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Watching the Markets; Deadly Flash Floods; Alleged Murder Posted on FaceBook; Store Clerk Was Racist; Police Shooting Incites Anger, Tears; Brian Banks Fulfills NFL Dream
Aired August 09, 2013 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in THE NEWSROOM: flood fears from Dallas to Boston, torrential rain soaking half the country.
Plus this --
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
LEMON: A controversial shooting caught on camera. Miami Beach Police firing off 100 bullets. Two years later, many are asking, why isn't the investigation complete?
And, Oprah. New claims she was the victim of racism when purse shopping in Europe. Hear both sides of the story. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now.
Welcome back to the NEWSROOM, everyone. I am Don Lemon, in for Carol today. We have got a lot of news to cover, so stay tuned. We're going to start with our top stories right now.
With the week on Wall Street drawing to a close, it looks like the markets may end the week on a down note. Let's check in now with CNN's Alison Kosik as trading is getting underway.
Alison, how is it looking right now?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what a difference a day makes, Don. Yes, stocks are starring lower. You look at last Friday, there were record highs on the table. Now we are actually expecting a loss for the week.
So as we headed into today, the Dow's actually down more than 1 percent for the week, the Nasdaq, S&P 500 are down about a half a percent or more. But, look, the market's been up the past six weeks. So here's what's weighing on stocks at the moment.
There's this new word on Wall Street. You know what it is? Septaper (ph). It's a mix of September and taper and it's scaring investors away. So we've got all these interesting terms that have been thrown around, "Operation Twist," "fiscal cliff," "TARP" and now "Septaper." And many analysts, Don, think that the Federal Reserve is going to go ahead and make an announcement next month about tapering back its massive stimulus program that's really propped up stocks lately. And that's why you're seeing investors pull out of stocks.
But consider this, August is also historically one of the worst months for stocks. So that could be just a little bit of a factor here, Don.
LEMON: All right, Alison, thank you very much. We'll get back to Alison, but we want to give you some other stories that we're watching right now.
There is a new warning on the manhunt for a kidnapping and murder suspect. Police say James DiMaggio may be armed with improvised explosives or may have booby-trapped his car with him. DiMaggio is wanted in the disappearance of 16-year-old Hannah Anderson and the killing of her mother whose body was found in DiMaggio's burned down house. A third family member, Hannah's eight-year-old brother, Ethan, is also missing.
And deadly flash floods wreaking havoc from Oklahoma to South Carolina. Rescue teams working around the clock to save stranded motorists. And overnight in Oklahoma City, a 60-year-old man was killed when trying to save his stranded daughter. At least two others have lost their lives in Missouri, while a South Carolina man was found dead in floodwaters on his family property. Nashville, Tennessee, was one of the hardest hit, as parts of the city have seen upwards of eight inches of rain. My goodness. Stephanie Langston is a reporter for WKRN in Nashville.
Stephanie, as I said to the reporter earlier, this is devastating. What are you seeing?
STEPHANIE LANGSTON, REPORTER, WKRN: Well, as daylight breaks, it's clear just how much destruction is left behind. You know, this clean- up process could take months.
I'm walking actually in what once was the foundation of a salon on the bricks that were wiped completely off of the building. Gibson Creek, the water levels have receded this morning, but yesterday business owners say it reached levels of five or six feet high, pushing this salon some 50 feet off of its foundation. The salon was actually once joined this dentist office, but now about a 20-foot gap lies in between.
Now, this area, unfortunately, was also hit by the May 2010 floods in Nashville, but not quite this bad. Mayor Karl Dean did hold a press conference yesterday and said they responded to more than 200 water- related incidents. The good news, of course, is that everyone got out safely. And today, as business owners return to clean up this destruction, it looks like the weather's going to cooperate so they can get right to work.
Reporting from Madison, Stephanie Langston, Nashville's News 2.
LEMON: All right, Stephanie, we appreciate it. Stephanie Langston from WKRN, we appreciate that again.
A Florida man makes a stunning admission on FaceBook and now stands accused of murder with the words "you will see me in the news." Derek Medina posted a confession and a picture of his wife's corpse on his FaceBook page saying he killed her. He later turned himself in to police but the photo stayed on his FaceBook page for at least five hours and was shared again and again before FaceBook took it down. Nick Valencia following that story for us.
Good morning, Nick. What do we know about Derek Medina?
LEMON: Good morning, Don.
Yes, this story just seems too horrible to be true, but police say that it is. We want to give you a warning here. We're about to show you the photo, which is very, very graphic. If you have a weak stomach or children in the room, now is not the time to look at the TV.
But police say that this is the photo that Derek Medina posted after he said he shot and killed his wife after they got into a heated argument. This morning, Don, we're learning more about the suspect, Derek Medina. We found out just a short time ago that he is a published author of self-help ebooks. He maintains a website emotionalwriter.com where he talks about effective communication. He also gives tips about marriage counseling. There's a lot of irony in there. One book summary talks about how he saved his own marriage. He was married to his wife for three years. They divorced only to get remarried. And he said the goal for his readers was that he wanted readers to help them understand the true meaning and purpose of life.
Don.
LEMON: So, Nick, you know, FaceBook just a few days - just a few weeks ago, I should say, said it was cracking down on inappropriate posts. So why did it take hours before this one was removed?
VALENCIA: You know, in this day of social media where everything is so closely monitored, that is a very, very good question. In fact, CNN did reach out to FaceBook and this is what they had to say. They gave us a statement, Don. They said, the content was removed via our own process. "The content was reported to us, and then we took action on the profile - removing the content and disabling the profile, and we reached out to law enforcement." So they're saying that they also reached out to police. They say, "we take action on all content that violates our terms, which are clearly laid out on our site." As this is an ongoing law enforcement investigation, they're referring us to authorities in Florida for any additional details.
So they said, as soon as they figured it out, they took action. But as you mentioned, man, that photo was up there for about five hours before they took it down and shared over 150 times. So a lot of people saw that very gruesome photo, Don.
LEMON: Nick Valencia, thank you very much.
VALENCIA: You bet.
LEMON: Appreciate it.
VALENCIA: Just ahead, Oprah's "Pretty Woman" moment. One of the wealthiest people in the world denied an expensive bag in an exchange the media mogul says was racist.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: It's a scene that we all know well. Customer misjudged by her appearance and a shopkeeper left regretting the error.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIA ROBERTS, ACTRESS, "PRETTY WOMAN": You got nice stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ACTRESS, "PRETTY WOMAN": Thank you.
ROBERTS: How much is this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think this would fit you.
ROBERTS: Well, I didn't ask if it would fit, I asked how much it was.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much is this, Marie?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ACTRESS, "PRETTY WOMAN": It's very expensive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very expensive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Pretty woman, say you'll stay with me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ACTRESS, "PRETTY WOMAN": May I help you?
ROBERTS: No thank you.
Hi. Hello. Do you remember me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm sorry.
ROBERTS: I was in here yesterday. You wouldn't wait on me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
ROBERTS: You work on commission, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ROBERTS: Big mistake. Big, Huge. I have to go shopping now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And one shopkeeper in Germany made a huge mistake when it comes to Oprah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA PROPRIETOR: And I go into a store that shall remain unnamed, and I say to the woman, excuse me, may I see that bag right above your head? And she says to me, "no, it's too expensive."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Nischelle Turner in New York following this story for us.
You just - I saw her talk about this and I wanted to hear the shopkeeper's side, right?
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Right.
LEMON: You just spoke with Oprah about this very same topic. What did she tell you?
TURNER: You know, Don, Oprah's been out and about doing press for her return to acting in Lee Daniels "The Butler," which is a movie that's set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement. So the topic of race really does keep coming up in her interviews.
Now she said that she doesn't face overt racism on a regular basis in the United States. She did tell me earlier this week that the racism she experiences is more subtle here. But she did say in that "E.T." interview that she did deal much more directly with it while in Zurich for Tina Turner's wedding this summer and she was at that high-end handbag shop. She didn't name the shop, but she did talk about what happened here. And you heard that in the sound that you just played there.
Now, even though she didn't directly name the shop, our CNN colleagues have spoken to the manager of the top. The shop is called Twoi Palm (ph) in Zurich. And here's what the manager told us. She said it was a 200 percent misunderstanding. And she said - they gave us a comment. I'm going to read a little bit from it. She said, "Mrs. Oprah came in and was looking at the Jennifer Aniston handbag. My sales woman told her about the bag, that it was the latest bag from Tom Ford (ph) and was made from crocodile skin. Mrs. Oprah then asked her how much it was and the sales assistant said 35,000 Swiss francs, which is $38,000 U.S. dollars. Because Mrs. Oprah said she just wanted to look at the bag, she didn't want it taken down. And because my sales assistant felt a little embarrassed about the price, she quickly said that she also had the model in other materials, such as ostrich and suede, which weren't so expensive. That was the misunderstanding."
Now, the incident, really interesting, Don, because when I spoke with Oprah on Monday, she did give me a better sense of how, at her level of fame and power in the industry, that she does still experiencing racism. And here's what she said about that.
OK, well, basically what she told me was that sometimes when she walks into the room or she's in a room filled with people that don't look like her, there's a lack of expectation. And that's how she experiences racism. And I have to say, that almost falls in line to what she believes she experienced in Zurich, Don, because she says it was kind of the sales person's lack of expectation of her, the lack of thinking that she could afford it that caused this incident to happen. So, again, one side says it was a misunderstanding, one side thinks it was a racial incident.
LEMON: Hmm. Hmm. That's very interesting.
TURNER: Yes.
LEMON: And $38,000?
TURNER: You had to go there. It's Oprah, Don, OK? Do we have to talk about the price?
LEMON: I mean - I know. Yes! A purse is $38,000. For most guys are like, what? I thought purses were like $38. $38,000.
TURNER: Well, you know, let's think about this in our terms. I could - it would be - I would be talking about a $38 purse, but Oprah talks about a $38,000 purse.
LEMON: Yes. Yes.
TURNER: It's OK. It's all right.
LEMON: But apparently there was something that happened there and we don't know what it is but Oprah says it's racism. The shopkeeper says it's a misunderstanding. We'll see.
OK, let's move on, all right? Hopefully you can sing, because you're going to be humming this. This is a show - I don't want you to go away.
TURNER: Oh, Lord. What are you doing?
LEMON: A show that defined Saturday night for a generation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): And love, life's sweetest reward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You're just a babe, Nischelle, you don't remember that.
TURNER: Before my time, Don. Before my time.
LEMON: Oh, well that ship - that -- let me tell you then. Can we take that down. Let me tell you about this, Nischelle. Let's talk to Nischelle Turner.
That boat that you see right there --
TURNER: Yes.
LEMON: That boat was the lead-in to "Fantasy Island." So everybody on Saturday night watched "The Love Boat" and then they'd watch Ricardo Montalban with "Fantasy Island."
TURNER: Yes.
LEMON: And the reason we're talking about this, Nischelle, is because the ship that inspired "The Love Boat" is making its final voyage to a scrap heap. That's according to Reuters. The MS Pacific, that's the name of the ship.
TURNER: IT's the end of an era, Don.
LEMON: No, there's Gopher. Look at Gopher. Yes. TURNER: I know, Gopher and Isaac and I lied when I told you it was before my time, Don. Of course I remember "The Love Boat."
LEMON: There's Ted Lange.
TURNER: Exactly. Isaac was the bartender extraordinaire, wasn't he?
LEMON: He was. He was. He was - oh, there's Lauren. Oh!
TURNER: You would have fit right in. What would you have been? The deck boy? What would you have been, like the deck person (ph)?
LEMON: That was the reason - I kept saying, why are they rolling this video? Scottie (ph) wanted to get to that. I'm the anchor. It was the Pacific Princess. Captain Stubing was at the helm. Isaac was behind the bar. You saw him.
TURNER: Yes.
LEMON: It's headed to a breaking - a ship-breaking yard off the coast of Turkey where it will be stripped of its metal and parts.
TURNER: Oh.
LEMON: Oh, Ted Lange. And apparently an added cast member. That was me. That was the other cast.
TURNER: Listen, you really would have fit right in, Don, because you're all about love. That's what it is. You emote love.
LEMON: Thank you very much.
TURNER: And happy endings.
LEMON: Welcome to "Fantasy Island".
TURNER: Oh, lord. Good-bye, Don Lemon.
LEMON: Go back to the "Love Boat". Bye, boo. We're back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It has been two years since Miami Beach Police discharged more than 100 bullets on a crowded street killing a suspect and wounding four bystanders. But the investigation into that 2011 case is still not complete and while the dead man's family waits for answers those bystanders are still looking for financial help for their injuries.
CNN's Jason Carroll reports now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The controversial shooting captured on cell phone video shows the last moments of Raymond Herisse's life on May 30th, 2011. Several shots are heard as Hialeah, Florida police officers try to stop Herisse's reckless driving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Silver Hyundai almost ran over a Hialeah cop --
CARROLL: The video shows him heading down Collins Avenue in south beach Miami, he comes to a stop. He's then surrounded by several Miami Beach Police officers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God. They are going to kill this man.
CARROLL: The street is crowded with onlookers enjoying Urban Beach Week, an annual hip-hop event. A second bystander's cell phone captures what happened next. Police start shooting, firing more than 100 bullets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God he got to be dead now --
CARROLL: Scattered traffic picks up the chaos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is the subject? Where is the subject?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the vehicle.
CARROLL: Four bystanders are hurt. Herisse is killed -- hit 16 times by police gunfire.
CHARLINE HERISSE, SISTER: We think about it all the time. Just we live -- we think about how my brother left us is very painful and in order for us to move on just a little, just to go on and we need some kind of closure.
CARROLL: The Herisse family is still waiting for closure, questioning why two years later the investigation is still not complete. And what triggered the police to shoot when the video shows Herisse had stopped his car?
Alex Bello president of the Miami Beach Fraternal Order of Police points out an autopsy revealed that Herisse was driving drunk and he says a gun was later found in Herisse's car. Bello adds "Whether he put his hand underneath the seat to grab the gun, something happened that caused them all to react at the same time." The family attorney is not buying it.
MARWAN PORTER, HERISSE FAMILY ATTORNEY: There was a gun residue test that was performed on the weapon. That gun had not been shot, period. So any suggestion that he was shooting a gun has gone out the window.
Carroll (on camera): What do you think is happening here?
ROGENY HERISSE, SISTER: I think they are trying to make it seem like it was an accident or it was his fault but really it was them who did all of this and even most of the damage and they are trying to hide it.
C. HERISSE: They definitely used excessive force -- definitely. CARROLL: Scanner traffic shows police immediately tried to get a handle on how many bystanders were shot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a man down at the Delores Hotel.
CARROLL: That man was Sedrick Perkins.
SEDRICK PERKINS, BYSTANDER HIT BY POLICE GUNFIRE: I seen the blood and realized I was shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have another one hit on the hip.
CARROLL: And that was Carlson St. Louis.
(on camera): Where were you standing? Right over here?
CARLSON ST. LOUIS, BYSTANDER HIT BY POLICE GUNFIRE: Yes basically I was walking on right over here. I knew something was wrong when I fell. So that's when I look and I see like a little bullet wounds right here and I see blood is gushing out of my hip.
CARROLL: Both Carlson and Perkins say police were careless while they face mounting medical bills. Carlson has a metal rod and screws holding his hip together. Perkins still has a bullet lodged in his chest.
PERKINS: It feels like an ongoing cramp in my chest all day long.
JASMINE RAND, PERKINS ATTORNEY: We're really looking to the police for clarity. We want a full investigation report and we want charges brought against the police officers.
CARROLL (on camera): Neither the Miami Beach Police or the Hialeah Police would comment on camera citing the ongoing investigation which has now been turned over to the Miami Dade State Attorney's office.
(voice-over): A spokesman there would only give a statement saying their job "is to determine is there or is there not a crime?"
He went on to say the lengthy investigation is due to processing so much evidence collected over a wide area saying "the crime scene was blocks and blocks long." In the meantime, the bystanders caught up in the shooting still wait for financial help for their injuries and the Herisse family still waits for answers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm cry any time. I never finish cry. I'm asleep, I wake up cry.
C. HERISSE: We'll continue to fight until we get something from them, some kind of answer, until we get closure.
CARROLL: The Herisse family has already filed a civil suit against the Miami Beach Police Department. And at least two of the bystanders caught in the shooting are planning on filing civil suits as well. In the meantime, the mayor of the city released a statement saying that "the city has been diligently working on enhancing policies and procedures throughout the organization to restore the public trust".
Jason Carroll, CNN, Miami Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Jason, thank you.
All new in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, CNN's year-long investigation into the impact of marijuana on the human body -- it may make you rethink about what you thought you knew about pot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: What a comeback story this is. Just one year after being exonerated of a rape charge that caused him ten years of his life, Brian Banks made his NFL debut. Andy Scholes joins us now with more in this morning's "Bleacher Report". Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, "BLEACHER REPORT": Hey, Don. Last night's game had been a long-time coming for Banks. Once he was the biggest -- he was one of the biggest high school football stars in the country.
In 2002 Banks was falsely convicted of rape. He spent more than five years in prison. After being exonerated, Banks signed with the Falcons in the off-season. And last night he made an NFL debut recording a tackle in the fourth quarter. Before the game, Banks tweeted, "Game day, never thought this day would come. And if it all ended here tonight, mom, I did it."
Tiger Woods has work to do if he wants to take the PGA championship this week. He's six shots back coming in to today's second round. He tees off at 1:45 Eastern.
Adam Scott and Lee Westwood have a share of the lead right now. You can catch all of the action from round 2 on TNT this afternoon starting at 1:00 Eastern.
Red Sox and Royals last night, Big Papi taking a picture with a baby before the game and oops, he realizes he needs to get on the line for the anthem so he takes the baby with him. Big Papi would returned the baby after a couple more pictures. Pretty cool deal there, Don, Big Papi he can hit the long ball and he could take care of a baby.
LEMON: Very nice. Thank you Andy Scholes -- Thanks Andy. Appreciate it. Have a good weekend.
Next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM begins after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
