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Father Of One Of The Bangladesh Terror Suspects Speaking Out After The Attack That Killed 22 People In That Cafe Apologize People Who Have Been Killed; The Islamic State Ramping Up Its Attacks In Competition With The Terror Group, Al-Qaeda; Juno Space Probe Approaches Jupiter After A 1.8 Billion Mile Journey; Major League Baseball Pitched A Perfect Gesture To Honor Active American Service Men And Women; 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 4, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:30:00] MAYOR EDUARDO PAES, RIO DE JANERIO: These are the kind of problems you face in the U.S. it was a kid in the lake in Disneyland and Disneyworld, and then (INAUDIBLE) eats the kid, you know. I mean, there is a crazy American guy that goes into a gay disco and shoot, I don't know, 40 people. I mean, problems happen everywhere. Obviously when you become an Olympic city, these problems, you know, they rise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: All right. So Shasta, let's take Zika out of this for a second. You know, you pointed out to him crime is on the rise for all the tourists and the athletes who will be descending upon your beautiful city. Will it be safe?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is the main question right now, Brooke. And partly because it's not safe right now. You know, you mentioned we have talked to Olympic athletes who are held up at gunpoint at 10:00 a.m. on their way to a training. There was a truck full of TV equipment setting up their Olympic studio coverage. It was hijacked. Then there was an armed gang that actually stormed into a hospital to free a drug kingpin.

Right now there is a real sense of insecurity in this city. The hope is that, again, once we get closer to these games all of the soldiers and all of the Navy will begin setting up post along the beaches, along the routes. But at this point that's all we have to hope for, Brooke. So it really does have people unsettled right now.

BALDWIN: And then just quickly fact checking what he said about Zika. I mean, I realize July, it's wintertime. I mean, would the threat of the virus be significantly less?

DARLINGTON: It really is, Brooke. He is right on that point. There was a huge surge in the Zika virus right here in Rio around January, February. That was the summer. It was carnival. There have been over 20,000 cases. But in the last few weeks it's really fallen off a cliff. It's been cold. People have had their jackets out and not a whole lot of mosquitoes. So the chances of getting the Zika virus or even getting bitten by a mosquito are pretty slim right now, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. In Rio, Shasta Darlington, thank you so much. A month away from the Olympic Games.

Coming up next, a five-year mission to Jupiter could finally pay off. Space geeks stand by. We are hours away from a space probe reaching our solar system's largest planet. We will take you live to NASA's jet propulsion lab to see what the (INAUDIBLE).

And a CNN exclusive, the father of one of the Bangladesh terror suspects speaking out after the attack that killed 22 people in that cafe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to apologize people who have been killed, to their family. And my son is dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:57] BALDWIN: A final farewell for an Indian national killed in last week's terror attack in Bangladesh. Family and friends cried as the remains of a Retarishi Jain (ph) were taken away to be was cremated. The 19-year-old was among the 20 hostages killed by Islamic militants in a restaurant in Dhaka. She was a sophomore at the University of California in Berkley. And had just begun an internship at a bank in Dhaka weeks ago.

CNN have confirmed the identity of one of the men that behind the ruthless attacks is (INAUDIBLE). His family says the family -- his father, rather, has said that the family has been searching for him for the past four years. And on Saturday their fears were realized. He was recruited by Islamic extremists.

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MEER HAYET KABIR, FATHER OF DHAKA ATTACKER: The one thing I would say is that he's -- what he did is. I don't know how to say it. He cannot do it. Biologically it is not possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you say to the families, to the loved ones of the people who died in the restaurant?

KABIR: I don't know what to say, but I want to apologize to them on behalf of my son. He has got his punishment, but I don't know how much involved he was. How willingly he was involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was the father there speaking with our correspondent Alexandra Field in Dhaka. And Alex, that massacre happening in the waning days of the Muslim

holy month of Ramadan, it was the deadliest, the boldest terror strike in that country. Since that attack, authorities have increased security around the site and also at nearby hospitals. But bigger picture here, this wave of ISIS-inspired and plotted attacks over the last week could be a sign of this, that the militant group is feeling the pressure. The Islamic state ramping up its attacks in competition with the terror group, Al-Qaeda. Both groups have been trying to raise their profile in Bangladesh, for example, by taking advantage of growing Islamist militancy there.

So let me bring in my colleague, Tim Lister, who has been monitoring and analyzing ISIS' attacks outside of Iraq and Syria for some time.

Let me, Tim, just begin with, just quickly, some of the news out of Saudi Arabia. We have been watching breaking news there. You know, ISIS hasn't claimed responsibility, but you have these multiple suicide attacks across three different cities, one of which where the prophet Mohammed is buried. They haven't connected them yet but, what where you are your initial thoughts when you heard about it?

TIM LISTER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It certainly fits the modus operandi of the Islamic state, Brooke. No doubt about it. Saudi Arabia is a big target for them. They have a lot of Saudi fighters in their ranks. They regard the Saudi monarchy as having betrayed Islam.

There is another factor here, the competition with Al-Qaeda. Osama bin Laden after 9/11 wanted to turn his attention against Saudi Arabia to bring down the monarchy. He was never able to. Rarely was able to launch effective attacks in Saudi Arabia. For the Islamic state, for ISIS, Saudi Arabia represents a real target to show that it can punch above its weight. To show that Saudi Arabia is just one of the places that becomes a sort one of the volcanos of jihad, as someone has put it. So it can show its reach globally not just in the Middle East but in Asia, Africa, throughout the world, Brooke.

BALDWIN: You know, part of it is the competition. We were reporting how AQIS, who just said the native terror group, you know, the day before the shooting there in Dhaka. But bigger picture, Tim, that you know, the wave of recent attacks here, do you think too, this is a response to their losing territory?

LISTER: I think the two are very much related, yes. And in the recent months some of the senior ideologues within ISIS have tried to reframe, if you like, what victory means, what victory looks like. They have said you can turn us out of Raqqah, of Mosul, cert in Libya but you can't defeat us because we'll always have the will to fight.

So for the followers of ISIS, those who still want to join it's in a way saying we can still win even if we don't control territory. Territory is important and they won't give it up without a major fight, especially Raqqah and Mosul. But by launching this array of attacks throughout Ramadan and Bangladesh and beyond, here in Turkey, for example, just last week, they are showing there are other ways to continue to wage jihad. In fact one of their ideologues said we don't need to defend a whole territory to prove ourselves. So in a way they're morphing $, into a more traditional terror organization but one with an astounding reach, Brooke.

[15:40:40] BALDWIN: What are, you know, when we were talking about Istanbul and those 44 lives lost, majority Muslim, you know, you look at the attacks in Saudi Arabia, Shi'a targets, what are the some of the themes you're seeing as we look at these different countries and these different attacks?

LISTER: Well, one of the themes is that these are not all wholly owned ISIS attacks. ISIS has been very opportunistic with a lot of the claims it has made. The recent attack in France, the Orlando attack, perhaps and some further afield. But there are very exciting of an organizational link with some of these far flung attacks.

I think Bangladesh was a real shock a lot of to people. They there'd never been an attack on that scale nor one so clearly claimed with real credible evidence by ISIS. It's in a way a coming out party in a different part of the world. So it's putting much greater stress on its ability to fight on multiple fronts even in Nigeria begun to adopt Boko Haram. Previously it was an arm's length engagement, if you like, now they're embracing Boko Haram. Everywhere around the world they're trying to show even if we lose territory we won't be going away, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Tim Lister, thank you in Istanbul for us tonight. Appreciate that.

Coming up next here, NASA. NASA Scientists, they are watching and waiting right now as the Juno space probe approaches Jupiter after a 1.8 billion mile journey. Wow. We will explain what happens when it reaches the solar system's largest planet.

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[15:45:23] BALDWIN: All right, my fellow space geeks, check it. It's taken nearly five years to reach this point but roughly eight hours from now a NASA spacecraft could make history. The solar-powered probe called Juno will enter Jupiter's atmosphere and study the planet, including the famous red spot. It is the solar systems' largest planet. And the Juno probe has traveled nearly two billion miles to get there. So once it's there, what happens next? Good question.

Let's go to Paul Vercammen who got a pretty item on this holidays, NASA's jet propulsion laboratory in Southern California.

I am so jealous of you, my friend. Walk me through how this is going to work.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We'll walk you through. Did you just call me a space geek?

BALDWIN: I sure did.

VERCAMMEN: Thank you, I guess. This is solar powered. This is Juno. And it's now being pulled in as we speak into Jupiter's orbit. And it's going to have the tightest rotation ever to Jupiter. And they hope for all of us to sort of go back in time to look at the early formation of our solar system, Jupiter is so massive it's more like our sun than it is the earth. And what a day to do this. In a way think about it. They're lighting

a roman candle. That candle will land on the fourth of July and scientists here are absolutely ecstatic.

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JIM GREEN, NASA DIRECTOR, PLANETARY SCIENCE: What a wonderful day to celebrate. You know, this is a milestone for our country, but it's a milestone for planetary science. We have had a number of probes fly by Jupiter. Galileo actually was our last probe to Jupiter that orbited for many years. It has studied the planet, but only surface deep, looked at the moons, and now we have a chance with Juno to go back and study the planet in its own right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And as Juno orbits Jupiter a lot of potential problems. One, the radiation, set to be more than 100 million dental x-rays. And you have to possibility of some particles of debris. They have hoped and they created an orbit that they hope will avoid those problems. And as of right now everything is going on track later on tonight. There will be full insertion into orbit, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Here we go. We're watching, Paul Vercammen, thank you very much. The jet propulsion laboratory there in Southern California.

Meantime, among those celebrating Independence Day today are refugees hoping to build a better life in the states. The transition not easy, especially for kids who have escaped their war-torn home countries and that's something this week's CNN hero understands (INAUDIBLE).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's so many things stacked against them. For you to be successful. You're competing against people that are ten steps ahead of you. How are you going to catch up? How are you going to stand out? How are you going to contribute successfully? We're getting people from all over the world to come together to do something great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Check out her full story. Go to CNNheros.com. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:53] BALDWIN: All right. This is my favorite story of the day. Ready for this?

Major league baseball pitched a perfect gesture to honor active American service men and women. They go to brand new stadium on an active military base, the first ever at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina. And last night the Braves and Marlins took to the field. Tickets went to military families in active duty service members for free. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was awesome. I mean, it meant a lot to all of us guys. Especially this morning got to go and hang out with the troops. And I kind of thank those guys what they do for us. I mean, none of us would be here if it wasn't for those guys protecting us. So it means a lot to come out and hang out with them and put on a show for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is an eye-opening experience for us and reminder of us which we need all the time of the sacrifices that the men and women in the military make for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Speaking of sacrifice, one military family in attendance, yesterday, Andrew Kenan, and 90-year-old grandfather, Arthur, who is a World War II veteran, by the way, and two time Purple Heart recipient.

Andrew is good enough to join me now.

And Andrew, I'm so jealous. A, because I'm from Atlanta and I love the Braves. And b, what an awesome idea to do this in Ft. Bragg, and your grandfather, he enlisted when he was 17, correct?

ANDREW KENAN, ATTENDED HISTORIC MLB GAME AT FORT BRAGG: That's correct.

BALDWIN: Why is his service so important to him?

KENAN: It is important to him just because, you know, fighting for the right thing is important and freedom isn't free. And that's something that I wish more people understood. And you know, just being willing to go and fight for your country and for what is right is something that is incredible and it is something that, you know, he has taught me from a young age and it's just incredible. The game, everything was.

BALDWIN: So he's 90 years young. Attending this game. At ft. Bragg. What was the highlight?

KENAN: Just seeing all the servicemen and women there who are so excited to see him. He had more handshakes and thank you for your service. All of these things. And people just taking good care of us. It was incredible. And it was a perfect evening even down to us getting a foul ball.

BALDWIN: Did you really? Did you get it signed?

KENAN: Yes. Well, there she is.

BALDWIN: There you go.

How did you swing the tickets? I mean, was it some finagling on your end? KENAN: No. All I did was, on the hometown Braves, put out on their

news feed that they were going to do the game at Bragg. And I wrote the commissioner's office, commissioner Manfred and they wrote me a letter back and said they would be more than honored to have me and him there and without him none of this would be possible. And it was just so -- we're so thankful for all they did for us.

BALDWIN: I know it was a great night for your granddad. I would have loved to have had him on. But just finally, what was that one thing he said to you at the end of the night after this game, this special game y'all shared together?

[15:55:00] KENAN: Well, once we were walking out and going back, he just told me that, you know, it was an experience of a lifetime which it was. And just I'm so thankful that I got to share that moment with him because being, as you said before, he is 90. You know, he can't go as many places and as much as I would love to take him to see the hometown braves, it is just a little bit too far from Wallace, North Carolina. So the fact that the game came to us is truly a blessing.

BALDWIN: That's awesome.

Andrew Kenan, thank you so much. Our best to your granddad. All right? Thank you very much.

KENAN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

And before I let you go, on this fourth of July, as you are with your friends and family, and grilling out, watching fireworks, reveling in the red, white and blue, I just want to take a moment to honor the men and women in the uniform. You know, those who do not get to be with their sons, their daughters, their husbands, their wives this holiday. Because they are fighting for the very freedom that we are celebrating today.

Month before I left, the U.S. invited me to the Middle East to see these young men and women. You know, how they lived, who they are, why they fight, and among them my dearest friend since 7th grade, lieutenant commander Bobby Rashad Jones, this was our CNN exclusive straight from the Persian Gulf.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice-over): After thousands of miles, screeching halt on an aircraft carrier. And hop by chopper, I landed on the USS Anzio, U.S. Navy's guided missile cruiser, lead defender of the USS Harry S. Truman and home away from home for lieutenant commander Bobby Rashad Jones.

You have been to my office.

LY. CMDR. BOBBY RASHAD JONES, U.S. NAVY: Yes.

BALDWIN: I have taken four planes and a helicopter to get to your office.

JONES: Which is cool, right?

BALDWIN: After a CNN report recently aired detailing our special friendship, this is the first terrorist attack on the United States from ISIS. Now reporting on a world at war and his fighting in one, the U.S. Navy granted me rare and exclusive access to the lives of these young sailors deployed in the Arabian Gulf. And I was honored to climb aboard.

JONES: All right. So, this is --

BALDWIN: Is this your room?

JONES: My state room. I live, work, counsel --

BALDWIN: What do you have over there?

JONES: I have pictures of important people.

BALDWIN: Rashad.

JONES: Yes. You're there.

BALDWIN: You're stuck staring at me next to your sweet family?

JONES: It's more like you're staring at me.

Me being out here separated from my family ensures the safety of millions back home, then it's worth it.

BALDWIN: If called upon, U.S. Anzio has missiles on board capable of hitting targets in Iraq and Syria some 1,000 miles away.

Along the claustrophobic corridors and dizzying stair wells is a brotherhood. They rise together and relax together, too.

So what do you have to do in your rare down time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This.

BALDWIN: This is it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Video games.

BALDWIN: What do you wish you had that you don't? Keep it clean.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wi-Fi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely Wi-Fi.

BALDWIN: Aboard the U.S. Anzio, not all the sailors are men.

You guys have it so much better than the guys.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do. We do. BALDWIN: A naval academy grad and one of only two women of 370 plus

men, stationed on Anzio, lieutenant Precious McDuade made a gut- wrenching decision last November. Leave her baby girl back home when duty called.

LY. PRECIOUS MCDUADE, DEPLOYED ABOARD USS ANZIO: I mean, it is definitely tough. But the example that at least I'm setting for her and breaking some of the gender norms --

BALDWIN: Which is incredibly admirable. But I imagine where you have days where you shut the door and weep.

Night time, allows a moment to think of loved ones back home and to sneak in some sleep.

You were saying sometimes you get better sleep here?

JONES: Oh yes.

BALDWIN: In this is teeny bed?

JONES: In this tiny bed, yes.

BALDWIN: Why?

JONES: When the ship rocks, it is kind of like your mother is rocking you to sleep. I don't know. One of those things.

BALDWIN: Close the curtain and that means don't bother me?

JONES: Yes. Close the curtain. But xo has a pretty loud voice.

BALDWIN: You hear him coming?

JONES: Oh, yes.

BALDWIN: Oh, yes. The xo, ship's executive officer. When you finally get to go home, what's the first thing you're going to do?

JONES: Don't know. Hug my wife and my kids. And tell them that daddy's home. It makes you realize what you're fighting for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Again, just a heartfelt thanks to the U.S. Navy. The good news for these guys and gals who have been fighting for our freedom out in the Persian Gulf and now they are in the Mediterranean, they get to come home to their families. I'm told in just a couple of weeks.

So, of course, thanks to all of you who serve. And thanks for being with me. Have a wonderful, safe Fourth of July. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me.

But keep it here. "The LEAD" with Jim Sciutto starts now.