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Drivers Plunge as Part of Bridge Falls; New Jury to Decide Jodi Arias' Fate; Tornado Survivors Start to Rebuild; Fighter Jets Escorting Passenger Plane; 2 More Arrests in London Terror Attack; Obama Defends Handling of Guantanamo

Aired May 24, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Have a safe weekend. CNN NEWSROOM with Carol Costello and Brooke Baldwin begins right now.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, bridge collapse, cars plunge into the freezing water below.

DAN SLIGH, INJURED IN BRIDGE COLLAPSE: When the dust hit, I saw the bridge start to fall. At that point, forward momentum just carried us right over.

COSTELLO: As you head out the door for Memorial Day weekend, how safe are you?

Also, deadlocked.

JUDGE SHERRY STEPHENS, MARICOPA COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT: You are unable to come to a unanimous decision.

COSTELLO: A courtroom in tears, a judge almost breaking down as Jodi Arias gets a do-over.

STEPHENS: This was not your typical trial.

COSTELLO: Plus, dramatic new pictures as a London hackers lunge at police. Police open fire, but so many questions remain.

And miracle in Moore. Born in the midst of the tornado, baby Brayden Emmanuel. Translation? God is with us.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And good morning. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello. This morning, we begin with the near tragedy in Washington state. And one that could raise questions about your own safety when you get behind a wheel this weekend. This crumpled heap of twisted metal used to be part of the Interstate-5 bridge over the Skagit River near Mount Vernon.

Somehow all three drivers who are on that bridge at the time it collapsed survived. You will hear -- you'll hear that man on the right relive his terrifying plunge into the water. But first here's how he describes the moments leading up to it as he followed a tractor-trailer with an oversized load. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SLIGH: When the dust hit, I saw the bridge start to fall. At that point, forward momentum just carried us right over and as you saw the water approaching, it's just one of those, you hold on as tight as you can, and just a white flash and cold water. It was definitely cold of this time of the year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Wow. Before the dust even settled, the vehicles were in free fall toward the Skagit River.

Katharine Barrett is at the scene, along with lots of investigators.

So, Katharine, if witnesses say the truck slammed the structure, what more are they looking for?

KATHARINE BARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're not exactly sure where it slammed into the structure. It's possible I suppose that the structure was on its way to collapsing and fell on that rig. Perhaps it was its weight and not the impact. There is a lot that they're going to have to tease out of this.

There were transportation engineers swarming over the bridge last night and the state has emergency repair crews on call, but all of that is going to have to wait for National Transportation Safety Board investigators who are on their way here, expected to arrive before midday, local time to try and find out exactly what happened last night at 7:00 p.m.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARRETT (voice-over): A dramatic scene north of Seattle. Two vehicles were crossing the I-5 bring when it collapsed. Three people inside those cars were tossed into the Skagit River. Fortunately rescue teams arrived quickly plucking them from the fast-moving waters. This man was on the bridge when it folded.

SLIGH: There was a big puff of dust, and I hit the brakes. The weight of the trailer and everything else, we went right off with the bridge as it collapsed.

BARRETT: Washington State Patrol says right now their investigation is focused on an 18-wheeler.

CHIEF JOHN BATISTE, WASHINGTON STATE PATROL: For reasons unknown at this point in time, the semi-truck struck the overhead of the bridge causing the collapse.

BARRETT: A team from the National Transportation Safety Board is being sent to the scene to help authorities determine what happened. Authorities say the bridge was inspected twice last year and they say it was in need of repair. This survivor says he is grateful to be alive.

SLIGH: I am surprised to be here this evening and glad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARRETT: Many in Washington state and in this region are also glad and relieved that with 70,000 people estimated to cross this span every day, more people were not injured or worse.

Back to you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Which makes my next question -- I mean, this bridge has been identified as structurally obsolete. So why were people continuing to drive over it?

BARRETT: Well, the phrase that they actually use is functionally obsolete which, as bad as that sounds, somehow doesn't actually mean structurally unsound. It means it's an outdated design, perhaps it is a little narrower than it might be I modern era. Perhaps it's a little bit lower clearance.

They -- this bridge was inspected twice within the past year and some repairs made. But it had been deemed actually structurally safe. But it's old. It's a 58-year-old bridge and perhaps not in the best shape -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I don't think so. Katharine Barrett, reporting live for us this morning. Thanks. And stay with the NEWSROOM. At the bottom of the hour, we'll talk more about this country's aging infrastructure and what exactly needs to be done to fix it.

Maybe we should have expected it. After all, it hasn't been exactly your average everyday trial. The jury has deadlocked in the Jodi Arias trial and that means a new jury will have to decide whether Arias lives or dies.

Casey Wian has more for you from Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHENS: Ladies and gentlemen, I understand you have reached a verdict?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT WIAN (voice-over): There was confusion and surprise, even in the voice of the clerk who announced the jury in the Jodi Arias case was hopelessly deadlocked on the death penalty for the murder of former boyfriend Travis Alexander.

CHRISTINA MCCAIN, COURT CLERK: We, the jury, dully empanelled and sworn in the above entitled action upon our oaths, unanimously find, having considered all of the facts and circumstances, that the defendant should be sentenced -- no -- no unanimous agreement.

WIAN: Arias sighed as members of Alexander's family began to sob. Jurors, who declined to speak with a throng of reporters covering the trial, were emotional and so was Judge Sherry Stephens.

STEPHENS: Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the participants in this trial, I wish to thank you for your extraordinary service to this community. This was not your typical trial.

WIAN: That it wasn't. It lasted nearly five months during which Arias took the stand for 18 days and later made one last plea for her life. Under Arizona law jurors were allowed to ask more than 200 questions. Throughout there was sexually graphic images and recordings and most difficult to forget gruesome photographs of Alexander's body with dozens of stab wounds, a bullet hole, and his neck slashed nearly ear to ear.

STEPHENS: Thank you. Please be seated.

WIAN: Judge Stephens set a new trial date for July 18th, only on the question of the death penalty. Prosecutors could be allowed to bring up Arias' recent string of television interviews, according to lawyers with knowledge of death penalty prosecutions in Arizona. For example, this statement to a KSAZ reporter minutes after her conviction.

JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER: Well, the worst outcome for me would be natural life. I would much rather die sooner than later. I said years ago that I'd rather get death than life and that still is true today.

WIAN: Nearly two weeks later, she told the jury a different story.

ARIAS: To me, life in prison was the most unappealing outcome I could possibly think of. I thought I'd rather die. But as I stand here now, I can't in good conscience ask you to sentence me to death because of them.

WIAN: As Arias gesture to her family, the family of her victim, Travis Alexander, has clearly struggled with the jury's inability to agree. They won't be granting interviews until there's a sentence. And according to the county sheriff, neither will Jodi Arias.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Casey Wian joins us now from outside the courthouse in Phoenix.

Is a new set of jurors the only option here?

WIAN: Well, probably not, Carol. As you can imagine, it would be very difficult to find a new set of jurors that has not been influenced by the incredible, intense media coverage of this case. One potential way out of this mess is a negotiated settlement, where the prosecution could conceivably take the death penalty off the table, if Jodi Arias would agree to accept life in prison without the possibility of release, and possibly give up the right to appeal her conviction.

We don't know if Jodi would take that deal. We also don't know if the Travis Alexander family would go along with that. They have endured so much, been through so much, being in that courtroom, seeing the graphic testimony, day after day, for five months -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Casey Wian, reporting live for us from Phoenix this morning.

We'll have more on that new -- new jury, rather, later on in the hour. We'll also ask a consultant -- a jury consultant if that deadlocked juror could have become too emotionally invested to serving for such a long trial.

Now let's get to Moore, Oklahoma, where the community is struggling to get back on its feet and today they are set to bury more tornado victims.

Brooke Baldwin in Moore.

Good morning, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Carol Costello, good morning to you. Yes, a tough couple of days certainly here in Moore, Oklahoma.

Let me just set the scene for you. We're in this neighborhood, day two. Folks who live here are able to come in and start to see what -- what reality is facing them. What they have left.

You know just even driving down from Oklahoma City to be here live with you this morning, I will tell you that we saw power crew after power crew after power crew, kind of coming down, so the people who are lucky enough to still sort of have the brick-and-mortar, the walls of their homes, working to get power restored.

In the meantime, a little bit of a happy news. Some buzz this morning. A fellow Oklahoman, Carrie Underwood. A lot of people talking about she's now announcing last night that she'll be giving $1 million from her own tour. She's from a town about two hours east of where I'm standing. So some happy news there.

But as you mentioned, funerals certainly happening here in Moore, Oklahoma, burying the little ones and the adults who perished just a couple of days ago.

Also the president coming here to Moore this weekend.

I want to bring in Pamela Brown, who has more on really it's just this reality that -- what is this now? Friday? It's finally sort of sinking in for these people.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. You know, I got here on Monday night, and I have seen a difference in the people. When we got here on Monday, people were walking around, sort of shell-shocked, like they were in a daze.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BROWN: And it seems like, Brooke, now they're trying to move forward, they're beginning that healing process, trying to rebuild and pick up the pieces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KENYETTA RICHARD, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Doggone it.

BROWN (voice-over): Kenyetta Richard considers herself one of the lucky ones. Her house in Moore is still standing barely.

RICHARD: It was the rain that caused most of the damage. The ceiling is caving in. The kids' clothes are getting wet. The beds are getting wet.

BROWN: Still, she's not letting that put a damper on her Memorial Day plans.

RICHARD: It's supposed to be sunny on Monday and all of our friends are going to come and I'm going to convince my husband to barbecue in the midst of all the rubbage. That's the plan.

BROWN: Slowly, the rebuilding is beginning, insurance adjustors are making the rounds. The cost of repairs is estimated at more than $2 billion with 4,000 claims filed as of Wednesday.

Residents are returning to their demolished homes to salvage belongings with volunteers helping them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just found some financial paperwork, tax returns, important documents like that.

BROWN: Neighbors comforted each other. Matt Hill once had a home. What's left of it now fits into this black bag.

MATT HILL, TORNADO SURVIVOR: This Xbox I bought the day before the storm. Walked at home. I was afraid I was going to lose it. So I didn't buy it for myself, I bought it for my little brothers.

BROWN: The heavy toll of the tornado is being felt in other ways with funerals already underway, including for Antonia Candelaria, one of the seven children killed at Plaza Towers Elementary. Surviving classmates and the teachers who protected them said emotional goodbyes before summer break.

HOLLY HERBERT, THIRD GRADER AT PLAZA TOWERS: We just didn't really talk about nothing. We just gave each other big hugs.

BROWN: Third grader Holly Herbert hugged this stuffed lion she named after the five friends she lost.

HERBERT: Sidney.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kyle.

HERBERT: Antonia, Kyle, Nicholas, Jenae.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Those are all your friends that died?

HERBERT: Yes. I am appalled right now.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So I bet you're going to hold on to that little guy forever, huh? HERBERT: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: That is so sweet.

BROWN: I know.

BALDWIN: And so sad.

BROWN: We heard her talk about her friends that she lost. And that two of their funerals are this morning, Brooke. This morning at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. There's a funeral for Kyle Davis, only 8 years old. And 9-year-old Nicholas McCabe. According to their obituaries Kyle liked to go to Monster Truck events. He liked to play soccer, Nicholas McCabe had a love for country music and love for Legos, so just so sad, and the funerals will continue. Certainly a somber Memorial Day weekend here in Moore.

BALDWIN: Absolutely. Pamela Brown, thank you so much.

So, Carol, you know, while so many people are so thrilled to, you know, be off this weekend and celebrating, it's not at all a time of celebration here in Moore.

COSTELLO: No, not at all.

Brooke Baldwin, Pamela Brown, many thanks to you.

We have a bit of breaking news to pass along to you now. And we don't know exactly what it's about. But it is curious. This is taking place in Britain right now. Apparently a Pakistani airliner coming in from Lahore to the Manchester Airport was diverted by military fighter jets. In fact, that plane is now being escorted by British fighter jets to Stanstead Airport, that's also in Britain.

Now we know -- we don't know why this happened. Why the plane was diverted. Why it's being escorted by these British fighter jets, but as you know, that terrible terror attack took place yesterday in Britain, in London, in a London suburb, and you've seen the pictures, so we're going to keep on this, and we're going to figure it out. When we get more information, of course we'll pass it along to you.

Also ahead in the NEWSROOM, new video shows terror suspects charging at London police. And this is what I was talking about. You see the police charging this hacker. We'll hear from a friend, too, from one of the suspects. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: OK. Just getting curiouser now. We're getting bits and pieces of information about that Pakistani airliner, which is now being escorted to another airport, within U.K. air space. In fact, a British fighter jet -- actually, let me start at the beginning. A Pakistani airliner was due to land at Manchester airport. But, something apparently happened on board that plane, we don't know what it was.

It's now being escorted by a British fighter jet and it's supposed to land in Stansted airport. That's also in Britain. We got this statement today from the U.K. ministry of defense. And I'm just going to read it to you, because I'm not going to parse it until I know exactly what it means. But I'm going to read it to you.

So, these British fighter jets were launched today to investigate an incident involving a civilian aircraft, within U.K. air space. Further details will be provided when known.

We have reporters going to Stansted airport in Britain, and when they get there, we'll, of course, take them live and try to get more information.

But on that same note, extra security is in place in London after a British soldier hacked to death. And dramatic new video shows two suspects charging at police after that terror attack. Those two suspects were wounded in a police shoot-out and are now in the hospital. Two other people have arrested in the case.

CNN's Dan Rivers on one suspect seen in a jarring piece of video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His bloodied image is seared into our brains, brandishing the meat cleaver and knife he is suspected of using to kill a British soldier. But who the Michael Adebolajo?

Friend Abu Barra says much of his extremist ideology and says he's known him for more than seven year.

ABU BARRA, FRIEND OF MICHAEL ADEBOLAJO: I mean, he has been concerned about the affairs of Muslims and people being oppressed and he could never tolerate anybody to really be oppressed and without to do and to say anything. And he felt very frustrated and helpless when he couldn't.

And as a person, he was always very caring, very concerned. He's also had a heart for other people and just wanted to help everybody.

RIVERS: But on Wednesday, it appears he wanted to kill. In this video, you can see him and his alleged accomplice running toward the police, brandishing knifes as if they deliberately waited at the scene to attack the first officers who responded. The officers who arrived were armed and shot both men.

Michael Adebolajo was a fixture at Islamist rallies like this one in London in 2007. He's understood to have converted to Islam from Christianity four years earlier. (INAUDIBLE) Nigerian descent, he studied at this school in Essex. He married in 2006, a marriage which Abu Barra was unable to attend because he was in prison for acknowledging Muslims to kill British soldiers in Iraq.

(on camera): Would you condemn what he did?

BARAA: I would condemn the cause of this, which is the British foreign policy. Again, Britain has taken its people, its public to war, it's taken the soldiers to war, knowing full well that war is a violent in practice and people get killed in war. Soldiers are in full knowledge that they could get killed.

So, Britain is the one who is responsible, the government. And I believe all of us of the public, we are responsible. We should condemn ourselves. Why did we not do enough to stop these wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan?

RIVERS: But you wouldn't condemn his actions?

BARAA: I would only condemn the one who is the cause of this, the aggressor, the occupier, which is the British government, the British troops.

RIVERS (voice-over): But this young soldier, drummer Lee Rigby, who has paid the price for such extremism.

CNN understand spies at the British security service, MI-5, based here in central London, were aware of Adebolajo and his accomplice while investigating other terrorist plots. But there was nothing to indicate either men were about to strike in such an appalling way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Dan Rivers is live in London.

So, Dan, did these suspects act alone, or is there evidence to tie them to a larger group?

RIVERS: At the moment, security sources are telling us that they were aware of both of these men for several years. But I don't think there's any suggestion at the moment they found no evidence that they are part of a wider network.

I think the fear they are lone wolf, self-radicalized, the jargon that sometimes used that these men have been gradually drawn in to extremist calls. Radicalized by watching extremist videos and then at some point have decided to go beyond simply attending protests as you saw in my report there, and actually carrying out a violent attack.

COSTELLO: Dan Rivers, live in London for us this morning -- thank you.

We're also trying to find out more about this Pakistani airliner that was diverted in British air space. We don't know why, but he's escorted by British fighter jets and it's going to land at Stansted airport in Britain, that's Essex. That's east of London, shortly.

Richard Quest is on the way. Hopefully, he'll be able to gather more information for us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

All right. A little more information about the Pakistani airliner that's being escorted by a British fighter jet to an airport in Essex. That's in Britain. We understand the plane has now landed. Apparently, there was some sort of incident on board that Pakistani airplane.

Essex police sent us a statement. I'm looking at it right now. Essex police say an incident has occurred on an aircraft. Essex police can confirm that the plane diverted to Stansted airport. It has landed. And, also the statement goes on to say police and partners are continuing to respond and, of course, they added further update will be released as soon as possible.

Our own Richard Quest is headed to Essex right now to that airport. When he gets there, we'll head live to Essex as well.

In other news this morning: President Obama stepping before the cameras to outline his approach to the war on terror, his handling of Guantanamo Bay and the administration's use of drones. But in a twist, criticism of the president's policies came long before his speech ended in the presence of a Code Pink heckler.

White House correspondent Dan Lothian has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pressure to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay didn't let up, even when President Obama delivering his highly anticipated speech on national security.

PROTESTER: You are commander in chief!

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me address it.

PROTESTER: You can close Guantanamo today!

LOTHIAN: Heckler Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the anti-war group Code Pink interrupted the president repeatedly.

OBAMA: Once, again --

PROTESTER: There are 102 people on hunger strikes, these desperate people.

OBAMA: I'm about to address it, ma'am. But you got to let me speak.

LOTHIAN: The president said the issues she raised are worth paying attention to, but made sure to point the finger at Congress for creating hurdles. OBAMA: I have tried to close Gitmo. I transferred 67 detainees to other countries, before Congress imposed restrictions to effectively prevent us from transferring them or moving them somewhere in the United States.

LOTHIAN: The president first pledged to close Gitmo during his 2008 campaign. And again, when took office in 2009.

But it remains open, and the situation is more urgent than ever as detainees continue a hunger strike. To ease the way to closing the facility, President Obama announced he is lifting a ban on detainee transfers to Yemen.

OBAMA: I know the politics are hard, but history will cast a harsh judgment on this aspect of our fight against terrorism and those of us who failed to end it.

LOTHIAN: But Republican Senator John McCain, as the president likes to remind Americans, he also supported closing Gitmo, suggested there's a lot more to it than just shutting the door.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The administration never came up with a coherent or cohesive plan to close Guantanamo Bay. That's why it is still open.

LOTHIAN: Other top Republicans labeled the administration's detainee policy a failure.

The heckler whose organization praised her in the tweet for, quote, "speaking the truth to Barack Obama", seems to want the same thing as the president, but has apparently grown tired of waiting.

PROTESTER: I love my country. I love the rule of law.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Dan Lothian joins me now from the White House.

I just want to ask you one more question about the heckler. This was an invited only event. How did she get in?

LOTHIAN: Well, from what we understand, the full report there, she did have a pass, gave a different name, which we understand is her real life when she arrived. So, apparently, she went through the same way that other press would try to register for an event and got in that way.

COSTELLO: But she's a known protester. Didn't they recognize her?

LOTHIAN: That's correct.

COSTELLO: I mean, she's been everywhere. She's interrupted dozens of congressional hearings and also other speeches.

LOTHIAN: That's correct. You know, clearly, she found a way to sneak through and got in. COSTELLO: Unbelievable.

OK. So, President Obama in a half hour will tackle another tough subject. Sexual harassment and assaults within the military.

LOTHIAN: That's right. A senior administration official telling me the president will address this issue, during his commencement address at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. In fact, the president getting ready to leave the White House now.

This is an issue that he has very vocal about in recent weeks. In fact, they've also been some high level meetings here at the White House.