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The Debate Over Arming TSA Officers; Official: Note Warning Of Bomb Forces An Evacuation Of Birmingham Airport; Kerry Wraps Up Key Talks With Saudis; Manifesto Of NSA Leaker Snowden; Toronto Mayor: "I'm Not Perfect"; Another Cirque Du Soleil Fall; Student Found Wedged Between Buildings; Report: Child Care Costs More Than College; Obama Says Workplace Discrimination; Predicting 2016, Three Years Early; Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak In Stable Condition After Collapsing Onto Field

Aired November 04, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: -- did they cancel the game after that?

JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: No, they actually finished. It's just a fire.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Joe. Next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the moment that they're seeing it on the TV, their third roommate comes back and said, I just dropped off Paul at LAX, going to home --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Exclusive new information on the accused LAX, a friend of Paul Ciancia reveals how police went to his house, but missed him by a matter of minutes.

Plus Edward Snowden issues a so-called "manifesto truth" and says the United States should cut him some slack. The White House says, think again.

And a scary moment during the Texans-Colts game last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're all very worried. We went back out. They told us that he was -- he was all right. He was stable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Houston's head coach, Gary Kubiak collapses on the field at half-time. What could have happened? NEWSROOM continues now.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. We have a better idea of just how -- of how -- just how troubled the LAX shooting suspect, Paul Ciancia was days before his deadly rampage. Today, he's in critical condition and unable to speak to investigators.

But a woman who knows Ciancia and his three roommates spoke exclusively to CNN. She said a troubled Ciancia, already reclusive and socially awkward, appeared to be unraveling the days before the shooting and he was already making plans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He asked one of the roommates if he could have a ride to the airport.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why did he need a ride?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was going back home; his dad was kind of sick. He had to deal with some family issues.

MARQUEZ: Did anyone ever see a ticket?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. He also didn't mention what day he had to leave. That morning he doesn't knock, just opens the door, and said, "I need to leave."

MARQUEZ: Did he ever express any hatred toward the government or toward the TSA?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the NSA findings that came out this year, he was upset about it and thought TSA abused their power.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Speaking of their power, by now you know TSA officers are not allowed to carry firearms. It was airport police officers who eventually shot and disabled Ciancia. That has ignited the debate over whether they should be armed and provide one more line of defense in future attacks. CNN's Rene Marsh joins us live from Washington with more on that side of the story. Good morning.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, it's a question people are naturally asking. Should TSA officers be armed? But that would be a huge task considering there are 50,000 TSA screeners who screen some 1.8 million passengers every day at more than 450 airports nationwide.

Now training all of those officers would be an expensive proposition, and experts say because of the tight quarter that they work in, there's a danger of a crazed passenger grabbing their gun. But so far, we are not hearing many officials calling for arming the TSA.

TSA Administrator John Pistol has only said that the agency will review their policy and how they will coordinate with local police from this point on. The union representing TSA officers is calling for armed security at checkpoints, but they are not calling for TSA officers to be armed.

And former Homeland Security secretary, Tom Ridge, said outright arming TSA officers is a bad idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM RIDGE, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I was on the Virginia Tech panel, and right after the Virginia Tech tragedy, people thought maybe she should arm students. Then we have the school room tragedies and everybody arm teachers. Now there are conversations about arming the TSA. We really need to arm America. We don't need to arm the unarmed. We really need to figure out why so many people for to violence to solve their problems or express their grievances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: All right, well, TSA says it will be working with members of Congress to determine what changes in security policies will be made. But, Carol, the bottom line is, if you are flying out of an airport today, you will not notice anything different during the TSA screening process. What you may see though is a beefed up police presence around the airport -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Rene Marsh reporting live for us this morning.

Checking other top stories at five minutes past, another airport scare, this one in Birmingham, Alabama, just days after that deadly LAX shooting, a note containing a threat was found in a restroom yesterday. The airport was shut down, terminal evacuated and flights were diverted. A sweep by the bomb squad turned up nothing. Normal operations resumed after about two hours.

A bill to protect gay and transgender employees from work place discrimination goes up for a test vote in the Senate later today. President Obama in a blog posted Sunday urged Congress to pass the measure known as the Employment Non-discrimination Act. The president says there's broad support for the bill among Americans and it should be the law of the land.

Secretary of State John Kerry is in route to Poland right now as he continues a multinational overseas trip. He wrapped up meeting with his Saudi Arabian counterpart. Kerry described the Saudis as a very, very important ally. Saudi Arabia has been upset with the United States over recent Mideast policy including allowing the Syrian civil war to continue.

He may be a man without a country, but Edward Snowden says his mission is accomplished. He says by revealing Washington's secret spying programs, he has ignited a global debate over government surveillance and just how much privacy we really have. It's all part of his newly released manifest.

CNN's Diana Magnay has the story from Snowden's temporary refuge, Moscow.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In an open letter published in a German magazine, Edward Snowden says he's no criminal and calls on citizens globally to hold their governments and intelligence services to accounts to make sure they operate within an acceptable framework. He says that the world now understands the problems of mass surveillance and he singles out the NSA and GSHQ as being the worst offenders.

He also accuses some governments of orchestrating a witch hunt against people who tried to bring the activities to light. And he said now, and I quote, "The debate they wanted to avoid is now taking place in countries around the world. And instead of causing damage, the use of this knowledge is causing society to plush for political reforms, oversight, and new laws."

Now in another letter which he gave to German lawmaker last week after a three-hour meeting here in Moscow, he essentially called on the U.S. to drop the charges against him. He told him that his end goal was to testify before the U.S. Congress. But so far, the response from the U.S. has not been favorable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: He had an opportunity, if what he was a whistle-blower, to pick up the phone and call the House Intelligence Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee and say, 'look, I have information you ought to see.' That didn't happen and now he's done this enormous disservice to our country. And I -- I think the answer is no clemency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAGNAY: Snowden has been in Moscow since June and in August, he was granted temporary asylum. But one of the conditions for his asylum is that he does nothing further to jeopardize or damage U.S. interests. Diana Magnay, CNN, Moscow.

COSTELLO: And now went to take you to St. Petersburg, Florida where a former governor of that state is just about to hold a news conference. It is expected that Charlie Crisp, remember him, he'll announce a campaign to claim his old job. He will run as a Democrat. You may recall he was a Republican when he held the office of governor of Florida the last time around. We'll keep you posted.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Toronto mayor makes an apology, sort of. Hear what he has to say about allegations of drug and alcohol abuse.

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COSTELLO: Checking our top stories to 12 minutes past the hour. In Toronto, the city's embattled mayor is addressing his critics amid reports he has abused both drugs and alcohol.

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MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: I am not perfect. I have made mistakes. I have made mistakes and all I can do right now is apologize. I'm not going to sit here and say I'm never going to drink again. That's not realistic, everything in moderation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything in moderation. It's fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Toronto police claim they have a video that shows Mayor Rob Ford smoking what appears to be a crack pipe. But Ford, who is refusing to resign, is calling on the police to release that video saying that the people of Toronto, need to judge to themselves.

Another terrifying fall at Cirque du Soleil, the Las Vegas show was slapped with several work safety citations just last week following the tragic death of an acrobat in June and now another performer has been hospitalized after slipping from this, the show so-called wheel of death.

A 19-year-old student of New York University is safe and sound today after a truly bizarre ending to his disappearance. It turns out he was wedged between two residential buildings in a narrow space less than a foot wide in New York City. He appears to have fallen out of a window overhead. His friends said when they told them they couldn't help, they asked NYU securities to check rooftops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His phone was off and he hadn't checked into an NYU building in the couple of days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His legs were crossed and he was on his side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They would not about him for who knows how long and he would probably dead right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Today that student is in the hospital in serious condition. His friends want to ask him how he managed to get stuck between those two buildings.

It's $241,000. That's how much it costs to raise a child for 18 years these days. What cost the most? Well, according to a new report, child care like daycare and nannies, the price of those things are eye-popping. Alison Kosik is in New York to tell us more. Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Ask any parent, especially working parents and child care makes up a huge chunk of their budget with day care costs reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars, but get this: it can cost more than to send your kids to college.

A new study from Child Care Aware of America took a look across the country and found that in 21 states day care cost more than median represent. If you put two kids in day care, it's more expensive than rent in all 50 states. In 31 states day car cost more than college at public university, how much? It depends on where you live. You pay about $15,000 to $17,000 a year for two kids. If you live in the east or west, a little higher, $18,000 to $22,000 a year -- Carol. COSTELLO: I mean, you want to pay top dollar for the people who care for your children. That's kind of important, right? And it just makes you wonder if there's any push to bring the costs down.

KOSIK: It's very competitive, and cost of living really plays a huge part of this. You know, daycare, as I said, it's cheapest in the south and Midwest because everything else is cheapest there as well. Housing and food and utilities and insurance and labor, it's a lot cheaper. It also depends on what state regulations are.

Give you an example, in Massachusetts it's required that every day care center have one teacher for every three infants, so it's more expensive compared to Mississippi that requires one teacher for every five infants. If you want to look at specifically how much daycare is in your state, check out CNN Money for more info. But it's stunning when you see these figures.

COSTELLO: Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Clinton, Christie, and all the presidential want-to-bes in between, shy some are already predicting who could win an election that's three years away.

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COSTELLO: President Obama is pressing lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it illegal for employers to fire people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. In an op-ed on Sunday, President Obama wrote this, quote, "We're all created equal and every single American deserves to be treated equally in the eyes of the law. We believe that no matter who you are if you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve the chance to follow your dreams and pursue your happiness," end quote. The Senate is expected to vote on legislation later today.

Even though President Obama is less than a year into his second term, some in Washington are speculating about the next White House occupant. A former member of Obama's Cabinet, Hillary Clinton, finds herself in the thick of political predictions, but it isn't just Hillary Clinton making headlines. Senior White House correspondent Brianna Keilar is in Washington with more on this. Good morning.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you. President Obama actually campaigned yesterday for the leading Democrat in the Virginia gubernatorial race Terri McAuliffe. That election is taking place tomorrow, he, the governor's race here in Virginia, but you're seeing him to focus on who will replace him in 2016.

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SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Run, Hillary, run. If you run, you'll win and we'll all win.

KEILAR (voice-over): An enthusiastic high profile endorsement from Senator Chuck Schumer at the Iowa Democratic Party's annual Jefferson- Jackson dinner he pressed Hillary Clinton to run in 2016.

SCHUMER: It's time for a woman to be president. And so, tonight, here in Iowa, and I won't get this opportunity again, I am urging Hillary Clinton to run for president.

KEILAR: He's not alone. A group of 16 Democratic women in the Senate feel the same way. All of them signed a letter encouraging her to run. According to a Democratic source who said Kay Hagen talked about the still to be released letter at a fund raising event last week. The most recent CNN/ORC poll of likely Democratic presidential contenders shows Clinton with a huge lead; 65 percent of Democrats polled chose her with Vice President Biden a very distant second.

The Republican field is a little more crowded. Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are among the favorites of Republican voters. But it's the New Jersey governor, just one day out from his likely re-election getting all of the buzz especially since his campaign seems to be as much about 2016 as the garden state.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It sounded like you're planning for a message beyond New Jersey. Is that a fair assessment?

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I'm not planning for it. I think it's inevitable.

KEILAR: It certainly is with comments like this one.

CHRISTIE: I can walk and chew gum at the same time, Christine. I can do this job and also deal with my future and that's exactly what I will do.

KEILAR: But a new book on the 2012 election out this week claims Mitt Romney cross the Chris Christie off his potential running mates for failing to disclose information about a number of issues including his health, the Romney himself dismissed those concerns.

FORMER GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: With regards to his health, he provided his health records to us. His health is very solid and very good. There's not an issue there. Chris could easily become our nominee and save our party and help get the nation on the right track again. They don't come better than Chris Christie.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And Christie seems to be answering some of those questions about his health as well, Carol. He is sort of finishing up a very grueling 90-stop campaign swing leading up to the election tomorrow. And he's steadily lost weight since February when he had lap band surgery.

COSTELLO: I'm just thinking. We're talking about this already. We should hold the primary tomorrow, hold the presidential election two days from now and be done with it.

KEILAR: All right, let's drag it out for as long as possible. COSTELLO: We will. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, NFL teams are keeping Gary Kubiak in their prayers this morning. The Texans head coach collapsed while walking off the field, the latest on his condition just ahead.

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COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks for joining me. A frightening moment on the field, Houston Texans' coach, Gary Kubiak, collapses at half-time. Watch this, watch Kubiak, it all seems normal, but then the 52-year-old falls to his knees and then falls to the ground. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and sent to a hospital. His team leading at half-time, unraveled after that, losing to the Colts. Ed Lavandera is in Houston this morning with more. Good morning.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Frightening situation as the teams were walking off the field for half-time in front of more than 70,000 fans and a national TV audience. That's when Gary Kubiak fell to his knees.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): You can see Texan's Head Coach Gary Kubiak on the 24-yard line when he suddenly falls to his knees during Sunday night's game. Long time colleagues rushed to his side. The teams were walking off the field for half time during the game between the Texans and the Colts when the 52-year-old coach fell ill.

This was the scene at Reliance Stadium in Houston as he was rushed off the field on a gurney, concerned NFL fans watching from the stands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He went down to his knee. He couldn't get back up. It looked like he was having trouble breathing.

LAVANDERA: The ambulance rushed Kubiak to a hospital with his family by his side.

WADE PHILLIPS, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, HOUSTON TEXANS: All his vital signs are good. He did not have a heart attack, but they're still checking on everything with him.

LAVANDERA: After the game, a rival player took a moment to say they are pulling for the coach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully he is going to be all right. I know he's a great football man and a great person. I think a great win, but all our thoughts and prayers are with him.

LAVANDERA: Kubiak's health scare comes just a day after Denver Bronco's head coach, John Fox, was hospitalized following a pre- existing health situation. Fox felt dizzy while playing golf near his North Carolina home on Saturday. The 58-year-old coach is now in the hospital awaiting surgery to replace an aortic valve and faces weeks of recovery. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And Carol, just moments before Kubiak went down, team executives said that he was feeling dizzy and lightheaded and has spent most of the night undergoing a series of test and evaluations, and hopefully we'll get an update from the Houston Texans at some point today --