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Ben Carson Blasts Reporters for Motives and Message; New Information on Crashed Russian Jet Shocking Revelations Surrounding Illinois Police Officer Once Hailed A Hero; Sexting Scandal Costs Colorado High School Football Team Chance at Playoff Spot; 271,000 Jobs Added in October; U.S. Holds Employment Fairs for Veterans. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired November 07, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:12] POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: 3:00 Eastern, noon Pacific. Hi, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow joining you this Saturday from New York.

Quote "pathetic, a bunch of lies and just garbage." That is how Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is describing media reports about his past. Just a short time ago, he took another swipe at journalists tweeting out quote "we, the people have made 10,000 donations each day this week raising $3.5 million this week alone. Thank you biased media."

That message follows a news conference last night where Carson delivered an aggressive rebuttal to reporters focusing on their motives and message. He called out the media for questions about whether he embellished or even made up crucial moments in his own life story, including the attempted stabbing of a friend that he recounts in his book "Gifted Hands," in his memory of being offered a scholarship to West Point.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is a desperation on behalf of some to try to find a way to tarnish me because they have been looking through everything. They have been talking to everybody I have ever known and ever see. There's got to be a scandal. There is got to be some nurse he's having an affair with? There has got to be something. They are getting desperate. So next week, it will be my kindergarten teacher who said I peed in my pants. I mean, it is just ridiculous. But it's OK because I totally expect it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: To those who say you may have exaggerated and you're using that to build your resume as far as -- what would you say to those people?

CARSON: I would say where is the exaggeration?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Dr. Carson, one your opponent have already said this is the beginning of the end. How do you think this will affect in the poll if will pull it off?

CARSON: Well, you said the key word there, opponent. What do you expect them to say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Your campaign manager, intimated that we would get more details, potentially, as early as this weekend about your childhood friends that you were involved in violence with, potentially revealing, Bob or Jerry. Can you expand on this? Are we going to get our identities?

CARSON: Well, if you want to find their identities, let me tell you where you probably should go. You should go to the incident where it happened, to the place where it happened, Wilson junior high school in Detroit is where the a lot of incident occurred. And maybe they still have the records. It was in, you know, 51, 52 years ago, but maybe they still have it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: And the other incidents, too?

CARSON: Which other incidents?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: With your mother, all of these - another Bobby and Jerry which one is the luck (ph). You know, we hadn't really aligned both with each.

CARSON: Well, the incident with my mother, she and my brother were the only people who were there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: You mentioned that you seem to have a recollection when questions were asked. Everybody that have been spoken to says I don't remember these incidents.

CARSON: Well, why would they remember them? I mean, I think that is, you know, as a scientist who does investigations, that is the most lame investigation I have ever seen. Where you get people and you find people that random people in the neighborhood who know me, well, you obviously must know about that specific incident. Only people who would know about that would be the people who were involved.

Here's my prediction. My prediction is that all of you guys trying to pile on is actually going to help me because when I go out to these book signings, I see these thousands of people. They say don't let the media get you down. Don't let them disturb you. Please continue to fight for us. See, they understand that this is a witch hunt.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Joining me now, CNN national correspondent Sunlen Serfaty. She is in San Juan, Puerto Rico. That is where the Carson campaign is today.

You know, it's striking because, Sunlen, the reason that these stories about West Point and his childhood are gaining so much attention is because he himself wrote about them in detail in his autobiography, "Gifted Hands" and in interviews. And this is all part of his appeal to voters, right? This is why he is near the top of the polls that his story of divine intervention coming in, changing his life, changing him as a man. He put this out there. SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Poppy,

absolutely. This narrative that he has told time and again about his life, his overcoming struggles, his battle to overcome those struggles is really center piece to his campaign. And as you point out, this is in large part what attracts a lot of people to him. And that's why he continues to tell the stories about his life as most candidates do out on the campaign trail. And certainly key to those struggles, as he recounts the stories of violence when he was a child and then notes when he was changed in his words by God and how his life was really put on a different trajectory afterwards. And that's why these questions over those stories and finding corroboration to those stories is so important.

And I also think, Poppy, while we have seen him recently start to lash out against the scrutiny he is under about the stories and his personal history because it's so central to his campaign, and he, of course, does not want to see any part of that, really being unwound - Poppy.

[15:05:25] HARLOW: You know, it's interesting, you heard in that extensive interview he did with Alysin Camerota on CNN's "NEW DAY" yesterday. He blamed the media for not vetting President Obama the same way that the media's vetting him. It's just not the case. I mean, you will remember, Sunlen, when President Obama was running and when he was then in office, there were a lot of questions about his book, "Dream of my Fathers." And a character in that book, his girlfriend from New York City who was actually turned out not to be a natural figure but a composite. And the president said in an interview back in 2012 that, actually, that woman described in the book did not exist. She was a composite and that's how he felt editorially he should deal with it.

It's interesting to hear Carson calling out the media for not vetting the president and his book the same way the media is doing so now with Carson.

SERFATY: That's right. I think Carson does see this as an easy target. I think that's something he thinks will galvanize voters going after President Obama and the scrutiny that he believes that Obama did not receive when he ran in 2008. It's very clear, he does not believe that he is undergoing the same level. He says he has held to a higher scrutiny levels he says. And he went after the coverage of Obama as you noted and specifically brought up the relationships that Obama has had with some questionable people. He specifically went out of his way last night to mention Jeremiah Wright. He said these relationships have not been necessarily really run down. I want to play for you a little bit more of what he said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARSON: Wait a minute. Hold on one minute. One second here. Now, you're saying that something that happened with the words, a scholarship was offered was a big deal. But the president of the United States (INAUDIBLE) -- tell me -- wait a minute, tell me how -- tell me how there's equivalency there. Doesn't matter where it is. If you tell me how. That's a silly argument. Tell me how there's equivalence there. Tell me how there is equivalence there. Tell me, somebody, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: You can certainly sense the frustration in his tone there. Definitely trying to redirect the focus now on the media and coverage he is receiving over these questions. We are here in Puerto Rico this weekend where Carson will hold an event here tomorrow in San Juan. Definitely, Poppy, his hope is that he can re-change his narrative, try to re-take control of it -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Right. Although he said this narrative has been good for him and caused him to raise $3.5 million this week alone. So, we will be watching.

Sunlen, thank you very much.

Let's talk more about this with our political commentators, Republican strategist Tara Setmayer and also Marc Lamont Hill, of course, professor at Morehouse College.

Tara, let me begin with you. Again, as I said to Sunlen, he brought this in as a central part of his campaign that God changed his life and changed his behavior. Now, he believes that the media should not be delving into it the way it is. Is that fair?

TARA SETMAYER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Listen, Ben Carson has made a lot of mistakes along the way, and I think a lot of what's happening right now is self-inflicted. The point you brought up, the fact he has inserted these narratives into this public discussion. He brought them up. It wasn't like the press was digging around and said, here's this, here's this, what do you say about that that?

No, he has repeated these stories over and over again. And unfortunately for Dr. Carson, there have been a number of inconsistencies. This is not an isolated incident. So this -- this goes back to what happens when you have an inexperienced political candidate. And it's clear his campaign, the people he is surrounded with are giving him terrible advice. The way they've handled this has exasperated the situation. And we just saw by what happened yesterday. And they waited way too long for the response. That press conference, Ben Carson should've had surrogates going out of their way to make those impassioned themes.

I mean, he was forced to have to answer these things now. It has been a debacle the way it has been handled. He has not been consistent. He hasn't been precise. And he's paying the price for it. Of course, blaming the media is an easy way to misdirect because the media is easy fodder for, particularly, GOP primary.

HARLOW: The polling shows also that resonates really well with voters.

SETMAYER: Sure, it was. But that doesn't excuse away the inconsistencies and the problems that Ben Carson has created for himself. HARLOW: So Marc, to you, looking to the issue of honesty here and

trustworthiness. There is this new Quinnipiac poll taken before all these questions arose at the end of this week. And what it shows is that Carson was considered the most honest and trustworthy. Not just among GOP candidates, but among all candidates. Among Democrats, as well. What does this do to that?

[15:10:12] MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it's going to take a hit. It's inevitable when a scandal or a faux scandal, how it we want to frame this, comes up there's going to be some sort of dip in approval ratings and trustworthiness ratings. I think in some sense, though, Ben Carson -- I hate to defend Ben Carson here, because I actually think he is thoroughly unqualified to be president.

But I think when he wrote that book 20 years ago or 30 years ago, he was telling the kind of tall tales in the ghost written book that many people do. He wasn't thinking about it as a -- as a presidential text. It wasn't like "Dreams of my Father." It wasn't like the audacity of hope. It wasn't the type of book Hillary Clinton released last year. And I think he didn't anticipate that it would go through the kind of presidential vetting process, the textbook.

HARLOW: But he talked about these stories, Marc. He talked about being held at gunpoint at Popeye's. And then his campaign wouldn't give any details on that.

HILL: Yes, I'm speaking specifically to the West Point story. I think that the Popeye's story is absurd to me. I had deep suspicions about the knife stuff. I don't believe Ben Carson in general. I was speaking specifically about the West Point story. I think "Politico," they have overstated the amount of scandal attached to this particular thing. And my frustration is there are so many other reasons to not trust Ben Carson. There is so many other reasons to say Ben Carson is not worthy of being president among others. I'm not singling out Ben Carson here. But yes, no. I think this particular story might be a little bit too much. But Ben Carson is wisely using it to his advantage.

HARLOW: Where do we go from here, Tara? He's neck and neck with Donald Trump in some of these national polls.

SETMAYER: Listen. I think that as the process now that he's getting the scrutiny that a presidential front-runner should get and will get, I think that people will have to start to reevaluate Ben Carson. Unfortunately because "Politico," like Marc said, they were inflammatory, they misrepresented that West Point story. It has given Ben Carson cover to point and blame the media for this as opposed to the credibility behind some of the legitimacy of the questions being asked.

I mean, the "Wall Street Journal" did a piece posted last night running today, as well, where they laid out other instances in his books that were unverifiable from his time at Yale where he claimed that he -- that he took a class and there was an exam they had to take over and he was the only one that took it over and a picture. There's no picture. They have listed a couple of other incidents we haven't been able to verify. So this is a problem for Ben Carson. But not necessarily for the people who support him. His support is pretty solid.

HARLOW: Yes. We'll be watching. Tara and Marc, thank you very much. As always, I appreciate it.

Still to come here, we have new details on those final moments on the Russian plane crash in Egypt taking 224 lives. We now know there was a mysterious new noise that was captured by one of those black boxes. Details on that ahead.

Also, absolute tragedy in Louisiana, 6-year-old boy shot and killed during a police chase. New questions about the officers involved.

And domestic abuse and the NFL. A new spotlight focusing on that man on your screen. Defensive end for the cowboys Greg Hardy, unbelievable new photos of the abuse his girlfriend endures. The Cowboys' owner keeping him on the team saying why he deserves a second chance. That story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:46] HARLOW: A sudden noise erupted right before that Russian jet broke apart last week in the sky killing all 224 people onboard. That is new information today. This noise captured on one of the black boxes. So far, investigators in Egypt have found no sign of a mechanical failure. U.S. and British officials say there may have been a bomb onboard. President Obama saying this week there is quote "a possibility that a bomb did down that jet." But Egypt's lead investigator says all scenarios are still on the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYMAN AL-MUQADDAM, HEAD, THE EGYPTIAN COMMISSION OF INQUIRY: That noise was heard in the last seconds of the recording. A spectral analysis will be carried out to identify the nature of this noise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Meanwhile, Russia has suspended all passenger flights in and out of Egypt. At the same time, you have got tens of thousands of British and Russian tourists stranded in Egypt. In Russian, grieving families mourning for their loved ones. Dozens of funerals being held for victims of this crash.

Let's talk it over with former CIA operative and CNN contributor, Bob Baer.

Bob, what do you make of the fact that the head of the Egyptian commission of inquiry said, yes, we heard a noise in the last part of the cockpit voice recording. We need to further analyze that. I mean, that's pretty generic.

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: It's generic. The Egyptians, of course, are very reluctant to admit there was a bomb on this plane. It's an absolute catastrophe for their economy. The fact that flights are being canceled into Cairo and out is even worse. And they haven't made any arrests. They haven't add anything to the investigation. And frankly, they have had a plane go down before where the pilot took it into the ocean. And until today, they are denying what clearly happened, someone committed suicide in Egypt airplane.

So I'm not paying much attention to the Egyptians. I think it's all about 95 percent this was a bomb. There is French reports out. They could hear it. There was certain (INAUDIBLE) to the airplane after the explosion. They could dig that recording. And you look at all of the chatter before and after the explosion and the satellite and you know the evidence is mounting up to the point where, you know, if it was mechanical failure, I would be very surprised.

HARLOW: This also really stood out to me, Bob. You had Egypt's foreign minister coming out earlier today and pointing fingers and saying, look, the international community didn't heed Egypt's calls to seriously deal with terrorism. He said other countries quote "did not show a level of cooperation and direct targeting of these organizations that we hoped for. Who do you think he is speaking to?

BAER: I think he's speaking to the United States. He's saying, look, you supported the revolution against Mubarak in 2011. It is a democracy movement. You in effect got the Muslim brotherhood elected. You helped the fanatics get into power. If you had done more to help Mubarak, this wouldn't have happened. You know, we -- there was a certain amount of hysteria when the Arab spring started. This all changed. It turned out very badly.

But, you know, in that sense, the Egyptians are right. They are on the front lines in the war on terror. They are in the middle of an insurgency. They're losing a lot of people. They don't have it under control. And now they are taking a huge hit against terrorism. And you know, we're pushing Egypt to the point of turning it into a failed state, which would be a disaster for everybody.

[15:20:23] HARLOW: But Egypt's running this investigation, bob. And you said they're very reticent to say this is a bomb. Obviously you don't want to say anything until you're certain. How long does that take for us to get reliable answers?

BAER: I don't think we will from Egypt ever. I'm going to trust the Russian. I've watched Egyptians over the years for 30 years and they have never given us any sort of decent intelligence on, you know, internal politics, the Muslim brotherhood, al-jihad, and all these other movements. They just always been closed mouth about this uncooperative and they're not like the Jordanians. I just don't see we're going to get answers out of them. I think the Irish team there and the French team there with airbus. They'll come up with the conclusions which I'll trust.

HARLOW: All right. Bob Baer, thank you very much as always.

Still to come, a new low, shocking revelations surrounding an Illinois police officer once hailed a hero. Our Rosa Flores is on the story. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The file also explains in detail how a deputy found lieutenant Glinewicz completely passed out inside his truck on the side of the road, the engine still running, his foot on the gas full-throttle. It would take two deputies to wake him up. Lieutenant Glinewicz would later tell the superiors he had been awake all day long, had played (INAUDIBLE), consumed six beers and several shots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Sex, lies and drugs in FOX Lake. We are back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:35] HARLOW: Two Louisiana police officers have been charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting a 6-year-old boy. On Tuesday, Jeremy Martis was buckled in the front seat of his father's car when officers (INAUDIBLE) allegedly opened fire while chasing the father's car. The boy was struck five times with bullets. It is not clear what led to the chase. Police are investigating.

As if this story about a small town police officer who staged his own suicide isn't shocking enough, well, now CNN has obtained the personnel file belonging to Lieutenant Joe Glinewicz. And it shows a troubling history of misconduct while he was on the job.

CNN' Rosa Flores is live for us in Fox Lake, Illinois.

And Rosa, I mean, I just think back to a few months ago when you were covering the story when it broke. And you know, everyone was hailing this officer as a hero. Now the tables have completely turned.

FLORES: He was living a double life, Poppy, and getting away with it. Just think about this. In this park where I'm standing at, hundreds of people gather to celebrate this man's life. They hailed him a hero. But that secret life was definitely there.

We went inside his personnel records and found the code -

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): Sex, lies and drugs. New revelations downgrading a man hailed a hero to a new low. Lieutenant Joe Glinewicz personnel file exposing serious character blog, the document show, led to at least five suspensions for things like being involved in the incorrect release of information, for not reporting to duty, and for negligence that resulted in damage to village property.

The file also explains in detail how a deputy found the lieutenant completely passed out inside his truck on the road. The engine still running, foot on the gas full throttle. It would take two deputies to wake him up. Lieutenant Glinewicz would later tell his superiors he had been awake all day long, had played volleyball, consumed six beers and several shots. But perhaps the most shocking revelation, this lawsuit filed by a

subordinate police officer in 2003 alleging Glinewicz asked her to meet him in a hotel to give her, her son's police explorer uniform. But once inside, the mood changed. According to the filing, he gave her a box of chocolates for valentine's day, rubbed her shoulders, and pressured her to perform oral sex.

It didn't stop there. According to court documents, the subordinate claims she performed oral sex on Glinewicz five times in total between February 2000 and October of the same year with Glinewicz indicating to her that the sexual favors were strongly encouraged and/or required to protect her job. The suit was eventually dismissed. But not erased from his personnel file where it's noted along with the slew of other complaints about him. Drugs were not referenced.

Authorities say they found those in an unmarked evidence bag in his desk. Like everything else surrounding Glinewicz's death, it's raising more questions about his life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Now, about those drugs, investigators say they found cocaine inside his desk. They did some police work trying to figure out if he was working on cases involving controlled substances and they didn't find any. What they found were deleted messages that were recovered by authorities that alluded to planting evidence on the village administrator.

Now, Poppy, this is the same village administrator, and you've heard about this story, about lieutenant Glinewicz thinking, exploring the idea of getting a hitman to kill this woman. So this revelations, Poppy, I got to tell you, the more we dig, the more we find.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Rosa Flores, fascinating reporting, incredibly disturbing. Thank you for that.

Still to come here, exposed an enormous sexting ring. It occur at high school, hundreds of students allegedly involved today. A community in shock asking how could this happen?

Also this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:30:08] JIMMY FALLON, COMEDIAN: And as I'm sure you've heard, Donald Trump is in the building getting ready to host "Saturday Night Live."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Center stage campaign, Donald Trump putting the finishing touches on tonight's show open for "SNL." But will protesters outside grab the headlines instead?

And in our American opportunity, tonight's story from an American veteran. His plight from employers to give young vets a chance. Stay with us. '

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:40] HARLOW: A sexting scandal involving hundreds of nude photos has cause a Colorado high school football team its chance at a playoff spot. And a whole lot more, frankly, that's a lot more important than that. Parents are livid. It all took place at (INAUDIBLE) high school, south of Denver. The superintendent says at least 100 students are involved, including half of the football team. Police have at least one phone with hundreds of revealing images on it.

Polo Sandoval is following this story. He is with me.

So I know they're also looking into, I mean, not only is this appalling, but they're looking into whether any adults were involved or any underage minors.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Poppy. The beginning of a very long, very extensive legal process. Police have to ask the right questions, school officials have to, as well. At this point, just spoke to the superintendent just a few moments ago, they are at the school district telling me that now three phones have been seized. They are now going through that information. With respect to the number of students that have actually been suspended, he won't give an exact number. Only saying that there have been several.

And it all started with one female student who apparently came forward earlier this week saying that she felt uncomfortable about some pictures that were circulating out there. Questions started being asked and then before you know it now, we are seeing what is a massive, really sexting scandal. The superintendent just told me a few moments ago there at that (INAUDIBLE) school that the students range in ages from senior level all the way down to middle school level.

[15:35:11] HARLOW: Could any of them face charges, these students?

SANDOVAL: It's a very good question. You know, I have spoken to school officials and to legal experts, there is a lot of gray area here because in Colorado, the state law really addresses child pornography. And so now, there is concern here that some of these students could potentially be subject to that.

Bottom line is, many experts seem to think this is not necessarily child pornography. If you are looking at here. You have essentially have teenagers exchanging pictures of themselves. So now the question is, when this investigation is completed, when the police department wraps up their case and they hand over their findings to the district attorney, what decisions will be made?

HARLOW: And it's interesting, there was this recent study at Drexel and it showed 28 percent of college undergrads, 28 percent, sent explicit photos when they were under 18, 61 percent were unaware that sexting could be considered child porn. So, I mean, this is a new-ish phenomenon. But it doesn't seem like there are any concrete laws around it.

SANDOVAL: As we mentioned, it creates a lot of gray area. And specifically for that reason, the district attorney in this case is going to really have a lot of discretion. He is the one that's going to have to make the decision whether or not to press charges. What is interesting, though, just speaking to the superintendent right now, and the message they are spreading to the students. He wants those students to understand, this is not the end of the world. As he put it, that's the terminology he used saying they still have to take each case one by one, see how the law applies and then make a decision. You would hate to see some of these students that may have just made a stupid decision end up having to register as a sex offender. That's something they want to try to avoid.

HARLOW: All right Polo, thank you very much for update. I appreciate it as always.

Coming up next, big news on the U.S. economy as unemployment numbers show a very positive sign. The unemployment rate in this country, the lowest since 2008 at the depths of the crisis. What does this mean for your wallet? Rana Foorhar with me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:39] HARLOW: A big win for the U.S. economy. Friday's monthly jobs report from the labor department showing 271,000 jobs were added in October. That brings the unemployment rate down to five percent. We have not seen unemployment that low since, really, before the depths of the financial crisis in 2008. The data shows more Americans have been able to move from part-time work to full-time work. That's a big deal. And also, wages have gone up and consumer spending is higher.

CNN's global economic analyst Rana Foorhar with me now.

Strong numbers across the board.

RANA FOORHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Absolutely.

HARLOW: But weren't we sitting here two months ago freaking out when the stock market was plummeting and China's concerns are very real?

FOORHAR: They are. They are. And you know, to be fair, one month of good data, as you know, does not a trend make. So hang out, in two months if this is still happening, then we can have a more real conversation.

But what is really different is this wage growth because that's what we were waiting for, you know. I mean, the unemployment figure has actually been falling for some time now. And that's good news, but we just hadn't seen that pick up in wages. And that was really strange. That was different than in recovers of the past. So the fact that you are now seeing the biggest hike in six years in wages, and across the board in education and services and health care, you know, almost everybody, except for the manufacturing sector, I might say, is going to get a pay hike. So that's really important in an economy that's made up 70 percent of consumer spending.

HARLOW: I think it is important to note, though, that you have still got 2.1 million Americans quote-unquote, "long-term unemployed." These are people actively looking for work. They've been out of work from six months or more. And we know the longer you're out of work, the harder it is to find a job.

FOORHAR: That's right. And gets to one of the more negative numbers out there, which is the workforce participation rate.

HARLOW: Right.

FOORHAR: Fewer Americans really then, since women entered the workforce in the 1980s are working. That's not great, and economists are trying to figure out why that is. A lot of them are these frustrated people who have been out of work for a long time. They have dropped out of the labor market. The big question, and we'll know more in a couple of months is now that the labor market is tightening, can they jump back in? And do they have the skills to get the job?

HARLOW: And in part baby boomers, in part generational. Politically, this is always becomes very political moments after the jobs report comes out. And, you know, it's interesting because even some conservative pundits are now admitting it is harder to poke holes in the Obama economy.

FOORHAR: It's true. I think it's going to have an impact on both sides of the aisle in the sense it makes it harder for the Republicans to criticize the Democrats, but it also may mean that Hillary Clinton doesn't have to tack quite as far left as she might have otherwise. Because you know, the leftist wing of the party that is represented by Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren have been very critical of the Obama administration. And the more mainstream Democrats saying that there should have been more done. Now that the economy is finally improving, that takes some of the pressure off her, too.

HARLOW: So the fed, fed makes a big decision in December what they're going to do for interest rates. It's been artificially low for so long, some of this growth is not real. What do they do?

FOORHAR: I think in lieu of a real disaster, and others say, you know, collapse in the Chinese market or something else we can't foresee, I think we are going to see a rate hike in December. I mean, Janet Yellen has been uncharacteristically bold in terms of saying this could be on the cards, which for a fed chairman is kind of like saying ca-ching.

HARLOW: They always say nothing.

FOORHAR: They always say nothing. So I think we are probably going to see a rate hike. But I think that it's going to be a slow one going forward. It may not be like in the past where rates start to go up and it's steady. It could be long --.

HARLOW: OK, Rana, thank you. FOORHAR: Thank you.

HARLOW: As always, appreciate it.

Still to come here to politics. Ben Carson combative and on the defense blasting the media saying journalists are on a witch hunt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARSON: My prediction is that all of you guys trying to pile on is actually going to help me because when I go out to the book signings, I see the thousands of people, they say, don't let the media get you down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That was last night at the press conference that everyone is talking about. We are traveling with the presidential candidate live in Puerto Rico.

But, first, we want you to meet another of this year's top ten CNN heroes. His name is Dan Ivanovich, and for more than 20 years, this Chicago surgeon has provided medical treatment to thousands of patients who simply have no other way to get it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:45:02] DAN IVANOVICH, CNN HERO: There's over 1 million people in Chicago that are essentially invisible to the system. They're either uninsured or underinsured. But they're very important to me. And that's what I have dedicated my career to. My focus is to improve their lives, to break down the barriers and help them reach their potential with regard to their injuries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: You can watch Dr. Dan in action. Go to CNNheroes.com. While you're there, be sure to vote for your favorite of this year's top ten CNN heroes. Again, CNNheroes.com.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:09] HARLOW: Domestic abuse and the NFL. This scandal is not new, these pictures are newly released, though, and they are revolting. The Web site dead spin posting dozens of graphic images apparently showing the bruised and battered ex-girlfriend of now Dallas Cowboys' player Greg Hardy from an incident alleged to have happened in May of 2014. CNN has not independently verified these photos.

CNN's Coy Wire has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Back in 2014, Hardy was convicted on domestic violence charges against his then-girlfriend Nicole Holder by a judge in a bench trial. He appealed and requested a jury trial and the case was eventually dismissed this past February because the ex- girlfriend stopped cooperating with authorities. Prosecutors say they have reliable information that Holder and Hardy reached a civil settlement out of court.

Hardy went on to sign a one-year contract with the Cowboys in the off- season. Many questioned this move by the team even though charges against Hardy were dropped. The NFL seemingly did its part. They suspended Hardy for ten games for violating the league's personal conduct policy, but the players union appealed got it reduced to four games.

Now here are the pictures. I will remind you they are disturbing. Deadspin.com released these photos showing Holder battered and bruised with red marks on her body, including her back, she also have bruises on her chin. Still Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is sticking by his decision to sign Hardy. He released a statement yesterday saying in part quote "while we did not have access to the photos that became public today, we have given Greg a second chance. He's a member of our team and someone who is grateful for the opportunity he has been given to move forward with his life and career," end quote.

Disturbing photos, questionable decisions. The release of these photos may cause more to question whether or not the Cowboys should have signed Greg Hardy in the first place and whether they should continue to employ him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Coy, thank you very much. He is on Bleacherreport.com, much more on this story.

Coming up next, American opportunity and a play from one of America's veterans and heroes to employers across the country. Stay with us.

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[15:56:12] HARLOW: In today's American opportunity, this week cities around the U.S. will hold employment fairs for veterans, finding jobs for the men and women who serve in our nation's armed forces in honor of Wednesday's veterans day holiday.

If you look at the jobs report from Friday, what it shows is that the unemployment rate for veterans is 3.9 percent. That is down from September. So that's an improvement from September. And it is down almost seven percent from just two years ago.

But the statistics for younger veterans are really bleak. For veterans under 24 years old, the unemployment rate is over 14 percent. It is nearly four points higher than the rate for nonveterans that are age 24 and under. And over the next few years, more than 200,000 men and women will leave the military every year and they will come back to civilian life. So the big question, and I think it's incumbent on all of us, is how can we help these veterans, these American heroes, find work and better adjust to civilian life?

Let's talk about it with one of them. Ames Holbrook joins us now. He is a veteran of the U.S. army. He is author of "Discharge: a veteran's lesson of outrunning the Pentagon, moving stolen military arc and guzzling civilian freedom." That is quite a title.

Ames, thank you for being here.

AMES HOLBROOK, AUTHOR, DISCHARGE: Thanks a lot, Poppy.

HARLOW: Go ahead?

HOLBROOK: Well, I was going to say, fortunately for all, most veterans will not experience these specific challenges that I have discussed in my book that I went through, but every one of them is going to be challenged. It's our job, I think, as a country to lessen that challenge, to welcome them.

HARLOW: I think absolutely. I mean, you've said, look, society is isolated from war and so you say veterans feel even more removed from civilian life when they return to it. For you, what was the hardest part of coming back?

HOLBROOK: Well, I think one of the big ones is employment. You come out and you've had a lot of experience, but it doesn't necessarily relate to what the civilian world understands. I had experienced managing troops, a lot of equipment, millions of dollars-worth, and classified material. But when I went to hirers, they treated me as if I were some fresh-faced kid entering the workforce for the first time. They disregarded my military history, and then disregarded everything that had come before that because it was so long ago. And that's what a lot of service members are experiencing when they come out.

HARLOW: So what can be done? I mean, we have seen some major companies come out from Walmart, Citi bank, JPMorgan, Starbucks, you name it with these initiatives to hire veterans. Is it enough?

HOLBROOK: It's enough if everyone does it. It's a great trend we are seeing. Right now not everyone's onboard. And the plea that I would make is that every civilian sector, private sector employer, would actively go after veterans, and in their ads say, we hire veterans. Then when a veteran comes to apply, let that veteran know that we have other veterans working for us, you'll work alongside them. We understand what you have sacrificed. As it stands now, veterans protect freedoms for the rest of us, but they don't have those freedoms.

HARLOW: Make the case for me, I've got 30 seconds, make the case for me about the skills that you got in the service that relate so well to civilian life and the workforce?

HOLBROOK: You got it. You've got discipline, you've got the ability to learn, and learn to standard, and you have, number one, I would say the most valuable thing of all, the veterans are geared to accomplishing a mission under time constraints and severed conditions.