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Actress Jean Stapleton Dies At 90; California Fire Doubles; Three Storm Chasers Killed; Family Of Dying Girl Pleads For Donor; Angelina Jolie Walks The Red Carpet; Judy Blume On Surviving Cancer; 15 People Killed In Storms; Cleanup Begins On Streets Of Turkey; Queen Elizabeth Celebrates Anniversary

Aired June 02, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Miguel Marquez in for Fredricka Whitfield. These are the stories we're following this hour.

Storm chasers trying to follow a deadly tornado end up victims of it. We are getting more details about the fatal toll the twisters took in Oklahoma.

This guy must have some contact lists around the world. We'll tell you what action hero Steven Seagal did to help out U.S. lawmakers on a fact finding trip to Russia.

A policy is keeping this dying little girl from getting a much-needed lung transplant. Why her parents are shocked the Obama administration hasn't mandated a change.

Three storm chasers are among the nine people who were killed in tornadoes in Oklahoma. Tim Samaras, son Paul, and Carl Young were following a twister in El Reno, Oklahoma. Samaras' brother wrote on Facebook "They died doing what they love." The undersheriff in Canadian County said they gave vital information to the public.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNDERSHERIFF CHRIS WEST, CANADIAN COUNTY, OKLAHOMA: A lot of these individuals have dedicated many years of their lives to going out and assisting and tracking storms and getting footage and putting themselves in harm's way so they can educate the public to the destructive power of these storms. So we want to honor them and their loss, and we want to think about their families who are going to be dealing with this. It's more than a news story to them. They lost loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Those storm chasers may have ended up like other victims, stuck in their cars right in the path of the storm. See this line of lights? That's traffic on the highway on Friday night. We are also seeing the damage the twisters left behind. Governor Mary Fallin toured the destruction in El Reno this morning.

The severe weather threat now moves to the East Coast. Karen Mcginnis joins us in the weather center. Karen, what's the good news out there?

KAREN MCGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we've got some pretty warm temperatures and thunderstorms. Warm temperatures, thunderstorms, that doesn't make for very good news, as you counter the Northeast because these temperatures are in the upper 80s. Even some readings are well up into the 90s in some instances.

But what we can expect for the afternoon, plenty of thunderstorms. This is all part of that same system that wreaked havoc from the Midwest down across the south central United States. And indeed, there is a severe thunderstorm watch, which is currently in effect for much of eastern New York, extending up towards Maine. And indeed, some of these thunderstorms have really quite the signature and are capable of producing some hail as well as heavy downpours. So, that goes until 8:00 tonight. You're under the threat of severe weather for about the next six hours or so.

And then through the Tennessee Valley, thunderstorms firing up just to the west and north of Atlanta, also moving into the tri-city areas of North Carolina. And along the Gulf Coast, boy, can you really see some of the thunderstorms producing heavy downpours. That's exactly what we see, but we don't see severe levels there just yet.

And because of this weather system, if you remember, on May 31st, it produced tremendous amounts of rainfall. In some cases, we were looking at 11 inches of rain. Well, now the Mississippi, which previously couldn't get barges down the Mississippi, is filling up rather rapidly. By Tuesday or Wednesday, we could see it at its fourth highest level, which means some areas around St. Louis, Alton in particular, could see some flooding as early as tomorrow. But at 36.8 feet, that is well above flood stage. Major flooding is possible there. Right now at moderate flooding, and we'll keep you updated on that. Miguel, back to you.

MARQUEZ: Thank you very much, Karen. Not very good news at all.

A congressional delegation is in Russia looking for answers about the Boston Marathon bombers. The group, two Democrats and four Republicans, includes Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Lawmakers also got an unlikely boost from an action star, Steven Seagal. Our Phil Black picks up the story in Moscow.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miguel, the congressional delegation has spent much of the last week here, meeting with Russian officials trying to determine what lessons could be learned on intelligence cooperation in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon attack. The delegation was led by Republican Dana Rohrabacher, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee. His conclusion: there was no one specific failure that prevented the authorities from identifying this threat sooner. But he believes there was a chance the attack could have been averted if Russia and the United States had worked more closely together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DANA ROHRABACHER (R), CALIFORNIA: Not some specific, oh, we didn't pay attention to this detail or that detail. But instead, they didn't pay attention to the big picture. And the big picture was all screwed up, and then in that our people were not cooperating as they should have, and vice versa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: Republican Steve King said the delegation received new analysis on the Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his mother in a briefing with Russia's federal security service, the FSB.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: Their opinion that Tamerlan and his mother were both of radical attitude before they came to the United States, and I think that adjusts much of the conventional thinking within the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: Members of the delegation thanked an unusual voice in Russian/U.S. relations for the access they received during their visit, action movie star Steven Seagal. And Seagal said he deserved credit for setting up a meeting with a Russian deputy prime minister and the country's security service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN SEAGAL, ACTION MOVIE ACTOR: I asked him for that meeting, and I knew about that meeting before they did. That's the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: The last 18 months has been a very difficult time for Russian/U.S. relations, but members of the delegation say they will now return to Washington, arguing these two countries must not let other differences deter greater cooperation in the fight against mutual terrorism. Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Thank you, Phil.

The streets of Turkey's major cities are a little calmer this morning, but it was a different scene in the past few days. Anti-government protesters clashed with police, who sprayed them with water cannons and tear gas. Our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is in Istanbul. Ivan, things seem a little calmer now, but the clean-up is going on. Do you think these things could spark again, and who exactly is coming out against the government?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miguel, I think these are predominantly urban secular Turks who are out here. People who have been chafing at the government of the elected prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has been in power for more than 10 years. His riot police, after fighting to keep this square for 36 hours from the demonstrators, basically attacking any gathering of more than 50 people with water cannons and tear gas during that period, they withdrew last Saturday, and now it is the protesters who control the square. They have been cleaning up some. Volunteering to clean up. Working with city municipal workers as well and demanding that the democratically elected prime minister resign.

As far as clashes go, they are still going on. Moments ago, we heard that about a mile from where I'm standing, there was a fog of tear gas, presumably fired by riot police. Housewives caught in their cars in traffic coming home from grocery shopping, if you could imagine. And before dawn this morning, our cameraman caught some scenes of some of the clashes at that same location. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Miguel, that gives you a sense of the unrest, not only here in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, but it has spread to the capital city and to several port cities where we're getting reports of clashes underway between protesters and riot police. This is the biggest sign, show -- public show of dissent I have seen against the government in more than 10 years.

MARQUEZ: It's amazing. This really caught the government unaware, it seems. It's a very close ally, obviously, of the U.S. Is Prime Minister Erdogan -- is he really in trouble out of all of this?

WATSON: Well, I would say that this is a pretty serious challenge to his image. Miguel, Prime Minister Erdogan is a close U.S. ally. Turkey is a member of the NATO military alliance. What's more, he has been modeling his country and his government as a kind of model Muslim democracy to nearby Arab countries that have seen a lot of uprisings against Arab dictatorships over the course of the last two years. So now at home, he's got people calling him a dictator, and we have scenes of riot police arresting people for trying to come out into the streets and disagree with their president.

So there's a real disconnect here. He has been out on state TV, on Turkish TV throughout the day, basically calling the demonstrators marginal groups. And escalating the rhetoric, that's not going to help matters when people have basically resorted to throwing rocks at police to make their voices heard.

MARQUEZ: Ivan Watson, thank you very much. You guys stay safe out there.

Surveillance video captures the Boston bombing suspects just 72 hours before the attacks. It shows them at a gym, but reveals much more than just their workout routine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: There are new developments in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation. Deb Feyerick pieces together fresh details and shows us what the suspected bombers were doing just hours before the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Seventy-two hours before the bombs detonated, almost to the minute, suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar worked out together at a gym in Boston.

Security cameras at the Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts Center show the brothers arriving with a friend just before 2:45 Friday afternoon.

We spoke to the manager who asked we only use his first name, Michael. He says Tamerlan, who you see in the hat, looked different, noticeably missing Tamerlan's full bushy religious beard which he had for about two years.

The manager describes Tamerlan as extremely opinionated and outspoken about his Muslim religion and says he didn't ask him why he had shaved because he didn't want to engage in what was likely to be a long, heated debate.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Shaving the beard may be a way to blend in, not to attract scrutiny from security services in carrying out the Boston attacks. FEYERICK: Tamerlan trained at Wai Kru several times a month for free, a professional courtesy to the nationally-ranked Golden Gloves boxer. Dzhokhar rarely came, showing up just two or three times in roughly two years.

CRUICKSHANK: We've seen with Western militants, want-to-be jihadists, a real emphasis on physical training, physical fitness, wanting to be prepared for jihad.

FEYERICK: Almost immediately, the manager, who is off-screen to the right, asks the men to follow posted gym rules and take off their shoes.

Younger brother Dzhokhar complies right away. Tamerlan does not, arguing instead, not giving any ground.

The manager later e-mails the owner, asking him to ban Tamerlan, calling him arrogant, selfish, never helping anyone else.

The argument doesn't seem to phase Tamerlan who's the first one in the ring. His years of training are evident. Watch how skillfully he handles the jump rope. Dzhokhar has more difficulty, less stamina as he struggles to hold up the oversized shorts.

The manager says the man in the middle was introduced as a friend. We've blurred his face. He was later questioned and released by the FBI.

Tamerlan remains focused, barely missing or breaking stride. It's right here the brothers interact. They seem relaxed, Dzhokhar resting at times, Tamerlan moving, moving, working out, 72 hours before two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

The manager tells us that soon after the attack, FBI agents came to the gym, looked at the security video, and took some screen grabs like still photos. Agents asked for names of other Chechens who trained there who may have known Tamerlan. One name that came up, Ibragim Todashev. He was shot and killed by an FBI agent last week. At the time, Todashev was being questioned in connection with a grisly triple murder just outside Boston two years ago. One of the victims was Tamerlan Tsarnaev's sparring partner at the Wai Kru gym.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: And now the family of the Chechen immigrant shot and killed by the FBI during questioning on his connection to the Boston bombing suspects is speaking out. They say he was no threat to the FBI, and they're now demanding justice. CNN's Alina Machado reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Holding photos of his son's body, Abdulbaki Todashev, had harsh words for the FBI.

ABDULBAKI TODASHEV, FATHER OF IBRAGIM TODASHEV (through translator): At the moment, I want justice. I want there to be an investigation so that these people are tried under American law. These are not FBI agents but bandits. I cannot call them anything else and they must be tried.

MACHADO: It's been more than a week since Ibragim Todashev was shot and killed in his Orlando home while being questioned about his relationship with dead Boston marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

TODASHEV (through translator): It's absurd. There were four or five armed well trained people from the FBI or police. Couldn't they handle my son?

MACHADO: A U.S. government official tells CNN that two Massachusetts state detectives and a Boston FBI agent were interviewing Todashev in a room where there was a samurai sword. According to the official, Todashev who was trained in mixed martial arts suddenly flipped the table knocking the FBI agent back into a wall. The official says Todashev then pulled out a long handled object and came at the agent prompting the shooting. Todashev's family as well as an attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations believed Todashev was not armed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We received confirmation that he was, in fact, unarmed when he was shot seven times, once in the head. The best claim they have is that there was a decorative sword in the room somewhere. My question is if they really thought that sword was a threat, why would they interrogate a suspect that they thought committed murder in four hours of a room with what they perceive as a weapon?

MACHADO: A law enforcement source has said Todashev implicated Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a 2011 triple homicide in Massachusetts during the questioning. That source also says Todashev confessed to having a direct role in the crime.

RENI MANUKYAN, EX-WIFE OF IBRAGIM: This is absolutely not true because they can even check the phones and everything. They were not in conversation. They were not texting 24/7 to each other. Maybe once in a couple months she shoot text message, how are they doing and that's it, but never calls.

MACHADO: An FBI internal review team has been investigating and looking into the circumstances of the shooting since last week.

That team of investigators is made up of members of the FBI and the Department of Justice. Meanwhile, Todashev's father says he hopes to get a visa by Friday so that he can fly to the U.S. to pick up his son's body.

Alina Machado, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: A new report says Chinese hackers have compromised America's most advanced weapons systems. How that finding could have a chilling effect on this week's U.S./China summit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: President Obama will host his Chinese counterpart on Friday, but after all of the pomp and ceremony is done, the administration wants to know if President Xi Jinping will address claims that China is stealing U.S. weapons secrets. A new report says hackers have compromised advanced U.S. weapons systems. Brian Todd shows us what is in the report and why it has the Defense Department worried.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're America's most advanced combat weapons and defense systems, the FA-18 fighter jet, the littoral combat ship, the Aegis ballistic missile defense system.

According to a new report, the designs for these and other high-tech weapons have been breached by Chinese hackers.

A confidential version of the report from the Defense Science Board made up of government and civilian experts was give to "The Washington Post."

The report doesn't accuse China of stealing entire designs, but if they didn't steal them, how did they compromise them?

We spoke with Kevin Mandia, a top cyber security expert who did a separate report this year on Chinese military hackers.

KEVIN MANDIA, CEO, MANDIANT: And bits and pieces of things will be taken from many different sources, different laptops, different computer systems that have been compromised.

But it's hard to take a lot of these pieces and gel them into one comprehensive picture of what might be being built or what the designs are.

TODD: CNN could not independently verify the latest report's findings.

Several members of the Defense Science Board who we contacted declined to speak to us.

U.S. defense and other officials downplayed the report, saying some of the information is dated, that they've taken steps to address the concerns, one saying, quote, "The idea that somehow whoever the intruders were got the keys to the weapons kingdom is a stretch."

But the Pentagon has recently accused China of trying to extract information from U.S. government computers, including military ones.

If the Chinese even got into parts of a combat or missile defense system, how could they have gotten past the safeguards?

MANDIA: There's a lot of engineering that gets done in an academic setting. There's a lot of engineering that gets done at defense industrial base. And a lot of these places have been compromised for over 10 years.

TODD: China's military ambition has been off the charts in recent years. They've launched a satellite-killer missile into space.

Just over the past two years they've deployed their first aircraft carrier and they have test-flown their first stealth fighter jet. One expert told me the technology from that was taken from the U.S.

And China's alleged hacking could be deadly for U.S. forces on the battlefield. I asked one expert about the publicly released part of this latest report on the consequences of the cyber snatching of weapons technology.

JAMES LEWIS, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: If you mess with that software, the airplane won't fly, the missile will miss its target and the ship might not get to where it was intended to go.

TODD: China's embassy in Washington did not respond to our calls and e-mail about this latest report.

China's government has repeatedly insisted it does not conduct cyber espionage on U.S. agencies or companies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: So with that as a backdrop, will the meeting between the American and Chinese president be cordial or cold? Let's bring in CNN analyst Bob Baer for some perspective. Bob, you were a case officer for the CIA and spent many years in the hot zones in many places around the world. It seems, obviously, cyber-espionage is the game here. If the Chinese have all of the stuff that Brian Todd just reported on, is America losing this high-stakes game?

BOB BAER, CNN ANALYST: Oh, absolutely. The Chinese have been at this longer than ten years. I remember back in the '90s, we were watching (INAUDIBLE) where they test their nuclear weapons, and they had this miniature nuclear warhead that exploded. We could see from the telemetry was a W-88, it was a U.S. design. They picked it up somehow, either hacking or agents in this country. They have been in portals ever since, all over defense industry, the Pentagon, everywhere. They're very good at it, and they have turned this to a good advantage in designing their own weapons.

MARQUEZ: How will all this -- that's a very serious claim, obviously. How does this affect the relations between the U.S. and China, especially with this big summit coming up?

BAER: Well, I think we need the Chinese. We need them for North Korea, clearly. We need them in the Middle East. We need them to stop shipping weapons to Iran, for instance. There's a whole host of issues that are more important than cyberhacking.

But I think in the end, we have to do something about this. We have to tighten up security. I mean, I don't think they're going to be stopped at this summit. They're going to continue. They'll spin this off to proprietaries, to private companies. It'll be harder to track. But it is so beneficial to the Chinese that I'm not sure what it would take to get them to stop.

MARQUEZ: And this summit this week, do you expect any progress out of it on this front?

BAER: Well, I think the Chinese will back off. In one sense, they're still an ally in so many conflicts, and they don't want to be caught. We have so many common interests. They'll slow down, yes. It will be cut back a bit. But at the end of the day, will it stop entirely? No, I don't think so. But it will not stop this summit.

MARQUEZ: All right, Bob Baer, thank you very much for being with us.

She captured the hearts of millions of Americans, playing Edith on "All In The Family." The unforgettable career of actress Jean Stapleton just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: A shocking loss for singer Bruno Mars. A representative for the star says the star's mother, Bernadette Hernandez, has died of a brain aneurysm at a hospital in Hawaii. She was just 55 years old. Mars' mother is credited with encouraging her son's love of music.

And a major loss for those of us who grew up with her work. Actress Jean Stapleton has died at her home in New York. She was 90 years old. Many of you knew Stapleton for her role as Archie Bunker's wife in the legendary 1970s sitcom "All In The Family." You remember, it was the show that tackled social issues like racism, sexuality and more. Her children tell us their mother passed away peacefully of natural causes. Here's a look back at Stapleton's life and extraordinary career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): That familiar tune from the 1970s.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's your mother? Edith, Edith!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Archie, how was your day? MARQUEZ: Jean Stapleton played the lovable and daffy Edith, the wife of Archie Bunker on the ground breaking 1970s sitcom "All In The Family."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Supper on the table.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to eat out tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not going to eat out tonight.

MARQUEZ: Here she tells Larry King that she took a buy-out and never made residuals on the show.

JEAN STAPLETON, ACTRESS: I've never had a regret why should I dwell on that? I benefitted daily by having done that role and basking in its success. And everything I do is because I gained recognition and some understanding of what I do from that experience.

MARQUEZ: Stapleton won many fans, three Emmys, and two Golden Globes for that role. The show took chances that no one else did at the time like having the sound of a toilet flush and addressing touchy topics like racism.

STAPLETON: Archie said he never thought he would see the day when colored and whites would be hugging and kissing coast to coast.

MARQUEZ: Stapleton was a New Yorker through and through, born in the city and she died of natural causes at her home there on Friday. Stapleton was a stage veteran before she got into TV. Her mother was an opera singer and she also sang, playing next to Barbara Streisand in the Broadway sensation, "Funny Girl."

STAPLETON: I'll tell you, it's the most rewarding experience every single night to hear that laughter and to respond to it as an actor.

MARQUEZ: Stapleton had two children who both have their own careers in television.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Joining me now from Syracuse, New York, professor of Television at Syracuse University and former president of the National Popular Culture Association, Robert Thompson. Robert, what impacted Jean Stapleton's role as Edith Bunker, the lovable Edith Bunker, have on American culture?

ROBERT THOMPSON, PROFESSOR OF TELEVISION AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: Well, first of all, I think so many people really came to just meld these two characters. Jean Stapleton, the human being and Edith Bunker the character. Of all the people I talked to since this news broke that she had passed, I am surprised how many people said, but she died a long time ago.

And what they're thinking of is that as you recall, back on Archie Bunker's place, the spin-off of all in the family, they actually wrote that Edith has a stroke and dies. It was one of the most shocking deaths in television fictional history, and I think so many people sort of mourned that character back in November of 1980.

And now that they have heard that she's died in 2013, they're kind of repeating that mourning. So I think first of all, we really came to -- that became one of the most beloved characters in the history of American television.

MARQUEZ: And what will we remember most about that role or her career?

THOMPSON: Well, certainly of her career, it is the Edith Bunker role and I think there is -- I would say whatever the most influential television shows, entertainment TV shows of all time, "All In The Family" was it. TV was one way before January of 1971 when it debuted, and it became something entirely different.

I think people forget that before we first met Archie and Edith and the two kids, you know, American television was flying nuns and genies and talking horses and talking cars. The '60s, in spite of the fact we were fighting in this very contested war, we had all of these civil rights issues happening.

A decade of complete social and political turmoil, television entertainment reflected that with nuns who could fly around and save orphans in, you know, the convent and that kind of thing. All of a sudden, in one fell swoop, "All In The Family" comes on and it's dealing with racism, bigotry of all different kinds, menopause, Edith in one of her great episodes, Jean Stapleton's great episodes, goes through menopause.

This, remember, on a network that not that long ago wouldn't even let Lucy say the word pregnant when she was pregnant on the program. And it still had Robin Laura Pettrey sleeping in separate beds even though they were happily married.

MARQUEZ: Professor, thank you very much for being with us today, great insight.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

MARQUEZ: Three storm chasers are killed by a powerful tornado. We'll take a look at why this weekend's storm in Oklahoma was particularly dangerous and what you need to do if you're in a car when a tornado closes in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: Breaking news now near Green Valley, California. Thousands of firefighters have been called in to fight the powerhouse fire in Southern California. Just look at the smoke and flames in the mountains there. Officials say the fire exploded, doubling in size to nearly 20,000 acres today. At least six houses have been destroyed in one neighborhood alone.

Three storm chasers are among the nine people who were killed in tornadoes in Oklahoma. Tim Samaras and Carl Young were following a twister in El Reno. Samara's son Paul was also with them. The three were featured on the Discovery Channel show, "Storm Chasers." Discovery Channel shared these pictures with us and a spokeswoman said their thoughts and prayers are with their families.

We just got this video in of the car the storm chasers were in. As you can see, it is absolutely crushed. Many of the nine victims were in their cars when the tornados hit. They heard sirens on Friday night, and then they tried to get away, but they ended up stuck in their cars in traffic right in the path of tornadoes.

Chad Myers is live for us in El Reno, Oklahoma, at the moment. Chad, this storm may have surprised even people used to tornadoes because it took such a big turn or series of turns, yes?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A series of turns and typically a big storm, a big tornado like this won't do that. It will continue on its path straight ahead, but at the beginning part, think about like top that hasn't started to spin yet, doesn't have really good gyro, it will wobble one way or the other. That's exactly what the storm did.

Here's a graphic of what it was doing, the left side of the screen, the left part, the initial touchdown, tracking to the southeast, also tracking to our south where we were here in El Reno looking at it, and then all of a sudden, it's got to be a 60-degree left turn and then driving itself right up here to where we are right here, the Canadian Valley Tech Center, and it changes direction like that, and this is a very wide circulation.

I'm seeing damage. I just went down there. The damage is at least a mile wide. There are circulations, trees down, houses down a mile from each other, completely destroyed. So this may actually be bigger than an EF-3. They may see more things now that there's so much more daylight and they could see where the damage is.

And yes, there was a lot of traffic out there, there are a lot of chasers out there, casual chasers, amateur chasers, if you will, but Tim was a professional. He has been doing it for so many years. He's a scientist. I don't even call him a chaser. He is the scientist guy who collects data, uses that data to make better warnings, gives it to the National Weather Service, to the university, and you know, for him to be caught in that car like he did, that storm was doing strange in things.

MARQUEZ: Chad Myers for us in El Reno, Oklahoma. Thank you very much for being with us.

MYERS: You're welcome.

MARQUEZ: Time is running out for a 10-year-old girl who is in desperate need of a lung transplant. Why her parents say the organ donor system has essentially left their daughter to die.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: A Pennsylvania family is pleading with the Obama administration to change a policy that could save their daughter's life. This is Sarah Murnaghan. She's just 10 years old. Her ability to breathe is rapidly deteriorating. Even as I speak, Sarah has had cystic fibrosis since birth. She could die within weeks without a lung transplant. One of her parents -- her parents is trying to desperately get a lung for her, but a federal policy is stopping that from happening.

Susan Candiotti is covering this for us in New York. Susan, Sarah's parents are not only pleading with the Obama administration, but they're fed up as well, I imagine.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are. You know, the parents of Sarah Murnaghan are more than fed up with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Her parents say the secretary has essentially in their words left Sarah to die.

Sarah is 10 and desperately needs a lung transplant. She's in a Philadelphia Intensive Care Unit, but current guidelines require a child to be 12 years old before they can get an adult lung. The pool for children's lungs is much smaller.

Secretary Sebelius refused to intercede and instead on Friday ordered the transplant guidelines to be reviewed. Sarah's mom called it a good first step, but too late to help her daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET MURNAGHAN, DAUGHTER NEEDS LUNG TRANSPLANT: I have a lot of faith that we have affected great change for children in the future. But for children today, they're still dying. And Secretary Sebelius is going to allow that to continue. It is in her authority, but she has chosen to let my daughter die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: But Sarah's mother is now making a direct plea for anyone to donate a lung in Sarah's name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MURNAGHAN: The law cannot oversee direct donation. If you directly donate your loved one's lungs to Sarah, the law cannot change that. And Sarah will use them and create a positive, wonderful life and legacy for your loved one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: It's such a difficult case. It's very sad, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Did Sarah's mom try to talk directly to Secretary Sebelius after she declined to interview on Sarah's behalf.

CANDIOTTI: Well, she did. You know, when Sarah's mom got the e-mail on Friday from Secretary Sebelius to tell her of her decision and Sebelius told her she was very sorry, but all she could do was review the policy, Sarah's mom asked for a phone call, and the secretary did offer to speak with her but not until tomorrow.

MARQUEZ: And what's the family's next step? Can they do anything else at this point?

CANDIOTTI: Well, of course, Sarah is not the only child in this predicament, but she is at the very top of the list in her region, and that's how it works, to get a child donor lung. So the family is appealing for anyone, you heard that, anywhere, to name Sarah as a recipient.

And they do plan to make an announcement soon, as soon as today or tomorrow, from some new lawyers that are working for the family, arguing discrimination against Sarah and other children because of their age, disqualifying them from receiving adult donors.

So Sarah's parents, you know, Miguel, you can understand, call her a fighter. And you'll hear more from Sarah tonight on CNN.

MARQUEZ: Yes, Susan, these are always such tough situations.

CANDIOTTI: They are.

MARQUEZ: Is it -- is it a sense that they're going broader and not just in their region, that there might be some good news ahead?

CANDIOTTI: Well, it's really hard to say and you know, they're playing their cards close to their vest now, but by perhaps getting more attention to this problem, they hope to not only help their daughter, but certainly to help other children who are in the same situation.

MARQUEZ: Susan Candiotti in New York, thank you very much.

More than one and a half million Americans are expected to get cancer this year. In a minute, we talk to author Judy Blume. She opens up about her own fight with cancer and reacts to Angelina Jolie's decision to have preventative surgery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: Today is National Cancer Survivor Day. The American Cancer Society predicts about 1.6 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2013 and almost 600,000 people are expected to die of cancer this year alone. That's almost 1,600 people a day. That makes cancer the second most common cause of death in the United States.

Angelina Jolie, who refused to be a statistic, was back on the red carpet today. It was the actress's first public appearance since announcing she had a double ma mastectomy in February. Jolie says had she had a mutation of the BRCA gene, that's the gene linked to breast and ovarian cancer. Today, she talked about her health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: I feel great, I feel wonderful and I'm very, very grateful for all the support. I have been very happy to see the discussion about women's health expanded and that means the world to me. After losing my mom to these issues, I'm very grateful for it and I have been moved by the kind support from people, really very grateful for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now Jolie was joining her fiance Brad Pitt who is promoting his new film "World War Z" in London.

Beloved children's author Judy Blume is also a cancer survivor. You probably know her classics "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret" and "Blubber." Now she's back in the spotlight as her 1981 book "Tiger Eyes" is made into a movie coming out this Friday, June 7th. Her son Lawrence directed it. When they talked to our own Fredricka Whitfield about the movie, Blume also told her, her cancer story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Ms. Blue, how about your health? How are you doing after announcing your breast cancer diagnosis in 2012 and you also blogged about it quite a bit?

JUDY BLUME, AUTHOR: I'm fine. You know, I had surgery, but I was incredibly lucky. I didn't need any other treatment so I feel guilty even talking about it because I know what other people go through. And I did not have to go through any of that. So it was a very quick recovery and I'm lucky. So far, you never know what's coming, but so far, I feel fine.

WHITFIELD: But you have been through a lot, too. This comes after cervical cancer, right, 17 years ago and a hysterectomy. Do you feel like your story can kind of serve as an inspiration, especially as people are also digesting, you know, Angelina Jolie's news about her preventive surgery because of the BRCA-1 gene?

BLUME: Yes, yes, I think she was very brave in going public. I'm very glad that she did go public. I think it's a good thing. The more we can talk about it, the more open we are, the better, and the more information we can share. The cervical cancer, I didn't know I had cervical cancer. You know, I had to have a hysterectomy because something was wrong. I never -- it was in situ. There was never any other treatment. You know, I don't really spend time thinking about it.

WHITFIELD: You just move on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Love that Judy Blume. Her new movie "Tiger Eyes" comes out this Friday, June 7th. She and her son Lawrence told Fredricka it was a special project for them both and it also came with challenges. We'll have much more on that interview next weekend here on CNN.

Thirty six hours of violent protests in the streets of Istanbul, a weekend of water cannons and tear gas. We'll show you what the scene looks like now, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MARQUEZ: At least 15 people died in three states after a string of deadly storms, tornadoes killed nine people in Oklahoma. Three of the victims were storm chasers who were following a twister in El Reno. Flooding also got dangerous across the Midwest this weekend. Three people drowned in Missouri according to Governor Jay Nixon and three more died in Arkansas including a sheriff's deputy.

The streets of Istanbul, Turkey, are a little calmer today. City workers are cleaning up the mess left after days of violent protests. Anti-government protesters fought with police who sprayed them with water cannons and tear gas. The protest began as a small demonstration against a government plan to tear down a park in Istanbul. It became a bigger protest against Turkey's prime minister. The biggest he's seen since he was elected 10 years ago.

And there's a royal anniversary in Britain today. Queen Elizabeth was formally crowned monarch on this date 60 years ago. She was just 27 years old when she became queen. Elizabeth is the oldest daughter of King George VI. The monarch famously portrayed in the movie, "The King's Speech."

We're just about a week away from the start of George Zimmerman's murder trial. Hear why things may heat up in the courtroom before the jury is seated. That's coming up at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

And then at 5:00, the acting IRS chief will be in the hot seat this week on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers get ready to grill him on why the agency targeted conservative groups. We'll have the details at 5:00 Eastern.

I'll see you back in the CNN NEWSROOM in an hour. Up next, Republicans hope the economy would sink President Obama in the last year's election, but the economy is making a comeback, and is the president immune to the controversy swirling around the Obama administration? "YOUR MONEY" starts now.