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Officials Step Up Inauguration Day Security; The Year's Top Health Stories; Cam Newton Visits Sick Young Fan; Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired December 28, 2016 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00] OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: His time in office essentially did this same thing, he put forward his own parameters for peace. Today, they are commonly known as the Clinton parameters. Neither the Israelis nor Palestinians signed on the deal. They both have reservations and just a few weeks after the next generation -- then it was the Bush administration, then it was the George W. Bush administration, came into office, they basically tossed the Clinton parameters. We'll see if that happens in just a few weeks with President Trump.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Oren Liebermann for us there in Jerusalem. Oren, thank you so much.
All right. Coming up, a countdown to inauguration day and security is set to ramp up with hundreds of thousands of supporters and protesters coming together there on the mall.
How do you keep everyone safe?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Thirty-four minutes after the hour now and there are growing concerns surrounding Donald Trump's inauguration. On January 20th an expected one million Trump supporters will pack the nation's capital. Also expected to be there, large crowds of protesters. Officials now prepping for a massive security front that will reportedly cost $100 million.
Joining me now is Jonathan Wackrow, former Secret Service agent who served under President Obama.
Good to have you here this morning. And I want to start with what we talked about in the break.
JONATHAN WACKROW, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Sure.
BLACKWELL: You were planning for this before they were even nominees.
WACKROW: Absolutely. So the Secret Service, you know, starts planning for each inauguration immediately following an inauguration. I mean, they want to take the best practices, learn from any mistakes that were made and be able to -- you know, chart a pathway forward for security planning for the next inauguration regardless of who the -- you know, the nominee and the next, you know, president is going to be. BLACKWELL: Tens of thousands, potentially hundreds of thousands of
protesters there. Let's deal with the protesters separate from those as you called it inspired threats.
WACKROW: Sure. OK.
BLACKWELL: And how you approach these crowds.
[10:35:02] WACKROW: Absolutely. So it really at the -- at the core of this, you know, the Secret Service is charged with ensuring the safety of all so the protesters and the people that are attending the event. I mean, this is about the peaceful transition of power so the protesters have been -- you know, are always a constant regardless of who the president-elect is going to be.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
WACKROW: There is civil disobedience protocols that have been discussed with local law enforcement. You know, legal counsel, ensuring --
BLACKWELL: So the protests are nothing new?
WACKROW: It's nothing new.
BLACKWELL: OK.
WACKROW: Listen, you know, around any political environment you're going to have one side of supporters, one side of supporters. That's just a fact.
BLACKWELL: But this time around, your greatest concern are these inspired threats.
WACKROW: Absolutely.
BLACKWELL: Tell me about those, what they are and your approach to them.
WACKROW: So let's just take a look back at the threat posture four years ago. ISIS didn't exist. We weren't receiving threats via social media. So the inspired and/or directed, you know, attackers, you know, that are present on social media weren't present before. They are today. So that's a great concern for the Secret Service, law enforcement, intelligence community to track that, to mitigate those vulnerabilities that are out there that we didn't see before.
BLACKWELL: Yes. As we've learned in other attacks regardless of this big an inauguration, because many of these people are self-radicalized there is none of that, quote-unquote, chatter that you can pick up on any of this.
WACKROW: Absolutely, Victor. What we're looking at here is a changing face of terrorism. Look at what happened in Germany, the 12- year-old boy who planted bombs in a Christmas market. You can look at in Turkey, the attack on the Russian ambassador was done by a police officer. The threat -- the global threat environment is changing.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
WACKROW: And law enforcement, Secret Service, intelligence communities, have to respond to that changing threat environment.
BLACKWELL: Well, you know, Jonathan, we were having similar conversations in the summer ahead of the conventions and there were major concerns about the RNC and would there be one of these inspired threats.
I was in Cleveland, there were a few arguments but nothing major. So for people who are saying everything will be fine, you say to them what?
WACKROW: Listen, what I can say to them is that the intelligence community, the Secret Service, law enforcement have worked on a very comprehensive security program to ensure the safety and security of everybody attending this inauguration. Planning has been going on for years. And there is a multi-layered program in effect. There are a lot of things that the public will see. There's a lot of overt security measures.
But there's a lot of security protocols that are done in conjunction with the military and other intelligence communities that are in effect, again, more of a passive environment that are put in place to protect all of the attendees.
BLACKWELL: All right. Jonathan, Wackrow, thanks so much for helping us understand all this.
WACKROW: Thank you very much, Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right. Well, from the skyrocketing costs of the EpiPen to the miracle operation that separated twin boys conjoined at the head, you remember that, CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta counts down the top 10 medical stories we all remember from 2016.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm kicking off my list this year with a bit of deja vu.
This could be the biggest health threat facing us today, antibiotic resistance.
Sure enough, in May, the United States saw its first bacterial infection, resistant to everything we know, all antibiotics of last resort. The CDC called this rare strain of E. coli a warning sign, more than a catastrophe. But caution, we're likely to see more super bugs if we don't cut back on overuse of antibiotics.
Move over Martin Shkreli. In August, Americans got angry about the skyrocketing cost of EpiPen. Drug maker Mylan has hiked the price 15 times since 2009. It's now up 400 percent to $609 for a two-pack. The company responded to the outrage by offering severe allergy sufferers saving cards, coupons, even promising a generic version of the life-saving drug in a matter of weeks. But it didn't hit the market until four months later.
In October, we introduced you to two beautiful boys, craniopagus twins, Jadon and Anias McDonald, joined at the head. Their brains fused together. Without undergoing a risky operation, their chances at long-term survival were slim.
CNN was there inside the operating room for the entire complicated and risky 27-hour procedure. The boys pulled through. And we're going to follow their story as they enter rehab and continue on their remarkable road to recovery.
ANNOUNCER: And lift-off, the year in space starts now.
GUPTA: March 27th, 2015, astronaut Scott Kelly blasts off for his historic mission aboard the International Space Station.
[10:40:07] Station, this is CNN, how do you hear me?
SCOTT KELLY, ASTRONAUT: I hear you loud and clear. Welcome aboard the space station.
GUPTA: Along with his brother Mark back on earth, the Kelly brothers are the subject of NASA's twin study. The goal? Measure the impact for long space flight has on the human body, physically and mentally, in anticipation of years-long missions to Mars and beyond.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott Kelly back on Mother Earth.
GUPTA: Scott Kelly landed safely back on earth March 2nd, 2016 after spending a record- setting 340 days in space.
In July, I traveled to Palo Alto, California, for an exclusive interview with Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes who had been laying low for months following some damning reporting by "The Wall Street Journal" and ultimately a federal investigation, sanctions and multiple lawsuits revolving around its mini lab, a proprietary blood testing device. In 2014, Forbes had valued the company at $9 billion.
It's probably the most important question I think anybody who's watching has about this, does it work?
ELIZABETH HOLMES, THERANOS CEO: Yes.
GUPTA: You're confident in that?
HOLMES: I am confident in that.
GUPTA: As 2016 comes to a close, Theranos is now valued at zero. It has shaken up its operations and its board of directors.
For years, we've been reporting on the country's opioid epidemic, but it wasn't until this April 21st that the nationwide crisis finally grabbed everyone's attention. ANNOUNCER: CNN breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has now confirmed that the artist Prince is dead.
GUPTA: Prince died of a Fentanyl overdose. It's a synthetic painkiller 50 times more powerful than heroin. Overdoses are now the most common cause of unintentional death in America.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We're here to talk about an epidemic that kills 78 Americans every single day. That's one death every 19 minutes from an opioid overdose.
GUPTA: Anderson Cooper and I hosted a town hall to bring to light this epidemic quietly killing people in the shadows. We need solutions and that begins with doctors cutting back on excessive painkiller prescriptions.
In January, I travelled to Flint, Michigan, a town still reeling from an April 2014 decision to switch its water supply to the highly contaminated Flint River, levels of lead in the residents' water were testing off the charts.
Five parts per billion would be cost for concern. Five thousand parts per billion is associated with toxic waste. This home, 13,000 parts per billion.
On October 16, 2015, Flint switched back to the Detroit's water supply, but the damage was already done. Many residents still need to boil their water before drinking it and pipe infrastructure still needs to be replaced. At an estimated cost of $55 million.
2016 was the first time most Americans heard of the Zika virus. An outbreak began last year in Brazil, and saw these heartbreaking pictures of babies born with microcephaly, abnormally small heads and brains. It wasn't long until the virus invaded the United States. Anyone exposed needs to practice safe sex for a full six months.
But 2016 presidential campaign was truly unprecedented. From a health perspective, neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump released as much medical information as past candidates for commander-in-chief. But the single document that invited the most scrutiny was this bizarre letter written by Dr. Bornstein, Donald Trump's physician.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you really write that letter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did I really write that letter? Yes.
GUPTA: It was riddled with typos, Trumpian language and medical terminology no doctor I know would ever use.
One of the cornerstone's of Donald Trump's successful presidential campaign was his promise to --
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Repeal and replace Obamacare.
GUPTA: So no surprise the supporters were shocked when after he was elected --
LESLIE STAHL, "60 MINUTES": Let me ask you about Obamacare. Are you going to make sure that people with preconditions are still covered?
TRUMP: Yes, because it happens to be one of the strongest assets.
STAHL: You're going to keep that?
TRUMP: Also with their children living with their parents for an extended period, we're going to --
STAHL: You're going to keep that?
TRUMP: Very much try and keep that.
GUPTA: But what will change with your health care once Trump takes office? We'll be watching in 2017.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right. Our thanks to Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Coming up, move over, Santa. NFL quarterback Cam Newton delivers a Christmas wish. But first, a look back at some of the musicians and performers we lost in 2016.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Eleven minutes until the top of the hour now. Let's check your top stories.
German police have detained a Tunisian man with possible ties to the Berlin truck attacker. A statement from the prosecutor says the man's phone number was found on the cell phone belonging to the suspect, Anis Amri.
Now this is coming as we are getting a new image of the attacker himself. It shows Anis Amri at the foot of a train station in Italy. This was December 22nd. Meanwhile, Dutch police now say it is likely, though not 100 percent, that Amri traveled through the Netherlands on his way to Italy where he was later found and killed.
Arkansas Police are hoping Amazon's Echo device can help solve a murder case.
[10:50:02] See, James Andrew Bates is charged with killing his friend whose body was found in Bates' hot tub last year. Now investigators have obtained a search warrant for audio from Bates' Echo. The digital assistants answer questions and stream music when you ask them to but the device can also store about 60 seconds of recorded sound. Amazon has already refused twice to provide the recordings.
Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof says he still plans to represent himself in the penalty phase of his trial. A judge told Roof in court today he has until January 3rd to change his mind. That's when Roof's sentencing gets under way. Now a jury must decide if Roof faces life in prison without parole or death. Now that's after Roof was convicted of all 33 federal charges he faced after last year's massacre at the Emanuel AME Church.
And what a stroke of luck. A New York City cab driver, also an Uber driver, watch this, he says he hit a 240 green light streak during a late night drive through Manhattan. Where was he going? 240 lights. All right. Noah Foreman, he runs a taxi blog, says he started his ride in Harlem, didn't hit a red light for almost 30 minutes. And he posted this video on his trip to YouTube here. The Department of Transportation says it cannot confirm the accuracy of his video. All right.
Three days now from college football playoffs and Clemson not holding back when talking about its matchup against Ohio State. Andy Scholes has more in today's "Bleacher Report." Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hey, Victor. Yes, the last thing any coach ever wants is for one of their players to say something, give their opponent bulletin board material ahead of a big game. Well, Clemson head coach Dabo Sweeney was probably not thrilled when one of his players has just done that. Clemson safety Jadar Johnson, he was asked a question about Buckeyes quarterback JT Barrett and Johnson says, well, he's not impressed with what he's seen with -- from Barrett on tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JADAR JOHNSON, CLEMSON SAFETY: We have played better quarterbacks than him. You know, I'm not taking anything away from him. I don't think that he's a bad player. He's definitely a good player. But you know, he just doesn't stand out as one of the best quarterbacks that we have played this year, you know, as a defense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Barrett will get his chance to impress Johnson in person on Saturday. Clemson and Ohio State playing in the night game on New Year's Eve. Alabama and Washington are going to get things started at 3:00 Eastern in the Peach Bowl.
After a rough couple of weeks, Minnesota ending their season on a positive note last night. The team had threatened to boycott the holiday bowl because 10 of their teammates were suspended after a sexual assault investigation. Their boycott lasted 36 hours but they were on the field last night. In the third quarter, Minnesota getting a little luck here. This ball tipped by Washington State but it goes right into the arms of Shannon Brooks for the touchdown. Take another look at this. It's quite the lucky play. Golden Gophers would win 17-12.
All right. You can add the Buffalo Bills to the teams who are in the market for a new head coach. The Bills firing Rex Ryan yesterday after a disappointing 7-8 season thus far. The Bills also firing Rex's twin brother Rob, who was on the team's coaching staff. Ryan went 15-16 in 31 games in his two years in Buffalo. And finally, this is 10-year-old Austin Deckert. He's battling a
severe heart condition. He's a huge Auburn football fan. His elementary teacher posted this pic of Austin saying his prognosis isn't good and that his Christmas wish was to meet Auburn legend Cam Newton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAM NEWTON, CAROLINA PANTHERS QUARTERBACK: What's going on, buddy? How you doing? You doing all right? You doing good?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Such a cool moment. According to reports, Austin will have a procedure today and we are of course all pulling for him, Victor. And it's just so awesome to see him just jump out of his hospital bed and just jump right into the arms of Cam Newton. This is such an amazing moment.
BLACKWELL: Great moment. Great moment. And thanks to Cam for going to make that young man's wish come true.
SCHOLES: Absolutely.
BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes, thanks so much.
SCHOLES: All right.
BLACKWELL: And thank you for joining me today. It's been great to be with you. I'm Victor Blackwell in for Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND BOLDUAN" is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
[10:58:11] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. John Berman is off today. We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Any moment now, a major address from America's outgoing top diplomat, a major moment for U.S. foreign policy and a major statement on a conflict that stymied every U.S. president in modern time.
Secretary of State John Kerry laying out his vision for the path to peace in the Middle East. His comments taking on even more importance against the backdrop of this last week. The U.S. and Israel lashing out at each other over what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a shameful ambush at the U.N. Security Council.
The feud ignited after last week's U.N. vote condemning Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
We're going to bring you of course Secretary Kerry's remarks live as soon as he begins. He could be taking to the stage any moment now. We are keeping an eye on that. As we watch this image with you, let me bring in right now global affairs correspondent Elise Labott, correspondent Oren Liebermann, he's in Jerusalem, CNN global affairs analyst David Rhode, who's national security editor for Reuters. Errol Louis is here as well, CNN political commentator and political anchor for Spectrum News, and CNN political analyst, Jackie Kucinich, the Washington bureau chief for the "Daily Beast."
Elise, if you will, set first, set the stage for us, the importance of today, what you expect to hear from the secretary.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: Well, Kate, I understand this will be the culmination of the last four years of Secretary of State Kerry's work on the peace process. You remember he spent the better part of a year when he first took office shuttling back and forth between Israelis and Palestinians trying to get them to agree to a framework for a peace deal. Those talks broke down in 2014, and then ever since then, Secretary Kerry has been looking for an opportunity to try and get those parties together but unfortunately, they only seem to be growing farther apart.
And now with the administration leaving office, Secretary Kerry wanted to lay out I think what he had offered the parties, what he tried to get them to agree to. He will outline --
(END)
