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CNN NEWSROOM

Congress on Gun Control; Sandy's Effect on Criminal Cases; City Leaders Speak Out on Ohio Rape Case; 4 Dead in Aurora, Colorado; Missoni Plane Vanishes

Aired January 5, 2013 - 19:00   ET

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


DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Deborah Feyerick, in for Don Lemon.

Let's get you up to speed on the top stories:

Amid allegations of a cover-up and intense social media pressure, leaders in Steubenville, Ohio, were speaking out. They've launched a Web site promising to keep the community updated and provide transparency in very public rape case involving two members of the high school football team.

The two 16-year-old football players are charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl last summer. The alleged attack took place at several parties over the course of the night.

Protesters rally today to support the alleged victim and the protest the town's handling the case.

The Steubenville Web site makes it clear it is, quote, "not designed to be a forum on how the juvenile court should rule in the matter." We'll have a live report just ahead.

And, Aurora, Colorado, the scene of the deadly movie theater massacre is facing a new tragedy tonight. A barricaded gunman and three other people are dead after an early morning standoff. After hours of negotiations, police say the suspect opened fire on officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. CASSIDEE CARLSON, AURORA POLICE DEPARTMENT: A SWAT team was called out. They set up. Hostage negotiators try to get the suspect to come outside. We made multiple attempts, had phone intermittent phone conversations with the suspect throughout the morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Officers shot and killed the gunman and found two men and a woman dead inside the house. A woman escaped earlier and told police she had seen three lifeless bodies inside. Aurora is the same Denver suburb where a gunman opened fire during a new Batman movie last summer.

Well, could he come clean? A published report says Lance Armstrong is thinking about admitting that he used performance enhancing drugs. "The New York Times" reports Armstrong is considering it hopeful he could return to competition. Armstrong's attorney denies that the disgraced cyclist is in talks with anti-doping agencies. But he did not address whether Armstrong told associates that he was considering the admission.

Rescue crews are narrowing the search for a missing sky diver in Washington state. Crews are focusing on a specific area in the rugged Cascade Mountains. Kurt Ruppert was last seen Thursday jumping out of a helicopter at more than 6,000 feet. The Florida man was wearing a special suit that was supposed to allow him to glide.

A Florida woman dives through a glass window to escape her burning home when a small plane crashes into it, all three people aboard the plane died in the crash yesterday north of Daytona Beach. The pilot reported mechanical problems and was trying to make an emergency landing at an airport a mile away. The woman who lived in the house suffered only bruises.

The Italian fashion mogul Vittorio Missoni and his wife are missing in Venezuela. A plane they were traveling vanished yesterday en route to Caracas. Vittorio Missoni is the marketing manager for the Italian fashion house Missoni. He is known around the world as an ambassador for the brand, which is also featured in Target stores here in the United States.

The country's bordering Syria are planning a conference to discuss the growing refugee crisis, the U.N. says it has registered 577,000 refugees. That's the registered number. The U.N. actually believes the real number of refugee is much higher. Activists say another 57 people were killed today in Syria civil war.

Now, more details about the alleged rape of a teenage girl in a small town of Steubenville, Ohio. City leaders are speaking out about the investigation involving two high school football players.

National correspondent Susan Candiotti joins me live from Steubenville.

And, Susan, a number of people think that there's been a cover-up to protect members of the football team. What are you hearing?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Deborah.

The Ohio attorney general who's now heading the investigation and has been since last August says that he has seen no evidence of wrongdoing. Now, he took over when the local D.A. recused herself to avoid any appearance of conflict, according to the local police chief who also says this is a small town where everybody knows somebody connected to the case, a case that's still under active investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Steubenville!

(CHEERS)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Next month's trial is the talk of the small Ohio town.

The teen rape case went viral when this video appeared on the Internet showing local teens joking about the incident in a vulgar way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know it's not cool though. But that's like rape. It is rape. They raped her.

CANDIOTTI: Attorneys for the accused, Trent Mays on the right and Ma'lik Richmond on the left, both 16, identify them in this photograph, holding the alleged victim, also 16, who is not being publicly named. Both sides debate whether she was conscious at this moment, during a long night of drinking at several parties last August, according to witnesses who testify that this hearing last October.

Prosecutors told a juvenile court they have evidence she was raped.

MARIANNE HEMMETER, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: She was unresponsive and not in a position of consent. And they knew about it. And let's be clear, they knew she was drunk.

CANDIOTTI: In an exclusive interview with CNN, Mays' lawyer claims his client received a text allegedly sent by the teenage girl. It reads, quote, "I know you didn't rape me."

(on camera): Do you have that text?

ADAM NEMANN, MAYS' ATTORNEY: We do. And that is something that will be introduced at trial.

CANDIOTTI: And did he reply?

NEMANN: That is something that's going to be introduced at trial. Yes.

CANDIOTTI: Why do you think she sent that?

NEMANN: Because I don't think she thinks she was raped.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): He would not show that or any other text.

The teenage girl's attorney won't confirm any text message.

BOB FITZSIMMONS, ATTORNEY FOR ALLEGED OHIO RAPE VICTIM (via telephone): This young girl was unconscious, so she wouldn't have the ability to know whether she was raped or not on the day after, or two days after or whatever the timing of that was. We also don't know, and we don't know whether the defendants were texting and trying to coerce or talk people into making statements and trying to build up a defense for themselves, after they started realizing this thing kind of unfolded.

CANDIOTTI: Police say it unfolded like this: the alleged rape occurred during all night partying August 11th. On August 14th at 1:40 in the morning, the alleged victim's mom goes to police with a flash drive of tweets and Internet postings and police open an investigation. That same day, time unknown, the alleged text message is sent.

(on camera): There's testimony from a probable cause hearing from last October from a player who was there at the party that night and he testified that your client and you will pardon the language used his fingers to sexually penetrate her. Did that happen?

NEMANN: We deny that, vehemently.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Now, Mays' lawyer also claims that he has letters, he says were sent by prosecutors to that witness and other witnesses promising that they would not be charged in return for their testimony. However, Ohio's attorney general flatly denies any deals have been struck -- Deborah.

FEYERICK: Susan, do we know how this 16-year-old, the 16-year-old girl is doing, the alleged victim is doing today?

CANDIOTTI: Well, she is not speaking publicly. But through her attorney, he tells me that she is only about doing this to seek justice, participating in this prosecution. And she is trying very hard to get her life back together. But it's been very, very difficult for her, Deborah.

FEYERICK: And certainly it has to be even more difficult because the photos that allegedly show her being handled really like a piece of meat there, being held by the two football players.

CANDIOTTI: And, of course, she also is expected to testify at the trial. It's going to be difficult for a lot of witnesses.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. All right. Susan Candiotti, thank you so much there from Steubenville, Ohio.

Of course, at 10:00 Eastern, much more on this story that has really grabbed the nation's attention -- the crime, the investigation, role of the hacker activist group Anonymous and how social media has changed the way this and other crimes are prosecuted. We're going to talk with the attorney from one of the accused rapist.

Plus, the woman who felt a crime was being covered up, so she took to the Internet to bring attention to it.

And our Dr. Drew Pinsky on how this crime could happen.

We are going in -- we're going in depth at 10:00 Eastern.

Well, there's new outrage in India over a brutal gang rape and murder case, even as five suspects are set to appear before a fast track court in New Delhi on Monday. Police are denying some alarming accusations from the victim's male friend who was savagely beaten in the attack.

He gave a television interview about what happened to him and his companion who later died from her injuries. His face is blurred to protect his identity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRIEND OF GANG-RAPE VICTIM (through translator): From where we boarded the bus, they took us around for two, two and a half hours, across overpasses through all of Delhi. And then they dropped us below an over pass. Then they tried to run over us.

We had no clothes. We waited there, hoping someone would help us. I tried to flag down vehicles. Three-wheeler taxis would slow down, take a look at us and move on. We got no help for nearly 20 or 25 minutes.

Then, someone stopped and made a call for us. There were three police vehicles, they could not decide among themselves which police precinct had jurisdiction. They were gawking at us.

And then someone tore up a bed sheet that I used to help my friend cover up. We kept waiting for an ambulance which never came. More than myself, I was concerned about my friend who was bleeding profusely. And then I carried her and put her into the police van.

Instead of taking her to a hospital nearby, they took her to (INAUDIBLE) hospital. We need change in every area. Firstly, what I faced that day when I was lying by the road, covered in blood, injured with a below from a rod, I couldn't even stand, I didn't have clothes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: The Indian Bar Association reportedly said that none of the members want to represent the suspects, so the court is expected to assign a defense attorney. A police source tells the "Reuters" news service the victim bit some of the suspects and the bite marks will be used as evidence.

Well, could Lance Armstrong be ready to come clean. A report suggests the disgraced cyclist could take a step that would have once been unthinkable.

The photo goes viral of an infant at a moment of birth, reaching out from the womb.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, published reports say Lance Armstrong maybe getting ready to come clean. "The New York Times" reports Armstrong is thinking about opening up about his link to performance-enhancing drugs. The reported reason, he hopes to restore his athletic eligibility.

Earlier today on CNN, the editor of "Bicycling Magazine" said an Armstrong confession would be a very big deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER FLAX, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BICYCLING MAGAZINE (via telephone): My sources indicate that Armstrong and some of his representatives have been reaching out to people at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, at the U.S. Justice Department and some of the individuals that might have financial claims against him and he is really seeing if he can negotiate a situation where he could make a confession. And if that happened, even though, I have known the accusations to be true for a couple of years, it would be shocking thing to finally see him come out and make that admission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: CNN Sports has been in contact with Lance Armstrong's attorney about these reports and Mark McKay joins me with details on what the attorney is saying about all of this.

So, is there an admission possibly?

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS: I think possibly right now. Tim Herman is the attorney, Deborah, for Lance Armstrong. He is based in Austin, Texas. He has said in an e-mail to CNN, that there are no current discussions under way with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency or World Anti- Doping Agency officials.

But "The New York Times" citing unnamed sources do say that Armstrong is considering doing this -- you mentioned to restore eligibility as an athlete. Not necessarily as a cyclist. He wants to compete in triathlons and running events.

He is no longer cycling anymore, but he wants to compete in those events. But they are ruled by the World Anti-Doping Code, which has upheld that ban, and, of course, which led to seven Tour de France titles being stripped back after that damning report by the U.S. Anti- Doping Agency that really did outline that Lance indeed was part of this.

FEYERICK: What's so interesting is I remember when he ran the New York City marathon, he didn't do great, he didn't do bad -- I shouldn't talk. But he didn't do -- he did pretty well.

But the thing is, you know, Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. He was banned from cycling last October after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency presented evidence that he had orchestrated really want amounts to a sophisticated cover-up.

Could it just be too much for Armstrong? I mean, if he says yes, I doped. Then it could potentially be over. This is a pretty risky move.

MCKAY: It could be over, and there's also legal mine fields along the way, Deborah. I think there's been a lot of pressure from associates, not only with the Livestrong organization, but close to him saying, you know, maybe with all of these evidence against you, you should come out.

So, as of now, according to that "New York Times" article, that he is in discussion, at least thinking about coming clean, which would be a big deal, because over a decade he has said he never failed a doping test, which is true. But the evidence was against him back in October when the USADA came out with that damning report.

FEYERICK: So, is there an element of the phoenix rising from the ashes that if he does this he can regain sort of some status as an athlete by competing in triathlons and maybe show the world that he is still worthy of being acknowledged as an athlete?

MCKAY: I think when it came down, you know, there's two thoughts when it came to the court of public opinion. That people liked Lance Armstrong for what he did for cancer research, being a cancer survivor, and the millions the dollars for the Livestrong organization that he raised.

On the other hand, perhaps they didn't believe the fact that he would come out and say, with all the evidence against him that he has never doped as a cyclist.

So, it's really split in a lot of ways already going in because of what he did on the cancer side and then what he has allegedly done as a cyclist, which we'll see in the coming days, weeks, months. Who knows if this will ever come down? There's a long way to go.

FEYERICK: So, and such a disappointment to all of his fans. If he just come out and say, so many people had faith in Lance Armstrong that maybe, maybe everyone else got it wrong.

MCKAY: You're right.

FEYERICK: All right. Mark McKay, thanks so much. Really appreciate it as always.

Well, an unforgettable moment during a baby's birth captures the imagination of the Internet. The story behind the photo that went viral. Look at those little baby's hands. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Three thousand people die every year of foodborne illnesses and 120,000 are hospitalized. Now, the FDA wants to create new rules to protect Americans from illnesses like salmonella, listeria and E. coli. The rules would raise standards for growing, packaging food here and abroad. The FDA also wants tougher standards for food companies.

Well, if you've ever had to undergo surgery, no doubt you went in hoping that it would go smoothly. But what if you had the entirely wrong procedure performed? It happens way more often than you think.

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has a special airing tonight of 25 shocking medical mistakes.

Elizabeth, this is so upsetting to say the very least.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is upsetting. I mean, you go to have surgery to get better and millions of people die or are injured because of the surgery. And people don't know this because sometimes it's just attributed to, "oh, well, things did not go well," but they do not attribute it to the surgery.

And so, there's a new report that just came out from Johns Hopkins about the number of people who have this happen to them.

So, let's take a look at them, because the numbers are really, if your eyes are not popping already, it will make --

FEYERICK: Yes, I will be rethinking any surgery.

COHEN: Yes. Unless it's necessary, it means you've got to have it.

But wrong procedure, that happens to 20 patients per week. And what we mean by wrong procedure is that you go in for a typhlectomy (ph) and they gave an appendectomy instead because that was the guy who was coming in next and they mixed up the charts.

Same number of patients get surgery done on the wrong place in their body. In other words, for example, you go in for a right knee replacement and they replace your left knee.

And even more patients, 39 patients, this is every week in the United States, get a surgical tool left in their body.

FEYERICK: You know, I have to say, it is a little bit discouraging. I mean, how -- it sounds like these mistakes are kind of easily fixable actually.

COHEN: Right.

FEYERICK: Just by even, you know, taking a scanner and scanning a bracelet and scanning a chart to make sure it's the right person and the right -- or even drawing right and left. I remember when I my knee surgery, I had to put a big R.

COHEN: Exactly. Where you can have the surgeon put his initials. That's another way of doing it.

FEYERICK: Yes.

COHEN: Right. That is what's so frustrating to safety advocates. They're like, some of these are so easy or for example, when it comes to counting, let's say sponges that go into a patient. You're supposed to count, five went in, five should come out. And we actually, one of the authors of the study, Dr. Peter Pronovost, he explains how things left in the body, because it sounds like how could that happen.

So, let's take a listen to how he explains it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PETER PRONOVOST, PATIENT SAFETY EXPERT: There's often blood. There's tissue. It's very difficult to see. And sometimes sponges are tucked under an organ inside you that they're not in clear view, but they are soaking up some fluid or blood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So you see how it can happen, right? And the nurse forgets to keep the count and you're in trouble.

FEYERICK: And what ultimately happens to somebody -- for example, the sponge is left in the body. Do they recognize it pretty quickly and have to back in to have it remove it? There must be sort of fix surgeries basically.

COHEN: Right. Sometimes it is recognized quickly and they realized they've done it.

Other times, it's not and the patient develops a fever, and they start looking around and checking the patient out, and how could this happen? And they think, wow, maybe we left something in there and then they have to go back in.

FEYERICK: That is -- that's a little bit discouraging of course because surgery is traumatic to begin with.

The countdown tonight, what is the number one thing that happens?

COHEN: You know, I can't tell you what it is. I should not say I can't, I don't want to tell you what it is because we want people to watch all 25 so that they can learn how to avoid these mistakes.

But I will tell you that number one is avoidable and extremely painful and devastating.

FEYERICK: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, that's going to be a great special. We can't wait to watch it. Thank you so much for being here.

COHEN: Thanks.

FEYERICK: This is great work.

You can watch Elizabeth Cohen's special, "The Empowered Patient: 25 Shocking Medical Mistakes," tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, here on CNN. So, join us. We'll be watching too.

Now to an extremely moving image that captures the miracle of life. A man in Arizona snapped a photo as his wife was giving birth by a C- section. The photo has now gone viral on the web and we can clearly see why. It is nothing short of amazing.

Jason Volentine of KTVK brings us the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON VOLENTINE, KTVK REPORTER (voice-over): It's hauntingly beautiful. Unborn Nevaeh Atkins reaches out of her mother's womb and holds the finger of the doctor performing her C-section delivery.

ALICIA ATKINS, MOTHER: He showed it to me and I was like, that is amazing. VOLENTINE: Few lives will be as well-documented as little Nevaeh. Her mother is a professional photographer. However, it was her dad Randy who snapped the pic.

RANDY ATKINS, NEVAEH'S FATHER: The doctor called me over and said, hey, she is grabbing my finger, so I ran over there and just grabbed the shot. I was in awe, you know, looking at it. It was such an amazing picture.

VOLENTINE (on camera): How nervous were you that you were going to miss it?

RANDY ATKINS: Very nervous.

VOLENTINE (voice-over): Alicia gave her doctor a canvas print of the photo.

ALICIA ATKINS: The doctor knew it was an amazing photo right away. That is all he could talk about for weeks.

VOLENTINE: And after 1,000 likes on Facebook, she's even gotten a few offers to buy the picture.

ALICIA ATKINS: A couple of them have said that they would love to have the photo for like their organization for -- against abortion.

VOLENTINE: Obviously, Nevaeh is the newest member to join the family of five. Although there's friendly disagreement on future growth --

(on camera): There will be more?

RANDY ATKINS: No more.

ALICIA ATKINS: I say one more. I say one more.

VOLENTINE (voice-over): No matter how many other kids follow, this picture of Nevaeh, they will cherish forever.

RANDY ATKINS: Miracle of life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And in case you're wondering Nevaeh is heaven spelled backwards.

Well, an heir to one of Italy's most important fashion families, he is missing. The search is on after a private plane carrying Vittorio Missoni vanishes off the coast of Venezuela.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: A plane carrying a fashion mogul Vittorio Missoni is missing off the coast of Venezuela. Missoni and his wife were among six people on the aircraft when it took from an island north of Caracas Friday morning.

CNN's Alina Cho gives us a sense of how big a name this is in the fashion industry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): It's very big. In fact, there are few names bigger than Missoni. It was a company that was founded in 1953, really an iconic label, built on knit-wear, bold colors and patterns. You are talking about sweaters essentially that were made into dresses and gowns and blouses and pants, even swimsuits -- really, was a very, very hot brand for quite some time.

In recent years, I would say not so much so, but last year as you mentioned, Missoni did a collaboration with Target which sold out immediately. I would venture to guess that it is the most successful Target designer collaboration to date.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And the search for Missoni's plane continues.

The 58-year-old Missoni runs the fashion house with his siblings. He's worked with celebrity clients including Katie Holmes, Cameron Diaz and Nicole Richie.

Editor-in-chief of "W Magazine", Stefano Tonchi, says the Missoni brand is a crucial part of the Italian fashion world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEFANO TONCHI, W MAGAZINE (via telephone): One of the first big export of Italian fashion, you know, and Missoni, we like the Fendi, the Ferragamo and the Gucci are really some of the names that made history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: We will keep you posted on any new developments in the search for Vittorio Missoni.

We are coming up on half past the hour. Let's take a look at the headlines:

Amid allegations of a cover-up and intense social media pressure, leaders in Steubenville, Ohio, are speaking out. They've launched a Web site promising to keep the community updated and provide transparency on the very public case involving two members of the high school football team.

Two 16-year-old players are charged with sexually assaulting a 16- year-old girl last summer. The alleged attack took place at several parties over the course of a night.

Protesters rallied today to support the alleged victim and also to protest the town's handling of the case.

The Steubenville Web site makes clear it is, quote, "not designed to be a forum for how the juvenile court ought to rule in this matter." Aurora, Colorado, facing a new tragedy tonight. A barricaded gunman and three other people are dead after an early morning standoff. After hours of negotiations, police say the suspect opened fire on officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. CASSIDEE CARLSON, AURORA POLICE DEPARTMENT: A SWAT team was called out. They set up. Hostage negotiators try to get the suspect to come outside. We made multiple attempts, had phone intermittent phone conversations with the suspect throughout the morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Officers shot and killed the gunman and found two men and a woman dead inside the house. A woman had escaped earlier, she told police she'd seen lifeless bodies inside. Aurora is the same Denver suburb where a mass shooting occurred at a movie theater over the summer.

Pro British protests erupted again today in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After several nights of violent protests. The riots were sparked by a city council vote to stop flying the union flag year round. Tensions between the Catholic and Protestant communities have been high for months. Police say rioters threw gasoline bombs along with ball bearings and rocks.

Venezuelans rally today for their ailing president, Hugo Chavez. Chavez has had four cancer operations and his health is fragile. The country's vice president says the next health update on the president will come in a few days. Chavez is supposed to be inaugurated for a new term next week.

Could the damage caused by superstorm Sandy lead to some criminals escaping justice. That is the fear in New York where the storm's impact could be worse than anyone imagined.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Superstorm Sandy did not just disrupt millions of people's lives, now it now threatens criminal cases in the New York City court system. It seems important police evidence has been stranded in a damaged warehouse. Here is CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This flood damage warehouse right on New York harbor, can actually clog the city's over flowing criminal system for years to come. It sits in an area of Brooklyn devastated by superstorm Sandy. Inside it, there are thousands of pieces of police evidence ranging from DNA to narcotics to guns that right now can't be touched.

RAYMOND KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: Significant flooding has taken place. No question about it, we are still trying to sort through this t and you know, assess the total damage. It's - it's a big job.

SNOW: That was back in November. The police department says it still has not been able to get into this facility and a second one because sewage contamination has made them unsafe.

The trials can't wait. CNN's legal contributor Paul Callan is a former prosecutor.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: It could be a major problem, if evidence that has been damaged is critical to proving a case.

SNOW (on camera): The NYPD said so far there have been six criminal cases where police have said there is evidence but it's not accessible.

(voice-over): Those cases have not been dismissed. In cases involving DNA and narcotics, prosecutors rely on results from tests that are done on smaller samples of the evidence. Police say those results are kept at a different facility that was not compromised by the storm.

(on camera): What about cases where there's let's say blood evidence, where the physical evidence is in that warehouse, but the test results are in a different location?

CALLAN: You would have the issue of is there enough for the defense to fairly test the sample to determine whether it's the defendant's blood or not? So it would not necessarily be fatal to a case, but you know, in criminal cases beyond a reasonable doubt is a very, very high standard of proof. And if you eliminate the physical evidence, you can put a serious dent in the prosecutor's case.

SNOW (voice-over): The NYPD has consulted with its counterparts in New Orleans where evidence and records were destroyed following Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Police Department said, that one key difference is that flood waters remain at the New Orleans courthouse for weeks where evidence was destroyed and they had the job of cataloging evidence that could be salvaged.

DEPUTY CHIEF KIRK BOUYELAS, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: It took years. It's not something that could easily be done in New York, you are looking at facilities that are much more vast than what we had near New Orleans. So, that compounds it even more.

SNOW (on camera): New York's Police Department said that it expects to get into the evidence warehouses in the coming weeks to assess the extent of the damage. But already, the chief attorney for New York's legal aid society is bracing for serious repercussions. He knows there are more than 200,000 criminal cases in New York City every year.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And flood victims in the northeast are still waiting for the bulk of the aid promise by Washington. Congress passed a bill yesterday containing only a fraction of the relief for superstorm Sandy victims. That money $9 billion will cover flood insurance claims and the rest of the relief, another 51 billion that includes help for small businesses will not come up for a vote until January 15th. GOP leaders said it contains a lot of spending that has nothing to do with the storm.

And believe it or not, hurricane season does not end until the start of December. But normally we feel we are in the clear when October rolls around. Key word, normally. Normally we do not get hit by hurricanes two days before Halloween. As in last October 29th, the day superstorm Sandy slammed the northeast coast, causing billions of dollars in damage. So, what can we do to prepare for when the next big one hits? Well, tomorrow night, CNN presents "The Coming Storms."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Living near the ocean, there's always that chance that, you know, the ocean will come, you know, take away everything that you got. But never did I imagine that this was going to happen to me and my family and my community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even now, given all that has happened to him and his family, it's still hard for Nick Camarata (ph) to understand it all. He has lived here along the shores off Staten Island for two decades with his wife and four boys. Back in 2011, Camarata (ph) survived Hurricane Irene, so he paid close attention to report of another potential hurricane headed his way in late October.

CHAD MEYERS, CNN SERVICE WEATHER EXPERT: It's been a very fickle storm, but it will be sucked in here into the northeast somewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were all hoping that the storm was going to blow more towards the south and not come from the north.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A few mimes away at Columbia University, climate scientist Adam Sobel was keeping an eye on Sandy as well.

ADAM SOBEL, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: At the beginning it was just wow, look at that, that would be a big deal if that happened. But you know, a week ahead of time, we do not take it that seriously.

MEYERS: It's still four days away. This could have a significantly bigger impact on New York City, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey than Irene did last year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As Sandy moved north, it merged with a winter storm. Creating a superstorm, double the size of a normal hurricane.

MEYERS: The one part storm that was on land, was combining with the hurricane that was offshore. As they combined, it was almost one plus one equals 2-1/2.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many in Sandy's path evacuated. Nick Camarata (ph) did not. CAMARATA: At about 6:00 the tide should be way out. I walked down the block. And I started to see water coming on to Cedar Grove and I started yelling and banging on doors. For everybody to get out of their houses because this is going to be a storm of disasters magnitude.

SOBEL: I was as a scientist fascinated but as a citizen of this city as time went on, I started to feel more and more actual fear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well higher temperatures, rising seas, are we ready for what mother nature has in store? CNN presents "The Coming Storms" tomorrow night, 8:00 Eastern, and Pacific.

The CNN I-reporters have the mic interviewing the stars of the movie "Django," Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson answering your questions next.

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FEYERICK: A remake of the '60s movie "Django" is raking in millions at the box office. Quentin Tarantino retools this giddy western into a story about a bounty hunter teaming up with Jamie Foxx's character, a slave trying to find his missing wife. In tonight's i-report interview, co-star Samuel L. Jackson said it all started with a simple phone call.

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SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: That is exactly how it happens. My phone rings and I pick it up, and "Hey man. Quentin, what's up? Got a script." And we go from there. Hi, I'm Samuel L. Jackson.

JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: Hi, I'm Denzel Washington.

KERRY WASHINGTON, ACTRESS: I'm Kerry Washington.

QUENTIN TARANTINO, DIRECTOR: Hi. This is Quentin Tarantino, and I'm answering your i-report question.

ANDY CLINTON, I-REPORTER: It's widely known that "Django Unchained" is a western. It's being re-made in the American south during slavery. What I want to know is what were your particular challenges in bringing such an establish genre into such unchartered territory?

TARANTINO: That is a really good question actually. I did not think of it in terms of challenges but I did think of it in terms of kind of excitement for the viewer to watch. I use a western format to tell a story but then we gradually move to the south.

And then, we are still kind of telling our western story but now it has a different backdrop going on and now these are different images and different economic images that you have never seen in a western before, even though I'm still trying to evoke them at the same time, and I just thought that would be exciting. You know, to offer you a different visual. Or to offer you something like you have not seen before.

WASHINGTON: This is amazing.

Are you ready?

FOXX: I'm ready.

WASHINGTON: OK. We have two more.

TIBOR KOMOREGGY, I-REPORTER: How could you identify yourself with the characters? And what kind of instruction did Quentin Tarantino give you?

FOXX: I know that we just felt the love between my character, "Django" and Broomhilda is what was necessary to sort of be the spine of the movie. So that with all the chaos, and all the craziness, our journey was to get back to each other.

WASHINGTON: He is really all about character, he really wants you to focus on making the character real. Because you have to feel like there's nothing more important for Django than to be with his wife, and that is what inspires him to go into the depths of hell to find her. So Quentin was really supportive of us kind of nurturing that love story.

JACKSON: My character's name is Steven. He is in charge of running the Calvin Candy household and the plantation, and Quentin just told me to just be black. Oh, Stephanie Ballard, I know her.

STEPHANIE BALLARD, I-REPORTER: In what special ways do you prepare for a role that has historical context?

JACKSON: Well, I did not have to learn a lot about slavery. I spent a lot of time, you know, when I was a kid reading about it. I grew up in the south and I know a lot about it. I just wanted to be honest to the times and find a way to have a character relate to the other characters in the film, you know, verbally and ideological way of not being as educated as I am now.

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FEYERICK: CNN I-report interviews air each Saturday at this time. To submit a question for our next celebrity, go to CNN.com/ interview. It's also where you can watch previous I-report interviews.

Gun control advocates in Congress believe this is their moment to pass new gun laws. It's easier said than done, even in the wake of a string of deadly tragedies across the nation.

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FEYERICK: The fiscal cliff deal is not going over real well with the majority of Americans. A new poll finds more disapprove than approve of the deal. Gallup found 43 percent say it's OK, and 45 percent do not agree and 12 percent had no opinion. Along party lines 2/3 of Democrats gave their OK to the compromised bill which among many other things taxes the wealthier at higher rates. But almost two-thirds of Republicans are unhappy over the fiscal cliff deal. Gallup also found that none of the political leaders involved in a showdown got a favorable rating with House Speaker John Boehner scoring the worst.

President Obama will be headed back to Washington from Hawaii late tonight. He's expected to be greeted by Capitol Hill confrontations over the debt ceiling which are expected to get as intense as the fiscal cliff showdown. The debt ceiling is the legal limit on the nation's borrowing. In his weekly address, the president says he's taking a hard line on the issue.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they have already racked up. If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic.

The last time Congress threatened this course of action, our entire economy suffered for it. Our families and our businesses can not afford that dangerous game again.

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FEYERICK: On the first day of the new Congress, lawmakers introduced nearly a dozen bills related to gun violence. They come in the wake of the Connecticut school shooting and promises from President Obama to take concrete action to prevent a repeat tragedy. But big political obstacles remain. CNN's Athena Jones explains.

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ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As students at Sandy Hook Elementary return to class, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, nearly killed in a mass shooting two years ago, visited Newtown, Connecticut. And on Capitol Hill, lawmakers arrived to begin a new session of Congress, with members in both chambers taking aim at guns.

SEN. DIANE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: This is a fight that the American people are going to have to stand up and stiffen their spine.

JONES: California democratic Senator Diane Feinstein plans to introduce a bill to ban more than 100 assault weapons. Eight years after the old ban she championed expired. Another Senate bill would ban high-capacity magazines. And among nearly a dozen gun bills introduced on day one in the House are efforts to ban online sales of ammunition, and to require background checks for all firearm sales, including at gun shows. Two bills from freshmen Republican congressmen would allow more guns around schools, echoing the position of the National Rifle Association.

WAYNE LAPIERRE, NRA: The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are better than 32 more gun murders every day.

JONES: Pro gun control groups plan to keep pressing for action. But what are the prospects for their success?

JOHN GRAMLICH, CQ ROLL CALL: If you're talking about stuff around the edges, like maybe banning high-capacity ammunition magazines, that might be possible.

The NRA is the big issue, but I wouldn't say it's necessarily on the Republican side only. It's on the democratic side also. You have fully half of your new Senate has an either A-plus, A or A-minus rating from the NRA. So if you want anything to happen on gun control, you're going to have at least half of the Senate upsetting the NRA. So that's a very difficult proposition.

FEINSTEIN: There is no more uphill fight than this. The question is, do we fight or do we knuckle under?

JONES (on camera): President Obama says he wants action on gun legislation this year. He has asked Vice president Biden to lead a task force to come up with recommendations on gun policy. They're expected this month.

Athena Jones, CNN Washington.

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FEYERICK: Photoshopping a picture of democratic congresswoman. Yes, it happened. House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi was left to explain why. Here's the picture in question, all right. Look at the one on the right and the one on the left. You'll see that up at the very top there, four congressmen were added after the fact because they couldn't be there for the original photo. The others, they got tired of waiting in the cold, so they just took the picture and decided to add in the no-shows later. That group of four. OK, that's what happens.

Well, ahead, winter is a season that always keeps emergency responders busy. Especially when they live anywhere near a large stretch of ice.

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FEYERICK: An American Airlines pilot has been suspended for allegedly being drunk right before takeoff. TSA agents in Minneapolis said they smelled alcohol on the pilot. The 48-year-old man was on the plane yesterday wrapping up his preflight when officers gave him a breathalyzer test. He allegedly failed the test and police arrested him.

On another plane, a man who got disruptive on a flight from Iceland to New York eventually found out he was messing with the wrong passengers and crew. They used duct tape and zip ties to keep him from talking or moving. Iceland Air said it can't vouch for the photo but a spokesperson confirms that a passenger had to be restrained after hitting, screaming and spitting at other people on the flight. A fellow passenger who posted the picture on line said the man, "drank all of his duty free liquor during the flight." He was arrested after the plane landed. He has not been charged.

Well, a deer got stuck on an ice-covered lake and a deer got scared when rescue crews approached. It's just one of several amazing icy rescues this week.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A deer stranded in the middle of an ice over Massachusetts Lake is saved by rescuers who struggled to calm it down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to make sure while the deer is flailing around that they don't get hurt. But very dangerous still because you're dealing - you've got to think, you're still dealing with a wild animal here who's very, very strong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crews subdued the deer, hauling it back to dry land.

Two Arizona teenagers, desperately held on to a tree after a frozen lake started to crack. A third boy called for help. Hours later, rescuers used a boat to get the boys out of the bone-chilling cold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're very sorry for making you come out to do this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I can speak for the three of us when I say we promise never to do that again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A scared dog in Missouri runs out on to the ice then falls right through it. A firefighter on hid first day with the department saved the German Shepherd mix.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was actually kind of coming towards me. I think he knew what I was out there to do. I just threw him in a little basket we had. And I pulled him in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shivering but alive, the dog was treated with oxygen and an IV.

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FEYERICK: Wow. Pretty incredible and really incredible rescues.

Coming up at 10:00 p.m., Don Lemon spoke with actor, William Shatner. And you'll hear a twist on an infamous story told for years. Shatner talks about that story where after a bad motorcycle accident in the desert, he got some unusual help.

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WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: I thought I saw a guy on a bike leading the way. And I followed that guy who was green and had a helmet on. And he led me out of the desert. Now everything I just told you is a story. And I've told that story - DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not real?

SHATNER: Not at all.

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FEYERICK: We'll see more of Don's interview tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Well, I'm Deb Feyerick, at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern as CNN special report, we're going to go in depth into the alleged rape of a 16- year-old girl and the two high school players who are accused of being at the center of it. Right now, a CNN special report begins on "25 SHOCKING MEDICAL MISTAKES." Stay with us.