Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Secretary of State Kerry in Middle East to Build Coalition against ISIS; U.S. Strategy against ISIS Debated; Gunman or Gunmen at Large in Pennsylvania; Fight Breaks Out During Party Attended by Members of Palin Family; Vikings Player Adrian Petersons Charged with Child Abuse; Levels of Domestic Violence in U.S. Discussed

Aired September 13, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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


CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's good to see you as we edge toward that 10:00 hour on Saturday. Nice lazy morning. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Got a minute 15 still to go. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Coming up on 10:00 here on the East, 7:00 on the West Coast. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

America's top diplomat is on a mission this morning to get Arab nations to commit to this U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.

PAUL: Secretary of State John Kerry in Cairo. It is the latest stop for him after Turkey in Saudi Arabia and he spoke just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: The bottom line is that terrorists like ISIL have no place in the modern world. But it's up to the world to enforce that truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott is in Cairo right now.

BLACKWELL: Yes, she joins us live. Elise, tell us more about the secretary's message today in Cairo.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christie and victor. He is here in Cairo. Egypt is really the heart and soul of the Arab world, the kind of capital of the Arab world. So, Secretary Kerry wants Egypt to be an important and symbolic part of this coalition. Not just reaching out to the new Iraqi government trying to bring them back into the fold of the Arab community they've been shunned for many years while Nouri al Maliki was prime minister. But they want Egypt to cut down on the flow of the foreign financing to ISIS and also the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria that helps them recruit. Take a listen to what Secretary Kerry just said moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: So we are very grateful that both Egypt and the Arab League have supported this coalition every step of the way. And in each of the meetings that I had today we discussed how we could better accelerate the efforts in bringing more nations on board and in dividing up the responsibilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: And in another thing that Secretary Kerry wants Egypt to do is use its messaging, get those religious clerics out there in the mosque on the Friday sermons and on Arab television networks to kind of preach the idea that the ISIS is the enemy and moderate Arabs should really eschew on this brutal extremist ideology of ISIS. They think that the messaging is a very important part of that, and Egypt with its weighty role in the region has an important part to play there, Christi and Victor.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: So Elise, he mentioned being grateful to be there. But I'm just wondering, what kind of reception is he really getting from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, now Egypt?

LABOTT: Well, all these countries kind of approach this in a different way, if you will. Saudi Arabia, for instance, a lot of the extremist ideology that kind of stem from this ISIS issue comes from, you know, these kind of extremist Islam that come from the Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia. You have Turkey, they have 49 hostages, government officials that are being held hostage by ISIS. So they are going to be careful about what they are doing.

And Egypt has its own terrorism problem in the Sinai that they are fighting. You see neighboring Libya with this horrible military problem there. And so they want the United States to take a whole of region approach. So everybody recognizes that ISIS is the threat to the region, but they also have their own concerns and they want the United States to take a look and address some of their problems.

And so I think it still needs to be shaked out who is going to do what, how this is going to go. But clearly everyone sees ISIS as a threat. I think the question is, what happens after ISIS?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Elise Labott, thank you so much, joining us from Cairo, traveling with the secretary.

The Pentagon, the State Department, the White House, they are talking about whether the U.S. is in fact at war with ISIS. And there are many different perspectives here. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

READ ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: What I said was this is not the Iraq War of 2002. But make no mistake.

MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: We are at war with ISIL in the same way we are at war with Al Qaeda.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Al Qaeda affiliates all around the globe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: OK, so is this a case of semantics, or are the Americans getting mixed messages about what's really ahead for the nation? We want to dig deeper into this with CNN military analyst General James "Spider" Marks.

BLACKWELL: We also have joining us is Shadi Hamid. He's a fellow at the Brookings Institution -- pardon me -- for Middle East policy. He's also the author of the book "Temptations of Power, Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in the New Middle East." General Marks, I want to start with you. Let's just get to the question here. Is the U.S. at war?

GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Victor, it is. In fact the question in my mind is when did we decide and who decided that we weren't at war? Why is this a new discussion we are having?

Since 9/11 the United States has been in a constant state of conflict. We've been at war. And the fact that we don't have troops in Iraq, we are now reintroducing some soldiers into Iraq, the fact we are still in combat in Afghanistan describes for me a constant state of conflict that the United States needs to embrace. So truly we are in a state of war and what we have is a metamorphosis and a continual growth, and a metastasis of this cancer called radical Islam. It's now in the form of ISIS. So clearly we are in the state of war and frankly the president and this administration is doing the right thing to step up efforts to assure that we can kill it.

PAUL: General McChrystal talked to CNN's Erin Burnett a bit ago, and he had this to say about the U.S. strategy. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL: Unless you have been in the position that President Bush or President Obama has been, it's really difficult to understand all the context of the decision. I think there is plenty of blame for everybody. But I think we spend way too much time thinking about blame. If you think about our strategy now against ISIS, the one thing we absolutely need is cohesion in the United States in support of the president's strategy. Is it a perfect strategy? No. I've never seen a perfect strategy. But I can guarantee that it is a weaker strategy if we don't fall behind it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: All right, Shadi, so do you think that the president can get full support?

SHADI HAMID, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Well, I mean, should we really fall behind a strategy that's deeply flawed? The big problem here is that we're comparing ISIS to Al Qaeda. We're talking about a glorified counterterrorism strategy. ISIS is a fundamentally different beast than Al Qaeda. ISIS is not primarily a terrorist organization. It's a proto-state. It controls large swaths of territory. It rules over 4 million Arabs in Iraq and Syria. It runs local administrations in various cities. So we are dealing with a much more challenging and frightening threat.

So if we go in and say we're going to do the same thing we did against Al Qaeda and Yemen and Somalia, we are mischaracterizing the nature of the threat. So I think that we as Americans have to be very -- we have to be critical if we don't feel the president's strategy really meets the kind of threat that we're talking about here.

BLACKWELL: Now the president's strategy does not include boots on the ground. He has said that many times. Many have said that repeatedly. General Marks, is that being completely honest that will not take at some point boots on the ground, U.S. boots on the ground? Or do you think this can be executed effectively without sending in U.S. troops?

MARKS: Victor, great question. In order to meet the president's desired instate, he's established an instate, which is to defeat is. In order to do that the horizon is going to be that much longer. At some point there must be a presence of soldiers on the ground. And I hate to use the term "boots on the ground." It just diminishes what's really taking place and those sacrifices that those soldiers make. But it is going to take a ground presence, soldiers on the ground, in order to get the root out of the Syria, which is where ISIS has found all of its support and all of its ability to organize, to train, to launch operations. It is in fact a state. It in fact can create governance and has created governance.

As a result of that, it is going to take a while to root that out. So the aggressive air campaign is simply a first step in a larger strategy that includes a lot of application of power and a coalition in order to achieve it. So the honesty on the part of the president is, this is going to take a while. Let's not try to get a microwave solution. It is not going to be quick. We are going to have to commit, we're going to have to focus. And we will be able to achieve this desired instinct. That is the message that we all need to here.

PAUL: And Shadi, with that being said, these Arab nations are saying they will, quote, "Do their share. But what exactly does that mean?"

HAMID: I mean, what is striking so far is how tepid the Arab support is. I mean, Kerry is going around and trying to rally support, but we are not seeing very explicit commitments. There is a lot of talk in sharing in the fight, but in terms of actual military contributions we are seeing very little.

And part of that is because Arab nations are consumed with their own domestic struggles and fighting their own political opponents. But then there is also a lot of skepticism about this president in particular. Obama has had a very strained relationship with most Arab leaders. They feel that he's been disengaging from the Middle East, that he doesn't have skin in the game, that he doesn't actually want to commit.

And I think we just have to look back to last year when we were about to launch air strikes in Syria, and we backed down at the very last moment. That undermined, I think, a lot of trust. So I think people are waiting to see how serious the U.S. is. Is the U.S. going to follow through, or is a lot of this rhetoric at this point? And a big part of that is, are we going to be serious about backing mainstream rebel forces against ISIS and the Assad regime? Is there a serious plan in place beyond what the president has already talked about? That is still an open question.

PAUL: Generally "Spider" Marks and Shadi Hamid, we are so grateful for both of you being here, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you so much. I had a bit of the coughing spell at the top. I want to make sure people know that Shadi is the author of Temptations of Powers, Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in the New Middle East." He took the time to write the book. I could at least get the title right.

PAUL: It happens to the best of us.

BLACKWELL: The Ray Rice case has thrust the issue of domestic violence back into the national spotlight. We'll talk with the man who is helping train other men to face down and wipe out abuse against women.

PAUL: Also Alexandra Field has been following another abuse case with ties to the NFL yet again. Good morning, Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Christi. This time we are talking about the Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. He turned himself in to police overnight. Coming up we'll have more on the felony child abuse charge he now faces.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Let's just say it's been a bad few weeks for the NFL. Is that a fair statement?

BLACKWELL: And maybe an understate for some. First the Ray Rice controversy. Now Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will have to sit out tomorrow's game against the Patriots.

PAUL: Overnight he surrendered to police after being indicted on a felony child abuse charge. He is out on bail this morning, but we want to bring in CNN's Alexandra Field to us in New York. We do know that he has been, Alexandra, cooperating with authorities for weeks regarding this charge, yes?

FIELD: Yes. He has been. And look, this news broke, it came out. He has been cooperating with the authorities. But the Vikings are already responding to this. And it's just an indictment at this point, but already Vikings taking a stand, deactivating him from the game tomorrow. And they have also put out a statement saying it is important to remember -- excuse me, saying they are in the process of gathering information regarding the legal situation involving Adrian Peterson. All we know he will not play in tomorrow's game, or rather Sunday's game. We will have to see what the Vikings next move is.

But as you point out, Adrian has been cooperating with authorities. He has now been indicted by a grand jury. And his defense attorney says that the charge has do with him using a switch to spank his son. His defense attorney is also speaking out, saying Adrian is a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son. He used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas. And then that statement goes on to say, "It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury." As a result of the indictment from the grand jury, there was a warrant out for Peterson's arrest. He left Minnesota voluntarily last night and went to Texas to turn himself into authorities there.

BLACKWELL: Alexandra, it was just last year that he lost a child, right? Tell us about that.

FIELD: That's right. A two-year-old son, authorities say that child died as a result of injuries consistent with abuse. It was the toddler's mother's boyfriend who has been charged relative to that case. The young boy was living in South Dakota at the same time with his mother, not living with Adrian Peterson. So another man charged in regards to that case.

At this point we are not hearing Adrian Peterson speaking about the charge he now faces, but we did see he posted on Twitter yesterday a couple hours before the news broke that. That tweet saying in part, "God has you covered. Don't stress or worry." And that is what we're hearing for now.

BLACKWELL: Two-year-old died last year, now this one with some injuries and a case to follow. Alexandra Field there for us in New York. Thank you.

Police break up a party attended by Sarah Palin and the entire family. One blogger says things got messy in Alaska afterwards. Words were exchanged, punch thrown, maybe.

PAUL: A couple of punches, actually.

BLACKWELL: Yes, a couple of punches. That blogger is with us up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Police in Anchorage, Alaska are investigating a party brawl that reportedly involved Sarah Palin's family. This happened last Saturday during a 50th birthday celebration for Todd Palin.

PAUL: According to police, quote, "A preliminary investigation by police revealed that a party had been taking place in a nearby residence, a fight had broken out between multiple subjects outside of the residence at the time of the incident, and none of them, parties wanted to press charges, apparently. There were no arrests that were made and no parties wanted to press charges is what they're saying.

Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the incident. Some of the Palin family members were in attendance at that party, unquote. BLACKWELL: Blogger Amanda Coyne first broke the story. She joins us

from Anchorage. She's on the phone with us now. What happened here? This is so bizarre. What happened?

AMANDA COYNE, BLOGGER (via telephone): Good morning. First I want to say good morning. It's kind of in the middle -- actually in the middle of the night here almost.

Well, there was a party. There was a nice party. There was a band playing. There was around 70 people there. And it just got out of hand somewhere around 10:00, 11:00 or so, I think. One of -- it gets kind of confusing. It's very confusing, but there is a lot of Palins there, so Track, Bristol, Willow, Todd, Sarah, those five of them.

And from what I've been told, and I don't have firsthand witnesses of this particular part of the story, but one of Willow's ex-boyfriends was there at the party. And Track confronted one of Willow's ex- boyfriends around the front of the house. And there was a fight broke out between those two. And then Todd got involved with that.

And then that broke up. And then people kind of moved to the side of the house. And then Bristol and Willow -- and this is a shorthand version. There is a lot of things that happened in between. But Bristol and Willow come marching towards the owner of the house where the party is taking place. And the man that he kicked out, the boyfriend, was a guest. And then there is more firsthand witnesses to this part of it.

PAUL: So wait a minute, I'm sorry. I just want to stop you. From what you have told us, Track got into an altercation with an ex- boyfriend of one of his sisters.

COYNE: Yes.

PAUL: And now --

BLACKWELL: I need the whiteboard.

PAUL: I know. I need a whiteboard. Can you just give us the simplest -- did any other Palin get into a brawl in any way.

COYNE: Yes. Just hear me out a second. So yes, Todd got involved with that first part. And then in the second part, Willow and Bristol were there at the party, and they marched towards the owner. And then the owner tried to get them out, and then Bristol had words with the owner. And then I get, according to witnesses now. This is a woman -- we haven't gotten the Palin side of the story yet. But according to witnesses she just hauled off and punched him in the face repeatedly. And then the guy that was punched was the owner of the house, was kicking and trying to get -- Bristol fell and then Todd got involved. And that was when I guess there was a whole bunch of people started getting involved.

PAUL: So allegedly.

COYNE: Allegedly it turned into a brawl at about that time, yes. BLACKWELL: Sarah Palin, did she ever throw a punch according to these

witnesses.

COYNE: No, I haven't heard she had thrown a punch. But I did hear that she was trying to get involved and she was involved within that big brawl. But she was screaming and she was trying to get in the center of it and --

PAUL: OK.

COYNE: And, you know, like I -- we haven't heard from the Palins. And so there's obviously another side to this story.

PAUL: All right, and we'll wait to hopefully hear from them. Amanda Coyne, thank you so much. We do want to point out that Sarah Palin hasn't made a comment, as she said, on the incident. But she did post birthday party photos on her official Facebook page. So there you have that.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: I don't know that we have it. But --

PAUL: That is as clear as it is this morning, folks.

BLACKWELL: A white board would have helped.

PAUL: Amen to that.

President Obama says he has the legal right to go after ISIS. So there is a law that gives him that power? That's what people are talking about. We are going to ask the experts after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: It's 28 minutes past the hour. I'm Christi Paul. We're so glad to have you here.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Always a pleasure to be with you. Let's start this half with five things we are watching this morning.

PAUL: Number one, police in Pennsylvania say they are conducting several interviews in connection with a deadly shooting at the state police fair. No arrest had been made. But police from three states are searching for at least one gunman who unleashed what's been described as an ambush. We know one state patrol police officer is dead, a second was shot and in stable condition this hour. We'll have more for you on this ahead.

BLACKWELL: Number two now, NFL star Adrian Peterson is free on $15,000 bond after turning himself into police in Texas. The Minnesota Viking was indicted on a felony charge of injury to a child. And Peterson is accused of using a switch, which is a really thin branch of a tree, to spank his four-year-old son. Peterson's lawyer says that he never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury. The Vikings have taken him off the roster for tomorrow's game.

PAUL: Number three, embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is ending his campaign for reelection. He says he made this decision after doctors found a tumor in his abdomen earlier this week. His brother Doug says he is honoring Ford's request to run in the October race in his place. Ford made headlines last year, remember, after an explosive video surfaced showing him smoking crack cocaine.

BLACKWELL: Number four, a Florida driver says George Zimmerman threatened to kill him during a fit of road rage. This is the latest incident since Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in my car, rapping to myself with my windows up. And I looked over, and George Zimmerman was the driver. And they were threatening to kick my -- and to shoot me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That was the 911 call. Two days later police received a phone call from the same caller. He said that he saw Zimmerman lurking by his workplace. Police did not arrest Zimmerman because the caller did not press charges.

PAUL: And number five, the top doctor at the clinic where Joan Rivers went into cardiac arrest last month has left the post. A spokesperson for Yorkville Endoscopy tells CNN Dr. Lawrence Cohen is no longer serving as medical director or performing procedures there. Rivers died September 4th. New York's health department is investigating now.

BLACKWELL: President Obama is planning to take the fight against ISIS into Syria, and he's telling Americans he has the legal power to do so without Congressional support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have the authority to address the threat from ISIL. But I believe we are strongest as a nation when the president and Congress work together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: So where does he get this authority? Well, it comes from the 13-year-old vote Congress took in the days after 9/11. It is called the authorization for the use of military force, and it is what allowed President George W. Bush to go after Al Qaeda. It's been used to justify every American military action since.

Let's bring in Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman, and anchor of "The Hot List" on TheBlaze.com Amy Holmes. Thank you both for being with us. Robert, I want to start with you, if I could please. Can the president still legally use this law to fight ISIS militants in Syria? ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: At this stage of the mission

he certainly has legal cover do so because we're talking about building coalitions, training Iraqi forces to combat ISIS, and also gathering, intelligence gathering through aerial intelligence in Syria. But clearly as we move forward in this process Congress should vote and Congress should have a buy-in in the process.

I think what is important, though, is that we're now going to Congressional hearing where Secretary Kerry is going to be testified in front of Congress. We're going to see how the coalition develops. And I think as the president unveils more detailed plans to move forward, then I think it is incumbent upon Congress. We made the mistake of voting a war resolution and rushing into war once before under the previous administration. I think it is better for Congress to gather information and then I think they have a responsibility to debate and it a responsibility to vote to authorize.

BLACKWELL: All right, Amy, let me come to you with this. A CNN poll shows that 72 percent of Americans think the president should ask Congress for authority to use military force against ISIS. Do you think this is a new group, needs new authorization?

AMY HOLMES, THEBLAZE.COM: Well, I agree with Robert that the president should consult with Congress. And in fact President Bush back during the Iraq deliberations did consult with Congress, and in fact Congress voted for going into Iraq and that conflict.

But in terms of ISIS, my concern here is that we haven't heard from the president in terms of air strikes on ISIS in Syria, what that is really going to look like and what that he has really going to mean in terms of picking out targets. Are we going to rely on our Arab partners on the ground to do that for us? And by the way, ISIS is actually controlling local governments in Syria. So what we could see massive civilian casualties as they hide among civilians, fighting American and Arab partner forces on the ground. So to me so far this war effort doesn't look very well-planned.

ZIMMERMAN: That is why, Amy, let's be realistic. We are engaging in aerial intelligence gathering of Syria to begin to plan it out. And I think that is the important point here. We've made the mistake, and I think learned from the mistakes of the Bush-Cheney strategy of rushing into war with without a proper strategy and without a proper plan.

HOLMES: There was long deliberation and long discussion. The administration even presented evidence to the U.N.

ZIMMERMAN: That was the problem, Amy. They didn't present the evidence. They presented --

HOLMES: Actually so far there isn't a congressional discussion, but there ought to be. He says he's going to be bring it to Congress. I agree with that. But when we look at the striking ISIS in Syria and Iraq, we are not talking about striking training camps in the desert. We're talking about forces that are embedded in the civilian populations. And are we going to be relying on Arab partners on the ground to tell us which building, which block, which neighborhood, we don't know yet.

ZIMMERMAN: Amy, the reason they have to be an important factor is because realistically in order to be successful in the region, having the buy-in from the Sunni tribes, brining in the Arab partners to conduct this, is going to be pivotal. One of the great lessons we learned from the Iraq war is that when America went it alone it became a recruiting tool for Al Qaeda.

HOLMES: We didn't go it alone. We had 40 coalition partners in Iraq and Afghanistan.

ZIMMERMAN: That's right, most of which sent best wishes. We deployed 2.5 million service men and women who performed brilliantly between Afghanistan and Iraq. But the political strategy has to be to make sure we have our Arab partners and build a coalition on the ground because that gives us credibility in trying to bring the Sunni tribes back into the mainstream.

BLACKWELL: So Amy, let me get in here quickly. What is the alternative here if the drones doing the surveillance right now over Syria is not the proper way to go, and you question the Arab partners on the ground, what is the alternative? U.S. troops on the ground picking out these targets?

HOLMES: One of the suggestion has been to have -- you know, we're sending special forces to have those forces embedded with Arab troops to be able to have their own eyes to see. What we discovered in Afghanistan, for example, was that our so called partners would actually point out targets that were political rivals that had nothing to do with defeating terrorism and the Taliban. So we need to vet who we are working with.

As far as the Gulf Arab states go, reporting so far is that they are very skittish actually about being a part of this coalition. You just saw the news that the Brits and the Germans have no intention of joining us with air strikes over Syria and Iraq. So in fact President Obama has fewer coalition allies than George Bush did going into Afghanistan.

ZIMMERMAN: Let's remember, Amy, the president just spoke to this issue this past Wednesday. Secretary Kerry just recently landed in the Middle East. Running a foreign policy is a lot tougher than running a right wing blog. It takes a lot of nuance and a lot of patience and diplomacy. And I think in this case many of our Arab states are maybe saying public statements that reticent, certainly maybe privately helping us behind the scenes.

HOLMES: One can hope.

BLACKWELL: We've got to call it there. Thank you, both. Robert Zimmerman, Amy Holmes, always a great conversation when we have you on. Thank you so much.

PAUL: Thank you.

HOLMES: Thank you. BLACKWELL: So the NFL deals with another PR disaster this morning.

One of football's biggest stars turns himself in after an indictment on child abuse.

PAUL: This of course just days of the video was released showing Baltimore Raven's player Ray Rice knocking out his then fiancee. How should the league be responding to the violence off the field? That is the conversation we're having next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Police from three states are combing the countryside in northeastern Pennsylvania searching for a gunman. They are having conversation with several people in connection with a deadly shooting at a state police barracks.

PAUL: Officials actually describe this deadly as an ambush. We have reporter Amanda Kelly with our affiliate WNEP with the very latest. Hi, Amanda.

AMANDA KELLEY, REPORTER, WNEP: Good morning. Well, it's been a long evening for state police in this part of Pennsylvania here in Pike County. A shooting broke out just before 11:00 last night at this state police barracks in blooming grove. Troopers tell us it happened during the shift change. As of right now police do not know if they are dealing with one or more shooters. And they also don't know what kind of weapon was use and they don't have a description of the shooter or shooters at this time.

They will be continuing a search throughout the day. They tell people who live in this part of the Pike County that they should keep their eyes out for anything suspicious, but they do not believe that they are in any immediate danger. Police believe this attack was a target against state police.

Now, the trooper who was hurt has been out of surgery. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening. However one trooper was killed last night. His identity is being kept until all of his next of kin are notified. All of the folks involved with this investigation here in Pennsylvania say it's been a tough night for everybody.

BLACKWELL: All right, Amanda, thank you so much.

And the NFL faces more harsh criticism about the way it's handling cases of domestic abuse. Advocates for men's and women's groups are calling for the changes in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal.

PAUL: First, though, a quick mention. Today CNN Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and anchor Fredricka Whitfield, are in Malibu getting ready for a triathlon. Joining them, six iReporters selected by CNN who have been training alongside Dr. Gupta that. To find out how you can get involved or to learn about Fit Nation, check out CNN.com, and make sure to stay with CNN. We're going to have more next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES BROWN, CBS COMMENTATOR: According to domestic violence experts, more than three women per day lose their lives at the hands of their partners. So this is yet another call for men to stand up and take responsibility for thoughts, their words, their deeds, and as Dionne says, to give help or to get help, because our silence is deafening and deadly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That was CBS commentator James Brown appealing directly to men who tuned in Thursday night to watch the match-up between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. His plea, of course, came in the wake of the release of the video this week that shows Ray Rice punching his then fiancee, now wife, in the fact.

PAUL: And at that point the Raven promptly cut Rice. He was also suspended indefinitely from the NFL, and now the case has ignited a national conversation about domestic violence.

BLACKWELL: Joining us now is it psychotherapist Ulester Douglas. He's also executive director of the organization "Men Stopping Violence." It's good to have you here and especially talk about this angle of what's happening. What do you make of Brown's message directed to men and the platform, the venue he chose to deliver it?

ULESTER DOUGLAS, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I thought Mr. Brown's message was right on, and urgently needed. Among the many things I really appreciated was his challenge around these very disruptive notions of masculinity. He understands that that is part of the problem of domestic violence, this very disruptive construct of what it means to be a man.

I also liked that he appealed to us to really make a commitment to training and education as part of the solution. While it is important that men who commit acts of violence against women need to be held accountable, he also recognizes that if we are going to make significant transformations, we've got to educate the community about this issue.

PAUL: And how impactful is it for a man who abuses to here from a man who does not and have him say this is not cool, you have got to stop it, to have that man's voice?

DOUGLAS: It really matters, because it is part of sexism. Men oftentimes don't listen to what women say. I know that's a surprise, right. So when it comes to a man, especially a man with such prominence, a man committed to justice, and he is a football guy, you know, that really gives it a lot of credibility.

BLACKWELL: I want to show you and our viewers part of a story that our affiliate has, KGW, actually. They caught up with a high school football team who the coach there used Ray Rice as a case study in family violence. We'll talk about it. Watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many of you guys have seen a man hit a woman with a closed fist? Wow.

Domestic violence is a huge issue. Unfortunately kids have seen it in a high percentage, and it's important to learn how to manage emotions, because for some of them is regular behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So he says for some it is regular behavior. He asked how many have seen a man hit a woman with open hand or closed fist? It's important to start this education of stopping violence when they are children, before they start dating, before they get married. How do you do that?

DOUGLAS: I think we get into the schools and wherever there are opportunity to engage boys and girls about the issue, we do it, because that is where so much of the learning begins. It begins in the home, in the school, wherever there are opportunities to address it, we take advantage of it.

PAUL: Help us understand, because I know that your organization has so many different programs that help men, and, again, to have that male voice as the head of this organization talking about it. There is always this idea out there that once they hit, they are always going to hit. Can abusers be changed?

DOUGLAS: Absolutely yes. Men do change. And we know that based on not only the men self-reporting but by partners who call us or call those organizations that work with victims and survivors and report those changes. And as far as I'm concerned, that is the most credible way of knowing whether or not men change.

But I want to underscore what I believe a really critical point, that why I believe it is important we create the spaces for the individual men to change their behaviors. If we are going to make significant changes in this issue of domestic violence, that we are saying this is a seminal moment, another moment to really have this conversation, we have got to go after change in organizations, institutions, education for the broader community.

And I think the NFL in this situation is really I think demonstrating why that is critical. Imagine for example if the NFL had the sensitivity, the caring, the knowledge, a victim-centered approach to the issue of domestic violence, I think we might have had a different outcome here. For one, Ray would have gotten the message that this is a serious issue. The NFL takes it seriously and there are going to be significant consequences, and not just for players, but for all NFL personnel. That's a major institution that needs some educating. When we do that we send a different message, and they would have likely responded differently.

BLACKWELL: What do you make of all the woman who wore the Ray Rice jerseys to the game on Thursday night? DOUGLAS: It's troubling. I find it very troubling but not

surprising. We are in a very sexist culture, and part of being in a very sexist culture is that there is a lot about protecting men's interests. How much more to we need to be much more sympathetic to victims and survivors? The first tape, even when we had the first tape --

BLACKWELL: Dragging the woman out of the elevator.

DOUGLAS: And we said, hey, we don't know what happened in the elevator. We got it, and then we say well she hit him. It's like the witch test. You throw the woman in the water, if she survives, she's a witch. I told you she was a witch. What more do we need, dead bodies to take for violence?

PAUL: We got to keep after the questions, quit why she stayed and start asking why he hits her and --

DOUGLAS: Absolutely.

PAUL: Ulester, thank you so much for everything.

DOUGLAS: Thank you, too.

BLACKWELL: For more on ways to help victims of domestic violence, visit our website, CNN.com/Impact. Also while you are there, read Christi's op-ed piece, probably on the right side of the page. Again, as she just said, the question is not why she stays. It's why does he hit? I'm sure you will learn a lot from that piece. We'll take a quick break. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Now for this week's CNN Hero. Arthur Bloom uses his musical talents to help disabled troops.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARTHUR BLOOM, CNN HERO: Music is my earliest memory. I never decided to be a professional musician. It's just what I have always done. It feels great to play music. But it is also a mechanism for healing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're on this normal morning patrol, walking down a road. I had never been hit by an IED before. I felt like I got hit by a wrecking ball. I sat up. My legs were completely gone. What happens when you don't quite get killed and you don't quite survive, you are somewhere in the middle? I was the shell of a man. Who I was, was gone.

BLOOM: Let's take it right before the melody comes in.

Our organization helps wounded warriors recover their lives. We match the injured troops with professional musicians who come visit at Walter Reed Medical Center and work with them on music projects, learning music, writing and performing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Wow. Well you can nominate someone who goes above and beyond at CNNHeroes.com.

PAUL: And before we let you go, we wanted to play you part of CNN's exclusive interview with Diane Foley. She of course is the mother of James Foley who was killed at the hands of ISIS.

BLACKWELL: And in that interview his mother blasts the U.S. government handling of how they treated her and her family as they tried to get her son out of captivity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANE FOLEY, MOTHER OF JAMES FOLEY: As an American I was embarrassed and appalled. I think our efforts to get Jim freed were an annoyance, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An annoyance to the government?

FOLEY Yes -- yes. And it didn't seem to be in our strategic interest, if you will. I was appalled as an American. Jim would have been saddened. Jim believed to the end that his country would come to their aid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Diane Foley also says they were not allowed to raise ransom money because it was illegal and they might be prosecuted and that there would be no prisoner trade or military action.

BLACKWELL: And she says they were told to just trust that their son would be freed.

PAUL: The Foley family has set up an organization that's dedicated to the things James Foley was really passionate about. You can visit their website, JamesFoleyFund.org to learn more.

And thank you so much for taking some time with us this morning. Make good memories.

BLACKWELL: It's been great to be with us. Deborah Feyerick takes it from here in New York. Hey, Deb.

PAUL: Hi, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Hey guys. Good to see you.