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Wildfires Still Burning in California; Riot Police Clash with Mourners in Turkey Following Mining Disaster; Oprah to Produce Documentary on Michael Sam; Another Mystery with Satellite Data on MH370.
Aired May 16, 2014 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Fierce and erratic winds are fueling an unprecedented wave of wildfires across a 15-mile stretch across California. Nearly a dozen are still burning. Winds are whipping the flames in multiple directions. Firefighters desperately hope for calmer wind speeds.
Let's talk about the wind and other factors. Jennifer Gray joining me now.
Jennifer, we've watched this. Maybe there's more moist winds, weather isn't quite as hot, helping the situation?
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, we're starting to see conditions improve little by little. We were talking yesterday about the strong Santa Ana winds. You want more of an on shore flow to pull in moisture and humidity. That's what we're going to start to get. This is today around 3:00. You can see winds are starting to pull a little bit more on shore. That should stay throughout the weekend. We are going to see winds gusty at times but at least there will be an on-shore flow. You don't want the strong Santa Ana winds. The fire danger will remain elevated through today and through the weekend. But at least it will help these firefighters contain these fires a little bit better and stop them from spreading. That's what you want.
Temperatures also are going to be cooling off a little bit, still above average. We have been running 20 and 30 degrees above average. Now we will be five degrees above average by the end of the weekend.
One more thing, Brooke, I want to show you to put this in perspective. This is today last year, 2013, 26 percent of California was in severe draught. Zero percent exceptional drought. This is today.
BALDWIN: Ew.
GRAY: 100 percent of the state in severe drought. 25 percent exceptional. Wildfire season is not even here yet. It's not supposed to increase until June or July. We are already seeing the wild fires. You would imagine it is a very, very long season.
BALDWIN: Let's hope not. Jennifer Gray, thank you.
From that mining catastrophe to police clashes, how much can the people of Soma really take? Tear gas is being fired. They are demonstrated against the government about the deadliest mining accident in Turkey's history. The explosion and fire killed at least 284 people. And one man who knows some victims was seen collapsed, weeping at the boots of a riot police officer, yelling, "Why are you firing tear gas in Soma"? He was crying "My friends' bodies haven't been found and you are firing tear gas"? And it's not just tear gas. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Let's go to Soma to Hala Gorani, standing by live.
Hala, I mean, what is it that these people are doing on the streets that, you know, lends these measures being taken by riot police?
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: It's just a remarkable response from the government here, Brooke. This is a national tragedy that should be bringing the country together. Instead, we're seeing very heavy handed responses, including what has happened in Soma. You had protesting specifically against the mining companies, saying safety was lax and that safeguards were not in place in order to insure that miners would be able to escape in case of a fire or catastrophic event, such as the one that happened a few days ago. We saw tear gas, and our own Ivan Watson, witnessed pellet guns being fired as some of the crowds gathered. We saw sporadic protests as well in Istanbul, other cities.
But importantly, Brooke, we drove into this mine area a few hours ago, there were no fewer than three police check points. They want to make sure protesters don't make it to this mine site. When the prime minister visited here a few days ago, when it was first announced that the disaster was taken place, he was booed and jeered. You can tell that they do not want this to happen again.
I want to quickly bring you up to date, Brooke, on what's happening behind me. One of our producers saw seven empty gurneys go into the mine shaft a few minutes ago. There's a little more activity behind me. The anticipation is they might be bringing bodies out. The death toll stands at 284 confirmed killed, lost in this mining tragedy. But the figure of more than 100 missing was reduced by the energy minister here to 18. But regardless of the final number, it will be the worst industrial disaster this country has known, the worst mining tragedy. This is a country divided. The relatives of those lost, blaming the government and the mining company for not taking responsibility and not responding in a way that is sympathetic enough to those who had endured such tragedy -- Brooke?
BALDWIN: Hala Gorani, thank you. Coming up next, after the kiss sparked a lot of conversation, Oprah is producing a documentary about Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the NFL. And the reaction? Some of it's positive, some of it not so much. How will the players react to those cameras? Is he getting special treatment? We'll go there.
Plus, one CNN expert says someone has to be lying when it comes to flight 370 and the jet's tracking data. Who has the data? Why isn't it being released? That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A little bit more news on Michael Sam today. As you know, the first openly gay NFL player didn't want to be treated differently from every other player. Not every player gets a documentary done by Oprah Winfrey. TMZ says that her networks' cameras were in the room when the whole world witnessed Michael Sam learn when he was drafted, and in that emotional moment hugged and kissed his boyfriend there on live television. In a statement, this is what we have from Oprah's network. Quote, "We are honored that Michael is trusting us with his private journey in this moment that has not only made history but will shape it forever."
So let's discuss. Joining me, Corey Dade, contributing editor at Theroot.com; and CNN commentator and ESPN senior writer, L.Z. Granderson.
Gentlemen, nice to see you.
COREY DADE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, THEROOT.COM: Hi, there.
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN COMMENTATOR & ESPN SENIOR WRITER: Nice to see you.
BALDWIN: Let's play a little sound before we chat. I want everyone to listen to what Sam said just this week. Roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL SAM, DRAFTED BY ST LOUIS RAMS: I wouldn't do a thing differently. I waited and waited and waited. I said long ago that whatever team that does pick me, they know about my sexuality and everything about my past, and that's the team I want to play for.
BALDWIN: L.Z, to you, out of the gate, you say Michael Sam is contradicting himself by saying yes, Oprah Winfrey cameras, you can follow me around. Why?
GRANDERSON: You know, it goes back to what he said when he first came out in television. He wanted to be known as a football player. I think a lot of people interpreted that as football being the only thing you would hear about in the public's eye.
(CROSSTALK)
GRANDERSON: So you when you find out that -- right. So when you find out he's doing a series on the O Network, that contradicts what he said, which is he's only focused in on football. Now does he have that right to spend his off time anyway he wants to? Absolutely. But the message he sends out to the general football fan sounded as if football would be the only thing you would hear about.
BALDWIN: Corey, you disagree with that, don't you.
DADE: To an extent. I think, for starters, he told the NFL in advance before the draft that this docu-series was going to happen. It's on the NFL to decide whether of not they're going to tell the team. What do you do if you're the NFL? Say, hey, if you're going to draft this guy, FYI, he's going to do this documentary. Nobody is going to do that. As soon as he was drafted, he told the team.
Now, this documentary is not going to interfere with the team. He's not going to be filmed in the locker room, that kind of stuff.
But my issue is this sort of collective groan that we all had in America to Michael Sam. It's almost like sort of, you know, we wish he would just be quiet, keep his head down and play. It's almost like saying we did him a favor by letting him be drafted in the NFL --
(CROSSTALK)
DADE: -- and now he has to pay us back.
Well, to some degree, you're hearing now he has to pay us back by being quiet and just playing. To me, it's people off-loading their issue of him being gay on back onto him, which is unfair.
BALDWIN: It's interesting because you mentioned the cameras wouldn't be allowed in the locker room. You have to assume whoever is going to be on camera has to give their permission. The real question is, how will the players react to him in the locker room?
L.Z., how accurate of a portrayal or reality do you think we, as viewers, would we see when cameras are rolling? Things change when cameras are rolling.
GRANDERSON: What is interesting about this docu-series for the O Network is that it's not scheduled to be broadcast until after the Super Bowl. So we really won't see this impact directly, anyway, what happens in the locker room as if we were watching it as he is trying to make the team. I think players initially are going, whoa, we thought you were going to be focused on the football. Once they realize the cameras won't be in the locker rooms, they won't be required to participate, and it won't be broadcast until after the season, I think it will be OK. The bigger issue really is HBO's "Hard Knocks" --
BALDWIN: Right.
GRANDERSON: -- which doesn't have to get permission.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
GRANDERSON: They actually go into the locker room, force the cameras in his face and they are on the short list, the Rams are on the short list to be selected to be on the upcoming season. That is your bigger issue than Oprah.
BALDWIN: This sounds like "Hard Knocks" light. But if they are going into the Rams' locker room -- Corey, you get the last word -- that could be interesting.
DADE: It could be. My guess is if I had to roll the dice on this, I would say that they're not going to pick them. The NFL exerts an enormous amount of influence. The NFL can easily say, if you want to keep this going, then, we're not going to necessarily condone this. It would be to everyone's advantage, certainly Michael Sam, if they did another team this year.
BALDWIN: At the end of the day, this really is about football, and I will end with that seeing if he will get to play with the team in his home state.
L.Z. Granderson, Corey Dade, thank you both very much.
DADE: Thank you.
GRANDERSON: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Coming up next, one of CNN's own aviation analysts wonders if there is something officials are trying to hide by not releasing all that raw data from the path of missing flight 370. Who actually has the power to release this information? And more importantly, why haven't they?
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BALDWIN: What happened to Malaysian Airlines flight 370 may be going down as the biggest aviation mystery of the 21st century. There was another mystery that involves the raw satellite data. Malaysia says don't look at us. The satellite company says we handed that over. So who actually has this raw satellite data? Who should have it and why isn't it being give on the public or some experts who can look at things with a fresh set of eyes? Why not share it.
All good questions for our CNN aviation analyst, Mary Schiavo, who is a former inspector general at the Transportation Department and now works with the law firm that also sues airlines.
Mary Schiavo, is someone lying here?
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: To quote Miles O'Brian, of CNN, they can't both be telling the truth or they can both be very confused, which does not bode well for the investigation. But there is an easy way out of this.
BALDWIN: How? SCHIAVO: They can both come clean because they can both produce the data. As the head of the investigation, Malaysia under the International Civil Aviation Guidelines, they can make anything public. They can put it out on the docket tomorrow. That's what our NTSB does. And, of course, Inmarsat is not a party to the investigation. A party is anybody who can be found responsible, in a nutshell. They were just helping. So they could make it public too because they're under no restrictions. So they can both produce it. That's the most logical outcome of this terrible situation. And it does not look good for the investigation. It's bad.
BALDWIN: It hasn't looked good. It looks worse. Again, you mentioned Miles O'Brien talking, and he took it a step further, saying whoever has the information may be hiding something. Do you think that's fair?
SCHIAVO: I think, when a government hides something -- this is kind of what I did as inspector general for a number of years -- you had to find out. Usually, when government hides something, they are hiding their own insecurities and incompetence. Really, when you look at the data, what comes out is, is this it? They may not realize that they have all the data that there is. Usually, a cover up involves incompetence, not gross criminal activity.
BALDWIN: We should continue to echo the call for someone to release it. I know they have to find this plane.
Mary Schiavo, thank you so much.
SCHIAVO: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Just into us here, a day after testifying alongside the Veteran Affairs secretary, his number two has resigned. This, as outrage grows over our veterans dying as they waited to get health care on these long waiting lists. It is a story CNN first broke. It has been all over. The secretary Eric Shinseki has accepted Dr. Robert Tetall's (ph) resignation. I should tell you he was scheduled to resign any way this year. We will talk live to "The Lead's" Jake Tapper all about the fallout of yesterday's testimony, later next hour.
Meantime, we will take you back live to California. A huge story still there. These flames precariously close to all of these homes. We will speak to the two men who shot this video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Eric Jordan, an opera singer, had a soaring career with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, but then a stroke nearly upended his career. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story on how the singer fought back in this week's "Human Factor."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
ERIC JORDAN, OPERA SINGER: Every time I sing, my soul is bared.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When he had a stroke a year and a half ago, opera singer Eric Jordan's ability to bare his soul to sing was stifled.
5:30 a.m., the morning of the stroke, 18-month-old Gabriel crawls into bed with his parents and everyone goes back to sleep, except Eric.
WIFE OF ERIC JORDAN: I though he was just trying to settle down again and get comfortable. He never stop moving around and jerking around. Then I realized there's something wrong.
GUPTA: Then the jerking around stopped abruptly.
WIFE OF ERIC JORDAN: I slapped him. He wouldn't wake up and couldn't open his eyes.
GUPTA: Later, at the hospital, a doctor revealed three large blood clots in his brain.
WIFE OF ERIC JORDAN: I explained that Eric was an opera singer and I urged him to do whatever it took to get the clots out of his brain, especially in the speech area.
GUPTA: Doctors removed the clots, saving Eric's life. And against the odds, his ability to sing. Only eight weeks after his stroke, the bass was back on stage at New York's Metropolitan Opera.
ERIC JORDAN: This is a very magical house.
GUPTA: Singing again somehow came easy. Speaking is still difficult. So is memory loss.
(SINGING)
GUPTA: But those are minor challenges, considering he's alive. And it's not lost on him that one reason why was Gabriel crawling into bed with his parents that morning.
ERIC JORDAN: He saved my life. And --
WIFE OF ERIC JORDAN: We look at him and we are reminded of our blessings. Right?
ERIC JORDAN: Yeah, every day.
GUPTA: Eric says that the incremental nature of his recovery has taught him to slow down, to savor life's small blessings.
ERIC JORDAN: I can say that it's better to be thankful for the little things. All these little victories add up.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
