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All 224 Killed When Russian Jet Crashes; Data, Voice Recorders From Crash Site Recovered; Billionaire Mega-Donor Endorses Rubio; $100 Million New U.S. Assistance to Syrian Rebels; Jeb Bush on Mission to Reassure Donors; Video of Twin Peaks Biker Shootout in Waco. Aired 5- 6p ET

Aired October 31, 2015 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:58] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: A plane carrying 224 people crashes into the rugged Sinai Peninsula, now investigators are recovering bodies trying to figure out how this could have happened.

Also Jeb Bush's campaign in Iowa today, he's denying those that say his presidential dream is in danger. We'll take you live to the Hawkeye State coming up this hour.

Also the White House makes a major move, sending American troops to Syria on the ground. Will this crucial move make a difference in the fight against ISIS? Here in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

A passenger jet carrying 224 people disappeared suddenly from radar over Egypt overnight. It did hit the ground and recovery crews report everyone onboard this plane was killed. According to Egyptian authorities the pilot did not signal or make any distress or mayday calls. The weather was clear. No storms nearby and Egypt's government says no signs of terrorism have been found. The plane's flight data recorder and the voice data recorder were recovered. Russia's state run media reports that most people onboard were returning from vacation in the resort town of Sharm El Sheikh. Victims' remains are being rushed to the morgue, grieving families still waiting in anguish. So far officials have recovered the remains of at least 130 people.

CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in St. Petersburg for us this evening, but we begin with Ian Lee on the ground in Cairo. And Ian, Egypt's government has come out here and very quickly said no signs of terrorism. What do we know about in terms of what happened? I know it's early going, but what do we know about what has happened?

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Poppy, we're getting pieces of this flight, putting them together, the real big hole right now is what actually occurred to cause this plane to crash. Now Egypt's minister of civil aviation spoke earlier today, this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HOSSAM KAMAL, EGYPTIAN CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER (through a translator): If the pilot doesn't report any faults on the plane, all that will be carried out is routine maintenance checks on the plane before takeoff. There were no reports that the airplane had faults. The checks done before takeoff did not reveal anything. Up until the crash happened, we were never informed of any faults in the plane, nor did we receive any SOS calls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: So according to the Egyptians, that plane fell out of the sky, no real reason right now that we know why it did. Now, Egyptian government is searching an area with the diameter of five miles. They are looking for any little clues, any pieces. We know that now the two black boxes are on their way to Cairo. That's where experts will analyze the contents and then we're hoping to get what the cause of this crash is. But still out there in the deserts there are over 90 bodies that have still to be identified and brought over to either the Suez or Cairo. They are going to go through the very gruesome process of trying to identify them so that they can be returned to their loved ones.

HARLOW: Ian Lee live for us tonight in Cairo. Thank you very much, Ian, very tragic.

Nic Robertson, you are in such a difficult place, St. Petersburg, that's where all these family members were waiting for their loved ones, 224 of them to land from this flight. What are you seeing?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: There's a real outpouring of support and sympathy. This is a memorial here that's literally been growing by the minute. There's a gentleman literally about to walk up and place flowers, as so many people have been doing here over the last few hours. You see little toys laid in memorial, respect for the 17 children that were aboard the aircraft. There's been a note left here by a cabin crew from another airline giving their sympathy and support, and as I'm standing here, yet more people coming up. It is midnight here, Poppy, and people are still coming to pay their tributes. It is a National Day of Mourning here. This is where the families came to the airport this morning expecting to meet their loved ones off the plane, they've now been taken away to a hotel. Close by government officials, but this is how people are responding here, Russians, normal Russians, they didn't have family onboard the aircraft, they are coming here to pay their respects. It really is a somber feeling here this evening -- Poppy.

[17:05:42] HARLOW: Nic, thank you very much live from St. Petersburg for us.

I want to talk more about this with aviation analyst and a 777 pilot himself Les Abend. When you look at this, it is rare to have a catastrophic period on flights, especially big commercial airliners, but especially at above 30,000 feet. Your initial response, what is it?

LES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, as we've been saying in previous segments, this is a not stress environment, it's not like takeoffs or landings, we have limited amount of time to make a decision if an emergency or abnormality occurs, so it's very curious to me what caused the airplane to, as been said, fall out of the sky. Was there something mechanically related that caused it to happen, as we discussed in a previous segment. It seems to be an indication through an internet website that it had a stall, aerodynamic stall which means no more lift to the wings.

HARLOW: How does that happen, if that is the cause of it, Les, how does that happen?

ABEND: Well, it can be something mechanical, it could be the possibility the pilots were looking at a mechanical problem and abnormality and may have been distracted by that, trying to troubleshoot that problem and going through a checklist and not allowing the airplane to get out of control. Now it is possible to recover from a stall, but it takes a lot of altitude for that to occur, and it appears to me this airplane was never under control.

HARLOW: What do we know about the safety record of this carrier, Metrojet?

ABEND: You know, all the data is coming in right now, our anchor and correspondent Richard Quest indicated he had done some research on it and it seemed to me that they have no major issues. There was a tail strike, I think, that was mentioned. It did do some structural damage, but to have it related to this particular event, that was a while back, according to what Richard reported, and to equate it to what happened here, I'd be hard-pressed.

HARLOW: So who determines ultimately what happened? Because we see the Egyptian authorities and these images on the ground, you've also got the BEA, right? Sort of like the NTSB here in the United States, you've got that, German and French officials, and you've got Russia playing a part in this investigation.

ABEND: Well, this is not according to protocols, IKO (ph), the international civil aviation organization. So the Egyptians will be the one that by protocol are in charge of this investigation. Who they want to include as the other parties and experts, and they'll need experts, just like the NTSB here in the states, they'll need experts. They'll need airbus, they'll need IEA which is the engine manufacturer, the consortium of engine manufacturers, that includes, actually, folks here from the states.

HARLOW: Uh-hm.

ABEND: So all of these people will be, including air traffic control, all these people will be part of this IKO investigation.

HARLOW: Hopefully we get answers soon again. They have retrieved these two so-called black boxes, the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, so we should know soon what they think. Thank you very much, Les, as always. An absolute tragedy. We'll keep you posted on that, of course, as we learn more. Coming up next, politics. Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio today side by side at

the same event in Iowa after a very tense week that was topped off with Rubio last night getting a major endorsement from a millionaire. We're live in Iowa next.

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[17:12:18] HARLOW: To politics and the week that Jeb Bush might rather forget. First there was his performance in the republican debate, which even some of his supporters weren't happy with. And now word that Paul Singer, a much sought after billionaire Republican donor is casting his lot with Senator Marco Rubio. Bush spent the day in Iowa, so did Rubio. Bush trying to right the ship and reassure voters that his campaign is not on life support. Though a recent poll shows he is only five percent support in that key early voting state.

CNN Sunlen Serfaty is live in Des Moines, Iowa, that is where Bush spoke today at that growth and opportunity party. I'm interested in the reception he got there, versus what people are saying about Marco Rubio.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he actually got a really good reception here, Poppy. This was a forum, as you noted, that many of the candidates, ten of them in total, spoke back to back to back, so the crowd here really did actually seem very engaged. They stayed, they did not get up during Jeb Bush's speech. They were engaged and afterwards he actually got mobbed by supporters, spent 30 minutes with them shaking hands, signing autographs, but that reception is certainly despite the realities on the ground here for the Bush campaign.

He has not invested a lot of time in this state, and a strategy memo that was leaked this week outlining the Bush campaign strategy really admits as much saying that they are much more focused on places like New Hampshire, South Carolina, over here in Iowa. And it was interesting, though, when Bush took the stage he really noted his low poll numbers here in the state and really brushed aside poll numbers in general. Here's how he opened his speech earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, poll numbers go up and they go down. Iowa proves that in every caucus, and when they go down, you don't insult Iowa voters, because they are the same discerning voters whether your polls are going up or down, you learn from Iowa voters, so it is a joy to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Certainly trying to butter up Iowa caucus goers, which is never a bad idea in this state, but also that was a not so subtle hint I think on Donald Trump who recently got in a little hot water with Iowa caucus goers when he retweeted something controversial when he's seen his numbers drop, kind of criticizing Iowa voters, so certainly a small kind of jab at Donald Trump there -- Poppy. HARLOW: And let's talk about Paul Singer. Because here you have a,

you know, a huge billionaire donor to the party, someone who supported Mitt Romney before, and who is very focused on a few key issues, including Israel. And you have him coming out last night and backing Marco Rubio saying he speaks about our party the way we want, and this is the man that I'm backing, he can give a ton of money to Super PACs. How big is that that Rubio got Singer's backing and not Jeb Bush?

SERFATY: Well, it certainly is going to help Marco Rubio in a big way financially. Singer has an ability to really donate millions of dollars to a Super PAC, really tapping in also to this broader donor network. But I do think the importance of the endorsement is also symbolic. Jeb Bush's campaign had really been going hard trying to court his endorsement. They had two aides up in New York just a few weeks ago trying to convince him to come to the Bush campaign, so certainly that was a blow to them symbolically, as well -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes. All right. Sunlen, thank you, from Des Moines live for us tonight, appreciate it.

Coming up next, we are digging into how important it is for Marco Rubio to get this big endorsement from Paul Singer. What's it mean. Will other billionaires follow his path and back Rubio?

Also his finances, struggles with debt despite an $800,000 book deal. That is next.

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[17:21:02] HARLOW: Marco Rubio beating out Jeb Bush for the support of Paul Singer, one of the wealthiest and most influential donors in the country.

Let's bring in our CNN political commentators Marc Lamont Hill, professor at Morehouse College. Ben Ferguson, host of "The Ben Ferguson Show." Let me begin with you, Ben. What's interesting about this is that Jeb Bush's camp had been courting Singer hard trying to get his backing and his money. They didn't get it, and on top of that it goes to Rubio.

BEN FERGUSON, RADIO HOST, "THE BEN FERGUSON SHOW": Yes. It's a massive blow to his campaign. And you know, you can say that some say his campaign is on life support. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I do think him leaking this quote-unquote, "opposition campaign memo was not a leak." This was lowering expectations to the lowest point they possibly could in Iowa and then claiming that they have a strategy for the other states. It also puts out there some issues about the other candidates, which was nothing more than a hit specifically on Rubio. They realize that Rubio is threatening their campaign in a big way.

HARLOW: It's interesting when you look, Marc, at Rubio and his debate performance this week, a lot of people liked it. We'll see what the polls say when they come out. He was asked during the debate about his history of money problems, right, including the fact that he once faced foreclosure, that he cashed out a $68,000 retirement fund, that he got a 40 percent tax penalty on because he did that, he dismissed it. He said that, you know, liberal media bias, but when you are in charge of the country, can you get away with thing? And he's like, he said in his book, I'm not good at bookkeeping?

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think the most generous defense of him would be that as president you hire bookkeepers, you hire experts and advisers, and so he wouldn't be managing the nation's budget on quick books. I mean, I will give Marco Rubio that level of support. But to the contrary, I think it was a fair question. I have a lot of critiques of that CNBC debate, I think they did do a great job, I think they all asked him tough -- some poor questions, but I think that was a reasonable question. I think it speaks to his wisdom, it speaks to his maturity, and it speaks to, in some level, ethics. And I'm not saying he's an ethical guy, I'm saying it's a question that should at least be raised and I think he sort of dismissed it in a way that honestly that didn't give the American people what they needed to know. It's a fair question, they need to answer.

HARLOW: I think it's interesting too Ben, because millions of Americans have money problems and people know what it is like to live like that. Do you think that this could actually help him just in terms of a more voters sympathizing with him?

FERGUSON: I think it can help him in two ways. One, if you've ever been young and an entrepreneur you've probably made mistakes or maybe been so focused on a certain goal that some things don't get done that are mundane and that aren't very enjoyable. And I think that's part of what happened to him. I also think the story, though, of him saying, look, I'm not a billionaire, I'm not a millionaire. Yes, I've had problems, yes, I had to go into my retirement. Yes, I had to pay some penalties when I did that. That will connect I think with a lot of average voters. But I'll also will say this, he's a young guy and you can go and look at a lot of people's career in business, finance, tech, and also in politics where you might not be perfect in every aspect because he was younger in his 30s when this happened.

HARLOW: At the same time, and this came up in the debate, Marc, that I think is important is, you know, the fact that he signed this book deal, $800,000 book deal, and still had these financial issues. Do you think he runs a risk at all trying to sell this image of I'm a regular guy, I didn't inherit a lot of money, et cetera, but he got a lot more money in that deal than many people make over years and years?

HILL: Yes. I mean, his idea and politicians' idea of what a regular guy is is a little bit different. They think because you like beer and football that American people relate to you. It's more to it than that. Most people don't get $800,000 book deals. Most of us don't get $800,000 book deals. Ben and I would love one, you're listening to my --

(LAUGHTER)

But in general, I think the American people see politicians as different and they want to see them as different. They want to see them as people who are more responsible, more knowledgeable, and more capable of running the country than they could. And I'm not sure that Marco Rubio has been --

FERGUSON: Here's the other thing, too, Poppy. If this is the biggest hit that other GOP candidates can take and go after him, it tells you how good his campaign is right now.

HARLOW: Well, I think the voting attendance Ben, isn't the voting attendance record the worst record in the Senate on voting, isn't that worse for him?

FERGUSON: No. Did anyone care when Barack Obama had the worst voting record when he was running for president at the time? No. Did anyone care when John Kerry didn't go vote? No. Did anyone care when Al Gore was going for the vice presidency and he didn't vote? No. This, again, shows just how strong of a candidate he is. If that's all you've got, well, you don't vote enough, everyone that runs for a bigger office misses votes. It's accepted by the American political system. On both sides of the aisle.

HARLOW: Yes. But Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul also in the Senate have missed a lot less votes in this campaign.

HILL: Exactly.

HARLOW: Rand Paul is not polling very well, so people are okay if they like you as a leader.

HILL: That doesn't matter.

FERGUSON: The same way -- wait, Marc, let's be fair here, you were okay, and you didn't care when Barack Obama missed a ton of votes.

HILL: Yes, I did! Yes, I did!

FERGUSON: And you still voted for him. And you still supported him. And you still think he's a great president.

[17:26:14] HILL: A couple of things. One, I voted green. I didn't vote for him, but my reason for --

FERGUSON: Not the second time either?

HILL: It's because the American people care about it. And, yes, I can acknowledge if you're running for president as a senator you may miss a vote or two, but Marco Rubio's missed more than his other Senate counterparts. This isn't par for the course, it's more than Obama, it's more than Bernie Sanders, and it's more than Rand Paul. So bipartisan levels of critique are worthy here. That's my problem, and that's the issue. And at some point Marco Rubio has to be responsible. If he's not responsible voting, he's not responsible with his budget, where is he responsible?

FERGUSON: Look, I think he's going to vote more. I think he got the point the last debate and he's sitting there and I'm sure his campaign is saying, look, if this is all we have to do, stop this package, you go -- then we're going to vote more.

HARLOW: I have to get to a commercial. But Ben, you are right he did cancel a campaign evet in Iowa late Thursday night to get back to Washington and vote no on the budget deal.

All right. Gentlemen, stay with me. Quick break, we're going to be back in a moment. President Obama elected on a promise to end America's wars is now expanding the U.S. front in the fight against ISIS in Syria with American boots on the ground headed there. The White House Press Secretary also had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, PRESS WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is an important thing for the American people to understand. These forces do not have a combat mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So what will this operation look like, what will it mean against ISIS? That's next.

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[17:30:49] HARLOW: Rebel groups fighting the Syrian government will soon get nearly $100 million in new U.S. assistance. That word today from a State Department official. And just yesterday in a significant escalation in the war against ISIS. President Obama, who was elected on a campaign pledge to involvement overseas, he's committed a small number of U.S. ground troops to Syria.

Our Chris Frates has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, about two dozen Special Operation forces are heading to Syria, bringing U.S. troops that much closer to the front lines.

(on camera): President Obama secretly told Ash Carter a few months ago he wanted faster progress in the war against ISIS in both Syria and Iraq and to come up with a plan, a U.S. official says.

Now the president has ordered a small number of Special Operations soldiers into Syria to help local forces fight ISIS.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president does expect that they can have an impact in intensifying our strategy for building the capacity of local forces inside of Syria to taking the fight on the ground to ISIL.

FRATES: The teams, no more than 50 troops total, could include members of the elite Delta Force and Green Berets, as well as Navy SEALs.

Their mission, to provide ammunition, communications and intelligence and supplies to Arab and Kurdish forces on the ground.

Until now, the president had long said he would not put troops in combat, especially in Syria, and the White House insists that's still true.

EARNEST: These forces do not have a combat mission. This is not in any way an attempt to diminish the risk that they will face or the bravery that they will need to summon to carry out these operations.

FRATES: Secretary Carter did not discuss the ground troops while meeting servicemembers in Alaska Friday night, but did say ISIS is one of the biggest threats.

ASH CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We've got to beat ISIS. We're going to beat ISIL. These guys are evil and they are -- you know, we are, as I said, the noble and they are the evil, and we are the many and they are the few. And fundamentally, we are the strong. So we will beat them. And we're doing that now and figuring out how to get better at it.

FRATES (on camera): Special Operations forces are expected to be sent from Iraq, across the border into northern Syria. The U.S. will use F-15 and A-10 jets launched from an air base in southern Turkey, all part of an effort to help anti-ISIS forces take back ISIS's self- proclaimed capital city of Raqqa.

But make no mistake, Poppy, Obama wanted to avoid troops on the ground where they'll likely end up in combat situations. And today, the State Department announced the U.S. will give about $100 million in new aid to the Syrian opposition. The money will provide support to local officials, first responders, and other civil needs. And since 2012, the U.S. has given almost $500 million total in aid to the Syrian opposition -- Poppy?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Chris, thank you very much.

Coming up next, Jeb Bush on a mission to reassure his donors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: It's not on life support. We have the most money. We have the greatest organization. We're doing fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: The internal memo revealing his strategy going forward. Will it be enough to re-energize his campaign?

Back in a moment.

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[17:32:57] HARLOW: 93 days, but who's counting, until the first-in- the nation Iowa caucuses, and Jeb Bush has his work cut out for him in that state. A new internal memo, first obtained by "U.S. News and World Report," reveals the Bush campaign has made more than 70,000 phone calls to Republicans in Iowa, but for all that, they have recruited just four volunteers statewide and identified less than 1,300 supporters in the Hawkeye State. That same memo also presenting donors with plans for a January advertising blitz, as well as extensive opposition research on Bush's rival, Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Back with me, CNN political commentators, Marc Lamont Hill and Ben Ferguson.

Marc, your take, first, on this memo that somehow made its way out to the press.

MARK LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm stunned that this memo was able to hit the press. I mean, clearly, the Bush campaign had nothing to do with it. There would be no way they wanted this information leaked out without having their fingerprints on it. How convenient for them, right? This is such a basic political tactic and a wise one by the Bush administration. Rather the Bush campaign. They have every desire and need to pull Marco Rubio down to stay in this race, and the issues that were raised in the memo that was leaked to the press are actually important issues. So I think the Bush campaign right now is on its heels, it's trying to survive, and this is a very important way of doing it, and I wouldn't count them out just yet. Obviously, people say the campaign's on life support, but there's a really good chance they could survive to Iowa, and if they do, it's anyone's game. John McCain, people said he was dying, too, and they were able to pull it out.

HARLOW: That's very true. I don't know whose phone is ringing, but that's very true.

(LAUGHTER)

Guys, when you look at the -- and the amount of money Jeb Bush has. He still has a ton of money.

What's interesting to me, Ben, this memo that came out also shows the Bush camp doesn't expect to win Iowa, their focus is New Hampshire and South Carolina. Is it smart to tell people that?

[17:39:54] BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, well, look, this is a smart politically to put out this memo. It's also a move that you only do when you feel desperate, and this is a way to not only try to bring Marco Rubio down, who I think they see as the biggest threat, but also to try to put this new story line out there, which is, hey, we never intended on doing well in Iowa. We are looking at the future states and future battles, and that's always been our game plan. And look, here's our memo that said so. This memo was probably finished up some time around an hour to an hour and a half before it was leaked to the press.

So, you know, if you're a donor, you know, are you really going to be duped into this if you're someone that's been working hard for Jeb Bush? Are you going to be frustrated that you now all of a sudden, especially say you're in Iowa, are you going to feel like you've been wasting your time because the campaign's pretty much sank, we had no intention of doing well there? So it's smart, but it's also desperate, and I don't think it's going to help as much as the campaign maybe thought it was going to help. Here's the other thing, any time you see a candidate that comes out and says, my campaign is not on life support, what it means is, is it's very close to being on life support. Jeb Bush is in trouble here, and he's got to do something to stop this, and I don't know if he knows exactly how to, and I think putting the memo out shows they are willing to try almost anything at this point.

HARLOW: Marc, we've heard Bush say this week, I'm not a performer, right? That's his quote. I'm about the issues, i'm not about entertainment. Take a look at this. These are some of the headlines after the Republican debate this week. The "Financial Times," "Jeb Bush blows chance to get back in the game." Also from "Buzzfeed," "Jeb Bush continues death spiral at GOP debate." From "Slate" magazine, "Jeb died on that stage." How do you turn perception around, even if perception isn't reality yet?

LAMONT HILL: There's really no way. He has to hope the people in front of him implode, and that's a very tough expectation. I mean, Trump and Carson, people have been saying for a long time, myself included, these guys might not make it, but now you have people like Marco Rubio who are legit candidates who are also in front of him and who people seem to perceive to be stronger, so if you're Jeb Bush, what you have to do is go on the offensive, you have to stop managing the public's expectations about what you're going to do or not do at the debates and perform on debates, go aggressively against the front runners, clearly establish and articulate an agenda and can't rely on the fact you have the biggest machine. At some point the machine has to function, otherwise it's not just Iowa he has to worry about. You can lose Iowa, but you can't lose New Hampshire, you can't lose South Carolina and still have legs in this thing. He needs to be aggressive right now.

FERGUSON: You also have to go to the most grassroots campaign you can possibly run. If Jeb Bush wants to come out of this and still have a shot, he is going to have to literally humble himself to the point where he is the entire face of the campaign, shaking hands, knocking on doors, talking to volunteers. You cannot do this in a big way like he was before. It did not connect with voters. He should look at somebody like Rick Santorum. Santorum, remember, he won Iowa because he shook a bunch of hands, knocked on a bunch of doors, and connected with the voters. Jeb Bush has got to do that now, not just in Iowa, but also New Hampshire, and he's running out of days to put that type of campaign together.

HARLOW: I think it's interesting, though guys, he's gotten a lot more feisty in the last week. He said to a reporter after the debate this week, you know, "I'm just going to have to change my strategy in the debates, not answer the moderators' questions, be rude, interrupt." Is that what the public wants to see?

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: That's not being true to yourself if you're him. That's a bad, bad move.

HARLOW: Marc?

FERGUSON: Sometimes you just get beat.

HARLOW: Marc?

LAMONT HILL: That's not him being feisty. That's him whining and complaining. That's him coming across as if he's saying I'm playing by the rules and no one else is and I'm losing because I'm doing the right thing and they are doing the wrong thing. At some point he has to ignore all of that. He's been debating for a very long time. He has a brother and father who managed to be president of, I don't know, America. He knows how debates go. He knows people don't answer questions and people are aggressive and rude. He made a choice to be himself and the truth is America just doesn't like him that much. He either needs to become somebody else or convince America he is what they need to like. And he has a very short window to do it. He needs to go grassroots and aggressive. You can't just wait for Trump and Carson to die anymore. Even if their campaigns die, you still are not next in line anymore. You have to go harder.

HARLOW: All right, Ben, Marc, thank you, gentlemen, as always. Appreciate it.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Coming up next, switching gears, CNN obtaining stunning video. This is the moment shots rang out between rival motorcycle clubs in Texas. Several people killed in that shootout, you'll recall it. Now we're seeing inside for the first time. And I'll show you the aftermath next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:48:19] HARLOW: 177 people arrested after a deadly gun battle in May at a restaurant in a Texas strip mall. You remember that, and you probably remember these images of this shootout between two motorcycle clubs. Nine people killed. Police found 480 weapons in that restaurant and in the parking lot. We're showing you the aftermath. Now we have video of the gun fight as it happened.

And a warning, this report does contain graphic images.

Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, we're about to show you a sight of the Twin Peaks biker massacre here in Waco, a side that you've probably see never seen before, the dramatic surveillance video of the moment gunfire erupted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The showdown was like the gun fight at the O.K. Corral. That's how a witness describes the massacre to investigators.

You don't have to hear the eruption of gunfire to feel the chaos the moment biker clubs unleash the melee. These videos take you inside the Twin Peaks Restaurant in Waco, Texas, where nine bikers were killed and the parking lot was turned into a raging war zone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god. This is crazy.

LAVANDERA: CNN has obtained more than 2,000 pages of documents, crime scene photos, many too graphic to show, and surveillance video, giving us the most detailed accounts of what unfolded last May, some of the very evidence a Texas grand jury is using to possibly indict the 177 bikers arrested and charged with organized criminal activity.

Restaurant surveillance cameras show the patio area filled with members of the Cossacks club, waiting for an early afternoon biker meeting to start. They had already been there for more than an hour. The Bandido crew rolls in as police and SWAT teams, anticipating violence, are watching from a distance.

[17:50:08] John Wilson is president of the Cossacks biker club in Waco. He was sitting on the patio when the Bandidos arrive.

JOHN WILSON, PRESIDENT, COSSACKS MOTORCYCLE CLUB: The lead guy on that -- you know, I looked out, I was watching. He deliberately steered into one of our prospects and hit him. You know, I mean, he wasn't going real fast but he deliberately ran into him with a motorcycle, enough to knock him down.

LAVANDERA: The man Wilson is talking about is Clifford Pierce. He refused our interview request and has not been charged. In a police report, an investigator wrote, "Pierce said he did not get his foot run over but may not have gotten out of the way fast enough. It didn't matter." The Cossacks believed the Bandido ran into one of their guys and the fight was on.

(on camera): Who fired first isn't clear. One witness told police a Bandido fired first into the ground. Another witness says a Cossack fired first. And, in dozens of police interviews, the rival biker clubs point the finger at each other, or claim they didn't see anything.

(voice-over): Clifford Pierce says he hit the dirt and was shot. A bullet hits his spine, leaving Pierce paralyzed from the waist down.

WILSON: At that time it was -- it was pretty horrific. There were guys getting hit and falling and I realized that I need to get away from where I was. I looked to the guy to my right -- my left, a good friend of mine, and I told him, I said, we have to get off the sidewalk or we're going to die here, you know.

LAVANDERA: Mayhem ensues. A biker running across the patio fires a gunshot, caught on camera, toward the fight scene in the parking lot. He then stashes the gun. A number of Cossacks bikers take cover. Some slide handguns across the ground to each other.

Restaurant patrons and Twin Peak waitresses are stunned and trapped. The scene plays out in gory detail. You can see a group of bikers pummeling one man outside the patio area. Crime scene photos show a biker's body left dead in that exact spot.

This biker runs toward the camera with a bloody face. Another group pulls a wounded man into the patio and they appear to try to be reviving him. He's then carried away.

Several defense attorneys tell CNN the videos show most of the bikers there that day were innocent bystanders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Y'all going to put us in jail?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, everybody's going to jail.

STEPHEN STUBBS, FORMER BANDIDO ATTORNEY: The way they handled it with the mass incarceration of people, with million dollar bonds, flies in the face of justice and flies in the face of fairness. It's ridiculous.

LAVANDERA: And when it was over, the scene was chaos. Dozens of bikers had run inside of the restaurant to hide in the bathroom and the Twin Peaks kitchen, and the police SWAT teams rounded up the crowd, and they are escorted with their hands up. Weapons litter the crime scene, knives, brass knuckles, and more than 150 firearms everywhere, some hidden in toilets.

(on camera): It has been more than five months since the Twin Peaks' brawl and all of the bikers are out of jail, out on bond. They were all charged with engaging in organized activity, but not one of them has been indicted by a grand jury yet, and no one has been charged with murder. In fact, it is not clear who killed whom.

(voice-over): One police report says that three officers fired into the crowd, and one officer wrote that he heard "suppressed fire from what I believe to be SWAT officers with suppressed rifles."

But the attorneys say that some bikers were hit by police bullets. But as far as we know, ballistics reports have not been completed to determine that conclusively.

Police and prosecutors have refused to answer questions about the investigation, citing a gag order, but Waco police have defended their actions since the beginning.

SGT. PATRICK SWANTON, WACO POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is a criminal element that came in here yesterday to kill people. They are not here not to drink beer and eat barbeque. They came with violence in mind and were ready for it.

LAVANDERA: These images of the Twin Peaks brawl tell the story of unbridled pandemonium. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All these bikers started to the shoot, and they put us in a freezer.

LAVANDERA: It was a Wild West shootout in broad daylight.

(on camera): So 177 bikers are anxiously waiting to hear their fate, waiting on this grand jury in Waco, Texas, to determine whether or not they will all be indicted -- Poppy?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Wow. What a remarkable, remarkable look inside of all of it as it broke out.

Ed, thank you.

Next, today's top stories. But first, meet another one of our "CNN Heroes" for 2015. Michelle Ripley provides much-needed food, education, and health services to the people of the Lakota tribe in South Dakota.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE RIPLEY, CNN HERO: There's no businesses to speak of, no industry at all. They're very isolated. It's 40 to 60 miles to the nearest grocery store. If you forget bread, you don't go back and get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:55:01] HARLOW: You can learn more and vote for your favorite "CNN Hero" of the year at CNNheroes.com.

Quick break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:59:33] HARLOW: A plane carrying hundreds of vacationers from Egypt to Russia today crashed in the Sinai Peninsula. 224 people on board were all killed. Authorities have now recovered both flight recorders. Officials say no sign of terrorism at the crash site.

A storm system causing tornadoes and flooding moved from Texas across Louisiana and Mississippi today. At least four people have died in the storms. Rushing water claimed three lives in Travis County and a fourth in San Antonio. Flood watches and warnings remain in place for much of Texas because of the saturated ground.