Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Church Becomes Oklahoma Donation Center; New Evidence Released in George Zimmerman Case; Tornado Insurance Claims Could Top $2 Billion; Obama to Make "Major" National Security Speech.

Aired May 23, 2013 - 13:30   ET

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

REV. DOUG BREWER, MISSION DIRECTOR, SOUTHGATE BAPTIST CHURCH: We have electricity so it's enabled us to be able to serve our community and with other churches to help people in our area.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Just some context, your church is literally very close to that elementary school that was destroyed.

SARAH MARSHALL, SOUTHGATE BAPTIST CHURCH: Yes. Our property that our church sits on backs right up to where the elementary school and the plaza towers addition are.

BLITZER: And so how is it that the elementary school was knocked out and the church was relatively OK?

MARSHALL: You know, we truly believe it was the hand of God that was protecting us so that we can turn around and bless other people. We're in a great spot where we can reach out to this neighborhood and the neighborhoods around. And that's the only way that we can explain it.

BLITZER: It's one thing about these tornadoes, Pastor, and you've lived through them for a lot longer, I've walked around here, certain parts of the street seem to be OK, right across the street it's a disaster. You've noticed that as well I'm sure.

BREWER: Within 50 foot of our property we have a major tree that's literally uprooted. And just 50 feet from it, there's rose bushes with petals still on the flowers. There's a wooden cross impaled on the front of our building. Things could be destroyed one side of the street or next door and the other is perfectly in tact.

BLITZER: So tell us what you're doing now to help the folks here, because they need a lot of help.

MARSHALL: Yes, we are accepting donations from churches and -- you know, we have individuals coming in from states around us bringing clothes, water, food, toiletries. We also have Mercy Chefs and Tyson that have brought trucks and they're serving three hot meals a day to anyone that needs them they can walk up and get them. We're also putting them in trucks and taking them to the neighborhoods as we're allowed in.

BLITZER: You know, the president, President Obama will be here on Sunday. He'll be visiting the area. I'm sure he'll be participating. If there is a memorial service, he'll be here. What would you say to him if he comes your way?

BREWER: I would express our appreciation for his care and concern for us as a people. And I just -- to ask him to consider us in mind with the needs that we have in this area and to thank him for his mind with it.

BLITZER: Well said, thank you very much. Good luck to you. Good luck to the community. Good luck to everyone here in Oklahoma.

Thanks very much.

And if you want to help, you can. You can help all those people who have been affected by the tornado. This is what you should do. Go to CNN.com. You can impact your world. There's CNN.com/impact, good place to go and make a contribution to all sorts of good causes who are helping the folks here in Oklahoma.

We're going to have much more coverage from Oklahoma ahead, including the insurance battle that some of the homeowners are now facing.

But coming up, we're just weeks away from another big trial, George Zimmerman, charged in the death of Trayvon Martin. Now there's brand new information found on Martin's cell phone. We're going to have that, much more news coming up from right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: In just a few moments, President Obama's going to address the nation. The White House calls it a major national security speech. The president's going to outline the framework of his counter-terrorism policy. Now, this is where he speaks, this is the National Defense University in Washington. We are told that he's going to discuss some of the new dangers that are facing the United States. He's going to talk about the use of drones and the future of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, of course. We're going to carry this live. And our colleague, Jake Tapper, he's going to begin live coverage in about 15 minutes or so.

New evidence now has just been released -- this is in the Trayvon Martin murder case. It includes cell phone photos, text messages that were sent by the teenager.

I want to bring in our David Mattingly, who has been poring over the information.

First, David, what's the significance of this? You've seen some of this.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's only significant if it comes up in trial. Trayvon Martin isn't the one on trial here, George Zimmerman is. But it gives us insight into the mind and thoughts of Trayvon Martin because it looks very closely at what was in his cell phone, his most personal photos, his most personal text exchanges. And a picture is emerging that the defense for George Zimmerman says they will use in court if character ends up becoming an issue with George Zimmerman. MALVEAUX: What have you found?

MATTINGLY: What we're seeing in these records that are coming out, first of all, the photographs. We're seeing photographs of Trayvon Martin blowing smoke. We're seeing pictures from his cell phone of marijuana plants. We're also seeing pictures from his phone of a firearm. So the attorneys for George Zimmerman saying people could look at that and reasonably draw the conclusion that he was using drugs, did have a fondness for firearms. And they're saying that evidence will come out in trial if they have to debate the character issue here.

MALVEAUX: So what does his team think about it, his own legal team, Trayvon Martin's attorneys for the family?

MATTINGLY: He says it's completely not relevant. He says -- Benjamin Crump, speaking for the family, tells me that George Zimmerman had no idea who Trayvon Martin was the night that they had that encounter, the night they got into a fight, and the night George Zimmerman ended up shooting and killing Trayvon Martin during that fight. So he said what was in that cell phone is completely irrelevant. We'll see what happens when it comes up in trial.

But we've also got some interesting text messages to look at. First of all, this is taken from the text messages -- this was in February shortly before that. He's talking about marijuana use. He talked about how he had to hide his marijuana. He said, "I'm hiding my weed, it's wrapped." And another day that February saying, "I've got weed and I get money on Friday." There was another one talking about guns. He was having exchanges with, text exchanges with people saying, "You got heat? You got a gun"? And someone asks him, you want a .22 revolver? And he's saying, "Who's the shooter"? Another day also he said, "You want to share a 38 caliber with --" and then the name was blocked out. Then there was someone who asked him, do you want 150 for the .38, suggesting that he was trying to sell a gun. He said, "No, I'll probably get that too late." We don't know what any of this means. There's no context involved here.

But again, the attorneys for George Zimmerman say it could paint a picture for someone who had a propensity for violence, someone who liked guns, someone who had a history of drug use. There was also text messages involving -- this is what I found interesting also -- talking about him fighting. Trayvon Martin in exchanges talking about fighting. One time -- this was back in 2011, saying that he was sore this one particular day because he'd got into a fight because of the first round the guy had him on the round and he couldn't do anything. He lost the first round, but he won the second and the third. And then he said, "I'm not done with that guy. I'm going to have to see him again because --" -- this is what Trayvon Martin was saying -- this was the text sent from his phone -- "saying he didn't bleed enough for me in that first time, only his nose." But after that he says, "I'm done."

MALVEAUX: David, in light of the fact, Trayvon Martin is not here, he's been killed, not here to answer to any of these things and the phone, is this going to be able to be used in trial? Or is that still up in the air?

MATTINGLY: This is a shot fired over the bow of the prosecution by the defense. The defense says, we've got this and we're prepared to use it in court to make Trayvon Martin look really bad if you go after George Zimmerman's client (ph) because they argue the only thing important here was who started the fight and how that fight played out and why George Zimmerman had to pull that trigger.

MALVEAUX: All right. We'll see what happens in trial.

Thank you. Appreciate it, David.

More than 4,000 insurance claims have now been filed since Monday's tornado. Coming up, we're going to talk about the long haul that homeowners might face as they try to get this money to rebuild.

But first, kids learning more about science by playing with electronic Legos. That's right. Pretty cool stuff.

Sanjay Gupta tells us about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This week, on "The Next List," Eye of the Deer, inventor of the next generation of Legos called Little Bits.

AYAH BDEIR, FOUNDER, LITTLE BITS: Each little bit is a pre-assembled, pre-engineered electronic module that has one specific function.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One thing I notice is the colors are very gender neutral. They're not all pink. They're not all blue.

BDEIR: There's a hidden agenda that I really believe we have to work harder to get girls interested in science and technology, but I don't believe in producing products for girls or for boys. I think that the intention here was that Little Bits were not going to be designed for boys. That was a deliberate decision. And automatically they became gender neutral.

My name is Ayah Bdeir. I'm an engineer and I'm the founder of Little Bits.

GUPTA: Watch how Ayah is revolutionizing how kids learn about technology, this Saturday, 2:30 eastern on "The Next List."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The state insurance commissioner here in Oklahoma says claims from Monday's devastating tornado could top $2 billion. The storm damaged or destroyed an estimated 12,000 homes in Moore and Oklahoma City. Now, people without homes have to worry about filing insurance claims so they can start rebuilding.

Let's bring in our own Alison Kosik. She's been doing some research on what's going on. Alison, will the insured residents be fully covered for the cost of the rebuilding?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK, Wolf. So what we found out was that it really would be one of these case-by-case basis kinds of things. But what analysts are telling us is that, overall, for people who had their homes destroyed or damaged in this tornado, that they should be fully covered by their standard homeowners insurance.

Now, the fact that tornadoes fall under regular coverage, that is really the big deal here because damage let's say from other natural disasters like hurricanes, remember the Sandy victims, they require additional coverage. So, you know, these tornado victims should really be covered, we're hearing from our analysts, should be fully covered.

Now, these insurance claims are already piling up. 4,000 have already been filed so far. Of course, Oklahoma's expecting that number to rise -- Wolf?

BLITZER: And what do people need to know about specifically filing those insurance claims? Because it could be complicated.

KOSIK: Yeah, it really can. I mean, for one, the most important thing that people can do is kind of an obvious thing. They need to document the damage. Take pictures, make a list of things that are missing or damaged. And if you don't have pictures of those things to prove you own those items, believe it or not, credit card statements could work too. A lot of those are electronic that you may have gotten through your e-mail.

Also, keep records of storm-related expenses, meaning if you've got bills from meals or hotels, or if you make repairs on your house you want to keep those bills as well because you can be reimbursed for those things.

Also, file your insurance claim as quickly as possible. Most policies require that claims have to be filed within six months.

Now, one negative here to be aware of, reimbursement for items are likely -- for the items that you have now, they're going to be valued at what they are right now. So, let's say, clothing or furniture, they're likely worth less now than when you originally bought them for, so you're really only going to get the actual value. Don't be surprised about that -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Alison, good information. Thank you.

This important note for our viewers. This weekend, you can get an up- close look at the storm chasers who risked their lives to get incredible footage of the tornado that hit here in Moore, Oklahoma. You can watch "Storm Hunters in the Path of Disaster," an Anderson Cooper special report. It airs Saturday night, 7:00 p.m. eastern.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Actor Brad Pitt reportedly has a memory problem. That's what he is saying. Tells "Esquire" magazine he can't remember people's faces. He thinks he might have a can called face blindness, although he hasn't been officially diagnosed with it.

I want to bring in Elizabeth Cohen to tell us whether or not there is real.

I've never heard this before.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is real.

MALVEAUX: Really?

COHEN: It is a real diagnosis. And we were talking to one expert who explained it, it's kind of like dyslexia of the face. You can see individual letters in dyslexia but it doesn't make a word. So if I have face blindness, I might see pretty green eyes, bright shiny teeth --

(LAUGHTER)

-- beautiful woman, but I'm not sure who it is, even though I've known you for years and seen you every day.

MALVEAUX: Wow.

COHEN: So it's not being able to make sense of it and put it together. Doctors think it's much more common than people think and there's a continuum. Some people don't recognize their own face in the mirror. That's how bad it is.

MALVEAUX: Really?

COHEN: But other people might be, I'm not great with faces.

MALVEAUX: So what causes this? Do they have any idea if this is --

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: They have no idea. Some people have it since childhood and other people have a stroke and it brings on face blind blindness or have a car accident and hit their head. But they really have no idea.

MALVEAUX: Can you do anything, treat it, or just have to apologize, say, sorry?

COHEN: Unfortunately, some people just are really to some degree paralyzed by this and stay home and don't want to see other people. Other people learn to apologize. Some people might learn, Suzanne Malveaux, I'll remember her bangs, kind of go like that.

(LAUGHTER)

So we'll use a trick about one single aspect of a person's face. But really there's no great treatment.

MALVEAUX: All right. I forget names but not faces. I'm pretty good with faces.

COHEN: A different disorder.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: All right. Elizabeth, thank you.

COHEN: You bet.

MALVEAUX: A face we all recognize -- Wolf. Hey, Wolf.

BLITZER: Hey, Suzanne. Thanks very much.

That's it for me here in Moore, at least for now. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in the "The Situation Room," special coverage from Oklahoma, all the day's other news as well.

Jake Tapper is leading CNN's special coverage back in Washington. The president about -- getting ready to deliver a major speech on national security at the National Defense University in Washington. We'll have special coverage of that right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jake Tapper, live in Washington, D.C., where very soon, President Obama will deliver a major speech on national security and the fight against terrorism. The topics he's expected to address today including two of his administration's most controversial programs, the use of predator drones to target terrorists and other countries, and the future of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. This speech comes just 24 hours after the Justice Department revealed four Americans had been killed by secretive drone strikes in the past few years. Of those four, only one of them had been targeted.

This comes just a week after CNN spent days inside Gitmo speaking with guards about the disturbing conditions and the expense of keeping it open. Each detainee cost the U.S. about $900,000 per year.

By the way, we're told as many as 36 detainees have access to live television to watch the president's speech in just a few minutes.

Standing by we have CNN national security analyst, Fran Townsend; Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, who just returned from Gitmo; and chief political analyst, Gloria Borger.

But first, I want to go to chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin.

Jessica, what can you tell us about the speech?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jake. The president is going to hit on a broad array of topics, laying out some of the standards which he has never previously gone into such great detail on before for his own drone attacks on suspected terrorists. And he'll go into, we're told -- he'll make the case again for closing Guantanamo Bay. Maybe even explaining how he will use his own executive authority to take steps to repatriate of the prisoners there. We understand he'll talk about the tensions between national security leaks and press freedom. And also how the U.S. plans to go after homegrown terrorists, an issue that's a new concern after the Boston Marathon attacks.

Some questions we're not sure about that should be interesting, the U.S. has been going on what they call al Qaeda associates, terrorists that are affiliated with al Qaeda but not directly connected to the 9/11 attacks. Will he define who that enemy is? Will he say how long this war will go on? We don't know. A member of the Pentagon said earlier, it could go on for another 20 years. So that's raised some eyebrows lately.

We also don't know if he's going to talk about how he plays to deal with some of those people in Guantanamo Bay, who don't -- aren't considered safe enough to return to their home countries and have to be held in the U.S. without trial indefinitely.

So this raises the question, why is he doing this now? Why is he giving the speech?

Jake, there has been a lot of concern in consternation ever since John Brennen left the White House and had a confirmation hearing to become the next CIA director. There were concerns raised on Capitol Hill about the drones program. There have been concerns about the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay. President Obama vowed in his State of the Union address to have more transparency on his fight against terror and fight against al Qaeda, and this is his attempt now to change his policy, in a sense, explain his policy, before history can be written about this administration and make it a clearer, a more transparent, and a more law-abiding policy. He does not want to be defined as the man who was -- forgive the phrase -- a drone killer who acted outside of law and with no known adherence to any written policy -- Jake?

BLITZER: All right, Jessica Yellin.

You're looking at live pictures of National Defense University at Ft. McNair. We're expecting President Obama to speak about national security in the next couple minutes. In the audience, we're told, it's made up of students from National Defense University, national security counter-terrorism legal and human rights experts and, of course, U.S. government officials who have worked on the policies as well as the speech itself.

I want to go very quickly to Gloria Borger, our chief political analyst.

Gloria, why is President Obama doing this speech now? There doesn't seem to be any huge demand by the Democratic Party for him to explain these policies. Is the fact that Rand Paul gave that filibuster a few months ago about drones, is that part of this? GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: I think this is a president right now who wants to press the reset button here because he is, as you know, Jake, the constitutional scholar who has a lot of questions about how these policies are enacted himself, not only from his Democratic base about the questions of Guantanamo which, after all, Jake, he promised to close when he first became president of the United States. I think he's got a lot of issues about Guantanamo. He sees it as a rallying cry for a kind of would-be militant.

Also, the counter-terror efforts. I think what he wants to do with drones is have one consistent policy run by the military, not run by the CIA, lay out some very clear standards about when you can and cannot use drones because, don't forget, drones are going to become more and more common, so maybe this is his way of saying to all countries maybe we kind of need some kind of Geneva pact on drones.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Gloria, I'm going to interrupt you here, I'm sorry.

BORGER: Sure.

TAPPER: President Obama is taking the stage. We're going to take a listen.