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Ship Stranded in Antarctica; Federal Judge Calls NSA Surveillance Legal; Hate Crime Charged Over Knockout Game

Aired December 27, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They said to us yesterday, "To date, there's no evidence that unencrypted pin data was compromised."

No evidence, what they told us yesterday. They also added, "Based on our communications with financial institutions, they have not seen any indication that any pin data was compromised."

Kyra, you can see how cleverly worded that is. It's sort of pass two, basically, I have speaking to a hacker to works at corporations on their security systems. And I said to him, listen, should people be worried right now?

He said there's two things you should understand. First of all, Target has said that they don't store the encryption key anywhere in their system. That's one piece of good news, and the second thing is that the system they used to encrypt their data is called Triple DES, which is one of more robust type of systems.

So it does actually good for Target right now. It is possible these hackers could eventually get the numbers, but they would have to be very sophisticated to do that.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Well, for full disclosure, I shopped at Target at that time. I reached out to my bank.

ASHER: Wow.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And they said, they told me, we're monitoring it, don't worry about it. It's the holidays. Don't cancel your card or change your card. I talked to them again today after this news. I was still told, hold on.

However, at the 1st of the year, we are going to issue new cards, new pin numbers. So for everybody across this country, that's just my bank, Zain, what should folks do besides monitor their account every single day? because what I have been told is that banks are going to basically not let its customers lose money.

ASHER: Right. We have to understand that if there were any fraudulent charges on your account, you're probably not going to be libel for those charges. That's one piece of good news.

But, also, if you did shop at Target like yourself, Kyra, between the end of November and mid-December, you might want to be better safe than sorry and cancel your card and order a new one.

In terms of the pin data, though, Target has emphasized that pin numbers, they believe, at this point are safe and secure, but I think the damage has already been done at this point. Pin numbers are important because they would allow hackers to withdraw money directly from people's accounts and check their balances, but the hackers can still make fraudulent charges.

I think in this case if you did shop at Target between those dates, it's better to be safe rather than sorry, cancel your card and get a new one, especially with debit cards -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Good advice. Zain, thanks so much.

ASHER: Of course.

PHILLIPS: Another story about your personal data being scooped up. This one, though, is about the NSA, and as of a few hours ago, it's apparently now legal.

A federal judge says the White House-endorsed NSA program that digs into your phone records is totally legit. That's an about-face from last week when another judge called the program "almost Orwellian technology."

Joining me to try to decipher this he said/he set of rulings, CNN legal analysts Jeffrey Toobin and Paul Callan.

Jeffrey, let's start with you. What do you take away from today's ruling?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: That this is a tough legal question. And very intelligent judges disagree about it, and it all increases the chance that the United States Supreme Court will have to settle this issue.

It's worth pointing out, these two judges in -- one in Washington, one in New York, were addressing the exact same question. Is this metadata program legal? And they came to exactly opposite conclusions. The judge here in New York said it's legal. The judge in Washington says it's illegal. Both of them will be appealed. And we will see what happens.

PHILLIPS: All right, so, Paul, let me put this to you because just yesterday, we were talking about President Obama a few months back calling al Qaeda "a shadow of its former self." But listen to what the judge said here.

"No doubt," he says, "the bulky telephony metadata collection program vacuums up information about virtually every telephone call to, from, or within the United States, but it represents the government's counterpunch to eliminate al Qaeda's terror network."

So this judge says because of al Qaeda, we need this NSA program. So how do we reconcile these two statements? PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, the judge, interestingly enough, addresses that specifically. And he says we can reconcile the needs of liberty with the needs of security.

He writes a very powerful decision here in which he talks about the 9/11 attack. He talks about one of the 9/11 hijackers in saying that if we had the information, the telephone identifier that is really the subject of this metadata lawsuit, we could have stopped possibly the attack on the World Trade Center.

He says the biggest enemy of liberty in the end is not having this information and allowing our society to be attacked by terrorists. So it's -- it's really a powerful decision saying we have got to protect the United States, and this is legal, what's being done. This information is not being seized from American citizens.

It's being seized from telephone companies and they own the metadata, and there's a reasonable process in place, very different from Judge Leon's decision, which of course, was the exact opposite.

(CROSSTALK)

TOOBIN: Kyra, if I can just add one point.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

TOOBIN: What's especially confusing in these two opinions is that Judge Leon said, the one in Washington, that this collection program hasn't prevented any terrorist attacks. It hasn't done any good.

Judge Pauley here in New York says it has prevented terrorist attacks. It has been helpful.

And, frankly, I'm left puzzled. I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we, as Americans, we haven't seen another attack, Jeffrey, you know? It's kind of how we look at it, like, OK, we haven't been attacked on our soil since 9/11.

TOOBIN: Well, there have been terrorist acts. There have been the Christmas -- the attempted Christmas bombing in Detroit.

PHILLIPS: But thwarted.

TOOBIN: The shooting at the Army base.

I mean, there have been attempted terrorist attacks, certainly nothing on the scale of 9/11, fortunately, but al Qaeda is not gone. And Judge Pauley in New York is making the point that it's not gone and it's still a threat, and that's why we need this program.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: So what do you -- well, Paul, I'm curious. I want to know if you guys think it will go all the way to the Supreme Court?

Paul?

CALLAN: Well, yes, I think eventually these things will.

And I think we should also understand that this decision was issued really right at the beginning of the case. There hasn't been any discovery or extensive depositions. This judge said there's no case here, and I'm dismissing, I'm throwing the whole thing out. Judge Leon, on the other hand, said, the case is so strong, I'm granting a preliminary injunction.

These two federal judges are at total opposite end of the spectrum. When that happens, it goes up on appeal on the circuit court and maybe eventually the Supreme Court.

PHILLIPS: Jeffrey, what do you think? You have written the book on the Supreme Court. You're our expert.

TOOBIN: Well, I think the appeals courts will get it first. If the appeals courts disagree with each other like these trial courts have, certainly, the Supreme Court will take it. But this will take quite some time. So I think we need to wait six months or so until we know for sure whether the appeals courts disagree, and if they do, then the Supreme Court will definitely take it.

PHILLIPS: Jeffrey, Paul, thanks, guys.

CALLAN: Nice being with you.

PHILLIPS: Pleasure.

More than a million people who are making ends meet with help from the federal government will have another problem starting tomorrow. Their jobless pay is ending. It's all used up. That's the money to assist the chronically unemployed that didn't make it into the newly passed budget. President Obama wants Congress to try again when it returns next month. We will see what happens.

And up, a person accused of sucker-punching an elderly man charged with a hate crime. Now we're learning that he was very specific about choosing his victim.

And a Chinese icebreaker on its way to rescue a stranded cruise ship in Antarctica reminded me of my own icebreaker expedition to the South Pole. I'm going to show you firsthand the conditions and the risks in the coldest place on Earth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the U.S. Justice Department isn't playing around when it comes to this game. I'm talking about a disturbing and sometimes deadly trend known as the knockout game.

You're looking at an example of one of those incidents. Typically, strangers randomly just sucker-punch people on the street. They film it, and then they post the whole event online. The goal here, to knock your victim unconscious with a single blow.

Now, that brings us to this man, Conrad Alvin Barrett of Texas, the first to be arrested over this knockout game. He's also been charged with a hate crime. And his undoing may have been what he said in a video of the attack that was posted online.

CNN's Margaret Conley joining me now, learning more about this.

So, Margaret Conley, before we get to the video, what exactly is Barrett accused of doing to his victim exactly?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, knocking him out cold.

There's a hearing happening right now in Houston, Texas; 27-year-old Conrad Barrett, he has been charged with a knockout hate crime, assaulting a 79-year-old man. This is a federal charge and the first federal charge we have seen for these knockout assaults.

I have spoken with attorneys on both sides today. They're getting ready for the hearing, the attorney for Barrett and the victim's attorney. The attorney for the defense, George Parnham, he says he's going to argue that this is not a federal case. He says that it's unconstitutional for it to be federal and it should go to the state.

He's also going to say that his client has been diagnosed as bipolar and that he was off his meds the day the assault happened on November 24. He says his client is extremely depressed right now. That's the defense. The victim's attorney -- and the victim does not want to be identified -- the victim's attorney says the victim's recovering, but he's having trouble communicating.

O'Neil Williams told me that the victim, who is also a great- grandfather, is suffering physically from a loss of teeth and fractures in his jaw. He actually said there was a dislocation in his jaw when he was hit by Barrett, but the harder part will be recovering emotionally. His said his client is having a really hard time with that, that he's scared and frightened -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, there's a lot involved here, right, the race issue, the fact that this is a federal case, all the details surrounding what happened and also this Barrett guy.

CONLEY: That's right. It's very complex, Kyra. Barrett is a 27- year-old Caucasian male. The victim is a 79-year-old African-American male.

Race is on the table because, according to the federal complaint, Barrett attacked because of the man's race and color. There's also apparently video of the attack with Barrett saying that the plan "is to see if I were to hit a black person, would this be nationally televised?"

We have seen a lot of those so-called knockout cases in the past year or so. They have been reported in states like Illinois, Washington, and right here in New York. The Justice Department says there have been knockout incidents as far back as 1992, but this is the first time we're seeing a federal charge, at least in the latest string of knockouts.

And the defense is going to argue against that. They want it to go to state. But if this does go through, Barrett could face a $250,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison. If this does go through, that hearing is going on right now, we can expect to see that it will go to grand jury in a couple weeks.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Anybody involved in this game should be held accountable. Margaret Conley, appreciate it. Thanks.

Well, right now, in Antarctica, a paralyzed vessel is wedged in an ice floe, and the rescue operation to free the passengers on board has encountered a problem, a blizzard. A Chinese icebreaking ship says it may take just a little longer to get to that vessel that became stuck on Christmas morning.

The crew on board the research expedition actually tweeted out this picture saying their savior boat was just in sight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS TURNEY, EXPEDITION LEADER: Moral is remarkably high. We had a great Christmas. We have just been incredibly unfortunate, incredibly unfortunate. We're deeply frustrated not getting out to the open ocean.

We can see the continent. And we just can't break out. A change in wind direction to a more westerly direction, which isn't that common, would help enormously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That's the leader, by the way, of the expedition. Right now, the rescue ship, the icebreaker, is just about 12 miles away. And that may seem close, but the conditions on the harshest place on Earth, well, they're always unpredictable.

It was actually a decade ago that I traveled all the way to the bottom of the Earth, the South Pole, cutting through six-to-eight-foot thick sheets of ice. It's fascinating to watch.

And as you're about to see in part of my documentary "Harsh Continent," you're going to get a sense of what lies ahead for the rescue team.

Meet the U.S. Coast Guard's icebreaker crew of 2002.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Life at McMurdo Station relies on the constant flow of supplies to its open harbor, a big challenge in a place where the ocean can freeze almost instantly. Pack ice like this kept explorers away from Antarctica for centuries. Wooden ships were crushed by the relentless moving ice.

Today, the U.S. Coast Guard breaks pack ice every season in specialized ships like the Polo Sea. This is breaking the ice, cutting a 56-mile channel for supply ships to bring in fuel and food, two of the most crucial supplies for winter survival.

Commander Steve Wheeler is executive officer of the Polo Sea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is called (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And we've got the channel over here and what we want to do is run a parallel track and shave off big chunks of ice between us and the channel. Then, next year when we come down and have to break the channel, it's all first year ice, which is much, much easier to break. This stuff is second year. We're already gotten rid of all the first year ice.

The older ice is, the hardier it is. All the salts and dirt and whatnot leeches out of it and the stuff becomes rock hard.

PHILLIPS (on camera): How thick is this ice, Commander?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About six foot out here. You know every once in a while, you get an eight-foot chunk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: I remember he made it look and sound so easy. But trust me, it's not.

We will continue to follow that Chinese vessel that's coming through to try to rescue those scientists, who, by the way, say they're still working on their research.

Well, up next, violence in Egypt has turned deadly as police battle supporters of a newly designated terror organization in the streets.

And Google, Apple, Samsung just a few of the big names in tech this year. So who are the winners and losers? Our tech experts weigh in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In South Sudan, the army says that it has called off a planned offensive against a rebel group. The announcement actually followed a meeting in Kenya of leaders from across East Africa who pledged to stand by the current government, but also demanded that both sides move to halt two weeks of fighting.

The rebels haven't yet responded.

Egypt's government, backed heavily by the U.S., faced a major test today of its stunning decision to outlaw the country's biggest political party. At least four people died as backers of the Muslim Brotherhood took to the streets to protest the party's designation this week as a terrorist group.

The U.S. still backs Egypt even after the coup last summer that removed the Muslim Brotherhood from power. That's Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, by the way, with the head of Egypt's army just weeks before the coup. Washington has said that it wants a return to democracy in Egypt ASAP. With us now from Temple, Texas, Sahar Aziz, associate professor of law at Texas A&M University.

So, Professor, how does Egypt's military leadership justify calling the country's biggest political party a bunch of terrorists?

SAHAR AZIZ, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: Well, unfortunately, what they have done is essentially closed the door to any political solution, which is going to cause the country to go into more violence, and as you saw yesterday, there was a bus bombing.

And extremist groups who may or probably are not part of the Muslim Brotherhood are going to exploit the situation to engage in more violence, knowing full well that everyone will be blaming the Brotherhood, not withstanding that their entire leadership is now in jail and being prosecuted.

PHILLIPS: So, Sahar, as we know, Egypt's military is deeply beholden to Washington. We fund them, we train them, we work together as allies.

Should we just assume that the U.S. is OK with what the Egyptian military is doing?

AZIZ: Well, I hope that that is not the case, because it will be a major misjudgment on the part of the American government and the American military.

Closing the door to a political solution to a political problem by using military force and violence and mass arrests and mass designations is not going to lead to democracy. It's also going to spread, as we saw in the recent trials of three very well-known and highly respected youth activists from the April 6 Movement, military trials for civilians and other bloggers.

This is just going to turn Egypt into a police state and, in my opinion, lay the groundwork for another solution that will not be as bloodless or nonviolent as the one of February 2011.

PHILLIPS: And we still cannot forget those pictures from the square from 2011.

Is there any indication to you that the Egyptian military will follow through with the U.S. demand that democracy be restored?

AZIZ: I think the Egyptian military has a very vested interest in making sure that there's a political solution, not a military solution, a political solution to this problem.

And so I hope that they're looking at their long-term future because at some point when the violence increases based on their escalation, it's going to come down on their heads. They're going to be held accountable. They're governing the country right now. They're the ones who deposed Morsi on July 3, not withstanding that many Egyptians supported them, but at the end of the day, they will be held accountable. And I don't think this is a wise move, and I hope that the American government continues to advise them and at least tell them that they need to engage in negotiations and mediations. They have to find a political solution to the political problem.

PHILLIPS: Professor Sahar Aziz, great insight for us today. Thanks so much.

Up next, imagine this. You're going out for a nice, relaxing swim on Christmas Day, when suddenly a swarm of piranha appears out of nowhere. It actually happened to people in Argentina. We have got that story and the pictures coming up.

And next, the winners and losers in the world of tech. SmartWatch, anyone? What do you think, winner or loser? What about smart TVs? We're talking 2013 tech trends next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Technology, we haven't always been the best at predicting what gadgets will be a hit, right?

A Western Union exec once said the telephone has too many shortcomings. And one exec once said that no one would ever want a computer in their home. That obviously hasn't stopped us from trying. 2013 brought us some very cool tech and some not so much.

We have got three experts today to separate the tech fails from the tech phenomenal.

Brett Larson is host of TechBytes. Mashable.com's Christina Warren also with us, and Scott Steinberg of TechSavvy Global. We're taking a look at all the gadgets and tech companies, first gadgets that were your tech fabulous this year, and then we will get to the tech fails, guys.

And, listen, if one of your disagrees with another, I want you to chime in.

But isn't that -- Christina, I mean, just thinking that there were shortcomings in the telephone, and not everybody is going to want a computer in their house, that's pretty hilarious if you think about it.

CHRISTINA WARREN, MASHABLE.COM: It shows that anything we're saying today, don't hold it against us in 50 years, right?

PHILLIPS: Exactly. Boy, have we come a long way.

All right, so, Christina, the best and then the worst. You start.

WARREN: All right, so one of my big winners this year is Google and Google Glass. Yes, it's creepy. Yes, it's ugly. Yes, you're going to look like a glass-hole, but it's also one of the coolest things we have seen. And it's kind of the future of this kind of wearable tech stuff. And I think that no one could stop talking about it. It was in vogue. It was on the runway. And so, to me, it's a huge winner. I think Google Glass is one of those things that, love it or hate it, it was one of those big products that we couldn't stop talking about this year.

So, that's my first winner. My second is actually going to be kind of controversial, I think. Some of these guys might disagree. I'm going to say Apple. As much flack as everybody gives them, I think that they had the best products they have had in years out this year.