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Kentucky Derby Security Stepped Up; Soccer Referee Assaulted; Mother Missing 11 Years Found; Video of Reese Witherspoon Arrest; Boston Bombing Shows Immigration Flaws; Possible Decision in Jodi Arias Trial Today.
Aired May 03, 2013 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAM BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: That message seems to be getting through.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know if I see something, I'm going to say something, probably more so now than ever before.
BROWN: For others, it's still all about the derby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an event everybody wants to experience, that they look forward to every year, and just to come out and have a good time. The fashion, mint juleps. I don't think it's going to be a concern at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And Pam Brown joins us now live from Louisville.
Pam, first of all, where's your hat? I don't see a hat.
BROWN: That's a good question. You know, I didn't have enough time to go shopping for a hat unfortunately -- Jake?
TAPPER: I would think somebody from --
BROWN: I know. I let a lot of my fellow Kentuckians down.
TAPPER: I'm disappointed there's no big hat. More seriously, what is security like there today having been at many of these events, I imagine, is it significantly increased?
BROWN: Yes, Jake. I grew up in Kentucky and coming to the Kentucky Derby, security's always been tight here especially since 9/11, but this year it definitely feels like security has been stepped up. There is a very large presence of authorities. We see National Guard troops, local, state, federal authorities here. There's more bomb sniffing dogs here this year in the wake of what happened in Boston just a few weeks ago. You can probably see behind me there's a large crowd here today, around 150,000 people. This is the Oaks race, which, for people that don't know, it's the race for the fillies, female horses, leading up to the derby tomorrow. This is a trial run with all these new security measures put in place in just the last few weeks.
I'll tell you, Jake, what sparked the most discussion in talking to spectators here today is the fact that the purse sizes are limited, 12 inches or less. In fact, department stores have rulers on the counters all over available for those women who have had to go back and buy new purses in light of these new measures.
TAPPER: But no limits on hats, right? That's still OK. It can be as big as the state itself.
BROWN: No limit on hats. You've seen quite the array of hat sizes today.
TAPPER: I'll bet. Have you talked to anyone at all who has doubts about going to the event because of these renewed fears post Boston?
BROWN: Yes, you know, talking to people today, Jake, it's definitely top of mind what happened in Boston a few weeks ago. CNN, Time and ORC did a poll about how people were feeling in the wake of the Boston bombings and their feelings about terrorism, there was a slight increase, but overall about a quarter of the people polled said they were less likely to go to a public event like the derby, Boston Marathon, because of terrorism concerns. So even though people we spoke with say, yes, you know, we were a little bit scared coming to be such a large crowd like today. But overall, people weren't letting that fear hold them back.
TAPPER: All right. Pamela Brown in Louisville, Kentucky. Thanks so much for joining.
A soccer referee is fighting for his life after being punched over a foul. That's what happened. He called a foul and he got punched and now he's in a coma. Unbelievable. Up next, we'll speak live to the referee's daughter. She says her family is just hoping for a miracle.
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TAPPER: In Utah, a soccer referee is currently in a coma after being punched in the head at a youth league match. Ricardo Portillo was refereeing the game at a soccer field in suburban Salt Lake City last Saturday. His daughter says a teen player hit her father after being called for a foul. Portillo is now battling a severe brain injury. The player is in custody on suspicion of aggravated assault.
Portillo's daughter, Johana, joins us live from Salt Lake City.
Our deepest condolences. Our thoughts and prayers are with your father.
Tell us more about your father and his love for the game of soccer.
JOHANA PORTILLO, DAUGHTER OF RICARDO PORTILLO: Well, his passion was, you know, being there the whole weekend, just refereeing. He loved soccer. We just never thought this was going to happen. He loved what he did and it was his passion.
TAPPER: And your family had vacation plans this week, right?
PORTILLO: Yes. We were supposed to leave yesterday for vacation and look where we are right now.
TAPPER: I'm sure your family could have huge medical bills, assuming even the best happens. Is that going to be a problem for you? Do you have insurance? Do you have insurance for this type of situation?
PORTILLO: Right now we've been getting a lot of help with bills for the hospital, a lot of programs, you know, from the city. Right now our only concern is to fly my family from Mexico so they can see my daddy one last time.
TAPPER: Johana, are you suggesting that the prognosis is not good at all? Is there any hope?
PORTILLO: Due to the investigation going, we cannot say that much, but the doctor says only a miracle will bring my daddy back.
TAPPER: That's so horrible. I am so, so sorry.
Johana Portillo, we'll be thinking about you, and our thoughts and prayers with you and praying for that miracle along with you and our deepest condolences.
PORTILLO: Thank you. Thank you.
TAPPER: A missing mother of two from Pennsylvania is found in Florida 11 years after she vanished without a trace. Will her children forgive her? We'll hear from her daughter next.
Plus, you loved her in "Legally Blonde." You swooned for her in "Walk the Line." Now we're seeing Reese Witherspoon in another light. We'll have the video of her infamous run-in with a police officer, and a performance she probably wishes you didn't see.
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Welcome back to CNN. The daughter of a woman who resurfaced 11 years after she disappeared from her Pennsylvania home says she has no plans to see her mother. Brenda Heist turned herself into authorities in Key Largo, Florida, last week, telling authorities she might be wanted in another county. Heist later admitted that she had simply walked out on her family.
Her daughter, Morgan, was only 8 years old at the time. And in a tweet this week, the now-19-year-old Morgan says her mother can, quote, "rot in hell."
Morgan had even more to say to our Piers Morgan last night.
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MORGAN HEIST, DAUGHTER OF BRENDA HEIST: I think, when I was 8, I didn't really know what to feel. I mean, I was -- I thought she would come home because that year I made her a mother's card -- Mother's Day card. So obviously I thought in the back of my mind she was coming back. And now -- I mean, now I have a lot of different emotions. I'm mad, so.
PIERS MORGAN, HOST, PIERS MORGAN: Do you want to see her?
HEIST: As of right now, I don't. I don't think she deserves to see me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Police say Heist had been living on the streets of Key Largo and will face no charges.
Parts of Florida are under water this first week in May. Streets flooded in Ft. Lauderdale when a powerful storm moved through. The area was under a tornado warning at one point. A possible tornado damaged a shop in Boca Raton. Today, more heavy rain. Some parts of Florida could get more than a foot.
Now to Turkey where a new dress code for flight attendants is raising eyebrows. Turkish Airlines is banning red lipstick and nail polish for crew members. The reason? A news release says the hot color, quoting here, "impairs visual integrity." It seems the national airline prefers employees wear makeup in neutral or pastel tones, but others are concerned that the move may reflect a growing conservative Islamic trend in Turkey.
Reese Witherspoon is apologizing, but the dash-cam video of her arrest in Atlanta last month has gone viral. CNN obtained this video from law enforcement sources. Take a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Ma'am, what'd I just tell you to do?
REESE WITHERSPOON, ACTRESS: I want to know what's going on.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: He's under arrest. If you don't get back --
WITHERSPOON: I'm a U.S. citizen. I'm allowed to stand on American ground and ask --
(CROSSTALK)
WITHERSPOON: -- any question I want to ask.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Go ahead. Come on.
WITHERSPOON: You better not arrest me. Are you kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Nope. I told you.
WITHERSPOON: I'm an American citizen.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: I told you to get back in that car and stay in there, didn't I?
WITHERSPOON: This is beyond -- this is --
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: You fight with me, I promise you ---
(CROSSTALK)
WITHERSPOON: -- harassment. You're harassing me as an American citizen.
(CROSSTALK)
WITHERSPOON: I have done nothing against the law.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Yes, you have. You didn't obey my orders.
WITHERSPOON: I have to obey your orders?
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Yes, you do.
(CROSSTALK)
WITHERSPOON: No, sir, I do not.
(CROSSTALK)
WITHERSPOON: Absolutely nothing.
JIM TOTH, HUSBAND OF REESE WITHERSPOON: Reese? Reese? Relax.
WITHERSPOON: I'm now being arrested and handcuffed?
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Yes.
WITHERSPOON: Do you know my name, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Don't need to know it.
WITHERSPOON: You don't need to know my name?
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Not quite yet.
(CROSSTALK)
WITHERSPOON: Oh, really? OK. You're about to find out who I am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: This video shows a calmer Witherspoon after the arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Hold on a minute. Just stand there. Just stand there. From what I understand, I guess, he told you to get back in the car? WITHERSPOON: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: OK. The thing is, I know this is --
(CROSSTALK)
WITHERSPOON: I had questions to ask him. And he said, no, you can't ask me any questions. And I said, sir, I have a question to ask you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: The actress pleaded "no contest" to obstruction charge and paid a $1,300 fine. Her husband pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. He has been placed on 12 months probation.
Anthony Bourdain travels to distant and exotic Canada for this weekend's "Parts Unknown" and he's pretty sure there's a lot you don't know about the Great White North. Here's a quick look.
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