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Sheets Of Ice Crash Onto Cars In Dallas; Last Photo Shows Mandela, Great Grandson; Saying Goodbye To An Icon; Report: Madoff Blames Others For His Con; American, U.S. Airways Make World's Largest Airline; Student Killed During Traffic Stop; 49 People Charged In Nine-Year Scheme To Defraud Medicaid Of Nearly $500,000

Aired December 09, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And in Yonkers, New York, look at that pile up. Police say 30 people were injured in a 24-plus car pileup on the Bronson Parkway last night. The weather is also causing a rather unusual problem. Jason Whitely from our affiliate WFAA has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON WHITELY, WFAA REPORTER (voice-over): Warmer weather was a welcome change on Sunday, but it came at a cost in Plano.

UNIDENTIFIE FEMALE: Holy, freaking Moley.

NICOLE JAIME, PLANO, TEXAS RESIDENT: I mean, my dog started barking and I heard the ice breakaway from the roof. You could hear it.

WHITELY: Nicole Jamie watched from the fifth floor and recorded this clip. Sheets of ice slid off the roofs at north side Legacy and Parkside of Legacy. Here is another angle. Watch the vehicles bounce there. Ice came down like bricks. Shredding trees and shattering windows and crushing cars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow. It's horrible. I hope they have insurance. I'm glad that nobody was walking their dogs because we have a lot of dogs in this neighborhood.

WHITELY: And that is remarkable. Sidewalks just happened to be empty. No one hurt. Leaving cars as the only casualty. We counted at least eight of them damaged or destroyed -- by melting ice falling five stories.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Those cars, that is amazing. It's so lucky that no one was hurt there. Indra Petersons joins me now live. Indra, you know, we have pretty cold weather here in the east coast. When are we going to see the temperatures starting to rise?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That the big question. All right, everyone wants me to say quickly, but that is not going to be the case. Let's talk about what we have seen and then we'll get into what we're expecting to see. The snow totals, a good 8 inches of snow over in Philly. In New York, it was beautiful, just a hint, about 1/10 of an inch in Manhattan yesterday.

But it is the ice that's been the biggest concern. They definitely haven't been able to be looked, seeing any relief from that. We were talking about that YouTube video they showed us. They were talking about why can't these planes take off? Snow is very different than the freezing rain. This morning in Dallas, it's been freezing fog.

And even freezing rain into the northeast of the places like Connecticut saw just under a quarter of an inch. Also we saw that in Jersey and down towards Virginia they saw about a quarter of an inch of ice. Things are looking so much better. However, there's still a chance for snow. Not really the big concern.

But kind of in towards the northeast we'll see that exit off. And keep in mind, there is another system out there. Just as one leaves, while on the tail end, another low is forming. All you need to know, more snow on the way. So overnight tonight in through tomorrow, we're still going to be talking about snow even more than we saw yesterday.

About one inch to three inches expected. Look at all these states, all feeling that chill am and it's not going to change for some time. Once we get into the rest of the week, slowly it's going to take time to rebound. We're still going to be talking about these temperatures feeling like there a good 20, 30 degrees below normal.

BERMAN: Yes, minus 30 tends to feel rather unpleasant. Indra Petersons, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

A special moment to show you between Nelson Mandela and his great grandson, it's believed to be the last photo taken of the iconic leader. Take a look at this picture. It was just taken in May, a month before Mandela was hospitalized. Mandela's grandson who is the boy's father told the "Daily Mail" that he took the picture believing that it might be the last time to capture them together. This is being released as world leaders prepare to attend memorials this week in Mandela's honor. Chris Cuomo is in Johannesburg.

CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": Hi, John. Here in Johannesburg, the long goodbye is in full effect. In front of Mandela's house here, the celebration is taking on the character of the man himself. There's a complexity, a lot of dancing and singing. But at the same time there's a sense of purpose that reflects what's going on inside the family's home where they're grieving for the loss of a loved one who meant so much to them and so much to the entire world as we're now learning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (voice-over): Tuesday will see the largest gathering of world leaders in Africa's history. The massive soccer stadium here was big enough for the World Cup. But the 90,000 seats will hold a fraction of the mourners coming to celebrate the man who represented the promise of South Africa.

Leaders from at least a dozen countries will be here. United States President Obama as well as two former presidents, Presidents Clinton and Bush, as well as their wives will be in attendance with many other American dignitaries. They will be joined by the leaders of at least a dozen other countries and more are continuing to join.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But here, this guy was the greatest.

CUOMO: On Sunday, thousands packed places of worship in Pretoria and Soweto. Many still baring marks of the anti-apartheid fight, different creeds and colors honoring the same man as father.

JULE SICOSANA, PAYING TRIBUTE TO MANDELA: This is a special mass for Mr. Mandela. He said peace and so we must hold that peace so that where he is, he'll be very pleased.

CUOMO: Tears and cheers capturing the loss and love for Tata or father as South Africans called Mandela. The makeshift memorials here outside Mandela's Johannesburg home continue to grow, but the greatest memorial may be the faces, black and white together, parents bring children who will live a life Madiba help made possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were born free in South Africa. They experience all the fruit.

CUOMO: With pride and a legacy, there is also loss. One man has Mandela's image on his car and says he hasn't been able to sleep or eat since he heard the news.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can I live without Madiba? I'm so sad.

CUOMO: The long goodbye will continue all week, adding to the legend and legacy of Nelson Mandela.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: We really have been seeing a combination of loss, reverence, and responsibility. It's all kind of teeing up with promises what to be an epic memorial tomorrow, John. You know, if you think about it not since the death of John Paul II, the pope, have we seen this type of outpouring of support from around the world. And we're not even sure if everyone is coming yet. Just to think, four U.S. presidents, 95 dignitaries from around the world and so many people packing the soccer stadium tomorrow, John. It promises to be a moment for the ages.

BERMAN: All right, thanks to Chris Cuomo. A celebration the likes of which we have not seen in generation.

It's seven minutes after the hour right now. In the biggest Ponzi scheme in history came crashing down five years ago this week. But to hear him talk about it now, he sounds anything but remorseful. In a rare prison interview, Madoff says that he felt trapped into the con by other people. He also, in a way, blamed his clients. Madoff blames the victims.

An article appears in today's "The Wall Street Journal." I have to say it is a remarkable read because he ruined, Bernie Madoff, you can argue ruined scores of people. But in your interview he seems to suggest that they should have known better.

SITAL PATEL, REPORTER, MARKETWATCH: Absolutely. Yes. He said that a lot of -- the majority of his investors were sophisticated and they should have known better to invest in his fund. If you recall, he was very secretive about his fund on Wall Street. And nobody was allowed to ask any questions. If they did, they weren't allowed to invest. And a lot of people invested without asking any questions and he said they shouldn't have done that.

BERMAN: So prison hasn't apparently made him remorseful. Are there any other ways that it has or hasn't changed him?

PATEL: Well, it's been five years. It's a five-year anniversary coming up for - since he was caught and he did talk a lot about how he did try to get out of it, but he felt like he was pushed into it by others. And he also talked a lot about how the banks on Wall Street were complicit in his fraud. He said they knew what was going on and he could have got caught any time. He said the regulators had done their job, he would have been caught.

BERMAN: And the personal side of your interview, also fascinating. Madoff saying he's got nobody. He's all alone.

PATEL: That's right. He said he has 300 minutes to speak on the telephone. You know on the pay phone. But he has no one to talk to. His -- nobody in his immediate family talks to him. His wife refuses to talk to him. His remaining living son won't talk to him. His brother who was sentenced to ten years in prison in South Carolina, he won't talk to him. The only people that visit him are his wife's nieces' daughters and they go to a college nearby. But he says he doesn't have anyone to talk to.

BERMAN: There are a couple of other things that I found fascinating in your piece, one, you know, far be it for anybody these days to take investment advice from Bernie Madoff, but he does have opinions on the market today.

PATEL: Absolutely, yes. He had a lot to say about it. Well, he said, you know, if he had any money today, which of course he's in federal prison, he said if he had any money he wouldn't invest it in the market. He doesn't think it's fair for the individual investor. He thinks that, you know, big firms on Wall Street and other financial firms have a much bigger advantage than individual investors.

And he called the Federal Reserve stimulus the greatest manipulation in history. So that was interesting. But, yes, he doesn't have a lot of faith in Wall Street and he doesn't have a high opinion on hedge funds. He thinks they should be more regulated. So, yes, he was quite opinionated on that.

BERMAN: And he gets asked about investments all the time. There are people looking for advice from Bernie Madoff.

PATEL: Right, he said inmates ask him all the time for investment advice and even the prison guards. And at one point there was talk in the prison about him teaching a class on how to invest in the stock market. And according to him the prison warden mixed the idea because he thought it would be bad publicity for the prison.

BERMAN: And it is a fascinating article in today's "The Wall Street Journal." Sital Patel, thank you so much for being with us. I appreciate it.

PATEL: Thanks for having me.

BERMAN: All right, still to come for us, American and U.S. Airways teaming up to be the world's largest airline. We'll tell you about the winners and losers in the deal. I will also talk with the CEO of the new megacarrier, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: After overcoming a series of legal hurdles, the world's largest airline is set to take flight. American Airlines and U.S. Airways are teaming up in a deal that is expected to close today. The new company will be called American Airlines and it will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL. For now, you will book tickets on both the American and U.S. Airways brands, that's until the merger proceeds, which is expected -- the process, which is expected to take about 18 to 24 months. Until that's completed, you book separately.

Joining me now from Dallas is the man charged with leading this new company, American Airlines CEO, Doug Parker, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

DOUG PARKER, CEO, AMERICAN AIRLINES: Of course, thank you.

BERMAN: So one of American Airlines major hubs Dallas-Fort Worth, has been hit pretty hard by this winter storm that we are all talking about. More than 400 departures canceled today. We've heard about hundreds of people literally sleeping in the airport. Do you have any messages for the customer stuck there?

PARKER: Well, it's certainly been a very difficult weekend here in Dallas-Fort Worth with this ice storm and our people are doing a wonderful job of taking care of a very difficult situation for our customers. And fortunately our customers are largely understanding of that we can't do much about the weather. The airport is gradually starting to come back.

But it's unfortunately staying cold enough that the ice has melted to the way we would like. Our challenge right now is making sure that we take care of people in the interim. And our team has done a really nice job of that.

BERMAN: So this merger making you the biggest airline in the world. The process expected to take 18 to 14 months to fully implement. What are the first changes that customers are likely to see?

PARKER: Well, as we head -- as of today, right here before the holiday season, we made the choice not to try to put a lot of disruption of our customers or employees as we merge these two airlines. You won't see much today that's dramatically different other than signage in airports. But shortly after the New Year, we will begin implementing changes, such as frequent fliers being able to earn their miles on other airline.

Things that are incredibly important to our frequent flier customers. We'll start to roll in sometime in early January and gradually over time you'll see the schedules begin to get combined. Eventually through one combined network. It going to be a gradual processes of enhancements that going to result in an airline that's better than any other in the world.

BERMAN: One of the big concerns when we see all of these airline mergers is that competition goes down and there's a lot of fear among consumers that prices going to go up. Will you pledge to American Airlines customers and U.S. Airways customers, that you will not be raising prices?

PARKER: There are all sorts of things that impact prices, fuel, demand, the general economy, they all come in to how we set our prices. This merger won't have any impact on that. This is a merger of two airlines that are highly complementary, only 12 of our routes overlap over 900 routes. We're not going to put these two airlines together.

We need all the airplanes we have. We need all the employees. So we are not going to put the airlines together and reduce the supply of seats. Nothing about this merger should therefore change in prices that wouldn't have happened otherwise. This merger is not going to be one thing that changes prices.

BERMAN: The business in some ways seems to be getting slam I will be sitting here with you in two or three years talking about how American is merging with Delta and United? And what's to keep it from more mergers?

PARKER: I don't know. First off, we anti-trust laws, which we had to pass through this merger that going to ensure that any mergers that happen in the future need to be competitive. This one certainly is. I don't know that there are other large mergers in our future. What I know is we have a very competitive industry now.

The merger of U.S. Airways and American creates a third competitor for the larger Delta and United. That now makes us all essentially about the same size and being able to compete with each other for international traffic for the kind of global traffic around the United States and world.

With a serious amount of competition from airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue and other competitors in the United States, so it's an intensely competitive business. I don't know that we're going to see any other large mergers in the future. But this one I know is very good for competition.

BERMAN: A lot of people who fly domestically quite a bit talk about the age of the fleeted and inflight experience. What are your immediate plans to improve the inflight experience on American?

PARKER: Well, we have a hundreds of aircraft on order between American and U.S. airways that will be used to come into the fleet and replace some other aircraft that are indeed getting toward the end of their useful life. So we will be upgrading the fleet. One of the big initiatives that we have we're putting two airlines together.

But the other thing, as now with an airline the size of United and Delta, you'll see the three of us that have the ability to fly pretty much all over the world. We'll need to compete more on the inflight product and not just the schedule itself. I think that will be good for consumers as well.

BERMAN: Doug Parker, the CEO of American Airlines, thank you so much for being with us. Congratulations on the merger. Thanks for taking my U.S. air miles. I appreciate it.

PARKER: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Jury selection begins today in a murder trial of a Montana woman accused of push be her new husband off a cliff. Prosecutors say Jordan Linn Graham pushed her husband, Cody Johnson, over a cliff in Glacier National Park just eight days after they were married. The defense says this is a case of self-defense after the couple got in a heated argument.

Friends and family of a college student want to know what caused a campus cop to allegedly shoot and kill a star student after pulling him over for a traffic stuff. Those who knew Robert Redus describe him as sweet and gentle. Many gathered this weekend to remember him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to think that he's gone like he was here three days ago. We just saw him. And closure is one of those things that's going to take time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The story doesn't really make sense to any of us and I think we're mostly just angry and want answers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The officer who is accused of killing him says the 23-year- old approached him and started the struggle. The police will not release any more details citing the ongoing investigation.

Eleven more pilot whales have been found dead in Florida. That brings the number that have died in the last week to 22. Officials believe the whales are part of a pod of 51 whales stranded near Everglades National Park. Scientists are working to find out what's killing them.

Still to come for us, imagine waking up on a flight and being the only person left in a dark, empty cabin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I woke up and the lights were out. I was like, what's going on?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Hear him tell you how it happened and how in the world he got off that plane. That's ahead this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, this just in to CNN, 49 people, including some current and former Russian diplomats have been charged in a Medicaid fraud scheme. What's new today? It doesn't appear that it's just a case of stealing, but also spying as well. Let's get the latest from CNN justice reporter Evan Perez. And again, Evan, this isn't just a case of stealing from the U.S. government but spying on the government too?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Right, John. Well, it looks like these are Russian spies who were posing as poor people, according to sources we've talked to. They apparently were defrauding the government, the Medicaid program of $1.5 million over the past nine years. And now these are 49 Russian diplomats and their wives, some of them still in the country.

They have diplomatic immunity so it's not clear whether they can be arrested. Probably they can't unless the Russian government allows it. Now, this is part of a back and forth between the united states and Russia over spying, if you remember in 2010, there was a group called "The Illegals" who were accused of posing as entrepreneurs, business people and being sleeper agents for the Russian spy service.

And earlier this year the Russians decided to expose a CIA spy that they said was trying to meet people wearing wigs. In this case, we're told that this -- these allegations about spying, they just didn't have enough to bring a case against these 49 or against the 11 that remain in this country.

But the allegations of defrauding Medicaid, which is the program to provide for the poor, is probably more embarrassing to the Russian government than even any spying allegations - John.

BERMAN: Is there a connection between the fraud and the spying or were they here allegedly to spy and just because they had the time, decided to billing Medicaid in the meantime?

PEREZ: That's one of the many questions that remain unanswered. A lot of the people who work as diplomats, especially for the Russian embassy are believed to also be doing spy duty. The FBI says that that kind of activity is at its highest point since the Cold War. So it's not clear whether this was all a game to defraud the government.

The attorney in Manhattan says that this was one big corrupt group of diplomats who were spending some of this money that they were saving on their medical care they were spending it at Prada and Bloomingdales. So again, many unanswered questions on that -- John.

BERMAN: Embarrassing to say the least. The U.S. and Russia have a lot to talk about here. Evan Perez, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it. Still to come for us, icy roads and heavy snow causing plenty of this across the country, crashes, huge pileups. We're going to have a live report from along New Jersey's heavily traveled turnpike. That's just ahead.

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