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Beaten U.S. Teen Under House Arrest; Pregnant Woman Vanishes Without A Trace; Immigration Debates Rage on Southern Border; No Relief For Crumbling Highways and Bridges; Asiana Airlines Crash One Year Ago; NCAA Reopens UNC Investigation

Aired July 06, 2014 - 17:00   ET

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


ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Have a great rest of the weekend.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you, too.

CABRERA: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I hope you're enjoying your weekend. I'm Ana Cabrera here in New York. New developments this hour involving an American teenager whose family says he was beaten by Israeli security forces. Now we've learned he is under house arrest. An investigation into his case continues.

The 15-year-old Tariq Khdeir tells CNN he recalls little of this incident. He says he remembers being attacked by police and then woke up in the hospital. Tariq's aunt is joining us live in Tampa. I'll get her reaction to the beating, the detention and the uproar it has caused.

But first, our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman is tracking the investigation and the rising tensions after Tariq's Palestinian cousin was killed in possible retaliation for the murders of three Israeli teenagers.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ana, Jerusalem today was relatively quiet though the atmosphere remains very tense. One bit of good news, a 15-year-old Palestinian American boy was released from Israeli police custody, although that's not the end of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Sporting two black eyes and a swollen lip, 15- year-old Tariq Abu Khdeir leaves Jerusalem's magistrate court, free on bail.

(on camera): How do you feel now you're out?

UNIDENTIFIED TEEN: I feel way better.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Images caught on cell phone Thursday evening shows Israeli police punching and kicking the Tampa, Florida native on the ground, his hands bound behind his back. His parents say he was taking part, but not throwing rocks in protests sparked by the discovery of the burned body of his cousin, believed to have been killed by Israeli extremists in revenge for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank last month.

Israeli police continue to investigate Tariq's involvement in the protests. He remains under house arrest for nine days, not in the family home, but rather in a relative's home in the adjacent neighborhood.

(on camera): What do you think of the decision of the court?

SUHA ABU KHDEIR, MOTHER OF BEATEN TEEN: I'm not really happy because he's -- he's being -- he hasn't been charged with anything and he hasn't been accused of anything, not charged with anything, and they have him on house arrest, out of his own home, and plus they're making us pay a fine. It was 10,000 and went down to 3,000.

WEDEMAN: You'll press charges against police who beat him?

KHDEIR: Yes, we will, definitely.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): The Israeli Justice Ministry has launched a probe into the incident. His father has scant faith in the process.

(on camera): Are you confident that the investigation will be fair?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the history, no.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: As that investigation moves forward, the police have arrested several Israeli Jews for questioning in connection with the abduction and murder of 16-year-old Mohammad Abu Khdeir, saying it may have been a politically motivated revenge killing and more fuel for the fire -- Ana.

CABRERA: Our thanks to Ben Wedeman for that report. Let's bring in the Florida teen's aunt. Sana Abukhdeir, thanks so much for joining us during this difficult time.

SANA ABUKHDEIR, AUNT OF TARIQ KHDEIR: Thank you for having me.

CABRERA: So you say Tariq was visiting his grandmother on who is on her deathbed when this all happened?

ABUKHDEIR: Yes. He was visiting family overseas, just like any other people would have visited their family back home. We have most of my family, all of my aunts, grandparents, everybody's back home. He's visiting and the events that have been unfolding happened to be at time he's visiting. It's been over a decade since he's been back there.

CABRERA: When you saw the video of the alleged beating for the first time, how did you react? What went through your mind?

ABUKHDEIR: Well, I was very frustrated. I mean, unfortunately, you know, I had to witness my brother, my nephew, he's like a little brother to me, we're not that far apart in age, for him to be getting beat that way is very heart breaking. You get angry and frustrated. It's a very heart breaking situation that you wish you could have pulled him out of the situation as soon as you could and unfortunately, I wasn't there or able to do anything about it until we got media.

CABRERA: Thank goodness he is OK. Have you had a chance to talk with Tariq' mother or father, and how are they holding up?

ABUKHDEIR: Yes, I have had a chance to speak to them. They're holding up better as of now since we're a little more relieved that he's been released. But we are still grieving and mourning from the death of our cousin Mohammed, just prior to this brutal beating of my nephew some they're holding up, but we're really sad and grieving over everything. To see him going through this adds more stress on our shoulders and it's really hard for us at this point.

CABRERA: The U.S. State Department has been in contact with the Israeli government and they released a statement, saying we will continue to monitor the situation closely. We are profoundly troubled by the reports he was beaten while in police custody, and strongly condemn any excessive use of force. Has the U.S. State Department contacted your family?

ABUKHDEIR: Yes. The U.S. State Department contacted our lawyers and through them they, you know, obviously we got as much media coverage as we could to get him released. Through that, the American Embassy and everyone who was involved in his release, it was very difficult. We are still in contact in trying to push further that he was not charged with anything. The fact that he's being under house arrest for no reason really hurts and we have to pay a fine.

CABRERA: Tell us a little bit more about Tariq. He's a high school sophomore there in Tampa and this trip was a reward for getting good grades I've heard?

ABUKHDEIR: Yes. Tariq is a very outgoing sports kid. He loves to play soccer. He is on the soccer team for his high school. Tariq doesn't understand anything that's going on as far as war and he hasn't been in any type of war zone before. All of this is really scary for him. When he was ambushed and attacked the initial thoughts we're going to burn me alive as well like they did to my cousin earlier that week. He's confused, lost, scared, you know?

But unfortunately, you know, he got brutally beaten and imprisoned for -- since Thursday. So, yes, he was very scared. He's a very outgoing and fun kid. He wouldn't -- he didn't understand what was going on at first.

CABRERA: We see pictures of his face and clearly you can tell how painful some of these injuries are. How is he doing? Is he healing? What more you can tell us about the injuries he sustained?

ABUKHDEIR: Well, as of now, we're going to seek further medical attention but unfortunately, we're going to have to wait until he arrives on American soil in order for us to send him to get a full neurosurgeon and anything to do with his face that needs to be done. Mostly a lot of mental, long-term injuries as far as, you know, what he's been through. He's definitely going to have posttraumatic in that.

So he's -- it's a mental thing. You're a war zone, you're scared, don't know what's going on, he's being beaten. As of this point we don't know exactly what's going on, but with his injuries, as soon as he gets here, we'll have adequate medical attention.

CABRERA: We certainly hope he heals well we wish all of you the best. Sana Abukhdeir, thank you so much for joining me.

ABUKHDEIR: Thank you.

CABRERA: We told you about the increased security measures the TSA is taking. We know they're adding another step to make sure flights coming into the United States are safe. The agency says it may soon ask passengers who are going through security overseas to turn on electronic devices like cell phones or laptops. The TSA wants to do this to be sure that they are not explosive devices disguised as electronics.

Last week, the TSA said it would work with other governments to increase security and there's no specific threat, but there are concerns that al Qaeda may be trying to develop bombs that could pass through security without detection.

Up next, the latest in the case of the Georgia man accused of leaving his son to die in a hot car. The information police are planning to release tomorrow.

And missing, the pregnant teenage wife of a U.S. Marine has vanished.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Questions continue in the case of a Georgia toddler who died after left in a boiling, hot car for seven hours. The Cobb County Magistrate's Office says as many as seven search warrants for Justin Ross Harris, the toddler's father, will be publicly released tomorrow, but many are wondering if his wife will be charged next. Investigators have described her behavior the day of her son's Cooper's death as odd. We are going to talk more about this story coming up in the next hour.

But another story we are following right now a desperate search is underway to find the pregnant wife of a U.S. Marine who's been missing now for eight days in the California desert. The search for 19-year- old Erin Corwin centers around her home in 29 Palms California as well as Joshua Tree National Park where police believe she was heading when she disappeared.

CNN's Nick Valencia is joining me now from Atlanta. Nick, what are police focusing on at this point?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you mentioned, Ana, they are focusing in the area in and around her home and that search intensified over the weekend, her family also asking questions and pleading for information. They've created a Facebook page, hoping that there are any leads to lead to the where bouts of 19-year-old Erin Corwin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Couldn't have asked for a much better teenager. She's a little been the timid side. Maybe a little bit on the naive side. But once she got to know you, you had a friend.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Loving words from a mother, her only wish now is for her 19-year-old daughter to come home.

LORE HEAVILIN, ERIN CORWIN'S MOM: The last conversation we had was a week ago Friday and we probably talked for at least an hour, just about my trip coming out here, we were going to go to Sea World and the San Diego Zoo, and she was like, if you knew how much of an animal lover she is, you would know how excited she was about that trip.

VALENCIA: But the next morning, Erin Corwin vanished without a trace. She had been scoping out locations in the Joshua Tree National Park to take photographs when she went missing. Her husband who is in the U.S. Marine Corps reported her disappearance the following day. More than a week from the air and by foot, search teams continue to look for Corwin. Police say her disappearance is suspicious with homicide investigators taking the lead in this case.

CAPT. DALE MONDARY, MORONGGO BASIN SHERIFF'S STATION: We know that she is out there, it's just a matter of us trying to figure out exactly where. We are also looking at it as a potential criminal investigation. So we don't want to destroy any evidence that we may be able to recover.

VALENCIA: Earlier this week, police did find Erin's car in 29 Palms near the military base where her husband is stationed. He's not been charged, and no other clues have surfaced. As for Corwin's mother, she doesn't believe her son-in-law could be linked to any potential foul play.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You start working your way out.

HEAVILIN: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you or have you ever been suspicious he may be tied to her disappearance?

HEAVILIN: Absolutely not.

VALENCIA: She learned she's going to be a new grandmother. Erin is pregnant.

HEAVILIN: It doesn't seem real, I'm cooking in her kitchen and she's not there right now. Her ring tone on my phone is a horse neighing and galloping and I would give anything to hear that ring tone, anything right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Investigators are being very tight lipped about their investigation. Her mother tells me, Erin Corwin's tell me they're not even telling her everything -- Ana.

CABRERA: Let's talk more about Erin Corwin's mother. You spoke to her today. It seems odd to me, if it were my husband and I were missing I'd want him to report me immediately in this, but he waited a whole day. Does she have anything to say about that aspect?

VALENCIA: I asked her about that saying if that was my loved one I would have called right away. She said he believed, according to what he told her, he believed that she was going to spend the night at a ranch, at a horse ranch. She loved horses. She didn't give me much clarity why she believed him. Investigators have not ruled anything out. They say this investigation could turn criminal but Marine, lance corporal, has not been charged just yet -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Nick Valencia, thanks for the report.

Coming up, the touching story of a stolen 911 flag that made its way back home and words that the thief left behind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: An epic Wimbledon duel today lasting nearly four hours. Novak Djokovic sank to his knees after defeating Roger Federer in five memorable sets. The 32-year-old Federer showed a lot of heart rallying to take the fourth set. Djokovic would not be denied. Today's victory will lift Djokovic back to the number one ranking in the world and he dedicated his Wimbledon win to his unborn child who is due in three months. Look at that face.

A yellow jersey now for the man in blue. This year's Tour de France is under way, today only the second stage and the Team's Nibaldi broke out late to win this stage. There's a lot of race to go. The second of 21 stages in all. The race ends July 27th in Paris.

In Daytona Beach, Florida, NASCAR's big 400-mile race lost about half of the field in two huge wrecks including this one, on the lap 98, when Greg Biffle tapped Kasey Kahne, taking out almost 26 cars. This pile-up followed one earlier in the race that involved 16 cars.

Eric Almerolla driving for Richard Patty Motor Sports declared the winner. The race was shortened due to rain. The first time the famed 43 has been in victory circle since the great petty himself won in 200th career race there 30 years ago to the day.

On the west coast this weekend, protests over immigration show little sign of going away or getting smaller at this point. It's a stand- off, people furious at government's handling of illegal immigrants in California are on one side, and people who welcome and support immigration are on the other side. Today the Obama administration took some criticism from an unexpected direction, the left.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE HENRY CUELLAR (D), TEXAS: Again, it would be nice for him to come down to the border but, again, with all due respect, he's still one step behind. They knew this was happening a year ago, last year, and again just they're not reacting fast enough at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Residents in the small California town of Murrieta rose up in protest last week, refusing to accept busloads of illegal immigrants bound for a processing center. The federal government trying to relieve the workload at the border processing centers, particularly in Texas. Critics say illegal immigrants are not deported in great enough numbers.

A Long Island family celebrated an especially joyful holiday this July 4th. An American flag, stolen from the family's home, was returned on Friday in time to raise it for Independence Day. This was no ordinary flag. It once flew over ground zero after 9/11 and presented to the family of a firefighter killed in the terror attacks.

Well after this flag was stolen, the family was so upset it turned to social media to let people know what happened, maybe they'd get a hand or some help that way. This effort paid off. The flag was returned with just a simple note that said, quote, "I am so sorry. I had no idea." Back where it belongs.

Coming up, it's a bumpy road to get federal highway funds. Our crumbling infrastructure could be getting worse.

Plus, it's one of the most famous structures in children's literature and this is real. But is the London Bridge really falling down?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Millions of Americans are on the road this holiday weekending driving over highways and bridges in desperate need of repair. Don't expect to see crews fixing then. As CNN's Rene Marsh explains, federal highway funds will soon dry up unless Congress acts quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This summer millions of Americans hitting the road will cross bridges and roadways in dire need of improvement and repairs. Getting to your destination, likely won't be easy. Expect traffic jams because decades-old bridges and roads weren't built to handle today's traffic.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If this Congress does not act by the end of the summer, the highway trust fund will run out.

MARSH: Dubbed the transportation fiscal cliff, a federal fund used to repair America's crumbling infrastructures weeks away from going bankrupt. A potential crisis for commuters, considering the American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. infrastructure, a D plus, and one in nine of the nation's bridges are structurally deficient.

Look no further than Delaware, for what the impact could look like. An emergency shutdown of the critical I-495 Bridge, the problem, cracks and leaning support columns. Old underground pipes breaking in cities across the country, causing major flooding. The president and Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox say failure to fund repairs and improvements will cost Americans in more ways than one.

(on camera): How many jobs potentially at stake here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're estimating 700,000 jobs at risk.

MARSH (voice-over): In 2011, commuters wasted $2.9 billion gallons of gas sitting in traffic costing the average consumer more than $800 per year, according to one study. The Highway Trust Fund gets revenue from 18.4 cent per gallon gas tax. The tax has not increased to keep up with inflation since 1993. Now, the clock is ticking, as Congress debates how to prevent the fund from going broke next month.

ANTHONY FOXX, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We need to be able to get those investments moved into filling gaps, reducing congestion, lowering travel times. Improving the ability of the American public to move around and goods to move around, but that can only happen if Congress acts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: On Tuesday, states all across the country received letters saying, prepare for the worst, payments are about to slow down. What lawmakers cannot agree on how to pay for our infrastructure? The idea range from raising the gas tax to scaling back Saturday mail delivery to offset the cost. Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

CABRERA: Thanks, Rene. A British tabloid recently reported that one U.S. bridge in bad shape that is historic London Bridge, in Lake Havasu City, Arizona the structure was moved from London to Arizona more than 40 years ago. Officials insist the tabloid is wrong and the landmark's fine. They point out the bridge is due to get $600,000 worth of upgrades this summer.

Mark Nexsen is the mayor of Lake Havasu City. Mayor, the city has asked the tabloid to retract the article. Have they responded to your request?

MAYOR MARK NEXSEN, LAKE HAVESU CITY, ARIZONA: They have removed the article from the web site, but at this point they have not agreed to print a retraction.

CABRERA: We mentioned the $600,000 in upgrades that are planned for the bridge. OK, be honest, are they upgrades or repairs?

NEXSEN: Well, I think they're both. Over the last 10 years we've spent about $1.5 million to keep the bridge in tip-top shape and we're continuing to do that going forward about another $600,000. But we've made a lot of improvements, such as lighting and also some of the pillars and that sort of thing. So all in all, I don't understand how they believe the London Bridge is falling down because clearly it is not falling down.

CABRERA: So it's safe, you're saying? NEXSEN: Absolutely safe. We have about 12,000 vehicles that cross

that bridge every day, and so far we haven't lost a single vehicle. So yes, I think it's pretty safe.

CABRERA: You know, just how important is the London Bridge to your city? Both as a tourist attraction and then as you mentioned, it carries a lot of traffic.

NEXSEN: It does. And for anybody interested in coming in Lake Havasu I would tell them to go to golakehavasu.com. And that bridge is very, very important. It has -- we have about 3/4 of a million visitors annually that comes and they take pictures of the bridge, they walk across the bridge, they listen to the story, they go to our visitor's center. So it's very, very important to our tourism. And so obviously, that's one of the reasons we were objecting to this story because it hurts our local economy for somebody to print a story that just is not true.

CABRERA: And has tourism taken a hit because of this article?

NEXSEN: We hope not. We found out about the article from a local resident who used to live in the UK and she dropped off the article to my office and then I called her, and she was saying that her friends in the UK read the article and were concerned and she was concerned that maybe people wouldn't visit Lake Havasu City any longer. So we immediately took action and -- because we do not want to lose any of our visitors. We do have a lot of European visitors and visitors from all over both the Phoenix area and Southern California.

CABRERA: All right. Well, Mayor Mark Nexsen, thanks for clearing the air for us . We appreciate you joining us this afternoon.

NEXSEN: Thank you.

CABRERA: It has been a whole year since that Asiana Airlines Flight 214 burst into flames in San Francisco.

Up next, a CNN exclusive, with a man who survived the horrific crash and then his daughter who watched it happen. They'll join us live to talk about life since that terrible day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: One year ago today, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at the San Francisco airport. That Boeing 777 clipped a seawall just short of the runway, spun violently, broke into pieces and burst into flames. Three people were killed and 187 others injured.

Now just last month investigators officially announced pilot error caused this crash. The plane was flying too low and too slow to avoid catastrophe.

In a few moments we have an exclusive interview with a survivor of that flight. First, let's take a look back at the horrifying crash.

Here's CNN's Dan Simon. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god. It's an accident.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you're filming it.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): July 6th, 2013, 11:28 a.m. Asiana Flight 214 crashes on final approach in San Francisco. Within moments the calls start pouring into 911.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911 emergency, what are you reporting?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, I'm reporting an airplane crash at SFO.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An airplane crash at SFO?

SIMON: Of the 307 people on board, nearly 200 are taken to local hospitals. The injuries ranging from bruises and broken bones to serious spinal injuries.

ESTHER JANG, SURVIVOR, ASIANA AIRLINES 214 CRASH: It was like we were all bouncing all over the place. I just remembered there being dust everywhere and I was freaking out and then it just stopped.

SIMON: From the very beginning, it seemed clear that the Boeing 777 was flying too low and too slow as it came in for landing.

BEN LEVY, SURVIVOR, ASIANA AIRLINES 214 CRASH: There was no wind, no fog. I'm a regular of the San Francisco airport. And I've seen much tougher conditions to land. So, yes, it is -- it was so shocking that we could miss the runway by so much.

SIMON: The plane clipped a seawall just short of the runway and then spun violently, breaking into pieces. There was chaos on the ground, with passengers running from the plane as emergency crews arrived.

These pictures show you the devastating aftermath inside the plane with rows of seats dislodged from the cabin floor. Three passengers died, one of whom was run over by fire trucks involved in the rescue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a body right there. Right in front of you.

SIMON: Now a year later, the National Transportation Safety Board has officially blamed the crash on the pilots. Investigators determined they inadvertently deactivated the plane's system for controlling air speed.

CHRISTOPHER HART, ACTING CHAIRMAN, NTSB: In this instance the flight crew overrelied on automated systems that they did not fully understand. As a result they flew the aircraft too low and too slow and collided with the seawall at the end of the runway.

SIMON: And on top of it, it was determined the pilots failed to monitor the speed, a basic skill required of all captains. But some of the blame was also directed toward the complexity of the 777's automatic controls, something Boeing rejected, citing the plane's safety record. Before last year, in fact, no 777 had been involved in a fatal crash, though the 777 is the same plane operated by Malaysian Airlines that went missing in March.

(On camera): What happened with the crash here at SFO and the Malaysian airliner could not be any more different. In San Francisco the main cause is now clear. With Flight 370, still no one knows.

Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: And now in a CNN exclusive, I want to bring in a survivor of that flight. Eugene Ron and his daughter Eunice.

Thank you both so much for joining us.

EUGENE RAH, SURVIVOR, ASIANA AIRLINES FLIGHT 214: Thank you for having us.

EUNICE RAH, FATHER SURVIVED ASIANA 214 CRASH: Hi.

CABRERA: Eunice witnessed the crash, took these pictures we're going to show you, all while her father was on board that burning jet.

Eugene, take us back to this day. You are on the plane, moments before you're supposed to land what was the first sign when you just knew something was very, very wrong?

EUGENE RAH: Well, first the plane was too quiet. I've been in and out of San Francisco hundreds of time, as I was a frequent flyer, and because there was, you know, too much of silence I looked back the window and suddenly I saw the water level right about the same as where I was, which was very abnormal, and I kind of knew by instinct that we are going to hit the ground rather than landing.

CABRERA: Yes, you knew that that's not good.

Eunice, did you know your father was on the plane when you were taking those pictures? What was going through your mind?

EUNICE RAH: I was actually in the middle of working and I saw a TV just by chance and I saw that an Asiana Airline flight went down and I knew that my father was coming in Asiana, I knew it was going to be that afternoon and my heart was just pounding, but my instincts said, you know, Eunice, just stay calm, be peaceful until everything is figured out, just drown out the outside noise, you know.

I thought to myself, my dad would want me to stay calm and be very reserved, and that's what I did. And once I went to the balcony and saw the -- you know, the smoke coming out of the plane, I could see the entire plane with the roof of the plane collapsed, I immediately just began to panic, naturally. And I just started praying in the back of my head and just waited for his call or a call from an official.

CABRERA: And did you get a call from him pretty quickly then?

EUNICE RAH: He actually texted me. I said, are you on the plane? I wasn't even thinking of saying which plane? I just knew he would understand me. And hours later he finally texted back and said, I'm fine. So that's when I said, oh, OK, he's OK, and then, you know, he's OK enough to tell me that, you know, there's no injuries that are life threatening. So I just waited for him from there.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Eugene --

EUGENE RAH: Yes, the reason I took so many photo was because I knew my family would worry about me. So I purposely took the photo from outside the plane and sent to my daughter showing that I'm outside of burning plane. So she could kind of, you know, have a little relief.

CABRERA: Right. Thank goodness. And she mentioned, you know, you were OK. But I know you haven't gone away from this unscathed.

What types of injuries did you receive? What have you had to recover, overcome since this flight?

EUGENE RAH: Well, as I was looking out the window, that's when the crash happened. So I hit the side table with my chin here, broke my jaw so I'm still working on my treatment and the difficulty that I have was many doctors -- I mean any medical doctor, they understand about you know working with the -- you know, like accident victims and case lean but many dentists don't have any experience working with the lean, you know, such accident case.

So I was having hard time finding, you know, like dentist who has knowledge about the lean and working on, you know, I mean on such a case. So that kind of delays my treatment for many, many months and I'm suffering greatly from my jaw issue.

CABRERA: Right.

EUGENE RAH: And at the same time I have my back problem, in fact I'm getting spinal injection in a couple of days, this coming Wednesday.

CABRERA: Wow.

EUGENE RAH: As I have injuries on my back and my head and so those are the three parts.

CABRERA: Wow.

EUGENE RAH: The most difficult part that I experienced was as -- I mean, you know, of course I'm grateful that I'm still alive. The problem is the consequences of change some of my life because, you know, I mean I couldn't really do much of normal activities.

CABRERA: Right.

EUGENE RAH: And work as before. I had been very active businessman and I have been like a million miler with Asiana over 15, 20 years.

CABRERA: Wow.

EUGENE RAH: It says how much I travel, which I haven't been travel like as I used to be.

CABRERA: I'm so sorry to hear that. Again, we are so grateful that you survived.

What are the next steps now with Asiana Airlines?

EUGENE RAH: Well, I watched the hearing of NTSB back in June 24th announcing their investigation. In my mind, I don't understand all of the details of, you know, what is related to the cause of the crash. What I understand is, as a passenger of any normal travelers, we don't really, you know, I mean, look into what kind of aircraft that we are going to fly, manufactured by which company or who's going to be the pilot and their resumes or any record, or anything like that.

We just believe the reputation of the airlines and I don't know the details of, you know, I mean, you know, what really and who really has so much of contribution to the crash, but what I know is airplane supposed to be flying and land safe.

CABRERA: Right. You trust it.

EUGENE RAH: And -- yes. At the same time accident happen, and I happen to be in the plane that crashed into the ground, and I understand. But the problem that I see is how, you know, the airline or anyone who is responsible to the crash, you know, work with victims.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: And you're still having trouble with that, it sounds like.

EUGENE RAH: Yes.

CABRERA: Well, good luck to you.

EUGENE RAH: Like I said, I --

CABRERA: Sorry, Eugene and Eunice.

EUGENE RAH: Yes.

CABRERA: We have to go. We are out of time for this segment. And I know there's a little bit of a delay between the two of us. But we so appreciate you coming on and talking with us in the segment and sharing your thoughts and your story with us. Good luck to you.

EUGENE RAH: Thank you.

EUNICE RAH: Thank you very much, Ana.

CABRERA: Up next, allegations of academic scandal at one of this country's most well-known universities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: The NCAA has reopened an investigation into the alleged academic misconduct involving athlete at the University of North Carolina.

CNN's Sara Ganim has been working the story from the start and she's joining me now with an update.

Sara, it sounds like this may not be over for UNC or the NCAA.

SARA GAMIN, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is interesting because one expert calls this the, quote, "mother of all academic fraud cases," but the NCAA barely did anything about it until now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM (voice-over): Hundreds of UNC athletes were enrolled in bogus classes, getting credits and good grades for doing little work.

MARY WILLINGHAM, UNC WHISTLEBLOWER: The reason why they had to take paper classes was because they couldn't do the work. They needed to stay eligible.

GANIM: Whistleblower Mary Willingham helped expose those paper classes after years of being part of the system.

WILLINGHAM: A couple of the most obvious, difficult and challenging for me was a student who really couldn't work anywhere close to a middle school level.

GANIM: The NCAA never interviewed Willingham as part of its original investigation into academic fraud and relied on UNC's explanation of the scandal which pinned all the blame on a single professor named Julius Nyang'oro seen here in this YouTube video.

WILLINGHAM: That's not just Julius Nyang'oro, it's what we, the university, used to keep athletes eligible.

GANIM: The NCAA did punish one athlete for cheating. Former football player Mike McAdoo. McAdoo says his advisers pushed him and his fellow athletes into the fake classes.

MIKE MCADOO, FORMER UNC FOOTBALL PLAYER: Then they said they didn't know. And you know, they didn't know he was taking these classes but they try to make it seemed like I was the only one taking these classes. I didn't make these classes up.

PROF. GERALD GURNEY, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA: It is the mother of all academic fraud classes in athletics.

GANIM: That's University of Oklahoma professor Gerald Gurney. He worked in athletics for 20 years and now researches academic fraud. GURNEY: There's no doubt in my mind that the cooperation of the

friendly faculty, the cover-up and the excuses for this kind of behavior is egregious.

GANIM: After a flurry of reports, including a CNN investigation on the literacy ratings of college athletes nationwide and mounting pressure from Congress and the public, UNC responded by ordering a new investigation and offering to share the findings with the NCAA. They hired a former federal prosecutor who for the very first time talked to key players involved in the scandal and is looking at transcripts going back to the '80s.

GURNEY: It's quite likely that if it is shown that this is a long- term systematic scheme on the part of the university that UNC will need to vacate wins.

GANIM: That could mean giving up two national basketball championship titles.

As for Willingham, the university demoted her. She filed a lawsuit on Monday saying UNC attacked her character and retaliated against her for blowing the whistle to CNN.

WILLINGHAM: You will see the story, it will be framed for you perfectly in the transcripts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM: Now the scandal is no longer a criminal matter. The sole charge that was brought in this case has been a fraud charge against that professor, Julius Nyang'oro. Well, this week on Thursday the prosecutor, he dropped it. He told me it was more important to have Nyang'oro's cooperation for the community to understand what happened at UNC than it was for that one professor to be punished criminally -- Ana.

CABRERA: Sounds like there is a lot more investigating to be done.

And Sara, we should mention that the University of North Carolina said it welcomes the NCAA's investigation. What about the NCAA? What does this mean for it? Could there be more lawsuits or make it more vulnerable to lawsuits?

GANIM: What this could really do is hurt them in the lawsuits that already exist, the lawsuits that have to do with the potential for paying athletes because their defense in those lawsuits is that these students -- they are students, not athletes, they are students first. But critics will say, look, you know, UNC is a perfect example that not in every case do they get that education and that could really hurt their defense in this lawsuit.

CABRERA: They are amateurs. They're being paid by having an education.

GANIM: They are being paid with their scholarship. They're being paid in the form of a world class American education, but the -- you know, that's what the NCAA says, the critics say no. In a lot of cases they are not getting that education. So then what are they getting?

CABRERA: And again, this could always be just a unique circumstance. I was an NCAA athlete. I got a great education.

GANIM: A lot of them do.

CABRERA: Yes.

GANIM: Some of them don't.

CABRERA: All right. Sara Ganim, thank you so much.

There is another angle to this story. Recent claims by a former Tar Heel basketball player and CNN.com's sports contributor Terence Moore is going to join us with this part of the story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Before the break we told you that the NCAA has now reopened an investigation into the alleged academic misconduct involving athletes at the University of North Carolina.

Let's get some more perspective on this story and CNN.com sports contributor Terence Moore is joining us from Atlanta. He's also a contributor to mlb.com.

Terence, good to see you.

Good to see you.

TERENCE MOORE, CNN.COM SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

CABRERA: Another new angle we've learned about this story is from recent claims from former Tar Heel Rashaad McCants. Now he told ESPN that he took these so-called no-show classes and that Coach Roy Williams actually knew all about it. Williams denies that claim, so do McCants' teammates, by the way, on the 2005 National Championship team.

So, Terence, what do we know about this man, Rashaad McCants?

MOORE: Well, what we know is that McCants is not making this up. And let's start with this. Just last month the "Raleigh News and Observer" did some investigation and what that newspaper determined was that on a 2005 national championship team for North Carolina, that more than a few prominent player also took bogus courses. Now you add that to what McCants has said that he had tutors writing papers for him and other players.

You had McCants also talking about mysteriously getting As out of nowhere. And as you just said before, he also said that Roy Williams, the basketball coach at North Carolina, knew all about this.

Now there's two problems here for Roy Williams. All the evidence is that something happened here that was not good, probably more than a little evidence. So that means that, A, either Roy Williams is lying, because one thing we historically know that all prominent college football and basketball coaches, they're like dictators from the old Soviet Union. They know everything that goes on in their program. Or that means that with all the stuff going on, that Roy Williams really didn't know what's going on, which means that he should be fired on the spot for negligence.

CABRERA: OK. So his teammates, McCants' teammates, have disputed his claims. TV analyst Jay Bilas says he believes Roy Williams, not McCants' story. We know Jay Bilas went to Duke so, maybe, you know --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Right. But as you say why would McCants make this up? I guess on the flipside why would his other teammates continue to defend their coach if what McCants is saying is true?

MOORE: Well, I'm going to flip that question on you and say, why would they come out and try to destroy the sacred name of North Carolina? Now remember now, this is one of the storied basketball programs like Kentucky, like Notre Dame football, like UCLA basketball and down the line. And one of the knots that has been against the NCAA for years is that they protect certain schools of that ilk.

And then we got there are a lot of North Carolina basketball fans out there, a lot of North Carolina alums. I'm here in Atlanta, Georgia, and it is flooded with them. So if you dare cross the big blue out there, then you're live on Carolina Blue or whatever they want to call it, you are liable to have a big x on your back for the rest of your life.

CABRERA: All right. We appreciate your time, Terence Moore, thank you.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera. Great to have you with me. This hour we are fast-forwarding to the week ahead.

We'll take a look at all the stories you'll be talking about and hearing about this coming week. Let's begin with our five questions for the week ahead.

Question number one, a new shark attack in California over this holiday weekend is now striking fear in the hearts of swimmers everywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He got bit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: There's been lots of sightings in New England and California. It has us asking, what's up with all the sharks?