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Manhunt Intensifies For Ohio Mass Murders Suspect; Cruz And Kasich Team up To Stop Trump; Obama To Send 250 Special Ops Forces To Syria. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired April 25, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: An intense manhunt is under way for the suspect or suspects behind the execution-style killings of eight family members in Ohio. Authorities say they believed it was pre- planned.

Nick Valencia is live there in Pike County, Ohio, with the latest. What are we learning, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. A tragic story became even more bizarre with the announcement over the weekend from authorities that a marijuana grow operation was found at the residences of the victims.

A source close to the investigation tells me that this was not for personal use, but for something much, much bigger. Even still authorities are not saying that this was drug related.

But certainly people in this community have their speculations given the ruthless nature of these executions. Many people here think it was drug related.

They are taking added some precautions. With fear the suspects are still on the loose that they may be next. Authorities tried to address that at a press conference yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE DEWINE, OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL: This was a pre-planned execution of eight individuals. It was a sophisticated operation.

CHARLES READER, PIKE COUNTY SHERIFF: I've spoken with the family. It's very evident that they were a target of this horrible crime. I cautioned them that they were a target, and I told them to be armed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Perhaps the most disturbing detail out of all of this is one of the victims was a mother who was shot and killed. Shot in the head while sleeping next to her 4 day-old baby. Authorities say that they have more than 100 tips. They've interviewed between 50 and 60 people, but they still have no suspect -- Michaela. CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I'll take it. All they know right now is they don't believe it was random, but there is a lot of work left to do in that investigation. We will stay on the story.

Let's take a quick break. When we come back, voters in the rust belt leaning towards anti-establishment candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. We talked to voters in three big cities up for grabs. We'll tell you why they say what they say. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:15]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Can a Ted Cruz-John Kasich partnership keep Donald Trump from cinching the nomination? The Cruz and Kasich campaigns last night in a surprise announcement saying they will attempt to divide delegates to conquer Trump.

Joining us now is CNN politics reporter, MJ Lee, who just spent a week in three rust belt cities talking to voters about the entire election. MJ, great to have you here in studio with us.

Let's start with this surprise announcement last night. What do we know about this Cruz-Kasich alliance?

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, what they are basically doing now joining forces to try to deny Trump the nomination before the convention. Look, I think this is probably an effort that is too late, as with all of the other stop Trump efforts that we've seen over the last couple months.

We know for a fact that Cruz and Kasich, neither of them can get to that magic number of 1,237 on their own. We know that Trump is the only person who realistically can get to that number, and when you look at the states that we're talking about, Indiana, Oregon, New Mexico, these are not winner take all states.

CAMEROTA: Cruz will take Indiana and Kasich is going to take Oregon and New Mexico to try to keep Trump from getting to 1,237.

LEE: That's right. But all three of those states are not winner take all. So we are really talking peeling away a number of delegates in order to try to stop Trump from getting to that number.

However, it's too late probably because of where we are in the race and how far along Trump is, and I think this plan is really flawed, because other than those three states, you notice that the campaign statements did not actually mention all of the other states that will have contests heading into June.

So you can -- imagine the scenario where the Kasich campaign and the Cruz campaign get to a state where they both think that they probably have a good chance of getting some delegates.

[06:40:07]How can you say at this point that, you know, they don't reach a moment of friction where they say, look, I think I have every right to compete in this state?

CAMEROTA: If there is one thing we can count on, it's moments of friction, I believe in this election. You've just spent a good chunk of time into really interesting places.

You've been to Buffalo, New York, Erie, Pennsylvania, and Youngstown, Ohio. And you've spent a lot of time talking to voters there in what's called the rust belt.

So let's just play for viewers a snippet of some of the things they told you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM WILES, BUFFALO, NEW YORK VOTER: When it comes to politics, the discussion ultimately gets about around Donald Trump and across the board people are saying, he's got it right. I'm voting for him and that's what scares them because he's not a political guy.

SEAN CANDELA, ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I just hope that whoever gets in is pro-growth and creates jobs. People are concerned about jobs. You know, GE has announced a big layoff. You heard, 1,500 people. That's very, very big. It's not the unemployment as much as it's the under employment.

LEE: You don't think anyone can help you? Any president can help you?

DARLENE HOOD, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO VOTER: I got to help myself. They ain't going to get me no job, feed me, and clothe me. They ain't going to do anything for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, so you hear a common theme running through all of those, jobs, jobs, jobs.

LEE: That's right. I mean, the three cities that we went to, you are talking about cities that once used to be a huge manufacturing hubs and since the '70s and '80s when a lot of people left because jobs started leaving south or overseas, these people have tried to make sense of this all.

And figure out, well, how can we make our towns and cities the sorts of places that they used to be? And a lot of the people that we spoke to, they said when they think about the presidential election, they want a candidate who will come to their towns and their cities and really talk to them and say, here's a proposal I have to make sure that you can put food on your table.

Here's a proposal I have to make sure that your kids can get good college educations. Here's a proposal I have to fill in the potholes that are all over your city and close down the homes that are all boarded up, and closed, and just sitting there vacant.

So I think for a lot of these people, they're sort of juggling with, you know, knowing what their cities used to be and the potential that they used to have and wanting 2016 to be an election that gives them hope, and a hope that's sort of realistic, grounded on realistic proposals.

CAMEROTA: You talked to 30 voters. It's fascinating what they told you. You can check out more of MJ's stuff on CNN.com to see the full extent of all the rust belt interviews that she did. MJ, thanks so much for being here. Great to talk to you. Let's go over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Alisyn. Reports that a grand jury will hand down an indictment against embattled former Cleveland Brown's quarterback, Johnny Manziel. We have details ahead in your "Bleacher Report" coming up.

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[16:46:53]

PEREIRA: The central plains are bracing for a dangerous storm this morning. Officials are warning of massive hail, strong winds and even an outbreak of tornadoes moving from Southern Texas right up to Missouri.

Meteorologist, Chad Myers has a look what we can expect ahead. Chad, this is serious.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is especially for tomorrow. For today maybe around Chicago there will be some severe weather, but tomorrow is the big day. It's battle stations day tomorrow because the jet stream is doing that.

When you see a big turn in the jet stream like that, there will be severe weather right here on the east side of that. I need you to get your apps all up to date. Know where you are, what county you live in. Know your plan for tomorrow in you are in that spot right there.

Let me highlight it for you. Anywhere inside that big red box is where the severe weather will be. It's one of those days. We had categories, where there's no severe weather, some severe weather, quite a bit and oh, gosh.

We're close to that oh gosh for tomorrow from Nebraska through Kansas all the way down to Oklahoma for Wednesday and moves to the east. But tomorrow is the big day, be ready for it in the plains -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Chad, appreciate it. We'll check back with you because we know the situation is influx.

"Bleacher Report," guess what? It's not just about bad behavior anymore, it's about the law, and a formal indictment is expected to today against former Cleveland Brown's quarterback, Johnny Manziel. Coy Wire has it for us this morning. My brother.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: How are you, Chris? It has been reported by multiple media outlets in Dallas that Johnny Manziel has been indicted by a Dallas grand jury on a misdemeanor assault charge.

Manziel's ex-girlfriend said he hit her so hard back in January that he burst her ear drum and she was granted a protective order against the 23-year-old quarterback after that alleged incident.

Now Manziel released a statement last week saying that he's thankful for those who really, quote, "know me and support me," unquote. That statement came after he was fired by a second agent in two months.

Now, scary moment for the defending champs. Golden State in game four. Playoff series against the Rockets. Steph Curry missed the last two games with a hurt ankle slips on the court playing defense in the second quarter. That knee buckles. He leaves the game.

He would try to come back in the second half, but the team told him he could not go. He got emotional. He'll get an MRI today. The team says it's a sprained right knee. The rest of the team seemed to rally after they lost their leader. Warriors made an NBA record 21 three pointers in the game. Big win for the Warriors 121-94 taking a three to one series lead.

More playoff basketball on TNT and NBA TV tonight. Heat and Hornets, Mavericks and Thunder, and Alisyn, the Clippers and Trail Blazers all tip off tonight.

CAMEROTA: I will be looking forward that, Coy. Thanks so much.

WIRE: You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: All right. President Obama announcing a major announcement this morning. More U.S. special forces will head to Syria in the fight against ISIS. They will not be involved in combat, he says. So what will they do and is this the right move?

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[05:53:58]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- I've approved deployment of up to 250 additional U.S. personnel in Syria including Special Forces to keep us this momentum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Big headline. President Obama announcing this morning what you just heard, 250 additional special operators are going to Syria to support the fight against ISIS. That makes about 4,000 Americans on the ground in the bad lands of Syria and other hot beds in the region. The question is, are we slipping deeper into the maraz (ph).

Let's get a military perspective on the move. Joining us now CNN military analyst and retired Army commanding general for Europe and the 7th Army, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. General, how are you?

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning, Chris. How are you?

CUOMO: When you hear this news, what does it mean to you?

HERTLING: First of all, Chris, I'd say it's not unexpected. We've been anticipating additional deployment of special operations forces, and as the president said that includes Special Forces. I'll delineate the difference in just a second.

But we've expected this for weeks and maybe even months, some of us have been thinking about this.

[06:55:01]He said this over a year ago that once we started to gather intelligence in Syria and have the Iraqi army step up in Iraq that we would provide more support in both of these fights against ISIS.

CUOMO: How reasonable is the concern thatanytime you're on the ground you might as well be fighting?

HERTLING: That's my rationale, Chris. You're going to have Special Forces, the ones that advise and assist, the so-called green berets are going to be with the units.

And they always want to be right there with the units they train. So you'll see some forces maybe not executing combat operations, but they are certainly going to be in harm's way.

They have to be there in order to see how the people they've trained deliver the kinetic action. They also need to be there to help support with either air power or the passing of intelligence for targeting purposes. So they are close by to the action. Make no mistake about that.

CUOMO: You've been saying literally for years now you cannot help this without being on the ground. It doesn't work that way. The situation is -- is going to be decided on the ground.

So the balance here is whether or not, what, you're the ones actually fighting it for them, versus being there helping them? I mean, how should people understand this?

HERTLING: Well you do have to have ground forces indigenous ground forces, Chris, and I think the president's hesitation, a rightful one in my view is that we don't want to put Americans fighting in this conflict for Arab issues.

And so you have to gather the support and garner the support of Sunni tribesmen in Syria to contribute to what the Peshmerga have already done in that country and support the Iraqi security forces that are, in fact, stepping up under the Alabadi (ph) government and are actually retaking ground.

So yes, there has to be ground forces, make no mistake about that. But the U.S. forces that are going to be there are going to contribute to those ground forces with air power, artillery and the kinds of things that will be very helpful in any kind of desert war fare. CUOMO: Consensus is rare even among the military, but I am hearing more and more people saying, listen, unless autocrats come back into these countries that we're talking about and take control of life for the people there, you're going to see U.S. involvement on the ground go up in the coming years. Is that true?

HERTLING: You won't find me as part of that consensus, Chris. I don't believe that. I think you can actually have a movement where a representative form of government can take over.

And the Assad regime, he has been pushed to the negotiating table until some other things happened and was pulled away thinking that his forces could continue operations in places like Aleppo.

But you've got to represent all the people in the country. If you don't you're going to have these kinds of instances where just the very nature of society is going to have people wanting to be represented.

And in both of these countries, there is a wide swath of folks, both in Iraq and in Syria, who don't feel like they're being represented in terms of the decision-making of the government.

CUOMO: Let's put something on people's radar this morning they might not hear anywhere else. Surprising to you to hear the head of Afghanistan, the president there right now, saying to Pakistan, hey, you better take care of what's going on in your side of the fence here with the Taliban.

If you don't start fighting against them we have to assume that you're helping them. That conversation used to happen in reverse especially when you had Musharraf there who is saying the Afghans need to help themselves. What does that mean going forward? Are we going to wind up on the ground there now?

HERTLING: This is a back forth between those two countries that has existed for years, Chris, and I think, you know, it's the old story, if you want a new idea, read an old book. If you want a new news item in Afghanistan, read an old newspaper. That's what's been happening.

You know, it's the blaming of the other side. The Taliban has moved from Afghanistan into the tribal areas of Pakistan. Pakistan is saying that's disrupting their government.

Both sides are -- they've got to make some concessions to one another to stop this flow of fighters across the border, but if you've ever been to that area, you know how tough it is to do that. This is going to continue.

CUOMO: All right. Well, you have lived it. I have just been a visitor in both places. General, thank you for helping us understand, as always.

HERTLING: Always a pleasure, Chris.

CUOMO: There's a lot on the table for you this morning. Ted Cruz and john Kasich are frenemies. What does that mean? We're going to tell you, right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think they both should get out. What are they doing?

CAMEROTA: Ted Cruz and John Kasich announcing that they will team up to try to deny Donald Trump the Republican nomination.

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we continue to unite, we will win this primary.

JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I don't have viability, why is everybody so afraid of me?

TRUMP: It will be an election between crooked Hillary and wonderful Donald.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Loose cannons tend to misfire. What we have with him is the loosest of all cannons.

BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to fight for every last vote.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: In Syria I've approved deployment up to 250 additional U.S. personnel including Special Forces. These terrorists will learn. Your hatred is no match for our nation --