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Winter Storms A Blessing in Parts of U.S.; 239 Passengers and Crew were on Flight; Two People Boarded with Stolen Passports; Louisiana Shooting; Search Still for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370; Pharma Company Says No to Compassionate Use

Aired March 09, 2014 - 19:00   ET

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

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Deborah Feyerick in for Don Lemon.

We are keeping a close eye on what's happening overseas this hour where search crews are frustrated and hundreds of families are growing more and more distraught. We are talking about the commercial airliner that just vanished this weekend somewhere on its scheduled flight from Malaysia to China. The airplane is missing, the fate of 239 people on board still unknown.

Overnight the first and so far the only physical clue has popped up. A search team saw what they believe is a floating piece of debris. Several boats are on the scene now. No word yet on what they've found or whether it belongs to that plane. But with no answers, airline officials and expert pilots can only guess at what happened. Did that Boeing 777 break apart in flight? Or did it crash into the sea?

And the confirmation that two passengers got on that plane with stolen passports is now forcing investigators to put together possible terrorism scenarios.

CNN's Jim Clancy is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That is where Flight 370 originated. And Jim, two full days. Zero contact with this airliner. How does an airliner -- how does a jet plane simply just disappear?

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's what officials here -- we're at the briefing center right next to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. We expect to hear from officials in about five hours' time. But that's what they're trying to answer right now. What happened to Flight MH370?

Now as we look over the entire scene there are clues. We've got plenty of clues that have come around. There was an oil slick that was found. There are repeated reports of debris. But every time things are checked out, we are -- we are told that this does not match this airliner. This is not debris from that airliner. They are continuing to check the oil slicks that were found to determine if that could be from the fuel that was onboard the ill-fated flight

Right now we are told by Malaysian officials the search planes should be warming up, preparing to go and fan out over the South China Sea in the search for that wreckage. And as you noted, some Vietnamese search boats are going to be joining in. They will be trying to ascertain whether that debris that I believe was spotted by air is actually debris from the missing airliner.

But we won't get word on that for at least an hour or two. Officials here have told us they'll bring us into that briefing room that's just about 100 yards behind me and inform us as soon as they get any word. They're going to give us a regular update, as I said, in about five hours' time -- Deborah.

FEYERICK: And clearly what they're doing in that area, as you described, is they're mapping the waters. They're trying to sort of section off each piece to sort of rule it out. Have anybody from the Malaysian government yet used the word "crash," or are they still sort of just waiting until they have the details or any details for that matter?

CLANCY: Well, out of respect for the families, they're trying to wait. But to be honest, they know what the situation is. And as I understand it, they have informed the families, "prepare for the worst". Because, frankly, people know when an airliner has been gone this missing, something terrible has happened.

What exactly happened, though, is also important. Where it happened? Many of these relatives have already been told that should they find some wreckage, they will be taken to the crash site so that they can at least feel closer to their loved ones who have been missing now for going on three days.

This has been a trying time for Malaysia. This is a trying time for the families. We saw a tweet coming in from the Prime Minister, Najib Razak that really thanked the neighbors, thanked the friends. Saying "In a time of crisis this is when you saw who your friends were." There's solidarity. Singapore, Vietnam, all of the surrounding countries like Indonesia, have all come in and have all volunteered aircraft. They've put planes into the search. This has really been a regional effort.

Now of course, you've got 14 different nations. There are nationals who were aboard that aircraft. So this is a regional concern. People realize that, you know, it could have been them. It could have been any one of these countries that is affected by this. And now is the time to come together, Deborah.

FEYERICK: All right. Jim Clancy, thank you so much. So much uncertainty and obviously that just breeds even more fear. All right. Thank you so much, Jim Clancy.

And as I mentioned just a couple of minutes ago, the airline has confirmed that two of the people onboard that missing flight checked in and boarded with passports that had been stolen. That were not issued to them. The passports were stolen separately, more than a year apart. Investigators are actively looking at this very curious detail. And it appears they were still in the same country.

Tom Fuentes can help shed some light on the stolen passport issue. He's our law enforcement analyst and a former assistant director of the FBI.

Tom, for so many years you've covered terrorism, I've covered terrorism and this has been a fear. That somebody is going to get onboard that plane who simply doesn't belong there. The whole stolen passport issue -- Is this now coming to roost?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It could be, Deborah. Deborah this could be something that -- that has nothing to do with the reason that airplane crashed. Or it could be that the two people that got on did have something to do with it. We don't know. And it may be actually a long time before we can confirm one way or the other.

But one thing is certain that one billion people a year worldwide board aircraft without their travel documents being screened. And that's just a fact of life right now. Secretary General of Interpol, Ron Noble, has been pushing for years to get governments to check the outbound passengers as well as the inbound when you come through passport control. And many countries still do not do it.

Here in the U.S., the United States makes 240 million inquiries per year into the Interpol lost and stolen travel document data file. So that work is being done here. But it's not being done everywhere. And in this particular case, both of those passports were in Interpol's database. But no inquiry was made prior to the aircraft taking off.

FEYERICK: And that's also what's so frightening about these two mystery passengers. We know that they bought their tickets at about the same time. They paid about the same price. Their itineraries were different. But they each paid in Thai currency. This has to be a little bit more than coincidence. What is your sort of, you know, investigative background telling you?

FUENTES: Well, of course that part is more than coincidence. The two passports were also stolen in the same neighborhood of Phuket, Thailand which is a resort town on the Indian Ocean; one year apart, but in the same neighborhood. And then, you know, more than a year later, both passports are used to simultaneously purchase two tickets for some -- for two people to board that aircraft who were not the people listed on the passports.

FEYERICK: Right the FBI has offered the Malaysian government help. Usually this is an offer that the FBI makes. What can they actually do? Is it more on the investigative side or is it the search and recovery or rescue?

FUENTES: Well it would be on the investigative side -- looking at the people, looking at the circumstances, querying databases. But the FBI has agents already assigned in the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur and in the embassy in Beijing and in the embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. So those agents are already on the ground. And would have been involved working with in helping the police in each country from the very beginning, from the time that aircraft disappeared.

So sending more agents there may happen to help those agents, you know, looking into the databases.

FEYERICK: Sure.

FUENTES: Examining the FBI files. But that work is already being done from there to the U.S. information systems of the FBI and other U.S. law enforcement intelligence agencies.

FEYERICK: And you also have to believe that, in fact, they are probably trying to find the actual identity of these two passengers. Because clearly that could lead to an even bigger nexus if, in fact, that is what it ends up being, that is terrorism.

FUENTES: Right.

FEYERICK: All right. Tom Fuentes, we appreciate you. Thank you so much.

FUENTES: You're welcome.

FEYERICK: Well people who knew the 239 passengers and crew members aboard this flight are truly devastated. Not knowing what happened to their friends and loved ones. The airline's manifest shows the passengers from 12 countries; 20 of them worked for a company based in Texas.

CNN's Nick Valencia learning more about the people on board -- Nick, what do you know?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Deb, new information into CNN. You're talking about this Austin, Texas based technology company called Freescale Semiconductor. And earlier they sent out a statement to the media saying 20 of their employees -- 12 of them Malaysian nationals, eight others from China.

Now, this company's technologies plays a prominent role in the automotive industry among other things. And that statement, I want to read part of it that they sent out to the media said, "At present we are solely focused on our employees and their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event."

239 people on this plane, Deb and we are learning more about one of them from right here in the United States. Originally from northeast Oklahoma, Phil Wood was on that plane. And his friends describe him as a humble man one of a kind. He was a globetrotter, loved to travel. He worked for IBM. And that was a job that took him all over the world. It was a passion that was sparked for him very early in his age when his family moved to Germany.

He was a graduate in 1985 at Oklahoma Christian University and earlier our affiliate KOCO caught up with the vice president of that university who's a family friend. They are just devastated at the thought that he could be gone. Of course, it's not known. And it's very unclear right now what happened to that flight Malaysia Flight 370.

A lot of people interested, particularly those that have been affected by this. Social media playing a big part in this, Deb, there is a Facebook page out there if you're interested that has about 1,000 likes already. You're looking at it right now. They say "R.I.P. to the victims, we're calling them possible victims because we just don't know and don't have firm confirmation of where this flight is and what happened to it."

But harrowing accounts and stories coming out of this, out of Kuala Lumpur as our correspondent Jim Clancy is there talking about the need for prayer, the need for hope right now with all these families that were impacted, affected and just holding on to their prayers and hopes -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Yes. Holding on -- clearly the pain for them just has to be absolutely unbearable. Nick Valencia, thank you.

VALENCIA: You bet.

FEYERICK: And terrifying moments for a pilot and a parachutist. All caught on camera. We've got the stories behind the pictures coming up.

Plus, world leaders trying to solve the crisis in Ukraine. Is the key figuring out what President Putin is really up to? We head to Kiev for a live update coming up next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, tensions are on edge in the Ukraine crisis but so far (inaudible) -- well the state's silent. In the Crimea region of Ukraine a controversial vote is set for next week on possibly seceding from Ukraine, cutting off ties and joining Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin defended the Crimea vote in calls today with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

I want to bring in CNN International's Michael Holmes in Kiev, Ukraine. And Michael, what are you hearing about possible movements by pro-Russian forces in Crimea, the ones who took over Crimea?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Not really movements, per se, Deb. But there's definitely more of a presence, a buildup, if you like. As some Ukrainian military installations that remain blockaded by armed and uniformed pro-Russian men. And there's certainly been an increase in recent days in things like roadblocks manned by a rather odd assortment of men some of them in uniform, some not. But many of them armed to the teeth. You see cars being searched, people intimidated, having their papers examined, their luggage searched.

And remember, this is not while crossing an international frontier. This is while in Ukraine. Just in Crimea. Now, we also have confirmed that six Ukrainian television stations have had their signals blocked in Crimea and replaced with Russian television. You could call that an information monopoly going on -- Deb. FEYERICK: So they're keeping people out, people who don't -- aren't supposed to be there. They're limiting access to media in that area. How are people in the nation's capital, Kiev, reacting to what is going on there? Do they fear that -- that this is just a disastrous outcome?

HOLMES: Yes, they do. They're very nervous about what happens after this referendum, which is less than a week now. You know, they were pleased with the revolution that went on in the square behind me and it led to the ousting of the hated President Viktor Yanukovych.

But they didn't expect that part of their own country, Crimea, would then hold a referendum that could see it become part of the Russian federation. Quite frankly, they're aghast at that prospect happening and at the same time they pray that no one in the meantime gets an itchy finger or makes a mistake with a weapon that could start a shooting conflict that no one wants -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Yes pretty amazing. They kicked out a president that was friendly to the Russians. And now they may lose part of their country because that part wants to align with the Russians. Michael Holmes for us there in Kiev -- thank you.

And President Obama wants to meet face-to-face with the top Ukraine leaders scrambling to keep the Crimea region from slipping further under Russian control. Correspondent Erin McPike has details on the meeting scheduled at the White House -- Erin.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We learned this morning the interim Ukrainian Prime Minister will travel to the United States to meet with President Obama on Wednesday. The Prime Minister has said the vote Crimea intends to hold next Sunday, a referendum to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, is illegitimate.

And President Obama and several European leaders agree they reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine to end that position in that series of calls yesterday. But what if that referendum is successful a week from now? President Obama's deputy national security adviser, Tony Blinken, was on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION". And he made a declarative statement about how the United States will react.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLINKEN, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: First of all if there is an annexation of Crimea, if there's a referendum that moves Crimea from Ukraine to Russia we won't recognize it nor will most of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: And former Vice President Dick Cheney warned about the dangers to the United States with Putin's continuing actions this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've got a much bigger problem if he decides to go further, if he decides to take part of eastern Ukraine. We're in a situation where it's not just about Crimea and Russia, Ukraine and Russia the U.S., even. On a worldwide basis, potential adversaries and friends are watching how the administration handles this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: And Republicans on Capitol Hill have stepped up their criticism of President Obama's handling of the situation in recent days with some calling him "feckless".

But at the same time, the White House is upping the rhetoric against Russia and was pushing all of the things President Obama was doing over the weekend while he was on vacation to make some progress on this crisis.

Erin McPike, CNN, Washington.

FEYERICK: Lots to watch.

Well, the question how is a handcuffed man shot in the back of a police car? Officers say the victim shot himself. Coming up we're digging deeper into the moments before the shot was fired.

Plus, the story behind these incredible pictures. I will say, everyone is ok.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: So here's another reason why sky diving is not making it on to my bucket list. Because of this nightmare situation: a skydiver was hit by a plane as he descended that is what happened in Florida. Take a look. Incredibly, a photographer was there to capture it. Well the pilot of the private Cessna airplane was doing takeoff and landing maneuvers when the passenger's side wing of his plane became entangled and then cut the strings of the skydiver as he was descending. Amazingly both survived with only minor injuries.

I'm keeping my feet on the ground.

Ok a Louisiana man allegedly kills himself while in the custody of the Iberia Parish sheriff's office in fact he was handcuffed in the back of a patrol car. State police are investigating but the man's family is demanding more.

Rosa Flores joins me now with the chain of events leading to his death. What I find fascinating is they searched him. They found drugs but no gun.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's one of the things that really stands out about this case. Here's what we know from state police. State police tell us that the Iberia Parish sheriff's office responded to what was a fight, folks. And lo and behold, they arrested Victor White for possession of drugs. Well, here's how the things unfolded, folks. He was handcuffed to the back -- he was put in the back of a patrol car, taken to processing. While he was there, officers say that he did not want to come out of the vehicle. The officer called for backup. And that's when the shot rang out. Officers say that he shot himself. He was transported to the hospital and later pronounced dead. Here's what his father had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR WHITE II, FATHER: I can't see him -- they say he was being uncooperative. I can't see him in the light in which they're trying to paint him, you know, because that's not like him. He'll give someone his last. And that's all he is. He'll give you his last even though he may suffer from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: In the past two hours I talked to Mr. White. And he tells me that they're waiting for autopsy report at this moment. Now, the state police is in charge of this investigation now. And here is what the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MIKE EDMONSON, LOUSIANA STATE POLICE: But we'll take whatever time it takes us to make sure that we can separate rumors and innuendos from fact because that's what we want to deal with, facts themselves. And then we'll take those facts as quickly as we can and we'll report them to the district attorney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And Deb, you know that one of the key pieces of evidence in this case and I talked to the sheriff about this, he said that they bagged everybody's hands.

FEYERICK: Right.

FLORES: Both White's and the two individuals that were there with him, the two officers. And the results are still pending. But that's going to be key evidence in this case.

FEYERICK: Clearly. Because if that young man doesn't have gun powder residue on his hands or anything suggesting that he had a gun in his possession --

(CROSSTALK)

FLORES: I did ask his father if he owned a gun. And he said that he did own a gun. The sheriff said that it was a .25 automatic, which is a small pistol.

FEYERICK: Ok.

FLORES: And so -- and so again, all of this still under investigation. We still have to wait.

FEYERICK: But did they recover a gun from the back of the car?

FLORES: That is still pending.

FEYERICK: Ok. So they're not even letting that piece of information out.

FLORES: Right that is piece of information that we will see.

FEYERICK: One to follow. One to follow.

FLORES: Lots of details.

FEYERICK: Rosa Flores, thanks so much.

FLORES: Thank you.

FEYERICK: Well, right now a Memphis family is fighting with a drug company over medicine they say can help their son. Coming up, I'm going to be talking to his mom.

And what happened to that Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared? Tonight, unfortunately, still more questions than answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, it is early Monday morning already in Southeast Asia. That's where air and sea crews are resuming the search for any sign of a commercial airliner that suddenly disappeared. Air traffic controllers heard no distress call, though the plane appeared to be veering. Searchers have so far found no recognizable wreckage.

The fate of 239 people onboard is still unknown. The plane has been missing since Friday afternoon. There are many questions that are all under investigation. Did the plane crash? Did it come apart in flight? And most importantly to the families, could anyone have survived? Investigators are also exploring the possibility that it was terrorism.

Investigators are now leaning towards the possibility that Malaysia Airlines jet broke up at 35,000 feet. An aviation expert I spoke with said evidence found so far seems to support that theory.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM TILMON, AVIATION EXPERT: I can tell you that whatever happened, in my view, had to be very catastrophic. You're talking in terms of engine failure, literally if both engines had blown up, the airplane would still have been able to fly more than likely. Certainly there would have been time for a distress signal to get out. This turn that is being spoken about since last night is a real puzzle.

Why would the crew intentionally make that turn if the crew was, in fact, in control? There are questions like that that really plague all of us that really are looking for some kind of answer to what happened.

FEYERICK: What would cause pilots to turn the way they turned? Would it have been an atmospheric problem? Something in the air? Would it have been some sort of mechanical failure? What do you think would cause a plane to veer that way?

TILMON: Well, none of those things that you mentioned would be things that would also eliminate the possibility of getting off a distress call. No matter what. All of those things are - are possibilities. They're scenarios, whatever else. But, you know, you're trained to make sure that you maintain some kind of contact with the people who can really help you. The ground control people.

And you want to keep them advised as much as possible. Then when you consider the fact that you've got radio equipment onboard the airplane that sends information realtime, even if you fail to make that call, there would be information going to the ground, letting the ground know that there was a change taking place that was not planned before.

Now, the radar return is one thing. But then there's more information than that. We need to verify what you're talking about.

FEYERICK: And so the fact that they were not able to get off any sort of a distress call, the fact that there was that sort of turn, it suggests that there was a catastrophic event that essentially eliminated even the ability to get off that kind of call. That would mean the plane disintegrating in mid-air, no?

TILMON: It certainly sounds that way. Of course, the debris field that we will establish after this investigation goes a little further will give us some indication about whether or not it broke up before it hit the water. Because it makes a very wide debris field. If it is more concentrated, it means likely that the airplane was intact when it hit the water. There again, we're waiting and hoping.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And for the families of the passengers and crew, the pain of the last 48 hours has been unbearable. They are simply no closer to understanding what happened to the people on that plane.

CNN's Andrew Stevens spent the day awaiting developments with families in Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Another heart wrenching day for the families of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Another day with no news. Only conjecture. Only speculation and false leads. I'm inside the Leto Hotel which is near the airport here in Beijing where relatives of those passengers are staying.

Behind me through these doors there are some family members who are waiting to find whether there's any new information on their loved ones. (voice-over): The faces reflected the mood. Many of these people now resigned to the fact that they may never see family members again. They had to run the gauntlet of the media in the hotel as they made their way to an area where they're being processed to be able to fly to Kuala Lumpur. But authorities are keeping a tight control on any access to people here.

(on camera): This is the room where relatives are now filling out forms. Because Malaysian Airlines is offering to take them down to Kuala Lumpur. As you can see, there are just some of the relatives here. We're just being asked to leave now.

(voice-over): But the anger and frustration is growing. On Sunday, a petition circulated with more than 100 signatures calling for the truth as they put it, from Malaysia Airlines. And help from the Chinese government in dealing with Malaysian authorities. But the fact is, there's still very little reliable information. At least not until the plane is found.

(on camera): Malaysia Airlines has also offered the families of the passengers a chance to actually go to the sites where the plane crashed, if they, in fact, find it. It will probably be the closest they will get to that area and a chance for them to say final farewells.

Andrew Stevens, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, coming up next, a family's fight to gain access to an experimental drug that they believe could help their son who's got a rare disease. I will talk to his mom on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: New medical research is being called a potential game changer. In a first of its kind study researches developed a blood test for Alzheimer's. It predicts whether a healthy person is going to develop the disease. It's got a 90 percent accuracy. Much work still needs to be done. But this test may some day be in doctors' offices.

Well, the parents of a seven-year-old boy are making a desperate plea. Help us save our son, Josh. Josh Hardy was diagnosed with a rare type of kidney cancer when he was just a baby. After a bone marrow transplant Josh was cancer free. Just last month, he caught a virus and his suppressed immune system couldn't fight that virus. The standard drug treatment didn't work.

So St. Jude Children's Hospital asked for an experimental antiviral drug instead. The company that manufactures this drug is expressing regret, but it says because of limited resources and a push to get FDA approval, it cannot provide the drug to Josh. His parents say this drug is the only thing that will save their son's life. They are begging the company to reconsider. I want to bring in CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and Josh's mom, Amy Hardy. First of all, incredible to think that a drug company has something to help and won't give it out. But, Elizabeth, I want you to walk us through what Josh is suffering from and how this drug from the medical perspective could help.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So as you said, Deb, he has a virus. And he has a suppressed immune system because of his cancer treatments. So that he really can't fight it off. And right now Josh is in critical condition in the intensive care unit at St. Jude's. I'm looking at these pictures. It just breaks your heart to say he is in heart failure and he is in kidney failure.

Now, I know you think - all of us think, why can't they just give this little boy this drug? It's something called compassionate use. When a drug is being studied, a company can give it out. But it does mean that they, the company, have to pay for the drug. It means they have to use resources to distribute the drug. And this company is now saying no.

So I want to introduce you to Josh's mom, Aimee Hardy, who joins us from Memphis. Aimee, we have been thinking about your family all weekend. And we are really hoping that josh is - that his health situation is going to improve. Can you tell us, what do you think is going to happen if he doesn't get this drug?

AIMEE HARDY, JOSH HARDY'S MOM: As a mom, it's hard for me to say that in words. I mean, you never want to think about that type of thing happening to your child. But we really feel like if he doesn't get it, it's a very big possibility that he will succumb to a virus. I mean, actually, Josh's history, he's actually fought cancer four times.

Technically has survived each one. Has gone on to be disease free. No evidence of disease. And now for this virus to be in his system and there is a drug company out there that has it, they're actually running clinical trials, and the fact that they say that we can't have it is absolutely infuriating to me. It breaks my heart as a parent I don't have any control over what my son gets. And, you know, how he can, you know, really just be - make a full recovery.

You know, we want him to play baseball again and basketball and just play with his brothers. We all want to be in the same household again. It's just unimaginable that they have what we need and they won't give it to us.

COHEN: Aimee, we reached out to the drug company called Krimerics to ask them that question, why won't you give Josh this drug. We offered to have them in this program and they declined. But they did send us a statement. I want to read that statement and talk to you about it. So what they said in the statement is "There are really no words to express our compassion for what this young boy and his family are going through. As a small company with limited resources we made the difficult decision two years ago to end our compassionate use program and focus all our efforts on earning FDA approval for brincidofovir. This is the only path to making brincidofovir widely available to those who need it in the fastest manner possible." And that from Kenneth Moch, their president.

And Aimee, I know your husband has spoken to Mr. Moch. I know that you've heard his side of this. He said look it's $50,000 a patient. We give this to Josh, it's $50,000. Hundreds of patients want this drug. It would - it would delay our ability to get this drug on the market. We want to get this drug available for everyone. It would delay other people's treatment if we give it to Josh and to other people who want it now. What do you - what did you and your husband think when you heard those arguments?

HARDY: Honestly, I just feel like it could be overcome. I mean, there's - there's no good excuse for us. There's nothing that they can say that will really keep us from asking. We're begging them to give it to us. It all sounds well and good on paper. But I just feel like, especially, here's the opportunity, it seems like the world is watching. It's great publicity for their product. Josh could make a full recovery. They could be, like, a real life superhero for our seven-year-old boy. And none of that matters to me, what their excuses are. I feel like where there's a will, there's a way.

Honestly, I feel sorry for every family that's in this condition that are begging for this drug. They continue to say no.

COHEN: Deb, we want to bring you back into this. I know you as a mom, you're hearing this story. It's just heartbreaking.

FEYERICK: No question about it. One thing I have a question - one thing I'm curious about. The company decided to end its compassionate use policy. Would that jeopardize any potential approval by the FDA? Is this one of those things where if they give it prematurely, then what they've got in play could ultimately be denied?

COHEN: No, Deb. The way that it works is that drug companies are allowed to give out their drug under this compassionate use program. They're allowed to do it as often as they want. They're allowed to not do it at all. If they give it out, they do have to report how that patient did with the drug under the compassionate use program. But it really is - the FDA kind of handed it over to the drug companies and said you do what you want. You approve what you want. You deny what you want.

FEYERICK: So which is rather incredible that they didn't explain specifically why they're not giving this medication out for compassionate use. Ms. Hardy, how do you explain this to your son? What are you telling your son? He beat kidney cancer with his bone marrow transplant. I'm sure his - his sort of young life has been sort of a series of hospitalizations. What are you telling your son?

HARDY: You're right. He has - he actually beat kidney cancer and then he actually had a secondary diagnosis called myodysplastic syndrome, a result of the treatment he had years ago. That was the bone marrow - to treat the myodysplastic syndrome, MDS, we had to get a bone marrow transplant. And we - I really can't put it into words to him. I really don't even like to talk about it. I know that he is aware because we are in the room when we are trying to push forward and try to convince Kimerics (ph) to make this change.

I'll tell you the truth, he's so weak and frail that conversations are pretty limited with him. He might say a few words. Then he falls asleep. It's - you know, for me to sit down and break it down to him and tell him that, you know, we think you're going to pass away because this drug company - we're just not telling him that. I'm sure that he can sense our anguish and frustration. It's not good for him.

I mean, I would much rather be at his bedside right now than here. This is a distraction from his care. And it frustrates me. I know we're bringing this on ourselves, but we are going to keep asking and asking and asking and asking until we get the drug.

FEYERICK: Elizabeth, do you think the drug company is going to change its mind, Elizabeth?

COHEN: You know, I asked the president of the company, I said, "You do think it's a possibility?" And he said "No, we are not changing our minds." He said it breaks his heart. He's devastated. And I said to the president of the company, how will you feel if Josh passes away? He says, "I will feel horrible, but I will have known that I made the right decision for other patients."

FEYERICK: All right. Well, we are praying for Josh. Aimee Hardy, thank you so much for joining us. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you as always as well.

HARDY: Can I ask you to ask everyone to just pray for us and follow us on Save Josh on Facebook? And also they can see our Caring Bridge -- caringbridge.org. Joshua Hardy. Thank you.

FEYERICK: You bet. All right. We wish you the best of luck. We wish Josh just a few happy days ahead. Thank you.

HARDY: Thank you.

FEYERICK: Ahead here - of course. Ahead here, Chicagoans struggle to turn their city around. It's front and center in a new CNN series. We'll talk with one man who's using his daughter's death to change the city for the better.

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FEYERICK: For the past few years Chicago seemed to be the face of gun violence in this country. Many times our young people were the ones caught in the cross hairs as suspects and victims. Now the city featured in a new CNN series, "Chicagoland." It will take a raw look at education, crime, politics and life in the city.

According to police the city's murder rate dropped 18 percent from 2012 to 2013. But that wasn't enough to save the 15-year-old, (INAUDIBLE) Pendleton. You may remember, she was gunned down in a Chicago Park in January 2013. She was hanging out with friends after her final exams. Her murder near President Obama's home came a week after she had performed at his inauguration. Well since her death her parents have started an organization called Hadiyas Foundation, the goal to partner with police, schools and after school programs to make positive changes for the kids in Chicago. This week, our Don Lemon sat down with her dad, Nathaniel Pendleton and asked him simply, how do you keep going?

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NATHANIEL PENDLETON, HADIYAS PENDLETON'S FATHER: How we're doing it, I don't think either one of us know. But we know it is a necessity. We know it is a definite necessary that we speak and hopefully we can try to make a difference for some other kid that's possibly on the same road that those kids were on.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You realize you represent the heartbreak of Chicago, right?

PENDLETON: No. No. I really don't realize it.

LEMON: Hadiyas epitomized what a good student was, lived not far from the president, was going on to do great things and then all of a sudden - her life was taken away from her. That is the heartbreak and pain of the city.

PENDLETON: Believe me, it hurt us. I mean, we hurt every day. And I can't, I know me, personally, I can't necessarily speak for my wife. But I'll never get over it. So you know, I mean the only thing we can do is keep moving and hopefully we can try to save another kid.

LEMON: is that why you've made it your mission? You just can't, if you didn't keep moving, would you just stop?

PENDLETON: I would fall.

LEMON: What do you mean by that?

PENDLETON: Well, if you stop moving, now I don't - I have to keep running. That's the only way I'm going on keep my balance right now. If I stop moving, I just feel like everything will fall around me. That means I'll fall with it like a domino effect.

LEMON: This is an odd question. If you don't keep moving, if you stopped, does it become real?

PENDLETON: Very. Very. I've had stop moments. And they don't feel good. They don't feel good at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Nathaniel Pendleton has hoped things get better in Chicago. He is looking forward to a brighter future. He also told Don that he thinks the president's new My Brother's Keeper's initiative will make a difference in the city and give boys and young men the direction they need. You can see a new episode of "Chicagoland" Thursday at 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN. Before we leave I want to give you the places you can go to support Josh Hardy, that little boy whose mom we just spoke. Facebook, you can go to facebook.com/savejoshhardy. Again, that's facebook.com/savejoshhardy. You can also go to caringbridge.org. Once you get there, just type in Josh Hardy. That's all one word.

And I hope you'll do that. Well, I'm Deborah Feyerick. Stay with CNN and CNN.com for the latest on that missing passenger plane as well as ongoing developments in the Ukraine. Meantime, "Weed" Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports. That's up next. Thanks.

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