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New Day Sunday

More Raids in Gaza Promised by Israel; Call on Israel to Stop the Onslaught of Civilians in Gaza; New CNN Series "The Hunt" Can Help Find Hiding Criminals; 11 People Died from Lightning This Summer as More Storms Coming for Midwest; Pope Francis' Call for Truce During World Cup

Aired July 13, 2014 - 06:30   ET

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


CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: It's 28 minutes past the hour right now. We're so glad to have your company. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Here are five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

PAUL: Number one, a United Airlines flight from Honolulu to Guam made an emergency landing Friday, flight officials say there was a strong electrical odor on board forcing them to divert the plane. The flight was sent to Midway Island. It's in the North Pacific. It was there seven hours. Another plane flew the passengers back to Hawaii.

BLACKWELL: Number two, the sole survivor of a brutal attack on her family spoke publicly Saturday for the first time since those murders. Police say Cassidy Stay's parents and four siblings, her parents and everyone in this photo except for the girl on the far left here, were shot to death last week by a relative's estranged husband. The 15- year-old quoted a Harry Potter character during the memorial saying, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light.

PAUL: Number three, three people are dead and five wound after a shooting in Pasadena, California. The alleged gunman opened fire yesterday in a residential neighborhood after a dispute with his landlord. Officials say the 35-year-old suspect barricaded himself in his residence after the attack and later surrendered. He was taken into custody by police.

BLACKWELL: Number four, a female Yahoo! executive is being sued for sexual harassment by a former software engineer. The engineer, also female, accuses Maria Zang of coercing her into sexual acts and threatening her job while she was living in Yahoo! housing. In a statement to "CNN Money" Yahoo! said there is quote "absolutely no basis or truth to the claims."

PAUL: And number five, North Korea has fired two short range missiles into waters east of the Korean peninsula, this according to a South Korean defense official. Today's launches follow a similar launch Wednesday. No damages or casualties have been reported, South Korea said it is closely monitoring the situation, obviously.

OK, let's get you back to the Middle East where violence is seeming to near a boiling point here. For the first time in the current conflict Israel has entered into Gaza. Raiding a missile launching site despite international calls for a cease-fire.

BLACKWELL: Our sources tell CNN that four Israeli soldiers were injured but returned home safely. There was slight injuries. Meanwhile the death toll in Gaza reached a new high. Officials say 160 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured from Israeli airstrikes this week.

PAUL: This morning residents in northern Gaza are getting a grim warning from Israel's military. Evacuate and do it now.

BLACKWELL: Let's go straight to CNN's Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. We're also joined by phone by Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, who is in Ramallah. She's an executive committee member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization also known as the PLO. And just a moment ago, Wolf, you had with you Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner who I think made some news this morning about the next potential move for Israeli forces.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He said specifically that that commando raid by the Israelis overnight was not an isolated incident, there will be more of that. And he also said expect the Israelis to attack on this northern Gaza town where they dropped leaflets warning residents there to flee as quickly as possible. He said there will be an operation there within the next hours. He used the word hours so there was some news I pointed out that there's no way all of these people are going to be able to leave. He said they better leave because it's going to be - he didn't say it was going to be a ground operation, but it presumably would be another airstrike on this town Beit Lahiya in northern - in northern Gaza, so he was pretty ominous in his direct threats there.

PAUL: Doctor Ashrawi, I want to bring you into the conversation. The U.N. Security Council called for a cease-fire yesterday. A lot of people are looking at this and wondering what is it going to take to de-escalate this crisis and broker a cease-fire?

DR. HANAN ASHRAWI, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER, PLO: Well, very simply. All it requires is for Israel to stop bombing and shelling and pounding Gaza, to stop killing families, 156 killed, 1,096 wounded. Eight whole families were totally obliterated. Thousands of homes have been destroyed. All you need to do is tell Israel to stop this horrific attack on the captive civilian population. That is already under siege with nowhere to go in the most densely populated area in the world. This is what is needed right now immediately. We have just taken a decision and the leadership to address Ban Ki-moon and to ask to place Palestine under a system - a U.N. system of international protection. We cannot accept, condone or afford any more loss of life, let alone loss of property or anything else. It is constant loss of life, this constant killing, these war crimes that are being committed that have to stop.

BLACKWELL: All right, so, I hear you and in saying that Israel has to stop firing into Gaza. My question then the follow-up is are the Palestinians doing anything to stop Hamas from firing into Israel? If so can you detail what that is? ASHRAWI: Well, that is not equivalents. After all, I mean Israel is pounding the Palestinians by air, by sea, by land and killing civilians and asking Hamas not to react. Hamas is in a reactive mode and they are trying to show that they are not going to lie down and die quietly. All the killing, all the massacres are being done by Israel itself as an occupying power, as the largest military force in the region, as the fourth largest in the world. We are talking to everybody, we are trying to end this bloodshed because we don't condone the killing of any civilian. But so far all of the killings, all of the victims have been Palestinians, and all the killing has been done by Israel. We're trying to tell them not to act, but how can you tell people under siege, under bomb bombardment do not react? This is a question of addressing the real issues, not just finding a false equivalent between the victim and the oppressed.

PAUL: Doctor Ashrawi, the Israeli military says they are trying to avoid the civilian casualties, but that some -- some Israelis say it's difficult because Hamas is using civilians as human shields. Is that true?

ASHRAWI: This is -- very cynical, very disingenuous, they are always accusing, blaming the victim. Hamas is a political party after all, not just a military wing, and it has institutions, organizations, homes. How can you say that using civilians (INAUDIBLE) shooting when they are shelling and destroying totally homes of families. Several stories high. I mean one family, 17 members were killed. 25 wounded. Several story buildings were totally demolished and the people living there. How can you claim that Hamas is hiding anything in there? These are normal residential areas with no military or any munitions hidden there. Number one. And number two, the question is that Israel is not discriminating, it is destroying the homes of people who are active. Now active could mean you belong to a social service institution. Hamas has daycare centers, has schools, has hospital, it's a political party as well. It's a movement. And so if you are going to destroy all the services that Hamas gives to the Gaza people, it is as bound to destroy what it's doing right now. It shelled hospitals, old people's homes, it has shelled a place for disadvantaged children as well as family homes.

Hamas is not just an isolated, you know, sort of armed individuals. It belongs to a very pluralistic system, it has in Gaza many services, offices and so on. And therefore if you are going to destroy everything related to Hamas as a party, as a movement, it means that you're going to go on the rampage against families, homes, hospitals, schools and social services.

BLACKWELL: Wolf, obviously these reports from the Israeli forces that they are dropping flyers, they are knocking roofs with these empty shells to give them a warning that something is coming, but there are also the reports that the interior ministry in Gaza is urging Palestinians not to leave, that this is psychological warfare to ask the Gazans to leave. That they should stay and fight for their homes.

BLITZER: It's an awful, awful situation. Doctor Ashrawi makes some significant points. The only way this is going to stop, unless one side unilaterally decides to stop, and I don't see that happening, I don't see Hamas unilaterally stopping firing rockets and missiles into Israel, and I don't see the Israelis stopping airstrikes and now their commando on the ground strikes into Gaza. If the international community can come up with a ceasefire as they did in the end of 2012, and one that is honored by both Hamas and the Israelis, the fighting, the killing will stop at least for the time being as occurred then. And I know there's a lot of activity behind the scenes, the U.S. is involved. Qatar is involved, Egypt is involved, Turkey is involved, the Palestinian Authority, the president Mahmoud Abbas, and I'm sure, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi is involved as well, but whether or not they could reach some sort of diplomatic breakthrough and stop this and get a cease-fire that remains very, very problematic.

BLACKWELL: All right. Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, of course, thank you. Wolf Blitzer, thank you as well. Stay with us for the very latest throughout this morning on this crisis.

PAUL: You probably know him from the hit show "America's Most Wanted." Well, John Walsh is back and he's right here on CNN. He is on the hunt tracking down America's most dangerous fugitives. But he needs your help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't see the ball, it was just a white flash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something hit me in the head. And I lost my vision and hearing for a solid ten seconds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we turned around and kind of assessed the situation there. And, you know, went over to the man that was down and started doing CPR on him (INAUDIBLE). The T-shirt was burned. But we just wanted to focus on - just trying to help them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Who wouldn't be? That would be your focus, certainly. Colorado has been hit by some deadly storm this weekend and lightning strikes killed two people in separate incidents in Rocky Mountain National Park. Several others, you heard that gentleman was hurt.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, he seems to be OK, though. Jennifer Gray joins us now from the CNN severe weather center. What happened here?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, this park sits at about 11,000 feet, so very high elevation. And this area is bordered by the tree line. And so you are exposed there. We had one person die on Friday, one person on Saturday, about 13 people injured in the past two days. So, you need to be very, very careful. This is the time of year, we have had storms rolling through. In fact, this is a look nationwide at the deaths so far in 2014, 11 deaths due to lightning, guys.

PAUL: I understand some pretty heavy rainfall in the Midwest could cause some problems today. GRAY: Yeah. We had a little bit of flooding around the Chicago area

yesterday. We had two rounds of rain and you can see these showers now pushing to the south and to the east, with just incredible amounts. We had two to four inches fall right outside of Chicago. In portions of Illinois we have four to six inches and that was just in a couple of hours, so then about two hours. We had two to four inches falling. And so there was standing water all over the city, especially right outside. We do have that risk of severe weather for today stretching anywhere from Indianapolis all the way through Pittsburgh and that's going to spread into Monday as well. As more populated areas, including Washington, Philly and New York.

So we're going to be watching for that and guys, the big story is going to be this cooler air filtering in. We're going to see temperatures drop, barely making it to 70 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday, that's running about 15 degrees below normal in a lot of cities, a lot of cities in the north will see lows in the 40s and 50s waking up Tuesday morning.

PAUL: Wow!

BLACKWELL: The 40s in mid-July.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: That is crazy. Although I think some people will welcome it.

GRAY: Yeah, I would.

BLACKWELL: Just for a change.

Jennifer Gray, thank you very much.

GRAY: It's refreshing!

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: It is. It's true, you're right, Jen. A new CNN original series, I want to tell you about the debuts tonight, called, "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH." Yes, people, John Walsh is back doing what he does best. Going after the baddest of the bad guys. Well, tonight's episode focuses on Shane Miller, 46 years old, on the U.S. Marshal's 15 most wanted list. He's accused of killing his wife Sandy and his two young daughters who were just eight and four years old at the time. I talked with John a little bit earlier about trying to track these guys down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: How do you encourage people to call in even if they think they have seen just a smidge of anything that to them means nothing, but to the police that could be the one missing piece of the puzzle they need. Yes?

JOHN WALSH, CNN HOST: You hit the nail on the head. We caught guys because we told to public what their favorite song was, what their favorite beer, what their favorite beer cigarette, certainly what their tattoos were. We had literally hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world call in and say, I think it was the guy who cut my lawn, I think I saw him, you know, running the jet skis in Puerto Vallarta, whatever it was. It was always those in consequence of clues that were the ones that caught the person. It's so important. I urge people. You don't have to leave your name. No cop's going to come to your door. You're not going to be dragged into a case. If you are an illegal or your cousin is a gang banger and you think he is going to come back and kill you we don't care what your name is. Leave us that tip online, CNN.com/the hunt. Call our toll free hotline, we'll protect you. We don't need to know your name.

PAUL: In your experience if this guy knows that he is being featured on the show and his mug is going to be, you know, all over the place, in your experience have you found that they go into hiding, that they change their behavior in some way? And how might we as the public recognize that?

WALSH: They are always hiding in plain sight. I've caught guys that have had full facial plastic surgery, liposuction, they've moved to other countries, but somebody notices something about them. And when we smoke them out, when they get under the white hot spotlight of a national show, I knew it, I've learned it for years from America's "Most Wanted." Then they get out of their comfort zone, then they start to go on the run and they make mistakes. When they are on the run and we get them to move or start - we are focusing - and we start focusing in where they might be, that's the time we smoke them out. But I've got to tell people, and I think they realize it from watching "America's Most Wanted" for 25 years. It could be the guy that lives right next door to you, it could be the guy that sold you a car last week, it could be the guy that you think is the wonderful grandfather and looking guy that's in the library every day. Don't assume that your tip isn't important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Amen. Now, "The Hunt" with John Walsh airs tonight's 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: Soccer fans, get ready. Get ready.

PAUL: That's what you're waiting for.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The music.

PAUL: We're waiting for it. We got to take advantage of one last day.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, because this is the last one. Germany, Argentina, they face off today in the World Cup final.

PAUL: There's more to this (INAUDIBLE). How about some divine intervention. Maybe?

BLACKWELL: Maybe? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Soccer fans, start stirring up your chest paint and get your noise makers out because today is the day. Just a few hours Germany and Argentina face the date with destiny, when they meet in the World Cup final for the third time in history. Argentina's striker Lionel Messi is considered the best player in the world. But Germany considered, you know, the best team in this year's tournament. OK, so they are the clear favorite to win here, though.

PAUL: Yeah, but here's the thing. For the first time in history the two nations in the World Cup have a living pope in each of their corners. Pope Francis from Argentina, of course, his predecessor Pope Benedict, Pope Benedict from Germany.

BLACKWELL: So, could some divine intervention play a role in the World Cup? CNN's Delia Gallagher has more on the Vatican soccer rivalry. And this is amazing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORREPONDENT: Pope Francis is a big soccer fan. After all, he comes from the country of Diego Mara Dona and Lionel Messi. But with this year's World Cup in Brazil, the home of Pele and Ronaldo, he promised to remain neutral in the long standing soccer rivalry between the two countries. But now that Argentina are in the finals against Germany, Pope Francis could be excused for showing a little national pride. After all, the German team has their own pope. Benedict is a soccer fan, too. So, when the two countries made it to the final jokes and cartoons foot fast across the Internet, few able to resist. A PayPal time.

GALLAGHER: Sources at the Vatican say it is unlikely that the two popes will watch the game together and that Francis will not publicly show support for his home team.

Which might be for the best since Argentina struggled through its semifinal while Germany thrashed Brazil. Even if they won't show it we know who the popes are rooting for. The question is whose side is God on?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Everyone's side.

PAUL: There you go.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: That's right. But Delia Gallagher joining this now live from Rome, so we know that the two popes probably are not going to be watching together. The question is, Delia, we know whether they will be watching at all?

GALLAGHER: Well, Christi, we know that the Vatican has said that the game is on a little bit late for Pope Francis. It starts at 9:00 our time, but I have to say that we know Pope Francis has been interested from the beginning and how his team is doing asking his collaborators when he wasn't able to watch the matches about the progress of Argentina.

We know that Pope Benedict has watched World Cup matches in the past. And you know, the fact is, they don't live that far from each other in the Vatican, and it's not just the two popes. They have got collaborators from Germany and from Argentina. So, I think it's going to be hard for them. Windows open, it's summertime, as any cheers are going up on either side. It's going to be hard for them to ignore. BLACKWELL: Delia, tell us about this request on social media from the

Vatican for the world to pause for peace during the game today.

GALLAGHER: This is an initiative from the Vatican which takes an idea from ancient Greece. During the Olympics there would be a truce in war time so that athletes and other people could get to the Olympics. And so the Vatican is suggesting that there is a moment of pause, a moment of silence, at some point before, during the game, in order to remember as we see in the news this morning, yesterday, all this week, those areas that are in conflict. In fact, I should mention that the pope just a few minutes ago also asked people to remember those areas in conflict and ask for a moment of silence when he came to the window during his weekly audience called the Angeles on Sundays.

BLACKWELL: All right. We'll see who wins. Argentina or Germany. Delia Gallagher, thank you so much.

GALLAGHER: Thank you. And boy, you know, it would make sense I think for the pope because as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, many are wondering what if anything can be done to halt the escalating violence. In the next hour, we're going to ask a former Israeli ambassador to the United States if there is a diplomatic solution in sight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Time for the good stuff. I know you've been waiting for it. Today, it's a mystery man who strolls into a grocery store. What's on his list? Bags full of generosity. At this grocery store in Concord, California, a man walked up to the register, the supervisor says, he waited until the clerk scanned every item from a random customer, and then just paid cash for it.

PAUL: Right there. And he did it several times. He spent over $600 on about half a dozen as you can imagine shocked shoppers.

We had people hugging him, people who were asking him if he won the lottery like if he has a good job. But he didn't really want to give out any information.

BLACKWELL: Do you have a good job?

PAUL: And is there a place for me there?

BLACKWELL: Yes. You hiring? The store surveillance camera did capture the mystery man in action, but the store says they are going to respect his wishes to remain anonymous. Some shoppers were disappointed they missed the grocery giver, but they say that they still leave with a cartful of appreciation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, it breaks my heart that I wasn't here and didn't reap the rewards but really, it's pretty amazing and kind of makes you have faiths in humanity again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish there were more people who had that kind of you know, joy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And joy and that generosity. See, you pay it forward. I mean it really does -- it really does leave an imprint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Great things can happen when you least expect them.

PAUL: Amen.

BLACKWELL: Just stand by. They roll down.

PAUL: So, just stay with us here. We've got all kinds of new things coming to you this morning.

BLACKWELL: All coming up in the next hour of your new day. It starts right now.

PAUL: Just about 7:00 here on a Sunday morning and we are so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. And this is "NEW DAY SUNDAY." We start this morning with the breaking news in the Middle East. Where there are growing concerns that a ground invasion may be ahead between Israel and Gaza.

PAUL: Yeah, just a short time ago an Israeli Defense Forces spokesman told our Wolf Blitzer that a late night raid on a Gaza missile site was not an isolated incident That perhaps they are preparing for more. But that happened last night. Israeli forces crossing into Gaza and ignoring the U.N.'s request for a ceasefire.