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Marine Turns Himself In; USA Faces Belgium; Professor Slammed to Ground by Police

Aired June 30, 2014 - 08:30   ET

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


MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Faces a federal investigation into just how it handled the problem.

The Supreme Court expected to rule today on the so-called Obamacare contraception mandate. Critics say it shouldn't be a requirement for companies who say it violates religious freedoms.

Oscar Pistorius was not mentally incapacitated when he killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, this according to a psychiatric exam. Those results were revealed as Oscar Pistorius' murder trial resumes today in South Africa.

And at number five, Team USA gearing up for critical, critical match against Belgium tomorrow. Later today, though, France takes on Nigeria, Germany faces Algeria for a spot in the final eight. Exciting soccer action.

We're always updating those five things to know. So be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Michaela.

After more than nine years, a missing Marine corporal has turned himself in to face desertion charges for the second time. Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun is expected to arrive at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina today. Officials there will decide if he will face a court- martial and obviously what happens next. Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon for us once again this morning.

Barbara, I mean, it's amazing to hear it once, but twice?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate.

This is one of the most notorious desertion cases in the U.S. military dating from the height of the Iraq War back in 2004, now perhaps coming to a close. Corporal Hassoun was assigned to Fallujah in western Iraq at the height of the war. He disappeared from his base in Fallujah and turned up next in a very questionable video, showing him blindfolded, with a sword over his head, the clear implication had been he'd been captured by insurgents. But that did not appear to be the case because a short time later he basically turned up in Lebanon, apparently going to be with his family in that country. That's 2004. In 2005, after he turns himself in, comes back to the United States,

once again he leaves and disappears from his post with the Marine Corps. Now, apparently, once again, turning himself in. He potentially does face charges of desertion.

Michaela.

PEREIRA: A lot of questions for that young man. All right, Barbara, we'll be watching this with you. Thanks so much for that.

Next up on NEW DAY, caught on tape. A college professor in an altercation with a police officer, and then carted off in cuffs. Find out what she's accused of and why she maintains she's innocent. We'll speak with her live.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. And as we all know down here in Rio, the big deal is the American game against Belgium. Can they win? What are the odds? What else is happening in World Cup land? We have it all for you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: No, we want no compromise, no compromise when it comes to U.S. soccer. Welcome back to NEW DAY from Rio de Janeiro. This morning, Team USA is training in Salvador, just a few hours north of where we are, preparing for what's going to be a tough match against Belgium any way you look at it.

But here's what we know. Over the weekend you had eight teams battle it out to see who would get one step closer to the World Cup. Almost every match, three out of four, went into extra time. Anything can happen. How do I know? David Luhnow told me. He's the Latin American editor of "The Wall Street Journal." He's joining us.

David, thank you for joining us.

DAVID LUHNOW, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": A pleasure to be here.

CUOMO: Great to be here with you, especially in Rio.

LUHNOW: Yes, it's a nice day.

CUOMO: So, it is the American way to shoot for the top, OK? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This match, we have to be the underdog.

LUHNOW: We are. Belgium -- well, Belgium's ranked 11th in the world by FIFA. We're ranked 13th. So we're - we're - we're pretty close.

CUOMO: Golden (ph) generation, having given up a goal. They're 3-0.

LUHNOW: They were undefeated in qualifying in the European qualifying. They had a great group. They gave up four goals in 10 games. This time around, they're 3-0 in this tournament. They've given up one goal in three games.

CUOMO: One goal. All right, so I'm making them a little better than they are.

LUHNOW: Their starting -- their starting 11 are a who's who list of European top play (ph) teams.

CUOMO: It's tough.

LUHNOW: Chelsea to Man U.

CUOMO: Call them the golden generation or something like that?

LUHNOW: Absolutely. This is the best team we've seen out of Belgium since the 1980s when they were semifinalists in Mexico in 1986. So this is going to be a tough game for us. We're going to have to bring our A plus game.

CUOMO: But they are the ones with all the expectations. They're the golden generation. We're just hungry. We're already over our heads. You know, we weren't supposed to get out of, what did they call it, the grupo da morte, you know, which sounds scarier in Portuguese I think.

LUHNOW: Right.

CUOMO: So the group of death, we made it through. So how will that play into the situation? You're Belgium on the U.S., you have to win.

LUHNOW: Yes.

CUOMO: This is all gravy for me.

LUHNOW: Yes. Yes. And hopefully they come out and play tight and play like they have the nerves and not us. I agree with you, we're the underdogs. That's a nice position to be in. In Belgium, they say that the -- for some teams in this tournament, the shirt, the jersey begins to weigh on you the further you get. I think we saw that with Brazil against Chile this past weekend. Brazilians were nervous.

CUOMO: (INAUDIBLE).

LUHNOW: That penalty shoot-out was probably the most nervous affair I've ever seen in soccer.

CUOMO: Cross bar won the game.

LUHNOW: Cross bar won the game. So Brazil could have - you know, it was the great escape. But, for Belgium, they know their country is hanging on every move and hopefully they tighten up and we can take advantage of that.

CUOMO: And somewhat of the romance of the narrative we saw this weekend also here, you know, Brazil, obviously, they called this (INAUDIBLE), you know, it is the country of futbol. But if they don't win, people here, like that's all they accept. Either you win the cup or they hate you. And the goalie this weekend wound up stopping two penalty kicks. That's very rare. The goalie is usually a huge disadvantage. LUHNOW: Toronto FC (ph). MLS.

CUOMO: Right. So he's playing in Canada now. They say that's why he got better. Because he was somewhat of the goat (ph) the last time around, right? They blamed him. And now he's a hero.

LUHNOW: Yes. Brazil is not known for producing the world's best goalkeeper. They try to avoid the ball even going to the goalkeeper. Their style of play. But certainly this weekend there were large stretches of the game that Chile just looked like the better side. They controlled the mid-field in the second half. They were, as you say, two inches of the cross bar away from going through.

And Brazil, at this point, has to be nervous. I think if you talk to all the locals, they're worried about this team. They know that next up is a Colombian side that on Saturday looked very, very good. James Rodriguez is Uruguay's (INAUDIBLE). The coach said he's the best player at this World Cup and that's saying something -

CUOMO: James.

LUHNOW: James, yes, not James. But that's saying something when you compare him to Lionel Messi, when you compare him to Neymar and some of the other great --

CUOMO: That goal was sick. Only 22 years old.

LUHNOW: (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: The ball comes in the air, he bounces it off his chest and then kicks it in free flight. I mean, come on, that's pretty impressive.

LUHNOW: Yes.

CUOMO: How about conditions, may help the U.S., the heat, the humidity of Salvador. The Belgians have that bad-ass (ph) black jersey, but they might not want to wear it in those conditions, right?

LUHNOW: Yes. Yes. I agree. I mean we've got a brutal travel schedule. We have guys with broken noses.

CUOMO: Two guys now. Two - we have our captain, Clint -

LUHNOW: Yes.

CUOMO: Dempsey and Jermaine Jones broke his nose banging into his own guy, right?

LUHNOW: I mean those guys have been warriors this cup. They really have. Jermaine out there, he's just - he's been - he's been battling it out and it's really impressive how they're - how they're - how they're marching through. You know, I think the U.S. has had the worst travel schedule up till now. We've had horrible conditions in our games.

CUOMO: Are they rested? LUHNOW: The guys are drained but hopefully they're rested and we can outrun the Belgians.

CUOMO: Because they've getting some - they've gotten sympathy day now.

LUHNOW: They've gotten some days now. Let's hope Jozy Altidore's hamstring is even better and he can maybe come in as a substitute. The Belgians are -

CUOMO: Probably not, though, right?

LUHNOW: Probably not. I mean it's - these days -- these things take time, as you know. And it's still early. So --

CUOMO: The Belgians haven't been tested yet here.

LUHNOW: They haven't. They've had three relatively easy games, although, you know, as somebody in the U.S. locker room pointed out, I think it was Howard, there are no easy games in the World Cup. If you win three games, you're doing something right.

CUOMO: Have they faced anybody like Howard yet, the Belgians, in the goal?

LUHNOW: No.

CUOMO: Big, intimidating?

LUHNOW: No. He's our big hope. And I think, you know, we've got to try to control the tempo. Our mid-field needs to play better than it's been playing. No defensive lapses. The Belgians are obviously technically very good on the ball, so we want to create space. I think what the Germans did was very smart. They pressed us way up high the entire game and we had - sometimes had trouble getting the ball out of our half of the -

CUOMO: Right, so much for collusion.

LUHNOW: Yes.

CUOMO: Because Germany was trying to kill us.

LUHNOW: Exactly.

CUOMO: So, I may not see you tomorrow. What's your prediction?

LUHNOW: One to one going to extra time.

CUOMO: Then what?

LUHNOW: And at that point it's up in the air.

CUOMO: Oh, --

LUHNOW: You're not drawing me out of this one.

CUOMO: That's "The Wall Street Journal" for you, boy, I'll tell you, nice and safe. No, thank you very much, Mr. Luhnow. Appreciate it.

LUHNOW: It was a pleasure.

CUOMO: Oh, it's great. And enjoy it down here.

LUHNOW: I will. I'm enjoying it.

CUOMO: Right.

LUHNOW: It's great soccer.

CUOMO: This is a tough job, but, you know, somebody -

LUHNOW: Yes, somebody's got to do it.

CUOMO: Somebody had to do it and it was me, not you, Mich, even though you speak the language and understand the culture.

PEREIRA: Look -

CUOMO: How do you figure?

PEREIRA: Fair is not always fair.

Hey, what is that saying, that we can -- we believe that what?

CUOMO: We believe that we will win!

PEREIRA: I just like hearing you say it.

CUOMO: Putting it without any real subjectivity.

PEREIRA: No, that's all right. That's all right. All right, Chris, thanks so much. We'll be back with you in a little bit.

Next up right here on NEW DAY, though, a college professor on her way home from work suddenly forced to the ground by a police officer. Was this excessive force or was there something else going on? We'll speak with the professor live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: An Arizona professor is pleading her case after a heated altercation with a police officer. The officer was caught on camera throwing the professor to the ground. She kicks back and if you can believe it, it gets uglier from there. The professor is now facing charges.

What really went down here? Let's take a look. We'll talk with a professor in a moment. But first, here is a look at her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop fighting me and put your hands --

ERSULA ORE, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: I give up. Stop touching me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands up.

ORE: Stop. Stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands behind your back.

PEREIRA (voice-over): A dramatic arrest captured on dash cam as an officer slams Arizona State University professor, Ersula Ore, to the ground after confronting her for walking in the middle of the street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care what you're wearing. Put your hands behind your back right now.

ORE: Don't talk to me like this. This entire thing has been about your lack of respect for me.

PEREIRA: Ore was on her way home from teaching when a police car pull up next to her. This exchange caught on camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see your I.D. or you will be arrested for failing to provide I.D.

ORE: Are you serious?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm serious. That is the law. If you don't understand the law, I'm explaining the law to you right now. You're walking down the middle of a road, which is a public thoroughfare. OK?

ORE: Which I have no problem with abiding by the law, but all I simply ask you was --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see your ID.

ORE: Do you have to speak to me in such a disrespectful manner?

PEREIRA: A passerby called 911 to voice concern with the arrest at play.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911. What is your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, I'm on College and 5th Street and there is a police officer getting way too aggressive with a young lady who is on the street.

PEREIRA: Finally restrained, Ore kicked the officer in the leg after being lifted from the ground. She claims it was self-defense and now faces criminal charges including assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your hands behind your back.

ORE: Stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands behind your back. ORE: Stop.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: ASU gave this statement to CNN. Quote, "ASU authorities have reviewed the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the arrest of Assistant Professor Ersula Ore and found that the officer involved did not violate protocol, no evidence was found of racial motivation by ASU Police Department officers involved."

They did say they would conduct an independent review on whether excessive force was used or if there was racial motivation by any of the officers involved.

Joining us right now with her lawyers, Arizona State University Professor Dr. Ersula Ore.

Dr. Ore, I know that this is a hard thing for you to have to talk about. I can tell, I've been watching you on camera. And I can tell that you're still upset about this. But I want to thank you for joining us today. And telling --

ORE: Thank you for having me.

PEREIRA: Telling us your side of the story about this event on May 20th. You're an English professor, you had a day at work, you're heading home, something you've routinely done for many years, you've been there at the university since 2011. Typical day for you, right, on this route?

ORE: It was a good day.

PEREIRA: But it didn't end up being a good day. Give us an idea of what happened that was out of the ordinary. You're walking down the street. Are you in the middle of the street? Many of us jaywalk. Give us an idea of what was happening here.

ORE: I was simply crossing the street and as I was crossing the street, a car came billowing down the corridor. And, you know, all I saw were lights. And this happens periodically because the corridor is blocked off, it is cars -- it is a pedestrian only thoroughfare. And you know, when cars come down, you stop, you pause, you wait, sometimes they U-turn, sometimes they don't.

But it is an understanding. And when I -- but I was -- when the person came down the street, all I saw were the headlights. So I stopped. Because if I didn't stop, I might have gotten hit.

PEREIRA: Right.

ORE: So I stopped.

PEREIRA: You didn't realize at this point that it was a police officer because it was -- it was dark as we saw in the video.

ORE: Yes. I just got finished teaching in classes, class is from about 6:15 -- sorry, 6:00 to 8:15 or so. So this is approximately maybe 8:20. I had just got finished teaching, I had just crossed the street, I was on my way home from work.

PEREIRA: Nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact you weren't in a cross walk. But as you said this wasn't an area that there were a lot of cars that were going down. This was not an area frequented by vehicles. So the car --

ORE: The cars aren't supposed to be in the corridor.

PEREIRA: They're not supposed to be in the corridor.

ORE: That's right.

PEREIRA: So this officer, they maintained that they almost hit you with their car, that you were in the middle of the road.

ORE: No, that didn't occur until after he didn't indicate whether or not he wanted to continue moving forward or he wanted to make a U- turn. At which moment in time I proceeded to continue crossing the street. Because I had asked, you know, given the right of way, do you want to go, can I go? Is it OK? No response, so I just continued to do what I was doing, which was crossing the street. And at that moment is when he threw on the lights and that's when I knew it was a cop car.

And then he just accosted me and he blocked my passageway to continue crossing the street so I ended up in the middle of the street because I was stopped in the middle of the street, not because I was just by happenstance in the middle of the street.

PEREIRA: And then by this point, the officer gets out of the vehicle and that's when there were words. Give us an understanding of what the words were. What did he say to you?

ORE: He didn't get out of the vehicle immediately. When he pulled up in front of me, he asked me -- he asked me if I knew the difference between a street and a sidewalk.

PEREIRA: How did you respond?

ORE: I said, I said what? And he repeated himself. And then at that moment in time I asked him, do you always accost women in the middle of the road and speak to them with such disrespect and so rudely as you just did me? And it was -- it was before -- it was after I used the word accost that he said what. He didn't say what at the end of my sentence or further towards the end of the sentence. He said what when I said accost and I realized he didn't hear anything I said because I probably used the word that he didn't -- maybe he was unfamiliar with.

But his aggression towards me after that moment made me feel a little, OK, I don't really know what I've done wrong, I was crossing the street, I was asked if I knew the difference between a street and a sidewalk.

PEREIRA: Right.

ORE: I know the difference.

PEREIRA: Right. So then --

ORE: I think anybody --

PEREIRA: It quickly escalated from there from. I understand that he asked you for I.D., you denied him your I.D., you were refused that request. Why did you --

ORE: No, I didn't refuse the request.

PEREIRA: You didn't? Did you give him your I.D.?

ORE: I didn't give -- I wasn't given an opportunity to actually really give I.D. I mean, I was never -- I was never asked about my name was, I was never told what I was in violation of, it was just immediately, do you know the difference between a street and a sidewalk, and then he gets out of the car. He throws the car door open actually is what happens, and he's just towering over me. He's intimidating, he is -- I don't know why he's so aggressive. I don't know why he's --

PEREIRA: We watched this video.

ORE: I don't know.

PEREIRA: It is hard for us to watch this video. You're not a tall woman. You're about 5'2", 5'4", right? And we see that he's being aggressive, were you doing anything or saying anything -- just allow me to play devil's advocate, Dr. Ore. Because people will see this and wonder what you were doing to instigate such behavior.

ORE: I asked him to speak to me with respect.

PEREIRA: But then you kick him, didn't you? Do you regret that?

ORE: I'm not at liberty to discuss that. I've been advised by my lawyer not to discuss that.

PEREIRA: OK. Fair enough. We understand you've got a court base on Thursday, correct?

ORE: Yes.

PEREIRA: How do you feel about that?

ORE: At this point, I can't -- I don't really have language for that.

PEREIRA: Yes. I can imagine.

ORE: I'm just trying to take one day at a time.

PEREIRA: Do you regret anything? Do you wish that you had handled things differently or do you feel that this was not a case of that? ORE: I don't know what you mean by a case of that, a case of what?

PEREIRA: Do you wish you -- on your part, because we can only control our behavior, correct? Do you wish that you had done anything differently that night or no?

ORE: No. I think I did what I was supposed to do. I mean, I was respectful, I simply asked for clarification.

PEREIRA: Right.

ORE: I asked to be treated with respect and that was it. I mean, if you look at the video, I'm saying the same thing --

PEREIRA: Right.

ORE: Over and over again. And then it becomes a situation of I'm no longer just confused, like, I am nervous, I'm fearful, he grabbed me. It was at that point when he grabbed me that the confusion just morphed into I don't know what is going on, I don't know what I did, I don't know why you're touching me, you're not supposed to touch me. You never asked me what my name was, you never tell me what I'm in violation of. I'm trying to cross the street to go home because I had a great day. The day was over.

PEREIRA: You had a good day. And, look, we understand that. And I'm thanking you for allowing me to play devil's advocate because it's hard to make sense of these pictures. And I didn't mean to upset you. I can tell you're still shaken from this situation. We wish you well on Thursday. We know you have a court date and hopefully we can get an update on how this turns out for you, Dr. Ore. This is not a situation that any of us relish seeing you in, OK?

ORE: Thank you.

PEREIRA: OK. You stay well.

ORE: Thank you.

PEREIRA: All right. We're going to take a short break. After this, we'll have the good stuff for you, I think we need it today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: It is time for the "Good Stuff," my friend, this time from Rio. It is today's edition, a very special World Cup ticket and a very special man who holds it. Brazilian grandfather Joedir Belmont had a ticket to attend the final game in the 1950 World Cup. It was between Brazil and Uruguay. But his mother was sick. So he had to miss it. Believe me, in this country, it is about the only reason you wouldn't go. So he kept the ticket and when he tried to donate it to FIFA for their new museum, oh, what a surprise he got.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME VALCKE, FIFA SECRETARY GENERAL: We said, we would love to get your tickets, but then you are August for the final in 2014. That's the minimum. So he's here. He's sitting here with his grandson. I have his ticket for the final, I mean, with his name. His name is Joedir Sancho Belmonte.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: So the 85-year-old meets up with the FIFA secretary to exchange his ticket for a new ticket to this year's final. And get this, as a special treat, his two sons get to go as well. Isn't that nice? Good stuff, World Cup style.

BOLDUAN: That's right. It about as good as he can get when it comes to the World Cup, Chris. Thank you so much. That was really, really cool.

PETERSONS: Sixty-five.

PEREIRA: Better late than never come.

BOLDUAN: Thanks Chris. We're getting back to Chris, throughout, of course, because the big game is tomorrow. We'll be there.