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Super Tuesday Could Set Terms for Both Races in U.S.; Hong Kong Book Seller Lee Bo Resurfaces, Says Wasn't Kidnapped; Nonprofit Helps Wounded Veterans Rescue Children; U.S. Discloses Delta Force Involvement in Iraq. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired March 1, 2016 - 08:00:00   ET

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


[08:00:08] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Scout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream".

Now, it's one of the biggest stops on the road to the White House. Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders casts his vote as Americans go to the

polls on Super Tuesday.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump looks to sweep a host of states, securing his place as that party's front-runner.

The race for the White House has come to a pivotal moment as presidential candidates go head to head on Super Tuesday.

Now voters in 12 U.S. states and one territory are voting on who will be their party's nominee. If pre-election opinion polls are to be

believed, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are poised to come out on top.

Now, Super Tuesday is considered one of the most important days in the election. Hundreds of delegates are at stake. Contenders are hoping Super

Tuesday will give them an insurmountable lead over their rivals.

Now, a new national CNN/ORC poll suggests Donald Trump could secure half of the Republican primary vote, but a new controversy is dogging the

front-runner.

Now, during an interview with CNN, Trump refused more than once to disavow white supremacists who support him.

Now, CNN senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, 2016 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Trump, 49 percent, little lightweight Marco Rubio, 16 percent, lying Ted Cruz, 15

percent.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump is poised for a sweeping Super Tuesday victory tonight amid a swirling campaign controversy over the

issue of race.

TRUMP: Are you from Mexico?

ACOSTA: Chaos erupted at this Virginia event as protesters disrupted the rally just moments before a violent encounter. A Secret Service agent

choke slammed a photographer to the ground. The incident came as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz blasted Trump in a last ditch effort to gain ground

before Super Tuesday.

RUBIO: We will not lose conservatism to a con artist.

CRUZ: If we nominate Donald Trump in all likelihood Hillary Clinton wins. We lose the future...

ACOSTA: Pouncing on the GOP frontrunner after he refused to disavow support from a former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke in a CNN interview.

RUBIO: There is no place for bigotry, for hatred, for David Duke, or the Ku Klux Klan in the Republican Party or the conservative movement.

ACOSTA: Trump later rejected that support, blaming the matter on a bad earpiece. But 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney isn't buying it, tweeting that

Trump's response is disqualifying and disgusting as two Republican senators are voicing their concerns over Trump as the nominee. Even though Ohio

governor John Kasich is still in last place, he says he'll continue to refrain from mudslinging.

KASICH: I would rather not win than lower the bar. I don't think that you beat Donald Trump by attacking him personally.

ACOSTA: While Cruz optimistic about winning the 155 delegates in his home state of Texas tonight, failure could put hit campaign on thin ice.

CRUZ: Donald Trump will have a whole bunch of delegate, that we will have a whole bunch of delegates, and that there will be a big, big drop off

between us and everybody else in the field.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And we shift now to the Democratic side where Hillary Clinton hopes to end this day in full command with the race for her party's

nomination.

Now, she could sweep the south, and her opponent Bernie Sanders is banking on other parts of the country.

Jeff Zeleny has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It's Super Tuesday. That means Democrats are voting in some 11 states. Hillary Clinton is

making a last-minute trip to Minnesota. That's one of the states were Bernie Sanders had hoped to plant his flag. Now, the Sanders campaign is

feeling is confident about five states -- Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, and his home state of Vermont.

The Clinton campaign is feeling very confident in about seven or eight states, so we some overlap there. But what happens tonight in these

contests is going to give us a big clue into how long this Democratic nominating fight goes one. Already, as Hillary Clinton was campaigning on

Monday, she's turning one eye on the general election and one eye toward the Republican candidates, specifically.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because at some point you can't just say whatever pops into your head if you want to be the president

of the United States of America. People around the world actually listen to what people running for president say.

ZELENY: Now, Hillary Clinton did not mention Donald Trump by name. She didn't have to. That was clear in her remarks as she campaigned here in

Virginia on Monday. Now, going forward, the Clinton campaign believes the next two weeks are a critical period. They believe that they can have an

insurmountable lead by March 15th. That's when Florida, Ohio, and Illinois go. But, Bernie Sanders raised nearly $40 million in the month of

February. That means he has plenty of fuel in the tank to keep this race going as long as he would like.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:05:21] LU STOUT: And that was Jeff Zeleny reporting.

Now CNN is the place for extensive coverage of the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses. We will bring you the latest from the candidates

and voters throughout the day. And once the counting starts, keep it here for the results and the analysis.

Now, the UN secretary-general has thanked Russia for its role in propping up a truce between

Syrian rebels and the government and that cease-fire is now in its fourth day. It is the first major pause in fighting in nearly five years. The

agreement has also cleared the way for the delivery of aid.

News agencies quote the Syrian Arab Red Crescent as saying that trucks carrying supplies have made it to a rebel-held town southwest of Damascus.

But Syria's main opposition group claims the peace is in danger of collapsing because of attacks by Syrian troops.

Now, the United Nations says new border controls in parts of Europe are creating a humanitarian crisis. It warns that more than 24,000

migrants are stranded in Greece without proper shelter.

This comes of several Balkan nations restricted access saying that they could only accommodate a few hundred people a day, and that did not

sit well with the migrants.

Clashes broke out in northern Greece as police pushed back frustrated crowds who tore down

a gate trying to get into Macedonia. Now, the German chancellor is meeting with Croatia's prime minister to discuss the crisis. Let's bring in CNN's

Atika Shubert. She joins us live from Berlin. And Atika, we see clashes at the border between Greece and Maecedonia. Also, more unrest in Calais

this day.

I mean, will talks in Berlin help ease the tension?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly not immediately.

I mean, the bilateral talks she's having today with the Croatian prime minister will address in part the migrant crisis, but really it is an EU

wide solution that needs to be taken.

And I want to highlight some numbers here, because you're absolutely right. There are thousands of people camped out on that border in

(inaudible). In fact, an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 when that particular border camp only has capacity for 3,000. What's happening is that the

borders are closing. They are only allowing a few hundred a day, if at that.

And Austria, for example, is saying that it has put a cap on the number of people that will be traveling through. And once it reaches that

cap, it says, the borders in Macedonia and other Balkan states will close altogether.

Now, Greece is saying that leaves it stranded with tens of thousands of asylum seekers who are demanding to get into Europe.

So, what's the solution? Well, take a look at Canada as an example. Canada has just announced, according to the IOM, that over the last three

months they have resettled 25,000 Syrian refugees. Compare that to the EU, which has promised to resettle 160,000

refugees since the end of last year. So far by the latest count, they've only managed to relocate 595 and that's from Italy and Greece alone.

So the way things are going here are just too bureaucratic, too slow. And the wave of people coming in is much greater, that demand is so huge,

and the EU doesn't seem to be handle it.

And this is why UN agencies and others are calling this really a humanitarian crisis that is artificially made. It's being made by these

policies in the EU, or I should say lack of policies in the EU.

LU STOUT: Yeah, as you mentioned, Canada's policy perhaps something that these leaders there can work toward.

Now, meanwhile, you know, sharp divisions between EU member states on this migrant crisis, but also division inside Germany as well. Atika, I

mean, just how significant is the opposition inside Germany against Merkel and her view on migrants?

SHUBERT: There's a significant opposition here, and it clearly has grown, especially with incidents like the mass assault we saw on New Year's

Eve in Cologne that police say was now committed by a mob of north African men, mostly these big pockets, these sort of pick pocket gangs that have

slipped in with the crowd of refugees that have come here in the last few months.

So, public opinion has turned against bringing in more refugees. Having said that, many Germans still believe that Chancellor Angela Merkel

was right to allow refugees in, but they want to see a dramatic reduction in those numbers and they want to see the refugees being integrated more

quickly into society here in Germany.

So it really has become an issue of how to keep the numbers down, how to integrate people quickly. Canada is one example of that. But the EU

still has a problem coordinating the policy across the continent.

LU STOUT: Well, here's hoping Europe can agree to a common response. Atika Shubert reporting live from Berlin. Thank you.

Now, he hasn't been seen since late last year. Now, one of the missing Hong Kong booksellers reappears insisting that he was not abducted

by China. But the apparent confession is raising eyebrows.

Also ahead, a legal win for Apple in the struggle to keep the U.S. government out of its iPhones. We have got the details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:12:10] LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, they vanished without a trace late last year. And now the five missing Hong Kong book sellers have reemerged on Chinese TV, and four say

that they've sent thousands of unauthorize books to the mainland.

And then there's Lee Bo, who disappeared from Hong Kong. Now, Lee Bo insists that he was not abducted by Beijing.

Now, earlier I spoke CNN correspondent Ivan Watson about Lee's unusual televised confession.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is pretty remarkable. This man's disappearance a couple months ago has helped

trigger street protests and stuff. And now he emerges in this televised interview filmed somewhere in China in which he says that voluntarily

smuggled himself across the border from Hong Kong to Mainland China to participate in a police investigation.

And he called on the Hong Kong authorities to please stop looking for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE BO, BOOKSELLER (through translator): I have made it clear through the Hong Kong police and my wife that I had voluntarily come back to

mainland to cooperate with the investigation. It was my personal act. I have never been kidnapped or been missed, nor have I been coerced nor

bribed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Lee Bo, he went on to renounce publicly his British residency. And we have no way to know whether or not his interview or some

other interviews that also aired over the last couple of days from some of these other book sellers, whether or not they were performed under duress.

LU STOUT: And at the center of this perplexing case of the missing Hong King book sellers is the books, the books published by the publishing

house Mighty Current. Why have these books provoked the ire of the Chinese government?

WATSON: Well, I have one of them here. This is a book about the 19th poliburo meeting of the Communist Party of China. And it purports to have

information about basically the internal grudge match for Xi Jinping to hold on power for life.

These books are very poorly sourced, they're very gossipy, and they are banned in Mainland

China. And these men all worked for the same publishing house that was publishing these books and some Mainland Chinese tourists coming here to

Hong Kong were buying them up and smuggling them back into China.

And I have been through airports there. I have seen Chinese customs officials confiscating books like this that are banned in China. And

that's at the heart of this big controversy is Chinese censorship, of the internet, of newspapers, and of books like this. And that's why when men

like this, after they disappear mysteriously months ago and suddenly emerge in these televised interviews, or confessions, alleging to be part of a

book smuggling conspiracy -- that's what three of these men have allegedly said -- that's why their claims are being met with some skepticism here in

Hong Kong.

[08:15:02] LU STOUT: CNN's Ivan Watson there.

Now, since the book sellers vanished last year, China has repeatedly said it would not do anything illegal.

Now on Monday, a foreign ministry spokesman said the suspects admitted their crimes while being interviewed on television.

Now Apple has won one key battle in its ongoing legal war over U.S. government surveillane. And judge in New York has ruled that the FBI can't

force the tech giant to break into an iPhone to investigate a drug dealer.

Now, this is a victory for Apple, but it is just one win in a string of privacy battles. Now company still faces pressure by federal law

enforcement to help it break into iPhones in at least 13 other cases across the country. Among them, the phone belonging to the San Bernadino killer.

In that case, a California judge says Apple must comply with the FBI request to unlock the iPhone.

Now, Apple is taking the battle to Capitol Hill. In a few hours from now, Apple's legal team will face off with the FBI in a U.S. congressional

hearing

Now, for the first time ever Googlesays one of its self-driving cars was probably to blame for a

traffic accident. Now It happened in Mountain View, California where Google is based.

The car was said to be going at a low speed when it was hit by a bus.

Now there was actually a human driver in the Google car, but he didn't take over the wheel, thinking the bus would yield.

Google says it is improving itself, or to avoid similar accidents.

You're watching News Stream. And coming up, the Pentagon hopes to inject fresh energy in the battle against ISIS. Find out what it's latest

tactic is after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:17] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News

Stream.

Now, right now there are a lot of nervous campaign advisers gearing up for a very long day in the race for the White House.

Now, voters in about a dozen U.S. states are going to the polls in party primaries and caucuses.

On the Republican side, Ted Cruz desperately needs to win his home state of Texas.

Now, CNN's Ed Lavandera is there. He joins us from the town of Allen just north of Houston. Ed, good to see you.

First, let's talk about the GOP race against Donald Trump. I mean, this is the time for Marco Rubio and especially Ted Cruz to bring it on.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.

As you mentioned, there's no question that Ted Cruz needs to do well, very well, here today in the state of Texas, his home state, where he has

served as the U.S. senator since 2012. And the way the delegates are awarded here in the state of Texas, it's not a winner take all, it's a

complicated system of proportional depending on the vote totals and depending on where you are.

This is a proportaional state, so 155 delegates. This is by far the largest delegate total of any of the states here on Super Tuesday. And of

course this is a very significant day.

As you mentioned, Donald Trump leading in virtually every other state, according to many of the polls that are out there. This is the only state

where someone other than Donald Trump has the lead and that is why Ted Cruz needs to do well here today in his home state to continue moving on and to

have some sort of viable chance to knock off Donald Trump if they're having any ideas of doing that down the road.

LU STOUT: And Ed, let's talk about the Democratic race. After getting crushed in South

Carolina, what's the forecast for Bernie Sanders?

LAVANDERA: You know, kind of the same boat. Hillary Clinton has been doing well. She has been focusing on many of the southern states that are

having primary day here on Super Tuesday. Of course, Bill Clinton and the Clintons coming from Arkansas in the southern United States way back before

they became -- before Bill Clinton became president, so this is an area of the country they know well. They have deep roots. And Hillary Clinton

needs to do well there to essentially fend off, although many people covering the Bernie Sanders campaign say despite -- regardless of what

happens today, he will continue pushing forward as the momentum. But it is all

about momentum. And Hillary Clinton really hopes that even though there aren't as many delegates being rewarded today on the Democratic side as

there are on the Republican side, she hopes what happens today will help solidify

here lead in pushing forward. So, that will be interesting to watch as well.

LU STOUT: Yeah. And this is it. This is the biggest day so far in the race for president. Could you give us some local color? What

campaigning have you seen? Are there ads or rallies there ahead of this day, Super Tuesday?

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, we picked this location. This is Allen, Texas, which is a

suburb just north of Dallas. And it is in what they call Collin County.

And Colling County is one of these counties full of sprawling suburbs. This is a very, very conservative -- this is where Republicans have to do

well in elections -- high population centers where they need to do well.

The polls here just opened a little while ago, about 20 minutes ago. The lines already out the door. There is such interest in this Republican

primary today here in this county that the Republican Party chairman told me yesterday that there has been two weeks of what we call early voting

here in the United States so that people don't have to just come and just vote on election day, that they have already seen the highest voter turnout

in Republican primary history ever in this county, and we haven't even hit election day, yet.

So, an incredible amount of interest. They say expect long lines throughout the day. And obviously a lot of this driven, at least here in

this particular county, because it's such a highly Republican area, that that is obviously because of the intense race between Donald Trump, Marco

Rubio and Ted Cruz.

LU STOUT: Yeah. This is a day everything changes in the race. Ed Lavandera reporting live for us from Allen, Texas. Many thanks indeed for

that update.

Now, the U.S. is ramping up the fight against ISIS in Iraq. Elite special operation forces now on the ground. And as Barbara Starr reports,

there are plans to disrupt ISIS in cyberspace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In secret locations across northern Iraq, the Army's elite Delta Force is now

conducting its first operations CNN has learned. Today at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter outlining what Delta and the Expeditionary

Targeting Force, ETF, has been ordered to do.

ASHTON CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Seizing places and people, freeing hostages and prisoners of ISIL. And the only thing I'll say is the ETF is

in position. It is having an effect and operating.

[08:25:05] STARR: The timing and location of all operations remains classified.

There are about 200 troops in northern Iraq. They've been setting up safe houses, establishing and paying off informant networks, and gathering

intelligence.

The plan, attack compounds not just to capture or kill ISIS, but to grab laptops, cell phones, anything that can provide more intelligence and

lead to more raids.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Special Operations Forces, I have vast experience in Iraq and Afghanistan using these kinds of

tactics and techniques.

STARR: New techniques as well. With surprising openness, the secretary of defense detailed going after ISIS in cyberspace.

CARTER: To interrupt, disrupt ISIL's command and control, to cause them to lose confidence in their networks, to overload their networks so

that they can't function.

STARR: The ultimate goal: drive ISIS off the dark web that the U.S. cannot monitor.

CARTER: Sometimes we do drive them to other means, but it cuts both ways. Sometimes those other means are easier for us to listen to.

STARR: But it could have unintended consequences.

LEIGHTON: You're going to end up basically not knowing what they're doing. They could be using everything from couriers to carrier pigeons in

order to get the job done for them.

STARR: All of this as Carter is considering sending more troops to the upcoming Iraqi operation to retake Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

CARTER: Because of our strategy and our determination to accelerate our campaign, momentum is now on our side and not on ISIL's.

STARR: So, why telegraph so much information? On analyst says it is become this has become a public relations war. And the Pentagon feels it

most show progress to the public.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, this could be a make or break day for the White House hopefuls. And still ahead, we've got another look, a close one, at Super

Tuesday and who needs to do well to keep their campaigns going.

Also ahead, how a U.S. war veteran has a new mission that involves a much different type

of enemy, an enemy that seeks to destroy the lives of children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:18] LU STOUT: Now let's turn our attention back to this pivotal day on the U.S. primary election calendar. Voters in 12 states,

they are weighing in on the Republican and Democratic candidates, it's also known as Super Tuesday. And CNN's Dylan Byers is with us now from

Washington. Dylan, good to see you. Thanks for joining us. And is this it? Could the nomination process be over after Super Tuesday?

DYLAN BYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it could be over -- effectively over on the

Democratic side, right? It is very hard to see how Bernie Sanders can make a case for his campaign going forward if the only state he can pick up

tonight is Vermont, which of course is his home state.

There is also a question there of the margin of victory, just how much Hillary Clinton wins by, how much she win with certain key groups such as

as Latinos, African-Americans. Right now she looks poised to do very well.

On the Republican side, it is much more complicated picture. Donald Trump looks poised to win the vast majority of the states tonight. It is

going to be very hard to make the case that he is not the presumptive nominee at that point.

That said, there are two things that -- first of all, Ted Cruz could pick up Texas. Texas, of course, has 155 delegates. That would make a

very strong case for him being the sort of anti-Trump going forward, because he can say, look, I'm the only candidate who has beat Donald Trump.

I beat him in Iowa, and I beat him in Texas. I'm in this for the long haul.

It is harder to see where Marco Rubio can win tonight, although he could win -- he might even win, say, in Virginia right next door to us here

in D.C.

But what Rubio is really looking for are the states that vote on March 15, those winner take

all states of Ohio and Florida, which would bring Rubio a lot of delegates.

What's going to be hard for him is sort of keeping his momentum up if he can't claim any big

victories until two weeks from now.

LU STOUT: I mean, Clinton and Trump, definitely the two to watch this day. And Hillary Clinton is already drawing up a plan to defeat Donald

Trump. But could Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio be even greater challenge for her?

BYERS: Well, look, I think the Hillary Clinton campaign is preparing for all possible scenarios. That said, we do know now that her campaign

and many of her supporters, super PACs et cetera, are really taking a close look at what the strategy would be for taking on Trump.

And that reflects what they think the reality might be, which is that Trump might just be the Republican nominee come the general election.

I think what the Clinton campaign is afraid of is just how hard it has been for the Republicans, for Rubio, Cruz, the Republican establishment to

take down Trump, you know, he is like Teflon, nothing that you throw at him seems to stick.

So, that's a challenge for them. But look, I also think they're afraid -- not afraid necessarily, but they recognize the challenge in

taking on a candidate like Marco Rubio, who is young, who might be able to rally a lot of enthusiasm. And has certainly proven himself to be a

capable politician and a capable candidate.

LU STOUT: And finally, I've got ask you about that scuffle between a photographer and secret service agent. It was caught on smartphone video.

How did a Trump rally turn violent in this way?

BYERS: Well, what happened is a photographer from TIME magazine stepped outside of what is known as the press pen where reporters they are

supposed to stay. And that tells you something right there about the nature of these Trump rallies.

Stepped out to take pictures of some protesters, was greeted by a secret service agent who effectively put him in a choke hold and then body

slammed him

Now, I will say this is sort of a one off. This isn't what we usually see at Trump rallies. But the atmosphere at Trump rallies, given just the

sort of anti-media rhetoric coming from Donald Trump, the vitriol that's directed at some of these reports from Donald Trump supporters I mean, it's

really created this sort of powder keg atmosphere and by stepping outside of the press pen there was sort of a spark. And we saw it go off.

And I have to tell you, while it's shocking to look at that video, it's not altogether surprising that this would happen at a trump rally.

[08:35:21] LU STOUT: Yeah, given the climate as you just described. But, you know, it was a one off, but very, very scary to see a journalist

slammed to the ground like that.

Dylan Byers of CNN Money, thank you so much and take care.

BYERS: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Now CNN has reporters found out all over the country to bring you the very latest from Super Tuesday. Just go to our website.

We've got a rundown of the factors to look out for today as well as all the results as they roll in. You can find it at CNN.com/politics.

Now, a 10-year silence in the U.S. Supreme Court has been broken. Now, Justice Clarence Thomas who has not said a word on the bench in that

time asked a question during oral arguments. Now, some say it shows the impact of the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Now, Scalia and Thomas were close friends and they agreed on many cases. And a writer with Slate said everyone leaned in in disbelief as

Thomas pressed for answers in the case involving a domestic assault conviction.

Now, the justice has offered a variety of reasons for his silence, including that he felt his colleagues did more than enough talking.

Now, some U.S. vets are finding their feet on the cyber battlefield. Now after the break, we have the story of one former fighter who is now

taking on child predators. Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now to CNN Freedom Project, which is introducing you to a different type of hero.

Now, Shannon Krieger was member of the U.S. Army's elite Delta Force. And he says he hit rock bottom after he was injured and medically

discharged. But now he has found a new battle to fight, tracking online predators who target children.

Paula Newton has his story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHANNON KRIEGER, HERO CHILD-RESCUE CORPS: you've got costumes, you've got character, you've got culture, you've got tradition. you know, Mardi

Gras is wild and crazy and we do some fun things, but it brings a lot of bad things to the city sometimes.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Shannon Krieger is a computer forensics analyst for homeland security investigations in his hometown of

New Orleans. He works in the cyber crimes division tracking child predators online.

KRIEGER: As child exploitation, people were busy this time of the year.

NEWTON: For example, monitoring chat rooms to identify people planning to come to Mardi

Gras to have sex with children.

KRIEGER: There's a lot to do because of Mardi Gras, because a lot of people are here that

aren't normally here and they bring some really bad habits with them.

NEWTON: Krieger has been doing this work for the past four years, but it is his experience from many years earlier that makes him especially

suited for the job. As a member of the U.S. army's special operations command Delta Force, Krieger was on the front line.

[11:40:00] KRIEGER: That particular type of work is empowering. It really is. And you get on the tip of the spear and you get this really

giant sense of accomplishment.

NEWTON: All of that changed in a heartbeat.

KRIEGER: Shortly after 9/11 I was involved in the retaliatory strike against al Qaeda, and I was in a helicopter crash that pretty much took my

body and decided that I couldn't do this work anymore. I was -- I didn't know if I was going to walk normal ever again.

NEWTON: Krieger was medically discharged from the army in 2004.

KRIEGER: And when I left, I just rock bottom. I got taken out of something that I loved more than anything. And surprisingly enough when I

got involved with the HERO Corps, it replaced a lot of what I had missed.

NEWTON: HERO Corps it is an initiative that takes disabled special forces veterans, trains them in computer forensics, and puts them in field

labs across the country where they work on child exploitation cases.

KRIEGER: I get to fight again. I get to be involved in a cause that matters.

JOHN SCHMIDT, HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS: He's part of our team now. And he is now from the battlefield to a cyber warrior. And it does a

lot for us on an inspirational side that he is able to give that extra little notch and click of a true hero and patriot as part of our team.

KRIEGER: I'm starting to feel like I used to feel. I'm starting to feel empowered. I'm starting to feel motivated again. I'm starting to

want to push. Because, you know, while it is a new battlefield, it is still a battlefield.

NEWTON: As a husband and father of a 3-year-old, Krieger says doing this work has had an impact on his personal life as well.

KRIEGER: I don't know if I'll ever sleep again. The toughest ones are the 3-year-old boys, those are the ones that just hurt me the most.

NEWTON: The satisfaction he gets putting predators behind bars, he says, makes it all worth it.

KRIEGER: I try not to go, oh, the HERO Corps saved me, but it really kind of did in a sense, because when you get something back that you never

thought you would get again, it's a second chance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: This is such an incredible series.

And up next, you're going to be meeting U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Steven Blackstone. Now he may be retired, but he, too, has found a very

personal reason to take on a new mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN BLACKSTONE, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): What motivates is me my 9- year-old and 4-year-old kids and this HERO program was the perfect opportunity for me to be involved in this kind of work trying to stop a

child sexual exploitation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, you want to hear his message to the predators he tracks when our look at Heroes at Home continues. It's all part of our

Freedom Project only on CNN.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. World Sport with Amanda Davies is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END