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Sanders Looks to Gain Edge in South Carolina; Police Question Person of Interest in Attacks; Cop Who Tackled James Blake had Prior Complaints; Kentucky Clerk Files Appeal to Delay Same Sex Marriages; Sanders Looks To Gain Edge In South Carolina; Officials Blame Sandstorm For Crane Collapse; Egypt's Prime Minister Resigns; Williams' Grand Slam Hopes Dashed. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired September 12, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:05] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: If you know someone who should be a CNN hero, let us know, CNNHeroes.com

And make some great memories out there today. We're so grateful for your company as always.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much for watching. There's much more ahead in the next hour of CNN's NEWSROOM. We turn it over to our colleague, Fredricka Whitfield. Hey -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: I love you -- Christi, Martin. You all have a great day and a great morning.

PAUL: You too.

WHITFIELD: Very busy.

PAUL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: We've got a busy afternoon ahead -- straight ahead. Thanks so much.

It is 11:00 Eastern hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. NEWSROOM starts right now.

Extremely busy weekend for presidential candidates as well especially for Republican contenders with just four days to go before the next GOP debate right here on CNN. Take a look right now at live pictures from Iowa where Republican Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and frontrunner Donald Trump are campaigning today. They're going to tailgate parties outside Iowa versus Iowa state football game. In other politically key states, Ben Carson is hitting the trail in South Carolina, and John Kasich and Carly Fiorina are stumping in New Hampshire today.

The candidate pool did shrink by one, just yesterday when former Texas governor Rick Perry said he was suspending his campaign.

And then, take a look right now, live pictures out of Columbia, South Carolina, and this is where Democrat Bernie Sanders will be campaigning. He is conducting a number of town halls today in South Carolina. Right now, Benedict College, a historically black university, is where he will be for this town hall. That's scheduled to get under way at any moment now.

All right. That's where we also find senior political reporter Nia Malika Henderson. So Nia -- Set the stage for us. Bernie Sanders will be there at the historically black college and university there at Benedict. Why this college? And what will his message be?

NIA MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, this college is really a must stop campaign stop for anyone who wants to reach out to the African-American community. Think back just in March, Barack Obama came through here and he had a really packed rally talking about education reform. He campaigned here. Very frequent visitor to Benedict College as well as Hillary Clinton in that neck and neck race for voters in South Carolina.

What we do know is that Bernie Sanders is struggling to get traction with African-American voters. Hillary Clinton has really devised a southern strategy, a firewall that really is built on support from African-Americans. If you look more recently at polls of voters here in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton is getting about 70 percent support of African-American voters. If you think about Biden, he's getting about 20 percent. Bernie Sanders, not very well known here. He's at 3 percent.

Today, he's going to be on stage talking about (INAUDIBLE) talking about justice reform. He's going to be introduced by Dr. Cornell West. Again, if you go back to 2008, Dr. West is a big surrogate for Barack Obama. He has since become one of his fiercest critics but here he'll be backing Bernie Sanders at this rally and introducing him.

What we see so far is a crowd that's pretty much mixed. It might be half-white or half African-American. A bit of a surprise here but as you said this is a historically black university and it is Bernie Sanders' attempt to reach out to that crucial constituency that really will likely decide who wins this primary come February.

WHITFIELD: So, Nia, we also know that Bernie Sanders' message has been, you know, government belongs to the people, not necessarily billionaires and, that he says he wants to end outsourcing. But I wonder his message today, particularly at this HBCU, is he targeting his message primarily to the African-American audience when he takes the stage there?

HENDERSON: You know, we see him do some of that because if you remember, he did face some criticism from the Black Lives Matter crowd, a movement that is very much interested in criminal justice reform. He has since hired a press secretary who is African-American and she typically introduces him and talks about issues like criminal justice reform, like raising minimum wage, like affordable college.

These are issues, I talked to people in the crowd, those are the kind of issues that they want to hear today. I imagine he will tailor his message to the crowd but he's also going to take questions. Normally when I've been at Bernie Sanders' town halls it's all Bernie. He talks maybe for about an hour, almost in like a lecturing style.

Today he said he's going to take questions. That will be a different kind of feel for this event. Also different is there's not much Bernie Sanders signage on the stage. There's a giant American flag, there's a giant South Carolina state flag and there's Benedict College signage as well. They have purposely done this.

[11:05:07] They know that as of now people don't really know Bernie Sanders. They see this as an introduction of Bernie Sanders to African-Americans. They hope that his message resonates. And they'll just have to see. It could be the beginning of a long fight. They know it will be tooth and nail with Hillary Clinton who has done much better outreach to African-Americans.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Nia Malika Henderson, thank you so much there at Benedict College there where at any moment Bernie Sanders will come out and he'll hit that stand, that podium right there. And when he does talk, we'll take as much as we can live. Thanks so much -- Nia.

All right. Republican front-runner Donald Trump is campaigning in Iowa today. He's expected to tailgate at the Iowa state football game in the next few hours. A new Quinnipiac poll shows that Trump leads in that state with 27 percent. Ben Carson climbing to 21 percent, Ted Cruise is third with 9 percent followed by Jeb Bush at 6 percent. And Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who led in Iowa back in July, has now fallen to tenth place.

CNN political reporter Sara Murray is following Trump today. So with four days to go before the next debate, you know, is the main focus of criticism, you know, from the other GOP candidates?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, the interesting thing about today is, you know, we're going to have Donald Trump basking in the glory of leading in the polls here in Iowa, and then a lot of other guys who want to knock him off of that pedestal. One who has been particularly vocal about that is Senator Rand Paul who is campaigning in Iowa yesterday and said it's time to go to combat with Donald Trump, who he called a fake conservative.

So I imagine we're going to hear more from that today when all these guys are at the tailgate. And we'll (INAUDIBLE) on the debate stage. I think the other guy who is being brought down by this Donald Trump wave, like you said, is Scott Walker. This is a campaign that has made it clear their path to victory was right through Iowa and we've just seen his numbers collapse in the polls here.

And of course, Donald Trump is not shy about bragging that he's in the lead, and I'm sure he will be mentioning the latest poll numbers when he arrives here for his event in Boone and then moves on to that tailgate, where we're going to see so many of these Republicans this afternoon.

WHITFIELD: And then Ben Carson putting up another strong showing in these latest polling numbers. You know, is it his message, is it his personality? Is it that he said he doesn't want to engage, you know, in a tit for tat kind of fight with Donald Trump? Is that what's driving his popularity?

MURRAY: When I talked to voters in Iowa and they talk about Ben Carson, they sort of see Trump and Carson as both Washington outsiders who speak their mind. But Ben Carson really aligns more with the values, particularly in a place like Iowa, which has a strong evangelical population. They see Ben Carson, they saw him at a prayer breakfast, they see that he was a doctor.

And when you dig into these polls, his numbers about trustworthiness, whether he shares the same values as you, they're just through the roof. And I think that's a lot of what we're seeing behind Ben Carson's rise right now. He's sort of the more morally palatable alternative to Donald Trump.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And of course, Donald Trump trying to ride that wave of momentum particularly after getting off the late night with Jimmy Fallon last night. We've got a little bit of that coming up straight ahead and we'll dive into that.

Sara Murray, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

And don't forget. Of course, it's days away now, CNN will air the next Republican presidential debate -- that's Wednesday starting at 6:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

And there are new details now, today for the hunt for the Arizona freeway sniper. Police have detained someone they're calling a person of interest. Oscar de la Torre Munoz was taken into custody less than 24 hours ago and charged with possession of marijuana. But he has not been charged in connection with the highway shootings.

Over the last two weeks, 11 vehicles have been struck by bullets or projectiles of some sort on or around the Interstate-10 area which runs through heart of Phoenix.

Joining me right now on the phone is Bart Graves, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety. So thanks so much for being with us. Help us understand, what does this mean, this person of interest; that this person was detained but the charge involves marijuana possession. Where is this investigation going?

BART GRAVES, ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY (via telephone): Well, he is someone that we wanted to talk to regarding this case and others. He is not our prime suspect. He is just someone that frankly the media's been focused on. But we did spend a lot of time with him yesterday. We did not charge him specifically with these crimes, the I-10 shootings. But he did have some other problems in the criminal justice system. So I think it's an outstanding warrant that we booked him on.

WHITFIELD: Sorry to interrupt but what makes him particularly interesting as it relates to the shootings?

[11:09:55] GRAVES: Well, that we -- we have been getting a lot of tips, and a lot of leads. It's fair to say that some of those resulted in us locating him and talking to him. So it is our hope and police work that one lead points to another so that's why we talked to him.

WHITFIELD: And then there were at least a couple of reported shootings or some sort of projectiles hitting vehicles this week that didn't necessarily fit the pattern of the earlier strikes. What are the parallels that you see, and what are the concerns that you have as to whether it is the same person or persons responsible or if there may be some copycat out there?

GRAVES: Well, I think Director Milstead was quoted in the local paper here as saying that we have three different scenarios we're looking at. We're looking at a couple of weekends ago bullets, actual bullets being used fired at some vehicles. And then pellets being used since then and that's, I think, what you're referring to this week. A road rage incident that occurred where shots were fired over the Labor Day weekend. Three different scenarios that we're working and investigating right now.

And we, frankly, don't know if this is the result of one person or not.

WHITFIELD: So how do you allay the fears of motorists, those who are trying to avoid I-10 altogether or those who simply can't? It is part of their regular commute.

GRAVES: The director's been very clear about this is a personal decision of whether people want to use Interstate 10 or not. The Phoenix Metroplex is a sprawling, constantly crawling urban area and people have to because of the growth of suburbs in the West Valley, people have to use Interstate 10 to get to south 10 if they're working or school or wherever.

So we're finding that a lot of people are still using Interstate 10. We're not seeing a huge decrease in traffic. Our concern, and they calling us with tips about unusual behavior they see on the road, and by the road, and we're checking all of those out no matter how inconsequential these people think it may be, they're calling us anyway. And that's what we've encouraged them to do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bart Graves, thank you so much. Keep us posted. I know you have had a lot of work to do as this investigation is ongoing -- thank you.

All right. Still ahead, a former tennis star, James Blake, body slammed by an officer in a sting operation gone wrong. CNN's Boris Sanchez has the details on the officer who did this -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, James Blake has a serious message for the NYPD. You'll hear his response to this incident, plus the officer who took him down is now facing even harsher scrutiny. We'll explain, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:16:18] WHITFIELD: All right. CNN is learning new details today about the officer involved in that violent takedown and wrongful arrest of former tennis star James Blake. New York police releasing new surveillance video of the incident and we're learning that the officer involved has a history of excessive force complaint. And you can see right here on the video Blake was just waiting outside the hotel before going to the U.S. Open for an appearance there. And then you saw that plainclothes officer who is there in the white shirt who throws Blake face-down on to the sidewalk and then you see right there handcuffing him. New York police say this was a sting operation gone wrong.

I want to bring in CNN correspondent Boris Sanchez. Boris -- we know that the police commissioner, the mayor, they have apologized to Blake. But what has happened to that officer?

SANCHEZ: Well, Officer James Frascatore has had excessive force charges weighed on him at least twice before. He's facing two civil suits because of it. They both happened back in 2013 in New York. And the first one he's one of eight officers accused of beating a suspect when he was handcuffed and using racial slurs toward him. And the second suit, he's accused of being one of five officers that beat up a suspect who was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk. Both of those cases are in court right now. Frascatore could be facing a third lawsuit considering this incident.

I spoke with the attorney for James Blake yesterday -- Kevin Marino. I asked him if they were planning a civil suit perhaps against the NYPD. He told me we would have to wait and see -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then let's go back to the sting operation. What do we know about the details of the description of who they were looking for?

SANCHEZ: Right. The sting operation was focused on a group that was allegedly using fraudulent credit cards to buy cell phones. NYPD has told us at least two witnesses pointed to James Blake and indicated he was involved. NYPD also tells us they have a photo of a suspect that allegedly was involved in the ring. CNN has obtained that photo and, frankly, it bears a striking resemblance to James Blake. But we should point out, it's a decoy in that photo that was apparently used by the ring to lead police astray. So we're not going to show that photo. Obviously it would be inappropriate to show someone who is declared innocent of being part of the ring. We should also point out, in the NYPD's investigation, they found that James Blake had nothing to do with that identity theft ring.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And James Blake, of course, saying he's received the apologies but he wants more. In fact, he's going to be on our program, noon Eastern time today, just about 45 minutes or so away.

All right. Boris -- thank you so much for your update. Appreciate that.

So coming up at the top of the hour, we will hear from James Blake himself. Don Lemon will be asking the tennis star about the controversial takedown live right here on CNN. That starts at noon Eastern. You don't want to miss it.

Also still ahead -- the drama surrounding the Kentucky clerk who denied same sex couple marriage licenses is not over. Kim Davis' lawyers were back in court. The reason, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Controversial Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has filed an appeal that would again delay issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples. Davis' attorneys argue that the couples, who have sued the Rowan County clerk for a license, received their licenses while Davis was in jail. So her office shouldn't be required to provide them to same-sex couples anymore once she returns to work. A judge has denied that appeal.

Davis was released from jail under the conditions that she cannot interfere with the deputies in her office providing licenses to same- sex couples. If she defies those conditions, the judge says he will throw her back in jail.

Joining me right now is HLN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Joey Jackson. All right. Joey -- good to see you.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: How are you -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Ok. So she's returning to her same workplace, same title, but will she have the same responsibilities? Is it really -- is she empowered again with denying or indeed handing out these licenses?

JACKSON: Well, let's go back to the order, Fredricka. The order from the federal judge said that you are not to interfere. So remember, she was held in contempt because, as a public office holder she was denying to issue the licenses and as a result, people who were attempting to get them were being denied.

As a result of her being incarcerated, her office, of course, has been issuing the licenses, matters have been proceeding, and in light of that, she is released from jail, there is no issue.

In the event that she impedes in those licenses being given out to people attempting to get them, then, of course, that will be problematic because it will be a direct violation of the law, and of course she could end up right where she was just a couple of days ago.

WHITFIELD: So, why risk this? Why is it she would be returned to her same duties at the same risk that she'll conduct her behavior the same way?

JACKSON: You know, I think it's because of what her individual views and beliefs are. Of course, her view and belief is contrary to what the Supreme Court has said.

[11:25:03] And just two principles that need to be made clear here, of course, and that's this. Number one, she's an individual, and all of us, Fredricka, are entitled to whatever our religious belief and faith says.

But as an individual, she is not above the office. She occupies the office, and as a result, has to do the duties that that office requires. That's issuing licenses. Number two, the second principle, of course, is, in the event imagine if anyone who felt that they didn't like a Supreme Court ruling, whatever official they were, wherever in any state they were and said I'm not going to do it, it would lead to chaos. So you need uniformity in the system.

I think that's what the federal government basically is doing. The federal judge is enforcing federal law and saying, in as much as you do not enforce it, you of course have to pay consequences of not doing it.

WHITFIELD: So is the issue still there that there are some who believe that their personal beliefs still supersede their duties even if they are a public servant, even if they are elected into office?

JACKSON: That's a problem, Fredricka, because what happens is, remember when you swear, when you get elected to any particular office, you swear to defend and protect the constitution of the United States of America. And whatever that may be. And let's also remember that the federal government, although every state is its own independent sovereign, you have a legislature, governor, some states have the death penalty, other states don't, some states have strict gun control laws, others don't, that's ok.

However if the federal government comes out with a rule, that federal government trumps and supersedes the individual sovereign states. And so at issue here is what the federal government says. The Supreme Court has said that gay and lesbian marriage is the law of the land. So you need to comply with it.

As an individual, if you don't want to comply, it's very simple, as the governor has said here you then must step aside. And then of course, the other issue becomes, should there be a carved out exception made for her not to fulfill these duties? The governor said it's part of your duty and responsibility. And in as much as it's part of your duties, do it or step aside.

And so, in answer to your question, Fredricka, individuals have all of the rights they want, but once you become a public office holder you occupy that office on behalf of the public, not on behalf of yourself. Whatever the law is you have to follow.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll have to leave it right there. Thank you so much -- Joey Jackson. Appreciate that.

JACKSON: Thank you -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So right now, Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, is approaching the podium right there in Columbia, South Carolina at Benedict College. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH COVERAGE)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- be a friend, Dr. Cornell West, one of the important intellectuals in the United States of America. Dr. West, thank you very much. Before I get into the thrust of my remarks I want to make two points. First of all, it is enormously important that we do not allow the media or anybody else to determine the real issues facing our lives and this country. A lot of great people in the media who do very, very good work but too often what media looks -- the way media looks at politics they see it as a baseball game or a soap opera. Who is raising money? How much, how well people are doing in polls? Who said something really dumb yesterday? Who slipped on a banana peel? Who insulted somebody? Who cares?

You know, people in a democracy can disagree, that's called democracy. But what is important is that we focus on the real issues that impact our lives. And that's what I am trying to do in this campaign. People may disagree with my solutions, and that's fine. But let's focus and have a real debate on the real issues that face the middle class and working families and lower income people.

Second point, I will tell you something that no other candidate for president will tell you. And that is, given the balance of power in America, given the fact that Wall Street and corporate America and large campaign donors have so much influence over the political and legislative process, no president, not Bernie Sanders, not anybody else, will successfully address the real problems facing our country unless there is a political revolution.

What does that mean? What does that mean in English? What it means is if you think somebody else is going to do it for you, including a good president, you're wrong. Because the opposition is so strong, they won't let it happen unless tens of millions of people demand that it happen.

You understand what I'm saying? If you think somebody else is going to do it for you, you're wrong. We've got to do this together. This campaigns not just about electing Bernie Sanders, I would very much appreciate your vote and your help to make that happen.

But that's not enough. I need your help during the campaign and I will need your help the day after the campaign. All right, so let's talk about the real issues facing America that get too little discussion in this country.

Dr. West mentioned some of them, but let me touch on them. First of all, you have an issue which is, in my view, a moral issue. It is certainly an economic issue and it is obviously a political issue.

And that is the fact that in the United States of America we have more income and wealth inequality than any other major country on earth and it is worse today in America than at any time since 1928.

What does that mean? Here what it means. It means that in America today, the top 1/10th of 1 percent, I'm not talking about 1 percent, I'm talking about 1/10th of 1 percent own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. Anybody here think that's moral or right?

In America today, despite a huge increase in technology and productivity, 58 percent of all new income created, you know where it's going? It's going to the top 1 percent. Anyone think that makes sense?

Today in America, you have one family, the Walton family, owns Walmart. One family in America owns wealth than the bottom 40 percent of the American people. Anyone think that's fair?

Now, my Republican colleagues get very nervous when we talk about distribution of wealth. They get very nervous. So let me tell you something. In the last 30 years in America, there has been a massive redistribution of wealth. What's the problem?

It's gone in the wrong direction. We have seen trillions of dollars go from the pockets of working families, trillions of dollars, into the bank accounts of the top 1/10 of 1 percent.

And brothers and sisters, you and I together are going to change the flow of that revenue. Not going to go for the middle class to the top 1/10. It's going to go from the top 1/10 down into the pockets and needs of working families in this country.

So this campaign is sending a very strong message to the billionaire class and that message is, you cannot have it all, you are not going to get more tax breaks when children in America go hungry.

You are not going to continue sending our jobs to China and other low wage nations when millions of people in this country are in desperate need of work.

[11:35:02] You're not going to pay your CEOs of large corporations huge compensation packages and then cut the wages and health care and retirement programs of the people who work for you. That is not going to happen anymore.

When we talk about what's going on in our economy, it is important to understand that, yes, thank God, the economy today is a lot better than it was when George W. Bush left office. When Bush left office we were losing 800,000 jobs a month.

Today we're growing 150,000, 250,000 jobs a month, and that's a step forward. But I want everybody here to fully understand that, for the last 40 years, 40 years, the middle class of this country has been disappearing.

If you are a male worker in the middle of the economy, you are making $700 less in inflation adjusted dollars than you made 42 years ago. If you are a woman working, you're making $1500 less than you made in 2007 in adjusted inflation adjusted income.

So, brothers and sisters, the first issue is we need an economy that works for working families, not just a handful of billionaires. And Dr. West mentioned this, but let me elaborate on this point.

Every month the United States government comes out with a statistic on unemployment, very important issue. Last number that came out was that unemployment in America, official unemployment, was 5.1 percent. That is one statistic. There's another statistic. That statistic says that if you look at unemployment in the sense of people who have no jobs, people who have given up looking for jobs, and people who are looking by the millions working part time when they want to work full time, real unemployment is over 10 percent.

Second point, and this is an issue I am trying to generate discussion on, not having a whole lot of luck, but I want to tell it to you. It's an enormously important issue.

Two months ago, I asked a think tank called the Economic Policy Institute in D.C. to do a study for me and here's what the study entailed. I wanted them to tell me what real youth unemployment in this country was because we don't talk about it, youth unemployment.

And here's what they discovered, if you're talking about high school graduates, not dropouts, high school graduates between 17 and 20, who are unemployed or underemployed, if the kids are white, the number is 33 percent.

If the kids are Hispanic, the number is 36 percent. If the kids are African-American, youth unemployment is 51 percent. In other words, in other words, these are high school graduates. We are turning our backs on an entire generation of young people who want to get out into the world.

They want to make some money, they want careers, stand up on their own two feet, and want to get out of the parents' homes. They want to be independent. And what we're saying to millions of these young people, black and white and Hispanic, is sorry, no jobs available for you, you're not going to get any income.

You're not going to begin to go out in the world and start a career. Now everybody in this room knows, or should know, another very tragic fact. The United States of America has more people in jail than any other country on earth including China. Now think about it. China, three times our size, communist

authoritarian country, we have more people in jail than China does. If anybody in this room thinks there is not a direct connection between outrageously high youth unemployment.

[11:40:09] And the fact that we have so many people in jail, you would be terribly mistaken.

WHITFIELD: All right, you're listening to Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders there at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina and his resonating message and focus on working families and the middle class.

Let's bring in right now political commentator, Ryan Lizza, a Washington correspondent at the "New Yorker" and Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Good to see both of you.

He is hitting on some messages you hear from the audience there, it seems like it is resonating there at historically black college there at Benedict College in Colombia.

Ryan, Bernie Sanders talking about this is a moral and a political issue. He gave an example that there is more income and wealth inequality in America than anywhere else. His last point he was making, talking about more people in jail in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world.

So, Ryan, is he -- is he connecting with this audience and even beyond Benedict College with these messages?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, this is a really important speech for Sanders. It's really important for him to break out of the demographics that he has been doing really well with in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The Democratic electorates in Iowa and New Hampshire are overwhelmingly white. When the primaries move on after Iowa and New Hampshire to South Carolina, the Democratic electorate changes quite a bit and Bernie sanders, like a lot of insurgent candidates on the left historically, is hitting a demographic wall and needs to expand his coalition.

Going down to South Carolina where a lot more nonwhite voters in the electorate there, it's important for him to start speaking to issues that they care about, speaking to Hispanic voters, to African-American voters and trying to get support from those groups that are very strong for Hillary Clinton right now.

If he's going to beat Hillary Clinton, if he's going to give her a run for her money, he needs to break out of the demographic box he's in right now.

WHITFIELD: Larry, do you see him hitting a nerve here?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, I think he's singing from the Democratic Party hymn book. Clearly he's connected with a lot of Democrats. Though as Ryan points out, primarily white voters and that's great for Iowa and New Hampshire.

But as Ryan suggests, once the primary shifts to the south, the complexion of the Democratic primary changes enormously. And it isn't just the south. Every bit of evidence we have so far is that Hillary Clinton leads in most of the Midwestern industrial states and also California.

So if that minority support for her ever starts to crumble, then Hillary Clinton is in real trouble. Forget the e-mails. This will be all about the elections.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Lizza, Larry Sabato, thanks so much. We are going to talk more about this. This is the Democratic presidential candidate speaking.

This weekend Republicans are being very, very busy because, with only four days to go, the next Republican presidential debate takes place right here on CNN Wednesday, 6:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:46:27]

WHITFIELD: All right, tensions are escalating between the U.S. and Russia over the crisis in Syria. U.S. officials believed Moscow is building up military forces to support Syrian President Bashar al- Assad. President Obama is emphasizing the way to restore order through political negotiations.

Our Sunlen Serfaty joins me from Washington. So Sunlen, what is the president doing to ease tensions with Russia over Syria?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, certainly in the last week we have seen a serious engagement from Secretary of State John Kerry, first with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Lavrov. They have spoken twice in the last week.

But President Obama speaking out for the first time on this yesterday really elevates the conversation. And in his comments we really saw him defined for the first time what they believe the intention behind this ramp up of military in Syria by Russia is all about.

In the past we'd heard administration officials say it's unclear. But really President Obama taking pains to emphasize that they believe that in here there is really more of a connecting of dots here that they believe that this is Russia really trying to prop up Assad's government more than was previously known.

A warning shot by President Obama to the Russians don't proceed. Fred, we know the conversation will continue. Two leaders will be at U.N. General Assembly in New York later this month, but it's unclear at this time if they are meeting.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sunlen Serfaty, thanks so much in Washington. Much more NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:51:38]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. A look at our top stories right now, an officer's body camera capturing a pretty brave rescue in Texas. You can see a minivan submerged underwater at the end of the street there.

The two officers do not waste any time taking off their gear and then jumping right in. They were able to pull an elderly man and his grandson safely out of the car. Police say the man was trying to navigate through a flooded overpass, and the water was simply too high. Thank goodness for them and that timing.

Saudi officials say heavy sand storms caused a construction crane to crash into the Grand Mosque in Mecca. This video showing the moment the crane hit the roof of the holy site, at least 107 people were killed and more than 200 others were hurt. The accident comes less than two weeks before the annual hajj pilgrimage. More than 2 million Muslims are expected to take part.

And Egyptian prime minister, Ibrahim Mahlab along with his cabinet has stepped down. The resignations come amid a corruption probe. Egypt's president has asked the cabinet to stay on in a caretaker kind of role and ordered the petroleum minister to form a new government within the next week.

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[11:57:03]

WHITFIELD: All right, it may be the most surprising upset in the history of tennis in a visibly painful defeat. Serena Williams beaten in the U.S. Open semifinals, her hopes of winning historic grand slam evaporated. The player that defeated Williams wasn't seed. This winner actually apologized for beating Serena.

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ROBERTA VINCI, ITALIAN TENNIS PLAYER: I was a little bit sorry for this because for me she cannot reach on the grand slam.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Roberta Vinci who was ranked 43 in the world says she never believed she could beat Serena. She had already booked a flight for Saturday to go back home.

VINCI: Maybe I can -- maybe?

SCHOLES: But her game plan to keep the ball in play and keep running worked. She played the match of her life.

VINCI: I played good today. If you don't play good, you cannot win against her especially.

SCHOLES: At 32 years old, Vinci is the oldest in the grand slam finalist in the open era. She's full of energy.

VINCI: I like so much coffee.

SCHOLES: Right now she's on top of the world.

VINCI: I feel good. Maybe I can touch the sky with my finger.

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SCHOLES: Vinci is a character. She joked after winning the match next time she sees Serena is going to do one of these because she's scared to face her. When serene was supposed to play in the final, the tickets were $280. Now they're down to $45.

WHITFIELD: You feel pain for Serena but the same time, Vinci is a spicy character. Can't help but love her personality. All right, Andy Scholes, thanks so much. We'll be right back.

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