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Hillary Clinton Back in Iowa for 2016 Tease; Can Republicans Take Senate in Midterm Elections?; Young Black Man Shot in Utah; Rare Respiratory Illness Spreads to Northeast; Interview with Roshini Raj of NYU Langone Medical Center

Aired September 15, 2014 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY. Let's get to "INSIDE POLITICS" now on NEW DAY with John King of course.

Hi there, John.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Kate, happy Monday. Good morning to you.

Fifty days till the midterm elections, so a lot to talk about INSIDE POLITICS. But we're going to start with a little 2016 tease. Let's go there this morning.

With me this morning to share their reporting and their insights, Nia- Malika Henderson of "The Washington Post", Ron Fournier of "National Journal". She, meaning Hillary Clinton, was back in Iowa, state that -- she said she loves -- I have a little bit of doubt to that whether that's completely pure love, given the 2008 experience. But was seen yesterday, she's at the Tom Harkin Steak Fry. He's the retiring Democratic Senator. Bill Clinton was along for the event too. Hillary Clinton talking a little bit about the world's worst kept secret.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: And then of course there's that other thing. Well, it is true. I am thinking about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You're shocked to hear that, right?

RON FOURNIER, NATIONAL JOURNAL: Yes.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, WASHINGTON POST: I am completely shocked. You know, I thought there were parts of that speech that were really funny, almost flirty in that passage. There, she gave the shout-out to Barrack Obama when she talked about when she was there before. There was a young Illinois Senator. So I thought all in all it was a good speech. She of course was reading it. And this reminds us that Hillary Clinton is often very scriptive and she isn't the best speech giver. I thought on this substance it was pretty good, but in terms of the presentation, a little lacking.

KING: And Bill's -- and a lot of people writing us, it was Bill who stole the show because he was role blending, he was talking to reporters. There was one moment along the role blend where a dreamer, a young undocumented Latino, tried to ask her about the President's immigration policy. And she said, "Let's select more Democrats." That didn't surprise me. She's not in the middle of that. But people will judge her, why won't you speak up, why won't you talk about that, why don't you talk about other issue.

FOURNIER: Well, Bill Clinton is done with that thing -- that question.

KING: But he'd still be talking probably.

FOURNIER: Yes, yes. It's still...

HENDERSON: Yes, yes.

FOURNIER: I mean he is as good of a politician as she is not. My favorite line in all the coverage of it was from Maggie Haberman in the political. She wrote, "He," meaning Bill Clinton, "Lingered well after she went inside." That sounds (inaudible) think you need to know about the difference between the two of them as political animal.

HENDERSON: Yes, but it also tells you they're in very different positions. I mean Bill Clinton is officially retired and we know that Hillary Clinton has got to walk a very careful line as she thinks about running for the White House.

KING: Right. And she has this overwhelming lead, but she's been inevitable before, so that has to sort of spin in her a little bit. And the question is who, who emerges as a challenger? One person who was in Iowa this weekend is an Independent in the United States Senate. But he says he might run the Democratic Primaries, he could also run for president as an Independent. Most people think he's not a serious threat to win the nomination if he runs as a Democrat.

But here's Bernie Sanders again, 73 years old, Independent Senator from Vermont, saying, you know, "I've got something to say and I'm not afraid to say it."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: The issue is not Hillary. I've known Hillary Clinton for many years. I've a lot of respect to Hillary Clinton. The question is, at a time when so many people have seen a decline in the standard of living, when the wealthiest people and largest corporations are doing phenomenally well, the American people want change. They want Congress, they want candidates to stand up to the big money interests, so let Hillary speak for herself. I know where I'm coming from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: That was sort of a populous poke from the left if he runs, that's still an, "If," too.

HENDERSON: Yes, if he runs and, you know, if he's willing to do the work that quite frankly Hillary Clinton has done over these many years. And in preparing to be the early front warner, you do see this theme going through all of these people who are -- they're not Hillary's, basically not ready to really even take her on. He didn't really want to talk about Hillary Clinton. Same thing in this Elizabeth Warren interviews, you know, they essentially praise for her but aren't really engaged at this point.

FOURNIER: To me, the big question with her, this could be a coronation or an inspiration. And she's not going to breech to the nomination, certainly not going to breech to the presidency, if she can't inspire people and talk about the future and not just the past, if she can't be authentic and not just scriptive politician.

KING: In my experience, it is a tough primary. Make sure a better general election candidate in most cases, and we're probably going to have a competitive general election 2016, so let's have it, let's have some fun.

Let's move on to 2014, again, 50 days away is the election. The big prize of this election year is can the Republicans take control of the United States Senate. They need a net gain of six. They think their chances are good because they're very competitive in some blue states. Look at this, brand new CNN poll we're releasing right here this morning on Inside Politics. Jeanne Shaheen, the incumbent Democrat, 48 percent. Scott Brown, once the senator from Massachusetts, now running for senate in New Hampshire, he's a Republican. 48 to 48, a dead heat in this state, and look at why.

Here's the reason why. Is the President a drag in this election year? He's won New Hampshire twice, he's won it handily. Approval rating, 35 percent. 60 percent disapprove. Ron, that is very similar to the Iowa numbers we've looked at last week, a dead heat in another blue state where the President is below 40.

FOURNIER: Yes, Senator Shaheen is at 53 percent, 54 percent approval rating.

KING: Right.

FOURNIER: She's being dragged down by President Obama. Brown is actually leading among young voters in New Hampshire, which surprises me because that's Obama's coalition. And Senator Shaheen has experienced at the Harvard Institute of Politics as a long tradition of inspiring young voters. She is -- what's happening there is a classic example of what we're seeing across the country, and that is the President being an anvil to Democrats.

KING: Midterm drag.

HENDERSON: Yes, that's right. And we see even among young supporters, the people who supported Obama, he's losing that support too. Our ABC Washington Post poll showed the same thing. So all of those groups winning young folks are sort of jumping ship on the Democrat party.

KING: And what you will see from that is candidates separated themselves from the President in the weeks ahead because they think he's the drag on them, so they have to find a way to break out of that lock, if you will, the midterm drag lock. I'll show you a map real quickly. 50 days from election day, the Republicans think they're going to do well because there are seven races right now, not on this or Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. Republicans think they picked up those three Democratic States almost without trying, and then they would need three more.

And these are seven races, you see these are all Democratic (inaudible) seats except for Kentucky and they're all dead heats going to the final weeks. So the odds are the Republicans are thinking, in this type of year, we should win 50 percent or more so we'll get it. One of the races we're watching is the Kentucky seat though. Mitch McConnell, at a Republican (inaudible) seat, he would be the majority leader if the Republicans take back the senate, getting a stiff challenge from Democrat, Alison Grimes. She has had great ads throughout this campaign. She's a little behind right now. Here's the new ad, pretty sharp.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISON LUNDERGAN GRIMES (D), SENATE CANDIDATE FOR KENTUCKY: I'm not Barack Obama, I disagree with him. I'm guns, coal and the EPA. And Mitch, that's not how you hold a gun. I'm Alison Lundergan Grimes and I approve this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Win or lose, our ad teams can be thought of what they've done in this campaign. She's taking the poke of Mitch McConnell there who was holding up a gain, sort of (inaudible) and tested like that in event. But the most thing in there is, "I'm not Barack Obama." I oppose him on guns. I oppose him on coal. She is not only pushing him away, she's shoving him away.

HENDERSON: Yes, that's right. And she needs to do that because that is primarily Mitch McConnell's strategy there, linking her over and over again to Barack Obama. And he also is talking about security issues, talking about ISIS, talking about all these big threats that America faces, and essentially testing her as not ready for prime time. So there -- I mean she looks tough. She looks like a Kentucky woman. She looks like, you know, somebody who, you know, this could be in a race that's so close. It could be something of a game changer all around that state.

KING: That's what her staff hopes. If you watched the polling, it looks like the state is returning to its DNA, if you will, which is a close competitive state but a red state. She's trying to keep that tugged.

FOURNIER: I'm watching this race real closely because to me it could be the biggest indictment on politics as usual. If the Republicans win the senate because Barack Obama hasn't lead, but McConnell doesn't return to the senate to lead it because he's part of the big party, the dysfunction in Washington.

KING: Right.

FOURNIER: This could be a race that really shows how the public is just tired of the way bull parties are running this plays.

KING: Right, discuss with politics and sort of on trial in Kentucky and in many other races, 50 days. Ron and Nia-Malika Henderson, thanks for coming in.

Mr. Cuomo, get back to you in New York. 50 days, it's a big election, a lot of great races out there. It's not just about the candidates. The immigration policy tax suspending, the final two years of the Obama presidency, we're all going to pay a lot of attention, seven weeks to go.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I'll tell you what's loom and large my friend is this plan to take on ISIS. I am shocked and dismayed at how the men and women at Congress are talking so much and doing so little on this issue when they know it's going to mean U.S. blood and treasure down the road, really irresponsible. Great to have you, I hope you have a good week my friend.

KING: Take care.

CUOMO: So, a black man, fatally shot by police. I'm not talking about Michael Brown. This happened in Utah just weeks after the Ferguson, Missouri situation. The facts are troubling. Race is in the mix. We're going to hear from both sides. It's coming up.

Now, we told you about this particularly virulent virus that's causing respiratory illness, right? We told you it would spread, and guess what, it is. It's now in the Northeast. We're going to tell you if you're at risk and what you need to know, especially for your kids.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back. Shades of Ferguson, Missouri, in Saratoga Springs. Prosecutors in Utah are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of a young black man by police. The family of 22-year old Darrien Hunt, claim he was shot because he was black. Police, though, denied that race played any role in his death.

CNN's Rosa Flores is following this story for us. So, Rosa, what exactly do we know right now?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, good morning.

Police say the shooting was justified because the 22-year old lunged at police officers allegedly with a sword, and that race did not play a role here.

Hunt's mother however, doesn't buy it. She said the sword was a toy and that her son became victim because of the color of his skin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN HUNT, MOTHER OF DARRIENT HUNT: They won't tell me anything. They wouldn't let me see him, they wouldn't let me hold him.

FLORES: Utah mother Susan Hunt distraught and demanding answers, insisting race played a role in the death of her 22-year old son Darrien. Hunt, whose father is African-American, was shot and killed by police last Wednesday while he was walking near a strip mall, carrying a samurai-type sword seen here. This photo captured by an eye witness shows police confronting hunt shortly before his death.

HUNT: I've been begging the police why, from the time I saw the pictures of you just standing by him with his hands to his side, does he end up seconds later with a bullet in him.

FLORES: Utah County sheriffs official say Hunt was acting suspiciously, and was shot after he brandish the sword and lunged at police officers. But an attorney for Hunt's family is questioning that scenario, saying, "An independent autopsy shows that Hunt was shot six times, all from behind."

RANDALL EDWARDS, HUNT FAMILY ATTORNEY: The shots that did kill him hit him right in the back. So, there is some question as to what he was doing, where he was going. Obviously, he was running away at the time that he was shot and killed.

FLORES: Hunt's mother criticizing police, insisting her son would not have been shot if he was white.

FLORES: I found (ph) what he looked like, and what they said to me, "He's brown -- he has an afro." Really, like he (inaudible) sure.

FLORES: City officials say the incident is under investigation. In a statement released Friday, they addressed accusations of racial profiling saying, "We sympathize with Mr. Hunt's family during this difficult time. Any claim that our officer's actions were result of Mr. Hunt's race are completely unfounded and speculative."

Family members describe Hunt as a peaceful person who was still a kid at heart.

MARIA JONES, GRANDMOTHER OF DARRIENT HUNT: I cannot believe that he's really gone and that he was killed so unjustly in my eyes...

FLORES: Last night, Saratoga Springs residents gather to remember and pay tribute to Hunt.

HERB FLOWER, LOCAL RESIDENT, SARASOTA SPRINGS: His life was taken needlessly. I can't walk away from a situation like this and just say, "Oh well."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: The Utah County Attorney's Office is investigating the names of the police officers have not been released, but here is what's raising eye-browse this morning. The police department took to Facebook to say this, "Keep in mind that the new media often reports things as facts when in reality they are not facts. They have ratings they need to gain and there are many true facts yet to be released."

Again, the family not trusting the facts that police are presenting, they requested their own autopsy reports which they say shows, "Hunt was shot in the back multiple times."

Chris, Kate?

CUOMO: The easiest way for the police to make their point is to come out with their facts as soon as possible because time is always of the essence in these situations. And...

BOLDUAN: And in the meantime, the family in that community...

CUOMO: Right.

BOLDUAN: ... you can see it right there, completely heartbroken.

CUOMO: Right. There are no facts that are going to make it be OK...

BOLDUAN: Yes. Rosa, thank you so much.

CUOMO: So, you remember this rare respiratory illness that hit the South and the Midwest, well now, it's here in the Northeast and it's affecting kids, mainly. That's why it's of a special concern. We're going to tell you what to look out for and how to keep your child safe.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: A rare respiratory illnesses now spread to the northeast. There are more than a dozen confirmed cases in New York. Several suspected cases in Connecticut. The CDC says six other states have confirmed cases of EV-D68. It is believe to be a problem in several others. The virus has caused a surprisingly high number of hospitalizations around -- among children, rather.

I want to turn to our doctor, Roshini Raj with NYU Langone Medical Center for more. Good to have you.

ROSHINI RAJ, ASST. PROFESSOR, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER: So good to be here.

PEREIRA: Those numbers may cause, automatically, sort of get-worried and fear.

RAJ: Yes.

PEREIRA: It's important to point out that enteroviruses are pretty common in September.

RAJ: They are pretty common, there are over a hundred different strains. But this particular one, the Enterovirus D68, is relatively rare and it's very aggressive specifically against children with asthma or breathing problems because it really can cause hospitalization. That's not usual for...

PEREIRA: Right.

RAJ: ... the viruses that we see circulating around that time.

PEREIRA: Let's talk about where it is right now and I'll just rattle up. So we have in yellow the suspected cases, Utah, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio, Mississippi, Georgia.

And in purple, Colorado, this is confirmed. These are now the confirmed cases, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky.

So we're seeing that this -- it's pretty widespread when you look at the map.

RAJ: It is. Right. And the purple is confirmed by the CDC, they've tested it, they do have this particular strain Enterovirus D68.

PEREIRA: But the big development...

RAJ: Yes.

PEREIRA: ... at two more states confirmed in New York...

RAJ: Right. Right in here in New York City.

PEREIRA: ... suspected in Connecticut.

RAJ: That's right. And at least, kind of new, this was going to happen. The way people travel these days, you can keep anything in one particular region, the country. We are seeing (ph) it confirmed in New York State, Connecticut, very likely that that will be confirm soon. It's very suspicious, the cases they have there.

And again, children are being hospitalized. Thank God, there have been no death so far, but you definitely need to be careful and parents need to be aware that it is in our region now, and we need to be aware of the symptoms.

PEREIRA: It's interesting that it is the Midwest and the central part, and the eastern seaboard.

RAJ: Yes.

PEREIRA: But it isn't at all in the west.

RAJ: It's not yet. And, you know, the question we are starting to feel a chill here in the east coast.

PEREIRA: Temperatures are dropping.

RAJ: Temperatures are dropping. More people endorse, anymore time together, easier to spread things especially in children. PEREIRA: And one of the biggest concerns is that we understand that presents from any children at first like a cold, and they're certainly...

RAJ: Right.

PEREIRA: ... common this time of year and common when your kids are going back to school.

RAJ: That's right.

PEREIRA: How do we tell the difference?

RAJ: Well, initially, it's not easy to tell, typical cold symptoms, the runny nose, the fever, sneezing, the cough, maybe some body aches. But you do need to lookout for the more severe symptoms that may develop. And this is affecting the lungs.

PEREIRA: OK.

RAJ: Difficulty breathing, wheezing. If your child has bluish lips and also chest...

PEREIRA: That would be the one that would have me running in the hospital.

RAJ: (Inaudible) of course.

PEREIRA: Yes.

RAJ: But any of this, whenever you see your child having difficult of breathing, you should go to the hospital right away, call your doctor. If your child has asthma or any kind of respiratory condition, you want to be particular vigilant -- particularly vigilant, but I should say that even children that have no prior into these are getting hospitalized. So everyone needs to be aware of this.

PEREIRA: And that's a really important points to make.

RAJ: Yeah.

PEREIRA: People think, oh, my child doesn't have asthma, but you still want to keep an eye of him. And again, this is not migrating into older people or folks that have -- I don't know, they're a little older, that have more sensitive immune system.

RAJ: No. Generally right now, it's affecting children, probably because they haven't been exposed to this virus, this particular strain. Older people, we probably have seen some (inaudible) in our lifetime, right now, it seems to be affecting children predominantly.

PEREIRA: Common sense. Wash our hands, wash our hands, wash our hands.

RAJ: Yes. Teacher told them wash their hands, don't share utensils, cups, things like that, hugging, kissing, if someone sick, absolutely not.

PEREIRA: I've been saying hello to you from a far.

RAJ: Yes, exactly, exactly.

PEREIRA: I don't want to be a carrier.

RAJ: And also, you're going to teach your child. I think this is very important not to touch their face all the time. I know my son has his finger in his mouth, 90 percent of the time.

PEREIRA: All the time with their nose.

RAJ: It drives me crazy. Exactly.

PEREIRA: Yeah, yeah.

RAJ: You really have to teach them because that's the portal of entry for germs.

PEREIRA: The nose and the mouth...

RAJ: Yes.

PEREIRA: ... the portal of entry.

RAJ: Yes.

PEREIRA: Dr. Roshini Raj, thank you so much...

RAJ: Thank you.

PEREIRA: ... for walking us all through this.

Another westerner, beheaded at the hands of ISIS. Now Secretary of State Kerry is trying to enlist international support to bring ISIS down. Well, enough country sign up to help?

Plenty of troubles keeps growing for NFL. Two star players deactivated over abuse allegations. This is Ray Rice plans to appeal his suspension. The question is, will he be back in the field?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Happening now. Why is it taking so much work to get a coalition to fight ISIS? World leaders meeting in Paris right now. Arab countries slow to put Putin on the ground. Will the U.S. have to commit as well? This after another western hostage is killed in the very latest.

BOLDUAN: Fighting back, Ray Rice reportedly set to appeal his suspension this as another star player running back Adrian Peterson is charged with child abuse. Was this one of the worst weeks ever for the NFL and what does the league do about it?

PEREIRA: Arrested for PDA. She' a black actress to take by police after she was kissing her white boyfriend, was this a matter of race? What really happened here? They joined us live.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues right now.