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Deadly Flooding in Missouri; Wildfire Rates Across Southern California. Amber Alert Search Expansion to Oregon; The Job Hunt Goes Social; Hasan's Lawyers: Shooter Wants to Die; Rick Warren Fights Scammers

Aired August 08, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Happening now in NEWSROOM.

Flooded and frustrated. America's heartland, storm weary and water logged after tornadoes, hail and flooding rains inundate towns from Colorado to the Carolinas.

Honda tops tests. Nissan and Kia, not so much. The new crash test results just released. We've got the list for you.

LinkedIn or is it really linked out? Can the social media site really help you get a job?

Plus, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAOMI WATTS, ACTRESS, "DIANA": Doesn't treat me like a princess. It's almost as if he doesn't know who I am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe he doesn't. He might be very badly informed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That is "Diana," a new trailer. The secret lover. Nischelle Turner has the best assignment of the whole morning.

The NEWSROOM starts right now.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Don Lemon in for carol today.

We'll begin with new concerns about flooding in areas where they have already been inundated. National Guardsmen have been called out. A body of a 4-year-old boy swept away by the floods has been found. While the search for his mother continues, a section of Interstate 44 has been closed due to the flooding and 200 families have been forced to leave their homes.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to cry. That's all I can say, is I want to cry. I -- so, no, I've never had to deal with anything like this. I grabbed clothes and diapers. And that was it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got friends that are at River Nagagami, they've lost everything and that's their homes. Their houses have floated off foundations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Goodness.

We want to get now live to Kenneth Ramsey. He's Emergency Management director for the Maries County in Missouri. He joins us now by phone.

Two hundred families have been forced to leave their homes. Give us an update on the situation there. What are you guys doing to help out?

KENNETH RAMSEY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, MARIES COUNTY, MISSOURI (via phone): We've had very few people in Maries County that actually have to leave their home. Some of -- most of them were upriver from Maries County. We've got some shelters available. However, they have not been used yet.

The Gasconade River effectively cuts Maries County totally in half. You cannot get from the east side to the west side of the county whatsoever without going a very long distance around probably over an hour's trip just to go from one side of the river to the other.

The river has dropped a little bit overnight and our major concern at this time is we have over 400 miles of gravel roads in this county and over 400 low-water crossings, which the -- the western side of the county is basically 85 percent damaged and the eastern sides have very, very limited, very minor damage at this time.

LEMON: So you're saying it's hard to even get -- to see, you know, all parts of the county. So you have not been able to get out or have you to assess the damage and to see if you have any more injuries or possibly deaths because of this? Have you been able to do that?

RAMSEY: We've had no death reported. We've had some very minor injuries reported, you know, in the last 24 hours. But, basically, most the -- all the highways close to the river are totally closed.

LEMON: Everything is totally -- and do you have any indication of when they might come back up so that you can help these people?

RAMSEY: Really can't. We have to wait for the water to go down.

LEMON: The water to go down. Yes. All right, thank you very much, Mr. Ramsey. We wish you all the very best. We'll be thinking about you.

And, you know, from too much rain to not enough. A drought in the western states prompting concerns of a record-breaking fire season. And today we are following a fast-moving wildfire raging across Southern California. It has grown to 6,000 acres in just one day. Hundreds of firefighters backed by air units are responding there. CNN's Stephanie Elam now in Banning, California, with the very latest.

Good morning, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Don. You're talking about a fire that started around 2:00 p.m. local time yesterday. So it hasn't even been 24 hours that this fire has been burning and now the fire line is about eight miles long.

I can tell you there about 1,000 firefighters that are in there fighting and there are also 15 structures that have been damaged. We don't know how many of those are homes and I can tell you that two firefighters were injured and one civilian also injured. From what we understand it could have been pretty bad injuries, but we do not know for sure how they are doing.

I talked to one woman yesterday who was evacuated and she paints a picture of just how close it came for her to get out of her house. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LILI ARROYO, FIRE EVACUEE: The fireman helped me bring out pictures and stuff but then I couldn't pick up my purse and my medication in the backroom, in the bedroom, and they wouldn't let me back in. They wouldn't let me go get it. And I told them, please, let me -- I can make it in a minute. They said, no, you just have five minutes. We'll take care of everything. Get in the car. Get in the car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And that's what she did. She actually spent the night in her car to be with her bird because she couldn't take it into the emergency shelter. And just staying there because she didn't have any money. She didn't have her credit card, she didn't have any I.D. So lots of people evacuated, 1500 people out of their homes. They don't know the status. We've heard from a few people who don't know about their animals. Who are still out there that they weren't able to get/

And as you can take a look at the fire behind me now that dawn has broken here, you can see that the smoke is still very heavy heading out towards Palm Springs and that is making it hard. Because you can -- as you can see it's still really windy out here, Don. But it's cold. So that helped the fight overnight. But they're hoping to get the water ships back in here, drop water and help to fight that on ground and from the sky.

LEMON: But still not over yet. Stephanie Elam, Banning, California. Stephanie, thank you very much. We'll see you later here on CNN.

You know, more help could be on the way for relatives of some of the Arizona hot spot firefighters. A bill being drafted in the state house would grant additional benefits to the families of 13 of the 19 men killed in June. Those firefighters didn't qualify for certain benefits because they were seasonal employees and not full-time.

According to the Arizona Republic, all of the families will get a one- time payment of more than $300,000.

Well, this morning an Amber Alert blankets Oregon as a search for a suspected killer and a missing teen grows more desperate. It is now been four days since crews found James DiMaggio's home in flames and two bodies inside. DiMaggio has been missing ever since, Along with 16-year-old Hannah Anderson.

One body is confirmed as her mom, the other is likely Hannah's 8-year- old brother, Ethan. Today the search intensifies as a vigilant public scrambles for help.

CNN's Miguel Marquez in San Diego with the very latest now -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning there, Don. We should say that the officials here are still trying to do DNA on the two bodies in there. They know that the mother, they can make identification on her. They're still trying to make a complete, positive identification on the -- on the child's remains that were found in there.

There are no other reports of missing children. So it is likely the body of Ethan in there. But the family is holding out hope and these two credible and possible sightings up in Oregon and northern California have given this family a lot of hope that this thing may come to a somewhat happy conclusion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Several states on high alert this morning after possible sightings of the blue Nissan Versa driven by James DiMaggio. The massive search expanding to Oregon and Washington for the man suspected of killing a woman, possibly her son, then abducting her daughter.

Both sightings on a remote stretch of road. The first in Alturas, California, on Highway 395. Hours later a second possible sighting in neighboring Lakeview, Oregon.

Police on high alert scouring the area for any signs of DiMaggio, 8- year-old Ethan Anderson and his 16-year-old sister, Hannah.

Friends and family tell CNN that 40-year-old DiMaggio developed a worrying relationship with 16-year-old Hannah in recent years. Angelina Amati, a friend with the Andersons, has kids Hannah's age.

ANGELINA AMATI, FAMILY FRIEND: From what I understand, Hannah had a crush on a boy. I don't know if they were officially dating. That's something that my girls would know. I know Hannah did say she was a little creeped out when Jim did tell her that he had a crush on her.

MARQUEZ: Hannah told her friends that she didn't want to visit DiMaggio any more.

The last time, her brother Ethan, their mother Cristina and the family dog were seen alive one Saturday afternoon. They left to spend the night with DiMaggio, a longtime family friend at his home 50 miles away in Boulevard, California.

Ethan was supposed to be at football practice 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning, he didn't make it. Later that night, DiMaggio's house was set on fire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now the other thing that we don't understand yet, Don, is how long it was between the deaths of the individuals in that house and that fire. So, in other words, we don't have any idea how much of a lead on investigators or those looking for Mr. DiMaggio. How much of a lead he had on them.

The other thing that investigators say even though these are plausible and credible sightings up in northern California and Oregon. They're asking people to keep watch everywhere across the country, even in Mexico and into Canada because they're not sure that these will pan out to be anything. There's been a lot of hopes this week and a lot of dashed hopes so far but they're hoping, this family putting everything they can into hoping that Hannah is OK -- Don.

LEMON: And we wish them well, thank you very much. Miguel Marquez reporting for us.

News about your car safety now.

The Honda Civic earns a top safety rating in a new front end car test. Well, that test by Key Insurance Group looked at how 12 new small car models faired when they got hit outside their main structural zones. And along with the Civic, the Dodge Dart, the Ford Focus sedan, Hyundai Elantra and Scion, TC, all performed well, or Scion TC all performed well.

But several models did not. With the worst performance being the Nissan Sentra and the two Kia models, the Forte and the Soul.

Rene Marsh in Washington.

Rene, is it the Forte or the Forte. I think it's the Forte, right?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, it's the Forte, you got it right the second time, Don. So, you know, we're talking about small cars here and they really are big sellers on the market. But there's one highway safety group that says that the way manufacturers are making some of these small cars, it leaves drivers really vulnerable to some serious injuries. That same group crash tested a dozen of these small cars and here are the results.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH (voice-over): It's this type of crash that happens on U.S. roads thousands of times per year. Watch closely. Not quite a head on, but what the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety calls overlap frontal crashes. Where part of the car's front end strikes an object. The group says some popular small cars on the road don't make the grade in overlap crashes. Twelve small cars put to the test. The Honda Civic received the top grade. The head and chest of the test dummy was protected. The airbag released on time and the structure of the car did not cave in on the driver's side. The Kia Forte performed the worst.

DAVID ZUBY, NHS CHIEF RESEARCH OFFICER: The structure collapsed. We've got the restraints not doing a good job of controlling the motion of the occupant.

MARSH: The group says manufacturers have built cars to best absorb impact in the center. Take a look, a more head-on impact on the left and an overlap crash on the right. The damage much worse in the overlap crash.

ZUBY: So as manufacturers redesign their cars, they need to try to figure out ways to provide better protection for the people inside.

MARSH: Along with the Honda Civic, the Dodge Dart, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and Scion TC passed the test. The Chevrolet Sonic, Volkswagen Beatle, Chevrolet Cruise, Nissan Sentra, Kia Soul and Forte all performed poorly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: All right, well, if you have one of these cars the group says, don't worry too much. Even though half of them performed poorly in this particular crash situation, they say that does not necessarily negate the overall safety of the vehicle.

Now we did reach out to the automakers of those vehicles that performed poorly and they tell CNN that their vehicles, they exceed the federal requirements, but two of those companies, specifically, Nissan and VW, say that they plan on reviewing the results of these recent crash test -- Don.

LEMON: Rene Marsh, thank you very much for your reporting.

You know those LinkedIn requests that pile up in your inbox? You know what I'm talking about. You'll get a rest a mini every day. If you're looking for a job, you might want to start answering them. More and more recruiters are turning to the social network for candidates and they could be looking for you.

Alison Kosik at New York Stock Exchange with that story.

So, Alison, many people, I'm sure me among them, hey, all of these requests. Does anyone every look at this recruiter or what have you, you say, yes, now?

MARSH: I say yes. A big yes because if you're looking for a job that the thing that you really need to do is get on LinkedIn account and keep it updated because what's happening is the social networking company it's completely transformed how people find work. You look at these companies. They're not waiting for you to come to them anymore. It's become this hunt where they're looking for you and this is really been the big trend over the past five years. It really is astounding. Seventy-seven percent of companies use social media to recruit people.

Back in 2008, only 34 percent did and here's why. They actually are looking for passive candidates, meaning people who aren't actively looking. So they're really looking to go in, look at somebody's profile and poach you from the company that you're at right now. And it basically gives the company that's looking for people, it gives them more options.

In fact, 238 million options. That's the number of people who are on LinkedIn. But then, of course, you've got the flip side of this. For the 11.5 million people who are unemployed, it means there is more competition out there because those people may not have applied if they weren't approached.

So, you know, you look at how this breaks down, where companies go to, to find candidates. "A," they go to LinkedIn first. Second, they go to Facebook and third they go to Twitter.

That's a lesson for many people on Facebook. Take the naked pictures off Facebook. You don't want to have those on there.

And, you know, LinkedIn is taking this to the bank, Don. You look at its stock. It's almost tripled since its 2011 IPO -- Don.

LEMON: Did you say take the naked pictures off Facebook?

KOSIK: I did say take the naked pictures off. You can't get a job with a naked picture on your Facebook page.

LEMON: Unless you're running for mayor, and that will be Twitter.

Thank you.

KOSIK: I stay quiet on that one.

LEMON: I appreciate it, Alison Kosik.

Still ahead in NEWSROOM: a violent crash caught on video. A speeding truck slams into a tour bus and sends passengers flying. You'll never believe what happened to the driver.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is time now to check your top stories on CNN. A disturbing scene in China where a driver was thrown out of the window after a truck slammed into a tour bus full of people. The accident, which took place on Friday was so powerful that passengers were ejected from their seats. Twenty-three people were injured and the driver of the speeding truck was killed, but amazingly the driver of the bus, he survived.

Now, to Texas where a suspect is now in custody after a shooting spree left four people dead and four others wounded. Authorities say the shooting began at the Dallas home of the suspect's ex-girlfriend. But he left when he discovered she was not there. He then went to a second home in Desoto where he found her, used an explosive device and fired additional shots. Police arrested the suspect when he ran out of ammunition.

Outrage in New York after vandals deface a statue of Jackie Robinson and his teammate Brooklyn Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese. Police say a swastika and a racial slur were found scrambled across the statue on Wednesday. Now "New York Daily News" offering a reward for the person or persons who are responsible.

And in sports --

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LEMON: Ouch. Home fans hated when fans were visiting team come to cheer in their ballpark. So, Cleveland Indian fans had this response to Detroit Tigers' fans trying to rally their guys. Detroit's bankrupt. Bankrupt.

Well, looks like sports fans can take a page from the business section. Not very nice, though.

Army Major Nidal Hasan gunned down dozens of people at Fort Hood and now he wants to be the next to die. It is a jarring accusation from the startling source: Hasan's own defense lawyers. They want off the case because they say Hasan himself wants to be executed.

Ed Lavandera covering the court-martial in Killeen, Texas, for us.

Ed, what is the very latest on this?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Good morning. We are waiting for court procedure proceedings to begin this morning. This is after everything was dramatically shut down in the courtroom yesterday after the three attorneys that are essentially standing by Major Hasan's side.

You know, Hasan is acting as his own attorney, but the military has invited three attorneys that help him guide through any legal procedural issues. They are not actually speaking in the courtroom because Hasan has been doing it. But those three attorneys started voicing concerns. Hasan is trying to help the prosecution to ensure that he gets the death penalty and those attorneys don't feel like they can stand by and watch that happen.

As soon as the attorney said that the judge shut everything down and put into private meetings that we haven't heard anything else as to anything else is going to happen. We are eagerly anticipating and the court is beginning this morning to see what the judge will tell these stand-by attorneys. They're helping Major Hasan.

Now, the big question is, what is the judge going to tell these attorneys? A lot of legal experts say they expect the judge to tell these three attorneys that they must continue on doing their work. Many people following this case know whole well that military death penalty cases are very difficult and can be easily overturned in the appeals process. That is something that military prosecutors here at Ft. Hood want to make sure does not happen. We'll be able to update you here shortly within the hour or so and see exactly what the judge is going to tell these attorneys and how this trial continues to move forward.

LEMON: Ed Lavandera, thank you very much. It is interesting. It's a court-martial, not a civilian court and everyone has a right to an attorney in a civilian court, but we'll see what happens in court-ma court-martialing. Thank you very much, Ed Lavandera.

We'll check back in with him.

Still ahead here on CNN, Pastor Rick Warren fighting against the stigma of mental illness after his son's suicide. But Warren also has to fight scammers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Pastor Rick Warren hoping to change perceptions of mental illness after following the April suicide of his son. But the pastor has another challenge as he gets the message out about Matthew Warren.

Scammers are trying to use his tragedy to make money.

Mary Snow is here with this story.

What's this all about, Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, it is such a painful time. Pastor Rick Warren is dealing with online scammers creating phony Facebook pages and targeting his supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Pastor Rick Warren was warmly embraced when he recently returned to the pulpit for the first time since his 27-year- old son, Matthew, committed suicide in April.

Warren, author of the best-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life" is now making it his mission to fight against the stigma of mental illness. The Saddleback Church which he founded set up a fund and Warren credits his family, particularly his daughter, for providing strength.

RICK WARREN, PASTOR: I'm in a family of spiritual redwoods. I mean, they are giants of faith. It is a rock solid family and, actually, when Matthew died, Amy said, you know, daddy, she said, Satan picked the wrong family to pick on. He's going to lose big time on this one.

SNOW: But as he grieves along with his family, Warren is also finding himself dealing with a different kind of fight. One against scammers. He wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday, "179 of over 200 fake Rick Warren Facebook pages created by scammers to make money on my son's death have now been shut down. We're still working on the rest. Thanks to you friends for reporting them."

Pastor Warren has declined interview requests since his son's death, but other mega church leaders like Joel Olsteen have been targeted by phony Facebook pages in the past and the head of an evangelical research organization says he's seeing more and more of these scams.

ED STETZER, PRES., LIFEWAY RESEARCH: People are going around soliciting funds and people see the name and they click friend or like and then the people that, the criminals begin to sort of reach out to people who are trusting that they're hearing from a trusted Christian leader. So, I think it's important that people always recognize that there's a lot of evil people in the world and those evil people try to do evil things.

SNOW: Ed Stetzer says he was even targeted. While Facebook will shut down pages once alerted, scammers copy photos and profiles so the pages look real. It was the postings that raised red flags.

STETZER: The posts are not like I would post and they began to contact people and those people said, that doesn't sound like you, at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Now, we've reached out to Facebook for comment. A spokesperson told us the company can take action on fraudulent pages like these when reporters use them. The advice they have for people is that if they discover a page that is suspicious, report it to Facebook -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Mary Snow, thank you for your reporting.

And still ahead here on CNN, more flooding problems this summer of storms for much of the country. We take a look at the areas being hit hard right now.

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