Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Obama Off to Asia; U.S. to Send 1,500 More Troops to Iraq; 25 Years After Berlin Wall Collapses; U.S. Diplomat Under Investigation; Kenneth Bae Back in the U.S.; U.S. Citizen Held in Southeast Asian Country; Volunteers on the Front Lines Against Ebola; Grand Jury Decision Expected This Month; A 13-Year-Old Invents New Braille Printer

Aired November 9, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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


PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Pamela Brown, in for Fredericka Whitfield. Great to have you with us.

And we start this Sunday with a cold weather blast. The calendar may say fall but temperatures are about to plummet into an arctic winter in about two thirds of the country. Meteorologist Jennifer Gray says an estimated 200 million people will experience the frigid air.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Pamela, we have some very, very cold Arctic air that is sinking down into much of the country as we go to the beginning part of the week. We're talking 200 million people affected by this. We are going to see temperatures well below normal. Anywhere from the Dakotas all the way down to Georgia. Folks in the south will experience temperatures 5 to 10, maybe 15 degrees below normal.

We're going to be talking about the northern plains in the midwest. We're going to be talking about temperatures up to 35 degrees below normal. In fact today, already, we have winter storm watches and warnings in place. We have winter weather advisories that stretch across seven states and we could see as much as a foot of snow in Minneapolis. That's going to be the hardest hit area right around Minneapolis, on into portions of Wisconsin. We also could see anywhere from six to nine inches of snow in the Dakotas.

It's basically going to be where the snow is going to be concentrated, anywhere south of this, this is going to be a dry front but we are going have very, very cold temperatures behind it. What we're talking about in Rapid City, temperatures in the teens through much of your work week. In Minneapolis, we won't get above freezing for your workweek.

In fact, we could be looking at an eight-day stretch of temperatures below freezing around Minneapolis, a lot of areas around here would be 35 degrees below the normal. Chicago, you don't look all that bad compared to Minneapolis even though your temperatures will be chilly especially Wednesday and Thursday. You may not even hit freezing on Thursday. But when you look at places like Atlanta, New York City, the south and northeast won't be hit quite as hard. However, temperatures will be still be below normal - 55 degrees, your high temperature on Thursday in Atlanta, New York City won't even hit 50 on Thursday. Pamela.

BROWN: No matter where you are you're probably going to be cold. Thank you so much, Jennifer Gray.

President Obama is on his way to Asia for an eight day journey. He left Washington earlier today and heads to China, then Myanmar before heading to the G-20 summit in Australia and then he will stop off in Hawaii before heading back to Washington.

Erin McPike is at the White House for us. And Erin, the president is covering a lot of ground in a weeks' time.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, he sure is. First in Beijing, he'll meet with the Chinese president where the two will talk about trade, climate change, the economy, of course, and maybe even some of the cyber crimes that are going on in the United States at this point due to some of the Chinese hacking.

From there, he will go to Myanmar where he'll check on some of the social and political reforms that they are making there, in part due to American influence. And then in Australia at the G-20 - what we're watching for is whether or not he will get a chance to talk face to face with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Of course, those two have had a strange relationship over the past year.

Now, before he left. He did speak to CBS News and talked about some of the domestic politics that are going on. For all of those wondering will there be a White House shake up in the aftermath of the midterm elections? Here is how he address that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The minute they pass a bill that addresses the problems with immigration reform, I will sign it and it supercedes whatever actions I take and I'm encouraging them to do so.

On parallel track, we're going to be implementing and executive action. But if in fact a bill gets passed, nobody is going to be happier than me to sign it because that means it will be permanent rather than temporary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: So actually that was the president speaking about immigration reform and that he will give House Speaker John Boehner a little bit of time but there is that caveat that he is still going to move forward with some potential executive action that could be wiped out and here he is speaking about that potential White House shake up that could happen in the last two years of his term. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: We will be bringing in few folks here because people get tired. It's a hard job. What I told everybody is I want you to have as much enthusiasm and energy on the last day of this administration as you do right now or as you did when you first started.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: Now, what we also found interesting about this interview, Pamela, was that he said he likes his job. He likes everything he's doing. He just needs to sell his policies better. Pamela.

BROWN: Interesting. All right. Erin McPike, thank you so much.

In the meantime, President Obama plans to send 1,500 more troops as advisors to Iraq to help in the fight against ISIS. This morning, the president refused to rule out sending even more troops to the region. Here's CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The addition of 1,500 U.S. troops into Iraq almost doubles America's presence there. They are not meant to be in a combat role but rather continuing to advise and assist the Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish Pashmir, also providing America with critical increased eyes on the ground when it comes to those coalition air strikes.

These troops are going to potentially be based perhaps in Al-Anbar province, some of them at least. And also potentially to the north in Taji, two key areas where Isis has significant control. Anbar province especially critical and that it is predominantly Sunni and in the past has historically been Al Qaeda's key stomping ground and when we look at Iraq's history, it was the Sunni tribe that allowed for the tide to turn against Al Qaeda and those Sunni tribes are going to be vital if ISIS is to in fact be defeated. That is one of the main reasons why the U.S. and others are putting a lot of pressure on the Iraqi government led by Shia prime minister (INAUDIBLE) to reach out to those Sunni tribes who at this stage remain fairly weary of the government in Baghdad.

We're talking about ISIS' long term defeat, there is a realization that this cannot be achieved by military means alone, there has to be a significant political effort alongside it.

Arwa Damon, CNN, (INAUDIBLE) Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Thank you to Arwa Damon.

Well, a beautiful celebration in Germany to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall. Our Fred Pleitgen was there 25 years ago. Fred?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we'll show you the highlights of the celebrations as tens of thousands of people here in Berlin mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall. It also marked the beginning of the end of communism when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, as you can see right here, a huge celebration is happening right now in Germany. Marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. There were fireworks, (INAUDIBLE) iconic Brandenburg Gate, music and emotional speeches recounting the painful cold war divide between east and west Berlin and the joyous moment on this day in 1989 when the wall came crashing down.

CNN's Frederick Pleitgen joins us now, live from Berlin. He was actually there when the wall came down 25 years ago. Frederick, there have been ceremonies throughout the day and evening there. Describe the scene.

PLEITGEN: Uh-huh.

Well, certainly the highlights of these ceremonies which as you said went on the entire day was the releasing of 7,000 balloons into the night sky. That certainly was a very amazing moment. I think the best thing about these ceremonies is while on the one hand there was a lot of jubilation, there were a lot of obviously happy people celebrating here but there also did a pay respect to those who were killed in the Berlin Wall in the 28 years that had divided this city.

There are 138 people that are known to have been killed at the Berlin Wall. There are many people however who believed that many more people died somewhere along the way trying to get across the wall and not making it. There was also a very solemn part of these ceremonies to pay respect to these people. So certainly it was a day of remembrance and also a day of jubilation, 25 years after the fall of the wall. Which of course also spelled the beginning of the end of communism as well. Pamela.

BROWN: And Frederick, you're German and as I mentioned, you were actually there when the wall came down. What are your memories from that?

PLEITGEN: Yes, it was an amazing time when the wall came down. I have to tell you that anybody who is in my generation, anybody who is in the older generation than me would never have believed that the wall could come down and certainly would have never believed that the wall would have come down in a peaceful way. And I think that that was absolutely key when these demonstrations started to happen in the east of Germany where the border crossings were opened. Many of us couldn't believe it at all. Many of us thought that maybe it would just be for a couple of days and then things will go back to the way they were before, simply because the wall was known as being this fierce concrete barrier between these two countries.

They were obviously guard towers with machine gun posts and so therefore, you didn't believe that a state that was as repressive - and I can tell you, my family was spied on for many years by this repressive state. A state that repressive simply collapsed that quickly. So there was a lot of jubilation but at the same time there was a lot of uncertainty as to how all of this would unfold. Pamela.

BROWN: You say your family spied on you. You live in East Germany. Tell us a little bit more about the experience living there.

PLEITGEN: Well, I had a unique experience living there because my father was a correspondent for West German television in the east of Germany. He was stationed there. So therefore, he was obviously the enemy of the state number one, for them. Their secret police broke into the apartment that we lived in. They spied on the children, on us. They spied on him obviously, very extensively. They spied on his office. As I said, break-ins, listening devices. They had a bunch of people that they were paying to write reports about everything that our family was doing.

So certainly, that repression was always there. He just told me recently the other day that there were times when they would break into the office and they would make sure to leave traces so that he knew that he was being observed simply because they tried to stop him from speaking to the East German population and from getting - letting them express their views about what was really going on under communism. Pamela.

BROWN: I bet your parents have incredible stories to share. Frederick Pleitgen, thank you so much for that. So interesting to hear your experiences there.

Well, a career U.S. diplomat under federal investigation, why the FBI sealed her office and stripped her of her security clearance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A long time U.S. diplomat and Pakistan expert is under a counter-intelligence investigation. Her office has been sealed and she has been stripped of her security clearances. CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN RAPHEL, FMR. U.S. DIPLOMAT: We look forward to achieving great things -

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's been a veteran American diplomat and champion of better ties with Pakistan.

Now, Robin Raphel finds herself part of a counter intelligence investigation, shocking her co-workers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are aware of this law enforcement matter. The State Department has been cooperating with our law enforcement colleagues on this matter.

LABOTT: FBI agents searched Raphels' home and sealed her office at the State Department where she was an advisor on Pakistan. Her security clearance has been pulled and her contract has not been renewed. Such investigations typically involve passing sensitive information to a foreign government. She was married to Arnold Raphel who was U.S. ambassador to Pakistan when he was killed in 1988 along with President Muhammad Zia Ul-Haq in a mysterious plane crash believed to be an assassination attempt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't say no to this.

LABOTT: It may sound like a plot ripped on the TV show "Homeland" where the spouse of the U.S. ambassador is accused of spying, officials stress this is an ongoing investigation and no charges against Raphel had been filed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can be very crippling. It can compromise the systems that we spent years and millions of dollars building.

LABOTT: A spokesman for Ambassador Raphel says she has not been told what the investigation is about or whether she's the target but she is cooperating with authorities.

"I think Ambassador Raphel's nearly 40 years of experience at the highest level of U.S. diplomacy speak for themselves." Andrew Rice told CNN and "this will soon be resolved."

Raphel was a CIA analyst before becoming the State Department's top official on south Asia and also served as the U.S. ambassador to Tunisia. She retired in 2005 but returned to work for Richard Holbrook, then secretary of State Hillary Clinton's advisor for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

RAPHEL: I am personally very committed to this mission because I first came to Pakistan in 1975 and worked at the USAID mission. So I have watched this country over the years and I watched the relationship and I have a great deal of regard and respect for the people of Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: That was Elise Labott reporting. CNN attempted to contact Raphel but messages had not been returned.

And just moments ago, in Seattle, the sister of one of the Americans freed from North Korea spoke to reporters. I want to go straight to CNN's Ana Cabrera who is right outside Kenneth Bae's sister's church. And is actually with Kenneth Bae's sister right now, Terri Cheung. Is that right?

ANA CABRERA: Yes, hi, Pamela. We are with Terri Cheung, Kenneth Bae's sister, the woman who has been fighting so tirelessly over the past couple of years along with other family and friends to try to bring her brother home. Terri, I know you just have a few minutes to talk to us but thank you for this time. What is going through your mind now that you have the chance to sort of ingest everything?

TERRI CHEUNG, KENNETH BAE'S SISTER: I think it was just still can't believe this day is finally here. This is - for two years, this is the moment that we've been waiting for, praying for and fighting so hard for. It's still kind of unreal to me. CABRERA: What was the first thing that Kenneth did when you guys got

home?

CHEUNG: We ordered some pizza. We (INAUDIBLE) eaten dinner. So we had some pizza and some soda and just hung out and told stories.

CABRERA: I imagine there are a lot of stories, lots of reconnecting that needs to be done. Describe for us the last few hours of what you learned and what those interactions have been like.

CHEUNG: It's been good. Just to be with each other and be a family. Just to hang out and to see glimpses of the old Kenneth. He's the guy who loves to hang out with friends. Some friends had driven up from Oregon to be there for him last night. He was just so happy to see them. To be just hanging out and telling stories, that's what he does.

CABRERA: And you said, when he was telling stories, you weren't really getting into the nitty gritty of his time in North Korea, right?

CHEUNG: He was just more about how are you doing? How are you feeling? He was really happy to be home. On the way home, he is calling his children. We all cried again once more just listening to those phone calls. We're thankful that he seems to be in good spirits and his health had recovered some because he spent some time in the hospital prior to being released. So we're thankful for all of that.

CABRERA: What are his plans moving forward?

CHEUNG: I don't think anybody knows. I don't think he knows yet. I think at this point it's just to catch up with family. I think he wants to talk with different people, to reconnect with old friends. He is aware that so many people have been supporting him. So he wants to be able to connect, express his thanks and gratitude to all of those individuals as well.

CABRERA: I know last night he and you expressed so affection for the people of North Korea. Does he have any regrets having gone to North Korea?

CHEUNG: He certainly does not wish that he had spent two years in a North Korean prison. However he still has a tremendous heart and compassion for the people of North Korea. So, yes, I think he only wants the best for them and for - yes.

CABRERA: What is that all about do you think? His connection?

CHEUNG: He went there because he wanted to contribute to their economy. He wanted to connect with the people. He has a love of that. He wants that connection and he still wants to see the country and the people thrive and to be happy.

CABRERA: That is a pretty amazing thought and statement after all that he has been through. Does he have any plans to go back?

CHEUNG: Not any time soon, I think.

CABRERA: I know that he said that he has family all over the world. He has not been able to hug and hold his children or his wife yet, right?

CHEUNG: No, not yet. We're trying to reconvene very soon and have a happy reunion.

CABRERA: It's going be a special holiday season, I imagine for this family.

CHEUNG: It is so good to have him home. This was going to be the third Thanksgiving, Christmas without him. We're so excited that he's home.

CABRERA: All right. Well, I know that you got to get going. Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us. We're so happy for your family and for Kenneth, please wish him our very best. We'd love to chat with him too when he feels up to it.

CHEUNG: OK. Thank you.

CABRERA: Thank you, Terri.

All right. So you just heard from the sister of Kenneth Bae, Terri Cheung, who is one of the many family members and friends now greeting her brother for the first time in two years now that he's back home in the U.S..

We understand he is staying with a family member as they await more family members to arrive in the next several days and weeks ahead. Really life before him could be anything. I know Terri had also expressed that he is taking it one day at a time and we'll see where we go from here, Pam.

BROWN: He certainly has a lot of support around him. And I love the first thing, one of the first things he did was eat pizza when he got back to the U.S..

Ana Cabrera.

CABRERA: She says that they are really a food loving family. So that was a big topic of conversation last night.

BROWN: Love it. Ana Cabrera, thank you so much for bringing that interview to us. Really gives you chills to hear that. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Pamela Brown. On the surface it sounds like the brilliant plot to a great read, but it's all too real for one American and her family, a U.S. citizen living out her dream of traveling the world.

Then in a tiny Southeast Asian country of East Timor, Stacey Addison shared a cab with the wrong man at the wrong time. He asked the driver to make a stop to pick up a package. Authorities said it was drugs.

Even after Addison was cleared of any wrong doing she is still being held as a witness and now authorities are saying it could take a year to complete their investigation.

So joining me now to discuss this on the phone is Stacey's mother, Bernadette Kero. Bernadette, thank you for coming on to talk with us. First off, how were you holding up? I can't imagine what a nightmare this has been for you?

BERNADETTE KERO, STACEY ADDISON'S MOTHER (via telephone): It has been a tough week or more since I got the news that she was rearrested and put in prison. I'm still in shock. I am trying to stay strong for Stacey's sake, but the whole thing is like a bad dream, very frightening.

BROWN: Are you able to communicate with Stacey? How is she holding up?

KERO: She's a strong woman. She's very -- I'm told she's being strong. It's got to be horribly, horribly frightening for her, too. I communicate with her through the embassy. They are able to -- I can e-mail. They print it out and she can write out a reply and they can scan it back to me. But they have -- they go once or twice a week. I haven't heard from her since last week.

BROWN: You're not able to talk to her over the phone?

KERO: There is no phone or no mail service. I just want to clarify that Stacey took -- she just had the bad luck to share a hired car. When you travel in these developing countries, people that don't travel don't realize that that's the only mode of transport is a shared vehicle, a shared taxi, a shared hired car.

If there's not a bus and she had to renew her Indonesian visa, she was -- had to go into East Timor and received a visa there. After that, she paid $10 to share a taxi, a car, a hired car with a complete stranger.

When this happened, this person asked to stop and pick up a package. Police were there. They had been informed in some way. She was tested. Her -- she was completely searched. Her belongings and iPad, everything was negative.

She was tested for drugs. The driver and the stranger who picked up the package testified that they didn't know her and, you know, the whole thing is just incredible. It's just outrageous.

BROWN: She was cleared of any wrong doing. Why is she being held anyway?

KERO: I'm sorry. What was that?

BROWN: So she's been cleared of any wrong doing, as you point out -- KERO: I don't know. They say they have a year to complete their

investigation. She was never questioned in over two months and never contacted since the initial incident. She has done everything she can to cooperate. She has asked them the question.

She's provided anything she can to show she was a tourist. This was her dream to travel the world. She saved her money for two years. She is a veterinarian. She is a respected professional. She has never ever been in any sort of trouble in her entire and she sold her house or belongings. She just loves to travel. That's her passion, that and animals.

BROWN: And we are looking at pictures of that right now. Bernadette Kero, thank you so much for talking with us. We wish you and your family the best of luck and we hope that Stacey comes home soon. Thank you.

The polar air is about to send shivers to 200 million Americans across two-thirds of the country so get ready. This week temperatures will plunge from Montana to Myrtle Beach Heights and some cities could drop as much as 35 degrees below normal. Winter advisories, watches and warnings are already posted in at least seven states.

And in Minneapolis right now, it's in the 30s and tonight they are expecting snow. That's right, snow, to move in and pile up throughout the day on Monday. Meteorologist Laura Belker from our affiliate, KARE, joins us now. Is it early to be talking about snow?

LAURA BELKER, AMS METEOROLOGIST, KARE-TV: Well, it's not unheard of to have snow certainly here in Minnesota in November. We get about nine inches on average. To have this major storm system come through that could bring us up to a foot and possibly more of snow, it certainly, I think earlier than most of us would like.

There has been a lot of last minute leaf raking, snow blower buying today with this forecast that does call for six to 12 inches within the twin cities metro and I think most of us falling right around the eight to ten inch mark.

Just to the northwest and into western Wisconsin we'll see amounts even locally higher than that. So we are certainly bracing for our first winter-like storm even though, of course, technically it is still autumn and it's looking like a heavy wet snow followed by this frigid arctic blasts that will freeze everything solid.

So it's once one of those that we understand here in Minnesota. You have got get rid of it right away. Otherwise, it turns to ice and it looks like it will be here for the coming days here as we look for lows in the teens and highs in the 20 next week -- Pamela.

BROWN: I was just thinking I need to pull up my winter clothes. I haven't done yet, so I think a lot of people need to get on that. Meteorologist Laura Belker with our affiliate, KARE, in Minneapolis, thank you so much.

A list of demands to prevent violence from breaking out in Ferguson, Missouri, as a grand jury could reach a decision any day now in the shooting death of a black teenager. The proposed rules of engagement up next.

But first, see how volunteers are learning how to fight Ebola in this "Impact Your World" with Chris Cuomo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): These volunteers are preparing for a daunting task. Soon they will travel from the United States to West Africa to work on the front lines in the fight against Ebola.

DR. PATRICIA GRIFFIN, DIRECTOR, CDC TRAINING CAMP: We have a mock Ebola treatment unit. We are training clinicians to treat patients and how to protect themselves.

CUOMO: They learned skills like putting on and removing protective equipment, drawing blood and disposing of hazardous waste.

DR. PHUOC LE, VOLUNTEER: Every detail could be a matter of life or death to you or the people that work around you.

CUOMO: Dr. Phuoc Lee is planning to take the skills he learns on this training course in Alabama and help medical teams in Liberia improve their protocols and hopefully limit infection.

LE: All of the infections of workers and the deaths of health care workers, most of them are probably preventable if they had sufficient staffing, the equipment that we have here, space, supplies.

GRIFFIN: We are teaching how the virus is transmitted so that they know how to protect themselves so that they feel safe taking care of patients.

CUOMO: The training helps but the volunteers still face a formidable foe.

LE: One would tell you that they are not anxious by going to Liberia and working in an Ebola unit. It's delusional. It's just a sense of solidarity and wanting to be there for non-profit partners. We don't have a choice but to stay and work and contribute.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The Ferguson, Missouri, grand jury could announce its decision on the Michael Brown shooting death any day now. Members of the "Don't Shoot Coalition" presented police with 19 rules of engagement to help the city avoid violence when the decision comes down.

Some of those rules include 48 hours' notice before the grand jury decision is announced. They don't want police to use riot gear and they say excessive police force will, quote, "not be tolerated."

I'm joined now by Dr. Cedric Alexander. He is the president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. Cedric, we've heard the mayor there in Ferguson say expect the worst when the grand jury decision comes down especially if an indictment isn't return against the officer. What are you expecting to happen on the ground in Ferguson when the grand jury makes a decision?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES: What we hope to have happened following by the last months is that in the time that between now and the time of grand jury making some determination, whatever that may happen to be. Quite frankly none of us know.

What I am hoping occurs is the police agencies along with the local community have had some time to meet and to talk and to work through some of the differences that have been so clearly obvious that have occurred there over the years.

As they move forward in terms of this decision that is yet to be made by a grand jury, hopefully they will be in a much better place to discuss and engage whatever the outcome of that ruling may happen to be.

BROWN: And one of the rules listed that we just talked about was 48 hours' notice before the grand jury decision is released. Do you think that's fair or do you think that's overreaching?

ALEXANDER: Well, what I think is fair is that it's OK to have rules of engagement. Those rules will really have to be discussed by both community and by police. Whatever those engagements and rules are, I have happened to have read through some of them.

It becomes increasingly important in that community, that as they go to each of one of those rules, how does it benefit the community and police also need to know what benefit, how it benefits them as well.

Remember, this is a collaborative relationship that has to be built. Now is a great opportunity and time to build that. Hopefully whatever those rules of engagement are, hopefully both entities can work through it.

There are some things that police quite frankly by the mere nature of the job itself they may have a very different perception looking at it from 10,000 feet. But the flipside of that is communities may see things as different as well too.

But now we should begin to, for those communities to make sure that they are discussing it, working through these 14 items together.

BROWN: So you think it should be reciprocal then because this is a list intended for law enforcement, but you are basically saying it should go both ways?

ALEXANDER: It has to go both ways and that has been one of the problems that is they have not collaborated and worked very well together so this is an opportunity here again regardless of what the outcome of that grand jury decision had to be. We don't know what that outcome is. Nothing has been officially put out there yet, but until that happens, that community and that police department in Ferguson, in and around Ferguson, and across the country as well too, we all need to be talking and working together. So that here again we are doing it collaboratively.

BROWN: I think we can all agree we don't want to see a repeat of what we saw before in the ground in Ferguson.

ALEXANDER: No, absolutely. We do not.

BROWN: All right, Cedric Alexander, thank you for coming to talk to us.

ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me.

BROWN: Still my way right here on NEWSROOM, imagine a new product that could transform life in so many positive ways for the blind. Imagine it's a 13-year-old behind the cutting edge invention. You'll meet him up next.

But first meet CNN Hero, Arthur Bloom. He's one of the nominees for hero of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARTHUR BLOOM: Music is my earliest memory. I never decided to be a professional musician. It's 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 just a normal morning patrol walking down the road. I'd 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 gone?

BLOOM: Let's take it right before the melody comes in. Our organization helps wounded warriors play music and recover their lives. We match the injured troops with professional musicians who comes visit at Walter Reed Medical Center and work with them on music projects, learning music, writing, and performing.

We're going to try to incorporate more medal. I'm not a music therapist, I'm a musician, but 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. The folks who work with, when they do music, there's nothing injured about the way they do it. It's just good music.

(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: It could be a game changer for the blind, a low cost braille printer. The inventor is just 13 years old and he made his first prototype with Legos. Shubjam Banerjee's braille printer cost less than $500 to make and Intel just Compare that to the typical $2,000 to $8,000 these printers normally cost to make.

Shubham, thank you so much for coming on with us. We see you have the printer right in front of you. We have got to ask. What inspired you to invent this and you have got to show us how it works, too.

SHUBHAM BANERJEE, TEEN INVENTOR: Thanks for having me here. What inspired me was to -- last December I received a flier on my doorstep that was asking for donations for a non-profit for the visually impaired.

That's when I asked a random question to my parents, how do blind people read? They didn't have time me so I went ahead and Googled it. I found out the language of braille, how much braille printers cost.

And I found out it was 2,000 onwards. I wanted to reduce the cost and I did that by making a Lego braille printer and making another consumer braille printer that would go into the market.

BROWN: Wow, so show us how it works.

BANERJEE: This is the surface. It will print out CNN.

BROWN: OK. I like that. Look at you catering to your audience here.

BANERJEE: This is the Lego braille printer. I will also print out the letter A.

BROWN: Wow. With Legos and you're only 13 years old this is really incredible. As you're doing this -- is it -- wow.

BANERJEE: Yes.

BROWN: So when --

BANERJEE: It's very --

BROWN: It's incredible. When venture capitalists got wind of this, you got phone calls is that right?

BANERJEE: Yes. I was very surprised that Intel invested in my company. I'm very happy that Intel believed in my vision. And I am open to other investments from other (inaudible).

BROWN: I'll take advantage of your airtime here. We got to know, what is your next invention?

BANERJEE: My next invention? Well, I don't have one yet. But the next step to possibly taking this braille printer forward, hire professional engineers who can bring this company forward. I'm very happy to be in the Silicon Valley where I'm with so many smart people.

BROWN: Yes, you are certainly in the right place and I think we can all agree you have a very bright future ahead of you. Shubham Banerjee, thank you so much for coming on. You really could change the lives of so many blind people. Thank you so much.

BANERJEE: No problem. It was a pleasure.

BROWN: Well, thanks for spending part of your Sunday with us. I'm Pamela Brown. The next hour of NEWSROOM with Poppy Harlow in New York starts right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)