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CNN Saturday Morning News
Town Littered with Tornado Debris; 911 Calls after Tornado; Sexual Assault in Military Must End; Teen Refuses Deal; NYC Rise in Anti-Gay Attacks; Suspect Asked to Spy for U.K.; Helping Oklahoma Tornado Survivors Cope; Storm Shelters Provide Safe Zone
Aired May 25, 2013 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Hello everyone thanks for joining us. It is May 25th. I'm Poppy Harlow.
Let's take you to Moore, Oklahoma because people there are spending this holiday weekend just trying to dig out from the rubble of that tragic tornado. Some are also looking ahead and others are saying the absolute hardest good-bye.
And another disaster-torn area struggles to recover. The effects of Superstorm Sandy still lingering as summer approaches.
And a shocking story of an 18-year-old girl facing charges for her sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl; her response to a possible plea deal, that's next.
Moore, Oklahoma is a town of very, very mixed emotions today some happiness as high schoolers graduate. They get their diplomas today but also a lot of sadness as children lost too soon and others are laid to rest. Right now seniors from one of Moore's three high schools are graduating. You see images right there, there will be two more ceremonies later today.
Also today, though three funerals directors -- three funerals are being held for victims of the tornado; two of those victims are 9- year-old children who were in the Plaza Towers Elementary School and also a 45-year-old woman. For many, it's another day cleaning up, digging through the rubble. Our Rene Marsh has more.
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RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brick after brick, Ardella Loughmiller digs through a mountain of wood beams, twisted metal and cement. Monday's EF-5 tornado flattened her home of five years.
ARDELLA LOUGHMILLER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: When people say it sounded like a train, that doesn't do it -- it doesn't even do justice. You can hear it.
MARSH: She rode it out in this shelter and when the tornado passed, it left her homeless and full of doubt. Doubt she could possibly recover from this.
LOUGHMILLER: I don't know what to do first, you know. I don't know where to start. I don't know where I'll end up.
MARSH: Under all of this rubble, Loughmiller just cares about one thing. She's digging with the hope of preserving the memories of her six late brothers.
LOUGHMILLER: And all my pictures. They're gone and my pictures are gone. But -- oh well.
MARSH: Why are those pictures so important?
LOUGHMILLER: That's all I have left. They're all gone. And it's all I had left of them.
MARSH: Strangers like Susan Cronk took the day off from work to help. This is what recovery looks like in Moore, Oklahoma.
SUSAN CRONK, VOLUNTEER: We just want to do the best we can so that these people can recover and stay Oklahoma strong.
MARSH: After hours of digging --
LOUGHMILLER: This was taken at my mom's funeral.
MARSH: Is this one of the picture that you're looking for?
LOUGHMILLER: Yes.
MARSH: A photo of four of her six late brothers. She hopes to find more.
LOUGHMILLER: There's nothing I can tell you. This is all I can do.
CRONK: God bless you.
LOUGHMILLER: Well God bless you people.
CRONK: I'm going to take her smile with me home and -- and feel really good about it. I don't even know her name. I -- don't know what address we're at. I don't know where I'm at. I just know that we're in the eye of the storm and we're in the eye of the recovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARSH: All right and Poppy you know, talk about the eye of the recovery, we're standing right in the middle of it right now. And this is really much what you see every single morning around this time is homeowners, volunteers, construction crews, they all descend on these neighborhoods.
You see a pile of debris behind me. If you walk down this block you'll see several piles just like this as these families are trying to clean up all of this debris and really start to get their lives back together again.
But looking at this and looking at what you see in the distance here, it is clear -- a long, long road for the folks here in Moore, Oklahoma -- Poppy.
HARLOW: Rene thanks so much for the reporting. I appreciate it.
Well we are now hearing some of the first 911 calls that came just after the tornado struck. The sound is chilling. People are desperate for help. First responders overwhelmed by the calls for help. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are people down. We're stuck under rubble. My leg --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes ma'am we've got a car. We'll get them out there as soon as we can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please hurry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to get out there as soon as we can thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moore, 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a day care full of babies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need help bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need help bad. We got a day care that just got cremated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Moore, 911. Where is your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A tornado just hit us. We're trapped in a closet. There's stuff all on top of us we can't get out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you in the closet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok are you injured?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No we just can't breathe.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HARLOW: Twenty-four people died in that tornado and we're going to have much more on the recovery in Moore throughout the day. Tonight also, an Anderson Cooper special report from Moore, Oklahoma. We're going to take an up close look at the storm chasers who risk their lives alerting others about this disastrous tornado. "STORM HUNTERS IN THE PATH OF DISASTER" that is at 7:00 o'clock Eastern tonight, only on CNN.
Meantime, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told West Point graduates they must be the generation of leaders that stops sexual assault in the military. He spoke bluntly. This was just this morning at West Point saying these crimes have no place in the greatest military on earth.
Hagel talking directly to the cadets say they cannot fail the men and women they will lead saying it is a -- it is a crime and worse. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military are a profound betrayal; a profound betrayal of sacred oaths and sacred trusts. This scourge must be stamped out. We're all accountable and responsible for ensuring that this happens. We cannot fail the Army or America. We cannot fail each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: The Pentagon estimates there are 19,000 sexual assaults in the military every year and many are never reported.
An 18-year-old in Florida has turned down a plea deal that would have labeled her a sex offender. Kaitlyn Hunt faces two battery charges for having sex with her 14-year-old girlfriend.
Our Sara Ganim has the story.
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SARA GAMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities in Indian River, Florida say this is a sexual predator.
KAITLYN HUNT, BATTERY SUSPECT: I'm scared of losing my life, risk my life and not being able to go to college and be around kids and my sisters and my family.
GANIM: Instead of trying out this month for a college cheer team 18-year-old Kaitlyn Hunt is defending herself against charges she sexually assaulted a child except that child is Hunt's high school classmate, a freshman, age, 14.
KELLEY HUNT SMITH, KAITLYN HUNT'S MOTHER: To hold someone accountable for a felony for having a relationship with a peer seems outrageous to me.
GANIM: It's not just the law that seems outrageous to the family but the punishment. Kaitlyn Hunt is facing 15 years in jail and a lifetime labeled as a sexual predator. She turned down a plea that would have offered house arrest and probation because it would mean two child abuse felonies on her record.
K. SMITH: A decision like that is -- it's like the lesser of two evils, you know, her life has been destroyed already.
GANIM: But the parents of the younger girl say Hunt knew the relationship was not appropriate.
LAURIE SMITH, ALLEGED VICTIM'S MOTHER: We had actually told Miss Hunt that this was wrong.
GANIM: Court documents show police believe based on a Facebook message quote, "She knows she's 18 and there can be consequences for their relationship."
JIM SMITH, ALLEGED VICTIM'S FATHER: We had no alternative but to turn to the law and use the -- and as a -- basically a last resort.
GANIM: The sheriff of this small town near Vero Beach said this is not about anyone's sexual orientation. In Florida a 14-year-old can't consent to sex.
DERYL LOAR, SHERIFF, INDIAN RIVER, COUNTY, FLORIDA: We have had cases in the past where we have had same-sex similar circumstances albeit some of the evidence may not have been as intriguing I guess. We've also obviously had 18-year-old males with a relationship with 14-year-old females.
GANIM: But her family believes the younger girl's parents wouldn't be upset if Kaitlyn was a boy.
K. SMITH: We would not be here if the parents weren't out dated. To take it criminally I feel like they're using the law, the age law to pursue you know their agenda.
GANIM: A claim the other family rejects.
J. SMITH: It didn't come from us because that's not how we feel.
GANIM: When Hunt goes to trial in June she'll have the backing of the ACLU. The State Attorney Bruce Colton told CNN, quote, "I do think it's a shame that this case couldn't be settled in some other way.
(on camera): Now that Kaitlyn Hunt rejected that plea bargain, what she's risking is trial where she could be convicted and if she is, she's facing 15 years and a lifetime labeled as a sexual predator.
Sara Ganim, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Our thanks to Sara for that. And our Fredricka Whitfield is going to discuss, really get in to the legal aspects of this case with attorneys Avery Friedman (ph) and Richard Herman (ph) next hour here in the NEWSROOM. Well New York City has seen a fast rise, a very scary rise in hate crimes against gay men this year -- this in a city with one of the world's largest gay populations. Just last week Mark Carson was shot to death after being taunted for being gay. It is one of more than 20 crimes like this, this year alone in New York.
Our Zain Asher is joining us live from New York this morning. Zain thank you -- thank you for joining us on this story. It's incredibly troubling. Now I live right there in New York City and hearing about this it's happening far too frequently. What is the latest and what are people there doing? What are they telling you they are doing to protect themselves?
ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People here are really being vigilant in the wake of all these anti-gay hate crimes we've seen. W of course saw the most tragic which was 32-year-old as you mentioned Mark Carson shot in the face just a week ago simply for being gay.
We've also seen a lot of community outreach programs as well people coming in this area handing out flyers and letting people know hey, you know this is what you can do to stay safe. I did actually speak with one couple yesterday and they did let me know that they have actually changed their outlook on life and what they do on a daily basis because of these crimes. Here's what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TICO TORRES, NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT: We are much more alert and we become probably a little more aggressive and defensive New Yorkers now because we figure, you know what, you've got to protect yourself. You've got to really stand up for yourself. You can't just let these idiots come into your neighborhood and beat you up. You've got to fight back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: And also that couple also say that they're now carrying around mace with them because of the spike in hate crimes and that they now refuse to go out alone. You know you've got to remember that this is the West Village where same-sex couples are used to walking around holding hands and now that couple feels as though they can't even do that anymore -- Poppy.
HARLOW: And Zain, are police taking extra measures to try to keep people safe especially there and are they saying why this is happening?
ASHER: Well police have set up more posts in the West Village in the wake of the recent spikes as well. But as I mentioned, the community is really trying to take this into their own hands. They have set up hotlines as well.
One community outreach program saying that on average their lines ring once every three hours with people who feel like they've been victimized because of their sexual orientation. I also want to mention that the school's chancellor Dennis Walcott is doing something too. He's setting up emergency lessons on hate crimes in New York City schools to prevent this from happening to younger people as well -- Poppy.
HARLOW: Ok Zain thank you very much. Very disturbing. Thank you for following it for us. I appreciate it.
Well coming up, I'm going to have the latest for you on the attack in London -- that brutal attack and how the British equivalent of the Secret Service may have actually tried to recruit one of the suspects to work for them.
Also the Jodi Arias trial -- far from over after jurors fail to decide whether she will be sentenced to life or the death penalty. We're going to tell you what is next for her coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: New developments today in the brutal killing of a British soldier, Lee Rigby. You remember it this week, it happened in broad daylight on the streets of London. There are reports that Britain's intelligence service, MI5 may have asked one of the suspects to spy for them.
The suspect Michael Adebolajo (ph) was the man recorded -- you see right there -- right after Wednesday's horrific attack holding a meat cleaver in his hands, his hands covered in blood. He and another man are accused of killing this young soldier, Lee Rigby; not only a soldier, also a husband, a father of a two-year-old boy.
Our Erin McLaughlin is following the developments for us live in London right now. Erin -- thank you for joining us. What can you tell us about this reported or potential job offer?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Poppy. Well, a man called Abu Nusaybah (ph) who describes himself as a longtime friend of Woolwich murder suspect Michael Adebolajo, gave an interview to the BBC last night. In that interview, he talks about a conversation he had with Adebolajo around six months ago.
During that conversation he says that Adebolajo talked to him about a trip that he took to Kenya upon returning to the U.K. From Kenya he says that MI5 agents approached Adebolajo, offered him -- asked him to work for him. It was an offer that Adebolajo declined. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABU NUSAYBAH, MICHAEL ADEBOLAJO'S FRIEND: He said that MI5 had come to him. I think on his return back he had been stopped and subsequently after that basically he was followed up by MI5, you know. He said they came to his house. He mentioned that they want -- initially they wanted to ask him whether he knew certain individuals basically. That was the initial issue. But after he said he didn't know these individuals and so forth, what he said is they asked if he would be interested in working for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: Now while we know that Adebolajo was known to intelligence officials regarding the specific claim, a security source tells CNN that MI5 would never comment on the type of allegations made during that interview. And regarding that interview, rather incredibly a BBC source inside BBC who declined to be named said that during the interview a counterterrorism police actually showed up at BBC headquarters and waited for the interview to be completed before arresting him.
Now, Scotland Yard tells CNN they confirmed that a 31-year-old man was arrested last night at the BBC headquarters. He was arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related offenses -- offenses that they're saying are not tied with the current ongoing Woolwich murder investigation -- Poppy.
HARLOW: All right Erin. Thank you so much. Appreciate the reporting.
I also want to bring in our Nima Elbagir. She has been looking into the background of the main suspect in all of this. She is on the line with us, joining us now. Nima what have you learned about possible terror ties? Anything tied to Africa?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, there is now a growing body of evidence Poppy, that links him into the broader al Qaeda linked terror networks. We confirmed with Kenyan counterterrorism sources that Adebolajo was actually arrested in Kenya in November 2010 trying to cross the border from Kenya into Somalia. The suspicion at the time was that he was trying to link up with al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda linked terror network in Somalia to fight with them.
Adebolajo did face charges in Mumbasa which is a coastal town in Kenya, in the Mumbasa courts. But according to local media was freed. We confirmed with British security sources that they were looking into a possible link between him and al-Shabaab. That there it now looks like, you know, we keep hearing that this person was periphery, a lot of other investigations and surveillance that the British domestic security agency, MI5, was looking into but it now looks like perhaps he should have been much, much more central.
Earlier next week the intelligence and security committee here in the U.K., Poppy, is expected to hear a preliminary report about what MI5 did and didn't know and whether they overlooked some pretty big warning signs -- Poppy.
HARLOW: Absolutely, a lot to follow here and we know that the main suspect in this, Adebalajo said in that video "We must fight them as they fight us; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" -- incredibly disturbing. Thank you for the developments on that.
Well, survivors' guilt, post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares -- it's going to take a lot of time to just try to overcome the horror of the Oklahoma tornadoes. Coming up, we're going to dig deeper on that with an expert.
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HARLOW: How do you come to terms with a tragedy like the Oklahoma tornado? The psychological impact can linger long, long after the physical injuries heal. A tragedy like this undoubtedly changes lives forever. Earlier today I spoke with an emergency room doctor from Moore, Oklahoma Robin Mantooth and also with clinical psychologist, Jeff Gardere. And Gardere said once many of the survivors get through the initial trauma, many of them could suffer from PTSD.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: As the day goes by, you'll see the nightmares, you'll see the anxiety. You'll see a lot of the depression that comes with facing the reality of what they've gone through. Something where if others have lost their lives, the one who survived also have to deal with that too -- reintegrating into a normal phase of life. But this will take a long time and a lot of therapy for them to get through.
HARLOW: And Jeff what can people do? Because we often hear, you know, children are so resilient. They're incredibly resilient. But if you think of all those children in that elementary school, if you think about children anywhere there, as adults, what is the best way to help them if you're acquaintances or you're family members. How do you help children cope with a tragedy like this?
GARDERE: Well, we talked about stabilizing them medically, now we have to stabilize them psychologically. And that means giving them warmth, giving them support, giving them love, letting them know that they're not going to face another trauma or tragedy like this.
Just trying to bring them down to a baseline where they have normal lives once again. So the most important thing we can do is to listen to them. Let them know that whatever they want to talk about, whatever nightmares they're having, we're available to speak with them about it and give them outlets to be able to talk about it or to draw it or to color. But they do have to get a lot of that experience that happened to them. We have to have them manifest that at their own speed.
HARLOW: We've also been seeing survivors' guilt play out already. Some of the people that made it through that didn't lose their home, that didn't lose their loved ones, are feeling guilty that it happened to someone else.
Dr. Mantooth, talk to us about what you guys need right now? What can people do to help? What is it that you need most?
DR. ROBIN MANTOOTH, MOORE MEDICAL CENTER: Well, obviously contact local charities and local agencies if you have a connection with one of those certainly contact one of those. Not sure of anything specific that can be done nationally to be sent here. But certainly money is always needed to rebuild and people just need the support.
As a matter of fact, when we were working that day, there were emergency departments and nurses from all over the country that sent us food and faxed us little greetings. Even that was very heartwarming and we knew that people were watching us and they cared about the little town of Moore, Oklahoma. That was very nice. It really touched us very much.
HARLOW: Absolutely. You know, as the months, months go ahead, we will not forget and you're all in our hearts. Thank you for the work that you are doing there, Dr. Mantooth. Jeff also, appreciate you coming in this morning.
(CROSSTALK)
GARDERE: Pleasure. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: And something that bears repeating here and we heard from clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere. Take the time to listen to the tornado victims, especially the children. They need to be able to talk about and digest their experiences. Obviously it's different for everyone.
Is there any way to protect your loved ones from the destruction of a tornado? In today's "American Journey" report, our Tom Foreman shows us why those who build storm shelters think they have the answer. Look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the wake of the Oklahoma twister, some have been raising their voices high, insisting this storm ought to spur a movement for more people to put in storm shelters. From Wichita, Kansas PBA Architect sells an assortment of models, many of which look like normal rooms and there, Corey Schultz, sees his work as more than a business. It's a mission.
COREY SCHULTZ, ARCHITECT: After the fact, it's too late. This has to be something that you plan for, that you get in, that you get in place and then you use it and use it correctly. And then I think it can save lives across the country.
FOREMAN: Crude storm shelters have been around for generations, famously featured in "The Wizard of Oz". But modern shelters are an entirely different matter. Many companies now offer a variety of steel and concrete structures for above and below ground, boasting an array of extra security measures and strengths.
LOREN SHETLER, CAPITOL SHEDS: Each one of these anchor bolts has a 10,000 pound sheer strength. So by putting one every foot around here, it can more than withstand any storm.
FOREMAN (on camera): The challenge has always been economics. Even simple storm shelters can cost several thousand dollars. And as bad as these storms can be, even in the most tornado prone areas, odds are most homes will never be hit.
MAYOR GLENN LEWIS, MOORE, OKLAHOMA: It is about the money and the statistics. An F-5 tornado is very rare. It's one percent to two percent of the tornadoes. They don't happen very often.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Still, proponents look at the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Oklahoma, the decimated houses, and they stand firm --
SCHULTZ: Nobody can talk to me and talk me out of that shelters are worth it because I know they are. We're saving lives.
FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right. Our thanks to Tom Foreman for that. I want to bring you some pictures now out of Texas -- reports of heavy rain causing some pretty serious flooding in San Antonio. We'll get the latest on the situation there straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: It is going to be a stormy Memorial Day weekend across much of the United States. Right now San Antonio, Texas, watching its floodwaters rise. I want to bring in our meteorologist Karen Maginnis to talk to us about what's going on there.
Karen, how bad is it?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's a dangerous situation and remarkable in just how quickly this situation developed over the last several hours.
This is a water vapor imagery. I essentially want to point out this region right here. This is where they are seeing the brunt of the storm, training thunderstorms, meaning one develops right after the other.
This is an area where some folks may see record setting levels, but already a record has been set right around the San Antonio area at the international airport. They are closing in on 10 inches of rainfall.
I want to show you something. You may not find this that interesting to look at, but it gives us very interesting information. Follow this line right here. This is where the San Antonio River set a record. It is now right here. It is an all-time record high. But look at what happened. We go from the early morning hours in this river level, just went straight up almost vertically.
I don't know that I've ever seen a situation like that. So it is very intense right now. We're taking a live look out of our affiliate KSAT in San Antonio. The river continues to rise and, Poppy, we'll follow this throughout the afternoon for you. HARLOW: Yes, absolutely and bring any warnings to our viewers about what people in the area have to do, because that is dramatic. And as you explained, you haven't seen anything like that.
MAGINNIS: Never.
HARLOW: Take me across the rest of the nation quickly. What can we expect to see in terms of storms?
MAGINNIS: Well, I'll show you what we are looking at now right across Texas and that is this cluster of thunderstorms that has produced -- I think it might be up to 12 inches. It does look like the rainfall is beginning to taper off, but they still have those warnings in effect right around that San Antonio area. They are coming up from the south.
So anywhere from the Three Rivers area and they've been as well affected along this Interstate 37. They've had some evacuations at an area called Tip Park and that's along a portion of secondary road 37. So very dangerous situation right around Austin and San Antonio, Poppy. This is what we'll be watching throughout the afternoon.
HARLOW: Appreciate it, Karen. Thank you so much.
Just ahead, paying tribute to the 24 lives lost in this week's devastating tornado in Oklahoma. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: In Moore, Oklahoma, they are saying goodbye to some of the 24 victims who lost their lives in the tornado. Here is a look at the legacy they leave behind, told in the words of their own family members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
MIKKI DIXON DAVIS, MOTHER OF KYLE DAVIS: We will miss him tremendously. But I'll see him again when it's my turn to make that journey. So...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was so good. Not a soul that doesn't love her.
ANGELLETTA SANTIAGO, DAUGHTER OF TAWUANA ROBINSON: She called me and she said, hey, the tornado has touched down. I am in my closet and I love you.
JOSHUA HORNSBY, FATHER OF JANAE HORNSBY: She's the best kid anybody could have had. She was a ball of energy, a ball of love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARLOW: Seventeen children have been killed in a massive explosion in Pakistan. Ten others were also injured. This happened when a gas canister used to fuel a minivan exploded after temperatures in the city of Gushrat (ph) topped 100 degrees. Authorities say maybe it was the extreme temperatures. They do not suspect any foul play at this point.
Meantime, a zoo worker in northwest England has died after being mauled by a tiger. The 24-year-old woman was attacked while she was in the tiger's enclosure yesterday. The zoo owner is asking the public for support and of course for prayers while authorities investigate the incident.
The penalty phase of the Jodi Arias trial will be starting all over again with an entirely new jury. The court set a date of July 18th after the first jury could not decide whether or not Arias should be put to death or sentenced to life for brutally murdering her ex- boyfriend. My colleague Victor Blackwell talked to our legal contributor, Paul Cowan, about what happens next.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Paul, in a lot of states the death penalty would now be off the table because the jury couldn't come to an agreement. Not in Arizona. Why and what happens next?
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Arizona has got a very, very unusual setup. A couple of other states have similar ones, but very, very rare.
In Arizona if the first jury can't agree on the death penalty, they are dismissed and they impanel and start all over again to decide the penalty. So a new jury is going to be sworn. You can imagine how difficult that's going to be, given all of the publicity regarding the case.
And then they are going to make a recommendation about the death penalty. Now, if they do not reach an agreement, the second jury, then she gets life. You don't get a third shot at it under Arizona law. But prosecutors do get two tries.
BLACKWELL: This trial, this case has been all over television, all over the Internet for years. The last case that I remember much like this one was the Casey Anthony trial. And when they had to impanel a jury, they had to go to another county because of all of the attention.
How does this judge find a jury that has not been tainted all by the media attention in Maricopa?
CALLAN: Extremely difficult. You know, it's not just Maricopa, let's face it. Arizona is not a big state in terms of different media markets. The whole state, like the whole country, was mesmerized by this trial. So don't think you're going to get anything by moving to another Arizona county.
Some people would say why don't you move it to another part of the United States? You can't do that because these are state charges. So the case has to be tried within Arizona.
Now, I'll give you another example, Victor. I was involved in the O.J. Simpson civil case. Now you can imagine that at the time was the biggest case in the country. It was called the trial of the century. Everybody followed it carefully.
We picked a jury in the civil case. And it took a long time. You had to vet a lot of people. In the end, you don't get people who don't know any anything about it. You get jurors who say, yes, I saw it on television but I'll keep an open mind and I'll base my verdict on the evidence. And if you can get 12 people to say that, then they can sit and hear the case and it happens all the time in high-profile cases.
BLACKWELL: This case has gone on much longer than predicted and projected.
Could this next phase go on for a month, two months, because now you have jurors who haven't seen all of the evidence, haven't heard all of the testimony?
CALLAN: I think it could because, although they say it's a limited trial, it's only on the penalty, well, in order for a jury to decide whether this warrants death, don't they need to know exactly how the murder took place?
And don't they need to know that Jodi Arias claimed that she was a domestic abuse survivor and that she did this killing because she had been abused?
All of those things -- it took five months to prepare and present all of those things to the first jury. This is not going to take five months, but I think it's going to be a lengthy trial and it's going to look a lot like the first trial did, with a lot of the details about the killing and a lot of details from Jodi Arias about why she did what she did.
BLACKWELL: Yes, she spent more than two weeks on the stand the last time. We'll see if she takes the stand again. Paul Callan, thank you so much.
CALLAN: Nice being with you, Victor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW (voice-over): Well, tonight, an Anderson Cooper special report examines the much talked-about Jodi Arias murder trial. It's called "Murder in the First Degree: Inside the Jodi Arias Trial." It airs Saturday night, 8 o'clock Eastern, right here on CNN.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: All right. CNN NEWSROOM starts at top of the hour with our Fredricka Whitfield, who's joining me now.
What do you have in store?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, good to see you.
All right. A lot straight ahead, noon Eastern hour, beginning with our legal guys who join us every noon Eastern hour, Avery and Richard. They are going to tackle the case coming out of Florida, this involving an 18-year-old girl who is now facing criminal charges for allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old. Our legal guys are going to weigh in on the plea deal, the refusal of that deal and what is next.
And then this has been a heartwrenching week for the folks in Oklahoma who have lost everything. Their homes, lives lost and then there are glimmers of hope like you're seeing right here.
This elderly woman happened to be talking to a TV crew, talking about the loss of everything, but if only she had her dog. And then out of nowhere, this dog hears her voice and starts emerging from the rubble, all this taking place while the camera is rolling. We're going to talk about how really the search for pets is helping so many people in this very difficult process of now healing after the big storm.
And then speaking of storms, here we are in tornado season for Tornado Alley locations. And then we're looking at Asbury Park. We're talking about the rebuilding after superstorm Sandy.
Then we've got hurricane season beginning next weekend. HLNMoney expert Clark Howard will be along to give us an idea how you prepare for these natural disasters. I know it's difficult because folks think they have everything in place, but then the storm comes. It wipes away everything, the documents to their homes, their driver's license, their shoes -- all of that.
He's going to tell us how you need to preserve the value of your home by way of video, use of cloud so that when the storm --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: -- at least you have that.
HARLOW: They're there.
WHITFIELD: That's right, in the cloud.
And then he's also going to talk about other things that you need to do so that the process is a little bit easier if and when devastation hits you.
HARLOW: Yes. No, it's horrible. I spent a lot of last week down there on the Jersey Shore, seeing how they are doing after Sandy. And it's still --
(CROSSTALK) WHITFIELD: Seven months later --
HARLOW: All right, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: You, too, were a victim of that.
HARLOW: Not as bad as many people but --
WHITFIELD: Losing some things.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: We lost our building. But now we have got one we like more. So -- but some people lost everything so...
WHITFIELD: Yes. We're going to look at that.
HARLOW: Fredricka, we'll see you at the top of the hour.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Poppy.
HARLOW: All right. Well, it has been seven months since superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast but a lot of the pain has not gone away. We're going to take you back to the New Jersey Shore, show you how the rebuilding is going. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: People in Oklahoma are beginning the painful process of rebuilding after this week's deadly tornado.
That process is all too familiar to homeowners on the New Jersey Shore, many of whom were hit very hard by superstorm Sandy seven months ago. I went to the Jersey Shore to see how the recovery is going as we head into this critical summer season.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW (voice-over): The iconic boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, coming to life again after Sandy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We said it would be done by Memorial Day weekend.
