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Cosby Scandal; Search for Missing Teens; Race for the White House; Theater Shooting Coverage; Obama Travels From Kenya To Ethiopia Today; Fiat Chrysler Could Be Slapped With Fine Of Over $100 Million For Mishandling Defective Vehicles; Huckabee Joins Chorus Of Those Who Disapprove Of Iran Nuclear Deal; Suicide Bombing In Mogadishu Kills 15; Boy Scouts Of America Expected To Take Major Step to End Blanket Ban On Gay Leaders. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 26, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00] MO IVORY, SPELMAN COLLEGE ALUM: And then there was the women who were saying, "You know what? This is a women's college. We cannot stand for this." So in 2014, there was a suspension of the professorship, the chair -- the humanities chair -- and now, they've made the decision to cut all ties. And I stand behind...

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And to return the fund.

IVORY: Yes. And I stand behind whatever decision Spelman College made in their best interest but I know -- being a Spelman grad -- our hymn says, "Spelman thy name we praise, standards and honor raise", and that is something that means something to us. So I think we have to look at what our values are and I think we've made a decision in line with that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mo Ivory, thanks so much and thanks for sharing with us. I know Spelman is very close to your heart.

IVORY: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. Appreciate it.

We'll have much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. It all starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voiceover): Happening now in the NEWSROOM, new today, national polls showing Donald Trump firmly on top of the Republican presidential field.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRSEIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not that surprised because I see the kind of a crowd we get. We're getting the biggest crowds and we're getting by far the biggest ovations. And they want to -- these are great people and they want to see this country turned around.

WHITFIELD (voiceover): We break down the numbers. Rick Perry says, "Let us take our guns to the movies."

RICK PERRY(R), PRSEIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These concepts of gun-free zones are a bad idea.

WHITFIELD (voiceover): And lost at sea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're on the boat as much as they possibly can.

WHITFIELD (voiceover): Two 14-year-old boys go missing off the coast of Florida in a 19-foot fishing boat.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD (on camera): Hello, again. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

This breaking news -- an update on the ongoing intensified search for those 14-year-old boys who have been missing now for a couple of days after going off on a fishing expedition. We have just learned the U.S. Coast Guard said they have indeed found the boat of the two teenagers who were fishing off the Florida coast. We know that they were in a 19-foot boat and now, we have learned that that boat has been found capsized about 67 miles offshore. The boys however -- the 14-year-old boys, two of them -- have not been found.

We are -- we have understood that according to family members, the 14- year-old boys were headed to the Bahamas -- some 60 nautical miles away. They had left at about one o'clock in the middle of the day and it was a grandmother who was very concerned some four hours later, called 911 and expressed a concern about the whereabouts of these boys. The families of the two teenage boys are offering a $100,000 reward for any tips or information leading to the discovery of the boys.

Again, the two 14-year-old boys have not been spotted. They've been missing for two days now but the U.S. Coast Guard confirming that the 19-foot vessel -- the boat that these boys were in alone -- two of these boys out on a fishing expedition -- that boat has been found capsized.

More information as we get it.

All right. Let's also talk about politics.

Straight ahead, whatever Donald Trump is doing, apparently it's working. A brand new CNN ORC poll shows Trump still on top the GOP field of presidential hopefuls. But it's close and the gap between Trump and Jeb Bush is within the poll's margin of error. Scott Walker is the only other candidate polling in double-digits, according to this poll. And speaking by phone today with CNN, Trump says he's not just a candidate, he is a movement and he's only getting bigger, he says.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TRUMP: They view me as an outsider, I guess, and now, they're starting to view me not as an outsider because I'm leading in all the polls, not just yours. And I think they've been really nice over the last few days. They're starting to see what's happening. I mean, there's a movement going on. This is more than me. This is a movement going on. People are tired of these incompetent politicians in Washington that can't get anything done. They can't make deals. They can't do anything. I mean, they go and they -- all they care about is getting elected. They don't care about anything else.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I want to bring in CNN political director David Chalian.

All right. Good to see you. So, Donald Trump standing his ground. He is standing behind his style of doing things and it's working for him. So help people understand what these poll numbers really mean.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It is working for him, Fred, you're right. Listen, he has clearly tapped a vein and I think what our poll shows is that he's not going anywhere anytime soon. This is the first national telephone survey done entirely after he made those controversial comments last Saturday in Iowa about John McCain and whether or not he was a war hero. And there are many people in the Republican establishment who are saying that crossed the line and this might be a turning point -- that didn't have an impact according to our poll.

[16:05:01]

He -- we now have him in first place. He is solidifying that position as the leader in the field because -- I think -- of two things. One, he is clearly getting the wing of the Republican Party that is concerned and animated and activated by the issue of illegal immigration 'cause that has been a major issue in this campaign. And secondly, there is such anger at Washington and at politics as usual not just in the Republican Party but the country overall, but specifically in the Republican Party and I think he's getting a lot of support from those folks who are excited to hear somebody sound different than your normal politician, brash, tell-it-like-it-is, and that is an attractive quality to voters.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. So I -- so I wonder, these poll numbers, David, are they indicating also that there will be significant backlash if other fellow Republicans continue to chime in and say that he needs to be silenced or he needs to speak less or not get as much attention or not even be embraced by the Party?

CHALIAN: Well, I don't know that we'll see a backlash. I mean, for instance, Jeb Bush had been sort of vocal early on in sort of opposing his comments that he made in his launch speech about Mexicans coming across the border and Jeb Bush said that those were sort of out-of- bounds and we don't see him sort of suffering at the polls for that. He's -- as you said -- within the margin of error there. What I do think though is that you're going to see all of the other Republican candidates, Fred, sort of decide and strategize how to handle Trump both on the debate stage next week when they all meet in Cleveland and beyond on the campaign trail because some folks are fearful of sort of offending his supporters if they take him on too directly and yet, there are other folks in the Party that are concerned that Trump is damaging the Republican Party brand in some way and so they want to make sure they sort of box him in and define the boundaries of what's acceptable and what's not. I think everybody's sort of taking a different position towards him depending on their own calculation for the path of the nomination.

WHITFIELD: All right. David Chalian, thank you so much. We'll talk more about this.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a close number three in our CNN poll. He's a -- it's the latest of Donald Trump's competitors to get the Trump treatment -- so to speak. Here's more from Trump's phone interview on CNN's State of the Union.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TRUMP: --frankly, in states, he's having tremendous difficulty. I don't know with Wisconsin. It's a great place. But (inaudible) debt up to the gills, the school system is a disaster 'cause they don't have any money. I mean, Walker's state, Wisconsin, is a -- is a catastrophe from an economic and financial standpoint. I think he's number 36 or 38 overall in terms of the country for economic growth and the jobs -- his jobs projection were way, way off. I mean, beyond. They have budget deficits -- he was going to have a lot of -- a lot of big surplus. They've got a $2.2 billion deficit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear you. Mr. Trump, I just want to...

TRUMP: So I think Walker's in big trouble.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So let's bring in now, he's a columnist and bestselling author Ellis Henican and political strategist and lawyer and comedian Brian Morgenstern.

OK, gentlemen. So you -- we heard more of him. He continues to criticize the competitors and you have to wonder how do they handle him in Cleveland during that debate? Brian?

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Well, I think a lot of the other candidates who maybe aren't quite as -- I don't know, let's call him "colorful", I suppose -- are going to hope -- I think -- that voters will view the other candidates as presidential because holy heck, this guy presents a contrast, right? So I think the other ones are going to play up the fact that these voters are electing a president, not just a personality. It's got to be somebody they trust and we can't nail Trump down on any issues. Really, it's just kind of a rotating roast as it was put -- I think it was the Des Moines Register editorial. So I guess it's kind of a compliment now if you wind up in the crosshairs. So -- but I think the other candidates (inaudible).

WHITFIELD: And maybe you can get some attention, is that what you mean?

MORGENSTERN: I'm sorry?

WHITFIELD: That maybe you'll get some attention and you can potentially upstage Donald Trump?

MORGENSTERN: Yes, I guess. I mean, if anyone else's name is in the headlines, that's kind of a win these days. So... no, go ahead.

WHITFIELD: Well, Ellis, it is remarkable because there's also been criticism of Donald Trump that he's not giving anything specific about his proposed policies yet he continues to do the name-calling or criticizing past policies. The Republican Party is asking him to end it with the name-calling. That's not happening because clearly, Donald Trump doesn't answer to anybody.

ELLIS HENICAN, NEWSDAY COLUMNIST, AUTHOR: That's right. None of it seems to matter at all. That's what so fascinating about this. Listen, the conventional political strategy on this would be just outwait the guy. Right? "Stick to your guns. Be presidential. Be calm and he will flame out." The problem is that with every new poll, it looks like he's not flaming out.

[16:10:03]

I think what it does is puts all these other candidates under the pressure to be in Donald's face at the debate. Somebody's going to stare him down and box him a bit. Who's that going to be? We don't know.

WHITFIELD: You really think so?

MORGENSTERN: Well, Rick Perry's been trying.

HENICAN: They're all trying.

MORGENSTERN: Yes. It doesn't work that well though, apparently.

HENICAN: (inaudible) I know.

WHITFIELD: Well, that is interesting because you've used the word "fear", that some of the candidates are afraid of even taking him on. They're going to have to during that debate because it certainly will be self-destructive if they don't, right, Ellis?

HENICAN: Yes. And you just don't get heard is the problem, right? When there's a maniac shouting in your subway car in New York, those who are sitting silently, they just don't get heard and that's what's happening in this field.

WHITFIELD: Brian, is it really possible that Donald Trump would run as an Independent? Is that conceivable?

MORGENSTERN: Well, I think it's conceivable because of the way he seems to be setting it up. Because like I say, he tells Republicans, "You have to be nice to me. You have to treat me with respect, you jerks and losers." So, I mean, he's kind of goading the Republican Party into it.

WHITFIELD: But then if he does, wouldn't that be the antithesis of him -- he would be backing down. He would be caving if he left the Republican Party.

HENICAN: No. That's causing trouble. That's the nuclear bomb for Donald just to do that. I've got to say, anything is possible here, right? Every time we say something is impossible, suddenly it is.

MORGENSTERN: If there is only one thing for sure in this race, it's that we cannot predict what is going to happen next because he's in it. But the third-party bit is a real possibility. The guy's changed his voter registration six times since 1999. So, I mean, he seems to change it more frequently than -- I don't know -- his hair style or his underwear or whatever. I don't know (inaudible).

WHITFIELD: Well, the hairstyle will stay the same for a very long time.

All right. Brian Morgenstern. I don't know anything about the other stuff. Ellis Henican. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Coming up next, breaking news on the missing Florida boys. You're looking at pictures of the two young people who were killed in that Louisiana shooting but we want to update you on the breaking news -- the ongoing search for two teenage boys that went out fishing. They haven't been seen for two days. But the Coast Guard confirming they have found their capsized boat. That's straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:01]

WHITFIELD: All right. More now on this breaking news out of Florida. The U.S. Coast Guard has now confirmed that they have found the capsized boat that these two teenagers were on when they went fishing two days ago. The boat was found about 67 miles off the coast of Jupiter, Florida. The boys themselves have not been found. It is believed that the 14-year-olds may have been headed to the Bahamas, some 60 nautical miles away when they disappeared.

Joining me right now is public affairs specialist for the U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer Mark Barney.

So, Mark, thanks again for joining us. We talked about it an hour ago. Now, tell me about how you've been able to confirm that this capsized 19-foot boat that was located is indeed that of the 14-year- olds.

PETTY OFFICER MARK BARNEY, U.S. COAST GUARD, PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST (ON THE PHONE): Yes, ma'am. Well, shortly ago, we received word that a vessel -- a capsized vessel -- was located at about 67 miles nautical miles east of Ponce inlet. As soon as we got that report, we had Coast Guard responders get on scene. A rescuer had to get inside the boat to confirm registration numbers. Once the registration numbers were confirmed and they reported them back to us, that's when we knew that that was the vessel that the boys were last seen on.

WHITFIELD: And now, tell me about the ongoing search for these 14- year-old boys.

BARNEY: Absolutely. Well, the way we see it, as -- it's one thing for the boys to be missing inside the vessel and it's another thing for them to be missing inside open water. That definitely turns up the heat substantially considering the fact that these boys are now -- before, they were out there for -- going on 48, 49 hours at sea in a boat. Now, they're in even worse situation if they are to be in the water right now.

WHITFIELD: And tell me about the conditions in the search area right now.

BARNEY: Well, I don't know specifics right now. I'm still waiting to hear word back confirming everything. Right now, what I do know is that they found the vessel. I'm still waiting on word on the condition of the vessel, if there was any damage to it, any nearby debris. But right now, this is -- conditions -- although they're not the most preferable for what we are looking for when we're doing a search-and-rescue, it's definitely nothing that right now that would deter us or hamper our abilities to still conduct a search.

WHITFIELD: All right. Petty Officer Mark Barney of the U.S. Coast Guard. Thank you so much. Of course, we're going to continue to hope and pray for the absolute best outcome for these 14-year-old boys. Appreciate it.

All right. Also, coming up, the young women gunned down in a Louisiana movie theater will be laid to rest tomorrow. This as police tell us more about the mental state of the man who took their life. That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:01]

WHITFIELD: The funeral for Mayci Breaux - one of the young women gunned down in the Louisiana movie theater shooting -- will be held tomorrow morning. The 21-year-old was a student at LSU Eunice.

Meanwhile, the investigation is revealing a lot more about the mental state in online rants of the gunman, John Houser.

Here's CNN's Ryan Nobles joining us from Lafayette.

Ryan?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, yes, we're learning quite a bit more about this investigation. In particular, police are zeroing in on what led John Houser here to this movie theater in Lafayette and they're starting to believe that this attack was methodically planned. I spoke with a state police Colonel Michael Edmonson and listen to what he told me about what they discovered in this investigation.

[16:25:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MICHAEL EDMONSON, LOUISIANA STATE POLICE: We've been continuing to go through his rants and raves that he had on his internet. He was on several different blog sites. He had several areas where there were different groups that had a synopsis of some of the stuff he would say, some comments. We've seen a lot of (inaudible) people who were trying to make rhyme or reason what he -- what he did right here so we're going to continue to go through that. His (inaudible) was making comments. But here's one thing that's perfectly clear -- this man was certainly of sound mind because you know what? He wrote it down. He said he's coming to this movie theater at 7:15 on Thursday night. What we do believe is that he was in other theaters, whether it was Lake Charles, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge, maybe disguised himself and some of the things we've heard about. And then for whatever reason, he's in this theater on that night, 7:27, and he stands up and he kills two innocent people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And of course, we've been looking into his past as have law enforcement. They've looked at his troubled mental health history, his connection with law enforcement at many different points in his life. He even had a protective order placed against him by both his daughter and his estranged wife. And according to Colonel Edmonson, his family was very concerned about his potential for violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDMONSON: You hear this now, family members and (inaudible) made the comment, "Well, I didn't think he would do this at a movie theater but maybe a government building." Well, you think maybe you ought to let somebody know. You think somebody ought to speak out. I think sometimes, we protect our families and friends. I understand that. But you know, when they make those type of comments, maybe somebody ought to talk to them. We (inaudible), when we find out information they make about people, we go visit them. We sit down and say, "You know, OK, we heard you made this comment. Well, why'd you make it?" It makes them think that somebody else is paying attention and maybe we ought to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And this theater behind me is still a crime scene. Police are hoping that they can hand it back over to its owners by tomorrow. But that is still tentative. They'd really like to get things back to normal at Lafayette as soon as possible but the next stage of that process is the grieving process and both of those two victims -- Mayci Breaux and Jillian Johnson will be honored with their funerals tomorrow.

Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Ryan Nobles, thank you so much, in Lafayette.

All right. Next, a fatal road rage incident is captured on a chilling 911 call. Nick Valencia is covering the story.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fred. Absolutely frightening 911 calls of a fatal road rage incident caught on tape. I'm Nick Valencia here in Atlanta. We'll play you some of that audio right after the break. You're watching the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:31:25]

WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories now, President Barack Obama making his way from Kenya to Ethiopia today for two-day visit. He is the first U.S. leader to visit Africa's second most populous nation. The President will meet with regional leaders tomorrow to discuss the civil war in South Sudan. They'll also talk counterterrorism.

And Fiat Chrysler could soon be hit with a fine of more than $100 million for mishandling defective vehicles. CNN has learned from a government source that the record penalty comes from almost two dozen recalls involving 11 million, cars, trucks, and SUV's. Chrysler may get some of the money back if it meets government requirements.

And a Florida man is in jail today charged in a road rage incident that turned deadly. Both sides of the altercation were captured in a horrifying 911 call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just saw a full-size truck with a trailer. You don't just drive like idiots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a truck, some maniac (Inaudible) trying to follow, trying to run me off the road.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Nick Valencia is joining me now with more on this story. This is very troubling.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very frightening, a fatal road rage incident, very troubling to report. This all happened on Thursday afternoon when Robert Doyle and Candelaria Gonzalez had a confrontation on the road. They both called 911 on each other, to report each other's erratic driving, but Gonzalez decided to keep pursuing Doyle to his home. Doyle -- we're going to play audio for you, calls 911 to say that he has a gun.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My gun's already out. It's cocked and locked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got a gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Moments later, that's when things turn violent with Doyle firing on Gonzalez five times, you can hear the victim's wife who also called 911 on this tape that we're about to play you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHY GONZALEZ, VICTIM'S WIFE: They're coming as fast as I can. Just do whatever he asked you to do, ok?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: While he was on the phone, Gonzalez, the man that was shot, called 911 that he was going to pursue Doyle to his residence. They advised them not to do that, to just keep going, he followed. I asked the Citrus County Sheriff's Office if that's going to complicate their investigation because Gonzalez was told not to follow that man who eventually shot him, killed him. They told me that Doyle had the discretion outside of his residence to decide not to engage, to just go inside of his home. But instead, he chose to engage Gonzalez shooting and killing him. He also held the family hostage at bay, three of them, two children under the age of ten years old, until police got there.

WHITFIELD: So, so far, a second degree murder charge?

VALENCIA: That's right, a second degree murder charge.

WHITFIELD: Ok, what could soon follow?

VALENCIA: We posed that question to our CNN legal analyst, Danny Cevallos, and this is his take on it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There's potential kidnapping. Any time you move someone from A to B, even a few feet, they could have charged a higher degree of murder. Whether or not those will ultimately be dismissed or this defendant would be acquitted is another thing. But I think that frankly, the charges fall right into the zone of what could be charged in this particular case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Now, what's interesting here Fredricka, is that this phone call, two 911 calls, one from the victim, one from the shooter, it lasted two minutes and thirty four seconds, this whole thing going down in less than 5 miles. Police say this is going to help them with their investigation. Doyle meanwhile has posted bond, $60,000. He's out of prison. We've called him and his family. They have not called us back. WHITFIELD: Ok. Thank you so much. Keep us posted on that. Nick

Valencia, appreciate that.

Coming up, Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee invokes the holocaust to slam the Iran deal. Our political panel weighs in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:38:40]