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Five People Dead, Dozens Hurt in Midwest Twisters; Three People in Brazil were Arrested for Cannibalism; President Obama Attended the Summit of Americas Held in Colombia; Obama-Santos Press Conference

Aired April 15, 2012 - 17:00   ET

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

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN HOST: The plane was set and trapped for weeks at the site of the legendary sinking ship but instead scrambled the help of a French sailboat that was in trouble. And all is well.

It is 5:00 p.m. on the East Coast, 2:00 p.m. on the west. I'm Gary Tuchman in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Millions of Americans from Texas to Wisconsin are being warned to be on guard as we speak, as severe weather threatens the region today and tonight. And this is what they're worried about. Another tornado outbreak. One hundred twenty two suspected twisters tore through four Midwestern states this weekend, killing five people. Dozens of people were hurt. Hundreds of homes were damaged, and destroyed.

A live report in a hard-hit town in Oklahoma is just ahead. But here is how one survivor in Iowa described the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY HILL, LOST HOME TO TORNADO: You know, it was no straight wind, it was a regular twister. The wind was just blasting out and out and out. The bathroom, like they always say, and while we got here, the roof went here. The good Lord was blesses us. He sure was. It's about more than you can bear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: We're glad Larry Hill is OK. The U.S. coast guard searching for four people right now, missing from a yacht that ran aground during a race in San Francisco. The coast guard said a massive wave hit the eight-person crew aboard the yacht called low-speed chase. Then hit the rocks near the Fairyland islands, that is about 25 miles due west of San Francisco. We're told one person died, three others were rescued.

Deadly attacks in the capital of Afghanistan. Insurgents targeted several key areas of Kabul, including the embassy area, presidential palace and the parliament. The Taliban claimed responsibility saying that it's the start of what they called their spring offensive. Afghan officials say 19 insurgents though were killed.

Ryan Crocker, who is the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, told our Candy Crowley the attacks may have been orchestrated by the Haqqani network. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN CROCKER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban are really good at issuing statements, less good at actually fighting. My guess, based on previous experience here, is that this is a Haqqani network operation in the Pakistani tribal areas. Frankly, I don't think the Taliban's good enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Now, take a look at these pictures. That was the Grandview palace condos in fall view, New York, in the Catskills Mountains. This is the second weekend in a row a Catskills landmark has been destroyed by fire. Last week, it was the Tamarack Lodge in Pollster County, New York. The building is probably best known as the inspiration for the resort featured in the movie "dirty dancing."

Halifax, Nova Scotia, held a memorial service to remember the moment the "titanic" went down 100 years ago this very day. People gathered at a cemetery where more than 100 people who were aboard the ill-fated ship are buried. The service was part of a weekend of events remembering the "titanic."

Back now to the devastating aftermath of this weekend's massive tornado outbreak in the Midwest. Twisters touched down in four states. Oklahoma was one, Iowa two, Nebraska three, and Kansas four. All the fatalities were in one town, the town of Woodward, Oklahoma.

My colleague CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is in Woodward right now. He joins us live now live.

Rob, how is it going there? When we talked to you before, there were a lot of work going on to make repairs. People are just so sad and forlorn.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Feverish activity up until about ten minutes ago then we have a little shower comes here, actually with a little bit of hail as well. We're starting getting intermittent showers. So, that's a - I gave the worker at one point a couple of dozen of friends and family and neighbors helping out. This home that was really just crushed by the tornado that came through here. A well-built home, 2,800 feet, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a family that's lived here for 19 years. We talked with the man of the house, who actually had an injury to his head. His grandson's head injured as well. His wife and son were in that rubble. But they managed to survive. How amazing is that.

The storm itself came from this direction. Talking to some of the weather folks here, the national weather service folks who are surveying the damage, they say at least an ef-2, but in some cases probably like this, they are saying ef-3 damage. So, it was a narrow tornado but it was a strong tornado for sure, and as you mention, five fatalities here in Woodward.

There's a 12 counties in the state of Oklahoma that are under a state of emergency. So, this state, especially the western part of it, certainly very, very hard hit by this storm. This is one of three storms that came through this town during the day yesterday. Two of which we actually chased during the afternoon, up near the Kansas/Oklahoma border. And they dropped tornadoes up there as well. So, well organized structures.

But the last one, Gary, came at night, after midnight. After when some cases some of these -- the people here didn't have power and didn't necessarily get the warning. So that's a bit of an issue as well and one of the reasons that we see 29 injuries on top of those fatalities.

But as of now, or as of earlier today, most everybody was accounted for.

TUCHMAN: Incredible, Rob. Ef-2, when you see the immense damage there. And it just shows you how catastrophically powerful ef-4s and ef-5s are.

But I want to ask you. You were talking about the five people who died in town, two of them children, how are the people in that small town dealing with the tragedy?

MARCIANO: You know. You've been in this situation, Gary. Every time I'm struck by the resilience of the folks here. Certainly you come across people who are incredibly emotional, the ones that have personal attachments to those who are injured or killed. But those that survived, and even with injuries, and complete loss of their property, it's amazing to see the spirit and see the community come forward and help those people that got hit more than others.

I'll say this about this particular strike. It was one of those cases where, you know, the house on one side of the street, completely blown away, the house on the other street virtually untouched. So there are people here who have the where withal to help those who didn't fare as well -- Gary.

TUCHMAN: Rob, very nice job today telling the victims' stories.

Rob Marciano, coming to us from the small town in Oklahoma, who suffered so much.

In Iowa now, take a look at these pictures. We are going to show you from a tiny town also. This is Thurman, Iowa. A tornado leveled much of a town about 300 people. Listen as one homeowner describes the terror of this storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLI PERRIN, LOST HOME TO TORNADO: We heard the sirens, probably five minutes before it really picked up. So we were trying, OK, get the kids downstairs. It was more like, my God, we've got to get downstairs. You know, the windows were blowing out. And it was just panicky. There's just glass everywhere. There was stuff off our wall. There's grass just plastered. We had a house fire and lost our first house. It's like, really? I don't think I can do this again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) Let's bring in Jacqui Jeras in the weather center. Jacqui, is the threat over now?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, for those folks it is, but the threat is just beginning for places like Minneapolis, St. Paul. A tornado watch has been issued across much of southern Minnesota, extreme northern Iowa and then west central parts of Wisconsin.

We want to show like tower cam we have here from the affiliate KR-11 TV in the twin cities, and there you can see downtown Minneapolis. There you can see the Mississippi river, 72 degrees in April for you, Minnesota. Tomorrow, we're going to be seeing that big temperature drop after the storms move through tonight. You'll only be seeing temperatures in the mid-40s for a high. So, a big change there. In fact, even northern Minnesota up towards international falls into the arrowhead will likely see some snow before tonight is over and done with.

Now, we're also keeping our eye on a line of thunderstorms here across parts of Arkansas and into central parts of Missouri. We've had isolated severe storms within this line, producing winds around 60 miles per hour. So that can cause a lot of damage, and the whole threat area that we're going to be talking about through this evening and into tonight stretches from the upper Midwest all the way down to the gulf coast. So, even Houston can see some strong storms, as well as St. Louis, and maybe even Chicago and Milwaukee late tonight. So we'll continue to monitor that situation.

And the storm continues into tomorrow, too, by the way, across parts of the Ohio valley and eastern great lakes. Just circling back for the big outbreak from yesterday, we had tornadoes on Friday, too, by the way, this map shows you all of the rotation that we saw and thunderstorms the last two days, and really gives you a picture of how many large long track tornadoes that were out there -- Gary.

TUCHMAN: It is the middle of tornado season, and Jacqui, we're only a month and a half away from hurricane season, June 1st.

JERAS: I know.

TUCHMAN: So more on that. A lot more on that a little bit later. Jacqui, thank you very much.

Today has been a very bad day in Afghanistan. Insurgents attacked Kabul's embassy areas, and there was a fire at the parliament. There was explosion at the parliament and central palace. More are coming up.

And two women killed in Brazil. And police say this is a horrifying story, that they may have been the victims of cannibals. Those stories are coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: In Afghanistan, our crew has heard five explosions in the past few minutes. And this comes as deadly gunfire and explosions rocked an exclusive area of the capital Kabul earlier today.

Afghan officials say at least 19 insurgents were killed. And that one of the targets was the second vice president of Afghanistan. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Our Mohammed Jamjoom is live in Kabul. He joins us on the phone because right now it's unsafe for him to be outside. Mohammed, what is the latest?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Gary, just out there - in fact, just in the last few minutes we've heard even more very loud blasts here in central Kabul. At this point we've heard about 15 in the last ten minutes or so. They do sound close. We were told just a couple of hours ago that there were still attacks going on in central Kabul.

A spokesperson for the interior ministry said there insurgents out - there was another blast just now. I don't know if you heard it or not, but we were told a couple of hours ago that there were insurgents holed up in abandoned buildings in this part of the city close to ISAF headquarters and Afghan security forces were launching grenades into those buildings trying to get the insurgents out of those buildings so they could arrest them. But we've not heard an update on the status of that. But what we've heard in the last few mists clearly suggests these operations are far from over and these attacks indeed are still going on.

The attacks started around 1:15 p.m. local today. It's now just about 1:15 a.m., so 12 hours, and it seems the attacks still going on. A very, very worrying day, very chaotic day, very volatile day for Afghanistan. Four different provinces attacked. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. But it is here in Kabul, in such a heavily fortified, heavily guarded district where there are indices where suppose to the presidential palace where there are diplomats, ISAF, the NATO headquarters that has taken so much damage today.

And although, U.S. officials and NATO officials and Afghan officials have praised the response of the Afghan security forces here today in repelling these attacks, the fact is, it seem the attacks are still going on. And it makes people question how were these insurgents able to infiltrate such a heavily fortified area of the city -- Gary.

TUCHMAN: Well, obviously Mohammed, this is a frightening time for you and everyone else in the capital. I think it is important point for our viewers, yes, we are all hearing -- we're all used to hearing about violence in Afghanistan. But it's relatively rare to have such prolonged attacks in the capital of Kabul, correct?

JAMJOOM: Absolutely. We've seen in the past year and a half that the Taliban and the Haqqani network have stepped up their attacks against these very heavily fortified parts of the city. They've gone after diplomatic missions and government facilities. But to have an attack they sustained, it is rare.

Several months ago you had the siege of the American embassy. That was a very long siege. That lasted for many, many hours. But it's been a while since we've seen something like this. And the fact that 12 hours later, we're still hearing very loud blasts, it is very concerning for the citizens of Kabul.

And it was so chaotic in this neighborhood today, we saw civilians running, trying to take cover, and Afghan security forces were doing the best they could to try to respond to these attacks -- Gary.

TUCHMAN: I mean, have you experienced something like this in Kabul, the capital before, as a reporter, Mohammed?

JAMJOOM: No, I haven't, Gary. I've been here when there have been attacks close to central Kabul, but - but nothing like this and nothing as sustained. It's certainly a risk, this kind of volatility can happen here very quickly. And clearly, the insurgents trying to demonstrate that they have reached, they have the means to carry out these attacks, and really announce that they are ready to keep their campaign going. And that they are targeting Kabul.

But no, this is the first time that I've experienced something so sustained in the capital. It is very worrying. We do want to make sure that the team is safe. That's why right now we're not doing this live shot for you. But yes, this is the first time we've experienced something quite this sustained here in the capital - Gary.

TUCHMAN: Well, you're live on the telephone, very valuable, although troubling information. Please take care of everyone with our crew, and we wish you the best, Mohammed. Thank you for updating us in this troubling situation.

Modern-day cannibalism. Three people, under arrest in Brazil. Police say they killed women -- this is just an unbelievable story, but it's a true story. They used their flesh to make stuffed pastries. They may have sold them to people. We'll have the story with our correspondent in Brazil right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: The next story comes with a warning. It is not for the queasy. With that warning, here we go.

Three people in a Brazilian jail today, these three people are charged with modern-day cannibalism. To be specific, Brazilian police claim the trio killed at least two women and used their flesh to make stuffed empanada. It is unbelievable story. It really is unbelievable.

CNN international correspondent Shasta Darlington is following the story. Shasta joins us on a phone from Sao Paulo.

Shasta, thank you for joining us and what do we know about these three, and what the heck is going on there?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Gary. In a nutshell, they are accused of murder, kidnapping and you said it, cannibalism. I know it's unbelievable, but the suspects are a 51- year-old man, his wife and his much younger mistress. And according to police, they belong to a cult that wanted to purify the world and reduce the population. And they say they were following the instructions of the voices in their head. So they basically lured young women to their house in northern Brazil by promising a job as a nanny. And it was there that they killed them, chopped up their bodies, and this does get pretty gruesome. They even ate some of the flesh and internal organs.

Now, police say they've confessed to the crimes. And one of the suspects (INAUDIBLE) even wrote a book basically telling the story of one of the murders, and the cannibalism. It was called revelations of a schizophrenic.

Now, police were first alerted when the suspects tried to use a credit card belonging to a victim who disappeared last month. Not a very smart thing to do. And then when the police got to their house, they were living with a little 5-year-old girl who was able to take them to the backyard where they found the remains of two young women, Gary.

TUCHMAN: I've met a lot of crazy people in this job, Shasta, and this is certainly at the top of the list if these allegations are correct. One of the suspects tan fully, she made pastries and may have sold them, what can you tell us about that?

DARLINGTON: Well, that's right, Gary, that's what they confessed to doing. And it's definitely the most disturbing part of this whole story. Negro Monte's wife who was best known in that count for her little Salvaginia (ph) as they call it in Portuguese, these little meat pies. She sold them to the neighbors. And during the deposition with the police, she told them that they used the flesh of their victims to stuff these meat pies. Then they sold them on the street. She sold them to local schools and even hospitals. And apparently during the deposition, she looked up at one of the policemen and said, hey, I've even sold them to you. Can you just imagine what's going through these people's heads in this little town, Gary?

TUCHMAN: Shasta, a final question. Police are saying the number of victims may grow, is that true?

DARLINGTON: Absolutely. As we mentioned, they found the remains of two women in the backyard. They believed that this little girl living with them is the daughter of another victim. And they say that by the time the investigation is over, they expect they will have had more than ten victims.

TUCHMAN: Shasta Darlington, formerly our correspondent in Cuba, now in Brazil. Thank you very much. It is a very disturbing story. I know you will stay with it.

It's now time for a check on what's happening in the week ahead.

Congress back in session tomorrow and one of the main things Congress will be talking about is the so-called Buffett rule. That's a proposal to impose at least 30 percent income tax on Americans making more than $1 million a year.

Another swing for prosecutors trying to convict former pitching great Roger Clemens. Clemens heads back to court tomorrow for a retrial. He is accused of lying to congress about using performance-enhancing drugs.

And New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton begins his year-long suspension tomorrow for the bounty program that happened on his watch. This is to put Joe Vitt will take over as the New Orleans Saints head coach.

The summit of the Americas has over shadowed by the scandal that erupted with the sufficient secret service. Eleven agents and uniformed officers from President Obama's advanced detail were sent home from Colombia and put on leave after allegedly having contact with prostitutes at a hotel in the northern Colombia city of the coast of Cartagena.

Also, five military service members providing support in Colombia have been confined to quarters after allegations surfaced over what military commanders right now are calling inappropriate behavior.

Joining me now live, Ralph Basham. He is the principal at the command consulting group. He is also the former director of the U.S. secret service. It is a good man to have with us right now.

Director Basham, thank you for joining us. And what was your gut reaction when you heard the news out of Colombia?

RALPH BASHAM, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. SECRET SERVICE: Gary, obviously it was very disturbing and very embarrassing for the secret service. The men and women there that do such an incredible job every day and it's just a very unfortunate incident and not something you see or hear about every day.

TUCHMAN: Director, I think it's really important to point out. This is an amazing organization with amazing men and women that work there.

BASHAM: That it is.

TUCHMAN: We are just talking on a very small number of people. But I wasn't to ask you. How do you think the situation has been handled so far?

BASHAM: First of all, I think the situation has been handled extremely well. I think the director and his team, as soon as they learned of this incident, they responded immediately. They pulled those agents out of Colombia, brought them back to the United States, brought them to Washington to start the investigation.

And they did that primarily because I feel that if those agents had been left there, it would have been a huge distraction for them. It would have been a huge distraction for those people around them, trying to anticipate what was going to happen, what kind of disciplinary action might be coming, and that's something we cannot afford to have as agents distracted when they're in the responsibility of protecting the president of the United States.

TUCHMAN: Director, what is the policy when you're an agent on a trip like this? Obviously this is wrong. But -- and I asked this question earlier to someone else during our program, but can agents go out to a bar for beer, can they go out dancing, sight-seeing? What are they allowed to do on trips like this?

BASHAM: Certainly they are under a tremendous amount of stress on these types of trips. And at the end of the day, they're no different than anyone else. They go, they try to relax. And try to end their day on sort of a positive note. And be ready for the next day.

Obviously this kind of conduct is not acceptable. It's totally unprofessional. And the secret service teaches and talks to its agents about the -- not being the front-cover of a newspaper or being the lead story on national news events. They are there to be behind the scenes, and provide support, and provide protection to the president of the United States. But they're no different than anyone else. At the end of the day they like to relax. So that's what they do.

TUCHMAN: So director, does this concern you that this could tarnish the reputation of a great organization?

BASHAM: Well, certainly, it's of great concern. It's a huge embarrassment. And -- but I think if you look at the entire record in the history of the secret service, this is an anomaly. And as a matter of fact, that's why this is an anomaly, because it doesn't happen with an organization like the secret service.

They want to get this investigation conducted. They want it do a thorough investigation. They want to determine the facts. Then they will determine the facts then they wanted in the end, they will determine what the proper disciplinary action should be and then get on with the critical mission that they are charged with. They're in the middle of a campaign. They don't need this sort of distraction.

TUCHMAN: Director Ralph Basham, we appreciate you giving us that insight. Thank you, sir.

BASHAM: Thank you, Gary.

TUCHMAN: Before we talk about that, we do want to tell you that President Obama is in Colombia this weekend, as we were just referring to the summit of Americas. That's where this all happened. We want to keep updating you, there was supposed to be a news conference up again at 4:30 eastern time which is almost an hour ago. It still hasn't begun but it should happen at any minute. He will be with the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos. And when that news conference begins, we will bring it to you live right here on CNN, a joint briefing with the president of Colombia and the president of the United States.

The economy steadily recovering, but the latest unemployment job numbers still paint a picture of uncertainty. Many college students are keeping that in mind now to strategically choose their majors because of the economy.

Here's Christine Romans with "smart is the new rich." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Laura Buffolino isn't worried about finding a job after graduation.

LAURA BUFFOLINO, STUDENT, FARMINGDALE STATE COLLEGE, SUNY: I've always been into science. Never knew exactly what, but now I'm pretty sure I want to work in genetics.

ROMANS: A bioscience major at Farmingdale State College, Buffolino is in the fast growing and high paying stem category. Science technology, engineering and math.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A fairly neutral term.

ROMANS: Her classmate, Michael Kelly, a history buff, doesn't share her love for science.

MICHAEL KELLY, STUDENT, FARMINGDALE STATE COLLEGE, SUNY: I was just dead set on history, didn't want to major in anything else.

ROMANS: He loves history, but will minor in it instead. His degree will be in technology studies, so he can pursue a job in information technology.

KELLY: I didn't want to finish school with no debt and immediately jump into a situation where I have a lot of debt for paying off the master's agree with I totally will have to take out on this for.

ROMANS: Kelly well knows that starting salaries for general studies lag stem. And by mid-career, the difference between, say, engineering and psychology is huge.

ANTHONY CARNVALE, DIRECTOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE: If you're studying to be a petroleum engineer and you've got a bachelor's degree, you'll make $80,000 a year, if you're studying psychology and you are going to become a counselor and a social work agency, you'll make $30,000 a year. So what you make depends very much on what you take.

ROMANS: But dollar signs aren't everything. Find the intersection of what you're good at, like to do and what someone will pay you to do.

Nancy Zimpher is chancellor of this state university of New York.

NANCY ZIMPHER, CHANCELLOR, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK: What we know is that business is an industry are saying repeatedly, we want creative people, we want problem solvers, we want people who can work in teams. The trick, I think, is sort of a dual degree or major/minor where you cover your bases.

ROMANS: Students Laura Buffolino and Mike Kelly think they've done just that and that their degree will help them land a secure job in a less than secure job market.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: We take you now live to Cartagena, Colombia, on the Caribbean coast, the northern coast of Colombia. This is the president of the Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos. He is with Barack Obama who is not in the picture right now. They are starting a news conference. Each president is going to make comments about the just concluded summit of Americas. When the present of the United States, Barack Obama takes the podium and he is actually taking it there in the left, but he isn't talking yet. When he starts talking, President Barack Obama, we'll bring the event live. So, stay with us. That will be just any minute. We expect that Barack Obama will begin talking.

Meanwhile, we check today's top stories. Twelve Oklahoma counties are under a state of emergency after tornadoes ripped through the state this weekend. Five people were killed in one small town. Woodward, Oklahoma. Dozens of people were hurt. Twisters also touched down in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.

In Afghanistan, our crew has heard several explosions in the last few minutes. And these are explosions from earlier in the today, insurgents targeting key areas of Kabul all day in a well-planned series of attacks. The Taliban claim responsibility, calling it the start of their spring offensive.

Afghan security forces did react quickly to the initial explosions. Officials say at least 19 insurgents were killed. And one of their targets was Afghanistan's second vice president but he's fine. The U.S. is praising Afghan forces for their prompt action without NATO assistance. But once again, the explosions are still occurring and they're occurring in the capital of Kabul where violence is relatively speaking -- when we say relatively, it's much more common than in most cities, but in Afghanistan the violence in the capital is relatively rare.

North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong-Un, spoke publicly for the first time on television in a celebration to commemorate his late great grandfather's 100th birthday. He touched on a number of issues including the significance of North Korea's military. He also vows to never let the country starve again. And we will see if that comes true.

Well, this year's presidential contest really does come down to Obama versus Romney, like as we expect. One thing we know for sure, the next president will be from the Ivy League. That's because both men went to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In fact, it's been 28 years since we've elected someone who isn't an Ivy League graduate.

Bob Greene is a CNN contributor. And Bob, I don't think we went to Harvard to tell me in the minute because we do want to talk to you about the very interesting statistic that has left you wondering, why are there no presidents, and we've had 43 men, this is the 44th president, it's Grover Cleveland was president twice, how come none of us men have been from big ten schools?

BOB GREENE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Gerald Ford was president, but he was never elected. And if you ever talk to Mr. Ford, he was very open about the fact that he was hurt by that. And he remembered it his whole life. He became president, and then when he ran he was defeated by Jimmy Carter who went to, among other places, Georgia tech and the U.S. naval academy.

But when it occurred to me that it has been 28 years since Americans have elected a president who did not go to an Ivy League school, those of us who went to big ten schools, I thought I would look up the history of that and find out, you know, just how many presidents were elected from big ten schools. And none, zero. It makes no sense.

TUCHMAN: So if the big ten isn't producing presidents, we know the big ten schools are great schools, what are they producing?

GREENE: It's terrific. I mean, that's why it's so puzzling. Great faculties' and middle of the country, national renowned. Neil Armstrong, Purdue, first person to step onto the moon. Jack Welch, University of Illinois, ran general electric during the glory years. George Gallup, University of Iowa, started the legendary polling firm. James Earl Jones, Michigan, the wonderful actor. Arthur Goldberg of North western, United States Supreme Court.

So, it's almost like a jinx. You would think it was like a Chicago cubs deal. Except the cubs, even though it's been a century, they did win a world series. Or Susan Lucci deal, the soap opera actor, after all those years of being passed over, she got her Emmy. So, there's something at work here that doesn't really figure.

TUCHMAN: Bob, I don't know this. You're talking to a huge cubs fan. It's been 104 years since the cubs won.

GREENE: Right. But they did win the World Series. I spoke to the president of the University of Iowa, Sally Mason, who told me this, to quote, I think she said to quote Bb. King, maybe it's just a matter of time. So I think that's what they're waiting for.

TUCHMAN: By the way, I promised to ask you, where did you go to school?

GREENE: Northwestern.

TUCHMAN: You're OK. Big ten also.

GREENE: Which they told us was the Harvard of the big ten.

TUCHMAN: Amazing institution right on Lake Michigan there. Now, what about all the presidents who either didn't finish college or come from the little colleges that a lot of people haven't heard of?

GREENE: Well, there were many presidents, including Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan who went to very small colleges. But you are right, Gary. Nine United States presidents either never attended college or didn't graduate including some pretty good ones, Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman.

So, you would think with all that, the big ten statistically would have a whole group of presidents. But they never have yet. The presidents and chancellors, there is a big ten board of chancellors and presidents. The ones I spoke to told me that it's just -- it's coming soon.

TUCHMAN: All right. Well, Gerald Ford wasn't elected but he was president of the United States who went to the University of Michigan, so let's give a little credit to the big ten presidents.

GREENE: Absolutely.

TUCHMAN: Bob Greene told very interesting. Thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

GREENE: Thanks so much, Gary.

TUCHMAN: And go cubs, by the way, you know. Maybe after 104 years we'll have some luck.

When we come back, we'll try to bring you to Cartagena, Colombia, where right now president Barack Obama is ready to start talking at the summit of Americas, and then take questions, including questions about the scandal that occurred with the U.S. secret service, at least 11 members of the secret service. So, that should be interesting. We hope you'll stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: Parts of the Midwest of the United States are now destruction zone. It's turned in to rebel by tornadoes that tore through the region this weekend. Five people killed in the state of Oklahoma. And Kansas was also hit hard.

That's where CNN's Susan Candiotti is reporting. She's in Wichita.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The scores of twisters that pummeled Kansas mainly stuck to rural areas, except for Wichita. And one of the worst storms hit a mobile home park that had about 100 structures, about a quarter of them were destroyed. Another two dozen heavily damaged. There were no fatalities, incredibly. Search and rescue teams began their work on Saturday night, and continued well into Sunday.

CAPTAIN JON TROYER, SEDGWICK COMPANY FIRE DEPARTMENT: It's just devastation. I mean, these are people's lives, you know. People's lives that are laying here in big piles, you know. So, what we try to do is be as respectful as possible while we're looking through it. And just to make sure that we're taking care of lives and property.

CANDIOTTI: When you look at the extent of all this damage, it is hard to believe that the most serious injury that someone suffered here was a broken leg. To make sure everyone was accounted for, the fire department used search and rescue dogs, and police and firefighters also went door to door.

Two things really helped. Number one, they had advanced warning of these severe storms. At least two days ahead of time. That, and the use of sirens, the night of the storm, really put people on notice, and they paid attention.

TROYER: It was a little bit unprecedented for this area to have the national weather service come out and tell us that, you know, tomorrow be ready. And so we were. I mean, we had everything ready and in place. And I think everybody was super vigilant especially in this part of the country, because we have to be.

CANDIOTTI: What also helped save lives in the mobile home park, there were shelters for people to go to, to ride out the storm and many did.

Susan Candiotti. CNN, Wichita, Kansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: Barack Obama has now begun speaking at the news conference following the summit of the Americas in Colombia. But we have an interesting situation here. The pool feed we're getting from Colombia, we hear the Spanish translation of the president of the United States and we don't hear the English coming out of his mouth.

So as soon as we hear the English so we can understand what Barack Obama has to say, we'll bring it to you. We want to tell you folks exactly what's going on. We can hear him in Spanish, not yet in English.

And we will be right back after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: An ireporter captured one of those Kansas twisters on video. They're amazing pictures with CNN Meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, has those pictures.

I mean, it's really something. Our viewers are so great because we learned so much about these storms when they send us pictures and video.

JERAS: We do. This isn't like professional, video too by the way. It's amazing. So, let's glide and roll it and we'll talk about that.

This is from Benjamin (INAUDIBLE), and he was in Burdette, Kansas, who is actually shooting over the state line in Oklahoma. So, this is the same Woodward storm we were talking about, that unfortunately was fatal. And at the time that Benjamin was shooting this, look at that. We call that a stovepipe tornado. Certainly capable of causing a fair amount of damage at the time that he shot this. It happened to be in a rural area. And he said he is so fortunate because it crossed over in Kansa. (CROSSTALK)

JERAS: We love your ireports. We appreciate them. And we value them. But we value your life more than we value your picture, we really do. So we want you to be careful and we don't you to play storm chaser out there, and make sure you're in a safe place when you're doing things like that. Or wait until the storm is over and shoot it after.

TUCHMAN: Jacqui, thank you very much. We appreciate that.

JERAS: Sure.

TUCHMAN: The president of the United States is now speaking in English. So we want to go to the news conference in Cartagena, Colombia, so we can hear what President Obama has to say following the summit of the Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So again, President Santos, thank you, to you, for your leadership. Thank you to the people of Cartagena and the people of Colombia for this outstanding summit and your great hospitality, the warmth that you extended us and the other leaders who gathered here. It makes me very confident about Colombia's future.

JUAN MANUEL SANTOS, PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA: Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Thank you.

SANTOS: Are there some questions? RCN TV, Juan Carlos, you have a question.

JUAN CARLOS, RCN TV: Presidents, good afternoon, President Obama. Today at the closing of the summit of the Americas, there was great expectation, because we never -- you never came up with a document that would reflect a decision, and many people would say that Cuba and the Marina issue was not taken up as it should have.

Does this have to do in any way with the electoral environment, the electoral situation in the United States, and to President Santos, today that the state department announced a new security plan for the region, what benefits do you see coming from this plan? Thank you very much.

OBAMA: Well first of all, what it reflects is a lack of consensus among those who participated in the summit. The issue of Cuba I've discussed before. Since I came into office, we have made changes to our Cuba policy. We've increased remittances that are permissible from Cuban-Americans sending money to their families to help support them back home. We've increased travel by family members to Cuba. And we have discussed in the OAS the pathway whereby Cuba can fully participate in some of these regional forums. But the fact of the matter is that Cuba, unlike the other countries that are participating, has not yet moved to democracy, has not yet observed basic human rights. I am hopeful that a transition begins to take place inside of Cuba. And I assure you that I and the American people will welcome the time when the Cuban people have the freedom to live their lives, choose their leaders, and fully participate in this global economy, and international institutions.

We haven't gotten there yet. But as I indicated to President Santos and all the other leaders sitting around the table, we recognize that there may be an opportunity in the coming years as Cuba begins to look at where it needs to go in order to give its people the kind of prosperity and opportunity that it needs, that it starts loosening up some of the constraints within that country. And that's something that we will welcome.

I'm not somebody who brings to the table here a lot of baggage from the past. And I want to look at all these problems in a new and fresh way. But, I also deeply believe in those principles that are contained, not just in the OAS charter, but in the United Nations charter, that respect for individuals, respect for rule of law, respect for human rights, that I think is part of the reason that we're seeing an incredible transformation here in Colombia.

And in terms from all these or the problems, whatever your preferred term, our position on this is that we are going to remain neutral. We have good relations with both Argentina and Great Britain. And we are looking forward to them being able to continue to dialogue in this issue but this is not something that we typically intervene in.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SANTOS: I would just like to repeat one thing that I said. Early this afternoon, saying that the important thing of this summit is that we openly discuss all the issues. All issues. This didn't happen before. There were some issues that garnered agreement, other didn't. We reached in agreement on the five fundamental issues that were identified from very outset. And yet other issues was an open candid discussion. It was fully respectful and productive, I would say. And that's why I believe that in the aftermath of this summit we will have a better understanding of these challenges. Some will be solved in the short term, others in the longer term. There are others that we will naturally be able to discuss the results. But that is only natural.

And the summits such as these where it's 33 countries participate, each one bringing to the table their own interest, each one bringing their own prisons through which they look at things. But the positive thing is that we discussed these issues candidly and productively.

There are number of issues that were not even on the table before, on the issue of security with United States. We have a very close coordination. And perhaps we don't have this close relationship with any other country in the world. We have learned mutually from each other. They have helped us a great deal, as I said before, the land Colombia was launched few years ago and it is not just the amount of money that was offered to the fund but the quality of the assistance. And to us, that was very important anything that we can do, along that road to improve security in the United States and Colombia and to share our experiences will be more than welcomed.

QUESTION: Thank you, both of you. President Obama following up on my Colombian colleagues, would you address the other pressures --.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

QUESTION: Indicative of any broader cultural problem within the secret service such as the leading Republican congressman suggested. And President Santos, which President Obama you could also address this as well. I am curious as to why you made drug trafficking such a prominent part of this summit when it could be argued that it detracted some from the attention you wanted to bring to the great progress that Colombia has made on economic and security issues. Thank you.

OBAMA: Well, first of all, my position on Cuba has been consistent. It has not waivered before I was elected for president the first time. It didn't change after I was elected for president and it hasn't changed now. So let me repeat, separate apart from whatever electoral concerns you are describing.

I want the people of Cuba like people throughout this hemisphere to have the opportunity to work to raise their families, to start a business, to express themselves, to criticize their leaders, something that we in America take full advantage of, and to replace them if they are not working which is presumably the aspiration of I think most people to our land, America.

And as I indicated in the interview earlier, I am sometimes puzzled by the degree of which the countries that themselves have undergone enormous transformation that have known the oppression of dictatorships or have found themselves on the wrong side of a ruling elite and have suffered for it. Why we would ignore that same principle here.

But, Jackie, as you know, I tend to be an optimistic person. And it is my hope that as Cuba looking at what is happening in countries like Colombia and Brazil and Chile and throughout the region, they are going to start saying to themselves, maybe there is a new path to take in the 21st century. And when that happens, they are going to have a welcome hand extended by the United States of America.

On the secret service, these men and women perform extraordinary service on the day to day basis protecting me, my family, the U.S. officials. They do very hard work under stressful circumstances. And almost unbearably do an outstanding job. And so, I am very grateful for the work that they do. What happened here in Colombia is being investigated by the director of the secret service. I expect that investigation to be thorough and I expect this to be rigorous.

If it turns out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed, then of course, I will be anger, because my attitude with respect to the secret service personnel is no different than what I expect out of my delegation that is sitting here.

We are representing the people of the United States. And when we travel to another country, I expect us to observe the highest standards because we're not just representing ourselves. We're here on behalf of our people. And that means that we conduct ourselves with the utmost dignity and properly. And obviously, what has been reported does not match up with those standards.

But again, I think I will wait until the full investigation is completed before I pass final judgment. The final point I make just on the issue you raised with President Santos about the issue of drug trafficking. I think it is wholly appropriate for us to discuss this issue because Colombia, obviously, has gone through a wrenching number of years dealing with this issue. It has been successful because of the courage and leadership not only as President Santos and his past predecessor but also because of Colombian security forces.

And you now have the number of countries in the region in Central America and in the Caribbean that are smaller, that had fewer resources and starting to feel overwhelmed. And obviously we are following what has been happening in Mexico. And the violence that is taking place there as a consequence of these NARCO traffickers.

So I think it would not make sense for us not to examine what works and what doesn't and to constantly ask try to find and ask ourselves if there is something we can do to prevent violence, to weaken these drug traffickers, to make sure that they are not pedaling this stuff on our kids and they are perpetrating violence and corrupting institutions in the region. And I thought it was a good and useful and frank discussion.

As I said couple of days ago, Jackie, I am not somebody that believes that legalization is a path to solving this problem. But I do think that we can constantly ask yourselves are there additional steps we can take to be more creative and other ways that we can combine the law enforcement and inner diction approaches that which the press would partner with Colombia with the public help approach that I think it is important back home, making sure that we are trying to reduce demand even as we try to choke off supply. And so, I am looking forward to continuing to have that conversation and based n the best evidence, the best ideas out there, hopefully we can don't strengthen these efforts.

SANTOS (through translator): If I understood your question, correctly, why did we place drugs on the agenda when there are other more important things for the summit or things that we should allow (ph) about our country, such as the progress that we have achieved economically and strengthening our democracy.

The question is well put, but the answer is in your accord. The media were the ones that placed such a high level of attention on this issue. I've said many times in these interviews that I conducted before the summit, I said, I don't want the issue to be the summits issue. I have no interest in having this issue as the sole summit issue. This is one of many issues that some countries want to put on the table for negotiations. And what I've said before is that, fortunately during this summit, there were no issues that were left off the table, everything was open, and this was one of the issues that we discussed. We discussed it frankly and candidly. We've heard positions from President Obama, from the United States and positions from other countries, and they were all laid out on the table. And I think this was a positive step, and that we can find paths that will provide more effective and cheaper mechanisms to fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.

Well, let's work on that. But it was never our intention for this issue to be the issue of a summit.

QUESTION: President Obama, good afternoon. President Santos, good afternoon, sir.

President Obama, you are the first U.S. president who comes to Colombia and stays three days and two nights in this beautiful city of Cartagena. How should Colombia and the world interpret this gesture? Is it acknowledgment of the levels of security that we have here? Is it a gesture of trust in what President Santos has done? Or can we interpret as a new phase beginning in relationships -- the relations between two countries?

And, President Santos, there are small business people who are very concerned about the FDA. What is your plan to deal with that, Mr. President?

OBAMA: Well, I think the answer is all of the above.

It is -- it represents my confidence in the security of Colombia and the progress that's been made. It represents my confidence in President Santos and the works that we've done together as a culmination of the efforts that we begun when we first met a couple of years ago. It highlights the deliverables coming out of this summit, not just the free trade agreement, but all the other work that has been done, such as the increase in the length of visitor visas. And is consistent with the approach that I indicated I would take when I first came to office when it comes to Latin America and Central America.

This is a fast growing part of the world. It is our -- one of our largest trading partners in the entire region. We have Columbian Americans, Americans who originate from the Dominican Republic, from Guatemala, from Mexico, who are constantly contributing to the vitality and strength of the United States. And so there is a natural bond that already exists, and it's important that our governments build on that natural bond for the mutual benefit of both nations.

And my expectation is, is that we will to continue to see the progress that's been made in this summit in subsequent meetings that we had with Colombia. And I think Colombia increasingly, precisely because it went through difficult times over these last several years can end up being a role model for a lot of countries around the region because they'll see, you know what, there is hope, even in the midst of violence, even in the midst of difficulty. There is a possibility of breaking through to the other side and achieving greater citizen security and prosperity.

And let me just mention. I know you asked the question of President Santos, but on the issue of small businesses -- one of the things that I brought to the summit was a proposal that I think people are embracing throughout the region, and that is that we begin to focus more on small and medium-sized businesses, on women's businesses, making sure that the benefits of trade don't just go the largest companies but also go to smaller entrepreneurs and business people, because in today's globalized world, there is an opportunity for a small business, or medium-sized business to access a global marketplace, and grow rapidly, and that means more jobs here in Colombia, and that means more jobs in the United States.

So, we don't want trade to just be like taking place at this layer up here. We want it to be taking place at every level because we think that's going to be good for both of our economies.

SANTOS: Do you ask me about what contingency plan we have to help companies and people who were going be adversely affected by the FTA. All free trade agreements have winders and they have losers. And in this case, we have many more winners than losers.

Employment -- we will create jobs in Colombia. We estimated more than 500,000 jobs will be created. We will benefit economic growth. We will -- we have estimated that between 0.5 and 1 percent will be added to our growth rates over the long term and that will be translated in benefit to the economy for the Colombians.

And so, we estimate that everybody will benefit. Obviously, there are some sectors that don't traditionally benefit. But small and medium enterprises can be -- the ones that benefit the most. That happened in Peru for example. When the Peru-U.S. FTA, we saw major uptick of the number of SMEs that benefited from this free trade agreements. We hope that happens in Colombia as well, because, thus far, Colombia has per capita exports which are very low.

But we still have the great potential to bolster our free trade and our exports, and those sectors that are vulnerable, which have been identified as vulnerable are the focus of a series of policies and efforts that will help them weather the storm, to be transformed, to be more competitive and to be able to face the competition that will open up with this new FTA. That has happened with every free trade agreement that has been signed in the past. What's important is the final results yields more benefits than otherwise, and we have no doubts that in this case, it will have more benefits for everyone.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir.

Yesterday, the president of Brazil was talking about the importance not only of growing the economic pie, but making sure that it's divided more equitably. I wonder how you think that applies within the United States, where the idea of spreading the wealth around isn't always warmly greeted. And how, for example, with this free trade agreement you make sure that the benefits are widely shared?

And if I may, sir, on unrelated topic, if we could get your reaction to the Prime Minister Netanyahu's comment that the P5-plus-1 had given Iran a freebie with this additional time.

And for President Santos, what responsibility do you believe that countries of Latin America, especially those that have become more democratic, have for helping to bring Cuba into the democratic fold?

OBAMA: The goal of any government should be to create security for its citizens and to give them opportunity to achieve prosperity and to pass that prosperity on to their kids. And I'm strong believer that the free market is the best tool ever invented to create wealth.

But what's true in every country is that we always have to think about whether every single person is getting a fair shot where they actually have opportunity. Is everybody doing their fair sure to support the common efforts that are required to create a platform for growth? Is everyone playing by the same set of rules?

And I think the history of the United States, the reason we became an economic superpower is because -- not always perfectly and not always consistently, but better than any other country on earth -- we were able to give opportunity to everybody. That's what the American dream is all about.

So, when we have debates now about our tax policy, when we have debates now about the Buffett Rule that we've been talking, where we say you make $1 million a year or more, you shouldn't pay a lower tax rate than your secretary, that is not an argument about redistribution, that is an argument about growth. Because the history of the United States is, we grow best when our growth is broad based. We grow best when our middle class is strong. We grow best when everybody has opportunity.

And that means somebody who has a great idea and selling a great product or service, we want them to get rich. That's great. But we also want to make sure that we as a society are investing in that young kid who comes from a poor family who has incredible talent and might be able to get rich as well. And that means we got to build good schools, we got to make sure that that child can go to college.

And we also want to make sure that we keep our scientific edge. And that means we got to invest in basic research.

END OF COVERAGE