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President Slams Kenya on Gay Rights Record; Funeral Services Monday for Mayci Breaux; Trump Hits Campaign Trail in Iowa; Nuke Deal Signed, But Americans Left Behind; Doctor Helping Veterans with PTSD; Foundation Helping Veterans with PTSD; Business Making a Difference on Chicago's South Side. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 25, 2015 - 17:00   ET

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


[17:00:16] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. Five o'clock Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow. You're in CNN NEWSROOM. And we begin with this. President Obama making history tomorrow when he sets foot in Ethiopia as the first sitting U.S. president to do so. Today he is wrapping up official events in Kenya, one of which just ended. And it was a joint news conference and address with the president of Kenya. President Obama taking the occasion to spotlight Kenya's official anti-gay laws, slamming that and in his words, saying it is not okay to treat people differently because they are different.

Jim Acosta joining us live in Nairobi. And Jim, we knew that this was probably going to come up, that the President was likely going to address it, but what was the reaction to the words that he chose to use, standing right there next to the Kenyan president?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was stunning. And Poppy, despite what it seemed like a family reunion for President Obama, he sparked a cultural controversy here in this country as he pressed Kenyan leaders to make more progress on the issue of gay rights. The Kenyan president was having none of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, the presidents --

ACOSTA (voice-over): It was a dust-up on his father's home turf as President Obama clashed with the Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta over the issue of gay rights. The President condemned the widespread discrimination faced by same sex couples in Kenya and across Africa, comparing it to the Jim Crow days back in the U.S.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As an African-American in the United States, I am painfully aware of the history of what happens when people are treated differently under the law.

ACOSTA: Drawing applause from Kenyans at a joint news conference, Kenyatta dubbed the topic a non-issue.

UHURU KENYATTA, PRESIDENT OF KENYA: There are some things that we must admit we don't share. Our culture, our societies don't accept.

ACOSTA: It was a noticeable moment of tension during what was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts for Mr. Obama. His return to his father's native country to mark the first visit to Kenya by a sitting U.S. president. Kenyans celebrated in the streets as the President met with relatives he hasn't seen in years.

OBAMA: This is personal for me. There's a reason why my name is Barack Hussein Obama.

(LAUGHTER)

ACOSTA: While this is a personal journey for President Obama, he also says this is much more than a chance to get in touch with his roots. He is calling on the world to look past the stereotypes in this continent and start investing in Africa's future. Africa's poorest citizens, the President argued, just need a chance to prove themselves.

OBAMA: Imagine what could happen if more and more of our global business leaders and global capital paid a visit. And actually had a conversation.

ACOSTA: But as he honored the victims of the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, the President said the U.S. and its African partners must first defeat new terror threats like Al Shabaab.

OBAMA: We have systematically reduced the territory that Al Shabaab controls. That doesn't mean the problem's solved.

ACOSTA: There was no disagreement on that front.

KENYATTA: This is an existential fight for us.

ACOSTA: Still Kenyans want the world to see their corner of Africa and all of its national wonders are mostly at peace and thriving.

(INAUDIBLE)

They are proud of the son of a Kenyan father who became president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's a big inspiration to Kenyans, he's a big inspiration to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's our son.

ACOSTA: And they want to make sure he comes back. Something the President vowed to do when he's out of the White House bubble.

OBAMA: I'm more restricted ironically as president of the United States than I am -- than I will be as a private citizen in terms of some of the hands-on direct help that I would like to give.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, tomorrow the President will deliver an address to the Kenyan people. If Africans were wondering when the President would speak more passionately about his heritage, White House officials are hinting that is a speech this whole continent has been waiting for. But Poppy, earlier this evening the President may have delivered one of the lines of this trip when he said at the state dinner here in Nairobi, he was telling a joke, he said his critics think he might be looking for his birth certificate here in Kenya. But that's not the case -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Wow. I wonder what Donald Trump is going to say responding to that. Jim Acosta, thank you.

ACOSTA: We'll wait and see.

HARLOW: We'll wait and see. Thank you, Jim. I appreciate it.

Also now, turning to the tragedy in Louisiana this week. New details are unfolding in the horrific theater shooting in Louisiana. Funeral services will take place on Monday to celebrate the life of Mayci Breaux, she is the 21-year-old college student who was one of two people killed in that rampage. Her boyfriend one of the nine who was wounded. We are also hearing more and learning more about the suspected shooter, John Russel Houser. Court documents now revealing he had a history of quote, "extreme erratic behavior."

We know he flew a swastika outside of his tavern in Georgia after he lost his liquor license. We know he was a frequent contributor to online web forums, posting right wing sort of radical views on certain topics and also, we know that he used a hand gun in this attack. It was a .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol purchased legally from a pawnshop.

[17:05:46] CNN's Ryan Nobles joins us now from Lafayette. When we talk about the shooter, we'll get to in a moment, but the focus has to be the people that he injured and the lives that he took. I know five people remain in the hospital. How are they doing?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Actually Poppy, we have some updated information about those victims that were in the hospital. Initially there were nine total. Six of them have been released. So, that leaves only three left in two different hospitals around Lafayette.

HARLOW: That's great.

NOBLES: Yes. That's right. Two of those victims are in good condition. A third remains in serious condition. But keep in mind at one point that victim was in critical condition. So this is an improvement. Very good news considering how many people were impacted by this awful tragedy. And we got a closer look today at the crime scene here behind me. This theater is still closed but Lafayette police actually allowed us to get up close to the building and they actually showed us the door the shooter, John Houser, attempted to leave in an attempt to get away.

And there is still glass there by that back door by the car that he attempted to get out in. When he saw police, he ran back into the theater, reloaded and that's where he killed himself. Poppy, what they still don't understand after all the information that they have discovered about his background, his mental health history, his run- ins with the law, is why he was here in Lafayette and what motivated him to open fire on a group of people that it appears he had no connection to whatsoever. It's going to take some time for those questions to be answered -- Poppy.

HARLOW: There are also heroes emerging in all of this. Two young women, teachers, who police say saved countless lives.

NOBLES: Yes. That's right. And we talked to the corporal, the public information officer from the Lafayette Police Department today. And even now, you know, more than 24 hours after the shooting, he is still amazed by the bravery and the heroism by that teacher who was already shot and in the midst of all this chaos, found a way to get to that fire alarm, sound the fire alarm. That's why police were able to get here so quickly and there's no doubt lives were saved.

HARLOW: Ryan Nobles joining us there from Lafayette, thank you very much.

NOBLES: Thank you.

HARLOW: Also I want to bring this update. A huge fire breaking out in the middle of the day in Las Vegas today. Take a look at some of this video. It's extraordinary. These flames shooting out of the pool area of the Cosmopolitan hotel. One of the guest there shooting this video from his room. We do know that the fire is now out, according to investigators. The damage was contained to that area of cabanas and Palm Trees. Apparently it never reached the main hotel building. One person was transported to the hospital with possible smoke inhalation. But so far, no other injuries reported. Thanks goodness.

Coming up next, Donald Trump talks about his lack of experience on the debate stage, saying he creates jobs, he doesn't debate people. We will going to talk to someone who knows him very well. The co-author of one of his bestselling books, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:12:07] HARLOW: Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is campaigning in Iowa today, a place he has been spending a lot of time and one thing he was asked about today is how he's going to debate. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm by far number one so I'm going to be there, much to the chagrin of many people. But I'm not a debater. I produce jobs. I'm not -- I never did that before. I never stood at a podium and debated a large number of people. And from what I heard, every one of them is going to come at me. I watch the shows like you do. And there was oh, hit Trump and hit Trump. I'm saying, what is this, for two hours I'm going to be in the lion's den, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: I think he can take on a few lions. Let's talk about it with CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES," Brian Stelter. Also with us, Kate Bohner, she co-authored a book with Trump. You get to know someone really well when you write a book with them. The book right there called "Trump: The Art of the Comeback." I thank you so much for being here.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

HARLOW: Kate, let me begin with you. You know Donald Trump very well. How is he going to debate?

KATE BOHNER, CO-AUTHOR, "TRUMP: THE ART OF THE COMEBACK": I just found that clip so interesting. I've seen it earlier today. And the thing is Donald is really good at debating.

HARLOW: Yes.

BOHNER: I mean, also, look at "The Apprentice." That's what he did for a long time.

STELTER: He knows how to play to the cameras.

BOHNER: Yes. He knows how to play with the cameras. I think probably one of the things about Trump is that it seems like his mic is always hot. You know, like most people make a mistake because their mic was hot and everybody is like oh, my gosh, I can't believe he said that.

HARLOW: Right.

BOHNER: But it feels to me like Donald's mic is always hot.

HARLOW: Yes.

BOHNER: So, he's pretty fearless about the content he takes on.

HARLOW: So, Brian, from the perspective of a reporter, you know, its reporters, anchors moderate these debates. What do you do with Donald Trump in a debate? I mean, how much do you jump in and --

STELTER: Yes. We have heard the FOX anchors who will be moderating this in a couple weeks say, they will going to treat Trump like every other candidate. That is a difficult proposition though because he's an extraordinary candidate. He's not like anybody else that's in this race. He is, you know, maybe -- not maybe, what am I saying, he's more unpredictable, he's less predictable than anybody else. He is also more available, he's more accessible.

One of the reasons why he is getting so much media coverage is because he says yes to interview requests. He did a 20 minute plus press availability today. So, he is accessible in a way that no other candidate is. Just probably feeding more of the coverage here. And he will be in a CNN debate in September as well. So, he will be potentially on several stages in the months to come.

HARLOW: Well, do you think actually some of his opponents could take a page from him in maybe being more available? Because if they complain about him getting so much attention --

STELTER: I do wonder if there is something to be learned. Maybe there's a page from the playbook here that in some cases, giving a lot of interviews, saying things that seem like they are off the cuff, seeming unpredictable, these are qualities that the press appreciates and the public appreciates. "The Washington Post" today said at the end of the rally it's the first time a voter came in and say, when can I see that guy again. You know, it's more like an entertainer than a politician. But like I said Trump is an extraordinary candidate.

HARLOW: Kate, you are the one. You've told him to never apologize.

BOHNER: Yes. One of the things that I think Trump does really well is obviously the media is all over him right now. We all know that. A lot of the comments are very unflattering, they're very judgmental and one of the things probably actually that Donald taught me is that, he's not the candidate, he's not the person to say you know what, I made a mistake, I shouldn't have said that. He will go back on his view. He just plows forward. He's always sort of on the offensive and never really on the run.

HARLOW: I think this is interesting. I was reading that in 2011, he told Bill O'Reilly about illegal immigration in the United States, this. He says, you know, it's hard to generalize but you're going to have to look at the individual people, see how they have done, see how productive they have been, see what their references are and then make a decision. You have some great productive people that came in. Looking at that in 2011 compared to his comments recently on illegal immigrants, does it surprise you to hear this shift?

BOHNER: It does. I think -- I want to be very clear that I worked with Mr. Trump at the end of the '90s. So, the book came out in 1997. And he was a very different guy back then. I mean, the subject matter that we were covering in that book was his comeback. What are the rules, what are the lessons, play golf, be flamboyant, work hard. And there's a way in which I feel like he's on his second comeback. It's almost like I wrote "The Art of the Comeback" but this is the new, new "Art of the Comeback."

HARLOW: You need to write another book with him.

BOHNER: Right. Maybe.

HARLOW: Maybe. Brian, we have to talk about the "Des Moines Register." A very negative op-ed, editorial piece in the "Des Moines Register" in the past week saying he should drop out of the campaign.

STELTER: Yes.

HARLOW: So, then his team bars the "Des Moines Register" from coming to this event in Iowa today. One of their reporters eventually got in and said the Trump team was polite to them but that's a big deal.

STELTER: All right. This is another example of how this is an extraordinary campaign. This is in a very negative way, and in the minds of journalists, this is disturbing to see a campaign say no, you cannot come to our event. As it turned out the reporters were able to attend, they were able to get in but they weren't able to have credentials. And the idea is, you know, when you are a journalist you want to credentialed, you have a certain amount of access. The idea that Trump would withhold access, or his campaign withhold access, it definitely is disturbing to a lot of journalists but it does appeal to some of his supporters. And this is that divide that exist in the public between people who trust the press, who believe the press generally tries to be fair and those are in the press is inherently unfair. Obviously, there's a wall between editorial and newsroom.

[17:17:22] HARLOW: Right. There are different divisions.

STELTER: I would say a lot of people in the public don't always know that though.

HARLOW: Good point.

STELTER: I think that's a problem on the media side. I used to work at the "New York Times." And it always frustrated that me we didn't do a better job of communicating how the editorial page was written far away from the newsroom.

HARLOW: Yes.

STELTER: That the employees were different, that the journalists were different. You know, all that said, this is probably something that appeals to Trump's fans.

HARLOW: Brian said to me, really interesting this week, he said to me, this is a rich guy running a cheap campaign.

STELTER: Right.

HARLOW: I'm not criticizing it but like money-wise, cheap.

STELTER: Right.

HARLOW: Kate, I mean, smart business move.

STELTER: He's not running ads or anything, right?

BOHNER: I mean, because I think he is the ad. He knows he says such extraordinary things. The base supports him so loyally that he knows that he's going to be on camera all the time. He doesn't have to hone his messaging in the form of a full-page ad or running advertising from the radio or on the television because he's actually reaching those people with just standardized media.

STELTER: I love that. He is his own ad. That says it perfectly.

HARLOW: And Kate will write another book with him. We're waiting.

STELTER: I'm open to it.

BOHNER: Thank you very much.

HARLOW: Brian Stelter, thank you as well.

STELTER: Thanks.

HARLOW: You don't want to miss Brian's show "RELIABLE SOURCES" right here on CNN 11:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow.

STELTER: Thanks.

HARLOW: Well, the United States striking a deal with Iran. Still, though, Congress needs to get on board. This while four Americans are still detained inside Iran.

Next, I speak with the congressman who represents one of those men. Amir Hekmati who lives in his district in Michigan. He is working to bring him home. We're going to talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:22:30] HARLOW: The recent nuclear deal with Iran has stoked passions across the political spectrum and the issue is very complicated. Complicated even more by the fact that four Americans are still detained in Iran. Jason Rezaian is a "Washington Post" reporter. He is probably heard a lot about he's accused of espionage, he's now facing a secret trial. Amir Hekmati is a former U.S. marine, also held in Iran since 2011 accused of spying. Saeed Abedini is a Christian pastor held in Iran since 2012. And Robert Levenson is a former FBI agent who vanished in Iran in 2007. He is officially listed as missing, not detained.

Let's talk about those Americans and the Iranian nuclear deal with democratic Congressman Dan Kildee of Michigan. Thank you for being here.

REP. DAN KILDEE (D), MICHIGAN: Thank you very much.

HARLOW: I appreciate it very much. I do want to talk specifically about Amir Hekmati, who lives in your district. His family is our constituents of yours. But first, I want your take on this deal. The 60-day review period for you and your peers in Congress has begun. We saw very spirited debate on "The Hill" today in the Senate chamber between Secretary Kerry and some senators. Do you support this deal?

KILDEE: Well, I'm still evaluating it. I'm generally positive toward this approach. I supported the negotiation. We will go through each step and take the 60 days that we have to evaluate it, but I'm generally supportive mainly because I don't see what the other alternatives are. But I will continue to evaluate the deal and come to a final decision after doing a complete review. But the question that members of Congress have to ask themselves is not only is this a good deal but is this a good deal as compared to what the path forward looks like if we reject it. And that's just a fact we have to deal with. And I think it's the reality that members should keep in mind.

HARLOW: You have a unique position in that as I said, Amir Hekmati, one of your constituents, has been detained in Iran since 2011.

KILDEE: Right.

HARLOW: His family are still your constituents. You are in touch with them. That complicates things. Did you think why would the United States agree to this without those four Americans coming home or did you view it as separate issues?

KILDEE: Well, I would have preferred that they -- that we insist on their release before initiating negotiation. I was very concerned that we not include the Americans as a part of the negotiation for two reasons. One, we wouldn't want to tie their fate to the success or failure of this diplomatic effort. After all, even though we have an agreement, it's not clear that we are going to move forward with it, not until Congress acts. So we could have tied these Americans to an agreement that may not come to pass and that would have been a terrible result.

But I think even more importantly, we would never want to be in a position of entering into a transaction with Iran where we would trade the freedom of American citizens for something that would presumably make the world a less safe place. After all, in negotiation, we would have had to have given something in order to get their freedom in return, and even Amir Hekmati, my own constituent who sits in an Iranian prison has said he wouldn't want that to be the case.

HARLOW: Right. But it sounds like what you're saying is you wouldn't have even entered into these talks until those four Americans were released. Did you tell the President Secretary Kerry that?

KILDEE: We have been speaking out for about two-and-a-half years. And we, of course, we got into these negotiations, you know, not long thereafter. So, that ship had sort of sailed. But we made it clear that before we engage, we really should have had their release.

HARLOW: President Obama has been asked multiple times about these Americans in the wake of making this deal with Iran and I want you to listen to what he said in response to a question from a reporter from CBS about how they could make this deal while those four Americans are still detained in Iran. Let's roll the President's answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The notion that I am content as I celebrate with American citizens languishing in Iranian jail jails. Major, that's nonsense. And you should know better. I have met with the families of some of those folks. Nobody is content.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILDEE: Well, first of all, I think the President has been pressing this from the very beginning. I have spoken to him about it many times. So, I'm satisfied that he believes this is a very high priority and continues to press on it. But if you are a family member, nothing is enough. And so when I speak to Amir's family obviously they would want the President and all of his administration to do everything they could every day.

[17:27:06] HARLOW: Do you believe that this agreement will help those four Americans come home?

KILDEE: I think it may. One thing I can say, and this is maybe a better way for me to put it, had this agreement not come together, I would hate to think what the fate of those Americans might be. So, in that context, it gives us a chance to get them home that we otherwise might not have had.

HARLOW: Congressman, thank you very much. I wish all the best to Amir Hekmati and his family.

KILDEE: Thank you very much.

HARLOW: Thank you so much. Nice to have you on the program.

KILDEE: Thanks.

HARLOW: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:42] HARLOW: Earlier this year, President Obama signed a bill to try to recruit more psychiatrists to help and treat veterans with PTSD. A shortage of doctors treating them is just one of the things on a litany of problems plaguing Veterans Affairs. But one doctor says that more prescription medication is not what is needed to treat and really help these veterans.

Our Carol Costello reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go, sir. Good work! Good work!

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looks like summer camp or one of those team-building retreats corporate America likes to host.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perfect.

COSTELLO: These exercises are part of Operation: Tohidu, an experimental, some might call radical, rehabilitation programs to help veterans with PTSD. It's run by Dr. Mary Vieten. It's a week-long retreat at the

nonprofit Melwood Center in southern Maryland.

For Army Specialist Scott Barber, it saved his life.

(on camera): You came to that realization you're not crazy, just a normal guy, how did you feel?

SCOTT BARBER, ARMY SPECIALIST: Relieved. Like a thousand pounds was lifted off my chest.

COSTELLO (voice-over): That realization that he isn't crazy is key because Dr. Vieten insists PTSD is not a mental illness, but normal. DR. MARY VIETEN, FOUNDER, OPERATION: TOHIDU, MELWOOD CENTER: You

don't go into the theater of operations and as a highly skilled professional with God-like powers and then, suddenly, one day, have a screw loose. It just doesn't make sense. They know it doesn't make sense.

COSTELLO: According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, PTSD is a mental illness. How do you treat mental illness? Usually, with drugs.

Scott Barber is no exception.

BARBER: Basically, they gave me a goodie bag filled with -- you know, go to the --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: You said, I'm depressed, I'm having trouble sleeping, I don't know what's wrong, and they give you a bag of drugs?

BARBER: Basically, that's essentially what it was like.

COSTELLO: Did you take the drugs?

BARBER: Yeah, I took them.

COSTELLO: How many different kinds of drugs did they give you?

BARBER: I believe at that time I was on four different kinds.

COSTELLO: Eventually, something terrible happened to you?

BARBER: Eventually, it did, yeah. And in 2013, Christmas Eve, I was taking the said drugs they had prescribed. My family was in. We had kind of like a Christmas tradition that we sit around and play Pictionary. I get up and go to draw whatever it was, and I remember as I started to draw, I felt something in my ear and my ear started bleeding. I was like, what? Then all of a sudden I just started to freak out and I hit the ground. That's the last thing I remember. I woke up in the back of an ambulance and -- I didn't wake up. I should rephrase that. But I was like drifting in and out like when you're drifting in and out of consciousness. This is what it felt like to me. And I was, boom, the paddles were on. Boom. And I remember hearing the voice --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: They say you actually died?

BARBER: I flat-lined, yeah. I seized and flat-lined. They were pumping me. That's all I can remember, them saying, come on, buddy, come on back. And, yeah, it was a really horrible experience. It was.

And when we got to the hospital, I remember, I was in there for four days, they ran every sort of test on me and the doctor at the time, he says, why are you taking -- who is prescribing this medication. He says what is this? He said stop everything. He says this is a recipe for death.

COSTELLO (voice-over): It's that kind of story that infuriates the doctor.

(on camera): What percentage of those patients, in your opinion, don't need drugs?

VIETEN: 100 percent.

COSTELLO: All of them?

VIETEN: There's no reason to medicate someone whose issue is they are traumatized by their war experiences.

COSTELLO: Really?

VIETEN: There's no reason to do that. None.

COSTELLO: Even if they are suffering from hallucinations or something like that?

VIETEN: Nope.

COSTELLO: Why? Why do you say that?

VIETEN: First of all, the medications are delivered to the warrior as if they treat something. They don't treat anything. All psychiatric medications either stimulate or sedate.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Experts, including those at the V.A. and Department of Defense, disagree.

DR. HAROLD KUDLER, CHIEF MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTANT, VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION: I have learned in PTSD there are people who can't do talk therapy until you give them the medicine that gives them a longer fuse. There are people that can't sit with these questions, that can't sit with you, unless you can help them control their anxiety and their depression. I honestly think we would be doing a disservice if we said you must never take a medicine for this.

[17:35:15] COSTELLO: Talk is what Dr. Vieten's warriors say they need. All of the mentors at Operation: Tohidu are veterans who have suffered from PTSD. The only medicine is helping vets understand context.

VIETEN: The person who is the most obsessive compulsive and the most vigilant and most on the ball and hyper-aware is the person who comes back alive and intact.

COSTELLO (on camera): So behaviors in the military that are normal in that setting are not so normal, for lack of a better term, when people come back home.

VIETEN: Yeah. It's a context problem. We just moved the warrior. If we put them back into that original setting, they would be fine.

COSTELLO: For Scott Barber, Operation: Tohidu and Dr. Vieten saved his life.

BARBER: Wasn't just me. I'm not -- I'm not crazy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Great reporting by Carol Costello.

When we're back, I will speak with a former Marine who combated this himself and started a foundation to try to help other people because there is an alarming rate of veteran suicides. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:] HARLOW: Before the break, we heard about a new approach to the treating veterans with PTSD. It's an approach totally without medication.

Adam Banotai is with me now, former staff sergeant and squad leader with the U.S. Marines. He suffered from PTSD. He is the founder of the One Fight Foundation. It is a nonprofit that helps so many veterans combat this disease. He joins me now.

Thank you for being here.

ADAM BANOTAI, FORMER SERGEANT, SQUAD LEADER, U.S. MARINES & FOUNDER, ONE FIGHT FOUNDATION: Absolutely, Poppy. Thanks for having me.

HARLOW: We will talk more about the good work your foundation is doing in a moment. But I wonder if you agree with the doctor in Carol's piece, if PTSD can be wholly treated without medication.

BANOTAI: Absolutely not. I think any undergrad health science major could find dozens of studies that support the use of psychoactive medication in therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Now, that said, it shouldn't be a front line treatment. The best therapy for PTSD is psycho therapy, counseling, talking to someone. But when we are talking about the V.A., we are already seeing a huge shortage of providers, especially mental health providers. So when you have the choice of doing a 15 minute med-rec appointment when you can prescribe and follow up in 30 to 60 days or a 30 to 60 minute appointment you are repeating weekly for months and years at a time, it's a logistical issue.

HARLOW: There's just no comparison.

BANOTAI: That's not a good excuse but --

HARLOW: That's not the way veterans should be treated to ever have to go through a 15 minute appointment. You heard the guy in the piece say he was handed a bag of pills, do you worry about over-medication, over-prescription? BANOTAI: I do, and I think it's part of a lack of continuity of care.

One doctor is not aware of what another doctor within the V.A. system is prescribing so you are getting cocktails that are becoming lethal. We have seen overdoses resulting in deaths within the Department of Veterans Affairs, both in psychiatric medications and opiates also.

HARLOW: 22 veterans in this country per day take their own lives.

BANOTAI: Right.

HARLOW: Does America fully understand? Does the American civilians -- do they fully understand PTSD?

BANOTAI: I don't think so. I think there's a huge stigma and that's with all mental health illness in the civilian sector and with veterans. It's like the gentleman in this piece said, he said, I'm not crazy. Mental illness, mental health is not about crazy or not crazy. It's about bad things happen to good people and how that affects your life.

And one of the things, the tenets I believe in came from retired Marine General Jim Mattis (ph), who said it's not about post-traumatic stress. It's about post-traumatic growth. You have done something so extraordinary that impacted your life in such a way that so few people have done that, of course, it's going to change you. But change isn't bad. Change is just different and perhaps for the better.

HARLOW: The hard thing, I can imagine, as someone who has never served this country in that way, is coming back and being surrounded by people who have no idea what you went through. They cannot live it with you. And they just -- you can't understand. So that's part of the fight that you and your team are doing with the One Fight Foundation.

BANOTAI: Right. And what happened was people say, I can't even imagine what it was like and it's like, no, you really can't.

HARLOW: You can't.

BANOTAI: Exactly. So what we did was we founded One Fight Foundation. I founded it with my team to combat veteran suicide by implementing local peer-to-peer support networks for veterans to seek camaraderie and mentorship when in crisis. So a lot of veterans don't trust doctors. They don't trust the V.A. But they trust each other. All we want to do is facilitate that communication for veterans to reach out in time of crisis to those that know them best and understand their troubles the most. That's other veterans.

HARLOW: Tell people where they can go for more help. We will put it on the screen as well.

BANOTAI: You can find us online, www.onefightfoundation.org. We are on Facebook, onefightfoundaton, or follow us on Twitter with numeral 1team1fight.

HARLOW: Adam Banotai, thank you for your service and thank you for your continued service to this country.

BANOTAI: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

HARLOW: We appreciate it very much.

BANOTAI: Thank you.

HARLOW: We are going to take a quick break. We'll be right back on the other side with what I hope you find to be an inspiring story about a company that is trying to make things a little bit better on the south side of Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LORI WEISE, CNN HERO: I really believe most people want what's best for their pet. Now, do they have the resources? No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to lose him. I got so attached.

(LAUGHER)

WEISE: So many times, people just feel they have to surrender their animal. When in reality, if they understood all the resources, they are happy to keep their animal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will make some phone calls to see if there's anybody that would be willing to foster.

WEISE: I started an organization which offers resources to low-income families so they can keep their pets.

The areas we work tend to have the higher crime rates, densely populated, and there's lots of animals. There's a lot of people that are either not employed, underemployed, but that does not mean that people don't love their animals.

Are you interested in a free neuter for him?

We offer free spay and neuter, vaccines --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can handle this.

WEISE: -- dog food, medical services.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god! Here's mommy! Come here.

[17:45:05] WEISE: Our job is to find out who is this person, how can we best help them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's crazy because I'm a foster child and then you're fostering my dog.

WEISE: We are offering them as much as we can to be successful with their pet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The boy who loves to play. WEISE: It gives me a lot of joy to see the dogs with their family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's so nervous all the time.

WEISE: Everybody in life needs to find their purpose. And for me, it was helping people with their animals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Chicago, it is a great American city, with a storied industrial past. It's the home of George Pullman and one of the first company towns is Pullman, right on the south side of Chicago. Times have changed. As in an editorial, "Great stretches of the city are crime for blue collar work that migrated to the suburbs or Sun Belt or emerging economies beyond the U.S. border."

In this week's "American Opportunity," we take you to the south side of Chicago for a ray of hope.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[17:50:00] HARLOW (voice-over): What do you think of when you think of the south side of Chicago. It's likely not this.

BARBARA HARDMAN, SOUTH SIDE CHICAGO RESIDENT: I tell everybody about my job. I'm just happy to have it.

HARLOW: This is the first windmill and rainbow facade, this is the first factory built on Chicago's south side in 30 years.

Barbara Hardman was hired in December just as she opened its doors. It's her first full-time job in nearly 15 years.

(on camera): Now you have 40 hours a week?

HARDMAN: Yes, vacation, health insurance, dental, eye.

HARLOW: A lot of people say, we don't build anything in America any more.

HARDMAN: But we do now. Yes. We make it, we bottle it, we ship it right here in America.

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: In Chicago.

HARDMAN: (INAUDIBLE)

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW (voice-over): Built on a brown field, the site of a former steel mill, the 150,000 square-foot factory sits on 22 acres. It pumps out Method, the colorful soap you see on store shelves across America. They're on pace to produce 20 to 30 million bottles this year.

(on camera): A new plant has not been built on the south side of Chicago in 30 years. Why?

ADAM LOWRY, CO-FOUNDER, METHOD: It's a lot easier and a lot cheaper to go build manufacturing facilities in the sticks.

HARLOW: It just is?

LOWRY: It just is. I think ultimately if you look at the economic returns a broader context and you look at the social and economic returns I believe it makes sense to build in the cities we already have.

HARLOW (voice-over): Adam Lowry co-founded Method. He hoped to build this factory in his native Detroit. When that didn't pan out, he set his sights on one of the toughest parts of the Windy City.

(on camera): Can quantify how many cents added on to a bottle of Method to do it here rather than in the sticks?

LOWRY: No, I can't, and I don't care. We have a facility here that people like working in, they really like the people they work with, as a result of that, they're highly productive.

HARLOW: This is the Pullman neighborhood on Chicago's far south side. Unemployment tops 20 percent. It is a rich industrial history, but as American manufacturing has declined, so have the jobs here.

For anyone who has written off this area, Barbara Hardman has a message for you.

HARLOW: It's better.

HARDMAN: Yes, much better.

HARLOW: Why is it better?

HARDMAN: They have jobs.

HARLOW: They're working. They're finding jobs.

HARDMAN: These young people wouldn't be in the street if they had jobs.

HARLOW: Why here? South side of Chicago?

LOWRY: When you're about to build something that's going to be around for decades, I think it's really important to think about what are the problems that the world faces and how can we contribute to solutions to those problems.

HARLOW: This is a place that a lot of folks wrote off a long time ago, isn't it?

LOWRY: Yeah, I think this neighborhood can be an example for what a more inclusive and sustainable economy looks like in America. I believe to my core that a sustainable business is a more profitable business.

HARLOW (voice-over): Lowry's also betting on the Millennial generation and a willingness to pay more for sustainable products.

LOWRY: Younger people have integrated into their values that things should be done the right way, and you should not plunder the earth and exploit people that are less fortunate than you for your own personal gain. Of course not. That's just a dumb idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never had a job where I enjoyed waking up in the morning to come to work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, I love making stuff. That's the whole thing.

HARLOW: Method won't release its wages but calls them competitive with full benefits.

LOWRY: Hey, Ashley.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey.

LOWRY: Ashley, sorry, I have the paparazzi with me. How are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good.

HARLOW: Here's something that stood out to us. They give potential workers a shot, even if they don't have the skills off the bat.

(on camera): A lot of companies won't do that.

LOWRY: Yeah, I don't know why.

HARLOW: They say you don't have the skills.

LOWRY: Yeah, I don't know. I'm not that kind of company. I don't know how to answer that question.

HARDMAN: I know how to palate. I can drop bottles, run machines. I knew none of that. When I was in the workforce, all I was doing was shuffling papers, calling people, you going to pay your bill? Now, I'm hands on.

HARLOW (voice-over): It's important to note the city of Chicago created a big financial incentive for Method to build here.

(on camera): Method got over $8 billion in tax incentives to build here. Is it worth it? Is that the best way to use taxpayer money? City funds?

LOWRY: I think if we're going to come here and create an example for what's sustainable and more inclusive manufacturing looks like in an American city, we're going to create a success model out of that. I think it's money well spent.

HARLOW (voice-over): Roosevelt "Rosie" Marks was promoted to team lead early in the job.

[17:55:09] ROOSEVELT "ROSIE" MARKS, SOUTH SIDE CHICAGO RESIDENT: I get up and come to work at 4:30 some mornings to get things done.

HARLOW (on camera): Is this a job or has it become a career?

MARKS: I see it as a career. I don't see myself going anywhere.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This place, as history teaches us, we have to keep standing firm and together. That's the story of who we are. That's the story of our past.

HARLOW: This factory and these jobs won't fix this neighborhood. But it is a literal rainbow of hope for some of the folks here.

HARDMAN: I'm just glad they came to the neighborhood, didn't take it some place else. There is hope. I got some. Who would have thought that I could go start all over again?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: We're so glad she got to.

You can see much more of our "American Opportunity" reporting, at CNNmoney.com.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:59:45] HARLOW: Coming up tomorrow morning on CNN's "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper, new CNN poll numbers on the GOP presidential race. Will Donald Trump stay at the top of the poll after those comments about Senator John McCain? Or will it cost him the lead? That is tomorrow morning, 9:00 a.m., right here. Don't miss it.

Also tonight, ahead on CNN, "The Seventies" three episodes starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern.

I'm Poppy Harlow. Thank you so much for being with me.

"SMERCONISH" starts now.