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Fiery Protests Erupt at Saudi Embassy in Tehran; Terror Group Uses Trump in Recruiting Video; Obama Administration Intends to Implement New Gun Rules; President Signs Emergency Declaration for Missouri; Comedians Wife Ordered to Testify; CNN Investigation into Airport PD; Steve Jobs on Acid. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired January 02, 2016 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:10] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Brianna Keilar in Washington, in for Poppy Harlow.

We have breaking news from the Middle East tonight. The execution of a prominent Shiite cleric by Saudi Arabia triggered numerous protests throughout the region. In Iran, a predominantly Shiite nation, they are now reacting angrily to the execution. Take a look.

This is Tehran where these loud and angry demonstrations broke out tonight at the Saudi embassy. Someone actually throwing firebombs and riot police trying to control the crowd there, trying to prevent protesters from getting inside this building. Shiite protesters have also taken to the streets in Saudi Arabia, a predominantly Sunni country.

And on the phone now from Tehran, we have CNN producer Shirzad Bozorgmehr.

Shirzad, we've got fires I know burning at the Saudi embassy. There's riot police on the scene. Tell us what it looks like right now.

SHIRZAD BOZORGMEHR, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, it's practically over now. And the police have cleared the area. There are at least 150 policemen blocking the all access to the building.

When I was there about an hour, hour and a half ago, there was smoke coming out of the building. The whole thing started 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Fire was burning and the smoke was coming out. But (INAUDIBLE) something around 200, 300 people were left demonstrating. They were not so loud or anything.

The people who actually set the fire had already left. They just came in, some of them were by motorcycles throughout the crowd, threw fires at the building, some of them got into the building and apparently set fire inside the building and ransacked some records that were left there. There were no Saudi diplomats inside the building. They had already left as soon as they heard about the (INAUDIBLE) execution in Saudi Arabia (INAUDIBLE). So -- (CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: So they did manage to get inside the building and actually set fire inside the building. You said they ransacked some records.

What has the official reaction been to this, either from Saudi Arabia or Iran?

BOZORGMEHR: There is no reaction yet. It's 3:30 in the morning, so it's a little too early for official reaction. But they know that after the execution of Sheikh al-Nimr, the Saudi ambassador was called to the foreign ministry in Iran, some severe notice regarding the execution of the Shia leader in Saudi Arabia. So, the Iranians have sympathy with him. So do the Iraqis and all the rest of the Shia world.

KEILAR: All right. Shirzad, thank you so much for being our eyes on the ground there.

I do want to bring in CNN national security analyst Bob Baer now, and we also have military analyst, Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Bob, how concern are you about more of this throughout the region?

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You know, it is not the demonstrations, Brianna. It is touching off a conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. We have been close for a year now with the war in Yemen, with Iraq, as well as Syria. I mean, it's hard for most people to understand how close we are to a general conflict between these two countries. And this is what concerns me.

And the way the Iranians look at it is the sheikh, Sheikh al-Nimr, was an activist, but he wasn't a violent one. I mean, in anybody's terms, he didn't deserve to be executed. So, the Saudis have gone way beyond the norms on this. And they haven't had beheadings and executions since 1980. And now, it's the Mecca mosque tape. So this is a big thing. It is causing widespread anger in the region.

KEILAR: And another thing I think to note, General Hertling, is the reaction from the United States expressing some concern. But that I think really you read between the lines, Saudi Arabia is an ally to the U.S. What are the sensitivities here with the U.S. clearly behind the scenes not happy with what has happened?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, a couple of things, Brianna. What I suggest is it's not only just the reaction to Nimr al-Nimr being executed, but it is the execution of 47 prisoners in 12 different locations today in one fell swoop.

[19:05:01] And this is over 150 the Saudis have executed using Sharia law. And it ranges -- I think we have to put it in perspective. The Saudis will say, hey, we are doing part of what this is all about is attributed to our laws. And the people they executed today ranged in drug trafficking, all the way up to insurrection. So, this is again the application of Sharia law under their court

systems. They will defend it as being part of what they do. But it certainly can be seen as nothing but provocation.

The thing to remember, though, Nimr al-Nimr was a Saudi Arabian. He was an Arab. He was not a Persian from Iran. He was trying to instill a little provocation in the eastern provinces where a lot of Shia live in Saudi Arabia. So, he was -- I mean, I hate to use this example. He was like Martin Luther King trying to get the people, the Shia, in Saudi Arabia to rise up and get representation.

It was a violation against the Saudi house. And they saw it as a provocation and insurrection. So, that's why he was killed. He was arrested several years ago and sentenced to death, and there were a lot of people who said he wouldn't be executed but he was. And I think you are seeing the reaction not only in Iran but there has already been condemnation in Lebanon and Iraq.

And it certainly comes at a horrible time given some of the other, as Bob said, some of the other fights going on in the region right now.

KEILAR: So, Bob, why would Saudi Arabia do this now? And also put in context how important Saudi Arabia is to the U.S. as it fights the war on terror?

BAER: Well, Saudi Arabia is worried about its own stability. This war in Yemen has taken a great toll. There's a lot of disaffection with the second crowned prince, Mohammad bin Salman, who is taking more and more power. You've got terrible economic problems in the sense that they put a tax on gasoline. It has been raised 50 percent.

And the House of Saud is worried about its stability, as General Hertling said. I mean, this is -- they are reacting to a very dire situation inside the kingdom. And we really need to be careful of this situation.

I'm worried about a war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as I just said. The Iranians could take out the Saudi oil facilities in a matter of hours with their rockets, and there's nothing we could do.

HERTLING: Brianna, I will add to that. It is not only a fight between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as Bob said, but it is, as he stated, an explosion within the country. The new king is attempting to tamp down and provide some new approaches to things. But, truthfully, there's a lot of rumblings within Saudi Arabia that could cause an implosion in the country as well. And that would not be a good thing in the region.

KEILAR: How worried are you, General Hertling? What are the chances of that happening?

HERTLING: Well, I first say it is not all about religion. It is all about the way the Saudis do things.

But certainly there is an appearance that it is more sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia. That's the appearance. But this is really the House of Saud trying to tamp down insurrection within their country, trying to keep things under control when economic difficulties, when oil prices and the price of a barrel of oil is significantly lowered. They are having some challenges. They are being challenged on the outside not only by Iran but by Russia and others.

So, yes, this is traumatic. And it's somewhat reminiscent of what happened prior to World War I where a lot of seemingly small things contributed to a much larger conflict. We are seeing this all over the Middle East now.

KEILAR: And we are looking at pictures from Kashmir, where this is really the concern, Bob, that this could spread to other places. We saw this in Kashmir.

Do you think we will see this in the coming days in other countries?

BAER: I think 2016 is going to be a tough year, as the general said. I think the chances of a general war in the region are pretty good, which could draw in Russia or the United States. I know this sounds like the sky is falling, but it is a very dangerous situation. And it's not getting better. And none of these wars are coming to a quick conclusion.

And, you know, getting drawn into this could happen in spite of our best, you know, interests.

KEILAR: All right. Bob Baer, General Hertling, thank you, gentlemen, so much.

There is a new terror video that is featuring one of Donald Trump's most controversial remarks about Muslims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:10:09] KEILAR: Coming up, we'll tell you which jihadist group is using Trump's comment in an effort to recruit new terrorists.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A new terror recruiting video focuses on Donald Trump's proposed ban on Muslim travel to the United States. The Republican frontrunner announced that plan saying that if he was president he would put in effect, in the wake of the San Bernardino shootings last month. This video was apparently released by al Shabaab, an al Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia. And the video labels it as a racist society, and it features audio of Trump's proposed Muslim travel ban.

Right now, Donald Trump is prepping for his first campaign appearance in Mississippi. Tonight's event, as others are, jam-packed, huge crowds lining a coliseum that seats 13,000 people.

And Phil Mattingly is joining me in Biloxi from that coliseum.

Tell us about how Trump supporters there are reacting to this terror video featuring Trump's image and his rhetoric -- Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, you have three responses. One, they haven't seen it. Two, they don't care. Or the third one, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's fabricated.

MATTINGLY: You think the video was made up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sure, it was.

MATTINGLY: Well, because you can see where it was cut in. At least that's my opinion. I think that was strictly -- I may be wrong, but I think that was a made-up deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: So, Brianna, there is a real group of people who don't believe the video is real at all, it was fabricated, or possibly was even planted by the Hillary campaign. One thing that has come through, nobody is really bothered by it at all at this rally.

KEILAR: So who do they think is fabricating it?

MATTINGLY: There are a couple theories that we have heard. And again, this is anecdotal just talking to people.

KEILAR: Yes.

MATTINGLY: But one person posited that perhaps it was the Clinton campaign. And the others, they don't have an idea. They just don't think it is real at all, and they think that this is some type of effort to side track the Trump campaign.

KEILAR: OK. At the risk of asking you to predict what Donald Trump will say tonight, Phil, because obviously, you know, he doesn't even go off script. You never exactly know what he is going to address.

[19:15:02] But do you think he may address this video?

MATTINGLY: It's certainly possible. Look, his campaign hasn't talked about it at all today. We have requested comment a couple of times, haven't heard back from them. We never know what he's going to say.

One of the most interesting things when you ask supporters about it, Brianna, they all took it back to national security. If you look at the latest CNN/ORC poll, more than three-quarters of Americans polled don't feel comfortable with the current anti-terror strategy. If you ask about this video, it was about his response to ISIS, his strength. That's the focus. That's what they cared about, and I can guarantee you, you're going to hear a lot of that at this event in a little under an hour.

KEILAR: So, they're telling you, when you ask them, you know, why are they there, what are they interested in, they're saying that it's national security that's driving them?

MATTINGLY: Yes, more often than that. You will hear immigration. Obviously, that consistently comes up. That is often the second or third issue. Over and over again, it's national security, and, Brianna, I asked a lot of them, what's the specific element of his strategy that sticks out the most? What's the policy that matters the most?

And it's not necessarily that they're willing to pick one out. They like that he speaks with strength. They like that he threatens to bomb the expletive out of things. That's their focus and that's really when you look at people unsatisfied or maybe even nervous about what has been going on overseas with the Islamic State, it's those words at least down here at this rally and at other rallies around the country that have really resonated with his supporters.

KEILAR: All right. Phil Mattingly for us in Biloxi, thanks so much.

Well, a short time ago, Donald Trump launched a fresh zinger at President Obama, denouncing the president's plan to take executive action on gun control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't like it. I don't like anything having to do with changing our Second Amendment. We have plenty of rules and regulations.

There's plenty of things they can do right now that are already there. They don't do them. We have a tremendous mental health problem. We are closing places all over the world, all over on the country they are closing, but they are closing all over the world. Tremendous mental health problems, nobody is doing anything about that.

All they want to do is blame the guns. It's not the gun that pulls the trigger. So I don't like --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So, those new gun rules are part of President Obama's effort to avoid being a lame duck his final year in office. And to that end, he is planning a flurry of executive actions to get his way on issues that Congress has not dealt with.

CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta joining us live from Honolulu where the president is on vacation there in Oahu.

Jim, he has a big to-do list still even though this is his last year.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He's going to be putting down the golf clubs here in Honolulu and picking up the presidential pen when he gets back to Washington. The very first thing on his agenda is gun control.

And the White House says because of congressional inaction, the president is going to strike out on his own and take unilateral action through a series of executive actions. A package deal, we're being told that will be announced in the coming days. He meets with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday to talk about this.

The cornerstone of these executive actions will be to tighten the background check in this system. As you know, Brianna, there are some gun purchasers through person-to-person sales at gun shows who elude the background check system. And so, they want to tighten that up.

The president cannot alone require universal checks across the country. The White House acknowledges that. That's only something Congress can do.

Beyond that, there is also the issue of Guantanamo. The president does plan to unveil a proposal later on this year that Congress would have to act on. But he says and White House officials say, if Congress fails to be act on that, the president will strike out on his own once again to close down the detention facility at Guantanamo.

So even though he is heading out of office at the end of 2016, heading into 2017, he has an ambitious agenda for the months ahead.

KEILAR: Can Congress stymie his Gitmo plans, Jim?

ACOSTA: You know, I think that remains to be seen. You know, we saw with immigration, through the same kind of justification, Congress didn't act. So, the president said he was going to act.

You know, Republicans up on Capitol Hill. They really couldn't do much. But we saw this -- attorneys general in various states around the country stymie the president's executive actions on immigration. And that did halt that in its tracks. So, there is that potential there.

I did talk to a spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan in the last couple of days who said they're going to wait and see what the president has in mind for these executive actions on gun control. They're waiting to see what the president has in mind on Guantanamo.

But, you know, the president not only wants to be relevant in Washington. He wants to be relevant out on the campaign trail. They like the fact that Donald Trump is talking about this executive action on gun control and they point to public opinion polls that show, you know, the vast majority of voters out there like this idea of expanding the background check system.

[19:20:08] So, the White House feels that the president is in very good shape politically when it comes to this.

And Hillary Clinton is not shying away from gun control. She has been talking about it a great deal out on the campaign trail. So, they are very much hand in glove with the Democratic frontrunner at this point. They don't really see a down side in pursuing either of those issues, Brianna.

KEILAR: Jim Acosta, thank you so much. And tomorrow, you can hear from two of the candidates on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION". Bernie Sanders and Carly Fiorina on live tomorrow 9:00 a.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

And coming up, the daunting task of cleanup begins as floodwaters recede in the Midwest. We will see you the catastrophic damage that homeowners are returning to today as people farther south are preparing for the flood's arrival. We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: This just in to CNN: the president today signed an emergency declaration for the state of Missouri, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts. Cities along the Mississippi River are still bracing for surging floodwaters that have swamped cities farther north. One of the hardest hit cities is Eureka, Missouri. This is outside of St. Louis. Floodwaters there starting to recede and as they do, they are uncovering significant damage and debris below.

CNN's Dan Simon is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, this is what you call a giant debris field. You can see the magnitude of destruction in this community, all these household items that people have collected and brought over to this community center. Ultimately, this will be taken to a landfill. But in the meantime, you need a place to put all of this stuff.

I can tell you that Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri has asked the Obama White House for a federal emergency declaration to speed up the removal process, he says, in order, really to get Missouri back on its feet. You have to have all the debris removed and try to get cleanup accelerated they are hoping the president will honor that request.

In the meantime, we're going to walk around a little bit. You can see all the stuff people have dropped off. You can see mattresses and other household items. You see a whole bunch of sandbags in the back. Those cannot be reused at all.

I want you to listen to now to what the governor said just a short time ago.

GOV. JAY NIXON, MISSOURI: I'm from this part of the state.

[19:25:01] Quite frankly, it's almost hard to believe. When you see the levels of where water was. When you are coming over historic highs -- I mean, from the beginning of time we kept records, by four and five feet, I mean, when you are seeing 55, when you are seeing a house that floated, a full house that's floated into the Highway 30 Bridge and blowing up, it is almost as if you're living on some other planet.

SIMON: Fortunately, the floodwaters have receded. So what you are left with is just the debris. In reality, this is just a fraction of what you are saying all throughout the state. Hundreds of businesses and homes have taken on significant damage -- Brianna.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: All right. Dan Simon, thank you so much.

Bill Cosby's wife Camille is being forced to break her silence on the charges against her husband. A judge has ordered Mrs. Cosby to testify on Wednesday in a defamation suit. In a civil suit, seven women say that Bill Cosby portrayed them as liars when they accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting them. Mrs. Cosby's attorneys argue the couple's private conversations were privileged. But the plaintiffs say they subpoenaed Mrs. Cosby because she was her husband's business manager.

In addition to this civil suit, there was a criminal bombshell this week. Bill Cosby could face up to 10 years in prison on sexual assault charges in Pennsylvania. CNN's Jean Casarez has details of that case -- Jean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, the year is starting with a legal bombshell, criminal charges for Bill Cosby.

(voice-over): Bill Cosby out on $1 million bail. His legal team vowing to mount a vigorous defense after Cosby was arraigned on criminal sexual assault charges.

REPORTER: Mr. Cosby, anything to say?

KEVIN R. STEELE, FIRST ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: These charges stem from a sexual assault that took place on an evening in early 2004 at Mr. Cosby's home in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County.

CASAREZ: The 78-year-old comedian charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand. Constand worked with Temple University's athletic program and considered Cosby, 37 years her senior and a Temple alum, a friend and mentor. She accuses Cosby of drugging and assaulting her when she visited his Pennsylvania home.

STEELE: Mr. Cosby made two sexual advances at her that were rejected. On the evening in question, Mr. Cosby urged her to take pills, that he provided to her and to drink wine.

CASAREZ: According to criminal complaint, the pills and wine left Constand feeling dizzy, nauseous, frozen and paralyzed, but aware of Cosby fondling her breasts and putting his hand into her pants.

Constand went to the police about a year later. But the district attorney did not file charges, citing lack of evidence. She filed a civil suit against Cosby, forcing him to be deposed. He

settled the suit with her. The terms of which were sealed. That deposition was unsealed in July. In it, Cosby admits to giving women Quaaludes, but never without their knowledge.

Constand is the first of at least 50 women that have come forward with similar allegations over four decades. Some of those women now sharing their reactions to the news.

VICTORIA VALENTINO, BILL COSBY ACCUSER: When I saw the mug shot, I started to cry. I -- it was, it just hit me so hard. I really didn't anticipate I was going to react that way.

CASAREZ: An attorney representing some of the accusers says she believes other alleged victims may be called to testify against Cosby at the trial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're going to demonstrate that kind of courage. They're going to tell what they say is their truth.

CASAREZ: The comedian has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and even filed a countersuit against seven women earlier this month. He has yet to directly answer questions about the allegations.

In interviews last November, Cosby refused to comment.

SCOTT SIMON: Shaking your head no.

BILL COSBY, COMEDIAN: There's no response.

CASAREZ: In a statement, his attorneys called the charges, quote, "unjustified", and vowed that he'll be, quote, "exonerated by a court of law."

(on camera): On New Year's Eve, Bill Cosby tweeted, "Friends and fans, thank you."

His preliminary hearing continues to be set for January 14th in Pennsylvania -- Brianna.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Jean, thank you.

And coming up, putting a superstar on trial. How Bill Cosby's global celebrity could impact the case against him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:32:47]

KEILAR: We want to continue our conversation about the criminal case against Bill Cosby by examining in the impact of his superstardom on this trial. Joining me now is Darren Kavinoky, he's a criminal defense attorney and the host of "Seven Deadly Sins" as well as "Did He Do It" on Investigation Discovery. Darren, always great to be with you, to have you answer questions about...

DARREN KAVINOKY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: ... whatever legal case we have at hand. But tell us how much more difficult Cosby celebrity that makes this case both for the prosecution and for the defense.

KAVINOKY: Well, it's a great question and a huge issue in this case. We've seen examples where being a celebrity has been very helpful to a criminal defendant and others where celebrities were punished I think more harshly because of their status as a celebrity. What's especially tricky for Cosby in this case, though, is that at its very core, this case is about the misuse of his celebrity status.

And so that gives the prosecutor a very powerful argument essentially to be arguing, "Hey, ladies and gentlemen, don't let him get away with this again. Send the celebrity a message or don't allow "celebrity justice" to happen. And that means impliedly that you better return a conviction.

The other thing I think that's very interesting about all this is that because of Bill's celebrity status. There is a 24 hour global news cycle that's very interested in him. And that means that we're going to hear everything there is to know about Bill. This tends to make it very, very cloudy. When for the defense they want to keep things very siloed.

Can the prosecution prove beyond a reasonable doubt that certain things happened on a certain day? And the cloudier and muddier this gets with constant focus on everything Cosby the more difficult that makes it for the defense.

KEILAR: There are a couple of things that are very damning for Bill Cosby. And I wonder what you think the chances of them getting into this case, being something that the jury gets to look at. One, that deposition where he says -- I mean he agrees with Andrea Constant about what happened pretty much. That there were pills then there were sexual acts. He just says it was consensual. But clearly she said that it's not.

[19:35:01] And then the other thing is, the prosecution is going to want to bring in just what will be a parade of alleged victims of Cosby is to prove that he has an M.O.

KAVINOKY: Right.

KEILAR: What are the chances that both of those things come into this, into the courtroom?

KAVINOKY: Yeah. I think that what this foreshadows is that were going to spend a considerable amount of time and energy on pretrial motions fighting about exactly these things. I mean, look let's make no secret about it. If you were the defense, you want to keep this very narrowly focused. And if you're the prosecution you'd love to bring in the parade of horribles because it invites the possibility of really outraging the passions of the jurors.

And so we get into these really tactical decisions that both sides are going to be engaged in and both of them are going to be making arguments of the judge about why theirs is the best reason view.

Ultimately, I think you've got a decent shot that it could play out either way that some of this material that you've referenced may make it in. And others is going to be kept out because it is more prejudicial than it is probative on a particular issue. But either way you can be absolutely certain there are going to be compelling hard fought arguments on both sides of that issue.

KEILAR: Real quick before I let you, Darren. What do you think the chances are that that -- I knew you said it could happen either way. But what do you think the chances are that deposition gets in?

KAVINOKY: Well, with depositions, as long as he had all the same motivations to testify truthfully and that there was opportunities for him to answer questions or cross examine as well. It's more likely that that's going to come in. That that anything that Cosby said, especially if it's under oath, generally speaking admissions of a party aren't admissible against them. So I think that's likely to get in front of the jurors.

KEILAR: All right.

KAVINOKY: But just wait for the legal fireworks. I'm sure there's arguments on the other side too.

KEILAR: Oh, there sure will be. Darren Kavinoky, thank you so much. And coming up, a stunning CNN investigation will make you think twice about your safety at two of the nation's big airports. That's because officers there are instructed to run and hide in the event of an active shooting. We have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:40:18]

KEILAR: It's a busy travel weekend with a lot of people heading home after the holidays. And O'Hare is one of the nation's busiest airports, along with another Chicago airport, Chicago midway. They are the focus of a new CNN investigation. We wanted to know why some of the officers assigned to protect both airports are not allowed to carry weapons. They work alongside armed police officers. But there is one major difference. If there's an attack at any of these terminals, these aviation police officers say they are trained and told to run away. And now these officers are speaking out. Here's CNN senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Take a look around the passenger terminals at Chicago's O'Hare and midway airports and you will see what appear to be police officers. But take a closer look. Not one of them is carrying a gun. In the event of an active shooter or terrorist strike here, you might be surprised to hear how they have been told to react. Not fight back, not try to neutralize the threat but instead to run.

You guys are police officers. But you don't have guns. You're unarmed. Do you feel safe when you're working?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir. Not safe at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely not.

GRIFFIN: Do you feel almost as if you're a sitting target?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

GRIFFIN: It's not for lack of training or licensing or experience, aviation police officers are all sworn officers in the state of Illinois. They get the same training as Chicago police and many are military veterans or have second jobs in suburban jobs. These two officers speaking in silhouette for fear of being fired.

Say all they want is to carry a gun like any other law enforcement officer. Just two years ago at Los Angeles International Airport, a man with an assault rifle killed a TSA officer, wounded several others, before being shot and wounded by an armed police officer. If the same event took place in Chicago's two airports, the nearly 300 unarmed aviation police would be defenseless to stop it.

So in the event of a let's say to terrorist attack, let's say it's a shooter, what are you supposed to do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run.

GRIFFIN: Run?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hide.

GRIFFIN: Hide?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And seek shelter.

GRIFFIN: This internal Chicago aviation document obtained from aviation department sources outlines the policy. If evacuation is not possible, hide. You must also ensure that unarmed security personnel do not attempt to become part of the response. Here's the training video. Officers say they were instructed to do watch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If evacuation is not possible, you should find a place to hide where the active shooter is less likely to find you. Block entry to your hiding place and lock the doors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're nothing but casualties, if you tell to run and hide and how can the public look at us if they see police officers run and hide?

That goes against the very oath that we were sworn to, that we took. GRIFFIN: It's the Chicago police who carry guns at both airports

since they are the primary law enforcement agency. If there's a major incident or an arrest, aviation police tell us they must wait for Chicago police to show up. A unique arrangement among major U.S. airports.

MATT BRANDON, UNION OFFICER: It doesn't make any sense.

GRIFFIN: Matt Brandon is an official with the union that represents aviation police officers.

So basically they're just -- I mean no disrespect to those officers but as their role they are glorified security officers.

BRANDON: That's exactly right. And my question to the city is you send these men and women to the Chicago police academy to be trained as police officers to be able to respond as police officers, to be able to act as police officers.

GRIFFIN: The Chicago Police Department has 231 armed officers assigned to O'Hare and midway and the city says that's enough. So too does the Chicago Aviation Department about its unarmed force. And the staffing level of armed police is for the most part, similar to other major U.S. airports.

If you compare the top three busiest in the U.S., Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson has 178 armed police, Los Angeles, 572, while O'Hare has budgeted 175. The numbers do not include additional security such as private security personnel.

In an e-mail, the CNN, the Aviation Department says the multilevel security has proven effective in stopping and preventing crime and that violent crime incidents are extremely low. But there's been no explanation why the nearly 300 aviation police officers here are unarmed.

[19:45:00] The department is declining to discuss security measures. CNN has surveyed large U.S. airports and found Chicago's use of unarmed. Aviation police officers is unique. And according to Miami security expert Wayne Black, "Absurd."

WAYNE BLACK, MIAMI SECURITY EXPERT: You've got sworn law enforcement officers at the U.S. airport that are trained to hide if there's an attack. It's crazy. Airports are targets of terror activity. What are they going to do if somebody runs in with a gun and there is no law enforcement officer there?

GRIFFIN: In October, a man caught with these knives attempted to gets on the airfield and actually told the officers he knew they were not even armed. The gun issue has been part of an ongoing dispute between the officers and their chief, Richard Edgeworth.

Chicago's aviation police recently took a no confidence vote against Edgeworth, calling him incompetent and someone who exerts control through intimidation and fear. Despite the vote, Edgeworth boss says he has the full confidence and trust of the aviation department. Edgeworth has repeatedly refuse to even answer a numerous phone call from CNN. And when we approached him to ask our questions, he did what his officers are supposed to do if anyone approaches them, armed.

Excuse me. Hi Chief Edgeworth. I'm Griffin with CNN.

RICHARD EDGEWORTH: Oh how are you?

GRIFFIN: Good to see you. We wanted to ask you why your officers aren't armed? Why there's the only aviation police officers in the United States apparently are not armed? Wouldn't the public be better protected if they were armed and were able to engage the threat instead of sir instead of having to run and hide?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now just ahead.

MATTHEW CHANCE, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Can I be -- we have to tell you says that it smells of citrus fruits and pine needles. A mixture of hard and soft just like President Putin himself. So I suppose I should give it a try.

KEILAR: What do you buy the person who has everything? How about a cologne that captures the essence of Russia's president? We'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:50:00]

KEILAR: Last minute bargain hunters listen up. It is not too late to get your hands on some merchandise featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin. Maybe some cologne, how about a calendar features him pumping iron.

CNN's Mathew Chance has a virtual shopping list of ways. Russians are adding some more Putin to their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: For fans of Vladimir Putin, there's no shortage of stuff with the Russian president's image all over it.

These Putin t-shirts have been around for a while but they're still popular New Year's gifts.

All right. So this is the most popular one. This is semi popularly t-shirt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice. (Inaudible).

CHANCE: No, OK. So how to show Puitn's -- how well do these t-shirts sell?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They sell really well. Maybe tourists buy them but our compatriots buy them as well. They love Putin.

CHANCE: Despite a deep economic crisis and international isolation over the wars in Ukraine and Syria, Putin's ratings are doing well too.

So what about spending the entire year with President Putin? Well that's what this 2016 Putin calendar is promising with every month revealing a carefully chosen image of the Russian leader.

This one has him in Siberia with a horse in the forest. Here, he's smelling a flower and this third one over here, he's working out in the gym.

But photographs aren't all you get with this calendar. You get Putin's words of wisdom too. Some are characteristically hard line like this one for the month of October, "No one will succeed in gaining military superiority over Russia", Putin says.

Others hint at a softer side. "Dogs and I have very warm feelings for one another", says the Russian leader for November.

One group of Putin supporters has put together an entire book of Putin's best known remarks and one-liners, publishing a limited edition which is set to go on sale next year. The book is called "Words Changing the World". And its publishers say, "It makes the perfect holiday gift for patriotic Russians".

And if reading Putin isn't enough, you can now smell him too with a new men's fragrance that's just hit the shops here in Russia.

All right. Well, here is it. It's called, "Leaders Number One". But make no mistake with the profile of Vladimir Putin on the side and the words inspired by Vladimir Putin. It's pretty clear which leader they're referring to.

Now, the advertising bump says that it smells of citrus fruits and pine needles, a mixture of hard and soft, just lake the President Putin himself. So I suppose, I should give it a try, shouldn't I? Let's have a smell.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you like it?

CHANCE: I'm impartial on it but I can see how it wouldn't be to everybody's taste.

Matthew Chance, CNN Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Still to come, he was once Steve Jobs' best friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL KOTTKE, EARLY APPLE EMPLOYEE: We were just traveling around, just hippies traveling around. We weren't even hippies. We shaved our heads. We were monks. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Daniel Kottke explains how psychedelic drugs sent the friends all the way to India. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:32]

KEILAR: Daniel Kottke may not be a household name but at one time, he was the closest person to Apple founder Steve Jobs.

CNN Money's Laurie Segall tells us how when Kottke was dropping acid in college, he was often tripping with one of the most creative minds of the last century.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: You used to do LSD with Steve Jobs. Could you take me back to those college days? I mean, let's just rewind and go back there.

KOTTKE: Let's see, were we playing sergeant pepper?

SEGALL: Yes. What were you playing? How does this go down?

KOTTKE: It was pretty prosaic. We were in Portland at Reed College, you know, freshman college year is a very poignant time of life where you're very much trying to figure out what the world is about and what you're interested in.

SEGALL: How did you guys meet?

KOTTKE: Oh, well, at Reed, Reed was a pastoral environment and so there was a lot of hanging out going on. But Steve and I developed a friendship when we figured out that we had both read this amazing book called "Be Here Now" which is about psychedelics and spirituality.

Steve was my best friend at the time of life when I was discovering all of this huge current of Eastern literature. All of the sudden, psychedelics were being introduced into the mix of traditional spirituality and that was very fascinating.

SEGALL: Do you remember the first time you guys took psychedelics together?

KOTTKE: No, not really. We were just kind of walking around. I think, we used to go for hikes. I think we camped out on the beach.

I can't really remember building a campfire. I don't remember what we did when it got dark. I can tell you that the times that I was taking psychedelics with Steve, we weren't really talking that much. We were more of in a meditative pace.

SEGALL: At some point you guys, you and Steve Jobs, you guys decided to go to India, right? KOTTKE: Yes.

SEGALL: What was that trip like?

KOTTKE: I didn't have any money. I had no travel plans. But Steve had started working at Atari and he had money, couple of thousand dollars. And so, he offered to buy my ticket. And I said, "Absolutely OK, let's go".

We were just traveling around. Jut hippies, traveling around. We weren't even hippies. We shaved our heads. We were monks. We were monk want to bees.

SEGALL: That the story goes that everyone's in the garage working on the first prototype?

KOTTKE: When I heard that he was starting this Apple project, that was a big surprise to me and I volunteered to help. Not having any qualifications whatsoever. But I was happy to help.

Most of what I was doing was testing these boards and you know, hooking them up and testing -- I had to plug all the chips in and then test them.

And Steve was on the phone in the kitchen most of the time. So I was alone in the garage. Did I, did I even have a radio? No. I didn't have, I have at radio.

SEGALL: One you were there, did Steve Jobs, did you and Steve Jobs ever take LSD or continue to take psychedelics?

KOTTKE: Once the Apple started, Steve was really focused with all of his energy on making Apple successful. And he didn't need psychedelics for that.

(END VIDE CLIP)

KEILAR: Catch the CNN film "Steve Jobs, The Man in the Machine" tomorrow night at nine Eastern.

And next on CNN, a look back at 2015 and the stories we all couldn't stop talking about.

[20:00:00] And at 9:00 "BLACKFISH."

I'm Brianna Keilar in Washington. Jim Sciutto, will be with you tomorrow night. Have a great week.