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New Day Saturday
Clinton Slams Trump Over Taxes In New Ad; Obama Administration: Let Students Choose; Pentagon: ISIS Repositioning Fighters In Raqqa; Should Clinton Hit Back at Donald Trump in Trump Style?; Sanders Hoping for a Contested Convention; Lee McCullum, Young Man Featured in 'Chicagoland,' Found Shot to Death. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired May 14, 2016 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(HEADLINES)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: It's 6:00 comes early on Saturday. We're glad you're up with us. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you. This just in. We got this new ad.
PAUL: My goodness, what an ad from Hillary Clinton slamming Donald Trump for not releasing his tax returns. I think what's interesting about this ad, you don't see her anywhere.
BLACKWELL: She's not in it at all.
PAUL: She doesn't say anything. There is not a picture of her. But this coming after bizarre revelations that Donald Trump allegedly posed as his own publicist years ago.
BLACKWELL: All this is coming just as things seem to start going his way after his meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan, his big push to get Republican leaders to back him. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL (voice-over): Donald Trump taking a hit from Hillary Clinton in a new video that asks, why won't he release his taxes?
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": He will not follow the example of every single Democratic and Republican presidential nominee since 1976.
BLACKWELL: But the billionaire, he's not budging.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): When the audit ends, I'm going to present them. That should be before the election. I hope it is before the election.
BLACKWELL: Sounding down right defiant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your tax rate?
TRUMP: It's none of your business. You'll see it when I release, but I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible.
BLACKWELL: He's not required to release his taxes but --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Mr. Trump has got to make a decision sooner rather than later about whether or not to release his tax returns.
BLACKWELL: Then there is this voice from the past.
SUE CARSWELL: What's your name again?
"JOHN MILLER": John Miller.
BLACKWELL: That sounds a lot like the voice from the present.
TRUMP: We are going to start winning, winning, winning.
BLACKWELL: What do you hear? Trump dodged by questions about whether he had posed as imaginary staffers to deal with reporters' questions about his love life and his personal drama. Listen to this "People" magazine interview uncovered by "The Washington Post" about his break- up with Marla Maples.
SUE CARSWELL: What kind of comment is coming from your agent or from Donald?
"JOHN MILLER": Well, it just that he really decided that he wasn't -- you know, he didn't want to make a commitment. He's coming out of a marriage and he's starting to do tremendously well financially.
BLACKWELL: Trump has admitted to using a pseudonym in the past, but he says the voice on that call was not his.
TRUMP (via telephone): No, I don't anything about it. You're telling me about it for the first time and it doesn't sound like my voice at all. I have many, many people that are trying to imitate my voice. You can imagine that. This sounds like one of the scams, one of the many scams. It doesn't sound like me.
BLACKWELL: But there is some evidence that the presumptive GOP nominee is settling in as a party leader. When his former long-time butler argued on Facebook that President Obama, quote, "should have been taken out by our military and shot as an enemy agent," Team Trump acted fast to say, "we totally and completely disavow the horrible statements by him regarding the president."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Donald Trump did the right thing by disavowing that statement and distancing himself from it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right, a lot to get to this morning so let's bring in Jeffrey Lord, CNN political commentator and Donald Trump supporter, and Evan Sigfried, Republican strategist and former Rubio supporter. Good morning to both of you.
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Dr. Blackwell.
BLACKWELL: Good morning to you, sir. Let's start here with the taxes and this new ad out this morning from the Clinton campaign. Jeffrey, how long can this campaign go on without the disclosure of those tax returns?
LORD: It go on quite a long way. Victor, I have to say this has only been going on for about 40 years. Now that we've gotten into this, I think this is a worthless exercise and a political gotcha exercise.
At this point, we've had plenty of great presidents who never released their taxes. This has only been going on for 40 years. This is one of these politically correct things here.
BLACKWELL: You say only 40 years as if it's only 40 minutes. Your boss released them, Ronald Reagan released his going back to '76. We've got a lot to get to. Evan, weigh in on the tax disclosure.
EVAN SIGFRIED, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I find it a little strange. On April 15th, Trump said he looked forward to releasing his taxes. You guys at CNN actually reported that Donald Trump has previously released his tax returns when it comes to the state gaming officials when he wants to build a casino.
[06:05:03]But he's up for the ultimate job interview, president of the United States. It is the people's business to find out whether or not he's doing any shady business dealings. That's really the bottom line.
BLACKWELL: All right, let's get to this recording from the early '90s. What do you believe, Evan -- let me start with you, Jeffrey, on this. Do you believe that this John Miller character is Donald Trump?
LORD: He says, unequivocally, unequivocally, I have to add, that it wasn't him. And in this day and age, Victor, you know, where you can have photographs, quote/unquote "of Abraham Lincoln having tea with Adolf Hitler with PhotoShopping," you know, --
BLACKWELL: But he has admitted to doing this in the past.
LORD: Yes, but we don't know about this tape. I just am wary the more I have gotten into this thing. I just think the whole thing is silly, to be perfectly candid.
BLACKWELL: Evan, what's the context here, the larger question here?
SIGFRIED: I was going to say Jeffrey is right. On its own this thing is entirely silly, but it goes toward character. It shows that this is a guy who is a shameless self-promoter and he'll say anything.
I think really when you start talking about character, we are talking about Donald Trump who's openly admired the Chinese for the Tianmen Square massacre, who has praised Kim Jong-Un for eliminating his rivals, that's a really big problem, not so much the John Miller stuff.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk about funding as this pivot now continues from the primary to the general and Sheldon Adelson (ph) who is a GOP -- he's got deep pocket and he supports the Republicans cycle after cycle.
He has endorsed Donald Trump in this "Washington Post" op-ed and according to the "New York Times" his contribution to Trump alone could exceed $100 million.
To do that he'll have to go through a super PAC. Let me read what Donald Trump said in October relating to super PACcs. This is a quote through a statement from his web site.
"I am self-funding my campaign, and therefore I will not be controlled by the donors, special interests, and lobbyists who have corrupted our politics and politicians for far too long. I have disavowed all super PACs, requested the return of all donations made to said PACs and I am calling on all presidential candidates to do the same."
Reportedly this commitment of monies came through a personal call between Adelson and Trump. Jeffrey to you, is this at the very least a contradiction and maybe a full flip-flop on the funding?
LORD: We're now headed into the fall campaign, and as you know once you become a nominee of the party, money goes to the party. It is a whole different ball game. I'd like to see exactly how this works itself out.
BLACKWELL: But reportedly Adelson is shopping for a super PAC to support specifically Trump.
LORD: You know, I think super PACs are the bain of our political existence and we ought to get rid of them and just contribute directly to candidates. That's not happening. So Donald Trump has said what he's said and I think that's the end of it there.
BLACKWELL: But is that not a direct contradiction to what he said just a couple of months ago?
LORD: No, I don't think so. I mean, a super PAC is not Donald Trump himself.
BLACKWELL: He disavowed those nine. Let me come to you, Evan. We heard from Donald Trump in October disavowing the super PACs supporting his campaign. He said that those super PACs, the dark money is what has ruined politics. And now he's having a conversation with Sheldon Adelson, who is committing what could be more than $100 million.
SIGFRIED: Listen, Donald Trump went out from day one of his campaign and said he was going to self-fund his campaign, yet he had a donate button on his campaign website since day one as well.
He has repeatedly said when he was pitching voters, he said, listen, I'm going to self-fund, I can't be bought, I can't have any super PACs behind me, nobody can control me.
Now he's having to go around and beg for money. It is going to take half a billion dollars to be successful in the presidential race. That's just in terms of his candidacy alone. Forget super PACs.
And he is very wealthy. He claims he is a multi-billionaire. He could easily throw that in on his own, but now he wants to raise money and be beholden to the very people he's slammed throughout this campaign.
BLACKWELL: All right, Evan Sigfried, Jeffrey Lord, we'll continue the conversation this morning. Thank you both.
LORD: Thank you, Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right, thank you.
PAUL: Also new for you this morning, in an extraordinary move, drug giant, Pfizer is making it more difficult to carry out lethal injections. The second largest pharmaceutical company in the world is blocking its drug from being used in executions.
Now Pfizer says it wants its drugs used to enhance and save lives instead of being used for capital punishment. Lethal injection is a primary means of execution in all 31 death penalty states.
Los Angeles police investigating a shooting involving one of their officers this morning. Officers say he was injured last night around 8:30 Pacific Time. That suspect is dead, the officer is in stable condition. Police have not given a lot of details about what happened or what led up to that shooting.
[06:10:04]Also the TSA will speed up the hiring of more than 750 additional screeners in the coming weeks to deal with growing security wait times. If you've been to the airport, you know what I'm talking about.
And with the travel season arriving, you know this cannot come soon enough. Airports and passengers have both been complaining, but loudly, over, quote, "insane" wait times of up to two hours. Lot of frustrated travelers have to turn to social media as well venting using the #ihatethewait.
A New Jersey family has come forward as the sole winners of the $430 million Powerball jackpot. A mother and her seven adult children elected to split a lump sum payout which comes to $35 million apiece prior to taxes. The matriarch of the family apparently chose the winning numbers based on a dream! Listen to your dreams, people!
BLACKWELL: It's amazing that on Mother's Day she gave her children $35 million each.
PAUL: They are pretty happy with that.
BLACKWELL: I'm sure they are.
PAUL: Congratulations to them, by the way.
BLACKWELL: Let's turn to a serious issue now. The issue of gender identity. This is very emotional battle over transgender Americans, bathroom use in schools angering and frustrating parents and lawmakers.
PAUL: We'll talk about that.
Also, taking the fight to the terrorists. The ISIS stronghold in Syria now thought to be under a state of emergency as it prepares for a possible onslaught.
BLACKWELL: And later in the hour, a young man who gave hope to others desperate to escape the gang culture he grew up in is found shot to death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was positive and it was inspiring because we know that all of our kids have that potential. I think that he was up against incredible odds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Lee McCullen's former principal and mentor pays tribute to a life filled with optimism that ended far too soon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:15:33]
BLACKWELL: School districts across the country face a choice. Allow transgender students to choose which restroom they use or face consequences.
PAUL: In a joint letter, the Departments of Education and Justice issued new guidelines to all public schools and the message is clear, fall in line or lose federal funding. But some states are putting up a fight. Here's CNN's Nick Valencia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LT. GOVERNOR DAN PATRICK (R), TEXAS: We will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The federal government calls them guidelines. But several states, including Texas, see them more as a threat.
PATRICK: This goes against the values of so my people. It has nothing to do with anyone being against a transgender child.
VALENCIA: At a Friday morning press conference, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick says a line has been crossed by the federal government after the Department of Justice sent a letter on transgender bathroom use in public schools across the United States. PATRICK: I'm telling all the superintendents in Texas right now, you have about three weeks left of the school year. Do not enact this policy.
VALENCIA: In the letter, Attorney General Loretta Lynch writes, "There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex."
Under the guidelines, public schools that receive federal money are obligated to treat students consistent with their gender identity, even if their records indicate a different sex.
Access sex segregated facilities consistent with a student's gender identity and protect a student's privacy related to their transgender status.
The action sets the stage for a legal battle that's been in the making since March. House Bill 2 in North Carolina began the recent controversy.
The law requires trans people to use the public restroom related to the gender on their birth certificate not how they identify.
Candis Cox has been one of the most outspoken against the law. She's a transgender woman and has met with the North Carolina governor.
CANDIS COX, TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST: The fact that we are not talking about transgender people and who they are, but rather we don't want someone who "looks" like a man or "looks" like a woman but identifies as the opposite gender. It lets me know we are still discriminating on aesthetics.
VALENCIA: North Carolina and the feds have traded accusations and lawsuits. Some states, including Arkansas and Texas, insist there's been government overreach. The feds say civil rights have been violated.
GOVERNOR PAT MCCRORY (R), NORTH CAROLINA: This is not just a North Carolina issue. This is now a national issue.
VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Target is not backing down from its stand for transgender rights. The CEO is defending the company's policy allowing transgender people to use the restroom based on their gender identity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN CORNELL, CEO, TARGET: If we went back to the mid '60s, our company was one of the very first to use African-American models in their advertising. And back then, it wasn't well received. We had a lot of tough feedback.
But sitting here today, we know we made the right decision. If there's a question of safety, I can tell you and others -- our focus on safety is unwavering and we want to make sure we provide a welcoming environment for all of our guests, one that's safe, one that's comfortable, and that's our commitment over time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: The CEO says the stores will install family bathrooms at all of its 1,800 locations across the country. A lot of the controversial centers around the idea that women and girls need to be safe from men in public restrooms.
But a lot of people are concerned obviously for transgender people who aren't accepted in either restroom. This is a real struggle for everyone involved here.
So today on "CNN NEWSROOM" at 10:00, you'll hear from two young people, one a transgender man and another a transgender teen girl who are sharing their struggles with gender identity with us.
And the fear that comes with using the wrong bathroom and the things that they're now being asked to do. We hope you'll be with us at 10:00 because it is an important voice to hear.
BLACKWELL: It is. We need to hear from all sides in this conversation.
You know, we often hear about states of emergency caused by ISIS. But U.S. military officials now say it's ISIS that is declaring the emergency.
PAUL: Also, thousands line the streets to honor a fallen Navy SEAL. Stay close.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:23:35]
PAUL: It's 23 minutes past the hour. So grateful for your company, as always. Want to tell you something new this morning. This question that's out there, is ISIS in a state of emergency?
The Pentagon says they've seen new evidence that the terror group is scrambling its fighters inside itself declared capital of Raqqa, Syria, possibly preparing for a siege.
BLACKWELL: Now this comes as U.S. task forces are starting to surround the ISIS strong hold helping to cut off supply lines. This is going on in the last few months. Our CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr has more for us.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: U.S. military officials have been closely monitoring social media and other reports that ISIS has declared a state of emergency in Raqqa, itself declared capital inside Syria. That is a city that ISIS holds very dear. They've been in control of it for some time.
So what does this state of emergency really mean? U.S. officials saying they have some evidence showing ISIS fighters are moving around in the city, some of them trying to leave the city, that they're putting up covers, shades, trying to cover sidewalks, areas where they may be.
All to try and stay hidden from potential air strikes or ground action. ISIS may in fact be getting nervous in Raqqa. They have seen militia movements move closer and closer. Some of the areas surrounding Raqqa now not necessarily under ISIS control.
[06:25:00]All of this making the group, maybe for the first time, very nervous about being able to hold on to the city that they consider their capital. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
BLACKWELL: One of Osama Bin Laden's sons could be preparing for a bigger role within al Qaeda. Another video has surfaced that apparently features the voice of Hamzi Bin Laden. This is an earlier recording. He's now in his 20s.
One of the newer tapes, at least this one, Bin Laden calls for unity among jihadi militants fighting in Syria. It is the second recording of his voice to appear in a year.
PAUL: Thousands of people lined the streets of Coronado, California to mourn a Navy SEAL killed in Iraq when a handful of advisers were attacked by more than 100 ISIS fighters, Charles Keating IV was sent in to rescue him. You see them honoring him there.
His death is the third American combat loss since the U.S. redeployed forces to Iraq just about two years ago back in the summer of 2014. Certainly thoughts and prayers to his family and to all of the folks there.
BLACKWELL: Absolutely. All right, Prince's sister makes a big announcement on Facebook in memory of the music icon.
PAUL: Also, more politics and Hillary Clinton's strategy against Donald Trump. Should she counter his attacks? Should she take the high road? Wait until you see the new ad that she released this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:30:10] VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: His fans continue to mourn the death of musical icon, Prince. His family is now planning to pay tribute to him this summer.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Prince's sister Tyka Nelson announced on Facebook a plan for a public memorial and tribute. This will happen in August, she says. The news comes as his church prepares a memorial for him tomorrow. Remember, the singer was found dead in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate last month. He was just 57 years old.
BLACKWELL: America's so-called toughest sheriff could face jail time if a federal court ruling later this month goes against him. A federal judge yesterday found Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona in civil contempt for not doing enough to halt racial profiling by his deputies. A judge could refer the case for criminal contempt charges at a hearing that's on May 31st.
Arpaio's department has been under fire ever since a federal investigation found a widespread pattern of discrimination against Latinos.
PAUL: The gun used to fatally shoot Trayvon Martin will stay on the auction block, at least for the next few days. This is according to the Web site where George Zimmerman has put his .9 millimeter handgun for sale. Prank bidders have been dogging the site ever since. In fact, at one point, a fake bid of $65 million was offered.
BLACKWELL: New this morning, in fact out in just the last few minutes, Hillary Clinton slamming Donald Trump in a new ad for refusing to release his tax returns.
This comes, of course, after Trump denied posing as his own publicist back in the '90s.
PAUL: Yes, a lot going on this week.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump did meet with Paul Ryan in Washington hoping to win his support, and they released this joint statement, quote, "While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground."
BLACKWELL: Should Hillary Clinton hit back at Donald Trump in Donald Trump style, or stay as she has said she would, above the fray?
Well, the 20-year-old Clinton scandals keep coming up at rallies for the presumptive Republican nominee, but former Secretary Clinton has not yet answered Trump's attacks directly.
And as we hear from our Randi Kaye, her supporters seemed divided over how to fight moving forward.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came to hear Bill Clinton speak in Patterson, New Jersey. But long before the former president arrived, these voters were already fired up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you stoop down into the gutter with someone that wants to bring you there?
KAYE: The gutter is where many of these Hillary Clinton supporters believe Donald Trump is trying to drag her, using personal attacks about her husband's extramarital affairs dating back 20 years.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She was an unbelievably nasty, mean enabler. And what she did to a lot of those women is disgraceful.
KAYE: Instead of hitting Trump back on his own personal transgressions, Mrs. Clinton is sticking to the issues.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have said repeatedly, I am not going to respond to the insults and the attacks coming from Donald Trump in this campaign.
KAYE (on-camera): Is Hillary Clinton playing tough enough?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think she's playing tough enough because I don't think that slander is the name of this game. I think that she should stay focused on the agenda at hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't believe in mud slinging. I don't think that helps anyone.
KAYE (voice-over): But not responding to Trump's personal attacks is risky.
(on-camera) Are you at all concerned that this could backfire on her? Because look at what happened to the other 16 Republican candidates who didn't take on Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. I believe, you know, as time approaches closely, that she should, you know, maybe take a couple of shots but nothing too extreme. Because she doesn't want to be anything like Donald Trump.
KAYE: Are you at all concerned that those kinds of things could sink in to the American public's view of her if she doesn't say something?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the American people are intelligent enough to know what to look for, to do their research, to do their homework and to not fall into the games of name saying.
KAYE (voice-over): There's also the question of how Hillary Clinton should handle Donald Trump's harsh words for her husband. Trump has called Bill Clinton the worst abuser of women in the history of politics. Hillary Clinton hasn't responded to those remarks either.
A few here feel strongly that Mrs. Clinton needs to defend her husband and her family, that she's making a big mistake letting Trump, quote, "bully her."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't stand up to a bully, they keep going. For her to sit there and let him get away with it, it's like a cancer. If you don't treat it, it metastasizes. And then what's going to happen? You're going to die.
KAYE: How exactly should she strike back? Use Trump's favorite weapon against him, says this supporter.
(on-camera) So you think she should go after him on social media?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He's using twitter. Let her use Twitter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would hate to be in her shoes to have to take all that. KAYE (voice-over): And staying above the fray may be harder and harder the closer we get to Election Day.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Patterson, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: As the Clinton campaign prepares to take on Donald Trump in the general election, she still has an opponent in the primary race and Bernie Sanders is not backing down. He's hoping for a contested convention.
Now there is a group of Sanders supporters out there looking beyond the convention and they're circulating a draft proposal. It calls for Sanders to concede the race, possibly endorse Clinton, then take on Trump himself.
OK. Nomiki Konst, a Democratic strategist and Bernie Sanders supporter is with us.
Nomiki, good morning to you.
I want to ask you about this draft that says Sanders would be a powerful surrogate for Clinton. In what arena do you see that happening?
NOMIKI KONST, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: So this draft is, I don't know where this mysterious draft came from. There are no authors. They barely published where it came from. And a lot of the language sounds very similar to some of the Clinton language.
So I think that everybody on Team Sanders right now is very passionate about moving forward. You know, he's won 17 of the last 18 races. He has 45 percent of the pledged delegates. And most likely will win the majority of the next couple of states, including California where they are in a statistical tie.
PAUL: I was going to say California has an awful lot of -- it's got very sizable delegates at stake.
But just to be clear, are you asserting that this draft is coming from the Clinton camp and not in Sanders camp.
(CROSSTALK)
KONST: Yes, or some sort of independent expenditure. They have a lot of operations, including correct the record which is a David Brock operation.
And it pretty much -- and this now coming from the campaign, the Sanders campaign but for myself after reading the language and some of the Sanders supporters re-read it very similar to the language of a lot of the correct the record language, using language like "Breaking Barriers," "Attacking Fascism and Donald Trump." And it is not necessarily something that the Sanders campaign endorses. And, you know, reporters report on a lot of things if they're tipped off, obviously.
PAUL: OK. Well, I want to get to some of Sanders' language here, something that was at a fund-raising e-mail that's using some -- some incendiary language to some degree.
It says, the Sanders campaign revealed their thinking, obviously saying hitting Clinton hard, saying that she's very close to Trump in the polls. Here it is.
"We're going to have a contested convention where the Democratic Party has to decide if they want the candidate with the momentum, who is best positioned to beat Trump, or if they're willing to roll the dice and court disaster simply to protect the status quo for the political and financial establishment of this country."
I read that and I think a lot of people wonder, who is courting disaster aimed at? Is the disaster Donald Trump? Or is it Hillary Clinton?
KONST: Well, the disaster is shown in the polls. I mean, Bernie Sanders is the only person right now who beats Donald Trump in swing states. Nationally. He's the only candidate who has the most likely chances of beating Donald Trump electorally.
He is the only candidate who can win that very important working class white -- unfortunately, just the white male vote which is what it's going to come down to this year.
He is the only candidate that not only can get the base of Democratic voters, but woe independents and young people and has the momentum.
And so what he's basically saying is, if we want to win in November, which is essentially what the Democratic Party's mission statement is, is to win and to find the candidate that is most electable, then Bernie Sanders is that choice.
PAUL: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
KONST: But, unfortunately --
PAUL: When you talk about winning that requires some money. And also notable in this fund-raising e-mail that was sent out, he is asking people to make $3 contributions to continue his run for wins in Oregon and Kentucky on Tuesday.
How financially sound is Sanders' fight at this point?
KONST: Campaigns are expensive. We've all noticed over the past five or six months he's been hitting record numbers. Last month wasn't as strong as previous months, but it was still very strong. One of the strongest out of all the presidential contenders.
So, you know, he continues to raise money and he is doing it in a non- traditional way. He's crowd sourcing it. He's getting it from individuals. And so he's basically breaking, he is hacking the system of political -- of presidential campaigns right now.
Presidential campaigns usually, either you have to be somewhat of a self-funder, or you have to raise money from very unlikely and unfriendly to the Democratic process type types. Whether it's having Super Pacs that raise money from dark shadow -- dark money groups and corporations or accept money from lobbyists, as Hillary Clinton is, and even the Democratic Party is right now. Or, you know, he decided to go the honest path. And he's doing it well. And he's the most electable candidate.
He did go in opposite way. I suppose, in terms -- if we talk about conventional elections. And it does seem to be working for him to some degree. No doubt about it.
Nomiki Konst, we appreciate you being here. Thank you.
KONST: Thank you.
PAUL: Sure.
BLACKWELL: I want you to see the video here of this young man. He was featured in a recent CNN documentary series.
He gave hope to a lot of people. But he was found shot to death before he could escape the violence of Chicago. We'll examine what tragically cut this young man's life short and hear from his mentor and former principal.
Also, an Olympic doping scandal getting a lot of attention this morning involving Russian athletes and reports of widespread cover- ups.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:43:43] BLACKWELL: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will disband a police oversight agency.
PAUL: Emanuel makes this announcement, of course, in an op-ed for "The Chicago Sun Times." And in this he says that the city will replace the independent police review authority with a new civilian investigative agency that has more independence and more resources. But this essay offered few specifics about the agency.
Now this is a bold move, because it comes as the mayor tries to navigate the controversy that erupted late last year when the city released this video of a white police officer shooting an unarmed black teen.
The mayor's announcement comes as the city's violent crime spikes as well. The most recent victim is a man who has been featured right here on CNN.
BLACKWELL: Yes. His name was Lee McCullum. He was featured in the series "Chicagoland" that aired in 2014.
Now the show documented his struggle to overcome homelessness and gang violence, and eventually go on to college. But that dream ended suddenly when he was shot and killed early Thursday morning in Chicago's south side.
CNN's Ryan Young has more on the former prom king and honor student.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2013 prom king, y'all give it up for Mr. Lee McCullum!
[06:45:00] RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For once he was a king, known to viewers of the 2014 CNN documentary, "Chicagoland," Lee McCullum gave a rare glimpse into his struggle for survival and escape from his gang riddled neighborhood. But McCullum's story ended tragically Thursday morning after he was gunned down in the streets of Chicago's south side.
LEE MCCULLUM, PROM KING: I don't have a plan.
LIZ DOZIER, FENGER HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: What do you think about maybe in January, what do you think about going away to college or to trade school?
MCCULLUM: I wouldn't mind going away.
DOZIER: Give me your word and we'll meet up at some point next week. You know me, I keep it 100 percent real. You know I am.
I don't want to hear nothing bad happened to you. I don't want to be going to your funeral.
YOUNG: Words that have new meaning for his former principal.
DOZIER: That was so hard when you played that clip back. I just -- I forgot I had said that to him, you know, because I was worried about him at the time. There was some of the things going on in his life that weren't on the up and up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ain't had no hopes and no dreams of going to college.
YOUNG: 22-year-old Lee McCullum, a former gang member, turned honor roll student and prom king never made it out of the tough south side. Despite getting accepted to college, he never enrolled, and Thursday morning, Lee was murdered, shot in the head and left to die in the streets.
DOZIER: I remember him as a freshman. He used to get on my last nerve that I had. He was in a lot of trouble and lot of issues. But we really wrapped support and resources around him. And he joined the basketball team.
You could just kind of see him slowly begin to shift until, I mean, really when he graduated. He was prom king. He had been on the honor roll, like he really changed his life. And it was positive and it was inspiring because we know that all of our kids have that potential. I think that he was up against incredible odds.
YOUNG: This wasn't McCullum's first brush with violence. He was shot in the leg in 2014, and just three weeks ago, his girlfriend was shot and killed while the two were together. Now many are hoping for a change.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We hated funerals. We always hated them, and he would never stay. And so I just keep thinking, like, now we're attending his funeral. You know, it is just unfortunate.
YOUNG: Ryan Young, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Certainly thoughts and prayers to his family. That's tough.
OK. We need to talk about sports now. We're less than three months away from the 2016 Olympics. But there is news of a Russian doping scandal at previous games that's grabbing headlines today.
BLACKWELL: CNN's Andy Scholes has a look ahead for us.
Andy?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Guys, as many as 15 medallists stand accused of using performance enhancing drugs during the 2014 winter games. Find out what the Kremlin has to say about the scandal when NEW DAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:51:11] BLACKWELL: Nine minutes until the top of the hour now.
Russia is denying new allegations that it ran a doping program for the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi.
PAUL: Andy Scholes has been looking into this. He has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report."
What are you finding?
SCHOLES: You know what, guys, if these allegations are true, this was a massive scheme to cheat at the Sochi Olympics by the host nation, you know. A man by the name Grigory Rodchenkov. He was the director of russia's anti-doping laboratory during the Sochi games and he told the "New York Times" that they would swap out dirty urine samples with clean ones to assure the eligibility of dozens of Russian athletes.
Now Rodchenkov said with the help of Russian intelligence, the swaps would happen in the middle of the night. Now he has since fled Russia because he said he feared for his life.
Now we must note not a single Russian athlete was caught doping at the games. Russia did win the most medals. A spokesman for President Putin told reporters that these allegations look absolutely groundless. Two Russian Olympians who won medals at the games denied the allegations.
The International Olympic Committee, meanwhile, is calling for an immediate inquiry and called the report by the "Times," quote, "Very worrying."
Now, guys, this whole thing reads like it's something out of a movie. For instance, Rodchenkov said to speed up the absorption and showing the detection window, he actually dissolved the drugs in alcohol, whiskey for the men, martinis for the women.
That's how they would bring in the steroids into their system. This is all according to Rodchenkov who actually ran the anti-doping labs. So he seems credible, but of course, you know, it's his word against Russia.
PAUL: But it's just a word. I mean, is there any other proof? Are there any evidence or is it just he said --
SCHOLES: I will say this. Two of Rodchenkov's colleagues have recently died in Russia and their deaths were considered suspicious.
BLACKWELL: That is suspicious on its face. You know, of all the questions that surround this story, whiskey for the men and martinis for the women just jumped out in my head -- why was that choice made?
SCHOLES: Don't know! I don't know.
PAUL: Maybe that's a preference.
BLACKWELL: Some ladies could drink me under the table. Drink that whiskey straight.
PAUL: I'm not one of them.
BLACKWELL: No, no, no. And I don't drink, so -- anymore.
PAUL: I was going to say. Let's be honest here.
Andy Scholes, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
OK, so there has been this conversation out there, some amongst some celebrities, that they would move to Canada if Donald Trump becomes president. So if you are thinking the same thing, guess what? There is a new app for that.
A dating site wants to help you find your perfect Canadian match.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:57:00] PAUL: All right, listen, big congratulations to all the college graduates this weekend. A special shout-out we have to give though to one of the University of Southern California grads, Alfonso Gonzales. 96 years old! Started his degree in zoology in 1947 after fighting in World War II, people.
He became a successful business owner. Never ended up finishing his degree until now, 65 years later, when he finally got that diploma in his hands yesterday.
Alfonso, congratulations to you!
BLACKWELL: Go, that's a great one. That's a great one.
Hey, for Americans who are voting for anybody but Trump, for the never-Trump crowd looking for love, they may be able to find it in Canada.
Jeanne Moos has this one for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You may not think of Donald Trump as a matchmaker, but he could inspire cross border romance between Americans and Canadians if Maple Match ever gets off the ground with its catchy slogan.
JOE GOLDMAN, "MAPLE MATCH" CREATOR: Make dating great again.
MOOS: The Web site's mission, "Maple Match makes it easy for Americans to find the ideal Canadian partner to save them from the unfathomable horror of a Trump presidency."
Austin, Texas, resident and Hillary supporter Joe Goldman dreamed up Maple Match.
GOLDMAN: I've always liked maple syrup. I have about 12 liters of maple syrup at home. I'm a real fan of the flavor.
MOOS: Joe says Maple Match started as a fun experiment, but within days 20,000 Americans had signed the wait list and 5,000 Canadians. Every day the number grows. Sure, people have been joking about moving.
JIMMY KIMMEL, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Will Donald Trump be our next president?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If that mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED) becomes president, I'm moving my black (EXPLETIVE DELETED) to South Africa.
MOOS: Miley Cyrus Instagramed, "gonna vom," as in vomit, "move out da country, #aintapartyindausaanymo."
Cher tweeted, "If Trump were to be elected, I'm moving to Jupiter." But some, like Lena Dunham, sounds serious.
LENA DUNHAM: That I'm 100 percent moving to Canada. I love Canada.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): Well, she has a "b" actor and has no, you know, mojo.
MOOS: Maple Match has mojo in terms of generating interest.
MOOS (on camera): But don't expect immediate results. It looks like Maple Match will be as slow as, well, maple syrup. MOOS (voice-over): Questions about when the site might work got vague answers.
MOOS (on camera): Joe, I'm sorry, it's like talking to Donald Trump. Is it ever going to be really like a dating site?
GOLDMAN: At this -- at this time I really can't say for sure. We're -- we're really trying our hardest.
MOOS (voice-over): Maple Match is asking who you'd like to shack up with before the shack is built.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Did you see that make dating great again?
BLACKWELL: Yes.
PAUL: I think it will take more than a dating site maybe to make dating great again.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Because dating has been tough. It's tough. But I will say, Lena Dunham. She would be surprised to find out she has no mojo. No mojo.
PAUL: Well, somebody thinks that, but lots of other people do not.
All right. So much news to tell you about this morning.
