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Tornadoes Rip Across Five States; Search Crews Racing the Clock; Waiting for $590 Powerball Winner; Waiting for Jodi Arias Sentencing; Garment Workers Worry About Safety

Aired May 20, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, under the gun again. The Midwest some 55 million people after being pummeled by 50 reported tornadoes this weekend. In the crosshairs again today.

Who is the winner? America goes Powerball mad buying $36,000 in tickets every single minute. The winning play sold at a Publix outside of Tampa. This morning the Florida Lottery Office is open and we're talking to them.

Tumbling for Yahoo! Twenty-six-year-old Tumblr CEO David Karp selling his blog site to Marissa Mayer, pocketing $1.1 billion in the deal. Will the high school dropout bring the cool Yahoo! Is looking for some.

Plus this. Booed at the Billboards. Which artist when accepting an award was booed and then said, hey, I'm an artist and I should be taken seriously.

We're on the red carpet and you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And good morning. Thank you so much for being with me. I'm Carol Costello in Washington this morning.

This morning a tornado touches down in Missouri and millions of Americans brace for a possible repeat of yesterday's terrifying weather.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fred, get back here, we got to go soon. If this shifts, we're done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, this tornado near Oklahoma City, a monstrous half mile wide. The National Weather Service desperate to convey its deadliness issued this dire warning. You could be killed if not underground or in a tornado shelter.

Tornadoes ripped across five states. At least one person killed. Hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed.

Oklahoma and Kansas are the hardest hit. Illinois and Iowa also cleaning up today. In all there are some 50 reports of tornadoes this weekend. Entire neighborhoods are simply gone. Many more without power. Those bright flashes are electrical transformers popping as they're swallowed by this tornado in Wichita.

With daybreak just a couple of hours ago, crews are searching for victims and watching the skies because at any time a new round of deadly weather could strike.

We have a lot to cover this morning. In just a minute we'll look ahead to the threat of more violent weather today. But first, let's go to one of the hardest hit areas.

CNN's Nick Valencia is in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Good morning, Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And as the sun has come up, it's given us a new perspective of the damage and devastation in this mobile home park behind me. This is where the elderly gentleman was killed as a result of the tornado. You can see behind me that home with its roof completely ripped off.

And right next to it, a home standing intact. That's just sort of the pattern of tornadoes. But just to give you some perspective of how massive and how powerful this tornado was, check this out, Carol. This is a tree probably about maybe 20 feet, more than 20 feet tall, maybe 10 feet wide at its base. Its roots completely ripped from the ground.

Toppled over and we're on the fringes of this mobile home park. You can only imagine the devastation our viewers are looking at the pictures. Unimaginable video that's coming through there. It's amazing that only one person was killed. We know that at least six people were injured according to the Pottawatomie County Sheriff Mike Booth who told me that two of those injuries were serious injuries.

And you mentioned, Carol, as residents are just now recovering from this tornado, a new round of threats, a new round of severe weather is expected to come through here in this exact area that got hit yesterday. So just as residents are getting back on their feet, they're going to have to expect for a new round of possible tornadoes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Just awful. Nick Valencia reporting live from Oklahoma.

We want to bring in CNN meteorologist Indra Petersons right now.

Indra, before you lay out the day ahead, let's take another look at this because this is just so incredible.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Take a look at this video. This is unbelievable. This is actually out towards Rozel, Kansas. This is a huge stove pipe tornado. You can actually tell with conditions like you get these long lived storms out there.

One other thing I want to point out, though. A lot of people see a tornado like this they think all tornadoes will be like this. It's not rain wrapped, they can easily see it coming. And unfortunately, that is not the case especially today who we may not see all of these conditions be in an open field like this.

So take a look. Out there today, we're talking about 55 million of you under the threat for severe weather. Five million of you including Shreveport again looking at that severe weather threat in the moderate range. So today is we're actually going a little farther tilted off to the east. We're going to include portions of Missouri. But again, this is going to be a long event we're going to be talking about really the next several days, it looks like. Monday, Tuesday, even Wednesday we're going to continue to be looking at the severe weather threat.

I want to go out into -- to Saturday's video here, and we're going to be looking at, again, more of the tornado out there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to run right beside the funnel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tony, back down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's almost too close. I can't zoom. I'll have to get the whole thing in the shot. Heading up the funnel looking almost right overhead. Right up the clear slot. Heading back down. We're going to ride the side of the funnel. Panning back down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PETERSONS: OK. So once again, this is a very strong stove pipe tornado. And this is what I'm talking about. Visibility was clear in this instance. It was not strongly rain wrapped. But that may not be the case today as we once again start to see that severe weather develop as we go through the afternoon.

Keep in mind you may not see it, may not be an open field. In fact it could be in the tree line and also it could be rain wrapped. It could be so close to you and you may not even see it, so please be paying attention to your NOAA weather radio and really your surroundings out there today.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: After seeing that I'm sure people will heed the warnings.

Indra Petersons, thanks.

To Dallas now where a firefighter is missing in a massive condo fire. These are live pictures of the scene. According to our affiliate WFAA, a firefighter went missing 2 1/2 hours ago after being heard on the radio saying, quote, "I'm trapped." More than 100 firefighters are on the scene trying to help. No word yet on what caused the blaze.

A commuting nightmare in the northeast this morning. Many people who usually take trains or having to get -- having to find some other way to get around, crews in Connecticut are trying to rebuild 2,000 feet of track and overhead wires. They were damaged in Friday's commuter train collision. Repairs could take several days.

Boeing's high tech 787 jetliner returns to America's skies today. The fleet was grounded for months after batteries on some of the new planes overheated. Today's commercial flight from Houston to Chicago leaves in three hours. So far United is the only U.S. carrier flying the aircraft.

And within the hour will, the Supreme Court could issue rulings on several high profile cases including affirmative action, same-sex marriage, and whether human genes can be patented. Stay with us for live updates.

If you did not win the record Powerball jackpot this weekend, you're certainly not alone. But, boy, was it the hottest ticket in town. It was so popular, according to one report, Texas was selling tickets at the rate of $1 million an hour.

That's mind boggling.

(LAUGHTER)

Sales were reaching $36,000 every single minute. Associated Press says 80 percent of all possible Powerball combinations were played and we are still waiting for that one ticket with the lone ticket worth $590 million.

Cynthia O'Connell is the secretary of the Florida lottery. Welcome.

CYNTHIA O'CONNELL, FLORIDA LOTTERY SECRETARY: Hello, good morning.

COSTELLO: This has to be one exciting day for you, too.

O'CONNELL: Oh, it's so exciting to have sold this amazing historic jackpot ticket right here in Zephyrhills, Florida. It's a beautiful day in Florida and a lot of winning experiences here because of Powerball.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: You're not kidding. Do you know who won?

O'CONNELL: We do not. We have no information at this point in time. No one has come forward.

COSTELLO: And -- what, do they have 30 days to come forward and then their name has to be made public? Is that how it works?

O'CONNELL: Well, we're waiting for the individual to come forward and they will come to Florida lottery headquarters to go through the validation process in which they would claim their prize and have a choice of an annuity or a lump cash payout.

And we have not heard from anyone today, but we're anxiously waiting for an individual or individuals, a group. We don't have any idea at this time.

COSTELLO: The entire country is waiting. So this jackpot is 12 times the size of your city's budget. $590 million. At what point do you think could we hit a $1 billion, with a B, $1 billion jackpot?

O'CONNELL: Well, if Florida had not interrupted that jackpot roll series, we could have been very, very close. But quite frankly, we're very delighted that this winning experience is right here at home in the state of Florida. So we were very close if we'd had another roll series.

COSTELLO: Yes, I think if this had gone on for, what, until Saturday, the jackpot would have been, what, $935 million or something like that?

O'CONNELL: Very close to that. Very close to that.

COSTELLO: Well, Cynthia, I know you have a busy day ahead. We'll let you get to it. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

O'CONNELL: Thank you so much.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Alexis Norman. She's a Canadian jazz and folk singer who has sung her own national anthem since she was a little girl. But her first shot at publicly singing the "Star Spangled Banner," let's just say our national anthem is a lot harder to sing than O'Canada. Here she is before Saturday's Memorial Cup hockey game in Saskatoon.

Well, the crowd took it good naturedly at least and helped her with the lyrics and in the end I guess it was OK, but, boy, was she embarrassed. She tweeted her apology afterwards saying she was embarrassed and deeply sorry and later she told the CBC her nerves got the best of her.

Just ahead in the NEWSROOM. A high school dropout is about to become a billionaire. This as Yahoo! is set to buy his company, Tumblr.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is 15 past the hour. Time to check our top stories.

Midwest could see even more damaging tornadoes today, following reports of 50 tornadoes this weekend. Oklahoma and Kansas hit the hardest. One person killed in Oklahoma, an estimated 300 homes in the state damaged or destroyed.

Sectarian strife is blamed for a rash of violence across Iraq that's left nearly 40 people dead. Five car bombs exploded today in Baghdad's pre-dominantly Shiite communities. Iraq's prime minister is now calling on clerics to promote unity.

In money news, $1 billion payday. A one billion dollar payday is in the works for the 26-year-old high school dropout behind Tumblr. Yahoo! has agreed to buy David Karp's blogging site for, yes, 1 billion bucks. Karp will remain as CEO.

He created Tumblr in a back bedroom of his mother's New York apartment in 2007. The site has become quite popular with the coveted 18 to 24- year-old crowd. The move is seen as a way for Yahoo! to boost its image with Tumblr's young and loyal users.

Jodi Arias could get the death penalty after being convicted of killing her former boyfriend Travis Alexander. Jurors have already heard from Alexander's family and friends and they're expected to hear from Jodi Arias' friends later today.

As for the jurors, choosing between death penalty or life won't be an easy task.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is live in Phoenix.

So, Ted, who will be speaking on Jodi Arias' behalf?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, scheduled to speak, Darryl Brewer, a former boyfriend of Jodi Arias, and then Patty Womack (ph), who is a childhood friend of Jodi Arias.

And Patty Womack has had some reservations. Last week, a judge issued a ruling that her testimony is not nationally televised, that it will be completely dark, the cameras will go down when she's on the stand, when she is testifying, because she did not want the notoriety and there are reports this morning that she may have backed out entirely. So we'll wait to see about if she does testify for her childhood friend or not.

But the big witness of course is Jodi Arias herself who will be taking the stand or making a statement. She has a choice here. She takes the stand, she's subjected to cross-examination by Juan Martinez, which is no picnic, or she could make a stand with no cross- examination. The downside to that is she doesn't have an attorney to lead her through a number of different subjects. We'll wait and see.

The other x-factor here, Carol, is after she was convicted of first- degree murder, she said she wanted the death penalty. So if she does make a statement, what will she say? We should find out in a few hours here in Phoenix.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes. CNN will have live coverage 1:00 p.m. Eastern. So be sure to tune in.

Still ahead on THE NEWSROOM: the recovery ends at the scene of a deadly factory collapse in Bangladesh. But fear still grips many industry workers. What's a typical day like for them, how many hours do they work?

We'll talk to factory worker after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Outrage over a deadly factory incident in Bangladesh is growing. "Reuters" is reporting, a court has now banned the owner of a factory that burned to the ground from leaving the country.

One hundred twelve workers were killed in a November fire and officials in Bangladesh have started inspecting thousands of garment factories. This following last month's collapse of a nine-story building where more than 1,100 people died. Fear still grips industry workers today even in factories where they feel conditions are pretty good.

CNN's Leone Lakhani reports on what it's like to work inside one of those factories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEONE LAKHANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At this Dhaka factory, workers stitch, weave, mend and sew clothes bound for Europe, six days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Pushniara's (ph) been here for more than 11 years and seldom worries about her safety. But in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster which left more than a thousand people dead, Pushni (ph) says she now questions how safe she is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via translator): So many people died and no one knows what could happen at any time.

LAKHANI: Many of her co-workers worry, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via translator): Of course, it's natural to be scared when you see what happened at Rana Plaza.

LAKHANI: Fearful but forced to earn a living.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via translator): We are poor people. How will we pay our rent?

LAKHANI: At least, they say, conditions in this factory are good, especially when they compare notes with others.

"They get paid late, or they have to work really long hours, or they have to travel really far just to get to work."

Most of these women say they live close by. There are some 2,000 workers here across four floors.

(on camera): This building was designed specifically for the needs of the garment trade, the sheer number of people, the heavy machinery.

The problem lies when factories operate out of rented facilities that are just not equipped for industrial use.

(voice-over): Such was the case at Rana Plaza, a nine-story building that apparently couldn't take the load of the five garment factories within its walls.

Now factory owners like Safina Rahman say that tragedy tainted the image of others like her. SAFINA RAHMAN, DIRECTOR, LAKHSMA SWEATERS: It has become a big, big challenge for us.

More than 2 million people are working in this trade, perhaps, maybe more. And if one has four people to look after in the family, it's almost 8 million people living on this trade.

If you are that (INAUDIBLE), who is contributing to the economy?

LAKHANI: Rahman says the industry does have rules and operating codes, and in her factory, she says they are enforced.

Workers are assigned as fire wardens and trained in first aid.

The garment trade association, the BGMEA, says exporters can't even get licenses to operate unless they meet safety standards.

But until now, there were no provisions for structural safety in buildings.

REZA BIN MAHMOOD, VICE PRESIDENT, BGMEA: Before this Rana Plaza incident, BGMEA did not have the technical know how people to check the structural design.

LAKHANI: The Rana Plaza disaster forced the government to step up comprehensive inspections and the trade association to add structural standards.

Mahmoud says inspections of factories have now begun, but with more than 5,000 member factories, the task is daunting.

MAHMOOD: It's not an easy job, or it's not -- we cannot finish by overnight. So it will take a little bit of time.

LAKHANI: It comes as garment owners come under pressure from international clients to keep their costs down.

MAHMOOD: The challenge is we humbly request the buyers to increase the price because, to maintain compliance and all these issues, you need -- you know, you have to improve or upgrade the factories. For that, you need money.

LAKHANI: Money that will have to be spent to avoid another tragedy, and reassure Pushni (ph) and the millions of workers like her in the country's garment trade.

Leone Lakhani, CNN, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Parts of the Midwest are trying to recover from violent tornadoes. Monster twisters caught on tape, hundreds of homes leveled. And worse, more tornadoes could hit the region today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning. Thank you so much for being with me. I'm Carol Costello.

Stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM, at just 30 past the hour:

Yahoo! will likely be on the minds of many investors today as the new trading week kicks off on Wall Street. The company, as you know, is buying the blogging service Tumblr for more than a billion dollars.

Ringing the opening bell today, by the way, the chairman and CEO of Healthcare Reality Trust. You see him there.

Let's check in with Alison Kosik. She is New York.

Yahoo!, a billion dollars. It's amazing.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. And Yahoo! really is going to be a huge focus for investors today, Carol. The company, as you know, that kind of fell behind the Internet race against Google and what Yahoo! is trying to do right now is trying to reinvent itself.

So in that quest, it's agreed to buy this blogging Web site called Tumblr for $1.1 billion. Now, this would be the biggest acquisition for the company since Marissa Mayer took over the company last summer.