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CNN NEWSROOM

Asteroid Missed Hitting Earth; Actress Jean Stapleton Dead at 90; Oklahoma Digs Out, Again

Aired June 1, 2013 - 19:00   ET

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


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Don Lemon.

A lot happening right now. Just ahead: we lost a brilliant actress today known to millions as Edith Bunker.

The tornadoes -- well, they just keep coming. Storms rip through Oklahoma and they're not done yet.

And for a second straight day, demonstrators in Turkey battle with riot police.

Are we closer to figuring out one of the greatest -- we may have new evidence in the Amelia Earhart disappearance.

All straight ahead here on CNN.

So, stick around. If you watched TV in the 1970s, you knew about "All in the Family". Well, another one of those family members has died.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

LEMON: For millions waited for in now familiar Friday night theme song. Jean Stapleton who played the ditzy wife, Edith, to the show's main character Archie Bunker, has died. Her family says she died of natural causes at her home in New York City. She was 90. I didn't know.

Well, we can't forget Edith. But it's easy to forget that Stapleton was an accomplished film and stage actress long before that hit sitcom. In an interview with our own Larry King, she reveals something about her life after "All in the Family."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE" HOST: When you walk by the screen and "All in the Family" is on, do you watch?

JEAN STAPLETON, ACTRESS: No. I've of course seen them all and watched them carefully after we did them. But, no, I linger for a minute or two and I think, my, that's very good.

KING: You're right it was. STAPLETON: But I don't watch it because I don't want it ever to creep into anything else I'm doing.

KIJNG: You had heard that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: She played so many roles. Just reading from her resume here. Larry King, you're there, right?

KING (via telephone): I sure am, Don.

LEMON: Larry, she was -- I mean, she was an accomplished stage actress. She played "Rhinoceros" with Zero Mostel. She played "Damn Yankees". She played in "Bells are Ringing", and "Funny Girl". "Damn Yankees".

Because I just tweeted out and I said, no one could have played Edith Bunker like Jean Stapleton, because she was so good. We're going to remember her as that character.

KING: She owned that role. Whenever they say Jean Stapleton, they'll say Edith Bunker. She -- a great acting family. Her sister Maureen who died in 2006, was a great actress.

The last time Jean was on with us was the night Carroll O'Connor died. That was a very, very sad night for her and for America as well. The two of them were bound together like -- who could forget "The Honeymooners".

A lot of people thought "All in the Family" was sort of a spinoff from the ancient Jackie Gleason show. Also an interesting aspect, that was originally a British show "All in the Family." It's called "Till Death Do Us Part".

LEMON: Yes.

KING: It was brought over to the United States. It was not a hit immediately. In fact, they were thinking of dropping it. The summer reruns, they ran it in the summer, it clicked in the summer and then it pushed it to a new night and the rest, as they say, is history.

LEMON: Yes. You know, Larry, a lot of people say that about Maureen being her sister. But I don't think Maureen was actually her sister. I think that's something that sort of come about over the years and people assumed that.

But, you know, to get back to her. She won three Emmys for that role. I mean, you know, to win three Emmys for a role that you put -- for one role, that's a heck of a lot.

KING: You say Maureen was not her sister? Because I think everyone assumed she was.

LEMON: Yes, everyone assumes that. But I'm hearing from producers that it was not. KING: Yes, I did not know that.

LEMON: Yes. But anyway, let's move on. I mean, to win three Emmys for one role, that's quite an accomplishment. I'm not sure who has done that over the course of a television career for one role.

KING: I would bet not many. As you can see right there, that face, the couple -- first of all, that opening to every show, when she screamed that line. Guys like us, we had it made.

LEMON: Yes.

KING: The show is in the television history, it's one of the great sitcoms of all-time. Ranks among I would say the five best shows ever on television. It changed television, too, because it took risks. It took a lot of risks with regard to the racial attitudes, the way he treated people. It made fun of that, the way -- yet, he had a tenderness to him.

Carroll O'Connor was brilliant, the way he could play that. You had a hate/love relationship with him. It was an amazing show.

LEMON: Yes. You know, remember, Larry, good night Gracie. Gracie Allen, iconic actress, iconic role. In that vein, that's what Jean Stapleton will be remembered as when you know that (INAUDIBLE). That's the kind much iconic role that she'll be remembered for.

KING: Also, the kind of I don't want to say dumb wife. Gracie always played a dumb wife. Edith played her as -- she was kind of a wacky, Archie dominated her. She had a great tenderness in that role, you know. She had enormous feelings she brought to that role.

You really -- you loved Edith. You embraced her. She was everybody's aunt, I think. That's the way it looked. There was no one like her.

LEMON: Yes. I was surprised, Larry, that she said that she didn't get residuals. I don't think Carroll O'Connor, I don't know if anyone in the show, Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers, all those folks, I don't know if they ever got residuals to that show, and it's still playing to this day. And when you asked her or someone asked her about that, she said she had no regrets.

KING: No. And she also said, when she took it, it was a job. You know, she was a working actress, stage and screen and television. She did it all.

She said, this was just a job to me. I was just happy to get work. Boy, did she get a lot of work.

LEMON: Hey, Larry, can we talk about -- I remember as a kid watching this and people would say, I hate that Archie Bunker. He's such a racist, he's such a pig, an anti-Semite. He's all that.

That was a character he was playing. And Edith Bunker, the dumb wife. She had breast cancer on the show. She was raped, she was kidnapped. This show did things and accomplished things that many shows, even to this day, have not done. I mean, it started that whole trend of talking about social issues on television.

KING: Well, Norman Lear was a pioneer. Norman is still around. I just saw him a couple weeks ago. He brought that show over and made it what it was. You got to give him a lot of credit.

Carroll O'Connor off the air was a very liberal Democrat, a supporter of major liberal causes, battler for civil rights, very outspoken. So, he played totally against character in that role.

LEMON: Uh-huh. So we remember, it started with "All in the Family", Larry, then from there, the spinoff was "Maude". And then from "Maude", the spinoff was "The Jeffersons" and then, there was also a spinoff of "Good Times". She was a maid -- a "Good Times" spinoff.

It all came, huge television shows, successes all came from "All in the Family."

KING: Yes, it sure did. You know, when you write the history of television, as people want to do, "All in the Family" is going to be in the first paragraph.

LEMON: Larry, thanks for that stroll down memory lane and helping us to remember Jean Stapleton. I said she's a TV legend. I'm sure you'll agree, right?

KING: Best way -- best way to put it. TV legend, brilliant actress who captured a role, dominated the role and made it her own. You looked at that face and that's Edith Bunker. When an actress can do that, as they say in the trade, you got it made.

LEMON: One TV legend remembering another. Larry King remembers Jean Stapleton.

Thank you so much, Larry. Go and enjoy your day. We appreciate you joining us on CNN. We miss you.

KING: Thank you. Miss you too.

LEMON: All righty.

Let's move on now. We want to talk about what's going on in the Midwest. Still a threat of severe weather.

People in Oklahoma this hour are coming to grips with the latest round of twisters that erupted 24 hours ago and spread, a new round of destruction across four states.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

LEMON: The video terrifying. Painfully familiar. Storm chasers capture this scene near union city as a tornado crossed next to them destroying a barn. At least nine people were killed in the storms. More than 100 were injured. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Horizontal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, that was the scene near El Reno, about 25 miles west of Oklahoma City. Power knocked out to thousands. And almost a foot of rain dumped in some areas. In all 17 tornadoes -- 17 -- were reported across the Midwest yesterday. People in Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, also saw storm damage ranging from downed trees and power lines to major flooding.

So, we showed you the video of that twister near Union City, Oklahoma, a community west of Oklahoma City. It took one of the hardest hits in yesterday's storms.

Ed Lavandera is right there. Man, look at that pile of rubble. It's heartbreaking, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Don, what's stunning about that pile that you see back there, we just spoke with the owner of that home. He was in a tornado in a town called Piedmont, Oklahoma, which is about 20 miles northeast of where we are two years ago.

Two years ago, his home was partially destroyed. He moved here because he didn't want to rebuild in that town. This is where he came. Again, he's dealing with the aftermath of tornado destruction. Now, he's left to clean up the pieces. That is the destruction that he's dealing with, going through.

The one thing he told us he was trying to find was a picture of his son in his cowboy boots I believe it was from when he was a young boy. That was one of the things that he's hoping to find in that pile of rubble. He's not very hopeful that he'll be able to do that. But, you know, I think that kind of captures what people are struggling to do with.

You know, this tornado, as it came through Union City, Don, took a meandering turn. This is a lot of wide open space out here. And, unfortunately, this little pocket of home, like five or six homes in this pocket where we are this afternoon. And it took a direct hit from this tornado.

So, you know, a devastating scene here again. What we hear over and over from people here, Don, this afternoon, as we come here on the tail end of several weeks of intense wicked storms that have blown across Oklahoma and many people will tell you that -- people who live in the state for decades will tell that you this is a tornado season they will never forget. Absolutely amazed by just how much -- how many tornado warnings and how many runs for cover they've had to make. You know, many people exhausted by it all already.

LEMON: Yes. You know, it was a Friday night. Working all week and you get home and watch this. I just sat there on the couch and watched for hours. Just imagining what these people are dealing with. Because, Ed, even people who aren't losing their homes or getting hurt, the constant wave of these storms, I mean, it's really taking a toll on them.

LAVANDERA: You know, I think it's nerve-racking. The gentleman who lives in this house, he was at work in downtown Oklahoma City, about 20 miles away. He was watching it unfold on live television. The local stations here in Oklahoma City do an incredible job of covering these storms.

You know, he's sitting there watching it. The whole time he's thinking, I really hope that's not near my house, I hope it's not near my house. But as soon as he makes it out on the interstate and he's driving, he sees all the overturned cars and he gets closer, he knew what had happened to him.

But, again, many people sitting around and watching that. Even if you're not home, you're worried about your neighbors, did your neighbors make it out, your friends. Where is your family at?

So, again, even if your home isn't destroyed, the time with the tornadoes on the ground is a nerve racking time for all the residents around here.

LEMON: Yes. Gosh, again that -- I hate to say pile of rubble behind you because that was someone's home. That's sadly what it is now.

Ed, stay safe. Thank you, Ed. We appreciate it.

LAVANDERA: You got it.

LEMON: So, talking about all these incredible images, you see the video, they bring us some of it, of these tornado outbreaks. There's no question, storm chasers are brave, right? But is the risk just too darn high?

We'll talk about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Most people in Oklahoma this weekend had 18 minutes, 18 minutes to get out of the tornado's path. Just 18 minutes. So, what would you do?

I want you to take a look at some guys who actually drive toward a killer storm to get video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brent, turn the car around! Let's get ready! Brent, go! Wind! Fast as you can!

Turn right, go!

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You OK? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you fine?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Duck down, duck down, duck down!

(INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: There are no words. I just can't.

Well, earlier, the guy who shot that video talked to CNN about what was going through his mind in those terrifying moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON SULLIVAN, STORM CHASER (via telephone): To state the obvious, I guess, I was just thinking that we were a little too close. But the tornado's strengthened really rapidly and kind of took a turn right at us. I was hoping to get out in time.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: At some point, did you feel your life was in danger? You do this often, don't you?

SULLIVAN: Yes. You know, I've been doing this for quite a while. Yes. I mean, that's when the most scared I've ever been in the tornado situation for sure.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: We see that at some point the windshield breaks. What are you guys driving?

SULLIVAN: We are just in -- we're in my car, which is a Jeep. You know, we don't have any armored vehicle or anything like that. So, yes, a piece of debris from a barn actually blows into the car and hit the windshield.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was storm chaser Brandon Sullivan. We're going to talk to a storm chaser in just a moment.

First, though, the heartland taking a direct hit again. In all, 17 tornadoes reported across the Midwest in this recent line of storms.

Chad Myers has been at the center of our coverage. He is in Oklahoma City now.

So, Chad, this has been a rough couple of weeks, especially for Oklahoma. No doubt. That goes without saying.

So, what do you -- take us there today.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, today is a beautiful day. We have a north wind. It's absolutely fantastic. We put sunscreen on today. We should have put sun screen on yesterday, but we were in the car chasing.

The deal with yesterday was the wind was from the south, the relative humidity was 70 percent or 80 percent. It was hot. It was sunny all day. The storms didn't pop up until 4:30, 4:45.

But, Don, the storms yesterday, the reason why you see so much of this chaser video go badly is because the storms popped in about 20 minutes, 20 or 30 minutes from nothing, cumulus cloud to 50,000 feet. Ten miles high in about 20 to 25 minutes yesterday, and then the storms gathered strength, they rotated and they put the tornado down.

Today, it's kind of a cleanup day. There weren't that many tornadoes. It was nothing like Moore.

Now, that was an EF-3 tornado but it was in the middle of a rural area. You see the damage where Ed Lavandera is. That was over the Canadian Valley Tech Center got hit, probably by a two or three. So, there was still significant damage out there, but not in a city like we had in Moore with that EF-4 that went through a couple weeks ago.

We are good for a couple days. All this could come back the last part of next week. Probably an eight-day reprieve for some people, a six- day reprieve for Oklahoma.

And then, you know what, it's still spring. I know kids are getting out for spring break and summer vacation. It's still spring according to Mother Nature. Cold air is still trying to come from Canada, warm air is still trying to come up from the Gulf of Mexico. And when that happens, bam, you get days like yesterday.

LEMON: You don't mind if I call you weatherman, right? I know you're a meteorologist, I was going to say weathermen have feelings too because -- I know from talking to you when we started this two weeks ago on that Sunday night. You seemed a little bit down because you lived in Oklahoma.

Maybe it's not the right word. Concerned. You lived in Oklahoma, and this has to break your heart going back there and seeing this.

MYERS: Don, you know, if this happened in Kansas City, in St. Louis, in any big town, that night my heart was broken because I knew people were dying. I knew people were in the way. I knew people couldn't get out of the way.

I knew the -- I knew the strength of that wedge tornado coming out of Newcastle, turning right a little bit into Moore. I knew people were in the way. And I know people that were living there. I know people whose houses don't exist anymore.

We went to see a couple. I couldn't even find the streets that I used to visit them on. I couldn't find the old house. It was nothing.

So, you know, I want to make people make better decisions. I give you information. I give them information so that they can protect their family and do the best for themselves. I can't save lives. But I can make you make better decisions by giving you the information you need and the tools you need to save your own lives or at least save your family's health.

LEMON: Very well-stated, Chad Myers. You know, you have been covering severe weather for years. I'd like you to join me in this next conversation, OK?

So, let's talk, both of us talk now to storm chaser Reed Timmer. He had a harrowing experience on the road. He joins us from Union City, Oklahoma.

Hey, Reed, Chad and I both going to interview you here, just talk to you. Not really an interview. We're just going to talk to you. How are you doing?

REED TIMMER, STORM CHASER: I'm tired. It's been a long week of storm chasing and we have the armored vehicles and I'll tell you what, I pretty much feel like I lived in that vehicle year round. We drive about 80,000 miles a year.

Last week, has been tough emotionally and has been physically. And that tornado missed my house by a few miles.

I knew a teacher in the path in the elementary school there and the last text I sent to her was drop south. I didn't realize it was so early that school was still in session. She texted me back and said I'm going to stay with my kids. I didn't hear from her for four or five hours. And thankfully, I got a text back saying, we survived.

And when a tornado goes to your backyard like that, when it goes anywhere, just like Chad said, I mean, your heart drops. And this is the dark side of storm chasing but it's also what we're trying to prevent through our research and streaming live video, and providing that ground truth underneath the storm to help in the warning process.

LEMON: So, Chad, before he asks, you talked about your armored vehicle. The car that was just about demolished, Chad, and, Reed, that wasn't an armored vehicle. That was just a regular SUV, correct?

TIMMER: Yes. That was probably a regular vehicle from what I understand. But our vehicles with armored and custom built to withstand the winds of most tornadoes, but the strongest tornadoes, for example that EF-5. We won't come close to that.

But this tornado early on had the suction vortices. It was a multiple vortex tornado, which had these miniature tornadoes that rotate around the outside like a merry-go-round and you can get strong wind speeds and these suction vortices. That's why you can have one house sustain complete damage and houses next door are left more untouched. We can actually see the path of that south of this house through the wheat field just digging a trench right through there.

That shows you that those suction vortices can really pack a punch and that's why we built those armored vehicles to try to stand those wind speeds right near the ground and just see how strong they get. LEMON: Reed, so you're looking at it. Can we see it if we pan over? I'm not there. I don't know if someone is next to you.

But we pan over, can we see where you're talking about?

TIMMER: Might be able to, in between the two SUVs. See that dark spot in the wheat. That's a track, a trench that takes a hard left turn on the south side of the tornado.

So, as this larger tornado is making a left turn and moving up to the north, it was a large, quarter mile wide, it had one of those smaller suction vortices whip around the backside moving from north to south, and that really packed those winds. You can see it make a hard 90- degree left turn and then just dissipate.

LEMON: Wow.

TIMMER: Those suction vortices are very short-lived and powerful and they'll dissipate because they're -- they don't last very long. But I've seen them rip holes.

LEMON: Hold on, stop right there, camera person. Reed, go back to that. Is that your armored vehicle on the side of the road?

TIMMER: That's actually our follow vehicle. But we do have armor on it that has line-x coating. It has polycarbonate windows. But that car we hang back to get the follow shot as we get close to the tornado or launching sensors in there.

And actually, we just found out that Salina, the mile wide tornado that happened a few days ago, we found out that one of our sensors was recovered by a local there. I just put a Facebook post out. (AUDIO GAP) Salina and we have a pressure data, real time pressure data and all kinds of meteorological data from inside that tornado that could be inside one of those suction vortices and could help explain more.

LEMON: Yes. So, as we chat, I don't want to hog the conversation. We're looking at great video here. We can see the recovery and people, activity going on. As he said, it's a follow vehicle.

So, go ahead, jump in here, Chad.

MYERS: Reed, I just want people to understand why you do it. I'm going to throw the question out. This is not a loaded question. This is a real. I want your honest answer.

Why do you do what you do?

TIMMER: Well, I've loved science ever since I was 5 years old. I was in science Olympiad. Collected insects. I was a late blooming science nerd, still am a science nerd.

When I see a tornado, I see beautiful science. But the dark side that these things leave behind is what we have to try to prevent.

So, storm chasing is twofold. We're trying to provide the ground truth underneath the stream live via streaming video, calling in reports, helping people take shelter just as you're doing. But at the same time, we're trying to do research and if we better understand the wind speeds, we can better build structures.

Even the videos, all the storm chasers out there that are showing the destruction and power that these things are capable of, that could mean the difference between someone taking a tornado warning seriously and not taking shelter at all, and respecting the tornadoes. They see their power on video. That's the power of social media as well.

LEMON: Yes.

Chad, I was going to ask you why do you it. I think you answered that earlier when you said you want to save lives.

So, gentlemen, thank you. You're both very brave.

MYERS: Yes, that's exactly right, Don.

LEMON: I've got to run. Thank you very much. We appreciate you taking the time. Stay safe out there. We'll get back to both of you and see you in the very near future for reasons that are unfortunate.

All right. So, let's move on now, because we want to tell you that there are ways you can help the storm victims. The people who are affected. Go to CNN.com/impact to learn how you can help make a difference in the recovery. CNN.com/impact.

So there's an asteroid, it whizzed right past us. You may have missed it. But, good thing it missed us. It could have ended life as we know it on this planet. How big was it? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Even in the vastness of space, there's a danger of things colliding. We were reminded of that on Friday when an asteroid, unique because it had its own moon, passed right by our planet. Wasn't really that close, though. It missed us by 15 times the distance between earth and the moon. It's a good thing it did. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL CHODAS, NASA JET PROPULSION LAB: The asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs was a little larger than this. But it would be the same kind of effect on the earth's climate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it could wipe out humankind basically or everything else?

CHODAS: Yes, it could set civilization back at the very least.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So just how big was this asteroid and what kind of damage can one do? Here's Tom Foreman. Tom? TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've been hearing all this talk about things hurdling through space toward earth and NASA is trying to keep an eye on a lot of them. This is why. If you were go out to Arizona to meteor crater, not far from Flagstaff, you could see this. This is a crater that was left by a meteorite that hit a long time ago.

From this edge to that edge is about a mile. The explosion would have wiped out almost any city we know of. This was made by a meteorite that was only about 50 yards across. So how big is the one that just passed us by? Was it this size? No. This is the size of the one that blew up over Russia back in February that scared everyone half to death.

Was it more like this, maybe the size of, say, a football field? Well, no, that's the size of the one that flew past the earth with no impact the same day. The asteroid that just passed us is much more like this size. Absolutely massive. Traveling some 20, 24,000 miles an hour. This truly would be cataclysmic to the earth. And that's why NASA is keeping an eye on all these things in space these days.

LEMON: Glad they're keeping an eye. Thank you very much Tom Foreman.

Actress Jean Stapleton has died. Millions loved her iconic character, Edith Bunker. We're talking about this amazing woman, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A little bit past half past the hour. So we want to give you the headlines right now. Get you caught up.

People in Oklahoma have to be wondering what happens next? Nine people killed in the latest round of tornadoes to crash their state. More than 100 people injured. Live updates from CNN weather center just minutes from now.

They're calling it the worst day in the history of the Houston Fire Department. Look at this inferno. Four firefighters died when a wall collapsed on them yesterday. They had rushed into the flames looking for people believed trapped as the fire destroyed a hotel and adjoining restaurant. Among the dead, Annie Sullivan, the youngest, just 24, a recent graduate of the Houston Fire Academy. Also killed Robert Garner, Matthew Renaud and Robert Bebee.

A second man now faces murder charges in the grizzly death of a British soldier, police had already charged Michael Adebolajo with attempted murder of two officers and they tried to arrest him. The soldier, Lee Rigby, was attacked by two men on a downtown London street just 10 days ago.

To Turkey now. Nearly 1,000 demonstrators have been arrested in two days of protests. Police used tear gas and water cannons to dispense the crowd in Istanbul. At least 79 people, including 26 security officers were injured. The clashes began as a peaceful sit-in against government plans to demolish a park. Sad news to pass along to you. If you said Edith in the 1970s, it could only mean one person. We're talking about Edith Bunker played so well by Jean Stapleton. This wonderful actress has died of natural causes at her home in New York. She was 90.

Miguel Marquez has more on her remarkable career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boy the way Glenn miller played.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Songs that made the hit parade.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys like us we had it made.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those were the days.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That familiar tune from the 1970s.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is your mother? Edith!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Archie, how was your day?

MARQUEZ: Jean Stapleton played the lovable and daffy Edith, the wife of Archie Bunker on the groundbreaking 1970s sitcom "All in the Family."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Supper on the table.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to eat out tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ain't going to eat out tonight.

MARQUEZ: Here she tells Larry King that she took a buyout and never made residuals on the show.

JEAN STAPLETON, ACTRESS: I've never had a regret. Why should I dwell on that? I benefited daily by having done that role and basking in its success. And everything I do is because I gained recognition and some understanding of what I do from that experience.

MARQUEZ: Stapleton won many fans, three Emmys and two Golden Globes for that role. The show took chances that no one else did at the time. Like having the sound of a toilet flush and addressing touchy topics like racism.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Archie said he never thought he'd see the day when coloreds and whites would be hugging and kissing coast to coast.

MARQUEZ: Stapleton was a New Yorker through and through. Born in the city and she died of natural causes at her home there on Friday. Stapleton was a stage veteran before she got into TV. Her mother was an opera singer and she also sang playing next to Barbra Streisand in the Broadway sensation, "Funny Girl."

STAPLETON: I tell you it's the most rewarding experience every single night to hear that laughter and to respond to it as an actor.

MARQUEZ: Stapleton had two children who both have their own careers in television.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those were the days.

MARQUEZ: Miguel Marquez, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: They are picking up the pieces literally in Oklahoma today. Friday's storms killed nine people and injured more than 100 others. Seventeen tornadoes were reported across the midwest. People in Illinois, Arkansas and Missouri saw storm damage ranging from downed trees and power lines to major flooding. And from southern Texas to Ohio, the severe weather threat continues today. CNN's Tom Sater, in the CNN's Weather Center is here now. Tom, where are the bull's-eyes?

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good question, Don. It's not just one bulls eye with any violent weather. I mean high confidence here that even though we still have some thunderstorms, the big concern could be just from flash flooding and some damage with some winds. But let's break it down. It's not one area of concern.

The biggest threat to life and property is going to be from Little Rock, Arkansas, Westwood. We got about eight counties with flash flood warnings. We have numerous lightning strikes. Two people were actually struck by lightning Thursday in Arkansas. Notice the warnings for flood warnings in red. These are the flash flood warnings. One to two inches of rain falling on this area. Metro Little Rock, some water rescues most likely could take effect there.

On a larger scale, we did have problems on the river, of course, in Oklahoma City around the north Canadian river. That was a moderate flood problem. Now a minor. The Mississippi River which was up to 40.4 feet is now down to 34. That's minor flooding now as well. The other concern I have is from around Decatur and Champaign, Illinois, towards Chicago. Thunderstorms there raking now just east of Lexington, toward Haynesville, Kentucky up toward Buffalo. This entire system is moving eastward. So any day for the next two, we could actually see some thunderstorms. But really tonight maybe a snapped tree from a wind gust at 50, 60 miles per hour in this zone. There could still be pretty good rainfall totals. Again, if we get a wind gust, it's going to be brief. We're not seeing, Don, the organized super cell thunderstorms we've had the last couple of days.

And of course, that threat moves from around northern Virginia up toward the northeastern part of the U.S. for the day tomorrow. So we'll continue to watch it. At least the threat is a little lower than it has been the last five days.

LEMON: We'll take anything.

SATER: Yes. LEMON: A little lower is good. Thank you. Appreciate it, Tom.

New information tonight. Some four months after that bunker standoff in southeast Alabama involving a 65-year-old man and a five-year-old hostage, remember that? Today the FBI is releasing audio from the gunman, photos from the inside of the bunker and part of the 911 call by a student who was on the bus when the ordeal began. More now from CNN's Alina Machado.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is an inside look at the underground bunker where Jimmy Lee Dikes held a five-year-old boy hostage for six days. Just released photos show Alabama and federal investigators processing the scene.

Here's a picture showing one of two beds. Small flashlights hang on wall. Water bottles are within reach. A notebook and an animal calendar sit on the bed. The FBI released the photos Saturday along with audio of a profanity laced phone call between hostage negotiators and Dikes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just go ahead and send somebody (bleep) down to their death.

MACHADO: The chilling audio gives us a better sense of Dikes' state of mind as the days wore on and negotiations deteriorated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If that sorry son (bleep) doesn't respond to me by 5:30 this afternoon, I mean or whatever time it is, by god, I will not be talking (bleep).

MACHADO: Authorities say Dikes stormed a school bus in Midland City, Alabama on January 29th. A 15-year-old boy on the bus told dispatchers how a man had shot the driver and snatched one of the children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Is he on the bus? Did he take the kid off the bus?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He took the kid off the bus.

MACHADO: The bus driver, Charles Poland was later hailed a hero for trying to protect his young passengers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was the bus driver the only person that was shot?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hang in there, honey. You're doing so good. I'm so proud of you, OK?

MACHADO: Neighbors told CNN Dikes was a paranoid anti-government loner. Here's what the 65-year-old told negotiators. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are going to be standing up to this (beep). Incompetent, self-righteous, bunch of (INAUDIBLE) (beep) in government that tell nothing but lies.

MACHADO: Law enforcement sources told CNN authorities used a camera to monitor what was going on inside the bunker. While FBI hostage rescue teams trained on a model of the structure nearby. Agents reportedly saw Dikes holding a gun. Prompting the rescue operation. Dikes, they say was armed and managed to fire at agents before he was killed. Authorities found two explosive devices. The boy, named Ethan, was alive and returned to his family.

Alina Machado, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Wow. All right, Alina, thank you.

Can new technology help us during hurricanes or tornados? It already has. In fact, a simple app on your phone has caught the attention of even President Obama. That's next.

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LEMON: Look who's here. Do you remember that song "Look Who's Here"? You're probably not old enough for that. CNN money tech expert Laurie Segall here with me. We have been seeing all of this storm coverage and we have been talking about there's an app that someone created that is interesting that can actually help us and the government during disasters. You always have the most interesting angles. What is this about?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH REPORTER: Absolutely. It's called Waze. It's essentially a navigation app that people use and what's really important Ways is it's crowd sourced. So you're driving down the street, Don, and you see there's a traffic jam you can wave your hand over the app and say traffic jam. That will update everybody in the community in real time so it helps people with traffic but we're also seeing it's actually really helping people during times of disaster. I actually spoke to the Waze community geographer, her name is Di-Ann Eisnor and she explained how it's working and how it's helping with disaster relief in Oklahoma. Listen to this.

LEMON: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DI-ANNA EISNOR, WAZE COMMUNITY GEOGRAPHER: There's the people that drive around and just by turning on the application they're helping. There's also 85,000 map editors that spent time making sure the roads are correct in their area online. And so we did have the local map editors in that area, blocking off roads that are closed and kind of helping one another, communicating with one another and then we also have got people who put the red cross pins on the map so you can actually navigate there in crisis. SEGALL: But it's the idea that any of this kind of technology that's disruptive can be used when there's a disaster, when there are people on the road just in general, right?

EISNOR: And you never know when it's going to be used. After Hurricane Sandy the White House called me and said "Look, we're having a field crisis. Can you guys help?" And so we were able to push out messages to people who were in those affected areas saying, "You know, how long are the lines in the gas station? Which gas stations have power?" And then FEMA could actually use that information to figure out where to send the fuel trucks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SEGALL: When it comes down to it, that real time information is so important when it comes to disaster relief and times of tragedy where people just want to get in touch and they need to find recovery efforts.

LEMON: Yes. And that's getting people to be in the right place at the right time or to get people out of harms' way but remember practical things in Sandy like those stations that were set up for people - like when disaster happens we don't realize the little things we need. We need to be able to charge our phones and computers and all those things. So how can - is there technology to help out with that? Can you actually plan for something like that? Charge something without power?

SEGALL: Look, at the end of the day I say this, if you know a disaster is coming, a storm is coming, charge your laptop, charge your tablet. It can be used to actually help as back up charges. Also you can get, there's a weather radio type of device that uses solar power. It's great to invest in that now because when it comes down to it, it's important.

LEMON: I have an idea for whoever wants it, Apple, whatever, a solar phone, you're using it outside it charges automatically. I'm sure they're already working on it.

SEGALL: You're the first.

LEMON: Thank you, Laurie.

SEGALL: Thank you.

LEMON: Pleasure to see you.

SEGALL: Are we closer to solving the mystery of Amelia Earhart's disappearance? That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Are we closer to finding Amelia Earhart? Here's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A man that's been chasing the mystery of Amelia Earhart for a quarter century believes this grainy almost pixelated looking image from the ocean floor may bring us closer to finding her.

RIC GILLESPIE, INT'L GROUP FOR HISTORIC AIRCRAFT RECOVERY: It's unlike anything else on that whole reef that shows up in the sonar imagery.

TODD: Ric Gillespie is with the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery. With a roving submersible his team captured this, a sonar image. He says this anomaly on an ocean shelf, off the coast of the Pacific Island of Nikumaroro could be the remnants of Earhart's Lockheed Electra plane.

On July 2nd, 1937, Amelia Earhart attempting to become the first- person to fly around the globe at the equator, vanished off Howland Island, the last place her monitors lost contact with her. Not a trace of Earhart or her plane have ever been found. For years, Gillespie and his team believe her plane actually went down off Nikumaroro, about 300 miles southeast of Howland. I held a rendering of what a split up fuselage might look like against Gillespie's new image.

(on camera): Why do you think the anomaly on the ocean floor matches the fuselage of Earhart's plane?

GILLESPIE: We know how a Lockheed Electra breaks up in a crash. We studied other crashes and we know that the center section of the airplane is the strongest part, the part that holds together. The engines tend to come off, the outer wings come off, the fuselage breaks behind the wing. So the size of the anomaly image matches the part of an Electra that hangs together the best.

TODD (voice-over): Gillespie admits there's a chance this isn't Earhart's plane. Still he's trying to raise $3 million for an expedition to Nikumaroro next year.

(On camera): But there are plenty of skeptics of Gillespie's latest theory and of his work overall. The skeptics believe he attached himself to the idea that the remains of Earhart's plane are off Nikumaroro and they believe he's flat wrong.

(voice-over): One skeptic, Dorothy Cochrane, curator at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.

DOROTHY COCHRANE, CURATOR, NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM: There's nothing that says this was part of Earhart's equipment. There's nothing that has a number, a designation that would indicate it's part of Amelia Earhart's aircraft. There's nothing that can only be traced to Amelia Earhart.

TODD: Cochrane points out Gillespie launched other expectations to Nikumaroro that have dug up human bones, items common to the that era but then he has never found proof that Amelia Earhart is there. Cochrane and other historians believe Earhart's remains are somewhere near Howland Island. She says that's based on Earhart's radio transitions and the fact that she was circling close to Howland Island when she disappeared.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Brian, thank you.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN Center - I should say the Time-Warner Center in New York. "AC 360" special "Beauty and the Priest" is next.

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