Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Massacre in Syria; Iowa Girls Still Missing

Aired July 17, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Syrian rebels are saying the fight for Damascus is on. Government tanks and troops have fanned out today across the sprawling city of 1.7 million people.

Explosions caused by government shelling shook the western suburbs and attacked helicopters fired on a neighborhood near the capital center. The rebels claimed to have launched a final assault. That is open to question, but reports out of the capital city say the regime's armed opponents are probing new parts of the capital to test what the government will do.

Fighting across the country has claimed at least 45 lives today. And what we're looking at here, that is an attack by government forces on the besieged city of Homs.

And one of the single most horrifying moments in Syria occurred late last month in a Damascus suburbs. Scores of people died in a town called Duma as a result of government shelling. Nearly three weeks later, CNN's Arwa Damon has gotten her hands on video documenting this tragedy.

And she's live with us from Beirut, Lebanon.

Arwa, take us back, if you would, to what happened in Duma on June 29.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reason why it's taken three weeks to get our hands on that video is quite simply because the activists that wanted to shoot it were stuck there for well over a week.

And then it was quite the ordeal to get the footage from Damascus to us here in Lebanon. We do have to warn our viewers that the images they are about to see are pretty disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON (voice-over): The power is out in the streets of Duma. The three activists and their escorts don't dare shine a light.

There is a sniper lurking. Gunfire in the distance forces them to pick up the pace.

The activists are part of the opposition's media operation. They smuggled themselves into the Damascus suburb last month and risked their lives to document this, a massacre said to have taken place just hours earlier. Among the corpses strewn about, that of a little girl. A man points to one of the bodies and says, he was executed, a civilian, points to a second corpse and adds, this is his cousin, shot because he tried to save him.

Residents are readying the bodies for burial, blood soaking through the funeral sheets, the names of the deceased hastily scrawled. It's a grim routine Syrians in areas that have dared stand up to the regime have grown accustomed to, the bodies unceremoniously dragged away and placed alongside others.

Residents say Syrian security forces searching for weapons in some buildings wiped out members of several families. This man described what happened in one instance.

They had two rooms they put the men and women in, he says. From 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., the living were trapped with the dead. It was an execution. They asked, where are the guns? There are no guns, was the response, and they executed them one after the other.

At least 45 were killed in this one attack, residents say, information CNN cannot independently verify.

In the morning, the media team picked their way through rubble- strewn streets, but they would not be able to leave Duma. The Assad regime's siege intensified, the government bombardment, relentless. Many more were killed.

The team that filmed this at the end of June was trapped inside Duma for more than a week and it's taken this long to get the footage smuggled to Lebanon. All that effort, all that risk to give the world a glimpse of Syria's narrative of horror and despair.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: And it's a narrative of horror and despair that most certainly continues on a daily basis. We received word from one of the opposition activist networks that Duma was once again under assault earlier today. And that's not to mention the intense fighting taking place all over the rest of the capital at this point in time, very, very close to Assad's seat of power.

FEYERICK: And, Arwa, it's so horrifying to see the dead bodies of these families, even young children who appear to have nothing to do with the fighting between Assad's forces and the Syrian rebels.

Syrian rebels are pushing closer. There are reports that they're in Damascus. This massacre, is this what's going on across the country, where they are targeting innocent families really collectively?

DAMON: That is what the opposition has been alleging since the onset.

And what we have been seeing over the last three days is sustained gun battles taking place some 10 minutes from where the presidential palace actually is. It certainly seems as if the rebel fighting force is if not holding ground in the city, most certainly capable of carrying out these type of hit-and-run attacks against government forces, but then there's the government retaliation.

And what opposition activists have been saying is that day in and day out, they shell these neighborhoods where they believe the rebel fighting force, the Free Syrian Army, the opposition is operating from. They shell them and then oftentimes they go in on foot and carry out these types of massacres.

But again it's incredibly difficult for us to determine exactly what is happening because the government is not allowing us access into the country. And it continues to claim that it is just simply fighting these terrorist organizations with some sort of foreign agenda.

FEYERICK: Right. And clearly that's why this tape was so important just to underscore the humanitarian crisis and tragedy at the same time.

Arwa Damon, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Well, we have got a lot more to cover this hour. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): Still no clues, still no answers, still no sign of two missing Iowa girls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just baffling to try to figure out the pieces to the puzzle. Looking at it, it doesn't make any sense.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's as though they disappeared in thin air in broad daylight.

FEYERICK: Today, police are draining the lake where the girls' bikes were discovered, as family members brace for the worst.

Plus, two armed men storm into a Florida cafe, ordering everyone to the ground. But just when you thought that was the end of it, this guy comes to the rescue.

And another unbelievable rescue caught on video. A 7-year-old girl falls from a third-story window right into the arms of a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I got there, she was still standing there. And I just -- I positioned myself. Hopefully, I would catch her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: No surprise that George Zimmerman's life has become an open book since he fatally shot Trayvon Martin. Due to Florida's public records law, evidence keeps flooding out in the case, and some of it isn't even directly related to the shooting, like the tape of a woman known as witness number nine who claimed Zimmerman molested her for a decade.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It started when I was 6. He's about almost 2 years older than I am. He would reach under the blankets and try to do things, and I would try to push him off, but he was bigger and stronger and older.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, Jean Casarez is a correspondent for truTV's "In Session."

And, Jean, prosecutors released this evidence under Florida's sunshine law, but it's so interesting. Do they get to cherry-pick what they release? This is very damaging, if not as it relates to the facts of the case, certainly to the character of George Zimmerman.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, because there's a potential jury pool that is out there listening to everything.

This was an anonymous phone call originally from this girl that the defense confirms is a cousin of George Zimmerman. And then there was a second call the next day and the prosecution got it. They give it to the defense and it can be released. That's right. It's public.

And her first call was that the entire family is racist. The second call said that George beginning at age 8 molested her when everybody was there. The whole family was there. She's really implicating much more than George Zimmerman.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. And the defense clearly wanted this evidence blocked. Zimmerman denying the abuse allegation. Here's what his lawyer told our Piers Morgan. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK O'MARA, ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: My frustration is that they are absolutely not relevant to anything that's at hand in the true case. They are not admissible. They're not going to get it into a courtroom, nor will they get before a judge in any way. The frustration that I have is these allegations which George contends are untrue now we need to spend our resources and time rebutting them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: O'Mara really does have a point here. What do the molestation accusations have to do with Zimmerman shooting Trayvon Martin and why is this being released?

CASAREZ: It's being released because it can be released, right, because just as what you were saying, the sunshine law.

But the thing is, this case is a case where George Zimmerman will have to take the stand, everybody believes, because it's his mind, his state of mind. Did he believe he was going to die at that moment at the hands of Trayvon Martin?

And so then the prosecution in a rebuttal case would say the door has been opened to bring in this evidence that shows he's a manipulator, as the family attorney has said, prone to violence. It's all in the hands of the judge, because if it's too prejudicial, even if it's remotely relevant, the jury won't hear it at all.

FEYERICK: Sure. Sure. Witness number nine did say something else that could potentially figure into the argument concerning the Trayvon Martin shooting and that was whether it was racially motivated. Listen to these allegations.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was afraid that he may have done something because the kid was black because growing up, they have always made -- him and his family have always made statements that they don't like black people if they don't act like white people.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, this tape out, Jean, just days after the FBI concludes Zimmerman is no racist, and the FBI determining that through its own investigation.

The timing of this, the unchallenged allegations, what do you read into that?

CASAREZ: Think about it, that the family doesn't like black people unless they react like white people.

Well, first of all, his mother is Peruvian. She is from Peru. His mother and father have an interracial marriage. He is half-Hispanic. He speaks Spanish. So, they are saying they don't like black people, unless they act like white people. That's talking against the Peruvian also that's so much a part of his culture.

FEYERICK: And it's fascinating. Even if they do bring this woman on, even if prosecutors bring this woman as sort of a character witness, my sense is the defense would really go into her in terms of these allegations that may not even be provable.

CASAREZ: Yes. And there has to be some credence to it. There has been some corroboration, because anybody can say anything.

But what this shows is, it's going to be a fight. This case is going to be dirty. This case is really going to go everywhere it can go. And many of -- much of it may not hit the courtroom at all. And this reminds me in a sense of the Casey Anthony trial. What did we hear about George Anthony in relation to Casey Anthony?

FEYERICK: Absolutely, all the twists and turns that the public is aware of, but that never in fact come up during the actual trial.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much.

CASAREZ: You're welcome.

FEYERICK: Well, you are on a flight and you get a sandwich. You bite into the sandwich and there's a needle. It's happened on four flights. And American and Dutch investigators, they are on the hunt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: The FBI is investigating sewing needles found inside sandwiches on four Delta Air Lines flights. All of the flights originated in Amsterdam and all were headed to the United States.

CNN's Sandra Endo in Washington with more -- Sandra.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Deb, the FBI and local authorities in the Netherlands are trying to figure out how the needles got into those turkey sandwiches.

A Delta spokesperson said the needles were found in sandwiches on flights from Amsterdam to Minneapolis, Seattle, and two flights to Atlanta. Two of the needles were found by passengers and one was discovered by an air marshal. When Delta found about the needles in the food, the airline says it notified all 18 flights from Amsterdam to stop serving the sandwiches.

Here is what one passenger who got one of the contaminated sandwiches said when she spoke to station KSTP.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I bit down on it so that I wasn't biting down on the sharp side but on the flat side. It could have been a bad injury orally, but had I taken a big swallow and swallowed that down, I would have a needle inside. That would be very concerning to me.

ENDO: Gate Gourmet provided the sandwiches, which were prepared in Amsterdam, to Delta.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said: "This is a terribly upsetting situation. First and foremost is the safety of the traveling public. There's nothing more important to us at all than the safety of the passengers and crews."

Gate Gourmet says it's fully cooperating with the FBI and local authorities in the Netherlands and is conducting its own full-scale investigation. The company says it does provide food to other airlines, but have received no other reports or complaints -- Deb.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Sandra Endo for us there in Washington, thanks.

Well, it's a name you might be hearing around the watercooler today, Marissa Mayer. She's leaving Google to become Yahoo!'s new chief executive officer. Mayer even admits using spreadsheets while cooking.

Plus, coming up, the dry, hot summer destroying crops, causing money woes. Our severe weather expert, Chad Myers ,joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FEYERICK: Well, we all know the saying, if you're handed lemons, you make lemonade. Well, take a look at .

One guy in Indiana didn't let the state's worst drought in years stop him from having the greenest lawn on the street. What did he do? It wasn't about water. He was armed with a tin of bright green paint. And Timothy Birdwell, who happens to be a painter, decided that he wasn't going to paint for it. And so he painted his green brown -- his brown grass green. Look at that. OK.

Well, shoppers across the country are being warned, if it's grown here, expect to pay more. This is the toll of the heat wave -- 27 states, more half the country's crops, now shriveled by drought. And it's already hurt supplies of corn and soybeans. Both are staple items in millions of U.S.-made products. Thirty-percent of the U.S. corn crop is in poor or very poor condition.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

FEYERICK: Well, there is a fresh new face at Yahoo!. Marissa Mayer is making the jump from Google to try to give struggling Yahoo! a new sense of direction.

Here's CNN's Zoraida Sambolin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Meet the brand-new CEO of Yahoo!, 37-year-old Marissa Mayer. She was hired this week by the search engine giant to lead the 18-year-old company and its 14,000 employees.

She becomes one of only 20 female CEOs of a Fortune 500 company. Mayer is quoted as saying that Yahoo! is a company with an amazing following, terrific brand and huge amount of potential.

Mayer got her start at Google.

MARISSA MAYER, CEO, YAHOO!: I have been really lucky at Google, because every time that I sort of feel like I have got a handle on things, there's some sort of new and exciting opportunity and challenge.

SAMBOLIN: She was one of very first employees. While there, Mayer held many different jobs in her 14 years. Most recently, she served as vice president of location and local services.

Mayer will sit on the board at Yahoo! She also sits on the board at Wal-Mart. Also, let's talk about her management style. "The Wall Street Journal" spoke to some of her former employees. They say she is talented, but sometimes abrupt, with an obsessive attention to detail.

MAYER: There's always interesting challenges. And as long as I'm challenged, I'm happy in my current role. SAMBOLIN: Mayer will face a couple of huge challenges at Yahoo! First, she's the fourth CEO in four years. And that's not even including the two interim CEOs.

The most recent CEO is Scott Thompson. He left the company after a huge scandal over his embellished college degree. Second, she must define what exactly Yahoo! is and what its future looks like. It's been struggling with identity for years now. And as if running a nearly $50 billion company isn't enough, Mayer and her husband are expecting her first child, a baby boy due in October.

Zoraida Sambolin, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, an unstable economy in the U.S. has many employers concerned about their investment in 401(k)s.

Here is Poppy Harlow at the CNN Money Help Desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY. COM CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, everyone.

Here on the Help Desk today, we're helping you prepare for retirement, always important.

With me, Greg Olsen and Donna Rosato, our two money experts.

Greg, this question comes for you. Take a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is about 401(k). I have quite a bit of money invested there. And it's not -- it doesn't seem to be growing. So my question would be, what's the best way to move that and where to move it to build on it?

HARLOW: You know, and, Greg, she also told me the market's so volatile now you don't know where to put it.

GREG OLSEN, PARTNER, LENOX ADVISORS: Understood. Well, unless her 401(k) -- if she is still at her employer, there's not much she can do in terms of moving her 401(k).

The good news is that, most likely, it's not specific to her 401(k) program. A year ago, the S&P was sitting a little over 1,300. Today, the S&P is sitting a little over 1,300, so it's not specific to her 401(k). A lot of people are feeling the same thing.

The one thing that I would recommend is look for a target asset allocation fund that's closest to her age within her 401(k). Allocate the money towards that and then contribute as much as possible.

HARLOW: I wonder if, Donna, she should maybe put a little less than maybe she is in her 401(k) and put it elsewhere in the market, an IRA, for example? She might have more options. DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, "MONEY": A lot of our readers do get a little frustrated, but I think people underestimate the power of the 401(k). You can put a lot more into your 401(k) than you can into, say, an IRA, up to $17,500 a year. And, plus, it's automatic and you get an employer match.

But, that said, people are often not happy with their choices, so I think a good rule of thumb is put enough money into your 401(k) to get the employer match and then, if you want more choices, go to an IRA and fund that. And then you're going to feel like you have a little bit more control about where that money is going.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Thank you both. We appreciate it.

And, if you've got a question you want our experts to tackle, you can just upload a 30-second video with your question to iReport.com.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Now, the next story, this is a story that is going to make your smile. Two armed robbers -- I know it sounds a little bit grizzly -- storm into an Internet cafe only to be chased out by a 71-year-old senior citizen.

He is standing his ground. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: A father of 12 is dead and Chicago prosecutors say the three teenagers accused of taking his life were in it for fun.

Prosecutors say Anthony Malcolm in the stripes, Nicholas Ayala and Malik Jones -- he's not pictured -- were playing "Pick Him Out and Knock Him Out" when they attacked 62-year-old Defino Mora.

Mora was collecting cans and scrap metal in this alley to pay for a dress for his daughter.

Investigators say that after the teens attacked Mora they posted what they did on Facebook. One of Mora's sons viewed the video to identify his father who was knocked down for several hours and died a day later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MORA, SON OF BEATING VICTIM: They punched him in the face. So as soon as they punched him, he fall, unconscious, on the ground. When he fall on the ground, his head bounce off the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, defense attorney Joey Jackson is "On the Case." Joey, this crime is on video. Maybe there will be a plea deal, but would prosecutors even consider that option given how heartless this crime actually is? A man who is collecting cans to pay for a dress for his daughter.

JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's so tough, Deb. I mean, your heart goes out to the family. What a senseless and tragic killing. People going out and thinking for amusement purposes that it's somewhat funny in order to harm somebody else. So it's tragic, by any means.

At the same time, the prosecutor, notwithstanding the fact that it's on video and potentially therefore easy to prove, may in light of their tender years and young age entertain plea discussions. That's going to be a matter of things talked about with the family, public reaction and what the district attorney really feels, in terms of moving forward.

But just tragic, unexplainable and, by all means, just inexplicable, Deb.

FEYERICK: Inexplicable? I mean, when did it become OK for teenagers to think that this was even remotely funny to go out and assault someone?

The charge is first-degree. Do you think the prosecutors will have a hard time proving that because with first-degree they have to prove intent? Would it have been better to charge with manslaughter, given the fact there is video posted on YouTube.

JACKSON: You know what's interesting about that, Deb? What's interesting is that under the law it is first-degree murder and here's why. We normally think of murder as intent to kill and you'd normally be right.

However, when you do it in the commission of a felony murder, under Illinois law what happens is, if you're committing a forcible violent felony and a murder occurs, guess what. It's first-degree murder.

And so all they have to establish is that they were attempting to rob him and, if they establish that, he died, even if it's not anticipated, because you punch him and he hits his head and it's traumatic it still constitutes murder.

The argument is going to be for the other teens, of course, whether they were aiding, abetting importuning, or whether they were merely there while the one teenager hit and punched him.

FEYERICK: Right. OK. Now, let's talk about something completely different. This story a little bit more upbeat. A senior citizen saves the day at an Internet cafe.

Take a look at this surveillance video. It shows how two men entered with guns pointed at customers in Ocala, Florida. Then you see this 71-year-old Samuel Williams. We're going to see him in a minute. There, the two are entering the store.

OK, Samuel Williams literally is going to fire back. He pulls out his concealed weapon and he begins firing at the two robbers who then run out. The two suspects were caught.

Williams, here he comes. Look at this. Look at that. He just takes them on. He whips out his gun and the suspects, the perps, just go returning. Williams is facing no charges.

In this particular case, the stand your ground law did work the way perhaps some people think it's supposed to work.

JACKSON: Hey, you know, Deb, it's about time, right? In light of recent stories we've been talking about, don't have to name them, Mr. Martin.

I mean, look, here there's an instance where it's robber beware. When you go into a place and you have a baseball bat and a gun and there's someone there who decides to stand their ground and fight back in the protection of themselves and others then it's perfectly appropriate that he acted legally and responsibly in voiding the threat and potentially saving the lives of many other people who were there.

So, thank goodness, in this instance, Deb, for stand your ground.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. And it clearly looks like he was a decent shot because nobody got hurt. Nobody got in the way. Nobody got in the line of fire.

Joey Jackson, thank you so much.

JACKSON: A pleasure.

FEYERICK: Well, she's an actress, a mother and the wife of Will Smith. Jada Pinkett Smith spends her morning on Capitol Hill, telling lawmakers something needs to be done to stop human trafficking.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, if it's interesting and happening now, "Rapid Fire," let's go.

The Boy Scouts of America has announced that there will be no change to its ban on openly gay leaders or leaders. The Boy Scouts CEO issued a statement that reads, quote, "The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their rights to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting."

Movie stars on Capitol Hill shining the spotlight on a real life tragedy. Actress Jada Pinkett smith is an advocate for the group Don't Sell Bodies. Addressing the Senate foreign relations committee today, she spoke about the rise in Americans becoming enslaved in the sex trade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JADA PINKETT SMITH, ACTRESS: Fighting slavery doesn't cost a lot of money, but the cost of allowing it to exist in our nation and abroad are much higher. It robs us of the thing we value the most, our freedom. And we know what that freedom is worth. We have paid a high price to defend it here and abroad.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FEYERICK: Pinkett Smith says her daughter first drew her attention to the problem of human slavery.

And Brown University pulling Joe Paterno's name from an annual award it gives for outstanding student athletes. The former head football coach's 46-year legacy ended in disgrace back in November in the wake of that sexual abuse scandal involving former Penn State assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky.

And calls for a statue of Paterno at Penn State to be torn down are ramping up. A small plane flew around the Penn State campus today. A banner flying behind the plane read, "Take down the statue or we will."

Paterno died of lung cancer in January at the age of 85, two months after he was fired.

And, as Olympic athletes begin arriving this London, major holes in security have put the man in charge in the hot seat. At a parliament hearing, the CEO of security firm G4S faced hostile questions and criticism about his company's failure to recruit enough security staff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Buckles, it's a humiliating shambles, isn't it?

NICK BUCKLES, CEO, G4S: It's not where we want to be, that is certain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a humiliating shambles for the company, yes or no?

BUCKLES: I cannot disagree with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, the British government has called in more than 3,000 military personnel to make up for the contractor's security shortfalls.

And a young girl falls from her apartment building, three stories up and she survives with no scratches thanks to one man who refuses to be called a hero. He's going to be joining me, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: This video from New York is one of the more interesting things you're going to see all day. No, we're definitely not overselling this.

First of all, you have to look up in the right corner of your screen. That's a seven-year-old girl standing on top of an air-conditioner on the third floor. And suddenly she falls, tumbling down into the hands of a driver. You can see it again in slow motion. This is the catch of a lifetime. The girl's mother says that the child is autistic, according to reports.

We're lucky to be joined by the man who caught that girl, Steven St. Bernard. He is on the phone. And, Mr. St. Bernard, you say you're not a hero, but a lot of people would disagree with that. How did you know this girl was in trouble?

STEVEN ST. BERNARD, CAUGHT FALLING SEVEN-YEAR OLD (via telephone): She was standing on top of the air-conditioner and she was just smiling and teetering back and forth without a care in the world.

You know, she just looked happy, but I knew she was in trouble because there was no other way down.

FEYERICK: You can see some people there, also on the ground. Did they call for you to help them? What was happening then?

ST. BERNARD (via telephone): Well, the kids that you see in the background, all of the kids were the ones who turned around and was calling me. They were just calling out for anyone and saying, look up.

I looked up and I saw the little girl on top of the air-conditioner.

FEYERICK: Right. Now, were you -- we understand that you are a city bus driver. Were you, at the time this was going on, were you actually in the middle of driving that bus?

ST. BERNARD (via telephone): Oh, no. I had just finished about 45 minutes earlier.

FEYERICK: All right, so, you're a neighbor. What was going through your head? Did you actually think -- because I think this is what people wonder -- did you actually think that you could catch her or were you simply trying to break her fall?

ST. BERNARD (via telephone): Oh, no, I actually thought I could catch her. It never occurred to me, never crossed my mind that I wasn't going to be able to catch her. I just wanted to make sure I was in the right place at the right time.

FEYERICK: And what's so amazing is that you definitely were in the right place at the right time. Did she -- did somebody -- why did she jump at that moment? Or was it more of a fall, do you know?

ST. BERNARD (via telephone): Well, I don't think the child is aware of the fact that she was in danger. She just looked so happy and free-spirited up there.

I guess she looked down and saw me and said, you know -- in fact, she just came to me. You know, that was God's will.

FEYERICK: That is remarkable. Now, you -- obviously, you're catching a child and she's seven-years old -- six-years old. You're catching this child. Did you get hurt at all?

ST. BERNARD (via telephone): Well, I tore the left tendon in my biceps muscle. That's all that happened.

FEYERICK: OK. And, so, do you know -- have you spoken to the girl or to her parents since this happened?

ST. BERNARD (via telephone): Well, about ten minutes ago to be exact, I saw the mother and I saw the little girl.

FEYERICK: And how did -- did the little girl recognize you? What did the mother say?

ST. BERNARD (via telephone): The mother, she thanked me. She gave me a hug and she thanked me very much. And the little girl just smiled at me.

FEYERICK: You know, it's amazing, Mr. St. Bernard. A lot of people wouldn't have gone in and done that. You did. Was it just -- were you just acting on gut? Was it something -- why'd you do it?

ST. BERNARD (via telephone): That should be a normal reaction from anybody. I mean, that's a child. I have a seven-year-old daughter. And all I could think about was saving the little girl.

And if I didn't catch her, how could I live with myself? What would my daughter think if I didn't catch her?

FEYERICK: Wow, well, Steven St. Bernard, thank you so much. You saved this little girl's life. You are indeed a hero. Thank you so much for joining us and giving us your thoughts as you were catching this child. Thank you, sir.

ST. BERNARD (via telephone): OK.

FEYERICK: Well, an 83-year-old woman loses the love of her life then has to pay more than $300,000 in federal estate taxes. Why? Because she's a lesbian. And she's taking her case to the Supreme Court. Her story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, they say a little bit of honesty goes a long way. Well, what about this?

A woman in Akron, Ohio, is drawing a lot of attention because she's not looking to collect money for food or shelter. She's looking to collect money for breast implants.

Staked out on an intersection, propped up on a motorbike, her sign reads, quote, "Not homeless, need boobs." She even got a panhandling license to make the whole thing legal.

And, of course, that's the perfect segue because we're just a few minutes away from the top of the hour. Wolf Blitzer and "THE SITUATION ROOM," up next. Wolf, I don't think I would be sitting out on a motorcycle there. What do you have coming up on today's show?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Well, John Sununu, the former New Hampshire governor who's a top adviser in the Romney campaign, is going to be joining us to explain some of his comments he made on a conference call earlier today.

Among other things, he said, "I wish this president would learn to be an American," so he's got some explaining to do. Precisely, what did he mean? John Sununu will join us live in our next hour.

On a very different subject, on North Korea, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Bill Richardson will join us live in our 5:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

And in our new 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour, the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, is in South Africa right now. He's got some thoughts on Nelson Mandela and his legacy. He spoke exclusively to CNN in South Africa today. We'll hear from Bill Clinton in our 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

So we got a lot of news coming up right here in "The Situation Room."

FEYERICK: Great lineup. OK. Wolf Blitzer, thanks.

Well, she's 83 years old and she's suing the federal government over the Defense of Marriage Act. Edie Windsor got hit with a $363,000 tax bill when her partner of more than four decades, Thea Spyer, passed away.

The two got married in Canada back in 2007, but since gay marriage is not recognized by the U.S. government, she was hit with the estate tax.

I spoke with Edie Windsor last hour and I asked her if the tax bill is what inspired her to take action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDIE WINDSOR, SUING TO OVERTURN DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT: Right after Thea died, I had a heart attack and I was quite sick. And at the same time, I'm devastated by the loss of the great love of my life and very sick and had to deal with pulling together enough money to pay the taxes, OK?

And it was deeply upsetting and there's a film about me and Thea. And I thought, I have documentation of a real marriage. And if my government can't accept that, can't see it and accept it, I have to fight for it. And that's really how it came about.

FEYERICK: After 40 years of being together, did you feel that you were past having to do this? You're 83. There are a lot more ways you could be spending your time right now.

WINDSOR: Well, there are a couple of things. One, there used to be a thing called common law. In which case, we would have been married just by virtue of the number of years in which we lived together as married.

We had no idea that being married would be drastically different in our lives. I mean, we lived together as if married. We never considered ourselves single.

But it did. We received -- when the notice appeared in "The New York Times," we received letters from people from every walk of our lives and from every age. I mean, really, playmates and schoolmates and colleagues and just everything, wishing us, you know, joy and well. So, everyone treated us differently.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And Edie tells me she filed suit for one reason, so that other people won't have to go through what she's been through.

Well, we all know the saying, if you're handed lemons, make lemonade. Well, take a look at this. One guy in Indiana didn't let the state's worst drought in years stop him from having the greenest lawn on the block. Armed with a tin of bright green paint, Timothy Birdwell, who happens to be a painter, decided to paint his brown grass green.

And on the lighter side of politics, it took a couple of tries, but President Obama laid one on his first lady during Team USA's basketball game in Washington last night.

The Obamas were a little shy when they appeared on the Kiss Cam in the first quarter, even getting booed by the crowd. But they got a second chance in the fourth quarter and President Obama did not disappoint.

Well, thanks everyone for watching today. I'm Deborah Feyerick.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer starts right now.