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Debt Ceiling Deadline Looms; Shutdown Angers Intensifies; Rabbis Accused of Kidnapping
Aired October 13, 2013 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Miguel Marquez, in for Fredricka Whitfield. These are the stories topping the news this hour.
Just four days until we hit the debt ceiling deadline, and the pressure is now on the U.S. Senate to come up with a deal. Are high- level talks bearing any fruit? We'll go live to Washington for the latest developments.
Plus anger of the government shutdown boils over in the streets of Washington.
Protesters voice their frustration at several tense rallies in Washington. We'll show you why police in riot gear were called in.
And later, two orthodox Jewish rabbis are accused of kidnapping and beating them until they agreed to divorce their wives. A bizarre criminal case just ahead.
First up, crunch time on Capitol Hill with the debt ceiling deadline just four days away. Senate leaders from both parties are working this Sunday to break the impasse and avoid the first default in U.S. history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Yesterday, with Senator McConnell. We're in conversation today. I'm confident the Republicans will allow the government to open and extend the ability of this country to pay its bills. And I'm going to do everything that I can throughout the day to accomplish just this. It's important we do this. We must do this. It's the height of hypocrisy to not pay our bills, height of irresponsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: So majority leader Harry Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell talks for about a half hour yesterday and again today. And Senator Reid says they'll continue talking. Senator McConnell is backing a bipartisan proposal put forward by fellow Republican Senator Susan Collins. He released a statement saying, in part, "There is a bipartisan plan in place. It has the support of Democrats and Republican senators. It will reopen the government, prevent a default. It's time for Democrat leaders to take yes for an answer."
Mark Preston is live on Capitol Hill. Mark, you're learning new information about what House Republicans are doing right now. What are they up to?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Miguel, we know that the House Republicans are out of the confers, at least as we speak at this moment. Right now, the ball is in the Senate's court. However, it's just only a few days remaining until default day, October 17th. Over on the House side, House Republicans are preparing. One of the options that they are considering, Miguel, is perhaps sending another measure back to the Senate. Perhaps within the next day or so.
The reason being is that they don't think that the Senate or perhaps the Senate is not able to get together and actually strike a deal. The House can move a lot more quicker than the Senate can. So House Republican leaders are considering sending something over that would be perhaps in some ways a clean debt limit bill. We don't know all the contours of the rest of how that would shape up. It's certainly something that would not get the full support of all the House Republicans. But certainly as the time keeps on ticking away, something needs to be done. That's what we're hearing here on the House side. Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Wow. The idea of everybody rushing to a deal is fascinating. Yesterday, Harry Reid said Senator Collin's proposal is not acceptable to the Democrats. But he's changed his tune just a little today. Yes.
PRESTON: Well, he has in some ways. I mean what we heard just a few hours ago was Harry Reid came out on the Senate floor and, in fact, he was combative. But then said that a deal could perhaps be reached and should be reached. We have not seen Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell on the floor but he did release that statement and they have just had that conversation. The conversation between the two leaders has just happened recently.
The question is what will we see over the next couple of hours. Right now, there are no plans for the two leaders to speak again but that's not to say that they won't. What's really going to happen, Miguel, is the pressure will start building. If nothing happens tonight, I can imagine what happens when the market open tomorrow. That's when the crunch time will really set in. Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Mark Preston on Capitol Hill. I'm predicting that you will not have much sleep this week. Good luck. Thank you.
PRESTON: Thanks.
MARQUEZ: Let's turn now to CNN's senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta at the White House. Jim, I understand the president spoke today with House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. What did they talk about?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, you know, I think there was some more positioning going on here, Miguel. According to the White House, the president did talk with House minority leader Nancy Pelosi earlier this afternoon. According to White House officials, during that phone call, the president reiterated his stance. He said he wants a clean bill to reopen the government and a clean debt ceiling increase. Why would they read that out? Why would they tell us that? It's basically to say this president is not budging at this point. And that he's expecting Republicans to come his way. And so, you know, I think what Mark Preston was just talking about, just a few moments ago about these talks between Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, I think this is the president's way of saying, "Hey, guys, listen. If you want to get something done that's going to get signed by the president, here's where I stand right now."
MARQUEZ: And a lot of passion in Washington today with various protests moving throughout the city. What was going on there?
ACOSTA: Yes, Miguel, this was pretty striking. I want to say right now, every thing is very calm here at the White House. But earlier today, it got pretty emotional outside the fence of the north lawn of the White House. We saw a group of about 300 Tea Party protesters and veterans showing up in front of the White House with barricades that they have grabbed over at the World War II memorial and they were piling those barricades up in front of the fence that is in front of the north lawn of the White House. Sort of along that pedestrian area of Pennsylvania Avenue.
And that pile of fencing or file of barricades got to a height where somebody could have really scaled those barricades and then jumped over the fence. Because of that prospect, the U.S. Park Police came out in force. We saw a good number of them in riot gear to sort of hold back those protesters and, at certain points, during this exchange, there was a little bit of a scuffle here and there between some of the protestors and some of the park police.
Now, there were some veterans in the crowd. But we also want to point out that there were some other elements of fringe groups out there. We saw one gentleman out there, one man out there waving a confederate flag. We saw other protesters out there with impeach Obama signs. So tempers were flaring. It was getting very emotional out there but the most important thing, Miguel, is that things have calmed down. Things are back to normal here at the White House. That whole protest is now over.
MARQUEZ: Manning the barricades, a little fence twist in all of this. I'm sure it's going to get more intense as the week moves on.
Jim Acosta, thank you very much. Good luck to you this week.
ACOSTA: Thank you.
MARQUEZ: If anything gets lawmakers' attention it could be what happens tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.. That's when stock markets open here in the U.S. and it could be a tough day on Wall Street.
CNN's Alison Kosik is keeping an eye on this from New York. Alison, certainly investors expect more from Congress this weekend, don't they?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They did expect more out of Congress this weekend. And as far as tomorrow goes, I just got off the phone with one trader telling me that what he thinks is going to happen is you're going to see Wall Street really watching the rhetoric that comes out of Washington, D.C..
That if the market perceives that there is no deal, the market, he says, will absolutely give back the gains that it took last week. And there were some big gains on the optimism that a deal could get done. In fact, three days in a row of gains, from Wednesday to Friday actually. On Thursday, the Dow jumps 323 points. That was the biggest point game since December of 2011.
By the time, Friday came, the Dow gained a total of 460 points, recovering all the losses that it had racked up since the shutdown started on October 1st. But the thing is tomorrow, we may see Wall Street signal that it's not happy now with what happened over the weekend. We could see, Miguel, stocks do a 180 and trade sharply lower because we are getting dangerously close to that deadline.
MARQUEZ: So we know sort of where things stand for the evening. We pretty much know what it's going to be in the morning. Are there any tea leaves to read as what is going to happen at the opening bell.
KOSIK: Yes, I mean, well, it all depends on what happens today. Then you look at the weekend as a whole, you know, don't be surprise if you see the markets react badly as we get closer to the deadline and a deal doesn't get done. You know, don't be surprised if you see investors selling stocks.
You know, you have to look at it this way, default has never happened. We don't know exactly what would transpire from it. But we got close to it. We got close to it back in August, 2011. It really came down to the wire but lawmakers wound up raising the debt ceiling in the nick of time. Still, it really was down to the wire. We saw our U.S. credit rating downgraded. We saw the Dow tanked 600 points the very next day. The thing that's (INAUDIBLE) into the market trade this is there is this worry growing that there could be a re-run of August 2011.
Also, we're seeing more activity. We saw this last week. More activity in bonds that are coming due. The proof is in the numbers in these short term bonds. You look at the Fidelity money market mutual funds. They sold their short term treasury bonds. Those are bonds that are coming due in October and early November. JP Morgan reportedly did the same because there is this worry growing that the government may not be able to pay them after the deadline.
MARQUEZ: All right. Alison Kosik, keeping track of all of it. Thank you very much.
All nine teenagers who were reportedly abducted from a ranch for troubled youth are now with their parents. That's according to the lawyer for the New Mexico facility. Police say that they've confirmed that four boys are back with their parents. But they are keeping an Amber alert in effect until the location of the others has been confirmed.
Former Congressman Gabby Giffords made an appearance at a gun show in upstate New York today. It is the first time she has appeared in a gun show since she was shot in 2011. Six people were killed and more than a dozen injured in that shooting. Since her recovery, Giffords has been campaigning for responsible gun ownership with her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly.
In India, 14 people are dead after a powerful cyclone hit the country's east coast. Tropical cyclone (INAUDIBLE) made landfall with the force equivalent to a category four hurricane. Nearly a million people had been evacuated ahead of the storm.
A shocking end to the 22-year-old mystery who killed baby Hope. New York police finally solved a cold case. Wait until you hear who they say who killed the four-year-old girl and dumped her body in the side of the road.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: For 22 years, New York Police have been tracking down leads, desperately searching for the killer of a four-year-old girl known only as Baby Hope. CNN correspondent Margaret CONNELLY has the details. Margaret.
MARGARET CONNELLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miguel, detectives have worked on this case for over two decades. They adopted Baby Hope are their own regularly visiting her at her grave site and they made a pledge to her that she would never be forgotten.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CONNELLY (voice-over): It was a break that caught an alleged killer and revealed that Baby Hope's real name.
RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: Detectives from the Bronx Violent Felony Squad apprehended Conrado Juarez, age 52 of the Bronx, also known as Anedino Juarez (ph), in connection with the murder of four-year-old Angelica Castillo, a child victim known for the last 22 years as Baby Hope.
CONNELLY: Retired detective Jerry Giorgio have heard from colleagues they were close to solving the case.
JERRY GIORGIO, RETIRED DETECTIVE, NYPD: When I got the news, I was just elated. I was up on cloud nine.
CONNELLY: He was the lead detective in 1991. The decomposed body of a four-year-old girl was found stuffed in this cooler, discarded by a highway. Her body was folded in half and bound. She had been sexually abused. No one ever claimed the body. Days turned to months, turned to years.
By 1993, the 34th precinct squad have given the little girl the name Baby Hope and a face recreated by computer rendering. The squad also paid for her funeral.
GIORGIO: There wasn't a dry eye in the bunch including me. The church was full, about 500 people in church. She truly became a member of the community.
CONNELLY: Anniversaries passed but police persisted and finally a break. Police recently got a call on their hotline. The caller said she had been told several years ago by a young woman that her parents had killed her sister. That tip and advances in DNA testing led cold case detectives to find the mother of Baby Hope and eventually arrest the cousin who police say murdered her. At her funeral, over two decades ago, assistant chief Joe Resnick delivered her eulogy.
ASST. CHIEF JOE RESNICK, NEW YORK POLICE: The justice is going to be when some judge lowers his gavel and says you're going to jail for the rest of your life.
CONNELLY: In this final chapter for these detectives, they'll soon replace this plaque at Baby Hope's grave and set in stone, her name. Angelica Castillo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CONNELLY: Police say the man that they've arrested has confessed. He's been charged with felony murder in the second degree and he'll be back in court, Miguel, next week, on October 21st.
MARQUEZ: Margaret CONNELLY, thank you very much.
In the next hour of CNN "Newsroom", Don Lemon talks to the lead detective who investigated this case more than 20 years ago. Stay with us on CNN "Newsroom."
The debt ceiling deadline are just days away from a possible default on the nation's debt. One Republican senator says President Obama needs that deadline pressure to force him into action. Senator Rand Paul, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: No one loves a deadline like Congress, or so it would seem, at least the fight over the shutdown and the debt ceiling seems likely to last a few more days.
Speaking to CNN's "State of the Union" Senator Rand Paul talked about his frustration with the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: I think it is untenable for the president to say he won't negotiate. And he still repeated that when we were at the White House, the other day, he is talking to us, which I think is his negotiation but he is also saying I will not pay for raising of the debt ceiling. The American people, I have to get this without any conditions which is sort of him saying unconditional surrender which is not negotiation.
So, really, in 2011, we added the sequester. That was a good thing. We need to add more controls and restraint to government spending. This is precisely the time to do it. He's unlikely to negotiate when he doesn't have a deadline.
MARQUEZ: John King joins me from Boston, with more. John, not a lot of optimism here, it seems. Are we going to be sitting around 11:55 p.m. on Wednesday, everybody sweating it out across the country?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It sure looks that way at the moment Miguel.
I was just checking in with some Capitol Hill sources say there's nothing happening right now. Leader Reid and Leader McConnell did speak today as you discussed with Mark Preston at the top of the program but no progress was made. This is the way sadly Washington tends to work now. I think as Alison noted, the financial markets tomorrow, if they send the shock signal to Washington, perhaps that will speed things up.
But we tend to go right up to the deadline on these things. You have now Senator John McCain even joking today that the administration needs to take the vice president out of the witness protection program because it is Joe Biden who has helped broker these kind of deals in the past but he's at Camp David this weekend and I just checked in with some Republicans and there's no indication Joe Biden is picking up the phone with any one.
So you have the Republicans blaming the president. The president blaming the Republicans. Welcome to the dysfunction in Washington. As that deadline approaches though, Miguel, look for obviously a lot more conversations on Capitol Hill and likely for the president if he has to call everybody back down to the White House again.
MARQUEZ: Mark Preston on Capital Hill suggested that Boehner might be ready to pass the Senate plan with Democratic votes. But will he have any choice at the end of the day? The pressure is going to be enormous.
KING: That is the fascinating question. At what point? Or will we reach the point where Speaker Boehner calls his caucus into the room and looks at those 20 to 30 most conservative, most of them aligned with the tea party members and says "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but I'm not going to be the House Speaker that takes us to the risk of default."
Remember, a lot of those members has - Senator Paul, you just played some sound from him, they're not so sure. You know, most economists say if the United States went pass that deadline, and even had the risk of default, even before it got to a point where it couldn't pay its bills, it would just send a, you know, a catastrophe, a crisis shot in the global economy, not just he U.S. economy. That's what the economists say.
But there is a small vocal influential group of Republicans who don't buy that. They think that the United States could go at least several weeks, if not longer, even if it did not raise the credit limit, paying its interest on the debt, for example, with incoming cash.
So will the speaker look those people in the eye and say "I disagree with you and I'm going to do this without you?" That will be one of the big questions this week as we get closer to that deadline.
MARQUEZ: Really interesting. You mentioned the vice president earlier. Is he the guy that we should be watching now? Where Biden goes, this deal goes?
KING: That has been the case in the past. In this case, we know from reporting this past week that, you know, Joe Biden has cut these deals in the past. Because there's not a lot of trust. There's not a lot of agreement on the policy. But he has a 30-year-plus relationship with Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate and they have been able to do business in the past. But the Democratic leader Harry Reid we were told has told the White House "Leave Joe Biden out of my business. If we're going to cut a deal on the Senate, I'm going to cut the deal on the Senate." So the vice president in this standoff so far is on the sidelines and we'll see what happens over the next 48 to 72 hours.
MARQUEZ: Big, big stakes. John King for us, out of Boston tonight. Thank you very much.
Millions of people love it. I'm talking about Candy Crush. Some people say this online game is addictive like candy. But it can make a lot of money for the company that produces it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Miguel Marquez. Here are the top stories crossing CNN news desk right now.
Number one, there are any developments on efforts to raise the debt ceiling. Just four days before the deadline hits, CNN has learned Republican leaders in the House are considering sending back a measure to the Senate that would increase the debt limit. Details of what that measure would look like is unknown at the moment.
Meantime, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell are holding talks to break the impasse on the debt and the government shutdown.
Number two, for several hours, Saturday, millions of Americans who use food stamps couldn't get their snap cards. Starting around 11 a.m., cards were being declined at stores in 17 states. Xerox which handles the transaction for the government says a computer glitch knocked the system offline.
And number three, some two million Muslims (INAUDIBLE) to the holy city of Mecca on Sunday do begin the annual Hajj. Worshippers seen here making a circle of procession around the Kabah. Saudi Arabia's interior minister has issued a warning to pilgrims against exploiting Haj for political purposes.
Outside of Washington, the busiest place for politics this week will probably be New Jersey. The race for governor is taking center state and the battle for the Senate seat is getting ugly.
CNN's political editor Paul Steinhauser explains. PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Miguel. He's arguing the biggest name in the Republican Party. And Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his democratic challenger meet in their second and final debate for next month's gubernatorial election.
The tough talking GOP governor is the overall new favorite in the race. Christie is thinking about running for president in 2016 but he says that won't distract from his day job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I can walk and chew gum at the same time, Christine. I can do this job and also deal with my future. That's exactly what I will do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: The next day, garden state voters head to the polls to cast ballots and especially U.S. Senate election. The battle between Newark Mayor Corey Booker and Republican Steven Lagen is getting uglier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR COREY BOOKER (D), SENATE CANDIDATE: I don't know if my point is running against me or running against Barack Obama.
STEVEN LAGEN (): Both.
BOOKER: But the reality -
LAGEN: Because you're one and the same.
BOOKER: The reality is -
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Booker considered a rising star in the Democratic Party is favored to win.
Miguel.
MARQUEZ: A rabbi is facing possible life sentences after being charged in a bizarre plot. The FBI says they tortured, kidnapped and tortured Orthodox Jewish men to force them to grant their wives divorces.
It was a tough night for NASCAR driver Brian Vickers. He placed 25t in last night's race in Charlotte but it wasn't too long ago the young racer had a much tougher fight. Joe Carter explains in this "Impact Your World."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the start of the 2010 Nascar season, Brian Vickers was a driver to watch and then his world stopped. BRIAN VICKERS, NASCAR DRIVER: I just couldn't breathe. Every single breath came to a pain. I couldn't stand it. That's when I said (INAUDIBLE) do something.
CARTER: Vickers had blood clots in his left leg, lungs and fingers. Doctors also found a hole in his heart prompting surgery.
VICKERS: I think at first, your reaction is just trying to sort through. You know, am I going to be OK. And then what about, what you left to do. That's racing.
You know, as the doctor put it. You're going to take a risk of (INAUDIBLE) clot or potentially an internal injury, bleeding to death, you know, being on blood thinners.
CARTER: Vickers was eventually cleared by doctors and did come back.
VICKERS: It's phenomenal. I wasn't sure if I'd ever race again period. (INAUDIBLE) to this level (INAUDIBLE).
CARTER: Vickers sees his second chance as a chance to help others. He supports Clot Connect, a foundation started by one of his doctors.
VICKERS: I've helped and tried to support as often as I can along the way. Putting them on the race car and donated money. In time, I will say through the ups and downs, I kept my eyes open and said "OK, you know, this sucks. But I kind of learn from it. The truth is I probably grew more as a person through the negative experiences than I did the positive.
(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Well here's a story that left a lot of us a little stunned this week. Two rabbis face kidnapping charges for allegedly torturing Orthodox Jewish husbands to force them to give their wives a divorce. Tens of thousands of dollars were exchanged in the scheme. And court documents said the rabbis hired muscle who used things like electric cattle prod, handcuffs to get their way. Their mission was to obtain a get (ph) a Jewish document that requires husbands to present to his wife so they can be divorced. Here to help us understand how this works is Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. He is the author of "The Fed-Up Man of Faith, Challenging dog in the face of suffering and tragedy. He also is a public speaker and former congressional candidate. He joins me from New York.
So how surprising was this case in the Jewish community there in New York.
SHMULEY BOTEACH, RABBI, WRITER, PUBLIC SPEAKER: Well Miguel the problem of recalsom (ph) of husbands who won't grant their wives divorces and trap them and in prison them in these loveless and sometimes abusive marriages is a real problem in the community. Maybe some of these guys deserve a cattle prod to the Nether regions but that doesn't mean that you do it. Which gives your introduction of the word stunned a whole new meaning. But you don't do it because it's against the law. Rabbis use their hands when they speak perhaps but not in violence, we are not violent people.
And that is why they were arrested and they behaved shamefully and abundantly. Especially if it is about money. If it is about money that really disappoints people are you here to help these women or are you here to profit from their agony and from their misery? So we are shocked to hear the story but it is a problem in our community of these husbands who won't give their wives a divorce but they should be shamed in public, they can be humiliated, they can be ostersized, they can be excommunicated. But you can't beat the living day lights out of them because that is against the law.
MARQUEZ: Yes. Well how unusual, how extraordinary is it for women to have to resort to these sorts of tactics?
BOTEACH: Look in our community, in Jewish law the divorce reflects the process of the marriage itself. Men kind of ask women to marry them and then they have to grant the divorce as well. Our courts will stand in to pressure a husband to give a divorce when he wants to shake his wife down for money that is what sometimes happens in these cases. And she has no choice but to pay up because there aren't people to help her.
So I salute the rabbi's who want to address the problem instead of just being an ostrich with their head in the sand. But not with violence, as I said. Synagogue membership can be revoked for these rabbis's. A lot of things for these husbands, a lot of things can be done that can pressure him and force him to give a divorce but violence is never an option.
MARQUEZ: And for women, if you can't get a get, what is life like for these women?
BOTEACH: Oh, it's horrible.
I know many women like this. They are trapped and imprisoned in loveless marriages. We are not Catholics we don't believe that divorce is never necessary. There aren't annulments in our religion, there are divorces. Marriage is supposed to be a love and commitment. And if you feel that you're abused or if you have just fallen out of love, and you have gone to counseling and it doesn't help. You are not supposed to be incarcerated in some sell called marriage. So a husband cannot trap his wife there. And it is an issue in the community.
But as I said, there are other remedies. What is so shocking about this story is that we don't expect the rabbis to be Tony Soprano, the rabbis are not meant to be straight out of Boardwalk Empire. This isn't about using muscle; all these things are shocking in the extreme when we read this story. I went to a Rabbinical Seminary. We didn't sit there lifting barbells working on our physic in order to beat the living day lights out of these husbands. So I salute rabbis who want to do something about this and help these women from being we call them chained wives, but not when it comes to breaking the law. And violence especially some of the allegations of the courts kind of taking money to facilitate, giving permission for this kind of violence that was particularly shocking.
MARQUEZ: All right, Rabbi Shmuley, thank you very much.
BOTEACH: Thank you.
MARQUEZ: Devastated parents demand their son's death be investigated again. He was found dead months ago inside a rolled up gym mat at his high school. State investigators say it was an accident, but the family says they'll go to court to prove otherwise.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Well there are two big legal stories making the news this week. The biker/SUV clash in New York. This is the video that has been seen around the world now where the SUV driver hits a biker and then some bikers attack the driver in his vehicle. An undercover cop has been arrested in the case among some other bikers also facing charges.
The other case here in Georgia, 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson. He was found dead in a rolled up mat in a high school gym back in January after his parents reported him missing. Authorities closed the case saying his death was an accident. His parents believe otherwise and say a second autopsy proves it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KENNETH JOHNSON, KENDRICK JOHNSON'S FATHER: He was last seen at Third Block going to Fourth Block. He was seen no more. And then again I want to express, how did my son go missing during school hours in the broad day light? We know our son was murdered while he was at school. We do know that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Now, here with me at the studio are attorneys Mo Ivory and Carrie Hackett. Let's talk about this Georgia case, first. The family of Kendrick Johnson's certain that there is something not right here. Moe you have been following this quite a bit, what is your sense of this case? Will they be able to reopen this thing?
MO IVORY, HOST OF "THE MO IVORY" RADIO SHOW IN ATLANTA: I'm hoping so. I think they are going to have enough to say that there was an improper investigation done in the beginning. A lot of evidence, you know there was another sneaker, there was bloodstains on the wall, there's a lot of different things that were not really done well in that investigation. I do think with the national attention and with the hiring of Ben Krump as the lawyer, I do believe that maybe even a civil rights case will arise from this. But I certainly hope that they do.
CARRIE HACKETT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The question is though who is going to reopen this case. Because there was, and I think everybody agrees that at a local level, there was certainly a botched investigation. It took too long for authorities to call and basically make some determination about whether there was an accident here or whether somebody was at fault. But is the Department of Justice really going to pick up this case, is there a federal-type of charge that could be involved? And that's the issue. MARQUEZ: The blood on the wall is interesting. It's not Kendrick's, they determined. So the question is whose is it and what happened before he ended up rolled up into a mat? Fourteen inches round, this is a bigger guy.
IVORY: It seemed odd from the beginning. I don't know if anybody ever thought from the very beginning that a child would go so far into a mat trying to get a sneaker and then get caught in the mat. Because you would think he would be big enough to push himself out. It just doesn't seem right.
MARQUEZ: The family is asking for a coroner's inquest. They want the coroner to reverse himself. How extraordinary would that be?
HACKETT: I think it would be extraordinary, I don't think that that is going to happen. But I think that there's so many other factors that point to some kind of blunt force trauma to this child's head and neck. And I think that it is very clear that that initial investigation and the initial coroner's report are probably incorrect.
MARQUEZ: Now that is one that we're going to watch very carefully. We have been all over this story and I'm sure you guys have been on it as well here in town so it is going to be a big story.
I want to move on to the biker story up in New York which has also sort of grabbed a lot of attention around the world. There's a lot of folks who could be facing charges in this what do you think they're going to face once they are charged?
HACKETT: I think that they could face a broad range variety of charges. Certainly aggravated assault or aggravated battery. We saw a lot of physical contact between all of the parties so that at the very least.
IVORY: Sure gang assault is another one that comes up because of the nature of the group. We saw the three that were already charged with that. Now we have the three police officers, one already charged, two more to go. So I think we're going to see a lot more happening. And I don't think that's it. You know they are still trying to use the video to even identify more suspects so I think we will see even more.
HACKETT: And I think even obstruction of justice perhaps because of the amount of time that past before these undercover police officers went to their superiors.
MARQUEZ: Well it is undetermined whether or not they actually even saw what was happening there. And people are kind of questioning why they came up so late and they should of spoke up, especially if one of them was Internal Affairs certainly a big question.
IVORY: Or just to say I was there.
MARQUEZ: The driver, I mean all of this kicked off when the driver drove over a motorcycle, clearly afraid for what was going to happen. But could he face charges in this? IVORY: I don't think so, at this point. I don't think they will charge him. And I don't think it all started off when he drove over somebody. It all started off when one of the motorcyclists was trying to slow his vehicle down and then he by the pure nature of the seat could not and bumped him. That is when it all started off. So as much as I have know the people who are for the motorcyclists would like to see a charge for the man, he was absolutely felt that his family, the danger was eminent for his family and so once he meets that standard I don't think he will be charged.
HACKETT: I think that he could be charged but I also agree with Mo that I don't think that he will. I think that even if it was an accident considerable.
MARQUEZ: What could he be charged?
HACKETT: Well, for example. In Georgia, violation of a traffic law is a per se violation. So basically, if you fail to maintain your lane, regardless of why, you violated the law and you can be charged. Many states have laws like that where it doesn't matter what your intent was it just matters whether you bumped the driver violated the law, intention has nothing to do with it.
MARQUEZ: All right. Mo, Carrie thank you very much for coming here and sharing your knowledge with us. Thank you very much.
HACKETT: Thank you.
IVORY: Thank you.
MARQUEZ: Well it is the world's most popular online game. Of course I'm talking about "Candy Crush." Why are people getting hooked? And can this free app make money for the company that created it?
Each week on CNN we name a "CNN Heroes" someone doing remarkable work in their community. And in a few weeks we will name our 2013 hero of the year. Anderson Cooper introduces us now to the finalists, the top ten "CNN Heroes" of 2013.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Anderson Cooper. All year, we've been introducing you to everyday people who are changing the world. We call them CNN Heroes. Well now we announce the top ten CNN Heroes for 2013. In random order the honors are: Dale Beatty lost his legs in Iraq and now he is modified to help provide homes to more than two dozen disabled veterans.
Dr. Lara Stachel uses solar power to help health care workers deliver babies safety. Danielle Gletow she is a fairy god mother for foster children making their often simple wishes come true. Kakenya Ntaiya opened the first primary school for girls in her Kenya village.
Tawanda Jones drill team provides discipline and inspiration to children in one of the nation's poorest cities. Chad Pregracke is keeping Americans rivers clean by removing garbage from water ways across the U.S. Estella Pyfrom poured her savings into a mobile computer lab. That serves low-income children and adults. Richard Nares lost his son to Leukemia now he is helping low income children get to their cancer treatments.
Dr. George Welle travels into the jungles of Cameroon nearly every weekend bringing free surgery to those in need. And Robin Emmons provides fresh produce to under-served residents in her community.
Congratulations. The top ten CNN Heroes of 2013. Tell us who inspired you the most. Go to CNNHeroes.com to vote once a day everyday for the CNN Heroe of the year.
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MARQUEZ: Well, a little news that you probably won't be surprised that the Senate has adjourned for the evening and will reconvene at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, that is Monday. And it doesn't appear that they made any real progress today on a deal to resolve the nation's big issues.
"Candy Crush," if you play this online game, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, well, it may just be a matter of time before you start. Here's a little taste of "Candy Crush."
"Candy Crush" saga is the most popular app in the Apple Store. More than a hundred million people play the game every day. And now the company that makes it is planning to file for initial public offering that analysts say could be valued up to $5 billion. I talked to two guests about the "Candy Crush" craze and the IPO. Brett Larson is the host of "TechBytes" and Robi Ludwig is the psychotherapist. I started out asking Brett how the company makes money off of an app that's free.
BRETT LARSON, HOST, "TECHBYTES:" It is what is known as a freemium, it is a free app that has some premium things that you can buy. You can buy extra lives; you can buy extra little things that help you get ahead in the game. And it doesn't seem like that much at the time because it's only 99 cents here or 1.99 there. But that kind of stuff adds up when you've got millions of users using the app every single day.
MARQUEZ: It is amazing how much money you can make with charging those little tiny amounts and that people are willing to pay for it over and over again. Robi why is this game so crazy addictive?
ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, everybody loves candy. If you look at the app, it's very bright and colorful. And there is something very hypnotic about it. When you think about it, when you're playing a game and there's that hope of the win or there is that intermittent win, it's very much like gambling. That is what keeps us engaged. We get to see how we're doing. In some cases, we get validated. We say to ourselves just one more time, one more minute, one more $1.99 that we pay for. These games are meant to keep us engaged.
MARQUEZ: I don't have time for silly games, so I refused. I've locked out on face book every time somebody has asked me to play that game. Just truth be told. I cornered a "Candy Crush" geek and he was showing me, the addictiveness seems to, it's a strategy. It is a strategy game; it really challenges people to figure out how to move. Is that really what's got people hooked on this, Robi?
LUDWIG: Well I think it's also a way to not feel in some cases. When you're engaged in this game, you're so highly focused, maybe you're not thinking about your problems. Or you're feeling wow; I'm really good at this. And it is a way to get your self-esteem up. And of course all of these games play with our brain chemistry certainly it charges our dopeamean which is a feel good chemical in our brain. So all of these factors are taking place. But, really, we live in a world where it's hard to just sit and do nothing. So when you're engaged in these games, you're not bored, your brain is working and it is designed to keep you in that loop.
MARQUEZ: Well there is the problem; my brain hasn't worked for years. That's the problem there. OK, we're talking about a company that's issuing an IPO based entirely on this one game. Brett, is this a sensible idea?
LARSON: You know, it's a risky move. But they have several dozen games that are making them a lot of money. So it is not necessarily a bad idea. The other thing is over the course of the next couple of years, we're going to see the hand held gaming market, the market of people playing games on their smart phones really grow tremendously. It's at about 17 percent now. We are going to get into further into the 30 and 40 percent of people playing those games. So it is a big industry that is coming down the pipe. And as King has said, the maker of this game they're developing things that are byte sized which speak very well to the psychology of all of it but it is something you can play quickly, it distracts you for a very short amount of time and it is entertainment and that is sort of their strategy and they have got a lot of hits on their hands with these games.
MARQUEZ: Now one "Candy Crush" expert says the game is so popular in part because it can be played on various platforms and users interact with family and friends when they play. We will be right back.
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MARQUEZ: Now, we get right to our look at the week ahead. We start with Corvette and its super cool C-7.
The Corvette plant in Kentucky reopens for tours on Monday after being closed for more than a year. The company has just finished $131 million dollar renovation for the C-7 production. More than 50,000 people visited the plant for tours every year.
On Tuesday President Obama awards the Medal of Honor to retired army Captain William Swinson (ph). Swinson is credited with risking his life to save his fellow troops and to recover bodies of those lost during a brutal fire fight in Afghanistan. He will be the first army officer to receive the nation's highest military honor since the Vietnam War.
On Thursday, technically just after midnight Wednesday, the U.S. officially hits the debt ceiling. That is unless lawmakers reach an agreement before that. If they don't, we could go into a default for the first time in our history. Stay tuned for that.
Also Thursday, you can buy a piece of Civil Rights history. The handwritten last page of Martin Luther King Jrs. I have a dream speech is one of the artifacts being sold at auction. They belong to a women who worked as King's personal secretary.
NEWSROOM begins right now with Don Lemon in New York. Don take it away.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you Mr. Marquez, appreciate that.