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Soon: News Conference on Ohio Murders; Soon: Trump Stumps For Voters in Maryland; Obama: Europeans Need To Get On Board With Trade Deal; James Brown, Michael Jackson and Prince on Stage; Road to the White House. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired April 24, 2016 - 16:00   ET

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


[15:58:58] NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fred. I just spoke to a state official on background. They tell me that no arrest is imminent, but that they are advancing their investigation. We're expecting to get more details about that at a press conference about 30 minutes from now. And just about an hour ago, we saw about a dozen or so agents and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal investigations take off in a specific direction. We're told by that state official that they were following up on a lead. Of course, no people have been connected to this killing.

They don't have a suspect or a motive related to this. But as the days that we spent in this community, the pain here is evident. Everyone has a personal story, it seems, that we've come across of the Rhoden Family. They're described overwhelmingly as hardworking people. That pain of what happened here on Friday morning was made all the more clear when we got our hands on 911 tapes released by the attorney general's office. We want to play portions of that for you. We have to warn you, that some people may find it graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPERATOR: 911.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I need a deputy at 40.

VALENCIA (voice-over): It is difficult to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think my brother-in-law is dead.

OPERATOR: OK.

VALENCIA: The sound of agony as a relative discovers members of her family have been murdered in cold blood.

OPERATOR: Ma'am, you got to tell me what's going on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's blood all over the house.

OPERATOR: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My brother-in-law is the bedroom. It looks like they beat the hell out of him. VALENCIA: The ruthless killings apparently calculated attacks in four

separate homes. Police tell CNN they believe the suspect or suspects were familiar with the victims. The seven adults and one 16-year-old apparent targets. But why? Police have not released a motive or named a suspect. For this tiny town of about 2,000 people in Southern Ohio, the senseless nature of the slayings is simply too much to understand.

PHIL FULTON, VICTIMS' PASTOR: It's just unbelievable, really has taken place.

VALENCIA: Phil Fulton was pastor to some of the victims.

(on camera): I think maybe the one of the most disturbing detail in all of this is the fact that one of the victims was killed next to her four-day-old baby.

FULTON: I cannot believe how anyone could kill a mother with her four-day-old baby in her arms. It's -- that's out of my realm of thinking that anyone could do that, how heartless.

VALENCIA (voice-over): With no official leads, late Saturday, an Ohio businessman offered $25,000 of his own money to help catch the killer, or killers. Jeff Ruby has no connection to the family, but says that he wanted to get the word out to find the person or people responsible for this.

OPERATOR: OK. Just stay out of the house. Don't let anybody go in there, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

OPERATOR: All right. We've got deputies on the way, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Thank you. (CRYING)

OPERATOR: You're welcome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SOBBING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: We spent the day at a local restaurant here in town in Piketon, Ohio. And it's all anyone can talk about, this type of tragedy the scope of what happened here. Those eight people that were murdered execution style. This is not something that this community can really come to grips with or understand. This is something that has never happened here before. They have their occasional murder here, Fredricka, but this is something that they've never seen before. We did speak with one of the best friends of Dana Rhoden, she described them of being like family.

And a lot of theories are working here. There's a lot of speculation clearly in this community. People have come up to us, talking to us about the drug problem in this area saying that there's a lot of heroin, a lot of me methamphetamine. So, I asked the best friend of the Rhodens if the Rhodens were connected at all in that type of world, to that atmosphere, that underworld. And she told me that everyone has skeletons in the closet, even the Rhoden family, but that overall they were all good people.

And overwhelmingly that's what we've heard from people. That they were hardworking. Dana Rhoden worked at a nursing home, at Hillcrest Nursing Home here locally. She was at work until 11:00 p.m. The murders were apparently happened around 7:30 in the morning. That's when that 911 call came in that you just took a listen to. Twenty five thousand dollar reward, you heard that is being offered by a Cincinnati restaurant owner. So, it's not just affecting this community. Cincinnati is about two hours away from here.

That person, no connection to the family, but felt compelled simply by just the ruthless nature of what has happened here. Again, we have a 4:30 p.m. press conference scheduled with the Attorney General, Attorney General's office here, the Attorney General from Ohio. Where hopefully we'll get more information about this. But so far, no motive and no suspect has being named.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And we'll take that live as it happened. Nick Valencia, we'll check back with you. Thank you so much.

Meanwhile, on the political trail, we are awaiting Donald Trump to arrive at his rally in Hagerstown, Maryland. One of five northeastern states holding primaries on Tuesday. Trump and the other presidential candidates making final pushes before those contests. Trump also hoping to make a big sweep and increase his delegate lead.

Let's go to CNN's Jason Carroll who is at the Trump rally in Maryland. And this seems in step with so many of his rallies where people will gather inside a hangar so, so that they can get a nice vantage point of his plane landing presumably?

[16:05:12] JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think Fredricka, when it comes to this rally, whether it would be in a hangar or an auditorium or in an arena, there's one sort of common theme that we see at all of these rallies. It's Donald Trump being himself. This is what the people here like. They like the name calling. When they hear the lying Ted, the crooked Hillary, we heard it yesterday in Bridgeport. Expect to hear that here again today. Expect also until you hear him go on a little bit more about the delegate system. You know, he's been very critical, as you know, of the delegate system, saying that he thinks it's crooked, that it's rigged. Ted Cruz weighing in on this saying that Donald Trump and his team are a bunch of whiners.

Earlier today, as you know, Donald Trump, Jr. speaking to Jake Tapper on State of the Union saying, the only way Ted Cruz to get votes is not to earn them but to bribe delegates. That is his only way of trying to move forward according to that, according to Donald Trump, Jr. You know, there's been calls as you know for Donald Trump, Sr. to be more presidential. Well, he did speak about that yesterday. And in doing so, Fredricka, mocking Hillary Clinton, in her robotic ways, if you will, as she takes the stage. So, you know, don't look for Donald Trump to be more presidential as some people will want him to be. Look for Donald Trump bring hit the stage here in just a few minutes to be just what the people here came to see and hear, Trump be himself -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jason Carroll, thanks so much in Hagerstown.

All right. Moving to the Democrats now, and the warning from Hillary Clinton. The presidential candidate wasting no time throwing stones at the GOP, claiming American rights are at stake if there is a vote for the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, every time Donald Trump says one of the things he says, lot of people are surprised or shocks. But after a while, with so many of those comments, those insults, the kind of demagoguery that we are seeing from him, you have to ask yourself, what really is at stake in this election. And one of the things that is at stake are our rights because the Republicans want to undermine and set back our rights. So when Trump says things like bar all Muslims from coming into the country, that is heard -- that is heard not only in the arenas in which he is speaking, that is heart around the world.

We have to build a coalition to defeat ISIS and we have to build that coalition with a lot of Muslim majority nations. And I know how hard it is to build a coalition because I built the one that imposed sanctions on Iran and drove them finally to the negotiating table so we can put a lid on their nuclear weapons program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring in CNN's Chris Frates. So, Chris, why do you think she is pivoting that focus to Donald Trump, to the general election?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's largely because she's in very friendly territory here. Voters going to the polls on Tuesday, they're going to the polls in states like Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware. Those are all places where she's expected to do very well. We saw that this morning. She spent the morning campaigning among some of her key constituencies. These are African-American churches in Philadelphia. And remember, her strength is among the African-American community and a big reason she's leading Bernie Sanders.

In fact, if you look at the math here, Sanders now needs to win more than 80 percent of the remaining delegates at stake to win the nomination. Hillary Clinton needs just about 30 percent. And that's part of the reason she has the luxury of starting to pivot toward the general election. And we're seeing her do that largely by taking on Republicans, but namely Donald Trump. When we saw her released yesterday, an anti-Trump video, and she's been hammering the billionaire on the stump. And so, increasingly, you know, she's keeping an eye on November and that general election while she really tries to continue to sew up that nomination and she wants to win big in those five states on Tuesday -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. And then how about for Bernie Sanders? You know, what is he gearing up for in terms of Tuesday?

Well, certainly he's trying to cut into her lead. And we've seen him take a couple of different approaches to that over the last couple of days. Yesterday, you know, he was taking on Clinton directly. And today in Rhode Island, he barely mentioned her. He took kind of a veiled swipe at her ties to Wall Street. And you know, he hasn't, you know, seemed to settle on a consistent strategy for how to take on Hillary Clinton. And you know, that's no surprise. You know, the northeast, kind of tough territory for Sanders.

You know, he's trailing Clinton by double digits in Maryland and Pennsylvania according to recent polls. And, you know, he does attract thousands of people still to his rallies, and he's hoping those supporters will then show up at the polls. But remember, like many of these Sanders supporters, they're Independents. And, you know, there's only one of the states voting on Tuesday that allows Independents to participate. The other four are only open to registered Democrats. So, kind of no matter what happened on Tuesday though Fred, we've seen Sanders vowing to stay in the contest until the end. It looks like he'll have the money and the support to do just that -- Fred.

[16:10:20] WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Frates. Thank you so much.

FRATES: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right. Tuesday is the big day. Five states holding primary. CNN will have complete coverage all day starting at new day at 6 a.m. Eastern Time.

All right. Also straight ahead, President Barack Obama has a big meeting tomorrow morning in Germany. Why is he pushing so hard for a new trade deal? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:13:45] WHITFIELD: All right. President Obama in Germany right now trying to sell a controversial new trade real meeting with the German chancellor and pressing hard for Europeans to get on board. There have been some protests against Obama's visit and the trade deal and the President acknowledged there are suspicions over free trade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: With respect to trade, I think what you're seeing around the world is people are unsettled by globalization. And although trade has brought enormous benefits to many of our countries that have been engaged in trade. Although typically jobs that are produced from exports have higher wages and better benefits than those are not involved with the expert market. You know, people visibly see a plant moving and jobs lost and the narrative develops that this is weakening rather than strengthening the position of ordinary people and ordinary workers. And it's forcing them to compete with low wage labor. And that I think is what drives a lot of suspicion understandably of these trade deals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Michelle Kosinski is traveling with the President and joins us now from Germany. So, Germany is one of the most powerful allies in Europe, but this is not making it any easier.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, that's right, Fredricka. There has been opposition out there, especially in Austria, especially in Germany. I mean, when we were talking about protests day, we saw some 30,000 people on the streets of Hanover Germany opposed to this. The President spelled it out in great detail there. What he thought that opposition comes from. I mean, a lot of these trade negotiations, not just for this trade deal but for others, they have been in secret. They involve lobbyists for big companies, people who are on the inside.

And those opposed feel like, you know, where's the people's voice in all of this. Do these trade deals ultimately just benefit big corporations? You heard the President talking about, you know, the workers and where is their place in these deals. So, yes, there's tension over this out there, it's on shaky ground, it's unclear whether it's going to go through. The U.S. has really been pushing it. I mean, you heard President Obama promoting it there. But the White House has longs that this is going to really open doors, it's going to create jobs, it's going to be good for all of the economies involved by just making trade easier and reducing tariffs or eliminating them all together.

Similar to what we've heard with the TPP, the Transpacific Partnership that's also in the works. Today, President Obama said it's unlikely that these are the going to be ratified during his term. They might be completed by that time, but you know, the future is very much in question with these deals -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And meantime, we're also hearing from the U.N. Security Council and who say they strongly condemn the North Korean missile launch. President Obama also addressed North Korea. To what extent?

KOSINSKI: Well, I mean, he was asked an interesting question. I mean, first of all, you have another provocation, even after the unprecedented sanctions worked out by the U.N. against North Korea in the hopes that that would change North Korea's behavior. As we've seen, it hasn't. Then, you know, that this could be a missile that was launched by a submarine, up for a submarine for the first time. Is that a significant development? But today, at a press conference, the President was asked about North Korea sort of making an offer, saying that they would halt their nuclear program if the U.S. and South Korea stopped their work on improving missile defense. The President was asked, did he see that as a real over -- and the answer was no, that he doesn't see that as serious. But he talked about the continued threat and the continued provocation. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: What is clear is that North Korea continues to engage in continuous provocative behavior, that they have been actively pursuing a nuclear program, an ability to launch nuclear weapons and although more often than not they fail in many of these tests, they gain knowledge each time they engage in these test tests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:18:20] KOSINSKI: You know, North Korea wants engagement with the U.S. We see that many, many times. The problem is that, whenever it gets down to it or those talks are approached, I mean, even in a very preliminary way, the North Koreans eventually don't want to take their nuclear program off the table. And that's really been a prerequisite. And we heard the President say today that, you know, once they start talking about ending their nuclear program and putting that on the table first thing, then we'll talk about having those talks - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Michelle Kosinski traveling with the President in Germany, thanks so much.

Meantime, a brand-new series of reports kicking off on "NEW DAY" tomorrow on CNN right on the heels of her heartbreaking reporting of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram.

Our Nima Elbagir follows the story of how the Nigerian government is slowly gaining ground in its fight against Boko Haram.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two years ago, when we visited Chibok after the mass abductions of the Chibok schoolgirls. Parents described to us how they followed the trail of their daughters to the front gate, to the entry point of the Sambisa Forest and were unable to move any further. This is the Sambisa. The Nigerian government has been able to start clawing back territory here from Boko Haram, that the Sambisa fortress, the territory right in the center, that is still where they're moving towards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Nima's new report tomorrow starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern on "NEW DAY" on CNN.

And this breaking news we're following out of Ohio where we're expecting investigators to give an update on that manhunt for the person or persons wanted for the cold-blooded execution style murders of eight family members. We'll take you there as soon as the news conference begins. You see right there. They're still setting up. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:23:59] WHITFIELD: All right. We are all immersed in the purple and we're all thinking about these great memories of Prince, the magic of his music, the magic of the man. And, you know, there are some moments that happen only once in a lifetime. One of them happened back in 1983 when three legends rocked one stage. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And also, give him a round of applause -- that I introduce Prince. Prince! Prince!

All right. All right. Prince, you got to do something. You got to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Those two of those legends really inspired by that one right there, James Brown. Talking about Michael Jackson and Prince inspired by James Brown. They've said it and you can see it in their music and you can see it there in Prince, in his style. What a moment. That was back in 1983. And now, less than 30 years later, the two worlds would intersect yet again in a very different way with Prince teaming up with the James Brown academy of music pupils for a benefit concert. And then if you think about it, the merging of those three lives now, you know, in infamy.

Joining us right now, are Deanna Brown Thomas and Yamma Brown, president and vice president of the James Brown Foundation. And daughters of the late soul singer.

Good to see both of you. What a great honor.

DEANNA BROWN-THOMAS, DAUGHTER OF JAMES BROWN: Thank you. Thank you for having us.

WHITFIELD: Wow! What a convergence of incredible lives, these iconic figures all on that one stage. That's one thing.

Yes. I mean, what do you all know, you know, about how that came together? It clearly was very spontaneous with James Brown saying wait a minute, I see Michael Jackson, you get up here, and then Michael telling him, Prince, you get up here.

BROWN-THOMAS: He is. Dad often referred to Michael and Prince as his musical sons. But before we get too deep, I want to take this time to offer my condolences to Prince's family, and to his friends and people who worked for him, who were very close to him. And just know that so many people loved him, truly loved him. And we offer those condolences --

WHITFIELD: And you know, it's so nice, because I was looking and listening at a recent recording, that concert right here in Atlanta. I wish I was able to go to it. But you could hear people in the audience yelling I love you.

BROWN-THOMAS: We were two of those.

WHITFIELD: You were.

BROWN-THOMAS: We were.

WHITFIELD: And I thought to myself how wonderful that he got to hear those words. I mean, clearly he knew people loved him because we would buy his music, we'd wear purple. But he got to hear those words and that's another thing. And it was crystal clear, he would respond back.

BROWN-THOMAS: Yes. Yes.

WHITFIELD: How lovely?

BROWN-THOMAS: It was powerful. With just a piano and a microphone. I mean, just you could imagine, used to seeing him with a whole band. But he rocked the house and was so personable. That was fantastic.

YAMMA THOMAS, DAUGHTER OF JAMES BROWN: And sounded so great.

WHITFIELD: He really did.

THOMAS: He didn't sounded like he was sick or anything was wrong with him. His voice was an instrument.

BROWN-THOMAS: Yes.

THOMAS: And it really was a different way to see Prince. It was such an honor to be at his last public performance.

BROWN-THOMAS: It really was an honor.

WHITFIELD: How incredible. There are so many things that I want to talk to you-all about. Because, you know, JAMP, your foundation to really impart the gift of music, the beauty of music, the opportunity to young people. And it was not a hard sell to get Prince on board. How did that happen? And that these young people who would be part of JAMP would get a chance to see him up close and personal.

BROWN-THOMAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: They would be able to develop that kind of mentorship and perform for him.

BROWN-THOMAS: And perform, and dance with him on stage. Prince was so much into James Brown, until he even hired a couple of gentlemen who were his road managers. One in the '60s Alan Leeds and Derek Wilson later on in the late '90s and early 2000's.

WHITFIELD: Prince hired Brown's managers.

[16:28:03] BROWN-THOMAS: Yes. And, you know, it kind of gave him a little trade secrets -- well, insight of how James Brown did things. But Derek Wilson talked to Prince, let him know about these students. And when Van Jones and Prince got together for the rebuild, the dream concert in Chicago in 2012, they offered to fly the children out. This was a lifetime experience for these students. They will never forget this. And I am so thankful that he gave these children this opportunity. He believed in music education and he put his money where his mouth is.

WHITFIELD: And is that something too that of course, we're all learning so much more about him and his passing. Because he was so private. And we're learning that he was so much more philanthropic than any of us could ever know. You all know because you experienced it firsthand. But what was it about him where he said, not only do I want to give, I don't really want the publicity. I don't want cameras there, reporters there, I don't want people to know what I'm doing, I just really want to do it for those who are receiving.

THOMAS: Yes. I felt like it was more so to do with him being so grounded and spiritual. And just wanting to give and not receive. Because he was able to give so much more to people, you know, than really taking in. And he lived and breathed music. So, everything he did was about music.

WHITFIELD: He was sweating -- he exuded music in every way.

BROWN-THOMAS: God gave him -- he gave right back. And that's what these young students from the James Brown academy of music pupils were able to experience. Dance on stage with Prince. Now, this was four years ago. So, they were younger. They've graduated now. They're in college. So, they can look back and see the magnitude of the experience that they received.

THOMAS: It just speaks to the person that he is, the giant that he is, you know, to be able to give us all this music, all these memories. You know, I think about it, "Purple Rain" in studio, I mean, you know, movies this weekend. And it's like, you go back to your childhood. But he is still giving more and more and to generations to come.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

THOMAS: You know?

[16:30:02] WHITFIELD: You know, here we are talking about honoring him, paying tribute, how he meant so much to so many of our lives. I grew up with all of his music. I've seen five concerts. My husband and I met in a Prince club.

THOMAS: Oh my goodness!

WHITFIELD: We married in 1999.

BROWN-THOMAS: Oh, wow!

WHITFIELD: So, I mean, there is that feeling of it being so personal.

BROWN-THOMAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But for you all it's very personal in a different way, because, you knew him, you met him.

And then, you know, Yamma, you were telling me his death kind of triggers what you were feeling at the passing of your dad. And now, very shortly after his death -- Prince's death -- he's cremated, and how a sense of relief there must be for his family members. That's kind of your feeling knowing what you've gone through with a passing an icon who also with your dad.

BROWN-THOMAS: Yes, he's still a brother. He's still a cousin, a nephew. You know, he's family to someone.

BROWN: I kept on saying it felt like a family member had passed, you know, because it was so close and because the same emotions come back up and the same feelings and you know what it is to go through that. So, like So, like Deanna said, you know, our heart goes out to the family because to be able to go through all of this and we know everybody, all the fans, we want to pay our respects to Prince and be there for the funeral, but you have to let the family grieve, have that private moment. And then...

BROWN-THOMAS: And grieve, and grieve

WHITFIELD: That's hard to do when it's a public person,

BROWN: It is.

BROWN-THOMAS: It is.

WHITFIELD: You know, someone so grand as James Brown, as Prince. In the case of your dad, there were three funerals and tributes. In the case of a Prince, given his privacy and the family cremated so quickly, do you think there will be something in a very public way or do you think what we're seeing outside of Paisley Park, that is the public moment to emote?

BROWN: I think that there will be something public. Of course, I don't know for sure but I'm suspect that he's probably a lot like that, got to let the fans having something. You know, it's all about the fans so, I'm sure their family will want to give back and, you know, let people pay respects to him and will just get a chance to celebrate him one more time.

BROWN-THOMAS: I want to remember him as the humanitarian that he was by giving these children that opportunity and they can look back and say, I have this personal connection with Prince.

WHITFIELD: What a gift.

BROWN-THOMAS: So, that is and always will be my fondest memory of Prince. Thank you Prince, we love you.

WHITFIELD: That's beautiful. Thanks so much Deanna.

BROWN-THOMAS: Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Now we get to see him again, appreciate it.

BROWN: Thank you for having us.

WHITFIELD: Thanks for helping us all remember the greatness of Prince and James Brown. [16:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The road to the White House, Bernie Sanders, he's not condemning actress Rosario Dawson, one of his supporters after she brought up Monica Lewinsky at a Sanders campaign rally and accused the Clinton campaign of bullying Sanders supporters online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSARIO DAWSON, MOVIE ACTOR: We are really fending for ourselves right now. We are literally under attack for not just supporting the other candidate. Now, I'm with Monica Lewinsky with this. Bullying is bad. She's actually dedicated her life now to talking about that. And now as a campaign strategy, we are being bullied.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Today, Sanders responded with Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rosario is a great actress and she's doing a great job for us and she's been a passionate fighter that sees that we increase the voter turnout, that we fight for racial, economic, environmental justice. Our job right now is to contrast our views compared to Secretary Clinton. That's what a campaign is about. What I will be doing in this campaign is in an issue-oriented way. Not by personal attacks, but by contrasting our view to Secretary Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about this with Republican strategist Brian Morganster and political columnist Ellis Henican. All right gentleman, we've touched on this a little bit last time though, we were all together. So Ellis, just pick up from where you left off where you said, you know, expectations in your view should be fairly low what some supporters, you know, might say. But then, if you're Hillary Clinton, how is she bracing herself for perhaps more of this kind of, I guess, dialogue?

ELLIS HENICAN, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, hold on a second, Fred. I mean, what Rosario said made her sound like a nitwit. I mean bullying? Come on. You run for president and someone is on another side and urges people to who vote for candidate instead of yours -- grow up Rosario. This ain't Hollywood anymore. You're running for president here and you know, people have strong opinions so I have zero, absolutely zero sympathy for the whining of Rosario, okay. Am I clear about that?

WHITFIELD: I think you're pretty clear about that. So, if you're Hillary Clinton and you're at her camp, how do you prepare for more of this because, you know Donald Trump has already promised, if it's him, if it's her, you are going in on neck and neck in the general election, there will be more about Monica Lewinsky, the transgressions of the former president, et cetera.

HENICAN: First of all, don't worry about the celebrities because they don't know anything. They try them out because they help up draw a crowd, they're useful in that right, but they don't actually know anything. Now, as for attacks on Hillary, sure everybody's going to attack Hillary -- Monica Lewinsky, Bill, we're going to go back to the Rose law firm and all that crazy land deals in Arkansas -- My prediction is that it's all been utterly litigated and will hold very little impact. If you want to attack Hillary, go find something fresh.

WHITFIELD: So then Brian, if the views of some is that Bernie Sanders is not condemning it enough, what the kind of a reflection does this have on him?

BRIAN MORGANSTERN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: He's getting to have his cake and eat it too. He gets to have someone else get into the more unsavory attacks and have them out there but then he gets to pretend to be above the fray. Well, I got to tell you Ellis, I think this kind of thing is damaging because it plays into this notion that Hillary is part of the big, bad Clinton machine and Bernie is sticking up for the little guy and in this election, you know, that's a very appealing message.

And so, this actually plays into that notion in terms of framing her, in terms of defining Hillary as, you know, crooked and otherwise. You know, her past is sort of the fixer who would attack Bill's accusers and destroy their credibility plays into that notion, that she's the big bad Clinton machine and Bernie is sticking up for the little guy.

HELICAN: Brian, hold on a second. I mean, that particular attack, there may be others, but that particular attack is what -- that the lady's husband had an affair, so we're going to be mad at her about that? That just -- that doesn't even make any sense.

[16:40:00] MORGANSTERN: It's not about that. It has to do with the fact that Hillary -- there are accusers out there who said that Hillary ruined their lives. That she went after them and attacked her credibility and made it her mission to, you know, to destroy them. And Hillary has said, you know, numerous times and her surrogates have said that the best defense is a good offense and so she goes after the source of negative information and it's actually led -- that's been her strategy. I expect her to continue that strategy throughout this campaign.

WHITFIELD: All right, so this is kind of a hint that it might be re- litigated though a few times more. In the meantime, let's talk about Hillary Clinton, her position, and her appeal from someone very unexpected -- Charles Koch, one of the billionaire, you know, Koch brothers, viewed as villains in the Democratic Party for a very long time, had a very interesting perspective on the presidential race and Hillary Clinton. So listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, is it possible another Clinton could be better than another Republican? CHARLES KOCH, BUSINESSMAN AND POLITICAL DONOR: It's possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You couldn't see yourself supporting Hillary Clinton, could you?

KOCH: Well, her -- we would have to believe her actions would be quite different than her rhetoric let me put it that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Brian, what do you interpret in that answer?

MORGANSTERN: The very thing that progressive dislike about Hillary, which is her malleability is exactly what the Kochs like about her. That they don't actually believe that she believes what she's saying, that she would govern like a pragmatist and follow the polls and do it probably (ph) similar to the way her husband governed. That seems to be what's getting this kind of back handed endorsement from the Koch's. It's exactly what's been giving Clinton trouble in the primaries.

WHITFIELD: And Ellis, you know, Hillary Clinton did tweet out she didn't necessarily want, you know, the endorsement and that's pretty interesting especially when -- candidates in general they say, you know, they want every vote, but then I don't want yours.

HELICAN: Yeah and I'm not sure if he was offering hundreds of millions of dollars, which is his usual calling card. I don't know, for Hillary, I do not think that things go better with Koch.

WHITFIELD: Okay, very good. All right, Coke or Pepsi. All right, Brian Morganstern, Ellis Henican...

MORGANSTERN: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: I appreciate it. Good to see you guys. All right, and stay right here on CNN. There are five, yes, five states on the primaries on Tuesday and CNN will have complete coverage. More on the race for the White House, straight ahead.

But first, at CNN, we like to recognize people who go above and beyond and we call them CNN Heroes. Here's a look at one man who is doing everything he can to help kids with disabilities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY SWIMMER, MISTY MEADOWS FARM OWNER: Horses are very special animals. People just don't realize it.

What do you say now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well taught.

SWIMMER: That's my girl.

We had a child on a horse who had a seizure and that horse stopped dead in his tracks. When nobody else noticed it, the horse caught it first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, so great. If you want to vote for him or nominate someone, visit CNNHeros.com.

[16:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're following up on breaking news out of Ohio where we're expecting investigators to give us an update on the manhunt for the person or persons wanted for the cold-blooded execution style murders of eight family members. You see the live pictures right there and the podium is ready to go now. We're also waiting for the attorney general as well as local police officers to take to the microphones there and explain what they know. Of course, when that happens, we'll take you there. In the meantime, I want to bring in CNN law enforcement analyst, Tom Fuentes.

So Tom, this is a very troublesome crime and seemingly very difficult one in which to investigate. All we know is, there is that 911 call. There was a family member who called in saying that she thought her brother-in-law had been beaten to death and then of course she said there was blood everywhere. So, how do investigators go about trying to piece together what happened here especially when the dispatcher told her, you know leave, because you know, they wanted to make sure none of the evidence, I guess, was compromised. What happened in your view when investigators arrived at that scene?

TOM FUENTES CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think first of all, Fredricka, the main thing is going to be that they have four separate crime scenes that are going to require meticulous crime scene forensic investigation to see if any evidence that would link the shooter or shooters to the event can be found. Then they're also going to have to do an extensive background on every single member of that family, and not just the ones that were victims, but other extended family members who may have been targeted for some type of vendetta, you know, maybe a criminal activity, maybe business fraud, maybe just, you know, someone that hated the family for some reason and wanted to send a message and the real victim may not even be among the deceased.

So, it's going to be a very difficult investigation for them to come to try to figure out what the exact underlying motive is to murder all those families. It's not like they would come across a crime, someone goes to murder somebody and other family members are there, go ahead and murder the other witnesses. This is at four separate houses, so it's clear that this is more than just a crime of opportunity to kill one person and murder whoever else is at the home. All these people were targeted.

WHITFIELD: And CNN correspondent Nick Valencia is also there in Pike, Ohio. You know, they're awaiting that press conference. So, I wonder Nick if you can give us an idea, kind of a layout of just, you know, how rural a setting were these houses where the crimes occurred. In other words, what is the potential for eyewitnesses to see vehicles, you know, come and go or is it that, you know, these properties are so removed that it's easy for someone to kind of appear and disappear. [16:50:00] NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The property -- the crime

scene locations Fred, were four separate locations and from our understanding, we haven't actually been able to go there to the crime scene. The authorities still have that road blocked off, but it is a 30-mile area that houses separate mobile homes where these shootings took place. We spoke to a neighbor earlier this morning who said that he was home at the time of the shooting but didn't hear anything. That he lives in a log cabin, has about 6-inch walls so, he wouldn't have heard anything anyway.

There are of course intense speculation in the community that this may have had something to do with drugs, simply by the sheer ruthless nature of it. You were talking earlier to Tom Fuentes about potential criminal activity. We've spoken to local law enforcement here, and they tell us that they were very familiar with the Rhoden family and that led us to dig into court records here in Pike County where we discovered that Dana Rhoden, one of the victims had a criminal past -- arrested for domestic violence, arrested for resisting arrest and other more minor infractions like traffic violations.

There were others including a brother in that family who had multiple drug arrests. Now, we haven't been able to get that confirmed. Of course we're standing by with this information -- this new information that is expected to come out from this 4:45 press conference that is running late. And here locally in the community, you know, that's the rumor. That this had to do something with vendetta, something with revenge just by the way it happened. The only survivors being a 4-day- old baby, a 3-monght old, oh I'm sorry -- 3-year-old and a 6-month- old.

Again, we're hoping to get more information. I spoke to a state official who tells me that they have advanced their investigation. Now, what that exactly means specifically, we're not entirely clear. We're hoping the attorney general answers those questions in just a few minutes.

WHITFIELD: And then, Tom, I wonder, you know people who live in that vicinity of course are thinking about their own personal security. What kind of information might investigators want to impart to people as they continue to investigate to, I guess, allay fears of neighbors who may be within the same community where some of the mobile homes were or even if they live a couple miles away from the properties where these crimes happened?

FUNETES: Well, in researching the story this afternoon, it sounds like the authorities are already trying to allay the fears of members of the community and let them know that this seems to them that the Rhoden family and members of the Rhoden family and even other extended members who aren't among the deceased appear to be the targets and trying to basically tell them that they're not at risk.

I think that in itself is a rather risky proposition to be that speculative because if there's going to be further attempts on other members of that family or others that may have been involved, this could be an extended conspiracy beyond the Rhoden family, if that's what's behind this, we don't know. But to me it might be a little premature to tell the community they have nothing to worry about. You obviously have some very dangerous person or persons on the loose there that are just psychopathic killers.

WHITFIELD: All right, Tom Fuentes and Nick Valencia, thanks so much. We're going to check back with you and take a short break right now as we continue to watch the developments there out of Pike, Ohio and this press conference about to get under way. We'll be right back.

[16:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I want to take you to Pike, Ohio, for this press conference. Eight members of one family killed execution style. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time, I have deputies from my county and other counties that are keeping the scene secured for the VCI agents and the investigators, deputy sheriffs that have completed the searches of the residences in case there's something that they may need to go back to. I want to stress that this investigation is very large, one, probably the largest in Pike County that we've ever had and been a part of. It's very tragic. There's a family that's lost eight members.

I want everybody to be patient, but understand that we are working around the clock, 24 hours a day, working on every lead that comes in, all the tips, conducting the interviews. We will provide information as we can, but this is going to be a very lengthy process. Right now, I have a team from ODRC, the star team that are going to the scenes. They are going to go to the wooded areas of each and every one of these scenes. There are 38 members to make sure that there is absolutely nothing that was missed or nothing of evidentiary value in the woods.

If something is located, they will secure it, contact an investigator, an agent with VCI, and that will be collected and sent to the appropriate lab for testing. I want to reach out and thank everyone who has sent units, all the county sheriffs, Red Cross, other people that's provided food, Children Services, the prosecutor's office, state highway patrol, SOCF. Everyone that has came together and offered to help. We've had hundreds of people in the last days that's come to Pike County to insist in this very lengthy and very horrible investigation that we're dealing with. I'm going to let Attorney General DeWine speak.

[17:00:00] MIKE DEWINE, OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL: Sheriff, thank you very much. Let me try to give a summary of what has been done so far. We have received over 100 tips. We've had conducted between 50 and 60 interviews and interviews are continuing right now as we speak. There have been over 100 personnel involved in this investigation. Five search warrants have been executed.