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Marathon Runner Returns to Race; Cristina Torre Catches Falling Baby; Actor James Gandolfini Remembered; Deaf Toddler Hears for First Time; Looking Back at Lionel Tate Case
Aired June 20, 2013 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: It's been more than two months now since the bombings at the Boston marathon, and just a few hours from now the biggest race in Boston after the marathon is going to get underway.
Security of course has been beefed up. And, there is going to be more police in the area as well. Helping to start that race, Roseann Sdoia. She lost a leg in the marathon attack, and she joins us from Boston to talk about her remarkable recovery.
ROSEANN SDOIA, MARATHON RUNNER: Thank you so much. It means a lot to me to be there today because it means that I'm going to be focused on getting back to running sooner than later.
MALVEAUX: And your role, you're going to be the one who's going to say, "Mark, get set, go."
SDOIA: Yes. They asked me to, I guess, do the starting gun today. And one of my friends who I work with, one of my colleagues, she mentioned that the starting gun probably wasn't a good idea. So I guess I'm blowing a horn to start the race off.
MALVEAUX: All right. That's understandable. Tell us about your recovery, about your journey. I understand that it has been, you know, quite a path to get to where you are. You now have a prosthetic and you are moving forward.
Yes. I originally did some -- I was in physical therapy in-house at Spalding Rehab for three weeks. And then I was home for about a month doing some outpatient P.T. And I'm actually back in-patient now walking with my new prosthetic that I got earlier this week and I'm using today as a matter of fact.
MALVEAUX: How do you feel about being back there, being outside? It is a big race. And I imagine, too, that there would be some concern you would have even memories and emotions from the day of the bombing.
SDOIA: Yes. I'm a little apprehensive about it, but I'm not one to really think about things like that normally. That's why I was at the Boston Marathon that day. It was just a fun day. And the corporate challenge is always a fun afternoon with friends and co-workers and, you know, something healthy, something fun to do. I'm happy to be there although I wish I was physically running it. I will in the future as far as I'm concerned today. That's my focus. It's just a great event for everybody to get together. MALVEAUX: It sounds like an amazing event. Is there any takeaway? Is there something you feel like you've learned in the last couple of months?
SDOIA: You really just have to live every day as it could be your last. I had no idea that that morning I wouldn't be going home right away. And that it would be two months after the fact. So, you just really have to take day by day and be appreciative for everything that you have. And really just, you know, embrace life as much as you can while you can.
MALVEAUX: Roseann, we appreciate you, your words, your inspiration and, of course, all the runners who are going to be out there who are going to be inspired by your own experience. And I do believe you will run. You will follow your goal and your dream and run again in another race.
Thank you for joining us.
SDOIA: Well, I am saying it today on national TV, so I have to run again, I guess. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: We'll hold you to it.
(LAUGHTER)
We'll bring you back.
SDOIA: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: The J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge gets underway 7:15 eastern this evening, tonight, in Boston. Good for them. Good for her.
A catch of a lifetime saved this little boy in Brooklyn. You got to see this. This is a woman, walking by the building, she catches a 1- year-old boy who fell two stories. The boy had crawled through a hole by the window that was covered with cardboard. The woman who caught him, Cristina Torre, she is the daughter of Joe Torre, the baseball great who managed the Yankees.
Earlier, she told CNN what she did when she saw the boy dangling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRISTINA TORRE, CATCHES FALLING 1-YEAR-OLD: He had slipped and was literally holding on with his hands and I'm on the phone with 911 and trying to position myself underneath where I could possibly catch him. The minute he let go, I just hoped for the best and had my arms out waiting for him. He was crying because he had hit his mouth on the way down. So by the time he landed in my arms, that's when he had started crying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The boy was taken to a hospital. He is now thankfully in stable condition. His parents were charged with child endangerment. Torre's dad, Joe Torre, gave a statement saying I'm very proud of my daughter's actions today during an incident in Brooklyn involving a small child. Fortunately, for that child she was in the right place at the right time to lend a hand.
And another tense day. This is for hundreds of firefighters. Western United States, high winds, hot temperatures still spreading big wildfires in several states. In New Mexico, major fires threatening the historic mining town of Kingston. It has now been burning for 12 days. This fire -- this is in Jefferson County, Colorado, where homes have been evacuated. Another big fire still spreading near Yosemite National Park in California. At last word it was about 40 percent contained. And near Prescott, Arizona, fire crews taking care. Look at this, just the air, trying to put out this big fire that has burned thousands and thousands of acres.
And something getting -- can be pretty terrifying if you're anywhere near it. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(WIND)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Unbelievable pictures. Look at that. This is a waterspout caught on camera. It was just off Grand Isle, Louisiana. Waterspouts happen a lot off the gulf coast. They don't always come ashore, but when they do the national weather service issues a tornado warning.
Shock and sadness around the world as news of James Gandolfini's death spreads. The actor is being remembered for much more than his role as a mob boss, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Doctors in Rome, Italy, say it appears that James Gandolfini died of a heart attack. They won't know for sure until an autopsy, which legally has to be performed today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: Take my wife. I go out of my way and have an affair with this woman, this very hot, very beautiful intelligent woman --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Well, there he is. Tony Sporano, wrestling, as always, with his urges as he did every week during this six-season run of the "Sopranos." Fans around the world today are mourning the death of the actor who brought Tony Sporano to life. James Gandolfini was just 51 years old.
Nischelle Turner has reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sudden death of James Gandolfini rippled from Italy to the Jersey shore.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't believe it. I'm in shock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really taken back. I mean, he was such a young man. Just such a nice guy.
TURNER: The Emmy award-winning actor's death confirmed by HBO. The network where he shot to fame as the tough talking mob boss, Tony Sporano, on the hit drama "Sopranos."
JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: I couldn't ask for more.
(SHOUTING)
TURNER: The HBO representative said the 51-year-old actor may have had a heart attack though the official cause is not yet known.
The news blindsided his closest Hollywood friends. "Sopranos" co- star, Steve van Zandt, tweeting, "I have lost a brother and a best friend. The world has lost one of the greatest actors of all time."
The show's creator, David Chase, mourned the loss in a statement saying, "He was a genius. Anyone who saw him even in the smallest of his performances knows that. He is one of the greatest actors of this or any time. A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes."
Gandolfini was vacationing in Italy where he was scheduled to attend the film festival in Sicily later this week. The press-shy star made one of his last public appearances at this charity event for the acting studio in New York City just last week. Among his last film roles was playing CIA director, Leon Panetta, in "Zero Dark Thirty."
GANDOLFINI: Do you guys never agree on anything.
TURNER: He may have enjoyed global fame, but he never strayed far from home, New Jersey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He definitely put New Jersey on the map, all positive. You know, he just made Jersey better than it already is.
TURNER: One of his best-known fans, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, in a statement said, "It's an awful shock. James Gandolfini was a fine actor, a Rutgers alum and a true Jersey guy. I was a huge fan of his in the character he played so authentically, Tony Soprano."
The ice cream shop in Bloomfield, New Jersey, which served as the diner setting for the final setting of "The Sopranos" was overflowing with fans after news of the actor's death spread.
(SINGING)
(END VIDEOTAPE) MALVEAUX: Die hard fans of "Sopranos" will remember that scene, the screen going black, everyone left hanging basically guessing if tony soprano made it out of that diner alive. That was how the final show and the final season ended. For more on all of this, visit CNN.com.
And coming up, this little girl died after her half-brother allegedly used wrestling moves on her. The 13-year-old boy faces a murder charge and, of course, this case reminds us of another similar one, Lionel Tate, sentenced to life in prison after killing a little girl with wrestling moves when he was just 12 years old. We'll look at that case, up next.
And then this, a child born deaf hears for the first time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF GRAYSON: Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you.
(LAUGHTER)
Daddy loves you.
NICOLE CLAMP, MOTHER OF GRAYSON: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: His story, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Want to share a story that has everyone talking. It's quite amazing. This is a toddler, deaf since birth, hearing for the very first time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF GRAYSON: Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: God, it makes you want to laugh or cry or something. That is little Grayson Clamp is reacting to hearing his dad's voice the very first time. The 3-year-old, he is the first child in the country to undergo this new life-changing procedure.
Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It could be called a modern-day miracle. Watch as this little boy hears his father's voice for the first time.
CLAMP: Hi, Grayson, talk to him, daddy. UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF GRAYSON: Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you.
(LAUGHTER)
CLAMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF GRAYSON: Can you hear daddy?
GUPTA: Before this moment, Grayson Clamp had never heard a sound.
UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF GRAYSON: That's you.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF GRAYSON: Grayson.
GUPTA: Grayson was born without the auditory nerves that carry sound from the inner ear to the brain. Initially, he was fitted with a co- clear implant, but without nerves it was ineffective.
UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF GRAYSON: Bird. Bird.
GUPTA: That's when doctors at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine gave him this. It's an auditory brain stem implant. The device is typically used in adults whose nerves have been damaged and hadn't yet been approved for use in children. But that changed thanks to an FDA-approved trial. And Grayson became the first child in the country to undergo the procedure.
CLAMP: We don't really know exactly what it's like for him. We don't know exactly what he hears, if he hears everything we hear, some of what we hear.
GUPTA: Doctors are confident Grayson will eventually hear and speak like any other child. His parents say he's already made great progress, although they won't soon forget what that first moment was like.
CLAMP: Hi, Grayson.
Talk to him, daddy.
UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF GRAYSON: Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FATHER OF GRAYSON: Daddy loves you.
Yes.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Can't get enough of that story. There's another medical story as well, a medical innovation. These are toys that are being turned into medical devices. Dr. Gupta tells us more this weekend on "The Next List."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
GUPTA: This week on "The Next List," two extraordinary innovators who are changing the way we think, create and consume.
(MUSIC)
GUPTA: Jose Gomez Marquez is tackling affordable health care by making medical devices out of toys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you're using toys it demystifies the process of medical technology. Often we look at these medical devices and think they're a black box that you cannot go and crack open.
GUPTA: And Maker Bot CEO Drew Pettis (ph) is using preprinting to allow ordinary consumers to bring their thoughts to life.
DREW PETTIS (ph), CEO, MAKER BOTS: It changes what you think about things. You start looking at the world and you're like, oh, I don't need to buy that. I can Maker Bot that.
GUPTA: Their stories this Saturday, 2:30 p.m., on "The Next List."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: It's a very disturbing story out of Louisiana. A 13-year- old is accused of killing his 5-year-old half sister by performing these pro wrestling moves on her. The sheriff's deputies say that 100 pound boy showed no remorse during questioning and admitted to punching and slamming the little girl into the bed. The children were home alone when it happened. But the mother does not face charges.
It is actually not the first time we've heard of this kind of story. You might recall the case of a boy who was originally sentenced to life in prison for the death of a 6-year-old girl.
John Zarrella reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 14 years old, Lionel Tate was going to jail for life.
JOEL LAZARUS, JUDGE, BROWARD COUNTY FLORIDA CIRCUIT COURT: The acts of Lionel Tate were not the playful acts of a child. The acts were not acts born out of immaturity. The acts of Lionel Tate were cold, callus, and indescribably cruel. ZARRELLA: When he was sentenced in 2001, Tate was the youngest person ever sentenced to life without parole. The case drew national attention.
In 1999, Tate's mother was babysitting 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick but was upstairs when the child was killed. The defense maintained it was an accident, that Lionel was play acting wrestling moves he'd seen on TV. A video was presented showing Tate re-enacting with a psychiatrist what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIONEL TATE, CONVICTED OF MURDER: She was like this. And I sat like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEWEESE EUNICK, TIFFANY'S MOTHER: This was not child's play. This was a brutal murder.
ZARRELLA: Ultimately, the jury convicted Tate. It took them about three hours.
Three years later, 2004, an appeals court overturned the conviction because Tate had never received a competency hearing. He pled to a lesser charge and was released. House arrest and 10 years' probation.
UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: You are Lionel Tate? You are entering this plea freely and voluntarily, is that correct?
TATE: Yes, sir.
ZARRELLA: Tate was getting a second bite at the apple.
KATHLEEN GOSSETT-TATE: LIONEL TATE'S MOTHER: This is a new chapter in our lives. We're just going to go on bard.
ZARRELLA: But the chapter was a short one. Within a year, Tate was in trouble again, arrested for carrying a knife in a park. And then --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I came to deliver pizzas. They pointed a gun at me.
ZARRELLA: Lionel Tate is now serving time for armed robbery at a facility north of Gainesville. His scheduled release date, May 4, 2031.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now this. The two men who head Dolce and Gabana are fashion icons to the world. But now they could be headed to prison. A court in Italy has sentenced each of them to more than a year and a half behind bars for failing to pay more than $50 million in taxes to the Italian government. Their lawyer says he will appeal the convictions. And he also says his clients will never go to jail, now or ever.
Today we should find out more about Jodi Arias' fate. That's right. The judge is holding a status hearing. Just a few weeks ago, a jury convicted her of first degree murder in the death of her boyfriend. But in the penalty phase, jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on whether or not she should live or die. A different jury is going to decide her fate around the middle of next month.
Of course, you'll want to be with us tomorrow 1:00 p.m. eastern. We're going to talk live with Tania Raymonde. She is the actress who is playing Arias in the lifetime movie "Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret."
Coming up this weekend, Director Ridley Scott joins CNN with an all- new series, "Crimes of the Century." It airs this Sunday 9:00 p.m. eastern. Check it out.
Facebook now has a big announcement. We're going to tell you what it is, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE ZIMMER, MEN'S WAREHOUSE: You'll like the way you look. I guarantee it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: If you've watched any TV in the past 20 years the voice of George Zimmer probably does sound familiar to you. He's the Men's Warehouse founder and spokesman. In a surprise move he has been fired. Zimmer released a statement about why he thinks he was ousted. He says, "I have expressed my concerns to the board about the direction the company is currently heading. Instead of fostering the kind of dialogue in the board room that has in part contributed to our success, the board has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns by terminating me as an executive officer." The company has not revealed why Zimmer was fired.
Just a few moments ago, Facebook announced the launch of its new video-sharing app. It is kind of like Instagram for videos. The company says you can actually shoot 15-second videos on your cell phone, iPhones and Androids. Then you can put any one of the 13 custom filters over that video, just like you've been able to do Instagram for photos. Then you can edit the video on the phone, upload it on social media. Kind of cool stuff there.
Coming up this weekend, CNN's new show "Inside Man" airs Sunday night at 10:00 eastern. The show is going to focus on the business of medical marijuana. That is this Sunday on CNN.
That's it for me. I'll be back tomorrow.
Don Lemon takes it from here as CNN NEWSROOM continues.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.
We have a major story moving out of Washington today. A deal in the works in Congress for a big, long fence along the border with Mexico, some 700 miles. Plus, a surge of border agents. In exchange for that, a possible path to citizenship for millions of people now in this country illegally.
