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CNN NEWSROOM

Storm Watches and Warnings Still in Effect Today; Ash Carter's First Comments Since Ramadi Fell to ISIS; John Nash Who Inspired "A Beautiful Mind" Died Saturday in a Car Accident; Cleveland Mayor and Police Chief Praising Protesters for Relatively Peaceful Demonstrations; Massive Oil Spill in Santa Barbara County; Cleveland Activists Want Community Involved In Policing; "The New York Times": Justice Department Finds Criminal Wrongdoing By GM. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 24, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:00:19] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, historic floods.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would be very concerned.

WHITFIELD: Deadly rains. A firefighter swept away to his death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's something I'll have to live with the rest movie life.

WHITFIELD: Storm watches and warnings still in effect today, and hundreds told to evacuate as waters continue to rise.

Plus, Cleveland on edge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A man picked a sign up off the sidewalk and just threw it straight at me.

WHITFIELD: Police in riot gear and dozens arrested overnight as protests continue over the acquittal of a police officer involved in the shooting deaths of two unarmed people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to tell you something right now, we have no justice.

WHITFIELD: And one-on-one with Ash Carter, the defense secretary's first comments since the key Iraqi town of Ramadi fell to ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight.

WHITFIELD: NEWSROOM starts now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone and thanks for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin with severe weather taking its toll in parts of the country,

Texas and Oklahoma being hit the hardest. Thousands of people remain under weather warnings and watches. In Houston, an apartment building collapsed around 6:30 this morning after apparently being hit by a tornado. Two people were sent to the hospital, but there were no serious injuries.

And in the suburbs north of Houston, Montgomery County has issued an evacuation order for residents near Lake Lewis dam. Thy say the dam is still intact, but they are taking precautions because of the heavy rain.

And in Oklahoma, where record-breaking rain has claimed a life, a firefighter in Claremore, Oklahoma was killed while trying to rescue people trapped by rising water. He and another firefighter fell into a storm drain. The other firefighter managed to escape and is expected to be OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM DOUGLAS, CLAREMORE, OKLAHOMA FIRE CHIEF: We're family it's going to be really hard for our department to come together and heal and go forward. The effects won't be known for a little while.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The rain in Oklahoma City broke records. More than 17 inches have now fallen for the month of May. And more is expected in the coming days. In the town around Oklahoma City, residents remain under water there.

CNN's Alina Machado is tracking this severe weather that is buried down from Oklahoma to Texas and the panhandle there.

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ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Relentless rain pounding parts of the plains causing severe flash flooding in Oklahoma. In Wichita Falls, Texas, truckloads of sand continued arriving on Saturday as volunteers work around the clock to fill up the bags. All in an effort to help residents in low-lying areas who are scrambling to prepare for what could turn out to be a record flood, city leaders on alert.

MAYOR GLENN BARHAM, WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS: So we'll have to wait and see how this progresses.

TOM BECKER, WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS RESIDENT: Water line would be about from the edge there may be about 12 inches down. That's about as max as it usually gets.

MACHADO: Tom Becker and his wife, Carrie, are among the hundreds of people in Wichita Falls who have been forced to leave their homes.

CARRIE BECKER, WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS RESIDENT: It's overwhelming. You don't know what to do or where to go or how bad it's going to be. MACHADO: The water slowly creeping up in their backyard. They packed

up their valuables and had to get creative with how to protect what they are leaving behind.

C. BECKER: The first night we tried to get everything two to three feet. Through the last two days we kept coming back and going higher and higher. Eave we've got stuff way up high now.

MACHADO: There is no doubt this is an inconvenience, but they welcome the water. The city has been under drought conditions the past five years. Their prayers for rain answered.

T. BECKER: We don't have water, that's a big deal, so. We are blessed. Many it's hard to look at this and say you're blessed, but we are blessed.

MACHADO: You were praying for rain, right?

T. BECKER: Absolutely. I stopped. I stopped about two days ago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Alina Machado reporting there.

And now we turn to the loss of a genius. John Nash, the Princeton University mathematician who inspired the film "Beautiful Mind" died Saturday in a car accident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Princeton, who among you will be the next Einstein?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A truly original idea. (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He saw the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The 86-year-old and his wife Alicia were riding in a taxi in New Jersey when the wreck occurred. More on his life and the inspiration behind the Oscar-winning film.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[14:05:08] WHITFIELD (voice-over): Famed mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. and his wife, Alicia, died in a car accident according to New Jersey state police. They were ejected from a taxi that lost control trying to pass another car. The Nashs were pronounced dead at the scene. 86-year-old Nash won the Nobel Prize for economics in 1994.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. John Nash, your analysis of (INAUDIBLE) and all your other contributions to game theory have had a profound effect the way economic theory has developed the last two decades.

WHITFIELD: Last week, Nash accepted the 2015 Abel prize in Norway for mathematical contributions. His life was the inspiration for the 2001 Oscar-winning film "a beautiful mind." The movie focused on his work on game theory and his long-time struggle with schizophrenia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't reason your way out of this?

WHITFIELD: Russell Crowe won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of a character loosely based on Nash.

RUSSELL CROWE, ACTOR: You have to divide Nash from your regular mathematician. He's kind of -- he is beyond that in his thought process. He looks at a series of figures, he knows the answer. The hardest thing for Nash is proving it to his fellow mathematicians such that he should taking the time.

WHITFIELD: After hearing of Nash's death, Crowe tweeted, "stunned. My heart goes out to John and Alicia and family, an amazing partnership. Beautiful Minds. Beautiful hearts."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: John Nash was 86. No charges have been filed in the accident. New Jersey state police are still investigating that crash.

And in Cleveland, the mayor and police chief are praising protesters for relatively peaceful demonstrations following the acquittal of Officer Michael Brelo in the shooting deaths of two unarmed people. Things were tense for a bit last night when police in riot gears took to the streets. There were 71 arrests. And CNN's Ryan young is live for us now in Cleveland.

So Ryan, the message is kind of conflicting. You hear city leaders praising people for peaceful demonstrations. At the same time, there were 71 people arrested what were the charges?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there were 71 arrests for sure. And I can honestly tell you, this protest had no punch when it comes to going after people who were being ride to most folks. And there were a few fights as someone did throw a chair through a window. Those people were quickly arrested. But for the most part, this crowd was just walking through the streets making their voices heard.

In fact, we spent the afternoon driving through downtown Cleveland to see what was going on, whether or not there would be more protests. We were told there is going to be a protest at 1:00. And Fredricka, just walking this way, if I show you across the street when the protesters were standing all day, there are just two people who remain here at this point.

Not a lot of folks showing any sign of dissatisfaction with the process. But there is a game here tonight at 8:00. And everyone has been talking about the fact protesters might show up outside the NBA basketball game to make their voices heard. I can tell you the mayor and police chief had plenty to say about the events of last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHIEF CALVIN WILLIAMS, CLEVELAND POLICE: We only moved in to make arrests when things got violent and protesters refused to disperse. We want people to understand we are going to help new this process, but if things turn violent, as we stated in the beginning, we will take action to preserve safety in the city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: And Fred, to show how they are keeping that security around the justice center, you can see the officers are standing guard outside this area. But so far we haven't seen any interaction with them, as well. Last night I took a walk through the city pretty much by myself, walking around just to try to see what was going on here. And we did see the patrol cars. And we saw that. But we didn't really see any interaction in those heavy business districts where people were hanging out on a Saturday night. For the most part, you wouldn't even know this verdict happened on Saturday. I can tell, though, you the governor was praising all the civil rights leaders who worked for months to make sure things kept safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: What I will say is that I think the people of Cleveland handled this -- I mean, they should be so proud of themselves and we should look at Cleveland as a model. The mayor, former senator Nina Turner, some of the administers, Todd Davidson, these are people who have said it is proper to protest, but at the same time, no violence because violence in a community only destroys the community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: We were talking with people all around Cleveland who said honestly, they never heard the word "riot in Cleveland." They wanted to make sure their city wasn't painted with the broad-brush that they see that goes on everywhere. Of course, they are upset about what happened here. But look, they said they wanted a peaceful process because in the end they wanted justice, Fred.

[14:10:06] WHITFIELD: OK. And then what do you know about what's next for Officer Brelo?

YOUNG: Well, you know, there is a lot of conversation about that whether or not he will be able to maintain his job, whether or not he will be fired. Obviously, he was released yesterday. There was a conversation in this community about whether or not he should get his job back.

But I can tell you the police chief says they are going to evaluate the situation especially because they know he violated police procedure by stepping on top of that hood and firing those shots. I can tell you people in this community have said maybe it would be a good idea if he did not rejoin the police force. Obviously, a lot of mixed emotions in this area.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Young in Cleveland, thanks so much. All right, also in Cleveland, Lebron James is calling on the

protesters to bring their excitement and that passion on display last night to support the Cavaliers. They face off against the Atlanta hawks tonight in the NBA game. Lebron speaking out saying violence is on the answer.

CNN's Coy Wire has more.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: This isn't the first time king James has made a statement on social issues. He wore an "I can't breathe" t-shirt before Brooklynn Nets game to honor Eric Garner and he wore a hoodie to show support for Trayvon Martin.

Now, Lebron said he may release a statement at some point regarding all this happening in Cleveland. But for now, he is urging the city to just focus their passion on their hometown squad rather than hardships. Listen.

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LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS FORWARD: I think sports in general, no matter what city it is, you know, something that is going through a city that is very, you know, dramatic, traumatizing, in any of that case so I think sports is one of the biggest healers in helping a city out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: There are other athletes who are asking for peace too like former NBA star current analyst Jalen Rose who tweeted, 100 officers assume unarmed couple in high-speed case and sadly kill them after 137 shots. Stand united and peaceful. Cleveland." Let's hope for the best for Cleveland as the Cavs host the Atlantic hawks there tonight on game three of the Eastern conference finals. They will start at 8:30 eastern on our sister station, TNT.

Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much Coy Wire.

All right, still ahead, can Cleveland police find a way to include the community in their policing? We'll talk to a member of the city council who is trying to do just that.

Plus, our exclusive interview with defense secretary Ash Carter. Find out who he says is to blame for the fall of a key Iraqi city to ISIS and his big concern moving forward now.

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[14:15:53] WHITFIELD: No will to fight. That's how secretary of defense Ash Carter describes Iraqi forces after the key city of Ramadi fell to ISIS forces last week. Carter spoke exclusively to CNN as the terror group tries to march east toward Baghdad. The U.S. sped up arm shipment to the region as air strikes continue. But Carter says Iraq's military also needs to step up. Joining me now CNN correspondent Athena Jones at the White House.

So Athena, Carter's comments are the strongest yet from anyone in the Obama administration.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. That's right. Very strong words from defense secretary Carter in that interview with our own Barbara Starr. You know, the White House has said that the fall of Ramadi is a setback. That they said this fight against ISIS is going to be a long one. There will be periods of progress and periods of setbacks. And so, they are facing increasing criticism, especially from Republicans and pressure to change their entire strategy to try to really defeat ISIS, which many believe is a threat to the U.S. But here, you have Secretary Carter saying, a big part of the problem is the Iraqi forces themselves. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASH CARTER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: What apparently happened was that the Iraqi force showed no will to fight. They were not outnumbered. In fact, they vastly outnumbered the opposing force, and yet they failed to fight. They withdrew from the site. And that says to me, and I think to most of us, that we have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIL.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so, there you have Secretary Carter saying it's going to be up to the Iraqi forces themselves with the help and support of the U.S. to fight and defeat ISIL in a lasting way -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so, what about this discussion, the ongoing discussion about U.S. ground troops? Whether they will be added into the mix?

JONES: Well, that's become a big part of the discussion. You have Republicans like Arizona Senator John McCain saying you are going to need 10,000 U.S. ground troops to really help beat back this ISIS threat to win the war against them. Let's take a listen.

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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We need to have a robust strategy. We need more troops on the ground. We need more air controllers. We are just referring to airstrikes. You know that 75 percent of those combat missions return to base without having fired a weapon? It is because we don't have somebody on the ground who can identify a static moving target.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So there you have people like him calling for more forces. But that right now is not on the table. The idea of these forward air controllers to help pick out targets for the airstrikes, as you mentioned, are continuing. That is not on the table, according to Secretary Carter. But of course, the discussion is not over -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Athena Jones, thanks so much at the White House.

All right, still ahead, heartbreaking images out of Santa Barbara County, California. Sea lions, as you see right there, pelicans and dolphins washing ashore soaked in crude oil from Tuesday's massive spill. We will take you inside that crucial cleanup operation.

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[14:22:37] WHITFIELD: As California prosecutors investigate what caused Tuesday's massive oil spill in Santa Barbara county, the environmentalists are working tirelessly to rescue sea lions and pelicans caught in the toxic tar. Refugio state beach park is closed to the public as workers face their next challenge. How to skim the 100,000 gallons of crude oil off the ocean's surface before more wildlife affected.

CNN's Stephanie Elam visited the oil spill's command center.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We never like to see any oil in California's coastline.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From high above, emergency crews survey the coastline north of Santa Barbara, tracking an oil slick that is clearly visible in the water. All the data collected up here is analyzed here, the unified command center. Together, seven agencies are coordinating the response to the leakage of 100,000 gallons of crude oil to the ocean and on to the coast.

MICHELLE ROGOW, FEDERAL ON-SCENE COORDINATOR, EPA: The federal state and local partners really work to determine what resources are needed and how quickly they can get here in order to make sure we have the right people, the right equipment and the right know-how to address this oil spill.

JUDD MUSKAT, SENIOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST, FISH & WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT: It's very thin like a layer of paint.

ELAM: The ocean surface is tested to determine how pervasive the oil is. On this map, the yellow areas show where there is nothing but a sheen on the water, slightly thicker in the red areas. But this environmental expert says it's all non-recoverable and will naturally evaporate.

MUSKAT: The issue is now along the coastline where the oil is stranded on the beaches.

ELAM: But the efforts in the ocean continue. This map represents where potentially impacted marine life has been spotted.

MICHAEL ZICCAN, DIRECTOR, OILED WILDLIFE CARE NETWORK: What they have are trained experts looking down to see exactly what animals or in what areas and how many are there so we can direct our efforts to determine where we need to send teams out to try to catch animals that might be oiled. ELAM: As hard as this team works, the response to this spill is

facing tough criticism.

OWEN BAILET, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER: Why did it take such a long time before the coastal and offshore emergency operations began in earnest?

ELAM: Of specific concern, how much oil was allowed to seep into the Pacific Ocean the first day of the pipeline rupture?

CAPT. CHARLENE DOWNEY, U.S. COAST GUARD: It has to be a calculated response. And we really have to be smart about how we, you know, respond. And we make every effort to respond as quickly as possible and as safely as possible.

[14:25:03] ELAM: That response from the air, at sea level and inside this command center, where the stakes are high to save one of California's treasures.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Santa Barbara County, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And still ahead, record flooding in Texas and Oklahoma has already claimed a life. We will find out how much more rain is expected to hit the area.

And can Cleveland's police and the communities there come together after the acquittal of an officer who shot two unarmed people? We'll talk to a member of city council.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:28:53] WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. And thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Areas of Texas and Oklahoma are still under flash flood watches. And warnings right now, this comes after record rainfall hit the area overnight. But it doesn't look like it is going to stop there.

Meteorologist Tom Sater is watching this developing story. So, is this just the beginning?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the national weather service in Wichita Falls, Texas, says be prepared for historic flooding. We have from southern Texas, Fred, all the way to northern Missouri flooding that with rivers rising. It is washing out bridges.

Look at the last 24 hours. These are counties in Texas. I mean, any time you get seven inches to over eleven-and-a-half in 24 hours. It seems like the last several weeks, we've been talking about severe weather. But each one of these severe storms is dropping unbelievable amounts.

Oklahoma City over 18 inches, not only of May record, but an all-time record which goes back to June of 1989, but 14, 15 inches, this is amazing. And this was an area of drought just one year ago. Notice the orange and brown, that is extreme and exceptional drought, Oklahoma and Texas.

Now, watch. This is from last Thursday. A new one will come out this Thursday. And this could be begun. So there is some good news, but you just don't need all the rain in three-week time period. This is the last 24 hours. East of Oklahoma city, 48 water rescues last night, a middle of the night. And we had a loss. A firefighter performing a high water rescue in Rogers County, Oklahoma lost his life. Our thoughts go out to this family.

The largest number of people involved in Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Arkansas, that's until 9:00 p.m., but we also have on a larger scale, look at all this in green. You'll see the light green. These are all rivers.

We now have tornado watches, Fredricka, in parts of Northern Louisiana up through Central Missouri.

So again, another day today, we are going to find a couple of areas where evacuations are taking place. We've had bridges washed out. I want to take you to some north of Houston to a dam, which they are very concerned that the levee will fail because of the pressure of the water.

Here's the dam area, you see the evacuation zone. They are bringing in truckloads of rock to try to shore this up. Again, that is an area of concern so the entire region as you see here looking at more rain, which means the possibility of more water rescues, more evacuations, dangerous.

WHITFIELD: Really in the case of so many people, the best way to prevent or keep themselves safe is just simply pay attention to the forecast.

SATER: And be prepared if you live in a flood-prone area, I mean, the rivers at a historical levels in some cases.

WHITFIELD: All right, Tom, thanks so much. Check back with you.

All right, a day after a Cleveland police officer is acquitted of shooting deaths of two unarmed people, the sister of one of those killed Timothy Russell is speaking out.

Michelle Russell says she believes the verdict clearing the officer was unfair. She feels some of the evidence was overlooked. She spoke to CNN's NEW DAY this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE RUSSELL, CLEVELAND SHOOTING VICTIM'S SISTER (via telephone): I went through all the investigative information and read all the depositions and went through the report. I combed through this information. That's what's been so upsetting to me.

Because when the verdict came out I was totally shocked about the fact that nothing was done. I had accepted that Officer Brilo would not be charged for manslaughter, but I thought something would take place.

There was testimony, evidence showed there was coercion had existed and that the truth was not being told by the officers, and yet nothing was done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Justice Department is now reviewing the case. So what is next for Cleveland? Let's bring in City Councilman T.J. Dow. So Councilman, good to see you.

T.J. DOW, CLEVELAND CITY COUNCILMAN: Thanks, nice to see you, as well.

WHITFIELD: I want to ask about the listening tours you conducted. You had been listening to people well before the verdict came out yesterday. Now even hearing from Michelle Russell as we just did. She says she is very disappointed that the full story wasn't flushed out. Do you share a similar sentiment?

DOW: You know what, first of all my heart goes out to her and her family. It's a troubling time. It's a challenging time in our city, as well. But I think that more so than anything else in our community, we had many discussions and many talks.

All of those things, the focus hasn't been on the facts that happened this evening. We are trying to move forward and see what reforms we can put in place to make sure it doesn't happen again. The full story, I can't account for the media and how all these things are playing out.

WHITFIELD: OK, so then how do you move forward? Because yesterday I talked to your colleague, Zack Reed and he said that, you know, deep reform in the police department is needed. That this department doesn't know how to community police.

So where and how does this overhaul of the police department begin? What were some of the suggestions you even heard on that listening tour?

DOW: Well, some of the things, I'm a past assistant county prosecutor. When we talk about the police and you talk about reform, you also have to look at the prosecutor's office, as well. There has to be some things done there also.

Me personally, I felt that all or none of the police officers should have been charged. I knew when you walk in the door you were going to have an issue with probable cause. Not have an issue with causation. That's what the judge pointed on.

When you have 13 police officers shooting, how are you going to pinpoint this one officer to see if his shot was the one that gave the fatal shot? I think all of them should have been convicted more so, I mean, all should have been charged instead of one police officer, as well. And then when you look at reform in the police department, you do have to do community policing, but also training is a big issue, as well. I think there is a large gambit of things that we can do and that we have to implement.

I hope that the city of Cleveland can also be a model throughout the entire country, as well. It has to start right there at city hall. It has to start from our leaders as well.

WHITFIELD: When you say a model, a model in what sense? A model how it has handled news of the verdict or a model in terms of the reform that you and many others are advocating?

[14:35:11] DOW: Well, I think a reform for me and others that we are advocating for, community policing. I think that, and what I'll be doing is talking with different police departments, which I have been doing already to see what are they doing there that works?

We have to try to bring that back to the city of Cleveland. You can't just pinpoint. I think you have to have some consistency, as well. You have to look at the federal government and they have to play a part.

They've always been a champion for civil rights. I think that they have to be involved in this, as well, because we need conformity across the board with all of our cities as it relates to reforming our police departments. We need them involved, as well.

WHITFIELD: So to that point, the Justice Department has said it's going to review all the evidence, all that resulted in the case where the acquittal came yesterday. Do you see the two tied, some of the points you make that you want federal government involved to parallel the kind of investigation or probe the federal government is now going to conduct based on the case?

DOW: When it comes to civil rights, I am always a champion for the federal government being involved even prior to this incident happening. When the federal government was even thinking about coming in, I was more than welcome to allow them to come in.

In my mind, all it can do is make our police department better. So I would welcome them to look at this case. If there is any law on the federal level that we can take advantage of taking a second look at this case, I think we should.

WHITFIELD: Cleveland Councilman T.J. Dow, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.

DOW: All right, thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, criminal wrong doing reportedly uncovered during a federal probe of General Motors. The big fine the company could now be facing after deadly crashes linked to faulty ignition switches. We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:40:52]

WHITFIELD: "The New York Times" is reporting the Justice Department has identified criminal wrong doing in General Motors' failure to disclose an ignition switch defect that led to at least 100 deaths.

The report also says GM is negotiating what could be a record settlement with the DOJ. The Justice Department would not comment to CNN on that. GM would not comment other than to tell us, quote, "we are cooperating fully with all requests. We are unable to comment on the status of the investigation, including timing," end quote.

For months, CNN's Poppy Harlow has been following the case of Candice Anderson, a Texas woman, who has now been cleared of a criminal negligent homicide conviction ten years after a crash in a GM car killed her boyfriend.

The court ruled that it was actually the defective ignition switch that was to blame, not Candice. Here is her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you feel free now?

CANDICE ANDERSON, DRIVER OF RECALLED GM CAR CLEARED OF FELONY: I do. I feel like a big weight's been lifted off me. I can walk taller.

HARLOW (voice-over): After a decade of agony, Candice Anderson, is finally free.

(on camera): People in this town called you a murderer for a decade.

ANDERSON: It's a hard thing to get past.

HARLOW (voice-over): Free from living a nightmare.

ANDERSON: I feel like I was robbed from a part of my life for ten years. Ten years is a decade. It's a long time. I feel rob of things were supposed to be fun and making memories. You know, having those -- a good friend to share it with. I was robbed of that.

HARLOW: It started with a fatal car crash. Candice was behind the wheel when her brand-new Saturn Ion slammed into a tree on this east Texas country road in 2004. This is the tree you hit. Her boyfriend, Michael Erickson, was in the passenger seat. He was Candice's first love.

ANDERSON: I was through the windshield on the hood of the car. His face was face down in my lap.

HARLOW: The father of two young girls, Michael was instantly killed. Candice still bears the scars of that day. Her liver lacerated, nearly all her ribs broken.

(on camera): Do you have moments when you think, why did I survive?

ANDERSON: Yes, I felt that way the whole ten years.

HARLOW (voice-over): The police report says neither Candice nor Michael was wearing a seat belt. The air bags did not deploy. After the crash, Xanax was found in Candice's system. She was not prescribed the drug, but says she took one pill the night before.

ANDERSON: Do I think I was intoxicated that day? No. I wasn't intoxicated.

HARLOW: She was indicted on a felony charge of intoxication manslaughter. She pleaded guilty to criminal negligent homicide and sentenced to five years probation and fine. She lived etch day as a felon.

(on camera): You could have gone to jail for 20 years.

ANDERSON: I think about that all the time. I really do.

HARLOW (voice-over): But there is now proof that for a decade, General Motors knew about a deadly defect in Candice's car and millions more but kept it a secret.

Faulty ignition switches causing the engine to stop suddenly while driving, disabling the air bags. As Candice was prosecuted, GM did nothing to help her.

In fact in 2007, the same year Candice pleaded guilty, GM did their own internal investigation of her crash, calling it unusual and noted the air bags should have deployed.

ANDERSON: I'm finding for my justice. I want vindication. I want them to say -- I want people to know it was the car and wasn't me.

HARLOW (on camera): In this courthouse, the same one where she pleaded guilty to criminal negligent homicide, Candice Anderson finally got her justice, the judge, placing the blame squarely on General Motors.

[14:45:06] (voice-over): Writing in the court opinion, "While Ms. Anderson pled guilty to a crime for which she was not at fault, GM had evidence that would have demonstrated her actual innocence and identified the true culprit and cause of the accident, General Motors."

Candice's conviction overturned, she is now acquitted of any fault in the crash that killed Michael.

(on camera): What would Michael say?

ANDERSON: I pictured him rooting us, you know, in the courtroom. It's a good feeling to think he's had a lot to do with it.

HARLOW (voice-over): GM would not comment on the judge's opinion. For the first time in this letter to Candice's attorney, General Motors admits it may be to blame. Writing, GM has determined that the crash involving Ms. Anderson is one in which the recall condition may have caused or contributed to the frontal air bag non-deployment in the accident.

(on camera): Is it enough?

ANDERSON: No. I don't think it's enough. I think they should have been there that day to support me, to put in some words before the judge also. I really do.

HARLOW: Have you directly, Candice, heard from General Motors?

ANDERSON: Never. At this point, I don't think I ever will.

HARLOW (voice-over): So why didn't GM reach out to Candice Anderson when it investigated her crash years ago? We asked GM's CEO Mary Barra.

(on camera): Why didn't GM ever reach out to her?

MARY BARRA, CEO, GENERAL MOTORS: If you look at the court documents, there were opportunities where in this specific situation, a series of mistakes were made over a long period of time. That's why we've taken some of the extraordinary steps.

HARLOW: Do you think someone at GM when they saw this happen and there was an internal investigation, reached out to Candice Anderson?

BARRA: Again, Poppy, as you look across this, we have -- making the right changes that we need to make with the learnings that we've had from the report, we are working to make sure we are the industry leaders in safety as we move forward. We've taken steps to do the right thing.

HARLOW: GM is fixing its defective cars and has apologized to victims and their families.

BARRA: I am deeply sorry.

HARLOW: When you come back to the crash site now, being vindicated, knowing this wasn't your fault, what do you think?

ANDERSON: The guilt is definitely lifted, but what happened and the tragedy is still there the pain is still real.

HARLOW (voice-over): And nothing will bring Michael back. For the past ten years, Michael's mother, Rhonda, couldn't bring herself to lay a headstone for her son. Now she finally has.

RHONDA ERICKSON, SON KILLED IN 2004 SATURN ION COLLISION: It was like the story of David and Goliath where we took a little sling shot and threw a rock at a giant and we won. That's how I felt. That it was all worth it and we weren't scared. We stood up and we got what we wanted.

HARLOW: Vindication.

ERICKSON: Right.

HARLOW (voice-over): Their fight may be over, but the Department of Justice investigation into General Motors continues.

ANDERSON: There's someone within General Motors that should be held responsible.

HARLOW (on camera): Are you saying that you think individuals at General Motors should stand trial?

ANDERSON: Yes. I do. They didn't have a problem sitting by while I was charged, convicted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Now Michael Ericson's mother, Rhonda, who you just heard from called this reported finding of criminal wrong doing by General Motors sad and she told me, quote, "It makes me very sad that a company already extremely wealthy would be so callous and evil to knowingly allow a faulty, dangerous product to stay on the market and watch it being purchased by innocent, trusting customers."

Fred, I should note that Candice and Rhonda have agreed to accept GM's settlement money. They are part of their victim compensation fund, but it was a very difficult decision for them to agree to do that because in doing so, they give up their right forever to sue General Motors -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So then is it the feeling that once they accept that money that case closed? There is no other chapter for them as it pertains to GM?

HARLOW: Exactly. For them, they can no longer sue GM in any capacity related to this accident. However, it does not do anything to the Department of Justice investigation, which as you heard, "The New York Times" is saying DOJ found criminal wrong doing. We'll see what that results in. Will there be a settlement? Will anyone stand trial? We don't know.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it's an incredible experience, incredible story. Thanks so much for bringing that to us. Poppy Harlow, appreciate it.

All right, straight ahead, a group of women activists participating in a very risky march, crossing the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. We'll hear from one of those activists, feminist, Gloria Cynum.

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[14:54:03]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL CHANG, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: When you're 17 years old you think it's cool to be in a tournament. I'm not thinking about the historical implications. No one asked me, saying, do you know if you win the French Open this year you'll be the youngest male grand slam champion? I'm thankful for. It would probably make me think more about what was going on. The base is marble. When I grab it, you know, normally guys grab it like this and go like that. I had just got done playing a five-set match. I was going to do that and said, no, it's too heavy. I was shocked how heavy it was.

I'm thinking this is incredible. This is going to look great in my house. Good night comes in and has this little replica. The big one is that big. I'm thinking, no, don't give me the replica, give me the one I just hoisted up, man.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:55:07] WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories now, an explosive tanker fire shut down an interstate in Detroit this morning. No one was injured. The truck was carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline. Police are unsure what caused the crash.

Earlier today, an all-female activist group riding in a bus crossed the controversial demilitarization zone between north and South Korea. The group of about 30 women marched for the need for peace between the two countries.

They are also working to reunite families separated by the Korean War. The activists included feminist Gloria Steinem. She told CNN this active civil disobedience involved a lot of risk and uncertainty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLORIA STEINEM, FEMINIST AND POLITICAL ACTIVIST: It is such an enormous accomplishment. I mean, we started out from our homes, not at all sure what would happen. We all paid our own tickets. We had a dream because of Christine, who was our main organizer and heart and soul of all of this.

But we, of course, there is so much mystery. We didn't know what would happen. But, in fact -- and we constantly didn't know. We didn't know today if we would be able to cross or where we could cross and it happened.

WHITFIELD: Some activists criticized Steinem's group for being, quote, "North Korean sympathizers." They say this event overlooked the problems women face under supreme leader, Kim Jong-Un's authoritarian rule. We have so much straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all starts right after this.

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