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Lives Ripped Apart; Teacher Shot in Ohio School; Angelina Jolie in Baghdad Seeking Help for Refugees
Aired February 07, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Illinois Senator Barack Obama, Tulane University, New Orleans. Boy, Louisiana is a state Obama is expected to win handily on Saturday. About two dozen Louisiana democrats expected to endorse Obama at the state capitol there today. Illinois Senator Barack Obama, Tulane University this morning.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this Thursday, the 7th day of February. Here's what's on the rundown.
Communities from Arkansas to Kentucky struggling today to get back on their feet. Live coverage from the tornado zone.
A Los Angeles house burning now. Ten hours into a police stand- off. One SWAT officer killed. The shooter barricaded inside.
Actress Angelina Jolie in Baghdad. The goodwill ambassador in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's quickly get to Heidi Collins who has been showing us unbelievable pictures of destruction, devastation, there in Macon County, Tennessee. And some wonderful survival stories as well. Good to see you, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Tony. We, unfortunately, do need to start this portion of the show with some bad news. I know we've had a lot of news going on back there in other parts of the country but we have just heard from the mayor here in Macon County, Mayor Linville, who we spoke with earlier today. He has now updated the death toll in Macon County to 14. We had been at 13. Now today, after all of the searching has been going on and is still going on this morning, another body has been found in this county. We are now at 14 people dead in Macon County alone.
I want to show you now, because we have been able to talk with more people, because they're out and about and they are coming back to their homes. In fact, they have all been allowed back to their homes now on this side of Macon County. We are starting to see a lot of people begin to clean up. But when they returned to their homes, it's pictures and visions like this that they are seeing.
Look with me, if you will, up at this home. That's the attic and a closet at the top there. Can you see those clothes sticking out? I mean it is just completely exposed. Obviously not what anyone wants to find when they are in fact finally able to return.
Come with me to the neighbor's house now. We've been talking with this family that's come back. What they have found when they returned was just unbelievable. Look at this brick here. You can see how it is completely blasted apart. And inside, what had to have been the garage is their vehicle and these bricks just laying up against the side and really came smashing down on top of that truck. The shrubbery. Look at the shrubbery. Have you ever seen anything like this where it's just dented and taken from its root base and tossed around like a little tiny flower?
As you continue to look through here, we're watching a family now go through these things. You can see them picking up dishes that aren't broken, remarkably. They pulled out a t-shirt just moments ago. Macon County Tigers is the name of the mascot there here in Macon County. There was a t-shirt that was salvaged so that was good.
There's a young 14-year-old boy who lives in this home who was actually asleep on the couch, I'm told, when all of this came down and he woke up because he said he heard it raining. Well, he not only heard it raining but he felt it raining, because the roof of this home had been completely torn apart and ripped off. His father was at work 45 minutes away, knew nothing about what had happened. His mother was with him. In fact, she was injured, she's still in the hospital this morning but doing very well and they hope she's possibly able to be released today.
Come with me further. We are walking -- look on the ground. We are walking on a sidewalk that's perfectly intact. It's like nothing ever happened. Of course it is concrete but we've seen lots of pieces of concrete and brick blown around in this whole thing. They are starting to make piles of things here they are hoping to salvage. You see a sleeping bag, some pots and pans, a chair. The chair doesn't look damaged at all. That's one of the things that's so interesting and frightening about devastation like this. Some things don't get hit at all and others get blown apart. Here is a television. It looks pretty good. Who knows, they'll try to plug that in and see if that works.
Back here, walk with me as you see this gentleman, this is his home. He's come back and tried to find out what is left. He's brought along his friends, his brother and they're using chain saws and everything that they can to sort of get to the bottom of really -- there is just no other word for it, to get to the bottom of the rubble that used to once be his home. Tony?
HARRIS: You know what's so amazing about that? You would think that a bulldozer or something was used to flatten that home to that extent. And -- I mean it's amazing the complete destruction of that home behind you there.
COLLINS: Yeah. If we walk a tiny bit further, Tony, you get all the way around to the back side, hopefully our signal will still stay up, and you can see a foundation that's remaining. But look. It's just timing. That's it. That's the only thing that is still in the place that it should be actually. HARRIS: Man, oh, man. I guess today is the day we will really get a better idea of the real strength of those tornadoes. But it's evident for the eye to see there. Thanks for that view. Heidi, we'll be back with you in just a couple of minutes. All right. Heidi, thanks.
In Alabama, four people died in the tornado outbreak. Our meteorologist Rob Marciano is in Aldridge Grove, Alabama. Rob, for folks who haven't been following your reporting, may be just joining us now six minutes after the hour, you're going to show us a sight that's absolutely unbelievable of a tree very near you that really has been turned into a piece of Velcro for all of the flying debris during the storm.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, we got here last night, Tony, I was kind of searching for a way to describe that. I think you hit it on the head. It acts like Velcro. It's right behind me. We showed you the flip side of it earlier. Now we're on the back side of it. There is the tree. Check it out. And what you're seeing embedded in that large old overgrown oak tree is the roof of the home that was across the street. You see friends and family there, picking through what's left of that home. Beyond them in the bushes, you see a few bushes back there. That's the foundation. That's the concrete slab where that home was. Unfortunately, that's where three people lost their lives.
But it just gives you a sense of the power of that. The white refrigerator there, that's where the parents were discovered shortly after the storm. Their 19-year-old son in a field close by. But their home just absolutely demolished. Exploded. Some of the things from that home are now in this yard. Carpet. There is a mattress. Obviously the roof we've already pointed out. This is their neighbor's house. Think this is pretty much the path. I'd be in the right quadrant of the vortex right now, tearing through this yard. The roof tore through the carport of this home, a brick home a little bit more sturdy obviously. Check mark there. They go and they sweep the home for survivors. The woman who lived there, an elderly lady, she did survive. Broken arm, but okay. They'll come out and survey again today. At least winds of 140 miles an hour ripping through this area.
HARRIS: Maybe we'll get an opportunity to talk to you later but certainly when you get back to Atlanta to talk about what you learned on the ground, that helps you in the work that you do for us here so well, Rob, good to see you. Thanks for that report.
We want to get to the latest developments in the story we are following out of Portsmouth, Ohio, about two hours east of Cincinnati where a teacher has been shot, wounded there at an elementary school in Portsmouth. Randy Wohe is a reporter with WFAZ, the affiliate in Charleston, West Virginia. Randy, we are trying to get information on the condition of the teacher. Have you learned anything more?
RANDY WOHE, WFAZ REPORTER: I just talked to the mayor of Portsmouth. We understand that she may be in stable condition, haven't had that verified yet with the police. The mayor says he's heard she's in stable condition. This happened at Notre Dame Elementary, a private elementary school, about two hours ago now where there was an activity, a domestic situation, from what we understand. Police tell us that a teacher there, no names have been released yet, was both shot and stabbed. It happened inside a classroom. There we understand the alleged suspect fled ten blocks away to where I am now.
We're on a street that's been cordoned off about a block and a half each side with massive amounts of police from one side to the other. In fact ambulances just pulled up now to join a fire truck. The house is in the middle. Police say there were two to seven shots out of that house fired. It's been quiet for about a half-hour now. There's been activity with police, rifles, SWAT teams have shown up and it is kind of a stand-off right now. Don't know inside whether that person is still alive, still dead, a man just showed up with a bull horn. An ambulance showed up after that.
HARRIS: We have a similar situation playing out in Los Angeles right now. But circle back if we can to the situation at the school at the time. You reported the shooting and the stabbing of the teacher, the female teacher, did this happen in a classroom? Were there students, young - we're talking about an elementary school, so young students who possibly witnessed this?
WOHE: Well, possibly, Tony. We have another reporter that's at the school. That's about 12 blocks away from where I am. But I just talked to one of the highway patrolman from Ohio who was at the school. He said, yes, that the teacher, a long-time teacher, we understand, at Notre Dame Elementary was both shot and stabbed in a classroom.
HARRIS: Okay, Randy. Maybe we'll get an opportunity to talk to you later for further updates on this story. At least Randy is reporting to us right now that perhaps the teacher is in stable condition right now. We hope that is the case. We'll continue to gather information on the story. Randy, thank you.
WOHE: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Let's get to that story developing, breaking in Los Angeles right now. A house where a man has been barricaded for ten hours, erupting in flames a short time ago. We're certainly not sure at this point what led to this scene or what happened to the man inside. Police say two SWAT officers were hit in a shootout with that man last night. One died. The other critically injured. The standoff started when the man called police and said he killed three family members. Again we'll ask that you stay with us as we continue to get information on this developing story.
A CNN exclusive. Actress Angelina Jolie on a humanitarian mission in Iraq. Our Arwa Damon caught up with her this morning in Baghdad. Arwa, great to see you. What does the actress hope to accomplish with this trip?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, her aim is actually pretty straight forward. She is here looking for answers, being very frustrated and only being fed ideas and papers. What she wants to do is try to gather the information that she would need to try to push forward the process of dealing with Iraqi refugees and Iraqis displaced within their own country. She believes that the efforts on this have been lacking and that much more needs to be done to help millions of vulnerable Iraqis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELINA JOLIE, U.N. GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: This trip is to get a better picture of the internally displaced people and to discuss with the local government, with our government, with NGOs, and with local people the situation and to try to understand what is happening, because there are over 2 million internally displaced people and there doesn't seem to be a real coherent plan to help them and there is lots of goodwill and lots of discussion. But there seems to be a lot of -- just a lot of talk at the moment and they -- a lot of pieces need to be put together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: And those pieces that she refers to right there are most certainly quite complex. To try to gain some insight into that, Jolie met with the top U.S. military leadership here, as well as the top U.S. politicians and she also met with the Iraqi leadership, seeing the minister for migration and displaced people and even talking to the Iraqi prime minister himself. She not only wants to push this process forward, because what is happening in Iraq is, by all means, a humanitarian crisis, but because she says that unless Iraq is stabilized, there will be implications for the region as a whole. She also hopes that her trip here will help spotlight, because of who she is and because of her role within the United Nations as a goodwill ambassador, that will somehow spotlight what she views and what many of us do view as being a very critical matter. Tony?
HARRIS: CNN's Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad; Arwa, thank you.
Trapped in the snow for 12 days. A couple is finally rescued by a big yellow monster. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Want to catch you up on a story we've been monitoring for about the last hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. We have got some additional information to put on your radar now. An amber alert has been issued for a young boy, 5 years old, this taking place in north Austin, Texas. Authorities have issued that amber alert for 5-year- old Adrian Jimez (ph).
Police are telling us that he was kidnapped by three men in their late teens driving a gray Volkswagen Jetta with dark tinted windows. Don't have a license plate on that Jetta as of yet. Again, police are asking that if you have any information on the vehicle, on the child, to call 911 with that information. Once again, in north Austin, Texas, an amber alert for this young child, a 5-year-old boy. His name is Adrian Jimez. Again, if you have any information, 911 and police believe that he was abducted by three men in their late teens driving a gray Volkswagen Jetta with dark tinted windows. We will keep you posted with updates on this story.
Another story developing right now, the Washington, D.C. area we're getting reports that you can see it for yourself here, first pictures from that scene of a marked train derailment. Serving D.C. and surrounding areas, D.C. and Maryland. No word of any injuries right now but train 419, we understand, went off the tracks at Union Station. We understand -- okay.
Let me break away from this scene and get you to Los Angeles right now where we're getting the latest information on the stand-off there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I take my hat off to the men and women who responded from our department, from SWAT, from the fire department, and the other agencies that were so supportive of us. As far as the actual operation as it played out here, I'll turn it back over to deputy chief Mike Moore who was the incident commander all night.
DEPUTY CHIEF MIKE MOORE: Okay, good morning. Following the initial encounter with the suspect, which is the suspect shot and wounded both of our officers, metropolitan officers, our SWAT officers, contained the suspect inside of the house that he was initially found in. Additional resources were brought from throughout the city, including our counterterrorism and criminal intelligence bureau resources, air support and sheriff's department also brought their special enforcement bureau resources to bear.
What we were faced with was a barricaded suspect who had apparently murdered three other individuals. When the officers first entered the house, they were met with gunfire but they also found and discovered three males, apparently two apparently deceased, a third one possibly still alive. While the officers were exchanging gunfire with this suspect and two of our officers were wounded, one morbidly, a rescue was performed of the third male that was still inside the house. He was taken out to the front of the residence and the fire department responded and, unfortunately, he was also pronounced dead at the scene. Our officers were rescued. Our injured officers were rescued. They were removed from the scene and we came back at this again.
This problem was -- we brought additional resources in. We meticulously surrounded this location, fortified our positions and attempted negotiation. The department was able to identify a couple family members. Those family members were interviewed and debriefed, if you will, and offered support in an effort to bring this to a peaceful resolution. Efforts were made to reach out to the suspect on both telephone as well as loud speaker. The department utilized and was thankful for cooperation of the family. The family also made remarks to this suspect to give himself up and surrender to police. Unfortunately, the suspect had absolutely no contact with us, made no effort to surrender or to -- well, to surrender.
We moved the plan to the next step, and that was introduction of tear gas. Tear gas was introduced into the house shortly after 5:00 in the morning. When that happened, from the rear of the residence, a woman suddenly appeared. She was rescued and taken away from the scene. It was discovered that she had in fact been inside the residence and it is our understanding at this point was there during the earlier carnage of the people being shot and killed.
We again -- or during that encounter, when she fled from this residence, we had our suspect moving within the residence, closing himself -- imposing a threat to our officers. Over the next approximately two hours, we continued our efforts to dislodge him from this residence. Our efforts included additional rounds of tear gas. Our efforts included mechanically moving walls apart and so forth to try to gain advantage of -- as far as seeing where the suspect was at and where he was secreting himself. This suspect posed a continued threat by efforts of purposely hiding himself between mattresses and making every effort, in our mind, to further attack officers and to ambush us.
During the course of this operation, a fire began in the residence. That fire, as you saw on television, grew in its intensity. L.A. fire had previously, as part of our planning, had a strategy in place. We escorted them with additional police personnel and they put water on the surrounding houses, as well as fought the fire itself to the residence.
During that encounter, and ongoing effort, the suspect again presented himself -- presented himself as a risk and a threat to our officers. Further exchange of gunfire occurred. The suspect was -- went down with injuries. He was later secured and was pronounced dead at the scene.
At this point, we have a total of the suspect's demise as well as three additional males. We believe them to be possibly related to one another or to this family of this residence. We do not believe that there is any further threat to anyone in the neighborhood. We have no information that this violence extends beyond this location. We are now in the investigative phase, transitioning from the tactical ...
HARRIS: Okay. Let's see if we can, boy, sort this out a little bit. A pretty dramatic scene playing out in Los Angeles. We've been following it throughout the morning for you here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
This is a situation that all started when a man called police and claimed he had killed three family members. Police arrived at the home. You heard and learned just moments ago that two LAPD officers were wounded. SWAT officers arrived to the scene. A SWAT officer is later killed by the suspect inside this home. A stand-off that lasts for ten hours, from the overnight hours into the morning hours. At the end of the whole episode -- we're talking about four people dead, including the suspect. All related to one another. But that is the scene. Really a dramatic set of events playing out in Los Angeles through the overnight hours, and into this morning. You saw the dramatic pictures of the home on fire. We are still sorting through all of the information, but no doubt, a really dramatic scene as it played out in Los Angeles in that neighborhood this morning. And it looks like perhaps no other homes in the area impacted by the fire, and no danger to others in that neighborhood. A ten-hour stand-off, ten-hours-plus, now at its conclusion; four dead. All relatives. That four including the suspect and the shooter in this case. What a set of developments in Los Angeles this morning.
Right now let's get you back to Heidi Collins. She's in Macon County, Tennessee where she's covering the devastation, the aftermath of those killer tornadoes in the south from Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning. Heidi?
COLLINS: Yeah. And it did take some time and that's one of the things we've learned so much about now that we are here on the scene in Macon county where, again, to update the death toll here. We have learned recently from the mayor of Macon County that 14 people now are dead in this area. One of those people who a lot of other people thought was dead is now standing right next to me. I want to introduce you to Helen Hesson. She's actually county commissioner for this area. Helen, you told me just a few minutes ago as we stand here in front of what is left of your home, and most specifically what is left of your bathroom, that everybody thought you were dead.
HELEN HESSON: Well, yeah. It come over the local scanner that my house is gone and I was missing at the time. But you see I'm here.
COLLINS: Yeah. And you know, we are standing outside your bathroom. I don't know if you can get in.
HESSON: That's where I was when they found me. I started out right here. The wall blew in. I hit the floor and finally got into the closet and they found me behind all that debris.
COLLINS: I know you were on the cell phone with your daughter the whole entire time. She told you to get in the bathtub.
HESSON: By the time I stepped in the bathtub, the wall -- the window blew out and hit me in the back. I fell down on the floor. She said get in the closet. I couldn't get the doors open, the wind was so forceful. I finally got the door open and got part of me in there. My legs was sticking out. It was like my legs, a pulling, my body and all this stuff caved in. If I'd have stayed in the bathtub I'd have been a goner.
COLLINS: You see that tile there, just blown off the wall and gone right into the tub. Because we do hear that all the time, we hear get in the bathtub, get somewhere where you can be safe. Now we look around, there's not much left of your entire bathroom.
HESSON: No, it hit the bathroom where I was in, really.
COLLINS: You can definitely see it. As we look over here, get this shot over here now, this is your bedroom. Right?
HESSON: My bedroom. If I'd have been in bed, which I probably would if my daughter hadn't called me because I'm not scared of clouds.
COLLINS: You're not scared of storms?
HESSON: I wasn't. I wasn't. But I'm a believer now. I've never been scared of storms. I just go to bed and think nothing about it.
COLLINS: But this one was different.
HESSON: But my daughter was looking at the TV, she said, mama, you better take cover, get in the bathtub. And I did.
COLLINS: What will you do now, Helen? We haven't really had a chance to ask very many people because there is a lot to think about. There is a lot that's going on in everybody's mind. But I'm going to ask you.
HESSON: Don't know if I'll build back or -- I guess I've been here for 35 years. This is home. I raised my kids here.
COLLINS: You've been in this home for 39 years.
HESSON: My father built this house. He's gone now. My husband's gone. I'll probably build back some day. I mean when they get it cleaned up around here.
COLLINS: Yeah. Things will definitely take some time.
HESSON: I'm a lucky person.
COLLINS: You are a lucky person. Good news is I see all these people behind you, all your family and friends helping you out. And we are very glad that you didn't stay in the bathtub.
HESSON: I am, too. I am, too.
COLLINS: Helen, thanks so much for your time. We sure do appreciate it. Tony, we'll send it back to you now. Just another example of people coming back to their homes and really doing the best that they can to pull out valuables. The most important for most people is pictures. Helen has been able to find quite a few pictures of her family members and so forth. She says they were wet but she's going to fix them up.
HARRIS: Absolutely. All right. Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: She said they were wet but she's going to pick them up.
HARRIS: They can be salvaged. That's for sure. And restored. Heidi, appreciate it. Thank you.
We want to get an update on the story we reported to you just a moment ago, something we've monitored for the last hour or so. This is an amber alert out of north Austin, Texas. Authorities there have issued this amber alert for a 5-year-old Adrian Jimez. Officer Joe Munoz is on the line with us right now.
Officer Munoz, if you would, we certainly want to help you in any way that we can go inn getting the word out on this amber alert. If you would give us details as you know them to this point in the story. OFFICER JOE MUNOZ, AUSTIN PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: Good morning. At approximately 7:40 this morning, with our investigation we've learned that the -- it is quite cold in here this morning, and the older sibling, the female, had come out to turn on the family vehicle. As the vehicle warmed up and the mother got in to the vehicle, along with a 5-year-old victim. As the 5-year-old victim was getting out of the vehicle, the suspect vehicle pulled up, one of the suspects remained in the vehicle, two got out, one acted as he was a lookout and the third one went and got, by force -- forced the 5-year- old victim out of the vehicle and placed him into the suspect vehicle and drove off.
We were notified approximately 7:42 of the incident, and as we arrived at the scene we obtained enough information to meet the criteria of Amber Alert. We have put that information out regarding Adrian Jimez (ph), the young man's name, 5 years of age, that is the victim regarding this case.
HARRIS: OK, Officer Munoz, if we can help you in any way, if you get, for example, a license-plate number, will you have someone in your office get that back to us and we can update the story so we can get you as much help as...
MUNOZ: Absolutely. We do have a photograph, and we will make that photograph -- that photograph is made available at this time. And as we get more information regarding the gray Jetta with tinted windows, we will pass that on to you all.
HARRIS: That'd be great.
MUNOZ: Thank y'all for your help.
HARRIS: Absolutely. And we have the picture up for everyone at home to take a look at right now, Officer Munoz. We appreciate your time. Thank you.
And another story we're following on a busy, busy day in the CNN NEWSROOM, American and Italian authorities arrested dozens of people in what's described as a trans-Atlantic drug trafficking operation run by the Mafia?
CNN's Alessio Vinci is in Rome and can tell us more about the story.
Alessio, good morning to you.
ALESSIO VINCE, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Tony, or good afternoon from Rome. Well, according to Italian police officials, 77 persons have been arrested between New York and Palermo here in Sicily this morning. In the U.S., an FBI official here in Rome told reporters that 54 members and affiliates of the Gambino family have been arrested, including a street boss, an underboss and a consigliere. And charges against them range from racketeering to extortion to gambling and homicide, in fact, including two murders that were committed more than 30 years ago. Here in Italy police carried out 23 arrests. And we understand that the operation is still ongoing, at least here in Italy. Italian investigators say that they have basically broken up attempts by the Sicilian Mafia to mend fences with the New York family after the bloody Mafia wars of the 1980s. And among those arrested here is a guy called Giovanni Izavilo (ph), who investigators believe is the guy who was maintaining the links, if you want, between the New York Mafia families, the Gambinos and indeed Zarillos (ph) and the Sicilian Mafia families linked to the plan of Salvatore Lapico (ph). Salvatore Lapico was a Mafia boss here in Sicily that was arrested back here in November.
And all these arrests, obviously the earlier arrests in November and today, basically are an attempt by Italian investigators to, first and foremost, break up these attempts of the two sides on the Atlantic to join forces once again. And most importantly, they also tell us that there were some Mafia clans in Sicily that were against the recreation, if you want, of this bond and the return of Zarillos family members back to Sicily. And therefore, Italian investigators believe that had they not intervened so quickly they could have witnessed another Mafia war similar to the one that we witnessed here in the early 1980s.
HARRIS: One word, Alessio, and that's, wow. I'm wondering -- I'm sure there is an extradition agreement between the United States and Italy. And I'm wondering, for those arrested in Italy, will they face charges in country first before extradition? Do we know if the folks arrested in Italy will be extradited to face charges in the United States?
VINCI: There are, of course, extradition agreements between the U.S. and Italy. I have not seen the indictment, so I'm really not sure about the specific charges against the specific individuals.
What I can tell you though is that both U.S. officials here -- there was an FBI representative here at the news conference earlier today here in Rome, as well as Italian police officials are stressing that one of the main reasons why these kind of arrests can take place and are able to conduct these kind of large operations is because of the great cooperation between the two police forces.
And so one should certainly read in to this, that at least in this specific example, the two police are working together in trying to maximize these arrests and make sure that those who've been arrested will be tried and eventually of course be not just charged, but also be found guilty and be put in prison.
One should also stress that some of the people who have been arrested were already in prison. They were already serving for other sentences. But most of those who've been arrested of course now will face arraignment, and then once we know exactly how the various charges apply, we will know more about who will be extradited and who not.
HARRIS: OK, CNN's Alessio Vinci for us from Rome. What a morning so far in the CNN NEWSROOM. When we come back we'll update all the breaking news going on in Ohio, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., obviously Rome, New York as well, and we'll get back to Heidi Collins in Macon County, Tennessee, in just a moment.
Again, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Eyeing the sky. The Shuttle Atlantis counting down to liftoff, but today's launch could be rained out.
Live now to CNN's space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Miles, what is it looking like there? Is it a go for launch?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Right now it is. But the problem is, Tony, we can't go now, unfortunately. I've explained this to you before but it's worth reminding folks how this works. Basically the shuttle has to wait for the space station to be overhead in order for it to launch and make it to the station, have enough fuel. It's kind of like when you're trying to -- Eli Manning throwing that pass to Tyree. You've got to throw it right at the perfect moment, or you got an incompletion. So we don't want an incompletion today.
HARRIS: Or worse, an interception.
O'BRIEN: Or worse. That would be really bad. You wouldn't want to show up at somebody else's space station, would you?
So 2:45 p.m. happens to be the time when the receiver will be in position, as they say. And unfortunately, the weather is going to cede as we speak. Right now, good to go. As the day goes on, we'll watch it.
Of course we're talking about that same huge weather system with all those killer tornadoes. We're not going to get tornadoes here today. It's kind of the remnants, the tail end of it, but it's enough to cause problems for the shuttle launch team.
Let's go onboard for a minute. That's a picture of Alan Poindexter, he is the shuttle pilot, sits in the right-hand seat right beside the commander, Steve Frick. They're getting strapped in. They've got the pumpkin suits on, the pressure suits, and getting ready for their mission to the International Space Station.
Back out to what they call the white room. That's kind of like a jetway, if you will. As couple other members of the crew get their parachutes on. Hans Schlegel of Germany getting ready to get on there.
And onboard the space shuttle "Atlantis" this time is an important piece of that International Space Station, the Columbus module. This is a significant laboratory, the first European contribution to things. It is a 16-nation partnership. There's an American lab, there is of course a Russian component. And now, the Europeans are putting their laboratory in space. And there will be a French crewman on the shuttle who will actually spend a long duration stint on the space station replacing the U.S. astronaut Dan Tonney (ph), who you may recall, as you take a tour there of Columbus, who, in the midst of his mission up there -- he's been up there for several months now, in the midst of his mission, his mother died and he's had an unusual and difficult run. I'm sure he'll be happy to get back.
We'll be watching it today. Tony, you never know. It says 70 percent no-go. I'm not putting any chips on the table.
HARRIS: OK.
O'BRIEN: I've lost -- figuratively -- big money on this before.
HARRIS: Yes, all right, Miles. Hey, thanks for your time. You've been in this chair before, we've got crazy breaking news happening all over the country.
O'BRIEN: OK.
HARRIS: But thank you, Miles.
We want to give you a quick update on the story out of Portsmouth, Ohio. Haven't touched it in a minute. Want to get back to it right now. We are still waiting on word of the condition of a female teacher shot there at Notre Dame Elementary School.
Again, that's in Portsmouth, Ohio. About two hours east, just to orient you a little bit better as to where this is, about two hours east of Cincinnati on the Ohio River. Want to get to a bit of sound from the grandmother of one of the young students there at Notre Dame Elementary School talking about her grandchild.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICE NOEL, STUDENTS' GRANDMOTHER: Oh, I think they were all very brave. I think they did what they were taught to do. I know it must be a horrifying thing for them to see and to go through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: As you can imagine for those young children at that elementary school, just a horrible set of circumstances. The shooting, the result of a domestic dispute. Apparently, the husband walks into the school, he shoots his wife, the teacher, and then goes about 10 blocks away, presumably to the family home and you can see pictures from that location right now. We're involved in a standoff right now.
We will keep you posted on how that standoff is playing out and any additional information as we try to get an update on the condition of the teacher. We'll bring those details to you right here in the NEWSROOM.
But still ahead, an old favorite is back. We will talk with director, my bud, Kenny Leon about his made-for-TV version of "A Raisin in the Sun."
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HARRIS: What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? A famous poem, the basis of an even more famous play and movie. Almost 50 years after audiences first saw "A Raisin in the Sun," it is coming back, this time on television, February 25th. What's the network?
KENNY LEON, DIRECTOR, TRUE COLORS THEATRE CO.: February 25th, ABC.
HARRIS: ABC, the theme's no less relevant today. Here is a scene where the character played by Sean Combs finds out he lost the family's inheritance to a con artist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN COMBS, ACTOR: You better be lying! You better be lying! There's no way, there's no way anyone would do that! No, nobody would do that. No, no, God.
Oh, God no. Really? Oh God, don't let it be true. God, no, no! Not with that money. Please, God, not with that money!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow! Director Kenny Leon is bringing it back. Man, great to see you.
LEON: It's good to be here, man.
HARRIS: I haven't seen you since we were out on a golf course a couple years ago.
LEON: I know.
HARRIS: And you've been working like crazy since.
LEON: Crazy, but I'm amazed at what you guys do in the NEWSROOM. I'm sitting here looking at trains collide ...
HARRIS: Yes.
LEON: ...the mob arrested, families destroyed ...
HARRIS: We affectionately refer to it as a three-hour thrill ride. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, Kenny Leon.
LEON: Oh man, it's amazing, but what it made me think about was how important "A Raisin in the Sun" is right now.
HARRIS: Well, talk to us about that.
LEON: "A Raisin in the Sun."
HARRIS: The relevance of this piece, the dreams, aspirations. Talk to us about it. Why is it relevant in 2008?
LEON: That is a story about the strength of family, the love of family. When is the time to love somebody the most? When they're up? No, when they're down, when they are down. And this country, given everything we're going through, we hearing the politicians talking about it, but everything we're going through, we need to restore in our young people a reason to believe in the American dream.
HARRIS: Well, you talk about the strength of family, particularly on a day, you've been watching Heidi Collins out there in Macon County, Tennessee.
LEON: Absolutely.
HARRIS: We're talking about five states devastated, parts of those states devastated by the tornadoes that rolled through the area. A number of lives lost, so many people injured. But talk to us about the enduring legacy of this -- the enduring strength of this piece, written by Lorraine Hansberry so many years ago, at such a tender age.
LEON: She was 27-years-old.
HARRIS: Twenty-seven-years-old. What is the strength of the words she put down then today?
LEON: Well, when people talk about African-American classic, it's almost an oxymoron.
HARRIS: Oh, this is (INAUDIBLE) classic, yes.
LEON: And what you realize is that this is just an American classic ...
HARRIS: This is an American story.
LEON: ...because of the true story about what is at the center of the American dream. It's a true story about family love. And the end of the story, the guy still loses the money.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
LEON: So, it's not -- they're not rich off money. They're rich off love. They're rich off support. They're rich off of family. And I bet you, somewhere in New Orleans there is still a family ...
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
LEON: ...waiting for $10,000 insurance check. So, even though some of us have moved forward ...
HARRIS: So relevant.
LEON: ...there are still of those -- $10,000 is still a lot of money.
HARRIS: So, let's put the relevancy question aside for a moment. We're looking now at Sean "P. Diddy" -- what is he this week? Is he Diddy, is he ...
LEON: He's Sean Combs.
HARRIS: Sean Combs.
LEON: He's Sean Combs, he is a respected actor. When he's an actor, he's Sean Combs.
HARRIS: Hang on a second -- hang on a second.
LEON: No, when he's doing clothes, he's Diddy.
HARRIS: This is a young man who is taking on one of the most revered roles in all of theater.
LEON: Absolutely.
HARRIS: This is a young man, we have to say it -- who is taking on a role that was absolutely perfected -- OK -- by Sidney Poitier. Talk to us about his performance, how he delivers for you.
LEON: Well, first of all, it's incumbent upon new generation of artists to look at our work and re-evaluate it for a new generation. So I spent time with Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Lloyd Richards, who directed the Broadway production. Sean Combs spent time with Sidney Poitier, and they have ultimately handed the baton off to us to tell this story to a new generation of people, engage new audiences. So when you look at the way we shot this, a lot of handheld camera, a lot of movement. We didn't just sit the camera there. We tell this story in a new 2008 way.
And Sean Combs, he delivers. This man has more courage than a lot of actors. He didn't have to do this. He didn't stand on a Broadway stage and do this, you know. It wasn't about money. But Sean Combs, he knows the other side of the American Dream. He was poor. His father was shot when he was 3 years old. You know, he knows that side, living in the inner city. He also knows the other side. He's one of the richest people that I know. So what other actor to deliver it?
HARRIS: Well, two other film versions of this. I can't wait to see yours. You're a fabulous director.
LEON: You've got to see this.
HARRIS: Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, Sanaa Lathan, John Stamos, Bill Nunn.
HARRIS: And right, when and on what network?
LEON: The night after the Oscars. Even if there is no Oscars, the night after that, February 25th, ABC.
HARRIS: Great to see you.
LEON: 8:00. HARRIS: I'm just going to remind folks again. Great to see you. And I want my ticket to the Atlanta premiere coming up.
LEON: You got it. Well, we got a premier on Monday, February 11th. We have a premier here, right here in Atlanta.
HARRIS: Good to see you, doc. See you on the golf course.
LEON: Good to see you, man. Good to see you. "A Raisin in the Sun."
HARRIS: A "Raisin in the Sun," just another reminder to viewers, Kenny Leon's first movie. First movie as a director?
LEON: My first movie.
HARRIS: "A Raisin in the Sun," Monday, February 25th, on ABC. Kenny, great to see you, and can't wait to see the film.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Tennessee's Tornado Alley. Homes and lives shredded in an instant. Now the hard part, putting it all back together.
We will check in with Heidi once again after the break.
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COLLINS: Hello again from Lafayette, Tennessee. We are in Macon County, where the latest news from here is twofold. Unfortunately, the death toll has increased in this area -- 14 people have been killed in this massive tornado. I don't even know if I should call it just one tornado. We know for a fact that there have been many, many reported; yesterday talking with our meteorologist, something like 69 tornadoes reported.
But the one that did the damage that you are looking at right now on your screen is one that stayed on the ground for an inordinate amount of time, 20 to 30 minutes we are getting reports of, and the people that we have spoken with here today are now back in their homes, or what's left of them. I'm sure you can hear the buzzsaws behind me and some of the bulldozers that we are watching as people try to pick up what's been left behind.
I want to introduce you to another guest of ours today, Charlie Adams. He's with State Farm. And, Charlie, I wanted to talk to you because obviously now everybody is wondering about insurance, wondering about what to do next. And you have really seen all of this damage. You have traveled all over the area. Tell me about the worst and hardest-hit areas.
CHARLIE ADAMS, STATE FARM INSURANCE: Some of the toughest areas that are hit in Macon County are in the northern part of the county, it looks like. I mean, obviously the area you're in is hit pretty tough, but out on Acresville Road, there's just basically a half-mile wide, three-quarters-of-a-mile wide as far as you can see. There's really no houses standing. COLLINS: Yes, because when you first came here, you said, this is bad, Heidi, but where i've just come from it is completely leveled; there's not a single house standing.
ADAMS: Yes, it's pretty much a war zone, looks like, like a bomb was dropped. It's really rough.
COLLINS: What are people going to do next that they have been telling you?
ADAMS: Well, we're seeing is we're trying to find -- going house to house. Our emergency management system folks here are going through house to house, see if there are any folks that they've found possibly that are hurt or possibly dead that are still inside houses. We're going through. I have catastrophe teams here that are going through houses that we have insured currently, and we're making sure that if they're uninhabitable get them into a new home, place where they can live, get them money to get clothes and food and shelter.
COLLINS: Good. But, unfortunately and probably the toughest part of what your job is that people are still being looked for. There are still people that are in their homes, most likely.
ADAMS: Correct. We're definitely in the early stages. When I say the early stages of the search-and-rescue missions that our local folks and our folks that are coming into our area are going through houses house by house because there are so many houses. I mean, there are lots of reports of how many houses, but I would say it is nearing 1,000 that they are looking at right now, if not more, just right here in this area, and that's just talking about this one county, and you know, I also cover a county south of here as well, and we have a lot of damage there as well.
COLLINS: Charlie, we appreciate that.
ADAMS: Thank you.
COLLINS: And I know that it is going to be a lot of tough work for you. And, Tony, a lot of tough work, long, long hours, long days, for many people. And all of the rescue crews are still looking throughout those 1,000 homes that Charlie was just telling us about, that he just in fact got an alert a moment ago with that death we had been reporting to you. The increased number now here in Macon County, again, 14 dead. But it has been quite an experience, as we look around us still today and talk with the people here.
COLLINS: Hey, Heidi, describe that sound that we hear around you right now.
HARRIS: Yes, it's a good sound. It's certainly an improvement. Because I am looking at just beyond me, I'm looking at -- we're going to try and get a shot for you real quick -- buzzsaws, bulldozers. You see more and more and more people out and about.
Now trying to cut through the debris. I mean, that's the biggest thing, is just trying to get through that debris. There you go, you see some of the folks carrying look at those big old trees, and I don't know what that is, some type of debris from a home, an electrical cord. You can see it all,, trying to clean it up the best they can.
ADAMS: Well, Heidi, can't wait to see you tomorrow. And when you get back, let's spend some time talking about what you've experienced there and the amazing willpower of the people there to pick their lives back up, pick up the pieces and move on.
Thanks, Heidi. See you tomorrow.
COLLINS: All right, Tony. You bet.
HARRIS: OK, CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now. "BALLOT BOWL" is next, with the latest political news from the best political team on television.
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