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Super Typhoon Haiyan Slams Philippines; More Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford; Technology Helping Typhoon Victims; Accident Victim Shot by Homeowner.
Aired November 08, 2013 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Of course, it's making thing very difficult. Many roads are blocked as well, because the amount of trees being brought down due to these heavy winds means that that's going to be one of the first jobs at first light is trying to clear the roads so the military, some of the aid organizations can get through to take the bare necessities to those who need it.
Really, at this point, the hope at this point is that many people heeded the warnings to evacuate. And that many people got to the shelters and tried to sit out the storm there. And officials don't know how bad the damage is.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Paula, don't go anywhere because I want to bring Chad Myers in here and I have more questions for you as well.
Chad Myers is at the CNN Severe Weather Center in Atlanta.
Listen, Chad, you heard Paula talk about rescuing people and about assessing the damage. Is it too early for that? Are people putting themselves in more harm and danger if they try to get out there and do it now?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not really, especially in the first- hit areas, the hardest-hit areas where the storm was night in five. It's moved far enough away from that area that the winds have calmed down. Probably down to 40. You can get things picked up at 40 miles per hour.
But the problem is still that we don't have any idea how bad the areas that are hit are. We don't have a picture of something in the eye. All of our pictures are away from the eye. And when we get pictures of what the devastation happened in the eye of the storm itself, I think we'll all have our jaws on the floor. This is going to be a devastating picture of all of -- no matter where you live in the world, you're going to say, how can this happen? How can there be something so strong on planet earth that it could knock down everything. It will strip the bark off the trees. That's how strong this wind is.
We showed you this picture an awful lot. I'm going to show you a different picture of the storm. This is the top of the Philippines. This is Luzon. This is where most of the people live, to be honest. Near Manila. The storm was about 150 miles south of the big population center. But now let's move this storm over the U.S., just to give you an idea of what this storm would look like -- from Florida all the way north into Canada. That's the size of the storm. That's the same picture here superimposed over the U.S. just to give you the scope as to how large, from north to south, this storm truly is -- Don?
LEMON: And as I said, imagine if this was happening in the United States.
MYERS: Yes.
LEMON: Paula Hancocks, I want to have one more question for you. We have been reporting that there are three confirmed dead. Any updates on casualties or injuries to report?
HANCOCKS: No updates at this point. But unfortunately, Don, nobody thinks that that's going to be the last update we have. Everybody assumes that the death toll is going to rise. It's just a hope that it's not going to rise too much.
LEMON: Paula Hancocks is in Manila. Chad Myers is at the CNN Severe Weather Center.
Chad will be following this. Paula will be as well.
Paula, make sure you stay save.
If you want to help, go to CNN.com/impact. CNN.com/impact.
We're not going far away from this breaking news here on CNN. We're keeping an eye on that.
And this as well. Just when you think you've seen enough of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, another video surfaces. And this time, he's talking about getting in the ring with Mike Tyson. We're going to tell you the story, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Take a seat. I want you to watch this. Just when you thought the crack-smoking mayor scandal couldn't get any worse, along comes a new video showing a ranting, swearing Rob Ford threatening to kill someone. It comes days after the Toronto mayor admitted to smoking crack cocaine. It's jaw-dropping footage. It was obtained by "The Toronto Star." Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB FORD, MAYOR OF TORONTO: Because I'm going to kill this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) guy! I'm telling you it's first-degree murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike Tyson!
FORD: But I'll fight him. I'll (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me the phone. I'll (INAUDIBLE).
FORD: No holds barred, brother. He dies or I die, brother.
Brother, you've never seen me (EXPLETIVE DELETED) go. You think so, brother.
But when he's down, I'll rip his (EXPLETIVE DELETED) throat out. I'll poke his eyes out.
I will (EXPLETIVE DELETED) when he's dead. I'll make sure that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is dead.
I need (EXPLETIVE DELETED) 10 minutes to make sure he's dead.
It'll be over in five minutes, brother. If I'm done in 10 minutes --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you win the (INAUDIBLE)
FORD: It'll be bad so I am a sick (EXPLETIVE DELETED), dude.
Like, no one's going to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) around with me. My brothers are, don't tell me we're liars, thieves, birds? It hurts. That little (EXPLETIVE DELETED), daddy. (INAUDIBLE). 80-year-old birds.
This (EXPLETIVE DELETED), brother. I just need to go (EXPLETIVE DELETED) by myself in my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) underwear. I want to go with this guy. I need 15 minutes. That's all I need. No (EXPLETIVE DELETED) interference, brother. If I win, I will (EXPLETIVE DELETED) donate --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These M.D.s are pros, buddy.
FORD: Yeah. No problem, bro. No problem. I need 15 minutes. I need 15 minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too much time.
FORD: No, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five minutes.
FORD: No, no. Not going to do it for five. No, no, no, no, no. I'm doing fine. I'm going to prepare for it. Will kill call it and I will (EXPLETIVE DELETED) be in that ring.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So there's more where that came from. But it's so intelligible that it -- we couldn't show it to you. We don't know the full context of this video. Mayor Ford tried to explain his behavior saying he was drunk at the time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORD: I hope none of you have ever or will ever be in that state. And that's all I can say.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you tell us what it was about, Mayor?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you give us some context, Mayor?
FORD: Obviously, I was extremely, extremely inebriated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the mayor's mother and sister declared their public support on Toronto's CP-24.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHY FORD, ROB FORD'S SISTER: Rob, he's not a drug addict. I know, because I'm a former addict (INAUDIBLE). And as an alcoholic, if you want to consider binge drinking every three months and you get totally plastered, which he just makes himself -- makes a fool himself -- and I've even asked him to leave my home at (INAUDIBLE). Fine.
DIANE FORD, ROB FORD'S MOTHER: It's not acceptable behavior. He is the mayor of the city. He knows that better than anyone.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You say he's not going to resign?
DIANE FORD: No.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He's going to tough it out.
DIANE FORD: Yeah. He did what he did. He made a mistake. He's admitted to the mistake. Not a nice one, but he's done it. But he has -- he's been to work every single day. He has not -- I mean, people want to say that, oh, my goodness, he's ignoring the -- he's ignoring his job at city hall.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Right.
DIANE FORD: He isn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Despite the controversy, Ford says he won't step down. His behavior is now raising concern about not only his work but his life.
Paula Newton is in the Canadian capitol of Ottawa right now.
To many, most people think he needs help and he should go get it and step down while getting that help. Why has he not resigned?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He has not resigned because he says that he's continuing to do his job as mayor of Toronto as best he can as everything is business as usual. And you have from him, saying, look, even from that terrible rant that he just heard from, he doesn't know the context of that rant. He says he can't remember it. Everyone around him is right now encouraging him to at least step down for a little bit of time. And his lawyer this morning said right now the mayor is finally considering some type of counseling. I think many people even point the finger at his family as we just heard from him say, look, he's not an addict but he's attending counseling. And at the same time suggesting that he has breathalyzer instruments in his car. I think everyone is questioning whether the judgment around him was skewed and right now it's hurting the city of Toronto.
LEMON: Can you give us the back story on this video? What do you know more about this video?
NEWTON: We know the mayor doesn't know where it came from and he can't really remember. It was several months ago. He says the words "Mike Tyson." It seems from what some people suggested to me that he was just fooling around. He certainly didn't mean to say or intend that he was specifically killing anyone, specifically, or wanted to kill anyone specifically. It was really just fooling around. We have not heard from at least two other people who were in the room at the time. But again, it shows a mayor out of control, Don.
The point is, he said when he apologized a couple of days ago that he has nothing left to hide. Clearly, that's not true. And many people saying, look, this is not the end of it. There is more.
LEMON: Paula Newton in Ottawa. Thank you very much.
We're trying to figure out just where people are and how many people died and how many are injured in the Philippines. We're following possibly the strongest storm to ever hit the earth. They are using technology to try to find and rescue people. Our meteorologist, Chad Myers, on top of it with new information.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Getting new information here on the most powerful, if not the most powerful storm to ever hit the earth.
I'm going to bring in our meteorologist, Chad Myers.
Chad, can you help me out with this. We're getting from Google that the crisis center is saying, "We have received questions about Typhoon Haiyan and whether Google crisis response is providing resources." They said they have built a crisis map featuring the path of the typhoon, evacuating centers and more. How might they use technology to try to help and find people here?
MYERS: For a very long time, no one in that country, at least along that swath, is going to be Internet service, no power, phone lines or any of the resources they need. Google has set up this, google.org/peoplefinder/2013-Yolanda. You can look for someone or have information about someone. That's helps people out because even when they get one cell tower back up, everybody is going to try to be on it. The best way to get around the Internet or get any information out is to be texting, not trying to call. Text takes a little bit of time but, all of a sudden, they get sent.
So this is how they're going to have to start putting the pieces back together. We don't even have pictures of the bad spots yet. And we may not for a while. You're going to have to fly into those areas because the roads are completely shut off as well. Getting in and out of this damage path is going to be a nightmare for weeks to come -- Don?
LEMON: I see the radar up on the screen to the bottom right, left he depending on where you're looking. Here is the thing, track it for us. Who is getting hit the hardest now and who is out of the woods?
MYERS: This is as close as it's getting to Manila. Manila is getting hit as hard as it's going to. There's one more outer ban here. We always try to use the angles to figure out where we are. There's the storm. It was probably 3450 miles away from Manila when it made land full. As it's traveled like this, it's made its closest approach to Manila. Eventually, it gets out into the South China Sea and then into Vietnam.
What you're seeing if you're in Manila and watching us now is what you're going to get. It's not going to get worse for you. Everybody else, they're still trying to pick up pieces through here. You have to think about this, Don, about -- I'll say 20. It could be 20 to 30. A 30-mile wide F-4 tornado sat over your house for 30 minutes as the eye rolled from one side to the other. That's what these people dealt with. Even in America, an F-4 tornado goes by and hits your house for eight seconds and it's gone. This was a lumbering storm over these areas not just for 10 seconds but for minutes, for tens of minutes. Once you lose a board and a shingle and another and another and, all of a sudden, things go down hill. There will be very little standing in this damage path.
LEMON: Oh my goodness.
All right, Chad Myers, thank you very much.
Chad Myers following the image and the storm's track.
If you would like to help, those of you at home, go to CNN.com/impact.
We're going to keep an eye on those images over there.
A young woman gets into a car, goes to a -- gets into a car accident, I should say -- goes to a nearby house for help and is shot on the front porch of that house. We're live in Detroit, seeking some answers to so many questions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: This story is getting more national attention by the moment. And a funeral is going on right now in Michigan for 19-year-old Renisha McBride. She was in a car accident last Saturday at 1:30 a.m. Sometime later, she showed up on the front porch of a nearby home. The woman's family says she was looking for help, but the homeowner shot her in the face. He reportedly told police he thought she was trying to break in and his gun went off by accident.
Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is in Detroit -- Nic? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, a lot of details in this case remain unclear, although the police say the alleged gunman told them the shooting was an accident, that he discharged his shotgun directly into the face of McBride. The family angry, upset. Their attorney told us they're willing to put their faith for the moment in the justice system but the attorney saying, how can this have been an accident.
No shots were fired through the front door of the property. We visited the property. It's a very small porch area where the shooting took place. The lawyer makes this point. If he was afraid, why did he come out of his house? How could this be an accidental shooting? How could it have happened in this way?
The few details we do know is that Renisha McBride drove her car, was involved in an accident, hitting a stationary vehicle. She left her vehicle, perhaps as many as several hours later, according to the police. She then approached this -- approached the house of the alleged gunman. What happened then, they're not clear.
The neighbors have told us this alleged gunman is in his mid 50s. That he was a quiet man living alone, going to work every day. They say he caused no problems in the neighborhood.
The family's attorney told us that the alleged gunman does not have a criminal record.
So there are many unanswered questions, in particular, what happened, those hours between the accident, the car accident that Renisha McBride was involved in and her approaching the house?
Certainly, this day a very, very sad time for her family -- Don?
LEMON: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you.
Nic is in Detroit.
We want to get more information on this, dig deeper. I want to bring in CNN legal analysts, Paul Callan; and HLN legal analyst, Joey Jackson.
Paul, I'll start with you.
The homeowner has not been identified, hasn't been charged. Michigan is a Castle Doctrine state. which means if you believe you're in danger of death or bodily harm, you can use deadly force.
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It goes beyond that. The law assumes that you had a legitimate reason to -- and it makes an assumption that you acted properly. But of course, he has to be in fear, and if the police are able to prove that he was not, he can be charged.
LEMON: Is that a reason? He has been questioned and many people will say, as we saw in the Trayvon Martin thing, why hasn't he been arrested, just to figure out what's going on, Joey? JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Sure, what happens is, there's an investigation and there should be an investigation that's fair and that are row. It turns on his reasonable belief. Now, Don, that's not a question that you can answer, that Paul can answer. That's a jury question. Ultimately, it will be up to, if he is charged and brought before a jury of his peers, he would have to answer the question, was he in imminent fear? Did he really believe she posed a threat and a danger? If the answer is yes, he's exonerated. No, he's convicted if charged.
LEMON: So the family is saying and many in the family are saying he saw a black woman on his porch and, therefore, he shot her because for a number of reasons, because she's black, what have you. But it's not as cut and dry as one would like to believe, depending on your perspective, because she had an accident, it was 1:00 in the morning. But two or three hours later she shows up on his porch. What happened between that time? That's what investigators are looking into, right?
JACKSON: Absolutely, Don. What will happen is, he's going to say, the defendant, if he becomes a defendant, that, look, it's 3:00 in the morning, all right? People generally don't bang on my door at 3:00. I had a reasonable belief that I was under attack. But then do you address that attack? Do you stay in your house? What were the circumstances? Was it an accident? Did he actually pull the trigger?
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAN: He undermines his defense. And then --
(CROSSTALK)
JACKSON: By saying that it was an accident -- would he have been on better legal ground had he said I just shot her?
CALLAN: I think he would be, Don. Now he's saying it's an accidental discharge. If he was defending himself --
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAN: -- against a burglar, he's got the right to use deadly force. It sounds like he's hedging his bets by saying, I didn't fire accidentally. They'll do pull tests to see how hard it is to pull the trigger and discharge that weapon. So it's kind of hard to accidentally fire a shotgun. I don't know how far he'll get with that defense.
LEMON: What about the racial profiling? Can we look at this as racial profiling?
JACKSON: You know what, Don, you want to look at everything, of course. But, you know, at this point, it would be premature to say that because you have to look and say, was it light outside? Could he discern whether the person was African-American or otherwise? Was he of the mind-set? Did he know? All of that will come into question, and it should come into question. You can't, at this point, just say, you know what, he's African-American. As a result of that, it was profiling. A lot more needs to be investigated before we can come to that conclusion.
LEMON: You have someone who is dead, is killed in your yard, what is the difference whether it was racial profiling or if you were negligent? Do you understand what I'm saying, legally?
CALLAN: In the end, there might not be a difference because, if it was a reckless or negligent shooting, even if you were racially profiling and intended to shoot the person but didn't do it intentionally, it was just an accident, you would get the benefit of the defense. But racial profiling totally complicates the situation and it puts the homeowner in big trouble.
JACKSON: It goes to animus. If you determine it's racial profiling, it goes to whether or not you were acting for that purpose. Were you acting maliciously?
LEMON: Thank you very much, Paul Callan, Joey Jackson. Appreciate that.
And thanks for watching. We're tracking the typhoon over the Philippines right now. We want to go to AROUND THE WORLD with Suzanne Malveaux.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our international viewers around the world.
This is the biggest storm of the year, hitting the Philippines right now, harder than any storm has ever hit anywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Just take this in. This is Super Typhoon Haiyan. The view from space, monstrous. Its cloud cover alone takes up two-thirds of the each Asian island.
Haiyan first roared into Sumer in the central Philippines with winds clocked at 195 miles per hour. Worse yet, it was the dead of night.
