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Arapahoe School Shooting; Bombings in Russia; Fighting for Jahi; Shark Family Photo; Refusing Flu Vaccine; Missing Doctor Video

Aired December 30, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Jim Acosta, thank you so much.

Great to be with you on the last Monday of this year. And we begin with some of the biggest stories in a flash. We call it "Rapid Fire." Roll it.

Here's what's happening right now. Waiting for a helicopter rescue in icy Antarctica. Ice breakers have been trying to reach the 74 people trapped on a research ship. Earlier today, an Australian ship had to turn back and abandon its effort. Much more on the ongoing rescue effort in a couple minutes.

Also today, football fans, it's referred to as Black Monday. Six, count them, six NFL coaches have been fired today. And folks, check the clock with me. It's just 2:00 eastern time. How many more could fall and who could be next? We're talking with our very own Rachel Nichols about that coming up.

Also today, the future of drones in America getting a bit clearer. The government today announcing six sites across the country where drones will be tested. They include Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. We are told two dozen states came up with proposals for studying how to fit drones into our American air space.

And just in to us now, new information about the shooting at Arapahoe High School in Colorado from last month. The sheriff has said today that 18-year-old Karl Pierson opened fire on his classmates after entering through a door that should have been locked. Pierson -- shots rang out inside the school, this was back on December 13th, killing 17-year-old Claire Davis. Fred Pleitgen joins me now with more on this from New York.

And so you listened to the news conference, Fred. What more did you hear from police about what happened that day?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was interesting, Brooke, because it appears as though there were those security lapses that you were just talking about. But the sheriff also reiterated that Pierson apparently planned this for a very long time. That, for instance, he'd been acquiring ammunition until the very day that all of this was going on. That he tried to hide this from the public. But the main thing was that, yes, there appeared to be a security lapse. That he did manage to get in through a door that should have been locked. Let's listen in really quick to what the sheriff had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that the doorway on the north side that the murderer entered is supposed to be locked. Unfortunately, it rarely is because it is more convenient for people to come and go from that area and not have to be obstructed by a locked door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So it was people who were basically looking for an easier way to get in and out of that building every day, and therefore that door that really should have been locked was not locked on that day.

One of the other things that the sheriff said is that Pierson managed to get in unobstructed was the exact word that he used. And the other thing that was really striking about all this was the way that Pierson apparently tried to mask what he was about to do. One of the things the sheriff also said is that he basically went about his daily routine, even going to the length of going bowling by himself about an hour before he entered the school, committing those heinous acts.

BALDWIN: Wow.

PLEITGEN: And the shooting in total only took about an hour and 20 seconds until everything was over. But, of course, by that point, he had already done a lot of damage, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Awful all the way around. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.

And now to the most high-profile symbol of world unity. Now under this new veil of terrorism. I'm talking about the Olympic games in Sochi, Russia. Keep in mind, this is five and a half weeks away and today a second bombing in two days has hit this country. A suspected suicide bomber blew up this - you see the aftermath of this trolley bus, killing 14 people. Among the 28 hurt, a six-month-old baby. Just a day ago, a blast at a major train station left 17 dead and 35 wounded. And Russian officials believe a woman set this bomb off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR MARKIN, SPOKESMAN, RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE: According to available information, the explosion was carried out by the female suicide bomber who saw a police officer next to her on the way to the metal detectors. She became nervous and activated the explosive device. Preliminarily, the explosion was equivalent to ten kilograms of TNT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The bombings both hit Volgograd. This is more than 600 miles from Sochi. You can see here on the map, that's the distance roughly between, say, Kansas City and Denver. But now doubt these attacks have stirred up fears of an event we haven't seen in 17 years of bombing at the Olympics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thought maybe you were bothering her all the time. I didn't want to be another person bothering her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And nobody's bothering you, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Frightening. That was in Atlanta, '96, we all remember that. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings, though, in Russia, but a prime suspect is a man by the name of Doku Umarov. He is the leader of a Chechen separatist group and he threatened violence to disrupt the Olympic games. So let's go to the man who led the security operation back in 1996 for those Atlanta Olympic games. He is William Rathburn. He joins me now.

So, Mr. Rathburn, nice to have you on. Let's just begin with -- let's say you are the head of security, your role as in Atlanta, but you're in charge of Sochi. Given these two recent bombings, what is your move number one to protect everyone?

WILLIAM RATHBURN, 1996 ATLANTA OLYMPICS SECURITY DIRECTOR: Hi, Brooke.

Well, obviously, security will be ramped up greatly, although I suspect that everything that can be done within Sochi is already being done. What these bombings indicate is that the security program has to expand much beyond the city of Sochi itself and much -- certainly much beyond the Olympic sites themselves.

BALDWIN: But, William, how do you determine a security perimeter? Because, you know, we've all been to major events where let's say it's a mile out and you are going through, you know, checks and you're being screened. We know what happened in the heart of the Olympic games in '96 with the bombing at the park there. And I have to imagine it's difficult to screen everyone, let's say, in a major public park. I mean how do you pull that off in a major city?

RATHBURN: Well, the thing that frightens me is that bombing at the train station. Clearly you do not have to get through a security checkpoint to have the kind of impact that I believe those terrorists are seeking to have. So if they're - if they're -- I'm sure they'll screen everyone through metal detectors in to villages and venues at any Olympic site, but that -- they could detonate a device outside of the -- in the cue for their metal detector or anywhere within the Olympic city and still have a major impact because of the presence of all the media and the focus of the world on Sochi at that time.

BALDWIN: Help me understand how security works in a given country. Let's just use '96 and the Olympic games that you were in charge of security with. Whose responsibility was it to be in charge of security, I imagine a host country, but then are there other countries who then bring additional layers of security for their own athletes?

RATHBURN: Oh, absolutely. All of the -- a lot of countries, certainly including the high-risk delegations and you can probably guess who most of them are, do bring additional security. They're limited in their role during the games because of all the security measures that the host country has in place.

BALDWIN: Mm-hmm. William Rathburn -

RATHBURN: The thing -

BALDWIN: No, go ahead.

RATHBURN: The thing that scares me about Sochi and what is happening in the bombings leading up to the games is that they're indiscriminate attacks. It's not that they're trying to attack somebody because they represent a specific country or to target a specific individual, but rather they're just trying to attack Russian targets so that they can have as much impact on the Russian government, put as much pressure on the Russian government as possible. Those kind of attacks are very, very difficult to prevent.

BALDWIN: Whoever is in the line of fire, whoever those casualties are, wrong place, wrong time. William Rathburn, thank you. We'll be watching, of course, in these four, five and a half weeks leading up to Sochi, the security situation there very, very closely on the ground. Thank you so much for joining me.

And right now, the pressure could not be more intense, the stakes couldn't be higher for one California family because in six hours, against their wishes, the Children's Hospital in Oakland can remove the ventilator keeping 13-year-old Jahi McMath breathing. And as that hour draws near, the prayers get more intense, more urgent that somehow perhaps a miracle will happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comfort the hearts of the family right now, God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: These people were hoping Jahi could be moved to another hospital, another facility. Her mother has raised more than $20,000 through this website to help her pay for this. But thus far, no one will take this teenager. Her family's tragedy began on December 9th, the day Jahi went in for this tonsillectomy and sinus tissue removal. She ended up haves a heart attack and is now brain dead. Several independent doctors have determined she is deceased. However, a judge allowed this family to keep Jahi on life support until 8:00 Eastern Time tonight. And her mother, her mother says Jahi still has a shot at recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAILAH WINKFIELD, MOTHER OF GIRL ON LIFE SUPPORT: I would probably need for my child's heart to stop to show me that she was dead. Her heart is still beating. So there's still life there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Imagine a mother in the situation. Dan Simon is live for us outside that hospital in Oakland. And what are the chances, Dan, the hospital grants Jahi's family more time?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't seem like that's going to happen, Brooke. And this is just such a heartbreaking case for everyone involved. But barring some kind of last-minute appeal, the hospital can remove the ventilator that's been supporting Jahi McMath's buddy over the past several weeks. They can do that at 5:00 today.

As we've been reporting for the last several days, she has been declared brain dead, as you said, by many experts. This is an irreversible condition. There's really nothing that can be done. Of course one can sympathize with the family. They've been trying to transfer her to a nursing facility that can take her indefinitely, but so far those efforts have been unsuccessful. This is what the hospital spokesman had to say just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM SINGER, HOSPITAL SPOKESMAN: There were three facilities the McMath family put forward as possibilities. Two of them were in the state of California, one was in New York. We have no information from any of them that they would accept the body of a deceased person on a ventilator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: So at this point it appears there will not be any kind of transfer, Brooke. So at this point, we're left with a local judge's ruling that says the ventilator can be removed at 5:00 local time.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: What about Jahi, though, as we talk about how she went in for this seemingly routine procedure? I understand that the California Department of Health is now investigating what happened, correct?

SIMON: Those are really the remaining questions here. What happened? What caused this seemingly routine procedure to go so wrong? Of course, there's going to be a lot of investigations happening at this point. Unfortunately, however, she is in this irreversible state. And according to all the medical experts, nothing can be done, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Dan Simon for us in Oakland. Dan, thank you very much.

Coming up, take a look at this picture. We're going to put something on the screen for you. Take a good look at inside the wave. You see this long thing? Could it be a shark? I'll talk live with someone from "Shark Week" about the image that has everyone buzzing online.

Plus, a big rise in the number of states reporting bad flu numbers. Find out where it's hitting the hardest.

And, he could be the most unpredictable guest in the history of live TV. Guess who I get to talk to this hour? Richard Simmons. We'll talk about a lot of things, including this video, which I've had stuck in my head all day long, and we'll ask for his advice on health come 2014. Does he have a resolution? We'll ask. Don't miss that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Dozens of scientists and tourists stranded on a ship struck -- stuck. Easy for me to say, stuck in the Antarctic are crossing their fingers and looking to the sky. They're hoping for a break in the weather and they're hoping for a helicopter rescue. You have 74 people on this expedition studying climate change. They've been trapped in sea ice -- in sea ice, just think about that -- since December 23rd. Three attempts to reach the Russian ship using ice breakers have failed. Bad weather forced an Australian ice breaker to turn back today. One of these rescue ships was a Chinese ice breaker called Snow Dragon. Australia Maritime Authority says the crew had offered to use its helicopter to evacuate 52 passengers and four crew members.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA MARTIN, AUSTRALIAN MARITIME AUTHORITY (voice-over): We wouldn't be able to fly a helicopter in these sort of conditions. It is just a wait and see sort of operation. It is a very complex operation, especially given the conditions down in the Antarctic. They can change very quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The lead professor on the Russian ship says the crew has about 10 days of food left and that everyone continues so far to be in good spirits.

But let's get to this southern California family and this incredible photograph that they took during this trip to the beach, only to find out - I want you to look at this with me really closely because they may have some sharp-toothed company. You see this? June Emerson says she snapped this picture of her son and his friend in the waves. This is near Manhattan Beach. But look closer and you see on the right side of your screen, it appears to be a pretty sizable shark that is mere feet away from those kids. Yikes. June Emerson says she didn't notice the object in the water until the drive home. She told her kids, hey, it's a dolphin. No big deal. But what exactly is that lurking just beneath the waves here? Let's talk to Discovery Charnel "Shark Week" expect Jeff Kurr.

Jeff, pleasure to have you on, sir. Welcome.

JEFF KURR, DISCOVERY CHANNEL "SHARK WEEK" EXPERT: Thanks, Brooke. Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: OK, I looked at this picture for a really, really long time, and maybe I'm just jaded and cynical, but I have like - I think it has Photoshop written all over it. You're the expert. What do you see?

KURR: Well, it's a pretty good Photoshop job, but I would -- if it is a Photoshop job, but I would say that that is a juvenile great white shark about maybe 10 to 12 feet long, which is not a big surprise because Manhattan Beach has all of a sudden become sort of the epicenter for white sharks, juvenile white sharks in southern California.

BALDWIN: But coming in that -- it seems it's pretty close. I don't exactly know where the shoreline is, but it obviously looks pretty shallow when you look at where these two kids are playing in the water. Is that typical to be that close?

KURR: That is typical. I've seen from helicopters looking down at beaches -

BALDWIN: Yikes.

KURR: Nearby where white sharks are right in and among the bathers (ph), in and among the surfers all the time. Most of the time people don't even realize it. But with all the people now with Gopros and everybody and his brother has a paddle board now -

BALDWIN: Yes.

KURR: They're getting a lot more footage of these animals in with the bathers.

BALDWIN: So, my shark friend, what does one do if you're paddling out to catch a wave and you see some sort of shark like this? Do you - I would be paddling the other way.

KURR: Well, no reason to panic, really, because the sharks, for one thing, they're there for fish. They're -- it's a pupping (ph) ground in southern California. The big female white sharks are giving birth off shore. The pups come in close to shore and they're there to feed on stingrays and other fish and small sharks.

BALDWIN: The pups.

KURR: So they're not after people. And if they were, there would be a lot of attacks because the sharks are in and among people all the time.

BALDWIN: Yes.

KURR: So that - you know, if you do the math, you realize there's hardly any attacks.

BALDWIN: Before I let you go, what are the chances, Jeff, this could be a dolphin?

KURR: I'd say based on the shape of the dorsal fin, which is more straight, that shows me that it's a great white shark. And plus the fact that that particular beach has become so -- an epicenter for white shark activity, I would say it's definitely a white shark.

BALDWIN: OK. You heard it here, folks. Jeff Kurr, thank you very much. Thanks for joining me. Manhattan Beach sharks.

KURR: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Coming up, a young doctor from Michigan disappears without a trace and now investigators are looking at videos on YouTube that could provide some new insight into what happened to her. Crucial clues. That story a little later.

But coming up next, did you hear about this pregnant nurse? She was fired from her job because she refused to get a flu shot. You will hear her compelling reason and whether she has a case.

Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's talk about the flu. The Centers for Disease Control say the number of states reporting widespread flu activity have jumped from four to 10 in just the last week. Even though the numbers are growing, though, officials describe this as a quote/unquote typical flu season compared to last year which was relatively severe.

A Pennsylvania nurse who says she's pregnant, she says she lost her job because she refused to get a flu shot. Dreonna Breton says she has had three miscarriages and so the 29-year-old didn't want the vaccine out of fear something might happen to her unborn child. She says her employer, Lancaster's Health Care Horizons, would not budge. The company talked to our TV affiliate, WPBI, and said that Breton's decision is unconscionable for a health care worker, but Breton stands by her choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREONNA BRETON, EXPECTANT MOTHER: There are risks of getting the flu during pregnancy. I know that as well. I did my research on that as well. But the unknowns of the flu vaccine were more risky for me. It was more overwhelming for me to put my body through that and potentially harm my child than the risks of the flu. So that's a decision that we made as a family and felt very comfortable with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: She also said she offered to wear a face mask so she could continue working as a nurse. It's a practice that is used if employees are exempted for religious reasons. But that was a no go. Is this a double standard? Joining me now to talk about this, on the case with me today, CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos.

And, Danny Cevallos, this woman says she had her primary care physician, she had her OB/GYN sign on saying, you know, that this should be fine. But obviously that didn't work. She was fired. Talk to me about the grounds. Did this employer have the grounds to fire her?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, employment isn't elementary school. You can't just bring a note from your doctor and expect that to solve all of your problems. It just doesn't.

The bottom line is this. Americans have a hard time following this general rule, which is, you can be hired or fired for almost any reason, right, wrong, unfair, unkind. And there are only exceptions for, as you discussed just a minute ago, things like your religion. And we were talking about religious exemptions. And this illustrates it very well in this case. For people who have religious objections to the flu shot, they're often given the option of wearing a mask. It's clear that her objection is not religious, it's not because of a disability, it's just her preference.

BALDWIN: But is it fair? Or you're saying fair goes out the window?

CEVALLOS: Oh, sure. Well, you know, I've - yes, fair is out - fair and the law are simply not the same -

BALDWIN: Yes.

CEVALLOS: Because fair is a subjective analysis. So, look, I mean, yes, does it sound sad? Yes, it sounds sad. But, on the other hand, you heard the employer's position, it's unconscionable in their view for health care workers not to get the flu shot because there is a real risk to other patients. So does it make us feel good that this person loses their job? Of course not. But you go back to the at-will default rule in the United States employment law and they can hire and fire her for that reason.

BALDWIN: OK.

CEVALLOS: And they're not violating any religious objection and they're not violating any disability laws.

BALDWIN: Let me just add this because we were curious, we looked into -- at the CDC, and the CDC specifically says that all health care professionals get vaccinated annually. It's not a law. They do say that it - that's it's OK. That getting a flu shot while pregnant is actually the best protection for pregnant women and their babies. So, as far as any potential, if this woman, and she hasn't done it yet, but if she decides to sue, I'm hearing she doesn't have a case, yes?

CEVALLOS: Probably not.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CEVALLOS: But again, it's the -- it marks the difference between whether -- it doesn't feel fair that she loses her job, but she hasn't been discriminated -- she may have been discriminated against, but 99.9 percent of all discrimination is very legal. And just as she could have left her job at any point for any reason, so too can her employer hire, fire, discipline, let her go, for any reason -

BALDWIN: OK.

CEVALLOS: Even a reason that to us doesn't feel fair.

BALDWIN: OK. Danny Cevallos, thank you, and happy New Year. I'll talk to you next year.

CEVALLOS: Happy New Year. BALDWIN: Thanks.

Coming up, the next time you go to the vending machine, you will get a little surprise. Richard Simmons, he will actually be at the vending machine. He'll be coming up live to talk about what's happening with vending machines and calorie counts and the health trends that concern him this coming new year.

Plus, the new twist in a case of a missing doctor. Video surfaces showing her talking to a mystery love. Someone she calls "baby." You will see that coming up next. Stay right here with me. You're watching CNN.

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