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CNN NEWSROOM

Train Hit 30 MPH Curve At 82 MPH; Drag Racing Ruled Out In Walker Crash; Police: Alabama Fan Killed Fellow Fan; Best Cyber Monday In History; An 85-Year-Old American Still Held In North Korea

Aired December 3, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Andy Scholes, thanks so much. The next hour of CNN "NEWSROOM" starts now.

Ahead in the second hour of "NEWSROOM", new evidence on what caused a New York train to fly off the track and victims' family members share their pain.

Plus, Cyber Monday rakes in record sales for retailers, but you didn't get your shopping done online, your procrastination may pay off. Some of the best deals yet to come.

Plus this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: An underwater miracle. A man is trapped inside a sunken boat for more than two days and lives to tell the tale. The second hour of "NEWSROOM" starts right now.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

Human error or mechanical problem? This hour investigators are trying to figure out why a train derailed in the Bronx killing four people. It was going nearly three times the posted speed limit. They clocked the train going 82 miles per hour around a curve. It was supposed to be going around the curve at 30 miles per hour and deepening the mystery. The train shot from 60 to 82 miles an hour just two minutes before the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARL WEENER, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATIONS SAFETY BOARD: We going to be developing what we call a 72-hour time line so that we have a good understanding of what sort of activities preceded this accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The train's engineer said he tried to brake, but the train would not stop. His phone records have been subpoenaed. But it's not believed the engineer was on the phone at the time of the crash. Fatigue is also a factor that's being considered.

We're also learning more about one of the victims in this crash. His name is Jim Lovell. He's 58 years old. He was commuting to work at NBC. He worked as an audio technician on the "Today" show. His widow and son talked with Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S "AC 360": I'm so sorry for your loss. Nancy, how are you holding up?

NANCY MONTGOMERY, HUSBAND KILLED IN TRAIN CRASH: We are holding up, Anderson. We've got a whole community holding us up. And we've got our Jim who is filling us up with love and holding us up.

COOPER: What do you want people to know about Jim?

MONTGOMERY: I want people to know that Jim was interested in what everybody was doing. He was pure goodness. And he lived that and showed that and gave that to his boys every single day. He gave it to his guys that he worked with. He gave that to his family and brothers and nieces and nephews. He gave it to his beautiful daughter. I want people to know how good Jim was.

COOPER: I -- I saw some of the tweets you were sending out. Tell us about your dad.

FINN LOVELL, FATHER KILLED IN TRAIN CRASH: Well, first off, I just want to say, that my dad was 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 ever meet. I just want to say I'm so proud and blessed that I was able to call him my father.

MONTGOMERY: I lost my dad when I was 10 and you guys are just so strong to be able to be able to talking about him. It's important for you, for other people to know about him. That you want other people to know what he was like.

LOVELL: Absolutely. The type of person you would want to show off in your life.

MONTGOMERY: And he made a point of showing everybody else off.

COOPER: Is that right?

MONTGOMERY: Yes. He just wanted to lift everybody up. He was, like I said, always just interested in what everybody else was doing and so unbelievably proud of his boys and his daughter. Always just want to know what they were doing. And just to talk about everything that they were doing in their lives and just always showing great, great interest. And he was, so good at everything that he did, in his work and fatherhood in his community. We're really lucky. COOPER: I've been reading all day about him. And everybody at NBC and all the other places that he worked have been singing his praises all day long and what a great person he was to work with. I understand that he was showing you kids how to chop wood recently.

LOVELL: Yes.

COOPER: Was he a good wood chopper?

LOVELL: It was a normal winter. Best in all counties.

COOPER: In all counties. For Hudson and Jack, I don't want to put you guys on the spot. But is there anything that you want to say about your dad?

HUDSON LOVELL, FATHER KILLED IN TRAIN CRASH: I just want people to know he was a very loving father. And I miss him a lot. And everybody cared about him, everybody. He was a really big member of the community and he was so kind.

COOPER: It's great that you have the memories to hold on to. Nancy, did you realize right away what had happened?

MONTGOMERY: Anderson, I think I claim part of being Irish is just kind of being intuitive. And I honestly -- after I sent the first text and didn't hear from him and then sent the second text, I -- I knew. I knew. I knew that he was one of the victims. I didn't want to believe it. And I, you know, kind of slowly made my way to the car and made my way down to the scene. But it was pretty clear to me. In my heart, I knew.

COOPER: And I mean, this just happened --

MONTGOMERY: It was different morning.

COOPER: I'm sorry, go ahead.

MONTGOMERY: It was a different kind of morning than our -- than our usual mornings. The moon was different leaving for the train at ten minutes to 6:00. The way we said good-bye was different.

COOPER: You drove him to the train station.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The quietness of the train station. I did. I drove him to the train station. And there was such peace and quiet at the train station. He was the only one that got on the train in Cold Spring.

COOPER: And you were saying it was a different good-bye than normal.

MONTGOMERY: He said goodbye in the car. Yes. Usually I'm pretty tired in the morning because I work late and he wakes me up 15 minutes before it's time to go. And I get in the car and he drives to the train. But that morning he gave me a kiss goodbye in the car like he usually does and then we have to cross paths as I'm making my way to the driver's seat. And there was a second kiss. And we don't usually do that. It's usually a mad rush to get to the car. So I got a second kiss.

COOPER: Again, I'm just so sorry for your loss. And I know it just sounds so hollow to even say those words given the profound loss that you all are suffering. I just wish I strength and peace in the days ahead.

MONTGOMERY: We thank you, Anderson. We thank you for letting us have the opportunity to tell the world how great Jim Lovell was.

COOPER: It's great to see the pictures that we've been showing of you all as a family in happier days. And I hope that -- I hope that keeps you going in the days ahead.

LOVELL: Thank you.

MONTGOMERY: Thank you so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The other victims killed in Sunday's train wreck were 54- year-old Donna Smith, 59-year-old James Ferrari, and 35-year-old Ahn Kisook.

Also this morning, we have new video to show you. The moment when "Fast & Furious" star, Paul Walker's Porsche slammed into a light pole and then burst into flames. It knocked down the thought that another car was involved in drag racing. Officials are focusing on speed as the primary cause of the accident.

Overnight, friend and co-star, Vin Diesel, broke his silence during a visit to the crash site. He thanked fans for their support over a loud speaker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIN DIESEL, ACTOR: Thank you. Thank you for coming down here and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciated him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Diesel also posted a message to his Facebook page Monday and quoted a firm and referring to the actor by his character's name in "Fast & Furious," which was Brian O'Connor. He wrote, quote, "to live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die. I going to always love you, Brian, as the brother you were on and off screen."

Also new this morning, Walker's father choking back tears as he remembered his son.

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PAUL WALKER SR., ACTOR'S FATHER: I was proud of him every day of his life. He -- he was always doing stuff for us, always big gestures. He just -- his heart was so big.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Many people are asking whether the Porsche Carrera GT involved in the crash is simply too hot to handle. We're joined by professional race car driver, Nicole Lyons and car crash reconstructionist, Soan Chau. Welcome to both of you. Thanks you so much for coming in.

I want to start with you. To my untrained eye, all I see is a crash into the light pole, but I don't actually see it and then I see smoke and flames. What do those pictures tell you?

SOAN CHAU, FORMULA ENGINEER: The light pole you spoke of was a breakaway pole and that one broke and it's lying on the sidewalk. The -- I don't know -- I believe there was a second -- another tree that it made contact with and probably broke that one. But the third one that came -- where the vehicle came to final rest, it's leaning. It's a live tree.

It's much more rigid, I be, than say a dry telephone pole. It's also narrow, which is -- it's bad. There's not -- it's -- so the narrower and stronger the object, obviously the car would hit that and cause more damage?

CHAU: Correct. And it was buried into the ground as opposed to a light pole.

COSTELLO: So the light pole breaks in half, another tree breaks in half. But the stronger tree would that cause the most devastating damage and cause the car to explode? I was wondering, why would the car explode?

CHAU: I believe the explosion came from some kind of flammable fluid or something else. It wasn't -- the car, when it makes contact with the ridged object like this, it might make a loud bang noise. But it wouldn't explode.

COSTELLO: So there was some flammable liquid in the car or was it just gas in the gas tank?

CHAU: Well, from what was being recorded and being shown, I saw that a gentleman making a statement that he believed that the gas tank is in the front, I believe in this vehicle. And I believe it's right behind the seat.

COSTELLO: OK. So what do these pictures tell you about speed? How fast might this car have been traveling?

CHAU: I'm not a car designer. But I do know about, you know, these particular -- more of these exotic ones. They're made in three sections and the -- first they start with the motor cup, a bowl or cup. Then they attach the drive train to it and then they're married together. Assembled or fastened together. And they are -- they are made to breakaway right behind the --

COSTELLO: So the car is designed to come apart, in other words, right?

CHAU: In an event in a crash like this, it's designed to break apart. And that's what happened here.

COSTELLO: So as far as how fast the car was going, what's your best guess?

CHAU: I -- I think it's in excess of 45. And being a highway designer myself, I believe that this is a curbed highway and so typically we design curb highways to be -- to design speed to be 45 mile an hour.

COSTELLO: But this car in your mind was going faster than 45 miles per hour?

CHAU: Yes. This car is capable of doing 200 miles an hour.

COSTELLO: Nicole, let me ask you this. TMZ obtained a copy of a memo from Porsche that was sent to dealers back in 2004. It says, this vehicle cannot drive over a foster beer can that is lying on its side. It going to crush the can and damaged carbon fiber under the panels.

The Carrera GT is as close to a race car that we going to ever get. This car has all the disadvantages of a race car. You need to be aware of what type of road surface you going to be on. I know you've driven cars like this. What would it do?

NICOLE LYONS, PROFESSIONAL RACE CAR DRIVER: It would do what we saw happen.

COSTELLO: It would be hard to keep control of that car?

LYONS: Yes. We're talking about a 600 plus horsepower car. It's a race car and like books like he said, it breaks away in three different areas which is designed for on the track and on the track barriers. Not curbs and trees and poles or any of those types of things.

COSTELLO: So had they been driving a normal, everyday car and they hit a curb, maybe the accident would have turned out differently?

LYONS: I'm not saying that maybe the accident would have turned out differently. But the normal car is, you know, 200 -- high 200 to low 300 horsepower. Has traction control and all of those things. So the actual breakaway and being able to get away from the driver is going to be a lot less. This car incident has traction control. It's a full-on race car. So it can easily, like you said, hit a beer can and steer you wrong.

COSTELLO: That's just so sad. Thank you both so much for coming in this morning. We appreciate it.

Cyber Monday sales through the roof. But if you wait until the last minute for all of that shopping it may actually pay off this year. Christine Romans is in New York to talk about that. Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. I'm going to have for you why this year might be the year to actually -- that we outsmart the retailers for the first time in a very long time. I'll tell you why right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 20 minutes past the hour. A massive 8-alarm fire lit up the early morning sky over Boston. The situation is now under control but firefighters are still battling flames in the commercial building. They tweet that everyone who was inside the building escaped safely.

An Alabama football fan allegedly shot and killed another fan because that woman wasn't angry enough that that team lost. The victim's sister said the alleged shooter, quote, "went crazy and she started shooting outside the apartment."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a good game. But to bring your emotions that far into something still considered a game is a little ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm kind of shocked. I guess I just never thought somebody like that could happen here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Police are investigating whether alcohol was involved.

Any moment now a federal judge expected to rule on whether or not to allow the city of Detroit to file for bankruptcy. If allowed, it going to be the largest city to file in U.S. history. Detroit's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr has nearly $18 billion in debt that must be seriously reduced to help the city get back on its feet.

It's been the biggest online shopping day of the year since 2010 and Cyber Monday kept the streak going in year in a big way. Joining me now in detail is CNN chief business correspondent, Christine Romans. Give us the numbers.

ROMANS: Well, you know, it's interesting. I'm calling it Mobile Monday because about 20% of these purchases were made on a mobile device. Cyber Monday used to be the day when you used your high speed internet connection at work because that was the only place you had good internet. Remember? Now people are doing it on their mobile devices, 2 billion in overall sales.

This is according to IBM's e-commerce report. But what it tells you is that people were out there buying, and buying strong. These are smart consumers. They were buying kindles and iPads and toys and video game consoles and really shopping for deals. And they got them. This is the one year in a long, long time that I think that shoppers have outsmarted the retailers. Guess what? There are more sales coming.

According to a research group, five days before Christmas, everything going to be half off. Five days before Christmas and the weekend after Christmas, they say the best sales in years going to be after Christmas on the weekend after they are wary and they are not going to part with their money unless it's a very good deal.

COSTELLO: That means I'm not a procrastinator, I'm a smart shopper. Christine Romans, thanks so much.

Still to come in the "NEWSROOM", while his family begs for his return, is there any chance North Korea going to release an 85-year-old American being held captive? The latest on one man's nightmare after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The trip of a lifetime. Now a nightmare scenario for one American, in October, Merrill Newman was detained in North Korea for reasons unknown. And now in a bizarre taped infection, he apologized for his actions including killing troops and civilians during the Korean War, but there's still no word whether he going to be set free. Some like Bill Richardson thinks the regime is just using him as a bargaining chip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR: They want something. I believe they want a high level delegation. In the past they got Jimmy Carter and President Clinton. I used to be the second string and I got a couple out. But in this case, there has to be some kind of an end game, the fact that they have two. The fact that one of them is a war veteran.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon. When I see that poor man reading that statement, my dad was a veteran of the Korean War. That must have been very painful for him to do?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: We don't really know very much about the conditions under which he is being held, but Swedish diplomat have been able to visit him and bring in medication for his heart that we are told he needs. But still, of course, carol, his family wants him home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): North Korean state media released video of detained American tourist, 85-year-old Merrill Newman reading a handwritten policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In U.S. and western countries there is misleading information and propaganda about DPRK.

STARR: They say he's guilty of big crimes when he fought for the U.S. in the Korean War and now 60 years later, planning to try to meet up with anti-communist guerrillas. But was he coerced into a confession?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The two biggest signs were imperfect English and the second sign is all the languages that praises the regime. I think those with dead give a ways that it wasn't written by Merrill Newman.

COSTELLO: His case is especially concerning due to his angle and no one is sure what North Korea is up to.

VICTOR CHA, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: They seem to have ratcheted up the situation by going after somebody who has no particular cause for being detained in North Korea, and then holding him without explanation for over a month.

COSTELLO: American Kenneth Bae also held for over a year by North Korea. His sister told CNN his convictions might have gotten him in trouble.

TERRI CHUNG, KENNETH BAE'S SISTER: He is a man of faith and a strong Christian. Because of his zeal in wanting to share that I think might have been interpreted as having hostile intentions.

STARR: In the past North Korea has released Americans after visits by prominent dignitaries, a propaganda victory in the eyes of the regime.

LAURA LING, JOURNALIST ONCE DETAINED IN NORTH KOREA: Thirty hours ago we were prisoners in North Korea.

STARR: Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee spent 140 days in captivity after being charged with illegal entry. Former President Bill Clinton secured their release in 2009.