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Manhunt suspect May Have Explosives; Dangerous Flash Floods; Usher Battles to Keep His Son; Housing Market Getting Stronger; Murder Case Against Hasan Continues; Hackers Spy Through Your Smartphone
Aired August 09, 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: Happening now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Floods and fire. Breaking overnight. Devastating new storms and one of the fastest moving fires in 50 years. We are live coast to coast with the very latest on that.
Plus Ocean 16. Glass workers in a county hit hard by Super Storm Sandy have one of the three winning Powerball tickets. We could meet the lucky 16 sometime today.
Also this.
Usher and his ex-wife getting ready to battle it out in an Atlanta courtroom. A fresh custody fight after their 5-year-old son nearly drown in a swimming pool.
Plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL CRAIG, ACTOR: Go Internet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It is a scene straight out of "Skyfall." Hackers have a new way to spy on you through your cell phone.
The NEWSROOM starts right now.
Good morning. Happy Friday, everyone. I'm Don Lemon in today for Carol. There is a new warning surrounding the nationwide manhunt for kidnapping and murder suspect. Authorities say James DiMaggio may be armed with improvised explosives or may have booby-trapped his car with them.
DiMaggio is wanted in the disappearance of 16-year-old Hannah Anderson and the killing of her mother whose body was found in DiMaggio's burned down house. A third family member, Hannah's 8-year-old brother Ethan, is missing, although officials tell CNN that remains found in that home, quote, "consistent with those of a child that age."
CNN's Miguel Marquez following the very latest for us now from San Diego, California.
Hello, Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Don. It is a very, very tough time for this family. They are in an extraordinary circumstance where they want to plan for funerals and grieve for the dead but they are reminded and trying to stay so positive for 16-year- old Hannah that is still out there.
Hundreds and hundreds of tips now coming in from across the country. They are hoping one of them leads to the return of Hannah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ (voice-over): This morning more sightings, more concern about the fate of 16-year-old Hannah Anderson in the hands of her alleged abductor James DiMaggio. Dozens of sightings of the dark blue Nissan Versa outside California. AMBER alerts now lighting up much of the western U.S. from Mexico to the Canadian border. At this Seattle Emergency Call Center, nine out of 10 calls related to Hannah Anderson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's obviously a very high priority for us.
MARQUEZ: Investigators now saying DiMaggio may have built his own explosives, ditched his own car, wiring it to explode, urging extreme caution.
JAN CALDWELL, SAN DIEGO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We want to put out there for civilian safety, officer safety, if you see this car do not approach it, but call law enforcement.
MARQUEZ: This as the human toll is taking its effect, speaking exclusively to CNN, Sara and Ralph Britt, mother and stepfather of Christina Anderson, grandparents to Hannah and Ethan, make a desperate appeal.
SARA BRITT, ETHAN AND HANNAH'S GRANDPARENTS: Please let Hannah go.
RALPH BRITT, ETHAN AND HANNAH'S GRANDPARENTS: Let her come back.
S. BRITT: We need her home. She needs to be home.
MARQUEZ: They believe with 100 percent certainty Hannah is alive. They hold out hope 8-year-old Ethan, E, is alive as well but they fear the worst.
S. BRITT: Little E, he's just the best little guy you can imagine. Mr. Fisherman.
R. BRITT: Yes.
S. BRITT: Hannah, our honey bunny.
MARQUEZ: Now the Britts are holding on to each other wearing "Pray for Hannah" T-shirts are preparing for one funeral, possibly two.
S. BRITT: You never plan to bury your child. You never plan to bury your grandchildren, if that's what it comes to. It's something you just can't comprehend or cope with.
MARQUEZ: For now all of their emotion and energy devoted to the hope that Hannah, their granddaughter, is alive and they will soon be reunited.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: The family also saying that Mr. DiMaggio's house was being foreclosed on, that he was going to lose it soon. They say that they -- he begged Christina and the kids to bring up the family dog, spend the weekend with us for the last time, believing this is more evidence that he planned all of this in advance.
Just heartbreaking to talk to this family and deal with what they're dealing with right now. Hoping against hope that Hannah comes back -- Don.
LEMON: Heartbreaking to say the least. Miguel, thank you very much for that.
Deadly storms wreaking havoc in a dozen states across the Midwest and the southeast. Violent rain and dangerous floods like this one in Arkansas have turned roads into rivers, submerged homes, and forced rescue teams in Missouri and elsewhere to work around the clock getting people to safety.
A CNN iReporter in Nashville shared the scene of what he is dealing with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can tell right there that got moved all the way from across the street. But everything around here looks horrible right now. So this is just part of the flooding this morning that has happened. Yes, this is pretty bad around here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: In Oklahoma City, a 60-year-old man was killed when trying to save his stranded daughter.
Missouri may have seen the most extreme weather. A woman was killed yesterday when floodwaters swept away in her -- her away in her car. The second weather-related death in the state in a week. And more rain -- my goodness -- on the way.
George Howell in Holmstrom, Missouri, for us right now.
George, this is devastating.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, good morning. And now we know of another death in South Carolina, a 23-year-old man killed in flooding.
Again, here in Hollister, the problem is it's starting to rain. Not a lot of rain but just enough to make people out here nervous because as you can see there's a lot of devastation out here in the storm system that has proven to be a deadly storm.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL (voice-over): Evacuations and rescues continue to Missouri where flash flooding has claimed two lives. The most vulnerable, children and the elderly. The currents were so strong that it forced this construction crane up on to an already saturated landing.
In Tennessee, it was a devastating scene, with people helpless on rooftops. In Davidson County, dozens had to be rescued including this young girl. And just take a look at this building in Nashville. It literally broke in half under the pressure of a nearby overflowing creek.
On the highway cars were left drifting in the current. And then this firefighting scene, two firefighters tethered with a rope, carefully carrying a 5-week-old baby through a river of waist-high water.
It's all part of a drenching storm system that's gripping at least a dozen states. In Benton County, Arkansas, officials put out an emergency disaster declaration after thunderstorms dumped 10 inches of rain. One resident had to pile her belongings on to a bed as water rushed through her home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were in the kitchen and the glass started falling off the wall. And the fridge flipped backwards and busted.
HOWELL: In Pickens County, Georgia, water rescue teams geared up jumping into what used to be a tiny six-inch deep creek to rescue a man stranded with his two dogs.
(On camera): And back here with a live look in Holmstrom, Missouri. We want you to see --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: George Howell in Hollister reporting for us. We'll get back to George. A little bit of technical difficulties there.
George, thank you very much.
Going to move to California now and talk about fires, from water to fire. One of the fastest moving wildfires in half a century still out of control. The fire near Palm Springs has scorched more than 14,000 acres. It broke out Wednesday. And so far it has destroyed more than two dozen homes and businesses and seven communities have been ordered to evacuate. More than 1400 firefighters are battling the flames.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're seeing fire behavior that we haven't seen in a long time because the fields are so dry. And you add a little bit of wind to that and it really makes it a challenge for us to try to catch or keep up with the fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Well, right now the fire is about 20 percent contained. It is the second big wildfire in the area in less than two weeks.
The world knows Usher Raymond like this, as a performer with an incredible voice and a smooth dance move. But his ex-wife Tameka Raymond, paints a different story, an absent father who is putting their kids in danger. And in just a few hours, the two of them will battle it out in a court fighting for custody of their two young sons.
Alina Machado is following the very latest on this which has really become a courtroom drama.
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a good way of putting it, Don. This is the latest legal twist in what has been an ongoing custody battle between the singer and his ex-wife. The hearing that will take place this afternoon is an emergency hearing.
Tameka Foster Raymond filed in May for a custody modification. This weekday, a day after their 5-year-old son nearly drowned in a pool at the singer's Atlanta home, Raymond filed for an emergency hearing on the matter. Here's what her lawyer had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA KINLEY, TAMEKA RAYMOND'S ATTORNEY: Miss Raymond's only focus is on the health and safety of the children. And that they would be in the custody of a parent or the other parent. Not in the third party setting for days at a time. That's the main concern is the children being left with third parties for extended periods of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACHADO: Now Usher's attorney have filed a response to the emergency motion but they are not commentating. We hope to learn more at the hearing this afternoon -- Don.
LEMON: The big question, who's going to be in court. Will Usher be in court? We're told that both parent are expected. What' going on here?
MACHADO: That's what it seems like, Don. It's -- we're told that again both parents are expected to be in court so I think we can assume that Usher will be there.
LEMON: They have been tweeting at least -- I know Tameka has been tweeting about her son saying he's sitting up, they play games all night. How is doing?
MACHADO: We talked to the attorney, to Tameka Raymond's attorney yesterday, she tell us the boy is improving. He's doing much better. Tameka herself tweeted a picture of herself. With the boy yesterday saying he's doing better. So we know at one point he had a breathing tube that tube according to Tameka's attorney has been removed. We don't know, though, when he'll be released from the hospital.
LEMON: As I said at the beginning here. Courtroom drama about to play out. Thank you very much, Alina Machado. We'll be getting back to you with new details on that.
There's good news this morning for the housing market, home prices have skyrocketed particularly in places that took hard hit and more people are paying their mortgages on time.
Finally some good news in this broadcast and for America when it comes to the economy and the housing market.
We love it, Alison Kosik. There you are in New York. What is going on?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so both . What's interesting when you look at these prices, they're not rising in one section of the country. They're rising across the country. The National Associate of Realtors actually looked at 163 cities and what it found was that prices are up in 87 percent of them. And these increases they are big.
And look at Sacramento and Atlanta, they're up 39 percent. Prices in Fort Myers and Last Vegas, process are more than 30 percent.
The double-digit game is the south and west are happening, because these are really the area, Don, that has the biggest housing bust. So clearly they've got more gain back.
Now we're seeing these prices rise because there are fewer foreclosures out there. Also there are so the inventory is shrinking a bit. You look at this, 2.2 million homes are for sale now. The people who's back in 2007 when the housing market was really booming, there were 3.5 million homes on the market. So what you see happening in that case is that in some areas it's winding up being quite the seller's market and those bitten wars, they are back -- Don.
LEMON: I'm sure, people -- and as you say, you said a bit of inventory, shortage of inventory, you can't even find places -- every real state again I speak to here in New York and across the country say, there's nothing on the market. There's no inventory.
KOSIK: It is really hard out there. You know, I guess what I could say to you picky people is trying not to be too picky.
(LAUGHTER)
But, you know, what's also interesting to see about this sort of trend in housing is that mortgage delinquencies are also on their way down. More people are paying their bills on time. Almost 6 percent of mortgage payments are at least 90 days late. That's actually the lowest in five years because we're seeing more people are getting jobs, they get a paycheck, they're able to pay their mortgage.
So a couple of red flags here with all this data, though, you know, we are seeing that delinquencies, though, if you sort of compare historically, still a lot of ground to make up there because they are still high. And you look at prices, you doesn't want to see these prices get so inflated that we have another bubble. But the good news is that analysts say prices will likely keep going up but you're not going to see the gains really, really, rise much faster -- Don.
LEMON: And concern about a bubble. Let's hope there's no bubble this time that --
KOSIK: Right.
LEMON: You know, it's healthy as prices rise and the market improves. Thank you very much , Alison. We'll see you soon. OK?
KOSIK: Sure.
LEMON: All right.
We know 16 people who may not be worried about their mortgages anymore. We're talking about the lucky Powerball players from New Jersey who will split this check, it's a measly check. It's just $86 million.
"USA Today" says they are co-workers at a county garage. And this man has another one of the winning tickets. Paul White of Minnesota says he's got some big plans.
PAUL WHITE, POWERBALL WINNER: I've spent my whole life trying to figure out what it was I want to do when I grow up, well now I get the opportunity to do whatever I want. I know I can't -- I'm not going to be one of those people who says I'm going to keep working because I'm not working for anybody else anymore. Not going to happen.
I don't think I could wake up every day without having to go somewhere. So what that ends up being, I'm not sure. It might be -- I don't know. Honestly at this point I don't know. It's just too surreal at this point. I mean, I don't think you guys can understand how just -- it's just amazing to me. It's just amazing.
No worries anymore. It's crazy. No, I think I can get by. You know what I mean? We'll see. But you do think of it of course, almost $450 million or something. That's a big deal. But you know once Uncle Sam gets his chunk there's not much left anyway. I don't think --
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I don't like that guy. That's because I'm jealous. I'm hating. Just kidding. Congratulations. Congratulations. Very nice here.
We're going to move ahead here in THE NEWSROOM and talk about the group that governs college athletic says it's pulling jerseys from its online store. Details on the firestorm that sparked the NCAA to take action, after this break.
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LEMON: All right. So, more witnesses are expected to take the stand today in a murder trial of the accused Fort Hood shooter. The government is trying to hammer home the devastating impact of the rampage that left 13 dead and 32 hurt, 31 people have testified so far and 50 more are waiting in the wings.
And meantime, a military judge says Nidal Hasan's backup lawyers cannot quit. They say former -- the former army psychiatrist is trying to get the death penalty and that they shouldn't be forced to help him commit suicide.
Ed Lavandera, Killeen, Texas, this morning again with the very latest on this.
Ed, what's going on here today?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Don. Everything is moving along now despite what happened here in the middle of the week when the attorneys -- the standby attorneys for Major Nidal Hasan had voiced their concerns that they felt that they were standing by as Major Hasan was working with the prosecution to get himself the death penalty. They said being forced to do that was morally repugnant.
The judge denied the motion, or told those attorneys that they have to continue working alongside Major Hasan and now the prosecution continues calling its witnesses. We've heard from a number of shooting victims and witnesses who were that there in the room where the shooting erupted four years ago. And the prosecution will continue to do that, laying out in painful detail just what happened in those moments when the shooting erupted in that room.
And remember, this is a group of soldiers that were preparing during their last medical checks and paperwork that they needed to finish before they were being deployed to Afghanistan. Prosecutors say that's exactly why Major Hasan targeted these soldiers specifically.
So, we will continue to hear that, and we were told that things are moving much more quickly now, Don, because Major Hasan is barely asking any questions of these witnesses. So, this case could go to the jury by the end of next week -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Ed Lavandera, we'll get back to you as well. Thank you, Ed.
Still ahead -- it is as simple as downloading your favorite game on your phone, but it's bad as for your privacy as publishing your Social Security number. We'll show you the spyware that could be lurking in your apps.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. So, the group that governs college athletics will stop selling players jerseys. The NCAA says it's hypocritical to sell the jersey on their Web sites while players are not allowed to make money off their own names. The move comes after Heisman Trophy winner John Manziel of Texas A&M was accused for receiving money for his autograph, which would be a violation of NCAA rules. For many of us, smartphones are the Swiss Army knives of technology. You can search the web, you can pay for your groceries and even make a phone call once in a while.
But they can also betray you and your privacy when hackers begin to snoop around.
Laurie Segall of CNNMoney explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Your smartphone, turned into a spy phone.
KEVIN MCNAMEE, RESEARCHER, KINDSIGHT SECURITY LABS: I'm looking at my phone. I'm looking at playing the game, Angry Birds. I'm doing my thing here.
SEGALL: You see Angry Birds on the screen. On the other end, a hacker can see you.
MCNAMEE: We use the peep function to take a picture. And let me just do that right now. So there's us looking at the phone.
SEGALL: And that's just the beginning.
MCNAMEE: The other thing we can do is record conversations. I can use the listen function here, and when I click listen, I'm going to record ten seconds of conversation in this phone. Hopefully it will record the thing. We'll see how it goes.
SEGALL: So how did they do it?
MCNAMEE: We used Angry Birds because that's a very popular game.
SEGALL: Popular app, but be careful where you download it.
MCNAMEE: Send them an e-mail, saying, we've got this really great game that you can download if you just go to this link. You go to the link. You download the game. When they install it in their phone, they're all happy. They get to play the game. But the spyware is there.
SEGALL: It's not the app that's the problem. It's a malicious link users click or a fake app they download.
McNamee's a security researcher. His work is designed to find security flaws like this one.
MCNAMEE: What we've done is created a Trojan, a Trojan horse. We've got an application with the malware buried inside it.
So the person installed the application all by themselves, and the Trojan horse inside it creeps out and takes over their phone.
We can do this to any game we want or any other application. SEGALL: Once you download the bad link, your private data, exposed.
MCNAMEE: So then we go to the website, and the first thing we can do is we can locate where they are. And here we are at Black Cat in Las Vegas, OK? That's where this phone currently is. You can see it right there.
Now what we have on here, we immediately get their e-mail address, we get the telephone number, the type of phone that they own, and we've also taken the contact list off the phone here.
SEGALL: Google and Apple recommend users only download apps from their respective app stores.
So what do users need to know about how to protect themselves? Because you guys have come up with this code. You're not going to release it. But you guys have come up with it, so that definitely opens the door to other people being able to do that.
MCNAMEE: That's correct.
What you first of all can do is, first of all, be very careful with the applications that you load.
If you get an e-mail from someone saying, here, click here to download the application, unless you really know that person, don't do it.
SEGALL: Laurie Segall, CNNMoney, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Laurie, thanks very much.
Still ahead, a motorist killed by police in a barrage of gun fire. Two years later, the man as family and injured bystanders are still waiting for their questions to be answered.
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