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Charges Dropped In Biker Swarm; Shutdown Puts Big Game In Limbo; Shutdown: A Multi Billion Dollar Hit; Elderly Couple Charged In Cold Case Murders; Fiction Author Tom Clancy Dies; Comics Target Shutdown, Obamacare
Aired October 02, 2013 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: They say that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and the police aren't doing enough. I mean, I read that Commissioner Kelly, though, that they were aware, there had been arrests. Do you think there's a fair criticism? Is it tough to prosecute these bikers?
TERRY KATZ, V.P. INTERNATIONAL OUTLAW MOTORCYCLE GANG INVESTIGATORS ASSOCIATION: It is difficult to prosecute them. A lot of times you have witness intimidation, but in this case, you have a traffic collision followed by someone with a video camera. So you have all of that to do download. You have to do the crash reconstruction, interviews. It's not a one-day process with that many people involved.
BALDWIN: OK, Terry Katz, thank you very much.
Coming up next, back to government shutdown, we're going to talk to a former Navy football player on the possibility of the shutdown and how it may cancel the big rivalry game with the Air Force this weekend. You are watching CNN's special live coverage of the first government shutdown in 17 years. We'll be right back.
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GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: You know, Representative Peter King and people like that on the right who aren't the 30 or so sort of Tea Party group that are -- just come to shutdown government, they don't want to do it. I think the cooler heads will prevail and eventually, the Republican Party -- you know, I don't think Boehner wants to do this either, really, I don't.
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BALDWIN: So here's the thing. This is another potential glitch here. Saturday's Navy/Air Force football game, it's currently in limbo. The game could be canceled or maybe even postponed because of this government shutdown. If it continues, it will affect the game this weekend. Same goes this weekend's Army/Boston college game. We are hearing a final decision should come down tomorrow.
But in the meantime, I want to bring in Lt. Commander Bobby Rashad Jones with the United States Navy. Full disclosure, he's a dear friend of mine from the sixth grade so Rashad, hello. You played football, my friend, back in the day in Annapolis at the U.S. Naval Academy. Your brother went to the Air Force, Brandon. How huge is this game?
LT. COMMANDER BOBBY R. JONES, U.S. NAVY: Well, it's big for a variety of reasons. However, not like the average college football game. Our fan base, primarily, are made up of veterans, active duty reservists, military families. It's kind of funny. You were talking about the veterans, the World War II vets coming to the memorial. Those are the guys that we play for. Those guys come back to the game and we want to play that, not just for bragging rights, obviously, but we want to play it for them to honor them.
BALDWIN: What are your -- if this isn't played, I know you want to honor the men and women. How do you describe -- are you angry, sadness? What are your colleagues saying?
JONES: Well, I wouldn't say we're angry. In the military, we are taught and basically developed to be able to roll with the punches and a lot of times, things aren't going to go the way you want them to. That's part of life and part of our missions, a lot. So we are just trying to grin and bear it. We're hoping that people can work something out so we can play the game.
And again, it's not for us. It's not for the typical, you know, Nebraska Big Red fan base or Alabama Crimson Tide fan base. It's for a very unique and special group. That's why we want to play. And also, it's a huge recruiting tool for us to attract others to be part of something that is greater than themselves.
BALDWIN: So if it doesn't happen, the recruitment tool goes away or possibly would be postponed. We'll have to wait and see maybe it will tell us tomorrow. But meantime, you are sitting there in Colorado Springs, Colorado. You're home. You work for the Missile Defense Agency. With the shutdown, are you going to work? How is your office?
JONES: Well, I am going to work. You know, Congress worked that out a couple days ago, before the shutdown commenced. However, you know, many government organizations, particularly those in the Department of Defense, have been dealing with the effects of sequestration prior to the shutdown. So we've seen an erosion of workforce not just where I work, but in Colorado Springs, a heavy military town with multiple bases, you have seen a lot of people either furloughed or outright lose their job.
So it's been something we've been dealing with now for quite a while. Once again, we try to adjust. We reprioritize what needs to happen as far as training and operations, but it's been -- it's been an issue for a while and we have a lot of anxious people here.
BALDWIN: Lieutenant Commander Bobby Rashad Jones. Rashad, thank you very much. Here's hoping they play that game on Saturday. Thank you, sir.
JONES: Thank you, and go Navy. Be there for us.
BALDWIN: Coming up next, sticker shock. We will uncover the true cost of this government shutdown on a daily basis.
Plus, two cold cases, multiple murders. Now a quiet community speaks out on the elderly neighbors linked to the homicides. We're on the case.
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BALDWIN: Let's talk about the cost, sheer dollars and cents here, of this government shutdown. This number will blow you away, $1 billion a week in pay lost by these furloughed federal workers and that's just the beginning. If this thing drags on for four weeks, let's say, the estimated cost, $55 billion. CNN's Christine Romans, host of "YOUR MONEY" has the details on these shocking costs -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, with 800,000 workers furloughed, orders unfilled, fees uncollected, confidence slipping by the minute, the cost of the shutdown and the larger issue of a debt ceiling crisis could become a stumbling block the economy may not bounce back from very quickly.
I want to look at what economists are saying about the shutdown. First of all, a two-week shutdown, here is what Macroeconomic advisers said, it would shave about 0.3 percent off growth. Moody's said a four-week shutdown would cut economic growth in half. It would shave 1.4 percent in growth. Translation, fewer jobs created, businesses would close, less economic activity. It's not good for anyone when you're trying to grow jobs and put a fragile community on its feet.
Let's put in perspective though, so say you had a four-week shutdown. You would see losses may be nearing $55 billion economic hit that's according to many economists. Put that in perspective here to Colorado flooding, natural disaster, $2.5 billion. Superstorm Sandy, the hit to the economy, $40 billion. Look at the BP oil spill, also manmade, $42 billion set aside to pay for the cleanup and damage to that. Imagine that.
It's like it's hurricane shutdown, preventable, manmade, foreseeable, but still a hit to the economy. Let's take a look at the next big hurdle, a debt default. It's really critical that the United States continue to pay its bills on time. When you don't pay your bills on time, what happens? Your credit rating goes down. It costs more to borrow money.
It cost more to service the debt you already have. If the U.S. were to default on its bills because come October 17th it's got $30 billion cash on hand and much more coming in terms of bills due, if the U.S. were to default, interest rates could sky rocket. The stock market could slide. It would hurt job creation.
Again, at a very fragile time, many economists say it could throw the economy right back into a recession and the economy that is still fragile here and does not need Washington theatrics to make it worse -- Brooke. BALDWIN: Christine Romans. Christine, thank you.
We will get you back to our special coverage here, day two of this government shutdown in just a moment.
But first, two arrests in the two cold cases, and look at these folks, the unlikely murder suspects, this couple in their 70s. We'll tell you what they're accused of doing to their own families decades ago. We're on the case, next.
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BALDWIN: National cold case dating, like decades, I'm talking mid- 70s, resurrected today with an eerie twist involving this elderly couple accused of murdering their ex-spouses. Take a look. This is Gerald and Alice Uden. Missouri police arrested them on first degree murder charges just a couple of days ago because authorities are now accusing Alice Uden of killing her ex-husband, Ronald Holtz, who disappeared in Wyoming back in 1974, '75.
As for her husband, Gerald, he is charged with killing his ex-wife and her two kids. They were last seen in Wyoming back in 1980. CNN's Stephanie Elam joins me now with this. I read about this and I thought what? I mean, how did police or sheriff's deputies even know to start asking questions about these two?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a bizarre story because you have two people who allegedly killed their spouses five years apart, having no relationship whatsoever with these two murders. Then finding each other, getting married and raising their own family. It's a very bizarre story, but this seems to have all started because of Alice.
They said what happened here, she allegedly told a witness, the officials say, about shooting her husband, her ex-husband, in the back of the head and putting him in a barrel and disposing of that barrel in a gold mine. Well, the remains of her ex-husband were uncovered in August in a gold mine that had not been touched for a long time, obviously.
And it was that that led them to then find Alice and during that time while they were talking to Alice, who actually got divorced from her husband -- they got married in September of '74. They got divorced but they couldn't find him to deliver the divorce papers so she lived her life.
Then, while they're investigating this and they arrest her for that, then they start looking at allegations against Gerald, her current husband. That's when they discover that they believe he not only killed his wife but also her two sons. They allegedly are reporting he drove them to a different county in Wyoming, shot them and did his best to hide the bodies. They have not indicated whether or not they have found those bodies at all of the three people -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: So these are the accusations. These are the charges and this is the point of the story where people start banging down the doors of neighbors saying did you notice anything suspicious? What are neighbors are saying?
ELAM: Neighbors seemed to be pretty shocked about this. They live in a rural part of Missouri, Christian County, and take a listen to the sound of people who live there who were shocked by this.
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ALLEN BISHOP, NEIGHBOR: They were just the old neighbors next door, good people. We've known them for about 12 years now and they're the kind of neighbors you would lean over the fence and talk about chickens with.
JAMES ROSS HILTON, NEIGHBOR: It's something you wouldn't expect in this part of the woods, as they call it, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: And there is no idea what the motive could have been for either of the Udens to go ahead and commit these murders. They do not know, and as we know of right now, they're in a jail in Missouri waiting to be extradited back to Wyoming where they committed these crimes, very crazy story -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Crazy. We'll stay in touch with you. Stephanie Elam, thank you very much.
Coming up next, frightening new video shows a school bus crash from inside the bus. What happened? The cause, we'll tell you next.
Plus, sad news today out of the literary world, Tom Clancy has died. We'll take a look at his incredible career.
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BALDWIN: The literary world and millions of readers experiencing a big loss today. Spy thriller author, Tom Clancy, has died at a hospital in his hometown of Baltimore. He was 66 years of age and you know his popular novels. I mean, they have propelled him to Fortune, Hollywood spotlight. All started with "The Hunt for Red October" that was back in 1984. It was followed by "The Sum of All Fears" "Clear and Present Danger" and "Patriot Games." All of them became big screen hits at the Box Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody knew a thing about it until it was all over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once more, we play our dangerous games.
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BALDWIN: Tom Clancy was a master story teller, best known for writing thrillers centered on political intrigue and military technology. In fact, he once told CNN that he never revealed classified information or sensitive operative details about the elite troops he often wrote about. The cause of his death, though, is not immediately known. It was not immediately released. And now to this --
Tacoma, Washington, here, you're watching this violent collision involving these two school buses caught on tape from inside. Fortunately, you see the seats are empty other than these unfortunate drivers here. No kids on the bus. One of the buses hit a truck before ramming into the rear of the second bus. The driver of the first bus was ticketed for negligent driving, but no one was hurt.
Coming up, new twists in the biker gang attack on a family's car. Why did police release one of the suspects?
Plus, they have been dubbed the suicide caucus. This group of Republicans who demanded Obamacare be defunded or delayed before this budget bill could pass. Now, as we are in day two of this government shutdown, some of their fellow Republicans are turning against them.
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BALDWIN: Leave it to those late-night comedians to get the last word and the last laugh here about this government shutdown and Obamacare. Roll it.
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JAY LENO, HOST, NBC'S "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": I am glad the government is shut down. Think about it, for the first time in years it's safe to talk on the phone and send e-mails without anybody listening in.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, CBS'S "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": The NSA, the NSA, out of business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
LETTERMAN: No, gone. NSA, and while they're closed, while the government is shutdown, they are asking citizens to please spy on each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
LETTERMAN: Just help out. No problem.
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC'S "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": What happened, the government just shut down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I went out for a smoke break and came back to the Capitol, and the door was locked.
FALLON: So you came to see my show?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, no. Actually, I came up here to see Jersey Boys, but that was all sold out.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, ABC'S "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": You want to find out if it makes sense for you to sign up online? It's actually very easy. All you have to do is tweet, I am sick, to @barackobama. LENO: Here's the part I don't get, the government is shutdown, services are cut, and 33 percent of the federal workers were sent home. So 33 percent of the government is shutdown, how come we're still paying 100 percent of our taxes? Shouldn't we get a 33 percent discount or at least prorate it?
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