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Jared Loughner's Court Appearance; Snows in and Iced Over in the South; Miracle Baby in Haiti; Verizon Releases New iPhone; Brisbane Braces for Floods
Aired January 11, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Carol Costello. CNN's big stories for Tuesday, January 11th.
A big winter storm that has a good part of the South on ice is heading North today. Significant snowfalls are forecast for the big cities along the I-95 corridor. For North Carolina today, snow is changing over to freezing rain, and you know what that means -- treacherous roads.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just slick. Slick, combined with a lot of people around here don't understand how to drive in it because we don't get that much snow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had to pull some folks out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. Me and another guy pulled about 10 out so far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody should prepare. If they don't have to go out, don't go out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you going?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back to the house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A wise man.
Frightening pictures from Australia. Floodwaters are sweeping away cars and the people inside of them. Ten people are confirmed dead in this torrent in Queensland state. Dozens are missing. The floods are spreading to Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. Evacuations are under way right now.
Hillary Clinton made an unannounced five-hour stop in Yemen today, the first secretary of state to visit in 20 years. The nation at the top of the Arabian Peninsula is critical in the fight against al Qaeda.
Now on to our main focus, the physical and emotional healing from that tragedy in Tucson. Here's what we know right now. We'll get an update next hour from doctors about the condition of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others wounded in the mass shooting. We'll also hear from the husband of a woman who's still in the hospital and the daughter of a man who died protecting his wife.
Tonight, the community gathers for a memorial mass for the victims. Six people were killed, 14 wounded.
President Obama travels to Tucson tomorrow. Aides say he'll probably attend a memorial service and meet with family members.
And the accused gunman, Jared Loughner, appeared in court to hear the charges against him, including murder and attempted murder.
CNN's Ted Rowlands was in the courtroom for Jared Loughner's appearance before the judge. He joins us today from outside University Medical Center in Tucson.
So, Ted, we all saw Loughner's mug shot. It was taken on the day of the shooting, and he appears to be grinning in the photo.
So you were in the courtroom yesterday. So was he smiling in court, too?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. There have been some media reports that he smirked at one point, but I tell you, I didn't see anything close to that, and I was very close to him.
He seemed very serious. That grin, that disgusting grin that is in that picture, was not on his face when he walked into the courtroom.
He seemed nervous, but he was very intent and he listened to the judge. He was very focused, and he answered all the judge's questions throughout.
Now, keep in mind, he has not, according to law enforcement, talked to them at all. He has not been cooperative at all about what happened, maybe a motivation. He's basically been silent to them.
However, they have been able to talk to his parents. And we got a little bit of insight into what his parents are going through, through a neighbor.
Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell me what other sense you got from them when you spoke to them on the phone?
WAYNE SMITH, LOUGHNER'S NEIGHBOR: When he called up (INAUDIBLE), that he needed help. And it was a loud, "Help me."
He said something about Jared, "Do you need to know what's happening to Jared?" I had seen it on the news. He said, "I know everything" and started crying.
She's in bed and she's just broke down, just a nervous wreck. And he's in there crying, just walking around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Now, we do expect that the family of Jared Loughner will make a statement at some point. Whether it will be a written statement, or if they'll actually say something to the world, we'll have to wait and see. But they do say they will make a statement at some point in the near future. Obviously, that family going through a lot as well.
Here at the hospital, we're expecting, as you mentioned, at the top of the hour, an update on all of the conditions of those injured. We're also expecting to hear from some family members of the injured for the first time. That will be coming up at the top of the hour -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And some of those stories will be touching, because we're going to hear from the daughter of a woman whose husband threw his body on top of her to protect her from the bullets, and he died. It's just the most incredibly sad story. You know? I guess there are many incredibly sad stories attached to this.
Ted Rowlands, we'll get back to you. Thank you.
Classmates at Pima Community College say they knew something was wrong with Loughner. They say he had five run-ins with campus police, blurted out questions unrelated to the class topic, and often mumbled to himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON COOROUGH, LOUGHNER'S FMR. CLASSMATE: I was never afraid for my safety, no. But if I can jump on what Steven (ph) just said, I had a conversation with the professor about just the class in general at the end of the year. And Dr. Samoni (ph) did indicate to me that he did have him removed from the class, and it was because of complaints from a variety of students.
Some of them apparently felt uncomfortable and didn't like his presence in the classroom. So he was asked to be removed from the class.
The first time I was really struck by him was because he used inappropriate reactions to people's emotional content. He would laugh at things that were sad. He just didn't seem to be aware of what was going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, as you probably know by now, the school kicked Loughner out last fall. Officials told him he couldn't return until he had a mental evaluation. And as far as we know, he never did have that evaluation, even though the college, his family, his friends, all of them knew something was wrong. The question now, could they have done something? Would it have mattered?
Later this hour I'll talk to a psychiatrist who thinks he understands, at least in part, what drove the accused shooter to kill. Dr. E. Fuller Tory (ph) will join me in the NEWSROOM.
Snow and ice everywhere. It has crippled much of the South, and now it's time to share. That storm is heading for the East Coast.
Rob Marciano live in Atlanta -- Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here we go. Here we go.
COSTELLO: I heard "Here we go."
MARCIANO: Carol, you're right about that. We thought this thing might go out to sea, but it's going to combine with something else from Ohio, and it could get nasty across the I-95 corridor and places that just recently got hit by a blizzard.
And here in the south, this ice just doesn't want to go away. A live report coming up when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Snowed in and iced over in the South. A lot of roads still are not cleared. Nary a snow truck in sight, and there may not be a snow truck for days.
Flights and passengers are stacking up at Atlanta's Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport, too, which, as you know, is the world's busiest. Thousands of flights were canceled yesterday, hundreds more today.
CNN's David Mattingly is at the airport. Our meteorologist, Rob Marciano, is out about in the city.
Hang with us just a moment, Rob. OK? Because we're going to go to the airport first, where people are probably very miserable.
Hey, Dave, I was on the subway system here in Atlanta. There were lots of people with suitcases going to the airport this morning. Did they get out?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of those people coming to the airport this morning are finding out that they're going to have to wait in line and perhaps be delayed a little bit longer. A lot of them coming here, not knowing if their flights were going to be able to get out today.
In fact, right there is the very end of the line for people who are looking to rebook after their flights were canceled. Now, that doesn't look like a lot of people, but keep in mind, that line goes all the way around to the other end of the concourse here, and it snakes back and forth.
COSTELLO: I think the weather is interfering with David's live shot. So let's head outside and talk to Rob Marciano.
Are you there, Rob?
MARCIANO: I am.
COSTELLO: OK. So, a lot of flights are not getting out of the airport here in Atlanta. Will that situation last all week because of the weather, or is there a light at the end of the tunnel, as they say?
MARCIANO: Well, what they were battling with yesterday was the precip continued to come down. So they had incoming weather on top of the weather that was already there. They had cleared the runways, but they had more freezing precip coming down.
You've got to get, you know, planes deiced in an airport that doesn't de-ice as regularly as, say, LaGuardia or Chicago or Denver. So there's a whole number of obstacles yesterday that aren't necessarily there today and shouldn't be there tomorrow.
But the other issue -- and I don't know if David touched on this -- is that the workers, the ramp workers, are having a hard time getting around. The runways may be cleared, but there's still ice in all the other areas and taxiways that men and vehicles are trying to work around. So there's inherent dangers there, and that slows the whole process down.
I can tell you this -- if temperatures do go above freezing today, they will do so briefly, and then they'll be dropping down back below freezing tonight, and probably stay below freezing tomorrow. But we might get a little sun. You get a little sun on that black pavement, and even if temperatures are below freezing, that will help melt some of the roadways. So we're hoping for that.
But the long-term forecast, for cold not only here in Atlanta, but in other places across the South that have seen remnants or the entire impact of this devastating snow and ice event from Texas, through Louisiana, and all the way up through the Carolinas. And it's all coming together.
COSTELLO: It's all coming together, and it's going to, like, move up the East Coast, and they're going to be in trouble in a couple of days. Right?
MARCIANO: They are. And, you know, we are hoping and there are -- there's evidence that it doesn't blast up and become the monster blizzard that was the post-Christmas Day blizzard, but it's looking pretty strong.
It's going to get energy from parts of the Midwest. Look at all the watches and advisories and warnings that are up. About 30 states have some sort of winter weather advisory. And you have to remember that the winter storm warnings, the most important one are up for the Northeast.
Temps below freezing across the South. There's still some lingering precip, even in north Georgia. But that white you see from Chicago through Illinois, Columbus, Ohio, that's moving to the east to meet up with the energy that's what's left over of this ice storm.
So that will be moving up, and here's the track, just off shore, that keeps everything as snow. And anywhere from four to eight inches in Philadelphia, to 9 to 15 inches in Boston. So that's what we're looking at. And if this thing gets closer and gets stronger than we think, we could be looking at more than that.
Some improvement today, Carol. This is one of the few roads that we saw that actually had some sanders come out yesterday.
Didn't see a whole lot of sanders and plows across Atlanta, as you would imagine. Just not equipped for that. There are other streets that, when I drove here this morning, completely iced over, and any small, minuscule incline seems like Mt. Everest when you're in this kind of situation across the South. I never knew there were so many hills in Atlanta until we get an ice storm.
COSTELLO: I know. It's crazy.
MARCIANO: That's for sure. So it's going to be a slow go -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You talk about the icy roads. We have pictures from I-285, a major highway here. You can see the semis just stopped on the roadway. They cannot go anywhere.
Some of these rig drivers have been sleeping in their trucks for, what, two days now? Because you can't get a tow truck to them.
Go ahead.
MARCIANO: The issue with this 285 is that, you know, the truckers, they can't go right through Atlanta. That's why they built 285. They can't use the 75, 85.
They have to go around the city. So that -- you've got all that traffic, and most of it is tractor-trailers trying to get their jobs done. And that's where you get the jackknifes happening.
And we've had sections, including that one, where it's either shut down or a complete parking lot. As far as the update on the one that goes under the runway, under runway 5, just south of the airport, truckers have been stuck in the tunnel since 4:00 this morning. And GDOT tells us they're working feverishly to try to open up at least one lane and get the truck that's blocking all those guys out of there so they can try to alleviate that situation.
COSTELLO: Yes.
MARCIANO: But the hits just keep on coming here in the South -- Carol. COSTELLO: Well, we'll pray for sunshine, at least a little bit of sunshine today.
Should we go back to the airport and David Mattingly?
OK. Let's go back to the airport and David Mattingly.
David, you froze up there for a second, but you've thawed now. So take it away.
MATTINGLY: Kind of appropriate for the day, wasn't it?
Well, what we're seeing here is sort of what Rob was talking about. I was out on those roads this morning, driving to the airport before dawn this morning. We got into a couple of moments where we thought maybe this wasn't such a great idea.
I saw probably about a dozen cars that were moving on the road at the time, everyone being very careful. But at the same time, we saw dozens of cars off to the side and stranded because of the ice.
Those sort of conditions were keeping employees at home and making it difficult for some airlines to get their flights in the air. And this board up here really tells the story, Carol. And it's also telling the story of the weather across the country.
As Rob was talking about, we're watching this ice storm as it continues to move up to the Northeast. Well, passengers here could be getting caught in a double whammy, not able to get out of Atlanta. Not because of conditions here, but because of conditions where they want to go.
In fact, if you look up right now, you can see that some of the flights to the Northeast, Albany, New York, Allentown, PA., those have been canceled. But strangely enough, Anchorage, Alaska, is moving on time today and departing at 12:05. So, if you're heading to Alaska, you're going to have no problem getting there from Atlanta today.
What we're seeing right now is this world's busiest airport coming back to life as that ice melts, and people seeing some hope as they stand in some of these long lines here, trying to get some information about that flight they need to catch now after their previous flight was canceled. Delta, yesterday, canceling 1,900 flights. Today, canceling 1,400 flights.
Delta telling us, since they are the largest carrier here, they will have a couple of hundred flights in the air today. How many of those people will be the lucky ones to be on it? We're not really sure. We're just going to see how this day goes. And as every bit above freezing temperature that we have right now is going to be a good sign and it's going to continue to improve throughout the day.
So, Carol, let's just keep an eye on it and hope some of these people get home today.
COSTELLO: I hope so. I ran into a man in the hotel, in the elevator. He's been stuck here in Atlanta for two days. He had a huge bottle of wine.
He said, "I'm just going to my room and I'm a little depressed right now." And I understood that.
David Mattingly, thanks so much. We'll get back to you.
Jill Goldberg from the Georgia Department of Transportation joins us live now by phone.
Hello, Jill.
JILL GOLDBERG, GEORGIA DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION: Hi. How are you? I understand that gentleman, too.
COSTELLO: I know. Your life must be crazy right now.
GOLDBERG: Yes. But I'm feeling that the people that are trapped in it are having a lot tougher time than we are.
COSTELLO: So explain the situation for us. The drivers of these rigs, these poor drivers, are just stuck on the highway. They can't go anywhere.
GOLDBERG: Yes. It has been a very stressful situation for them, I'm sure.
The roads were just not ready for those trucks to get on them yet. And when one of them has an issue, it really blocks the whole thing. They've had trouble navigating around. As soon as one of them couldn't move forward, couldn't make the grade, it just started a domino effect, and they piled up so fast.
COSTELLO: But six or seven hours. Some of these truckers have been sitting there for six or seven hours.
GOLDBERG: I know. It's frightening. Isn't it?
COSTELLO: It's frightening. And for a person out of town who doesn't understand what it's like when it snows in Atlanta, they might go, this is just crazy, and why didn't the city better prepare for this? Because it's not like the storm was a big surprise.
GOLDBERG: Right. No, we had plenty of warning.
I do want people to keep in mind though that this actually -- what has happened there is we have over an inch of ice, just a complete sheet of ice over the road there. So that is actually what the situation is on that. And I think that might have confused the truckers as well.
They were anticipating snow, which is fairly easy for them to navigate. They're used to that. But this was an inch of ice, some places almost as much as two inches, and nothing can really travel on that. That's why you're seeing them slide the way they are, you're seeing them jackknife. It's just a very unfortunate situation for them. COSTELLO: Could you have closed down the highway?
GOLDBERG: No. We don't close -- I mean, it's closed right now. Parts of it are closed. Not the part that you were looking at under the bridge there. That part is actually moving now. We've been able to clear that. Our trucks have cleared part and they're moving them out.
But we are closing sections on 258 South below 20 in an effort to clear it. We're having to turn traffic around, turn trucks around. State patrol is assisting us.
We're routing them off and we're not allowing any new traffic to enter on the ramps, which some people were trying to do. So we are blocking it, we're turning around, getting them off the roads. And our trucks are going to get in there and really work that area now. There's no way to work it with traffic on there.
COSTELLO: Understand. So I know there's a shortage of salt. Did you ship any in, in light of this storm coming?
GOLDBERG: Yes. We ordered salt last week. We had salt and other gravel, all our materials brought up from our southern areas.
We moved some supplies around within the districts up here even to make sure it was better positioned. And we've ordered more salt and supplies yesterday. We've been ordering this morning.
We're keeping up with it. We're making sure we're fully stocked on it. We want to be sure we have got enough to get through this, and especially since it looks like the temperature is not going to give us any kind of a break for a few days.
COSTELLO: All right, Jill. Good luck to you.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
COSTELLO: We'll keep our fingers crossed.
Jill Goldberg from GDOT.
A 2-month-old survives days in the rubble of Haiti's earthquake. One year later, the pediatrician who saved her life meets the little girl and her grateful mother. Elizabeth Cohen has this exclusive, touching story for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Haiti, one year after the devastating earthquake. Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of that horror, when a magnitude 7 quake crumbled much of the capital, killing more than 200,000 people and leaving about a million homeless.
While there is noticeable progress in some areas, rebuilding is still slow, despite pledges of millions of dollars in international aid. So much time has passed and there are so many sad stories to tell. But in the midst of all of this bad news, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the story of an amazing little girl named Jenny who survived despite all the odds. I know it sounds cliched, but she really did.
Elizabeth joins us live from Miami.
And Elizabeth, you witnessed this touching reunion of baby Jenny reuniting with the doctor who saved her. What was that like?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Carol, it was such an amazing day yesterday. Really, pure joy are the only words that I can use, because I was there in Haiti when she was brought to the hospital unconscious, and it was great to be there and to watch how she's become a mischievous toddler.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This baby, Jenny Alexis, was nearly dead. Her head and chest crushed, she was stuck in the rubble for four days without anything to drink. Two months old, separated from her parents, all alone.
Amazingly, someone found Jenny and brought her to a hospital where pediatrician Karen Schneider fought to save her. She rushed her to Miami, but had little hope she'd survive.
A year later, that baby once on the brink of death --
JENNY DEVILME, QUAKE SURVIVOR: Baby.
NADINE DEVILME, JENNY'S MOTHER: Baby.
COHEN: Is thriving. Today, she's perfectly healthy.
NADINE DEVILME: Love you, Baby Jenny.
JENNY DEVILME: Mama.
COHEN: Talking, walking, just like any 14-month-old.
NADINE DEVILME (through translator): "It's a miracle," Jenny's mother tells me. "I want to thank the doctors and God."
COHEN (voice-over): Nadine Devilme has thanked God countless times over the year for saving Jenny's life, but she's never met Dr. Schneider to say "thank you."
Then last week, by chance, I got this e-mail from Dr. Schneider, wondering how Jenny was doing. We decided to go see her together in Miami.
COHEN (on camera): Are you excited to see her?
KAREN SCHNEIDER, DOCTOR, JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL: Absolutely. Because she's definitely one of the success stories.
DEVILME: Hello.
SCHNEIDER: Hello. I'm Dr. Karen.
DEVILME: Hello.
COHEN (voice-over): Jenny is taking her afternoon nap when we arrive.
SCHNEIDER: Gosh, she's so big.
DEVILME: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: I was so afraid she was going to die. But she did good.
COHEN: Finally, a year later, Nadine has her chance.
DEVILME (through translator): "I always wanted to meet you," she says. "For me, it's just a great thing to be able to say 'thank you' to you."
SCHNEIDER: Well, you're welcome. You're welcome. She's a miracle baby.
DEVILME: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: Because for almost four days she had no fluid and, yet, she survived. So I've always said God has a special plan for her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: Now, as for the future, the family is allowed to stay in the United States for about another year and a half. Jenny's getting a little bit of physical therapy because her arms were crushed, and they want to make sure that they continue to heal properly. She is doing great and her father already has a job -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, he does have a job. I was just going to ask you what challenges they've had, because, you know, they're in a strange place for a year, they have a baby who's critically wounded.
COHEN: Yes. You know, it's amazing. They really settled in quite nicely.
A group called the International Rescue Committee has helped them get an apartment, helped him find a job. And the mom says she wants to work, too.
Now, she says she's had a little trouble finding a job and child care, an issue any American woman, any American mom can relate to. But all in all, they say they're doing really well.
COSTELLO: So they will go back to Haiti for sure after a year and a half passes?
COHEN: You know, I suppose nothing is for sure. They could always get an extension of their visa. But right now they have a visa until about April of next year.
COSTELLO: It's nice to hear a story with a happy ending.
Thank you, Elizabeth. We appreciate it.
COHEN: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Is that bottom down there? New signs home prices are leveling off and why you may want to call your realtor.
The CNN Money team coming your way next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A lot of experts out there saying it's a great time buy a house. A new study shows that homes in many cities are actually -- well, they're underpriced. It sound good, but is it really?
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: As the nation tries to make sense of the Arizona shooting tragedy, we'll talk to one psychiatrist who believes mental illness could be the key to understanding the accused killer's motive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner is expected to be back in court on January 24th. Loughner, who wore a broad smile for his mug shot, will remain behind bars. A federal judge agreed with prosecutors that Loughner is a danger to the community. He faces two federal murder counts for the death of a judge and a Congressional staff member. He's also charged with the attempted assassination of a member Congress, Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
Well, we may know who might be responsible for this tragedy, our understanding of why is still speculation. One such theory is that mental illness drove Loughner to kill. According to Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, a research psychiatrist, specializing in mental illness, it's very likely that Jared Loughner is exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia. We'll talk to Dr. Torrey in just a moment.
But, if all of this is true, Loughner would not be the first schizophrenic to launch an assassination attempt. In 1998, Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, pleaded guilty to a seven-year string of bombings that killed three people and injured 29. A government psychiatrist diagnosed him as a paranoid schizophrenic. In 1980, Mark David Chapman, another diagnosed schizophrenic, shot John Lennon. And when John Hinkley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, he was found not-guilty by reason of insanity.
We want to be clear here, though, violence is not a symptom of schizophrenia, according to the medical community. It's important to note that an estimated 2.4 million Americans suffer from this disease. So Loughner would certainly not be representative of the average schizophrenic if this is indeed the case.
Dr. E. Fuller Torrey joins me now. He's a research psychologist specializing in schizophrenia and manic depressive illness, and founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center.
Thank you, doctor, for joining us this morning.
DR. E. FULLER TORREY, PSYCHIATRIST, : You're quite welcome, Carol. Nice to be here.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about Jared Loughner. You say that he was most likely schizophrenic.
Why do you think so?
TORREY: Well, I think chances are about 99 percent. He has the classic symptoms of schizophrenia. He meets the criteria. Onset in the late teens and early 20s. He has clearly delusions, bizarre delusions. He also has evidence of changes in his thought processes, disorganized thinking. He also has changes in his emotions, flattening of emotions. So, he meets all the criteria for schizophrenia. I haven't examined him, but if somebody quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, we assume it's a duck until proven otherwise.
COSTELLO: And, you know, we want to be very clear here that the vast majority of schizophrenics are not violent.
In your professional opinion, how dangerous are people with this disorder and what triggers them to be violent?
TORREY: It's a very important point. Almost all people with schizophrenia, almost all people with severe mental illnesses are not violent. A small number, about one percent, will become violent, almost always because they are not being medicated.
There is no evidence at all that people who are on medication are any more violent. There is now abundant evidence that people with schizophrenia or other severe mental illnesses who are not taking medication, a small number of those, about one percent of the total number, will become violent.
And the violence is triggered, usually by delusional thinking. It's not triggered by logical thinking. A lot of people have made a big deal of the political situation in Arizona. That's almost certainly not relevant. It's -- the reason that this young man committed the act has to do with some strange things going on in the brain because of the disease of the brain. And we know it is a brain disease.
COSTELLO: His friends say that he was pretty normal until he got to high school and then they noticed odd behavior. Does schizophrenia usually strike people when they're older or does it develop in childhood? TORREY: Maximum is between 16 and 25. My sister had schizophrenia, developed it at age 17. That's very typical on it. For reasons that we don't understand, it really has a particular age of onset. If you get to age 30 and you don't have schizophrenia, probably you won't develop it.
But the typical onset is almost exactly like it's described for Mr. Loughner, of a slow onset of changed behavior, strange thinking, often hearing voices. Coming somewhere between 17, 18 and the mid- 20s.
COSTELLO: We're taking a look at his mug shot where he's smiling. This has horrified many people.
Was this by design?
TORREY: I think this is also a symptom of schizophrenia. One of the symptoms is that the emotions that people have with schizophrenia are often quite inappropriate for the situation. Clearly in this situation having a smiling mug shot is very inappropriate. And you look at that, you say, well, that's consistent with a schizophrenia thought process.
TORREY: His friends, his family, the community college he attended, all of them noticed signs of mental illness, yet no one went to any kind of authority to report his erratic behavior. And you can do that in Arizona, right?
TORREY: Yes, you can. In fact, the laws in Arizona are quite reasonable, in terms of being able to get people into treatment before they've actually committed a violence act on it. But, no, nobody did. And even if they had, the services in Arizona are very poor. They're among the poorest in the United States. So even if they had tried to, they wouldn't necessarily have been successful.
COSTELLO: So I just want to make it clear to people what somebody could have done in Arizona. They could have reported his erratic behavior to local authorities and then he would be forced to undergo a mental evaluation. But, as we know, that never happened.
TORREY: That's correct.
COSTELLO: And I guess people are looking for answers. So, if there aren't enough facilities in Arizona or in most of the United States to take care of people with mental illness, what's the answer and how can we stop this kind of thing in the future?
TORREY: Well, ultimately it's the governor of the state who's responsible. In Arizona, they have decreased the beds. There's only one state in the United States, Nevada, that has fewer beds for people with severe mental illnesses than Arizona on it. Ultimately the state legislature and the governor of Arizona are responsible and they should be held responsible by all of us.
COSTELLO: Doctor, thanks for joining us this afternoon. We appreciate it.
TORREY: Quite welcome.
COSTELLO: Doctors will update Congresswoman Giffords' condition at the top of the hour, we're talking about the doctors in Tucson. We're also expecting to hear from the families of some of those wounded on Saturday. One is a woman whose stepfather was killed shielding her mother in the attack. Again, live coverage at noon Eastern. That's 10:00 a.m. Tucson time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back. Taking a look at top stories now.
The Gulf oil spill was a foreseeable and preventable disaster. That's what the National Oil Spill Commission says in a final report released today on the DeepWater Horizon disaster. The report spreads the blame between BP, Halliburton and Transocean. It says government regulation failed to keep pace with technological advancements in offshore drilling.
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is sentenced to three years in prison on money laundering and conspiracy charges. DeLay was found guilty in November of illegally funneling corporate money to help elect Republican candidates to the Texas legislature.
And a London judge says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be allow to leave a countryside mansion for a few days to stay in London for an extradition hearing. Assange continues to fight extradition to Sweden on charges of sexual misconduct. In the meantime, he says, look for more secret cables on WikiLeaks.
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JULIAN ASSANGE, WIKILEAKS FOUNDER: Our work with WikiLeaks continues unabated and we are stepping up our publishing for matters related to table gate (ph) and other materials.
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COSTELLO: Members of the Westboro Baptist Church -- you know who they are -- that church in Kansas, they're planning a protest at Thursday's funeral of nine-year-old Christina Taylor Greene, the youngest victim of the Arizona shooting. It's sparking some strong reaction.
Sandra Endo is taking a look at what people are saying online. And, Sandra, this makes you want to throw up. I mean, why?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Carol. As you know, the Westboro Baptist Church has protested funerals soldiers and people who have died from AIDS in the past. And they say they're going to protest little Christina Taylor Greene's funeral because she's Catholic.
Well, there's a whole Facebook movement and ground swelling in the Tucson community called "Angel Action," and people are planning on wearing an 8 by 10 feet angel wings to block out Westboro Church protest signs and show support for mourners.
And, of course, this is sparking a lot of comment and debate on Facebook. Here are what some people are saying.
Jackie Clemens (ph) writes, "These freaking church people want to protest at a funeral of a little 9-year-old girl who died in Arizona Saturday. What the hell is wrong with people in this world?"
John Westmoreland (ph) writes, "I am praying for the survivors and hope all recover. I think the 9-year-old angel is trying to send a message to all of us, it is up to us to understand and act upon it accordingly."
One more, Andy Sutherland (ph) says, "I live in North Carolina so I won't be able to actually be there, but I wanted to show my support for the angels. I think you are all incredible!"
So that's certainly a big Facebook movement and you can check it out online as well. And we'll be keeping you posted, of course, on that Thursday's funeral.
COSTELLO: Yes.
ENDO: Now, Carol, I know you're plugged into everything and this is a big day for Verizon. Verizon's iPhone was unveiled. Yes. It's going to be unveiled to a lot of mixed reaction already. So far, AT&T was the exclusive carrier for Apple's iPhone and the iPhone, well, 70 million were sold since 2007 when it first came out. But complaints of AT&T's network service has really dogged the company.
Now Verizon's really tapping into that market or hoping to. But keep in mind, Verizon's system hasn't been battle tested yet. So, you know --
COSTELLO: Don't bring us down, Sandra. Don't bring us down.
ENDO: It's wait and see. They're still getting in the game, though. That will be good.
COSTELLO: I'm telling you, I know so many people who do not have an iPhone because of AT&T. And now that Verizon is in place, I'm telling you, they will sell millions more.
ENDO: Competition there.
Yes, well, this big guy, one more story, he wants to get rid of the competition, basically. "Playboy" founder, Hugh Hefner, he is buying back his company's stock, putting minority shareholders really out of their misery. He's saying, look, the stock plunged 82 percent since its peak in 1990. They went public 39 years ago, it's not doing well.
So the next strategy for this playboy is expect more branding of "Playboy" and it's name and logo instead of a push towards publishing. So maybe the real crime here, Carol, is if we see kind of like a ball stadium named after "Playboy." We'll see.
COSTELLO: Well, I was going to say that we'll never see that, but you never know these days.
ENDO: You never know. That's right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Sandra.
ENDO: You got it.
COSTELLO: A Republican presidential hopeful comes to Sarah Palin's defense in the wake of the Arizona rampage. Details in our "Political Update."
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COSTELLO: Sarah Palin is getting some support from a potential GOP presidential candidate. Peter Hamby, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," live from the Political Desk in Washington.
What's crossing right now?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Hey, Carol.
Well, yes, Tim Pawlenty is launching a book tour this week. He was supposed to get some media attention from all the political junkies following his potential campaign. Obviously, all the attention in politics right now is on the shooting in Arizona.
So Pawlenty, during this media tour, is getting a lot of questions, particularly about Sarah Palin, his potential rival for the Republican nomination. And he was asked by "The New York Times," what do you think about this crosshairs map that's drawn so much attention.
And Pawlenty, you know, he came to her defense, but he also tried to draw a little bit of a contrast there. This is what he said about that crosshairs map that Palin put up on her website. Quote, "It's not a device I would have chosen to do. Everyone has their style and their own choices." But he also said he doesn't think it's appropriate to kind of jump to conclusions about what may have motivated this shooter in Arizona.
So you're seeing a little bit of contrast setting there in the wide open GOP field.
COSTELLO: I think that's a perfect political answer, don't you?
HAMBY: I think it is. I think it's a good answer for Tim Pawlenty, actually, as he looks to, you know, find a niche.
Speaking of 2012, also today, Rick Santorum, something of a dark horse for the nomination, the former Pennsylvania senator is going to New Hampshire for the eighth time as a potential candidate. He's going to a house party hosted by Ovide Lamontagne. Who is that? He is the former Senate candidate in New Hampshire who narrowly lost the Republican nomination to Kelly Ayotte who's now the senator.
Anyway, he's staying in the mix for 2012, he wants to have a voice in the nominating process. So he's hosting a bunch of Republican presidential candidates for these house parties at his home in Manchester. Rick Santorum is the first to show up and kind of kiss the ring and try to get the endorsement for the 2012. So we'll be watching that, too, Carol.
COSTELLO: Hey, I've heard the weather here in the south is impacting some events in Washington. What's happening with that?
HAMBY: Hopefully, we won't get too much impact in D.C., but in the south the snow in South Carolina, those guys aren't used to getting too much snow. They happen to have a big gubernatorial inauguration tomorrow for Nikki Haley, who will be the first female governor of South Carolina, the second Indian-American governor in the country.
The current governor, Mark Sanford, has declared a state of emergency because of all that snow. I spoke to Haley's folks. They say the inauguration will go on as planned despite the snow. There's a couple of events that are being rescheduled.
But big news in South Carolina, won't be impacted, hopefully, too much by the weather tomorrow, Carol.
COSTELLO: I think you should prepare, Peter. I think the weather's coming there next. South Carolina's not so far away from D.C.
HAMBY: That's right.
COSTELLO: Talk to you later.
Your next "Political Update" in about an hour. And for the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNPolitics.com.
Floodwaters rising and thousands more homes at risk in Australia. We'll hear the latest from a city terrified of going under.
And here's what we're working on for the next hour of NEWSROOM.
We're waiting for word about a wounded congresswoman. We're staked out at the Tucson hospital where Gabrielle Giffords is still fighting for her life. The hospital is expected to give an update on her condition at the top of the hour.
And you can add beating cancer to Michael Douglas's list of accomplishments. We've got details on the Oscar winner's new lease on life.
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COSTELLO: The death toll in flood-ravaged Queensland, Australia has risen to ten. Rescuers found another body today while searching for survivors. Heavy torrential rainfall has battered Queensland for weeks now. It's overflowing rivers and creeks and washing away everything in its path. More than 70 people still missing. Most of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone.
And now panic is spreading into neighboring Brisbane, that's Australia's third largest city. The Brisbane River has broken its banks, and officials are warning people to brace for the worst flooding in almost 40 years.
CNN's Phil Black is there.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The state of Queensland was preparing to move from crisis to recovery when the situation deteriorated sharply. The death toll is expected to rise from flash flooding in the town of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, with dozens of people still missing.
Locals describe a wall of water that rushed through the town with pretty much no warning. Cars were tossed about, buildings and structures moved, people swept away. And they scrambled onto roofs, grabbed onto whatever they could, just to survive.
Now, the water from that flood event is partly responsible for what is going to be the next stage in this state's flood crisis. The state capital, Brisbane, is now under threat. The Brisbane River has broken its banks. More than 30 suburbs have been warned that they will be flooded. That's a total of more than 6,000 homes.
Understandably, locals are feeling a little anxious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not too frightened. You know, I think probably tomorrow I will be if we lose power. There's no electricity, things like that. And then you can't get out of your house and we're more isolated. Then it will be a bit more scary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 1974, it was a mad mixture of caravans and stock. When I say stock, I mean animals, swimming animals, and fractured homes and all manner of debris. We're seeing a little bit of that now.
BLACK: In 1974, Brisbane suffered a major flood that killed 14 people. This time the flood levels are expected to be even higher. The forecast for the coming days is still more heavy rain.
Phil Black, CNN, Brisbane, Australia.
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