Return to Transcripts main page
In case You Missed It
Actor Paul Walker Dead At 40; Survivors And Heroes Emerge After Terrifying Train Crash; CNN On the Frontlines
Aired December 02, 2013 - 23:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, I'm Brooke Baldwin. And welcome to first night of my new program. It's called ICYMI. And our mission in the next 30 minutes is to comb through every single story CNN has been covering all day all over the world, to bring you the very best moments of what we do. Those moments when the meaning of a story suddenly becomes clear. And they only have been a few times each and every day. They're the reason we do what we do.
Like the one picture, so powerful. Out of all of our dozens of video feeds in which the image itself tells a story or the interview in which CNN has unique access and the ability to get a story no one else has because of a journalist relationship with his brother.
Or it's someone we met at a disaster scene who makes us believe that human beings can concur anything. These are the moments the best of CNN today IN CASE YOU MISSED IT. Now let's get started.
We begin tonight with the awful and senseless death of a popular actor. It was around 8:00 Pacific Time, Saturday night, when CNN first sent out a mobile alert that the star of the "Fast & Furious" franchise, Paul Walker, was dead at the age of 40. The cause as ironic as it was sad. This fiery car crash and today we got this one picture that truly tells the story.
I mean, just stop and take a look with me at this just for a moment here tonight. It is almost impossible to believe that this twisted hunk of metal was one of the world's most coveted cars. It was a 2005 Porche Carrera GT and the two men were inside of that. Paul Walker and his racing partner until the moment they slammed into a light pole and the car burst into flames.
CNN's Alan Duke was on the scene early for us. He snapped these photos of the tire marks shortly after the incident, right here. You see these marks? Police have been investigating whether drag racing was a cause. And I can tell you tonight that Alan Duke has got an update on that. We'll check with him in just a moment.
But Walker was known to so many as Brian O'Connor, a cop turned street racer in the popular "Fast & Furious" movies, which have spawned six sequels since the original film debut in 2001. And these movies were known for their intense street racing action scenes.
It is clear that CNN digital reporter, Alan Duke, has been out ahead of this story from the beginning. He joins me from Los Angeles. Allen, you were one of the first people on the scene. I know that this actor has been on your beat. No surprise. You have been getting all this latest information. You have breaking news tonight about this investigation. What can you tell us?
ALAN DUKE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: It all goes back to the phone call that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department received Saturday night after the fiery crash. They got a call, a tipster saying that there had been drag racing, a second car involved. When I started my morning today I was told by the sheriff's department they were investigating the possibility of drag racing.
But by this afternoon, I had another conversation with the sheriff's department and they said they ruled it out they couldn't find any supporting evidence that another car was there. They were focusing on speed. They are trying to figure out why the speed caused it to lose control.
BALDWIN: Yes, you know, I was talking to experts today who were exploring the possibility. It could have been drag racing. We now know your reporting it has been ruled out. Since investigators are focusing on speed, you took those first pictures of those tire marks. Tell us a little bit about this car itself. This is the 2005 Porche Carrera GT. Professionals say this thing is difficult to maneuver.
DUKE: Yes, those tire marks when I saw them I was trying to see if I could connect them to the crash because they were close to the crash. In fact, I found the street was just lined with these tire marks, obviously too many for that one car to create. But what it told me was that this street is a place where racing and burnouts happen.
The kind of thing you would see in the movie "Fast & Furious." This car is a dangerous car, notoriously difficult to drive. "Auto Week" magazine published a report on it where they quoted a top driver saying it is scary. This is not a streetcar. It is a toy.
It's something you put in a showroom to lure people there. This is a beautiful expensive almost a half million dollar car you don't want to drive unless you are a professional. A semi-professional was driving it. Someone who had won trophies driving porches in fact, but it was too much for him to handle apparently.
BALDWIN: Alan Duke, incredible details and photos. Alan Duke, thank you so much tonight.
And now to that commuter train crash in New York City. We have learned tonight that the train was traveling 82 miles an hour into a curve when it should have been going 30, causing it to skid off the tracks, plunge down a cliff. This was early Sunday morning. Four people were killed and at least 67 were injured and CNN has been on the inside of the story since early Sunday morning.
On "NEW DAY" today we heard a powerful survivor story from a young woman named Amanda Swanson. So Amanda's story is this, she took a photograph from inside the devastating wreckage and gave it to just CNN. When she was talking with Kate Bolduan this morning, that was the first time that she in fact had even seen video from the crash scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA SWANSON, CRASH SURVIVOR: I stayed in the city last night at my cousin and we didn't have access to the television. The only news I have seen has been just on the internet. So seeing the footage is horrific.
KATE BOLDUAN, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": Does it seem even real?
SWANSON: For me, no. I mean, clearly, I barely have scrapes and bruises. I'm sore. But I mean, I came out of this more unscathed than some car accidents that I've been in. And hearing about the other injuries walking past the people I have no idea why or how I am sitting here talking to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And just tonight on "AC360," Anderson Cooper had a gut wrenching conversation with the wife and children of Jim Lovell, the 58-year-old technician on NBC's "Today" show was killed in that crash. He was on his way to Rockefeller Plaza to set up for the Christmas tree lighting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want people to know that he was pure goodness and he lived that and showed that and gave that to his boys every single day. He gave that to his guys he worked with and his family and brothers and nieces and nephews. He gave that to his beautiful daughter.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S "AC 360": I saw some of the tweets you were sending out. Tell us about your dad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, first off, I just want to say that my dad is not a victim. I don't want him to be known as a victim. Jim Lovell was so much more than just a victim. He was a loving father, great dad, best friend, uncle, great co-worker, just always had a smile on his face. Never had anything bad to say about anyone one of the best people you could have ever met. I'm so proud and blessed to have been able to call him my father.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Did you see that moment? Those boys holding that mother's hand, incredibly emotional, so many people tonight searching for answers, but investigators are not certain if the cause of the crash was mechanical or if it was human error.
This morning on "NEW DAY," Chris Cuomo interviewed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who also happens to be his brother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW CUOMO, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": When you went to the scene, you got there very quickly yesterday. What was it like?
GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: What you missed from the pictures, Chris, is as the cars skidded along the dirt, the windows broke out, the doors opened and they were picking up stones, rocks, dirt, tree limbs were flying through the cars. So the actually cars were filled with debris, filled with dirt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And Chris Cuomo is joining me now. You talked to your brother, the governor of New York this morning on "NEW DAY," getting new information. But first in terms of new information tonight, what do you know about this derailment?
CUOMO: The brakes, the biggest question. They now know that the brakes were only applied seconds before the derailment. Why so late? Two possibilities before you jump to the conclusion of must not have been done in time. We don't know according to the NTSB if the operator tried to use them and they didn't function, which is what he said.
BALDWIN: He said he tried the brakes and they didn't work.
CUOMO: So they don't know, but they do know that the brakes were not applied until very late and that is a huge question mark. Because you have families who lost loved ones, they deserve to know what happened. You have all the commuters who need to know what happened and then the duty of the rest of us to make sure that people have confidence in the system and that the investigation is carried out the right way.
BALDWIN: You handled the interview with your brother who is the governor of the state. You mentioned it is in the hands of the NTSB, but you have this unique relationship with Andrew Cuomo, which helped us have this all crucial information. We are grateful for that relationship. You look at Twitter and say why are they interviewing each other? And no other journalist available? How do you respond?
CUOMO: There's a lot here. Reporting is all connections. One of my regrets would be that my brother didn't give me exclusive information that he didn't give other people. Then all the criticism would be worthwhile. But, Brooke, this is something that I have considered probably more than most, the sensitivity of how to separate family from journalism given my family who I'm proud to be with.
But I knew there was no conflict here. He's got a job to do so do I. This was all fact based and it didn't involve him in terms of the accountability. That changes everything. If there is something that has been done wrong at the state level that he deserves to get hammered and has to answer for it, right? I wouldn't put myself in that position. If it were politics, I wouldn't do it.
BALDWIN: At what point do you say no, I can't interview him?
CUOMO: If it's about his political career and actions or things he must answer for, that's for somebody else to do. I have someone sitting to my right who is capable of doing that interview. I knew there were no conflicts.
BALDWIN: There was a moment today, thank you for taking it head on, Chris Cuomo. Appreciate you.
CUOMO: Good luck on the new show.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
Now before we go to a quick break, I want to show you, this is our video wall. We counted and CNN took in about 200 videos of stories from all over the world. We went through just about every one of them for you to find out which were the most powerful and interesting or just told a story well. And when we come back, I want to show you a couple of these in case you missed it. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to IN CASE YOU MISSED IT. I'm Brooke Baldwin. This is our CNN best in the world. There were so many good ones and I found my two favorite pieces of video today in case you missed these. First the runner up, the teddy bear toss. The Calgary Hitmen, this is a hockey team. These guys have an annual tradition for the holiday season and when the first goal is scored, everyone throws a teddy bear to the ice and eventually we learn all these bears do go to children who going to love them because nothing says ice hockey like teddy bears.
Now two serious pieces, an amazing skydiving footage, this is in Eloy, Arizona, 63 women jump out of an airplane trying to break a record for an all-female-mass formation jump. They did break the record. The reason we are able to look at these moments from today, the photographer jumped out of the plane after these ladies to just get the pictures, insane and beautiful all at once.
From that to the Ukraine and strong video, look at this, these riots, breaking out in the midst of these massive demonstrations going on. This is the capital city, Kiev. And our correspondent on the ground says hundreds of thousands of people have turned out over the weekend to call for the removal of the president.
He is seen by many of the people as a puppet of Russian President Vladimir Putin. So we wanted to lift the veil and introduce you to people who do this for a living and say that the Ukraine footage was the best of the day. So, Julian, first to you, you have been in a riot situation. It's always tough. You never know what you're getting into.
JULIAN CUMMINGS, CNN PRODUCER: We have covered plenty of riots stateside that feel intense, but I can't imagine what that is like.
BALDWIN: Look at the helmets.
CUMMINGS: I know photojournalists in these situations and having to remain calm and calculated and looking out for their own safety.
BALDWIN: Jay, what do you think? JAY CONROY, CNN FLOOR MANAGER: It's a pretty scary situation. I have been in riot situations, but not to this extent when you see weapons and stuff coming out. It's scary trying to gather your loved ones and get out of there.
BALDWIN: And all the while as a photojournalist trying to capture this for the world to see.
Jay and Julian, thank you very, very much. And in just a moment we going to go into these stories speaking of what is going on in the Ukraine. CNN on the front lines, tonight, three of CNN's correspondents and our camera crews are in these highly volatile situations risking their lives to bring you the story. We'll show you what they're up against IN CASE YOU MISSED IT next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to ICYMI, IN CASE YOU MISSED IT. I'm Brooke Baldwin. All around the world each and every day, CNN reporters and photographers are on the front lines in war zones. On the ground coverage is what this network is built on and these people are risking their lives this moment.
First we go to Syria where the worst fighting in that country's civil war rages on tonight. Let's begin with CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Damascus - Fred.
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a war of snipers in this Damascus suburb. We're on the frontline with government forces in the south of Syria's capital. Soldiers say their mission is to stop rebels from advancing into the city center. Opposition fighters have occupied large parts of this district and are in the buildings only a few yards away.
This is what it looks like when the army notices movement on the other side. This video is them attacking rebels as they try to fortify their positions. As the government wins back more territory around here, the rebel fighters are fleeing to the front line in this area and there have been increased battles recently.
BALDWIN: From Fred Pleitgen there in Syria, we turn to the Ukraine where massive demonstrations are taking place in the capital city of Kiev. Protesters there braved freezing temperatures to block the government's main headquarters and close off the streets. CNN's Phil Black has been in the thick of things for us in Independent Square - Phil.
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They have built barricades across all the roads heading into Independence Square. If the police come, they will not be in easily. The position, the feeling of this crowd has hardened and has hardened because of the force and violence. Security forces and police over the weekend against protesters and journalists, dozens of people were injured. What they want now is not just this country's government to change its policy and move closer to Europe, what they are calling if is a new government. They want revolution. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to IN CASE YOU MISSED IT and a favorite moment of ours from this afternoon with our very own Wolf Blitzer reminded us that Wolf's got soul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": So if you watched the BET Soul Train Awards last night you might have seen us make a presentation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A 30 something year old black woman born and raised on Soul music.
BLITZER: And me an older white guy who likes to sing Stevie Wonder songs in the shower. Not that I sound good singing them, but I do it anyway. And I like to do the beat box and the Dougie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wolf, teach me how to Dougie.
BLITZER: Can you teach me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
BLITZER: You know what? I like to get --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: My take away there? Wolf Blitzer sings in the shower? We know he loves to do the Dougie. One of his most memorable appearances in 2010 is when he showed us his moves, his skills.
I mean, how do we top that? Speaking of wolf and his moves, who could forget this moment on the Ellen Degeneris show from a couple years ago.
And if that hasn't changed how you going to now forever see Wolf Blitzer imagine a younger Wolf, rumor has it back in the day he rocked some long hair, played in a band, something he hopes you missed. But here is one photo we can show. I was lucky enough to be on wolf's arm along with these ladies from CNN at the Soul Train Awards. Thank you, Mrs. Blitzer for allowing us to borrow your husband for that magical night, yes, I can attest to Wolf's swag first hand.
That is it for us tonight. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, see you back here tomorrow night. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for joining me.
PIERS MORGAN: This is "PIERS MORGAN LIVE." Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world tonight. Too "Fast & Furious," Hollywood mourns the death of Paul Walker, killed in the fiery high speed crash.
