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Fox News to Host Two gOP Debates; Church Cameras Caught Two White Men Placing Confederate Flags on Church Grounds Overnight; 911 Tapes from Deadly Louisiana Theater Shooting Released. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 31, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:34:02] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: A big document out today from the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. It reveals the Democratic frontrunner has hypothyroidism and seasonal allergies. But she's also up to date on tests, including a colonoscopy. This is all part of Clinton's medical data released today which include a statement from her doctor saying the 67-year-old grandmother is quote/unquote "in excellent physical condition."

The medical records also show that her health scare after falling in 2012 has been resolved. That was the concussion. She now takes blood thinner to prevent blood clots. The campaign also released her taxes from 2007 to 2014. The Clintons made $30 million in 2014.

A week from today, we will be analyzing the first debate of the 2016 race for president. Next Thursday, FOX News will host two separate debates. The primetime debate will include the ten candidates with the highest average of the five most recent national polls. And we will not actually know the final ten here until Tuesday, but you're looking at a CNN poll of polls predictor here.

But because there are so many faces on your screen, 17 candidates total, the most debate stage has ever had to accommodate, by the way, as Smerconish laughs, I do, too, FOX will hold a debate open to the candidates polling the lowest.

So joining me with more to talk about all this spaces and I think one in particular, host of "SMERCONISH," he is Michael Smerconish himself.

Great to have you here, sir, as always.

[15:35:33] MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, SMERCONISH: You too. Thanks for being here.

BALDWIN: So Donald Trump, as you well know, he is polling number one which you say you never in a million years had predicted.

SMERCONISH: I'm 0-3.

BALDWIN: Tell me why you're quite doubling down now.

SMERCONISH: Well, first of all, I am what he would regard as a loser, OK? Let me say it before he says it. I never thought he'd run. I never thought he'd make a financial disclosure and I thought that his numbers would drop like a rock after that asinine thing that he said about John McCain.

BALDWIN: So you're on a role, is what you're telling me?

SMERCONISH: I'm on a roll, yes. And I think when you are wrong three times, then you are quadrupling down, but I'm not sure. But I'm quadrupling down. I still don't see it in the cards for him.

BALDWIN: OK.

SMERCONISH: I see him getting out even maybe before Iowa and New Hampshire. There's no way he can sustain these figures and there's no growth potential. But for him to get out, it has got to be big. This is not a guy who just makes a concession speech after losing some states and endorses someone and goes quietly into the night. What it is, I'm not sure, but it's going to be big when it happens.

BALDWIN: How? Like how do you think if he's a go big or go home type of guy?

SMERCONISH: OK. There is one historical precedent that I can come up with, and it's a billionaire precedent, Ross Perot in 1992. You may remember that briefly he got out of the race in the middle of the summer and had an excuse for it and then later explained to "60 Minutes" that the real reason he suspended his campaign is thought Papa Bush, Bush 41 as president, was going to disrupt his daughter's wedding. So I think Trump's going to have to have something like that of that level, maybe El Chapo.

BALDWIN: This is good.

SMERCONISH: And the threat against the do Donald.

(CROSSTALK)

SMERCONISH: I'm laughing as I'm offering it but I happen believe it has to be something akin to that.

BALDWIN: OK. We will remember this moment when we come back.

SMERCONISH: I could be 0-4. Who knows?

BALDWIN: So, I want to play some sound because Donald Trump is in Scotland right now. And this is prediction time when it comes to Mr. Trump. Roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't talk about it. I get it done. Politicians talk about it. You know, these debate every night of their life. That's all they do is debate. They debate all over the place and nothing happens. So I'm sort of the opposite. So I have no idea. You know, I am who I am. I'll show up. I look forward to it and that's all I can do. I have no idea how I'll do. Maybe I'll do terribly. Maybe I'll do great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I have to admit, I am absolutely fascinated by this aspect of it. And you laugh --

SMERCONISH: I'm fascinated, too.

BALDWIN: I'm fascinated because, you know, he's been in many a board room but he has never part of the political debate. He says he's not really doing -- I was talking to Dana Bash who interviewed him earlier this week.

SMERCONISH: I think it's going to get huge numbers. I think, by the way, he's a very smart politician there in lowering the bar, right, to say, you know, Brooke, don't have a high expectation of how I do. They are all professionals. I've never done this before. I think because of where he's polling he'll be dead center.

BALDWIN: Smack middle of the stage?

SMERCONISH: And it would mean that Jeb Bush and Scott Walker will be at his sides. We don't know who will be the outer flanks until the polls are firmed up. But they are going to have to play to him. I think he'll benefit from the format because with so many on the stage, it probably means --

BALDWIN: It is time constraints.

SMERCONISH: Yes, like what nine or ten minutes of Trump and he can blow the eight or nine or ten minutes.

BALDWIN: Will he blow the eight? Will he be substance? Will he be, you know, vintage Trump? How should he respond?

SMERCONISH: He should probably take it down. Look, the last person he wants advice from is me, alright. I'm the 0-3 guy. I think he should probably take it down a couple of notches and try and get some people to say, you know, I thought he was kind of a blow hard but there's some substance there. I think that would be wise for him. The real question is, if it's the vintage Trump, what does Jeb do?

BALDWIN: How do you respond to that?

SMERCONISH: Exactly.

BALDWIN: You know what I'm saying without saying it?

SMERCONISH: Yes. It's amazing that we're sitting here -- is it August yet? It's the end of the July and there's such interest and enthusiasm. It would otherwise be a snooze at this stage.

SMERCONISH: Right. Boring. Can we bring in another face that we haven't talked about in a while

-- Sarah Palin. Yes, Sarah Palin because I want to read something that she's written here on this new op-ed from the former Republican presidential candidate. She wrote on Donald Trump quote "he is a threat to the permanent political class nontraditional candidates always are because when they are in touch with the people, they show their guts and just do the right thing. They go rogue and take flak from all sides. Some of us have the scars to prove that." Is she identifying?

[15:40:04] SMERCONISH: Absolutely. There's another line in that interview where she says, you know, just who are these wind bags, I think she means individuals such as myself in the media and have been critical of the Donald. I think she wants back in.

BALDWIN: No. Do you?

SMERCONISH: Yes. I think she is wants in on the action.

BALDWIN: She wants to be number 18?

SMERCONISH: No. I don't mean that. I mean, I think she wants in on the Donald's team. I think she views herself as playing a role in -- dare I say --

BALDWIN: What kind of role?

SMERCONISH: Trump administration? I don't know. I mean, Mark Cuban is also saying kind things about the Donald. It could be the most unique cabinet we've ever seen. And a hell of a TV show.

BALDWIN: I think people are laughing at you from over there.

SMERCONISH: No. They are laughing with me.

BALDWIN: Laughing with the other there guys.

BALDWIN: Michael Smerconish, thank you so much. Let's see - no, postgame after next Thursday and we will see if we can say you were right or you are wrong. Watch this man tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN. Thank you.

Next, caught on camera, two men placing confederate flags at this historic church once led by Dr. Martin Luther King. We'll speak with a pastor here who is not mincing his words calling this a clear terror threat. We will go to Atlanta.

Also, chilling new video just moments before an Alabama man opened fire in a Lafayette movie theater. More on that. You're watching CNN.

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[15:45:36] BALDWIN: This is the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used to preach. It rests in a city, intimately tied to the civil rights movement and now Ebenezer Baptist church and the king national historic site of the subject of a potential hate crime. Police and federal officials are investigating who placed confederate battle flags on these landmark locations. These two men, appear to be two white men seen -- you'll see then in this surveillance video. There you go. Police say church cameras caught them placing four confederate flags on the grounds around the church overnight on Thursday. It actually happened overnight Thursday. A maintenance worker made the discovery later in the morning.

Official say it's not clear if any state or federal laws have been broken or if any charges can be sought. But local NAACP leader say there is no doubt what these flags represent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD ROSE, PRESIDENT, NAACP ATLANTA CHAPTER: It's not about the art I was talking about. So it is about what that flag has represented for over 100 years. That's hate and white supremacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, the senior pastor of this historic Ebenezer Baptist church, Raphael Warnock.

Reverend, thank you so much for spending time with me. I appreciate it.

REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, SENIOR PASTOR, EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH: Thank you so much, Brooke. Good to be here with you.

BALDWIN: So when you found out about this, how did this strike you, sir?

WARNOCK: Well, you know, to hear on a Thursday morning as I was making my way to the church that the confederate flag had made its way to our door steps, obviously that's disheartening but we are not discouraged or deterred. As it turns out, I was convening a group of pastors all across -- from all across the country focused on the issue of mass incarceration. The fact that the land of the free is the incarceration capital of the world. In the real sense, it's the last vestige of this old system that the confederate flag represents. So ironically, it reminded us of how much more work we have to do.

BALDWIN: More work you have to do. Do you see it as a threat?

WARNOCK: Clearly it is. There shouldn't be any confusion about this. To leave a confederate flag on the doorsteps of a predominantly African-American church is tan amount to leaving a swastika on a Jewish temple. It's intended to send a very clear political message to intimidate, to threaten and, you know, this is an interesting dialogue we're having in our country because, on the one hand, there are those that are saying this is a symbol of heritage, not of hate. Yet, in this example, as was the case much more tragically in Charleston, it was clearly being -- doing hateful work. And now, as we think about this and what will happen next, the state of Georgia has no hate crimes law on the books. And so, we're being told that this flag is not a hateful symbol. And by the way, legally speaking, in the state of Georgia there's no such thing as a hate crime. Decent people ought to say no to this and stand up to the Georgia legislature and say we need hate crime legislation introduced right away.

BALDWIN: There is legislature, what can be done there. Also just on the ground level as far as the investigation goes, you know, I was reading Atlanta police. They say they are working with federal officials to investigate. So therefore you would have the possible hate crime. You know, looking at the surveillance video perhaps, at the federal level. But where does the investigation stand? I mean, do you even know -- have they I.D. these people?

WARNOCK: I'm not sure. I have been moving around doing the incredible work that Ebenezer does all the time and I haven't spoken with law enforcement officials today. Hopefully they are making some progress. I hope these individuals will be apprehended.

Unfortunately, you know, after Charleston, you have to take this kind of thing seriously. We're not preoccupied by it, but I hope they will apprehend them so that, you know, perhaps I'll get a chance to talk to them. After all, they came to the right place. They just came with the wrong message and maybe we can help them. Maybe we can direct and channel that frustration in a more positive way.

BALDWIN: Final question. Will that be part of your message? I mean, how will you all address this on Sunday with your congregation?

[15:50:02] WARNOCK: Well, come Sunday, I'm sure that the members of Ebenezer will gather in large numbers and embrace as they do every week. And our message is we will not give into fear, and we will not give into hate. Fear paralyzes, hate consumes, and given all the work we have to do, we can neither afford to be paralyzed or consumed. We have to keep our eyes on the prize, building a better America.

We are one people. I know that the confederate flag as a southerner, I know that for some it represents heritage, but too many hate groups have laid claim to this flag. We ought to let them owned the flag. And since we are one people, we ought to stand together under one flag and fight to deal with mass incarceration, to deal with voting rights 50 years after the voting rights law, to expand opportunity for all Americans.

BALDWIN: Eyes on the prize. Dr. King's church, Reverend Raphael Warnock, thank you so much.

WARNOCK: Good to be here with you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

Turning now to Louisiana, as described as chilling, dash-cam videos and 911 tapes from the deadly Lafayette theater shooting. They were released to investigators and what they reveal really just the chaos, the sheer terror that was unfolding as moviegoers scrambled for their lives.

As CNN Ed Lavandera reports, the surveillance video clearly captures the gunman the moments before he opened fire. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chilling new surveillance videos showed Louisiana shooter John Russell Hauser buying his movie ticket, calmly walking pass the concession stand and right down the hall, straight into theater 14. Less than 15 minutes into the movies, Hauser pulls out a .40 caliber handgun and fires off at least 13 rounds. These are the frantic 911 calls that began pouring in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a shooting at grand 16.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He shot right at people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's two people shot. Two people shot.

LAVANDERA: Police race to the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need everybody over here. Send anybody you got.

LAVANDERA: Police say that shooter initially tried to escape by blending into the fleeing ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody hang on. They said he is inside. That he has reloaded. We have an active shooter here.

LAVANDERA: The presence of law enforcement caused him to turn the gun on himself, according to officials, but not before killing these two women and injuring nine more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspect is down. Suspect is down. We have several more victims.

LAVANDERA: Thursday night in Lafayette. Hundreds attend a celebration in remembrance of the two victims, just one week after their tragic deaths.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just want to say thank you for everyone involved in finding my daughter on that horrible day.

LAVANDERA: The communitywide event titled unite, honor, heal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Ed Lavandera, thank you.

Still ahead here, small but perhaps crucial piece of plane debris now en route to France for analysis. Could this help solve one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time, the disappearance of Malaysian Air flight 370 next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:31] BALDWIN: There are more than a million native-Americans living on reservations right here in the United States. And many face soaring unemployment, high suicide rates, and in some cases, pretty tough living conditions.

But on one struggling reservation in South Dakota one woman is bringing help and hope. Rochelle Ripley is keeping on a family promise to her people. She is this week's CNN hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROCHELLE RIPLEY, CNN HERO: My grandmother was full blood Lakota. My grandma was my world. She asked me if I would promise to go home and help our people when I grew up.

The Lakota reservations are very isolated. The spirit of the people to life but they struggle with the conditions tremendously. We have extremely high rates of suicide, addictions, food, often is in very short supplies, unemployment, health issues are another huge challenge.

I formed a group to keep a promise to my Lakota grandmother to go home and help our people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At first I was traumatized, because I was blind. All my electricity and stuff were no good (INAUDIBLE).

RIPLEY: We're doing as much as we can to make our house safe for her, even more --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see it, but I feel it.

RIPLEY: We've been teaching how to eat healthy on a very limited budget. We have a medical team. We work collaboratively with the tribe wherever we go.

So, we're going to continue, obviously, with toys and the new clothing.

We get in everything from beds to food.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's a blessing to our reservation. We call her (INAUDIBLE). (INAUDIBLE) means you're helping people.

RIPLEY: We're all children of this earth and work together, so that everyone has a chance as having a decent life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Maybe you know a Rochelle in your life. If you do, please nominate a hero today, go to CNN.com/heroes.

And before I let you go, just a reminder tonight here, make sure you watch our CNN documentary. We are calling it "Vanish, the mystery of Malaysia Airlines flight 370." It airs tonight here on CNN, 9:00 eastern and pacific.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekends, but I also hope you stay right here. I'm Brooke Baldwin. I'm going to toss things off to my colleague, John Berman. "The LEAD" starts right now. END