tv CNN Newsroom CNN May 25, 2013 8:00am-10:01am PDT
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i'm like, what is this, a drainpipe slipknot? wherever your business takes you, you can save money with progressive commercial auto. [ sighs ] [ flo speaking japanese ] [ shouting in japanese ] we work wherever you work. now, that's progressive. call or click today. live from atlanta, this is "cnn saturday morning." it is may 25th. i'm poppy harlow. let's take you to moore, oklahoma. people there are spending this holiday weekend just trying to dig out from the rubble of that tragic tornado. some are also looking ahead and others are saying the absolute hardest good-bye. another disaster torn area struggles to recover. the effects of superstorm sandy still lingering as summer
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approaches. a shocking story of an 18-year-old girl facing charges for her sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. her response to a possible plea deal, that's next. moore, oklahoma, is a town of very, very mixed emotions today. some happiness as high schoolers graduate. they get their diplomas today but sadness as children lost too soon are laid to rest. seniors from one of moore's three high schools are graduating. there will be two more ceremonies later today. also today, three funerals are held for victims of the tornado. two of those victims are 9-year-old children who were in the plaza towers elementary school and also a 45-year-old woman. for many, it's another day cleaning up, digging through the
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rubble. >> reporter: brick after brick, this woman digs through wood beams, twisted metal and cement. the tornado flattened her home of five years. >> when people say it sounded like a train, that doesn't even do it justice. you can hear it. >> reporter: she rode it out in this shelter and when the tornado passed, it left her homeless and full of doubt. doubt she could possibly recover from this. >> i don't know what to do first. i don't know where to start. i don't know where i'll end up. >> reporter: under all of this rubble, she just cares about one thing. digging with the hope of preserving the memories of her six late brothers. >> all of my pictures. they're gone. my pictures are gone.
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oh well. >> reporter: why are those pictures so important? >> it's a all i have left. they're all gone. it's all i had left of them. >> reporter: strangers took the day off from work to help. this is what recovery looks like in moore, oklahoma. >> we just want to do the best we can so these people can recover and stay oklahoma strong. >> reporter: after hours of digging -- >> this was taken at my mom's funeral. >> reporter: a photo of four of her six late brothers. she hopes to find more. >> there's nothing i can tell you. this is all i can do. >> god bless you. >> i'm going to take her smile with me home and feel really good about it. i don't know her name. i noent what address we're at. i don't know where we're at. we're in the eye of the storm and we're in the eye of the recovery. >> reporter: you know, talk about the eye of the recovery,
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we're standing right in the middle of it right now. this is very much what you see every single morning around this time is homeowners, volunteers, construction crews, they all descend on these neighborhoods. you see a pile of debris behind me. you'll see several piles just like this down the block as these families try to clean up all of this debris and really start to get their lives back together again. looking at this and looking at what you see in the distance here, it's clear a long, long road for the folks here in moore, oklahoma. poppy? >> thank you so much for the reporting. appreciate it. we are now hearing some of the first 911 calls that came just after the tornado struck. the sound is chilling. people desperate for help. first responders overwhelmed by the calls for help. listen. >> there's people down. we're stuck under rubble. my leg -- >> we have a car. we'll get them out there as soon
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as we can. >> please hurry. >> we have a day care full of babies. we need help bad. we need help bad. we got a day care that just got cremated. >> moore, 911. where's your emergency. >> we can't get out. >> are you injured? >> we just can't breathe. >> 24 people died in that tornado and we're going to have much more on the recovery in moore throughout the day. tonight, also, an anderson cooper special from moore, oklahoma. we'll take an up close look at the storm chasers that risk their lives alerting others about this disastrous tornado. storm hunters in the path of disaster at 7:00 eastern tonight only on cnn. meantime, defense secretary chuck hagel told west point graduates they must be the generation of leaders that stops sexual assault in the military.
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he spoke bluntly. this was just this morning at west point saying these crimes have no place in the greatest military on earth. hagel talking directly to the cadets say they cannot fail the men and women they will lead saying it is a crime and worse. listen. >> sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military are a profound betrayal. a profound betrayal of sacred oaths and sacred trusts. we're all accountable and spnsabspn responsible to make sthure this happens. we cannot fail america or the military. >> there are 19,000 sexual assaults in the military every year and many are never reported. an 18 year old in florida turned down a plea deal that would have labeled her a sex
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offender. katelynn hunt faces two battery charges for having sex with her 14-year-old girlfriend. >> authorities say this is a sexual predator. >> scared of losing my life and not being able to go to college and be with my sisters and my family. >> 18-year-old katelyn hunt is defending herself against charges she sexually assaulted a child except that child is hunt's high school classmate, a freshman. age, 14. >> to hold someone accountable for a felony for having a relationship with a peer seems outrageous to me. >> reporter: it's not just the law that seems outrageous to the family but the punishment. katelyn hunt is facing 15 years in jail and a lifetime labeled
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as a sexual predator. she turned down a plea for house arrest and probation because it would be two felonies on her record. >> her life has been destroyed already. >> the parents of the younger girl say hunt knew the relationship was not appropriate. >> we had actually told ms. hunt that this was wrong. >> court documents show police believe based on a facebook message "she knows she's 18 and there can be consequences for their relationship." >> we had no alternative to turn to the law as a last resort. >> the sheriff of the small town near vero beach say this is not about anyone's sexual orientation. in florida a 14 year old can't consent to sex. >> we've had cases in the past where we have had same-sex similar circumstances. albeit some of the evidence may
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not have been as intriguing i guess. we've also obviously had 18-year-old males with a relationship with 14-year-old females. >> reporter: her family believes the younger girl's parents wouldn't be upset if katelyn was a boy. >> we would not be here if the parents were not dating. >> reporter: a claim the other family rejects. >> reporter: hunt will have the backing of the aclu. i do think it's a shame that this case wouldn't be settled in some other way. now that katelyn hunt rejected that plea bargain, what she's risking is trial where she could be convicted and if she is, she's facing 15 years and a lifetime labeled as a sexual predator.
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our thanks for that. fredricka whitfield is going to get into the legal aspects of this case with two attorneys next hour here in the "newsroom." >> new york city has seen a fast rise, a very scary rise in hate crimes against gay men this year in a city with one of the world's largest gay populations. mark carson was shot to death after being taunted for being gay. it's one of more than 20 crimes like this this year alone in new york. we are joined live from new york this morning. thank you for joining us on this story. it's incredibly troubling. i live right there in new york city and hearing about this it's happening far too frequently. what is the latest and what are people there doing, what are they telling you they are doing to protect themselves? >> people here are vigilant in the wake of the anti-gay hate crimes we've seen. we've seen the most tragic which
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was 32 year old mark carson shot in the face a week ago simply for being gay. we've also seen a lot of community outreach programs coming in this area handing out flyers and letting people know this is what you can do to stay safe. i did actually speak with one couple yesterday and they did let me know that they have changed their outlook on life and what they're doing on a daily basis because of these crimes. here's what they had to say. >> we're much more alert and probably a little more aggressive and defensive new yorkers now because we figure, you know what, you have to protect yourself. you have to really stand up for yourself. you can't just let these idiots come into your neighborhood and beat you up. you have to fight back. >> reporter: also that couple also say they're now carrying around mace with them because of the spike in hate crimes and that they now refuse to go out alone.
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you have to remember this is the west village where same-sex couples are used to walking around holding hands and now that couple feels like they can't do that anymore. poppy? >> are police taking extra measures to try to keep people safe especially there and are they saying why this is happening? >> reporter: police have set up more posts in the west village in the wake of the recent spikes as well. as i mentioned, the community is really trying to take this into their own hands and set up hotlines. one community outreach program saying on average their lines ring once every three hours with people who feel like they've been victimized because of their sexual orientation. i also want to mention the school's chancellor is doing something. he's setting up emergency lessons on hate crimes in new york city schools to prevent this from happening to younger people as well. poppy? >> thank you very much. very disturbing. thank you for following it for us. appreciate it. coming up, i'll have the latest for you on the attack in
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london. that brutal attack and how the british equivalent of the secret service may have actually tried to recruit one of the suspects to work for them. also, the jodi arias trial far from over after jurors fail to decide whether she will be sentenced to life or the death penalty. we'll tell you what is next for her coming up. eed complete and balanced meals with 23 vitamins and minerals. purina dog chow. help keep him strong. dog chow strong.
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new developments in the brutal killing of a british soldier. you remember it this week. it happened in broad daylight on the streets of london. there are reports that britain's intelligence service, mi5 may have asked one of the suspects to spy for them. the suspect was the man recorded you see right there after wednesday's horrific attack holding a meat cleaver in his hands with his hands covered in blood. he and another man are accused of killing this young soldier. not only a soldier, also a husband, a father of a 2-year-old boy. erin, thank you for joining us. what can you tell us about this reported or potential job offer?
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>> reporter: hi, poppy. a man who describes himself as a longtime friend of the murder suspect gave an interview to the bbc last night. in that interview, he talks about a conversation he had around 6 months ago. during that conversation he says that he talked to him about a trip that he took to kenya upon returning to the u.k. from kenya he says that mi5 agents approached him and asked him to work for him. it was an offer that adebolajo declined. take a listen. >> he said that they had come to him on his return back he had been stopped and subsequently after that basically he was followed up by mi5 and they came to his house. they mentioned initially they
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wanted to ask if he knew certain individuals but after he said he didn't know these individuals and so forth, what he said is they asked if he would be interested in working for them. >> now while we know that adebolajo was known to intelligence officials regarding the specific claim, a security source tells cnn that mi5 would never comment on the type of allegations made during that interview and regarding that interview, rather incredibly bbc source inside bbc who declined to be named said during the interview a counterterrorism police actually showed up at bbc headquarters and waited for the interview to be completed before arresting him. now, scotland yard tells cnn they confirmed a 39-year-old man was arrested last night at the bbc headquarters. he was arrested on suspicion of terrorism, related offenses,
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offenses they say are not tied with the current ongoing murder investigation. >> thank you so much. appreciate the reporting. i also want to bring in neema who has been looking into the background of the main suspect in all of this. what have you learned about possible terror ties. anything tied to africa? >> reporter: there is now a growing body of evidence that links him into the broader al qaeda linked terror networks. we confirmed with kenyan counterterrorism sources that he was actually arrested in kenya in november 2010 trying to cross the border from kenya into somalia. the suspicion was that he was trying to link up with al shabab in somalia. he did face charges in the
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coastal town in kenya courts. he was freed. we confirmed with british security sources that they were looking into a possible link between him and al shabab and it looks like -- we keep hearing this person was periphery and mi5 was looking into but it looks like perhaps he should have been much more central. earlier next week the intelligence and security committee in the u.k. are expected to hear a preliminary report about what mi5 did and didn't know and whether they overlooked big warning signs. >> a lot to follow. we know the main suspect in this said in that video we must fight them as they fight us. eye for an eye. tooth for a tooth. incredibly disturbing. thank you for the developments on that. survivors guilt.
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clinical psychologist and he said once many survivors get through the initial trauma, many of them could suffer from ptsd. >> as the day goes by, you'll see the nightmares and the anxiety. you'll see a lot of the depression that comes with facing the reality of what they've gone through. something where if others have lost their lives, the one who survived have to deal with that too reintegrating into a normal phase of life. this will take a long time and a lot of therapy for them to get through. >> what can people do? we often hear children are so resilient and if you think of all of those children in that elementary school and you think about children anywhere there, as adults, what is the best way to help them if you're an acquaintance or family members. how do you let children cope
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with a stratetragedy like this? >> we stabilized them medically and now we have to do so psychologically. it means giving them love and support and letting them know they won't face another trauma or tragedy like this. just trying to bring them down to a baseline where they have normal lives once again. the most important thing we can do is to listen to them. let them know that whatever they want to talk about, whatever nightmares they're having, we're available to speak to them about it and give them outlets to talk about it or to draw it or to color. they do have to get a lot of that experience that happened to them. we have to have them manifest that. at their own speed. >> we've also been seeing survivors guilt play out already. some of the people that made it through that didn't lose their home, that didn't lose their loved ones are feeling guilty that it happened to someone else. doctor, talk to us about what
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you guys need right now? what can people do to help? what is it that you need most? >> obviously contact local charities and local agencies if you have a connection with one of those certainly contact one of those. not sure of anything specific that can be done nationally to be sent here. money is always needed and people need support and when we were working that day, there were imagine departments and nurses from all over the country that sent us food and faxed us greetings and even that was very heartwarming and we knew that people were watching us and they cared about the little town of moore, oklahoma. that was very nice. it really touched us very much. >> absolutely. as the months go ahead, we will not forget and you're all in our hearts. thank you for the work that you are doing there. appreciate you coming in this morning. >> pleasure. thank you. and something that bears repeating here and we heard from
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clinical psychologist to take time to listen to the tornado victims, especially children. they need to talk about and digest their experiences. obviously it's different for everyone. is there any way to protect your loved ones from the destruction of a tornado? in today's "american journey" report, tom foreman shows us why those that build storm shelters think they have the answer. >> reporter: in the wake of the oklahoma twister, some have been raising their voices high insisting this storm ought to spur a movement for more people to put in storm shelters. from wichita, kansas, there's an assortment of models which look like normal rooms and there cory sees his work as more than a business, it's a mission. >> after the fact it's too late. this has to be something that you plan for. that you get in. that you get in place. and then you use it and you use it correctly. and then i think it can save lives across the country.
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>> reporter: storm shelters have been around for generations famously featured in "the wizard of oz" but modern shelters are an entirely different matter. many companies offer a variety of steel and concrete structures for above and below ground boosting extra security measures and strengths. >> each one of these anchor bolts has a 10,000-pound sheer strength. by putting one every foot around here it can more than withstand any storm. >> reporter: the challenge has always been economics. even simple storm shelters can cost several thousand dollars and as bad as storms can be, even in the most tornado prone areas, odds are most homes will never be hit. >> it's about the money and the statisti statistics. f-5 tornado is very rare. they don't happen very often. >> reporter: still proponents look at the plaza towers elementary school in oklahoma
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and decimated houses and they stand firm. >> nobody can talk to me and talk me out of the shelters are worth it. i know they are. we're saving lives. >> reporter: tom foreman, cnn. >> our thanks to tom foreman for that. i want to bring you pictures out of texas. reports of heavy rain causing some pretty serious flooding in san antonio. we'll get the latest in the situation there straight ahead. ♪ ♪ fly me to the moon ♪ let me play among the stars ♪ and let me see what spring is like ♪ ♪ on jupiter and mars ♪ in other words [ male announcer ] the classic is back. ♪ i love [ male announcer ] the all-new chevrolet impala. chevrolet. find new roads.
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right now san antonio, texas, watching its floodwaters rise. i want to bring in meteorologist karen maginnis to talk to us about what's going on there. how bad is it? >> it's a dangerous situation and remarkable in just how quickly the situation developed over the last several hours. this is a water vapor imagery. i want to point out this region right here. this is where they are seeing the brunt of the storm training thunderstorms meaning one develops right after the other. this is an area where some folks may see record setting levels but already a record has been set right around the san antonio area at the international airport. they are closing in on 10 inches of rainfall. i want to show you something. you may not find this that interesting to look at but it gives us interesting information. follow this line right here. this is where the san antonio river set a record. it is now right here. it is an all-time record high. look at what happened.
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we go from the early morning hours in this river level just went straight up almost vertically. i don't know that i've ever seen a situation like that. it is very intense right now. we're taking a live look out of our affiliate ksat in san antonio. we'll continue to follow this throughout the afternoon for you. >> we'll bring you warnings of what people in the area have to do. as you explained, you haven't seen anything like that. take me across the rest of the nation quickly. what can you expect to see in terms of storms. >> i'll show you what we are looking at now across texas and that's this cluster of thunderstorms that has produced -- i think it might be up to 12 inches. it does look like the rainfall is beginning to taper off but they still have those warnings in effect right around that san antonio area. they are coming up from the south. anywhere from this three rivers area and they've been affected along this interstate 37. they've had some evacuations at
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an area along a portion of secondary road 37. so very dangerous situation right around austin and san antonio. this is what we'll be watching throughout the afternoon. >> appreciate it. thank you so much. just ahead, paying tribute to the 24 lives lost in this week's devastating tornado in oklahoma. stay with us. where companies like geico are investing in technology & finance. welcome to the state where cutting taxes for business... is our business. welcome to the new buffalo. welcome to the new buffalo. welcome to the new buffalo. new york state is throwing out the old rule book to give your business a new edge, the edge you can only get in new york state. to grow our start your business, visit thenewny.com as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true.
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17 children killed in a massive explosion in pakistan. ten others were also injured. this happened when a gas canister used to fuel a minivan exploded after temperatures topped 100 degrees. authorities say maybe it was the extreme temperatures. they do not suspect any foul play at this point. meantime, a zoo worker in northwest england has died after being mulled by a tiger. the 24-year-old woman was attacked while she was in the tiger's enclosure yesterday. the zoo owner is asking the public for support and for prayers while authorities investigate the incident. the penalty phase of the jodi arias trial will be starting all over again with an entirely new jury. the court set a date of july 18th after the first jury could not decide whether or not arias should be put to death or sentenced to life for brutally murdering her ex-boyfriend.
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my colleague victor blackwell talked to paul cowan about what happens next. >> paul, in a lot of states the death penalty would be off the table because the jury couldn't come to an agreement. not in arizona. why and what happens next? >> arizona has got a very, very unusual setup. a couple other states have similar ones. very, very rare. in arizona if the first jury can't agree on the death penalty, they are dismissed and they impanel and start all over again to decide the penalty. a new jury is going to be sworn. you can imagine how difficult that's going to be given all of the publicity regarding the case and then they are going to make a recommendation about the death penalty. now, if they do not reach an agreement, the second jury, then she gets life. you don't get a third shot at it under arizona law. prosecutors do get two tries. >> this case has been all over television and the internet for years. the last case that i remember much like this one was the casey
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anthony trial and when they had to impanel a jury, they had to go to another county because of all of the attention. how does this judge find a jury that has not been tainted by the media attention? >> extremely difficult. you know, it's not just there. arizona is not a big state in terms of different media markets. the whole state, like the whole country, was member measusmeriz trial. you won't get anything by moving to another arizona county. some people would say move it to another part of the united states. you can't do that. these are state charges. the case has to be tried within arizona. now, i'll give you another example. i was involved in the o.j. simpson civil case. you can imagine that at the time was the biggest case in the country. it was called the trial of the century. everybody followed it carefully. we picked a jury in the civil case. it took a long time. you had to vet a lot of people.
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in the end, you don't get people that don't any anything about it. you get jurors who say i saw it on television but i'll keep an open mind and versus my verdict on the evidence. if you get 12 people to say that, they can sit and hear the case and it happens all the time in high profile cases. >> this case has gone on much longer than predicted and projected. could this next phase go on for a month, two months, because now you have jurors who haven't seen all of the evidence, haven't heard all of the testimony. >> i think it could because although they say it's a limited trial, it's only on the penalty, well, in order for a jury to decide whether this warrants death, don't they need to know exactly how the murder took place and don't they need to know that jodi arias claimed she was a domestic abuse survivor and that she did this killing because she had been abused. all of those things it took five months to prepare and present all of those things to the first
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jury. this won't take five months but i think it's going to be a lengthy trial and it's going to look a lot like the first trial did with a lot of the details about the killing and a lot of details about jodi ed. >> we'll see if she takes the stand again. paul callan, thank you so much. >> nice being with you. tonight a special report examines the much talked about jodi arias murder trial. it's called "murder in the first degree: inside the jodi arias trial." that's here on cnn. and some superheroes need complete and balanced meals with 23 vitamins and minerals. purina dog chow. help keep him strong. dog chow strong.
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great. thank you. in addition to us monitoring your accounts for unusual activity, you could also set up free account alerts. okay. [ female announcer ] at wells fargo we're working around the clock to help protect your money and financial information. here's your temporary card. welcome back. how was london? [ female announcer ] when people talk, great things happen. yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief! cnn newsroom starts at top of the hour with fredricka whitfield. >> a lot going on at the top of the hour. we have our legal guys. they are going to tackle the case out of florida. this involving an 18-year-old girl who is now facing criminal
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charges for allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old. our legal guys will weigh in on the plea deal shs the refusal of that deal and what is next. and then this has been a heart wrenching week for the folks in oklahoma who have lost everything. their homes, lives lost and then there are glimmers of hope like you're seeing here. this elderly woman happened to be talking to a tv crew but if only she had her dog. and then out of nowhere this dog hears her voice and starts emerging from the rubble. all this taking place while the camera is rolling. we're going to talk about how really the search for pets is helping so many people in this very difficult process of now healing after the big storm. speaking of storms, here we are in tornado season for tornado alley locations. and then we're looking at asbury park. we're talking about the rebuilding after superstorm
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sandy. then hurricane season begins next weekend. clark howard will be along to tell us how to prepare for natural disasters. it's difficult because folks think they have everything in place, but then the storm comes. it wipes away everything. their documents to their homes, driver's license, all of that. he's going to tell us how to preserve the value of your home by way of video, use of cloud so when the storm comes, at least you have that. and then he's going to talk about other things you need to do so the process is a little easier if and when devastation hits you. >> it's horrible. i spent a lot of last week down there seeing how they are doing after sandy. >>. seven months later still tough. >> you were a victim of that. >> not as many. >> losing some things. >> we lost our building. now we have one we like more. some people lost everything. we're going to look at that. we'll see you at the top of the
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people in oklahoma are beginning the painful process of rebuilding after this week's deadly tornado. that process is all too familiar to homeowners on the new jersey shore. many of whom were hit very hard by superstorm sandy seven months ago. i went to the jersey shore to see how the recovery is going as we head into the critical summer season. >> reporter: the iconic boardwalk in new jersey coming to life again after sandy. >> we said it would be done by memorial day weekend and it's going to be done. >> reporter: the mayor says 85% of the boardwalk's businesses will open by this weekend. all they need now? >> people. i mean, you need good weather and people. >> reporter: the owner of lucky leo's is depending on it. >> this is where i make 100% of my money is here on this boardwalk. >> reporter: the problem is many of the people have no homes to come back to. just down ocean avenue, not one
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house spared. >> tears still come to my eye every time i drive and look at those houses. >> reporter: famous for images like this. >> the ports gave way and it tilted the house toward the ocean. >> reporter: it's just too much. >> if we could have rehabbed it, absolutely we would have done it. it's too broken. >> reporter: this week they watched their home come down. >> it's being destroyed. e we couldn't save it it. >> reporter: of the 520 homes here, 56 of them washed away the night sandy struck. many, many more so damaged they are uninhabitable being torn down one after the next after the next. all in, sandy took 40% of the homes in this town. now a beach so eroded it offers
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little protection from future storms. >> most people will. to rebuild and will rebuild. i think the reluctance will exist until we can guarantee them saufty from a similar storm. >> reporter: the mayor is fighting for 20-foot high dunes, a protective wall beneath them and quadrupling the width of the beach. >> this town will not survive another series of storms. >> reporter: stan feels guilty. guilty his home survived. >> when my neighbors lost so much. most of our neighbors are not here. many homes are not here. they will never come back. >> we look young there. >> reporter: like the metlers after decades of memories, a few saved from the rubble. >> that was hard to see them watch their house come down. a the lot of people still suffering there in new jersey and along the eastern sea board. when you look at new jersey, the
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state suffered $37 billion in damage from sandy. they are going to get somewhere between $20 and $25 billion from the $60 billion that was approved by congress in federal aid. we're going to come to you live on monday starting early monday morning from seaside heights with the latest on businesses and people there are doing over this critical holiday weekend. that will do it for me. cnn newsroom continues with fredricka whitfield. >> we'll see you tomorrow morning. people in moore, oklahoma, are spend iing the holiday weekd digging out. some are looking ahead. others are saying the hardest good-byes. and perhaps the biggest question after a major interstate bridge collapses north of seattle, just how safe are the nation's bridges? an alarming number of them may be in danger. and a florida teen rejects a plea deal that would have labeled her a sex offender. prosecutors charged the for having sex with her ttery -
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14-year-old girlfriend. we'll have details from florida. let's begin in moore, oklahoma. it's a town of mixed emotions today. happiness as seniors get their diplomas, but also sadness as children lost too soon are laid to rest. seniors from one of moore's three high schools are graduating this morning. there will be two more ceremonies later on today. also today, however, three funerals for victims of the tornado. 9-year-old emily and 9-year-old christopher were in the plaza school. cindy was in her home in moore. renee, you have talked to survivors. we see a lot of activity of people behind you. how are they all kind of coping? how are they trying to keep it together today? >>. fred, we have been out here all morning. several hours. i just want to show you.
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this is what we have seen as the hours have gone by. volunteers, homeowners, pulling, dragging debris into these piles here. their job is nowhere near fin h finished. it's very overwhelming. for people here the fear and the terror compounded with the wait of what is next, it's left a lingering impact on the folks here. for many people the idea of what is next, it is very overwhelming. take a listen to this one survivor. she explains how just loud sounds really stirs up a feeling of anxiety inside of her. listen in. >> some big truck went by. just for a split second, i jumped out of that bed. i was on the move. then it hit me, that's a truck. i have never been through anything like this. i done know how you cope with
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it. someone asked me if i would get professional help, i said i don't think i need professional help. it just takes time. >> reporter: this brings up this question of what kind of impact does it have? not just on the damage that you see with the naked eye, but the wounds and the damage that we cannot see, mental health. we spoke with one mental health expert. we know thatocally here in oklahoma, they have more than 300 mental health professionals who have volunteered. they are on the ground walking through these neighborhoods just talking to people, finding out if they are doing okay. take a listen to this one volunteer who is doing just that. >> when it comes to mental health, it's not something that we see. we have difficulty sometimes expressing that. or somebody else coming in and seeing that. it's really an unseen wound that's very real and needs to be taken care of.
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>> reporter: the thing that people need to know is you may feel okay, but when things calm down, people might start to feel that e depression. reach out for help whether it's through family or professionals. >> tough time, thank you so much. renee marsh, appreciate that. tonight a special report. an upclose look from the storm chasers who risked their live alering others about this storm. that's tonight at 7:00 only on cnn. u.s. defense secretary told chuck hagel graduates they must be the generation of leaders that stops sexual assault in the military. these crimes have no place in the greatest military on earth. hagel talking to the cadets said they cannot fail the men and women they lead. >> sexual assault in the
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military are a profound betrayal, profound betrayal of sacred oaths and trusts. this must be stamped out. we're all responsible for ensuring that this happens. we cannot fail the army or america. we cannot fail each other. >> the pentagon estimates that there are 19,000 sexual assaults in the military each year. and many are never reported. new developments today in the brutal killing of british soldier on the streets of london. there are reports that britain's intelligence service known as m-15 had asked one of the suspects to spy for them. the suspect was the man recorded right after the attack holding a meat cleaver, his hands covered in blood. he and another man are accused
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of killing a young soldier, husband and father of a 2-year-old boy. cnn's erin mclaughlin is in london. what can you tell us about this? >> reporter: a man a self-described friend of the murder suspect gave an interview to the bbc last night. in that interview, he described a conversation he had with him some six months ago. during that conversation he apparently told him he had been approached by mi5. he had been asked to work for them. an offer he declined. >> i think on his return back, subsequently he was followed up by mi5. they came to his house. he mentioned they wanted to ask whether he knew certain
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individuals. that was the initial issue. but after him saying he didn't know these individuals, they asked if he would be interested in working for them. >> reporter: while we know that he was known to security services here in britain regarding the specific claims the security source telling cnn that mi5 would never comment on the kinds of allegations made in that interview. shortly following that interview, abu was himself arrested by counterterrorism pleas on suspicion of terrorism-related offenses not connected to the these crimes. >> erin, thanks so much, from london. an alarming report about the safety of u.s. bridges. just as millions travel for the memorial holiday weekend, many of nation's bridges may be in danger. george zimmerman's defense
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lawyers claim trayvon martin was a troubled teen. we'll talk about the evidence that may be shown in court and the impact that it might have on the case. in miami, coca-cola is coming together with latino leaders to support hispanicize, and the adelante movement. teaching tools for success, and fostering creativity. these programs are empowering people to lead positive change, and helping them discover how great a little balance can feel. through initiatives like these, our goal is to inspire more than three million people to rediscover the joy of being active this summer. see the difference all of us can make, together.
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two freight trains colliding in missouri. it caused the flames you see here. the overpass collapsed when one of the trains struck a pillar. seven people have been streeted. now to the bridge collapse on a major interstate. remarkably no one was killed when the bridge fell into the river after getting struck by an 18-wheeler. but there are many questions about how that bridge collapsed when that 18-wheeler rode by. cnn's dan simon has more. >> reporter: it happened after rush hour. the bridge was nearly empty. >> riverside bridge over i-5 just collapsed. we have people in the water. >> reporter: one of those vehicles, a pickup, belonged to a couple heading on a camping trip. dan sly was driving. >> i saw the bridge start to fall. at that point, forward momentum carried us right over. we saw the water approaching.
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you hold on as tight as you can and just a white flash and cold water. it was definitely cold this time of year. >> reporter: sly tells seattle's kiro tv the fall dislocated his shoulder. worse, he couldn't get a response from his wife. >> i popped my shoulder back in so i could unbuckle her and get to her. i pulled her into my side which had less water. >> reporter: the slys were rescued and taken to a hospital. onlookers crowded by the side of the river as researchers made sure no victims were overlooked. in the end only three people went into the water. they will be okay. nobody died. >> i think it's amazing there were only a handful of people on the bridge. it's typically heavily used. so i think we're very fortunate. >> reporter: during the night, police said part of an oversized load on a tractor trailer hit a support leading to the collapse. the truck can be seen on surveillance video obtained from
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a local dealership. the truck hits it and it falls into the water. >> i saw the truck saw the right upper corner of the bridge. it almost tipped the truck over. but it it tipped to the left and came back down on its wheels. then i saw it it falling. >> reporter: the big truck didn't go into the water. state police questioned the driver, but he wasn't detained. plenty of people are getting a firsthand look at the twisted wreckage of the bridge. the federal highway administration listed it it as functionally obsolete. authorities estimate that it will take $15 million to fix the bridge and it could take weeks or months for repairs to be completed. dan simon, cnn, mount vernon, washington. >> so what happened in washington state is raising
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questions about our country's infrastructure as a a whole. >> this is the most infamous bridge failure. 2007 in minneapolis. this span gave way during rush hour. federal investigators concluded it was probably a design flaw that led to this. but the american society of civil engineers says of the more than 600,000 bridges in the country, many of them are in some kind of danger of failure for a wide variety of reasons. we're talking about old brings and new ones and big ones and small ones. every place you see yellow, there's a higher percentage of bridges that are in trouble. thousands of bridges. it's a quarter of bridges in the country that are in some deficient matter. they were built so long ago they are not made to handle modern traffic loads or they are in such disrepair they have to be
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inspected every year to make sure they are safe. those numbers have improved slightly, but not by much. listen. >> right now we're investing $12 million a year on maintaining our bridges. if we can just up that to $20 billion a year, we can close the backlog by 2020. >> why season that already being done? >> it's a question of resources. >> it's the same thing we hear all the time. is there enough money for it? government at all levels is strapped for cash and in political terms, it's easy to say they can wait until next year. society is hoping accidents like this will put a little more fire under politicians to say maybe it can't just wait and wait. >> thanks so much tom foreman. the jodi arias trial takes yet another shocking turn. the jury couldn't decide whether to sentence her to life or death. now the penalty phase will begin all over again in a couple months. our legal guys will weigh in on
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two in the sentencing phase of the jodi arias trial. after five months of testimony, jurors convicted jodi arias of first-degree murder but couldn't decide whether she should get life or death this week. the jury vote was 8-4 in favor of the death penalty, but a unanimous decision is need ed. in the penalty phase she delivered a statement to the courtroom. how did that impact the dead lock jurors?
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take a look at what the jury foreman said on "good morning america." >> i'm very sure in my own mind that she was mentally and verbally abused. is that an excuse? of course, not. does it factor into decisions we make, it it has to. we're charged with going in to presuming innocence. but she was on the stand for so long there were so many contradicting stories. i don't think it did her any good. >> let's bring in our legal guys. avery freedman in cleveland, good to see you. >> hi, fredricka. >> and richard herman joining us from las vegas. good to see you as well. >> hi, fred. >> okay. so here we thought we were at the end of this. now we have to start all over again. the murder conviction stands, but now a whole new jury will have to decide on her punishment. so richard, will a new jury be
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seated in the same county or does there have to be a change of venue within the state of arizona still? >> it's a small state, arizona. but i think that what we're going to see is two or three new defense attorneys representing her. and i think we're going to instantly see a motion to change venue, get it out of maricopa county. how can she get a fair trial there? we have seen and heard about the case. but we can be fair. we can come in with an even mind and be fair. do you really believe that, fred? come on. this is going to be a railroad job here. i think what has to happen is that the alexander family has to gather their wits, go to the prosecutor, make a deal, no death, prison for life, no appeals and end it. >> the family would be able to make that kind of deal to say this is what would ease us? >> they can make that suggestion and the district attorney will most likely follow it.
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>> so avery, if we're talking about seating a new jury, if it does proceed and season the case that the family and the judge making a decision, but instead there is a new jury seated, are we talking about revisiting testimony? not just the character witnesses of travis alexander or to even jodi arias herself delivering another statement, but we're talking about revisiting some of the trial testimony because with a new jury seated, don't they have to have a clear understanding of why the conviction took place in the first place before even trying to find a suitable penalty? >> yeah, i mean the complicated thing here, fredricka, is we are limited to penalty. but basically in the penalty phases, it's a legal free for all. the statements by the foreperson in this case were rivetingly revealing.
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they actually considered physical and mental abuse. then how did they convict? so to me i agree with you. i think they are going to need that background, but i don't care if there's a change in venue. it's not going to matter. the whole country knows about the case. i think it's going to be very difficult for the defense to get the right kind of jury because of pervasive nature of the case. at the end of the day, whether or not the alexanders come in and talk to the prosecutor will make no difference. the prosecutors want death penalty and that's what they are going to gun for. >> the point is the united states does not kill women. that's a fact. less than 2% of the population on death parole. they are not going to kill them. they won't do it to jodi arias. there were four jurors -- >> aren't there three on death row right now? >> they've been on forever. appeals are being overturned. there were four jurors who said
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no death. everyone is criticize iing this jury. this jury got it it right. they didn't want to go for death. so accept it. >> i don't know that they got it right. >> either way, it has to be a unanimous decision. >> right. >> but they held to convictions and voted with their hearts and didn't think she deserved death. and there's nothing wrong with that. that's what they are supposed to do. >> that's right. unlike most states we're going back again. most states don't do it that way. jury comes back, it's over. in arizona it's unique. they are going to have it there. >> we are going to be talking about this case again in another two months because that's when folks will be back in court on that in july. in the meantime, let's talk about something that will be heading to court or at least it's scheduled to. the trayvon martin and george
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zimmerman case. lawyers for george zimmerman, the man who shot and killed trayvon martin. they say they have new evidence and they say it is pictures and texts from martin's cell phone prove he was a troubled teen. their words. and he was into drugs and fighting and guns. in texts, apparently martin talks about smoking pot and also tries to sell a gun. so richard, is this relevant to the case? would this information be evidence that would be revealed in court? >> maybe. how's that for a legal answer? maybe. here's the problem. if the government during their prosecution puts trayvon martin's character into evidence, if they bring in and say he's a great student, great person, if they do that, they will open the door and the defense will be able to bring all of this evidence in to contradict that. interesting how when i open to a
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lot of defense attorneys in criminal cases, i talk about the other side of coin. instead of seeing trayvon martin on a pony and that angelic face and thinking he's seen differently. he's trying to even the playing field here. we don't know if it's admissi e admissible. >> really the bottom line is how is this relevant to the case? we're talking about a young man who was unarmed shot and killed by someone who was armed who was a neighborhood watchman. >> that's the very question. does this show us propensity, character if the prosecution is going to get into it? i agree with conclusion. the court has to balance the probative effect against the prejudice, alienating the jury.
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it is a close call, but the prosecutors in this case are going to have a difficult time of meeting the burden of second-degree murder. if we just show this guy as a gangster, maybe we can get that prejudice to get the conviction. it's going to be a very close call whether or not the prosecutor is going to try to use this evidence to try to secure a conviction. we'll see. >> we will. this is going to be super fascinating. just as riveting if not more so than what the nation just encountered with the jodi arias trial. thanks so much, gentlemen. we'll see you again 15 minutes from now. we'll talk about yet another controversial case. this one involving two young girls in florida. an 18-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl. the older teen now could be facing 15 years in prison. we'll explain why when we come back.
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people in oklahoma are just beginning the painful process of rebidding after the deadly tornado. that process is all too familiar to homeowners on the new jersey shore. they have spent the last seven months rebuilding their homes and their lives. christine romans reports on the challenges they will face.
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>> reporter: more than 2400 homes destroyed by the tornado. for homeowners forced out by a natural disaster, the painful process of rebuilding and insurance claims starts now. mary and tom walls know a thing or two about that. their new jersey home was flooded during hurricane sandy. >> i think there was a certain shock when the water was coming in the house. it just rose up through the carpeting. immediately we walked around and that was my first thought of insurance actually. >> what's the first call you make after everyone is safe? the person who sold you the insurance policy? >> the first thing you should do is get in touch with your insurance company. let them know the extent of the damage and where you can reached. that's the most important thing to do. >> reporter: jeanne salvatore
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advises all homeowners to know what's in their insurance policies before disaster his. >> there's a lot of disasters that are covered under standard policies. you're covered for wind damage, fire, falling objects. but two big disasters that are not covered, one is flood and the other is earthquake. you need to get separate insurance for those types of disasters. >> reporter: the walls' home is covered for flood damage and they contacted their insurance company immediately after the storm. but they were frustrated by their carrier's slow response and decided not to wait for an insurance check to start the rebuilding process. >> i had no clue what goes into this whole process. i actually had to say to a couple of the guys, what exactly takes place? break it down for me and tell me how this works. because it was very foreign for me. >> there were people that experienced it so much worse than we did. my insurance company didn't pay
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for everything. but the final analysis, i was satisfied with the dollar amount. >> reporter: they spent most of the past seven months displaced but were able to move back in last month. >> keep the faith. things will get better. you need family and friends. >> don't be afraid to ask for help. >> reporter: christine romans, cnn, new york. next up an oklahoma woman who gave birth as the tornado hit in oklahoma. reunites with nurses who helped her and her baby survive that terrifying ordeal. everyone's retirement dream is different; how we get there is not. we're americans. we work. we plan. ameriprise advisors can help you like they've helped millions of others. to help you retire your way, with confidence.
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monday was a disastrous day for moore, oklahoma, but it was also the birthday of shayla tayl taylor's son. she was in labor, but she got through the frightening ordeal with the help of four heroic nurses. the women had an emotional reunion. the newborn baby was there as well and so was our brian todd. >> how are you? >> good. >> oh, my god. look how handsome your boy is. >> reporter: a ree reunion that
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almost didn't happen. six people with a bond that will last for the rest of their lives. as the tornado approached town, shayla taylor was in labor on the second floor of the medical cent center. she was dielated going through contractions and -- >> she couldn't move. she had an epidural when meant it it numbed her enough that she couldn't walk. >> reporter: the staff moved her to hallway and then the windowless operating room. the power was knocked out. it was too dangerous to move her anywhere else. >> her baby was not doing the best so i really needed to monitor baby to see how the baby was tolerating the labor process. so the only place to do that would be the o.r. >> reporter: but within minute, the hospital was hit with massive force. >> now what are you thinking? >> once i felt the floor start shaking, it feels like an earthquake.
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i knew they were getting hit directly. >> did you think at that moment you could survive this? >> i didn't know if we would. i was just praying that we would. >> reporter: the walls were rip ed off the operating room. shayla's husband and the nurses shared these pictures from where they were hunkered down, a gaping hole to the outside. the tornado still raging. >> i opened any eyes and i could see i-35 and i could see the movie theater. >> reporter: with shayla still in labor, nurses draped blankets and their bodies over her and hung on. >> we were actually on the floor. bonnie was leaned over her more. we had blankets and pillows around her and were holding on to each other in the bed. >> reporter: it worked. but her husband who had taken cover with their 4-year-old son on a lower floor hadn't been allowed to go to his wife and says he didn't know how to get
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to her. >> they were saying everybody is out of the building. i was like, no, my wife is upstairs. >> reporter: and there was still danger. even though the tornado had passed, floors and ceilings were unstable. but jerome and the nurses were able to get her on to a flat board, get her down a stairwell and out. she was taken to the health plex hospital. within hours braden was born at 8 pounds, 3 ounces. >> what do you think of those nurses and what they did? >> they are amazing. they are definitely doing the job they were called to do. to put my life before theirs, i know that's what you're supposed to do as a nurse. i went to nursing school so i know that's what you're supposed to do. but to actually see them do it and to be more concerned about me than them, i know that they are definitely doing the job they are called to do. >> reporter: as for this tiny troublemaker. >> he will probably sleep
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through anything now. >> reporter: one final piece of symmetry here. shayla just finished nursing school. she says she's always wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse and this experience only reenforces that. brian todd, moore, oklahoma. >> that's so heartwarming. congratulations to all of them. the head of an irs division at the heart of the tax targeting scandal stirs up controversy. she takes the fifth but has a lot to say before she invokes that right. our legal guys will look at that controversy, next. that targeted
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invoked her fifth amendment right and refused to answer questions in a house committee hearing. our legal guys are back. avery freedman in cleveland and richard herman in las vegas. lois lerner said she broke no laws or irs rules before she pleaded the fifth. take a listen. >> i have not done anything wrong. i have not broken any laws. i have not violated any irs rules or regulations and i have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee. while i would very much like to answer the committee's questions today, i have been advised by my council to assert my constitutional right not to testify or answer questions related to the subject matter of this hearing. >> can you have it both ways? plead the fifth and then make a statement? she did have it both ways, didn't she.
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how long will that last? >> she had it her way, but that's not the right way. i think she waived her privilege. you can't assert your innocence but i've been advised not to answer anymore questions. legal scholars will debate this. i don't know how it's going to come down. she's on administrative leave right now. like in the martha stewart case where there was allegations of securities fraud, but that's not what she was convicted of, she was convicted of lying to the fed's. in this instance here, we don't know if any crimes have been committed here. but perhaps there's been perjury to congress and those will be the criminal charges if any are brought. >> do you see she would be called back? >> she'd have to be called back. but you know what, when lois lerner went in, she knew she was going to be as popular to democrats and republicans as lady gaga in mecca.
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she didn't have a chance. i've appeared before house and senate subcommittees. the first thing you do is take an oath. so the question is was it lois's statement or was it testimony? i actually think it may very well be testimony. i don't know why she made the statement after she took the oath. it didn't make any sense. so i do think that if this is coming back, the chair has to call back for a finding of contempt. then it's referred to the united states attorney who makes the decision of whether or not to enforce a contempt of congress. it may very well be here. >> let's move on to another case out of florida. an 18-year-old is charged with two felony counts for having oral sex with a 14-year-old girl. hunt turned down a plea deal. avery, why? >> well, because i think she's taking the principled position for whatever reason that this
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was a romeo/juliette relationship. she's a senior. her girlfriend is a freshman. the problem here, and i don't hear anyone saying this, the legislators in tallahassee and most states wants to be tough. this is a case that i think is tailor made for a demeanor. she's learned her lesson. now she's going to be branded with a felony which will affect her right to vote, her right to college loans. that's simply wrong. and i think she may be in trouble here. up to 15 years. >> so richard, if she would have pled guilty, then hunt faced being labeled a sex offender as well. and all those things would be impacting her life in a big way. doesn't she still face that kind of labeling if found guilty?
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are we talking about same possible outcome of impacting her life for the long-term? >> fred, if she goes to trial in this case, and i don't think she's going to go to try, but if she does, she will be convicted of multiple felonies. she will serve substantial prison time. she will be a registered sex offender for life. that's why the offer was to a felony and no sex offender status. that's what she should have taken here because she's really rolling the dice. now i don't know if there were any rape kits or dna done here. it's going to boil down to the 14-year-old, her girlfriend's testimony, against her. they are going to need that 14-year-old to say, you know, unequivocally exactly what went down. that's tough testimony for a 14-year-old whose subject matter cross-examination and may have given multiple versions to authorities. it's a difficult challenge for the prosecution here.
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most states, fred, take sex crimes very serious. and the offers in these cases are felonies with some sort of prison time. >> this has less to do with the issue of same-sex couple than it does with statutory rape because of the age differences. 18 versus 14, right? >> 270,000 people have petitioned saying it is same-sex based. we have talked about cases involving 18-year-old boys and 14-year-old girls and it's been problematic for these young men. it's going to be a problem, i think, for ms. hunt in this case as well. >> thank you so much. >> fred, before we go. i was with the legendary floyd little and his wife last night. he sends his regards to your dad. he sends his best. >> that's so sweet. i know dad is watching now so he got message.
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thanks so much. good to see all of you. thank you, gentlemen. always a treat. the legal guys are here every saturday at this time. you never want to miss it. always giving us their incredible take on the most intriguing legal cases of the week, month, you name it. the boy scouts made a landmark decision to allow openly-gay members. that's getting a strong reaction from both sides. an eagle scout joining me live weighing in. [ male announcer ] a guide to good dipping. little carrot. little bit of hummus.
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>> people say why scouting, and why do you want to be part of an organization that doesn't want you. we love scouting. i definitely look forward to the day when i don't have to be lesbian and mother anymore. i can just be den leader jen. >> apparently not everyone has been happy with the decision to include gay scouts. one eagle scout was so upset he turned in his badge. >> i can't in good conscious represent the scouts anymore because of the abandonment that i see of the basic values, the tran sin dent values that the scouts have been based on for over a century. >> i'm joined now by another eagle scout, the author of at least two books. "legacy of honor", a new book about how scouting has influenced america. and he also authored "a spirit of adventure."
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we have both of them here. thanks so much, alvin good to see you. your reaction to this, allowing gay scouts to be members. >> you know, i'm happy that we as an organization have made this decision and can move on to serving youth again. the dialogue the last couple months has been about this policy. scouting is so much more than this. no one on either r side of the issue is entirely happy. scouting compromised. we sometimes think compromise is a bad word now, and i don't think it is. we have a group of people who believe in serving young people. just like america does. but we came together for the good of the scouts. i'm excited about that. >> i was a girl scout, a brownie and a campfire girl. all you wanted to be was a member of any of those great institutions. the last thing i think a kid is thinking about is sexual orientation. so as we talk about young people
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and the admission of young people who are gay, since when has anyone asked about their sexual orientation as a 10-year-old, 8-year-old, a 15-year-old? >> the scouts didn't even think about that until the early ' 90s and it became policy. if you go to a meeting, it's not an issue. it doesn't have a place in scouting. that's not an issue for the kids that are in scouting. it's an issue for the adults, but the kids don't notice it. we're just trying to get back to spending our time serving america's youth. >> what does the message end up being to the young people who hear about the meetings, decisions being created and new rules being made? all these summits that are taking place involving the membership of leaders and the membership of the scouts. how do you suppose it's being trickled down? what's the interpretation from
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the point of view of these kids? >> i hope the kids haven't noticed it too much. i hope they have seen people with different viewpoints working together to come up with a solution. it's not perfect, but someone once said politics is the art of possible. for the community as divided as scouting on this, it's possible. it's not perfect, but it's possible. i think it will let us get back to our business of trying to turn youth into better adults. that's what scouting does. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. all the best. here's what we're working on for the next hour of "cnn newsroom requests. from comfort dogs to tearful reunions. we'll look at the role pets play in the healing process after a disaster like this week's tornado in oklahoma. it took one family hours to find each other after the tornado. they'll tell us their heroing story. then on a lighter note, a
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