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Massive Explosion Emanates for Industrial Center in Chinese City; Interview with John Kasich; Donald Trump's Continued Polling Surge Examined; U.S. Launches First ISIS Strikes From Turkish Air Base; Bernie Sanders Shaking Up White House Race. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 13, 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] WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, I need to show you this. We've moved a little close to some of these apartment buildings. We are still a mile away from the epicenter of the explosions. But look, this is someone's living room window that has been blown down, fallen down into the street, a street that is littered not only with debris from people's homes, but also there's glass from shattered windows.

And every time that there's a wind gust from these high level apartment buildings, the glass comes raining down on us here. There's also -- you can still smell the smoke that's burning, again, from the site that is more than a mile away.

We just learned in the past few minute that the death toll has gone up, sadly, 51 people now confirmed dead. And there are 77 people who remain in critical condition. In addition to the more than 500 who are being treated in 10 different hospitals right now. People who live here, they can't go back to their homes tonight. This is deemed unlivable just because of the fact that most of these homes don't even have windows and part of their walls are now gone. So there are thousands of people that are staying in shelters.

And all of this has happened because as a result of what appears to be a truly tragic industrial accident with toxic chemicals sitting dangerously close to people's homes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: This morning, horrific video pouring in of a series of catastrophic explosions in a major Chinese port city late Wednesday. Watch this surveillance video obtained by ABC News of a man standing near the entrance of a building, the blast decimating the wall, caving in right on top of him.

The explosions felt miles away, emanating from an industrial warehouse in Tianjin, a city of 15 million two hours south of Beijing. The chemical material inside, unknown, and dangerous according to Xinhua, a state run news agency. Xinhua reporting firefighters are now suspended from tending to the billing flames, in fear the mysterious chemical might pose a further threat.

This as the death toll continues rising. Dozens now dead, including firefighters and more than 500 injured. "The house collapsed, we didn't know what happened," says one survivor. During my live report from outside the hospital, tempers flared. A group of apparently distraught survivors along with security offices demanding to see the pictures on my phone, forcing me off the air. Police don't stop them, emotions running.

The massive explosions equivalent to a small earthquake according to a China data center. When you look around at all the devastation here, it's really remarkable.

The aftermath found far and wide, buildings destroyed and cars are completely charred more than a mile away from the blast site.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: And 15 million people live here in Tianjin, 15 million people, a lot of them in close proximity to the city's industrial plants. There was a meeting just this month with city officials residents had voiced their concern about living so close to these toxic mix of volatile chemicals. And now the evidence of the danger faced by people, they were just sitting at home, sleeping at home last night when this explosion a mile away did this. And now they don't have anywhere to go to sleep tonight, a lot of them, thousands of them in shelters, many more in the hospital, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It's just amazing that you're a mile away from where this is ongoing, this firefight, and yet you're seeing such damage there. And the numbers, as you've been suggesting, certain to go up. So stay on it. We'll stay in touch with you. And stay safe, Will. Appreciate it.

Turning now to politics. And a just released CNN/ORC poll gives us an answer. We know who will not be president of the United States according to Iowa voters. Donald Trump is in first, and those all coming one him have something in common. They have never held elected office. This reality setting off a new round of ugly attacks from politicians against insurgents, mainly Trump. We've got all the angles covered, beginning with CNN's political reporter Sara Murray live in Washington. Make sense of it for us.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Morning Chris. Like you said, Donald Trump is at the top of the pack. And along with that comes a very big target on his back. This time it's Rand Paul going after him. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Donald Trump dominating the air waves once again this morning.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In many cases I probably identify more as a Democrat.

MURRAY: This time in the form of an attack ad released by rival candidate Rand Paul. The punch thrown as Trump tops the field in Iowa with 22 percent, eight points ahead of his closest rival, Dr. Ben Carson, and a whopping 17 points ahead of Paul, according to the latest CNN-ORC poll of likely caucus goers.

But Paul isn't backing down.

(APPLAUSE)

[08:05:01] RAND PAUL, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, thank you.

MURRAY: Even using the limelight at last night's Nashua town hall to do his best Trump impression.

PAUL: My favorite is the reason I tell women they're ugly is because I'm so good looking. Everybody knows I'm good looking, right?

MURRAY: Just hours before Paul's event in New Hampshire, Trump spoke with CNN's Jake Tapper about the ongoing sparring match.

TRUMP: You look at a guy like Rand Paul, he's failing in the polls. He's weak on the military. He's pathetic on the military. Hasn't his whole team been indicted? I think I've been reading where --

JACK TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Because the super PAC supporting him.

TRUMP: Yes, they've been indicted. So he's a mess. There's not question about it.

MURRAY: But last night's political drama wasn't just limited to Trump versus Paul.

CROWD: Black lives matter! Black lives matter! Black lives matter!

MURRAY: Jeb Bush abruptly left his Las Vegas town hall after a crowd of Black Lives Matter activists chanted during his exit, their response to his final answer about racial inequality.

JEB BUSH, (R) FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: I have a record of empowering people in communities that had no chance. They were told they were assigned to failing schools. And it was very easy to understand why that exists, why people don't think the system works for them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now, our latest CNN poll in Iowa doesn't just show Trump on top. It shows a big shakeup among the other candidates in the top tier. Reach the top five is Carly Fiorina with seven percent support among likely caucus goers, and falling out of the top five is Jeb Bush, coming in at just five percent support. Back to you, Ana.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, one thing that's consistent on the democratic side is Hillary Clinton still on top in Iowa in the latest CNN-ORC poll. You can see she is leading rival Bernie Sanders 50 percent to 31 percent. And that's of course taking into account that email server controversy she's been dealing with. But how would the dynamics change if Joe Biden, who you can see is in third right now -- what if he were to jump into the race? CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is live with that part of the story. Good morning, Suzanne. SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Ana. Clearly this is good news for Hillary Clinton. Iowa eluded her last time, but she leads Bernie Sanders 50 percent to his 31 percent. But this is the interesting part, right, because we've got Vice President Joe Biden has yet to decide whether or not he's going to make a run for the presidency. He's coming in third place with 12 percent.

Now Hillary's dominance in Iowa coming on the back of yesterday's polls showing Sanders taking the lead in New Hampshire with 44 percent. All of this is playing out while the FBI is investigating whether any rules were broken for Clinton's use of a personal e-mail account as secretary of state and whether or not classified information was improperly handled. Even though most voters feel that Clinton's intentions may have been acceptable, there is now a majority, 52 percent, who say that e-mails should be subject to a criminal investigation.

This is taking a hit on how voters feel about Clinton. Again, if you go back to Iowa Sanders is ahead of her, 35 percent finding him more honest and trust worthy to Clinton, who's at 28 percent. And again, this is what's so striking here, Biden not even announcing yet, creeping up behind. Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Suzanne, thank you very much. Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Donald Trump may be dominating the headlines, but John Kasich is starting to get noticed these days. He is now in third in the polls in New Hampshire, his moderate brand of conservatism resonating with voters. CNN's chief Congressional correspondent Dana Bash had a chance to sit down one-on- one with the governor of Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You talk about the social safety net in a way that a lot of Republicans don't. You sound like a Democrat sometimes.

JOHN KASICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll tell you something that's really weird about all this. I've balance more budgets than about anybody walking on the face of the earth. I'm just kind of kidding, but I've done that. I've cut taxes at every step of the way. We have the largest tax cuts in Ohio of any sitting governor right now. I'm for school choice. We're getting at the problem of higher education costs. And somehow because I care about people or I care about the environment, that that makes me something other than a conservative?

I think Republicans allowed themselves to be put in a box, like if I care about people -- some lady whispered to me when I walked out of the town hall, she says thanks for caring about people. And she's like whispering, like that's -- no. To me it's giving everybody a chance to be able to be successful. That's the way Reagan was. I mean, that's common sense.

BASH: Hillary Clinton met her in New Hampshire yesterday with some Black Lives Matter protesters. I don't know if you saw, Bernie Sanders had a disruption in one of his events because of protesters. Martin O'Malley apologized for saying all lives matter. Do you think it's appropriate to apologize for that? What's your view on this?

KASICH: Well, I've been very involved in Ohio.

[08:10:00] We have a collaborative effort with community leaders African-Americans, law enforcement, and they've come up with 23 recommendations including two things -- one, a state-wide politician policy on the use of deadly force. It's going to be in effect very soon.

BASH: Should an elected official apologize for saying all lives matter?

KASICH: I don't know about that whole issue. I'm just telling you what we're doing. And all lives do matter. Black lives matter especially now because there's a fear in these communities that, you know, that justice isn't working for them. But it's about balance. And I'm not going to get myself caught in some sort of a wedge. The community has to understand the challenges of police, and the police have to understand the challenges of the community. And if we all work together, we can get through this.

BASH: You thanked Donald Trump for being in the debate because you think he drew 24 million people.

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: Who also got a look at you.

KASICH: Yes.

BASH: You think he is a positive force in the GOP field?

KASICH: I think he's tapping into people's anxieties as I mentioned at the town hall, because I think those anxieties are real. I think people have about had it with frustrations in their lives connected to the government, connected to the loss of jobs. But I don't think people want to stay on the negative side. I think they want to know what the solutions are. And they're skeptical. When I talk over there, what's going through my mind is, are they going to believe me? That's why I keep telling them to check my record, because they don't want the same-old, same-old anymore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Fair point that Governor Kasich made about the challenge and the opportunity that Donald Trump presents. Tweet us on that.

Now let's get to the numbers here that we have on this Iowa polling. Let's bring in senior editor of Slate.com Josh Vorhees, and political columnist from "The Des Moines Register" Kathie -- I was worried about your last name, Kathie. I didn't even get you first name right. Say your last name for us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the easy part. Kathie Obradovich.

CUOMO: Obradovich. Kathie, I couldn't get. Obradovich, that's easy. It's a good Irish name.

All right, now, let's look inside these numbers. Donald Trump is on top. Let's put up everybody there. What does Trump and Carson share, and why is Fiorina jumping? You could say it's because, Kathie, none of them have been in elected office before. Do you agree, and how does that telescope?

OBRADOVICH: You know, this is amazing, Chris, because no one who has never been elected before has ever won the Iowa caucuses. And now you have three candidates leading the polls in Iowa who have -- some of them have never even run for office before, let alone being elected.

I think that what this shows -- you heard people already this morning talking about how Donald Trump taps into anger at the establishment. I think that is part of it. I think also people are attracted to the personality factor. Donald Trump has a huge personality. Ben Carson, an amazing life story. People really are attracted to him as someone who is considered to be extremely intelligent, well-spoken, and actually a very, very nice man.

And now Carly Fiorina really rocketing up the polls. She's been in the bottom tier all year, and a standout debate performance, even though she was in the cocktail hour debate. And suddenly we've got three candidates very, very different from what we normally see in Iowa.

CUOMO: Right, well, she's not going to be in it again if the numbers stay this way. Kathie, strong points there. Now let's look at the numbers of why people are saying Trump should be the choice. Change Washington, plus 35 points over his closest rival, then the economy, then immigration. A little ironic there given that immigration kind of sparked his initial thing.

So what does that mean to you, Vorhees, that that's changing Washington and the economy and they trust him more than everybody else? Hello? Kathie, we're going to try and get Josh back online. So what does that mean to you that he's that far ahead on that kind of issue?

OBRADOVICH: You know, I think that it's clear that he is a change agent. He is, you know, somebody who is really not speaking the word that we normally hear from politicians in Washington. You know, he kind of rips the veil off and really let it rip. And when I talk to voters, that is what they really like about Donald Trump. Now, not all change is good change. And you may have some people in your polls who say he's going to change things for sure, but I don't know if it's for the better.

CUOMO: Look, what's going to be his challenge? The challenge is going to be the what and the how. Right now he's harnessed the movement. He's the face of discontent. And he's show head can go toe to toe with these guys and he's not afraid of him, that they don't have an answer for him. They're not doing better than he is with the what and the how, so he's staying where he is.

Now, one vulnerability is women, for the GOP, for Donald Trump specifically. Now, there is a potential -- I don't want to say potential, because I want you to judge it, Kathie, a magic pill for him.

[08:15:03] If he can make good on his proposition that, hey, these other guys and women, they're telling you what they would do. I'm doing it. I hire women. I put them in positions of authority and pay them as well or better than the men.

If he can prove that, Kathie, what would it mean for him with women? And what if he can't prove it?

OBRADOVICH: Well, I think that would help him walk back some of the comments that came up in the debate about, you know, things he's said about women that is insulting, and maybe the impression people have that he's all about dating and marrying supermodels and, you know, not really that interested in moving women as career people and moving forward in society.

However, I think there is something holding him back in Iowa, and that is he's very negative toward the other candidates. My experience in Iowa is that women voters in particular do not like hearing candidates really ripping into people in their own party. So, I do think that that also something that he needs to think about.

CUOMO: All right. Kathie, thank you very much. We lost Josh there. But that's how it goes with this newfangled stuff called technology. Appreciate your perspective on the numbers.

You know, and again, everybody says it's early, but you've got to watch a horse race because you've got to see the moves and that's what decides what happens at the wire.

Appreciate you being on NEW DAY.

OBRADOVICH: Thank you.

CUOMO: Ana, over to you.

CABRERA: All right. Thanks, Chris.

Breaking overnight, ISIS now saying it's behind a deadly blast in Baghdad. This is the scene left behind. A truck bomb exploded in this crowded market. We've now confirmed 36 people are dead, about 75 injured. There are still reports that the death toll could be much higher. This is a predominantly Shia area. It has been targeted by these Sunni terrorists several times.

PEREIRA: U.S. fighter planes launching their first airstrikes on ISIS in Syria from a base in neighboring Turkey. Officials hope proximity could help in the strategy to defeat the terror group.

CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins us live from near that air base in Turkey -- Nick. NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Michaela,

what we're seeing behind here is a pretty busy morning. A lot of F- 16s taking off, some support aircraft, we can't tell if Turkish ones that have long been using this or the six F-16s American jets as of yesterday began their strikes.

We hear those first strikes hit multiple targets inside Syria, targets in fact that had been long sought after, so not once of opportunity. But it's partially that latter idea, being able to keep jets in the air a lot longer over ISIS controlled areas in Syria that's so attractive to Americans in trying to get use of this base for attack aircraft.

It's 15 minute flight only to Syria from here, remarkably short time, makes refueling easier, makes reloading ammunition easier, makes the amount of time they can look for stray ISIS a lot longer. That could really change the tempo of the United States here, who had a long difficult bargaining with Turkey to get access here. Turkey wants it a safe zone, free of Kurds and ISIS along the border. The U.S. wants no part of that. But the use of this base could significantly change the speed of U.S. operations against ISIS -- Alisyn.

CUOMO: All right. I'll take it. Very much, Nick, thank you very much.

The NFL deflategate scandal is playing out now in federal court. Judge Richard Berman repeatedly asking the league's lawyers to provide direct evidence linking Tom Brady to deflated footballs. Remember, this isn't just the court of public opinion. It's about knowing only what you show at court.

The NFL admits it does not have a smoking gun. But it's this court sketch of Brady that's getting all the buzz. This, one newspaper wrote, it looks like Brady's face was put into one of those machine that crash cars. Other people are comparing him to one of the guys from the Adams family.

Naturally, the picture inspired some good fun in the Internet. Courtroom artist Jane Rosenberg apologizing for not making Brady as good looking as he is.

Tom Brady only looks like this to jets fans.

PEREIRA: I think so. And to heartbroken Patriots fans perhaps.

CUOMO: Even my wife married to a Jets fan, I've heard her say, why can't he play without his helmet?

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: I was like, I wish he'd play without his helmet, too. They got a good chance of knocking him down.

PEREIRA: Oh my goodness.

CABRERA: Of course, I'm from Colorado. So, Broncos fans aren't feeling too bad for him.

CUOMO: That's right.

PEREIRA: Also don't you think on the flip side if they made this gorgeous glowing portrait of him --

CUOMO: It would be accurate.

PEREIRA: Yes, well, no, well, OK, people would complain about that too.

All right. Bernie Sanders has seen his presidential campaign soar to new levels. He's beating Hillary Clinton in one New Hampshire poll. We are going to hear from his campaign manager, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:23:44] CUOMO: The numbers tell the story. Bernie Sanders, senator from Vermont, certainly gaining momentum as he's trying to take down Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House.

Take a look. He's trailing, of course, but he is pulling ahead of Clinton in New Hampshire. Yes, it's the neighboring state, but there could be residents beyond that. The crowds that are coming out to #feelthebern.

So, can the senator do the unthinkable and derail Clinton's road to the White House?

Here's someone who better say yes, Bernie Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver.

Now, Jeff, it's good to have you on the show.

As you know early on, we were pushing the senator to run because it was good to have more voices in there. But no one saw crowds like this coming. What is making people #feelthebern?

JEFF WEAVER, CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR BERNIE SANDERS: Look, Chris, people are feeling the bern because Bernie Sanders is speaking to the reality they know in their own lives. They know they can't afford to send their kids to college, they know they're working longer hours for lower wages. They know that we have a trade policy that's broken. They know we have to deal with climate change.

And Bernie Sanders is speaking clearly and openly about those issues and people are responding.

CUOMO: What do you think it will take for him to catch and pass Hillary Clinton? Can he do it?

WEAVER: Yes, we can do it, as a matter of fact.

[08:25:00] Just this past weekend, we had over 70,000 people at rallies on the West Coast. Hundreds of thousands of people have given us contributions at BernieSanders.com averaging a little over $30 a piece. This is a grassroots-fueled and funded campaign and it is catching fire from one coast to the other.

CUOMO: Now, we can argue all day about whether or not this is about the man or just the message, and he represents the left of the party and they haven't had a lot of voice in the long time. The Clintons are known as being more centrist.

But there's another number here that I think will give you some better leverage against this conversation: trustworthiness, let's put up this number -- Sanders 35 percent, Clinton 28 percent. The senator doesn't really talk about Hillary's e-mail troubles. Why not?

WEAVER: Look, this campaign is about the people of United States and what we need to do to fix the problems that are ailing the country. This is not a campaign about gossip or personalities or reality TV show. This is about real issues that affect real people.

And that's why Bernie is getting through. People are sick and tired of the sort of political circus that goes on in this country and not having leaders that are ready to address the problems they face in their everyday lives. That's what Bernie does.

CUOMO: True enough. But leadership is about accountability in part and accountability is about truth of problems, and what's going on with the e-mail stuff is the subject of a federal investigation. It's not gossip.

WEAVER: Well, that process will play itself out. But what we're going to do is talk about the issues that are important to people in their immediate lives, as I said, the high cost of college education, the fact that wages are stagnant in this country, the fact that we have the greatest amount of wealth and income inequality in this country since Great Depression. Those are the issues that people want to hear about that their next president is going to deal with.

CUOMO: You're neck and neck with her. We just put up the numbers while you're talking about. Cares and can control, the issues that matter to me, they are 40-39. Statistical dead heat. Biden at 12, but he's not in the race yet.

What changes for the senator if the vice president gets in the race?

WEAVER: Look, anybody is free to enter the race who wants to enter the race. We're going to continue doing what we've been doing, which is talking about the issues, which is traveling the country and meeting with tens and tens and tens of thousands of people. So, we're -- it's not going to affect how we run our campaign. Our campaign is about the issues and that's what we're sticking to.

CUOMO: Let me ask you about this wrinkle in the plans. The GOP numbers are showing here's what we know for sure. That's in quotes because we don't know anything for sure. But Trump, Carson, Fiorina with a climb. Yes, she did very well in the debate.

But all three of those share a quality. They are outsiders. The senator has been in the game since the '80s as mayor and then moving on up. How does he claim that portion of the outrage?

WEAVER: Look, Chris, I've worked with Bernie Sanders off and on for 30 years. Bernie Sanders for his entire career has stood up for working people, middle income people and the poor in this country. People know that he is a fighter for them in Washington. He's the outsider on the inside we like to say.

CUOMO: Outsider on the inside. He also says he is a socialist. Can you win a general election in the United States as a self-declared socialist?

WEAVER: Well, he is a Democratic socialist and that means that he supports many of the policies that we see in democratic countries right across the Atlantic and our allies in Europe.

So, absolutely, yes, because the issues we're talking about are the issues resonating with Americans. You can see by the poll numbers, by the crowds and by the grassroots funding we've received.

CUOMO: True or false? Or let's just true or true, Bernie Sanders the senator from Vermont never imagined that the race would pick up this way this quickly?

WEAVER: That's absolutely true. I think that's true of everybody. If I had come on this show four months ago and said we're going to be ahead in New Hampshire and we're going to be in the same place that Barack Obama was with respect to Hillary Clinton in Iowa at this time back in 2007, you would have laughed me off the show.

CUOMO: Well, it just shows what an amazing campaign manager he must have. It's clearly all about the engineering of strategy.

Pass along the best to the senator. We are always looking forward to a robust debate. And I will say this, since he has gotten in the game, and gotten all this momentum, not easy to get him on NEW DAY.

Don't forget who got you there in the first place. We ask him to get in on the race.

WEAVER: We won't forget you, Chris.

CUOMO: Continued success on the dialogue, and we'll be following every step of the way, because it's all going to be about what you can offer to people.

Thank you very much for being on NEW DAY.

WEAVER: Thank you, sir.

COUMO: What do you think? Are you feeling the bern? If so, why? If not, why? Use the #NewDayCNN hashtag or post your comments on Facebook.com/NewDay.

Ana? CABRERA: The pictures out of China are horrific. An earthquake, almost like an earthquake, but this was an explosion that could be felt from miles away. We'll have more stunning pictures from this huge catastrophe coming up next.

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