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NSA Weights Amnesty for Snowden; Holiday Shopper Killed in Mall Carjacking; School Shooting Victim in a Coma; Budget Proposal Up for a Vote in the Senate; Google Moves into Military robotics; First MLB Player Diagnosed with CTE; Stocks Worst Drop Since August

Aired December 16, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank so much for joining me.

A jaw-dropping admission from the man who leads an NSA task force. Amnesty should be on the table when it comes to Edward Snowden. In other words, Snowden took the keys to the kingdom to Russia and who knows? He could spill more damaging secrets at any time, secrets that could damage our national security.

That assessment comes from Richard Ledgett, the man who heads the NSA task force on Snowden. Here's what he said about amnesty on "60 Minutes."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He's already said, "If I got amnesty, I would come back." Given the potential damage to national security, what would your thought on making a deal be?

TICK LEDGETT, HEAD OF NSA TASK FORCE ON SNOWDEN LEAKS: So my personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about. I would need assurances that the remainder of the data could be secured and my bar for those assurances would be very high. It'd be more than just an assertion on his part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Amnesty is not on the table at the moment but could it be?

CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is at the White House this morning.

Hi, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, I think at the very least it's on Rick Ledgett's table, that official that you just quoted there in the "60 Minutes '"story, when he said that it's worth having a conversation about in terms of granting Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor, amnesty for all of those documents, all of that classified information that he leaked to the news media.

I did talk to a senior administration official earlier this morning who emphasized that is that official's opinion, it is not the opinion of the administration or of this White House.

And I want to throw up on screen, Carol, a quote that was given to us by the National Security spokeswoman, Kaitlin Hayden, with respect to that interview last night on "60 Minutes" about Edward Snowden. It says, quote, "There's been no change in U.S. policy on this issue. Mr. Snowden is charged with a felony and he should return home to face those charges, where he will be afforded all due process."

And, Carol, that is consistent with everything that we have heard from White House press secretary Jay Carney and other administration officials throughout this process. They believe Edward Snowden has committed a variety, a whole slew of crimes, really, in leaking this data to the news media and they feel like he should be returned home from Russia. They're still pressing the Russians to return Edward Snowden to the United States so he can face those charges.

On a separate front we should also report something that occurred late Friday, and that is this advisory group that has been advising the White House on what should be done about NSA intelligence gathering processes. That group came back with its recommendations late last Friday, that report went to the president. The president is reviewing that. The White House is reviewing that report.

They plan to make it public in January when the president issues his own recommendations as to what should be done over at the NSA in terms of those intelligence gathering processes. As we know, they've caused a lot of controversy, not just here in the United States but around the world -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You got that right, Jim Acosta, reporting live from the White House this morning.

A manhunt is on this morning after a young couple out shopping for Christmas presents is carjacked at a New Jersey mall. The husband shot and killed and police are now hunting for whoever did it. The couple was returning to their SUV in the parking deck when two men shot the man in the head and stole their Range Rover. The mall, packed with Christmas shoppers, was put on lockdown.

CNN's Jean Casarez joins me now with more on the story.

Good morning.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, the facts are continuing to come in. But here is what we are learning. This young couple left the mall about 8:30 in the evening yesterday and this is the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey, and they were approaching their car, and the man put the -- his female companion in the passenger seat. He then was circling around the driver's seat, and that's when two African-American suspects came up, shot him in the head. They then took off in the gray silver 2012 Range Rover.

Now, of course he was transported to the hospital. He died at 11:45 last night from that injury to the head. His wife sustained minor injuries. Now we're learning from Katherine Carter, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, they are still searching for this vehicle. They are still searching for these suspects.

I want to show everybody the license plate number, this is New Jersey license plate number U26BVD. It is a 2012 silver Range Rover.

And, carol, this man did pass away so this is a first-degree murder charge that prosecutors will most likely bring at least against one or both of those suspects.

COSTELLO: So sad. Jean Casarez, thanks so much.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Claire Davis, the teenager shot at Arapahoe High School is still in a coma this morning, she's still fighting for her life. We're also learning new, disturbing information about the boy who shot her. His friends say he was angry at being suspended for joking about killing his debate coach. The same coach he came after with a shotgun last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE REDMOND, SHOOTER'S FRIEND: He felt like the suspension had ruined his chances into college and ruined his future. Whenever he'd get angry he'd be like, oh, you know, I just want to -- I just want to shoot everyone up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Casey Wian has more for you. He's live from is Centennial, Colorado.

Good morning, Casey.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, investigators have been going all over this campus all weekend long looking at surveillance video and they say that they have uncovered details that lead them to believe that this rampage could have been much, much worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The school is going on lockdown, I'm not sure why.

WIAN (voice-over): Dispatch recordings, as police rush toward Arapahoe High School following reports of gunfire.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Be advised at this time we do have one student down and they have found shotgun shells.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was terrifying because we heard gunshots.

WIAN: Eighteen-year-old Karl Pierson entered the school, investigators say, bent on revenge. SHERIFF GRAYSON ROBINSON, ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO: Everyone that saw him realized that he was armed with a shotgun. The individual also had a bandalera of multiple rounds of shotgun ammunition strapped across his body, and he was also armed with a machete.

WIAN: Pierson's target his debate coach, Tracy Murphy.

KARL PIERSON, ARAPAHOE GUNMAN: Hi. I'm Karl Pierson, a freshman out of Arapahoe High School in Littleton.

WIAN: Murphy suspended Pierson from the team in September.

ROBINSON: He was looking for one person in specific.

WIAN: Before he could reach his intended target Pierson encountered 17-year-old senior Claire Davis, shooting her apparently at random point blank in the head.

ROBINSON: She was an innocent victim of an evil act of violence.

WIAN: Now she remains in critical condition at a local hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This in no way defines us.

WIAN: At a vigil students lit candles, sang their fight song.

And prayed for their friend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know how much she loves all of you guys and I know how much this would mean to her.

WIAN: The sheriff now praising the school's quick deployment of its Active Shooter Protocol and the fast action of an on-campus deputy who was closing in on Pierson when he fatally shot himself. The whole ordeal over in 80 seconds.

Authorities also hailing Coach Murphy as a hero for attempting to lure Pierson away from the school during his rampage.

ROBINSON: It is my very strong opinion that this individual would not have come to the school armed with a shotgun and multiple rounds of ammunition had he not intended to use those rounds of ammunition to injure multiple people.

WIAN: The sheriff is now vowing never to speak the shooter's name again.

ROBINSON: In my opinion deserves no notoriety and certainly no celebrity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Arapahoe High School will remain closed today and tomorrow. Thursday and Friday officials say students will be able to come back, meet with their teachers, retrieve the belongings that they left during the rampage on Friday, but they don't -- they have not said yet when classes will resume.

It's obviously going to take a lot longer than this week for these students and this community to recover from this horrific shooting -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So, Casey, friends of the students said that, you know, he joked about killing his debate coach. He was suspended for that. Was there anything more the school could have done?

WIAN: Hard to say, Carol. You know, I think they're going to be looking at that, obviously it's going to be part of the investigation. A lot of friends said that he had been exhibiting, you know, angrier behavior because of his suspension from the debate team, but we don't know how much school officials knew about that. And that's something that authorities obviously will be looking into so hopefully we'll have some more answers to that down the road -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Casey Wian reporting live from Littleton, Colorado, this morning.

Let's talk a little politics now. I know, but we must. Lawmakers are preparing for a big test of all that bipartisan holiday spirit they existed last week. As you know, the Republican-led House passed a budget deal. Now it's up to the Democratic-led Senate to follow suit.

Majority leader Harry Reid got the ball rolling by filing a motion to allow a debate and later vote on the proposal.

Some parts of the plan including an end to those forced spending cuts are drawing sharp criticism from several high-profile Republican senators. At least one Republican is on board, though, even if there are no changes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I hope it will pass the Senate. I'll do anything -- not anything but we must not shut down the government again. We can't do that to the people of this country and my state.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Just to nail this down, assuming that this budget package stays the same, you will vote for it?

MCCAIN: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Our chief national correspondent John King is in Washington to talk more about this.

So, John, McCain is on board but Tea Party stalwarts are not. Rubio, Paul, Cruz, will vote no. The Senate needs eight Republican votes to pass. Is it possible this thing will fail?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is possible, Carol, but all of our reporting suggests it will not. First let's show you the public numbers. CNN has been in touch with all of the Senate offices trying to flush out how Senators plan to vote. You need 50 for final passage. I'll get to the 60 number in a minute. But you need 50 for final passage. And look it right here. We have 31 yes votes on the record so far and as you can see most of them Democrats. Twenty-nine of them Democrats.

John McCain, who you just played there, and Susan Collins of Maine, they are the two Republicans on record so far saying they will vote yes. So that gets you to -- the one independent, I'm sorry, also there. So that gets you up, you know, in the 31, 32 range there if you look at the map.

How do we get to 50? Let's look at the nos, we have 21 declared nos and perhaps no surprise. You mentioned some of the Tea Party guys, other conservatives saying they won't vote for this deal. All 21 declared nos are Republicans.

But, Carol, last night and this morning, I've been in touch with a number of sources in both parties. The Democrats are saying they have the votes for passage, they can get at least to 52, maybe a little higher with some Republican help, and I'm assured by Republican sources even though the expectation is that most Republicans will vote no, that when you need 60 votes for procedural hurdles, enough Republicans will vote yes on that so they won't clog up the debate.

They might vote no on final passage but they'll let the legislation get there. That's what they're saying today. Let's watch this play out today and tomorrow.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: You're not kidding. So Democrats and even some Republicans say those voting no on the budget is because of their presidential aspirations. No one is really surprised by this because this is how it works these days, right? So make me less cynical. I'm ready.

KING: Well, you know, there are some philosophical reasons you hear from leaders in both parties. I talked to three Democratic senators yesterday, why aren't there more extended unemployment benefits in this package. That has to be negotiated later. They don't like that. You talk to some Republicans, they say, you know, military retirees are taking a hit on their benefits, they don't like that.

But you're dead right. There is a lot of politics involved in this. No doubt about it. You mentioned the potential 2016 presidential contenders, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, they are nos and that's because the Republican base doesn't like this deal, and that's, you know, what you might call the Tea Party 2016 early caucus there.

And, also, Carol, it's not just 2016. The Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, they're on the ballot next year and they have Tea Party challengers, primary challengers back home, and they've said they're voting no. So 2014 and then 2016 politics are a factor in this without a doubt.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: All right, John King, thanks so much. We'll talk to you again in the next hour.

KING: All right.

COSTELLO: Big dog cheetah, wild cat, no idea what I'm talking about? I'm talking about mobile research robots.

Christine Romans is going to explain.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And just what is Google up to, Carol? Look at some of this technologies, buying the eighth robotics company it's bought now. I'm going to tell you about the Google robot army after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 17 minutes past the hour. New details this morning about Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's mental condition. The "Boston Globe" is reporting he may have heard voices in his head and then he told his mother it felt like two people were inside of him.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a shootout with police following the April bombings. His younger brother is currently awaiting trial and could face the death penalty.

The family of a missing Michigan doctor is pleading for the public's help. Police say someone dropped 30-year-old Talika Patrick off at her car at the medical center where she works. Later that night, Indiana State Police found her car abandoned along the highway. The next day Patrick never showed up for work.

The northeast digging out this morning after this weekend's massive snowstorm. Here is what it looked like in Maine, where 16 inches of snow fell. Albany, New York saw flood and today the storm may be gone but the cold sure is not. Parts of New England and the Midwest are now in deep freeze.

They looked like something out of a sci-fi thriller, a cheetah like robot that can run faster than Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man. A mechanical mutt so strong it can throw cinder blocks across the room. And a human like robot named Petman that looks like a next generation superhero.

Tech giant -- Google, rather, has bought the maker behind these robots, Boston Dynamics, in an effort to expand the company's reach.

So let's bring in CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans.

Interesting.

ROMANS: Good morning. It's interesting, and it's so cool because this is the eighth company that Google has bought in the robotics field and this one really interesting. You saw the pictures there of what it can to. They managed to -- I mean, what you're seeing there just a few years ago would have been sci-fi. But what they've managed to do is really get a range of motion and movement and balance, which is key here.

Balance in some of these robotics that is pretty incredible. So what are we talking about here? We're talking about the supply chain, distribution channels, we're talking about all kinds of places that could be automated where you could put things like this and really revolutionize what we're doing and how we do it.

Now does this mean that you're going to be doing business with a robot in the next couple of years? Probably not. But it does mean there could be robotics in a lot of areas of the economy and business that we haven't seen before and the technology is moving really, really quickly.

I asked recently a guys, Andrew McAfee over at MIT was this sci-fi that we're seeing right here or what kind of -- what kind of technological innovation are we seeing and how important is it -- I want to you listen to what he said, Carol, it's interesting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW MCAFEE, MIT CENTER FOR DIGITAL BUSINESS: Really the biggest economic story in the history of mankind was the first industrial revolution. We're now entering a second machine age brought on by progress in digital technologies, hardware, software, robots, this bundle of stuff that we're seeing now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Carol, a second machine age and Google right at the center of it, buying up these companies, really, really writing the checks and really getting behind this.

COSTELLO: I was just mesmerized by that thing in the woods.

ROMANS: I know.

COSTELLO: Let's hope (INAUDIBLE). I could never do the weather, right?

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: So right there, that's creepy.

ROMANS: That thing -- yes. In the woods.

COSTELLO: So what could you use that thing for?

ROMANS: Well, all of the different kinds of things, how about loading trucks, how about moving things from one part of a warehouse to another. I mean, you've got people in the robotics field who are saying why are we still stocking shelves? I mean, look at just Amazon talking about drone delivery, Google already has driverless cars. What about windshield wipers that you don't have to tell them what to do, they already know what to do. These are the kinds of things that these companies and these technology gurus are inventing and perfecting. Some of -- you know, we've been talking about robots since the '80s but now you're talking about balancing robots, robots that have mostly you want to use them in repetitive kinds of jobs so think about how they can work in a warehouse or stacking trucks, loading docks, really interesting stuff here.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: You're not kidding.

ROMANS: The pictures are kind of creepy. Aren't they?

COSTELLO: They are so creepy.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Christine Romans, thanks for sharing this morning.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a mother constantly worried about her son's concussions on the baseball field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORMA VARGAS, RYAN FREEL'S MOTHER: I could say to Ryan, Ryan, why don't you go to a doctor, have -- you know, have some tests done. And I'm not sure that Ryan thought that his problem was the concussions at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, but those fears turned out to be well-founded. Ryan Freel, the first Major League Baseball player, diagnosed with CTE, a brain injury caused by many concussions during his playing days. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Belcher family desperate for answers has asked that Jovan Belcher's body be exhumed. It's been one year since the NFL linebacker shot his baby's mother then committed suicide at the Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium.

The "Kansas City Star" was first to report this story. Belcher's family wants to know if a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE drove Belcher to kill his girlfriend and then himself.

CTE is a progressive degenerative brain disease that's been diagnosed in some athletes after their deaths. And this condition is a growing concern because researchers think it's linked to multiple concussions, something we often connect to football. But now for the first time a Major League Baseball player has been diagnosed with CTE.

Ryan Freel committed suicide last December. He was known for being fearless on the field, so fearless he suffered multiple concussions during his eight-year career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: He was always very active, very impulsive person. I didn't understand why would he be depressed when he basically had it all.

COSTELLO (voice-over): And Ryan Freel did have it all. A career in the Majors and fans loved him. After all, his style of play was fearless. But it cost him dearly. As many as 10 concussions in eight years, something his mother constantly worried about.

VARGAS: I kept saying to Ryan, Ryan, why don't you go to a doctor, have, you know, have some test done, and I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm not, you know -- I'm not sure that Ryan thought that his problem was the concussions at all.

COSTELLO: Three years after Freel retired, he took a shotgun and killed himself. He was 36 years old.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: If someone has a concussion and it's not recognized because people aren't paying attention to it in a sport like baseball, and then they get another concussion on top of it, that's not just potentially a small problem but that is a potentially lethal problem.

COSTELLO: Increasingly, concussions are sidelining some of baseball's brightest stars. This season alone, 28 Major Leaguers suffered concussions, Twins catcher Joe Mauer, Philly's outfielder Dominic Brown and Tigers catcher Alex Avila among them. Other players including San Diego's Nick Hundley now wonder if they'll be healthy in retirement.

NICK HUNDLEY, PADRES CATCHER: You're responsible to your family first and if you continue to play through concussion stuff and, you know, you see the long-term effects of it, you know, I just had a daughter. You know, that makes it -- puts it in perspective a little bit more.

COSTELLO: Major League Baseball says it's trying to better protect its players. It implemented a seven-day concussion disabled list, separate from the normal 15-day disabled list to encourage more players to admit they have a problem.

DR. GARY GREEN, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, MLB: Now that we've started to identify these injuries, we're going to do is focus on ways of reducing it and one of the things we've done is start to study catcher's helmets.

COSTELLO: MLB is especially concerned about catchers. But Green also says reinforced hats are a possibility for pitchers possibly as soon as next season. Something Tigers ace Max Scherzer told me he welcomes. MAX SCHERZER, TIGERS PITCHER: I'm kind of in a vulnerable spot and there's a lot of balls that come back at me that I don't -- I react even later than most pitchers so, you know, if it's something that's comfortable and something that's practical, I think -- I know personally I would want to wear it.

COSTELLO: But other players and managers are not sold on the idea. In spite of the danger. But for Ryan Freel's family, the risks are not worth a life.

VARGAS: I ask myself just about every day, what have -- what could have done to save Ryan, but you know what? I felt like I did a lot. I -- even the day before he took his life I went to his house and I remember holding -- he was in bed and I held his hand, and I said, "Son, let's go to a counselor." He already was seeking for counseling, and he said, "Don't worry about it, mom, just -- I will Monday. I will start on Monday."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Of course, Freel's brain now shows signs of CTE. Major League Baseball has met with the family. They're talking about what can be done to protect their players in the future. One rule change has already -- one rule change, rather, is already in the works to protect players from possible concussions.

Major League Baseball has approved a ban on home plate collisions. If the player's union signs off on it, that rule would go into effect next season. We'll keep you posted.

Let's talk a little business news now. The Opening Bell about to ring on Wall Street. Investors are keeping a close eye on the market after stocks posted their worst weekly decline since August.

So how soon before we see a rebound? I bet not very long.

CNN's Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.

We're so used to the rollercoaster ride on Wall Street.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, it's not that -- we're not seeing great dips these days but there has been this roller coaster ride. As the Opening Bell rings, we do see stocks starting ever so slightly in positive territory.

You know, as the week goes on, a lot is really going to depend on what the Federal Reserve does on Wednesday at the end of its two-day meeting. Wall Street may get an answer to the $85 billion question, when will the Fed pull back on its stimulus.

You know, it's been throwing $85 billion per month into the economy. It's really been what's been responsible for pushing stocks up 20 percent to 30 percent this year. And now the thinking is that the gravy train could end soon.