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Sexual Assault Allegations Follow Bill Cosby; Dispatch Audio Released In Ferguson Shooting; General Dempsey In Baghdad To Assess War On ISIS; Obama Blasts Putin At G20 Summit; Putin Brings Warship To G20 Summit; Ex-Navy SEAL Recounts Facing Off With Bin Laden; Hagel: U.S. Nuclear Program Needs Overhaul

Aired November 15, 2014 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Comedian Bill Cosby confronted on the air about rape allegations. His response just might surprise you.

Plus, President Barack Obama issuing a stern warning to Vladimir Putin, what it means for their already icy relationship?

Then --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get us several more units over here. There's going to be a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Brand-new audio and video of the moments before and after the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. We're live with the latest.

Hello, again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We start this hour with those rape allegations against Bill Cosby that have resurfaced.

Alexandra Field has been following the story. So Alexandra, these are not new allegations. At least one is decades old. Cosby was asked about these allegations again on NPR, but it's what he didn't say that is raising some eyebrows.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he was directly asked again about these rape allegations that have plagued him for so many years now. And I think a lot of people thought that they were going to hear, you know, a flat-out denial.

His attorneys have repeatedly said that he's never done anything wrong, he's never been charged with a crime, he's never been prosecuted. They continue to deny all of the allegations that have been lobbed at him over the years.

Instead, we hear this interview today where Bill Cosby has an opportunity to say something, to come to his own defense for whatever reason, he chose not to. Listen to this exchange with Scott Simon. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This question gives me no pleasure, Mr. Cosby, but there have been serious allegations raised about you in recent days. You're shaking your head no. I'm in the news business. I have to ask the question.

Do you have any response to those charges? Shaking your head no. There are people who love you, who might like to hear from you about this. I want to give you the chance. All right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Cosby was being interviewed with his wife by his side. A lot of people listened to that interview. We knew that this question was being asked of Bill Cosby. A lot of people tuned in to hear how he would respond, and now they're responding on Twitter.

Some of these responses, one listener saying, I know there might be legal ramifications if he speaks out, but being silent sure makes you look guilty. Another listener saying, leave Bill Cosby alone.

And one more saying, the Bill Cosby interview with Scott Simon was painful to listen to, particularly painful for one of the women who had accused Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her.

Again, Cosby has never been charged with a crime, but that woman, Barbara Bowman, put out her own statement following the interview. And she says, "I'm not surprised that Bill Cosby was speechless. He has met his maker. A simple shake of his head is implication of a man whose heart is heavily burdened with shame." Fred, those words from Barbara Bowman.

WHITFIELD: And Alexandra, the interview started out, you know, quite docile. In fact, you know, Camille and Bill were quite excited to talk about their African and African-American art that is on display at the Smithsonian.

So I guess one has to wonder whether that question caught them by surprise or if because of all that has taken place in the week, as it pertains to those drudged up allegations again, whether he anticipated that question would be asked and this was the response or no response.

FIELD: Right. Well, we know that this was a pre-taped interview. I believe it was done a few days ago. So there has been some time, as this has sort of mounted in the media and on social media in the last few days. But this is not a new topic for Bill Cosby to have to take on.

Frankly, there was a comedian in October who really attacked Bill Cosby, calling him a rapist. These are allegations he's had to answer to before. And while this was an interview with his wife by his side, while the topic was art, you sit down in front of a journalist and I think that he probably expected or anticipated the possibility that he would be asked these questions. We can't say for certain, but you hear Scott Simon say to him, I'm a journalist, I've got to ask this, and Scott Simon had tweeted in between the time of taping that interview and airing it today on NPR, saying, that he did ask Bill Cosby directly about these allegations and he said that listeners would have to decide for themselves whether Cosby said yes or no.

WHITFIELD: All right. Powerful even in its silence. All right, thank you so much, Alexandra Field. Appreciate that.

So Alexandra talked about Barbara Bowman and her latest statement as a result of Cosby's interview. Well, Miss Bowman was on CNN's "NEW DAY," explaining right in front of the camera her version of the relationship with Cosby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA BOWMAN, BILL COSBY ACCUSER: I didn't really talk about it much because nobody was believing it, and it was just -- I was in a situation, I was in New York, my job was to work hard, go to classes, don't ask questions. Just be grateful for this amazing opportunity.

Don't mess it up. So when things would come up and he would start making me uncomfortable and I knew something was going on, I would start asking questions. And he would say, you know what, you don't trust me? You've got to trust me.

And by the way, you were drunk. And I didn't drink. And I certainly wasn't doing anything, but exactly what I was supposed to do. In 1989, though, I did go to a lawyer. A friend talked me into doing that. Eventually, he laughed me right out of the office. It was terrible. It was humiliating. It was scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And over the years, Cosby through his attorneys has repeatedly denied sexually assaulting anyone.

All right, now to the surveillance video and police radio calls from the day a white Ferguson, Missouri, police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager. The surveillance video shows Darren Wilson in the hours after he shot Michael Brown and the audio reveals the fatal shooting lasted less than 2 minutes.

These new tapes are released as the entire Ferguson community awaits the grand jury's decision on whether to indict Officer Wilson. Our Stephanie Elam has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "The St. Louis Post- Dispatch" obtained the police audio and video through the state's so called sunshine law according to the paper's timeline of the August 9th encounter between Darren Wilson and Michael Brown.

At 11:53 a.m. a dispatcher reports a stealing in progress at the Ferguson market.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: A stealing in progress from 9101 West Florescent. Subject may be leaving the business at this time. Stand by for further.

ELAM: The "Post Dispatch" says about 19 seconds later dispatch issues a description of a suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: Twenty five, it's going to a black male in a white t-shirt. He's running toward Quik Trip. He took a box of Swisher cigars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Black male, white t-shirt.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: That's affirmative. She said he walked out of the store.

ELAM: And there's more detail in the police cross talk.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: He is with another male. He's got a Red Cardinals hat, white t-shirt, yellow socks and khaki shorts.

ELAM: According to the paper, at noon, Officer Wilson reports he's back in service from another call. He then asks officers searching for the suspects if they need his help.

OFFICER WILSON: This is 21 to 25 or 22, you guys need me?

ELAM: Seven seconds later officers report the suspects have disappeared.

WILSON: Dispatch, relay. I couldn't hear.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: We think that they disappeared.

ELAM: The paper says at 12:02, Officer Wilson responds.

WILSON: It's 21, put me on Canfield.

ELAM: On August 9th, Michael Brown's friend, Dorian Johnson said they were walking down the street when Officer Wilson told them to get out of the road. According to Johnson, he and Brown told the officer they were almost at their destination and would be out of the street shortly.

But Johnson said the officer grabbed Brown by the neck and drew his gun, eventually shooting Brown. By contrast, a Wilson family friend identified as Josie told local radio station, KTFK, that according to Wilson, Brown started a physical altercation with him and grabbed the gun which went off.

Both sides agree that Brown ran and then turned back. The "Post Dispatch" says 41 seconds after Wilson's call another officer was about to arrive at the location.

The radio calls also show other officers arriving at the scene and a call for a supervisor, and then according to the newspaper, this call at 12:07 p.m. with the apparent sound of a woman wailing in the background.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several more units over here. There's going to be a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: Any available Ferguson units, who can respond to Canfield and Copper Creek advise.

ELAM: The "Post Dispatch" also obtained surveillance video of officer Darren Wilson hours after the shooting. The paper says the video shows Wilson in the white t-shirt leaving the police station for the hospital two hours after the shooting, accompanied by other officers and his union lawyer. The video then shows him returning to the police station.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: Fred, based on this timeline, the interaction between Mike Brown and Officer Darren Wilson was less than 2 minutes, 2 minutes that's now the focus of a grand jury decision. Two minutes that changed one man's life and left an 18-year-old dead -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Stephanie Elam, thank you so much, in Ferguson.

All right. Coming up, are Russian war planes flying a little too close for comfort? Why you can see them on your next trip to the Caribbean.

And America's nuclear arsenal in such disarray. Crews were FedExing the same wrench from base to base, the frightening new information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, it was a visit that caught a lot of people off guard and has new video to show it, America's top military leader, General Martin Dempsey, making a surprise visit to Baghdad. This comes as the U.S. prepares to expand its assistance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS on the ground.

Arwa Damon, CNN's senior international correspondent, joining me now from Turkey. So Arwa, do we know what the agenda is for the general?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's already met with the Iraqi prime minister. His office putting out a statement that they spoke about the progress Iraqi Security Forces had made and that they also spoke about what needed to be done to try to ultimately defeat ISIS.

He's also met with the American commanders that are currently on the ground. General Dempsey's mission is quite vital at this stage. The U.S., in the past, had grossly underestimated the capabilities of ISIS, hence their speedy advance throughout northern Iraq over the summer that took everyone by surprise.

The U.S. had also overestimated, perhaps, the capacities of the Iraqi Security Forces and their cohesiveness, prior to the full U.S. troop withdrawal. General Dempsey is a man who knows Iraq very well.

Initially, as the commander of the first armored division in the early years of the war, and then he, himself, headed up, (inaudible), the multi-national transitional forces Iraq unit that effectively was in charge of training and equipping the Iraqi Security Forces.

So he knows the country pretty well. He knows the players pretty well. And the U.S., at this point, cannot afford to see the mistakes of the past be repeated, hence his need to be in Iraq to make that initial assessment firsthand.

WHITFIELD: And Arwa, this is what General Dempsey told CNN before his visit and on the other side, we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENERAL MARTIN DEMPSEY, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We need to develop a ground campaign. We've got an air campaign that's ongoing. We need to integrate into that a ground campaign. We need to be able to put pressure on ISIL from multiple directions simultaneously.

We need to continue to restore the capability, training and equipping of the Iraqi Security Forces and the Peshmerga. We need to keep pressure on ISIL in its safe haven inside Syria. We need to build up a Syrian opposition to confront that. And we need a bit of patience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Arwa, do we know what the interpretation there in Iraq -- I know you're in Turkey, but what the interpretation in Iraq might be when the general says, you know, stepping up of this ground campaign.

DAMON: Well, look, the main focus here, as far as anyone understands, is to try to get the Iraqi Security Forces to actually do the job that they were trained to do. And that is to be able to effectively push ISIS out of its stronghold and then for them to be able to hold and secure the territory.

The sense in Iraq, though, is that all of this will be something of a moot point if those political pillars are not put into place. And by that, I mean, the real need for the Shia-led government in Baghdad to reach out to those Sunni tribes.

General Dempsey's assessment of what needs to be done is, of course, spot-on, but how that translates and what other steps are needed in parallel, that's going to be something that is really going to lie in the political spectrum.

This is not something that can be accomplished militarily. Dempsey, of course, given his history in Iraq is very well aware of that. The question is whether or not the U.S. can put the needed pressure on the Iraqi government in Baghdad and whether or not the government in Baghdad can genuinely reach out to those Sunni tribes. Look, they've made pretty significant moves so far. The government has begun arming the Sunni tribes, something that they have been asking for, for quite some time now. Remember, it was the Sunni tribes that rose up against what was al Qaeda back in 2007, 2008. That then allowed for the tides to be turned back then.

So there is this realization that it's going to have to be a multi- tiered effort before even beginning to talk about defeating an entity like ISIS -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Arwa Damon, thanks you so much, on the border there in Turkey.

Meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin getting a very chilly reception at the meeting of the G20 Summit. Leaders of the world's most powerful nations in Brisbane, Australia, for the summit have been blasting Putin over Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

Jim Acosta is traveling with the president -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fred, this headline in this newspaper here in Australia really says it all. It says, ice cold war, and it shows the Russian bear duking it out with the Australian kangaroo.

You know, it's really been the G19 plus one, very isolated Vladimir Putin at this G20 Summit. The Russian president has gotten the cold shoulder from many of the leaders here in Brisbane. The summit's host, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott sent only low-level officials to greet Putin at the airport.

Aides to Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper, say he told Putin, "I guess, I'll shake your hand, but you need to get out of Ukraine, and we did see President Obama walking into dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, deep in conversation.

And in the video, you can hear the words cease-fire, and the president piled on Putin earlier in the day, mentioning the downing of Malaysian Flight 17 and vowing that the U.S. will continue to take on a lead role in standing up to Russia. Here's what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're leading and dealing with Ebola in West Africa and in opposing Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which is a threat to the world, as we saw in the appalling shoot down of MH-17, a tragedy that took so many innocent lives, among them your fellow citizens.

As your ally and friend, America shares the grief of these Australian families, and we share the determination of your nation for justice and accountability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Russia created a stir at this summit by positioning some naval ships off of the Australian coast. Moscow said they were in the area for Putin's security, but Australia responded by sending its own warships to keep an eye on the Russians.

Besides Putin, there are other big topics at this summit, such as Ebola, with the G20 leaders, releasing a joint statement encouraging nations who haven't joined the fight against the deadly virus to start doing so.

And the battle against ISIS is also a top priority. Something President Obama will be discussing with leaders from Australia and Japan tomorrow. The president will end this trip with a news conference before heading back to Washington -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Jim Acosta.

All right, the cold war may have ended a quarter of a century ago, but tensions are indeed high between western powers and Vladimir Putin's Russia, and plans for Russian bombers to patrol near U.S. coastlines, it's raising those tensions.

Plus, the man who says he killed Osama Bin Laden sits down with CNN's Jake Tapper. That's straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. World leaders are in Australia for the G20 Economic Summit. And Russian president Vladimir Putin is traveling with military backup. He's brought along his very own warship, in fact.

And Russia says it's there for research, but call also be used as extra security. Meanwhile, Russia just announced plans to send long- range bombers into the Gulf of Mexico. Here now is Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dangerous maneuver. A Russian jet fighter buzzes right in front of a U.S. Air Force surveillance plane, within about 100 feet of the nose. A move which U.S. officials said endangered the American crew.

Another incident, a Russian military aircraft comes within 50 miles of the California coast, the closest in years. Get ready for more. Russia's defense minister says his military is about to send long- range bombers to patrol near American coastlines.

BARRY PAVEL, THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL: You're certainly going to have longer range bombers coming down this coast almost certainly and you're also going to have bombers coming down coast and he also mentioned in particular, flying in the Gulf of Mexico. So we're talking about ringing the United States with the exception of the Canadian border.

TODD: The Russian planes likely won't fly inside U.S. air space, within 14 miles of the coast. But U.S. officials call the action provocative and destabilizing. Russia's defense minister says it's a response to aggression near its border with Ukraine.

PAVEL: This is a rationalization by Russia, and in particular, by president Putin, to strengthen his appeal with his nationalist base.

TODD: Russia's aggression, playing out around the globe, a Scandinavian passenger jet nearly colliding with a Russian surveillance plane, one innocent, right out of a Tom Clancy novel. In waters near Stockholm, a mysterious underwater vessel makes an emergency call in Russian.

It triggers the largest submarine hunt off Sweden since the cold war. All these incidents have taken place since Russia invaded Crimea in February. More than 40 close military encounters in that period, according to one European report.

Analysts say this is one man, Vladimir Putin, flexing his muscle, desperate to restore Russia's cold war power.

FIONA HILL, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Putin is personifying as the tough guy, the image of Russia that he wants to present and those around him want to present now of a Russia that will not back down, of a Russia that will take on the west, and in fact, a Russia that will take on anybody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: The dangers now according to analyst that Russian or western forces might miscalculate and there might be some kind of a military confrontation. That given all the air traffic around the United States, especially around the east coast, there might be some kind of an accident with a Russian aircraft.

Or that some other American adversary might follow Vladimir Putin's lead and think they can act aggressively against the United States. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

WHITFIELD: OK. Let's talk more about this. What is going on? And what might be Russia's next move here?

Let me bring in Angela Stent. She is the author of "The Limits of Partnership," a book on U.S.-Russian relations. She's joining us from Washington, D.C., thanks so much, Professor, for being with us.

So what in the world is going on? You have studied Vladimir Putin for a very long time, you know Russia well. What is going on? Is this simply Russian provocation?

ANGELA STENT, AUTHOR, "THE LIMITS OF PARTNERSHIP": Certainly, Russia is flexing its muscles. Putin wants to show the world that they can't mess with Russia. And he wants to intimidate people to throw people off guard.

And we're all sitting here wondering, what's the next move? And as we've heard, it's been very dangerous. There have been these 40 near- misses in the air. And the problem is, none of these Russian planes is communicating with air traffic controllers. So it really raises the bar here and it really does make it much more dangerous.

WHITFIELD: And this really is a first, right, to have these long- range strategic bombers on regular patrol missions in the Gulf of Mexico.

STENT: Yes, this is fairly new. In 2008, they did it a little bit after the Russian/Georgian war, they sent some of these bombers to Venezuela, but then that sort of died down. So this is sort of new.

And Russia has also announced that it's planning to open naval bases in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. So that is aimed, I would say, at the United States, right in our backyard.

WHITFIELD: And we saw that particular near-miss in Brian Todd's piece. But can you paint a picture, particularly, if Russia gets too close, you know, crosses the line, what would the U.S. options be?

Do you see that potentially it could mean a U.S., you know, ship shooting down or a U.S. aircraft, you know, potentially shooting down a Russian aircraft, because of another near-miss or dangerous provocation?

STENT: Well, I mean, the U.S. would do everything it could to de- escalate the situation, to warn the Russians. That would be very much, the very last option. But it certainly raises the stakes here, it raises the possibility of unintended consequences, and this is a dangerous game that Putin's playing.

WHITFIELD: It is dangerous. And then some would say, very dangerous in Ukraine as well, you know, what does this say about the continued vulnerability of Ukraine and Russian continuing to flex its muscles?

STENT: Well, I think Ukraine is vulnerable. We've seen evidence in the last couple of weeks of a Russian troop buildup, of equipment going to Ukraine, of Russian troops inside Ukraine. They really want to take back the airport in Donetsk, these Russian-backed separatists.

The Russians and the separatists are not abiding by a ceasefire agreement they signed. And the rumors are they really want sort of another land grab in that area so they can have a land bridge to Crimea, which they annexed in March.

So, again, we don't know what their intentions are. The Russians keep denying that they're doing any of this. Our facts are completely different, and so, you know, we're in for a long period, I think, of great tensions with Russia.

WHITFIELD: All right, Angela Stent, thanks so much. I always love talking to you. I feel like you really put us there. So appreciate your expertise. Thank you.

All right, it is a brand-new police audio of what happened moments after the Michael Brown shooting. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get us several more units over here. There's going to be a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So with Ferguson on edge as they await the grand jury decision, will the latest leak have an impact? We ask our legal guys, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New police tapes reveal the moments leading up to the shooting of an unarmed black teen by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

In the tapes obtained by the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch," you can hear a dispatcher report a stealing in progress before the fatal confrontation between Officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown. The dispatcher gives the description of a suspect to another police officer, not Wilson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: Twenty five, it's going to be a black male in a white t-shirt. He's running towards Quik Trip. He took a whole box of Swisher cigars.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: Black man, white t-shirt?

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: That's affirmative. She said he just walked out of the store.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Minutes later, Wilson joins the radio exchange and offers to join the hunt for the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER WILSON: This is 21 to 25 or 22, you guys need me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: From there, radio calls indicate other officers arriving at the shooting scene and there was a call from another officer warning a possible trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: In 25.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: Get us several more units over here, there's going to be a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Is there any available Ferguson units who can respond to Canfield and Copper Creek? Advise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so in addition to the audio recordings, the "Post-Dispatch" also released this new surveillance video that shows Wilson, the officer, just two hours after the shooting leaving the police station with other officers and a union lawyer.

Officer Wilson is the one in the white t-shirt that you saw there. The newspaper reports Brown was killed less than 61 seconds after the dispatcher acknowledged that Officer Wilson stopped the teen.

Meantime, the grand jury could make a decision about whether to indict Wilson at any moment now. But will this latest leak of audio and visual reporting there have an impact on the investigation?

Let's ask our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland, good to see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor, joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see you as well.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, So Richard, you first. Might these tapes have an impact or is it your view the grand jury may have already made its decision, may have already seen these tapes?

HERMAN: The die is cast, Fred. I think the grand jury already has their decision. I think they're just waiting for the right time to release it, maybe early Sunday morning, I don't know when. I do not believe there's going to be an indictment in this particular case.

And that does not mean that it's over, Fred, because as we saw in Zimmerman, in the state of Florida, they did not indict. The attorney general brought proceedings. Even if the grand jury does not indict him, the state attorney general could bring charges against him, and then you'll be looking at Zimmerman deja vu all over again.

Because there is a reason this grand jury is not going to indict. There are serious issues here, Fred. It's not simply to put, an unarmed black man was shot. He's 6'4", over 300 pounds, who struck the police officer in his car.

Two bullets went off inside the car, and then he aggressively attacked the officer. That's the first set of facts that we have. That's an acquittal, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, so go ahead, Avery, because I don't know if everyone feels that the facts are that clear. Isn't that why we're at this juncture, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, this is not a manner that is over. In fact, I think the new video that surfaced. And I mean, good for the "Post- Dispatch," that's good journalism. We now see that it's very probative, Fredricka.

But whether or not it's dispositive, it resolves it, is a completely different question. The question we don't know is did the county grand jury see this video? And it's very important --

WHITFIELD: How could they not? Doesn't it seem like they would have to see this, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Well, they sure should. The county prosecutor has been loading the county grand jury with both prosecution and defense witnesses. But without this new revelation, this audio -- the video, I think, is two hours after the fact, I'm not sure what probative value there is.

But the audio is very compelling and I think it is significant. So let's assume that the grand jury has heard these dispatch tapes, the Wilson tapes, the tape from the other officers, I think that factors in.

While we don't know when we're going to get that decision, where I think there is agreement, that it's still going to be very tough to find out which one of those gradations of loss of life, of homicide, of murder, will be, you know, will come down by the grand jury.

That's the issue and the issue is when we're going to hear from them. And honestly, nobody really knows.

WHITFIELD: Richard, I wonder, you know, how coincidental is it that these recordings would be made available, meaning, you know, close to the proximity of when this decision could come down, or is it intentionally, perhaps, to best prepare the public for what's next?

HERMAN: I think that's what's happening in Ferguson, Fred. I think they're preparing, you know, they're giving lessons to police officers, hours of education on how to handle the situation.

I think they're preparing the town because I think they know there's not going to be an indictment here. And, frankly, from what I've seen and what I've read and what I've heard, there should not be an indictment. But I do not like these leaks --

FRIEDMAN: The question is the leaks.

HERMAN: I do not like the leaks that are coming out. This evidence that's coming out right now, I hate that, especially when involved in a case and things like this come out, it should not come out. And I have a problem with that.

But in the end, Fred, put your seat belts on, because I think this thing is going to come down within the next week, if not the next day or two.

WHITFIELD: Avery, last word, quick, quick, quick. FRIEDMAN: Well, very, very quickly, I think why did it come out now? Maybe it's an intentional leak. I think it is. I think the leak has diminished the process. Bottom line, I think we're going to see something very soon.

WHITFIELD: All right, Avery, Richard, thanks so much. Always love your brilliant minds and can't wait to talk to you next week --

HERMAN: We missed you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I know, I missed you, too! I had Avery and Richard withdrawal, but now I'm feeling good again.

FRIEDMAN: Well, we had the same thing. We had the same thing.

WHITFIELD: All right, feeling's mutual. Thanks so much, guys. Appreciate it!

All right, he claims he fired the kill shot that took out Osama Bin Laden. But wait until you hear what former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill was doing minutes after the raid.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We are hearing more about the final moments of Osama Bin Laden. One of the Navy SEALs on the mission to kill Bin Laden sat down with our Jake Tapper. His name, Robert O'Neill, and despite calls for him to keep the mission secret, he's telling plenty of details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": Before you walked into that room on the third floor where you thought Bin Laden was, what went through your head?

ROBERT O'NEILL, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Well, there were two of us left on the stairs going up. We knew we had to go up there because they were doing something, we assumed rigging explosives, vests to blow themselves up. So, when we went up, my thought wasn't of, we're about to shoot this guy and be heroes.

My thought was, we're going to blow up, let's get it over with. And we went up there to do that, but with the thought that, you know, we will die if he blows up, but he will die, too, and that is worth it.

He was not surrendering. He was sort of moving and just based on the level of threat of him not surrendering, and of him having a vest, I engaged him. I shot him twice in the head. He fell to the floor, I shot him one more time and I killed him. TAPPER: What did it feel like?

O'NEILL: The sense was recognition. First of all, the idea of him, and he's a threat, and then I had to shoot him. It wasn't the first time I've done that on a target before. I recognized the individual we were after which is Osama Bin Laden, and I engaged. At that minute, it was just -- it felt like it was the initial threat that I had to take care of and then there were more threats. Threats are just potential unknowns. It wasn't until the room was fully cleared and there were more SEALs in the room that it kind of hit me. It just felt like -- I had a moment of pause.

I talked to a friend of mine who was in the room, he came up to me, and he put his hand on my shoulder. I said, what do we do now? He kind of smiled and said, now, we go find the computers. I said, OK, I'm back. That was quite a moment.

TAPPER: Once you got the computers and Bin Laden's body on to the helicopter, you took off, what happened then?

O'NEILL: We took him up to Bagram and they were going to do more tests on to him to confirm, and the president wanted to have the numbers and be 100 percent certain. And once it was, we were standing there, watching a flat screen TV, watching the president address the nation and the world.

TAPPER: So you were next to Bin Laden's body, watching Obama talk about it?

O'NEILL: A number of feet away from him, yes. I heard him say -- well, I had a breakfast sandwich in my hand, and I heard him say, tonight I can report to the United States and the world that the United States conducted a mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. I heard him say Osama Bin Laden and I looked at Osama Bin Laden, and I thought, how in the world did I get here from Butte, Montana?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill, talking about the killing of Osama Bin Laden with our Jake Tapper on "THE LEAD."

All right, the United States military is considered the mightiest in the world. But a review of America's nuclear arsenal reveals some pretty startling problems. That's next.

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WHITFIELD: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the U.S. nuclear program needs a major overhaul and he cites a Defense Department review that revealed some pretty embarrassing deficiencies. Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. This new report from the Pentagon is certainly dismaying to many people in the military and frankly alarming to others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (voice-over): In the dangerous world of nuclear missiles and strategic bombers, it's hard to imagine a simple hand tool could be a problem. But the Pentagon review found supplies were so neglected, workers at three nuke sites were sharing a single specialized wrench for more than 400 missiles.

CHUCK HAGEL, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Now, how did they do it? They did it by federal expressing the one wrench around to each base. They were creative and innovative and they made it work. But that's not the way to do it.

FOREMAN: The Pentagon is now acknowledging many such troubles, including an inspection regimen that nitpicked insignificant details while ignoring potentially serious issues, like leaky hydraulic seals on aging missile blast doors, making it impossible to close them properly.

A culture of inefficiencies, micromanagement, and daily shortages in equipment, qualified personnel, facilities, and funding, even badly outdated helicopters being used to service nuclear operations, choppers that came into service under President Nixon during the Vietnam War.

HAGEL: We just have kind of taken our eye off the ball here. And if we don't fix this, eventually, it will get to a point where there will be some questions about our security.

FOREMAN: Officials say these problems grew in part from the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, which forced the Pentagon to choose between sending resources to battle or to the nuke program.

HAGEL: When you have to make a hard choice like that, you're going to support the war fighter. And you make as best as you can.

FOREMAN: Still, embarrassing lapses have resulted, such as an incident last year in which a missile bay door was left open and unattended while one crew member slept and another went for food and more recently, reports of missile officers cheating on proficiency tests.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Fixing all of this will not be cheap. The Pentagon currently spending about $15 billion a year on the nuke program, they say that will have to be increased by about 10 percent, and even then, it's going to take years to undo the damage -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Tom Foreman.

The death of a freshman at West Virginia University has now prompted the suspension of all Greek life activities. WVU officials say 18- year-old Nolan Michael Birch died yesterday. He was found unresponsive Wednesday at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house.

Students held a vigil last night. Kappa Sigma's national organization says the chapter at WVA had been suspended last month on unrelated violations. Police are now investigating Birch's death.

Straight ahead, comedy legend, Bill Cosby, confronted about rape allegations. Again, this time, the comedian's reaction, next hour.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Guess what, everyone. This is your last weekend to vote for your CNN Hero of the Year. The family of this week's honoree ran a mortuary business that has been a staple of a Baltimore community for three generations. And now, this woman helps those in grief focus on getting past the trauma. Meet Annette March Grier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Chicken nuggets, French fries, ketchup and mustard and a milk shake. My daddy ordered the same thing as me. That is my daddy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son's father, he was murdered. Their bond, it was just a bond that a lot of kids don't have with their father.

ANNETTE MARCH-GRIER: I love my city. I have lived here all of my life. But people here are having crisis after crisis. I believe that the violence in this city and grief are directly connected.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I feel sad that somebody hurt my dad.

GRIER: A child's grief can be very different from adults. They can easily lose their identity and their security, and that can be very dangerous.

There you go. Write your feelings. How you feeling today? Our program provides that safe place for a child to recover. Our volunteers help the children explore their feelings.

Why did you choose red?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I was angry when my dad passed away.

GRIER: And talk about healthy ways of coping. Get that anger out! We teach our children that it's OK to cry.

His brother died. So he's feeling very sad. Grief is truly a public health problem. We have got to begin to address it.

Coping is how we deal with our feelings. We're giving families a sense of hope. We're helping to heal wounds and bring families back together again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. You can place your vote at cnn.com/heroes. All right, we have much more straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.