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Possible Tornado Rips Through Atlanta; Economy & the Election; Pennsylvania: The Next Battleground; Stinging Comments: Pastor Leaves Obama Campaign

Aired March 15, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Ripped apart, caved in. Daylight shows the definite damage in Atlanta after a very strong storm, possibly a tornado, hit the central area. And hit it did.
Many of you have been to the CNN Center, and this is rain that is coming through the roof. Part of the devastation, electric lines. They are sparking, they are snapping, and a few thousand have started their weekend without power.

From the CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM. It is Saturday, March 15th, a day to remember because of all of this damage.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you all. Good morning to you, Betty.

I'm T.J. Holmes, just east of where Betty is at the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, about a mile east where I am, in an area known as Cabbagetown. This is a historic district of Atlanta, downtown Atlanta.

Well, parts of it, this tornado appears to try to make history last night in a different sense. Parts of it almost wiped out. Parts of it in fact wiped out by this tornado. Some 20 homes have been destroyed, and the building behind me suffered some serious damage as well.

We'll have much more on Cabbagetown, the cleanup here, and also the search and rescue efforts still going on -- Betty.

NGUYEN: There is a lot to be done today. And T.J., daylight is providing a better look at the extensive damage from the possible tornado that just ripped through downtown Atlanta. And the danger, well, it may not be over. More storms are moving through the area today, and that is causing problems for buildings like the CNN Center, where the roof is damaged and rain has been pouring into the atrium.

Now, just east of downtown, at least 20 homes have been destroyed in the historic Cabbagetown neighborhood. Here's some pictures of that. That's according to estimates from the mayor's office, about 20 homes. But our Cal Perry, he's also in the area, and he believes there are more homes than just 20 that are damaged.

And this same storm ripped away part of the roof from the Georgia Dome. Thousands of fans were inside at the time watching the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament. Now, the rest of the games have been moved to the coliseum at Georgia Tech.

And my partner, T.J. Holmes, has been out all morning long in the Cabbagetown area, an historic area.

Where behind you, T.J., one of those apartments really sustained a lot of damage.

HOLMES: Yes. This is one of the buildings here, Betty, really a series of buildings, part of the whole -- the Fulton Cotton Mill, part of the national historic registry -- some of them 100 years old. But they've been converted, kind of a revitalization has been going on the past several years.

And this one behind me converted into apartments and lofts. Well, the top section of that has been taken out -- the top level, the top floor -- as the official described it to us overnight, had been destroyed in pancake fashion, and we are seeing now with daylight exactly what they meant by that, and that is an accurate description.

We are told that no one was living in that top level that has been taken out. However, people did live throughout much of the building, but we are told the search and rescue folks went through it earlier and feel pretty confident that they have everybody accounted for and that no one is in there stuck, and no one is under that rubble, and certainly no one killed as well.

Now, Cabbagetown has several other surrounding neighborhoods. Many of those homes we talked about that were destroyed, listen to one of the Cabbagetown resident talk about the ordeal last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVAN BARNES, TORNADO EYEWITNESS: We felt the winds start, and the winds picked up really heavy, like nothing I've ever experienced before. We ducked and covered pretty much in our kitchen, and it was gone in 30 seconds, but it was by far the most scary experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: It's amazing to hear people talk about their stories, and so many people have stories from last night.

And again, the surrounding area where I am here, this is more the industrial part that has been converted to homes now. But plenty of homes, single-family homes, surround the area where I am in Cabbagetown.

Cal Perry has been out in those neighborhoods this morning, and he's been with us all morning talking to those folks.

And certainly, as daylight comes, Cal, we are seeing the whole story now.

CAL PERRY, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: As daylight comes, that's exactly right, T.J. It's uncovering the full extent of the damage, and the damage is quite incredible.

The problem here in this neighborhood has been the trees. These trees are as old as the neighborhood itself, and they came crashing down on these houses, some split completely in half. Others totally crushed.

Now, CNN spoke to the Red Cross spokesman here in Atlanta, and he has some important information that we want to get out to people living in the greater Atlanta area.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBEN BROWN, AMERICAN RED CROSS: We've suffered a traumatic blow here due to the storms that came through last evening. The Red Cross has established a shelter just a few miles northeast of here at the Helene Mill Recreation Center. At that center, we have about 50 clients.

We're providing hot meals to them. We're also providing cots. Basically a home away from home. That's the first phase of the disaster operation.

The second phase will mean that we go out, provide damage assessment in the areas that have been affected. Teams of volunteers will canvas metro Atlanta, trying to figure out the pockets that have been affected most, providing assistance to people that need it, and providing emotional support if and when that's needed as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: And those are really two key things, T.J. On the one hand, of course, food and shelter for people that have left their homes, their homes have been destroyed. But as he said, the psychological support is going to be key, and we've been seeing that all morning, people coming here, people that had evacuated and looking at their houses, and they're, of course, completely distraught.

It's impossible -- as you can imagine and as you know, in Atlanta tornadoes are so rare. They're totally rare, and people just can't get their minds wrapped around the fact that their homes and their belongings were destroyed by a tornado in downtown Atlanta -- T.J.

HOLMES: Yes, Cal, and that's part of the challenge we've kind of been talking about this morning. People just aren't used to this type of thing in a metropolitan area, really, like Atlanta.

And also, some of the -- some of the elected officials and some of the municipalities are going to have to work together. They're not used to sometimes handling things like this, but they do train for it, and hopefully they'll be prepared and can help folks out.

Cal, we appreciate you.

And Betty, handing it back off to you.

We're here in a residential area. This is one thing, these are people trying to rebuild their homes, but for people downtown last night, so many of them were visitors. They were here from out of town, here to have a good time, visiting the CNN Center, attending the basketball game, also the Hawks game.

And the area the tornado hit, it's almost like it had a bull's eye on where the most people were. There are several other areas of downtown Atlanta that could have been hit, but where it hit, that is exactly where everyone had congregated last night.

NGUYEN: Well, and on a night when there were so many people out for these various events. Here are some pictures that we're getting in from our affiliate, WGCL.

This is one of the torches that was respected during the Olympics here in Atlanta back in 1996. There are several of them that surround Centennial Olympic Park. At least two of them -- there's one of them -- have fallen down onto their sides. It's just an indication of how strong this storm was when it blew through downtown Atlanta.

Now, Centennial Olympic Park is just across the street from CNN Center. And here at CNN Center, we had sustained a lot of damage.

Part of the roof had blown off. Water was pouring into the atrium, as well as at the Georgia Congress, World Congress Center. A convention was going on there.

And over at the Georgia Dome, you can't forget that the SEC Basketball Tournament was taking place, Mississippi State versus Alabama. They were playing on the court, and really, people inside didn't know that this storm had blown through until they started seeing the scoreboard swaying back and forth.

Now, the pictures that you're seeing right now are in CNN Center at the atrium, where water has just been pouring in since overnight.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Here's a look at some of the other stories we're following for you today.

A South Carolina nanny now faces child abuse charges. I want you to take a good look at this video, shot on a hidden nanny cam.

Well, the baby's parents says it shows Cheryl White shaking their 5-month-old. The parents say White came with great references and a clean background, but look at that. They never expected something like this to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESLEY LOCKLAIR, FATHER: A really nice, sweet person. You know, a grandmotherly type person.

You know, when we were around her with the baby, she seemed very loving towards the baby. And, you know, obviously, we were duped.

Shaking the baby, at times yanking the baby from side to side by its limbs, putting her hands on the baby's face and gripping it hard and shaking. Turned the baby over and spanked it, slapped her in the face a couple times.

And it was the very first day we had it up, and we didn't know what we were looking for it. You know, one of my friends told me not to watch the rest of the video because every time I close my eyes I'm going to see pieces of it. And that's all I do.

I mean, you know, sleeping maybe two or three hours a night. You know, shut your eyes, you see pieces of the video. You know, and blaming myself. You know, I should have been able to prevent this.

You know, I'm her father. It's my job to protect her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, White is charged with neglect, assault and battery. White's attorney told our affiliate WBTW that he hasn't seen the full video, though he has seen portions of it online.

Well, a local legend of rural Tennessee has been busted again for making moonshine. Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton (ph) was back in court after agents found three stills on his property. They also confiscated 850 gallons of illegal moonshine. Sutton (ph) became famous after writing a book and starring in an Internet video on the art of making illegal liquor.

Well, bomb-sniffing dogs will soon join security at four major U.S. airports. This is the first time the Transportation Security Administration has trained and deployed its own canine units.

Twelve teams graduated yesterday. They will be assigned to Dulles International, near Washington; JFK in New York; LAX in Los Angeles; and Miami International. And their mission is to screen airline cargo for hidden explosives.

Well, back here in Atlanta, we do want to get you an update on those severe storms that just slammed into the downtown area, as well as an historic neighborhood to the east of downtown.

My partner T.J. Holmes is in the Cabbagetown area, and he joins us now with the latest.

HOLMES: Yes, Betty, oh, what a night. And the daylight is showing us just what kind of a night it was, and it was a hell of a night for a lot of folks in downtown Atlanta, a lot of visitors there, and also many people here just east of downtown Atlanta, many people who live in this historic Cabbagetown neighborhood.

People are starting to come out now. We're starting to see people come out and take a look at the damage. We'll be talking more about the damage, the search and rescue efforts, also the cleanup efforts in the historic Cabbagetown area right after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Good morning, again, everybody, from Cabbagetown, an historic neighborhood just east, about a mile east, actually, of downtown Atlanta. This area was hit immediately after downtown Atlanta was by that -- presumably that tornado that tore through the area last night.

Let's take you to some pictures now of some of this devastation that we are seeing. And certainly getting a different and a better perspective of exactly what happened in Atlanta last night, as daylight reveals more, and just how extensive some of this damage is.

An apartment complex, homes we know of damaged here. Where I am in Cabbagetown, surrounding this industrial complex, at least 20 homes, according to many officials, city officials. At least 20 homes have been destroyed in that area.

But of course, our Cal Perry is on the ground in that area, and he says by his count, it looks like many more have been destroyed. Certainly many more sustained damage with trees that have fallen down. Some of those trees hitting cars and taking cars out, also taking out homes. Also taking out power lines. Last count, we heard at least 13,000 residents were still without power.

Also, we'll take you to a scene downtown that we've gotten the daylight pictures of now which many people around the country and even around the world will recognize -- the downtown area, Centennial Park, this cluster, this hub, really, that's such an attraction to so many -- so many tourists that come to town, and certainly the site many people know of, Centennial Olympic Park. It was the hub of so many of the events surrounding the Olympics back in 1996.

Well, right now it is just a mess, strewn with all kinds of debris from all over the place. The CNN Center, our home, of course, hit hard, windows knocked out.

We've sustained major damage. We've got leaks, holes in the roof.

We've got literally -- it was raining in the middle of the atrium at the CNN center, Betty, and that is certainly a scene for you and I and so many CNN employees, and also people who have visited the CNN Center, Betty. And like I say, we walk through there every day, but to walk through it last night and to literally see it raining inside of the CNN Center was something else, and really helped to get a different handle on just exactly what had happened last night.

I know that's when it first hit me, when I got to work last night around 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, when I was there after it first hit. That's when it really hit me, that something major had happened in downtown Atlanta.

NGUYEN: Well, what was so tough was actually trying to get to work very early this morning. There was so much debris in the street, let alone the glass. I mean, you're driving over all of this glass, worrying if, you know, your car's going to make it because there could be a flat tire because of all of the stuff in the roadway.

I want to show you some pictures now, though, some pictures coming into CNN of the extensive damage in and around downtown Atlanta. You know, we talk about these homes that have had their roofs blown off. Look at this.

This is a guy inside his kitchen trying to clean up. And we're taking a look at it because there is no roof on top of that building anymore. It's kind of odd being able to look inside a house from the top view, but obviously he is one of many trying to pick up the pieces and try to collect what is left of their homes after this extremely strong storm, possibly even a tornado, blew through Atlanta overnight.

Now, we're going to continue to follow that story, but there's a lot of other things that we're going to follow for you as well. And that includes issue number one, which is the economy.

The presidential candidates know it, and they're trying to convince you that they have a plan to fix it.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has more on the economy and the election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the guy who has the top job and those who cannot wait to replace him, there is one thing they can agree on. Issue number one is the economy.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because we've got an active plan to help us get through this rough period. We're always open for new ideas.

MALVEAUX: Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have got some of their own. And they are desperately trying to convince voters theirs is the fix.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, too little too late is not an economic strategy. But that seems to be the best that President Bush can offer.

MALVEAUX: The cliche photo-op, Clinton in front of a gas pump, talking about the skyrocketing price of oil.

CLINTON: Both Senator Obama and Senator McCain have sided with Dick Cheney and with big oil.

MALVEAUX: Addressing those hit especially hard in Pittsburgh, Obama is popping up his economic recovery plan, too, touting its affordability.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: "The Wall Street Journal" did an article several weeks ago evaluating our claims, and saying that, if I was able to move my agenda forward, I could in fact pay for all the proposals I have made. MALVEAUX: So, what are their proposals? Obama is offering a $1,000 tax cut for working-class families, amending the North American Free Trade Agreement to protect U.S. jobs, and create new ones by investing in renewable energy.

Clinton promises to also lower taxes for the middle class, confront the housing market crisis, and create new jobs, like Obama, by investing in alternative energy.

(on camera): All eyes will be on the candidates April 16th in Philadelphia, when they face off for their next debate and they fight over those bread-and-butter issues.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Your house, your job, your savings, your debt -- learn how the number one issue in this country is facing -- and that, of course, is the economy -- find out how it affects you. Issue number 1 all next week at 12:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

Well, the weak dollar isn't stopping Americans from vacationing abroad. And we checked in with expedia.com to find out why many travelers are on the go to Latin America.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS MCGINNIS, EXPEDIA.COM: We're finding that a lot of people are getting scared off from going to Europe because it's so expensive with the very weak dollar in Europe. And they still have a yearning for international travel and they're heading south of the border.

The most popular destinations for Americans in Latin America are Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, both in the Caribbean, and Mexico, which is by far the most popular country in Latin America for Americans to go to. The whole idea of travel in Latin America is changing. The days of dictatorships and machine guns that a lot of people have about Latin America are really fading away.

It's a region that's full of culture, full of peace. A lot of people really enjoy the European feel of South America. It's less expensive to fly to places like Puerto Rico or Mexico or the Dominican Republic than it is to fly deep into South America, to cities like Rio de Janeiro.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Some people who thought about a spring break are now thinking of finding a new place to live for a while. That's because a big storm, possibly a tornado, hit downtown Atlanta last night. And if you're just tuning in this morning, we're going to give you a full look at the damage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, we are covering the storm out in the elements as well, right here at CNN Center. There's damage to the atrium where we're broadcasting from, as well as the newsroom, but I want to take you outside to where people are really feeling the effects of this storm.

T.J. Holmes is in Cabbagetown -- T.J.

HOLMES: Yes, Betty. Behind me, this is really the scene where many city officials feared they might have some big problems and might have a few deaths. This is Cabbagetown. This is the industrial area of Cabbagetown.

A lot of historic buildings like the one behind me converted into residential living spaces, and this was one of them. Well, the top area up there, you can see behind me, had collapsed. It had pancaked down, as they described it.

Well, we got word that they have cleared this building. They don't believe anyone is in here trapped. Police have gone through with search and rescue dogs, and also with listening equipment. Don't believe anyone is in here.

But the scene last night was quite different. If you look at some of these pictures from last night, one of our photographers, Rick, the same guy who is actually handling the camera on my live shot right now, he was inside the building last night when this thing was first hitting, when the tornado first came through. And you can see just kind of the drama that was unfolding in the building last night.

Firefighters working frantically trying to -- trying to work their way through the building, trying to see if anybody was in there who needed to be rescued. So really some horrific pictures from last night, and really kind of gives you insight into what was going on inside this building last night.

But again, the good word is that no, in fact, they don't believe anyone was in here. They swept the building already and don't believe anyone's trapped. But now that daylight hit, they said they're going to go through it one more time.

Now of course, we've got a mess going through Cabbagetown and downtown Atlanta, and the challenge in disasters like this is always to coordinate efforts among municipalities, city officials, and emergency officials, to coordinate and get the effort out, to get the work out to what people need, the recovery effort going. I talked to a gentleman, Lieutenant Honore. Many people will remember he was such an integral part of the rebuilding and also of the recovery of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He gave us some insights on just what these city officials are up against right now.

Take a listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE: It is a challenge, but we're lucky. We're in the capital city. A lot of resources here.

(INAUDIBLE) the city could recall (ph) its people, as well as the state of Georgia. So I think we're (INAUDIBLE) here, and the damage, even though it looks terrible, has been limited.

And as we go through today, I'm sure it will get better, but it's been a while since an event like this happened in Atlanta, so we haven't had a lot of practice. So it will be key to see what happens, the response.

And people need to remember, there's another storm system coming through later today, so beware and be prepared. And take a look at your emergency evacuation and where is the safe plan in any building you're in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And as he mentioned there, we'd be naive to think that it's not a factor, that, in fact, Atlanta, downtown Atlanta, not a lot of practice in handling something like a tornado.

Now, of course we saw that swing through last night, and it scared the mess out of all of us, and we see the effects of it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: We want to get you now to some politics and the battle for Pennsylvania. The primary there is still more than five weeks away, which means there will be plenty of time for voters to get to know the candidates.

CNN's Jim Acosta joins us now live from Scranton, Pennsylvania, where a big parade is under way.

And I understand Hillary Clinton is not only going to be participating, but she is the only candidate in the state today.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Betty, although that won't last for very long. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are putting behind them a week of controversy over remarks made by some of their surrogates and getting back to the business of campaigning.

They will both be in this state over the next few days. Hillary Clinton is in Pennsylvania today. She was in Pittsburgh earlier this morning, marching with the governor of the state, Ed Rendell, in a St. Patrick's Day parade, hoping for some of that luck of the Irish to rub off on her, as she is trying to capture this very important primary state.

Barack Obama will be here coming up on Monday.

And in a few hours from now, Clinton will be participating in a St. Patrick's Day parade here in Scranton. And again, at her side will be that chief surrogate, Ed Rendell. And Clinton is making the case -- she's been making it across this state -- that whoever wins this primary on April 22nd will be in the best position to win this state in the general election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I think Pennsylvania is key. It's key not only to this nominating process, but to our eventual victory in the fall. I don't see how a Democrat wins the White House without Pennsylvania.

No Democrat has since 1960 without winning Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is a microcosm of the entire country. It's our sixth biggest state. It has every kind of issue you can find anywhere in America. And I am committed to campaigning hard over the next six weeks here in Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And as for Hillary Clinton, her campaign spokesman confirmed to CNN just a little while earlier this morning that she and Barack Obama have spoken about the need to tone down the rhetoric coming from those surrogates and getting back to the issue -- getting back to the issues on this campaign.

And as for Barack Obama, he will be here in Scranton on Monday. So neither of these candidates are holding back when it comes to these 158 pledged delegates up for grabs in the state -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Jim Acosta joining us live. Thank you, Jim.

And speaking of Barack Obama, he is forced to do a little damage control. He is now denouncing public comments made by his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and those comments were made during a sermon last year.

Want you to take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT, TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST: Hillary never had a cab whiz past her and not pick her up because her skin was the wrong color. Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single- parent home.

Barack was. Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people! Hillary ain't never been called a (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Wright was on an advisory committee for the Obama campaign, but not anymore. That announcement coming from the campaign late yesterday. The presidential candidate talked about it last night on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I strongly condemn the statements that have been shown on the tape. I have to confess that those are not statements that I ever heard when I was sitting in the pews at this church.

This is a church that I have been a member of for 20 years. This is a well-established, typical, historically African-American church on the south side of Chicago with a wonderful set of ministries. And what I have been hearing and had been hearing in church was, talk about Jesus and talk about faith and values and serving the poor, something that the church often acts on.

But so what is undeniable is that, you know, these are a series of incendiary statements that I can't object to strongly enough. Had I heard those in the church, I would have told Reverend Wright that, you know, that I profoundly disagreed with him. They didn't reflect my values and they didn't reflect my ideals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Barack Obama had previously denounced some of Wright's other controversial comments.

Well, you can join Jim Acosta and other members of the best political team on television this afternoon. CNN's "Ballot Bowl" brings you live coverage of the presidential debates and the candidates, as well as the events. It's "Ballot Bowl," today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Do want to tell you about a major storm that just really tore through the downtown Atlanta area. This time it really hit home for the folks here at CNN and the folks in the surrounding neighborhoods.

We're getting some remarkable pictures from our I-reporters as cleanup and recovery is taking place in Atlanta this morning.

Also, days of defiance in Tibet. Police and protesters face off over a push for independence and more religious freedom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're hearing some rumbling behind us. There is some concern.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The building is rocking a bit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not exactly sure why some of our standards -- it may have something to do with...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and Gentlemen, severe weather conditions still exist in downtown Atlanta.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a tornado warning in downtown...

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Can you imagine being in that building last night? That was the Georgia Dome, site of the Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament Championship that's happening this weekend, last night, when the tornado hit that area during the Alabama/Mississippi State game.

Now, I'm here right now live, just east of downtown Atlanta, in Cabbagetown, which, of course, was hit hard by the tornado. But of course, downtown was hit pretty good, and the Georgia Dome especially.

Now, the game was going on at the time, a game between Alabama and Mississippi State, that had headed into overtime. Of course, you can't imagine being a spectator in there and starting to see that going on, but also imagine being on the court, one of the players.

You're sitting there fighting for your championship life, and all of a sudden, this starts happening around you. You're trying to figure out exactly what's going on.

Well, Mykal Riley is a member of the Alabama basketball team, a member of that team last night who is on the line with us now.

Mykal, I appreciate you giving us some time this morning, sir.

Tell me, what was it like to be out there? Of course, you're out there fighting in overtime, and then all of a sudden, what happens?

MYKAL RILEY, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA BASKETBALL PLAYER: Wow, it was -- I think it was (INAUDIBLE) that nobody got hurt. It was just like (INAUDIBLE), and then going into overtime, and you just hear a lot of noise.

It sounded like rain at first, and then I was talking to Ben Hansboro (ph), who had come back down the court, and he was like, "It sounded like a tornado." And I was agreeing with him. I was like, wow.

And then all of a sudden, you see like the top of the dome just shaking. You see like the scoreboard and a couple other things just shaking, and everybody just started running. The referees are like, "Everybody run to the outside, to the locker room, whatever." It was just crazy.

HOLMES: And Mykal, what was your first thought to do? I mean, again, it's not like you ever really practice for something like that. And anything ever happened like that in a basketball career. So was your first thought just to figure out what was happening, to hightail it out of there and head for shelter, or what?

RILEY: My first thought was, I was looking to see, like, where the noise was coming from, and then I went the opposite way. But everybody was running, like, the opposite way, like to the other side, like -- and then we finally got to the locker room.

HOLMES: Now, how tough was it for you to get your mind back on basketball after all of that? There was an hour-plus delay. What was going on in the locker room? What was your coach telling you? And how were you trying to refocus and finish up this basketball game?

RILEY: Well, you know it was really hard. It was real hard, because, like, it was like you just forgot about basketball at the time, because you didn't know how it was outside.

It was like -- especially if it's shaking the Georgia Dome, or whatever. So you don't know how to do it, but we were in the locker room sitting there like -- we got in contact with our families, or whatever, to make sure they were all right.

And we were just sitting there trying to make sure we stay focused. Like, once we found out everything's all right, we tried to stay focused and tried to finish up the game.

HOLMES: And Mykal, I've got to let you go here, but certainly I know the game didn't work out there in overtime like you all had hoped it would. And I know you all lost the game, but your heroics got you to overtime, and some people saying maybe some heroics in another way kept a lot of those people from being out on the street, because you hit the shot that put the game into overtime in the first place.

If the game had ended, a lot of those people would have trickled out into the streets, where the tornado hit, and all that debris. And who knows how much worse this could have been. So maybe a little heroics on your part either way.

But Mykal, thank you so much. Best to you and your teammates, and certainly glad you all made it through all right.

RILEY: Appreciate it. Thank you, T.J.

HOLMES: All right.

And Betty, it's a fascinating story there. I mean, you can't imagine being in the dome as a spectator, but a guy on the court, your mind is on basketball and overtime, an intense time, and trying to figure out what is happening when the dome starts shaking. But everybody made it through there all right.

And kind of strange. Yes, he did. He kept a lot of people, making that shot, from being out on the road, being out on the street where all that debris is outside the CNN Center.

NGUYEN: That is a really good point, because if you could just see the damage that has been left in the streets because of the storm that blew through, it's a good thing a lot of people were inside those buildings and not outside.

HOLMES: Absolutely.

NGUYEN: T.J., we do appreciate.

And talking about some of the damage, we've experienced here at the CNN Center. This is part of the ceiling that has come crashing down, part of the roof, in fact.

Many pieces of the roof have just been blown away. Water was pouring in. And that's just only a segment of the story.

CNN I-Reporters have been just critical in helping us cover the severe weather that blasted through downtown Atlanta. And I was going to get to Josh Levs here at the .com/DESK with some of those pictures, but right now we have a tornado warning to tell you about.

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NGUYEN: Let's get you to the violence that we're witnessing in Tibet. Three monks -- actually, several of them, plus other people, are protesting for freedom, but they've run into some heavy resistance from Chinese police. Our own John Vause reports that some protesters are targeting Chinese-owned businesses in the capital of Lhasa.

Now, these are new pictures coming into us this morning. Look at this. You can see people breaking into shops and stores.

The protests have also turned deadly. A Chinese-run news agency says 10 people have been killed, but Tibetan exiles in India site unconfirmed reports, saying at least 100 are dead.

And here are some more pictures just into CNN. You can see a large police presence in the capital.

Well, the last 10 years, Arlene Samen has organized a group that educates pregnant women and delivers safe birthing kits. She goes to places like Tibet and Mexico, and here's why she's a CNN Hero.

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ARLENE SAMEN, CNN HERO: Every year women die due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. About one woman every minute. With simple, life-saving skills, some of these deaths could be prevented.

My name is Arlene Samen, and I am a nurse practitioner. I started a nonprofit called One HEART. We started reducing maternal and newborn mortality in Tibet, and taking that model around the world.

Right now we're in a very remote area in Mexico. The pateras (ph), who are the traditional birth attendants, told us there is a fear of c-section and complications, and they would rather die than to come in and get help.

No breathing. This baby's not breathing.

What we're teaching is basic home-based life-saving skills. They need to deliver with a clean birth kit, a sterile cutting instrument. These new messages that are safer will now be passed on from one generation to the next.

Thank you. I feel so honored that I have this opportunity to come and meet these people, empower them. If we get them to change one behavior here that makes it safer for the women and children to survive -- one by one, that baby was saved. One by one, that mother was saved. That's huge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And we are still gathering new information and new pictures. In the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, we're going to actually go inside one of the damaged homes from the storm that blew through downtown Atlanta overnight.

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