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Three Americans On French Train Turn Into Instant Heroes; Thousands Of Protestors Gather in Lebanon's Capital For a Second Night; 200 Homes Lost And Thousands More Threatened By Wildfire in Washington State; Jimmy Carter Teaches Sunday School In His Georgia Church To a Huge Crowd; Dow In Flux. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 23, 2015 - 17:00   ET

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


[17:00:16] POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. 5:00 eastern this Sunday. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. And we begin with the story of true heroes. Three Americans overseas this weekend went from tourists on a train to heroes. A short time ago, we heard directly from them about how they jumped up and knocked out a gunman with links to terrorism and determined to shoot up a crowded train.

Three friends on vacation, Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, joined today by the American ambassador in France and giving their account of what happened on that train. Two of the men are U.S. service members. All three of them reacted without hesitation when they saw the gunman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AIRMAN 1ST CLASS SPENCER STONE, U.S. AIR FORCE: And I turned around and I saw he had what looked to be an ak-47. He looked like it was jammed or wasn't working. He was trying to charge the weapon. And Alek just hit me on the shoulder and said "let's go" and ran down, tackled him. We hit the ground. Alek came up and grabbed the gun out of his hand while I put him in a chokehold. It seemed like he just kept pulling more weapons left and right. Pulled out a handgun. Alek took that. Took out a box cutter and started jabbing at me with that.

SPEC. ALEK SKARLATOS, OREGON NATIONAL GUARD: He clearly had no firearms training whatsoever. And yes, if he knew what he was doing or even just got lucky and did the right thing, he would have been able to operate through all eight of those magazines and we would have all been in trouble and probably wouldn't be here today, along with a lot of other people.

ANTHONY SADLER, HELPED TAKE DOWN TRAIN ATTACKER: Initially kind of after it happened, I kind of knew -- realized the magnitude. I didn't quite understand that all this would happen, but I knew that it was something very serious because we were traveling internationally and my two friends are off duty military, so I just knew -- I knew it would be bigger than just the initial investigation, but I had no idea it would get like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All three American heroes have already spoken with President Obama. He called to praise their actions and bravery yesterday. Tomorrow they will meet with the president of France face to face along with a long line of European officials. This is what the American ambassador to France had to say about them today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE HARTLEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE: We often use the word "Hero" and in this case I think that word has never been more appropriate. I know these young men sitting with me won't like it, because even in the brief period we've known each other, they are so humble. But they are truly heroes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Bob Baer, CNN security and intelligence analyst and former CIA operative is with me. He is also the author of "the Perfect Kill, 21 laws for assassin." Also with us, live from Paris this evening, CNN's Nic Robertson.

Nic, let me begin with you. What an amazing, amazing story. What an amazing reception they are getting from the officials in France, but frankly from everyone that passes them on the street.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. I mean, look, the icing on the cake tomorrow has got to be in many ways meeting the president, the prime minister, the interior minister, the minister of transportation, any minister that's connected in some way with this is going to be there to thank them. But that is going to be pretty cool.

But we've been out on the street here just for a brief few moments when two of them drove out of the police station yesterday in the north of France. People are standing on the street side clapping and applauding them. People passed us on the streets wanting us to thank them. Thanking the police, thanking, you know thanking these three young Americans. People here really from the bottom all the way to the top, particularly at the bottom here, they really feel that these men deserve applause, deserve praise, deserve thanking, deserve honoring for this country.

The Legion of Honor, as they say here, is the highest award that these men could be given in this country. I talked to people on the streets here today who said, absolutely yes, they deserve it. Many people could have died were it not for them.

HARLOW: Yes. More than 500 people on that train.

Bob, to you. Turning to the shooter, this looks to be a lone Wolf attack, potentially connected to something bigger, right? Possibly inspired by ISIS just like we saw with "Charlie Hebdo." I'm just wondering what it tells you about the state of terror right now.

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think what it is probably a lone wolf in the sense this isn't well planned, Poppy. I mean, you clearly would have needed two gunmen to take down a train carriage. ISIS knows that. You know, if they're involved in this, they found one guy jamming his weapon. Normally these people if they're well trained would be able to unjam it very quickly or have some sort of explosive device to give himself time.

So nonetheless he did acquire an ak-47. They're hard to get in Europe. The fact that he had nine magazines -- he wanted to slaughter people. It's still worrisome because you have so many people wandering around Europe with affiliations with the Islamic state and Al-Qaeda and clearly they can get guns fairly simply.

[17:05:28] HARLOW: You know, I'm wondering, Nic, to you, and Bob, I want you to address this too, what we have learned about the gunman, Ayoub El-Khazzani, is that his DNA was already on file with Spanish authorities. A senior European counterterrorism official says that he was linked to investigations already, existing investigations into radical Islamist networks. What kind of surveillance, Nic, are we learning that he was under or, frankly, wasn't under?

ROBERTSON: You know, the reality of the situation here in Europe at the moment is intelligence authorities are incredibly stretched. The resources that it takes to put one individual or one cell of individuals under 24/7 surveillance is vast and huge. Authorities here have to pick and choose. They know that and have been quite public about that.

In Belgium alone, they believe there are 300 people at least that have gone to Syria and Iraq to join is. They know that they could prosecute, they have enough evidence against them. So there are plenty of others that they are worried about.

France, we're talking in the hundreds, maybe a thousand or more at least that have gone off to the region. So the surveillance that he would been on there, he was put on a watch list and that watch list proved useful. That he was put on that because of his connection to radical Islamist in Spain. The French alluded those were alerted, (INAUDIBLE) was alerted. So when he got on a plane to go to Turkey in May this year, that triggered an alert.

People were aware. When he came back, they were aware. What happened after he came back? Well, he was one of many, many people. We don't know if there was any particular surveillance put on him, but obviously, you know, this highlights the difficulty. Many hundreds, thousands going, coming back. We're told many of them coming back now. He was one of them. How do you watch them all? That's the question they're asking here right now.

HARLOW: It is a question, bob. From your former CIA background, how do you watch them all? Where's the bar? Why are people like this continually falling through the cracks?

BAER: Well, if they're not falling between the cracks, it's a matter of triage. Who do you follow? I worked with the French police on several occasions, and to put surveillance on the ground in Paris, you have to have at least 100 people to do it. I mean, it seems fantastic but it's not like Hollywood, you have one person following, you know, a suspect around. You need to put hundreds of people on the ground. So the French have a very difficult time determining who is just a believer and who's going to turn to violence.

And it's -- there is no easy solution for it. But my contention is, is as the conflicts get worse in the Middle East, they are going to become more overburdened, especially with refugees coming in. They are going to be hard to track and emotions are going to be so high.

HARLOW: Nic Robertson, Bob Baer, thank you both. Again, talking about the shooter here, but the focus should be on the three heroes. Thank you very much.

I do want to show you what we woke up to here in New York this morning. Take a look at this. This is the cover of "the New York Post." It says brave airmen who tackled a terrorist, a true American hero. One of those heroes, Alek Skarlatos, said it was not much of a conscious decision. He and his friends just acted instinctively. The 22-year-old National Guardsman was touring Europe for a month after returning from duty in Afghanistan. His father says he's both inspired by his son.

Emmanuel Skarlatos joins me now on the phone live from Rosenberg, Oregon.

Thank you so much for being with me, Emmanuel.

EMMANUEL SKARLATOS, ALEK SKARLATOS' FATHER (on the phone): Yes, hello.

HARLOW: How is Alek doing?

E. SKARLATOS: Alek is -- I don't know, I really haven't been in contact with him very much. Just maybe some messaging on instant messenger. And I've only spoken with him once on that initial call. He's been inundated with media in Europe so we don't have much time. But I'm very, very proud of my son.

HARLOW: Yes, I can only imagine. He took the pistol and the clash in the cub away from the shooter, bashed the shooter on the head with it, basically took him down. And you say that he told you he immediately went into survival mode.

E. SKARLATOS: You know, I can barely hear you for some reason. I don't know why.

HARLOW: I'm sorry. We are going to work on that. I'm just going to say that again quickly.

E. SKARLATOS: OK, please.

HARLOW: He told you that he immediately went into survival mode, is that right?

E. SKARLATOS: Yes, correct.

HARLOW: Tell me about your son.

E. SKARLATOS: Well, I think he has warrior instincts. He's aware of evil in the world. And I think that more people, my son and others, need to stand up against that, against terrorism. Call it for what it is. Instead of saying the guy is a train robber or this or that. It's obvious. And people need to quit being pc. And setting politics aside, they did the right thing.

[17:10:29] HARLOW: They most certainly did. His friendship with the other two young men goes far, far back. Can you tell me about them? Because it's almost like they're brothers.

E. SKARLATOS: Well, they basically are. They grew up together, lived next door to one another, went to the same school, shared each other's homes. And they're best friends.

HARLOW: Best friends. What is next for Alek when he comes home?

E. SKARLATOS: I imagine the media will inundate him again, but he's not scheduled to come home for quite a while. But I'm encouraging him to come home sooner.

HARLOW: I bet you guys want to see him and give him a huge hug. Please thank him for all of us, Emmanuel.

E. SKARLATOS: I sure will.

HARLOW: Thank you, Emmanuel Skarlatos.

E. SKARLATOS: Thank you.

HARLOW: Coming up next, we will go to Lebanon, Beirut specifically, where anger is boiling over. You are looking at live pictures. It is just past midnight there in Beirut. The capital of Lebanon, where police turned a water cannon on protesters. The protests boiling over because of uncollected trash, but the root of their anger runs so much deeper. We'll explain, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:19:59] HARLOW: What began as a trash crisis, literally protests over trash being left on the streets for far too long, has exploded into frustration and rage on the streets of Beirut. Thousands of protesters gathered in the capital of Lebanon for a second straight night, some of them throwing rocks and bottles. They were pushed back by riot police who fired tear gas and water cannons into the crowds. Anti-government anger over corruption as political dysfunction is at the heart of this dispute.

CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins me now live from central Beirut.

It is just past midnight there, Nick. What are you seeing?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As you join me, we have just heard the rumble of what sounds like heavy armor being brought into the city center now. I saw myself two vehicles that looked like they were carrying the military here. The significance of that is it corroborates some reports in the media that the Lebanese army has moved into the city center to try to contain the situation. And that is now six hours after this protest began. It began thousands strong, peaceful, minority at the front seemed more interested in clashing with police than many who gathers in the crowd did. (INAUDIBLE) started war was pretty clear assuming that this was going to escalate. The police fired water cannons. They got pelted back with rocks, plastic bottles, anything that could lay their hands on. Protesters tried to get over the barricades and then finally the police had enough and fired tear gas. But still hearing that in just the recent hour. So it has kicked the protesters far back towards Martha's Square which is a key landmark here in central Beirut. And then the question of what will bring this to an end.

We are hearing -- we've still been hearing protesters scattered off over my left shoulder with tear gas meeting them. We're now hearing about the level of injuries. Forty five injured, saying the Lebanese Red Cross. That's probably most likely civilians and police are saying 30 plus of theirs have been injured, one of them quite seriously. But the army coming in has been a substantial development. They may be under control the situation or may escalate because the army have limited tools available to them - Poppy.

HARLOW: Nick, let's step back and talk about what has led up to this. Because I think for many Americans seeing this perhaps for the first time right now, they wonder what led to this. You know, the leaders are saying this is a movement about a government that can no longer sustain the needs of the people.

WALSH: And that's correct. Lebanon has been in a mess for decades, but in the last few months it was unable to basically clean up its own trash, the government was that dysfunctional. People came to the streets angry at that and basically realized there's so much wrong with this country the whole government has to do. That's what the protesters are being demanding, a complete change of the political deck here, a start from scratch. That may not happen but these protests have turned violent. People will ask who started what but there's now a government here that's holding on barely to power by itself and it needs to find a solution to calm the streets down as quickly as possible and we're not seeing that yet, Poppy.

HARLOW: No, we are not.

Nick Paton Walsh, live for us just after midnight there in Beirut. Thank you very much.

Let's turn now to CNN security and intelligence analyst Bob Baer who's very familiar with being on the ground in Beirut.

Do you think it's possible, Bob, what Nick just talked about, a complete changing of the deck, if you will, from the current government?

BAER: Absolutely. I mean, this government is dysfunctional. It hasn't had a president for a year. Bringing the army in is huge at this point. Lebanon has been on the brink of political chaos for the last decade, as Nick said. And the problem is that the most powerful force in the country is Hezbollah, It's a militia, it's bigger than the army. What role are they going to play and will this country spill over into sectarian fighting which is the fear of the Lebanese.

HARLOW: That's a very, very important too for stability in the region. Look what we saw happen in Egypt. Do you see the same thing unfolding there?

BAER: I do. I'm listening to the Lebanese. They're panicking at this point. They have been panicking for at least a year. This may seem fairly small thing, trash, but it's a government that doesn't work and it's an army that's divided, you know, sectarian-wise. And could Lebanon slip back into the civil war? People have been talking about it. We'll have to wait to see.

HARLOW: Bob Baer, thank you, as always.

Next, back to the United States where nearly 400,000 acres are scorched in Washington State with only a fraction of this wildfire contained.

Our Stephanie Elam is there live-Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Poppy. You're talking about 200 homes that have been lost, another 12,000 that are threatened. We're going to show you some of the devastation like we're seeing right here at Lake Chelan coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:23:35] HARLOW: Washington State is calling out 700 members of the National Guard today to help fight giant wildfires that have consumed close to 400,000 acres. For the first time, the state is asking civilian volunteers to pitch in to help crews whose resources have been stretched dangerously thin. They are being called on to dig fire lines, just days after three firefighters tragically lost their lives battling the blaze.

Stephanie Elam is in an area of the state where homes have been destroyed.

It is pretty incredible, Stephanie, to see what is behind you on the lakefront.

ELAM: Completely. It is really incredible to take a look at, Poppy. And I just want to show you exactly how close these flames are to destroying more homes. If you take a look over here. And if you look you've got some very beautiful homes that are right here on the lakefront. Not a thing wrong with them. Everything completely the way these people left, because these people evacuated.

But you pan to the left just a little bit and it is just utter annihilation of these homes, completely destroyed by wildfire here at Lake Chelan in Washington State. This is the north central part of the state where we are, and it's just amazing to see how this fire just came down this crest and came and took out these homes. A lot of it has to do with the fact that there are 16 wildfires burning within Washington State right now, and so resources are stretched very thin. Because of that, like you mentioned, you have the National Guard

coming in. There's another 200 members of the National Guard who is getting trained who will also be making their way in here to relieve those other members. And then they're asking civilians on top of that. The department of natural resources saying we need more help. So if you have something that you can add to this and you're a civilian, please let us know, come to us and help us out because these fires continue to burn.

And while you look at this devastation here, just know that up on some of these ridges above us, you can still see smoke coming up of some of the places where there are hot spots still burning. They're doing some backfires to try to burn out any available fuel that's there, but there are still more places that are burning behind here. And that's why the evacuations are still in place.

And so because of that, if the winds change, as the smoke lifts from here, it's going to be really hot this week. There is a chance that these fires could break back up and the homes that didn't burn could be in danger again. So still a very precarious situation here in Washington State, Poppy.

[17:25:54] HARLOW: I know that the strong winds were a big challenge for the firefighters over the last week. We have heard, though, that some -- some of the smoke is lifting so they can get more of those aircraft in, is that right?

ELAM: Yes, that's a huge part of it too because we've been looking at the air quality change. But if it gets better, that means those fires could get stronger, but that also means they can also fight from air and fighting from air is a huge aid when you're battling this many blazes out in this much wilderness, Poppy.

HARLOW: Stephanie, thank you very much. It's pretty unbelievable to see the damage behind you. Appreciate the reporting.

Up next, three Americans recount how they took down a terror suspect on a European train bound for Paris. We will also hear from one of the hero's brothers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:29:49] HARLOW: The American men who stopped a "would-be" terrorist in Europe this weekend are sharing their stories with the world. The three Americans, two of them U.S. service members, will meet the president of France tomorrow. He wants to thank them personally for tackling and disarming a man who almost opened fire on a crowded train. They told reporters in Paris today that they could not have done it without one another's help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STONE: If it wasn't for them, I would have been dead. And so we all had a critical role in whatever happened. Everyone else that helped, the conductors, the guy at the bathroom, so everyone played their own part. No one specifically is to praise, I feel like, so -- SADLER: I know for me personally, I don't know what I would have done

if I was by myself. I don't know. I saw Spencer get up, I saw Alek get up and those are my close friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: It is pretty remarkable the story of how they ended up on that train together. These three friends were traveling together in Europe for the first time.

Our Polo Sandoval has more from New York.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Poppy. One of those heroes, Spencer Stone, is out of the hospital, back with his friends. He is sharing his story publicly for the first time. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STONE: It feels very unreal. It feels like a dream.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Bearing the visible reminders of a bloody confrontation, U.S. airman Spencer Stone relives the moment he led a charge against a gunman onboard a French train.

STONE: I turned around and saw that he had what looked to be an ak- 47. It looked like it was jammed or wasn't working and he was trying to charge the weapon. And Alek just hit me on the shoulder and said "let's go."

SANDOVAL: Those two words rallied three friends together. Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler sprang into action tackling the gun- wielding man.

SADLER: When we entered the car we saw him cocking the ak-47. So at that time, he would be to do something that die.

STONE: Alek came up and grab the gun out of his hand while I put him in a chokehold.

A, SKARLATOS: I didn't really have much of a state of awareness. It wasn't really a conscious decision, we just kind of acted.

SANDOVAL: The attack was eventually tied down by Sadler and a British passenger but not before nearly severing Stone's thumb with a box cutter. Battered and bloody, Stone rushed to help not himself, but another injured passenger.

STONE: I just went over and saw that he was squirting blood out of the left or right side of his neck. I just stuck two of my fingers in the hole. Found what I thought to be the artery, pushed down and the bleeding stop. And so, I said thank God and held off that until the paramedics got there.

SANDOVAL: Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler shrugged off the title of hero. They credit instinct and the bond they have shared since childhood. STONE: I trust both my friends very much. And if it wasn't for them,

I would have been dead. And so we all had a critical role in what happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And the praise is only expected to continue. These three heroes are expected to meet with French president Francois Hollande tomorrow. All of them saying that this was not heroism, they were simply acting on instinct-- Poppy.

HARLOW: Wow, amazing story. Imagine the welcome they're going to get when they get back to this country. Thank you for that.

Hero Spencer Stone's brother, Everett, says his brother, an air force medic, is a true warrior. Here's what he told our affiliate, KOVR, from their hometown of Sacramento.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVERETT STONE, SPENCER STONE'S BROTHER: Pride is not a good enough word to describe how proud I am of him. He pretty much sums up, what it means, the definition of being a warrior. He should not be alive at all. And he saved every single person's life on that train today, close to 554, including the man who was shot in the neck. He was able to plug his wound with his own hand and he stopped him from bleeding to death right there on the train before they could get him medical help.

We basically just discussed, you know, a lot of people just sit back. If something were to ever happen like that we weren't going to sit down and take it. And he did exactly what he said we would do. And he stopped the guy from killing everybody.

I don't know what the specific word is, but he's getting an award from France on Monday, I believe. Obviously, it's a lot for anybody, no matter, you know, where you're from or who you are. It's a pretty -- pretty intense. Just taking it one step at a time is basically it's a lot to deal with.

He's actually a very laid-back person. He's not some crazy out of control guy. I can tell you, a warrior and most other time he's pretty relaxed and a fun guy. He's an airman in the U.S. air force. And he's basically a medic, stationed currently in the Azor Islands in Portugal. He just happened to be on vacation in Europe. He just started a week or so before this happened. And he was traveling around and found himself on the train that day.

I got the phone call, he should be dead. Like, you know, we didn't know what happened. We just knew someone was shot. There was a terrorist attack. And, you know, other people were severely injured. I didn't even know he was the one that had been shot or was going to die. So, all we saw were pictures being broadcast by the French media.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: Spencer Stone's parents say they were in a state of disbelief when they heard the news. They of course are relieved that their son and his friends are all right.

Coming up, even a cancer diagnosis cannot slow down former president Jimmy Carter. He taught Sunday school today like he always does and showed his sense of humor in his hometown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[17:35:21] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER (voice-over): This is Gunshow. For Chef Kevin Gillespie, this is a centerpiece in his 18 years in the industry that includes four nominations at the prestigious James beard awards.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dessert? OK, I'll get you guys set up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to build a restaurant that did not feel excusatory in any way or it didn't make one class of person or one type of person go I don't know if this place is meant for people like me. I wanted to build a restaurant that was 100 percent transparent. That there was no mystery, you could see every piece of the work. From where we store our pots and pans all the way to the final dish.

A restaurant where the cooks actually create their own menus. They prep -- they order, prep, cook and serve their own food tableside. So when a person comes to you and says I have this thing, that's the person who made it. Gunshow stimulates a lot of senses. And it is exciting and you get into it. It's a show almost. It is like going to a theater.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: The theatrical experience lies in witnessing Kevin and colleagues artfully prepare, plate and present their dishes to an awaiting audience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, guys, how are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, how are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doing very well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: And for frequent patrons of Gunshow, it's clear that the chef feels most at home coated in the culinary culture of the American south.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one kind of sells itself. Chicken and waffles is not a very difficult dish to sell in the Deep South. And even when we add the little Vietnamese spin, it still makes it pretty popular. It's a lot of fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love in a city, Atlanta, where you're rooted in the traditions of the Deep South, yet you have people from all over the world every single day here, and it feels like the cuisine that should be prepared in a city like this is one that embraces that world view.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:12] HARLOW: Like he has done for the past 20 years, former president Jimmy Carter taught Sunday school today at his church in Georgia. But today's appearance was especially remarkable, because the 90-year-old just started treatment for advanced cancer three days ago.

CNN's Nick Valencia is live in plains, Georgia. He was there for all of it.

I can only imagine how remarkable it was to see. Some of the folks camped out overnight. I understand that today was his 690th Sunday school class, right?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: its 689, but who's keeping count, Poppy? The grandson had a tweet earlier this evening saying it was Jimmy Carter's 689th time, nearly 700 times that he's taught Sunday school here.

It was a momentous day for those outside of plains, Georgia. Those residents here locally are a little bit more used to seeing President Jimmy Carter here on Sundays at Sunday school. He did get up there and speak for about an hour, his first time publicly addressing the congregation since saying he was diagnosed with cancer. He was incredibly at ease considering everything that he's gone through. At some points he was even joking with the crowd, spry 90 years old. He looked a lot better than even some average 90-year-olds. He did have some serious undertones to his speech earlier today here at the church. He briefly addressed his cancer diagnosis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I intend to keep on teaching here at Maranatha as long as I'm able. I'm going to cut back a good bit. It just gives me a good excuse to finally do it. I work at the Carter center. We have been working, Rose and I have full time despite our advanced age. And I think a lot of people are waiting for me to step down to give them a new chance so this will be a good opportunity for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: People spent hours in line just to catch a glimpse of the former president. Two people actually camped out since midnight overnight just to get to their first spots in line. I spoke to a lot of people here, some that had come from far and wide all across the United States. One person inside said they were from as far away as Ghana, Africa, another from Guatemala. And then I caught up with one woman who said that she came here for a very special reason. It was eight hours in the car with her family but she showed up because she wanted to show her son something very special.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:45:02] WANDA NEWMAN, ATTENDED SERVICE: When we had our son last year, we picked the name carter in honor of President Jimmy Carter.

VALENCIA: Your son is named after president carter.

NEWMAN: That's correct. And we wanted since then when he turned one year, we had decided that we will come here so he can meet him. And last week was his birthday, so we came because it was his birthday.

VALENCIA: It was too much for him. He's so tired. He had such a good experience he's passed out here?

NEWMAN: He's passed out. He had been in the line since early in the morning. It was eight hours on the road yesterday and we're going to be eight hours today, so he's really tired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: What those in the crowd did here was a message of love. Carter called it the backbone of Christianity. He talked about challenges and facing challenges and overcoming adversity. And, you know, this message here really one of support. When you come into Plains, Georgia, these signs, Poppy, these signs are I've everywhere. Jimmy Carter for cancer survivor. And you just can just tell from all the love and support in this atmosphere here today that he has nothing but support as he battles this cancer diagnosis -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Remarkable to watch how he has handled all of this.

Nick, thank you.

One presidential candidate has a daring, unconventional idea for keeping undocumented workers from crossing the southern border using drones to destroy some of the caves in Mexico right along the border. Will the voters agree with him? Is that a good idea? We will talk about it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:49:18] HARLOW: GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson today clarifying some controversial comments he made about drones and undocumented immigrants. Earlier in the week he spoke about caves use to move people across the border saying quote "one drone strike, boom, and they are gone." The former neurosurgeon is now saying he was in no way suggesting drones used to kill anyone. On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning, he said he would make sure those caves were empty first, using drones as surveillance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: OK, but I just want to make sure we button this down. So you're saying that in some instances you would advocate using drone strikes to take out cartels that are bringing migrants across the border, is that what you're talking about? Wouldn't there be some instances where perhaps innocent people might get killed?

[17:50:06] BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Listen. Read my lips.

ACOSTA: Let's do it. Let's read them.

CARSON: Listen very carefully to what I'm saying. I said, there are caves. There are caves that they utilize. Those caves can be eliminated. There are a number of possibilities that could be one of them. I'm not talking about killing people. No people with drones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: CNN political commentator and host of the Ben Ferguson radio show is with me, "Ben Ferguson" radio show is with me.

Ben Ferguson. Thanks for being here, Ben.

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to be here.

HARLOW: In a recent CNN/ORC national poll, take a look there, Carson placed third after Trump and Jeb Bush. Is it unconventional ideas like this that are resonating?

FERGUSON: I think it is. I also think it shows that he's willing to actually talk about the real problems at the border. It's one of the reasons why Donald Trump has done so well. He's not going to test market or make this so PC. And what Carson is saying is what we're doing now is not working. We need to put everything on the table and look at it. I mean, drones are something we can use to cover a much wider, you know, area and not have to worry about using people.

I mean, remember, for example, Rick Perry said I'm going to put the National Guard at the border. People said he's politicizing, when in fact, he said, no, I'm not. I'm watching the people come across the border. And what Carson is saying is I think it is pretty smart idea because it allows you to cover a much bigger area. He went down there and watched it, and guess what, there's a lot of people coming across the border every day.

HARLOW: So it's one thing to use drones for surveillance. It's another thing to do drone strikes.

FERGUSON: Sure.

HARLOW: When we see drone strikes, U.S. drone strikes oversee, you know, whether it's in Pakistan, et cetera, in Afghanistan, there sometimes is collateral damage. Is this country ready to stomach that used on caves with people trying to get across the border?

FERGUSON: Well, I think what his point was, if we watch and we can monitor these areas and we know where they are using these for staging areas, whether to stage drugs coming into this country or for human trafficking, illegal immigration, whatever it may be. If we find them using drones and make sure no one's in there, why not blow them up?

To me it makes sense. The caves are safe havens for illegal activity. They can be used for a litany of things, including possible terrorists who want to come into the country or drug smugglers or human trafficking.

HARLOW: Isn't it different to target a terrorist, Ben, than to target someone? And I'm not speaking of the intentions of any of the people trying to cross the border, because we don't know that. But if you're trying to target a terrorist, that's one thing.

FERGUSON: Well, I think if you monitor the site and you know that no one is in there and you see people leaving there and then you can do this intelligence and see if it's empty, I don't think this is a crazy idea. I think Dr. Carson made abundantly clear he does not want any humans killed using drone strikes. But if you have a cave and you know it's being used for illegal activity and you don't know how far it can go and you know it's empty, if you can find out it is empty, why not try it?

HARLOW: Before I let you go, quickly, Jeb Bush makes this trip to the border tomorrow. This is a pilgrimage, really, for everyone running for president, especially Republican candidates. So do you expect him to address the drone question there?

FERGUSON: I don't know if he'll address the drone question, but I certainly think he realizes that he's got to talk about the border and getting tough on the border, especially seeing how popular it's made Carson and also Donald Trump. So I think you're going to see some sort of plan and what we're doing now is not good enough and we have to do something bold and big, otherwise a lot of voters, they are not going to listen to you. They are tired of having an unsecured and secure border and governors have pointed that out abundantly clear, including guys like Donald Trump.

HARLOW: Ben, thank you, as always. Important debate.

FERGUSON: Thanks.

HARLOW: All right. There's no other way to put it than it was a blood bath on Wall Street last week. A selloff that erased just so much value from the stock market. What will happen at the opening bell tomorrow morning? Christina Alesci live with me next.

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[17:57:36] HARLOW: What will happen when the stock market opens tomorrow morning after a brutal week on Wall Street that saw the Dow lose more than 1,000 points, plummeting nearly 531 points on Friday alone, the biggest drop in more than four years.

CNN Money Cristina Alesci with me now.

This is the question, Asian markets about to open. What are the traders telling you?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, I think for most investors it's really important that they don't panic, because as you know, Poppy, these moves are somewhat normal, right? What's abnormal is we haven't seen something like this since 2011, and that's why it feels much worse than it is. But what we're talking about, essentially, is a 10 percent drop from

the peak, which is technically a correction, right? Investors shouldn't panic here. What they should do is monitor the situation and not be complacent, not get wrapped up in the correction talk, but not be complacent because some advisers would tell you perhaps this is an opportunity to buy, right? Maybe go into the market and find some bargains here, because the U.S. isn't in a recession that's unlikely to go into a recession and you may have some stock that is took a beating that maybe would rebound.

So we need to see how this plays out over the next couple of days. As for tomorrow, you're right, a lot of investors in the market on a daily basis are going to be looking at what Asia does in just a few hours to really get a sense of whether or not the bloodshed will continue.

HARLOW: It is sort of like the perfect storm, right? You've got the growth concerns in China, coupled with what will the feds do, when is it going to be, coupled with you've got oil, demand for oil lower, crashing oil prices. I mean, for you, what do you look at as the biggest driver and will the feds sort of react to this at all and hold on raising those rates?

ALESCI: That's such a great question, because everyone's looking at the fed domestically. There's so many international factors at play that U.S. investors can't get their heads around, but they really look to the fed and say are you really going to introduce an interest rate hike in this volatile environment, and the answer to that question after having spoken to a few people on this is probably yes. They probably will go forward with their interest rate hike.

The question that many other investors are asking right now is, how many more points are they going to raise it after the first hike and how fast.

(CROSSTALK)

ALESCI: Exactly. Because that will determine how - how much stimulus comes out in the system, right? Because the zero interest rate have --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Actually, we have to get back to normal.

ALESCI: That's right. We can do this our own without the help of the fed.

HARLOW: Yes. We have to assume so many years until done that.

Cristina, thank you very much.