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U.S. Markets Opening Higher; New Details on Teen's Rescue; Few Answers in California Kidnapping; Weiner Opens Up; "I Made these Mistakes"; New Ending in "Finding Nemo" Sequel; Banana Throwing Fan Apologizes
Aired August 13, 2013 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Dramatic new video from the scene of that Florida sinkhole. The moment of the collapse into that 100-foot-wide chasm.
Plus this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY WEINER, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: The first thing I was going to do as mayor was hold a press conference tearing out your -- this is the Internet, right, tearing out or (EXPLETIVE DELETED) bike lanes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Anthony Weiner unplugged and defiant. What's he got against bike lanes anyway? The new BuzzFeed interview you'll be talking about, straight ahead.
And a spectacular bare-handed play from Jose Iglesias. Oh, look at him. The Tigers' shortstop and the sixth-inning stunner.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Good morning. Thanks so much for being with me. I'm Carol Costello. Checking our top stories at 31 minutes past
A 29-year-old Georgia man was killed after falling from a platform at Turner Field. It happened during the Braves/Phillies game. Ronald Homer fell 65 feet from an upper level on to a parking lot below. Police believe the fall was an accident and say it's too soon to tell whether alcohol may have been a factor.
Some good news this morning for celebrity chef Paula Deen. A judge has thrown out a racial discrimination charge in a lawsuit filed by a former employee. A judge says Lisa Jackson cannot sue Deen for race discrimination because Jackson is white. In recent weeks, Deen's empire has been under fire after she admitted in a deposition to using a racial slur in the past.
On Wall Street, stocks opening higher this morning after a mixed day for investors. So, let's head to the New York Stock Exchange and check in with Alison Kosik. Looks good so far.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
It looks like the bears are taking a bit of a rest today, letting the bulls come out to play. But as you can see, the gains not too huge at this point. Looks like investors are kind of stuck in the summer doldrums. But a little perspective. Stocks were at record highs less than two weeks ago. You look at the Dow is only 1.5 percent from its record.
But here is what's giving investors a little bit of a reason to buy today. Retail sales numbers rose in July. It's actually the fourth month in a row of gains. So what that means is people are out there shopping, spending their money. That helps to boost the economy. But the thing is, like a lot of the other economic reports lately, not so good. They're kind of good, but not so great. But still, you're seeing investors focus on the positive this morning.
Carol.
COSTELLO: Like that. Alison Kosik, many thanks.
This morning, Hannah Anderson is waking up in familiar surroundings. The first comforting sign of normalcy since she was kidnapped more than a week ago. That ordeal that saw both her mother and her younger brother murdered ended in an Idaho wilderness on Saturday. An FBI agent shot and killed her abductor after the so-called family friend fired at least one shot at swarming agents. That operation had to lurch into gear virtually without warning. The helicopter crew zeroed in on the remote camp site with shocking speed. Just minutes after launching the Saturday morning search, U.S. marshals watched Hannah and her kidnapper in disbelief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE JURMAN, U.S. MARSHAL: It appears that they were just kind of going about their normal activity. They gathered firewood and walked around and really it didn't appear like they were doing anything out of the ordinary. But they were the only ones in this -- in that area. We searched the area and there was no one else within several miles.
However, there's a very highly populated river that was only about three miles away to their east and there's a lot of rafters and stuff that float down that river. And that was a major concern of ours during the investigation was that maybe they made it to that river and floated out of our area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, but they didn't. CNN's Casey Wian live in San Diego this morning.
Tell us more, Casey.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol. You know, U.S. marshals were set -- were preparing for a very long search in that operation and they were worried that DiMaggio and Hannah might actually be trying to make their way to Canada. But almost immediately, minutes after they got in the air, they spotted one of the things they were looking for, that blue tent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JURMAN: Well, there were several things going through my mind. Number one, we definitely were not going to take our eyes off of that tent until we had it covered by ground units and make sure that we determined for sure if it was or was not them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did they see you? Did they hear your plane?
JURMAN: It appears not. They did not hear our plane during the initial surveillance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Now when marshals got confirmation that Hannah was safe after that confrontation and shooting with the FBI, they said it was like a big weight lifted off their shoulders, knowing that she had been rescued.
Meanwhile, Hannah back here in San Diego. She is with family members. And those who know her telling CNN that she is shocked at the national attention that her kidnapping and subsequent rescue has received. She's also able, they say, to smile a little bit, but tragically she is also involved with helping plan the funerals of her mother and younger brother, Carol.
COSTELLO: Casey Wian, many thanks.
We may never know all the reasons why that California teenager, Hannah, was kidnapped and then taken into the Idaho wilderness by that family friend, but one of Mr. DiMaggio's friends has an idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW SPANSWICK, FRIEND OF JAMES DIMAGGIO: I'm positive that he had a suicidal plan. The fact that he took his cat out into the wilderness with him that he had saved before -- before I mentioned on your show that it was very strange that he would -- to shoot a dog. But, you know, when people have a suicidal plan, they'll often take things with them that they want to die and go with them if they believe in God or an afterlife. You know, a lot of people are sure he's probably going to hell, but, you know, it's very common when people have a suicidal plan and if the dates fit so perfectly and that he was there. And there's also an eerie semblance between the fact that he took on a father role with this girl, Hannah, and then he also did the same thing with Laura, when Laura was abandoned by their family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So let's dig deeper into this with Mary Ellen O'Toole. She's a former senior profiler for the FBI.
Welcome.
MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR FBI PROFILER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: So do you agree with that friend, did DiMaggio have a suicide plan?
O'TOOLE: Well, in the FBI, you could never look inside somebody's head and know exactly what they're thinking, so we would look at their behavior. And his behavior is this, that crime scene was fatal, it was hopeless, there was no returning. What he had done created a different life for him. He could never go back. He takes what is important to him, it would appear, which would be Princess, his cat, and Hannah. He drives thousands of miles to a very remote area.
He can't leave that area. Where's he going to go? He can't go back to his new job. He can't go back to San Diego. So it does appear that that's where he was going to end things. So I do think that suicide was a very strong possibility. I should say suicide/homicide was a very strong possibility in this case.
COSTELLO: But why take a young girl with you? If you want to commit suicide, commit suicide.
O'TOOLE: I understand that, and his feelings towards Hannah, and I think this will come out over time, my sense were much stronger than what we've heard about so far. There's a little leakage coming out so far about him having an attraction to her, but I think it's likely it was much stronger. And over the years, as an FBI profiler, I saw a phenomenon called icon influence or icon intimidation. That means somebody can be close to your family, but if they have a trusted position, if they have a -- if they're a coach or a minister, oftentimes we let them close to our children because they're an icon and we never look at their behavior and question it. And in cases like this, I think that phenomenon is -- really made a difference because he was considered a friend, his behavior was not questioned. I think his feelings for her are likely much stronger than what people think.
COSTELLO: OK, so let's go back to 1988. DiMaggio's father expressed his love for the 16-year-old daughter of a former girlfriend. DiMaggio's father tried to abduct his former girlfriend's daughter and failed. And he told the daughter at the time that he wanted to take her away and take care of her. So was that the same mindset his son had today?
O'TOOLE: Well, again, the mindset, we'll never know because he's dead, but the behavior does parallel his father's behavior very closely. To me it's very surprising, though, because in this sense that his father's behavior was perceived as being so negative back at that time, so why his son would want to almost copy that is really quite interesting, but there's no question that parallel is so strong, one has to look at that and say that had to be influential in his decision to pick that particular date. But he will take the exact meaning, his exact thoughts, to the grave with him.
COSTELLO: Wow. Former senior FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts this morning. We appreciate it.
O'TOOLE: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Coming up in the NEWSROOM, oops, Anthony Weiner just got himself in trouble again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN SMITH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BUZZFEED: Do you know what her role in Hillary's 2016 campaign is going to be?
ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I do.
SMITH: And what will it be?
WEINER: I'm not telling you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, but you did tell us that Hillary Clinton maybe has a campaign staff for 2016. Hmm. We'll tell you more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Anthony Weiner does it again. He supports his wife and then kind of makes things a lot harder for her. Example, we now know Huma Abedin will have a spot in 2016 on Hillary Clinton's staff, except Hillary Clinton hasn't announced she'll actually have a political staff in 2016. D'oh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN SMITH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BUZZFEED: Do you know what her role in Hillary's 2016 campaign is going to be?
ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I do.
SMITH: And what will it be?
WEINER: I'm not telling you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It all happened in an exclusive CNN BuzzFeed interview. Jim Acosta has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As he sat down for a BuzzFeed bruise interview, Anthony Weiner passed on having a beer and what was perhaps the easiest question of the evening.
BEN SMITH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BUZZFEED: Are you back in therapy?
ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I, you know, apparently you never go out of therapy.
ACOSTA: For nearly 40 minutes that can only be described as quintessential Weiner, the embattled candidate for New York City mayor veered from one uncomfortable subject to the next.
WEINER: I feel that what I have done has hurt her, yes. It's hurt her professionally. It's hurt her personally.
ACOSTA: From his marriage to Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin --
SMITH: Is Huma still working on the campaign?
WEINER: She's helping out every day.
SMITH: Is -- do you know what her role in Hillary's 2016 campaign is going to be?
WEINER: I do.
SMITH: And what will it be?
WEINER: I'm not telling you.
ACOSTA: To the latest revelations that he continued sexting other women well after leaving Congress.
WEINER: I did these things. No one did this to me. I did this to me. I made these mistakes.
ACOSTA: But his campaign for mayor has been more than a personal train wreck. Weiner's had a few political ones, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Had I conducted myself in the manner in which you conducted yours, my job would have been gone. And it would not --
WEINER: IN the privacy of your home?
ACOSTA: No shocker that a recent poll found 80 percent of New Yorkers have an unfavorable view of Weiner.
SMITH: Are you on the way back up or have you bottomed out?
WEINER: (INAUDIBLE). I hope so.
ACOSTA: Numbers that likely were not helped when he dropped an f-bomb near the end of the interview.
WEINER: Like I said to Mike Bloomberg, the first thing I was going to do as mayor was hold a press conference tearing out your -- this is the Internet, right? -- tearing out your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) bike lanes.
ACOSTA: The question for Weiner is whether he can stay in his own lanes between now and election day.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Right now, crews are trying to make sure that Florida sinkhole is not getting any bigger. Coming up in the NEWSROOM, we'll hear from the man who helped everyone get out of that resort safely.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning, I'm Carol Costello.
A check of today's "Top Stories" at 48 minutes past.
Firefighters in southern Idaho fighting a fast moving wild fire, people living near the Elk complex fire are under a mandatory evacuation. The fire has already scorched more than 90,000 acres and destroyed several homes.
This morning in Florida crews are testing the site of that sinkhole to make sure it doesn't getting any bigger. In the meantime we're hearing from the security guard who is being praised for risking his life to get tourists out safely.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD SHANLEY, SECURITY OFFICER, SUMMER BY RESORT: There was no question that I had to do what I had to do, safety meant getting my guests out and taking care of their needs and not worrying about mine as much.
It was a matter of just reacting, because the building was coming down so quickly. You don't have time to think. You just go dock, knocking door-to-door and get people out. Because the devastation there, if you saw it, the people inside would have not have made it if I hadn't done what I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: At last check, that sinkhole measured about 100 feet wide.
A rodeo clown who performed during the Missouri State Fair while wearing a mask of President Obama has been banned from performing at the Missouri State Fair ever again. While that clown was performing, the voice over a loud speaker asked if the crowd wanted to see Obama run down by a bull. The fair officials have apologized for the stunt.
They're Hollywood's most famous fish and now Nemo and Dory the stars of the hit movie "Finding Nemo" are getting a new ending for their second on-screen debut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm scared now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to touch it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: oh. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, come back. Come on back here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to get you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to get you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to get you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to swim with you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to get you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to be your best friend good feelings gone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I just want to sit here and watch "Nemo".
Anyway, according to the "New York Times" the Pixar employees said the ending of the "Nemo" sequel "Finding Dory" was changed because of recent criticism surrounding black fish. A documentary about whales held in captivity at Sea World, "Blackfish", highlights the 2010 death of a Sea World trainer. The ending in "Finding Dory" was set to take place at a marine park you know like Sea World. Nemo and friends will now have the option of freely leaving that marine park if they want to. "Finding Dory" it's set for release in 2015.
Here is what's all new in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
San Diego rallies to get rid of its mayor, as we learn more about Bob Filner's history of alleged sexual harassment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there was a lot of whispering with a lot of things under the surface.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: How much was hushed up or even ignored? Also --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking for the priest, you know whether it was just a priest as an angel, serving as an angel or an actual angel that came in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Mystery priest found. We meet the man who prayed and then banished from a Missouri accident scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do it. You do it. You offer your services as a priest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He explains why he stopped and why he left so quickly.
And another mystery explained this morning. That light, that vision, that tunnel people see right before dying, turns out rats see it too. And there's a medical explanation for it. Stay with us. That's all new in the next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A San Francisco Giants fan is apologizing this morning for throwing a banana in the direction of Orioles' outfielder Adam Jones. Here is Andy Scholes with Bleacher Report. Good morning.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Good morning Carol.
Well a fan called the "San Jose Mercury News" yesterday to fess up to throwing the banana in the direction of Adam Jones. But he says the action was not racially motivated. The fan said he grabbed a banana off a catering cart and just chucked it on the field because he was frustrated that the Giants were losing. The fan said he did not mean to insult the Orioles outfielder. Jones spoke about the incident before last night's game and he called the whole situation unfortunate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM JONES, MLB PLAYER: I personally don't have any hard feelings about it. It's just an unfortunate thing that happened. You never know what could be thrown towards the players. I mean our backs are turned, you never know what could be thrown our direction. So I think I just look at it as a safety issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Iron Mike Tyson is returning to the ring, but he won't be lacing up the gloves. Tyson is coming back to the world of boxing as a promoter and president of Iron Mike Productions. Tyson says he's excited about the new endeavor and that he wants to work with young fighters. His first event will be August 23rd in New York.
Well what's the last thing you want to do on your day off? Go to work, right? Well apparently that's not the case for these Boston Red Sox players. Dustin Pedroia, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jonny Gomes attended the Blue Jays A's game yesterday on their day off. Now these guys play 162 games during the regular season but they still can't get enough baseball.
COSTELLO: They just look like guys, too, right? That's awesome.
SCHOLES: Definitely love for the game. Actor Danny Devito -- he was in attendance for the Dodgers-Mets game in LA last night. Halfway through the game a Dodgers player went over to him and gave him a Nick Punto jersey. Danny Devito wears your jersey, must be good luck, because Punto homered a couple of innings later. He already had five home runs in the past five seasons. Pretty cool moment. Punto goes over and him and Danny Devito share a nice high-five in the dugout.
COSTELLO: Why doesn't that ever happen to me?
SCHOLES: No one comes and gives you a jersey during the game, Carol?
COSTELLO: Never.
SCHOLES: All right. Today's lineup on bleacherreport.com, is a play I bet you'll like, Carol. Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias is going to make an amazing bare-handed grab on this play, check it out. He's getting up and throws it in the same motion.
COSTELLO: Look at them. Yes.
SCHOLES: Gets to Josh Phegley at first. Look at this, get this and throws it all while falling down.
COSTELLO: Who cares about Johnny Peralta?
SCHOLES: Yes, right? This is one of the reasons Tigers fans aren't missing Peralta as he sits out with that 50-game suspension for PEDs. They have Jose Iglesias making incredible plays like this.
COSTELLO: Awesome. Thanks for making my morning, Andy.
SCHOLES: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, a fan falls to his death at a major league baseball stadium.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He fell from an upper level platform to a secured lot below. The fall was approximately 65 feet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Why does this keep happening? Can anything be done to stop it?
Plus, dramatic new details of Hannah Anderson's rescue.
