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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Doctors, Judge Declare Jahi McMath Brain-Dead; Marine Corps' Broken New Year's Resolution; Focus on Colorado After First Days of Legal Pot Sales; Americans Urged to Leave South Sudan; WWII Era Bomb Explodes, Killing at Least One; Visits to the Vatican Triple; Woman Who Tried to Poison Friend Accused of Violating Chemical Weapons Treaty; Autopsy Report: Paul Walker Speeding More Than 100 MPH in Crash That Killed Him; Nine-Year-Old Boy Climbs Nearly 23,000 Foot Mountain to Bring Awareness to Muscular Disease

Aired January 03, 2014 - 20:00   ET

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

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, if you have been snowed under, iced over, kept home, and grounded, it's not over yet. Get ready to chill out. The latest on a snowstorm that is turning into a cold-blooded monster.

And also tonight, a major development in the heart breaking case of Jahi McMath, declared dead by the coroner but very much alive in the eyes of her family.

And later, "Fast and Furious" and fatal. New revelations about the high speed finale to actor Paul Walker's life. That, a debate over how physically fit women should be if they want to be marines, the price of pot in Denver and a whole lot more.

But I want to begin with the big freeze. Take a look outside, 360 world headquarters high above Columbus Circle in Manhattan and the sign says it all. Look closely as we focus in, yowsa. Yes, 13 -- 13 Fahrenheit. But it's dropping.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: But I want to begin with the big freeze. Take a look outside, 360 headquarters in Manhattan and the sign says it all. Look closely as we focus in, wow. Yes, 13, 13 Fahrenheit and dropping, dropping like a rock. It will be one degree later tonight and that's down right toasty compared to other places around the country.

In Boston, they are expecting six below zero. And that doesn't factor in the wind chill. The frosty second act of a storm that already cost a dozen people their lives.

More from 360s Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not just the snow. It's not just the extreme cold. It's the snow combined with the extreme cold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nasty out here. Very nasty. I could have stayed home, I would have stayed home.

TUCHMAN: And in the east, the Midwest, the upper Midwest and the plains, Gail forced winds added to the mix.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Treacherous.

TUCHMAN: In the New York metropolitan area, portions of the Long Island expressway, in New York state freeway were shutdown for hours by the governor.

STEVE BELLONE, SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK EXECUTIVE: There is one thing that we have learned from super storm Sandy, is that we can never be too prepared.

TUCHMAN: Drivers on other roads had some white knuckle experiences.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are doing not too bad with the roads on the main roads, but the side roads are just horrible.

TUCHMAN: In New Jersey, a passenger bus slammed into the building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard a loud boom. So, I know they were cleaning the streets so I thought it was a dump truck or one of the salt trucks with the plow falling and then I hear loud screams.

TUCHMAN: Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt.

There have been more accidents than anyone can keep track of. A school bus slid off a hill and into a ditch in Springfield, Missouri. Cars overturned in roads in Vermont. And this tractor trailer jackknifed near St. Louise in Eureka, Missouri, severely tine of traffic on the snowy interstate.

In New York city, more than 2400 plows and salt trucks hit the streets and it was a grave concern over the plight of the homeless. The new mayor of New York city was shoveling snow in front of his modest home in Brooklyn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to encourage thoughtful questions during this.

TUCHMAN: Later, Mayor Bill de Blasio did take thoughtful questions and gave answers.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK: If you do not need to travel today, please stay home.

TUCHMAN: Farther north in the Boston area, even more snow and more cold led to mystery and lead to evacuations in coastal areas. The town of Scituate, South of Boston looked like the north pole. So did another New England coastal community, Hampton Beach New Hampshire where drivers are going to a local garage for jump starts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first time I had to jump start it. The coldest it's been I think.

TUCHMAN: In a small town of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, south of Omaha, a building housing multiple businesses caught fire. It was so cold the water from the fire hoses froze instantly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our main concern right now is with the water flowing and slips and falls, because everything is turning interest ice right on the sidewalk.

TUCHMAN: Airports all over the country have been affected with more than 2400 flights cancelled on Friday alone. Thousands of people camped out in terminals, including these soldiers at LaGuardia airport trying to get back to Virginia.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trying to get back as soon as possible.

TUCHMAN: For some thought, the weather was an excuse to have some fun and this family in Maine took boiling water and made it become snow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Snow.

TUCHMAN: And there is more where that came from because another storm and colder weather is on its way.

Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: And not exactly surprising and certainly not good, all the same. To get a better idea of just how bad it is and how cold it's going to get and what is coming next, let's g to the expert. We will check in with Alexandria Steele in the weather center.

OK. Lay it on me. How bad is it going to get?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right.

Well, this is looks -- let's just look at what we have. This is what we've seen, right? Boston computer models really nailing this. 14.5 inches in Boston, seven in Albany, six Philadelphia, as well as in central park. There were some really big numbers, too. You can see in places like Massachusetts, tops field north of Boston, 19.5. Wilmington, Delaware even picking up about 9.5 inches.

But it's cold out there tonight. The cold air behind the nor'easter is in place. Tonight at 11:00 in New York, it will feel like eight below. It will feel like 18 below in Boston and we're going to get to even colder air tomorrow morning, as well. Still, wind chills almost 10 to 20 degrees, Ashley, below zero.

BANFIELD: Why did I hear it is going to get even worse next week?

STEELE: It is. The coldest arctic outbreak in the past two decades, coming. The heart of the outbreak Monday and Tuesday. So this is not even it. What we have now, now that temperatures are cold but the winds have been so strong, that's keeping the wind chills really quite memorable.

But with this outbreak, the air itself is a lot colder. So, Minnesota schools already closing for Monday. Why? A high, too cold for school, high 15 below, wind chill 50 below. Kids are staying home in all of the state on Monday. Chicago we're expecting the coldest air in 17 years and what we're going to see is the historic subfreezing stretch. Below zero, Sunday to Wednesday for Chicago.

So, how cold? Take a look at Minneapolis. High temperature Monday 14 below, temperature actually, I know you know these numbers, almost 25 below, straight temperature. Chicago, Monday, that's the high, 20 below is the low for temperatures. But this one actually will move into the northeast. And what is so dramatic Monday to Tuesday, watch Boston go from almost 50 to 15 and New York go from 47 to 11. So some very cold -- So, this is will be so dramatic to drop 30 degrees in a day.

BANFIELD: It's a little dramatic that you had a minus 50 on the screen, Alexandra.

STEELE: That's why kids aren't going to school Monday. This is days from now.

BANFIELD: You know, I remember growing up like that, I will be honest with you, minus 40 below wind chill. And you know what, it feels --

STEELE: You went to school, though, right?

BANFIELD: I did. There was never a snow there.

STEELE: No jacket, no coat.

BANFIELD: No, I dressed like Kenny from south park.

STEELE: Get on that bus, kid and go.

BANFIELD: We walked, Alexandra.

All right, thanks a lot for all that great news, Alexandra Steele for us live.

All right, I want to switch gears to the late breaking developments in a story we've been following for a few days now. It's heart breaking no matter how you look at the story.

The emotionally charged legal battle over Jahi McMath. She is 13- years-old and last month, she suffered severe complications after a tonsillectomy at children hospital in Oakland, California. Her doctors and a judge have declared Jahi brain-dead. Under California law that means she's legally dead. And to underscore that, today, a county coroner issued a death certificate.

Well, that's fine. But her family still believes that Jahi is still alive and could get better, and they are doing everything possible to keep her on a ventilator and move her to a facility where she'll get the care they say she needs and deserves.

This afternoon, they and the hospital agreed on what to do next. And Dan Simon is in Oakland and joins us now with the latest.

So what was that agreement?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Ashleigh.

Yes, a few court hearings today, the most important one in Alameda County court where this tragic case originated. Essentially, you have the two sides in a judge reached an agreement that an outside medical team could come in to the Oakland's children's hospital and take Jahi McMath's body.

Now, that may sound like a simple issue, but remember, according to the hospital, you're dealing with a deceased human being. And they say that certain protocols need to be in place if you are going to remove a body.

On the other hand, the family says that she's very much alive and as you said they want to take her to a long-term facility. This is what the family lawyer had to say outside of court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER DOLAN, MCMATH FAMILY ATTORNEY: What we needed to know is that when all of the balls are in line, that we could move quickly and not have to then have any impediment so that we all understood what the protocol was and there would be no argument about how it would proceed or no un-pleasantries at the hospital. So, this is a victory in terms of getting us one step closer to move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So Dan, the family sees this as a victory, but there are other serious issues at play.

SIMON: Yes, there is a big problem as far as the family is concerned because in order to take her to a long-term facility, certain procedures need to take place to be in that facility for an indefinite period of time, including (INAUDIBLE) and inserting a feeding tube.

Now, the hospital will not perform these procedures because they say it would be inappropriate to do so on what they say is a deceased person. And the judge is not going to compel them to do so and it's unclear if the family can get an outside doctor to do these kinds of procedures. As for the hospital lawyer, he said this outside of court and said he has one wish for this family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS STRAUSS, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OAKLAND ATTORNEY: Personally, it's horrible that this child has died. It's also horrible that it's so difficult for her family to accept that death. And I wish and I constantly think that wouldn't it be great if they were able to come to terms with the terrible tragic event and that I didn't have to stand here in front of you-all time after time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: That was the hospital lawyer getting choked up at the end. This is such a difficult case, Ashleigh. You have several medical experts who have said that Jahi is brain-dead, which in their mind, is synonymous with death itself. And you have a family that is not wanting to let her go -- Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Clinical and emotional.

Dan Simon, thank you for that report.

Coming up next, the marine corps broken new year's resolution. They are delaying a mandate that female recruits do at least three after these, pull ups. Question is, what does that have to do with fighting and your ability to fight? Anything. We are going to ask two warriors, one male and one female.

And later, exploring the new economy of that. legal pot. Recreational pot, and we're going to do this with someone that enjoys a novel job title, pot editor of a major American newspaper.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Some basic training now in what it takes to be a marine and the problem that 55 percent of female recruits have doing, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One brother come and gone, one for the core, get up there, pull. I guess the core don't get theirs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Full metal jacket private pile can't do it, either, three pull ups, that is, part of a physical fitness requirement that were supposed to take effect on Wednesday, new year's day. Instead, the core is delaying that mandate.

Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence has the details and joins us now, live.

What is the pull up requirement exactly? Why is it being delayed? What is the story here?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, they tested this new requirement at boot camp all last year. And the thing is so few female marines were able to do the three pull ups, that officials started to get worried that if they put this standard into place, it was going to drive women right out of the core, that they would start to get bad marks on fitness tests and have to do remedial training. It just wouldn't look good for advancement and that wasn't the purpose of all this.

So here is the basic. Minimum, they would have to do three pull ups, but because so few were able to do that, the marines are now allowing them to choose instead to hang on the bar with a fixed arm for about 15 seconds and still pass without doing any pull ups.

BANFIELD: So is there a big difference between what the women have to do and what the men had to do? I thought they both had a minimum of three.

LAWRENCE: You're absolutely right. At the lower level, no difference. They all have to do three. Now, the men have a higher bar to get what is called the perfect score and the men do not have an option of the fixed arm, the hanging.

And the thing about that is even the marines will admit that that doesn't measure and build the kind of strength you need to haul heavy gear, to climb over walls, the things that a pull up can measure and build.

BANFIELD: So, are they still looking into this? I mean, could we actually see this change? Is there some data that they will be able to determine maybe this doesn't matter?

LAWRENCE: I don't think that's going to happen. Now, the pull up is basically here to stay. What they are going to do is basically look for ways to train women to do this pull up better. I talked to a former marine officer, female marine officer who said look, she, at one point was able to do five. But she said the first one was the hardest because she had never really done it before. You know, when girls are in gym class in school, they don't have to do pull ups. When young women start working out, many of them, quite hard pull ups are not really in that mix. They are not trying to build those big pectoral and upper body muscles, so pull ups aren't in the mix.

I think what the marines are going to do now is dive in and try to figure outweighs to teach women how to do pull ups to get that number up, because it's obvious that women are capable of doing pull ups, just many women haven't done them before in their lives.

BANFIELD: All right, Chris Lawrence, thank you for that.

For more now on the connection between gender, fitness and fitness to serve, we're joined by former marine captain Vernice Armour and former marine corps captain Greg Jacob, policy director of the service women action network.

Captain Armour, let me start with you, if I can. You've been through boot camp and you're not surprise that more than half of the women couldn't actually do the three pull ups, why is that?

VERNICE ARMOUR, FORMER CAPTAIN, MARINE CORPS: Well, if you look at the average age of the women coming in, it's right after high school. When I first went to college, I wanted to get into body building and working out. I majored in exercise science. I couldn't do a pull up. I couldn't do a chin up. I had to work very hard at it. So, it didn't surprise me when the stud came out or knowing that over half couldn't pass. But at a certain point when I worked on my pull ups, I got up to 16 dead article hang pull ups, but I was vigorously working on my pull ups.

So, it's really going to go back to the training. Women have more slow twitch fibers in the upper body. So, how we train women in the long, ten weeks isn't enough to get women up to three pull ups.

BANFIELD: So, if what Captain Armour is saying is true, it's a training issue, then Captain Jacob, you've been doing training. You have been working in that field. Do you think that women can just change up the training and be right up to see with men or is this something else to put?

GREG JACOB, FORMER CAPTAIN, MARINE CORPS: Well, I served in the marines for ten years, four years as enlisted infantry men and six years as infantry officer. So, I went through boot camp and the officer course and I was assigned as a company commander to an integrated training unit where half of training cad were women. And one of the (INAUDIBLE) where taught as a marine officer as you train your marine as a team and you train as you fight.

So, I required my females in the unit to do the same types of exercises the males did, which included pull ups. And when the candidate first got on the pull up where I had women that couldn't do a single pull up, I had one that could do five or six and we sent them to the gym and they train to that standard. And they eventually, all of them eventually were able to do four to five pull ups. So, if you set a standard, if the commander enforces as the single standard, if troops trained to that single standard, then overtime, they will achieve that single standard.

BANFIELD: Well, some others have disagreed and said it's not about training, it's about DNA. It's about how you were born and how women carry fat in different areas and men carry muscles in a different density.

But Captain Armour, let me go back to you for a moment about this. Others have said it's more about images of beauty. Women have always looked at their arms as something they don't need to actually scalp as much as the areas that perhaps more challenging. Is there anything to that in the social bias against women bodybuilding up their bodies?

ARMOUR: You know, there is a social aspect to it and a traditional aspect. When women first came into the military, we totally did a complete different regiment. Just think when Michelle Obama came on the scene and she was wearing the sleeveless dresses and everybody saw her arms. All of a sudden it became sexy, you know, to have semi- muscular arms and more women started paying attention to that and it was more acceptable.

Well, when it comes to the military, like I said, when I first went through officer candidate school, I was able to do about nine to ten pull ups. At the end of my 13 weeks, I could do less pull ups than when I first started because in the beginning, that training regiment really breaks the body down. They are building you up endurance-wise, but strength-wise women are just going to need more time to build the upper body strength, period. End of story. The pull ups are just one way to measure upper body strength. BANFIELD: And to measure overall fitness, as well. So with that in mind, Captain Jacob, back in the day of Teddy Roosevelt, there were recommendations that, you know, an officer had to ride 90 miles on horseback, and ultimately, warfare didn't really require that. What is the fair measure of a good soldier in today's warfare? Do you have to do pull ups to be a good soldier?

JACOB: Well, a pull ups is just a measurement of upper body strength. This is just one component of fitness and it measures your ability to lift and carry yourself, as well as your mobility, which is important in combat situations.

But, you know, the training that the infantry goes through is job specific training that's geared towards developing the skills necessary to survive on the battle field. Pull ups and run and crunches are a measure of overall fitness. So, the two are interrelated, but I never filled out a mission profile and picked a guy to go on a mission because he could do 14 pull ups and the other can do ten.

BANFIELD: No, but at the same time, Captain Armour, there are issues like scaling a wall and climbing up ropes, lifting and carrying heavy ammunitions and theater. I mean, those are all real challenges that in warfare, a man or a woman warrior have to be able function properly.

ARMOUR: Absolutely. And women have been doing it already without having the three pull up minimum standard. Now, I love pull ups. I think pull ups are great and they are great unit of measurement and to transition are women over to the three pull ups, again, I go back to the training.

Like he just said before, he had everybody jump up on the bar, women couldn't do it first. But after the training, they could. I do cross fit. Many women are doing cross fit now. They couldn't do pull ups in the beginning, now they are pounding out the pull ups.

Our leadership has to get on board. Our mentality has to shift and people saying that women aren't capable or can't do it, it's crazy. It's trash. Women are capable, women have been doing it and we just have to push women harder, especially the ones that don't have as much body mass up top. We just have to build them up. We're more than capable and it's been proven.

BANFIELD: Captain Vernice Armour, Captain Greg Jacob, it has been good to talk to both of you. Thank you.

JACOB: Thank you.

BANFIELD: For more on the story, you can go to CNN.com. Lots of great information on it.

And just ahead, new highs for pot prices in Colorado. The marijuana editor at the "Denver Post." And yes, that is his job title. He's going to walk us through a brand-new economy and some sticker shock, as well. Plus, how one woman's jealous rage got tangled up with the chemical weapons treaty. It is a toxic love triangle that is now all the way up and before the Supreme Court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Recreational pot shops have been open for three days in Colorado with demand apparently already driving prices up and causing some early sticker shock as we have been reporting. Retail pot sales are expected to be a big revenue boom for the state. Each transaction carries a hefty tax. It's a new economy that's being measured in ounces and eighths of ounces.

But buying recreational pot is not an unrestricted exercise and capitalism. Far from it. There are whole host of rules about how much you can buy, how much you can stockpile.

Ricardo Baca snagged one of the new jobs created by Colorado's decision to legalize recreational pot. He is the first ever marijuana editor at "the Denver Post" and joins me now.

First of all, it's surprising to say that you're the marijuana editor, but you're exactly that and there is a whole host of information that goes with your territory. I would love for you to give me a state of the union, though, on the first three days of the new sales.

RICARDO BACA, MARIJUANA EDITOR, THE DENVER POST: State of the union, you know, on my way here I drove past Evergreen, a puppetry on south Broadway and Denver and there is still a line. A hundred people out there on my way here and I don't think the line has stopped in three days.

BANFIELD: So, has the price has skyrocketed because of all those long lines?

BACA: You know, that we're hearing various reports but the one that we ourselves have confirmed is that on January 1st, one of these shops was selling eighths for $25 apiece. Later on that day, they were selling the same eighth for $45 apiece.

So, we're certainly seeing some of that and we are also seeing some of the demand being questioned, another dispensary slash pot shop downtown Denver started selling their pot in smaller amounts, so they could extend it and so they could serve more people.

BANFIELD: So what happens -- as I understand it and correct me if I'm wrong, the places that are selling the weed now had to have been selling it prior to it becoming legal for recreation as medical dispensaries, so it's all one big part and parcel as you go into the store now. How do people who need it for medicine jump the line or avoid the line or avoid those trumped up prices?

BACA: I haven't seen it happen specifically, but I heard if you have a red card, which is the medical card that you do jump the line. If you don't, you have to wait in the line and then there is a different tax structure for those with red cards, as well. If you're buying medical pot, you're basically paying city and state sales tax normal as you would on a case of beer. If you're buying it retail, there is a whole host of other taxes including 15 percent excise tax the business takes care of and an additional 10 percent sales tax that you as the individual pay in addition to the local taxes.

BANFIELD: And of course, it's not just the weed for smoking, it's also the marijuana that's baked into, you know, baked goods and candies that are for sale. I'm a mom of two kids, eight and 6-years- old and it had me thinking how on earth do you package this stuff to make sure that a child in a house doesn't see a lollipop and go for it?

BACA: Right? Well, I will say that all pot and that you buy on a retail level comes in this very sealed almost aluminum metal looking bag. In fact, I interviewed somebody a couple of days ago and I asked them if we could do what's in your bag feature and I taped it on my iphone and it was fascinating seeing him try to open it. He, an adult male struggled with it. In addition to that, there are pretty sincere differences in terms of how edibles are packaged. They actually have to be more marked very, very clearly as for adults only.

BANFIELD: One last question, when I read that the limitations for Colorado residents is an ounce a day, it got me thinking an ounce is a lot of weed. I want to show a picture, if I can, for our audience. That's 1/8th of an ounce. Why is that amount so large that you are allowed to have per day because that's almost dealer level, isn't it?

BACA: I have no idea how they came up with those amounts. I do know that it is an ounce for in state residents and it's a quarter for out of state, and there is also, it's like going in and buying a bottle of whisky at a liquor store. Your identity isn't tracked for your purchase. So if you buy as an out of stater, a quarter here, a quarter is the next shop. You can do that and there is no tracking of it. They are just hoping that people are responsible about it.

BANFIELD: Well, I think we're going to be doing a lot more interviews with you. I love your new title. I want the job. I think it would be fascinating. Thanks, Ricardo, nice to meet you.

BACA: Nice to meet you, thanks for having me on.

BANFIELD: Great to have you. A quick program note as well because this story has so many important different facets to it, 360 is going to exploring all of the angles next week in a series of special reports "Gone to Pot," 360 starting Monday night at 8:00 Eastern Time.

There's a lot more happening tonight. Susan Hendricks has a 360 Bulletin.

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ashleigh, the top seeker of federal court that oversees government surveillance today reauthorized the NSA's controversial program that collects data on nearly every phone call in the U.S. The three-month renewal comes in the wake of two conflicting federal court opinions on whether the program exposed by Edward Snowden is legal or not. The U.S. State Department is urging Americans in South Sudan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation. Evacuation flights are underway and they reduced the staff. As of Saturday, there will be no consular services available for U.S. citizens.

In Western Germany, a bulldozer struck what authorities believe was a World War II era bomb causing an explosion that killed the driver. At least 13 others were injured too critically.

For those looking for hard numbers on the popularity of Pope Francis, visits to the Vatican roughly tripled last year. According to church officials, more than 6.6 million people flocked to events led by the new pontiff since his election in March. There is no doubt he's popular.

BANFIELD: That's bono level people.

HENDRICKS: It really is.

BANFIELD: All right, Susan Hendricks, thank you for that.

Coming up, a toxic love triangle, a woman found out her husband got her best friend pregnant but then proceeded to try to poison her. Should she be charged with violating the chemical weapons treaty? The prosecutors say yes and others say no. We'll look into that next.

Also ahead, the final coroner's report in the death of "Fast and Furious" actor, Paul Walker, what it shows about the fatal car crash coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: In Crime and Punishment, a case that began as a love triangle has made its way all the way to the Supreme Court. A woman that tried to poison her friend over an affair with her husband found herself accused not only of that, but also of violating a chemical weapons treaty. Not kidding. Randi Kaye has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Carol Anne Bond learned her best friend was pregnant, she was thrilled. It was 2005, Bond and her husband were living outside Philadelphia, but her joy would turn into a jealous rage when Bond's friend admitted to her that the baby's father was Bond's husband.

In a matter of months, this case turned from a domestic dispute in small town, Pennsylvania to something much, much bigger. Here is what we know. Carol Anne Bond's lawyer says her husband's cheating ways sent her into a psychological tail spin. She developed asthma and severe depression, started having panic attacks. Bond decided to strike out at the other woman, Merlinda Haynes. Paul Clement is Bond's lawyer and a former U.S. solicitor general.

PAUL CLEMENT, CAROL ANNE BOND'S LAWYER: She was trying to make her life, you know, I think quote/unquote, "a living hell." I mean, she was obviously very upset.

KAYE: This is where things get ugly. Bond, a microbiologist turned to the science she trusted to make her move. She stole a dangerous arsenic-based chemical from her company and then combined it with something called potassium dichromate she bought online at amazon.com. Both chemicals can be lethal.

Bond attempted to poison her friend at least two dozen times in 2006 and 2007, sprinkling the chemicals on the handle of Hanes car door, mailbox and apartment doorknob. Her lawyer says she wasn't trying to kill her friend, but after Haynes burned her thumb on the chemicals, she became suspicious and called police to report a strange, bright orange powder.

(on camera): Haynes alerted her mail carrier so the U.S. Postal Service arranged a sting to see who was behind this setting up 24-hour surveillance cameras outside the home. Those cameras caught bond in the act. Bond's lawyer told me his client made one fatal mistake, in addition to using the chemicals she stole mail from her friend's mailbox. That mail theft changed the course of this investigation bumping it up from a state level to the federal level.

(voice-over): And then this bombshell, federal prosecutors accused Carol Bond of violating the 1993 chemical weapons treaty. In 2007, in addition to the two counts of mail theft, they charged her with two counts of violating an obscure federal statute that was passed to implement the chemical weapons treaty.

Put simply, she was charged with unleashing a chemical weapon. She admitted trying to harm her friend and was sentenced to six years in prison for breaking international law. Her lawyers appealed all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

CLEMENT: Is that something that really violated an international treaty that really implicated international law? We would respectively suggest that is not the case. There were no protest lodged by foreign nations, no other nation said, my goodness, somehow there has been a deployment of chemical weapons in Pennsylvania.

KAYE: Bond served her six years. If she had been convicted on a state level, she likely would have served nine months to two years. Today she's back living in Pennsylvania. Trouble is she can't find a job. Nobody wants to hire someone convicted of deploying chemical weapons. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: And joining me now are CNN legal analyst and Criminal Defense Attorney Mark Geragos and senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Jeffrey Toobin and both of them are grinning ear to ear. I'll start with you. I don't know where to begin, Jeff, but I'll go here. At first blush, this sounded ridiculous that a prosecutor would go this route. Is it ridiculous?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I don't think so, but it's a tough case, and you know, it's really a lot like, believe it or not, a lot like the Obamacare case before the Supreme Court because it's all about the scope of federal power. You know, Obamacare case was can the federal government force you to buy insurance or make you pay a fine? Can the federal government prosecute you for putting poisonous chemicals on your neighbor's doorknob under the current federal law, which is this implantation act for the chemical weapons treaty? It's certainly a stretch --

BANFIELD: You think?

TOOBIN: And this is the second time this case will be before the Supreme Court and the first time, which was over a procedural issue --

BANFIELD: I'll get there.

TOOBIN: Just seemed very suspicious.

BANFIELD: I'll get there in a minute. First to you, Mark Geragos, this just streamed of a state case period. Why am I wrong?

TOOBIN: You're not wrong, Ashleigh. This is precisely why people think the criminal justice system has lost its mind. The idea these prosecutors are prosecuting this woman and she served six years for a violation of the chemical treaty, a U.S. treaty --

BANFIELD: The implantation. Let's be real clear, there are the treaty the issue with other countries and Congress's effort to make the United States go along with the treaty, implantation act and that's what she's accused of violating.

MARK GERAGOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The idea of somehow this is going to reach the U.S. Supreme Court twice when they had at all times a state statute that they could have prosecuted her under is precisely -- if this is the law, the law is an --

TOOBIN: Not surprisingly, Mark, I don't entirely agree with that --

GERAGOS: As a former federal prosecutor, I'm surprised, Jeff.

TOOBIN: But think about it. This woman could have killed her romantic rival.

GERAGOS: But Jeff --

TOOBIN: Let me finish.

GERAGOS: Let me ask you one thing, in Pennsylvania they have an attempted murder statute, correct? The state side so she could have done harm. They could have charged her with myriad of things on the state level. Why is this a federal offense? Why are they making a federal case out of this?

TOOBIN: Because this is an incredibly serious crime with a dimension of chemicals that is unusual to say the least, and the federal government doesn't allow you to pick and choose what you get charged with. The government picks and chooses what you get charged with --

GERAGOS: Right, and that's precisely --

TOOBIN: You take your chances. It's too bad for her.

BANFIELD: Can I jump in on the details on this and the devil is always in the details, let's be honest, gentlemen. The poison was bright orange and she smeared it on places where the victim could see there was something a foot and the worst that happened is I think the victim got a rash like burn on her thumb. With that in mind, you two talk about attempted murder and the rest. Look, I'm no lawyer but that doesn't sound like attempted murder to me, Jeff. Mark, hold on, I want --

TOOBIN: The fact that she maybe was not the most clever criminal in the world and the fact that the victim managed to extricate herself from the situation without more serious injury, I don't think that helps Ms. Bond, the defendant. This -- when you do something this awful, you know, you take your chances, and you deserve to be prosecuted. Now there is a question of what you should be prosecuted for --

GERAGOS: Jeff --

TOOBIN: I don't feel a great deal of sympathy for Ms. Bond.

GERAGOS: Really? It's hard for me to believe that somebody thinks that this is an appropriate use of the federal -- the majesty of the federal government to bring a federal prosecution against a woman that is obviously unhinged.

BANFIELD: Let me highlight that because Jeff alluded to it, Mark and that was that the justices themselves upon hearing these first arguments were a bit (inaudible) that they were even in the room. Highlight some of things that Justice Alito said --

TOOBIN: Justice Kennedy said what is really unbelievable in this case is that you brought it at all and so --

GERAGOS: Right.

TOOBIN: Certainly Justice Kennedy was reflecting what Mark was saying here. Some of the other justices, again, were more sympathetic to the government.

GERAGOS: Remember --

TOOBIN: Saying this is up to the government to decide how to bring their cases, but, you know, I don't pretend this is an easy case but clearly --

GERAGOS: It is an easy case. I'm going to tell you now. This is an incredibly easy case.

TOOBIN: You always think they are easy cases.

GERAGOS: They threw it out unanimously and remanded it back to the Court of Appeal last time Justice Kennedy wrote that. I predict you're going to get a unanimous opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court, have you lost your mind? The idea only somebody -- only somebody like Jeff who is a former federal prosecutor who sits up there at the Supreme Court and listens to this stuff would believe it's an estate case and it's ridiculous.

BANFIELD: Well, I tell you what. The conversation is not over and Jeffrey Toobin, this should be a Toobin and Geragos show thank you to you both. Coming up next, answers to lingering questions in the death of actor, Paul Walker, and some of those answers released today.

Also, proof that inspiration comes in all sizes and there you have it right there. Nine years old, climbing one of the tallest mountains in the world and you're about to meet him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Tomorrow marks five weeks since the death of "Fast and Furious" star, Paul Walker, at just 40 years old and today, saw the release of the final coroner's report on the crash that killed his business partner and him. We'll get the details from Casey Wian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Millions of fans of Paul Walker's "Fast and Furious" movie series were shocked in November when a real life car crash killed the 40-year-old actor. The Los Angeles County coroner's final autopsy report showed Walker's death was gruesome and swift. Walker was a passenger in an ultra-high performance car driven by his friend, Roger Rotas on November 30th. The autopsy states the driver was driving a red Porsche Carrera GT at an unsafe speed approximately 100 plus miles per hour.

JIM TORP, FRIEND OF THE VICTIMS: When they passed us, there were no other cars around them at all.

WIAN: The driver lost control, struck a sidewalk, tree and light post. Exclusive video obtained by CNN shows the moment of impact and a full minute later, the car bursting into flames.

ANTONIO HOLMES, WITNESS: There is nothing. We tried. We went for fire extinguishers.

WIAN: Concerned that Walker and Rodas may have been alive that entire time not supported by the autopsy. It says both bodies were found like a pugilistic stance like boxer perhaps bracing for impact. Walker was burned so badly only his back, lower buttocks and feet were uncharred. He has multiple bone fractures. Only a scant amount of soot was found in Walker's throat indicating he wasn't breathing for long. The body of Rotas was in an even more gruesome condition. He died instantly.

JUAN HANUELOS, FAN: In Hollywood, they never get hurt. In reality, we do have to be concerned. We have to be concerned this could happen to any of us. We got to follow the rules, follow the speed. Reality can't be too fast, too furious.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: The final autopsy confirms the coroner's initial ruling on the cause of death, an accident. Walker lives on, on film. The seventh instalment of the "Fast and Furious" franchise that was partially shot at the time of Walker's death was scheduled to be released next year. Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.

BANFIELD: Just ahead, a 9-year-old boy that you have to meet. He dreams big and then he makes those dreams come true like climbing one of the world's tallest mountains, not kidding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: He's young, restless and now holds a world record. You may have heard about 9-year-old Tyler Armstrong. On Christmas Eve, Tyler reached the summit of the tallest peak in the western and southern hemispheres in Argentina. It is nearly 23,000 feet high and he's the youngest in recorded history to complete that climb. His father, Kevin, was with him, and they join me tonight.

Tyler, you must feel and this is going to sound crazy, but on top of the world, being the youngest to ever summit this mountain. How was it for you?

TYLER ARMSTRONG, SET CLIMBING RECORD: It was amazing.

BANFIELD: I'll bet it was amazing, but honestly, weren't you scared?

TYLER ARMSTRONG: No, because we took the right classes, and I was well-prepared for it.

BANFIELD: Kevin, were you at all hesitant to embark on this project?

KEVIN ARMSTRONG, TYLER ARMSTRONG'S FATHER: I was a little hesitant just because I was not a climber before Tyler began this endeavor when he was young, and so I've had to kind of learn and take classes with him, so that I could make sure that he would be OK, but as far as this climb itself, no, Tyler trained so hard for this climb, and I watched him prepare that I knew that he could do it safely.

BANFIELD: It's just so hard to believe you said that, that you're not a climber. Most people would have thought this was the reverse. You were the climber. You trained your son to come along. Did you have any close calls at any point?

KEVIN ARMSTRONG: No, there were no close calls. We took a non- technical route up the mountain just for safety purposes. We had professional guides with us, as well, our professional guide to make sure that we were doing everything properly and safely.

BANFIELD: Something tells me that won't be the last headline. I think I read somewhere, Tyler, that you have your sights set on that incredible climbing goal, for those technical climbers in the audience, summiting the seven tallest summits on the seven continents. Are you going to be able to do it you think? TYLER ARMSTRONG: Well, I want to do it, but if I try to do all of them, I have to train even harder because most of the mountains that will be harder for me, aren't as technical so I have to train for the curves and the cold and it will be super cold and the glaciers, so I have to be super prepared.

BANFIELD: Is this leading up to the big one, Mount Everest, do you think?

TYLER ARMSTRONG: I don't know yet but probably.

BANFIELD: You know what? Kevin, I wanted to ask you on the technical side of things, I understand when your son set out to do these climbs. He didn't just want to climb mountains, but raise money and awareness to find a cure for a disease, a muscular dystrophy. Do you think you might be able to persuade either the Nepalese or the Chinese to get an earlier permit to Summit Everest if that's what he wants to do?

KEVIN ARMSTRONG: You know, I honestly don't know. He does climb for the disease and I think that the reason that Tyler does all these things is not for the records. He does it to help others, and I think that's what the Argentina government really recognized, and provided Tyler this opportunity is because he's doing it for others, not just for himself.

BANFIELD: How did you end up choosing Duchenne? Have you got a connection to the family?

TYLER ARMSTRONG: Well, it's kind of like an opposite connection. They are not my family. One time we went to a barbecue and I wanted to run around with the boys, and when we came -- when we went home, I asked my dad how come they couldn't run around with me? My dad told me the disease they had and I asked my dad can I help them in any way? Then I started helping them and now I did this climb for them.

BANFIELD: It's unbelievable you did that at age 8, right?

TYLER ARMSTRONG: Yes.

BANFIELD: You're amazing, kid. I wish I had half the strength of you. Good luck and keep us posted.

KEVIN ARMSTRONG: Thank you very much, we really appreciate it.

BANFIELD: That does it for this edition of 360. Up next, "ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST, 2013." Have a good weekend.