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NEW DAY

Oscar Nominations; 12-Year-Old Shooter Had a "Plan"; Did Nuclear Launch Officers Cheat?; Lawyer Reacts to Asiana Video; New Video of Captive Soldier; Obama: No New Sanctions Against Iran; Olympian Sacrifices Spot For Sister

Aired January 16, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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


(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Berrendo Middle School, someone just got shot.

911 OPERATOR: Who was it?

CALLER: A kid just killed a kid.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Plan of attack. New details on a 12-year- old who opened fire on his school the journal he kept planning the assault. And the 911 calls from the moments after it happened.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Finger on the button. The shocking scandal rocking the Air Force, dozens of officers in charge of nuclear weapons now accused of cheating on their proficiency exams. We are live with the latest.

CUOMO: Hollywood. Up early this morning. We are just a half hour away from the Oscar nominations. We will bring you the underdogs, the surprises, reactions, all live.

Your NEW DAY continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.

BOLDUAN: Good morning and welcome back to NEW DAY. It's Thursday, January 15, 8:00 in the East.

The excitement is building. We can feel it all the way on the East Coast. It is happening in Los Angeles. We're a little more than a half hour away from finding out who will contend for this year's Academy Awards.

Many hopefuls will no doubt be up early watching the nominations. We will bring them to you live.

CNN's Nischelle Turner is up bright and early joining us early with what to expect from Los Angeles. NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, yes. It is very early here in Hollywood this morning. But I can bet you, anyone that's been buzzed about that can potentially get an Oscar nomination is not asleep, even if they say they are, they are wide awake and they are waiting with bated breath to see if they will get a nomination. We are just about 35 minutes away from the nominations which will be live -- of course, here on NEW DAY.

And there's a couple of categories we should really watch this morning. Best actor and I also think that best supporting actor will be a really interesting category and best supporting actress. There were a lot of really great films this year. There were a lot of great performance this year. We've got some heavy hitters that could be nominated this morning.

Think maybe Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, those type of huge movie stars can definitely get that great wake-up call this morning and say guess what? You are nominated. So, again, 35 minutes away. I'm going to be there. We'll all be talking. It's going to be good day.

CUOMO: Michelle's excitement is contagious. If you are budgeting your time at home this morning, about 30 minutes, that's when we will be hitting it for you right here, promise, promise, promise.

All right. Other news, students at a New Mexico middle school are returning to class this morning. Just two days after a 12-year-old brought a shotgun to school and shot two of his classmates.

New this morning, we are learning that the boy had a plan and wrote it down.

Stephanie Elam is live in Roswell, New Mexico, with more.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

We've learned overnight that the alleged shooter was charged with three counts of aggravated battery as a juvenile. His family also putting out a statement saying that they are thankful the judge requested that he get medical or I should say mental health treatment and that they are cooperating fully with this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

911 OPERATOR: 911. Do you have an emergency?

CALLER: Oh, my God!

ELAM (voice-over): This morning, we are hearing for the first time the terrifying moments inside this New Mexico middle school after a student opens fire.

CALLER: Berrendo Middle School, someone just got shot.

911 OPERATOR: Who was it?

CALLER: A kid just killed a kid. I don't know. The guy walked away --

911 OPERATOR: Where is the kid that has the gun?

CALLER: I don't know. He's on the floor right now.

ELAM: Moments of fear and moments of great strength.

CALLER: Talk to me, baby.

I can't let you go into shock. You have to wake up and talk to me, OK?

911 OPERATOR: 911, do you have an emergency?

ELAM: Listen as this brave teacher comfort 13-year-old Kendall Sanders. She was shot in the right shoulder but survived. As they wait for paramedics to arrive.

CALLER: Talk to me. Hey, yesterday, we had a day off. What did you do on your day off yesterday? What did you have for lunch?

ELAM: This community still reeling. A law enforcement source close to the investigation tells CNN the 12-year-old suspect planned the shooting in a handwritten journal at home. Describing, quote, what he wanted to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did find evidence that the suspect had planned this event.

ELAM: A law enforcement source says the suspect sawed off a handle after 20-gauge shotgun his father purchase from Wal-mart and brought it to school in a duffel bag.

The law enforcement source says the alleged shooter warns some students to, quote, "get out of here", as he entered the packed gym where he fired three rounds striking two of the 500 people inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was random. The victims were random.

ELAM: The allege shooter's family released a statement that reads in part -- our constant thoughts and our fervent prayers have been and are for the young man who was hurt and for the young woman who was hurt. We love our young son and grandson dearly as does everyone in his extended family. His whole family is heart broken.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The children this returned to school tomorrow were not the children who arrived on Tuesday. They are different.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And we now know that the shooter reportedly only had those three rounds with him. Nothing else that was use and all three of them were discharge. School will resume today and yesterday we saw teachers, the governor of New Mexico here as well. They were all in counseling and all prepared to come back and to work with these youngsters as they get back to school today, which will probably be a very difficult day for them to process and continue to process all that has happened here this week -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: No question about it. Thank you so much, Stephanie.

We also have a shocking scandal involving the U.S. Air Force to tell you about this morning. Take a look at this number. Thirty-four officers in charge of our nuclear arsenal set to be involved in a scheme to cheat on a proficiency exam. They have been removed from their command and raising new questions about the people with their fingers on the button and their qualifications.

Let's bring in senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns with more on this.

So, tell us, Joe, what's going on?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kate. It's a very difficult situation for the Pentagon and for the Air Force. These officers had their fingers on the button of nuclear weapons. And now they are under investigation for cheating.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): It started with a probe into illegal drug possession but unexpectedly led investigators to an Air Force cheating scandal, nearly three dozen airmen, mostly from Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The Pentagon says some cheated on a proficiency test last August and September. Others apparently knew about the cheating but didn't stop it or report it.

All involved have been decertified and restricted from missile crew duty. The cheating was apparently accomplished using text messages.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James.

DEBORAH LEE JAMES, SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE: This is absolutely unacceptable behavior. And it is completely contrary to our core values in the Air Force. And as everybody here knows, the number one core value for us is integrity.

JOHNS: There is a long list of scandals involving missile defense personnel. Last October, an Air Force major general was fired because he drank too much and got into trouble in Russia. The missile unit at Malmstrom failed a safety and security inspection last year. And in the nuclear arsenal business where there's absolutely no room for error, a little thing like napping on the job is a major security issue.

The defense secretary recently visited one of the missile bases to try to lift morale.

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We emphasize how important your mission is, how important your work is, and how we depend on your professionalism, and how you do your work.

JOHNS: Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is weighing in on the scandal. He fired the Air Force's top general back in 2008 for multiple mishaps involving nuclear weapons. Gates spoke last night to CNN's Piers Morgan.

ROBERT GATES, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: This is one of those capabilities in the military where there's month room for any error, no room for my misbehavior and no room for sloppiness at all. I think that having this kind of behavior among those that are responsible for some element of nuclear arsenal is extremely troubling.

JOHNS: And it's not just the Air Force. A Navy vice admiral overseeing nuclear weapons was recently removed from command after being implicated in a gambling investigation.

Studies show manning the missiles can be a very lonely, isolated job and the DOD personnel assigned to them have suffered from burnout and had been involved in domestic violence. But a CNN military expert says cheating must be dealt with as a question of character.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't bad behavior but unethical behavior and gets to the core of the culture of this group.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: All of the officers handling nuclear weapons are now being retested. One expert said all of the hoops these officers have to jump through may set them up to fail -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Joe, thank you very much.

We first told you about a video that surfaced showing emergency workers running over a girl who somehow survived a crash and wound up killing her. New this morning, the lawyer for that girl's family says the tape shows clearly she wasn't treated properly. It is alleged nobody checked to see if she was even alive or even tried, made any kind of effort that would be due care. So how will this affect the spend wrongful death suit against San Francisco?

CNN's Rene Marsh is in Washington with more -- Rene.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, you know, we showed portions of the video yesterday. Now CNN has obtained the entire video from firefighters' helmet cameras. Now, this new video coupled with the fact suggests emergency rescue teams failed to rescue this young girl who was very much alive when they arrived.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH (voice-over): This chilling video up close of the burning Asiana fuselage is shocking the family of one crash victim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop, stop, stop. There's a body right -- there's a body right there right in front of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

MARSH: Investigators say that body is 16-year-old Ye Mengyuan, who the San Francisco medical examiner says was still alive at that moment. Surviving the crash, she somehow managed to escape the aircraft and came to rest in this grassy area. Within minutes, firefighters arrive on the scene. You can see them walking by her, even waving a fire truck around her. But not a single firefighter stops to check her pulse or see if she was breathing.

JUSTIN GREEN, FAMILY ATTORNEY: At least five firefighters who saw her who understood she was there and none of them did the basic step of checking if she was alive.

MARSH: As the fire on the plane continued to rage, this truck moves into position and here rolls over Ye's head killing her. But sadly, it does not end there. Another firefighter jumped into this rescue truck, allegedly without proper equipment or a spotter. The truck maneuvered into the area where Ye Mengyuan was located and rolls over her a second time.

GREEN: It's unthinkable. It's unimaginable, because the first thing that -- the first priority of the firefighters or any rescue personnel is saving lives. The person that needed their help the most was Mengyuan, and that's the person they didn't help.

MARSH: Her family has filed a wrongful death claim against the city of San Francisco saying, "Rescuers breached their duty of care to Ye Meng Yuan, and were grossly negligent."

GREEN: Initially, what was being said was that she was covered in foam, no one saw her and she was run over. But that's not what the videos show.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: Well, that's July. After it was determined rescue vehicles killed Ye, the San Francisco fire chief -- she apologized profusely. With the release of this video the city of San Francisco and its fire department have declined comment. They are citing pending litigation -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Rene, thank you for that update. I want you to take -- take a look at this. You see this? This is captive U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl. You've probably have seen that video. This video is now three years old. But just this morning, there's new video purportedly of Bergdahl shout they believe in December and showing him alive.

CNN's Jim Sciutto was the first to report on its existence. Bergdahl has been in captivity since 2009, likely by allies of the Taliban and he is the only U.S. service member being held by enemy forces.

Jim Sciutto is in Washington with much more on this.

So, what more are you learning, Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT Hey, Kate.

Well, you know, the way I feel about these videos is they are a double edged sword, because on the one hand, they remind you how long Bergdahl has been held and how it is weighing on his physical appearance after nearly five years. But on the positive side, they are proof of life. There is a timed reference in the video, I'm told, dating it to last month and with three years, as you say, since the last video for his family, that's at least something of a relief.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (voice-over): For the first time in three years, evidence abducted U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is still alive. The new video described to CNN includes a time reference to December 14th, 2013. It is the first proof of life since a series of tapes released in 2010 and 2011 by the Taliban.

SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL, AMERICAN POW: Please? I'm begging you. Bring me home. Please? Bring me home.

SCIUTTO: Unlike earlier these recordings, however, these new images show Bergdahl in declining health, says a U.S. military official with knowledge of it.

After CNN's report, Bergdahl's family release as statement saying, quote, "We request his captors to release him safely so that our only son can be reunited with his mother and father. Bowe, if you see this, continue to remain strong through patience. Your endurance will carry you to the finish line. Breathe."

Bergdahl was captured in June 2009 and is believed to be held by the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network inside Pakistan.

Today, yellow ribbons lined the streets of his hometown, Hailey, Idaho, where his family has been fighting for his return ever since.

BOB BERGDAHL, FATHER OF BOWE BERGDAHL: My cell phone is set on Afghan time. I might be standing here, but I am living vicariously through my son. I will not leave you on the battlefield, Bowe.

SCIUTTO: In 2011, his father made this impassioned video appeal direct to Bowe's kidnappers.

BOB BERGDAHL: To the nation of Pakistan, our family, we wish to convey our compassionate respect.

SCIUTTO: David Rhode was captured and held for eight months by the Taliban in 2008 while working for "The New York Times".

ROHDE: You decide essentially it's your job to survive, to stay alive and just wait and hope there's some kind of resolution to the case, and it's absolutely incredible that Bowe Bergdahl has stayed alive through these 4 1/2 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (on-camera): Negotiations, efforts are ongoing to release him. His captors have been asking for five Taliban fighters to be exchanged for him. These are part of wider talks with the Taliban for an end to the fighting and end to the war there in Afghanistan. And you know, I've been to his hometown in Hailey, Idaho. My wife grew up nearby there. You see those yellow ribbons, the signs outside the restaurants and hotels. You know, I can tell you, Kate and Chris, this town is desperate for him to come home. All they have today is really just at least news that as of last month, he was still alive.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Jim, thank you very much.

CUOMO: What a price to pay in service to the country. Hopefully, he comes home. That will be a great day to cover that story.

A lot of news this morning. Let's get to John Berman, in for Michaela, got the headlines.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (voice-over): Breaking overnight. President Obama making a new big push for the Senate to hold off on more sanctions against Iran. The president telling Democratic senators new sanctions could derail nuclear talks with Tehran. The Senate has been pushing for new sanctions and many lawmakers complaining an internuclear deal reach with the Iranians does not go far enough.

We're following new developments in the fatal shooting at a Florida movie theater. A memorial service for Chad Oulson who was killed in a dispute over texting is set for Saturday. The suspect, Curtis Reeves, is still being held without bond. Meantime, a Florida couple says they had a run-in with Reeves during a movie two weeks earlier. They say he glared at them and seemed just to be bothered by everything.

New development this morning, the cleanup from a chemical spill in West Virginia. Testing commission by CNN shows the water is safe to drink after last week's chemical spill. The area sample had chemical traces but far below any level considered to be dangerous. However, pregnant women are being advised to keep drinking bottled water just to be safe.

A band of Syrian hackers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad attacked and accessed Microsoft's corporate e-mail. Microsoft confirmed this breach saying a small number of employee, social media, and e-mail accounts were affected. So, that comes days after same group, the Syrian electronic army, claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on a Microsoft blog and the company's Twitter account.

So the Oscars' flip side, the Razzy awards, celebrating the worst Hollywood had to offer in the past year. Adam Sandler's "Grownup 2" leads with eight nominations. The summer's biggest flop, "The Lone Ranger" was cited for worst picture, worst actor, Johnny Depp, worst director, and also worst screenplay. That is quite an accomplishment.

The Golden Raspberry Awards will be handed out in Los Angeles the day before the Oscars on March 1. And a reminder, we will bring you the Oscar nominations live at 8:30.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (on-camera): A little over 12 minutes at this point. Very exciting.

BOLDUAN: Can't handle it. So excited. I'm dying.

CUOMO: Breathe.

BOLDUAN: OK. I'm breathing.

CUOMO: OK. Good. Let's get to Indra, then.

(LAUGHTER)

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We definitely have some mild weather out there. Little bit of showers are expected to continue to progress off towards the east this morning. Temperature wise, here's the good stuff. Not too bad. I mean, just a little bit above normal and even as they start to cool off with a series of code fronts, are still generally going to be right around average temperatures. And that's the entire eastern half of the country.

So, that's the good news. Here's that first line of storms I was talking about. Still producing even some low fog right around Philly this morning, so some delays are being reported at the airport. Otherwise, very minimal as far as what you're expecting but just kind of look for extra clouds and a little bit of showers that kicks off behind it.

There's the next system. This is the one that is producing those blizzard conditions out towards Minnesota and even into the Dakotas. Biggest thing here are these really strong winds. It's kind of blowing all the snow around that's on the ground. And then, of course, this is going to progress right around Chicago overnight tonight through the Ohio Valley and bringing them about four to six inches of snow.

And then it continues to dry out as it makes its way farther east. So, by this weekend, in northeast, just light amounts of rain and snow. Keep in mind, there's a third system. Of course, there is its winter time behind that. This one even drier, but either way for the northeast, look for showers really through the entire weekend here.

Not a lot but just enough. As far as the larger amounts again, Ohio Valley, four to six inches, up towards Duluth, Minnesota about six to eight inches of snow with that system. Big story, again, continues to be out west very dry. Dangerous fire conditions now extended through Friday which also means drought conditions extended as they still are not getting any rain.

So, (INAUDIBLE) a fire right now even all the way through the weekend and then another round next week, scary stuff. Already fires in the ground here recorded (ph).

BOLDUAN: They need some help. Lots. Thanks, Indra. Thank you. Yes. Exactly. Thank you very much. Let's take a break. But coming up next on NEW DAY, apparently, these two women have never heard of sibling rivalry. Only really sacrifice. The twin sister who made the cut for the winter games gives up her slot for her sister. We're going to talk to them about it.

CUOMO: And, let me tell you one more time. We're counting down the Oscar nominations just few minutes away. Do you have your picks ready?

BERMAN: Judi Dench!

CUOMO: Judi Dench, yes.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: No.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY. This is a good one. This is good. Hey, listen to me, all you siblings out there.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Listen to this story and ask yourself if you have the love like this sister does. Twin sisters, Tracy and Lanny Barnes, right, they're bi-athletes. They have Olympic dreams, but only one is heading to Sochi. Last weekend, they're competing for spots on the team. Tracy finishes strong, earns her spot. Lanny had been sick and she had a cold and she just couldn't get it together. Her Olympic dreams vanished, right? No.

That's when Tracy steps up, sacrificing her own spot on the team so her sister could go instead. The Barnes Sisters join thus morning. Tracy is here. Lanny joins us live from Italy where she's training. How are you both doing this morning?

TRACY BARNES, GAVE UP SOCHI SPOT FOR SISTER: Doing great.

(INAUDIBLE)

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: All right. So, let's just get right to it, Tracy. You make your spot. Just take us through how this idea got in your head and why you decided it was just -- you had to do it.

TRACY BARNES: Yes. So, our Olympic trials, Lanny got sick. You know, when you're at that level, you need to be 100 percent. Otherwise, it's not going to work out. So, you know, once I found out she was getting sick, the idea kind of started going through my head that, you know, she's not going to make it. This would be the end for her. So -- that's when the idea kind of started that maybe I can do something to help her. BOLDUAN: But it could also be the end for you. It could be the end of your Olympic dreams. What was -- when was the moment that you decided I really need to do this and how did you tell her?

TRACY BARNES: Yes. So, I think I decided before the last race of the Olympic trials that, you know, I had a good idea that I'd make the team based off my results. And so, after the race, after the team was announced, you know, I -- we went hiking in the mountains and I -- you know, I told her, I've got something to tell you. And I told her about it. She obviously protested.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Lanny, how hard was it to say yes? I mean, this is the offer of a lifetime, but it's almost too much to bear?

LANNY BARNES, OLYMPIAN: Yes. I -- had a hard time accepting it that -- that, you know, she was willing to do something this amazing for me, you know? The -- it's just -- it's hard to put into words, you know, what this means to me and the fact that she's -- she is willing to give up her dreams so that I can live mine.

CUOMO: Now, the question becomes, Lanny, how do you repay --

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: How do you make good -

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: You know, it doesn't matter what happens in the Olympics, this extends long, long after. So, what are you planning? How long do you think this goes, this debt that you will have to pay off?

(LAUGHTER)

LANNY BARNES: You know, I think it's going to go to the grave, for sure, you know? It's something that, you know, changed my life. And, you know, I hope to do my best for both of us in Sochi and maybe that's a team bit of a start to repair. But I think that, you know, I'm going to be working the rest of my life doing whatever I can to pay this back for Tracy.

BOLDUAN: And Tracy says, that's right, Lanny.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: And Tracy, you -- I mean, we're all siblings. And, I will tell you, in my household, there was the definition of sibling rivalry. Do you guys lack the gene for sibling rivalry here?

TRACY BARNES: I think we must. You know, we had an older sister and we all got along and we were best friends. So, yes, maybe it skipped over --

BERMAN: Are you going to go and watch in Russia or are you going to watch from home? I look at you watching your sister right now and you look so joyful even just seeing her on the TV. There seems to be such depth of feeling here.

TRACY BARNES: Yes. No. I think I'm just -- I'm just about as excited as if I were going myself. So, it means a lot to me.

BOLDUAN: What a good lesson that is. For everyone. Thank you, Tracy. That's great.

CUOMO: Hey, Lanny, good luck to you over there. Do your best. We'll be watching you when the Olympics start.

BOLDUAN: Yes. The pressure is on now, girl.

CUOMO: You couldn't have better motivation.

LANNY BARNES: Yes. Thank you. I'm pretty excited.

BOLDUAN: We'll be watching and cheering for you as well. Tracy, Lanny Barnes, great to meet you both.

We're going to take a break. Coming up next on NEW DAY, the excitement is not only building for the Sochi games but building in just moments for the academy award nominations that are going to be announced. We're going to take you live to Hollywood. We're going to ask Tracy what her picks are.

CUOMO: Tracy should get an Oscar.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)