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Six Year Old Killed in Louisiana Shootout; Russian Security Advisors Arrive in Egypt; Bush 41 Candid Biography; Ben Carson Insists Media Is Out To Get Him; Donald Trump Brings In Big Ratings As SNL Host; Sinkhole In Meridian, Mississippi Swallows 15 Cars In IHOP Parking Lot; Israeli Prime Minister Arrives In D.C. Tomorrow To Meet With Obama. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 08, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:42] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

In Louisiana, the investigation is heating up in the tragic death of a six-year-old boy killed during a harrowing police pursuit. Jeremy Mardwas shot five times in the head and chest, as his father's vehicle was being chased by two officers Tuesday night in the town of Marksville.

A short time ago I spoke to the head of the Louisiana State police on how this tragedy could have happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MICHAEL D. EDMOSON, LOUSIANA STATE POLICE: That's all important, but what was compelling of that tape right there is we've got the fact, because that little boy died. I mean, there was rumors that he was riding around standing up. I saw that tape. He was buckled up in that vehicle, and he died right there in that seat. You know what? He didn't deserve to die like that. We need to find out why.

What's important to me is what - what caused those police officers to pursue Mr. Few, what caused them do open fire at that traffic stop, itself. Because here's the deal, all that aside, you know, Jeremy Mardis, six years old is dead and we need to find out why. Why was that many gunfire take place? Mr. Few didn't have a gun. He didn't return fire. There was no warrants. That's important to us.

The compellingness of that tape was simply there. The forensics of the scene itself was simply there. The information we received on all accounts, it was important for us to bring that evidence, to bring that information to a judge, put it down on a piece of paper, let him see that video and then have him sign that arrest warrant. I think that's important there.

When we know those type of things, you know what, we should move quickly, when you know those things. When can take that information, we can take that evidence and we can apply to fact, you've got to move forward on something like that. You should never sit on it. The compellingness of that tape was simply there. The forensics at the scene itself was simply there.

The information we received on all accounts, it was important for us bring that evidence to bring that information to a judge, put it down on a piece of paper, let him see that video, and then have them sign that arrest warrant. I think that's important there. When we know those types of things and you know what we should move quickly. When you know those things. When we can take that information, we can take that evidence and we can apply it to fact, you've got to move forward on something like that. You should never sit on it.

So a decision was made to let the judge look at that, see that information, and once we saw it was quite clear, quite compelling, those arrests were made. This case is still far from over. It's still moving parts, still stuff out there that we need to follow up on. Could there be more arrests? That's always a possibility. Could it take somewhere else? Absolutely. You know what? This community right here, my grandmother was born and raised here. My blood is in this community. So let me tell you something, I want to make sure we can bring some closure here. Those shots should not have been fired, not at that particular time.

So other things just come together, that's put us where we are today. We don't believe there was a warrant that precipitated that stop. We need to put together what we do know and find out why. But we are comfortable where we are right now. We're ready to go into the courtroom tomorrow, 72-hour hearing and present any evidence that might be there. Of course the case report, the way it stands now, arrest warrant itself, that will be up to the judge to look at.

They'll set some type of bond, that will take place tomorrow. We'll see what happens at that particular point, we know that. Here's what's most important, it's not over. There's still moving parts. There's still stuff that we're following up on. Clearly, clearly what we do know right now is those two charges on both individuals, we had enough information at that point, enough evidence, to place those charges, and the judge signed it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. The colonel there with Louisiana State Police. The two officers he's talking about who will be having their 72-hour hearing tomorrow, they are currently behind bars, charged with the boy's murder. I want to go to CNN's Nick Valencia, live for us in Marksville. Nick, what more are you learning at this point?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I've been speaking to residents here and you heard the head of the Louisiana State Police there talk about closure and residents that I've spoken who are familiar with this case, nearly everyone here in this community of 5,000 is familiar with this case, it should be safe to say, they say that closure would be hard to achieve, even if these officers were brought to justice.

Just a short time ago we went to the scene of the shooting where people were paying their respects for the fallen six-year-old.

[16:05:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROXANNE COUVILLION, JEREMY MARDIS' FORMER TEACHER: He was just an innocent little boy.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Nearly a week since the death of Jeremy Mardis.

COUVILLION: He always was an angel.

VALENCIA: There are still two big questions - why would law enforcement chase the boy's father down a dead end road and why would they use lethal force? The boy was buckled into the passenger seat of his father's car, when police opened fire. He was hit five times, in the chest, and head. His father, Chris Few, was also hit and critically wounded.

EDMONSON: Jeremy Mardis, six years old, he didn't deserve to die like that. And that's what's unfortunate.

VALENCIA: Days after the shooting, the head of Louisiana's State Police announced two marshals face second-degree murder and attempted murder charges. 32-year-old Derek Stafford and 23-year-old Norris Greenhouse Jr., taken into custody, and placed on administrative leave. The incident was captured on police body cameras.

EDMONSON: I'm not going to talk about. I'm going to tell you this, it is the most disturbing thing I've seen. I will leave it at that.

VALENCIA: Two other marshalls were also present during the shooting. Stafford and Greenhouse so far the only two arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has his wings on earth and now he's soaring in heaven.

VALENCIA: Roxanne Couvillon was Jeremy's special needs teacher. The child was nonverbal autistic. He was one of her favorite students. She especially loved the way his eyes lit up when he smiled.

COUVILLION: He loved class. I sent all of the pictures that we have to family members so they have all of those momentos. He loved the dress-up centers we had, pretend play, doing the alphabet puzzles. He was an awesome boy.

VALENCIA: At a nearby convenience store, (INAUDIBLE) says he heard gunshots on his way home from work. He says he knows the officers well.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: I know Derek and Norris, they're like my brothers, two of them.

VALENCIA (on camera): Tell us about them because we don't know anything about them. UNIDENTIFED MALE: They're cool people. They ain't bad for nothing, sir. Never did nothing bad.

VALENCIA (voice-over): In fact, neither marshall hat been convicted of a crime but according to local news reports in 2011, Stafford was indicted on two counts of aggravated rape, the case was eventually dismissed. Both marshalls are expected to make their first court appearance later this week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Both Greenhouse and Stafford remain in custody, behind bars here at the (INAUDIBLE) Parish Detention Center but largely in this community the focus is on six-year-old Jeremy. His funeral is expected to be held 1:30 p.m. local, Monday. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Same day that we just heard the colonel say these two officers will have their 72-hour hearing. All on Monday. Thanks so much, Nick Valencia.

All right. Coming up, a U.S. official is telling CNN they are 99.9 percent certain that a bomb caused that Russian airliner to crash in Egypt. We'll go live to Sharm El Sheikh for new developments in the investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:10:55]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Russian security auditors just arrived in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt where the doomed Russian plane departed one week ago and they'll reportedly begin their work tomorrow. This as airport officials refute reporting by the Associated Press that there were security lapses at airport.

U.S. official tells CNN that they are 99.9 percent certain a bomb brought down the jet. The theory is largely centered around intercepts of ISIS chatter before and after the crash. This morning, Reuters is quoting an unnamed member of the investigation as saying the noise heard on the plane's cockpit voice recorder was likely an explosion caused by a bomb but the head of the investigation in Egypt is denying that report.

Let's get to CNN's Nima Elbagir, she is in Sharm el Sheikh. So Nima, what are you learning?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Fredricka. In the face of what really feels like a growing consensus that this was an act of terror all of those that we've been speaking to, all of those reports, that you were describing there, stopping just short of confirming this.

The Egyptian authorities are saying, as far as they are concerned, all scenarios are still on the table. They're call these allegations false, generalizations, and saying it's fundamentally irresponsible to speak out on this before the investigation's findings are reported. Also defending very strongly, Fredricka, the security process in Sharm el Sheikh Airport. They're saying there are three different places in which passengers' luggage is checked and there is no place where passengers are able to interact with officials in order to bribe them. But they wouldn't confirm whether they are questioning the officials in charge of security at Sharm el Sheikh Airport.

WHITFIELD: And what are officials saying about how they're going about really looking into the security at that airport, especially since there are some reports that indicate that security was lax, Associated Press, in fact, was reporting that, and then others are saying it may have been that someone managed to perhaps sneak through security and could have potentially planted an explosive on this plane?

ELBAGIR: Well, as we understand it, they there are now police on the runway. There's a lot more oversight and there is a closed zone, the military have actually pushed us back from the premise of the airport. But they still maintain, Fredricka, that there was nothing wrong with the security procedure before this accident and that the fundamentals of that procedure haven't changed. If certain nation states like the UK or Russia want to bring in their own personnel to oversee the security on the flights heading back to their countries which they have, that is their prerogative but they're not reading into this they say a criticism of where their security was at.

It's really becoming an impasse between the Egyptian authorities and a lot of these other western intelligence agencies and western governments who are faced with reality of having thousand of stranded nationals safely back to their home countries.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nima Elbagir, thank you so much, from Sharm el Sheikh.

All right. Next, the new book by George H.W. Bush comes out on Tuesday but it's already created quite a firestorm in Washington. In the book the former president has some pretty sharp criticism for members of his son's administration. George W. Bush's reaction also, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:18:12]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. President George H.W. Bush offered a scathing criticism of some of the men who advised his son's presidency including Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. His comments are spelled out in a new biography called "Destiny and Power" by author Jon Meacham and CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel spoke with Meacham for his insight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I accept your nomination for president. GANGEL: This is George Herbert Walker Bush unleashed, sharing his most private thoughts on everything from his time in office to his family -

BUSH: This administration's not going to rest.

GANGEL: -- to his son's presidency.

JON MEACHAM, GEORGE H.W. BUSH BIOGRAPHER: He handed over four years of diaries in the White House with no strings attached.

GANGEL: And he said to you?

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Call them like you see them. You're going to sort it out.

GANGEL: Among the many revelations, Bush 41 is bluntly critical of the men who served his son in the White House. He calls vice president Dick Cheney, "iron ass" and former secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld an arrogant fellow. But perhaps the biggest surprise, Bush is critical of his own son for his hot rhetoric.

(on camera): We've never heard him criticize his son before as president. Why do you think he went public now?

MEACHAM: I think that, with the distance of history, he believes so strongly in the fact that force and diplomacy have to be complimentary not competitive that I think he wanted to put on the record that he doesn't think presidents accomplish very much by swaggering. They should be strong, but they don't need to be needlessly provocative.

[16:20:09]

GANGEL: So is this a father worried about his son's policy being criticized, not being right? Is there - is there a father-son thing here?

MEACHAM: There's always a father/son thing here. Of course. I mean, how could there not be?

GANGEL: Was George W. Bush at all defensive about the criticism from his father? -

MEACHAM: He was surprised by it. I think is safe to say. He said, dad never said any of this to me, either during the presidency or after. He said he would never have said, "hey, you've got to reign in Cheney, he's ruining your administration" and, anyway, I disagreed with him, these were my policies. He knew that his father's style was such that he would never say these things directly to him, which is in and of itself fascinating.

GANGEL: In addition to the president's diaries, Meacham was given access to Barbara Bush's diaries and other insights include that Nancy Reagan did not seem to like Barbara Bush. He told his diary, "frankly, I think she's jealous of her." There is a blunt assessment of Bill Clinton, as a draft dodger, and a liar. And Meeacham writes the Bushes were, quote, "horrified by the Monica Lewinsky scandal" but later, Bush acknowledges that he couldn't help but like the guy.

(on camera): You think it's a genuine friendship?

MEACHAM: For George H.W. bush, I think it is.

GANGEL: And for Bill Clinton?

MEACHAM: You never know. Do you?

Reporter (voice-over): That said, the Bushes don't seem to have the same warm feelings towards Hillary Clinton, calling her, "militant and pro-liberal."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: OK. Let's talk more about this, perspective on this, CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. So, oh my gosh, David, talk about the timing, too! We're talking about H.W. Bush's other son, Jeb, running , his other son, Jeb, running for the White House, Hillary Clinton, running for the White House, and there are these kinds of comments. What do you say to the timing and why it was so important, Douglas, for this book to come out now?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, I'm surprised that the book's coming out right now because it obviously does damage to Jeb Bush, having - reminding people of Dick Cheney, some people called Darth Vader and the person everybody's angry about because of the recent war in Iraq, evoking all of this right now is not good timing for Jeb Bush.

With that said, Jon Meacham's a first-rate biographer and this Bush is an attempt to let people see that we had an important president in 41. He was the president that oversaw the end of the cold war, the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Berlin Wall coming down in 1989, the liberation of Kuwait, the Panamanian invasion. Bush 41 matters.

Once we get away from the headlines of the father-son bit, I think you're going to see that this is a very positive biography for 41 even though it nicks at 43's legacy.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. So talking about the nipping at, you know, the presidency of 43, George H.W., very critical of Donald Rumsfeld, in particular, you saw a little bit of that in Jimmy Gangel's (ph) piece, saying, "I think he served the president badly. There's a lack of humility, a lack of seeing what the other guy thinks, he's more iron-a and takes names, takes numbers. I think he paid a price for that."

This is definitely call it like you see it. If he told Meacham call them as you see them, there is really nothing subtle about his sentiments here. Is that indicative of who he is. BRINKLEY: Well recently we've seen Bush 41, I saw him recently at an

Astros baseball game, he's in a wheelchair, we think of him as very feeble right now because he's 91 years old. But here are fighting words, these are revenge words. He's never liked Donald Rumsfeld, 41 but boy they tattooed the word arrogant on him as he did and to have iron-ass forever associated with Dick Cheney, this was 41 settling scores because as Meacham just said in your clip, I think 41 believes that diplomacy has to come first and militarism second and he didn't think Rumsfeld and Cheney did that, and hence hurt his son's presidency.

WHITFIELD: And then you know, speaking of Dick Cheney, I wonder how awkward or what it will be like this week apparently Dick Cheney's at the same kind of sunshine summit in Orlando as Jeb Bush. Jeb Bush, among many of the presidential candidates who will be speaking. It's not believed that Jeb Bush and Dick Cheney will be appearing together on the stage but they will be in close proximity. How awkward now might it be for him especially since you know at least in "The Washington Post" reporting in February 19 of 21 of advisers for Jeb Bush had some sort of affiliation, had worked with either his father or his brother's administration. So how awkward has this gotten?

[16:25:07]

BRINKLEY: I think it's very awkward. I don't think a photo op of Dick Cheney with Jeb Bush helps Jeb at all. But we have to keep in mind that Bush 41 liked Dick Cheney when he was his secretary of defense back in the first gulf war. There's some people that think Cheney got harder and colder, meaner after his open heart surgery, after 9/11, the Dick Cheney that exists today is beloved by the hard right but is not liked by moderates in the Republican party.

But if I were Jeb Bush, I'd just try to stay away from all these Meacham controversy and don't go doing photo ops with Dick Cheney at this point in time.

WHITFIELD: Yes we haven't necessarily heard - I haven't seen a statement coming from Jeb Bush, but there is one reaction coming from George W. Bush, saying that he is proud to have served with Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld. I don't know what Thanksgiving dinner's going to be like when everybody gets together. You know, is there just maybe a level of understanding, you know, that everyone has had their very individual experiences, whether it's running for the White House or serving from the White House and their relationships and personal encounters with all of these people is very individual and there's that understanding about that?

BRINKLEY: Well, I think that's right. And also keep in mind that 43, George W. Bush, did write a good book about his father, 41, came out last year. I reviewed it for the "Financial Times." So they love their father. This is just what we call a little skirmish. I would think if you're Jeb and George W., you would say, "dad, did you have to drop this bomb now? Did it have waited a year or two, did it have to be during an election cycle?

WHITFIELD: Right. And he might respond that hey, I'm 91, and when you're 91, you deserve to say whatever you want to say and whenever.

BRINKLEY: Exactly. My time has arrived, if I don't to do it now, when?

WHITFIELD: All right. Douglas Brinkley, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

BRINKLEY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up next - Ben Carson says journalists are doing a political hit job on him and he says their priorities are misplaced.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:01]

WHITFIELD: Republican Presidential Candidate Ben Carson isn't letting up on his claim that the media is out to get him by digging into his past. After speaking at a huge political rally in Puerto Rico today, he talked with the press and remained defiant regarding questions about his account of his violent temper during childhood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You are asking me something I said 50 years ago. You expect details about that? Forget about it. It's not going to happen. Let's talk about some things that really are important today. See, that -- if I can get people to focus on what's important today, it will be worth all of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN National Correspondent Sunlen Serfaty is traveling with the Carson campaign and has more from Puerto Rico.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ben Carson is really disputing the notion that this intense period of media scrutiny is getting under his skin, this is despite a fierce and aggressive push back that he's taken all weekend, and one that he repeated here in Puerto Rico today, giving an angry and at times mocking critique of the media's coverage of his past. I asked him why he would not produce much of the evidence that we have been asking for to really squash these questions about his past. Here's how he responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARSON: The burden of proof is not going to be on me to corroborate everything that I have ever talked about in my life, because once I start down that road, every single day from now until the election you are going to be spending your time doing that, and we have much more important things to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And Carson said that he believes he's being held to a higher level of scrutiny, because he is doing so well in the polls. Here's what he told CBS earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARSON: There is no question I am getting special scrutiny, because you know there are a lot of people who are very threatened and then you know they seen the recent head-to-head polling against Hillary and how well I do. You know they're worried. There's no question about it. And you know every single day or every other day or every week they're going to come out, you said this when you were 13 and you did this and the point is to distract, distract the populous, distract me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: This certainly tees up an interesting backdrop to Tuesday's upcoming debate in Wisconsin. And I asked Carson how he is preparing, how his mind-set is going into the debate given the past week. He said he's digging in on issues, on economic and foreign policy, and no, he's not holding any mock debates, he says, Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Puerto Rico.

WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, Donald Trump is taking aim at Ben Carson who is now running neck and neck with him in the polls, fresh from his stint at hosting Saturday Night Live. Trump appeared on CNN's State of the Union this morning and told Jake Tapper that he remains as alarmed by Carson's claims of having a violent temper as a youth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't really know. It's a lot of things. You know when you say hitting your mother over the head with a hammer, when you talk about hitting a friend in the face with a lock, padlock, and you talk about stabbing someone and it got stopped by a belt buckle, which you know, belt buckle's don't stop stabbing, they turn, twist, and things slide off. You know, pretty lucky if that happened. Talked about he has pathological disease, that's a serious statement when you say have you have pathological disease, because as I understand it, you can't really cure it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's bring in CNN's Chris Frates in Washington. So Chris, Trump says, you know, he has this certain point of view or comment about Ben Carson for a very long time, he wanted to be very nice about Ben Carson, but it seems as though now he's -- you know, taking advantage of the moment?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's exactly right, Fred. For a guy whose running -- kind of as like the anti-politician, he's really picking up that political habit of calling his opponents his friends. He sounds a lot like he could be in the Senate where they address each other, my friend, and the gentleman from Florida. We're talking about Senators from Florida, Trump was asked about the news yesterday that Marco Rubio issued 22 months of previously unreleased American Express statements, detailing his spending. Now, remember, Fred, Rubio's come under intense fire for charging personal expenses to the Florida Republican Party American Express card. That was back when he was in state legislative leadership in Tallahassee. Here is what Trump had to say on CNN this morning about Rubio's credit card spending.

[16:35:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I hope he's going to show his credit cards and I hope it turns out to be good for him, not bad for him, and we'll see what happens. But I would like to see him not hurt himself on such a matter, that should be very easy to understand and very simple to understand. So we'll see what happens. If he gave the information, it will be very easy, probably very easy to see whether or not anything was done wrong. And frankly, I hope nothing was done that was wrong because that would be really terrible to be disqualified for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So, Fred, you know he didn't hit Rubio very hard there, probably because there were no immediate bombshells in those AMEX statements that Rubio's campaign put out yesterday. But you know Trump did drop one of his signatures passive-aggressive attacks there when he said you know I hope there's nothing bad for him because it would be horrible for him to be disqualified as President for that. He basically left the door open here, Fred, to hit Rubio on it later, perhaps if there's more damning evidence coming out of the statements.

WHITFIELD: We didn't see if there may have been a Cheshire cat kind of grin that went along with that, too. Ok, and then what is this about, you know, Trump talking about wanting to be Vice President years ago or at least someone considered him, you know, we have learned more about a book -- certain book coming out, too, but tell us more.

FRATES: Well, that's exactly -- this is interesting, Fred, right? There was a new biography out about George H.W. Bush, and it was reporting that Trump let Bush -- essentially Trump's political adviser, it's a guy named Lee Atwater know he was available to be VP, it was an idea that Bush himself found weird and strange. And you know Jake Tapper on CNN today asked him about it, and Trump said that Atwater brought the idea to him, so we may never know exactly what happened here, Fred, because unfortunately, you know Lee Atwater died some years ago now. But it was certainly interesting to hear that Trump's been thinking about Presidential politics, and you know kind of treading around that line for almost 30 years now.

WHITFIELD: Right. Lee Atwater died at an early age.

FRATES: Yeah, he was only 40 years old, kind of at the peak of his power at the time.

WHITFIELD: He was a real rising star. And a star that had already risen but many thought he would rise even further.

FRATES: Go further. WHITFIELD: Chris Frates, all right, thank you for that. Appreciate

it.

FRATES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, dozens of University of Missouri football players are planning to boycott their games over a series of racist incidents at the school. Why they're so angry at university's response, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:40:01]

WHITFIELD: Racism, injustice, and inaction, three reasons why nearly half of the University of Missouri football team says they are boycotting all future games unless the school president resigns, students stay President Tim Wolf has been negligent in responding to racist incidents on campus, including a swastika drawn out of human feces on a dormitory wall. The incident now getting the attention from the state Governor, Governor Jay Nixon releasing the statement today, saying "Racism and the intolerance have no place at the University of Missouri or anywhere in our state. Our colleges and universities must be havens of trust and understanding."

CNN National Correspondent Polo Sandoval is following this developing story for us, so Polo, what other alleged incidents have happened on campus? What has the school done about it or how are they responding to it?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know Fred, in order to answer that question, it's very important that we look back and actually find out how we got here in the first place. You have a group of young student activists there on the University of Missouri campus, they call themselves concerned student 1950, they claim that there's widespread -- really discrimination, that there is sexism and also homophobia, but then you also have the head of the university system that as you mentioned there Tim Wolf, President of the university system who admits that there is racism on campus and that he intends to do something about it.

In fact, just today he put out yet another statement in which he's hoping to communicate with not just members of the community, but also some of the student protesters. I want to read you a portion of it which says, "It is clear to all of us that change is needed, and we appreciate the thoughtfulness and passion which have gone into the sharing of concerns." By that, Wolf is actually referring to protests that we have seen on campus by student organizations at Missou. In fact, just last night, as you mentioned a few moments ago, many football players actually jumped on board and behind this cause here, hoping to really put pressure on the school system to make some change happen.

And what's adding weight to that, too, Fred, it's an important point here, even some members of the faculty also standing behind them, including the head coach of the team that's really choosing to stay on the sidelines for now, Gary Pinkel actually tweeting today, saying that he continues to support his team, and also says that Missou continues to stand together as a family. So I think that's a very important point. Last thing I should mention, I want to take you back to October 10th. It's also a very important incident to discuss here, which was when Tim Wolf, the President of the University was taking part in a homecoming parade when several members of the student organization blocked the vehicle as opposed to actually speaking to some of these young student protesters, the President essentially continued to go around some of this group here.

So it created a very heated moment. However, he did actually refer to that incident just late last week and apologized for it. I want to read you this entire statement because it's very important, too, it's a very apologetic tone here. He says, "I regret my reaction at the M.U. homecoming parade when the concerned student 1950 group approached my car. I am sorry, and my apology is long overdue. My behavior seemed like I did not care, and that was not my intention. I was caught off guard in the moment. Nonetheless, had I gotten out of the car to acknowledge students to talk with them, perhaps we wouldn't be here where we are today, by that, Fred, he's referring to obviously many of the students protesting, many of the players choosing not to play.

He does say that the university in general is actually trying to come up with an inclusion strategy, potential fix here. They have until April of next year to actually announce that. Until then, they do hope that people actually come forward to take part in the conversation, one that has been proven to be very heated and very passionate.

WHITFIELD: Let alone, that is quite the statement coming from the university President. But I know this is a situation that still has many more steps to go. So keep us posted, Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

[16:45:01]

All right, coming up, Donald Trump taking to SNL, we'll be looking at how well he performed and how this makes an impact on the campaign trail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: General, how are we doing in Syria?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, ISIS is completely eliminated, sir, the country's at peace, all the refugees have returned, and they have great jobs as blackjack dealers in the Trump Hotel and Casino in Damascus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, the President of Mexico is here to see you.

TRUMP: That's great, send him in. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald.

TRUMP: Enrique.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I brought you the check for the wall.

TRUMP: That's so wonderful. I am so proud of you. Changing Telemundo to all English for me, you changed that to all English.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course.

TRUMP: Jimmy, how's the economy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing, sir, in the words of our new national anthem, its huge!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea how you did it, sir.

TRUMP: You know what? I don't have to get specific. With me, it's just -- it work, it's magic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, that was Donald Trump hosting Saturday Night Live, bringing in big ratings in fact for the show. Critics have been giving mixed reviews of his performance, including what the pay-off will be for the Republican Presidential Candidate. Our Brian Stelter has been following the latest, Brian.

[16:50:01]

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Fred, this was definitely a moment for the television history books, because we never had seen a leading candidate for President, host an entire episode of SNL before. We all know the politicians love to have cameos on SNL, they love to reach out to viewers that way. But here is Trump for the whole hour and a half, playing himself sometimes, playing other characters sometimes, and it was hit or miss. There were a lot of weak reviews. A lot of reviews panning the show as being unfunny, as being too soft, as not taking many risks.

But the ratings were very strong. This was SNL's highest rated show in more than three years. Once again, a testament to Trump's popularity. There was clearly lots of anticipation for his SNL premiere. There was also -- as always with Donald Trump, a lot of controversy. There were Hispanic groups outside 30 Rock last night, protesting Trump's involvement, they had called on NBC to dump Trump but was unsuccessful in that campaign. However, their voices were heard inside. There was a $5,000 bounty, so to speak, calling on someone in the room to disrupt Trump during the broadcast.

That didn't quite happen, but Larry David did pretend to interrupt. Here's what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arrest us.

TRUMP: Who the hell -- I knew this was going to happen. Who is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump's a racist.

TRUMP: It's Larry David. What are you doing, Larry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard if I yelled that they'd give me $5,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Now the group that offered that $5,000 reward says it does want to pay Larry David. It says, joke or not, their message was relayed on SNL and they are happy about that. As for Trump, well, his television campaigning's over for now. He went on several of the morning shows today, said he had a great time, said it was an honor to host SNL, and now he'll be back on the regular campaign trail in the days to come, Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Brian Stelter.

All right, and this just in to CNN, incredible images of a massive sinkhole in Mississippi, look at that, 15 cars in fact, swallowed in just moments, more details, coming up.

But first, we want to introduce you to another one of our top ten CNN heroes. Daniel Ivankovich watched low income patients in Chicago suffer and get sicker because they couldn't afford medical care.

DANIEL IVANKOVICH: There are over one million people in Chicago that are essentially invisible to the system. They're either uninsured or they're 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.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Ivankovich, nonprofit, has provided treatment to more than 100,000 patients. And you can vote four your choice, for CNN hero of the year, at CNNheroes.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:57:30]

WHITFIELD: Investigators in Meridian, Mississippi are working to determine the cause of a very large sinkhole that swallowed 15 cars in an IHOP restaurant parking lot. The area received about three inches of rain this weekend, and customers inside the IHOP actually told affiliate WTOK, they heard a series of booms so loud, that one employee yelled earthquake. Investigators say there are no reports of injuries. Wow, incredible close call there.

Meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington tomorrow for a meeting with President Barack Obama. He's looking to mend his relationship with the United States, after his controversial address to Congress where he lobbied against the Iran nuclear deal. Orrin Lieberman looks at the relations between the two men and their countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORRIN LIEBERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, another blow to the already-strained relations between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama, days before the two leaders meet in Washington. Revelations that Netanyahu's new appointment as media adviser accused Obama of anti-Semitism on Facebook back in March in the run-up to the Iran framework agreement, and once said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had a future in stand-up comedy.

Baratz apologized, and Netanyahu said he will "Clarify the matter, but the damage was done." The seven-year relationship between Netanyahu and Obama has only grown worse in recent months. Earlier this year, Netanyahu made what critics called an unprecedented intervention in U.S. foreign policy, speaking before Congress, without a White House invitation and criticized Obama's signature Iran nuclear deal, sparking a public and at times, acrid feud between the leaders.

GIL HOFFMAN, POLITICAL ANALYST JERUSALEM POST: The importance of this meeting is that it passes without further skirmishes between Netanyahu and Obama that are not harmful to U.S. relationship and to both countries.

LIEBERMAN: Both leaders have tried to downplay the frosty relationship, saying the cooperation between countries is for more important. Hours before his scheduled departure to Washington, Netanyahu saying this meeting will be about the all-important American aid to Israel. The U.S. gives Israel some $3 billion a year in military aid, and that will soon include the America's latest fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Kerry highlighted this aid to Israel when we spoke in Philadelphia in September in defense of the Iran deal. But that military aid is set to expire in 2018, and Netanyahu could use this chance to push for a bigger aid package. As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a big issue for Kerry, the top White House adviser says there probably won't be any real peace negotiations before the end of Obama's time in office, Orrin Lieberman, CNN Jerusalem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much for being with me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

[17:00:00]