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Memorial Day is Turning Point for Sandy-Damaged Seaside Heights; Rutgers Athletic Director Under Fire; How to Stop Cell Phone Thefts.
Aired May 27, 2013 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Out west, in Washington, they are now pulling the cars from the river -- the last of those cars following last week's bridge collapse. Shut down a portion of Interstate 5, about two hours. This is north of Seattle. Steel girders, they're going to be used as a temporary solution here. You see there. But engineers hope to get the traffic flowing again, hopefully, in the next couple of weeks.
And, tomorrow, President Obama and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie touring the Jersey shore. So much of that area devastated seven months ago when Hurricane Sandy hit.
The town of Seaside Heights' Memorial Day weekend, really a big turning point for their recovery.
Poppy Harlow tells us why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!
(SHOUTING)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The games are back on in Seaside Heights.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it's back. It's back. We're back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 100 percent, but we're back.
HARLOW: And the people who came back liked what they saw.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it's great. It's really good to see everything back to where it used to be -- almost close to where it used to be.
HARLOW: Almost, because the rebuilding continues nearly seven months after Sandy tore up much of the Jersey shore.
Vincent Storino's family owns Casino Pier. Before Sandy, it held 38 rides. Now, this.
(on camera): How much progress have you guys made?
VINCENT STORINO, MANAGING MEMBER, CASINO BEACH PIER: We've made tremendous progress. In three months, we've done what should take three years.
HARLOW (voice-over): It hasn't come cheap.
(on camera): Millions?
STORINO: It's millions.
HARLOW: Tens of millions?
STORINO: I would say tens of millions.
HARLOW: The new boardwalk alone costs nearly $8 million.
BILL AKERS, MAYOR OF SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY: We did what we had to do to get the doors open, to let people know Seaside Heights is open. But there are so many more things we've got to do.
HARLOW: Like more benches and lights.
But Mayor Bill Akers is satisfied.
AKERS: You can walk the boardwalk north to south. And it seems like we got a few people up here today enjoying it.
HARLOW: A few people, less than a typical Memorial Day weekend.
CHARLIE DRAPER, MANAGER, ADRENALINE PIERCING & TATTOO: I would say we're doing about half of what we did last year.
HARLOW: But that hasn't dampened spirits.
DRAPER: I mean, look around. You couldn't ask for better weather. Couldn't ask for more people. This is great.
STEVE WHALEN, OWNER, LUCKY LEO'S ARCADE: This is the golden goose, Lucky Leo's.
We knew it was going to be slow, but just the idea that we're here that truly is the remarkable thing.
HARLOW (on camera): What a way to ring in 100 years.
AKERS: I guess we're doing the same thing they did back a hundred years ago. They needed to build a boardwalk, we're building it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Poppy Harlow, she is joining us from Seaside Heights.
Poppy, I mean, clearly, we talk to a lot of people in that community when that devastation happened. It's not 100 percent back, but it certainly seems like there's a lot of optimism, especially going into the summer and realizing that people are coming back in that community, yeah?
HARLOW: Yeah. That's a great point. A lot of optimism. I got to tell you, Suzanne, the sunshine certainly helps. The crowds have been growing by the hour here. It is not what it would be on a typical Memorial Day weekend with good weather. The mayor just told me this is a place because of games and rides they would bring in about $150,000 on the boardwalk over Memorial Day. He thinks they're going to bring in about $30,000 this year. They have a long way to go. Part of this, frankly is because of this. You have cranes and a lot of repairs still going on here. But it's all about the people, the perseverance. They call it Jersey Strong here.
One of the families that's lived here a really, really long time, The MacKenzie family, Diane, Stu, and Christine with me.
You came here in large part to support the businesses. And interestingly, you said last time you were here you were standing on sand because Sandy washed away the entire boardwalk.
DIANA MACKENZIE, JERSEY SHORE RESIDENT: Absolutely. We've been here since the storm. Our family was evacuated. And we've been here to support the businesses. Like I said earlier today, this wasn't here. We were standing in the sand just watching the debris come in and out. And it's just amazing the progress that's been made in such a short time.
HARLOW: What do you think, Christine? I know this isn't as many people as you would have on a normal Memorial Day.
CHRISTINE MACKENZIE, JERSEY SHORE RESIDENT: It's good. I mean, it's not as crowded as it's been, but it's nice to see people coming and supporting our beaches and our tourism. And it's great. It's really good.
HARLOW: Absolutely. Thank you guys very much. Have so much fun here.
It's very important, Suzanne, because tourism brings in about $19 billion a year to the Jersey shore. We're glad to see that the shore is back.
MALVEAUX: That's a great sign. It's good to see all those people behind you.
Poppy, have a good time. Enjoy your weekend.
People in Oklahoma just beginning this painful process of rebuilding after last week's deadly tornado. That process, all too familiar to the homeowners of course in the Jersey shore. They spent the last seven months rebuilding their homes as well as their lives.
And Christine Romans tells us that knowing what to do before the disaster strikes makes a huge difference.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 2,400 homes damaged or destroyed by the devastating tornado that rocked Moore, Oklahoma. For home owners forced out of their properties by a natural disaster, the painful process of rebuilding and insurance claims starts now.
Mary and Tom Walls know a thing or two about that. Seven months ago their New Jersey home on the floor was flooded during Hurricane Sandy.
TOM WALLS, HURRICANE VICTIM: I think there was a certain shock when the water was coming in my house, I couldn't believe it. It didn't knock the front door down it just kind of rose up --
MARY WALLS, HURRICANE VICTIM: Bubbled up through the carpeting.
TOM WALLS: Rose up through the carpeting.
MARY WALLS: Yeah.
ROMANS (voice-over): What's the first call you make? The first call you make after everyone is safe? Is it to the person who sold you the insurance policy?
JEANNE SALVATORE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE: The first thing you should do is get in touch with your insurance company. Let them know the extent of the damage and where you can be reached when you're covered for wind damage, for fire, for falling objects. The two big disasters that are not covered, one is flood, and the other is earthquake. And you need to get separate insurance for those types of disasters.
TOM WALLS: There are people that just experienced so much worse than we did. You know, my insurance company didn't pay for everything. But in the final analysis, I was satisfied with the dollar amount.
ROMANS (voice-over): They spent most of the past seven months displaced, but were able to move back into their home last month.
TOM WALLS: Keep the faith. Things will get better.
MARY WALLS: Yes.
TOM WALLS: You need family and friends.
MARY WALLS: And don't be afraid to ask for help.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: An athletic director hired to clean up Rutgers University's program allegedly has some problems of her own. That is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: New Jersey's Rutgers University in the spotlight again. It turns out that the woman hired as the new athletic director to clean up the school's sports programs, well, has a past that is now raising concerns. Some of Julie Hermann's former players at the University of Tennessee say she abused them.
John Berman reports on how even the governor, Governor Chris Christie, is getting involved.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rutgers University faced tough criticism in the days after a tape surfaced of its head basketball coach being abusive towards players.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The video captured former Coach Mike Rice's aggressive behavior, hurling basketballs at players and yelling homophobic slurs. The university fired Rice after a public outcry and the athletic director was also forced to resign.
UNIDENTIFIED PRESIDENT, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: I was deeply disturbed by the behavior the video revealed.
BERMAN: This time, the university's president will have to answer to Governor Chris Christie after reports surfaced that the new athletic director, hired to turn the university's image around, is herself accused of being an abusive coach. The governor's spokesperson said in a statement, "He's not going to be making any judgments at this time, but he expects to be talking with the Rutgers administration this week to get the details."
It has emerged that, back in 1996, all 15 members of Julie Hermann's volleyball team at the University of Tennessee wrote her a letter. The players wrote, in part, "The mental cruelty that we, as a team, have suffered is unbearable. We have been lied to, publicly humiliated, and ripped apart as both players and people." They said the coach had called them whores, alcoholics, and learning disabled. One of the players provided "The Star Ledger" with a copy of the letter. The paper says Hermann responded, quote, "I never heard any of this. Never name calling or anything like that whatsoever."
Hermann has promised she would bring a new era to Rutgers.
JULIE HERMANN, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: It is a new day. It is already fixed. And there's no one that doesn't agree about how we treat young people with respect and dignity and build trust.
BERMAN: But at that news conference, Hermann was asked about a jury award of $150,000 to former assistant coach, Ginger Hineline (ph), back in 1997. Hineline (ph) claims she was fired because she was pregnant.
In 1994, Hermann was a bridesmaid in Hineline's (ph) wedding. And in the video, the coach said this about her becoming pregnant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMANN: I hope it's not too good because I don't want her coming back in February with any surprises.
(LAUGHTER)
The office is small and hard to have a baby in there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Herman responded --
HERMANN: There's a video? I'm sorry. Did you say there's a video? There's no video. Trust me.
(SHOUTING)
BERMAN: Hermann is even seen here catching the bouquet.
The university says its attorneys had investigated that case before Hermann was appointed. But as it prepares for the Big 10, Rutgers has another big headache.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Hermann remains on the job while the university and the governor begin a review of the latest allegations.
And hundreds of veterans and their families walk 2,000 miles to remind Americans of what Memorial Day really means. We're going to profile one family's journey. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Actress Angelina Jolie's aunt has died of breast cancer almost two weeks after Jolie revealed that she had a double mastectomy herself. Debbie Martin was 61 years old. And she is the younger sister of Jolie's mother, who died of the disease at age 56.
Ed Shaughnessy, Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" drummer for 29 years, he has died. Shaughnessy told an interviewer that he agreed to take the gig for two weeks. That was back in 1963. He loved it so much he decided to stay. He was known for his drum battles with the frequent "Tonight Show" guest, Buddy Rich. Shaughnessy says his love for drumming began at age 14 when his dad brought him home a drum set. Let's listen.
(MUSIC)
(APPLAUSE)
MALVEAUX: Ed Shaughnessy was 84 years old.
And 2,000 miles, that's in 27 days -- that's how far a group of veterans is walking to remind us that Memorial Day not just about the start of summer. This group is called Carry the Load. Members are near the end of that journey. It's in Texas. We're going to walk to pay tribute to the nation's fallen heroes and raise money for their families. So far, they've collected more than $1 million.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
LT. CMDR. TRAVIS MANN, U.S. NAVY: The second year of the national relay. Start from West Point, New York, and head down to Dallas, Texas. It's 2,000 miles. We do that in 27 days with a mission to get the word out about Memorial Day. Got about 348 legs, each leg is about five miles.
BOB BAGOSY, PARTICIPANT: I'm here for my son. My son was Sergeant Thomas Robert Bagosy, whereas, I called him Tommy. And he was United States Marine corps.
KATIE BAGOSY, PARTICIPANT: He was stationed at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, and he served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tom actually took his own life on Camp LeJeune, May 10, 2010. I think that a lot of people think of Memorial Day as the start of summer. And we don't really remember what the actual meaning is. So I think that it's really great to get out there and just show everybody and be like, look, there are people out there dying for your freedom so you can celebrate and enjoy your summer and your barbecues.
BOB BAGOSY: We all belong to a club nobody wants to belong to. It's nobody wants to lose anybody to become part of this.
MANN: We kind of want Memorial Day to turn into memorial May. When you're seeing those families walk legs with us and you're watching their children and you're holding their hand on a five-mile leg and talking to them about their dad, that, to me, is tough. But in the same breath, it also lets me know that they're not forgotten.
KATIE BAGOSY: Tom was a very good man. He was great. He went to war. And he went back again. And he knew what he was getting into.
BOB BAGOSY: He was a great Marine. He was a wonderful father. And a good husband to his wife. And I miss him. This is my way of saying, hey, Tom, I'm still here.
His dog tag. He carried it in his boot when he died. So it's close to my heart.
MANN: As our legs get tired and our feet are sore, that pales in comparison to what people have done overseas.
(CROSSTALK)
MANN: Thanks for coming out, guys. This is awesome.
Do you all want to carry one of the flags? Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't mind.
MANN: There you go.
Now, when it gets heavy, just let me know, all right?
(LAUGHTER)
BOB BAGOSY: Some long days, some long nights.
TOMMY GALLARDA, TIGHT END, ATLANTA FALCONS: It's across America people have served. It's not just one specific part of the country. It's for all our cities, small towns that have gone overseas or wherever they have been locations. It's all of America coming together. It's showing that as they go through these communities that, you know, it doesn't matter which leg that you're at but just that you can come out and show respect and really thank them for what they're doing. It doesn't matter exactly where you're from. I think it's just something to show your respect with.
BOB BAGOSY: Carrying this flag during this parade -- I call it a parade. It's a small parade, but I just think that it's -- I don't know, it's just one of these things that I feel like I'm doing something for Tommy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: That is so nice.
To learn more about the national relay, just go to the website, carrytheload.org.
And how can the cell phone industry help stop the brazen stealing of cell phones. San Francisco's police chief, well, he's got an idea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Apple picking, all the rage. Not to do with apple orchards but Apple products, especially phones. We're talking about police say thefts are on the rise, thanks in part to the phone companies themselves.
Dan Simon's got more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This surveillance video shows a woman getting robbed of her cell phone while in the middle of a conversation. A crime so common that, type in "cell phone theft" on YouTube, and you'll find tons of surveillance video of people having their phones ripped off.
San Francisco's police chief says, in many cases, users are asking for trouble.
GREG SUHR: CHIEF, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Think if you took $300 out of the ATM machine, you would not walk down the block for several blocks counting the 20s.
SIMON: The problem is becoming so rampant, that it is estimated that stolen devices cost consumers $30 billion a year. So pressure is mounting for cell phone carriers and the device makers to figure out a way to deter theft.
San Francisco district attorney, George Gascon, wants to see a so- called kill switch on phones.
GEORGE GASCON, SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY: So when they get reported stolen, they could be rendered inoperable.
SIMON: He accuses the industry of dragging its feet to what he calls a technological solution.
GASCON: Every time a phone gets stolen, we go back and replace a phone. So the carrier gets to make another sale. The manufacturer gets to make another sale. And their profit margins continue to build.
SIMON: The nation's largest carriers thought are getting more aggressive, now participating in a new nationwide database for stolen phones to prevent them from being activated.
But critics say it is yet to have a meaningful impact because stolen phones open wind up overseas and fetch more dollars.
GASCON: A late model iPhone, right down street from here, can bring $300. If it gets exported to Latin America or Asia or Africa, it can bring in as much as $700 to $1,000.
SIMON: But is a kill switch even possible? We went to, arguably, the leading mobile security company in the world, Lookout, which makes a popular app for Smartphones.
(on camera): The notion of just being able to render a phone useless, can that happen?
MARC ROGERS, OUTLOOK, INC: It is technically plausible. A phone is just a computer. If you destroy the operator system that the phone relies on, the phone can't be used.
SIMON: So if it is technically possible, why isn't it happening?
ROGERS: Because it is not a very easy thing to do.
SIMON: Now Apple's iPhone has a feature that will track stolen phones and erase the data, sometimes more than valuable than the phone itself. Lookout has a similar feature for phones using Google's Android. But the point, according to critics, is the entire industry needs bolder thinking.
(voice-over): For now, police say the best advice is to be aware of your surroundings. And use that software that allows you to lock and wipe your phone clean if you happen to find yourself in a situation like this. Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: If you're bored on a holiday weekend, what do you do for fun? We'll show you what a 98-year-old man did that you might actually want to put on your bucket list, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Brazil's Tony Kanaan made a daring move in the last few laps to win his first ever Indy 500. The race featured a record 14 leaders and a 68-lead change. Kanaan credits his win to a bit of luck after ending 12 years of frustration. He thanked his fans for supporting him then and now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY KANAAN, WINNER OF INDY 500: In the way they spoil for me, because every year they did the same, me, winning or not. This is just a lot better. And for all the support they gave me all these years, I couldn't do it -- you know, I couldn't do a better race for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Think you're having fun along Memorial holiday weekend, bet it doesn't beat what this guy did. He is 98 years old. He's a Florida man, about 40 miles north of Orlando -- you see him there -- jumping out of an airplane. That was on Saturday, skydiving. He did it at 98 years old. And nothing unusual for this guy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON SUGG, 98 YEAR OLD SKYDIVING: I've gone from one to three times a year since then on different occasions. It doesn't make any difference what occasion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: I love this guy.
(LAUGHTER)
This time, it was not just for the thrill, however. So he actually took this dive, helped raise money for a nonprofit group that helps homeless families. Way to go. I might try that.
Well, that is it for me. Joe Johns takes it from here. Maybe he's a little more daring than I am.
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Not at all. Thanks, Suzanne.
I'm Joe Johns, in for Brooke Baldwin.
First up, another cruise ship nightmare to tell you about. A fire breaking out on a Royal Caribbean ship this morning. The Grandeur of the Seas was en route to the Bahamas when pandemonium erupted.
