not going to get any better. A new Airbus design, have you heard about fighting for headspace now?

[09:54:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: All right. You're going to love this next one. Of course, planes are already a bit of a tight squeeze, especially if you're a frequent flyer, you know what I'm talking about. But listen to this -- Airbus now has a new plan to maximize seating capacity.

Here's their idea. They're filing a patent this month for split-level seating for use on wide-body planes. Sort of a double-decker approach. Ultimately, passengers would be stacked, as you can see, above other travelers' heads.

Let's bring in CNN's Cristina Alesci, joining us with more on this. This just seems like a crazy idea.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: It's nuts. It's nuts, because it's kind of like a double-decker but without the floor in the middle separating the seats, right? These passengers would literally have to climb into their seat. And there's no separation between the people underneath you, right?

This is all in an attempt to get another two seats and make the row go -- the row goes from six to eight seats, so you maximize seating, right? But let's put this into perspective. Companies file patents all the time for all sorts of crazy things that never make it to the market. And if this isn't offensive enough, there's another company out there that wants to turn the middle seat of the airplane in a 180 direction so you're literally staring at the two people next to you for an entire flight. I mean, that is horrendous!

[10:00:04] CABRERA: That's a little awkward.

ALESCI: Right? But listen, I called Airbus, and they said we file all sorts of things. Doesn't mean they're going to make it to market.