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Tropical Storm Karen Closes In on Gulf Coast; Biker Attack Suspect Identified; Susan Bennett to CNN: I Am Siri; Pope Francis Visits Namesake's Shrine; Rodriguez Sues MLB, Commissioner; Man in Military Fatigues Fires on Officer
Aired October 04, 2013 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go. Folks along the gulf coast are in for a soggy weekend as Tropical Storm Karen slowly spins her way towards the coastline. The National Weather Service says the storm should be near the central gulf coast late tomorrow, but it has weakened slightly today.
CNN's Nick Valencia monitoring the storm for us from Pensacola Beach, Florida, if you're going to monitor a storm, Pensacola is a good place. Nick Valencia, when is she expected to make landfall?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's gorgeous right now in Pensacola beach. People are out enjoying this gorgeous day here, but that's expected to change in the coming days as Tropical Storm Karen makes its way towards the Florida gulf coast. Landfall as you said Don, it's expected sometime Saturday night, perhaps early Sunday morning. When you talk to residents here, you don't get the sense they're all that concerned.
In fact, one resident I spoke to said she's more concerned about the Auburn football game this weekend than she is about the approaching storm. So I asked the mayor, Don, I said, you know, with residents here seemingly not worried this is the storm of all storms, how do you prepare your community here for Tropical Storm Karen?
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MAYOR ASHTON HAYWARD, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA: We know what storms can do. They can change on a dime. When that happens, you need to be prepared so what we try to do as a government, is let people know, listen, you know, time is of the essence. Make sure you have your essentials. Make sure you have your waterproof kit for your insurance, your valuables. Make sure you have that water, that tarp and hammer ready, all those things to help you be prepared for three days and beyond, for that matter.
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VALENCIA: Don, he made the point that this area has been hammered by storms over the course of the last 10 years. This area here also very saturated, which has you know, causes a lot of problems when that storm does make landfall -- Don. LEMON: Enjoy my hometown, not my hometown, but where I used to spend lots of my vacations from Louisiana down to Pensacola. Let's hope they don't get hit hard. Nick, appreciate it. Wear your sunscreen, sir.
Coming up, the family of the biker who is reportedly paralyzed from this confrontation getting ready to tell the media their version of events.
Plus, it's got everyone talking today, CNN reveals the voice of Siri. Hear her story straight ahead.
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LEMON: All right, this story captured really the nation' attention. New York authorities say they have identified the biker caught on tape bashing in an SUV driver's window with the driver and his family inside. We've seen the shocking video that went viral and sparked a massive outcry. Investigators say bikers spiked the car's tires, forcing the driver to stop.
Then the newly identified biker pulled out Alexian Lien and beat him and slashed him. Police say they expect to apprehend the man very soon. I want to bring in CNN legal analyst, Danny Cevallos. He joins me now. Danny, is that video a smoking gun against the suspect?
DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, more and more, it's amazing how much video we're getting in criminal prosecutions. They really bring objectivity to a case because this will not be a he said, he said incident. However, what if we didn't have this video? On just the facts, you do have a driver that speeds away from a scene of a crime, which in New York is potentially a felony. It's really fascinating how fine the line is and how law enforcement has to make a judgment call based on who is right, who's going to be the defendant and who's going to be the victim.
LEMON: Let's talk more about how this video will help because there's speculation the biker was actually trying to help Lien. Is that no longer the case?
CEVALLOS: Well, it's hard to say from looking at the video. I mean, it's not the best. It's very high definition, but the initial part, what you clearly see is a Land Rover lurch forward, a Range Rover, sorry, lunch forward and run over at least a motor bike and knock people out of the way. That's real danger there. Like I said, it's fascinating how this could go either way, except for at the end. I mean, at the end with the helmet, that's vigilantism. That's going too far.
LEMON: It is. Here's the thing. When you look at the beginning of the video, it looks like the biker incited this. The biker is saying -- the people on the bikes are saying, no, no, there's more to the story. But if you look at the beginning of the video, at least, it looks leak he stopped short on purpose so that this driver would have to stop or either hit him. CEVALLOS: It sure does. It's interesting because in civil law, for the most part, people who rear end other vehicles are almost always liable unless the person in front slowed down suddenly. You can see very clearly from the video the biker is facing behind him. He probably was aware that the car was behind him.
LEMON: If you hit someone from the rear, right, then you're in trouble, but not when there's videotape. Things change. Thank you. Appreciate it, Danny.
All right, coming up, CNN reveals the voice, one of the world's most famous voices at the moment. Wait until you hear how she got the gig.
Plus this -- Sinead, back in the day, well, she's livid. First, she writes an open letter to Miley Cyrus. Miley responds, now Sinead is threatening legal action.
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LEMON: Siri, can I talk now? Apple won't confirm it, but your ears won't lie to you. Just wait until you hear the voice, the voice that literally stays with you if you have an iPhone 4s or a newer version. Siri has been unveiled and the woman behind the mobile phone voice gave a special red-chair interview to cnn.com.
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SUSAN BENNETT, VOICE FOR SIRI: Hello, I am Susan Bennett. You probably know me. I'm the voice actor who provided the voice for Siri. The first time I actually heard my voice as Siri was when my friend e-mailed me and said, isn't this you? Not bad, only two meetings today. And because I didn't have the newest version of the iPhone, I went to the Apple site, and that's where I heard the voice, and where went -- that is me.
Siri, would you like to be interviewed by CNN? This is about you, Susan, not me. I started my life as a machine quite young. I was the voice of "Tilley, The All-Time Teller," the first ATM machine.
The Siri voices were recorded in 2005, in the month of July. Four hours a day for the whole month. So when I recorded those voices, I had absolutely no idea where they would end up. My voice can be heard on many GPS systems, many telephone systems.
Siri, who is the real voice of Siri? When I first discovered that that was my voice, to be honest, it was a little creepy. Yes, it appears to be raining.
I'm used to hearing my voice maybe in the airport, thank you for using Delta Airlines. But this real thing that you can interact with in your hand was a little -- it took some time for me to get used to it. But she and I are friends now. I'm leaving now, Siri. Have a nice day.
Thank you, Susan. I hope you have a nice day as well.
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LEMON: Coming up, shocking new video of a driver opening fire during a traffic stop. Find out what happened.
Plus this -- Sinead O'Connor is mad. First she writes an open letter to Miley Cyrus. Then Miley responds to it and now Sinead O'Connor says she's going to sue, threatening legal action.
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LEMON: Pope Francis today visiting the birth place of the saint whose name he shares and whose lifestyle he now emulates. He's in the small town of Assisi where St. France was born. He abandoned a life of wealth and privilege to serve the poor, something Pope Francis has already become known for. Earlier, the pope mourned the loss for more than 100 African immigrants in a shipwreck off Italy, calling today a day of tears.
Alex Rodriguez, known as A-Rod, filed a lawsuit today against Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig. Lawyers for the New York Yankee slugger accuse MLB of paying the founder of the Biogenesis Clinic $5 million to cooperate. Anthony Bausch's clinic is at the center of baseball's performance enhancing drug scandal. A-Rod was suspended for 211 games for alleged violations of baseball's drug agreement. He has appealed the suspension.
Riveting dash cam video to show you out of Oregon, a man wearing camouflage military fatigues opens fire on a police officer who stopped him for speeding. Take a look.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eastbound. Police, back in the car for me, you were speeding. Right now, I need you -- sir, get back in the car for me now. Sir, please get back in the car for me now. I told you, you were speeding -- 5326, shots fired, shots fired! 53-26, shots fired!
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LEMON: This deadly shootout happened in August. The suspect drove about a half mile down the freeway before stopping. He was found dead inside his car with a single gunshot to the chest. Three kids were also inside this car. They were not hurt. The officer was wounded, but wasn't seriously hurt. Goodness gracious.
Coming up, a big weekend for this woman, as she gets ready to host "Saturday Night Live" Miley Cyrus is being threatened with legal action by Sinead O'Connor, another infamous SNL host. Find out why, next.
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LEMON: All right, you maybe won't believe this, I didn't at first, but it's true. Sinead O'Connor threatening to sic her lawyers on Miley Cyrus after Miley called out her mental health on Twitter. This was no random attack from Miley, though. Their beef started Wednesday when Sinead wrote a scathing open letter to Miley after Miley said her wrecking ball video was inspired by O'Connor's nothing compares to you. You be the judge.
O'Connor sees no similarity, in her first open letter, she told Miley to stop pimping herself for the music business. Miley fired back last week, tweeting this, before Amanda Bynes, there was, dot, dot, dot. Miley is referring to O'Connor's timeline from two years ago when O'Connor said she was unwell and seeking help for mental health issues.
Sinead responded to Miley saying, you mock myself and Amanda Bynes for having suffered with mental health issues and having sought help. Remove your tweets immediately or you will hear from my lawyers. It's not acceptable to mock any person for having suffered. Well, last we checked, the tweet is still there.
But Miley later tweeted, Sinead, I don't have time to write you an open letter because I'm hosting and performing on "SNL" this week. So if you would like to meet up and talk, let me know in your next letter.
Coming up, Speaker John Boehner says the shutdown fight isn't a game, and rips an Obama administration official who talks about winning, well --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: think if we keep saying we wanted to defund it, we fought for that, but now we're willing to compromise on this, I think we're -- I think -- I know we don't want to be here, but we're going to win this, I think.
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LEMON: We'll break this down for you.
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MICHAEL CONKLIN, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: The first trip to Walter Reed was one of my toughest trips, when I saw the amount of wounded, it was shocking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both my legs were amputated above the knee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lost my right eye. I have a titanium rod in my leg.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a traumatic brain injury.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I gave up the idea of having a wife and a family.
CONKLIN: I wanted to take them all home. I'm Mike Conklin. My organization helps our severely wounded members of the Armed forces reach their full potential. My oldest son was wounded in Tikrit, Iraq. We have a very tight, cohesive family. Not of all of them do. Some don't have anybody to come home to. We can't forget them. When Ryan moved into this unit, we did some things that are very simple. We put in these poles to assist him. Each case is different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job.
CONKLIN: Some will need service dogs, housing assistance, mentors, getting an education.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those are World War II vets over there.
CONKLIN: It's a comprehensive package.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing a little bit of their maintenance contract.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He talked to me every day, put me back to work. He helped set up where I wanted to go. Today, I'm a husband, a father. I have my own company now.
CONKLIN: We don't call this a charity. We really look at it as an investment. These were at one time children who grew up on our baseball fields, went to our grade schools, and then left our community to serve us, and eventually, they come back. It's a full circle of service.
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LEMON: Top of the hour.
