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Roanoke Shooting Victims Remembered; Biden As Backup; Honoring Katrina's Victims; Source: Plane Piece May Not Be From Missing Airliner; Race for 2016: "Arrogant", "Liar" and "Weak". Aired 4-5p ET
Aired August 29, 2015 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:00:02] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. 4:00 Eastern, 1:00 p.m. Pacific. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.
We begin this hour in Roanoke, Virginia. Two journalists there gunned down this week live on the air. They're gone. They will never be forgotten as evidenced last night at a high school football game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFED MALE: We remember these two young people, Alison Parker, news reporter, and Adam Ward, videographer, cruelly taken from us too soon. Would you please join me now and reflect on their passing with a moment of silence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: A WDBJ news crew was at that football game last night. CNN's Polo Sandoval has more on that station's first first live report since losing their two beloved colleagues.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Poppy. Alison Parker and Adam Ward's co-workers are back to work in the field. They say it's their way of honoring their fallen colleagues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For now, I'm live in Roanoake (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Yesterday, we witnessed this emotional moment as WDBJ news team went live from the field, what is typically a regular news assignment but with added significance as it was the station's first live hit in the field since the shooting on Wednesday.
Today also work continues for this team, as does the renewed gun debate. Now while the gunman did pass those necessary background checks that were needed to purchase the pistols that were used in the shooting, Virginia's governor as well as Alison Parker's father are still calling for really new changes in the state gun laws. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TERRY MCAULIFFE (D), VIRGINIA: Are we doing everything that we possibly can to keep our communities as safe as possible? If we could have background checks and one individual next week, next month or next year, is prohibited from buying a firearm and we save a life, then it's worth doing it.
ANDY PARKER, ALISON'S PARKER'S FATHER: We've got to do whatever we can to hold these people's feet to the fire and not be afraid of the NRA fighting any kind of reasonable legislation tooth and nail. We're not trying to take people's guns away. All we want to do is keep crazy people from getting guns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Now back at the crime scene there is a slight sense of normalcy restored this afternoon. The Regional Chamber of Commerce reopened their doors again for the first time since the shooting. Some changes for visitors, though. There is now a temporary memorial to Alison Parker and Adam Ward there.
Also some of the wooden decking has been replaced. It really is a haunting, more permanent reminder of Wednesday's attack. As for the executive director of that office, Vicki Gardner, she was the lone survivor of this shooting. We are told by her family that she continues to recover from two surgeries and also did lose a kidney and a portion of her colon after being shot in the back. Her condition continues to improve. She is on a slow but steady path to recovery. Poppy, it's really the emotional scars that will take longer to recover from. Back to you.
HARLOW: Polo, thank you very much.
I do want to give you an update on Polo just mentioned there, Vicki Gardner. She was shot, she survived the shooting. She has undergone two surgeries. She is still recovering at the hospital. Her husband says that bullet came within centimeters of killing his wife.
Her family released a statement today that reads in part "We are also grateful for the overwhelming love shown by you in support of Vicki the last few days, for the countless prayers, flowers and phone calls. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This afternoon, Vicki remains in good condition at Carillon Roanoke Memorial Hospital and is recovering well. She has undergone two surgeries since being brought by ambulance to the hospital immediately following the incident on Wednesday morning. She has shown her amazing strength in many ways over the years and this week's incident again revealed that strength and her determination. Today she is awake, alert and talking and we are grateful to the many people who have cared for Vicki throughout this ordeal."
[16:05:25]
Both Adam Ward and Alison Parker were beloved by their co-workers and friends. They started at WDBJ together as interns. Andy May is a close friend of Adam Ward and he joins me now. Thank you for being here. ANDY MAY, FRIEND OF ADAM WARD: Thanks for having me.
HARLOW: You were a photographer there at the station when Adam started as an intern. I just want you to take us back and tell us about him. What was your initial impression of him?
MAY: Well, Adam and I interned together in the sports department. It was just that smile and booming voice. We were both sort of wide-eyed and didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into. We both loved sports and wanted to be part of it and just from meeting him, you could just tell that he loved what he was doing. He loved sports. He loved Virginia Tech. He just wanted to enjoy his job and be able to do that.
HARLOW: What drove him? What did he love most?
MAY: I would say Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech and Virginia Tech. He was such a big hokie fan. We went to the media day as interns and both of us are just amazed, we're meeting the head coaches and at one point we had to look over and tell "Adam, you might want to pick your chin up off the floor there" because he was just staring at all of them just in amazement.
HARLOW: You know, when I, there are pictures of him that started coming out obviously on Wednesday. In every single one, what struck me so much is this magnetic smile. Every single picture. In one of them he has a huge piece of pizza coming into his mouth with this big camera. What was it about him that was so magnetic?
MAY: I think it was just his love and he was a happy person. Like you always hear about, you see these people, they're the nicest people you have ever met, they're the happiest.
HARLOW: Right.
MAY: He showed that every single day. You would hear him, he had that booming voice and he would make jokes, he would check on you and every time anybody who came into the station, he wanted to know how you were doing. He wanted to say "oh, how are you doing, Andy, did you have a good night last night? How's work going?" He was just one of those people that was so concerned with everybody else's well-being that it was just good to have him around.
HARLOW: He was engaged to marry Melissa (INAUDIBLE) the morning show producer there. They were, as I understand it, deeply in love. Can you tell me a little about the two of them?
MAY: Just seeing them was just happy. I have never really seen people that are that happy together. They just enjoyed each other's company. That's what he talked about. I saw when he got engaged and just seeing like the faces in the engagement picture, he had his goofy smile as he was down on one knee and her face was just pure joy seeing that. Just so happy seeing somebody like be able to share that happy moment together.
HARLOW: I don't know if you can answer this but I'll ask. What do you think he would say to everyone today? What would he want people to hear from him?
MAY: I think he just wants -- he would just want everybody to be proud. Keep doing what we're doing. And just enjoy life and bring everybody the news and sports and not worry about him. He's good. He's in a good place. For us, we need to honor him and continue doing our work and show the passion that he had.
HARLOW: That's what we can do to honor him. I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing those wonderful memories with us.
MAY: Thank you.
HARLOW: We'll be right back.
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[16:12:13]
HARLOW: In Texas, police desperately want the public's help in putting a name to the man who they say shot a sheriff's deputy and killed him last night. This man, this image, captured on the gas station surveillance camera when this person walked up right behind the deputy, shot him multiple times in the back.
They drove away in a red Ford Ranger pickup truck. That person, still at large tonight. Police say several people were at the gas station near Houston when Deputy Darren Goforth was killed while putting gas in his patrol car. The Harris County sheriff called Goforth's killing an unprovoked execution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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. I think it's important to ask for the prayers of our community for this deputy, this family, and our department family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Again, take a look at this. This is the image they have from that surveillance camera of the suspect. Police say the man killed the deputy at a Chevron station in Harris County, outside of Houston, about 8:30 p.m. last night. They are looking for the public's help in identifying this person.
Politics now. Organizers behind the Draft Biden movement are using the summer meetings of the Democratic National Committee to lobby delegates, urging them to keep an open mind for the party's presidential nomination but does Vice President Joe Biden really have a chance to take down current front-runner Hillary Clinton?
No one better to discuss this with than Ryan Lizza. He's a Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker." He just wrote a fascinating piece about this in -- this week, in the "New Yorker." Thank you for being here, Ryan. RYAN LIZZA, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORKER": Thanks, Poppy.
HARLOW: You write in the piece "if Biden decides to forego a run for the Oval Office he will be the first democratic vice president unable to secure his party's nomination in 63 years." You also point out that support from other party leaders is the best predictor of who will win the party's nomination.
In your words, let me quote here, "Clinton has more endorsements from governors and members of the House and Senate than any previous nominee at this stage in the process. Joe Biden has garnered endorsements from two elected officials, both of them from his home state of Delaware. If there is even a single elected official outside of Delaware pinning for a Biden candidacy, he or she is being very quiet. What's your take --
LIZZA: You sound so harsh when you read it out loud, Poppy.
HARLOW: Well, you wrote it.
LIZZA: I know. Look, it is sort of tough on Biden's chances but you know, I feel bad for Biden because this is a guy who is 72 years old and he grew up immersed in politics and all the democratic vice presidents he watched and then later got to know, they were able to inherit the party apparatus of the president they served. LBJ, Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Al Gore.
[16:15:10]
I think it really must sting Biden that this hasn't happened to him, that the party elites, the members of congress, the donors, the networks of grassroots activists, all that infrastructure that was Obama's has been inherited by Hillary Clinton and not in the traditional way by the president's number two.
I think that's the reality of his uphill climb here. If he jumps into the race against Clinton, he doesn't have that deep party support because she's there already and grabbed it. You can go through some other things of why this would be a tough climb for him but I think that's where it starts. That's what makes this a tough decision.
HARLOW: He had this meeting with Elizabeth Warren last weekend, sort of an icon for progressives, if you will. He met this week with the head of the AFL-CIO, huge union leader, critical endorsement for a democratic candidate. You say it will be "unusually difficult for him to campaign to the left of Clinton." Why?
LIZZA: Not -- look, when you're facing an establishment front-runner like Hillary Clinton in the democratic primaries, the traditional way to go at them is to go at them from the left. That's where the democratic primaries are, that's how Obama beat Hillary. It's tough for Biden, one, because how do you run as an insurgent when you are the sitting vice president? How do you run as a Washington outsider?
Two, idealogically, I don't know if people know this but he's courting Elizabeth Warren. Elizabeth Warren spent two years of her life before she got into Washington politics or well before she became a senator fighting against a bankruptcy bill that she thought was terrible. Want to know who the lead sponsor of that bankruptcy bill was? Joe Biden. Because he's from Delaware and Delaware's the home of the credit card companies and he was sort of doing their bidding.
So they have this kind of unusual, not quite BFF friendship. Look, politicians change their mind about things. He could move to the left on that issue as opposed another issue. Democrats right now, especially African-Americans, have really looked back on the 1994 crime bill not very fondly. A lot of African-Americans believe it has led to a system of mass incarceration in this country.
Hillary Clinton has come out against it even though her husband signed it into law. Well, the author of that crime bill was Joe Biden. Now, look, these are two examples. He could talk about these in a new way, change his mind. But I think it's very hard when you're the sitting vice president to really run a campaign to Hillary Clinton's left.
HARLOW: Yes, Hillary Clinton has had to address that, too, though, with her husband being president at the time.
LIZZA: She flipped on it. That's right.
HARLOW: Right. Right. She's had to address it. Let me ask you this. When you look at some of the polling, I think we have some graphics we can pull up. He actually does well against Donald Trump in the head-to-head matchups in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Hillary Clinton actually loses to Trump in Florida on this, right? But despite these numbers, you are still calling it a "monumental mistake for him to run." Is this because in the words of Jennifer Grandholm, who is running, former governor of Michigan, who is running one of Hillary Clinton's Super Pacs, you poll the best the day before you jump in?
LIZZA: Absolutely. Remember when Hillary Clinton was polling at when she was secretary of state? She was in the stratosphere, she was like the most popular politician in the country. As soon as you step into the fray and you start getting on the receiving end of political attacks, your numbers inevitably go down and look at the approval ratings for politicians across the board.
Obama's ratings aren't so hot. Hillary Clinton for all her bad numbers, she's doing better than most of the Republican candidates who have very bad approval ratings. If you are a politician in this country running for office, you are getting hit every day and a big segment of the public, at least half doesn't like you.
So I wouldn't put -- to me, it wouldn't be enough if I were Joe Biden that he's got moderately better numbers than Hillary Clinton at this point. What I would be looking for is when we start to see major politicians say Hillary Clinton's damaged goods, we need someone new, that's the moment when a Joe Biden candidacy becomes viable.
HARLOW: Right. You call him an insurance policy. I will say, you just said when, you didn't say if this happens to Hillary Clinton.
LIZZA: I don't see -- look, there are some issues on the horizon for her but so far, I do not see anything that makes her look like Hillary Clinton of 2008 which was someone who is very strong but beatable. Remember, when Barack Obama jumped in the race, he was polling immediately very well. He had a lot of establishment support. He put together a massive fund-raising apparatus. He was very well ahead of where Joe Biden would be starting at this point.
And I don't mean to say that Hillary Clinton is likely to collapse. I don't think that's likely. But, but Joe Biden is smart to be presenting himself as the party's only alternative, the democratic party's insurance policy, in case there's some kind of catastrophic collapse, because of the State Department e-mail scandal or something that comes out of left field.
HARLOW: Right.
[16:20:12]
LIZZA: But I have to say, it's a really, really uphill climb for him to do this. Lot of comments that have been reported recently from him are that it's less -- it's becoming less likely that he'll do it.
HARLOW: Yes, that his whole heart needs to be in it to do it. Ryan Lizza, thank you. Stay with me.
Ryan will be with us later this hour to talk more about this critical race for the White House, a little later in the show.
Only 18 days aways, you will not want to miss this, the second Republican debate here on CNN, September 16th at the Reagan Library in California. CNN also hosts the first of the democratic debates. You can watch that October 13th from Nevada, right here on CNN.
Next, 10 years ago today was a bleak and terrifying time for the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina roared ashore and nothing in the region was ever the same again. We remember that next.
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HARLOW: Heavy hearts along the Gulf Coast today as residents pause to remember the day 10 years ago when Hurricane Katrina changed so many lives forever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFED MALE: Oh God, as we come, we thank you in this past 10 years....
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[16:25:07]
HARLOW: A somber clarinet solo and a wreath laying ceremony marked the anniversary this morning in New Orleans. It was held at a mausoleum where 80 unidentified bodies were buried after the storm.
Tonight, former President Bill Clinton will be among the dignitaries marking the anniversary and a celebration of resilience in New Orleans. Katrina unleashed a staggering loss of life. More than 1,800 people died as a direct result of the storm. Thousands of people escaped with their lives but lost everything else.
CNN's Martin Savidge covered the direct aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans and is now back in the city recalling what he considers one of the most poignant assignments in his career.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN 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 have been out here for three days.
SAVIDGE: They begged us to take them with us. They assumed that we were leaving every day. We weren't. We never left the city. So when we told that to them, they then said you have to have some way of talking to people. I said we have satellite phones. That's when people began tearing pieces of paper or grabbing cardboard or writing down telephone numbers. They were certain that someone knew they would come and be rescued.
They gave me the numbers and begged that I call. Every evening when I got done with work and when there were a few free moments, I would start making my way down the list. First thing I realized is that nobody answers their phone anymore. It's always voice mail after voice mail 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 "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)
SAVIDGE: Hey, Poppy, I think it's pretty safe to say no other story has really emotionally impacted me as much as Katrina and has stayed with me as long as Katrina. I think in part because you lived it as well as covered it. About that I "ain't dead yet," I called Amethyst, didn't get her initially on the phone but I left a message. She called back within a few moments. I didn't know it was her immediately because all I could hear was it was a woman's voice, it was extremely emotional and she was repeating two words over and over and it took me awhile to realize she was sobbing and saying thank you, thank you, thank you. So the lesson I learned from that was that I have done a lot of reports but probably none have meant as much as the one that was done just to an audience of one, her, to tell her that her father was still alive after Katrina. Poppy?
HARLOW: Remarkable. Marty, thank you for that. You will not want to miss our special tonight. Anderson Cooper returns to the Gulf Coast for CNN's special report, "Katrina, the Storm that Never Stopped." That is tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, only right here on CNN.
Next, a surprising development in the case of missing airline flight MH-370. That piece of wreckage you remember found on Reunion Island last month, many people were convinced that it was from MH-370. The evidence now we're learning may not be as conclusive as many people once thought. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:32:08] HARLOW: All right. This just in to us here at CNN. It is about the long-running mystery surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
You will recall that large piece of airplane wing, a flaperon it is called, washed up on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Today, nearly one month since that piece was found, experts in France still not able to definitively state with 100 percent certainty that it came from the Boeing 777 that vanished with 239 souls onboard.
I want you to take a listen to what the prime minister of Malaysia said about that piece of plane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAJIB RAZAK, MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER: It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: You heard it there. On August 5th, from the prime minister of Malaysia, saying it is indeed from MH370.
On the phone with me now, Richard Quest, CNN aviation correspondent, also with me David Soucie, our safety analyst and former FAA inspector.
Richard, how can it be that you have the Malaysian P.M. saying this a month ago or so, few weeks ago, and now you have the French coming out and saying, wait, we are not sure?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That's exactly going to be the fundamental issue. The P.M., my sources said that the reason the prime minister used the word "conclusively" was because Malaysia Airlines people in Paris in the investigation said we recognize it as being from one of our planes. We recognize it by the paint and by a maintenance job that was done on it. That's what I was told at the time when the conclusive statement was made.
Now, since then, there are reports, notably in "New York" magazine and elsewhere, there are reports that the maintenance records do not make that connection and that there is no definitive identity plate on the flaperon that will allow the French to use the word "conclusively" and have an element of definitiveness (AUDIO GAP). So if the French do come out next week or whenever and say, "We are not prepared to say conclusively", then you have a very difficult problem because the Malaysians have said it is and the French are saying well, it may be, it may not be, we can't say.
HARLOW: David, two-fold question. A, why is this forensic analysis taking so long, given that the interest and frankly, the respect to the families of these 239 people?
[16:35:03] Why is the forensic testing taking so long? And if it's not from MH370, what could it be from?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST (via telephone): Well, there is only -- I mean, a minuscule chance that it's not in my mind. And the reason that they say that it isn't 100 percent conclusive is the fact that it's possible that maybe someone had a flaperon with them on a ship or something and it fell off or what other options could there be? And this is the question. And this is from the casual observer thinking, why is this possible?
Well, from a forensic point of view, remember, the French are the best in the world. These are not people who will say, well, it can't be this so therefore it must be from 370. They're not going to say that. They're going to have to prove in their minds 100 percent conclusively that it came from that particular serial number aircraft, that it wasn't from a manufactured part that was being shipped over to the United States from a manufacturer which happens to be in Spain, so there's other chances that it could be something else in the minds of the forensic analysis.
But in the casual observer and even in the less casual, more professional investigators, you can say with 90 percent or 95 percent certainty, that they can't say 100 percent, and that's what the French investigators are after in a forensic analysis.
QUEST: Poppy --
HARLOW: Yes, Richard?
QUEST: There is an entire industry out there that is determined to look for conspiracy and/or doubt in this. I'm not saying that this isn't, you know, a legitimate concern in regards to this flaperon. And there may well be a moment when the Malaysia prime minister's going to have to eat his words, and -- you know, because he has nailed his colors firmly to the mast on this one.
And -- but until we have seen the evidence, until we have actually been told this isn't just a technical doubt but this is a real doubt, that we have a serious doubt that it's from MH370, we have to go with what we've got. Otherwise, you're just clutching at straws. HARLOW: Very important point.
Richard, thank you so much. David Soucie, thank you.
We will let you know when we have more on this.
Up next, if I described a presidential candidate as arrogant or a clown, would you vote for that candidate? How about a liar or dishonest?
Those words coming out in a poll this week showing why the leading candidates in each of the major two parties -- well, they have to deal with some voters having that perception of them as they prepare and continue on the fight for the Oval Office. We'll discuss the significance of it, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: When you see or hear Donald Trump, what is the first word that pops into your head? Or what about Hillary Clinton? Or Jeb Bush?
Well, Quinnipiac University posed that question to registered voters in their latest poll.
Ryan Lizza back with me to discuss the results. He's the Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker."
Ryan, let's stick through this, let's start with Donald Trump. Here are the top five responses when people asked about him -- arrogant, blowhard, idiot, businessman, clown. Does this match up with someone who is leading so broadly in the polls?
RYAN LIZZA, THE NEW YORKER: I love these polls. They are so revealing when they do these. I'm curious about what the blurred-out one is there, Poppy.
HARLOW: Yes, me too.
LIZZA: I -- you know, this is early in the race and I would say that there's a chance for Donald Trump to overcome some of this, perhaps. One of the things that he has changed in this race over the last couple months that surprised me at least is the number of Republicans who say they would never support him has dropped from like 50 percent down to 25 percent.
HARLOW: Yes.
LIZZA: That suggests that he has a negative opinion, no doubt, and as this poll shows, but if he wanted to work on image rehabilitation, it's possible.
So, I wouldn't -- I wouldn't totally read the clown and all the rest as that's it, his image in the American public's mind is completely set in stone. Voters do change their mind. But having said all that, I think his bigger problem is the groups,
the segments of American electorate he has almost gone out of his way to alienate and offend. And most Republican strategists frankly believe that a strategy of running hardcore anti-immigration campaign is not going to help you win the president as a general election nominee.
HARLOW: Well, it's interesting, Ryan. I was listening to a pollster this morning on "SMERCONISH" show, saying you need like 64 percent of the white vote if Donald Trump wants to win a general election. That's sort of unattainable right now for any candidate so you need to broaden the tent and that tent needs to encompass minority voters.
Let me ask you this.
LIZZA: That's right.
HARLOW: I want to turn to Hillary Clinton. The top five words people use to describe her. Liar, dishonest, untrustworthy, experienced and strong. The top three words, troubling. The latter two, helpful.
LIZZA: Yes, it's interesting, two sides of the coin there.
Look, I think with Hillary Clinton, she has had this problem, this perception of her going back to her years frankly in Arkansas, in the White House, when she ran her two Senate campaigns and when she ran her last presidential campaign, it's always been the number one issue she's had to deal with as a public figure.
When you have been in the public eye as long as Hillary Clinton is, it's a little bit harder to change voters' views of you. People have really made up their mind about her. She has a very low -- excuse me, very high floor and low ceiling. People that love her, love her. People that hate her really hate her.
And I think if you go back to 2008, you will remember Barack Obama, the issue that he really used to go after her was character. He subtly brought up these issues of trustworthiness. I don't see anyone in the Democratic primaries bringing that up against her yet. Bernie Sanders has all but promised not to do that. I think it would be tough for Joe Biden to go after her character.
But in a general election, whether it's Donald Trump or Jeb Bush, whoever, that is what the Republican attack against her will be. She will have to deal with that.
HARLOW: I got 30 seconds for Jeb Bush. All right. Here are the words -- Bush, family, honest, weak and brother.
[16:45:04] Seemingly better than the other two.
LIZZA: Yes, depending on what people mean when they say Bush, right? It is fascinating. What's the first word coming to your mind about Jeb Bush, Bush, right? That may be positive to some people, may be negative to other people. So I think he has a little bit of an opportunity to tell his own
story, to explain how he's not like his father's administration or how he won't govern like his father or his brother, how he will be his own man. Unfortunately for him, he hasn't been able to do that because Donald Trump has been the focus of so much coverage.
HARLOW: Right. Sucking up all the oxygen.
Ryan Lizza, thank you, my friend.
Fascinating story by Ryan --
LIZZA: Thank you, Poppy.
HARLOW: -- on Joe Biden and the potential run in "New Yorker" this week. Check it out.
Coming up next, Detroit, the biggest American city ever to go bankrupt. Next, I'm going to tell you about a Motor City comeback.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not dead. We are alive and we're coming back stronger than before. Sometimes you have to be at the bottom in order to climb your way to the top.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Is this Detroit 2.0? Our American opportunity, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Detroit, it is by far the largest American city ever to go bankrupt. But if you have written off Detroit, I want you to think again. That's the message from the people I met in Detroit this week.
Te'Nesha Martin, Damond Love, and Willie Holly (ph), they all got a second shot at their career when a watch maker came to town.
Shinola bet on Detroit. So, will other companies follow its lead?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW (voice-over): In a city written off by far too many, there are pockets of hope, more than you may think, and people who remind us that what they and this city need is a shot.
Life-long Detroit residents Willie Holly, Te'Nesha Martin, and Damond Love got a second chance. Just like the city they love.
Te'Nesha worked at Walmart for six years, Willie was a security guard, and Damon made auto parts for 15 years until he was laid off in 2008 amid the downturn.
(on camera): You really felt the decline in the auto industry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I felt it. I felt it. Personally, my family. I was there for 15 years before I was laid off.
HARLOW (voice-over): Today, they work here at Shinola Detroit.
Known best for its watches, Shinola opened its doors in 2012.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dream is it's a new manufacturing opportunity to just do more, do different things than automotive industry. It's just an opportunity for change.
HARLOW: Ironically, Shinola's factory sits in a former General Motors building.
TE'NESHA MARTIN, SHINOLA PROBLEM SOLVER: This is something to show that Americans can do it, too. A lot of our product we get, we get from overseas, but we are actually building everything here, you know, handmade. We don't have robots and machinery doing it for us.
HARLOW (on camera): Yes, I don't see any robots in here.
MARTIN: We are the robots.
(LAUGHTER)
HARLOW: What does it mean to you to see new company, new industry, in this city?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the city, it brings back like a vibe in your heart. Like okay, maybe there is hope for the city of Detroit and the people from the city of Detroit. I was born here. This is all I know. I just want to see the city do better because I know we can do better. We have done better.
HARLOW (voice-over): But it's a big, risky bet on the largest American city ever to go bankrupt.
(on camera): People knew it was on the brink.
BRIDGET RUSSO, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, SHINOLA: That's true. But that's part of why we came. We knew we wanted to do watches in America and we wanted to do it in a city where we could make a difference, and create jobs. So what better city than Detroit?
HARLOW (voice-over): The watches are made here, but all the parts aren't from Detroit or America. Some still come from Taiwan and Switzerland. It's the hope that one day, it could all be from here.
RUSSO: We realize that we are ne newcomers here and we don't try to stake claims we have been here forever. We understand there's sensitivity around that, who do you think you are coming in and just taking over and putting your name on your products.
HARLOW (on camera): Have you felt some of that?
RUSSO: A little bit, definitely. There are some people who I understand are a little skeptical like hang on, who are these guys. We're not saying we are saving Detroit. You know, honestly, Detroit has done tremendous work for us and we are returning the favor.
HARLOW: For a city that has lost well over half of its manufacturing jobs and population since the 1950s, this is not a panacea. Just over 300 people work here at Shinola in Detroit. But from talking to the folks here it becomes very clear that it is hope, hope and a sign to other companies with a critical message.
MARTIN: We're not dead. We are alive and we're coming back stronger than before. Sometimes you have to be at the bottom to climb your way to the top.
RUSSO: If we have the ability to say hey, look, we have come here and we've done it, come on down, you know, take part in what's happening here, contribute to this great American city.
HARLOW (voice-over): Shinola expects to turn out 225,000 watches this year. Factory workers here make between $11.40 and $14 an hour.
MARTIN: There's nothing like being proud of something you did or you accomplished that people will tell you oh, you're not going to do it, you are not going to be able to handle that, you're not going to be able to make it and you're standing strong saying, "I'm still here and I'm OK."
HARLOW: What about people that say this city's best days are behind it?
MARTIN: I think we have more best days to come.
HARLOW: What do you want to become here?
DAMOND LOVE, SHINOLA QUALITY CONTROLLER: I want to advance. I want to be one of the top wigs some day in Shinola.
HARLOW: The big wigs.
LOVE: Yes.
HARLOW: Did you tell the big wigs that?
LOVE: I tell them that all the time.
HARLOW (voice-over): But it hasn't been without its challenges. The company has poured money into building Shinola up and isn't yet profitable. But so far, they have proven that Detroit sells.
(on camera): What do you think Detroit can teach us all?
RUSSO: Resilience. Definitely. Don't give up, keep getting back up. That's an American spirit, you know?
[16:55:03] And it just lives and breathes here.
LOVE: We can build anything. Give it to us and give us time, we can build anything.
HARLOW: Is this Detroit 2.0?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely. Detroit 2.0. We're moving in a whole different direction.
HARLOW: What's your dream here? What do you want to become?
MARTIN: I see myself with an office. I see myself able to just be in the big meetings where my opinion really matters. I want to be one of the greats.
HARLOW (voice-over): And they want you to see this, instead of this, when you think of Detroit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: You can see many more stories just like that at CNNMoney.com/AmericanOpportunity.
My thanks to Willie, Te'Nesha, and Damond, for having me in Detroit this week at Shinola.
Coming up next, just in, new information on the Texas deputy shot and killed in cold blood at a gas station last night. We'll have a live press conference in the next hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
HARLOW: Top of the hour, I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.
And we begin this hour with breaking news. We are just getting word that police in Texas have arrested a man they believe shot and killed a sheriff's deputy near Houston last night. This is the man they have been hunting and asking the public's help in identifying. Seen here captured on a gas station surveillance camera walking up behind deputy Darren Goforth and shooting him multiple times.
We are expecting a news conference from Harris County at the bottom of the hour, 5:30 p.m. Eastern here. We will carry that for you live as it begins. Stay with us.
