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Amtrak Train Derailment Shut Down Service in Pennsylvania; Fight between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton Intensifies; Ted Cruz Leading in Wisconsin; President Barack Obama Visits Chicago; U.S. Officials Say Airstrike has Killed the Man Responsible for Rocket Attack. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired April 03, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: You're watching the CNN NEWSROOM. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Presidential candidates on both sides canvassing Wisconsin today, just two days now before its primary. These are live pictures of the Bernie Sanders town hall about to get under way in Wausau on the left and then Ted Cruz campaigns in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Live pictures on the right there.

Most polls predicting it is Ted Cruz who might just win Wisconsin. He has the support of many in the establishment, including Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker. Cruz and Sanders are expected to speak at any moment. Of course, we'll bring you the dueling rallies as it happens.

All right. Meanwhile, we are learning more about the Donald Trump's vision for the presidency. In a revealing 96-minute interview with "the Washington Post," Trump laid out some bold and also bleak predictions. He said the country is headed for a quote "very massive recession" that the stock market was inflated and he could eliminate the $19 trillion national deficit in just eight years.

"The Post" Bob Woodward and Robert Costa met trump at the soon to be finished Trump International Hotel in Washington. The Reporters themselves describing the meeting as highly unusual and extremely candid. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB WOODWARD, REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: I think the real headline for me was what he said about the economy in a precarious situation that there is a bubble but then we asked about what would be your advice as a stockbroker or somebody who provides tips on the stock? And I was really surprised. He said, it's terrible now. This is not the time to invest in the stock market.

ROBERT COSTA, POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: I was calling some Republican economists following the interview and they said it's very odd for a major party nominee to make this kind of bleak statement about the American economy. In all of your years of reporting have you seen a nominee or a major political candidate say this kind of thing about the economy? WOODWARD: No. I mean, what they say is they may criticize the

incumbent from the other party and say the economic policies are not working and I have better policies. But what Trump was saying that this is really dreary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about this with "the Washington Post" Steven Ginsberg. He edited the interview with Donald Trump.

All right. Good to see you. So in this interview, Donald Trump was also accompanied by his son, Don Junior, and his aides. How much was this about Donald Trump trying to look more presidential, sound more presidential, trying to reveal more detail about what he would do in the first 100 days if elected and also reveal a rather bleak view of the nation's economy.

STEVEN GINSBERG, SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON POST: Well, the question about whether or not he's trying to look more presidential is a very interesting one because he said they are all encouraging him to be more presidential but he doesn't really believe in that. He was rather defiant about that. He has two more people to beat and until he beats them he's not going to look presidential. He is not going to go to try to unify the party or do any of those things that a normal candidate might do at this point until he wins the primary.

On the economy, I think Bob Woodward was exactly right about that. Most candidates criticize the policy of the other party. He was criticizing the facts of the economy. Most people would tell you that the economy is moving along pretty steadily. It not going buster but it's doing well. And what Donald Trump is predicting is a massive recession. He says people shouldn't invest in the stock market and quite oblique pictures that does against the facts.

WHITFIELD: And the economy, the business, being a businessman, this really is his wheel house and it seems as though for a while running for the presidency, he left that, you know, he left his kind of comfort zone and went other directions to, like you said, you know, continue to get the attention, stir up support. Is this almost like a return, you know, to his comfort zone, his strengths as a businessman, as he rolls out his vision of what he would do if elected in the first 100 days, for example?

GINSBERG: I think that's a perceived wheelhouse for him. For him being a businessman is being successful, being in charge, a little less about investment advice, what he was doing last week. And I think the problem with what he was doing is that his advice sort of breaks down his image a little bit as being in-charge businessman.

WHITFIELD: So Woodward and Robert Costa, you know, mentioning that it appears as though Donald Trump was really not in the mood to talk. He kept wanted to keep the conversation going. You were editing this.

GINSBERG: Right. WHITFIELD: And you know, Donald Trump was in fact giving different

answers than he typically does. Did that present a challenge for you in editing, trying to bring the freshest, you know, or help unfold, you know, the real Donald Trump or the new Donald Trump as he tries to look a little more presidential?

[15:05:11] GINSBERG: That's a great question. I mean, one thing you have to credit Donald Trump for is talking. We always want our presidential candidates to tell us as much as they possibly can about what they think who they are, what they are going to do and Donald Trump does that more than anyone I can ever remember doing.

It is a little bit of a challenge when you look at -- turn out to be 60 some pages of the transcript and you read it all and there's just so much news in there. But if you read through it, you follow him as closely as we have, you see through lines in it and they are drumbeats of what he believes that he goes back to all the time. Trade is one of them, you know. His feelings about how he is running his campaign, how he is going to be aggressive at every turn. That's something that he always comes back to. So you just try to pull those out.

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Ginsberg, really, it's very fascinating. Thank you so much to the "the Washington Post." Appreciate it.

GINSBERG: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Donald Trump also being quite candid on the campaign trail today at a diner in Milwaukee. He told reporters that he thinks that it's unfair that he has to get 1237 delegates in order to get the nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The reason it's very unfair, I think I'll get there. I think I will get there. But the reason it's very unfair is the following. When I started, there was 17 candidates. People never say this. I have never even heard them say. I didn't have two candidates or four. I had 17 candidates. Most of those candidates were accomplished people. You had governors, you had senators, you had people like Dr. Ben Carson who has endorsed me and is an amazing guy. You have a lot of accomplished people. You had a lot of people. The biggest field ever in the history of what we're doing.

When I went to those first primary states, we had many, many people on the ballot and I won -- I could win with a small -- basically small number and it's like a phenomenal number that you could get that much. But what's unfair is this. We had 17 candidates. Those early states. There was so many people and one was getting two vote, you know, two percent and one was getting five percent and four percent. And while I would win most, they took so many votes away from me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about this with Republican strategist Brian Morgenstern and political columnist Ellis Henican. All right. Good to see you. Interesting food for thought here.

So Brian, so should this be under consideration changing the rules because the field was so big initially?

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No, of course not. What makes sense is that the party's nominee should become that way through consensus. And you have to get the majority of the delegates. That's happen with a widowing of candidates. Second choices matters. Third choices matter when these things happen. But, of course, when the rules don't suit the Donald, those are the ones that are unfair. So this isn't exactly surprising but in most people's view, he's wrong on this.

WHITFIELD: Ellis?

ELLIS HENICAN, POLITICAL COLUMNIST: It's actually the opposite. I mean, he is not going to get what he wants because all of the rules are going to be changed to hurt Donald, not help him. I mean, clearly, the establishment of the party doesn't want him to be the nominee and they are already scheming to manipulate the rules and do a bunch of other sharpie stuff to deny Donald the nomination. So yes, he is not going to get that.

WHITFIELD: Brian, might it be - go ahead. Are you going to comment on that?

MORGENSTERN: Yes. There's no scheming or anything. The RNC are very transparent.

HENICAN: In one direction. Not the other.

MORGENSTERN: Well, look, Reince has been out there and saying rightly that every convention is governed by its own rules, by its own rules committee that sets them going into it. But with regard to delegates, there's been this number of delegates for the entire race. This isn't a new thing. But the convention rules will be open and on national television. They will have to approve them. It's not going to be secret. And Trump will have just as good of chance of negotiating with delegates to support him on the second ballot or third ballot if there are, you know, subsequent votes as every other candidate. And if he is the "art of the deal" author and the he is the real deal maker, then he should have a better chance of winning the nomination.

HENICAN: But Brian, listen, you know the reality. I mean, these sharpies, these Ben Ginsburg and these other Washington lawyers, they are already trying to figure out how to manipulate the system with only one purpose in mind, denying Donald the nomination. That's just a fact, isn't it?

MORGENSTERN: But, look, every person who's involved in this is a human with interests and Trump is involved just as everybody else is. He is going to try to stack the committee with his own supporters as well. Just as Cruz will. Just as Kasich will. So, you know, framing it as the scheming sharpies, I think is not right because it's an adversarial process that is fair to everybody. [15:10:03] HENICAN: It's not fair, though. Come on.

WHITFIELD: What part is not fair?

HENICAN: Listen. I mean, the reality that is was facing right now is there's a judgment being made in Washington by some of Brian's very good friends I know. Would it be more damaging to try to deny the nomination to the obvious and clear front-runner of all these people --?

WHITFIELD: Even if he doesn't get 1237?

HENICAN: Yes. Even if he gets to 1100 or 1200, he still the clear front-runner. There is obviously damage if you deny him the nomination or it would be worse to give him the nomination.

WHITFIELD: But if the rules say you've got to have 1237 and you've got, you know, 1200, 1500, just because you have more than the rest, you're saying it would not be necessarily bending the rules if he were allowed to win the nomination?

HENICAN: You make a perfectly good mathematical argument. But you know what, there are all of these decent Americans who went out and voted in good faith in this system which led Donald Trump to becoming the easy and clear front-runner. And you're going to look in their eyes and you are going to say, no, your votes didn't count. We people in Washington have a better idea than all of you all who put him in first place?

MORGENSTERN: Spoken like someone who wants Trump to be the nominee so that his party can win.

WHITFIELD: Seriously, what are those conversations, then, within the RNC? Maybe, you know, we were hearing publicly what Reince Priebus is saying, but in private. What are these conversations about that kind of scenario? If he doesn't - he is the front-runner but he doesn't necessarily or maybe, you know, he is hundreds of votes if not a handful of votes away from 1237. What is the RNC preparing for, whether it's the establishment, you know, likes him or not or picks another candidate or not, what is the preparation taking place behind closed doors?

MORGENSTERN: Well, I think the preparation is each campaign is trying to, you know, choose delegates who are going to represent their interests and then trying to get those delegates on the rules committee to try to create a favorable environment for their candidate.

I don't think it's the RNC scheming. I think this is an adversarial process where all the candidates are trying to push their guys into the positions of power so that they can have, you know, the leverage come convention time. It's not really the RNC orchestrating stuff. So much it is the campaigns competing with one another.

WHITFIELD: I'm not seeing the skepticism being erased from Ellis' face. Brian, if only you could see him. HENICAN: It's a big mess. That's what it's going to be. And yes, I

am enjoying it. Yes, I am enjoying it.

WHITFIELD: It's all very fascinating. All right Ellis Henican, Brian Morgenstern, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. And now, turning to breaking news that we are following out of Chester, Pennsylvania, two Amtrak construction workers are dead and dozens of other people have been injured after an Amtrak train collided with a backhoe that was on the path of the tracks. The train carrying more than 300 people derailed. Service is now limited in the northeast corridor between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. Generally and extremely busy path. Federal investigators are heading to the scene. We will, of course, keep you updated with the latest as it comes in.

All right. Meantime, the fighting between the Democrats running for the White House. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, it's heating up. We will talk about the impact these disputes could have on their tightening presidential race with our political panel. That's next as we monitor a Bernie Sanders rally right there in Wausau, Wisconsin. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:45] WHITFIELD: All right. Two days away from primary, for the Democrats and the Republicans in Wisconsin. Bernie Sanders stumping for some supporters in a town hall there in Wausau. Let's listen in.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Pay your workers a living wage.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: But it is not only a corrupt campaign finance system that we have to worry about, it is not only a rigged economy, it's a broken criminal justice system that is destroying lives all over this country and in every state in America.

Right now, and we don't talk about it and what this campaign in its essence is about is demanding that the American people think outside of the box and the status quo and not accept the options that the corporate media gives you.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: We can't allow TV news to determine for us what the real issues are facing this country because they have their own built-in conflicts of interests which in many ways will not discuss in a significant way the real issues facing America.

So here is an issue that we have got to grapple with. Today, the United States has more people in jail, 2.2 million people, than any other country on earth. So I want everybody to be thinking, how does it happen that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world we have more people in jail than China, a nation four times our size with an authoritarian communist government that does not tolerate dissent terribly well? We have more people in jail. And many, many lives are being destroyed and the people in jail are disproportionately African-American, Latino --

WHITFIELD: All right, Bernie Sanders there talking about the disproportionate number of people in jail affecting the black community there out of Wassau, Wisconsin. We will continue to monitor his comments there just two days ahead of the Democratic and Republican primary in Wisconsin.

Let's bring in our panel. Nomiki Konst is a Democratic strategist and a Bernie Sanders supporter and Matt Littman is also a Democratic strategist and a former senior advisor to then presidential candidate Barack Obama. Thanks so much to both of you for joining me.

So Nomiki, hello. You first. You know, why is this, you know, becoming an issue that Bernie Sanders is promoting? This also seems to be an issue that Hillary Clinton rolled out when she first announced that she was running.

[15:20:01] NOMIKI KONST, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I mean, we all know it's been very public that there's been a debate between senator Sanders in the DNC, a very public debate over these debates all the way back to August. And they reach an agreement, the Sanders campaign and Clinton campaign, right before New Hampshire that they would have a New Hampshire debate as the Clinton suggested that they wanted because they were down by 22 points if senator Sanders and Clinton could have three more debates, one per month, in April and May and we just had one in Michigan. And unfortunately, the Clinton, you know, (INAUDIBLE), their pollster went on air and said that they wouldn't debate if he didn't change his tone. Well, the tone is, senator Sanders right now is talking about Hillary Clinton's record. They are not personal attacks. Personal attacks are what Donald Trump is doing. Personal attacks are quite frankly what Hillary Clinton is doing by calling Bernie Sanders a liar. You know, he is talking about a record. So now they are agreeing to a debate, hopefully before this New York primary which is getting much tighter. I mean, she was up by 30 points just a few weeks ago and now she is only up by 12 points and this is her state, right. It's both of her home states.

WHITFIELD: And Matt, you know, how do you see the landscape here of the tone very much changing between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton? Are these signs, one feeling like they have the edge, the other there is desperation or worry or is just simply the way it is when you come down this halfway point or near the halfway point at the primary season?

MATT LITTMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think it's more as we get down to the Sanders is still behind, he has to do something to change the game. That's why they are fighting so hard to have a debate which Hillary has said she will have. But Hillary is the front runner. She doesn't need to have it. They have had many and she will have another debate with Bernie, it certainly sounds like. There is some flailing on the Sanders campaign and I like senator Sanders and I think he's doing a really good job but attacking Hillary for what he's attacking for her is silly and below the belt. But fine, Hillary is ahead and Bernie needs to try to do something to change the dynamic a little bit.

WHITFIELD: So Nomiki, has the Sanders camp been talking recently that, you know, Bernie Sanders has to come across a little bit more aggressive because for so long he came across very genteel and many have said they feel like they are seeing a different Bernie Sanders now?

KONST: I think that supporters, he has a very strong grassroots network that's been actively challenging Hillary Clinton in her position, her record. We saw right before South Carolina when you have several columnists go out there and criticize the Clinton's record, with the African-American community all the way back to welfare reform to prison reform, you know. So this has been a crux of the grassroots support for the Bernie Sanders community.

Listen. He was a fighter. He's not going to back off. He is not going to let things slide when she's going out and attacking. I mean, the key thing that the Clinton campaign is doing is she is very good at denying, destructing and spinning. And so, instead of, what we are talking about just a few days ago with that video where she attacked a green peace, you know, activist for challenging her on her record, which is all on SEC file. This is something that you can quickly fact-check. Instead of acknowledging that she might quite frankly accepts money from the oil and gas industry and quite a lot of it and have been supported and has bundlers from the lobbyists of those oil and gas companies. Instead of acknowledging that, she has tried to put Sanders on the defensive and that's the reality of this campaign. Bernie Sanders is just comparing records which is what all candidates do and that's their job. You know, she didn't talk about the emails. Let's remember that. He took the higher road there.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, looks like both sides are kind of accusing the other of denying, attacking and spinning. Matt, last word on this?

LITTMAN: Yes. So just so the audience understands, the Democratic candidates, Sanders and Clinton, have taken two percent of the money donated by the oil and gas industry so far. The Republicans have taken 98 percent of the money.

KONST: Doesn't count Superpacs.

LITTMAN: That's right. It doesn't count Superpacs in which Hillary is not involve in a Superpac. That would be against the law. So what we're trying to say here is that some of these attacks are insinuating something that is really not the case. That's why I think Sanders is a little desperate. That's why Hillary is in front.

WHITFIELD: All right. Matt Littman and Nomiki Konst, thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it. Two days away from Wisconsin. We'll see what happens.

All right. It's been indeed a very busy weekend for Ted Cruz. Today, he is in Wisconsin ahead of Tuesday's primary but he was also courting voters in North Dakota. That's next. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:28:16] WHITFIELD: All right. Last pictures right now in Wisconsin and there's a candidate, Ted Cruz in Green Bay there and accompanied by governor Scott Walker which many are crediting puts him in a much better position than other candidates, just two days ahead of the Wisconsin primary. And you also saw former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina up there as well.

So let's listen in. Do we have time to listen in a little bit to Ted Cruz there? All right. Let's listen in.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got to say, by the way, what a great privilege to have this gathering opened up (INAUDIBLE). I'm just picturing the shy and retiring Donald J. Trump bag in the pocket. Looking here and jumping over the offensive line and coming in for a sack. Let me tell you, I think Donald's hair was on that. And Jerry Bader, what a great, powerful conservative here in Wisconsin.

(APPLAUSE)

CRUZ: And Congressman Reid, I'm so proud to have you standing with us. Your strong leadership representing the men and women of Wisconsin and fighting every day in Washington D.C. And Senator Mike Lee, a man of principle, a man who loves the constitution. A man who fights each and every day. And I have got to say, as I look at Mike, wouldn't he look good in a (INAUDIBLE).

(APPLAUSE)

[15:30:28] CRUZ: And I'll tell you, you guys saw briefly my good friend Carly Fiorina.

(APPLAUSE)

CRUZ: Carly has been barn storming with me all over the country. She just got back from North Dakota where she was fighting and earning votes. If you want to talk about a rock star. And let me tell you, Carly terrifies Hillary Clinton.

(APPLAUSE)

CRUZ: I can just picture Hillary thinking about Carly and tossing and turning and tossing and turning in her jail cell.

(APPLAUSE)

CRUZ: And thank God for Governor Scott Walker!

(APPLAUSE)

CRUZ: This man a leader and this man is a fighter and both of those are in short supply. Let me tell you, when Scott Walker stood up and took on the union bosses of the public employees and when the result was ugliness and nastiness and threats, millions of men and women of Wisconsin stood by his side. They stood side by side.

(APPLAUSE)

CRUZ: And that battle that we all stood together, it inspired people all across this country. It's inspired me. That when we stand together as we the people, we can beat the special interests that are bankrupt in our country.

(APPLAUSE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Ted Cruz there putting himself in a position, he's hoping that with Governor Scott Walker, with that support, it's going to put him in a great position leading to the Wisconsin primary. Our Sunlen Serfaty is there in Green Bay with more on this.

So Sunlen, you know, are we seeing Ted Cruz going into this very confidently.

SUNLEN SERFATY, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He appears to be, Fred. And I think his campaign is feeling good about their chances here in Wisconsin. They are ahead in many of the polls that have recently come out. And you saw really the full strength of the endorsements up on stage. He just talked about with the state governor Scott Walker and Carly Fiorina, one of the (INAUDIBLE), all of whom have been barnstorming this state for him this week going into Tuesday's primary.

You know, we just got an email from Jeff Rowe, campaign manager for the Cruz campaign saying this it is all hands on deck right now in Wisconsin and saying that even though they are ahead in the polls, that they really can't rest of their laurels in these final 48 hours. In an email to supporters, Jeff Rowe say that we need to keep pushing to acquire as many delegates as possible. And that really key here for the Cruz campaign, all about the math making sure that they keep up in terms of delegate counts and really can come out of Wisconsin with the strong argument that they have a path to the nomination to 1237, even though, of course, it's a difficult path -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Appreciate that.

All right. President Barack Obama's pick for the U.S. Supreme Court is meeting with two key Republicans this week as other Republicans refuse to consider him. We will talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:40] WHITFIELD: As Congress returns to Washington this week, the Merrick Garland nomination will be front and center. Garland meets with two more Republican senators this week, Susan Collins and John Boozman. Well, just as others two other Republican senators are revoking support for holding hearings.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama goes to Chicago and will push for action on the nomination. But many Republicans are standing firm, refusing to act on it and Democrats are expected to keep up the pressure.

Here now is CNN's Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): Democrats believe they found an issue that will help them win back control of the Senate. The GOP's opposition to considering President Obama's Supreme Court nominee judge Merrick Garland.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the senators don't want to do their jobs, they should stop taking the pay.

RAJU: At the top of their target list, Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson, a former plastics manufacturer who rule a tea party way to his first term six years go. He is now considered one of the most endangered Republicans in the country, but he isn't faced by the Democratic outrage.

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R), WISCONSIN: They are blowing it way out of reaction. And by the way, I'm kind of big in reality. The fact is, we are not going to hold hearings and we are not going to confirm this justice.

RAJU: Johnson argues his defiance stand will play heavily to his favor with core GOP voters and gun enthusiasts in his perennial swing state.

JOHNSON: This judge is pretty hostile. He has got a proven record in pretty hostile he's hostile to second amendment rights to keep and bear arms. That's kind of important in the state of Wisconsin so I think in general if anything it will be to my benefit.

RAJU: Senate Republicans are betting that their stand will energize both party's bases while average Americans will be more concern about the economy and national security in November. Other GOP incumbents are digging in as well, including Iowa's Chuck Grassley and New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte.

Polls add credibility to the GOP case, including the reason one from Mark Kemp law school that found 65 percent of Johnson supporters want him to hold firm against confirming the judge. But a survey also shows clear majority supporting confirmation proceedings. So liberal activists are trying to make the controversy a defying one.

PAUL GREENEN, ORGANIZING FOR ACTION, MILWAUKEE: We think that the Republicans are gambling that the people won't care about this and that the issue will go away. And we're going to try to make sure that the issue doesn't go away.

[15:40:07] RAJU: Former senator Russ Feingold, a liberal Democrat, is seeking to win back to say his seat that he lost to Johnson in 2010. Feingold tells CNN that Johnson is engaging in pure obstructionism since never in the modern era has a Supreme Court nominee ever been denied a hearing.

But Johnson's chances may be far more impacted by the presidential race. And the senator says that Donald Trump could actually help his reelection by attracting new voters in rural Wisconsin who are angry at Washington.

Would you stump at Trump?

JOHNSON: Just because it rhymes. Ronald the Donald. You can get all kinds of rhymes out of this thing.

RAJU: Now, Republicans are defending 24 Senate seats this cycle compared to just ten for the Democrats. And Democrats believe that this issue blocking the Supreme Court nominee will actually play into their favor when they try to make the case the Republican Congress has been gridlocked. But Ron Johnson actually got some very good news this week in a new Marquette poll that finds them down just three points in this hotly contested race against Russ Feingold which is a big different than just a few months ago.

Manu Raju, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Also still ahead, a new reports says U.S. led airstrikes are putting a financial squeeze on ISIS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:04] WHITFIELD: U.S. officials say an airstrike has killed a man responsible for a rocket attack on U.S. marines last month. The attack on a fire base in northern Iraq killed one marine and wounded eight others. U.S.-led airstrike against ISIS banks and oil facilities are also causing a major crash crunch for the terror group.

A report in "the Washington Post" says the ISIS cash flow is so bad that the group has been putting some of its recruits on half pay.