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CNN NEWSROOM

The Man Who Lost His Past; Fed Lowers 2013 Growth Forecast; Obama, Boehner Trade "Cliff" Proposals; HSBC Pays $1.92 Billion Laundering Settlement; Asteroid's Near Miss With Earth

Aired December 12, 2012 - 14:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a story that will make you appreciate who you are, what you have, and maybe what you've been taking for granted. It is about a man who called himself Benjamin Kyle, a man who lost his past and because of that, it has been tough dealing with the present and then preparing for the future. Here is a clip from the documentary called "Finding Benjamin."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Benjamin Kyle has been --

BENJAMIN KYLE, MAN FOUND BEATEN WITH AMNESIA EIGHT YEARS AGO: Hello. My name is Benjamin Kyle. You don't know who I am and quite frankly neither do I. This is my story.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looked like somebody tried to kill him. I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Calm down, ma'am. I'll send an ambulance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God, my God.

KYLE: I was found behind a dumpster at a Burger King in 2004. I don't know how I got there and I don't have no memories of who I am. What my actual name is or Social Security number.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Benjamin had no identification. The hospital already had a John Doe, so they named him BK, Benjamin Kyle. Benjamin was diagnosed with retrograde amnesia, also known as the Hollywood amnesia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the matter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry, but who are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hector has been hurt in a horrible accident. He can't remember who he is. He goes amnesia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities couldn't tell Benjamin who he was and without a Social Security number, he couldn't get a job, or a place to stay. KYLE: They shifted me from -- I was in every hospital and every clinic in Savannah because they kept shifting me around because everyone was trying to get rid of me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the media heard the story, they became determined to solve the mystery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Benjamin Kyle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Benjamin. Normally we say how are you, but in your case we'll say who are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then the doctor stepped in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an age regressed photo of Benjamin as he might have looked at various ages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And finally, the FBI was on the case.

KYLE: Since then they have taken my fingerprints, both electronically and the old ink method several times and they cannot find my fingerprints in anywhere in any database.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have not been able to identify him.

KYLE: For all practical intents and purposes, I do not exist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Benjamin became the first U.S. citizen to be listed as missing, despite his whereabouts being known, and the FBI left it at that.

KYLE: Everyone we talk to out there swear up and down that they were going to solve the case. They didn't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With no happy ending, the media gave up.

KYLE: All the national media, they want the big story when they introduce me to my relatives, but until that happens they don't want -- they're not interested in doing an article about the search.

You know, actually, when you think about it, it's pretty pathetic if no one is actually looking for someone that disappeared. Isn't that anyone important enough in your past life that they want to look for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So Benjamin was stranded, with no name, no Social Security number and no help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Benjamin Kyle, about to talk to me live along with the man who made that documentary. They are asking for your help, asking for your signature to the White House will have to act. Don't miss this. It's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Quite a story, this is a man who scours missing person web sites hoping to find himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLE: I believe I was born in Indianapolis. I'm pretty sure I went to a Catholic school and I'm pretty sure my name is Benjamin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Benjamin Kyle was found beaten eight years ago in Georgia, no clothes, no memory. It was a case of retrograde amnesia. As he's trying to get back his memories, there is this new effort to help Benjamin Kyle get something else he urgently needs, a Social Security number.

Benjamin Kyle joins me live from Tallahassee. And the documentary filmmaker who chronicled Kyle's story, John Wickstrom, is also with me from Tallahassee. Gentlemen, thank you, both, for being with me.

Benjamin, let me just begin with you. So you have no idea who you are, no one in your past has come forward to find you, how do you wrestle with this every day?

KYLE: Mostly I don't think about it because it is just -- it gets too frustrating and besides, I have to get along with my day to day living. I can't concentrate on that because I have to make a living.

BALDWIN: You have to live day to day.

KYLE: Yes.

BALDWIN: And in that day to day living, until you got help from john and this documentary, some media coverage, you had no I.D. for those of us who take our I.D.s for granted, what are the challenges of living in this world without one?

KYLE: Well, you know, you can't even get into a homeless shelter without a Social Security number. Can't rent an apartment, can't get a driver's license. It's like I'm a ghost walking through the country.

BALDWIN: John, you stumbled upon this ghost, he's not at all a ghost, he's very much so a person trying to find out who he is. You made this documentary. You got some media coverage, I know, and ultimately helped him get this I.D. let's look at one more clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first good news this man has gotten in a long time. This is Benjamin's Florida legacy I.D. There is no Social Security number yet, but this does establish his new identity on the state level.

KYLE: Amazed, absolutely floored. Just about ready to cry, actually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So the clip mentioned no known Social Security numbers on this I.D., John. So you're on this crusade to try to change that. Tell me about the whitehouse.gov petition, how can viewers help you?

JOHN WIKSTROM, DOCUMENTARIAN, "FINDING BENJAMAN": If you're not familiar with the we the people petition site, the site promises to give a White House response if you get 25,000 signatures. And with Benjamin's case, it is a specific enough one that requires high level intervention.

And so what we're trying to do and what we're, you know, hopefully trying to get the support of viewers is to sign the petition to show support for Benjamin so they can use their voice in saying this man should not be the victim of a loophole, this man deserves those nine numbers that make life possible in this country.

BALDWIN: Those nine numbers. I do just want to let you all know, we picked up the phone, called the Social Security Administration, and they told us, via a statement, you know, they wouldn't talk about the case because of privacy laws, but how many signatures is need? How far along are you and what do you do if you don't get them?

WIKSTROM: Well, right now we have about 8,500 signatures and we need 25,000. So we're about a third of the way there. If we don't get the signatures, there is no required White House response. They can kind of not address this and, you know, nothing has to be solved. However, if we get 25,000, there has to be -- has to be a response so it is my -- sorry.

BALDWIN: No, no, I was just -- I wanted to go back to Benjamin because, you know, as you're hearing and hoping for the signatures, there was something that struck me that you said in this documentary and that is that you said sometimes I wish I hadn't woken up. Do you still feel that way sometimes?

KYLE: Yes, actually.

BALDWIN: You do?

KYLE: Yes. I have down days and good days. And sometimes when I'm really, really feeling down, yes, I feel that way.

BALDWIN: Well, when you're not feeling down, hopefully you're not right now, what do you hope your future looks like?

KYLE: Well, you know, I'm 64 years old in 10 years I'm going to be dead. I would just like to make those next ten years a little easier. And I would like to say, even if I get the Social Security number, it will make things so much easier. But I'm still going to have to work because if they give me a new number, I'll have to work -- you have to work about ten years to earn the benefits.

BALDWIN: It is still a challenge. We hope you're around longer than ten years, Benjamin Kyle. We wish you luck. We'll follow up with you. Benjamin Kyle, thank you. John Wikstrom, thanks to you. Congratulations on about to be graduating with a film degree, pretty decent job here.

WIKSTROM: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Gentlemen, thank you so, so much. We appreciate it. Good luck.

Did you know that over the past couple of weeks, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner have actually maybe moved a little closer here in the talks to avert the fiscal cliff? Maybe, maybe not, depends who you ask. We'll look at that next with economist and author, Ben Stein.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: This just in, Federal Reserve lowered its growth forecast for next year. Also, the fed says it will tie interest rates to unemployment rates. So the interest rate will stay right around zero until the nation's unemployment rate drops below 6.5 percent.

Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says U.S. unemployment, a huge problem, huge waste of potential -- human potential, he said. Bernanke says the fed will replace "Operation Twist" with a new $45 billion asset buying program.

Overall, the fed is committing to buy $85 billion worth of securities a month. The program seeks to keep downward pressure on interest rates to spur the economy.

Now back to the fiscal cliff, 20 days, count them with me, 20 days out from higher taxes and punishing government spending cuts if there is no deal in Washington to craft a softer landing.

With me now from Los Angeles, economist, author, Ben Stein. Ben Stein, good to see you, sir. You know, look, despite all we're hearing and seeing out of Washington, we can at least discern some movement on this issue of taxes.

Let me just take you back, House Speaker John Boehner, his first position was no new taxes. President Obama, he was asking for new taxes totalling $1.6 trillion. After the election, speaker of the House pointed up an offer of $800 billion, exactly halfway between his zero and the president's $1.6 trillion.

And then this week the president countered at $1.4 trillion. And were they to split the difference, doing simple math here, you would be looking at new tax revenues of $1.1 trillion. Do you think, Ben Stein, that's where they're headed right there in the middle, $1.1 trillion?

BEN STEIN, ECONOMIST, AUTHOR: I don't know exactly where they're headed, but we're headed for higher taxes. The palmy days for the rich when their taxes got lower and lower and lower in the Bush administration are over.

The happy times that the country -- we're going to have higher income taxes. We're going to have much, much higher estate taxes, I suspect. The good times for those who have money to burn, well, they'll still have money to burn, but not quite as much money to burn.

There have to be revenue increases. There has to be tax rate increases. I hate to say it, I'm a modestly upper income taxpayer myself, I hate to see it, but it has got to happen.

BALDWIN: Well, I wanted -- let's get a little personal, Ben Stein, because I kind of wanted to ask you. We caught something this morning and this was Republican Darrell Issa of California talking to our congressional correspondent Dana Bash. Here that was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: The Americans think we're going to get rid of a trillion dollar deficit without any pain to them then they have to ask are they Americans? The truth is all of us have to be in it together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, you're an American. You say you're modestly upper income here. What pain would you be willing to suffer to help the nation erase the federal deficit, the national debt here?

STEIN: Readily available, happy to pay more taxes, if it will keep us from financial default. I'm happy to pay more taxes if it will keep my children and grandchildren from having to face an America that is bankrupt.

I'm very, very ready to pay more taxes if it keeps us from having to cut defense. The last thing I want to see is cuts in defense, anything at all that negatively affects the defense of this country, anything at all that negatively affects the lives of servicemen and servicewoman, those are bad things.

I'm happy to write a check for more money. I don't like it, but I'm getting old anyway. I would rather give it to the government than leave it to -- than leave it to government, give it to them right now.

BALDWIN: OK, so you'll write the check, maybe semi-painfully, but I'll write it nonetheless.

STEIN: I'll do it.

BALDWIN: Let me change topic because I wanted to ask you about this, Europe's biggest bank. I know you've heard about this, HSBC agreed to pony up close to $2 billion to settle accusations of money laundering.

The Senate Banking Committee, they found that HSBC in Mexico shipped $7 billion in cash, mind you, across the border, maybe turned a blind eye to where the money came from.

I want you to listen to Neil Barofsky, we had him on the show yesterday, and I asked him whether top bank officials knew they were handling drug money there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NEIL BAROFSKY, FORMER TARP INSPECTOR GENERAL: The notion that this wasn't something that was known on senior levels of the banks, at least they had plenty of reason to suspect that this was ongoing. And, look, I think somebody described it as the biggest slap on the wrist in the history of banking fines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The head of HSBC, Stuart Gulliver, receiving that big wrist slap in terms of bank fines told me basically 2 billion bucks, that was chump change and it shows that crime pays. What do you think?

STEIN: Well, I think any big bank, anybody who in charge of the bank, bears responsibility for the conduct of the bank. HSBC is a famously tightly run bank. Obviously the people at the top had to know something was amiss. But, look, the top dog --

BALDWIN: More than fines, more than $2 billion?

STEIN: I don't -- I question, very respectfully, whether or not there should be some criminal -- this is a guy watching drug money, apparently, go across the border in gigantic quantities, nothing done about it.

If you or I brought a marijuana cigarette into the state of South Carolina, we would be put in prison. This guy is shipping billions and he gets to pay it off with the stockholders' money. He's not out one single cent. It is all the stockholders' money.

BALDWIN: Ben Stein, appreciate your candor. Thanks for coming on.

STEIN: Always love being here.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

STEIN: Love being here.

BALDIWN: Now this, a near miss. Just ahead, an asteroid passes, comes closer to earth than the moon. Chad Myers joins me on how close this was, calling it a close shave.

Also an ex-Marine jailed in Mexico, alarming accusations now on how he's being treated and threatened. So what is one senator planning to do about that? We're going to talk to Senator Bill Nelson, live, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: They're calling it a close shave, a 125-foot wide asteroid passing within 140,000 miles of earth, and the frightening thing, NASA only spotted it hurdling towards us two days before it zipped between our planet and the moon.

Chad Myers, here with me now, to talk about this darn close asteroid. How did they miss this? CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There are a lot of them up there that we don't know about and this is going to happen a lot. We're going to see these things zipping by our earth and let's just hope they don't collide because --

BALDWIN: We talk about when they're coming, but I guess you're right. There are so many.

MYERS: They're bigger than school buses. What we had today, 125-feet wide, that would have hit the earth, would have put a hole somewhere about 800 miles across. Knocking down all the trees, doing an awful lot of damage, something much, much bigger, put the dinosaurs out of work.

BALDWIN: Out of business.

MYERS: Out of business and so we're going to see these things flying by. I have a graphic, though, that shows you the ones we actually know.

BALDWIN: There is one coming in February, right? It's even bigger?

MYERS: Right. It is o.nly going to be 8.9 lunar distances away, like 20,000 miles away. That's about the width of a little bit more than the width of the earth away. That's really close. Let's hope it doesn't veer off or, you know, a couple hundred feet. This is a big deal. I don't like these. We need Bruce Willis. Where is he?

BALDWIN: Tell me about the meteor showers for tomorrow.

MYERS: You bet, great meteor shower, almost 120 of these per hour. So that would be good. You got to be away from the city lights and all that. This is going to be a nice meteor shower.

BALDWIN: What are those pictures from?

MYERS: Those are from the old shower coming in a little bit, from last year, a couple of years ago, and it was a very good show. As you run through these belts, sometimes it is a good year, sometimes it is a bad year, this looks like it could be a very good night for us tomorrow night.

BALDWIN: Think about living in the city.

MYERS: These are little, not going to affect us. These are going to make shooting stars.

BALDWIN: OK, pretty sky.

MYERS: Not holes.

BALDWIN: Chad Myers, thank you very much.