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Fire Chases Thousands from Homes; Storm Causes Semi to Roll Over; Child Needs Lung; Tornadoes Slam Midwest; Mourning Three Storm Chaser Deaths; Dying Girl's Mother Demands Help; Organ Donors Are Important; Teen Swept Over Waterfall; Multi-Generational Gangs in Chicago; Prices at Disney; Buying a House Supports a Myriad of Businesses

Aired June 03, 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: Massive fire burns out of control in California. You're looking at the pictures there. There are thousands of people who have had to leave their homes. We're going to be live from the front lines just moments away.

Plus, a storm so powerful it caused this semi-truck to rollover. You see it there. Unbelievable pictures.

And this little girl potentially only has weeks to live. She is waiting for a lung transplant but her age is preventing her from getting one. Well now, her parents are asking the government, the Obama administration, to step in.

This is CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We begin in southern California. Firefighters have another battle on their hands. This time, we're talking about a dangerous wildfire that is burning out of control. It is just north of Los Angeles. Now, this fire exploded in size yesterday reaching 25,000 acres, destroying six homes as well. More than 2,000 people had to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONIQUE HERNANDEZ: The flames were 200 feet high. It was horrible. We couldn't breathe. It was nothing but smoke.

MICHELLE WELLS: Seeing the picture of the house above on the ridge gone, it's really scary. I just want to -- I keep looking at the news and wanting to see a picture of my house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: That is the terrifying sound of people seeing a funnel cloud from a tornado. This is near El Reno, Oklahoma. At least 14 people died in those five tornadoes that slammed the state. That happened Friday evening. Now, six people in Oklahoma, they are still missing. Oklahoma City's fire chief says four of them sought shelter in storm drains, might have been swept away in the floods that followed. Crews back at it again today simply searching desperately for the missing.

And watch this. This is what happened to a truck driver and his truck. And there it goes. Unbelievable pictures there. The power you can see of the tornado is just enormous to see that actually happen. A tornado also hitting Missouri. No one died in that tornado but flooding there killed people , three people as a matter of fact. Four in Arkansas as well. Tornadoes not just deadly for those who are in them but also people who are simply covering these tornadoes. They claimed the lives of three storm chasers. We are talking about these individuals, brave individuals, Tim Samaras, his son Paul Samaras and Carl Young, killed while chasing a tornado in El Reno. This is what their truck looked like, if you can imagine this. When this was recovered just yesterday, mangled, shredded beyond recognition. You can see just the force and the power of the storm and what they were dealing with.

Tim's brother, you know, he says his brother wasn't a reckless guy. He died doing what he loved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM SAMARAS: I just couldn't ever think it would ever happen to him because of his level of expertise, years of being able -- of doing this, safety and all his training and everything else he's done. If I had to have a way for my brother to die, it would be doing what he did, chasing tornadoes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: A photographer with the weather channel crew is recovering after being seriously hurt when his vehicle was tossed from the highway. We're going to get an update from the tornado zone later in the hour to find out how he is doing as well.

I want to also go back to the dangerous wildfires we have been following in California. I mean, the pictures are just unbelievable. I want to bring in Stephanie Elam. She's in Palmdale, California. Stephanie, it -- when you see those images, it looks -- it looks pretty frightening, pretty terrifying for anybody who's in that community, but it looks as if there is some good news here in terms of the number of people who were able to get out of that area.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's very true, Suzanne. We're actually in a little community called Lake Hughes. And if you take a look behind me, you can see just how hot this fire was and just what it did. We know so far that six homes have been destroyed and this would be one of them. You can see that the chimney still stands, but just about everything else is decimated. You can see -- in the back, you can see maybe even the stove. And it looks like what's in the back is the washer and dryer, that's all pretty much what's recognizable in the house. Everything else just burned down. But the good news is that this morning we got news from fire officials saying that this fire is now 40 percent contained. The acreage burned 29,500 acres. That's up a little bit from yesterday, but they are hopeful, cautiously optimistic, that that number is not going to grow any further as long as the winds cooperate. And I have to tell you, Suzanne, it's still very windy out here right now.

MALVEAUX: And, Stephanie, when you take a look at what's behind you and around you there, is that typical? Are there a lot of houses that have been damaged or have most of them spared?

ELAM: From what we know in this particular fire, the powerhouse fire, there have 15 homes damaged and six that were destroyed. And when they forced these evacuations of some 3,000 people at that time, it left 1,000 homes in the path of the fire. So, this is actually good news, not for the people who obviously lost their homes but there was not as much damage. And fire officials say a lot of that has to do with the fact that they were digging in on land to cut the fire line and also attacking the fire from the air even throughout the night. And they say that this is the only region in the world where they are capable of doing that.

MALVEAUX: Stephanie, good to see you as always. Appreciate it.

We are also following this story. It is -- it is -- it's hard. It's a hard story to cover. This is the mother of a 10-year-old girl who desperately -- she needs a lung transplant to survive. And she is now appealing to the Obama administration going all the way up the food chain to try to get some help here. And this is Sarah Murnighan. She has had cystic fibrosis, here, this is a little girl, since birth. Could die within weeks if she doesn't get a transplant. And her mother, Janet, well, has asked Kathleen Sebelius, to -- the health and human services secretary to try and step up here and change the rules that are already in place because, right now, children under 12, they don't have priority over adults on a waiting list who also need lungs. There aren't enough children's lungs to go around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET MURNIGHAN: We're not asking for an exception for Sarah. We're asking for all children to be treated equally and fairly. This isn't just about Sarah, this is about all children. Children are dying in almost three times the rate of adults waiting on that transplant list. Almost three times the rate. They are not being treated fairly or equally. It's unjust. It's not within the constitution. My child's civil rights are being violated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Secretary Sebelius has called on officials to review the nation's lung transplant policy for kids, but any change could take up to two years. And that, of course, would be too late for this young one here.

I want to bring in Elizabeth Cohen to explain how does -- how does this work? I'm not quite clear on how -- who takes priority here. If it's a matter of need and necessity or is it a matter of age?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. It gets kind of complicated because it's divided really between pediatric and adult. And it's whoever is the sickest is put at the top of the list. But there are very few pediatric lungs around. So she's basically -- as a child, she's put at the bottom of the adult list. And so, what her mom is saying is why is that? It ought to be based on need whether she's a child or an adult. There is some indication that she could use an -- sort of an accommodated adult lung. You know, take an adult lung and sort of tailor it for her use. So, this is something that really, I think, hasn't been in the public eye before. I think she's the first mom to kind of -- to bring this up. And she's done it in a very smart way and gotten a lot of attention. I mean, she got Kathleen Sebelius to do something very quickly. Unfortunately, it may not help her daughter, but she may be able to change the policy for other people.

MALVEAUX: And did she need to go all the way up to Secretary Sebelius to get this changed? Was it important for her to take her cause to the Obama administration, essentially, to try to save her daughter's life?

COHEN: Right because this is a policy that's written -- that is written out. And it's the United Network for Organ Sharing has this policy. And the United Network for Organ Sharing works as a contractor for the federal government. So, if you want them to change their policies, that's what you do. You go to the top and say, make them change it.

MALVEAUX: And how many kids are waiting for lung transplants?

COHEN: Let's take a look because I think what she has done has really brought to light the terrible situation that many people, children and adults, are in waiting for organs. So, let's look at children first. Waiting for lungs, 72 children. So, Sarah Murnaghan is one of those. Eight hundred and eighty children are waiting for a kidney and 478 children are awaiting a liver. And when you look at adults, and let's again if we focus on lungs here, 1,614 adults are waiting for a lung, and seven -- again, 72 children are waiting for a lung. If you look at all of this in the big picture, more than 118,000 Americans are waiting for an organ and many of them will die without it. Many of them do die without that organ.

MALVEAUX: That's why lung donors is so important.

COHEN: So important to sign that organ donor card and to give your organs, you know, if you're, god forbid, in a car accident or whatever. Sign that card --

MALVEAUX: Absolutely.

COHEN: -- so that your organs can be useful for someone like Sarah.

MALVEAUX: All right. Just a point in case here, I really wish her -- I hope it goes well for that family.

COHEN: I do too. I do too.

MALVEAUX: But it's very brave of her mother to bring it to the -- to the country's attention, really.

COHEN: And I think it shows you what happens when you become sort of an active empowered patient. I mean, other children are in the same situation but she knew how to get the message out. And we've seen this before with organ donation that when you get the message out, it can make a difference. MALVEAUX: And I want to bring that message, the Murnaghan setting up a petition here. This is at change.org. They are asking parents to consider naming Sarah as a transplant recipient should they or one of their children face death in the coming weeks. And they say, search Sarah Murnaghan at the top of the page. And Sarah's mom also she's got a Facebook page. This is devoted to her daughter's fight for survival. It's at Facebook.com slash Janet.Murnaghan. And you can find more information about the transplant rules, that is at www.unois.org. So, there is something that can be done.

Here's more of what we're working for this hour. This is a frantic search for a teen after he is swept over a waterfall. This is at Yosemite National Park.

And in Chicago, sadly to say, it's a way of life for some families. We're talking about generations of gangs, kids seeing their dad or uncle or other family members gang banging, so they feel there's really no way out for themselves. The effort to change that culture up next.

And, plus, summer of course you think it means big fun at your favorite theme park but the price of all of this, not so magical. Yes, if you want to see making at Disney, get ready to pay up, pay big.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Park rangers have now temporarily suspended the search for a teenage swimmer who was swept over a waterfall. This is at Yosemite National Park. High water levels made this search too dangerous now.

And officials now say that Aleh Kalman had been swimming about 150 feet from the edge of the fall when he got caught up in the swift of current in the river.

And he had gone to the park with a church group, that happened on Saturday. Now, a park spokeswoman, she says it is not illegal to swim above the waterfall -- there you can see. But the area is marked by signs warning that it's dangerous. She says it is now almost impossible to survive a fall like that.

Now, imagine this, being from a family of gang members -- and we are talking about your father, your uncles, your brothers, everybody part of a violent gang. That is a situation for some people in Chicago. Our George Howell, he actually sat down with a family whose gang activity really has been part of the family business now for generations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inside the home of this West Side Chicago family, you find a common thread, a way of life started by this father, passed onto his nephews and now his sons.

HOWELL: I want to do a show of hands. I mean, how many generations have been in a gang? What was the first generation? And the second generation?

And then the next?

So it's just gone through the family.

JEDI WILLIAMS, FORMER GANG LEADER: Yes.

HOWELL: What do you think about that?

WILLIAMS: I ain't proud of that.

HOWELL (voice-over): Jettie Williams is a little hard to understand now since his stroke, but at one time no voice carried more weight in Chicago's gang world. A former leader of the notorious Vice Lords gang, Williams spent most of his life awaiting trial, on probation or in prison.

He's since given up gang life.

WILLIAMS (from captions): I don't like my kids being involved with that, but I can't let them tell you don't do this, when your daddy done it. I'm not going to be no hypocrite.

HOWELL (voice-over): But his legacy continued.

FREDRICK WALLACE, FORMER GANG MEMBER: I did robberies. That was my specialty. We didn't go around hurting innocent people like the kids do these days. You know, t was more about money, power and respect and who could get to the top of the hill first. But doing that, we still had loyalty to who started this.

CALVIN TAYLOR, FORMER GANG MEMBER: Through this generation era it bled down into them. When it got down to them, the blood was running in the streets. And they had no guidance because a lot of us was locked up. So they had no guidance. So they just became like renegades.

HOWELL (voice-over): And that's one of the problems plaguing Chicago's streets today.

JETTIE FOUNTAIN, FORMER GANG MEMBER: It's just everybody out there for themselves, you know. It's just like whatever happens just happens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired.

HOWELL (voice-over): Chicago police spent years cracking down on gang leaders who operated in large parts of the city, but according to the Cook County state attorney, the gang lifestyle has become entrenched.

ANITA ALVAREZ, COOK COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY: What we see now is these gangs are generational. So you have grandpa, father, son, all part of the gang. So it's just kind of been the culture that kids have been brought up into. HOWELL (voice-over): And Anita Alvarez says gangs have also fractured into many different factions. The result: young rival gang members fighting each other block by block with deadly consequences. It's a problem these former gang members are trying to turn around, starting with their own family.

WALLACE: Now, I'm out there trying to teach the young people to look at me. I'm 46. I've been to the penitentiary 10 times. But now I'm -- I've got married and I see a different way in life.

HOWELL (voice-over): And their influence seems to be paying off.

FOUNTAIN: It made me look up to them now, you know, like I'm changed. I don't need none of that old violence, none of that stuff.

HOWELL (voice-over): Fountain's namesake says he recently dropped out of the gang.

WILLIAMS: It made me feel good.

HOWELL (voice-over): A small sign of hope in a city struggling with a big problem trying to make the streets safe again.

HOWELL: Now, in that report you heard Jettie Williams, his voice kind of hard to understand. We learned from his family that he just recently passed away due to some health issues. But fair to say before his death, he did take great satisfaction, Suzanne, in knowing that his sons decided to make different choices than he made to get out of the gang.

MALVEAUX: That in and of itself is an accomplishment clearly after his life ended.

George, do you have a sense of whether or not -- like why did they decide to come forward and talk to you and do this? Was this a part of some sort of larger message or legacy that he wanted to leave behind?

HOWELL: Well, you know, I think that's exactly it. And fair to say we're looking at this snapshot of three different generations. They wanted to show us where the problem started, how the problem continued and the fact that people see that it is a problem, that, you know, that his sons wanted to make change.

And what we're seeing right now here in Chicago, we're seeing the police putting more, you know -- more police on the streets, foot patrols in different neighborhoods and also Mayor Rahm Emanuel asking the community to invest in solutions, in programs to help kids have different choices, to help young adults have different choices because, again, what we're hearing time after time from people is that it's a lack of opportunity, a lack of jobs. That's what it would take to help people make different choices.

MALVEAUX: It's good they're coming out and they're speaking out here because obviously people will look at them and listen to them, their real-life stories, more so sometimes than public officials. HOWELL: Absolutely.

MALVEAUX: It's excellent that you just sat down with them and they were so candid about all of this. George, thank you. Really appreciate it.

HOWELL: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: The summer, of course, getting ready to prepare for vacation. You might have to dig just a little bit deeper in your wallet if you are planning to go to Disney World. That is right. It is going to cost you a lot more to see Mickey and the gang. You're not going to believe how much it costs a family of four just to enter the park.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: OK. Think about this. If you're thinking about getting the kids together for a trip down Main Street USA this summer, you are going to experience a little bit of sticker shock here. We're talking about Disney raising the ticket prices again.

Adults now are going to have to pay $95 for a one-day visit to the Magic Kingdom in Florida. That is up from $89 last year, an increase of more than 6 percent.

And, of course, it's not just adult tickets going up. You've got kids as well, ages 3 to 9, the price for Magic Kingdom going up to now $89.

Joining us from New York, Alison Kosik.

Alison, how are families going to afford this? You know you don't just stay one day. You got to take the whole family and then of course it's going to be at least for a couple of days.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You make some very valid points, Suzanne. You know, it really does seem like the happiest place on Earth is beginning to feel like the most expensive with Disney over the weekend putting these new ticket prices in place at both its Florida and California theme parks.

As you mentioned, tickets to the Magic Kingdom will now run you $95. So, yes, even if you just add up two parents, two kids, it means you're looking at almost $400 just for one little visit to the park.

So just last week Universal Orlando, which Disney does not own, actually, that park became the first one in the area to break the $90 threshold.

So the idea with any of these places that you go to is what they're trying to do is get you to buy the multipark multiday tickets because they'll get exponentially cheaper as you stack more stuff on. So if you go to the Magic Kingdom let's say for two days, the base price of the ticket drops to $92 for ages 10 and up; five days it's $59 for the ticket. And a full week it's just $44 for a ticket.

You can also add on the park hopper or choose a no expiration option to try to make it even more of a bargain.

But the funny thing about that is if you spend more days in the park, you're going to spend more. You're going to spend more on food and souvenirs and not to mention the hotel that you have to stay in.

So you know, just when you think you can find a way to get into the parks cheaper, you're spending money elsewhere. Just kind of moving it around a bit, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And I'm not hating on Mickey or Minnie, but 10 days at Disney? I mean, that's asking a lot of any family, believe me.

KOSIK: I know. I'd be running.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Has this impacted sales at all? Do less people go? Fewer people go?

KOSIK: Well, what's funny is it really doesn't seem to be bothering those people who go to Disney. In the latest -- in this latest earnings report for Disney, it shows that domestic park attendance was actually up 8 percent. Guests spent 10 percent more. And hotel occupancy, that was up 80 percent.

So I guess the good news in all this: it really gives a good indication about the economy, that people are still willing to spend this kind of money. And with consumer spending accounting for more than two-thirds of GDP, these might seem like outrageous prices but it's really not stopping people from packing up the van and pumping up Disney's bottom line, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. We'll just have to save up for our Disney trip. Thank you, Alison, appreciate it.

The Dow keeping up its winning streak today. We're looking at an increase there. It is up 31 points, despite the underwhelming reports on manufacturing and construction spending.

And the housing market -- housing market and stock market, two bright spots in the economy right now. Christine Romans showing us how cash in both of these in this week's "Smart is the New Rich." Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS (voice-over): Home prices are rising, demand is back. But it's not just home buyers and sellers who are cashing in. When you buy a house or build a house, you're fueling an entire industry and creating opportunities for investing. And not just in the real estate itself.

SARAT SETHI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, DOUGLAS C. LANE & ASSOCIATES: Consumers feeling better. Their balance sheets are getting better. Their home equity lines, they can actually take out more money. So what are they going to do with that money?

ROMANS: Shares of Home Depot, Lowe's, Williams-Sonoma and Sherwin Williams all up more than 20 percent this year.

But when stock charts look like this, is it too late to get in? Maybe. But there are other places to cash in.

STEPHEN LEEB, CHAIRMAN & CIO, LEEB CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: If you own a home, it's a near certainty that you have a car. When people buy houses, they buy cars. Now, the car industry has been doing very well lately. But there's still room, I think, for further growth. They're not expensive stocks.

ROMANS: Making stocks like Ford, GM, Honda and Toyota more attractive.

There are also tiny components in your house.

SETHI: Companies that make the chips, the micro controllers that go into dishwashers, into washing machines, into garage door openers, company like a Microchip which makes those, has a good 4 percent dividend yield, has global exposure and, especially when housing improves, they're going to start doing even better because more products are being brought into the house.

ROMANS: Also ripe for the picking, supermarkets.

LEEB: As home ownership becomes bigger and more prevalent and grows, I think you'll see people eating in more. Any grocery chain is likely to benefit.

ROMANS: Leeb likes Wal-Mart and Whole Foods. An updated kitchen, a new grill, a spacious dining room, those things entice homeowners to eat at home. So, if you don't want to buy a house, but you want to buy into housing -- that's how -- Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And new attacks against the IRS. There's one Republican lawmaker who says the direction to target conservatives came directly from Washington.

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