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Ann Coulter Uses Slur to Describe Presidential Candidate; Walter Reed to be Closed Down?
Aired March 03, 2007 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The president agrees to a commission's recommendation to close down by 2011 what once was known as the finest military hospital around.
Injured soldiers return from fighting the war. The horrible conditions at home. Because of it, top military brass are tarnished.
Forget home runs. These players just want to get home.
Musicians, artists, and thugs all pushed out of their homes. Now they take to the streets. Police struggle to handle the riot.
Ann Coulter takes direct aim at a presidential candidate. You won't believe what she calls him. But then again, maybe you will. Outrage reaction pouring into the CNN NEWSROOM.
And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. Before we do anything else, we just got some video in from police just outside of Dallas, Texas. It's video that says really a whole lot about our drug problem. It's video that may bother you, but it's reality. Here it is. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming at you. Hey, get the knee, get the knee, get the knee. Oh, look -- everybody eats that up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: These are pictures we've just been getting. The description -- that's a two-year-old boy, according to police, being encouraged to smoke marijuana and smoking marijuana. There's a five- year-old boy in the room who's actually doing the same thing. You see him there passing the marijuana cigarette, according to police to some of the older folks there in the room.
One apparently 17, the other one possibly older. Obviously, as you can see, we blanked out the faces. The last thing we want to do is identify these innocent children.
We're putting more of this video together for you right now. We're going to be showing you the entire video as we received it from the Dallas Police Department in just a few minutes.
Meanwhile, our top story tonight is destined to stir the political pot. It's about fiery conservative commentator Ann Coulter and a comment that she made talking to fellow Republicans. When referring to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, she used a slur, a word often used against homosexuals.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Yes, we know, and you probably know too. Ann Coulter gets a lot of attention and a lot of air time by being outrageous, being a name caller, being Ann Coulter.
ANN COULTER, AUTHOR: Gore and Hollywood are now telling us that...
SANCHEZ: Coulter is known for comments about liberals. But Friday night in front of a friendly crowd of fellow conservatives, Coulter by many definitions went too far.
COULTER: I was going have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards. But it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word "faggot". So I'm -- so -- kind of at an impasse. Can't really talk about Edwards. So I think I'll just conclude here.
SANCHEZ: Is it politics or provocation? And if it is provocation, is this a new low for a self-described pot-stirrer, who aimed low before, even against 9/11 widows when she wrote, "I've never seen someone enjoying their husbands' deaths so much." That led to this on the "Today" show.
COULTER: You're getting testy with me.
MATT LAUER, CO-HOST, TODAY SHOW: No, I think it's a dramatic statement.
COULTER: He was literally the man at our embassies who made sure the plumbing was working.
She's not qualified for the position. This isn't like, you know, best employee of the month.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you didn't make that objection with every other of George Bush's appointments.
COULTER: It never occurred to us that he'd nominate, as you say, the cleaning lady. We thought this was clear.
SANCHEZ: The target of her insult this time, candidate John Edwards, is running with it, making political hay and political money.
COULTER: You have to go into rehab if you use the word "faggot."
SANCHEZ: He's posted her comments on his website, uncensored and using it to solicit campaign donations to "fight back against the politics of bigotry."
(END VIDEOTAPE) SANCHEZ: We tried to get reaction tonight first, of course, from Ann Coulter. Here's what she told "The New York Times." She says that she was just joking. And by the way, she also criticized other Democratic candidates, none obviously quite as bluntly or using that type of derogatory term.
We have placed several calls to Coulter, asking her to join us tonight here in the NEWSROOM. So far, we have not heard from her.
Well, tonight, response to Coulter's F-bomb has been both loud and lopsided. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean called her comments "vile rhetoric and out of bounds." From the right, Senator John McCain says, "inappropriate." And a spokesperson for Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney calls Coulter's language "offensive." A blogger on the left leaning americablog.com wants to hear from other key Republicans, including Vice President Dick Cheney.
By the way, the reason for the conservative gathering was a straw poll to pick their Republican favorites. And here's how it turned out. Mitt Romney won with 21 percent. Then behind him, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was second. Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trailed after them.
Here's another big story that we've been following for you, because tonight, we're learning what it was really like when time stood still inside a bus, as it cartwheeled off of a Georgia overpass.
There were college baseball players inside, as you probably know. Some of them literally fell out of the bus to safety just before it barreled over the overpass and slammed into the pavement below.
Here's exactly what happened. Take a look at this animation that we have prepared for you. And you actually can see the bus as it heads in this area.
Now the driver seems to think that he's still on the highway. He's actually on what was an HOV lane. And now -- stop it right there if we possibly can. It starts to go over. You see this embankment right there? That's what he's actually going over.
But just as the bus hit that embankment, a couple of the players actually fell out of the bus, or were thrown from the bus, and remained on the overpass.
The other players who were on the bus were the ones who then continued down to the rest of I-75. Those players who actually fell out, those right there in this area right here, have spoken tonight. We've got their sound. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE ENGLER, TEAM MANAGER: I remember just rolling around in a ball for a while. And then I got up and just -- like what would happened? We were looking for the guys in the bus. And we looked over the overpass. And we saw all the guys down there, and thanking God for that that they were all there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Talking about the players still inside now. The bus becomes airborne when it hits the bottom. Some crawl out. Others don't. What was it like for them? Well, CNN's Nicole Lapin got a unique perspective by actually talking to a survivor today in his hospital room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE RAMTHUN, BUS CRASH SURVIVOR: I just remember getting tossed around. The next thing I know, I was just laying there. And my leg was caught.
Two of my friends ran up to me and you know, Mike, you're caught. We'll try and pick the bus up. I was laying there. It was dark. Couldn't see a whole lot.
And the first thing I thought was, you know, where's A.J.? And I need to get a hold of my family. I don't know, I just couldn't see myself going back to school without him. I just got so scared.
And he came around that corner. And I saw him all beat up. And I knew -- and he was walking. So I was so happy and I just gave him a big hug. Baseball's kind of far from our minds right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Nicole Lapin joins us now. She put that together for us. It's interesting that they allowed you in. That was a very private moment. It's almost like they accepted you.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a private moment. And what we didn't show you also is that their grade school soccer coach also showed up. And he just surprised them. They were reunited for eight years.
It was a bittersweet celebration almost because these families are saying, hey, look, my kids are alive. And there are four that are not.
But let me tell you something really interesting, Rick. A.J., who you saw briefly in that piece, the brother, he was sitting right next to Cody. OK, so we're on a bus right now. You are A.J...
SANCHEZ: All right.
LAPIN: ...whom we just saw his face all scraped up. Cody's sitting right next to him, one of his best buds. Cody doesn't live.
SANCHEZ: Well, you would think that A.J. would get hurt since he's sitting next to the window.
LAPIN: Right, right, you would think. But this was a freak accident. SANCHEZ: So...
LAPIN: We don't know that happened.
SANCHEZ: ...the guilt now is what's bothering him. Why did I survive and my best friend didn't?
LAPIN: That's the syndrome that they're going through. Why my buddy? And why not me? I'm here. I'm walking around. I have some cuts and bruises.
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Nicole.
So tonight, we know exactly what happened. But the lingering question is still this -- why? The answer may have perished with the driver in the crash. But if there's any way to find out, the National Transportation Safety Board is determined to do so. They told us today, though, that they're missing something.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KITTY HIGGINS, NTSB: Unfortunately, the bus was not equipped with an event data recorder. So we will not have as much data as we had hoped.
We will continue to examine the bus for any other electronic data devices that might give us additional information. We'll be looking for electronic data that might be provided by the engine and also the transmission.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Experts are going to be looking at the way that the exit ramp is designed. It's an unusual left-hand exit next to an HOV lane, we should add. The driver had only been behind the wheel an hour before the accident happened.
Well, they put their lives on the line for your freedom, but what are they getting back? We now learn 200,000 soldiers have sought medical help after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is a huge number. They say they're not getting the help they need when they come back. Well, heads are now rolling as a result. And we're going to show you the inside story on this one.
Also -- look at this. Police and protesters clashing on the streets. It's a riot. We're going to tell you where and why -- next.
And then this unbelievable video that we just received tonight. Men giving marijuana to, among others, a two-year-old boy. You see him there handing it back after smoking it almost as if it had been done before. We'll have that story and this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just walking up the long hill to get to the high school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: From here to there -- quick. An inside look at what reporters, our producers, our reporters, our photographers do on a daily basis. It's a glimpse of CNN you seldom see. An inside look. We're going to show it to you running and gunning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: These are pictures that we're bringing you as we go global, the very latest pictures out of Copenhagen. This is in Denmark. Police are describing to us that they've been having clashes with leftists throughout the day, where riots have turned parts of the city into a battle zone.
It all began Thursday when police evicted squatters from a building, where anarchists, punk rockers, and left wing groups often gathered.
Police say at this point, they don't know if it's related, but one of the city's landmarks is in a sad state tonight. Vandals covered the famed little mermaid statue with pink paint.
And now we take you to northern Iraq, where U.S. forces are still amazed tonight by what they found in a secret room. Look at this huge weapons cache. It's got everything going on. Insurgents gruesome wish list, grenades, mines, rockets, missiles - all to shoot down U.S. or allied helicopters.
Now the U.S. military says that troops discovered the weapons last month underneath a room made to look like a kitchen. They were recognized for their find just this week.
Meantime, a lot of other soldiers are going unrecognized a, even neglected. More heads could roll in the scandal over poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Not to mention, soldiers who say they're not getting proper care afterwards. Calls not getting answered by them, they say. Names lost. Waiting lists for soldiers, who in some cases sadly enough, even committed suicide.
Here's CNN's Joe Johns, looking at how we got here.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The new defense secretary was blunt as he accepted the resignation of Army Secretary Francis Harvey. People weren't doing their jobs.
GATES: I am disappointed that some in the Army have not adequately appreciated the seriousness of the situation pertaining to outpatient care at Walter Reed.
JOHNS: To be clear, the conditions for outpatient vets at Walter Reed were deplorable.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): That is an emotional, compassionate, sensitive subject and it's good for everybody who is involved to get emotional about that.
JOHNS (on camera): But where was the emotion two years ago when Washington all but turned its back on Walter Reed, with the U.S. at war in two countries?
(voice-over): The president agreed to a commission's recommendation to close down by 2011 what once was known as the finest military hospital around and move operations to another hospital a few miles away. It's called cost savings.
But now, look at what's happened to Walter Reed.
MARKS: And first and foremost, you've got facilities and an infrastructure at Walter Reed that needs repair and people make decisions to invest money in a facility that is providing world class care that is going away. So you're conflicted.
Do I invest the money or do I wait for this thing to close, cross my fingers that everything is going to be all right?
JOHNS: When the government decided to close it down, people started looking for other jobs.
Former Senator Max Cleland was treated at Walter Reed decades ago.
MAX CLELAND, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: You start talking about closing Walter Reed and you start having what you have now, that is a lot of the doctors that are senior, they're looking forward to retirement. A lot of the young doctors that would like to make a career in the Army -- in Army medicine, they're going to be looking for another assignment.
JOHNS: So they decided to privatize -- what else could they do? -- and went from 300 federal employees at the outpatient facility here to 60 private contractors. Again, it's called cost savings.
But what's the cost of that, especially at a time when plane loads of injured vets keep arriving home?
Keeping them honest, some people are saying it was the decision to close down Walter Reed that's at the root of all of this.
MARKS: I don't understand why, while the nation is at war, a key medical facility would be in the discussion, even in the mix.
JOHNS: Who knows how many heads will roll?
The smoking gun memos are trickling out now.
Democrats on the Hill are firing up oversight hearings. And the hospital is still slated to close.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me tell you, it could have been worse if they had not reacted and responded as quickly as they did. So my hat's off to them. And I'm glad my child went to school here, and my life or my child's life was in their hands during that time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Big story that we're going to be following today. President Bush toured the devastation in two states. We'll tell you how he was received there. We'll tell you how it went.
Also, there she is, meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. You know she's good at tracking extreme weather systems across the country. But as usual, she's got something up her sleeve she's going to share with us. And we'll go to her because she can do just that. Look forward to it, Bonnie.
Meanwhile, these shocking scenes that you have to see and hear the believe. We're working on getting the details and bringing you this videotape. Children smoking pot, being encouraged to do it.
We'll bring you all this and a whole lot more. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. We're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Two southern towns devastated by tornadoes. They're wondering when help will arrive. A visit from President Bush could be a very good first step.
The president touched down in Enterprise, Alabama today, where eight high school students died. Mr. Bush urged people there to see if they qualified for aid from FEMA and then try and get it for them.
In Americus, Georgia, the president stopped in a neighborhood where two people were killed. He suggested Habitat for Humanity could help them rebuild. The mayor had to tell the president that Americus is the headquarters for Habitat for Humanity.
Let's do this now. Let's go to Bonnie. She's standing by with a whole lot more for us. And here we go. You're on.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK, you know, we are talking about some extreme weather that's been happening across southern California today. And we have some incredible pictures to show you.
Take a look at this. We're looking at an 18-wheeler truck. Now remember, this can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds, be seven feet long, completely overturned on the side of the highway.
If you're wondering what caused this, was it another car? Was it the driver being a little bit off, maybe missing a turn? No. This was actually caused by wind. You can actually see the wind still blowing there.
What kind of a wind could cause this? It's not a hurricane. It's actually Santa Ana winds. And the phenomena will keep on occurring, it looks like, straight through tomorrow.
Let's take a look at where Alpine, California is right here on Interstate 8. And that's where the tractor-trailer toppled over.
Now what's been happening in the region of southern California is high pressure has set up to the northeast. That sets up the flow of what we call Santa Ana winds.
When the strong winds come down the mountain, they heat, and compress, and intensify. And while the sustained winds could be about 40 miles per hour, and that may actually shake about a tractor trailer that's empty.
But let's say a truck that has full cargo, it would take a strong force of wind, like a gust of 60 miles per hour. And that's exactly what we saw this morning in Alpine, California.
Now just to note for tomorrow morning, straight to about 2:00 p.m., we still have the high-wind advisory in effect from Los Angeles, Ventura counties straight down through San Diego counties. So these gusty winds, Rick, will be a concern for people that are driving on any of these roads straight through tomorrow.
SANCHEZ: That looks so good. Thanks so much. You're always so good at making those explanations for us, Bonnie. We appreciate it.
Up next, we're going to show you a story that you'll probably be talking about all weekend with your friends and neighbors. This is it. We've got the video and we've got the details. We're going share the video that even took police by surprise. Young men teaching young children - and we mean young, like two, five-years old, how to smoke pot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Tonight, this video that has left us wondering how it could happen. How could somebody give children marijuana? That's what police say they came across as they were investigating burglaries. Here's the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Give it. Look -- he let anybody eat that up. Your turn, your turn.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: It's amazing to look at. If you're a parent, heck even if you're not, they say it shows a two-year-old and five-year-old boy being taught to smoke marijuana by their uncle and another man. Here's what police have to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE URE, WATAUGA POLICE DEPT.: I've never seen anything like this. It's quite so disturbing. Our children count on us to protect them. These individuals did everything but protect those children. They have scarred them. And it's just absolutely horrific.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's why they're charged. The 17-year-old uncle is in custody according to police. And the other man, we understand, is free on bail. Certainly, a story that we're going to continue to follow up on.
Well, it's a scene, one that I know too well, chasing a story, running and get the big interview. Always on the go. When CNN correspondents get handed an assignment, it's mission accomplished? Well, not really. Takes a while.
Tonight, how they end the story, how they run and gun to bring it to you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is B control. It's where we put the stories together for you.
And tonight, we want to do something different, something special for you. For the next 30 minutes, we're going to take you along as CNN's correspondents run and gun on some of the biggest stories of the week.
So in other words, while they were gathering the story, we were telling their story. It's a glimpse of a news gathering that, well, you don't normally see.
And we start with breaking news, tornadoes. Our Jackie Jeras was at the National Storm Prediction Center when this disaster struck.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will be tornado watch number 43. Expiration time 20Z. Any last minute thoughts?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just talk about how it is and what that really means, and then kind of go onto how they prepare for a day like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Jacqui, this is (INAUDIBLE). Can you hear me OK?
JERAS: Yes, I can hear you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can you give me a mic check?
JERAS: One, two, three, four, five.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Jacqui, good morning.
JERAS: Hey, good morning, Soledad.
Expert meteorologists across the country are here predicting what we think is going to be one of the worst weather days possibly of the year. And you just issued a brand new watch for parts of Arkansas and Louisiana. Tell us about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we currently have four watches out.
JERAS: It's incredible the information that these guys -- and also the decisions that they have to make on a day like today. You know, they're looking at a dynamics of the storm system and the conditions that are out there. Where is the big one going to hit today?
That little bit on the back side. That's thunder snow...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thunder snow?
JERAS: ...which is really rare to get thunder snow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You love this stuff, don't you?
JERAS: Two, three, four inches of snowfall per hour. (INAUDIBLE) I know I love it. I can't think of anywhere else that would be better to be, you know, on a day like today.
We're going to be watching parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and on into northern Florida, severe weather threat as we press into the afternoon hours.
When can people in Alabama, Georgia, north Florida expect to see the severe weather?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, south Alabama fairly soon.
TRACY SABO, PRODUCER: We're trying to check back on a fatality that we had heard about last hour in Springfield, Missouri.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a tragic event. A seven-year-old little girl, she was about seven miles northeast of Caulfield. This is in Howell County, Missouri.
JERAS: If Chan has a chance to go on the air and say, hey, we just heard from Jacqui Jeras at the Storm Prediction Center. We're going to have this watch issued...
You're saying you have some video. Were you storm chasing last night? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's another one on the ground. Here you see some debris. And there's a funnel over here.
SABO: OK, we're about 2.5 minutes away. There's a break, and then we'll come right out of the break.
JERAS: Incredible information right now, Linda, about a large tornado that is on the ground, that has a history of producing damage and likely some injuries as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the supercell developing in the last couple hours and really has wrapped up as a tornado-producing supercell in the last hour.
JERAS: Also, the downtown Enterprise has been hit very hard. This is a very potent storm. It's extremely strong.
SABO: Breaking news in Enterprise, Alabama. There's some students that are trapped.
JERAS: Reynolds should have that, but if I don't hear him say it, then I'll - you know, we just got word here from the Storm Prediction Center that there was some damage, that there are students possibly trapped inside the gymnasium at the high school there at Enterprise, also with possible injuries.
So that's coming in from the local National Weather Service there. We're certainly in the thick of things now, but things definitely could be getting worse before they get better. Meteorologists here are forecasting new information. It looks like Jack Hale's here to set in a new surface map.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People...
JERAS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That sounds pretty serious and pretty severe. There's some of the injuries you describe. Would you say we're talking about a lot of students, a handful of students, just a couple of students?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a pretty good bit of people that were injured.
JERAS: This is the tornado that we were talking about that we broke into programming for in Enterprise, Alabama. And now we're getting the ground truth, witnesses on the scene from the high school who are trapped here. And we're listening to find out how conditions are. And they're talking about some students with injuries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Sometimes covering news has more to do with happenstance and occurrence than anything else. The moment that the deadly tornado hit Enterprise, Alabama, CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre, usually in Washington, obviously, he was at Fort Rutger just five miles away. He happened to be covering another story at the time.
What did he do? What did instincts tell him to do? Well, he jumped in a car. He took a camera in his own hands and immediately rushed to the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We were in the middle of an interview when we heard this loud, piercing siren go off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've seen this top to bottom throughout the state of Alabama. Enterprise was hit especially hard.
MCINTYRE: I'm here with my producer, Lori Yuri (ph). And we are approaching the scene, the high school. Is this the way to the high school? And we can see all the devastation. Now I'm shooting with my handheld video camera.
Excuse me, ma'ma we're with CNN. We're just trying to get to the high school. How close can we get?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I'm going to tell you.
MCINTYRE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right here.
MCINTYRE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take a left, take the first right. And you're going to be at the back of the Mann (ph) building where everybody...
MCINTYRE: Thank you, ma'am.
People are carrying children. We've got to be very careful we don't hit those lines. That's a downed line up there? Is that why that person is stopped? We may have to get out of the car at some point.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has just arrived in Enterprise, Alabama on the heels of those tornadoes.
MCINTYRE: Wolf, just walking up the long hill to get to this high school, we saw house after house that had been destroyed. We're -- we're from CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Across the road. Seen it come down from the sky. Wiped out everything.
I carried two of them out.
MCINTYRE: Oh, really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple injured up to the Hillcrest Baptist Church.
MCINTYRE: Oh, my gosh. So you carried some of the dead out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
MCINTYRE: Oh, my gosh. You covered a lot of these before?
JONATHAN SCHERER, PHOTO JOURNALIST: The aftermath, I sure have.
MCINTYRE: This looks pretty bad.
SCHERER: It looks real bad.
MCINTYRE: The higher up we get, the worst it looks.
The deadly tornado ripped up the football field, flipped over cars, and tore the roof off of the auditorium, where inside, students were huddled for safety.
So this mass of twisted wreckage here, this is what's left of the center of the high school (INAUDIBLE) and relatively intact, but the middle is just a massive wreckage.
And over here on the athletic field, we can see some helicopters from nearby Fort Rutger, the helicopter training base here to evacuate people. But at the moment, they have no one to evacuate.
The church apparently where they're taking us up here, because that's the school over there, obviously.
Just tell us what you saw, what happened?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was in the ROTC building. And we were down on the ground. And well, glass started swinging at us. And they moved us to the rifle range.
MCINTYRE: On the scene, panic and chaos, as frantic parents searched for their children. Some found them. The final thought I have as I looked at this - the irony of the fact that this huge substantial building, a sprawling high school, a place where you might have gone to seek refuge from a tornado, turned out to be the worst place to be on this day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Coming up, behind bars -- gang warfare. Ted Rowlands takes you inside the L.A. County jail where race and violence collide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The media crunch here is unlike anything really that I've seen even during Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Anna Nicole baby mania. Rusty Dornin and the media crush in the Bahamas. And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sixty seconds, can you hold?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Get that actor! Run and gun on the red carpet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez in here in B control, surrounded by directors and producers and a whole lot of technical folks.
I want to show you how we bring you the news and how we gather it. Because in this special half hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, we run and we gun on the big stories for you. And we show you how it's done. We're letting you ride along with our reporters as they head right into the thick of things.
To Iraq now, where Arwa Damon got caught in the middle of a gun fight between U.S. troops and suspected al Qaeda fighters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People belonging in the homes are...
Operate and (INAUDIBLE), a Sunni strong hold just south of Bakuba, north of the capital, Baghdad. The road behind me seems to be in laid with roadside bombs. There's also (INAUDIBLE) fire.
Right now, Bradleys are firing at suspected roadside bombs, trying to clear that route before the security forces push through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we'll just keep the vehicles out of the way. And then we'll push up I guess.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need to pull my...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It ran back across the bridge. We was in yesterday. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unless the red section sees...
DAMON: It just seems -- it just took small arms fire. It's coming from right there where the troops are all lined up or so. They believe it's coming off from PKC. They're finding weapons that the insurgency really do like to use. It's been about three hours now. We've barely moved maybe 50, 100 meters, about 300 feet. It's going to be a long, long slow day.
The advance has come temporarily to a halt right now. The Bradleys that were moving in part on the road, just below spotted a tire that they believe could be a roadside bomb and a number of suspicious objects that also look like roadside bombs. So they've call in for the exclusive ordnance disposal teams to come and check out the situation.
And most of the homes that we've been through have actually been deserted. But this one actually has a family living in it. And they're all huddled inside. One room about six women, one man, and then two small children.
In fact, one of them is just about a year old. And they're absolutely petrified. And the woman's eyes is filling with tears. And every single time there's an explosion outside, they shake. And they don't know what to do.
When you just sometimes look at people's belongings in the homes that are either occupied, or even those that are not, and you realize that there once was a semblance of a normal life here in these areas that are now complete and total battle zones.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: She lives that every day. Now to Los Angeles as promised. CNN's Ted Rowlands goes behind bars and into a prison where inmates are segregated by race and violence to get the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You need the driver's license?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
ROWLANDS: Today we're heading into the Los Angeles County's largest men's jail. This is the Pitchest (ph) Detention Center. Our story today is black brown tension.
So we're going to hopefully get a chance to talk to some of the inmates and get a real feel for this supposedly tension between the races.
There's this one facility that is segregated at times. There's been a history of uprising here. I can see why they call this place "the ranch."
Ted Rowlands, it's nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can take shots here. Just make sure that you guys lop off the faces.
ROWLANDS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just have to trust you on that.
ROWLANDS: Yes. If can't trust the media, who can you trust?
We like to go to where the south siders are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)? ROWLANDS: Yes. Is that cool?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have a problem with it. We have 4,175 beds in the facility.
GREG JOHNSON, CAPTAIN, LA SHERIFF: The more people you put into a certain space, the more volatile it can become.
ROWLANDS: No guns or knives, I take it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No guns or knives.
ROWLANDS: No weathermen.
This is what your typical pot looks like. You have a staff station right here. And then you have four dorms. They all live together. Generally about 68 inmates in each dorm. These are integrated dorms. We've just taken this many gang members and removed them and kept them separately.
ROWLANDS: We just found out that in this dorm, 712, is where an inmate was killed during that uprising in February.
This is the 800 building. And this is where the Latino gang members that started that uprising back in February, not these actual inmates, but this gang. They've been put in this building and in others, segregated from the rest of the population.
And since they've made that move, deputies here say it's made a huge difference in term of the violence in this facility.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Historically, this facility has averaged two significant dorm disturbances per month every month. We haven't had one since last June.
ROWLANDS: It's interesting to see definitely the different people inside here all together. A lot of tattoos. And probably 90 percent, 95 percent Hispanic.
SGT. LARRY MEAD, LA CTY. SHERIFF: That person come to the jail and an inmate. And you have to stick with your race. When a fight breaks out, you have to fight.
ROWLANDS: And you fight if you're black with the blacks and - etcetera?
MEAD: Yes.
ROWLANDS: No matter if you're a gang member or not?
MEAD: Yes.
ROWLANDS: While leaving the facility, we got a real good feel for the vibe between black and brown specifically in this facility. The fact that they separate all of the Latino gang members and put them in one area, so that they can keep the peace and the fact that it has worked. The level of violence here greatly decreased since that riot last February is fascinating.
The changing demographics in society has definitely changed life inside of jails and prisons. And it's something that most likely is going to happen in other communities around the -- in other cities around the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Coming up, the Anna Nicole baby search.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DORNIN: Became a media encampment overnight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Rusty Dornin and the international media crush in the Bahamas, including another man who claims to be the father. Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Come back to me after Ken because we're losing her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Brooke Anderson on the red carpet. Assignment -- get that actor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And welcome back to B control. I'm Rick Sanchez.
You see some of these monitors behind me? That's where we often see some of the reporters as they're bringing us information before you see them.
Well, tonight, we're going to let you see them as well as they're preparing their information. No story in the last couple of weeks seem to captivate most of the country like this one has.
And we bring this in our second half hour as well, that we call run and gun. We take you on assignment at the big stories break. What's the story?
Anna Nicole Smith's death set off an international media frenzy as I'm sure you know. What's it like to cover this? What's it like just to try and compete and get elbow room with so many reporters there from all over the world?
Here's CNN's Rusty Dornin in the middle of it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We arrived at the Bahamas one day after Anna Nicole Smith died. Our task was to find Dannielynn, her five-month-old baby, who someday might be worth millions. But here we are in a country where they drive on the other side of the road. We're in unfamiliar territory. So we hired a driver, Mark (INAUDIBLE). And the hunt was on to find the baby.
How do you know where the house is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I got some information.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get Shortly back over here. Let's talk it through.
DORNIN: Let's get Shorty over here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shorty, come on, you said you knew.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right -- first left. That's the first left. And that's the first right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jumping the gun. All right, Shorty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Shorty. All right, come on, you got to show us where, now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Orange and white?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
DORNIN: Right there. See it? Right there. You can sit over there. It's orange and white.
Some sources we developed on that right, we found the house where the baby is. It became an immediate encampment overnight with people staking it out 24 hours a day.
Have you ever seen the baby?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've not. We heard the baby over the intercom.
DORNIN: That was it, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, pretty much.
DORNIN: Is anyone there? Could we talk to you?
You're coming out to just see what's going on at the house?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we just want to take pictures. We're here on a cruise today.
DORNIN: What's that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're here on a cruise.
DORNIN: Right. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we have a cab driver that's bringing us -- showing us around. And we said we want to ride by, see where Anna Nicole...
DORNIN: Did you - what's that? You're going to submit your DNA sample?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
DORNIN: OK. But why do you want to come out here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I mean, we're traveling and there's not a whole lot of sites to see in Nassau. And...
DORNIN: This is one of them now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is one of them.
DORNIN: OK. The story moved from where's the baby to who will have custody of the baby? And the issue came to the Bahamian courts in an international mob of media.
This is an example of madness surrounding the courthouse for the guardianship hearing for Anna Nicole Smith's baby daughter and also the hearing to see who really owns the house. You can get a look at the crowd. There's a lot of people that are tourists here. It's what we've been hearing about it on the news. And we want to see what happens.
The media crush here is unlike really that I've seen even during Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson. When Virgie Arthur left this afternoon, there were a crush of photographers. And tourists were jumping on top of the limousine. It was just really something.
There have been a lot of people approaching us for all sorts of things. Pictures - showing us pictures of Anna Nicole when that she was pregnant. We've had somebody come up and claim that he was a tattoo artist for both Howard Stern and Anna Nicole.
And we have this gentleman over here who's talking to our producer Mike Falin. Now he's from Germany. And he claims that he married Anna Nicole. He bought her the house. It's this that's in question. And he paid $900,000 for it. And then he gave it to her. And he also says he's the father of the baby.
But he doesn't want to do an interview here now with us. So -- things keep getting wackier. And another man claiming to be the father.
This is my last day in the Bahamas. And there's been precious little beach time on this story. I have never seen such an international media frenzy. The saga continues. And I have now no doubt I'll be back.
(END VIDEOTAPE) DORNIN: Yes, she will. Well, Los Angeles now where A-list celebrities turned out in force for one of the biggest nights of their lives. Here is CNN's Brooke Anderson running and gunning on the red carpet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, here we are on the red carpet. We have four hours of live coverage. The reporters are already in place. Everybody is just waiting for those celebrity nominees to arrive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we tell them to come at 4:00. They'll be here at 4:30. No one can tell time.
ANDERSON: Yes, we know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we'll do our best.
ANDERSON: OK, cool.
JD CARGILL, PRODUCER: So that is Alan Miroff. That is Beyonce's publicist, Mel Gibson, a bunch of people.
ANDERSON: Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, making their stroll down the red carpet. Al Gore, are we going to have him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wasn't for sure, but they're going to decide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN?
ANDERSON: Yes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we've got...
ANDERSON: So we would be live in 2.5 minutes, if you can wait.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want us to hang around?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish. We would love to...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we're going to. We're going to chat with you.
ANDERSON: Great.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's new is you?
ANDERSON: What's new is you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going do a two-minute segment. And then we'll meet a guest.
KELLY PRESTON, ACTRESS: Hi.
ANDERSON: Hi, guys!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are rolling. Crazy today, huh?
ANDERSON: I've got John Travolta and his lovely wife, Kelly Preston. Good to see you both.
PRESTON: You too.
JOHN TRAVOLTA: How are you?
ANDERSON: I have to pass? Sorry. Thank you. I'm sorry, I have to pass. Thank you.
Sam Rosenfield, publicist for Helen Mirren. But Helen Mirren -- we are live, yes, we are. Can you guys come back to me after Ken, because we're losing her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tighter if you can.
HELEN MIRREN, ACTRESS: I think I have to go.
ANDERSON: You did a tremendous job. Thank you, best of luck.
OK, 15 seconds. Can you hold?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm tired.
ANDERSON: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a long ride here.
ANDERSON: Making a quick 60 seconds.
What are you going to do later on after the show?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully celebrate.
ANDERSON: Hopefully so. Well, we'll let you run. I know you have business to take care of, so to speak. Mark Wahlberg, congratulations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, I'm going to have a heart attack. These cards are so helpful. These cards that I'm holding are my way of letting publicists know from across the carpet what we're doing.
Alan Arkin, do you want him? Good, we'll take him live. Uh-oh, a little accident on the red carpet.
ANDERSON: How are you? Good to see you. Naomi, CNN. Naomi. Abigail, CNN. One question, one question. One question. Nicole, CNN, a wave, at least. One question. One question.
CNN. Hi, guys. We just got finished with two hours of live shows. And we're still interviewing stragglers as they come on the red carpet entering the Kodak Theater. So the show is about to kick off in a few minutes. We'll keep interviewing and then we'll get to our next positions for our next live show.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: So now you know what we do when we're not here. It sounds crazy, right? But you know what? It's addictive. And that's why we keep doing it.
I'm Rick Sanchez. We've had a lot of news over the last hour. And not done yet. Stay with us. We're going to tell you why you should eat your orange tomatoes. That's right, orange. Stay with us. We'll be back.
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