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Former Classmate Remembers A Killer; Schools Review Security Precautions; Boehner Talks Fiscal Cliff Soon; GOP Working On "Plan B" To Stop Tax Hikes; NBC Correspondent And Crew Rescued; Congress To Get Benghazi Report

Aired December 18, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And lies spread about the Sandy Hook case. Now police say they will go after you, you social media users who post fake posts. NEWSROOM starts now.

Good morning. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm Carol Costello in Atlanta. In just a minute, we are going to check in with CNN's Soledad O'Brien. She is in Newtown, Connecticut.

But first, I want to bring you the latest, this morning a small step towards normalcy. Classes resume for most kids in this community still wrestling with so much heartbreak. All Newtown schools except Sandy Hook Elementary are reopening today.

The grief and fears of the returning students will be a huge concern. Additional counselors and police officers will be at every single school. Today the town lays to rest two more of its youngest victims.

The grandmother of Charlotte Bacon says the 6-year-old was a bundle of energy who loved dresses and school. The 6-year-old Jessica Rekos lived and breeds horses, horse movies, horse books and she even wrote her own stories about horses.

She was excited about a pair of cow girl boots she was expecting at Christmas time. Both of those children laid to rest today. Now let's head back to Newtown and Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Carol, thank you. More to tell you about the gunman while the community of Newtown is still trying to make sense of the tragedy. The investigation continues.

Investigators are trying to learn more about Adam Lanza and one of those who might be able to offer a little bit of insight into the gunman's life is Alan Diaz. He is a former classmate of Lanza' who spoke exclusively to CNN's national correspondent Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the steady stream of people drawn to this memorial honoring victims, a former schoolmate of the alleged killer.

ALAN DIAZ, GUNMAN'S FORMER SCHOOLMATE: Because you know he is a very big part in this event. I'm not really sure what to think of it. CANDIOTTI (on camera): Sadly, he is the reason for it.

DIAZ: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: Alan Diaz may have been as close as anyone could come to being a friend of Adam Lanza when he was a sophomore in Newton High School and Diaz was a freshman in 2008.

DIAZ: He was a very intelligent person. He really was. The way he acted around other people was very withdrawn and really quiet.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): A little different.

DIAZ: Yes.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): They were in the high school tech club together and spent a lot of time on computers. Adam had his own style of dressing.

DIAZ: He had the stereotypical nerd look like khaki pants, belt, tucked in shirt. He even had a little computer case instead of a backpack like everyone else. He had a pocket protector.

CANDIOTTI: He doesn't know whether Lanza was bullied. He kept to himself.

DIAZ: We all kind of new that he had problems socially. And we kind of had a feeling that there might have been something wrong with him, but obviously we never asked. We never thought it was our place to do so.

CANDIOTTI: Back then his schoolmates' mom once invited all his friends to the house to play video games. One was "Starcraft," kind of a war games in space. Another was "Warcraft 3" where as the ad says survival is a matter of strategy.

DIAZ: "Warcraft 3" was really fun. He was really into games. As I recall he picked up on "Starcraft" really quickly.

CANDIOTTI: When Lanza left high school and was home schooled, Diaz lost touch. But he ran into Lanza's mother, Nancy, about two years ago.

DIAZ: I remember her mentioning that he started going to the shooting range with her. My initial response to that was I never really imagined Adam wanted to ever hold a gun.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Why do you say that?

DIAZ: I don't know. Maybe because like in my mind I don't imagine shy quiet people going to a shooting range. I never really can make that association.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Investigators are tracking how often Lanza had been to gun ranges. They don't know how many so far. They have proven he has been to target practice about six months ago and for several years. Mother and son went at least once together.

Alan's older sister went to school with Lanza's older brother and she was friends with her mother who went to her bridal shower last year.

AMANDA D'AMBROSE, GUNMAN'S FORMER SCHOOLMATE: Why her? You know, she was just -- it was a shock. She was always a happy person.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Do you think of him as an evil person because of what he did?

DIAZ: At one point he was a good kid. The events that he did that day may have been evil, but before then he was just another kid.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Until something made him snap. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Newtown, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The grade school shooting here in Connecticut is the deadliest of its kind in U.S. history. The tragedy is now forcing school officials across the country to ask if they are doing enough to protect children.

CNN's Lisa Sylvester is in Washington, D.C. this morning. Lisa, good morning.

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. I know you know this, but they say when you become a parent that a little bit of your heart lives outside you. And for many parents this tragedy has hit upon their worst fears. How do you keep your kids safe when they are away from you at school?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You try not to think about it, but it is very difficult.

SYLVESTER (voice-over): This day, Gina Goodhand has a hard time holding back the tears.

GINA GOODHAND, MOTHER: It is heartbreaking. It's very difficult to imagine and I can't imagine being one of those parents.

SYLVESTER: What happened in Newtown, Connecticut, could have happened in any town. It is one of the quiet fears parents have that has now risen to the surface. Paige Anderson of Montgomery County, Maryland has a 6-year-old daughter.

PAIGE ANDERSON, MOTHER: My daughter was telling me that they did a drill last week so I think they do them on a regular basis. But I mean, you can't prepare for every eventuality.

SYLVESTER: Schools across the country are reviewing their school safety programs that have been in place since Columbine. High schools in Alexandria, Virginia have trained police officers on campus. Middle schools and elementary schools there require all visitors to be buzzed and then signed in. For Alexandria School Superintendent Morton Sherman, this is all deeply personal as a father and grandfather.

He visited a kindergarten and first grade class to offer any needed comfort and reassurance.

MORTON SHERMAN, SUPERINTENDENT, ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: It is really emotional. I don't think it would be at first, but just going into the classrooms and looking at those babies, looking at those wonderful children, looking at their faces and realized they are but for the grace of God could be our kids here.

SYLVESTER: The shooting in Newtown is opening up a new conversation. How much security at schools is enough? Should there be armed guards at elementary schools and preschools, metal detectors? School psychologists say there has to be a balance.

ERIC ROSSEN, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PSCHOLOGISTS: We do know that having metal detectors and security people with guns standing out of the front school not only would most parents not want to drop of their 6-year-old at school like that, but that typically doesn't decrease violence and it can decrease the perceived sense of safety in that school.

SYLVESTER: School psychologists say what kids really need now is a greater sense of security that when they get on that school bus they will return home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: So some of the things a school can do, the National Association of School Psychologists says if they don't have one already, schools should establish a crisis response team to deal with any emergencies.

They should also communicate with parents and explain what kinds of steps are being done to keep their children safe. They should also review all policies and have adequate counselors and psychologists on hand to deal with any of the emotional needs that children might have -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: This is an opportunity for people to review all of the things that they do already and what they should be doing. Lisa Sylvester for us this morning. Thank you, Lisa. Appreciate it. Let's get right back to Carol Costello.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Soledad. Thanks, Lisa. Let's talk a little politics now, shall we? We are awaiting a news conference from House Speaker John Boehner. We thought there was a bright spot on the brink of the fiscal cliff.

Just when we thought that the spirit of compromise was in the air, Mr. Boehner decided to throw the press conference that is about to begin. Dana Bash is covering this. Supposedly Mr. Boehner is going to introduce a plan B because negotiations aren't moving along fast enough. Let's head to the White House because Dan Lothian is covering the story, too.

Dan, just an hour ago I talked to you about this bright spot and compromise in the air. What the heck happened?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I know. It is kind of like a see saw going up and down. From Speaker Boehner's office we are told that there is this sense of urgency with the clock winding down to the big deadline. There is concern that there hasn't been an agreement.

And so the speaker wants to open up the second track or the Plan B as you have just mentioned. And my colleague, Dana Bash, hearing from a GOP source that that Plan B would be some kind of legislation to extend those Bush era tax cuts for those making up to $1 million.

That is the Plan B right now. As for reaction from the White House, I did reach out to a number of folks here. I was told simply that the president did speak with Speaker Boehner last night by phone. He was informed about the Plan B, but was not giving any details about what that Plan B would be.

Of course, this comes, as you pointed out, on the heels of some great optimism I think when the president overnight backed off what he had held for so long on the campaign trail that insisting that the Bush era tax cuts had to expire for those making more than $250,000.

The president is now raising that up to $400,000. That is very dramatic because all along this White House had insisted that there would be no deal if those taxes were extended for those making more than $250,000. We will wait to see what develops here in this news conference and what else comes out from the White House.

What I can tell you is that a source here at the White House saying that the offer from the president was not the final offer and that was the offer that the president made during his meeting with Speaker Boehner here at the White House yesterday.

It was a 45-minute meeting so indications that it is not the final offer so some sense that there is room for compromise. But as you said, we are getting up and down where you get a bit of optimism that this can get done and then something else gets thrown into the mix.

COSTELLO: All right, Dan, stay right there because we are going to go to a different place on Capitol Hill, speak to Dana Bash. John Boehner is about to speak. So what would you say -- what is this Plan B? Is this a step forward or a step backward?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it is a step sideways. That's probably the best way to explain it because, look, he is telling his rank and file as we reported earlier in this show that he is going to prepare this Plan B.

This different track which will -- I'm told actually that they are telling lawmakers that they could have three potential legislative ways to do this and they are going to try to figure out throughout the day how to put it forward.

But the big picture that they are saying is that they understand that they will get the blame, they meaning Republicans if everybody's taxes go up on January 1st. That is the way the polling shows and that's just the way it is politically for them. They just don't have a lot of leverage.

So that is why they are politically preparing for that to make sure they don't get the blame particularly for people who make up to a million dollars. They want to make sure they still have their tax cuts in place.

But also, this is for sure a negotiating tactic, Carol. It is a way for the speaker to kind of put the pressure on the president to give him more of what Republicans want and more is greater spending cuts and fewer tax increases.

That is the gist of what he is telling his people. I am told by a number of Republican lawmakers I've talked to coming out of this meeting, Carol, that the speaker wasn't very specific on where these private talks are between him and the president except to say that they don't have a deal and that this is something that they want to push forward.

We also have information that what they are talking about is potentially putting this on the floor as early as Thursday so in two days. This is something that they are going to move very fast on to try to, again, avoid taking the blame for tax increases particularly on those that make less than $1 million a year.

COSTELLO: All right, when the House speaker begins speaking we will take you back to Capitol Hill. Dana Bash, thanks so much.

New developments for an American journalist and his production crew, five days after their capture they are safely out of Syria. NBC's chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel and his crew disappeared last Thursday after crossing into north western Syria from Turkey.

This morning he told the "Today" show they were not physically tortured, but they were mentally tortured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD ENGEL, CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, NBC: They took us to a series of safehouses and interrogation places and they kept us blindfolded, bound. We weren't physically beaten or tortured. There was a lot of psychological torture, threats of being killed.

They made us choose which one of us would be shot first. When we refused there were mock shootings. They pretended to shoot Gazi several times. When you were blindfolded and told and then they fire the gun in the air it can be very traumatic experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: I'll say. Engel says they were released after their captors got into a gunfight with Syrian rebels at a check point.

State Department has been under scrutiny for months following the deadly attack on the American ambassador in Libya. Now they will share new findings with Congress as early as today the State Department will present a report on the attack from an independent advisory review board.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered that review after the September 11th attack. Lawmakers will be given a classified briefing before they hold formal hearings later this week.

It will not be easy for students going back to school in Connecticut. Their sense of security has been absolutely shattered following that awful shooting. What do you tell kids returning to school? How do you make them believe they are safe?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right, we've been telling you that House Speaker John Boehner is talking on the fiscal cliff. Let's listen.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: -- on a balanced approach that averts the fiscal cliff. What we have offered meets the definition of balance, but the president is not there yet. The White House offered yesterday was essentially $1.3 trillion in new revenues for only $850 billion in net spending reductions. That's not balanced in my opinion.

So at the same time that we are going to continue to talk to the president we are going to also move Plan B. I think we all know that every income tax filer in America is going to pay higher rates come January 1st unless Congress acts so I believe it is important that we protect as many American taxpayers as we can.

And our Plan B would protect American taxpayers who make $1 million or less and have all of their current rates extended. I continue to have hoped that we can reach a broader agreement with the White House that would reduce spending as well as have revenues on the table.

I think it would be better for our country. But at this point having a backup plan to make sure that as few American taxpayers are affected by this increase as possible moving down that path is the right course of action for us.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), MAJORITY LEADER: Good morning. First, I would like to say that I think all of our hearts and prayers are with the families in Newtown, Connecticut. As a father I cannot even imagine the utter horror that those families are going through right now grieving the loss of their children and their loved ones.

As far as the fiscal cliff is concerned as the speaker has said we remain committed to trying to minimize the impact on hard working families and small businesses in this country as far as tax increases are concerned. We look to find the answer to solve the problem on the spending issue here in Washington.

The president is not yet there. He has not come to where he needs to be in order for us to push through a bill that really does begin to address the problem. As the speaker said that is why we are now discussing an alternative plan if the president and the White House cannot come our way. Thank you.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MAJORITY WHIP: Well, as the speaker and the leader said, we have been trying to make sure we do not go of this fiscal cliff. At the same time put America on a different path, one for job creation and one that takes care of our spending.

I think many times the speaker felt he was negotiating with himself after plan after plan where the president stayed silent. Those three weeks right after the election when the first idea was sent across to the president from the speaker we heard nothing but silence.

Unfortunately, today we will have to go to Plan B. Because we want to make sure we do not go off the cliff and we want to make sure that we keep an economy where jobs can be created. But the thing we have to remember is where we are in the situation.

We are two months into a new fiscal year. You should always look at the numbers because it can tell you where you are. In those two months, we are $292 billion in debt. When you read the numbers there is positive news. Revenues are up by 10 percent, $30 billion.

That is 1 billion less than you get if you just raise the top two rates for the first year. But the sad reality is spending is up 16 percent, $87 billion. That is where the problem lies.

That is where the president has to start talking about and that is what we want to solve in the long run, an America for the children and a future that we can build and one that can create jobs.

CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R), WASHINGTON: The clock continues to tick and we are just days now from the end of the year. And I think that the best Christmas gift that we can give America is an agreement, an agreement that gives certainty to our hard working middle class families as to what their tax rates are going to be.

Give certainty to our small business owners so they can hire and pursue that innovation and that proves to the American people that we can lead and get our job done. That is the best Christmas gift and I am confident that we can get it done.

This is our moment. This is our moment to do what is good and right for America. And now we ask the president to join us in that effort.

(END LIVE FEED)

COSTELLO: All right, let's step away from this right now. In a nutshell, in case you missed it, Republicans say just in case the president and Republicans can't come to an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff, Republicans will introduce a bill in the House that would keep those Bush tax cuts in place for people making up to $1 million per year. So what is the White House's response? Let's check in with Dan Lothian, any word?

LOTHIAN: Well, we are still waiting for official response, but sources close in the negotiation believe that this broader agreement is the way to go. I should point out that while Speaker Boehner is pushing this second option or this Plan B, he still wants to move forward with negotiations for the broader agreement.

So this is by no means meaning they have cut off any further talks with the White House. They still expect that to happen, but this is sort of the backup plan because that deadline is quickly approaching.

As for the balance between spending cuts and revenue, this is something that the White House believes that they have met. Speaker Boehner had been pushing now for quite some time saying that is a must.

And the White House in that new proposal that the president put forward yesterday offering $1.2 trillion in spending cuts and $1.2 trillion in new revenue. They believe that they have the numbers on this end. Speaker Boehner's office --

COSTELLO: Dan, I'm going to interrupt you because House Speaker Boehner is now answering reporters' questions.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

BOEHNER: -- the president is calling for $1.3 trillion in revenue and only willing to put $850 billion worth of cuts over 10 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Boehner, obviously the nation is still in mourning, what type of effect has the tragedy in Connecticut had on the fiscal cliff talks? Is there a realization that the country, the last thing they want to see is a long drawn out battle during this time?

BOEHNER: Well, I think both sides would agree to that. This is a difficult time for Americans. That is why we continue to have conversations with the White House. I continue to have hoped that we can reach an agreement. It's not a time to put Americans through more stress.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Speaker, what would Plan B mean for the other big issues that would cause a fiscal cliff, the sequestration and the cuts that would happen automatically, unemployment benefits going away? Would you incorporate any of that into this Plan B legislation?

BOEHNER: We are going to continue to look at how we would address those issues. As we put this bill together we expect to be on the floor later this week. Dealing with the issue of the alternative minimum tax and the death tax could likely be part of the bill that we would bring to the floor. We would not deal with sequestration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How close would you say the president's plan is? Will there be an agreement?

BOEHNER: I have made it clear to the president that I would put $1 trillion worth of revenue on the table if you are willing to put $1 trillion of spending reductions on the table. That at this point would be my version of a balanced approach as he called for. Last one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker, how adamant are you that the Medicare eligibility would be a part of this? (INAUDIBLE).

BOEHNER: There are a lot of issues on the table. That issue has been on the table, off the table and back on the table. It's an issue for discussion. But I don't believe it is an issue that has to be dealt with between now and the end of the year. It is an issue if Congress were to do entitlement reform next year and tax reform as we envision if there is an agreement. That issue will certainly be open to debate in that context. Thanks.

(END LIVE FEED)

COSTELLO: All right, House Speaker John Boehner. We are going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll ask you this question, what does owning a gun represent to you?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, what does owning a gun represent to you?

There is one industry that is recession proof, the gun industry. Americans spend about $3.5 billion every single year on guns. Even in the days after 20 first graders were shot multiple times, gun stores were jammed in case Washington decides to clamp down on guns.

RICK MATLICK, GUN SHOPPER: They are going to do something. That is obvious. And people want to get stuff before a ban on whatever comes in, probably magazines. People get scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Critics say America's enormous appetite for guns is largely fuelled by the National Rifle Association and it's easy to see why they think that. The NRA is a master when it comes to psychology. Listen to NRA Executive Vice President Wayne Lapierre from earlier this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE LAPIERRE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NRA: If President Obama gets one more term it will break the back of the second amendment of this country. This is the most dangerous election in our lifetime if you are a supporter of second amendment.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Really? Mr. Obama did not push for a single piece of gun control legislation in his first term. No matter. In the NRA's world, Obama's second term spells doom or maybe what happened at Sandy Hook does.

Dick's Sporting Goods says it is suspending sales of some semi- automatic rifles from its doors nationwide. But don't expect that to dance in the spirit of gun rights advocates. Charlton Heston said it best. The late NRA president famous for saying he's give you his gun only if you pride it out of his hands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From my cold dead hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)