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Train Crash Survivor Recalls Grisly Scene; Lincoln Memorial Vandalized; Another Zimmerman Juror Speaking Out; Anthony Weiner's Online Flame Speaks Out; Halliburton Admits Destroying Evidence

Aired July 26, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Happening now in NEWSROOM, breaking overnight. Lincoln vandalized.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a crime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoping that they catch whoever did it.

COSTELLO: Hurtfully thanks. Someone splattered green paint everywhere. The memorial to America's 16th president shut down.

Also --

MADDY, JUROR B29: George Zimmerman got away with murder. But you can't get away from God.

COSTELLO: Anguished and apologetic. Zimmerman Juror B29 speaking out about the case that's still dividing the country.

MADDY: For myself, he's guilty. Because the evidence shows he's guilty.

COSTELLO: Straight ahead, the interview everyone is talking about.

Plus, the camera doesn't lie. Brand new surveillance video showing the ex--NFL star apparently holding a gun on the night his friend Odin Lloyd was killed. So what does this mean for his case?

And --

Oh, yes. Start me up. Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger celebrating his 70th birthday today.

LENNY KRAVITZ, ARTIST: Happy birthday, Mick. You know I love you.

COSTELLO: Mick not slowing down. A whirlwind tour, headlining music festivals, to the greatest rocker in the world, happy birthday.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: I wish we could come into my show with that music every morning.

Good morning. Happy Friday to you, I'm Carol Costello. We start with exclusive new details this morning about what it was like inside one of those speeding train cars and the deadly crash in Spain.

From an American onboard, a teenager from Utah, who told us what it was like to walk away from the wreckage.

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STEPHEN WARD, SPAIN TRAIN CRASH SURVIVOR: There was screaming, there were bodies, there were smoke. And it was after 30 seconds or a minute that I finally thought to myself, you know, I don't think I'm asleep. I think this is real. And that was a scary realization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We also have new video this morning of the driver of the train, the conductor, as authorities led him away from the wreckage. He is now under formal investigation.

And officials say there could be more bodies still trapped under the rubble. At least 78 victims, including a mom from Arlington, Virginia, already have been identified.

CNN's Karl Penhaul is live at the crash site to tell us more.

Good morning, Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And really there are so many details coming out of here both on the technical level on the investigation level, but above all on the personal level. Because that's really what this is all about. The people who survived and the people who died.

Harrowing experiences for rescue workers, too, for residents who lived along trackside and this morning a CNN team managed to talk to Stephen Ward, a young American from Utah. He survived. He was one of the lucky ones. He had this to say about that terrible accident.

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WARD: I was writing in my journal. I kind of looked up and saw the speed, and thought, oh, that's funny. I thought it might have been an error or something and then we went around a sharp turn and all of a sudden like you could tell one set of wheels left the rails. We were kind of just riding on one set of wheels for two or three seconds, and there wasn't really screaming. Most people were kind of like, oh. But no one got super scared about it.

A few things of luggage started falling off the racks and then after one or two seconds you could feel us leave the other side of tracks and the whole train rotated about 90 degrees and I blacked out before we hit the ground, which was very lucky for me. And the next thing I knew they were helping me out.

So come to is a funny word to use in this situation. I thought it was a dream for a couple of minutes. I vaguely remember someone helping me out of the car. I don't remember what it looked like inside at all. And then they kind of helped me out. The train had fallen into a ditch where I was and they helped me up and off to the side.

I kind of looked around. I was one of the first people they helped out. They were helping other people out. People were helping people, or trying to get people out as fast as they could. I just kind of sat there dumbfounded for a while.

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PENHAUL: Just a regular train ride that suddenly turned into a nightmare. It was a nightmare for rescue workers, as well. Just a few moments ago I was talking to one of the first firefighters who was there on the scene. Just about the same time that Stephen was being pulled out. That firefighter says he hasn't slept since Wednesday, he hasn't been able to going around in his mind the image of a young girl that he tried to rescue that was trapped by one of the train's axles.

And looked at -- up at him and he said she was a young girl saying to him, please, get me out of here, please get me out of here. I want to go home. She died on the spot because there was nothing that could lift such a heavy axle away.

A nightmare, too, this is also become for the train driver. We saw him being led bloodied and battered away from the train. But now we're told by police chief he is in formal detention accused of crimes linked to this accident -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Unbelievable. Karl Penhaul reporting live from Spain for us this morning.

Here at home, parts of the Lincoln Memorial were splattered with green paint this morning. Yes, the monument dedicated to the man credited with saving the union has been vandalized. Several hours ago someone or some group went to the Lincoln Memorial and they splattered that green paint across parts of Abraham Lincoln's statue.

Now during the busy summer months the monument is shut for cleaning.

Erin McPike is live near the Lincoln Memorial. Seriously?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, it did happen sometime overnight. Now the security here, the park police has reviewed some of the security footage and they seem to know what has happened. They are going to be briefing us here in just a little bit. But as you can see behind me, they've just put up some barricades and the cleaning crews are starting to arrive.

What I can also tell you, though, having walked up as closely as I could, there is green paint on the knee cap and on the foot of the statue, but Abraham Lincoln is not covered in green, but the cleaning crews are arriving and it should be taken care of sometime today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So will it be easy for them to figure out who did this? Don't they have security cameras mounted inside the monument or something like that?

MCPIKE: They do. And it's heavy tourist season. So we're seeing a lot of activity here and of course things do happen overnight sometimes. There is easy access to many of the monuments here in Washington, D.C., but they have already reviewed the cameras and we should get some updates here in just a little bit.

COSTELLO: All right. Erin, thanks so much.

Erin McPike, reporting live from Washington Monument this morning.

Two weeks after George Zimmerman walked free in the killing of an unarmed teenager one of the jurors says she's trapped in her own personal hell. Juror B29 is Puerto Rican and the only minority member of that panel. She said Zimmerman got away with murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. She was identified only by her first name, Maddy.

She says a lack of evidence forced the acquittal, even though she had doubts about his guilt.

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MADDY: George Zimmerman got away with murder. But you can't get away from God. And at the end of the day, he's going to have a lot of questions and answers he has to deal with. The law couldn't prove it, but, you know, you know the world goes in circles.

ROBIN ROBERTS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: What was your first vote?

MADDY: My first vote was second-degree murder.

ROBERTS: Second-degree murder?

MADDY: In between the nine hours, it was hard. A lot of us had wanted to find something bad, something that we could connect to the law. For myself, he's guilty. Because the evidence shows he's guilty.

ROBERTS: He's guilty of?

MADDY: Killing Trayvon Martin. But as the law was read to me, if you have no proof that he killed him intentionally, you can't find -- you can't say he's guilty. I was the jury that was going to give them the hung jury. I was. I fought until the end. I mean, it's hard for me to sleep, it's hard for me to eat because I feel that I was forcefully included in Trayvon Martin's death.

And as I carry him on my back, I'm hurting as much as Trayvon Martin's mom is because there's no way that any mother should feel that pain.

ROBERTS: But you feel in your heart of hearts that you and the jury approached it and came with the decision and you stand by that decision to this day?

MADDY: I stand by the decision because of the law. If I stand by the decision because of my heart, he would have been guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's take a closer look at this. Joining me now, criminal defense attorney Page Pate and Jason Johnson, an HLN contributor and political columnist for the "Chicago Defender."

Welcome back.

JASON JOHNSON, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, THE CHICAGO DEFENDER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Jason, let's start with the emotion of this case. And what that juror just said that she carries this on her back and she'll carry this in her forever.

JOHNSON: This is huge and I think it's interesting that she is the only juror who wants to come forward and be seen because there is a classic example. There's a difference between the law and justice. And I think she reflects what a lot of people out there protesting over the last two and a half weeks we're talking about.

They're like, look, everybody knows this guy did something wrong, but whether we can fit that into the law, that's the challenge.

COSTELLO: And, Page, like Juror B37 she seemed to be confused by the law. Maddy said, quote, I'm going to read her quote, "That's where I felt confused, where if a person kills someone, then you get charged for it. But as the law was read to me, if you have no proof that he killed him intentionally, you can't say he's guilty."

Did she get that right?

PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER: Well, she did get that right but what's interesting to me is she started out as a guilty, a guilty on the more serious murder charge. What happened back in the jury room is you had other jurors who had listened to the defense's explanation of the law and they convinced -- they convinced her and two others to switch their vote.

So what you have to do as a prosecution is the same thing Mr. O'Mara did. Follow the law. Explain to your jurors why you're right and give them good arguments to take back with them to the jury room.

COSTELLO: And a final question. There's a national push to review these Stand Your Ground rules. The laws in Florida. With this juror coming out and saying these things, do you think that will be added ammunition for a lack of a better term to --

JOHNSON: I mean, I don't -- I don't think going against Stand Your Ground need added ammunition. You know, there's all sorts of research that shows it has a disproportionate impact depending on what color of the race is, the person that's shot, this that and the other. But I think it probably provides some solace. It probably provided some solace for those people out there protesting, even possibly Trayvon Martin's family to know, look, these people really were convicted. It wasn't just B37.

COSTELLO: Jason Johnson, Page Pate, thank you so much.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

PATE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Sydney Leathers is the woman who admits sexting with Anthony Weiner, said she was shocked he had returned to the behaviors that tarnished his career in Congress. This week Weiner admitted to sending more sexually explicit messages to several more women after his resignation. Leathers tells "Inside Edition" that Weiner was controlling and manipulative.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So at what point did it break off and why?

SYDNEY LEATHERS, EXCHANGED SEXUAL MESSAGES WITH ANTHONY WEINER: There wasn't really a specific reason why and neither one of us ever really officially ended it. It just kind of started to fizzle out. He got a little bit controlling with me towards the end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How so?

LEATHERS: He would tell me that he would be jealous. He would, like, look at my Facebook frequently and he would tell me that he would get jealous if other men would compliment me and just little stuff like that. I felt manipulated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?

LEATHERS: Because, obviously, I felt like, you know, he's saying one thing to me, saying another thing to his wife, saying another thing on his campaign trail. I don't know who the real Anthony Weiner is, I guess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Amid all the controversy, Weiner refuses to drop out of the New York mayor race. But take a look at this. His favorable poll numbers in New York are sinking and sinking fast. Down more than 20 points since June and this is just among Democrats.

CNN's Mary Snow live in New York with more.

Good morning, Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And you know, Anthony Weiner would love more than anything to change the topic back to politics. But it doesn't look like that's going to be happening any time soon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): The woman now at the center of the Anthony Weiner scandal says the best description of the former congressman is one he offered to her himself.

LEATHERS: He is an argumentative, perpetually horny middle aged man.

SNOW: In an interview with "Inside Edition," Sydney Leathers talked candidly about her sexually suggestive relationship online and over the phone with Weiner last summer, a year after he resigned from Congress, and why she's speaking out now.

LEATHERS: He was making these campaign promises, but he had totally changed and he was a better man now, and he learned from his mistakes and I am proof that that is not true.

SNOW: Lisa Weiss, who exchanged explicit messages with then Congressman Weiner in 2010 and 2011, doesn't blame Leathers.

LISA WEISS, EXCHANGED MESSAGES WITH WEINER IN 2010, 2011: I understand to a point. Yes, I do. Because I would speak to him about politics and then, you know, he sort of turns the conversation into a sexual thing and it becomes very flattering.

SNOW: Weiner, appearing with his wife by his side, admitted Tuesday to a new round of lewd exchanges with women after he got caught and left office. On Thursday, for the first time, he put a number on just how many women.

ANTHONY WEINER, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I don't believe I had any more than three.

SNOW: And as for how many altogether?

WEINER: It's not dozens and dozens. It is -- it is six to 10, I suppose.

SNOW: When he launched his mayoral campaign Weiner raised the possibility that other women may come forward. Now he says that's all behind him, but admitted he continues to get professional help and when asked if it's an addiction?

WEINER: I don't believe that it -- that it is. The people that I'm working with don't believe that it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And all of this, as you can imagine, dominating the headlines, enveloping the race for mayor, but Weiner is showing no signs that he is reconsidering his run for mayor. He's expected to be out later today at a campaign stop and is showing no signs that he is going to stop his campaign despite the repeated calls for him to drop out -- Carol.

COOPER: Mary Snow reporting live for us this morning, thank you. On the heels of his impassioned trip to the Rio de Janeiro's poorest neighborhoods, Pope Francis turns to the pilgrims and the prisoners. This morning Pope Francis is hearing confessions from five pilgrims in a public park before sitting down with young prisoners. He'll be met by flocks of Catholics, but probably not as many as yesterday. And that was insane.

The Pope has been getting rock star status in his first international trip since being chosen to lead the church and despite security concerns, the Pope is spending a lot of time in the midst of these crowds so he can get the chance to meet everybody. Just last night the Pope worshipped with one million young people on Copacabana Beach.

Federal investigators know why a Southwest plane's front landing gear collapsed on landing this week. They say planes are supposed to land on the back wheels first, but the Southwest plane landed on the front landing gear, which cannot support the plane's weight.

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KEVIN HIATT, PRESIDENT, FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION: Normal approach would be an aircraft coming in like this and then actually touching down and then going like that straight across your runway.

REPORTER: So, I just saw you tip that nose up a bit. So, it should always remain upwards.

HIATT: It should be up and that nose gear be the last to touch down.

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COSTELLO: The NTSB says the plane's nose shifted downward just before landing. Southwest says the landing is, quote, "not in accordance with our operating procedures." So, the investigation goes on.

It was the largest environmental disaster this country has ever seen. Now, Halliburton is admitting it destroyed evidence in the Gulf oil spill. The explosion killed 11 workers and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the sea. Who could forget these pictures? The impact still being felt today.

A government agency recently said fish, oysters, shrimp and crab catches are all still down compared to those before the spill. And to add insult to injury, a little perspective -- Halliburton is pleading guilty to criminal charges, but will pay a fine of just $200,000 for a company worth $24 billion. It's like paying pennies, though, right?

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.

And just to make clear, Halliburton, what, built the wells that are in the Gulf, is that right?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It was a part -- it was a part of the whole operation. Yes, that fine is pretty low when you consider what happened there. So, with this deal that you're talking about, Halliburton is essentially settling with the Justice Department, it's pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. Misdemeanor violation for pressing the "delete" button on records related to the Macondo well disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

So, I know what you want to know. What was it hiding? It was hiding documents related to the cement testing for that well and computer models that would have weakened its case that BP neglected to follow critical advice from Halliburton. By hiding these documents, Halliburton was trying to pass the blame over to BP, which, as much at fault as BP is already pleaded guilty criminal charges related to the explosion and paid billions of dollars in fines and continues to pay billions of dollars in fine.

Now, going back to this deal for Halliburton -- it is going to be paying a penalty for $200,000. That is the maximum fine. Halliburton also voluntarily gave $55 million for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. With this deal, Carol, the Justice Department is agreeing not to pursue any more criminal charges against Halliburton.

On this news, Halliburton shares, they're up 2 percent in premarket trading -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

Lions and tigers and a bear, oh, my. No lions or tigers, but there was a bear. Don't know what they were drinking in this bar, but it must be potent. I'm just saying.

Only one guy noticed that the six-foot tall, 300-pound black bear wandered into the bar in the Rocky Mountains and the guy who noticed the bear was outside. He said he shout under to the bar, "Hey, there's a bear, he's in the bar. The patrons remained oblivious."

In the end, the bear got bored and left. It was like he was barely there.

It's Friday. I want to know what they were drinking in that bar.

Still ahead in THE NEWSROOM, a cop fired for pepper spraying Occupy protesters now seeking workman's comp for trauma he says he suffered.

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COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 21 minutes past the hour.

Democratic leaders in San Diego are calling on Mayor Bob Filner to resign. They voted last night four more women, making a total of seven women who have come forward accused Filner of inappropriate sexual conduct.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTI ROSCOE, BUSINESSWOMAN: He would come in and try to kiss me on the lips and I'd have to squirm to get away. And just as recently as a few months ago this happened and I turned and he just slobbered down my chin and I was so violated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Filner showed up at a trolley station ground breaking and refused to answer CNN's questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bad message to the city of San Diego that you are not addressing these allegations directly right now?

Mr. Mayor, what do you have to say to these women that came forward and accused you of inappropriate behavior?

MAYOR BOB FILNER (D), SAN DIEGO, CA: There's a legal process by which all of this will be decided, and that's what we'll be dealing. No other statements regarding except for the legal process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: One woman has filed a lawsuit, but the mayor has tried making light of the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FILNER: I see you found a wonderful way to attract media attention for our efforts on the trolley.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Filner has admitted to treating women badly but he denies any sexual harassment.

A University of Pittsburgh professor under arrest in the cyanide poisoning death of his wife. The school has placed Robert Ferrante on indefinite leave. He managed a laboratory at the school, conducting trials of various chemicals. Witnesses say he ordered cyanide in the days before his wife's death. His wife, Autumn Klein, was a physician and former head of the women's neurology department at the university.

And remember the cop woo casually pepper sprayed a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters in California. Well, his name was John Pike and he was fired after this incident, but the officer is now seeking workman's compensation, claiming psychiatric injury following the confrontation. Hearing on the matter is set for August 31st.

COSTELLO: Tropical storm Dorian is losing some of its strength, but it's still a bit of a weather wildcard for the United States and the Caribbean.

Indra Petersons is in New York tracking the storms.

Good morning.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.

You described it perfectly, Carol. Such a wild card -- I mean, overnight, all this dry air kind of tore this apart. Very easy to see -- nowhere seeing as much of the structure as we saw yesterday. Yesterday, 60 mile per hour winds, today, currently, 50 mile per hour winds.

Here's the good news, more dry air lays ahead and that's what it needs to get through. So, potentially, we could see this rip apart even more. So, hopefully, we see this weaken. Unfortunately, it does hold together, the forecast model does say the newest track is farther South than the previous track. That is bad news.

The reason for that is now it is looking like it could potentially hit Turks and Caicos by Wednesday, about 50 miles per hour. And right in this area is where we'd had he room to strengthen again. So, really hoping it can't hold together here in the next 24 hours or so.

The weekend. Everyone wants the beautiful weekend. It's kind of a mixed bag no matter where you go. Into the southeast a little bit of a breather today, only to have another cold front swoop through by Saturday and Sunday.

Out in the Northeast, amazing -- 30 degrees cooler yesterday in New York, and today, Boston gets that, as well. So, we're loving that. But, yes, our forecast (ph), as well, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, yes. Thank you, Indra.

Just ahead THE NEWSROOM: new evidence in the case of Aaron Hernandez as we get a different look at the former NFL tight end in the hours before and after the murder he's accused of committing.

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COSTELLO: Good morning. Thank you so much for being with me. Happy Friday. I'm Carol Costello.

Stories we're watching in THE NEWSROOM: about 30 minutes past the hour. And as you can see, the opening bell getting ready to ring on Wall Street. Right now, we're looking at a lower open and possibly a day of relatively flat trading.

Alison Kosik is at New York Stock Exchange. I'm waiting for the bell. Come on, bell.

KOSIK: It's going to ring soon, I promise you.

Yes, look like the bears will come out on play. You look at the report on consumer sentiment. That comes out in less than an hour, and the expectation that consumer sentiment went up this month.

You could wind up seeing some caution in the coming sessions because you'll see investors kind of wait for the next thing. That next thing could be the Fed meeting happening next week. Also, the July jobs report next week. The big government jobs report comes out.

We are, however, watching Facebook shares, again. We can't take our eyes off of this. Facebook shares yesterday dumped almost 30 percent. In fact, yesterday was one of the best days since the month after, actually since just the days after Facebook went public. Mark Zuckerberg's net worth, Carol, it went up by $3.8 billion on that move.

But it appears some other investors have taken the opportunity to cash in today. We are seeing Facebook shares down more than 2 percent. Hardly a surprise. You know, we've been watching this stock.