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The Search for Clues in the EgyptAir Disaster; The Names of EgyptAir Passengers; Politics of Guns: Trump Versus Clinton; NRA Endorses Donald Trump; Secret Service on Friday's Shooting; International Efforts Behind EgyptAir Search and Recovery. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired May 21, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:10]

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, new clues in the search for answers in the EgyptAir disaster.

Plus the names and faces behind the numbers. And the agony of family members that they've left behind.

And the politics of guns. Donald Trump tries to rally his supporters by saying Hillary Clinton wants to take gun rights away from Americans. Hillary Clinton answers back.

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HOWELL: Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

New evidence is giving clues as to what happened aboard EgyptAir flight 804 just moments before it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.

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HOWELL: CNN has learned smoke alerts went off shortly before the plane disappeared from radar. Searchers have also found debris and human remains in the sea, but we still don't know what caused that plane to crash on Thursday. There were 66 people on board. Egyptian officials suspect terrorism, but no group has come forward to claim responsibility.

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HOWELL: Let's get the very latest now from CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon, who is live at Cairo's International Airport. Arwa, what more are you hearing about this investigation at this point?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, the details that are coming to light are really serving mostly to add to the mystery surrounding what the cause of this possible crash may be. You do have these various different smoke alarms that were set off that aren't even necessarily definitively indicative of any sort of fire breaking out, but could also have been set off by the plane coming apart. Basically all of its warning systems would have possibly go on the fritz as it was colliding toward the Mediterranean Sea. All this is really proving at this point is that there was some sort of crash, which is basically what we have known all along. But we don't really know at this stage, any sort of new information as to whether or not this was some sort of catastrophic technical malfunction, or an act of terrorism.

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DAMON: All that's happening right now is a severe amount of speculation around the various different causes that could have led to this horrific event that led to the loss of life of 66 people. 56 of them passengers, and then 7 crew members, plus three security officers. The Egyptian authorities have managed to recover a bit more debris. And by that, I mean small items such as luggage, seats, and then of course sadly, more human remains.

The families of those who perished in this incident are still struggling, still trying to come to terms with what happened. Understandably so, of course, trying to come to grips not only with their emotions, but also with their frustration, and to a certain degree, anger over the fact that there hasn't been any significant developments when it comes to why this plane went down.

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DAMON: Of course that kind of information can be and generally is hard to come by in circumstances like these ones, because the chunks of wreckage that are needed to try to extract concrete answers are in the Mediterranean Sea at this stage, and their specific location has not yet been pinpointed. Although we do have a better idea of where that wreckage may be. So there's very scant concrete information at this stage, George.

HOWELL: Arwa, one can only imagine the grief that these families have right now. So few answers. And we're in the middle of a process now as this airline starts to notify next of kin, can you talk to us about that process.

DAMON: Well, it's a very difficult one, because not only do these various different and it's hard to even talk about it, human remains need to be identified. You then are going to have to go through a fairly lengthy process of proper verification of identities. And then of course handing those over to the various relatives and all the different nationalities.

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DAMON: Around 30 passengers were Egyptian nationals. About another 15 French, and the rest were from all different countries. And added to all of that, a lot of the remains have yet to be recovered. And so for these families who are waiting, there is very little closure. Incidentally, our Ian Lee went to one of the mosques yesterday where there were Friday prayers being held for the dead and in some cases, even Friday prayers being held for the missing and some family members didn't attend.

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[04:05:05]

DAMON: And they didn't attend because they didn't want to accept that their loved ones were dead, were gone.

It's a very difficult process for anyone to have to go through this, but to go through the loss of a loved one and not have closure, that is even more unbearable on some level.

HOWELL: Given the fact that it's still a search and rescue, and you know, you can imagine the families that are still holding out hope, not wanting to go to that prayer service. Arwa Damon, live for us, thank you for your reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.

Let's talk more now about these four major possibilities that investigators are considering in this crash. First, a smuggled bomb.

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HOWELL: The early theory among U.S. officials is terrorism, but they caution that is based on circumstances and not concrete evidence. Scenario two, an insider threat. Did terrorists recruit an airport employee to sabotage the plane on the ground? Scenario three, was it a technical issue? Or scenario four, pilot error or some other action. Analysts say all these scenarios are plausible and the recovery of the plane's wreckage and flight data recorder will be key in providing answers to the crash.

To delve deeper on all these questions, we have this hour with us, Captain Desmond Ross with the DRA Professional Aviation Services, live from Istanbul with us.

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HOWELL: Captain Ross, it's good to have you with us. From your extensive expertise in the aviation industry, I'd like to start by getting first your quick, initial reactions to the different scenarios, the first that I mentioned, a smuggled bomb, plausible?

DESMOND ROSS, DRA PROFESSIONAL AVIATION SERVICES: Yes, it's plausible. Airport employees, particularly in some of those areas, not only can be radicalized, but often they're not very well paid also, and a bit of money goes a long way.

HOWELL: The second scenario then that the plane was somehow sabotaged by someone on the ground, is this something that we should all be talking about more, when it comes to security on the ground at these airports? ROSS: Absolutely. I cringe every time people bring up the subject of

things like pilot suicide or pilots being able to crash an aircraft. An engineer is perfectly capable of crashing an aircraft by leaving a critical bolt undone, by fitting a part that's not correctly placed. You know, there's all sorts of scenarios with airport employees and engineers and cabin attendants and all sorts of people. It's not just pilots. You know, there's a lot of people have a direct effect on the operational capability of any aircraft that flies.

HOWELL: Let's talk about this possibility of a technical problem, especially given the new information we've learned. What are your thoughts?

ROSS: It's -- look, EgyptAir, I think, is actually quite a respectable airline in terms of its maintenance and so forth. I've not heard criticism of their maintenance capabilities. This aircraft was built in 2003. That's not really all that old. It's a very reliable aircraft. The Airbus A320 and like the -- Boeing 737, they just keep on going. It takes quite a lot to bring them down in the case of a real technical fault. It's a plausible scenario still. Engines we've seen it recently you know, a brand-new A380 engine blew up a couple of years ago. It happens, but it's rare - it's rare. I would rate that as being one of the lower possibilities.

HOWELL: OK, and the other scenario that we mentioned to our viewers, a pilot error.

ROSS: When you're flying at high altitude and 37,000 feet is quite high, but it's not that high, I mean, you can go a lot higher, up to 45 and whatever, there are critical factors in controlling an aircraft. Very critical speed bands and angle of attack which some of the listeners might not fully understand. But you're going into an area of very thin air and the aircraft has to be handled very accurately. That's why the auto pilots are used. Normally a pilot doesn't hand fly an aircraft at that altitude.

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ROSS: But if something goes wrong, it requires some special training. I don't know. I do not know whether these pilots would have been trained for some of the critical things that happen in high altitude flying. You get into a whole new area there. We could spend hours talking about the methods of pilot training these days compared to when I did it and some of my colleagues did.

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HOWELL: And I want to get your thoughts. Again, we don't really have any concrete information, we have just bits and points of data that we're all trying to assess. When you talk about the descent here, from 37,000 feet down to 15,000, down to 10,000, does that sound to you like it could have been a controlled descent, or does it sound to you like a plane that was out of control?

ROSS: My initial reaction was that it was not a controlled descent. It looked to me like it was out of control, essentially. [04:10:02]

ROSS: And now hearing about these smoke alarms and power warnings, which frankly I'm a little bit cautious about. I mean, we're hearing about them all morning, and we've seen transcripts, but has anyone actually really confirmed that these are accurate? You know I'm hoping --

HOWELL: So you question the accuracy?

ROSS: Well, I'm just wondering about it. I've haven't been told and I have no evidence sitting in front of me to say that this was a genuine copy of something from the ACAR system that was transmitting from that aircraft. But I hope it was. I'd hate for this to be a red herring.

If -- look, I don't think it was a controlled descent at all. The left turn and then the spiraling right-hand turn just didn't seem normal. It was something that you wouldn't normally do. And it ended up in a crash. The only plausible reason why a pilot would do that would be if you had a depressurization and need to get down quickly, so that the depressurization in the cabin didn't cause a problem to all the passengers, you need to be able to breathe and you can't do that at altitude of 37,000 feet. You need to get down to 10. That's about the only plausible reason he would have been heading down and that could have been exacerbated of course by smoke in the cabin and all that sort of stuff.

But I'm feeling at the moment that these smoke alarms, if it's all true, if it's all accurate, it wasn't an isolated smoke alarm in the lavatory or somewhere else, it was obviously the whole front end of the aircraft, and that seems to me like there's been a catastrophic event, whether it was a bomb or fire or oxygen bottle exploding, or whatever, it was bad. And I don't think it was controlled at all.

HOWELL: Captain Desmond Ross, we appreciate your insight. Again, we don't have any concrete information, but again, just different points of data that we're all trying to assess here. And we appreciate your experience and knowledge in the field to help us do that.

ROSS: We won't have anything final until the investigation is a little further down the track and parts are recovered and examined, and hopefully the flight data recorder is recovered fairly quickly.

HOWELL: Captain Ross, thanks so much for your time with us today.

Now, when it comes to the search area, weather conditions have cooperated so far, but that could change in the hours to come. Our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam is on this following it at the International Weather Centre. Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEORLOGIST: And George, it will likely change in the next 12 to 24 hours, as a cold front moves through the region.

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VAN DAM: This is the latest satellite loop. Here's the flight trajectory from Paris down towards to Cairo, the eastern sections of the Mediterranean and the general search area that's taking place. But looks what's to the west.

We have a cold front coming, low pressure attached to it, cloud cover on the increase already. As we saw on the satellite a moment ago, it's not really the rain that I'm concerned about, it's the cold - rather the strong winds that are going to wrap in behind this particular front and that will have obviously an impact on the waves and the sea conditions, as the search and rescue operations move forward.

Now take a look at this, this is forecast wind gusts. You can see the legend at the top portion of your screen. We're talking about wind gusts Monday morning into Tuesday in excess of 50 to 70 kilometers per hour. Roughly 40 to 50 miles per hour. So we have the potential to see open ocean swells anywhere between 1 to 3 meters. This causes concern for any of the vessels taking part in the search and rescue operations, not to mention the strong winds impacting helicopters and aircrafts across this region.

Now, it's not only the weather, but it's the ocean currents that we have to consider as a factor for the displacement of the potential debris field that they're searching for so extensively at the moment. This is a Mediterranean ocean currents. These little circular patterns are called eddies, they're actually just spinning ocean currents that we find all over the world. Not only in the Mediterranean, but in the Indian Ocean, as well as the Atlantic.

Just to prove what I'm talking about, this is the potential of an oil slick that was spotted by a satellite. That was about 40 kilometers away from the last known radio position or communication position with the plane. Now taking you below the surface of the water, this is a relatively flat sea floor. So when we compare this to perhaps MH370 over the Indian Ocean a couple years ago, they had to scour mountains and crevasses but the flat seabed will make it a tad bit easier for the search vessels to find that all important black box. George.

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HOWELL: And good to know that Derek, the difference between what we saw with MH370, yes, it's just good to see the different terrain so people can understand what the search would be like. Thanks so much.

VAN DAM: You're welcome.

HOWELL: French airport security is under scrutiny after the EgyptAir crash. Why some airport workers there lost security clearances over the past year when we come back.

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[04:15:01]

HOWELL: Plus, families share stories about some of those lost on board the plane, their nieces, nephews and brothers, no longer with them. Stay with us.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: I'm Richard Quest and these are the top business headlines. China's government must take serious action to deal with the country's local and regional debts according to China's vice finance minister. Speaking to me on Quest Means Business, Zhu Guangyao says the country is committed to reforms and needs to strike a careful balance.

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ZHU GUANGYAO, CHINESE VICE FINANCE MINISTER: We must be correctly handle that issue between the real economy need money to support and also we should be control the bubble easier off of that. And we must avoid systematic financial risk, so there's too much debt.

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QUEST: The Dow, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed higher on Friday. Investors are shrugging off fears that the U.S. interest rate hike that had weighed on the stocks earlier in the week is around the corner. The Nasdaq soared more than 1%.

A third country has now had its banks targeted by hackers. The Banco Del Austro of Ecuador has filed a lawsuit in New York claiming thieves managed to steal $12 million from the bank before transferring it to accounts in Hong Kong, Dubai and the United States. Hackers used similar methods to target a Vietnamese bank and the Central Bank of Bangladesh. You're up to date with the business headlines. I'm Richard Quest in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

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HOWELL: Welcome back. The crash of EgyptAir flight 804 has many people speculating that terrorism may have been behind it. Though there is no definite proof of what caused this plane to crash at this point.

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HOWELL: But the plane's last stop at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris has come under scrutiny. Since early last year, dozens of employees there lost security clearances for alleged radicalization, extremism, or other vulnerabilities.

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Security is indeed ramping up at that airport as France is taking any threat of terrorism quite seriously. Especially after its capital was the target of multiple terror attacks last year.

For more on what's happening, let's bring in CNN's Jim Bittermann, who joins us now live in the French capital. Jim, it's good to have you this hour with us. Let's talk more about security at that airport. To screen people who have access to the planes, what has been done, and what is being done? [04:20:02]

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well George, they're going over the records of anybody that came in contact with the EgyptAir jet. In fact they've been looking at CCTV cameras, the footage from them, they're looking at the past histories of the various people involved, in the baggage handler handlers, security folks and all that sort of thing. That's a process that began almost immediately after it was confirmed that EgyptAir 804 had crashed.

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BITTERMANN: Even before it's known what brought down EgyptAir 804, security questions have been raised about its last point of departure, Paris' busy Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The plane was on the ground here just over an hour, but in that time, could someone have placed a bomb aboard? Perhaps hidden in baggage or a food service cart? Or could a terrorist have managed to board with other passengers? Questions that have been raised in part because of last year's bloody terrorist attacks in France. In their aftermath, Interior Ministry officials revealed that 85 security badges, which are needed to access secure areas of the airport, were revoked last year, because the badge holders allegedly showed signs of radicalization.

What's more, after the attacks, they carried out a new sweep of airport employees, again looking for anyone who might pose a threat. But 86,000 people work at the airport and screening for signs of radicalism is a daunting task. Nonetheless, in the wake of the EgyptAir crash, without knowing the cause, officials ordered a thorough investigation of anyone who might have come in contact with the plane and a review of video footage which might reveal untoward activity.

PIERRE-HENRY BRANDET, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER SPOKESMAN: (As translated) This is not only a necessity but a principle of precautionary measures. This is not a judgment nor an assumption. There was a failure, but it's a way to continue, as we always have done, to make sure our citizens are safe.

BITTERMANN: In fact French Officials from the president on down, have been trying to reassure everyone in the traveling public that security is their highest concern. Since the EgyptAir crash, it's been announced that 30 new intelligence officers will be added to the 5,700 security personnel already working at the airport.

JEAN-MARC AYRAULT, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: (As translated) The government strengthened all its measures following the January attacks. Everything is being done to reinforce everywhere.

BITTERMANN: But the French Foreign Minister has also said there's no such thing as zero risk. The EgyptAir crash has put the spotlight on security here at a very awkward time. In the next two months, the country will host the French Open Tennis tournament, the European Soccer championship and the Tour de France bicycle race. Events which will attract millions of people, many of whom will travel through the same airport as the Egypt airplane did.

If there's no cause established for its crash which dispels doubts about security, the impact on those events could be devastating.

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BITTERMANN: So, George, while the idea of a security fault that brought the plane down, they're still going to continue out here at the airport, with the inspections of CCTV footage and inspections of the personnel, with the idea being that it probably can't hurt, but it might help. George?

HOWELL: Following the situation at Charles de Gaulle airport, Jim Bittermann live in Paris. Jim, we appreciate your reporting and we'll stay in touch with you.

We also know that the plane made at least two stops before arriving at the airport in Paris. Flight data shows stops in both Tunisia and Eritrea. Jeffrey Thomas from Airlineratingss.com explained the situation in those locations.

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GEOFFREY THOMAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, AIRLINERATING.COM: If it turns out that it was a bomb that was planted on board that aircraft, then they'll obviously be looking at its first flight of the day, which was Asmara in Eritrea to Cairo. There it did two Cairo, Tunis, return flights before moving on to Paris.

Now a bureau of diplomatic security report from the United States said of the Asmara security, inexperienced operators and unpredictable levels of security. While the British government warns that Tunis in Tunisia is the most dangerous area for Britons to travel to. And we may recall that last year, we had the terrible tragedy where 31 Britons were massacred at the beachside resort. So both areas have serious question marks over the security level within the country and also at their airports.

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HOWELL: And we are also starting to hear from some of the relatives of the 66 people who were on board that plane. They are working with very few answers this day and as you can imagine, coping with great loss. Here's CNN's Miguel Marquez with this story.

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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The crushing reality setting in; their loved ones, gone.

MOHAMED RAMY, FAMILY MEMBER OF VICTIM: (As translated) We were at a press conference he said, they said nothing. Some people just collapsed then left.

[04:25:02] MARQUEZ: At Cairo's Al-Sadiq Mosque, a special Friday prayer for the victims of Flight 804, a painful gathering of friends and family. Devastated, an uncle of the plane's co-pilot, Mohamed Mamdouh Assam.

YASSER ABDEL GHAFFAR, UNCLE OF CO-PILOT: He was about to get married. He was really, really in a relationship. And he just introduced me to his -- sorry.

MARQUEZ: Ten crew members, 56 passengers, two of them infants all looking forward to reunions and new adventures in a disorienting turn, today their loved ones in shock, inconsolable. (Marah Hamdi) was a Canadian living in Cairo, mother of three, the school her kids attended posted this on Facebook. "She was a devoted and loving mother always there to offer a helping hand with a pure smile."

Richard Osman, a geologist from Wales working in Egypt. The 40 year old leaves behind two infant daughters.

ALISTAIR OSMAN, BROTHER OF VICTIM: He was just you know, a very admirable person and I think a lot of people admired him for his strength and values.

MARQUEZ: (Pascal Hess), an independent photographer from France almost didn't make the flight. He lost his passport the week before the trip. He was 51 years old.

(Ahmed Hala) was headed to Egypt to visit his sick father. The 40- year-old director of a Proctor and Gamble facility in France was said to be always smiling. The family of Mirvat Zaki Mohamed, the head flight attendant on 804 says she was just starting a new life. "She was a newlywed who got married six or seven months ago" she says. "I asked God for the flight to be hijacked instead of what we've been told. We have hope."

With debris from the plane now being found, hope overtaken by grief.

And now comes the pain staking task of finding the plane, recovering the bodies, doing DNA testing and reuniting the families with their loved ones. These families have a long, hard road to go.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.

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HOWELL: 4:27 a.m. on the U.S. east coast and still ahead, gunfire near the White House on Friday.

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HOWELL: We'll explain why the Secret Service says they shot a man.

Plus, Donald Trump accuses Hillary Clinton of being the most anti-gun candidate to ever run for office. What else he told the powerful gun lobbying group about her gun positions. Broadcasting live this hour in the United States and around the world, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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[04:31:05]

HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. It's good to have you with us. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour.

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HOWELL: New details are emerging about the moments before EgyptAir flight 804 disappeared from radar. CNN has learned smoke alerts went off shortly before the plane disappeared from its flight path. Searchers have found debris and human remains in the Mediterranean Sea.

The infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, may be heading to the United States soon. The Mexican foreign ministry approved his extradition on Friday. Lawyers for Guzman, say they will appeal the decision. If he reaches the U.S., he will stand trial on federal charges.

In Baghdad, a curfew is in effect after protesters stormed the city's fortified green zone on fire. Security officials tell CNN Iraqi forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas. About 50 people were injured there, demonstrators they also stormed the green zone last month and occupied Iraq's parliament to protest government corruption there.

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HOWELL: In Washington, D.C., we are learning more about a shooting that took place near the White House on Friday. A U.S. Secret Service agent, they say that a man approached a checkpoint and brandished a gun. He was ordered to stop and then was shot by a Secret Service agent when he didn't comply. CNN's Joe Johns has this story for us.

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JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Security lockdown here at the White House the Secret Service says a man with a gun approached a security check point right around the corner from the front door of the White House. He was told numerous times to put the gun down and when he did not do that he was shot in the stomach, taken into custody, then taken to the hospital. The man's name was not immediately released.

JOSE ANDURA, WITNESS: I was like five feet away from the first fence where the public is, and I hear -- I saw the guy into the other fence with the white shirt, you know, close to the first fence. And then I turn because I was on my phone. And then I hear the gunshot, very strong, very -- you know, and then I turn and the guy was on the floor. So I yelled to my family, the guy got shot, the guy got shot. And then I hear the police cars come with their guns and you know, and handcuffing him and they start pushing out. That's what I saw, that's what I heard, yes.

JOHNS: Authorities say the suspect's weapon was taken into custody and his vehicle was seized. The President of the United States was not in the White House at the time of the shooting but the Vice President was secured.

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JOHNS: No one other than the man was the gun was injured.

Joe Johns, CNN, The White House.

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HOWELL: It is America's choice 2016, and Donald Trump is trying to appeal to conservative voters by touting his strong support for gun rights.

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HOWELL: The National Rifle Association, a powerful gun lobbying group, endorsed the presumptive republican nominee on Friday. Trump wasted no time in attacking Democratic rival Hillary Clinton at that event. Our Jim Acosta reports on the strong words the two have for each other.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Picking up the endorsement of the nation's top gun lobby, Donald Trump paid tribute to the NRA and then within seconds fired off some tough lines of attack at Hillary Clinton.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I called her crooked Hillary. She wants to abolish the Second Amendment, so we're not going to let that happen.

ACOSTA: Trump who once supported an assault weapons ban, says he now backs a broad expansion of gun rights, adding that last year's terrorist carnation in San Bernardino, California, and Paris would have been avoided had some of the victims been armed with weapons of their own.

TRUMP: If you would have had guns on the other side it might not have happened.

[04:35:00]

ACOSTA: And the presumptive GOP nominee slammed Clinton as unqualified to be President. Tying the EgyptAir disaster to a record on terrorism as Secretary of State.

TRUMP: I've been looking at airplanes getting being blown up in the air and lots of bad things happening. Bernie Sanders who I'm sure you all love, he did say one thing that was very interesting. He said that Hillary Clinton is unqualified to be the President of the United States. He said she suffers from bad judgment and she does.

ACOSTA: Even though investigators have not publically concluded the EgyptAir jet was targeted by terrorists Trump went as far as to warn what would happen if warplanes are taken out.

TRUMP: You're going to have a depression worldwide the likes of which you've never seen because nobody's going to travel, there will be no anything.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, Chris, it does appear that it was an act of terrorism exactly how, of course, the investigation will have to determine.

ACOSTA: Also speculating on the apparent downing of the EgyptAir jet, Clinton is hitting right back at Trump.

CLINTON: I know how hard this job is and I know that we need steadiness as well as strength and smarts in it. And I have concluded that he is not qualified to be President of the United States.

ACOSTA: The results, well a new poll shows Clinton is holding on to a slight lead over Trump they are both deeply unpopular. More than half of those surveyed in a New York Times CBS News Poll say they have unfavorable views of Trump and Clinton. Though 70% say Trump lacks the right temperament to be President, an area where she performs better.

Trump is also spending much of his time shoring up his support among conservatives bragging how many guns his sons own.

TRUMP: Well, they have so many rifles and so many guns sometimes even I get a little bit concerned, I say, that's a lot.

ACOSTA: And pointing to Clinton's comments on gun control.

CLINTON: Here again, the Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment and I am going to make that case every chance I get.

TRUMP: Gun-free zones. We're getting rid of gun-free zones OK. I can tell you.

ACOSTA: Trump is also taking a victory lap after his big wins in the primaries, urging Republicans to rally behind him even working in a few double-stuffed jabs at his old rival Chris Christie.

TRUMP: I'm not eating Oreos anymore you know that, but neither is Chris, you're not eating Oreos anymore. No more Oreos for either of us, Chris, don't feel bad for either of us.

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HOWELL: That was our Jim Acosta reporting there. And as a point of fact Hillary Clinton has actually never said that she wants to abolish the Second Amendment. And she quickly took to twitter to denounce Donald Trump's claim. She tweeted, "you're wrong, @realDonaldTrump, we can uphold Second Amendment rights while preventing senseless gun violence."

Despite Hillary Clinton's lead in the polls, Democratic rival Bernie Sanders is not backing down.

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HOWELL: Sanders says that he is the democratic candidate to defeat Donald Trump, not Hillary Clinton. He's keeping up the fight and pledging to stay in the race until all Americans get their chance to make their voices heard at the polls.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And let me also say that we are going to fight for every last vote between now and June 14th. And that we are going to take our fight into the Democratic convention.

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HOWELL: Turning now to Nigeria, activists there say this girl rescued by the Nigerian army is not one of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped two years ago. Nigerian officials say it doesn't matter if she was abducted in the same group, but that her freedom is another victory against the militant group Boko Haram. The girl was among 97 women and children freed by the army on Thursday. The military had claimed that she was among the 276 Chibok girls taken from their school back in 2014.

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HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, an intense international search for wreckage continues of EgyptAir flight 804.

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HOWELL: We'll tell you what's been recovered from the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and how it could help investigators trying to figure out exactly what happened to this plane.

Plus, people in India, they are struggling to stay cool as the heat soars to record-setting temperatures. Stay with us.

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[04:42:30]

HOWELL: The crash of EgyptAir flight 804, new details are coming out about the final moments of that plane. But at this point, there are still no firm answers about what caused it to crash.

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HOWELL: Flight data obtained by CNN indicates smoke alerts went off near the cockpit just before the aircraft went down into the Mediterranean Sea. But aviation experts caution that doesn't necessarily mean that there was a fire on the plane. At sea, there have been some seats from the aircraft, luggage, and human remains recovered. But the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, they are still missing.

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HOWELL: The search for the plane and those recorders has swiftly become an international effort. Greece, France, the United States, and the U.K. are all helping to search that area where the plane likely went down.

Our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has details on how they are focusing the hunt.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's from the cockpit windows here, the aircrew of this military C130 cargo transport aircraft have their best visibility out over the Mediterranean Sea. The aircrew also in the side windows here get good visibility down onto the sea as well. The Greek air force have two of these aircraft out over the sea. They have a surveillance aircraft as well. We know that the British military have a naval vessel in the area. And the U.S. air force is contributing several Orion P3 surveillance aircraft to the recovery effort.

Already, some debris has been recovered. That is allowing the effort to focus, focus in on a precise area. Now this area is just southeast of where the aircraft disappeared off the radar. It is a little north of where that false debris field was found on Thursday. Of course this a concern that debris spotted by the air has to be checked on the ground. That slows down the operation, but that is part of the effort that's under way.

The Greek air force here, putting a lot of effort into this, saying they're willing to use their air base, like this one here, offering it to allies, to join the effort, to help Egyptian authorities discover precisely where this Egypt aircraft went down.

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HOWELL: Of critical interest is the plane's flight recorder, the black box, as it's commonly called. But the unit's aren't actually black, they are orange, to make them easier to spot in wreckage.

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HOWELL: The data recorders are located in the tail of the plane where they are less likely to be damaged by impact.

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HOWELL: They record technical information from the flight, altitude, air speed and heading, as well as audio from the cockpit and the engines. The two recorders for voice and data can be combined into a single unit to help search teams find them. The flight recorders send out a homing signal for up to 30 days after a crash. That radio ping can be detected even when it's being sent from more than 4,000 meters. That's more than 13,000 feet under water. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Officials fear the EgyptAir crash may discourage tourists from visiting Cairo. Egypt relies on the travel industry for 11% of its jobs. The government's tourism minister says the government is working hard to make travel safe for everyone. Here's what he had to say earlier.

YEHIA RASHED, EGYPTIAN MINISTER OF TOURISM: Today we are encouraging people to travel in spite of the incident, incidents can take place.

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RASHED: You know we've seen what happened in many other countries, without you know specifying what happened, you know, in every country. But, you know, we're exposed to the worldwide terrorism and I say we should actually give people the chance and the liberty to move, to travel, to enjoy themselves. You know, it's part of giving the hope, the prosperity, the positivity to the world, that people don't -- that these things don't stop people from enjoying their life, enjoying their time, being able to travel everywhere. You know, we work globally to make things easier, faster, safer for them. And that is the role all over for all the governments all over the world.

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HOWELL: If investigators confirm the crash of the flight is the result of terrorism, it would be the third attack on an Egyptian aircraft in six months' time. As you can imagine, this has been an incredibly difficult time for the relatives of the flight 804 passengers.

While in investigators search for evidence, some family members of the missing came together in Cairo, Egypt, to pray for the victims. CNN's Ian Lee has this report.

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IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A day of prayer and morning in Egypt, many still in shock 24 hours after EgyptAir Flight 804 crashed. For the world 66 people presumed dead. At this mosque they were brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends. Co-Pilot, Mohamed Assam was about to get married.

YASSER ABDEI BHAFFAR, CO-PILOT'S UNCLE: Again, he was absolutely a very kind person. You never see a guy his age in his humanity and sense of humor. I would say he was the only one that was really drawing smiles on our faces. So what happened really is very much unfortunate:

LEE: Amid the tears anger at the suggestion from some the pilots could have intentionally crashed the plane.

HESHAM ASSAM, UNCLE OF CO-PILOT: If this is the case that we are forming opinions to those too pilots without even going through the process of investigations. LEE: Some family members avoided the mosque not ready to mourn, hoping against all odds, their loved ones are still alive. But hopes fade quickly as searchers recover the wreckage including body parts.

Scenes like this are playing out all of Egypt, it's not just the friends and family who are mourning the victims of the EgyptAir flight, it's an entire country.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): We are so sad because we are friends, we are family.

LEE: As the country comes to grips on how they died, loved ones find it important to remember how they lived.

Ian Lee, CNN, Cairo.

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HOWELL: People in India are dealing with some extremely hot weather. Several states there estimate the heat wave has killed almost 400 people. The country had its highest ever recorded temperature on Thursday in the town of Rajasthan. It hit 51 degrees Celsius, that is 124 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of India is sweltering. The capital of New Delhi reached 47 degrees Celsius, that's 117 degrees Fahrenheit earlier this week.

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HOWELL: We're talking about a region of the world that is used to warm temperatures, but this is truly unprecedented heat. Our meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now with more on what's happening in India, Derek.

VAN DAM: George, I think we need to put this into perspective for both our international and our domestic audience.

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VAN DAM: The world record for hottest temperature ever recorded, Death Valley, California, a very sparsely populated part of the world, July, back in 1913, actually set a temperature of 56.7 degrees Celsius, that's roughly 134 degrees Fahrenheit. Now you take temperatures this week that have topped 50 degrees Celsius easily in a very populated part of the world and you can imagine just what people are trying to deal with. They're doing whatever they can to cool off, beat the heat. This gentleman taking advantage of a local water fountain that's in

the capital, New Delhi. Now take a look at these temperatures, it's not only northwestern and central India, we're talking about Pakistan, where temperatures have soared into the upper 50s or upper 40s and lower 50s. You factor in the heat indices and it even feels worse than that. Remember, heat index is what it feels like, an apparent temperature on your skin, and it takes into consideration the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, relative humidity.

Now unfortunately, the temperatures are not really going to improve much from here. You can see daytime highs in New Delhi should be about 38, will soar to 44 degrees today, 46 in (inaudible). Temperatures in the lower 40s on average.

Now, keeping in this part of the world, but talking about a completely different weather pattern, this is the flooding that's taking place across Sri Lanka. We have had an intense tropical cycle that moved from Sri Lanka, along the east coast of India, and now is starting to make its way into the border of Bangladesh and Myanmar. You can see our satellite move indicating this particular system.

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VAN DAM: The latest information from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, actually increasing the speeds of the winds to 100 kilometers per hour near the center of this particular storm. It's really not the winds that I'm too concerned about, it's actually the amount of rain that will fall from the system as it continues to move across the region. More flooding anticipated as we saw in Sri Lanka earlier this week. Take a look at this, we're talking about rainfall totals in excess of 300 millimeters. That will certainly lead to the potential of flooding and more landslides across the region. George?

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HOWELL: Derek van dam, thank you so much.

And we end this hour with a look in Brazil and the Olympic torch. It's on tour through the country ahead of the summer games in Rio de Janeiro.

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HOWELL: The flame was with one of Brazil's largest indigenous tribe on Friday. One of its leaders spoke about the torch's significance to their culture.

(RAONI CERQUERIA), INDIGENOUS TORCH BEARER: (As translated) For us, fire represents life. So in all our events, we burn a flame during the day and night. It signifies union, love, respect for our elders, and it's through the fire that we pass on our knowledge.

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HOWELL: By the opening ceremony, the flame will have traveled a total of 20,000 kilometers, over 12,000 miles across that country. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'll be back after the break with another hour of news from around the world. You are watching CNN, the world's news leader.