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Amanda Knox Decision At Any Moment; Mississippi Lawmaker Found Dead; Snow and Cold Put Spring on Ice; Security Tight At Memorial in Colorado; Florida Gulf Coast Makes History; Tiger Woods Back

Aired March 25, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. A teenager rushing into a burning home, a father and son going into floodwaters instead of coming out and any minute they're about to get the honor of a lifetime.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

Questions of a white supremacist conspiracy in the murder of a prison chief.

After two skydivers are killed, one parachute expert shows me what went wrong.

Plus, Amanda Knox learns her fate again.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't cried yet. I might cry tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A millionaire coach and a team no one's heard of --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's all I can say, dunk city.

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BALDWIN: Shocks America.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Great to be with you here on this Monday.

And I want to begin this hour with something very special. Something we don't see very often. So at any moment, at Arlington National Cemetery, the United States will honor ordinary citizens who have done extraordinary things. I'm talking about people who put service above themselves. They passed the test of human spirit with flying colors. Who am I talking about? These four people. They will take the spotlight for these actions they took just in the past year. They're not military. They're not police. They're not trained rescuers. As I mentioned, these are ordinary folks who made tough decisions to do the right thing at a critical moment. People like Marcos Ugarte. He was 14 when he saved a seven-year-old boy trapped in a fire. Ugarte ran toward the flames, grabbed a ladder, climbed into a second floor window.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCOS UGARTE, CITIZEN HERO: And I punched the screen door out, the screen window, and I told the kid to come out feet first. And he came down the ladder and I carried him and I gave him to the lady.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That's one story. How about this man? This is Monsignor Joe Carroll, who has dedicated his life to helping the homeless. It's all through the center that offers much more than food and shelter. It offers services like health care, job training.

And the final two who will be honored today, a father and son with the same name. This is Jesse Shaffer III and the IV. And do you remember those floodwaters in Louisiana, back, I believe it was last August. It was so high, this was in their Louisiana parish, the waters, as you can see, to the rooftops. These two, this father and son, they didn't leave. They went into the worst hit areas. They saved -- look at this, by boat, 120 people. I remember them because I talked to the younger Shaffer back in August as he was describing to me giving up his own space on the boat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE SHAFFER IV (voice-over): We were kind of overloaded. I had to stay on a roof for an hour because I gave up my spot to someone. I think it -- we had eight elderly from that building. Went from rescuer to rescuee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: His father said he is accepting the award to honor the many people who helped save lives during that flooding. As I mentioned, these four will be honored today. They were among hundreds of worthy candidates. So, again, this is happening at Arlington National Cemetery. We're keeping a close eye on it. And as soon as we can turn around some video for you, we certainly will do that.

Also happening in a matter of moments, you see this? Boeing launching a test flight of its 787 jet after a series of recent battery problems. This flight will take off and land at Everett, Washington. We are told it's a check of the systems. And everything, of course, will be analyzed after the flight. We'll let you know how that one goes.

Developing today now out of Brunswick, Georgia -- Brunswick, Georgia, for those of you not familiar, this is coastal southern Georgia, just north of Jacksonville, Florida. A 15-year-old suspect entered court here in an orange prison garb and was informed by a judge he will face a charge of murder. That's right. This kid is 15. As he walked in, we blurred his face. We're not releasing his name. He is accused of killing a baby. A baby boy whose mother had him in a stroller in broad daylight. This was Thursday. May have been some sort of stickup. No plea was entered today. It's unclear whether the suspect will be charged as an adult. A second teen also faces charges.

Once a favorite target of the world's tabloid media, her name and face are still very familiar. Amanda Knox, the American exchange student convicted, then acquitted in Italy, of killing her British roommate back in 2007. Here's the thing, judges ruled investigators botched that investigation, that they contaminated the evidence, but prosecutors, they're not giving up. They want this woman back in Italy, back on trial. In fact, we're hearing now we could get a decision from Italy's supreme court later today, possibly tomorrow.

I want to take you straight to Rome to our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman.

And, Ben, as we eventually sort of weigh this decision from the court. We know Amanda Knox, she's back in Seattle. She's been penning this book, attending college. If Italy does attempt to retry this case, how does it work? I mean how can the Italian judicial system force her on a plane?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they really can't. They need to -- the Italian government needs to request her extradition from the United States. And there's no guarantee at this point that the United States would agree.

Now -- and also, if this court behind me, the Italian Supreme Court, rules that the acquittal that took place in October of 2011 is invalid, it will have to go back to another appeals court in Florence and therefore the timing is not at all clear at this point or the mechanics of how this would be done.

Now, we have been told by one of Amanda Knox's lawyers that they are expecting an announcement from the court within the next two hours. So we're waiting to hear what they decide. It was a fairly lengthy procedure today. Normally in these cases, the lawyers are given half an hour, but some of them went on for more than an hour in trying to make their case. So, we've got two hours to wait and see.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Well, we'll come back to you, Ben Wedeman, if we do hear anything.

Just quickly, because I'm thinking of the victim's family, Meredith Kercher's family, how do they even feel about a retrial?

WEDEMAN: They want a retrial. They have made it quite clear that they do not believe that Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, are, in fact, innocent. They want them put on trial again.

BALDWIN: Ben Wedeman in Rome. Ben, I appreciate it.

Here in the United States, a story coming to us from Mississippi. A state lawmaker found dead outside the home of a former state lawmaker. CNN's Brian Todd is following those developments for us today in Washington.

And, Brian, I now you've been talking to people who knew Jessica Upshaw. What have you learned?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Various things, Brooke, since this was reported yesterday and early this morning.

Now, the sheriff of Simpson County, Mississippi, quoted all over the place as saying this appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We spoke to a close friend of Jessica Upshaw's, who was with her yesterday. This friend has also told us that this was an apparent suicide. The coroner of Simpson County has confirmed to us she died of a single gunshot wound to the head.

According to the friend who we spoke to, Jessica Upshaw had been battling depression for several years. Was under a doctor's care. Had been taking medication for depression. Had modified her diet. And overall this friend says she was very committed to battling her depression. This friend describes her as, quote, "brilliant," someone who had an impressive ability to read a lot of material very quickly, legislation, legal material. She is a former attorney. And we've been told by two sources this friend and the coroner of Simpson County that Jessica Upshaw has a daughter, a son-in-law and a grandchild who live in South Korea. The daughter is an engineer and we're told she is now on her way back to the United States.

BALDWIN: Brian, what about this relationship, if any, between Upshaw and this former Mississippi house colleague Clint Rotenberry?

TODD: That's right.

BALDWIN: Why she would have been at his home. What do you know?

TODD: The friend who we spoke to, again a friend close to Jessica Upshaw, and this friend was with her yesterday, says that she was in a relationship with this former state legislator, Clint Rotenberry. According to published reports, he was not arrested in this case. The friend says they were both single, both had been divorced for a number of years. The friend says Upshaw was found outside Rotenberry's house in the town of Mendenhall, Mississippi, where he lives. That's more than 100 miles from where her district is. This friend says they were in a relationship. That everything was fairly above board. They had both been divorced for a number of years. And that's what we know now.

BALDWIN: OK, Brian Todd, thank you.

TODD: Sure.

BALDWIN: Check the calendar. At least my calendar says it is spring. But much of the country is still in the icy grip of winter. Brr. Commuters -- this is Dayton, Ohio -- got up close and personal here to some of these wet streets, several inches of new snow on everything else.

To suburban Washington. Watch this with me. Pretty pictures. If, I guess, you don't have to go out in it. Kids enjoying it because school chalking up another snow day because of three inches of snow falling overnight there. People who did have to travel found the streets slick and treacherous. A lot of churches in Kansas City had to cancel Palm Sunday services yesterday after that storm dumped up to seven inches of fresh snow there. Power reportedly was knocked out to several thousand homes.

And the St. Louis area can claim some of the deepest snow from this system. One northern suburb measured up to 15 inches.

And Martin Savidge, lucky you, standing in the thick of things for us in Pittsburgh, looking lovely, drawing the short straw for us today. Martin, good to see you.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Brooke.

It's beautiful here. We've gone from snow now to rain, which is always miserable.

BALDWIN: Lovely.

SAVIDGE: And I love snow, but I never like it when it turns to rain. Stick around a few hours. It's going to melt. And that's probably the best thing about this storm is the fact that, yes, it's spring and it's a spring storm, but it's probably all going to disappear pretty quickly everywhere where the snow has been falling. It's transitioning here. The storm has moved off to the east and it's still going to be a problem for travelers, especially those going by air.

But here in Pittsburgh, it started bad, but it's ending on an upbeat. About 400 classes were canceled. A number of flights delayed. But it really was not as bad as they feared. They thought three to six, they got one to three. So, all in all, spring's here, you're just going to have to dig to find it.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Maybe you can dig to find some daffodils in the thick of things there in Pittsburgh. Martin, we appreciate you standing out there.

Let's talk to Chad, because a lot of you I know are wondering, when is this going away.

Chad, he mentioned, you know, it's turned into rain. Hopefully that's the theme for elsewhere in the country.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, at least a little bit, until the sun sets and then it changes back over to snow and then it freezes on the ground.

And, you know what, I don't know why did we send Marty to Pittsburgh and not send him to Punxsutawney and go find that rodent that said it would be spring by now.

BALDWIN: What's going on?

MYERS: Yes, ask him some questions. Give a subpoena to that guy, whatever you do.

Snowing across parts of New Jersey, into Washington, D.C., all the way even down into the Potomac seeing some snow right now. It is getting to about 34, 35, 36 degrees and things are turning a little bit sloppy and slushy. Here's a live shot from one of our affiliates. That's the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

BALDWIN: I can't see anything.

MYERS: I can't see anything either. I can make out snowflakes flying around down here. There should be casinos here. There should be an ocean there. No visibility because it is snowing.

The Pinelands area, now if you get that kind of west of Atlantic City, towards Philadelphia, you could pick up four to even six inches of snow with this. We are seeing airport delays, JFK, Norfolk (ph). If you can't see the planes and you can't see the ground for a while, you have to slow the planes down. Not physically, but you have to separate them and therefore you don't get as many planes on the ground as you had hoped and not as many in the air as you had hoped.

Springfield, Illinois, the winner, or the loser depending on your point of view, at 18.5. There was a stripe all the way across parts of Missouri, right through Illinois and Indiana, with over a foot of snow in Springfield. You were right in the middle of that. St. Louis did pick up 12.4. Even Baltimore got into the act. And it's heavy, wet snow. It's spring snow. So don't break your back or your heart shoveling this stuff.

BALDWIN: Hey, it makes you appreciate spring when it finally come, right? That's my glass half full assessment here as I sit from my perch in Georgia.

MYERS: That's right.

BALDWIN: Chad Myers, thank you very much.

MYERS: You're welcome, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Still ahead here, as hundreds of people gather to remember the former Colorado prison chief murdered in cold blood, new evidence today on the gang that could have played a role in his death.

Plus, the mysterious death of a well-known critic of Russia's president. New clues may reveal how the tycoon died.

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BALDWIN: Police in Colorado, they are not taking any chances. They have dropped a security blanket, actually, over this service to honor their slain prison chief amid worries that a prison gang has ordered hits on state officials. Tom Clements, you see him right here, he was the prison chief. He was gunned down Tuesday, shot dead, at his home after reportedly targeting members of the so-called 211 crew. This is a white supremacist gang, a prison gang. And one of the gang's members, this man, career criminal Evan Ebel is the suspect in Tom Clements' killing. Ebel himself was gunned down Thursday, in Texas, after a high speed 30-mile shootout. He's also suspected in at least one other fatal shooting since his release on parole back in January. And CNN's Jim Spellman is with me now from Colorado Springs.

And, Jim, how close are they to nailing down whether Tom Clements' murder was ordered from inside prison?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That could be a while. Today they hope to officially use ballistics evidence to officially link Evan Ebel to the killing of Mr. Clements. He's the only suspect, to be clear on that, but they want to be sure they get that nailed down. But they've been working since the first day of this case in prison trying to see if there was somebody inside that had a part in some sort of conspiracy perhaps, as you mentioned, putting out a hit.

Now, when we talk to prison officials, they're clear that they don't have any indication of this at this -- of that at this point. But they want to be absolutely sure that public officials in this state are safe. And here's why. We've been here at this memorial for Tom Clements, memorializing this man as people recognize the real human toll that this crime has taken. We heard from his wife, Lisa, publicly for the first time. She spoke at the memorial with her daughters, Sara and Rachel. Look.

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LISA CLEMENTS, WIDOW OF SLAIN PRISONS CHIEF: Last Tuesday night, Tom and I were watching TV and our doorbell rang. And my life was forever changed. But I want to start a little earlier and talk about when our story really started. I was 19 years old and I fell in love with a guy who sat on the front row of my juvenile delinquency class.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPELLMAN: She went on to talk about their life together, Brooke. But I can tell you that people here at this memorial, and everybody I've spoken to in the law enforcement and corrections community, take this case so personally, they're working around the clock to try to find out if there was anybody else involved in this shooting in prison or even out. They're trying to find out what he spent the seven or so weeks since he got out of jail doing, who was he with, where did he get his gun, where did he get the car. Still so many unanswered questions here, Brooke.

BALDWIN: You know, speaking of personal connections to this story as well here, the dead suspect, Evan Ebel, 28-years old. As we mentioned, you know, spent most of his adult years in prison. Convicted of five felonies. Clearly troubled. Ironically, Ebel's father knows Colorado Governor Hickenlooper. Here is the governor himself talking about this dead suspect.

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GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D), COLORADO: He had a -- just had a bad streak. And, I mean, I think Jack and his wife did everything they could. I mean they, you know, kept hoping that he'd grow out of it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, Jim, I know questions have been raised about, you know, the suspect's parole, whether Governor Hickenlooper might have intervened to have him sprung free early. What are you hearing on that?

SPELLMAN: Well, he says absolutely not. And we do know that Evan Ebel served the entirety of his sentence. He was not let out early. There's mandatory parole after you've served your whole sentence, even. So that is what he was on. But he served every day of his sentence. And he says, absolutely not, he had nothing to do with Evan Ebel getting out of jail.

BALDWIN: OK, Jim Spellman in Colorado Springs. Jim, thank you.

Moving on to living the good life here. This guy is a millionaire, married to a super model and things just got a little bit better for this head coach. If you've been watching a little basketball over the weekend, you know who I'm talking about, as this team of virtual unknowns making basketball history. We'll tell you all about them, next.

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BALDWIN: He is a millionaire, married to a former supermodel, and right now he is on top of the world. Andy Enfield's team of virtual unknowns making March Madness history. I'm talking about the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. They are now the first ever 15 seed to make it to the big dance, to the sweet 16. They knocked off San Diego State 81-71 with a fun run and gun style dubbed dunk city. Watch the move on the court, man. Check out the team's celebration, chanting the coach's name here.

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CROWD: Andy, Andy, Andy, Andy, Andy, Andy, Andy, Andy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: If you have never heard of the Eagles, you are not alone. The school of about 13,000 students was just founded 16 years ago. They have only been eligible to play in March Madness for two years. And right now they're the only undefeated team in tournament history. The Eagles will have to beat, you know, the Florida Gators Friday night to make it to the elite eight. CNN Sports Andy Scholes joins me now.

Total honesty. I mean, I'm watching basketball Friday night. I'm sitting there with my iPhone Googling Florida Gulf Coast University watching them against Georgetown. Wow.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: You know what, so many people did that, their servers crashed. Their website -- university website crashed.

BALDWIN: Are you serious?

SCHOLES: They had to pull in for more servers on the weekend. Still didn't work.

BALDWIN: Amazing. This team. Who are they?

SCHOLES: Yes. Yes. They're an amazing Cinderella story. Now, people are saying, are they the best Cinderella story ever? Well, not quite yet. You know, we've had some great ones over the last 10 years. You had --

BALDWIN: George Mason was pretty awesome.

SCHOLES: You had George Mason. They had never won a tournament game before 2006. Went all the way to the final four, the 11 seed.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SCHOLES: Then just a couple years ago, Butler out of the Horizon League. They went to back-to-back championship games. You know, that was unheard of. And then BCU, just two years ago, going all the way to the final four. Those are some of great Cinderella stories we've had, you know, over the past 10 years that everyone thinks of. Now, this one's good and it has all the elements. It's got the coach, who was an entrepreneur, already made some money. Then he's got the super model wife.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SCHOLES: And he's -- he was a coach that, you know, fixed a lot of NBA player's shooting game. You know, he coaches them, got them back on track. And so, you know, it seems like, hey, they're going to make a movie about this at some point, aren't they?

BALDWIN: I mean, who knows? It sounds like a -- I saw some picture of the school, you know, right there in Ft. Myers. Not a bad place to study if you, you know, can study on the beach.

SCHOLES: Right.

BALDWIN: You know, that kind of thing. So we'll watch for them. How do you think they'll do against Florida?

SCHOLES: Well, this is definitely the David versus Goliath situation in Florida.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SCHOLES: The kids that go to Gulf Coast, you know, they probably didn't even get a sniff at a scholarship with the Florida Gators. So we'll have to see. Have to see if they can carry the magic over into north Texas.

BALDWIN: Just since I have you, I want to ask you, not necessarily a Cinderella story, but here you have Tiger Woods. You just -- he just won. So he's back on top. Is he back?

SCHOLES: Well, you know, we thought he might have been back a little bit last year and then he tailed off. But now he's won three straight tournaments to start off the year. Last time he did that was in 2008 when he won the U.S. Open. So we're thinking he's back. And, hey, the oddsmakers in Las Vegas think he's back. He's a three to one favorite to win the Masters in two weeks. The next closest guy to that is --

BALDWIN: Is he really?

SCHOLES: He is. And Rory McIlroy, who was the number one player in the world, he's ten to one. So they're -- everyone's thinking Tiger's got the Masters in the bag. We'll have to see. He hasn't won it since 2005.

BALDWIN: Public with the new girlfriend.

SCHOLES: Yes, but -- yes, so everything's working out for him right now. He's looking good.

BALDWIN: Interesting. Andy Scholes, nice to meet you. Thank you so much.

SCHOLES: Nice to see you. You're welcome.

BALDWIN: All right, a race, a crash, and then this. Talk about getting off track at Nascar. Find out what led to this fight. Ouch. Still ahead.

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