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Trump, Clinton on Path to Potential Presidency; Kim Jong-un to Be Elected Supreme Leader of Workers' Party; Donald Trump Tweets Taco Bowl in Celebration of Cinco de Mayo; New Evidence Surfaces in Bizarre Texas Murder Story; North Carolina to Respond Regarding Controversial Transgender Bathroom Law; North Carolina Confirms Case of Zika Virus; Slow-speed Car Chase Shuts Down California Freeway; Kentucky Derby Countdown Begins. Aired 10:30-11:00a

Aired May 06, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:40]

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: ... Trump was like, you guys are losers, you need to go. Hillary Clinton is not saying that, and I don't think, and I don't think that she'll beat up on Bernie Sanders for staying in. But I do think she would prefer to be able to direct her attention entirely to the Republican field, if she thinks she's going to win.

But Bernie Sanders has an important point here. He says look, the pledge delegates are closer than people want to, want to suggest. And the reason Hillary Clinton is above the number, above the bar, is because of superdelegates, and that is an unfair system. And fundamentally, that's what he wants to address. He wants to address the unfair system.

And he's also hoping, and holding onto the hope that it -- at convention time, super-delegates will say, you know what? We're going to make a different decision.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT, HOST: All right. And let's look at the general election, Angela. Just hypothetically, let's say it does come down to Trump and Clinton. How much is Bernie Sanders staying in the race right now, hurting Clinton? Will it matter three or four months from now, or not?

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think it will. And I actually really believe, to my core, that Bernie Sanders staying in the race simply strengthens Hillary Clinton in her ability to run against Donald Trump. We know that the attacks that he will launch will be brutal, they will be unfair, they will be deceptive.

And I think Bernie Sanders staying in with his more than fair critique, actually helped to strengthen her ability to fight against someone who is really very challenging. And in some ways jins (ph) up all kinds of hateful people and their willingness to support Trump in this country. So I think Bernie Sanders staying in is helpful to Hillary Clinton. I think that it only will advance her ability to fight against Donald Trump in the Fall. BROWN: All right, let's look at some approval ratings that have come

in, about President Obama. According to a CNN poll, he is now at 51 percent. Marc, how important is this, heading into the general election? How much does this help, considering Hillary Clinton, for several months now, has been saying that she's going to carry on President Obama's legacy if she's in office?

HILL: Oh it's incredibly important. You know, President Obama has all but endorsed Hillary Clinton, whether we agree or disagree with that decision. Even at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, we saw the subtext there. So if he's popular and he's riding a wave, he'll be able to stand next to Hillary Clinton in a way that George Bush could not stand next to any Republican candidate or nominee back in 2008.

And so it gives her an extraordinary advantage. Hillary Clinton is going to have to get a populus push. And that's where I disagree with Angela just a slight bit. I agree with her that Hillary Clinton has been strengthened by the fight against Bernie Sanders. But if Bernie stays in longer, and he continues to have that populus push from the left, and Trump has that populus and white nationalist push from the right, what happens is, it makes Hillary look more and more like a Washington insider, as opposed to a populus candidate.

President Obama can deliver her from a little bit of that, not because he's an outsider, but because he has such extraordinary popularity that people who otherwise may not stand near Hillary or vote for Hillary, might do it anyway.

BROWN: And she has to walk a fine line here in terms of that. Because she doesn't want to alienate all those supporters that Bernie Sanders has pulled to his side, right?

RYE: Yes, I think that's 100 percent right. --

HILL: Absolutely.

RYE: Oh go ahead, I'm sorry --

BROWN: Oh, go ahead. Angela?

RYE: Yes, I think that's 100 percent right. The reality of Bernie Sanders again, also staying in the race, is your more than likely to get his supporters engaged in this process. You're more than likely to see them come together at the end. And see those folks say, you know what? Maybe Hillary Clinton isn't so bad when you compare her to Donald Trump. Whether it's his rhetoric, his accomplishments or lack thereof. If Bernie Sanders can come on board and support her, and get his supporters to move over with her, you're talking about the millennials, or some of the other Independents that would not go toward Donald Trump, based on the populous that Marc is talking about. I think that that's a win for everyone, at least on the Democratic side.

BROWN: Marc, very quickly because I cut you off there, go ahead. HILL: No, no, no. I think that's -- I think Angela's absolutely

right. I think there is a chance here that if they don't have that connection, that Bernie Sanders supporters stay home, or they go in another direction. Because if you have a neo-liberal Hillary Clinton, who is a free market fundamentalist, and you have a Donald Trump, who's also very market-driven, it may alienate some of the Bernie Sanders supporters.

BROWN: All right, thank you both. Angela Rye, Marc Lamont Hill, interesting discussion with you, thanks so much. And by the way, Senator Bernie Sanders will be a guest on The Situation Room today. Be sure to watch The Situation Room, with Wolf Blitzer, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

And still ahead on this Friday morning, North Korea holds its most important political gathering in decades. And the world is watching.

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[10:38:05]

BROWN: Well this just in to CNN, our first look at a secret government meeting in North Korea. The Workers' Party Congress underway right now. And this is a meeting that hasn't been held in more than three decades. Will Ripley joins us live right from inside Pyongyang. So what more do we know about this secretive meeting, Will?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well it's really fascinating how things work here in North Korea, Pam. Because The Workers' Party Congress, the first one since 1980 -- 36 years ago -- it began at 9:00 this morning, local time. But it wasn't until 10:00 this evening, 13 hours later, that we had any idea what had actually happened inside that meeting.

Because, here there is no internet, there is no access to foreign media, people aren't tweeting about things, there's no livestream. And so we watched as the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un, took to the stage and was joined by the two other most powerful men in North Korea. And they really represent the old-school, and the new-school when it comes to the leadership in this country.

On the left was Kim Yong-nam, 88 years old, who has been in office since 1978. He's the international face of North Korea. He has served all three of the leaders -- the grandfather, the father, and now the son, all the Kim family dynasty serving here. And then Hwang Pyong-so, on the right, is the second highest military official in this country. He was promoted in 2013, so has only served the current leader, Kim Jong-un.

And while the leader only gave an introductory speech tonight, we also learned what will be happening here in the coming days. And it is much as we expected. The Supreme Leader will be elected to the most powerful position possible in this country. He will be elected -- unanimously, we already know that's the outcome, because there is no political dissent here. All 3400 Workers' Party members that have arrived here in Pyongyang, they know how they're going to vote. And then they're going to bring the message back to their districts to let -- so their communities know why they need to rally behind, and support the policies of Kim Jong-un. So that he will be The Supreme Leader of the highest level of The Workers' Party of Korea.

Also, very interesting, there will be a report from the Disciplinary and Investigative Committee of the Party. We've been talking for a long time now, about a high number of purges -- including the Uncle of Kim Jong-un -- as a result of this shakeup of Party leadership. Basically what this means is that he is going to have a free reign to move forward with his plans to aggressively grow this country's nuclear arsenal. And also try to grow the economy at the same time. And there will be nobody in the Party leadership that will stop him from doing what he wants to do, Pam.

BROWN: Wow. Just a fascinating look inside. Will Ripley from Pyongyang, North Korea, thanks so much for that. And still ahead, right here in the Newsroom, comics and politicians alike mock Donald Trump for his Cinco de Mayo celebration.

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[10:45:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL: I can see why Trump likes taco bowls. I mean, they're just like him. It's a pile of cheesy slop stuffed inside a thin orange shell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, COMEDIAN, TELEVISION HOST: In honor of Cinco de Mayo, Donald Trump tweeted a picture of himself eating a taco bowl. He did that, yes. Then Trump tried to get Mexico to pay for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So as you can see right there, comedians and politicians alike are having a field day on Thursday, after Donald Trump posted, right here, this tweet, "In celebration of #CincoDeMayo" pictured him eating a taco bowl, and proclaiming, "I love Hispanics!" Well Hillary Clinton fired back at the GOP front runner online, arguing that his love of Hispanics didn't appear to match his plan to deport undocumented immigrants. One man even joked about Trump's foreign policy writing, "come on, man. Even your Mexican food has a wall." But whether you celebrate with a taco bowl or not, Cinco de Mayo is here to stay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL SANTIAGO, COMEDIAN: Cinco de Mayo is now an official American holiday. As a Puerto Rican I don't celebrate. As American, I have to. It's on the calendar I bought at Walmart. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And we are joined now by that comedian right there, Bill Santiago. Bill, thanks so much for coming on, can't wait to hear your thoughts about this. And your reaction when you saw that tweet with Trump and the taco bowl. What did you think?

SANTIAGO: Yes, well it's a pleasure to be here speaking to you about taco bowl gate. My immediate thought was like, "he's doing it!" you know? He's a presumptive nominee and he's stepping it up, there it is. Presidential all the way. Every one of Trump's tweets is a preview of the Trump presidency, you know? We're talking Archie Bunker with access to the nuclear codes.

And he just comes out and says it. He's very sincere, he's impulsive, "I love Hispanics." He could've been a little bit more arrogant about it, "the Hispanics love me." No, "I love the Hispanics." It was his gesture, it was an olive branch. And I, as one of the Hispanics he's reaching out to, certainly appreciate that.

BROWN: But I have to say, you know, a lot of Trump supporters like that he is not politically correct. Do you think posts like that could actually endear him to his audience? --\

SANTIAGO: It's addictive, it's fantastic. Yes, yes, yes. He's so offensive that it's charming. It's a guilty pleasure. We cannot wait to be horrified by what he says next. And if for some reason he doesn't take the White House, I think people are really going to be jonesing. They're going to be experiencing withdrawal if they don't get their dose of Trump tweets.

BROWN: But just look at the way that things have played out with Donald Trump. And then he sends out this tweet saying, "I love Hispanics," with a taco bowl. As a Hispanic yourself, what is your reaction to that, the sort of visceral reaction?

SANTIAGO: You know, I -- it's such a joke that I almost meet him halfway and go, "OK." I mean, look at Hillary Clinton, she -- her take was to be a lot more focus-group oriented. And she puts out a whole campaign about how she is "one of us." How she is just like our abuelitos.

BROWN: Abuela.

SANTIAGO: Right. And that completely blew up in her face. Trump isn't like that, he's like, "I love you. I love them. There's separation, I'm not trying to pretend. You guys over there, we're over here. And whatever, we're cool, right?" You know, I mean it's so boldfaced offensive that you can hardly really -- you certainly can't be shocked by it. It's like being shocked that a dog, who hasn't been house trained, makes a mess on the carpet. I mean, what were you expecting? This is the Trump brand.

BROWN: But you know, Hispanic voters are extremely important for both of these candidates. What do they need to do to gain their favor?

SANTIAGO: I'll tell you, I'll tell you, I'll tell you what Trump has to do, OK ...

BROWN: OK.

SANTIAGO: This was a step in the right direction. What he has to do if he really wants to seal the deal with the Hispanic voters, is make that taco bowl his Vice Presidential nominee. "Trump/Taco Bowl, 2016." You know, make the commitment, go all the way. If you're serious, Trump/Taco Bowl. I think that would get him --

BROWN: That's it? And you'll throw your support behind him if he does that?

SANTIAGO: Viva "Trump/Taco Bowl, 2016." I said it here. And I tell you what, anyone who doesn't think Trump can do it is going to be crying into their taco bowl, come Inauguration Day.

BROWN: All right, we'll leave it at that. A lot of taco bowl. I don't think I've ever said taco bowl so much in one segment. Bill Santiago, thank you very much for that.

SANTIAGO: See you next time.

BROWN: And still ahead on this Friday, American Pharoah is a tough act to follow in the world of horse racing. Is this year's Kentucky Derby favorite up to the task?

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[10:53:50]

BROWN: Stunning new details are now surfacing about a chilling murder mystery that has a Texas community on edge. Right now, the hunt is on for the killer of fitness instructor, and mother of three, Missy Beavers. Beavers was killed inside a Texas church last month, and authorities say that this person right here, captured on grainy surveillance video wearing head-to-toe tactical gear, is the prime suspect. Let's get right to CNN's Polo Sandoval. You have some new details on this really strange and sad story. What can you tell us, Polo?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely Pam. You have to realize, it's been about two-and-a-half weeks since that mother of three walked into that church and then was murdered. And still no arrests have been made. But now that we take a closer look at some of the court documents, some very interesting evidence that has surfaced here. After investigators looked through Missy Beavers' personal electronic devices, as well as her husband Brandon's, as well -- and they've been able to identify at least 11 so-called target numbers. These are the phone numbers of at least 11 persons of interest in this case.

And also taking a closer look at these devices, investigators have also been able to confirm several reports that Missy Beavers was experiencing some sort of financial trouble, as well as other marital issues, as well. Even confirmed some reports that she was possibly having an extramarital relationship with the owner of one of those numbers.

So now the question is, who are these people? We did notice that at least four of those eleven individuals are last named Beavers. But of course, we don't know for sure if they would be related. But we do understand that there is another working theory here by investigators, is that the man that you saw on that very strange video here -- at least this individual -- in that very strange video, wearing that SWAT team gear you see -- you take a closer look you can see the word "POLICE" on that possible vest, there -- was in possession of some kind of electronic device, possibly a phone, to actually communicate with one of these persons of interest.

But of course that remaining question here is, who is this individual here? Investigators do want people to take a very close look at the person's mannerisms. Even the certain walk that he has. Just notice kind of a bit of a limp here. A very distinguishing walk that investigators want people to potentially identify, since there's nothing else that you may be able to make out.

But of course that lingering question remains, who is this person, and of course, what is this possible motive. It's something that we're going to be on the lookout. And of course, lastly I should mention, Pam, no arrests have been made, and no charges have actually been filed against anybody in this case, quite yet.

BROWN: All right, Polo Sandoval, thank you very much for that. And this just in to CNN, President Obama set to deliver a statement on the economy at 12:05 Eastern from the Press Briefing Room. Of course CNN will keep an eye on that, so stay tuned for the very latest there.

And checking some other top stories on this Friday, North Carolina's governor says the state will meet Monday's deadline, and respond to the Justice Department about the state's controversial transgender bathroom law. Officials say that law, which bans individuals from using public bathrooms that don't correspond to their biological sex, violates civil rights. Well the government is threatening to pull federal aid if changes aren't made.

And add South Carolina to the list of states with a diagnosed case of Zika. The mosquito-borne virus has now been detected in a total of 45 U.S. states, as well as the District of Columbia. None of the cases originated from mosquitos in the U.S. And the virus has been linked to birth defects, including a defect which results in babies born with abnormally small heads.

Well a dramatic, slow-speed car chase shuts down a California freeway during rush hour. Watch this. As the driver, who is suspected of attempted murder, weaves in and out of traffic, side swiping cars, trying to get away from police. Authorities finally stopped him and took him into custody after a standoff.

Well find your fanciest hat and break out the mint juleps. The 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby gets going tomorrow. Coy Wire is live from Louisville. I have to say, Coy, I'm jealous of your assignment. As a Kentucky girl who goes to the derby every year, or tries to at least, you've got the premier assignment. And this year's going to be tough to top from last year. Who are the favorites?

[10:58:05]

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR, CORRESPONDENT: It really is Pamela, and let me tell you I am not taking this moment for granted. It's my first derby and I'm so excited. Your home state, Pamela, is treating us right. It's a beautiful day, here at Churchill Downs. And the Kentucky Derby has a bit of a buzz to it this year.

Because remember last year, American Pharoah became the first Triple- Crown winner in 37 years, giving the sport a huge boost. Now this year, you asked about the favorites, well, a lot of people think that the favorite, Nyquist, is going to pull off the same feat, that Triple-Crown. A three-year old colt's coming into the derby unbeaten. He's gone a perfect seven-for-seven in his races, building up to the run for the roses. So keep your eye on him, he'll be out of post 13.

Now his biggest challenger is expected to be Exaggerator, 8 to 1 odds, and his trainer says he's cool as a cucumber. But how cool is this, the horse's team is made up of two brothers, Keith and Kent Desormeaux, and Exaggerator's trainer and jockey. Kent's a Hall of Fame jockey, he's won the Kentucky Derby three times. Made it into the Guinness Book of World Records when he won almost 600 races in a single year. These two brothers have come a long way from growing up in a small town in Louisiana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH DESORMEAUX, EXAGGERATOR'S TRAINER: It was a typical big brother, little brother dynamic, you know.

KENT DESORMEAUX, EXAGGERATOR'S JOCKEY: Yes, like that, exactly.

KEITH DESORMEAUX: Get out of my face, do you have to follow me around all the time?

KENT DESORMEAUX: It's definitely special. It's a whole lot more inner emotion than just winning, when you're doing it family-wise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now there are expected to be 120,000 here today for the traditional Oaks Race. 160,000 expected tomorrow to take in the fastest 2 minutes in sports. I can't wait, Pamela, we wish you, from Kentucky, a very happy Oaks Day.

BROWN: All right. Well I have to say I'm putting my money on the horse named Southern Breaking News, for obvious reasons, there.

WIRE: Ah...

BROWN: Coy Wire, I'm glad my home state is treating you well. Thanks so much for being with us today. I'm Pamela Brown, AT THIS HOUR with Berman and Bolduan starts now.

[10:59:40]