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Key Bombmaker Tied to U.S. Flight Threat; American Skater Feels Ripped Off by Judges; Colorado to Make $184 Million From Pot Tax; Mortgage Bailout Profitable for Taxpayers

Aired February 21, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the juror speaks.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What did you think of Michael Dunn?

COSTELLO: An exclusive one-on-one with juror number 8.

MACHADO: Do you feel like you messed up?

CRESHUNA MILES, JUROR #8 AT DUNN MURDER TRIAL: Yes.

MACHADO: Do you feel like the jury messed up?

MILES: No. I feel like we did what we supposed to.

COSTELLO: New details and new insights from one of the two African- Americans on the jury.

MACHADO: What would you tell Jordan's family?

MILES: I would tell them that from my end I tried. I really did try.

COSTELLO: Also, dangerous storms track east.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am 46 years old, and I have never had a winter like this.

COSTELLO: Lightning, tornadoes, flooding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First hour was rain, and then next half hour was sleet and snow, and then just all wet snow. So it's been everything.

COSTELLO: It's the winter that will not let up.

Plus a wolf. In sheep's clothing.

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": We shot the video. And Kate Hansen posted it for us.

COSTELLO: Jimmy Kimmel and the big fake that's now got the attention of the Russians.

KATE HANSEN, U.S. OLYMPIC LUGE TEAM: I start hearing people talk around the building and security starts freaking out.

COSTELLO: And green for the green.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just exceeded all of my expectations.

COSTELLO: Colorado bank rolling marijuana, making almost $200 million in tax revenue. But it is how that money is being spent that has some people all lit up.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

A huge swathe of the country slammed overnight by wet, weird winter weather. Storms and high winds swept across Tennessee, Nashville pelted by rain and hail as lightning struck a skyscraper known as the Batman building.

In Illinois, several hurt when a 20 car pileup shut down part of Interstate 57 about an hour south of Chicago. Police blame dense fog. And the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul declared snow emergencies after a winter storm dumped 10 inches of snow across the region, creating dangerous conditions on the highways.

Indra Petersons joins us now with a look at the -- what's headed your way.

Good morning.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Unfortunately, yes, that severe weather is still a story especially in through Georgia right now. We do have a tornado warning out there, 20 miles west of Summertown, Georgia, near Kite. So please take shelter. They spotted that tornado. It's already produced damage of downed trees and even damage to a home.

And keep in mind, it's not just Georgia. We still have in through the southeast today, a severe thunderstorm, a watch box, meaning you have the potential for severe weather to continue as this series line of storms continues to push off to the east.

And really, look at the damage we've seen in the last 24 hours. Already many reports of tornadoes yesterday in through Illinois, and look at all the straight line wind damage as that squall line continues to push off to the east.

There you go, very easy to tell you. Look at the clouds here. Look at the difference. Very calm in the west where we're seeing snow showers. And look at the explosive nature of this system as it continues to progress. That's the reason we know there's so much instability out there. Of course that threatens from south of D.C. through Jacksonville -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Indra Petersons, thanks so much.

Also this morning we have new details on the terror warning that's ratcheting up security for U.S. bound flights. Sources tell us that the threat of a shoe bomb strong enough to bring down an airliner in mid-flight is linked to al Qaeda and a master bomb maker.

CNN's Brian Todd has more from Washington.

Good morning.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. U.S. intelligence officials tell us they are very concerned about the capabilities of this man, Ibrahim al-Asiri. He's shown an ability to evade security and get bombs on airplanes. And as you mentioned, sources tell us this current threat could well bear his signature.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): U.S. officials say the latest intelligence indicates al Qaeda terrorists have been working on new shoe bomb designs. That's what prompted the Department of Homeland Security to warn airlines to be on the lookout.

While there's no specific target, the warning pertains to flights from at least 25 cities overseas into the U.S. Johannesburg, Paris, London, Cairo, cities in the Middle East are on the list. This is not believed to be connected to the recent warning about toothpaste bombs like this one.

But there's one man, a 31-year-old college dropout named Ibrahim al- Asiri, who one official says could be connected to this threat. Here's what terrorism experts say about him.

KEN BALLEN, FORMER COUNTERTERROR PROSECUTOR: This has his signature all over it. This is just the kind of device he is trying to build and has built in the past.

TODD: U.S. intelligence officials tell CNN Ibrahim al-Asiri is, quote, "the best bomb maker we know of" in any al Qaeda affiliate. They believe he is in Yemen, operating in the shadows. Working with the group al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, al-Asiri, intelligence officials say deigned the underwear bomb which failed to detonate at the last minute on a Detroit bound plane in 2009.

And it was his printer cartridge bombs which the following year got onto cargo planes bound for the U.S. Demonstrations of those types of bombs showed they could have brought down airliners.

(On camera): While those plots were foiled, in each case, al-Asiri displayed a frightening ability to get bombs past airport security and experts say he's learned from his mistakes.

(Voice-over): How determined is Ibrahim al-Asiri to kill Americans and their allies? PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: This is a very cold customer. I mean, this is a guy who recruited a brother to go and do a suicide attack using an underwear bomb to kill a leading Saudi prince.

TODD: The Saudi counter-terror chief survived that 2009 attack, al- Asiri's brother Abdullah was killed. This video shows the brothers embracing just before the mission. U.S. intelligence officials say they're hunting for Ibrahim al-Asiri, but --

BALLEN: Even if he is taken out, he is now training other recruits in the art of making these very sophisticated explosive devices, which can bypass normal airport security.

TODD: And al-Asiri has likely had access to military quality explosives and chemicals. Analysts say when al Qaeda captured a lot of territory in Yemen in 2011, it overran some military bases. Some have been taken back. But experts say Ibrahim al-Asiri likely had access to labs and other facilities which would have enhanced his capabilities.

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TODD: Now there have been reports in recent years that U.S. drone strikes have come close to killing Ibrahim al-Asiri. In 2011, he was reported to have been killed in a drone strike that killed Anwar al- Awlaki, the American born al Qaeda leader. That turned out not to be accurate. It was reported that he was wounded in a drone strike last year but that was never confirmed -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Brian Todd reporting live from Washington.

Right now in Ukraine, a relative calm has washed over the anti- government protests in the center of Kiev. This comes after brutal rioting that opposition leaders claimed left as many as 100 people dead.

Today, the embattled president says he will cave to the protesters' top demands, including a new presidential election and return to a more Democratic Constitution. Today, the optimism is cautious though.

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WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: This is a matter of moving it in the right direction, click by click, degree by degree. And the more pressure there is on Yanukovych, the more he tends to seed and the more he tends to give up in these discussions, even if they're not finalized, then the greater the pressure on him with the next round of talks. And so it is going in the right direction.

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COSTELLO: In fact, perhaps the ugliest clashes, though, took place inside Ukraine's parliament. Take a look at that. Lawmakers bitterly divided over the future of the country scuffle, they threw punches as they debated key aspects of a peace agreement. We'll keep you posted. The biggest event in the Winter Olympics is generating the most controversy. I'm talking about women's figure skating. American skater Ashley Wagner is not happy about coming in seventh. So hey, queue the meme. The same skater who did not put on a happy face following team competition, Wagner says, quote, "I feel gypped."

Now let's talk about who won. That would be a Russian skater. Wagner suggests this Russian skater won because her scores were inflated along with a Russian skater who came in fifth place but fell during both programs.

Now there were no American judges in yesterday's long program. In addition, one of the judges was actually kicked out for a year after being reported trying to fix an Olympic ice dance competition. And another judge is the wife of a top Olympic team director.

Our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is in Sochi with more.

Good morning.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And good morning, Carol. It wouldn't be really the Winter Olympics if there wasn't somebody complaining about the scoring in the figure skating, and that's exactly what Ashley Wagner has done. As you mentioned, suggesting that she was gypped with the final judging, coming in seventh place, and also calling for more transparency for an end to anonymous judging in the figure skating event.

Now the International Olympic Committee has put this a different way. They say they've gotten no formal complaints yet about last night's event. And as you also mentioned, that Adelina Sotnikova, she came in first place, she's from Russia, she got the gold medal. It was an upset for South Korean reigning champion, who came in second, she's Kim Yu-na. As was pointed out, the Russian ice skater did have slight hop during one of her many jumps.

I'm no figure skating expert by any means, but when you kind of read the accounts from different -- other experts, they seem split. They argue that the Russian figure skater did more difficult jumps, and so that would perhaps give her more of a margin of error, and perhaps help her get her points up.

There's another issue here, of course, that Ashley Wagner has raised, and that is about the judges. For example, you have a Ukrainian judge, Yuri Balkov, who was suspended after the Nagano Olympics for allegedly helping fix the judging of the event. And another one of the judges here was Alla Shekhovtseva -- I ruined that name -- from Russia, who happens to be married to the head of the Russian Figure Skating Association.

So there's the inference there that perhaps they were, you know, leaning towards Russia in this event. I am sure this controversy is far from over -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I'm sure you're right about that. Ivan Watson, many thanks.

Turns out, there is no wolf of Sochi, we were all duped. On Wednesday, American luger Kate Hansen posted a video to her Twitter account. She wondered if a wolf was wandering down the hall of her dorm. Well, Thursday, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel announced Hansen was just joking. In fact, they were in it together.

Kimmel's people even constructed a fake dorm hallway in Los Angeles and had someone release a domesticated wolf to complete the trick. Hansen didn't even tell her teammates about the prank.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANSON: Kind of laid low. But then I started hearing people talk around the building, and security started freaking out because there technically was a breach within, you know, athlete safety. So it kind of went low -- kind of went a little crazy over here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Certainly did. Now the part of the wolf video we did not see actually shows Kimmel following the wolf on a pair of skis. The International Olympic Committee says it doesn't have a problem with the prank video. It has a sense of humor.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a new side effect from legalizing marijuana in Colorado. The state may rake in even more tax money than expected from pot sales.

CNN's Ana Cabrera live in Denver for us.

Good morning.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Pot is certainly big business and big money here in the state of Colorado. The state now projecting it's going to make about $200 million in the next 18 months on taxes of marijuana.

We'll break down all the new numbers for you when we come back.

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COSTELLO: The state of Colorado is not only high on products like skunk number one, green crack and purple lady, they're making money off them. They're getting rich. We're talking about nearly $190 million in tax revenue.

Remember, Colorado has an aggressive tax on weed, subject to the 2.9 percent sales tax. An additional 10 percent sales tax. And 15 percent excise tax for retailers. This week, first revenue projections are in. Other states are taking notice.

CNN's Ana Cabrera has the numbers for us. She's in Denver. Good morning.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Remember, it has been about six weeks since pot became legal to sell for recreational use in Colorado. And to say business is going strong is an understatement. Those new tax revenue projections from the state beat expectations by tens of millions of dollars. Now, the state leaders get to decide how to spend that money.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA (voice-over): High hopes for a Colorado green rush are being realized.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just exceeded all my expectations.

CABRERA: Business at Evergreen Apothecary, previously just a medical marijuana dispensary, has more than quadrupled.

(on camera): More than a month after recreational pot sales became legal, people are still lining up at the door to get their hands on this stuff. This place packed. It's 10:00 when doors opened.

(voice-over): In fact, this pot shop averages about 500 customers a day. And the state of Colorado is reaping the benefits as well. Sales and excise taxes on recreational cannabis are over 25 percent.

Marijuana dispensaries were required to turn in January tax reports on Thursday.

TIM CULLEN, EVERGREEN APOTHECARY CO-OWNER: We paid about $190,000 in sales tax collected during the month of January.

CABRERA: While official numbers won't be made public until March, the governor's budget office just released its own tax projections. It estimates the state will collect $184 million in tax revenues in the first 18 months of recreational pot sales.

Here is Colorado's plan for spending that money: 40 million automatically goes to public school construction. That was mandated by voters. Then, the governor wants to spend about $85 million on youth prevention, and substance abuse treatment, $12.4 million on public health, about $3 million on law enforcement and public safety, and nearly $2 million on industry oversight.

MASON TVERT, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT: I don't think the people who are buying marijuana want the tax money to be used to discourage adults from buying marijuana.

CABRERA: While not everyone agrees how the money should be spent, and although still early, there's no denying the apparent economic boost -- that's come from recreational pot sales.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Right now, of course, Colorado and Washington are the only states where recreational pot is legal. And Washington is working through how it is going to regulate the sales. But we know of at least eight other states that are currently considering this from California to Maine and you've got to think when they see the type of money Colorado is projecting to ma make on taxing marijuana, that will probably have influence.

COSTELLO: I think so in these tough economic times. Ana Cabrera, reporting live from Denver this morning -- thank you.

Still to come, taxpayers turning a profit on the financial crisis. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cutting their final checks to Uncle Sam, with a little extra on top.

Christine Romans has that story. Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Carol, the bad old days of the bailout, this one, one of the most ugly, expensive of the financial crisis, taxpayers shouldering a huge burden. But guess what? They're getting a paycheck. Not all taxpayers are happy about it. I'll tell you why after the break.

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COSTELLO: A Georgia attorney is suing General Motors, claiming the automaker delayed a recall of cars with a defect blamed for several deaths. The lawsuit alleges GM knew ignition switches in the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G5 could be bumped to off position as far back as 2004, but didn't issue a recall until this month. GM acknowledged at least six deaths were linked to that defect, but didn't respond to CNN when asked about the latest lawsuit.

Good news for taxpayers. Remember the $187 billion bailout Uncle Sam gave to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the financial crisis? We're getting back every penny, plus an extra $7 billion to sweeten the deal.

Chris Christine Romans is here to explain. Good morning.

ROMANS: Oh, Carol, this was one of the most expensive bailout of the financial crisis.

Remember, taxpayers shelled out 187 billion with a B, to bail out the mortgage Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was ugly, it was a painful time for taxpayers. We had to shoulder the costs of horrible decisions in the mortgage market.

But today, taxpayers have recouped all of that money and turned a profit. They will pay treasury an additional $7 billion in profit from end of last year.

Remember, it was the housing bubble of 2006 and jump in foreclosures that caused this massive loss for Fannie and Freddie. Fannie and Freddie which bought home loans from lenders, bundled them, sold them to investors, with guarantees loans would be repaid. Interestingly enough, not all taxpayers are thrilled with today's news, Carol.

I want to show you reaction on social media sites. Paul says, great, is my check in the mail? I got a lot of that on my Twitter feed. Sparky asks, is there any chance we can use savings to pay down our debts or is that too financially responsible?

So, I'm going to be honest with you, a lot of people out there five years later, not giving too much credit to that bailout, and the fact they got their money back. People are still very unhappy the taxpayers had to come to the rescue, Carol.

COSTELLO: Absolutely.

A lot of people are still without their homes, thanks to that crisis and will never get them back.

ROMANS: You know, just think of the years in place. At best, those bailouts allowed the economy not to fall into depression. People feel like they still, look at the polls how people feel about the economy, how they feel about the jobs market, they don't feel they have been made whole yet. To see taxpayers make some money is a good thing, but they feel as though we never should have been put in that position in the first place, Carol.

COSTELLO: Amen to that. Christine Romans, thanks so much.

Still to come, a CNN exclusive, juror number eight in the loud music murder trial speaks out about what she would tell the family of Jordan Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUROR: I really did try. I tried to fight for his son. We -- everyone that felt he was guilty, we fought and we fought and we fought.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Still, she says, Michael Dunn was a good guy. Tell you more after a break.

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