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Trump in Damage Control After McCain Comments; Fifth Service Member Dies After Attack. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 18, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

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ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in for Poppy Harlow. Hope you're having a great weekend.

Now, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is in full damage control-mode right now after making a comment just a few hours ago slamming Arizona senator John McCain and his status as a war hero.

Listen.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's not a war hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a war hero.

TRUMP: He is a war hero...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five-and-a-half years (inaudible).

TRUMP: He's a war hero 'cause he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK? I hate to tell you. (Inaudible) a war hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) that?

TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. OK? You can have - and I believe...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: He got mixed reaction from the crowd there. You could hear some boos even in the crowd.

Now, Trump quickly backtracked on Twitter following this event, saying, "Captured or not, all soldiers are heroes! And I have a proven track record supporting our veterans. Veterans deserve universal access to care. The VA scandal proves politicians are inept."

Joining us now, CNN politics executive editor Mark Preston, CNN political analyst Ben Ferguson, and senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny.

Mark, let's start with you. We saw Trump surge in the polls after he made those comments criticizing Mexican immigrants, calling them "rapists". But has he gone too far finally with this comment?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, Ana, you have to ask yourself, "Has the Donald Trump shtick really run its course?" And today, with these comments about John McCain, it very well might have. I have to tell you, while there was some applause and snickering and laughter in - during that comment that Trump made about John McCain, I think people were a little bit surprised. And of course, we have seen the outpouring of support now in just the past few hours for John McCain, not only from Democrats but also the Republicans who are challenging Donald Trump in this race for the Republican nomination. At this point, as you said, Donald Trump is in full damage control. Question is what is his next step? Ana?

CABRERA: Jeff, I want to ask you. You're in Arizona. Did McCain have anything to say about any of this?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Ana, I am in Phoenix and I talked to an advisor to Senator McCain just a few moments ago and he said the senator will not have any comment on this, at least at this point right now. This really is the old political adage. If someone is digging themselves a hole, why help them out of it here?

So there's no love lost between John McCain and Donald Trump. They've been going back and forth a little bit with some other comments not quite this incendiary. But Senator McCain is not going to have anything to say on this.

But Mark's right. Every Republican across the board, across the spectrum of the - of the party leadership, party elders, other presidential candidates are coming to his defense. And it's interesting. I mean, Senator McCain certainly is a controversial figure among some Republicans. Some Republicans don't believe that he was a conservative enough nominee in 2008, running against Barack Obama, but there is no question about his time as a war hero. There is no question about that part of his valued service here. So no Republican is not coming to his defense today. But Senator McCain, of course, is deciding to not weigh in himself.

CABRERA: And, Ben, what about the timing of this? I mean, this comes on a weekend when the military specifically is mourning the deaths of five service members killed in Chattanooga.

BEN FERGUSON, HOST, "THE BEN FERGUSON SHOW": Yes. You stick a microphone in front of an idiot for long enough and they're going to say something stupid. Donald Trump is a ticking time bomb. He's nothing but a narcissistic bully and if he ever gets challenged by anybody, he pulls these things out of his hat without even thinking about them. I don't think this was pre-planned. I think this is - literally, this is a loaded gun. Donald Trump will go out there and say anything inflammatory about anyone to anybody that's going to listen.

It's almost like he's a stand-up comedian on a political tour and this is exactly what you should expect from Donald Trump. This is bringing him back down, I think, to who he really is. He's a reality TV star who understands how to get people to want to watch him and it's a train wreck and I'm glad that he's finally starting to dig this hole and I think no one's going to throw him a rope or a lifeline to help get him out because most Republicans I know, they want him to continue to say stupid stuff like this so that they'll see he's not a legitimate candidate.

[16:05:06]

CABRERA: Well, do you think this is the straw that breaks the camel's back, so to speak?

FERGUSON: I think it's the first straw. I think there's a lot of people that have loved how blunt Donald Trump has been. But when you look at John McCain and you look at what he went through - and we're talking about genuine brutal torture. A man that a lot of people think shouldn't even be alive. He is a hero. And when you see someone take a shot like this in such a vile way, I think this is what starts eroding that base and people go, "You know what? Maybe I don't want him in charge of this country at the end of the day."

CABRERA: Mark, we are getting strong reaction from McCain's - I should say, Trump's rivals for the nomination.

We have Jeb Bush who's tweeting, "Enough with the slanderous attacks. Senator John McCain and all of our veterans, particularly POWs, have earned our respect and admiration."

Also, this coming from Scott Walker. He says, "Senator McCain is an American hero, period. I'll denounce any attack against his service and anyone else who wears the uniform."

So, Mark, what else are we hearing now from the RNC?

PRESTON: Well, now, we've heard the Republican National Committee. They have come out and they have equivocally stated that they too think that John McCain is a hero, period. And I have to tell you, certainly on a weekend day where you wouldn't expect the National Committee to be working and to be engaged as much, to see them come out so quickly in defense of John McCain, I think, says a lot.

But you know, Ana, I think as we talk about Donald Trump being the biggest loser today which clearly he is, I think you have to start to say, "Who is the winner from these comments?" And you could argue that in fact, Jeb Bush who chose not to be here in Iowa to appear before the social conservatives today, thought that he would come under a lot of fire for doing so, he might be the biggest winner and the reason being is that Donald Trump has aimed all of his criticism and fire at Jeb Bush. Now, Jeb Bush seems to be sitting on the sidelines watching Donald Trump take all the heat. Ana?

CABRERA: Well, Jeff, you have to wonder why Trump made those comments. What does he have to gain by targeting McCain?

ZELENY: Well, look, I mean, it was - John McCain, to certain Republicans, to certain conservative Republicans, tea party activists, is a popular whipping boy. But - so perhaps he was trying to get some reaction from the crowd that he was speaking to in Iowa. John McCain is running for re-election to the senate here in Arizona. He has a primary opponent. So John McCain is not -as I said earlier - beloved necessarily for his politics inside the Republican Party. So Donald Trump was certainly trying to - seemed to be to be trying to capitalize on that. But in doing so, he really ignited the ire of even some of Senator McCain's rivals by questioning his war heroism.

Don't forget, Senator McCain - when he was captured, he refused efforts to be released early. He chose to stay as a - as a POW there and would not be released early. So no one questions his heroism here, except Donald Trump it turns out. Now, the question is "What does the Republican National Committee do about this? Do they really want him on that debate stage, August 6th, for the first Republican presidential debate?" That is the question that's coming out next. Maybe they can't do much about it but those questions will certainly be asked.

FERGUSON: The RNC maybe not want Trump on the stage. The problem is if you kick him off the stage then how much of a sideshow does Trump become and even making the debate look small because he's not there and he plays the victim card. But there's another part of this with Trump too. He was - it was a blunder when he got into the whole immigration debate. That was not planned. Today is the next blunder and guess what? This one finally hurts him. The other one - he doubled down and people liked him because he was maybe being blunt and bold.

But when you go out there and you really don't know what you're going to say. It's bad enough if you're a campaign, if you don't know what your candidate's talking about today or what messaging you're trying to work on. Donald Trump does not know what he is going to say when he gets on stage. This was not planned. And I promise, this will not be the last blunder by a guy that is instant thing that he always does is he insults anyone that questions him, "Everyone's stupid, everyone's dumb, everyone's poor, no one's as rich as I am." He's not a smart man. He's not a smart guy. We've heard that multiple times from Donald Trump about all the other candidates and when that is what your campaign's about, you're going to have big screw-ups like this one today. And I promise you, this will not be the last one.

CABRERA: There's that old saying, "All publicity is good publicity" and maybe that's his philosophy here. Who knows? But Mark Preston, Jeff Zeleny, Ben Ferguson, we could go on and on. There's much to discuss. Thank you all so much for your time. We appreciate it.

Still ahead, what some Vets have to say about Trump slamming McCain's service.

But first, protecting soft targets after the deadly rampage in Chattanooga. Why aren't the people who protect us allowed to protect themselves?

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CABRERA: The shooting rampage in Chattanooga, Tennessee has claimed yet another life. A sailor who was critically wounded in Thursday's attack died overnight and he's now the fifth service member killed. Family members have identified him as Petty Officer Randall Smith.

Boris Sanchez joins us in Chattanooga where the community is mourning the victims.

Boris, we're getting new details about what happened the morning of the attack. Fill us in.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, those details coming from Randall Smith's step-grandmother. She says her grandson ran trying to warn others when the shooter burst through the gate at the naval center and got ready to open fire. As Smith was running away, he was shot three times. He went into surgery, Thursday, and he passed away last night. A difficult blow not only for his family but also for mourners here as the investigation goes on.

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SANCHEZ (voice-over): As the community of Chattanooga gathered to remember the lives lost, new details emerge revealing how the shooting unfolded.

According to investigators, police followed 24-year-old Muhammad Youssuf Abdulazeez down the highway after he shot up a recruitment center and pursued him to the naval facility where he crashed the gate and opened fire.

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PAUL STONE: It was just a volley of fire going off and then I started hearing bullets ricochet. So that's when I knew there's - something's going on.

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SANCHEZ (voice-over): Paul Stone works at the glass shop across the street.

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STONE: It was about probably a 30-round burst in just a matter of seconds that went off.

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SANCHEZ (voice-over): Abdulazeez was armed with at least two long guns and a hand gun, killing the four Marines inside a fenced area before police shot and killed him.

[16:15:07]

A sailor that was also wounded died overnight.

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CHIEF FRED FLETCHER, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE POLICE: There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Chattanooga police officers prevented loss of life yesterday. I have never been prouder to be a police officer.

GOV. BILL HASLAM, (R) TENNESSEE: I think what you'll see throughout the next days, weeks, months, and even longer is Chattanoogans who are saying "We're not going to forget what happened and four people whose lives were lost right here."

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SANCHEZ (voice-over): Paul Stone certainly will not forget.

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STONE: Because this is home. This is where we live. And for somebody to come in where we live and kill our people, it breaks our heart.

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SANCHEZ: We heard something similar from Randall Smith's step- grandmother saying that she didn't believe her grandson was in any danger. He had never been deployed to combat overseas. She did not expect his safety was at risk here in Chattanooga. Ana?

CABRERA: All right. Boris Sanchez reporting live in Chattanooga. Thank you.

In the aftermath of the deadly rampage in Chattanooga, several governors have now moved to make sure that National Guardsmen in their states are armed and can protect themselves.

We're joined by former FBI agent Foria Younis and former ATF executive Matthew Horace.

Matthew, let's start with you. We've seen these orders regarding the National Guard and arming them in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana. It seems like we continue to see sort of a trickle-down effect here. But it still does not change the policy that there are no weapons allowed at military recruiting centers or these reserved offices. Does that policy need to change?

MATTHEW HORACE, FORMER ATF EXECUTIVE: Well, I think, after every tragedy, we go back and examine our vulnerabilities and that's exactly what's happening here. Just think, the military recruitment offices are the one area that we depend on to be accessible, visible, and active. And in most cases, these offices are in areas that are unsecure. I think now, you're going to see the DoD take a very hard look at all these offices after this incident and determine not only if people can be armed but if we can upscale their security profiles.

CABRERA: Foria, we've heard these calls from ISIS to encourage lone wolf terrorists to go after military targets specifically and police here in the U.S. And yet, there's still no known connection with ISIS or another terror group in this particular case. But what can you do to fend off these so-called lone wolf attacks?

FORIA YOUNIS, FORMER FBI AGENT: Yes. I mean, the lone (inaudible) attacks are very difficult in the sense that if the guy's not talking to anyone, if there (inaudible), he's not visiting people, he's not typing about it on social media, it's a little bit hard. But what we do know about them - these radicalized individuals - they do look for targets. Obviously, they like to kill government officials, military, then maybe economic centers. They have their priorities. And what you can do is if you do harden up - make a target a little bit harder for these terrorists, they may go on to something else but they will eventually attack if that's what they intend to do. They will try to find the target that they can attack. You could arm those soldiers and I - the soldiers, they protect our freedoms everyday so you could arm them but they'll find someone else if they feel like they cannot attack the military soldiers anymore. CABRERA: We have heard from several of the gunman's friends saying that they had no red flags, there were no signs necessarily that he was violent in any way. And yet, there were others who said he changed after a visit to Jordan last year in which he supposedly was visiting an uncle there. He has done some overseas trips several times.

So, Matthew, do you think that he should have been on the radar because of the culture and the climate we have right now regarding the terrorism that's happening overseas?

HORACE: Well, let's face it. I think the FBI and all the intelligence organizations do a fantastic job of tracking people. But as you know, we have rights in this country and there's a very careful balance and counter-balance of establishing who should be on watchlists and who shouldn't be on watch - should be on watchlists. In this case, everyone who was around this individual says one thing and now, we start questioning his travel and those sorts of things. So this was one of those cases where someone slipped through the cracks. He didn't reach the radar of anyone and he committed a horrible act and now, we're going to go back after the fact and evaluate just how we vet people, just how we establish those critical protocols and move on.

CABRERA: Foria, what do you think is the key to finding a motive in this case?

YOUNIS: Yes. I think a lot of his friends are saying he was a very nice guy and all of this. But I think there's a lot of people out there - when you look at these radicalized individuals, they - it's in some ways, it's not that hard. They clearly - whether it's disagreeing with American military presence overseas, they clearly dislike America for some reason and they feel that it's their job to do something about it.

[16:20:01]

So there's a lot of (inaudible) - people don't like to mention too much about religion. Some people don't like to talk about the fact that these individuals don't like American foreign policy. But these guys do figure it out that they have to step up and do something. And he was blogging a lot about the afterlife. So if his own personal life is falling apart, he clearly had family issues, he probably did visit overseas and look down upon what America is doing and he felt that he needed to act. Those are some of the things. Sometimes, there are individuals that are close to these people that see something but it's just hard because I think if it's your own family member, sometimes you just don't really think that he's going to take that next step and actually begin to kill innocent military soldiers.

CABRERA: All right. Foria Younis and Matthew Horace. We'll have to leave it there. Thanks to both of you.

HORACE: Thank you.

CABRERA: And though the gunman's motive has not been confirmed, investigators are looking closely at whether his faith had turned militant in some way or radical but other types of extremists can be even more dangerous to Americans. Coming up, we'll look at the threats posed - poised by various militant groups.

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CABRERA: The newest development from that horrible shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee is a tragic one. The one U.S. serviceman who was badly wounded, shot three times, died early today in the hospital. Witnesses say Petty Officer Randall Smith warned people around him when he saw the gunman but he wasn't able to get out of the line of fire.

[16:25:12]

Smith is now the fifth shooting victim to die. Four U.S. Marines were also killed.

And we've learned the gunman was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Kuwait. His motivation for killing American service members is still not known.

I want to get Mubin Shaikh here. He's an author who used to live the life of jihadist before he went to work against extremism.

Also with us, David Gletty, a former undercover agent for the FBI.

Mubin, you have seen the blog allegedly written by the shooter. It references some Islamic philosophies. Yet the FBI has not been able to link him to any specific organization. What does your gut say about this man - Muhammad Abdulazeez? Muslim extremist?

MUBIN SHAIKH, FORMER JIHADIST: Well, I mean, the problem with the blog post is it doesn't really show any affinity to any particular group. I mean, there is a statement about the companions of the prophet Al- isham. He's saying that they weren't monks in the monastery. They were also fighters and warriors. And that, I guess, is true factually but I mean, is that militancy? Extremism? It's hard to say.

There are a couple of things that - what I call "ISIS"-speak in the sense that number one, he did it in the fasting month and this is what the ISIS leader has called for - ISIS spokesperson has called for. And number two, he references hijra to emigrate to the Islamic lands which is again what ISIS says. But again, there's a complete lack of information in this regard. Usually with cases like this, you're going to see a Facebook post, Twitter, something where either he vociferously hates America or whatever it is, something to go on. In this case, there's really nothing.

CABRERA: That's what makes this one in particular such a mystery, it seems.

David, we know there's been some research done in this research center called "New America" from Washington found that many - at twice as many people in this country are killed by white supremacists and anti- government extremists than by Muslim fanatic. Which group is the biggest threat, do you think, to national security? DAVID GLETTY, FORMER FBI UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE: I would have to say both of them right now. From what I know from an undercover capacity, both of these groups. Just look at the facts, the big elephant in the room. Of course, you have black crimes that we're used to, Hispanic crimes that we're used to, but with this, we're not used to. We're not used to white extremists going into churches and shooting black people or white people and extremists from Middle Eastern - Middle Eastern descent shooting Marines and sailors on a base.

And this is - but this is to be expected. The new - this is going to happen more and more because of the melting pot of what we have in America. And we're not getting along enough as Americans right now. And these extremists - whether they're a white-power extremist or of Middle Eastern or just Middle Eastern descent, they're looking to be a part of something. There's three percent - not all people are evil, but three percent of any group are evil. They're the ones that go out and do the things and these guys want to be a part of something. Whether they're white-power or Middle Eastern descent, they want to cause terror and fear amongst the American people and disruption in the American government and now's the time for us to act because it's not going to stop on its own.

CABRERA: Mubin, you point out that there is a difference between how Muslim extremists are portrayed versus these anti-government or right- wing extremists. Explain and why do you think it is?

SHAIKH: Well, I mean, unfortunately, we're conditioned. We're conditioned to expect that if a Muslim kills somebody, it's got to be terrorism or it's because of his religion. If he robs a store or something, it's Muslim thief. And because we're conditioned, there are wars happening in the Middle East and it's impossible for us - for the public to separate those two things. So there's a clear discrepancy in the way a Muslim extremist is depicted versus white supremacy extremists. For example, the Charleston shooter fits all the definition - fits the definition of a terrorist. I mean, it was a public space, it was civilian people, and he wanted to do it to start a civil war. I mean, that's political motivation. But I mean, there's a clear reluctance to call it terrorism.

CABRERA: We did call it terrorism here on CNN, just for the record.

David, what's most important here is how you fight these particular threats. And when we're talking about separate groups yet attacking and harming Americans, how can you fight these threats? Is it the same approach or should law enforcement take a different approach for each side?

GLETTY: A different - there has to be a different approach taken because obviously, what is going on now does not work. And of course, you can't blame any administration in power. Some people want to blame President Obama, President Bush. We, as Americans, have to get past all that. It's up to us as Americans, as the first-responders to first educate our children no matter what our background is, what our beliefs are, what our gender is, it does not matter. We, as Americans, need to come together and first off, we're [16:30:00] the parents. Talk to our children. Watch what they're

doing, who they're associating with, because they're being radicalized no matter in what different beliefs, white power extremism or like I said, Middle Eastern descent right now.

It's up to us as the adults to watch our children. You know, we are smarter than our children, to much people's surprise. And we are the adults -- take charge and educate our children.

And the school system needs to take charge. Our own government first needs to take the step and say, yes, this is a problem. But no administration wants that to happen on their watch. So they play politics and point fingers but they are very slow to react, just wait for it to go away and then, boom, here it is again a couple months later.

Right now, the American people need to be outraged and call upon our president to take steps.

CABRERA: All right.

GLETTY: We need to be more in touch with the different groups here in America.

CABRERA: We all hope that we can get a handle on the issue. That's for sure.

David Gletty, Mubin Shaikh, thanks to both of you for your time and expertise.

GLETTY: Thank you very much.

CABRERA: Coming up, outrage is flaring over Donald Trump's attack on John McCain's military service, as well as his service to veterans. Now, a retired general weighs in, next.

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CABRERA: Updating you on our top story now. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is at the center of a political firestorm again after saying Arizona Senator John McCain is not a war hero, because he was captured during the Vietnam War. Now, Trump later tried to clarify his remarks, backtrack, saying he believed McCain had not done enough for veterans.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain has not done enough for the veterans in this country.

REPORTER: One question --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Let me explain something. When John McCain calls 15,000 people that showed up in Phoenix, Arizona, to talk about illegal immigration, he calls them a bunch of crazies, he's doing a great disservice to this country.

(CROSSTALK)

REPORTER: You did not respect him because he was captured, you said I don't --

[16:35:00] TRUMP: No, that's not --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Excuse me. Excuse me. If a person's captured, they are a hero as far as I'm concerned unless they are a traitor like Bergdahl. He was captured. He's no hero.

But you have to do other things also. I don't like the job that John McCain is doing in the Senate because he's not taking care of our veterans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So this was Trump explaining his initial comments.

And joining me now, Major General James Williams, a retired U.S. Marine commander.

First, I want to get your reaction to the initial comments that Trump made that McCain is not a war hero because he was captured.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES WILLIAMS, U.S. MARINE CORPS (RET): Well, Ana, you know, it's very troubling, the statement by him or any other politician that would basically identify the fact that he did not like that somebody that served in the military, was captured. So, my first reaction was, does that mean that you don't like any of the prisoner of wars that were captured in this country, not -- barring John McCain?

But the fact that you pick on John McCain specifically and say he's not a hero is troubling. I mean, the man has received the Silver Star, the highest -- third highest award in the U.S. government for military service, heroic service, distinguished cross, Purple Heart, five years in a prison where he was tortured in North Vietnam.

And I had the opportunity to walk through that prison, the Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi a number of years ago and, you know, I can tell you that anybody that receives those awards in this U.S. military does not receive those awards because they are sitting at home in an armchair. And it is all about heroic action.

CABRERA: For you personally as a military member, do those comments offend you?

WILLIAMS: Well, they're troubling. Look, I know this is a political season but, you know, these are men and women that want to be president of the United States and commander-in-chief of the United States military forces. And so, how you view the military and what you say about people that have served in the military, whether they're your competition in politics or not, is very troubling. And it may say something about his view of the military. I don't know.

CABRERA: Well, Trump did later tweet out saying, "I have a proven track record supporting our veterans. Veterans deserve universal access to care and V.A. scandal proves politicians are inept."

So, General, what do you think of him trying to clarify his comments in that way? Does he have a point to some degree?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think he may. If his argument with John McCain in saying that John hasn't supported the veterans of this country, I think may have to separate what his role is. I mean, in the Senate Armed Services Committee, his role is support for the maintaining and gaining the military forces of the active duty guard and reserve.

When you talk about the veterans, you separate the veterans in a way, those who have served, they now belong out of the Department of Defense and are part of the responsibility of the V.A., Veterans Administration, and, you know, certainly John McCain is a veteran, but I'm not sure what Donald Trump means that he's not been supportive of the veterans. You know, the roles are kind of mixed here.

CABRERA: Well, I had to ask the question did Donald Trump serve in the military? I want you to look at this document we found from the "Smoking Gun". It shows Donald Trump's selective service status over the years of the Vietnam War. It indicates that he received multiple deferments from our research, he did not serve.

Considering all that, should Trump even be talking about McCain at all, in this light?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think that's something that everybody can debate. But the way I read the document is that he received classifications that did not require him to do service. How those deferments were delivered, you know, each individual back then, especially through the selective service, would have received a letter from the selective service board saying why they received the deferment. In some cases, it looks like there were a couple of physical examinations that said that he was disqualified because of some medical issue but it's not clear from that document.

CABRERA: All right. General Williams, stay with me. I want to also talk to you about Chattanooga.

And up next, a new form of military camouflage from uniforms to social media. Our U.S. troops and their families are being urged to keep a low profile on the home front. Is that really the best we can do to keep them safe from the attacks?

[16:40:02] We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: A U.S. sailor wounded in Thursday's shooting rampage in Tennessee has died, bringing the death toll in that attack to five. A family member confirms Navy Petty Officer Randall Smith succumbed to his injuries this morning after being shot three times while trying to warn others about the gunman. Four U.S. Marines also lost their lives.

Right now, investigators are finishing up their investigation at the first shooting scene and are digging into the gunman's past. Investigators have also seized a cell phone and computer from his home. Those are being sent to an FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, in hopes they will shed some light perhaps on a motive.

As I said, five people have died from the Chattanooga shootings, all of them military men -- four U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy petty officer. And today, the governors of several states made some changes aimed at keeping troops safer, allowing them to be armed national guards places.

Now, earlier this year, U.S. Northern Command issued a message to U.S. troops with some tips to help them avoid advertising themselves as military.

I want to talk again to retired Marine Corps General James Williams about this.

General, troops stationed overseas -- they are regularly ordered to keep a lower profile in public, no uniforms, no military lingo. But we're talking about folks here in the United States, where service men or women should be able to and probably are proud to show their military colors.

[16:45:01] What's your reaction to this new guidance or these changes?

WILLIAMS: Well, certainly, Ana, the responsibility of force protection on a global scale belongs to the Department of Defense and to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to the service chiefs, and then to every commander that is in charge of a military installation or military office. It's important that our military members understand that the environment has changed. Some areas may not be as safe even if it's at home here.

And so, I think we have a new paradigm that we all have to be aware of, and you know, the armed forces recruiting centers have typically been very open so that you can get new recruits to come in and visit and this sort of thing, have their parents come by.

And when you talk about reserve centers or guard centers, some of those are behind fenced areas that are controlled by either contract police or by military members themselves, but when you talk about a recruiting center, those are very vulnerable and they belong to the commercial world and so the challenge here will be what measures in force protection would you take to protect that.

That could be anywhere from a barrier protection plan so somebody can't drive a car through the window. You may need to have bulletproof glass and there may be some other measures that need to be taken. But these are going to have to be assessed by everybody.

And every state, every state governor, every state National Guard commander knows that they're going to have to reassess the vulnerabilities for any of their military installations and be part of a plan that's going to provide that force protection that every one of our service members need.

CABRERA: All right. Major General James Williams, thanks for your time. Good to see you.

WILLIAMS: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: We'll be right back.

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[16:50:49] CABRERA: Welcome back.

In this week's "American Opportunity" segment, she's a tech big wig from Silicon Valley, who used to run Google X. That's the group behind Google glass and the driverless car.

The Megan Smith packed up earlier this year and she moved to Washington to become the chief technology officer of the United States.

Now, one of her goals is finding ways to bring access to technology and opportunity from it to those who need it most.

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MEGAN SMITH, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: For the country that has a rover on Mars, you know, and we also have one in four American children in poverty. And so, just the opportunity to be part of the leadership team to unlock the talent of the American people, both on the highest end, you know, where are we going to go, what can we do, and the amazing things that Americans do over and over and over again with our innovation and entrepreneurship. But also, how do we include more of the American people into what I call the innovation nation that we are, and how do we also bring some of our attention to our most pressing problems?

We can bring our most innovative Americans into the conversation about lifting people out of poverty, into getting -- 20 percent of Americans are not online -- to solve these problems (ph).

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Incredible statistic, 20 percent of Americans not online.

SMITH: Yes, 15 percent to 20 percent.

HARLOW: We -- poverty in America, income inequality is so much in focus right now. It is on the minds of Republicans and Democrats. It's on my mind. It's on the minds of so many people. Are you saying that you think technology is a significant part of that solution?

SMITH: Yes, technology and innovation methods. So, in any city in this country, any region in the country, there's these people -- you know, you see them pouring out of coffee shops in Silicon Valley or Boston. How do we get that community of innovators who are so mission-driven and passionate and kind of -- you know, acknowledge them, and also looking at these problems and collaborating with those who are also just as talented but maybe didn't have the same opportunities, or have their eyes on different problems and cross- collaborate locally? Which is one of the things that we have been doing a lot of work in the CTO's office.

We were just up in Baltimore. There's a terrific group called the Digital Harbor Foundation that are taking rec centers -- youth rec centers become rec to tech, for the little kids, they have nano room, for the big kids, the mega room. They even have a genius bar like space where high school kids are helping each other and even doing, you know, economic -- small economic businesses around creating.

HARLOW: Did you come here with one goal in mind?

SMITH: I think the greatest thing that I can do is find talent. We have a lot of problems to solve. We have extraordinary tools with the invention and the technology around us. How do we collaborate and find people who are passionate and founders and those founding teams who really want to drive for solving cancer, drive for connectivity for all Americans, drive for ending poverty where we can, drive for economic innovation, drive for going to Mars and get that passion unlocked from everybody.

So, that the kids in Baltimore all the way to SpaceX, we are executing as an American people on the things we love and care about and the way we always have and really can be and can include everyone in.

HARLOW: It sounds to me like poverty and income inequality is something that tugs at your heart a lot.

SMITH: I just think it's an extraordinary waste of talent. We have such low expectations for how to solve and for some of our young people, like one group of young people gets to go to the science fair and work on all these internships and do this stuff and one group of young people is not expected to do that. We need to change that point of view.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Now, you can see more of Poppy's interview on CNN.com.

Donald Trump's not afraid of controversy as you know, but this time, even he may have gone a little too far, slamming John McCain's war record. The latest on the top story coming up.

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HARLOW (voice-over): In a market with millions of inexpensive choices, U.S. headphone maker Audeze has captured the interest of audiophiles and music industry professionals around the world.

SANKAR THIAGASAMUDRAM, CEO, AUDEZE: (INAUDIBLE) market outside the U.S.

HARLOW: In 2008, Sankar and a friend started designing their own headphones as a hobby. Today, the company has sold headphones in more than 75 countries. [16:55:00] THIAGASAMUDRAM: The reason they are popular is because of

the incredible quality of sound that we can provide. What we do is a type of driver called (INAUDIBLE) driver, a very small, thin transfuser (ph) placed in a magnetic field and it's produced a sound. That type is about two microns thick, about two-tenths of a human hair, because of it, it's very quick, it's extremely accurate, extremely low distortion.

HARLOW: At the factory, each headphone takes two days to assemble and two days to test.

THIAGASAMUDRAM: Every single headphone gets tested at least 15 different times. We make sure the left and right match within half a decibel.

HARLOW: Audeze partners with 400 international dealers in 40 countries.

THIAGASAMUDRAM: From day one we have been selling worldwide and Germany is the land of headphones and Asia as well. We have been selling from day one.

HARLOW: Audeze's headphones are a luxury item. They can sell for almost $2,000. The company says its volume of sales has doubled in the last year, capitalizing on the growing international market for high quality personal audio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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