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Near Collision Between Two Planes; Search Resumes For American Hiker; Hernandez Friend Shot Dead; Police Searched Player's Home; Heat Repeat As NBA Champions; Pot Growers Threaten California Wildlife; Michael Jackson Had 60 Days Of No Real Sleep; Markets Rebound After Sell Off; Men Catch Falling Toddler In China; Today: Judge To Rule On 911 Analysis; Senate Makes Deal For Immigration Bill

Aired June 21, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, legacy set.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is sweet.

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COSTELLO: Another trophy for King James.

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LABRON JAMES, MIAMI HEAT: This team is amazing.

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COSTELLO: The fans, the hugs, and a night for the history books.

Also -- less than a football field apart, two planes just missed crashing in midair over New York City.

Plus -- valedictorian missing. An American high school kid disappears hiking in Ecuador. And --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was like, whoa, did you sigh this guy start walking in front of the car. In the video you hear the door locks.

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COSTELLO: Car theft goes high-tech. A mystery box can unlock your car in 20 seconds.

And positioning for a life-saving catch, yes, that was a baby. Tragedy averted yet again. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for being with me. We begin with a close call over the skies over New York City. FAA investigators are trying to figure out how a Delta Flight coming in for a landing at JFK nearly collided with another plane taking off from LaGuardia. Rene Marsh is live in Washington. Walk us through what happened.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. Well, this near- miss happened in perhaps the busiest airspace in the country. We've pulled in a portion of the audio between the Delta 747 and the control tower. What you're about to hear is the control tower telling the pilot the direction and altitude of another plane that's coming his way. Listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED CONTROLLER: 172 Heavy, are you turning?

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: Yes, sir. We are almost at zero four zero now.

UNIDENTIFIED CONTROLLER: Delta 172, Heavy, traffic 12:00, 1400 feet Embraer, 1600 feet.

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: OK, we've got him on the fish finder here.

UNIDENTIFIED CONTROLLER: OK, eastbound at 1,800 feet coming out.

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: OK, turning right to 06 here.

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MARSH: All right, again, you're hearing that air traffic controller giving him the warning that you're going to see this plane and then you hear the pilot acknowledging that he does indeed see the plane and was turning away. Carol, the FAA saying that they're investigating. Here is what we know so far.

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MARSH (voice-over): The incident happened here at New York's JFK Airport. A Shuttle America Embraer-E170 was taking off just as the Delta 747 was preparing to land. That 747 then peeled out of its landing in a standard procedure called a missed approach. The two planes then came way too close.

The FAA will not confirm how close. In a statement it said, the two aircraft were turning away from each other at the point where they lost the required separation. Both aircraft landed safely. It is the latest in a string of near-misses across the nation's airports in the past few years.

Last year in Washington, D.C., Reagan National Airport, three planes barely avoided slamming into one another after a control tower miscommunication and a frightening near-multiple collision in Denver just before last Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Traffic alert, 1:00, less than two miles at same altitude descend immediately. MARSH: The passenger plane caught on radar steering directly into the line of several aircrafts. In 2010, a pilot at Boston Logan Airport takes a wrong turn, right into the path of another aircraft. An air traffic controller frantically works to avoid a disaster.

UNIDENTIFIED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: JetBlue, hold right there. JetBlue hold. Hold.

MARSH: Thankfully the pilot hears him just in time. Crisis averted.

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MARSH: Well, Carol, so far no specifics from the FAA right now on exactly how close these two planes came to each other. But they say the standard in this sort of situation is the aircraft should be at the very least three miles apart -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Rene Marsh reporting live from Washington this morning.

The search starts up again today in Ecuador for a missing Oklahoma teenager who split up from his parents during a hike. August Reiger vanished without a trace Sunday. The high school valedictorian was supposed meet up with his family at a top of a scenic mountain trail in Ecuador but never showed up. Now 150 volunteers are taking part in the search. Nick Valencia joins me now. What do they suspect happen?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a horror story, exactly what you don't want to be dealing with on a trip abroad. August Reiger has been missing since Father's Day, Sunday. He was on this leisurely hike in a place called Banos, Ecuador. It's towards about 100 miles south of the capital.

When he was on this hike he went missing. He was about 5 minutes ahead of his parents, vanished without a trace. Even more bizarre, Carol, it happened in the wild-open area. His father told me yesterday, if he did perhaps fall off a steep side of the cliff or a slope or something like that, it would be -- he would be easily spotted, hundreds of volunteers looking for him, at least 150.

I asked his father yesterday if there was any inclination his son may have wandered off by himself and may not want to be found right now. He said that's completely out of the question.

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CHRIS REIGER, AUGUST REIGER'S FATHER (via telephone): No, I mean -- no. Just, you know that would -- I don't think so at all. I mean, yes, I just -- it seems out of the question. The next day we were supposed to leave. We booked a tour to go in the jungle three nights with a guide. It was because of him that we booked that, you know?

He's the one who -- I said picked indigenous cultures and so forth. We're supposed to leave on that the next day and, you know, he was real excited about it. He didn't have anything with him. He didn't have any money. He didn't have phone. He didn't have anything. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: August is a good kid. His dad said this was his graduation present. He was valedictorian. He was a really, really sharp kid, is a sharp kid, I should say. Father says that he does not want to believe that his son is gone, but all signs pointing to a very ominous conclusion.

COSTELLO: Well, you mentioned steep cliffs. Were there any around? Is that a possibility?

VALENCIA: It is a possibility. It's also a possibility initially his parents thought he might be kidnapped. But this is an area that's relatively safe. It's a tourist center. It's a tourist destination. It's not a type of place in Ecuador where somebody would be kidnapped for ransom.

Local firefighters that have grown up there told the father this is a safe place. We'll keep looking for your child. His father's holding out hope. So is the rest of the family and as the neighbors and family in Oklahoma City, a lot of people really invested in this kid.

COSTELLO: I hope they find him. Nick Valencia, thanks so much.

Speculation continues to swirl around New England Patriots' tight end Aaron Hernandez and his possible involvement in a murder. Police have not yet named him as a suspect but he is not in the clear. Susan Candiotti is outside Hernandez's home in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. Good morning, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, there are a lot of questions at the hour about whether there may be additional search warrants at this house later today or even possibly an arrest warrant for Aaron Hernandez in connection with the death of Oden Lloyd. Now who is Oden Lloyd?

Remember he is a man who was murdered, his body found a half mile away from the house on Monday. And on Tuesday, the state police came out here and served search warrants on Hernandez's house. They are not, as you said, indicating that Aaron Hernandez is a suspect at this time, but we do know there was a relationship between Lloyd and Hernandez.

According to Lloyd's family, they tell me that, for one thing, that he was a friend and they used to, for example, go out to nightclubs together. And in fact, Lloyd was dating the sister of Aaron Hernandez's fiancee. It wouldn't be uncommon for them to be together.

There are other headlines this day, Carol. Reports that there is video surveillance, shot the night before Lloyd was shot to death and video surveillance cameras show Lloyd and Hernandez together on the very same street where Lloyd lives. This report is coming to us from the "Boston Globe."

So a lot of questions at this hour, Aaron Hernandez is not here. He was last seen leaving this house yesterday and everyone followed him. The last he was seen was going to his lawyer's office in Boston. That lawyer, Carol, not saying anything about this other than issuing a statement the other day indicating that he wasn't going to say anything until this investigative process is complete -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Just to be clear about these surveillance cameras, these weren't surveillance cameras inside Hernandez's house. There were surveillance cameras located on the street and they picked up an image of these two men together?

CANDIOTTI: In terms of the surveillance cameras that we're talking about on that street, we don't know exactly where they are positioned, according to these reports. Only that they captured images of Hernandez and Lloyd together the night before Lloyd was found shot to death.

COSTELLO: All right, Susan Candiotti reporting live for us. We want to bring in CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin now. Sunny, welcome.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thank you. Thank you for having me, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. Is it likely that police will enter Hernandez's home again and search for more stuff?

HOSTIN: Well, certainly they need a search warrant to do that. And my understanding is that they did have a search warrant to enter his home, you know, our homes are really protected under the law. In order for any law enforcement person to go into your home, they have to go in front of a judge.

And the judge has to find there's probable cause that something can be found in there related to possible criminal activity. I will tell you, Carol, that the fact that the state police were in his home and the fact that they then must have gotten a search warrant approved by a judge is a very significant development in a case like this because judges don't take lightly the responsibility of allowing people into someone's home. So I think that there's a lot that can be sort of read and gleaned from that one fact.

COSTELLO: We know that Hernandez was at some kind of party, partying with the victim on Friday night I believe. We know that the victim was driving a rental car and the rental car was in Hernandez's name. We know that police already searched Hernandez's home initially and carried out a whole bunch of stuff. You're an attorney, this isn't looking good for Hernandez.

HOSTIN: Well, it certainly looks like he is part of this investigation. You never really want to be part of a criminal investigation. What is somewhat concerning to me is some of the things that Susan is -- has discussed, meaning that perhaps his lawyer provided a smashed up cell phone, perhaps a cleaning crew came in and cleaned his home, perhaps the surveillance cameras in his home were tampered with.

That would raise red flags for a prosecutor. That would raise red flags for, you know, the government and law enforcement. Certainly you would start looking at obstruction of justice, start looking at tampering with evidence. Bottom line is, any lawyer's going to start saying, well, why, if he did those things, what does he have to hide? Why would he do that? And so certainly it's looking like he is part of this investigation.

COSTELLO: All right, Sunny Hostin, thanks so much for your insights this morning. We appreciate it.

HOSTIN: You bet.

COSTELLO: Act like you've been there before, the Miami Heat certainly did, winning their second straight NBA title. The Heat knocked off the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 to win game seven of the finals. King James, LaBron James, becomes a back-to-back winner of the finals' MVP award after scoring 37 points last night. But LaBron still says the series was no walk in the park.

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JAMES: The same hard work pays off as a true testament to what happened tonight. Last year when I was sitting up here on my first championship I said it's the toughest thing I ever done. This year I tell last year he's absolutely wrong. This was the toughest championship right here.

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COSTELLO: Heat fans will get another chance to celebrate with their heroes. Miami will hold a parade for their team on Monday.

The critical morning for the defense in the George Zimmerman murder trial. Coming up in the NEWSROOM, the judge will rule if jurors can hear a controversial voice analysis of those 911 calls.

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COSTELLO: Checking top stories at 16 minutes past the hour. Pot growers in Northern California are tipping the environmental balance. "The New York Times" is reporting that a chemical used to protect marijuana plants from rodents is now endangering wildlife. A rare member of the weasel family was found poisoned and two endangered spotted owls tested positive for the chemical.

A sleep expert who consults NASA says Michael Jackson would have died from a lack of REM sleep if he had not died from overdose of Propofol. Ironically, Jackson was given the drug to treat his insomnia, but that disrupts the deep sleep cycle every human being needs to survive.

Taking a look at your money, Wall Street showing signs of life. All three indexes shooting higher, regaining ground after yesterday's sell-off. The Dow is now up 30 points.

And an amazing life-saving moment in China, take a look at these men. Look like they're tracking a fly ball. Look at them. They're gathering. The baby already fell. Anyway, they caught that toddler. She fell five stories into their waiting arms a catch of a lifetime. The little girl is doing just fine. Her parents had left for the day and left her napping alone.

Expected this morning, a critical ruling in the George Zimmerman murder trial, the judge will rule on a controversial voice analysis of screams heard on this 911 call.

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911: Does he look hurt to you?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I can't see him I don't want to go out there. I don't know what happens going on. They're sending --

911: Do you think he's yelling help?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Yes.

911: What is your --

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COSTELLO: Now the prosecution wants to show that was Trayvon Martin's voice. That was Trayvon Martin screaming on that 911 call for help. If that's true, that could hurt Zimmerman's claim that he shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense.

CNN legal correspondent Jean Casarez is outside the courthouse in Sanford, Florida. Jean, I imagine this is a critical piece of evidence. Do they have a chance of getting it thrown out?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: It's critical. The 911 call, I believe, will be played. So the question is, will the prosecutors have expert testimony to help guide the jury as to who was making those death cries, who believed their life was imminently in danger. This is critical because for self-defense you have to be in reasonable expectation of imminent death or serious bodily harm. Those screams have to be George Zimmerman if the defense wants to succeed here.

But I think one of the issues is, is the science acceptable in the community or is it junk science? There were witnesses on both sides but the defense had really renowned worldwide experts, including the senior audio engineer for the FBI that said, number one, you've got to have 16 seconds of screams. We don't have that.

Number two screams are in the background. The voices on the 911 call are the ones that you hear. And with the atmospheric conditions, whether the microphone of that phone that was in an apartment was turned away, it's just not reliable. It doesn't aid and assist the jury. The prosecutor says it is not new and novel procedures. They've been done for a long time. It should be a question of fact for the jury.

COSTELLO: So what's your gut? What will happen?

CASAREZ: My gut is that the judge is working on it right now as we speak inside the courthouse. At any time we will get that order. As I talk to attorneys around the courthouse, people believe that the judge can't allow this in. It's too speculative. Even the experts for the prosecution can't say to a degree of scientific certainty it is Trayvon Martin's voice.

They say speculation is that it could be his voice. She might let it in. She might let one theory in and another theory not because there are several scientific theories that were used to determine that it possibly is Trayvon Martin's voice. We should know by the end of today.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about the makeup of the jury because I think this surprised many people. All-women jury five of the women are white. You've covered lots of trials. Is this unusual?

CASAREZ: I've never seen an all-female jury, but it's only six members here, because it's a noncapital crime. Five out of 6 are mothers. This is a young boy that died at 17 with one gunshot wound. Benjamin Crumpey, attorney for the family, told me last night that Trayvon Martin's mother is going to take the stand as well as his father. But remember, there's another mother in that courtroom, too, that's George Zimmerman's mother.

What I think is interesting, though, is a ruling that just came down. I want to tell you about this before we go. Inside the courtroom, they had a short hearing. The defense brought a motion to exclude what they termed inflammatory terms to be brought up, they say in opening statements that could taint the all-female jury, one being profiling.

The judge just ruled the prosecutor cannot use the words racial profiling during the court -- during opening statements, I assume the trial. But they can use "profiling" the prosecutor says we will not use race exclusively when we say "profiling." That is a big decision for the case going forward and where the state is going.

COSTELLO: OK, so that's confusing to me because isn't racial profiling a big part of the prosecution's case?

CASAREZ: So what you're saying it's a distinction without a difference and you're exactly right because if you say profiling, what do you think of?

COSTELLO: You do assume racial profiling.

CASAREZ: Race.

COSTELLO: Right, exactly.

CASAREZ: They cannot say racial profiling. They can say profiling. And they can define it as they want to.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Jean Casarez, thanks so much for the really fabulous analysis. We appreciate it.

It's been two days since the world lost actor James Gandolfini. Now it could be another week before family and friends and fans get a chance to say a final goodbye. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: More agents, more border fencing. There could be a big breakthrough in the Senate on immigration reform. It's a compromise the senators hope will help this bill survive the House of Representatives. Chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash has more for you.

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DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A frustrated vice president making a push on immigration reform before a group of Latinos in Las Vegas last night.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm sick and tired of being defensive. I'm sick and tired of us acting like we have to apologize for doing the right thing.

BASH: For Republicans, in particular, it's all about border security. That's why they call an immigration deal to beef it up a breakthrough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The border should not be an issue if this amendment passes.

BASH: Enhancing border security includes doubling the number of border agents to 40,000 and completing the 700-mile southern border fence. Republican supporters emphasize border security measures must be complete and certified before some 11 million illegal immigrants can get on a 13-year path to U.S. citizenship.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Eleven million people live in the shadows and they live here in de facto amnesty and by God, they are being exploited every single day.

BASH: President Obama wants immigration reform for his legacy. Many Republicans want it to keep the party viable in the future since Hispanic voters are fleeing the GOP. Only 27 percent voted for Mitt Romney in 2012, a precipitous drop since George W. Bush won 44 percent in 2004. Still, much of the GOP base opposes any path to citizenship. We asked Florida Republican Marco Rubio, a lead GOP supporter, about conservative criticism.

SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Well, I understand why conservatives are upset. We shouldn't do this for politics. I can tell you politically this is as much a negative as it is a positive. People are really upset it, and I respect it, and I understand it.

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BASH: Rubio says over and over to his skeptical GOP colleagues, no one can become a legal permanent resident until border measures are in place. Republicans in the house where immigration goes next are not buying it. Based on our conversations there, positions seem to be hardening against immigration reform rather than softening for it. John Boehner compared immigration reform to Obamacare. Not a GOP compliment -- Carol. COSTELLO: Not exactly. Dana Bash reporting, thank you.

Ahead in NEWSROOM, details on the death James Gandolfini. His son's frantic call for help when he couldn't reach his father.

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