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Trump Stumps in Iowa, Announces Second Phase of Campaign; Obama Apologizes for Air Strikes; Close Encounter Between Russian, American Jets in Syria; Clinton Polls Up in Swing States, Losing to Sanders in New Hampshire; Girl, 8, Shot by Boy, 11, over Puppy. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired October 07, 2015 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00] DAN BALZ, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: Clearly he's spent way, way less than most of the other candidates' self-funding his campaign, which means he will have to spend time raising money. He's dependent in part by volunteers. We got a look at the campaign headquarters which is also in Trump Tower, and in comparison to something like Hillary Clinton's campaign office, which is not that far away in Brooklyn, there's nothing there. There's a dozen or so people working there. It's very quiet. It's not a beehive of activity.
But they have, as they say, kind of a national intelligence network of volunteers who are feeding things. They are working to put organizations together in the states, reports we have gotten independent of the Trump organization have suggested that they are working very diligently in Iowa and in a pretty professional way to put an organization together there. Again, you never know about that until the moment of the voting.
So they are doing those kinds of things to try to make sure that they're ready. Trump told us that he thinks after the New Hampshire primary in early February the field will narrow to four or five candidates. He says most people will say, it will be two or three. He said, I think it will be four or five candidates, and then they'll battle it out from there. But he's focused on those states that come after the four early states, many of them in the south. He's been making regular trips there. He was in Tennessee last weekend. He'll be in Georgia later this week.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: But today he is in Waterloo, Iowa, as we see this video of him leaving his campaign stop there.
Dan Balz, thank you so much.
BALZ: You're welcome. Thank you.
BROWN: Next, more breaking news. An American jet has a close encounter with a Russian fighter jet in Syria. Details straight ahead.
Plus, breaking news involving the American strike on a hospital in Afghanistan. President Obama now apologizing for the attack that killed children and doctors. Hear who he's apologizing to.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:36:20] BROWN: Breaking moments ago, President Obama has now apologized to the head of Doctors Without Borders after the U.S. struck a hospital in Afghanistan, and the attack killed 12 members of the group as well as 10 patients, including children.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest spoke about this just moments ago. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This morning, from the Oval Office, President Obama spoke by telephone with Doctors Without Borders international president, Dr. Joanne Liu, to apologize and express his condolences to the staff and patients who were killed and injured when a U.S. military air strike mistakenly struck a hospital in Kunduz over the weekend. The president assured Dr. Lu that the Department of defense investigation currently under way would provide a transparent, thorough and objective accounting of the facts and circumstances of the incident and that, if necessary, the president would implement changes that would make tragedies like this one less likely to occur in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The U.S. changed the account of the event several times since the strike several days ago. An investigation is under way and more on this in just a moment.
First, another big story. Right now, we are watching a huge escalation of Russia's military intervention in Syria. For the first time, the U.S. military has had to divert an aircraft over Syria to avoid a Russian jet. This close call in the skies as Russia launches 26 long-range cruise missiles from warships positioned in the Caspian Sea, firing them into western Syria. An opposition group reporting that Russia and Syria have carried out what appears to be the first major coordinated air assault. This video apparently showing one of the Russian strikes though CNN cannot verify the authenticity. What we do know right now is that Russian troops and weapons are also assisting a Syrian ground offensive. Attacks from air and sea combined with government-led assaults on land. But despite appearances from Moscow that the targets of these attacks is ISIS, the areas hit are known to be held by rebel fighters, enemies of the president's regime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASH CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We believe Russia has the wrong strategy. They continue to hit targets that are not ISIL. We believe this is a fundamental mistake. Despite what the Russians say, we have not agreed to cooperate with Russia so long as they continue to pursue mistaken strategy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: To discuss, I want to bring in Chris Dickey, world news editor for "The Daily Beast."
Thanks for coming on, Chris.
So these rebels that Russia appears to be targeting are backed by the U.S. When and how does the U.S. intervene?
CHRISTOPHER DICKEY, WORLD NEWS EDITOR, THE DAILY BEAST: I don't think the U.S. is going to intervene. It's already pretty clear there's not much the United States can or will do to protect those rebels on the ground. Not all the rebels that the Russians are attacking are backed by the United States. Some of them are members of an al Qaeda affiliate al Nusra and others are part of other Islamist organizations that are not aligned with the United States and are against Assad and are also against ISIS. It's a mosaic of very confusing groups on the ground, and what the Russians are doing is targeting anybody who is opposed to Assad, whether they're on the American side or the Islamist side or the al Qaeda side or on the ISIS side.
BROWN: For the first time, the U.S. military has had to divert an aircraft over Syria to move away from a Russian fighter aircraft. The Turkey prime minister says Russian planes have violated Turkish air space again. How might the dangers in the skies above Syria right now escalate as a result?
[14:40:13] DICKEY: Well, there are two dangers. One is that coalition -- western coalition aircrafts, particularly the United States or France, will get involved in some kind of showdown in the air with the Russian planes. That's unlikely, but it is possible. What is more likely is that the Russians will get into some kind of confrontation with the Turks. The Russians are flying planes right along the Turkish border. They've crossed into Turkish air space. The Turkish president has come out and said we are not going to allow that to happen.
And there is on record not with Russian aircraft but Syrian aircraft in the past armed confrontations where planes got shot down over the past few years. If that happens between the Russians and the Turks, we really don't know where that will go. But we know one thing. Turkey is a NATO member and NATO would be apprised of the fact and would have to decide whether it would come to Turkey's defense.
BROWN: There would be major fallout if something like that happened.
Christopher Dickey, thank you so much.
DICKEY: Huge. Thank you, Pamela.
BROWN: Up next, Hillary Clinton up big in key swing states, but New Hampshire, she's losing to Bernie Sanders. Is her campaign leading the primary state behind? Conflicting sides. We'll hear both after this break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:46:00] BROWN: New polling out today shows Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic field in three important swing states. But it's in New Hampshire where she seems to be struggling. With just months to go before the first in the nation primary, a new report in "Politico" says there is a growing rift between the official Clinton campaign and some of her informal but influential advisers. Those advisers are ready for her to cut her losses and focus her attention elsewhere. But her campaign apparently isn't ready to give up on New Hampshire. Despite this latest CNN/WMUR poll here. It shows Clinton trailing her chief rival, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, by 16 percentage points there. Even Clinton admits victory won't come easy in Sanders' neighboring state.
Here's what she told the "Today" show at a town hall in New Hampshire this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I've got work to do in New Hampshire. I'm very excited to be leading everywhere else and I'm going to keep working hard everywhere else. But I always thought this would be a great contest. It's important. We're trying to elect the next president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And I'm joined now by the man who wrote the article, Gabriel Debenedetti; and also joining me, "Boston Globe" reporter, political reporter, James Pindell.
Thanks for coming an.
Gabriel, first to you.
The two Clinton sides at odds according to your article. Who do you think has the bigger advantage here?
GABRIEL DEBENEDETTI, POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO: Well, the campaign has the advantage, and there's no sense that she's going to drop out of New Hampshire anytime soon. But the fact remain that's there are people who speak with her or who have been involved with her previous campaign that's are saying, well, maybe it's time to reevaluate, maybe it's time to plenty Bernie have his run in New Hampshire.
BROWN: They're I saying that based on her poll number there's.
James, you say hold on a second, Clinton still has a chance in New Hampshire. Based on what?
JAMES PINDELL, POLITICAL REPORTER, BOSTON GLOBE: Well, based on history. I mean, this is the most ridiculous idea. I'm not attacking Gabriel or his sources. They're anonymous. It makes sense because I wouldn't put my name on this. If you look at primary history, nearly every single winner of the New Hampshire primary in recent decades has been down in many cases really down before they came back. And no one knows this story better than the Clintons. When Bill Clinton was nose-diving in 1992, he was able to come back in New Hampshire. He was able to do it. The same way with, I don't know, Hillary Clinton in 2008 when she was down 12 points before she pulled off a surprising victory. You know, Hillary has the largest campaign staff in New Hampshire, the deepest experienced campaign staff in New Hampshire. She's opening her tenth office. These are people who are on the sidelines as is mentioned in the politico report. This is not the campaign.
And by the way, we're five months away, and this makes absolutely no sense for her to drop out in one state. It's one state. There are 49. If you want to counter Bernie Sanders, you know what you do? Take the lead back in New Hampshire.
BROWN: To your point, James -- Gabriel, there was a quote in your article that sort of speaks to that coming from one of your sources saying that the only thing worse than being second on primary day in New Hampshire is being first right now, basically because New Hampshire voters are known to change their minds at the last minute. Is that right?
DEBENEDETTI: Yeah, that's right. You look at the example of every recent primary, at least in the Democratic side. The person who's winning at the end of the day is not the person who was winning at this point. That's the point that was made to me over and over and over by the actual Clinton team. The Clinton team is full of pros in New Hampshire. They really know this. The argument to pull away is a little bit tough for them to understand, especially when you consider that New Hampshire might be a competitive state in the general election, too. Assuming Hillary Clinton gets that far for them, you wouldn't want her to have pulled out already.
BROWN: Gabriel, bottom line here, how important is New Hampshire to the Clinton camp, to winning?
DEBENEDETTI: Very important. I mean, they think that they could certainly win this without New Hampshire. They have an organization beyond New Hampshire. They have a great organization in Iowa as well. But the reality is if you're not competing in New Hampshire, it's tough to see a decent path forward for any candidate. New Hampshire is an extremely important state. And they know that.
[14:50:13] BROWN: James, I see you nodding your head. Would there be, just looking at the other side, do you think any advantages if Clinton focused less on New Hampshire and poured more resources into other early primary states?
PINDELL: Well, I do think one thing that has happened which we can say is that the fire wall for Hillary used to be New Hampshire. Clintons never had a deep relationship in Iowa largely because her husband skipped the '92 caucuses there. But that firewall is no longer New Hampshire. It's the southern firewall where Bernie Sanders doesn't have much support among African-Americans and others. That is absolutely true. But again, if you want to stub the momentum a little bit, all you've got to do is reclaim the lead in New Hampshire, which is not going to be easy. She is losing, but it is not lost. And remember, the moment Joe Biden decides he's not going to run, this race is within single digits in New Hampshire alone.
BROWN: And as you pointed out in your article, James, it's not just about polling. It also has to do with organization and money as well.
Gabriel Debenedetti, James Pindell, thank you so much.
PINDELL: Thank you.
BROWN: And we are one week away from the first Democratic debate Tuesday night, October 13th. That's the CNN Facebook Democratic debate only on CNN. Up next, a tragic story. Police say an 11-year-old boy shot and
killed a little girl in her own yard over puppies. You'll hear from her mother, up next.
Plus, in moments, the Coast Guard expected to make an announcement about the missing ship that sailed into the eye of a hurricane. The families are already telling us they're bracing for bad news.
We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:56:01] BROWN: Hearts are broken in a small town in Tennessee as family and friends get ready to say their final good-byes to McKayla Dyer. According to our affiliate, WATE, funeral services will be held this evening for this 8-year-old girl. Police say she was shot and killed by her 11-year-old neighbor.
Jean Casarez is here with me now.
What a disturbing story this is, Jean. What can you tell us about it?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really something. According to the obituary, this all happened Saturday. She died on Saturday. What we're hearing is that an 11-year-old boy asked to see her puppy. When she said no, he shot and killed her.
Now, the public defender, Edward Miller, is saying that his client, this 11-year-old, who remains nameless at this point as a juvenile, is being charged with first degree murder, that he is being held. The next hearing is October 28th. But the big question is, did this little girl 8 years old know this 11-year-old boy? And if so, how?
Well, McKayla Dyer's mother spoke out and seemed to answer part of that question. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LATASHA DYER, MOTHER OF MCKAYLA DYER: Kiss your babies every night. That little boy took my baby's life. I can't get her back. I want her back. I want her back in my arms. It's just not fair.
When we first moved to White Pines, the little boy was 4 and McKayla had to go to the principal about him. And he quit for a while. Then all of a sudden yesterday he shot her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: As we said, the funeral for McKayla is going to be tonight. It is Jefferson County, Tennessee.
And, Pam, right now he's being charged in a juvenile facility, first degree murder. The way it happens in Tennessee is that there's a transfer proceeding. If the prosecutor intends on trying him as an adult, there would be a transfer hearing from the juvenile facility to the circuit court, which is the adult court. So we'll have to see if that happens. But according to the superintendent of the juvenile facility, he said on camera that he had never seen an 11-year-old charged with first degree murder.
BROWN: The whole story is shocking. Of course, the question everyone is asking is, how did this 11-year-old have access to a gun, and obviously use it to kill this little girl? What more do we know about that? Are the parents being held liable at all?
CASAREZ: The affiliates are saying it was a shotgun that was in his home -- CNN has not confirmed that -- that it did belong to the family. And shot the little girl. She was outside. Affiliates are saying he was still inside his home. We'll have to see exactly what the facts are. But the affiliates close to the scene in Tennessee are saying that was simple as that.
BROWN: Your heart just goes out to this little girl's family. I mean, I can't imagine, all over a dispute over puppies.
CASAREZ: Awful.
BROWN: Jean Casarez, thank you so much.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BROWN: Top of the hour now. I'm Pamela Brown, filling in for Brooke Baldwin.
We are following breaking news on the cargo ship lost in the Caribbean Sea with 28 Americans on board. Any minute now, we're expecting the U.S. Coast Guard to hold a news conference and family members of the missing crew tell us that they will be announcing that they've called off the search for survivors.
Our Martin Savidge is in Jacksonville standing off to the side of this live picture we're about to show you there of the podium.
Martin, if you're here with us, you've spoken to some of the family members. Is that right?
[14:59:51] MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Pamela. They were actually gathered earlier in the day at the Maritime Union Hall, and it was there that officials from the U.S. Coast Guard notified them that this search-and-rescue operation, which by the way is still going on, but as of 7:00 p.m. tonight will come to an end. And of course, for any family member who was looking to hear about the rescue of their loved one, this is exactly the opposite.
