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U.S. Pulls Our Last Forces from Yemen; Possible ISIS Threat against U.S. Troops; ISIS Crisis in Iraq; Senator McCain Tells President Obama to "Get Over It"; Senator Ted Cruz to Announce Presidential Run; Road Rage Shooting Spree; Bar Gives Account Of Bloody UVA Arrest; Investigation Of Bloody Arrest To Take Weeks; You Get Screened, Airport Workers Don't. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired March 22, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:17] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, Yemen in turmoil. A strategic city seized by rebels. The U.N. holding an emergency meeting on the situation today.

Plus U.S. Senator John McCain tells President Obama to get over it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Get over your temper tantrum Mr. President, it's time that we work together with our Israeli friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Speaking on the "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning, McCain says he's convinced Obama is letting his personal problems with Netanyahu get in the way of shared policy goals.

And police are still on the hunt for the man who shot a woman on a Texas freeway in an apparent case of road rage.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Hello, everyone, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

The last U.S. Special Operations Forces are now out of Yemen. The U.S. State Department said the evacuation involved about 100 members including Navy SEALs and the Army's Delta Force. Last month the U.S. Embassy was closed there, due to the deteriorating security conditions in Yemen.

Also this weekend Houthi rebels have taken over the strategic city of Taiz, this is the country's third largest city but is seen as strategically important because it lies just south of the capitol of Sana'a. The takeover sparked protest by thousands of Yemenis who say they are rejecting the coup by Houthi rebels.

We're also hearing of an apparent threat by a group claiming affiliation by ISIS. It called for attacks on American soldiers on U.S. soil. More on that in just a moment. The United Nations is also raising concerns over the deteriorating

conditions in Yemen. Coming up in about one hour from now at 3:00 Eastern Time, the Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.

CNN's senior United Nations correspondent Richard Roth is there for us now.

So this meeting apparently came at the request of Yemen's President Hadi. What is he hoping will come out of this?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's hoping for some dramatic action from the U.N. Security Council, which I'm not sure he's going to get. This is a beleaguered president in effect almost on the run now in Aiden, a part of Yemen that is right now not in the hands of the Houthis who are backed, many say, by Iran.

It's a real pea soup of trouble that you described and we've been hearing for weeks and months now in Yemen, a country which many say bodes ill for potential terrorist breeding grounds aimed at the United States.

The Security Council will hear a briefing from its special representative who's been trying for over a year to bring some type of transition to democracy in Yemen but to no avail. And there'll be speeches by Yemen and Qatar, representing the Gulf Cooperation Council. Little cooperation right now in Yemen, which seems to be descending almost into some form of civil war -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Richard, what can be the influence or even the role of the U.N. in Yemen?

ROTH: And it's almost like the same as Libya in the Middle East where the U.N. is trying to broker negotiations but the president had some harsh words while inviting talks, said we've got to kick out those who have taken power or by a coup, not exactly friendly terms. Right now as always, it seems, in the last few decades, the men with guns on the ground are controlling what happens.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard Roth, thanks so much, keep us posted.

All right. Now more on other developing stories. About 100 U.S. troops could be the target of ISIS on American soil. A group known as the Islamic State Hacking Organization is calling for beheadings and attacks in the U.S. It posted the purported names, pictures and home addresses of service men and women from all branches of the U.S. military, much of which is publicly available.

A Defense Department official cannot confirm the validity of this information but it is looking into the claim stressing the safety of service members is always the concern. The FBI is also aware of this. A law enforcement officials told CNN notifications have been and are continuing to be made to those mentioned on the list.

And a Marine Corps spokesman tells CNN, quote, "The Naval Criminal Investigative Services has completed in person notifications with all affected Marine personnel regarding this presently unverified threat." And says it recommended Marines and family members check their online presence to ensure privacy settings are adjusted to limit the amount of personal information available.

So this is a previously unknown group and one law enforcement source, officials says that there are questions about its credibility. Similar threats have been made before however.

[14:05:09] All right. How should we evaluate this threat? CNN intelligence and security analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer joining me now.

So this list was posted by this group, that most have never heard of before and apparently doesn't have all the hallmarks of an ISIS threat. How seriously do you take this?

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Fred, I think we should take it seriously. The Islamic State or ISIS or whatever we're calling it and truly would like to harm American personnel, military personnel, uniformed personnel, police, we've seen attacks in Canada. We've seen lone wolf attacks in New York City. We've seen a beheading in Oklahoma.

So what they're doing is putting a general appeal out there for that potential lone wolf to go after a service member. So if I were in uniform I would not have my address on Facebook or Tweeter or anyway identify my locations or my patterns just as a precautions.

So far ISIS has not been able to strike in the United States in any coherent way that we've seen that we know about, but that doesn't mean in the future they won't be able to, and these precautions just should be taken.

WHITFIELD: OK. Let's now shift gears to Yemen and we now know that all U.S. troops have pulled out and then we're also reporting today that Houthi rebels are trying to take over the third largest city there in that country, how can anyone, whether it be the U.N. or any singular country kind of intervene in what's happening there?

BAER: Fred, we can't. Yemen is a mountainous country, it's very tribal, you've got Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula very active there, it's taken over some towns. This town near the American base where the American personnel was, it was very close. It was taken over by al Qaeda for a day. That was a serious battle for that town and we had to take that. And again a precaution to pull out and there's nothing you can do about Yemen.

We didn't create the situation there. It's a long-standing civil war that goes back really to the '70s and '80s. So getting in -- getting the U.N. involved is going to make no difference at all. The question is how far will the Houthis, the Shia make it?

Are they going to head to Aiden? There's been some over flights today there. This is what they're saying, they're going that far south, will they take over the country? What will Saudi Arabia do? This is one of these messes that are beyond our help. WHITFIELD: And how potentially dangerous is the situation in your

view given that it's leaderless?

BAER: Wait, it is leaderless. I think it's a horrible hideous vacuum, and we've got the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which we know can make airplane bombs and giving them any sort of base in the Arabian Peninsula is a threat to the United States, to aviation and American interest in general but more than that to Saudi Arabia. And the Saudis so far have not committed to do anything in Yemen, but if they did one day, I wouldn't be surprised.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bob Baer, thanks so much. Good to see you.

All right. And new developments in the war against ISIS. Reports indicated group of British medical students may be providing care in ISIS controlled Syria.

Let's go now to Iraq for an update with CNN's Jomana Karadsheh on the ground there for us.

So, Jomana, what do we know about whether these doctors willingly are providing medical aid, whether they were kidnapped? What are the circumstance? What is happening here?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's very unclear at this point, Fred. The information is coming from British media. There are reporting that nine medical students, four women and five men who were studying medicine in Sudan. According to the British media reports, they are believed to have crossed into Syria through Turkey last week. And according to these reports they are working in hospitals in areas in areas that are under ISIS control.

It is unclear what the motivations are behind this trip, what they are doing there. But CNN did reach out to the British Foreign Office and here's what they told us in a statement. They said, "We are providing consular assistance to their families and we have informed the Turkish police to try and ascertain their whereabouts."

Now no names have been released by the British government and we are hearing from this British media reports that their family members are on the Turkish-Syrian border and trying appeal for their children, their loved ones to leave and come back. This is all we know at this point, Fred, more information as we get it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Pretty alarming situation, keep us posted. Thanks so much, Jomana.

U.S. Senator John McCain taking issue today with President Obama's cool stance toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Obama has told Netanyahu, the U.S. would re-assess its relationships with Israel. That message coming after Netanyahu said before the election that he opposed Palestinian statehood, comments Netanyahu has since retracted.

[14:10:10] CNN's Erin McPike is at the White House for us. So McCain had some pretty strong words for the president today right here on CNN. What was different this time?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, Senator McCain said that he believes that President Obama's personal problems with Benjamin Netanyahu is getting in the way of shared policy goals between the U.S. and Israel. He said either that or President Obama is delusional. So here's a little more of that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: There was a free and fair democratic election, the only nation in the region that will have such a thing. The president should get over it.

Get over your temper tantrum, Mr. President. It's time that we work together with our Israeli friends and try to stem this tide of ISIS and Iranian movement throughout the region which is threatening the very fabric of the region. The least of your problems is what Bibi Netanyahu said during an election campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: You know, obviously Senator McCain has been highly critical of President Obama on this, he's just gotten even more so as the relationship between Netanyahu and President Obama has gotten a little more tense over the last few weeks -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so was the -- one of the impetus of, you know, McCain's comments that it come from this "Huffington Post" interview involving the president?

MCPIKE: Well, it's certainly did and part of -- in that "Huffington Post" interview, President Obama accused Benjamin Netanyahu of reversing himself on a two-state solution. And he just said that it would be harder to build trust or to get anything done because of that. He also told Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that he thought that he needs to tone down his rhetoric -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Erin McPike, appreciate that from the White House.

All right. Still ahead. Ted Cruz, the first Republican to actually officially jump into the race for president. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:15:18] WHITFIELD: All right. Tomorrow, Texas Senator Ted Cruz becomes the first Republican to officially declare a run for president in 2016. "The Houston Chronicle" says Cruz will make the announcement Monday at an event in Lynchburg, Virginia, at Liberty University. The largest Christian University in the world.

The 44-year-old in his first term in the Senate would likely be joined by a long list of other potential candidates and as you can see in this CNN-ORC poll, right now Cruz is low on the roster of Republican choices. So joining me right now from Washington is CNN politics senior

reporter Stephen Collinson.

Good to see you, Stephen.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. So what is the strategy, if there is a strategy, behind being the first to officially announce?

COLLINSON: Well, I think it's quite a smart move by Ted Cruz. First of all, he gets, as you say the buzz for being the first candidate to officially announced that he's running for president. He leaked it on a Saturday night, ahead of a Monday announcement so he gets all the media talking about it all day, Sunday. And some good coverage for his speech on Monday.

And furthermore, he's chosen a moment in the 2016 race when there's a little bit of a lull in the excitement. We know that Hillary Clinton is likely to announce her candidacy on the Democratic side in April. So he's chosen a window when there's a little bit of space for somebody else to capture some attention, I think.

WHITFIELD: OK. So he also faces another obstacle, though, as he announces. Let's take a look at another graphic here. The sheer volume of potential candidates on both sides of the aisle particularly under Republican side, at least 20 pictures right here.

Doesn't seem to matter to Ted Cruz that he falls in the bottom of the list when looking at, you know, kind of popularity polls. He gets something like 4 percent of the support.

COLLINSON: Right. To your point there, I think the venue where he's announcing his candidacy is very important, He's down at Liberty University in Virginia, which was founded by the evangelical preacher Jerry Falwell.

Ted Cruz is making clear that he's going to run hard for that sector of the conservative grassroots, he's already made some moves to towards that end in Iowa, which is a state where evangelical voters are very important.

So he's trying to solidify that base and appeal to grassroots conservative who already like him for his actions in the Senate on trying to overturn Obamacare, to the chagrin of the establishment leaders in Washington. So he's trying to solidify that bloc and make himself the sort of power broker of the bloc the in Republican coalition and try to therefore use that as sort of catapult to go after the establishment Republican challenges like Jeb Bush.

WHITFIELD: And because his dad is a pastor, right, in Texas, so use that to his advantage as well.

COLLINSON: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about the Democrats or at least a possible Democratic contender, maybe. "Boston Globe" seems to think that she would be a good choice. We're talking about Elizabeth Warren, "Boston Globe" saying in their opinion poll that Hillary Clinton really need some kind of opposition. She needs someone to give her a run for the money and Elizabeth Warren would be that person. Of course that's Elizabeth Warren, you know, state run news paper.

COLLINSON: So of course there will be that endorsement. But what is it that is being said about Elizabeth Warren being a potential candidate, even though she says over and over and over again ,"no, no way, I'm not running."

COLLINSON: Well, there's a real craving among grassroots Democrats just as there are some grassroots Republicans for the contest. There are a lot of people, I spoke to few last week, in the Democratic so left of the Democratic Party who are very suspicious of Hillary Clinton's positions on Wall Street, for example, or foreign policy and they find that a lot more concerning than the issue about her e-mail account, that she had a private server while she was a Secretary of State. So there's a real craving among the grassroots for a contest.

And there are some people in the establishment, the managers of the -- of the Democratic Party who worry that Hillary Clinton would go straight into a general election campaign against the tried and tested Republican candidate after a long primary. And be a little bit rusty and they believed that, you know, being out there on the debate stage with someone who's, you know, as articulate as Elizabeth Warren could only help her.

I think it's still unlikely that it's going to happen but there's certainly a desirable among a lot of Democrats for it to go ahead.

WHITFIELD: And then, U.S. Senator John McCain, he's jumped into at least two hot button issues this week alone, rejecting claims, number one, by some Democrats that racial motivations have delayed Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch's confirmation vote. And then just today, as you just heard at the top of our show, telling the president to simply get over it, his differences with Israel's prime minister.

Is this just the usual John McCain at critical of the administration, or something else going on here?

COLLINSON: Yes. You know, there's nothing John McCain loves more than jumping into a middle of political fight. And you've got two master political fights going on in Washington over Loretta Lynch and Israel.

[14:20:05] I think he was genuinely offended that Democrats suggested that the nomination of Loretta Lynch was being held up for racial reasons and he gave quite an effective speech on the Senate floor about that. And you know, let's not forget that John McCain has long disdained President Obama's foreign policy ever since they clashed in the 2008 election.

McCain is also, you know, remember, running for re-election himself in 2016 and he's going to face a Tea Party challenger most likely. So I think he has an interest in always being upfront challenging the president and challenging Democrats in Washington.

WHITFIELD: All right. Stephen Collinson, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

All right. Still ahead, manhunt. A woman shot on a Texas freeway in an apparent road rage incident. And police are still hunting for the suspect today.

CNN's Shasta Darlington is following that story -- Shasta.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. For Houston resident Kay Hafford, honking her horn in rush hour traffic nearly cost her, her life. More details after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A manhunt is still under way in Texas after a road rage incident turned violent. Police are looking for a man they say shot a woman in the back of the head Friday morning after she honked at him. 28-year-old, Kay Hafford underwent surgery and is now reportedly in good conditioning.

[14:25:03] CNN's Shasta Darlington joins me with more on this.

DARLINGTON: Yes. The unbelievable thing here is that this could happen to anybody, I think for any of us, a car tries to cut you off and you honk your horn and that's exactly what happened to Kay Hafford, the 28-year-old resident of Houston. She was on her way to work in rush hour traffic, when according to investigators this other vehicle tried to cut her off and she honked her horn and then she -- they began a kind of altercation, and this other car pulled up on the right side of her vehicle, and the driver pulled out a gun and shot it.

The bullet went into passenger window and into the back of her head. Now unbelievably, she was able to pull over to the side of the road and call 911, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENDRICK HAFFORD, VICTIM'S HUSBAND: I'm just glad she's going to be OK. May God deal with you. That's all I can say. If I ever find out who it is, it's not going to be that nice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINGTON: Now that was her husband, Kendrick Hafford. He said that she's going to be OK. The problem is of course she was hospitalized, she went through surgery but the police have not found the driver. There's a manhunt going on, they know that this person was driving a white SUV and was wearing a blue baseball cap. But he's still out there. So I'm sure they'll be grateful for any lead that could lead them to the suspect -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, I'm sure. They're in large part counting on any other eye witness accounts there. All right. Thanks so much, Shasta Darlington.

All right. Still ahead. New details about what happened the night a University of Virginia student tried to enter a pub near campus. We're learning more about the events that led up to his confrontation with officers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:02] WHITFIELD: All right, hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

New information today about that bloody takedown of a University of Virginia student outside an off-campus bar, the owner of that pub is now speaking out about what happened that night and what he is saying may help support what 20-year-old Martese Johnson is saying about that incident.

CNN's Nick Valencia is with me now with more on this -- Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good afternoon. The co-owner of that bar released a statement through his attorney saying that it was important for him to put an end to the rumor mill. He wanted people to know in his own words exactly what his interaction was with Martese Johnson that night, St. Patrick's Day, when this incident occurred.

While police have described Martese Johnson as very agitated and belligerent, it was Kevin Banke, that co-owner who denied entry to Johnson saying that his interaction couldn't have been from that.

In a statement, this is through his attorney, "Mr. Banke's opinion was that Mr. Johnson did not appear to be intoxicated in the least, despite the conversation, which was cordial and respectful."

Mr. Banke reiterated that he cannot permit him to enter. He gave Mr. Johnson his ID back and Mr. Johnson began walking in a north westerly direction up University Avenue.

A few moments later, Mr. Banke heard a commotion, turned and saw Mr. Johnson on the ground about 30 feet further up on University Avenue and ABC agents detaining him.

Now it is worth pointing out, Fredricka, that officially on a police report, Kevin Johnson was charged with public intoxication and obstruction of justice without force.

His attorney, Mr. Johnson's attorney said that he was not intoxicated that night and now the co-owner statement seems to corroborate what the attorney for Johnson is saying.

WHITFIELD: So then, Nick, what's next in this case potentially?

VALENCIA: Well, we know that the Virginia State Police have launched a criminal investigation. They call it a comprehensive one, that's going to look into the conduct of those officers involved in the case. And also Mr. Johnson has a court date set for later this month for those two charges that I just mentioned.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Nick Valencia for keeping us posted on that one. Let's dig a little deeper into this with some legal minds here, Criminal Defense Attorney Ashleigh Merchant with me here and in Newton, Massachusetts, CNN commentator and legal analyst, Mel Robbins.

So Ladies, Martese Johnson says he'll fight the public intoxication obstruction charges. Nick just underscored that by way of his attorney. So Ashleigh, you first, you know, with the bar's accounting of what happened, this certainly conflicts with those agents, their complaints, so how do you, I guess, how do these minds meet?

ASHLEIGH MERCHANT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, this definitely helps Mr. Johnson's family, this definitely helps his case, the fact that the bar owner is saying that he wasn't intoxicated. He wasn't belligerent. It's very hard to believe that he would go from being just a normal person, a normal citizen, to being that agitated, to warrant this type of violence against him.

So it's hard to believe the police's account at this point that he was that belligerent and he was that violent that would warrant something that could cause ten stitches, it's just horrible.

WHITFIELD: So when you hear from the bar owner now, I wonder, Mel, in this case, does this mean that police would likely or have some impetus to drop those charges. If there is nothing to substantiate the officers' initial claim, how would they continue on with that case if they don't have any way to corroborate that?

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR AND LEGAL ANALYST: Good afternoon, Fredricka and Ashleigh, it's an excellent question. Here's the interesting twist, the bar owner's account absolutely positively supports Mr. Johnson's story, that he wasn't drunk, that he wasn't belligerent.

That in fact, he had a long chat with the owner because the owner of the bar actually ID'd him, Fredricka, and he's also from Chicago. When he turned Mr. Johnson away from the bar, the way he described him is just a nice guy who seemed disappointed him that we weren't going to let him into the bar.

It's that bar's policy not to let kids in after 10:00 at night, no questions asked, unless they're 21 years old. So now you got a situation where 30 feet away, Mr. Johnson is on the ground, bloodied up, requiring stitches.

I think most of us are like what the heck must have happened. Now here's the interesting twist that gets to your question. Will they drop the charges? If they do, that's a problem for the Bureau of Alcohol and Beverage Control.

WHITFIELD: What do you mean?

ROBBINS: If they drop the charges, well, if they don't go forward with this case, it kind of implies to a civil jury, or other investigators that they didn't have grounds to actually arrest him and charge him and possibly push him to the ground in the first place.

It's only if they push this case that they can look at you in a straight face and say, we are going forward with charges and we did nothing wrong. If they drop it, it looks like they actually did do something wrong -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: But the flip side of that, of course, is if, you know, Ashleigh, continue -- if you carry on with the charges and you don't have anything to support it, I don't know what looks worse, an admission that you overstepped your bounds or that your don't have the evidence to support it?

[14:35:11] MERCHANT: Well, I can tell you I have had a lot of these cases and the police and the prosecutors are very unlikely to drop these charges. It's just very unlikely that they would do that because what a civil jury would have to find is that there was a complete lack of probable cause for the police.

By the police dropping those charges or the prosecutor dropping those charges, they're greeting, they're essentially saying, you know what, I don't think the cops did have probable cause to do this. So it's very unlikely that they would actually go to that step. So he's probably unfortunately going to have to fight these charges in criminal court.

WHITFIELD: So no matter what the outcome, I wonder if, Mel, now there's going to be some impetus to re-examine, I guess, the authority of this Alcohol Beverage Control agents. I know a top Virginia lawmaker, David Tuscano, is already asking that their weapons be taken away, their power be limited.

Would this be kind of a springboard for that kind of conversation or to, I guess, try to substantiate whether there's a real need for this kind of law enforcement branch?

ROBBINS: Certainly the latter, Fredricka, whether or not there is the correct need for them. And they've got their authority under the police powers. It's a lot like the DEA. A lot of people know the DEA, the Drug Enforcement Agency.

And the fact that under police powers they have arrest ability and the ability to carry weapons. The question is, if you're talking about an agency whose job it is to oversee the sale of alcohol legally, meaning both at stores and at bars, should they really be armed as police officers in that instance?

And you know, I'm sure they're going to look at it, whether or not they change anything, who knows?

WHITFIELD: Ashleigh?

MERCHANT: I agree, I think that they are policing alcohol at this point. So they've got to remember that and they've got to go back and look at their regulations, do these regulations fit with what we're policing? We're looking for underage drinking. We're looking for folks trying to get in the bars with fake ID. We're looking for people who are dui. Does that really warrant this level of violence and this level of militarized police?

I don't think it does. I think if they look at that and compare the policies, they're going to think this is way too much show of force for what they're actually policing.

ROBBINS: One more quick point is that now that we have the bar owner saying that he was cordial, he didn't even appear intoxicated to a bar owner and now 30 feet away, after he's been turned away, I think it begs the question, wait a minute, if this kid was legally turned away with a legal ID and is now being thrown on the ground, that in and of itself appears to be excessive force. And I think this agency's got major problems now that the bar owner has spoken out -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Mel Robbins, Ashleigh Merchant, thanks so much, Ladies, appreciate it.

And a CNN investigation revealing an airport security gap that all these years after 911 seems hard to believe, the disturbing details on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:50]

WHITFIELD: A man who went on a machete-wielding rampage at New Orleans Louie Arm Strong International Airport Friday has died. Police says 63-year-old Richard White began spraying TSA agents and bystanders with wasp spray.

He then started swinging the machete. A police officer opened fire hitting White three times. Police later found Molotov cocktails and smoke bombs in his bag and car.

Officials don't know the motive, but they say White suffered from some type of mental illness. He died after receiving medical treatment just about 24 hours after the confrontation.

Airport screening is designed to keep violent people off planes, but those screenings only apply to the flying public not air industry employees, baggage handlers, gate agents, and many others enter airports every day without being checked at all. Drew Griffin has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifty four thousand employees at Los Angeles International Airport report to work without mandatory bag checks, no body screening, and literally hundreds of doors like this one, where a badge and a code gets you right on the tarmac, think that's scary? Put yourself in the shoes of L.A.'s airport police chief, Patrick Gannon. (on camera): I got to ask you about the lone wolf scenario because right now what you have in place with hundreds of access doors and the screening you go through. It doesn't appear to me to be protection against the lone wolf scenario.

When you say lone wolf, are you talking about somebody, a lone wolf that has access to that credentialed employee.

GRIFFIN: That guy right there that just walked in with a backpack, with a mug, we don't know what's in his backpack. We don't what's in his mug and we don't know what is heart or in his head.

CHIEF PATRICK GANNON, LOS ANGELES AIRPORT POLICE: That's correct.

GRIFFIN: Does that concern you?

GANNON: It concerns me all the time. With 54,000 badged employees that work in an airport like this, there's no way you're going to have the ability to screen every single person that comes to work in the airport.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): L.A. tries to minimize the risk by maximizing random checks like this one, airport workers never know exactly when or where spot checks could occur. Employees also face background checks, yearly updates, and a system built around everyone watching out for anyone who might seem suspicious, but Chief Gannon admits nothing is foolproof.

(on camera): As we've been at airports across the country, we had not really seen anything that could prevent what Atlanta went through, which was guns being smuggled into the airplanes.

GANNON: I agree in any airport throughout the United States and here also, there is never a 100 percent guarantee that somebody couldn't -- who wanted to do something illegal or wrong couldn't make that happen.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): What happened in Atlanta is causing a reaction at airports across the country and you can see why. These are guns. Guns smuggled on to as many as 20 flights by one Delta Airline baggage handler.

[14:45:03] That baggage handler took the guns to work in a backpack, which was never screened. The motive for the crime was pure profit, selling the guns in north east cities.

But Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson's general manager, Miguel Southwell, testified to a congressional committee the real danger the gun running exposed is the threat of potential terrorism.

MIGUEL SOUTHWELL, ATLANTA AIRPORT GENERAL MANAGER: In the last six months for example, we have started to see that people are being recruited to engage in terrorist acts, people being recruited from the United States. So now we have a greater insider threat.

GRIFFIN: Atlanta is moving towards full airport employee screening, but it hasn't happened yet. A CNN investigation found that only two major U.S. airports, Miami and Orlando conduct full employee screening, requiring employees to pass through metal detectors just like passengers.

Airports say moving toward full employee screening would simply be too costly and too time consuming for airport workers to wait in line like you and I. But some members of Congress just aren't buying that, demanding that the Department of Homeland Security review employee screening policies to make sure airports aren't leaving a door open to a possible disaster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was Drew Griffin, CNN's senior investigative correspondent.

All right, does a mysterious burial box provide the first physical evidence of Jesus Christ's existence? We'll take a look after revelations and debates surrounding this major historical discovery next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:36]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's just something about this laid back event.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's obvious that the tournament is just one of the best of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The man in charge of overseeing the operation here is tournament director, Steve Simon. For over a decade now, he's watched Indian Wells and its audience grow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had 430,000 last year, and this year we're looking at 450,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's as much as the French open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we're right there, attendance wise. Some of what's made us special is the experience that people are having here. We're basically so close to the players, you can hear them trash talking each other a little bit.

And this tournament has gotten where it means something to the guys and girls to win it, they like to have this title in their pocket. It's not the slam, but it's a perception of importance which I think is good. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories, a frightening chair lift accident at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. Seven people were injured when the chair lift suddenly stopped and started moving backwards. About 230 people had to be evacuated from the lift and some of the injured were taken to a hospital. None had life threatening injuries.

And it's a brutal fit for a king. It only took 530 years, but today thousands are lining the streets in the English city of Lester as the long lost remains of Richard III make their way to a final resting place. He was killed in battle in 1485. His remains were discovered in a parking lot in 2012. His remains are now lying in Lester Cathedral and will be buried there on Thursday.

And the archbishop of Naples is reporting a miraculous turn of events during the pope visit. When the dry blood of Naples patron saint half liquefied Saturday during a ceremony with Pope Francis, the archbishop declared it's a sign the saint love the pope.

The Catholic faithful believed it's a miracle when the saint's dry blood liquefies. Skeptics says the miracle is due to a chemical reaction when the vile containing the dried blood is moved.

All right, and now to the controversial artifact that many hail as the first physical proof that Jesus and his brother, James, existed on earth. An ancient burial box called the "James Oshery" mysteriously appeared on the antiques market back in 2002.

And there's an inscription on it that says James, the son of Joseph, the brother of Jesus. The authenticity of the box and its inscription has been widely debated. The controversy is explored in tonight's episode of the CNN series, "Finding Jesus."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Oshery is so important not just for the fact that it says the brother of Jesus. But you have to understand that there's no physical evidence of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth dating from the time of Jesus.

There's nothing except the gospels that were written down decades later. This would be the first physical evidence that Jesus of Nazareth existed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's bring in Mark Goodacre. He is a Religious Studies professor at Duke. He is also a consultant for the CNN series, "Finding Jesus."

All right, good to see you. All right, so let's begin with the brothers, what evidence is there that Jesus indeed had a Brother James or brothers? MARK GOODACRE, PROFESSOR, RELIGIOUS STUDIES, DUKE: When you read Matthew's gospel, they even name them, James, Joseph, Judas and Simon. So there is no question that there were people around that were known as Jesus' brothers. He had sisters too, but sadly, we don't know what their names were.

WHITFIELD: So what is, I guess what is the story behind this the box, and how convinced are you that it's authentic?

GOODACRE: Well, there's no question that the box itself is a genuine first century bone box. These are the boxes they put the bones in after they have rotted away. There's no question that the box is genuine.

The difficulty is the inscriptions on the side of the box which says, James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus, is that authentic? That's where the real debate lies.

[14:55:06] One of the difficulties is that it just turned up, as you said, mysteriously, it just arrived on the antiquities market. It wasn't found in a (inaudible) so that makes it really difficult for archaeologists.

WHITFIELD: Does it make it hard to believe?

GOOACRE: Well, the thing is, when you're doing the kind of work that I do, which is all about looking at texts and looking at these kinds of artifacts, it's not really a question of faith or believe, it's what the evidence actually says.

And the reason this box is so controversial because there are signs that link it to the first century, which make it very exciting but there's controversy whether it's authentic to Jesus and his brother, James.

WHITFIELD: Wow, so fascinating. All right, Mark Goodacre, thank you so much and of course, everyone can learn more about this in the new episode of "Finding Jesus" tonight at 9:00 right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, President Obama was in the crowd for an NCAA women's tournament game between Princeton and Green Bay. The president was there to show his support for his niece, freshmen, Leslie Robinson, who plays for Princeton. Princeton went on to defeat Green Bay 80-70 moving on in the tournament and keeping their perfect record 31-0.

Speaking of perfect record, Kentucky is the first team in men's college basketball history to reach a perfect 36-0.