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Justice Department Opens Up Government Requests; 473 Homes Destroyed in Wildfire; Kate Attends Queen's Birthday Celebrations; Hurricane Season to be More Active; Palin Speaks to Conservatives; Centrist Candidate Wins Iran Elections; Sarah Murnaghan Recovers with New Lungs; Trepid Reviews for Latest Superman Flick; NASCAR Driver Dies After Crash

Aired June 15, 2013 - 12:59   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are some of the stories we're following this hour, Facebook, Microsoft, both companies revealing just how many of their accounts the U.S. government asks about. Heavy flames, think smoke, hard conditions have existed for days in Colorado Springs, but that may be changing. And Republican stars shine. Possible GOP contenders for the 2016 race turn out for conservative fans.

And a first of its kind disclosure. The Justice Department is allowing tech giants to reveal inquiries it gets from law enforcement including the National Security Agency. Facebook was the first to open up. The company says it received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests in 2012 impacting between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts.

This is in response to accusations the U.S. government was directly accessing the servers of companies like Facebook and Google. The companies deny that.

Let's get to CNN's Rene Marsh who is covering the story from Washington.

Rene, this morning the Justice Department explains why it's allowing these numbers to come out.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. You know, I think in a nutshell, they really wanted to just prove here that they're not getting their hands on a large amount of data here.

Not long ago, we received a statement from the Justice Department about an agreement that it made with Facebook and Microsoft allowing them to reveal more details about how much of your information is being given to the government.

So here it is in part. It says these aggregate totals include all instances in which a government entity has served lawful process on the providers. Be it by grand jury subpoena or a search warrant in a criminal matter. A national security letter. A court order under FISA.

They go on to say the publication of these numbers will show that an extraordinarily small number of accounts are subject to legal process. Now the Justice Department says that what it does request information, it's only a sliver of all of the data that's actually out there and Facebook's lawyers says that of its more than 1.1 billion users worldwide, less than 1 percent of user data was handed over to the government. Now, Fred, I do want to say while the companies didn't provide specifics about what kind of data is being handed over to the government and whether that includes things like pictures and conversations, our FBI expert tells us just how that data could be used. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: What would that tell you as an investigator? Who are the friends? Who else is seeing that? Who are these pictures or messages intended for? What is -- an assessment, if you will, or a profile of the individual. Is he narcissistic, is he psychopathic?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: All right. Well, Tom Fuentes says that some -- that's some of what investigators may be able to draw from your online information, but here's what we don't know. We don't know that of the thousands of government requests, how many were national security requests and how many were actually part of criminal investigations -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rene Marsh, thanks so much in Washington.

And the man who triggered the scrutiny on the tech giants was the focus of a rally in Hong Kong today. Edward Snowden leaked the documents that revealed the U.S. government snooping -- snooping rather. He fled to Hong Kong and today several hundred supporters marched through the city demanding protection for Snowden.

Back in this country, rain and calmer winds are helping out Colorado firefighters battle a huge wildfire. But the flames have already taken their toll, 473 homes are gone. Two people are dead. And 15,000 acres are scorched.

Paul Vercammen joining us live now from Colorado Springs.

So, Paul, we're expecting to get an update from firefighters there in the hour, right?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Yes. A matter of fact, just over there, they're going to have an update, they're going to tell us, you know, how much containment they have, but I can tell you, by all accounts, it's going to be positive news.

Look behind me. Those hills used to be rained with smoke. The ridges covered with flames. Now everything is calm here. They got a big break. Here's the headline in the local paper. You can see. What happened was they got a dousing. The sheriff had made a little joke and said, go out and wash your cars everybody, it will be sure to rain and sure enough, late in the afternoon, they got some thundershowers and some light rain.

That really helped firefighters. And as I said behind me, you can't see any active smoke, Fredricka. That's a very good sign.

WHITFIELD: And what about residents there? What are they telling you about their fears? About what kind of relief they might have as well?

VERCAMMEN: Well, so many of them are in a state of limbo. They don't know whether or not their house made it and some of these people are at makeshift shelters throughout the region and then there's this other subset of people who know for a fact that they lost their house and some of them even watched their house burn down on television.

Let's listen to one family who went through just an agonizing ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL MOREAU, LOST HOME IN FIRE: When you actually, you know, see your house burn, it's an emotional kind of an event because there's houses and there's homes, and for us, that was our home.

KAREN BOREAU, LOST HOUSE IN FIRE: You go to a restaurant or something, and yes, that house that burned on TV last night, that was ours. I actually haven't watched the whole thing. My kids have been very kind and my husband, OK, why don't you turn your back to the TV right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And the numbers are just astronomical, Fredricka. You've got 473 houses burned. This in terms of property loss, this is the most damaging fire in Colorado history.

WHITFIELD: Wow. It is some powerful stuff. Powerful imagery there as well.

Paul Vercammen, thanks so much. Keep us post and of course bring us up to date when that press conference involving firefighters takes place as well.

All right, so, we just heard that the weather in some parts might be helping out the firefighters in Colorado. Just a little bit.

Jennifer Delgado right now in the weather center.

So we're talking about some cooler temperatures, that helps a little bit.

JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right.

WHITFIELD: But they still are dealing with winds?

DELGADO: Yes, you know the winds --

WHITFIELD: Would that be a problem? DELGADO: Yes, the winds have actually subsided a bit. We just looked and last observation, they were directly right around 5, but looking at the radar, you can see for parts of Colorado, very quiet there. A lot of rain through parts of the Midwestern planes. We'll get to that just a moment.

But Fredricka, you asked about the weather. And yes, temperature right now 75 degrees. A lot cooler than it has been and the winds at 3, but notice the relative humidity has been dropping over the last couple of hours. And we said that. Of course you don't want to see that because you want to have more moisture out there. The reality is we are going to continue to see those dew points lowering and that is going to lower the relative humidity.

So yesterday we do have a chance. We could see some late day storms popping up. We don't want that really because we could see some lightning out there and if we don't get these storms producing a good amount of rainfall, of course, we could see that the lightning possibly triggering more fires across the region. But for Saturday and Sunday, high temperatures in the lower 80s.

Now the action that we've been following across the Midwest and the plains, we're still looking at showers and thunderstorms to Chicago all the way down towards Texas and we do have a chance that some of these storms could become strong and severe.

We do have a slight risk category for today, but right now, just rain moving through parts of Chicago. But for Chicago all the way to Denver, some of these storms today could bring with you, we're talking hail as well as damaging winds, but on a wider view, the East Coast is looking good. The southeast is looking good. Just a few showers popping up right along Florida. And then the West Coast, lot of sunshine out there, but of course, we'll be tracking the bad weather across the Midwest and keep in mind slight risk for severe storms -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: No. Not again. It's seemingly always on the weekend.

DELGADO: Slight risk. It's not a moderate.

WHITFIELD: OK. So slight.

DELGADO: That's better. Now we'll take it.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Jennifer. Appreciate it.

All right, well, it feels like every time you turn around, there is more bad weather coming. Straight ahead, an explanation on why.

And in just two day, CNN's all new morning show, "NEW DAY" begins with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.

"NEW DAYS" starts Monday morning, 6:00 Eastern Time. You don't want to miss it. All right. A second blast now in two days has left another person dead at a chemical plant in Louisiana. This latest incident happened last night at a plant about 40 miles south of Baton Rouge in Donaldsonville. The plant manager said nitrogen was being unloaded from a tanker truck when a small vessel ruptured.

The explosion killed one man and injured eight other people. Two died and more than 100 were hurt in all on Thursday in a blast at a nearby plant.

A frontier airlines passenger is in police custody after security threat on board the plane. The flight from Knoxville, Tennessee, landed safely in Denver last night. The bomb squad checked the plane and cleared the scene in just a few hours. Investigators are not releasing see any details about exactly what happened, we're only describing it as a, quote, "potential security threat."

And a plane going from Egypt to New York was just diverted to Scotland. The BBC says one of its producers was on that flight and found a note in the bathroom that said I'll set this plane on fire. The British Royal Air Force sent the fighter jet to escort the plane to Prestwick Airport in Scotland. Police there are now handling the incident.

And Kate Middleton attended the Queen's birthday celebration in London today. It is possibly her last public appearance before the birth of her first child. She smiled and waved to the crowd as she travels in the carriage there and was present at the trooping of the color parade.

All right, here to discuss the royal baby countdown plus some surprising new revelations about the royal family is CNN royal historian, Kate Williams.

All right, Kate, all eyes on the princess this week when she christened the cruise ship in what was I guess believed to be her last solo public appearance. Last solo because of where she is in her pregnancy or is there another reason?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, that's it. She's now going on what in Britain we call a maternity leave. So she's -- off her maternity leave and this is the last one she was going to be seen with the whole family today. Today for the color, the Queen's birthday celebrations, and now she's going to retire back to the palace and really get ready for the baby.

We've seen her in the big shops in London. In the big, expensive shops buying. She's bought a stroller, a blue stroller, no doubt, and she's bought pram, she's bought cot, she's bought baby clothes, so she's really getting ready for this baby and we expect the due date to be around July 15th. So not long to go now.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so looking at the video, she -- yes, she looks fabulous. She always does. But how has she been wearing her pregnancy since, you know, folks really love to watch her and what she wears all the time anyway? WILLIAMS: That's it. Kate Middleton, she's one of the most scrutinized women in the world and of course in the early days of her pregnancy, she really wasn't well at all.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

WILLIAMS: She had to be rushed to hospital. She was really in not a fit state at all but she's been blooming, she's been doing brilliantly. We saw her when she was out there in the -- with the cruise ship in South Hampton. Absolutely getting that champagne and doing a brilliant job, so she's been enjoying herself. She's been really enjoying herself. But now I think it's her chance to put her feet up because, of course, there's huge amounts of scrutiny about it.

There's a big media frenzy waiting for this day when that baby is born, but not going to be restful. I think a lot of new moms like to retire with the baby and hide away. That doesn't happen when you're a royal. You're a public property and this baby, the next king or queen of Britain, is a pretty exciting prospect.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, and so we don't know, boy or girl, right?

WILLIAMS: We don't know. Kate has bought a blue stroller, which is awfully quite interesting and Prince Harry has made a joke that it's a boy, but we don't know whether Prince Harry was just joking. One never knows with Harry. Could be a boy, could be a girl. If it's a girl, that's quite historic.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes. You know, you can only be pregnant and appreciate being called blooming. I just got to say.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Nobody wants to be blooming unless you're pregnant.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAMS: It's true.

WHITFIELD: Hey, let's talk about this other interesting revelation --

WILLIAMS: True.

WHITFIELD: -- involving this, you know, DNA testing revealing that Prince William, you know, could become the first British monarch with Indian ancestry. Tell us on the details.

WILLIAMS: Yes, Prince William -- it's fascinating. Absolutely fascinating, Fredricka. Researchers in DNA have found that Prince William, it goes with great, great, great, great, great, about five greats --

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

WILLIAMS: Grandmother, she was an Indian house maid who had a relationship with a Scottish man. They had a daughter who was only 6 when she was sent back to Scotland, brought up in an aristocratic family, never knew about her mother and she is the ancestor of Princess Diana. So Prince William is the first king of Britain to have Indian ancestry.

And I think this really shows how DNA testing is revolutionizing history. Goes to places that historian like me just can't get to. So now we've got the proof that we often like to imagine in Britain that our royal family are 100 percent English and that's not true. Prince William is part Indian.

WHITFIELD: That's interest. That's very fascinating. Does anybody know about his response?

WILLIAMS: I think he's probably pretty excited about it.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

WILLIAMS: He is a person who loves traveling. There is a trip to India on the card, probably in about three or four years' time. India is a longtime friend of Britain, a great friend. And I think Prince William and Kate, when they visit India, that's going to be a really exciting moment because obviously the population there are really delighted by this news.

WHITFIELD: And now he's a lot more international than he ever imagined.

WILLIAMS: He is.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right --

WILLIAMS: He is such a king.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be hearing a lot more from you as we get closer and closer to that due date. Thank you.

All right. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, more and more, we're seeing pictures like this. Seems like the weather just keeping gets worse, right? Or ominous? Frightening? What's it all about? We'll talk to an expert.

And one victory with so many battles. A look at what's ahead for this young lung transplant patient.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: All right. This just in. A reported strong earthquake has just struck off the southern coast of the island of Crete in Greece. The epicenter was more than 254 miles southeast of Athens. There are no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Of course we'll bring you more details as we get them.

Back here in the states, it seems like any place you pick across the country these days, this week in particular, it has been touched by severe weather. In Colorado, wildfires fueled by dry, windy conditions there. In Maryland and Iowa, tornadoes touched down. And in West Virginia, families stranded in flood waters.

We can't seem to get a break. So why is this happening?

Professor and climatologist David Robinson from Rutgers University is joining me right now.

Good to see you, Professor. So are these considered --

DAVID ROBINSON, CLIMATOLOGIST AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHER: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: -- abnormal weather conditions?

ROBINSON: Of and by themselves, these individual events aren't. However, recently, we've seen an increase in the frequency of these events. Sometimes the magnitude of them. And other times the spatial extent, the amount of real estate that these events covered. So we climatologists think there is something unusual happening that's affecting weather patterns and with it, these types of extreme events.

WHITFIELD: So if there's a way in which to kind of broaden your view from a climatologist's perspective, I mean, many of us are, you know, looking at these individual storms and events, but you're looking at it in -- from the totality and what do you see?

ROBINSON: Yes. It's as if the climate system is amped up. We've got more energy in the atmosphere. The atmosphere is warming than it's been at any time in recent history. There's more moisture in the atmosphere. So when you have a trigger, you can sometimes get these flooding rain events but it's more than just the atmosphere for a climatologist. We look at changes in land cover. We look at warming of the sea surface temperatures and then we look at things such as the extent of snow and ice over the continents and over the oceans.

And it's not as if everything is changing equally everywhere. So that these imbalances that are creating these unusual weather patterns and extremes.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. And just looking at those images, I mean, it really is pretty terrifying. We've seen some very extreme situations recently and then right now we're actually in hurricane season. And this week, New York City Mayor Bloomberg actually talked about changes the city is making after Hurricane Sandy. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: As bad as sandy was, feature storms could be even worse. In fact, because of rising temperatures and sea levels, even a storm that is not as large as Sandy could down the road be even more destructive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And even that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is saying the 2013 hurricane season is going to be more active than normal, predicting as many as 11 named hurricanes. So what do you suppose is behind this and should people, you know, expect that this is going to be an aggressive hurricane season?

ROBINSON: There is some reason behind this as you look at the outlooks for what makes for an active season and they think it's going to be an active to an extremely season. And goodness, we've already seen -- seen Andrea affect Florida and come up the East Coast a week ago, so there's a number of factors that lead into this.

One is sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic basin and the tropics and subtropics or above average and they're expected to say so -- stay as such, and that puts more energy into the system to create these hurricanes. There's also more energy coming off Africa. A pattern we've seen through the last decade or two, and that helps to get these storms spinning.

And then finally, there's an absence of disruptive winds coming off the Pacific from an El Nino event because there aren't -- there isn't an El Nino event occurring right now. So you put all those parameters together and it looks like we're going to have an active season.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Rutgers University professor, David Robinson, thanks so much. Thanks for the warnings.

All right. The 2016 election is just three years away. So not too soon to talk about it, right? Well, Sarah Palin is sparking some interest and possible speculation. Is she making a bid for the White House?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Conservatives are rallying in Washington today. It's what they are calling the "Road to Majority" meeting. And Sarah Palin just wrapped up her keynote speech.

CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser is at the conference called "Faith and Freedom," right? So Palin got the marquee position today. Is her appearance indicating anything for her political future?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Fred, no real hints about what her political future is going to be but her speech was very well received by this crowd of social conservatives. I want to ask Jay McMichael, our photographer, to zoom right in. You could see Sarah Palin right now right behind me there. She's signing autographs, talking to people in this crowd. She's been doing it now for about 20 minutes now since her speech ended.

Listen, this crowd of social conservatives is a crowd that really loves and respects Sarah Palin. She's very influential with them. And you heard in her speech today, she was very critical of the Obama administration. No surprise there at all. She talked about the controversies that have been enveloping this town here in Washington and the Obama administration over the last couple of weeks. Here's a little taste of what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Officials lied and government spied, and in Benghazi, government lied and Americans died. But finally, around here, those scandals are being revealed. Finally. You know, people are waking up to what's going on and these scandals are coming at us though fast and furious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Her speech very well received by the crowd. It wasn't a packed room, but about four fifths full. You could see again the governor right behind me there and her husband, Todd, signing autographs from a crowd that really loves her a lot.

As for her political future, again, no real -- no real hints from her whether she wants to make any kind of run for the White House in 2016. It's a long, long away way -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much. We're going to talk a little bit more about whether that was an entertainment value or if there's a real political future for Sarah Palin that she was indicating.

Meantime, at the same conference, it's also what Jeb Bush had to say in a speech that caught a lot of attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Immigrants are more fertile and they love families, and they have more intact families, and they bring a younger population.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Bush, the former Florida governor, has been considered a likely candidate for president. Might that moment have changed his potential political landscape?

Alice Stewart is a Republican strategist and former spokesperson for the Rick Santorum campaign. Ken Blackwell is a former Republican secretary of state of Ohio and Ohio state chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. That's a mouthful.

(LAUGHTER)

Got conference. Good to see you as well.

OK, so we've got lots to cover including Palin, her comments, her relevance, but first, you know, Alice, did Jeb Bush's comments do any damage? ALICE STEWART, FORMER SPOKESMAN FOR RICK SANTORUM: Well, you know, a lot of times, these things will make the news and be in the news cycle for a few days, but by the time we get around to 2016, that's going to be old news. So I think that will work its way through the system and not be discussed after that.

And the key is not to get caught up in sound bites and little snippets of the day. It's focus on the bigger picture and the issues. And Sarah Palin mentions a lot of the scandals going on in D.C. and the sad thing is we need to get to the bottom of all of these scandals in each of these issues but we can't shift our attention away from the big issues of the day, which is creating jobs and turning the economy round.

And that's what the Republican Party needs to focus on, is getting us back on the right economic road to recovery and also making sure that Americans remember that we need to restore the American dream. Our current administration is not about that. They're about saying sit back, we'll take care of you and we'll allow you to live and we'll enable you to live a substandard life. And forget about the American dream. We need to put the focus back on that.

WHITFIELD: So, Ken, what is this all about? You know, the American dream, forgetting the American dream, reminding people what the American dream is. Common road. We're hearing all these kind of trigger words and language here. Sarah Palin, you know being critical of the Obama administration. No surprise there.

But what is at the root of what this, you know, freedom or this Faith and Freedom forum is all about in the first place and is it just, you know, preaching to the choir? Or is a message, a common message really resonating, reaching, you know, the conservative following?

KEN BLACKWELL, FREEDOM AND FAITH COALITION: You know, about a week before President Obama's election in 2008, he said that we were a week away from fundamentally transforming America. So what's at stake here is American exceptionalism. The president is an abashedly an enthusiastic, big government advocate, and -- which you saw over the last couple of days before the Faith and Friendly -- Faith and Freedom Coalition meeting, where people who embraced the Constitution, who fundamentally believed that our basic human rights are not grants from government.

They are gifts from God and that American exceptionalism is based on the fact that our Constitution puts a harness on the reach and intrusiveness and the power of big government and so what you have were a lot of believers who want to put the harness back on government and who are ready to fight against the abuse of the instruments of big government like the IRS. That are trampling upon ordinary people's basic right to speech and religious liberty.

WHITFIELD: So, is -- I guess a common message really resonating here by those who are in attendance or is a big statement being made by those who are leaders in the Republican Party who are not there? Namely Chris Christie, who apparently said, you know, not going to attend this, but instead will attend a Bill and Hillary Clinton event in New York.

BLACKWELL: I think -- I think Chris Christie --

WHITFIELD: OK. Go ahead, Ken.

BLACKWELL: I think he chose to be with Bill Clinton most notably because before he throws his hat into the ring to be president, he has to win re-election in New Jersey. And so I don't think it was necessarily a statement. I think it was a political calculation on his part. But anybody who believes that we can win the White House without social conservatives, you know, has the imagination of Jonathan Swift.

WHITFIELD: Alice, last word?

STEWART: Well, I think -- I think Ken is exactly correct. We have to -- we have to bring the faith community to the table. And that's why the Republican National Committee has a point of faith directors who -- to help bring them to the table and join them in the conversation, but it's important to note that the faith committee and social conservatives are not just the single issue voting bloc.

They're concerned about the economy and Rick Santorum spoke at the conference earlier this week and it's not about the Republican Party worshipping the entrepreneurs. It's about reaching out and connecting with those on the factory floor. The real wage earners of the country. We made that mistake in 2004 by not appealing to the middle class Americans. In 2016, we have to bring in the faith community and appeal to the average, everyday American workers in this country, and that's how we're going to succeed in 2016 and the faith community is a big part of that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alice Stewart, Ken Blackwell, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

STEWART: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks.

All right, more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. People run for cover. Gunmen take over a hospital in Pakistan and we'll tell you what happened next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Facebook and Microsoft are revealing just how often they get requests for subpoenas, warrants and orders from the secret court that is at the heart of the government's snooping scandal. Facebook says it received 9,000 to 10,000 requests from all forms of law enforcement. Microsoft received 6,000 to 7,000 requests in the last half of last year.

Families in Colorado are starting to find out if their homes are among the hundreds that burned in a wildfire. Officials say 473 homes around Colorado Springs are lost. An iReporter sent us this time lapsed video showing all of that smoke rising. Crews have contained about 30 percent of the fire and weather could help firefighters this weekend.

And a deadly hostage situation at a hospital in southwestern Pakistan is over. Twenty-three people were killed in the siege and a separate bus blast today. The death toll includes four militants. They had been holding hundreds of patients, physicians and nurses hostage at the hospital where 20 students wounded in a bus blast were being treated. All the victims of the blast were women, teachers and students.

Iranians have elected a new president. Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani was -- he has won that election. The Interior Ministry has confirmed the results.

Our Reza Sayah is live from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates with more on this win and what does it mean.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's too early to tell what it means, but as far as the outcome goes, this is a stunner. A few weeks ago, Fred, if you talked to analysts, Iran experts, no one predicted that Hassan Rohani, the centrist candidate, would win. They all thought that the loyalists to the regime, the loyalists to the supreme leader would walk away with this victory.

Not only did Hassan Rohani win, he won in a landslide. Out of 36 million votes, he secured 18 million. The next closest competitor had six million votes.

Now, the question is, can he bring about change? This is a man who ran on a platform calling for open relations with the West in Washington and all eyes on Rohani, especially eyes in Washington, whether he can bring about change and improve relations with Washington in the West -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Reza Sayah, thank you so much from Abu Dhabi.

All right, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, her family fought to get her a lung transplant and won. And that's not the end. What 10-year- old Sarah Murnaghan faces now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A 10-year-old girl weeks away from dying of cystic fibrosis is now recovering with a new set of healthy lungs. Sarah Murnaghan got a transplant this week from an adult donor that came after officials changed the rules to let children under 12 get adult organs. Her mother posted on Facebook yesterday the road to recovery will be long and hard.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains what Sarah faces now.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is worth pointing out, if you take a look at all lung transplants across the board, about 50 percent of these patients survive only five years, so this is a tough operation and a tough recovery as well. Sarah of course has the concern of these being adult lungs, specifically lobes of adult lungs that have been transplanted and also that she still has cystic fibrosis.

This is a disease that can affect the lungs, can increase one's chance of infection, and those are concerns that doctors and her family and her are going to have to deal with as well. She also is going to need to take these medications to reduce her chance of rejection of her lungs. These are immune-suppressing drugs which can put her at risk for infection. So put her at risk for infection. Cystic fibrosis does as well.

And those are some of the biggest concerns sort of going forward. It is worth pointing out that when you think about lung transplants overall, there's something known as a lung allocation score. Basically, what you're trying to find is the person who is in greatest need of the transplant, but also most likely to benefit from the transplant as well. That may sound very obvious and simple, but it's those two criteria that really drive this lung allocation score and was a source of some of the controversy behind what has been going on with Sarah and the laws overall.

Remember, she's a 10-year-old girl who received lung transplants from an adult. Now one thing I should point out because of these adult lungs, a lot of people ask, might she need another transplant in the future? Typically, what happens is the lung will continue to grow a bit as she grows and also you don't need all the lobes of your lung. Remember we talked about the Pope recently. He was missing one of the lobes of his lungs since he was a child. So it is possible. It is rejection of the lungs that is the biggest concern in something that her and her doctors are going to be watching for very closely in the years to come.

We of course wish this little girl a lot of luck and a speedy recovery. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Everyone wishes her luck. All right, thanks so much, Sanjay.

All right. Remembering NASCAR's Jason Leffler. He was considered one of the most versatile race car drivers on the track. We remember him in a special way straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Two legendary directors have a dire prediction about the film industry. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas say there could be an implosion in movie making. Spielberg says that several megabudget movies could be big flops and that could change the entire industry.

Lucas predicted the film industry will adopt a Broadway model. That's where fewer movies could be released with much higher ticket prices. As high as $150 a ticket.

The new Superman movie, "Man of Steel", is in theaters and it's already earned an estimated $44 million. But some experts aren't giving it rave reviews and that has many wondering if this version will fare better than the last one. Here's Margaret Conley.

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MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been seven years since Superman last flew on to the big screen and while "Superman Returns" made plenty of money, it failed to spawn a blockbuster franchise's beloved lead actor. Now Warner Brothers Studio owned by the same company that owns CNN hopes director Zack Snyder will change that with a more human "Man of Steel" who packs a punch.

ZACK SNYDER, DIRECTOR: Superman has got to throw a punch every now and then, you know, he's got to -- if some guy is threatening his mom, are you kidding me?

CONLEY: Known for his darker take on comic heroes, Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan offer fans a conflicted, bruiting and more violent Superman played by British hunk Henry Cavill.

HENRY CAVILL, "SUPERMAN": Superman is one of the universal superheroes I think. It's genuinely not just an American thing.

CONLEY: Industry estimates show the film tracking around $100 million opening weekend.

(On camera): What are you hearing from the fans?

DAVE KARGER, FANDANGO CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Our Fandango fans are telling us that this is one of the most anticipated movies of the whole year. And 80 percent of people who have bought tickets for "Man of Steel" are excited by this darker tone.

CONLEY (voice-over): If fans are excited, the film's corporate partners are through the roof. Companies are banking on the "Man of Steel" from licensing deals to product placement but then there are the critics.

(On camera): Rotten Tomatoes has this rated in the mid-60s, high 60s, that's good but it's not great.

KARGER: I don't think the reviews are going to be as strong as they were for "Star Trek Into Darkness" or "Iron Man 3". But I do think Warner Brother has a very viable franchise on their hands.

CONLEY: Which at the end of the day is the super news this Superman is looking for.

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CONLEY: Industry estimates have "Man of Steel" coming in at number one at the box office this weekend. And Warner Brothers is expecting a huge success with this film. So much so we're told a sequel is already in the works -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much. All right. Get ready for a new look in the mornings right here on CNN. In just two days, our new morning will debut. "NEW DAY" begins with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira. "NEW DAY" starts Monday morning, 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

And a beloved NASCAR driver has passed away. Jason Leffler was considered one of the most versatile race car drivers on the track. Next, while he'd be -- why he will be in our memory for a long time.

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WHITFIELD: Considered one of the most versatile race car drivers on the track, Jason Leffler made a mark. Sadly, his love for the dirt track also led to his demise this week. The 37-year-old driver died in New Jersey at a sprint car race. Investigators are still trying to determine whether his vehicle had some sort of mechanical failure.

Our hearts are broken. Leffler was a gentleman on and off the track. He was generous with his time two years ago at the Charlotte Motor Speedway where he not only took me for my first spin around the oval but revealed his deep love for driving.

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WHITFIELD (voice-over): Jason Leffler considered this a privilege. Getting behind the wheel of a race car, taking it to top speed at open-wheel divisions in all NASCAR series. But his career start and tragically his end would be on dirt. That was Wednesday night in New Jersey at the Bridgeport Speedway. Leffler in second place in the first heat away from other vehicles when his car hit the wall. Leffler trapped, extricated from the mangled metal. It was too late.

This sprint car race considered the minor league of racing but Leffler was no stranger to high-profile events like Indy 500 and Daytona. His passing, a terrible loss to his fans, family and the sport.

(On camera): OK, you know I'm a complete novice.

(Voice-over): Long considered one of the most versatile drivers behind the wheel and I found to be one of the nicest.

(On camera): How fast are we going?

(Voice-over): Two years ago, I had the time of my life meeting Jason Leffler. I didn't get behind the wheel. But better than that, I climbed into the passenger's seat. And from that point on, couldn't stop smiling. At least 180 miles per hour. For Leffler, just another spin. For me, a thrill.

(On camera): I want to be a race car driver.

JASON LEFFLER, NASCAR DRIVER: That was just a warm-up.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): At the time, it was clear he was excited about the sport.

LEFFLER: Like I always say, it beats working for a living so --

WHITFIELD: His career and possibly inspiring his now 5-year-old son, Charlie.

LEFFLER: Short of my son, Charlie, it's the -- it's the most -- you know, it's the biggest passion in my life so.

WHITFIELD (on camera): Do you see Charlie getting behind the wheel at four, five, or six when a lot of young racers now are starting out that early?

LEFFLER: Yes. If he wants to. You know, we're going to -- I'm sure we'll present it to him. You know, he comes from a racing family. Not -- obviously, not just with me but his grandfather and his uncles and they all race. So he's surrounded by it. So if he wants to do it, we'll put him in there. If he doesn't, if he wants to do something else, he is going to be free to do whatever he wants.

WHITFIELD: So, Jason, for you, you know, you started at 12, you, the California boy here. Where did this spark of race car driving come from?

LEFFLER: It came at an early age. There's a local dirt track in Southern California called Ascot Speedway which is really famous for a time and go there every Saturday night with my dad and watch the sprint cars race. And from that moment on, from the very first time I went, I just was into racing. All types of racing. Watch NASCAR on TV, sprint cars, anything I can get my hands on.

WHITFIELD: Do you think your family knew, uh-oh, he's been bitten by the bug?

LEFFLER: I -- my dad -- my dad knew. He delayed. He got me a dirt bike. It's another thing that -- I think he knew were going to be cheaper in the long run before he bought me a quarter midget and finally he just gave in and it just took off.

WHITFIELD: He caved.

LEFFLER: He caved in. He enjoyed it.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): And for more than 20 years behind the wheel, candidate professionally, so did Jason Leffler. He shared with me his three keys to greatness.

LEFFLER: Passion, number one. I think you have to have a passion for it. Opportunity, whether that means, you know, the opportunity your parents provided for you or the opportunities you got down the road. Third one, I don't know, you can't be fearful. You have to be brave.

WHITFIELD: Jason Leffler, brave and passionate. And now, sorely missed.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. Something you've just got to see to believe. Watch the left side of your screen here. A man -- well, you just look at the whole screen, how about that? A man actually falls five stories and then smashes into the sidewalk. You see him laying there. This taking place in China.

And a lot of folks gather around to check him out. What's going on? And then guess what? He's able to get up and kind of walk away gingerly. The man in the middle right there walking away. Still don't know why he fell five stories. All caught on tape there.

All right. Straight ahead this afternoon at 3:00 Eastern, a shocking investigation into cancer charities. Some of them promise to help sick people with millions of your dollars but we find out not all of the charities do what they say they will.

Also, at 3:00, a player destined for the pros thought his dreams were over after a terrible injury. Now he has been drafted to a major league baseball team. We'll talk to him.

And at 4:00 Eastern, they aren't married, they aren't in love but they want to be parents together. Friends with kids. We'll take a look at this new type of modern family.

But first, will a world economy in turmoil derail America's economic comeback? Christine Romans has answers as "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.