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House Explosion in Washington State; Norovirus Hits Cruise Passengers; Gingrich's Future After "Super Tuesday"; Bishop Eddie Long Apologizes; Preventing Teachers from Cheating; Fatal Highway Crash; Bombing in Kandahar; Flooding in Australia; Hospital Refuses to Operate

Aired February 05, 2012 - 19:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you so much for joining us.

We're going to begin tonight with new developments in Washington State where authorities have just confirmed that the victims in a home explosion are in fact Josh Powell and his two young sons. You'll remember his wife, Susan Powell Cox, went missing back in 2009. He has been the lone person of interest in her disappearance.

I'm going to talk with CNN -- talk "Law and Justice" with Holly Hughes here in just a minute. She's a criminal defense attorney.

But first I'm joined on the phone by Pierce County Sheriff spokesperson Ed Troyer who has new information for us. What do you know, Mr. Troyer?

ED TROYER, SHERIFF PIERCE COUNTY SPOKESPERSON (via telephone): Well, at 12:15 this afternoon there was a report of a fire. A social worker was bringing the kids for a visit with Josh from a foster care network and she dropped them off as she had before. In this particular occasion he brought them in and locked her out and within a minute the house was fully in flames.

We totally believe the fire is intentionally set, burned very hot, very fast, fire department was there within a few minutes and unfortunately when they got in there they found three bodies, the two children and Josh.

And we believe it's the three of them and they're all deceased. We need to confirm that with the medical examiner's office but there's nothing that tells us it's anybody else but the three of them. And he has since sent out some e-mails and texts, we understand, admitting his complicity in what happened today.

It's very unfortunate for you know what (INAUDIBLE) police, because they put so much work into this and our detectives who are really, really close to this kids and have worked and -- just not how we wanted it to end.

LEMON: I have to ask you this, Mr. Troyer because the information that you just reported and we're also -- this is not CNN's reporting so I'm going get the information and I'm reading it now from an e-mail that I've got. It says that there was an e-mail that went out supposedly from Josh Powell that said "I am sorry, good-bye," and as you were saying -- did you -- can you tell us about that? Do you know anything about that?

TROYER: Well, we have -- we have that e-mail. It's been forwarded to us as well. We're still investigating what the source of that e-mail is. There's nothing that tells us it wasn't from him and the probability it is.

But we still have part of this fire burning here. It burned so hot; they're still putting it out. And our detectives and our arson people are here doing what they can and we're working on the scene right now. But we do have detectives checking out whether that e-mail came from him or not.

The probability is that it is -- it is from him because what happened is exactly what happened here. I mean, this fire was intentionally set. And it burned very hot. We're lucky that no other houses next door or nobody else was hurt. It's just really unfortunate that the two boys were involved in this and he took them with him, which just makes this all pretty sick out here.

LEMON: Yes I just -- I can imagine. And as well as our viewers who were watching --

TROYER: Yes.

LEMON: -- and it's been going on for a long time.

TROYER: Right, yes.

LEMON: Police are trying to figure out what happened with Susan Powell.

Let me ask you this, there's also reporting -- again not CNN -- saying that Josh was upset after being ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation recently. But --

(CROSSTALK)

TROYER: Yes there was -- there were some court hearings this last week and he is trying to do custody and it was determined that the kids would stay with Susan's parents and that he needed to go through some different type of evaluations and counseling.

And -- but the -- you know the supervised visits were to continue and there was no warning or he has not told anybody that this is part of the plan or he was going to do this. The kids have been here for visits before without a problem.

And in this particular case -- I mean this is all on him. He set this up. He did it. He is the one who started the fire and didn't tell anybody. We're in fact just now informing his parents. And I'm sure a lot of family members, people are learning this from the media because it became so big and so -- so -- such a big incident so fast that it was reported what was going on here before we were able to notify everybody.

LEMON: And you just spoke to his family to let them know.

TROYER: Yes. We spoke to all of the family and the Utah police, West Valley and everybody that we can to let them know what's going on.

You know it's their case. We've been in support with them on the Josh Powell case and through that obviously arrested Josh's dad here for what everybody knows was all the child pornography. And we were continuing to work that with the help of the West Valley.

So you know our hearts really go out to the West Valley Police Department they put so much work into this. And our guys are just devastated here and our detectives that have worked with them that it ended this way.

LEMON: Mr. Troyer, I want to ask you this. So as far as you know, it is just one e-mail with the three -- I think it's just a three word e- mail that you are aware of, right. Did you say tweets?

TROYER: Well, you know we're seeing the same thing you're seeing.

LEMON: The tweets?

TROYER: We're seeing the same thing you're seeing, we -- we do have that e-mail. Who it came from and how it got out there is yet to be determined. But we believe that --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: So -- but what I'm trying to figure out is what you have, what you've seen is just one e-mail because initially I think you said e- mail and text. You just seen one e-mail --

TROYER: Yes, I know what I said is, I don't know whether it was an e- mail or text.

LEMON: Ok.

TROYER: I'm just seeing the writing, I don't know which one and how it came -- how it came to be.

LEMON: And that's the only thing -- there's nothing that says anything about Susan or -- or anything like that --

TROYER: No, there is nothing. We have no information like that. And that will be -- that -- and if we do get information like that it will go to Utah, and it's their case and they'll be the one to talk about that.

LEMON: Thank you. We appreciate you joining us.

TROYER: Ok.

LEMON: Ed Troyer, County Sheriff Spokesperson there.

Holly Hughes, criminal defense attorney here, a former prosecutor; what's your take on this? The dad arrested for -- accused of child pornography.

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right.

LEMON: Now you have him with this and their believing, as he said, this was -- this -- this was his doing. They believe he set this up already.

HUGHES: It's an intentional act and they are basing it on the evidence. You know this -- he was the lone adult in that house. He managed to snatch the children inside, close the door and lock it so that the social worker who was there to supervise the visit could not get in.

The social worker immediately reported, "I tried to get back in because I smelled gas, I was unable to do so." The next thing we know, big explosion.

And what this boils down to, Don, is that Josh Powell hated Susan's parents more than he loved those boys. Because when he got ready to take his own life he took those children with him because they were the ones who had custody. And he hates them more than he loves those children. And the saddest part is now we may know what happened to the two young boys but we will never know what happened to Susan and that's the torture and that's a sick mind. That's a criminal mind.

LEMON: So -- if he, so you're -- what you're saying, you believe that he knew something about Susan's disappearance.

HUGHES: Absolutely. And I think because the children were getting older, because they were more removed from the tragedy, it's been about two years since she disappeared, I think they were starting to verbalize. And maybe he got a little scared of what those kids were saying now that they felt safe in grandma and grandpa's house.

LEMON: These poor kids, poor kids.

HUGHES: Yes.

LEMON: But listen, this -- this was a disturbed family.

HUGHES: Yes, absolutely. There were a lot of reports we know that Josh Powell's father that was arrested for child porn had put the moves on Susan, had made sexual advances to her, had even stolen her underwear from her drawer. And that she had reported this, and said, "You know I'm not comfortable with this man, he makes me very nervous."

So what we're seeing is a family that had a lot of very disturbing patterns, you know, and now some criminal behavior on both of them. It's what we see. You know the father and Josh Powell.

LEMON: Just because you can't have the children doesn't mean you should --

HUGHES: That's exactly right. Absolutely.

LEMON: Right. Oh boy, all right. Holly, thank you. We appreciate you, as usual.

HUGHES: Absolutely.

LEMON: All right, let's move on now to Florida where hundreds of people on-board two cruise ships this weekend were hit with the norovirus infections. Nearly 500 passengers aboard the Ruby Princess and Crown Princess ships arrived in port suffering from stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting.

Well, the response by the cruise, the ship's -- ship's crew got mixed reactions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No accommodations made for how horrible it was. Nobody from the crew bothered to say they were sorry --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes it seemed a little overdone. Because you had to sterilize your hands as soon as you went in to ate and then once you sterilized it, they still wouldn't let you touch it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they did an excellent job; told you not to touch any surfaces. So that left me hugging my wife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Norovirus spreads easily and crews disinfected the ships while CDC investigators searched for a cause of the outbreak.

Mitt Romney wins the Nevada caucuses but what's his ticket to winning the White House? We're going to talk about the rumblings of a Romney- Rubio ticket.

Plus, scandal-scarred mega church Pastor Bishop Eddie Long says he is sorry for an act many Jews found offensive. We'll explain straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Here's a quick campaign catch-up for you. Mitt Romney took the Nevada caucuses Saturday. Can anyone stop his momentum? Newt Gingrich who came in second still believes he can win the Republican nomination.

So, here's what he said today on "Meet the Press".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Governor Romney is running a campaign that he thinks is right for him. I don't -- I don't happen to think it's a very good thing to do. I'm very proud of the fact that the counties that I carried in Florida, the vote was up. The counties he carried the vote was down.

In South Carolina we set an all-time record for turnout. I'm going to be running a campaign of big ideas, big solutions. I'm trying to draw people into politics not carpet-bomb them out of it. We just have a fundamental disagreement about the responsibilities of somebody running for president should have to the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDIE TAYLOR, POLITICAL ANALYST/CULTURAL CRITIC: Yes.

LEMON: Political analyst Goldie Taylor joins me now to talk about the challenge for Gingrich ahead. You predict that he's gone after Super Tuesday. He's gone after Super Tuesday when ten states have Republican primaries.

TAYLOR: Sure.

LEMON: You think -- out of there.

TAYLOR: Well, I think he's out of there in a traditional way. I mean Mitt Romney's goal is to hold him to the south. And Mitt, and you know, Newt has this incredible southern strategy to hold those states. If he's able to do that and hold Mitt Romney under the magic of 1,144 he could take him to the convention.

LEMON: Really. Well -- everyone -- you said in a traditional way because everyone is saying, you know that Newt Gingrich is going to hang on. You know that old, from the movie "I'm like old Dad that --

TAYLOR: Absolutely.

LEMON: -- that he's going to that.

TAYLOR: This truly is the politics of revenge.

LEMON: Revenge.

TAYLOR: And so he is exacting his revenge on Mitt Romney on the GOP --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Can he see it though? Everyone is talking about it. I mean, it -- Republicans, Democrats, everyone is saying that he looks angry, he looks like he's out for revenge, that he wants to get back at Mitt Romney more than wanting to win the presidency. That's what our Will Cain said just less than an hour ago.

TAYLOR: I think that is a huge part of it. I think Will Cain is right about that. But I think that in Newt Gingrich's mind he really is the savior of a nation. That he is meant or intended to be the leader of the free world so he's going to hang on.

LEMON: His downfall is that he is too negative. He does better actually when he is a cheerleader for the future and not the critic of the present.

TAYLOR: That used to be true about Newt Gingrich but today, he's neither good on the present or the future. You know moon blast? Come on.

LEMON: All right, let's look into the possible future maybe when there are colonies on the moon, whatever.

TAYLOR: Sure.

LEMON: Mitt Romney and Senator Marco Rubio. Is that a -- is that possible?

TAYLOR: I think it's possible. You know, given the cynicism out there, if you pick someone who balances the ticket, pick a Latino, pick someone from South Florida, then maybe you can balance the ticket a bit and give Mitt Romney some of those conservative bona fides that he's looking for.

But Marco Rubio doesn't have the widespread Hispanic-Latino appeal that many people think that he has. Cuban-Americans are different ideologically than, you know, other Latinos are and so I think this is going to be -- it's going to be problematic.

LEMON: And are already starting off saying we're not -- we're not jealous of the people when we drive through the rich neighborhoods, we're just saying we're going to join you soon.

TAYLOR: Absolutely. Absolutely.

LEMON: Yes, ok. Interesting. Don't go anywhere because we're going to talk about this. Bishop Eddie Long is back in the news and now he has issued an apology. The controversy when we come back. Goldie is going to talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Scandal-scarred Bishop Eddie Long admits new video of him may be offensive but that was not his intention. A video from YouTube shows him swathed in a Torah as self-proclaimed Rabbi Ralph Messer declares him "king".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH MESSER, SIMCHAT TORAH BELT MIDRASH: He's wrapped in the Word of God. He's sealed by the Blood of the Messiah. He is sealed to come out with a new anointing. The kingship within him, the power within him, he's going to come out. It doesn't matter where you go, nor how you try to attack him. You can't attack him. He's sealed, wherever he works, wherever he turns, the power guards him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Many of you know Bishop Long, mega church pastor in suburban Atlanta who at one point had 25,000 people attending his services. Then some young men from his church sued him for sexual coercion. That lawsuit was settled but this video is unsettling because many say it misuses the Torah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI HILLEL NORRY, SENIOR RABBI, SHEARITH ISRAEL: It's very offensive. A number of people have reached out to me and said how offensive they find it. For a few reasons really, one is the reverence that we show for the Torah. It is not something just to be used or to utilize in some way and to pronounce some kind of coronation ceremony which, well, frankly, just doesn't really exist is pretty deeply offensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: In just days there have been more than 600,000 views of the YouTube clip. Bishop Eddie Long just wrote a letter to the anti- defamation league that starts with the words "I apologize". It goes on to say, "The ceremony was not my suggestion, nor was it my intent to participate in any ritual that is offensive in any manner to the Jewish community. Or any group. Furthermore, I sincerely denounce any action that depicts me as a king for I am merely just a servant of the lord."

We're back now with Goldie Taylor who is not just a political analyst but she's also a culture columnist. You know the community of New Birth very well and you know his congregation.

TAYLOR: Absolutely.

LEMON: It didn't take long for him to apologize. He did apologize. And then Rabbi Ralph Messer, I want to say, the one who anointed Long king, also said that he was sorry in a YouTube broadcast of his sermon Saturday. So take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MESSER: If you only watched that one 10 to 14-minute clip, you can walk away very easily to say, wow, who does he think he is. He's proclaiming Bishop Eddie Long as king. I and Bishop Eddie Long have already discussed this. We in no fashion, form or way are claiming for him to be a king.

What we are saying though, we serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Ok. So what do you make of the apologies and it looks like according to him Bishop Long had no idea what he was getting himself into.

TAYLOR: I think the idea that Bishop Long didn't know what he was getting into was, frankly, laughable. And you know, as a theologian, he should know that a ceremony like this has no basis biblically. In has no basis in Jewish law.

And for this rabbi, who as I understand it isn't even formally recognized, you know, in Judaism as a rabbi is a farce. And to wrap a man in favor and claim that he is somehow absolved of all of the, you know, crimes that he's committed on this community against children I think is most unfortunate about this.

LEMON: And when you -- doesn't the video speak for itself?

TAYLOR: I watched the extended version, unfortunately. And, you know, I'm a proud Christian. A stirring in me hit so deep, it was so utterly offensive, that they would present a sermon that had no basis scripturally.

LEMON: Ok. Let's talk then as just human to human, people. So then if you are -- is this what Jesus and the Lord and Christianity is about, this sort of ceremony and showmanship? That's the whole thing About Bishop Eddie Long and mega churches and all that that people have questions about.

TAYLOR: The Christ that I've come to know is not a showman. And so this kind of boisterous, grandiose showing of faith is certainly something that is eschewed (ph) biblically. And so that's, you know.

You know, the second problem with this is the people of New Birth itself. And you have to ask what kind of influence of manipulation are they under. This is a man who has stripped them of their wealth. He has stripped them of their trust, you know, with just a supreme lack of integrity.

LEMON: I'm just asking the question because this is what -- I am a journalist -- so you don't see me go "Oh, my gosh. You're biased." I'm just asking a question. People wonder why do people continue to go to his church after all of that. Why do people continue to participate when you see things like that, when you have the allegations and on and on and on?

TAYLOR: You can ask that about any cult leader in history, why do people continue to go. The very language "he drank the Kool-Aid" comes from Jim Jones in Jonestown. I mean that kind of thing has been happening throughout history. I think, you know, biblically it says "Many may come in my name."

LEMON: Yes. So this Ralph Messer says I have wrapped many people in the Torah -- never had this sort of backlash before. There's a sound bite of him saying, you know, about that. Should Jews be offended? And I asked a rabbi last night.

TAYLOR: Sure.

LEMON: Do you have it? Let's play it. We'll play it real quick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MESSER: I wanted to bring honor to him. I wanted -- he called me on the phone and said, would you teach me as a bishop the Torah. I said, yes, I would. He said, rabbi, will you mentor me. I said, yes, I will mentor you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Should Jews be offended? The rabbi I spoke to last night said he was offended.

TAYLOR: I spoke to that rabbi last evening and he was absolutely offended. But what he was also surprised about is that some in the Christian community were equally if not more offended by the use of the word "King" as if someone, some human person could be deemed a king in God's kingdom. So I think both communities are equally outraged by this, as they should be.

LEMON: What happens next out there? You don't know -- do you know? People will continue to go --

TAYLOR: I think -- you know, well, I think this ceremony was meant to re-launch New Birth and re-launch Eddie Long. Clearly it failed so he will have to find another pathway back.

LEMON: Thank you, Goldie.

TAYLOR: Thank you.

LEMON: Always interesting. That is very interesting video, to say the least.

TAYLOR: Absolutely.

LEMON: "Remarkable", as the rabbi said to me last night.

Appreciate it.

Florida investigators identify the last three victims in last weekend's massive crash that killed 11 people. Next, a conversation with the aunt of a 15-year-old who lost her immediate family.

But first, this on CNN -- at least 100 educators in Georgia await their fate in a public school cheating scandal that may be the biggest in U.S. history. This and other cheating issues across the country have prompted the Department of Education to take action in an unusual way. Officials are appealing to the public on ways to prevent cheating.

CNN's education contributor Steve Perry shares his thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: I don't know that there's any particular way to stop people from cheating on examinations. The fact that the Department of Education would request our input on what should be done in our schools I think is the best way to do it. I applaud the secretary for reaching out to "both experts", quote, unquote, and parents and other people in the community to ask them for their opinion on a way in which to solve a problem.

I don't think that this represents that the government is out of options. We are the government. It's we, the people. Ultimately, education is a local issue; so local as best served to the parents, students and faculty at that school. So the government, as it were, the federal government, should ask for the opinion of community when it comes to the decisions that will impact their children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Ok. I have some information for you so I hope you're able to write this down. If have you suggestions to help cheating in our schools, visit regulations.gov -- regulations.gov and search for ed- 2012-oese, ed-2012-oese. The Education Department will be accepting your comments and suggestions until February 16th.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Florida investigators identified the last three victims in last weekend's massive pileup. Eleven people were killed when fog and smoke from a brush fire covered Interstate 75 near Gainesville. The smoke reduced visibility to zero. The interstate had been closed at one point, but the Florida Highway Patrol reopened it just before the crash.

At last check, eight of the victims, those injured in the pile-up, were still in the hospital, among them, a 15-year-old girl, Georgia girl, who lost her immediate family in the crash.

Martin Savidge talked to the girl's aunt who had to break that news to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the outpouring of support for the 15-year-old Lidiane Carmo, the Georgia teenager who was made an orphan as a result of that terrible crash on I-75 has been, in a word -- huge. Her condition continues to improve but she still has a long way to go. And I had the chance to sit down and talk with her aunt who has been at the young teen's hospital bedside.

SAVIDGE: Let me ask you first how is Lidiane?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's doing better and she's alive.

SAVIDGE: And that, in the minds of many, is a miracle.

Lidiane Carmo and her family were caught up in the horrible series of accidents that stretched a mile along a smoke-shrouded Florida highway. Lucian Boutin (ph) got the news by phone early last Sunday, her birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was 4:00, 4:20 in the morning on Sunday when my brother-in-law called.

SAVIDGE: In an instant, a family had been destroyed. And it would fall to Lucian and her husband to tell Lydia she had lost her father, her mother, her older sister, her uncle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know she's a strong girl but I never thought it was like that. Just for talk to her and give the worst news we can give to her and how strong she was at the time.

SAVIDGE: Lucian showed me the photos she took of her niece in the hospital which, for legal reasons, we can't share with you. Her face is swollen, black and blue. But it is definitely Lidiane. You did her hair?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I brushed her hair. I make her hair. Polished her nails, too.

SAVIDGE: Even here you can see she's beautiful.

(voice-over): Lucian says it wasn't long before her young niece began to ask questions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first questions she asked, "Where am I going to live now?"

SAVIDGE: With us, was their automatic reply. But adoption here is not certain. You see, Lydia Ann and her aunt and uncle are from Brazil and have been living illegally in the U.S. Keeping them all together, Lucian says, may require a drastic and unwanted step. Taking Lidiane back to a country for which she has no memory.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I have to move to Brazil, I will move. Whenever we can have a safe place together will be the best place for us to stay together.

SAVIDGE (on camera): Lucian says that she hopes it doesn't come down to that. They've been in the United States now for 14 years and they love it here. They also say that Lidiane is an all-American girl.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I want to check your headlines right now. Police in Pierce County, Washington believed that Josh Powell and his two children have died in an explosion at their house. A case worker who dropped off Powell's two children today reported smelling gas but said she was kept from entering the house.

Utah police previously identified Powell as the lone person of interest in the disappearance of his wife Susan Powell Cox. Police said the last time he saw his wife was on a December night in 2009 before he left on a camping trip.

After being slashed by a knife, a North Carolina woman didn't panic. She calmed her attacker with Bible verses. Thirty two year old Lindsey Wood had just arrived home when a man walked into her house and slashed her across the neck with a knife. Shelby police captain Rick Stafford explains what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. RICK STAFFORD, STAFFORD POLICE: She offered her car up as well as her money that she had on her. She actually opened her Bible and was reading bible verses to him, actually invited him to her church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: An hour and a half later Wood's attacker apologized and left. Wood's injuries left her with at least 20 staples in her neck.

As many as nine people were killed when a suicide bomb exploded in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. Witnesses say the blast occurred near a police headquarters. A doctor at a local hospital said at least five of the victims police officers. Afghan president Hamid Karzai called the explosion a cowardly act of terror.

The Pentagon is investigating the death of the highest ranking soldier ever to die in Afghanistan. Brigadier General Terence Hildner died Friday in Kabul province apparently of natural causes. The 49-year- old general was based at Ft. Hood, Texas. He was deployed in Afghanistan to assist the NATO training mission.

Military helicopters are being used to evacuate thousands threatened by record floodwaters in Australia and at least one tragic scene already from the flooding. A woman was swept away minutes after she was able to hand off her seven-year-old son. Hardest hit is the eastern Australian state of Queensland.

Reports of a possible tropical weather system in February? Jacqui Jeras in the CNN severe weather center. What is going on with the weather?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know! This is crazy. It is early February and we are actually talking tropics. It is not tropical storm or even a tropical depression just yet but there's this cluster of thunderstorms we've been watching all weekend long. Just keeping our eye on but now you have to talk about it because the National Hurricane Center has just issued a special tropical weather statement saying they're upgrading the possibility of this becoming more organized.

It's been kind of trying to get its act together today and if it does so I don't think it would be a true tropical storm. It would become likely what we'd call a subtropical system. So it is kind of a hybrid with characteristics of both but the impact will be the same either way it slices. This is bringing in some much needed rain across parts of south Florida and will continue to do so at least for the next 24 hours. All the computer models being run now and bringing in across parts of central or southern Florida, and that's pretty much what we're going to expect. So maybe one to three inches of rainfall here, down towards Broward County, Miami-Dade here, over towards Homestead, you're going to get the heaviest of rainfall from it but we may even get some good rain here into central parts of Florida as well. And this is good news. Because check out the drought monitor here, showing all of Florida is in some type of drought condition to abnormally dry.

In fact, much of South Florida could use a good eight to 10 inches of rainfall to make up for that deficit. We've had a lot of fires burning across parts of Florida so any kind of rain is much needed. So you're saying to yourself is this unprecedented, have we ever had any kind of tropical system before in the month of February? Well, yes we have and it happened on Groundhog's Day back in 1952.

It was a tropical storm, maximum winds around 50 miles per hour. And take a look at the track that it took. Very similar to what we're expecting this one to do. We'll keep our eye on it. Don, back to you.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Jacqui.

Well, residents of Joplin, Missouri, still trying to recover from the massive tornado that hit last year and part of that recovery comes in the form of a new hospital. We'll take you there, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: After being destroyed by a tornado last year, residents are finally saying good-bye to St. John's Hospital in Joplin, Missouri. A ceremony was held last week to break ground for a new hospital and to begin tearing down the old one. CNN i-reporter Bethany Carlisle Scutti takes to us a community trying to rebuild.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETHANY CARLISLE SCUTTI, CNN I-REPORTER (voice-over): I got gown to St. John's Hospital within an hour of the tornado hitting. I had friends working there so I was worried. Looking at the devastation all around and at the hospital building itself it seemed there would be a lot who didn't survive.

Workers were salvaging anything they could, any supplies they could from the hospital to treat the wounded. Doctors and nurses were tending patients in the parking lot and there was already a triage center up and running. The scene was really surreal. In the middle of such a stressful situation I remember everyone was so calm, just taking care what have they had to do. That building that stood there these last eight and a half months looking exactly the same as it did that night. It is finally time for it to come down and time for Joplin to move on to the next chapter.

Crews are using a wrecking ball and specialized grappling equipment to bring down the building on the campus. Normally they'd use implosion for this but that's not really an option here because of the old lead mines that are under the grounded and the possibility of that disrupting nearby structures. Demolition is expected to take about six weeks.

A dual ceremony was held at the beginning of demolition at the old site and a groundbreaking at the new permanent site three miles away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just a way for us to say good-bye to the past and bring some closure, you know, to everything that happened in May. That building, unfortunately, while we have a lot of sentimental attachment to it, it is a sore reminder of what happened.

SCUTTI: The hospital will be named Mercy which is the name of St. John's parent company and it will have two campuses and cost more than $950 million to build. Opening date is set for 2015. (on camera): They're still weighing options on what to do with the rest of the land but one possibility is to build a memorial museum.

CNN i-reporter Bethany Carlisle Scutti, Joplin, Missouri.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Bethany, thank you very much. Coming up next, we'll meet a woman who dedicates her life to the safety of women and their babies. You'll see why she was chosen CNN hero of the year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A new year brings a new group of CNN heroes. Starting next week we will begin introducing you to the class of 2012. But first let's take a look back at Robin Lim whose dedication to the safety of women and their babies has earned her the nickname, Mother Robin. She was your choice for 2011 CNN hero of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Congratulations, how do you feel?

ROBIN LIM, CNN 2011 HERO OF THE YEAR: Full of gratitude.

COOPER: Did you think you might have a chance of winning?

LIM: Of course not. We've helped so many people since 2005. Almost 113,000 people got free medical care and medicine.

COOPER: What does that feel like to start with one person, and then slowly start to build the organization?

LIM: I found that if you have a good idea, and do you it with love, a lot of people want to help you.

COOPER: It was a very personal loss that got you involved in this.

LIM: My sister died, she was pregnant. This was 21 years ago.

COOPER: What was your sister's name.

LIM: Her name was Christine. I feel like she really helps me.

COOPER: You carry her with you still.

LIM: Yes. And I think I carry her baby, too.

COOPER: What kind of an impact do you think this will have?

LIM: The clinic we have in the tsunami zone. That one is really safe. But the clinic in Bali is - it's falling apart. It is too small for our patient care.

COOPER: You are hoping to rebuild the clinic. LIM: We've been saving money for years and we did get a piece of land right in our village so we're ready to build and now we have money to begin.

COOPER: You have $250,000, plus $50,000 so $300,000.

LIM: Yes. That goes a long way in Indonesia.

COOPER: What keeps you going in those dark days when you don't have money and when you don't have support -

LIM: Some days I don't have money but I always have support. Just when you think, how are we going to pay the electric bill, there's always an e-mail that says we're sending money. It is just a miracle every day, just like birth.

COOPER: Congratulations. I'm so happy for you and for the work you're going to do and the lives you're going to save. Thank you. Thank you.

LIM: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, one way you can do more to help the world is by telling us about someone making a big difference in your community. It is easy. Just go to cnnheroes.com. We could end up honoring your nominee and you've just seen the - and as you have just seen, that can have some big results. Go to cnnheroes.com and nominate a 2012 CNN hero today.

New recordings from the moments after the JFK assassination hidden away for decades. Now offering a rare glimpse into the confusion that followed the president's murder. Hear them for yourself. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We have a rare an intriguing glimpse inside one of the darkest days in American history. Thanks to audiotapes hidden away for 50 years. CNN's Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were among the most anxious, gut-wrenching hours in American history. The chaos following president John F. Kennedy's assassination. Everyone, including top administration officials, was scrambling for accurate information. Newly released audiotapes offer fascinating insight into the confusion and the government's response.

Listen to this phone call from White House physician Admiral George Berkeley who was in Dallas to Army Surgeon General Leonard Heaton on where to take the president's body.

ADMIRAL GEORGE BERKELEY, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: In regards to the taking are of the remains of the - President Kennedy and we are planning on having the president taken directly to Walter Reed. Probably Mrs. Kennedy will also be going out there. But we will clarify that later.

GEN. LEONARD HEATON, FMR. ARMY SURGEON GENERAL: Oh, all right.

TODD: But it wasn't clarified. Just minutes earlier Secret Service head Jerry BEHN had called another official with the president in Dallas saying the remains should be taken to another military hospital.

AGENT BEHN, SECRET SERVICE: Arrangements have been made for a helicopter for the Bethesda Naval Medical Center.

TODD: The president was taken to Bethesda. For decades critics said his autopsy was incomplete, mishandled, maybe even part of a conspiracy. I listened to the tapes with historian Max Holland who has a different take.

MAX HOLLAND, AUTHOR "THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION TAPES": The government had no protocol for having an autopsy of a president. It was just never, something no one ever thought would be necessary. They were completely unprepared.

TODD: The tapes were discovered by the Rab Collection, a historical document dealer. They get them from the estate of General Chester Clifton, a top aide to President Kennedy and then donated them to the National Archives. The recordings were made by the White House Communications Agency and include radio traffic from the president's plane Air Force one.

(on camera): Part of the recordings which are not new are still riveting like when is a distraught Lyndon Johnson and his wife get on the phone from Air Force One to console President Kennedy's mother.

LYNDON JOHNSON: I wish to god there was something that I could do, and I wanted to tell you that we were grieving with us.

ROSE KENNEDY: Yes. Well, thanks a mill - thank you very much. Thank you very much. I know you loved Jack, and he loved you.

LADY BIRD JOHNSON: Mrs. Kennedy, we feel like we've just had -

ROSE KENNEDY: Yes, all right.

We are glad that the nation had your son as long as it did.

ROSE KENNEDY: Yes, well thank you, Lady Bird. Thank you very much. Good-bye.

TODD (voice-over): It leaves us all wanting to hear more, but some of these recordings we may never hear. Officials at the Rab Collection say at least two hours of the raw tape are still missing.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: A Los Angeles man needs a kidney transplant or he will die. Next, a moving story about health care colliding with immigration restrictions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A Los Angeles man needs a kidney transplant or he will die. He has private insurance. He can pay for it. He has even found a donor but no hospital will operate on him. Here's Casey Wian with the reason why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-five year old Jesus Navarro's home dialysis machine is keeping him alive for now. But to see his three-year-old daughter grow up he'll need a kidney transplant.

Navarro rose to the top of the waiting list at UC San Francisco Hospital last May but the hospital refused to perform the surgery because of concerns about his ability to afford costly lifelong treatment, Navarro says.

JESUS NAVARRO, PATIENT (through translator): It depressed me a lot. The news they gave us. Because we were so far ahead in line and because of a few papers, we can't do anything.

WIAN: Navarro now has a willing kidney donor, his wife. He has health insurance to pay for the surgery. What he doesn't have is a green card. Navarro is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Last month Navarro lost his 14-year job at Pacific Steel Casting following a Homeland Security Department audit. His insurance will expire soon. A company spokeswoman called Navarro's situation "Heartbreaking. We hope he gets the transplant."

NAVARRO (through translator): You suppose they are here to save lives and that's what they should do. They shouldn't care about our status. Have faith that they are going to change their mind.

WIAN: Privacy laws prevent UCSF from commenting directly on Navarro's case. In a statement, the hospital said, "UCSF does not reject potential transplant patients based on their immigration status. Medicare is a critical link in the safety net for kidney transplant patients. Individuals who cannot access Medicare because of immigration status are at risk of being unable to sustain the organ."

Among the challenges he'll face, a daily regimen of expensive drugs. Supporters have set up a Facebook page and web site to collect donations. Several non-profit groups are trying to help and say that they are talking with a kidney surgeon at another hospital and an immigration attorney.

(on camera): Local news coverage of Navarro's plight also has drawn the attention of border security activists who argue he should return to Mexico to seek a transplant. (voice-over): Navarro says that's not an option because he wouldn't be able to afford a transplant there either.

Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Here are your headlines.

In Syria, the violence is unrelenting. At least 43 people killed today including five children most of them in the city of Homs where hundreds have died in recent days. Opposition groups called for a two-day civil strike starting today to put pressure on President Bashar Al Assad's government. Meanwhile Assad attended prayers at a mosque in Damascus marking the prophet Mohammed's birth. The Syrian government insists the whole crisis has been manufactured.

Now to Egypt where 19 Americans are among 43 people facing trial. It is the latest move in Egypt's ongoing crackdown on non-governmental organizations known as NGOs. Egypt accuses them of illegal foreign funding. Among the Americans facing prosecution, the son of Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is looking to build on his victory in the Nevada caucuses. The next battles take place Tuesday with caucuses and primaries in Colorado, Missouri, and Minnesota. Romney beat Newt Gingrich by about 25 points in Nevada and we're still waiting on the final numbers to come in.

Nearly 500 people on two Florida-based cruise ships are recovering from a stomach virus. CDC inspected the cleaning of both the Ruby Princess and Crowned Princess and is trying to find out what caused the norovirus outbreak. The illness spreads from person to person through contaminated food or water or by touching contaminated surfaces.

A fierce winter system hammering Europe with freezing temperatures and snow but it offered children in London the rare opportunity to dust off their sled. The storm hasn't been as much fun for travelers though. Flights have been cancelled. Trains have been delayed and roads locked up with traffic. The cold spell started a week ago. It's expected to last until at least the middle of the week. Wow. A lot of people have died as well over there because of that bad weather.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here at 10 p.m.. In the meantime, "CNN PRESENTS: TO CATCH A SERIAL KILLER" starts right now.