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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Bridge Collapse Raises Serious Questions; Army Sergeant, Sex Abuse Prevention Counselor Accused of Sex Abuse; Tornado Brought Devastation to Oklahoma City
Aired May 24, 2013 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Erin, thanks.
Tonight, how safe are you and your family on the road this holiday weekend, or any day of the year, for that matter. A bridge collapse in Washington state raising serious questions. We will try to get some answers.
Later, an army sergeant and sex abuse prevention counselor accused of sex abuse and more. Was he part of a prostitution ring, a pimp in uniform? "360" investigates.
We begin, though, with 911 tapes just out tonight from people in the path of the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma. It is almost impossible to imagine what people were going through, but these tapes tell some of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911. What is your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is the tornado at?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last we heard was 19th and western.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take shelter. You need to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911, what is your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got hit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is anybody injured?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys injured? I'm able to get out but I don't know if they'll be able to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. They're trapped or just injured?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you guys trapped? Can you get up? I can possibly get out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ask them, sweetheart. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you guys trapped?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're trapped?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they got it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can they get out at all, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you guys get up?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma'am, I need -- are they trapped?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we get out of this in any way?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have got several places hit. This is very important. I need to know this now. I understand it's crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can possibly get out if we can find a way out but everything in front of us from what we can see is wiped out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Just try to get out if you can. Something happens and someone cannot get out and they're trapped, then call me back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And be very careful where you walk, OK? Make sure everyone's got shoes on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. All right. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're stuck under rubble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We'll get them out as soon as we can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please hurry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll get them out as soon as we can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moore 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a day care full of babies. We need help bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need help bad. We got a day care that just got cremated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Moore 911. Where is your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the closet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Are you injured?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. We just can't breathe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moore 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We just got a call from a gentleman that lives in Moore that his house has collapsed on his kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: That's truly, truly chilling. Ten children died in the storm, including seven youngsters at the Plaza Towers elementary school in Moore. Looking at the rubble, it's hard to imagine anyone surviving. But as we have seen, children did to and most of all part to the teachers and staff there.
Today, for the first time, the Plaza Towers principal spoke to reporters about that horrible Monday and what the days have been like ever since.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY SIMPSON, PRINCIPAL, PLAZA TOWERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: I got on the intercom and I said it's here and then I got into the bathroom with four other ladies in the office. And that what started off as a normal day at Plaza Towers turned into a horrible, horrible thing for seven families.
Yesterday, we buried one of our seven. Today, we buried two. Tomorrow we will bury two more. Monday, one and next Friday, one. And the families want everybody to know that Plaza Towers did what they could do. The teachers covered themselves in debris while they were covering their babies. And I believe that's why so many of us survived that day is because the teachers were able to act quickly, stay calm, and take literally the weight of a wall on to their bodies to save those that were under them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: As you just heard, funeral services were held today for two of the children who died at Plaza Towers elementary school. 9- year-old Nicolas McCabe, 8-year-old Kyle Davis. Kyle was remembered for his love of soccer. His nickname on the field was "the wall." His family wore jerseys emblazoned with Kyle's number, 16. 39-year- old Randy Smith and 49-year-old Terri Long were also laid to rest today. There will be more funerals in the days ahead.
We wish the people of Moore strength. Tonight, five adults and one child remain hospitalized, two of them in critical condition. Some face very long recoveries, including a U.S. veteran who risked his life to save others. He was inside the 7-eleven store, we have heard so much about that 7-eleven.
Brian Todd has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the scene of some of the worst destruction and two heartbreaking casualties. The 7-eleven on telephone road in Moore, Oklahoma basically disintegrated. 29-year-old Megan Futrell and her 4-month-old son Case died from blunt force trauma. E.H. Pittman, a clerk at the 7-eleven, engaged in a heroic struggle trying to save them. His brother Bruce describes what happened.
BRUCE PITTMAN, E.H. PITTMAN'S BROTHER: My brother jumped on top of the woman and her baby to try to protect them as best he could. Unfortunately, with the tornado of that size, he wasn't able to hold on and was tossed around quite a bit, and the storm and he was pulled out of the pile of rubble.
TODD: E.H. Pittman now lies in Norman regional hospital fighting for his life. He has got spinal cord injuries, according to his family, lacerations on his liver, broken shoulder blades, collapsed lungs, and yes, his mother says --
KATHLEEN PITTMAN, E.H. PITTMAN'S MOTHER: He is focusing on he didn't do enough.
BRUCE PITTMAN: His character -- I'm sorry. His character is just overwhelming, the amount of friends and family that he has just from going out there and talking to people and being who he is, it's amazing because he's touched so many people in his life.
TODD: This is what's left of the 7-Eleven. By getting everyone into a bathroom, E.H. Pittman did saved three lives here and this isn't the first time he's faced death and thought of others rather than himself.
His family says Pittman, an Oklahoma National Guardsman, was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, when his Humvee (ph) was hit in a roadside explosion. He suffered minor injuries, they say, but focused on getting others out of the vehicle and now, once again, he's recovering.
TODD: You just left him. What did you say to him?
KATHLEEN PITTMAN: I told him of course that I loved him and that it was an honor to know him as my son and as a man, that I felt that he was a true hero.
TODD: I asked his brother if there's a message he would like to pass to the family of Megan and Case Futrell. BRUCE PITTMAN: He was doing the best that he could, and that's all that anybody can ask. I hope that they find some solace and get better. There's nothing that anybody can say for that family. I'm sorry.
TODD: The family says at one point, they weren't sure if E.H. Pittman would ever walk again. They now say he's regained some feeling on and off in his legs and despite a long and difficult period of rehabilitation ahead, they are optimistic.
Brian Todd, CNN, Moore, Oklahoma.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: We wish him a complete recovery.
A quick reminder, here is how you can help the people of Moore. Just go to CNN.com/impact where you will find links to aid organizations that are doing very, very good work. Again, the web address, CNN.com/impact.
Up next, chilling images to anyone taking their family on the road this weekend, a bridge in a river. We will take you where it happened, get the latest on the investigation and talk to an expert who says America is badly overdue for a lot of homeland improvement.
And up later, the U.S. army sergeant at the center of a sex abuse allegation. The army sergeant who was supposed to be preventing sex abuse, see what a "360" investigation reveals.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A wake-up call tonight for the nearly 35 million Americans expected to be driving somewhere this Memorial Day weekend. The road beneath your wheels and the bridges carrying that road might not be up to the job. There have been nearly 600 bridge failures since 1989, the latest, this one last evening, north of Seattle, Washington. A section of a 1950s era bridge carrying interstate 5 collapsed into the Skagit River when a truck hit one of the overhead beams. Two cars ended up in the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYCE KENNING, BRIDGE COLLAPSE SURVIVOR: Ice-cold water is rushing into your vehicle, you know, with velocity. You know, that was when the panic hit. It was kind of like am I going to make it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: He did, everyone did. The bridge though needs major repairs. A federal data base lists it as functionally obsolete. Functionally obsolete. Officials say it was safe. State and federal investigators are now looking into it.
Dan Simon is on the scene for us in northern Washington State.
Dan, what's the latest?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.
First of all, we should point out given what we saw in Oklahoma, the folks in this community are very grateful at least knowing that it could have been a lot worse. Want to show you what's going on behind me.
Those cars are still in the water. They haven't moved whatsoever. We now have crews here for the first time beginning the cleanup. And as you said, this bridge is going to be out of commission for quite awhile. It could take weeks or maybe even months. Authorities estimated that it will take anywhere, $15 million, maybe a few million dollars more, to get this bridge back in shape. And so, this bridge was built in 1955. Of course, folks are saying that it was dated, as you put it, functionally obsolete. And so now, the process begins in terms of figuring out how they are going to move forward. This is really going to impact transportation here, Wolf.
BLITZER: And I know, especially for our viewers not familiar with the area, they want to know, this bridge was pretty heavily traveled. It's an interstate, after all, isn't that right?
SIMON: That's exactly right. You know, you only had three vehicles thankfully that went into the water last night. You are talking about three individuals who, you know, they are fine, did non- life threatening injuries.
The reason why you didn't have more vehicles go in the water is because this is a remote area, but as you said, this is still very well traveled. You have about 71,000 vehicles cross this bridge every single day. So as I said, it's going to have a major impact here. And authorities just want to figure out how they can get it reopened as soon as possible. But it's going to take a long time, Wolf.
BLITZER: As I said, this is a major interstate, interstate 5. How is it possible, a lot of people want to know, especially me, an 18 wheeler running into a bridge to cause so much damaged. It sounds to me like a major interstate bridge should be able to withstand something like that.
SIMON: You know, that's the question that people are asking today. How could an 18-wheeler that brushed up basically against the side of a bridge or at least the top of the bridge caused a major portion to collapse. And critics will say well, if it was stronger, that wouldn't have happened or you know, better yet, if you had a newer, more modern bridge, this would not have happened either.
But this topic of the nation's infrastructure, the nation's bridges is something we have been talking about for quite awhile, right? I did a story back in 2007 that we dug out of the archives today. We made some changes. We updated the story. But as you'll see, it's just as relevant today as it was back then.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SIMON (voice-over): Some of them, like San Francisco's Golden Gate, are national symbols. But a startling number of America's bridges have become a symbol for something else -- neglect and now, danger.
Bridges are essential to our daily lives. But more than 150,000 of them, about a quarter of all the bridges in this country, have been rated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. In plain English, they are getting old.
MO EHSANI, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: Like anything else, there is a useful life for all structures and ultimately they need to be replaced or strengthened.
SIMON: Engineering professor, Mo Ehsani has designed nearly a dozen bridges in Arizona.
EHSANI: For people not in this field, you know, they assume that any bridge they drive on on a daily basis is a safe structure. But, you know, in certain places, that may not be the case.
SIMON: Experts say some of the most traveled bridges in the nation have problems. They are structurally deficient. Bridges like the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York, now being replaced. More than 135,000 cross daily.
STEPHEN FLYNN, AUTHOR, THE EDGE OF DISASTER: We are absolutely not doing what needs to be done to make sure our bridges are adequately maintained, are safe.
SIMON: Stephen Flynn wrote "edge of disaster" examining our nation's aging infrastructure, including bridges.
FLYNN: It's very clear that we have to fix the bridges and keep them adequately maintained because they really are models of engineering in many cases, but when they fail, they really fail. And so it's not just loss of life risk, which is of course the real tragedy, it is that these are the true lifelines, the many cases of our cities.
SIMON: Some states are worse off than others. Federal data shows more than a third of bridges in New York, West Virginia, Vermont and Connecticut are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Pennsylvania and Hawaii are even worse, at more than 40 percent.
Pennsylvania has 30 of the same design as the collapsed Minneapolis Bridge. And in Rhode Island, 411 bridges, more than half the total, are deficient.
Bridges in western states tend to do better than other parts of the country. One reason, the bridges are newer, but climate also plays a major factor. Professor Ehsani says bridges in colder climates corrode more quickly.
EHSANI: The reason primarily is because of the de-icing chemicals that we use every winter to keep the roadways clean. SIMON: Federal officials say in order to get our nation's bridges in better shape it would cost more than $20 billion a year for the next 15 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Our Dan Simon reporting.
For more tonight on the sorry state of the bridges and roads we all rely on, we're joined by Northeastern University's Steven Flynn, co-director of the research institute for homeland security. You saw him in Dan's report. He's also the author of "the edge of disaster, rebuilding a resilient nation."
Stephen, first explain to us what these terms mean, structurally deficient and functionally obsolete, because according to the federal highway administration, there are 66,000 bridges in the United States right now that are structurally deficient.
FLYNN: Well you know, what they basically mean, the bridges are worn out. They are in a condition that they are in danger of failing at some point if major repairs aren't made. They are not an imminent danger. If that were the case, we would be shutting them down. But they are old and they need to be repaired or replaced.
BLITZER: Earlier today, the chairwoman of the national transportation safety board told me that you can have a bridge that's older but still be very healthy. Do you agree with that?
FLYNN: It's true, yes, if it's very well maintained. But when you look at one in nine of our bridges in the entire country being rated as structurally deficient, that's a big red flag. It's telling us that we're not investing in the upkeep as much as we need to. We are neglecting our infrastructure.
BLITZER: So what's the problem here? Is it strictly a budget issue?
FLYNN: Money is part of it. It's also that frankly, we take it for granted. It was built by our parents, grandparents, many cases, great grandparents. We stopped building almost 50 years ago in some cases and we just take it for granted.
The fact is that our generations before us invested their treasure, their blood, their ingenuity and these were a source of great national pride. But we have lost our way. We take it too much for granted. We are not doing near what we need to do to maintain it or upgrade it.
BLITZER: It seems there's a catch-22 though right now. There is not enough money now. But the longer you wait, the more expensive the repairs are going to become, right?
FLYNN: This is exactly like you're not taking care of the shingle that's loose on your roof. You are going to have some very big problems when the rain starts coming into your house. So, when we say we can't afford it, we are the wealthiest nation in the world. We can't afford to have broken infrastructure.
At the same time, we have to realize that it is an investment. When our roads work well, when we get clean water and our quality of life is good, this is good for our economy. It is also good for our security. What is crazy is that we had generations from the very start of this country thinking about infrastructure as an investment for the future, and we view it now as a cost that we can't afford. We have it all wrong.
BLITZER: How often are these bridges inspected? Is there a way, for example, that citizens can easily check out the health of a bridge before they drive over it head out on vacation, for example?
FLYNN: Well, you know, they would have to do a bit of work here. And overall, they should feel pretty safe. You know, this of course, the most recent incident in Washington State was we had contact with a truck that caused the problem. But we also, of course, had the incident a few years ago in Minneapolis where the bridge essentially just fell down.
Now, we have some challenges. Roughly, 200 million trips a day are taken over these structurally deficient bridges so there's a source of apprehension. It is a bit also depends on the state in terms of how well they are keeping up on top of it. But every governor out there knows that not enough is being done to maintain this tremendous legacy we have to make it safe, to make it efficient, make it secure. We have got a very long ways to go. And we are talking about scandals in Washington all week, well, the scandal in this country is that we have this legacy of infrastructure that we're just letting fall apart around us.
BLITZER: Steven Flynn, thanks very much for joining us.
FLYNN: Thank you for having me.
BLITZER: Just ahead, if the allegations are true, it could be one of the sickest chapters in the U.S. military sex abuse scandal. Get this. A Fort Hood soldier whose job was sex abuse prevention accused of pimping fellow soldiers. Drew Griffin's got some details, some from the man's own lawyer.
And later, Jodi Arias on the verge of tears when the jury failed to agree on a death sentence, but does she have any reason to smile now? We will ask our legal panel.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: President Obama gave the commencement address today at the Naval Academy. It was not the usual pep talk. He squarely addressed the sexual abuse scandal plaguing the U.S. armed services, telling graduates it could undermine America's defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong. That is why we have to be determined to stop these crimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: One alleged crime is simply mind-boggling. An army sergeant at Fort Hood, Texas under investigation in connection with what could be a prostitution ring allegedly trying to pimp out fellow soldiers. And get this, that soldier's attorney talking exclusively to CNN confirms that the sergeant worked in sexual abuse prevention and counseling.
Drew Griffin is investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to his own attorney, 37-year-old army sergeant first class Greg McQueen, an artillery at Fort Hood, Texas is under investigation for abusive sexual contact, pandering and maltreatment of subordinates. It's surprising for many reasons but the main one, McQueen's duties included helping prevent sexual assault. He was the first point of contact for anyone claiming sexual abuse or harassment in his battalion.
But according to his owned attorney, the news coming out of Fort Hood is different. Much stranger and quite frankly, more unbelievable than any other sexual assault case we have heard about in the military. The sergeant is being accused of pimping fellow soldiers.
JOSEPH JORDAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They were not specific with me. You know, I tried to pin them down a little bit. The only person that was semi-specific was the special victims' prosecutor, (INAUDIBLE), and he indicated prostitution and pandering. He indicated there may be a ring.
From what I gathered, there may be more than one complaining witness. And there are also, from what I gathered, maybe more than one individual that they are probably alleging some sort of prostitution.
GRIFFIN: Two nonmilitary sources have told CNN sergeant McQueen allegedly tried to enlist a fort hood female soldier to become part of a prostitution ring. When she refused, those sources claim she was raped.
Sergeant McQueen, who has not responded to CNN's calls and even knocks on his front door, is a 19 year army veteran, deployed four times, according to his attorney, as part of an air defense artillery cell. The army says he has since been reassigned. He joins a growing list of military personnel under investigation for sexual abuse, people who may have used their position to victimize subordinates. Anu Bhagwati, a former marine officer has been trying to convince lawmakers to modernize what she says is an archaic military justice system, a system she says punishes victims, not the abusers.
ANU BHAGWATI, SERVICE WOMEN'S ACTION NETWORK: Service women see what happens to their fellow friends who report. They're not treated well most of the time. They're punished. They're retaliated against, demoted, discharged. They end up homeless. Why would you report in a climate like that?
GRIFFIN: Suzanne Armor, who runs a battered Women's Shelter just outside the gates of Fort Hood says she sees it all the time, victims enlisted in the military are much more reluctant to report, seek help, say anything.
SUZANNE ARMOR, WOMEN'S SHELTER DIRECTOR: They're afraid there might be economic repercussions to them that would affect their career. A lot of what we do and what family advocacy does is we try to assuage those fears so that they are more likely to seek help and not end up in a difficult situation again.
GRIFFIN: McQueen's attorney says his client plans to fight the charges, but also confirms the military's investigation could go beyond his client. The client being urged to tell all he knows to the military prosecutor.
JOSEPH JORDAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He would be willing to talk with us about a deal if my client would give up the other members of the prostitution ring.
GRIFFIN: So far, no charges have been brought in the case, the latest embarrassment for the U.S. military.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Drew Griffin is joining us now. Drew, has there been any reaction from the Pentagon to this possible prostitution ring?
GRIFFIN: You can imagine, Wolf, the defense secretary said to be especially frustrated over these allegations because, according to his spokesman, of the breakdown of discipline and standards that they imply, the strongest reaction comes from the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Karl Levin. He's trying to battle this problem of sex abuse in the military. He's quoted as saying the depth of sexual assault problems in our military was already overwhelming. Now they have to deal with this -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes. Drew, I know the sergeant is still in uniform. Do we have any idea what he's actually doing?
GRIFFIN: We don't. No charges have been filed yet. His attorney was expecting them this week. It hasn't happened. Until then, the sergeant is reassigned to some other unit, we don't know where, and according to the same attorney, he's simply carrying out his work honorably while he waits to see where this case and the evidence goes. We'll keep you posted.
BLITZER: Drew, thanks very much. Keep us informed on this story.
Meanwhile, many expected it to be the emotional ending of the Jodi Arias trial, but the jury couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether she could live or die. We'll take a closer look at what led up to the jury's decision and what's next in the case.
Plus, the horses of the storm, tonight, a look at the fight to save those injured when the monster tornado hit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Both sides of the Jodi Arias trial are preparing to start from scratch on the penalty phase. The jurors convicted arias of murdering her boyfriend, decided her actions were brutal enough to qualify for the death penalty, but then deadlocked when it came to deciding whether she should live or die.
On ABC's "Good Morning America" the jury's foreman talked about making the agonizing decision days after hearing emotional testimony from the victim's family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM ZERVAKOS, JURY FOREMAN, JODI ARIAS TRIAL: Until you're face-to-face with people that have gone through something like that, it's something that you really can't put into words. I'm six feet away from somebody talking about a horrendous loss and if you can't feel that, then you have no emotion, no soul, and yet we couldn't allow ourselves to be emotional on the stand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The jury's deadlock means a new penalty phase is set to start in July with a new jury. They may have seen media coverage of the trial like this interview Jodi Arias gave right after her conviction to KSAZ.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED OF MURDER: I said years ago that I would rather get death than life and that's still true today. I believe death is the ultimate freedom so I would rather just have my freedom sooner -- as soon as I can get it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're saying you actually prefer getting the death penalty to being in prison for life?
ARIAS: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Arias had a much different message when she addressed jurors directly in court. Randi Kaye takes a look at the emotional moments that brought us to this point.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With her hands trembling, Jodi stood before the jury and for nearly 20 minutes, pleaded for her life. Facing life or death for her conviction of first degree murder, Jodi did her best to convince the jury she deserves to live, taking through a series of bizarre selling points.
ARIAS: Over the years, I've spent in incarceration, I've received many requests from women to teach them Spanish or American sign language because my case was pending I just didn't have the time. In prison, I will. Until very recently, I could not have imagined standing before you all and asking you to give me life. To me, life in prison was the most unappealing outcome I could possibly think of. I thought I would rather die, but as I stand here now, I can't in good conscience ask you to sentence me to death.
KAYE: Hours after Jodi appealed to the jury to spare her life, she went on a media blitz, appearing on several TV programs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you really are never going to tell the truth about what went down in that bathroom?
ARIAS: I don't know what you mean by that because I've told the truth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ARIAS: I didn't know that you were a hater when you came to interview me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people out there feel that the only true justice for Travis Alexander is for you to get a death sentence.
ARIAS: That's not justice. That's revenge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the jury --
KAYE: After three days of deliberations --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No unanimous agreement.
KAYE: The jury deadlocked 8-4 for the death penalty. The judge has dismissed the jury and now a new panel will be selected to sentence the convicted murderer to either life or death. It's yet another twist in the trial that's riveted the nation.
VINNIE POLITAN, HLN AND "IN SESSION" HOST": First thing that drew me to this case, I said this one is going to be different than any other trial, was watching Jodi Arias sit down with black and white stripes in the jail and hold a press conference for the media.
ARIAS: Don't roll the tape yet.
POLITAN: But before the press conference, she goes into her little compact, I don't know where you get these in jail, but she's powdering her nose. Now think of a something, she's powdering her nose for a press conference, she's just been arrested for murder. Who is this woman Jodi Arias? And what is this trial going to be like, but we found out. It's a trial like no other.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: Randi Kaye is joining us now. Randi, so what's next in this case? It seems like it's been going on almost forever.
KAYE: Yes, Wolf, the case gets even more bizarre with each passing day, no doubt. The judge has set the new penalty phase to begin July 18th. This was really, Wolf, the worst news for Travis Alexander's family. They broke down in court at the thought of living through all of these over again.
Jodi Arias' conviction, of course, still stands. She won't be tried again on that murder charge but the new jury will have to get up to speed on all of those salacious details such as the sex tapes and the dirty text messages we've been reporting on, not to mention the brutality of the crime and the 29 stab wounds and those awful crime scene photos that were shown in court over and over again.
One thing that could happen, though, Wolf, between now and the new penalty phase in July, is a plea deal. Who knows if Prosecutor Juan Martinez would go for it, but Jodi may agree, may agree, to the idea of no parole and no appeals if she can get that death penalty taken off the table. Of course, it's really hard to say since she always keeps us guessing -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Randi, thanks very much. Randi Kaye is going to have a lot more on the latest turns in this Arias trial. Tune in to her special, "Murder in the First Degree, Inside the Arias Trial," that's tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.
Let's dig a little bit deeper into the case right now. Mark Geragos is a criminal defense attorney. He's also the co-author of the book "Mistrial" and Paul Henderson is a veteran prosecutor.
Mark, I'll start with you. Want to play something else that the jury foreman said to ABC. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZERVAKOS: I'm -- I'm very sure in my own mind that she was mentally and verbally abused. Now, is that an excuse, of course not? Does it factor into decisions that we make? It has to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Mark, your reaction to that.
MARK GERAGOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's exactly what I expected and I think exactly why, in spite of the fact that I think in that same interview, he stated that, you know, she was her own worst witness, I'm telling you, the fact that she was on there for these 17, 18, whatever number of days, that was -- that created a familiarity.
Now that breeds contempt usually, but at the same time, obviously, it resonated with four people and it resonated, you know, loudly enough that they were not going to impose the death penalty. This whole case frankly points out I think just the ridiculous nature of the death penalty in America and why so many people feel that it should be abolished.
Because it really -- it doesn't do anybody the kind of good that they say they want. They want closure but as Randi just said, this is the worst possible outcome for the Travis Alexander family, my little two cents' worth.
BLITZER: We know the jury, Mark, was split 8-4 for death. What does that tell you in the sense that we still don't know how it broke down by gender, for example.
GERAGOS: Right. Interestingly, I think the jury was 8-4 split gender wise as well, which I find interesting. The prosecutor is going to be acutely aware of this split and that it favored death, because their decision, if it had been 8-4 for life, that might have taken some of the wind out of their sails. Given some of the nature and what appears to be this prosecutor, my guess is that they are kind of emboldened by the fact that it was 8-4 for death.
BLITZER: Paul, that jury foreman in that interview we just saw, he also said he felt sympathy for Arias against the aggressive style of the prosecutor. You're a veteran prosecutor. Was it a mistake to go at Arias so aggressively?
PAUL HENDERSON, VETERAN PROSECUTOR: Well, I think you can't hold back in a case like this. You got to give the jury everything that you've got and you know, you're working really closely with these facts. It's really easy to let your emotions get invested into your cases and present a case as vigorously as you can.
And you have to keep in mind. This is the thing that I think is going to be really interesting, if there is a retrial on the sentencing phase, they are not going to be sitting with the defendant testifying for 18 days.
So that familiarity that came up in the first trial, this is going to be a whole new jury that's not going to have that experience, and that may affect what the outcome is in terms of what the final vote and decision is going to be from a new jury.
BLITZER: Good point. Mark, another thing the foreman said that I found interesting is that he felt Arias' 18 days on the stand actually hurt her, because she wasn't a good witness, he said, but you would think it must have helped her at least somewhat, because they weren't able to sentence her to death. What do you think?
GERAGOS: Look, if there is -- if you wanted to design a set of facts where you would get the ultimate punishment, this would be the set of facts. So this was clearly an uphill battle. Paul, as good a prosecutor as he is, just gave a great defense of the prosecutor in this case because this prosecutor was so over the top.
And so ridiculous in some of that first couple days of cross- examination that exactly what the foreperson said is what I was thinking at the time, is all you're going to do in a case where she's trying to get out there that she's being abused by some male and then you get up there and start to abuse her and she is timid and she kind of takes it, I thought was a massive miscalculation and blunder.
Having said all that, you know, she was up there for 18 days and what happens in every criminal trial, Wolf, when you put your client, the defendant, on the stand, then everything that transpires before that becomes almost irrelevant, because all the jurors are going to talk about then is what did the defendant say?
It shifts the whole focus. It shifts the whole calculus of the trial itself. In this case, I think that it resonated with four people. We don't know what the gender was of those four, but I think I can make some predictions.
BLITZER: We'll see what happens in the next few weeks. There's going to be a little hiatus for the time being. Thanks very much, Mark Geragos, Paul Henderson.
Just ahead, the tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma killed hundreds of horses. Hundreds more were hurt. We're going to show you the battle now to save them.
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BLITZER: As I saw this week, Moore, Oklahoma has lost so much, 24 lives, thousands of homes, entire schools. Here's one more measure of the devastation. Moore sits in horse country and tonight, many breeders and trainers and others who love these majestic animals are grieving over their losses. Here's Gary Tuchman.
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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Painful lacerations cover Duke's body as he gets treated by the veterinarian at a horse hospital only a couple of miles away from where the tornado came through. Hundreds of horses were killed and hundreds of others injured in the Moore, Oklahoma twister, according to the doctors and staff at this hospital.
JOE BOECKER, VETERINARIAN: It's horrific but you have to go to a different place. You can't be in an emotional state. You have to just be in that place where there's no emotion there at all. You know what has to be done. You have to do what has to be done and you can't be thinking about the what-ifs. You make a decision and you live with it. You triage and go on.
TUCHMNA: Duke has a wonderful temperament, but very serious injuries. In addition to the lacerations, he also has a broken rib. Doctors are doing the best they can to try to save his life. They're working hard to take care of Samantha and Nancy, both covered with lacerations, too. Vixen has lacerations on her face and Dixie does also.
(on camera): Samantha and Nancy are mother and daughter. Nancy as you can see was also seriously hurt. She's only about 60 days old.
(voice-over): The tornado tore through this fertile horse country. (on camera): So your horses lived here and you lived here, too, in an apartment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.
TUCHMAN: You live with your horses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We live with our horses.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Randy Weidner and Lindsey White are racehorse trainers, racing these horses at Oklahoma's Remington Park and Minnesota's can Canterbury Park. These are pictures they took of the tornado coming through the apartment and barn they rented. They wanted to evacuate their horses but couldn't do it fast enough. When they came back, the barns were destroyed and all 12 of their racehorses were killed.
RANDY WEIDNER, RACEHORSE TRAINER: As soon as we get dressed we come out, give them breakfast, then we go in and eat.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Tell me your favorite horses.
WEIDNER: Corona.
TUCHMAN: I'm so sorry to both of you.
WEIDNER: She was a filly, we saw her run for her first time last year and we saw a lot of potential in her. We went and bought her.
TUCHMAN: She was like a daughter to you.
WEIDNER: Yes. She was --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In every sense of the way.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): This was that horse, but not all is lost here. These fields will be cleared and Duke and the other injured horses will hopefully be back on them recovering along with the rest of Moore, Oklahoma.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Gary is joining us live from Moore. Gary, how did the horses end up at that facility?
TUCHMAN: Wolf, doctors and volunteers drove all of the neighborhoods here in Moore looking for horses who were by themselves, who were injured, then brought them to the hospital. That leads me to the amazing story of Samantha and Nancy, the two horses I just showed you. They did not know they were mother and daughter. They came at two separate times to the hospital. They only realized that they were a mare and foal, mother and daughter, when Nancy started nursing with Samantha.
BLITZER: These stories are so, so powerful. Gary, thanks very, very much. A British fighter jet scrambles to intercept a flight from Pakistan. What police now say was happening on board. That's next.
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BLITZER: There's a lot happening tonight. Susan Hendricks joins us with the "360 Bulletin" -- Susan.
SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the decision to seek a search warrant for Fox News reporter James Rosen's private e-mails reached the highest level of the Justice Department. Now, a Justice Department official tells CNN Attorney General Eric Holder was personally involved in that decision.
British police arresting two men on suspicion of endangering an airplane after an altercation with the flight's crew. They were flying from Pakistan to Manchester, England. The situation was serious enough for authorities to scramble a fighter jet to escort the flight and divert it to an airport near London.
The mayor of Toronto denying that he smokes crack cocaine, he was responding to media reports that he was caught on cell phone video inhaling from what appears to be a glass crack pipe.
Sad news here, 18-year-old Zach Sobiac whose music video inspired millions on YouTube died of bone cancer. In the last few weeks, the popularity of his song "Clouds" skyrocketed along with donations to his favorite cause. You're listening to it here, the Children's Cancer Research Fund. He touched so many lives and his message really was you don't have to find out you're dying to start living. That song really kind of says that. It touched so many.
BLITZER: Beautiful song, maybe we can just listen to it a few seconds of it.
Susan, thanks very much. That does it for this edition of 360. "Manhunt," an amazing inside look at the search for Osama Bin Laden, starts right now.
