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LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Details of the President's Vacation; Looking at the Top 10 Legal Stories of the Year; Texas Christmas Law Examined

Aired December 25, 2014 - 12:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JEANNETTE BERRY, TECHNICAL SERGEANT, US AIR FORCE: Greetings. I am Technical Sergeant Jeannette Berry stationed here at Eielson Air Force Base Alaska. I like to say happy Holliday to my family in Reno Valley, California and my grandma, Mama Rose (ph) in Los Angeles, California. Happy Holliday again, have a happy new year and I'll see you in 2015.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Merry Christmas, Sergeant Berry. Thank you for your service and by the way "Silent Night" by Diana Ross, does it get better on Christmas?

The President and his family are celebrating this Christmas as they usually do. Just like the rest of us, they went home, they went to Barrack Obama's home in Hawaii, and since CNN's Michelle Kosinski covers the White House, she got the trip. The rest of us has to be in studio and Michelle went to Hawaii for Christmas on CNN's dime. Hi, Michelle, we thought we'd put you to work.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

BANFIELD: It's nice to see you. You look like you're happy and rested.

KOSINSKI: This isn't my home.

BANFIELD: Oh, what a beautiful scene behind you. So, get me up to speed...

KOSINSKI: And no complain too.

BANFIELD: ... on the work that the President -- and actually Mrs. Obama, the work they're doing while they're there?

KOSINKI: Yes, well they're able to make this the real holliday for themselves. I mean they're staying in secluded neighborhood, they rent a house here every year. They were able to bring their two dogs, Sunny and Bo, along on this trip along with there two daughters. And what we've been seeing the President mostly doing is what he loves to do, golfing, golfing and more golfing, including one time with the Malaysian Prime Minister, and that was something of a working golf outing because the press was able to get a little bit of video there of that because of that. We'd also seen them go out to the beach which is on a military base, so it's ultra secluded. They went out bowling, some hiking and really getting away. The President though has also had some work to contend with and he has made a couple statements on the Sony hacking case, so it's not all fun in games, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Well, thank you for that. You know what, I want to take this opportunity if I can and Michelle, I hope you'll indulge me that the President actually released a message with Mrs. Obama to the troops that it's heartfelt and it's lovely, and so CNN would love to play that if I can just ask you to pause for a moment, let's have a look at the President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, THE PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: In just a few days, our combat mission in Afghanistan will be over. Our longest war will come to a responsible end. And that gives us an opportunity to step back and reflect upon all that these families have given us. We're able to gather with family and friends because our troops are willing to hug theirs goodbye and step forward to serve. After a long day, we can come home because they're willing to leave their families and deploy. We can celebrate the holidays because they're willing to miss their own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It's always nice to hear that. Michelle enjoy any free time that you may have on that trip. It's nice to see you and Merry Christmas to you.

KOSINSKI: Thanks, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And to your family. Michelle Kosinski live for us in Hawaii, looking gorgeous, I must say.

So, this is Legal View, right? And it maybe Christmas, but that doesn't mean we don't have our top count down of legal stories.

Coming up after the break, law and justice lined up just right, back after this.

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BANFIELD: Your top stories that we're watching for you at this hour on this Christmas Day.

The United States military says, the coalition fighter that went down in Syria was not shot down by ISIS as that group has claimed. These pictures went around world yesterday, published by the extremist group who says it did bring down the Jordanian F-16, and took the pilot hostage. But America's CENTCOM, say, "Yes, a plane went down, yes." But evidence does show their pilot was taken hostage but, no, that it wasn't shot down.

Pentagon's also supporting efforts to get that pilot back from ISIS safely.

As many as eight protesters were arrested in Berkeley, Missouri last night, less than 24-hours after an 18-year-old named Antonio Martin was shot to death by a police officer. He had allegedly pointed a loaded pistol at the officer. Police say protesters attempted to break into a nearby store, smashing windows and doors. Several protesters were arrested after a Christmas Eve die-in, that's what they call that a die-in, at a mall in Beavercreek, Ohio.

Nearly 100 people showed up to protest recent police shootings nationwide, many shouting, hands up don't shoot. In August, police shoot and kill in Ohio man after he picked up a toy air gun at a Walmart.

And this was no way for any family to spend Christmas Eve. Friends and relatives of the two police officers killed in Brooklyn last weekend came to the place where they died. That street corner is now a flower covered memorial to NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.

Here at Legal View, our focus is, of course, stories about crime and about justice and legal decisions that impact your life everyday as well as the lives of others. This country is a country of loss and this year, we had a lot, a lot to talk about.

Jean Casarez did the work for us. She looked at the Top 10 Legal Stories of 2014.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At number 10, water contamination in West Virginia, a chemical called MCHM leaks into the water supply affecting hundreds of thousands.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): I want to know that he's going to grow up safe.

CASAREZ: At least one civil suit is settled, six former officials from the chemical company where the leaks started are charged in federal court.

At number nine.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): The state is scrambling to find the drugs...

CASAREZ: That is drugs for lethal injections because they are made in the European Union which recently banned their use for executions. Prisons started using cocktails of drugs instead. Four executions were batched including one that took two hours to finish.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): At a certain point, you wondered if he ever going to die.