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NASCAR Driver: I Have Multiple Sclerosis; New Life For Mega Airlines Merger; Chicago: The Spire Counts?; Neo-Nazi Learns He Is Of Mixed Race Heritage; Was There A Second Gunman?
Aired November 12, 2013 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: So, Trevor Bayne has never let anything slow him down. The NASCAR driver made history in 2011 as the youngest winner ever of the Daytona 500. Today, the 22-year-old announced that he has multiple sclerosis, but that he is going to keep on racing and he even has a race this weekend.
So, he is joining me now by phone. Trevor, we are so delighted you're joining us. Thank you so much. What was your first thought when you were diagnosed? Trevor, can you hear me? You know what, we'll take a quick break here and get Trevor back on the phone and we'll be right back.
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SAMBOLIN: All right, we're going to try this, again. I think I have Trevor Bayne on the phone now. He is a 22-year-old NASCAR driver that was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Trevor, do you have me?
TREVOR BAYNE, NASCAR DRIVER DIAGNOSED WITH MS (via telephone): I do have you now. I'm sorry about that before. We are doing a photo shoot here today and I lost you.
SAMBOLIN: Not your fault at all. I'm happy that you're with us now. What I wanted to know, what was your first thought when you heard about the diagnosis?
BAYNE: Well, obviously, you know, the first thought is concern and, you know, but when I found out I had diagnosis I was kind of relieved because we've been wondering and I've been going to the Mayo Clinic for the past few years as being examined and since 2011 we were trying to figure out a diagnosis.
So the fact that they finally figured it out that was kind of a relief for me and as a race car driver you want to be functioning up to par and 100 percent and, fortunately, for me, I haven't had any symptoms. That's been a great thing. I have been able to continue racing and keep on going.
SAMBOLIN: Well, one of the reasons that you actually went to seek medical help is because you had numbness in your arm. Do you have any concern that you could endanger anyone else by racing? BAYNE: Well, I have actually never had numbness in my arm. I had a little bit of double vision in 2011 and I was out of the car for a few weeks, but that's what led to this. They're not sure that is what caused that to happen. But it is what has led to go and receive a lot of tests and a lot of things to figure out what I have.
To answer your question, there is no way in any way endangering anyone and NASCAR doesn't feel that way, my doctors don't feel that. I feel 100 percent and definitely symptom free. In that regard I'm good to go and push myself to the limits in and out of the race car.
Last year I did my first triathlon and just wanted to see what my body had in it and I never reached a limit. I finished 38th overall and second in my age group, I felt if there was ever going to be something come up because of exhaustion or performance then I would have seen it then. But we're definitely hopeful I'll continue to stay symptom free.
SAMBOLIN: Well, Trevor, I'm delighted to hear that you're asymptomatic. I understand that your sister also has MS. Did she reassure you how it will affect your life at all?
BAYNE: Well, not necessarily. My sister has done a great job with it, but every case is completely different with MS. So it's hard to relate one case to another. They have so many different styles and cases it's hard to look at one person, whether you're related or not and see any similarities, really.
For me, like I said, mine has been very mild. So, I'm thankful for that and hopefully, you know, to me, this is something I brought to light because I had to. Once NASCAR cleared me and the doctors said I was good to go, I could have shunned it away and said nobody needs to know. For me as a race car driver everybody sees the great things that happen and, obviously winning the Daytona 500 was huge this year and I got married and won a race in Iowa.
We had really great things going. To me, I want people to understand that there are hard things I go through and I wanted them to see how I handle these things and my faith in Jesus is a huge deal and that is what is having me go through this and understand it is his will and I'll be fine. That's kind of the reasoning for me is a lot of people out there that can't relate to the success, but all relate to the hard times that we've gone through.
SAMBOLIN: What a great attitude you have, Trevor Bayne. Good luck to you, newly married, very exciting. And we look forward to seeing you win a lot of races. Trevor Bayne, thank you. Get back to your photo shoot.
BAYNE: Thank you.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Sounds like you have a new favorite race car driver.
SAMBOLIN: The sweetest thing.
BERMAN: Nothing is going to slow that guy down. I can tell you that right now.
The on again/off again merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways is back on. The two airlines say they have an agreement with the Justice Department to save the deal, one that should breathe new life into the $11 billion merger.
CNN's aviation and government regulation correspondent, Rene Marsh joins us now from Washington with more. Rene, what changed here and why is the DOJ now OK with this merger?
RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: All right, so, John, you know, here is what is at the heart of it all. The sticking point for the Department of Justice was that this merger would create a situation at major airports across the country where one mega airline would control a large portion of the airport's landing and takeoff slots.
DOJ said that would be bad for consumers in the way of higher prices and fewer options. So here's what change, U.S. Airways and American Airlines, they agreed to sell-off some of their slots at seven major airports in places like New York, Boston and Miami. Now, those slots are like valuable real estate and, really, at the end of the day, could translate into money.
So, if you have more slots that could mean more money for you as a carrier. Take, for example, right here in the Washington, D.C. area, at Reagan National Airport, the combined airline would have controlled some 69 percent of the slots there. Now, they have to sell them off to carriers like JetBlue, Spirit and Southwest.
BERMAN: So, what does that mean then for us, for the consumers, for people who fly? Does that mean if JetBlue or other carriers could get into those slots, it could create more competition in some airports and maybe keep prices down?
MARSH: Well, you know, I spoke to a few consumer advocates and they do believe that this is a good deal more or less for the consumer. Under the terms of this merger, they don't believe that fliers are going to see ticket prices sky rocket. You may see some technical computer hiccups, maybe at the ticket counter.
Some glitches in that way as the two companies move forward to integrate their computer systems once this is a done deal. But consumer watchers say that requiring the airlines to sell-off some of their slots to those low-cost carriers is good for fliers and it really does inject competition.
BERMAN: Is this over and done now? Is this a done deal now, Rene?
MARSH: Well, the court still has to approve the deal and many people, you know, you talk to and it is most likely that the court will because you have two parties here on both sides. They agree with the terms. So, chances are the judge will agree.
BERMAN: All right, Rene Marsh, a big development for fliers and business. Appreciate it. SAMBOLIN: All right, up next, a DNA shocker for this man, a self- proclaimed white supremacist. We'll show you his reaction when he finds out his genetic background.
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BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. There will soon a new tallest tower in all the land, not everyone is happy about this. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, there is, in fact, a council on that.
SAMBOLIN: Yes, there is.
BERMAN: Says that New York's One World Trade Center will be the tallest building, its official height when it is finished, 1,776 feet, 1776, folks. After the council decided that the 408-foot spire on top would be included in its official height. That takes the title from Chicago's Willis Tower, which is known by much of us by its former name the Sears Tower. Folks in Chicago like Zoraida Sambolin not thrilled with having just the second tallest building in the United States.
SAMBOLIN: I'm so glad you didn't call it the second city.
BERMAN: There is a complex on all those things, size matters, I guess.
SAMBOLIN: It does.
BERMAN: We are going to go live in Chicago and New York in the next hour to hear more about all this.
SAMBOLIN: Yes, we're going to explain exactly why and how they won that distinction.
All right, a North Dakota man labeled as a white supremacist by the Southern Poverty Law Center and who is trying to turn to turn a remote North Dakota town into an all-white on clave finds out he is biracial and it was all revealed live on national television.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's 86 percent European and --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give it to him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's 14 percent sub-Saharan African.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute, hold on. This is called statistical noise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sweetheart, you have a little black in you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, I'll tell you this, oil and water don't mix.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Bro.
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SAMBOLIN: My goodness, that a girl. Did you hear what he called it, statistical noise? Craig Cobb appeared on the "Trisha Show," a British-based broadcast now airing in the United States. The "Daily Mail" reports he agreed to take a DNA tests and have the results revealed on air. The segment was part of the talk show's race in America series.
CNN first introduced you to Cobb in September when we traveled to Lake, North Dakota, and toured the area where he bought several acres of land. Cobb says he wants to develop the area into a neo-Nazi- controlled community and make it a safe haven for white supremacist. He might have a bit of a problem with that now. Cobb is also a fugitive who is wanted in Canada for wilful promotion of hatred.
BERMAN: Sounds like quite a guy.
Coming up, we are going to have an inside look at the scene where President John F. Kennedy lost his life.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is essentially the vantage point for Roy Oswald that day. You've got clear point as the motorcade rolls through, require the target, bam, bam, bam.
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BERMAN: A look at historic plaza as CNN gets ready to air a special on the Kennedy assassination. You're about to hear from a former CIA officer who says he understands why conspiracy theories exist, including that Lee Harvey Oswald had help.
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BERMAN: When we think about times of crisis here in the U.S., we think about September 11th, we think Watergate and we think about this, November 22nd, 1963.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A flash on Dallas, two priests who were with President Kennedy say he is dead.
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BERMAN: This Thursday night on CNN, we will remember that day 50 years ago this month, the assassination of JFK. It's our two-hour special, it is remarkable. It airs at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. We have truly amazing moments in this special. You will want to see it.
Of course, one of the reasons people are still talking about this so much 50 years later is the mystery that persists about exactly what happened in Dallas that day. Fifty years later, there's really still a lot of debate about it. As well as we know Lee Harvey Oswald, as we all know he was arrested.
He was the man in custody for killing John F. Kennedy, but he was murdered himself while in police hands. That happened just two days later after the Kennedy assassination. Our guests coming up recently re-enacted how Oswald might have done it.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am one floor above where Lee Harvey Oswald was positioned that fateful day to take his three shots. There it is. This is essentially the vantage point for Oswald that day. You have clear point as the motorcade rolls through and you acquire the target, bam, bam, bam.
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BERMAN: Quite a view from the book depository. That was Mike Baker who is with us here now, a former CIA officer. He is often a guest and he joins us now from Boise, Idaho. Mike, you've got your own special on the Kennedy assassination coming up on the Travel Channel. Tell us about it.
MIKE BAKER, FORMER CIA COVERT OPERATIONS OFFICER: Right. Well, it's a new series on Travel Channel called "America Declassified." It's on Sundays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. But every episode we take two or three stories, the idea of taking a viewer to a place that they can't get access to normally. It's restricted, top secret and we gain access or with Dealey Plaza in Dallas, which was the subject of our first show.
It's wrapped in conspiracy or a mystery. We're not trying to solve that, necessarily, but we are trying to unravel it a little bit more. Find a new witness and conduct new forensic testing and try to give the viewer additional information to inform their own decision making on this.
BERMAN: You talk in your special about a witness in the public spotlight for many years. Lee Bowers, he of course was near the grassy and there are so many issues about what he may or may not have seen. Let's take a look from your special.
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BAKER: This is where Lee Bowers worked for years and was working on the day of November 22nd, 1963, as that motorcade passed by. Tell me why Bower's testimony is so important?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was one of the only persons who had a clear, unobstructed bird's eye view of what was going on behind the picket fence. He mentioned that he could see at least two people behind the picket fence at the time of the shooting.
BAKER: Did he record anything else? Did he see anything else that he disclosed? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said something unusual caught his eye, a flash of smoke.
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BERMAN: All right, you were talking about Lee Bowers, not to Lee Bowers. I hope you'll explain to us why. Tell us his story.
BAKER: Yes. Lee Bowers is one of the more compelling witnesses in this conspiracy and conspiracies, I mean, some under the weight of scrutiny fall apart. This one, more so than any other conspiracy in this country has remained at the forefront of this issue. But Lee Bowers worked in the switching yard, in the train station that is basically behind the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza.
And on that day, at the time, the motorcade passed by he was in the top of the two-story switching station and he had, as we found out during the course of this story, as we were doing this investigation at Dealey Plaza, he had a bird's eye view of the picket fence. He reported seeing, had some very key testimony after the assassination.
He reported seeing something, a muzzle flash, a puff of smoke, an individual behind the picket fence and then about six months after he gave this key testimony, Lee Bowers died in a mysterious one-car crash on a two-lane road. And, you know, as with so many of the other witnesses, you'll talk to some folks in the conspiracy world and I'm not conspiracy guy at nature.
I tend to be a little bit more, OK, some things are as simple as they seem. But a number of witnesses did die under stranger or mysterious circumstances, Lee Bowers being one of them.
BERMAN: It's an amazing place to see. You went to Dealey Plaza. What was it like for you to be there? It is like you're walking through history there.
BAKER: It really is. As soon as you get there, if people haven't been down to Dealey Plaza in Dallas, they have to put it on their must-see list at some point for travle. You feel yourself emerged in modern history. Literally, it really is unchanged since that unfortunate tragic day in '63.
The book depository, you go into the book depository. We were given tremendous access by those folks and you get a real sense of what this was like. Interestingly, Oswald worked at the book depository. One thing we did is we looked at --
BERMAN: I'm sorry. We do have to leave it there, but we are excited to see your take on this and "America Declassified" on the Travel Channel and, of course, watch our special right here on CNN on Thursday night. Please, do not miss it, "The Assassination of JFK" at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.
