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Tornado Kills "Storm Chasers"; Growing Wildfires Force Evacuations; Rep. Issa Hints White House Used IRS; Turkish Prime Minister under Fire; Interview with Eric Burdon; Tornado Science Mystery; Fire and Paying the Ultimate Price

Aired June 02, 2013 - 18:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Mr. Marquez. Right off the top, I'm Don Lemon. You're in THE NEWSROOM.

I want to give you your headlines this hour. A lot of stories making news now.

First up, 13 people dead in the Oklahoma tornados, including some who made living chasing -- made a living chasing them. This is Tim Samaras and Carl Young. They are storm chasers who died when the tornado crushed their truck. Samaras' 24-year-old son was with them and was also killed.

Get a look at what's left of the truck they were in. I want you to stay right there, because our Chad Myers is in Norman, Oklahoma, right now. And he'll be with me live in just about a minute here on CNN.

Let's go to Turkey now. A fourth straight day of violent clashes between protesters and riot police.

Here's what authorities are saying. They're saying more than 700 people have been detained since the protests began. The unrest started as a small sit-in over plans to demolish a popular park in Istanbul, but quickly grew into large anti-government demonstrations around the country and calls for the prime minister to resign. The live report is also coming up later in the hour here on CNN.

Huge wildfires burning out West. This one in the Angeles National Forest has more than tripled in size overnight to about 20,000 acres. Two thousand homes had to be evacuated. High winds and low humidity are propelling the fires as it chews up dry brush.

And in New Mexico, two fires have spread to about a dozen square miles. Here again, some 200 homes had to be evacuated, and a blanket of smoke and haze has settled in over Santa Fe.

In the wake of the Boston marathon bombings, a U.S. fact-finding mission to Moscow has concluded the attacks might have been prevented if U.S. and Russian intelligence agencies had cooperated better. Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who led the investigation, or lead the delegation, says both sides were focused on details, but, quote, "They didn't pay attention to the big picture, which was all screwed up." Angelina Jolie back on the red carpet today. Jolie appeared with fiance Brad Pitt in London. This is her first public event since she announced she had a double mastectomy back in February. Jolie has a mutation of the BRCA gene which increases her chances of getting breast and ovarian cancer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS/ACTIVIST: I've been very happy to see this discussion about women's health expanded, and that means the world to me. And after losing my mom to these issues, I'm very grateful for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The couple are in London to promote Pitt's new film "World War Z."

To Oklahoma now, the disaster zone. It has been two days since a killer tornado, but people are still very much in danger. And rescue crews are actively looking for people still missing. Just a short time ago, we found out that emergency crews found the bodies of four people, two adults and two kids who were among those seeking safety in a storm drain. Some of them made it, others were swept away in the rushing water.

Chad Myers, our severe weather expert, is in El Reno, Oklahoma.

And, Chad, this happened in Oklahoma City about 30 miles to your east. So what happened to those people?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. They went under the ground in the storm drain, a big drain, to seek shelter from the tornado, a good place to go unless you get a flash flood right after. And that's exactly what happened.

Ten people were in that shelter, or in that drain. The wind and tornado went over. They didn't get out in time before the rain really gushed in, and then it was flash flooded in there and they drowned in that tunnel, Don.

LEMON: How dangerous is it right now in those destruction areas where you are and all around the area? Are people going back to their neighborhoods? Is that safe to do?

MYERS: You know, people are going back and they're trying to clean up. A couple things can happen. There still could be some downed power lines that are live. There are a lot of downed poles. This will take weeks to get all these poles back up, without a doubt, some very big poles, too, big power lines, big tall high tension power lines as well.

They are going back -- they could get in trouble with generators. You don't want to be inside with that carbon monoxide. Many people get more hurt after the storm than before. They're actually in Moore -- we were still down there yesterday looking at this. There's actually a stand on the side of the road giving away tetanus shots to anyone who wants to come by, because you could step on a nail and all of a sudden, you have tetanus, or whatever it might be.

So, there are still dangers, even though this time.

You know, we're at a tech center, we're in an El Reno tech center, where, you know, men and women learn how to work on cars, how to work on diesel, or work on airplanes.

This is an airplane that was to be worked on. They were going to take it apart, take the engines, rebuild them and all but there's taking a look this right now, Don, this -- this is not going to buff out -- Don.

LEMON: I'm sorry, Chad. I didn't hear, (INAUDIBLE) room was talking to me. Chad,. repeat the last part of what you said about that car?

MYERS: This is an airplane with a retractable gear, going to be worked on here at the tech facility for the men and women who wanted to learn how to work on airplanes. And there's just nothing left to work on now. This is just a big piece of scrap aluminum, nothing to put back together. This is a wreck.

And there's this whole tech center here in El Reno is also a wreck. It's going to take a long time to put all this back together.

It was a very dangerous storm, Don. It turned left, it turned right. It was an EF-3, at least preliminary. I believe in my walk around and drive around with this tornado, that will be a very probably a very strong three, but also could be upgraded to an EF-4 in that 160 to 170 mile per hour range. To do this kind of damage, the storm damage to buildings and the storm damage to the car where we lost scientists, field scientists, call them storm chasers if you like, but I like the word, I like science field officer, because that's what they were really, doing scientific work.

And their vehicle was thrown three quarters of a mile. The engine was three quarters of a mile away from where that car was found as that car tumbled and tumbled on Friday -- Don.

LEMON: We're going to talk a little bit more about that right now. Thank you, Chad. A little question glitch, someone talking in my ear, I didn't hear what you were saying. Appreciate your reporting. We'll get back to you.

I want to talk now about the people who make a living getting as close as they can to these monster storms, all in the name of science and public information. Now, listen to this guy. He's from the Weather Channel. He's going to talk about being lifted by Friday's tornado.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BETTES, THE WEATHER CHANNEL: Getting picked up, you know, tumbling, being airborne, it was violent, it was rough. Yes, truly, the scariest -- the scariest moment of my life. And it just seemed like for a moment, everything was in slow motion, especially when we were floating. I kind of felt like I was being lifted to heaven.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was Mike Bettes from the Weather Channel. And he survived. Other storm chasing crews survived, too, but one did not.

On the phone with me now from Norman, Oklahoma, storm chaser Reed Timmer joining us again.

Reed, thank you so much.

We learned about today about three of your fellow storm chasers who did not make it out of the latest tornado. Tell me how you're feeling? We could just as easily be talking about you right now, to be quite honest.

REED TIMMER, STORM CHASER (via telephone): Yes. I woke up to a nightmare, and still living it right now. Tim Samaras and Carl Young and Paul Samaras are great friends of mine and pioneers in the science and meteorology. It's all we've been saying, and a complete control of storm chasing, and it just does not make sense to me. I don't understand.

When we were doing "Storm Chasers," Tim was always concerned about my safety and everybody else around him, everybody in the path of the storms. He's the most selfless, nice guy I've ever met. And he, you know, somehow, there's got to be more to this story, because he knows storm chasing better than anybody that I know, and would never put his crew or anybody else in danger.

I mean, he has the world record pressure (INAUDIBLE) in a tornado, and his data already has saved countless lives and will save countless lives in the future, and feels like I'm living a nightmare. And I just don't know how that happened. And it shouldn't have, and I lost a friend.

Every random roadside gas station conversation we have talking about storm, I'm going to miss the rest of my life. He's someone I've looked up to my whole life, too. He's a great father. Great chaser. I mean, I can't say enough.

LEMON: Hey, Reed --

TIMMER: It's so sad.

LEMON: Yes, I can imagine, because you knew him personally, and the shot just before that was the car -- if we can get that loaded back up. That was his car that they were loading, what's left of the vehicle. There it is right there -- loading up on that flat bed. Unbelievable.

And you knew him, you knew Tim.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: What were they doing -- what were they doing when the tornado hit them?

TIMMER: I'm not sure. We were on the other side of the tornado. A lot of lightning research, too, dropping tornado sensors. But if I had to guess, probably trying to save somebody's life, maybe somebody got stuck and he was trying to run back and get them out of the path, because he's a hero.

And I know that he was probably trying to save somebody's life. And he did anyway collecting data. But this was probably a direct life- saving mission from Tim because the Tim that -- I mean, he's just that kind of guy, a great guy.

And he knows the science. He's an engineer. I mean, you should see this camera that he built that does high speed imagery of lightning.

He's always, always been safe. I know he was in a safe spot. And he must have had a reason to try to save somebody's life, somebody will come out --

LEMON: Hey, Reed, this storm, was it that unpredictable? Because you're saying Tim knew what he was doing. He knew storm chasing better than anybody else.

Was this particular line of storms just so unpredictable that something like this happened?

TIMMER: Well, it had a lot of suction vortices underneath. There was a main wedge tornado and suction vortices. Southeast, it took a left- hand turn, which a lot of tornados do. And Tim definitely would have known that, which makes me think that he saved somebody's life, that's the only explanation I can think of, because I was so astonished.

I thought it must have been some kind of hoax that I was waking up to this morning. It is a violent tornado. Those suction vortices underneath, you know, the multiple vortex tornados can theoretically pack winds of 500 miles per hour. That's what we always talked about scientifically and about trying to measure.

And I know that he wouldn't have been in that position by choice unless he was trying to save somebody's life. But he also wouldn't put his own -- it's the only thing that makes sense.

LEMON: Yes. Well, Reed --

TIMMER: Tim is a veteran storm chaser and knows what he's doing and is one of the best and he's a scientist. He's not out there trying to get that extreme video like a lot of the amateur storm chasers are trying to get and endangering lives doing. He's trying to do science and he's always done it safely.

LEMON: Well, Reed, we thank you for coming on to talk about him. We really appreciate it. We'll get back to you. You'd be safe out there, as well as our Chad Myers.

Reed Timmer, Chad Myers, both, thank you for joining us. We're going to talk more about this, because that same line of storms that cut a deadly path through the Midwest, heading east now causing severe weather from Virginia to Maine.

CNN's Karen Maginnis in the CNN severe weather center now. Another one, who's seen the worst of it now?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, this is the same weather system as you mentioned. It is a little different dynamics, big difference. We're seeing primarily heavy downpours, some lightning.

There was one report of a tornado. That was in upstate South Carolina in the county of Andersonville. They're saying that a roof was blown off of a house. I think the bulk of this affected the state park in that vicinity.

Right now, severe thunderstorm watch goes until 8:00 p.m. for much of Maine, extending all the way down to much of eastern New York. A couple of severe thunderstorm warnings out, meaning you'll expect some heavy downpours, frequent lightning, the possibility of hail. But I've seen a number of reports of 60-mile-an-hour winds being reported with the line of storms.

Coming up for tomorrow, hot temperatures across the Southwest, frontal system continues to make its way off the Eastern Seaboard. Don, back to you.

LEMON: All right. Karen Maginnis, thank you. Appreciate it.

Republican Congressman Darrell Issa says the latest IRS scandal goes all the way to the top.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: This is a problem that was coordinated, in all likelihood, right out of Washington headquarters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The congressman pulling no punches, even calling the White House press secretary a, quote, "paid liar." That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: There were some fireworks on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" program today. Republican Congressman Darrell Issa says his investigation suggests the Obama administration ordered the IRS to target conservative groups, and he called White House Press Secretary Jay Carney a, quote, "paid liar."

Here's CNN's Athena Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Partial transcripts of House investigators conducted with IRS employees in Cincinnati raised new questions about who directed them to target conservative groups seeking tax exempt status.

Here's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa speaking on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."

ISSA: As late as last week, the administration is still trying to say there's a few rogue agents in Cincinnati when the indication is they were directly being ordered from Washington. My gut tells me that too many people knew that this wrongdoing was going on before the election.

JONES: In one excerpt, an employee is asked whether a supervisor gave any indication of the need for the search, any more context. The worker replies, "He told me that Washington, D.C. wanted some cases."

But these partial transcripts aren't conclusive. When the worker is asked, "But with respect to the particular scrutiny that was given to Tea Party applications, those directions emanated from Washington, is that right?" The worker replies, "I believe so."

CANDY CROWLEY, "STATE OF THE UNION" HOST: It's totally not definitive, as you understand it.

ISSA: That one isn't.

JONES: Both Republicans and Democrats were present for the interviews with the two employees. Issa said the full transcripts of these and other IRS worker interviews will be released.

ISSA: This is a problem that was coordinated in all likelihood right out of Washington headquarters and we're getting to proving it.

JONES (on camera): Congressman Elijah Cummings, a top Democrat on the oversight committee, has released a statement calling Issa's remarks on "STATE OF THE UNION", quote, "reckless". Cummings said that the comments are inconsistent with the findings of the inspector general and that so far, no witnesses who appeared before the committee have identified any IRS official in Washington who directed them to target conservative groups.

Athena Jones, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, the White House says 14 objective news sources, three Republican congressmen, two former inspectors general and the inspector general report on this case on this case itself all contradict any allegations that the administration was involved in a conspiracy to target conservative groups.

OK. Let's talk more politics now with E.D. and L.Z. E.D. is a conservative analyst, E.D. Hill right here in New York. And, L.Z., of course, L.Z. Granderson, CNN analyst and senior writer for ESPN. And for the purposes of this segment, to keep it consistent, you can just call me D.L.

E.D. HILL, CONSERVATIVE ANALYST: Yes. (LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Let's start now with the Attorney General Eric Holder. There was plenty of talk about him on the Sunday shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

ISSA: You know, one of the things about perjury, this is -- this is the attorney general. Don't use perjury lightly. Perjury is a criminal charge that has to be proven. But certainly, it's hard to have confidence in what this attorney general says or his people say when so often it turns out not to be true.

CROWLEY: You think he should resign, yes or no?

ISSA: That's up to the president.

DAVID PLOUFFE, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISOR: I do find curious that the loudest Republican voice is now calling for the attorney general to go, the same ones a year ago saying we weren't investigating strongly enough. They wanted a special prosecutor because they said U.S. attorneys would not be tough enough. And so I think their objection lay less in the principle and substance to this, than almost a Pavlovian response.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

LEMON: OK, L.Z. You know that whole thing about -- I'm going to go and spend more time with my family.

Do you think it is only a matter of time before that happens? I -- all right. Do you think it's only a matter of time before he's saying, "Listen, I've got to go, I'm done"?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN ANALYST: I don't know if he's going to be the one to say it or the people on the inside of the Democratic Party are going to be the ones to say it. But right now, you know -- and I talked to several people in D.C. I've combed through lots and lots of transcripts.

You know, Candy is asking correct -- nothing that I've seen thus far has that true line. You can't have a congressman saying, "I've got a gut feeling about this." That's not proof.

You know, that might be enough to make you want to investigate, but it's not definitive proof. If you're really going to push on an attorney general, which doesn't happen very often, mind you, you need definitive proof. Imagine the way that we saw Gonzales, when he was officially pushed out because there was definitive proof. We don't have that yet.

LEMON: Well --

HILL: Wait a second.

LEMON: Go ahead. HILL: Proof, yes. But this is also about appearances. And it is -- perjury is certainly hard to prove. But if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it's a duck. And I think that's what people are going to say.

LEMON: As I'm watching the show, as this story keeps developing, I'm just -- me as a layperson saying, OK, I'm wondering when the big press conference is going to happen.

HILL: It's not going to.

LEMON: You don't think it's going to happen.

HILL: I don't think he goes.

Look, this is a second-term president. He doesn't have to be popular. He doesn't have to answer questions.

He doesn't have to get re-elected. He's a guy who will throw himself under the bus. He'll do it.

LEMON: OK, so this happens in most second terms.

HILL: It's a second term, you've got enough time to find what's wrong.

LEMON: When you consider this, I think all presidents -- anyone who gets to be a president, that's a huge accomplishment. But this one is the first person of color to be president of the United States. His second term, by all appearances, if you look at the scandals, getting away from him. Not accomplishing what he's set out to accomplish in many ways.

You don't think in that he wants to set a precedence and say --

HILL: Mostly accomplishing in the second term what he's supposed to do in the first term.

LEMON: Right.

HILL: But that doesn't him.

You've got him -- he claims executive privilege when you're talk about Fast and Furious. In this case, nobody seems to know who's running the show, who's making decisions. To me, that's saying you're not running it very well. And that's not how a second term should be.

LEMON: So you're talking about --

GRANDERSON: You know, there are more than 2 million federal employees working in the United States right now, more than 2 million. So it's impossible for any president, regardless of party, to know exactly what two million people are doing at all times.

HILL: OK. GRANDERSON: As far as this accusation that he hasn't always done what he said he was going to do, part of that is his own fault for setting the bar too high. Part of that is the obstruction started by the Tea Party. But it's also reality that he actually has done a great deal of what he promised he was going to do.

One thing that this stream of so-called scandals has done is taken our vision away from some of the wonderful things that have happened in this country since he's been re-elected. When was last time you talked about the jobs reports numbers? We haven't. When was the last time talked about Wall Street?

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: Then get past the scandals.

LEMON: That's a good point, because --

HILL: Then get past the scandals, so you can do it. That's true.

LEMON: The polls show that Americans care about jobs and the economy and these other things, you know, they may be important to a lot of people. And certainly people die. You talk about Benghazi. That's far down in the poll what people care about. And fast and furious. You mentioned it.

The question is, do you think -- because there's scandal after scandal. People say it's not really a scandal. It's a made up scandal by -- on the right.

Do you think that Republicans are overplaying their hands on this one?

HILL: No, I don't. I think that if there isn't a scandal, then come out, answer the questions. Don't go to these off-the-record meetings with Washington bureau chiefs to talk about the most recent scandal. Do it on the record. Be out there in the open.

If you're changing rules, tell us what you're changing. If you approve something, tell us. He may have a great reason for doing some of the things that other people are saying he has done. If so, tell us why and get on. If you've got a big agenda, get to it.

LEMON: L.Z. --

GRANDERSON: I agree with that.

LEMON: OK, one thing after another. Wait a minute. Come on, guys. Find one thing and stick with it.

OK, we can't do, get him on this one, we're going to get him on that one.

HILL: I don't know. Whoa, whoa, it's not get him on stuff. These things keep oncoming out. I mean, I don't think people are pulling these out of the sky. All of a sudden, you've got the IRS. You've got all these things. LEMON: All right. Go ahead, L.Z.

GRANDERSON: I believe it's a combination of both. I think it was designed to try to get him on something. It's also these things are coming out.

And I agree absolutely. It was not a good look to say we're going to have off-the-record conversations about something, especially on the heels of being repeated about being a transparent administration. Those two images do not go well together. So, I definitely agree with that.

But let's not pretend this is just, oops, look what we came across. No, the Republicans are definitely looking for something, not just to get to Holder, but to damage President Obama's legacy.

HILL: It's a big boy world. Both parties do that when the other's in office.

LEMON: OK. So we've got to run. But I have to ask you this, quickly. This so called love affair between the Obama administration and the media, is it over, you think?

HILL: Folger's time. Wake up and smell the coffee.

LEMON: L.Z.?

GRANDERSON: Listen, FOX News has been number one in cable a couple years now. I would dare say they have not been very kind to President Obama.

LEMON: All right.

HILL: D.L., thank you.

LEMON: Thank you, E.D. Thank you, L.Z. D.L., here.

GRANDERSON: Thanks.

LEMON: Very interesting conversation. I appreciate both of you. Have a great rest of the weekend.

OK. So, summer is nearly here. If you've been in New York, Northeast has been hot. It's here. Americans are getting ready to take their vacations.

But if you live in the U.S., chances are you'll be taking less than people in other countries. More on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: For as hard as we all work here in the United States, we come up short when it comes to getting vacation time. How bad is it?

Tom Foreman has this week's "American Journey."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As beaches, resorts and theme parks brace for the summer rush, they can count a quarter of all Americans out of the mix. That's how many receive no paid vacation in a study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. And the lower your wages, the less likely time off is in your plans according to John Schmitt.

(on camera): Many Americans get vacations.

JOHN SCHMITT, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND POLICY RESEARCH: We do, but we get a lot less than everybody else. The average American gets less than a minimum required vacation in every other country that we looked at.

FOREMAN (voice-over): They looked at places like Japan with 10 days, Germany with 24, and France with 30. What's more, a study last year found more than half of Americans who do get vacation time don't use all of it, often for fear of appearing lazy or being laid off.

SCHMITT: I think what it is, is that we have a much higher level of job insecurity in this country than in the rest of the world.

FOREMAN: It is not always been this way. The growth of the car culture in the 1950s fuelled the idea that regular folks, not just the rich, should get away from the grind now and then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How would you feel if you were me?

FOREMAN: And for several decades, the family vacation was as American as, well, America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A vacation on a farm. Have you ever thought of this?

FOREMAN: Certainly some believe the country's work ethic is precisely what made the economy great, and now would be the worst time for vacation fever to sweep in. But others --

(on camera): So are you going to take a vacation?

SCHMITT: I am going to take a few weeks off in July.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Others suggest rebuilding the economy might need to start with more folks recharging their batteries.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Take a look at this. Violent confrontations between protesters and riot police have ignited across Turkey, with many people denouncing the prime minister as a dictator and demanding he step down. The unrest began four days ago in Istanbul but quickly spread to other cities including the capital Ankara.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins us from Ankara with the latest.

What's going on, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've just come back from the central square here at Kizilay where about 30 minutes before we arrived, police moved in from multiple directions. And what seemed to be a crowd of pretty much peaceful young protesters, most of the people we saw then being arrested, some by plainclothes police, others by police in heavy riot gear.

Wouldn't say why they were being arrested. Often put on to buses and driven away. Some made to sit on the curb. A lot of them young women, students, it seemed.

A rich smell of tear gas in the air. Really acrid for many. We saw, in fact, one man who seemed to be incapacitated by something. He had a significant pain in his chest that meant he couldn't get up.

And then once we are assured this scene dissipate, witnesses began telling us of how, in fact, many of these student protesters had run into a nearby fast-food joint to seek shelter, but in fact tear gas they say had been fired into it, incredibly dangerous to fire tear gas into a confined space because of the hazards it can cause to people's health.

We walked around some of the side streets and it basically seemed that police were moving up and down these roads, firing tear gas more or less indiscriminately. Anything they didn't really like the look of, sometimes towards us. And in fact we saw one police officer hit a man who's quite defenseless. They're trying to detain him, hit him with this baton. And in fact, at one point, they even kicked our camera man.

So police here certainly, I think, lacking in many degrees discipline. Anger in what many -- in their eyes too at what seems to be happening around them. And they seem also to lack a real plan, often just roaming up and down these streets firing tear gas at will.

LEMON: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much. Appreciate your reporting.

The lead singer of one of biggest rock 'n' roll acts ever says he hated being part of the British invasion.

That's Eric Burdon. My conversation with him. He's part of The Animals. Remember that? He's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A half century has passed since the Beatles launched a musical revolution known as the British invasion. One group that rode that wave was Eric Burdon and The Animals.

(MUSIC) Now at 72 years old, Burdon has released a new album, and I sat down with him to talk about what it was like to be at the forefront of pop music history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (on camera): Bruce Springsteen said every song he's ever done was stolen from The Animals. What do you think? How does that make you feel?

ERIC BURDON, MUSICIAN, THE ANIMALS AND WAR: It made me feel good. I'm really grateful to the fact that he would take note of that. And what was even more stunning is that when he was like 17 years of age and was watching me on TV when I was 24 or whatever, he said, you know, that lead singer on The Animals, in a tight little suit that he was uncomfortable in, he looked like he had his daddy's wig on. That's exactly how I felt.

I hated being a part of the British invasion. I really did. I only joined it because it got me to America. It got me to -- back to be able to move through black America and really see the experiences up close and personal that I had been reading about as a kid.

LEMON: So you dressed up in that get-up night after night, day after day, just so you can get to come to America to play black music?

BURDON: Yes, as a kid, we put our collective hands into the -- let's say the American trash can, the stuff that had been thrown away, and the stuff that the authorities were trying to get kids to stay away from, which was black music, and we embraced it and we regurgitated it and sent it back in the form of the Beatles.

(MUSIC)

LEMON: So as we sit here, we're in this place. You're very familiar with this place. We're in the Apollo. You would play here and the cops would show up.

BURDON: Yes. We got through from Monday to, I think, Thursday. And then the police showed up and said we're going to shut you down, or the unions are going to shut us down because of police pressure. Because we were drawing the young white kids to 125th Street from down Manhattan.

LEMON: They didn't want that?

BURDON: And they didn't want that, no. So we were like, is this a taste of what we have to face on this upcoming tour? And then from that experience, I mean, I did road trips in England and in America with Chuck Perry at one hand of the bus and Jerry Lee Lewis at the front of the bus. And you can imagine what that was like in 1960.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: No, I can't imagine. What was that like? BURDON: It was hell on wheels. You know, I mean, it was -- I remember there was always a fight to get the back row in the bus, because the only place you could stretch out was on the back row seats, you know. And at first, Jerry Lee had the backseat. And then one night, the road manager said, Jerry Lee, I've got some news for you. He said Chuck gets the backseat tonight. You know.

Like, what do you mean? He says well, your record is just stood up and his record just passed you on the charts, so he gets the choice seat. So when Chuck came on board the bus, somebody from the front seat mumbled yes, OK, get in the backseat where you belong. And the next thing is, you know, there's a big fight going on.

And I thought this is a microcosm, a troubling microcosm of the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Truly one of the coolest people I've ever met. Not kidding. Part of my interview with Eric Burdon coming up next when he talks about losing friends such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin.

We have all seen the footage after a tornado where one house is turned into splinters and the next one is untouched. We're going to look at why that happens next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So we've been showing you all the pictures. You've seen it, the pictures after a tornado. One house is destroyed, then the next is virtually untouched.

CNN's Ed Lavandera went looking for answers as to why that happens.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So just across the street from this severely damaged home, we noticed something in this wheat field that caught our attention. We want to take a closer look at it. There was this flattened trail. Trying to explain why it looked like this.

So what are we looking at here?

REED TIMMER, STORM CHASER: Right here is the path of a suction vortex. And so you have a multiple vortex tornado. It classically was. You can see in the video, you have the main cone. Almost wedge tornado (INAUDIBLE). Just below that, you get these miniature tornados that will spin underneath the suction vortices.

LAVANDERA: OK.

TIMMER: It's the big mystery of tornado science is how strong the wind speeds get. But they're the reason why one house will sustain severe damage, whereas the one next door will almost look untouched. LAVANDERA: So we're about -- not even 100 yards away from this house that was completely flattened, next to some other houses that were severely damaged, but not flattened like this. And this just seems to spin right off and go off into the distance.

TIMMER: Yes, my theory is that the main tornado is making a left-hand turn, and they had those suction vortices in it. And on the backside of the tornado, one of those suction vortices, the bigger one, came right down this path and it probably hit that house, and then went this way. And you could see it right down that path in this wheat field, and then took a hard left turn, and then dissipated right out there in the wheat field.

They're very quick. They'll be very strong. They're unstable configurations because they're so strong, and then they'll just burst into turbulence and be gone. And if you get hit by one of those suction vortices, it could have 400 or 500-mile-per-hour winds at the surface.

LAVANDERA: When we pointed this out to you, you're pretty amazed by it.

TIMMER: Yes, I was -- this is -- one of the most textbook version of suction vortex damage I've ever seen. But I've seen them develop and then rip a tree out of the ground and then disappeared in the blink of an eye and some tornadoes. Like they can be really short-lived.

LAVANDERA: Wow.

TIMMER: But that's a big mystery of tornado science.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was CNN's Ed Lavandera reporting.

He's back. Talking about George Brett. He's coming out of retirement after decades. Why? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A hall of famer returns to the dugout two decades after he retired. What do you say we talk some sports?

Terence Moore. There he is. He's a sports contributor to CNN.com and columnist for mlb.com.

So Terence, George Brett, that's worth talking about. He's a living legend in Kansas City. And he's tired of seeing the Royals struggle at the plate. So he's agreed to be the team's new hitting coach.

To retired superstars like Brett have much of a track record working with, you know, the mere mortal, so to speak?

TERENCE MOORE, CNN.COM SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, they do. And it is not good, Don. And that's because these guys when they become coaches or managers, they expect too much from their players. You know, and the classic example, you had magic Johnson back in 1994 when you took over the Lakers near the end of that season. It was a disaster. They lost 10 straight. He never coached again.

The poster child for this is the great Ted Williams. Again, perfectionist. He takes over those god-awful Washington Center teams back in the late 1960s and everybody thought his head was going to explode.

Now I tell you, Don, it's a good thing that it didn't because remember, years later, when Ted Williams died some of his children decided to freeze his head for posterity. But that's another story.

LEMON: Wow. Yes, that is another story. And also -- here's another story about a hall of famer. Let's talk about another hall of famer. Jack Nicklaus.

MOORE: Yes. He's weighed in on the recent Tiger Woods feud with Sergio Garcia. That took a turn toward race. It took an ugly turn. I want to hear from Tiger talking about racial remarks in general and then get Jack's reaction. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Well, I live it. I'm -- it's happened my entire life and happened my entire career.

JACK NICKLAUS, GOLF HALL OF FAMER: The Sergio/Tiger thing, I mean, it's stupid. Do guys have an issue one with another thing? They usually resolve it themselves. You guys want to resolve it in the newspapers today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Terence, was Tiger -- was this, you know, Tiger and Sergio feud stupid or was it something bigger? I mean, was he talking about the feud or the fact that it turned into a race issue?

MOORE: Well, I mean, first of all, this is very significant because this tells you that racism is still alive and well. And Sergio knew exactly what he was doing, Don. OK, when you use -- fried chicken, all right. When you use black person and fried chicken in the same sentence, that's always had negative connotations going back 150 years or what have you. But here's the thing. Jack Nicklaus has no business going here, period.

Remember, a couple of decades ago, Jack Nicklaus was asked why there were so few black golfers. And he came up with this cockamamie thing about blocks had different muscles than white people. You know, just zip it, Jack. Just go on to something else. LEMON: Yes. I'm not even going to comment on that.

MOORE: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Thank you, Terence. No need. Some things should just stand on their own. Seriously.

MOORE: Exactly right.

LEMON: I'm not -- I don't mean to be facetious. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. We'll see you next time.

MOORE: Thank you.

LEMON: All righty. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The mayor called it the worst day in the history of the Houston Fire Department. Four firefighters killed while responding to a huge hotel and restaurant fire on Friday. Running into the flames because they thought people were trapped inside. Four died when a wall collapsed. The fire chief says other firefighters immediately began digging through the rubble to get to them.

The death -- deaths are a sobering reminder of how dangerous this job can be.

CNN's Sara Ganim has more on how the department remembers their fallen comrades.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anne Sullivan had just graduated from the fire academy in April.

RYCHE GUERRERO, FRIEND OF FIREFIGHTER ANNE SULLIVAN: We called her Punky because she was named after Punky Brewster. You know, she's short, cute and small.

GANIM: She had worked as a volunteer firefighter at this station outside of Houston before deciding to make it her career.

GUERRERO: This picture right here was her first real structure fire. She was smaller than most firefighters I know. She was tough as nails.

GANIM: She was only 24 and she died fighting an inferno that destroyed this inn along with three of her colleagues. Twenty-nine- year-old Robert Garner, 35-year-old Matthew Rinad, 41-year-old Robert Beebee. The four were killed when a wall collapsed 14 other firefighters were injured. Some trying to dig out their fallen comrades.

RUY LOZANO, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT: It reminds us just how vulnerable we are.

GANIM: This fire was so intense all that's left is rubble. Officials think firefighters may have underestimated its force, and two days later there's no indication that anyone there need to be rescued. When firefighters arrived Friday, flames were coming from the hotel's Indian restaurant. Records show the restaurant had been cited by inspectors this year for not cleaning its grease traps.

LOZANO: We have consistently inspected for fire code violations.

GANIM: It could take months before officials pinpoint the cause of this tragic fire.

KELLY KISTNER, ASSISTANT STATE FIRE MARSHAL: I can tell you that nobody in the state of Texas is going to wait for that report before they take a look at their own operations.

GANIM: That's because Assistant State Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner has visited too many scenes like this already this year, including the fertilizer plant that exploded in West, Texas, in April, killing 10 firefighters.

KISTNER: When we have one line of duty death, that's too many. And we're at 18 this year. That's -- it's a rough year for Texas.

GANIM: Texas has lost more firefighters this year than in the past five combined. One of the youngest, Anne Sullivan.

GUERRERO: Just miss her. Miss her already.

GANIM: Sara Ganim, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Thank you, Sara.