Skip to main content

tv   Shepard Smith Reporting  FOX News  July 28, 2014 12:00pm-1:01pm PDT

12:00 pm
information about how to help build this beautiful sank wear, visit vch foundation.org. cvh foundation.org. i'm gretchen. here's john. >> making putin pay. the downing of the malaysia airlines flight could cost the russian president millions and millions of dollars. vladimir putin reportedly facing a lawsuit for his alleged role in the apparent shooting down of that jet. one law firm apparently looking to take the case to a u.s. courtroom. so, how would that work? and would putin have to show up in court? plus, man is dead and his daughter critical after a light plane hits them while trying to make an emergency landing on a beach. and a second american reportedly has tested positive for the liely contagious and deadly ebola virus. the latest on who they and are what can be done to save them. let's get to it.
12:01 pm
>> now from the fox news deck, we have been watching new air strikes light up the sky over gaza, as a short-lived cease fire comes to an end. israel reports it resumed air strikes after hamas militants fired rockets from gaza following a short break in the fighting. israeli soldiers say militants slipped into the country through tunnels and opened fire on soldiers. palestinian officials say ten people died when a hospital and a park came under attack. israel says hamas hit the targets by mistake. still, the white house today said israel should do more to stop civilian deaths. >> israel and their political leaders often talk about the high standards they put in place for their military operations, to ensure the safety and well-being of civilians, innocent civilians, on the palestinian side of the border. based on published reports it's apparent there's more they should do to live up to those standards they have set. >> according to the united nations, more than 1,000
12:02 pm
palestinians and more than 40 israelis have died in the fighting. meantime, very up usual warning from the white house to our closest mideast ali. obama administration officials saying israel could be putting its relationship with the united states at risk. that's according to the "associated press," which reports the administration is fuming over israeli criticism of secretary of state john kerry. at issue, secretary kerry's attempts to bring qatar and turkey into peace negotiations. we're seeing the heavy toll on folks in gaza. damage to utilities means there's no running water and electricity is almost always turned off and they're running out of space to bury all the bodies. it's such a problem palestinian officials are now letting people reuse old grave sites. one young palestinian who died, now buried on top of his grandfather who has been in the grave for a decades. conor powell is live in gaza
12:03 pm
city. conor, looks like this thing is escalating again. >> reporter: john, it sure is. just the past few hours we have seen a significant escalation in the fighting here, particularly after the weekend, which was fairly calm compared to what we saw last week. just in the last few hours we heard outgoing hamas rockets, seen israeli air strikes and artillery. also been hearing small arms fire. so the fighting is definitely picking up here. this as the cease fire and the sort of unfour-truce seemed to have essentially crumbled in the last few hours. now, israel is also conducting military operations, trying to remove those tunnels. we are also hearing about some air strikes or some reported explosions at this gazan hospital where there's also a park and a medical facility there. reports there say there was an explosion. hamas says it was an israeli air strike. israel says, no, this was a
12:04 pm
hamas rocket that landed in the wrong spot. what we do know as they argue about who is responsible is that ten people were killed, including nine children. so the fighting here beginning to impact civilians yet again. something we saw a lot in the last week or so john, and civilians are being told by israel to flee the northern part by text message of gaza. but where they're supposed to go is not really clear. as we have seen, the safe ravens are not very safe. >> what more do we know about the militants who supposedly entered israel? >> reporter: well, one of the big operational aims of this goal for this israeli military is to remove these underground tunnel systems and the israeli military says they destroyed 60% of the tunnels but still hamas is able to use them to infiltrate into israel. happened earlier tonight. we don't know how many or what exactly happened after hamas fighters got into israel but we do know that other firefight ensued, at least one of the
12:05 pm
hamas fighters was killed. we understand there may be casualties as well on the israeli side. so as israel continues to focus on the tunnels, hamas is using them to sneak into israel. it's a major concern for the israeli military and that's the primary goal of trying to destroy these tunnels. >> conor powell, live. let's bring in deputy director of the mid-east program at the center for strategic' international studies. talk about this tiff between the obama administration and the israelis. is this the coin of thing that happen all the time or is this of particular concern? >> we know there's been tension in the relationship for the last couple of years and this isn't anything new necessarily. the obama administration wants to signal to the israelis it's time to wrap up the operation. it's gone on long enough. the israeli government wants more time to expand the operation and try to reach some
12:06 pm
of the operational goals they set for themselves, most importantly, trying to neutralize these tunnels that hamas dug into israeli territory. so, there's some different priorities here in terms of the sequencing, but i think the bottom line is that both sides? want to get to a lasting cease fire that is going to solve the threat that goes gaza poses to israel and normalize the life for the population in gaza. >> you say both sides also get something out of the fighting. can you explain that? >> well, both israel and hamas are trying to gain something out of the fighting. the u.s. objective is to stop the fighting and try to help israel secure its border, help demilitarize gaza and normalize the lives of the population in gaza. >> what do hall mass members get? >> hamas is trying to use the violence to stricken inits
12:07 pm
position politically which has been weakened dramatically, in part because of the economic situation in gaza. what it is trying to fight for now is to try to secure the end of the blockade to gaza, which has gone on, on and off, since 2007, when it took over the gaza strip. the difficulty in this is that it's not just a negotiation and a fight between israel and hamas. it's a fight between hamas and egypt as well, because egypt controls the gaza border on the egyptian gaza side, and egypt is the lifeline of gaza to the outside world, and so the egyptian hamas relationship right now is at an all-time low and there's a lot of tension there on that side, and that is a parallel negotiation that needs to be worked out if any of these issues are going to be resolved. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> police say a sexual assault suspect is dead after a wild shootout in the heart of one of new york city's most south-after neighborhoods. happened in the west village in
12:08 pm
manhattan. home to lots of celebrities. federal marshals say the suspect opened fire on a u.s. marshal's task force as they tried to arrest him. two marshals and a police detective were hurt but new york city's mayor, bill deblasio, says he believes they will be, quote, okay in the long run. >> the united states helped rebels boot the libyan dictator moammar gadhafi no some of othe same fighters are forcing americans to get out and fast. we'll explain what prompted the urgent evacuation of our embassy and what is behind the latest threats as a major airport.
12:09 pm
celebrate your love of crab with gthis year's largest variety!. 'cause it's crabfest at red lobster! dig into a succulent selection of crab entrées.
12:10 pm
like new crab lover's trio! with sweet snow crab legs, split king crab, and jumbo lump crab over savory shrimp. crab three ways! all on one plate. or try new jumbo lump crab over wood-grilled salmon. experience crabfest at red lobster today. only for a limited time. come in and sea food differently!
12:11 pm
fighting in libya's capital city sparked an out of control fire at an oil depot near the airport two days after the state department pulled u.s. diplomats out of the country. now libyan government officials are asking for international help to put out the fire, saying it could trigger a humanitarian and environmental disaster. for weeks two rival militia groups fought for control over the airport. analysts said the groups are made up of former rebels who helped oust moammar gadhafi in 2011. european nations, including germany and the united kingdom followed suit. the recent bout of fighting killed 9 people and injured more than 400 others, catherine
12:12 pm
herridge is live in d.c., what's the administration doing? >> reporter: a short time ago the deputy national security adviser confirm confirming for reporters there is would a conference call between the president and allies in europe, and they're concerned about libya, calling for a cease fire but without meningful thrown stop the fighting. >> with respect to libya they agreed on the need for immediate cease fire among the mill lit -- mill lit ya in tripoli and underscoring support of the u.n. that condemns any use of violence to attack civilians, intimidate officials. >> the state department this afternoon still describing the u.s. embassy's closure over the weekend in the capital tripoli as temporary. >> what are we learning about the cause of all that? >> the head of the powerful house intelligence committee, mike rogers, says the crisis in libya was avoidable but a the obama administration lacked a clear policy.
12:13 pm
>> these problems are continuing to grow with lack of u.s. leadership and we need to change that path or it's going to have long-lasting damage to our national security interests in the future. >> the president's deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, ben rhodess, blames the former libyan dictator, moammar gadhafi, for a weak military and police force that is ill equipped to obtain the militias. >> gadhafi left behind a shell of a state. there was a security force. >> ben rhodess was the same white house official who blamed the 2012 benghazi terrorist attacks and the demonstrations across the mideast on the antiislam video and not a broader policy failure. >> thanks, catherine. a second american has tested positive for elow would virus in africa. the word from an aid group in the u.s. a woman from north carolina came down with the disease while working at a hospital in liberia. one of three countries battling
12:14 pm
the biggest ebola outbreak ever. it's killed almost 700 people according to the w.h.o. last week the aid group announced the medical director of the same hospital tested positive for ebola. he is on the left in this photo. you can see the aid workers wear lots of protective gear. officials say both americans are in serious but stable condition. a spokeswoman says the doctor's wife and children had been with him in liberia but went home to texas before the got sick. so far his family has not shown any symptoms symptoms of ebola. >> a lawyer claims the feds have evidence that shows timothy mcveigh was not alone when he planted the bomb in oklahoma city. now that attorney is taking the fbi to court. we'll break down his case. plus, we're learning bat big increase in the number of 9-1-1 first responders who now have cancer. the details on that next.
12:15 pm
we come into the world hungry. and never quite get over it. seven billion hungry people who never stop eating. what's a world to do? well, we grow a lot of food. we also waste a lot of food. about a third of everything we grow. we thought we could improve on the math. so, we put our scientists to work on the problem. they're good at math. not to mention biology, physics and chemistry. and they came up with ingenious ways to keep the food we grow fresher, longer. using innovative packaging. there are still a lot of hungry people in the world. but we have a lot of scientists. this is the human element at work. dow.
12:16 pm
12:17 pm
12:18 pm
the number of ground zero rescue workers with cancer has more than doubled in the last year to 2500 cases. that's what health officials tell the "new york post" newspaper. the number includes police officers, workers and recovery workers and volunteers who worked at the world trade center site. many have already received money from the 9/11 victim compensation fund. more are likely to file for compensation by the october deadline for cancer claims. researchers say ground zero workers are getting cancer at a much higher rate than the normal population. >> a lawsuit claims timothy mcveigh was not the only bomber in the oklahoma city attack, and the government has video to prove it. but won't release it. the feds claim they can't find the video and it might not even
12:19 pm
exist. now the fbi is on trial. officials executed mcveigh more than a decade ago for planting the bomb in 1995. it destroyed a federal building and killed 168 people. it was one of the deadliest terror attacks ever on u.s. soil. the feds say mcveigh was alone when he parked the truck, packed with explosives, outside the building and detonated it. but for some time investigators said they were looking for another suspect, john doe number two, they never identified him. now one lawyer claims that manhunt led to his brother's death in federal prison. trace gallagher has more in our west coast news hub. tell us about the guy who died in prison. >> his name was kenneth trenedud, would was picked up on a parole violation after to the bombing and then brought back to a federal prison in oklahoma city. he had a very strong resemblance to john doe number two, same
12:20 pm
height, same weight, even the same dragon tattoo on his left arm. john doe number two was never identified. kenneth hung himself in prison but his body has dozens of bruises and stab wounds. his brother, jesse, believes the feds thought he actually was john doe number two and that he was murdered in an interrogation gone wrong. the family, by the way, was awarded $1.1 million for the way the death was handled in prison. i was subsequently lowered to $900,000 but that is what the brother is trying to establish in court, john. >> so when he goes to court, or the bradshaw, -- the brother, what do we expect? >> the brother is going to court because he says there was a secret service document logged into evidence shortly after the bombing that said there was surveillance videos of suspects, plural, walking out of a principle truck three minutes before the bomb went off. the fbi says there is no such
12:21 pm
surveillance tape but none show mcveigh -- 30 tapes, not a single one shows mcveigh in or around a truck but the brother want this judge to allow him to go into the fbi vault and search on his own and maybe once and for all prove if there was a john doe number two. the trial should last somewhere around three days and then the judge will decide if he gets to go hunting for this missing tape. >> trace gallagher, thank you. let's bring in a lawyer. alex little is a criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor. how unusual is this case, alex? >> this is incredibly unusual. what you have here is a freedom of information act lawsuit. , the sort of lawsuit brought commonly to get records from the government. but here you have for the first time i can recall a judge who is going to determine whether the efforts of the department of justice -- the efforts of the fbi are sufficient. have they looked hard enough?
12:22 pm
and that's what the judge has to determine. >> but it's awfully strange if the report on that surveillance footage describes two people, uses the term, suspects, plural, now we're told that was wrong? they got it wrong? they can't find the tape? it's gone? that raises an awful lot of suspicion. >> it does. to be fair police reports are wrong all the time. you can get an error like that in every police report across the country. the question is, there's enough problems that have been raised with the way the fbi may have looked for this. today there's been testimony the fbi agent in charge of the search for the video never actually called back to fbi headquarters in d.c. and said there is any chance you may have it? the judge has been frustrated over the six years this lawsuit has been going ons as to the way the fbi has not been up front with what they're doing, and that raise questions. >> and his side, mr. trinityity's side, is saying the fbi needs to look harder. the secret service made
12:23 pm
reference to the existence of this tape and the fbi needs to find it. >> and at the end of the day there may be no tape, and theque may be, have they looked hard if? i think mr. trinity wants the chance to see the best efforts are made to locate the tape and he won't take the government reside word for it. the judge isn't taking the government's worth forked, either. >> it is interesting, the whole john doe number two story. that story was out there. they were actively looking for john dough number two, and then all of a sudden one day, oops, didn't exist, didn't happen. >> to be fair to the government in the fog of investigations like this, this is a massive investigation of does -- things like that happen. we get incorrect information. we saw that boston and not the last time the government agents mess up on the front end of an investigation. is that all it is? this lawsuit could help us answer the question. >> what be the fact -- i saw one of the postmortem photos of
12:24 pm
mr. trinity and he did not look like a guy who simply hanged himself. he looked like he had been beaten. >> the interesting connection between that case and what really entirely separate lawsuit here about this video, is i think what has conspiracy folks interested in the connect, if hi john doe number two there was a lawsuit involving the body and the circumstances of his death which were very troubling do they connect to the video? we may find but. >> alex little, interesting stuff. >> absolutely. >> ukrainian officials say flight data recorders back up their claim that a missile brought down that malaysia airlines flight 17. but investigators on the ground say, they still cannot get to the crash site. we're live in ukraine with more. plus, here at home, a deadly lightning strike at a very popular beach. we'll talk live with a guy who claims the bolt knocked him off
12:25 pm
his feet while he was playing volleyball. you do a lot of things great. but parallel parking isn't one of them. you're either too far from the curb. or too close to other cars... it's just a matter of time until you rip some guy's bumper off. so, here are your choices: take the bus. or get liberty mutual insurance. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. call liberty mutual insurance. this is holly. her long day of outdoor adventure starts with knee pain. and a choice. take 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief.
12:26 pm
onward!
12:27 pm
i'm leah gabrielle with the fox report. a 19-year-old says he played a role in friday's deadly carjacking in philadelphia according to his attorney. cops have not named suspects but say they're confident they can call off the manhunt. you see the carjackers got into a crash that killed three siblings, ages 7 to 15, who were selling fruit for a church fundraiser, two other people reported hurt, including the children's mother. a north korean military official threatened to fire a nuclear tipped rocket at the white house if the u.s. tried to undermine the rogue nation's right to build nuclear weapons. happened yesterday during a military rally in pyongyang. here at home, dollar tree announced it will buy its rival, family dollar, for $8.5 billion. analyst says the stores have
12:28 pm
struggled in the face of touch competition from wal-mart and kroger. it's 7am and steve is already thinking about tomorrow. which is why he's investing in his heart health by eating kellogg's raisin bran ® good morning dad. hi, sweetie. here's another eye opener, not only is kellogg's raisin bran ® heart healthy, but its a delicious source of potassium. mom make you eat that? i happen to like raisins. now that's what i'm talkin' about. invest in your heart health. with kellogg's raisin bran ®.
12:29 pm
12:30 pm
doeses of people have been exposed to an unknown chemical at a recycling center in pennsylvania north of philadelphia. emergency workers say several people went to the hospital and they decontaminated some people at the scene as a precaution. investigators say they are still trying to figure out what that chemical was. flight recorder data shows the downed airliner in ukraine had suffered a massive explosive decompression after shrapnel from a missile tore through the plane. according to ukrainian security officials. they say loss of pressure causd the aircraft to plummet from the sky. investigators say experts have been analyzing the jet's black boxes in the uk after the rebels turn over the devices to malaysian officials last week. meantime, international monitors say they are, quote, sick and tired of not being able to visit
12:31 pm
the crash site. take a look at the map on our wall. those investigators say gun and artillery fire in a nearby town today forced them to call off a trip to the site for the second day in a row. video shows armed rebels guarding themannerner to -- in e monitors' convoy and civilians running for safety. the united nations released new figures showing more than 1100 people have died since fighting win the ukrainian military and russian separatist began four months ago. the u.n. high commissioner for human rights says the attack on the airplane says may be a war cry. steve harrigan is live in the central -- i'm sorry -- in ukraine's capitol city of kiev. what about security at the crash site now? what's it like? >> reporter: john, no semblance of security around that ten-square-mile crash site. that crash site has become the front line in a battle between
12:32 pm
russian backed rebels and ukrainian forces. those small villages around the crash site which 11 days ago had pieces of the wreckage fall on their houses, bodies fall all around them, they're in the middle of a battle with artillery falling around them. the results of the fight means that for the international investigators who have come to ukraine to analyze the crash scene, 11 days in, most of them have yet to see the crash site. >> what about the european leaders? what are they saying? >> reporter: there seems to be a push for tougher sanctions against russia. that being made by both poland's prime minister and by britain's as well. the real test is going to be what happens over the next 48 hours this effect on the ground from what we can see from russia's behavior, doesn't seem to be any change or effect at all. more than 12,000 russian troops massed at the border, and despite assertions from the u.s. state department, releasing satellite images that show russia is actually firing into the ukraine against ukrainian
12:33 pm
government positions, nothing but flat denials from the russian so far. >> steve harrigan live from kiev, thank you. a law firm is preparing to file a multimillion dollar lawsuit against russian president vladimir putin, accusing him of playing a role in the airliner attacks. that according to the british newspaper, "the sun day telegraph." the law firm released a statement, part of it reads: those immediately responsible are not only the separatists, who are alleged to have fired a rock at flight mh17, causing the death of hundreds of innocent victims, but those, be they states, individuals or other entities who provided them with financial and material support and the means to do so. the telegraph reports that law firm could file its first class action suit through u.s. courts though separatists deny shooting down the plane, and russian officials say the ukrainian military may be to blame.
12:34 pm
ken zimmerman is a former trial attorney and also columnist for the national law journal. ken, british law firm suing the russian government in u.s. court. pretty unusual combination. >> it is unusual, john. but it can easily happen. the russians have business interests, money here and they can get sued here just like a russian company can. in just think back to libya in the panam 103 lockerbie bombing. the was a similar claim against libya, and that claim caused the libyans eventually to agree to pay $2.7 billion to the families. so something similar could happen here. >> so, are we talking about vladimir putin potentially losing his personal fortune? it would be going after money from the russian government? >> i would not be surprised if they go after all of the above, money from the russian government, personal money. the question of what they will get, that's another question. and i certainly wouldn't expect
12:35 pm
you to see vladimir putin testifying in u.s. court. they would likely want to make that happen and he would be very unlikely to agree to do that. but they're going to go after everything they can possibly get. think of this in comparison to a simple street crime. you have russia and head of that enterprise, being accused of being an accessory to mass murder. that is what this case will likely focus on. it's very bad, by the way, p.r.-wise for russia. just paints them as an evil villain in a country that stands for mass murder of innocent civilians. >> but they're already seeing those kinds of accusations in the press all over the world and vladimir putin's personal popularity, among the russian people, i don't think has ever been higher. he is at 90% popularity he just slugs shrugs it off. >> in the short term this may happen at home in the long term runs counter to his goal. he wants to make russia, he says, one of the strong leading
12:36 pm
countries in the world and he is running that country into the ground. this will cause russia to face sanctions, it will cause them to lack investments. there are already many major institutional investors that no longer want to invest in russia and many are pulling out now. >> and do you think -- would they have a difficult time proving this kind of a suit? he is the russian head of state and apparently was a russian-built rocket launcher. is it that much of a stretch? >> you ask about a challenge, and there is a major challenge. the big challenge is that the physical evidence as you have reported is not secure, and in fact investigators are having a hard time getting to the site. so just compare this to a traditional street crime. if there was a murder somewhere and police couldn't get to the physical evidence at the crime scene and that crime scene was contaminated, it would make it harder to prove the murder and to get the person who is accused of the murder convicted.
12:37 pm
so that is the biggest risk to this suit being successful. but there is other evidence. there's satellite evidence, intelligence evidence. so i think it's entirely possible the suit could have legs even though faces challenges. >> so keeping the crash scene in chaos is to putin's benefit from this standpoint, at least. thank you. the terror group that kidnapped the hundreds of nigerian school girls has now reportedly snatched a top official's wife. a government spokesman says fighters with boca haram abducted the wife of the country's vice prime minister. several people died 'n the attack on the leader's house. the group is still holding 200 school girls kid naped in april. and then to sell the girls into sex slavery if the nigerian government didn't release prisoners. the nigerian leader said he will not negotiate with terrorists. came out of nowhere, how
12:38 pm
witnesses describe a powerful lightning storm in southern california, which officials say killed a 20-year-old man and injured near lay dozen others. happeneddess yesterday in the long enabled oven is in beach. fox news obtained this amateur video, and in the the didn't stannous can see what appears to be a lifeless body on the beach. fox news cannot confirm whether it was he 20-year-old who died or another victim. womens say they first saw a flash of light, then a tremendous boom as lightning struck the water. another witness compared it to a scene from the movie, "jaws." >> all of a sudden there was a lightning bolt and hit here and then hit over there as well. so, it was scary, and somebody got hurt. >> okay. >> if not killed. >> forecasters say it is rare for southern california to see a leg inning storm during the summer. folks say it lasted only 15 minutes. stewart asher says he was struck but survived. he was playing volleyball on the beach at the time. stewart, you have to be feeling
12:39 pm
like a lucky man today. what are your memories? what did it feel like? >> thank you, john -- i'm just kidding. i have to make light of the situation. it was crazy. we're sitting there playing volleyball. beautiful day. out of nowhere the storm came in, bolt of lightning. felt like a frying pan in the back of my head. i got hit. a flash of light. i got thrown to the ground. my legs locked up, and i realized when i opened my eyes i was still alive. it was amazing. >> did the bolt hit you directly or did it just hit in that general area of where the game was going on? >> well, i'm told it didn't hit my directly because i would have marks on my body. i think they're called spiders or something, where they spread out and -- i don't know. it was just insane. definitely felt like it hit me right in the head. >> it had to be terrifying-especially the fact that one young man who was apparently in the water was killed by this thing. he may have been a direct hit, i
12:40 pm
suppose. >> i know. it's actually sad. my heart goes out to him and his family. all we can do is appreciate life. i just -- it really did change me for a second. i feel like i'm a film director, i have a movie called "hash tag "stuck" coming out in october and i thought that's the only thing that mattered. so maybe i'll change it from holiday hash tag stuck" to "hash tag struck." i'm grateful to be alive. >> you're not acouple offed to thunderstorms in southern california, is a understand it. you don't see that kind of thing these time of year especially. >> we're actually going through a drought. we have nod hat a drop of rain forever, so for it to come on thick lice is crazy. it was completely out of the blue. never seen it happen so fast, and the crazy thing about it was literally ten or 15 minutes when this hole whole thing was
12:41 pm
finished, bright blue skies, sunshine, as if nothing ever happened. unreal. >> hats off in the lifeguards, doing a good job under a chaotic situation. >> they kept their cool, check my vitals and said i was good to go. i should get checked out afterwards, but i feel fine. i mean, i just feel really blessed. in fact i went and played the lotto. we'll see what happens. >> you're a lucky guy. thank you very much. >> thank you so much. >> a nine-year-old girl is in critical condition, her father dead, after a light plane made a crash landing while they were walking on a florida beach. we'll bring you a live report on that. plus, crews say they may soon be able to let hundreds of people go home after a wildfire forced them to evacuate. another fire is burning near a national park. details on that next.
12:42 pm
12:43 pm
12:44 pm
12:45 pm
>> a fox urgent from new york city. new details on the shootout in downtown manhattan, the west village. u.s. marshals holding a news conference. the shootout left a sexual assault suspect dead and hurt two u.s. deputy marshals and an nypd detective. a person who got hit just got out of surgery. the marshals and the detect testifies are part of the joint fugitive an -- apprehension task force. crews are working to stop two wildfires from spreading in california. one of those fires has destroyed at least 13 homes. firefighters say they have been able to control most of that blaze. a couple of hours east of sacramento. the flames forced more than a thousand people to evacuate over the weekend. the other fire burning near yosemite national park reportedly has destroyed one home.
12:46 pm
analysts say california's three-year long drought has made conditions extremely tough for firefighters across the state. a light plane crash-landed on to a beach, killing a man and seriously injuring his nine-year-old daughter as they were walking along the shore. appeared hon the gulf coast, an hour south of tampa. the pilot made a distress call saying he was having problemmed and had to make an emergency landing. officials say both the pilot and his passenger are doing okay but the plane struck a father and his daughter. lea gabrielle is here. i'm hearing some of the people on the beach had the plane across over their head. >> the pilot declared emergency on the radio and several workers at a nearby airport heard the call and dialed 9-1-1. >> he said he's not going to make the airport, he's going to be on the beach. >> you can see the singlening inpiper cherokee landed right
12:47 pm
tet water line. one wheel came off. a prop smashed into the sand and a wing damaged. listen to a description to a 9-1-1 operator. >> hit the water and rolled up on the sand. people are running. >> out of the plane that you can tell? >> i can't tell just yet. i assume there's going to be people climbing out. not that bad. >> not that bad for the pilot and his passenger. unfarm no way for a pie thereto crash an airplane to let people on the ground know he is coming down and in this the daughter of the man who was killed is in critical condition. >> and it sounds like the plane hit the water first and kind of skipped up on to the beach? >> it seems as though it kind of landed right there where that water line is, and we haven't been able to talk to the pilot or any of the people -- the other person onboard the plane but the ntsb will investigate it. now, we do know the plane took off from a very small grass
12:48 pm
airfield five miles south. want to show you a map of the area. you can see that we don't know how long it had been flying before it crashed but crashed at the beach in venice, florida, one mile away from venice municipal airport, and according to an airport official the plane had not been there previously that day and the pilot said he couldn't make it to the field before crashing. just a few minute ago we got video of crews towing the plane off the beach. people watching. and we're told that it will be taken to a secure location where the ntsb officials can really try to get a sense of what happened. >> sad story. wrong place, wrong time, for that dad and his daughter. students who survived the south korean ferry disaster testified officials told them several times to stay put even as waters began flooding their cabin. the students spoke today at a court session for the captain and crew members responsible for the ship's navigation. despite the announcement not to leave the students said they
12:49 pm
eventually had to get out because the water got too high. one passenger said the wall became the floor. another said she watched the horror as the waters swept away her classmates. she said they stepped over furniture and helped each other escape. once they got out of the cabins they told each other not to cry. more than 300 people are listed as dead or still missing. most of them students. the captain and crew face charges, including negligence, abandoning ship, and homocide. they say they thought it was up to the coast guard to rescue those passengers. well, it might soon be legal for you to unlock your iphone and android or switch to any carrier you want, potentially saving you money. geri willis has details. plus, a daring rescue caught on video. dozens of people troped in a bus on a flooded road. that's next. so, your site gave me this "credit report card" thing.
12:50 pm
can i get my actual credit report... like, the one the bank sees? [ male voice ] sheesh, i feel like i'm being interrogated over here. [ male voice ] she's onto us. dump her. [ pay phone rings ] hello? oh, man. that never gets old. no, it does not. [ female announcer ] not all credit report sites are equal. experian.com members get personalized help and a real credit report. join now at experian.com with enrollment in experian credit tracker.
12:51 pm
join now at experian.com your studied day and night for her driver's test. secretly inside, you hoped she wouldn't pass. the thought of your baby girl driving around all by herself was... you just weren't ready. but she did pass. 'cause she's your baby girl. and now you're proud. a bundle of nerves proud. but proud. get a discount when you add a newly-licensed teen to your liberty mutual insurance policy. call to learn about our whole range of life event discounts. newlywed discount. new college graduate and retiree discounts. you could even get a discount when you add a car. call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.
12:52 pm
it can help your business save money. false. the truth is when you compare our fastest internet to the fastest dsl from the phone company, comcast business gives you more for your money. why pay more for less? call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. and find out more about our two-year price guarantee. comcast business. built for business.
12:53 pm
firefighters rescuing dozens of people including a baby from two buses trapped on a flooded road. happened yesterday in eastern china. official says torrential downpours caused flashflooding. official says the passengers on the buses were mostly children and senior citizens. so they waited for firefighters, who say they gotdy out safely. well, it might soon be legal for you to unlock your cell phone so you can switch carriers. that's because congress has passed a bill and president obama has said he will sign it. but analysts say your current carrier will still have some say over when you can switch companies. gerri willis is here, host of the willis report 5:00 p.m. eastern. what else does this mean? >> this is the holy grail for
12:54 pm
consumers. so you want to unlock the cell phone for a long time because maybe you want a different provider. maybe there was a provider offering better service you want to getment maybe your current provider doesn't exist in the place you're moving to. or maybe you just want a lower price. people want a change and they're excited about the fact you can unlock this device. keep in mind the folks who issue these, make these, they have fought this for a very long time because these get subsidized by carriers so they pay something to get you to buy this contract in the first place. >> right. now, that's why the contracts go a couple of years. anything else in it for consumers other than the ability to switch? jurick there's another benefit. you have to consider that the secondary market for used phone us will glow. definitely see that. fewer phones in landfills but if you have signed that two-year contract, that initial period, you'll have to stay locked in with that device during that period. so, it's only after the initial term of the contract that you can go find somebody better if you want to. >> and what about -- i mean,
12:55 pm
phones obviously are big deal and probably the majority of the market but a lot of people have i-pads, tablets. does that apply to them? >> we're using cell phone service on so many different items now, including your tablet. this does not apply to that. so if you're thinking you can unlock your ipad from verizon or another provider, think twice. it's not going to happen. >> i wonder how they'll prevent fraud, like let's say i want to play a trick on my buddy, i could unlock his iphone and switch him to another carrier without him knowing. >> that's a great question. >> gerri, thank you. >> my pleasure. >> and we'll be right back with more.
12:56 pm
shopping online is as easy as it gets. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. start shopping online from a list of top-rated providers. visit angieslist.com today. ugh. heartburn.
12:57 pm
did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief.
12:58 pm
veggies you're cool... reworking the menu. mayo, corn dogs...you are so out of here! ahh... the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals. 9 grams of protein... with 30% less sugars than before. ensure, your #1 dr. recommended brand now introduces ensure active. muscle health. clear protein drink and high protein. targeted nutrition to feed your active life. ensure. take life in. a weather alert. more weird weather. yesterday is was a thunderstorm on the beach in california. now a tornado warning in maine. yes, maine. western culpberland county,
12:59 pm
trained weather spotters spotted a funnel cloud them warning area includes the city of north wyndham. comes after the national weather service confirmed a tornado touched down just north of boston. communities across the u.s. are cleaning up after strong storms destroyed homes, knocked out power for thousands of people. toppled power lines. as well as trees. and on this day in 1914, austria, hungary, declared war on serbia, effectively starting world war i. a newspaper in vienna ran an extra edition to publish the declaration of war. it came a march after the assassination of ferdinand by serbian nationals. the united states stayed newell central but eventually joined the fighting. the great war officially began 100 years ago today.
1:00 pm
>> i'm john scott in today for shepard smith. "your world" with neil cavuto, up next. thank you for being here. we are here together. having done something that happens quite rarely. i'm proud. >> so close you can smell it. get something together for the vets and be done with it. and if you know this show, you know we have never left this story and never let up on lawmakers who seem to be dragging the feet. maybe our relentless coverage channeling that or the light of a five-week vacation to get congress to see the light and move fast to mike emanuel in washington on getting our heroes some overdue help. mike? >> reporter: negotiations we