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NRA Promises Meaningful Contribution; More Teens Abusing Adderrall; Murray Pays Tribute to Newtown Victims;

Aired December 19, 2012 - 10:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. It's just about 30 minutes past the hour. Time to check our top stories.

CNN has learned that former Supreme Court nominee, Robert Bork, has died. Bork was Attorney General under President Richard Nixon and later served on the Court of Appeals. Bork left the bench shortly after the Senate blocked his Supreme Court confirmation in 1987. Most recently Bork was part of the Romney campaign. Robert Bork was 84.

The vice president is taking a lead role as the White House looks to addresses the gun debate and at 11:45, just about an hour and 15 minutes from now, President Obama is expected to announce that Joe Biden will head an interagency process to develop policy following the Connecticut school shooting. Specific policy decisions will -- well, will not be announced today but the president will outline his plan going forward.

And also in the topic of the president, Barack Obama has a new title. He is "TIME" magazine's Person of the Year. "TIME" says the president was picked for, quote, "turning weakness into opportunity and for speaking amid great adversity to create a more perfect union."

The National Rifle Association is vowing to take part in the national dialogue on gun control and says it's heart broken and shocked by the massacre. And it's worth noting the gun rights group seems to be embracing a softer tone in assigning blame for the killing spree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAM EDWARDS, NRA RADIO HOST: I don't think the issue is an issue. I don't think the issue is parenting or Hollywood or guns or rap music or young man. It is the foundational stuff. Whether it's a lack of love, a lack of empathy for others, a -- apathy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's a show on the NRA's Web site. In its first official statement since the killings, the NRA has this to say, quote, Out of respect for the families and as a matter of common decency we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting. The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again," end quote.

CNN's George Howell is following the NRA's response up to this point. So -- and political expert Larry Sabato will give us insight into what the NRA might be planning for the future.

But, George, I want to start with you. "Meaningful contributions." What does that mean.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, look, fair to say it is an open-ended statement, yes? But you know, we know that since the Newtown shooting the NRA has gone silent. We haven't heard a thing from them. On Twitter, you know, their Twitter account went cold. They took their Facebook account down briefly.

But both are back up and we do see a comment there about, you know, this big announcement set for Friday and what that announcement will be, we have yet to see. Their Web site is also up and running, and you play just a little bit of that program. It's called "Cam & Company." It airs on the Web site.

I want to listen to just a little bit more of that where you can start to see some of the reaction from the NRA. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINNY SIMONE, NRA REPORTER: What do we see coming right out of this tragedy right away? Is you've got Mayor Bloomberg, you've got Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Dianne Feinstein insisting that we need tougher gun laws. And you look at Connecticut, and they are number five when it comes to the strictest gun laws in the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So, Carol, the NRA, we're talking about a big tough powerful lobbying group, more than four million members strong, and this is a group that does everything from, you know, running conventions to hosting gun related activities. They're also strong when it comes to money. Think about this. They spent some $17 million in federal political races this year alone. And we also know that they contributed more than $700,000 to individual candidates. So that's a lot of money mostly are going to Republican candidates.

COSTELLO: George Howell, thanks so much.

I now want to talk more about this and I'd like to speculate, you know, we are a country, a whole lot of gun lovers. There are 270 million guns in the hands of private owners right now. That's around nine guns to every 10 people.

So let's bring in Larry Sabato now. Director of the University of Virginia Center on Politics.

Larry, I know you have studied the NRA for a long period of time and its strategy, both in lobbying and the responses to gun related tragedy. So when the NRA says meaningful contributions, what does that say to you?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Well, it says to me that it could be a lot worse, Carol. You know, they could have attacked all of the proposals for change. I don't want to be naive or utopian and suggest that suddenly the NRA is going to embrace closing the gun hole -- gun shell loophole or banning automatic weapons. But I think at least they're willing to be part of this conversation. Who knows? There may be the possibility of, for example, strengthening background checks. That's been proposed as one possible shift. So, you know, it's partly good news.

It's certainly better than having the NRA, which is a very powerful lobbying group, not just in Washington but in the 50 state capitals, coming out totally against any change.

COSTELLO: So this does feel different to you. I mean, after Gabby Giffords was shot, for example, the NRA did not comment. I don't think it's commented yet on that. But zero legislation was passed after Gabrielle Giffords was shot.

So what makes this event, what makes this response from the NRA different?

SABATO: Well, you know, if you're going to assign levels of horrific, this has got to top the charts. I just think everybody recognizes that. And so everyone keeps referring to it as a turning point, and it is. Of course we need to remember the way our system is structured. The founders established a system that divides power every which way. You cannot get quick change. It takes months and even years to get change and I suppose if you were cynical, you would say that the NRA is trying to appear sympathetic at a time when the public is really focused on this knowing that it is very easy in our system to slow down the process.

COSTELLO: Well --

SABATO: But I think they deserve -- right.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: No, I just -- I want to talk about slowing down the process.

SABATO: They deserve the benefit of the doubt at the moment.

COSTELLO: Because --

SABATO: Let's see what they say Friday.

COSTELLO: Because the president, you know, he's assigned all of these people to come together to form some kind of committee to talk about gun violence in this country, then you have Senator Diane Feinstein saying that she'll introduce some gun control legislation but she won't do it until after the first of the year.

So time is going to pass before anything meaningful happens and isn't that exactly what the NRA is hoping for?

SABATO: Probably. Probably that's it. And so the public, if it wants changes, Carol, will have to stay focused. They'll have to do something they didn't do after Gabby Giffords was shot and that something they didn't do after the Virginia Tech massacre and Aurora and all of these other terrible incidents.

So, you know, the onus isn't just on the NRA or other principal players, it's also on all of us.

COSTELLO: Larry Sabato, thanks so much for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.

SABATO: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Teenagers today might be more interested in popping pills than smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. We have some rather shocking new information about teenaged drug abuse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Remember when the bad kids in school would smoke cigarettes and drink booze? The new in vogue thing to do that's bad is Adderall. Seems more and more teenagers are abusing that drug. It's part of a nationwide drug abuse survey just released this hour.

But Elizabeth Cohen assures me, it's not all bad news.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not all bad news. The Adderall news is pretty disturbing.

COSTELLO: Yes.

COHEN: Up 41 percent in the past five years. So that when you look at high school seniors, the usage rate is about 7.6 percent. And so that's, you know, a lot of doctors will tell you that's not a good thing. That it feels like they're just popping candy. I mean I've met kids that use Adderall. They're like, it's no big deal. But there is concern that when kids take Adderall or anybody it can make you jittery, it can give you headaches, and if used long-term it could eventually lead to psychosis.

You know, I think that's a pretty rare event. But certainly it is not the sort of completely harmless drug a lot of kids think it is.

COSTELLO: So is it -- is it possible that the use is even higher than what's in this report because I would think kids wouldn't be totally honest when being asked these questions?

COHEN: Right. And I want to emphasize, this is illicit use, so these are kids not who got prescribed Adderall, which is a real prescription drug, these are kids who are, like, buying it from their friends or getting it from their mom's medicine cabinet and yes, there is that concern.

This is a government study where the government asks kids hey, G, what drugs do you use? Now are kids going to be totally honest about that? It's -- you know, it's a government survey. Because there have actually been other types of surveys, not so much high school students but looking at college students and there the numbers are more like 30 percent.

COSTELLO: Wow.

COHEN: So you have to wonder whether that 7.6 percent is really accurate.

COSTELLO: So what about other drugs?

COHEN: Other drugs news, other news for other drugs. If you take a look, for example, at marijuana use, it's near record levels. And a lot of kids are saying they don't perceive it to be bad, and also other illicit drug use is down, which is interesting. You know, things like Licodin and that kind of thing appears to be down. Cigarette and alcohol use are near record lows. So when you started the segment, you know, the bad kids doing that, and maybe to some extent kids have moved on. Not completely but now there's other things they can do.

COSTELLO: Well, when I was in high school it was cocaine.

COHEN: Right.

COSTELLO: And now you don't hear so much about cocaine. You hear about prescription drugs being used illegally.

COHEN: And one is availability. Right? I mean if the kid sitting next to you has a bottle of Adderall they got legitimately and they say here, have a couple for five bucks. It's a whole lot easier than scoring some cocaine, right?

COSTELLO: Yes.

COHEN: So that's part of the reason.

COSTELLO: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

Four years and $51 billion later we may finally see an end to government motors. We'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Forty-six minutes past the hour. Time to check our top stories.

An independent committee issues a scathing report on that deadly attack in Libya and the many mistakes that led up to it. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died when militants stormed the consulate in Benghazi and set it on fire. The report sites systemic failures and leadership deficiencies at the State Department.

Michigan's governor is vetoing a bill that would let people carry concealed weapons in schools, hospitals and other public places if they had licenses and underwent additional training. Right now Michigan law let's gun owners openly carry weapons in those places but Governor Rick Snyder says this bill did not allow public places to opt out. And it's beginning to look a whole lot like Christmas in Colorado. This is a look from Affiliate KUSA in Denver. This is a major snowstorm and it reaches from Denver to Detroit or it will eventually, up to a foot of snow could fall in some places. Right now six states under a blizzard warning.

The U.S. could be near the end for government motors. The Treasury announced today it will sell the remaining 500 million shares of General Motors it still owns. That would close the books on that $51 billion bailout the auto maker took back in 2008.

Maribel Aber is at the NASDAQ market site to tell us more.

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, Jim is buying a big chunk of those shares. Let's just take a look at the breakdown. Taxpayers currently own 500 million shares of GM, the auto maker is buying 200 million of them. So the rest the Treasury will sell on the open market over the next year or so and after that the bailout of 2008 will officially be over and there is no doubt that the money did a lot of good.

In 2008 GM was near bankruptcy and now, you know what, it is making money, hiring workers, and it's once again the world's leading auto maker.

But, Carol, this did come at a cost to taxpayers. We're going to lose money on this bailout and how much will depend on how much the shares are sold for. And that's why the treasury says even though the auto bailout saved a million jobs, the government shouldn't be in the business of owning stakes in private companies for an indefinite period of time.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I think most of America would agree with that.

Maribel Aber, thank you so much.

British tennis star Andy Murray pays tribute to the families and victims of violence in Newtown. But his connection to the tragedy is stronger than you mighty this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And another tribute to the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the providence college friars war special uniforms to honor the victims and their families. The word "Sandy Hook" emblazoned on the backs of their jurisdictions. And their reports are green and white and not to the school colors of Sandy Hook. Team also put ribbons on 26 seats in the auditorium as a memorial for the 26 people who died at Newtown.

Another tribute to the victims of Newtown, coming from tennis star Andy Murray. Murray posted on his Facebook, page this weekend, quote, "My heart goes out to all of those poor children, their families, and the community in Newtown, Connecticut, so said, so sad. Murray knows far too well about school shootings. He you survived one himself when he was just eight years old.

HLN's Carol Diaz joins me now. And I didn't know this about Andy Murray.

CARLOS DIAZ, HLN: It's interesting, yes, because a lot of sports fans, you know, sports geeks like me, we know about this kind of stuff because, you know, it's part of Andy Murray's past. Ironically Andy Murray doesn't like to talk about the time when he was an 8-year-old at Dunblane primary school in Scotland.

And he and his brother were walking down the hallway on the way to the gymnasium, when Thomas Hamilton, a 43-year-old former scout master, walked into the gym and opened fire, killing 16 little kids between the ages of 5 and 6, and the teacher.

Andy Murray and his brother hid under a desk on that day. And Andy Murray has since at the present time is the third ranked tennis player in the world. He's had an amazing 2012 when he was the Wimbledon runner up, also on the Olympic gold medal this year. So I think that Any Murray could literally be a hero not only for the parents but the also kids involved in the school shootings in Connecticut.

It's going to be interesting to see whether he wants to be that hero. Because he doesn't talk about this. Whether it's -- he doesn't want to revisit this or he says in his book he wrote called hitting back when he wrote 10 years ago, he remembers patches of that day, singing songs in class, he just remembered bits and pieces of that day. So maybe he has blocked that out of his mind. But I think it's very encouraging that he wrote that passage on his Facebook page and we'll have to see whether he wants to do more.

COSTELLO: Well, it's fascinating, because it's -- I mean, just watching television, I'm sure they're covering it in the U.K. and seeing it on TV it probably brings back really bad memories for him, but if I am a parent of one of those kids who witnessed such carnage at Newtown and I see Andy Murray healthy, mentally healthy, successful, dealing with it all, you know, seemingly --

DIAZ: And it's -- it's not something that's brought up either because of the fact, you're right, he is like every other tennis player out there. He has his bad days, he has his good days. He was one of the most emotional responses ever at Wimbledon when he addressed the crowd and thanked them after he was winning at Wimbledon this year and he was tearful and then the joy at the Olympics, him winning the gold medal at the London games.

So he has had a such up and down year and to end his year like this is truly amazing and I am really interested to see what part, if any, he wants to have in these families' lives.

COSTELLO: I hope some, because he's proof that you can be OK.

DIAZ: Yes. That's a great point. He's proof that you can go on from something as horrific as this. He wasn't in the other end of the school. He was walking to the gymnasium. Thirty seconds later he may have been one of those kids who was tragically killed and now he is one of the best tennis players in the entire world.

COSTELLO: Carlos Diaz, thanks for sharing. We appreciate it.

"Talk Back" question for you this morning, should teachers be armed? Your responses next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: An enormous response to our "Talk Back" question this morning, the question, should teachers be armed? This is from Tony, "No, people who are determined to destroy will do so no matter what obstacles are in their way. Adding guns will not make anyone safer."

This from Donald, "Armed uniformed security or police at each school is the best answer." From Rafina, "Give the teachers tasers." This from Kevin, "Take all the guns away, destroy all computer games. We can only watch Andy Griffith, "Leave It to Beaver," close movie theaters, lock up anyone diagnosed with any kind of mental disease, basically outlaw everything just in case and we will all be safe."

This from Jimmy, "There is a big difference in carrying a concealed weapon and strapping on guns like the Old West or military. A concealed weapon would only be seen if it was needed. Would I feel more comfortable if my child's teacher had such a gun? Unfortunately I would."

Please keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/carolCNN and thanks for all of your thoughtful responses. And we brought this question up today because half a dozen states are thinking of allowing teachers to carry guns in the classrooms.

At the federal level the House Speaker John Boehner is urging Republicans to quiet such talk down because passions are too high right now and doesn't want any federal legislators talking about arming teachers. But it is certainly being talked about at the state level and that's what -- that's why I brought up the question. I wanted to know what you thought today. Mixed response, over 1500 responses. Keep them coming. Because I try to read each and every one.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I am Carol Costello. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Carol. It's nice to see you and thanks for joining us everyone.

This is the hour in the long shadow of Newtown, Connecticut, and everything that's been happening in that tiny town.

President Obama and some Democratic members of Congress are attempting to turn tragedy and outrage and national heart break into policy instead.