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New Day
Snowden Facing Espionage Charges; Paula Deen Throwing Herself At Mercy Of Fans; Still No Sign Of Jimmy Hoffa After 30 Years Of Investigation; Aaron Hernandez Holes Up In His Home As Murder Investigation Continues; Brand New Day For Sarah Murnaghan; TWA Flight 800 Crash Revisited In New Documentary
Aired June 22, 2013 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Criminal complaint revealed: the man who leaked NSA secrets is now facing charges of espionage. But the question is how to get him back on U.S. soil.
Paula Deen throwing herself at the mercy of her fans. But for her biggest backer, it's already too late. Is her brand ruined forever?
Another search for Jimmy Hoffa this week came up dry; 30 years of investigations have cost $3 million. So guess who's paying for it?
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KOSIK: Good morning, I'm Alison Kosik.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 7 o'clock here on the East Coast. Welcome to this NEW DAY Saturday.
We begin this hour with new developments about Edward Snowden. He admitted to leaking secret information on the NSA surveillance program. And now the government has leveled formal charges.
KOSIK: And those charges include theft of government property, willfully communicating classified intelligence information to an unauthorized person and communicating national defense information without permission.
CNN's White House correspondent Dan Lothian is live for us this morning.
Dan, these are the charges we're hearing. But are these the only ones that Snowden will face?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The only charges that we know of at that point. This is still early in the process. Remember, the Justice Department launched an investigation after this leaked information became public. And this is sort of the first step in this legal fight to get Snowden back to this country and into court. Snowden, who is still believed to be in Hong Kong but specifically where he is, unknown at this point. He doesn't believe that he has done anything wrong.
He says that the Obama administration, the president himself has not been transparent. And in fact has expanded some of these programs which he believes is just wrong.
But the administration has been defending these programs, saying that in many cases, dozens of plots have been blocked because of these surveillance programs. So again, we expect that this is sort of the beginning of what could be a long drawn-out legal fight to get Snowden back to this country.
KOSIK: OK. So Snowden has been in hiding but with charges now filed; does that mean efforts to find him will heat up?
LOTHIAN: It really does. And in fact, Snowden himself has said that he will fight any attempts to get him to come back to this country. But already, according to "The Washington Post," the U.S. government has asked or demanded or asked of Hong Kong to get him, detain him in Hong Kong, as part of a warrant, an extradition warrant.
And so that is sort of this process that is beginning. But we expect that Snowden himself will fight any process, any attempts, to get him to come back to this country.
KOSIK: OK. Dan Lothian, thank you.
BLACKWELL: The Food Network says it is dropping Paula Deen. The move comes after the Southern cooking queen admitted in a lawsuit deposition that she has used the N word in the past.
Deen and her brother are being sued for sexual and racial harassment by a former manager at their Savannah, Georgia restaurants. Deen apologized in two online statements, first, a professionally produced video but apparently that was not what she wanted to say. So she removed that one and posted an amateur video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA DEEN, CELEBRITY CHEF: Your color of your skin, your religion, your sexual preference does not matter to me. But it's what in the heart -- what's in the heart and my family and I try to live by that. And I am here to say I am so sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: CNN's Nick Valencia joins us now.
Nick, this is difficult to come back from. What is Paula Deen doing?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very difficult to come back from, indeed. She's in full-fledged damage control, as she should be right now. But it's how she's handling it, Victor, that's really got a lot of people confused, it's just very bizarre behavior.
Yesterday she released that YouTube video statement, then pulled it back. She didn't think it was authentic enough. She didn't think it was sincere enough. So she releases a self-produced -- she says self- produced video, where she comes across as being very apologetic, trying to be as sincere as she can, begging for forgiveness.
Right now, her camp and Paula Deen herself really on her heels. She lost her job over these -- this statement that she made in this deposition last week which became public.
And now, we're going to keep an eye on other sponsors. She has book deals. She's sponsored by a diabetes medicine -- a company that makes diabetes medicine. It's going to be a long couple of weeks ahead for Paula Deen, as she continues to deal with this fallout, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Yes, she's got cookware, marinades, all kinds of things. Now if you read, and both you and I have read through this deposition, 150 pages, give or take, there are a lot of outrageous statements made by Deen. I want you to talk about this plantation-style wedding.
VALENCIA: See, Victor, it's not just the use of the N word; it's also the mindset and the mentality of Paula Deen that really comes through in this deposition. We have a graphic, a statement that she gave the plaintiff's attorney as she's being questioned.
She said she wanted to have a plantation-style wedding. The plaintiff's attorney asked, is there any possibility in your mind that you slipped and used the N word? And going on to talk about this plantation style weeding, she says no because that's what these men were. They were professional black men doing a fabulous job. She characterizes them as being slaves. She wanted to have this Civil War-era type plantation wedding with black men and women serving her.
So it's really just sort of bizarre and very weird language that she uses in this deposition and she really incriminates herself, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Yes, this conversation is certainly going to continue.
Nick Valencia, thank you.
VALENCIA: You bet.
KOSIK: New this morning, Southwest flights are back in the air after a computer bug canceled several flights and grounded 250 others last night. The glitch affected the system that schedules takeoffs. Southwest says it's now using a manual system which can take a bit longer than normal, before its main system is back online. So if you're flying Southwest today, the advice is, be sure to check for delays.
Another computer glitch to tell about this morning, this time on Facebook. The site's apologizing to its users after a bug in the download your information tool shared personal information like e- mails and phone numbers with other users. The exchange only happened between people already connected, not advertisers. Facebook says the problem has been fixed.
BLACKWELL: NFL star Aaron Hernandez is a prisoner in his own home as reporters circle his house waiting to see if he'll say anything about his ties to a murder investigation.
KOSIK: For now, he's a free man, but the New England Patriots star may be in big trouble as detectives look into the killing of a 27- year-old whose body was found less than a mile from Hernandez's house. CNN's Alina Cho joins me now.
Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison, good morning.
Three search warrants have been executed but there's no word yet on what investigators have found. That could take a week. What is clear is that Aaron Hernandez, in the house behind me, essentially remains in conclusion.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much, Aaron.
CHO (voice-over): This is Aaron Hernandez August 2012, in the glow of signing a five-year contract extension with the New England Patriots worth as much as $40 million, nearly a half million per game.
AARON HERNANDEZ, TIGHT END, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: All I can do is play my heart out for them. Make the right decisions and live like a Patriot.
CHO (voice-over): That was 10 months ago. This is now. The 23-year- old Patriots tight end is trailed by the media wherever he goes, leaving his lawyer's office on Friday, coming home, an O.J. Simpson- like helicopter chase on Thursday followed by this exchange at a gas station.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us anything you want to say? What happened on Monday night? Can you just tell us what happened on Monday night?
CHO (voice-over): Investigators are looking for clues in the mysterious death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, whose body was found in the woods, less than a mile from Hernandez's home about an hour outside Boston. Police are not calling Hernandez a suspect, but investigators have searched his home.
Lloyd's sister confirms the two were friends and went to a Boston nightclub together Friday night. Olivia Thibou says there was even a deeper connection; Lloyd's girlfriend and Hernandez's fiancee are sisters.
OLIVIA THIBOU, LLOYD'S SISTER: I'd like to know why. He's a very great guy. What could he have possibly have done to anger anybody to do that?
CHO (voice-over): Hernandez's attorney says neither he nor his client will have any comment at this time.
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CHO: And law enforcement sources tell "The Boston Globe" that they've obtained video of Hernandez and Lloyd together just hours before Lloyd was killed. Of course, that does not answer the question of whether Hernandez killed Lloyd.
What is clear, Alison and Victor, is there's one big fallout from this case already. The football player has lost a big endorsement deal. The company that makes Muscle Milk has dropped him as a pitchman effectively immediately.
BLACKWELL: All right, Alina Cho reporting for us this morning, thank you.
KOSIK: First, a court battle, then a double lung transplant surgery. We're going to tell you how a brave 10-year-old girl whose story made headlines around the world, we're going to tell you how she's doing now.
And find out how a stranger's kindness is helping a young boy hear and giving his family new hope.
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BLACKWELL: Twelve minutes after the hour. And good morning, Washington, D.C. It's going to be a nice day there, 70 degrees, which, for me, really is the perfect temperature.
And here's a look at the Capitol, a lot of tourists going to be there this morning. Thanks for starting your day with us, this NEW DAY here on CNN.
KOSIK: It's a brand-new day and life for a courageous 10-year-old Philadelphia girl and her family, Sarah Murnaghan.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Yes, Sarah Murnaghan is her name. She woke up from a medically induced coma last night for the first time since surgery earlier this month. Now, she underwent a lung transplant on June 12th. That's after a judge ruled she could be put on an adult donor list. Sarah, she suffers from cystic fibrosis, received lungs donated by an adult.
KOSIK: And what's interesting is they had to be resized to fit her. A family spokeswoman said Sarah has been nodding yes and no to questions. She's showing she understands what people are asking her. She's still on a ventilator so she can't talk at the moment.
BLACKWELL: It's so good to see that she had the surgery she needed. We followed that story for a very long time.
KOSIK: And we'll continue following it.
BLACKWELL: This is also a new day for his little boy. I want you to watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAYSON CLAMP'S DAD: Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you heard it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Can't see it enough. Love seeing it. That's 3-year-old Grayson Clamp hearing his dad speak for the first time ever. In fact, it's the first time Grayson ever heard any sound.
BLACKWELL: Yes, he was born without a cochlear nerve. And that nerve connects the brain stem to audio waves so one can hear. Grayson had a cochlear implant, but that didn't help.
So last month he became the first child in the U.S. to receive an auditory stem brain implant.
KOSIK: And a family of a 7-year-old Georgia boy could not afford costly new hearing implants for him.
BLACKWELL: Then a viewer saw their story right here on CNN and he made it his mission to help. CNN's George Howell tells us more.
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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When your teacher turns away from the class and turns to from the board, you can hear her?
HAYDEN MCKENZIE, HEARING IMPAIRED: No.
HOWELL: Why?
HAYDEN: Because when I don't have my hearing aid on and somebody is turned away from me, I don't know what they're saying.
HOWELL: How does that make you feel?
HAYDEN: Sad.
HOWELL (voice-over): When talking to 7-year-old Hayden McKenzie you've got to speak up.
HAYDEN: So I can hear.
HOWELL (voice-over): Hayden has one used hearing aid that still works, his parents say they can't afford a new pair and they learned that insurance in most states won't pay to cover hearing aids for kids. When we first shared Hayden's story three months ago, his mother was frustrated. AMANDA MCKENZIE, HAYDEN'S MOTHER: We make too much money to do the Medicaid route. And you can't use them -- we can't get any kind of supplement. So it's just all out of pocket. And $6,000 is a lot of money.
HOWELL (voice-over): The problem that the McKenzie family faced in Georgia is a problem many other working class families struggle with when raising hearing impaired children. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that five in every 1,000 children in the U.S. age 3 to 17 suffers from some form of hearing loss.
Amanda said when she called looking for help, the insurance company told her hearing aids are elective.
AMANDA MCKENZIE: So if we had bigger suitcases we would have put them on there.
HOWELL (voice-over): But now there's new hope for Hayden, this kid from Atlanta, found it in Minneapolis.
AMANDA MCKENZIE: It feels like we've been on this road for about three years now. It finally feels like you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
HOWELL (voice-over): It's an opportunity this family never asked for, never expected.
BRANDON SAWALICH, STARKEY HEARING TECHNOLOGIES: Starkey Hearing Technologies, what we do in our foundation. It's -- we're the Mayo Clinic of hearing help.
HOWELL (voice-over): All because Brandon Sowalich was listening.
HOWELL: You reached out to me over Twitter.
SAWALICH: I did. I actually got an e-mail from a former colleague here that said, hey, check out this story. I was sitting in a hotel room one night, watched your story on Hayden and instantly said we got to help this kid.
I'm Brandon.
AMANDA MCKENZIE: Nice to meet you.
SAWALICH: How are you?
AMANDA MCKENZIE: (Inaudible) give you a hug.
(LAUGHTER)
BILL AUSTIN, FOUNDER AND CEO, STARKEY HEARING TECHNOLOGIES: When he has both ears functioning, when he's hearing the way he should, he should hear as good as anyone.
HOWELL: You're crying? AMANDA MCKENZIE: I am, already, we have just started.
When Bill was talking about the birthright of a child to hear, you know, you don't think about it that way until somebody who sees this so much is the one who says it. You don't feel like -- you feel like -- he gets it. He understands. Finally somebody does.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen real close.
HOWELL (voice-over): Hayden received a full evaluation at Starkey and the vital tools his family's insurance company wouldn't cover.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you thinking? That's good. You can hear me better?
HAYDEN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?
HOWELL (voice-over): A new pair of custom-designed hearing aids free of charge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So now are these better than the other ones?
HAYDEN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, they're better, OK. We just had to turn them up.
HOWELL (voice-over): The McKenzies know they're among the lucky ones. It's an opportunity most families don't get. But through Hayden's story, they hope insurance companies and regulators will be listening to reconsider the status quo so more kids like Hayden --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hot dog.
HAYDEN: Hot dog.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baseball.
HAYDEN: Baseball.
HOWELL (voice-over): -- can hear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: George Howell joins us now.
KOSIK: What a great story.
BLACKWELL: Yes, that moment you're standing there with Hayden's mother and she starts crying, because the last time we talked about this, she had no idea that this was possible and how in the world she'd pay for it.
HOWELL: You know, and you think about the struggle that they went through for so many years, and then to get to this point, it was like a new day for them. It was like a light at the end of the tunnel. This kid's life has changed forever because now, he can hear his friends, he can hear his teacher.
It's a different life for him now.
KOSIK: But it's surprising that insurance doesn't cover this equipment.
What are the chances of them getting in the game and covering this?
HOWELL: Here in the state of Georgia, there's House Bill 74, it's proposed legislation. It's still sitting in the insurance committee. It hasn't been voted on yet but there is movement, there is momentum in Georgia and in other states.
When you hear from the insurance industry, though, they say, look, we would like to cover these things. The cost is just so high we can't. So that's their position. Still you see people trying to make some changes so kids like Hayden can hear.
BLACKWELL: It would be great to follow Hayden throughout the years to see how his personality (inaudible).
HOWELL: I was thinking about that, like five years from now, what a great story, because then he'll be able to hear this friends. What kind of kid -- well, he's shy right now. What's he going to be like in five years?
BLACKWELL: Let's do that.
George, thank you.
HOWELL: Absolutely will.
BLACKWELL: All right. Thanks.
Here's a question for you. How do you like your burger? How about with a side of legal action? Not as nice as fries.
That's what's being served in one small Texas burger joint after they stepped on the toes of one of the big guys.
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BLACKWELL: This block, we're talking about the big business stories. And we're starting with two of the world's top designers now sentenced to prison. Maybe you've heard of these two guys, how about it, Alison? Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.
You know them?
KOSIK: I know them.
BLACKWELL: Yes both --
KOSIK: I see them at Bloomingdale's and --
BLACKWELL: And you walk right by them.
KOSIK: Exactly. I can't afford them.
BLACKWELL: Both just sentenced to 20 months behind bars. They're accused of not telling authorities about an offshoot company it costs literally millions in euros in taxes. Dolce & Gabbana say it's not true. The case is under appeal. Neither have started serving their sentence. A trending Twitter hashtag now is #freedolce&gabbana.
Now some people might start -- see it and think someone is giving away D&G. It did not happen.
KOSIK: Something tells me they're going to be OK after this, aren't they?
It just seems like they're -- these, quote, "accused tax evaders" always wind up --
BLACKWELL: They'll be fine. It's a multibillion dollar brand. But here's the thing. They're going to have to get used to a lower quality of garment because they don't really put you in cashmere when you serve 20 months in prison.
KOSIK: That's true.
BLACKWELL: Yes, you got to get to scratchy cotton.
KOSIK: Or if they do go to prison, they can always design the new --
BLACKWELL: That would be nice. I think the other prisoners would appreciate it.
KOSIK: Certainly. And that's something to do.
You eat Chipotle, yes?
BLACKWELL: I do, I love a burrito bowl.
KOSIK: I know. They've always been big on promoting themselves as wholesome. Turns out 12 of 24 ingredients that they use to make their burritos are genetically modified. Chipotle is considered a higher-up fast food.
BLACKWELL: A classy fast food joint.
KOSIK: Yes, it's a chain. And what it's done is it's listed ingredients in the first place and it's listed them that are genetically modified. But here's the thing, they're listed on their website. Now they're very big on listing those ingredients.
And genetically modified foods have really gotten a lot of beef because there's no real proof out there if they can harm you health- wise. And interestingly enough, here in this country, food manufacturers aren't obligated to put it on their -- on food labels that the ingredients are genetically modified. In Europe, they are on labels.
But the funny thing is, knowing that, we could be eating GMO foods and not even know it.
So why is Chipotle getting the heat for it?
BLACKWELL: That's true. Well, they're just the first to do it. But here's the other thing, if people know, will they stop? Will they change? I just hope that the guacamole is not on the GMO list. And even if it is, I'll probably still order the burrito bowl.
KOSIK: I hear you. I love it.
BLACKWELL: Yes, here's another thing, people will continue to order, the Big Mac, really popular. You know that, well you know the Whopper. But do you know the double double?
KOSIK: The double double?
BLACKWELL: Look at this. We've got a picture of it, this is the double double, it's a burger made by Underbelly, that's the name of the restaurant in Houston.
Here's the problem, the original double-double -- that's not really a great double-double shot -- but it's from In-N-Out Burger, they have been making it since the '60s. Now the burger chain sent Underbelly a letter, pointing out that, listen, we've already got this name. So that Texas double-double is now called the Cease and Desist burger.
At least they've got a sense of humor about it.
But yes, you can't go and just say --
KOSIK: Steal somebody's burger name? You can't do that.
BLACKWELL: I'm going to make a Happy Meal, as if no one has ever heard of that. It's not really going to work.
KOSIK: (Inaudible) still tastes the same, though.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
Nothing like knowing your tax dollars are hard at work, looking for Jimmy Hoffa.
KOSIK: The former Teamsters leader, of course, that's who he is, disappeared in 1975. He was last seen in front of a restaurant in Michigan.
So there's this new tip that came out. It led police to a field located just north of Detroit. And it turned up empty again, surprise, surprise. So it's been close to four decades of searching for this -- for the remains after these tips that keep coming in from Michigan to Florida.
And estimated costs for searching for him, $3 million. Who's paying for this?
BLACKWELL: Yes. The public.
Here's the other thing, I don't know how many people today care. If they find Jimmy Hoffa's body, it will be a big story. But if they don't, we'll all live on.
KOSIK: I'm thinking you're right.
BLACKWELL: Yes. And it's really expensive.
All right, it was one of the largest investigations in U.S. history, the search for answers in the crash of TWA Flight 800. But some people have never been satisfied with the government's explanation. We'll speak with one man who says their report was flat wrong.
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KOSIK: Mortgage rates picked up this week. Have a look.
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KOSIK: Bottom of the hour. Welcome back, I'm Alison Kosik.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. And now, the five things you need to know this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL (voice-over): Number one, the U.S. government has now charged admitted NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Snowden is in hiding and was last seen in Hong Kong. He faces three charges right now, including theft of government property. The charges are the usual first step in the extradition process.
The Food Network says it's cutting ties with Paula Deen by not renewing her contract at the end of the months. The celebrity cook's under fire for admitting she has used the N word in the past. It came to light in a recent lawsuit deposition. She's being sued for racial and sexual harassment by a former employee. Deen denies the accusations.
Number three, a woman is in critical condition this morning after she was mauled by a tiger. Police say the woman was cleaning the cat's cage at an exotic cat rescue center in Indiana when it escaped its holding area. It clamped its jaws on her head and authorities say the reason it got out is because the door was not properly shut.
New video now of the catastrophic flooding in the Canadian province of Alberta. Two people have died. A third is missing. The rising waters have forced the evacuation of 100,000 people, including downtown Calgary, Canada's third biggest city. Many shelters in Calgary are filled to capacity. Canada's prime minister toured the devastation Friday afternoon.
Number five, Southwest Airlines back in the air now after a computer glitch grounded 250 flights and canceled several others late Friday. Southwest says it's now using a manual system to handle takeoffs and arrivals while its main system is being fixed. It can take a bit longer, so if you're flying, check for delays.
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KOSIK: It's been 17 years since TWA Flight 800 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 230 people aboard. What followed was an exhaustive four-year search for answers, one of the biggest investigations ever undertaken by the government.
The NTSB and the FBI rebuilt the plane from parts brought up from the sea and in a 50,000-page report found a spark from faulty wiring that that was the cause. That caused a fuel tank to explode.
But a new film is challenging that theory, arguing it was instead an external blast.
To discuss, I'm joined by Jim Polk, he's a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and CNN investigative reporter and Jack Cashill, author of "First Strike: TWA Flight 800 and the Attack of America."
Jim, I want to start with you, you were part of a 2006 documentary about the crash. Tell me what you found?
JIM POLK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alison, to begin with, the dispute over whether a missile brought down the plane and not an external explosion begins with the witnesses on the ground. A number of them said they saw a streak in the sky that they thought was a missile.
But there were two airline pilots in the area who had a front row seat on this tragedy. It happened right in front of them. Let's look and listen to what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCCLAIN, PILOT: It blew up in the air and then we saw two fireballs go down (inaudible) to the water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the voice of David McClain, piloting a 737 over Long Island. A bright light caught his eye.
MCCLAIN: And all of a sudden, boom. And almost instantly, a fraction of a second later, two streams of flames came out the bottom of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another pilot, Captain Paul Wheeler, was in the cockpit of a Virgin Atlantic 747.
PAUL WHEELER, PILOT: I could see the Segall chief (ph) of the fuselage and the windows and bits falling off, fire everywhere, and it falling into the sea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both had flown in the military. Both know what a missile looks like. Neither saw a missile that night.
WHEELER: I was aware from both the height off the ground and the fact that there were no vapor trails in the sky that it was unlikely to be a missile that brought the aircraft down.
MCCLAIN: I thought there was a bomb on board. That was my initial -- I did not see any missile at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
POLK: Now, Alison, there was a helicopter pilot, who says he did see a missile before the explosion. But he was at a lower altitude than those two airline pilots.
KOSIK: OK. So let me ask Jack, Jack, what do you think happened if it wasn't an internal explosion like those two pilots saw?
JACK CASHILL, AUTHOR: Well, unlike what Jim says, there were 270 eyewitnesses to a missile strike; 96 of them -- this is FBI eyewitnesses -- saw it from the horizon ascend all the way up to the plane. They all described it the same way, that is a red tip, a plume trail after it, gray. And then it gets near the plane and it arcs over, zigzags, hits the plane, blows up.
One of those witnesses, Number 73, described in detail the breakup sequence of the airplane, and she's an aviation professional, before the FBI even knew what it was. Now here's the challenge I have for Jim. The FBI recruited the CIA to recreate this animation to show what the eyewitnesses purportedly saw, basically to discredit the eyewitnesses. And what they said, is that after the nose of the plane fell off, that it turned into a missile and it ascended upright for about 3,500 feet, confusing the eyewitnesses on the ground, several of whom were military people, pilots, commercial fisherman, et cetera, sophisticated people, into thinking they saw a missile.
Now when CNN did its animation 10 years later, 10 years after the crash, they eliminated that zoom climb altogether.
So I asked Jim this, if those -- if -- why did you eliminate the zoom climb if the CIA -- what was the CIA doing involved in this in the first place? If the CIA used that expressly to discredit the eyewitnesses?
POLK: Very quickly, I would agree with you the CIA animation is controversial. We do not make it climb in our animation because frankly, the transponder disappeared on the radar at the time of the explosion. So there's no altitude readout on the rest of the flight and so there's no supporting evidence for the CIA's animation.
KOSIK: Jack, let me step in here --
(CROSSTALK)
CASHILL: (Inaudible) use that --
KOSIK: Jack, because it's one thing, that when people hear this, they want to know, OK, if it was an external blast, who shot it down? Why would anybody shoot it down? And why would there be this cover-up?
CASHILL: Well, let me address the cover-up. Five weeks after the crash, "The New York Times" had this headline above the fold at right, "Prime Evidence that Explosive Device Found -- Destroyed TWA Flight 800." That's a paraphrase, but it's close.
Above the fold to the left was "Clinton Signs Welfare Reform Bill on Eve of Democratic National Convention."
One of those headlines had to go; it was this line. This was Bill Clinton's Benghazi moment. They just wanted to kick this can down the road until after November and so it would not affect the outcome of the election.
Now, they did not tell that to the people involved in the investigation, of course. I'm sure they were told it was a high-level national security; Iran shot these missiles, blah, blah, blah.
Now what happens though is that three weeks later, they have to explain away the explosive residue found all over the plane, the explosive residue that led "The New York Times" to write the story they did. And so they discovered that there was a dog training exercise in St. Louis months earlier in which this poor African- American cop spilled explosive devices all over the plane.
They started leaking this story before they talked to the cop. The cop only recorded the -- he did not record the tail number of the plane and he did not record the gate number. He only recorded the time and a wide body.
Now, the time that he did that explosion on the flight 800 -- that training on the Flight 800 plane was filled with 400 passengers and was leaving for Hawaii. There was an empty wide body sitting right next to it. They made this up.
KOSIK: OK.
CASHILL: Then they started corrupting all of the evidence, including the eyewitness testimony.
KOSIK: OK. Well, the good thing is -- I have to cut you guys off. But the good thing is that there's a documentary about this.
So I first want to thank you, Jim Polk.
Jack Cashill, thank you for your time.
Once again, you can watch our CNN documentary about TWA Flight 800 as part of an Anderson Cooper special report. It's airing actually Sunday night at 11:00 pm Eastern, right here on CNN.
BLACKWELL: Another thing so many people are talking about, famous chef Paula Deen in hot water after admitting to using racial slurs. The Food Network has dumped her three shows and she's begging for forgiveness, literally.
Plus, more on the story everyone is gossiping about, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West naming their new baby girl North West.
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KOSIK: Welcome back. We are in the E block now. Yay. And that means time for some entertainment news.
So let's begin with the story that's really just -- I mean, it's taken on a life of its own online.
BLACKWELL: So many people are talking about this. After an admission by celebrity chef Paula Deen that she used the N word in the past, The Food Network announced that it will not renew her three-show contract when it expires at the end of this month.
Joining me now is "Washington Post" columnist Alexandra Petri.
Good to have you, Alexandra. Let's talk first about these videos. I want to show our viewers the apologies that Deen posted yesterday online. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA DEEN, CELEBRITY CHEF: -- skin, your religion, your sexual preference does not matter to me. But it's what in the heart -- what's in the heart. And my family and I try to live by that. And I am here to say I am so sorry. I was wrong. Yes. I worked hard, and I've made mistakes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: So, Alexandra, one of our producers pointed out to me that she did not apologize for any specific thing. Does this -- is this believable? Let's start there.
ALEXANDRA PETRI, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, although I think with the whole Paula Deen story, it was a little bit alarming for once to see something disgusting coming out of her mouth as opposed to going into it, as is usually the case.
But with the apologies -- she made like three apology videos, which as I know from being a kid like in high school, three apologies or three excuses is always slightly less convincing than one. I think she had like a whole video where she was apologizing to Matt Lauer specifically, which -- he's not the one most hurt in this story.
Actually, she seems to be the one who is hurt a lot coming out of this, because Food Network not renewing her contract and everything. Although, everyone's sort of stunned response at the news that Paula Deen, a woman her age, who is most known for putting fried things on top of other fried things, covering them in lard and double-frying them, that she somehow -- might have -- they're aghast that she would have said such a thing.
I mean, given her trademark, I think the sort of air of shock that we've been putting on has been also a bit surprising.
KOSIK: OK. So there's a backstory to this. The story broke because a former manager at Deen's restaurant is suing her and her brother for sexual and racial harassment.
When asked at a deposition if she ever used the N word, Deen said, yes, of course. And when asked for context, she said, "It was in conversation with her husband, when a black man burst into a bank she was working at and put a gun to her head".
So Deen admits to possibly using the slur other times in her life as well. Deen of course has faced other controversy before, but nothing like this.
So the big question here, of course, is her celebrity career over at this point?
PETRI: Yes, I think the "of course" is the problem there. Because most people hearing, you know, a gunpoint like a horrible situation. Even then you would have some pause about just using the word. And the "of course" there was the -- that's the eesh or yerg moment of her sort of statement.
But I don't know, I think before, when you were eating Paula Deen, you sort of had this deep remorse and disgust at yourself as you're eating your fried layers. And now you actually have something to feel remorseful and disgusted about. So maybe she can sort of build off of this moment.
I still think there's a lot of loyalty.
BLACKWELL: Not just the butter anymore.
Hey, all right. So let's move on to this because this one is pretty interesting. Another big day, another talker. Rapper Kanye West and his reality TV star girlfriend named their new baby North West, also known as That Way.
KOSIK: Also known as the Bankrupt Airline.
BLACKWELL: So E-news says the celebrity couple plans to call their baby Norrie for short. All right. But how surprised are we really that they named the baby North?
PETRI: Well, I think there's -- actually it's a cost-saving thing because all the compasses that you would get in your house now come preengraved with your baby's name on them. And this kid was never going to have a normal childhood, like it Kanye West's child is going to be raised on a spaceship surrounded by floating (inaudible) lamps, it's not going to be a normal kid who's going to go to school and they're going to be like, ha ha, North West, are you a one direction fan? Ha ha. That's my impression of a kid teasing you at school.
And so I think presumably, this child's going to be fine no matter what -- not fine; I guess whatever the Kardashian level of fine is, where you're surrounded by cameras and love, mostly love. Adopt me, Kardashians.
BLACKWELL: As a funny line from one of our booker, Nadia said, they just should have named the baby Chicago. I actually like Chicago West. She could be a great writer.
Alexandria Petri, thank you so much.
PETRI: Thank you. (Inaudible).
BLACKWELL: A lot of high school students are excited to walk across the stage at graduation. We know that. But probably not as excited as this graduate. His story is ahead.
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KOSIK: Now time for the good stuff.
BLACKWELL: Been waiting for it.
KOSIK: Yes. It's part of the show where we feature stories about some of the good news going on out there.
First up, Nick Balenger, the star pitcher for Lake Braddock High School in Burke, Virginia, he was paralyzed last summer when he accidentally dove into shallow water, almost completely severing his spinal cord.
BLACKWELL: Others would have given up. But not Nick. He set a goal for himself to walk to get his high school diploma. And after a year of intensive physical therapy, he did just that.
NICK BALENGER, LAKE BRADDOCK HIGH SCHOOL: Ever since I first went back to school I said my goal was to be on the stage walking across, going down the steps. It feels great to finally accomplish it.
BLACKWELL: Imagine that moment. He's got to feel great. Doctors tell Nick since his spinal cord was only partially severed, a 95 percent recovery is possible. Nick's goal, of course, is 100 percent.
KOSIK: Yes, good for him.
BLACKWELL: Yes, it's good to see that he set that goal, reached it and he walked across the stage.
KOSIK: And look at this amazing video from China.
A group of delivery men spotted a 2-year-old girl dangling from a fifth floor window. They got ready to catch the toddler and broke her fall. One of these heroes broke his arm, another suffered neck injuries but these couriers delivered the goods by saving a life. How about that?
BLACKWELL: Right place, right time. Good thing they did.
Gone, but not even close to being forgotten. We remember Tony Soprano and the man who gave breath to that larger than life character, James Gandolfini. Plus new details on his death.
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BLACKWELL: And now to the death of another Hollywood favorite, James Gandolfini. A family friend says that autopsy results show the 51- year-old actor died this week from a heart attack. No foul play, no substance abuse.
KOSIK: Tears and tributes have flowed in since we heard the news, including this one from our Jeanne Moos.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since his passing, Tony Soprano has a table reserved at Holsten's in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where he was last seen eating onion rings as "The Sopranos" series went forever to black. Now reporters are sitting at reserve table.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For now, it's shut down.
MOOS (voice-over): Reporting on something much more final than a finale.
"TONY SOPRANO": Don't worry. I'm going to hell when I die.
MOOS (voice-over): How could a character with so much anger be so beloved, a son who abused his mother when she'd just had a stroke?
"SOPRANO": I'm going to live a nice, long, happy life, which is more than I can say for you.
MOOS (voice-over): A guy who got so annoyed at his tablemate that he even abused the ketchup.
A character who got into our heads while having his examined.
LORRAINE BRACCO, ACTOR, "DR. JENNIFER MELFI": When's the last time you had a prostate exam?
"SOPRANO": Hey, I don't even let anybody wag their finger in my face.
MOOS (voice-over): And in real life --
JAMES LIPTON, THE ACTORS STUDIO: First of all, have you ever had any personal experience with psychoanalysis?
JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
GANDOLFINI: I don't think when I started the series I did. I think that led me right into it.
(LAUGHTER)
MOOS (voice-over): In a New York tabloid, it was Tony who died; James Gandolfini's real name got second billing. And all Gandolfini had to do to get a laugh was act like Tony when Tina Fey interrupted him on "Saturday Night Live."
TINA FEY, "SNL": Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you.
GANDOLFINI: Well, use your head.
(LAUGHTER)
FEY: That is the scariest man I have ever been attracted to.
(LAUGHTER)
MOOS (voice-over): But the real man was said to be sweet, rather than sour.
LIPTON: What is your favorite word?
GANDOLFINI: Pickle.
(LAUGHTER)
MOOS (voice-over): Cartoonist Mark Murphy wrote this epitaph. "Here lies Tony Soprano, murderer, thief, extortionist, drug abuser, liar, arsonist. He was loved and will be missed."
I've been missing "The Sopranos" show open.
So let's make one last trip with Tony through the Lincoln tunnel to New Jersey. Things have changed. Tony would definitely have switched from toll tickets to E-ZPass. The Twin Towers are long gone. And now, so is a towering actor. Jeanne Moos, CNN. New York.
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KOSIK (voice-over): Paula Deen throwing herself at the mercy of her fans but for her biggest backer, it's already too late. Is her brand ruined forever?
Criminal complaint revealed. The man who leaked NSA secrets is now facing charges of espionage. But the question is, how to get him back on U.S. soil.
Extreme pet grooming and Fabio's sensual invitation. Just two of the things John Berman learned on the Internet.
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