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Nation Remembers JFK Assassination Today; FCC To Consider In- Flight Cellphone Calls; Harry Reid Defends "Nuclear" Option; Three San Jose State Students Charged With A Hate Crime Against Black Roommate

Aired November 22, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And already we're seeing the crowd beginning to fill up 5,000 invited people. You have to have a ticket to get into Dealey Plaza today. All the streets surrounding Dealey Plaza are cordoned off for this ceremony. Officially, it is the first the city of Dallas has gone through this official ceremony commemorating this day. And city officials are quick to point out is what they don't want this day to be about is the way President Kennedy was assassinated here on the streets of Dallas. They want this to be a celebration of his life.

The sound checks have been going on in preparations for today's event. I was talking a little while ago about how surreal it is. You've seen these images played out on the large screens out here in the Dealey Plaza, images of Camelot, the video images of John Kennedy and Jacqueline Onassis and other families. These incredible archival photographs that are playing here just feet away from where President Kennedy was assassinated on Elm Street.

We're standing over just in the shadows of the sixth floor window. But this is a ceremony that will take place. We will hear from the mayor of Dallas and then we will also hear from historian David McCullough who will read experts of speeches that President Kennedy gave over the course of his life. And then a moment of silence and bells will toll across the city of Dallas.

And then there will be a new monument dedicated here in memory of John Kennedy as well and it will be inscribed with the final paragraph, John and Christine, of the speech he was on his way to give here in Dallas that afternoon. A speech where there was a room full of people waiting for the president to arrive, November 22nd, 1963.

And it was actually just the motorcade whizzed past that building because he had been shot and Parkland Hospital was just passed the Trademark Building where he was supposed to give that speech. They had raced to the emergency room as doctors tried to save his life. But that moment that will be dedicated here today will have the last paragraph of the speech that he was supposed to give that day.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: There was so much shock really and horror inside that room when they heard that the president would not be coming because of what happened. And today is a really important day in many ways for Dallas. As you said, it's the first official commemoration of this day and they want it to be about President Kennedy's life. It's been a strange last few days in some ways though in Dallas, protests at this site where you're standing right now yesterday.

LAVANDERA: Yes, we saw a little bit of that yesterday. You know, what's interesting here, is on the grassy knoll which is just off to the right over here, this is where the conspiracy theorists. I mean, and this is what I think might still surprised a lot of people from around the world, John, still flock here. And they come here and you see them every day standing on the streets. They look up at the sixth floor window.

It's like if they're trying to imagine what it must have been like to be here on that day. But on November 22nd, every year, mostly conspiracy theorists, they observe their own moment of silence. They're not allowed in this area today, in the streets that are cordoned off. A lot of these folks will be getting together.

And as we're talking about how the polling showing how popular President Kennedy still is today, a lot of that polling, same polling, still also suggests that the majority of Americans don't believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. So a lot of those people in the area today, but they will not be part of the official ceremony that we see here this afternoon.

BERMAN: All right, thank you so much, Ed Lavandera in Dallas today. And of course, CNN will have live coverage of the events when they begin. These events start sometime in the noon hour today.

And tonight, CNN brings you a film that puts you on the ground as the shooting happened. It really looks at the whole controversy that Ed was talking about that still surrounds the president's death and the report from the Warren Commission. You can watch "The Assassination Of President Kennedy." It begins tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 22-year ban could soon come to an end and that means talking on your cell phone while flying just might become a reality.

BERMAN: Say it isn't so, but it so whether you consider the idea annoying or convenient, the FCC will consider a proposal at its next meeting in December to allow fliers to make voice calls in flight.

ROMANS: Back in 2004, the FCC considered lifting the ban, but changed its mind after a lot of opposition and uncertainly over the technical details of this. CNN's Alexandra Field live outside the Laguardia airport in New York. And boy, someone is going to make some money, I just know it. Hi, Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is the big question this morning, Christine. We're out here and asking people what they think about a policy that would allow them to talk to their heart's content on board a flight. And I think that one passenger really put it perfectly. I asked him and he told me, yes, I want to be able to use my cell phone during flight. But no, I don't want you to be able to use your cell phone.

So there is that nuisance factor, but beyond that, some passengers are wondering would they be subject to some high roaming fees and would the airlines find way to tag some extra fees on the idea of talking. Here is what passengers are saying at LaGuardia this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I probably would choose to sit in a quiet section to be honest.

FIELD: If you had to pay more?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, even if I had to pay more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like the rudeness of people on cell phones in other public places, and when you're trapped on a plane, I don't think it's correct to listen to everybody talking on at phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is too annoying, too many people talking all at one time in a confined area, very confusing.

FIELD: It's good for an emergency or something.

So the FCC will be talking about the proposal during a meeting scheduled for December. After that there could be a public comment hearing. They say any situation that is loud, divisive and possibly disruptive is not only unwelcome but also unsafe. So you know where they stand on this one -- Christine, John.

ROMANS: So, all right, we've discussed whether it could be really annoying. My question is would it become a revenue stream, Alexandra, for the airlines? I guess that remains to be seen.

FIELD: Right. That's something that we're going to have to see as time goes along. This proposal is still again subject to review, but passengers are pointing to the fact that we're already paying baggage fees, fees for extra leg room, food. And they're certainly wondering if they will have to pay more either to sit in a section of the plane where they would be allowed to talk or in a quiet section of the plane. But it's up to the airlines to even decide if they want them to be used.

ROMANS: Alexandra Field, thank you so much.

BERMAN: All we're saying is give peace a chance. That's all I'm saying at least. All right, Alexandra, thank you so much.

ROMANS: Is there no --

BERMAN: Republicans today outraged over Senate Democrats after they launched what's known as the nuclear option, which ends the power to filibuster. Yesterday's historic rule change allows the Senate to end debate on nominations, which is 51 votes instead of 60. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid defended the change saying that it was needed to end the Washington gridlock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPP)

SENATOR HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: So this is not just about Republicans versus Democrats. This is about doing what is right for this institution to evolve and remain responsive to the needs our country has. And we have not been doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Republicans warn the move will hurt bipartisanship and. And the myriad of problems plaguing the Obamacare rollout is -- the troubled launch, billions of cancellation notices going out in the mail. Some Democrats feel that the fallout could hurt them in the 2014 mid-term election.

BROWN: No Republican are doing everything they can to maximize the damage. CNN's Athena Jones joins us from Washington. What can you tell us about the plan to capitalize on the Obamacare mess?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine. Well part of this effort is set to kick off right about now in North Carolina. They're holding a field hearing with voters to talk about the sky-high insurance premiums that Republicans saying are coming because of Obamacare. This is just one though, of their many launch of attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (voice-over): Have staged around the health care law and it's error plagued web site.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's now obvious that the realty of the president's health care simply doesn't match the promises that incident match the promises that he made to the American people to sell it.

JONES: More than seven weeks away, congressional Republicans continue to exploit it.

REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CANTOR (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Young adults are now witnessing the increase in the health care cost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is taking away our health care plans.

JONES: Their goal, to create a public ground, a gamble they hope will pay off for the GOP in next year's midterm elections.

REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIRMAN: It looks like any Democrat in a serious re-election fight is neither nor proud to run on Obamacare.

JONES: The playbook aims to keep the focus on what they say is a bad law and keep the pressure on the White House and Democrats in Congress. It calls on GOP members to use social media, digital fliers and videos to share talking points about rising premiums and Americans losing their health plans and access to their doctors. They're collecting Obama care horror stories. But Democrats are quick to point out, the playbook has no counter proposals or fixes.

REPRESENTATIVE STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: They do not have a playbook to create jobs. They do not have a playbook to build infrastructure. They do not have a playbook to reform immigration. They don't even have a budget. They don't have a playbook to actually fix a broken health care system. JONES: President Obama continues to suffer in the polls, his approval rating plummeting to 41 percent, an all time low in CNN polling. With 50 percent of many Americans saying Republican more influence over the country in the next year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for the administration, at least in some states. California health officials say that 10,000 people a day were signing up for health insurance on that state's exchange as of last week. On the flip side, Californian health officials also voted on Thursday to reject the president's fix that would allow insurance policies that don't comply with Obamacare to keep them. California is not going to allow them to do that -- Christine, John.

ROMANS: All right, Athena Stones in Washington, thanks, Athena. Still to come, a Massachusetts state chemist faked test results in criminal cases, put thousands of convictions at risk and now she may be headed to jail. We are going to have the latest on that stunning case.

BERMAN: And we continue to honor the late President John F. Kennedy. He was shot and killed 50 years ago today. And that Arlington National Cemetery, the eternal flame, stands at the site of his grave to remember his life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: It's 15 minutes past the hour. Virginia State Senator Creigh Deed has been released from the hospital this morning. He was stabbed during a fight with his son earlier this week and was admitted to the hospital in critical condition from those stab wounds. His son was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

BERMAN: Good news for the Colorado motorists. The last of the highways damaged by September's flooding will re-open on Tuesday. That beats the December 1st deadline for reopening all 27 highways. A total of 485 miles of highway damaged or destroyed by the massive flooding there and some dangerous weather from overnight to tell you about. In Riverside, California, several people had to be rescued from an overflowing river. A man clinging to a tree and four other people stranded on an island down river.

BOLDUAN: A helicopter was called in to pull them to safety. Indra Petersons is here to tell us more on the crazy weather.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You can see a big swirl here. The low pressure system that's bringing all the rain into California and look at Arizona, let's talk about why they're getting so much rain when this is not the beginning of the rainy season. That's Hawaii. This has been fueling into the region for the last several days. You can see the heavy rain.

Phoenix has already broken the record for the amount of rainfall today, all thanks to a system dropping farther down to the south, and so heavy rain with that in the south. And another three to five inches possible in through Arizona. That is a big deal. This is an area that doesn't see this kind of rain in a sort period of time. Flooding concerns are high for that region.

And the opposite side is a winter storm warning. One to two feet of snow into Colorado and northern portions of New Mexico and that's one of the systems. The other one that's going to affect pretty much everyone else is going to be the one in the Midwest yesterday. Today it will be trailing across into the mid Atlantic and northeast. We're talking about temperatures a good 20 degrees below normal as we get into Sunday and even possibly a little bit of snow.

ROMANS: I refuse to process any of that information.

BERMAN: Refuse to accept that. But anyway, thank you, Indra. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: Prosecutors say a San Jose State University freshman was terrorized by his roommates.

BERMAN: This is a shocking story. Let's get the details from CNN's Dan Simon. Good morning, Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why can't you just -- police report, you just want to shake your head. It's absolutely unbelievable. Police say the victim in this case endured what could only be described as an extreme form of racism and taunting, and this went on for a few months. Let's just talk about a few things here. He had a bike lock placed around his neck, one of those u-shaped bike chains.

There were Nazi and Confederate symbols in the dorm room, including images of Adolf Hitler. There was the "n" word scribbled on a dry eraser board. And he also suffered verbal threats as well. He was referred to as 3/5 If you're a student of history, that refers to the Constitution's original formula for county slaves as 3/5 of a person.

When the student objected, they started calling him fraction. Now university official officials have apologized for what happened, but they haven't said what if anything could have been done differently. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM NANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT AFFAIRS, SJSU: Stunning to me that it would be able to continue for a period of time without somebody saying this just isn't right, it just doesn't make sense whether that's a student in the room, whether it's a student down the hall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Now, the student in this case, the alleged victim, tried to stay below the radar. He didn't tell anybody, but when his parents came to visit him in the dorm room, they saw some of this ugly stuff on the walls and they alerted housing officials who then alerted police. This is how some of the people on campus are talking about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: What do you feel should happen to the people who were charged?

CHRISTOPHER RAMOS, SAN JOSE STATE FRESHMAN: I think they really should be kicked out of the university like there's no tolerance for any of that kind of actions. It's something that shouldn't be tolerated at all.

SIMON: Hearing the allegations, what went through your mind?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honestly, anger. I'm pissed. What hurts me is that this kid felt like there was no outlet for him to express what was going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: As we've said, the three students have been charged with battery and hate crimes. If convicted, they could face up to a year in jail. Of course, right now they've been suspended from school. John, Christine, back to you.

BERMAN: The allegations are just shocking. And again it raises the questions as that student said, how could this go on for so long? Dan Simon, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: All right, in just a few hours it will be exactly 50 years since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

BERMAN: Today we're remembering the man and legacy. Coming up we're going to ask, where would he fit on the political spectrum today?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: At about 1:30 Eastern Time will be exactly 50 years since President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas. And the people there and across the nation are commemorating his death. After all, JFK is the most popular president of the last half century with 90 percent of people today approving of the job that he did.

ROMANS: But some historians and experts say he lacked a substantial legislative record. How does he shine so brightly? As David Greenberg writes in the "New Republic," quote, "I would submit that Kennedy's hold on us stems from the way he used the presidency, his commitment to exercising his power to address social needs. His believe that government could harness expert knowledge to solve problems, in short, from his liberalism."

BERMAN: David Greenberg is a professor of history and journalism at Rutgers University. He joins us right now. A very provocative piece in the "New Republic," I have to say I love it. Is the message that he was a big government liberal, that's why he's remembered fondly?

DAVID GREENBERG, HISTORY AND JOURNALISM PROFESSOR, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Well, something like that. I mean, that's a phrase that has come to us after years of conservative backlash. So he probably wouldn't have used exactly that phrase. But there are lots of statements where Kennedy speaks enthusiastically about the power of the federal government to address social problems and inequality, problems that no other institution in American life besides the federal government can address. And Kennedy believed in that.

ROMANS: He was there just two and a half short years so what are the policies that he embraced that have lived on beyond him?

GREENBERG: Right. So legislatively, he did not get most of his agenda through. He had a block of Republicans doing, but conservative Democrats who were standing in the way of a lot of his agenda. But he put it on the table. He was the one first talked about a war on poverty. He was the one who first introduces the landmark civil rights bill.

Again, it's passed under Johnson. He introduces a radical economic stimulus bill that puts hands in the money of the middle class to get the economy moving after the Eisenhower years. So JFK launched these things. He didn't see them through to completion, but they were part of his philosophy part of his agenda.

BERMAN: These days have been analyzed so much and you have people coming down on both sides of almost every issue. People saying he was conservative on more than policy, liberal on foreign policy, he was a tax cutter, he was a spender. What's your view?

GREENBERG: I think the view that the fact that everybody wants to claim him as their own says something special about Kennedy. There are arguments that he's a conservative. I don't buy them he did cut taxes but not a demand side tax cut not a supply side tax cut, which I'm sure some of our viewers know. It means it is spreading money broadly around not hoping it will trickle down from the top.

On foreign policy, he was a cold war liberal. We sometimes think liberals were all soft and squishy on the cold war, absolutely not. The mainstream liberal position was strongly anti-communist and Kennedy was well within that mainstream. But compared to Nixon, who wanted to go to war to defend two tiny islands off the coast of China, he said in that 1960 debate that that would be an irresponsible use of American power. So he also believed in certain limits in how far we could go in using the military to fight communism.

ROMANS: How do you think he has influenced modern day politics and modern day liberalism?

GREENBERG: Well, I think above all, he kind of continues to hold out this inspiring ideal, this notion that government can be used for a positive good that the nation can be rallied to hire purposes. Right now, trust in government, these surveys, do you think government does the right thing most or all of the time? I think 19 percent, 17 percent. Under Kennedy, it was up in the 70 percent.

BERMAN: But his death probably contributed, was the beginning of the down fall, I think, in some ways of the trust in government. GREENBERG: Right. I think in some sense I think the Kennedy assassination was looked back on as a time where everything kind of went off the rail. There were the accomplishments in Johnson's presidency immediately after Kennedy's death. But when we look back from Watergate ten years later and we ask where did this high promise of the '60s go wrong? The assassination seems like the hinge of history.

BERMAN: Professor David Greenberg, we can talk to you forever, but we have to let you go. Appreciate you being here.

GREENBERG: My pleasure.

BERMAN: CNN, of course, will have live coverage of the events in Dallas when they begin. That happens in the noon hour today. Do not forget to set your DVR. Stay up and watch our special presentation. It's called "The Assassination of President Kennedy." It's a film by Tom Hanks and you can see it only on CNN tonight at 10:00 p.m.