Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom 20140510

Hey, isnt that razors old lady . Not anymore. Priceline savings without the bidding. Well be here at lifelock doing our thing you do your connect to public wifi thing protecting you in ways your Credit Card Company alone cant. Get lifelock protection and live life free. Hello again, everyone. Im fredricka whitfield. Big stories well following in the newsroom. A horrifying turn of events at a hot air Balloon Festival. One of the balloons burst into flames. Brand new information about who was onboard. The Los Angeles Clippers have a new interim ceo. That doesnt mean anything with the Donald Sterling controversy is over. The legal battle that lies ahead coming up. And the head of the Veterans Administration expected to testify before a Senate Committee next week coming up, stunning new allegations in a growi ining scandal and how one hospital may have denied six veterans the care they desperately needed. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com first up, that terrifying hot air balloon. Two of the three people onboard worked in the university of Richmond Womens basketball program, according to a western athe universitiess athletic department. It burst into flames at a felt val north of richmond. Two body recovered so far and the search goes on for a third victim. Heres an eyewitness describing the accident. Sounded like a loud bang and we thought just a firework, Something Like that and then remembered the Balloon Festival, and i said to my boyfriend, he came running out, look at the sky. The balloons on fire, and all we seen was stuff falling from the sky. The basket, the balloon. Everything was on fire. Please, god, tell me theres not anybody in there. I dont want to you know, know anything that somebodys hurt. And all of a sudden we started to see something falling from the sky. And a News Conference is scheduled to take place at any moment. Well take it live as it happens. Meantime, officials released more details earlier today and cnns erin mcpike was there. Fred, Virginia State police wrapped up a News Conference just a short time ago, and they said theyve located the second victim. Of course, earlier in the day they said this moved from a rescue mission to a recovery operation. So now they are still looking for the third victim, and will continue the search until they third victim is found as well as the basket and all of the debris. Here is the spokesman for the Virginia State police describing how the entire community has been helpful in the process. Weve had probably anywhere between 30 to 40 calls from people who witnessed it, from here at the festival, on friday, to neighbors, to people driving within the vicinity, and its been a tremendous help. Weve been following up with those folks and truly appreciate them taking the time to call and give their names and contact information. Theres actual kind of scientific steps being taken that help us to kind of triangularize where these search points are going to be. You know it could be almost like looking for a needle in a haystack. Based on witness accounts, where they were standing at the time they saw things, where videos and photos were taken on concentrated us in search efforts and xexpedited the search. Reporter two of the victims we heard jumped out of the basket during that fire. I want to play some of the dispatch calls last night so you can hear what happened. Possible mass casualty incident reported multiple hot air balloons have crashed into power lines. And the balloons are now on fire. Got a visual of the airborne hot air balloons. It appears to be still smoking, still pretty high in the air. Got a report that the basket has come off. So were trying to find that right now. Advise all units, the airborne balloons arent the issue. We need to locate the basket. Obviously, a horrific and chaotic scene. Weve heard from a number of eyewitnesses today who described just how awful it was. One man even telling me that he could hear the explosion from about two miles away, fred. Erin mcpike, thank you so much. Again, were awaiting a News Conference for an update on that investigation. All right. A major Domestic Airline flight dangerously near a drone. The consequence kocould havent been sdro disastrous. Were learning more. Here is rene marsh. Reporter fred, this could have been deadly, if that drone made contact with that passenger plane. The two came dangerously close to colliding midair, but this isnt a first. There have been other near disasters in the air involving drones. A near nightmare in the sky. Almost crashes into a camouflaged drone, well above the typical altitude for a tr t private drone. The incident in the tallahassee skies involved an express jet. 2,300. Reporter the first details of the march scare previously not revealed until an faa official spoke about it thursday in san francisco. Said that the uaf was so close to his jet he was sure he had collided with it. Thankfully the inspection of the airliner found no damage. Reporter it could have brought down the plane. The safety of our passengers and crews are top priority. Us airways Parent Company tells cnn in a news statement, were aware of the published report alleging an incident with one of our express jets and we are investigating. There have been close calls beforesthe fbi is still investigating a drone that came within 200 feet of an alitalia flight earlier in the air. A drone. Reporter the pilot in that incident can be heard telling air traffic control. And this monday, a small drone was found after apparently hitting this building in st. Louis. In the next five years, the faa estimates as many as 7,500 drones could be flying in the u. S. Airspace at any given time. The agency has been working on a plan to safely integrate drones into the airspace so that you dont have accidents with passenger aircrafts. Now, it is illegal for commercial use, although there are some exceptions. As for hobbyists, the faa only allows recreational drones to fly up to 400 feet. Fred . Thank you, rene. Birds striking planes can also cause problems for planes. Us airways flight, it struck a bird just yesterday afternoon. The plane was flying from laguardia to Reagan National in d. C. It turned around and then landed safely. None of the 96 passengers and 5 crew onboard were hurt. The plane is now being inspected. This is reportedly the second bird strike this week involving a laguardia flight. The Los Angeles Clippers are in the middle of playoff games right now. All while a battle goes on in the front office. The legal fallout of the controversial surrounding Donald Sterling next. Plus, new allegations surface in a Veterans Affairs scandal that keeps expanding. It comes days before the va secretary is set to testify before u. S. Congress. Double agents . Spy thriller . You dont know aarp thanks to the aarp tek program, this guy is spying on his new grandson. Aarp tek gets People Better connected to technology, to Better Connect with each other. With social media, digital devices and apps. If you dont think hashtag love dad when you think aarp, then you dont know aarp find more surprising possibilities and get to know us at aarp. Org possibilities the l. A. Clippers had a new ceo, former citigroup chairman richard parsons. Also the former chairman of time warner. Cnns Parent Company. The nba announced the move yesterday less than a week after saying they would choose someone to supervise the teams operations in the aftermath of the Donald Sterling scandalal. That whole mess got a lot more complicated with the release of another audio recording from radar online. Its believed to be Donald Sterling trying to explain to an unidentified friend why he told his alleged mistress v. Stiv ya yastiviano not to bring black people to his games. We dont know who the other person is on that tape. Theres a lot going on with this story. Two guests to help sort it out. Hln legal analyst joey jackson is here with me and attorney Darren Kavinoky is in los angeles. All right. Good to see you, gentlemen. Good to see you, fred. My friend darren. How are you . Hello. Im well, sir. One Big Happy Family here. Yes. Joey, begin with you. So the nba trying to very publicly turn a corner in this growing scandal by naming the new ceo. Dick parsons, but, really, thats just the tip of the iceberg, because the nba wants, period, Donald Sterling out. But thats the message im hearing. Right. As we know right now, it says Donald Sterling out, doesnt necessarily say any sterling. When you have Shelly Sterling saying ive got a stake in this, it becomes a lot more complicated. Theyll have to change the language, are they not . In the team owners vote that its any sterling . Not just don sterling now . Its gets blurry because hes the sinner, if you want to call it that. In moving forward they want a dissociation from sterling, period. His sin cant be imputed upon his wife, it would leave a lingering and bass taste in the mouth of fans and sponsors, certainly the ememployees, the basketball players. Not to mudder her up in the mess. Can i disrupt you a moment. We want to go straight to virginia for an update on the hot air balloon. If we get a chance well resume this conversation. Lets live in. The occupant of the hot air balloon. Some asking the distance respective to where the first body was found and second, roughly 1,500 yards, between the two. Again, its a very heavily wooded, heavy undergrowth area. Where the remains were discovered. Thats all for our update. Im going to turn it now over to the ntsb and theyre going to provide you with their update on their investigation. Good afternoon, everyone. I am heidi motes, last name moats. I ath an air safety investigator with the National Transportation safety board. First id like to start off thanking the state and local authorities for their assistance in this investigation, and the search and rescue crews in their tireless work that theyve helped with this portion of the investigation. So once the search and rescue has been completed, the ntsb will complete the federal investigation of the balloon sdhaent occurred around occur around 7 50 last night, may 9th. Registered 3016 zulu, and eagle balloon. During the investigation, we will examine the man, the machine and the environment. Were going to continue to monitor this press conference as they reveal information. The latest being that the third body has still not been found. Again, last hour it was revealed by officials that two bodies had been recovered. They continue to look for a third. Search crews are on the scene. A very treacherous area. This after last nights hot air balloon accident, and we also understand, according to sources, that two of the victims are related to the university of Richmond Womens basketball program. When we get more information, well pass that on. Meantime, well resume our conversation with Darren Kavinoky and joey jackson on the ongoing, what team seems to be lengthening legal road for the don sterling l. A. Clippers ownership issue. Joey, you were talking about whether the omission of Shelly Sterlings name. Right. In anyway protects her with her stake of the claim . The nba is going after don sterling and it states don sterling, what about the other sterling who is half owner . Its a private organization. As a result of that, exclusive club. They set their own rules. Three quarters of the owners say byebye, thats the end of it. Her remedy, how she gets out of this, its more financial. So the nba will pick and choose who the owners are. We saw, you mentioned with dick parsons, nowinsaul installed to lead the organization. Firm footing, disassociating from him and ultimately i think that results in a dissociation from her. Okay. And this gets muddier and americaier, darren you want to comment on that . Yes. I think the nba is even in a stronger position when it comes to mrs. Sterling. She has a noncontrolling interest, which means shes got even less status than donald in the first place. Clearly, the nba has no about tight for either sterling, and they could never let her assume that controlling interest without the nba agreeing and i think the chances are that are somewhere between slim and none. Joey and i can probably agree on that. This, too, interesting. Joey, if the legality of how sterlings first publicized recording was made, you know, is a legal matter that might just be a legal matter in and of itself, was it obtained legally. But now, if this other recording just released yesterday, and if he was complicit, if he says, i am willingly revealing my point of view, or even explaining myself, does that change the legality of that initial recording . It changes nothing, fred. Really . Nothing no. Look, the reality is meaning its all fair game . Sure it is. I think im one of those who believes that was a plan. Darren, i dont know how you feel about that. You think it was planned . Oh, yeah. Coincidentally recorded. At the end, no ones going to hear this, ever. Right . His last, parting words. Perhaps he set it up. Exactly. To control it. I think ultimately hes spinning. You look at the substance of that, fred. It certainly you know, look, i warranted her badly and would say almost anything, including insulting her to say it. Right . I dont think it has a bearing. Joey, ive got to say, the one he actually is getting credibility points with me. I dont mean to speak on behalf of the entirety of the male gender, but but it was the only thing he said that is, as a man, when i sit back and listen to him basically saying, look, im lying to a lady to try and gain some romantic influence over her. As a guy i sit back and go, yeah. That makes sense. That happens . Darren not when youre a billionaire. Right . There are multiple ways for a billionaire to perhaps entice a woman to come along with them. Doing that by insulting her is something he could have exercised a little better discretion, i believe. By the way, joey, if this was not a spin, a plant released tape on the part of Donald Sterling, im actually starting to feel a little sorry for him. You know, obviously, he cant even speak to a friend in confidence, without that tape being leaked, and you kind of get the impression at this point hell go out to a sdranrestaura order a sandwich, great, mr. Sterling, can you speak into my sleeve . Speak into the mike. Yeah. The guy cant go anywhere without it being recorded and leaked. When we get back to the original leak from v. Stiviano, denying she was the source of that, im not buying that one, either. When you looks at this, she had the motive, she had the means, she had the opportunity. Made copies and had given them to friends for protection. But shes not the issue, ultimately. We could dig into her and attack her credibility, darren and fred, talk about her and what were her motives. Ultimate he he said what he said, needs to be accountable for saying it and whether she did, didnt do, taped or didnt tape, doesnt matter. Youre gone, mr. Sterling. You know what, joey . The fights still going to be on. Its not that simple. You hear from the attorney of Shelly Sterling saying, i will fight to the death, to maintain ownership, and you know sounds like it sounds like her attorney really means it. Well, and look, fredricka, donald has a huge appetite for litigation and a huge pot of money. And there are people in the court of Public Opinion coming to his defense. Donald sterling is an idiot but people are defending him. Not because he love idiocy but they love freedom and fundamentally theres a notion that what he expressed was done in private, that he had no intention for these remarks. And actually said it would be unamerican that anyone would lose their business they rightfully own. Even if he doesnt, theres an economic imperative here. What am i talking about . Even if he holds on to the team, hes banned for life. Cant come to any nba facility. Have no sponsor support and economically the team would go into a spiral, so if youre a business person, its all about money and if its not there, that is the money to support what you do. Guess what . It doesnt matter, sterling. If youre here or if youre not, the teams not going to be economically viable, darren. All right. Joey well, just one final quick point. That its those economics that i think are driving this thing from the nbas perspective as offended as they are by his views, and the as disgusting as the views are, they really care how the views now revealed are impacting the economics of basketball, and thats their hook. All right. Thank you very much, darren, joey. Thanks so much, gentlemen. Appreciate it. Thanks, fred. Thanks. Good stuff. New allegations also surfacing about care, or the lack thereof. That v care that veterans in this country expect and deserve. And in san antonio, how some employees there may have kept sick veterans from getting the help they desperately needed. All right. You know the Va Health Care system is under fire, particularly after cnn revealed that in phoenix, the va hospitaltwo separate lists of care, and it cost many veterans their lives, according to those who are willing to talk to cnn. Now we have just learned that the department of veteran affairs is announcing that an acting a new acting director for the phoenix Va Health Care system has been named, and will oversee the delivery of health care to some 85,000 veterans there. All this as a result of a cnn investigation, and now an ongoing very big investigation involving the Veterans Affairs. In fact, there will be a hearing this week next week coming up before u. S. Congress. So the investigation into whether veterans died while waiting for medical care at, not just the phoenix va hospital, but other va hospitals now, its growing wider. In fact, an employee at a wyoming clinic of the department of Veterans Affairs has been placed on administrative leave now. Allegations surfaced scheduling clerks at the va hospital in san antonio may have cooked the books to cover up long wait lines. Well, embattled va secretary Eric Shinseki is expected to testify before a Senate Committee thursday amid growing calls for his resignation now. For a closer look, retired air force captain darin sellnik joins us now, via skype from oceanside, california. Senior Veterans Affairs adviser, concerned veterans for america. Good to see you. So you just heard our new information that we just received, new acting director for the phoenix va. Is that a start, in your view . Well, it certainly is a start. Thanks for having me on your show, and thanks, cnn, for all the great work. You guys have really blown this wide open and we really needed it. Its a start. Obviously, a temporary person, but they should have put on administrative leave, the director who has to be involved somehow. Yes, you need a whole new team there and hopefully that team is a good team, but its just a start. Vha under secretary dr. Petzel, hes always announced his retirement. Thats effect lually as well. We need new leadership and blood and reform in this organization. You are making a direct connection between these in the phoenix va and san antonio and other vas i mentioned, youre making a direct connection between these incidents and the secretary, shin saiki . Shinseki . No. But all va leadership. I served under three secretaries and the secretary delegates to the under secretary dr. Petzel, positive run the health administration. Hes the guy that needs to take responsibility. He may not have known anything, but he should have been more on the ball and know something. The direct should have known something. A lot of people should have known something. Thats why the investigation. Well see as this comes to light who exactly knew what, but when the ships rotten and veterans are dying from friendly fire, delayed health care, someone needs to be held accountable. We have not been holding anyone accountable. Have you and your organization heard of a number of complaints from veteran whose have said they were being denied medical care . That they were put on phony lists, wait times were long . Had you heard directly from any veterans to substantiate these most recent claims revealed by cnn people, who shared their stories with cnn and now these other installations as well under investigation . Yes. Not only do i personally know veterans that this happened to specifically in west los angeles. A veteran had this happen to him. Didnt get his special care, prostate surgery he was supposed to get and he collapsed and almost died. Then they found that he had cancer. What happened to the complaints . What was your discovery . That the complaints were made and no one was addressing them or that the complaints didnt make it high enough up the food chain, so to speak, with the va . They had a tendency to go into a va black hole. The gao has done investigations and found this out. You guys have done investigations. Its happened in five or six places where veterans have died due to long wait times and cover it up in fudging of those wait times so they meet their 14day category. Its been known a couple years. Va administrators testified before congress in 2012 on this. Everyones known it. Until dr. Foote came out and explained it detail by detail, the whistleblower, a lot of people didnt Pay Attention to it. Captain darin sellnik, thank you so much again. Hearings beginning next week, u. S. Congress involving va secretary shinseki and others. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. The witness accounts are nothing short of horrifying. Hot air balloon on fire crashing to the ground. Next, the latest on the search for the one passenger. The one person onboard that balloon still missing. And later, we are reliving the Monica Lewinsky bill clinton scandal. How lewinskys bombshell tellall article is likely to impact Hillary Clinton. Hey, razor. Check this out. Listen up, thunder dragons, its time to get a hotel. We can save big on killer hotels with priceline express deals. Somewhere with a Fitness Center . Hey you know what man, these guys aint no dragons. Theyre cool. These deals are legit. Yeah, were cool. Shes cool. Were cool. Im cool. Hey, isnt that razors old lady . Not anymore. Priceline savings without the bidding. For 175 dollars a month . So our business can be on at ts network yup. All five of you for 175. Our clients need a lot of attention. Theres unlimited talk and text. Were working deals all day. You get 10 gigabytes of data to share. What about expansion potential . Add a line anytime for 15 bucks a month. Low dues. Great terms. Lets close. New at t mobile share value plans. Our best value plans ever for business. Welcome back. Im fredricka whitfield. Here are the big stories were following for you. Two occupants of that hot air ba line fire worked with the university of Richmond Womens basketball program. According to the schools athletic department. Crews are still searching for one person after finding two bodies. The hot air balloon hit power line s and burst into flames where crashing near richmond, virginia last night. The three onboard could be heard pleading for their lives. Others saw two people actually jump or fall from the balloon. Rescue crews have yet to find the balloon or the basket. No new york, undents phied remains from the 9 11 terror attack have been moved to the National Memorial and museum. It happened during a solemn procession. Decision to put them in and underground site is said to be disrespectful to the dead, say some. They favor placing them in a monument separate from the attack site. A critical vote is expected to go forward in Eastern Ukraine tomorrow, even though russia and ukraine urged a delay. The vote is on a referendum to b become too independent. The acting president says it will be a step nowhere for those people. You would think the president ial election is this year. Hillary clinton considered by some as the potential frontrunner for the democrats. Is the target of the gop in the house . Its investigating the deadly terror attack on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi. Meanwhile, Monica Lewinsky broke her silence about her affair with president clinton. Joining me now, Maria Cardona and a democratic strategist in washington, and in new york, conservative will kane. Go to see you both. Row had you . Im good. Ladies first. Sorry, will. Maria, how much potential damage are we talking about with this, seems like a piling on hillary week almost. The Monica Lewinsky tell jaalt select committee forming on benghazi and also criticisms of Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state asteasit pers to the boko haram group. What about this in your view . Views surrounding Hillary Clinton . I dont think we can make that assertion now, fred. Its so early and we dont know if shes running yet. What is happening, you are really seeing the gop trying to throw everything on the wall and the kitchen sink to see what sticks. Because nothing has stuck so far. She is still the most popular potential president ial candidate in history. No republican candidate comes close to beating her at this moment, but, again, its still very early. We dont even know if shes running but the piling on is part of that effort for the gop to try to knock her down a few notches, and its also political crack for the gop base, which they need to rile up going into the midterm elections in 2014. So its purely politics. Something that was absolutely expected, but its way too early to see what kind of effect this is really going to have. I dont think its going to have an effect on her moving into the president ial election, if she decides to run. Will, how do you see it . Especially since Hillary Clinton has a book coming out next month and likely to be asked a lot more questions. Maybe the Monica Lewinsky tellall article will reask questions that went to Hillary Clinton once again. Will it make an impact or that even her response to it all might impact her potential run . Well, speaking armonk k ing specifically. This is way, way, too early. I agree with maria. We can pretend shes not going to run but accept thats probably a realistic scenario, with that said, its still really early to talk about how much this stuff impacts her president ial run. To marias point how popular she is. Polls, a cnn poll showed she lost popularity over the last several weeks. From 77something percent to 60something percent among democrats. Look, on Monica Lewinsky, heres the deal. If you squint, and pretend like Hillary Clinton and bill clinton and Monica Lewinsky are your neighbors, seems unseamly to talk about an affair and potential effect on the jilted lover and mistress and those scenarios. This is somebody seeking the highest office in the land, potentially. Seeking a great amount of power. Questions, and Monica Lewinsky is a victim. The questions are, did Hillary Clinton participate in destroying Monica Lewinsky . Do you feel everyone agrees shes a victim when she says and spells out, reiterates in the article it was consensual . Ten years ago. Yes, young, maybe feels she was taken advantage of, but it was a consensual relationship. Her mystic, his mistake it was their mistake. I say victim. 15 years being the butt of lacenight jokes from latenight television to national pundits. No one sderchs that for so long and how much was she scapegoated, not just by conservative media but the White House Administration under the clintons including potentially Hillary Clinton. Those are worthy topics of discussion if Hillary Clinton runs for president. Maria . See, i completely disagree with will here, because i think, and ive talked to a lot of republicans who dont want to touch this with a tenfoot pole. Why is rand paul . Well, and i think he does this at his peril, and the reason why hes doing it now, fred, is what i said before. Because its political crack for the gop base going into the 2014 elections, but i will say this, and Many Republican strategists have said this, too. It is absolutely huge peril for republicans to try to use this during the president ial election against hillary. She had absolutely nothing to do with her husbands indiscretions and if you really want to have the womens vote go against you, try to go after a woman and place the indiscretions of her husband on her. Thats not the question. Might backfire in your view . The womens vote, the gop aile ailelienated the womens vote. Cant apord fford to do it more thats not fair. Its not whether hillary had anything to do with bills indiscreti indiscretions. Somebody seeking the highest power, when in their hands, to treat peoples privacy, Monica Lewinsky made a massive mistake 15 years ago. Media and government desended upon her. The question becomes, did hillary participate in that destruction, for her own political gain . The people who started that were, will, you said it, the conservative media. She even talks about, she, monica, talks how she became the very first internet globally humiliated person this is tit for tat. Started by conserve niv media. So much material in that article and in this entire discussion all mixed up. Well revisit this discussion, because like you said, will, she hasnt even said shes going to run, but presuming she will. It is early. I hope willal right and she does run. Well see what happens. Thanks so much. Will cardona . Did i just say wow. Put you all together. Put that together. Maria, will. Go many ways with that thank you so much. Appreciate it. For his next parts unknown Anthony Bourdain traveling to russia, raising a glass, but says its hard. Got to do it. Talking culture, and politics, including in ukraine. Of complete darkness. I am totally blind. 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Man you think . Captain all the time. Except when i sleep. Which i would not do here. Hotels. Com would have mentioned the finger. All right. This week Anthony Bourdain eats and drinks his way through russia. A country struggling to find its identity. Will its soviet past hold back its capitalist future . I asked anthony if he felt any tension during this visit. We felt very much, i dont know whether youd call it tension, but if you do a fair amount of casual eating and drinks with russians, at those who have done well under putin and those who suffered for daring to have an opinion under putin, eating with ordinary people who have either suffered or benefited from life in the new imperial russia, you get a sense of of how the world is going there. Ukraine did not, i have to say, hardly a pundit, or a geopolitical expert, but whats happening in crimea came as no surprise from me after a little time eating and drinking and talking to people in russia. Its no mystery what happened, or is it any mystery what will very likely happen. So what do you mean . Hes got a headlock on that country. What do you mean . People were openly discussing their thoughts, fears, their wishes . Trepidation about all of that . Most russians feel that ukraine is part of greater russia. Even solzhenitsyn felt it was part of greater russia. Protesting against putin is a very dangerous thing. You know, whoever you are, however powerful you may be, you sorts of serve at his pleasure. You Start Talking about putin the corruption, you could find yourselves stripped of your fortune quickly and in jail. This is something we felt strongly there. As far as whats happening in ukraine, i would say, sadly, that theres a you know, dont look for the russian people to rise up in protest over what theyre doing in ukraine and crimea. That it seems to be sadly a pretty popular move. All right. Sunday night, you can see more of anthonys interaction with the russian people on an allnew Anthony Bourdain parts unknown. Coming up, the nfl draft is in its final rounds, but a big prospect is still waiting to hear his name called. Well talk about it with former nfl player, jones, there she, live from cincinnati, next. All right. The third and final day of the nfl draft is under way right now. And a big name is still up for grabs. Michael sam, waits to hear his name called which would make him the first openly gay player to be picked. Im picked by cnn sports joe carter here in the studio and former nfl linebacker dahani jones in seattle. Thank you for being here. Do you think michael sam will be an nfl player . He definitely will be an nfl player. It just comes down to when and if hell be signed to a team. I mean, theres no way that the s. E. C. Defensive player of the year is going to be left on the boards. Hes definitely going to have a chance. Every team wants to see him play and people have gathered around him to support the fact that hes the first openly gay player and they want him to be able to play and they want progress to continue. Top College Player but that he didnt perform as well as some people wanted him to in the combine in your view shouldnt make a difference . Well, it definitely makes a difference. And the way i started thinking about it is this, every team wants to manage both expectations for the players and also their finances, right . So, if you think about it, if they were to get one of the best players, right, at a lesser cost, that would actually be a cost benefit analysis to them and they are looking for any bit and piece they can count against a player. Now, in michael sams predicament, unfortunately he didnt perform that well at the combine, right . Right. He was at 4. 9 and then at his own personal pro day he went to 4. 7, theyve seen incremental improvement but when he was on the big stage he didnt perform. That will definitely be something that will hold him back. It doesnt mean that he wont get drafted or be signed during free agency. Joe, what round are we in now . How does that matter or how does that, i guess, raise the stakes for michael sam or make his heart beat even faster that were down to the wire . This is obviously a very anxious time. You want to hear your name called. You want to be signed to a team. But, yeah, were in the sixth round and they have seven total rounds. Oh, gosh, that close here. We should be getting close to wrapping up in the next several hours. This is in the wheel howls that the scouts and gms michael sam if he were drafted would get drafted in the sixth or seventh round. Like dhani jones said, he had a great senior year but didnt perform well at the combine, so thats the knock on him. If he doesnt get drafted today, i do expect the team to call and bring him on as an undrafted free agent. If you look at the league last year, 30 of players on nfl teams were undrafted free agents. Wow. One in three guys. Thats a big number. You can have a successful nfl career even if youre not drafted. There are plenty of great examples out there. The first one that comes to mind is tony romo. He wasnt drafted and he had a great nfl career, just signed a 150 million contract. Sams career with the nfl doesnt end today if he doesnt get called in the nfl draft. If you were him, six rounds were hearing, joe, and you dont get drafted. Are you devastated . Given especially given the attention he received by his announcement, he probably got more attention than anybody else in the combine, what are you feeling if youre in michael sams shoes right now . Well, i remember when i was about to get drafted and the cowboys came to see me and i thought i was going to get drafted in the second round. The first day goes by and time starts ticking off the clock and finally the sixth round comes around and i finally get picked up by the great new york giants and i had a prolific career and played for 11 years and philadelphia and ended up playing in six thcincinnati. If you know there are a couple knocks against you, you know its possible that you can slide off the chart. But being resilient he has been and all the things that hes been through even as you look through all the different articles and even hearing him speak about the opportunity, he just wants progress. And he just wants the opportunity to get onto the field. He knows that there are going to be things that hold him back and people that say things but at the same time once he steps on the field thats where he truly makes his mark and thats what im most excited about. That might be what he is. Im sure, you can attest to this, some guys just dont test well. Some guys are better when theyre between the lines and playing under the lights and maybe thats michael sams best attribute. You know what, put me on a Training Camp roster and let me prove myself onto a team. That might be where you see his heart and hustle in the nfl. Right now were basing him on a poor combine and senior bowl but maybe hes a red light performer. As they say in our business, maybe hes good when the cameras on him in the real game. Well have to see how it goes. Fingers are crossed for him and everyone else because i cant imagine being in that situation. My heart is racing for them. It really is thanks so much, gentlemen. Appreciate it, gentlemen. All right, that will do it for my, im fredricka whitfield. Thanks for hanging with me all day long. My colleague randi kaye is up next with much more of the cnn newsroom after this. woman tht really good chocolate shakes. growls man thats a good look for you. woman that was fun. man yeah. man let me help you out with the. woman . Oh no, i got it. man you sure . woman just pop the trunk. man vo i may not know where the road will lead, but. Im sure my subaru will get me there. announcer love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. vo oh. My. Tongue. Finally. announcer allnew friskies saucesations. A taste experience like no other. In cheesy, creamy, homestyle, or garden sauce. Friskies. Feed the senses. [ chainsaw buzzing ] humans. Sometimes, life trips us up. Sometimes, we trip ourselves up. And although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. Like multipolicy discounts from Liberty Mutual insurance. Save up to 10 just for combining your auto and home insurance. Call Liberty Mutual insurance at. To speak with an Insurance Expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. Personalized coverage and savings all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. Call. And ask about all the ways you could save. Liberty Mutual Insurance responsibility. Whats your policy . Hello, you are in the cnn newsroom. Im randi kaye. Two major news stories developing this hour and were closely following both of them. They are grave robbers, and theyre doing it for money. Shes talking about the decision made on where to permanently keep the remains of her son and many other People Killed in the world trade ballo fire and goes down in virginia. There are confirmed deaths and the balloon burst into flames and they saw people fall or jump from a terrifying height. It happened last night part of a Balloon Festival near richmond, virginia, three people were riding in the gondola when everything went wrong and those on the ground were powerless to help. Erin mcpike is in ruther glen, virginia right now. Emergency officials just spoke to reporters. What are you learning at this hour . Reporter randi, earlier in the day we learned that they had recovered two of the victims bodies but they are still working to locate the third. They say they will continue the search throughout the night until they find that person. Now, theyre not identifying the victims just yet, though, they have spoken with all the families. We at cnn, though, have learned that the two passengers in addition to the pilot, the two passengers worked for the university of Richmond Womens basketball program, randi, but authorities may not be releasing their identities to the public until sometime on monday or tuesday. And, erin, eyewitnesss, theyre talking about what they saw, what they heard from this accident. It just sounds horrible from what theyve been saying. Is any of that helping investigators determine what exactly happened there . Reporter absolutely. In fact, investigators have asked eyewitnesss to call in and theyve heard from dozens and dozens of people as we have as well. I spoke to one man this morning who came out here to actually help the search. He said that he was about two miles away and heard and saw the explosion from that far away. But they have about 100 people searching through this search area right now so that they can finish this search. They have found some of the debris that was inside the gondola the part of the balloon and so they have a more concentrated search area. But they said, the first two victims, that they found had about 1,500 yards distance in between them. So it has been a difficult search today, randi. Certainly sounds that way, and a very, very disturbing story. Erin mcpike, thank you so much. In new york, a silent procession as the unidentified remains of more than 1,100 People Killed in the 9 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center were returned to the trade center site. Their final resting place. The basement of the soontoopen National September 11th memorial museum, but the move isnt sitting so well with some families. Theyre upset because they were not consulted about this plan. Rosa flores is following that story here in new york for us. Hi, there. Hi. So, i think we should start off by saying that the 9 11 museum pays tribute to the almost 3,000 people who died on that tragic day. Now, unfortunately a lot of those people are still not identified, and so there are these unidentified remains that are in the custody of the medical examiner. So, the procession that youre seeing on your screen now, thats the procession that took place earlier today to move these unidentified remains from the medical Examiners Office to a repository thats actually underground thats at the site of ground zero, where this museum is actually at. Now, there was a process to determine when these remains would be moved, these unidentified remains would be moved. And a lot of the families were part of the process. Here is what one of those families had to say this is where they died. This is where they took their last step, their last breath. Its not about them. Its about our loved ones right now, and were going to focus on michael and all those who are not identified and thats what most important today. Now, this move did not come without some major controversy. I dare you. I dare you how dare you, how dare you say that the remains belong, belong in a museum. Shame on you. Why are you even youre taking a look at some of the families who are not happy with the movement of those remains to this particular site. Now, take a look. Here are some of those families concerns. Theyre saying in part that they wanted a vote as to the final resting place of these unidentified remains. They wanted a burial site that is above ground and not below ground. And they dont want any fees to pay respect to unidentified 9 11 victims imposed on friends. Now, families have access to the repository without paying a fee and only families are actually able to access this repository that has the unidentified remains. But heres what some of the unhappy families had to say i cant think of anyone who would agree to have their child, the remains of their child, taken over by a Municipal Agency like the city of new york and put into a museum. Its barbaric. Its unhumane. Its really unamerican. Now, i did check with the city of new york city about those unidentified remains being part of the museum. And, randi, they tell me that is not the case, that the general public will not be able to see these unidentified remains because they are in the custody of the medical examiner. Theres about 8,000 unidentified remains and they are working day in and day out, of course, to try to identify those remains. So, of course, these families clearly upset that theyre going to be, what, in the basement there instead of above ground somewhere where they can honor them. Theyre in a repository and it is underground and some of the families tell me that that was part of the plan. So in 2002 there was an Advisory Committee that came together and families were also part of this committee and they voted and decided on what to do with these unidentified remains and thats what they decided years ago. I think that that area had flooded, correct . At some point. Thats the concern. Thats also why they are very concerned. Yeah, yeah, some of the concerns of the families who are not happy. They said after Hurricane Sandy that area flooded, we dont want the remains of our loved ones to be in that particular location. So, theres a lot of controversy. In reality its just really sad to see because at the end of the day, i mean, its a tragedy that touches so many lives. Right. And every american can relate. Yes, absolutely. Rosa, thank you very much. Appreciate that. Well, this just in, cnns investigation of potentially deadly delays for u. S. Veterans seeking medical care has triggered a leadership change. You first heard can shocking allegations of secret wait lists and falsified records right here on cnn. Now weve learned the veteran Affairs Department has named a new boss for the troubled phoenix va hospital accused of keeping secret wait lists. Cnns investigation has prompted other action as well. The government investigating to determine how many veterans died while waiting for medical care. Also va secretary Eric Shinseki will testify thirst before the Senate Armed Services committee. Meanwhile, our own drew griffin has uncovered new allegations of a va coverup, this time in texas. Randi, in the week ahead, were expecting to hear much more on this entire investigation especially on what happened in phoenix at the va when secretary shinseki appears before the senate Veterans Affairs committee. But in the meantime, theres a new investigation under way, which is why we are reporting from san antonio. Reporter san antonio, texas, is the late of the location where investigators from the vas office of the Inspector General are on the ground, trying to determine if managers at this sprawling va hospital were trying to hide the fact veterans had been waiting months to get care. And if any veterans died as a result. The allegations come from this clerk who works in the hospitals medical Administrative Services and is speaking publicly for the first time. Brian turner says his job is to help veterans secure appointments. He says he was told to fudge the numbers. He was to meet the vas own National Timeline goal for setting appointments. That goal, no more than 14 days from when a veteran wants an appointment called the desired date. The problem, he says, the appointment deadlines cannot be met, so he says he was instructed to simply schedule the appointment months and months in advance while making a note that this is the veterans desired date. What theyre saying and what weve been instructed was that the theyre not saying fudge. Theres no secret wait list. But what theyve done is come out and just say zero out that date. Report the following day if someone has a wait period thats honger than the 14 days. The standard is the 1 to 14 days within the timeline of a desired date. Reporter irregardless of when the appointment took place. Doesnt matter when. Correct. Reporter it could be three months and looks like 14 days. It could be three months and look like no days. It looked like they had scheduled the appointment and got exactly what they want. Reporter fudging the books is my i would call it that, you would call it that. The va doesnt call it that. They call it zeroing out. Reporter zeroing out. In a statement to cnn the vas Public Affairs office said turners allegations were investigated and based on our internal factfinding conducts april 25th to 28th we found the claims by this employee were not substantiated. But turner questions just how much factfinding went on. He says no one asked him about his allegations and, in fact, he says when he began emailing his concerns to other staff members, he was told to stop it. They sent me up the very next day. Reporter the very next day. The very next morning i was called in to an office and told not to email another person. Reporter turner an army veteran himself has asked for whistleblower protection and became a witness in an investigation now being conducted by the vas office of Inspector General. The investigation focusing on delayed care, alleged falsification of records and possible medical harm to veterans at the san antonio, texas, va hospital. This investigation here in texas, another in phoenix, others popping up across the country, randy, as the va tries to explain why veterans have been dying waiting for care. Randi . Drew, thanks very much. Up next, the u. S. Army veteran reacts to the va controversy. Well tell you how hes working to improve veterans medical care. Be right back. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. Their type 2 diabetes. With noninsulin victoza. For a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar, but it didnt get me to my goal. So i asked my doctor about victoza. He said victoza works differently than pills, and it comes in a pen. And the needle is thin. Victoza is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. It is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Victoza has not been studied with mealtime insulin. Victoza is not insulin. Do not take victoza if you have a personal or Family History of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza or any of its ingredients. Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include swelling of face, lips, tongue or throat, fainting or dizziness, very rapid heartbeat, problems breathing or swallowing, severe rash or itching. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Serious side effects may happen in people who take victoza including inflammation of the pancreas pancreatitis which may be fatal. Stop taking victoza and call your doctor right away if you have signs of pancreatitis, such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen or from your abdomen to your back, with or without vomiting. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. Taking victoza with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. The most common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, and headache. Some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. If your pill isnt giving you the control you need. Ask your doctor about noninsulin victoza. Its covered by most health plans. Were back now with more on cnns explosive investigation of potentially deadly wait times for u. S. Veterans seeking medical care. Cnn has uncovered allegations of secret wait lists and falsified records. We just learned the Va Department has named a new leader for the troubled phoenix hospital accused of keeping secret wait lists, also the government is investigating to find out how many veterans may have died while waiting to see a doctor. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki will face tough questions thursday when he testifies before the Senate Armed Services committee. Joining me now alex nicholson, legislative director for the group iraq and afghanistan veterans of america and a retired u. S. Army member himself. Alex, hello to you. So, another group now, the concerned veterans for america, is calling for secretary shinseki to resign. Do you agree, do you think shinseki should go or he should stay . First of all, let me correct. Im not retired military, but i am a veteran. I just wanted to make that distinction. The organization i work for is the middle right now of collecting the viewpoints of our members, our members are very important to us. Iraq and afghanistan veterans are the new generation of veterans. And its something that we want to were a membershipdriven organization and so we are collecting their views in the process of determining what were going to decide on that issue. Have you ever had trouble seeking medical care . You know, i was fortunate not to be injured in service. And so ive never had to use the va. But i can tell you tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, of our members tell us every day that theyve encountered obstacles, theyve encountered frustrations and its unfortunate because the va is a really Good Health Care system, its one of the worlds best. It had some bad apples. But we want to make sure that veterans continue to go, especially if youre in crisis, if you need help and care, continue to utilize the system. Its a fantastic health care system, but its got some issues that need to be dealt with. And thats what were trying to keep the pressure on, to make sure it actually happens. These problems are fixable, but theres some administrative issues at the top and middle levels that have to be dealt with in order to get the va to where it needs to be in order to serve veterans. In terms of trying to narrow down what the problem is, do va hospitals have enough doctors and staff to meet this 14day waiting period or is that really unrealistic, given the current staff numbers, is this a question of resources i guess is what im asking or is it just a problem with management . Well, thats a good question, because i think the answer is both. It is a question of resources. And i think the va does need more doctors, they need more Mental Health counselors, they need more psychiatrists, thats one of the things were trying to address with our Suicide Prevention focus. The va has a dearth of psyc psychiatrists and Mental Health specialists. Congress has given the va every dime it has asked for to try to accomplish its mission and still it is not able to staff up or its not willing to staff up to the levels that it needs or its not willing to come clean about its actual staffing needs and so on the one hand you have, for example, the house Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman jeff miller says over and over again, we have given the va every dime it has asked for. And still they are having staffing shortages. Theyre having mishaps. Theyre having preventable deaths. And so it really is at the same time i think an administrative and leadership issue within the va. Alex nicholson, thank you so much. Appreciate your time today. Youre very welcome. Nigerias president makes a promise to the world today one that many people hope will happen including first Lady Michelle obama. Humans. We are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. 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Man torlaksons Career Readiness initiative is helping schools expand job and Technical Training across the state because it makes a difference. Woman so tell Tom Torlakson to keep fighting for the career and Technical Training our students need. Welcome back. First Lady Michelle obama is putting her voice to this picture, bring back our girls, reads the sign in this photo that went around the world on twitter this week. The first lady is joining the global effort to free more than 200 schoolgirls from the hands of kidnappers in nigeria. Today in washington mrs. Obama delivered the white house weekly address by herself. In these girls barack and i see our own daughters. We see their hopes and their dreams. And we can only imagine the anguish their parents are feeling right now. This unconscionable act was committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an education. Grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls. The girls themseves also knew full well the dangers they might encounter. Their school had recently been closed due to terrorist threats, but these girls still insisted on returning to take their exams. They were so determined to move to the next level of their education. Mrs. Obama said the president has directed his administration to do Everything Possible to help the Nigerian Government find and free the kidnapped girls. Well have a live report from nigeria right after this break. Of complete darkness. I am totally blind. Ive been blind since birth. I lost my sight to eye disease. I lost my sight in afghanistan. And it doesnt hold me back. But my blindness can affect my sleep patterns. I go through periods where its hard to sleep at night, and stay awake during the day. But i learned that my struggle was with non24. Non24 is a circadian rhythm disorder that affects up to 70 of people who are totally blind and cant perceive light. Talk to your doctor about your symptoms, and learn about non24 by calling 8448442424. Thats 8448442424. Or visit my24info. Com. Now i know that non24 is real. And im not alone. Its time for a new day. vo oh. My. Tongue. Finally. announcer allnew friskies saucesations. A taste experience like no other. In cheesy, creamy, homestyle, or garden sauce. Friskies. Feed the senses. People around the world are worried about the more than 200 girls that were kidnapped in nigeria. Lets get straight to nigeria. So, vlad, how can the United States and other countries help there . Reporter hi, randi. Well, what they can do and what theyre offering to do is to provide some logistical support, to provide intelligencegathering support, aerial reconnaissance if it comes to that, theyve even got Law Enforcement officers that are going to be taking part in this that will be taking hostage rescue, hostage taking techniques if it should come to that if they get in front of the terrorists to do some kind of negotiation. What we know, though, up until this moment people have said that theyve not seen any kind of significant search and rescue operation. For his part the nigerian president speaking today is confident hell bring the girls home, he promised the world that he would bring the girls home. On the other hand, the families that weve spoken to say up until this moment they see nothing on the ground to suggest that. In fact, their greatest fears have been realized, randi, because you saw the video, and the u. S. Intelligence is saying the girls may have been split up between neighboring countries. And you have this report from Amnesty International saying the Nigerian Government knew about the plot in advance and didnt act. Maybe they knew even as many as four hours before it happened. Whats the reaction there to that . Reporter yeah, Nigerian Military, vehemently denying that report, theyre saying its simply not true. They say, in fact, they were called in for reinforcements during the attack and theyd started to send the reinforcements when the reinforcements also came under fire from militants. Again, one of the fathers we spoke to said there were probably 14 or 15 guards at the school. They were poorly armed. They were outgunned, outmanned, and they actually dove into the bush with the residents of the town once the attack began. They also told me that the threat of boko haram is so great that he and the families and others in the town are still sleeping in the bush. They are afraid to sleep in their beds. You mentioned the nigerian president vowing that the girls will be rescued. Have you seen any evidence of any hard plan in place at all or when that might come . Reporter yeah, weve reached out to the Nigerian Military for some kind of statement about exactly what is happening. Thats been the problem all along, randi. I think that the international spotlight that is focusing now on nigeria has come about because the defense ministry, the Nigerian Military have been so opaque about what theyre doing. They havent shared any information or given Us Operational details, we understand there are National Security issues at hand but some kind of information sharing with the press and the media to let people know they are, in fact, on the search and rescue missions looking for these girls would have gone a long way before we are at this point, randi. So, at this point it looks like theyre not any closer to finding these girls, vlad, is that correct . Reporter you know, the nigerian president admitting a few days ago that he simply did not know where they were. In fact, the u. S. Has also said that they dont have a real clear idea of where these girls might be. In that video that despicable video, the supposed leader of boko haharam, he said he wantedo sell the girls in a market for humans because thats what allah wanted him to do. Parents greatest fears being realized at this moment, randi. Vladimir, thank you so much, appreciate your reporting there. Twin brothers jason and david benham have lost their opportunity to host their own hgtv pair, in the wake of their own controversy i asked them about another National Debate making headlines this week. Before i let you go, though, i mean, in all this talk about free speech and corporations being allowed to do what they want to do, i guess, i wanted to ask you about the nba. Now trying to oust Donald Sterling. What do you make of that having said his racist comments and them being recorded on tape, what do you think of that . Next hour hear their response and whether they think sterling should get to keep ownership of the clippers. Cnn newsroom continues at the top of the hour. Right now, though, keep it here for sanjay gupta, m. D. Tens of millions of people take dietary supplements. You may be one of them. You want a shortcut. You want it fast. Who doesnt . Lately theres one supplement that all my friends have been asking about. Ill have the lowdown in just a minute on that. But, first, happy mothers day. Its an important day, to my mom, my wife. I have three daughters as well. Being a mom is a tough job, no doubt. And now theres a new study that says it is just getting tougher. Meaning its more likely to be stressful and demanding for my daughters than it was even for my mom. And it was no picnic, i can tell