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Obama Meets Insurance Execs; Chief Offers Job Back to Drag Racing Cop; Woman Saved By Bystanders When Car Goes Into Pond; Garden State Mall Shooting Surveillance Vid Released; Parents Who Return Adopted Child to State Face Charges

Aired November 15, 2013 - 15:30   ET

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

ROSA FLORES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Rosa Flores alongside John Berman live in New York.

And right now, a tense meeting at the White House, President Obama and the CEOs of major health insurance firms. We're told some of those execs are furious, just absolutely livid that the president now wants them to reestablish health coverage plans he has slammed as practically junk. And he needs to be done -- and it needs to be done rather quickly.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Of course, the president's back is to the wall amid stories of people losing health coverage after his pledge that under Obama care, if you like your insurance, you can keep it.

With us now from Washington, Gloria Borger, CNN's chief political analyst, and Bob Cusack, managing editor of The Hill.

Guys, I want to talk a little bit about some of the things that have been said over the last couple days, because they're startling to a lot of people.

One of the things the president said was that he was never told directly that the Web site that we have all been obsessed over for the last few weeks, no one told him directly that it wasn't going to be ready.

This has led many people to wonder, Gloria, isn't there anyone inside the White House who can give him this kind of bad news?

And I don't want to put the blame just on them here. If there is no one who can give him that news, isn't it his fault for not having them there?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, it is. And I've been doing a bunch of reporting on this, this week. And the question is, was there anyone inside the White House who had all of the bad news?

There was nobody -- no czar in charge of this entire program. I think there was a bunch of bad news that was coming in and out of the White House.

And I think nobody likes to give their boss bad news, but nobody knew the whole picture of just how devastating this was. This is a White House in which people are encouraged, I'm told, to sort of stay in their lane. So, if you're one in one lane, you don't want to tell stories out of school about somebody who is in another lane. And that's a problem.

And I also think that there has to be kind of a designated truth- teller who has immunity, if you will, to go to the president and say, you know what? We've got a really big problem here. I'm not sure, but you need to know about it.

BERMAN: Bob, is this an issue of "No-Drama Obama" becoming "No-Truth- Behind-Closed-Doors Obama?"

BOB CUSACK, MANAGING EDITOR, THE HILL: I think this has -- the president has to think, how am I running this White House if I didn't get this information?

I mean, congressional Democrats are furious at this White House. They have been warning the White House that they better be ready for this rollout on the Web site, the enrollment, all that kind of stuff.

Obviously, Senator Max Baucus said months ago he that it was going to be a train wreck, and it has become a train wreck.

So this is a big issue because, of course, 2014, the election, the landscape has dramatically changed really over the last month from the shutdown where Republicans clearly took the blame, polls show.

Now we're not even talking about the shutdown. That's old news, and this storyline, this ObamaCare storyline, especially with the Web site not being fixed, we're going to talk about this for weeks if not months.

BERMAN: If not years.

BORGER: Right, and I think it was a sense inside the White House that this is a tech problem. They're going to get this fixed. They're really smart people.

We've got really smart people everywhere, and it doesn't rise to the level of panic. This is not a White House that panics.

And there are Democrats that I talked to on The Hill who have said to me, you know, what? We could have used a little more panic.

We could have used a little more somebody running around with their hair on fire and saying, this is a problem. And you didn't get it.

BERMAN: Bob, can I take like several steps back for the last question? Doesn't it speak to an issue that all second-term presidents face?

They seem to run into such serious problems, almost unrecoverable. Makes you wonder if we have to rethink this whole second-term thing. Maybe go to one single six- or seven-year term.

CUSACK: Absolutely. I mean, with Bush and Clinton and now Obama. Legislatively, Obama has gone 0-for-2013.

No gun control, he's not going to get immigration reform, and a lot of the political media, obviously, is talking about 2016 and Hillary Clinton.

I think it's going to be very, very difficult for Obama to turn this around, and clearly, step one is fixing the Web site.

BERMAN: All right, Bob Cusack, Gloria Borger, thank you guys, both, so much.

BORGER: Sure.

BERMAN: Have a great weekend.

CUSACK: Thanks.

FLORES: And we move on.

The police officer who quit after getting caught drag racing is keeping his job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Carlos Rogers quit rather than face discipline after he was seen on YouTube racing another motorcyclist.

The police chief in Montgomery, Alabama, offered him his job back, saying Rogers has a bright future.

He'll be back on the job today, but hear this, not back on a bike for several weeks.

A woman saved just as her sinking car went under water. It happened in Sanford, Florida.

Cynthia Garza was heading to the mechanic when her steering wheel locked up. She lost control and ended up in a pond.

Garza called 911, but some bystanders got there first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYNTHIA GARZA, SAVED FROM SINKING CAR (via telephone): I don't know if I should try to open the door, but water is coming in the car.

BRAD RUPERT, HELPED RESCUE GARZA: By the time I jumped the curb, I already had tunnel vision in my head that I knew what I had to do.

GARZA: By the grace of God, they came right at the perfect moment and got me out before the car completely submerged.

RUPERT: And it went all the way under. You couldn't even tell the car was there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Garza said it's a blessing no one was with her. Hear this. She had dropped her kids off minutes before the accident.

BERMAN: Coming up, after adopting him as an infant, parents send their 9-year-old son back to children's welfare, and now they have been charged, but no one can find them.

You know, this is a fascinating case. It's coming up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, welcome back, everyone. We have some news just in here.

President Obama has been at the White House meeting with insurance executives, this coming on the heels of his announcement that he would like to extend to people insurance if they want to keep it, even if that insurance doesn't meet the standards of ObamaCare.

A lot of people on the individual market had received notices they would lose their insurance, so yesterday, you'll remember the president announced he wanted to extend that for one year.

Now, a lot of insurance executives were unhappy about that because the president had been bashing these plans, and they're accusing him of changing the rules in the ninth inning of the baseball game.

They've actually used those words, and now he wants to reoffer plans that he had suggested were bad to begin with.

So the president meeting with what could be a hostile crowd at the White House. This has been going on for some time now.

And just a short while ago, we received some video of some remarks he gave at this meeting. I think we have that in. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All right, you guys all lined up? Got it?

Sometimes they break things so -- well, I want to welcome the executives who are here from a lot of the insurance companies that are participating in the marketplace.

We all share a similar value, which is we want to make sure that Americans have good, solid coverage that gives them the security they need for themselves and their family members if and when they get sick.

And we know the demand is out there for that. We had, despite all the problems with the Web site, over a million people apply. Many multiples of that wanted to see what options were available. Obviously, because of the problems with the Web site, you know, some folks have been blocked from seeing the well-priced benefits that are available in the marketplace, and so we're working 24/7 to get it fixed.

The Web site is working a lot better now than it was a couple weeks ago. And what we're going to be doing is brainstorming on how do we make sure everybody understands what their options are?

Because of choice and competition, a whole lot of Americans who have always seen health insurance out of risk -- or, out of reach are going to be in a position to purchase it.

And because of the law, we're also going to be able to provide them help, even if they are still having trouble purchasing that insurance, but they have got to know what the options are in order to be successful.

So, I appreciate all these folks coming in. We're going to be soliciting ideas from them. This is going to be a collaborative process.

We want to make sure that we get this done so that, in the years to come, every American is going to have the kind of affordable health care that they all deserve.

So thank you very much for being here. Appreciate you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You just heard the president there speaking with insurance executives at the White House.

He called this really a brainstorming session to make sure people understand what their options are.

He did not directly address what I expect will be a subject of conversation, which is his request that these insurance companies now allow people in the individual market to keep their insurance even if it doesn't meet ObamaCare standards for another year.

And one of the reasons they will probably be talking about this is the president can't require it. He has to ask them. He has to ask state insurance commissioners, and it's no sure thing.

So I want to bring in CNN's Dana Bash right now, and Dana, the president has his constituency in Congress, where you work so much of the time, and he's also got to deal with the insurance executives, who he really needs as partners now, despite the fact that they haven't always gotten along.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. They hadn't always gotten along.

But, ironically, the insurance industry bought into this. Look, at the end of the day, if ObamaCare works, the insurance industry is probably going to make a lot of money because this is still insurance.

ObamaCare still is insurance through the private sector, and so the -- they're required by law, people are required by law to get insurance that they otherwise would not have had.

Yes, in some cases the government is giving them subsidies, but it's still going largely into the pocket of the insurance companies.

Now, the sort of partnership that the Obama administration has had with the insurance industry over the past few years in building up this system so that ObamaCare could launch, is certainly threatened big time because of the fact that the president yesterday said that he wants them to -- basically said, never mind.

He wants them to call and send letters to the people who have gotten cancellation policies because those policies were not up to snuff, weren't up to the mandates and the requirements under the new law.

So this is going to be a very tough discussion that he's going to have, never mind what he said in public, got to be sure that's the subject that they're talking about, not just brainstorming, generally.

BERMAN: No, you make a great point. Look, the insurance companies have made money in the past. They're going to make money in the future. There's no question about that.

The big picture, though, this only shows how complicated this has been and may not get easier, despite what the president has announced going forward.

Dana Bash in Washington for us, thanks so much.

FLORES: And still ahead right here on CNN, after adopting him as an infant, parents send their 9-year-old son, hear this, back to children's welfare.

And now they have been charged, but no one can find them.

Let me tell you, this is a fascinating case, and it's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We're just about 15 minutes away from "THE LEAD" right now, and today, Jake Tapper sat down with a certified megastar, the one and only -

FLORES: Lucky guy.

BERMAN: -- Matt Damon.

So my question to Jake Tapper, who is with us right now, is, Jake, how did you like them apples?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE LEAD": I liked them just fine.

What's interesting is we sat down with him because Tuesday is World Toilet Day, and this is an issue that Matt Damon has been interested in and involved in through his group, Water.org, bringing sanitation services, bringing water to these small impoverished villages all over the developing world.

It's fascinating. You know, I think it's a jumbo jet every four hours crashing. That's how many kids die every day, a jumbo jet full of kids crashing every four hours, because of the illnesses that could be prevented if more people had access to clean water and to sanitation.

And I asked Matt Damon how did he first get involved in this issue? This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT DAMON, ACTOR: Because I couldn't even relate to it. As an American, I go, well, water?

You know, the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, you know, there's bottled water. You know, there's water everywhere, you know?

You know, and sanitation? A toilet? Yeah, there's the guest room toilet. There's the toilet in your bedroom.

You know, there are toilets everywhere. How can this be? And, yet, 2.5 billion people lack access to a toilet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And, John, it's interesting because this is not an issue that the American people or anyone really wants to talk about.

It's not glamorous. It's not sexy. But it's that precise reason why he thought he could make a difference by talking about this and bringing attention to it that first got him involved.

Of course, we talked about a lot of other things, and you'll be happy to hear that he did bring up that baseball team that you both root for.

BERMAN: You know, Jake Tapper and Matt Damon in the same room is a whole lot of dreamy, so cannot wait for this.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts in a few minutes. Look forward to seeing it, Jake.

TAPPER: Thanks, John.

FLORES: And, still ahead, a couple is on the run after giving up their 9-year-old son. They adopted him as an infant and now they're facing charges.

We'll be back, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Now to new and chilling surveillance video showing the horrifying moments when a gunman opened fire inside New Jersey's Garden State Mall, earlier this month.

Now, you've got to get close to your television screen for this one. You can see shoppers panicked, running for their lives.

The masked gunman, 20-year-old Richard Shoop, calmly roaming the mall. Shoop stalked the aisles, carrying a rifle modified to look like an AK-47. He fired at least six bullets without striking anyone in that shopping center.

911 tapes were released last week. You can hear the fear in callers' voices.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody is shooting up Garden State Plaza right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's somebody shooting?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody is shooting up Garden State Plaza right now. I'm in the bathroom and --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. All right. Stay on the phone with me, sweetheart. How many people are in the bathroom with you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they in your store?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911, where is your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Garden State Plaza.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm at the Garden State Plaza Mall, where there has been a shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'm -- I work here. I'm inside the store, in the office with the door locked, by myself, but I'm scared and I want to get out the mall.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

FLORES: Shoop was later found dead inside that mall of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police believe he never intended to harm anyone but himself.

BERMAN: An Ohio boy who was adopted when he was just 3-months-old has been handed back to children's welfare by the parents who have raised him for nine years. The couple is actually in legal hot water for this. The parents aren't talking so we haven't heard their side of the story, but after being indicted by a grand jury for leaving the boy, they yanked their other children out of school and disappeared, just completely disappeared from this upscale home in a suburb of Cincinnati.

Here to talk about this case, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Sunny Hostin, and clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere.

Sunny, the boys' mothers called sheriff's deputies in August and gave them a disturbing report which you have in your hands.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. I do have the Ohio incident report from the police department.

And it says that she was very fearful because he threatened everyone in the house with a knife.

She also reported that he had some sort of mental disorder that he had been treated for, but that she believed he suffered from other disorders that had not been treated, and she was actually going to try, at least, to get him to the children's hospital to place him on some sort of 72-hour hold and additional testing.

FLORES: You know, one of the things that's really disturbing about this, one of the neighbors mentioned that this was a bad seed child. What does that even mean?

GARDERE, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, TOURO COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE: I think when you look at this issue of genotype versus phenotype, genotype are the genes that you inherit, so it is possible that you might inherit some criminal behaviors.

But phenotype is, what happen? What type of environment do you need to have for this to actually take place, to develop this behavior?

So you can't look at a child as being a "bad seed." You could look at a child that is very troubled or in an environment that may be the perfect storm where they may inherit some sort of a disorder, and then, if they don't have the support of environment, will act out.

Kids don't say, oh, I'm really troubled, I need help. They do things like this child has done.

BERMAN: That show they need help.

One of the things this made me think about was the kid who snuck onto the plane to Las Vegas, the stowaway, and the father who kind of gave a heart-wrenching plea after the fact.

Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know how my 9-year-old son's brain acts. OK, I been asking for help. No one stepped up to help. I'm in what you call double jeopardy. If I whoop my son, I get locked up. If I let my son keep on doing what he's doing, I get in trouble.

Somebody please help me, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I mean, you can hear the anguish in his voice. What's he to do?

GARDERE: Obviously, I think what's happened with this individual, but with the parents, they are literally at their wit's end. I think that's what's going on.

They can't handle this particular child, but it is their child.

(CROSSTALK)

GARDERE: You can't give the child away.

HOSTIN: We're sort of all dancing around this is an adopted child that they decided to sort of give back.

You don't give back your child, adopted or biological. This isn't a pet. This is a human being, someone that you are tasked to love and care for.

And so I'm happy that the legal system has intervened, but if they are convicted, only six months in jail, not much exposure there.

FLORES: And we've got to talk about the prosecution. Is the prosecution sending a message in this case, saying, OK, we are going to charge these parents?

HOSTIN: I think the prosecution certainly is sending a message. And I get a lot of flak all the time because I say that.

I say, as prosecutors -- I'm a former prosecutor -- we are tasked with sending a message to our community as to what behavior will be tolerated in our society.

And I think that's what this team is saying.

GARDERE: Bottom line, you adopt a child. You know that the child may have some issues. You're not sure as to the lineage what's going on.

You are going to inherit problems, but that's part of being a good foster or adoptive parent. You deal with it and you help that child.

HOSTIN: And you have problems when you have your own biological children. You don't give them back.

FLORES: Who you going to give them back to?

GARDERE: Right. Exactly.

BERMAN: You've got to love these kids. More than anything, you have to love these kids.

Jeff Gardere --

GARDERE: It's all about the love.

BERMAN: -- Sunny Hostin, I appreciate you both being here. Have a great weekend, both of you.

HOSTIN: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: That is all for us this afternoon.

FLORES: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: Thank you so much for being here.

Rosa Flores, I'm John Berman.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.