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Gunshots Ring Out Near Demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri; Donald Trump Criticized for Comments about FOX News Anchor; Wildfires in California Continue; Trump Slams FOX For Third-Party Question; Renewed Focus in GOP Race on Abortion. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 10, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: There was peaceful protests all day long, but there were also three rounds of gunfire late into the night, one shooting breaking out with protesters running for cover. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNSHOTS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Another shooting involving plain clothes officers happening after police say they came under heavy fire. New video that some might find disturbing shows the alleged gunman laying on the ground after being shot by police. He is now in critical condition. We want to get all the very latest from Sara Sidner. She's been on the scene all night. She witnessed the gunfire. Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there were three distinct shootings, as you mentioned. We were there for all three. The very first one a ringing out sometime after about 11:00 p.m. as protesters and police were facing off, but this happened a couple hundred yards away from where the protests were.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Gunshots ring out on the streets of Ferguson on the one year anniversary of Michael Brown's death, erupting into chaos overnight when gunfire sent protesters and police running for cover. Watch as this video captures another angle of the moment the shooting breaks out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect engages them with gunfire. The plain clothes detectives returned fire from the inside of the van.

SIDNER: St. Louis County police say officers were involved in heavy gunfire in two shootings Sunday night. In one incident, police say a suspect shot directly at plain clothes officers with the stolen nine millimeter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were four officers in that van. All four fired at the suspect and the suspect fell there. SIDNER: I captured gunshots on camera as I interviewed Ferguson's

interim police chief.

(GUNSHOTS)

SIDNER: This graphic video posted by "Search for Swag" on Twitter shows a man who is shot while fleeing police. Police say he had fired at them. Police also say a stolen handgun was found on the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get some help, man.

SIDNER: Angry protesters clashing with police, hurling bottles and bricks at officers. Police deploying tear gas to disperse the crowds. Two businesses were damaged and looted. These images capture bullet holes and unmarked police cruisers caught in the crossfire.

The night of unrest following a day of peaceful vigils to remember Brown's death and the movement it started. Demonstrators marched and observed four and a half minutes of silence, one minute for every hour that Brown's body lay on the street after he was shot.

Brown's killing by a white officer sparked outrage and protests nationwide though the officer was later cleared by both a grand jury and the Department of Justice investigation. Anger bubbled over, violence then mirroring violence now one year later.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: But that violence at this point, according to police, not linked with the protests. Police are saying that they are criminals, of course, they're alleged criminals. We do not know exactly who this person is who has been shot. We know that he is in unstable but critical condition. Back to you guys.

CUOMO: Sara, appreciate the reporting. Be safe there.

Let's bring in from Ferguson now, Chris King, the editorial director for the "St. Louis American." The big concern here is that it's just like a year ago. Do you think that's a fair representation?

CHRIS KING, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "THE ST. LOUIS AMERICAN": No, it's very different than it was a year ago. Ferguson started a national movement devoted to rectifying the disparate impact of law enforcement on African-Americans, and this incident of what seems to be street violence on the fringes of a protest doesn't change the fact that there's a national movement that addressed an important principle.

CUOMO: So from the people to the policies, what has changed, in your opinion? You're there in the community. You understand what's going on. Have you seen changes within the police or new things being budgeted? Are there jobs, programs, the infrastructure surrounding the social needs? Where is the progress?

KING: Well, Ferguson Police Department has to work out a consent agreement with the Department of Justice. Until we see then they're not doing anything meaningful. There has been inking of municipal court reform. As you recall one of

the problems in Ferguson and St. Louis County is there are all these small municipalities that use the police forces really as armed tax collectors. And there was a bill passed that the chief and the protesters out last night testified for was passed, and that will make it more difficult for municipalities to basically use their cops as armed tax collectors.

[08:05:04] CUOMO: And armed tax collectors, what does that mean, Chris? That's an incendiary statement.

KING: Well, I mean, that's what the Department of Justice concluded. What the Department of Justice report e revealed was e-mails between the police chief and the city manager and the court administrator basically saying, chief, we need more tickets, we need more money. And the chief saying, hey, I'll ride the guys. And Ferguson cops were actually doing competitive ticketing. They were actually competing to see to get the most tickets out of one traffic stop.

CUOMO: So that's the report. They have to figure out how fix it. But there are a lot of issues that wound up reflecting around the country about the needs for jobs, education, infrastructure, community relations with police. Do you see the kind of infrastructure being put in place to make a meaningful difference? You've had a year now.

KING: No, not yet. It's a long way to go. I mean, this is centuries in the making. If you think about it, law enforcement, abuses of African-Americans is actually older than freedom. I mean, the slave patrols were the first police officers, and we have a long way to go to rectify the way the police do their business in African-American communities.

Now, the poverty substrate that accounts for the street violence like we saw last night and anger at the police, that's a separate issue altogether. And the state will, I think, set new priorities after the Ferguson Commission issues the report next month.

CUOMO: Obviously you know we revisit these stories on anniversaries to give a sense of time lapse and hopefully progresses on the issues concern. What is your message one year out?

KING: We have a national movement where young African-Americans stood up for something important to them, and it really should be important to anyone. If you think about it, police are a government service. Our constitution tells us a government service cannot have an disparate impact by demographic. So if police are policing African- Americans differently than others, that's unacceptable by our constitution.

"The Washington Post" report had it seven times more likely for an unarmed African-American to be killed by a police officer than an unarmed white person. That's a disparate impact. It's unacceptable. And I think it's an important movement with a good goal.

CUOMO: And it's unacceptable to more than just young black people as well. You a lot of people not just protesting but trying to make change around the country, including in many police forces. All right, thank you very much, Chris King. Please keep us informed of what is going on there. Appreciate having you on the show, as always.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: On the heels of the new unrest in Ferguson, we want to take you to Texas where the FBI is investigating yet another shooting of an unarmed black teenager. Christian Taylor was killed in the Dallas suburb of Arlington shot by an officer in training. And this is some newly released edited surveillance video showing the moments leading up to Taylor's death. You see him there in the lot stomping on one of the cars in the car dealership lot. Ed Lavandera is there in Arlington for us with the very latest. Now the FBI is involved. Why?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a request made by the Arlington Police Department. They know full well that this shooting will be intensely scrutinized in the coming days and weeks. This all started to unfold around 1:00 Friday morning when police say Christian Taylor drove up to the car dealership in south Arlington and started walking around and acting very erratically, at least that's what the video shows, walking through the car dealership parking lot, at one point jumping up and down on one of the cars, smashing out a window.

Then police say he drove a jeep into the showroom floor. And that's when two police officers, one of them a 49-year-old rookie police officer by the name of Brad Miller. And police say there was some sort of altercation. They won't say if it is physical or a verbal altercation. They say they don't know at this point, don't have enough information. But they do say that Christian Taylor was told to lay down on the ground. He didn't follow those orders, instead ran off.

And that's when police say four shots were fired by Officer Miller and Christian Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene. But it really is those moments of that altercation that police say will be the most important part as they investigate to figure out whether or not this was a justifying shooting. Michaela?

PEREIRA: All right, Ed, we'll watch this story along with you.

In other news Donald Trump's opponents believe the Republican frontrunner is on the ropes for what many consider a crude comment that he made about FOX debate moderator Megyn Kelly. Trump insisting he doesn't have issues with women. He claims he cherishes women. For more on the turmoil surrounding the Trump campaign, let's bring in CNN's Athena Jones in Washington.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michaela. Trump making headlines again. He's offending Hispanic immigrants. He's offended veterans and former prisoners of war, and he's done all this without hurting his standing in the polls. So the question now is whether these latest remarks will do any lasting damage to him, particularly with women.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:10:06] JONES: Donald Trump on the offensive DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All I was doing is

referring to her. I said nothing whatsoever.

JONES: The latest controversy surrounding the billionaire erupted after he said this about FOX anchor Megyn Kelly, one of the moderators of Thursday's debate, to CNN's Don Lemon.

TRUMP: She starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. And you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.

JONES: Trump was upset with what he calls unfair questioning from her during the Republican primary debate.

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You call women you don't like "Fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals."

JONES: The GOP frontrunner appeared on four Sunday shows to defend himself including CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" saying he never intended to suggest Kelly was having her period as many interpreted her comment.

TRUMP: I was going to say nose, head, or ears, because that's a very common statement, blood pouring out of somebody's nose. It's a statement showing anger. You think I would make a stupid statement like that? Who would make a statement like that? Only a sick person would even think about it.

JONES: In a sign of growing concern in some GOP quarters Trump was disinvited from a conservative Republican gathering over the weekend after the comments about Kelly. Many, but not all of Trump's GOP rivals, criticized the remarks.

JEB BUSH, (R) FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Do we want to win? Do we want to insult 53 percent of all voters? What Donald Trump said is wrong.

CARLY FIORINA, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They were completely inappropriate and offensive comments.

JONES: A comment that drew fire from Donald Trump on Sunday when he tweeted "If you listen to Carly Fiorina for more than 10 minutes straight, you develop a massive headache."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now, over the weekend, Trump's campaign lost a top political advisor, Roger Stone. They say they fired him. He said he quit over concerns about the campaign's direction. We expect to hear from Trump next in public tomorrow night at an event in Michigan. Michaela?

PEREIRA: Oh, but wait, you may hear from Donald Trump right here on NEW DAY. He is expected to join us on NEW DAY. Tomorrow would be his first appearance here on our program. Our thanks to Athena.

CUOMO: Other news, nearly 60 members of Congress from both parties are in Israel to talk about the nuclear deal with Iran. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet the delegation. You know that he is against the deal for many reasons, and he will make those known. Lawmakers have until the middle of next month to approve or reject the deal. President Obama says he is confident Congress will approve it.

CABRERA: The intense wildfire fight in California turned deadly yet again. Firefighter Michael Hallenbeck was killed over the weekend when a tree fell on top of him and he fought the Sierra fire. That's the one near Lake Tahoe. There was another firefighter injured in all of that. Hallenbeck is the second firefighter to die in the line of duty in less than two weeks. Late last month Dave Ruhl was killed fighting a fire near the Oregon border.

PEREIRA: In New Jersey the FAA is investigating several drone sightings over the weekend in the skies above Newark International Airport. Pilots from at least four commercial flights reported seeing drones Sunday as they were making their final approach into the airport. Let's turn to CNN correspondent Rene Marsh live in Washington with the very latest. What a concern, and several times it happened.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Michaela. This morning the FAA said it has seen a significant increase in pilot reports of drones near airports around the country. And it happened again yesterday in New Jersey. Just listen as multiple pilots call in drone sightings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, drones reported about in the area there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drones in your area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A drone was reported in front of you

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: All right, so air traffic controller warning all of those pilots. None of the flights had to take evasive action and all landed safely. But even a small hobby type drone can be very dangerous. The FAA says it can take on an engine of a passenger plane midair. It could even cause damage to some other part of the plane. We saw what geese can do to the planes and the engines with the "Miracle on the Hudson." That United flight was forced to make an emergency landing on the Hudson. This morning the FAA says that drones are just as dangerous. They are investigating this latest incident, and they are also warning if you are caught, you could be hit up with fines with up to $25,000 as well as criminal charges. Back to you guys.

CABRERA: That's a challenge is catching these guys. Because --

CUOMO: The lasers, the drones.

CABRERA: It makes you so angry. It makes me angry because you think that people may be messing around and they're putting all these people's lives in danger. [08:15:00] PEREIRA: Right.

CUOMO: And there's been no indication that authorities believe it's a terror related or something more nefarious. So that you really have just this stupidest people doing the worst things.

PEREIRA: Right, yes.

CUOMO: And the geese, you can't blame them, though you're Canadian.

PEREIRA: I knew it was going to become a Canadian issue.

CUOMO: No, I have a lot of issues of those geese in my property. I want you to talk them for me.

PEREIRA: I'm a goose defender.

CUOMO: Give them the secret shake or something to get them off my lawn.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: All right. So, Donald Trump has slammed immigrants. He insulted John McCain. But what about what he's dealing with now and how his comments were perceived as being insulted to women? How much longer can he stay the Teflon Don?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right. You've been hearing about what Donald Trump said about one of the FOX moderators. Let's just play the sound. Let's play his defense of it, OK?

Here's what it was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): She starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. And, you know, you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.

I was going to say nose and/or ears because that's a very common statement. Blood pouring out of somebody's nose is a statement showing anger. She had great anger when she was questioning me. Only a deviant would say that what I said was what they were referring to, because nobody can make that statement. You almost have to be sick to put that together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: OK. Now that's what he said.

[08:20:00] That's how he defended it. And now, also, this goes to a bigger point that he was making which is about why he thinks that the moderators were coming after him. Listen that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Literally, it's two seconds in, Bret Baier gets up and he starts saying about raising the hand about third party stuff. I'm saying I can't believe it. We haven't even gotten to the lecterns yet and they're doing that.

So, that was number one, which people forget about. But that was totally inappropriate because that whole question was aimed at me. Then, Megyn gets up and starts talking gibberish and stupid question, and, you know, this whole thing happened because the question was really a very unfair one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: (AUDIO GAP) Push it back on him in the latest NBC interview. But that's nothing new.

Let's bring in political commentator for CNN, S.E. Cupp.

And let's take him at his word -- what he said, what he meant, why he thinks he was being targeted. What's your take?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, for a guy who constantly seeks attention and wants everyone talking about him and him alone, to suddenly get offended and start whining that all the attention was on him at this debate and that a question was designed specifically with him in mind is pretty preposterous. I think we saw a side of Donald Trump both at the debate and in the days following that makes it pretty clear he's not, you know, the leader he has purported, you know, to be if he were to win the presidency.

CUOMO: But is he also a little bit of the victim? I mean, there's no secret that the GOP doesn't cotton to him at this point. But they do have to deal with what he's tapping into.

And they did -- he says, you know, they didn't ask me the same kinds of questions they asked everybody else. They just asked gotcha questions, and I don't even -- and I personally don't like the way Megyn Kelly was asking him -- which is his right to say. Politicians don't usually attack the questioner. But does he have a point?

CUPP: Yes. I mean, I -- when I was watching the debate and, obviously I was watching it start to finish. I had to go on television right after and I thought the first question about the names he's called women. When Chris Christie gets a question on New Jersey's economy next seemed a little silly.

That said, Donald Trump doesn't have a record. Donald Trump is not a politician. It's his best asset, he will tell you.

So, there's not a whole lot for people to ask Donald Trump except for about the things that he has said, you know, things he's said in the past. So, I thought it was a very kind of a lame question, but he did get some more substantive questions later on in the debate.

And look, I mean, this is what he's got to look forward to for as long as he's going to be in this. No one is going to be asking him about his vote on the Iraq war. I mean, he just doesn't have the kind of record that other politicians have coming into the election.

CUOMO: What's the net-net on it?

CUPP: You know, honestly, I think for conservatives who were understandably looking for a nontraditional kind of candidate and might have been intrigued by Donald Trump, I think they have seen through the debate, through the moments after that he's probably not the answer.

Trump supporters don't ever seem to be bothered by the crazy things that he says. Even the things that make him look not very conservative. So, I imagine he'll still maintain some support, but I do think he'll get a bit of a dip in the polls from this incident.

CUOMO: Well, and S.E., you have been writing and making a very direct point that's getting lost in all this. He doesn't line up as a conservative's conservative --

CUPP: Yes.

CUOMO: -- when you look at his positions. But he's tapping into the anger that certainly is owned in part by that base. So, they have a little bit of a Hobson's choice. This guy makes me feel the right way, but will he do the right things?

And you think that that is starting to move along and maybe it's time when Donald Trump comes on tomorrow, maybe it's time to start asks him, what are you doing for these people other than voice anger. Fair?

CUPP: Yes, completely fair.

Look, Donald Trump obviously has tapped into some anger. He's correctly identified illegal immigration among others as a problem. He didn't invent that problem. He didn't -- he's not the first to discuss illegal immigration or any of these other issues that conservatives want him to talk about. But it's the way he talks about it and the solutions that he offers that should have conservatives really thinking twice before following him down this rabbit hole.

Let's bring in Ana Navarro in also. You know her, friend of the show.

Good to have you, Ana.

The other thing that happened at the debate and in our interview afterwards, that I think that may mean more to women, right, that's what they're hitting Trump over the head with is, you insulted women, this is why the GOP can't get more women under the tank because stupid stuff like this. And he says it's not my fault.

Marco Rubio said that his position on abortions that there are no carve outs for rape or incest.

[08:25:01] Yes, they chased him on that because he cosponsored a bill that had a carve out. But he says, whatever, I'm not for it. And then he said something else that I want your take on.

Let's play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm proud to say that my faith influences me. It teaches me that God knew us when he formed us in the womb. It does influence me to believe that all human life is worthy of protection, even human life that doesn't have a birth certificate, even human life that maybe scientists wants to have a debate about.

But I think the science is clear that when a child -- when there is conception, that is a human life in the early stages of its total development and it is worthy of the protection of our laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: All right. Two different things. One is from the moment of conception, you have human life -- tough to argue with. The law asks, when do you have a person in order to attach rights? That was the point of back and forth.

He says science is clear that happens at conception. And that is not true. We don't have scientific consensus about when we have a person. Roe has one standard. In 2004, the feds, they passed their own law about the rights of the unborn.

You know, so this is not a clear question. He's supposed to be the future of the party. How do you think it helps or hurts with women?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he's being incredibly truthful and honest as to where he is on this. He's saying -- I've known Marco Rubio now for 20 years. We grew up together in Republican politics in Miami. He's a friend of mine.

Marco is a man who lives his faith. He's a very ardent Catholic. I think he's answering the question from his heart and he's being truthful. It is formed by his faith. He believes it starts at conception and he believes life needs to be protected from that moment on.

So, you know, whether it fits or not into scientific argument that somebody may have or not is different as to whether he's answering it honestly or not. I believe Marco is answering it honestly because I know the guy. This is a guy that lives and practices his religion.

CUOMO: There's no reason to question his honesty, that's for sure. What I'm saying, S.E., is, if he wants to be the leader of the future --

CUPP: Yes. CUOMO: -- why wouldn't he grab on to the idea of getting a scientific consensus or at least trying? We do it for global warming and other things. Why not for a question that matters, as stem cell research, what is going on with Planned Parenthood, what's going on with reproductive rights? You know, why wouldn't you want to know?

If anything else, for a pro-life position, it will probably benefit you.

CUPP: I think honestly, I think he believes, and I think he's right, that most Americans would rather listen to him are more comfortable listening to him talk about unborn babies than they are Planned Parenthood. I think the Democratic Party has moved so far to the left on this issue -- removing language like "legal, safe, and rare" from their charter. Putting up candidates like Wendy Davis in Texas on a pro-abortion platform is just really out of touch with where the country is.

So, I don't think Marco Rubio feels like he has to be held to some kind of arbitrary or at least by your term scientific standard. He can talk about his faith and his position on abortion because he knows that a majority of people in this country believe there should be more restrictions on abortions not fewer, believe in the born alive acts, believe that abortion after 20 weeks should be illegal. He knows that he has the consensus of a majority of Americans with him and not to the Democratic Party.

CUOMO: Interesting. So for him, it's not about vetting he feels it. It's a function of his faith.

CUPP: Sure.

CUOMO: That's good enough for him and for the people he's going for. The question is, what happens if he makes it through the primary and obviously, we wish every candidate the best and gets to the general, where a lot of these decisions are not made on the basis of solely faith?

But, Ana, thank you very much as always. S.E., appreciate the perspective.

Over to you, Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Rocks, bottle, and bullets -- on the first anniversary of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri. How did peaceful protests ascend again into chaos? A live report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)