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New Developments the Day After the Mass Killings in Tucson; Congresswoman Giffords Conscious and in Critical Condition; Campaign Chairman Says Giffords to Return to Congress; Violence in Arizona is the Talk of Washington; Pima County Sheriffs Says Politics, Media Inflaming Violence; Major Winter Storms Heads to the South, Flights Canceled

Aired January 09, 2011 - 18:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

A day after the mass killings in Arizona, there are new developments involving the 22-year-old suspect. We'll take you live to Tucson in just a moment.

But, first, here's the latest on what we know this hour. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is conscious and she remains in critical condition right now. All other shooting victims have been moved out of intensive care. Six people died, and 14 others were wounded in yesterday's violence.

Suspect Jared Lee Loughner is scheduled to appear in front of a magistrate judge tomorrow at 4:00 Eastern Time in Phoenix. Federal authorities have filed several charges against him, including first- degree murder and the attempted assassination of a member of Congress.

Meantime, investigators today identified and located a man they had labeled a person of interest. But he has been questioned, released, and ruled out of having any connection to this case.

The latest on the suspected gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, and what may have provoked this horrific attack.

But, first, let's go to CNN's Randi Kaye. She is in Tucson for us.

Randi, hello. What's the latest on the congresswoman's condition?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, Don, inside this hospital, the congresswoman is still in the ICU. She is the only one here that is still listed in critical condition. Of the other victims here, three are in serious, six are in fair.

The congresswoman is still sedated, and what they're doing right now is that the doctors are bringing her out of that sedation every once in a while to check on her brain function. But the good news is that she is responding to the doctors. She actually, according to one of the doctors, squeezed one of their hands. They say that is a good sign of brain function. They're very encouraged, though they are cautiously optimistic. Now, the greatest concern here, Don, for the congresswoman is the swelling of her brain. They actually removed a part of her skull during the surgery in case the brain does swell. That would relieve some of the pressure.

Really this is the best situation that they could home for in this scenario because she was hit in the left side of the brain, the left hemisphere, as they call it, the bullet entered in the back and went out in the front.

So, you can just imagine the scene and the chaos at that "Congress on the Corner" event. We've spoke on the several eyewitnesses over the last couple of days. They describe a completely chaotic scene. Several told us they tackled the suspect. One told us that he came for war. He was shooting people randomly and that the only reason, Don, that he stopped shooting was because he ran out of bullets.

One very brave eyewitness, a woman, actually grabbed the magazine that he had before he could load, and the sheriff telling us today that there were at least another 31 bullets in that magazine.

LEMON: Wow.

KAYE: So, you can imagine how much worse that scene might have been. And today, authorities, Don, did release the 911 tape. I want to warn you, it is very chaotic. It is very disturbing, but I want you to take a listen to it.

LEMON: OK.

(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)

911 DISPATCHER: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Hello, 911. There was a shooting at Safeway.

911 DISPATCHER: OK. What do you mean?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: (INAUDIBLE) where Gabrielle Giffords was. And I do believe Gabby Giffords was hit.

911 DISPATCHER: At Safeway, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Yes, Safeway.

911 DISPATCHER: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: You OK?

911 DISPATCHER: Was somebody shot them, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Yes. The guy, looked like the guy had a semiautomatic pistol, and he went in, he just started firing and then he ran.

911 DISPATCHER: OK. UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: We got pictures. We got --

911 DISPATCHER: Can you describe him?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: What?

911 DISPATCHER: Can you describe him, sir? What was he wearing?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: He was wearing a hoodie.

911 DISPATCHER: What color was the hoodie?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: It was black.

911 DISPATCHER: OK. What color were his pants?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Looked like he was wearing blue jeans, and he was wearing a black sweater.

911 DISPATCHER: OK. Was anybody injured? Did you say Gabrielle Giffords was hit?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: She's hit.

911 DISPATCHER: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I do believe she is breathing. She is breathing, she still has a pulse and we got two people and we got one dead.

911 DISPATCHER: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: And they are injured.

911 DISPATCHER: Who -- OK, and there's other people that are injured?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: There's multiple people shot.

911 DISPATCHER: OK. Oh, my God.

(END AUDIOTAPE)

KAYE: And the problem here, Don, was that these people were really sitting ducks. They were behind a table at this event, and so, there was really nowhere for them to go as this suspect continued to shoot.

LEMON: Unbelievable. Chilling to listen to that. What about -- is there another person of interest reported, that person has been questioned and let go now?

KAYE: Yes. They actually -- the authorities released a video of a man, a dark-haired man in his 40s or 50s overnight. They had been searching for him since yesterday. They did question him today. He has been released. They don't think that he's involved. In fact, they say that he's been cleared. They think he might have actually been a taxi driver that had dropped the suspect of at the scene.

LEMON: Hey, Randi, (INAUDIBLE) if I didn't ask you this -- how are the other victims doing?

KAYE: They're doing OK. They're not in critical condition, like the congresswoman. So, we have -- we have three in serious condition, six in fair condition, at least at this hospital. There are four others that we haven't gotten the latest condition on at another hospital in the area.

LEMON: All right. Randi Kaye, thank you very much. Randi, stand by. We'll be coming to you throughout the evening here on CNN.

Now, to Jared Lee Loughner formally charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder in yesterday's mass killing. And at the heart of it, why?

CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has new details for us. Jeanne, he was kicked out of a community college. He bought a gun, even attended one of the congresswoman's events in 2007. Now, police have found a written message in his house.

What is it?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. They executed a search warrant last night at the home where Loughner lived with his parents in Tucson, and according to the -- a statement of probable cause that was filed in court today, they found inside that home a safe, and in the safe, a couple of pieces of paper that were of interest. One was a letter from Congresswoman Giffords' office inviting him to a different Congress on Your Corner event. This one held back in 2007.

But, in addition, another note -- it's described this way -- an envelope with handwriting on the envelope stating, "I planned ahead, my assassination." The name Giffords along with what appears to be Loughner's signature.

Now, this statement of probable cause came along with five counts that were filed against him today. We can take a look at what those five are. One is for the attempted murder of a member of Congress. That, of course, would be Gabrielle Giffords.

Another, first-degree murder of a federal judge, John Roll; first- degree murder of Gabe Zimmerman, who was an aide to the congresswoman; and attempted murder of Pamela Simon and Ron Barber. Five counts, federal charges.

The director of the FBI, Robert Mueller, made it clear earlier today, that there could be additional federal charges. There also could be state charges filed against him at a different time.

As you mentioned earlier, he's slated to have his first court appearance tomorrow. He does now have a public defender.

Our Supreme Court producer Bill Mears has learned that Judy Clarke will be representing him. She is something of a roving federal defender, and she has worked on several very high-profile cases in the past, including the case of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, and also the terrorist Zacharias Moussaoui.

LEMON: And, Jeanne --

MESERVE: So, that's what's in store.

LEMON: Jeanne, I want to ask you this. You said they executed a search warrant and they found some information about him. As we were going over this story last night, there was little to be found about him, we were learning every minute, some new things. What did they find out about his background? Have they found anything when they searched the home? Is there anything new that we found out about his background?

MESERVE: The only thing we've learned about the search warrant is what's contained here in this statement of probable cause. We did tell you last night there was another search warrant for a car. I'm told today by a law enforcement official that this was a car that was in the parking lot of the Safeway. But it turned out not to belong to him.

And as we now know, he took a cab and that explains the presence of that second man who was in the Safeway with him.

Of course investigators are trying to make progress putting together a time line and a profile of this individual. They, like us, are looking, of course, at everything online. You can be sure they seized a computer, because this individual did post on YouTube and MySpace and so forth. They'll be looking at the e-mails he sent, who he was communicating with, whether there are any connections that might be relevant to the shootings.

Probably also there was a cell phone, there usually are in cases of this type. They'll be looking at who he was talking to.

So, it's a broad far-ranging investigation at this point in time. At this point, I don't think anybody would tell you that they've unlocked the puzzle totally, but bits and pieces are falling into place.

LEMON: Yes, thank you very much. And I'm glad you mention the computer and social media because we're going to be talking to the sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in just a moment to find out the impact, talk about the impact of this story online and on social media. Jeanne Meserve, great job. Thank you very much.

Christina Green is her name. She's a 9-year-old victim of yesterday's tragedy. She was born on 9/11, a newly elected member of her school student council. Next, we're going to hear from her priest and learn more about who this little girl is and why her life was taken away so soon. Also, a winter wallop coming to a part of the country that is not used to winter weather like this -- the South. How are we going to dig ourselves out of it? Snow and ice in the process of covering the Southeast impacting travel in the air and on the ground.

I'm Don Lemon and I know you're online. So, check out our social media sites right there. Let's connect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Of course, this entire story is heartbreaking, but one of those murdered in the rampage yesterday was just 9 years old. Her name was Christina Green. She was born on September 11th, 2001. And she had just been elected to her school student council. A neighbor thought Christina would be interested in meeting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and so asked her to go to the event.

Joining us now by phone from Tucson is Christina Green's pastor. His name is Father Richard Troutman. He is founder of St. Odilia Church in Tucson.

My condolences first to you, Father. My understanding Christina was in the choir.

REV. RICHARD TROUTMAN, ST. ODILIA PARISH (via telephone): She was. She was in our children's choir last year.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Tell us about her.

TROUTMAN: Well, just that she was, you know, a nice little 8-year-old girl and she was there with her family. And she was, you know, very bright and, you know, very quiet. But, you know, somebody who paid a lot of attention and was a very good little girl.

LEMON: You guys held mass as normal today. And I understand that you did talk about it during services.

TROUTMAN: We did. We did. We certainly did, and how this is an unnecessary death and how, it must, you know, be painful for her family and what's been a shock. And, oh, as of yet, we have not made any arrangements for the funeral.

LEMON: How did you explain it to the parishioners?

TROUTMAN: Well, today is the baptism of the Lord and how we have a process of, you know, going -- in our baptism kind of growing up through -- you know, how we belong to the church and how we get into leadership and how we do some praying and then how, you know, people get into justice and Christina had some interest as being a -- you know, in government because of her birthday and because being elected to the student council that she was interested in seeing the congresswoman and she might want to be one.

But then, you know, she was killed, and you get involved in justice. Next thing, you have unnecessary death, and that's what happened to her. And that was a shock to all of us.

LEMON: I know that you said that you mentioned it and -- but how do you talk to people about this? And I imagine, today was very somber and solemn service.

TROUTMAN: Well, the idea that you've got to realize that everybody is going to be grieving and that how we have to go through grieving process. And we're shocked and we're angry and we might have some denial and some bargaining and how you get depressed and can be all over the place before we even want to accept the fact of what has happened. (INAUDIBLE), you know, for the family, the death of a child is the most painful thing that children can have happened -- or that parents could have happen to them. It takes many, many years if not a lifetime to grieve.

LEMON: Yes. How are you supporting the family?

TROUTMAN: Well, we're waiting to see what we can do and see if, you know, the family needs some meals and some help that way and how we can get ready for, you know, the funeral. And very soon, we'll be having a community mass or service on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. with (INAUDIBLE) and to remember all the victims, living and dead, in this terrible shooting.

LEMON: Her service is going to be at your church?

TROUTMAN: Well, as far as we know. We haven't made the arrangements for the funeral as of yet.

LEMON: All right. Our best to you, Father Richard Troutman. We really appreciate you coming on. And, again, our best to you and to the family.

I want to tell your viewers that just moments ago, you were looking at live pictures of the vigil outside the University Medical Center there in Tucson, Arizona. That has -- that vigil started shortly after the shooting when people realized that the congresswoman and other victims were brought to the hospital. And people have been gathering there for more than 24 hours now.

You know, people flock to social media to share the tragedy of the Tucson shooting tragedy. Later, we'll talk to a Facebook executive to see how the story played out there.

And a monster winter storm bears down in the Southeast. We'll find out when it's expected to hit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Another big story we're keeping an eye on today, a major winter storm is bearing down on the Southeast. Snow is already falling in parts of Texas. The rest of the South is expected to get slammed later tonight and into tomorrow. Significant amounts of snow.

And here's a word you really don't want to hear, ice. They are in the forecast. You know, the storm has the potential to cause major travel disruptions. Hundreds of flights have already been canceled. And here is the AirTran counter at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport.

If you've got a ticket to fly, check ahead with your carrier. That's some advice to you.

Watches and warnings are in effect all across a huge area of the country and all the way from Texas to the Carolinas.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

LEMON: So, let's check in with our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

Not used to that snow down here in the South.

JERAS: I know, but, you know, most people can handle a little bit of snow.

LEMON: Yes.

JERAS: It's that ice you were talking about. That's the big concern here tonight. It's already caused dozens of accidents and possibly reaching into the hundreds as well, today. I think that's a good possibility across parts of Texas and Louisiana into Arkansas.

We had a 15-car pileup along I-30 here. This has been very icy across parts of Mississippi, and we've got the ice storm warning in effect, which includes you in Montgomery, Alabama. So, there you can see the dozen-plus states that are under these warnings.

Now, the good news is: Dallas, you're done with the snow. But freezing drizzle is expected overnight tonight.

Oklahoma, you're also winding down.

But some of the worst of the weather in parts of Arkansas at this time. It's coming down heavy for you now in Little Rock. The winds are gusting beyond 20 miles per hour. So, that's going to start to reduce your visibility.

Memphis -- I know that it looks like you're snowing right now, but it's not coming down just yet. Our air is starting to saturate. What we call this is virga, so it's actually snow up there in the clouds, but it's just not making its way to the ground just yet.

There you can see Jackson, Mississippi, in this area along I-20, up towards I-55 is where we've had some accumulating freezing rain. And there's been sleet from time to time into the Birmingham area, as well.

And then I also want to mention what's going on over here in parts of Georgia. Atlanta, it looks like you're getting it but not just yet. Same thing that's happening in Memphis but what's happening here. But we're starting to get a few sleet reports over into Noonan, Georgia area. We think the worst of this is going to start to hit in several hours from now and really the real bad weather probably not until midnight tonight.

Let's talk about some of these accumulations now. Forecast totals are a little bit iffy because a lot of you are going to start with the snow and then change over to some of that freezing rain. But either way, you slice it. We think this is going on the area where the most accumulations are going to be occurring, and a few of you in here could be talking about 8-plus inches of snow, especially in the higher elevations over here into the Appalachians.

But it's that ice that we're real worried about. And once you start getting between a quarter of an inch to a half an inch, that's when we start seeing trees coming down, that's when we start to see power lines coming down and people without power for days potentially.

So, be real aware from Birmingham towards Atlanta, over towards Charlotte for those icy conditions. And now is the time to prepare, Don. We're just hours away from this happening for those folks.

LEMON: Why should the whole country care about this? Especially Atlanta. The airport.

JERAS: The airport for one.

LEMON: One of the busiest in the world. And we're going to have the mayor of Atlanta on at 10:00 p.m. tonight to give us an update, to tell us what they're doing to make sure that, you know, travel doesn't get affected.

JERAS: Right. And people in the Northeast, by the way, too -- yes, this could come up your way. Tuesday and into Wednesday we could have a significant snowstorm for them with the same system.

LEMON: Thank you, Jacqui Jeras. We'll get back to you.

Here's a look at some of the day's other top stories here on CNN. A passenger plane has crashed in northwestern Iran. Iranian media says at least 70 people -- 70 of the 102 people on board the Iran air jet died. More than 30 others were taken to the hospital, some in critical condition. Snow and fog at the crash site made rescue operations very difficult. Officials say the Boeing 727 was near its destination when it went down.

The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has arrived in the Persian Gulf region for a round of high-level talks. Over the next several days, she will meet with leaders in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar. She will seek Arab support for the new government in Iraq and tougher penalties against Iran for its nuclear activities.

The consumer electronics show wraps up today in Las Vegas. All those techies, they are heading home. Tablet computers similar to the Apple iPad are getting a lot of buzz. So, are 3D cameras. And, of course, Internet connectivity still is a big trend with everything from cars to home appliances being controlled by your computer.

You know, we're learning more information about the assassination attempt against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Next, the sheriff gives new details about how the gunman was subdued.

And how can someone survive a bullet through the brain? This is a nine-millimeter bullet. I'm going to talk to chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon himself, about that. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Listen, I just want to update you here. We have some developing news here, very interesting interview coming from a member of our Special Investigations Unit, Drew Griffin. We'll have that on the air for you shortly.

It's an exclusive interview with Giffords' six-time campaign chairman. His name is Mike McNulty. He has some very interesting things to say about Giffords, also her fear -- and this is according to the report -- of some certain protesters from certain groups. That's him right there.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT: Six terms, six elections, and you said that she has come to a point in her life where serving others is where she wants to be. Was Congress where she wanted to be? Were she setting her sights yet higher?

MIKE MCNULTY, GIFFORDS CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: The -- when she -- after she left the statehouse and went in the state Senate, I think she was a little frustrated being in the minority, knowing that there were -- there were -- she could make a much bigger difference in Congress. And she kind of just kept her eye out for developments, and that's the point at which previous congressman, Jim Kolbe, announced his retirement. And it took her about 48 hours to decide she would try to go for that seat.

GRIFFIN: How does she keep winning here?

MCNULTY: That's a great question. It is -- it is not -- if you look at the demographics, you would not think that she could get elected. She is -- the way she inspires people reminds me a little bit of when I worked for Mo Udall, and the people who worked for Ted Kennedy, people who would walk for a wall for the people they believed in.

But unlike them, she doesn't inspire by leading from one of the fringes. She is actually a genuine centrist, and being inspirational from the center is not that easy. But she can do it, and she causes people to just simply love her. She had volunteers during this last campaign, like 180,000 phone calls in the last two weeks of the campaign to other voters.

GRIFFIN: And she squeaked it out.

MCNULTY: She did.

GRIFFIN: In a year when Democrats were falling left and right across this country.

MCNULTY: Yes.

GRIFFIN: Especially in the South.

MCNULTY: Yes.

GRIFFIN: Do you feel in your heart of hearts, after being at that hospital, that the congresswoman is again going to be on the floor --

MCNULTY: I do.

GRIFFIN: -- filling out her term --

MCNULTY: Yes.

GRIFFIN: -- and running again?

MCNULTY: I wonder once she is back on the floor how much appetite she will have for campaigns, but her commitment to her constituency is such that I -- as irrational as it might be, I think she will -- she's convinced that this is what she should be doing. So, I expect her to run.

GRIFFIN: Even after taking a bullet.

MCNULTY: If I had to bet, that's what I would bet.

GRIFFIN: Fitz?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just one more thing, Mike, you alluded to at the very beginning. Talk to Drew about the mood of the hospital room when you were there this afternoon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Let me tell you, that is just coming in, just being fed in. That's unedited videotape. Our Drew Griffin and his producers, as you can here there, from our "Special Investigations Unit."

Let me tell you exactly what that is. That interview is an exclusive interview with Giffords' six-time campaign chairman, Mike McNulty. As you can see it was emotional and compelling. A lot of people have been trying to get him. CNN did manage to get him.

He just returned from the hospital, Mr. McNulty, to see the Giffords. And he tells CNN that Giffords will come back. She will survive to return to Congress, he said during that interview. You heard part of that.

He went on to say -- and I'm going to preface this -- I'm going to tell you -- say something after this. He went on to say that Giffords was concerned and had fear -- had a fear of Tea Party protesters, especially during this past election.

But I want to point this out, that investigators have not connected this Jared Loughner to any groups, including the Tea Party. And so authorities are continuing to look into the suspect's background to find out more information. But, again, that's what her campaign manager is saying. And so I wanted to convey that to you. But Jared Loughner has not been connected to anything like that. They're still trying to figure out the motive and they're still talking to him at this point.

Again, breaking news happening here every second. And we'll continue to bring it to you.

The violence in Arizona is the talk of Washington, speaking of the Tea Party and others. We'll talk with our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, about the debate over political rhetoric.

Plus, not everyone agrees with the outspoken sheriff of Pima County that the public debate has been poisoned. Radio talk show host, Neal Boortz, joins me and he will have his say.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back to our continuing coverage. The Arizona shootings have a lot of people, including the Pima County sheriff, talking about the bitterness and the anger that we hear on the political airwaves. Our senior congressional correspondent is Dana Bash, and she's been tracking this angle.

Dana, we spoke about this last night. Now it is getting more traction, if you saw the Sunday morning shows and a lot of the newspapers. I understand now that lawmakers held a conference call today. So what was that all about?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, very different from the partisan atmosphere we have seen. By all accounts, I've spoken to several members of Congress who were on this call. By the way, there were like 800 people on this phone call -- Democratic members of Congress, Republicans, the Democratic and Republican leadership of the House, and also some security officials.

But just saying, on the political side of it, I spoke to Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York. He said, in my 22 years in Congress, I have never been asked to be on a conference call with Republicans and Democrats like this. He said he was actually struck by, in his words, how they were coming together, how John Boehner -- this is a Democrat talking about the new Republican speaker -- how heartfelt he was, and everybody was across the board in this conference call.

And the gist of the conference call, Don, was, first and foremost, to let people know how Congresswoman Giffords is doing. Her chief of staff spoke. Basically, I'm told that they got most of the information we got from the surgeons at the hospital, but also to talk about security issues, to give the members of Congress a heads-up that they should have a point person in their district and things like that.

But in terms of the tone and the tenor, by all accounts, very interesting, very different. And by the way, there's going to be, on that note, a joint, meaning House Republicans and Democrats, are going to have a resolution that is going to be on the floor of the House on Wednesday, which is going to commemorate this tragedy. And I'm also told there's going to be a joint security briefing, Democrats and Republicans, on Wednesday.

So hopefully it's more than temporary, but at least right now, temporarily, there is a coming-together, in the words of John Boehner, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.

LEMON: Dana, let's move this forward a little bit for maybe, if not next week, the week after, what congressional leaders will be saying because some are concerned about security. But for someone whose heart is in this and they love being a politician, they are going to want to be out there with the people they represent and nothing is going to stop them from doing that.

BASH: That's right.

LEMON: And the first person I thought about, who might say something like that was Anthony Wiener, my -- you know, I'm sorry for what happened to the congresswoman. It shouldn't happen to anyone. But we have to be out with the people who support us. We have to know them. We've got to be in the community.

BASH: So many of the members of Congress who I've spoken with on the phone today have said just that, Don. Adam Smith, for example, a Democrat from Washington state, he actually says that he considers Gabby Giffords his closest friend in the House. He said she's got lots of friends but he considers her his closest friend. He said to, look -- he said to me, we have to keep doing our job. We've got to keep doing what we're doing. What are we going to, go to a "Congress on the Corner" and have six or seven armed guards? He said that's not going to happen. We have to find a way to do it.

There's no question though that there are going to be some sort of tinkering around the edges at least.

LEMON: Yes.

BASH: Some members I've talked to are saying that maybe the U.S. Marshal Service should be involved when members are home and other things. But absolutely I've heard pretty much nothing but resolve, some fear, but resolve that they're going to keep doing what they're doing, because it's why they have their job. It's basically why they're elected. and it's a responsibility.

LEMON: Yes. And they should have fear. I mean, who wouldn't after this situation.

BASH: Absolutely. Of course.

LEMON: Dana Bash, thank you so much. Talk to you soon.

BASH: Thanks, Don.

The Pima County sheriff suggested that "vitriol" -- that was a quote -- in politics and the media -- he says it's inflaming the American public to do dangerous things to dangerous levels. And that's not going to win him many fans on talk radio.

Neal Boortz is a libertarian and host of his own syndicated radio show. He joins me via Skype.

Neal, thank you so much for coming on. I know that you're always, you know, open and honest. And you've been a good sport about coming on and doing that.

I want to throw up a tweet that you made just a few hours ago which says, "Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has shown himself to be a leftist partisan hack in his public comments."

So why so critical of the public face of this investigation? Are you not doing exactly what he pointed out there at the press conference?

NEAL BOORTZ, LIBERTARIAN & TALK RADIO SHOW HOST: Gee, first of all, I'm really tickled you all follow me on Twitter. I guess I'll have to follow you back.

LEMON: @donlemon/CNN. You can follow me. I do follow you. Go ahead.

(LAUGHTER)

BOORTZ: Well, I mean, he's out there immediately blaming this on talk radio. Now, this goes back to when you were about -- I don't know. How old were you in 19 -- in 1962 or '3?

LEMON: Minus a couple years. I wasn't born. Yes.

BOORTZ: Uh-huh. Now I'm embarrassed because I've got the date -- I've got the date wrong. But '63, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, I was in Texas at the time. And the immediate reaction in the media and with the people was a right-winger did it, and it's those right-wingers, it's those conservatives. And it turns out to be a Communist sympathizer. Now --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: But, Neal, I didn't hear him in that. And maybe there was an insinuation there. I didn't hear him mention a party. He just said the political process. He did say people who wanted to tear down their government, which may have been a backhanded slap to the Tea Party.

BOORTZ: I understand that. I understand that. But I'm just saying this assigning blame -- and I accuse the sheriff of assigning blame for a political purpose, just as they did in 1963.

LEMON: Mm-hmm.

BOORTZ: Now, Rahm Emanuel famously said that you never let a good crisis go to waste. Now we're learning you don't let a good tragedy go to waste. LEMON: Mm-hmm.

BOORTZ: And there are people out there -- in fact, there was a report on "Politico." It was buried in the story. But that a Democrat operative told "Politico" that the word went out very soon or very quickly, "We have to deftly pin this on the Tea Partiers."

LEMON: OK. So, listen, they're not -- I don't know if that's accurate. That's not CNN's reporting, so I'll have to take you at your word for it. But I want to move on now, because I want you to hear what the sheriff said today in the press conference, and then we'll talk about it.

BOORTZ: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARENCE DUPNIK, SHERIFF OF PIMA COUNTY: When the rhetoric about hatred, about mistrust of government, about paranoia of how government operates, and to try to inflame the public on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, has impact on people, especially who are unbalanced personalities to begin with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Obviously, he's upset. Who wouldn't be in this situation, and a bit emotional? Is there some truth to what he's saying, though, Neal?

BOORTZ: Well, first of all, I don't blame him being upset. My condolences to the people of Tucson. My wife and I spend several weeks out of every year in Tucson. We absolutely love the area.

But you talk about rhetoric. I mean, is, "Give me liberty or give me death" -- that's some pretty strong rhetoric also, and it goes right back to the formation of our country. And then Sheriff Dupnik gets into this hate speech. This is -- this is a wonderful way that some people have of terminating an argument when they have no ability to engage in it in the first place.

LEMON: OK.

BOORTZ: You present an idea to somebody, they can't respond to it. And then they start screaming, that's hate speech, that's hate speech. And as far as -- I forget his exact words, Don -- but it was distrust of government. I think a healthy distrust of government is, in fact, healthy. Government --

LEMON: I think he said people who are trying to tear down the government. Let's talk about the national mood, though, Neal, right now.

BOORTZ: Sure.

LEMON: I want to play this sound bite from "Meet the Press" this morning, and I want to get your reaction. BOORTZ: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER, (D), MISSOURI: We are in a dark place in this country right now. And the atmospheric condition is toxic. And much of it originates here in Washington, D.C., and we export it around the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You know, he seems to be saying the same thing. Now, listen, that Washington is broken and extends from there. It sounds like something the Tea Party might agree with. What's your reaction?

BOORTZ: Who was that?

LEMON: That was Congressman Cleaver.

BOORTZ: OK. Do you remember who uttered these words? "Republican victory would mean hand-to-hand combat. They bring a knife, we bring a gun. Hit back twice as hard. Punish your enemies. I'm itching for a fight. I don't want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry. I'm angry." Don, do you know who said all of those things?

LEMON: No, I don't. Go ahead.

BOORTZ: The president of our country, Barack Obama. Those are all his words. So, yes, there is angry rhetoric. And when we have government --

LEMON: What's your point with that? I don't understand. There's context in everything. What's your point with that?

BOORTZ: Well, my point is that there seems to be some people that want to really lay the blame for violent rhetoric on the right. Those are the ones with the hate speech. Now, if you find somebody on the right, a Republican Congressman, Senator, leader, if they bring a knife, we're going to bring a gun. I'm itching for a fight. Let's get in their face. Let's hit them back twice as hard.

That -- I would submit the media will react quite a bit differently come with that rhetoric coming from someone on the right than they did from that rhetoric coming from the president of the United States.

LEMON: So do you feel at all that we need to -- and this is going to be my last question -- that we need to restore civility and to tone down the rhetoric? Because even though it may just be a job, and political sport for many, but to some people who listen to it, Neal, they take it very literally.

BOORTZ: Sure.

LEMON: And they take those words to mean exactly -- you know, the meaning of those words rather than the context behind it and reading between the lines. BOORTZ: Well, I can't speak for others, Don, but I can tell you what I do on my show. And I've been at this for 40 years, which I suspect takes you back to minus again.

LEMON: Mm-hmm.

BOORTZ: And that is, I tell people, you know, we have every right to be angry at what's happening to the government of our country. We have every right to voice that anger. We have every right to be partisan in one direction or another. But when anybody ever calls my show -- when they call my show, and they suggest violence, I tell them the ballot box works.

LEMON: Yes.

BOORTZ: And we saw that in November.

LEMON: Yes.

BOORTZ: The ballot box does work.

LEMON: And, Neal?

BOORTZ: That is the place to take out your anger.

LEMON: Unfortunately, we're out of time. This is going to have to be the last word. I appreciate you coming on. Thanks again for being --

BOORTZ: I enjoyed it.

LEMON: -- for being so open. Happy new year to you, by the way.

BOORTZ: Thanks. Bye-bye.

LEMON: And if you were on Facebook or Twitter yesterday, you knew something was wrong in Arizona before switching on the television. People by the millions were turning to social media to learn more about the mass killing. A Facebook insider gives us the details on that.

And some speculate there is a reason all this violence is happening in Arizona. We'll tell you about the state's turbulent year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So when a colossal tragedy like this hits, everyone seems to talk about it, of course. But now, with social media, we can actually track just how many people are talking.

So joining us now via Skype from San Francisco is Randi Zuckerberg. She is marketing director for Facebook.

And, Randi, thank you so much for joining us. Just how big an impact did the Arizona rampage have on Facebook?

RANDI ZUCKERBERG, MARKETING DIRECTOR, FACEBOOK: Since the moment the events happened yesterday, we've seen over three million updates alone that just mention Giffords or Gabrielle Giffords in the status update. Just to give you comparison on what that is, for the presidential inauguration, we saw two million status updates. So Facebook is a lot bigger two years later. But these three million stats, in a 24-hour period, is really pretty substantial.

LEMON: What are people saying? And ware any trends? What are the trends there?

ZUCKERBERG: We're seeing really a lot of people talking about Sarah Palin and the graphs (ph). We're seeing really things on both sides of the story. A lot of people are saying that had nothing to do with the events that happened. A lot of people are saying that responsibility needs to be taken for words said by an influential person. We're also seeing a lot of debate about gun control. A lot of users calling for stricter gun control laws. But also, a lot of Facebook users saying that, while they know that this is going to bring the gun control debate back to the forefront, that they're happy with how things are now. So those are two. We're also seeing a lot of really heartfelt messages about the 9-year-old girl that was killed. Really, that seems to be touching a lot of people around the world.

LEMON: Let's talk about the barriers that social media have broken down when it comes to getting information out, whether it's Facebook or on Twitter. As I watch my feeds here, I see a lot of things come across before we actually report it. As you said, people were talking about the Sarah Palin part of it. People were talking about other issues, what might be his motivation. And then we end up talking about it later. Has it broken down a barrier in a way that wasn't there before? What's your take on that?

ZUCKERBERG: You mentioned Sarah Palin. What's interesting there is that she actually posted her condolence message on Facebook first, before anywhere else. So that's where she chose to break that news. I thought that was really interesting and speaks to the point that you just mentioned.

I also think that Facebook is pretty representative of the conversations happening in people's homes, in their living rooms. And it's kind of the new telephone chain of command. As soon as people hear about an event, they're going to go straight out to talk to their friends about it online.

LEMON: Yes, it is the water cooler. And the water cooler often ends up being news.

So thank you, Randi Zuckerberg. Best of look to you, OK?

ZUCKERBERG: Great. Thanks to you, too.

LEMON: People all across the southeast bracing right now for a major winter storm. This is what the radar looks like live right now. It doesn't look good. We're going to have a live report from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Airlines there already feeling the pain. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: That's our other big storm today on CNN, the severe weather, the other big story that we are keeping an eye on. A major winter storm bearing down on the southeast. Watches and warnings are in effect from Texas to the Carolinas. Significant amounts of snow and ice and are in the forecast. The storm has the potential to cause major travel disruptions that could affect the entire country. Hundreds of flights have already been canceled.

And CNN's Catherine Calloway is joining us now from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

A major disruption there could have a ripple effect all across the country, Catherine.

CATHERINE CALLOWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're not kidding. The storm's not even here yet and already today, earlier today, a couple of thousand flights were already canceled before the snow even arrived in the state on Georgia. But that's because it's such a busy airport. So many flights connect here and so many flights leave here to go other places, they didn't want to bring planes in and have them stranded.

We want to show you some of the troops. This is not just affecting domestic travelers. We ran across a couple of hundred troops, U.S. troops, hanging around the USO. They were waiting to fly back out to active duty in Afghanistan. But because of the oncoming storm, they were sent to a hotel room tonight, where they will be staying in the hotels until they figure out when they are going to get back out and head to Afghanistan.

But Delta, earlier today, canceled 330 flights just tonight alone. Tomorrow, 1400 flights already been canceled by Delta. These are Delta and Delta-connection flights. That, Don, is about 25 percent of their flights. And they, of course, are based out of Atlanta.

LEMON: Yes.

CALLOWAY: United and Continental have a dozen flights canceled. Air Tran has about 280 flights canceled. Snow not even on the ground yet, and already cancellations.

(LAUGHTER)

We understand that these airlines are offering -- if you call before Tuesday night, for you to reschedule your flight free of charge. No fees for that at all.

LEMON: Yes. You took the words right out of my mouth. It hasn't even started yet, pretty much, and --

(LAUGHTER)

But it has started the other way.

Thank you, Catherine, at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport.

I want to tell our viewers, coming up tonight at 10:00 p.m., is the South prepared for the onslaught of this weather? We're going to have the mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed. He's going to join us to give us a live update.

So, how can someone take a bullet at close range through the brain, like the congresswoman did, and live through it? Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)