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Sheriff's Deputy Killed Execution Style; Shooting Survivor in Roanoke Still Recovering; Owen Labrie Not Found Guilty of Felony Sex Assault; Deflate-gate Trial Continues; Donald Trump to Compete in Presidential Straw Poll; Donald Trump on the Attack Against Clinton Staff and John Kerry; News Media Grapple with Use of Shooter Videos; Reflecting on Katrina Coverage; Aired 1-2p ET

Aired August 29, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:06] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, a Texas sheriff's deputy is shot and killed while gassing up his patrol car. Now one man being questioned and police say his mother actually made the phone call to turn him in.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who is Huma married to? One of the great sleazebags of our time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump now suggesting one of Hillary Clinton's aides shared classified information with her husband.

And Florida bracing for flooding as remnants of Tropical Storm Erika take aim at the Sunshine State.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Hello, again, everyone, and thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

In Texas, investigators are questioning a man they believe may be connected to the execution style killing of a sheriff's deputy overnight. Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth was gassing up his patrol car when he was shot multiple times from behind.

CNN's Nick Valencia has been following the story since it broke last night.

So there has been this intense manhunt then a phone call comes in from the mother of a man who is now being questioned.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're calling this person a person of interest. They are in police custody right now, currently being questioned. No formal charges have been leveled against this individual according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. We are however standing by for a press conference from the Harris County Sheriff's Office just about an hour from now at 2:00 p.m.. Hoping to get more information on this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA (voice-over): Captured at his mother's house. The man believed to be the gunman who fatally shot a sheriff's deputy at a Houston area gas station has been taken into custody. The Texas Department of Public Safety tells CNN the man's mother called the Harris County sheriff's Department after learning her son may have been involved in the shooting. Police say it appears to be an unprovoked, execution-style killing.

DEPUTY THOMAS GILLILAND, HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: The witness called 911, let us know that one of our deputies had been shot. Multiple units arrived. EMS arrived on scene. Unfortunately the deputy passed.

VALENCIA: The deputy is identified as 47-year-old Darren Goforth, a 10-year veteran who was married with two children.

SHERIFF RON HICKMAN, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: I have been in law enforcement 45 years. I don't recall another incident this cold- blooded and cowardly.

VALENCIA: Authorities say the uniformed deputy was refueling his patrol car Friday evening when this man, caught on surveillance camera, came up behind him and opened fire.

GILLILAND: The deputy then fell to the ground. The suspect then continued over to him and shot the deputy again multiple times as he laid on the ground.

VALENCIA: The suspect then fled the scene in a red or maroon colored Ford Ranger pickup truck, also caught on surveillance camera.

GILLILAND: It is a very bizarre incident. You know, it's -- people understand, you know, that it's tough enough being a deputy and being in law enforcement in this country right now. But for people the way that they are right now, I have no words for what this type of person did.

VALENCIA: There's no apparent motive in the case. The deputy had investigated an accident about a half an hour before the attack. Police are looking into whether there's any connection.

HICKMAN: I think it's important to ask for the prayers of our community for this deputy, his family, and our department family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: And you heard there in that report the details of this shooting. Just no other way to describe it but ruthless. The man continued to open fire on this deputy while that deputy was on the ground. We're learning that the Texas Department of Public Safety, FBI, as well as U.S. Marshal Service, all involved in this investigation.

Everyone trying to figure out right now, Fred, what the motive was to the shooting.

WHITFIELD: And again this person being questioned.

VALENCIA: That's right.

WHITFIELD: And unclear what will happen after that.

VALENCIA: We hope to hear more at this 2:00 p.m. Eastern press conference.

WHITFIELD: Right.

VALENCIA: Whether or not they will officially name this person as the -- you know, alleged gunman.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Valencia, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

VALENCIA: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Employees at WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, are trying to resume routine news coverage after two colleagues were shot and killed on live television. The station did its first live shot last night with the crew out on the field there at a local high school football game. And as you can imagine, it was an emotional moment for the crew as you see right there. Their co-workers, Alison Parker and Adam Ward, were killed in the middle of an interview, a live interview, Wednesday morning.

CNN national correspondent Polo Sandoval tell us the only survivor is slowly recovering.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, Vicki Gardner, the lone survivor in Wednesday's shooting, she continues to recover according to her family. They have been posting several updates on a Facebook page that's dedicated to her recovery and her progress, as they know and are fully aware that there's still plenty of interest here in the community. And if you look behind me, you'll actually see proof of that just outside the studios of WDBJ.

[13:05:05] You can see the memorial that continues to grow. Just a few minutes ago, I witnessed as a small group of people came out, leaving some flowers, leaving some balloons, well wishes for the families of Alison Parker, Adam Ward, the whole staff at the station, and, of course, Vicki Gardner herself.

We are told that her condition continues to improve. She's gone through at least two surgeries so far. Her husband tells us that she did lose her right kidney and a portion of her -- of her colon, but nonetheless, she is in high spirits and is expected to recover. It's really the emotional scars, those emotional injuries that will take some time to heal.

Now she won't be back at work any time soon due to her recovery, but her coworkers will. We are told that the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce reopened today. It's really -- that's where the shooting happened. Visitors there expected to see some changes. They will see a memorial that's been put up there in honor of Alison Parker and Adam Ward. And then perhaps yet another change here is the replacing of some of the wooden paneling, or rather the wooden decking that was at the very spot where this shooting happened on Wednesday, a very haunting reminder, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Polo.

All right. A graduate of a prestigious New Hampshire prep school whose alumni include the likes of Secretary State John Kerry and former FBI director, Robert Mueller, is facing up to 11 years behind bars. 19-year-old Owen Labrie was accused of raping a younger student while attending St. Paul's School. He broke into sobs as the verdict was read, as you see right there. Jurors found him not guilty of felony sex assault but convicted him of having sex with a girl below the age of consent.

CNN correspondent Boris Sanchez joining us now with more on this -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I was in the courtroom yesterday and both families were visibly emotional. They seemingly didn't know what to expect and both parties were overtaken with emotion. And while this case may be over, the school in which this incident took place, the St. Paul's School, may now be heading to court itself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty or not guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not guilty.

SANCHEZ: After two weeks of deliberations, a mixed decision. Owen Labrie, the New Hampshire prep school student accused of raping a then 15-year-old schoolmate, acquitted of the most serious felony sexual assault charges against him, though the 19-year-old broke down in tears.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You say, madam foreperson, that the defendant Owen Labrie is guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

SANCHEZ: As the jury convicted him on five other charges, three counts of misdemeanor sexual assault, a misdemeanor for endangering a child, and luring a minor through an online service, a felony. The verdict follows two weeks of intense testimony from numerous witnesses, including the accuser, who says she was raped. The defense aimed to discredit her story by presenting friendly Facebook messages she sent to Labrie in the days after the incident.

J.W. CARNEY, OWEN LABRIE'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Please read those e- mails and chats, and decide, is this someone who was unwilling? Could you stand and raise your right hand please?

SANCHEZ: Labrie, who also took the stand, maintained he did not have sex with the accuser, saying he had a moment of divine inspiration as the two were together, alone in the attic of a building on campus.

JOSEPH CHERNISKE, MERRIMACK COUNTY PROSECUTOR: He had to use tactics to get what he wanted. He had to confuse and manipulate a 15-year-old girl.

SANCHEZ: Labrie was grilled by prosecutors claiming he hatched a plan to seduce the victim months earlier, sharing with a friend a list of female students he wanted as senior salutes, a so-called tradition at the prestigious St. Paul's School where older students tallied the number of younger females they had sexual encounters with. The victim's name was on that list in all caps with a note, "still at large."

After the verdict was read, the victim's family put out a statement partly blaming the school, writing, quote, "This conviction requires him to take ownership for his actions and gives him the opportunity to reflect upon the harm he has caused. We still feel betrayed that St. Paul School allowed and fostered a toxic culture that left our daughter and other students at risk to sexual violence. We trusted the school to protect her and it failed us," end quote.

As for Labrie, who planned to attend Harvard after graduation, his attorney Jay Carney says he is devastated.

CARNEY: Owen's future is forever changed. A conviction like this will be like a brand, or a tattoo on him that will be impossible to remove. He will spend the rest of his life, I'm sure, showing people that this conviction should not have occurred.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:10:04] SANCHEZ: Those statements from the victim's family leading many to speculate that they may open a civil suit against the St. Paul School. Meantime, Owen Labrie heads back to court for sentencing October 29th. Again he could face 11 years in prison -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Boris Sanchez, thank you so much from New York. Appreciate that.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Checking your top stories.

Thai Police have arrested a man after a deadly bombing in Bangkok. 20 people were killed in a blast near a popular shrine two weeks ago. Today's arrest was not the chief suspect seen in surveillance photo. Officials say they believe the man in custody is a part of a larger network responsible for another blast. And three Al-Jazeera journalists have been sentenced to three years in

prison after a lengthy re-trial. They were charged with aiding the Muslim Brotherhood which is now considered a terrorist organization in Egypt. George Clooney's wife, Amal Clooney, is the lawyer for one of the men. She is calling the verdict extremely unjust. Egypt's President SISI also promised that he would pardon the journalists. The men are waiting to hear if he will follow through,.

And authorities in Michigan fear a possible sniper may be targeting drivers since late July. Police say six vehicle had been damaged along I-94 and I-69 near Grand Rapid. Test confirmed that one car was hit by a bullet. No one has been injured.

And the New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell are due back in a New York court on Monday for the final deflate-gate hearing in front of a judge. Well after nearly eight months this could be the week the deflate-gate saga comes to an end.

Our Andy Scholes has the latest -- Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Well, Fredricka, both sides are still giving no signs of budging when it's comes to reaching a settlement over Tom Brady's four-game suspension, which means Judge Berman is likely going to have to make a ruling in this case but even if we do finally get a ruling it likely won't be the end of deflate-gate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[13:15:12] SCHOLES (voice-over): If and when Judge Richard Berman hands down a ruling the deflate-gate saga may still be far from over. Even if Tom Brady and Judge Berman overturns his four-game suspension, Brady wouldn't be out of the woods just yet. The NFL could appeal to the Second Circuit Court and if they overturned Judge Berman's ruling Brady could possibly miss games when the Patriots are making a push for the playoffs.

MIKE MCCANN, PROFESSOR OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: If Tom Brady wins before Judger Berman, the Appeals Court could reverse and hold later on this year, perhaps in November or December, or maybe January, at a time of the year when the games may be more meaningful for the Patriots and for Tom Brady that in fact he is suspended.

SCHOLES: The good news for Brady is that the appeals process could take months or even years. In 2008 former Minnesota Vikings Pat Williams was suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy but thanks to many appeals at injunctions Williams not only played the entire 2008 season, he played in 2009 and 2010 and then retired before his case was ever resolved.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Justices ruled by their timeframe so the wheels of justice move but ever so slowly so it's certainly possible and potentially likely that this won't be resolved, that it goes to the appellate level within the NFL season itself.

SCHOLES: If Judge Berman rules for the NFL and uphold Brady's suspension, Brady and the NFL Players Association could also file an appeal to the Second Circuit Court but time would be of the essence with the Patriots opening the season on September 10th.

JACKSON: Brady would then have to do is to ask Berman to stay the suspension pending his appeal, and so that would be up to the judge in terms of whether they did that.

MCCANN: It's often difficult to get a stay, but the argument would be that they'll never get those games back if he misses the first four games of the season. Now the NFL would say, look, even if he misses those four games, he'll get them back if he later on wins because we'd owe him money. So there would be a fight over that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES: Another option for Judge Berman is to simply send this case back to arbitration with the stipulation that an interdependent arbitrator rules on the case. Not Roger Goodell. And if that happens, the appeal process would basically be starting all over again and will certainly last into the start of the season -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Andy Scholes. Appreciate that.

All right. Still to come, referring Hurricane Katrina exactly 10 years after it slammed into the Gulf Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:21:19] WHITFIELD: All right. Today Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addressed conservatives at the National Federation of Republican Assemblies in Nashville. And after the event he talked about whether he would run as a third party candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: As far as third party is concerned the Republican Party has been treating me very, very fairly. All I ask is fairness and I'm leading in every poll by a lot. We're leading in every state by a lot. And a lot of things are really happening. In terms of victory that would certainly be the best path to victory. And we're going make a decision very soon and I think a lot of people are going to be very happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. CNN Politics reporter MJ Lee is live for us in Nashville.

So, MJ, you were there, part of that Q&A, so when he says, soon, how soon are we talking?

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, will he or won't he run as an independent? I think that's the question that a lot of Republicans would love for Trump to definitively answer. And as you heard in the sound he didn't actually say that he would rule it out. He has sort of toyed with the idea of running for -- as a third party candidate, saying that if the Republican Party treats him fairly then he wouldn't.

But he has also repeatedly said that his preference is to run as a Republican and that it all depends on the kind of treatment that he gets from others in the Republican field as well as Republicans. So that's a question that he will have to answer at some point especially with the September 307th deadline in South Carolina where one has to vow not to run as a third party candidate in order to participate in the primaries.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then today he's also participating in the straw poll there at that event. What are his thoughts about that? Does he think it's relevant, important? Is he anxious about it?

LEE: Well, the reality is it is very early on in the circle and straw polls tend to not always predict the person that will necessarily win the primary. But nevertheless, this is an event that's being hosted by the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. This is a group where the president is Sharron Angle. You remember that she was a big Tea Party favorite and sort of hero in the 2010 cycle when she challenged Harry Reid, the top Democrat in the Senate.

So whoever the wins the straw poll we'll at least get an idea of which candidate in the big Republican field is a favorite, sort of outsider candidates. There are others like Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina. I don't think the straw poll results will actually, you know, be a good prediction for what will happen later in the circle. But it will give us an idea of which candidates of the Tea Party faction is into and, you know, is finding appeal.

WHITFIELD: All right. MJ Lee, thank you so much. Appreciate that. From Nashville.

All right. Florida bracing for heavy rains and floods from what was Tropical Storm Erika. The deadly storm dumped 12 inches of rain over parts of the Caribbean in just in about 10 hours Friday.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the latest.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Fredricka, one thing we're keeping an eye on, even though the winds with Erika have really diminished in the last 12 hours, the threat for flooding is still going to be the main concern.

Here is a look at the loop of the last six hours and again notice it's really falling apart, especially on the south side of this storm. But up here in Cuba, we still have some very intense areas of convection that is still dropping some pretty significant amounts of rain.

And here is a look at the rainfall estimates over the next 36 hours of what we expect. Notice along the west coast of Florida basically from Tampa all the way down to the Keys expecting at least three to five inches but some of those areas could pick up at least six inches of rain if not slightly especially embedded in some of those thunderstorms associated with the system as it continues to slide to the north and west.

[13:25:03] Now once it continues to track above the panhandle and into places like Georgia and Alabama it's expected to slow down again, dropping some more rain into those areas.

Here is a look of the forecast radar over the next 36 hours. Again notice it doesn't really look like much of a tropical storm anymore. It's really lost most of that. However as it gets out over into the open water of the Gulf of Mexico, there is still the slight potential for it to re-intensity and become a Tropical Storm Erika. It has to be watched over the next 24 hours to see if it intensifies and perhaps become Tropical Storm Erika again that this will have to be closely watched over the next 24 hours to see really how much it can intensify in that time.

In the meantime, though, folks in Florida still be on your guard with the potential for flooding, Fredricka, for the next 36 hours.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Allison.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Perhaps it's a good time to re-finances or get that mortgage. Your rates fell on all options this week. Have a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Hello, again, and thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Today Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addressed conservatives at the National Confederation of Republican Assemblies in Nashville and last night at an event in Massachusetts Trump had some harsh words for Clinton's aide Huma Abedin and her husband Anthony Weiner. He called Weiner a, quote, "sleazebag" and a perv. Here's what he had to say about it today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:30:04] TRUMP: When she is the receiver of so much of this very important information, and she's married to a guy who obviously is psychologically disturbed, I think it is a very fair statement that I made. And a lot of people have congratulated me. She's receiving this very, very important information and giving it to Hillary? Well, who else is she giving it to? Her husband has serious problems and on top of that he now works for a public relations firm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hillary Clinton spokesman tweeted that Trump crossed the line, saying, in part, quote, "Trump spent the summer saying offensive things about women but there's no place for false personal attacks toward a staff member. He should be ashamed," end quote. So joining me right now from New York is Democratic strategist Nomiki

Konst and CNN political commentator Tara Setmayer.

Good to see both of you. So, Nomiki, you first. Is Trump picking on women in general or is he just going at Hillary Clinton, chipping away at her, you know, right hand adviser, or is this just typical, political mudsling?

NOMIKI KONST, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: It's a little political mudsling but it's also Trump's strategy right now. Do you guys remember that movie "Wag the Dog?" The one where they declared war to distract America from the real problems? Trump finds an enemy every day, wages a war and then nobody asks him the questions about, you know, his plans, the details, which is going to have to happen pretty soon especially if he wins the nomination because the rest of America wants to know, you know, who is this man, what does he represent?

Is he populist, is he a capitalist? Is he a real politician or is he not a real politician? They want to know the details and really his plans for America. But this is just another attack. Every day there's an attack to distract.

WHITFIELD: So, Tara, it seems to be working, though, for Donald Trump, does it not?

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, unfortunately. I agree with Nomi in that I would like to hear some specifics. How exactly are you going to do that? But obviously the people right now don't care because if they did, he wouldn't be leading in the polls at almost 30 percent. So right now people are so upset and frustrated, they've had it with Washington, they've had it with the emasculation of this under President Obama's lack of leadership.

And they are just so refreshed by someone, even though he comes across, in my opinion, as brash to too brash and oftentimes engages in juvenile attacks. But people are refreshed that at least he stands up and says what he means. And he -- and he doesn't care, he's not influenced by other things. But personally I think --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: But can you have it both ways? Because you say, you know, the refresh that he's kind of unscripted.

SETMAYER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: He says it's the same time.

SETMAYER: Right.

WHITFIELD: At the top of -- you know, what both of you have said is that people want to hear more about issues so we're not seeing both at this point. He continues to be able to be less detailed on policy or on his ideas or agenda, and -- but definitely more detailed on kind of insulting other people or being critical. SETMAYER: It's pretty simple. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Right? It's been working for him. People tune in to Donald Trump because of the outrageous, bombastic things he says. We already know this. He is running his campaign the same way that he marketed himself and marketed his brand, marketed the "Apprentice," "Celebrity Apprentice," you know, people tune in for his personality and it's working for him because like I said we set aside certain standards of decency which I don't think is a good thing.

But for right now because of the nature of the things that he says and the mudslinging, I mean, we've got Hillary Clinton talking about his her and her hair, he's running around talking about people's personal stuff. Like this is below the decency and dignity, I think, of a presidential election. But it's part of the celebrity of his, of his popularity and people just being sick and tired of over produced political BS coming out of Washington and he is the complete opposite.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: So, Nomiki, are you seeing that other candidates are being baited, you know, by his tactics saying that this is working for him and now some of the other candidates kind of trying on a little bit more size, but it doesn't necessarily fit. If anything, it might be backfiring on the other candidates.

KONST: I think you're absolutely right. I mean he's a master at this game. He's been working on this for 30 years. You know, a politician -- smart politicians know who their audience and know their message. And they know that if you're explaining you're losing. And what I see from all the other candidates right now is that they're trying to play Donald Trump, but they're not Donald Trump. They need to play who they are. They need to know who they are as a candidate, what type of message they need to send out to recruit their voters.

Now the big question here is, will Donald Trump be able to recruit these voters who many are unlikely voters that are polling for him right now into real voters? That's the big question. And I don't really see him taking any of the other support from the other conservative candidates who might drop out of the race later on. I don't see that happening. Because if they're not with him right now, they're probably not going to be with him later on.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, ladies, last night Trump was not at all hesitant about mixing comedy into his speech. He was talking about Secretary of State John Kerry's Iran nuclear negotiations, he was joking about, you know, the secretary falling off his bike.

[13:35:14] Just listen to what he had to say and the kinds of reactions that came with it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He just said John Kerry is a joke. No, he's a bicyclist, OK? No, think of it. He's 73 years old. And he goes into a bicycle race. He's got the helmet, the whole thing. He's negotiating a very important deal. He falls, he breaks his leg, and he's gone. Now he walks in the next on crutches. They say, what the help happened to you? The Iranians can't believe what's going on. They can't believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So I'm kind of wondering, what is going on? What is this? Tara.

SETMAYER: Whoa, I mean, look, he' s a good one man show. I mean, that was actually pretty funny. I mean, it wouldn't be -- it would be funny if it weren't so sad because of this horrible deal that John Kerry has negotiated on behalf of the United States with Iran. But, you know, look this is what Donald Trump does. He -- what was a line.

WHITFIELD: But this is a serious job.

SETMAYER: I agree.

WHITFIELD: This is a serious job being the president of the United States.

SETMAYER: I agree. A hundred percent.

WHITFIELD: And I guess the tone that comes with that and -- I don't know, trying to make fun of or being, you know, comedic. I mean, I'm sure people appreciate humor. We all do. But I guess when you look at the big picture, trying to figure out what is happening, the tone of running for presidency, it seems very different right t now.

SETMAYER: Listen, I've said this from the very beginning that I feel that our standards of decency have dropped so low. That's part of our pop culture and what we've allowed. I personally think it goes back to the '90s when Bill Clinton went on MTV and somebody asked him boxers or briefs. And we thought well, that was great. I mean, that's where you started to see it go like this.

I mean, I think that's a serious problem, and that's what's concerning to me about Trump's popularity. And I'm hoping that as things move forward that some of the other more serious candidates that have real policy prescription are able to capture the more candid, relaxed kind of approach instead of being so over --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Will anybody else be able to get the attention for that? What do you guys think what's going on?

SETMAYER: I think they will.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SETMAYER: If this keeps going on, then, you know, it's going to be hard to do that but we'll see. That's why we're --

KONST: If he becomes the nominee -- if he becomes the nominee, I can bet you that the Democrats is going to play just the opposite. They're going to be serious. They're going to have a good demeanor and, you know, be the real politician.

WHITFIELD: We shall see, ladies. All right. Nomiki Konst, Tara Setmayer, thank you so much, ladies. Appreciate it.

SETMAYER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Don't forget the Republican presidential contenders will debate on CNN next month, Wednesday, September 16th, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:41:22] WHITFIELD: All right. All week we've been talking about the horrifying killings of two journalists who worked at WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia. The murders especially shocking because they were committed on live morning television and recorded by the gunman himself who then posted the video of the slayings on his Facebook account.

The video spread like wildfire on social media and media outlets had to decide whether the images were news worthy or too disturbing to show. I'm primarily talking about those images of the gunman that he was wearing a personal video camera.

So we at CNN decided to air part of the video only once an hour that showed the shooting with a disclaimer, and that was the portion that went on live television in the Roanoke, Virginia, market. And then as CNN here we discontinued showing the images throughout the hour. We did not show the gunman's own video that of the video taken of the personal camera that was worn by the gunman on his body.

The "New York Daily News" was widely condemned for its front page, showing the graphic slayings. The paper responded saying, quote, "The images that the news used yesterday were in wide circulation across the Internet throughout the day and remained in wide circulation," end quote. The paper wrote in a note to readers on Friday saying again, quote, "They are -- we believe part of the story -- a definitive part of the story, however disturbing," end quote.

So joining me now to discuss all of this is Rick Moll. He is the new director at CNN affiliate WSLS-TV in Roanoke, Virginia. In St. Petersburg, Florida, Catty Hawkins-Gaar, a faculty member for Poynter Digital Innovation Program. And here in Atlanta with me licensed psychologist Erik Fisher.

All right. Good to see all of you.

So, you know, Rick, let me begin with you. What were the discussions like about what images to show?

RICK MOLL, NEWS DIRECTOR, WSLS IN ROANOKE, VIRGINIA: Well, the images starting coming into our newsroom, I mean, really, really quick. I mean, social media today -- our newsroom filled up with that video really moments after we first got word, and it wasn't too long after the actual event happened. And it was just, you know, sheer horror. You know, I've got a newsroom full of people, and these are friends. These are people who are there that work with these individuals.

And the end of it -- you know, what we decided, you know, right on was, you know, that this isn't going anywhere. We have it. We know it's there. You know, but this is our community. You know, and this is, you know, a travesty for our sisters here -- brothers at WDBJ. And, you know, it's a community thing. And we aren't going to be going down that road. And it wasn't -- it was an easy decision to make that we were not going to air that video.

WHITFIELD: You said it was an easy decision. Why was that an easy decision? Because, you know, I know our newsroom and many newsrooms across the country there will be, you know, very difficult decisions that have to be made about the sensitivities of a story, the realities of the story, sharing as much of the truth of the story that is possible without being at all offensive.

So kind of take me into the newsroom as to how as the competitive, you know, station in the market at the same time these are your colleagues and your friends, you're out on stories all the time, because -- and in that way you are colleagues.

[13:45:02] So talk to me about what that dialogue was because this happened on morning television, live, and then quickly you all had to assemble in addition to having your own grief about the loss of your colleagues. You had to assemble some dialogue about how do we cover what just happened and what images do we show.

MOLL: Yes. You know we had discussions when my general manager got him. He and I both looked at it, we had a discussion. And you know, there is no value in seeing people shot to death on television. Yes, it did happen live on TV and yes, there is the social media out there, and it's going to be out there. But we have a responsibility to our viewers here in southwest Virginia. And you know, I have been in this market for a little under a year, and I don't see any value in putting that information on.

People get what happened. And if they are really, really anxious to see that video, they know where they can get it. But, you know, this is our home, and you know the networks can get away with probably doing that and the "New York Daily News" can do that. But this is our town. These are our people. These are our neighbors, our families. And we felt that there was no real news value in showing that. Two people died, they were victims of gunshots, and people get how that happened.

WHITFIELD: And then Katie --

MOLL: Yes, we did --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MOLL: And I must --

WHITFIELD: Sorry. Go ahead, Rick.

MOLL: And I was going to say, you know, and we did use video of the scene that morning when Alison was doing her interview but that was prior to the incident happening, to show -- you know, to basically establish that they were out there doing that interview.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, Katie, I wonder, as you talk to a number of, you know, media outlets throughout the country about the decisions that they've made, et cetera, was there something -- was the decision- making different in this case particularly because we're talking about colleagues, and what has happened to a colleague, and that it happened on live television opposed to newsrooms covering, handing things where there seems to be a greater separation between, you know, the events and those who are news gathering.

KATIE HAWKINS-GAAR, DIGITAL INNOVATION FACULTY, POYNTER INSTITUTE: I think the biggest decisions that news outlets need to make -- needed to make was between what footage to show so there are two videos here. There is the live shot that the cameraman who is killed that he shot of the interview and then there is also the video from the shooter's perspective, that first person video that was so chilling. A lot of people said it looked like a video game.

And news outlets first needed to decide whether they were going to show any footage and then which video to show. And I think a lot of places including CNN decided to show from the live video package from WDBJ and not from the shooter's perspective.

It's a really tough decision, and like Rick said when, you know, this footage is spreading so quickly on social media, you have to make these decisions really quickly. And it's very, very tough to do.

WHITFIELD: And, Erik, you know, this gunman, Bryce Williams, clearly, well, he knows the business. And he also had clear intent on how the actions would be distributed by wearing this body camera and we're talking about the decisions that newsrooms had to make about what images to show. But from your perspective as a psychologist, what do you learn about this gunman and the intent as to wanting to make sure that everyone saw it from his point of view but at the same time, you know, text and call a friend later to say I've done something terrible.

So there is an admission there, I've done something terrible, but at the same time there is this gratuitous, I guess, action of wanting to disseminate it, wanting to make sure that everyone saw it.

ERIK FISHER, LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I think we --

WHITFIELD: How do you evaluate that?

FISHER: In that situation we look at -- we all have multiple parts and pieces of ourselves. The one part who recognize that what he did was horribly wrong was put to the side while the part that wanted the attention and wanted to get his power back. He felt like he failed in his career. He'd been bullied and everybody took his power away in his mind. The cameraman had reported him in HR. He felt like the reporter took his job from him.

So -- and there -- it almost seemed like those were the first two of others he may have intended because he had the disguises, he had the rental car. All these things to disguise his identity. So this may have been the first of potentially others because he felt like he needed to take his power. He wasn't thinking clearly.

The issue that I want people to look at is that we have a choice to make in what we choose to look at and what we choose to watch.

WHITFIELD: What do you mean?

FISHER: Well, because we don't have to watch this. The news doesn't even have to report his name. They could say an individual.

[13:50:04] Imagine what would happen if we didn't show a face of the person who committed these crimes. And we didn't give their name because my concern is that we're going to have potentially copycat crimes from this because they see what the outcome is. They know they can get attention.

What I'd like to challenge America to do is, on my Twitter handle, at DctrE, I put a tweet out there, that says, for the world to change, we all as individuals and a culture have to have the courage to change, with #thecouragetochange. I'd ask viewers if they want to see the world change, either re-tweet it or see a story you see on the air or you see in the news and just put #thecouragetochange.

WHITFIELD: OK. We're going to leave it right there.

Erik Fisher, thank you so much. Rick Moll, Katie Hawkins-Gaar, thanks so much to all of you. Appreciate it.

HAWKINS-GAAR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back right after this.

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[13:55:06] WHITFIELD: Ten years ago today, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. CNN's Martin Savidge was there, first reporting from the Superdome, and then from the convention center, and as he reflects on what he saw, there was one phone call that stands out to him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I was in the Superdome when Katrina struck. Couple of days later, I was here at the convention center. This place was far worse. There were thousands and thousands of people in days in without any help. They were desperate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't take this. We've been out here for three days.

SAVIDGE (on camera): They begged us to take them with us. They assumed that we were leaving every day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want help.

SAVIDGE: We weren't. We never left the city. And so when we told that to them, they then said, you've got to have some way of talking to people. I said, well, we have satellite phones. And that's when people began tearing up pieces of paper or grabbing cardboard or writing down telephone numbers. They were certain that someone knew, that they would come and be rescued.

And they gave me the numbers and begged that I call. And every evening when I got done with work and when there were a few free moments, I'd start making my way down the list. The first thing I realized is that nobody answers their phone anymore. It's always voicemail after voicemail and the message I would always leave was the same. You don't know me, I'm a reporter, I'm in New Orleans, I saw your uncle today in the convention center or I saw your aunt, I saw your sister. They're OK.

One of the people actually wrote specifically what I was supposed to say on the phone call and it was please call my daughter, Amethyst, and tell her, her daddy, quote, "ain't dead yet." I hung on to that note all these years just because it was a reminder of how desperate people were.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was our perspective from our Martin Savidge, and tonight, Anderson Cooper's perspective. He returns to the Gulf Coast for a CNN Special Report, "KATRINA, THE STORM THAT NEVER STOPPED." You can see it right here on CNN at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

We've got so much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM in just a moment.

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