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New Details from Medical Examiner; Man Helps Kids from Sandy Hook; GOP Offers Plan B on Fiscal Cliff; News Crew Kidnapped, Rescued; Comfort Dogs Help Community Heal; Newtown Dealing with Tragedy.
Aired December 18, 2012 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, appreciate it.
Four days since that gunman opened fire on that first day -- that first grade class at Sandy Hook Elementary. We are still learning about the many victims, as well as heroes. We'll hear from one man who helped kids escape the massacre.
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GENE ROSEN, HELPED KIDS FROM SANDY HOOK: The two boys mostly talked and they said, we can't go back to that school -- we can't --
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: We can't go back.
ROSEN: Our teacher -- our teacher's dead.
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MALVEAUX: We're getting new information from the medical examiner in the aftermath of the tragedy in Newtown. He tells our sister network, HLN, that autopsies on the bodies of Adam Lanza and his mother, Nancy Lanza, are complete. No one has claimed the bodies yet. Here's what the medical examiner says. He tells us that is Nancy Lanza was shot four times in the head while sleeping. Adam Lanza died of a single gunshot wound to the head. The medical examiner saying also he was told that Adam Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. But the medical examiner emphasizes he does not know if the diagnosis is correct, and there's no link between the diagnosis and violent behavior.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Very distressing information, Suzanne.
We're also getting details of some of the things that happened on the day of the massacre. And one of the more harrowing stories is what happened with the group of six children who were in one of the classrooms where their teacher was shot dead before their eyes. They escaped and ran for their lives. Suzanne, they ran and ran and ran. Not only did they run out of the school and off of the school property, they ran down the street, past the firehouse, and just ultimately stopped on a man's front lawn.
That man is Gene Rosen, who looked out of his window and had no idea what he was witnessing. And when he found out, he could not believe the story that was coming from the mouths of these babes.
He told his story to Erin Burnett exclusively last night. Have a listen.
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ROSEN: They were sitting so nicely. But then I saw a man in a very agitated way saying, it's going to be all right. And he kept raising his voice. I thought that was so strange. And I came to the children and they were crying and wailing and mortified. And there was a school bus driver with them. And I invited them into the house. And she said there had been an incident at the school. I had no idea what it was.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: The children, how did they find the words to tell you? Because they told you, right, that their teacher died.
ROSEN: They told me. They just start talking. The two boys mostly talked. And they said, we can't go back to that school -- we can't go --
BURNETT: We can't go back.
ROSEN: Our teacher -- our teacher's dead. What are we going to do? We don't have a teacher.
They were so brave and they were so good. They -- I brought down some toys from my grandson's toy chest and I gave them some juice. And we called their parents. They were very brave and very good. And I was amazed. I was -- I was astounded at what they were telling me.
Something happened with one of the boys. Out of this grief and this carnage. And he stopped and he became very composed and, all of a sudden --
(LAUGHTER)
-- he stopped and he looked at me and he said, "Just saying, your house is very small."
(LAUGHTER)
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MALVEAUX: 14 days and counting until the fiscal cliff. Today, house Speaker John Boehner proposed letting tax rates increase for only those making more than $1 million a year. It is what he calls his Plan B. But the White House says its plan is better and it is actually more fair. Now, the White House plan calls for a tax increase on earnings above $400,000 a year. That's a concession from President Obama who originally wanted taxes to go up on anything above $250,000 a year. The president's offer also calls for $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, including those on social and defense programs. He wants a two-year extension on being able to raise the national debt ceilings. Republicans not thrilled with the White House's latest offer.
Dana Bash following the back and forth here.
We know that both sides seem to be giving a bit, right? You've got the president going from $250,000 to $400,000 as a threshold for increasing taxes and the Republicans pushing this Plan B here. Where do they meet? Where do you suppose they meet?
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DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Boy, if I could answer that question we would be able to go home.
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Look, this is -- this is -- this is just more aggressive you know kind of to-ing and fro-ing when it comes to the House speaker's strategy here and the Republican strategy. As you said -- you laid out well what the White House offer was last night when the president and the speaker met in person at the White House. But after that, the speaker concluded that his next move would be this, this Plan B, because he feels that what the president is offer, not so much in the way of tax but was spending cuts is not enough. That he's not coming down -- going high enough, rather, on spending cuts. With the House speaker saying -- as you see on the screen -- he's going to try to push legislation this thursday to extend tax cuts for those making up to $1 million so that not everybody's taxes will go up. Listen to how he described it to reporters.
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REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Every income tax filer in America is going to pay a higher rate January 1st unless Congress acts. So I believe it's important that we protect as many American taxpayers as we can. And our Plan B would protect American taxpayers who make $1 million or less and have all of their current rates extended.
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BASH: Now, what are the Democrats saying to this? They don't think a lot of it. The White House flatly rejected it. Democrats we're talking on the Hill, saying it's laughable. One senior Democratic Congressman I talked to said that it's more of a punch line instead of a compromise because they feel that when you look at the big picture talks between the president and the speaker, they're further along than the speaker will give the president credit for, for giving in on taxes, for giving on what he campaigned on, as you well know, for five years, which is raising tax rates for people making $250,000 or more. So we are definitely still in the back and forth phase. This is clearly a negotiating tactic by the speaker to try to push the president to give more on spending cuts and to agree to less when it comes to tax revenue.
MALVEAUX: Dana, reading the tea leaves here, it does seem apparent that this is somewhat of a tactic, the negotiation process, to get throughout and put forward the Plan B. Both men are still talking. They are still communicating. Is that a good sign? Does that indicate there's more posturing, public posturing going on here than what we're seeing behind the scenes?
BASH: We hope so. We don't have any confirmation that the two men have spoken today. We know they spoke last night when the speaker told the president he was going forward on Plan B. But as part of the announcement, the speaker told his colleagues privately and then told us right afterwards this morning that he is going to continue to talk to the president.
But that's sort of one side of this. This is the Republican side, where it's difficult for him to sell this overall, about $2 trillion plan that is not high enough in spending cuts. But there's a Democratic side, too. I'm told Democrats are not happy with the concessions that the president has made, specifically on the idea of people -- effectively people's Social Security checks being smaller as part of a technical change.
MALVEAUX: Dana, thank you. Appreciate it.
Kidnapped in Syria. How a news correspondent and his crew were rescued and released after held captive for five days.
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MALVEAUX: Kidnapped, blindfolded, threatened for five days, an American lives to tell the story. NBC's chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel, and his crew were captured last Thursday after crossing into northwest Syria from Turkey. Engel says they were not physically harmed but they suffered psychological torture at hand of their captors.
This morning, he told the "Today" show how they were finally set free.
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RICHARD ENGEL, NBC NEWS CHIEF FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: At the end of this, we were being moved to yet another location in the -- later, around 11:00 last night, local time. And as we were moving along the road, the kidnappers came across a rebel checkpoint, something they hadn't expected. And so we were in the back of what you think of as a minivan. And as we are driving along the road, the kidnappers saw this checkpoint, started a gunfight with it. Two of the kidnappers were killed. We climbed out of the vehicle and the rebels took us. We spent the night with them. We didn't get much sleep.
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MALVEAUX: None of the NBC crew was harmed. We are so glad that they are safe.
Paula Broadwell won't be charged by the Justice Department for cyber- stalking. Remember, it was Broadwell's affair with the former CIA chief, David Petraeus, that led to his resignation. But it was her anonymous e-mails to Jill Kelley, an acquaintance of Petraeus, that led to the FBI investigation. The U.S. attorney's office in Tampa, Florida, decided not to pursue a federal case.
People are remembering Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye. He died yesterday of respiratory complications in Washington, D.C. He was a World War II veteran who received the Medal of Honor. After winning nine consecutive terms, he was the longest serving member of the Senate and a member of the Watergate Committee that resulted in the resignation of President Nixon. He was 88 years old -- Ashleigh?
BANFIELD: Suzanne, there is something that we were considering a bright spot to report from here in Newtown, Connecticut. And that is that -- pardon me -- that is that amid all of this sadness, these dogs have shown up to help. They are called comfort dogs and they have done so much good in a short period of time. We're going to introduce you to them and tell you exactly what they've been up to, next.
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BANFIELD: You know, there have been a couple of moments in the middle of this terrible school shooting tragedy where we have been able to shut out the sadness, even if only for just a little bit. But in Newtown, several golden retrievers have been helping to ease the pain. They're called comfort dogs. And they, along with their human handlers, came here en masse. They traveled to Connecticut, all the way from the Chicago area, and their mission was to help the people here who are grieving in the aftermath of what happened inside that school.
The president of the organization that runs the program talked to our Gary Tuchman.
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TIM HETZNER, LUTHERAN CHURCH CHARITIES: To some people, we have seen this with children, it brings a sense of calmness in a time of confusion for them during this period. To some, it helps them process their grief. They'll start crying and they'll hug the dog. And to some children, they'll come up sad and walk away happy.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you know Luther is incapable of being mean?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow. TUCHMAN: Luther is a friendly dog.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caden loves dogs.
TUCHMAN: And where else have your dogs been? What other disasters?
HETZNER: A month ago when Sandy hit, we were out in New York and New Jersey. We have been in Indiana with the floodings. We had dogs in Joplin, Missouri.
TUCHMAN: Come here. This is Luther. He's a comfort dog. You can pet him. It says right here, please pet me.
TUCHMAN: How do you feel when you see a child come up to one of your dogs who has been in this kind of situation and have a big smile on their face?
HETZNER: Tears.
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They smile, I cry.
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BANFIELD: Like I said, smile in the midst of such sadness. And it is so welcome.
The Comfort Dog Initiative, by the way, was started back in 2008. Sadly, to report after five college students died in a mass shooting in Illinois.
But, Suzanne, what a difference those dogs have been able to make, even if only for just a short moment.
MALVEAUX: It's so nice to see. You know, like you get all happy and excited just to see the dog, the tail wagging and, just, like a friendly face there.
Well, thank you, Ashleigh. Appreciate that.
Also, "The Voice" getting in on paying tribute to the students and those who were killed in Connecticut. Just watch.
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MALVEAUX: Last night's show opened with the contestants, the judges singing "Hallelujah," and holding up cards with the name of each victim. It is just the latest example of how everybody has come together across the country around those victims.
Over the weekend, "Saturday Night Live" started with a children's choir singing, instead of the usual monologue.
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MALVEAUX: Our special coverage continues after this.
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BANFIELD: One of the first things you'll notice as you drive into this beautiful town of Newtown, Connecticut, is some of the old buildings and the lovely, gently rolling hillside, and then this extraordinary traffic. The school buses are now rolling once again as these kids get ready to head back to school in the Newtown district today. It is not normally like this. The traffic is compromised of people from surrounding counties, contractors who are coming in to help with this emergency, maybe rebuilding in some of the schools, et cetera. And then, also, an enormous number of media.
Another thing you notice, as you come into town, right away, on the left-hand side is this makeshift memorial that sprung up several days ago and is growing exponentially. People bringing teddy bears and candles and art work and messages and origami and flowers and you name it. Just about everything. You see a lot of people with tears as they drop off what they brought. Obviously, some of the traffic, people from surrounding communities.
The next thing you notice is this, all of this media. People have come from all over the world to cover this story. And they are set up right in the town square, right in the center of town, a place that is not used to seeing satellite trucks and this kind of media attention. And, boy, are they getting used to it now.
Another thing that you'll find amidst all the traffic, take a look up here, police and orange cones and "road closed" signs. That is the road that leads up to the Sandy Hook Elementary School. They are obviously limiting most of the traffic. Not allowed to go up there at this time. That's the other area where there is a massive, massive memorial. I showed that to you yesterday.
But one of the things that we do hear from people, while everybody around the country and around the world wants to share and wants to know and wants to be a part of this, this grieving -- and they're doing that through us, and the window we provide -- the people who live here really would like us to leave. They want to return to some kind of normalcy. And that begs that question, when we do go, and when we do leave this town, and when our world continues, we leave all these people with a brand-new normal, and something that they're going to have to figure out for themselves, what their new normal is going to be like.
MALVEAUX: The tragedy in Newtown has many people wondering how they can help those who are impacted. So we put a list together of charitable organizations on our web site. Just visit CNN.com/impact. You can help.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Don Lemon in Newtown, Connecticut -- Don?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
My colleague, Don Lemon, is standing by in Newtown, Connecticut, where, of course -- where we'll check in with him momentarily. But the story this week, it just breaks your heart to see these funerals --
