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Day for "Rebuilding Our Souls"; "Rolling Thunder" Rally; Bin Laden's Neighbors Speak Up; Edwards Faces Possible Indictment; "God Got Me through the Storm"; Hackers Hit Lockheed Martin
Aired May 29, 2011 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. This is Sunday, May 29th on this Memorial Day weekend. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.
President Barack Obama is now in Joplin, Missouri on what has been declared a day of prayer and remembrance. One week ago a tornado packing 200 mile per hour winds ripped through that city, leaving at least 142 people dead and hundreds more hurt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAY NIXON, MISSOURI: The numbers continue to rise. This isn't about a scoreboard. This is about a surge of individual tragedies. Those numbers have far exceeded what anyone had ever hoped for and far exceed any and single tornado in - in the history of our - our country.
Today, as we pause at 2:000 to bring everybody together, all the ministers, all the clergy for the memorial service, we'll focus on remembering and inspiring others to continue to come together the way they have - they have here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: We'll hear from both the governor and the president of the United States at that service line, right here on CNN.
Lockheed Martin says hackers who attacked their system did not get any access to anything important. The Defense Department contractor is one of several military vendors that hackers targeted.
The aerospace company's security team detected the hack and took countermeasures to prevent information from being compromised.
And back to Joplin, where people are already starting to gather for the memorial service next hour. Our White House correspondent Dan Lothian is also there. So, Dan, with so much destruction, where did they find a building large enough to actually accommodate everyone, including the president and security detail?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is such a good question. They - they found it here on the campus of Missouri, Southern State University where, as you pointed out, people have been lining up. Hundreds of people - this line that you see here, they're just trickling up to the door. But it's been winding around through campus here to show up for this memorial service.
We're told that the auditorium seats more than 2,000 people, but they've also made plans elsewhere on campus for overflow room so that once this gets filled up the people can still get the memorial service piped in to other rooms here on the campus.
But, as you pointed out, President Obama coming here, and his message will be specifically to the people of Joplin and then to the people of Missouri. In total is that the federal government is here to assist in any way possible to help them recover.
And, I'll tell you, the scene here is still very gripping. We're told by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney that the president did get a chance to look out the window of Air Force One as he was landing here on this very windy day and saw the devastation. And I drove around and I can tell you that the devastation is still very gripping, even though it's more than a week since the tornado devastated this area.
People here, though, seem to be quite upbeat despite this devastation as we were driving in. We saw thousands of protesters, if you will, counter protesters, because there's been some negative protests taking place around this campus, and so people have been sort of standing up for this community, saying that this community will recover, that God is with this community.
A lot of positive signs that we're seeing people wave here around the campus as President Obama, who is now - or shortly will be taking a tour with state and local officials and then coming here to take part in the memorial service. We were told his remarks will last about ten minutes - Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so, Dan, as the president's surveying the area, he's seeing for himself the kind of devastation that he people there are enduring. Is he also getting some personal time with many of the survivors and many people who are still grieving the losses of so many? Over 100 died in this tornado in that town.
LOTHIAN: That's right. You know, the president, we were told, will get a chance to meet with some of the - the victims, those people who survived this devastating tornado. And I think what's interesting here is that this is the third time that we've seen the president do something like this this month alone.
You might recall it was a month ago when the president went to Tuscaloosa to meet with some of the residents and surveyed the damage after a tornado there killed more than 40 people. Then, early in the month, he was in Memphis, Tennessee to do some touring there and also speak with residents who were impacted by major flooding.
So, yes, the president will get some personal moments to meet with those who've been impacted, but also here, during his remarks, we're told that the - the priority for the seating here was for the victims. It's opened in general to the public, but the priority is for the victims. They'll get a chance to hear from the president as well.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dan Lothian, thanks so much, there in Joplin. Of course, we'll be carrying the president's remarks - the memorial service in its entirety, as it happens, live.
Meantime, the National Weather Service says the tornado that ripped through Joplin cut a six-mile swath of destruction. But the locals say it was, on the ground - the tornado, that is - on the ground much longer than that.
Our Casey Wian traces the tornado's path from beginning to end to see just who might be right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're now about three miles into our journey, and you can see behind me that by the time the tornado got here, it destroyed almost everything in its path, including one of the iconic images of this disaster, St. John's Hospital.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And you can see the final outcome in Casey's full report at the half hour, just moments away, about 25 minutes from now.
And you can watch the Joplin community memorial service right here in the next hour. It's coming to you live right here from the CNN NEWSROOM in a special report at 3:00 Eastern time.
Turning now to Memorial Day events around the country.
In San Bruno, California, thousands of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts gathered at the Golden Gate National Cemetery to honor fallen war heroes. The scouts placed American flags on more than 100,000 grave sites there.
The remains of seven U.S. Military service members killed in Afghanistan are now back on U.S. soil. Their flag-draped coffins arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware this Memorial Day weekend.
And organizers of a Memorial Day event in Washington hope to raise awareness of POWs and MIAs. It's the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle ride and rally.
CNN's Sandra Endo is live at the National Mall where the rally is taking place. So Sandra, you know, this is an annual ride, the Rolling Thunder, but what makes this year's unique?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, I can tell you that the numbers keep growing from year to year, and, as you mentioned, this is the 24th Annual Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom event.
As you mentioned, thousands of bikers from across the country have gathered here at the National Mall to really pay tribute to the nation's veterans, as well as POWs and those missing in action. And, I can tell you, one person we spoke with said that a person from California rode a Vespa all the way over here, taking 10 days, stopping every 150 miles or so to refuel, just to make it here to this event today. And, this year, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen will be addressing the crowd here. The rally going on right behind me at the National Mall is kicking off as we speak, so clearly a lot of people gathering here to hear their message - Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And also, Sandra, many times some elected officials, especially those who have some roots in the military are there in large support. And then this year we see some potential candidates on the national platform, that of Sarah Palin, who's also there. Give us an idea how she and others might be participating.
ENDO: Well, Fred, I can tell you that the former Alaska governor and possible presidential contender was here. She rode in with the group, on the back of a motorcycle. She's not scheduled to speak here on stage, but we caught up with her and have this exclusive comment given to us when asked about if she's politicizing this event.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: Oh, I'm here to support our vets and (INAUDIBLE) keeping it alive, making sure that Americans don't forget it's our vets who we owe our debt of gratitude.
ENDO: Are you politicizing this event at all?
PALIN: Heck, no. Does it look like I am?
No. No. I'm an American. I have no title. I have no office. And to be an American citizen with the freedom to come out here and assemble and thank our veterans, I can't tell you how honored I am to have been invited.
ENDO: And what about the bus tour?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not parking anything. I'm moving.
PALIN: The bus tour is to get out there and remind Americans about our foundation, our Declaration of Independence and the constitution and the historical sites that should be a reminder every day to every American about how important it is to stand strong on our foundation and build upon it. It's what made us the greatest country on earth.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENDO: Now, Rolling Thunder as a group says it's non-political, nonpartisan and it would welcome any American, regardless of where they stand on the political spectrum - Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Sandra Endo, thanks so much. From the nation's capital there - I mean, National Mall.
So it has been one month since the U.S. raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound. Stan Grant, our correspondent, talked to neighbors who knew Bin Laden's wives and the children, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. We've been talking about the nasty weather that swept through Joplin, Missouri, causing that devastation. And now, a week later, we've got severe weather happening in another region.
Jacqui Jeras in the Weather Center.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We're watching the Chicago land area right now, Fredricka. There's some -
WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE)
JERAS: Yes - really nasty thunderstorms just off to your west.
This is a severe thunderstorm warning for you here in Cook County, and you can see all of the lightning and heavy downpours. In fact, these storms have been putting down between one to two inches per hour and flash flooding is being reported west of Chicago.
We also have a tornado warning, and including you in Kankakee. This is a Doppler radar indicated tornado, so storm spotters have not seen anything at this time, but you need to treat it like an actual tornado on the ground and you need to get to the lowest levels of your home, away from doors and windows.
Here's a live picture to show you from our affiliate, WGN-TV of downtown Chicago, and you can see the rain coming down. Very dark skies. Sixty degrees is your temperature, and those thunderstorms are probably 15 to 30 minutes at most just off to your west.
We do have a watch which is in effect at the time. This is a severe thunderstorm watch, but once in a while we do get isolated tornadoes under these types of conditions. And you could see a new tornado watch has been issued for Northern Indiana, into parts of Ohio, and into Michigan, that includes the Detroit metro area.
So we'll watch this complex of thunderstorm and it continues to move east. But if you live in Chicago or if you're just visiting there, Fredricka, you need to stay indoors, inside a sturdy building, until these thunderstorms move by.
WHITFIELD: Great advice. All right, thanks so much. I know we're going to check back with you within the hour and them obviously throughout the afternoon to see what the developments are. Jacqui, appreciate that.
JERAS: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right, we'll take a look at international news right now. We're hearing about heavy fighting between government forces and Islamic militants in Yemen. It is in the city of Zinjibar, on the Arabian Sea coast. That area's considered a hotbed of extremist activity.
The fighting is not directly related to the often violent anti- government movement now sweeping Yemen. Yesterday, the government and a main opposition group failed to reach a ceasefire agreement.
A new discovery, by the way, now inside Egypt's great pyramid. Take a look at that. A tiny remote controlled camera has actually revealed these red hieroglyphic markings.
Researchers say they were made by the pyramid's original masons, more than 4,500 years ago.
And for the first time in two years, Manuel Zelaya is back in Honduras. The former president was ousted in a coup and sent into exile back in 2009.
Few people in the West had even heard of the small town in Pakistan where al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was hiding. Well, now, a month after his death, details about the place was still hard, if not impossible, to come by.
CNN's Stan Grant found that out for himself. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One month on, killing Osama Bin Laden has not won America too many friends here.
(INAUDIBLE) lives less than 200 meters from where Bin Laden lived and died. He has more sympathy for the slain al Qaeda leader than foreigners, swearing at us, calling us pigs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
GRANT: "Are Muslims terrorists everywhere?" he says. "Actually, America is the biggest terrorist."
Others, though, are friendlier. This boy, Zarar (ph), approaches us with a story to tell. He and his sister, Aza (ph), befriended Bin Laden's youngest children and grandchildren. They say there were two boys, one girl, seven, four and three years old.
Zarar (ph) relives the cricket games he played with them. That's the white Bin Laden house you can see behind us. Contradicting reports that no outsiders breached the Bin Laden security, Zarar (ph) says he actually played inside the compound itself, getting a close look at his secret world.
Despite being neighbors, the brother and sister didn't know the Bin Laden children's names. The children told them their father was the family courier they called Nedin (ph). Only now do they know who their playmates really were.
"AZA" (ph), BIN LADEN NEIGHBOR: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
GRANT: "My grandmother asked in Pashtun, 'who is your father?' Aza (ph) says. "They said Nedin (ph). They always said Nedin (ph)."
Through this brother and sister, we get to piece together daily life in the Bin Laden compound. Rather than speaking the local language, the Bin Ladens preferred Pashtun, the language of the Afghanistan- Pakistan border.
They were a normal family, friendly, the children said. They never saw Osama Bin Laden. He remained well hidden.
They did meet the Bin Laden wives.
"ZARAR" (ph), BIN LADEN NEIGHBOR: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
GRANT: "There were two aunties standing in the house," Zarar (ph) says. "They asked me how was I? Where did I live? What did my mother do? I told them my mother was a housewife. They wore ordinary Pakistani clothes."
Zarar (ph) says he said he noticed the women were different from other mothers in the neighborhood. "They spoke in a strange language," he says, "very poor Urdu. Then I thought probably they were Arabic."
And the children were different too. Even in this Muslim community, they were especially devout. "They were very religious," Zarar (ph) says. "Whenever I went there to play, they asked me to wait until afternoon prayer, and then they would stop playing later for evening prayer."
Aza (ph) shows us pet rabbits, a gift from the Bin Laden family. After everything, she says, she misses her friends.
"AZA" (through translator): They were young. They were beautiful. I really miss them. They were the only children we played with.
GRANT: Zarar (ph) and Aza's (ph) father is a government official in the Justice Department, yet Osama Bin Laden lived right next door and no one knew. The Bin Ladens lived this way for years, in the heart of Abbottabad, a military city in the mountains, two hours' drive north from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
Now, the area is in lockdown. In recent days, it's been open for the CIA to collect material and information, but no such access for us. As we tried to get close, this is what happens.
GRANT (on camera): (INAUDIBLE) roll. Roll on.
GRANT (voice-over): The police say they're under instructions to smash our camera. We get it back, but we'll not be going any further.
GRANT (on camera): Well, this is clearly as far as we're going to go. We're not going to get any closer to the Bin Laden Compound.
Here, life continues as normal. Beyond here, though, 200 meters or so away, is the Bin Laden house, still holding in so many of the secrets of his life here in Abbottabad.
OK. We're - we're finished. Thank you very much. Thank you.
GRANT (voice-over): Stan Grant, CNN, Abbottabad, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And back here in the States now, we're about 45 minutes from the Joplin community memorial service. The president of the United States and other dignitaries will be speaking and we'll bring that to you live in a special report.
And then, next, a church's faith doesn't waver in the aftermath of the storm. Our Jacqui Jeras joins us with this story, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Is former presidential candidate John Edwards about to be indicted for alleged misuse of campaign money to cover up an affair? I put that question to our legal guys.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: There's I think little doubt that the Justice Department is going to indict John Edwards, but they're going to have to prove a case that is very novel both in facts and law.
The bottom line on it is his big donor, Bunny Mellon, gave him $4 million, $700,000 of which is alleged to have been applied to Rielle Hunter and a cover-up. The campaign manager's (INAUDIBLE), by the way, Fredericka, is 100 years old. Actually John went - John Edwards went to visit her yesterday. And, the only witness left, the discredited Andrew Young, the former campaign aide.
WHITFIELD: But - but about that money, prosecutors are going to have to prove, that the money - if there was money that was transferred to Rielle Hunter, that it came from that Mellon money and not perhaps from John Edwards' own bank account, because he had money, too.
FRIEDMAN: Sure.
WHITFIELD: So that's going to be difficult, is it not?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes well, absolutely. Well, I don't think it's going to be difficult, Fred, since his former finance chairman, Fred Baron, already gave interviews with the government to say that he absolutely took that money and used it for a cover up to cover up his relationship with her.
They'll forensically trace the funds. The issue is a violation of public trust. The Department of Justice is not going to put up with that. He raised some $49 million, $50 million from campaign donations, and if they applied any of that money to cover up his relationship, that's improper. That's what they will indict for.
I guarantee you, John Edwards' hair is all messed up these days, and he is absolutely sweating this one out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And, of course, you can watch our legal guys every Saturday, beginning noon Eastern Time. All right, in tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri, residents are literally getting lost. How to turn around? Because so many of the city's landmarks are gone, swept away, but an iconic one remains - the cross atop the badly damaged St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Jacqui Jeras spoke to the priest who survived the storm in the church's bathtub.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUI JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is the building you were in.
REV. JUSTIN MONAGHAN, ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH: Yes.
JERAS (voice-over): There's almost nothing left but rubble of Father Justin Monaghan's rectory behind St. Mary's Catholic Church, where he served his community for the past 15 years. He survived the tornado by seeking haven in what he has always heard was the safest place, the bathroom.
MONAGHAN: I got in the bathtub face down, tried to cover my head and I heard this noise and I thought, oh, what is happening? I lie there. I just prayed and said, thy will be done, and I decided to wait till the end of the noise and then I opened that door and everything was blocking. It was all covered there.
JERAS: He waited there, trapped for nearly an hour after the tornado had passed before his parishioners managed to find him.
MONAGHAN: And I hollered at the top of my voice because there was water dripping and making noise. I said, "Where are you?" And I pulled some kind of a board - like you see the boards there, I pulled it off and I put it in the air.
JERAS: Amazingly, he was uninjured and says God got him through the storm.
JERAS (on camera): What was going on through your mind at the time? You said you were praying?
MONAGHAN: I was. I don't know. For some reason, I was OK. I said, you know, God, if this is meant to be, I said, you know, how much I love you.
JERAS (voice-over): The parishioners who have shown up to help are always leaning heavily on their faith.
BOB ESSNER, PARISHIONER OF 29 YEARS: Sometimes you think that it happens to bring people closer together and helps you got life in perspective.
JERAS: And while there is nearly nothing left of the church, the metal cross stands tall over miles of devastation.
CAROLYN MARSHALL, PARISHIONER OF FIVE YEARS: I saw the cross yesterday passing through nearby. I thought what powerful - how powerful and it gives us hope that God is still with us.
JERAS: Father Monaghan says Joplin is a faith-based community but many still ask why they've been burdened with such a terrible tragedy.
MONAGHAN: God allows things to happen and we don't know why. But when we look back, we always hear the good things that happened as a result.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Jacqui Jeras with me now. So many people were so worried about Father Monaghan, because they didn't know where he was. They didn't know that he actually had survived that storm.
JERAS: Yes. He was in there for about 50 minutes before the first people were there to arrive to help him out of the rubble and we were there the day after the tornado and parishioners would come up and they would come running in tears, giving him hugs that, you know, he was a huge part obviously of that church, because they didn't know if he was OK. The communication is still very spotty in the area.
WHITFIELD: And this area, even though that was hit by this incredible EF-5, a tornado (INAUDIBLE), they had been through a terrible ride before.
JERAS: Yes. Hard to believe, but back in the late '80s apparently the church was hit by a tornado. Quite a bit of damage on the front side of the church, but that metal cross is still standing. It's been there since the 1940s -
WHITFIELD: Incredible.
JERAS: -- and survived - survived both - both tornado.
WHITFIELD: How resilient, as are so many of the survivors there.
JERAS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jacqui, thanks so much for bringing that to us.
Of course, you know, this afternoon, a memorial service taking place there in Joplin. The Joplin Community Memorial Service right here in the next hour. We'll cover it for you live. The President of the United States on the grounds there in Joplin, already surveying the damage. He will be at that memorial service to offer his words of comfort for that community devastated by that tornado one week ago today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.
President Barack Obama is touring the tornado destruction in Joplin, Missouri, right now. Next hour, he will speak at a community memorial service, which you will see live right here on CNN. Missouri's governor has declared this a day of prayer and remembrance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOVERNOR JAY NIXON, MISSOURI: We want to continue to feel the people of this country continuing to reach to us and give those contributions to our various charities. That's been tremendously helpful.
We're going to need their will to rebuild here. We're going to need the assistance of everybody to get this site cleaned off, rebuilt and rebirthed. We've been working with all of the folks.
The bottom line is -- the most important thing today is the refocus on our resolve, calling on the higher power to have the strength to go through what's going to be many months of rebuilding here in Joplin, Missouri.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And a mud slide has left a gaping hole in a neighborhood just outside of St. Louis. Take a look. It just gave way this weekend. The hole opened up about 100 feet wide and 100 feet deep. That is huge there. The fire chief in Alton, Illinois, suspects an old mining tunnel actually collapsed. But miraculously, no one was hurt.
And one of the largest aerospace companies says hackers did not get any sensitive information. Lockheed Martin is one of the contractors that hackers targeted last week. The company says their security team detected the cyber-attack and quickly took countermeasures.
The USDA's food pyramid is about to undergo a makeover that's because the current one has been criticized being simply too confusing. That one right there. Well, this week a new one will be plate icon will be unveiled.
The Agriculture Department says the new design shows at least half the plate filled with fruits and vegetables and should be a lot easier for people to understand.
And this is an example of what not to do while trying to catch a foul ball. Just take a look. Don't drop your daughter. The dad said he was trying to get a player's attention to throw him the ball at last night's Marlin Dodgers game.
But then, as you can see right there where the ball comes in, he decides the drop the girl for the ball. Don't do that one. All of that, he says -- and he still didn't catch the ball. Can you believe it? Hopefully his daughter forgives him.
Just days before Marilyn Monroe would have turned 85, we are seeing never before published pictures of the late Hollywood icon. A photographer spent $2 on a folder of black and white negatives at a garage sale in New Jersey nearly 30 years ago.
Inside he found unpublished photos of Monroe taken just before she actually hit it big. It is unknown just how much the pictures are worth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): And this is what's left of a chemical plant in Caldwell County, North Carolina. Something caused an explosion fire there yesterday. Emergency officials ordered everyone within a two-mile radius to evacuate until they determine exactly whether it's safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And on to Joplin, Missouri, there is a dispute today over just how long last week's deadly tornado stayed on the ground. The National Weather Service says it cut a six-mile swath across Joplin, but locals say it was on the ground much longer than that. Casey Wian traces the tornado's path from beginning to end.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Show us to the initial damage from the tornado.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Initially, those little trees through there and the stuff over here, the trailer where the business here.
WIAN: So this is ground zero of the Joplin tornado and we're going to drive its entire length from west to east to get a good picture of just how widespread the damage was. Here's the first downed power lines, major electrical transmission lines. One reason much of Joplin is without electrical power.
So less than a mile into our journeys, you see the first homes that lost parts of their roof. You can see over on this house, a sign warning, looters will be shot. We can some of the power company crews were working on, repairing these down electrical lines. That will be vital to this area's recovery.
We're now about three miles into our journey. You can see behind me that by the time the tornado got here, it destroyed almost everything in its path including one of the iconic images of the disaster, St. John's Hospital.
Now about four miles into the path of the tornado, this is where we first came just hours after it hit. We spoke with the family who was trying to salvage what they could despite a driving rain and hailstorm.
JAMES BLACKWOOD, TORNADO SURVIVOR: It start off with hail. I'm used to that. It just went insane afterwards.
WIAN: Here is the collapsed Home Depot where we first met 17-year-old Aundrea Osborn who's desperately searching for her father.
AUNDREA OSBORN, LOST HER FATHER: My dad and my uncle are in there. I'm hoping and praying to God they're OK. WIAN: It turned out they were buried in that rubble. So we are now seven miles to the east of where the tornado first touched down. As you can see, there are still lots of damage here.
So those original estimates of six miles on the ground are way too conservative. This is where Jim and Stacy Richards lived. Stacy survived the tornado by hanging on to two dog crates as her home collapsed around and on top of her.
STACY RICHARDS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: That was awful. Lying there screaming and screaming and screaming. It was horrible.
WIAN: This week they got their insurance settlement so they can rebuild. How far east did it go?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure. I know there's damage on the next mile section.
WIAN: We're now almost exactly 12 miles due east of where we started this journey and where the tornado first touched down. This is the area where locals say the tornado actually lifted off the ground. Meaning its path is about twice as long as first estimated.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: So to put it another way from where I'm standing, the tornado's path of destruction stretches three miles behind our camera and nine miles that way to the east.
t's absolutely unbelievable. In just about four hours from now the city of Joplin will be hosting a moment of silence and that's at the exact moment one week later when the tornado first struck this city. Fredricka --
WHITFIELD: And so Casey, oftentimes after tornados, devastation like this, you don't have electricity. Obviously they don't have fresh water to drink.
The few people who are there, trying to pick up the remnants, maybe the homes were destroyed, but they were damaged. They've decided to stay. What kind of utilities do they have? How were they able to kind of get by?
WIAN: Well, a lot of folks are not able to live in their damaged homes and have left and are staying outside of Joplin with friends and family, but there was some good news for some of the folks.
Yesterday, the water company lifted its boil order for water. In restaurants, homes here you weren't supposed to drink the water because they couldn't determine that it was safe because of the destruction that was caused by the tornado, all the debris around in the water supply.
They tested it yesterday. They determined that it's safe. So residents here no longer have to drink bottled water. A minor inconvenience, but going into the restaurant they couldn't get soft drinks unless they were in a can.
In the hotels, you couldn't get juice because the juice machines use water. So that's one little aspect of life beginning to get back to normal.
WHITFIELD: All right, Casey Wian, thanks so much there in Joplin, Missouri.
Of course, that Joplin community memorial service takes place just moments from now. You'll watch it live here from Joplin at the top of the hour. Our special NEWSROOM coverage begins.
All right. And then straight out of the movies, spy gadgets, sunglasses, watches that you can actually track your whereabouts. Who is that masked man there? He's going to feel a little get matter, a little mission impossible. We'll reveal who that is right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This pen, it's a class 4 grenade. Three clicks arms the four-second fuse, another three disarms it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long did you say the fuse was?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: That's Pierce Brosnan as James Bond talking to Cue, his gadget guy. Our own gaming and gadgets guru, that dashing man in disguise, Marc Saltzman is with us with some news out of spy products. You look good.
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: OK, so what do have? We're going begin with those sunglasses that are actually multi-functional, aren't they?
SALTZMAN: That's right. They are indeed real sunglasses with the UV and AV protection that you need from the sun, but they have a hidden high definition camcorder right in the middle there.
There's a pinhole camera, a Sony camera that records high def video at 720 frames progressive video or at 30 frames per second and it can also take 12 mega pixel stills.
This product is called the Z-shades HD from Z-tronics. They'll run you about $300, but they can capture and store. Look at this, up to 5 hours of video on that little tiny 8 gigabyte microSD card.
Then when you captured it, you put it into a computer and then you can save it so pretty stylish and stealthy at the same time.
WHITFIELD: It sure is. My goodness, OK, and now, you know, the GPS in my car, your car, everybody's car, well, apparently you have a new spin on that, one that fits in your pocket? SALTZMAN: That's right. So this is called "The World Tracker and Duropro GPS." It's about the size of a pack of ticktaks, but it can track someone's movement in a car or even on their person. You know, if you slip it into someone's purse or in their glove compartment in their car.
Again with all these gadgets, I do want to, of course, say, you know, use this responsibly, but this is what the real private eyes use if you want to track someone's movements. It uses GPS, cellular connectivity and has a 3D motion sensor.
And then once you got it somewhere, you can follow along their movement on a map, on a computer, on a mobile phone, on a tablet, I don't know if you can see that, but you can see a real 3D map using Google maps or Bing or Virtual Earth like this and then you can follow along their movements in real-time, well, about 10 seconds behind real-time.
So that's pretty - pretty close to real-time as it gets. So this will run you - starts at $150 a year and you can go to trackingtheworld.com. But again, I do want you to, you know, exercise some responsibility when you're playing around with this kind of stuff.
WHITFIELD: Absolutely, with all this stuff too. All right, the next gadget is a watch that does more than tell time. I'm feeling a little get smart kind of moment here.
SALTZMAN: Yes. My kids love this one. So this is from the folks at thinkgeek.com, one of my favorite web sites. It's called the USB Hidden Flash Drive Watch. For good reason, it looks like a regular wristwatch and of course, it does tell time, but in the wristband you find a hidden USB connector. Can you see that?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
SALTZMAN: So this will store thousands of documents, photos and videos that you want to keep on you privately. You don't even know it's there because of the way the black wristband protects it.
But again, once you need to access those private documents that you've got, you simply pull down the little black strap, plug it into a Windows or a Mac computer and you've got access to those files.
And if you don't want to take it off your wrist and that's what I like about it that that you're not going to forget it. There's an adapter that comes with it as well. It's an extender if you will. It goes on to one side of the USB and then goes into the computer. This 8- gigabyte watch will run you $49.99.
WHITFIELD: That's not a bad price. All right, we've got about 45 seconds left for something for the kids, you may want to encourage it, but do we, to keep secrets actually?
SALTZMAN: Well, this is more of a toy, but it's great. It's from the folks at Wild Planet. It's called the Spy Gear Lazer Trip Wire. It lets you set up an invisible perimeter in your room. Let's say you know that your little brother is taking your video games and you want to prove it.
So you setup this invisible laser beam as you can see it and you point at each other. It's actually a three-part solution here then if you trip the wire, which is invisible. Somebody walks pass that, it sets off a very loud alarm.
Let me see if I can set it to sound here with my finger, but it's pretty loud and you'll know for certain that someone's in your space. So this is 28 bucks. I can't make it go loud unfortunately, sorry. It's great little gadget from Wild Planet.
WHITFIELD: My sister would have loved that back in the day when she told me, you stay on that side of the room. All right, Marc Saltzman styling and profiling and keeping it all so secretive and stealthy. Good to see you. You look great.
SALTZMAN: Likewise, thanks, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, appreciate it. Have a great weekend and for more high tech ideas and reviews, just go to cnn.com/tech and look for the gaming and gadgets tab.
All right, meantime, thousands of people are gathering at Washington's National Mall as part of the Annual Rolling Thunder Memorial Day event. Admiral Mike Mullen is speaking right now. We'll be back with more from the NEWSROOM after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Welcome back to the NEWSROOM, back from a six-day European tour, President Barack Obama now on the ground, on U.S. soil in tornado ravaged Joplin, Missouri. You see right there.
He's getting a first-hand look at the devastation there after that EF- 5 tornado swept through the area one week ago today and he's also getting a chance to talk to the survivors there.
Next hour, we'll have live coverage of the Joplin community memorial service there. The president of the United States will have remarks for the people there of Joplin and he actually had some remarks right there while he was doing the tour. Let's take a listen.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Red Cross in helping people to respond, but obviously it is going to take years to build back, and, you know, we mourn the loss of life.
We're going to be going to the memorial service and try to help comfort the families and let them know we're praying for them and thinking about them.
We had a chance to meet with some of the folks who lived in this community and just harrowing stories, but also miraculous stories. I met an 85-year-old gentleman who still has a lawn service who explained how he'd just gotten his chicken pot pie out and the storm started coming and he went into the closet and came out without a scratch.
So there are good stories to tell and happy stories to tell here, but obviously there's been a lot of hardship as well. The main thing I want to make clear to the people of Joplin, this is not just your tragedy. This is a national tragedy, and that means there'll be a national response.
Craig Fugate, who's probably been the busiest man in the federal government over the last few months has been on the ground since the day after this happened. And he's helping coordinate with an outstanding team of state and local officials.
We're going to do everything we can to continue whatever search and rescue remains. We're doing everything we can to make sure that folks get the shelter that they need, the support that they need. We're working with the governor to make sure we cut through any red tape that's necessary with respect to rebuilding here.
And then we're going to have a tough long slough. But what I've been telling every family that I've about met here is we're going to be here long after the cameras leave. We're not going to stop until Joplin is fully back on its feet.
So to all the volunteers who are helping out, one of the things that's been incredible is to see how many people from out of state have driven as far away as Texas, nearby as Illinois. People just coming here to volunteer, firefighters, ordinary citizens.
It's an example of what the American spirit is all about. That gives us a lot of encouragement at a time when obviously people are going through a lot of hardship so thank you, again, Governor. Good work. Would you like to say a few words?
NIXON: Just, you know, I've been here every day trying to work early to late, trying to back up local officials, trying to coordinate the federal response, trying to make sure that we move forward.
Today, you know, is a day of remembrance. As we move here to the memorial service not only of life and injury and property, it's significant. It's going take a higher power to keep the strength of this community resolved to get this done and we're confident this will happen.
We're especially appreciative, Mr. President, that you're focusing your attention here to help us in ways that that will make a lasting difference. God bless you for that.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. And one last point I want to make. Obviously in the rebuilding, they're thankful, but many of them have been displaced. Many of them have lost their main means of transportation. Their schools have been destroyed. So for all Americans to take a little bit of time out to make a contribution to the American Red Cross or other charitable organizations that are active here in Joplin. That can make an enormous difference. Even just $5, $10, whatever you've got to spare.
Because one of the things that's striking about this and I felt the same way when I was down in Alabama. This could happen to anybody. The difference between you being in the path of this twister and a few blocks away you being OK is a very slim margin.
And so we've all got to put together because here, but for the grace of God go I, all right? Thank you very much, everybody.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: President Obama there in Joplin, Missouri, getting a look at the devastation one week after that EF-5 swept through devastating that community for at least a six-mile stretch, taking the lives of more than 100 people.
At the bottom of your screen, you're also seeing a little box there, a live picture of the Joplin community memorial service that will be taking place. That starts at the top of the hour.
The president of the United States after touring, after talking to survivors of that tornado will be making his way to that community service and he will have remarks.
CNN will be carrying all of that live beginning at 3:00 Eastern Time at the top of the hour. We'll have much more from the NEWSROOM after this.
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WHITFIELD: We're minutes away from a live memorial service. As Joplin begins to rebuild, today is a time to, quote, "focus on rebuilding our soul." Stay with CNN for live coverage of the service just minutes from now.
Folks in tornado-ravaged Tuscaloosa, Alabama have a message for folks in Joplin, Missouri. It's been a month since the deadly tornado hit Alabama and even though some areas look like the storm hit - just yesterday, residents say it will get better. Our David Mattingly explains.
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DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One month since a monster tornado killed 41 people here. Tuscaloosa, Alabama, offers little hope for a quick recovery of the victims of more recent tornados in places like Joplin, Missouri.
(on camera): What's this over here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, that's my grandson's tent. MATTINGLY (voice-over): On the outskirts of Tuscaloosa, I find Gayle Hardin in a moment of despair.
GAYLE HARDIN, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Today it just hit me, you know, that I'm not ever going to go back home again.
MATTINGLY: After living in tents for weeks with her family, almost everything Hardin had still sits in a massive pile next the road, letting go of the life she knew has been the hardest thing of all.
HARDIN: I just start over with everything because everything is just dirt and debris, but I got my family and we'll make it.
MATTINGLY: A thought echoed daily across Tuscaloosa as small signs of hope slowly emerge. The streets are finally clear, water is back on. Electricity returns to more homes by the day, but one thing hasn't changed.
(on camera): So many neighborhoods like this remain in pieces, abandoned, lifeless ghost towns. In fact, if you look around at all of the destruction still around us here, it looks like the storm hit yesterday.
(voice-over): And it feels like it to survivors whose lives were broken, bent, and battered.
(on camera): What was it that went in here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It went right through the house.
MATTINGLY: It went right through the house?
MATTINGLY (voice-over): In one of the hardest hit areas, Steven Brown is the only one I find trying to build, his house, the only one on the streets still standing, but shredded inside and out by debris.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a piece of panel come through and way entire of that right there. Just way inside of that wall there.
MATTINGLY (on camera): If someone had been hiding in your closet that wouldn't have been safe either. Look at that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No -- yes, it went straight through.
MATTINGLY: Oh, look. It came all the way through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): His family survived huddled and praying in the hallway floor. Three next door neighbors died. A Google street view of Brown Street shows a wooded neighborhood that was full of life. This is what it looks like now.
(on camera): After everything that's happened, what made you decide to come back?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is home.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): And like so many hit by this tornado, Brown is getting help from volunteers, offering food, swept (ph) and comfort. Brown tells me he's learned something and wants to tell the people of Joplin, don't turn down help and don't give up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can't go anywhere else, you always can go home so --
MATTINGLY (on camera): Would it have been easier for you just to pack it in and just say, I'm not going to back, start over somewhere?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it would have been a whole lot easier. It would definitely have been a whole lot easier but I won't let this get me down.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): A whole month after a deadly tornado and so many still so slow to turn the corner from surviving to recovering.
David Mattingly, CNN, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
