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Nine Million at Risk in Severe Storm Outbreak; Obama Visits Malaysia on Asian Tour; Ukraine PM: Russia Violated Airspace; Rancher under Fire for Slavery Comments; What's Next in the Search for Flight 370; Connecticut Teen Killed On Prom Day; Search For Flight 370 May Move North; Dying While Waiting; Catholic Church Canonizes Two Popes

Aired April 26, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right thank you so much good to see you guys.

Thank you so much for leaving that hour with that note of inspiration. Wow she really is remarkable.

All right hello everyone at home and wherever you are it's the 11:00 Eastern hour of the CNN NEWSROOM which begins right now.

A violent string of tornados and thunderstorms is moving right across the middle of the country right now. It comes on the heels of another storm that already did lots of damage. Which areas are in danger? Next.

And President Barack Obama visiting a country tormented by that missing plane, but Russia is becoming a major distraction right now. What the President is saying about all of that.

Plus, a touching and emotional tribute to a teenager stabbed to death in the middle of her high school. What might have motivated that brutal attack? Coming up.

We begin with that potential outbreak of severe storms packed with tornados and large hail. It's threatening at least nine million people this weekend. Two tornados already ripped through parts of North Carolina and shredded homes. According to our affiliate WTKR one person was taken to the hospital with a traumatic injury and at least four others were injured. A man who survived the storm says things were flying everywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL GAY, NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT: It was the roughest night. It was like a complete fog of heavy rain. I mean it was so intense. Everything was bending down under the pressure of it. Stuff was flying everywhere. It was a total mess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meteorologist Karen McGinnis is in the CNN Severe Weather Center. So Karen which areas of the country could get hit next? KAREN MCGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're looking at a slight risk right smack across the nation's midsection. We're seeing a couple of thunderstorms right now from Kansas City extending down just into the northern sections of Arkansas. These aren't severe, although there is lightning there and the rain is clearly heavy but here is the setup millions of people could be affected today by what could be an eruption of thunderstorms which could spawn some tornados.

But going into Sunday and into Monday, possibly Tuesday, we're looking at moderate risk across the country. And I'll give you those specific areas in just one minute. Here's the setup. Area of low pressure moves out of the interior west. As it does it's going to start to move slowly. We get that return flow of moist air coming up from the south, some much cooler and drier air on the backside of that.

Then for Sunday, in this red shaded area about five million people all the way from southern sections of Missouri across a good portion of Arkansas into northern Louisiana, and it's this way that ArkLaTex region a moderate risk. They are saying it could be up to a high risk. We hardly ever see that. And this has been a season that has been very quiet.

We have seen no tornado death so far this year. That's a good thing. The bad news is, over the next several days with this violent weather that we're expecting and it shifts a little bit further to the east across the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley, we may see that streak come to an end. There is a high potential for violent storms and tornados which could become deadly. We'll be watching that over the next several days.

We'll have complete coverage throughout the days over the next several days right here on CNN.

WHITFIELD: And in large part Karen because it's gotten so warm so quickly in many of these places that we point out?

MCGINNIS: Exactly. It has warmed up dramatically. In some cases across the southeast temperatures are running about 10 degrees above where they should be. Warm, moist air, a weather system that moves in, area of low pressure and that adds a rotation to the atmosphere. And that's the reason we're seeing this set up for the severe weather.

WHITFIELD: All right remarkable stuff. All right thanks so much Karen McGinnis. We'll check back with you later on.

All right meantime, overseas President Obama has a lot on his plate as he visits Malaysia today as part of his Asia tour. The missing airliner is weighing heavily on the nation. And as Obama extends his sympathies there the crisis in Ukraine, a continent away, is also demanding his attention.

Erin McPike is live for us right now at the White House. So Erin let's begin with this missing plane and we're hearing the President actually spoke about it in an interview with a Malaysian newspaper. So what did he say? ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well right of course he wanted to offer his condolences to Malaysia but he also spoke to how the U.S. and other countries can go about preventing something mystifying like this from happening again. I want to read part of those comments to you from "The Star" there in Malaysia he said "Any time there is a tragedy like this, we ought to also reflect on what can be done going forward to prevent something similar from happening again. That discussion has begun in Malaysia and around the world. We'll see what improvements might be recommended to continue improving aviation security."

Now Fred there's another important point that he made in that interview. He said that the U.S. was one of the first countries to assist in the search and the investigation. And that's important because some officials in some countries suggest that the search might be winding down. He said that the FBI will continue to investigate what caused the plane to go out of radar and also that the U.S. will continue to support those search efforts -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then the issue of Ukraine which is bubbling up while the President is overseas. How is the President addressing that crisis in Ukraine?

MCPIKE: Well Fred really, the focus is on Russia and more sanctions on Russia. In the past month or so, the United States has tried to get European leaders on board with ratcheting up sanctions on Russia and it looks as though they have succeeded. I want to read a statement to you from the G7 leaders say, "We have now agree that we will move swiftly to impose additional sanctions on Russia. Given the urgency of securing the opportunity for a successful and peaceful democratic vote next month in Ukraine's presidential elections we have committed to act urgently to intensify targeted sanctions and measures to increase the costs of Russia's actions."

And obviously we know that Russia has continued some of its military excursions into Ukraine. And we obviously know that there are a Russian plane has moved into Ukrainian air space. So it seems as though sanctions aren't necessarily working in that -- Russia is not backing down. However, the United States has continued to say that sanctions have had a very crippling effect on Russia's economy and they would like to continue in that way going forward -- Fred. And we may see some additional sanctions as early as Monday.

WHITFIELD: Ok, all right Erin McPike thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Meantime in all of this, Ukraine's Prime Minister says Russian military aircraft crossed into and violated Ukrainian air space seven times last night. Now European Union leaders are to meet Monday to discuss some new round of sanctions against Russia as you've heard Erin allude to.

CNN's Arwa Damon report the other big problem is those pro-Russian militants who are putting up a fight to keep the ground they've seized.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the command and control center of the pro-Russian revolt in Slavyansk. CNN was given rare access behind the barricades of the security services building on condition we don't show any faces just as Kiev announced the second phase of its so-called anti-terrorism operation. These self-defense units as they call themselves are digging in.

(on camera): This is one of the vehicles that was captured from the Ukrainian military around a week ago. And those that are inside the Security Services -- or SBU building, they are absolutely confident that they can repel any sort of attack.

Evgeniv Gorbik, a former military man turned spokesman says, they have 2,000 fighters at the ready and plenty of weapons. "It's war trophies. The Ukrainian army gave them to us," he says. In 90 percent of the cases it was voluntary. They are communicating and coordinating with pro-Russian groups in other cities and towns. Gorbik says they have developed several layers of defenses which were tested on Thursday when the Ukrainian military approached their barricades on the outskirts of the city.

"The barricades are set on fire which then warns the mobile groups that the enemy is approaching," he explains. They seemed to work. The Ukrainian military withdrew. Confidence seems to be growing among pro-Russian militants.

At a nearby (inaudible) air base, smoke drifts into the sky. A helicopter was fired on and destroyed says the Ukrainian defense ministry. Others say it was an accident.

Ukrainian soldiers guarding the perimeter looked edgy as they argued with curious locals. This isn't what they're trained to do, nor is it a conflict they want. For now, the pro-Russian groups seem assured that what they have, they will hold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Arwa Damon joining us live right now. So Arwa the militants are not leaving. Russia continues to thumb its nose at the U.S. and the Western allies. So do these threats of sanctions really mean anything?

DAMON: At this stage, no, they don't. It's very much a measure to try to warn Russia that it could potentially face not just sanctions but perhaps even more aggressive action in the future. The issue is that for true -- for something to make a true difference on the ground here, it's going to have to have a lot more impact than these sanctions.

And one also has to remember that when it comes to these sanctions it's not just necessarily Russia that's going to be impacted. Europe is also potentially going to feel some of the bite because of the trade ties that exist between Europe and Russia and also because Europe relies on Russia for about a third of its natural gas. So there are quite a few cards that both sides here still have to play -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arwa Damon thank you so much. Appreciate that.

All right meantime, other matters overseas still of huge importance and concern. That Bluefin is wrapping up its search for Flight 370. But so far it come up empty handed. But another kind of sub is on standby we'll learn about the Remus 6000 in the search for that missing airliner.

And he says he's been misunderstood. Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy tries to explain his controversial comments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Politically incorrect, perhaps, but racist no. At least that's what a controversial Nevada rancher hearing conservative folk hero is saying about his recent comments about African-Americans. Cliven Bundy is still under intense scrutiny this morning for suggesting that blacks might have been better off under slavery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIVEN BUNDY, NEVADA RANCHER: I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro they abort their young children, they put their young men in jail because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I've often wondered, are they better off as slaves picking cotton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Beyond disturbing no matter how many times you hear it. Meantime here's CNN's Dan Simon from Nevada. So Dan you know this story is not going away. The rancher is still under fire and still talking. What is he saying now?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he said he's sorry if he offended anybody, but he's not sorry for what he said. Fredricka, as you and I both know, usually when this happens, the usual script is that you issue a full apology if you say something terribly offensive and then you shun the spotlight for a while.

In the case of Cliven Bundy, he's doing the exact opposite. He's continuing to have news conferences. He's continuing to do interviews. Take a look at what he told our Chris Cuomo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIVEN BUNDY, NEVADA RANCHER: That's what I'm talking about. Reverend Martin Luther King wanted us to get over that type of stuff. I said that -- yesterday, I said it's time for a discussion about this. We need to be -- get over this.

I don't care what your race is, whether -- we need to get over this prejudice stuff so that those words are not offensive. They are not offensive to me. You can say them to me and I wouldn't be offended.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, the people who championed Bundy's cause like Sean Hannity, like Greta Van Susteren from Fox News, they have backed away from Cliven Bundy; Senator Rand Paul as well. But he still maintains his core group of anti-government supporters. Those people are still here at Camp Bundy if you will.

One of those supporters happens to be an African-American body guard. Take a look at what he told me.

JASON BULLOCK, CLIVEN BUNDY'S BODYGUARD: I would take a bullet for that man, if need be. I look up to him just like I do my own grandfather. I believe in his cause. And after -- having met Mr. Bundy a few times, I have a really good feel about him. And I'm a pretty good judge of character. He's shown me nothing but hospitality and treats me as his own family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, the irony there Fredricka, is super thick. In terms of where things stand right now, it was a couple of weeks ago when you had this major standoff with the federal government. They came here to seize Cliven Bundy's cattle because he hadn't paid his grazing fees for 20 years. He owes them a million dollars.

Well, faced with the prospect of a bloody confrontation with armed militia group, they backed down and say they're going to pursue this matter through other means. It's not clear what that is, but for now, the prospect of violence seems to have been quelled -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. It goes from outrageous to just simply odd. All right. Thanks so much Dan Simon -- appreciate that.

So Bundy made headlines with his claims that he was being taken advantage of. And many people including Nevada state lawmakers and conservative media were quick to support him. To talk more about it and the role the media had played in all of this, we're joined now by Brian Stelter, host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES". Good to see you.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN HOST: You too.

WHITFIELD: Ok. So Brian, at first, you know, Bundy was an American hero in many corners. Now people can't get away from him fast enough meaning many of those who came to his support after he revealed himself with those comments caught on tape. So what made everyone jump on his band wagon so quickly in the first place before doing any real homework?

STELTER: Until a few days ago, if you had heard of Bundy at all, it was most likely because you had heard from him, from conservative media outlets that painted his story in a very sympathetic light. They presented him for some legitimate reasons as a victim of government overreach, as government gone wild -- as Sean Hannity likes to say.

There are some core underlying issues here that are worthy of debate that are very interesting to talk about. Like, you know, for example conservative media anchors would say why does the United States government own so much land out West? Why is that? Some of that should return to private property.

But that story shifted from being a conservative media story to being a story I think being covered by the rest of the media as soon as those racist remarks emerged via "The New York Times" a few days ago.

WHITFIELD: Right. So those racist comments overshadowed any of the other issues that people wanted to latch on to.

STELTER: Right.

WHITFIELD: But then, you know, there's a real lesson I guess being taught in all of this, whether it be from those media outlets or maybe of the political persuasion who are quick to latch onto him before finding out, you know, what he really represented, you know, at the core. So are the -- reputations damaged of those who chose to speak out, like Sean Hannity or Greta Van Susteren, or even some of those, you know, Nevada lawmakers who are quick to stand right by his side?

STELTER: You can certainly hear some soul searching going on, conversations in the conservative blogosphere about how this happened and how this could have been avoided. To be fair, there were a number of conservative commentators and reporters who come with a clear point of view who were very skeptical all along, who were very careful about this guy, who did not speak up or come to his defense, so to speak. And those are the people now saying, I told you so. Now saying, let's not let this happen again.

But to your point about whether people's reputations will be damaged, I actually predict they won't be over the long term. If you were a fan of Sean Hannity, you're going to stay a fan of Sean Hannity. And if you disliked him already, you're not going to change your view of him now either.

WHITFIELD: You see -- do you see that possibly this Bundy moment may find its way in political ads especially with midterm elections coming?

STELTER: That's what was so interesting about this, this month. We saw politicians outside Nevada being asked about this case because of the attention it was getting on Fox News and on "The Drudge Report" and other conservative circles.

That will continue I suspect even though we will see everyone condemn his comments, his racist comments. We will see this issue of government overreach as has been presented on Fox continue to come up again and again.

WHITFIELD: All right Brian. Thanks so much. Again, we'll be watching tomorrow morning --

STELTER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: -- "RELIABLE SOURCES". Appreciate it. All right. Search officials may move on to another sub now if that Bluefin-21 doesn't find Flight 370 soon or some remnants of that flight -- the new technology that could go even deeper than before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Malaysian officials are getting ready to move the search for Flight 370 to the north. The Bluefin drone has covered 95 percent of the designated search so far but so far has come up with nothing. If it comes up empty handed in the end, officials say it will move to an area where a separate ping was picked up.

It's been 50 days since Flight 370 went missing. Malaysia's transportation minister says he will release a full report of the disappearance to the public next week. It includes safety tips for better tracking systems in planes.

The Bluefin's part of the hunt is almost over but the search is far from done. So what is next? It could be the Remus 6000, a side-scan sub capable of going even deeper than the Bluefin will be used.

Christopher Von Alt is co-founder and chief technology officer of Hydroid Incorporated and he conceived the concept of the Remus 6000 and joins us now from Boston to talk more about what it can do. Good to see you.

So Christopher, what can --

CHRISTOPHER VON ALT, HYDROID INC: Good morning. Nice to be here.

WHITFIELD: -- great. What can the Remus 6000 do that the Bluefin couldn't?

VON ALT: Well, I wouldn't look to compare the two things. I think it's better to just look at what each one can do.

WHITFIELD: Ok.

VON ALT: One thing that Remus 6000 is very good at is it can operate to 6,000 meters. So it's well-equipped to get to the depths in the search area and has operated those depths quite a bit in the past.

The second thing is that it comes with a very capable launch and recovery system. That's how you get it on and off the boat. And that's very important because it increases the weather window that you can operate in so you have less downtime when you're out there.

The third part of the problem really is navigation. You know, when you think of this as finding a needle in a hay stack, it's more like trying to find maybe a lost antique coin in a big football field in the middle of the night and all you have is a pen light to go looking for it. And you really have to fold back the pieces of the grass and look very carefully to find out where you are.

So navigation becomes extremely important. You've got to make sure that you've seen, looked in between each blade of grass. And our systems are very capable of using this because we use sea floor transponders to navigate them.

And another great aspect of what we can do is we have cooperative vehicles. Our vehicles can run two or three at a time and by doing that, you increase dramatically the production that you could have. So one --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Then, how many are there available for a mission like this? Since you said two or three can be operated at one time. How many would be made available for a mission like this?

VON ALT: Well, there's currently six Remus 6000s in operation today in the field. Four of them are operated almost continuously by the U.S. Navy. But there are two that are independently owned. And I understand that they could be made available in a number of weeks. They'd have to be prepared to go down there, probably within three weeks they could be deployed. But you could look at it more of not replacing --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I'm sorry to interrupt you. I know we have a little bit of a delay. Sorry. Go ahead.

VON ALT: Yes. You could look at it as not trying to move onto another asset besides the Bluefin vehicle. You could look at taking -- rather than having one system running down there, you could have three of them and you're having three times the productivity. You can split up the work space. That's why robots are so valuable in a search like this.

WHITFIELD: Excellent. So conceivably the U.S. Navy which you said has four of them in its possession considering there are six in the world. The U.S. Navy could say we're going to volunteer our Remus 6000 or more than one, but it will take times. It will take perhaps weeks in which to get it to that region because as far as you know, currently the Remus 6000 is not in the region of the Southern Indian Ocean.

VON ALT: No. There's one Woods Hole Oceanographic and there's another one in Germany. There's only two really that would be available.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Christopher von Alt, thank you so much for your time from Boston. Appreciate that.

VON ALT: All right.

WHITFIELD: All right. A teenager was stabbed to death in the stairwell of her high school on prom day. The stunned student body and police -- they all want to know why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Investigators in Connecticut are trying to figure out the motive behind a deadly attack on a 16-year-old honors student. It happened yesterday at a school in Milford, just about 20 miles away from Newtown, the site of that 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Police say a classmate slashed Maren Sanchez to death in a school stairwell.

Let's bring in CNN's Nick Valencia. This is heart breaking. What happened?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Definitely heart breaking for the community. She was a very popular girl. We're hearing a lot on social media from her friends and family who really just say that she was such a bright person. At about 7:00 a.m., this all unfolded, Fred, in the stairwell, as you mentioned, in the high school.

According to law enforcement officials, they say that she was slashed in the neck, throat and also in the face. There was at least one school administrator that tried to perform life-saving treatment on her, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital about 45 minutes after the incident.

WHITFIELD: So do we know anything about the relationship between the person responsible and Ms. Sanchez?

VALENCIA: Well, there's a lot of rumors and this has several lines of investigation. According to law enforcement officials, there are rumors about their alleged relationship, but we do know that they were classmates. They were friends on Facebook. You're looking at the victim, Maren Sanchez. But we don't know to the extent of, you know, how much they were friends. They are looking down this theory, though, that she may have been attacked because he asked her to prom and she said no. That's a possibility. They mentioned that in the press conference yesterday and a line investigators are going down today.

WHITFIELD: So a young man arrested. What's next for him?

VALENCIA: Well, there's a pending murder charge. He will be arraigned on Monday in juvenile court in New Haven, but there's a pending murder charge right now. We believe he will be charged with murder on Monday.

WHITFIELD: And treated as an adult then?

VALENCIA: Juvenile court. So we're not sure. That's a distinction that's still not clear right now.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nick Valencia, thanks so much. Tragic situation.

VALENCIA: Definitely.

WHITFIELD: All right.

We're going to move back overseas now. The Bluefin-21 underwater drone only has 5 percent of its search area left to go. So far, no site of Flight 370. A U.S. Navy source tells CNN Malaysian officials will move the search slightly north if nothing is found likely to an area where a separate ping was picked up. Remember there were four confirmed pings.

Malaysia's transportation minister says he'll release a preliminary report on the jet's disappearance to the public next week. It has been 50 days since Flight 370 went missing. Let's bring in our panel now, CNN's safety analyst, David Soucie and aviation experts, Peter Goelz and Michael Kay.

David, let me begin with you. So if a -- if nothing has been found in the current search area, does that mean the ping that led them there just was perhaps a false positive or does it simply mean that there are -- the other pings were stronger and now it's time to move onto the other search areas? What does this mean to you?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: From what I understand this ping, the first one that they had was at the highest amplitude, which would indicate that it was closest to where the pinger was. The ocean can play a lot of tricks on sounds, both from the debris -- whatever's on the ground, the seaweed around it, the temperature layers. Things like that can play a lot of tricks on sound. So it's really almost impossible.

The pinger is just supposed to get you into a general location. So moving to the north, I think is encouraging because of the fact that the first ping they picked up was a sustained period of time. It was almost two hours although the amplitude wasn't nearly as high as the second ping. The first ping was just as promising although it is much deeper there.

WHITFIELD: Peter, how do you interpret this? Slightly north is now going to be the focus.

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: I mean, my expectation is they're going to have to search all four pings. They were quite optimistic when they announced they'd heard the pings. I don't know how they could say we've looked at one or two and we're not so optimistic about the remaining pings. So I think they're obligated to go to all four and search them in the same way in the 6-mile or 8-mile radius around the ping and that that's what's going to happen during the next coming weeks.

WHITFIELD: So Michael, does this seem reasonable to you, the strategy has been to focus on one ping area at a time and to sweep that area as opposed to simultaneously sweeping all of the four ping areas if they were significant in the first place with various types of technologies? Is that ever an option?

MICHAEL KAY, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I think the strategy is absolutely correct at the moment. I think the reason we're in the area as David Soucie pointed out was because the ping two had the highest amplitude. In the way that the pings works is that it works on the strength of a signal rather than actually geo locating where the black box is.

And in order to actually geo locate it then you have to triangulate it and go across the area a number of times. Clearly, the signal didn't last that long. But I think the strategy is absolutely right. If we go back to the beginning, you know, before we had the Inmarsat analysis, we were looking at an area over 10 million square miles. We're now back into the area where there had been four pings. I think it's a process of elimination.

I think what we all have to get our heads around this is that when you put the Bluefin in the water, it takes a long time to make absolutely 100 percent sure that the area they're looking at has been looked at. It's been looked at again and therefore can be eliminated before they move onto the next event. So I think the strategy is absolutely right.

WHITFIELD: So David, in your view, is the Bluefin-21 the answer here? Is it time to move on to a different kind of technology? I mean, perhaps you heard my conversation with someone who helped conceive the idea of the Remus 6,000. He says that the Remus can go 6,000 meters. It can go deeper. There are certain advantages that it has over the Bluefin-21 and one of them also includes being able to put two or three in the water at one time. Is it time to move on to a different kind of technology like that in your view?

SOUCIE: Well, not only is it time to change tools, but it's time to change the strategy because you can't just change a tool without having a new crew, a new group that understands how to use those tools in different ways.

WHITFIELD: So strategy like what? Give an example.

SOUCIE: Well, for example, is there combination of tools that might be more beneficial. Instead of just saying let's stick with the same idea of let's search the ocean floor, you can have two or three of these units out working at the same time as they did in Flight 447. They had three Remus 3000 out there at that time. What I'm concerned about is that the Malaysian government or the Australians or whoever is guiding this telling the tools where to go and what to do is one thing.

But to just say let's replace the tool and do the same thing is not the right thing to do. They've got to stop and strategize. I hope that's what they do over the next couple of weeks while they are waiting for the new tools to do come in. Bring in new eyes to say, are we doing this the right way, because it's an entire system of certainly.

It's not just about this tool or that tool. It's about how the system works together. They may need other planners like some other person or group that's done this before exactly like Flight 447.

WHITFIELD: Speaking of Malaysian authorities, Peter, what are you expecting to hear from that report next week that is to be released to the public?

GOELZ: Having written these reports in the past, they are generally very dry, very factual. They are well scrubbed. And I think there will be less there than people are hoping for. But it will establish certain facts. I'm sure we're going to get the timeline. I am sure we're going to get the background on what exactly the radar contacts were, but these reports, by their nature, are very sterile.

WHITFIELD: And Michael, what are your expectations?

KAY: Yes, I don't share Peter's opinion on the radar traces. I think the prime minister had a conundrum on the radar situation right from the outset. I mean, presentationally, he had two options. The first option was did the Malaysian military authorities actually see anything and does he acknowledge that to the world. Second option was, if they did see something, why didn't they do something about it.

We know from Richard Quest interview that, yes, they went for the latter option and deemed it not hostile, but it was certainly suspicious. How can an aircraft not identified that isn't part of routine airway's traffic, how can that descending not be suspicious and not warrant putting your F-18Ds going to have a look at it. To me, there are a lot of unanswered questions. I don't think you're going to see that information in the preliminary report.

WHITFIELD: All right, that was a very perplexing explanation and perhaps we can talk about that more in the next hour when I see you again. Michael Kay, Peter Goelz and David Soucie, thanks so much.

Also coming up, a veteran's hospital in Phoenix putting America's best on secret waiting lists? Where they stay without care and for some, when their turn comes, what happens?

All right, 40 veterans died while waiting for care there. This is a CNN exclusive investigation you don't want to miss. Right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, now to what may be the most shock example yet in CNN's ongoing investigation of U.S. military veterans dying while they wait for medical care at VA hospitals. We have uncovered just how far one VA hospital went to hide its outrageously long wait times. Forty veterans died while waiting for care at this hospital.

A doctor who's left the hospital says the managers were actually keeping two waiting lists. A sham list that made the hospital look like a model of efficiency and a secret list that showed the deadly reality. Here's our senior investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a plan by top management at this veteran's hospital in Phoenix, Arizona to hide as many as 1,600 veterans waiting many months just to get a doctor's appointment. CNN has learned at least 40 veterans left waiting for care, many who are on that secret list are now dead. And what is worse? According to multiple sources, the management's plan included shredding the evidence to hide the fact there was a waiting list at all. Dr. Sam Foote just retired after spending 24 years with the V.A. health system here in Arizona. The veteran doctor says the hospital did have a list that showed the V.A. was providing timely appointments within 14 days but that was a sham.

DR. SAM FOOTE, RETIRED VA PHYSICIAN: The only record that you have ever been there requesting care was on that secret list. And they wouldn't take you off that secret list until you had an appointment time that was less than 14 days so it would give the appearance that they were improving greatly the waiting times, when in reality it had been six, nine, and in some cases 21 months.

GRIFFIN: In the case of a 71-year-old U.S. Navy veteran named Thomas Breen, the wait ended much sooner.

TEDDY BARNES-BREEN, SON OF THOMAS BREEN: He started bleeding in his urine. So I was like listen we got to get you to the doctor.

GRIFFIN: Teddy Barnes-Breen said his Brooklyn-raised father, Thomas, so proud of his military service would go nowhere but the V.A. for treatment. And on September 28th, with blood in his urine and a history of cancer, Teddy and his wife rushed him to the Phoenix VA Emergency Room where he was examined and send home to wait.

BREEN: All they wrote on his chart, must have primary doctor, urgent. And they sent him home.

GRIFFIN: This is a copy of Mr. Barn's V.A. medical chart, stating on the top, urgency, that he should be seen by a primary care physician or urologist within a week.

(on camera): Did anybody call? You called?

SALLY BARNES-BREEN, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW OF THOMAS BREEN: We called numerous times. I got a response, would you like to hear the response? Well, you know, we have other patients that are critical as well. It is a seven-month waiting list and you're going to have to have patience.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Sally kept calling day after day from late September through October through November and then she no longer had a reason to call. Thomas Breen died on November 30th, 2013. The bleeding was from inoperable stage four bladder cancer.

SALLY BARNES-BREEN: They called me on December 6th, he is dead already.

GRIFFIN (on camera): They called you and said?

SALLY BARNES-BREEN: I said what is this regarding? She says we have a primary for him. I said really, you're a little too late, sweetheart.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): CNN has obtained e-mails showing top management, including the Phoenix V.A. Director Sharon Hellman knew about the actual wait times and knew about the off the books list and defended the use to her staff, which makes this statement to CNN from Hellman all the more strange. It is disheartening to hear allegations about veterans' care being compromised, the director writes, and we are open to any collaborative discussion that assists in our goal to continually improve patient care. Sam Foote says that response is stunning.

(on camera): This was all planned and it was planned by the very highest authorities here in Phoenix.

FOOTE: Correct.

GRIFFIN: Basically, you have medical directors cooking the books?

FOOTE: Correct.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Fredricka, the Phoenix off the books list is now getting the attention of the House Veteran Affairs Committee in Congress whose chairman has ordered the V.A. to preserve all the records in Phoenix, secret or not to be part of an ongoing investigation into delayed care at V.A., which may have led to deaths of U.S. veterans -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Drew Griffin. Late yesterday, the Phoenix V.A. sent CNN an additional statement acknowledging the, quote, "Phoenix VA Health Care System has had longstanding issues with veterans accessing care and have taken numerous actions to meet demand while we continue to serve more veterans and enhance our services," end quote.

CNN has continually asked the director of that hospital for an interview, but so far has been refused.

All right, still ahead, history in the making at the Vatican. The faithful are flocking to Rome to take it in. We'll take you there live.

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WHITFIELD: Catholics around the world are preparing for a historic event tomorrow. The first time ever, the church will canonize two popes on the same day. Pope Francis will lead the special ceremony. At least a million pilgrims are expected to attend in St. Peter's square. Delia Gallagher joins me from Rome with more where people are starting to converge. Talking about 1,000 bishops expected to attend the ceremony -- Delia.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. You can see behind me they're already coming in. It is start to go rain, but they have back packs and umbrelles on. They're ready to camp out for the night. As you say, 1,000 bishops and 6,000 priests, Pope Benedict is expected to attend as well. Perhaps most important people at the occasion will be two of the women that received miracles from John XXIII and JOHN Paul II. A French nun that recovered from Parkinson's, the same thing John Paul II, and another that had a brain aneurysm, which inexplicably disappeared when she prayed to John Paul II.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Extraordinary event. We have lots of people there already. We will check back with you. We know millions are expected to descend and already thousands have.

Gluttony is one of the so-called seven deadly sins, but one city in France celebrates the overindulgence of food and wine. And who else other than Anthony Bourdain to take us there in this week's "PARTS UNKNOWN."

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ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, CNN'S "PARTS UNKNOWN": I gained about 8 pounds in less than a week. If you plan to come to Lyon, bring your Lipitor, get your reservation at Betty Ford squared away in advance, because you're going to be eating. This is the home land of the original gangsters of cuisine, the godfathers and godmothers, high end, low end, sausage, cream sauce, cheese, yes, real good cheese. More sausage. Did I mention sausage? All sorts of things, rich dumplings of fish and shellfish sauces, most of them with cream involved, butter, yes, lots of butter, and sausage. That's sausage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And that's Lyon. OK. Anthony Bourdain, taking us there, that's fun. Keep an eye on Bourdain's French adventures Sunday on "PARTS UNKNOWN" 9:00 p.m. Eastern and at 10:00 p.m., dessert with inside man and Morgan Spurlock. He is looking at America's love for pets. Find out how far some will go to spoil their animals.

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