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Protests Against Police Brutality Planned In Several U.S. Cities; Hillary Clinton And Rand Paul Speak Out About Baltimore Riots; Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Give Birth To A Daughter; Effect of Baltimore Riots On Local Businesses Examined; Manny Pacquiao And Floyd Mayweather Prepare for Upcoming Boxing Match. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired May 02, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: This after dozens were sent to jail overnight for breaking last night's mandatory curfew.

And listen, they walked for days, look at what they're walking over, piles of debris and devastation. They're doing so to reach the epicenter of last week's massive earthquake in Nepal. We're going to show you what our crew found once they arrived. You'll only see it here on CNN.

Also, big celebrations in Great Britain this morning. The new royal baby is a girl, as you hear the cheering there. Yes, there is a new princess in the castle.

Good morning to you, and welcome. We're so grateful for your company, as always. I'm Christi Paul. Victor Blackwell is live for us in Baltimore this morning. You're in the CNN Newsroom. Victor, it's so good to see you.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Likewise, good to see you, Christi. Right now you've got some Maryland state police behind me. You can see also some National Guard members as they're continuing to watch this area. Protests, demonstrations planned here in Baltimore after the charging of those six officers in the death of Freddie Gray. They're now three on bail. That's according to court documents. We've got the mug shots here. The six officers who awe said this morning, just imagine this, typically they take people to central booking. They were booked themselves this morning. The Baltimore state attorney, Marilyn Mosby, she is facing some tough criticism for her decision to press criminal charges. But Mosby tells CNN that she stands by this decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARILYN MOSBY, BALTIMORE STATE'S ATTORNEY: We've been investigating this case from the very beginning. And what we needed was confirmation of our investigation, which was the medical examiner's report. And we received it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now the police union is calling for an independent prosecutor to take over this case. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE RYAN, PRESIDENT, BALTIMORE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: We are disappointed in the apparent rush to judgment. Given the facts the investigation into this matter has not been concluded. Our officers, like every other American citizen, are entitled to due process. We will continue to support them throughout this judicial process, which we believe will result in a finding of innocence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Disappointment and disapproval from the police union. But there was celebration in the streets during the day. But this was the scene overnight, defiance here in the streets of Baltimore as a small group of protesters clashed with police.

Today, though, more demonstrations and rallies are planned in Baltimore and in cities across the country. Here's the map. You've got cities as far west as L.A. You've got Boston, Baton Rouge and Louisiana, Houston. About a dozen protests that we know of that are planned in major cities across the country.

Let's bring in CNN correspondent Nick Valencia, because Nick, there have been those demonstrations at the intersection of North Avenue and Pennsylvania. That's where a lot of the rioting began. That's where there was a celebration yesterday. What's the situation there now?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's where we're at right now. As a matter of fact, Victor, we're at the intersection of North and Pennsylvania Avenue at the CVS pharmacy, the site of the infamous looting on Monday night. And from what we saw a few days ago, a stark contrast, the mood here, very tempered. It's a different tone than what we've seen over the last couple of days, as if the city has sort of -- breathed a deep breath collectively.

We've been talking to residents. I want to bring in one of them here. His name is Ray Smith. Ray, you said you came down here to this CVS to see what happened.

RAY SMITH, BALTIMORE RESIDENT: To see what happened.

VALENCIA: Now that you've seen it?

SMITH: Yes. I have to catch the bus down this way.

VALENCIA: You're taking pictures, we saw you taking pictures. What do you think of this, what's left behind?

SMITH: It's sad. I never shopped in here, but I catch the bus sometimes during the winter months because I can't get to the train station up my way. Take the bus, come right here to catch the train down this way.

VALENCIA: You've seen Baltimore in different times, you remember the 1968 riots. How have you seen the city change because of what happened?

SMITH: Most of the areas in the city have not changed. They never recovered from it, never have recovered from it. You look at the downtown area, some of the boarded-up buildings, it's from them areas all up there. All up down through here, it's the same, never recovered. The small businesses and everything never recovered.

VALENCIA: What do you want to see happen next for the city?

SMITH: Well, I want to see a major change in the poverty around. That's the number one thing. The school system, all that, for the upcoming kids, to have a better life.

VALENCIA: We can only hope the same for you. Thank you so much, Ray, for taking the time. Ray Smith, a long-time Baltimore resident. You heard him there, Victor, say he's sort of shocked at what has happened.

[10:05:02] But we should mention that this is the first day that we've not seen police in riot gear here on this corner. This is sort of been one of the epicenters of the demonstration, of the rioting, of the criminal activity. That is long gone. Rallies are planned and expected later today right where you're at, 12:00 p.m. And what we're told by police officers here is that residents will be marching down from about three blocks away, the Gilmore homes where Freddie Gray was arrested, and will be making their way towards you at city hall. Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Nick Valencia there at Penn-North for us. Thank you so much, Nick.

Now, the police union, and we've talked a bit about this this morning, they say they're appalled and frustrated by what they're calling a rush to judgment. We've got Harry Houck, a long-time detective with the New York Police Department, who joins us now from New York. Harry, good to have you as part of the conversation. What's your reaction to the six officers being charged?

HARRY HOUCK, RETIRED NYPD DETECTIVE: Well, you know I've got no problem with them being charged. We probably, you know, we saw this coming. But the fact is I think this was a rush to judgment. You know, I'm getting calls from police officers, tweets from police officers all over the country that are asking me like, are these six police officers being thrown under the bus because the city of Baltimore was worried about riots on Friday? I don't know. But even the district attorney had said that the investigation isn't finished yet, so why are these officers charged? Nobody was expecting anything on Friday at all. We got surprised about the arrest of all of these officers.

BLACKWELL: I will say that city officials and city leaders were trying to tamp down expectations because what we have been told was that there would be no major announcement on Friday when there was the handover of the investigation from the police to the state's attorney's office that happened on Thursday, and then this big surprise announcement of the arrests. I wonder if you think the officers can get a fair trial in Baltimore.

HOUCK: I'm sure that their defense attorneys and the FOP is going to try for a change of venue. I don't think they can get a fair trial in Baltimore right now, because last night they had reason to celebrate. I think there were more arrests last night than there were in the last two nights. So I can't understand that, because I was calling last night when I was on Anderson Cooper that probably the National Guard would be able to leave Baltimore. But the fact is now this crowd is so unpredictable, and we don't know what's going on. So we might have to go the full seven days for the 10:00 curfew.

BLACKWELL: You know, having conversations with people, they are frustrated with the curfew itself. Some people tweeting into us that they believe this is a police state that they're being forced to go in at 10:00. But it's the arrests continue then it's just kind of cyclical at this point.

Harry, let me ask you this. These vehicles, these paddy wagons which we've seen that Gray was placed in, should those be all traded out? I mean, should the police forces transition to other vehicles where this is not even a consideration or a possibility?

HOUCK: Well, I'll tell you, I don't like those vehicles, because you can't control your prisoner there, you saw the tight confined space inside those vehicles. You get one or two people in there. You're wide open for an attack from your prisoner. So unlike in NYPD, we use vans, we didn't have those when I was a police officer and I don't think they have them now because I've never seen them.

But the fact if you just put a prisoner in the backseat of a radio car or in a regular van facing forward, buckled in, it's a lot safer. Even when somebody is in the back of one of these vehicles and they're seat-belted, they can still move around like this and bang their head and hit their head, and they're still subject to being some kind of injury. So I don't think they're really that safe.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we're hopefully can get more information about the transition to other vehicles. We spoke with Tom Fuentes this morning about bus-style seating with all facing forward and can be belted in. Harry Houck, I thank you for speaking with us this morning and being a part of this conversation from your perspective. We'll talk more throughout the morning.

HOUCK: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Christi, back to you.

PAUL: All right, Victor, thank you, great conversations there.

In the meantime, a lot of people are questioning whether President Obama's policing task force is even working. Did the police in the Freddie Gray case even implement any of the recommendations made by that task force? We're talking about that next.

And crowds have gathered outside. Guess, guess where this is? Yes, Buckingham Palace, celebrating the birth of the world's newest princess. We're taking you live to London for details on William and Catherine's baby girl.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:13:14] BLACKWELL: Remember this? This was August 9, 2014, Ferguson, Missouri. This is the day that Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a police officer. Well Brown's death and the death of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York, sparked nationwide protests and helped push President Obama to create this 21st century policing task force. Back in March the group issued 59 recommendations for how communities can build stronger relationships with police that serve them, including greater use of officer-worn body cameras, improved collection of officer involved shooting data, sanctions on police departments using unnecessary military tactics and equipment.

But now another unarmed black man is dead in Baltimore. Six officers are charged in this death, and the protests and unrest continues.

Two members of the task force join us now. Cedric Alexander is the chief of -- he's a member of the DeKalb County, Georgia, Police Department, and also head of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. We've got Sue Rahr, the executive director of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. I thank you both for being part of the conversation.

I want to start with you, Sue, because you wrote that there should be a fundamental shirt, and I took a note here about it, in America's police departments that there should be some guardianship approach. Expound upon that, if you would.

SUE RAHR, WASHINGTON STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING COMMISSION: Well, I think what we're seeing across the nation is, is some symptoms of a police culture that reflects a mindset and an approach of a warrior-type mentality. And I understand why that's happened. But I think we need to shift the culture more to a guardian approach where police officers feel like they're part of the community and their focus is on protection.

[10:15:10] Police departments reflect the leadership of the community where they work. And the tough on crime, the war on this, the war on that, that approach I think we see reflected in police departments. And we need to reset.

BLACKWELL: Cedric, how is that possible? I mean how can that be achieved when there's a premium placed on minority officers for minority communities, larger departments can pay more, and, in fact, you would have to create that feeling of being a part of a community since in many cases these officers don't live in these communities.

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CHIEF OF POLICE, DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA: Well, you know, we can't underestimate the fact that this, you know the fact is that these are certainly challenges. And as Sue just pointed out, one of the most important things about these task force recommendations is this -- inside those recommendations it is very straightforward and clear as to how the -- how important it is to make sure that we integrate all of our police departments across this country. Yes, there are challenges, as it relates to competition between small

departments, large departments, between salaries and benefits and those types of things. But what I have been sharing with many of my colleagues across the country, who are chiefs and public safety directors such as myself is that we have to be creative. Maybe we have to start very early in the process of education by developing police athletic programs and police academies, if you will, for young people to be part of. Explore programs inside those communities.

So we just can't say we can't find that population. We have to -- what we have to do, Victor, is begin to establish great ideas as to how to create that population of young people to go into the profession as we go forward.

BLACKWELL: For people who are hearing music, they're setting up for a rally here that's going to start in about an hour or two. So if you hear music, that's what it is.

Sue, let me come back to you. I had a conversation with some young men who live in west Baltimore. And what struck me is that they said that people see them as criminals. Police see them as criminals. And that they have to prove that they aren't. How do you change something that is, is something as personal, something as innate as perception from an officer or from a police department?

RAHR: Well, I think it begins with when you very first begin training police officers. You have to instill a mindset that they are not coming into the community to exert control. You want the police officers' goal to be establish a relationship and understand the people living in the community. It's very easy when you're working in a very tough crime-ridden neighborhood to lump everybody together as the "them versus us." And if we can get police officers to move beyond that and to see people as individuals, they'll be more successful in building that relationship.

Once that relationship is there, then you can begin building support within the community. And ultimately, it's the community that's going to make it more safe. The police officers are there to act as leaders, to rally the community, to protect each other and protect themselves.

BLACKWELL: Cedric, help us understand the socioeconomic elements in this. I mean, I think it's important that people understand that what you saw this week was not only the catalyst for, which were not only the death of Freddie Gray and the involvement of these officers, but a group of variables that have been going on for decades, and helping police officers understand that as well.

ALEXANDER: It's a course that we saw there in Baltimore and we see it across many cities across America is that poor education, lack of education, a lack of economic stability in those neighborhoods, opportunity for jobs to be successful, to be homeowners, to feel that you are economically sound where you can take care of your very basic fundamental needs, play a very important part.

And as I've heard echoed in Baltimore, as I've heard in other cities across this country as well, too, is that people want jobs. They want jobs. They want opportunities. They want all the things that everyone else have an opportunity to, to benefit from.

But many of our communities across this country, those are still many of the challenges. And certainly you will hear, and I think we all recognize, that's really very much of the challenge in Baltimore as well, too.

So in those communities where people still feel very marginalized, very minimized, there's a larger issue than just police. Police is just those who in-depth interfacing with those populations, more quickly and more soon than anyone else. But we know it's much more of a systemic problem that we still have to address as a nation.

[10:20:07] BLACKWELL: All right, Cedric Alexander, Sue Rahr, I thank you for helping us understand this police task force and how these things can be implemented moving forward. Thanks for joining us this morning.

All right, Christi, let's send it back to you in Atlanta.

PAUL: All righty, thank you, Victory.

You know here we're talking about the duke and duchess of Cambridge because they have a little girl this morning. It's a media frenzy, as can you imagine, outside the London hospital. Look at this, live pictures for you here, Catherine gave birth there at St. Mary's hospital this morning about three and a half hours ago. CNN is there in the thick of all of it and we're taking you there live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! On this day, the 2nd of May in the year 2015, we welcome with humble duty, the second born of the royal highnesses, the duke and duchess of Cambridge. The princess is fourth in line to the throne.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:25:03] PAUL: Yes, the royal baby has arrived. It is a girl, which a lot of people were hoping for. Catherine and William have added a princess obviously here. The only question that remains is what are they going to name her?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Totally excited. I can't wait to have a princess. Just wondering what it's going to be called. What do you think it's going to be called?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just having the royal family, it's fantastic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think the name will be? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Claire! Princess Claire.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think Diana. I think it will be Diana.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Middle name Diana, I think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: CNN London correspondent Max Foster is live outside St. Mary's hospital. This is where the baby was born, obviously, and you're near the door where they will eventually at some point, Max, come out. Everybody is talking about a name. Have you heard how they're going to announce this name? Are they going to do it on twitter?

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: They're going to do it on email, first of all. So they'll email us the name and then it will go out on Twitter. That could be a couple of days. Actually, what I can say is it's really feeling as if they're going to come out relatively soon.

I say that because if you're the palace behind-the-scenes people that I know have been wandering around. So I'm going to check this email. It's set for alarms update. So we've got an update. The duke of Cambridge will be leaving St. Mary's hospital in 30 minutes to go to visit his son, Prince George at Kensington palace. So does that mean that Prince George is going to come back to the hospital, and we might get a photograph of him? We don't know. The suggestion perhaps is that he's going to go to see George, bring him back to see her. A lot of people fascinated to see Prince George because we haven't seen him in public for so long. And he's got a little brother or sister. He's got a sister in the hospital and he wants to meet her of course. It's a very exciting moment.

And I think the family would like George to spend some time with his new sister before the baby is presented to the world. Just having covered them for some time, I think Prince William and Kate would want George to have met the baby and seen the baby before we all do.

PAUL: When George was born, I remember seeing members of the royal family, Prince Charles and Camilla going to the hospital to, to visit the new baby. Have you seen any sign that other members of the royal family are on their way there?

FOSTER: No. That's another reason why I think they could potentially be coming out today because normally we would have been told that Prince Charles is going to come visit and maybe the Middletons, but we haven't been told that. So I think it is increasingly likely that they will come out today.

Also, just spin the camera around briefly. Look at the disruption that this little baby has caused. Even before she was born, this was sort of a, sort of media frenzy that we had here. There are journalists from all over the world. I know that Kate and William would really want it to cause as minimal disruption to the hospital as possible. When Prince George was born we were here for a very long time. It was a real problem for the hospital. So we do expect the family to come out on those steps at some point this afternoon. And hopefully we'll see Prince George go in and visit his sister beforehand.

PAUL: Max, we're glad you're at the helm. You certainly know what you're doing there and you're finally out of that hotel room that were you stuck in for so long, waiting for this big moment, so thank you for bringing us the very latest. And we're hearing that Westminster is going to be lighting monuments in pink tonight in celebration of the new princess.

This week, however, back here in the U.S., Baltimore rocked by riots, as you know, violent protests over the death of Freddie Gray. There's a sense of calm that seems to be returning to the streets now. Up next, we're talking about local business owners and how they are really putting the pieces back together after all the chaos.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:31:57] BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: we had a real melee over here. We're being moved away from the satellite truck where there was a real melee between police and some protesters. We had one protester on the ground being arrested. We're right here with him. The police are trying to move us out of the plaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That was Brian Todd pretty close to where I am now last night as police officers tried to enforce that citywide curfew. Overall there were more than 50 arrests, and for the most part there's a sense of relief that is pretty palpable across this city after the announcement of the six officers involved in Freddie Gray's death have been charged, at least relief on the parts of those protesters.

Today protesters are vowing to keep the pressure on police, though, demonstrations planned in all the major cities you see here across the country, east to west coast, including Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Baton Rouge, Houston, and of course here in Baltimore.

And for a lot of people in Baltimore and of course across the country, some of the most shocking images we saw Monday, the robbing of the stores, the looting there, ransacking The Dollar Store, grabbing things out of there, and maybe the most recognizable, the burning of that CVS. And we saw a few moments ago, Nick Valencia was there, it's all boarded up now.

Let's talk about the city of Baltimore and its businesses are supposed to recover after this. I'm joined by Ron Busby, the president of the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce. Ron, I want to start with the protests on Monday. And for a lot of people, that CVS is the only place they can go get a prescription filled. What's the process of bringing CVS back, to bring those resources back to this community? RON BUSBY, PRESIDENT, U.S. BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: It's a great

conversation, because I don't think that's the one that's being had across the country. It has affected our communities short-term. And you will find that there will be some inconveniences.

But I believe that long-term, both corporate America as well as the local communities have some responsibilities to Baltimore. This didn't happen in a vacuum and it didn't just happen Monday. I believe that this community as well as communities around the country very similar to Baltimore have felt this effect. But the real next step is, what takes the place of this the CVS? Will CVS reinvest in Baltimore as well as other corporations and small business owners?

We feel like the number one concern for communities like Baltimore, especially for African-American communities, is unemployment. Statistics show that in America there's 1.9 million unemployed African-Americans. But on the flip side of that there's 1.9 million owned African-American-owned businesses. Simple math says if each one of these small businesses that are owned by African-Americans can hire one additional African-American, then we won't have an unemployment issue in our communities in Baltimore as well as around the country.

BLACKWELL: There are a lot of small businesses and large companies that are losing money in this period because of the curfew. You've got to balance public safety, right? And you've got to balance the income that's brought into downtown, restaurants closing early, casinos, the hotel staff is being sent home in certain periods. How do you make, how do you balance that and how much are these businesses losing in this curfew period?

[10:35:19] BUSBY: It depends on the type of business. And those businesses that rely on evening hours, those businesses that rely on tourism, entertainment, are definitely being affected.

BLACKWELL: Should it end?

BUSBY: Yes.

BLACKWELL: It's time to end it?

BUSBY: I think it's time to end it. And what you're finding is many of our local businesses that are in entertainment, restaurants, bars, clubs, especially on the weekends are really feeling it. I think now people want to come out and celebrate. People want to come out and conversate. And that starts in many of the local restaurants and pubs around the town. And it's time to give them the opportunity to make the revenue that they're losing so that we can get the city back to where it normally should be.

BLACKWELL: You talked about a bit of it a moment ago. Let's talk about the larger economic question. We look at some of the neighborhoods in Baltimore. People around the world are seeing them for the first time. People who live in this city know that for sometimes there have been vacant along North Avenue, over on the east side, right alongside Johns Hopkins, a premiere medical institution. How do you bring businesses in so that can you start to grow these communities?

What comes first? The residents, but they don't have a grocery store. Do you bring the grocery store? But they don't have people to come in and shop in them.

BUSBY: It's a combination. I think this administration has done a couple things, early and proactive. One of the things that the administration has done is that Baltimore now is a promise zone city, which means that now all of the resources can be brought together to address education, some of the criminal issues, but most importantly the economic issue.

We believe that it starts within our own community. The average African-American is spending less than three percent of their own dollars with other African-American firms. It's got to be a combination of corporate America reinvesting, but also African- Americans reinvesting.

Just pure numbers, if African-Americans could increase their spin with other black firms, currently we're spending about three percent of our income with black businesses, if we can increase that to 10 percent we could be mandated to hire an additional million employees. We have to talk about just not jobs, but about businesses, about ownership, because we know that we hire our own. And it starts with opportunities for these businesses and business owners.

BLACKWELL: Ron Busby, I hope that this conversation can continue, but not just the conversation, that things can actually happen. Thank you so much. And of course, if you want to help rebuild, you can head to CNN.com. There are lots of opportunities for you to read up on how you can get involved.

Race relations now taking center stage when it comes to the race for the White House, and in the wake of the unrest in Baltimore some of the presidential contenders decided to take on the topic. We're going to break down what they had to say, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:41:44] BLACKWELL: It's 19 minutes to the top of the hour now. The ongoing situation in Baltimore has allowed for presidential contenders to now talk about race relations and get their message out. Several of them, including Secretary Clinton, Senator Paul, spoke about what may have led to the unrest in Maryland. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Let's protect the rights of all our people. Let's take on the broader inequities of our society. We can't separate the unrest we see in our streets from the cycles of poverty and despair that hollow out those neighborhoods.

SEN. RAND PAUL, (R) KENTUCKY: It's something we talk about not in the immediate aftermath but over time, you know, the breakdown of the family structure, the lack of fathers, the lack of sort of a moral code in our society. This isn't just a racial thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right, let's talk about it further with a senior director for Blackrock Group Lisa Boothe. We also have with us CNN political commentator Maria Cardona.

I want to start with you, Lisa. Your thoughts on Senator Paul's comments about the lack of fathers, it's getting criticized. Do you think the criticism is fair?

LISA BOOTHE, SENIOR DIRECTOR, BLACKROCK GROUP: Well, look, I think what Rand Paul is trying to get at and what I've heard some of the other Republican contenders, as well as Hillary Clinton as well has said we should look at poverty. If you look at the neighborhood where Freddie Gray grew up in, I believe the unemployment rate was 24 percent. We've seen you know, the state of Maryland, we've seen it's one of the largest states for welfare, or for welfare recipients. I think we need to look at some of these main drivers of the problems that we're facing in a city like Baltimore.

BLACKWELL: But specifically, Senator Paul mentioned the lack of a moral code and the lack of fathers. I asked you about the criticism of that comment. Do you think the criticism is fair?

BOOTHE: I think that could be an issue at hand. And what I'm say something I think we should look at all the drivers and possibilities of what's going on. Let's look at poverty. Let's look at criminal justice reform.

But, you know, here's the thing. Hillary Clinton is someone who has called for criminal justice reform, but I find those calls incredibly disingenuous because essentially what she's calling for is dismantling policies that were put in place under her husband and under the Clinton administration, and these are policies that she's has also championed throughout her career. I mean, let's look at it. The prison population increased by 673,000 people under the Clinton administration. Federal prisons doubled under President Clinton. And these are all policies that Hillary Clinton has championed.

BLACKWELL: So Maria, does Hillary Clinton have to answer for policies during the Bill Clinton administration?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. And again, Bill Clinton is not running for president. Hillary Clinton is. And by the way, Bill Clinton also recently addressed all of those policies saying that we are in a completely different time now. That was 20 years ago. He essentially said we need to take another look at all of those policies. So even he himself is questioning his own policies.

Hillary Clinton is clearly focused on the problems at hand. She is talking about reform of the criminal justice system. She is talking about body cams on policemen to, frankly, protect those good policemen who are out there doing great work every single day, and to protect the victims of those policemen who are not doing such great work. [10:45:16] And she is, I think very credibly, talking about the roots of the causes of what happened in Baltimore, which is income inequality. And where I think Republican candidates run afoul of their speak about income inequality, or lack of fathers as Rand Paul has done, is that none of their policies ever focus on the problem of income inequality. And in fact, they exacerbate income inequality as they slash programs that all of these low-income communities have depended on.

BOOTHE: Well, then how do you explain the fact that food stamps have increased by 45 percent.

BLACKWELL: Unfortunately there's a delay, hold on for a second, Lisa. Hold on, I want to get in the sound from Ted Cruz to bring this into the conversation as well. This week he blamed President Obama for exacerbating race relations. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He could have been a unifying figure. He could have chosen to be a leader on race relations and bring us together. And he hasn't done that. He's made decisions that I think have inflamed racial tensions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Quick answers on this -- is this appropriate? Did the president inflame racial tensions? Lisa, let's go to you first.

BOOTHE: I think President Obama has been a largely divisive president. But back to Maria's point on income inequality. We've seen income inequality exasperate under President Obama. Food stamps have increased by 45 percent under president Obama. The poverty rate is the highest it's ever been under President Obama.

CARDONA: And frankly what we can see is Republican policies on the budget that just slash and slash and slash all of these programs.

(CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: Let me finish, Lisa, let me finish. I didn't interrupt you.

BLACKWELL: This will, this will have to be the last word.

CARDONA: All of the Republican programs slash all of these programs that these low-income communities depend on, and then they go and talk about income inequality. And frankly Ted Cruz is the last person who should be talking about, about racial tensions.

(CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: He's the last person who should be talking about income inequality.

BLACKWELL: The difficulty here is I'm in the field and I've got a terrible delay, so it's unfortunately I can't jump in where I want to. But Maria, Lisa, we'll of course continue to have the conversation. Hopefully it won't take something like this to have an expanded conversation about race relations in the country. Thank you both.

The first rally here in Baltimore is scheduled to start at noon today. Of course CNN will be covering it. Christi, CNN, will be live reporting on the rallies, any developments on this case, and of course watching for developments and rallies across the country.

PAUL: Absolutely. Great job, Victor, so good to get those conversations in with you this morning. Thank you.

Meanwhile, it's boxing's biggest night -- Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather doing battle. We'll have more on what many are calling the fight of the century.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:52:02] PAUL: All right, let's talk about the countdown to fight night. It's on the way as Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather get set to face each other. Both fighters are going to earn more than $100 million. CNN's Coy Wire is live for us from Vegas. What are you hearing at this hour, Coy?

COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, we're hearing that right now, Floyd Mayweather is the favorite. He's 47-0. The last time this guy lost was a controversial decision in the 1996 Olympics. He's a baller, right?

But Manny Pacquiao, don't ask the fans what they think, who they think is the favorite. Last night at the weigh-in these guys went toe to toe, saw each other, looked each other in the eye one last time before they get in the ring. Manny Pacquiao, he was cool. He was calm, he was collected, clearly enjoying the moment. And 90 percent of the 10,000 fans in the arena were cheering for him.

On the other hand, Mayweather was getting booed. You know, he was different. He was not his same outgoing trash-talking self. He was a bit subdued, very uncharacteristic. So I tracked down Manny Pacquiao's legendary trainer, Freddie Roach. Listen to what he said about why Mayweather may be quiet. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDDIE ROACH, BOXING TRAINER: I think that he just doesn't want to be here. I think that this is the first fight he has actually had in his life that he hasn't picked. He's picked and chosen his opponents very well. If you look at his record, he's put in a lot of soft guys, a couple of tough guys. But you look at Pacquiao's record, he's fought a lot more quality fighters I feel. And I think it will be the difference in the fight, and I think Manny's foot speed and hand speed will be too much for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROACH: So there you have it, Christi. He thinks Manny is going to be too much for Floyd. He thinks Floyd doesn't want to be here. I think one thing Floyd does want, though, is the money. If these two fighters split the reported $300 million and the fight goes the entire distance, that means each fighter will split $138,000 per second, Christi. Imagine that.

PAUL: But help us understand the money for a second. They're going to get money whether they win, whether they lose. Does the split make a difference depending on whether they win or lose, or no?

ROACH: No, the money is in, it's. There are projections expected to be $400 million total. That's based off a projected three million pay-per-view buys and also the $74 million in ticket sales. Bottom line is, Christi, it looking like these guys will get $180 million for Mayweather and $120 million for Pacquiao when all is said and done. It's just absurd.

You talk about Manny Pacquiao, a guy who started out earning only $2 per fight when he started his career. Now he's going to make over $100 million in one fight.

PAUL: All right, hey, Coy, thank you so much. Have fun out there.

ROACH: I'll try. Thanks.

PAUL: Absolutely.

All right, thank you so much for watching. I do want to show you some video we're getting in of Prince William. We understand he has left the hospital where his new baby girl was just born a few hours ago. And we hear that perhaps he may be going to see Prince George, maybe be bringing Prince George back to the hospital to see his new sister, I should say.

[10:55:11] We have so much more for you in the next hour of the CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield after a quick break. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to the CNN Newsroom. We are in Baltimore. It's 11:00 a.m. east coast time. We are right in front of city hall where later on today large crowds are expected to gather here peacefully.

We're of course awaiting the march that will depend under way just about three or four miles away from here. They will make their way throughout the city all in support of Freddie Gray. He died at the hands of police. You heard the charges yesterday. Six police officers have been charged for his death.

Today of course, it has been calm as people will be gathering at the location three or four miles away. They're making their way throughout the city and ending up here at city hall. Yes, for days, there have been many people marching throughout the city, but peacefully. Yes, there have been some arrests, but mostly for violation of curfews.

[11:00:01] That in stark contrast to what you saw Monday, when there were fires and there was looting.