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Airplane Debris Confirmed to Belong to Boing 777; Officer Sean Bolton Gunned Down at Routine Traffic Stop; First GOP Primary Debate Thursday Night; Mandatory Evacuation in California for Over 12,000; Mysterious Outbreak of Legionnaire's Disease; Jon Stewart to Host His Last Week of "The Daily Show". Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 02, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:01:11] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A piece of airplane debris found last week does indeed belong to a Boeing 777. It's the same model plane as the missing Malaysia airlines flight 370. Malaysian authorities confirming that today. The piece of aircraft swing in now in France where investigators will begin examining it on Wednesday. It was found on the Indian Ocean Island of Reunion. Earlier today a metal object of interest was found off the island's coast. Flight MH370 vanished 17 months ago with 239 people on board.

Let's bring in now CNN's Erin McLaughlin on Reunion Island.

So Erin, what more do we know about the so-called object of interest found earlier today?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The object was found on a beach not far from here, about 13 miles from where the flaperon, that original piece of debris, was located. And earlier today, around eight police officers turned up on that beach to analyze it, document it, and they took it away, ASP later publishing a photo of the object. The photo showed a twisted piece of metal with Chinese characters on it. Those characters leading to a lot of speculations and buzz online especially on Chinese social media sites. Some people speculating that those characters stand for a brand of Chinese tea kettle. Authorities, well they're not speculating. They're at the moment saying that this is part of an investigation, they're not tying it to a plane, per se - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So help us understand who is involved in this search. Who is there on the island? And who is scouring the waters nearby?

MCLAUGHLIN: Yes, well right now, the cleanup crews that have found that original piece of debris, and are continuing to clean the beaches, keeping a lookout for any signs of potential plane debris, but local residents also helping out. In fact, today in the town where that original piece of debris was found, residents brought forward to city officials some 10 to 12 items, potential items. So far authorities, though, discounting all of those items as being related to the plane. And it really just sort of illustrates that this is a very small island, surrounded by a very big ocean. That is full of garbage. That is the sorry state of the oceans today.

And so, you know, people speculating, trying to help out. Trying to solve this mystery. But there will be plenty of false alarms in all of this, as well. Now yesterday, residents on the island held a prayer service, a mass for MH370. They said prayers. People here really feeling a connection to the victims, the families, and friends of those that were on board the missing plane and they held a mass in solidarity.

WHITFIELD: All right. Erin McLaughlin. Thanks so much. Keep us posted from Reunion Island not far from Madagascar.

All right, so what happens next in this investigation? Mary Schiavo is a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general with the U.S. department of transportation.

All right, good to see you.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So how much confidence do you have in this piece that matches a Boeing 777 that was located? Is it too ambitious to think that a whole lot of information will come from it?

SCHIAVO: No. For the flaperon, you can get some information. Now I don't think that you can solve the mystery of what brought 370 down but you can get a lot of information if there is, for example, you can rule out if there was an explosion or any kind of a chemical device on the plane from a characteristic pitting that would be on an aircraft part. Say there was an explosion in the cargo hold or fuel tank.

You can also tell from the flaperon how did it tear from the plane. Did it tear from the plane in a twisting action, or is it possible because there was an air where this directive on this east that the pins or bolts holding it on fail maybe even before the plane hit the water or as the plane hit the water and this piece did not go down with the rest of the plane. Because remember that if it ended up on the beach, if the search area is correct, the items would have to float. Otherwise they couldn't make it to the beach in the big dire that they talk about depositing debris.

[15:05:33] WHITFIELD: And then there will be experts who will be able to determine how long, perhaps, that piece may have been in the water and that, too, would help, you know, detect whether it has any relationship to MH370?

SCHIAVO: Sure. And they probably would determine that not only from the how deteriorated the piece is but from the marine life. Now if the marine life was dead they won't be able to tell how long it had been on the beach but they can tell how long it had been in the water. Those particular kind of barnacles, there are over 1,000 types of barnacles, but those are loose barnacles, at least that I can tell from the picture and they do, you know, they don't have to be in a particular part of the ocean. They have the ability to gather food from the ocean currents as they go along. So they can tell that from the piece of the plane perhaps. WHITFIELD: How much confidence do you have in Malaysian authorities,

because we understand Malaysian authorities have made their way to Reunion Island and presumably if there are other pieces of debris that would wash up on that island then their hands may be the first on them?

SCHIAVO: Well, I don't have a lot of confidence in the Malaysian authorities to conduct an air investigation of this caliber. And they don't either.

WHITFIELD: Why not?

SCHIAVO: And that's why put seven nations -- there are seven nations participating in this investigation, including France, the United States, and the UK and Australia. All of those countries have tremendous amounts of experience, and they are turning over the debris to the French. Boeing is there, as well and the NTSB. So there will be a multinational investigation.

WHITFIELD: And if indeed it turns out that this is debris related to MH 370 you also mentioned things that could be ruled out, explosions because of the pitting on any kind of debris. What about any kind of markings that would tell whether it was high speed, or you know, exactly what may have brought the plane down if, indeed, it is related to that plane?

SCHIAVO: Right. Well high speed crash from cruising altitude, say both engines flamed out due to lack of fuel, or fuel starvation at 35,000 feet. And it did a steep dive into the ocean the parts would be very small. Now, again, I mention this particular flaperon part could have left the aircraft in the descent in the crash sequence. But you tend to find very small parts if it hit the water at very high speed. And so, they might be able to tell that, that it wasn't a high speed dive from 38,000 feet. Now the later part, the thing with the little red handle that we just saw that does not look in any, way shape or form like an aircraft part and I do not think that's part of a 777.

WHITFIELD: And that was the second metal of interest that kind of ball of matter, and that's the one that you're referring to.

SCHIAVO: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right, Mary Schiavo, thanks so much. We'll check back with you. Appreciate it.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Also new developments now. Police in Memphis, Tennessee, say they have a person of interest in custody following a manhunt for a cop killer. Officer Sean Bolton was gunned down after he made a routine traffic stop last night. A passerby used the officer's radio to alert police to the shooting. Bolton who was shot several times died after being rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Police say the 33-year-old had been on the force since October of 2010. He was the third officer killed in Memphis, Tennessee, in the past

four years. Joining me right now from Los Angeles is retired LAPD police sergeant Chery Dorsey.

So Cheryl, what's next do you believe in this investigation? It really speaks to the reflexes of a passerby to make a call in to alert police about what happened.

CHERYL DORSEY, FORMER LAPD POLICE SERGEANT: Yes. Thank goodness for that citizen that was able to stop and render assistance to the officer and maybe get the responding units on scene fairly early. And so now, it's going to be a matter of finding out what this person of interest has to say and what their involvement is and relationship is to this vehicle and the traffic stop.

WHITFIELD: And what about surveillance video dash cam video. All of those things that are tools in trying to determine what happened. How much credence do you have in that? How much confidence do you have that those things are available?

DORSEY: Well, I hope it would be available in terms of dash cam. And I don't know if this agency's policies and procedures. But we also can look to businesses and residences in the area. Sometimes those can be very helpful if you see a vehicle come in to screen, if you will, at the time of the incident, shortly thereafter. And helping identify people who are coming and going. Right? And so hopefully those things will also add some light to what we have coming from this person of interest.

[15:10:08] WHITFIELD: And we always hear the words routine traffic stop put together. But it seems as though traffic stops are anything but routine. Help people understand the potential dangers, what an officer braces for? What could be an expectation from any traffic stop?

DORSEY: Traffic stops are never, in my opinion, routine. And understand that what I said in the previous segment is that we have to react to what someone already has in mind when we stop that individual. We don't know where they're coming from, we don't know what they have been involved in, prior to our contact with them. And so, that's why it's important for police officers to always use good tactics when approaching a vehicle, when stopping a vehicle, and more importantly to communicate. That's what's key is communicating to dispatch exactly what your actions are. So that in the event things go awry, others will know what your last moments were before something awful happens.

WHITFIELD: All right. Retired Officer Cheryl Dorsey of LAPD. Thank you so much.

DORSEY: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead. Four days until the first Republican primary debate, and Donald Trump insists that he is not practicing, not preparing. Will that work for him? We're going to ask our debate experts next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:14:41] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. This Tuesday we will know who among the 17 Republican candidates will appear on stage for the first GOP primary debate Thursday night. Only the top ten in national polls will be allowed to participate. The remaining candidates will appear in a separate debate at 5:00 p.m. Well, this as Donald Trump shakes up his campaign. He fired this man right here, his campaign aide, Sam Nunberg, over racially charged Facebook posts that he allegedly wrote.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is at the White House for us.

So Sunlen, what more do we know about this aide who was fired?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know, Fred, that he was a top political aide of Donald Trump. He actually worked for him back in 2012. He was fired then, the first time he was fired in Trump 2012 and rehired for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. So clearly some history between the two.

But last week when the disparaging racially motivated and disparaging remarks came out on his Facebook page that were posted in 2007 the campaign then said that they would look into them and investigate them so clearly the campaign making a move today to cut ties with him today effective this afternoon.

Now, as this controversy swirls, all eyes, Fred, are on Thursday's debate where Donald Trump goes in as a front-runner. So clearly he is understanding here that there's in some way a target on his back in that front-runner status. And today, he spoke about how he's not going to throw the first punch, but he anticipates a lot of other people will come after him. Here's what he said on "Meet the Press."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've always counterpunched and you have to counterpunch. But I'm not looking to start anything. A lot of people saying, they're getting ready and they've got their little lines given to them by the pollsters. You know, everything's perfectly put down by a pollster, what to say and how to attack me. And you know, if that cops it comes and I'll have to handle it at the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Now in one of his opponents, Senator Rand Paul who will be up with him on the debate stage Thursday night, he said that this week is the rise of Donald Trump he believes represents a temporary loss of sanity in the Republican Party. He was asked about those comments by Jake Tapper. Here is what he said on "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If there is a vein of anger, yes, that represents some of those who are thinking about Donald Trump. But I think there's also going to be a serious debate ultimately starting this week in the presidential debates about who has ideas that would fix the country. Instead of getting so far afield in a lot of, I think, maybe empty talk, maybe we ought to talk about should we have a flat tax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And I think that argument is one that we will see acted out up there on the debate stage on Thursday night, Fred, as some of these opponents of Trumps try to take him on more directly over the substance of what his political platform is running for president.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sunlen Serfaty at the White House, thanks so much.

All right. Let's talk about Thursday's prime time debate. With me now from Liberty, Maine, is David Birdsell, dean of Baruch college school of public affairs and the co-author of "presidential debates, the challenge of creating an informed electorate."

All right, good to see you.

DAVID BIRDSELL, DEAN, BARUCH COLLEGE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: OK. So while Trump is at the top of the majority of, you know, popularity polls, he is also winning the highest unfavorable rating, that dubious distinction. So how do you square that, you know, and how does he go in to this debate knowing that he is most liked and at the same time he's least liked?

BIRDSELL: Well, Donald Trump is a polarizing figure. And that's not necessarily unusual for somebody as outspoken as he is. He's tapping a vein of anger as Senator Paul suggested. That's powerful. And it's going -- it already has propelled him to a 25 percent support level among the Republican base. The question is whether he can get beyond that and at what point the rest of the Republican Party decides to rally support behind one or two candidates to begin to create more favorable poll numbers for others.

WHITFIELD: OK. And so you know debates. And you know about the importance of strategies that most candidates have. But on "Meet the Press" this morning Donald Trump said you know what, quote, he said this, he, quote, "doesn't want to be unreal. I want to be me." And he says he quote, "knows the subjects well and will see what happens." In other words, you know, he's kind of winging it.

BIRDSELL: Well that's of course what he's telling us. We don't know what he's doing behind the scenes. But so far winging it has done pretty well for Donald Trump. It's exactly that kind of unscripted, anything goes, say whatever is on your mind, quality that's propelled him to this 25 percent level of support. So he sees no reason to go anywhere else. It could hurt him in this debate, though, if he's perceived to be a less serious candidate than others on the stage. At least with the other 75 percent of voters in the party. WHITFIELD: At the same time we've seen a few different Donald Trumps,

right? We've seen kind of the showmanship, you know, Donald Trump. We've also seen the businessman Donald Trump. And I think this morning when he was on both "This Week" and "Meet the Press," he came across a lot more serious. And I wonder if that's what he will bring, if that will better translate for people that he brings kind of the man that goes into the board room, and no one wants to believe that he goes into a board room unprepared.

[15:20:00] BIRDSELL: Well, exactly. And that's why I suspect there's much more going on behind the scenes than he's letting us know at this point. But if the programs that he was on this morning he had more time to state a position than he or any of the other nine candidates will have on Thursday night. This is a very compressed format. You've got ten people up on the stage. That's just a remarkably logistical challenge to try to get through as an individual making a message or frankly for the moderators to try to allocate fairly across all of the candidates the question space that they have.

WHITFIELD: And plus, you only have 60 seconds to respond to a question, 30 seconds for rebuttal. So you have to have some focus. Some real idea about what it is you want to present, what it is that you want to convey.

BIRDSELL: That's exactly right. And some people have speculated that Mr. Trump may not always abide by the rules of the debate. It's going to be up to the moderators to ebb force those rules. If he continually talks overtime and across other candidates, even though people like his irritativeness they won't like it if it's perceived to be actively rude to people standing next to him on the stage.

WHITFIELD: Kind of stepping out of bounds. All right, David Birdsell, thank you so much. I appreciate that. Although I think Donald Trump probably likes that stepping out of bounds. So let me think about something else to say on that one.

All right, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right, remember, for all the latest news on the race for 2016, go to CNNpolitics.com.

All right, still ahead, more than two dozen major wildfires threatening thousands of people in California this afternoon. We'll check if weather will cooperate as crews work around the clock to put out those flames.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:19] WHITFIELD: All right, more than 12,000 people in northern California are under a mandatory evacuation as the so-called rocky wildfire near the city of clear lake doubles in size. More than 6,000 structures are threatened, and 50 structures have already been destroyed. Cal fire says they're also battling more than two dozen wildfires right now.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joining me now. All right, so Allison, this is a very dangerous and horrible

situation.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. It is. And they just keep adding more and more firefighters to try to help in the blaze. Right now, up to 1900 firefighters trying to help, and to see the scope of just how bad it is, take a look beneath me.

You can see we've got most of the state of California under either an extreme or exceptional category of drought. Now the thing to note is four out of the top five major cities in California are under either extreme or exceptional drought. So it's important it's not just the farmland that we're used to. Right now they're fighting 20 active fires. They have over 19 helicopters trying to get to these numerous locations.

Now, the area where we saw the fires double overnight that happens to be right here in Lake County. Over 47,000 acres have been burned, and the worst part, only five percent has been contained. And the problem with that is the forecast, and as we take a look at that, it's not really good news in terms of trying to fight the fires. This afternoon, we're going to notice those winds beginning to pick up closer to 15 miles per hour. Temperatures remaining very hot, very dry, very sunny conditions out there.

Now, as we look at the next couple of days, well, much of the same. The only difference to note is on Monday and Tuesday, while it will still be sunny, while it will still be very hot, the wind is going to start to die down. We're looking at less than 10 miles per hour. And that makes a huge difference for the firefighters, hopefully they will be able to contain the fire a little bit more Fredricka and be able to make a little bit more of an improvement in that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's hope so, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much. Of course, welcome.

CHINCHAR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, four people dead after an outbreak of legionnaire's disease in New York. We'll talk with a doctor about why they haven't been able to pinpoint where it all began.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:00] WHITFIELD: Hello again and thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredrick can Whitfield.

A mysterious outbreak of legionnaire's disease in New York has claimed four lives in New York City. All of the dead were older individuals, with underlying medical issues. But dozens of others have been hospitalized.

CNN's Sara Ganim is following the story for us from New York.

So this outbreak was first reported last month in the Bronx. What more do we know about it now?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know it's really affecting that neighborhood here in the Bronx in New York, Fred. You know, investigators, epidemiologists now working to figure out how this began.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM (voice-over): Daniel Tejada spent nearly a month in a medically induced coma in a New York hospital because of legionnaire's disease.

DANIEL TEJADA, RECOVERED FROM LEGIONNAIRE'S DISEASE: I was about to wait one more day to go to the hospital, and if I would have waited that one more day I don't think I would be here right now.

GANIM: The outbreak has caused 65 people to get sick since mid-July. Four, all with pre-existing conditions, died.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The CDC needs to come in this community.

GANIM: Residents of the south Bronx are calling for more action as health officials say the outbreak could get worse before it gets better.

DR. JAY VARMA, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, NYC DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGENE: We think it's very possible that there will be an increase in cases over the next seven days.

GANIM: Named after an outbreak in the '70s that made a group of American legion workers ill, Legionnaire's is a respiratory disease with flu-like symptoms. You can't catch it from someone else. The bacteria travels through water mist like from air conditioners or cooling towers.

Five buildings in the south Bronx have been thoroughly decontaminated, city officials say, in an attempt to contain the spread. Meanwhile, residents are warned to seek help at the first sign of illness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We thought it was just regular pneumonia, you know, he got sick. Then we found out it was Legionnaire's that's when everybody really got into a panic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM: Now, Fred, New York health officials say it's important to remember you can't catch this through the drinking water or swimming pools, or fountains, that's the important thing to remember in the summer there's really no need to panic about that. And in this neighborhood where it has -- where it's been -- it's found in these buildings, they're coming up with a long-term plan for checking the cooling towers to make sure that that bacteria is no longer there for residents in that neighborhood. There's a town hall meeting tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: I'm sure they have lots of questions when that happens.

GANIM: Of course. WHITFIELD: Thank you so much Sara Ganim. Appreciate it.

All tight. Let's find out more about the threat of legionnaire's disease. Dr. Devi Nampiaparampil an assistant professor at the NYU School of medicine, good to see you.

DEVI NAMPIAPARAMPIL, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: OK. So we just heard this outbreak is around a cluster of several buildings in the Bronx. What does that tell you about its origins or how people are being exposed to it?

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Well, we can't know for sure but it might be coming from water towers that supply air conditioning units or other units in those buildings. What's concerning is that it seems to have spread to Lincoln medical center, which is a hospital. So you have more sick people who are in that area and they're going to be more susceptible to catching any type of infection and actually potentially dying from it. So that's very concerning.

WHITFIELD: Then help us better understand how it is contracted. Because, you know, just hearing that there may be sort of flu-like symptoms, as we heard in Sara Ganim's piece, really means anybody is susceptible.

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Well, that's true. I mean your immune system will fight it. So anything that weakens your immune system is going to make you more likely to get it or have more symptoms from it. But generally speaking, the bacteria has to get to your lungs. That's why you have to inhale it. Whether it's through water mist, and while you can't get it if you just drink clean water, because it's going to go through your gut, it's not going to go through your lungs unless you chuck, so basically it's got to kind of come in as a sort of mist into your lungs, and then there your immune system can fight it. But if you have a problem with your immune system then, of course, it's going to be more likely to infect you.

WHITFIELD: And then you have a personal experience with this kind of infection. You apparently surviving something similar as a teenager? What happened?

[15:35:00] NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Well, not legionnaire's, I had a different problem. But the thing about it is once you have these problems, anything affecting the lungs or your immune system, you've got a big problem. So what is critical is that for people who have this, they have to get treatment. They have to get early antibiotics.

Now, I think one of the things here is that people may not realize right away that they're sick. Especially because this thing takes two to ten days, anywhere between that period of time, to actually show up as symptoms. So people might think they have cough and cold symptoms when they might have something more serious like Legionnaire's. They should get evaluated.

And then aside from the antibiotics, you know, the problems are that if you start having trouble breathing, if you start getting really dehydrated, this thing can affect your whole body. So it's important for people to get lots of fluids and supportive care.

WHITFIELD: So how does one protect themselves when you talk about, you know, ingesting or taking in a mist? Are we talking about many of us need to wear masks?

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: I don't think people need to wear masks, no. But the areas, if you're in a high risk area then just be aware if you have symptoms. You really can't protect yourself from getting it if you've already been exposed, because it takes a while for it to show up. But if you're not in an area like the Bronx then your risk is low. I mean, people do get Legionnaire's in this country. There have been about 2400 cases so far this year. But what's concerning here is that the number of cases in New York has been going up over time.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Devi Nampiaparampil, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Nice talking to you.

WHITFIELD: All right still ahead, the killing of Zimbabwe's beloved Cecil the lion. It's calling attention to how vulnerable the world's endangered species are. Next CNN investigates the big money to be made in the underground illegal animal trade.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:32] WHITFIELD: Outrage over the killing of a famous Zimbabwe lion named Cecil. And now some relief that his fellow lion Jericho is still alive despite earlier reports that he had been killed by hunters, too. Well, this is a picture of Jericho taken this morning by researchers of Brent (INAUDIBLE) who is tracking Jericho with a GPS tag.

CNN's David McKenzie is in Johannesburg with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Early reports that Jericho the lion was killed illegally by a hunter turn out to be false. In fact, the group that put out that information has since apologized. And the Oxford University research group that tracks these lions say he is doing just fine.

Now, Zimbabwe has appeared to tighten up on hunting in the country. They've banned all kinds of hunting on the borders of the (INAUDIBLE) national park for big cats and other large game. And in fact, they banned bow hunting outright. Now, it was with a bow that Dr. Walt Palmer shot Cecil the lion last month causing this global outcry. He says he did nothing illegal. But Zimbabwean officials are trying to extradite him to face charges from the U.S. to Zimbabwe, though that might be a tall order according to experts.

The guide and the hunter that he hired to kill Cecil, though, face charges this week in Zimbabwe, and they could spend ten years in jail if found guilty.

David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And Zimbabwe officials limit hunting around the game reserve where Cecil was killed. Many question if that is enough to curb illegal hunting and trade.

CNN investigative correspondent Drew Griffin reports that illegal animal trade generates billions of dollars every year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Step in this grotesque, macabre warehouse on the outskirts of Denver and you'll soon grasp just how endangered the world's endangered species really are.

This is an animal that's about to go extinct, really.

COLEEN SCHAEFER, SUPERINTENDENT, NATIONAL WILDLIFE REPOSITORY: It's the same plight for the rhino and the tiger and the elephant. They could call go extinct within our lifetime.

GRIFFIN: Coleen Schaefer runs the wildlife repository for the U.S. fish and wild life service and this is just a fraction of what wild life officials recovered. Just enough to show how repulsive the trade in endangered dead animals can be.

You get shipments in here every day?

SCHAEFER: Every single day. It depends the size of the shipments. Sometimes it will be one box full of, you know, 50 different items. Sometimes it's 50 smaller boxes maybe of jewelry of some type or another. So it's really variable what we get from day to day.

GRIFFIN: Shelf after shelf of endangered tiger heads, even a stuffed tiger fetus, tons of elephant ivory, bizarre and worthless medicines made from illegally poached animals, and of course, the extremely endangered black rhinos, whole horns, horns crushed into medicine carved into statuettes.

This is a baby rhino foot. It's turned into a pencil holder.

There are just 2500 of these black rhinos left in the wild protected now by armed soldiers. This animal alive but its horn cut off by poachers. Most are not so lucky. They're carcasses left to rot while their valuable horn is smuggled across the globe. The U.S. department of justice says illegal species trade is driven by mostly Asian buyers, willing to pay up to $60,000 per kilo.

SCHAEFER: We also have basically the full snout, of which you can feel still the skin.

GRIFFIN: According to Schaefer wealthy hosts in Vietnam have used ground-up rhino horns as a party favor, said to cure a hang-over.

SCHAEFER: Not only they're a status symbol but of their wealth and their ability to provide this to their guests.

GRIFFIN: And of course it doesn't work.

SCHAEFER: Right. Doesn't work.

GRIFFIN: To stop the killing the U.S. government has targeted people who deal in the illegal animal trade. And according to the U.S. government, that includes an antique dealer in south Florida named Chris Hayes.

Do you have anything to say?

For two-and-a-half years Hayes and his internet auction site sold black rhino horns, some for as much as $80,000. His cut he admitted in court documents, 31 percent of every sale. Hayes pleaded guilty and on May 20th was sentenced to three years in prison. In court he told the judge he made a terrible mistake. Leaving court, shielded by friends, he said almost nothing.

Can you explain to us why you were selling these horns? You obviously knew for two-and-a-half years according to prosecutors that you were selling these horns.

[15:45:15] CHRIS HAYES, ANTIQUE DEALER: It doesn't matter.

GRIFFIN: According to the government, Chris Hayes and his elite art companies were involved in the selling of more than 19 pounds of rare endangered black rhinoceros horns worth about $400,000. And while the government says there was no human victim involved, each horn represented a dead endangered animal, smuggling, poaching, bribery, and even organized crime.

Government estimates have put the global trade in illegal animal products as high as $10 billion. Hayes was caught trying to arrange sales to Asian buyers in Canada, Texas, even Milan, Italy. But buyers and the sellers willing to force an animal into extinction for a worthless cure or a trinket.

Drew Griffin, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, Jon Stewart. He only has a week left as host of "the Daily Show." We'll take a look back at how the popular political comedian made waves over the years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[15:50:07] ROCHELLE RIPLEY, CNN HERO: My grandmother was full blood Lakota. My grandma was my world. She asked me if I would promise to go home and help our people when I grew up. The Lakota reservations are very isolated. The spirit of the people

to life but they struggle with the conditions tremendously. We have extremely high rates of suicide, addictions, food, often is in very short supplies, unemployment, health issues are another huge challenge.

I formed a group to keep a promise to my Lakota grandmother to go home and help our people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At first I was traumatized, because I was blind. All my electricity and stuff were no good (INAUDIBLE).

RIPLEY: We're doing as much as we can to make our house safe for her, even more --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see it, but I feel it.

RIPLEY: We've been teaching how to eat healthy on a very limited budget. We have a medical team. We work collaboratively with the tribe wherever we go.

So, we're going to continue, obviously, with toys and the new clothing.

We get in everything from beds to food.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's a blessing to our reservation. We call her (INAUDIBLE). (INAUDIBLE) means you're helping people.

RIPLEY: We're all children of this earth and work together, so that everyone has a chance as having a decent life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. This is a big week. It's also a big week for Jon Stewart because it's his last week hosting the "Daily Show." Amy Schumer, Dennis Leary and Lewis Cay (ph) will be among his final guests. South African comedian Trevor Noah will take over as host. He joined the show back in December as a contributor.

Well, CNN's Brian Stelter takes a look at the evolution of "the Daily Show" over its nearly 20 years on the air.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is "the Daily Show," the most important television program ever.

BRIAN STELTER CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was a "Daily Show" before Jon Stewart. It premiered in the summer of 1996 hosted by former ESPN anchor, Fred Hilborn (ph). But it wasn't until Stewart took over in 1999 that the show really started to matter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you're on -- somebody said on the short list for vice president. STELTER: His sharp tongue instilled fear in politicians and TV

(INAUDIBLE) and he more than tripled the average ratings too. While Hilborn (ph) introduced segments like five questioners and the longer lasting, you're moment of Zen, Stewart's daily show earned the respect of the Industry with 20 Emmys and two Pea Body awards. Stewart was a clown. That's for sure.

JON STEWART, HOST, DAILY SHOW: Champagne a caviar for everybody.

STELTER: But he was also a fact checker and a media critic. Showing the power of catching lawmaker's contradictions. His message, humor can hold people in power accountable.

STEWART: Let me give you mug force one. This is yours.

STELTER: Toward the end, Stewart's interviews got more serious. Liberals loved him, while some conservatives despised him. But they all had to pay attention. Stewart's young correspondent became stars. Long before being nominated for an academy award and when he won a Golden Globe, anchor Steve Carell spent five years on daily.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you reconcile the fact that you were one of the critics of pork barrel politics but that committee set a record for unauthorized appropriations? I'm just kidding. I don't even know what that means.

STELTER: Later he joined another daily show star Ed Helms on the office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm still just thinking about my old pals.

STELTER: John Oliver got his start thanks to Stewart too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New Jersey has the highest property tax in the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an awful state.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.

STELTER: And people thought he'd take over the show some day, until HBO came calling. Before Olivia Munn started magic mike, she also reported for "the Daily Show."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before there was a name for tiger moms, there was my mom, the original milk, the mother I learned from.

STELTER: And now a new generation of comedians like Jessica Williams are continuing Stewart's tradition.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll put you on the tin ladies. But Alexander, go with them to make sure they don't do any impulse byes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:55:04] WHITFIELD: All right, this week, a long goodbye for Jon Stewart.

All right. Coming up, our live report from the island of reunion. New information about the plane debris found on the beach as investigators search for more evidence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:59:00] WHITFIELD: All right. A look at our top stories now.

U.S. secretary of state John Kerry is in Cairo meeting with his Egyptian counterparts. He says the U.S. has committed to the security and economic well-being of the Egyptian people. And it is important to continue the fight against terror for stability in the Middle East.

And the Texas attorney general is facing charges for security fraud. The "New York Times" reports he's accused of misleading investors about a technology company. He's expected to turn himself into authorities tomorrow.

And it took less than a minute. Do not blink, but what a fight. MMA star Ronda Rousey destroying Bethe Correia in a 34-seconds grudge match last night knocking out Correia and saying good-bye to a hated rival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONDA ROUSEY, MMA FIGHTER: I consider the matter settled and that I'm not going to have to think about it ever again after this day. And I'm sure she'll have to think about me plenty. And so, as far as I'm concerned, it's over and done with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Last night's match marks a 12th straight win for Rousey and name that she keeps her Bantam weight title.

All right, the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.