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Source: Central Park Explosive Appears "Homemade"; ISIS Claims Deadliest Baghdad Attack in Nine Years; Two Arrests at Airport in Istanbul; Trump Tweet Evokes Anti-Semitic Imagery; Clinton, Trump Will Soon Announce VP Picks Fame Tonight to Honor America's Service Members; Pentagon Lifts Ban on Transgender Troops. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 03, 2016 - 18:00   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Brianna Keilar in Washington, in for Poppy Harlow.

And we begin with breaking news out of New York City, where an explosion seriously injured a young man in Central Park.

[18:00:04] A witness says the blast left the victim's leg, quote, "all but detached." Video from the scene shows this young man, an 18-year- old, being taken away on a stretcher. Police say that he was just jumping off of a rock when he landed on some kind of explosive material. Right now the FBI is analyzing that explosive.

A short time ago, the NYPD held a news conference about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The explosion that could have been an experiment with fireworks or homemade explosives. We do not have any evidence of a constructive device or commercial grade fireworks. We believe this could have been put here as some sort of experiment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Sara Ganim has been following the story. She's joining me now.

And, Sara, I'm hearing that you just received some new information about the explosive.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. NYPD here are saying that preliminarily they believe this material may have been contained within a plastic bag. They're being very, very clear they do not -- they are not calling this any kind of device. They're not saying that they are -- that they believe that there is any -- necessarily any link to -- any intent to harm someone.

They believe at this point that it may have been a homemade or experimental type of material put together to create an explosion or a loud noise given the holiday weekend. They say around this time of year, they often see members of the public doing something that they obviously don't advise, which is going online, looking up chemistry and putting together devices or materials that they believe, you know, could be some sort of crude kind of firework.

Now, they are being very clear that they don't have evidence one way or the other. They actually opened up the press conference by saying they have a lot of questions. They know we have a lot of questions. They simply don't have all of the answers at this point.

Here's what we do know: around 11:00 this morning, three young men from northern Virginia were here in the park. They were behind me. You can see these rocks, these large rocks. People often go up onto them into the park and walk around.

And these three men jumped off the rock, and when one of them landed, an 18-year-old landed on some sort of material that then exploded and injured him severely. A witness is saying his leg appeared severed above the ankle. NYPD now saying he is in surgery in serious condition.

We know the two who were with him were questioned by NYPD. He was also we believe questioned. They are not considered suspects at this point. Their car was searched.

Police do not believe that they were the ones who brought this material to the park or that they were in any way involved. It appears that he was simply just a victim. Jumped off this rock, landed on something and it severely injured him.

Now, of course, that sounds pretty scary to people who are in the park on this holiday weekend. Police are saying they have canvassed with dogs. They do not believe that there is any continuous threat here to anyone else in the park.

They are also looking at video surveillance. There are several cameras around the park, and they are going back and looking at that video evidence, hoping to get more answers, some of which we just simply do not have at this point -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Sara Ganim in Central Park for us.

I want to bring in our panel now. We have former FBI assistant director, Tom Fuentes, we have CNN law enforcement analyst Harry Houck, and veteran New York journalist and political anchor at Time Warner Cable News, Errol Louis.

Errol, as you sort of are seeing what's happening here, I think it's telling that the park is not shut down. And that's obviously key, that they don't think there is an indication of terrorism, but at the same time, you live in the city. This is alarming, the idea that this 18-year-old, like so many tourists, was out for a great day in Central Park and this is what happened.

ERROL LOUIS, TIME WARNER CABLE NEWS ANCHOR: Yes, sure. It is, of course, very disturbing, because, you know, everybody uses the park. Something like 42 million people visit the park every year. If it were a state, it would be bigger than California. That's a lot of people who are always going through there, whether you're cutting through the park, it's the best way to get east-west in that part of Manhattan in a lot of cases, or you're there to play or just walk through.

So, the notion that among the many other problems that the city has, you know, you've got litterers and you've got crime and so forth, the notion that some sociopath or knucklehead or dimwit would have left something that dangerous laying around, whether intentionally or not, is really quite alarming. I mean, it's that kind of random threat of violence that I think sets most people on edge.

And while they haven't closed the park, and while it looks as if the NYPD is really right on top of this, and you really do want to get the story out of these kids about what they were doing and why, and, you know, as much video surveillance as we can, it's also -- you know, it raises this possibility that, gee, maybe there's one more thing we have to worry about.

[18:05:15] The notion that people would leave something that dangerous just laying around in a city of 8 million people.

KEILAR: Tom, it's in a plastic bag. That's what we're hearing from sources. What does that tell you?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I don't know, to be honest, Brianna. I think if someone is hauling around material in a plastic bag, maybe they were trying to have it so that a bomb-sniffing dog wouldn't notice it if they walked by the park. I don't know.

What I want to hear most about this case now is how did that material detonate? These materials don't just go off because you step on them.

KEILAR: Yes, and that's what is so interesting, Harry, to me, because the police said that looking at this explosive, it doesn't appear to be -- what did they call it? They called it a shock-sensitive explosive material. It didn't appear to be that, right? So this isn't something they think you were supposed to step on and then have this explosion. That's very confusing.

HARRY HOUCK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's very confusing. And me as a detective looking at that, I'm saying to myself, first of all, how did this bomb go off if he stepped on it? Especially if it was in a plastic bag. I was thinking maybe it was in a metal canister and the kid had fell on it, and then a spark between the metal canister and the rock set the device off. I'm thinking maybe that could happen, but that's a chance of one in a million.

What's really important here to me, also as a detective, is I can't wait -- you know, I don't know how well the police or detectives were able to interview the victim who got his foot injured. Was he under some kind of morphine for pain or something like that? I'm very interested to find out what his story is once he comes out of surgery and he's no longer on any kind of medication.

Now, the police, from what we're hearing, did go and search the car. And that's a pretty smart idea. In fact, also, where are these guys staying? I'm sure they're going over to check where they're staying and find out whether or not there's something there that would be able to track them maybe to this device or not.

KEILAR: We understand that authorities have actually been looking at not only their property but also maybe witnesses' property, so we're trying to get more details on that.

I do want to listen to what some of these witnesses said. Let's -- we have a couple of them who were in t park nearby at the time. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And saw his friend up there panicking, ran up the hill and found the young man laying on the rocks. His foot is all but detached. His friends claim he was just walking on the rocks and stepped on something. There was a divot on the ground. There was actually what looks like a divot where there was an explosion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Errol, so many people, when you think of central park, especially at this time of day on a holiday weekend like this, so many people must have been around.

LOUIS: Oh, yes. It's really hard. Unless you know the park, it's really hard to find any privacy, frankly.

KEILAR: Sure.

LOUIS: To find a place where you're really not going to be seen coming or going.

So, yes, I expect the NYPD may have a lot of experience with this kind of thing, are going to put together a timeline, find some witnesses, you know, shake the trees literally, and see what we can find out about both the story that's been told, the story that's been put out there, who these kids are and who was there before they got there. It's really, really important.

And the NYPD, I think, understands that, the safety and security of the city, and the sense of security is really what they've got to deliver to let us know that they literally looked under every stone and have a plausible story so that people can make some intelligent decisions about their safety and the safety of their families.

KEILAR: Tom, they think this wasn't terrorism. That's what we're hearing from officials. How are they able to make that conclusion, or are they saying there is no evidence that it's terrorism, meaning it's not completely ruled out?

FUENTES: Well, they're saying there's no evidence at this point. The question I would have, though, is that if somebody placed this device there or just the explosive material, let's say, and set it up so that someone could trigger it by stepping on it, that's borderline terrorism, even if it's domestic terrorism, of somebody intending to do harm to another person. So, I'm still troubled by, how does this material explode just by stepping on it or falling on it when you're slipping down the rocks? I want to hear that explanation from the explosives experts when they come up with it.

KEILAR: Certainly. I want to bring Sara Ganim back in. She's been talking to sources, and she's also been covering the security that is in place, Sara, because we've seen -- I think everyone is just on this heightened sense of alert with the attack in Orlando and the attack in Istanbul, and then in Dhaka.

[18:10:10] And there are so many people who are gathering there in New York City. How do authorities there propose they are going to keep everyone safe?

GANIM: Yes, that's right, you know. It's been a rough couple of weeks for all of us. It seems like we've seen one after another after another after another of incidents of terrorism, whether it be here or abroad, and that's something that I know has been on people's minds as you go into a holiday weekend. You want to go and have fun.

And, you know, it was estimated -- AAA was estimating 43 million Americans, that's a record number, were going to be traveling this weekend. We saw stepped-up security in cities across the country from Chicago to Washington, D.C. to right here in New York City. A lot of people who are traveling this weekend saw police in tactical gear. They saw bomb-sniffing dogs.

You know, that is something that when you're traveling and you're going on a long weekend or on vacation, you don't want to be reminded of that threat. You know, of course, experts saying those extra precautions are there to keep us safe, they should reassure us, but that's certainly something you've been seeing in the city. Police very clear there were no credible threats, but that's the kind of stepped-up security that people have been seeing throughout the city all weekend.

I want to just quickly add, we haven't seen people scared to come into Central Park today. It's been a very busy day here, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, it certainly has been. Yes, those measures are supposed to reassure us but certainly reminds us we aren't completely secure, that we need those precautions.

Sara, Tom, Harry, Errol -- thanks to all of you.

And still to come now, the now deleted Trump tweet of a six-point star. CNN has tracked down where it came from as Trump's ex-campaign manager defends it, saying it's not the Star of David but a badge worn by sheriffs, or the shape of that. And we've heard the Trump camp is actually considering a second woman for V.P.

All of this and more coming up live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. KEILAR: The terror group ISIS now bragging that they're responsible for the third mass slaughter of civilians in a span of just three days. Turkey, Bangladesh and just this weekend, a crowded marketplace in Baghdad.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

[18:15:04] KEILAR: It was just after sunset Saturday when people were streaming outside at the end of a day of Ramadan fasting when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb and killed 125 people, many of these victims children. The neighborhood, as you can see here, was still smoldering hours later, and then another smaller bomb exploded earlier today in Baghdad, killing one person.

The airport attack in Istanbul, 22 people killed at a cafe in Dhaka, now car bombs in Baghdad. The one big common thread is that ISIS is claiming all of them, and the terror group did announce a few weeks ago that they would carry out more attacks during the month of Ramadan. The unknown was where and how they would strike, and whether this particular spike in violence is over.

I want to bring in two experts on military and anti-terrorism strategy. We have retired Three-Star General Mark Hertling. He commandeered the Army's first division during the Iraq war, and Kristin Beck, retired U.S. Navy SEAL with multiple special operations deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. And also, our senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir is in Istanbul for us.

I want to get to you, Nima, because I know you have breaking news there. What can you tell us?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have two more arrests in Istanbul this evening, Brianna, newly arrived from a plane carrying them from the Ukraine. Two men, a 25-year-old and a 35-year-old, were detained by Turkish authorities carrying identity documents and passports in a number of different names and also, quote, "military items".

The 25-year-old has both a Russian and a Kyrgyz passports. And the second man, a 35-year-old, had a Ukrainian residency permit. Now, this is all from Turkey's semi-official news agency, and they have no information as to whether this is linked to the Ataturk airport attack.

But given that the attackers in that attack were of Uzbek, Russian, Kyrgyzstan nationality, of course, these are the questions that are now arising. What are the links? What are the suspected links? And we're waiting a little bit more clarity on that, Brianna.

KEILAR: And we will look for more clarity on that. That's pretty interesting, Nima, because if you have one of these people that's been arrested -- and, General Hertling, you can weigh in on this -- had a Russian on a passport from Kyrgyzstan, the --

ELBAGIR: Kyrgyzstan, yes. KEILAR: -- the attackers, General, that we know of were, as we believe, from the Dagestan region of Russia, from Uzbekistan, and from Kyrgyzstan, and there's been a lot of attention of ISIS fighters coming from these former Soviet republics.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, not just ISIS fighters, Brianna, but that's exactly right. It's all sorts of Islamic extremists.

And when I was commandeering in Europe, this is what we paid attention to, the flow of these kind of extremists from the Caucasus, all the former Stans in Russia, into not only Syria but also into Iraq. This is not the first time we're seeing this kind of flow, and you're seeing not only the connection between ISIS and these attacks in Turkey, but also the political confrontations that had been occurring over several years between Russia and Turkey.

All of these things are factors playing in these kinds of attacks within Istanbul.

KEILAR: Kristin, you fought against forces that would become precursor to ISIS in Iraq, and it does seem that even though ISIS has lost 25 percent, 30 percent of its territory in Syria and Iraq, clearly the damage that it can affect, as we've seen, in Istanbul and other places is just tremendous. So, even as the U.S. and its partners are trying to target this territory of ISIS, this is just a sign that, really, they can't be contained at this point, right?

KRISTIN BECK, U.S. NAVY SEAL (RET.): Well, there won't be any containment. The territory is a pretty much a moot point. The idea is out there and what they're doing, and the struggle is going to be a worldwide battle. We need to come to terms with that.

All the politicians and everybody, put all your old things away, just get together. Build a big coalition, have law enforcement -- it's huge law enforcement actions and join the military and make this happen. Right now, ISIS is the idea is out and if you keep doing it, we have to fight them on a world front. Join together and make this thing go away.

KEILAR: You're talking more on the ground, right?

BECK: Yes, yes. Right. The fact that this is a World War against an idea and against groups, and we really enforcement and all those coalition forces all getting together and really tackling this issue. It's going to continue. We have to join together.

KEILAR: And, General, we're hearing what Kristen is saying from so many people. They're saying there needs to be, I guess, more of an effort.

[18:20:02] You hear people say there has to be some sort of increased presence on the ground, but that's just not something it seems that there's a big appetite for certainly in the U.S.

HERTLING: There's not, especially not in these societies that have the failed politics and the failed statesmanship that will bring a society together. And that's kind of what we're talking about with an ideology of this sort that just didn't occur in the last few years, Brianna.

This has been going on for several decades. We've been fighting this kind of extremism in many societies for the last 40 to 50 years. This isn't something that's occurred just in the last two years. It will continue until the ideology continues to be fought, as Kristin just said.

But there's also a requirement to eliminate failed states. That's the much harder thing to do. In fact, that is attempting to occur in Iraq right now, and you'll see that even as territory is taken away from the ISIS fighters in some areas of Iraq, you'll have one major strike like a Kurd in Karrada, and you have to look at what happened there.

The dynamics of the suburb of Karrada inside the city of Baghdad, it's a Shia population with some Christians. It is a very wealthy. It's the Georgetown of Baghdad, if you will.

It's a very economically sound area of the city, and al Qaeda attacked that area before ISIS. ISIS will continue to attack that to an attempt to drive a wedge between different elements of Islam. And that's part of the fight as well that has to be undertaken by a lot of the religious people.

KEILAR: And they like to capitalize on sectarian strife, created and capitalized.

General Hertling, thank you so much.

Nima Elbagir, great new reporting, really appreciate it.

And, Kristin Beck, we're going to have you back in the show in just a few minutes as well. Thank you.

New information about a controversial image that Donald Trump tweeted and deleted yesterday. The graphic first appeared on a neo-Nazi message board. Details plus reaction from the Anti-Defamation League, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We're learning some new information about a controversial tweet that Donald Trump posted and deleted yesterday that evoked anti- Semitic imagery. CNN has confirmed that the image first appeared on a neo-Nazi message board.

[18:25:03] Trump came under fire for evoking anti-Semitic stereotypes in this graphic. It includes a six-pointed star and dollar bills as well. It was first posted by an anonymous account 10 days earlier on a message board loaded with neo-Nazi ideology. Now, before deleting the tweet altogether, Trump tweeted the same graphic with a circle, instead of star. And CNN reached out to the Trump campaign to ask where they found this image, and if any of its staffers visited the anti-Semitic message board, they have not responded. So, we don't know the answer to that.

This morning, I spoke with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski who is now a CNN commentator, and he says the criticism is just political correctness run amok.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: A tweet is a simple tweet, and the bottom line is you can read into things that aren't there. This is a simple star, and to make an accusation, it's the same star that sheriff departments across the country use all over the place to represent law enforcement. And to read into something that isn't there is, you know what, I think again that's the mainstream media trying to attack Donald Trump for something that really isn't there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, joining me now is Jonathan Greenblatt. He's CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Jonathan, when you saw that tweet, what was your initial reaction?

JONATHAN GREENBLATT, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE NATL. DIRECTOR: Good afternoon, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, thanks for being with us.

GREENBLATT: We were frankly surprised -- yes. We were frankly surprised to see the presumptive GOP nominee use the kind of imagery that you can find, as you noted in your intro, on anti-Semitic websites and online resources all over the Internet. It seems beneath the candidate and beneath the campaign and beneath all of us to traffic in such hate.

KEILAR: Do you think this is something -- just to be clear for people who are familiar with Twitter, because I checked. I thought, did Donald Trump retweet this? He didn't retweet it. This was an image, perhaps he grabbed it from somewhere and put it out there, but this was his tweet, as you can see there, on our screen.

Do you think that he did it by accident without realizing that this evoked anti-Semitism? Or do you think he did it on purpose, and do you think that matters?

GREENBLATT: Well, I'm not sure that the intention matters as much as the outcome. And when you lie down with dogs, you end up with fleas. So, in this case, it's not the first time we've seen the campaign pull information or retweet or use -- get endorsements from white supremacists, racist and anti-Semites.

And, frankly, I think it's long overdue for the candidate to step up and say, with the same force and passion that he brings to the trail every single day, that these repugnant ideas, that this racism and anti-Semitism. Not only does it have no place in his campaign, but that he rejects the support of those individuals who are promoting these noxious, offensive ideas.

KEILAR: What do you think that the star was changed to a circle before the tweet was deleted altogether? We showed that side by side. Clearly, he realized he needed to make a change.

GREENBLATT: Yes, I mean, look, this erupted a firestorm on the Internet yesterday when it happened. And to call it political correctness, that falls somewhere between absurd or offensive. I don't think Erick Erickson is a member of the mainstream media, and I don't consider myself a bastion of political correctness.

But you know it when you see it, and it's morally offensive. It's worth calling out the fact that Andre Anglin, a prominent white supremacist, he recently said that they in the white supremacist community are hearing the signals from the Trump campaign and celebrating them.

That's a problem for all of us who believe anti-Semitism, racism, has no place in our political conversation.

KEILAR: Jonathan Greenblatt, we do appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you.

GREENBLATT: Thank you very much. Happy Fourth.

KEILAR: And I want to talk about this now with Donald Trump supporter Scottie Nell Hughes. She's also the political editor at RightAlerts.com.

Scottie Nell, please react to what Jonathan just said.

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Obviously, he's not coming to this as a Trump supporter. It's not changing.

You know what I find offensive? I find offensive a presidential candidate that is seen literally kissing someone who was the grand dragon or the head of the KKK. Or the president, like President Obama did, eulogizing that same person, like he did with Senator Robert Byrd. That right there is racist.

This right here is it was a mistake, it was an honest mistake. And until somebody can prove that Mr. Trump or someone from his campaign grabbed this meme from this anti-Semitic website that hadn't been passed along anywhere else, all we're doing is assuming the worst. And I think --

KEILAR: Well, Scottie Nell, we don't really have a choice. It's not as if we haven't done our job and reached out to the campaign, and they are being silent on this.

[18:30:05] So perhaps you can shed some light on these questions that we have, but when a campaign does not answer questions, they create a vacuum where there is certainly it is right for assumption. So that is on the campaign, no?

HUGHES: Yes, at that point you are right. The campaign should be responding to this. But the key in all of this is it just came out where you linked it back to this Web site just within the last three hours. That that's where this meme originally was posted at. We have not looked at how many other Web sites this meme has been passed around, how many times other Web sites both on the conservatives as well as liberals have passed it around.

Here's what's interesting about this, Brianna. This is my file on Mr. Trump --

KEILAR: Do you know -- Scottie, no, you said that liberals have passed that around. Do you believe liberals have passed this around?

HUGHES: No, I'm saying, to sit there, whether it be to sit there and say, look, this is the propaganda that the right side is spinning, or to sit there and say this is what they're saying about our candidate. It goes on both sides. Social media is just like this, it's high school gossip on steroids. And you cannot sit there and hold somebody accountable unless you purposely can say and as a journalist, unless you can purposely prove that he got this meme directly from that Web site and not from somewhere else, right now all we're doing is just guessing when you're saying things. And unfortunately it's showing the bad side of him, which is not true because --

KEILAR: Scottie, no, a lot of people look at -- it seems pretty obvious a lot of people look at that image and they say, oh, wow. I mean, it doesn't take -- this isn't even a dog whistle. This is pretty obvious stuff. I find is -- and look, this may have just been a mistake of something that was grabbed. But isn't that also alarming? I mean, look at that image, the idea that it -- I just didn't know what it was. I mean, is that really a defense?

HUGHES: Do you say that every time you see a sheriff's vehicle pull up next to you? Do you see that every time your kid brings out their Play-Doh play set? You get on Microsoft and you're looking at all the different symbols there? No. Unfortunately this symbol -- and like I pointed out in our previous segment, this is not technically the Star of David? If you actually want to study it, it does have sticks and separate compartments. And it does not have two designated triangles. That is two very important aspects to the Star of David.

Now let's look at this. Why does this keep happening? We keep -- it's like, what is going to be the hate-filled trash that they're going to try to -- it looks like week, ant-Semitism. This is just a distraction to talk about policy. Mr. Trump has policy. I have policy. This whole folder is filled with policy statements by Mr. Trump that he doesn't get to discuss because we talk about --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Well, I mean, look, Scottie Nell, in fairness, in fairness he tweeted an image that first appeared on an anti-Semitic message board and it didn't take CNN very long to figure that out. So it's sort of surprising that the campaign couldn't have figured that out before they went and tweeted it out.

HUGHES: And what other message boards has it appeared on? What other places it appeared on besides that one -- that original destination? Like I said, campaigns do make mistakes. I agree and I think that's why possible, and this is my own guess why they changed it, was just to sit there and get the controversy out, that if you look at the actual Mr. Trump, if you talk -- if you actually realize the tree of life of Israel sitting over his desk and has even before he was running for president that between his daughter, his son-in-law, his grandchildren are all Jewish, he's expressed nothing but respect for the Jewish people and the Jewish faith, that this is just people trying to create a lot about absolutely nothing. They're trying to paint him in a negative light like they've tried to do with every other demographic.

And it's false just like we found the "New York Times" article about women being false, I guarantee down the road, you will find out that this probably was -- this is just an honest mistake where they grabbed the meme from a non-anti-Semitic Web site and decided to post it.

KEILAR: It would be nice to hear that from the campaign. They haven't responded to us.

Scottie Nell Hughes, stay with me.

Donald Trump is adding a new woman to his list of potential running mates. Actually, a second woman. And here's a hint. The new VP contender has a pretty high profile job in the nation's capitol. We'll reveal her name after the break.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:37:08] KEILAR: The veepstakes speculation game is in full swing. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton must soon reveal their choice for running mates. And a source tells CNN that Trump added a new woman to his list of potential contenders, Iowan Senator Joni Ernst. It's unclear whether Ernst, who is a Tea Party star, is interested in being Trump's running mate. You might think she would be if she's being added at this point. But one thing is certain, Donald Trump and Hilly Clinton are running out of time. Soon they have to say who their running mates are.

I want to bring in our panel now. We have Hillary Clinton supporter Emily Tisch Sussman and Donald Trump supporter Scottie Nell Hughes back with us.

Emily, do you think that Clinton supporters should be a little worried if Donald Trump has a ticket that includes a woman on it?

EMILY TISCH SUSSMAN, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Look, I don't think it concerns Clinton supporters who Trump puts on the ticket as his vice president, whether it's Joni Ernst, whether it's Newt Gingrich who made a name for himself by attempting to take down the Clintons and then losing the House majority because of it.

Look, I don't think it really matters. Trump has revealed who he is. He has revealed his temperament, he has revealed his recklessness, and this is who the people have to vote on. And I don't think that there is anybody he could add to the ticket that would make a difference.

KEILAR: He wants, Scottie Nell, someone with a little bit of -- not a little bit, actually quite a bit of Washington experience. Senator Ernst, while popular with Tea Party folks, she doesn't have -- she's pretty new to the game. I mean, she's a first-term senator. Is this really someone who has been through the crucible like, say, a Newt Gingrich who could bring that for Donald Trump?

HUGHES: Well, she was elected in 2014. It was a very contentious race that she was able to win based on the Tea Party way. But she has something even more powerful than I think the legislative experience. That's the military experience. She was definitely very successful and has a longstanding military career, which also I think appeals to many Republicans. So does Tom Cotton, though, from Arkansas, and I think that's another name that being circulated.

So I think that's the difference right now between the VP candidates that the Republicans and the Democrats, is they want multi things to be -- they want multi accomplishments. It's not necessarily demographics to be focused on.

KEILAR: OK. I want to talk a little bit about a Clinton vice presidential contender and that is Labor Secretary Tom Perez. Went a little bit attack dog today on NBC's "Meet the Press." Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM PEREZ, LABOR SECRETARY: Donald Trump is a fraud. He is an -- he's the outsourcer in chief, Chuck, and listening to him talk about how he's going to put America first again, he spent his entire career putting his own profits first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Emily, how seriously do you think Hillary Clinton is considering Perez as a running mate, and what does he bring to the table?

SUSSMAN: I hope she is considering Perez very seriously. He is a very strong candidate. Everybody who works for him, everybody who's ever worked for him, he is beloved. And he's really strong where Trump is very weak. He understands the issues that are impacting working people right now and has done everything he can to help protect them, increase their wages and help get more money in their pocket.

[18:40:07] So he has done everything he possibly can as labor secretary to do this. I think he would be a great choice.

KEILAR: And he's strong on civil rights, for instance, Scottie Nell. He's obviously a prominent Hispanic figure. This is someone who is going to take aim at Donald Trump and some of the things he said that is -- that are unpopular with Hispanic voters. How much should he be worried by a Tom Perez possibility?

HUGHES: Well, it seems like all of those that are running for VP underneath Hillary are trying to figure out who can slam Trump the best. Is that who they think she's going to think. Instead of necessarily putting out their policy for America forward. That's the problem right now with this political process. We're having all of these political little nitty-pity fights and neither side is able to actually talk about their policies.

I think it's now the responsibility of both parties to pick VP choices, not about how bad the slam the other side, but more importantly, what they want to do for this country.

KEILAR: Scottie Nell, Emily, thanks to both of you for -- I'm so sorry, we're out of time, Emily, but thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.

And batter up. A baseball game tonight in North Carolina will make military history. And former Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward takes a leap of faith with the Army's Golden Knights. What are these two things have in common? You'll have to stick around to find out.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: What is more American on Independence Day weekend than taking in a baseball game, right? But tonight Atlanta Braves-Miami Marlins matchup makes -- well, it takes patriotism to a whole new level. This will be the first time in a regular season game that -- in any professional sport at all, on an active military base that the game will be played. And this is going to take place in a brand new 12,500-seat stadium at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Keeping a very close eye on today's fanfare for us is none other than Pittsburgh Steelers legend Hines Ward, who is making his debut with the CNN Sports team.

[18:45:05] Hines, welcome.

HINES WARD, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: How are you doing, Brianna? I'm so excited to be part of this Fourth of July weekend here at Fort Bragg. And as you can see behind me, guys are finishing up batting practice and, you know, military families are coming and filling in the stands. I don't know who's more excited, the players or the soldiers. I saw the players earlier coming out, taking pictures of the venue, signing autographs with families. Earlier today they took a tour of the base and I got to tell you, talking to the players, they're excited to be here.

KEILAR: It's a great game, and you know, from what I've been hearing, Hines, it sounded like you had quite the initiation to the team.

(LAUGHTER)

WARD: Yes. Yes, I did. I had the great opportunity to hang out with the black and gold, the U.S. Army parachute team, better known as the Golden Knights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: At least I got the right colors on. All right. I'm good to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody calls me Ace.

WARD: I like Ace. That sounds like a guy that would keep me alive. Well, I'm definitely going to scream like a little girl. You don't have to worry about that. Has anyone like passed out before while they were like --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

WARD: You're not a Ravens fan, are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Well, I'm going to get a parachute. All right?

WARD: Yes. Make sure yours is on tight, too. You got me? Don't drop me, Ace.

That was worse than playing with Baltimore Ravens. That was the scariest thing I've ever done. I'm officially part of the team now, CNN. I took one for the team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That is amazing. It puts a whole new -- a whole new meaning to go Army, doesn't it, Hines?

WARD: I definitely took one for the team. When I jumped out of that plane, I thought I saw Jesus. But game time is near, I'm excited about the pregame, so you're going to see planes flying over, you're going see guys parachuting down, bringing the game all to the football field, firecrackers and all. But important, the National Anthem is going to be rocking so I'm excited to be here tonight.

KEILAR: What a great evening at Fort Bragg, and thank you so much for bringing us a little bit of it, Hines Ward.

WARD: No problem.

KEILAR: And you know, the United States Military has blasted down a major barrier for some people who want to serve their country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASH CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Is someone the best qualified service member to accomplish our mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The Pentagon opening the door to qualified men and women regardless of their gender identity. I'll talk about this historical moment with the Navy SEAL's first ever transgender woman. That is next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:09] KEILAR: A historic decision is changing the course of the United States Military. The Pentagon has lifted its ban on transgender troops from serving openly in the military. This is effective immediately.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: As a result of this year-long study, I'm announcing today that we're ending the ban on transgender Americans in the United States Military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Defense Secretary Ash Carter was laying out a list of reasons, among them he said qualified Americans willing to serve their country shouldn't have to serve in fear. And one person who knows better than most what a monumental decision this is retired U.S. Navy SEAL, part of the elite SEAL Team 6, 20-year combat veteran, and transgender -- and a transgender woman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTIN BECK, U.S. NAVY SEAL (RET.): I'm still a human being and I deserve getting respect. We're Americans. And we are a part of our country. It's another mission. Because there's a lot of freedom I'm defending by doing this. And in some ways this is way more mentally and physically rigorous than many things I've done in my past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The subject of that CNN film "LADY VALOR" joining me now Kristin Beck.

The Pentagon, Kristin, once considered transgender people to essentially be sexual deviants who had to be medically discharged from service. So tell us, when you heard this decision, and I'm sure that you were watching as the defense secretary announced this, what was that like for you? What did it mean?

BECK: It's a great victory. I mean, it's one of those things where you're proud of America, that we are moving forward. And individual liberty is just being celebrated. I mean, Fourth of July, what better way to celebrate liberty and true freedom than to have this announcement? It was amazing.

KEILAR: What was it like for you when you were discharged?

BECK: I retired, so I wasn't discharged.

KEILAR: OK. OK.

BECK: So I have an honorable -- I mean, I left because -- I was at 20 years. I retired. And I was kind of beat up from so much combat. So it was time for me to get out. But there's 15,000, I think there was even more troops than that, transgender people serving right now in uniform. They're extremely capable. Can you imagine having all those people kicked out for something that just doesn't make sense? I mean, being transgender is not a big deal. We're just regular folks just like you and me. It's not a big deal.

KEILAR: It's -- when the defense secretary announced this, this was a pretty complex announcement because he talked about really phasing in education on the part of officers, on the part of soldiers so that there's more awareness. And then there was also this condition that for people who want to join the military, they will have to -- they'll have to wait 18 months basically to give themselves a gap from the time that they are transitioning and having a doctor sort of certify that they are stable in their new gender. What do you think about that?

BECK: Well, I 100 percent agree. I mean, there's a lot of the transgender people that have been fighting for this and groups and everybody's joined together to try to make this happen. There's been a lot of the thought into this by hundreds of people. So this is not just something he came up with on his own. Having an 18-month wait period, I think that's perfect, it gives a person enough time to really settle down and figure things out.

I mean, you figure if you look at that film "LADY VALOR," you'll see me in there struggling as a 40-year-old person going through puberty. So you kind of have to have some of that time where you kind of settle everything down, the hormones, and everything else you're doing, and really buckle down. And then join up. So I 100 percent agree with that.

Education for the officers, the senior NCOs, that's going to be critical at this time. So just people to gain the information and understanding and build that compassion so that they make the right decisions for a person. Because that's not going to be an ordinary thing for them that they've dealt with in the past for their soldiers. So it's a little different. So education is critical at this time.

[18:55:06] KEILAR: If you had revealed yourself as a woman while you were a Navy SEAL, obviously you didn't, but in the absence of this change, what would that have been like?

BECK: If this didn't happen and I revealed who I was, I would have been dismissed, I would have been discharged.

KEILAR: Yes.

BECK: And it would have been pretty ball. I did reveal who I was to one of my friends, a SEAL team member, and his advice was to me, just don't tell anyone. Keep it secret.

KEILAR: Yes.

BECK: It will be very bad for you and a lot of other people if you talk about this. And that's just back in the '90s. KEILAR: Yes.

BECK: So it was tough times.

KEILAR: Sure. And definitely that's exactly what we would expect.

BECK: Yes.

KEILAR: Kristin Beck, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it.

BECK: Thank you.

KEILAR: And you have heard a lot about the high unfavorability ratings for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. What happens when voters are asked, do you prefer Trump, Clinton, or a meteor hitting the planet earth? The answer next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Finally, tonight's number. 13. According to a new poll, that's the percentage of people who would rather see a giant meteor hit the earth than see either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton be elected president. According to Public Policy Polling the final break down was 43 percent for Clinton, 38 percent for Trump, 13 percent meteor, 7 percent unsure.

And by the way, this is not the first time that the PPP has included a bizarre option in its survey questions. Last year it asked if the U.S. should bomb the fictional city of Agrabah from Disney's "Aladdin."

We've got a great night of television ahead for you including back-to- back episodes of "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH" leading up to tonight's brand new episode "THE SINS OF FATHERS." That is at 9:00. Followed by a new episode of "DECLASSIFIED: ZARQAWI, THE FATHER OF ISIS." See how the U.S. took down one of the world's most dangerous terrorists at 10:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

I'm Brianna Keilar in Washington. Poppy Harlow will be back next weekend. Have a great week.