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Princeton Tries To Stop Meningitis Outbreak; Bodies Of Vanished Family Found; Crack Mayor May Have Power Stripped; Convicted Child Rapist Gets No Jail Time; Aid Rushing To Philippines; A Democratic House Divided; White House: Insurance CEO Talks "Productive"; Toronto Strips Some Power From Mayor; Lawsuit: Nurse Was "Worked To Death"; Console Wars To Heat Up Between Sony's PS4 And Microsoft's New Xbox; Snapchat Turned Down Facebook?; Airline Merger Moves Forward; The JFK Conspiracy Theories
Aired November 16, 2013 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I am Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories we're following right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. An Ivy League school scrambles to stop the spread of a rare, deadly disease and they may import vaccines to do it. A live report is minutes away.
And we now know the fate of a California family that vanished from their home. Hear the conclusion to a three-year mystery.
And just a week after Toronto's mayor admits to smoking crack cocaine, more embarrassing accusations surface. Hear how he is responding to the allegations and what he is doing to stay in office.
We begin on the campus of Princeton University where officials are trying to contain an outbreak of a rare type of meningitis. Officials have confirmed seven cases of type B meningitis at the Ivy League school. There's no vaccine for that strain here in the U.S. and that's why the federal government is stepping in to help.
Alexandra Field is live for us right now from Princeton University. So Alexandra, what are government officials trying to do and how are they going to make a vaccine that is available overseas available to this university?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well, Fredricka, what's happened here is that the FDA has cleared the way for the CDC to import the vaccine under its experimental drug program, but it is still up to the trustees of this university to decide whether or not to make it available to some 8,000 students here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD (voice-over): Princeton University officials are meeting this weekend to discuss possible vaccinations on campus. It's an effort to combat an ongoing outbreak of meningitis "b," which can cause life threatening illness. The New Jersey Department of Health says the first case developed when a student returned from spring break in March. After additional cases were reported, an outbreak of the disease was declared in May. A total of six students and one visitor to Princeton are linked to the outbreak. The latest case was diagnosed last week. That student is still hospitalized this morning.
ADAM KROP, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I remember it was pretty instant. She went from feeling almost fine to the next minute with 103 fever.
FIELD: Bacterial meningitis is rare and the strain causing this outbreak is very rare in the United States. It is not included in currently available vaccines. The bacteria can cause infections of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include headache, fever, vomiting, rashes and stiff neck. Those infected need to be treated right away and even those who recover can suffer serious complications such as hearing loss, brain damage and limb amputations.
DR. MARK WHITMAN, CAPITAL HEALTH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: This needs to be treated quickly. So a community that may have other cases, have to be aware of the symptoms because the quicker you put someone on antibiotics, the more likely they are to recover.
FIELD: To combat the disease, the CDC has FDA approval to import the only vaccine for meningitis "b" as an experimental drug. It's called Bexsero and it is approved in Australia and Europe, but not yet in the United States. If university and health officials agree to offer the vaccine, it will be available on a voluntary basis. Something students will likely consider.
KRISTIE SCHOTT, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I think a lot of people are concerned that from the fact it did not go away over the summer after everybody left.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD: We spoke to a number of students this morning that say they're waiting to make the decision about whether to take the vaccine until after the trustees make the decision whether or not to make it available. The students also tell us that since last March when the first case was detected, the university has been keeping it up to speed as more cases come to light through a series of e-mails -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Alexandra Field.
Part of a mystery solved, more than three years after being reported missing, the bodies of a couple and their two children have been found. Police say Joseph and Summer McStay along with two bodies believed to be their sons were buried in a shallow grave in the desert near Los Angeles. Officials say all were killed, but they didn't give any more details.
The next day the family vanished from their San Diego home back in 2010, leaving bowls of popcorn out in the house. Their car was found near Mexico days later. Joseph McStay's father is taking the news very hard. He says he is still not sure he can believe this. Dan Haggerty of our affiliate KGTV spoke with him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN HAGGERTY, REPORTER, KGTV (voice-over): Patrick McStay longed for the day he would see his son's family again. His oldest son, Joseph, his son's wife, Summer, his two beautiful grandsons, Johnny and Joseph Jr., but that faded this week after a discovery in the Mojave Desert.
PATRICK MCSTAY, JOSEPH MCSTAY'S FATHER: It hasn't really sunk in because something in the back of my mind keeps saying, I will get the call, sorry, we made a mistake. It is not them. I keep that glimmer of hope there, you know, but then the other side is tapping me on the shoulder saying no, no, that's not it.
HAGGERTY: Investigators suspected the family left on their own. They used this to prove that. Surveillance video showing what was believed to be the McStay family crossing into Mexico. Their car found nearby.
MCSTAY: I have been consumed with knowing something happened to them, that this was not, you know, that the San Diego Sheriff's Department was out there only doing whatever they felt they could do that would fit with their little theory and prove that they voluntarily walked away because the only thing you ever heard out of them or you ever saw was that.
HAGGERTY: Patrick McStay always thought foul play was involved. He even gave sheriff investigators three people that may have had something to do with the disappearances. He said he was ignored.
MCSTAY: All I've been screaming for is a thorough, competent investigation, taken out of their hands, because they're corrupt and four years telling everybody.
HAGGERTY: Now memories are all Patrick has left.
MCSTAY: If you can find one person on earth that was better and more loved than my son, Joseph, I sure as hell would like to know who they are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, now the latest on the mayor of Toronto after Mayor Rob Ford admitted to drinking binges and smoking crack, the city council said it's had enough. Members voted to strip Ford of some of his key powers, and there are new allegations that he abused his power and even associated with prostitutes. But through all of this, Ford's wife is standing by him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think he should take a leave of absence?
RENATA FORD, TORONTO MAYOR'S WIFE: That's why we have elections.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think he should at least take personal time? Should he at least take a little person time? FORD: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, we have a live report coming up from Toronto in just a few minutes. We will hear from the mayor's brother. Plus our legal guys will look at what kind of legal challenge the mayor can make against the city council.
Now to a troubling case out of Alabama where a convicted child rapist is not going to face any jail time, now surprisingly, the victim is shocked and outraged. Our Nick Valencia has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COURTNEY ANDREWS, RAPE VICTIM: I don't understand like I still can't even process it.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baffled. Courtney Andrews says there's no other way to describe how she feels, after hearing that he man convicted of raping her repeatedly since she was 13 years old will somehow avoid jail. This week an Alabama judge sentenced her attacker, 25-year-old Austin Clem, to 30 years behind bars, but he suspended those sentences, opting to give Clem community corrections, equivalent to house arrest. Clem still has to register as a sex offender.
ANDREWS: I just don't want him to hurt anyone else the way he hurt me and he gets to stay home with his three little girls and it scared the crap out of me.
VALENCIA (on camera): You're scared for their safety?
ANDREWS: Because what's been done to me is done, but I don't want anybody else being hurt.
VALENCIA (voice-over): Clem has a history of sexual assaults and according to his attorney was sent to a juvenile facility for a sex abuse case before he was 15. Frankly, the attorney said, I think the judge's sentence was surprising to most everyone in the courtroom. But with his track record, Andrews was convinced Clem would be sentenced to years in jail instead, Clem will avoid seeing the inside of a jail cell all together if he follows the judge's orders.
Even still, Dan Tauten, Clem's defense attorney says the sentence is too harsh. It doesn't appear from her actions that she was saying no, he said of the victim, saying the relationship was consensual. This is a case with two sides to the coin. The evidence was not clear and convincing. Now 20, Andrews won't hear any of that. She says she was manipulated by him for over six years and stayed in his life because she felt threatened.
ANDREWS: And I know the truth of what happened and I have people that love me and are going to support me and back me up, all those people that would think that, then they have a problem of their own. VALENCIA: Prosecutors say they're looking into options to get the sentence overturned. The defense is also considering an appeal. As for Judge James Woodroof, he did not return CNN's calls for comment on the ruling. Andrews says she needs an explanation.
ANDREWS: It is like saying it is okay to hurt people, it happens in Alabama, it is OK to rape someone and rape other people multiple times and it is OK, you can still walk the streets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Extraordinary case. Nick Valencia with me now, so is this sentence even legal, you talk about the options that are being explored.
VALENCIA: Well, Courtney Andrews isn't the only one scratching her head over this. The prosecutors question the legality of the judge's decision, saying that the community correction is reserved for nonviolent offenders. Rape, of course, is a violent offense. According to defense, the State Department of Corrections can supersede the judge's order if they determine that the rapist has violated the order, but Courtney Andrews is terrified not just for her future safety, but also for those three little girls. The attacker has children, three little girls under the age of 7.
WHITFIELD: You mentioned he would be a registered sex offender. How can he still live with his own children in the house?
VALENCIA: He will be responsible to abide by Megan's law. So this is what's leaving the prosecutors scratching their heads. They don't understand how the judge came to the sentence, and locally a lot of people are a lot of people are raising eyebrows because the defense attorney and the judge went to high school together and are high school friends. A lot of people think that that might have had something to do with it.
WHITFIELD: A lot being re-evaluated now. Thanks, Nick Valencia. Appreciate that.
All right, more than a week after a typhoon slammed into the Philippines, aid is still finding its way into the hardest-hit, most remote areas. The death toll is now above 3,500. And people who initially survived are dying because they don't have access to proper medical care. The American Red Cross says it raised about $11 million and so far U.S. numbers show about $33 million have been raised for typhoon relief.
To find out how you can help, go to cnn.com/impact. There you can find a list of charitable organizations that are helping and links where you can donate.
Could the president fumbling of Obamacare hurt his chances are getting other things done in Washington? We will look at the possible fallout from his rough health care rollout.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: The president insists that he is confident Obamacare can and will work, despite the rocky rollout, but members of his own party aren't so sure. In an embarrassing setback yesterday, 39 House Democrats voted for a Republican plan that would gut his signature health care law. On the same day, the president met with insurance company executives to talk about his roe proposed fix to the law. Here is Athena Jones.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. Obamacare continues to be the focus here at the White House and the president met Friday with insurance company CEOs to try to sell them his plan to allow them to keep offering health plans to their existing customers for the next year, even if they don't meet the affordable care act requirements. Here is what the president said at the top of the meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I appreciate all these folks coming in. We are going to be soliciting ideas from them. There will be a collaborative process. We want to be sure to get this done so in the years to come every American is going to have the kind of affordable health care that they all deserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Now we know some insurance companies are concerned about this change to the rules. They say it is going to be really difficult to reinstate plans that are already shutting down and they worry that this could raise premiums and undermine the insurance market. Florida Blue says we will allow customers to keep plans in that state, but there is no way to say how many companies and how many states will go along.
And an update on healthcare.gov, we learned on Friday that the team working on that site say they made 200 fixes to bugs on the site and hope to make 50 more priority fixes next week. But of course the list of problems that need fixing keeps changing. We also learned from CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which manages the site that they have managed to bring the error rate down to 1 percent from 2 percent last week, and 6 percent a few weeks ago -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Athena. So will the president's mistakes on Obamacare hurt his chances of getting other key legislation through Congress? I put that question to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": Well, the president is trying, he wants to get comprehensive immigration reform, got it done in the Senate. At least right now, the House Speaker, John boehner, the Republican majority of the House, they're not taking it up this year. We will see what happens next year, election year, midterm election. All members of the House will be up for re- election, a third of the Senate. We'll see if anything can be done with that. There are a lot of financial issues, the economic issues are out there. His big problem right now is making sure the affordable care act, Obamacare, actually works and that's going to take an enormous amount of energy. There have been so many problems since the rollout October 1st. Many of those problems are still around.
The president was sort of opening up and acknowledging how disappointed and frustrated and angry he is about the way this unfolded. That's going to be his priority. If he can't get that done, all these other issues may be in deep, deep trouble in the second term as well.
WHITFIELD: And clearly President Obama is trying to be transparent by saying he didn't know there were problems with the web site, and reiterating some of the going back to the same health care system, he says is not the way to go. Has this political fight gotten tougher?
BLITZER: Yes, it is an enormously difficult political battle under way in Washington right now indeed, around the country. There are many benefits to the affordable care act, but there are enormous amounts of problems. The president acknowledged that his repeated statements years ago when he said if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, didn't turn out to be accurate.
Didn't turn out to be true and he feels bad about that. That's why he was making changes, if you will, to try to fix it. It is unclear if it is going to be fixed, but he is working hard. If he can't get that fixed, the political acrimony in Washington will only intensify. It is going to be ugly this next year between now and midterm elections. Let's see how he does.
WHITFIELD: Wolf Blitzer, thank you very much.
BLITZER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's head to Canada, shall we, where city council is moving to strip Toronto Mayor Rob Ford of much of his power. In a minute, the legal guys are weighing in whether he has a fighting chance in court to perhaps block the moves and keep his power.
But first, each week we are honoring CNN's top ten heroes. Today a woman in Africa fighting for young girls, they're often not allowed to go to school. She's making sure they get an education.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAKENYA NTAIYA, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I avoided the ceremony as far as I could. Most of the girls mutilate when they're 12. I really liked going to school. I knew once I go through the cutting, I am going to be married off, and my dream of becoming a teacher was going to end. My mind say run away, I had to face my dad and say I would only go through the cutting if he let's me go back to school.
It was done in the morning using a very old rusty knife with no anesthesia. I can never forget that day. Eventually I was the first girl in my community to go to college in the U.S. I Kakenya Ntaiya and I returned to my village to start a school for girls so they too can achieve their full potential.
When girls start at our school, very shy, but over time, we see them very confident. They're doing very well. It is the most exciting thing. Our work is about empowering the girls. These girls are saying no to being cut. They're dreaming of becoming lawyers, teachers, doctors, nursing. My daughter will do better than my son. Why should you go ahead to achieve your girl? I came back so girls in the community don't have to negotiate like I did to achieve their dreams.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: In Toronto, the city council has made its move against Mayor Rob Ford. Members voted to strip Ford of some key powers. This comes after the mayor admitted to binge drinking and smoking crack cocaine. The mayor says he, however, is going to fight.
Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Toronto today. So Nic, you spoke with Rob Ford's brother who was on the same city council as the mayor. So what does he have to say about all of this?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I asked him if he felt that all of this was this sort of whole theater, that his brother's performance in front of the camera, the allegations, the admissions about drink, everything that was happening inside city council. I asked him if all of this was humiliation for his brother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG FORD, TORONTO MAYOR'S BROTHER: Just imagine if you took the CEO out and said every one of you folks have the same power as the CEO, it wouldn't work.
ROBERTSON: Isn't it humiliating for your brother to be put in that position?
FORD: You know something, this whole issue is humiliating.
ROBERTSON: This is what he will be remembered for.
FORD: Well, he is going to be remembered by doing a great job. He is going to be remembered if he fails to move in the right direction, and he's going to be remembered as the comeback kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: If he fails to move in the right direction, even the mayor's brother there not sure that the mayor actually can make it through this very difficult period that he is facing right now, but the mayor says he is going to fight the moves by city council. He is going to do this in the court, even if it means dipping into his own pocket to pay for it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Your brother the mayor said he will fight some of these issues in court, won't be public money, it will be his money. How much is this going to cost you? How long can you go on fighting it?
FORD: We spent close to probably a million dollars fighting on all the other court cases, three of them. You have to keep in mind, this battle didn't happen right now. This started three years ago when Rob Ford said he was -- we have taken on bigger guys, too.
ROBERTSON: How deep are you in this?
FORD: Short pockets.
ROBERTSON: Short pockets.
FORD: Very short pockets.
ROBERTSON: You'll have to stop the fight quickly?
FORD: We're never going to stop fighting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: He will never stop fighting, he says. On Monday, it is expected that city council here will vote again to take more powers away from the mayor, powers, essentially take staff and money away, and handover powers to the deputy mayor -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson, thank you so much. They will never stop fighting, that means in court as well. Let's bring in our legal guys to talk about this, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland. Good to see you, and HLN legal analyst Joey Jackson from New York, filling in for Richard Herman this week.
Avery, you first, the mayor was already stripped of major powers of the city council, plans to take action on Monday as you heard Nic explaining to relieve him of other duties. What are the options in court? You heard the brother say there are three big legal fights they're willing to take on. What are the chances?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHT ATTORNEY: Right. Well, I mean, the brother also, Doug Ford, said they're going to spend a million dollars. He is a public official. I don't know where they're going to get a million bucks to fight this, but the legislature controls the purse, and they control the purse to the extent that if there's policy in Toronto, then what they have the right to do is control where it goes.
The only argument I think that Rob Ford is going to be able to make is that it is an abuse of legislative authority. I don't know that that's going anywhere, but you know what, he's turned into Matt Foley down by the river. I just don't know how he's going to be successful in this kind of challenge.
If a court buys that the legislature, city council abused its authority, he may get it back, but there's not going to be decision in the near future, and I think this is going absolutely nowhere.
WHITFIELD: He has something like another five years until the end of his term. Maybe that's part of it. He is going to continue with the fight until he voluntarily walks off the job. So Joey, if it is not ford challenging the legislative powers, then Mayor Ford says he is going to go after those who he thinks mislabeled him by saying he had relations with prostitutes, et cetera, and so maybe we're talking about some sort of defamation kind of case?
JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, here's the problem, Fredricka. In order to establish defamation, you have to establish that the statements were not true. An absolute defense to defamation is truth and from what goes on seemingly every day, something else is coming out about him, which is less than honorable. Ultimately, I agree with Avery's proposition that it is going to be a heavy lift for him to establish this was an abuse of legislative power.
The mayor, it is not about the individual, the office is bigger than that. Ultimately you have to govern for the people of Toronto. So for a court to say they were not acting properly in order to gain control of that city, and to get people in power who can move the city forward, I think ultimately is something that will fail in the court. It is time to resign.
WHITFIELD: What will his legal fights be that the city council unlawfully is removing him of his powers, that he can continue to maintain his job because this is not a job he can be fired from, he has to walk off the job, voluntarily leave the job of being a mayor in Toronto. So Avery, is he challenging, you know, city council that no matter what, he cannot -- his powers cannot be removed from him?
FRIEDMAN: Well, the legislative branch, Fredricka, cannot remove executive power, but I don't know that anyone has talked about this yet. Certainly it is a common practice in the United States. I don't know what the people of Toronto, what are they, Torontonians. Aren't they going to rise up by way of a referendum or something like that and say we're not going to hold onto this guy for five more years? I actually think there will be a ground swell within the community to say this guy really has to go.
WHITFIELD: OK, we will see. It looks like he and his brother are going to fight to the end. You heard him say it, already.
JACKSON: Better have very deep pockets, very deep, costs money.
WHITFIELD: Big money making representation. All right, so Joey and Avery, we will be right back. We will have you tackle another controversial case. This one involving a man that claims his wife was worked to death and takes this case to court. He says his wife was so overworked she crashed her car then died. Will the hospital where she worked get the blame?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: An Ohio man whose wife died in a car accident is suing the hospital where she was a nurse claiming she was worked to death. Jim Jasper's wife, Beth, was killed in March while driving home after a 12-hour shift. The wrongful death lawsuit alleged that from 2011 to the time of her death, Beth Jasper's unit at the Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati was regularly understaffed and that that caused some nurses, including Jasper, to work through breaks and pick up additional shifts. Jim Jasper says the hospital knew what was going on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM JASPER, VICTIM'S HUSBAND: I mean, they knew. They knew that these staffing levels, something like this, they were told something like this could happen. They're compassionate about patients, don't want to make a mistake, but you know, when you work under those conditions, it is going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Our legal guys are back, Avery Friedman in Cleveland, Joey Jackson in for Richard Herman, joining us from New York. Avery, let's start with you. Jim Jasper is arguing that his wife's death was a foreseeable consequence of her working longer shifts. Does he have a legal argument in that state?
FRIEDMAN: Well, you nailed the legal standard. Was it foreseeable for the employer to expect this would happen? And let me tell you something. I love the theory. I think Americans are overworked, they're suffering. The fact is except for California, none of the other 49 states has a law that protects workers. At the end of the day, while I think it is very creative and we suffer for this family, of course, I don't think this case is actually going anywhere, and that's unfortunate.
WHITFIELD: So Joey, this family at the least does say that it wants to make hospitals change their policies so that nurses aren't overworked, don't have these kinds of long hours. What are the chances that a lawsuit like this can help bring about new legislation or at least hospital policies.
JACKSON: Now there, Fredricka, there's an opportunity for that to be brought about. I think the lawsuit doesn't even make it to a jury for a number of reasons. One, as a policy matter, there are a lot of people that work hard, not taking anything away from nurses, mom, my sister, people work hard, but there are so many other professions. Anchors, Fredricka, you're working hard. Should CNN be held accountable, business professionals, lawyers, everyone works hard.
As a policy matter, if you allow this, the flood gates are open for everything. As a legal matter showing that but for you working long hours, this would not have happened, I think it fails there. But to the larger point, and it is also about personal responsibility. Not to put onus or blame on the victim here, it is unfortunate.
But the reality is take a nap, do something, stop putting yourself in danger. What I see as a large matter, I think Fredricka, you're right. Policy could be affected by the hospital so it doesn't happen again.
WHITFIELD: You know, in the case of a lot of hospitals, some hospitals actually allow employees to sleep at the hospital because they expect the long hours are definitely going to take a toll, and there's such a tight turn around in a lot of cases as well. Again, we're not sure where this will go. We don't have comment from the Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati.
I am sure the Jasper family will be hearing from the hospital by way of their attorneys. All right, thanks so much. Avery and Joey, good to see you this Saturday. Thanks so much. Catch our brilliant legal minds every Saturday about this time. Thanks so much.
All right, Sony launching a new Playstation this week. Lots of people rushed to get their hands on it, but competition is on the way. We'll tell you how soon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Here is a look at what's trending right now. Actor, Alec Baldwin apologizing for shouting a gay slur at a photographer this week, the apology comes after MSNBC suspended his Friday evening show for two episodes. Baldwin said what he did this week as he tried to explain himself, saying he was trying to protect his family, but it was offensive and unacceptable.
And a Volvo ad featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme has a lot of folks saying how did he do that? Watch as Van Damme does an incredible split between two moving trucks that appear to be driving backwards. Not bad for the 53-year-old actor. Not bad for anyone that can do that. Volvo says that stunt is real.
And Playstation fans lined up to by the new PS 4, fans came out by the thousands to grab one of the new consoles. The new system focuses on the social element of game play, features a redesigned controller that you can use with a touch pad.
Folks at Sony love the attention that they're getting from their latest PS4 launch, but also said preparing for the competition that is soon to come. Laurie Segall has more on that.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Gamers are excited. Let me tell you why. For the first time in seven years, two gaming rivals are going head to head. Friday Sony released Playstation 4. Let me put it in perspective for you, Fredricka. The last time Sony released a Playstation, the iPhone didn't even exist, it was 2006. Needless to say, there are some major improvements.
We are talking better graphics, social integration, this means you can actually press a button on the controller and share clips of your games with friends in real time. And there's also more access to music, video, web. That means apps like Netflix, Amazon Hulu plus. They're saying it is no longer just a gaming mechanism. With the new launch, Sony is playing up the idea of personalization, the idea that your gaming experience can be catered to you and only you.
PS4 is not cheap, $399. There are going to be 20 games will be available. I will say this, it is not a good release without competition. PS4 will have it. Coming out this week, Microsoft Xbox One, for hardcore gamers, this is the rival to beat. Last version came out in 2005, a long time ago. You can imagine they're bringing their A-game to this launch.
If you're an HBO, ESPN fan, apps are available on that Xbox One. It will be more expensive than the PS4. The price is $499, includes the Kinect camera, a lot of folks excited about that. We spoke to Sony executive, Andrew House who says competition is a good thing. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW HOUSE, PRESIDENT AND GROUP CEO, SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT: I think it creates enormous excitement for our category. It gives people a sense of choice, options, but we're very confident that Playstation 4 delivers great value, and also a great line up of experiences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEGALL: OK, Fredricka, so competition may be a good thing, but Sony has quite a bit riding on this launch, gaming a huge part of their business strategy, and it is no secret the company has been struggling. So to put this in perspective, these launches are a very big deal in the gaming community. They have been a long time coming -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Wow, big bucks at stake. Thanks so much, Laurie.
It is a game of another sort as stocks spent most of the past week in record territory, not quite making the 16,000 milestone. This comes as the Senate waves the nomination of new head of Federal Reserve. Maribel Aber has "This Week On Wall Street."
MARIBEL ABER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Dow hit all- time highs on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. S&P 500 hit record highs 36 times this year. Something we haven't seen since 1999. It came as Federal Reserve chairman nominee Janet Yellen testified at her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill indicating she intends to keep stimulus money flowing into the economy because unemployment is still too high.
Also at record highs, your 401k, Fidelity says the average balance topped $84,000 in the third quarter. That's up 11 percent from last year. People are saving more money and stocks are at all- time highs.
Snapchat reportedly turned down a buyout offer from Facebook. The 23-year-old co-founder, Evan Spiegel and 25-year-old Bobby Murphy said no to $3 billion. The app which allows users to send pictures that self-destruct. It got a strong following for teens. That's a market Facebook is really struggling with.
The U.S. Air, American Airlines merger took a big step forward this week. The carriers agreed to sell facilities at seven airports so other airlines can buy in. The Justice Department sued to block the merger saying it would reduce competition.
Gamers lined up for Playstation 4 ahead of the Friday debut. It is Sony's first new video gaming system in seven years. Analysts expect it to sell out before Christmas. Sony will have more competition in just a few days. Microsoft Xbox One hits shelves on Friday. That's the week on Wall Street -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Maribel.
All right, 50 years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, people are still asking did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone or was there a larger conspiracy? We're breaking that down next.
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WHITFIELD: The John F. Kennedy conspiracy theories will not go away, on the 50th anniversary of the president's assassination, there are still books being written on the subject. People are asking if Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Randy Kaye finds out more.
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ANNOUNCER: Several thousand enthusiastic Texans are on hand.
RANDI KAYE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifty years later we're asking, did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? Former "New York Times" reporter, Philip Shenon, is the author of "A Cruel And Shocking Act," a new, revealing book about all of the questions that to many remain unanswered.
PHILIP SHENON, AUTHOR, "A CRUEL AND SHOCKING ACT": On the Warren Commission, they called Oswald the pip squeak, that this pip squeak with a $21 mail order rifle could bring down the most powerful and glamorous man in the world in a millisecond. It was better to have a grand conspiracy of evil man behind closed doors doing this.
KAYE: Evil men like Fidel Castro whose name is often connected to Kennedy's assassination. Oswald's possible connection to Cuba is at the center of his book, which details Oswald's trip to Mexico City seven weeks before the assassination. There, he says, Oswald met with Cuban spies, Castro sympathizers that wanted Kennedy dead.
(on camera): How likely they were working with Cuba's revolutionary government.
SHENON: It appears he made the statement in the Cuban embassy in Mexico City, I want to kill President Kennedy, I am going to kill President Kennedy. At that point in the cold war, it seems somebody might have whispered in his ear to do it if he got a chance.
KAYE (voice-over): It's not just Castro, some conspiracy theorist believe the man on film in the grassy knoll opening and closing his umbrella was to blame, suggesting he was either signaling the shooter or shooting a poison dart at the president. It's also been suggested by some conspiracy theorists that the Vice President, Lyndon Johnson, ordered that hit on his boss.
It was Johnson that set up the Warren Commission in part to put an end to the chatter that he was responsible for the assassination. But the chatter continues. Especially since as Shenon found, so much evidence was destroyed.
SHENON: President Kennedy dies Friday. On Saturday night, his original autopsy report and notes from autopsy room are pushed into one of the doctor's fireplaces where they're turned to ash. The next day you have FBI agents in Dallas shredding a note Oswald left for them a few weeks earlier, a handwritten note. We will never know what was in that note and it was flushed down the toilet. Over time, more and more evidence would disappear from government files.
KAYE (on camera): Which only feeds the conspiracies.
SHENON: Absolutely. There are so many conspiracy theories created by the government supposedly trying to combat them.
KAYE: Randy Kaye, CNN, New York.
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WHITFIELD: Be sure to watch tomorrow night that CNN film, "The Assassination Of President Kennedy." This film part of a special look at the '60s airs at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Comedian Andy Kaufman was known for quirky humor. He also joked he would fake his own death one day. So did he? We do some digging next.
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WHITFIELD: They say legends never die, so when it comes to comedian Andy Kaufman, there's a rumor he is still alive. A woman has come forward claiming to be Kaufman's daughter. His brother also said he had gotten a letter from the comedian saying he faked his death in the 1980s. Is it just a hoax? Miguel Marquez did some digging.
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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His comedy, mysteriously funny. Andy Kaufman from episode one of "Saturday Night Live," October 11, 1975, and there he is being beaten in the world of wrestling, funny to a bizarre degree, his brilliance, the line between comedy and reality never clear. The Kaufman, Lawler played out on the "David Letterman Show."
The feud, fiction, so the news that he might be alive? The 2011 documentary, the death of Andy Kaufman, a serious study of whether he faked his own death, it is a possibility kept alive since he was buried. So when a woman claiming to be Kaufman's daughter, along with his brother made a convincing bid he might be alive, the rumor mill turned again.
According to his death certificate, Andy Kaufman died May 16, 1984 at Cedar Sinai Hospital in West Hollywood, California. When asked if there was any chance he faked his own death, the L.A. coroner put it bluntly Andy Kaufman is dead. His comedy lives on. We'd like to think he does, too. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Hollywood.
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WHITFIELD: All right, we're going to hear from Andy Kauffman's brother tomorrow at 3:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
We have much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all starts right now.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories from the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanksgiving break is just around the corner, but Princeton University students may need to get an emergency vaccine before going home to help stop the spread of a rare and dangerous strain of meningitis.
