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CNN NEWSROOM

Shooting on Las Vegas Boulevard; Massive Storm Hits 18 States; Report: New Detective on Pistorius Case; NRA Buys Full Page Ad; Ted Cruz Speaks His Mind

Aired February 21, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we want to get right to Las Vegas and the breaking news happening there right now. Las Vegas Boulevard remains shut down after a rolling shootout right down the Vegas strip. It apparently involved a Maserati and another car, two people inside shooting at one another. There was an ensuing crash, the local affiliate there KLAS reporting three people are dead.

Let's listen to their chopper reporter.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

MALE REPORTER: -- was shot and killed here in the rolling shootout on Las Vegas Boulevard at Flamingo. A passenger survived and was injured and involving this accident. But it makes a lot more sense here because I was trying to piece together a little bit of this accident just looking at my vantage chopper. And we noticed that the passenger side window was not busted out, but the driver's side window is completely missing.

So that was one of the clues right there that was making me wonder how the passenger would have been killed, but it was the driver. Obviously two other people were killed in the taxi cab where there's little left after it exploded at the Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard.

The area, of course, that we've been mentioning, two more vehicles there, that's total of six vehicles that were smashed into involving this crash and we'll continue to follow this throughout the morning hours and obviously Las Vegas Boulevard will be sealed off for most of the day. Back to you.

(END LIVE FEED)

COSTELLO: Apparently this took place or ended right near Ballies, across the street from the Bellagio. It started at another casino and those two drivers drove down the street shooting at one another.

You heard the chopper reporter explained what ensued death and destruction and a taxi catching on fire exploding into flames. Of course, we'll much more on this story as the day progresses here on CNN.

Let's talk about the weather now, extreme weather now affecting as many as 60 million Americans. People across the country are waking up to things in Kansas today. This is live picture from Kansas City as a news crew drives around town, 800,000 square miles and 18 states under severe weather watches or warnings.

In some parts of California, cars crashing into one another. The storm causing quite the traffic nightmare. Some places in California could get a thick layer of ice build up, making the roads even more dangerous.

Just look at how big the storm is, several states will get 12 and 18 inches, in the southeast expecting 2 it and 16 inches of rain, possible flooding and there's a chance of hail and tornadoes. Erin McPike is in Wichita where the snow is still piling up.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. You know, some people in Kansas are calling this the "Blizzard of Oz" because this kind of snowfall is really not typical in this state. The snow that we're going to see today between 10 and 18 inches is in some cases more than Kansas would get in a typical year.

So we think that this might be one of the top three snowfalls in recorded history in Kansas. Let me show you how much we've got so far. We have this handy ruler here. Sticking it down and looking at 8 inches so far. But in other parts of the state they're going to see 17 inches, 18 inches.

Because people are not used to this kind of snow, we saw a sports car out on the road earlier. We're going to show that. If you want your wheels to get stuck, take a sports car out, but not really a good idea.

The other thing we to want show you, Carol, is that earlier this morning when the snow is really coming down. It's called a thunder snow, which means thunder and lightning all throughout the morning, which really was kind of weird to wake up to this morning.

I think you got that there. But, carol, the governor here, Sam Brownback is saying he wants people to stay of the roads because it is pretty dangerous here. So we do have a state of emergency in Kansas -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It's so weird to hear thunder when it snows. Erin, thank you very much. Erin reporting live from Wichita, Kansas this morning.

Now to two bomb shells in the Oscar Pistorius case. First, another night in jail for Pistorius. The Olympic family left dejected by the news. Just before adjourning, the judge announced no ruling today on Pistorius' failed request. That means we'll have a fourth day of hearings tomorrow with a possible decision then.

Now today's second major development centers around the lead investigator in the Pistorius case. He has now been replaced because the investigator originally assigned to the case was actually accused of attempted murder. Here's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even before the court begins, a bomb shell. South African police announce that the lead investigator faces seven counts of attempted murder himself. It stems from an incident when he and other officer allegedly fired shots at a van with seven people and charged with using firearms under the influence of alcohol.

The charges were dropped, but reinstated days before the Pistorius case broke out. In the hot, stuffy courtroom, the judge ordered him to appear asking him, did you request records from Reeva Steenkamp's cell phone? Did she receive text messages between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.

His response? I don't know. When final arguments got underway, the defense insisted the evidence shows Oscar Pistorius did not commit murder, saying if Pistorius really wanted to kill his girlfriend he would have done it in the bedroom.

That her empty bladder is consistent with someone getting up and going to the restroom in the middle of the night, they say that Steenkamp probably locked the door frantically as she heard him shouting at a burglar.

And insists that he carried her down stairs to take her to the hospital desperate to save her life. The defense argues for a lesser charge and that Oscar Pistorius should be allowed to stay out on bail. Nic Robertson, CNN, Pretoria, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we are going to take you live to South Africa a little later this hour because a piece of this case, this other bomb shell news that the lead investigator in the Oscar Pistorius case has been replaced because the original investigator, it turns out, has been accused of attempted murder.

Again, we'll take you live to South Africa for more. Reeva Steenkamp's family says the entire ordeal has been surreal. Her cousin telling Piers Morgan how mothering Reeva was to everyone in her life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM MARTIN, REEVA STEENKAMP'S COUSIN: Reeva was -- she was exceptional. I mean, you've heard in the media what an amazing person she was, but she really was. From a young age there was something magical about her. She had a kind, nurturing soul and doesn't matter if you were 20 years older or younger, you always felt she was mothering you and looking after you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Her half brother Adam told Jake Tapper they never heard anything about the relationship with Oscar and by all accounts Reeva seemed really happy.

Vice President Joe Biden visits Connecticut today as he pushes the white house' now agenda to curb gun violence. A conference just got underway about 12 miles from Newtown. The first panel features the parents of a girl killed at the school. The NRA is also moving forward. Today, newspapers in five states printed full-page ads from the NRA similar to this one. It calls for voters to reach out to Democratic lawmakers facing tough re-election battles, pushing them to oppose Obama's gun control policies. It's tripling it is campaign to air a web video on news sites.

Search over in Kansas City, Missouri after an explosion and new video shows us as it exploded. We'll have more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Our new "Talk Back" show just about 20 minutes away. We're asking three hot topics making headlines this morning. One of today's topics is based on a new ad that features prominent Republicans promoting same sex marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allowing them to live together with the protection of law seems to me is the way we should be moving in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom is freedom for everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Laura Bush, part of that ad, she pulled out, says she wants no part of it. We'll talk about why and also ask: Are gay rights the same as civil rights? Facebook.com/CarolCNN, or tweet me @CarolCNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is a busy morning here at CNN. Breaking news out of South Africa, and it pertains to the Oscar Pistorius case. Apparently the lead investigator has been replaced because the investigator assigned to the case has been charged with attempted murder.

Let's head to South Africa and check in with Robyn Curnow. This is mind boggling. Why wasn't he suspended?

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm sorry, I'm laughing, but it is, isn't it? I mean, it just gets more and more absurd as the case goes on because it is every twist and turn is a television drama. In the last, few hours we heard the investigator who appeared before the court yesterday was charged with seven counts of attempted murder, apparently for a drunken incident where he shot into a mini bus taxi full of people along with a few other police officers.

Now in the courtroom today, the prosecutors say, listen, we don't know, and the investigator didn't know that this case had been reopened, essentially. So some confusion as to what knew what and when, but the South Africans acting quiet swiftly.

He's been replaced, pulled off the Oscar Pistorius case and been replaced with the man who heads up all of South Africa's detectives. They're concerned about credibility or any impact on the case. So, but still, very, very bizarre twist, isn't it?

COSTELLO: It's mind boggling. And you have to wonder how this will affect the overall case, because you told us yesterday that investigators were in trouble for not covering their feet when they walked into the house and may have destroyed evidence.

CURNOW: Absolutely. And I think that's why the state has moved so quickly to remove this man who was making these contradictory statements and he didn't find any inconsistencies in Oscar Pistorius' case. That's not what the state prosecutor thinks because I've been in court all day today.

It was fascinating. I was actually glued to my wooden seat. And what was fascinating was in the last sort of hour or so, the state prosecutor really ham hammered his statement, his affidavit from yesterday, pointing out inconsistency after inconsistency. He kept saying it doesn't make sense.

Here's an example, he talked about the position of a gun and two cell phones left on a bathroom mat at the crime scene. He said that Oscar Pistorius says that Reeva got up in the middle of the night, if that's the case, why did she take her cell phone?

He said he shot from outside the bathroom, if that was the case, why were the gun cartridges inside bathroom? He didn't realize Reeva wasn't in her bed, but according to his version. He would have had to have walked past her side of the bed twice and why didn't he notice her not there?

Also, the gun holster was found on her side of the bed, on the left- hand side of the bed. Just this one night Oscar Pistorius said he slept on that side of the bed. He kept on digging with the inconsistencies.

But basically the prosecutor saying Oscar Pistorius showed a total lack of insight and realization of what he had done. And I must say that Oscar and his family looked pretty somber at the end of that one.

COSTELLO: OK, so no decision on bail today, maybe tomorrow. Robyn Curnow reporting live from South Africa.

Shocking video shows two little girls brawling, pulling hair, slapping. The worst part, it sounds like adults are encouraging them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It's 17 minutes past the hour. He is everything the Tea Party could want in a senator. Ted Cruz is outspoken. He is aggressive. He's not just challenging Democrats. He's also bucking the GOP establishment and he's only been in office for a few weeks.

CNN chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It had the look and feel of a campaign event, except freshman GOP Senator Ted Cruz isn't up for re-election for six years. These Texans are applauding his head turning performance after only one month in office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Cruz, no.

BASH: Joining only two others to vote against John Kerry for Secretary of State, aggressively defending gun rights and trying to take down Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: Have you been paid by a foreign government?

BASH (on camera): I've covered the Senate for a long time. It is unusual for a freshman to be this outspoken on a high profile issue.

CRUZ: At the end of the day, I was elected to represent 26 million Texans and to speak the truth. You know, I think a lot of Americans are tired of politicians in Washington in both parties who play games.

BASH (voice-over): The 42-year-old Cuban-American, the first Hispanic senator from Texas, studied free market principles and memorized the constitution as a teenager thanks to his father, a Cuban refugee.

After Princeton and Harvard Law, Cruz became solicitor general of Texas, arguing for state rights and religious freedom before the U.S. Supreme Court. Tea Party activist bucked the GOP establishment to help elect Cruz. And now see their hard paying off.

BRENDAN STEINHAUSER, TEXAS TEA PARTY ACTIVIST: He's the total package. He's a great messenger for ideas. He is a true believer and he's a guy that you never have to wonder about how he's going to vote.

BASH: Conservatives here in Texas who fueled Cruz's come from behind may be ecstatic he's so aggressive so fast, but for some senior Republican senators, not so much.

(on camera): What are guiding principles of the Senate for a freshman senator is come in and be a workhorse, not a show horse. You don't seem to be following that.

CRUZ: The attention that has focused on me, in my opinion is actually primarily being driven by an effort to distract from merits of the Hagel nomination.

BASH (voice-over): Cruz angered senators in both parties, demanding to know without evidence if Hagel accepted money for speeches from foreign countries that oppose U.S. interests.

CRUZ: If that $200,000 in his bank account came directly from Saudi Arabia, from North Korea.

BASH: That got him a smackdown from Republican John McCain.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: No one on this committee at any time should impugn his SEN. or his integrity, from Democrats, suggestions of McCarnyism. SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: It was reminiscent of some bad times.

CRUZ: I do find it ironic in the course of attacking me and using a label line mccarthyism. They chide me for not respecting comedy.

BASH: It's clear Cruz did not run for Senate to make friends.

CRUZ: I find it amusing that those in Washington are puzzled when someone actually does what they said they would do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Dana Bash joins us live from Washington. You got to admit, he has a point there.

BASH: He does have a point and that's why he has so much support, even more so from the people who got him there. But here in Washington, the buzz on cruise in the Senate hallways, even among fellow Republicans, how can I put this diplomatically, he's well aware of his intellect.

One GOP senator said even in a place of healthy egos, Cruz stands out. A supporter in Texas said maybe a little dose of humor and levity in the way he interacts and speaks could go a long way. But it is clear talking to him and watching him he is relishing the criticism from the so-called establishment.

COSTELLO: Dana Bash reporting live from Washington. Thanks so much.

When we come back, we're going to have more information about the terrible shooting on the Las Vegas strip. Two cars shooting at one another while driving down Las Vegas Boulevard. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right, on the breaking news out of Las Vegas, a rolling shootout right now Las Vegas Boulevard. Local affiliates reporting three people dead. They say it started in front of a casino. Two men in two cars shooting at one another while driving down the street.

Let's talk to someone who knows better, Jose Hernandez, he is the public information officer. Well at the Las Vegas police department. Thank you for being here.

JOSE HERNANDEZ, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE (via telephone): Thank you. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. I wish you were here on better circumstances. Tell us how this started.

HERNANDEZ: What we have right now is at 4:20 this morning two vehicles were northbound Las Vegas Boulevard at Flamingo when one of the vehicles, a black range rover fired shots into a Maserati striking the driver and the passenger of this vehicle. This caused the vehicle to go out of control, continues through the intersection, striking a cab which subsequently catches on fire and then striking four additional vehicles.

As a result, three of the -- three of those occupants of the vehicles were transported for injuries and the cab driver and the passenger were trapped inside the vehicle. At this time we have three confirmed deceased, two of those being the cab driver and the passenger, and the driver of the Maserati.

One of the occupants in the Maserati was wounded from the shots. Right now, what we're asking is that anyone that has information regarding this black range rover sport to contact the Las Vegas metropolitan police department.

It has large black rims and has some sort of dealership advertisement plate on it and occupied by what we believe is black males. Remember that this vehicle is armed and dangers. Anyone with information, please contact the Las Vegas Police Department.

COSTELLO: Can you give me the make of the car again?

HERNANDEZ: Yes, it's a black range rover sport.

COSTELLO: Range rover sport, I'm writing this down.

HERNANDEZ: With large black rims.

COSTELLO: Do you know why this started? Did it start in front of a casino and continue down the road?

HERNANDEZ: Right now the information we have as you can imagine is in the very preliminary stages. So this is the information we have right now. Apparently both vehicles were traveling northbound, may have come to a red light, and this is where the incident begins to escalate.

COSTELLO: So the shooting only came from the black range rover, not the Maserati.

HERNANDEZ: What we can tell right now at this time is that the shots were fired from the black range rover, yes.

COSTELLO: How busy -- you know, Las Vegas is a city that truly never sleeps, even at 4:20 in the morning. How many cars were on the road? Were there tourists walking up and down the street?

HERNANDEZ: Well, Las Vegas Boulevard is a very busy area here in Las Vegas. We have visitors from all over. You'll find pedestrians and traffic at pretty much any hour on the strip. It's a 24 h-hour town, so you'll always find someone out on the boulevard. So it's not uncommon to find traffic there at all times of the day.

COSTELLO: As you well know, we're talking about gun violence in the country. Is this unusual for Las Vegas? Do you have a problem with gun violence? HERNANDEZ: I would say this is unusual. We -- we work extremely -- extremely hard with our -- with all the property -- all the properties on Las Vegas boulevard, we have a great working relationship with them.

And, of course, our goal is to continue to keep Las Vegas, not just Las Vegas itself, but the strip, keep it safe. We know we have a lot of visitors that come visit us here in Las Vegas. That's our goal is to keep everyone safe. We have a great working relationship with everyone on the strip. So for us, this is unusual.

COSTELLO: And sadly, it took place in such a popular area, right near the Bellagio and the boulevard is shut down which is affecting tourists throughout the day because they won't be able to get to the casinos, or will they?

HERNANDEZ: Like I say, we have a very good working relationship with everyone on the strip, all the properties. And I know that we're going to be working very close with them to -- to help divert, whether it's the visitors or the employees that are -- that are coming to work.

COSTELLO: All right, and again, the police are still looking for this black range rover sport vehicle, large black rims, a number of black males inside that car. So if you see that car, and the car looks suspicion, call police because, of course, those men are obviously armed and dangerous.

Thank you so much, Jose Hernandez, public officer from Las Vegas Police Department.

Up next, our special "Talk Back" show: hot topics, hot conversation and, of course, your comments. The first is the shooting in Las Vegas. We're going to talk about that and then who's to blame for the forced spending cuts in Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)