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CNN NEWSROOM

Ottawa Gunman; Victim Honored; FBI on Heightened Alert; Border Patrol on Heightened Alert; Another White House Fence Jumper; Markets Off to Roaring Start; Low Gas Prices at the Pump

Aired October 23, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm just wondering again why Canadians are so shocked that this happened. And I ask you that because 130 Canadian citizens have gone abroad to join terrorist groups. There's an ISIS recruiting video specifically targeting Canadians. Your government raised the terror level after two soldiers were run down by a car. So why the surprise, do you think?

JOHN IVISON, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, NATIONAL POST: Well, that's a very good question. I think that we're still a little bit naive. We still think of ourselves as nice Canadians that nobody's ever going to want to harm and we kind of laughed off the idea that the prime minister put forward that the -- that ISIS wanted to come to Canada, to our shores, to our democracy, and kill us. Well, we know that that's not a -- it wasn't an idle threat. I mean the individual on Monday ran over a Canadian forces member in a car, which was what he was entreated to do by the ISIS leaders, run disbelievers over in your cars or kill them in any way possible.

So we're a little bit less naive. I mean Ottawa's a sleepy, small town. Everybody knows each other. You know, I just saw politician from different parties hugging each other. One said you look like you need a hug, and she did look like she needed a hug. It's a small place and it's like a village almost being attacked. You never think it can happen here, but obviously it can.

COSTELLO: Do you -- do Canadians perceive these attacks as terrorist attacks or attacks just by a deranged individual?

IVISON: No, I think that these are very much perceived as terrorist attacks. The -- you know, the eyewitness accounts I got yesterday of the individual with a sort of Middle Eastern head scarf, which he pulled down after he shot the soldier and raised his arm and shouted what eyewitnesses suggest was an "Allah Akbar" with his rifle over his head, I mean I think that it would be very hard to dissociate this with militant Islamic terrorism regardless of the individual's mental state.

COSTELLO: John Ivison with "The National Post," thank you so much for your insight this morning. I appreciate it.

IVISON: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Within the last hour, Canadian lawmakers gathered at the war memorial to honor the soldier who was killed. CNN's Deborah Feyerick was in the middle of the mass of people honoring Colonel Cirillo. She joins us with more.

Good morning, Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

You can see a little bit of activity here. There have been a couple of incidents, just to sort of situate you. A car stalled and police officers swarmed it. A bomb-sniffing dog got up into the car. There was a man standing there with a rifle, an automatic rifle. So tensions a little bit on edge here.

The prime minister, Stephen Harper, he did pay his respects, along with his wife, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the National War Memorial, where Corporal Cirillo was gunned down yesterday. And you can see amidst all the yellow crime tape, you can see markers where those bullets fell. This clearly a very active investigation. A lot of the lawmakers also were out. They were also paying their respects. And a number of those we spoke to said, look, this cuts across party lines. Everybody here in Canada is united today trying to sort out exactly what's going on.

They expect to be briefed on a terror threat again today. They expect to get some information as to how this gunman was able to get from the war memorial, into his car, come around to parliament building, and then enter that building as well. They're going to be talking about things like security. Should public buildings have better security? Should there be more security at public transportation? So this is really an awakening for Canada. I heard you speaking to your guest earlier and a lot of people today here are saying, OK, the threat is now here.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Deborah Feyerick reporting live from Ottawa this morning, thank you so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, there are just over 2,000 patrol officers along our border to the north with Canada. Is that enough to keep the United States safe? CNN's Joe Johns is at the U.S. Capitol this morning.

Good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Here in Washington, U.S. Capitol Police have seen tragedy in this building before. They are monitoring the situation in Ottawa. I'll have someone on that coming up next.

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COSTELLO: President Obama says the United States has to remain vigilant. The FBI is urging its field offices across the country to stay on alert. Secret Service is reviewing security procedures at the White House. The military is tightening security at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia. And the U.S. is warning patrol agents on the border with Canada to be on high alert. CNN's Joe Johns is outside the U.S. Capitol, Rene Marsh is also in Washington.

Welcome to both of you.

Joe, I'm going to start with you. Tell us about this beefed-up presence in Washington.

JOHNS: Well, there is nothing you can see here at the United States Capitol, quite frankly. They say they are monitoring the situation in Ottawa, but there's been no significant change in the security posture.

That remains controversial. There have been calls for a perimeter fence here at the U.S. Capitol. In fact, that man right over there, Terrance Gaynor, the former U.S. Capitol Police chief, is quoted in today's "Roll Call" newspaper saying he thinks there needs to be a security fence around the Capitol, in addition to all the additional security procedures that were put in place after September 11, 2001.

Carol, there has been tragedy here at the United States Capitol in 1998. Two U.S. Capitol Police officers were killed inside the building by a man with a gun.

COSTELLO: Yes, I remember that. I covered that when I worked in local news in Washington, D.C. But there are safety devices inside the Capitol. Tell us what you have to go through to get into the Capitol, Joe.

JOHNS: Yes, there are magnetometers that you have to go through. And since 2011, they actually put up a building that you have to go through before you can even enter the United States Capitol. There are a lot of officers around. There are people with guns, obviously. And you can see them from time to time. But when it's really beefed up, there are people on the roof, there are people in other places and we're just not seeing that at least so far.

The other thing important to say, the United States Congress is not in session, Carol. They're all out campaigning for the midterm elections.

COSTELLO: How could we forget?

OK, Rene Marsh, your question is about the border. So there are thousands and thousands of border patrol agents along the border with Mexico. Not so along the border with Canada. Why?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Carol, it is called one of the longest undefended borders there. You're looking at just how long it is. When you compare the southern border to the northern border, you see a lot more of a military presence on the southern border. So that's raising that -- many people raising that very question at this point in light of what happened in Canada.

I did speak with DHS today. Here's what I can tell you. I want to shows you a map here which it essentially shows you where the shots were fired and just how close that is to the U.S./Canadian border. It's just a little bit more than an hour drive from where the shots were fired.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security telling me this morning that officers at land, air and sea borders, they remain on increased alert. They are paying very close attention to people arriving at the border. But, Carol, because there are still questions surrounding the motivation behind the Canadian shooting spree and whether the gunman was a part of a larger network, they say they are not necessarily increasing screening for people from a specific country. However, they are looking for anything suspicious. That's the wording that they're using.

Also a DHS official tells me that there is no evidence at this point that what's happening in Canada poses a threat to the United States. But we all know that could change as they get more facts. We did get some information as to -- from other experts and former DHS officials as to what the security measures may look like if they decide to further set things up. It could mean secondary screening for people who do not have U.S. or Canadian passports. At land borders, individuals may even be asked to get out of the car while the vehicle is searched. And also they may do some random picking of individuals to determine who will get secondary screening. But what they say is most unlikely is shutting down the border all together, Carol. That's probably the last thing they would want to do.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Rene Marsh, Joe Johns, many things.

I want to bring you back to Ottawa for just a second because it was a touching moment as Canada's prime minister and his wife, you can see the Harpers there, paying homage at the war memorial. This, of course, is where Colonel Cirillo was gunned down by that suspect who was supposedly inspired by ISIS. And you can see they just had a moment of silence and most likely a prayer as they leave the war memorial and it's back to business as usual in Canada's Capitol.

I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: One month after the last White House fence jumping, another man successfully scaled the fence. Oh, but this time, he didn't get very far. This time, the dogs got him. Two K-9 units attacked the suspect, giving the Secret Service time to surround him and arrest him.

CNN's Michelle Kosinski joins us live from the White House with more on this. Good morning.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey Carol. Yes, this has been happening every few weeks, seven times already this year, but this fence jumper had a much different takedown than the last one. Secret Service really showed no hesitation in unleashing those dogs. And this 23-year-old jumper from Maryland, Dominic Adesanya, really had to face them as soon as he went over the fence. The dogs were right there. He actually tried to do battle with them though, kicking one of the dogs. It looked like he was wrestling the other one. And then moments later you see Secret Service officers appear. And they say Adesanya was not armed. He was treated and released from the hospital and charged with assaulting the dogs, making threats, unlawful entry. And they said there were outstanding warrants on him as well. By the way the dogs, Hurricane and Jordan, were treated for minor injuries in this incident, too.

At this point, it doesn't look like any kind of a terrorist threat. One of Adesanya's family members told reporters that he's a disturbed young man, that he was arrested outside the White House about two months ago for hassling the Secret Service and wanting to talk to the president.

So you have to ask, I mean, wasn't security here supposed to be much, much tighter after the last fence jumper with more surveillance outside the fence? Apparently this guy was known to this Secret Service, and there's still that temporary shorter barrier about eight feet away from the tall fence outside the White House. So how does happen?

Well, some law enforcement sources close to this say, look, until there is a big change, maybe a higher fence, an agile person can pretty easily hoist themselves over still. They say what's important is the Secret Service response. But you have to think they don't want to see this keep happening either, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Michelle Kosinski reporting live for us this morning. Thank you. I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: Wall Street open for business. And guess what? The roller coaster is going up this time because Wall Street is off to a roaring start. The Dow posting a triple digit gain at the open while the NASDAQ jumped one percent. With that, the Dow's up over 191 points. Strong earnings reports lifted U.S. stocks, among them General Motors, which posted better-than-expected profits and an uptick in revenue. GM adding 2 percent.

So you can feel good about that for at least for a little while, right, Alison Kosik?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

COSTELLO: She's not here to talk about the Dow, though; she's here to talk about gas prices. Because if you've filled up at the pump recently, you might have noticed those lower than usual gas prices. In the last month, the national average has dropped more than 20 cents per gallon. In fact, some states are already enjoying prices below $3.00 a gallon. The big question is why? And will it last?

Let's dig deeper with CNN business correspondent Alison Kosik. We're also joined by Patrick deHahn; he's a senior petroleum analyst with gasbuddy.com. Welcome to both of you. PATRICK DEHAHN, SENIOR PETROLEUM ANALYST, GASBUDDY.COM: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Oh, thanks for being here, because we like this subject. So, Alison, take us through the years of high gas prices because it seemed like only yesterday we paid almost $5.00.

KOSIK: Let's talk about the numbers right now. You talk about who's enjoying $3.00 a gallon gas or below? Fifteen states in this country. All right, I want to pull up that map. If you're in one of these states, you like pulling up to the gas pump these days. The national average for a gallon of regular right now is actually at $3.08. It's down from $3.34 just this month. And will this continue, everybody wants to know? It looks like it will. The West Coast, if you live in the Rocky Mountain states, you can expect to see prices fall another 15 to 30 cents a gallon over the next few months. They're seeing oil prices at levels we haven't seen since 2011, sitting at about $80 a barrel. That translates to the gas pump.

COSTELLO: So why is all this good stuff happening, Patrick?

DEHAHN: Well, a lot of this, I would say, is thanks to the looming price war that continues between OPEC countries. The Saudis coming out two weeks ago, voluntarily slashing the price of October crude, followed by Iran and now Iraq. It's put tremendous amount on oil prices.

COSTELLO: Why are they doing that?

DEHAHN: Well, that's the question that they really haven't tackled directly. There could be a number of questions. The Saudis interested in market share. They can produce it cheaper, they can pump it cheaper, perhaps hoping to take some oil market share away from perhaps even the U.S. There's talks that this could be in revenge against basically what Russia is doing with the sanctions, against Russia. So this could be a move against them. It's really anybody's best guess.

COSTELLO: Does it have anything to do with the amount of oil we're pumping right here in the United States?

KOSIK: Well, I mean, the production side of it, he makes a very good point. Because I mean, although we're sitting here cheering lower oil prices, which translate into lower gas prices, it means that consumers, you and me get to spend, have more money to spend on other things.

But there's a downside too. When you see oil prices fall sharply, it could be happening because you're seeing a slowdown in the European countries, in China. You could see it affect negatively. The increase products we're having here in the U.S., specifically through shale exploration, that's actually been a huge area where there's been a jobs creation. Although obviously very controversial, it's created over 100,000 jobs over the past five years.

Also the stronger dollar has a lot to do with the fact that oil prices are lower. Oil is priced in dollars. That could also hurt the economy because a stronger dollar means our exports become more expensive compared to foreign goods. So there's --

COSTELLO; Well, there's so little right now (ph).

KOSIK: Yes, but it's always sort of a search, would you agree, Patrick, to sort of find that sweet spot for oil prices?

DEHAHN: Well, you know, the market looks like it could continue to move down. I know it's inching up this morning. But we're still looking at a situation where the bottom really could continue to drop out if oil can make it through some of these technical resistance barriers here that were within striking distance. If we can fall through 78, there's a possible floor that will drop even further.

So the sweet spot for American crude to be profitable, I'd say obviously $60 to $70 a barrel. Saudis can do it much cheaper than that.

COSTELLO: It's really interesting. OK, so one last question because I've always wondered -- well, actually I haven't wondered about this, because I don't think that, you know, we always hear gas prices come into presidential politics, right? So does the President of the United States, whoever that may be at the time, can he or she really control gas prices?

KOSIK: He cannot control gas prices. He can certainly take the credit for it, do you agree, Patrick? I think so.

DEHAHN: Absolutely. I wait for all the politicians to take credit. But really policy can set it, but not much else.

COSTELLO: All right. Thanks to both of you., Alison Kosik, Patrick deHahn. I appreciate it.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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