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Ferguson Awaits Grand Jury Decision on Police Shooting Case; Buffalo Threatened with Possible Floods after Historic Snowstorm; Some American Military Personnel to Remain in Afghanistan; New Report Released Profiling Sandy Hook Elementary Shooter; Congress Holds Hearings on Company Making Faulty Airbags; Paralyzed American Soldier Stands with Help of Robotic Exoskeleton; Investment Via Peer-to-Peer Lending Examined

Aired November 22, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: New developments on the grand jury in Ferguson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know from sources that the grand jury that was here considering whether to indict Officer Darren Wilson left the Justice Center here in St. Louis County without reach ago decision last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Plus, U.S. combat troops are getting ready to withdraw from Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the president is quietly expanding another part of the U.S. military role there.

Then brand new details on Newtown school shooter Adam Lanza, a new report that looks at his troubled past including a chilling story he wrote in fifth grade.

Hello, again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We have just learned new information about the grand jury deliberating the case of Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Sources tell CNN Justice Reporter Evan Perez that the jury did not reach a decision last night. It's unclear when the panel will reconvene, but law enforcement officials are preparing for protests and potential unrest when that decision is rendered. More than 100 protesters hit the streets last night. They remained peaceful but at times blocked traffic. People say three people were arrested for unlawful assembly.

Let's go now to Ed Lavandera, who is in Ferguson. So Ed, how are people, I guess, bracing themselves for any news of a decision?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've seen signs that especially law enforcement are doing the preparation to get ready for any potential unrest. As you mentioned, Fredricka, barricades going up around the county courthouse where the grand jury has been deliberating and were prosecutors, the lead prosecutor has been heavily criticized over the last few months, where his offices are. And then you have people here on the streets of Ferguson, many of

which who have been spending the last three months trying to calm nerves and reiterate to people that if they're going to protest, to do it peacefully.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hurting others or destroying property is not the answer.

LAVANDERA: You were one of a handful of people who were in the middle of it all trying to keep the peace. You were like the last line of defense before things went crazy. I watched it. What was it like to be there on that line?

JAMES MUHAMMAD, FERGUSON PEACEKEEPER: Every night that I went out there, I looked at my wife and I looked at my children and I didn't know if I was coming home.

LAVANDERA: On this stretch of road in Ferguson, Missouri, on the nights the protests turned violent, there was a small group of peace keepers, mostly local religious leaders, who put themselves between the cops and the protesters, putting their lives on the line.

MUHAMMAD: We were the last line of defense. And if we were to fail out there, if we would have not succeeded out there, could you imagine the blood that would have been on the street?

LAVANDERA: So I've gone back and found a couple of those peacekeepers that I met on those nights here on this street to talk to them about what it was like and to get their perspective on what they fear might happen the next here in Ferguson.

So you're in the middle of that crowd out there. It's already tense. It's getting more tense. You've got a guy in front of you telling you I came here to die.

MUHAMMAD: His actual words were "I came here to die tonight." And I response was, why don't you choose life? Why don't you choose to live? You don't have to come to die tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to exit the roadway.

ROBERT WHITE, FERGUSON PEACEKEEPER: I am afraid as a citizen that there's going to be fashions on both sides that's not going to be able to keep peace. I remember the night when the frustrations built up between the clergy and the police officers, and there was a disagreement with how the police were managing the people. And I remember when I was like, I'm done. I threw my hands up and I was ready to walk away.

But there was a particular sergeant from the highway patrol, and as I was taking off my orange shirt and throwing in the towel, he took off his baton and helmet and said if you quit, I quit. And he said, but the reality is there's bad protesters on your side and he said there's bad cops on my side. He said if you and I quit, they're going to clash.

And right there in the middle of this street right here he and I came to tears. And we promised each other that we were going to stand through until the end.

LAVANDERA: Will you be out here again like you did last night?

WHITE: We haven't left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: So Fredricka, people like that, those folk that you heard from in that piece, over the last few months they have been talking to people trying to keep things as peaceful and prepare for this moment as much as possible. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you so much, very volatile situation.

Meantime, the U.S. military's role in Afghanistan will be extended next year despite President Obama announcing a troop drawdown. We have learned that President Obama has signed an order authorizing a more expansive mission for troops in Afghanistan. We go to our Erin McPike at the White House. So Erin, explain.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, although President Obama was adamant that there would be no more combat for U.S. troops by the end of this year, this new order could in effect reverse that if U.S. troops need to act if they are threatened by the Taliban or some other group. I want to play for you what President Obama said in the Rose Garden in May when he was announcing that drawdown. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've made it clear that we're open to cooperating with Afghans on two narrow missions after 2014 -- training Afghan forces and supporting counterterrorism operations against the remnants of Al Qaeda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: Now, this new order expands on those counterterrorism operations. I want to read to you a little bit of a statement that we got from a senior administration official this morning explaining this. That official says "As part of this mission the United States may provide combat enabler support to the Afghan national security forces in limited circumstances to prevent detrimental strategic effects to these Afghan security forces." Then that official goes on to say "While we will no longer target belligerents solely because they are members of the Taliban, to the extent that Taliban members directly threaten the United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan or provide direct support to Al Qaeda, we will take appropriate measures to keep Americans safe."

And what we have also understood is that the reason the administration feels this is necessary is because they learned a big lesson from Iraq in that after pulling out of Iraq, after the U.S. pulled out of Iraq, it left the conditions for groups like ISIS and the Khorasan to be created there in Iraq, and they want to avoid that same sort of thing in Afghanistan, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Erin McPike, thanks so much, at the White House, appreciate that.

A new report revealing details of how deeply disturbed the Newtown school shooter was. Two years ago Adam Lanza killed his own mother, then he shot and killed 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The report says there were a lot of missed flags and warning signs throughout his life. CNN's Nick Valencia joining me now with more on this. We heard for some time that there were a lot of missed signals. But what's new now.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it's important to start by saying the authors of this report say that this doesn't answer why Adam Lanza did this, but they hope that it could prevent future shootings. And you asked about some of those red flags, those warning signs. Well, a couple of them that we wanted to highlight in this 114 page report which is largely based on interviews with educators and physicians that treated Adam Lanza, and one was three months before the shooting happened. He hadn't left his room. While he was living under the same roof as his mother, he had blacked out the windows with garbage bags, and he refused to communicate with his mother. He only sent e-mail messages to her.

We also know that his health was in really bad shape. He was 6'0" tall, only 112 pounds. Now, this report goes on to say, Fred, that -- it delves deeper into suggesting that Lanza had dealt with mental health development issues as far back as when he was three years old. Doctors said he made up his own language, that he had problems hitting himself. He would often be in the corner hitting his own head against the wall.

And then by fifth grade that's when his behavior really took a turn for the worse. He penned this book that we were talking about earlier in the lead-in, "The Book of Granny" where he glorifies killing children. He talks about cannibalism, taxidermy, really disturbing stuff for anyone, at least somebody who's in fifth grade.

WHITFIELD: So is this report saying that the mother saw all of these things, didn't know what to do with it, didn't convey it? Or were there others who were eyewitness to the book that he wrote and these behaviors and didn't know what to do about it or just failed to do something about it?

VALENCIA: It's critical of some of the health care providers. It's also very critical of Nancy Lanza. They highlight this incident back in 2005 where she took Adam Lanza to a Connecticut hospital. And they had a crisis evaluation for him. And physicians there suggested that there should be a further psychiatric evaluation. Nancy Lanza said she didn't want to do that. She declined that. She took him back home. She thought that he would be better suited being homeschooled. She removed him from eighth grade. And that's when they say he became even further withdrawn from normalcy or society. He began playing very violent video games.

And also something very interesting in this report I was reading this morning. He had a friend, probably his only friend, that suggested that he had a falling out with in the months leading up to this shooting, somebody who was a confidante, that he would talk to about his family, video games, and also his deep infatuation with mass violence. So that could have, it suggests in this report contributed to this massacre at Sandy Hook almost two years next month.

WHITFIELD: Did that report reveal that there was some thinking that maybe the mom didn't like what some of the recommended options were, she didn't think they were suitable for her son and thought that perhaps her approach might be the best? And of course we know by now that was very futile, but is there any explanation that they reveal about the mom's actions or inactions or what she thought was the best thing to do?

VALENCIA: It doesn't go that deep. And you can only assume that the parent thinks they're doing the best for their child. And she probably thought she was doing as much as she could. It also talks about this strained relationship that he had with his father. He hadn't spoken to his father for two years. They suggested this contributed to his really bizarre behavior and what he ended up doing. There's really no way that you could find out really why and understand the mind of somebody like this.

But it's a very detailed report. On that though, on Nancy Lanza, it's also very critical, suggesting that she could have done more. And there were other health care providers that could have done more to treat this kid.

WHITFIELD: Sad situation. All right, thanks so much, Nick Valencia, appreciate that.

Buffalo hit this week by a year's worth of snow in just a matter of days. Unprecedented storms have left 13 people dead and seven feet of snow on the ground in upstate New York. Now the combination of rain and rising temperatures is creating the threat of major flooding. The entire region is under a flood watch, in fact. And swift water rescue crews are also on alert.

And no decision yet from the grand jury in Ferguson. Up next our legal analysts walk us through some possible scenarios.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. We're still awaiting word from the grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri. Sources are telling CNN Evan Perez the grand jury did not make a decision last night, and it's still unclear when they will reconvene.

Here are some of the outcomes being considered -- indictment of police Officer Darren Wilson for first degree murder or second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, or no charges at all. Let me bring in Joey Jackson. He is the legal analyst at our sister

network HLN. Good to see you. And CNN legal analyst Mark O'Mara, good to see you as well, both joining me from New York.

All right, this is an extremely high profile case. Is this grand jury being charged with the same kind of responsibilities under same parameters as any other grand jury, Joey, or do they have special conditions in which to work?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Good afternoon, Fredricka. Good to see you, as well, and hello, Mark. Listen, here's the story. A grand jury has parameters, and they differ, of course, in different states. But we know what this grand jury is doing, and they're charging, as you mentioned, the various, you know, shmorgishborg of charges there. But their mission, Fredricka, is to sift through the evidence and really make two determinations, right. One, is there probable cause to believe that a crime was committed, and, b, if so, did Darren Wilson commit it?

But then there's the c. And c is the different charges that is you mentioned. And of course in sifting through the evidence this prosecutor has opted to give them everything. And when I say everything, all of the evidence and all of the information. And now in doing this, they'll have to decide is it murder? And if they do that they will have to say that there was intent here. There was premeditation here. If there is not, then they'll drop to second degree murder.

And if the say second degree murder, the absence of premeditation, then they'll go to manslaughter voluntary, and they'll say, was there heat of passion, sudden quarrel? And if they say, well, there wasn't that, Fredricka, then they'll consider the other one, the lesser included, which is involuntary manslaughter. And that of course means that they would say that he acted recklessly. That he acted irresponsibly, that is, Darren Wilson in firing. And they're not charged, finally, with really determining guilty. They're simply charged with determining whether there's enough evidence based upon the information they have so that the matter could go to trial.

WHITFIELD: I think that's a really important message to convey because I think some people convey, wait a minute, there's a verdict. There is a decision being rendered by the grand jury, guilt or innocence. That's not what it is. This is about carrying on with the legal process and should this go to trial.

So then Mark, is this grand jury, does it have, I guess, certain privileges that perhaps other grand juries don't have, meaning the prosecutor is giving this grand jury everything. And the prosecutor, I understand, is also saying to this grand jury you set the schedule. You let us know how much more time you need, under what conditions you need it, et cetera. Is that unique to this grand jury?

MARK O'MARA, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The process is still the same and the rules are still the same. This grand jury is doing what every grand jury should do. The way this is sort of unique and we've called it a super grand jury is that rather than a prosecutor presenting basically what he or she wants and getting what he or she wants, McCulloch is saying at least that he's going to do it very impartially and he's going to do it all on record.

So in that sense, giving this grand jury everything that they can possibly want and allowing them to be more activist, bringing back witnesses if they want, additional witnesses, talking about other evidence if they want other evidence, allows them to make hopefully a complete picture of what was happening and a much better result by deciding either to indict for one of the several charges, or to not indict.

The nice thing that McCulloch is doing, or the appropriate thing, to insulate the grand jury from whatever decision is made is he's already committed to having all the transcripts of whatever they talk about and whatever evidence they have released. That's going to help us and the rest of the nation look and decide for ourselves if the verdict or decision was appropriate.

WHITFIELD: And is it true that this prosecutor has said we're leaving it up to the grand jury to decide whether there will be charges imposed even if they do not return an indictment? This prosecutor could potentially, Joey, still impose charges, but in this case he's withdrawing himself from doing that? Is that true?

JACKSON: I would see that as unlikely. Remember, Fredricka, that the whole purpose of having a grand jury is you have this body of citizens that come forward unlike of course an actual jury where they're deciding beyond a reasonable doubt, you have a jury that's making a decision based upon the evidence that's presented as to whether criminal charges should be brought. And of course only nine of the 12 have to make this decision.

Now, in the event that there is no true bill, meaning there's not an indictment, could there be a re-presentation to a different grand jury? Yes, the laws that. Double jeopardy doesn't attach, but I think that would be highly unlikely in this particular case.

WHITFIELD: And then Mark, could you have a dead locked grand jury, you know, similar to what Joey was spelling out? If they don't have the nine votes, does that simply mean it's over?

O'MARA: It sort of means it's over, because look at it this way -- in order to come back with an indictment, the grand jury has to, nine of the members have to agree to an indictment on one of the several counts. If they fail to come to that level of consensus, then the result is a no true bill. They don't actually vote for no true bill as much as they have to have nine people agree to vote for an indictment. So if they don't get to that level under Missouri law they cannot issue an indictment, the result is no true bill, and there's no charges.

WHITFIELD: And then quickly, Mark, if it is indeed the discretion of the grand jury to create its own schedule, you know, can they say we just need a little bit more time to tackle this? We want to wait until after the holiday. Or is there some urgency that's placed on them where they have to get it done as soon as possible? O'MARA: The deadline is January 7th. That's when their session ends.

If there's any insight that we get, and it's always dangerous to speculate, any insight we get from the fact that they didn't make a decision Friday is that they're still thinking about what's going on. They may want a witness to come back or they may want more time. I do think we have to be sensitive because they are aware the nation is on edge waiting for their results. I don't want to rush to it, but I want them to focus. I wish they would have worked this weekend just so we had a decision.

WHITFIELD: That would indeed influence their decision there to know that their deadline is really January, that they do have as much time as they can take.

JACKSON: Plenty of time, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joey, Mark, thanks so much to both of you, gentlemen, appreciate it from New York.

O'MARA: Thank you.

JACKSON: Thanks, Fredricka, have a great afternoon.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you, you too.

Up next, why the government wants millions more airbags recalled. We'll talk to an industry analyst who says it should have been done a long time ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the world's second biggest airbag maker was called to Capitol Hill this week. The lawmakers wanted to know why there hasn't been a broader recall of faulty airbags, those airbags that have been linked to deaths and injuries across the U.S. Well, questions over a new recall lead to this exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HIROSHI SHIMIZU, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, TAKATA CORP: We are deeply sorry about each of the reported instances in which a Takata airbag has not performed as designed.

SEN. ED MARKEY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Do you agree or disagree with the call for a nationwide recall, Mr. Shimizu?

SHIMIZU: Senator, it's hard for me to answer yes or no, so if you allow me --

MARKEY: It is not hard for you to answer yes or no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I want to bring in Lauren Fix. She's an automotive industry analyst and she's live with us from Buffalo. So Lori, do you have a helicopter? How did you manage to get from your home to that studio in Buffalo? What's your story?

LAUREN FIX, AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ANALYST: Snow tires. I have all wheel drive and snow tires. I can get anywhere.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Folks kind find out which ones when they go to LaurenFix.com. All right, let's talk about these airbags. We're talking about a nationwide recall that's being recommended because of this kind of shrapnel, these pieces and fragments that go flying as they airbag opens up in emergencies. Should there be this widespread recall, and should it have happened a long time ago? What's going on here?

FIX: It should have happened a long time ago, Fred. The truth is NHTSA has been asleep at the wheel from the GM ignition switch all the way to these Takata airbags. There knew there was a problem. We have five deaths. There are over 20 class action lawsuits out there right now. And with 16 million cars worldwide, and there have been deaths in Malaysia and some of the other more humid countries, and 10 million cars there that are affected by this in the U.S. There needs to be a nationwide recall, because cars move. If you have a car from 2002, there's no way that that car has always stayed in Montana. The fact is cars stay all over the place because dealers buy and sell. They go to auctions and they buy and sell. People move. So with all those potential factors, and there is humidity in many areas of the country, not just Florida and Georgia and Alabama, this puts a lot of consumers, a lot of drivers, both driver and passenger at some serious risk.

WHITFIELD: That does seem to be the common denominator at least as the evidence is being presented. But even in all these tests that take place before something is installed in a vehicle, does this mean that never on any occasion was there shrapnel or these pieces that would go flying when in a dummy test, for example, the airbags were dispensed?

FIX: Well, what we're finding is -- and they still can't find the exact cause of why we're at risk here. But what we're finding so far is this has not happened in the past. Airbags have been around since the '80s. So now that we're finding what the problem is, it's entirely possible, and I'm only speculating on this, that it has to do with dollars and cents, cutting corners, maybe using something that wasn't as expensive in order to create the same airbag. That we're not sure of and we won't know that until we get our hands on the paperwork from Takata, which, oddly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is not demanding.

I'll tell you what, what they did to GM, and they ran them through the coals and they get all their paperwork and all their e-mails, they should be doing the same exact thing to Takata. We need to find out why this is happening and why consumers are at risk. And they had a woman at the Senate panel in the story that you had in the last hour of her telling what happened when her airbag deployed was so upsetting. To think about this could happen to anybody in a fender bender, that's really serious and puts a lot of people at risk for how many accidents. Fender benders happen every day. We all know someone that has that happen. But to take a chance of an airbag deploying that could potentially kill you or a passenger, that's very serious. And that's why NHTSA is in place.

WHITFIELD: Her story was very moving but it also, you could see how emotional she was knowing how it could have been worse. It did cause that problem in her sinus area, but that kind of shrapnel could have caused something much more lethal. All right, Lauren, thanks so much from Buffalo.

Next, we are going to see more of where Lauren lives there in Buffalo and the conditions that she got through in order to make it to that live shot. People there say they have never seen anything like it, the city blasted by storms that have left 13 people dead and a year's worth of snow on the ground all in a matter of days.

But first, in today's "Human Factor" Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a woman who is getting a new look at life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYRIC, RAPPER: My name is Lyric and my stage name is Lyric the Queen.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The patch on her eye has become Lyric the Queen's trademark. But when she first auditioned for the "X Factor" two years ago few people knew what was really behind it.

LYRIC: I'm totally blind. That's why I wear the pass.

GUPTA: What blinder her is a condition called Keratoconus. It's a disorder of the cornea that causes it to bulge. Being blind never derailed Lyric's career.

LYRIC: I don't think I took the time to think about how will you going to be a blind rapper.

GUPTA: But darkness, both literal --

LYRIC: I haven't seen my own face in years.

GUPTA: -- and emotional were crippling. All that may change. Lyric's going to undergo a procedure she hopes will restore her vision.

LYRIC: I'm so lost. Can't you help me find my way?

I didn't even feel anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It went absolutely perfect.

LYRIC: Oh, my gosh, it's crazy. I'm like looking around like crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: There remains uncertainty in Ferguson, Missouri, this afternoon. Sources tell CNN justice reporter Evan Perez a grand jury did not reach a decision on Friday on the case of Darren Wilson, the white police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen. Our team coverage continues. Jason Carroll is live for us in Clayton, Missouri, where the grand jury has been meeting. Jason, I see the barricades are up. That's one way in which people are preparing there for a decision. What else?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Just within the past hour, in fact, police have set up two barricades. You can see they've set up the plastic one and behind that another metal one. Just up the street there you can see a truck. That truck is actually filling up the plastic barricades with water in order to keep them stable.

You know, Fredricka, most of the people that I've spoken to out here just want this whole thing to be over. But before that can happen, the grand jury has to reach its decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Large demonstrations have taken over the streets of Ferguson for months. But in the past few days Clayton, Missouri, a relatively small, affluent town less than 10 miles away, has also seen its share of unrest. It's where the grand jury sits and where Robert McCulloch, the prosecutor handling the Darren Wilson case, has his offices. Since many who support Michael Brown feel the grand jury will not indict Officer Wilson, and because critics say McCulloch is too close to law enforcement to be impartial, demonstrators have their eye on Clayton.

WILLIAM WHITAKER, PROTESTOR: Nobody is really sure about what's going to be said or what's going to be done, but with all the reactions of what we're preparing for, we feel like we're preparing for a war.

CARROLL: Businesses located just blocks away from McCulloch's office worry what will happen here once the grand jury releases its findings. Julie Leeder says their toy store should have a steady flow of preholiday shoppers, but not now.

JULIE LUEDHER, TOY STORE EMPLOYEE: This is our busiest time of the year. And so with Thanksgiving coming up and with the possibility of that affecting our business, it's a little bit scary. It's also a little bit scary to think what damage might happen to our store.

CARROLL: Just down the street, more concerns.

HAL UNGER, RESIDENT: Whichever decision comes down, is, I think, still going to be problematical.

SHEILA UNGER, RESIDENT: And I think that most of the problem is in the coming from here but people that are coming in and instigating and inflaming people when they have the problem to begin with. It's wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But hurting others or destroying property is not the answer.

CARROLL: Michael Brown's family has called for calm, and Brown's father recorded a public service announcement Thursday urging nonviolence, residents throughout the city hoping demonstrators are listening.

FRANCINE SCHAIR, RESIDENT: I'd like to think that our community is going to be very fair in how we treat whatever the verdict is going to be. And I would like to think that it's done in a peaceful way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: So a lot of uncertainty here in Clayton, also in Ferguson, in fact, throughout St. Louis. Protesters say they plan to targeting a number of neighborhoods, everyone from the president to Michael Brown's parents continue their calls for nonviolence. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jason Carroll, thanks so much from Clayton, Missouri.

All right, let's head very north now, Buffalo, New York. Massive snowfall and now fears of major flooding. The deadly storms are blamed for at least 13 deaths, the latest a 68-year-old man who died from a heart attack while clearing his driveway. With rain and rising temperatures moving in the entire region is under a flood watch now and rescue crews are actually on standby. Alexandra Field joining me now. What is the latest, Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, I want to show you these big walls of snow that have piled up on the streets out here. This is a good sign. First of all, it shows you how much snow fell in Buffalo this week, really unprecedented. But it also shows you how much of a clean-up effort has been under way. Governor Cuomo of New York speaking just a few minutes ago and saying that the cleanup effort has gone well, but that's just the first part of the major response effort that the state is tasked with this week. Now that they've dealt with some of the snow removal, they're turning their attention to the throat of flooding.

Here's what we know. They've brought in more than 50 swift water boats and rescue teams. They've brought in 176,000 sandbags, hundreds of pumps, more than 500 National Guardsmen and women in place now to handle a response to a flood as needed. They've also brought in these high axel vehicles that would go into several feet of water if necessary to make rescues.

Look, if the temperature rises as quickly as it's predicted to in the forecast, that's when we could see a problem with a really quick melt and some serious flooding. What the governor and everyone else here is hoping that that temperature won't rise as quickly as it's predicted to right now and that more of this snow can be removed and that some of these problems can be staved off.

In the meantime, warnings still going out to homeowners to get that snow off their roof, especially before more rain comes. We've seen a lot of roofs collapse in the area. People are hoping to prevent more of that in the coming days, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alexandra Field, thank you so much in Buffalo. All right, straight ahead, the first paralyzed service member to walk receiving a Bronze Star. See this incredible technology that allowed this marine to stand tall.

But first, our look at a new independent mission to the moon. It's called Lunar Mission One. NASA is not involved, and the mission needs your help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID IRON, LUNAR MISSION DIRECTOR: Lunar Mission One is the most inspirational lunar project since the Apollo moon landings. What we need to do is send a robotic spacecraft to land at the south poll of the moon. And we're going to drill much deeper than before.

RICHARD HOLDAWAY: Lunar Mission One's primary objective scientifically is to answer the question where did the moon come from? It's going to about 10 years between now and arrival at the moon. The problem is money is very, very tight. We're looking to raise $1 million. And that's to do then the next stage of the design. To complete the whole mission, we're looking at somewhere just a little short probably of a $1 billion.

IRON: This is a huge crowd funding exercise, getting millions of people to take part.

HOLDAWAY: That could be photographs. It could be family trees. It could be video of their family. It could be their whole life history.

IRON: We're going to use it to store a time capsule, a record of life on earth and the existence of human species.

HOLDAWAY: We want to try this as another way of funding science by emboldening the public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here are some other stories we're following right here in the Newsroom. Just a few hours ago the U.S. Defense Department announced it released a Saudi man who was detained for 12 years at Guantanamo Bay. Their review board determined the man no longer poses a threat to the security of the United States. He is now back home in Saudi Arabia. A total of 13 detainees have been transferred this year.

And authorities believe Florida State shooter Myron May put several packages in the mail to several friends around the country before Thursday's rampage. At least one of the packages has been intercepted by the FBI. Packages are not considered a public threat. Three people were wounded, one critically in Thursday's shooting at FSU's library before the gunman was shot dead by campus police.

And a window washer, this is incredible, is in critical but stable condition after falling about 10 stories Friday. San Francisco police say the washer was setting up his equipment on top of the building when something went wrong and he landed right there on top of that vehicle. He crushed the roof and then landed on the street. A witness tells affiliate KTVU that she heard the man scream as he fell from the sky.

And a U.S. marine honored for bravery on and off the battlefield is also getting attention for something else. Captain Derek Herrera was wounded in Afghanistan. A bullet left him paralyzed. But with a robotic device never before used by an American he was able to stand to receive a Bronze Star. Here's Kyung Lah with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What makes Marine Special Operations Captain Derek Herrera a hero is not just his actions on the battlefield.

CAPT. DEREK HERRERA, FIRST MARINE SPECIAL OPERATIONS BATTALION: We were on the rooftop observing some suspicious activity in the valley to our north.

LAH: It was just after sunrise, June 14th, 2012. He was leading a patrol in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

HERRERA: Then all of a sudden I just felt kind of a pulsing sensation in my back.

LAH: It was an ambush, a bullet from an AK-47 lodged in his spine.

HERRERA: As I was laying there immediately knew and had some pain. And just kind of almost felt like electrical stimulation pulsing through my back.

LAH: Everything in your life is changed very suddenly.

HERRERA: It was, yes, in an instant. An inch one way and it would have missed me completely, an inch the other way it would gone straight to my heart and killed me.

LAH: Months of rehabilitation would follow, a new battle for the officer, adjusting to being completely paralyzed from the chest down.

HERRERA: Over time I came the realize of the many friend that I've had who made the ultimate sacrifice in our nation, anyone of those guys would be happy to be in my position and continue to live a life.

LAH: One of those guys, Captain Matthew Manoukian, a friend whose name he wears in Bronze.

Tell me about your bracelet.

HERRERA: I wear that every day just to try to remind myself and try to have a small visible reminder of the sacrifices that these guys have made and remind myself that, you know, that I have a gift and I'm happy to be here and still able to continue to move forward. LAH: And moving forward is literally what he's doing. He just needs

a little help. This is the ReWalk Exoskeleton, an FDA approved $70,000 wearable robotic device that powers Herrera's hip and knee motion. It allows him to walk on his own, the first American to own one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Bronze Star medal to Captain Derek Jay Herrera.

LAH: Now the first paralyzed service member to stand and walk as he receives his bronze star with valor.

HERRERA: To be able to stand and receive this honor is a symbol to show other that I'm not out of the fight.

LAH: Captain Herrera retires out of the service, his next battle under way.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Camp Pendleton.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So incredible. Our congrats to him. And we will be right back.

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All right, now, our weekly look into the future. Richard Quest looks at a new way to do your banking in "Tomorrow Transformed."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lending money has always been a community affair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your money is in Joe's house. That's right next to yours and the Kennedy house and 100 others.

QUEST: As the banks became more involved, everything changed. When economies crashed in 2008, bank lending dried up and opened the doors for others to step in. Today it's called peer to peer lending, a platform where people lend money to each other over the Internet.

SOUL HTITE, PRODUCER AND CEO, DIANRONG: You can get, actually, a better deal by looking at people around you, looking at your community.

QUEST: The benefits work both ways. Borrowers typically pay lower interest rates. Lenders earn higher returns.

PETER RENTON, FOUNDER, LEND ACADEMY: It's very simple. It's very fast. Really you can do it in your pajamas at 2:00 in the morning. From the investor perspective, it's for the first time ever people have been able to invest money in their fellow citizens. QUEST: China is the home to the biggest rise in peer to peer lending

where the company Dianrong says it's growing by an astonishing 20 percent each month. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow all come together as one. Peer to peer lending allows members of the community to lend money to each other.

RENTON: It's funny because it's sort of come full circle. Banks are now participating in peer to peer lending.

HTITE: I doubt that people born today are ever going to have a bank account the same way you and I have a bank account. I think we're going to see the banking world completely transformed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The news continues after a short break with Poppy Harlow.

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