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U.S. Troops Expanding into Afghanistan to Fight ISIS-Khorasan Group; Interview with John Kasich Family; Former Steelers Football Player Deals with CTE; Jamie Foxx Saves Man from Burning Car. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 20, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:02] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Free for the very first time in more than 500 days, veteran "Washington Post" reporter, Jason Rezaian, walked out of a hospital in Germany, giving the world its first glimpse of his freedom after languishing in an Iranian prison on vague charges of espionage.

Here he is with his family. There he is waving to some of the cameras saying a few words. Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How you feeling, Jason? Good to be out?

JASON REZAIAN, WASHINGTON POST REPORTER & FORMER IRANIAN PRISONER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Glad to have you.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Welcome back!

REZAIAN: Thank you very much. I can't wait to be home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "Can't wait to be home," he says. In a statement, he revealed a little bit more about what he has been missing while he was cut off behind prison walls. One of his must-dos, watch the latest "Star Wars" movie.

Could the U.S.-led war on ISIS be expanding beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria? U.S. troops have just been granted legal authority to go on the offensive against ISIS in Afghanistan for the very first time. Until now, the military's only way of going after the terrorists there was in the case of a direct threat. But a new classification has freed up the rules of engagement for U.S. forces. That classification giving the terror group a name. That name IS-K, or ISIS Khorasan, essentially a new amalgamation of a new wave of ISIS cells in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the existing Khorasan terror group.

To break some of this down, we go to our retired Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann, U.S. Army Special Forces.

Good to see you. First explain this to me. We've been talking so much about is in

Syria and Iraq. But how strong is the presence over there, the concern over the presence in Afghanistan?

LT. COL. SCOTT MANN, RETIRED U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES: Well, they're growing. There's a lot of reporting coming out of Afghanistan right now that they're really trying to establish a presence there. There are members of the Taliban and other group that's don't like that, but they are getting a following. They have a very strong global narrative, Brooke, and it resonates. There are groups in Afghanistan right now that are switching allegiances to ISIS. I think we'll see their presence grow in Afghanistan in 2016.

BALDWIN: President Obama has called the Khorasan group, quote, "seasoned al Qaeda operatives." For so long we've been talking about almost this one-upmanship rival groups between ISIS and al Qaeda. Now it appears as a merge?

MANN: Yeah. But I think the thing your viewers would want to consider is one of the major differences between al Qaeda and ISIS is ISIS really do believe they'll achieve this apocalyptic end-of-day scenario on their watch. They're very, very committed to strikes and drawing us into this end-of-days battle. So when you think about what ISIS is capable of from a level of local violence, these guys are I think even more serious than al Qaeda in terms of what they're doing. So when I see them setting up safe haven in Afghanistan, it concerns me.

BALDWIN: IS-K formed January 15. Does the fact that the U.S. now has pushed for a rule change being to actively go on the offensive against them in Afghanistan, does that suggest to you, as you point out, that you are concerned, is there truly this growing threat there?

MANN: Oh, sure, yeah. The threat is there. And I'm glad to see that some authorities are expanded to finally let our guys and girls get after them the way they need to. We're going to have to do some of that. But here's the thing. Even in the surge in Afghanistan, when we were actively walking down Taliban and al Qaeda, it didn't work as a singular strategy. We're going to have to work out in the rural areas with the tribes and clans from the bottom up. Just walking ISIS down in these places and taking them out is not going to win the war against them. It never has. How long have you been reporting on different strikes and things like that?

BALDWIN: A long time.

MANN: It's going to have to be a focused, bottom-up strategy over time. That's what my book is about, "Game Changers," is doing that from the bottom, up. Until we do that in these rural areas, they're going to have safe haven.

BALDWIN: Colonel Mann, thank you.

MANN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, our own Dana Bash sits down with Republican contender, John Kasich, and his family. How he says he plans to turn the race for the Republican nomination up on its head. That is next.

Also, he was one of NFL's most prized wide receivers. Have you heard about this now? He won a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now at just 36 years of age, he has trouble with his memory, a tough time walking downstairs, and candidly questions whether he would have played if he could do it all again. That story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:45] BALDWIN: Sure, Donald Trump is leading in the polls in New Hampshire, but Iowa Governor John Kasich is hitting that state hard, heading from one town hall to another with his wife and two daughters in tow. And here's the thing, he is gaining ground. In a brand-new American Research Group poll, Governor Kasich is in a strong second place behind only Trump.

And in a CNN exclusive, our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, talked with the Kasich family while they stumped in Concord, New Hampshire. It is the first-ever interview with his twin daughters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You do admit this is a critical state. You said on Monday, quote, "If I become the story here, I will win the presidency."

JOHN KASICH, (R), OHIO GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said I would win the nomination and I think the presidency. I'm really positive. Up to now, the celebrity candidates have been the story. I'm not a celebrity candidate. I also said, if I get smoked here, I'm not carrying on a fairy tale.

BASH: What does smoked mean?

KASICH: Like, I get beaten badly.

BASH: Like third, fourth?

KASICH: Oh, we'll know on the 10th of February. That's not going to happen. Unless -- everything I know about politics, which is the most important thing, the ground game, unless everything is repealed, we're going to do extremely well here. And I am going to come out of here and, contrary to what some people think, we've got activity in a lot of states here. I'm very optimistic about the future.

[14:40:08] BASH: Mrs. Kasich, the last time I was here with your husband in New Hampshire, he kept saying, oh, I wish my wife and daughters were here to see this. He was excited about the kind of reaction and reception he was getting. What's it like to be here?

KAREN KASICH, WIFE OF JOHN KASICH: It's fun for us. We enjoy, A, watching what john does and seeing people's reaction to him when them meet him, and we also enjoy doing what I call our one-offs where we get time to go in the community and meet people, which is fun for us. BASH: This is the first time you're sitting down with your parents to

interview. What is it like to be the daughter of a presidential candidate? Because you really have a unique experience here.

EMMA KASICH, DAUGHTER OF JOHN KASICH: It's a good experience going on the road, but it's pretty much normal at home.

REESE KASICH, DAUGHTER OF JOHN KASICH: It's all the same kind of.

BASH: Most 15-year-olds don't hang out on presidential campaign buses.

REESE KASICH: Yeah. But we've kind of grown up with him doing something like campaigning. When we were like 10 we had a bus for his governor election so --

BASH: That's true. This is kind of normal for you.

REESE KASICH: Uh-huh.

BASH: While we were on the subject, I couldn't help but notice your dad tried to get you to speak at this event. I was 16 once. I remember if my dad breathed wrong, I was mortified. So I can't imagine.

(LAUGHTER)

And I love him. So I can't imagine what it would be like with cameras on you and you're in the public eye.

EMMA KASICH: I think it's a fun experience.

REESE KASICH: We spoke at the last town hall meeting.

BASH: Did you like it?

EMMA KASICH: Only for like 10 seconds.

Yeah, it was fine.

KASICH: This is not like one of these adoring wives, you know, where, like, oh, my husband. I mean, are you kidding me? It just doesn't work that way and --

BASH: How does it work?

KASICH: Well, she's just -- she treats me like a husband. She doesn't, you know -- she's not like, oh, he's so great. Would you pick up your socks?

(LAUGHTER)

That's the thing that drives me crazy. I mean, I wear a pair of socks, it's like she thinks it's nuclear waste or something. It's ridiculous.

(LAUGHTER)

I will tell you a sort of funny. When I was out of politics I had a speaking career and I needed somebody to help book my speeches. So she started on a Monday morning at 9:00, and by 11:00, I fired her.

KAREN KASICH: I quit.

KASICH: She says she quit.

KAREN KASICH: I quit.

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: Why?

(CROSSTALK)

KASICH: She I couldn't work for him. He would tell me what to do. I didn't really like that.

KASICH: It was two hours, Sweetie. Come on.

BASH: Two hours was enough?

(LAUGHTER)

KAREN KASICH: Enough. I didn't need the money that bad.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Dana Bash joins us now.

It's fun to lift the curtain behind the politicians and see what the family is like and interactions between everyone. I understand you asked Mrs. Kasich about how she handles her husband's -- how did she put it, prickly personality? How did that go?

BASH: Right. I sort of had a little preamble say, I'm going to try to ask this delicately because John Kasich admits he is known, has a reputation of being impatient and at times prickly. Her answer was that she, you know, just tries to remind him to be a grown-up. He jumped in and said, I'm going to say it and she won't. She tells me, remember, you're the leader of a state, act like it. But then he went on to say, you know what? Look, I am who I am and I like me. It was kind of a classic John Kasich moment.

BALDWIN: Why do you think the two daughters said yes to talking?

BASH: Well, it's the parents that said yes. And we were a bit surprised. We knew that the whole family was out on the campaign trial, his twin daughters that just turned 16 this past Saturday had not been out with him like this before. So we asked for the whole family and were told, ha they're not so sure because like many political parents have shielded their daughters because as they said, they have grown up in the spotlight. But they decided at the last minute, you know, let's let them do it. The governor told me why. He said it's because he wants them to have this moment for their kids, for their grandkids, to show, look, this is what it was like to be with my dad when he ran for president. Perhaps that was an indication that he thinks maybe this isn't going to last too long? Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

BALDWIN: Who knows? I did appreciate one of the girls' candor, we had a bus when we were 10, no big deal.

BASH: Exactly.

[14:44:30] BALDWIN: Dana Bash, great interview. Thank you for sharing that.

Coming up next, a retired NFL star says he regrets playing football and says the sport may not actually exist in the coming decades. Hear why and what's happening to him, just to his body, to his mind.

Plus, Jamie Foxx saves a man from a burning car. You will hear from that man's father, and from the actor, together, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In 2006, he was one of the NFL's most prized wide receivers. He was an all-star the year before that, brought home a Super Bowl win for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, at just 36 years of age, 36, he has a tough time remembering things and difficulty walking down the stairs. I'm talking about now retired Antwaan Randle-El. He is making national headlines this week after revealing to the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" the trauma his body and brain has suffered as a professional football player. Quoting here, "I ask my wife things over and over again. I'll ask her three times the night before and get up in the morning and forget." Then this shocking prediction, quote, "I wouldn't be surprised if football isn't around in 20, 25 years."

Let me bring in the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" reporter who talked to him and broke the story, J. Brady McCollough.

Brady, incredible piece. Welcome.

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH, REPORTER, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: Thanks, Brooke. Good to be here.

[14:50:01] BALDWIN: So you interviewed Randle-El, part of a much bigger interactive at the "Post-Gazette" on how these different players are doing in their later years. But he's so freshly retired it's so fascinating to hear from him, the details in your piece, how he's the man who threw the beautiful spiral in the Super Bowl and he talks about how he felt like his mind is slipping. Tell me what he shared with you.

MCCOLLOUGH: Yeah. You know, it was a shocking thing because, you know, as we've heard and we see in the movie "Concussion" we know about the guys from the 1970s, the era that the Steelers won four Super Bowls we know a lot of those players are struggling with their bodies, with CTE, with the aftereffects of their careers. What was shocking in talking to Antwaan, here's a guy who is 36 years old who we just saw ten years ago an electric athlete, one play playing wide receiver in the Super Bowl, the next play taking a handoff and throwing a perfect touchdown. Hearing him talk about how he sometimes has to take both feet on a step to go down the steps at his home. It's easier to go up the stairs for him. You know, he's very forgetful. I think at home with his wife, what are we doing tomorrow? Oh, I told you that. What am I doing today? I told you that three times last night. He and his wife are noticing there's slippage there. Antwaan played with concussions. It was part of the culture. You didn't want to come off the field. You didn't want to let down your teammates. And he didn't want to -- he wanted to have a chance to win a Super Bowl. So you see now that he's going through these things and thinking about --

BALDWIN: He's just 36.

MCCOLLOUGH: -- was it all worth it?

BALDWIN: We're the same age. To think of what that would feel like -- I don't mind saying it. And also what he was saying how he was drafted for the Cubs, he wishes he would have played baseball. He regrets it.

MCCOLLOUGH: He regrets it. I think it's important to point out the context of that. It's not him saying he didn't want to play football. If he went back he wouldn't play football. It's in the context this is a guy who was drafted out of high school to play baseball. He looks at the fact that if he played baseball, he could still be playing. He wouldn't be going through these physical ailments before he's even 40 years old. So I think it was really interesting that he was willing to share those things in an interview that was kind of off the cuff and I think very honest and surprising.

BALDWIN: He said to you, which I mentioned before, that he doesn't actually think maybe football would be around in the next 20, 25, 30 years. You're in a huge football city being in Pittsburgh. I mean, you know how many people tune in each and every weekend. Would you believe him?

MCCOLLOUGH: You know, I actually challenged Antwaan when he said that. I said, 20, 25 years? I said, this whole country, certainly this city, but this whole country is obsessed with this game. The numbers show that no matter how much we talk about concussions and CTE, people are still watching this game more and more every year. The NFL makes more and more money every year. My challenge to him was, hey, there's -- think of the thousands of full scholarships given out to play college football. As long as that's out there, there will always be a workforce that will want to play football and want to go after the glory. I'm not convinced 20, 25 years. I challenged him on that. But I think that his point is, hey, he's a high school administrator now. He sees at his own high school they dropped football. It's too expensive. The liability is only going to increase. He thinks that's the fact that more and more kids are going to be turning to other sport over time it will affect people's interest in the NFL. Maybe there's something to that.

BALDWIN: I know it wasn't just about him. Other players spoken of as well.

I urge folks to read it.

"Pittsburgh Post-Gazette," Brady, McCollough, thank you so much. Great interview.

MCCOLLOUGH: Thanks.

[14:54:08] BALDWIN: Coming up next here, talking politics. Sarah Palin stumping with Donald Trump, not at all holding back, by the way. Hear what she just said about the state of the Republican race.

Also, movie star, Jamie Foxx, being hailed as a real-life hero after he pulled someone out of a burning car when the crash happened just outside of his house. You will hear from both the man's father and the actor, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Actor Jamie Foxx being hailed a hero today, a real life hero after pulling a trapped driver out of a fiery crash. It happened Monday just outside Foxx's home in Ventura County, California. The actor said he heard the crash and rushed to this truck that was fully engulfed in flames to help out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: As I'm getting him out, I said, you got to help me get you out, because I don't want to have to leave you. I said, you got angels around you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Police say 32-year-old Brett Kyle was the one behind the wheel. He was under the influence when he sped off the road, flipped over multiple times.

Kyle's father was there. He was overcome with emotion after meeting Foxx.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD KYLE, FATHER OF BRETT KYLE: I think we all hope that we could do something when the time is there. But the question is, do we? Do we act? Or do we fear our own lives? And he did not.

FOXX: I don't look at it as heroic. I just look at it like, you know, I just had to do something, you know. And it all just worked out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Surveillance cameras on Foxx's property show several cars driving past the accident, not stopping. The driver we mentioned earlier, Brett Kyle, has head, chest and neck injuries. He was arrested and accused of driving under the influence of alcohol.

[15:00:01] Top of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We do have breaking news on Wall Street right now. The Dow taking another stomach-churning tumble today. In the red, down 349 points here. An hour to go before that --