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Man Arrested After Jumping Fence at White House; Manhunt Underway for Alleged Cop Killer in Pennsylvania; White House Strategy to Combat ISIS Debated; Search Continues for Missing University of Virginia Student; NFL Domestic Abuse Scandal Continues; NFL Donates To National Domestic Abuse Hotline; CNN Hero Teaches Martial Arts to Children with Cancer

Aired September 20, 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: Well, good morning. So grateful for your company here. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Ten o'clock here on the East Coast, 7:00 on the West Coast.

You're on THE CNN NEWSROOM.

PAUL: Yes. And we want to begin at the White House here.

The Secret Service is conducting a K-9 sweep this morning on the north grounds.

BLACKWELL: Our CNN team was just yards away when agents scoured the grassy area there to confirm that nothing was left after an unarmed man jumped the fence last night, ran across the north lawn and actually got inside the building before he was gone.

So, this mad dash was actually caught on cell phone camera. It's about 10 seconds. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, go back. Everybody into the park. Right now, into the park. Everybody get back. Get back. Get back!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: You can hear it got frantic there for a bit.

Erin McPike is at the White House here. Erin, do we know exactly happened?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi and Victor, no one knows exactly why he wasn't seen at that moment jumping the fence. But -- now you can't see this behind me where the fence is, but the fence is only about seven or eight feet tall. Omar Gonzalez, this 42- year-old man from Texas jumped the fence then ran right behind me here about 105 yards to the front door. He then entered the front door.

Now, of course, there were Secret Service officials yelling at him to stop, but they didn't shoot. He got inside the front doors before they apprehended him. Then took him in an ambulance to G.W. Medical Center where he was later evaluated. Officials are saying that they believe he was mentally disturbed and Secret Service say that he was known to them. But they said he hadn't been arrested before.

Obviously today there is a lot of talk about how this possibly could have happened. When I entered the White House this morning there were groups of Secret Service agents talking, trying to figure this out. It was clear. And we actually heard from a former Secret Service official earlier this morning and he discussed that very thing. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: I'm stunned. I think what they have to look at is, remember, we're always -- we can't stick the president in a big iron box. He is the president of the United States. He has to be out there amongst the people. But I've always seen, especially on the north portion of the White House, the distance to the front door is really short in contrast to the south portion. It's quite a run. You're not going to make it to the south doors. They are going to have to do something with the fence, even if it's something as simple as curving the bars to the street side, the Pennsylvania Avenue side, which would make it harder to scale. Remember, time buys you options. And right now they don't have time. You scale the fence, you are almost right at the door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: And right now, why this happened and if the proper protocols were followed is under investigation, Christi and Victor.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Erin McPike at the White House for us. Erin, thank you so much.

Some people are asking if these are shades of the cold war. You answer the question. U.S. fighter jets intercepted a half dozen Russian military planes flying too close to Alaskan airspace on Thursday. They didn't enter sovereign territory but they came within 55 miles, so still pretty close. A U.S. official tells our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr it looks as if the incident was planned to coincide with the Ukrainian president's visit to U.S. and Canada.

PAUL: Now new developments in the hunt for a suspected cop killer as police appear this morning to be closing in on the man they believe killed a state trooper and wounded another in that ambush a week ago outside a state police barracks. But what you're looking at here is the scene just a little while ago in Barrett Township. Law enforcement swarmed a rural area in the Poconos as they hunt for 31- year-old Eric Matthew Frein. There's his picture. National Correspondent Jason Carroll is in Monroe County as we await a press conference that is expected any minute now. But Jason, what do you have for us this morning? What is the latest?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Again, hopefully we'll be able to get more details in terms of exactly what happened, what police were dealing with last night. It was last night just at about 7:00 in Canadensis, Pennsylvania, not far where we are now. And you're familiar with that town. You know that that is the town where Eric Frein grew up. After we saw heavy police presence on Thursday again on Friday night, it was at about 7:00. That's when we started getting reports in that shots were fired. Shortly thereafter that alert went out telling residents to stay off the roads, to stay in their homes, and to stay away from windows. That alert still in effect out here this morning.

Once again, we are dealing with a fugitive here who is well-versed with the woods in the surrounding area. He knows the backwoods, he knows the back trails. He has been able to elude police for the past week. This is someone who is armed and considered extremely dangerous, has already proven himself to be deadly. He knows how to handle a gun. He's been handling guns ever since he was in high school. His father taught him how to shoot. His father said when he does shoot, he rarely misses.

In terms of the search area and what is going on with that, let me point out that investigators have been saying since Thursday what they are trying to do is actually shrink the area of his movement, meaning eliminate places where they think he has been, try to restrict places where we he can go.

So hopefully during the press conference we will get more, updated information in terms of how the search is going and maybe some more information about whether or not they have been able to corner Eric Frein.

PAUL: So Jason, his fathering talking about how adroit he is as a marksman. I'm wondering if police have thought of, I'm sure they thought of everything, but are there any plans to perhaps use the father in some way to try to get through to the son in some fashion and get him to turn himself in?

CARROLL: Well certainly investigators have not shared that type of information with us at this point. Perhaps they are not at that stage. It would just be pure speculation at this point. Also I should point out that when it comes to information that is being released by investigators, obviously they are being very smart about that because they believe that, once again, Eric Frein is in the area. But they also believe that he may be listening in on media reports or have some sort of access to a radio or media reports. They don't want to tip their hat here, so they don't want to give out too much information based on where their investigation is going and where their search is going. So perhaps that could be one reason that question can't be answered at that point.

But I think it is a safe assumption they are looking at all options on the table, doing whatever they can to find him before he tries to hurt somebody else.

PAUL: All righty, Jason, thank you so much. Jason Carroll there for us in Pennsylvania. And again, we're waiting for a news conference from authorities there. As soon as that happens we will take it live. There is the podium and the mic. We're just waiting for the person to walk up.

BLACKWELL: We'll have that for you as soon as it happens.

PAUL: Meanwhile, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says despite the league's abuse controversies he's not going anywhere.

BLACKWELL: Yes. In his first public remarks in more than a week Goodell apologized yesterday for mishandling the situation, but he made it clear that he's never even considered leaving his post despite the calls for him to step down.

PAUL: And the Ray Rice scandal doesn't seem to be going away either. We should point out CNN has now learned the Baltimore Ravens did in fact know about the controversial elevator video showing the star running back knocking out his then fiancee.

BLACKWELL: Our Alexandra Field has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Roger Goodell speaking at a Manhattan news conference amid calls for his resignation.

GOODELL: I got it wrong on a number of levels, from the process that I led, to the decision that I reached. But now I will get it right and do whatever is necessary to accomplish that.

FIELD: The embattled NFL commissioner apologizing for what he said was his mishandling of the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal. Here is a question from CNN's Rachel Nichols.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Roger, you have had pretty extreme unilateral power in deciding discipline, but as you said a few time, you have gotten wrong in a few cases, and that tends to happen when there is no checks and balances. How willing are you to give up some of that power, and do you think that that would be the right thing for you to do.

GOODELL: Rachel, as I said in my statement, everything is on the table. We are going to make sure that we look at every aspect of the process of how we gather information to make a decision, how we make that decision, and then the appeals process.

FIELD: Even as Goodell pledged to move ahead, questions still loom in the Rice case about who knew what when after TMZ released the now infamous inside the elevator video.

GOODELL: We asked for it on several occasions. According to our security department we asked for it on several occasions over the spring all the way to June, from February through June. So I'm confident that I our people did that.

FIELD: Two security camera videos put the Rice case squarely in the public eye, showing the former Baltimore Ravens star knocking out his then fiancee with a punch last February. A source within the Ravens organization tells CNN that hours after the incident at an Atlantic City hotel and casino, the head of Baltimore Ravens security Darren Sanders spoke with Atlantic City police, who described in detail to Sanders the elevator video.

ESPN is reporting that Sanders then shared the information with team executives and that those executive started extensive public and private campaigns for leniency for Rice. A source within the Ravens organization tells CNN the Ravens never saw the video until TMZ first released it. The Ravens issue a statement late Friday saying "The ESPN.com "Outside the Lines" article contains numerous errors, inaccuracies, false assumptions, and perhaps misunderstandings." The Ravens will address all of these next week in Baltimore after a trip to Cleveland for Sunday's game against the Browns.

Alexander Field, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Of course we'll continue to follow the latest on that. This morning we are getting a new look from ISIS, another video out. This time there is a new voice, a man with a North American accent. And it delivers a frightening message to the west.

PAUL: Also how can the United States win the war against ISIS? That is a big question. Congress backed arming and training the Syrian rebels, but not everyone supports that plan. We're going to ask Florida Congressman Tom Rooney what he doesn't support it. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: It's 13 minutes past the hour. The big question, is the masked extremist in the latest ISIS propaganda video American, an ISIS militant who speaks perfect English and warns the United States not to stand in their way? Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a 55 minute film he appears only at the end when his voice resonates all the way to Washington, where a U.S. official tells CNN the intelligence community is analyzing this video, trying to determine this man's origin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we are here with the soldiers of Bashar. You can see them now digging their own graves in the very place where they were stationed.

TODD: This masked ISIS military gloats as he presides over the execution of Syrians apparently captured from the military base near Raqqah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said that the event in the fronts had stopped fighting and turn our guns towards the Muslims. They lied. We won. We are the harshest wars that were fought. And the flames of war are only beginning to intensify.

TODD: He speaks perfect English. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the end of every captive that we get a

hold of.

TODD: He could be Arab and educated in the west. He could be American or Canadian.

FRANK CILLUFFO, HOMELAND SECURITY POLICY INSTITUTE: Clearly ISIS had a calculated step to be able to put this guy on camera. Why? Because he seems American. The message is aimed at a western audience. And his intent is to, a, project fear to the United States and, b, to instill and give the sense of projection of power.

TODD: The entire video is pure ISIS propaganda, stylishly edited battle scenes featuring the enemy's heavy armor getting blown apart. But the crucial moment comes in the film's final minutes when the masked ISIS militant and his comrades ready their guns and appear to execute the Syrians who dug their own grave.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: This isn't a North American. This is quite extraordinary because it would be the first time a north American ISIS fighter has committed a war crime on camera.

TODD: A U.S. official says it's too early to tell where his dialect is from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fighting has just begun.

TODD: How will they find clues?

CILLUFFO: It's going to voice analysis. They are going to be looking at any particular accents they may have, anything that could tip off law enforcement where they can then pull the thread even further in terms of state and local to meet with some of the communities.

TODD: Brian Todd, CNN Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Well, in a war we're weary country Congress passed the bill that provides the money the president says he will need to organize the fight against ISIS. And that money will help to train and arm these men, the Syrian rebels. It was a rare bipartisan show of support and it was a pretty bipartisan show of rejection. We have one of the representatives who voted no. Florida Republican Tom Rooney is joining us now. Representative Rooney, it is good to have you with us from Washington.

REP. TOM ROONEY, (R) FLORIDA: Thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: So right after the president's comments on the eve of September 11th, you released a statement on your website. I'm going to read just one sentence of it. I think we have it put up for our viewers. There it is. You say "If we are charged with the responsibility to keep our nation safe and if we agree that ISIS is a threat to our national security, then we must destroy them, period. We must be resolute by all means necessary to do so." So the question is, if you are not in favor of funding the Syrian rebels to take that fight and you say that we must destroy them, are you advocating for U.S. troops to do that job?

ROONEY: We might have to, Victor. Nobody wants to go back to war. There are a lot of veterans in Congress that voted against this measure. There are a lot of my friends that served in Iraq and Afghanistan that the last thing they want to do is have to go back and redo what they have already done.

But the fact of the matter is that if you are looking -- as my statement said, if you are looking at ISIS as a national security threat that can hurt us here in America as the president in insinuates, that they must be destroyed, our vote was to fund Syrian so-called rebels to do that. I just don't think that that will work. I don't know very many people that do think that that will work. So when posed with the question, will you support that strategy, I had to oppose.

BLACKWELL: And I want to take that next step again. You say we may have to. Do you think that is where the U.S. should start?

ROONEY: I think it is a conversation, as we saw over 10 years ago when we gave George W. Bush the authorization to go into the initial stages of Iraq and Afghanistan, it took months of deliberation in Congress, not a few days. And this is very serious stuff. So I think that when we get back from this election it's incumbent upon us, and we owe it to our constituencies and the military, quite frankly, to make sure that we do this and do this right, have the debate, figure out what we are willing to do what we are not willing to do.

But by and large that request, as Speaker Boehner has said, has to come from the president himself, and then we agree or not agree whether or not to give him a new authorization, which is what I think that we really need right now, because this is different than 10 years ago.

BLACKWELL: How do you gauge the threat against the U.S. homeland? The president, many have said there is in imminent threat to the homeland. But if this is a threat to national security, do you believe that, from what you know, that this is becoming a greater threat?

ROONEY: It is absolutely becoming a greater threat. I sit on the intelligence committee and we get briefed on these matters on a weekly basis. And this is been going on for some time. I mean, these Syrian rebels that we are talking about arming we have been trying to get to know for some time. It isn't just a new idea. It's had pretty mixed results, which is another reason why I oppose.

But in the end I think that when you say and the president says that they are not imminent, yes, they are probably not coming here today or tomorrow. But their goals and their intentions are to wreak havoc in the Middle East and do whatever they can to recruit people to be able to get back here and get back into Europe and to be able to continue the kind of things that we just saw in your last segment there. So I think that was proof in the pudding having somebody from North America in their propaganda. So that is their goal, and certainly it is something that we should take seriously, and I'm glad the president says they need to be destroyed. Funding the Syrian rebels is not going to do that.

BLACKWELL: All right, Republican Congressman Tom Rooney of Florida. It's good to talk with you this morning.

ROONEY: Thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Senator Bill Nelson of Florida voted yes on this measure to arm and train Syrian rebels. He says ISIS is a snake and you have to go where the head of the snake is and chop it off. He joins us later this hour.

PAUL: There's been torrential rain and flooding in Texas this week. We're going to tell you what the weather is going to be like today in that area and around the country. Also we're keeping our eyes on Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Officials are set to update us any minute now on the search for one America's most wanted fugitives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Jennifer Gray. We are going to see more flooding in west Texas. And you can see already see some showers popping up to the northeast of Midland. Expect as we get a little bit of heat in the atmosphere as we go throughout the day those will become more widespread.

And what we're looking at as we go through the afternoon and into Sunday and Monday we could see an additional two to four inches across west Texas and portions of southeastern New Mexico as well as right on that New Mexico-Arizona border. So because of that we do have flood watches, flood warnings, even flash flood warnings in place for today for these areas.

And now as we go from an area of too much rain to an area of not enough, we have that King fire burning and you can see the smoke just billowing to the north. This has consumed about 76,000 acres. About 4,500 firefighters battling the flames and about 21,000 structures are threatened. And the smoke plume is stretching about 250 miles to the northeast. So this is something we're going to be watching. Of course we are going to keep you updated with the very latest.

PAUL: Thanks, Jen, and best of like obviously to those firefighters there. That is a tough one. Thank you.

Well Vatican Radio says the Pope has selected Bishop Blase Cupich to be the next archbishop of Chicago. Cupich will replace Cardinal Francis George who is battling Cancer. This is according to the "New York Times." This move, though, marks Pope Francis's first major appointment in the United States.

BLACKWELL: Right now the community of Charlottesville, Virginia, and people from outside the community have rushed in. They are racing against the clock to try and find missing UVA student Hannah Graham a little more than a week after she vanished. Police may be one step closer to solving her disappearance. CNN's Jean Casarez is on the ground in Charlottesville, Virginia with more.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More and more people are coming today to want to volunteer. This entire community is combed, one purpose, to find Hannah Graham. I'll have the latest right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: All right, live look here. We are awaiting a news conference here in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. There was an exchange of gunfire overnight. Police believe that it might have been Frein, the man who they believe shot a cop a week ago, injured another. We are waiting to hear the very latest on that search for him. We'll bring it to you live when it happens.

PAUL: Meanwhile you know today more than 1,500 volunteers are helping search for missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. Remember she disappeared last weekend after she left dinner with friends. There was surveillance video that has really helped piece together her movements at least.

BLACKWELL: And that's led to a major break in the case. CNN's Jean Casarez joins us live from Charlottesville, Virginia. Jean, what's the latest this morning? We know large crowds are coming out to help.

CASAREZ: Victor and Christi, people just keep coming from the community. They want to help find this University of Virginia Sophomore. I want to show you right behind me there, there is the line for people to board the bus, because when you come here, you get your florescent vest on and you stand in line. And we learned they not only are searching the city area of Charlottesville, they are going into the wooded area. But the passion with this community to in fact find Hannah Graham is amazing. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That if this has been one of my daughter, I would most certainly want people out here doing everything they can.

SCOTT SNODDY, VOLUNTEER: Find Hannah. That is the mission in hand right now is to find Hannah. Of course we are looking for the clothing possibly that she had on the night she went missing, her cellphone that's not been recovered. So anything that has any aspect of Hannah is what we're looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Now yesterday think they executed a search warrant on a vehicle and an apartment here in Charlottesville. They say the investigation led them to that. This is a person associated with that car and lives in that apartment. They say they are very interested in that African-American 32-year-old man there. They do not have probable cause to arrest him, but at this point they want anyone that saw them together a week ago Friday night into the early mornings of Saturday to come forward to law enforcement. BLACKWELL: One question. If they know who this guy is and they know

the car and where he is, they know his name, why isn't he in custody? Why hasn't he been questioned? Why not an arrest?

CASAREZ: The answer that they've given is they just don't have probable cause to arrest him or detain him. But in the same breath they are saying that anyone who saw them together in a restaurant, anyone who saw them leave that restaurant in the downtown mall area last Friday night or get into his car, they want to hear from those people. So what I'm thinking, Victor and Christi, is that they want to see the demeanor of Hannah and also this man. They want to see if she was resistant to go with him. They want to look at his demeanor. They want to see any interaction or communication that people can give to them which will aid more information for their investigation.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jean Casarez for us there in Charlottesville. Jean, thank you so much.

PAUL: We want to talk about this investigation with private investigator and former FBI special agent Harold Copus. Thank you so much for being with us. So when you look at the videos, is there anything that stands out to you?

HAROLD COPUS, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: I thought she was being stalked. And when I look at that I'm thinking, OK, what do we do? Of course we now know the police have talked to one person. And the question was, why haven't they arrested him? In my business it's called SOD, S-O-D, some other dude did it, it wasn't me. And that's what's he's going to say until you can show enough evidence. Search warrants are important here. They have executed three of them. I suspect there will be more to come.

BLACKWELL: The police chief yesterday talked about how important just a member of the public coming forward with some information will be to solving this case. Listen, and we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE: This press conference and every press conference hereafter, is about one thing and one thing only, and that is finding Hannah. Everyone within the sound of my voice has that responsibility. If you live in the city of Charlottesville, if you attend the University of Virginia, if that young lady has touched your life in any way, you have the responsibility to help us find her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And you really can't put too fine a point on that because you have been doing this work for decades. And John Walsh told us once that a tattoo or a hair style or "I heard this voice and it didn't seem as if it was OK."

COPUS: Sometimes you never know what will turn the case over. So if they start getting telephone calls, and they are, then they have to investigate every one of them. The key is going to start in that car. Something made them execute a search warrant for that car. I suspect the guy who is a person of interest has a little bit more explaining to do.

PAUL: Is she not the fifth person to disappear in this area in the last couple of years, and some of them have never been found? Are they looking at the other cases do you think, yet?

COPUS: Well, they have to. But let me tell you what happens, is if you are running that case, you are breaking this down. And so you have guys working the cold case and now they are being fed this data. They are still working over here. So you have about four or five people doing many different things. And remember, this area that they are going to be searching, densely wooded. And you only go two or three miles a little bit north of there and you are out in farm country.

PAUL: Harold Copus, we so appreciate you being here. Thank you very much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: President Obama got the green light from Congress, a spending bill to arm and train Syrian rebels in the fight against ISIS now has a signature. It is law. On "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" former president Bill Clinton weighed in on the Obama administration's strategy. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: So the reason I think that the president's strategy to combat ISIS has a chance to succeed is that the Iraqi government finally includes Sunnis who were representing those tribal leaders who are moderate and without whom ISIS cannot be defeated. We can't win a land war in Iraq. We proved that. But they can, and we can help them win it. And that has got to be what we're trying to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida joins us now from Orlando. Senator, you voted for the measure. First, good morning to you.

SEN. BILL NELSON, (D) FLORIDA: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: Here is the question to you. We heard from a senator across the aisle, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, he said that he voted for it. He said that this is not something that he necessarily knows is going to work but it is the only option. What is your degree of confidence in this plan to arm the Syrian rebels and they will be the force that will clean up the job from the airstrikes in Syria?

NELSON: Well, I think President Clinton said it best. We can't win a land war whoever the enemy is unless you have some help on the land. And the American people are not going back into Iraq, and they are certainly not -- their attitude of going into Syria on the ground. But we have the capability of doing the pinpoint strikes along with Sunnis on the ground. That's the combination that can work. There are people who have some question about, will it? But what is the alternative? I happen to agree with what your clip of President Clinton. I think it will work.

BLACKWELL: So let me ask you this. If your vote is, you know, we really don't have any other option, we had Congressman Tom Rooney on a few moments ago who said that very likely U.S. troops will have to go in. The president has said that no combat troops, U.S. combat troops, will be there. What is your view? Do you believe that U.S. combat troops will have to go in and clean up the job in Iraq and Syria?

NELSON: In some cases, but it is how you define combat troops. What you want to prevent is the large standing armies. But if we are going in to assist Sunni Muslims on the ground, it may well be that we have American boots on the ground in the form of forward air observers or maybe special operations, like the SEALs or the Delta Force. Certainly if you are going to try to win this war there is the possibility of some American boots on the ground, but it is not what the American people fear, which is what we experienced in Iraq.

BLACKWELL: But essentially, senator, if any one of the enemy, they shoot at a U.S. soldier, a U.S. troop, he is going -- or she is going to shoot back, and then essentially you are in combat. So whether my job title here is to secure Mosul or Raqqah, if they shoot, we are shooting back, and then you are in a ground war of sorts. Is that not right?

NELSON: Well, it's not the large standing armies. I mean, do you want to win this against this vicious, brutal, inhumane group or not? And so I'd say you do the air just like President Clinton says with the Sunni ground because you have got to change the Sunni mindset that is so fearful now by this ISIS crowd. And then you support that air operation so that you are going to have success at the end of the day.

BLACKWELL: Turkey up to this point has been a little reticent to offer its full-throated endorsement of the plan and to join this global coalition. With the breaking news overnight of the release of those 49 hostages, how do you think that will change their view of going after ISIS?

NELSON: I think you are right on. Your insight is good. When I saw that I think now Turkey will help us. They will do it clandestinely because they have got a Muslim population that is somewhat cozy with ISIS that they have to watch out. It is a significant minority. But nevertheless we'll be in a position to have Turkey in essence as a coalition partner.

BLACKWELL: All right, Democratic senator Bill Nelson of Florida, always a pleasure, sir.

NELSON: Have a good day.

BLACKWELL: You too. Christi? PAUL: All right, Victor, thanks.

You know, Roger Goodell says the NFL is addressing its domestic violence crisis and will also provide financial support to the National Domestic Abuse Hotline. We are going to tell you how this hotline helps men and women every day and what this money is going to do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says he's not stepping down. Instead the league will address its domestic violence crisis by starting mandatory training for all players on how to prevent abuse, and it is also going to provide financial support the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOODELL: The hotline received an 84 percent increase in our call volume just last week. They did not have the resources to reach even half of those calls. They need our help, and we are providing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: So let's bring in Brian Pinero. He is the director of digital services for the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Brian, thank you so much for being here and all the work you do. I've been to the hotline facility myself. I know that you are in such need of this money just to man the phones there. When you saw the video of Ray Rice punching his then fiancee and now wife, how much do you think that video and then getting the information out there prompted people to call and ask for your help?

BRIAN PINERO, NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE: Well, it was tremendous. I think when you see that video, I mean, that is the first time that we've ever had something that really shows just what we as advocates has known existed all along. It's just that savageness of the punch and then carrying her out as almost I think a lot of people realizing that in that moment, my goodness, this is not a person. Seeing that video resulted in immediately, like you said an 84 percent increase. And a lot of people called and were recognizing that. They saw themselves in this and wanted to get out. They saw this and they realized I know someone who has experienced this and I need to learn more about what I can do. So it's a huge, powerful touchstone moment for people to see what we've known has always existed as advocates.

PAUL: And it is such a delegate situation for all of you on the other end of that line I know as well. Can we talk for a second about the fact that you don't only get calls from victims. You get calls from people who abuse, is that right? And how do you deal with that?

PINERO: That's right, and that is another message we want to make sure is still out there. This is not something that we are not going on only for victims. If you think that you're involved in a relationship in which maybe you are the perpetrator of abuse or you are noticing some of those behaviors, we are taking the calls and our advocates are trained to talk to them as well, because in situations like this, a lot of the times when you do recognize you need someone that is also believing that you can change. And part of our job as advocates at the National Domestic Abuse Hotline is to make sure we are passing that message out and we're connecting the abusive person to resources and getting help.

PAUL: I know victims feel so much humiliation and shame. You are one of the only outlets they have to talk in an anonymous fashion. What should we, if we know somebody who is in that situation, because this is a question I get asked all the time, how do you help that person get help and get over that hurdle of blaming themselves for the abuse?

PINERO: You know, I think of this entire thing, the one thing we are trying to get out is just believe the victim. I mean, believing that what is happening to them is real, not questioning it as, what did you do, or what happened, or this surely can't be the situation you are in. First is just believing them as a loved one or as a friend, or even if you're a coworker.

And the second thing is, of course, that we are there to help, but what you can do is continue to be a resource to that person, saying what can I do to support you? Do you need me to help you be on the call with you and I can sit there and hold your hand? Can it be something as simple as when you are ready to go let me know and I will be there to support and encourage you, because we also know leaving is the most dangerous time for women, but also we want to make sure she is able to stay gone, to have that support so she doesn't wind up having to go back and knows that she's protected by friends and loved ones.

PAUL: They need a safe place to fall, a safe place that they know they are going to be OK.

PINERO: Exactly.

PAUL: And thank you for bringing that up. A lot of people don't understand why victims stay. And as you pointed out it is because statistics show us the most dangerous time for people in an abusive relationship is when they try to leave. So how do you think that this financial support from the NFL, how is that going to be utilized for you? How much will that help? Because as I understand it, when people call now, you are so short funded that people -- you can't get to their calls right away.

PINERO: That sadly is true. I mean, you know, last year alone 77,000 contacts we just couldn't get to. And I mean just yesterday the impact was felt. We had already hired five new positions with the hope of hiring 25 here in the next three weeks. That is going to cut in at least 700 contacts more that we'll be answer more a day. We're able to go into overtime to allow our advocates to work overtime to be there to answer more of these contacts.

And what it's also going to do is help us turn our chat services that we have not just for the National Domestic Abuse Hotline but also to continue to offer digital ways for people to connect with us through our website. So it is not just going to improve our infrastructure and help us answer more contacts. What it is also going to is help more people get safe.

PAUL: Brian Pinero, thank you again to you and all the team there for everything you do. It is so appreciated. We're grateful and you are doing really important work. So thank you.

PINERO: Thank you for having me.

PAUL: Of course. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: I don't know if you're aware, but it's National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. And it's estimated about 10,400 under the age of 15 are going to be diagnosed this year alone.

BLACKWELL: Yes, but one CNN hero is helping the kids kick cancer with power, peace, and purpose.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RABBI ELIMELECH GOLDBERG, CNN HERO: When children get a diagnosis like cancer or any major disease, they lose any sense of feeling that they are controlling their lives. They are prodded and poked and they are often so afraid. Our daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. She was such an incredible little soul who taught me about the power inside of ourselves.

Are you ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GOLDBERG: OK. Begin.

After our daughter passed away I started a program that provides classes to children who are sick to teach them the martial arts and make them feel powerful.

Every single type of martial arts uses the breath to take control.

I'm a black belt in tae kwon do. We use the martial arts as a platform for meditation, for relaxation, to allow children to gain these tools to really face down so much of the fear, the anger that accompanies pain.

Breathe in.

And you can see the light on their face. I feel like their souls are shining.

Yay, you did it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Oh, god bless that man. He's doing such special work. BLACKWELL: I love to see the kids just kind of center themselves.

PAUL: We all need some of that.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Yes we do. Go out in make some great memories today.

BLACKWELL: Thank you for watching. There's much more ahead in the CNN Newsroom. We'll turn it over to Fredricka Whitfield.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hi guys.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN HOST: Hi Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. You have a great day. Thank you so much. We're going to keep the momentum that you established from this morning. Thanks so much.