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The Situation Room

San Antonio Faces Flood Emergency; Three Funerals Today For Tornado Victims; Three Moore High Schools Hold Graduation In Oklahoma City; New Developments On Gruesome London Machete Killings

Aired May 25, 2013 - 18:00   ET

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

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I am Joe Johns at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. Wolf Blitzer in the SITUATION ROOM in a few minutes.

But first, we are following breaking news from Texas. San Antonio is facing a flood emergency at this hour. The waters have been rising all around the city, all day long, up to ten inches of rain had pounded the area just today. San Antonio is one of the most flood prone cities in the nation, and it shows. The flooding has killed at least one person and another person is missing, and there's little anything, anyone can do but head for higher ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was under water 20 minutes ago, I came over here. I own the property and my daughter said she couldn't get to her car. Her car is all flooded. The property, the water is swarming through the whole house. And just I came over to check to see what I could do, but obviously there's nothing that I can do right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Just a very dangerous situation there. The San Antonio River has hit a record high flood level, more than a foot higher than the old record set in 1998. The fire chief says his department has received more than 200 calls for water rescues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF CHARLES HOOD, CAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT: One of the things about rushing water, there's so much debris up underneath that water. There's tires, there's fences, there's all those things that you cannot see under water that entrap people. So again, very dangerous situation, very proud of the operations of the men and women of the fire department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Karen Maginnis is standing by now in the severe weather center.

Karen, has the rain stopped falling yet?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The rain has for the most part, it moved towards the east and a corridor that goes from Corpus Christi to Houston, we are seeing some embedded areas. We did see between eight and ten inches who just to describe some of the events that have taken place. 29-year-old woman apparently caught in flood waters, abandoned her vehicle, her body was found and so was her abandoned vehicle.

The flood waters rose so fast, it was devastating. There, you can see some of the flood waters there around the San Antonio area. The mission area was one region they had to evacuate about 54 people from an apartment complex there because the water was coming in so hard, so heavy, and so fast. Apparently, all those people are fine.

There was a gentleman who was pinned up against a structure from the debris we heard him talk about. All kinds of things caught up in the flood waters. They were able to rescue him as well.

Numerous car accidents. When I listen to the news report, they were saying they had about 600 plus severe reports, about 250 of those were water rescues. All day long we've been showing you the pictures of the gentleman who was on top of the building, this comes from our CNN affiliate, WOAI, this out of Bear County, Texas, in San Antonio.

He was on a golf course. Golf course got flooded. He went to the top of the building, and probably floated to the top. They had a Kodiak rescue floating vehicle if you will that came and rescued him. He put on his life jacket, got into the Kodiak, and apparently he was just fine.

However, now that that moisture has shifted further towards the east, what can we expect? I know everyone is concentrating on what has happened. What happens as we go ahead.

Well, into eastern sections of Texas, this looks to be the focal point of where moisture is going to be. How long is this expected to last? We think the moisture will be in place until tomorrow morning sometime. Could we see more showers in San Antonio? Yes, I think it is probably a 50/50 chance you will see showers move in and out. But primarily in the coastal areas it looks like it shifted there. But it is not impossible for San Antonio to pick up another round of rainfall.

This came in, thanks to all of this moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, from the southeast. But, we also had some moisture coming in from the southwest. So you get these kind of convergence of air masses, and you get some rotation in the atmosphere and that makes it just ripe for tornadoes to develop and for lots of rainfall that can be held in the atmosphere to really rain down.

This is reminiscent, Joe, of what we saw back in 1998.

JOHNS: Those pictures are just incredible.

Thanks so much for that, Karen Maginnis. Long day for you.

New video just into CNN from the collision of two freight trains in Missouri. One train then smashed into a pillar supporting a highway overpass, causing its collapse. Two cars then drove off the edge in the dark. In all, seven people injured, one hospitalized. NTSB, the national transportation safety board, has sent a team to investigate that accident.

New developments tonight from London after this week's murder of a British soldier. Police made three arrests, but we are learning new details about the past of one of the prime suspects.

Sources in Kenya say Michael Adebolajo traveled there in 2010 and was arrested for trying to cross the border into Somalia. That area has seen attacks by Islamic militants in the past several years. No charges filed against him according to Kenyan media. It is not clear whether he may have traveled to the region on more than one occasion.

France defense minister says a soldier stabbed today was targeted because he was in the military. His attacker quickly fled the scene after stabbing the soldier in the neck. The attack happened on the outskirts of Paris. A police source says the soldier will survive. A manhunt is now under way for his attacker. Anti-terrorist investigators in Paris are looking into the attack.

And finally, runners in the Boston marathon finally had a chance to get the last mile of the marathon in today after the bombing last month denied them the chance to complete the race. Around 3,000 runners turned out to finish the race, despite light rain. They were joined by victims of the attack. Explosions near the finish line killed three people and wounded more than 260 on April 15th.

I am Joe Johns in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Wolf Blitzer in "the SITUATION ROOM" right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: This is a special edition of the SITUATION ROOM, Tragedy in Oklahoma.

This hour, we go in the small shelter where a dozen people spent the most terrifying minutes of their lives and lived to tell about it.

A mother's grief and anger. She says her son didn't have to die. She shares her emotional story exclusively with CNN.

Plus, Plaza Towers elementary school where seven children died. In a sea of tragedy, this may be the most heart breaking scene of all.

We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Moore, Oklahoma, and you are in the SITUATION ROOM.

There is no urgency in Moore, Oklahoma, at the same time try to make sure that people have access to storm shelters. The mayor says he is going to push for a law requiring shelters or safe rooms for new homes. Many people in this town believe their shelters certainly saved their lives.

Brian Todd is joining us now. Brian, you had a chance to speak to one man who was crowded in one of those shelters, had a pretty amazing story.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Quite a story to tell, Wolf.

You know, even some structures that appeared to be solid has got obliterated by the storm. You know, one man we found, as Wolf mentioned, got himself, his daughter, and ten children inside a small, concrete shelter underground and that made all of the difference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): The tornado was coming and Jim Garner and his family knew there was only one place for them to go, the backyard storm shelter. He took us inside.

This is about what.

JIM GARNER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I'm going to say six by six.

TODD: Six by six.

GARNER: Six foot tall. It is probably eight-foot long, but six- foot tall, six-foot wide.

TODD: And how many people did you have in here.

GARNER: Twelve people.

TODD: Twelve.

GARNER: Ten kids, and me and my daughter.

TODD: The small hole in the ground was stocked with bottled water, diapers and milk for the youngest grand children, a flashlight, a battery operated TV. There was barely room to breathe.

Show us where people were standing.

GARNER: We had kids sitting along the floor, kids sitting on the bench there, my daughter was right here. I was actually setting on the steps holding the door down.

TODD: This is a heavy steel door. Jim Garner says it has three locks on it. And yet he still, during the height of the tornado, had to hold this door down with all his might as the storm pulled it. He said, it was all he could do to hold the door in place.

GARNER: You could feel the tornado sucking on the door, trying to pull the door up.

TODD: How hard was it to hold that door?

GARNER: It was hard.

TODD: The twister was getting closer, the entire family was terrified. In the darkness, Garner showed us just how dark it got when the shelter door was closed.

It was pitch black.

GARNER: Pitch black. Only thing we had was a flashlight. The debris hit in the shelter, you could hear it, the roar of the tornado. That scared a kid real bad, you know. I mean, it scared me. So, you can imagine what it done to those kids.

TODD: They hunkered down for 20 to 30 minutes. Finally, the storm was gone and they went outside to see the damage.

GARNER: I told my daughter, she said we lost our home. And I said well, that's OK. We are safe. The kids are safe.

TODD: It could have ended differently. Some of his grandchildren went to Plaza Towers elementary, the school flattened in the storm. His daughter took them out of class before the storm hit.

GARNER: I don't know if she knew they didn't have a shelter or not, but she knew we did, and she didn't want them there, she wanted them here with her.

TODD: Backyard storm shelters can cost between 2500 and $5,000. This one came with the house. But garner says for his family, the shelter was priceless.

GARNER: This is tornado alley. If you are going to live in this area, you need to have something like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Jim Garner says he doesn't think many of his neighbors have shelters like that, but he hopes that is going to change before another tornado comes this way --Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Brian, thanks very, very much. Good reporting.

Imagine this, you are living through a nightmare with a newborn baby in your arms, and it happened to one family whose child was born at the Moore medical center just before it was destroyed by the tornado.

The father of that child, Aundrea Hogan, joining us now.

Aundrea, come on in. Well, first of all, congratulations on the birth of your child, Amira?

AUNDREA HOGAN, FATHER OF CHILD BORN JUST BEFORE TORNADO: Amari.

BLITZER: Amari.

HOGAN: Amari Kyler Hogan, yes sir.

BLITZER: That's the hospital. That's the Moore medical center where your child was born. So, pick up the story. Tell us what was going on Monday. Your wife is in labor, she was inside there.

HOGAN: Yes, sir. OK. Well, first off, we knew the weather was coming in. It was going to be a little bad, we were told. We decided to go ahead and push through, have the baby the same day.

BLITZER: Right over here.

HOGAN: Over at this center, yes, sir. Well, once our child was born, you know, they brought him back to the room to you could, you know, kind of warm up, normal baby procedure stuff. Wife was resting. They came in later with what they called a cold black warning, which required all residents of the medical center to go downstairs and kind of take shelter in the cafeteria. So, everybody was pushed and herded in that area.

BLITZER: So you, your wife and child, the little baby, you go into the cafeteria.

HOGAN: We go into the cafeteria. There was also another nurse who was pregnant by the way, who helped push my wife down there as well. She is a hero to me, her name is Erin, also works here.

BLITZER: Had your wife in a wheelchair.

HOGAN: Yes, had my wife in a wheelchair to help push her down.

BLITZER: Like 90 minutes earlier she was delivering a baby.

HOGAN: Pretty much. She was about nine minutes about the hour -- I'm sorry, about three, four hours, right before when everything took place. Well, as we get down there, you know, the lights start to flicker on and off, and they kept telling us just kind of keep calm. We were on backup generators. So, with that being said, you know, lights eventually went out. My wife was still under medication from delivering the baby. And so, she wasn't really into -- she didn't know a lot of what was going on.

BLITZER: She had a c-section, right?

HOGAN: Yes, she did. She had a c-section and she was a little loopy and what not. So they asked everybody after the lights went out, is to drop on the floor, get on the floor and kind of curl up. And that's kind of what everybody did. And we huddled with each other. She was sitting in the wheelchair, I was in the chair. She leaned on me. I had my son in my arms. I leaned on her shoulder.

BLITZER: She's still in the wheelchair or on the ground?

HOGAN: She still in the wheelchair.

BLITZER: Was she on the ground?

HOGAN: No, she was not able to.

BLITZER: She is holding the baby? HOGAN: I'm holding the baby. I am holding the baby in my left arm. She's sitting right here to my right side, and she leaning on my right shoulders here. And again, I am leaning on her right shoulder and have my son in my arm. Right behind --

BLITZER: You're hearing sirens go off?

HOGAN: It was -- they have a loud siren that they have for the warning, and like I said, everything, you could feel pressure building up in the air and up in your ears, like they are about to pop, like you taking off in an airplane. And right after that, all you saw was the door flew open, you saw wind, debris, everything flowing in, smoke, grass, it was a lot of things that were just flying off into the cafeteria. And lot of people were screaming and crying.

BLITZER: But, that was in effect the safe room, the cafeteria. Everybody in this hospital, Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke to them, everybody was fine after this?

HOGAN: Everybody was fine. But, I think there were little slight injuries, because when we came out, once they gave the green light for everybody to leave out, they let the newborn and elderly go ahead in front of everybody. I did see a lady on a stretcher, kind of crying and what not, hope she's OK as well.

BLITZER: I hope so, too. So, how is the baby doing?

HOGAN: Amari is doing great. That's my heartbeat right there. That's my new heartbeat there. So, he is doing great.

BLITZER: And Tricina, your wife?

Yes, Tricina is my wife. She is doing good as well. She is a little out of still as of right now, little tired. But you know, we pulled it through and made it out.

HOGAN: I'm glad you did. Thanks very much.

You know what I want to do, skip, if you could get a tight shot of that hospital over there, pan over and see the wreckage. I mean, it is hard to believe you were this close. Look at what was going on outside. You can see the damage, cars that were thrown around like little rocks.

HOGAN: That's correct, Wolf. Actually, also once we were leaving out of the cafeteria, I decided to stay, the nurse, Erin, she helped push my wife over here to the warren theater, and I stayed back, we were kind of clearing paths for everybody to come through. We decided, me and another gentleman, I was kind of volunteering, I just jumped in with him, we actually cleared off that wing, went through hall ways, and we cleared every room, room by room. We actually stood on the top of the roof up here when we came out to the side, it was blown off.

BLITZER: I look at the destruction, amazing anyone could survive that. HOGAN: We did and it was crazy.

BLITZER: They knew what they were doing. Aundrea, you served in the military, too?

HOGAN: Still in, sir.

BLITZER: Still in, active duty?

HOGAN: Yes, sir. Active duty.

BLITZER: Thanks for your service.

HOGAN: Thank you. Appreciate it.

BLITZER: Appreciate everything you are doing.

HOGAN: Yes, sir. Thank you.

BLITZER: Coming up, run or hide from a tornado, it is a choice that could mean life or death. Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he is here to take a closer look on what's going on.

Plus, a heartbroken mother whose child died in an elementary school asked why there wasn't better protection.

And we are following also this. We are remembering some of those killed in the disaster as our special coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: One controversy that is emerging from the devastating tragedy here in Oklahoma, and it is a devastating tragedy, part of tornado country as they call it, the lack of shelters in public schools.

CNN's Kyung Lah spoke with the mother of a child who died at Plaza Towers Elementary School. Kyung is joining us now.

Kyung, you have a CNN exclusive. Tell us what you have seen and heard.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we met, Wolf, with the mother of Kyle Davis, an 8-year-old boy, he is one of the seven children who died at Plaza Towers elementary school. She is understandably in shock. She feels an overwhelming sadness at her loss, but also some anger. Here is a portion of our conversation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIKKI DIXON DAVIS, MOTHER OF TORNADO VICTIM: Monday night was the hardest night of my life. People are telling me go home, get some rest, and sleep. You know, how can you sleep when you don't even know where your baby is at? You don't know if he is safe, if he is still stuck under all of the rubble, where is he? You know, being a mother, you have to know where your babies are. And I finally maybe dozed off maybe an hour and a half, maybe, if that. I kept on turning on the news because they were talking about more storms coming in, then got up, got ready, went back into the city, and then I got confirmation that they had him, but he didn't make it. And you know, you cry and cry and cry, and then you feel like you're crying, there's no tears going, but you feel like they're going. And I just -- it is just something I never, ever thought in my life that we would have to go through.

LAH: Are you angry at all at anything? Is it just the overwhelming sadness that you feel?

DAVIS: I am angry to an extent. I know that the schools did what they thought they could do, but with us living in Oklahoma, tornado shelters should be in every school. It should be, you know, there should be a place that if this ever happened again during school that kids can get to a safe place, that we don't have to sit there and go through rubble and rubble and rubble and may not ever find what we're looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: Now Davis had another child who was also at Plaza Towers. That child, a daughter, an 11-year-old girl did survive. So, she is grateful for that.

Wolf, one thing I would like to add, she now is absolutely terrified of tornadoes. If there's another, she says the first thing she will do is go get her child out of school -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I know you've learned a lot about Kyle. Tell us what you have learned.

LAH: Well, Kyle is actually -- almost felt like he was there. His mom wanted to meet at a soccer field where she could show us how much he loved the sport. She is the ultimate soccer mom. She took him there all the time. He loved to play soccer. His nickname was the wall, because he was such a big kid.

And the other thing she mentioned is that he loved his sister, he also loved monster trucks, he loved going there with his grandfather whenever he could. And she says that her son with these bright blue baby blue eyes, she cannot imagine what it is going to be like to not see him grow up.

BLITZER: What a truly heart breaking story indeed. What a sweet, sweet boy.

Kyung Lah reporting, so many of these stories go on and on and on.

Up next, the best options if a tornado is coming your way. Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he is here with me, he will explain if you should run, and if so, where should you run to, should you hide?

And a mother's emotional account of surviving the storm in a cellar with five of her kids. She says her daughters are her heroes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Run or hide, thousands of people here in Oklahoma had just minutes to make that life or death decision when the tornado sirens sounded off on Monday. So what would you do if you heard those sounds?

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is her with us with a closer look. It is a tough choice to make. You hear the sirens going off, what do you do?

DOCTOR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are trained for this since we are children. But obviously, when it actually happens, it becomes a very quick sort of thinking for a lot of different people out there.

There are some pretty common misconceptions how to protect yourself during a tornado. So, we wanted to sort of go through those and give people an idea what to do.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jump in when you guys are ready.

GUPTA (voice-over): Thirteen minutes, that's the average lead time you'd have if the tornado was headed your way. There is obviously no completely safe option during a tornado. Your best bet is to get into the basement, somewhere below ground level. But keep in mind that if you are there, you want to see what's on the floor above you as well. A refrigerator or a piece of heavy furniture could come crashing through the floor, so you want to be wary of that.

Also, here in Moore, Oklahoma, there aren't a lot of basements. Studies have actually shown that there is another very good option. Take a look here. And interior room or closet like that can be the best place to be as well. The house is gone here, but that closet preserved, even the clothes inside that.

Remember, just got 13 minutes. So, find that safe place, maybe grab a helmet or a bike helmet, even throw some mattresses or blanket over you to try and protect your head.

One place you can't hide from a tornado is in your car. Tornado strength winds can pick up a one to two ton vehicle like this one and toss it around like you or I would a basketball.

Now, you obviously don't want to be driving toward a tornado, but it is also a bad idea to be driving away from a tornado. It is hard to gauge the distance. If you must be driving and weather is clear, try driving at right angles to the tornado, perpendicular to get out of the path of the storm.

There is another misconception as well which is that you should get out of the car and run under an overpass. What happens in the situation like this, is the wind is actually funneled, it is even more powerful than the storm, and there is also a lot of debris and that debris can injure you.

Now, if you are stuck outside as a tornado approaches, find a ditch or any place far away from potentially dangerous objects and vehicles and stay low.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: There are a lot of tornadoes here, obviously in this part of the country, Wolf. And I think as a result of a lot of the training and probably just over the years since childhood, people understanding these things, the death toll was as low as it was, trying to figure out given the devastation behind us how so many people survived. And I think it was some of these basic things.

BLITZER: Lessons learned tornado after tornado after tornado. Eventually, still lessons they have to learn, but I'm sure they will.

GUPTA: Yes. And with regard to buildings and hospitals, for sure. It is still remarkable.

BLITZER: Sanjay, thanks very much.

Doctor Sanjay, reporting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Seven children died down in the Plaza Towers elementary school took a direct hit from the tornado.

Our chief national correspondent John King got a look at what is left of that school.

John, I know it was very painful for you, for our crews, everybody going anywhere near that school to see what you had to see.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As a journalist, as a parent, as a human being, you show up at this site, Wolf, and you see what's left of this school, then you have the structure described for you. It was shaped like a U. And essentially, part of the crossbar is still there, the two legs are gone. And you see the swathe of the destruction in the neighborhood and at the school, then you take a walk through, and you are humbled and saddened, you look at the destruction. Seven of ten children that died in Moore perished there at that school. About when you walk through, and when our viewers get a look at the devastation at that site, it is a miracle that so many Moore children and teachers survived.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Where did everybody go?

SERGEANT JEREMY LEWIS, MOORE, OKLAHOMA POLICE: We basically just surrounded the school and started to run into different areas. Some has been cleaned out due to search and rescue efforts. There, literally, climbing just over debris. People were yelling for help. So, just pulling people out as quickly as possible. And that went on literally for hours.

KING: This was a hall of classrooms that led to.

LEWIS: Classrooms on each side.

KING: That was connected, there is nothing?

LEWIS: There was a wall there. That was a classroom straight ahead. There was classrooms out here. You can see there is still tile.

KING: This is gone.

LEWIS: This classroom is gone. These classrooms are all gone.

KING: There were more on the front side, too, anywhere you see this tile?

LEWIS: Well, you can see the door leading into what was the classroom.

KING: The back wall of the classroom. That's the front wall of the school there?

LEWIS: Front wall would have been there, yes.

KING: Was there a place in the school people paired better? Look of a better word?

LEWIS: Well, you can just kind see where there is still walls standing. Obviously, that corner, that main part of the tornado came through this way, so this is the area that took the most as it went through this part here. So, that's -- you just kind see where the walls are standing and where they are not.

About 460 something students, unfortunately we did lose seven, but by looking at the damage, it is a miracle we didn't lose a lot more. And none of this has been touched. This is what it looked like. There hasn't been tractors moving anything. This is how it landed.

KING: People have been through, they will be certain nobody is left.

LEWIS: Yes. This is all been searched. This is what is taking so long, had to go through all of this, and this goes for 15 miles the other way.

KING: Just 15 miles.

LEWIS: Just like this.

KING: Fifteen miles just like this.

Fifteen miles, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Again, when you walk through that school and imagine there were some 400, not sure of the exact number, Wolf. They don't know how many parents came and got the kids early. But in a full day, 460 students in that school, when you walk through, you thank God, not minimizing loss of seven children who died there.

But when you look at it, it is impossible to believe that more people didn't perish. That school did not have an underground shelter. That will be one of the debates after this storm. It is an older school, the newer schools have them. Without a doubt, that will be one of the debates should any new construction to have an underground storm shelter.

And then, we drove with an officer through the community. That's the hardest. That's ground zero where this tornado came through Moore. You heard him say for 15 miles looks just like that. Some residents are still not allowed back in there because just today they are going to try to turn on the electricity and gas back in there. They think they have all of the down power lines and shut off the gas, but they worried about risk of fire, because they say often after the event like this, when you turn the power back on, they missed one or two spots, and it could be a fire.

So, we did see some frustrated residents trying to get to their stuff, and the police saying, just please, give us one more day. But when, again as a parent, a journalist, just as human being, when you walk through that school site and imagine what it must have been like, and most of it is just gone.

BLITZER: You have been a journalist long time. Was that one of the most difficult assignments you had?

KING: The issue you get there is as a parent, you think of your own kids. I remember in D.C. on 9/11, tried to figure out where are my children, you know. Whenever something like this, when Newtown happens, you think of your own children. And so, when you walk through this school thinking, you know, your children go to a building like this.

You know, I live in the D.C. area, we don't get tornadoes, but just to think all parents are alike, the thing they care about most, the thing they would die for is to protect their children. What it must have been like to be at work 10, 15, 20 miles away, not knowing was your kid safe.

BLITZER: John King, thanks so much. Excellent reporting as usual.

Up next, the incredible story of a young mother, her 19-month-old son, and how bucking conventional wisdom helped save their lives.

And as we go to break, more incredible images from the devastation in Moore, Oklahoma. Our special coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHNS: I am Joe Johns at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. We are following breaking news this hour from Texas here in "the SITUATION ROOM."

People in San Antonio are facing a flood emergency this hour. Houses are flooded, streets are underwater, and the San Antonio River has climbed to a record high level, up to ten inches of rain have pounded the area since last night. One person is dead, another is missing. Residents have no choice but to simply wait until the waters recede.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was under water 20 minutes ago, I came over here, I own the property, and my daughter said that she couldn't get to her car. Her car is all flooded, the property is all -- the water is swarming through the whole house, and I came over to check and see what I could do, but obviously there's nothing that I can do right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: City officials are saying it is an extremely dangerous situation. The San Antonio River is more than a foot higher than the record set 15 years ago. The fire department has received more than 200 calls for water rescues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOOD: One of the things about rushing water, there's so much debris up underneath that water, there is tires, there is fences, there is all those things you cannot see underwater that entrap people. So again, very dangerous situation, very proud of the operations of the men and women of the fire department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Our Karen Maginnis has been tracking the San Antonio flood. She has an update from the CNN severe weather center.

MAGINNIS: Joe, it is a staggering amount of precipitation that has occurred in a single day. Eight to ten inches of rainfall around the San Antonio region, and they were saying that about 600 emergency reports of that, about 250 water rescues. One gentleman was pinned against a structure by all the debris in the water. They were able to rescue him.

What started this? We got that flow coming in off of the Gulf of Mexico, and very warm, moist, and unstable air, just kind of moving over the same place continuously for hours. And as a result, this did produces severe flooding across the region that is now moved off towards the east. So, as we go through time, what can we expect? Well, they start to diminish overnight, but as you can see in the next 24 hours, we are still looking at possibly some of these thunderstorms erupting once again across south Texas, into the hill country, extending to the Texas and Oklahoma border. But we will stay on top of it, and bring you the latest information -- Joe.

JOHNS: Karen Maginnis, thanks for that.

It is a day of unthinkable loss for some families in Moore, Oklahoma. But for others, celebration in the face of tragedy.

Three funerals today for people killed in the tornado. A 49- year-old, Cindy Plumley, and two kids, Christopher Legg and Emily Conatzer, both 9-years-old. But also today, a look towards the future and a welcome break from tornado cleanup. Three high schools in Moore went ahead on schedule with their graduation ceremonies that were moved to Oklahoma City.

In the midst of the tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma, stories of heroism are beginning to emerge. One of the most remarkable is a seventh grader that saved his classmate from being blown away.

CNN's Nick Valencia when the pair went back to their school.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As he walked through the rubble of the now levels school, 13-year-old Dylan Ellis was bewildered.

DYLAN ELLIS, 7TH GRADER: See. Look at this. That's destroyed.

VALENCIA: It was the first time he had been back since the tornado struck.

ELLIS: I don't know how we survived this.

VALENCIA: He remembers taking shelter in the middle school locker room.

ELLIS: Right through here.

VALENCIA: He remembers being surrounded by the cries and screams of 50 children.

ELLIS: Lights went off. You could hear it hit the building like loud and comes and takes off the roof.

VALENCIA: No one was killed when the tornado destroyed High Land East middle school. But, this wasn't just a miracle.

DIANE LEE, 7TH GRADER: Isn't the choir room are gone?

ELLIS: Yes. The choir room is gone. VALENCIA: Quietly standing next to him is his 12-year-old classmate, seventh grader Diane Lee. On Monday, Dylan probably saved her life.

Did you feel like you were going to get sucked away?

LEE: Yes, like the wind around me was like circles and everything and the ground was not underneath me anymore and he held onto my hand (INAUDIBLE).

ELLIS: I see her start to go up. I jump on her and lay on her and grab on the bottom of this office that were inside the ground. And then, one that is one tipped over, I pushed her out of the way and then all of the debris starts to hit me.

VALENCIA: How did you think so fast? How do you to do what you did?

ELLIS: I just thought of her as my family. What would I do if they started to go up? Didn't think. Just did it.

VALENCIA: How happy are you that he did?

LEE: Really happy or else I probably wouldn't be here.

VALENCIA: Already best friends since the start of the school year, Dylan and Diane say the tornado has brought them even closer.

LEE: Can't believe we are actually in there and actually got out and he helped me.

VALENCIA: How do you do in school?

ELLIS: Decent. I do OK.

VALENCIA: Middle school years are tough, even without a tornado. But Dylan and Diane have ended the semester with an important lesson; that in your darkest hour friendship will see you through.

Nick Valencia. CNN, Moore, Oklahoma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: We are getting brand-new developments from London tonight after this week's murder of a British soldier. Police have made three new arrests and we are learning new details about the past of one of the prime suspects.

CNN' s Nima Elbagir joins me live from London where the latest.

So, what do we know about these arrests?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand that three men have been arrested in addresses in southeast London not too far from the scene of the attack. Police say that they are also searching for further addresses and they say that two of the men actually resisted arrest. So, they had to be tasered before they could be taken into custody. This of course all while the search continues up in the Michael Adebolajo, the alleged attacker's family home up in the north of England. And police say that they have fresh leads and further lines of inquiry that they are going to be following, Joe.

JOHNS: So Nima, we are learning new details about this prime suspect in the case and I'm also hearing about an arrest in Kenya.

ELBAGIR: Absolutely, Joe. We are now hearing from Kenya counterterrorist authorities that as far back as November 2010, Michael Adebolajo was actually picked up while they believe attempting to cross from Kenya into Somalia.

Now, the allegation is that he was attempting to join the Al- Shabab (ph) Al-Qaeda militant fighters in Somalia. At the time though, they say that he was release because they didn't have enough evidence to keep him which of course raises the question about what happened between 2010 and this week. What happened after he was release from Kenya and returned to the United Kingdom. And these are questions that with are going to be put towards the British domestic security agency MI5 early next week, Joe.

JOHNS: Nima Elbagir with the very latest from London. Thanks for the reporting.

France's defense minister said a soldier who was stabbed today was target because he was in the military. His attacker quickly fled after stabbing the soldier in the neck. The attack happened on the western outskirts of Paris as the soldier was on a joint security patrol with police. The 23-year-old soldier was hospitalized but his wounds were described as not life threatening.

Runners finally had a chance to finish the Boston marathon today after the bombing last month kept them from completing the race. Around 3,000 runners turned out to finish their run despite a light rain. They were joined by victims of the attack. Explosions near the finish line killed three people and wounded more than 260 on April 15th.

Coming up ahead, new details on a justice department leak investigation and what a law enforcement force told CNN about the timeline of that investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: New details are surfacing that FOX News was aware years ago that the justice department was targeting one of its reporters in a leak investigation raising questions about why FOX didn't reveal that and why it's only objecting now.

A law enforcement force tell CNN that the justice department notified immediate organization almost three years ago of a subpoena for detailed telephone records. And a second source tells CNN that organization was FOX News. It was part of a an investigation of Stephen Kim (ph), a former state department worker accused of unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information to FOX correspondent James Rosen.

One law enforcement source told CNN in the investigation that led to the indictment of Stephen Kim, the government issued subpoenas for toll records for five phone numbers associated with the media, consistent with the department of justice policies and procedures the department notified the network of those subpoenas nearly three years ago by certified mail, facsimile and e-mail.

Up until now the focus of this controversy have been on the search warrant of the personal e-mails of James Rosen. Network has indicated, it learned of the warrant for the e-mails just recently and newly released court documents show that the government was trying to keep the investigation under seal.

But the claims of the law enforcement sources about the notice given about the subpoenaed phone records to just FOX could have known at least that the department of justice was going after its phone records year ago.

At the same time, that notice did not detail the extent of the investigation in which the government calls James Rosen a possible conspirator in crime. CNN has reached out to FOX for comment beginning Friday evening but the network has not responded. FOX and other news organizations has been highly critical of the justice department's aggressive pursuit of leak investigations involving reporters. But if FOX new about the subpoenas almost three years ago, as law enforcement suggests, the question is why the network is raising objections only now.

I'm Joe Jones. "STORM HUNTERS: IN THE PATH OF DISASTER" starts right now.