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New Day Saturday
U.S. To Send 1,500 More Troops To Iraq; High Court to Hear New Obamacare Challenge; Monster Storm Bringing Big Chill To U.S.; Suspect Charged In McStay Killings; Former Navy SEAL Talking about Killing Osama bin Laden; Arctic Cold Coming to U.S.; CNN Hero Arthur Bloom
Aired November 08, 2014 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. is about to double the number of troops in Iraq, 1,500 is the magic number. They're headed there, but is this a mission creep?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Then --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You only know what you're told in the room. Fortunately, there were two in the room people and one of them is dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: A Navy SEAL says he is the one who shot Osama Bin Laden, but not everybody believes his story.
PAUL: Plus, students riding a bus in Mexico are abducted. The gang members are claiming that they did it, but you will not believe the mastermind said to be behind this.
All that and so much more on NEW DAY this Saturday morning. Hello to you. I'm Christi Paul with --
SAVIDGE: I am Martin Savidge.
PAUL: So good to have you with us.
SAVIDGE: Good to be with you as well.
PAUL: You know, the 2:00 a.m. wakeup call, I know it's a little brutal.
SAVIDGE: I just stay up the whole time.
PAUL: Then this should be a good show. Listen, we do want to begin with a hefty expansion of the American military campaign against ISIS.
SAVIDGE: President Obama is sending up to 1,500 more troops to Iraq and that will double the number there now to just under 3,000. Their mission is to advise and train Iraqi and Kurdish forces to find ISIS. It is expected that some are going to go into the most dangerous areas in Iraq right now.
PAUL: CNN chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto is reporting that the president will also ask Congress for billions more to fund this fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraqi forces in battle against ISIS, encouraged by recent Iraqi successes against the terrorist group, including the retaking of a key border crossing with Syria.
Now the president is authorizing another 1,500 troops, doubling the number of U.S. forces on the ground. The orders will put them closer to the frontlines adding two operation's centers in more volatile areas beyond Baghdad and Erbil.
And in several more sites around the country to train Iraqi and Kurdish brigades. Their role is not changing, advice, assist and train, but it is a major expansion of U.S. boots on the ground.
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: There's no intent to put the trainers out in the field with these units once they're trained.
SCIUTTO: To finance the expansion, the president is asking Congress for nearly $6 billion to support the fight against ISIS including $1.5 billion to train and equip Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
The president was briefed on the Pentagon's request ahead of his meeting today with congressional leaders.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We got to make sure that our efforts against ISIL are properly funded. That will be an opportunity for Secretary of Defense Hagel to brief us on the progress in our progress against ISIL.
SCIUTTO: To date the cost of the air campaign against ISIS has already totaled more than $700 million, the price tag of more than 800 airstrikes and more than 2,000 bombs and rockets. Top Republicans still not ready to sign a check sight unseen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said they were going to make a proposal. We'll have appropriations look at it and we'll see.
SCIUTTO: Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: All right, let's talk some more about this with Peter Neumann. He is the director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence.
And I'm also joined by Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis. He is a syndicated columnist and Pentagon consultant. So Colonel, let me start with you. Should Congress authorize the funds for this? LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS, U.S. ARMY (RETIRED): The president has made a commitment and of course, you have the prime minister in Iraq that said, you know, please come and help us. So I think that we have to go ahead, martin.
I heard the lead-in. I think there is legitimate concern about mission creep, but the president has promised that our folks won't be in combat.
SAVIDGE: All right, Peter, before I get to you to answer, let me have both of you listen to what the Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said about the allegations of what we're talking about is this a case of mission creep?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRBY: It's not mission creep at all. Mission creep is when the mission changes or morphs into something that it didn't originally start out to be. This is very much in keeping with the missions that we've been performing in Iraq since June, which is security assistance for our people and our facilities.
Advice and assisting capability for the Iraqi security forces to help them get better in the battlefield and in the battle space, and of course, supporting the humanitarian missions.
These advisers are going to be doing exactly the same thing that the advising teams on the ground are doing right now. They're going to be doing it in different places.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Peter Neumann, the numbers are going up. They are going up significantly. So if not mission creep, then what do we call this?
PETER NEUMANN, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR STUDY OF RADICALIZATION AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE: Well, I guess it is a change in quantity rather than quality as the press secretary said. They are not going to do anything different, but they're going to do more of it.
I think it would be a big mistake to send in combat troops, which the White House made clear it isn't going to do. It would be a big mistake because that's the sort of fight that ISIS is aching for. They want to kill American soldiers. Let's put it frankly.
And to give them the opportunity to do that would be a big mistake. I think that's being understood in the Pentagon and in the White House. I don't think it's going to happen.
SAVIDGE: Colonel, let me ask you this, though. There are suggestions that these new forces are going to be going to Anbar province and that is certainly a focal point of unrest for ISIS. What are the troops going to do there? Why do they have to go into harm's way?
MCGINNIS: We're talking about building partner capacity with more than half of these troops, Martin. What they're going to do and do weapons training, small tactical training, trying to build up the leadership and the capability to take on ISIS.
So that's essentially what they're going to do. There are going to be multiple sites and yes, they're going back to familiar ground for us in Anbar and elsewhere.
To build up nine Iraqi brigades, so that in the spring as it's been announced there's going to be an offensive against ISIS hopefully to push them out of Anbar and out of Northern Iraq.
SAVIDGE: Peter, didn't we do this? We didn't do for this for almost ten years as far as building up forces and training troops?
NEUMAN: Yes, the sad truth is in the case of the Iraqi security forces, it didn't seem to have amounted to very much. In fact, when ISIS was taking Mosul, a lot of the Iraqi security forces were basically running away. It's kind of a little bit different now, though.
Because now you have -- especially on the Kurdish side -- very committed fighters, all the news I'm hearing is that they're very good. They need the capacity, they need the support and that they will fight. So I think there are glimmers of hope now.
SAVIDGE: All right. Peter Neumann and Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis, thank you both for joining us this morning -- Christi.
PAUL: All righty, well, there is, I don't know if you've heard about it, one monster storm into Alaska. It's expected to be in fact more powerful than Superstorm Sandy. We'll look at that, plus an Arctic blast that's hitting the east coast.
SAVIDGE: Then, more than 40 students disappear in Mexico and police say the mayor ordered them dead. CNN's Rafael Romo is live -- Rafael.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Marty, Mexican authorities say three arrests over the last week provided crucial information on the case and now they might know what happened to the 43 missing students. I'm Rafael Romo live in Mexico City. More information coming up next.
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SAVIDGE: Forty students kidnapped. Now, they're all believed to be dead. They disappeared in September in Southern Mexico. Now Mexican officials say three suspected gang members have confessed to killing them and burning their bodies.
PAUL: But here's what I think had a lot of people even more shocked. The mayor and the police have been implicated in this crime.
CNN's senior Latin American affairs editor, Rafael Romo joining us live now from Mexico City. So Rafael, how is that connection being made?
ROMO: Christi and Marty, good morning from Mexico City. What Mexican authorities are telling us is that the local mayor in the town of Iguala was under -- was in cahoots with organized crime and the details about this case we must warn our viewers are very gruesome and disturbing.
What authorities are saying is that the students were stopped by police, fired on, they were handed over to a criminal gang who took them to a landfill where they were executed and then the bodies burned and finally their remains disposed of in a river and its banks.
That's what the Mexican attorney general said at a press conference yesterday. This is how he put the latest information on the case. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESUS MURILLO KARAM, MEXICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Mexican government has led a great endeavor in one of the most complex operations carried out, 10,000 officers, Marines, soldiers, public --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: The attorney general said that there have been 74 arrests so far. Ten more arrest warrants pending. This case is still wide open, Marty and Christi, and more arrests may come very soon.
SAVIDGE: Officials are identifying the remains. You say that could be very difficult. But they know that they might soon have results on that, right?
ROMO: It's going to be very difficult, Marty. Because what the attorney general was saying was that the remains are so badly burned that it's going to take weeks, perhaps months, before they can get DNA results.
They're working with a university in Austria and also with a forensic team from Argentina as well as Mexican forensic teams to try to find DNA results as fast as possible.
PAUL: All righty, Rafael Romo in Mexico City. We appreciate it so much. Thank you.
SAVIDGE: Now for your "Morning Read." Another teen member shot in the rampage in Washington State, at a high school there, has died. The 15-year-old Andrew Fryberg had been hospitalized since the October 24th shooting.
He was the cousin and the close friend of the shooter. His death now brings the total number of fatalities from that shooting to five, including the gunman. One victim survived the shooting. They were released from the hospital last week.
PAUL: Another challenge to the Affordable Care Act is headed for a Supreme Court showdown. This latest lawsuit talks about federal subsidies that helped millions of Americans buy health insurance.
The challenge focuses on whether it should be available to all Americans who qualify or only those who purchase insurance through state established exchanges.
SAVIDGE: President Obama called Missouri's governor last night to discuss the growing tension in Ferguson. The White House says the president emphasized the administration's commitment to provide federal assistance as needed.
This as its growing tension as a grand jury investigating the shooting of the black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police officer gets closer to announcing its decision.
PAUL: Let's talk about your weather. I don't know if you stepped outside yet. It is chilly and look at a live picture here from Anchorage, Alaska, beautiful, right?
They're waiting for one monster storm this weekend that could be the strongest ever in history hit that Arctic region. Jennifer Gray is here for us.
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Ever? Yes, ever. This could surpass Superstorm Sandy and become what is known as the strongest storm ever. So we are going to be watching that.
But this was Super Typhoon Nuria and it passed off the coast of Japan. Luckily it stayed off shore. But look at its motion as it continues across the globe and now it is entering the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska.
This is no longer tropical. This is no longer a typhoon, but it is a monster storm. If you cut out this storm and lay it on top of the U.S., this would take up most of the lower 48. That's to give you a perspective on how big this storm is.
It's extremely powerful, looking at wave heights of 50 to 60 feet. Of course, this area, the Bering Sea is no stranger to fierce weather. But still a monster storm off shore of Alaska.
Adak Island, 56 miles per hour gusts right now with sustained winds of about 36. Now, wrap your brain around this. As the storm continues to push on shore, it will cause a huge kink in the jet stream.
A large trough will form, basically a very strong cold front and it is going to make temperatures plummet across much of the U.S. as we go into next week. That's about how cold the temperatures are going to get in the next half hour.
PAUL: Well, it is November. We should expect it on some level I suppose. It's a little extreme.
GRAY: It's going to be big, though.
PAUL: Yes, Jennifer, thank you so much.
SAVIDGE: I don't think we have to accept that but OK.
Cold and callus, that's how investigators describe the man who killed a California couple and their two young sons. We'll hear from the suspect in his own words.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: Good morning to all of you waking up to this beautiful view in Atlanta. Isn't that gorgeous? People who maybe stayed out all night -- that's something else. Here in Atlanta, in the 50s today.
But we told you what the arctic blast that's going to be hitting a lot of people, not just us. We'll tell you more about that in a bit.
SAVIDGE: In fact, I was bringing in all my plants in last night.
PAUL: It's necessary. I got to cover up the chickens.
SAVIDGE: As if you care. All right, well, he had been a close family friend and now police are calling him a cold blooded and callous killer. Charles Merritt is accused of killing the McStay family.
That happened four years ago. Police found the remains of Joseph and Summer McStay along with their two small boys almost a year ago in shallow graves in the Mojave Desert.
Merritt appeared in court on Friday. He has been charged with four counts of murder. Earlier this year in an exclusive interview with CNN, he told CNN's Randi Kaye that he couldn't imagine why anyone would want to hurt the McStays.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Martin and Christi. This was certainly not the way I expected this case to go. When I interviewed the suspect, Chase Merritt in January this year, he was polite, warm, and friendly to our crew.
He was soft-spoken. He really didn't show a lot of emotion, but he certainly never gave us any hint that he had allegedly killed the entire McStay family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: You were the last person who saw them.
CHASE MERRITT, SUSPECT IN MCSTAY FAMILY MEMBERS: I'm definitely the last person who saw them.
KAYE: Did joey have any enemies that you knew of?
MERRITT: No. Everybody loved Joseph.
KAYE: Any idea why someone would want to harm him and his family?
MERRITT: No. There is nobody that I know of in his entire life that I'm aware of that would have any reason to hurt him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Now police say Chase Merritt murdered the entire McStay family and Merritt may now face the death penalty. You may recall the family's remains were found last November in two shallow graves in the Mojave Desert now marked with giant crosses.
By then nearly four years had passed and all the while loved ones were wondering what happened and who could wipe out an entire family including two beautiful small children. Merritt told me about being questioned by authorities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: You took a polygraph test. What did it show?
MERRITT: I don't know.
KAYE: You passed the polygraph?
MERRITT: Apparently. I mean, I haven't -- after I took the polygraph test, law enforcement has not contacted me at all since. So I kind of simply assumed, well, apparently that resolved any issues that they may looking at with me.
KAYE: Did detectives ask you if you killed Joseph McStay and his family?
MERRITT: I don't recall them asking me that.
KAYE: Nothing that direct?
MERRITT: No. I don't recall them being that direct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: During our interview, Chase Merritt seemed to point the finger actually at Summer McStay, the wife who was killed in this case going so far as to suggest she might have been poisoning her husband before the murders.
He said Joseph McStay hadn't been feeling well, he was nauseous and dizzy. He thought Summer may have been behind it -- Martin and Christi.
PAUL: Wow, what a twist. All right, Randi Kaye, thank you so much.
Now listen to this one, he says he killed 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden, but he also broke the Navy SEAL Code of Silence. You're going to hear former SEAL, Robert O'Neil in an interview here with CNN. Stay close.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You only know what you're told unless you're in the room. Unfortunately, for me there were two people in the room and one of us is dead and that's Osama Bin Laden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: I hope Saturday has been good to you so far. It's 28 minutes past the hour now. I'm Christi Paul.
SAVIDGE: And welcome back. I'm Martin Savidge. I'm in for Victor Blackwell. Let's get you started with the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY. And here we go.
PAUL: Number one, in England, British police say they've disrupted an Islamic terror plot. According to statements in London, four men were arrested in and around London on Thursday night on suspicion of Islamist-related terrorism offenses.
Now Scotland Yard confirms to CNN that the four young men, who are between 19 and 27 years old are still in custody.
SAVIDGE: Number two, President Obama is doubling the number of American troops in Iraq. He's sending 1,500 more soldiers there to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces to fight ISIS.
The White House insists they will not be involved in combat. Some may go to Anbar Province where ISIS has seized town after town. The Pentagon insists they won't be involved in combat and this is not mission creep.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRBY: It's not mission creep at all. Mission creep is when the mission changes or morphs into something that it didn't originally start out to be. This is very much in keeping with the missions that we've been performing in Iraq since June.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: More on the U.S. strategy in Iraq at the top of the hour.
PAUL: Number three, it's official, the White House has confirmed President Obama will nominate Loretta Lynch to become the next attorney general. She's currently a U.S. attorney general in Brooklyn.
CNN's Evan Perez was the first to report this news yesterday. If Lynch is confirmed, she'll be the first African-American woman to be held to that post and would replace Attorney General Eric Holder, of course, who is stepping down.
SAVIDGE: Number four, a former University of North Carolina football player is suing the school in federal court. Mike McAdoo says counselors stirred him toward fake classes so he could stay eligible for football.
An independent report reveals 3,100 students took these so-called paper classes. Their only requirement was to complete a single paper.
McAdoo lost his eligibility in 2011 when he was accused of cheating. He says UNC didn't give him the education he was promised.
PAUL: Number 5, autopsy results confirm comedian Robin Williams died of suicide. The 63-years old was discovered inside his home back in August. Officials say drugs were not involved here. But according to his widow, Williams was sober, yet he was battling depression, anxiety and early stages of Parkinson's disease when he died.
SAVIDGE: The killing of Osama bin Laden will go down in history. But a former Navy SEAL is facing criticism for breaking the Navy SEAL code of silence and publicly claiming that he is the one that killed America's most wanted terrorist.
PAUL: Talking about 38-year old Robert O'Neill. He previously revealed details of the mission to "Esquire" magazine but never attached his name to the high-profile story until speaking with freelance journalist Alex Quade, a former CNN correspondent. CNN obtained the audio. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX QUADE, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: So how do you feel about 9/11 today?
ROBERT O'NEILL: I feel good on 9/11. I woke up early, which was 8:00 Eastern time. So the first plane hit at 8:48. 8:47 and then 9:02.
QUADE: 9:03.
O'NEILL: So I woke up before and I was able to see them start reading the names. And even like on the helicopter ride in for the bin Laden raid, when we knew we were going to do (ph), we didn't do it for us. We did it for the people that didn't want to die, but they chose to, you know --
QUADE: Did you also have that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) INAUDIBLE)
O'NEILL: We all talked about it.
QUADE: Really, before the mission?
O'NEILL: We were talking about --
QUADE: Before launching --
O'NEILL: The three days before -- the three days between the time we were given a green light and -- those 2 1/2 days, whatever it was, we talked about it and we knew we were going to die. We knew we weren't coming back. Maybe not die right away. But end up in Pakistani prison and die soon after. We talked about that. It was me and a group of guys who knew their time was up. So, (INAUDIBLE). And we all accepted it and nobody was afraid. It was real cool.
QUADE: But mindfully, you all talked about 9/11 instead? I mean --
O'NEILL: Oh, no. We talked about --
QUADE: Was this about like --
O'NEILL: The way we put it was the single mom who went to work on a Tuesday morning and later -- a few minutes later decided to jump instead of burning to death at her last gesture of human dignity was straightening out her skirt. Then she jumped. You know, it's like that's why we went. For her. And, you know, for the - all the people at Cantor Fitzgerald, for the Scott Brady who was on a golf trip and his entire office was lost. His brother was killed.
QUADE: But was all of this, I mean mindfully talking about it?
O'NEILL: No - but we are talking about now. Yeah.
QUADE: I mean --
O'NEILL: Well, you have to pump yourself up to go --
QUADE: Yeah.
O'NEILL: So we were talking about this.
QUADE: But it was like to get you guys ahead in the right place.
O'NEILL: We didn't need it the right place --
QUADE: Right.
O'NEILL: We just - we just wanted the re-justification that this it. And we're going to die, but- we're going to die when the house blows up but know (EXPLETEVE DELETED) that he blew up too.
QUADE: Meaning --
O'NEILL: So, anyway - you know, going around your ask, to get your elbow answer is yeah 9/11 is very significant. It was the whole reason we went.
QUADE: You sound like a very happy person.
O'NEILL: I'm very happy. I am.
QUADE: Why are you so --
O'NEILL: I was pissed when the "Esquire" article came out. I was mad as hell.
QUADE: When - I'm sorry - when the ..
O'NEILL: "Esquire."
QUADE: OK. Just because that was time in your life or --
O'NEILL: Oh, I mean little things from shooting Osama bin Laden three weeks later, getting passed over for promotion. Just getting black balled for doing something - everyone was so close to do it, and even now, I mean there are guys now saying that I'm full of (EXPLETIVE DELETED). But, you know -- you only know what you're told unless you're in the room. And unfortunately for me, there was two people in room and one of us is dead and that was Osama bin Laden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Well, freelance journalist Alex Quade spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper last night about the 18 months that she spent interviewing the former Navy SEAL.
SAVIDGE: She says her mission was to give O'Neill a platform and to help bring closure to the families of 9/11.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUADE: He and I talked a little bit about maybe discussing a little bit more about transition and about post-traumatic stress. We agreed that we would never cover the same, the exact same ground that Phil Bronstein over at "The Esquire" magazine had covered. We would not release any techniques, tactics or procedures. But we would have ongoing discussions over the course of this year, year and a half. And this - this was many discussions, very casual, very candid, very friendly. But also, it was about being able to have some sort of a platform in the future working on the story or something that would help bring some closure to the families of 9/11, to the victims and to combat veterans overseas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: So, you might be wondering why now? Why did he come forward? Stay with us. We're going to have more after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: So good to have you with us. We want to get back to one of our top story this morning. The former Navy SEAL who broke his code of silence claiming he personally shot and killed 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. You've seen the Team 6 raid on the terrorist Pakistani compound in animations, such as this what you're seeing now and in movies such as "Zero Dark Thirty."
The exact shooter, though, has never been publicly confirmed. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis is back with us. He's a syndicated columnist and Pentagon consultant. Colonel, thank you so much for being with us. I wanted to ask you first and foremost, what would be his reasoning, do you think, to come forward?
LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): You know, that is tough, Christi. You know, he said in that lead-in that he had to pump himself up to die. They didn't really know exactly what was going on, but they reminded themselves about 9/11. I suspect there's a desire because of the society we live in to take advantage of his place in history. A significant place, obviously having killed Osama bin Laden. You know, he sees the movies out there, he sees others writing books. He hears about it. He does say he wanted to comfort and give closure to 9/11 to the victims of that. It's a mixed bag. But clearly, I think that he wanted a spotlight in history and he wanted to perhaps make some money. After all, he did say as well, Christi, that he was not promoted. So I think there's some bad feelings there as well against the military and, of course, against his own SEALs.
PAUL: So, I'm wondering how does something like this affect the camaraderie of current Navy SEALs?
MAGINNIS: That's a tough question. You know, these - these people are sworn to silence. Their ethos is, you know, we do what we do in a profession way unlike anyone else in the world, and we don't talk about it. And that's very, very difficult.
So, you know, they're not going to be very sympathetic to Mr. O'Neill. They're going to obviously say behind his back things that they wouldn't say to his face perhaps. But it's important that we have a cadre of people that with great skill and great daring and courage are able to do the types of things what we call on these people to do. But they cannot exploit it. And that's significant for the type of society we live in where we have civilian leadership over our military.
PAUL: Yeah. Colonel, because I'm wondering is this a written code of silence? Is this an oral mandate? And if so, regardless of what it is, is there any sort of repercussion for him?
MAGINNIS: Well, there's a repercussion when you're excluded from the community of the SEALs or any type of fraternity that's very, very tight. Which is community is. Keep in mind, very few people can qualify much less complete SEAL training and go through a career. He clearly was one of those that made it through. But it's even after the fact, you know, once you've left the uniform, once you've left the service, you have to keep that ethos. And he's violated that, as well as others have. And so, he's going to be shot, and he's going to pay a price for the balance of his life.
PAUL: Hey, Colonel, I want to listen to what former CIA covert operations Officer Valerie Plame said about the revelation here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIE PLAME, FMR. CIA COVERT OPERATIONS OFFICER: It's baffling honestly. I know that when my identity was betrayed by senior officials in the Bush administration, I was terribly concerned about the security repercussions to me, to my family. There's a lot of deranged people out there, not to mention terrorists that would take great pride in killing a member of, you know, the U.S. intelligence community or certainly a Navy SEAL. So, it's - I don't really understand the calculations that Robert O'Neill made in his own mind. Surely there is financial gain to be had. If you were known publicly as such a hero. And on the other hand, at what cost truly to himself and his family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: So colonel, I see you are king of shaking your head, nodding your head up and down. Do you believe O'Neill and his family are a target now?
MAGINNIS: Absolutely. Not only them, but those that are around them. Their associations. And people doing this sort of thing risk their own lives and those of their families and acquaintances. So we have to be very careful. PAUL: All right. Colonel - Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis, we so
appreciate you being with us. Thank you, sir.
MAGINNIS: Thank you.
PAUL: And a whole lot more coming up on "NEW DAY" for you. We want to hear from you, too. Go ahead and tweet us, at "NEW DAY." I'm Christi Anders (ph) for a poll as well. We want to hear from you. We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wasn't just the first African-American male to win the U.S. Open, but he actually was the first American, period, to win the U.S. Open, because the U.S. open didn't begin until 1958. So I think it's really important again, for us, to keep the inclusive content of his win and the importance of that win, not just to African Americans, but to all Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been more than 20 years since tennis Arthur Ashe died at the age of 49 after contracting AIDS from heart surgery. His impact on and off the court created a legacy his wife Jeannie hopes will create a long lasting message.
JEANNIE ASHE: It's really important that not just today's generation, but generations to come understand him as more than just an athlete, as more than just a patient, as more than just a student and a coach. He might not be a great champion, but if you're well rounded human being then you can do just about anything to succeed in life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White House will have a new attorney general soon. President Obama is expected to nominate Loretta Lynch to take over for Eric Holder. CNN's Evan Perez was the first to report this news yesterday. Lynch is currently the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn. She would be the second woman to serve as attorney general and the second African-American to hold the post. And change, as you know, is also in the wind when it comes to Congress. After a big Republican victory Tuesday night Obama sat down with congressional leaders over lunch yesterday. Here's CNN's Erin McPike.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Late Friday the White House put out this photo of a rare private moment between the president and Mitch McConnell. The Republican who will run the Senate. It wasn't quite sharing a Kentucky bourbon but it did show the two men were at least talking.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The American people just want to see work done here in Washington.
MCPIKE: And how to read the election results topped the menu for a power lunch as Mr. Obama sat down with McConnell and other congressional leaders.
OBAMA: The one thing that I've committed to both Speaker Boehner and leader McConnell is that I am not going to judge ideas based on whether they're Democratic or Republican. I'm going to be judging them based on whether or not they work. And I'm confident that they want to produce results as well on behalf of the American people.
MCPIKE: But the two sides stayed on the collision course over immigration reform. Boehner said he warned the president again not to take executive action he calls amnesty. And the White House says Obama repeated his promise to do so, because Boehner's House Republican have failed to act
Congressional leaders kept the confrontation going afterward.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA) MAJORITY LEADER: If more executive actions are taken, that would make it difficult for us to always work together.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D) MINORITY LEADER: The president has the authority to act by executive order on immigration. It's in the law. But it's also in the precedence of other presidents.
MCPIKE: But maybe some hope for bipartisanship as an olive branch, the White House sent everyone home with bags of Whitehouse beer. Erin McPike, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: President Obama is expected to nominate Loretta Lynch as attorney general this morning. We'll bring that to you live.
PAUL: Looking forward to it, thank you, Martin.
There's a cold snap threatening millions of people. Jennifer Gray is in the weather center which - this has become the moment.
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah.
PAUL: I was just saying. So, purple means it's really intense. -
GRAY: It's going to be really cold. We're talking about high temperatures in the teens in some areas, of course. We'll break it all down for you right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: Well, going above and beyond, that's what our CNN heroes have done to make our top ten list, of course. And here's a look at one of the finalists.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARTHUR BLOOM: Music is my earliest memory. I never decided to be a professional musician. It was just what I've always done. It feels great to play music. But it's also a mechanism for healing. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were on this normal morning patrol walking down
a road. I had never been hit by an IED before. It felt like I got hit by a wrecking ball. I sat up, my legs were completely gone. What happens if you don't quite get killed, and you don't quite survive? You're somewhere in the middle. I was a shell of a man. Who I was, was gone.
BLOOM (on camera): Let's take it right before the melody comes in.
(voice over): Our organization helps wounded warriors play music and recover their lives. We match the injured troops with professional musicians who come visit at Walter Reed Medical Center and work with them on music projects learning music, writing and performing.
(MUSIC)
(LAUGHTER)
BLOOM (on camera): We're going to try to incorporate more metal.
(voice over): I'm not a music therapist. I'm a musician. By injecting music into this space, we can inject life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something survived that horrible injury in Afghanistan. And that was my ability to play the guitar.
Arthur and his program changed my outlook on what is possible.
BLOOM: Music has no stigma. Folks you work with, but maybe music - there's nothing injured about the way to do it. It's just good music.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: Just one week left to vote for the hero who inspires you most. Go to cnnhero.com to vote once a day every day.
All right. Let's talk about the super typhoon Nuri. It will slam coast of Alaska with intense winds, massive ways. But even though it is way out there in Alaska, and actually it's way up north in Alaska, it's going to have a huge impact across the U.S. CNN's Jennifer Gray is in the weather center and she's here to tell us what's coming their way.
JENNIFER GRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENR: You are right, Martin. Yes, it's going to cause a huge dip in the Jetstream. Basically a very strong cold front. We're going to be talking about very, very cold temperatures. We're going to see temperatures in the 20s across Minneapolis. Those are high temperatures as we go into the middle part of next week. Chicago, your high temperature barely reaching freezing by Wednesday, guys.
PAUL: By Wednesday. All right, Jen. Thank you.
SAVIDGE: I would say more than that. Every one of them --
(LAUGHTER) SAVIDGE: Should put them on.
Now, let's take a look at some of the other top stories making news. There's an earthquake warning, that's right earthquake warning in northern Nevada. That's after a swarm of hundreds of earthquakes has been shaking up the area the past few months. The tremors have intensified in the last few days and experts say it increases the probability that a larger earthquake may occur. The activity is being monitored closely by seismologists.
PAUL: And a story coming to us out of Britain right now. British police say they have disrupted an Islamic terror plot. Now, according to a statement from London's metropolitan police, four men were arrested in and around London on Thursday night on suspicion of Islamist-related terrorism offenses. Scotland Yard confirms to CNN the four men who are between 19 and 27 years old are still in custody.
SAVIDGE: A father in Salt Lake City, Utah, that area, being hailed as a hero. He thwarted his own daughter's alleged kidnapping. Listen to what police say happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. DEAN CARNIGER, SANDY, UTAH POLICE: Came across the five-year-old girl sleeping in her room. Woke her up. And subsequently took her from the House. Carried her right out the front door. While doing so, the parents heard noises at the door, woke up to investigate what was going on. And the father found this individual carrying his daughter across the front lawn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: The father then demanded that he give back his daughter and the alleged kidnapper did just that without so much as a fight. Police later arrested the suspect. That's Troy Morley, just blocks away.
PAUL: Thank goodness.
You know, the next hour of "NEW DAY" starts right now.
And on new day, more troops on the ground. President Obama doubling the number of soldiers in Iraq, sending up to 1500 new troops to the region.
PAUL: And in just a few hours, the president will officially name Loretta Lynch his nominee for attorney general. Who is this woman and will she be a slam dunk for approval?
SAVIDGE: And we've already been talking about it, are are you ready for January in November? An Arctic blast pushing across the country, some places could see temperatures 30 degrees below normal.
