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More Calls for Filner's Resignation; Man Falls 65 Feet to Death at Turner Field; US Airways/American Merger Challenged; What's Behind Near-Death Experiences; "Boomerang Kids" Staying at Home

Aired August 13, 2013 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, fed up with Filner. San Diego, we are holding your mayor's feet to the fire. We're at day 23 now and Mayor Filner is still refusing to step down after sexual harassment allegations continue to swirl around him.

Plus this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't see God or Jesus, but I was there. I know what it was like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were where?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was up in heaven.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The light you see right before you die. There may be an explanation after all and God has nothing to do with it.

And remember when moving out of your parents' house was the best thing ever? Well, think again. The boomerang kids are speaking out. They say it's cool to live at home, but when does it become not so cool? You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning. Thank you so much for being with me. I'm Carol Costello. Checking our top stories at just about 30 minutes past the hour, a 29-year-old Georgia man was killed after falling from a platform at Turner Field. It happened during the Braves-Phillies game. Ronald Homer fell from 65 feet from an upper level deck onto a parking lot below. Police believes the fall was an accident and say it's too soon to tell whether alcohol may have been a factor.

Hannah Anderson back with her family today, the 16-year-old girl rescued Saturday in Idaho following a week-long manhunt for her and her abductor. Police say the teenager did not know her mother and 8- year-old brother had been killed by her captor, James DiMaggio, during the ordeal. Anderson's father thanked law enforcement for his daughter's safe return.

Take a look at this. These are the faces of the lucky New Jersey workers who hit it big during last week's Powerball drawing. The 16 employees won a portion of the $448 million jackpot. We're going to hear from them a little bit later today.

The Ocean 16, as they're called, pooled their money and bought what turned out to be one of three winning tickets. Each worker will get nearly $4 million after taxes.

San Diego Mayor, Bob Filner, is now responding to a recall effort he faces in the wake of a string of sexual harassment accusations. Here on NEWSROOM, we are holding Mayor Filner's feet to the fire. We're counting every day it's been since the first accusations of sexual harassment were leveled against the mayor. We're at day 23 on Filner watch.

In all, more than a dozen women say the mayor and former congressman acted inappropriately towards them. The mayor's response to the recall is, quote, "Now is not the time to go backwards." He wrote that in a letter. He cites what he has done in office, too but nothing about the push to get him out of office by voters. Filner faces several investigations into his conduct. I'm talking about criminal investigations and the bandwagon calling for his resignation is filling up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two weeks is not a cure. Two weeks is not enough for us to forget. We are not going to forget. We are not going away. And we will keep repeating, "Bob must go." Bob must go. Bob must go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Among those wanting Filner to step down is San Diego City Councilman Mark Kersey. Councilman Kersey joins me now. Welcome.

MARK KERSEY, SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCILMAN: Good morning, Carol. Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. So I'm just reading the latest letter that the Mayor, I guess, sent to the city council. And he says -- I'm going to put it up at the top -- he goes through the letters and cites his many accomplishments in office and he says "Now is the time not to go backwards." He's going to stay in office. What do you say?

KERSEY: Well, his record in office is really kind of irrelevant at this point. My heart goes out to the women who have come forward, more than a dozen now, as well as all those who have not yet come forward. As well as the 10,000 city workers who should not have to come to work every day under this cloud of controversy. Bob Filner needs to resign now.

COSTELLO: Well, he had these two weeks of intensive therapy. Now he's getting outpatient therapy. Do you know anything about that?

KERSEY: Well, you know, this is a pattern of behavior that he's admitted to that goes back for many, many years, to his time in Congress, perhaps even earlier. And this -- this therapy plan is not something that's going to change anything for the women who have already suffered under this abuse. This is something that if this plan does not include his resignation, it will clearly have failed.

COSTELLO: It's just strange to think and it must be strange for you as a city councilman, the mayor's offices are locked, so we can't get in. He's on -- he's in outpatient therapy for sexual harassment and the way he treats women. And he's refusing to step down. I mean, in your mind, did you ever think that this kind of scenario would occur in San Diego?

KERSEY: No. No, there's no way anybody could have predicted this. It's -- it is a bizarre -- truly bizarre situation. And the one person who can change all that is Bob Filner.

COSTELLO: OK. So what price is San Diego paying as this scandal drags on and on?

KERSEY: This is clearly not good for San Diego. I'm a small business owner and I can tell you that business owners when they're looking to expand or relocate, they desire certainty, they desire stability. And for all of our great attributes here in San Diego, we have a very vibrant, educated work force. We have innovative companies.

It is very difficult to attract both good talent and good companies when you've got this distraction hanging over your head. And so that's why we need him to go so that we can move forward with the business of the city.

COSTELLO: So let's imagine Mayor Filner is watching CNN at this moment. What do you say to him?

KERSEY: Bob, it's time for you to resign. You need to put the best interests of the city at heart. You need to listen to the voters who got you into office. You need to listen to some of your most ardent supporters who elected you nine months ago who are now some of the most vocal people calling for you to resign.

It is time to go. It's in the best interest of your constituents. It's in the best interest of the city. And it's in the best interest of the women who you have abused, who need justice at this point.

COSTELLO: San Diego City Councilman, Mark Kersey, thanks for joining us this morning.

KERSEY: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here.

Still to come on the NEWSROOM, a fan plunges 65 feet to his death at an Atlanta Braves game. Do our stadiums need to be more secure? We'll talk about that next.

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COSTELLO: We're learning a little bit more about the man who plunged 65 feet to his death at Atlanta's Turner Field last night. His name is -- his name is Ronald Homer he's from Conyers, Georgia. He's 29 years old. He fell from an upper level near a concession area inside the stadium and he fell to the ground into a parking lot below.

Reports say, in fact, the Associated Press is reporting that Homer worked as a landscaper, and he was a lifelong Braves fan. He's 29 years old, as I said. Police say the fall appears to be an accident.

Venue safety expert, Steven Adelman, joins me now. Welcome.

STEVEN ADELMAN, VENUE SAFETY EXPERT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So we're all trying to figure out how exactly this happened. And we're working on a live shot out at Turner Field so we can show people exactly where this poor man fell to his death. He was outside from where the seats are, right? He was in the concession area.

And apparently, according to the Associated Press, he had called his mother right before he fell and said he was going to go back and sit down, because he was in the concession area, because it was raining. And he supposedly was near this railing. So we're just trying to figure out how this could happen.

ADELMAN: Well and that's one of the big questions at this early stage in the investigation. How is it that someone falls over a railing, which isn't even near the playing field? In fact, he was facing the back of the stadium, overlooking the players' parking lot. So unlike the other incidents, where someone has fallen over a railing and died, this one had nothing to do with the action on the field at all.

It's completely different in that respect from the Shannon Stone death in Texas two years ago, which is the one that most people know about or for people in Atlanta, the fan who fell at the Georgia Dome last year. This incident is different. Because he just fell over a railing, not looking at the playing field at all.

COSTELLO: It's just -- let's go back to that graphic for a moment. Because you can see -- you can see the ledge there. And there is a closer shot that we just showed. He is 6 feet, 6 inches tall. Would that make a difference?

ADELMAN: Well, certainly, it makes a difference. Railing heights are built to code -- the international building code and various other codes that piggyback off of the international building code. So we can start with the certainty, the railings at Turner Field meet code. They meet the minimum standard for public accommodations, such as stadiums and arenas. That's absolutely not a question.

What is a question is, is that enough, given the way fans use public venues such as stadiums and given the sizes that different fans come in.

So a railing has to be adequate, not only for someone who is 5'10", like me, but also for someone who is well over 6 feet, like this man. COSTELLO: And just along the lines of what you say, you know everybody suspects maybe he drank a little too much, or he was drunk. But you have to take that into account, too, because that's what people do at ball games.

ADELMAN: Well, that's also correct. And so the venue has a duty to deal with the fans as they know fans come to the venue. So fans come in all shapes and sizes, all different abilities, balance, coordination, perception -- all those things are a function of alcohol that they may have purchased at the ballpark. Any other substances that may be in their system -- anything the venue reasonably knows or should know about its patrons all have to factor into how does the venue deal with them in order to keep them as safe as reasonably possible, while they're at the ballpark.

COSTELLO: So just to button this all up, can we prevent this from happening again?

ADELMAN: Prevent it? Probably not. What the ballpark can and must do, what every public accommodation can and must do, is look at how do people use this place and what can we do to make it as safe for the things that we can reasonably foresee as we can. Crazy things happen and those crazy things can't be foreseen and probably can't be prevented. What we don't know at this point is was this a crazy, freak accident, or was this something that was reasonably foreseeable. For that, time will tell.

COSTELLO: All right. Steven Adelman, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts this morning. We appreciate it.

ADELMAN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the racial discrimination claims that led to Paula Deen losing her TV show, and much of her empire now thrown out. We'll talk about that next.

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COSTELLO: Well, it seems the US Airways/American Airlines merger is in a bit of trouble -- actually maybe in a lot of trouble. Let's head to Washington and check in with Rene Marsh. What's happening?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. Well, we're getting this information from our Department of Justice correspondent, Evan Perez, who's down at the Department of Justice at this moment. We just got our hands on the complaint, and in it, it says that the Justice Department and attorneys general from six states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit, challenging the $11 billion merger of American Airlines and US Airways. Now, the airline merger would create the world's largest airline. But the lawsuit says it would substantially lessen competition for commercial air travel. So the top concern really is those local markets.

The Justice Department said, for example, right here in Washington, D.C. area, the national airport where the combined airline would control 69 percent of takeoff and landing slots, and 63 percent of the routes out of national. So that becomes the issue -- just monopolizing a local market.

So, again, that is the breaking news here, Carol. We are still going through all of this, but the headline here is that the Justice Department and attorneys general from six states and the District of Columbia, have filed this lawsuit challenging that merger.

LEMON: Of course, less competition may mean higher ticket prices. So we'll see what happens. Rene Marsh, thanks so much.

MARSH: Yes.

COSTELLO: Coming up in the next hour on CNN, "LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield. She joins us live from the set of her new show in New York. Ashleigh, hello.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, "LEGAL VIEW": Hello.

COSTELLO: I bet you're going to talk about Paula Deen this morning.

BANFIELD: Oh, girl, did you just see me holding this dismissal of the lawsuit against her? We're going to dig into it, find out what was dismissed and what isn't dismissed. But Carol, I have a big question for you. Are you ready?

COSTELLO: Ready.

BANFIELD: Have you ever seen a sign saying "no blacks" or "no Jews" or "no Christians" or "no whites"? You ever seen that anywhere?

COSTELLO: No, just in old pictures from the '60s.

BANFIELD: Right. It's history, isn't it? Except if you're in a Houston area, because there is honest to god a sign that was found saying "No Muslim Parking. Your car will be towed." I kid you not. What year is this again, Carol Costello?

COSTELLO: I think it's 2013.

BANFIELD: You would think, right? We're going to tell you why this happened. Who is behind it? What's being done? And more importantly, what can signs say and what can't signs say and what's the broader element to all of this. As well as the news of the day and, of course, the legal angles on the crime and justice stories.

So that's all coming up next, Carol.

COSTELLO: Can't wait. Thank you, Ashleigh Banfield.

BANFIELD: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, off to heaven and back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See God or Jesus, but I was there. I know what it was like. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You were where?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was up in heaven.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Just ahead, researchers now think they can explain those near-death experiences. And they say they have little to do with God.

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COSTELLO: A burst of brain activity, your brain in overdrive. A new study by University of Michigan researchers says a hyper-alert brain after someone's heart stops may yield clues about near-death experiences. You probably heard the stories of people say they went to heaven and came back after going into cardiac arrest.

Here's what a Massachusetts school bus driver told our Dr. Sanjay Gupta about her near-death experience for the 2009 CNN special "CHEATING DEATH".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pulled right out of my body, my body was here and I just floated away.

GUPTA: What did you see?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did I see? I see -- it was very peaceful. Massive energy -- this powerful, very powerful energy. And when that was happening, it was a picture of my son and my daughter and my granddaughter, and just every second, just like their pictures just flashed into my mind. And then I must have been when I came back.

I didn't see God or Jesus, but I was there. I know what it was like.

GUPTA: You were where?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was up in heaven.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Professor Jimo Borjigin was the lead researcher on the University of Michigan study that examined the brains of dying rats. Thanks so much for joining us this morning, Professor.

PROFESSOR JIMO BORJIGIN, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Hi, Carol. I'm sorry.

COSTELLO: No worries. You know, we would like to believe that God had something to do with near-death experiences, because people seem to have the same kinds of visions, the bright light. They go toward the bright light and then they say they experience God. What do you say?

BORJIGIN: Well, let's just say that humans are very curious creatures. If you give two answers, one is I don't know, and the other is I have some idea what it is. No matter how lousy it is, people will pick the latter one. But that's probably largely because the science is not there yet.

And I think what my team has done is to provide scientific, rational reasons for that experience, and -- but it's not exactly the same thing, because our study was done in rats. We did not do human studies, and we cannot possibly interview these animals even if you can resuscitate them. So it's not exactly the same thing.

But I think what is really interesting is that our study probably is one of the first to deal with the details of the brain activities. And it's not even they dying anymore -- this is so early after the cardiac arrest happened within the first 30 seconds.

COSTELLO: Well, let's slow down, because this is really difficult to understand. So after you go into cardiac arrest, what happens in your brain?

BORJIGIN: There is suddenly change of brain activity patterns in these animals we saw. And there's a surge of high-frequency brain waves in the frequency range we call a gamma. So those frequency waves actually increase in power density and not only that, different parts of the brain actually collaborate with each other in this synergistic way in a very coherent manner.

So the front of the brain is communicating with the back of the brain in a very meaningful manner. So those are really the key features we're looking for.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: So when that burst of brain activity happens, would that cause you to think about a bright light or beautiful thoughts, or what?

BORJIGIN: It's very hard to draw a direct conclusion there. But I think bright light, it's possible, because we saw evidence of visual cortex activation in our studies. Actually, there are a number of features consistent with the fact that visual cortex is activated. But, you know, that doesn't mean that rats are actually consciously seeing the bright light. We can't really know that until we do human studies in the future.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much. I wish I had more time to talk with you, but I don't. Thank you so much, Professor Jimo Borjigin from the University of Michigan School of Medicine. Thank you so much.

BORJIGIN: Thanks.

COSTELLO: We'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: So your 25-year-old kid thinks it's great he's living at home. He's not alone. Let's head to New York and check in with Alison Kosik. Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this thinking caught on during the recession that it's OK to be an adult and crash on your mom or dad's couch. And that feeling has kind of stuck.

Hey, even President Obama has done it. He and the first lady lived with her mother for a few years to save some money. There's this new study out from Caldwell Banker, asking people how long it's OK to live with your parents. 18 to 34-year-olds said five years.

COSTELLO: What?

KOSIK: Yes, that's a huge shift in thinking from one generation to another. I remember the old days when kids couldn't wait to move out. Analysts are blaming the economy. The say the harsh reality is the young adults can't find work. The unemployment rate for 20 to 24- year-olds is at 12.6 percent.

Most people think that if you're going to do it, it shouldn't be a free ride. People surveyed say adult children at home should work for it. Do your chores, pay rent. 65 percent say kids should be shown the door as soon as they get a job, because what this survey also showed, Carol, is that even after they get a job, they're still sticking around, Carol.

COSTELLO: I know, because after college my mom said if you move home, you're paying us rent and I'm going to charge you a lot.

KOSIK: Exactly. And did you go ahead and move home and pay rent?

COSTELLO: No. I paid rent in a nice -- well, not a nice apartment, but an apartment, all the same.

KOSIK: It's more fun, anyway.

COSTELLO: It was -- actually, it was a lot of fun. Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

KOSIK: Sure.

COSTELLO: Thanks for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts now.