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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump Dominate Polls in Nevada, South Carolina; Trump Campaigns In Virginia; Trump's Daughter Speaks To CNN; Ivanka Trump: "We All Have Different Priorities"; Ivanka Trump: "I'm Not Part Of The Campaign"; Ivanka Trump On Her Close Friendship With Chelsea Clinton; On The Post-Debate Campaign Trail; Clinton Speaking At Event In Las Vegas; What Body Language Says About Candidates; Terrorism Charges For Confederate Flag Supporters; Six Members Charged In Beating Death; Israel Boosts Security After Recent Violence

Aired October 14, 2015 - 21:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:00:52]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for joining us in the second live hour of 360. We begin with an exclusive interview with a woman Donald Trump often talks about great pride his daughter Ivanka Trump.

Tonight, two new CNN/ORC Poll for the Republican front runner with double digit leads over the next close opponent Dr. Ben Carson. In Nevada, Trump is polling at 38 percent to Carson's 22 percent, everyone else single digits.

South Carolina, Trump is leading with 36 percent, to Carson's 18 percent, again, the other candidates are trailing in the single digits short time ago at the campaign rally in Richmond Virginia, Trump mentioned these new poll numbers and also brought up last night's democratic debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to talk about the debate, anybody watched it last night? Yeah.

And I tweeted, I tweeted, can you believe? And I made a commitment I said, "I tweet so I couldn't turn it off. I had to tweet this thing."

And somebody said on one of the networks, the winner was Trump because we picked up 160,000 followers. Can you believe it? 160.

And second place was a lot less I will tell you that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Recently Mr. Trump said we would be hearing and seeing more of his daughter Ivanka on the campaign trail since Poppy Harlow caught up with her at fortune's most powerful women's someone in Washington, Ivanka Trump as you may knows company's business woman in her own right in addition working with her dad.

In her exclusive interview with Poppy, she dismissed the criticism that her father has faced over his controversial comments about women and their looks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORREESPONDENT: Let's begin this. We are at the fortune most powerful women summit.

And Michael Cohen from Trump Organization said the company employees 57 percent men and 43 percent women. But there are more female executives than male within the Trump organization.

How can we see that translate across corporate America so more women are at the upper echelon?

IVANKA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGHTER: I think it's incredibly important and companies who aren't prioritizing and ensuring that women are at all levels within the organization and this disproportion of men versus women and gender inequality, you know, anyone who is thinking in those terms and whose not being very proactive to ensure that there are companies being thoughtful about the gender makes us simply going to fall behind.

So I think it will be a self-selecting thing. I think in ten years from now, the companies who haven't evolved will not be the companies that they are today.

And, you know, I think my father recognized this a long time ago. I wouldn't be the person I am today, I wouldn't have the ambition, the drive, the passion, the commitment to what it is that I'm doing both for the Trump Organization and for my own brand if he hadn't encouraged me and emboldened me, given me the confidence that I could do whatever it is that I set my mind to accomplish if I had the vision, the energy, passion and the work ethic to match.

So I think really it's leadership is about action, leadership is about setting an example and he's very much done that within the context of the Trump Organization and it's why, you know, my brothers and I are equally at the same level at the highest ranks within the context of that company.

HARLOW: You started Women Who Work. It's an initiative you push to empower women at all levels to work and follow their dreams

But few found that an increasing amount of American women are staying home from 23 percent in 1999 to 29 percent in 2000 and some of that is in part due to rising child care costs. What's your message in this campaign to those women?

I. TRUMP: Also my campaign is about the fact that women are working at all aspects of their life. And I think there is this tendency to talk about working women, the working woman.

There is this caricature of what that looks like. We represent 50 percent of the population. We're all working at different things. We all have different priorities and those priorities change through the course of their lives.

[21:05:00] My priorities today as a mother of two with one on the way are different from what they were 10 years ago and likely will be different in 10 years from now.

So I really wanted to create a brand that was celebrating the fact that women are a multi dimensional, they were all working really hard at architecting the lives that we want to live and lives that are consistent with our personal priorities.

And I do think there is this unfortunate and prevailing depiction of the working woman as, you know, wearing a black pantsuit and being solely focused on her per professional role, and that's just not true, and hopefully, I can be a small part of changing the narrative around what it looks like to be a woman who works today and that's the purpose of the campaign.

It's not to tell people they should work or they shouldn't work.

HARLOW: Right.

I. TRUMP: It's not to push people in a certain direction. It's to celebrate the fact that we're all figuring it out, we're all working very, very hard. I know for example, I'm more exhausted on a Monday morning after a weekend home with the kids than I am on a Friday afternoon.

I work really hard during the week.

HARLOW: Yeah.

I. TRUMP: So it's really about just enabling and supporting women in architecting this ideal life for themselves.

HARLOW: Your father points to you telling him that he has been on the campaign trail really misunderstood on his views about women.

He has said some things about women that have shocked many people, about Carly Fiorina, he said look at that face, would anyone vote for that?

About Megyn Kelly's questioning him in the first Fox debate, he said there was blood coming out of her wherever. Ivanka, what was your reaction to that?

I. TRUMP: Well, I think a lot of sensation was around this was orchestrated largely by the media.

Look, my father is very blunt, he's very direct. He is not gender specific in his criticism of people and people that he doesn't particularly like or people that he does like but thinks they are wrong on a particular issue.

So, you know, I don't think that he's gender targeted at all. Like I said, I wouldn't be the person I am today, I wouldn't be a high-level executive within his organization if he felt that way.

So he is always supported and encouraged women and truthfully, he's proven that over decades through his employment practices, through his hiring practices.

HARLOW: What would a President Trump do for women in this country?

I. TRUMP: He'd be amazing for women in this country. He would be incredible for women in this country and he's starting to articulate his positions.

It's not my place to articulate those for him. I'm not part of the campaign. I'm very busy and he kept me very busy working alongside my brothers and running the organization now that he is taking this step in terms of his efforts to try and make this country great again, as he says.

So, you know, I'll leave policy to him.

HARLOW: Yeah.

I. TRUMP: But I can speak from my vantage point as a child and also from my vantage point as a colleague and somebody who works for him.

He's been an amazing parent. He's given me every opportunity to succeed. He's been loving and supportive. He's pushed me. He corrected me. He disciplined me.

And I think as a parent now myself, I appreciate how hard that is more than ever before. Whereas 15 or 16, I was a little less impressed by how tough he was and how strict he was with us his children. As a parent now, I see just how hard it is to raise children with drive and with passion and with energy who have a well-set moral compass and he very much did that for me in his role as a father.

And then, as an executive, I've seen what an unbelievable leader he is. He's the most formidable negotiator I've ever seen and I've seen a lot of great negotiators.

He is also somebody who really encourages people to achieve at their highest level. He is -- he sets very high goals for everyone who works for him and works with him. But really he helps them raise the bar for themselves in terms of what they want to accomplish.

HARLOW: What are your business goals for Ivanka Trump as a brand, as a business?

I. TRUMP: I've far-reaching goals. I think my goals are less specific and more general now. I want to continue to grow the Trump Organization footprint throughout the world. We have a hotel company, the Trump Hotel Collection which I'm in incredible proud of which is now the fast growing luxury hotel brand.

We has many very, very exciting property openings and figure to come here in Washington D.C. with the old post office building and iconic building right on Pennsylvania Avenue, in Rio de Janeiro, in Vancouver and many, many others in the pipeline for the years to come.

[21:10:03] So I think the opportunity on the hotel side and on the real estate side is huge. And I almost don't want to limit myself by giving a specific goal, but the growth potential there is enormous.

In terms of my own business, I really feel like it's in its infancy and it's just getting started. I'm creating product in many categories that has been very well received that I'm deeply proud of and I'm looking forward to other opportunities and other categories and international markets to grow that brand.

Of course, my most important priority, my family is growing and hopefully will continue to go on, so.

HARLOW: Congratulations. You are five months pregnant.

I. TRUMP: I am five months pregnant.

HARLOW: You're third?

I. TRUMP: With my third.

HARLOW: Congratulations.

I. TRUMP: It's an amazing time and exciting time for me and my personal life, as well.

So I feel incredibly blessed, incredibly fortunate that I'm so happy personally and professionally and I hope that always continues.

HARLOW: You are very good friends with Chelsea Clinton and she gave a recent interview and said quote, "I love Ivanka" and she said that both of your parents running potentially against each other near a general election has not affected your friendship.

How do you guys navigate that? Do you not talk politics? Do you talk kids?

I. TRUMP: We -- it has not been an issue for us. I have great respect for her. She's been a great friend to me, I've been a great friend of her. So, you know, the politics of our parents is not relevant to our friendship.

HARLOW: I asked a lot of the women here support powerful women summit and I sat down with a group of them after the democratic debate last night, I know you watched.

What did you make of the debate and who do you think would be the most formidable candidate against your father who leading still in all of the Republican polls?

I. TRUMP: My father debate was excellent. I thought the debate was interesting to watch. So I enjoyed watching.

Like I said, I'm a business person, not a politician, so I'll leave politics to other members of the family and the many, many people who are involved in the race on both sides. So we'll see who emerges.

HARLOW: Ivanka trump, thank you very much.

I. TRUMP: Thank you.

(END OF VIDEO CLIPS)

COOPER: Interesting, because you know, Donald trump said that we're going to be seeing more of her and his wife on the campaign trail. She clearly doesn't seem to want to talk politics at all.

HARLOW: No, it is not the impression I got leaving the interview. She didn't say I will not be on the campaign trail but at the end she said I will leave the politics to other members of the family.

She said repeatedly, that she was not advising him on policy and that she was focused on her business and her third child is on the way.

COOPER: She did introduce him at the...

HARLOW: That's the last thing we heard from her very publicly. She introduced him.

You know, a lot of political pundits say she would be a huge asset to him on the campaign trail, she's very accomplishment in her own right.

COOPER: Very poised obviously.

HARLOW: Very poised. I enjoyed the conversation a lot but did not get that sense, Anderson.

And interesting what she said about Chelsea Clinton, the friendship has not been hurt at all by this and you think if the parents are facing off in a general election, would that strain the friendship? I actually don't think so because these are two young women that have grown up not spotlight so much.

They had to create their own identities aside from their parents for their entire life and this doesn't change much even if they go head- to-head.

COOPER: All right. Poppy, thanks very much.

HARLOW: You're welcome.

COOPER: Up next, we'll check into an event where Bernie Sanders is speaking tonight.

Plus he'll speak with his campaign manager about how he thinks the debate went.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:17:14] COOPER: Two live events going on right now, Bernie Sanders speaking now in Los Angeles and Hillary Clinton just walked out to start her speech in Las Vegas. We'll hear from her for a moment. First, let's listen to Bernie Sanders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we've got to go even further than that. I am a passionate believer in a very radical concept called democracy. And you all know, you all know that in human history, democracy is a pretty new idea. It's a couple hundred years old and yet, what we are seeing right now is a result of citizens united, is a situation where the Koch Brothers alone will be spending more money in this campaign cycle than the democratic or republican parties, when you've got one family spending more money in this campaign cycle that either the democratic or the republican parties.

When you got one family spending more money than either of the two major political parties, you're not talking about democracy, you are talking about oligarchy we've got in us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Sanders campaign is getting a lot of traction from his debate performance last night raising nearly $2 million at about $30 of pop. His campaign manager, Jeff Weaver is still in Las Vegas. He joins me now.

Jeff thanks for being with us. 24 hours after the debate, how does Senator Sanders feel particularly with the reaction from folks online who have been raising a lot of money for your campaign?

JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDER'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, let me start, Anderson, by congratulating you personally and CNN in general for hosting what I think is really sort of the gold standards for debate so far this year.

It was a civil debate, it was substantive and I think you were rewarded with a tremendous audience of 15 million plus people. So congratulations to you.

In terms of our campaign, we thought Bernie had a phenomenal night. I think what is fascinating when you listen to the debate, the extent to which issues that people were talking about are the issues that Bernie Sanders has been talking about. It's really clear that he's driving the agenda not only in the debate but in the campaign and people are responding.

I think we saw in the focus groups, CNN held, that Fox held, that independent people held overwhelmingly, voters felt that Bernie had won the debate. The fans had decided that the people thought he won. I think there was an overwhelming response online on Facebook which was the co-sponsor of this event, overwhelming support for Bernie.

Now we've seen the number actually is now higher, Anderson up to $2.5 million raised in connection with the debate.

COOPER: In just the last 24 hours. Were you surprised that...

WEAVER: Yes, sir.

COOPER: ... that secretary Clinton hit Sanders so quickly really right out of the gate on his comments about wanting the U.S. to be economically more like Denmark and his record on gun control?

[21:20:03] She wasn't giving free passes early on.

WEAVER: Right, well, look, Anderson, I think what we saw last night. You know, he had the most memorable line of the night when he talked about her damn e-mails and I think you saw in that moment Senator Sanders going big. You know, going presidential.

And I think Secretary Clinton, I think she had an OK performance, sort of standard performance. I think did not take the same opportunities to go big when they were presented to her by you.

COOPER: Do you think the calculous for Joe Biden would have been changed in any way based on what happened last night?

WEAVER: No, absolutely not.

Look, The vice president of course is deciding, I think people are -- understand that the deadline is sort of approaching given the ballot deadlines, number of states and what have you.

But, you know, it's a difficult decision for him given his family situation. So no, I do not think what happened last night would have any bearing. This race is very dynamic right now.

Senator Sanders is on the move. He's going up in all the early states. So, you know, I think it's a very dynamic situation.

COOPER: Let me ask, your candidate obviously drawing huge crowds in a lot of places he goes. But he's polling extremely low among African- American voters in some key primary states, 4 percent compared to Hillary Clinton's, 59 percent of African-American support in South Carolina, a critical state to his credit. And when you look at Senator Sander's record, I mean he's been fighting for civil rights since the '60s.

You know, just doing research on him, he led I think the first sit in at the University of Chicago in order to desegregate campus housing. Why isn't he with the record like that? Why isn't he doing better among African-Americans?

WEAVER: Well, you know, we are reaching out to the African American community. I think his record is not well-known either in terms of his biography and in many cases, you know, the efforts that he has helped in the congress to fight for civil rights.

But, you know, we're working hard to get that message out. We're very proud that we have been enforced just this week by Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota who's going to help us bring our message of racial justice and economic justice to the African American community.

So I think you will see improvements among African American voters in the near future.

I'd also say Anderson that, well, that may be the case in South Carolina. I did see one poll in California where we were at 25 percent with African-Americans in that state. So there may be differences from state to state, the African-American community is not monolithic and there may be differences from state to state.

COOPER: Jeff Weaver, I know it's been a long 24 hours for you. I appreciate you being with us tonight. Thank you, Jeff.

WEAVER: Thanks, Anderson.

COOPER: As I mentioned, Hillary Clinton is back on the campaign trail tonight.

We just saw her speaking at an event in Las Vegas. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He wants people to understand economic opportunities that are available.

You know, it is a possible if we invest in wind and solar advanced bio fuels, geothermal, you name it. We cannot only begin to reverse the effects of climate change but we can begin to build our economy in a totally different way.

You here in Nevada are doing just that. You've got that big battery factory going in. You've been investing in more solar.

In the hotel I stayed in before the debate I was looking out the window and I saw these solar panels driving around today going to different events, I saw a lot of places with solar panels.

Well, I'm setting some big goals for my presidency. By the end of my first term, I want us to have employed a half a billion more solar panels to be installed across America.

And...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Secretary Clinton on the campaign trail. Joining me now CNN political commentator and former Obama administration official Van Jones, and CNN political commentator and former senior advisor of President Obama Dan Pfeiffer.

So Dan, you just heard from the Sanders campaign, what do you make of their interpretation to debate particularly the idea that Pundits reporters thought Hillary Clinton, you know, had a better night but the Sanders people saying not so fast, their candidate, you know did great. They think their candidate won and the fundraising backs it up. DAN PFEIFFER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, it's a very surreal experience for me because I sat on that stage last night and I look that the debate and said Hillary Clinton won hands down, she was better and did what she needed to do and saw the focus group, and it was a flash back to when I worked for barrack Obama in 2007 and 2008.

We do all these debates to Hillary Clinton. She'd be -- she would have a dominating performance. The Pundits then would say, she won hands down Obama lost and the focus group would come out and say Obama won.

And I think -- well, I think that says both candidates probably did what they needed to do.

Hillary Clinton winning is the front runner and came out stronger than before but Sanders who has a message that resonates not just with supporters but across the broad swath the democratic party and his supporters who are incredibly energized before, which is an advantage over Hillary Clinton left even more energized.

So it was probably a good debate for both of them.

[21:25:00]

COOPER: Van, what's the biggest short-term impact debate you think? Does it dampen the prospects of vice president Joe Biden getting to the race? I was imagining him sitting there watching that and what the political calculous for him is suddenly the need for him among those, you know, who were concerned about Hillary Clinton?

You know, who were concerned about Hillary Clinton? Does it damp in the prospects of vice president Joe Biden getting to the raise I was trying to imagine Biden seeing there watching the other what the political calculous for him. It's suddenly the need for him among those, you know, who were concern about Hillary Clinton. Is it lessened?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think that Hillary Clinton definitely sured up her base. Look, for six months Hillary Clinton looked like a defensive flip flop or dishonest wounded, that version of Hillary Clinton was put in the -- eclipsed last night by the version of Hillary Clinton that is the most formidable political force in the United States right now besides Donald Trump. You understood watching her why she's such a formidable force.

At the same time, today Bernie Sanders as you listened to ordinary Democrats across the country, he struck a chord, I think we missed last night. I think we expected Hillary Clinton to come out maybe just be a policy watch she was so passionate and we were happy to see this different version of Hillary Clinton. We missed something last night.

Bernie Sanders is on fire. You talk to ordinary Democrats that have not given a penny nickel or dime to anybody since 2008 they're opening up there check books today for Bernie Sanders. He is on to something. I was in the airport today and I heard what I thought was Bernie Sanders voice on television. It was Bernie Sanders behind me in line on Southwest flying commercial being mobbed by ordinary people. Something is happening with this guy and I think we missed it last night.

COOPER: Dan, do you agree with that? I mean do you think he really has a shot given, I mean look you know he calls himself a democratic socialist. Can you really see him getting the nomination in the Democratic Party?

PFEIFFER: I think he has a shot, but I think it's a very long shot. He is a -- he has to just not improve a little bit. He has to improve exponentially with huge parts of the democratic base and I think last night the one real -- he had two negatives last night, one was I think is the answer on guns puts him out of the main stream of the Democratic Party today and second, he needs a better answer on democratic socialism I think that is going to be a huge for people once they decide they want to pick the next president, not just when they want a candidate, not a cause he's going to have to explain why he can be the electable nominee.

COPPER: Dan...

JONES: I think that's -- what's really weird is why is he talking about foreign countries we talk about socialism, he can just say listen, America is a hybrid system. They called the V.A. and medicare and medical -- social security, all been American stuff rather than talking about American programs, he's talking about foreign countries. That doesn't make any sense. But he has somehow tapped a nerve and I think we'll see a lot more from Bernie Sanders than we expect.

COOPER: Yeah.

PFEIFFER: Anderson, maybe we're amused that we did not congratulate you for last night. That was a great job.

COOPER: Well, thanks very much. I appreciate it.

JONES: You killed it. You killed it.

COOPER: Dan Pfeiffer always good to have you on, Van Jones as well.

PFEIFFER: Thank you.

Coming up debate performance is not just about what the candidates say but everything from the way they walk onto the stage to the hand gestures they make. Whose body language was most presidential? We'll talk to an expert ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:32:02]

COOPER: It's not just what candidates say that gets put under the debate microscope but also their body language. Gary Tuchman tonight spoke with an expert in the field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even before any of the candidates uttered a single word, you learned a lot through how they came on stage?

NICK MORGAN, CEO PUBLIC WORDS INC.: Clinton walked out in the way that we would want any candidate, any debater to walk out. She nailed it. She walks with posture that says "I'm in command here, I'm in control."

TUCHMAN: What about Bernie Sanders?

MORGAN: Bernie walks with his head pitched forward. He's got kind of feudalistic air to him. He's a fighter, he's ready to fight.

TUCHMAN: When we most talked about moments of the debate, if not the most talked about moment was this.

SANDERS: I think the secretary is right. And that is that the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails.

CLINTON: Thank you. Me, too, me, too.

TUCHMAN: All right so a lot of levity here. You have his hands, you have her smile and laughter. What does it all tell you?

MORGAN: Well it's a great moment for the two of them. They are connecting. It feels very real and spontaneous. Bernie does that passionate thing very well. It's a great moment for her, as well because she's warming up. She's relaxing. It feels very genuine.

TUCHMAN: Speaking of Bernie Sanders hands, he use his hands more than anybody in this debate, we put together a medley.

COOPER: Her policy is tougher than yours?

SANDERS: Well, that's not true. We bailed about what being too big to fail. We have got to break them up.

MORGAN: From the speaking it's a good thing, raises the energy, creates interest, allows him to express his passion he also shows us his palms a lot. That builds trust.

TUCHMAN: We expected at some point of this debate for candidates to come out against Donald Trump. It happened here with Martin O'Malley.

O'MALLEY: A lot of the Senate folks, the immigrant haters like some we've heard like Donald Trump that carnival barker in the Republican Party.

MORGAN: To me that looked a little staged. He had prepared that line in advance and so his body language was a little out of sync with his words.

TUCHMAN: Compared that Republican debates this was a relatively friendly one between the candidates but this was a moment where Hillary Clinton took a dig at Bernie Sanders regarding gun control.

CLINTON: Senator Sanders, did vote five times against the brady bill. Since it was passed more than 2 million prohibited purchases have been prevented.

TUCHMAN: Watch him.

CLINTON: He also did vote as he said for this immunity provision.

MORGAN: Licking his lip, moving back and forth.

Bernie feels a little uncomfortable. Hillary presumably has got him on that point and he's squirming a bit. Bernie is best when his in action mode.

TUCHMAN: So after watching that debate, if you had the sound down, if you were advising your clients, which of those candidates to emulate with their body language, which candidate would it be and why?

[21:35:05]

MORGAN: There I'd have to give the nod to Hillary Clinton because she's the most presidential. She's the strongest. She's the executive in the room. Bernie is a little too emotional. His hands get up there in the stratosphere a little too often. And so, while his passion and emotion command attention, in the end, he's not a strong executive in the way that Mrs. Clinton is.

COOPER: That's all through body language.

MORGAN: That's all through body language.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Gary joins me now. You know, I was never a big believer in the whole body language thing but I'm actually coming around on it. Nick Morgan, the body language expert you talked to, what is he recommend for people who are making speeches or presentation at work in terms of body language.

TUCHMAN: Yeah, whether you're running for president or speaking in meetings, same tips -- initial tips from Nick Morgan, always lean into it when you're talking to someone if you're behind a podium or beyond a table lean into it. But don't put your hands like this. Don't put your hands like this because that's aggressive or defensive. What you do is occasionally gesture like this and shows your palms and you're open.

Also, everyone knows eye contact is important but when you do eye contact like this, it's good to occasionally nod because the person you're looking at feels like wow, they are looking at me and nods back at you and they get on your side. COOPER: Interesting.

TUCHMAN: And this is the best people doing that so far in the debates, Hillary Clinton and among Democrats and Donald Trump among the Republicans.

COOPER: Interesting. Can we stop making eye contact now?

TUCHMAN: We can stop. Yeah, yeah.

COOPER: OK, good. Thank you. It's a little too intense. Gary, thank you much.

Up next, supporters of the confederate flag are indicted on terrorism charges. What led to that indictment coming up

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:40:44]

COOPER: What started out as a party in Georgia ended in chaos in terrorism charges, 15 have been indicted. Authorities said the group all white men waved confederate flags at black guests and allegedly spewed some heated words. Martin Savidge reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is how it ended last July in Douglasville, Georgia. Cell phone videos show a convey of seventh pickup trucks with large confederate flags leaving after police were called to an outdoor children's birthday party. Now, pay close attention to the truck backing upright here. It's hard to clearly see and hear what the person in the truck is saying or gesturing but the person recording definitely perceives a threat.

MELISSA ALFRED, HOST OF THE EVENT: That's a threat.

SAVIDGE: Melissa Alfred was hosting the event where many of the goers where black. And she says when the trucks and those in them drove up it got ugly, real ugly, with those with the flags brandishing weapons.

ALFRED: They used the "N" word and said they going to kill people on my property.

SAVIDGE: The people in the pickup trucks are from a group called respect the flag, referring to the confederate flag. They even have a Facebook page and give a different story telling at a newspaper someone at the party threw a rock out them triggering the altercation. Alfred says she was angry, police made no arrests.

ALFRED: They can come back because they were free to go. They allowed these people to go.

SAVIDGE: That changed in this Atlanta suburb Friday when indictments were handed out by a grand jury against 15 members of Respect The Flag charging them with one count each under Georgia's violation of street gang terrorism and prevention act and one count of terroristic threats, quote "With the purpose of terrorizing those individuals and in reckless disregard for the risk of causing such terror".

If convicted, they could get 20 years in prison. But does a group supporting a flag really constitute a gang? It was something the D.A. didn't want to discuss.

BRIAN FORTNER, DOUGLAS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I think it would be inappropriate for us to get into the facts and details of the case. I think that's better reserved for the courtroom.

SAVIDGE: We attempted to talk to the group's leader, Levi Bush but so far he turned us down. It's important to remember this incident happened just over a month after the massacre of 10 African-Americans in Emanuel AME church in Charleston. The self-confessed gunman posted pictures of himself with the confederate flag. Many considered the crime a terrorist attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And Martin Savidge joins us now. I mean, have any of them been arrested?

SAVIDGE: They have, actually. Some seven people have been taken into custody booked into the county jail of which we're told at last count only two remain behind bars. The rest were able to make bond. Bond in this particular case really doesn't seem to be that high, anywhere from six to $9,000. There's no word yet on if there is going to be a trial or exactly when would all 15 be tried together or individually but when that trial happens, well, it could be very, very interesting, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Martin thanks for reporting.

Now to the upstate New York in a mysterious death investigation at a church, authorities say two teenage boys were beaten, one killed and other hospitalized. Tonight six people are charged with manslaughter including the boys' parents and sister, Jason Carroll has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It happen in what was supposed to be a house of worship, this former school building in New Hartford New York now home to a church with a small following called the Word of Life Church. Police say after those Sunday services, two young members of the church were brought to the sanctuary for a counseling session to discuss their spiritual state, 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and his 17-year-old brother Christopher.

MICHAEL INSERRA, NEW HARTFORD POLICE: The session turned physical. Both brothers were continually subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours in hopes that each would confess the prior sins and ask for forgiveness.

CARROLL: No word on what the alleged sins were but the 19-year-old was beaten so badly, police say members of the church brought him to a hospital where he later died. His 17-year-old brother remains in serious condition. Their parents, Bruce and Debra Leonard were arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter, both pleaded not guilty.

[21:45:02] Four other church members were arrested including the brothers, sister, Sarah Ferguson. They also pleaded not guilty. The beatings have prompted questions about the church and its members.

LYNN LAVENTURE, NEIGHBOR OF THE WORD OF THE LIFE CHURCH: We would have never in a million years guessed anything was going on or wrong or there was -- before the troopers or anything were here.

CARROLL: A former Word of Life Church member who asked not to be identified tells CNN it was founded in 1984. It's made up of about five families and has approximately 35 members. Their teachings are accurate to the bible. That former member says it is not a cult, but some long-time neighbors aren't so sure.

ABRAHAM ESPER, PASTOR OF ST. PATRICK ST. ANTHONY'S CHURCH: They were very loud and very disruptive.

CARROLL: Father Abraham Esper is a pastor of Saint Patrick Saint Anthony's Church located next door. He says he would often complain about sounds of drums being beaten by Word of Life members at night. At any point where there any theological discussions with anyone about what their beliefs are?

ESPER: None at all. I really believe this is not a main line Christian Church. A main line Christian Church would offer hospitality to everyone and everybody would feel welcome. And they would point to the reality to Jesus Christ which means to serve, to be open, to be present to others, this is the just the opposite.

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CARROLL: The attorney for Debra Leonard told me, he thought the facts behind the case were quote peculiar. He also says he does not believe his client was physically capable of harming her son. He says, he suffers from a heart condition. Police say their investigation is far from over. Jason Carroll, CNN, New Hartford, New York.

COOPER: Troubling, indeed. Just ahead new attacks in Jerusalem are rising concerns about a third Intifada. I'll talk to former senator George Mitchell who served as a special envoy to the Middle East.

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COOPER: Across Israel and the Palestinian territories tonight growing concerns that the region could be on the edge of a third Intifada. Seven Israelis Jews and dozens of Palestinians have been killed in the past two weeks.

We want to warn you, the videos we're about to show are incredibly disturbing. You may want to turn away. A man drove into a crowd at a bus stop in an orthodox area of Jerusalem and got out and stabbed at least eight people killing a 40-year-old man. Police shot the attacker, that yesterday.

Today police shot and killed a man armed with a knife at Jerusalem's Damascus gate plaza. Authorities also shot a man who stabbed the women as she tried to board a bus in Jerusalem. Today's attacks were the latest in a string of seemingly random stabbings by young Palestinian men against Israelis. Joining me is George Mitchell, former U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East and former U.S. Senator.

These kind of attacks, I mean, they're incredibly difficult to predict or plan against because, I mean, if it truly is individuals who are, you know, motivated, self-motivated without any link to a specific group, that's a tough thing to prevent.

GEORGE MITCHELL, FORMER U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY AT THE MIDDLE EAST: Well, they are predictable. It's just not the precise person or location...

COOPER: Right.

MITCHELL: ... that is predictable but you know that they are going to happen. It's a very serious situation. I chaired an international commission which investigated the origins of the second Intifada. And the principal conclusion we drew is that it's so quickly spiraled out of control on both sides. It was a different circumstance, different leaders. You can't draw a direct analogy between the two.

COOPER: Do you seat possibility of the third Intifada? Do you see the possibility of this spiraling?

MITCHELL: Certainly, it can't be ruled out. I hope it doesn't happen. And I hope there will be swift action to deter that from occurring. But I don't think anybody can seriously say flatly and absolutely that it won't happen.

COOPER: But, I mean, have you groups like Hamas praising these attacks. Mahmoud Abbas has called the shootings by Israel of these attackers, you know, assassinations basically, killings.

MITCHELL: Yeah. Well, I believe that all sides should take strong steps, including the right words, to tamp this down. I think President Abbas should. And I think Prime Minister Netanyahu should. And I think it's imperative that the United States and its allies undertake another effort to try to bring calm and hopefully get some process going again because the history of the Middle East, Anderson, is that when there is a peace process in place, the parties tend to be stable although still very hostile towards each other. When it appears that it's breaking down or broken down, as is now the case, then violence occurs.

COOPER: Is there a real role for the United States to play? I mean, Secretary Kerry has talked about going there. We've heard some people voicing concern that by going there it may inflame things even more.

MITCHELL: No, I don't think that's correct that it will inflame things. I think we do have an obligation to do that because the United States is the indispensable party to any possible resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We get a lot of support from many European friends and others. But it can't be done other than by the United States government. It's the only entity that has the capacity, the influence on both sides in a way that can hopefully bring them together to talk peace and to make peace.

COOPER: We talked a little bit about what some Palestinian leaders have said and groups like Hamas have said, the Israelis have said that they can destroy the home of anybody who commits an act of terror like this, that they cannot return the body to the family which obviously in the Muslim world is very important, that the person is buried in a specific amount of time by and with family members. Is that likely what you think to intimidate people to not commit these types of attacks?

MITCHELL: No quite the contrary. The demolition of homes has been going on for many decades it's not at new policy at all. And it doesn't produce the desired result because people are taking actions that effectively suicides knowing that they are going to be caught and probably shot and become in their eyes martyrs.

[21:55:05] The reality is that you have to address the underlying causes if you want to bring this to a conclusion and the Israelis are, of course, appropriately defending themselves. They are flooding the area with police and...

COOPER: That they called reserve offices.

MITCHELL: ... and reserved officers. But reality is I spent a long time in Jerusalem during two tours of duty. I had an office there. It's all packed in together.

COOPER: Right. Yeah.

MITCHELL: It's very close quarters, and you've got several hundred thousand Palestinians living in extremely difficult circumstances and several hundred thousand Israelis. And so you have to really address the underlying causes, even as you take steps to try to minimize the damage now.

COOPER: Senator, I appreciate you being on. Thank you.

MITCHELL: OK. Thank you, Anderson.

COOPER: We'll be right back.

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COOPER: That does it for us. We'll see you again at 11:00 P.M. Eastern for another edition of "360." CNN tonight with Don Lemon starts now. Don?