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Tracy Morgan Speaks Out on Accident; A Look at Beau Biden's Life; Beau Biden's Death another Tragedy Faced by Joe Biden; Police Officer Attends Grieving Teen's Graduation. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 1, 2015 - 14:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:32:50] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Comedian Tracy Morgan is speaking publicly for the very first time since he survived that deadly bus accident last year. In an interview with the "Today" show, Morgan said, "I can't believe I'm here." The "30 Rock" star was on his way home with friends after a comedy show in Delaware when the limousine bus he was in collided with a semi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY MORGAN, COMEDIAN: It's been up and down. I have my family. I have my wife. We're about to be married. And my daughter and my son. So they keep my spirits up. Then I have Ben and Matt and Mark and all these people to help me get my spirits up and Tina Fey and all the people calling me. The case is settled, but the pain is always going to be there for Jimmy Mac, a close friend of mine, a comrade in comedy. He was a loving man, and he was a warm man. He was a good man. It just hurts me to see that he's gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Morgan says he doesn't remember anything about the accident that night. He also says he was grateful that Walmart had taken full responsibility for what happened.

He was an Iraq war veteran, a hard-hitting attorney general, the son of Vice President Joe Biden. To those who knew him, he was just Beau, a husband, a father, a brother, and a friend. 46-year-old Beau Biden died Saturday after a long battle with brain cancer. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has more on the illness that took Beau Biden's life.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Beau Biden was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013. He had an operation at that time, chemotherapy, radiation. He was thought to have no evidence of the disease in his brain anymore in the fall of that year, but it came back in early 2015. That is often the nature of these types of tumors, Brooke. What typically happens is when the tumor comes back it becomes more challenging to treat. They have to decide if they want to do an operation again. About 15,000 people or so a year die of these tumors in the United States, Brooke. They can be very challenging to treat. We've seen this before with Senator Ted Kennedy. The same type of tumor. There's been some progress made using viral therapies, using genetic therapies, things like that, but as we know in this case, it wasn't soon enough for Beau Biden.

Brooke, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:35:25] BALDWIN: Sanjay, thank you so much.

Beau Biden's death marks yet another time Vice President Biden has faced tragedy in his life. Weeks after he was elected to the Senate in 1982, he lost his wife and 2-year-old daughter in a car crash. The couple's two young sons were injured in that accident, but they survived. Judging by these pictures here, Biden had to be sworn in inside of their hospital room.

While speaking at Yale's commencement last month, Vice President Biden spoke about why he decided to commute four hours every day in the months following that crash to be with his boys.

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JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did it because I want to be able to kiss them good night and kiss them in the morning the next day. No Ozzie and Harriett breakfast or great familial thing. Just climb in bed with them. But looking back on it, the truth be told, the real reason I went home every night was that I needed my children more than they needed me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let me bring in CNN political commentator and former consultant for President Bill Clinton's campaign, Paul Begala.

Paul, just to hear the vice president at Yale talking about how it was more about him being there to kiss his boys good night, and now with Beau Biden's passing, you wrote this Beautiful opinion piece. Today, we are all Bidens. Just a beautiful tribute. You knew Beau Biden to some extent. I mean, can you just talk about how devastating this must be.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's just such a heartbreak obviously for the vice president. No one in life should have to bury a child, and good lord, to have to do it twice and to do it 42 years apart. It's just heartbreaking. And Beau, too, for his wife and children, the loss is just devastating. He was a rising star. Here's the kind of guy he was. We were not close, but I'd see him at political events. He was a Biden. He was an elected official. Incredibly approachable, really gregarious. Funny guy, very witty. Extraordinarily charming. Very much his father's son in that regard. And I think this is critical to who Beau was. A real instinct for the vulnerable. Here he had this -- unlike his father, who came up the hard way, he'd always been a Biden. His father had been a Senator all his life. He became attorney general, and he went after especially those who preyed on children. It was a terrible case of child molestation in Delaware. He went after it, started a whole task force on child predators. He also expanded that to other child predators and took on bullying before it was a popular topic outside of legal circles. The kinds of things he was always interested in was how do I help the vulnerable. I think that's a remarkable thing for someone who knew so much tragedy.

BALDWIN: Tell me more about the relationship between Beau Biden and his dad. They were close.

BEGALA: Extraordinarily close. Everybody just presumed that when Senator Biden was asked to join the ticket that Beau would rise up and take that Senate seat, and Beau took a different path. He served as attorney general. He was planning to run for governor of Delaware. Likely would have won, I think. He was extraordinarily popular. But they were terribly close. If people have time, you can go look this up. I think it's on our website. He gave a speech, Beau did, introducing his father at the 2008 convention where he told the world that story of the kind of dad he had. I got to tell you, as a political consultant, guys like me are always trying to tell guys like Joe Biden, you have got to be in Texas, you've got to be in California, you've got to be in New York. He represented Delaware, which Joe Biden always used to joke to me. We have three counties and two at high tide. So the pressures from the will of politics was to get out, to go raise money, to build a national network. Every single night he went home to kiss those boys good night. Every single morning he was there to wake them up. That's the kind of family that Joe Biden raised.

BALDWIN: Such compassion, such compassion.

If you want to read Paul's piece, which I really urge you to, go to CNN.com/opinion.

Paul Begala, always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

BEGALA: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We'll be right back.

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[14:43:56] BALDWIN: We should all be cleaning out our garages. One woman cleaned out her garage and led to a six-figure payout for this California woman. Here's the twist. She doesn't know that yet. Now the search is on to find her. This is a woman who dropped off this vintage Apple computer similar to this one here to a recycling company in Silicon Valley. The company just sold this Apple I to a collector for $200,000. Hello. This was Apple's first desk-top computer made by founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, back in 1976. Only 200 were made and just 50 are believed to still exist.

With me now, the vice president of operations for the recycling company Clean Bay Area, Victor Gichun. Victor, surrounded by, you know, all these goodies that are dropped

off at your place. Tell me, who was it that saw this Apple I computer and realized this truly was a slice of Apple history?

VICTOR GICHUN, VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS, CLEAN BAY AREA RECYCLING: Hi, everyone. Yeah, this was about a month ago. When I saw first this computer, I didn't think it's for real. I thought it was a fake computer somebody just tried to pretend Steve Jobs garage and used a knife and hammer to put some Apple computer. But my business partner, he looked at this equipment and said, no, it's for real. This is a real computer. Let me guess how much it could cost. He made the search online and found out that this computer was sold recently, a computer like that, was sold recently for $200,000. We were shocked.

[14:45:39] BALDWIN: That's not pocket change there. So thank goodness for her for realizing this and getting on Google, I suppose, and figuring out the worth. So it's worth $200,000. But you all want to reach out to the woman and split it.

GICHUN: Yes, because this is the company's policy. We split 50/50 with all our clients. It's hard to evaluate the value of equipment on the spot when the customer brought some equipment. In this case, we give some paperwork. Then when we sell it, we provide 50 percent back and some paperwork to kind of show how much money we got for this equipment. Unfortunately, in this situation with this lady, we didn't get any information about her.

BALDWIN: You have no information on her?

GICHUN: No, because she said that her husband passed away recently, and she just wanted to clean out the garage. She said, no, I don't need tax receipt, I don't need a pick-up receipt, just take those boxes and recycle it or do whatever you want. Just thank you very much, I got to go. And she drove away and didn't leave any information about her. When we found out about this computer, the first question of my partner was, do you know the contact information of this lady? I said, no, unfortunately not. He said, how so? How are we going to find her? I asked everybody who watched this video right now, if you share this information, maybe you can share this report.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Well, Victor?

GICHUN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Forgive my jumping in, but I have a feeling you're going to get a few phone calls and knocks on your office door there saying they dropped off an Apple I. I'm sure you'll do all your due diligence, but hopefully, the right woman will emerge and you can share that $100,000 with her.

Best of luck to you. Keep us posted. Victor Gichun, thank you.

(LAUGHTER) GICHUN: Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: Thanks.

Coming up next, this is an interview -- this is going to be a tough one. This is something you shouldn't miss. Police officer knocks on the door of a family's home to deliver the worst news possible, the son is home. This high school student hears about his parents. That same police officer then showed up at his graduation one week later. Incredible pictures here, the moment, the standing ovation, the emotion all wrapped up. They will both join me live, next.

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[14:52:33] BALDWIN: This next story would be almost too tough to tell if it weren't for the incredible strength shown by a young man about to graduate from high school and the equally incredible kindness shown to that young man by a police officer bearing some pretty horrific news.

Let me take you back to May 24th. This was just a little over a week ago. That's the day the parents you see here in the middle of this family portrait, Riley and Emily, mother and father of five, were killed when a pickup truck smashed into their motorcycle. When Officer Eric Ellison, of the Orange, Texas, Police Department, arrived at the home to inform next of kin, he found their youngest son home alone. This is the point you may need a little tissue. He was days away from graduating high school. When he told Officer Ellison this and said he didn't know what he was going to do, this veteran cop told him, you are going to walk, I have your back. So this past Saturday, he did walk.

I want you to just listen to what happened next.

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(APPLAUSE)

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BALDWIN: Amid all of the screams and applause and standing ovation, see this picture? Waiting for Kazzie on the other side of the stage was Officer Ellison, delivering a massive, massive hug.

Joining me now, Kazzie Portie and Officer Eric Ellison.

Gentlemen, welcome.

Kazzie, first to you, let me express my condolences for the loss of your parents. How are you holding up?

KAZZIE PORTIE, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE WHO LOST PARENTS: I'm holding up pretty well. This past week has been real tough and real hard on not just me but my family. But I've had a very large support group. It's meant a lot to me. I've been in contact with so many strangers saying how my story has touched them. Hearing that has really filled my heart with joy.

BALDWIN: That's awesome.

Before we get into what happened, I just want to focus on your parents, if I may. I just want to you tell me -- I understand just this past month, was it your dad who went on and on about how proud he was of you and your upcoming graduation?

PORTIE: It was definitely both my parents.

[14:55:05] BALDWIN: Yeah.

PORTIE: They always told me that -- how proud they were of me for about to graduate. Not just graduate but proud of who I've become and they said it was definitely going to be one of their proudest moments to see me graduate that weekend.

BALDWIN: Officer Ellison, to you. Take me back. You get the call. You arrive on the scene. What happened?

OFC. ERIC ELLISON, ORANGE, TEXAS, POLICE DEPARTMENT: It was just a very tragic call, senseless really. A suspected drunk driver struck them on their motorcycle, trapping them underneath the vehicle. Despite all our efforts from the orange fire department and ambulance service and police department there, there was just nothing we could do. They were both mortally injured and pronounced there at the scene. In the process of working the traffic accident investigation, they were able to determine identification based on their driver's license with the pictures and all with an address. At that point, I went to Kazzie's address to find next of kin. Kazzie happens to be the youngest of five kids they have. So he was the only one still left at home.

BALDWIN: And so you knocked on that door and Kazzie opened it.

ELLISON: Yes, ma'am. I knocked on the door and Kazzie met me. I said, hey, is this the residence? He said, yeah, I'm their son Kazzie. I came in and showed him a picture of their driver's license off my phone. He verified their identity. That's when I said, I've got some terrible news. We need to sit down and talk.

BALDWIN: I mean, this has to be one of the times where, you know, you have a tough job, but these are sort of the days you hope never to have happen.

So, Kazzie, you're sitting there. I can't even pretend to imagine what's going through your mind. As you're hearing about what happened with your parents, I understand one of your first thoughts was about graduation day.

PORTIE: Yes, ma'am. It was definitely a heartbreaking moment for me and all of my family. Graduation was definitely on my mind because they had been talking so much about it and how proud they were of me. It just broke my heart knowing that they wouldn't be able to be there. But when graduation came, I was very happy because I had a large support group there for me, showing me much love and support. BALDWIN: So you have this incredible support system, as you mentioned

off the top.

But, Officer Ellison, it's one thing to go to work each and every day, but it's quite another to stand in front of this young man on possibly one of the worst days of his life and say, listen, you're going to walk, and I'm coming with you.

ELLISON: Yes, ma'am. Like I said, I've been in a uniform for 21 years. It's never -- this is probably -- you can ask any police officer. This is one of the worst parts of our job, having to go to a loved one and say, I'm sorry to inform you, but your loved one's deceased. That's always tough. But like I said, this really hit home for me. My oldest daughter graduated from a neighboring high school Friday night. So my heart really reached out for Kaz. I couldn't imagine the thought process, what he was going through, nor would I or anybody. Just to be able to get on the phone with some of his brothers, I was able to get ahold of his youth pastor from his church and get some people over there for him. Just to reach out and love on this young man, he's got so much potential and a great future ahead of him.

BALDWIN: Kazzie, what was that like walking across that stage and the big embrace and the standing ovation? Obviously you have incredible support.

PORTIE: Yes, ma'am. It was a mind-blowing experience. I definitely did not expect the reaction from my classmates, nor the crowd that I got. It was amazing to hear it. You could feel the love and support in the room. It definitely took a lot for me to hold back the tears in the moment, but it was definitely a satisfying feeling that I had that night.

BALDWIN: Well, allow me just to say congratulations to you. That is a huge, huge accomplishment. Just before I let you go, Kazzie, what's next?

PORTIE: I plan on keeping my -- my parents wanted me to go to college. I'm going to be applying to a few colleges for the spring coming up soon. I plan to keep that promise. It's not an excuse to go down the wrong road. It's more I'm using this as an excuse as encouragement and motivation and better my life and do something that would have made them proud.

[13:59:] BALDWIN: Kazzie Portie, I admire your strength. And best of luck to you on following through on that promise.

And Officer Eric Ellison, we need more of you in the world.

Thanks, fellows to both of you.

ELLISON: Thank you

[15:00:05] BALDWIN: Top of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We are following the news of a pretty frightening breach in security at dozens of the country's busiest airports.