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Fire Ends Cruise Early; Judges Bars Evidence in Zimmerman Trial; Fire Forces 6,000 People To Evacuate; Accused Columbine Copycat Due In Court; McCain Makes Surprise Visit To Syria; Brooklyn Bridge Open After Scare; Obama Heads to Jersey Shore Next Hour; Oklahoma Slowly Begins Recovery

Aired May 28, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the "Grandeur of The Seas" on fire, yet another cruise from hell. Refund sure, but please explain.

Also inside a tornado, two men did it on purpose. Winds up to 175 miles per hour and they made it out alive.

And the Girl Scouts motto, "Be prepared," but not for this -- campgrounds for sale. Parents are now furious. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello. Not a drill and not a joke. That's how one Royal Caribbean passenger describes the chaotic moments when she and her fellow guests were awakened and told to put on life vests after a fire broke out on the deck of the ship known as the "Grandeur of The Seas."

Royal Caribbean is now doing its best to help those passengers and hope those passengers end their travel nightmare flying them back to Baltimore where the ship left port via chartered planes.

Erin McPike is standing at BWI Airport in Baltimore where those passengers are expected to begin arriving later today. Any update from Royal Caribbean?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol, the ship is actually based here in Baltimore, but it's going to be dry docked in the Bahamas so it can undergo repairs. Those passengers are going to be on some charter flights. Some are already on their way and we expect those passengers will be arriving all day today after what was really a hellish ordeal for them early Monday morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE (voice-over): The entire back end of a massive ship, scorched. More than 2,200 passengers aboard a Bahamas-bound cruise were roused by a terrifying wake-up call overnight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The emergency boats have been lowered. Here I am in the life jacket, not a drill, not a joke. I was freaking out. MCPIKE: For the third time this year, mechanical problems caused a major cruise ship to upend a Caribbean vacation for thousands of passengers. This time, it was a fire aboard Royal Caribbean's "Grandeur of The Seas." Passenger Katie Coleman told CNN --

KATIE COLEMAN, "GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS" PASSENGER (via telephone): It was the most terrifying thing like in my life.

MCPIKE: In February, it was an engine room fire on the Carnival "Triumph" shutting down power and the ship's sewage system for days. One month later, Carnival's "Dream" lost power from a generator failure while in port. And now, rival Royal Caribbean has its own set of problems.

Royal Caribbean said in a statement at approximately 2:50 a.m., "Grandeur of The Seas" experienced a fire on the mooring area of deck three. The fire has since been extinguished, but in an abundance of caution, the captain deemed it necessary to muster all guests at their assembly stations.

All passengers were found and safe but some took to the message board of cruise critic and complained there was fainting and vomiting as they waited for hours. The ship was just renovated last year. It was rerouted to Freeport for evaluation and Royal Caribbean's CEO Adam Goldstein is already surveying the damage. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard will investigate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE: Now, Carol, Royal Caribbean has already said they will issue a refund to all of those passengers. They also give them vouchers for free cruise if they wish take one in the future, Carol. But also because the ship is undergoing repairs right now, another voyage that was scheduled for May 31st will not be go on as planned and those customers too will get a full refund as well as half off a cruise next time too -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Wow. Erin McPike reporting live from Baltimore this morning.

Happening now it's a big blow to George Zimmerman's murder defense. Within a last hour, a Florida judge ruled the defense cannot use any evidence of marijuana use by Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager Zimmerman is charged with killing. Zimmerman's defense also cannot use Martin's toxicology report or mention his marijuana level at the time of his death.

Plus Zimmerman's attorneys have been barred from using any evidence showing that martin is familiar with guns. He's supposed to go on trial for second-degree murder in less than two weeks and a pre-trial hearing has been going on for an hour. Victor Blackwell is in Sanford, Florida. He is at that pre-trial. Good morning, Victor.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. George Zimmerman himself is not in court today. We contacted his team. They said it was a last-minute decision. That defense team suffered even more blows than you mentioned. The school records of Trayvon Martin will not be introduced in front of the jury neither his history of fighting, social media postings, photos of Martin with gold teeth.

Now that pretty much wipes out all of the evidence that was released by the defense last week, the photographs of that smoke coming out of his mouth, the picture with the gold teeth, the small growing marijuana plant, the gun, all of those elements, the text messages, those will not come up in front of the jury.

Now I want you to listen to this exchange can between the defense attorney, Mark O'Mara and Judge Deborah Nelson. This was during the decision to keep out the familiarity with guns. Listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The drugs and the history of his chronic use of drugs and his familiarity with fighting and to a certain extent his familiarity with guns is relevant to the theory of defense. So how could you keep us from arguing our theory of defense?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because the rules of evidence keep you from doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, O'Mara has said several times that there was no guarantee he was going to introduce it, but if the state went after George Zimmerman's character, he thought the jury should know those elements about Trayvon Martin. Those will not be introduced.

I want to talk about the toxicology report for a moment. The test that came back after the medical examiner's autopsy showing that there was the presence of THC, which is in marijuana, was in Trayvon Martin's blood system the night of the shooting. She had said that there would be no mention of it during the opening statements.

But she will hear from an expert to determine if the jury should hear it during trial. Still to be decided if there will be this gag order. This is the third time it was requested by the state. The first two were denied. Also if there will be a delay of trial.

The defense has asked for an extra six weeks to continue to prepare for the case, but the way that the judge is running through these motions today and she has shown a commitment to stay on trial that is a tough call.

COSTELLO: All right, I know you'll continue monitor this pre-trial hearing. Victor Blackwell reporting live from Sanford, Florida this morning.

One week after that monster tornado tore through Moore, Oklahoma, a daring crew of storm chasers gives us the view from inside a twister, inside a tornado. Take a look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ears are popping.

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COSTELLO: That's amazing, isn't it? The tornado turns day into night. These pictures were taken in Northern Kansas. Winds were as high as 175 miles per hour, which would make it an extremely dangerous EF-4 tornado. This is how the storm chasing crew stayed safe, well, relatively speaking, I guess.

This is the rolling fortress known as the TIV, the tornado intercept vehicle. It has spikes that anchor it to the ground and it's like a tank. It has bullet-proof glass and apparently can survive inside a tornado, even an EF-4, amazing and kind of crazy.

In Southern California, firefighters are scrambling to contain this wildfire in Santa Barbara County. Since roaring to life yesterday afternoon, the flames have raced across 1,000 acres. Crews had to evacuate about 6,000 people who were enjoying a long holiday weekend at a popular campground. The fire is now moving away from homes and deeper into the national forest.

Also this morning near Eugene, Oregon, students returned to West Albany High School and the class made accused of murderous plot against them heads to court in just a few hours. The 17-year-old Grant Accord will be charged as an adult. Investigators say he built half dozen bombs and intricately plotted an attack inspired by the Columbine massacre. The only difference, they say, he wanted to rack up a higher death toll. Police say bloodshed may have been avoided only because someone had the courage to call 911.

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SGT. ALAN LYNN, ALBANY SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER: These things never occur like this. Kids knew what was going on and we're learning that. Luckily, somebody had the courage to come forward and say this is what I know. They reported that to us and we were able to investigate that. Because of that information, we were able to stop a horrific event from occurring in our community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Miguel Marquez is live in Corvallis, Oregon with more. Good morning.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning there, Carol. It makes your blood run cold to think of just how terrible this plot could have been if it had been carried out. Police thankful that they made this arrest and from what they are telling us about this plot, they say they are going to tell a lot more when that arraignment happens later this afternoon.

That there were six bombs found in the floor boards, a secret compartment at his mother's house, this is a 17-year-old who will now be charged. Among those bombs were pipe bombs and bombs made out of Drano, and other sort of basic bombs like that. Friends of his say that he had talked about bombs before. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS STONE, SUSPECT'S CLASSMATE: We gave him a funny look and said no. He kind of just started going over the different materials to make a pipe bomb, surprised more than anything. It's disturbing that he wanted to blow the school up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now they are also saying that -- these friends are also said that a lot of them didn't put much stock in this. This was a very quiet kid. This is not somebody that they expected to do this sort of thing. The one charge that authorities are talking about is the aggravated murder charge, the attempted aggravated murder charge.

That they will have to prove he had the diagrams, the checklists and all of that to carry out a Columbine-like attack. His parents have now come out. His mother says he suffers from a rare disease called pandas. It's like OCD essentially, is what she is saying. It's a very, very complicated disease though and it's not clear how much that played into this plot that police say was fairly far along.

COSTELLO: All right, Miguel Marquez, reporting live from Oregon and we want to take a closer look at what Miguel just shared with you, that rare form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It's called pandas.

Joining us from New York is Gail Saltz, a bestselling author and associate professor of Psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. Hi, Dr. Saltz.

DR. GAIL SALTZ, AUTHOR, "ANATOMY OF A SECRET LIFE": Hi, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. So tell us about this condition. It's called pandas. It's a form of obsessive compulsive disorder.

SALTZ: Well, actually, I have to state first that it's really a hypothesis. There hasn't been a definitive shown cause and effect, but the hypothesis is that kids who get strep, a certain type of strep, a very small subsection may go on to develop this pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder, which is essentially symptoms of ticks or movements like Turrets and/or obsessions and compulsions that look like a child that would get OCD.

COSTELLO: Well, the suspect's mother said that this condition caused her son to have outbursts of violence or anger I should say.

SALTZ: Yes, well, along with those symptoms of ticks and obsessions and compulsions can be emotional ability and anxiety. But there is nothing in the disorder to suggest violent behavior or violent thought. So I don't know that one could directly make the case, but I could say this kids who suffer from OCD and ticks are often bullied.

You know, if we want to think about this kid doing something that was done say in the Columbine situation, you know, bullying can often lead sadly to aggressive behavior on the part of the kid who has been bullied. But again, I don't think you could say that, you know, this psychiatric condition leads to violent or aggressive behavior because it's not known to.

COSTELLO: All right, Dr. Gail Saltz, thank you so much for enlightening us and joining this morning. We appreciate it.

SALTZ: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: More than a week after a deadly tornado ripped through their community, survivors in Moore, Oklahoma, are beginning to pick up the pieces and rebuild. We'll take you to Moore next.

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COSTELLO: It's 17 minutes past the hour. It's time to check our top stories. Senator John McCain has met with rebel commanders in a surprise visit to Syria. The commanders pleaded with McCain for weapons and ammunition. As they keep up their fight against government forces. McCain supports arming those rebels. He's the highest ranking American official to visit Syria since the country's civil war broke out two years ago.

The Brooklyn Bridge is back open after a security scare. It was shut down for awhile yesterday after an unattended vehicle was found in the right-hand lane that goes into Manhattan. After police checked it out, they gave the all clear to reopen the bridge. The SUV did not have license plates or a vehicle identification number.

New Rutgers Athletic Director Julie Hermann says she will not resign over allegations she abused players when she was the volleyball coach at the University of Tennessee. Hermann was hired by Rutgers to help rebuild its sports program after basketball coach, Mike Rice, was fired for abusing his players. Players on Hermann's former team at Tennessee accused her of verbal and mental abuse. She says that is simply not true and Rutgers is backing her up.

In the next hour, President Obama heads back to the Jersey Shore to tour rebuilding efforts seven months after Superstorm Sandy. He will be joined once again by New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie. If you'll remember the last time these two got together, they gave each other tons and tons of praise.

Our chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin is Asbury Park, New Jersey and I suspect they'll be doing the same this time around.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I expect it too, Carol. There's political bromance going on there, at least, when it comes to recovery from Superstorm Sandy. It's been seven months and in that time, Carol, the federal government has helped New Jersey with more than $1 billion in recovery aid.

So President Obama is here to help remind people that this boardwalk has reopened and on time ahead of the tourist season so the nation should come and visit and spend their hard of earned dollars here in New Jersey. It's also an opportunity, Carol, for the president to remind Americans for his own politics that government can work. This is an example of government at its best in the White House's view where FEMA can come in and make a difference.

That's important to this president and White House especially after these last few weeks when the stories have focused on government dysfunction. Here's a positive story when the president has managed the ship of state to help the people -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about Chris Christie now because we know he had surgery to lose weight. We suspect he did that because he wants to run for president at some time in the future. So how will the president's visit help Chris Christie since it hurt him last time with Republicans?

YELLIN: First of all, Chris Christie says, no, no, no. No to everything, not running, and didn't do it for the way. He did it for his family and himself. OK, but that's not stopping you and me from prognosticating about this. The politics, he was harshly criticized by other Republicans because he embraced President Obama during Sandy, which was right before the election.

And the momentum broke some of the momentum pundits said of Romney's rise at that time. Whether that's true or not it's up to other people to judge. Today, you know, Christie again says he's not going to blow off the president when he's in the state. This will draw enormous media attention to the boardwalk to bring people here, bring dollars here.

And for Chris Christie he will ultimately be judged on his effectiveness in managing this recovery. He's highlighting his own management through this recovery, at this point, a pretty positive one for the state -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jessica Yellin reporting live from the Jersey Shore this morning.

More than a week after the devastating tornadoes, residents begin the difficult task of picking up the pieces and starting over. We'll take you live to Moore next.

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COSTELLO: Some of us have had a hard enough time finding our keys in the morning, but Moore, Oklahoma, resident Todd Bridges was able to find an envelope with $2,000 amid-all the rubble of his home. He found that envelope last week.

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TODD BRIDGES, TORNADO SURVIVOR: When I found it, I just sat down and started crying, and they all got around me and prayed for me that I found it. It's 20 minutes before that came through. Prayers were answered.

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COSTELLO: That was his money. He wanted to find it and he did. He prayed hard. He actually lost pretty much everything in the tornado. He calls this a miracle. He actually found his wife's diamond earrings and they are worth about $1,000. Good for him.

More than a week after those deadly tornadoes ripped think Oklahoma, residents are slowly beginning the process of cleaning up and trying to move on. CNN's George Howell takes us through the past week and a look at the Oklahoma standard.

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Block by block, neighborhood after neighborhood, words alone don't seem enough to describe the devastation in this part of Oklahoma and nearly everyone here has a story.

CYNDI BEAM, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I was in that tornado shelter when it came. I was home hearing the news. I got my dogs and got in there.

HOWELL: First an EF-4 tornado tore through the town of Shawnee killing two. The next day an EF-5 tornado hit Moore mangling communities, destroying an elementary school full of students. We were there during the desperate search for survivors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are saying that if you have kids in the school to go look for them.

HOWELL (on camera): I would imagine as parents you are thankful to have your children here right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I thank God that I got there in time to pick up my nieces, my nephews, my son because I don't know what I would have done.

HOWELL (voice-over): Twenty four people died that day. Ten were children among them Kyle Davis, whose funeral was this weekend.

MIKKI DIXON DAVIS, KYLE DAVIS' MOTHER: There should be a place that if this ever happened again during school that kids can get to a safe place, that we don't have to sit there and go through rubble and rubble and rubble and may not ever find what we're looking for.

HOWELL: The mayor of Moore is now pushing for a city ordinance to make storm shelters mandatory in all new construction. This weekend President Barack Obama met with first responders and promised federal aid dollars to storm victims.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Everywhere fellow Americans are praying with you. They are thinking about you and they want to help.

HOWELL: And help has come from all over. On the campus of the University of Oklahoma, the president opened the doors of the schools dorms for homeless families. OU Football Coach Bob Stoops donated a stack of gift cards to help tornado victims get back on their feet.

(on camera): I've heard this thing, Coach, called the Oklahoma standard. What is the Oklahoma standard?

BOB STOOPS, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA: Well, you know, everybody has seen over this past week it's just persistence and a great positive attitude by the people to never give in.

HOWELL (voice-over): That's what you see here, neighbors helping neighbors.

STOOPS: Here's a bunch of the championship rings through the years.

HOWELL: Even Coach Stoops was impressed by a family he met that drove in from Colorado just looking for ways they could pitch in.

CHAD FARMER, VOLUNTEER: We're not special that we're here doing this. There are people from all across the country that have come down to help.

HOWELL: Along tornado alley, it could take several months before all the debris is cleared. Cindi Beam though is undaunted.

BEAM: You just move it, rebuild and start over because that's what we do around here.

HOWELL: Another example of the Oklahoma standard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Back live with the picture of the view here in Moore, Oklahoma. You see this memorial that's been set up on this chain link fence that surrounds what used to be Plaza Towers Elementary School. It's unclear, Carol, whether or not they will rebuild the school. That's the thing. You see the winds picking up here. This area is under the gun yet again for another round of severe weather that could last through this week -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, all right, George Howell reporting live from Moore, Oklahoma this morning. We'll be right back.

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