the question i have to ask is why is there some apparent stalling here? it seems to me there's two ways to look at this. there is an investigation under way as to what happened on that airplane. and we all understand that's a sensitive thing, as it's quite possible there was some sort of human input in that. and it was a deliberate act, if you will. but the separate issue is the search. there's still a search. and this is talking, we're talking strictly about finding this airplane, and that should be treated in an entirely different way and the information doesn't have to be as closely guarded in my opinion. as a matter of fact, to hold it back at this juncture when the whole world wants to know where this aircraft is and in particular those families do, it's hard for many people to stomach. >> let me let peter goelz in, former ntsb managing director. what's your take on this controversy? >> the malaysians have mishandled the structure of this investigation from the very first week. the idea of having others

participating, the brits, the u.s., the chinese, that's to give credibility to a broader effort. they have completely lost the credibility of the public and the families. they have the control. the power to release this data. they should do it. >> so you believe inmarsat gave it to malaysia, but for some reason malaysia is not willing to release the data. they say it's up to inmarsat. >> of course they gave it to the investigators. the brits and the u.s. looked at that data, double checked the inmarsat computations and agreed with it. and the other issue is, 70 days, 1 report. unacceptable. >> a lot of the family members, rene, you know this, that's why this is so sensitive, why we're talking about it. they don't believe the searchers are even looking in the right place. they're still holding out hope against hope that maybe their loved ones may be alive, maybe

that plane landed on the ground someplace and the folks on the plane, 239 people who are missing may still be alive. they want that information. that's why these family members are so passionate. >> they do. and they want to essentially launch their own investigation because they are raising questions about how valid is this data? is it right? did they miss something? were mistakes made? they want to see for themselves. the reason why they want to see for themselves is because so far this data hasn't turned up the plane. and so that's an issue. going back to, you know, this pointing of fingers essentially between malaysia and inmarsat, i mean, if you listen very carefully to what the transport minister said, he says we don't have the data and it's up to inmarsat to release it. well, that's peculiar they don't have the data. i think at the end of the day, this is my own personal opinion, it's going to turn out it's about how you ask the question.

perhaps the malaysian government does not have the data but perhaps the investigative team in malaysia has the data. if you don't ask the question the right way, maybe you won't get the answer you're looking for. we've seen that in the past. >> miles, you want to weigh in? >> you know, if they're parsing language like that, given the circumstances, shame on them. you know, i'd like to propose one thing. this is on the same vain. why don't the malaysians fuel up a 777 and fly this route that everyone is suggesting is the route it flew and double check all these inmarsat calculations? the case of twa-800, in the case of u.s. air 427, american eagle 4184, the ntsb and faa staged test flights afterwards when they got to the point when they couldn't figure out the mystery. i think it's time to stage a test flight and see if this inmarsat data does, in fact, check out. i'm not saying let's let inmarsat and malaysia off the

hooks. they need to put the cards on the table. there's a host of information a lot of experts are thirsting for to figure out what happened. >> very quickly, peter, seems to make a lot of sense to me. do a test flight. >> right. miles is flight. we did that with twa-88 8twa-80. we can do it again. they did paper checks on six other flights. they look good. they need to be more open. this is 70 days. >> they certainly do. peter goelz, rene marsh, miles o'brien. thanks very much. we're going to continue to watch this story for our viewers. this is an important programming note. tonight "crossfire" won't be seen to we can continue to bring you several developing stories we're working here in "the situation room." we're keeping our eyes on the fires burning across the san diego area in california. thousands of people can't go home right now. just a little while ago, authorities said they've arrested one looter in the evacuated area. up next, month in, month out. part of your electric bill is going to pay for a federal project. guess what? that federal project simply

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just a little while ago. a new evacuation order was issued today at the camp pendleton marine base where a third wildfire erupted. over the last several days. evacuation orders have now gone out to 167,000 people in the san diego county area as the fires spread. other news we're following. every time you pay your electric bill, you're chipping in a few cents for a federal project, get this, a federal project that simply does not exist. so finally the government is going to stop taking your money, but don't expect to get any of it back. our senior washington correspondent joe johns is here in "the situation room" with a closer look. when i heard about this, it's pretty shocking, but explain. >> it's very shocking, wolf. today is the day the federal government complies with a court order and stops taking money from consumers to pay for a nonexistent nuclear waste site. the government has been collecting pennies for 30 years, but that money has piled almost as high as the nuclear waste.

if the lights in your home are powered by one of these, you've been paying uncle sam every month for a nuclear waste dump that's never been built. >> when you're paying for something, when you're paying a tax or a fee, you should be getting something for what you're paying for. so, there's a consumer rip-off side to this. >> reporter: it started so small you probably didn't even notice. on average, that fee was less than 20 cents a month, but those tiny payments mushroomed. $750 million a year for 30 years plus interest. a grand total so far of more than $40 billion. and what has the public gotten for it? nothing. consumers have been paying these fees since 1983 with the expectation a permanent nuclear waste site would be built. the closest the u.s. ever got to a nuclear waste dump was yucca mountain in nevada. some money from the disposal fund was used for that, but when democratic senator harry reid of nevada became majority leader,

he made it a priority to kill the project in his home state and did it with the help of the obama administration. >> a few comments before i begin. >> reporter: a top republican on the house energy committee says the yucca mountain plan should go forward. >> we would like the administration just to comply with the law and keep moving forward with yucca mountain, hence then you would have a reason to collect a fee. the fee is very important because it does all the scientific research and pays for the further development and the infrastructure needed. >> reporter: nobody even knows how much a nuclear waste disposal dump would cost. the department of energy once estimated it's trillions of dollars. a pure guess recently ridiculed by a federal appeals court. which compared the estimate to a scene in the broadway musical and movie "chicago." when a lawyer sings about conjuring up a case out of nothing. ♪ razzle-dazzle them and they'll never catch lies ♪ >> regardless of what the court may think about the government's cost projections, these fees can

be reinstated at a later date but not until the government restarts the nuclear waste disposal program and there's simply no timetable on that. >> so the $40 billion as of now just what's going to happen to it? >> right. it sits there in a fund and they wait until they find a place to put up a new site. >> does it get interest? >> it does get interest. $2 billion a year. going to sit there. >> it's going to sit there until they figure it out. good report. thanks very much, joe, for it. we're going to have more on the california fires coming up in a little bit in "the situation room." thousands of people still can't go home. others are facing utter devastation. but up next, some breaking news. we have huge fallout in a story you first saw here on cnn. and now a top official at the department of veterans affairs is on his way out. ups is a global company, but most of our employees

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there's breaking news in a widening scandal first revealed right here on cnn. a top official over at the department of veterans affairs is now on his way out after cnn investigations revealed some veterans died because they were kept on secret waiting lists instead of getting treatment. let's go to our white house correspondent michelle kosinski. she's got the very latest. michelle? >> reporter: hi, wolf. the white house put out a statement saying the president supports this resignation although nobody's really come out and spelled out why exactly this va undersecretary dr. robert petzel is stepping down. it is the first resignation we've seen after the scandal really broke on cnn. it comes one day after he testified before the senate veterans affairs committee, but he was about to retire anyway this year. that's why some are already calling foul on this move. >> to you solemnly swear -- >> reporter: va undersecretary for health robert petzel is now stepping down one day after he told a senate committee hearing on the deaths and delays at va

hospitals this. >> we have worked very hard, senator isaacson, to root out these inappropriate uses of the scheduling system and these abuses. it's absolutely inexcusable. >> reporter: but petzel was already set to retire and faced tough questions even a year ago over backlogs, delays, and deaths at va hospitals in georgia and pittsburgh. that is when the administration started looking for his successor. so the resignation now put in quotes from the chairman of jeff miller isn't sitting p intin it. miller calls this the pinnacle of disingenuous political double speak. just doesn't pass the smell test and calls the va desperate to get ahead of delays in care crisis that is growing by the day. yet apparently unwilling to take substantive actions to hold any of its leaders accountable for negligence that harms veterans. also veterans groups, the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, are now calling for, quote, real action. "we don't need the va to find a

scapegoat. we need an actual plan to restore a culture of accountability throughout the va." there have also been calls for the va secretary eric shinseki to step down. we asked the white house, they didn't want to pass judgment until the investigation is over, though they did again express confidence in shinseki and listed his successes. >> thank you, michelle kosinski. the latest on the wildfires that are keeping 11,000 people out of their homes. hospitals preparing for a frightening and little known disease. but first, this impact the world report on how a big name entertainer is taking on a disease that threatened to derail his career. >> reporter: nick cannon seems to be one of the hardest working guys in show business. the "america's got talent" host

is a producer, producer, husband to mariah carey, and father of twins. >> it is an interesting juggle and transition. but, you know, i got ahold of it. >> when he was diagnosed with lupus in 2012, he took it in stride. >> i took my test and turned it into a testimony. i'm in this fight with you, and we can get through it. >> reporter: more than a mill and a half americans have lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks healthy tissue. it has no known cause or cure. cannon found out he had lupus when his kidneys failed while on vacation. >> it was really scary at the beginning. it is turn the cameras on me. see where this takes us. >> reporter: those cameras led cannon to film what he calls his incredible health hustle, a youtube series documenting his journey with lupus. >> getting my kidneys back strong. >> i called it the health hust until the sense of just make sure we're constantly going and not giving up. >> reporter: he is a tireless advocate for the lupus

foundation of america, realizing his influence can fuel awareness. and more importantly, a cure. >> i have lupus. lupus doesn't have me.

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an update on the breaking news we've been following. thousands of firefighters are on the front lines in southern california right now. at least five fires are burning. 11,000 people remain under evacuation orders right now. crews are hoping milder winds,

lower temperatures, higher humidity will help them make some gains. we hope they will. the dangerous and often deadly middle respiratory virus is on the move there are cases reported in 18 countries, including two patients right here in the united states. health workers are most at risk. american hospitals right now are scrambling to prepare for the worst. our own brian todd has been looking into this. what are you finding out? >> wolf, hospitals in the country are ramping up. and they need to. at least eight more deaths in saudi arabia as a result of the mers virus, with two cases in the u.s. we went to hospitals to look at how they prepared. serious new warnings from disease specialists on the potentially deadly virus that has made its way into america. >> we definitely should expect more cases of mers to arrive this the united states. >> reporter: expert says the explosion of air travel between the middle east, where mers originated, and the u.s. makes that more likely. is america ready? hospitals tell us they've been

warned for at least a year, been instructed by the cdc what to do if mers arrived. here is a first line of defense. a negative pressure isolation room where mers patients can be treated in american hospitals. it's got a special vent that moves virus-exposed air into a super filter. >> the idea behind it is to not circulate any germs or viruses to other parts of the hospital. >> reporter: american health care workers have been told to heavily screen patients who have mers symptoms like coughing and fever, to ask them whether they have been to the middle east recently. they're making caregivers wear protective glove, eyewear, gowns, and -- >> this is the n-95 mask that our health care workers wear. >> reporter: a mask that provided more filtration. these are safeguards in big city hospitals, but some small towns might not be as prepared because their health departments have been hit with major budget cuts. >> we might not have the number of epidemiologists or

laboratoryians or others in the public health field who are responsible for investigating these cases or monitoring the surveillance systems that are in place to identify infectious diseases like mers. >> reporter: in small towns or big cities anywhere, medical staffers are at higher risk. >> so a simple thing is just washing hands with water and with soap is really, really essential. >> reporter: dr. dan is an infectious disease specialist. he he's sometimes the procedures they use to treat mers patients are what make health care workers vulnerable. >> to open up the airways, there are certain medicines that could put a lot more virus out into the air in the shared breathing space that health care workers have with their patients. >> reporter: the doctor says during the sars outbreak, it got to the point where health care workers had to be monitored by other health care workers to make sure they're changing gowns and gloves and doing it in the

proper sequence. he says it's possible that might have to happen again during the mers scare. >> thanks very much for that report. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." have a great, great weekend "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. breaking news. a near collision between two 757s full of passengers. new details on what could have been one of the worst aviation disasters in history. a passenger on one of the planes is "outfront" to talk about the nightmare. plus, the search for missing malaysia airlines flight 370. new exclusive information to "outfront" about the satellite data at the center of the search. and the police commissioner calls president obama the n-word in a private conversation. the woman who exposed him, and leading the calls for him to resign is with us. let's go "outfront."