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Tornadoes Cause Damage Across Midwest; Entire Neighborhoods Devastated in Washington, Illinois; Dick, Lynne Cheney Release Statement Over Daughters' Feud; Toronto City Council Moves Against Mayor Ford; Arne Duncan's Statement Causes Anger.
Aired November 18, 2013 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: People across the Midwest are picking up the pieces and assessing the damage from devastating tornadoes that hit the region. The storms left six people dead, all of them in Illinois. State emergency officials estimate between 150 and 200 people were injured across the state. Tornadoes also caused damage in Missouri, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. The National Weather Service is investigating 68 reports of tornadoes during the outbreak yesterday.
One survivor of the tornadoes says it was touch and go when the storms hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BUCHER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: My attitude was, in the next minute and a half we're either going to be in heaven, we're going to be in the hospital, or we're going to walk out of here and completely in the lord's hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Entire neighborhoods in the city of Washington, Illinois, were devastated by the storm. The city of 10,000 people is located just outside Peoria.
Mimi Ardis is the wife of Peoria mayor, Jim Ardis. She joins us on the phone.
Mimi, thanks so much for being with us.
Your mother actually lives in Washington, Illinois, and survived the storm. But I understand there were some very anxious moments. Tell us about them.
MIMI ARDIS, WIFE OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS MAYOR (voice-over): Well, we heard about -- we were, my husband and son and I, were doing a class yesterday and we were in the basement of a building and heard the tornado alarm go off on a couple cell phones and didn't really think anything about it. And then my brother -- we went to eat lunch and then my brother called from Springfield and said his son, my nephew, who also lives in Washington, that his neighborhood was totally decimated basically. And that he couldn't get a hold of my mom, his grandma. So we thought about it and we're like. she's probably fine. The phone lines are going to be down but maybe we should go over there. We ended up driving over there. We had to go a couple different routes to get there because they had the major roads closed. There was just a ton of traffic. I'm sure other people trying to check on families also. So we went into the neighborhood and most of the newer part of the neighborhood, the houses were perfect. You couldn't tell anything was going on. You know, there wasn't any damage to them. And then we got real close to, you know, one of the major parts where my mom lives. It's where I grew up, the house I grew up in. And turned the corner and there were houses completely gone. I mean just nothing left. No walls, no structure no nothing. Turn the corner, and my mom's house is a couple blocks away, and it was worse. The closer we got to my mom's house and we kind of turned the corner and I saw the house and I was like, oh, my god, it's gone. There's some walls there about, but there is nothing there. I didn't know what happened. And then you know, we looked, and then my mom's standing there. She's standing in the driveway looking at her house. So I mean, that was a huge relief. But I'll tell you what, going through that neighborhood, it was just -- it was scary, really scary.
TAPPER: How did she survive the storm and how is she doing today?
ARDIS: You know what? I don't know how she survived the storm because, you know, she was sitting -- she was actually looking out her window or out the front door at her neighbor who was in his garage. She thought everything was fine. And then she said she heard it coming, so she slammed her front door shut and sat down on a bench she has right inside the door and held on. She said two minutes later she opened her eyes and there was not a wall in the front of the house, not a wall on the outside of the house. The roof was completely gone and that bench she was sitting on is exactly where it has been for years. And only by the grace of God, I don't know how she survived, but she did. Not a scratch on her. She's -- you know, she's doing really well. She's remarkably doing well.
TAPPER: What an unbelievable story.
ARDIS: Yes, it really is.
TAPPER: I know the recovery effort is just getting started. How are things proceeding?
ARDIS: Well, you know, my husband's been over there all day. He was there last night and he was there today. And we have arrangements made to try and get some stuff but they're not letting anybody in. So from what I understand, they're trying to keep everybody out of that area to assess the damage and make sure there's -- get to downed power lines and the gas lines taken care of. Then he said maybe tomorrow we might be able to go over there, probably, hopefully, for sure by Wednesday to go over and see if we can salvage anything. You know, I think most of the whole neighborhood's gone. When we were walking around yesterday and talking to people, it seemed like everybody was doing pretty as well as far as casualties and stuff. I didn't hear of anything in that immediate area that we were in.
TAPPER: Mayor Ardis, thank you so much. We're so glad your mom's OK. Thank you.
Once again, to find out how you can help the victims, go to CNN.com/impact for more information.
Toronto's city council is making its move against Mayor Rob Ford. But Ford says he will not resign despite the drama surrounding him. Up next, I will tell you what's happening that could strip Ford of most of his powers as mayor. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: We have some breaking news. A statement from Dick and Lynne Cheney, the former vice president of the United States and his wife, about the controversy about his daughters. Their daughters disputing, arguing, disagreeing with the issue of same-sex marriage. As you may know, Liz Cheney, running for Senate in the Wyoming, yesterday, said that she does not support same-sex marriage. Her younger sister, Mary Cheney, is married to a woman, Heather Poe. They have two children. They got married last year and there has been a very public dispute about this. Vice President and Mrs. Cheney saying in statement, quote, "This is an issue we have dealt with privately for many years. We are pained to see it become public. Since it has, one thing should be clear. Liz has always believed in the traditional definition of marriage. She has also always treated her sister and her sister's family with love and respect, exactly as she should have done. Compassion is called for even when there is disagreement about such a fundamental matter. And Liz's many kindnesses shouldn't be used to distort her position." The latest statement from Vice President and Mrs. Chaney, Lynne Cheney, on a family dispute that is very public and, perhaps, in some ways, gets at some disagreements that other families are going through, as well as a dispute going on in the Republican Party right now.
Let's move on. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is in a battle for his political life. Right now, city council is debating a vote to strip Ford of most of his key powers and hand them over the deputy mayor. This follows a similar vote last week that stripped Ford of other powers.
Things got heated when the mayor's brother, Doug Ford, who is also a city counselor, came to his defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG FORD, TORONTO CITY COUNCIL MEMBER & BROTHER OF ROB FORD: Has he showed up to work every day and fulfilled his job?
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Counselor, those inquiries --
UNIDENTIFIED CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: No disruptions.
UNIDENTIFIED CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Those inquiries belong to one of the accountability officers to be reviewing if there's an issue. FORD: I'm glad you said that. Thank you for answering the question because what it should be, the complaint should be filed through the city's integrity commissioner rather than this kangaroo court. Do you not agree?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
#; Mayor Ford is refusing to step down despite admitting using crack cocaine and even being caught on video threatening to kill someone.
No matter what the outcome of today's meeting, Mayor Ford will get his say tonight when he has his own tv show, "Ford Nation." And it will air on Canadian television.
CNN's Bill Weir also caught up with the mayor and finds out why Rob Ford has his defenders.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CROSSTALK)
BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people are worried about Rob Ford these days, worried that he'll never leave office or that his appetites will kill him. You know what's not worried? Rob Ford.
ROB FORD, MAYOR OF TORONTO: I'm not an addict. I'm not an alcoholic. I'm not a drug addict.
WEIR: And in the hearts of Ford nation, they believe him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE). You know that.
WEIR (on camera): Oh, you think he might have been set up?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
WEIR: But he admitted to smoking crack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, maybe you just get fed up with everything.
UNIDENTIFIED CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Have you purchased illegal drugs in the last two years?
WEIR (voice-over): Sure he may be a pariah on the floor of the city council and a punch line on "Saturday Night Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Whoa, that's a lot of crack!
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEIR: But out in the suburban public housing project, he is -- no pun intended -- a rock star. See, he may be a slash-and-burn fiscal conservative downtown but, out here, they say he's a bleeding heart they call when the eviction notice comes.
DOUG FORD: Everybody keeps saying he's a conservative. He's a massive social liberal. He loves Obama.
WEIR: Counselor Doug Ford invited us here. When his little brother showed up, we saw why. Almost everyone was thrilled to see him.
(on camera): These folks love you. But do you realize how you're perceived around the rest of the country, around the rest of the continent?
ROB FORD: They can make fun of me. They can laugh at me all they want. They don't know Rob Ford. These people have known me for about -- I was born and raised here.
WEIR: Why did you decide to finally admit you had smoked crack?
ROB FORD: I'm not going to run around and be phony and, you know, lie. And I'm not going to have someone try to blackmail me and say they have videos of this and --
WEIR: But you did --
BOB FORD: -- hold it over my head. Because you don't trust what "The Toronto Star" says. I'm just had enough. I was sick and tired of all these allegations and all this (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Excuse my words. And that's all it is. I shouldn't have sworn in front of the kids.
You know what, I drank too much. I smoke some crack sometimes. What can I say? I made a mistake. I'm human.
WEIR: Can't you see why some would question your judgment.
BOB FORD: So lie about it? Just hide?
WEIR: No, no, no.
(CROSSTALK)
WEIR: -- that you would do it in the first place.
ROB FORD: No, no. I didn't say that. You're wrong. You're absolutely wrong what you said. They said, do you smoke crack and are you a crack addict? No, I don't smoke crack and I'm not a crack addict. Have I? Yes, I have. So that's what -- I didn't lie. I don't smoke crack. I haven't smoked crack in over a year, but did I?
(CROSSTALK)
ROB FORD: It's semantics to you. Typical media. You're all cut from the same cloth.
(CROSSTALK) ROB FORD: You know what I mean? You guys spin it every way you want. But you know what?
WEIR (voice-over): At this point, Doug tries to calm his brother, which, as we've seen, ain't easy.
ROB FORD: But when you accuse me of being a crack addict and saying, do you smoke crack, no, I don't. I don't like people attacking my integrity.
WEIR (on camera): Couldn't you be more effective if you were a little healthier?
ROB FORD: I'm trying to lose weight. I'm working out. I'm not perfect.
WEIR: Why not see some addiction specialists just to make sure?
ROB FORD: I'm not an addict. You can tell me whatever you want. These people know I'm not. Do you ever get drunk before, Bill?
WEIR: Of course.
ROB FORD: OK, sure.
WEIR: But I'm not running a city in Canada.
ROB FORD: It doesn't matter. This is the thing. I don't look at myself as the mayor. I look at myself as a normal regular person.
(CROSSTALK)
ROB FORD: That's enough. I'm passionate. So guys, sorry, sorry.
WEIR: ne more question. This is the one that really gets it from me. I know a lot of people who would party their brains out.
ROB FORD: Yeah.
WEIR: But they're parents. Are you sure you're insulating your children from what's going on now.
ROB FORD: Absolutely, I'm the best father around.
WEIR: But there's going to come a day when they Google their dad.
ROB FORD: I'm going to explain what they're hearing. You just dismiss them? I don't walk away from anyone, Bill, in life. All these rich, elitist people, I'm sick of them. I'm sick of them.
(CROSSTALK)
ROB FORD: No, no, they're perfect. They don't do nothing. Get out of here they don't do nothing. They're the biggest crooks around.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's why they want to get rid of you. ROB FORD: I'm sorry. I've got to get out of here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rob, we support you. We love you.
(CROSSTALK)
WEIR (voice-over): And not only are these brothers vowing to stay and fight, but they're also now vowing to find and run enough Ford nation believers to unseat every political enemy downtown.
Bill Weir, CNN, Toronto.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: And you can see Bill Weir's full interview with Mayor Rob Ford tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on "A.C. 360."
There may be a dunce cap in Arne Duncan's future after the education secretary had some choice words for so-called white suburban moms. We'll tell you what sparked his anger and the fallout from his response.
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TAPPER: Some are saying this latest kerfuffle indicates that Education Secretary Arne Duncan knows something about math. For instance, he knows if you want to turn a large controversy into a larger controversy, do a little addition, and, a line characterizing your opponents as white suburban moms.
Rene Marsh is here to tell us what Secretary Duncan said that is causing such an uproar.
What happened?
RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is, Jake. This comment has gone viral. It has lit up social media. We can tell you Duncan was talking about opposition to his initiative to raise education standards nationwide when he reportedly said, and I'm quoting, "It's fascinating to me that some of the push back is coming from sort of white suburban moms who, all of a sudden, their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn't as good as they thought they were."
After that, came the backlash. The American Federation of Teachers Union president tweeting, "Did Arne Duncan really blame soccer moms for the CCSS backlash"? That's essentially the acronym for this new education initiative. Receiving lots of backlash. It's also led to a petition on the whitehouse.gov website. More than 1800 people have signed it, saying they want to see him fired.
TAPPER: Let's talk about the education standards. They're at the heart of the controversy. What are they and why are they controversial?
MARSH: We can tell you some 45 states, they have signed on to the new standardized math and English requirements for students K through 12 to make American students globally competitive. It's called Common Core. New tests are being created with an emphasis on critical thinking and problems solving.
Here's where the criticism is coming in. It ranges from people saying the requirements are not age appropriate while others are saying it's a little too stringent. Others are saying the emphasis is putting too much pressure on the students to do well on tests and not necessarily learning.
TAPPER: Have we heard anything from Duncan since the backlash?
MARSH: We have. We reached out to Duncan. We did hear from his press people. He said that he was simply trying to communicate the importance of the higher standards. And his press personal went on to say that, "Arne Duncan is a white suburban dad married to a white suburban mom." And he agreed the test scores aren't perfect, but he says it's the best way at this point to determine student achievement.
TAPPER: All right, Rene, thank you so much.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is in a battle for his political life. And we'll continue to cover that story.
But right now, a family separated by thousands of miles trying desperately to get news from the typhoon disaster. They're in the Philippines. It's an American journey you do not want to miss.
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TAPPER: Two American amphibious aid ships are set to arrive in the Philippines on Wednesday with about 900 Marines on board. They're bringing much needed supplies to areas devastated by the storm, areas cut off from the outside world, and from family members who are desperately searching for news about their loved ones.
Our Anderson Cooper has the story of one family's successful search in this touching American journey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, A.C. 360: For 72 hours after Haiyan struck, the Philippines siblings Paulette Khoury and Cesar Villegas barely slept.
CESAR VILLEGAS, BROTHER OF TYPHOON SURVIVOR: When I saw the pictures of what happened, I assumed the worst.
COOPER: Assumed the worst because while they were safe in San Diego, the last time they heard from their brother Jim, he was in Tacloban. Days earlier, Jim had e-mailed them not to worry as he, his wife, and three kids planned to ride out the storm in their two-story house. But as the storm devastated the city, all communication was lost. Their imaginations began to get the better of them.
PAULETTE KHOURY, SISTER OF TYPHOON SURVIVOR: It was a really difficult time, just kind of thinking what's happening? We tried calling, we tried texting, we tried e-mailing, and there was no response, so it was really difficult. It was a difficult time for us just not knowing and just thinking the worst things.
COOPER: Jim was a live, but shaken. He watched from the second story of his house as the water rose quickly.
JIM VILLEGAS, TYPHOON SURVIVOR: Now we're at river front.
COOPER: His travel agency on the ground floor was destroyed. Over four days, with barely any food or water, he and his family made their way to the Tacloban Airport and got on a flight to Manila. He eventually got word to a relative who relayed the word to his desperate family back in San Diego. But it wasn't until Wednesday night that everyone could breathe a sigh of relief.
KHOURY: Jim!
CESAR VILLEGAS: Jim.
COOPER: They were able to see their brother for the first time and make sure everyone was safe.
CESAR VILLEGAS: How is the family?
JIM VILLEGAS: The family is good. Julia's here.
KHOURY: Did you get some -- oh, is she awake? Let me see her.
CESAR VILLEGAS: Julia.
KHOURY: Julia!
COOPER: And Jim told them about how he had survived the deadly storm surge that flattened Tacloban.
JIM VILLEGAS: If we didn't have the house, we would have been flushed away. The water was 10 feet high. It was like a tsunami.
COOPER: Although a face-to-face reunion may not happen for weeks, Paulette and Cesar are doing what they can to help, shipping boxes of supplies to those who lost everything.
KHOURY: My brother told us his worst experience was at nighttime. There's no light, so we're trying to get glow sticks and flashlights and mosquito nets and basic survival equipment to go there as soon as possible.
COOPER: For Jim, anything helps. They'll go back to Tacloban, determined to rebuild, refusing to give up.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, the Philippines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: That's it for me. I'll be back at 4:00 p.m. eastern, 1:00 p.m. pacific on "The Lead."
NEWSROOM continues right now from Washington, Illinois, with Brooke Baldwin -- Brooke?
