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Military Women Accuse San Diego Mayor; Knight Returns To Castro House; More Filner Accusers Emerge; Camera Captures Violent Crash In China; Obama Discusses Terrorist Threat; Obama Weighs In On Gays And Olympics; Obama On Snowden NSA Leaks; U.S. Bound Cargo Gets Extra Scrutiny; Powerball Jackpot Hits $425 Million; More Details Emerge of Crash Landing at LaGuardia

Aired August 07, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: After a decade as a home of torture, Ariel Castro's house is torn to pieces. And one of his victims bravely watches from across the street.

Plus -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't have our backs. He was looking at our backs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had our front. It's wrong. Why would you come here, with us, and do what you did? Why? Is it a turn on?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now, new allegations of sexual harassment against San Diego's mayor this time from women who served in the U.S. military.

Also, $425 million, that's how much tonight's Powerball jackpot is worth. And the options for spending that kind of money well, of course, endless.

Hello, again, everyone. This is the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredericka Whitfield in for Suzanne Malveaux. It was a house of horrors in a quiet Cleveland neighborhood. A house are the unimaginable took place. But now, it is being destroyed. This morning, crews began demolition of the home Ariel Castro. That's where he held three women against their will. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. They were prisoners for a decade.

Martin Savidge joins us now. So, Martin, what was it like as this demolition was getting underway there?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's really kind of an odd sense that you got. I think it was both celebration and sadness at the same time. The end of a horrible chapter and the recognition that this community is going to move on. Right behind us, they're still hard at work. They are actually down to the dirt as it were. They have cleared about just the last remnants of the debris or in the process of doing it. The weather has been a bit of a problem. It's moving in with rain again. And what they're doing now is bringing in clean fill dirt to go into the basement. The basement, of course, was maybe the heart of that house of horrors where a bunch of the abuse took place for those young women for so long.

So, once they get that down, then they're going to put grass down and eventually, well, the future of it remains to be seen. It could be a park. It could be a playground. But I think, you know, that most powerful moment, of course, was Michelle Knight because maybe the last person you might expect and yet she felt absolutely she had to be here this morning and watch it all happen and speak out as she did -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Martin, I wonder is there kind of an explanation or is she saying why she is allowing herself to be so public? You know, I think most people are calling her very courageous for doing so but what is behind her motivation or how is it she has this courage to be so public?

SAVIDGE: You know, in fact, that question was asked of her today and we really have not had an opportunity to question her. Most of her appearances have been tightly controlled. But she did take some questions and that was asked and she said, you know, the reason I'm speaking out is because when I was held for 11 years inside of that home, there was no one who was speaking for me. It's a very simple but very painfully powerful message. And what she is doing is that using these opportunities to speak out not about her anger, not about any kind of retribution. She's speaking about the hundreds, thousands that are missing all across this country. She has now become their voice.

WHITFIELD: Wow, extraordinary. Very poignant words. And, of course, earlier releasing those yellow balloons really paying (INAUDIBLE) to many of those victims you speak of. Martin Savidge, thanks so much.

All right, now, on the west coast, two more women have come out accusing the mayor of San Diego of inappropriate behavior saying he was flirting, groping and even kissing them. That makes 13 now women who says Major Bob Filner sexually harassed them. We can't ask Filner about those accusations. He is in a two-week treatment program right now. But theirs is a difference between these two latest accusers and others. Here is Ken Law.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FILNER, MAYOR, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: Tell Donna (ph) hi. It's your newly favorite congressman Bob Filner. You know, the one who fell in love with you during your last speech.

ELDONNA LEWIS FERNANDEZ, MASTER SARGEANT, U.S. AIR FORCE: Yes, it was kind of creepy.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The voice sounded like then congressman Bob Filner while Eldonna Lewis Fernandez met him a year ago at a women's veteran's event. But the problem for Fernandez isn't just the voice mail, it's how Filner made advances and to whom.

FERNANDEZ: We totally felt like we could trust him because he was -- he's always fighting for our cause.

LAH: Fernandez is a retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant and says she was raped three times while in the military. Jerry Tinley was in the Army and says she also was raped. They and as many as six other veterans say Filner met them at San Diego support groups for military sexual assault victims and made unwanted advances and verbal passes to groping.

FERNANDEZ: We're all victims of military sexual assault and it appears to me that he was targeting this organization and hitting on the women in this organization because they were easy prey. So, he's part of an organization that's against sexual assault and sexual violence towards women and sexual harassment but he's doing the very thing that we are fighting to make stop in our service and in our -- in our country.

LAH: Do you feel he was using his power to prey on the women of this organization?

FERNANDEZ: I do. I do. He didn't have our backs. He was looking at our backs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had our front. It's wrong. Why would you come here with us and do what you did? Why? Is it a turn on?

LAH: The 70-year-old 10-term congressman served as chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Now, less than a year after being elected San Diego's mayor, he has checked himself into a two-week treatment program to deal with his behavior. His chief of staff would speak to us about these latest allegations.

(on camera): Can you come back out?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will do my best. I'll let you know one way or another.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, with me now, Kyung Lah. So, after she slammed the door, did she ever come back out?

LAH: No, she did not come back out and speak to us. We did not get an on-camera statement. We didn't get paper statement. And the reason we went to the office, Fredricka, is because this is a public servant, the mayor of San Diego who has not responded to these particular accusations, very serious accusations that are being levied by these women. He hasn't responded. His spokesman refused to respond. We also reached did reach out to his attorney who also declined to respond -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kyung Lah, thanks so much. Of course, you can see more of this exclusive story tonight on "ERIN BURNETT OUT FRONT." That's at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

All right, overseas now, and we're about to show you a very frightening piece of video. It's something that could really happen to anyone on a tour bus full of people smashed from behind by a speeding truck. Video cameras recorded all of it. Look. Wow, extraordinary. All of it caught on tape and you saw the bus driver flying out the window. And guess what? Amazingly, he is alive. Another vantage point here. It happened a few days ago in eastern China. Witnesses say the bus was backing up on the highway when a truck barreled right into it at high speed from behind.

And then, you see another vantage point right here of passengers trying to kick out the front windshield to get out. A lot of people on that bus were hurt. The driver of the truck that hit that bus was killed.

All right, it wasn't all laughter and jokes during president Obama's appearance on late night television. The president discussed the ongoing terror threat that prompted the U.S. to close 19 embassies and consulates this week. On the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and he was asked how significant that threat really is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's significant enough that we're taking every precaution. We had already done a lot to bolster embassy security around the world but especially in the Middle East, North Africa where the threats tend to be highest. And whenever we see a threat stream that we think is specific enough that we can take some specific precautions within a certain time frame, then we do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Russia was another hot topic for the president on the "Tonight Show." Here is what he said about Russia's stance on gay rights ahead of the winter Olympics in Sochi next week -- next year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I think Putin and Russia have a big stake in making sure the Olympics work. And I think they understand that for most of the country's that participate in the Olympics, that we wouldn't tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently. They are athletes. They are there to compete. And if Russia wants to uphold the Olympic spirit, then every judgment should be made on the track or in the swimming pool or on the balance beam and people's sexual orientation shouldn't have anything to do with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, more ahead on that. Wolf Blitzer will be joining me to discuss the president's comments on Edward Snowden and the government's surveillance program.

All right, airlines have stepped up screening for cargo on flights headed to the U.S. because of concerns about a possible terrorist attack. An official with the cargo industry says it's now being screened twice. The extra screening applies to cargo on commercial flights from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and possibly other areas.

The head of a cargo industry trade group says the order came from the Department of Homeland Security. The agency wouldn't comment on specific security measures.

All right, what would you do if you won the third largest jackpot in Powerball history? It's about $425 million head of tonight's drawing. Alison Kosik has a few ideas for you.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka, $425 million, oh, how to spend that money. Buy a few cars, several diamonds, maybe even give some money away to charity. Lotto fever is kicking in again getting people to dream and dream big about the endless possibilities of what to do with all that money.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Lotto fever is creating a frenzy over the third highest jackpot in Powerball history, $425 million. And if you're lucky enough to nab the cash payout, you can afford to pay it forward. You can send over 3,000 students through Harvard Law School or send almost 1,000 people to space on the Virgin Galactic. In fact, one jackpot winner, Gloria McKenzie, donated $1.8 million of her $500 million jackpot to repair a local school's leaky roof.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good news to hear we have someone willing to help us out.

KOSIK: What about yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd sail around the world and buy myself a private jet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would buy maybe some little stuffed animals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here it is.

KOSIK: Now, before you make it rain green, research shows that 70 percent of people who receive a large sum of money will lose it within a few years.

CARL RICHARDS: Suddenly you have all sorts of interesting societal pressure. You've got friends that you never knew you had showing up asking for money.

KOSIK: With more than half of Americans buying a lottery ticket this past year advice is needed.

RICHARDS: Buy CDs for the rest of your life. Buy U.S. treasuries. All right, you've got enough money right now that you don't have to do anything special.

KOSIK: Advice put to the test as millions await the big cha-ching (ph) Wednesday night.

(END VIDEOTAPE) (on camera): But don't get ahead of yourself, chances of winning are slim. The odds are one in 175 million that you'll hit the jackpot but it doesn't hurt to try -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: That's right. You got to play to win. All right, Alison Kosik, thank you.

All right, here is what we're working on for this hour. Survivors of the Fort Hood shooting say they feel betrayed and cast aside. The reason, the attack is considered workplace violence instead of terrorism which means fewer benefits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOGAN BURNETT: The day that came out was the day the government looked at every single one of the victims of the Fort Hood shooting and spit in our faces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Plus, take a look at this. A car tumbles in a terrible crash and the driver actually walks away from that but the police, now they can't find them.

And every parent can relate to this. You take your kid out to eat. They act up a little. What if a cafe owner kicked you out for your kid's bad behavior? You're watching the CNN NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: We're learning more about that hard landing of Southwest Flight 345 last month at La Guardia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): This was the scene -- you'll recall, July 22nd -- as the plane's nose gear broke. Ten people were injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board updated its investigation, noting the captain took control of the plane during a critical phase of the flight. The report did not reveal why the captain did that.

Also we learned this was the pilot's second flight into La Guardia. But many experts CNN talked to say the captain's inexperience flying into the airport was probably not a factor in this accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Police in Ohio are scratching their heads after a man walked away from a major car crash caught on surveillance video. You're about to see it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): It shows the car hitting a curb, doing a full flip, taking out a tree and a public telephone booth and then crashing there, landing on the sidewalk bench. The driver simply shimmying out of the passenger window, seemingly unharmed.

And guess what? He even attempts to hail a cab.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a pretty busy bus stop, and there's usually, almost all day long, someone sitting right there on that bench. So a good thing no one was there waiting for the bus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Police say they want to talk to that person. He was driving a rental car at the time.

The rocky relationship between the U.S. and Russia hit another bump today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): President Obama formally cancelled talked with President Putin ahead of the G20 summit in Russia next month. It's part of the fallout from Russia's decision to grant asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden.

The president talked about Russia's move on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.

JAY LENO, NBC HOST: Were you surprised that Russia granted Snowden asylum?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was disappointed because even though we don't have an extradition treaty with them, traditionally we have tried to respect if there's a lawbreaker or an alleged lawbreaker in their country. We evaluate it and we try to work with them.

They didn't do that with us. And in some ways it's reflective of some underlying challenges we've had with Russia lately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wolf Blitzer joining me live now from Washington with more on the president's comments and his decision to cancel the one-on-one meeting with President Putin.

I don't think anyone would be really surprised about that one, Wolf.

But what might this say, this latest move, say about the relationship, the ongoing relationship between the U.S. and Russia overall?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: It would say that there's a serious strain in the relationship between the Obama administration and the Russian President Putin. That strain has been exacerbated by their decision to grant Edward Snowden one year of at least temporary asylum.

Let's see what happens during the course of the year. But it was already pretty significant as a result of major differences between the U.S. and Russia on Syria, for example, on Iran, for example. And there's some other issues as well.

There has been some good cooperation in some areas, for example, in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing terrorist incident. There was very good cooperation between the U.S. and Russia in that area.

But there's a serious strain. The president will still go to St. Petersburg, Russia, for the G20 summit, the G20 conference, but he was supposed to go the day before to Russia, to Moscow, for a one-on-one meeting with President Putin.

That is not going to happen. The president instead is going to go to Sweden, where the U.S. relationship with Sweden, obviously, is a whole lot better than it is with Russia.

WHITFIELD: And I'm sure, on the receiving end, that really is considered a giant snub because usually the president or the leader of a host country would have that kind of incredible photo-op, if anything.

So meantime the president also talking last night about the NSA surveillance program that Snowden revealed. And he tried to again reassure Americans that overall Big Brother is not watching. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: There is no spying on Americans. We don't have a domestic spying program. What we do have are some mechanisms where we can track a phone number or an e-mail address that we know is connected to some sort of terrorist threat. And that information is useful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So is the administration doing a good job of making its case that the surveillance programs are necessary for national security?

I mean, perhaps even the latest closures of the embassies and the consulates, might they be an example of how it works?

BLITZER: If you look at the polls, the polling numbers, as far as the American public is concerned, they're not necessarily doing a great job explaining the necessity of these surveillance programs because there's a whole lot of Americans out there who think it is an invasion of their privacy, an unnecessary invasion of their privacy.

And I think administration officials, White House officials, they will acknowledge, Fred, that they could be doing a much better job.

The president tried on "The Tonight Show" last night to explain, to make the case this is not an invasion of Americans' privacy, but a lot of Americans see this massive collection of information -- phone numbers, e-mail accounts in the United States.

And they wonder if the government is eavesdropping on them improperly, even though all branches of the U.S. government approve what's going on, the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. They are all involved in this program.

WHITFIELD: All right, Wolf Blitzer. Thanks so much. We'll see you later on in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And I know, Wolf, this has never happened to you, because nobody will kick out Wolf Blitzer.

But at least two moms were kicked out of a restaurant for loud and messy kids.

And guess what? It doesn't end there. The cafe owner does something else that has people expressing outrage.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A cafe owner in Washington State is taking heat now for kicking out two mothers and their children. Rainy MacDuff (ph) says she asked them to leave her small cafe because one of the children was having a screaming fit.

MacDuff (ph) then took a picture of the crumbs the group left under the table and then posted it on Facebook and it included a sarcastic comment, saying this, "I'd like to take this time to thank our customers with small children who don't make messes."

RAINY MACDUFF (PH), CAFE OWNER: Somebody threatened to drag me behind their truck. I've had people threatening to picket my business.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Oh, my. All right. So guess what? There's more to this story.

Turns out the moms that Ms. MacDuff (ph) kicked out were military moms. And MacDuff (ph) says she's sorry that she posted the pictures, but she adds that the moms are welcome back, just not the children.

Oh, my goodness. This just gets crazier and crazier. Yes, ouch.

Youtocracy (ph) editor Kat Kinsman joining me now from New York.

So, Kat, you know, people were angry about that Facebook picture and the sarcastic note, right?

(CROSSTALK)

KAT KINSMAN, YOUTOCRACY (PH): Oh, they sure were. And it kind of hit the trifecta for online outrage, because you have restaurant service, other people's parenting decisions and misuse of social media. So they were commenting all over the place, including things like, "Don't run a business if you can't take what comes along with it. I hope you don't have children. I hope your BS closes your doors."

But on the flip side of it -- (CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: The cafe is called Rainy Cafe?

KINSMAN: Her name's Rainy.

WHITFIELD: They don't just want sunny customers, sunny day?

KINSMAN: Listen, she herself is a military wife. So that goes into the equation.

But on the flip side people were defending her, saying, "Good for you for calling out that messy family. Parents need to know that it's not all right for their children to make messes and not pick up after them."

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Well, I guess, you know, there's quite the food fight going on there, a little bit from everyone being lobbed. So I guess, what's your advice then, whether it be to restaurateurs, or to patrons, I mean, how do we all just get along here?

KINSMAN: Well, to the restaurateurs, I speak at a conference every year, talking to restaurant owners about how to use social media. Above all, err on the side of positive. Don't call out your customers because for everybody you think is on your side, you're going to be alienating somebody else. So be really careful what you say in public like that.

And for parents, you can really teach your kid to be a good restaurant patron. And we talk to a lot of chefs (ph) about this. You can play restaurant at home and teach them etiquette and what is expected of them. You can also position it as being a treat, not as, well, you have to dress up and you have to go and sit in -- and sit still and be quiet for all this time.

And you really want to make sure that the place is kid friendly as well. You don't want to take them somewhere where they will be sitting stiffly and really uncomfortable. But here it wasn't anything -- call the restaurant and tell them you're coming.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Warning. I've got out of control children. I'll be there in 10 minutes.

KINSMAN: Well, actually, I think more on the side of, you know, a lot of chefs and restaurateurs are parents themselves. And they're looking to this as their future customers. So a little bit of communication can go a really, really long way.

WHITFIELD: You know what? Things don't all -- they're not going to be perfect right away. Sometimes the first few times taking your kid out, there's going to be a little bit of a scene or two or maybe a little drama. So everyone needs to be a little patient, I guess.

You can't teach the kids unless you take them out.

KINSMAN: Exactly. Everybody needs to take a deep breath and remember it's a great meal out. What's not to love about that?

WHITFIELD: Right. OK. All right. Well, hopefully we'll all have good experiences now and a lot of understanding all the way around.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Kat Kinsman, good to see you.

We'll have much more in THE NEWSROOM after this.

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