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State of Emergency Declared in California Due to Wildfires; JFK Airport Near Miss; Aircraft Debris Taken to France; Undocumented Immigrant Charge with Murder; Debris of Flight 370 Sent to Laboratory; Zimbabwe Demands Extradition of Walter Palmer. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired August 01, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:18] VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: We're following breaking news this morning.

A State of Emergency in California, 23 wild fires burning across the street more than hundreds of thousands of acre spoors and now one fire fighter had died working to contain the fires.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, about a mile back there was a drone flying just on the South West side of this abandoned (ph) airport here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Plus a near miss at JFK Airport. The FAA investigating a drone sighting as the Delta flight was attempting to land in New York.

BLACKWELL: And new this morning, debris believed to be from a Boeing 777 arrives in France and now the work to determine if this part of a wing is linked to missing Malaysia Airline Flight 370.

BLACKWELL: Good morning good to be with you. I'm Victor Blackwell.

PAUL: And I'm Christi Paul. Always glad to have you company.

We want to begin with this breaking news on those massive burning wild fires across California. Look at this map here. Every wild fire that's burning in the state right there is on that map, 23 of them.

And this morning the Governor declared a state of emergency. Nearly 8,000 fire fighters have been called in to battle these flames. And sadly we have learned one of those fires, the frog fire is the reason that there is our first victim.

Firefighter David Ruhl was -- have been working in California from his home state of South Dakota. He'd be doing so since June. But years of drought, four years in fact have left California just so bitterly dry in the past few years.

Governor Jerry Brown called it a "Tinder box." The fire you're seeing here is the rocky fire to Northern California. And so far it is only 5 percent contained and has already burned more than 18,000 acres.

Let's go to turn it to county now, the Burke fire has burned more than 5,000 acres, some towns under a mandatory evacuation over there.

Dry lightning, high winds, that's what's expected this weekend and that means there's not going to be a lot of a break for these men and these women who are fighting the flames.

Ivan Cabrera has the details on the weather. And Ivan, help us understand how bad this could get.

IVAN GABRERA, CNN WEATHER METERIOLOGITS: Well as you mentioned the drought is just setting the states or anytime we get a fire going to California now. It's just gets out of hand so very quickly now.

What we're showing you here is essentially the fires that are being worked over a dozen fires at now and the one that we're going to be focusing in on the five -- the lucky fire that we're talking about this one now consuming up to 18,000acres.

But look at this. Western wildfires crossed Western United states have now consumed over 5.5 million acres roughly the size of New Jersey. Just been incredible season that we've had and it just -- it continues to get worse because we don't get the rain where we needed in California.

18,000 of acres have now burned as a result out late county fire.

This is about 80 miles such as the Orange the North of San Francisco, 5 percent containment and that is going to be critical. It really got out of hand yesterday which is why they had to call in extra help here.

A few showers in the forecast, this is actually terrible because what's going to happen is we're going to have some thunderstorms building up through the afternoon and we could get some lightning out of that.

So it's not going to be a flow from the ocean that's going to bring a kind of a nice moderate rain. That's not going to be the case. We have the potential for lightning out there.

So forecast not looking good. And as far as the temperatures, once again will climb into the upper 80s to lower 90s this afternoon. The winds will kick up during the afternoon we -- or in this pattern now we know we're talking about temps that continues through the weekend into the load in mid 90s.

And over night temperatures, they do catch a break there as we drop into the 50s and 60s. But humidity climbs back up. And that's when they can do with some progress there but body afternoon guys. The winds kick up. The temperatures go up and it is going to be very difficult to fight fires ongoing California through the weekend. PAUL: My goodness, yeah, I had read that people who were just grabbing their livestock. And there's 200 feet flames there.

So thank you so much Ivan Cabrera, we appreciate it.

BLACKWELL: All right, developing story we're following this morning, learning the tales about a dangerous close call between a drone and a commercial airliner. This happened over New York City.

Now this reported drone came with in 100 feet of a Delta Flight, 149 passengers or people including the crew there on board.

And now the FAA is investigating.

CNN's Nick Valencia joins us now with the latest. Nick what happened here?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN REPORTER: Good morning Victor.

A very close call at the nation's busiest air space and according to the FAA this happens a lot more frequently than we care to believe, this latest incident involving a drone and a commercial aircraft happening at JFK during the planes most critical phase of landing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:05:03] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Delta 407

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, about a mile back there was a drone flying just on the South West side of this abandoned (ph) airport here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At what altitude did you say that was?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say probably about 100 feet below us. Just of the right wing.

VALENCIA: Delta Flight 407 was preparing to land at JFK Airport with 159 people on board. The jet just 1,700 feet above the ground, when the pilot spots a drone on the South West side of the plane just about a 100 feet below.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 407. Did you by any chance did you get the color or type?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I was not close enough to be able to tell.

VALENCIA: Then JFK tower warned other pilots with a possible danger flying around them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: JetBlue 943, use caution through this arrival. The one that's ahead of you reported a drone at the Floyd Bennett Field over there. So you might see that over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, we're on (inaudible) so we're probably considerably higher than he was but we're watching out for it.

VALENCIA: Phil Derner of NYCAviation.com weighed in, Derner said without a doubt, this was close call.

He explains a drone flying within 100 feet of plane can easily get sucked in an engine or worse.

PHIL DERNER: These drones are made of air cup aluminum similar parts to, you know, the air cup that is about to strike. Going in to an engine can destroy an engine. Going in to the cockpit window can engine or pilot or oven kill a pilot.

VALENCIA: Scares like the one at JFK happened more often than you think.

The FAA reports 25 drone incidents each month. In the case of Delta Flight 407 the plane landed safely. But now the FAA is investigating the incident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Drones are not supposed to fly above 400 feet according to the FAA. They cannot fly within 5 miles of the commercial airport either.

Investigators still looking for whoever operated this drone, they could face federal charges. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Nick, thank you very much.

Let's bring Mary Schiavo. She is a CNN Aviation Analyst and Former Inspector General at the Department of Transportation.

Mary, good to have you with us.

And I want to start with putting this in some terms that a lot of us remember the story of a miracle on the Hudson.

I mean if you've got this flock of birds that took out that plane, both engines there. What kid of damage could this drone do?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Oh, without a doubt a drone would take out the jet engine. And there's a limit to even what kind of a bird an engine can take. I mean it can't take a dues, it can't take any kind of a large bird.

And the drones are certainly tougher than the birds. So it would take out the engine and of course the laws that there are in place now, do cover this and they covered it before anywhere around an airport.

You cannot operate in the airport area of a major airport like JFK without air traffic control clearance. So this particular drone operator broke more than one set of laws. Many, many, laws we're broken here.

BLACKWELL: You know, I did some reading about the Floyd Bennett Field where apparently this happened. And that's a place where monoplane enthusiast go to fly their monoplanes. Is there possibly a problem here or some inconsistency with terms? One persons drone could seem like or look like a monoplane.

SCHIAVO: Well, actually they're kind of the same thing because, you know, drones, you know, learned from the monoplane enthusiast. But the monoplane enthusiasts have to follow the rules and they've always had to follow the rules. And that 400 foot rule is a pretty good one because there really aren't any flight operations under that, other than at airport and they're already with the airport exclusionary, where you cannot operate in that area without air traffic control.

So monoplanes and drones are obviously very, very similar, in some cases the same thing. And usually the monoplanes enthusiast where they have this various dedicated for their operations, stay within them. And there wasn't a lot of problems before the -- you know, the drones take off that crazy.

BLACKWELL: Is this happening more often or we just paying closer attention?

SCHIAVO: No. It's happened more and more often because they're more, more readily available. And then of course the more people read about them and get enthuse about them. I'm not a drone enthusiast myself. But always follow the rules. And with the more and more people see how capable they are. People are getting interested. But the rules are there now. The FAA was very late on putting them in place. But they are now and to be followed.

But what people need to know is the FAA and the FBI will help them. And where they catch people breaking the rules, they are prosecuting including with jail time.

BLACKWELL: All right CNN Aviation Analyst Mary Schiavo thank you so much.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

PAUL: Well a judge erupts in court. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does he have a passport? Does he have green card?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: None that either.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well then how the hell do I know it's even him?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And undocumented immigrant being held on a $10 million bond after a violent crime spree.

The controversy is the police knew about him for weeks. But they didn't report him to the fed.

Plus the plane debris is thought to be from missing Malaysia Flight 370 is now in France this morning.

[06:10:02] And that becomes the center for which answers hopefully will be found.

Also one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling history dies. What happened to 80s icon "Rowdy" Roddy Piper?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: We could be a huge step closer to learning what happen to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, debris that maybe from the plane is now in France, and arrived on an Air France Jet from the Indian Ocean Island of Reunion.

Now, It's now being taken by car in a sealed box to defense Ministry Lab and investigators will use state of the art technology that determine if it is from the plane, in fact it's 17 months ago with 239 people aboard.

NTSB and Boeing teams are joining this investigation.

Now a volcanic eruption on that island is making the search for additional debris even more challenging.

CNN Saima Mohsin joins us now.

Saima, investigators in France are not going to start examining this until Wednesday. I mean there had been many countries involved many millions of dollar spent trying to find some debris. Now why they wait several days to start the analysis?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Victor of course everyone is wondering why it's going to take so long. Not list of course the families of those 239 passengers on board that we really need to remember here.

They're waiting and they 100 percent certainty in confirmation whether this is or not from flight MH-370.

Well, as you say this is an international effort there are a lot of experts that are coming together to take a look at this piece such as the nature of how crucial it is to identify if it is from MH-370 and then take that investigation forward.

[06:15:12] So there were experts flying in from Malaysia, from the United States, the NTSB is coming in. There are prosecutors as well from Malaysia and here in France because there was a civil action taking place as well whether or not this resulted the plane disappeared as a result of a hijacking or terrorist faction.

So, there are a lot of people that need to come together and they are saying they will gather first the preliminary meeting on Tuesday and then some analysis on Wednesday.

But Victor, that doesn't mean they won't identified before then. We know that expert already taking a look at the photograph we know that they identified two crucial serial numbers.

Now, personably expert from Boeing that made the 777 aircraft will be now running through their records and trying to match up and see where those serials numbers come from. Of course we know the only flight that's missing that's the 777 is MH-370 but could part of being a part that came from another aircraft, we don't know. Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, good to know that the attempt to determine if this is indeed part of that jack. We'll start before the analysis on Wednesday. Saima Mohsin, thank you so much.

PAUL: And let's have with CNN Aviation Analyst and Former Inspector General of the Department of Transportation, Mary Schiavo, also retired Airline Captain and Chief Pilot John Ransom, joining us. Thank you to both of you.

Mary I do want to start with you a lot of people are thinking, this has to be the plane. What do you think it's taking so long to determine that this is MH-370? And do you think it has anything to do with P.R. because they said there was a lot of criticism of authorities prior to all of this when a plane disappeared that they weren't sensitive to the family? So, do you think they're just being particularly cautious?

SCHIAVO: No, I think they're following the investigation protocol. They -- not only do they have to identify the part. And I think pretty much people have a knowledge that Boeing has said, yes it is that flaperon -- and it's a -- at 777 flaperon. But when you start this investigation because there can be, only can be we don't know if they're going to get a lot of the evidence. But there can be a lot of evidence on the part.

There is a protocol that you have to follow literally every step that they do in examining this part will be filmed and photographed. They're going to have to cut it open to also look inside because there are number stamped inside on this part.

And when they do that they will film that very carefully but they're going to analyze it first. They will literally X-ray it, do sinograms on it. They will do everything that they can to get any evidence off of it.

And, so there's a lot of protocol to be established. And the observers will be there too. They'll have the Malaysians, United State, U.K. is involved in the investigation, Australia etcetera. So they will have the parties to the investigation present. So it's a logistics problem mostly.

PAUL: OK. So, John I understand you say your 99 percent convinced that this is MH-370, what makes you so certain?

JOHN RANSOM, RETIRED AIRLINE CAPTAIN CHIEF PILOT: Well, as Mary said there are a lot of people that have been watching. I heard from within Boeing within a few minutes of the first photographs being release that this was in fact the Boeing part.

The engineers and manufacturing people recognized it right away. So, since there really aren't any other 777 is missing and since this is a Boeing 777 part it's produced, withdraw that conclusions. PAUL: And you think that this is just the first of many parts? Do you believe there going to wash ashore in that area?

RANSOM: I'm certainly hoping. Having flown over there, there's a lot of water. The islands whether it's this island of Madagascar or Mauritius or even Rodriguez is that there is a small bits of land and a bunch of water. So I'm guessing there could be a lot parts that have gone right behind are now back into the circuit.

PAUL: So, Mary I wanted to ask you real quickly the fact that this much time has gone by has this tragedy done anything to modify what is happening in the air right now if something -- if a plane would disappear again.

In any words have we learned, in other words have we learned anything from this so far even without determining whether this is the plane part? Have we learned anything about how aviation works and making certain that this doesn't happen again?

SCHIAVO: Well, we've certainly learned a lot of things. And there are, you know, four prevailing theories is to what went on wrong on the plane.

But unfortunately changes have not been made. And first in foremost is the ability to track the plane through the automatic downloads of the information in other words instead of looking for the black box when a plane goes down the services that provide what's called System Status Updates as the plane is flying they produce data that can be picked up by the home base of the airline that hasn't been required and really not a lot of additional airlines have subscribed to that service. And that's just, that's an acceptable.

There is no reason we should ever allow plane to go missing again . And then there is a lots of speculation about criminal activity et cetera. And they're really haven't been any changes to security for the aircraft because of this.

[06:20:16] PAUL: All right. John Ransom, Mary Schiavo, thank you both so much for your time this morning. And I know we're going to be checking back with you in a few minutes, and thanks form sticking around too.

And we want to make sure that we get your questions answered because I know you have some regarding MH-370. Go to our Twitter page tweet us your questions with the #MH370Qs. Our experts are going to try to answer them a little later in the show for you.

BLACKWELL: Plus two families in Florida hold on to hope.

The coast guard has now called off to search for two boys who disappeared while boating. But there families are not giving up. We'll tell you who's next in this search.

Plus you got to see this. Rescued crews swopped in to rescue a boat passenger but this is not someone stranded at sea.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK FEDOR, CAPTAIN MIAMI COAST GUARD: The coast guard dedicates it best efforts to every search and rescue case. But this one was particularly painful because a lot of the people that were out there searching have kids about the same age. I have a...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well now the coast guard has suspended its search for two missing teen boaters.

But the 14-year-olds families say that they're not giving up. They say they'll use a GoFundMe campaign to continue to look for them. The boy was missing at sea in July 24th, their boat capsize was found last Sunday, dozens of miles of Florida's Atlantic coast.

[06:25:07] PAUL: And the coast guard also, take a look at some of these pictures we're getting in. Medically evacuated a 35-year-old woman this is sort of cruise ship near Santiago. Apparently she was experiencing acute abdominal pain. She was evacuated by helicopter as you can see there and taken to a hospital for emergency care.

BLACKWELL: Pro wrestling legend Roddy Piper has died. The King wearing (ph) superstar of 1980, he was arguably one of the best bad guys in professional wrestling history. Piper's agents says, the 61-year-old passed away in asleep at least behind the wife and four children and a great legacy as well.

PAUL: And the governor of California declared a state of emergency this morning.

Almost two dozen wildfires think about that, 23 wildfires burning across the state. Crews are really scrambling here we'll tell you what's happening.

BLACKWELL: Plus a judge just outraged in an Ohio courtroom, while he set an enormous bond for undocumented man charged in a violent crime spree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: 29 minutes passed the hour right now.

And nearly two dozen wildfires think about that, 23 wildfires burning across the California right now.\

Here are some of the latest pictures that we're getting in, and that's prompted the governor to declare a State of Emergency.

[06:30:03] Four years of drought that what's let left straight, so bone-state, so bone-dry. And nearly 8,000 firefighters are battling these flames. Now, unfortunately, the first person has died. We are talking about a firefighter David Ruhl of South Dakota, there is his picture. The State Forest Service is going to hang its flag at half- staff in his honor. We are going to continue to follow this breaking story, of course, and have more for you at the top of the hour of it. Certainly, thoughts to his family and his colleagues there.

We are also learning details this morning about a dangerous close call between a drone and a commercial airliner. This was over New York City. A drone reportedly came within 100 feet of a Delta flight that was about to land at JFK airport. Now, the flight and all 159 passengers did land safely. The FAA is investigating, of course,

And debris that could be from missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370 is now being taken by car in a sealed box to a French defense ministry lab. And that will be - where it will be given its analysis. It even got a police escort you see there. The debris is believed to be from a Boeing 77 that arrived on an Air France jet in Paris just a short time ago.

BLACKWELL: For the second time in the space of about a month, an undocumented immigrant has been accused of murdering someone. This comes in Ohio. And authorities here became aware of that person status, but did not detain or deport this person. The suspect in this case is Juan Razo. He returns to court on Monday facing a murder charge along with an attempted rape charge. Reporter Susan Stratford from our sister affiliate there, WJW has more on Razo's first appearance in front of a judge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDGE MICHAEL CICCONETTI, PAINESVILLE, OHIO MUNICIPAL COURT: I can't set a bond high enough. I cannot set one high enough. So I'm just going to set it at $10 million.

SUSAN STRATFORD, WJW: A hefty bond set by a determined judge Michael Cicconetti to ensure 35-year old Juan Emanuel Razo isn't easily bailed out.

CICCONETTI: Does he have a passport? Does he have a green card?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not that either.

CICCONETTI: Well, then how in the hell do I know it is even him?

STRATFORD: At times, the judge becoming agitated during Razo's arraignment in Painesville municipal court Tuesday afternoon on one count of attempted murder. So far, additional charges are expected stemming from a crime spree Monday that started with the attempted rape of Razo's 14-year-old niece, then led to a massive manhunt and ended with one woman shot and wounded on the Lake Metro Park's Greenway corridor trail and another woman murdered. This exclusive photo obtained by Fox 8 news shows Lake County authorities finally capturing Razo after he reportedly shot at deputies.

CICCONETTI: Somebody that we don't even know who he is, why he is in this country, why he is here illegally and why he allegedly committed a murder.

STRATFORD: While Razo showed little emotion, pleading not guilty, the judge became choked up when addressing the victim's family members.

CICCONETTI: I am so sorry that you have to be here. From my heart, I feel so sorry for you.

STRATFORD: Investigators say 60-year-old Margaret "Peggy" Kostelnik was shot inside of her Ravenna Road home.

MAYOR DAVID ANDERSON, WILLOUGHBY, OHIO: Senseless. This is totally senseless.

STRATFORD: Willoughby Mayor David Anderson says Peggy had been a city employee there for 27 years and most recently served as his assistant.

ANDERSON: She was a person that truly cared about the job she did and the people she served.

STRATFORD: A tragic loss that some think it could have been prevented. Lake County sheriff deputies first stopped Razo this past July 7 for behaving suspiciously. Razo admitted to being in the U.S. illegally and was reported to border patrol but released.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he had committed no crimes, so he was not taken into any custody.

STRATFORD: A spokesperson for U.S. customs and border protection responded to fact saying, "We are looking into the facts of this case." But, sadly, it comes too late for Razo's victims.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is crazy. So if you ever think of anything like that ever happening to anybody around here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about this case with CNN law enforcement analyst and retired NYPD detective, Harry Houck. Harry, good to have you with us this morning.

HARRY HOUCK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So, the federal and local officials that pointing fingers at each other here when it comes to who is to blame. Department of Homeland Security had this to say. This is part of the statement. Let's put it up. "Without such a determination, (as his legality in the country), the agents had no legal basis to file a detainer to hold the subject. Although the agents offered to meet with the deputies on site and interview the subject in person. The offer was declined and the subject was released." We have got about three minutes. I want to hit three topics. Let's start with the sheriff's office first. You heard from the sheriff there that he committed no crime. He had no criminal record. So, the department had no authority to detain him. But he was in the country illegally. Is that not crime enough? Do they need more?

[06:35:00]

HOUCK: That is to me. I mean what's tragic here is the fact that this woman did not have to die. This crime was preventable. And by meaning preventable, that the police officers could have taken him in custody clearly knowing that he was illegal in the country. He'd been stated it to the officers. So, why didn't the statement from the officers to the Department of Homeland Security say, listen, this guy admitted he is in the country illegally. And why don't you put a detainer on him? It looks like the DHS is the main problem here.

BLACKWELL: Yes, so, that's the first part. Let's go down to the DHS, which you just mentioned. The sheriff's office says that he admitted that he was in this country illegally. Why wasn't that enough for border patrol to come and interview him in person and not just over the phone? And even if the locals detained - the locals declined it, why not go if you know you have a potential suspect here?

HOUCK: That's basically what I just said. I mean the fact is, that isn't the officer's statements good enough for the Department of Homeland Security to come and detain this gentleman? I mean come on. What are we doing here? Now, it might not be the agents' fault themselves. Because this might be the policy that's been instituted by the Obama administration now. So, they are pointing their fingers at each other here. Who is to blame? To me, it is the policy.

BLACKWELL: Let's go to this third element here. HOLA, which is a Latino outreach organization based in Ohio says that this is not about his status, instead, it's about his mental issues. His father, who is a U.S. citizen, has been in the country for 40 years, a U.S. citizen. And that has he applied for a green card status for his son and he's been waiting, Razo has been waiting in line for 12 years. They say this is not immigration, it's about problems associated with adult and mental illness. Your response?

HOUCK: Well, they are always looking for an excuse to point the finger in another direction. That's exactly what's happening here. I don't care about how this guy's mental capacity is or not. He should have not been in this country. He should have been taken in custody and he should have been in jail and now we would have a lady that would be alive today if that would have happened.

BLACKWELL: Harry Houck, thank you so much.

HOUCK: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Christie.

PAUL: Well, plane debris found on an island beach is in France now this morning. And the question is, does it belong to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370? Join that conversation and we want to hear your thoughts. Use the hashtag MH370QS.

Plus, a representative for the big game hunter accused of illegally killing Cecil the Lion has talked to U.S. officials. Remember, Zimbabwe is pressuring the U.S. to extradite that dentist, but will the government give in to those demands?

Also in sports, big night in the Octagon for Rowdy Ronda. Coy. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She'll be fighting Brazilian Bethe Correia tonight who's undefeated like Rousey. But Rousy has defeated her last three opponents in 96 seconds combined. Should Ronda Rousey fight a man? A lot of people are wondering. That's going to be our question. Use hashtag "NEW DAY CNN", and we'll use your comments on air.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Racket technology has been the biggest game changer in tennis. Size and materials have changed over the years, but now the racket is developing a mind of its own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is actually the first tennis racket you have to turn on before you start playing. Because it has got sensors in the handle. That's exactly where the sensors are located, and those sensors pretty much measure everything you do on the court.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While I'm playing, the racket tracks the number of forehands, back hands, my strike speed and where the ball hits the record strings. The vibration of each strike is registered in the cheek which is translated into data.

Until last year, using data-collecting rackets during match play was ruled illegal in each of the four Grand Slams. But a new International Tennis Federation law now allows high-tech racquets to be used during tournament play. Although the rule prohibits players from looking at the data during matches. Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniaki, the top players that have started using the smart rackets in competition this year.

[06:39:40]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: OK, this is where we get to talk about what your questions are. But I want to let you know that right now, debris that could be from the wing of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 is heading to a French laboratory. Just hours after it arrived in Paris via an Air France jet, it is being taken by car in a sealed box, with a police escort to keep it safe. But CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the Department of Transportation, Mary Schiavo with us now as well as retired airline captain and chief pilot, John Ransom. Thank you both for being here. Because our viewers have so many questions. They've been tweeting us. We want to make sure we get those answered.

So, first of all, Chris Bastian wants to know, "Is it reasonable to think debris had been floating for 14 months or could it have risen to the surface over time? John, why don't you take that one?

JOHN RANSOM, DIRECTOR OF SAFETY STANDARDS, SAFETY OPERATING SYSTEMS: Well, I am thinking that in all likelihood, the debris has been floating the whole time. I guess it is possible that some items could begin to float when they may break loose from the bulk of the wreckage. But in all likelihood the things that are coming ashore have been afloat the whole time. PAUL: Have been afloat OK. Jody Danski wants to know, would the black boxes be readable if they are found at this point, Mary?

MARY SCHIAVO, FMR. INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION: Yes, most likely they would be readable if the protective casing and housing of the black boxes has not been breached. It is very heavy protective casing. It keeps the salt water out. It keeps everything out. If that has been broken in the crash to the ocean, then it is possible the salt water could have destroyed it. But it will be on there. Whatever is on there, at the time it stops recording that date is preserved unless destroyed by fire or impact of salt water?

PAUL: OK, good to know. Twitter user Sif wants to know if satellite data can be used to backtrack the debris trail, John.

RANSOM: I'm not sure how that would work. I mean the satellite data stopped when the airplane impacted the water. I think the better sources are the people who have done the analysis of the currents in the Indian Ocean. And so far, I spoke with one yesterday who predicted that the debris would end up on Reunion Island in about a year, a professor at the University of West Australia.

[06:45:08]

RANSOM: And he was right on the money.

PAUL: He was right on. He was right on. OK. Does that give you any indication as to where you think it is? Are they searching in the right area, really?

RANSOM: He believes they are.

PAUL: They are.

RANSOM: And I think the preponderance of thought is that they are searching in the right area.

PAUL: They are. OK. Sammy Adams wants to know, how can these sort of air disasters be averted? Are floatable black boxes possible? Mary?

SCHIAVO: Well, yes, there is a lot of technology there, there is one particular technology where when something is going wrong, where the black box would actually be ejected from the plane with some kind of a flotation device. But I really think that the better system is an extension of what was on Air France 447, and that is that the plane itself sends what's called system status, update messages via satellite continuously and throughout flight. And especially when something is going wrong. So, if the black box data is continuously downloaded during flight, we wouldn't have to search for the black boxes anymore. And I really think that that should be required.

PAUL: Yes. It is really intriguing to think about it. Mary Schiavo, John Ransom, we appreciate your expertise so much. Thank you for being here.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: We have new developments this morning in the search for the dentist who killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe. A representative for Dr. Walter Palmer has now reached out to U.S. authorities. And of course, this outrage is continuing to grow across the U.S. and in Zimbabwe. We have got the latest up next. Plus, in our next hour, new video of a previous traffic stop involving this university cop charged with murder. What does this tell us about the officer and his adherence or non-adherence to department protocol? You'll see the video and hear from our experts.

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[06:50:20]

BLACKWELL: New this morning. A representative for the dentist who allegedly illegally killed Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe has reached out to U.S. authorities. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They want to talk with Dr. Walter Palmer himself. But so far, that hasn't happened. He went into hiding after there was international outrage over Cecil's killing. Now, if he turns up, he could face extradition. Zimbabwe has started proceedings and is calling on the U.S. to cooperate. There is even a White House petition requesting his extradition that has nearly 200,000 signatures so far. CNN's David McKenzie has details for us. David.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONENT: Victor, the killing of Cecil the Lion has touched an emotional nerve around the world. And there was much concern about the fate of Cecil's more than a dozen cubs in that pride. Because normally, a rival lion would come in and kill them. We are now learning from Oxford University that in fact, Jericho, Cecil's brother, is protecting those cubs. So, there is a glimmer of hope there. But now, the hunter who killed Cecil the Lion is being hunted by Zimbabwean authorities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: An iconic African lion lured out of its sanctuary and struck down with a boat in the dead of night. It has led to global outrage at this man, Dr. Walter Palmer, the Minnesotan dentist who killed Cecil. Facing the social media storm on Twitter, Facebook and even Yelp!, Palmer temporarily closed his dental practice and has gone to ground. Now, he could face the law. Zimbabwean officials working to extradite him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is - event was properly orchestrated and well-financed to make sure that it succeeds.

MCKENZIE: Palmer's local guides go on trial next week. If guilty of poaching, they could spend ten years in one of Zimbabwe's most notorious prisons. Their lawyers say they are innocent and Palmer claims he is too, blaming it all on his local guides. But CNN has learned through court documents that a hunter with the same name, age, and from the same town as Palmer admitted to lying to U.S. authorities in 2006 in the illegal killing of a black bear in Wisconsin. Palmer's lawyers could not be reached. And a spokesman said he had no information on that case. Extradition proceedings can be notoriously slow but Zimbabwe has a treaty with the United States. And public pressure is mounting on the Obama administration to act. More than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for Palmer to be sent to Zimbabwe to face the law.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Experts say that extraditing Palmer to Zimbabwe might be unlikely. But now, he has, in fact, contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through a representative. They are conducting their own investigation. Christie?

PAUL: Thank you so much. And next hour, we are going to be joined by Ted Simon. He is an international law expert and has details on whether an extradition of Cecil's killer is even possible in this case.

Listen, I want to let you know this morning, the governor of California has declared a state of emergency. Look at the pictures we are getting in here. We have nearly two dozen wildfires burning across California right now. And we are learning a firefighter has died as he was working to try to put something out. We have more on who that man is and an update on how these fires could even get worse today.

Also, talking some - It's apparently, it's time to get rowdy. Ronda Rousey back in the Octagon against one of the top female MMA fighters in the world. Here is the question. Would you want to see her battle a man?

[06:54:10]

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BLACKWELL: Three minutes before the top of the hour now. Let's take a look at stories making headlines.

PAUL: Yeah, in just a few hours friends and family of Whitney Houston's daughter are going to say their good-byes to Bobbi Kristina Brown. Her funeral will be held in an Atlanta suburb. She died just last Sunday about six months after she was found face down and unresponsive in a bathtub at her home.

BLACKWELL: Members of Osama bin Laden's family died when their small plane crashed in the U.K. Look at this. All four passengers on board were killed. The U.K. is conducting an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding that crash.

PAUL: And look at this stare down, and it is not between me and Victor.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: It is two fighters battling at tonight's USC 190 pay per view in Brazil. Coy Wire is here to talk to us about it. And now the question is, will one of them fight a man? That's what's being .... COY WIRE: That's what ...

PAUL: That's what out there.

WIRE: That's what people want to see and are saying should happen. Tonight, Ronda Rousey will face Bethe Correia out of Brazil. She's undefeated, but the thing is, her fights in the UFC, she is one in 7, her combined opponent's records. So, there's not really a competition, in many eyes, even though they think that this woman has a chance. Ronda Rousey is expected to dominate. She's, tough, she's rough, she's riveting, she's rousing. And so, Ronda Rousey - many people think that she could beat a man in the Octagon. That's how dominant she is. Her last three fights have lasted a combined 96 seconds. 14 seconds on her last one. 16 seconds for the fight before that. She just obliterates anyone she steps into the Octagon with. LeBron James has come out and said that he would only last as long as she allowed him to last in the Octagon. UFC Connor McGregor said that she would throw him on his head in one second flat. So, there is a lot of talk out there that she could beat a man in the Octagon. We want to know what you think. Should this happen? Should Ronda Rousey fight a man and show just how dominant she really is? Use the hashtag, newdaycnn. And we'll use your comments in the next hour. I think it would be an interesting, interesting fight to say the very least.

PAUL: Yeah, but it's not as though anybody is offering, you know.

BLACKWELL: Yeah.

PAUL: They are saying she would beat me, but they are not saying how good of a fight.

WIRE: No one is lining up.

PAUL: Thank you, Coy

WIRE: You are welcome.

PAUL: And there is so much news that we have to tell you about this morning.

BLACKWELL: Next hour of your "NEW DAY" starts right now.

New this morning, a piece of the wing most likely from MH-370 now in France.

[07:00:00]

BLACKWELL: How much could it help investigators figure out what happened to the missing plane?

PAUL: And talk about a close call - a small drone just 100 feet from the wing of a landing passenger plane.