"newsroom" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com jeerks happening new in "the newsroom," public enemy number one, edward snowden and the gold mine of national secrets he stole. >> it is the keys to the kingdom. >> the head of the snowden nsa task force says amnesty should be on the table. >> so my personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about. also, revenge at a colorado high school, stunning new details about the shooter. >> whenever you get angry you're just like i want to shoot everyone up. >> reporter: then he brought a gun to school. still friends say he was a good guy. >> that's what hurts the most is he wasn't a villain. plus ryan freel. >> i'm not sure ryan thought that his problem was concussions at all. >> reporter: this morning, the first major league baseball player diagnosed with a brain

injury. you're live in the "cnn newsroom." good morning, i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. jaw-dropping admission from the man who leads an nsa task force, amnesty should be on the table when it comes to edward snowden. in other words, snowden took the keys to the kingdom to russia and who knows? he could spill more damaging secrets at any time, secrets that could taj our national security, that assessment from richard legend, the man who heads the nsa task force on snowden. here's what he said about amnesty on "60 minutes." >> he's already said "if i got amnesty, i would come back." given the potential damage to national security, what would your thought on making a deal be? >> so my personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about. i would need assurances that the

remainder of the data could be secured and my bar for those assurances would be very high, more than just an assertion on his part. >> amnesty is not on the table at the moment but could it be? cnn senior white house correspondent jim acosta is at the who us this morning. hi, jim. >> reporter: good morning, carol. i think at the very least it's on rick ledgett's table, that official you just quoted there in the "60 minutes '"story, said it's worth having a conversation about in terms of granting edward snowden amnesty for the documents, classified information he leaked to the news media. i did talk to a senior administration official earlier this morning who emphasized that is that official's opinion, it is not the opinion of the administration or of this white house and i want to throw up on screen, carol, a quote that was given to us by the national security spokeswoman, kaitlin hayden, with respect to that interview last night on "60 minutes" about edward snowden. "there's been no change in u.s.

policy on this issue. mr. snowden is charged with a felony and he should return home to face those charges, where he will be afforded all due process," and carol, that is consistent with everything we have heard from white house press secretary jay carney and other administration officials throughout this process, they believe edward snowden committed a variety, a whole slew of crimes in leaking this data to the news media and they feel like he should be returned home from russia. they're still pressing the russians to return edward snowden to the united states so he can face those charges. on a separate front we should also report something that occurred late friday, this advisory group that has been advising the white house on what should be done about nsa intelligence gathering processes, that group came back with its recommendations late last friday, that report went to the president. the president is reviewing that. the white house is reviewing that report. they plan to make it public in january, when the president issues his own recommendations as to what should be done over

at the nsa in terms of those intelligence gathering processes, as we know, they've caused a lot of controversy, not just here in the united states but around the world. >> you got that right, jim acosta reporting live from the white house this morning. a manhunt is on this morning after a young couple out shopping for christmas presents is carjacked at a new jersey mall. the husband shot and killed, and police are now hunting for whoever did it. the couple was returning to their suv in the parking deck when two men shot the man in the head and stole their range rover. the mall, packed with christmas shoppers, was put on lockdown. cnn's jean casarez jounz me winh more on the story. >> good morning, carol. the facts are continuing to come in. here is what we're learning, the young couple left the mall about 8:30 in the evening, the short hills mall in new jersey, and they were approaching their car, and the man put his female companion in the passenger seat. he then was circling around the driver's seat, and that's when two african-american suspects

came up, shot him in the head. they then took off in the gray silver 2012 range rover. now, of course he was transported to the hospital. he died at 11:45 last night from that injury to the head. his wife sustained minor injuries. we're learning from katherine carter, the essex county prosecutor's office, they are still searching for this vehicle. they are still searching for these suspects. i want to show everybody the license plate number, this is new jersey license plate number u26bvd. it is a 2012 silver range rover, and carol, this man did pass away, so this is a first-degree murder charge that prosecutors will most likely bring at least against one or both of those suspects. >> so sad. jean casarez, thanks so much. claire davis, the deep ager shot at arapahoe high school is still in a coma this morning, still fighting for her life.

we're also learning new, disturbing information about the boy who shot her. his friends say he was angry at being suspended for joking about kig his debate coach, the same coach he came after with a shotgun last week. >> he felt like the suspension had ruined his chances into college and ruins his future. whenever he'd get angry he'd be like "oh, i just want to shoot everyone up." >> casey wian has more for you, live from is entakenial, colorado. good morning, casey. >> reporter: good morning, carol. investigators have been going all over this campus all weekend long looking at surveillance video and they say that they have uncovered details that lead them to believe that this rampage could have been much, mch worse. >> the school's going into lockdown. i'm not sure why. >> reporter: dispatch recordings, police rush toward arapahoe high school following reports of gunfire. >> be advised at this time we do have one student down, and they have found shotgun shells. >> it was terrifying because we

heard gunshots. >> reporter: 18-year-old karl pierson entered the school investigators say bent on revenge. >> everyone that saw him realized that he was armed with a shotgun. the individual also had a bandalera of multiple rounds of shotgun ammunition strapped across his body, and he was also armed with a machete. >> reporter: pierson's target? his debate coach, tracy murphy. >> i'm karl pierson, a freshman out of aron hoe high school in littleton. >> reporter: murphy suspended pierson from the team in september. >> he was looking for one person in specific. >> reporter: before he could reach his intended target, pierson encountered 17-year-old senior claire davis, shooting her apparently at random, point blank in the head. >> she was an innocent victim of an evil act of violence. >> reporter: now she remains in critical condition at a local hospital. >> this in no way defines us. >> reporter: at a vigil,

students lit candles sang their fight song. ♪ we got the spirit of arapahoe ♪ >> reporter: and prayed for their friend. >> i know how much she loves all of you guys and i know how much this would mean to her. >> reporter: the sheriff now praising the school's quick deployment of its active shooter protocol and the fast action of an omp campus deputy who was closing in on pierson when he shot himself. the whole ordeal over in 80 seconds. authorities hailing coach murphy as a hero for attempting to lure pierson away from the school during his rampage. >> it is my strong opinion this individual would not have come to the school armed with a shotgun and multiple rounds of ammunition had he not intended to use those rounds of ammunition to injure multiple people. >> reporter: the sheriff is now vowing never to speak the shooter's name again. >> in my opinion, deserves no notoriety and certainly no celebrity. >> reporter: arapahoe high school will remain closed today and tomorrow. thursday and friday officials say students will be able to come back, meet with their teachers, retrieve the

belongings that they left during the rampage on friday, but they have not said when classes will resume. it's obviously going to talk a lot longer than this week for these students and this community to recover from this horrific shooting. carol? >> casy, friends of the students joked about killing his debate coach. he was suspended for that. was there anything more the school could have done? >> reporter: hard to say, carol. i think they're going to be looking at that, obviously that's part of the investigation, a lot of friends said that he had been exhibiting angrier maey eier behavior beca suspension from the debate team, and we don't know how much school officials knew about that. that's something authorities will be looking into so hopefully we'll have more answers to that down the road, carol. >> casey wian reporting live from littleton, colorado, this morning. let's talk a little politics now. i know, but we must. lawmakers are preparing for a big test of the bipartisan

holiday spirit they existed last week. the republican-led house passed a budget deal. now it's up to the democratic-led senate to follow suit. majority leader harry reid got the ball rolling by filing a motion to allow a debate and later vote on the proposal. some parts of the plan including an end to those forced spending cuts are drawing sharp criticism from several high-profile republican senators. at least one republican is on board, though, even if there are no changes. >> i hope it will pass the senate. i'll do anything -- not anything but we must not shut down the government again. we can't do that to the people of this country and my state. >> just to nail this down, assuming that this budget package stays the same, you will vote for it? >> yes. >> our chief national correspondent john king is in washington to talk more about this. john, mccain is on board but tea party stalwarts are not. rubio, paul, cruz, will vote no.

the senate needs eight republican votes to pass. is it possible this thing will fail? >> it is possible, carol, but all of our reporting suggests it will not. first let's show you the public numbers. cnn has been in touch with the senate offices trying to flesh out how senators plan to vote. you need 50 for final passage, and look at right here we have 31 yes votes on the record so far and as you can see, most of them democrats. 29 of them democrats, john mccain, who you just played there, and susan collins of maine are the two republicans on record so far sawing they'll vote yes, sorry, one independent also. that gets you up in the 31, 32 range. how do we get to 50? let's look at the no's, 21 declared no's and you mentioned some of the tea party guys and other conservatives saying they won't, all 21 declared no's are republicans but last night and this morning you've been in touch with a number of sources in both parties. democrats are saying they have

the votes for passage, they can get to 52, maybe higher with republican help and i'm assured by republican sources even though the expectation is that most republicans will vote no, that when you need 60 votes for procedural hurdles, enough republicans will vote yes on that so they won't clog up the debate, they might vote no on final passage but let the legislation get there. let's watch this play out today and tomorrow. >> you're not kidding. democrats and some republicans say those voting no on the budget is because of their presidential aspirations. no one is surprised by this because this is how it works. make me less cynical. i'm ready. >> there are some philosophical reasons you hear from leaders in both parties. i talked to three democratic senators yesterday, why aren't there more extended unemployment benefits. that has to be negotiated later. you talk to some republicans they say military retirees are taking a hit on their benefits, they don't like that. but you're right, there is a lot of politics involved, no doubt about it. you mentioned the potential 2016 presidential contenders, rand

paul, marco rubio and ted cruz, they said no because the republican base doesn't like this deal, that's the tea party 2016 early caucus there and carol, it's not just 2016. the republican leader mitch mcconnell, lindsey graham of south carolina are on the ballot next year and have tea party primary challenges back home and they're voting no. 2014 and 2016 politics are a factor in this without a doubt. >> all right, john king thanks so much. we'll talk to you again in the next hour. big dog cheetah, wild cat, no idea what i'm talking about? mobile research robots. christine romans is going to explain. >> just what is google up to, carol? look at some of this technology, buying the eighth robotics company it's bought. you'll talk to you about the google robot army, after the break. and what would this pretty i'm thinking the ford fusion... ho, ho, ho!....the what?

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checking or top stories 17 minutes past the hour. new details about boston bombing suspect tamerlan tsarnaev . he said he heard voices in his head and told his mother it felt like two people were inside of him. his younger brother is currently awaiting trial and could face the death penalty. the family of a missing michigan doctor is pleading for the public's help, police say someone dropped 30-year-old talika patrick off at her car at the medical center, where she works. later that night, indiana state police found her car abandoned along the highway, the next day patrick never showed up for work. >> the northeast digging out this morning after this

weekend's massive snowstorm, here is what it looked like in maine, where 16 inches of snow fell, albany, new york, saw some. they looked like something out of a sci-fi thriller, a cheetah robot that can run faster than usain bolt, the world's fastest man and a human like robot named petman that looks like a next generation superhero. tech giant google has bought the maker behind these robots, boston tie nammics in an effort to expand the company's reach. so let's bring in cnn's chief business correspondent christine romans. interesting. >> good morning, it is interesting, and it's so cool because this is the eighth company that google has bought in the robotics field and this one really interesting. you saw the. ic tours what it can to. what you're seeing a few years ago would have been sci-fi. they managed to get a raping of

motion and movement and balance, which is key here, balance in some of these robotics that is incredible. what are we talking about here? we're talking about the supply chain, distribution channels, all kinds of places automated where you can put things like this and revolutionize what we're doing and how we do it. does this mean you're doing business with a row pot in the next couple of years, probably not. but there could be robotics in the economy and business we krnt' seen before and asked andrew mcafee at mit was this sci-fi we're seeing or what kind of technological innovation are we seeing and how important is it? i want to you listen to what he said, carol, it's interesting. >> really the biggest economic story in the history of mankind was the first industrial revolution. we're now entering a second machine age brought on by progress in digital technologies, hardware, software, robots, this bundle of

stuff that we're seeing now. >> carol, a second machine age and google right at the center of it, buying up these companies, really, really writing the checks and getting behind this. >> i was mesmerized by that thing in the woods. i could never do the weather, that thing in the woods. what could you use that thing for in. >> all of the different kinds of things, how about loading trucks, how about moving things from one part of a warehouse to another. you've got people in the robotics field who are saying why are we still stocking shelves? just amazon talking about drone delivery, google already has driverless cars. what about windshield wipers you don't have to tell them what to do, they know what to do. these are the kinds of things that these companies and these technology gurus are inventing and perfecting, we've been talking about robots since the '80s but now you talk about balancing robots, robots that have mostly you want to use them in repetitive kinds of jobs so

think about how they can work in a warehouse or stacking trucks, loading docks, really interesting stuff here. the pictures are kind of creepy. >> they are so creepy. christine romans, thanks for sharing this morning >> you're welcome. still to come in "the newsroom," a mother constantly worried about her son's concussions on the baseball field. >> i could say ryan, when you go to the doctor, have some tests done. i'm not sure that ryan thought that his problem was the concussions at all. >> oh, but those fears turned out to be well-founded. ryan freel, the first major league baseball player, diagnosed with cte, a brain injury caused by many concussions during his playing days. we'll be right back. ♪ i want to spread a little love this year ♪

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the belcher family desperate for answers has asked that jovan belcher's body be ex-humaned. i exhumed. it's been one year since he shot his baby's mother and committed suicide at the kansas city stadium. belcher's family wants to know if a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy for cte drove belcher to kill his girlfriend and then himself. cte is a progressive degenerative brain disease diagnosed in some athletes after their deaths. this condition is a growing concern because researchers think it's linked to multiple concussions, something we often connect to football. now for the first time major

league baseball player has been diagnosed with cte. ryan freel committed suicide last december. he was known for being fearless on the field, so fearless he suffered multiple concussions during his eight-year career. >> he was always very active, very impulsive person. i didn't understand why he'd be depressed when he basically had it all. >> reporter: he did have it all, a career in the majors and fans loved him. as many as ten concussions in eight years, something his mother constantly worried about. >> i kept saying to my ryan, why don't you go to the doctor, have some test done and i'm fine, i'm fine, i'm not, you know -- i'm not sure that ryan thought that his problem was the concussions at all. >> reporter: three years after freel retired, he took a shotgun

and killed himself. he was 36 years old. >> someone has a concussion and it's not recognized because people aren't paying attention oit in a sport like baseball, and they get another concussion on top of it, that's not just potentially a small problem but that is a potentially lethal problem. >> reporter: increasingly, concussions are sidelining some of baseball's brightest stars. this season alone, 28 major leaguers suffered concussions, twins catcher joe mauer, philly's outfielder dominic brown and tigers catcher alex avila among them. other players including san diego's nick hunley wonder if they'll be healthy in retirlt. >> you're responsible to your family first and if you continue to play through concussion stuff and you see the long-term effects of it, i just had a daughter. you know, that makes it, puts it in perspective a little bit more. >> reporter: major league baseball says it's trying to better protect its players. it implemented a seven-day concussion disabled list,

separate from the normal 15-day disabled list to encourage players to admit they have a problem. >> now that we've started to identify these injuries, we're going to focus on ways of reducing it and one of the things we've done is start to study catcher's helmets. >> reporter: mlb is concerned about catchers and reinforced hats are a possibility for pitchers possibly as soon as next season. something tiger's ace max scherzer told me he welcomes. >> i'm in a vulnerable spot and a lot of balls come back at me, i react later than most pitchers so if it's something that's comfortable and something that's practical, i think, i know personally i would want to wear it. >> reporter: but other players and managers are not sold on the idea. in spite of the danger. but for ryan freel's family, the risks are not worth a life. >> i ask myself just about every day, what could i have done to save ryan, but you know what?

i felt like i did a lot. even the day before he took his life i went to his house and i remember holding -- he was in bed and i held his hand, and i said, "son, let's go to a counselor." he already was seeking for counseling, and he said, "don't worry about it, mom, i will monday. i will start on monday." >> of course, freel's brain now shows signs of cte. major league baseball has met with the family, talking about what can be done to protect players in the future. one rule change has already, is already in the works to protect players from possible concuss n concussions. major league baseball approved a ban on home plate collisions. if the player's union signs off on it, that rule effect will go into effect next season. >> the opening bell about to ring on wall street, eveinvesto

keeping a close eye on the market. how soon before we see a rebound? i bet not very long. krpen's alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. [ bell ringing ] we're used to the roller coaster ride on wall street. >> we're not seeing great dips these days but there has been this roll e coaster ride as the opening bell rings, stocks are starting ever so slightly in positive territory. as the week goes op. a lot will depend on what the federal reserve does on wednesday at the end of its two-day meeting. wall street may get an answer to the $85 billion question, when will the fed pull back on its stimulus. it's been throwing $85 billion per month into the economy. it's really been what is responsible for pushing stocks up 20% to 30% this year. now the thinking is that the gravy train could end soon and there's a big change in timing because a few weeks ago, most expected it to start kind of going away at the beginning of next year but the economy has been getting better so recently some strong reports on jobs,

auto sales and home sales, also fewer worries about the government shutting down, that is turning the thinking that maybe the fed could start pulling back on that stimulus as soon as wednesday. so we could find out once again if the economy's training wheels are ready to come off. forget about the mega millions drawing. this is the story that is really going to affect your portfolio, could impact stock, mortgage rates, the job market, you name it, forget that mega millions, or maybe not. >> i'd rather win $500 million all at once. >> me too and invest in the stock market, something like that -- not! >> alison kosik, thanks so much. shocking words straight from the national security agency, the nsa at the scope of the edward snowden scandal, the man investigating the leaks calls it an intelligence gold mine and he thinks amnesty should be on the table for edward snowden. we'll talk about that next. [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah.

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good morning. i'm carol costello. thanks so much for joining me. the keys to the kingdom, that's how a national security agency official is describing the scope of just how much information edward snowden stole. candid, startling words from richard ledgett the man leezing the task force looking at the effects of the leaks. he was on "60 minutes" last night. listen. >> it would give them a road map of what we know and don't know. >> for an adversary in the intelligence game, that's a gold minute. >> it is the keys to the kingdom. >> those other countries talking about countries like china, like russia, and more. cnn national security analyst bob baher joins me now.

i assume you watched the " 0 minutes" report last night. it was frightening, keys to the kingdom? >> carol, it's grim, it truly is. i think what we're starting to see coming out from snowden is from what we call code breaking. he's been talking about the codes we can break with common cell phones, but i think the assumption that the national security agency now is that he's gotten into the crowned jewels as it was put and that is diplomatic communications and things like that. i cannot exaggerate enough or i can't tell you enough how bad this compromise has been. this has been a total disaster. >> so the man who leads the task force looking into the edward snowden case, he says amnesty should be on the table, that would, of course, supposedly force snowden to turn over what he has, and that our national security would be safer. should amnesty be on the table? >> i don't think so. carol, i think the cat's out of the bag. he's compromised what he has.

i think the russians undoubt udly snow that was the deal he made with them to stay there, they got to see it. that's speculation but it's almost certain. frankly, these secrets have never been let out ever in american history. should the occasion come, he should go to jail. >> what can be done to protect the country? in listening to that report i didn't hear many answers. >> you have to clean up the national security agency. there's to reason a contractor should have been able to get into these files. i don't know who was leading that place, but this is just completely unacceptable. that he could get all of the stuff, thousands and thousands of files he's turned over to who knows who. they have to clean it up for a start and you have to go back and start all over again. >> and yet again it's baffling, nobody's been fired for this. the head of the nsa said he offered to resign but his

resignation was refused. >> you've got to fire people. i mean, you don't re-hire the designer of "titanic" after it's gone down, to build another ship. all of this stuff is doable. the cia compartmented its databases. no one person could get into all of them. i don't understand why the national security agency hadn't done that long before. we just go back to zero and start over. >> bob baer, thanks so much for being with me this morning. still to come in "the newsroom," the next presidential election, three years away, but a new poll is out and it gives insight into the very early favorites. i bet you can guess who one of those favorites -- there they are! we'll talk about it, next. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it.

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a disturbing breaking news out of harvard university. i'm going to read from police, harvard university police department received an unconfirmed report that explosives may have been placed in four buildings on campus, those buildings are the science center, thayer, seiver and emerson halls. the harvard police department and cambridge police now on the scene. out of an abundance of caution, police decided to evacuate parts of the university, the entire university while this report is being investigated. so far, no explosives have been found. they've just received an unconfirmed report that there were explosives in those buildings but again, no explosives have been found, and the university has now been evacuated. we'll keep you posted on any new developments coming out of harvard. on with the rest of the news now, specifically politics. he's a co-sponsor of the budget deal that just might bring bipartisanship back to washington and a new poll shows paul ryan is gaining popularity

with people who could help any hopes for a 2016 white house run. that is according to the "des main register" shows ryan is a 73% farvegt rating among republicans, leading mike huckabee and rick santorum. that's different from the value voters poll where ryan came in sixth. on the democratic side, hillary clinton far and away the favorite at 89%, with vice president joe biden coming in second with 71%. let's talk. cnn political analyst and executive editor for "the daily beast" john avalon is here, along with will cain, cnn commentator and columnist for "the blaze." >> good morning. >> will, you'd like to start with you. paul ryan and his budget deal and compromise and bipartisanship seems to have uplifted him in the polls. is that -- >> nah. >> nah? >> no, i don't see any connection there, carol.

look at the naumz belmes below they've been lighting up the news cycle the last few weeks, rick perry, mike huckabee. this shows iowa voters know paul ryan and they like paul ryan. i don't think it makes him the favorite in 2016. i don't think it's a reflection of this budget compromise he's put together in the past week or two. it's simply name recognition. well, name recognition and likability. that's what it is. >> carol, wet blanket will cain here just throwing a bunch of cold water on this. people in iowa -- >> reality. >> -- really know their politics and politicians and the reversal you point out between paul ryan getting passed over in the value voters conference and doing incredibly well in this poll, it's not determinative, it doesn't determine a front-runner but it reflects his responsible actions in the past couple weeks to some extent and that's a good thing. you like seeing republicans being rewarded for being responsible. >> come on. >> does that mean the tea party senators who will vote no on the budget deal, rand paul, ted cruz

and marco rubio, democrats and republicans will say these guys will vote know no because of their presidential aspirations for 2016. in light of this new poll are they foolish for voting no? >> i won't go that far but the problem we've seen in republican politics, presidential politics in particular over the past couple years, candidates feel they will be rewarded for being irresponsible. they're not trying to be more responsible to say look i'll be a great commander in chief. they're willing to pander to the base. that's what marco rubio has done in reaction to the budget deal, with i is a total abnegation of his responsibility. they'll play to the base particular in a caucus state like iowa. at the end of the day they have to show an interest in governing. it shouldn't be a radical idea. >> i know john likes compromise, he has a compromise fetish like he likes ice cream.

>> i like democracy in government, crazy. >> that is so boring, john. >> if you suggest paul ryan's farvegt rating is connected to the budget deal you must explain how mike huckabee and rick santorum and rick perry are second, third and fourth on the scale. what have they done over the past weeks, months to get that rating? it's just a long-term name recognition poll and by the way, marco rubio, paul ryan and rand paul, no, because it's not connected, it will not hurt them. they are making a 2016 play, one to stand on principle and they hope that will play as well. be clear, paul ryan's position is also political to set aside shutdowns and focus on obama care, a political win for republicans. >> rick perry got 55%, seriously? he didn't exactly run the greatest campaign the last time around. >> the oops heard around the world, you got to love that. the fact that christine romans the fact that chris christie is not doing so well, more

conservative overall, the national republicans and general election. it is significant to see ryan have that much more of a jump. it's more than name i.d. people in iowa take their politics seriously, not just a snapshot of who they've heard in the past. >> probably the best question is should we pay attention to this poll? >> do we kill the segment? do we kill this segment we just spent three and four minutes talking about at the end? because the answer by the way is no. >> too late. >> i don't think so either, but -- >> one year from now, i don't mean to freak everybody out but one year from now we'll be laser like focusing on iowa and totally appropriate and responsible. the real action this week, whether the senate can pass a budget deal. that has some implications, finally possibly a budget. >> amen, man who has a compromise fetish, my favorite line of the morning. thank you so much. update on the campus of harvard, i told you a little bit

ago there was somebody called in a bomb threat, and police are saying that this is an unconfirmed report, and i'm going to just mention the buildings where this bomb threat went into the science center, thayer, seiver and emerson halls. the whole university has been evacuated while police check out the scene. again, this is an unkconfirmed report. no explosives found, they evacuated the campus of harvard as a precautionary measure. we'll keep you posted. we'll be right back. 1ñp humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance,

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. all right.

we're trying to get you updated on what is happening at harvard university right now. police are investigating explosives found on campus. these are unconfirmed reports. no explosives have been found but police are searching four separate buildings on campus and i'm going to read you those buildings right now. one of them is the red brick buildi building constructed in the late 1800s. it contains lecture halls. also evacuated is thayer hall. the science building is absolutely huge, chemistry, physics, it's a little off the main campus. these other ones are in the famous quad that you hear emerson hall is the other building that they are talking about. we understand that final exams have been canceled and as far as

i know, only those four buildings have been evacuated. again, police have done that with an abundance of caution because, of course, they want to protect everyone in case there is something there. but for now, they are just investigating those four buildings have been evacuated. absolutely no explosives have been found. we'll keep you posted. we wanted to put this twitter picture up for you. i'm seeing this for the first time along with you. so bear with me here. they are talking about the harvard police department. a patrol car is sitting outside of the science center after the bomb scare forced the evacuation of the building. cambridge police are also involved. they are going through that building, i assume, one by one. some of the buildings are quite large so it will take some time to go through each and every space so they feel comfortable

that everything is safe for the students and professors to return. but this is a time for final exams and, as we understand it, some of those final exams have been canceled at this time. all right. we're going to take a quick break. we'll be back with much more in the newsroom. we're aig. and we're here. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays. ♪ [ male announcer ] the parking lot helps by letting us know who's coming. the carts keep everyone on the right track.

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i'm carol costello. we start with breaking news at harvard university. evacuations now under way after an unconfirmed report that explosives may have been placed in four buildings on campus. the buildings have been evacuated while it's being investigated. very preliminary details coming into us right now. but the buildings evacuated are the science center, thayer, emerson, and sever. just to give you a sense of where those buildings are on campus, i want to bring in someone that went to harvard, john king. if you can help give us the lay of the land, that would be located. >> i didn't go to harvard but i grew up in boston and i'm familiar with the campus. there on the main campus, the kennedy school is separate from

harvard. but the top part of the screen is the main campus area and i've been in touch with people that say cambridge police, harvard campus police and other law enforcement authorities are there. no information as to what. you mentioned that there's been a report of perhaps explosives on campus. just a report. nothing confirmed at this time. but when something like this gets reported, you have proet p protocols that go into place. you are looking at the harvard square area, the picture right there in harvard. as we try to get more information, obviously your concern is that you have the police response and you try to figure out whether this is a hoax or something serious and that's what we're trying to figure out right now. >> as far as we know, john, final exams have been canceled, at least for today. describe how large these buildings are because this presents a problem for the police, right in they have to go through every room, every corner? >> right.

we don't know the specifics of what has been reported to them but if they are going building to building, this gives you a more three-dimensional perspective. it's an older campus. there's new buildings built on campus as they come in but they are older, mostly brick buildings. we've gone through this with past threats when you get to the college size of a campus. if you have to go room-to-room, obviously given what has been reported here, again, unconfirmed but some reports of explosives on campus. they will be very careful. the main goal is to evacuate the buildings and evacuate the nearby buildings and get people away from anything approximate to those sites and then once you get, a, more information, and, b, the right equipment and teams on board, then you will go forward with a room-to-room search. again, if you gather more information if they have a credible information leading to possible explosives in those

buildings, other explosive teams as well. >> that's true. i would imagine anxiety is very high in light of what happened at the boston marathon. final exams have been canceled. what is this picture of? what am i seeing? >> that's one of the study halls. that's a hall, a dorm area. the dorms at harvard -- i believe this is one of the dormitories. as you mentioned -- this is going to sound funny to people but if you think of harry potter, some of the large buildings on campus and away from there are dorm rooms and the like and that's where students gather and have their meals there and study there. i can't tell exactly which building this is on campus. if you wander through campus, there are several like this on campus. beautiful, older buildings. students gather in large numbers. as we watch this go forward, trying to get preliminary information from sources on the scenes and what they are indicating right now is they believe that there's not all

that -- they believe this is not something to be all that worked up about but they are trying to get full confirmation of that. that's the information that i am getting from someone on campus. >> that building that you were talking about, that's where the students have gone -- the students who were evacuated have gone into that building. they are safe and sound, unconfirmed reports. don't want to freak anyone out just yet. again, those four buildings evacuated, harvard, because they have reports of explosives on campus, unconfirmed reports. i'll get you more information as it comes into us. john king, many thanks to you. >> you're welcome, carol. >> i'm sorry? lou paulumbo, a cnn analyst, formerly with the fbi. am i right, lou? >> actually, i'm from the police department. >> you get this report that

comes in about possible explosives in a building in four buildings on harvard's campus. this is a large area. tell us the protocol. >> there's going to be a boiler plate response. there's going to be emergency services, fire, haz-mat, fbi joint task force, certainly the massachusetts state police, you're going to have a complete response of this as if it is legitimate until they are able to determine that, in fact, it is not. >> often times these things are not legitimate though, right? >> yeah. that's correct. to be very honest with you, carol, this could be a byproduct of somebody attempting to disrupt the testing at the end of a semester, for example. that is one thing that will be considered. but to go in and treat this as if this is the real deal until they are comfortable that this isn't, that they are playing with lives at this point. >> yeah, unfortunately even if this is fake, i mean, it just causes high anxiety, it scares

people for no reason and, you're right, if you want exams to be canceled, this is an effective way to do it. >> and unfortunately i would say it's not the first time that someone has employed this tactic to disrupt the testing process. so everything is being explored at this point. they are attempting to ascertain any of the video or cameras in place to determine the ongoings. if in fact this was a phone call or the method and means of which it was communicated to them as well, they are going to address this as if this is the real deal until they are totally comfortable with the fact that this was a hoax, which we will only know over time. >> i want to go over the four buildings that have been evacuated that are under investigation right now. the science center, thayer, emerson, and sever. some are laboratories, like, of course, the science center has

many laboratories and classrooms inside that building. i think sever is a dorm. i'm not really sure about that but i'll look it up and tell you about that. but four buildings involved, lou. we don't have any live pictures coming out of boston right now but at what point would campus police and cambridge police call in the bomb squad? would they do it right away or would they wait? >> no, they would go in right away and address this. the smartest thing is to get the guys on top of their game with this and that's our fbi. they are so well versed in addressing these issues that it would behoove them to spearhead this thing. the best thing that they can do is facilitate an evacuation and

engage in what we call containing, establishing a hard perimeter around the buildings of interest and then at this point if they have the bomb dogs and handlers go in and start to surgically and methodically address each build. >> all right. lou palumbo, thank you. john king as well. we're going to take a break and come back with more in the "newsroom." life with crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis

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all right. we have breaking news to report. four buildings have been evacuated. we understand someone phoned in a bomb threat and that bomb threat has supposedly affected the science center, thayer, emerson, and sever. thayer is a dorm with the exception of administrative and offices and the science center has laboratories in it, obviously. students have been sent to a hall, a dining room for freshmen while police check out the buildings. now, no explosives have been found. police are just checking this out. no one has been hurt and we understand that final exams have been canceled because, as you

might expect, this has created quite the upheaval on campus. what did you say, pam? we have tamar on the phone. she's a student at harvard university. we lost her. as you might expect, students are suffering from high anxiety, especially in light of what happened in at the marathon bombing. is tamar back on the phone? we have tom fuentes. hi. he's a cnn analyst, a security analyst. tell me what is going on right now at harvard university. you have these four huge buildings, a bomb threat has been called in by phone, the fbi is on the scene. what are they doing right now? >> they are trying to verify if

the report is true. i think that, you know, in these types of situations, there's a very good possibility that this whole entire thing is unfounded and somebody just wanted to get out of having to do a final exam today at harvard. so you have a phone-in report. oftentimes these phone-in reports, whether it's explosives on an airplane, school, hospital, they often turn out to be false reports. somebody playing a hoax for one reason or another. and in this particular case, if if somebody is trying to avoid taking a final exam today because they pulled an all-nighter and don't think they are ready, that's one way to ensure that there's no final exams conducted today. so i think until an explosive device is found and verified, i think we have to just wait and see. >> tom, stand by. we have tamar on the line.

can you hear me? tamar? >> caller: hi. yes. >> thank you so much for agreeing to talk with me. i really appreciate it. tell me what is happening on campus, from your perspective. >> caller: so we received messages from harvard saying that unconfirmed reports of explosives were reported and one of them is in the science center and it's front of the harvard law school. that's where i am. >> you were at the science center at the time that you got this -- >> no. i'm in the harvard law school dorm, which is very close to the science center. and then the message says that all people in those buildings should evacuate. i'm not in the building, so i'm still here. >> so what's the mood there now? >> caller: sorry? >> what's the mood there now? >> we have a group of students and they have been posing questions which they should do and some of the people i think

are evacuated from law school as well just as a precautionary measure even though there was no record of something in the law school, too, but a lot of the people are in the libraries now because we had exams. so some people are leaving the libraries and the school buildings, too. >> and you said you're next door to the science center. when you look out the window, what do you see? >> there are some police cars passing by and some emergency cars as well. that's what i saw. >> as tom fuentes just told us, it could be a big hoax for somebody to get out of their final exams. but it worked, because most exams have been canceled for students at harvard. tom fuentes, stand by. i'll be back with much more in "the newsroom." something to love... so join the loyalty program that lets you earn free nights in any of them.

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news out of boston, four buildings at harvard university have been evacuated because somebody phoned in a bomb threat. campus police along with cambridge police are searching the buildings to see if they can come up with explosive devices. so far, none have been found. let's head to washington because our justice reporter, evan perez, has been working the phone. what have you found out? >> hi, carol. that's right, the federal authorities from the fbi, the atf, even the secret service are all at the scene trying to assist with the local police to try to figure out whether, indeed, there's anything to worry about. as tom fuentes says that one

thing that they thought about is, oh, it's final's week and somebody is calling in a hoax. but obviously it's a serious matter and they have to go to these buildings. we're probably looking at several hours, a better part of the day before the authorities can clear these buildings and make sure that there is no -- nothing to worry about. so whoever called this in, if indeed it turned out to be a hoax, basically it cost the school the entire day. obviously if somebody is found, then it turns into something else, a much bigger investigation by the fbi, the atf, and all of the other authorities, including the boston police. >> did you say the secret service? >> yeah. everyone -- pretty much anyone who is nearby responds to the scene on something like this. the report is four devices in four different locations, i guess, is what the first report that came from harvard

university. and so, you know, it could be a serious thing if indeed there is -- if there's anything explosives found. and so that's why any law enforcement that is nearby would respond to the scene. so, that's right, fbi, atf, even secret service responding. >> interesting. let's check back in with tom fuentes, former fbi. so the science center alone, tom, is humungous. it's a little off the main campus but it's a huge buildings. laboratory, classes and the like. it will take some time to go through this building. >> that's right, carol. it will take all day at least to do it and the other thing is that, as evan mentioned, the atf, secret service, state or local police agencies will probably be asked to help because that technical equipment, the trained

dogs and other evidence response, you're not going to have enough in the boston division to do four huge campuses simultaneously. so they are probably going to have to bring in a lot more assistance to do that. every classroom, every closet, every heating duct, you name it. it's going to be a long, tedious, difficult process to search those buildings to try to find a device that you don't know what it looks like and if it's a device or not. >> i just think that would be a scary proposition to be tasked with looking for an explosive device in a large building. >> that's correct. and that's why i never had any intention of being a bomb technician. it's dangerous, difficult work. there could be a booby trap. that's why the people who do

this are very brave. >> the people who call in bomb threats like this, do they catch them usually? >> oftentimes, yes. we've had a couple occasions in the last two years that i'm aware of where someone phoned in aircraft threats and they were able to track down that it was a boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse situation calling in to hassle somebody else objen the airplane. but in a situation like this, because of the hundreds and hundreds of personnel that are going to have to be employed to resolve this and be on scene all day to do this, this is pretty extreme in terms of just the resources alone that it will take to solve this question. but, yes, they will start checking phone records. they will start looking at the list of students and teachers, faculty, other employees of the university for each of those buildings. but you also have people that just want to create a hoax so you have individuals that phone in, you know, false alarms,

false police reports, pulled fire alarms in buildings and watch the fire department respond for no reason. so there are many motivations of the type of people that pull these types of pranks, if it is a prank. but it really is difficult for me to believe, especially the number of buildings involved, that if you could have somebody on that campus putting in explosive material that's going to hurt people in four different buildings and not be detected at some point or the device not be found either by a janitor or some other person or actually have it go off and obviously you'll know then. but i think that, as evan mentioned, you have to be very particular. you can't take anything for granted. so even though the investigators, in their mind, might think it's a good chance of it being a hoax, they can't treat it that way. they still have to look at the possibility that this is a real threat and they have to ensure everybody's safety, not just today but once they clear those

buildings and declare them safe, they certainly don't want a device going off later and hurting someone. >> absolutely. so tom, stand by. before i go to break i want to update our viewers. bomb threats have been called in to harvard university. four buildings have been evacuated. the science center, thayer, emerson, sever. four buildings have been evacuated. students have been placed in dining halls across campus. final exams have been canceled for today. i have to take a break. we'll be back with more in the newsroom. life could be hectic. as a working mom of two young boys angie's list saves me a lot of time. after reading all the reviews i know i'm making the right choice. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time. with honest reviews on over 720 local services. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job, and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money.

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we are continuing to follow breaking news in boston at harvard university. somebody phoned in a bomb threat. those buildings have been evacuated and authorities are going through them and i mean every federal agency you can think of going through these buildings along with campus police and cambridge police. no explosives have been found. this could well be a hoax. we just don't know yet. on the phone with me now is sam winestock, the incoming president of the harvard

crimson. welcome, sam. sam, are you there? >> can you hear me? >> i can hear you. can you hear me, sam? >> yes. >> tell me first how you found out about this bomb threat. >> so, there's a messaging system that the university uses that sends out messages and e-mails. so just after 9:00 they sent out an alert that reaches students telling people that there were unconfirmed reports of explosives in these four buildings that you mentioned. >> the science center, thayer, emerson, and sever, those buildings have been evacuated? >> that's right. >> where were you when you got the message? >> i was in my room, which is on the other side of campus. the messages didn't tell us to go anywhere in particular. just that those areas were going to be locked down and that, you know, those buildings were being

affected but didn't necessarily mention where to go. >> so outside of those buildings, life on campus is normal? >> well, so it's kind of an unusual day because final exams were scheduled for this morning. so the buildings that you mentioned, three of them are academic buildings and a number of exams scheduled to take place there. they are actually ongoing at the time of this alert. students were removed from those exams taken to the freshman dining hall where they were told that exams would be canceled. so that certainly is not a normal kind of life around here. other than that, students elsewhere on campus are more or less going about their days. >> it's a huge campus -- i'm sure people know, but it's a huge, huge campus. but still, when you get a message like that from a

university, the first thing i would say is -- my first impression would be disbelief. what was yours? >> that's about right. it was certainly a strange thing to see. you know, fortunately there have been -- we have not confirmed that there are explosives. there was an e-mail saying that there's a strong sense that the area is secure. at this point we're waiting to see what is the case with regard to those buildings. >> stick with me. i want to put in a new picture that we just got in to cnn. it's the outside of the science building. there it is. you can see police cars in front of it. of course, sam, we're all kind of thinking this might be a hoax, maybe a student calling in to get out of final exams. if that's the case, what would you think of that student? >> well, i wouldn't want to say anything about that now. like i said, we are just waiting at this point.

we have no idea what the nature of the call was or what the nature of the threat is now. so i think we're sort of -- as you mentioned, there are authorities looking into this, as we speak, and we'll wait to see what they say. >> in your mind, at harvard do all the right things in sending out those warnings to students and telling them what to do? >> well, with the story of what happened this morning, it's hard to form an opinion on that. as far as i know. as i mentioned, these alerts are fairly comprehensive in reaching students and other affiliates and we've gotten several of them since then letting us know what the situation was as we know but neither us nor potentially the administration have a lot of information right now to work on. so like i said, it's hard to say. >> yeah. i guess -- you know, it is a very large campus but i don't know, the thought would enter my mind, should i still be on

campus or not? >> well, i don't think, to my knowledge, there's a sense that other parts of the campus are in danger, or anything like that, as you mentioned. it is sort of spread out beyond the yard. so it is final exam periods. students are leaving campus anyway. but, you know, we haven't heard anything to that effect. >> all right. sam weinstock, thanks so much for being on we me this morning. i appreciate it. all right. we want to go to cnn susan candiotti to bring us up to speed about the police on harvard university surrounding these four buildings that have been evacuated. susan, we know that this was a phoned in threat. what else can you tell snus. >> actually, the threat came in some fashion. we're still trying to confirm whether it was phoned in or e-mailed in and we're working on that information for you right now. but this all began around in the

9:00 hour when that threat came in. and, of course, there was an immediate response by the harvard university police, cambridge police with an assist from the fbi and the atf as well as the metropolitan transportation authority. why them? because there's a subway stop right there in harvard square and i am told at this time that the subway stop has not been closed. there are no evacuations but there are increased security. there are no delays at this time. as you can see from all of the pictures that we've been showing you, a very strong and rapid response from various law enforcement agencies on campus. what was the threat? the threat was that there were explosives placed on campus at four different locations. this remains unconfirmed, unconfirmed at this time as all of these agencies try to clarify whether this really is the case. those four locations include the

science building, a dormitory, as well as two administration buildings. so right now authorities are trying to figure out precisely where this threat originated, the campus, of course, is in the process of being evacuated. the word got out right away to students by social media and other means to clear out and that's what's happening right now, carol. >> all right. i'm just listening. joe johns just got off the phone with the fbi. susan, thanks so much. i wanted to add to your report that the students in the buildings affected were taken to the freshman dining hall. it's a very large campus. a student just told us moments ago that, you know, outside of these buildings campus life is pretty darn normal. let's head to washington. joe johns just got off the phone with the fbi. what are you hearing, joe? >> two things, carol. there's been a pretty serious response here with the fbi, the bureau of alcohol and tobacco

and firearms all lending assistance to boston police as they try to investigate this and sort it out. so it's clear that there is a real watch going on right now and it's because of the sensitivity in the area because of the boston bombings and concern about that. so everybody is on high alert when you have a bomb threat like this. on the other hand, talking to law enforcement sources, it's pretty clear to me that they are saying, among other things, i wouldn't get too worked up about this. no device -- they emphasize, no devices have been found in any of these areas and they also point out that when you get an explosive report or a bomb threat on a college campus around exam time, there's immediately a motivation to consider there and a question of whether somebody just wanted to get out of final exams. >> right. >> so they haven't found anything yet. there's a lot of sensitivity because of the boston bombing

and they are telling us not to get worked up about this. >> the other thing is, tom fuentes, this person claims that he planted device in four different buildings but nobody saw anything. so i don't know, that defies credibility. >> highly suspect. you also have to take into account that harvard university is a place where there are a lot of very smart, bright people. so there's certainly an element of ingenuity there that they have to consider at a place like harvard or m.i.t. or what have you. but these things happen from time to time. last week here in washington, d.c., on another college campus, a very well-known college campus, there was another one of these reports and police responded in force and they spent quite amount of time. i was there myself just sitting and watching the police as they went building to building trying to sort it all out. let's just wait and see. everybody take a deep breath

because at least so far the news is good and they haven't found any explosive devices. joe johns, thanks so much. we'll be right back. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays.

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all right. we're still following breaking news at harvard university. somebody called in a bomb threat and it affected four buildings. the buildings have been evacuated. students were taken to a nearby dining hall. final exams have been canceled. susan candiotti has new information. what have you found out?

>> this additional information coming from my colleague, deborah feyerick, learning that, as we said earlier, no devices have yet been found, no explosives have been recovered at this time. right now this remains as a threat only and the police response is a guarded one. there is a strong police presence on campus. but given the fact that they are looking very carefully to see whether this is legitimate or not, it's the kind of presence that would be required at this time to figure out whether this is a hoax or whether this is a real thing. the agencies include, of course, the harvard university, the police, assistance from the fbi, alcohol, tobacco, and firearms as well as the metropolitan transportation authority because there is a subway stop on campus as well. as we know, the campus remains as a precaution in a locked down status. bomb sniffing dogs are also part

of the effort to find out if there are explosives on the campus. one of the buildings is the library building, as we were told as well the science center and a dormitory, thayer hall. investigators, again, are taking a very cautious approach at this time. as you know, when this threat was received, there were exams going on here because of course it's near the end of the term and so, of course, everything came to a standstill. so the question becomes, is this someone prompted by perhaps someone who wanted to get out of taking an exam or is it the real thing? so all steps are being taken to try to clarify this. there even appears to be a copycat or some copycat calls coming in. again, they need to really take this very carefully and slowly as they are doing, police tell us, to figure out what exactly

they have on their hands. carol? >> mike brooks, are you with me? >> i'm here with you. >> mike brooks is a cnn law enforcement analyst. you heard what susan candiotti said, that police are taking in a guarded response. what does that tell you about the investigation? >> well, that tells me, as a former member of the joint terrorism task force who responded to threats every single day, it tells me that they are taking it as a bomb threat. and that's all it is right now. one of the things that they are trying to do right now, carol, as part of the investigation that we heard from all of the agencies responding there, that is all wrapped up in the fbi joint terrorism task force. you have the atf, mbta, boston police even and some of the local law enforcement agencies. they are also calling right now units from some of the local towns that have explosive canine detection dogs and they are going to try to find out, was

there any specific threat or location. the other thing that they are also doing, they are taking a look at surveillance video right before the time the threat came in and also after the threat to see if there's any kind of folks that maybe should not have been on campus. but again, i don't like to call it routine because they are not routine. but you search the buildings, render safe and x ray and do a lot of things. up until then, they are calling it a bomb threat that they most likely handle in boston every single day. >> and something else that susan said that is really sad, that copycat calls are coming in. how does that complicate the investigation that is going on right now? >> it complicates it. you can weed out which calls are real and which are not. that's the whole thing.

how did this threat come in? we don't know whether it came in e-mail, via phone but people have to realize, carol, this is a federal offense. i mean, i had two men that i locked up for bomb threats that spent five years in federal prison for calling in bomb threats. you know, they don't take this -- law enforcement doesn't take this as a joke. as you heard tom fuentes say, a number of resources respond to one of these. law enforcement does not take this as a joke and there's a good possibility that they could, in fact, find out who did this and they would be charged with a federal offense. >> well, let's hope so because this is ridiculous. it's just ridiculous. >> absolutely. >> mike brooks, stand by. susan candiotti, you have new information? >> we now have another law enforcement source that is telling us that while there is a very strong response here with hundreds of police officers responding, quote, this appears to be a hoax. this appears to be a hoax

according to another law enforcement source. of course, there has been no official confirmation of that at this time. they are still trying to track all of this down to see whether, in fact, explosives have been planted at four different locations on campus. authorities working very hard to determine that. but we do have a law enforcement source telling us at this time it appears to be a hoax. but it is not over yet. authorities still approaching this very seriously and trying to nail this down. no all clear has been given. in fact, the campus remains in an evacuation status. >> susan candiotti, thanks so much. we're going to take a break. much more in the "newsroom." it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts,

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condition as stabilized. also, we're learning new information about the 18-year-old student who shot her before committing suicide. a friend of karl pierson said he was upset about being suspended from being a debate coach. >> he felt like the suspension had ruined his chances of getting in college. whenever he got angry he'd say, i just want to shoot everyone up. >> casey wian is joining us with more. good morning. >> good morning, carol. that information is just some of the details. all weekend they have been at the campus of arapahoe high school. they got a lot of information over the weekend. to recap, they said that this spree lasted one minute and 20 seconds and that the shooter came to this campus armed to the

hilt. >> he was armed with a shotgun. the individual also had multiple rounds of shotgun ammunition strapped across his body and he was also armed with a machete, a very large knife. the individual also carried a backpack with him as he entered the school. we now know as a result of our investigation that inside that backpack were three incendiary devices. >> one of those molotov cocktails managed to set off before he killed himself, total of five shots were fired. investigators say, carol, that this damage could have been a lot worse if not for the actions of several people. the teacher that he was targeting, they say, ran out of the school and attempted to draw pierson away from the scene. the janitor who first saw him walk into the school and radioed

immediately that a student was approaching the school with a gun and also the on-campus deputy sheriff who responded and the sheriff of the county said was about to confront him right before he took his own life, carol. >> you know, there were warning signs. is there anything else that the school could have done, casey? >> it's hard to know. obviously he was subjected to disciplinary action and some students have said -- law enforcement has not said that he made threats against his debate coach who he was targeting when he went on this rampage. we don't know exactly what school officials knew. what may have seemed like an idol threat to particular faculty member and walking on to this campus armed the way he was or two different things. so it may be that the school did

all they could but they will be looking at it. >> casey wian, thank you. i'll be right back. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes and raising money for meals on wheels. but we'd really like our truck back, so if you see it, let us know, would you? thanks. what? so when my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis them. was also on display, i'd had it. i finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, he prescribed humira-adalimumab.

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checking some other top stories at 58 minutes past,

jaw-dropping admission from the man who led the nsa task force that amnesty must be on the table for snowden. snowden could spill more damaging secrets at any time. secrets that could damage our national security. that comes from the man who has the nsa task force on snowden. here's what he said about amnesty on "60 minutes". >> he's already said, if i got amnesty i would come back. given the potential damage to national security, what would your thoughts on making a deal be? >> so my personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about. i would need assurances that the remainder of the data could be secured. >> ledgett went on to say this is his opinion, not a unanimous decision among nsa officials. knee-deep in snow and

digging out after a massive weekend blizzard. more than a foot of snow falling on new york and new england. hundreds of flights canceled and fedex is warning all the bad weather could mean major delays for millions of holiday packages. keep that in mind. that's it for me. i'm carol costello. "legal view" with ashleigh banfield starts right now. hello, everyone. welcome to "legal view." it is monday, december 16th, nice to have you here with us as we've been working on breaking news. a bomb threat threatening evacuations at harvard university this morning and what a busy time for them to be going through this. final exams. investigators have evacuated four of the buildings on campus, all of this after receiving a report that there were explosives in those buildings. so final exams for today not happening. canceled. susan candiotti has been working