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Obama to Nominate New Veterans Affairs Secretary; Could Georgia Toddler's Mother Face Charges?; Extremist Declare Themselves "Caliphate"; Monday Verdict in Obamacare Challenge; All or Nothing for Team USA; Who Killed the McStay Family?; The World's Greenest City?; NASA Prepares for Manned Space Missions

Aired June 29, 2014 - 18:00   ET

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

TERENCE MOORE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: This guy, he is golf. And another example, take the U.S. Open this year, the television audience was about half as much as it was last year. Win or lose, people wanted to see Tiger out there and that's going to be like that until he retires. And hopefully for all of our sake, particularly the TV executives, that won't happen any time in this century.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Terence Moore, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Nice to see you.

MOORE: And same here.

KAYE: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Randi Kaye.

This hour, we are fast forwarding to the week ahead. We'll take a look at all the stories that you'll be talking about and hearing about this coming week. We begin with our five questions for the week ahead.

Our question number one, does Bob McDonald have what it takes to fix the Veterans Affairs Department?

President Obama set to nominate the former Procter & Gamble CEO tomorrow as Veterans Affairs secretary. The V.A. department is reeling from a huge scandal over mismanaged and sometimes deadly wait times for veterans seeking medical help. McDonald graduated from West Point in the top 2 percent of his class. Her served five years as a U.S. Army captain.

Question number two now, could the grieving mother of a toddler left in a hot car face charges as well?

Leanna Harris defended her jailed husband at yesterday's funeral for their 22-month-old son. The little boy died after his father left him in a sweltering car for seven hours. Both the mother and father have told police they did Internet searches on child death in hot cars. The father has pleaded not guilty to felony murder and second-degree child cruelty charges.

Question number three: what is a caliphate and why are we using that word when talking about the crisis in Iraq? The extremist group rampaging all over Iraq, taking control of cities

and towns used that word today, saying they are now in charge of a huge chunk of Iraq and Syria. They renamed themselves. They declared a leader as well.

Stay there. In a minute, I will talk to our military analyst how big a turning point this is for Iraq. And don't forget, nearly 200 U.S. military advises are in Iraq today.

Question number four, how will the Supreme Court rule on the most anticipated decision of the year?

We'll find out tomorrow morning when we learn how the court decided Hobby Lobby's legal challenge to Obamacare. The arts and crafts chain argues that the new legal requirement forcing companies to provide contraception coverage to all employees violates its owners' religious rights.

And, finally, question number five: can Team USA pull off a win against Belgium? The U.S. men are gearing up for Tuesday's World Cup match in Salvador, Brazil. The loser goes home. Belgium is favored to win, but USA goalkeeper, Tim Howard, says his team believes they will win.

All right. Back to our question number one, does Bob McDonald have what it takes to fix the Veterans Affairs Department? A CNN investigation recently uncovered a scheme at the Phoenix V.A. hospital where records were changed to hide how many parents died while awaiting care.

Joining me on the phone now to talk about this, special investigations unit reporter, Drew Griffin, who is leading CNN's V.A. investigation.

Drew, nice to chat with you.

Does McDonald have what it takes, do you think, to fix the V.A. Department, knowing what you know about the mess there?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): The question I think is, will Bob McDonald be given the power to do what's necessary? And what's necessary, Randi, is to completely restructure the entire senior management of the V.A.'s health system. You're talking from the Washington level, all the way to all these dozens and dozens of hospitals that are now under investigation because its leadership failed to address the needs of veterans.

So, that will be the big question.

KAYE: Yes.

GRIFFIN: Does Bob McDonald, this corporate, you know, leader, have the ability to hire and fire people at will to fix the V.A.?

KAYE: You know, what's so interesting is, you mentioned corporate leader, I mean, this is a corporate guy. I mean, McDonald is not a traditional pick, because he's not a military general. Do you think that could affect his potential leadership or maybe even work to his advantage?

GRIFFIN: I think it will work to his advantage. The problem has been that we've looked for war heroes or combat generals or whatever to run the V.A. system and what it needs is to be run like what it is. It needs to be run like a business, a business that delivers medical care to all of these veterans.

And that's where I think he has the organizational structure and the ability to hold people accountable that would be a leg up. He has served in the military, so he knows what is that is like. I think more importantly, he is a businessman and he needs to run in there and run in it and make people accountable like you would in any normal business.

KAYE: Yes. I mean, Drew, you have been so far out ahead of this. I mean, I have a talked to the whistleblowers. You've talked to the people who know about the secret waiting lists. What do you think he would need to attack first? What changes does he need to make right away?

GRIFFIN: Well, he'll need to pick a deputy secretary of health to run the Veterans Health Administration. Remember, the secretary of the V.A. oversees the entire V.A., which is benefits and a bunch of other programs.

So, he will first need to establish his senior leadership in the health field. But then I think they're going to really take these audits and go hospital by hospital, and see what is the recipe for success in not only delivering health care, but making sure that your senior leaders aren't lying to you.

I hate to say that but that's what undid General Shinseki. He was being lied to by his subordinates. And so, Bob McDonald has to come in there, not expecting to make any friends but expect that he is going to be firing a hell of a lot of people.

KAYE: All right. Drew Griffin, appreciate your expertise, as always. Thank you.

GRIFFIN: Back to question number two now. All right mother be charged in the death of 22-month-old Cooper Harris? The child died 11 days ago strapped in a car seat of his father's SUV on a hot day. The father, Justin Ross Harris, has pleaded not guilty to charges of felony murder around second-degree child cruelty. The mother, Leanna Harris, told police she also had researched child deaths in hot vehicles. Statements police say were very similar to her husband's.

Joining me now, CNN national reporter, Nick Valencia, retired law enforcement agent, Lou Palumbo, and criminal defense attorney, Holly Hughes.

Nick, let me start with you on this. Do we know when these searches were made?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: No, we don't. That's very important question, Randi, when you ask our attorneys, I'm sure those lawyers can get into more of it.

But police have not been willing to go on the record with us this weekend. We've asked those questions. They just don't have the answers to it. So far, we know both parents of little Cooper Harris Googled or searched on the Internet child deaths in hot cars. What we don't know is when those searches were made and we also don't know how the statements were given to police, in what context they were given.

Was that information volunteered by Justin Ross Harris and Leanna Harris or did it come about during intense interrogations? Those are questions we need answers to and hopefully get them this week -- Randi.

KAYE: And, Holly, do you think that the mom in this case, Leanna Harris, I mean, could she face charges here?

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It is possible. In Georgia, we have what we call party to a crime and it's sort of the old adage, in for a penny, in for a pound. So, if the police investigate this and find that there was some sort of unspoken agreement, then, yes, she could technically be charged with the same thing as her husband, even though she wasn't present at the time the little boy died.

But I think it's going to take a little bit more investigation. The fact that she simply volunteered this information and we know that's what she said based on the search warrants that have been released. Now, the father, they found out when they seized his computer and did a forensic search of his computer, that's how they found out what he Googled, but the mother came out and said, yes, I also Googled that same information.

So given that she voluntarily told them this, she is sort of putting herself in the middle of this investigation and they are going to be looking to see if there is any other reason why they might have conspired to get rid of this little boy, because we don't have to prove motive to a jury, Randi, but they're going to want to have a reason. People want to know, why would you do this?

KAYE: Yes. And, Lou, we were talking about this a little bit earlier, you actually think that the father in this case should have taken a polygraph right away?

LOU PALUMBO, RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENT: I think both the parents should have volunteered to take a polygraph.

KAYE: Why is that?

PALUMBO: Because it immediately eliminates them possibly as further suspects and it's important that the police do not spend their resources in areas that they don't need to. In reference to the mother being charged, she would have to be a conspirator. They would have to establish unequivocally that she was involved with the husband and a conspiracy to cause this child's demise.

The fact that this child -- that they both -- excuse me, the fact that they both researched this on the Internet doesn't necessarily constitute a crime. It is going to be used as cooperative evidence at best.

KAYE: Right. And would they be -- I'm just curious, would they allowed to be in contact now? I'm just curious, you know, if they are working on a story, or maybe not. Can they speak at this point?

PALUMBO: Well, I'm certain that they are going to be permitted to speak but if they have attorneys, good attorneys would not allow them to speak at this point.

KAYE: To each other?

PALUMBO: Absolutely. Because the last thing you want them to do is to be accused of collaborating with the common story. What they should both do at this point in my opinion is voluntarily take polygraph exams. That would help disperse some of the suspicion on them.

KAYE: Right, right. And, Nick, you attended the funeral yesterday for Cooper in Alabama and Leanna Harris, the mom, addressed some of the suspicions surrounding his death. What did she say?

VALENCIA: Randi, the funeral yesterday was bizarre, to say the least. It should have been about this little boy, about Cooper Harris. It wasn't. It was more than that.

It was about the suspicions surrounding both the parents. It was about a husband, a father, calling in from a Georgia jail. And it was about the mother standing up there in front of a crowd of about 400 people and saying that she knows that there are questions and suspicions surrounding the death of her little boy.

It was bizarre for everyone in attendance and for her to have to feel compelled to get up there and say that she knows that are people wondering how she could be standing there and not be an emotional mess. It was very extraordinary circumstances.

That little red casket, just a very chilling moment to see that little red cassette placed at the front of everyone.

KAYE: That's just so terribly sad. Thank you to all of you.

And, Holly and Lou, I know you are going to stick around, talk with you about some more on another case a little bit later on in the program.

Meanwhile, ISIS in Iraq claiming a caliphate has been established. We'll tell you what that means and why you should care.

Plus, the space race is back on. Coming up, a sneak peek at NASA's newest spacecraft that will be launched later on this year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: This week, you are going to hear the word a lot, this word "caliphate". It's an ancient word use to describe a purely Islamic state with one leader. The last caliphate crumbled with the Ottoman Empire nearly 100 years ago. We're going to talk now about the possibility of a new one.

Today, the group of Sunni Muslim extremists that has taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria announced that the land they control is now a caliphate. They declared statehood. They named an emir and they're demanding other groups swear allegiance to them.

Joining us now, CNN military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, and CNN national security analyst, Bob Baer.

Gentlemen, so, does this change the game in Iraq? That's what we are talking about here, just because they say they created a caliphate doesn't mean they actually have.

So, Colonel Francona, to you first, I mean, how much of this is just propaganda?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think it is an important step, I think they are putting the world on notice they are not just interested in Iraq and Syria, they are interested in the whole area, and hope to spread this beyond the borders of just Iraq and Syria.

So, I think we should, you know, take it seriously, because other groups are going to glom onto this. They're going to say, we're part of that, we're part of that, and we may see kind of unification of a lot of these Islamic groups. So, yes, it's propaganda, but I think we need to pay attention to it.

KAYE: Yes. So, Bob, what about the other folks in the other areas? Folks in Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, will anybody recognize this so-called new caliphate?

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Randi, let me tell you this, they are panicked at this point. There is a Twitter accounts, all aflutter with this possibility of a caliphate. The royal family in Saudi Arabia is terrified. The other Gulf states as well. They don't know what this could mean.

Needless to say, it scares the Syrian regime in Damascus, it will affect Lebanon, it will affect Jordan.

You know, how deep the belief goes of these people, I can't tell you, because in Iraq, a lot of the fighting forces are old Baathists and tribal groups, but they have adopted religion and this is the first time in 100 years. It is alarming, as Rick said.

KAYE: And that's why you are saying they are terrified?

BAER: They are very terrified. They want to seal that border with Iraq, the Saudis in particular, because they have a bad problem there with the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic groups, jihadists, which can join up. It's a convenient name ISIS. It doesn't really mean anything. But the idea of restoring the caliphate has been attractive to Muslims, Sunni Muslims, for a long time.

KAYE: And so, Colonel, what will it mean? You wanted to weigh in on that first?

FRANCONA: Well, I was going to say. And as he said, this is a rallying flag these other groups are going to come to. And --

KAYE: What's so attractive about it?

FRANCONA: -- so now, instead of having these disparate groups, you're going to have everybody going for this. Because this is the goal they've always had. If you read any of the literature of the Islamists, it's always about setting up the caliphate, reestablishing the caliphate.

KAYE: The Islamic state.

FRANCONA: The Islamic state. So, I think this is -- this is pretty dangerous.

KAYE: What does it mean, colonel, for the world powers that are trying to end this conflict, now that they are saying they have established this?

FRANCONA: Well, I think Bob brings up a real good point, it's the regional powers that are going to be very affected first. They -- the royal families in Saudi Arabia, the government of Kuwait, Bahrain, all of these states are very concerned about the uprising of the people because the -- Islamism has a real draw to these people and sounds good.

Now, the problem will be once you set up a caliphate like in what we are seeing in Iraq and Syria, they can set up an Islamic state, but can they govern it? That's where it always falls down.

KAYE: Yes.

FRANCONA: So, we'll see if these people want to live under that draconian Islamist, Sharia law.

KAYE: Right. And, Bob, I mean, might this move by ISIS bring al Qaeda into the fight? I mean, uniting them with world powers against ISIS?

BAER: Oh, I think al Qaeda will be absolutely drawn in, as will the Muslim Brotherhood. It just -- everybody was going to be touched by this. And we also have to recall that they look at Shia Muslims as heretics. So, the possibility of bringing Iran into the conflict to put this down is pretty good.

KAYE: Yes, certainly an alarming events happening over there. No doubt about that.

Thank you both. Appreciate it.

President Obama is expected to ask Congress tomorrow for $2 billion to deal with a surge of illegal immigration, including thousands of children arriving from Central America without their parents. But will Congress go along with the request for the emergency funding? A White House official says the money will help obtain more beds, food and sanitation facilities for the immigrants while they are processed. The U.S. Border Patrol has detained more than 50,000 unaccompanied children so far this year, a big jump over the year before.

And be sure to tune into CNN tonight to watch film "Documented". That's tonight on CNN at 9:00 Eastern Time.

The Supreme Court sure knows how to procrastinate. The end of the term is tomorrow and justices will rule on Hobby Lobby's challenge to Obamacare that would exempt the company from providing contraceptives to employees. So how will they rule? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everyone.

Diving into our question number four now, how will the Supreme Court rule on the most anticipated decision of the year?

We'll know first thing tomorrow who will win the Supreme Court showdown between Hobby Lobby and the Obama administration.

The arts and crafts chain is challenging the Obamacare mandate that all businesses provide contraception coverage for their employees. Hobby Lobby's owners believe that certain forms of contraception amount to abortion and they say the law violates their religious rights.

So, let's get some insight from Professor Jonathan Turley of the George Washington University School of Law.

Professor Turley, nice to see you.

JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: Hi, Randi.

KAYE: Hi.

A lot to discuss here. What would the legal impact of Obamacare if justices rule in favor of Hobby Lobby?

TURLEY: Well, it would be a very significant impact in the sense they would have to accommodate the religious views of these types of companies. It's a not for profit company, but an actual company like Hobby Lobby, which to, in fairness to them, was structured along the religious views of the Green family. And they do oppose contraception.

Now, would that kill the ACA? No, it wouldn't. It would create a lot of complications.

There's actually a case two blocks away in the D.C. circuit called Halbig that is probably a worse threat to the ACA. It's like a torpedo in the water. That one could be a real killer.

This one, however, is really something that could create significant complications, not just under this law, but under federal laws generally, because really at issue, Randi, is the flip side of Citizens United. You remember, of course, that case, where the Supreme Court said that corporations have free speech rights. Well, this case basically says, well, if corporations are like people with free speech rights, do they also have free exercise rights? Do they have a right to these religious beliefs, like individuals do?

KAYE: Yes, it is a fascinating issue, for sure. But critics are saying that a ruling for Hobby Lobby would allow corporations to restrict a wide range of employee rides under the guise of religious freedom. I mean, do you think that is really a possibility?

TURLEY: Well, once you cross the Rubicon, Randi, and say corporations have religious rights like individuals, there is a statute on the books that proposes a very high burden on the government to put these types of restrictions or denials on religious beliefs. So, the ripple affect of this could be significant, far beyond the ACA. The government would be in a position of having to accommodate religious beliefs across the board. This wouldn't just stop at health care.

KAYE: We have to remember though that this is the same court that upheld the Affordable Care Act, right? I mean, should we read anything into that?

TURLEY: Well, of course, it was Chief Justice Roberts that saved the health care law from the jaws of death, you know? He seemed to flip at the last minute in calling this a tax which saved the statute. Whether he'll play that role again is a good question. A lot of eyes are on Justice Kennedy as we all watch on these types of cases.

I'll also note, the people I feel most sorry for is there's a second case that is on the boards for tomorrow called Harris v. Quinn and I feel sorry for those attorneys, because it's a significant case dealing with unions and union dues. But, you know, Hobby Lobby has suck the oxygen out of the room.

KAYE: That's for sure. That case will be on page 10.

TURLEY: Right.

KAYE: We'll see.

All right. Appreciate it. Nice to see you. Thank you.

TURLEY: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: Team USA has a tough task ahead. They will be taking on the undefeated Belgium team on Tuesday. Can they pull off a win to stay in the World Cup competition? A live report from Brazil coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: All right, come on, have you caught that World Cup fever yet? It is all or nothing for Team USA on Tuesday. A second round clash pits them against unbeaten Belgium. Can Team USA pull off a win? Amanda Davis is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the stakes are pretty

in this do-or-die match. So, that brings us, of course, to our question number eight, Amanda.

Does the U.S. even stand a chance?

AMANDA DAVIS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, if Jurgen Klinsmann, the coach, is to be believed they don't only stand a chance but they are now going to win this tournament. He changed his tune very, very quickly. You might remember it was only a couple of weeks ago, he was saying the USA have no chance of winning. I'm not being disrespectful but we won't make it to the final.

Well, it turns out that actually he's now told his players to move the flight from their friends and families back until July 14th, which is, of course, the day after the final. That is how confident Coach Klinsmann is now. It's undoubtedly going to be a really tough match against Belgium, a side with stars who play across Europe and the top competitions and the Premiere League, the Champions League, the Europa League. They have some big named stars, the likes of Eden Hazard and Marouane Fellaini.

And DeMarcus Beasley has described them as one of the most complete teams in this tournament. But they have some major injury concerns. The two of their four back line, their four defenders, are really struggling with injuries. They haven't impressed as much as people had expected them to impress, despite the fact that they have gone through unbeaten. And the U.S. have caused some real upsets up to this point. They have gone from being the underdogs to the ones to watch.

And, of course, there's a lot of confidence around Jozy Altidore coming back up front. There's no doubt that they'll have to keep the ball a little bit more against Belgium than they did against Germany last time out, but there's certainly an incredible air of confidence behind the team. They flew to Salvador a little bit earlier today. They were pictured eating lunch, watching the Netherlands/Mexico match, all looking very relaxed ahead of their first training session there.

KAYE: I'm sure. All right. Very quickly, what's your prediction?

DAVIS: That's tough one. Who am I to argue with Jurgen Klinsmann, the 1990 World Cup winner as a player? If he is confident, then I'm confident. And of course, the United States are asking for fans around the world to send their messages of support that they are putting up on the locker room walls and that there is a fantastic air around this camp. Klinsmann has really galvanized his team. So I think it will probably be a couple of goals each way, but I will go for the U.S. win.

KAYE: All right. Good answer. That's the right answer, Amanda. Thank you. Appreciate it.

A murder mystery that you will be hearing a lot more about in the week ahead. An entire family disappears from their home. Years later, their bodies are found buried in the desert. We are talking about this case coming next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Monday, the blade runner is back in court in South Africa. The murder trial for Oscar Pistorius was put on hold last month while he underwent a lengthy psychiatric evaluation. The paralympian is charged with killing his girlfriend, who he says he mistook for an intruder.

Well, it is a mystery that haunted the San Diego area for years. A family of four disappears from their home, leaving no signs of a struggle, no apparent plan to leave on their own. Nearly four years later, the bodies of the McStay family are found in the Mohave Desert, buried in shallow graves. So the question remains, who killed them?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the house?

KAYE (voice-over): February 2010. A young family of four building their American dream vanishes from their home in suburban San Diego. No signs of a struggle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't go anywhere without the stroller.

KAYE: Or any apparent plans to flee. Gone without a trace.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no way they left willingly.

KAYE: Then nearly four years later, 100 miles from their home --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911. What are you reporting?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found what looks like cadavers. She thinks skull.

KAYE: Mother, father and two young sons found dead. Buried in shallow graves in the Mojave Desert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That has never happened in this county.

KAYE: Brutally murdered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's so cold blooded that they killed children?

KAYE: How did they get there? Who killed them? Exclusive interviews, surprising clues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoever did this to the family had this well planned out.

KAYE: Who killed the McStay family?

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAYE: So let me bring in now criminal defense attorney Holly Hughes and retired law enforcement agent, Lou Palumbo.

Holly, to you first on this. I mean I know now from talking with the sheriff's department there in San Bernardino that they have a new detective on the case but they still don't seem to be much closer to solving this mystery. Why do you think that is? I mean, these remains were found back in November.

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right, but remember that when this family first went missing, Randi, it was 11 days before law enforcement was even notified and they filed a missing persons report. The family initially thought, well, you know, they went on vacation, we are not going to panic, we're not going to do anything. About 10 days in, they asked the law enforcement to go check and law enforcement went there, but there was no signs of a break-in or disturbance, so they didn't do anything.

It wasn't until his brother, Joseph McStay's brother, went to the house himself, climbed in a back window and then discovered things were not right in that house. They actually filed the missing person's report. So the law enforcement from the beginning was handicapped. They were behind the eight ball. You know what they always say. If we don't get a lead in the first 48, right?

KAYE: Right.

HUGHES: They didn't know about it, Randi, until much, much later so that has handicapped the investigation from the beginning.

KAYE: Yes. And Lou, let's talk about the family's last day before they disappeared because it seems so ordinary. I mean, you have Joseph McStay, he had a business meeting, a father in this case, then you have Summer, the wife, she was working on remodeling the home. They were planning a birthday party for one of their little boys. What would they be looking at? I mean, how important are those last hours before they disappeared?

LOU PALUMBO, FORMER LAW ENFORCEMENT: Well, they are critically important if they were, for example, attempting to flee. For example, if the father had some dealing with drug cartels or whatever, they wouldn't be living life so casually and so nonchalant. You know, that lends itself to supporting that they probably didn't know they were going to be the victim of this crime.

KAYE: And Holly, investigators are telling us that there weren't any signs at all of forced entry, that it didn't appear that a crime took place in the home so they didn't consider it a crime scene, no yellow tape, family members were allowed in and out. And they touched things, they took things. How much of a mistake was that?

HUGHES: Well, you know, it's very easy for us in 20/20 to look back and say they made a mistake but they based their decision on the evidence they had. And, you know, let's give them the benefit of the doubt here, there was no forced entry. And the family themselves, the family of Joseph and Summer McStay, didn't even raise the alarm until 10 or 11 days in.

KAYE: Yes.

HUGHES: So, clearly, you know, it's easy for us to say now we wish we had and they didn't open the home and they didn't trample on any prospective evidence, but in retrospect, would we have loved to have had a CSI team go in there, look for hairs, looking for fibers, look for foreign DNA? Absolutely. But what's done is done.

And now, Randi, I think what we are going to have to rely on is somebody is going to have to talk.

KAYE: Yes.

HUGHES: That's how this crime is going to get broken because let's face it the physical evidence is gone.

KAYE: And we know, Lou, that they were found in these shallow graves, two shallow graves in the Mojave Desert but we still haven't been able to confirm how they were killed. But you say that even four years later, we could find that out.

PALUMBO: Absolutely.

KAYE: They can determine it?

PALUMBO: Yes. What likely transpired was they found their skeletal remains and what takes place at that point is they conduct anthropological studies to confirm ethnicity and gender. And if there were, for example, stab wounds and they pierced through the skeleton, you'd see marks, you'd see deterioration or inconsistencies in the skeletal structure. The same thing applies if they were choked.

But I do want to just speak to a couple of things that were just mentioned. The first thing about lack of forced entry, that doesn't mean there wasn't a crime committed there, number one. The second thing is there's never a downside to creating or treating the home as if it were a crime scene. There's never a downside to that. And if they failed to do that, they were a bit remiss.

And I hate to be critical, but I would have treated it as a crime scene. I would have brought in forensic experts, maybe even our FBI, because they are the best investigators and the best forensic information gatherers there are to eliminate the home, whatever information was there.

And I just want to say one other thing, because a timeframe was mentioned of 24 to 48 hours. That's how much -- that's the window of time that you have to collect real good, credible forensics. But if something happened in the house, the house is contained. You have a little longer play on that.

KAYE: Right.

PALUMBO: So what I think --

KAYE: Then it goes back to the family coming in and out of there.

PALUMBO: Absolutely. But I think what you're looking at here is probably an abduction, curious to know where the -- where family's vehicle was found, things of that nature and then this is a tough investigation.

KAYE: Lou Palumbo and Holly Hughes, thank you both very much. It is a fascinating story.

And don't miss my special one-hour documentary on this case. It's called "BURIED SECRETS, WHO MURDERED THE MCSTAY FAMILY." And if you can, tune in, it's Tuesday night, 9 p.m. Eastern Time, right here on CNN. We hope you'll watch.

Coming up, tour what may just be the greenest city in the world. The technology they are developing there today could be in your backyard tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A city in the Middle East may be the model for green living in the future. Masdar City prides itself on sustainability and innovative construction.

Here is CNN's Erin Burnett with this week's "City of Tomorrow."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN BURNETT, HOST, ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT (voice-over): About 20 miles outside Abu Dhabi, Masdar City is striving to be the greenest city on earth.

TONY MALLOWS, CITY DIRECTOR: I think the city of the future is going to be based on people walking to where they live, to where they work and to where they play.

BURNETT: And if you aren't walking, city director, Tony Mallows, says you can take a magnetically controlled car wherever you go.

(On camera): This is the little car?

MALLOWS: Yes, this is a personal rapid transit. This is how you get around the city. Driverless, it's electrical, it's solar powered. It comes when you want it and it takes where you want to go and you leave it alone.

BURNETT: So it's driverless.

MALLOWS: Yes.

BURNETT (voice-over): Navigating the city of 2.4 square miles is relatively easy.

(On camera): This is a dream of what the future could be. But is it really going to happen? I mean, is this going to be anything more than a demo. MALLOWS: It's a model for open development. But it's really

sustainable because it's not only environmentally sustainable, socially and economically.

BURNETT (voice-over): Fewer than 500 people live here. That falls far short of the original goal of 40,000 by next year, a goal set at the peak of the economic boom. Right now, about 1200 people work here every day, in buildings that are specially designed to help reduce water and energy consumption by as much as 40 percent, according to city officials.

(On camera): You've learned over time with some of the successes and failures you've had, right, that zero emissions is a goal. But I mean, that's not reasonable at this point, right? It's just extremely low emissions. But there's some.

MALLOWS: It's low emissions.

BURNETT: Yes.

MALLOWS: But zero emissions has been proved to be very, very difficult.

BURNETT (voice-over): With more than 87,000 solar panels, the city produces its own electricity, offsetting 15,000 tons of carbon emissions a year. City engineers say that's the equivalent of taking 3300 cars off the road in Abu Dhabi. And walking around the city, innovation can be seen everywhere.

(On camera): So you're looking at a wind tower, which is a traditional Arabic design to cool, right?

MALLOWS: Yes, absolutely. So you take a traditional Arabic element on cooling, totally passive energy, totally sustainable, and then you use modern technology to make it even more efficient.

BURNETT (voice-over): The Masdar Institute is also partnered with MIT to develop new renewable energy sources, like making jet fuel from the seed of a weed that grows here in the desert.

(On camera): This is obviously happening here.

MALLOWS: Yes.

BURNETT: In the middle of the desert. Your ambition on what you're trying to prove is much bigger?

MALLOWS: Absolutely. I mean, globalization is the key issue for the future. Not only because cities are going to attack global warming. We have to understand how to build cities that are low carbon. And that's why this city is such an important contribution to globalization and urbanization.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: At least 13 deaths are blamed on a defective ignition assembly in General Motors vehicles. Tomorrow, families may learn how much compensation they will receive. The size of the GM compensation fund will be disclosed at a news conference in Washington but it took General Motors more than a decade address the problem and recall 2.5 million vehicles.

Fund administrator, Kenneth Feinberg, will reveal the eligibility requirements, the deadline for applying and how much money victims and their families are entitled to.

The countdown to manned U.S. space missions is on. NASA is preparing to test its newest spacecraft and usher in a new era in exploration.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: And now the way, way forward, giving you a major heads up about something coming up not this week, but soon enough, of course, to start thinking about it. Later this year, NASA will make its mark and unveil its next generation of manned spaceflight. Now if all goes well, an unmanned test flight in December could open the way for a manned mission in 2017.

CNN aviation analyst, Miles O'Brien joining us via Skype.

Miles, the space shuttle fleet was retired in 2011 so how important is the Orion project, do you think?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, especially in light of the tensions that the U.S. has encountered with Russia and Russia being the only way that U.S. astronauts can get to the International Space Station, this is very important. It's also a point of national pride that the U.S. since the space shuttle was retired and put in moth balls and put in hangars, has not had its own independent way of sending human beings to space.

There's been a thriving development in the commercial sector. We've SpaceX, the company run by Elon Musk, out of California, with some success delivering cargo to the International Space Station. Ultimately he would like to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station, but in the long run, NASA has pledged to go much farther, all the way to Mars.

And what we're talking about now with Orion and the space system which is to come later is just that very fact.

KAYE: And so let's talk about this manned mission which is planned for 2017. I mean, this is even more advanced than the space shuttles, right? So what will it involve?

O'BRIEN: Well, for one thing, it sort of take us a lot farther than we've been really since 1972 in space. As a matter of fact, this unmanned mission at the end of the year will travel to an orbital altitude of more than 3,000 miles, just by comparison, the International Space Station orbits at about 250 miles, and that's where the shuttle spent most of its time.

So this is delving into space in a much deeper way and this mission in 2017 that is contemplated would actually send astronauts in the vicinity, although it's still kind of sketchy, in the vicinity of an asteroid, which may, in fact, be captured and brought into closer proximity to earth for astronauts to do a long distance mission into deep space, practice space walking techniques and also in the course of all of this, learn a little something about redirecting asteroids, which is an important thing. Just ask a dinosaur.

KAYE: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

All right. Listen, before we let you go, though, we also wanted to ask you of course about the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 because we talk frequently to you about that. So what do you make of the latest theories about where the plane might be located in and the new search area now?

O'BRIEN: Well, I think this report, this 55-page report is about three months too late, but I guess better late than never. It is a great detailed treasure trove of information which explains the absolute scenarios and what searchers were thinking about when they define the zone where they're looking right now.

All of it as you read it makes a lot of sense. There are some suppositions and people have wrongly characterized the report as drawing conclusions about what happened on the flight. What the investigators had done is taken the best possible scenario base on what they've seen from the satellite information and so forth. So I think they're searching the right place.

KAYE: All right. Well, that's good news, if you think so.

So, Miles, nice to see you. Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

O'BRIEN: Same to you, Randi.

KAYE: We leave you now with some more stories that you'll likely be hearing a lot more about in the week ahead.

After a month in a drug rehab facility, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford returning to work tomorrow. Ford is not only resuming his mayoral duties, he's also planning to resume his re-election campaign. Toronto residents will hear from the mayor, who's scheduled a news conference on his return.

Beginning Tuesday, a new gun law takes effect in Georgia. Critics call it the guns everywhere bill. It will allow firearms in some bars, churches, school zones and certain areas of airports and government buildings. Supporters of the law call it meaningful pro- gun legislation.

And this Friday, it is happy birthday, America. The nation will celebrate turning 238 years old and there will be no shortage of festivities from coast to coast. Washington, D.C. is planning a huge bash with a concert featuring all kinds of musical acts, including Patti Labelle and Frankie Valley. And of course, yes, you guessed it, lots of fireworks.

I'm Randi Kaye. Be sure to tune into CNN's Film "DOCUMENTED," that's tonight at 9:00 Eastern Time. But first, a CNN Special Report, "DOWNWARD SPIRAL: INSIDE THE CASE OF AARON HERNANDEZ." That begins right now.

Thanks for joining me. Enjoy your evening.