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Legal Pot Creates Cannabis Craze; Hawks Player Injured In Scuffle With Police; GOP Hopefuls Hit New Hampshire; ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Suicide Bombing in Afghanistan; Victim's Brother Forgives Tulsa Reserve Deputy; 18 Million in Path of Storm. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 18, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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


[11:00:00] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We are so grateful for your company, as always. Make some great memories today. But we turn it over to the very trusted Fredricka Whitfield. Taking over.

(CROSSTALK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Alright, Christi, Joe, good to see both of you guys. Thanks so much. Have a great afternoon.

PAUL: You, too.

WHITFIELD: We've got so much more straight ahead. It's the 11:00 Eastern hour. You're in the NEWSROOM, and I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Right now all eyes are fixed squarely on the state of New Hampshire. That's where nearly the entire Republican presidential field is gathering to win over voters who will cast ballots in the nation's first primary. The declared and potential candidates are attending a major GOP summit and several contenders have wasted no time trying to grab the spotlight in putting their stump speeches to the test.

Athena Jones is live for us now in Nashua, New Hampshire. So Athena, everyone is there, but who is speaking today?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. Well Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky just got off the stage. He did some predictable things. He bashed the president, he bashed his potential rival, former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. But he also did something that may be a little bit less predictable. He talked about the need for the Republican Party to expand its base. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The one thing I would like to leave you with is I'd like you to think about how we're going to move forward and how we're going to win. I think we need to stay true to principle. I don't think we need to dilute our message. But I do think that our message needs to be carried to new people. We need to talk to business owners, we need to talk to the workers, we need to talk to the rich, poor, white, black, brown. We've got to get out there and go places we haven't been going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So Senator Paul has been one of the most vocal voices in the party for trying to expand beyond the traditional Republican base. He's talked about engaging black voters, he's gone to speak at historically black colleges. It was interesting to hear him bring that up here in New Hampshire. One more thing he talked about was the need to bring the fight to ISIS, the fight against ISIS. He was asked about that and he talked about the importance of taking the fight to them. It's a bit of a response to something he's been accused of in the past, of being isolationist. He wants to make it clear that, no, he believes it's very important to defend the United States of America, including against enemies like the self-declared Islamic State.

Fred?

WHITFIELD: Alright, so Athena, could be a busy say today. Who else is on deck to speak?

JONES: There's a slew of people who are up to speak. Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, you also have governors like Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Lindsay Graham, so it's a long list of people that will be speaking over the course of the day.

We expect to hear a lot of what we've already heard, talking up conservative values, conservative principles and of course, criticizing the president, the administration and different people, former and current, officials in the administration. So we have a lot we're looking for.

WHITFIELD: You have a busy day, Athena. We'll be checking back with you. Thanks so much.

Now let's turn overseas. In a deadly attack in Afghanistan today, a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up in front of a bank and at least 33 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded. ISIS is claiming responsibility for its first apparent attack in Afghanistan. It happened in Jalabad, about 150 miles from the capital city of Kabul.

Nathan Hodge is a reporter for "The Wall Street Journal" and he joins us now from Kabul.

What more do we know about this ISIS connection? They're claiming responsibility. Is it being confirmed?

NATHAN HODGE, REPORTER, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, has warned, even as recently as today, that militants of the Islamic State pose a new threat to Afghanistan. Now first to make clear, the Taliban have remained the biggest threat and the biggest challenge to the Afghan State, but this morning's attack targeted people as they were queuing up outside of a branch of the new Kabul bank where soldiers, policemen and civil servants often have to go to get their paychecks. So this really is a blow to the state as well. And also we do have a number of statements, both calls coming in from people purporting to represent the Islamic State, as well as statements that they posted online saying that this was indeed carried out by militants aligned with ISIS.

WHITFIELD: So how does the government, since they're acknowledging ISIS is indeed a new threat, how does it or even the military combat, try to get ahead of ISIS?

HODGE: Well for the most part, observers and Western officials, Afghan officials have been telling us that most of the activity of the Islamic State has been at the stage of recruitment and propaganda. Although back in February, a former Taliban commander who aligned himself with the Islamic State, was killed in an apparent drone strike in southwestern Afghanistan. So they're present here on the ground in some numbers.

[11:05:19] A lot of the concern is that there could be a bit of a difficulty on both sides of the border, that is both in Pakistan as well as in Afghanistan. Most recently, there was an attack in the city of Karachi also claimed by people who claim to be aligned with the Islamic State by leaflets left at the scene of the shooting. So this is a new threat to the region and Ashraf Ghani again today reiterated that he sees this external threat to Afghanistan now posing the bigger threat to the region.

WHITFIELD: Nathan Hodge, thank you so much for joining us, appreciate it, from Kabul.

Let's talk more about this new threat, as Nathan puts it, to Afghanistan. But how deeply entrenched might ISIS be?

I want to bring in Lieutenant Colonel Tony Shaffer. He's a former army intelligence officer and senior military fellow at the London Center for Policy Research and Lieutenant Colonel James Reese is a CNN global affairs analyst and former U.S. Delta Force commander. Alright, so good to see both of you.

So Colonel Reese, to you first, how much of a threat, when we hear Nathan say it's a new threat to Afghanistan, to what degree?

LT. CL. JAMES REESE (RET.), CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good morning, Fred. It's a threat that we're going to have to watch it very closely. I think one of the things that ISIS is going to have to watch themselves is is them getting sideways with the Taliban inside Afghanistan, which could be a major faux pas for them. Again, ISIS, I believe what we're starting to see here is they're getting whacked pretty good in Iraq when they have to go up against formidable type of military that the Iraq, that the Iraqi security forces and the Badr Corps have done. So now they have to look for different ways to do this. I think we're going to see them move closer towards your more terrorist type of aspects that we've seen with the car bombs and the suicide bombs. And moving into Afghanistan just continues to move their role and shows them as a transnational power, which they're trying to become. WHITFIELD: You know, Colonel Schaeffer, isn't that kind of the

objective of ISIS? That they want to be a threat, not just in Iraq where clearly it is, but move onto other places, Afghan it would seem. Would really send a strong message with U.S. military troops moving out of Afghanistan and now ISIS making a mark.

LT. COL. TONY SHAFFER, FORMER ARMY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Right, absolutely. General Campbell in Afghanistan has made some significant gains regarding both pushing the Taliban towards negotiated engagement with the Afghan government. What that said, though, the ISIS folks have made a very deliberate, very effective attempt to undermine that process and now they are essentially, I think, almost a mutual enemy of both the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan which is something we should exploit.

I met with senior Pentagon officials in the Pentagon about three weeks ago on this and the senior official said flat-out that the biggest worry we currently have in Afghanistan is ISIS. ISIS is clearly being effective. Not only that, as mentioned by Colonel Reese, they are becoming a transnational capable organization. They are actually out recruiting at the strategic level, Boko Haram, other groups are now signing on to be aligned with it. This is something that we have to actually do on two fronts. We have to accept this as a global threat, it's an expeditionary threat to Afghanistan now and to our interests there, as well as the continuing the enhanced prosecution of the conventional battle in Iraq. And for goodness sake, we've got to fix our Syria policy because even if we're successful in pushing them out of Iraq, we have to figure out what to do once we get them pushed back into Syria, which we just don't have a good answer for yet.

WHITFIELD: Good to see both of you. Thanks so much, Lieutenant Colonel Tony Shaffer and Lieutenant Colonel James Reese. Appreciate it. Thank you.

SHAFFER: Thank you.

REESE: Thanks.

[11:09:04] WHITFIELD: Alright. Words of forgiveness now from the brother of the man shot and killed by a 73-year-old reserve deputy in Tulsa. Find out what else he has to say about Robert Bates' fatal mistake right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The wake for Eric Harris will be held today in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was the man shot and killed earlier this month by a reserve deputy, Robert Bates. Bates says he thought he was using his Taser instead of his gun. Last night Harris' brother told CNN he forgives the deputy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDRE HARRIS, BROTHER OF ERIC HARRIS: We accept Mr. Bates' apology. I've been forgiven of my sins and things that I've done in the past and absolutely, I forgive Mr. Bates. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And we're now hearing directly from Bates who has been charged with manslaughter. Ed Lavendera has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(GUNSHOT)

ROBERT BATES, TULSA COUNTY RESERVE DEPUTY: I shot him, I'm sorry.

ED LAVENDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 73-year-old reserve deputy Robert Bates was charged with second-degree manslaughter after he used his pistol instead of a stun gun, killing Eric Harris. In an interview with NBC's Today Show, Bates says he still can't believe it happened.

BATES: First and foremost, let me apologize to the family of Eric Harris. You know, this is the second worst thing that's ever happened to me, or first, ever happened to me in my life. I've had cancer a number of years ago. I didn't think I was going to get there. Luckily, I was able to go to a hospital where I had hours of surgery. I rate this as No. 1 on my list of things in my life that I regret.

LAVENDERA (voice-over): Bates, who had been a volunteer with the Tulsa sheriffs department for several years says he can't explain why he confused his gun for his Taser, even though they were positioned in very different locations.

BATES: My Taser is right here on the front, tucked in a protective vest. My gun itself is on my side, normally to the rear.

LAVENDERA (voice-over): The NAACP and others are calling on the Justice Department to launch an external investigation, following reports from the "Tulsa World" that the Tulsa sheriffs department falsified Bates' training records and that three supervisors were reassigned when they refused to sign the documents.

ZIVA BRANSTETTER, REPORTER, TULSA WORLD: What we were told is that the supervisors were told to sign off on 250 hours of training. Most of that he did not have, virtually all of that he did not have. And then the supervisors at the gun range were told to sign off on his handgun qualification, even though he did not qualify.

LAVENDERA (voice-over): But Bates stands by his credentials, stating that he was fully trained and qualified to be on the scene during the sting operation involving Harris and that he has documentation to show he completed the necessary training required of reserve deputies.

[11:15:12] BATES: That's absolutely the truth. I have it in writing.

LAVENDERA (voice-over): But the Harris family attorney questions the authenticity of such documents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think the documents have been falsified? DAN SMOLEN, HARRIS FAMILY ATTORNEY: Absolutely. Again, I think if

there were to be any records that have surfaced, which none have, but I believe that Mr. Bates has never been trained as a, in a field training type of situation.

LAVENDERA (voice-over): Ed Lavendera, CNN, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

(END VIDEOTAP)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in former FBI special agent and former police officer Jonathan Gilliam. Good to see you, Jonathan.

JONATHAN GILLIAM, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Good to be with you.

So how often does something like this happen? A qualified police officer, as Robert Bates insists that he is, mixing up these two weapons?

GILLIAM: I mean, I've heard of it happening before, Fred, but it doesn't happen very often. And I just have to tell you, the level of incompetence that we're seeing here, that we saw in South Carolina and that we saw in Arizona last week, we had an officer that hit a guy with car and took the guy out. That officer did a great job, but the officer that followed a perpetrator that had a shotgun and pointed the shotgun at him for like two blocks, while there are pedestrians around and cars pulling up and he did nothing to stop that. These are three examples of incompetence that are deadly, absolutely deadly, and I just have to tell police officer this and executives that are in law enforcement, if you didn't get into the job to commit to doing lethal force when lethal force is necessary, if you didn't get into the job to do the training that it takes to know the difference between pulling a Taser and a weapon, and in the case of an air marshal last month, if you didn't get into the job to strap a gun to your body and keep it there when you go to the bathroom so that you don't leave it in the bathroom in Newark Airport, you don't need to be on the job -- period.

WHITFIELD: So when you speak of this incompetence, and we'll get back to Bates' case in a minute because I think you're touching on a very important point here in your assessment of incompetence, we're seeing a string of incidents. Does it speak to you that there is a problem with police training, with the character of those, of some, who are enlisted in being officers? Does something happen once an officer is on duty for a period of time?

I remember in interviews, you've said it right here on the air, that you, given your specialty as a Navy SEAL, FBI, air marshal, police officer, that you've become trained to think sometimes like the people that you are pursuing. Might it happen that some officers use that, who may have used that as a tool in apprehending suspects or, you know, fighting crime, might end up overusing that tool and actually become someone who has crossed the line or misuses these tools?

GILLIAM: You know, that's a great question, Fred, and I'll tell you. Somebody who has my level of training, and there are officers out there that get this type of training and that train on their own, people that go to this level do not make those mistakes. Because look, even though I can try to forward-think and predict what a bad guy is going to do, because I've been trained in the SEAL teams as an unconventional warrior, I know how to think as far as, you know, Guerrilla warfare tactics and how a bad guy may think. I will never pull a weapon until it's time to use it. I practice the law, every day I was in the FBI, before I went out, I would rehearse, what do I need to do in order to use lethal force? What are the standards that I have to find before I pull my weapon?

WHITFIELD: So then now back to the officer Bates then on that point that you make, and we can show that image that we had a shot that showed the image of this Taser on his chest. He said he was wearing his Taser on his chest. It's a different color, it's yellow, that's the other image there on the table showing the distinction between the pistol and the Taser. Now Bates said he had the Taser on his chest, which is a yellow color, he had his pistol on his hip so when he's pursuing, he's one of the last officers on the scene, the suspect is already down, he pulls out his weapon which turns out to be the Taser. Would he not see the color of the Taser in his hand before, before firing it? You know, aside from the fact that he says the red beam is the same. Wouldn't he see his hand is up, it's a pistol and not the yellow Taser?

GILLIAM: Well, Fred, it all comes down to muscle memory. It doesn't even have anything to do with the yellow. You know from doing training over and over, repetitive training, to go to your chest or to go to your side and a lot of officers carry it on the other side. Here's the fact, we spend, in law enforcement, way too much time qualifying every year with a weapon to make sure we can shoot a small target. But we don't spend enough time going over the simple things, building muscle memory, dry-firing. That costs nothing and we don't do it. Law enforcement doesn't do those types of things. That's how you build muscle memory.

[11:20:22] And again, an executive gets promoted to where they're doing things like bringing this guy on and if they are forging signatures and stuff -- not only should they be fired, but they should be in jail because they, too, are an endangerment to the society around them when they do these types of acts. We need honorable people that are willing to go out there and put their lives on the line and, if necessary, eliminate the threat by taking somebody else's life but doing it in a controlled manner to protect everyone, including themselves.

WHITFIELD: And sadly, people have died but perhaps this recent string of cases that you speak of might be the impetus to get some of these police jurisdictions to have these kind of muscle memory tests that you speak of so that we don't have more.

GILLIAM: Can I make one more point, Fred?

WHITFIELD: Yes. Go ahead.

GILLIAM: One more point. In all of these cases, every single case, right or wrong, if individuals, the bad guys, were doing what was right and they didn't run, these stupid incidents wouldn't be happening in the first place. That's not taking away from the cop's stupid mistakes. But the fact is citizens that go out and do things that put themselves in harm's way, if there's an officer out there that is not trained properly, things like this can happen. Stop it from the beginning. Wake up every morning and do the best you can to be the best that you can. That's the very first thing.

WHITFIELD: Jonathan Gilliam, thanks so much. Always goo to see you. Appreciate it.

GILLIAM: You got it, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, frightening moments in Texas. Torrential rain tears through a circus tent, sending everyone scrambling for safety.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:25:37] WHITFIELD: 18 million people are at risk for severe weather as storms barrel across the United States from Nebraska to Texas. We're talking about heavy rain, hail, winds, near 70 miles per hour. The storm put a frightening end to a circus performance in Brasoria County, Texas. Watch as the performer cuts her act short and people flee the tent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just water and wind, right. They're not from Texas.

(RAIN TEARING THROUGH TENT)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come here, baby.

(CRYING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't cry, Ann.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, hey, come on!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, people were frightened and moving fast there. Officials told local media that no injuries were reported at the circus.

Meanwhile, the Houston area was pounded with several inches of rain causing flash floods. Up to a half-foot of rain fell in some areas. The storm also uprooted trees and knocked out power and lightning grounded this United Express flight in Colorado Springs. Passengers say they were stuck on the tarmac for several hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They only have three dates and they are not in the mood to be dealing with us. They don't have to do anything with us, until we've been on, out here for three hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, the airline claims that it gave passengers the option to deplane, but some passengers deny that and say that they had no fresh air and only crackers to eat. Reports say United is reaching out to customers to offer some sort of compensation now.

Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera is here with much more on this storm.

Oh, my goodness this is kind of the prelude to -

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This was on Friday, yeah.

WHITFIELD: -- Hurricane season on the way.

CABRERA: And obviously frustrating situation there for the plane. But scary under the tent. Just imagine the sound, the lightning, the thunder and then the wind. We had wind gusts between 40-60 miles per hour as things rolling through. You're inside that performance, you don't know if this is a tornado, you don't know what's going on. So a little bit of panic there as well, certainly understandable, as the squall line made it through and this bow here with some torrential downpours and very heavy rainfall. We also had, in fact, some reports, upwards of eight tornado reports that were brief touchdowns in and around Texas there.

Look at the flood watches that continue. That's the second part of the story here. Very heavy rainfall. We saw the flooding in Texas and the severe weather threat that continues today. This is going to be an event here this afternoon from San Antonio, Austin, heading up to Oklahoma City. Through the afternoon as we get the daytime heating, we're going to have a line that will begin to develop here across central Texas. Watch this. They come out of nowhere here, so you've been warned, they are coming and that will impact the Dallas metroplex. So we're going to have to watch that closely. That has the potential to bring down very heavy rainfall, frequent lightning, also hail, the potential for damaging winds and also before this develops into a squall line, we could have some discrete supercells with tornadic storms. So we will watch that closely.

And then, of course, look at this, this will ruin a weekend, right? From two to four inches of rain -

WHITFIELD: There is no escape.

CABRERA: We've been raining here in the southeast for what it seems like a week now and it will continue. But no severe weather. At least for us.

WHITFIELD: I know. But for those allergy sufferers, they've been really happy about the rain because there was so much pollen everywhere and now we get to start anew. CABRERA: I like how you ended on the good news. Excellent.

WHITFIELD: Well, you know, you've got to think, half glass full. I'm telling you.

CABRERA: Absolutely. Love it.

WHITFIELD: Ivan, appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Still ahead, White House hopefuls gathering in New Hampshire today. Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie. It's a very long list and it's a who's who in the GOP. But what do voters need to hear from them? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again. Welcome back, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. New Hampshire voters are getting a lot of love this weekend. From all declared Republican presidential candidates and many potential White House hopefuls as well.

They're all speaking at a major Republican summit in New Hampshire, the nation's first primary state and even though that primary is still ten months away, the GOP is wasting no time in already attacking Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR RAND PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm starting to worry that when Hillary Clinton travels, there's going to need to be two planes, one for her and her entourage, and one for her baggage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, that's Rand Paul still to speak today, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, and Jeb Bush. Let's bring in our political panel, CNN political commentators, Errol Louis and S.E. Cupp, and CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. Good to see all of you.

So Errol, let me begin with you, these candidates will be trying to set themselves apart from the rest of the GOP crowd. Many sharing similar positions, but how exactly are they going to distinguish themselves? It has to be more than just kind of attacking the Hillary Clinton, you know, candidate one week after her announcement.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, sooner or later, this may not be the weekend, but if it's not this weekend, it would be a weekend pretty soon. They're going to start attacking each other. The reality is there were some people, you showed some footage now, of former Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is polling at I think 1 percent in New Hampshire, maybe 2 percent.

You know, the bounce that they're going to need is not going to come from bashing Hillary Clinton more cleverly than anybody else. I think "Saturday Night Live" actually has that taken care of. They're going to have to start distinguishing themselves from each other. And these are very tough positions because those who are intending to go on don't want to say anything even as they have to bash their Republicans, fellow conservatives, but they don't want to say anything that's going to lock them in further down the road, which is pretty much what happened to Mitt Romney four years ago.

WHITFIELD: S.E., what is the strategy for these contenders?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I actually think that this is a pretty good strategy. The problem you see so often in the Republican primary is that it gets fractured early and so you have someone like Jeb Bush, for example, alienating Ted Cruz voters or Marco Rubio alienating Chris Christie voters.

And so what I think they're doing, which is smart, is focusing on Hillary, who is the presumptive nominee. I love how everyone calls it attacking Hillary.

[11:35:08] They are campaigning. Focusing on Hillary for as long as they possibly can until they actually have to start distinguishing themselves from one another.

As you mentioned, Fred, there are a lot of months before November 2016, there's plenty of time for them to start attacking each other. I actually think that this is a pretty good strategy to keep the party a little bit more inclusive for just a little bit longer.

WHITFIELD: All right, so Ron, I guess this is a strategy, whether it's attacking or whether it's campaigning. But what really matters is what these New Hampshire mostly moderate Republicans believe. What's the reception that they may give this kind of talk?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well look, the key fact about the New Hampshire primary is that since the Republicans have gone to their modern primary calendar in 1980, no one in a contested race has won both Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two contests.

And the reason is they represent the two poles of the Republican coalition. Iowa is kind of the foundation ground for the social conservatives in the party and the key fact is about three-fifths of all the Iowa voters are usually Evangelical Christians.

When you get to New Hampshire, only about one-fifth of the voters are Evangelical Christians. They tend to be more economically focused Republicans. They tend to be a little more libertarian.

And because they allow independents to vote, they also tend to have a kind of broader range of views, I think you're looking at very different tiers of people like Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum in the past have been strong in Iowa because they're strong with social conservatives.

Someone like Jeb Bush really needs to do well in New Hampshire, because Iowa is going to be tougher. The interesting thing is that Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, is someone who has shown at least early the ability to appeal to both camps and that could make him a formidable contender.

WHITFIELD: And look again at that graphic because we show in the CNN poll, Senator Marco Rubio, you know, is the latest Republican in the race just this week, and he's at the bottom of the list with just 6 percent of the vote.

He is trying to raise those numbers by painting himself as the new generation candidate and I wonder, Errol, you know, is that enough? Is that appealing? Will that work against the more seasoned, particularly?

LOUIS: Saying you're the new brand, you know, works if you're trying to sell a car or something like that, but you know, for Republican primary voters, I don't know if they're looking for something new. In fact, I've started to see quite a lot, you might call it a backlash, a number of articles, criticizing what they're calling reform-a-cons.

You know, meaning that, you know, we have got some principles here. We expect people to adhere to them. You can deviate a little here or there, but the minute you start talking about, you know, let's fundamentally reform the base, the principles on which the party is founded, that's not a formula for success in a primary election.

So I don't know. I mean, Rubio is going to be the one to watch this weekend to see if he makes any ground because he's not, just as Ron suggested, he is not clearly a fiscal conservative, he's not clearly an Evangelical.

He's trying to patch together something new, add a couple of new elements, and we'll see if they like him in New Hampshire.

WHITFIELD: So then S.E., you know, the base will be pushing for what, the new or the tested, and might that distinguish who is going to rise to the top?

CUPP: Yes, I think the winning -- the winning nominee is going to have to be a little bit of both, which is why I've suggested recently that I think Governor Scott Walker has the clearest path to the nomination.

So you've got Jeb Bush as sort of the establishment candidate over here and then on the other side, you've got the senators from the quote/unquote, you know, "do-nothing Congress," right, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio.

And I think Scott Walker has the clear path between those two options. You know, three times elected in four years, he can run on a record, he can say I've kept my nose out of Washington politics, but I've still got the requisite experience to go out there and run the country be a good leader.

Interestingly just back on Marco Rubio, I actually think that Jeb Bush might help Marco Rubio look more conservative because one of the criticisms from the right of Marco Rubio, especially when it comes to immigration is that he's been a little squishy. Next to Jeb Bush, especially on immigration, he actually looks pretty solid. So I think Rubio to be smart will cozy up to Jeb, to actually strengthen his conservative bonafides, among the electorate.

WHITFIELD: All right, we're going to have to leave it right there. All right, thanks so much, S.E. Cupp, Errol Louis, and Ron Brownstein. Good to see you all of you. Appreciate it.

All right, still ahead, Dr. Oz, fighting back against the charge that Columbia University should dump him. Not just Columbia, but his fellow doctors across the country. What he has to say, next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:43:25]

WHITFIELD: All right, if you think marijuana is a drug limited to just smoking, well, it's time to rethink how legal pot can and is being used. CNN's Ana Cabrera takes us to Denver where legal pot is creating a cannabis craze, from edibles to lotions to everything in between.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pot brownies and cannabis cookies old school. New today --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Buttery goodness.

CABRERA: Baklava baked with marijuana mints and THC infused sodas, tinctures, and gourmet candy bars.

TRIPP KEBER, CEO DIXIE BRANDS: This is the ridiculously sophisticated toasted rooster, which is a 70 percent cacao, dark chocolate coupled with papita and sea salt. So it is truly a gourmet mock chocolate bar delivering quite a punch.

CABRERA: Marijuana edibles have become a multimillion dollar industry.

PEGGY MOORE, OWNER, LOVE'S OVEN: We're in about 150 stores and we are in all corners of the state so, and everywhere in between.

CABRERA: Companies capitalizing on the cannabis craze aren't just expanding kitchens or laboratories. They are expanding their offerings.

(on camera): So one patch is $16, and this is one serving or one dose of the THC.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct or just the CBDs if doing going down the CBD that route.

CABRERA (voice-over): There are patches and creams for pain relief, battery charged vaporizers with THC infused oils and even bath products to help with relaxation. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It basically is a giant tea bag and it's called hash bath.

CABRERA: But the newest and perhaps most intriguing pot product we came across was a special THC sensual enhancement spray for women.

[11:45:05] MICHELLE SALVATI, DIRECTOR OF SALES, NATIVE ROOTS: You would, as woman, spray the product three to four times, about 30 minutes before intimacy and it promotes everything from enhanced sensation. It increases blood flow. It relaxes you.

CABRERA: Pleasure that comes at a price, $100 for the big bottle, $50 for the smaller 10 milliliter size.

(on camera): So do you have a return policy if somebody feels like they aren't getting the full benefit?

SALVATI: There hasn't been anyone who has complained about the product yet.

CABRERA: Have you tried it?

SALVATI: I have and it works.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marijuana, and -- me, too.

CABRERA (voice-over): Jeffrey Coolidge is an Iraq war vet purchasing peach tarts to help with his post-traumatic stress symptoms.

(on camera): Have you used these products before or are you just trying them out?

JEFFREY COOLIDGE, VETERAN AND MARIJUANA CUSTOMER: These I'm trying out for the first time, but I've done a bunch of research and I know that marijuana in general helps with PTSD.

CABRERA (voice-over): Since retail marijuana became legal more than a year ago in Colorado, more than 120 marijuana infused product manufacturers have been licensed as the world of pot products continues to grow, consumers are gobbling them up. Ana Cabrera, CNN, Denver.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Of course, tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m., CNN devotes two hours to marijuana, here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Sunday night is smoking. Times are changing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just legally purchased marijuana.

ANNOUNCER: A new movement is growing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never thought I would be smoking weed in the hospital.

ANNOUNCER: And business is booming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what happens when you legalize marijuana.

ANNOUNCER: One night, one network, one ground-breaking event.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to say I'm kind of stunned.

ANNOUNCER: So grab your favorite munchies and get ready for a night you wouldn't expect on CNN. The premiers of "Weed 3" and "High Profits" starting at 9:00.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day should be like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:32]

WHITFIELD: Dr. Oz is fighting back today against a group of physicians from around the country who were calling his faculty position at Columbia University's medical school unacceptable. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's nothing ambiguous in the letter ten doctors wrote about Dr. Mehmet Oz to the dean of Columbia University's medical school.

"We are surprised and dismayed that Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons would permit Dr. Mehmet Oz to occupy a faculty appointment. He has repeatedly shown disdain for science, and for evidence-based medicine.

He has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain." Dr. Joel Tepper signed the letter.

DR. JOEL TEPPER, UNC SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: He has touted many drugs as miracle drugs for weight loss, which causes people to spend huge amounts of money for treatments that have no benefit whatsoever.

COHEN: He said at most universities if someone did this --

TEPPER: That is grounds for dismissal.

COHEN: Columbia University responded, telling CNN they won't stop faculty members from speaking their minds. In the statement, Oz said, "We provide multiple points of view, including mine, which is offered without conflict of interest. That still doesn't sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts."

Oz rose to fame on Oprah as her go-to doctor and soon spun off his own successful TV show. It wasn't long before his flowery language and product promotion attracted controversy.

DR. MEHMET OZ, HOST, "THE DR. OZ SHOW": Now I've got the number one miracle in a bottle to burn your fat.

COHEN: Last June, Oz was brought before a Senate subcommittee about his promotions for miracle weight loss cures and called to the carpet.

SENATOR CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), CHAIRMAN, CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMITTEE: I don't get why you need to say this stuff because you know it's not true. So why when you have this amazing megaphone and this amazing ability to communicate, why would you cheapen your show by saying things like that?

DR. OZ: I actually do personally believe in the items that I talk about in the show. I passionately studied them. I would give my audience the advice by give my family all the time and I have given my family these products. This little bean has scientists saying they found the magic weight loss cure for every body type.

COHEN: The makers of one weight loss product touted on his show was sued by the Federal Trade Commission for false advertising and settled for $3.5 million. All fodder for doctors who were asking Columbia University to rethink Oz's position. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, what goes on in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas. Not for this, NHL star. We'll tell you why Jared Stoll's weekend was abruptly canceled.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:56:53]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Checking our top stories, a massive gasoline explosion sent 11 people to the hospital on Friday and closed the central California highway.

(VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Investigators say they don't yet know what caused the massive blast, but they are looking into the possibility that it may have been caused by heavy equipment working near a gas line.

And basketball hall of famer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is recovering today after quadruple bypass surgery. Doctors say he was admitted to UCLA Medical Center this week with heart disease. His doctor says surgery was successful, and he expects him to make a full recovery. We wish him the best as a friend of the show.

All right, an NHL hockey star is in big trouble with the law today. Coy Wire is here with more details, what happened?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: My goodness, a crazy story ongoing, just happening, Jared Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings, off the ice and onto the hot seat. He was arrested for drug possession yesterday afternoon.

Police tell CNN affiliate KSNV that Stoll had cocaine and ecstasy, Fredricka, at MGM Grand's pool complex. Stoll is released from jail on $5,000 bail just hours ago. A hearing is scheduled for later today. We'll see what all comes of this.

WHITFIELD: OK, so the Kings cannot be happy about this, what are they saying?

WIRE: Not happy. Their Twitter account, PR Twitter account, released a statement saying, quote, "Our organization is concerned and begun conducting a thorough internal investigation while we actively gather facts. We're withholding further comment at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so is this all indicative with, you know, the Jared Stoll that people know or what do we know about him?

WIRE: Well, you may have heard his name before, as having dated Erin Andrews host of "Dancing With The Stars" and also a sports reporter. He's engaged to Rachel Hunter, the model and actress. He joined Kings in 2008, won two Stanley Cups with the team, his first one in 2012, and just again last year.

Now the Kings didn't make it to the playoffs this year. He didn't have so hot of a season either. His last contract was $3.25 million. The worst part, though, for him, timing of all of this. He becomes unrestricted free agent in July 1st, which means another team could offered him some big bucks and now you have this looming over his head.

WHITFIELD: But now might they wait and see a little bit?

WIRE: Right.

WHITFIELD: OK, meantime, let's talk about the NBA playoffs. High hopes for at least one team, the Atlanta Hawks, but one of the players who is unable to deliver.

WIRE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: What's going on?

WIRE: It's tough we are in Atlanta, we want to say go Hawks. Top seed in the eastern conference, but Tabo Sefolosha will be watching from the bench just after getting in a scuffle with police just over a week ago. This is what happened.

Indiana Pacers player was stabbed outside nightclub at 4:00 a.m. in New York City, and then two Hawks players, who had just arrived in the city after playing a game in Atlanta hours before, were arrested at that scene, Fred, for interfering with officers trying to establish the crime scene.

One of the players, Sefolosha, says police broke his leg and messed up his ligament.

WHITFIELD: What?

WIRE: In that leg during the confrontation. Here's the video from TMG Sports, now Sefalosha, big dude 6'7", you can see the scuffle there. Apparently that's when the injury occurred. He had surgery just two days ago.

Now he's going to miss the playoffs. Hawks, they're starting their series. Now how crazy is this with the Brooklyn Nets, which is the team they are originally in New York for when this injury happened --