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Obama Visits Malaysia During Asian Tour; NRA Holds Annual Convention; Georgia Governor Signs Wide-Ranging Gun Bill Into Law; Catholic Church To Canonize Two Prior Popes; Federal Prosecutors Close To Announcing Criminal Charges Against Rep. Michael Grimm; Veteran Dies While Waiting For Medical Care From VA

Aired April 26, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome again, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.

The next hour beginning right now. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Here are the top stories I'm following.

A violent string of tornadoes and thunderstorms is moving right across the middle of the country. Right now it comes on the heels of another storm that already caused damage and injuries. Millions are at risk this weekend.

A historic day in the making as Pope Francis gets ready to elevate not just one but two Popes into sainthood. How that canonization will be different than any other coming up.

And President Obama visits a country tormented by a missing plane but Russia is becoming a major distraction for the president. What the president is saying about all of it.

Let's begin in Washington. President Obama is out of town on his four-country tour of Asia. But the crisis in Ukraine is moving very quickly. And we're learning new details about what the U.S. and other countries plan to do next.

Erin McPike is at the White House even though the president is traveling.

So, Erin, what is the latest on the U.S. response to the situation where Ukraine and Russia? It continues to bubble.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, basically it's simply more sanctions. And although we haven't seen a deterrent effect yet as we've been talking about today we did see a Russian aircraft enter Ukrainian airspace overnight. The state department is insisting that it's working. I want to play for you something that Jen Psaki, she is the state department's spokeswoman said yesterday in "the LEAD" with Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: We are seeing an impact. We've seen even president Putin admit this week that there is an impact on the Russian economy from the steps we've taken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: And the United States has been trying to convince European leaders that they do need to ratchet up sanctions. They appeared to have succeeded in that effort. We saw a statement earlier in the G-7 when they basically said they are committing to intensifying sanctions. We know that European leaders will be meeting on Monday to iron out what that may look like and we may see new sanctions as early as Monday.

Now, on top of that we also just heard from the state department within the last hour that U.S. secretary of state John Kerry spoke to his counterpart, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, earlier today. I want to give you a small readout of that call.

Secretary Kerry called on Russia to publicly support Ukraine's efforts rather than denigrate them. He also expressed continued concern that Russia's provocative troop movements on Russia's border, its support for separatists and its inflammatory rhetoric are undermining stability, security, and unity in Ukraine.

So obviously, this is escalating Russian and the United States continue to talk. But we still may see more sanctions as early as Monday.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, lots on the plate of the White House and the president even though the president is in overseas in Asia right now in Malaysia and extending his condolences and his heartfelt wishes to those who are impacted by the missing plane that mystery that endures.

Erin McPike, thanks so much, at the White House.

So here in the U.S., 20 million people could be impacted this weekend by an outbreak of possible deadly tornadoes and storms.

Let's go straight to meteorologist Jennifer Gray in a CNN severe weather center.

So Jennifer, we're really just seeing the beginning of what could be a pretty dangerous season?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this is going to be a multi- day event. And we really had a quiet severe weather season up until now. And so, this is going to be the most significant event we've seen so far this season. It is getting a late start but that duns mean anything in the way of healthier the storms can be.

So, this is a Saturday, Sunday, Monday and possibly, Fred, even into Tuesday event for the east coast. We'll start with Saturday. And today, that's where we're going see the storms begin to fire up. Right now on the radar not so much. We have showers out in the Rockies.

But we're going to be zeroing in on this area here right from the Texas panhandle all of the way up to Nebraska as we go through the late evening hours into the overnight hours. And severe threat will shift a little bit more eastward as we go forward in time.

So we're going to track this for you. Here we go through Sunday. You can see the low lifting up to the north. The showers and storms starting to bubble up across the Mississippi river valley. This is by tomorrow night. Then those will move to the east by Monday.

We have very warm moist air in place that's pulling in from the Gulf of Mexico. We have warm dry air from the west, colder air coming in from the north. The upper level support all of the ingredients are in place for this event -- today, tomorrow, on in to Monday.

So, here's your slight risk for today. Goes from the Texas panhandle all of the way up to the northern plains. That threat will shift to the Mississippi river valley tomorrow and, Fred, we're going to have to watch Arklatex (ph) area on into Arkansas because we could see the threat of very large tornadoes, also very large hail and damaging winds.

WHITFIELD: Boy, all right. Good warning. Keep us posted. Thanks so much, Jennifer.

All right, the battle lines, meantime, are drawn in Indianapolis. That's where the NRA is holding its annual convention. Seventy thousand supporters of the second amendment are ready to take on its newest adversary, billionaire Michael Bloomberg and his new antigun organization.

Our Alexandra Field is live for us right now in New York with more details on this brewing PR battle, or is it more than that?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brewing PR battle and a brewing political battle, because when it comes to guns the emotions run high. This is a three-day rally around gun rights. Prominent Republicans are ling up to take the podium and taking the opportunity to unfurl fierce criticism at efforts to enact stricter gun control policies. The talk geared toward pushing voters to defend their gun-owning rights at the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Look, we're all outraged and heartbroken at recent incidents in which so many innocent people have lost their lives. But public policy must always be guided by common sense, by embracing what works and rejecting what does not, making it harder for law abiding Americans to defend themselves has not, does not, and will not prevent future tragedies such as these.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Now, these folks on the left, they are audacious but I'll share a secret with you, they're also gutless. They refuse to admit their real agenda. The truth is that Michael Bloomberg, Eric Holder, some many of President Obama's wealthiest liberal backers in Hollywood do not, in fact, believe in the second amendment at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: And you just heard Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal name former New York mayor Bloomberg and there is a good reason for that. Bloomberg recently announced he's bankrolling a new gun control effort this weekend. The NRA unveiled its response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE LAPIERRE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: You know, Bloomberg vowed to spend $50 million to beat us in November. He said he would do everything he could with all of his 50 million to confront and defeat the NRA. Well, here's our response.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Bloomberg says he has $50 million to attack my gun rights. Well, I have $25 to protect them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got $25.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've got $25, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's one guy with millions. We're millions with our 25 bucks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: $25, that's the cost to be starter NRA membership and you can see here, Fred, that the NRA is getting ready to go head to head with Bloomberg's group, every town for gun safety. The organization was set up to counter the influence that the NRA has -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. So you know, this is, or is it not, the first time the NRA has faced such a well funded opposition campaign, especially led by one person, in this case, Michael Bloomberg. So is it prepared for this long expensive media battle because it does have the attention of many, Michael Bloomberg, that is?

FIELD: Yes, this is a question that a lot of people have been asking, Fred. And you know, when Bloomberg came out and announced a new organization in the new plan, everyone looked to the NRA for response. They really took some time. They said, wait, we're going to let you mow when we have our annual meeting and you saw them come out. They had the meeting. And you can see the first thing they did was release that video trying to recruit more members and, again, trying to bring in more dollars.

You know, not to underestimate the NRA here in any capacity. We know that they are a vast organization with millions of members. They've got a sophisticated lobbying arm, sophisticated campaign techniques here. And a lot of money behind them just like Bloomberg's organization. So really, we will see these two organizations meeting go head to head and a lot of money behind both of them, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And he also has a whole television network, among other things. So, it's going to be quite the face-off.

All right, Alexandra Field, thank you so much. All right, a new law in Georgia allows guns in bars, churches, and schools as long as there is a permit. But it's also causing tons of controversy in the south. Gun rights advocate says the new law gives them added protections, but critics call it reckless.

Here's CNN's Nick Valencia.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the new law gives Georgia gun license holders added protection so long as they pass background checks and are in good standing with the law.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. NATHAN DEAL (R), GEORGIA: While we still guard against tyranny America today cherishes this right so that people who follow the rules can protect themselves and their families from those who don't follow the rules.

(APPLAUSE)

VALENCIA (voice-over): Surrounded by the applause of hundreds of supporters, Georgia's governor Nathan Deal signed a new-wide range in gun bill into law this week. The bill which passed the state and Senate with over whelming support is important for what it allows. Starting July 1st, the number of places law abiding Georgians can carry weapons without penalty will expand.

Place like the airport, as it stands right now if you try to bring your firearm through a TSA checkpoint you likely would be arrested. Under the new law you can do that, your firearm will likely be taken away from you but it will given back and you won't face criminal prosecution.

The law will allow Georgians to carry guns into bars and churches so long as the establishment hasn't banned them.

REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, SENIOR PASTOR, EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH: I don't have any of church that plans to opt into this law.

VALENCIA: The Dr. Raffy Warnock, the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist says most Georgians had no idea about the gun bill until it was signed into law. Dr. Martin Luther King preached at the church and his mother was shot and killed there in 1974.

WARNOCK: I shudder to think what that day would have been like, the kind of mayhem that we would have seen had everyone been strapped that day with a gun.

VALENCIA: The lobby group that pushed through the safe carry protection act believes the new law will make the state a safer place.

JERRY HENRY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GEORGIACARRY.ORG: The violence is in the person, not in the gun. And until you figure out how to treat the violence, then you're going to have that. And taking all the guns off the street is not going to make anybody any safer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks to our Nick Valencia reporting on that.

Up next, the Nevada rancher who has caused an uproar over his comments about African-Americans responds to his critics.

And if cell phones from flight 370 were retrieved, would the data survive and ultimately provide some answers? We put the theory to the test, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

CNN's Dan Simon has the latest from Nevada.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredericka, he may have lost Sean Hannity but Cliven Bundy still has his core supporters, about 150 of them, showed up for a barbecue last night. But today there are not going to be any news conferences. We're told that Mr. Bundy back at his ranch and has taken his phone off the hook. He still has not apologized for what he said. He said he's sorry that people may have been offended but stands by the original message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIVEN BUNDY, RANCHER: The issue of racial issue yesterday and it got sort of bad. Probably one of the worst racial people on the whole earth. But I never did believe that. I believe that the people that did listen to me knew better. I think the media knew better. And I hope that I didn't offend anybody. If I did, I ask for their forgiveness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Despite these highly inflammatory remarks the tension was actually at its highest a couple of weeks ago when the federal government began seizing Mr. Bundy's cattle because he hadn't paid his grazing fees. When that occurred you had militia groups come from across the country. And he had this standoff with the federal government or face with the prospect of violence. The government backed down, put the cattle back. And that's where we are today. They say they will pursue Mr. Bundy through other means -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Dan Simon.

All right, Catholics around the world are preparing for a big event. And the church is making an unprecedented effort to make sure young believers know about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Catholics around world are preparing for historic event tomorrow. For the first time ever, the church are canonize two Popes on the same day and they're pulling out all the stops online to bring young believers in on the experience.

Here's Jonathan Mann.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): Thousands of Catholics will crowd St. Peter's square for Sunday's canonization ceremony. Millions more around the world will see it on TV.

And for the first time for such an event the Vatican is reaching out online, making the event available through a dedicated Web site, twopesaints.org. There is also a facebook page, a twitter feed, an Instagram account, and a You Tube channel, all of them available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Polish. Church officials say they're making an unprecedented effort to reach out to a younger audience.

MONSIGNOR WALTER INSERO, COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR, DIOCESE OF ROME (through translator): We believe apart from the traditional media and the TV, we should also reach out to young people. And we need to reach out to them using the language that youth today use. Also, seeing that these two Pope saints, were very youthful in their way of communication.

MANN: Helps by the popularity of the new Pope, the Vatican has slowly expanded the social media presence with millions of new followers flocking to Pope Francis on twitter and facebook. Tourists in St. Peter's square say it's a move in the right direction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's definitely a very positive thing for a church to be interacting a lot better with modern communications.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the younger people, I think, will get more involved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Younger people will get involved, exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will miss the canonization but are very much looking forward to seeing it on the internet and on television because it brings the Catholic Church closer to everyone.

MANN: So even Catholics who can't be there in person will find the canonization is just a click away.

Jonathan Mann, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you of course can watch this ceremony live beginning at 4:00 a.m. eastern time tomorrow on CNN.

All right, a new drone, one that can dive even deeper could join the search for that missing Malaysia airliner. We'll tell you about Remus 6000. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, bottom of the hour right now. Welcome back. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Here are the stories crossing the CNN news desk right now.

Russia said its foreign minister and U.S. secretary of state John Kerry have talks on the phone about the crisis in Ukraine. Russian officials issued a statement saying Sergey Lavrov stressed the need for Ukrainian military to cease operations against the pro-Russian separatist in the eastern part of the country. Those groups have seized land and government buildings and have refused to leave.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's prime minister says Russian military aircraft crossed into and violated Ukrainian airspace last night. Russia has denied violating the airspace.

It has now been 51 days since Malaysian air flight 370 vanished. And as Malaysia leaders are trying to move the investigation forward, they're also hosting President Obama. He arrived in Malaysia earlier today. Obama is the first U.S. president to visit the country since Lyndon Johnson. He was welcomed at a state den we're the Malaysian prime minister and the country's king.

And back in the U.S. police in Milford, Connecticut, are investigating the stabbing death of a 16-year-old girl. Maren Sanchez died after being slashed in the neck, chest, and face in a school stairwell. She was set to attend her prom that night. The classmate is under arrest and faces a murder charge. The prom was postponed. But in an emotional moment students all in formal wear gathered around the prom dress Sanchez would have worn. Friends describe her as a quote "bright light full of hopes and dreams" in launching those purple balloons in her memory.

And federal prosecutors are close to announcing criminal charges against New York Congressman Michael Grimm. That's according to U.S. official. The FBI has been investigating Grimm's business dealings and his 2010 campaign. You might remember Grimm was the lawmaker who threatened to throw a reporter off the capitol balcony after he asked about illegal campaign donations. You see the tape was rolling when that happened unbeknown to Grimm.

And incredible images coming to us out of Illinois. This is all that's left of a home in suburban Chicago. Authorities say an explosion possibly caused by gas leak, leveled the house and then damaged three other homes. But amazingly, no one was seriously hurt. The explosion could be heard two towns away.

All right, 51 days now and no concrete evidence of what happened to Malaysia airlines flight 370. The next use of technology could be the Remus 6000, a drone that can dive deeper than the Bluefin-21. The Remus 6000 here, the expert, Christopher Von Alt who helped conceive the Remus describes what it can do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRISTOPHER VON ALT, CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, HYDROID INC.: One thing that Remus 6000 is very good at is it can operate the 6,000 meters. So, it's well equipped to get to the depths in the search area and it has operated at those depths quite a bit in the past.

The second thing is that it comes with a very capable launch 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 need until 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 pin 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 seafloor transponders to navigate them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Still unclear whether the Remus 6000 will be used and if so how many because Von Alt said two to three could be used simultaneously.

All right, this week another milestone in the search for flight 370. In the U.S. attorneys can now start formulating legal challenges. A federal law banned early contact between attorneys and victims' families. Lawyers must wait 45 days to give families time to deal with the trauma.

And now, at day 51 it's past that threshold. Let's begin by talking to two experts on all of this. Both lawyers, both pilots, CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo is a former inspector general at the department of transportation and Arthur Rosenberg is an aviation lawyer and engineer.

Good to see both of you.

ARTHUR ROSENBERG, AVIATION LAWYER AND ENGINEER: How are you?

WHITFIELD: I'm good.

So Arthur, let me begin with you. What do you envision some of the legal challenges given that there is no debris, there are no bodies, no answers in the disappearance of the plane?

ROSENBERG: Well first of all, with the interview with Richard Quest and the prime minister, they kind of talked about the issue of would they say the plane is lost. The issue of the plane being lost is important because that will now allow various courts in the United States and the like to make a declaration that the passengers on the airplane are deceased.

Once they are deceased, now question with file a wrongful death actions under the Montreal convention if the proof plays out there was an equipment failure or component or system involved or maybe manufacturer involved. It's really the threshold issue that has to be resolved in order for these people to move forward with their lawsuits.

WHITFIELD: And so, Mary, these legal challenges would likely pursue Boeing, the makers of the plane's engines, but no one knows if there were mechanical or functional failures. So what kind of, you know, lawsuit could you see being formulated against a Boeing at this juncture?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, this juncture it would be difficult to form one because you need several things. Not only do you need the black box and the flight data recorder, you need the maintenance records because, you know, the plane, while it was built by Boeing, it had to be maintained. So you have to see if anything went wrong by the plane, if it was caused by bad maintenance. And you have to see, you know, really, once that occurs you also have to call in your experts, lawyers have to hire their own experts to then explain to the court and to the jury what happened.

So you have several layers of discovery and information about that plane and the operation of that plane and the maintenance of that plane before you could really bring in Boeing or the engine manufacturer.

But that being said, it's -- there will be, you know, there will be cases filed. The 45 days just means that you can -- that lawyers can now go out and seek the cases. It doesn't mean that they've have to start filing cases.

WHITFIELD: And so, Mary, you mention among the things, maintenance records. In fact, there was a list that many family members presented to Malaysia authorities saying we want you to meet these items on the list and that was one of them. They wanted maintenance records. The Malaysian authorities said no way, we're not giving it to you, especially now when we're trying to figure out what's going on. But later on, next week, we understand that Malaysian authorities say they are going to reveal some sort of public report.

Is there a possibility that any of that information that might be part of this public report, Mary, could be used in the shaping of any legal challenges? Of course we don't know, you know, what's going to be in that report but I would imagine they have to be careful about what's being said.

SCHIAVO: Sure. And if they do -- if they're going to follow the ICAO standards and do it like the NTSB does it then they can issue the preliminary report and they do have a choice. They can open what's called a public docket and they can start posting information publicly that they have obtained during the course of the investigation.

You know, the NTSB posts a lot of information publicly. Usually they do it in connection with the first public hearing but they could start posting and, remember, there are many other component manufacturers on the plane, for example, the communication system and by the way, the shipper of the batteries, if it was a battery fire. So there are a lot of potential defendants in a lawsuit but you really need evidence. And so that's why the investigation and other reason the investigation is still vitally crucial.

WHITFIELD: So interesting, to Arthur, Boeing may be at the list of U.S. manufacturers. It could be the folks who are making the batteries or anything else that would be part of this plane.

ROSENBERG: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Would that be public record? Is that fairly easy for any lawyers to try to, you know, collect information on so they can complete those kinds of demands?

ROSENBERG: Yes. Well, first of all, you need what's called a good faith basis in a litigation to getting access to certain documents. But there's actually a much easier way to do it. There are about 1200 777s flying on the planet and each airplane comes with a huge voluminous volume of maintains records how to do. It would be easy or relatively easy for lawyers or people interested including the families, if they want information to getting access to these manuals which would pretty much tell them everything they need to know about the airplane but obviously won't target specific failures because at this point we just don't know.

WHITFIELD: Right. OK. No plane, no bodies, no hard core evidence still, 51 days now.

All right, Arthur Rosenberg, Mary Schiavo, thank you so much to both you. Appreciate it.

ROSENBERG: Thank you.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, in all the smartphones belonging to passengers on flight 370, if ever found, what kind of information could help in the investigation? And if ever found, is there any information that actually can be retrieved from those submerged phones? We'll tell you when we get back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST, PARTS UNKNOWN: Do not find yourself sitting there with a bag of Cheetos and nothing else in the house when you're watching this episode. The Lyon episode coming up is going to be maybe the greatest single hour of food porn we've ever done.

We found that it is -- it is good to be part of this international chef mafia. There's somebody that wants to feed me just about everywhere and that's a really good starting point.

Daniel Blue, the chef of Daniel Restaurant, Daniel, he took us back to where he came from.

Look at that.

Like so many great chef he's grew up on farm. Relatively poor. Very simple life. People have processed food includes 17 years old. Where did this tradition come from? How does fine ding relate back to those kinds of humble roots? Truly epic, extraordinary meals with some of the greatest and most important chefs in the history of the world. Never before and never again will you see some of the stuff we're going to show you on the Lyon show. Cheers.

Nice.

It's a beautiful day in the office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: My gosh, and I was just saying after seeing some of that video of that food there's no way you can even watch that on an empty stomach. So at least come with a full tummy because you're going to be mad otherwise. You're not going to be able to reach into the television screen and eat any of that. Keep an eye out for all things Bourdain, his French adventures this Sunday on "PARTS UNKNOWN" at 9:00 eastern time.

And then right after Anthony Bourdain, you've got 10:00 p.m. eastern "INSIDE MAN with Morgan Spurlock." And this week he's looking at America's love for pets. Find out how far some people are willing to go to spoil their pooches and kitties and everything else.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So much depends on finding the black boxes from Malaysia airlines flight 370. But we're also finding out they're not only the source of potentially vital information. In all likelihood, the 239 people on that flight had smartphones. And if those devices are ever found there's a possibility that data could be retrieved.

Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, just imagine how much information there could be on the passenger and crew cellphones from flight 370 if they're found. There's a group of computer forensic experts here in Chicago that believe even if those phones are at the bottom of the Indian Ocean for months, they would be able to get the unsent tax e-mail, even video and still photographs off those phones. Well, we put them to the test.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over) : Some of the final messages from passengers on flight 370 could be with the missing plane at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, unsent texts, e-mails, and photos to loved ones. But could they be retrieved if the plane is found? CHAD GOUGH, 4DISCOVERY: Absolutely. It's a matter of finding the devices to determine what kind of damage was associated with them and handling them properly.

ROWLANDS: We decided to see if it's possible by putting this cellphone in saltwater.

(on camera): We turned off the transmission on this phone and then tried to send e-mails and texts. Right now I'm going to take some video of the Chicago River and some stills and we'll see if those survive. We took our phone to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium and met chemist Allen Laponte and fish biologist George Parsons using water from the aquarium's ocean floor exhibit, they prepared this pressure chamber for our phone.

ALLEN LAPONTE, SHEDD AQUARIUM: We have the salt compositions right. We have the temperature very cold, not as cold as it will be in the Indian Ocean, but pretty close. And now we've got a pressure chamber.

ROWLANDS: The plan is to leave our phone in t water for a week and see if our test e-mail, text, video, and photos can be retrieved.

LAPONTE: It's 2:30 on April 8th. And we're going to place it into our chamber right now. This is going directly into saltwater that simulates the Indian Ocean.

ROWLANDS: Within seconds saltwater fills the inside of the phone. Eight days later two of our computer forensic experts come to the aquarium to remove the phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can definitely see the salt corrosion building up on the outside of the phone. It's just whether or not it made its way all of the way inside built on top of the electronics and whether or not it corroded the memory chip where the data is stored.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is going to overflow a little bit.

ROWLANDS: Because oxygen will quickly increase corrosion, our phone is kept in water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just going to keep it in the same water until we get it back to the lab and can get it in a solution where we can clean it up.

ROWLANDS: A few hours later at the Ford Discovery lab.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at how it just ate the plastic.

ROWLANDS: To retrieve the data the phone is pulled apart, the board which includes the memory chip is based in an 80-degrees ultrasonic cleaner several times and any tiny salt deposits are chipped away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the most important part. This is where all the data is held and stored. So this -- this is actually looking pretty good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we go.

ROWLANDS: The chip is then actually removed using heat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was in pretty good shape. So the next step quite honestly is pop it into an adapter like this.

ROWLANDS: Eventually there it is, the e-mails I tried to send, the text message, even the photos and a portion of the video we recorded of the Chicago River.

And while our experiment with the aquarium tank is not the same as the Indian Ocean, our experts believe they could also retrieve data from cellphones on flight 370.

GOUGH: The chips are fairly well protected. We were able to get the data off. I think it would be possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: Bottom line, experts say it is all about the tiny chips which are in each cellphone. They say the chips themselves are very well insulated. If you find the phone and the chip itself is not crushed, physically crushed, the experts say they are able to get the data off of it. And that they think even if those phones are at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, they will be able to retrieve the data if they're handled properly during the recovery -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow! That is extraordinary and very hopeful.

All right, thank you so much, Ted.

All right, one VA hospital is accused of making up waiting lists while veterans died. More on that incredible investigation coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The meltdown at Chernobyl, it happened exactly 28 years ago today, the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. At least 30 deaths are blamed on that meltdown and more than 330,000 people were evacuated. The site won't be inhabitable for tens of thousands of years.

All right and now to what may be the most shocking example yet in CNN's ongoing investigation of U.S. military veterans dying while they wait for medical care at VA hospitals.

We've uncovered just how far one VA hospital went to hide its outrageously long wait line. Forty veterans died while waiting for care at this hospital. A doctor who has left the hospital says 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 is senior investigator correspondent Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a plan by top management at this Veterans hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, to hide as many as 1,600 veterans, waiting many months, just to get a doctor's appointment.

CNN has learn at least 40 veterans left waiting for care, many who are on that secret list, are now dead. And what's 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 VA health system here in Arizona. The veteran doctor says the hospital did have a list that showed the VA 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, 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 it was like, listen, we've got to get you to the doctor. We've got to get you to the doctor.

GRIFFIN: Teddy Barnes-Breen says his Brooklyn-raised father, Thomas, so proud of his military service, would go nowhere but the VA 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 sent home to wait.

BARNES-BREEN: All they wrote on his chart was must have primary doctor in one week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Urgent.

BARNES-BREEN: Urgently. And they sent him home.

GRIFFIN: Did anybody call?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

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

SALLY BREEN, DAUGHTER IN-LAW OF THOMAS BREEN: They call me December 6th. He's dead already.

GRIFFIN: They called you and said -- S. BARNES-BREEN: I said, what is this regarding? She said we have a primary for him. I said really? You're a little too late, sweetheart.

GRIFFIN: CNN has obtained e-mails showing top management including Phoenix VA director Sharon Helman knew about the actual wait times, knew about the off-the-books list and defended the use of it to her staff, which makes this statement to CNN from Helman 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.

GRIFFIN: This was all planned and it was planned by the very highest authorities here in phoenix.

FOOTE: Correct.

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

FOOTE: Correct.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Fredricka, the Phoenix off-the-books list is now getting the attention of the house veterans affairs committee in Congress, whose chairman has ordered the VA to preserve all the records in Phoenix, secret or not, to be part of an ongoing investigation into delayed care at the VA, which may have led to deaths of U.S. veterans -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So upsetting.

All right, thank you so much, Drew Griffin.

And late yesterday, the Phoenix VA sent CNN and additional statement acknowledging the quote "Phoenix VA health care system has had long standing 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.

And we will be right back.

WHITFIELD: Today, CNN hero is spending her life helping communities in crisis. Growing up in a funeral home gave her a unique perspective.

Meet Annette March-Grier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fries, mustard and milkshake. My daddy ordered the same thing as me. That is my daddy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son's father, he was murdered. Their bond, it was just a bond that a lot of kids don't have with their father.

ANNETTE MARCH-GRIER, CNN HERO: I love my city. I have lived here all of my life. But people here are having crisis after crisis.

I believe that the violence in this city and grief are directly connected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel sad that somebody hurt my dad.

MARCH-GRIER: A child's grief can be very different from adults. They can easily lose their identity and their security and that shift can be very dangerous.

There you go. Write your feelings. How are you feeling today?

Our program provides that safe place for a child to recover.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. How are you doing?

MARCH-GRIER: Our volunteers help the children explore their feelings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you choose red?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was angry when my dad passed away.

MARCH-GRIER: And talk about healthy ways of coping.

Get that anger out!

We teach our children that it is OK to cry.

Grief is truly a public health problem. We have got to begin to address it. Coping is how we deal with our feelings. We are giving families a sense of hope. We are helping to heal wounds and bring family back --

(END VIDEOTAPE)