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CNN NEWSROOM

Haley Takes on Trump in GOP Response; St. Louis Rams to Move to Los Angeles; New Video Out of Sailors Detained by Iran. Aired 10:30- 11a ET

Aired January 13, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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


[10:29:43] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And Noah, with those words, Nikki Haley inspired sort of a backlash from some conservatives like Ann Coulter who tweeted "Donald Trump should deport Nikki Haley." Of course, as you know, Nikki Haley was born to immigrant parents, but she was actually born in South Carolina.

But that said, you get the drift here. So does this mean anything? Should we take away anything from this, Noah?

NOAH SHACHTMAN, "THE DAILY BEAST": Yes, I mean to me, Haley's address was in some ways more remarkable than Obama's. I mean have you ever had a situation where the President and his, you know, supposed adversary are going after the same person?

I think it's a sort of cry from sort of traditional mainstream politics to try to keep the fringe from taking over. And I thought it was amazing.

COSTELLO: Donald Trump did respond on Fox News this morning, Errol. He said that -- I'm going to pull this up so I can get it exactly right. He said, "Nikki Haley is very weak on illegal immigration and added that she's not off to a good start if she wants to be considered for his running mate." Thoughts?

Go ahead, Errol.

ERROL LOUIS, POLITICAL ANCHOR, NY1 NEWS: I mean, you know, that -- the conventional wisdom is that Nikki Haley's remarkable performance, I mean I agree with Noah -- it was really sort of extraordinary that she was kind of trying to guide her own policy as much as respond to the President.

But the conventional wisdom is that she was auditioning for a spot on somebody's ticket as the vice president. I thought it was an interesting and command performance. And she represents a different form of sort of advancing, frankly, the same policies.

I mean she is not soft on immigration no matter what Donald Trump might say about that. This is not something that she's going to be different on. But she's portraying the policies in a light that is more tolerant, more sort of mainstream. She's talking about a general election stance or at least tone that can win over some voters.

Now, Donald Trump is in primary mode. He has absolutely no interest in that right now. So the clash between them, of course, is natural.

COSTELLO: And less we forget, Noah, Nikki Haley is conservative. She's supported by the Tea Party.

SHACHTMAN: Yes, she's super conservative, but she doesn't want the Republican Party to turn into a white nationalist party, to turn into a kind of fascist party. And you know, there's a lot of concern that that's the drift right now.

And so Nikki Haley and a lot of other principled conservatives are trying to stop that.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there.

Noah Shachtman, Errol Louis -- thanks to both of you.

LOUIS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: As you heard, Republican Governor Nikki Haley took a swipe at the GOP frontrunner, Donald Trump but she did not let any other Republican off the hook either.

This morning on "NEW DAY', Haley doubled down on her message that Republicans share the blame for political divisiveness in this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We need to look in the mirror. We need to look at how we've been spending. We need to look at our debt. We need to look at how we're handling national security and all those things and say, OK, we're going to be a positive role in this. We're going to start to move forward and get out of all the political rhetoric.

There's too much of that. If we're really going to do something, we need to show action, not words.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And you said that your party is responsible for its own share. How so? What do you mean?

HALEY: Well, you know, I think that we've got Republicans who want their pork projects as much as we have Democrats. I think we've got Republicans who have increased our debt just like we've seen Democrats. I think we see Republicans who are not always being responsible with their words in terms of, you know, extending our tent, making sure that people who abide by our laws and abide by our traditions feel accepted in this country.

And so I think it's important for Republicans to really understand we have to really look at the responsibility that we have and what we want to do to keep this country the greatest, freest country in the world. And that just means making sure that everyone feels welcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: While some conservatives derided Haley for her

message, many others offered praise including Republican National Committee chairman, Reince Priebus who tweeted "Great job".

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: L.A. -- ready, set, hike. St. Louis Rams are heading your way. What the move means and who else could be tagging along.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:38:08] COSTELLO: Hey, Los Angeles, are you ready for some football?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: L.A. Rams. L.A. Rams. L.A. Rams.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, from the sound of it, you are. You're more than ready for some football. Forget the extra point, L.A.'s going for two. The NFL, now saying that not one but two pro football teams could be playing in Los Angeles by next season. What's the deal with that?

One team for sure taking the gridiron, and that would be the St. Louis Rams. The team announcing they are officially on their way to California.

But here's where it gets a little complicated. The San Diego Chargers now have a year to decide if they want to go to L.A., too. The kicker, if the Chargers pass it up, the Oakland Raiders could move there instead. Either way you split it, St. Louis fans are devastated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just depressing to see a team that I love and just poured all my Sundays into for years just leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I feel you. With me now to talk about this is Andy Scholes and CNN media reporter Dylan Byers -- welcome to both of you.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Hey -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Hi. You know, I want to start in St. Louis because growing up I was a Cleveland Browns fan, and I know what it's like to get your heart torn out. In fact, I can't root for the Browns to this day. That's why I root for the Detroit Lions.

What did St. Louis do that was so horrible that the Rams had to move to L.A., Andy?

SCHOLES: Well, you know, it was all about the stadium and the dollars, Carol. You know, it was all about who was going to put up the money and who was going to be able to pay for a new fancy stadium for an NFL team. Because when these stadiums get old like the Edward Jones Dome is in St. Louis, NFL stadiums need new fancy ones with big suites for all the people to go and spend lots of money.

And in St. Louis, they had a decent offer on the table. They had a $1.1 billion riverfront stadium that they were willing to put up. The only thing was they were asking for more money than the NFL wanted to put up.

[10:40:01] And when Stan Kroenke's got -- he was willing to put up all of his own money basically to move the team to L.A. that was just too good for the NFL owners to pass up.

COSTELLO: Dylan, I don't know, it just kind of makes me sick in a way.

DYLAN BYERS, CNN MEDIA REPORTER: Sure. Well, you know, I grew up in Seattle, and I remember when we lost the Seattle Supersonics. It's not easy.

One thing that is important to understand, look, there's a lot of money at stake here for a team like the Rams. There's obviously a big financial impact for the city of St. Louis. But we shouldn't overstate it. It's not by any means catastrophic.

There's a great deal of civic pride in having a football team. Obviously, you know, football rules the roost in terms of American sports. But, you know, the actual level, you know, the jobs that the St. Louis Rams brings to a city like St. Louis versus other major employers in the area is not major.

And if you're the owner, you're looking at Los Angeles, second biggest city in the country, biggest county in the country, as this huge untapped market. And if you have the sort of money that Stan Kroenke has, you can do it.

COSTELLO: I know, but Andy, but Los Angeles might get two teams which makes really no sense to me.

SCHOLES: Well, I mean Carol, you know, there's lots of transplants in Los Angeles, right? So if you're a Lions fan and the Lions are playing in L.A., you know, that's actually --

COSTELLO: I have to watch them at 9:00 in the morning.

SCHOLES: It would be a cool experience, right, to go to a $2 billion stadium in Inglewood and watch your team play. And then, of course, you know, there were a lot of Rams fans in Los Angeles to begin with. I mean the team did play there for 48 years so some of the people and fans there did hang on to the Rams.

So there's lots of interest for an NFL team in Los Angeles. That being the Rams or the Chargers or both, you know. San Diego is only --

COSTELLO: But why both? That's what I'm saying. Why both in one city?

SCHOLES: Why the Jets and Giants in New York?

COSTELLO: California is a huge state.

SCHOLES: Well, there's Jets and Giants in New York -- Carol. Here's the thing --

COSTELLO: Well, good point.

SCHOLES: -- there's lots of Los Angeles fans that were Chargers fans. I think a big base of the Chargers fans would drive down every Sunday to go to those games. So I think it's going to be great for the NFL. And I think a lot of fans are happy about it, especially obviously in Los Angeles. Not so much in San Diego and St. Louis, obviously.

COSTELLO: Well, yes, but, you know, Dylan, as much as these things -- because this seems to happen in the NFL a lot, frankly -- people keep watching. The NFL just has us brainwashed.

BYERS: You know, as the folks in the NFL like to say, they own the day of the week. They're the only industry to own the day of the week and the first to do it since the church.

You know, to your point about why does Los Angeles need two teams? The reason that the San Diego Chargers even got involved in this fight to try to come to Los Angeles was because the Rams were threatening that big southern California market. Los Angeles obviously brings in a lot more fans, a lot more television viewers than San Diego does.

As soon as the Rams come to L.A., that's a threat to the Chargers, whether they go to L.A. or whether they stay in San Diego. They are hoping that by going to L.A., they can emerge as sort of the dominant team over the Rams, sort of the Lakers to the Clippers, if you will.

But, you know, they have a year to decide whether or not to do it. And if not, then it becomes Oakland's decision.

COSTELLO: All right. Have to leave it there. Thanks, guys -- Andy Scholes, Dylan Byers.

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Still to come in the NEWSROOM, we're just minutes away from a speech by Secretary of State John Kerry whose swift diplomacy is being credited in this morning's release of ten U.S. Sailors in Iran.

Stay tuned for live coverage next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:48:10] COSTELLO: New video just in to CNN. It's from the Iranian news agency, and it shows our American sailors being turned over to American authorities. These are the ten navy sailors whose boat drifted into Iranian waters -- supposedly illegal waters. The Iranian took them into custody and held them overnight for nearly a day.

You can see the sailors sitting there, and you can see the Iranians, I would suppose, looking at these Americans' passports. Well, there's conflicting information about whether the sailors apologized to the Iranians or some U.S. Official apologized and then the Iranians released the sailors back into American custody. And that, I believe, is what you're seeing right now.

Now, at any moment now, the Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to deliver a speech on foreign policy at the National Defense University in Washington. Kerry's diplomatic efforts now being credited for the release of those sailors and as I said, they were detained after drifting into Iranian waters.

Iran, as I said, said the Americans were freed after an apology. The State Department and the vice president now pushing back saying absolutely no apology was made.

So let's get the scoop from CNN's chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto; I'm also joined by CNN military analyst Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. Welcome to both of you.

So Jim let's start with this apology. Can you parse this out? Who said what? Was there an apology? Why are some people denying it and others not?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you. The State Department is saying in no uncertain terms that there was no apology. Let me quote here if I can from John Kirby, he's the State Department spokesman.

He says in his words, "There is no truth in reporting that Secretary Kerry apologized to the Iranians. As the secretary said in his statement this morning, he expressed gratitude to Iranian authorities for their cooperation in swiftly resolving this matter."

So he says that he thanked the Iranians. He did not apologize to the Iranians. And I'm hearing that from the White House as well.

[10:50:06] One note about the video you're seeing there, and again, as you say, sourced to Iranian TV -- that appears to be the moment of capture when those sailors were there on their knees, as you see in the video, with their hands up or their hands behind their head -- really not a pretty picture to see.

I mean I talked to a lot of guys in the military, and you can see from the expressions on those U.S. sailors' faces, they were not happy with the situation. From the very beginning as you know, Carol, administration officials saying that there was nothing hostile about this act. No hostile intentions here.

They believe that it was merely a mechanical issue. The boat had an issue. The Iranians came and detained them because they were in Iranian waters by accident, it appears, not by intention.

But I'll tell you, when you see sailors or soldiers with their hands behind their heads on their knees, it raises the question, how were they taken? What were the circumstances under which they were taken? We don't know yet. I have asked if they were taken at gunpoint. But those images certainly uncomfortable, I would say, to see.

COSTELLO: Well, Colonel Francona, we saw those weapons being laid out, you know, on the boat -- those I assume were from the American sailors. So how exactly would such a thing go down, generally speaking?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Ok. What happens if you drift into somebody's territorial waters, normally you're looking for assistance. We're not at war with Iran. You normally expect other seamen to come out and render assistance. This is what happens when they come into our waters. This happens more often than it is reported.

You simply greet, see if you can render assistance. Get them back into their own territorial waters. If they need medical assistance, navigational assistance, mechanical assistance, you do what you can on the high seas.

What the Iranians did was a gross overreaction. Of course, this is the IRGC. They're way -- they're very aggressive. And they're at odds with the moderates who are running the country. So this was more of a power play between the Iranians than it had to do with the Americans.

But Jim is absolutely right. There was no reason for the Iranians to put those people on their knees with their hands behind their heads at gunpoint.

COSTELLO: I would suppose Iran wanted to show these images on Iranian TV to show how tough they are against the great United States, right? And that's why Iran is so insistent that America did indeed issue an apology, isn't that right, Jim?

SCIUTTO: Absolutely. I mean there is so much message sending here. And Rick makes a great point. This is the Revolutionary Guards. They are, in effect, the armed wing of the hardliners in the Iranian government. They're very forward leaning -- one might describe them in terms of relations with the U.S., uncomfortable with the nuclear deal with Iran.

And they've had encounters before with foreigners. They took 13 British sailors in 2007 for a number of days. They fired rockets near a U.S. aircraft carrier just a couple of weeks ago not towards the aircraft carrier, but it wasn't an accident that they were close to a U.S. aircraft carrier when they did.

So this is all about messaging. It's all about propaganda at this point. And those images certainly very powerful from their perspective.

COSTELLO: All right. So Jim, stand by. Colonel Francona, stand by. I've got to take a break.

When we come back, perhaps the Secretary of State will begin speaking. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:57:37] COSTELLO: All right. I want to take you back out to the National Defense University. You see it there on the right-hand side of your screen. We're awaiting Secretary of State John Kerry to be introduced to begin speaking.

The press is invited to this event, so we expect John Kerry to talk about what happened in the Persian Gulf yesterday.

On the left side of your screen, you're seeing pictures from the Iranian news agency. And these pictures are of those ten U.S. Navy sailors that were detained by Iranian authorities after their boat drifted into international waters -- some place they were not supposed to be.

And these sailors were detained for hours. In fact, they were held overnight. They were just freed very early this morning.

I want to bring back in Jim Sciutto and Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. So Jim, what can we expect John Kerry to say this morning?

SCIUTTO: On this issue, the message from John Kerry, the message from the White House is the same. They're saying gratitude that this was resolved quickly, and it could not have been resolved quickly without the new diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran. That this channel between John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, the Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif -- they spoke very soon after the sailors were taken. Without that channel, this would not have been resolved so quickly.

So they're spinning what is, and as you're watching those pictures, Carol, something you can't but call extremely uncomfortable. U.S. sailors on their knees, hands behind their back, held overnight. They're spinning that as a victory of diplomacy, in effect. And I think you can expect to hear John Kerry say more on that.

COSTELLO: All right. I'm going to let you go, Jim, because I know you're gathering new information for our viewers. And I want to continue our conversation with Colonel Francona. So what happens to these sailors now?

FRANCONA: Well, they're going to be -- they're back in U.S. custody. They're going to be debriefed thoroughly. What we need to find out, what were the exact circumstances of that seizure? And they were in Iranian waters. But how did they get there? And why were they not covered by other navy assets?

There's a whole series of things that we need to look at to find out how this happened and make sure it doesn't happen again. Somebody did something wrong out there. They said there was some indication maybe they're out of fuel. How could they be out of fuel?

So there's a whole lot of questions that need to be answered.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: And I'm John Berman. Our breaking news -- this new video just in to CNN that shows --