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Aid For Sandy Victims Still Unspent; Cruise Ship On Fire; Cruise Profits Run Aground; Markets Charging Higher; School Bomb Plot Suspect Due In Court; Wife Of Slain Officer Speaks Out; View From Inside A Tornado; Officer Gunned Down in Apparent Ambush; Chris Christie, Obama Speak in New Jersey

Aired May 28, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Scary moments for crew ship passengers after a fire breaks out. People were told to put on their life jackets and run to a deck in the middle of the night.

Plus, police say an Oregon teen had napalm, Molotov cocktails and drain cleaner bombs stashed under his bedroom floor and was planning a school attack deadlier than Columbine.

And inside a tornado literally, winds at 175 miles per hour. We're going to talk to the storm chasers up ahead.

It is the CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Suzanne Malveaux. President Obama returning to the Jersey shore today. This is for an update on the recovery from Superstorm Sandy. He is touring the area with Governor Chris Christie. And you might recall, Christie took some heat from Republicans, some Republicans, when he appeared with the president. This was just after the storm hit just before the November election. But today, the president, he is meeting with homeowners, business owners as well, helped by some of those federal recovery dollars that came from the administration.

I want to bring in our Jessica Yellin who's in Asbery Park, New Jersey. This is where the president we know is going to be speaking fairly soon here, Jess. And paint a picture for us, if you will. These two leaders, side by side, walking through some of the recovery here. What does this do for both men in terms of looking like leadership here or even some friendship?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne. Well, for both men, there are political advantages. For Chris Christie a potential political liability. For the president, it's a way to demonstrate government when it works. For the last few weeks, we've seen examples of government dysfunction and in-fighting, especially over the last controversies regarding the IRS, in particular. So now, the president can highlight FEMA, the emergency management response organization, which by most accounts here in New Jersey has done a very good job responding.

And so, for the president, a special opportunity to focus on that. For Governor Christie, he's up for re-election this year. And more than anything else, he'll be judged on his response to Hurricane Sandy. So, for him, he can highlight the same thing. How quickly the boardwalk has reopened. Here's a man, we asked him how he feels about progress so far. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY MCDONOUGH: Being a resident down here, it's pretty amazing what they've done. I mean, I don't know if you've seen the boardwalk's been repaired by convention hall. There was a huge section down here by the casino that was completely replaced. And in no time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: So, for many New Jersey residents, it's a positive for Governor Christie, to be highlighting the work that's taken place here, Suzanne. Of course, some political fallout could be seen down the line. If he chooses to run for president, we can talk about that, if you want.

MALVEAUX: OK. You know what's interesting here? You see the president with these Republican governors. Earlier, we saw him, of course, with Oklahoma's Governor, Mary Fallin. Today, it's New Jersey's Governor Christie here. They embrace him. They need to embrace him here. They certainly embrace the federal dollars. Is there a disconnect here between these Republican governors and some of the GOP in Washington who are really focusing more on controversies?

YELLIN: Well, yes. And there's also a job difference. So, when you're the governor, as Christie and Fallin are, what they want is, as you said, the federal dollars. And New Jersey has gotten billions, with a B, from the federal government in Sandy response. And you get a lot of media attention. Now, everybody watching this knows that the New Jersey shore is open for business. That's free advertising for the state of New Jersey, so that's a plus for the governor.

But some Republicans have criticized him for embracing President Obama in the past. And if he chooses to run for president in 2016, you could imagine that these images of him with the president today could be played by a rival's campaign in some attack ads potentially. So, there is risks on both sides.

MALVEAUX: And, Jess, how have the two men changed over the last seven months or so? I know that Christie -- Governor Christie has gone through a procedure to lose a little bit of weight. I assume the president might be a little bit grayer.

YELLIN: Right. Presidents always getting a little grayer. Governor Christie losing instead of gaining. But I will say that the governor hasn't lost his magic touch. Today, they have already gone to an arcade, Suzanne, and they played a game of -- I think touchdown fever where you throw a football through a tire.

MALVEAUX: Yes.

YELLIN: And the president threw five times, got zero for five. Chris Christie, the governor, got it through in his first toss, won a stuffed bear and gave it to the president. So, how's that for the political bromance?

MALVEAUX: Nice, nice. Two for Christie, zero for the president.

YELLIN: Yes.

MALVEAUX: All right, they're going to have to play another match of that. Thanks, Jess. We'll be back to you as the president starts to speak.

The Red Cross raised $303 million. This is for the victims of Superstorm Sandy. But seven months later, 110 million of that is still unspent. Now, that is because the Red Cross says it is holding on to money to deal with unforeseen needs of Sandy victims. But there are some critics, however, who say there is really plenty of need for that money right now. You might remember that the Red Cross changed how it raises money. It no longer pools the money that it raises. It keeps different relief funds separate.

And they were supposed to be basking in the sun, right, in the Bahamas right now. Well, instead, passengers on board the Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Sea arriving in Baltimore. It was a little bit rainy earlier in the day on chartered flights. The cruise was canceled after a fire broke out on the ship early. This happened early yesterday morning. Now, the ship is being moved to dry dock for repairs. That's happening this afternoon. And one passenger describes what it was like, the chaotic moments as the trouble first began.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELLE MILLER (via telephone): The first thing I thought was the boat could have been sinking because when only once we thought it was extremely wavy and we were rolling around in our beds. But we were on the deck for about a half hour before they announced that it was a fire. But when we did get on the deck, we saw the lifeboats being lowered. So, we were just reaching out and we saw a light sparking and catching on fire. But other than that, we didn't see any smoke coming up from deck three. And we didn't know it was a fire until they announced it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The NTSB and the Coast Guard both helping with this investigation into the fire. And with cruise ship problems now in the headlines again, it is certainly turning people from -- away from making cruise ship vacations a destination. Well, that is the question here. Is that actually happening? Zain Asher joining us from New York. So, Zain, you've got Carnival Cruise lines, several cruise run into trouble, including the Triumph which we saw stranded --

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.

MALVEAUX: -- for five days. What do we think about the bottom line here? Is this eventually going to hurt the cruise line, particularly that one?

ASHER: Well, Suzanne, you would think so. But surprisingly, the cruise ship industry isn't actually being hurt as much as you might think from all of this negative publicity. Carnival actually posted a profit of $37 million in the first quarter of the year. Royal Caribbean made a profit of $76 million in the first quarter, despite having fewer sails than Carnival so it actually did really well. Now, Carnival sails -- Carnival says that it's booking volumes are actually higher despite all the problems that we saw in February, however they do expect revenue to fall for the year because they've had to cut prices significantly to lure customers back.

Now, if you look at Royal Caribbean, the stock is actually doing just fine. It's only down by a little bit more than one percent today. I actually spoke to an analyst who says that investors are aware that these cruise disasters might seem that they're happening more frequently but it could just be the fact they're publicized more. The bottom line is that a cruise ship is really an inexpensive way to vacation and travelers don't really have that much in terms of cheaper alternatives -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes, Zain. So, they offer these free cruises after it's a disaster on the ship. It always make me wonder, why would you get back on a cruise ship? But a lot of people take advantage of these things. Is there any concern about long term whether or not they're going to lose customers or they just figure, well, this is a sure thing?

ASHER: Well, surprisingly, bookings actually should hold up. 17.2 million people went on cruises in 2012. In 2013, that number's expected to reach 17.6 million so it's getting higher. However, every time there's a problem on the ship, Suzanne, the cruise lines stand to lose quite a bit of money when you factor in things like the cost of repairs, reimbursing nearly 3,000 passengers. And if the ship is out of service for some time, then, of course, there is more money to be lost. However, these instances don't seem to be having a long-lasting effect on business. During booking season next year, one analyst estimates that Carnival might actually be able to raise prices again as long as there aren't any more disasters aboard these ships -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, we'll see. it's just a matter of time, when are we going to see another one of these big ships having problems?

ASHER: We'll see.

MALVEAUX: Thanks, Zain.

I want to do a quick track of the markets. Right here, the Dow Jones charging higher today. If you see, take a look at big board, Dow up 159 points or so. Investors started buying as soon as the markets opened. That happened this morning after the long holiday weekend. And what seemed to spur things on, it was a positive statement from the Bank of Japan on its economy.

Plus, new reports showing that home prices going up and Americans have more confidence now in the economy.

They're calling him a copycat. This is an Oregon teenager, goes to court today for allegedly planning to use homemade bombs to attack his high school. Prosecutors say he wanted to be deadlier than the Columbine High School attack. That is right.

Miguel Marquez has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say 17-year- old Grant Acord planned and was prepared to carry out a coordinated bomb and gun attack against his school.

JOHN HAROLDSON, OREGON DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BENTON COUNTY: This is a case of a planned assault on a target-rich environment. And that target-rich environment is the West Albany High School.

MARQUEZ: Hidden in a secret compartment under the floorboards of his mother's house, police say they found six explosive devices, including a napalm bomb, pipe bombs, bombs made from Drano and Molotov cocktails.

ALLI LADD: Me and my friend, we're just, like, in shock. We're, like, how could someone even, like, think of this. Like, that wouldn't even, like, cross our minds.

MARQUEZ: Acord will be charged with, among other things, manufacturing and possessing destructive devices, unlawful possession of a deadly weapon, and attempted aggravated murder. Authorities laid out their theory.

HAROLDSON: In this in case, we would be relying upon evidence of plan. In other words, what is the intent? Diagrams, check lists, a plan to use explosive devices, and firearms to carry out a plan specifically modeled after the Columbine shootings.

MARQUEZ: That's the 1999 attack in Colorado, carried out by seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who used bombs and several powerful guns against students and teachers, killing 13, and wounding 21. Authorities are not yet saying how far along Acord was in his planning. Neighbors say Acord was a quiet teen and didn't fit the bill of a killer.

KEN HART: You just don't think that it's going to happen in your neighborhood, you know? You just -- especially by a quiet, young man.

MARQUEZ: Authorities say the 17 year old will be charged as an adult.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Miguel Marquez is joining us live from Corvallis, Oregon. And, Miguel, first of all, explain to us what the mother has said. She has an explanation about why she believes this happened.

MARQUEZ (live): Yes, she released a very short statement to an attorney saying that her son suffers from OCD due to a rare condition called PANDAS which is, essentially, a reaction that the body has to the autoimmune system. So that you could strep throat, for instance, your autoimmune system causes your body to go -- for young people at least, to go into a sort of, you know, shock and it can lead to things like OCD, depression, anxiety. And she seems to be offering this up as a reason that this happened. She expresses great concern for the community that she loves as well. But it is not clear how this would play into the plot that this young man is accused of developing -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Strange explanation but we'll see whether or not that has any merit. Thank you, Miguel. I appreciate that.

Here is also what we're working on for this hour. Investigators now in Kentucky are searching for the shooter who killed a police officer. Up next, the victim's wife, she is speaking out about her husband.

Plus, this is incredible video. This is from inside a tornado. Two storm chasers rode it out in a special vehicle but a door and a hatch torn open.

And kids, check it out, fainting and parents unable to look up. We're going to tell you why these intense moments at the spelling bee are about to become even more tense. Up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: In Chicago, an arrest in a case that shocked the country. Police say they have charged a man in the killing of 6-month-old Jenila Watkins. In March, she was shot while her father was changing her diaper. This was in the mini-van. Comen (ph) Willis is charged with first-degree murder and aggravate assault. Jenila's death was seen as really a new low in Chicago's struggle to end the gun violence in the city streets.

Kentucky police are still hunting for clues in the killing of one of their own. This was early Saturday, Jason Ellis was gunned down while heading home from his shift. He was simply removing debris from the road when he was shot multiple times. Investigators believe that he was ambushed. Earlier today, his widow talked about the husband that she has now lost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY ELLIS, WIDOW OF OFFICER JASON ELLIS: He was an amazing man and I just want everybody to know what amazing man that he was. He was a dedicated family man. He loved our family. Loved our boys. He loved me. He was dedicated to his job. He loved his job. He loved the people that he worked with. And I just want, you know, everybody to know what an amazing man he was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: That is heartbreaking when you see that. Alina Machado joins us more with what Amy was saying about her husband here. Does she have any other ideas about why this happened, and what is she offered to tell us more about him?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, Amy Ellis was visibly distraught. She is still in mourning. She's grieving. This is going to be a really long process for the family. She really focused more about her husband. That's what she was talking about primarily. She, again, is very upset. But she was able to talk about her husband. She says he was a good man who loved his job, his wife, and his two young boys. And here's what she had to say about how the children are coping with their dad's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLIS: The younger one, he knows, you know, tried to explain the best I can, knows that daddy's not coming back, but we will see him one day again in heaven. He got hurt yesterday and that's when he started letting it all out. He just screamed and screamed and screamed, he wanted his daddy. And we all sat there and cried with him, we said, we know, we do, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: Officer Ellis was gunned down early Saturday. Police in Kentucky say he was ambushed when he stopped on the freeway to remove debris from the road. We don't know if Ellis was the target or if the shooter was looking to kill whoever stopped on the road. So far, there are no solid leads or arrests. But the police chief has vowed to track down the killer, dead or alive.

MALVEAUX: You can see how that family's struggling there. I imagine that they will have a memorial and funeral service that will unfold in the days ahead.

MACHADO: There was a candlelight vigil that took place at the police department last night. The family was there. There's a visitation for Officer Ellis tomorrow. His funeral is planned for Thursday morning.

MALVEAUX: All right, Alina thank you.

There's a new development investigation into the killing of the British soldier last week. Two suspects arrested at the scene, taken to a hospital after being shot by police. One of those men was now released from the hospital. That happened earlier today. He was taken to a police station in south London. He's going to be questioned by counterterrorism investigators.

In the UK, suspects usually charged within 36 hours of formally being questioned by the police.

This is an amazing story. This is neighbors helping neighbors. That is the scene. This is out of Oklahoma after that tornado devastated the town of Moore. We'll bring you the latest in recovery, up next after a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAMVEAUX: Live pictures, Asbury Park, this is New Jersey. The Governor Chris Christie speaking. The president touring with him. The recovered areas from that devastating storm. Let's listen in. (BEGIN LIVE FEED)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R ) NEW JERSEY: You can just feel it. Everybody is ready to welcome America back to the Jersey Shore this summer and so am I.

Two days after Sandy hit us, the President of the United States came to visit New Jersey to see the damage for himself and to pledge his support and the support of the federal government to help us recover and rebuild. So now, seven months late, we know this: that we made great progress. But that we still have so much more to do. So many more of our families who need to get back in their homes. So many more of our businesses who need to get back up and running and employing people still. So many, so many of our citizens who just want their lives to go back to normal.

So while I'm thrilled that the progress we've made in the last seven months, we've got a chance to show the president some of that earlier today up in Point Pleasant. I also made sure that he understood there's still a lot more work to do for the people of our state and I am not going to let anything or anyone get in between me and the completion of the mission to restore and recover our great state.

So now, on behalf of the people of the state of New Jersey, it is my privilege to introduce the President of the United States of America.

(MUSIC)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, New Jersey. It is good to be back in Jersey. I love you back.

Let me, first of all, say thank you to Governor Christie for that induction and the great work he's done here. Your mayor, Ed Johnson, is here as well and has been working tirelessly on your behalf. We've got three great representatives in Congress from New Jersey, Rush Holt, Frank Pelone, Donald Payne Jr.

Last week my advisers asked me, they said, Mr. President, do you want to spend next Tuesday in Washington or would you rather spend it at the Jersey Shore? And I've got to say, I've got to make tough decisions as president but this wasn't one of them.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: I appreciate that. Governor Christie and I spent time on the Point Pleasant boardwalk. I got a chance to see the world's tallest sandcastle being built. We played some Touchdown Fever. I've got to say, Christie got it in the tire the first try. Although I did pay for his throws. I played a little Frog Bog and Governor Christie's kids caught me the right technique for in the hammer to get the frogs in the buckets the way I was supposed to.

And, of course, I met with folks still rebuilding after Sandy. Now, we all understand there's still a lot of work to be done. There are homes to rebuild. There are businesses to reopen. Their are landmarks and beaches and boardwalks that aren't all the way back yet. But thanks to the hard work of an awful lot of people, we've got wonderful shops and restaurants and arcades that are opening their doors and I saw what thousands of Americans saw over Memorial Day weekend.

You are stronger than the storm after all you've dealt with, after all you've been through. The Jersey Shore's back. And it is open for business and they want all Americans to know that they're ready to welcome you here.

And I've got to say, if they ever let me have any fun, I'd have some fun here. I was telling my staff on the ride over, I could see being a little younger and having some fun on the Jersey Shore. I can't do that anymore. Maybe after I leave office.

(LAUGHTER)

I think a friend of mine from here once put it pretty well. Down the shore everything's all right. He's the only guy a president still has to call the boss. Other than the first lady.

But for generations, that's what this place has been about. Life isn't always easy. We're a people who have to work hard, do what it takes to provide for our families. But when you come here, everything's all right.

Whether you spend a lifetime here or a weekend or a summer, the shore holds a special lace in your heart and a special place in America's mythology, America's memory.

You know when I was here seven months ago, Hurricane Sandy had just hammered communities all across these coasts and lives were lost and homes and businesses were destroyed and folks were hurting. And I remember something Chris said back then. He said, we cannot permit that sorrow to replace the resilience that I know all New Jersians have.