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At Least 12 Dead In Dominican; Storm Churns Through Caribbean; Florida Governor Live Today; Anchor Didn't Realize Sound Was Gunfire; Governor Visits Slain Journalists' T.V. Station; Gunman Had Disguises For Possible Getaway; More Details on the Virginia Journalist Shooting; Possible Biden Run; Trump on Tax Code. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired August 28, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Our Jennifer Gray is in the CNN Severe Weather Center. She is joining us now from the CNN Center. Jennifer, where is the storm now and where is it expected to go?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Wolf, right now, it is moving west, south of Puerto Rico to the south side of Dominican Republic. The problem with this storm is it's been very disorganized and so models have had a very hard time getting a handle on where exactly this storm is going to go. So, still low in confidence on where this is going to head once it crosses over the Dominican Republic.

It is going to contact some rough terrain, mountainous terrain and the landmass itself is going to really start to shred this storm. And so, between now and the next 24 hours, it's going to be a hard -- we're going to have a hard time really understanding where this is going to go until it gets on the north side of Dominican Republic.

Right now, 50--mile--per--hour winds. Here is the forecast track. Don't look at these center icons, look at the cone itself because the center of the cone could pass anywhere where this cone is.

And so, take, for instance, if the storm pass -- continues on this track that the forecast, National Hurricane Center, has, of course, it mostly likely will run up the spine of Florida right around the Florida Keys, Miami. Monday morning, about a 45 to 50--mile--per-- hour tropical storm. If it takes a more eastern track, it could actually strengthen over the waters of the Bahamas and on the east coast of Florida and could, potentially, become a hurricane if it takes that track. If it crosses over to the west, interacts with Cuba, it's going to have a very hard time getting itself back together again. And then, it could possibly strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico.

So, still a lot of uncertainty when we're talking about this storm. But, right now, it looks like it's going to cross over the Dominican Republic, Haiti and then emerge on the north side and remain a tropical storm and have an interaction with south Florida by Monday morning.

Here are the forecast models. Yesterday, they were farther to the east. Today, they have shifted a little farther to the west. And so, it looks like most of the models are green, that it is going to run up the center of Florida. However, we still have a few of those outliers that are saying it could take that east or western track. It is going to cause quite a bit of rain across Dominican Republic, two to four inches. We could see some -- could see some areas up to four to six inches of rain and, of course, we could see some flooding by the time it reaches south Florida, if, indeed, it does take that track - Wolf.

BLITZER: And if it goes west of Florida, we don't know where it's going to go. It could go to the eastern part of Florida near Miami, Fort Lauderdale, up towards West Palm Beach and all of that. On the other hand, if it goes west of Florida, gets into the Gulf of Mexico, given the warm waters there, you don't know what's going to happen, right?

GRAY: Absolutely. And that's why we need to watch it very, very closely in the next 24 hours. See what happens. See if it can get itself back together again once it crosses over that landmass, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, because you're right. If it takes a more eastern track, like we were mentioning, it could actually strengthen over the Atlantic waters, over the Bahamas. If it takes a more western track, it could actually strengthen over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

And then, you're looking at impact, say, in Tampa as well as the Florida panhandle into Georgia. If it takes the eastern track, you're looking at impacts possible in Savannah, Charleston. So, we have several states in this cone of uncertainty and it's still a little too early to tell exactly where it's going to go. That's why it's so important to stay on top of it - Wolf.

BLITZER: We will stay on top of it together with you. Jennifer, thanks very much.

And later this hour, I'll speak live with the Florida governor, Rick Scott, and talk about how his state is preparing for the storm. The state of emergency, he's already declared, what worries him the most, recommendations, what folks there need to do right now. Stay with us for that.

Let's get to some other news right now. He posted his horrific crime on social media but a text message may have led authorities to the gunman who killed two U.S. journalists, T.V. journalist live on the air. According to a search warrant, Vester Flanagan texted a friend that he had done something stupid. That text helped authorities identify Flanagan as a suspect in the killings of reporter Alison parker and photographer Adam Ward. And it also gave them a cell phone number they could use to track him.

Images from inside Flanagan's apartment provide a glimpse into his troubled life. The furniture is sparse -- a dark leather sofa and chair, a desk and a computer. The walls are blank. There are no sheets on the bed. Funeral plans are set for one of Flanagan's victim. The service for Adam Ward will be next Tuesday at the First Baptist Church of Roanoke, Virginia. Alison Parker's family plans to hold a celebration of her life at a later date following a private memorial. Colleagues at the station where Parker and Ward worked are still trying to come to grips with what happened. One of the anchors, Kimberly McBroom, says she didn't realize the sound during the live broadcast was gunfire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY MCBROOM, ANCHOR, WDBJ T.V.: You've got to understand, they were doing a feature at our beautiful Smith Mountain Lake. You know, it was a beautiful morning. They were at a lake. This was not a standoff. This was not a hard news kind of story. This was just a morning feature.

[13:05:09] And so, when we heard those sounds, when I heard those sounds, I did not think gunshots. As time went on, as people in the control room were trying to get in touch with them through, you know, texting, and the longer it was that we didn't get a response from either of them, the more it was very, very clear that something had happened, that something was very wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Virginia's governor visited the T.V. station where the two murdered journalists worked. Governor Terry McAuliffe arrived at WDBJ late this morning to meet with family members and colleagues of Alison Parker and Adam Ward.

CNN Correspondent Polo Sandoval is joining us now from outside that station in Roanoke, Virginia. What can you tell us, Polo, about the meeting?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I tell you what, Wolf, we have seen a seemingly endless flow of people stopping by, members of the community, strangers. Many of them stopping by one of at least two separate memorials that have been set up outside the studios of WDBJ Seven.

And among them, as you mentioned there, and just most recently, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, spending about an hour with station staff, station management and even the family members of those two murdered journalists. A few moments after that, he then spoke to reporters saying the purpose of his visit is to express, really, his condolences and also convey his sympathy as well. Here's a bit of what he had to share just after that private visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TERRY MCAULIFFE (D), VIRGINIA: We lose, on average, 89 individuals a day to gun violence. There are too many guns in America and there is, clearly, too many guns in the wrong hands. So, we're going to continue to do what we can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what exactly is that, Governor? When you say, do what we can, what exactly --

MCAULIFFE: Well, I'll introduce legislation, as I did this session. I'll introduce legislation again. And on background checks, as I say, I'm a gun owner. I own three guns. I hunt. I like to take my boys hunting. I've gone through the process of background checks. You hand your license over. It takes maybe two or three minutes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So, there you have it. Again, Governor McAuliffe spending a few moments not only with station staff but also the family members of these murdered journalists, including the father of Alison Parker. Someone who says, has publicly said, that he plans to devote the rest of his life for -- to advocating for tougher gun restrictions.

And, again, you just heard from the governor, a few moments ago, Wolf, saying that, really, while recognizing this individual, Vester Flanagan, did, in fact, pass all those background checks and did, in fact, purchase that gun legally, that he would use -- later would use to murder these two journalists and then, eventually, turn the gun on himself, he would like to do at least everything possible to try to prevent these kinds of situations from happening.

So, again, the debate is now really happening, part of the conversation while at the station. And, really, the entire community continue to grieve -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And part of that, since the shooting, Polo, you know, people have left flowers, notes, candles, balloons right outside the station right behind you. Give us a little sense of the scene there and how employees are coping.

SANDOVAL: By working. I think that that's really the main take away after hearing from the station manager. I had an opportunity to speak to him. At, at this point, he just tells me that his team is out on the streets. They are doing their live shots. They are gathering their news, pitching their stories. And, really, just exhibiting a tremendous amount of resilience here. They continue to work, not only because they see it as their job and their duty and, really, their responsibility towards the viewers here in northwest Virginia, but also that's exactly, as they put it, what Alison and Adam would be doing right now.

BLITZER: Polo Sandoval. Polo, thanks very, very much.

Did the gunman who killed two T.V. journalists there in Virginia plan to kill himself or had he plotted an escape? We have new information that's just coming into CNN about the killer's next planned movements.

Then later, Donald Trump declaring he's the, quote, king of the tax code. We're taking a closer look at his plans to lower taxes and help the middle--class.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello, everybody, how are you?

(END VIDEO CLIP) [13:09:12]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're getting new information, just coming into the CNN, about the shooter, Vester Flanagan, in killing those two journalists in Virginia. Pamela Brown, our Justice Correspondent, is getting this information. Pamela, what are you learning?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're learning from authorities, and I spoke to (INAUDIBLE) Young (ph) with the sheriff's office leading this investigation, that investigators believe that Vester Flanagan was heading to a specific location. We know that, at the time, he was heading toward the D.C. area.

And what the investigators are trying to find out right now is where exactly he was going and who, if anyone, he was going to meet up with. Was it family members? Was it a friend? We know that he texted a friend right after the shootings, saying that he had done something stupid. So, of course, investigators have been talking to that friend as well. And, in fact, that text message is what helped authorities identify Vester Flanagan as a person of interest, initially.

We're also learning that there isn't any indication, at this point in the investigation, that Vester Flanagan had purchased a plane ticket to flee after the shootings. But one of the things investigators are looking at is whether he had a getaway plan because, of course, there were several suspicious belongings found in his rental car where he shot himself, including a wig, a shawl, sunglasses, an umbrella, three license plates as well.

And so, of course, investigators are looking at this. And one of the theories, of course, is that he was going to use these belongings to disguise himself. And so, he thought that, perhaps, he could evade police. But also, they're looking at whether, perhaps, he used these belongings to disguise himself before the shooting. They haven't reached any conclusions about what exactly this means. At this point, it's all, really, speculation.

But what's interesting here, Wolf, is that Vester Flanagan had written this suicide note apparently that he sent to ABC News. But there are these indications, Wolf, that he had a specific location he was going to,

[13:15:00] that he had a plan after the shootings and that he thought perhaps he would evade police and survive.

BLITZER: Yes, all these letters that were stamped. They found these envelopes that were sealed, right?

BROWN: Yes, that's right. And, of course, I - one of the big questions we're asking - we've been asking since this came out, who were these letters addressed to? What was in the letters? And we don't have the answers to that yet. The people I've been speaking to don't have those answers as of now. And also there was a to-do list, Wolf. There was a to-do list found in

the car. And, of course, a lot of us are asking, what was on that to- do list? Was this a to-do list before the shooting? Was it after the shooting? Something he had written down what he wanted to do after the shooting? Of course, we're all asking these questions today.

BLITZER: And, of course, he had that Glock pistol, six magazines of ammunition as well.

Let's bring in our law enforcement analyst, the former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes.

Based on your experience, Tom, what does this all add up to? Because it sounds like he had a meticulous, detailed plan in mind.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It sounds like it but it's hard to tell, Wolf, whether he had all this planned just to confuse everybody and create this, you know, this attention to, was he really going to escape but did he have airline ticket, did he have false I.D.s, did he have the disguises to commit armed robberies to support himself financially? Did he have any money with him? Did he have credit cards which could be tracked?

You know, all of the things here. You know, if he had even a little bit of intelligence as an experienced reporter, he would know that the police are going to find him very quickly, one way or the other. You know, that his face is on that camera. He would have been able to have been identified by so many different means, by people at the station, by other friends, what phone numbers does he have? They can track his cell phone going down the highway, up Interstate 81, down Interstate 66 by the cell tower that it's pinging off of. Even if he's not calling or texting, just the mere fact that it's on would be connecting to towers. So as long as they knew his phone number, he wasn't going anywhere without them being able to track him down.

BROWN: And what I found so interesting too is that he put himself out there. He was the one that put the video of the shooting on FaceBook. He was tweeting. So clearly he had to know police were going to be on him very soon, but yet there are indications he thought perhaps he could evade police, which really doesn't make much sense.

BLITZER: And -

FUENTES: I don't think he intended to evade. I think he just intended to have this spectacle and have it continue and be tracked down.

BLITZER: Well, let me ask you that, if he didn't intend to evade, he had his own car, but he dropped off that car. He had rented a car a couple of days earlier at the airport, dropped off his car at the airport, took the rented car that he already had and began to try to escape, supposedly.

FUENTES: Yes, but, you know, all of that, he was still going to be tracked down. And he had to know that he's not going to get away very far. And when he's driving east on Interstate 66 toward Washington and he's about - that part of Fauquier County, he's about an hour and a half from downtown Washington, he's driving into the teeth of the Washington Metropolitan Fugitive Task Force with the marshals running it, the FBI, state, local police involved in it. So, you know, where he thought he was going to go that was actually going to be an evasion, I don't know. Maybe the documents and the letters will indicate that, but it just sounds to me like he had to know, this isn't going to last very long. He's going to get caught. And maybe either have suicide by cop or the suicide that he committed on his own.

BLITZER: All right, we're going to stay on top of this story, obviously, get some more answers. Huge interest, obviously. Once again, our hearts go out to those families and friends of these young journalists.

Thanks very much.

Coming up, the Democratic National Committee holding a big meeting today. Hillary Clinton is, of course, there and she just delivered a speech, but most of the talk, at least behind the scenes, is about a man who is not there. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:22:47] BLITZER: Turning now to politics here in the United States. Right now, the Democratic leaders, they're gathered in Minnesota. They're there for the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting. The top four declared Democratic presidential candidates, they're all speaking today, including Hillary Clinton. Here's what she said only moments ago about her Republican rivals and Donald Trump's hair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A lot of people have said a lot of things about my hair over the years. So I do kind of know what Donald is going through. And if anyone wonders if mine is real, here's the answer. The hair is real, the color isn't.

You hear Mr. Trump say hateful things about immigrants, even about their babies. But how many others disagree with him? Or support a real path to citizenship? Or draw the line at repealing the 14th Amendment. Today, the party of Lincoln has become the party of Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That was Hillary Clinton. Next hour, by the way, Bernie Sanders will be speaking at that same DNC meeting. But it's the one person who isn't there that may be generating, at least for now, the loudest buzz. We're talking about the vice president, Joe Biden. Our senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is joining us now on the phone. He's there at the DNC meeting in Minneapolis.

What is the talk over there among the DNC leadership about a possible Joe Biden candidacy, Joe?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: DNC leadership is being very even handed. We've talked to a number of them, some of the state chairman, and they're not choosing sides officially. But we do know that behind the scenes here, Wolf, the draft Biden effort continues to meet quietly, telling delegates, super delegates to try to keep an open mind while Joe Biden deliberates on whether he will get into the race.

The big thing of course here this morning was, Hillary Rodham Clinton essentially preaching to the choir. A real red meat speech. You played a part of it there, sounding in some ways more like a general election candidate, like a candidate who's pursuing the - not like a candidate who's pursuing the nomination. Her toughest attack lines reserved for the Republican field, especially Donald Trump.

[13:25:00] One line that got tremendous applause was about a theoretical debate between she and Donald Trump in the general election. Another big burst when she cited the accusations that she is playing the gender card on women's health. She said her response was to say, if that's playing the gender card, deal me in. So high interest here at the DNC meeting in Minneapolis while the buzz behind the scenes continues on whether Biden will get into the race.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, Biden is not there today. He did have a conversation call with the leadership yesterday on the Iran nuclear deal.

As you know, the - Hillary Clinton has come under fire for her comments yesterday making a comparison between some of her Republican critics on the issue of abortion right for women, making that comparison to terrorists. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Now, extreme views about women? We expect that from some of the terrorist groups. We expect that from people who don't want to live in the modern world. But it's a little hard to take coming from Republicans who want to be the president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Donald Trump, earlier today, called that remark disgusting. A lot of the other Republican presidential candidates say that remark was totally uncalled for. You shouldn't make comparison between Republican critics (ph) and terrorists. Did she address that specific point in her speech today?

JOHNS: No, it was very interesting, Wolf. She did say that it caused a big stir yesterday. But today here at the DNC meeting in Minneapolis, she did not repeat that line. Interesting to see whether she'll make any reference to it at what we hope will be a media availability to talk to reporters in just a little while, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, we'll stand by for that, if she does answer reporters' questions, we'll go there live, see what she has to say. Presumably the press will ask her about that.

All right, Joe, thanks very much. Donald Trump took a break today from attacking fellow politicians and journalists focusing instead on taxes, hedge fund managers. Here's a little of that with his phone call earlier today with MSNBC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm the king of the tax code. And I'm going to come out with a plan, a simplification, a plan, getting rid of some of the deductions, which are ridiculous and complicated. We are going to simplify the tax code, take away some of the deductions and hedge fund guys have to pay up. Now, I'm going to lower taxes but these hedge fund guys are making lot of money. I mean, I can tell you, I have friends that laugh about how little they pay and it's not fair to the middle class. And the middle income people and the middle class, we're destroying that. And, you know, that's what built this country. And we are destroying the middle class in this country. So I will have a plan, the hedge fund guys won't be happy, but pretty much everybody else is going to love it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's discuss that and more. One again we're waiting to hear from Hillary Clinton. Joining us is Chris Moody, our CNN politics senior digital correspondent and our senior political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson.

When it comes to Republicans, they're supposedly supposed to make these pledges, no new taxes, they're not going to raise taxes. But you just heard Donald Trump say, when it comes to these hedge fund guys, guess what? If he has his way, he'll raise their taxes.

CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICAL SENIOR DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: It is incredibly a-typical to hear a Republican presidential candidate say they're going to raise taxes on anyone. However, Donald Trump isn't a typical Republican presidential candidate.

Now, the pledge you referenced is usually talking about Grover Norquist, he's an anti-tax activist, and they pledge through him not to raise tax rates at all so long as taxes stay the same in general.

I spoke to Grover Norquist just yesterday and he said, you know, Donald Trump probably shouldn't say he's going to raise taxes on other people just because some taxes are higher and others are lower. He should lower the people's taxes so they are equal that way. But he said he could go through with this hedge fund project of raising their taxes so long as in general taxes do remain the same. But there's not - there's revenue neutral of a plan.

BLITZER: So he's giving him a pass, Grover Norquist, on this issue? Right now he says, what, 14 percent tax the hedge fund guys have to pay but Trump presumably wants to raise it to the maximum of 40 percent, 39. whatever percent.

MOODY: He still wants to see Donald Trump make that pledge in writing. Trump has only said so - or his staff, Grover Norquist, told me, has only said so verbally, but he wants to see it on paper. BLITZER: All right, we'll see what happens. Nia, as we await Hillary

Clinton, in her comments - in his comments yesterday, Trump talked about his standing among minorities, especially African-Americans, Hispanic. We did some checking. In this Quinnipiac University poll that just came out, favorability of Donald Trump among African- Americans, 12 percent. Among Hispanics, 22 percent. Jeb Bush favorability among African-Americans, 16 percent. Hispanics, 30 percent. Hillary Clinton, African-Americans, 83 percent favorability, Hispanics 58 percent.

[13:30:04] I guess we shouldn't be stopped by those numbers.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, I mean it's -- Donald Trump's sort of way that he kind of exaggerates his standings on many things and that's what he was doing here.