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John Kerry Helicoptered To Geneva Hospital After Biking Accident; Beau Biden Passed Away At Age 46; Senate Returns To Capitol Hill To Debate Patriot Act Renewal. Aired 3-4p ET.

Aired May 31, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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


[15:00:04] RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: We have more just ahead in the NEWSROOM and it starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Happening now in the NEWSROOM --

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We shouldn't surrender the tools that help keep us safe.

KAYE: The battle over government surveillance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no constitutional justification for the government to collect all of your phone records.

KAYE: The Senate returning today to take up the fight over the Patriot Act. Plus, secretary of state John Kerry hospitalized after a serious

bicycling accident overseas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is been in good spirits and talking and alert.

KAYE: And a mysterious shooter, targeting Colorado roadways.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911, what is the emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm on the highway right now and somebody just hit me and I'm bleeding and I'm scared.

KAYE: Today, new details which police say show the shootings are linked.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Hello. And thanks for joining me. I'm Randi Kaye in for Fredricka Whitfield today.

We are now just one hour away from the U.S. Senate convening in a rare Sunday session. A lot is at stake here because before this hour's up, the NSA will begin dismantling its bulk telephone data collection system. That's why senators have come back to town to decide what to do about three key provisions of the Patriot Act which are set to expire at midnight tonight.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joining me now live from the White House with more on the debate going on in Washington.

Sunlen, what can you tell us.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, the debate is about to start and a scramble in the Senate about to be on in just a few hours in advance of that midline deadline tonight. That is when three key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire. That would include under one of which the controversial bulk phone data program operates. This is what collects that metadata, the telephone numbers called, how long a call lasts. But it does not include any contents of calls.

Also, the use of the so-called roving wiretaps. Now, this allows the government to tap several phones for the same person who changes phones frequently. And the lone Wolf provision. This is off the government to conduct surveillance of non-American citizens who are believed to have been engaging in terrorist activities but are not linked to a known terror group.

Now, the house of representative, they have already passed a compromised reform bill. That is supported by the White House. That would extend all these previsions but makes some changes to the bulk data program, basically moving it from the hands of the government, into the hands of the phone companies. Now, Republican Senator Rand Paul, he had vowed to stand really stand in the way today. He has said he has vowed to stop these surveillance programs unless he says there is significant changes to weaken them. Tweeting this out yesterday, "there has to be another way. We must find it together. So tomorrow, I will force the expiration of the NSA illegal spy program." Republican Senator on Mike Lee there on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning. He had a prediction for where this was all going (INAUDIBLE).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MIKE LEE (R), UTAH: I do believe we have the votes. And so at this point, I think the question is not really about whether we'll get this passed, but when. It will happen either tonight or it will happen on Wednesday or sometime in between then. But really, within that 72 hour window, we are going to pass the House statute I say pretty much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And while he believes that the Senate will pass that house bill, Randi, the pass forward in the Senate at this hour just is not clear what they will do when they convene at 4:00 p.m. today. But most likely it looks like there will be some sort of lapse, however temporary -- Randi.

KAYE: We'll be watching it all. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you very much.

So what will the Senate end up doing with regard to the Patriot Act? Republican senator Dan Coats of Indiana is a member of the Senate intelligence committee. And he joins me now live from Capitol Hill.

Senator, nice to see you. You have said in the past that we should not toss out the Patriot Act but rather put safe guards in place for the American people. So does that mean that you support the house's USA freedom act, which revises parts of the Patriot Act?

SEN. DAN COATS (R), INDIANA: I don't support that act at this particular time because I think it has a couple of fatal flaws that I hope we can correct. We are trying to find that balance point between protecting the American's privacy as well as keeping them safe from terrorist attack. I think what senator Paul has done is taken the bet that nothing is going to happen by letting the program lapse. Well, that's a big bet to take and putting American lives potentially on the line. I think he has misrepresented irresponsibly what this program is and isn't. This is public statements, statements from the floor of the Senate simply do not -- are not true and they are not factual. And why he wants to shut this program down, what his motives and intentions are, I'll leave that to Senator Paul to explain. But he is the one person that could stop this from going forward and keeping these protections in place.

[15:05:10] KAYE: Yes, Rand Paul certainly said I mean, he is going to force the expiration. But will the Senate be able to move beyond his debate on this issue, do you think?

COATS: Well, that's uncertain. We were not able to do that before the break. And that coming here with the clock ticking toward midnight, it's very unlikely that we will reach some type of consensus. We don't know that for sure. What we shouldn't have been in this place in the first place.

Look. If what Senator Paul said about the program is true, I would be up defending him. But to make blatantly false representations of what the program is scares a lot of Americans. But what it scares us more because we think tools necessary to stop terrorist attacks on Americans are now being degraded or eliminated. And this at a time of high, high terrorist threat to U.S. security.

KAYE: Majority leader Mitch McConnell has been pushing for an extension of the Patriot Act. If the Senate won't take up the house bill, are you in support of that?

COATS: Absolutely. Give us some time to better explain this, to work it through. Why not an extension for two months or four months, or whatever time it takes to get members advised as to what exactly it what is he we have or don't have, to work this through and find a compromise.

We all want to find a place where we can assure Americans that are being protected, their privacy is protected, but yet have tools in place in the oversight and judgment of clerks -- excuse mow, of judges and courts, all three branches of government. There's never been an abuse of this system in the past. Let's find that place together rather than push your own narrative here for whatever reason and say we are going to shut the whole thing down. KAYE: You know, I think a lot of people were about less than nine

hours away from this shut down. Although, it starts -- it is going to start being shut down by the end of this hour. Why now? Why has -- why are we at this point? Why is this such an emergency suddenly? Why hasn't this been taken care of and handled before?

COATS: Well, that is a very good question. We tried to take care of that the week before we broke for break. And you can argue we shouldn't have made that break. But we really had run to the end of the string here. Senator Paul had controlled procedures that he could use in the Senate to filibuster to stop us from going forward. And apparently, that is what he wants to do now. It's a one man show against the security of the American people. And I just don't think it's responsible.

KAYE: What are you telling your colleagues at this hour?

COATS: I'm telling my colleagues that, look, if we have this much confusion about how to go forward, what is wrong with a two-month extension or some type of monthly extension just to be able to sit down, debate, talk this through and come to a sensible compromise? With so much at stake, it just seems like that is the most logical and easy thing to do.

KAYE: KAYE: All right. Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, appreciate your time. And good luck with that vote and your time on the Senate floor today.

COATS: Thank you.

KAYE: Four Americans have been taken prisoner by Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital. That's according to "the Washington Post" citing U.S. officials. The report says none of the four are government employees. The state department says it is aware of the report and is working to get the prisoners released. Officials say that due to privacy concerns, they can't release specific information about the Americans, but added that protection of American citizens abroad is certainly a top priority. The rebels report lid planned to let one American go but since reversed that decision. Another American Sharif Mobley is also Houthi in custody. He had been held more than five years on terrorism charges brought by the previous government.

President and Mrs. Obama are paying their respects to the Biden family this afternoon. Beau Biden, the eldest son of vice president Joe Biden passed away yesterday after a battle with brain cancer. The vice president remembered his son as, quote, "the finest man any of us have ever known." Beau Biden was 46 years old.

Our Joe Johns looks back at his life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEAU BIDEN, FORMER DELAWARE ATTORNEY GENERAL: Good evening. I' I'm Beau Biden and Joe Biden is my dad.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Beau Biden is the eldest son of vice president of Joe Biden but also a public servant in his own right, a federal prosecutor in the late 1990s and Delaware's attorney general for eight years. Leaving office just this past January. Born in Wilmington in 1969, his childhood was marred by a tragic car accident.

B. BIDEN: My mom took us to go buy a Christmas tree. On the way home, we were in an automobile accident. My mom, Neila, and my sister, Naomi were killed. My brother, Hunter, and I were seriously injured and hospitalized for weeks. I was just short of 4 years old. One of my earliest memories was being in that hospital. My dad always at our side.

[15:10:04] JOHNS: Beau Biden and his father would remain close, even as the elder Biden became vice president.

B. BIDEN: I went out Saturday night with my wife to a parent/teacher kind of thing on Saturday night and mom and dad baby sat. They baby sat the weekend before.

JOHNS: As Delaware's A.G., Beau Biden put a special focus on prosecuting crimes against children and took his talent for the law into the military, serving for a year in Iraq as part of the judge advocate general corps.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, I come as you prepare to deploy as a father. A father who got sage advice from his son this morning. Dad, keep it short, we're in formation.

JOHNS: Biden had announced his intention to run for governor in Delaware 2016, but he has had recurring health troubles, suffering a mild stroke in 2010 and admitted in 2013 to a Houston cancer hospital for a brain lesion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Vice president Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden was evaluated at the hospital. This is after what is called an episode of disorientation and weakness.

JOHNS: Biden, 46, leaves a wife and two children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:14:27] KAYE: Welcome back. I want to bring you up to date on this developing story.

Secretary of state John Kerry was flown to a Geneva, Switzerland hospital earlier today after he was injured in an accident while biking in the French Alps. And doctors say that Kerry has broken his leg and will be taken on a medical transport fly back to Boston this evening for further treatment.

Let me bring in CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta to talk more about this.

Sanjay, let's start with the seriousness of this injury. As a patient, we know Kerry is 71 years old. He is certainly very active. How serious of an injury is this potentially for him?

[15:15:00] DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Yes. Well, this is a serious injury. When you just think about those bones, first of all, the femur bone, the fine (ph) bone is one of the longest and strongest bones in the body. So just to break, you know, it carries a lot of force.

We also know he had a hip replacement, his hip was replaced on that same side where he had this fracture. So exactly how that plays into this, we don't know for sure. We know the fracture that he has now is close to where that hip replacement was. It's high up on the fine (ph) bone.

But look, it is a painful injury, for sure. It's one that often does need surgery. But I will say that given the fact that they are allowing him to fly back to the states, that he's stable enough in the hospital right now and will be able to tolerate that flight, you know, they are confident this isn't an emerge event thing. It needs to be taking care of, but it's a little bit of a good sign that they are allowing that to happen.

KAYE: And also learned, Sanjay, there will be a doctor with him on this special flight. Do you think that is just out of an abundance of caution?

GUPTA: Yes, I think, you know, certainly an abundance of caution. One of the things that does happen is that these are quite painful. So he may need pain medications along the way, as well. So, you know, I think for the average person who has a significant injury like this, they probably would get it taken care of where they are, you know. In this case, if it was overseas. But given that, you know, he had an operation in Boston before for that hip and they think he is stable enough to fly. They are going to -- they wouldn't have made that decision.

KAYE: You mentioned that hip surgery. I mean, he is planning, obviously, to go back to the same doctor who worked on his hip to have this leg worked on. How valuable is it to go back to the guy who did the hip surgery to make sure everything is alight?

GUPTA: That is a great question. You know, it's an interesting thing as a surgeon. In some ways, there's always nuances and, you know, slight things that happen during the operation that you may remember from the last time, for example, the surgeon operated on secretary Kerry that my influence exactly how he treats this fracture, as well. So I think there is an advantage to that.

Could it have still been done, you know, where he is over in Switzerland? Yes. Most likely. And these are fairly common in terms of the operation for surgeons who specialize in this area. So they would be able to take care of him, certainly. But I think there is probably enough of an advantage having the same person do it just because they know you well and they know the operation that was there before.

KAYE: Not only is he especially active and an average cyclist, but he is also is on the road pretty much around the clock. I mean, how long before, if he was your patient, how long before you let him get back to work and get back on the road?

GUPTA: Well, you know, those are two slightly different questions, right? I mean, you know, getting back to work, you have a feeling, you know, he is not going to be able to be as active certainly. He can be working in the sense of still maybe having meetings and doing calls, and things like that.

People typically say it's four to six months of recovery. But I will tell you that even with that length of time, it will be a while, probably longer than that before he can get back to the same level of activity that he's at now. And it's not that he can't walk around during those four to six months, he should be able to. In fact, many surgeons encourage that because putting a little bit of weight along that fracture will actually help it heal faster. But you know, it's going to be -- he is 71. He's an active 71, but it's going to be a long road. It's something we are going to see and notice about him for several months to come.

KAYE: Right. We'll watch his recovery along with you.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for calling in. Appreciate it.

GUPTA: You got it. Thank you.

KAYE: Coming up, we are just hours away from the travel ban being lifted for the so-called Taliban five. The men released from Gitmo in exchange for Bowe Bergdahl. But could the ban be extended at the last minute? That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:39] KAYE: In just a few hours, five Taliban militants released by the U.S. last year in exchange for U.S. army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl could be free to travel. Ever since their release from Guantanamo Bay they have been living in Qatar under surveillance. But their one-year travel ban is about to expire. The worry for the U.S. that they could return to the battlefield in Afghanistan.

CNN Nick Valencia is here with much more on this.

So, how are the talks going?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to senior administration officials, those talks have been ongoing between the governments of the United States and Qatar and Afghanistan all weekend. Diplomatic sources telling CNN on Friday that there was expected to be a decisive meeting between the Qataris and Americans on Saturday. But the details of that have not been made public just yet. That still hasn't stopped the chatter or questions to senior administration officials on Sunday "Meet the Press."

CIA director John Brennan talked about what he wants to see happen next for the Taliban five.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN CIA DIRECTOR: I talked personally to senior Qatar officials about their monitoring of these individuals that have been in Qatar last year. And looking at what are the arrangements that could be put in place and what is going to be the disposition of these individuals, whether they will be sent back to Afghanistan or they will be able to stay in Doha. So this is continuing. It's part of the ongoing process of discussing with our Qatari partners what is in the best interest of national security.

I want to be sure they are not going to be allowed to return to the fight. And I think this is part of a rehabilitation process as well as monitoring and observing process. So arrangements that can be worked out with Qataris, with the Afghans, I think we are still looking at what are the possibilities here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The five figures that the U.S. had to relinquish in order to secure the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl are the men that are looking up there on your screen. We wanted to introduce you more specifically to them and what they are accused of.

One of them, Fazl, was the chief army staff under the Taliban regime and was accused of war crimes during Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s.

Another individual, Noori, has denied his role, importance and level of access to Taliban officials.

Wasiq, the third individual reportedly also an Al-Qaeda intelligence member. And he too has denied links to any terror groups. He contends actually that he was detained trying to help U.S. locate senior Taliban leaders.

Omari, another individual of the Taliban five who was said to be a minor Taliban official and Taliban's chief of communications.

And finally, perhaps the most high profile of them all is Khairkhwa who was said to be an early member of the Taliban with direct ties to Osama bin Laden.

Of course, as we have been talking about here on CNN, the concern and the worries that these individuals will return to the Taliban and help strengthen the group, Randi.

[15:25:15] KAYE: Yes. They were in leadership positions, but they have been out for a while but still.

VALENCIA: They were arrested early on, very early during the war against Afghanistan back in 2002, 2001. So there are some people that say, hey, maybe they lost their power and lost their muster, but others, you know, kind of nervous about their return.

KAYE: Yes, certainly don't want to see that. All right, Nick Valencia. Thanks very much. Appreciate it. Coming up, we are less than an hour away from the Senate returning to

work to try and stop the NSA's phone data collecting program from expiring.

Next, we ask a former director of training at the NSA what exactly is being lost.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:33] KAYE: Hello and thanks for joining me. I'm Randi Kaye in for Fredricka Whitfield.

In just 30 minutes, the national security agency will start shutting down its controversial bulk data phone collection system if Congress doesn't extend the Patriot Act. Now, that system allows the agency to monitor telephone calls and other electronic communication in the United States. The White House warns if Congress doesn't act, it could have grave consequences for the country.

Joining me now is Cedric Leighton. He is former deputy director of training for the NSA and former member of the joint of chief of staff.

Cedric, nice to see you. So tell me exactly what will happen when the clock strikes 3:59 today, when the NSA starts the process of shutting down the data collection program.

[15:30:16] CEDRIC LEIGHTON, FORMER MEMBER, JOINT CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, Randi, what is going to happen is that a large portion of the activities that were under section 215 of the Patriot Act all of the sudden stops.

So what does that really mean? It means that the metadata collection process, the idea of getting the phone numbers, the call duration, all of those things will cease based on the section 215 rules. So that means that any type of connection, any type of investigation that's going on right now with this kind of legislation or under this legislation will effectively cease. And what that could mean is that investigations that are pending right now might actually lose some of the threads they've been following. So that would be probably the most serious consequence of a failure to review the Patriot Act at this point.

KAYE: So the government won't be able to track these phone calls, certainly the duration of the phone calls or who they are calling. But does that put the country in danger, do you think?

LEIGHTON: It can. And here is the reason why. Basically, what we are looking at is what is call chaining. So what that means is if I called you, they would have the record of my phone number and your phone number. And once they have that, they know that there is a connection between us. Now, that connection may be a totally innocent connection. But it could also point to the idea that there is something else going on there that maybe you and I are planning something that is not very good. And if they figure out there is a potential that I may be doing something bad, then they look at all my potential relations. And that's how they look at this. So it's a data base that is in essence a relational data base and is designed to make sure that if there are connections then we figure out if those connections are innocent connections or there may be something more to them from law enforcement or intelligence standpoint.

KAYE: Let me get your reaction to this claim by a White House official that not extending the Patriot Act is like playing Russian roulette with national security. Do you believe that?

LEIGHTON: Well, to an extent I do. And the reason I believe that, Randi, is because in this day and age when even the smallest amount of data becomes critical to investigations, it really is looking at, you know, what little piece can I find that is going to clinch your case. And there is the potential that, you know, while it may not be the end all and be all as the final piece of evidence, there is potential that it is. And that is, you know, really what we are looking for here is what is that missing link, what is that missing piece? And when there is a missing piece, you are looking for ways to find that. And that's in essence looking for the proverbial need until a hay stack, but it is also looking for very significant futures, very significant connections that are there or not there, as the case may be.

KAYE: We know the shutdown will begin at 3:59. The Senate doesn't even come to debate this topic possibly, debate this topic until a minute later at 4:00. So, if this shutdown begins, how fast can these systems be restarted, if Congress doesn't extend or does extend the Patriot Act?

LEIGHTON: It depends on when the Congress actually starts extending the Patriot Act if it did that. And of course, politically, it looks like it might not do. But let's assume it does for a second. What would happen then is let's say it took them two hours to get to this point. You would in essence lose two hours of data to restart everything. And you know, it really depends, but it could take about, you know, two hours, three hours just to get things restarted. So effectively, you are losing somewhere between four and five hours of data that could potentially track a terrorist.

KAYE: Yes, that is concerning to many, certainly.

Cedric Leighton, appreciate your time today. Thank you so much.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Randi. Any time.

KAYE: Straight ahead, he was freed from the Taliban in exchange for five Gitmo prisoners, but he has been charged with desertion. So what is next for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:56] ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The rates of sexually transmitted diseases are going up in some states. Experts think they know why. It's called tinder or craigslist or grinder. In short, social media and applications are helping people hook up in ways like never before.

Let's take a look at a study out of Rhode Island. This study shows the 1980s compared to now, syphilis up 79 percent, Gonorrhea up 30 percent and new cases of HIV up 33 percent. So the experts asked themselves why are we seeing these big increases? We didn't see these kinds of increases from the 1980s to the 1990s. And they think one big reason is now we have these apps and these social media websites. It's as easy as swiping right to make that love connection and hook-up with someone or someones very quickly.

But of course you can't blame the sites. They are not making people have promiscuous sex. There is personal responsibility here. People need to ask each other, hey, have you been tested? If you haven't, I want you to be tested. And of course, condoms should be used.

KAYE: In a few hours, the travel ban on five Taliban militants is set to expire. A year ago today, they were released from Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. military prison in Cuba, in exchange for American army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. Now, Bergdahl has since been charged with desertion.

CNN's Ed of Lavendera has more now on the 29-year-old's complicated and controversial journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The night Bowe Bergdahl disappears from his post in the summer of 2009, he was 23 years old. The army sergeant's gun, bulletproof vest and his night vision goggles were all found in his bunk. From that moment, the U.S. military would spend almost five years looking for and negotiating for Bergdahl's release.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our commanders are sparing no effort to find this young soldier.

LAVANDERA: It's a saga that is still isn't over for the soldier who is now 28 years old.

When Bowe Bergdahl disappeared, he was stationed at a U.S. military outpost in Paktika (ph) province in southeast Afghanistan. He was supposed to be on a guard shift that night. This was his first deployment as a U.S. soldier and he had been in Afghanistan less than two months.

Other soldiers in his unit have described Bergdahl as a deserter and traitor to his country.

[15:40:16] JOSH KORDER, SERVED WITH SGT. BERGDAHL IN AFGHANISTAN: I think he just wanted to go on an adventure without having anybody to answer to without having anything to worry about. He wanted to be able to go out and see Afghanistan for himself without, you know, the army stopping him.

LAVANDERA: Bergdahl would end up in the hands of the Taliban. Intensive efforts to find Bergdahl in those early days of his disappearance failed. And before long, Bergdahl's captors would start showing off their prize capture in propaganda videos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). In fact, this is exactly why we should fight Afghans and many people in the world.

LAVANDERA: The U.S. government believed Bergdahl was then passed around between Taliban captors and members of what's called the Hakani (ph) network which would have taken him into Pakistan at some point. For Bergdahl's mother and father in Idaho, these videos would be the only proof of life they would see of their son.

Frustrated by the slow progress in finding his son, Bob Bergdahl grew out a beard as a sign of solidarity with Bowe and started teaching himself to speak Pashtu (ph), the language of his captor.

Bob Bergdahl would later receive scathing criticism as a Taliban sympathizer for growing the beard.

BOB BERGDAHL, SGT. BERGDAHL'S FATHER: A father does not leave his son alone on the battlefield.

LAVANDERA: Then in May of last year, after several years of negotiating the Obama administration agreed to release five Taliban prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay for Bowe Bergdahl. He was brought to this field in the remote area of Coast province and handed over to a U.S. Special Forces unit. One of the soldiers told Bowe Bergdahl on the chopper ride out, we've been looking for you for a long time.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: A fascinating journey. So let's dig deeper on this. Joining me from California via Skype Bob Baer, CNN intelligence and security analyst who spent in years in the CIA as an operative in the Middle East.

So, Bob, if these five militants are free to travel, will they be tractable at all, and if so, by whom?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: No. Once they leave Qatar, they'll probably go to Pakistan, maybe the tribal areas, they will end up possibly in Afghanistan. They won't be tractable.

You know, it's hard to predict which way they will go. Will they rejoin the Taliban? There had been are old to go out in the field of battle. They are politically irrelevant at this point having been in captivity so long. You know, I don't think this is a big deal releasing these guys. It was always in the cards. All the Obama administration wanted was a decent interval. You know, a year in Qatar and then just -- it was a hostage trade or if you like, a prisoner exchange.

KAYE: And if Qatar refuses to keep the travel ban in place, I mean, can the U.S. do anything at all to enforce it or is it a done deal?

BAER: Qatar has very good relations with the Taliban. They made their own arrangements, you know. They have their political equities in that part of the world. It depends what was on the fine print on this deal. The administration would prefer they stay in Qatar under house arrest. But, you know, I don't think we have much control over them all.

KAYE: But in this day and age, I mean, you think the U.S., you know, would be able to keep an eye on them, I mean, like human intelligence, guys on the ground that could follow these guys around or, you know, keep an eye on the Taliban militants in some way.

BAER: Unless they end up in Pakistan, Randi, no. Not really. You know, those tribal areas are pretty much an intelligence nightmare. We don't have people up there. It's hard to get sources, you know. And we all have to keep in mind is that Taliban is now negotiating with the Afghan government. I think at the end of the day, the Taliban is going to come back in some form. Maybe under a different name, but they are a solution to the problems in Afghanistan so the situation is very much, you know, it is fluid at this point.

KAYE: Earlier, you said they were probably not very influential, they are irrelevant I think is the word you used. Stanley McChrystal, General Stanley McChrystal was saying the same thing earlier this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION" to Jim Sciutto. What makes them so irrelevant now? I mean, what's changed - I mean, from what we understand, at least one of them has reached out to the Taliban.

BAER: Well, the Taliban is a fragmented movement. You've got Mola Omar (ph) who disappeared, probably in Pakistan, (INAUDIBLE). And you've got the Hakani network which took Bergdahl in the first place. They are much more influential. And I don't see any of these five guys ending up with Hakani. That's a very close clan.

I just think they are not that important at this point. We had to get Bergdahl back. It's military policy. Even deserters, you bring them back from field of battle. You don't leave people behind. It's not a bad deal. Can we control the Taliban at this point or anyway trust it? No.

[15:45:08] KAYE: Part of the Obama administration's goal was to close Gitmo, the military prison in Guantanamo bay, Cuba. These five were held there. So, I mean, do you think this could be the path for the rest of the detainees there? Is that something that we should expect?

BAER: I think anybody who is not directly involved with terrorism, international terrorism against the United States should probably be sent elsewhere. We should close it. And anybody who's got American blood on their hands should end up in a prison in this country after a trial.

KAYE: Bob Baer, good to see you on this Sunday. Thank you.

BAER: Thank you.

KAYE: We will be right back.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[15:49:38] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This precious wood instrument is perhaps an unusual toy for a teenager in the country. But this 13- year-old (INAUDIBLE) carries it with pride.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I most like about playing the violin is the sound, the texture of the music. The thickness. Yes, classical music.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Violins are wonderful to watch. South Africa it is called basket string. There are from underprivileged backgrounds, but music lighten up their hope and future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The basket string ensemble is made up of 28 young musicians born and bred in South Africa's most populace black township, Soweto.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of parents grew up listening to, you know, sort of Motown or African jazz, you know? Classical music wasn't -- isn't really something that a lot of people listen to. And I think it's quite extraordinary that a lot of black kids are going the classical roots.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:50:07] KAYE: Now a check of our top stories.

Ten people were hurt after a crane slammed into a building in New York. An air conditioning unit being lifted by the crane at an office building broke free, smashed into the building, shattering several windows, sending debris falling 28 floors down to the street below. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio says luckily, none of the ten injuries are life threatening.

Former house speaker Dennis Hastert is expected to make his first appearance in federal court this week. He will be arraigned on charges he lied to the FBI about millions of dollars that he allegedly agreed to pay to an undisclosed person to cover up past misconduct, reportedly, the sexual abuse of a former student.

Police are investigating why troopers fatally shot a man they were trying to rescue. Oklahoma highway patrol says last night, two troopers were responding to a driver stranded in high water. They say a fight broke out between the troopers, the driver who was armed and his brother while they were trying to get the men to safety. Troopers shot and killed the man and arrested his brother.

All right, let's get to a developing story in Atlanta. Brief but heavy downpours have hit the city. There has been some flooding and a water main break flooded a major highway through the downtown area. The national weather service has a hazardous weather outlook for the area in effect right now.

So let me bring in meteorologist, CNN meteorologist Tom Sater. So how heavy is the rain and what's the outlook?

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK. Well, it is going to get a little bit better. But everyone in Atlanta wondering, oh, no, is this the flooding coming from the plains of Oklahoma and Texas? Is this misery going to come here, because our thoughts are still with all of them after the last couple of weeks.

But we show you the radar. It was isolation. One little thunderstorm moves in, it was quite strong, this was a larger image, followed by a secondary one. And it was quite tropical. I was out in it myself, and driving in, barely made it in, maybe five, six inches of rain started to pond on some of the areas.

I wanted to go ahead and show you first of all, if we get in here and get a little bit closer, how much fell? It was only an inch. Surely, you would think the infrastructure of our highway system can handle an inch.

But let me show you a tower cam picture, you get an idea. This is on top of the CNN center here, and you can see the clouds that were rolling in. Obviously, the humidity has been very high here in the Georgia area and throughout the south. And as I show you the next image there, as you notice this is before and after, as the rain starts to move in, you get an idea of the flood problems that occurred. Many locations in the area, what's called the downtown connector, or from Pine Street and North Avenue, show you another image where 75, 85 merge and obviously, you wonder, wow, this is something incredible.

Amounts of rainfall, an inch. Surely, we can handle this. But then a report comes out a spokeswoman from the Georgia department of transportation says, OK, with he had a water main break. How ironic to have a deluge of rain and a water main break at the same time.

Now, I can show you this, the good news is on a broad scale here, the drying will start to take place and has been taking place in Oklahoma and Texas. The energy that we have found there, and maybe a good week of dry weather, will now start to ride the jet stream in toward Dixie in across the Deep South.

So we are seeing some good news, Randi, obviously some good news. It is going to take a while for the waters to recede. We had over 147 flood stages that we are still reporting high levels and above flood stage. They will take their time making their way downstream through other tributaries. But the energy is going to slide to the south. Rainfall now through the Tennessee Valleys, made its way up into the northeast, a little bit of rainfall in New York City as well.

So we are still into this pattern, but at least it is getting better in some areas. And of course, if you have a water main break, then you may have problems where you are, too.

KAYE: What are the odds of that?

SATER: Yes.

KAYE: All right. Tom Sater, appreciate it. Thank you.

Come up at the top of the hour, the Senate returns to session in an attempt to stop parts of the Patriot Act from expiring before midnight. We have live team coverage for you when we return.

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[15:58:41] KAYE: Hello, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news. Take a look here, we have a picture there of the Capitol Hill where lawmakers are about to reconvene in an effort to stop portions of the Patriot Act from expiring at midnight tonight. But exactly one minute ago, the NSA already began dismantling its phone data collection system. Even if the Senate does act, it will still take almost 24 hours and an order from the foreign intelligence surveillance court to get the data collection systems back up and running.

The fight is over three provisions, the main one being section 215 which allows the government to collect information about our telephone calls. We have got team coverage here. CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown is live in our D.C. bureau looking at what does this all means for our security. CNN correspondent Sunlen Serfaty is live at the White House with the administration's reaction.

But let's start with CNN's Athena Jones live on Capitol Hill.

Athena, walk us through these three provisions and what's at stake here.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Well, you mentioned the first one, the most important among them, which is the data collection. Section 215 of the Patriot Act allows the NSA to do this massive bulk collection of all Americans' phone metadata. That means we are talking about phone numbers, the calls -- the caller's locations, the length of the phone calls, but not the content. They are not listening in on those calls. That's what will expire at midnight tonight or I should say early tomorrow morning.

But it's not just that. It's also roving wiretaps. At midnight, they could lose if they don't extend this law.