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CNN NEWSROOM

Colorado Fire Turns Deadly; Storms Rip Through Mid-Atlantic And South; Miami Sports Bar Deck Falls into Bay; U.S. To Boost Support For Syrian Rebels; Jolie Applauds Gene Patent Ruling; Suspect Says He Has Killed More Than 30 People Across Country; Film Portrays Burglars Of Celebrities; U.S. to Boost Support For Syrian Rebels; Mayors Against Illegal Guns Event

Aired June 14, 2013 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: In one moment dozens of Miami Heat fans were cheering at a sports bar, then the deck they were standing on fell into the bay. The latest from Florida.

Then, the wildfires keep burning. Almost 400 homes destroyed. A live report from Colorado Springs.

And Angelina Jolie reacting now to the Supreme Court's ruling on gene patenting. What she is saying coming up next.

This is CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

We begin with the raging wildfire, this is in Colorado, now declared the most destructive in the state's history. Officials say the Black Forest Fire, this is near Colorado Springs, has now turned deadly. Two people, possibly just trying to evacuate, never made it out of their home.

So far, 379 homes have been destroyed but officials say they are making some progress thanks to improving weather conditions. And the sheriff in El Paso County had this message for the 10s of thousands people who have been affected by this fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY MAKETA, SHERIFF, EL PASO COUNTY, COLORADO: We're a resilient community, and we will get through this. We will get this fire put out and that community is really the definition when we talk about the Black Forest community of really bringing to the true meaning of the word community. And they will rebuild and they'll recover.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: George Howell, he is in Colorado Springs. George, set the scene for us, if you will. I imagine there are a lot of people who are -- who are very upset, who have lost their homes, who are trying to find places, shelter, where to live. What's taking place?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, you know, what you have right now, just a few minutes ago, we had a news conference here with officials getting the very latest information. You have residents who come up who want to listen to the latest info. They want to know where is the fire? What is the situation? And what we have right now, some good news. You can see there's cloud cover overhead. That's good news when it comes to this fire. The winds are not too bad this morning. So, you know, that's all very good as these firefighters do their best to contain it. But, again, we know that more than 16,000 acres have been burned, at this point. Some 38,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

And I want to bring in Rich Harvey now. Rich, you are the incident commander over all of this. What's it like? I heard you use the term or someone used the term, turning the corner. Are you?

RICH HARVEY, FIRE INCIDENT COMMANDER, BLACK FOREST, COLORADO (live): Well, we're hopeful of the term, we'll be able to turn the corner today. We're moving in that direction. We're only at 5 percent containment on this fire but we had a very good night last night. The firefighters were optimistic. We did not lose any more structures last night. And so, if we continue to get some cloud cover, we continue to get a little bit of break from weather, we hope to move in a positive direction today.

HOWELL: But the chance of thunderstorms tonight, now is that good, you get rain, but bad because of lightning and all, thunder, yes?

HARVEY: Well, thunderstorms can be good news, bad news. If it's wet, we'd like that a lot. If we get the drier version of the thunderstorm with just wind, that would not be as good. You know, so we keep an eye on them. We've got an eye mat assigned to us that tracks those thunderstorms. We give the latest information to our fire fighters and we try to be very adaptive to what they're throwing at us. You know, we'll take whatever they gave us, but we certainly hope for a little rain.

HOWELL: And, Rich, one other question. Tell our viewers just about -- give us some insight into how you do this. I know you have people on the perimeter, you have people on the inside watching structures. How does it all work together?

HARVEY: Well, it's a team effort. And it's not just our team, it's not just the firefighters but it's the law enforcement folks. It's the government folks. It's the citizens themselves. You know, everybody is in this together and we all have the same goal to get this fire out safely, to get people back to their normal lives and to, you know, just keep everybody moving forward. And it is truly a collaborative effort and it takes all of us working together to make that stuff happen.

HOWELL: Rich Harvey, thank you so much for your time.

HARVEY: Thank you, sir.

HOWELL: And, you know, again, it is a mix of city officials, county officials, military resources coming in to deal with this fire. At this point, they're optimistic but they're keeping an eye on the weather, the winds, as things can shift -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, George, thanks. We wish them the best.

On the east coast, severe storms knock out power to hundreds of thousands of folks. It left neighborhoods now in shambles. Take a look at these pictures. In Georgia, a tornado touched down ripping hundreds of trees. Well, here is what the skies look like. This was in Washington D.C. as the massive storms move through the mid-Atlantic and the south. Winds as high as 70 miles an hour knocked down power lines and trees. Dramatic pictures there. A falling tree killed a four-year-old boy in Richmond, Virginia. His father, too, also injured.

Back here in the United States terrifying night for fans watching the NBA finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. A deck at Shuckers Bar and Grill in Miami collapsed last night sending dozens plunging into Biscayne Bay. At least 24 people were hurt, three of them critical.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM TUCKWELL: I was maybe six feet from the deck when it collapsed. What I can describe it as is like a thousand people standing up at the same time. It was this peculiar just roar of noise. And by the time I turned around, in a split second there was -- where there was once people, I mean, 50 to 100 people maybe, at least, there was nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Bartenders dove into the water to help rescue people. The deck fell in shortly before half time. Now, Heat star's Dwyane Wade expressed his concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DWYANE WADE GUARD, MIAMI HEAT: I want to share our concerns as the organization, and our gratitude, to our fans back in Miami for their support. We share our concerns for all that was injured tonight at Shuckers restaurant. But when the game started and he was guarding me --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Our John Zarrella has more from Miami.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, you know, just imagine one minute you're standing up and you're cheering for the home team and they just made a bucket and the next second in an instant, the ground beneath you is gone. You can see now behind me exactly what it looks like with the full daylight. There are tables and chairs strewn everywhere. Pots carrying palm trees turned on their sides. There's a cell phone in the water. There are pots and pans and dishes. Everything you can imagine.

And imagine people, up to 100 of them, falling on top of each other, the debris falling on them. Well, all of that now, fortunately, over and the job is already begun of trying to figure out exactly what happened. During the course of the morning, there have already been inspectors on boats coming out here snapping photographs, taking a look at the support structures, trying to start the initial phase of figuring out what went wrong here. People who were in the restaurant say that what happened initially happened instantaneously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were sitting there enjoying the view after our dinner and we heard people screaming.

ZARRELLA: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we didn't know where it was coming from.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were walking into the back area and it was more of what we heard rather than what we saw because first we heard like a crack and then it was within seconds that the whole deck collapsed into the water.

ZARRELLA: A couple of things helped to keep this from being much, much worse. One, within a mile of here is an emergency rescue facility, so emergency crews were here very, very quickly on the scene. Divers were here very, very quickly. And also, the water here is very shallow. In most places, you can just about stand up right close to the edge where the dock is so that made the job for rescuers that much easier -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Wow. The Heat, by the way, went on to beat the spurs and to the series second, two games, actually, apiece.

The stage is set now for the United States to get more involved in a civil war that is raging in Syria. U.S. military could even arm some of the rebels. That is because the White House accused the Syrian government of crossing a red line by using chemical weapons against the rebels. Officials say as many as 150 people were killed with the nerve gas (INAUDIBLE.) Now, Syrian's government says the U.S. report is, quote, "full of lies." Just a short time ago, I asked former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown if army rebel s is the right thing to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON BROWN, FORMER PRIME MINISTER BRITAIN: They'll have to look at a number of options creating a zone that which is free of conflict is one option that has being looked at and, of course, the question of arms is another issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: We're going to have more on this including Russia's response to the U.S. allegations about the use of chemical weapons.

And actress Angelina Jolie says she hopes the Supreme Court ruling on human genes will help women in the fight of breast cancer. You'll recall, Jolie put the issue in the spotlight when she revealed she had undergone a double mastectomy. Well, that is because she carries a gene mutation that puts her in a much higher risk of breast cancer. A Utah company claimed it had a patent on the genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 but the high court disagreed. The justices ruled that human genes cannot be patented but a synthetic version can. In a statement, Jolie said, I hope that this ruling will lead to more women at risk of breast cancer being able to get access to gene testing and to take control of their lives not just in the U.S. but around the world whatever their means and whatever their background.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie invited to a conservative event but he passed that up. Instead, he's sharing the stage with a prominent Democrat. We are not talking about President Obama but close. We'll explain.

Then, a detective says this man admitted to killing more than 30 people across the country for money. A look at the bizarre case straight ahead.

And celebrity obsessed teens go to the extremes just to be close to their idols. They stole a lot of serious bling from the rich and famous and eventually got caught. They wanted the fame. Now, they are getting it. We're going to show you how this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARIS HILTON: I was really upset and mad at these kids who had done this to me and just felt so violated because what they did was so wrong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Claims, counter cames -- counter claims, rather, are coming full force after the White House accused Syria of using chemical weapons against the rebels. Well, Syria's government strongly denies the allegation and is accusing the United States of producing "a statement full of lies," that is a quote. Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley and anchor of her own show from Washington joining us, "State of the Union." Candy, good to see you as always. Let's start off, let's talk about what's going on here with Syria. You not only have Syria rejecting the United States' accusations but now Russia's joining in. You not only have Syria rejecting the United States accusations but now Russia is joining in.

And here is what heads of Russia's lower house said today. The data about Bashar Assad having chemical weapons has been fabricated in the same place where the lies about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction were So, he tweets that and essentially he also writes that Obama is following in the footsteps of George W. Bush. How much pressure, Candy, do you think the White House has to prove the allegations against Syria that, yes, they are using chemical weapons therefore we should get more involved?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICIAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't think they're going to have to prove it to Russia. Russia is an ally of Syria. It has for decades sent both military equipment and economic aid to Syria. So, we understand where that is. And you have as well that other allies have come to the same conclusion months earlier than President Obama did. He -- in fact, when the first indication came that chemical weapons had been used said, I want to be sure and I want this studied. And so, this latest from yesterday where he -- the White House said, yes, that they would be helping to arm Syrian rebels because of the chemical weapons use came as a result of a couple months worth of studies to whether it's actually happening. So, I think Russia is not going to change its mind but neither is the United States.

MALVEAUX: Do you think that the Obama administration has something to show or prove to the American people who seem not to have much of a stomach, if you will, for getting involved in another war?

CROWLEY: Yes, and so ,we've seen -- we have seen polls showing support for some kind of U.S. involvement and I -- way short of troops on the ground -- U.S. troops on the ground if chemical weapons were used.

So but always when a president wants to take some kind of military move -- and right now this is not military action so much as saying we're going to help arm these specific groups of rebels, but any time a president wants to make a major move, let's say he decides that there should be a flyover and he's -- there -- certainly must be discussing that sort of thing with allies or perhaps that allies or folks in the region in conjunction with the U.S. want to take out Syrian airplane place where Iran lands its airplanes or airplane strips.

So suppose they want to do that. It's always incumbent on a U.S. president to explain what the stakes are, why they're doing it, how long it's going to last and what the U.S. involvement is. So I expect you will see that if it ratchets up.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Sure. And I want to turn the corner to immigration here because it was interesting; this is something that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said earlier today his comments about immigrants raising some eyebrows among some. I want you to listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: Immigrants are more fertile and they love families. And they're more apt to have more intact families and they breed a younger population.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Candy, some people were looking at that, wondering, what did he mean there? I mean, is he implying certain things? Some people look at that as perhaps a clumsy statement; others looking to whether or not he made some general comment about the Hispanic community. What was that about?

CROWLEY: Well, the totality of the statement was the argument for immigration reform and for embracing, in fact, immigration reform. And he noted a couple of statistical things that have indeed happened and that is that the Hispanic population is growing more rapidly than the non-Hispanic white population or other populations. It, in fact, the Hispanic population, is responsible for most of the growth in non-white populations. So his argument was the white population is getting older. And this is an engine for economic growth, in his defense of immigration reform.

Now the use of the world fertility. We all sort think of fertility as whether or not you're able to have children, to conceive children. Basically fertility rate would have been a lot better, because he's right on that. The fertility rate or that is the birthrate among Hispanics is higher than among non-Hispanic whites or the others in the population. So the facts were right; the wording was pretty clumsy.

MALVEAUX: All right. Candy Crowley, thank you so much. It's good to see you as always. We'll be watching this weekend. "STATE OF THE UNION" airing this Sunday at 9:00 am Eastern right here on CNN. And this week Candy is going to talk with Representative Mike Rogers and Senator Robert Menendez.

Thank you, Candy.

CROWLEY: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: Well, he took some heat, Republicans, for saying positive things about President Obama.

Well, today New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, he is hanging out with another Democrat, Bill Clinton. That is right. Christie's speaking this evening at a forum sponsored by the Clinton Global Initiative. He's skipping an event by the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition to actually attend the event.

And Christie's speech comes day after Hillary Clinton spoke at her husband's forum, all this adding to political intrigue surrounding 2016. But Clinton and Christie -- both of them -- are considered possible contenders.

Now this: a town torn, children lost, parents who are continuing to fight. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, it was six months ago today. We're going to have the latest from Newtown, up next.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): It's been exactly six months since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, but today some of the victims' families teamed up with gun control advocates to honor the 20 children and six staff members killed that day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I ask everyone here today if they can join with me in 26 seconds of silence to remember the 26 that have fallen.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Church bells rang out this morning at 9:30, the time of the attack, and candles were lit in their memory.

Poppy Harlow is in Newtown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And, Poppy, tell us about the group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, organizing this day of action.

What did it entail?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: So it's going on right behind me, as you can see. It's going to go on all day from 9:30 this morning until 9:30 tonight. They are kicking off a 25-state bus tour. It's going to last 100 days, pushing for stricter gun control on a federal level, something we saw fail in the Senate back in April.

They started off with that moment of silence at 9:30 this morning. And they have been reading the names of not just the Newtown victims, but also all those who have died from gun violence in the last six months since December 14th, that day of the Newtown tragedy.

Today I've gotten a chance, Suzanne, to speak to a lot of family members here, parents who lost their children. I spoke to the sisters of Vickie Soto, that teacher who was killed. One of the people that I also spoke to was Gilles Rousseau, the father of Lauren Rousseau, that substitute teacher who was gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary. Here is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: What do you think Lauren would want you to be doing now?

GILLES ROUSSEAU, FATHER OF LAUREN ROUSSEAU: Well, Lauren never imagined this would happen, so I'm not sure what she would think. But I think she would be proud of me (inaudible) keeping her name alive and doing something to prevent it in the future, because I can't imagine how horrible it was when she faced that gunman and having all those kids around her. It was just like unbelievable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: He is one of many in this town who are pushing for stronger federal gun legislation. He has been in Washington, along with other parents as recently as yesterday, meeting with the president, meeting with members of Congress advocating this cause.

I did reach out to the NRA to see if they had any statement today in reaction to this event. I've not heard back from them.

But I did get this statement that I want to read to our viewers. It comes from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which is based right here in Newtown.

They wrote to us, quote, "Newtown is a small community and six months after the terrible tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, we are no less affected by the profound sadness of the families and the first responders who were involved.

"Our hearts go out to them. Out of respect for the families and our community, it would be inappropriate for us to comment or to participate at media requests made in connection with Friday's events."

Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right, Poppy. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Reports of gun violence, debates over gun control is actually good for at least one large American company -- not surprisingly Smith & Wesson, reporting now record sales of handgun and ammunition.

Now listen to this: in just one year Smith & Wesson says sales are up 43 percent. The gun industry as a whole is benefitting from this record high demand, mostly from folks who are afraid that any new laws will put limits on them owning a gun.

And remember this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): It was a smack heard around the world, making Rupert Murdoch's third wife famous. Well, now the power couple splitting up -- how this partnership is coming to an end, up next.

And then reputed gangster Whitey Bulger charged with committing more than a dozen murders decades ago, one actor wants a front seat at his trial. We'll tell you who, up next.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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MALVEAUX: Firefighters battling a huge wildfire --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): -- this is out of Colorado. They say they have gained tremendous ground identifying hot spots and saving homes. Look at these pictures, unbelievable.

It is still very much an uphill battle. So far only 5 percent of the Black Forest fire is contained -- 5 percent; 379 homes have been burned down; almost 16,000 acres have been scorched. Two people now found dead in their home yesterday. Officials believe they were preparing to evacuate when they just couldn't make it out in time.

Hazardous materials crews are searching what's left of a chemical plant in southern Louisiana. You see the pictures there. This was an explosion and fire. It happened yesterday, killed at least one person, injured 75. The fire is now out. But investigators still don't know what actually caused that explosion. Everyone within two miles of the plant was told to stay inside for their safety.