a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! . good evening. i'm laura coats in new york. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. you're live in the cnn news room. we're awaiting a news conference from the l.a. sheriff's department on the breaking news you've been following all day. kobe bryant, the black mamba, five-time nba world champion, two-time olympic gold medalist, a humanitarian, an oscar winner and most importantly, a beloved

husband and father of four. he and his 13-year-old daughter gianna and seven others died in a horrific fiery helicopter crash today in the sleepy southern california enclave of calabasa calabasas. kobe retired in 2015. let get to the press conference right now. they're here. >> tonight's press is to give you an idea the next steps of this process, this investigation will be and everyone's role. as you can imagine, this is going to be a very extensive process that will take not just days but weeks for us to recover from this. and as the l.a. county sheriff's department, we're working with our federal partners, the ntsb and faa in the investigation and the faa is already on scene and provided very valuable assistance and secured a half mile flight restriction for the area of the crash site and also 5,000 foot ceiling over it.

so that is a great help in securing the crash site. as you may already have heard from the ntsb they are in route to initiate the investigation. we want to thank our partners, the l.a. county fire department for timely response, putting out the fire and securing the area and right now, it's, as you can imagine, it's a logistic nightmare because the crash site is not easily accessible however we're now faced with i guess well wishers and people mourning who have descended on the area, on the residential community and even the crash site, itself and we have to reiterate, it is off limits to everybody except the first responders and investigators. so we now have personnel deployed to get people away from there and they cannot access the crash site. it is in very rough terrain, very dangerous even in daylight muchless in the middle of the

night. we want people to stay away. the location itself is in a residential community or adjacent to residential community and there are no businesses and we want to have the roads free for first responders and for investigators. if you do not have an identification that establishes you as a local resident, you will not be permitted access to the area. there are road closures in effect right now. okay. this road closures will be between algora and las hills road and the north and southbound 101 freeway is closed until further notice. okay. again, for community members that are in the area that want to go, there is a location at de anza park to express condolences and support for our

community in this time of tragedy. that is a place to go, de anza park. i want to thank the coroner's office who is now here. you will hear from our chief medical examiner, dr. jonathan lucas and we had the chp is assisting with the road closures, the ventura county sheriff's department is assisting with the santa monica park rangers. it's a very large group of people who will be deployed throughout the night to secure the area so we want to encourage people, if you are not a local resident, please stay away from the area. i want to turn it over to dr. luca lucas. >> good evening. my name is dr. jonathan lucas. i'm the chief medical examiner for the county of los angeles. first and foremost, i just want to offer our thoughts and condolences with all the families that of those who lost

their lives in the tragic incident. today our department had multiple members of our special operations response team that were on site. our recovery efforts began today, but as the sheriff mentioned, given the terrain and the condition of the site, we expect that this will probably take at least a couple, if not a few days to complete the recovery. our priority is completing the recovery as quickly as possible but safely and thoroughly and doing that to make sure our staff, like i said, are safe. our next priority after recovery is identification and notification of the families. all -- which we'll do as soon as

we possibly can. i want to give a big thanks to the sheriff and his department who has been extremely helpful to our department to this point and i know they will be going forward. i also want to emphasize that we'll be doing our work thoroughly, quickly and with the up most compassion. again, we offer our condolences to the families at this point and i just want to reassure everybody we're doing everything we can to confirm identifications and give closure to the families involved, thank you. [speaking foreign language]. we just heard from the l.a. county sheriff and of course,

the chief medical examiner for los angeles county giving us a rundown of what we've learned since this horrific crash just a few hours ago calling it a logisticsnightmare. well wishers have taken other area, rough terrain and they need the roads free for first responders that may be there. recovery could take a few days because of the unsafe conditions and then identification will take place and then notification for the families hoping to provide some closure. it is a horrific site and tragic details are unfolding. nick watt is near the crash site in calabasas. nick, what are you hearing? >> reporter: well, right now there is just an earth movement

unloading off a truck to be heading up there. it is quite unaccessible and the first problem first responders had to deal with before the investigators getting in was the brush fighting nighted by the impact of this helicopter into the hillside. they got that under control then they managed to secure the scene for the investigators to move in. we saw during the afternoon camera flashes going off, which we presume to be investigators beginning as we heard the faa has been on scene and ntsb on route from the east coast. we expect to hear from them tomorrow at least some of the early inklings of where they are going with. we can be sure that the weather will be one area of investigation. we have heard in the past hour or so from the lapd sunday morning the lapd grounded its helicopter fleet because the conditions were not of a standard for flying and speaking to people around here today,

they say the fog was thick this morning. i spoke to a pilot friend of mine that decided not to fly today because of the visibility but we have no i official indication from investigators what the cause of this crash is. way, way too early for that and really for the peep of los angeles, too early. they are trying to come to terms with the fact that kobe bryant is gone aged 41. many people here in lakers -- >> let's go back. i'm going to cut in for a second, nick. the press conference is back. let's listen in. >> we have made some transport, yes. at this point we're transporting them and we will be examining them in the days to come. >> [ indiscernible question ] >> the identification is -- can be a variety of things. fingerprint obviously being the most important or quickest but other types of methods we can use that are scientifically based, we'll do that if we need

to. >> [ indiscernible question ] >> i don't have those details. >> the lapd said their helicopters were grounded. >> we know there was an issue of visibility and low ceiling. the actual conditions at the time of impact, that is still yet to be determined and we'll have that with the ntsb shortly. we had none operating in the area at the time. >> why? >> because of the weather. >> [ indiscernible question ] >> roughly a football field of

debris. >> circular, about 300 yards, 400 yards? >> roughly 100 yards across in each direction. >> can you tell us who called 911? >> we received a 911 call at 0947 hours. that was the first call and from there, all the 911 lines light up at once. so we get a bunch of people call at once. >> was it a witness? someone on a trail? >> there were numerous witnesses that heard or saw something. they were in the vicinity, yes. >> are you going to be providing strong -- [ indiscernible question ] >> we want all witnesses to be interviewed first by the federal investigators and once they are done interviewing them, then we can identify it. >> [ indiscernible question ] >> that will be up to the faa and ntsb. >> three more questions.

>> kwe ye. >> i don't know enough about the condition at this point to answer that question. but i can tell you that we will use every method available as neede needed. >> is that it? >> tank yhank you very much. >> you heard from the l.a. county sheriff and we'll check with nick watt near the location. it will take several days. the ntsb will be involved and we're learning the l.a. county helicopters were grounded due to weather. what are you hearing on the ground? >> it was actually the lapd helicopters grounded because of the weather, because of the lack

of visibility. we had this marine layer and a storm front moving through. people around here said that the air was thick. in fact, cnn weather reporte that at certain altitudes, there was 100% humidity so that air was like soup. now nine people were killed. kobe bryant and his daughter gigi but we should mention the pilot who is still unnamed and a man called john altobelli, a baseball coach from orange county, he, his wife and daughter and three other people still yet unnamed. so the ntsb will be taking the lead on this. we expect we'll hear something from them tomorrow, laura, but i wouldn't expect it would be much. the other thing, they mentioned eyewitnesss. some people we spoke to today said they did hear that this helicopter didn't sound right. so, you know, there is also some speculation there may have been something wrong.

right now we don't know and we have to wait for authorities to do their work and figure out what happened here and what killed kobe bryant. laura? >> eight other lives, as well. our hearts go out to the families, thank you. [ applause ] >> kobe! kobe! kobe! kobe! kobe! >> nba fans in arenas across the country tonight are paying tribute to kobe bryant. this is what the billboard outside madison square garden looked like and los angeles where the utter shock and devastation is too much to bear, thousands of lakers fans packed the courtyard of staples center. for them, kobe wasn't just an nba star. when you thought of l.a., you thought of kobe. former l.a. lakers coach phil jackson that led kobe to five championships said tonight my heart goes out to vanessa and the families that lost loved ones. kobe was a chosen one, special

in many ways to many people. our relationship as coach, player, tran sended the norm. he went beyond the vail. paul is at staples center among the crowd. >> reporter: laura, it is just stunning, the people keep showing up by the thousands, walking into this courtyard area across from staples center. the grammys are being held and all of them remembering kobe bryant and they are universally just absolutely floored. here is bryant. he's a laker fan we were talking to awhile ago and we mentioned kobe bryant to someone like you and what do you think of? >> he's a legend, icon. he's impacted everyone. as you saw today, all the basketball players that played games were crying and in tears and one of my favorite moments was when he dropped 81 points against the raptors and the last

game when he did it in 6 1 points. i was actually here watching his last game and just shows you how much of an impact he had and he's going to be an icon. he's a living legend. he's going to live on. >> appreciate it, brian. we'll show you as brian ka roe w that -- carona. fans will bring basketballs and sign things. these makeshift memorials are dotting this entire courtyard on any other grammy night, we would be seeing people in the sequence dresses but tonight, this is a flicker with candles and purple and gold as heart sick kobe bryant fans remember their fallen hero who meant so much to all of them both on and off the court. back to you, laura. >> paul, thank you. what a tragic scene that continues to unfold. >> forever, forever misyou man.

you're a legend. you're an icon. you're a father. you're a husband. a son, a brother. you're a friend. thank you for being my friend. i love you, brother. >> that was dwayne wade. speaking about what he was going through in an instagram video talking about his experience and remembering his friend. solum occasion. unbelievable to think of what happened. kobe just played -- that's actually a picture of kobe bryant when he was playing and you can see just the idea of what took place the last night in his hometown of philadelphia. that's when he witnessed lebron james surpass his nba league scoring record. here was lebron talking about that moment. >> i'm here in a lakers' uniform

in philadelphia where he's from where the first time i ever met him gave me his shoes. it's surreal. it doesn't may recolleke no sen. i'm happy with kobe bryant, one of the all-time greatest, one of the all-time greatest lakers. the man has two jerseys hanging in staples. it just crazy. >> kobe's tweet, lebron would be his last now. kobe said continuing to move the game forward king james, much respect my brother. #33644. of course, the number that surpassed him. here is a lebron coming back from the history-making game after learning the tragic news emotional seen crying and being comforted on the tarmac. nba star andre iguodala from the memphis grizzlies joins me now on the phone. thank you, andre for joining me.

condolences to you and the entire league on such a tri tremendously devastating lose. is it settling in? have you processed what is happening? how are you handling everything? >> it's been an interesting day. thanks for having me on on behalf of the nba player's association we're all sending our condolences to vanessa and the family. this is a really tough loss. this is like our princess sigh d -- dianna or jfk for the rest of your life you'll know what you were doing or where you were at or what is going on in your mind when you found the news of someone that meant so much to all of us. this one hit home. >> where were you when you learned the news andre iguodala? you must have been stunned and as all of us were hoping that it was fake? >> yeah, well, you know, i rarely speak on it but kobe and

i are closer than i ever reveal and what he meant to me. we had the same agent for so long and, you know, we interacted on a different type of level. i got a call from a mutual friend and just trying to figure things out so, you know, i found out pretty early on as opposed to everybody else and just trying to figure out if it was real or not. it was that early and just sitting on the couch and yeah, i mean, just a numbing feeling for a really long time, hard to move. >> i mean, andre, this is a man who played with one team for 20 years. how rare is that? the idea of all the comradery and relationships he developed over the years, that must be a very rare thing and one we might never see again. >> yeah, he was in that, you know, that stage of the nba

where you had a player that played in the city for a long time and phras facing -- phasin and something you rarely see. the way the sports landscape is but what he meant to that city, what he meant to that organization and not just the game of basketball in general, you know, when you talking about the game of basketball, historically, his name is always there and it will always be there. >> you say 1 in 4 players in the nba are from other countries and they all loved and became in love with the sport because of him. tell what you learned about key b -- kobe bryant and his impact on the league across the globe. >> you don't know what hard work is until you see it up close and when you were watching him, you know, trying to emulate him, you didn't understand the work that

went behind his artwork and artistry within his game and i was just fortunate to get close enough to him to see it, see how hard he focused on his craft and when you see someone with that much focus, it turned into -- it turned into his motto, the mamba mentality we called it. you know exactly what it means and rarely can a human being have a slogan and resonate with any and everyone. when you think about that, it goes beyond the game of basketball. you know, just being a father or being a son or being a family member or being a leader or being a ceo. i tell my son you have to have that mamba mentality. have that focus. very detailed. having that respect and whatever it may be, your mind is on that to get the most out of yourself and pay respect to your craft. >> andre, as you're speaking

we're seeing images of kobe holding his daughter gigi. i want to play some sound from kobe talking about coaching his daughter. fake take a listen. >> coaching the kids is fun. just kind of came out of nowhere because my daughter decided she wanted to play two and a half years ago. so started coaching her a little bit and then she made a local all star team. we really just kind of sit back and let them process things and figure things out because we are playing for the long game of them being the best basketball players they can be. it's fun to sit there and watch them hoop. >> andre, you knew him as a father and friend. what do you think when you hear that particular sound byte of him talking about coaching his daughter who also has been killed in this horrific tragedy? >> i think he's just -- you think about the thought process or the feelings that everyone should have with whatever it is that they love. you always talk about love your

craft or have a craft that you love and when you love it, the goal is once you've mastered it is to give it back and he certainly mastered the game and giving back in the right way. he was always about elevating women's basketball. >> andre iguodala, i'm so sorry for your lose and thank ys and taking the time to be here and the national basketball player's association. somber tributes across the country including tonight's nuggets game. >> the nba and the game of basketball will mourn this loss together. please join us in a moment of silence for kobe bryant. rest in peace mamba. >> some of kobe's youngest fans also heart broken. a children's tournament in calabasas cancelled after the news broke. we'll have more on the basketball star's legacy just

ahead. and breaking news out of washington, is john bolton about to shake up trump's impeachment trial? the book bombshell that could hurt his former boss. ♪ when we see you enter through our doors. we don't see who you're against, or for. whether tomorrow will be light or dark. all we see in you, is a spark. we see your kindness and humanity. the strength of each community. the more we look the more we find the sparks that make america shine. ♪ of course i'd love to take an informal poll. i used to be a little cranky. dealing with our finances really haunted me. thankfully, i got quickbooks, and a live bookkeeper's helping customize it for our business. (live bookkeeper) you're all set up! (janine) great! hey! you got the burnt marshmallow out!

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another major breaking story we're following tonight involves the trump impeachment trial and one of the strongest points from the president's defense that not one witness has personally heard trump himself tie the political investigations to the millions in security aid he with held from ukraine but now "the new york times" is reporting the president's former national security advisor john bolton witnessed just that. that's according to an account from an unpublished draft of his upcoming back and what's more, bolton recalls the president wanted more than an announcement of investigations. listen to what the president reportedly told bolton.

quote, that the president preferred sending no assistance to ukraine until officials turned overall materials they had about the russia investigation that related to mr. biden and supporters of mrs. clinton in ukraine. now tonight, gop sources are telling cnn that this report now adds some uncertainty to the entire witness fight. for days republican senators have signalled they would vote down allowing witnesses in the impeachment trial. joining me now cnn national security analyst samantha who held several senior roles in president obama's national security counsel. sam, this week senators are going to vote on whether to allow witnesses in the impeachment trial. how can they vote not to have john bolton? >> senators did not need another reason to call am basketball tore bo --

ambassador bolton. what we learned tonight from this reporting is that john bolton may have the smoking gun in that he may have a firsthand account of president trump directly linking an official act, namely the provision of security assistance to a personal political need, the investigation of the bidens. the question is whether that content, this draft man script makes its way into the public domain that could be in the form of a subpoena or am basketball to tore boltboltotore bolton orres wait for the white house to clear the content for classification purposes. if he does choose to give a

press conference, the risks are the department of justice could claim he dtold close fiassified information. they do not believe there is close fi classified information. bolton did not testify in front of the house under orders from trump buying into the argumet the content of his testimony could be privileged. there is notlie lisle lislebilitity associated. the choice for john bolton tonight, does he want to uphold the constitution and system of checks and balances on the president or does he want to sell books? >> to be clear, bolton's attorneys are saying that the "new york times" story shows bolton's draft, the draft was improperly accessed and bolton spokesman is disputing the times reporting he gave it to any close associates saying the mun

usc ript was transmitted and the ambassador has not passed it to anyone period. if he sent it, what is the impact on privilege? >> well, that would really degrade any argument that any of this is privileged from bolton's perspective, a the least. again, remember, he did not testify in front of the house likely claiming some form of executive privilege and did not want to go against the president's arguments. if he sent it to close associates, he's indicating he did not view it as privileged. john bolton sending this today white house is part of any review any former official has to abide by and send it to government personnel to ensure that there is no inadvertent disclosure of classified material. we're waiting to hear whether the white house will call classification like frankly they have slapped the executive

privilege label on anything they don't want to see entering the public domain. >> the times story is reporting this, mr. bolton's asubmission f the book may have given lawyers insight into what mr. bolton would say if he were called to testify at mr. trump's impeachment trial and intensified concerns among some advisors he could now maybe block him from testifying and according to people familiar with concerns, concerns about that very point. can he block him? what's your reaction to this? >> it calls into question whether the white house counsel per jered themselves in claiming there is no evidence that the president did abuse his power. that's point number one. can they block him from testifying? they can try. in the interim again, bolton has a clear choice. he can release this information publicly or the senate can do its constitutional duty and call a witness that has directly relevant testimony. >> of course, there is nothing actually stopping him from holding a press conference tomorrow and the gop can have

cake and eat it to. not talk and not have a witness for him. sam, more to talk about that. thanks for being part of it. the music world now is also remembering kobe bryant tonight. right now, fans are gathering outside the staples center in los angeles, which by the way, is hosting the grammy awards tonight. the big performer who paid tribute next. did you know that every single flush fling odors onto your soft surfaces? then they get released back into the air so you smell them later. ew. right? that's why febreze created small spaces. press firmly and watch it get to work... unlike the leading cone, small spaces continuously eliminates odors in the air and on surfaces so they don't come back for 45 days. now that's one flushin' fresh bathroom. ♪ robin hood and little john runnin' through the forest ♪

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a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! whole wide world lost a hero and we're literally standing here heart broken in the house that kobe bryant built. [ applause ] >> the death of nba legend kobe

bryant has left many around the world just reeling tonight. not just in the sports community but in the music world, as well. in los angeles the 62nd annual grammy awards began with singer and host alisha keys delivering a touching tribute just hours after bryant was confirmed dead in a helicopter crash. the ceremony was held at the staples center, the same arena where bryant cemented his legacy. let's go now to cnn stephanie in los angeles. the staples center was basically kobe's second home. he was considered a hometown hero after playing for the l lakers for his entire 20-year career. how does it speak to kobe's overall impact on and off the court, not just everywhere but especially in los angeles? >> he's a titan here. i know he's around the world, laura, but he definitely is

here. i spent a lot of time at the staples center for work and you get there and sometimes you're in the belly of the beast and see him walk by and the bright smile. on the red carpet tonight, for the grammys, outside of staples there were a lot of people coming down there and everyone thinking about this news and one person i spoke to was debbie allen, the dancer, choreograp r choreographer, dancer, producer. she was there because the debbie allen dance academy just performed with misty copeland on stage but she's married to norm nixon who played for the lakers. she talked about her relationship with kobe and how they stayed in touch over the years. take a listen to what she had to say. >> so kobe and i had stayed friends and he was in the middle of creating an entire universe for the world to share, books and movies and theater and everything, a legacy that will still emerge and he was a tremendous supporter of young

people in the arts. he was a tremendous supporter of young people everything. it was what his whole life's work was about and i just am feeling such pain today to have lost that big light and wishing his family the best. >> she was clearly emotional. you could feel her voice quaking. she said when the first time she met him, he came up to her to introduce himself when he was younger because the show she was on in the '80s was so popular in italy when he was growing up. he was happy to get to know her. >> a legacy that hopefully will still emerge. heartbreaking. thank you for your coverage. c kobe bryant may have been one of the most remarkable athletes ever seen but he leaves behind that very complicated sports legacy. people loved him but many had very complicated feelings about

him. laker legend kareem abdul-jabbar said this loss is just hard to comprehen comprehend. >> it's very difficult for me to put in words how i feel about the lose of kobe bryant. as a young boy, i met him when he was 11 or 12 years old and it's hard for me to understand now how this is affecting joe and his wife. so to cow bkobe's family, i wan send my most sincere heart felt regrets and prayers and my thoughts are with you guys. kobe was an incredible family man. he loved his wife and daughters. he was an incredible athlete, and a leader in a lot of ways. he inspired a whole generation of young athletes. he was one of the first ones to leave high school and come to the nba and do so well. >> you know, joining me now is

michael eric dyson, sociology professor at georgetown and the author of "jay-z made in america." glad you're here. his legacy wasn't supposed to end this way. former president barack obama said in his condolences said kobe bryant was just getting started on his second act. when you think of his legacy, what comes to mind for you? it can be complicated. >> no doubt about it. first of all, he was one of the greatest players to lace up those sneakers. i wrote a cover story when he retired for "slam magazine" calling him the greatest player ever. when you think about jordan, games and kobe. jordan is the greatest force the game has seen and lebron undoubtedly the greatest athlete, kobe arguably the greatest player. these are a hair breath distinction and a remarkable man with incredible footwork, grew up in italy looking at soccer

stars and used his feet in a way that was unusual for an nba player. lebron james last night passed up kobe for number three on the all-time scoring list. so kobe was extraordinary in that sense. he was a killer so to speak on the court. he was able to focus with laser-like intensity and wheeled himself into five championships with the los angeles lakers. three with shaquille o'neal and two without. he proved his metal and worth. beyond the court winning an oscar for his short film writing several children's books, writing adult books, a man as debbie allen said who was conjuring a universe of productivity to unleash on the world. he was an extremely focused young man and powerful and i had a friendship with him and i must tell you i'm heart broken tonight speaking to him over the

years interviewing him, talking to him, showing love for him. he was born in the same year as my son, michael eric dyson, ii. i had a father son relationship with him. an extraordinary man. >> he was a family man, as well. he wasn't just a father to his own children. he was a father figure. he had an impact on other players, particularly the black players in the league. tell us about that. >> no question. as a family man with four daughters, you know, looking after them, making sure they were treated in an equal fashion to the young men in this country. his daughter god bless her, sister gianna that died with him. he's coaching her team at the mamba academy. he was a devoted husband and father to those girls and beyond that, as you said, he mentored young people. let me tell you another story.

shaun king called me up once because jordan edward whose died at the hands of police at 15 years old in 2017, his brother kevin was in the car, saw him murdered. he was a fan of kobe bryant's. shaun king calls me. i call kobe. kobe turned around out of the country and made certain that kevin got a lot of stuff, his jersey, shoes, not only for him but for his entire family. on another occasion, a young woman contacted me from israel. her brother was going through cancer treatment and loved and adored kobe. i told him about it. kobe then made a short film for this young man to send to him. that's the kind of stuff for which he was never publicly celebrated and yet, those are the kinds of things he did. an incredible rich resourceful humanity through his veins as much as a killer instant on the court. >> michael eric dyson, thank

you. heincomparable and appreciate those stories. accolades he never asked for. beautiful thing. thank you. los angeles is in mourning tonight and the pylons at lax are shining bright in purple and gold. how presidents trump and obama are remembering nba legend kobe bryant. plus, helicopter safety under the microscope. a closer look at the investigation and what we're learning about the conditions in the sky. next. ♪ new fixodent ultra dual power provides you with an unbeatable hold and strong seal against food infiltrations. fixodent. and forget it. i was on the fence about changing from a manual to an electric toothbrush. but my hygienist said going electric could lead to way cleaner teeth. she said, get the one inspired by dentists,

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an outpouring of grief on twitter after kobe's death. president trump saying kobe bryant despite being one of the truly great basketball players of all time was just getting

started in life. he loved his family so much and had such strong passion for the future. the loss of his beautiful daughter gianna makes this moment even more devastating. melania and i send our warmest condolences to vanessa and the wonderful bryant family. may god be with you all. president obama writing kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. to lose gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. michelle and i send love and prayers to vanessa and the entire bryant family on an unthinkable day. you know, the ntsb will lead the investigation into the crash and so far, we know that bryant was traveling with his 13-year-old daughter gianna and seven others when the helicopter went down in the hillside of calabasas. the lapd tells cnn weather conditions did not meet standards for flying. in fact, the police department

even grounded its helicopters because of the fog and ex dretry low visibility. aviation analyst miles o'bryan joins me investigation. how will investigators determine if weather caused the crash? >> laura, it's going to be at the top of their list, of course. it's really important in these investigations not to put blinders on at the outset, to not discount anything. but this was no good day to be flying in southern california, and that helicopter, as it approached burbank, was put in a position where it was flying at that point under visual flight rules, meaning the pilot can see out the window and avoid obstacles doing that. but as they entered that narrow canyon, as they moved in toward burbank, it became evident he could no longer maintain that visual flight rule status. he asked the tower at burbank to

fly what is called special vfr, which means he can go into the clouds. he did that, circled around burbank, and then evidently tried to pick up his route. he was basically following the 101 highway. and perhaps got disoriented trying to pick back up his route. we don't know the answers to those questions yet. this aircraft will have a cockpit voice recorder, maybe a flight data recorder, and we'll get a lot of information as the days progress. >> well, myles, what do we know about the helicopter he was actually flying? it was a sikorsky s-76 b model built in 1991. what do we know about this type of chopper? >> it's a work horse, a corporate work horse. it's the flying lincoln town car for executives. this is what the corporate helicopter aviation is built on, on the sikorsky. it's one of the main players. it's twin engine, it's reliable, it's safe, it's capable. if it's equipped with the proper auto pilot to fly in instrument

conditions with a single pilot, it's a very sophisticated aircraft with a good record. but this was a very, very marginal, if not completely unsafe day to be flying. >> so many questions, then, remain and so much grief. miles o'brien, thank you so much. you know, magic johnson tweeted about his friend. kobe bryant, saying this, as i try to write this post, my mind is racing. i'm in disbelief and have been crying all morning over this devastating news that kobe and his young daughter gg have passed away in a helicopter crash. cookie and i are heartbroken. and we'll be right back. introducing new vicks vapopatch easy to wear, with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. new vicks vapopatch.

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nine lives were lost today, and in an instant, and i am devastated for the families who must be desperate to wake up from this tragedy and find their loved ones beside them again. the death of kobe bryant and his 13-year-old daughter has struck a particular chord. like so many people of my

generation, kobe's death feels like the loss of a friend you grew up with. he was declaring for the nba draft out of high school as most of us were writing our college essays, and we were rooting for him. we understood his unapologetic confidence. he was one of us. and suddenly a generation that grew up chanting, be like mike, found itself wanting to be just like kobe. he didn't just shadow box his idols. he competed alongside them. he challenged them. he bested them, repeatedly. and he commanded their respect along the way. and somehow that triumph felt collective. the grief, too, now feels shared. as a fan, i mourn for the loss of that greatness. as a wife, sister, daughter and mother, i mourn for his family. i mourn for his daughter gigi. i mourn for her sisters,

natalia, bianca and kapri. i mourn for her mother vanessa who has lost her husband and her baby girl. and i pray for her enduring strength knowing there are three grieving confused little girls watching her every move, waiting for her to make sense of the world again. and it is she who will now need to be their everlasting champion in the end. i appreciate you joining me tonight. our coverage of the death of kobe bryant, his daughter and seven others continues with don lemon after this short break. for a nasty cold, take dayquil severe with vicks vapocool. whoa! and vaporize it with an intense rush of vicks vapors. ahhhhhhhhhh! dayquil severe with vicks vapocool. the daytime, coughing, stuffy head, vaporize your cold, medicine.

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