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Pistorius Defense Fights Back; Hundreds Stranded By Snow; Running in Their Undies; Robbed in a Traffic Jam

Aired February 20, 2013 - 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: Yay, good to be back. Thanks so much. Good to see you, Suzanne.

Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Brooke Baldwin. Here are the top stories we're following for you right now.

We begin with new details on that Valentine's Day murder in South Africa. Prosecutors are making their case at a bail hearing against the man known the world over as "blade runner." Prosecutors set the scene in the bathroom of the Olympian's house. Remember, Oscar Pistorius has admitted that he shot his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through the bathroom door.

But, he says, he killed her by mistake thinking she was an intruder. Blood stains on a cell phone and a cricket bat also were found in the bathroom. Neighbors recall sounds of arguing coming from their home before the shooting. A police investigator told the court two boxes of testosterone and needles were found at the scene. And new information has been revealed that Pistorius once discharged a gun at a restaurant. But the police investigator agreed with the defense that Steenkamp's body showed no other signs of assault and no evidence had been found to contradicts Pistorius' version of events.

Meanwhile, speaking outside the courthouse, Pistorius' uncle had this to say about his nephew.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD PISTORIUS, OSCAR PISTORIUS' UNCLE: He's not a violent person. He's a peacemaker. He's always been a peacemaker. And that's his nature. He looks tough and he looked like the superstar and hold himself in public domain, but he's actually a very, very kind, soft person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Robyn Curnow is covering this story from Pretoria. And I spoke with her just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So, Robyn, it's important to remember that all of these new details are surfacing in a bail hearing. This is not a murder trial as yet. Can you explain how the court system works there and what is in store for Pistorius? ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this has been a bit of a trial within a trial, hasn't it? It's just a bail hearing, but we've been hearing all sorts of evidence from both sides. In fact, the state kind of laying their cards on the table.

Now, that isn't surprising. That often happens here in South Africa, particularly with such a high profile and, of course, important case. Premeditated murder, you know, is a very key and important charge. So a lot of -- you know, a lot to pull out and try and defend that.

In terms of the actual process, there might be a trial by the end of the year at the soonest. The South African court systems, there's backlogs. You know, it's very slow. So, you know, they're going to try and hurry it up because it's obviously, you know, a high-profile case. But, you know, the wheels of justice turn very slowly here.

In terms of prison conditions, if Oscar Pistorius doesn't get bail, I mean, is he's going to spend at least until the end of the year behind bars. And I can tell you something, I've been into South African prisons and they're -- you know, they're not pleasant places to be. You talk about overcrowding. You talk about unsanitary conditions. You know, you talk about all of that stuff, violence, gang cultures.

But more importantly, remember, he is disabled. He has, you know, no legs beneath his knees. He needs prosthetics to walk on. And South African prison service doesn't have any special programs or any special priorities for disabled prisoners. So, you know, unless he is given special treatment, you know, he's going to be thrown into this, you know, quite a crazy system.

WHITFIELD: And so let's talk about one of the key arguments upcoming which may help Pistorius is that Steenkamp had locked the toilet room door when she heard Pistorius screaming for help. Can you explain why this is relevant? Explain kind of the dangers that many people live with there in South Africa. Why Pistorius and Steenkamp may have been so afraid.

CURNOW: You know, and I think Oscar spoke about this yesterday in his statement. You know, he talked about the fear and the paranoia you feel in the middle of the night. It's dark like this. The darkness. And you just sort of start hearing noises in the night. And there's a reason why you get scared in a place like this, because the crime rate is very, very high. It's not unusual for people to wake up and find somebody, you know, over their bed with a gun at their head. You know, every South African -- I'm South African -- has some horror story. And, you know, Oscar said that he had been robbed before. His brother had been robbed before. So there is a sense of paranoia when you go to sleep in this country. You are fearful.

Now, imagine if you don't have legs. That you are that vulnerable. That you can't bounce out of bed and, you know, start defending yourself. So that, in a way, plays into the defense's argument that Oscar was doubly vulnerable and obviously doubly paranoid. The fact that he then let off four shots into a closed door, you know, is another argument entirely.

But in terms of the context of why she also perhaps locked that door, when she might have heard Oscar screaming, call the police, Reeva, which is what he said he called out. And she might have heard that and thought, oh, lock the door. So that is one line of argument. So, you know, when you hear Oscar tell it, you know, it's a valid point under the circumstances by which we all live, you know, when it gets dark like this.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you, Robyn. It's a fascinating case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And, bundle up, baby. A blanket of snow is expected over much of the U.S. A massive winter storm is expanding fast from California to the Midwest. And we're talking heavy snow, ice, freezing rain. All of that. The huge storm system may also wallop the southeast with violent thunderstorms, floods, hail, and possible tornadoes.

And then on to California. Heavy snow already has left hundreds of drivers stranded on mountain highways. Casey Wian joins us now from the Hone (ph) Pass, California.

So, Casey, is California equipped to deal with this kind of snow?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've had most of the snow overnight, Fredricka. And you can see behind me, there's just pretty much a light dusting on those hills there. But it was a much different story overnight. Behind me you can see Interstate 15, and that is one of the main roads that connects Los Angeles with Los Vegas. And overnight that highway was closed on and off in periods because of the heavy snow conditions.

You've also got some video from one of our affiliates showing one of the accidents that happened on the highway last night. One of the reasons why the California Highway Patrol and Cal Trans (ph) had to shut down this interstate overnight. So far no fatalities. No serious injuries reported.

But there were a lot of inconveniences. Interstate 5, which is to the west of here, connects the southern California area with northern California. There's a section there called the Grapevine and that was closed early this morning because of very difficult, icy conditions.

That stretch of the highway closes often. Motorists were trying to avoid that anticipated closures, took another highway, about 100 cars there got stranded. So it was a very difficult night, but most of the storm has moved out of southern California, now in Arizona, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. So that means the folks who are preparing for the big Academy Awards, they don't have anything to worry about?

WIAN: I'm not a weather forecaster. I don't know what the rest of the week looks like, but apparently not.

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. Very good. Well, we'll take that prediction. I'm sure they will, too. Casey Wian, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Our meteorologist, Chad Myers, well, he'll be joining us.

So, Chad, which states might be hit the worst?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, right now, like Casey just said, Arizona, you are in it to win it. Then in a New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and even up into Nebraska and as far north as Wisconsin and Michigan. So you said, a lot of the country going to get covered up with snow.

But it is moving out of California. It is still going to be a cold prep for the Academy Awards, I'm afraid here, here across parts of California, as the slide -- the moisture slides off to the east and eventually becomes a snow event here. Already snowing in parts of Oklahoma. But there will be ice into Springfield, Missouri, and all of those areas right around Springfield, significant ice accumulation.

There will be snow in Denver. There will be snow on I-70, I-80, I-29, 35, from Kansas City down to Wichita. Wichita, by morning, you'll have 5 inches of snow on the ground and it will continue to snow until it's stacked up to about a foot deep.

Farther to the southeast, this pink area here from Tulsa and points eastward, that is where the ice accumulation could be an inch thick. I know growing up right there in Omaha, ice is the worst thing possible to drive on. You can get some traction in snow. But when you get an inch of ice on the power lines, bringing down power lines, bringing down trees, Springfield, Missouri, and the area right there from Fayetteville on up to Springfield, could be a big mess in 48 hours.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and it's terrible. That black ice, forget it.

MYERS: Oh, yes.

WHITFIELD: You cannot drive on that, nor walk. So, it's a nightmare.

MYERS: True.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chad Myers, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

MYERS: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right, now a quick look at some of the other stories we're following. Roll it.

All right, the White House will soon unveil an aggressive plan to help protect the U.S. from devastating cyber attacks. China will be a main focus. An American cyber security firm says it tracked a hacking network to Shanghai and the Chinese military. CNN reporters tried to investigate a Shanghai building named in the report as a home base for the hackers. Police chased them away. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep driving. Drive away. Drive away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, they're seriously running them down. China is denying any involvement in the recent attacks on American companies and institutions.

And back in this country, former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. dabs his eyes with a handkerchief today as he pleaded guilty to using $750,000 of campaign money for personal expenses. Among those purchases, Michael Jackson memorabilia and a Rolex watch. Jackson is to be sentenced June 28th. His lawyer talked about the next step.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REID WEINGARTEN, LAWYER FOR JESSE JACKSON JR.: And the process that begins now is explaining that conduct to the audience that counts. And that's obviously the sentencing judge. And the way we're going to do it is not going to be on the courthouse steps, it's not going to be to Oprah. No offense to Oprah. We're going to do it as lawyers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Jackson could get up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His wife is due in court later today and is expected to plead guilty to filing false tax returns.

And the new pope could be known sooner than expected. Pope Benedict XVI is considering a rule change to allow for a vote on his replacement before March 15th. That's the date set by church laws, which says cardinals should vote on a successor 15 to 20 days after a vacancy occurs. Well, Benedict's last day will be February 28th.

And with fist bums and a full heart, Robin Roberts returning to "Good Morning America." The "GMA" anchor was back on the air this morning, 174 days after leaving to have a bone marrow transplant to treat a rare blood disorder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN ROBERTS, ANCHOR, ABC's "GMA": Faith, family and friends have brought me to this moment. And I am so full of gratitude. There are so many people that I want to thank throughout the morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Roberts has an interview with the first lady, Michelle Obama, on her agenda, and she'll be on the red carpet for the Oscars this Sunday. Welcome back, Robin. We've missed you.

All right, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Sergey Brin are teaming up to help change the lives of 11 people today. They're set to announce a new foundation that rewards research aimed at curing certain diseases and extending human life. The first 11 recipients will each receive $3 million. Our Ali Velshi will talk with Zuckerberg and Brin about the foundation and the award. You can catch all of this at the top of the hour, 3:00 Eastern Time.

And, we have much more this hour, including new developments in the Jodi Arias trial. The woman accused of stabbing and shooting her boyfriend to death is on the stand today. She says she does not remember stabbing him.

And drivers caught in a real traffic jam becoming sitting ducks for robbers. It's all caught on tape. We'll have the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

The Arizona woman who brutally killed an ex-boyfriend saw her alibi collapse and now claims self-defense. Her name is Jodi Arias. She has just told a jury in Phoenix, Arizona, that she can't remember stabbing Travis Alexander. She says she does remember shooting him by mistake and she just said and she remembers holding a kitchen knife as Travis lay dead. But she can't remember whether she used that knife against him. Travis was stabbed 27 times. And the state says that's what killed him. The knife.

Again, Jodi Arias says she was acting in self-defense that day after a series of fights with Travis, punctuated by steamy sex acts. She says the final fight began after she accidentally dropped his new camera, which the couple had just used to record their sex scenes. Here's her gripping testimony just a short time ago in Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JODI ARIAS, DEFENDANT: So he's freaking out. I'm freaking out. I rolled, like I said, I rolled off to my left and began to run down the hallway and I could hear him follow -- I mean I could hear his footsteps chasing me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you scared when he was chasing you?

ARIAS: Yes. I didn't want him to grab me again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were you scared that he would do?

ARIAS: Who knows? At that point he had already almost killed me. I remembered where he kept a gun. So I grabbed it. I jumped up on the shelf. Kept it on the very top. I grabbed it and then I run out the other door as he was opening the door. And he ran, chasing me. And I turned around and pointed it at him so that he would stop chasing me.

I pointed it at him with both of my hands. I thought that would stop him. If someone were pointing a gun at me, I would stop. But he just kept running. He got -- like a linebacker. He got kind of low and grabbed my waist.

Before he did that, as he was lunging at me, the gun went off. I didn't mean to shoot him or anything. I didn't even think I was holding the trigger. I just was pointing it at him. And I didn't even know that I shot him. It just went off and he was -- he lunged at me and we fell really hard against the tile toward the other wall.

There is like a huge gap -- like I don't know if I blacked out or what. There's a huge gap, and the most clear memory that I have after that point is driving in the desert. But there are certain little things that have come back, like pictures in my mind that have come back since then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, let me ask you it this. Do you remember stabbing Travis Alexander?

ARIAS: I have no memory of stabbing him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Jodi Arias says she shot Travis Alexander by mistake but does not remember stabbing him. And that was the cause of death. Cross examination is expected to start soon.

And just moments ago, new information released on that deadly gas leak in Kansas City. Witnesses say the explosion was so powerful, it knocked the roof off a restaurant. More on what led to the blast, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A huge blast that took out an entire building in Kansas City, Missouri, has turned out to be deadly. Mayor Sly James says crews pulled a body from the rubble today that was once JJ's restaurant, which blew up yesterday evening. It's not clear if the body is that of a missing employee.

About 50 minutes before the explosion, firefighters responded to a call of gas odor. The mayor says it appears that a construction crew hit a natural gas line while digging, but investigators are still working on the case. At least 15 others were hurt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF PAUL BERARDI, KANSAS CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Of those 15 patients that -- a total of 15 patients, nine have been released and six remain at the hospital. Three are in critical condition, one in serious condition and two in stable condition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything shook. You didn't just hear it, you felt it. You could really feel the shock wave from it. It was the most intense explosion I've ever heard or felt in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The mayor also said today he cannot be 100 percent certain if everyone who was in the restaurant has been accounted for.

All right, something of an inspiration here. When Chad Leathers watched painful tumors take over his brother Drew's body, he took charge of the fight against a rare disease in a truly unusual way. Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with this week's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What would compel thousands of people to run a mile in their underwear in the middle of winter? They are raising money to help this man, Drew Leathers, and many others like him who suffer from neurofibromatosis or NF. It causes noncancerous tumors to grow in the body. Drew grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta. When he was 16, he was diagnosed with this rare disease.

DREW LEATHERS, NF PATIENT: By senior year of high school, the pain was a daily experience for me.

GUPTA: By the time he was 23, the tumors were so bad, he says, he was no longer able to walk. Little was known about the illness or how to treat it. Drew's struggle inspired his brother Chad to do something drastic. He gave up a successful graphics company and joined the Children's Tumor Foundation to raise money and awareness for NF.

CHAD LEATHERS, DREW'S BROTHER: To see a life that you see so promising being stripped away, you know, the only thing to do is to reach out and do your best to try to find a solution, educate other people about it.

GUPTA: Four years ago, the Cupid's Undie Run was conceived. The first event held in D.C. raised approximately $10,000. Now the event has gone international and race officials say more than $1.3 million will be raised this year.

At 25, Drew is benefiting from his brother's efforts. After being bedridden for years, he's in a clinical trial that uses a cancer drug to shrink those tumors. He has less pain, he's out of bed, drives a car, and he plans to go back to school next fall.

D. LEATHERS: The fact that we have an option to stem the tide of that suffering in any way makes it the most important thing I could do with my life.

GUPTA: And Drew gives a lot of credit to his brother and their friends who are working to help him and others suffering from NF.

C. LEATHERS: Through all of this, you know, he's just been a stalwart. He's been so strong. He's had such faith. And it has been because of the community that's been around him.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you're probably saying this to yourself, there's no end in sight to the rising gas prices. Everyone's feeling the pain when they fill up at the pump. So, what is driving the price spike? We'll find out, next.

And Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Sergey Brin are teaming up to help change the lives of 11 people today. They're set to announce a new foundation that rewards research aimed at curing certain diseases and extending human life. The first 11 recipients will each receive $3 million. Our Ali Velshi will talk with Zuckerberg and Brin about the foundation and the reward. And you can see all of this at the top of the hour, 3:00 Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, they call themselves "coyotes" and they lie in wait ready to pounce on anyone stuck in traffic. And caught on tape, these snatch and run robberies in Lima, Peru, take only seconds, as you see. Police are now trying to crack down. Senior Latin affairs editor Rafael Romo is here.

You have more examples of the traffic jams and what happens as a result.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Talk about a crime of opportunity. When I first saw that video --

WHITFIELD: Sitting ducks. Terrible.

ROMO: Exactly. The thing that caught my attention was the fact that they're so incredibly brazen. They wait for traffic to stop. And as soon as they see that, they go to the cars. They open locks. They try to snatch away purses, whatever they can, wallets in one case.

WHITFIELD: So it's not an issue of just having your windows up?

ROMO: Oh, no, no, no. They find a way to get into your car. And they -- as soon as they get there, they do what they have to do to get your money, to get your belongings, and then they get away. Again, this is in Lima, Peru. It's not happening in the United States, just in case people missed that fact.

But it had been happening for about three months. Police tell us since December, more are or less. They started surveillance work in mid January. And by the time they arrested these four suspects on Monday, police say they had already stolen about $46,000 from people.

WHITFIELD: Whoa.

ROMO: So they were very prolific as well.

WHITFIELD: Was anyone getting hurt in the process or were they just strictly out for the goods, the money, the jewelry, whatever they could get their hands on?

ROMO: Strictly out for the goods. Luckily nobody got killed. Some people got a little bit hurt because they would beat people up in order to get their wallets or their money, but that's really all they were after. As soon as they got the wallet, they ran away and they disappeared.

WHITFIELD: So you said four arrested. Is this part of a gang? Are there more?

ROMO: It's part of a gang. Four arrested and police tell me they're looking for four more. So this investigation is not over yet.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Well, I guess at this point nobody wants to be in the car in traffic. Nothing of the sort in Lima, Peru.

ROMO: But the good news is that the gang has now been dismantled, according to police.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ROMO: So it seems to be over.

WHITFIELD: Good. All right, Rafael Romo, thanks so much. Good to see you.

ROMO: Thank you. You too.