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Plane Makes Emergency Landing on Midway Island; New CNN Show Profiles Wanted Criminals; Crisis with Central American Children Crossing U.S. Southern Border Continues; Rocket Launches and Airstrikes between Hamas and Israel Continue; Technological Advances Increases Criminal Tracking Capacity of Law Enforcement
Aired July 12, 2014 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Troy really did earn the retired obstetrician hat someone gave him. As for the parking valet who tried to get Kristin to sit --
What do you tip someone for watching your wife give birth?
TROY DICKERSON, FILMED SON'S CURBSIDE BIRTH WITH GOPRO: It's 20 bucks.
KRISTIN DICKERSON, GAVE BIRTH ON HOSPITAL CURB: Yes, 20 bucks. I don't think that really compensated him for the trauma he had to go through.
MOOS: Meet Truitt Dickerson. That kid should have to watch this video every mother's day to be reminded of what his mom went through for him.
KRISTIN DICKERSON: It's great natural birth control for a teenager. We'll show it to him when he's 16.
MOOS: Jeanne moos, CNN.
TROY DICKERSON: Got it on video.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, that's a happy moment there. All right, hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Our top story this hour, today we're learning more about a United Airlines plane that made an emergency landing on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The flight took off from Honolulu and was supposed to land in Guam but it made an emergency landing on one of the smallest, most remote islands in the world. CNN's Alexandra Field has more on this story from New York. A big phew and sigh of relief I'm sure by everyone on that plane. Alexandra, what happened?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And that's what they're trying to figure out, Fred. What we know right now is that inspectors are looking at the Boeing 777. They're trying to determine what caused what has been described as a mechanical issue which forced the pilot to reroute and land a plane full of people on a very tiny remote island in the middle of the Pacific. The plane had left Honolulu. It was headed for Guam. We're told that an odor raised concerns. It's been described as an electrical odor.
The pilot turned around from Guam and eventually decided to land the plane on Midway Island. It's a tiny island. It's the former home of naval air station so, it does have a landing strip, and that strip has been used for emergency landings in the past. The plane did land. None of the passengers, 335 of them, were injured. There were 13 crew members. We're told that none of them were injured as well. But all those people had to spend seven hours on this island before United was able to send another plane to pick them up and bring them back to Hawaii with quite a story to tell, Fred.
WHITFIELD: An incredible story. A lot of those folks on the plane may have always wanted to go to Midway Island because it's known to be just a beautiful, serene place, but maybe not that way.
(LAUGHTER)
FIELD: Yes. They didn't think they were going there.
WHITFIELD: No. Thanks so much, Alexandra. Appreciate it.
OK. After an accident critically injured comedian Tracy Morgan and killed his friend, Morgan is now suing Wal-Mart. Police say one of the company's trucks was speeding on the New Jersey turnpike when it rear-ended the limo carrying Morgan and several others. The suit blames the truck driver for negligence. Morgan broke ribs, his nose, and a leg in the crash.
Wal-Mart issued this statement, saying, quote, "This has been a terrible tragedy. We wish Mr. Morgan, Mr. Fuqua Jr., and Mr. Millea full recoveries. We are deeply sorry that one of our trucks was involved. As we've said, we're cooperating fully if the ongoing investigation. We know it will take some time to resolve all the remaining issues as a result of the accident, but we're committed to doing the right thing for all involved."
Today as the death toll rises in Gaza, the United Nations Security Council is calling for a renewed ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants. So far 135 people have been killed in Gaza according to a Palestinian health ministry official. And Palestinians say a lot of the victims are civilians, including children. But Israel says it's only targeting militants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER LERNER, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESMAN: Trying to take out the rocket launching capabilities. We are trying to strike the command and control facilities of Hamas. This is, I would say, a clear design, crafted mission. It's not something we're just doing out of a gut reflex.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Israel says Hamas has fired about 700 rockets into Israel, some of which have been destroyed by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. No Israelis have been killed in the attacks.
Lax safety protocols at the CDC has forced it to close two research labs. That's the result of an investigation into the possible exposure of lab workers to the deadly bacteria anthrax in June. The investigation found a second undisclosed problem involving the deadly bird flu. CDC's director isn't taking any chances.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: Our laboratories are core to our ability to protect Americans. Our laboratories are the reason we are the gold standard for not just infectious diseases but environmental health as well. And for this to happen and put our workers potentially at risk is totally unacceptable. So I'm upset. I'm angry. I've lost sleep over it. And I'm working around the clock to make sure we do everything possible to resolve it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Lab workers are being monitored and given antibiotics as a precaution. The CDC says it's extremely unlikely but not impossible staffers were exposed.
And about 1,300 same-sex marriages performed early this year must be recognized by Utah. That's the decision a federal appeals court made Friday. The judges, however, stayed their order until July 21st to give the state time to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Couples had obtained marriage licenses in the 17 days after a federal judge ruled Utah's ban was unconstitutional.
As the U.S. border crisis escalates, we'll meet one woman who risked everything to get there. Her journey from 3,000 miles away, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The Homeland Security secretary was in New Mexico this week. Jeh Johnson toured a federal facility that had been converted to house undocumented immigrants arriving at the border. He said those arriving are often unprepared for the reality facing them once they get here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I think it's fair to say that a good number of them were surprised that they were being detained. I think they expected to be apprehended and simply let go into the interior, and they're surprised that they're being detained and sent back so quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Despite the dangers, many undocumented immigrants are willing to risk it all to get across the border and escape a life of violence back home. Our Kyung Lah follows one woman whose journey started in Guatemala. She traveled 3,000 miles, crossing three countries in search of her husband and her safety before ending up in Washington state. Here is Kyung Lah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Speeding down a highway in northwest Washington, this is the end of a long bus journey. You are seeing the beginning of an undocumented life in America.
We first met Petrona and her son, Rudy, 38 hours early, 1,300 miles south in El Centro, California. Her toddler, so exhausted, sleeps through the interview as his mother recounts the nightmare of their life in Guatemala.
"I just want us to live," says Petrona, "and it wasn't going to happen at home." Guatemalan gangs ruling her town had threatened to kidnap and kill Rudy unless she paid them. They'd already broken both the legs of Petrona's father, she says, and killed another child in the family. To escape a death threat, her husband had already slipped illegally into America last year. She would do the same.
Two weeks ago, like so many others, she slipped easily into Mexico at the Guatemalan border. But shortly after she crossed the river into Texas, she was arrested and brought to a detention center, joining dozens of other mothers and children. To cope with the tens of thousands of Central Americans like Petrona, the government flew her and about 100 others to Arizona, then drove them to the border patrol center in El Centro, California, to be fingerprinted, have their picture taken, and given notice to appear in court. She's released on her own recognizance.
"I'm almost there," Petrona tells her husband, using a borrowed cell phone. He's living in Washington state where she's now heading. He sent her money to buy the ticket. And Petrona and Rudy board the Greyhound for the 38-hour trip north.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not in Murrieta! Not in Murrieta!
LAH: Protesters in Murrieta say they don't want the influx of undocumented immigrants to come and burden their town. But Petrona and all the other undocumented immigrant we've met are headed to other cities across America, absorbed into the north, the Midwest, and east.
What if America makes you go back? "I will never go back," she says. Her son would be killed.
It's been more than a year since Santos has seen his family. Rudy doesn't recognize his father, but that doesn't matter right now. "I don't know how she did it," he says, so stunned he's not sure what else to say. They say Petrona will show up for her federal hearing, but there is little incentive, no monitoring, and the very real risk of deportation. Under that shadow begins their undocumented life, like the millions who have already made this journey.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tacoma, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And startling new accusations against the NSA's spying program. Were Muslim-Americans targeted? An investigative report, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: New video out of Gaza shows how Israeli forces warn civilians in Gaza of an incoming airstrike with a so-called knock on the roof. First you will see a warning strike, and then fast forward to the actual strike about a minute later.
Reports say a Hamas official lived in that building. The death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks has risen to 135, and hundreds more have been wounded according to a Hamas spokesman. Israel says Palestinian militants have fired nearly 700 rocket rockets into Israel. No Israelis have been killed in those attacks. And today it seems the crisis is expanding. Two rockets hit the West Bank near Bethlehem today but caused no major damage.
A new report claims the U.S. government monitored some Muslim- Americans for years. CNN's Justice Correspondent Pamela Brown has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: In a new report, the federal government spied on Muslim-Americans for six years according to the latest documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. An attorney, two professors, the executive director of the Muslim organization CARE, even a political opponent running for office, all of whom deny ties to terrorism. Many Muslim-American advocates say the new report is alarming.
HARIS TARIN, MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: All Americans should be concerned because there may one group of Americans today, but tomorrow it can be another group of Americans.
BROWN: The article published overnight by Glenn Greenwald of "The Intercept" identifies the five Americans based off an NSA spreadsheet titled "FISA Recap" showing email addresses the government monitored. The Foreign Intelligence Act allows the government to monitor U.S. citizens with a judge's approval from the FISA court. The spreadsheet designates 202 e-mail addresses belonging to U.S. persons and nearly 2,000 belonging to foreigners. Many of the e-mail addresses on the list reportedly belong to foreigners the government believed were linked to Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al Qaeda.
TARIN: We're concerned about our security. At the same time we're concerned about the fundamental rights that we have as Americans.
BROWN: The government under President George W. Bush allegedly began monitoring the American Muslims soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In some instances targets included members of the president's own party. Faisal Gill was a GOP operative and served in the Department of Homeland Security under Bush. The spying allegedly continued through 2008. In a joint statement the Department of Justice and the director of national intelligence say the government values privacy just as much as national security and that it's entirely false that U.S. intelligence agencies conducted electronic surveillance of political, religious, or activist figures solely because they disagree with public policies or criticize the government.
Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Coming up, John Walsh is bringing his hunt for bad guys to CNN. Why his first case could be one of the toughest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: This Sunday, CNN welcomes John Walsh and a new CNN original series "The Hunt." Walsh picks up right where he left off with "America's Most Wanted," tracking down bad guys. The premiere episode features a California man, Shane Miller, suspected of killing his wife, Sandy, and their two children. But Walsh says the violence didn't come out of the blue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BOSENKO, SHERIFF, SHASTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Sandy Miller ended up going to a local women's refuge to seek safe harbor, and she took her children with her. We took a domestic violence report. Our detectives learned Mr. Miller did have an extensive arrest record and had also a federal arrest record in which he was sentenced to federal prison.
MARE DUETCHER, ADVOCATE, SAFE PLACE, REDDING, CALIFORNIA: When Sandy came in to our office, she appeared very tired. The girls were very tearful, red-eyed, exhausted. They'd had a long morning trying to get down the mountain to come here. She said Shane had been very agitated for about three days. She'd had hardly any sleep. She said Shane had assaulted her, tortured her, choked her, threatened her with guns. He was threatening to kill her whole family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: There's one detail about Shane Miller that investigators say makes him so elusive. Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon McMullen told me why Miller has been able to evade capture so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON MCMULLEN, DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL: He's pretty well known to be a survivalist type. He grew up in the woods. The coast area is home for him. He's a marijuana cultivator, so he's somebody obviously very comfortable in the woods. But along with this case, you know, everyone that we've talked to, whether it be friends, family members, acquaintances, anybody who's run into him have said he's a creepy guy, scary guy. He's very violent. So he's just sort of the type who's -- he's definitely somebody that we wanted to get off of the street and that is, you know, willing to do violence if it's going to keep him out of jail.
WHITFIELD: So he is profiled in "The Hunt," this new show involving John Walsh. How do you hope this program broadcasting this crime that he is alleged to have carried out with help in facilitating his capture?
MCMULLEN: Well, in this case, you know, he's somebody who can stay out in the woods for a long period of time, but especially now it's been over year, he's going to need supplies. He's going to have to come back in and actually have contact with some people. So we're hoping being on a show like "The Hunt" is going to, you know, bring him back into the news and get his face out there. So if he does come in and try and buy something or steal something, hopefully somebody comes in contact with him and they're able to contact us and help us find him.
WHITFIELD: "America's Most Wanted" with John Walsh helped promote more than 1,200 arrests. How are you hoping "The Hunt" might be an extension of that or something even bigger or broader?
MCMULLEN: Sure. The U.S. marshals have obviously had a long relationship with "America's Most Wanted" and John Walsh. And again, with "The Hunt," we're hoping that just like "America's Most Wanted" did, this is going to bring his face back out there and get him pushed out into an area where he might have otherwise not been seen.
We put up flyers and we talk to a lot of people, but, you know, more people watch this kind of TV show than they do, you know, look for a flyer. So hopefully this is something where they see him and somebody has seen him recently or seen him at all and they're able to supply some sort of information.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: John Walsh has helped law enforcement capture more than 1,200 fugitives over the years, but technology is also playing an ever-increasing role in the search for suspects. CNN's Alexandra Field has been digging into the latest technology at the NYPD crime lab, and she has the science behind "The Hunt."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The hunt is on for the most wanted among us. In our global era, the challenge seems broader than ever.
TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's a lot different than it was in the 1920s and '30s, when you had John Dillinger or Bonnie and Clyde commit a crime in one state and it was a big deal for them to just cross state lines. That's what's changed over the years, the ability to travel all over the world fairly easily and economically.
FIELD: But along with the emergence of the worldwide manhunt, the science behind chasing criminals has evolved, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can run, but you can no longer hide. FIELD: From your image captured virtually everywhere down to your
fingerprint, scientific and technological advancements have given investigators more sophisticated tools to work with. Our cameras take you inside the NYPD's closely guarded forensic crime lab, a front line for catching criminals. Better developing techniques in the fingerprinting field show detectives a clearer picture, so do evolving computer programs adding greater detail to tracing ballistic evidence. Advances in DNA analysis are widely considered the most meaningful step forward towards solving more crimes. But the forensics are just pieces of the increasingly elaborate puzzle.
You really can't escape the cameras. They are virtually everywhere. Windows that can capture potential crimes, and with facial recognition technology, they could be used to capture more suspects. But even without all those cameras, we are leaving our very own own well-marked digital trail.
From electronic data embedded in many of our digital images to our cellphone records, electronic banking transactions, and all that social media activity, it's the indelible diary.
FUENTES: They had not planned in advance about being a fugitive and don't have literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, false identities, possibly false passports that can enable them to travel around the world, having the means and the ability to cross borders, they're going to have a huge problem staying a fugitive for a real long time.
FIELD: The search net is wider, sometimes global. But our communications are making suspects easier in some ways to find. Law enforcement officials say advances in the way they can now communicate with each other makes it even tougher to hide.
FUENTES: It's not the sudden burst of technology but just incrementally the evolution of technology over the last 10 or 20 years that's changed the way fugitive hunts are occurring.
FIELD: Alexandra Field, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And you don't want to miss "The Hunt with John Walsh." It premieres tomorrow night 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.
Thanks so much for watching. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The Newsroom continues at the top of the hour with Miguel Marquez. Right now, though, it's time for CNN MONEY.
