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New Day Saturday

Palestinians: at Least 40 More Bodies Found; Israel Searching Tunnels for Militants; More Coffins Head to Netherlands Today; Interview with Former Ambassador William Taylor; Border Crisis: Congress Running Out of Time

Aired July 26, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All these explosions there in Gaza. And the brief respite from fighting has led to the discovery of dozens of bodies.

I'm joined now by CNN's Martin Savidge in Jerusalem.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Also joining us, CNN's Ian Lee in Gaza.

Ian, I want to start with you. As we heard this morning, more reports or another report of dozens of more bodies being found. What do you know about that this hour?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christie, yes, that's exactly right. And we got about six hours of this cease-fire left, and we already have heard about 40 bodies pulled out of this rubble, and they're still looking, these areas along this eastern border were completely devastated. I was out just a little while ago and I saw emergency crews sifting through the rubble, looking for these bodies.

I also saw families who went there looking for the little tidbits they could get. I talked to one family whose house was just peppered by shrapnel and their neighbor's house was just a large crater. They say they're not going to be there much longer, they're going to try to get back to the safety of one of these U.N.-run shelters.

But there are people all over there, despite the warning from the IDF who have said, do not return there, do not return to your homes, because this area has been a front line for most of the past week. We've seen a lot of the heavy fighting there, and these people are definitely being quick about their work, Christie.

BLACKWELL: Let's go to Martin now in Jerusalem. Martin, there was talk of a seven-day cease-fire, but the Israeli negotiators wanted to be sure this would just not be a period for Hamas to restock, rearm, and to double down on their effort.

Can you talk more about what is -- some of the other sticking points going into hopefully this week-long cease-fire?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are a lot of them. I mean, some of them are based on the most recent conflict ongoing in Gaza and some of the other issues date back a long ways prior to the conflict that's going on right now. The Israelis would be very concerned that a week-long cease-fire would be used by Hamas to basically get ready for the next round of fighting. And they would like to continue to destroy those tunnels that they say Hamas has been using to strike Israelis and to strike their own troops.

Hamas, meantime, would say, it isn't good enough just to stop the shooting. There has to be more done for the Palestinian people of Gaza. They would like to see a lifting of the security border. They would like to see trade open up again once more. They believe that they're under an economic embargo.

Israel would not like anything to be attached to the cease cease-fire, because they would then interpret it as a victory for Hamas. So, there are both logistic issues that have to be overcome and political issues. And that's why many people do not believe it's really going to happen.

PAUL: Martin, you talked about the tunnels and how they want to dismantle these tunnels. And even during this 12-hour cease-fire, we understand that they're doing that. How many tunnels do they have yet to dismantle? Is there a count, there any sort of gauge as to the work ahead?

SAVIDGE: You know, initially, it was said by some Israeli leaders that the destruction of the tunnels would take about three days. Well, clearly, it has taken a lot longer than that. And the tunnels along with the rockets, where the primary reasons given for the ground incursion.

How many tunnels are left? The Israeli military will say they believe there are tens of them. They have, I believe, discovered about 30 so far. So it would imply there are still more to be found.

They're quite extensive, they maintain. These are not just somebody digging with a shovel and a pick. These are cement reinforced actual constructions that run underneath the security border, between Gaza and Israel.

So that is a great concern and it requires a great deal of effort, the Israelis say, to either use earth-moving equipment or explosives to destroy them.

PAUL: All right. Martin Savidge and Ian Lee, we appreciate both of you this morning. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

Let's go to Canada now, where chaos and fear inside a passenger plane and it was captured in really dramatic cell phone video. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heads down! Hands up! Heads down! Hands up! Heads down! Hands up! Heads down! Hands up! Heads down, hands up!

Show me all your hands! Hands up! Heads down! Heads down! Heads down! (END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Can you imagine? I mean, put yourself in place of those people who are sitting there, seeing that. This started with an angry threat that forced this Sun Wing jet carrying 189 people to Panama to turn back to Toronto. It was escorted by U.S. fighter jets.

Witnesses tell CNN affiliate CTV a 25-year-old Canadian citizen said he wanted to bomb Canada.

BLACKWELL: Ali Shahi is due in court this morning for a bail hearing. According to CTV, his demeanor completely changed after he was in huffs. He said he was sorry and that he loved Canada. The plane was searched and nothing was found. Police say Shahi faces four charges, including endangering the safety of an aircraft.

PAUL: All right. I want to share with you video we are just getting here into CNN. This plane, you see here, was loaded with coffins carrying victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines jet. It just took off from Kharkiv, Ukraine. It's the last scheduled flight en route to an air base in the Netherlands. Now, 38 coffins are expected to be received with military honors and then taken to a facility to undergo forensic analyses.

Officials say the grim process, though, at the end of the day, could take weeks or even months. But again, this is the newest video we're getting in from Ukraine today.

BLACKWELL: Now, this is the last scheduled flight, but those are likely not the last victims to be carried home. Investigators suspect more remains are still there amid the wreckage in what's still a wide- open crash site.

PAUL: The Dutch prime minister says the Netherlands will decide this weekend whether to send an armed mission to secure that site and an Australian force, we know, is also assembling.

BLACKWELL: Besides the inspectors, there are family members who want to see the crash zones with their own eyes.

Kyung Lah caught up with one such family. She joins us now from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

Kyung, tell us about this family.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, we all cope with grief differently. And considering that this plane crash site, this crime scene is in the middle of a conflict zone, that it has been so frustrating, that there have been no experts to go in, that it has been unsecured, it's not that difficult to understand why some parents have decided to take matters into their own hands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go, go, go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go.

LAH (voice-over): George and Angela Dyczynski can almost feel their daughter, they're that close, but they can't get there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple of minutes, please?

LAH: These men are local Ukrainian government officials, urging these parents not to enter the pro-Russian held area of Donetsk. The Dyczynskis flew by themselves to Ukraine from Australia with nothing other than shock and grief.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to go. There's no other way.

LAH: Their 25-year-old daughter Fatima was aboard Flight 17, flying to Australia to see them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We go, because -- we go --

LAH: With an outrageous disregard of the crash scene from the very beginning, and only black bags and unmarked coffins coming out, the Dyczynski have chosen to grieve with denial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we believe she's alive. Every second counts. Every second --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And our purpose is to find her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it doesn't help us to be angry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need to see the real fact, so that's why we came. Besides that we, our daughter promised, we will find her. It's mom and dad. So, this is the mom and dad.

LAH: They poured their lives into their only child. She was an aerospace engineer who dreamed of being an astronaut. She believed space exploration could help bring stability to earth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The experience of space flight is a life- changing event.

LAH: How can you let a child like that go?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is an urgency, because my belief that she is alive cannot be sustained, if this takes 30 days.

LAH: Frustration mounting as the minutes tick by.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No chance to come back.

LAH: And these government reps get embassies on the phone to talk to them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have not sorted this out. Please do not contact me anymore! UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our daughter is there. And we are running out of

time!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So the risk, we know. No worries.

LAH: Finally, they're told to go at their own risk. This private car promises to drive them through the battle lines of rebel-held territory, where a parent's love has no boundaries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: So did they make it in? Well, it is a three to four-hour drive into this rebel-held territory, a number of checkpoints.

In the last 24 hours, there has been an increase in fighting, but they made it. We understand they are there, they are safe, and they will try to still get to the crash site some time today -- Victor, Christie.

PAUL: My goodness.

BLACKWELL: Kyung, I've got to ask you a question here. With MH370, we know that there was never anything found, not a seat belt, not a part of the plane. But here you've got wreckage. The coffins by the dozen per day are being returned back to the Netherlands. Why do they believe their daughter still alive?

LAH: Because they want to. I think we all deal with grief differently. And these parents simply want to believe that she is alive. And the fact that there is something for them to go to, when you speak to investigators, they tell us that this is something they see at a lot of different crash sites, that there might be a miracle.

There are miracle stories that have emerged out of plane crashes over the last 50 years. There is that possibility. The chance here, almost zero. But the fact that they want to believe, that's what's carrying them, despite the fact that all the evidence is to the contrary.

And we should add, Victor, that what they are urging is that no one else do this. They are not encouraging anyone to go into this area. It is dangerous, no one should take this step.

BLACKWELL: All right, Kyung Lah in Kiev for us, bringing us a powerful story there.

Kyung, thank you so much.

Well, they could be some of the most important clues in the Malaysia Airline flight 17 crash. I'm talking about the plane's black boxes. But could they have been tampered with? And what information will investigators find.

PAUL: Plus, another child dies in a hot car. This time it was a baby who was in the process of being adopted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Well, it's been more than a week since the downing of Malaysia flight 17, and investigators still do not have full access to this rebel-controlled crash site.

PAUL: This morning, Malaysia's prime minister is requesting full cooperation from the rebels, Ukraine, and Ukraine's armed forces as well. But a spokesman in that region says rebels appear to be fed up and they've suggested that they may only have another week's worth of patience.

PAUL: Meanwhile, investigators are trying to piece together details of the crash from the plane's black boxes.

Let's dig deeper with CNN military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, and CNN aviation analyst Les Abend.

Good to have both of you this morning. I want to start with you, Colonel.

Colonel, there are the reports that the Australians are trying to broker this detail with the Ukrainians to send in police, some of them armed. How do you think this will impact this crash site? Will it exacerbate an already tense situation, or do you think it will allow these investigators to get to their work a little bit more quicker and a little more efficiently?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: They've got to do something to secure that crash site, otherwise, every day it's being degraded more and more. I don't even know how much more clues they can get out of it, except the large pieces, but bringing in some sort of international presence is good. Now, will the rebels allow armed Australians on the site? I don't know. They can work that out.

But the important thing is that, we need to get this out of the rebel hands can into the hands of somebody international so we can keep people from walking through this site. Remember, this is a combat zone. So, it's going to be very, very difficult to exercise any control over that site.

PAUL: Les, we know, British experts are analyzing the flight data recorders. If there is nothing found on those recorders, what do you do then?

LES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Yes, Christie, that's a possibility. It depends upon what -- where the missile struck and at what point in time. This flight data -- all flight data recorders and the cockpit voice recorder are connected to an emergency bus, which is basically battery power. So there may be a short period of time that we can develop or the investigation team can get some evidence on what actually occurred. And this is all part of the jigsaw puzzle of putting together an accident investigation.

So, there indeed may be something on there, on both the voice recorder and the digital flight data recorder. BLACKWELL: Les, I'm going to stick with you and follow up on

something that the colonel just said. With the limited amount of evidence that's still there at the crash scene and the reports that some of these pieces have been hit with the diesel saws, how comprehensive of an investigation and final report is still possible with all of the tampering that's reportedly happened there?

ABEND: You know, it's frustrating to me. I've participated on a peripheral basis with a very large accident and I've seen how accident investigators work and this has got to be totally frustrating to them. So that being said, they're going to have to use some innovative investigative skills by using pictures, trying to geo-reference, like Dave Soucie has been saying, where these particular pieces may have been located. They're just going to have to pull all their resources.

Still, those fragments that are on the ground now, even though they may have been dislodged by these folks going through the site in an unsterile type of environment, may still hold a significant amount of evidence.

PAUL: Lieutenant Colonel Francona, I think a lot of people hear that the rebels are fed up, so to speak, with this, and it sounds outrageous. A lot of people are probably looking at it and thinking, why aren't we doing more? We've got all kinds of negotiations going on, but how do you -- do you bother to negotiate with the rebels? You can't negotiate, it seems, with Putin. Hour our hands are tied here.

What are the options?

FRANCONA: Yes, this is the real problem here, because who do you talk to? And in the end, the control of that site still rests with a group of rebels who have other things on their mind. What we're hearing now, they want this to just go away. And their answer is to get a bulldozer in there and move it out of the way so they can get back to fighting.

They're very concerned, because now we're seeing a lot more pressure from the Ukrainian government on this area and more Russian support coming in. So the battle really in this area is just beginning and now, they've got this crash site in their way. And you know, although we have some reference for this site and think there needs to be some dignity attached and some investigation needs to be conducted, they, on the other hand, look at this as just something else they have to deal with. They want it out of the way so they can get back to what they believe is more important. It's just a bad situation.

BLACKWELL: You know, the reports, Les, that documents, personal effect, passports that were not there on Thursday are now on the scene. When you hear that, what runs through your mind?

ABEND: Well, you know what's been running through everybody's mind that's attached with aviation, it's horrible that this whole crash site has been tampered, desterilized, just totally infected by folks that are not professional in accident investigation. It's -- I go back to what I said originally. We'll have to go back and see if the accident investigation team can obtain pictures that the folks have been taking there that might help them, you know, with this accident investigation, and put the pieces together, so that we can give dignity and respect to the folks that lost their lives and figure out concrete why, this missile, indeed, did take down this airplane.

PAUL: All right. Colonel Rick Francona and Lieutenant Les Abend, we appreciate both of you. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Well, two new apps that give you real time data on flights just by pointing and aiming your smartphone to the sky. People have asked, well, what can I do? Well, we have a few details for you.

PAUL: Plus, take a look at this man. He shot an intruder who said she was pregnant. Where is this going?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hello, everyone. I'm CNN meteorologist, Karen Maginnis. We're watching for the potential of severe weather in the upper Ohio River Valley, all the way from Springfield to Louisville, Kentucky.

That's for this afternoon, going into Sunday afternoon. A broader area, but under a slight risk, but we'll see that more moderate risk extending from southern Ohio into Charleston, West Virginia. That's a smaller area, but nonetheless, the potential for high winds, hail, and the potential for an isolated tornado.

Look at these temperatures, very amazing over the next several days. For this afternoon in Minneapolis, comes close to 90 degrees. But then by Monday, the frontal system moves through and those temperatures cool off into the 70s. It's going to be a steamy afternoon across the central plains, lots of temperatures expected to be in the triple digits. Monsoonal moisture across the southwest, and yesterday, you may have already seen those pictures, the haboob. It used to be known as a dust storm, in Phoenix, reduced visibility. We don't have any reports of any damage or any injuries.

CNN's NEW DAY SATURDAY will continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Mortgage rates held steady this week. Take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, in case you aren't looking at the clock and you don't always have to, because it's Saturday, it is about half past the hour right now. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: And I'm Victor Blackwell.

Here are five things you need to know for your new. Up first, the last scheduled flight carrying victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is now en route to the Netherlands. This video just into CNN shows the plane taking off from Kharkiv there Ukraine, 38 coffins are expected to be received with military honors, taken to facility then to undergo forensic analysis.

PAUL: Number two, a terrifying scene on a Panama-bound flight yesterday. Look at this cell phone video taken by a passenger on board. Can you imagine sitting in that seat and seeing this? SWAT teams storming into the plane's cabin.

Witnesses tell affiliate CTV a 25-year-old Canadian citizen made a bomb threat. The plane was forced to turn back to Toronto and searched. No weapons were found.

BLACKWELL: The death toll in Gaza is rising. That's even in a 12- hour cease-fire has been in effect between Israel and Hamas. Well, Palestinian recovery teams say they have found at least 40 bodies in areas that they could not enter before because of the shelling there. Palestinian doctors say the death toll in Gaza has now reached 961. Israel says 37 Israeli soldiers and two Israeli citizens have been killed.

PAUL: Number four, the district attorney will decide whether an 80- year-old homeowner who shot dead a burglar will face criminal charges.

Here's the thing. Tom Grier was beaten by a couple when he walked in on them robbing his house. This is what police say, but he grabbed his gun and fired, killing the woman. Now, before he fired, she had yelled, "Don't shoot me, I'm pregnant, I'm going to have a baby." It turns out she was not pregnant.

BLACKWELL: Number five, if you've ever been told that you have to buy a new phone when you're switching phone carriers, even though your old one is in good shape, that may be changing soon. Actually, it will. Congress has made it legal to unlock your phone and use wit a new carrier.

Who knew Congress had to get involved with that?

President Obama says Friday he plans to sign that bill into law.

PAUL: Let's get back to one of our top stories this morning, the shooting down of Flight 17. This is a tragedy that's marking a turning point, both in Russia's battle with Ukraine and the world's reception of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BLACKWELL: Take a look at the cover of "TIME" magazine this week, proclaiming a second world war with the airliner there as Putin's shadow. And then there's this unsettling image of Putin on the cover of "Newsweek," calling Putin the West public enemy number one. You see the pariah there.

PAUL: Well, let's talk about this with William Taylor. He's a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

Ambassador Taylor, we appreciate you being here. We also saw in the "TIME" article, they said other world leaders try to avoid crisis, Putin feasts on them. Is that true? Is he public enemy number one?

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Mr. Putin is clearly responsible for the problems we're seeing in Ukraine and for the shoot down of this airliner. So, Mr. Putin has a lot to answer for. He seems not to care about the international community's thoughts about him.

He is a pariah at this point. He is encouraging the rebels in eastern Ukraine, with continuing to cause problems and continuing to stop the investigation of that tragedy.

BLACKWELL: I want to talk to you about Ukraine's prime minister, Petro Poroshenko, and his op-ed in "The Washington Post." I'm going to read part of it. "The West should begin thinking about a larger response to what has happened in Ukraine. As always, the United States should take the lead. Washington can shape a worldwide coalition of nations in support of Ukraine to ensure that these terrorists are not able to strike again. There have been several rounds of sanctions that have been ratcheted up over the past few months and for some time now. Isn't it time for the E.U. to do their part, for Europe to, I guess, ratchet up their sanctions?

TAYLOR: It's certainly time for the E.U. to ratchet up their sanctions, and I believe they are. They take a little longer to act than the United States, but they have acted in response to this tragedy. It's too bad that it took a tragedy to bring them to this point. But they have begun to ratchet up their sanctions.

However, President Poroshenko is also right that the United States ought to be in the lead on this, and there are more things than sanctions. Sanctions ought to be there. We should clearly have the sanctions on. We should put on more just as the Europeans are.

But if there is a difficulty getting into that crash site, there are ways that the Australians and the Dutch, and we can help get an international force in there. We can also support the Ukrainians as they try to counter, as they counter the force that Mr. Putin is putting into their country, to eastern Ukraine.

We can supply ammunition, food, armor, those kind of things. We can lead that.

PAUL: But when we talk about sanctions, you have to wonder, what would rattle them. I mean, what is holding the E.U. back. Are they in fear of him, in general? Is it the fear of the energy that he holds over their heads? What is it?

TAYLOR: Certainly, there are economic ties between Europe and Russia. However, as I say, this incident, this tragedy, this killing of nearly 300 people on this airplane, 200 from the Netherlands, has galvanized, I believe, has galvanized the Europeans, and they are now in their slow, ponderous, but nonetheless determined way to put sanctions on. But that can't be all. There needs to be other actions that the international community takes.

BLACKWELL: There were new sanctions announced just before MH17 went down. We're hearing the reports now that these pro-Russian separatists there, they are running out of patience. And Australia says that they're working with the Ukraine to get some police there, some will be armed. Do you believe to get the full investigation underway, that this could come to a shooting conflict between the international community and these pro-Russian rebels there?

TAYLOR: These pro-Russian rebels, let's remember, these are thugs, these are murderer, these are the people that shut down this aircraft. We should -- their comment that they're running out of patience is ridiculous, it is outrageous.

Yes, we should have an international force. An international force could take care of those rebels immediately. The Russians need to play their role. The Russians need to cut them off. They need to seal the border between Russia and Ukraine so all of these heavy weapons these heavy weapons and supplies, leadership that is coming across the border is stopped.

That's what the Russians need to do. The international community can then secure that site. The rebels should be swept away.

BLACKWELL: So you think beyond just sending some unarmed police, that there should be a concerted effort militarily to get rid of these rebels and take control of that site.

TAYLOR: If that's what it takes, that's what the international community should do.

BLACKWELL: All right. Ambassador William Taylor, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

PAUL: Thank you, sir.

TAYLOR: Thank you.

Well, another baby, allegedly forgotten in a hot car. The child died and now her foster father is under arrest. We'll tell you what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Here's a story that seems to keep happening. Another child has died in a hot car.

PAUL: When I heard this, I thought, you have got to be kidding me. After all of the press that we've been -- all the times we've been talking about this.

This was a baby who was in foster care. CNN's Nick Valencia joins us now.

And we understand, Nick, the foster parents were in the process of adopting her?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And one of them is now in police custody. He's been booked on a child endangerment charge. As you mentioned, he was in the process of adopting a 10- month-old. There were four other foster children in that home. They've all been

removed from the home and put in protective custody. The family of this foster father, the mother, spoke to our affiliate and said he's devastated. He didn't mean to do it. Police are still working through that investigation.

But police did mention the difficulties in dealing with a child death case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. TODD OJILE, WICHITA POLICE: Like I said before, baby deaths are extremely challenging, extremely difficult for detectives to work. As mentioned, we've got to look at everything that -- all the facts, what we have, whether this was accidental or why it was left in there, how it was left in there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: This 10-month-old was left in a hot car in temperatures that reached the low 90s for more than 2 1/2 hours at about 4:00 p.m. in Wichita, Kansas. The windows were rolled up, and as you mentioned, Christie and Victor, this is a sad reality, it's happened at least 18 times across the country this year.

PAUL: Oh my gosh!

BLACKWELL: Yes, more than 600 since 1998. And the question is, how do you stop them? Can you legislate your way out of this?

PAUL: Well, there are states that have laws. At least 19 states across the country do have laws. In Florida, for instance, it's a misdemeanor to leave your child younger than 6 years old in the car for more than 15 minutes. But there are other cases, like in California, it's just a traffic violation to leave a child under six year old in a car.

So, it's tough to regulate. As you mentioned, it's happened more than 600 times since the mid-'90s. It's an incredibly sad reality that we deal, especially in these summer months. And you know, it really reminds us of this case here in Georgia, Justin Ross Harris, still held in prison for, you know, what police say, murdering his child.

We don't know exactly when that investigation will wrap up, but we do know that the D.A. is working to try to wrap the investigation up. No timetable listed for Justin Ross Harris.

BLACKWELL: That indictment comes. Nick Valencia --

VALENCIA: Thanks, guys.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

After the break, forget air traffic control, there's an app for that now. You can actually download something on to your phone. A brand- new idea, two new apps designed to help people track planes from the ground.

PAUL: What?! Security concerns! I'm sure a lot of people are thinking that. We'll tell you about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: I remember when I was a kid I would look up at the planes and wonder, I wonder where they're going.

PAUL: Oh, yes. We all did.

BLACKWELL: Well, now, you can get an answer to that question using your phone. Two apps are out there that can identify all the air traffic in your area and tell you pretty much anything you want to know about it.

PAUL: So, let's talk about this, shall we, with CNN technology analyst Brett Larson.

Brett, what does this tell you, first of all? What information does it give you?

BRETT LARSON, CNN TECHNOLOGY ANALYST: You know, I'm with Victor. I'm also an airplane enthusiast. I like to stare at the sky and see all the planes and wonder where they are going and where they have come from. I wonder what type of aircraft that is.

And there are several apps, this plane finder apps, will tell you what you want to know. One of them, you can actually point it up at the sky and it will show you all the different aircraft, even some further down on the horizon about 50 miles. It will show you the type of aircraft it is, the airline that it is, the speed it is traveling, how high up in the sky they are, and where they come from and where they are going to.

And this is, you know, these apps are by no means designed to help or abide the people who want to do harm to other people. This is just more -- it goes to show you just how much information is out there. You can see in the shot here, those are all of the airplanes that were coming in to JFK one morning when I was sitting in a location that sort of lines up with their landing.

And you can see where they're going, you can see where they're coming from, you can even see what airline they are. But it's an interesting proof of concept that there is a lot of information out there. And a lot of this information is real time data. And it covers about 95 percent of the globe in terms of air traffic control.

So, this isn't something that's going to work over an ocean or somewhere where you don't have an Internet connection. This is something that's really going to work over land.

PAUL: So, I'm sure a lot of people who are looking at this and saying, oh, that's cool, just to see all of that and learn where folks are headed. There's some who are saying this is so dangerous to have all that information about planes with hundreds of people on board at the tip of your fingers.

LARSON: Exactly. And that is where data like this becomes dangerous. When you have this type of data, this kind of freely available data on these apps, and then you mix that with military technology falling in the hands of the wrong people, then we've really got a recipe for disaster. And that's definitely a concern, especially after what happened in the Ukraine with MH17.

I'm not saying in any way and don't tweet at me this is what I'm trying to say. I'm not saying this is the app that was used by any means. I'm simply saying this data is available in real time. You can see what is going on in the skies around you in real time.

PAUL: You know, since you are our technology expert and we are talking about Flight 17 to some degree, I wonder what kind of data could possibly be recovered from some of the technology that some of those passengers had, if it can be recovered itself.

LARSON: If anything can be recovered, I think it's going to tell us a very interesting story. You know, everyone now, when they travel, they've got a laptop, they've got their smartphone, they've got their tablet computer. And if all of these things were being used doing the flight and if the data on them is recoverable, it's going to give us an interesting picture of what was happening in the moments prior to this incident happened, this plane being shot down.

Now, granted, these people didn't know this was going to happen. There's not going to be anything of that nature, but for family members, there could be photos that were taken during or prior to takeoff. There could be e-mails that were written that hadn't been sent yet, that are going to be sent from the ground. There could be documents that were created, stories that were written -- all kinds of things that were done by people who are just expecting to get to their destination.

And now, this information is simply left on the ground.

PAUL: To think that's precious information to families.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it tells that last intimate story of the last few moments of the 298 people on board.

Brett Larson, host of "Tech Bytes" -- thank you so much.

LARSON: Thanks, guys.

PAUL: Thank you, Brett.

So, the immigration crisis -- it is fanning controversy at the U.S. and Mexico border and stirring up partisan tensions in Washington, as you know, but lawmakers are running out of time to find a solution. We'll tell you why.

BLACKWELL: Also, Hillary Clinton there -- have you see this video? She was mobbed in the crowd, but they only came up to her shoulder. A bunch of elementary school kids in New York. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Hey, look at this. At the end of the event in New York, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor encouraged dozens of kids to hug Hillary Clinton and other leaders who attended.

Well, look, the kids swarmed her. You know, she's going to be a grandmother soon, and she responded warmly by hugging them back.

PAUL: Of course, she did.

The former secretary of state spoke at an event for the Bronx Children's Museum, encouraging elementary school students to aim high, folks. To aim high.

And don't forget to watch tomorrow when Hillary Clinton sits down with CNN's Fareed Zakaria at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Obviously, that was kind of appearance that she had. But she has an awful lot to say what's going on. So, be sure to watch that tomorrow, 10:00 a.m.

BLACKWELL: The immigration crisis, it's stirring up partisan tensions in Washington. It has been for sometime. And Washington is running out of time to find a solution.

Congress leaves town for summer recess in less than a week.

PAUL: Republicans and some Democrats are resisting President Obama's emergency funds request. Meanwhile, the president yesterday pressed Central American leaders to address the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you have a disorderly and dangerous process of migration, that not only puts the children themselves at risk, but it also calls to question the legal immigrant process of those who are properly applying and trying to enter into our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, CNN's Erin McPike joins us now from the White House.

Erin, they've got less than a week. There is so much on the table, but what are the chances Congress will take some action on this before the recess?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor and Christi, a senior administration official from the White House told us just yesterday that they are alarmed that nothing may happen in the next week or so as Congress has one week left before that five-week recess when they will be back in their districts. Now, we do know, we learned yesterday that House Republicans plan to introduce a bill this week that would give the White House less than $1 billion to address this crisis.

However, as we have been talking about for the past couple of weeks, the White House requested $3.7 billion. Well, the Senate was looking at a package to give the White House instead $2.5 billion. The House was looking at a package that would give them $1.5 billion. They scrapped that and now, they are looking at $1 billion.

But there may be action next week, but Democrats may not sign on to that because of the conditions that House Republicans want on the funding.

I want you to listen here to Democrat, Henry Cuellar -- he's a Texas congressman -- about what he thinks may not happen and what that will do to members of Congress over this August.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D), TEXAS: It will be a horrible symbol for us to go home, while we go back to our districts and we leave this crisis, humanitarian crisis, without being resolved. To go back, I can tell you that people when they start having their town hall meetings and talking to folks, cameras are going to follow the members of Congress and say what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: Now, on top of that, the mid-term elections are just three- plus months away. And so, that is why Republicans are looking at trying to do something in the next week, Christi and Victor.

PAUL: All right. Well, forget elections in the meantime. But if there isn't any action, what effect does that have on the crisis if there's no action in time for that recess?

MCPIKE: Christi, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has been warning Congress this month that they will simply run out of money. And that means a couple of things. One, that this ability to deport these undocumented people back to their home countries will be almost impossible and conditions for those here who are put in some of the shelters will worsen.

So, the crisis will only be worse and exacerbated if Congress doesn't act and there is not more money.

PAUL: All right. Erin McPike at the White House for us -- thank you.

BLACKWELL: I mean, in front of the curtain at least, it looks like each side is willing to do something, but how much we don't know. We'll see if they can get something passed.

PAUL: All about compromise.

BLACKWELL: You know, they did pass that bill to let you take the cell phone with you to the next carrier. So, that's something.

PAUL: Something is happening, he is saying.

BLACKWELL: Thanks, Congress.

PAUL: Yes, thank you so much for starting your morning with us.

BLACKWELL: Next hour of your NEW DAY starts now.

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PAUL: Good morning, everybody. So glad to have your company. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Eight o'clock now almost here on Saturday. This is NEW DAY SATURDAY.

PAUL: Yes, this morning, I want to the war planes and rocket fire have stilled over Gaza and Israel right now. This is for the first time in days.

BLACKWELL: Yes, but the death toll continues to rise even though this 12-hour pause from the fighting by Israel and Hamas is under way right now.