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U.S. and Iran Approaching Deal on Iranian Nuclear Program; Historic Buffalo Snow Storm Lightens; Ferguson, Missouri, Awaits Grand Jury Decision on Police Shooting Case; Baby Born in Middle of Buffalo Snowstorm; New Report Released Profiling Sandy Hook Elementary Shooter; Republicans React Against President's Executive Action on Immigration; Interview with Senator David Vitter; CNN Preparing Annual CNN Heroes Event

Aired November 22, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: A decision could come at any moment in Ferguson, Missouri. A grand jury has been busy trying to decide if an officer who shot an unarmed teen is going to be indicted.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Plus Buffalo is buried under seven feet of snow. The people are struggling there, and they are about to face a new threat.

PAUL: Also, was he a cold-blooded killer or a really troubled teenager? New things we learning about regarding the man behind the Sandy Hook massacre and the possible warning signs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

PAUL: Good morning everybody. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 10:00 here on the East Coast, 7:00 out West.

PAUL: Yes, we want to begin with some breaking news as we're learning world powers may be one step closer to striking a deal on Iran's controversial nuclear program.

BLACKWELL: A short time ago Secretary of State John Kerry said efforts are being made to close the, quote, "serious gaps still remaining."

PAUL: We want to go straight to CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He's live in Vienna, Austria, where these talks are taking place. Nic, what have you learned this hour?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christi, good morning. What we're hearing from here is the U.S. secretary of state is going to have in about an hour's time his fourth trilateral meeting. He will be meeting with the Iranian foreign minister Zarif and the EU representative here Catherine Ashton. This will be the fourth time they have had such a meeting. The one they had last night lasted for two hours. Secretary of State Kerry met earlier with the German foreign minister Walter Steinmeier, and there he told reporters there are gaps but they hope that they are closing them. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're working hard. We hope we're making careful progress. But we have big gaps. We still have some serious gaps which we're working to close. The good thing is the P5 plus One are united and working in concert. And we're simply going to not say anything subsequent about the discussions while they are going on. But a lot of serious work is going on by a lot of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And Secretary Kerry has been stressing all along that these talks are tough. He was updating international partners today on the phone with Turkish foreign minister, Canadian foreign minister, a conference with the foreign ministers of Bahrain, of the UAE, of Kuwait and of Qatar. So a lot of work going into this, but it's still far from a done deal, and the expectation at the moment is we just don't know they are going make the deadline by just two days away, Monday. Victor, Christi?

PAUL: Good point. Nic Robertson, we appreciate you so much. Thank you.

We have some more breaking news too just out of Japan. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake rattled the country overnight. According to the Japan meteorological agency we are receiving reports of several injuries, also a building collapsing in one village. But officials say there's been no damage to electric facilities, including nuclear power plants. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a lower intensity for the quake at 6.2 magnitude. But we're going to continue to follow this one and bring you any new information as soon as it comes.

BLACKWELL: Also breaking overnight in Ferguson, Missouri, CNN has learned police arrested three protesters after dozens spilled into the streets ahead of a grand jury decision in the police shooting death of Michael. We have new video you're watching here shows protesters last night on the streets of Ferguson.

PAUL: The jurors are still deciding whether to indict Officer Wilson on charges ranging from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. A decision could come at any moment.

BLACKWELL: And now as resident brace for more unrest there, the FBI has sent more people to the region and President Obama is urging calm.

PAUL: Our Jason Carroll is in Clayton, Missouri, where the grand jury has been meeting. So Jason, what more do we know about first of all last night's arrests?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi, one of the things that I've noted since being out here and covering this story is over the past few weeks, actually over the past few days, we've seen an increasing number of protesters headed into St. Louis obviously waiting for the grand jury decision. Last night, no exception. If you see what happened out there on West Florissant not far from the sop where Michael Brown was shot, more than 100 protesters gathering in the street there, blocking traffic at one point. Protestors then moved in front of the Ferguson police department, once again blocking traffic there as well.

Police ended up making three arrests. Two of those arrested were from Illinois. One of them was from St. Louis. They were charged with unlawful assembly. One of them also wearing an anonymous mask. And Christi, I speak to a longtime community activist who also happening to be a protester as well, and he was actually very upset about some of the protesters coming out, covering their faces, wearing these masks. He basically said if anyone is coming out to support Michael Brown, he says they should be proud to be out here, proud to show their faces. He says he's not happy about, one, people from coming outside the community coming inside the community and causing trouble, and, two, saying anyone who is out there on the street should be proud enough to show their faces for Michael Brown.

But once again an increasing number of protesters out here on the streets whether they be in Ferguson or whether they be right here in Clayton, Missouri.

BLACKWELL: Jason, we know that this decision could come down at any moment. However, there were hundreds of hours of testimony, so much evidence there. Are the protesters also prepared that this could go into December? There is a January deadline, but this may not come out for the next few weeks, possibly.

CARROLL: Well, you know, I think you're right. Anthony Gray, Michael Brown's -- one of Michael Brown's attorneys I think said it best in terms of when to expect a grand jury decision. He said it's a guess, as we all know that. But he also said it could be hours. It could be days. It could be longer.

As for the protesters, Victor, these are protesters and demonstrators who are committed. They are committed to this cause. They say they are going to stay the course no matter how long it takes, no matter how cold it gets, no matter how wet it gets. They will be in the streets of Ferguson protesting for Michael Brown.

BLACKWELL: The protesters continued for more than 100 days so far. I'm sure those people are waiting or fine with waiting 30 or 40 more. Jason Carroll in Clayton, Missouri, for us, thank you so much.

Later this hour on legal panel will weigh in on a range of the legal consequences facing Officer Darren Wilson.

PAUL: And another major story that we're following, blitzed and buried by nearly seven feet of snow, Buffalo, New York. I guess it's time to warm up and thaw out, believe it or not.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Thousands of people are trying to dig out there. But as things start to thaw out, there is another consideration. Warmer temperatures could bring flooding.

PAUL: CNN's Alexandra Field is in Buffalo this morning. How does it feel, Alexandra? Do you feel any sort of warm-up? ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is getting a little bit

warmer, but it's going to take a couple of days to warm up to the point where this flooding could be a real problem. That does mean that people have a little bit of the lead time though with this cleanup. They're trying to get ahead of it before the worst really could happen. That frontend loader has been trying to clean up this street for hours now. But to give you some perspective on how much snow we're really talking about, take a look at this minivan over here and then look at this snow bank piled up over it. It's an astonishing amount of snow even for people here in Buffalo who are used to seeing a lot of snow.

Right now we are seeing people take advantage of this slight warm to the weather. It is not as bitter as it's been. They're getting outside and they're doing some of that shoveling. They're doing some of that snow-blowing. But their most pressing concern, take a look up there. They're getting on top of their roofs and they're trying to shovel out some of the snow. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN BUNSON, HOME OWNER: Obviously with the rain coming up and the temperatures going to get warmer, just worried about snow getting heavier, obviously. So we get six feet average across the roof. These roofs are going to give out. So just trying to take precaution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Roofs giving out. You just heard that homeowner who is worried about it over the last couple days. It's happened in dozens of homes. These roofs collapsing under the weight of the snow. As this warm-up begins to happen the problem is only going to be exacerbated. We're expecting rain and those warmer temperatures are going to make everything a lot heavier on those roofs. That's why so many people are doing this tough and dangerous work, Christi and Victor, of getting up there today and trying to clear as much of the problem as they can.

PAUL: Please be careful. That is not an easy task.

BLACKWELL: I mean, of course.

PAUL: It is slippery. It would be icy up there.

BLACKWELL: Heavy snow. Our thanks to Alexandra. And we've got to thank that photographer who climbed up on the roof for that interview. Thank you both.

PAUL: All right, listen, New York officials will hold a news conference in Buffalo at noon eastern. CNN is going to bring you the latest as that happens. But Meteorologist Jennifer Gray is just back from Buffalo. You saw the snow. Now we're looking for the rain. How quickly might the rain move in?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we are expecting a round of rain to move in later today. So folks do have a tiny window to kind of get their driveways clear and get some of the snow away from what's packed against a lot of people's front doors. And so they are trying to get some of the snow away.

We're also going to look at rain as we move into Sunday night into Monday as well, couple of rounds of it. And this is Monday in the wee hours of the morning could see the second round of rain. And so temperatures are going to gradually warm up as well. Temperatures are going to be in the 40s today and then warming up to close to 60 by Monday. We're not looking at huge amounts of rain. We're looking at less than an inch, but we're also on top of that looking at warmer temperatures. So you're going to have the snow melt and then you're going to have the rain.

And so we have a lot of different factors working against us here. And that's why there is a flood watch in effect. This is for Sunday evening through Wednesday morning due to the warm air, the rain, and the snow melt. We do have that flood threat in Buffalo.

Here is your forecast for the next five days. We're in the 40s today. Tomorrow it's close to 60 degrees. On Monday we should have a lot of cloud cover though so we could keep the melting going at a slow and steady pace versus the sun coming out big and bright, and then it would just enhance that melting even faster. So hopefully we'll just get a slower melt than a quicker one. But it is still a toss-up at this point, still no way of knowing exactly how fast it is going to melt and exactly how big the flood threat is going to get.

So as we move down to the south I want to talk one more thing because we do have a severe weather threat in the south for today and tomorrow. South Texas, the hill country of Texas, we have a slight risk of large hail and damaging winds, slight possibility of an isolated tornado that threatens to be even bigger as we go into tomorrow. New Orleans all the way through the panhandle of Florida, look for that damaging wind threat and hail threat for you for Sunday afternoon.

PAUL: Jennifer Gray, thanks for the heads up.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Jennifer.

We're getting new details surrounding the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

PAUL: Learning about the gunman, specifically Adam Lanza, and the warning signs that the people close to him may have missed. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Boy, think about this. Next month ' is going to be two years since 20 innocent first graders and six teachers were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. And now we're learning more about the shooter who went on that rampage.

BLACKWELL: A Connecticut state agency has released a new report on Adam Lanza. It says Lanza was an isolated young man with deteriorating mental health and a fascination for mass violence. Let's bring in CNN national reporter Nick Valencia. Tell us more about this report and some of the warning signs that obviously were missed.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's important to start by saying that the authors of this report say that this doesn't answer why Adam Lanza did this, but it could give some insight how to prevent future things like this happening. It's a 114 page report that talks about like what you were saying, how his potential illness was misunderstood, largely mistreated by doctors and physicians. And it relies heavily on interviews with doctors and educators of the young man that you're looking at there, the shooter at Sandy Hook.

Let's highlight a couple of points here from this report. We took a look at it earlier this morning. Lanza has not left his room for three months. He had blacked out his windows with garbage bags, and even though he was living under the same roof as his mother he was only communicated with here via e-mail. It also talks about his physical condition. He was suffering. He was 112 pounds at six feet fall.

And it delves deeper, as well, guys, suggesting Lanza had dealt with mental health developmental issues as far back as when he was three years old. He had made up his own language. He was sitting in the corner repeatedly beating his head against the wall. And then by fifth grade his behavior really took a turn for the worse. He authored this book, or penned this book, I should say, called "The Book of Granny," where he glorified violence, child murder, things like cannibalism and taxidermy, really disturbing stuff for anyone at any age, not least somebody who is fifth grade.

PAUL: Good heavens, you wonder, what else could his mother have done? Does this just fall on her? Clearly she tried to get him some help.

VALENCIA: When you're a parent you ask yourself that all the time. How can I keep my kid safe? What can I do to make sure my kid doesn't harm others? And this report is actually pretty critical of Nancy Lanza. It highlights an incident in 2005 where they took Lanza to a hospital in Connecticut and he got a crisis evaluation. The clinicians there suggested that he should have further psychiatric evaluation, and what Nancy Lanza did was she declined that and said he would be better off at home. And they also say that she may have exacerbated his mental health issues by removing him from school in 8th grade, further withdrawing him from normal society. And in fact is says the report concluded that by not addressing Lanza's underlying needs that certain health providers perhaps exacerbated his mental health status.

BLACKWELL: I just cannot imagine that they lived in the same home and communicated only via e-mail.

VALENCIA: He was becoming increasingly withdrawn, only playing videogames. Also there is a part of this report where he had one and only friend, another friend that he would open up to, a confidant, somebody that he would confide, talk about family, talk about video games, talk about violence. He had this extreme fascination with mass violence. And he had a falling out with that friend in the months leading up to this incident.

But it also talks about how he spent some time helping homeless people. He would raise money to feed the homeless and he cared deeply about Sandy Hook Elementary. So a lot of conflicting things here. It certainly something where it wasn't just he snapped. This is something that developed over time.

PAUL: And clearly no relationship with his father.

VALENCIA: Yes.

PAUL: Nick Valencia, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

All right, Bill Cosby, let's talk about this situation. He took the stage last night, and the reaction he got in the midst of the rape allegations might surprise you. Maybe not.

Plus, three more women have come forward with claims. We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Although he's facing mounting allegations that he drugged and sexual assaulted several women, last night in Melbourne, Florida, a packed house of Bill Cosby fans did not just shout of love and support at him, they gave him two standing ovations. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Sara Ganim joins me now. Sara, last night everything worked well. The show went off without a hitch. But in the last 24 hours we understand that up to three more women have now come out with allegations.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Victor. At least three more women have come forward with allegations of the sexual misconduct by Bill Cosby. The women's stories have not yet been verified by CNN, but they joined 10 others who have spoken publicly through various media outlets in the last several days. Their stories share many similarities. In many cases the women say they believe they were drugged. They say Cosby told them to drink something and that they can only remember certain details.

Cosby's attorney has responded to these allegations so far, vehemently denying anything inappropriate at all. His latest statement says this. "The new never before heard claims from women who have come forward in the last two weeks with unsubstantiated, fantastical stories about the things they say occurred 30, 40, or even 50 years ago have escalated far past the point of absurdity." And he goes on to say that it is long past time for media vilification of Mr. Cosby to stop.

Now, speaking of the media, Victor, as these women continue to come forward we are also hearing stories from member of the media who say they tried to dig deeper into allegation against Cosby but were strong armed by his lawyers. Talk show host Wendy Williams said that when she worked in local radio in the 1990s, Cosby himself called into the station and tried to get her fired for reading on air a story from "The National Inquirer" in which he had responded to some allegations of sexual misconduct. Here's what Williams recalled. This is from a meeting with her boss at the radio station. She said "Cosby is on the speakerphone. Cosby dressed me down and called me everything but a daughter of god." Victor?

BLACKWELL: Wow. All right, several live shows have been canceled. But there are still shows on schedule, right?

GANIM: Right. Despite the several canceled shows and another has been postponed indefinitely in Florida and South Carolina, Cosby really shows no signs of slowing down. His website has live performances listed for almost every single week through May. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Sara Ganim reportin for us. A lot of people waiting to hear not from an attorney but from Bill Cosby himself. Sara Ganim in New York for us, thank you so much. Christi?

PAUL: You have to talk about Ferguson because a community is waiting for a decision that could change everything. Coming up our legal experts are digging into what the grand jury could decide, what are the options here, and what it would mean for the Michael Brown case. But first, this week's ones to watch looks at electronic dance music in Argentina and some new stars that are leading the way. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Argentina is at the forefront of a Latin American boom in dance music. Its capital Buenos Aires is home to two young men, Agustin and Matias, who are fast making a reputation as one of the hottest prospects on the DJ scene.

MATIAS CHAVES, DJ/PRODUCER: Right now we just made our first album. That was our biggest achievement. We always try to insert a couple of, like, Latin American instruments or instruments from Argentina. So there is one track especially called "Hit Beat Boom" that the whole breakdown is a tango melody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A very important part of the track which is called the buildup is when the track is gaining energy.

CHAVES: Yes. So you help create a really high energy part because after that you drop the beat. This is a typical sound of Heat Beat.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Heat Beat are preparing to play their new music to fans for the first time during an all-night setting in the city. (MUSIC)

CHAVES: Playing a set for four hours is a journey. It's like telling a story. It's like we are the captains and everybody is on board. People are following us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I hear a Heat Beat record I can hear it from a million tracks. That's a Heat Beat track because you just hear it in the baseline and the way it's produced, the reverb that's on it, the space it gets. It's really amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Watch the full show at CNN.com/OnesToWatch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Right now Ferguson, Missouri, is bracing for a decision by a grand jury on whether to indict embattled Officer Darren Wilson. He's the white police officer who shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown earlier this year. It happened August 9th. Overnight police arrested three protestors after dozens filtered to the street. Now officials are ramping up security out of concern that a decision either way could incite more protesting and more violence.

Let's bring in CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Mark O'Mara. We're also joined by defense attorney Lisa Monet Wayne. It's good to have both of you with us this morning. And Mark I want to start with you. What's the concern that Ferguson policed department, they'll not have to just deal with the influx of protestors who when the grand jury makes this decision one way or the other, but they're also got these lawsuits that re likely to be filed on behalf of protesters back in August.

MARK O'MARA, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There's lot of problems. It's a very difficult balance because we know there's such a national emotion about this case that either way whatever happens the protesters are g.t. want to be heard, and they have the absolute right to be heard.

The real problem comes when you have those instigators, those people who come into the peaceful protesters and make problems because they want problems. Very difficult for the police to try and handle that. And you are right. Now they have got to do it through a filter that they are already being sued for their behavior back in August and September when they acted, in my opinion, sort of inappropriately because they were insensitive to the passions that were there on the street.

BLACKWELL: And there were some who ask if their actions actually provoked some of the response and the exacerbation of the situation there by training their rifles on a crowd of protesters in one case, and there are many examples.

Lisa, I want to come to you. What are the possibilities, the possible charges that Officer Wilson could face? Walk us through some of them. LISA MONET WAYNE, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, there are a number of

charges here. Obviously the most serious one is first-degree murder, which means his intent was deliberate to kill Michael Brown. And then there are all the lesser charges that can come from that. And the least charge that we're going to see is involuntary manslaughter. So there are a number of charges that they are looking at. Obviously what he doesn't want is first-degree murder. That is the most serious. That is a life sentence.

BLACKWELL: And the most difficult to prove.

WAYNE: That's right. That's right.

BLACKWELL: So Mark, there has been in the last 24 hours an agreement by some state and local officials to at least some of the 19 rules of engagement that some of the protester groups put together, one of them to respect safe places, these churches. They say it's a conversation, not a negotiation between the two parties. Is that legally binding? And is there precedent that the police would negotiate with the protesters before a protest how they are going to respond?

O'MARA: I'm not sure there is much precedent for it, but I've got to say it is a wonderful idea. And the fact that there is this time to look at it and say let's behave this way. Let's set up some rules of engagement or non-engagement. Let's give you the groundwork for what you can do properly, and by the way, you can't do this, I think it is a wonderful opportunity to allow the protesters to do what they have to do, which is to release their energy, release their emotions and be heard, yet for the police on the other side to be able to maintain peace and still protect the citizenry and enforce the laws that they have to enforce. I think it's a great idea.

PAUL: Lisa, CNN's Justice Reporter Evan Perez reported out that Officer Wilson was in talks to resign from the department. He didn't want to do it while the grand jury was going through this process of listening to testimony, and now they are deliberating. Is it credible to think that he would be in any way able to stay on the force? I always thought it was just assumed that he would have to be reassigned. Is it credible to think he could just go back to work if he's not indicted?

WAYNE: No, I think that this is a no-win situation for him no matter what happens here. I don't know what police force would be hiring him. He's become the poster boy for police brutality no matter what happens with the grand jury. So I think in terms of his career, he's probably going to have to make different choices. He's going to have to look at the different career. So I can't imagine he would come back.

I understand waiting to resign because it does appear to be some kind of admission. So that's a legal strategy choice. But in terms of the rest of his life, I can't imagine he'll come back to the police.

BLACKWELL: What changes should we expect to see, Mark, to the Ferguson police department as we move forward from the Justice Department as part of the federal investigation? O'MARA: From the outside looking at Ferguson now we know that was a

festering situation because you can't have a population which is 65, 70 percent African-American and a police force which is completely disparate. So it was going to happen. Maybe not with Mike Brown's case, but it was waiting to happen. And then there are other towns across the nation.

What's going to be nice is now that we've identified it in Ferguson, and hopefully the Department of Justice will involve itself and get into a concert order, which is what they call it, for changes, for definite changes not only to hiring policies but how they are going to interact with the community members. And that may be, if there is any silver lining to this, Ferguson may then become a model we look and see in other states and other cities that have the same concerns before we have another Mike Brown incident.

BLACKWELL: All right, and of course we are waiting at any moment. That decision could come from the grand jury. Of course we'll bring it to you as soon as we get the latest. Mark O'Mara, Lisa monet Wayne, thank you both.

WAYNE: Thank you.

PAUL: You know, Buffalo seems to be in a standstill right now, but there's one person that the snow in Buffalo is not going to stop, this little girl. She couldn't wait to arrive. Her parents joining us live next to tell one unforgettable story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: So the people living in Buffalo, New York, they are still trying to dig out from that epic snow storm. Look at this. Officials say at least 13 people have now died in relation to this storm, the latest victim a 68-year-old man who died from a heart attack while snowplowing his driveway. In some areas the people were pounded with seven feet of snow, forcing roofs to collapse.

PAUL: That makes me nervous seeing people up on their rooftops. I know they have to do it, but that is not safe.

BLACKWELL: It isn't.

BLACKWELL: So everybody please be careful there. And despite this record-setting snow and obviously a whole lot of challenge, one family has a lot to celebrate this morning.

BLACKWELL: They certainly do. Let's bring in Tom and Heather Stuebe. They join us via Skype this morning from Buffalo. And they are the proud new parents of a baby girl Ruby Amelia. That little girl was born on Wednesday. This story is incredible.

PAUL: Heather, I understand you went into labor when the storm hit. What happened?

HEATHER STUEBE, DAUGHTER BORN DURING SNOWSTORM: Good morning guys. Well, she was overdue. So we'd been waiting since November 8th, really. And then when the weather forecast came through that it was going to be really, you know, potentially like a catastrophe, we thought ahead and we went into the city on Monday night when it started to snow and stayed with my friend. And so, yes, I went into labor on Wednesday morning at about 8:00-ish. And we got to the birthing center of Buffalo pretty easily because she lives really, really close to there. And she was born just before 11:00.

PAUL: But Tom wasn't there, right?

HEATHER STUEBE: Tom had driven back to be with the kids on Monday night after he dropped me off. And then he couldn't get out again. It was -- it was just feet and feet of snow. It was like, what, over three inches an hour. So yes, we called him using Face Time so that he could at least watch.

TOM STUEBE, DAUGHTER BORN DURING SNOWSTORM: Yes I got to watch the birth on Face Time, which was really nice.

PAUL: Oh, my God.

BLACKWELL: The marvels of modern technology. What was the first meeting like, Tom?

TOM STUEBE: What was the first meeting?

HEATHER STUEBE: Yes, when you got to get me yesterday.

TOM STUEBE: Oh, great. That was fabulous. I walked in the door we just said hey the rescue crew is here and we got her home. And I'll tell you, it was great to see her. We got great big hugs and kisses and tears. It was wonderful. I got to meet the baby for the first time, and it was just beautiful.

PAUL: We do have to ask you how everything is with your house, is everything intact, because of this storm?

TOM STUEBE: Fortunately we are good here. We've got plenty of groceries. We're got heat and hot water. I was taking the snow off the roof this morning with the snow rake. And I do plan on getting back onto one of the sections of the roof just as a precautionary measure to get some of the snow off. Otherwise we're good. We're plowed out. Some friends of mine came over and plowed us out, a nice gentlemen by the name of Sean Webster. He brought his tractor, so a lot of helping neighbors. My other friend was able to take us to the city to rescue Heather and the baby. So it's been a collective effort by everyone. But we're doing great here and just loving it.

PAUL: That's really sweet.

BLACKWELL: We're so glad you were thinking ahead and into the city ahead of the snowfall. And we're glad that everything is going great with Ruby Amelia.

PAUL: With five other kids, this is your first Face Time baby. Congratulations for everything. We're so glad everybody is all right, Tom and Heather Stuebe and little Ruby Amelia. HEATHER STUEBE: Thank you.

TOM STUEBE: Thank you so much.

PAUL: Sure, take good care.

BLACKWELL: The president takes big steps on immigration reform, and Republicans have been slamming him ever since. Next, one Republicans tells us why he thinks the president's plan is unconstitutional.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: The president has taken actions that he himself has said are those of a king or emperor, not an American president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: That's House Speaker John Boehner slamming President Obama for using his executive authority to protect millions of the undocumented immigrants from possible deportation.

BLACKWELL: Boehner says the president is sabotaging any change of enacting bipartisan reforms.

Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana joins us now to talk about this. Senator Vitter, good to have you with us.

SEN. DAVID VITTER, (R) LOUISIANA: Good morning, good to be here.

BLACKWELL: So on your Facebook page, you wrote this, "President Obama's executive amnesty is illegitimate, unconstitutional, and flat out horrible policy."

PAUL: And you went on to tweet then that you will do, quote, "everything you can to push back on it." So what are you planning to do in response to the president's executive action?

VITTER: I've been meeting with other folks who agree with me for weeks about this. And there are two broad categories. One is litigation, which certainly outside groups and individuals are going to move forward with and many legislators will be supportive and involved in that. But of course that will take a while.

The more immediate work is in Congress, and that will be to take some sort of legislative action to block and push back on this illegal action. And we are looking into exactly what is the most effective way do is that.

BLACKWELL: Isn't the effective way, some would say, to pass a bill? The editorial board of "The Washington Post" says that the smartest move is for Republicans to actually pass immigration reform. Here's a quote from the paper, "Even after the Senate passed sweeping immigration reform last year with bipartisan support, House Speaker John Boehner refused to allow a vote on the bill in the lower chamber where it would have been likely to pass. Republicans --

VITTER: I disagree with that bill, as you know.

BLACKWELL: Let me finish their thought here. "-- now berate the president for thwarting the popular will. Yet the GOP thumbed its nose at democracy by refusing to submit to an up or down vote." You may be against the legislation, but isn't that the point of holding a vote?

VITTER: I disagree with it. But you know, whether something passes or not in Congress doesn't change the constitution, doesn't grow the president's power. And that's what is at issue here. It is not just the policy. The much bigger issue is really a constitutional crisis. So just because the president doesn't get his way legislatively doesn't mean all of a sudden his powers expand and the constitution changes.

PAUL: Back in 2011 you and Senator Rand Paul introduced a resolution to amend the constitution so a person born in the U.S. could only become an American citizen the one or both of their parents was a legal citizen, a legal immigrant, or a member of the U.S. armed forces. You said then, and I want to quote here, "Closing this loophole will not prevent them from becoming citizens but will ensure they have to go through the same process as anyone else who wants to become an American citizen." So where do you stand on this now?

VITTER: Same place. We are the only advanced country that I know of where just because an individual is born here physically he or she is a citizen. That's an outlier rule. No other industrialized country has that rule. So even if both parents are noncitizens, even if both parents are here illegally and are noncitizens, the child is a citizen. I don't know why we have that rule. I don't know anybody in the real world who agrees with it. So certainly I haven't changed my position on that.

BLACKWELL: We have that rule because at the end of slavery President Lincoln believed that the people who built this country, the slaves, earned their citizenship to be Americans.

VITTER: This has nothing do with slavery. Of course --

BLACKWELL: It absolutely does. That was the passage of the 14th Amendment.

VITTER: It has absolutely nothing do with that, but the fact that somebody who happens to be born here of two noncitizens becomes a citizen, no other country treats it that way.

BLACKWELL: How does one earn citizenship?

VITTER: We have a legal process to earn it. And I think the crisis in immigration policy is that we've put our whole immigration system upside down. We've made it exceedingly difficult to walk through that legal process so people waiting in line trying to follow the rules, we've made it far too difficult for them.

Meanwhile, we have virtually unguarded borders in some areas so we're really encouraging implicitly illegal immigration.

BLACKWELL: Senator, let me ask you this.

VITTER: I think we need to get that right by enforcing the law, not simply allowing complete, unfettered illegal immigration, and also reform the system so we help people walking through the legal process, because America is a country of immigrants. Not a question if we came from immigrant families. It's a question of when. And that's a wonderful part of our tradition. But it's been a tradition of legal immigration, not just open, unfettered borders.

BLACKWELL: Senator, let me ask you this, and I know we're up against a hard wall and I don't mean to be flip here, but is there anything more fundamental in the definition of being an American than being born here? How did you earn your citizenship?

VITTER: I was born here of two citizens. So, yes, absolutely. You know, another rule which I think is absolutely crazy is that when Congress is apportioned following a new sentence, noncitizens including illegals are part of that count. Now, I don't think the founders established Congress to represent noncitizens here legally or illegally. I think that is just crazy as well.

PAUL: Senator David Vitter, we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you for being here.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, sir.

VITTER: Thanks.

PAUL: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: It is a chilly day in New York. But one of the hottest events is about to start. Right behind me through those doors you can come with me to CNN Heroes all-star tribute. Come on.

This year's venue, the iconic American Museum of Natural History, a grand place to honor 10 everyday people doing extraordinary things.

We're in what's called the Whale Room. You're wondering why. A little hint for you.

The days leading up to the main event are action packed, cameras, lighting, HD video screens, and decor are put in place. And no show is complete without the rolling out of the red carpet. Before you know it, a transformation.

So inside this trailer my fantastic colleagues are putting the final touches on the show. Dare I go in? Come on, look alive people. We're almost at show time.

On this night at the museum, host Anderson Cooper and the CNN team honor a very special kind of person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of these people, they don't have a lot of money or access to power. They are just people who saw a need in their community and set about trying to fix something.

PEREIRA: And here the celebs have turned out to pay them tribute. Recording artist Cheryl Crowe, who performed at CNN Heroes inaugural event is back for another special performance.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On this night at the museum, host Anderson Cooper and the CNN team honor a very special kind of person.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: A lot of these people they don't have a lot of money, they don't have access to power. They don't have -- you know, they are just people who saw a need in their community and set about trying to fix something.

PEREIRA: And here the celebs have turned out to pay them tribute. Recording artist Sheryl Crow who performed at CNN Heroes' inaugural event is back for another special performance.

SHERYL CROW, SINGER: I'm grateful to CNN that they have started this program because there are so many angels out there on this planet that are doing God's work.

PEREIRA: For the night's honorees who never seek the spotlight, seeing it all for the first time is a moment to remember.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Tune in to see the show on Sunday, December 7th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN HOST: Yes, we hope you make some great memories today. BLACKWELL: Thank you so much for watching.

Let's turn things over now to Fredricka Whitfield. Hey -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, you guys.

PAUL: Hi Fred.

WHITFIELD: Hey -- good to see you all. Have a great day. Thanks so much. It is the 11:00 a.m. Eastern hour of the newsroom and it begins right now.