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Impact Your World: Battling the Bitterly Cold Nights; ATF Seeks to Ban Armor-Piercing Bullets; A Look at Miles O'Brien's Life-Changing Accident

Aired March 10, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go with the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

At number one, the White House blasting a letter from Republican senators to Iran's leaders (INAUDIBLE) undermining nuclear negotiations. President Obama accuses the 47 who signed it of siding with Iranian hardliners.

Oklahoma University cutting ties with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Its members have been ordered to vacate the campus by midnight tonight for a racist chant that was caught on video.

Thousands of students in Wisconsin taking the state's capital by storm demanding justice after a white police officer gunned down a biracial teenager Tony Robinson. The family's -- the victim's family, rather, is calling for a through probe.

ISIS blowing up a bridge east of Tikrit as the battle for the key city rages on. The Iraqi paramilitary force says they are confident they can retake the city and crush the terrorists without the help of the U.S.-led coalition.

Dozens of people injured when an Amtrak train derailed after slamming into a tractor trailer. North Carolina's highway patrol says the tractor trailer got stuck on the tracks while trying to make a difficult left-hand turn.

We do update the five things to know, so be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Michaela, in this week's "Impact Your World," this long winter has been particularly tough for those most at risk on the streets. CNN's Miguel Marquez spent one bitterly cold night with outreach teams in New York in a race against time to get those outside in to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a windy, bitterly cold night. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Accuweather real (INAUDIBLE) it could be as low as

minus 20.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I've experienced some pretty cold nights out here, but tonight is definitely one of the top ones.

Hello. Homeless outreach.

These are the kind of locations that we find people in.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MARQUEZ: Freezing out tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MARQUEZ: This is a code blue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

MARQUEZ: What is a code blue?

JUAN RIVERA, BROOMWORKS (ph): A code blue is the city -- the city basically calls a code blue to let the outreach teams know that the weather has dropped to a point where it's very dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you get someone who's drinking alcohol, if you get someone who's not properly dressed, someone could suffer hypothermia and, you know, just pass away.

MARQUEZ: When people see homeless people on the street, they just sort of throw up their hands and think it's hopeless. But you don't see that, do you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. I mean because the thing is like every person has a story.

MARQUEZ: This is a home. You can barely see it right here --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MARQUEZ: But that's a -- that's a home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a gentleman that we've known for quite some time and, you know, I've worked with him personally probably a good maybe five years or so.

CAROLOS RAMERA CASTRO: I come to this country in 1964. I never (INAUDIBLE).

MARQUEZ: And this is colder than any of those years?

CASTRO: (INAUDIBLE). All my life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are folks that, over time, we've gotten to know them. We know their story.

MARQUEZ: You're moving into a room tonight?

CASTRO: Yes.

MARQUEZ: You have the keys?

CASTRO: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight he'll get to sleep in a warm bed.

MARQUEZ: Victory in little tiny degrees, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's -- that one we'll hold on to for a while and that kind of carries us through, you know?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Every person counts. Every person counts. Great piece by Miguel Marquez. Thank you for that.

So, here's a provocative question for you. The Second Amendment clearly protects your right to use armor piercing bullets, doesn't it? That is the question at the heart of a new gun control controversy. This is not the same old gun argument, and you'll see why when we test both sides, ahead.

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CUOMO: Armor piercing bullets. I'll give you three questions -- three guesses what they do and the first two don't count. They pierce armor. That's what they do. The ATF wants to ban them, or at least one type of them, staying they're deadly to cops. But gun rights advocates say it's just a back door attempt at gun control. Joining us now to discuss, Dave Workmen with the Second Amendment Foundation and Ladd Everitt with the coalition to stop gun violence.

The two of you, you look enough like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sam Alito for me. Let's put this up to the level of what the Supreme Court might do with it. I'll start with you, Dave Workmen, what do you think about this in terms of a Second Amendment precedent?

DAVE WORKMAN, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION: Well, it's not really clear why this came out of left field all of a sudden back on the 13th of February. Nobody understands what this proposal is all about. There's been no rash of shootings involving this ammunition. Certainly out of any handguns chambered for it. So it's -- I think it's understandable that the shooting community is wondering what's going on here.

CUOMO: Shooting community's wondering what goes on here. So you're OK with having armor piercing bullets?

WORKMAN: Well, these really aren't classified as armor piercing bullets. In fact, they've been exempted for quite some time and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives suddenly came up with the notion that they need to change that and do a reversal of existing policy and declare these armor piercing bullets.

CUOMO: So is this a red herring in terms of, Ladd, when you talk about the MA -- M855 green tip, is that an armor piercing bullet or is it just being given a bad name?

LADD EVERITT, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, COALITION TO STOP GUN VIOLENCE: No, I mean, absolutely it's an armor piercing cartridge. It's the cartridge used by NATO soldiers and it was designed for battlefield use.

This is a good call from the ATF. And it's actually not something new. The authority for them to do this dates back to 1986 to enact called the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act that was signed by none other than President Ronald Reagan. It got 400 votes in the House and 97 in the Senate and was totally noncontroversial.

This is about protecting our men and women in blue and making sure they're safe. And what's changed that made ATF take this step is that the gun industry is now marketing AR-style pistols that can take this cartridge. So the particular concern for law enforcement here is now the power of this round combined with conceal ability.

CUOMO: You ignored that fact when you said there have been none of these rounds that fit for handguns. Ladd says, yes, but they're fitting them now for this type of cartridge and that's the concern going forward. Why not protect the cops? How does it disadvantage hunters and shooters?

WORKMAN: Well, there's been no history of any of these rounds being used in a handgun to harm a police officer. In fact, a couple of the major national police organizations are also wondering what this is all about. The Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, they've --

CUOMO: Why would police want armored tip bullets out there? Like why would they say, this is weird, let people have them? Why would that work for them?

WORKMAN: Well, again, this is not a situation where these have been classified as armor piercing bullets. The ATF is asking for public comment on whether to reclassify these as armor piercing rounds.

CUOMO: Right. If you shot at me --

WORKMAN: It's a rifle cartridge.

CUOMO: Right.

WORKMAN: What's that?

CUOMO: If you shot it at me and I had on a bullet proof vest and you shot it at me, would it go through it?

WORKMAN: Well, it's a rifle cartridge, so, yes, the rifle cartridges typically can pass through soft body armor. That's why the soft body armor was designed to stop handgun bullets. CUOMO: So is the question to you then, Ladd, are you doing an end run

here? You're reclassifying these bullets because what you're trying to do is curtail the ability to have munitions? You're going to say this bullet is something that it isn't so then you're going to take that away from me and then you're going to say, by the way, the gun that it goes in, you might as well not have that either and slip, slip we go down the slippery slope of taking away my Second Amendment rights.

EVERITT: No, come on, Chris, I mean, look, this 1986 law is very specific in the authority it gives ATF. It solely applies to armor piercing ammunition that can be used in handguns. That law has been in effect for 30 years now and this is the first debate we've ever had about banning a specific round. The ATF has used this authority very wisely, very prudently. They've been utterly restrained in the way they've dealt with it. This is a very limited step that will only effect -- and really it's an incredibly minor inconvenience for a small minority of gun owners out there.

CUOMO: All right. And just so you understand, I'm not posing these questions to you as someone who's just, you know, straight anti-gun. I get it that there seems to be this duality going on out there, either you love guns or you hate guns. I'm a gun owner, but I'm saying at what point do you draw the line about what you need to shoot or hunt? If these bullets are armor piercing, you're saying well all rifle cartridges can do that. But, you know, reading in a little bit about M855, it's not just an ordinary rifle cartridge, it is fairly specifically designed. At what point do you draw the line about how this isn't necessary for what we use weapons for if we're using them the right way?

WORKMAN: Well, this ammunition has typically been used for target shooting, for predator control, shooting prairie dogs. It's not the kind of ammunition that you typically find in a gun fight. The -- there has been no record of any of these rounds being used that I can find in a handgun to harm a police officer. I think this, as you mentioned, it is kind of a red herring, and what it would do is it establishes a precedent --

CUOMO: Well, but is that a red herring also, though, Dave?

WORKMAN: What?

CUOMO: You keep saying they haven't been used in a handgun. That's because they don't work in handguns yet. That' what Ladd is saying that they're now fitting handguns to take these cartridges and shoot these bullets. So that's a little bit of a red herring too, isn't it?

WORKMAN: Well, no. There have been handguns chambered for this round for several years. I think the development of these started back in the early 1990s. Somebody just got the idea to design a handgun around the AR-15 action. But I think the precedent setting is what concerns a lot of people. If you can ban a particular cartridge, then you can ban another cartridge on the same argument that this, gee whiz, it'll fit in a handgun someplace so we should ban it because it pierces soft body armor. CUOMO: All right, Dave Workman, Ladd Everitt, thank you very much.

We're going to see this debate play out. Thank you for setting the table for our audience. Appreciate it.

Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. His life was changed forever after he lost his arm in a freak accident. CNN contributor Miles O'Brien opens up to his friend, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, about that harrowing experience.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I don't think we're very good -- human beings in general -- are good at perceiving what our real risks are, right? You tell people you're going to Fukushima, you're crazy. You tell people I'm stacking up some Pelican cases, they say, so what? Our perception of risk does not match reality. Ad I have learned that in a very painful way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That was a look at Dr. Sanjay Gupta's report, "MILES O'BRIEN, A LIFE LOST AND FOUND". It's all about Miles O'Brien, former CNN anchor, now a CNN contributor. After he suffered a life-changing accident, hard to believe, a little more than a year ago. He was on assignment in the Philippines when a case of equipment fell and hit his arm. Left a nasty bruise, but he ignored it. That seemingly minor accident resulted in him losing his arm and, in fact, almost cost him his life.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to talk about it. And it's important to point out, he's your friend. This is a pal of yours, someone you know very well.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, we journalists don't do that sort of thing very often, right? I mean, this is someone I know well. He was a science guy at CNN for a long time. So he was the rocket scientist, I was the brain surgeon. We had a lot of fun with that.

PEREIRA: Sure.

GUPTA: And we're just interested in the same things. I think, like many people, but maybe me even more so, when I heard the news it -- I literally -- it was like someone punched me in the gut. It took the wind out of me.

PEREIRA: I imagine.

GUPTA: So the opportunity to be able to tell his story, what happened, but also the recovery was -- we obviously took this very, very seriously.

PEREIRA: His recovery has been remarkable. We'll talk about that in a second. I think we have to back up to what I've just highlighted about what happened to him.

I can't tell you -- I'm a klutz. I knock into myself all the time. Why was this so devastating for Miles?

GUPTA: Well, it's an interesting problem. What happened was this case fell on his arm, right?

PEREIRA: A heavy case?

GUPTA: A heavy case. One of the Pelican cases, the case we put camera equipment in. But a seemingly harmless injury. It hurt. You move on. That was his sort of thinking.

PEREIRA: Yes, probably get a bruise as we mentioned.

GUPTA: He got a little bruise. It started to get worse. Now, keep in mind he was in the Philippines when this happened. He wasn't here in the States. He wasn't on home turf. He didn't know where the hospital was, who to call. But 48 hours went by, Mick, before he finally said, you know, what, this is not getting better. This is getting worse. My hands are starting to tingle.

PEREIRA: Uh-oh. Was the bruise spreading?

GUPTA: The bruise was getting worse as well; it was turning different colors. And I can tell you briefly, what was happening though is that the pressure inside his arm, it's called acute compartment syndrome, that pressure was building up and basically cutting off the blood supply to his muscle and his muscle was dying. That's what was happening.

PEREIRA: And that's why he lost the arm.

GUPTA: And when he went in they thought, OK, what they're going to do is they're going to open up the area around the muscles, give it more room, so you take the pressure off. But it was too late by that point and they had to do an above-the-elbow amputation for Miles.

PEREIRA: What's really remarkable is how quickly he got back to work. He was back at it, I think about all of our coverage of MH-370, he was so front and center during all of that. It probably helped him to get back to work right away. But also, as a doctor, do you suggest that somebody throws themselves into work so quickly?

GUPTA: You know, Mick, I've learned something here. I think we like to have neat, tidy packages in terms of what we expect people to do in terms of recovery. You deny things, initially; you're angry, then you bargain, then you're depressed, and then you accept.

PEREIRA: The stages of grief.

GUPTA: The stages of grief. And what I've learned from Miles is that it's messy. It's sticky. You go back and forth. Nothing fits into real patterns necessarily. Everyone's going to be different.

And also this idea of coming out of the gate going a million miles an hour. And that's Miles. Let me fly a plane again. Let me ride my bike 300 miles across the state. Let me go shoot in Alaska with one arm. All these things. He did all those things. But I will tell you, and this is the learning for me as well, is that I don't know that that's always or maybe even sometimes the right thing to do. I don't know that you in some ways -- you're just delaying, I think, the inevitable. And sometimes when you actually have the psychological reckoning, it can even be a little harder because you've been going so hard, charging for so long.

PEREIRA: So much psychologically and emotionally that you're going through when you suffer a trauma like that. But there's also some physical things that happen. You learned about this phantom limb syndrome. That's for real.

GUPTA: It is for real. People talk about this all the time, the pain that comes with it sometimes, but also just the sense that your arm is still there.

PEREIRA: Why does that happen though?

GUPTA: Your brain is -- think about your brain as starting to rewire itself. Your brain just -- what happened here? It lost part of the body. Let's figure out how to maintain some of the brain signal.

I asked Miles to describe it to me as well. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Imagine like when your foot goes to sleep or your hand goes to sleep, and as it is waking up and you get the sensation back, it's kind of partially numb and kind of tingly, that's kind of the feeling I have almost all the time there. And then on occasion I'll get kind of these electrical jolts or what seem like twitches in my missing fingers. It's a really bizarre experience to have sensation and pain in a place that doesn't exist except in your mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Incredible, except in your mind. Very powerful place.

GUPTA: He would have to look down, because all of sudden it would feel like his arm was absolutely there. It would feel like it was clenched up. It was remarkable to hear him describe this.

PEREIRA: I so appreciate and I know this is going to touch many, many people, the fact that you sat down with your friend and colleague to tell this story. And we'll hear it from Miles himself. Be sure to catch Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: "MILES O'BRIEN, A LIFE LOST AND FOUND". It will air tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Sanjay, thank you so much.

GUPTA: Thank you, Mick.

PEREIRA: Chris?

CUOMO: Horrible situation but an amazing comeback, to be sure.

So what can end the terrible trends of cyber bullying and body shaming that we're seeing just more and more? Maybe the power of the Good Stuff. Check it out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Time for the Good Stuff. Today's edition, the gentleman known to you net lovers as Dancing Man. His image went viral after he was spotted dancing, but the people who took the picture, they weren't doing it because they liked it. They tried to make fun of him. They posted it with a comment, quote, "Spotted this specimen trying to dance. He stopped when he saw us laughing."

And as you can see, he did exactly that. He stopped. Well, the same web that can be so full of hate can also be full of love. A young lady in L.A. started a campaign to Find Dancing Man and throw him a dance party. Took just 12 hours to find Sean, a man from London. That's not all. 31 grand has been donated for that dance party. Pharrell and Ellie Goulding are offering to play at it. Moby tweeting, "I offer my DJ services because one should ever be ashamed about dancing."

Of course, it's not just about dancing, right? Sean says he's going to donate any money raised to anti-bullying charities, because that's what it was really about.

PEREIRA: Pay it forward.

CAMEROTA: What a great story!

All right, well, there is some breaking news to tell you about. It involves Hillary Clinton. So let's get right to "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello. Hi, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEWSROOM": All right, I will get to that breaking news shortly. Thanks so much.

"NEWSROOM" starts now.