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Violence Continues between Palestinians and Israelis; Hero in Oregon Shooting Incident Recovering in Hospital; Parents Charged for Beaten Son to Death in a Church; Lamar Odom Wakes from Coma; Hillary Clinton Discusses Upcoming Benghazi Committee Hearing; Donald Trump Makes Controversial Comment on George W. Bush and 9/11; Johnny Manziel Pulled Over. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired October 17, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:06] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, growing tensions in the Middle East. A rash of knife attacks and three more Palestinians killed in Jerusalem in the West Bank city of Hebron.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Trump, can you clarify? Do you think that 9/11 was President Bush's fault?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump under fire walking away from questions about statements that he made that former President George W. Bush shares the blame for the 9/11 terror attacks. But the GOP frontrunner did finally respond on Twitter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god, this car is going to hit us. Oh, my god.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: New flash flooding fears out west. California digging out of mudslides along the coast this morning in front of dangerous conditions in three different states.

CNN Newsroom begins now.

It is always so good to have your company. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 10:00 here on the east coast, 7:00 out west. Thanks for being with us.

PAUL: We want to begin with breaking news this morning. Another outbreak of deadly violence in the Middle East. Israeli authorities saying three Palestinians with knives attacked police and a Jewish settler in separate attacks. The incidents happened in the West Bank and in Jerusalem where this video was recorded. All three attackers were shot and killed. The health ministry says 43 Palestinians have been killed this

month alone. You are looking at a funeral for one of them in the West Bank city of Hebron. Seven Israelis have been reported killed in this recent rash of attacks. And that's where CNN international correspondent Phil Black is right now. He has been a witness, we should point out, to the escalating tensions there. Phil, what's happening where you are right now?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So what we're seeing here, Christi, is more of the street clashes really that we've been showing you through the morning between local youth here in the Palestinian street of Hebron and Israeli security forces who are in the distance. What you're seeing, a young Palestinian, some of them teenagers, some of them older, some of them young men, they have been regularly, and it's happening here behind us right now, they are lobbing verbal assaults, but as well as rocks, missiles, whatever they can get their hand on. Some of them have sling shots. They are throwing that off in the distance towards the Israeli forces. The Israeli forces are responding with tear gas and sometimes rubber baton rounds, that sort of thing.

So it is tension. And this is what we are seeing here. It is a response to that cycle that we have been discussing, which is the knife attacks, which have said to have been taking place here, as you mentioned two here in Hebron alone where Palestinians are said to have tried to attack with knives. One Jewish settler, in another case, a female border security officer, a police officer. In both cases, those two Palestinians were shot and killed. And it is in response to the death of those Palestinians that we see these scenes behind us here now.

And this has been the cycle over the last two weeks where these random attacks have started on the streets involving Palestinians and knives. As a result of that the Israeli government says seven Israelis have died since the start of October. Palestinians saying in the same period of time 43 Palestinians have been killed, whether it's in Jerusalem here in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as well. So a very high human cost that continues to grow. And there is no seaming end to this cycle and the recent surge of violence on the streets of this area.

PAUL: Phil, a couple of things. First of all, one of the things that is jolting for people watching is the age that we can only assume of some of these people, because they look so young. And two, wondering if you can help us understand what are some of the noises behind you. What is the chanting that we hear every so often?

BLACK: A lot of the chanting, it's sort of rude, provocative stuff towards the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, their soldiers. These sorts of things are very common in towns and cities across the West Bank where you see young people like this taking part in this sort of activity. This is, to some degree, a response to the recent violence, to the current level of tension. But you have to say this is never really a happy place. The West Bank is a place where the people believe they are under Israeli occupation, where they believe they are oppressed, their rights are restricted significantly, and where they believe the Israeli forces, like those behind us, often use unnecessary force that is not proportionate to what happens here.

So for that reason, you see adults, you see children, you see the general populous at-large sometimes taking part in these sorts of activities. It is worth noting that travel a few blocks from here and this large city is functioning as it normally would. There are a number of hotspots around Hebron today, situations like this where you see the Israeli forces clashing with locals.

[10:05:03] And there is a major, I guess, source to the clash, or there's certainly a geographic area that is most provocative here. And that is the area in the center of Hebron, essentially a Palestinian city where Jewish settlers, some 7,000 of them, have moved in. And so because of their presence, because the Palestinians don't like them here, because of the angry relations between the two, it seems like this is pretty common in the city, Christi.

PAUL: My goodness. Thank you so much for bringing us the latest. And Phil, to you and the crew, certainly do stay safe there. Thank you for the very latest this morning.

BLACKWELL: Startling new details about the horrific campus attack in Oregon earlier this month that left nine people dead. Chris Mintz, the American veteran that was shot five times, is now giving his first-hand account of what happened that day, including the moment he came face to face with the gunman. Nick Valencia is following this story for us. Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. Just really stunning new details. In Chris Mintz own words, the first time we are hearing from him after he was a victim in that shooting. He says it started out like a normal day. He said he even thought about skipping class. He was in class joking with his teacher, and that's when they heard the gun fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dispatch as many ambulances as possible, we have upward of 20 victims.

VALENCIA: Chilling new details from the Oregon community college massacre from shooting survivor, Chris Mintz, the army veteran who has been called a hero for protecting others.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's in a classroom.

VALENCIA: In a Facebook posting Mintz recalled the day that he says started out as normal but quickly descended into chaos. He writes "There was a bunch of yelling and that there were gunshots going off that sounded like fire crackers." Mintz, who says he sat in the front of the class, says everyone got up and took off. "I stopped and held the door open and waited for everyone to leave safely," he writes. "He then says he took direction from a counselor that kept screaming someone needed to tell the people in the library, and I told her I would do it."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody is outside one of the doors. VALENCIA: Mintz writes that he made his way back into the

classroom area where he came face to face with the gunman. "He leaned out and started shooting as I turned toward him," he recalled. This is how he described the shooter. "He was so nonchalant through it all, like he was playing a video game, and showed no emotion." Mintz says "The shots knocked me to the ground and felt like a truck hit me." He then says he was shot again while on the ground and that the gunman said "That's what you get for calling the cops."

Mintz writes in the Facebook post that he told the gunman that he didn't call police and they were already on the way. He then yelled to the gunman, "It's my kids birthday, man." Mintz says "The shooter pointed the gun right at my face and then retreated back into the classroom."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, everyone. I'm doing well.

VALENCIA: A friend posted this video of Mintz in the hospital. He has since been released and has this lingering question. "I'm still confused as to why he didn't shoot me again."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Mintz has been called a hero by so many people, but he wants nothing to do with that word. He says the true heroes are those first responders, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Nick, a lot of new details. But some of them differ from what we heard. A few discrepancies between this account and accounts we have heard in the last 10 days or so.

VALENCIA: Certainly. And you remember very soon after the shooting Chris Mintz's aunt came out to speak publicly about what she had heard secondhand. She said that her nephew had rushed toward the gunman. And we believed up until this point that there was a physical confrontation perhaps between the gunman and Chris Mintz. It turns out according to his words it went a little bit differently, it transpired a little differently. But we did learn through this Facebook account overnight that he was also running across campus notifying of oblivious students. So he very well could have saved a lot of lives, and a lot of people out there think he did.

BLACKWELL: Nick Valencia, thank you so much.

VALENCIA: You bet.

PAUL: We are getting new information this morning about a possible motive in the beating death of a teenager inside a church. Police say 19-year-old Lucas Leonard was assaulted for hours by his parent and other members of a church in upstate New York. Apparently the victim expressed a desire to leave the church, and that may have sparked the attack. The boy's parents and four others are charged in this case now. CNN national correspondent Jason Carroll joining us with the very latest live. Jason, I think one of the things that really struck me was when I heard this beating, is it true it went on for 14 hours? JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: From 10:00 p.m. until the

very next day, went on for hours as people came in and out of that counseling session. It is really just incredible. And Christi, according to the D.A., we can probably expect more charges, more arrests in this case. They say other church members may have been inside that counseling session and may have taken part in that deadly ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[10:10:11] CARROLL: Bruce and Debra Leonard did not hear during the preliminary hearing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The charge is manslaughter in the first degree.

CARROLL: Instead they sat and listened to damaging testimony about what allegedly happened in that church counseling session. In the end, their 19-year-old son Lucas was dead. Their 17-year-old son, Christopher, left in serious condition. Daniel Irwin, a deacon at the Word of Life Christian Church, told the court he saw Bruce Leonard strike both of the boys inside the church's sanctuary. He said Leonard hit his son, Lucas, several times. "I heard the sound of a strike, stop, then it started again." Irwin also told the court he saw Lucas was bleeding from his leg, moaning, and rolling back and forth on the floor.

Irwin then said he also saw Leonard strike his younger son, Christopher, five or six times with something that looked like a belt. He recalled the beating went on for 14 hours, starting around 8:00 Sunday night and lasting until 10:00 a.m. the next morning. When asked why the beating finally stopped, Irwin said, "Because Luke was dead at that point." He said several church members, including Leonard's own brother Christopher and his father, tried performing CPR but it was too late.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you like to elaborate more about what happened inside and tell us about your experience?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I have no comment.

CARROLL: Outside court, Irwin would not comment about his testimony, nothing about the motive for the beating, nor about allegations the counseling session was ordered because Leonard wanted to leave the church.

The Leonards are facing manslaughter charges in the death of their son. Four others are facing assault charges. All have pled not guilty. Police says they have not concluded why the session turned violent. Bruce Leonard allegedly told investigators his sons may have molested children who belong to the church.

CARROLL: But police say there is no indication of that whatsoever. They say seven children here from the church were taken into protective custody. They were interviewed, they were examined, and police say there is no indication any of them were sexually assaulted. CHIEF MICHAEL INSERRA, NEW HARTFORD POLICE: The deceased and his

brother are victims in this horrible crime. And I want to put out there, again, there is no evidence that these brothers did anything. They are, at this point, true victims.

CARROLL: Debra Leonard's attorney believes the client is also a victim, saying Debra did not have the physical strength to beat her sons. Debra Leonard claims she only took part in the beginning but that other church members held the brothers down while the beatings took place.

SCOTT MCNAMARA, ONEIDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I have indicated before and I will continue to indicate that we are looking at other charges, and if other people should be charged, we will present that evidence to a grand jury.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And the evidence will be presented to the grand jury within 45 days. The D.A. is not calling this church a cult but saying that anyone who may be a member of the church, they are encouraging any of those people to call them. They're reaching out to them. They're trying to find out more information about what this church was all about, Christie.

PAUL: No doubt. Jason Carroll, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: People in California are digging out after major mudslides, and now more rain is causing flooding fears in three states.

Plus Donald Trump keeping quiet. It doesn't happen often, but check out the GOP frontrunner's response when asked about comments about George W. Bush and 9/11.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to comment with the 9/11 comment, sir? Mr. Trump, can we get reaction to Jeb Bush about your 9/11 comment, please? Sir, would you like to clarify your 9/11 comments? We have all asked you a few times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:17:23] BLACKWELL: Well, this is going to be the talk of the campaign trail today, this intensifying Twitter feud between Donald Trump and Jeb Bush. It comes after Trump took shots at President George W. Bush and linked his administration to 9/11, mentioning that they happened around the same time. Listen to what he said in this Bloomberg interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you talk about George Bush, say what you want. The World Trade Center came down at the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold on. You can't blame George Bush for that.

TRUMP: He was president, OK. Don't blame him or don't blame him, but he was president. The World Trade Center came down during his reign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So Jeb Bush then fired back, tweeting "How pathetic for Donald Trump to criticize the president for 9/11. We were attacked and my brother kept us safe." But then, it went on. And here now with more is CNN's Chris Frates. This kind of, I'm looking for a word other than sophomoric. But this, you said this and know you are this person and whatever you said sticks to you, kind of back and forth.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know you are but what am I? That's basically what we have this morning, Victor, you're absolutely right. And our own M. J. Lee, she caught up with Trump on the campaign trail after this exchange and she asked Trump, hey, what do you have to say about this? And what was so interesting about this exchange, Victor, was it was more what Trump didn't say. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. J. LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Trump, can you clarify, do you think that 9/11 was President Bush's fault? Jeb Bush said on Twitter that your comments on Twitter about 9/11 --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So a shockingly quiet Trump there, Victor. He regularly takes questions from reporters on the trail. So it is a bit unusual for him to walk away without saying anything at all. But it turns out Trump wasn't done. A few minutes later he took to Twitter. Here is what he said. He said "At the debate, you said you kept us safe. I wanted to be nice and did not mention the World Trade Center came down during his watch, 9/11." Then he went on to tweet, "No, Jeb Bush, you're pathetic for saying nothing happened during your brother's term when the World Trade Center was attacked and came down."

And Victor, as we were talking about, that last tweet had a kind of I know you are but what am I, feel to it, and a real tit-for- tat. And it's important to point out that also yesterday Bush said he had no idea what kind of leader Trump would be because all Trump does is talk about himself and not about how he would lead.

[10:20:00] And this Twitter feud between Bush and Trump has been going on for months. Trump hit Bush for immigration, retweeted messages calling Bush crazy, calling on Bush to stop speaking, quote, "Mexican." So this is the latest chapter in a long-running feud.

But what's interesting about it, Victor, is this is the first time we have seen a hit on George W. Bush's handling of 9/11. That's been something that has been relatively off limits to Republicans. And Trump, he may alienate Republicans here because this is something that Republicans are not big fans of. We saw Representative Pete King, he's a New York Republican, say on Friday that this looked like a Michael Moore talking point. So that's not something you want to hear if you are Donald Trump trying to appeal to the Republican base, that you sound like a liberal critic of George Bush. So it will be interesting to see how this continues to play, particularly as Trump has had some problems on the campaign trail appealing to Republicans when he has had some pretty liberal positions in the past, Victor.

BLACKWELL: It was certainly a big applause line when Jeb Bush said his brother kept America safe during the debate. We'll see how it is received over the next 24 hours. Chris Frates, thanks so much.

PAUL: Look at that scaffolding just crumbling in Houston. Construction workers are recovering this morning after this collapse.

Also, nearly two years after a deadly typhoon in, the Philippines is bracing for another monster storm. What the country can expect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:25:14] Oh, my god, this car is going to hit us. Oh, my god!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Terrifying. One day you are driving down the interstate, and then this happens. Southern California, northbound part of I-5 has now reopened after what you saw there, the flash floods sparked mudslides in the area. Some drivers were trapped in their cars for hours as hail and boulders pounded the region.

PAUL: Cleanup crews used street sweepers to clear some of the roads. But she southern lanes of I-5, as we said, we believe are cleared. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh! Oh, my God!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Obviously, one of the more dramatic rescues in California. A flooded freeway in Bakersfield is what you're looking at there. That woman was pulled to safety after the water and the mud overwhelmed her car.

BLACKWELL: Six construction workers were injured when that scaffolding collapsed. This is outside a building in Houston. Officials say all the injured were workers at the scene, not first responders, no tourists or anyone passing by. A senior captain with the Houston fire department says there is no confirmation of mission workers but there are about 100 firefighters who are still looking. PAUL: And Philippines main island bracing for a typhoon that the

nation's president said, listen to this, could bring up to 12 hours of torrential rain. Military and emergency personnel are on alert. UNICEF says it has supplies ready for 12,000 family ns the region expected to be hit the hardest. Nearly two years ago a super typhoon, the strongest to ever hit land, killed 6,300 people. And now this.

BLACKWELL: Let's bring in CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar. Allison, has that storm made landfall? And where do we see it?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It has not made landfall yet, but the impacts are already starting to pile up in this area because it is just so close. It is expected to make landfall Sunday, local time, or Saturday night eastern time for us. You can see just a very powerful storm. In the last 12 hours, it has really done a very intensification process. You can see the eye-wall really strengthening there, and that's a sign the storm as a whole is strengthening. And yet it hasn't even made landfall yet. Winds up to 130 miles per hour gusting up to 160 miles an hour. That makes it a very strong category four equivalent storm.

Now, they have a different type of storm warning system, but you can see they have level threes, or signal threes, as they call it, all along the eastern coast of the Philippines where they expect the real brunt of the storm to hit.

Here is a look at the forecast radar. Again, it does not move much. And that is going to be one of the biggest issues they face as the track, you can see, over the next three to four days, it hardly moves. That means all of that rain that's expected gets dumped over the same spots over and over again.

Take a look at these numbers. In the next 48 hours, we're expecting 20 inches of rain in some of these spots. And not just a few dots, widespread spots. And then if you go, three, four, five days out, we are talking about almost 3 feet of rain. Again, incredible numbers, and some of these wind gusts, these were in kilometers. But, again, we are expecting around 100 to 150-mile-per-hour winds, Victor and Christie in this storm. It is a combination of the very heavy rainfall and the strong winds that are associated with it. It is the strongest storm this area has seen since May of this year.

BLACKWELL: Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

Overnight, a change in Lamar Odom's condition. The former NBA star was found unconscious after spending tens of thousands of dollars at a Nevada brothel. We have a live report coming up.

PAUL: Plus, in a CNN exclusive, Hillary Clinton dismisses the Benghazi conspiracy theories and really opens up ahead of the new hearing. Check out the one-on-one interview, next.

BLACKWELL: And could you ever give half of your salary every year to charity? I spoke to a woman who is doing just that with her husband. Go to Facebook.com/NewDay to see her story and why her family says they are doing it. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:32:44] BLACKWELL: All right, here's a look at stories developing now at the bottom of the hour. Tensions on the rise in the Middle East. Today three more Palestinians have been shot and killed in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israeli officials say the Palestinians attacked police and a Jewish settler in separate incidents. This is the latest in a wave of knife attacks that has plagued the region this month.

The U.S. and Russia are said to be close to signing an agreement to avoid midair collisions in Syria. The news comes just days after two jets came within miles of one another as both sides conduct air campaigns in the region.

PAUL: Fresh off a record-setting debate and just a few more days before she is scheduled to testify in front of Congress, Hillary Clinton spoke exclusively to CNN's Jake Tapper in New Hampshire on a number of topics, including Benghazi. Good morning, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, I am here in beautiful Keene, New Hampshire, where Hillary Clinton has just pulled ahead of her challenger, Bernie Sanders, in the first poll taken since the first Democratic debate. We talked about everything from her marriage to Bill -- they just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary -- to the Republican rivals whom she is preparing to face down next week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: You're scheduled to testify before the Benghazi committee at the House of Representatives in a few days. What are you expecting and how are you preparing?

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really don't know what to expect. I think it is pretty clear that whatever they might have thought they were doing, they ended up becoming a partisan arm of the Republican National Committee with an overwhelming focus on trying to, as they admitted, drive down my poll numbers.

I've already testified about Benghazi. I testified to the best of my ability before the Senate and the House. I don't know that I have very much to add. This is after all the eighth investigation. Other committees of the Congress, standing committees with very experienced members and staff, have all looked into this and basically just rejected the conspiracy theories that are still floating out there in some circles. So I really don't know. I will do my best to answer their questions, but I don't really know what their objective is right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:35:02] TAPPER: There's lots more to our conversation about Benghazi, her e-mail server, Afghanistan, making college affordable. You can watch it all this Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION" at 9:00 and noon eastern. BLACKWELL: Let's talk more about the conversation, especially the

Benghazi hearings and the 2016 race with CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein and CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson. Good to have you both of you. Ben, I want to start with you. After the comments from Representative Hanna and the majority leader and that whistleblower who was an investigator, Hillary Clinton says this is just an arm of the RNC. How does that change how Republicans will question her during these hearings?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think if they are smart, they are going to ask questions based on actual facts and e-mails and information they currently have. And I think there is more than enough there for this to not be looked at as political.

I also think the family members of those that died in Benghazi, they are saying to them this is not political and they have real questions that they want answered they haven't had answered yet. So I think if you stick with those issues and don't try to make this political. Obviously, there is politics involved. She is running for the president of the United States. There is no doubt there is politics there. But I think you have to stick with the actual facts and answer the questions and deal with that timeline so that ultimately you get answers from the family members. And that's what it should be about.

BLACKWELL: Ron, let me come to you. During that interview with Tapper, Clinton also spoke about Vice President Joe Biden's potential run. Listen to what she said. We will talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Whether you are encouraging or not, there does come a point where a decision has to be made. But certainly I'm not in any way suggesting or recommending that the vice president accept any timetable other than the one that is clicking inside of him. He has to make this decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right, so there is also this CNN source who revealed that an influential labor group, International Association of Firefighters, I believe it is, that the president of that group said during a call that the VP strongly indicate that he had is going to run. I just wonder what's the impact of the delay, of the consideration that goes on for so long? Does he lose potential support for waiting so long?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think, as I've said before, as we've talked about before, in some ways, Joe Biden is a dependent variable in his own campaign, by which I mean the interest in him is really more a function of the level of concern about Hillary Clinton and her ability to function effectively as a general election nominee. And many people have thought that he would wait until after the Benghazi hearings to see how she performed.

What's happened, of course, is the very strong debate performance, I think, has quieted a lot of Democratic concern. The series of events you alluded to with the majority leader's comments, the comments from the former staffer, and Bernie Sanders comment in first debate have really dampened the e-mails from Benghazi as an issue in the Democratic primary. Let's leave aside the general election for a minute, but in the Democratic primary it's weighed down. So I think the vice president as he is making his final call is in a situation where there is less demand, I think, for an alternative than they might have expected a month ago.

BLACKWELL: Do Democrats, outside of the Hillary Clinton supporters, want to soot the vice president in this race? There are many who say because there was an extended primary season in 2008 Barack Obama was a better candidate.

BROWNSTEIN: I would say no on balance. That is true that that race in 2008 was once in a lifetime. Twice as many people voted as had ever voted in any Democratic primary, for that matter Republican primary ever. They raised more money. They campaigned in more states, and they did force each other to get better.

But I think generally speaking, tough nomination battles all the way to the end are pretty depleting, and I think on balanced that the Hillary Clinton would rather face Bernie Sanders, who faces a do or die situation in New Hampshire. Candidates like him before, Gene McCarthy in 68, Gary Hart in 84, Bill Bradley in 2000, New Hampshire is the best terrain for candidates like that. If they can't make it there, it is going to be harder for him to take off subsequently. So on balance I think they would rather have the alignment they now have, especially after this debate. They kind of gave the sense that she was a bigger figure in the party than any of her rivals.

BLACKWELL: Ben, we have had CNN analysts identify Senator Marco Rubio as the Republican that they do not want to run against. Is there, just between these two, the vice president and the former secretary of state, one Democrat who offers a stronger challenge against the eventual GOP nominee?

FERGUSON: Look, I think right now if you are any one of the Republicans you want to run against Hillary Clinton. She obviously has the most baggage. She also has a lot of unanswered questions about things currently going on. So you are going to use that in the campaign against her.

She also has that big issue. A majority of people do not trust her. Joe Biden comes in. Joe Biden is very likeable. He also has a story to tell. He also has this tragedy with his son that is going to be a part of that narrative. And you have to treat him I think a little bit differently than you would Hillary Clinton.

[10:40:15] And I think right now if I'm any one of those, I would much rather run against Hillary Clinton, because I feel like I am have a fight with her and it is not going to be held against me in any way by the voters. And she is vulnerable. She is definitely vulnerable. That's the reason why Biden is even looking at this. It's because she's vulnerable, and other Democrats have realized that. BLACKWELL: But it is not easier to make the argument that the next,

whomever the nominee is, is an extension of Barack Obama, is a third term?

FERGUSON: Either one of these. Joe Biden is the vice president. How can you separate yourself from Barack Obama? Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, how can you separate yourself from Barack Obama? There is voter fatigue when it comes to people. After George Bush, eight years, you had voter fatigue there. When you had 12 years of Reagan, which was amazing, and then Bush, you had voter fatigue, and then you had those eight years of Clinton.

So when you look at it from that perspective, there is going to be some voter fatigue. And that's why they are vulnerable, whether it be Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton. I do think Hillary, though, if Biden gets in, I think it would actually help her strengthen her campaign, because right now she is not being tested. Bernie Sanders, in my opinion, is the best second place candidate you have ever seen. He obviously is not willing to take her on. He bailed her out on Benghazi. He bailed her out on the e-mails. He is going to come in second place and do really well at it. She needs to be challenged bigger than that. And the only person that I think can do that that's left is Joe Biden.

BLACKWELL: We have to wrap it there. Ben, Ron, thank you, both.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks.

PAUL: Could Lamar Odom be on the road to recovery? We have got live reports on his improving condition as the former NBA star is still in a Las Vegas hospital with what we have learned so far this morning.

Also, more trouble for Johnny Manziel. The Brown's quarterback pulled over after police were called over an apparent domestic incident. Those details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:29] PAUL: Some encouraging news this morning for two-time NBA champion Lamar Odom. His former college coach says Odom woke up yesterday afternoon inside this Las Vegas hospital where he is. The very latest from our Paul Vercammen who joins us live from Las Vegas. So Paul, what have you heard this morning?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi, there are multiple sources now saying that Lamar Odom was able to speak, sources telling CNN that he actually looked at his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, and said hi.

And then if you think of this, Christi, Kris Jenner is technically still his mother-in-law because the divorce isn't final. She went on Access Hollywood and told them that basically Lamar Odom is not in a coma, that he is no longer on a ventilator but on a breathing mask. She did concede that he does have some sort of major organ damage. That remains to be seen exactly what. But again all accounts are that he is no longer in a coma and he has been able to speak some short words, Christi.

PAUL: Is there any indication this this is the hospital he will stay or any indication they will have to remove him for any reason?

VERCAMMEN: None whatsoever. This has been a text book job of circling the wagons, both by the Kardashian-Odom camp and by this hospital. Of course, under federal law they don't have to reveal anything. So they are being very, very tight lipped. It would stand to reason, however, if he is still in this incapacitated state that he needs to stay on the second floor here, which is the intensive care floor and that's where he has been since he was admitted after that collapse at that brothel about 80 miles away, Christi.

PAUL: Any statement from that brothel about, I guess, anything regarding the happenings this morning that he does seem to be getting better?

VERCAMMEN: The brother not reacting to that, of course wishing him the best. And let's probably not lose this thought. Lamar Odom certainly a top-tier client. The owner of that brothel revealing that he spent $75,000 to have two women 24 hours a day over the course of several days. But we'll circle back with them later and check and see if the brothel does have any comment on his improving condition. Of course, for publicity and otherwise, and him being a great client, they would want the best for Lamar Odom, no doubt.

PAUL: No doubt. Paul Vercammen, thank you so much for the update.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead this morning., new details on NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel and his latest run-in with police.

Plus, authorities in Portland, Oregon, crack a murder case more than three decades old. We'll tell you how.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:51:55] BLACKWELL: Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel is making news again for the wrong reason.

PAUL: CNN sports anchor Coy Wire is here with more again. That seems to be the operative word here.

COY WIRE: It is. Good morning, guys.

PAUL: Good morning.

WIRE: Here is a guy who is in the headlines again for all the wrong reasons. And at some point, I have been on teams in the NFL with guys who are problems. And this is a guy who, had he not been the former Heisman winner, a first round pick, the team would have cut him long ago. So at some point, the players start to get sick of him.

Here's what happened. Yesterday reports surfaced that Johnny Manziel was pulled over by police on Monday after an argument with his girlfriend got out of hand. According to the police report, a witness called police after they saw the couple arguing as Manziel tried to pass them on the shoulder of the road.

Then the report stated that a second witness called police when the couple pulled into a neighborhood and continued arguing on the sidewalk. Manziel's girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, told police that Manziel pushed her head into a window and she, quote, "wanted her cellphone because she was concerned about her safety," end quote.

However, she did not press charges nor want to. Both Manziel and his girlfriend told officers they had been drinking earlier in the year. And that's a big deal because Manziel spent 10 weeks in a rehab facility during the off-season. So a Browns spokesperson says that they are really concerned about this. They have spoken to Manziel. But his status for Sunday's game has not changed. So he can suit up. We will also see, guys, if the NFL will look to discipline Manziel through the player conduct policy.

BLACKWELL: So here is what I'm confused about. If she didn't want to press charges, and that's fine. But if he had been drinking while he was behind the wheel, did they do any tests?

WIRE: The report stated that he was not intoxicated to a level that was worthy of him being taken into custody or even not allowed to continue to drive. So he was able to go drive away.

Now, from the reports, it appeared that the girlfriend was more intoxicated than was Johnny Manziel. But I think the problem here is that if you have an issue, whether it is alcohol or anything else, you probably shouldn't be spending time with someone who is getting heavily intoxicated when you have issues and you know that.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much.

WIRE: You're welcome.

BLACKWELL: Southern California highway partially reopens after a flood triggers a massive mudslide. But some drivers are still trapped in their cars there are reports of. More in the next hour of CNN Newsroom.

PAUL: CNN has announced the top ten heroes of 2015. One is a pastor of a small town in North Carolina who created a healthy community garden because the nearest grocery store is 10 miles away. We meet Reverend Richard Joyner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. RICHARD JOYNER, CNN HERO: So our mindset was hearing, we are a food desert. We are chronically ill. We are dying. And then we found out that growing food causes us to work together. So it gave us the opportunity to create something that united us and that we can feel good about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:55:03] PAUL: Reverend Richard Joyner's garden produces 50,000 pounds of fresh food a year. Go to CNNHeroes.com, check out the rest of the year's top 10 heroes and vote once a day every day for your choice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: We love spending our morning with you. Thank you for making us part of yours.

BLACKWELL: We are handing things over now to Fredricka Whitfield for the next hour of Newsroom. Hey, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Victor and Christi, it sounds like you have had a nice morning. Very busy, active. I'm feeling the energy.

PAUL: Ready for you.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right, good. Have a great day.

PAUL: You too.

WHITFIELD: It is the 11:00 eastern hour here on the east coast. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Newsroom starts right now.

[11:00:05] Breaking news this morning.