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224 On Board Killed in Russian Plane Crash; El Faro Found After Months of Searching?; GOP Candidates Meeting in Alexandria, Virginia; U.S. Allies Launching New Assault on ISIS Territory; Paul Ryan on Being the New House Speaker; Pope Francis to Meet with Iranian President; Fatal Shooting at Winston Salem State University; Pressure on the NY Mets. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired November 01, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:42] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right. Hello again, everyone. And thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

New developments in the Russian plane crash in Egypt that killed all 224 people on board. Russian aviation officials now say the airliner broke into pieces in midair.

This is new video of the crash site. A Russian aviation official said fragments of the plane are scattered around the seven-square-mile area on the Sinai Peninsula. And right now nothing has been ruled out as to the cause.

But now another international carrier in addition to air France and KLM, Emirates Airlines is rerouting flights to avoid that region. And the co-pilot's ex-wife told Russian state media that he complained about the condition of the plane the morning of the flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My daughter had a telephone chat with him just before the flight. He complained before the flight that one could wish for better technical condition of the plane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Both flight recorders have been found in the wreckage and Reuters says the Egyptian officials claimed they are analyzing them but the Russian transport minister claims that work has not yet begun.

CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is in St. Petersburg, the original destination of the flight.

And Matthew, you can see right there an incredible memorial for all those who died.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. You're right to say this was where the plane was banged over the past 48 hours or so. There's been these incredibly emotional scenes here at the arrivals gate at (INAUDIBLE) airport in St. Petersburg with this sea of flowers and children's toys as a commemoration of the children that were on board the plane. They're being laid here candles lit as well, not just by relatives and friends of those 224 people who were killed on board, but also just ordinary citizens of St. Petersburg who see this very much as a tragedy for Russia, of course, and also for their city. It's the city in Russia where most of the families were from, and it is being very deeply felt here indeed, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then Matthew, what more do we know about the history of the plane? You know, we heard one relative of the pilot who complained that the pilot had been concerned about the fitness of that plane.

CHANCE: Yes, I mean, all of these kinds of facts are supposedly going to be collected in the final conclusion of their investigation. But, yes, I mean, those are very strong words broadcast on Russian television. The ex-wife of the co-pilot saying that he expressed concerns through his daughter about the technical condition of the plane. I mean, I have to say I've spoke on the a lot of people here who have come to lay flowers, and not everybody's all together surprised that there could have been a technical issue with the aircraft. It's not the first time, far from it, that a Russian airliner has suffered such a catastrophe. In fact, there's been 20 catastrophic accidents or incidents like this over the course of the past 20 years. So one a year on average.

And Russians have unfortunately got used to the idea that, you know, poor management often and bad maintenance often and a generally cavalier attitude towards safety may be a contributing factor to this disaster.

WHITFIELD: All right. Matthew Chance, keep us posted there from St. Petersburg. Thanks so much.

So many of the passengers were returning from vacation when that plane went down. And photos from several of their social media accounts are beginning to surface online, including this heartbreaking image.

A 10-month-old, Doreena Gramova. Well, she is the youngest victim of that crash and her parents posted this photo of the baby looking out the window at the St. Petersburg airport before their trip to Egypt.

And for the first time we are hearing from some family members and friends of the victims. Here now with CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mother arrives, lays flowers, bares her heart.

I've just arrived from Siberia, she says. My daughter was on the plane. She almost collapses before being helped away. In her grief, she is not alone.

Sunday declared a day of national mourning. Flower upon flower piling up outside the terminal where MetroJet flight 9628 was due to land.

Yevgeny lays flowers, crosses himself. His friend was aboard. He tells us his friend had been waiting five years to make the trip. He'd gone with his wife and his 6-month-old child. Yevgeny is shocked and devastated.

The first of the bodies are expected back here Sunday. According to the regional governor it's not clear yet when investigators will be able to hand them back to families for burial, but when they do he says he will announce more days of official mourning.

At a hotel near the airport, families wait for news. Government officials on hand for information and help.

[15:06:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The investigators are currently conducting genetic tests and questioning the relatives of the victim. Tests aside, every individual is being offered medical and psychological support.

ROBERTSON: In St. Petersburg cathedral, a service to remember the victims. The outpouring of sympathy and support, a measure of how deeply the pain is being felt here.

And back outside the airport, the steady stream of support becomes a flood. The tributes grow. Among the flowers and toys, heartfelt messages and photos of victims.

Nic Robertson, CNN, St. Petersburg, Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And a step towards solving a mystery for some other grieving family members, a cargo ship that went down in a hurricane exactly one month ago may have been found near the Bahamas. A deep sea drone is expected to go into the water today to confirm whether the wreckage is El Faro.

The U.S. Navy says the object is resting upright and in one piece on the ocean floor. Thirty-three people were on board the El Faro bound for Puerto Rico when it disappeared in hurricane Joaquin. Only one body has since been recovered.

Our Sara Ganim is covering the story for us.

So Sara, is the U.S. Navy confident that this just might be that cargo ship?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're hopeful, Fredricka. They believe they spotted it using sonar technology. The images came through on Saturday of a ship that is about the size of El Faro in a position where it was last seen just off the east coast of the Bahamas, upright like you said and intact. It's all leading investigators to decide to deploy this underwater drone. It's essentially a submarine with remote-control cameras on it. They're sending it as early as today down to that location to try to positively identify with 100 percent certainty that this is, in fact, the El Faro, which disappeared about - exactly one month ago.

Now, this is news for family members who have been waiting for some sort of answer. In addition to grieving in the last month over the loss of their loved ones, they have also been dealing with the fact that there simply were not that many answers to their questions. One of those relatives of the 33 crew members spoke earlier this weekend saying that he's really honestly was hoping maybe they would be able to retrieve the ship from the bottom of the ocean. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY YOUNG, RELATIVE OF EL FARO CREWMEMBER: If they can pull it up with -- I know it's not an easy situation with the depth they're at, we hope something, if nothing else, something can bring us some closure. To have Sean brought back home by whatever state it is, we would like to see him brought back home.

The one thing that every parent, every loved one, every family member stated that Wednesday when they said they were suspending the search, they all wanted to find their loved ones whether they were alive or not. They wanted to have them home. That was their main objective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANIM: Now, to be clear, Fredricka, the NTSB said today they have no plans of retrieving that ship from the bottom of the ocean if that, in fact, is it. They did say, however, that if they find human remains they will make every effort to bring those bodies home.

Now, just to be clear on how all of this works going forward, it could take up to 15 days in good weather for this positive identification to happen, and of course that number of days could become longer if it's not ideal weather - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Painstaking. All right. Thank you so much, Sara Ganim.

And we will be right back.

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[15:12:59] WHITFIELD: In just a few hours, and by just from GOP presidential candidates are meeting in Alexandria, Virginia, to talk about getting more control over the debates. This after candidates have been publicly complaining that the questions in last Wednesday were unfair and biased.

Chris Frates is live for us now in Washington.

So Chris, why is the Republican National Committee not attending this meeting?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I tell you Fred. The truth is they weren't invited. I mean, there are still a number of Republican presidential campaigns upset about how CNBC handled Wednesday's debate. And a lot of that blame still coming down on the RNC itself. And the committee tried to channel some of that frustration on Friday. They announced they were suspending the February debate they had planned with NBC News. But that hasn't stopped some of the campaigns from getting together to talk about how they want to take back some control over the debates from the RNC.

But some context is important here, Fred. In the past the campaigns themselves have negotiated with the TV networks. But this year, the RNC did the negotiating on behalf of the campaigns. That was because last cycle, a lot of Republicans felt like there were too many debates. They felt like their eventual nominee, we remember was Mitt Romney, he came out of the primaries battered by that process and all of the debates. There were some 20 debates last time. So this time the RNC cut the number of debates in half. They announced the debate schedule ahead of time. But now a lot of the campaigns are saying we lost leverage over the debate format because they've already been announced. But what couldn't be predicted this cycle, Fred, was just how many candidates there would be running. So that's kind of the push/pull you have right now.

WHITFIELD: So besides the meeting this evening, how else are these candidates kind of taking advantage of the moment that complaint that they didn't like last week's debate?

FRATES: Well, the meeting is kind of really the big main event here because you have Republican campaign officials, they are all getting together in a suburban, Washington, D.C., hotel tonight to discuss how maybe they can influence debates more effectively.

The campaigns called on Ben Ginsburg. He's be a big Republican lawyer who helped negotiate past debates. I talked to Ginsburg this morning. He said, you know, he is attending as a facilitator. He can provide background to the campaigns on how it was done in the past, how campaigns negotiated in the past. And here's what he said this morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:15:25] BEN GINSBURG, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: In past cycles it was the campaigns themselves who talked to the sponsors. It's an institutional matter if you issue a schedule beforehand and promise debates to news media organizations, you've lost some leverage. So that loss of leverage is something that I -- the campaigns want to talk about and we'll talk about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So of course the candidates want more leverage with the networks on how the debates are done, and of course if the campaigns get more leverage, that makes a guy like Ginsburg more powerful as well, Fred. But the problem here, of course, is that the campaigns have very different agendas for what they want. The second-tier candidates, they want to get on the prime time debate stage with the front-runners and not have this earlier less watched undercard debate. Front-runners, of course, like Ben Carson, they want less tough questions and more time for talking points which it will be a tough sell to the television networks because what Carson's basically looking for here is more of a forum than a debate. And that's not really going to fly. Of course the candidates -- they want a debate, exactly.

WHITFIELD: Challenged and --

FRATES: You've got to be challenged and have the tough questions. The candidates, of course, are also using all this talk of media bias to fund raise off of it and say, hey, look, the media is so unfair, gives us a few dollars so we can continue to get our message out there. So, a lot of politics going on here, Fred. And we'll watch this meeting and get back to you when we find out what happened.

WHITFIELD: So it sounds like perhaps it's created a new opportunity to get a little more attention individually and maybe even collectively. And as you say some are using that to help raise money. So in the end, is it really less about the whole debate, debate format, and more about just kind of milking what took place last week and the complaint as a chorus now?

FRATES: Certainly. And I think a lot of those candidates are using this opportunity to try to flex some muscles to influence this debate format and how it will look going forward. Can they pressure the RNC into meeting some of their demands? And so this is all really in flux. And I think some of the undercard candidates are seizing this as a moment to try to influence the RNC. The RNC of course wants to hold control over this and they want to have more say when they go in and negotiate with the TV networks. They don't want a fractured field. So I think this is the beginning. We will see how it plays out. But certainly a lot of people are trying to take advantage for themselves out of what has become the widely panned CNBC debate, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, the race for the White House always so unpredictable.

Chris Frates, thank you so much.

FRATES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, U.S. allies in Syria launching a new assault on ISIS territory. We will talk to our military analyst about the strategy of targeting supply lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:21:48] WHITFIELD: The U.S.-backed alliance from Syria says it is launching a new offensive aimed at ISIS. The Syrian Democratic forces say they are already liberating parts of Hasakah Province occupied by ISIS. Coalition airstrikes and offenses in both Syria and Iraq are also aimed at interrupting ISIS supply lines.

Joining me is lieutenant colonel Rick Francona. He is a CNN military analyst and a former U.S. military attache in the Middle East including Syria. Good to see you. So interrupting supply lines. This is the classic military strategy.

What value do you see it having in this fight against is?

RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, it's a beginning. We should have been doing this all along. And I think the air power is now going to be starting to focus on that. Now that we've got allies on the ground, this has been the strategy all along, Fred. We've been trying to get somebody to be our boots on the ground, and it looks like the Syrian Democratic front is going to be just that. It's an alliance of the Kurds and some Sunni Arabs, some Syrians. And this is going to be very useful to us. These are the people the Special Forces will work with, provide communication, intelligence, training, and better air support. So I think we're on the vernal of seeing the Syrian portion of this start to turn around.

WHITFIELD: And so, part of this new offensive is that attempt, you know, by Kurdish and Yusidi (ph) forces to kind of retake the town of Sinjar. Why is that so important?

FRANCONA: Well, if you look at the map, you know, this area from Mosul over to Raqqa are pretty much on the same line. That area there is how the ISIS has been moving back and forth. And that's how they came into Iraq in the beginning when they were able to take Mosul. So if we're able to interrupt that supply line, retake Sinjar, and then move further to the west, you know, I think we've got a chance of stopping ISIS from gaining any more territory.

WHITFIELD: OK. So the U.S.-led coalition has also been increasing the airstrikes in the last couple of days. So how effective are these air strikes in providing support for the ground forces? And we know, because we talked yesterday about how the air strikes and the new round of ground forces, U.S. forces will assist, but right now what's the current situation?

FRANCONA: Yes, well, it's hard to say. We don't really have any metrics to determine if it's been more effective. Remember, these Special Forces troops are not in there yet. So it's been very difficult to, you know, make the air strikes more effective. Right now the Kurds are using what we call offset targeting. It's not that effective. Once we get the Americans in there, we can put American eyes on these targets. I think it will be more effective.

WHITFIELD: All right. Colonel Rick Francona, thank you so much.

All right. Straight ahead, a newly elected house speaker Paul Ryan says Planned Parenthood should not get quote "one red cent." But hear why he says he's doubtful that conservatives can defund it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:50] WHITFIELD: Hello. And thanks again for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

So in the spirit of Halloween, newly elected house speaker Paul Ryan dressed up as his 2012 running mate, Mitt Romney. Trick or treating with his family. Of course, Ryan has emphasized the importance of his family life. You see the picture right there. It was one of the prerequisites when he ran for speaker. Speaker Ryan sat down with CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I want to start with talking about big ideas. You speak about the fact that that's what you want to achieve, big ideas, what you're kind of known for, reform Medicare and Medicaid, the tax code.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: Right.

BASH: Immigration reform you've talked about in the past. But this is not a place where you can get big ideas done. How do you change that?

RYAN: I completely disagree with that.

BASH: When was the last big idea --

RYAN: This is the people's house. This is where people come to serve their country and if you don't like the direction the country is headed you have an obligation to the people of this country that sent you here to change things.

BASH: That's true historically, but how in recent years it hasn't happened.

RYAN: Exactly right. That's why I said this speakership has to be different. I cannot pick up where John left off. That is why in discussing this with my house Republican colleagues we all concluded jointly this has to be done differently. So that's why we're wiping the slate clean. It's a new day. And we're going to go offense on ideas. It will be a proposition party, alternative party. That's where big ideas come from.

We've been too timid for too long around here, and that is because we have not given people a sense of what we can do differently, how we can fix these problems, where we would go if we're given the chance. That is what we have to do.

BASH: How are you going to control the 40 or so members of that so- called freedom caucus in a way that John Boehner couldn't?

RYAN: Well, I think members were frustrated they did not have really the opportunity to experts express their own views on the floor. I think the legislative process has been too tightly controlled and has to be reopened up. I want members of Congress (INAUDIBLE) their constituents having the ability in the process to actually advance ideas. So I think that frustration is frustration that I shared actually as a house Republican before becoming speaker. And I think that's what our members want to see us do more of, and that's why I think I'm in this position.

[15:30:01] BASH: There are people who want to defund Planned Parenthood. You have a budget deal in place next year, a predecessor, John Boehner, but you still have to fund the government by December 11th or it will shut down. Will you defund Medicare?

RYAN: This is what I mean when I say being an effective opposition party. I think being an effective opposition party means being honest with people up front about what it is you can and cannot achieve.

BASH: So, are you going to tell everybody, sorry guys, we can't defund --

RYAN: I think we need to be very clear about what it is we can and cannot achieve and not set expectations that we know we can't reach given the constraints of the constitution. But we also have to push issues where we can push issues. We also have to speak truth to power. We have a president that isn't willing to listen, that isn't going to sign lots of our bills into law. We have a Senate that has a very difficult process when it comes to actually getting bills voted on. And so, knowing we have those constraints we have to operate within those constraints.

BASH: What will you say to your caucus about putting a writer in there, defunding Planned Parenthood? Will it happen?

RYAN: I don't think Planned Parenthood should get a red cent from the taxpayer. I've always believed that. I voted that way before these disgusting videos came out. But I believe we need to do our oversight. We have -- we're just beginning to start at a committee to investigate Planned Parenthood. That's important. So the special committee on Planned Parenthood I think should be in the driver's seat of overseeing this process.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Let's talk more about this with Rachel Campos-Duffy. She is spokeswoman for the LIBRE initiative and not to mention her husband is Wisconsin Republican congressman Sean Duffy and she's also a friend of speaker Ryan's family. Good to see you. Also with us democratic strategist and CNN political commentator Maria Cardona. Good to see you as well.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Rachel, let me begin with you because you have the advantage of maybe getting inside the head of speaker Ryan now. So he says, you know, you've got to be an effective opposition party. You have to be clear on what you can and cannot achieve. So what do you decipher, what do you believe his plan is on what he can achieve that perhaps his predecessor could not?

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, NATIONAL SPOKESWOMAN, LIBRE INITIATIVE: I think there's two things. One I think he's right on. He wants to decentralize power at the speaker's -- from the speaker. So, I think before everything as he said but very centrally controlled, he has a very conservative idea of decentralizing and giving more power to individual congressmen as well as committees to make the bills, to craft the bills, and to have a lot more say on legislation.

The other thing I think that speaker Ryan has already changed is the communication style. Part of why the public was so upset with Congress was not just that they didn't like the way the house was run, but also they didn't understand what was going on. And I think you can see right now that speaker Ryan is somebody who is a great communicator, has a very clear plan, and I think he's putting ideas out there and making sure that everyone's on board and has a say. That's very different. I think that change of communication style is going to make a big difference.

WHITFIELD: So Maria, do you buy that? Do you feel like he is a better communicator and that he was very clear on what he is laying out especially in that interview with Dana Bash?

CARDONA: I actually don't think he was very clear at all. He didn't give her a yes-or-no answer on the very direct question that she asked him about, whether he would put in jeopardy shutting down the government in order to defund Planned Parenthood, which we know is what his very extremely conservative raucous caucus wants him to do.

But, yes, I do think that he is a much better communicator. I think he is a policy wonk. But I also think he understands and frankly wants to get stuff done and he understands that part of what that means is not listening to his extreme right-wing caucus in terms of doing things that are not going to work for the American people. And Planned Parenthood is a great example of that. Planned Parenthood is an absolute loser for Republicans. It is a wildly unpopular idea --

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Wrong.

CARDONA: -- to defund an organization that gives millions of women health care and access to cancer screenings, sexually transmitted disease screenings, birth control, wellness. And the American people understand that.

WHITFIELD: And so, Rachel, what is it that you grimace about with that?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Well, first of all, I mean, he was very clear when he said he doesn't -- even before these horrific videos that somehow Maria seems OK defending, you know, the sale of body parts --

CARDONA: You mean the edited videos that are not actually videos from Planned Parenthood?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: They are not edited and you can go online and see them.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Absolutely edited, Rachel.

WHITFIELD: But the point speaker Ryan was making is he wouldn't give them one red cent.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Let me just make my point. My point is that the house Republicans, all of them, and Paul Ryan was very clear, even before these gruesome videos, he was against the taxpayer paying for other people's abortions. So we know those funds are fungible and this is a fiscal issue as well as a moral issue. So, no, he is not kowtowing to some fringe element. As he said, he's

going to let the process out. There is a special committee to investigate the crimes that have been committed by Planned Parenthood.

[15:35:09] WHITFIELD: I don't think we are going to be able to resolve that right now. But I think the issue was he was expressing his opinion about it not being deserving of any money, but he didn't believe that conservatives would vote to defund it entirely. So let's see how that plays out.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Let's shift gears on that because we are not going to resolve this matter right now. Let's move on now to the Democratic presidential race if we could.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: The premise of the question is whether Republicans want --

CARDONA: I guess we can't, Fred.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: -- want to defund the government over this. That is not the correct way to say it. They will send a budget. The budget will not include funding for Planned Parenthood, and it will be up to the president to decide if he wants to -- whether he wants to take away -- to expire the budget based on funding for Planned Parenthood.

WHITFIELD: OK. That wasn't forecast in that Dana Bash interview.

CARDONA: Good luck with that, Rachel.

WHITFIELD: So now, let's move on to the Democratic presidential race. Big news today, at least for the Sanders campaign releasing its first television ad. So let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Funded by over a million contributions, tackling climate change to create clean energy jobs, fighting for living wages, equal pay, and tuition-free public colleges.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are sick and tired of establishment politics and they want real change!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bernie Sanders, husband, father, grandfather, and honest leader building a ball movement you to give us a future to believe in.

SANDERS: I'm Bernie Sanders and I approve this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So this will air in New Hampshire and Iowa over the next ten days. The campaign spent about $2 million on it.

So Maria, we did see a campaign rollout ad from Hillary Clinton at the very beginning. You know, kind of similar themes there. It's kind of an introduction, reintroduction of who you are, what you stand for, family person. Now, why do you suppose this might make a difference or what is the hope that the Sanders campaign has as to why it might make a difference, might allow him to kind of, you know, come out in front since he is neck and neck in some places with Hillary Clinton?

CARDONA: Well, I think certainly they have seen the polling where Hillary Clinton is ahead of him in both Iowa and New Hampshire. And because her momentum is rising she's had a very good month. She did great at the democratic debate. And frankly, he was part of helping her do very well at the debate. And she did great during the 11 hours of the sham Benghazi committee hearings that --

WHITFIELD: OK, but to the ads --

CARDONA: I think the ad is a terrific ad and will help him continue to introduce himself to Iowa and New Hampshire voters. And I think that he's done for the party is fantastic. And he has made this a real race, which is great for the Democrats. And I think frankly at the end of the day will be great for Hillary Clinton.

WHITFIELD: OK. And Rachel, your expressions say it all, but let's talk about the Trump campaign because I think your facial expression was a good response. I want to get in this one last segment because otherwise we're going to be out of time. So just for the sake of equal time for the candidates. Trump campaign announcing that it will hire a strategist to focus on the Deep South primaries that happen March 1st. What do you read into that, Rachel?

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Just let me say Bernie Sanders is not a real candidate. When he let her off the hook about the emails and had to challenge her honesty, a big question for the American people. We know that he is not a serious candidate willing to challenge her. This is a coronation on the democratic side.

Look. Donald Trump is doing what he has to do. He knows that he is behind in Iowa and so he is moving to the southern states and he is trying to woo people over there. Again, I said this last week to you, Fredricka. I think on the conservative side, whether you like or love the candidate you have to admit that at least on the conservative side there is a real free market, raucous competition going on and the best man will win or woman. And I will say that it's making them better candidates. The coronation on the Democrat side I think makes Hillary a weaker candidate going into the general election.

WHITFIELD: All right.

CARDONA: Everyone loves a circus, and that's what Republicans are giving us. Love it.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: We'll see.

WHITFIELD: All right, ladies. We'll leave it there.

CARDONA: Thank you, Fred. Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All Rachel Campos-Duffy, Maria Cardona, thanks so much ladies. Appreciate it.

OK. Hey, remember, speaking of presidential races, remember those hanging chads? On Monday night CNN takes you back just in case you didn't remember, you need a little refresher, it has been 15 years since the 2000 presidential election. CNN's Gloria Borger takes an inside look at Bush versus Gore, the endless election. Tomorrow night 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:43:27] WHITFIELD: In two weeks, Pope Francis will meet with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani at the Vatican. The Pope has praised the Iranian nuclear deal saying he hopes it will create quote "a more secure and fraternal world."

Joining me is CNN religion commentator Father Edward Beck.

So Father, good to see you. Is the pontiff expanding his role now? He seems to be surpassing religion and really embracing international diplomacy in a very big way.

FR. EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION COMMENTATOR: Well Fred, I think it has always been so with Popes. In fact, in 1999, Pope John Paul II met with the president of Iran then at the Vatican and another Pope, a previous Pope, Pope Paul VI on his way to the far east actually stopped in Iran and met with the leaders there, albeit a brief stopover.

But, you know, Popes have always been involved with heads of state, with leaders, especially where human rights and peace issues are involved. This Pope is continuing in that vein.

WHITFIELD: We just saw with this Pope as it relates to the U.S. and Cuba and really brokering, you know, a kind of breaking of the ice between those relations. So would you say this has become a pretty prevalent level of importance for this Pope?

BECK: Well, Fred, I think he seems to do it well. People seem to trust him. They see him as not having a particularly partisan political agenda. If you believe he is about human rights and peace, this is someone you want to broker deals for you. You want someone like that in the mix. And so, yes, this Pope has been invited into it.

Now, the controversy about Iran again on the heels of this nuclear deal, there still is religious repression in Iran. I mean, you cannot legally convert to Christianity in Iran. So people are hoping that when the Pope does meet with the president of Iran he calls him on the carpet for some of that. There has stance toward Israel is certainly not accepted by the world right now, so he is going to talk to them about their stance toward Israel. So he has an opportunity in meeting with this president to talk about these issues. Isn't that better, that engagement, then total isolating Iran and not having the conversation? [15:45:38] WHITFIELD: So I wonder, what's the expectation or even the

hope from that meeting? Because it can't be just kind of a shaking of the finger or a "shame on you," could it?

BECK: Well, it can be. I think critics of it are saying that it's a photo-op for the president of Iran. Maybe he really has no intention of doing anything. And yet those who are saying that it's good that the Pope is doing sit saying that the Pope needs to be willing to sit down with everyone talking about these particular issues rather than isolating people. If he says that everybody's welcome to the table, that he has to live by that. And so you may not agree with the president's agenda, but here's an opportunity to say I don't agree with you and here is why.

WHITFIELD: So is it your understanding that Rouhani initiated it or was this the Pope extending the olive branch, saying, come hither and let's talk?

BECK: My understanding is that the president of Iran initiated it because he will be in Italy to meet with the prime minister and other political leaders there. And so while he's there he'd also like to meet with Pope Francis and Pope Francis, as is his wont, said of course. Now, what Pope Francis will say to him remains to be seen and we won't hear all of that publicly I'm sure.

WHITFIELD: Of course. But you might have the inside scoop, and when you do get that, please share.

BECK: Secret call, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. Father Edward Beck, good to see you. Thanks so much.

BECK: You too.

WHITFIELD: All right. Baseball could crown a new champion tonight. CNN's Rachel Nichols is live outside the stadium in New York. Excitement there building, right?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Absolutely. The buzz is going. New Yorkers trying to see their team push this through. But the Royals will be depending on a very emotional pitcher tonight. I will tell you all about it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:32] WHITFIELD: New developments in a fatal shooting at Winston State University in South Carolina. One student is dead and another who was injured has been released from the hospital. Police are still searching for the gunman who they say is not believed to be a current student. And police are trying to figure out why a gunman marched down a street in Colorado Springs and killed three people. The chaos ended in a gun battle with police.

Here's CNN's Sara Ganim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GANIM (voice-over): It began with shots fired just east of downtown Colorado Springs. That's where police find a bicyclist dead on the side of the street. The gunman takes off a half a mile across town and shoots and kills two women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me and my son were at 7-Eleven. He is in the ATM. And we - so we walked outside and as soon as I walked outside I heard six gunshots. We get across the street, see the cop cars swarm in. And I saw the guy with the gun. He was just walking with a gun in his hand.

GANIM: When police catch up with the suspect, witnesses say the gunman opens fire on the officer. One man says the bullets flew over his head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I didn't duck, I would be dead right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They yelled put the gun down and he turned around and that's when they shot him a good 20 times or shot at him at least a good 20 times. There's a lot of gunfire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That was Sara Ganim reporting.

Witnesses say the gunman is also suspected of starting a house fire before encountered police.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:56:48] WHITFIELD: All right. The 2015 New York City marathon is now in the history books and Kenyans dominate taking first place finishes in both the men and women races. You just saw Mary Katano, who is now celebrating her second victory in a row. She also won last year's. And fellow Kenyan Stanley (INAUDIBLE) won the men's division.

All right. The New York Mets. The pressure is on because tonight, if the Kansas City royals win, they win the whole World Series. Last night, the Mets lost game four. Game five is just hours under way now.

CNN's sports anchor Rachel Nichols is with us now from the Mets' stadium in Queens.

So Rachel, the royals are sending their ace back to the mound tonight but after a very emotional and very tough week.

NICHOLS: Yes. Absolutely, Fred. I mean, look, if they were just asking them to, hey, go out and win the World Series for us, that would be pressure enough. But there is a lot more on Eddie (INAUDIBLE)'s shoulders.

You might remember, before game one, just on Tuesday, his father died just a few hours before the game and his wife decided, hey, no need to tell him now. So she kept it from him. She asked the royals organization to keep it from him. He went out on the mound not knowing. But of course, the news was already leaking out from the Dominican Republic where his father had passed. So, you have this little bizarre situation where many of the millions of people watching the game knew that his father had just died but he didn't know.

Now, when he came of the mount, his wife told him. She met him in the clubhouse. She told him right away. He actually later expressed he was grateful that she decided to do it that way. But they then immediately went back to the Dominican Republic. He just got back into the country last night, Fred. Turn around is going to pitch a World Series game tonight and try to win it all for Kansas City. He said that he is probably going to write his dad's name on the inside of his cap or maybe inside of his gloves. He said no matter what, he said win or lose, he said, I know my dad is going to be there watching me and proud of me. So, tonight he is pairing that thought with him on the mount.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my God. People are going to be wondering how in the world does he do that? But you know, that's the heart of a champion, right?

NICHOLS: Absolutely. And you know, the punch line to all of this is that he came in last night in the airport and tried to make it in time for last night's game and he got held up. He was going to try to talk to the team beforehand but he got held up in New York City traffic. You know how that is.

WHITFIELD: That's pretty difficult. Difficult New York experience.

All right, Rachel Nichols, thank you so much.

Next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.

All right. Hello, again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, new development in that Russian plane that crashed in Egypt that killed all 224 people onboard. Russian aviation officials now say the airliner broke into pieces in midair. This is new video of the crash site. A Russian aviation official says fragments of the plane are scattered around seven square miles on the Sanai Peninsula. And right now, nothing has been ruled out as to the cause.

But now another international airliner in addition to Air France and Lufthansa, Emirates Airlines is now rerouting flights to avoid that region. And the co-pilot's ex-wife told Russian state media that he complained about the condition of the plane the morning of the flight.