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Backlash at Trump Tweets after NBA Star's Cousin Shot; Clinton, Trump Campaigns Trade Fiery Attacks, Battle of Words, Rhetoric Escalate; 2 American Medics Trying to Save Lives in Iraq's Battle against ISIS; Trump In Des Moines, Iowa, Trying to Win Over Voters; 2 Nuns Killed in Mississippi; Surgeon General: Spike in Heroin Overdoses in U.S. Heartbreaking; Trump Called Out Carrier for Moving A.C. Business to Mexico. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 27, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:13] JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Sciutto, in for Poppy Harlow. Thanks for giving us some of your weekend.

Any minute now, Donald Trump will speak at a motorcycle rally in Iowa. The question, will the Republican presidential candidate mention his controversial tweet on the fatal shooting of NBA super star Dwyane Wade's cousin? Trump has been courting African-American voters all week and now faces a social media backlash amid suggestions his tweet politicizes the tragic death of a young mother.

Chicago Bulls Guard Dwyane Wade's first cousin, Nykea Aldridge, was pushing her baby in a stroller down a Chicago street Friday when several men started shooting at each other, Aldridge was caught in the crossfire, a bullet striking her in the head. Police say she was not the target.

This morning, Trump tweeted, quote, "Dwyane Wade's cousin was just killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I was saying. African- Americans will vote Trump!" He deleted that initial tweet and reposted with the correct spelling of Wade's first name.

Twitter erupted. Five hours later, Trump tweeted this softer follow up: "My condolences to Dwyane Wade and his family on the loss of Nykea Aldridge. They are in my thoughts and prayers."

Let's bring in Sunlen Serfaty. She's in Des Moines, Iowa, with the Trump campaign where Trump will soon speak.

Any word from staffers on whether or not Trump will mention this tweet or larger issue of gun violence?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. No words specifically yet, Jim, if Donald Trump will specifically mention that controversial tweet. Mentioned it, given as you noted the dust up in such a short amount of time, the scrutiny criticism over the tone he took and really he is inserting himself into the tragedy, but it will be most interesting to see if Donald Trump really uses this tragedy as an example of something that he has been talking a lot about on the campaign trail as he tries to court African-American voters. He's been talking a lot about crime rates in inner cities and has brought up Chicago many times on his stump. We'll see if he starts to insert that into his stump speech.

He will speak in a few hours here in Des Moines, Iowa, and this is not a formal Donald Trump event. This is an event for veterans called the Roast and Ride and hosted by Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, who actually had some pretty blunt words for Donald Trump leading into today's event, talking about the tone and the rhetoric, the exchange of allegations between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton this week over racism and labels of bigotry. Joni Ernst blasted him in the "Washington Post" saying, quote, "To both of them, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, they need to take this into a civil discourse. I don't like when campaigns go that direction, I would say to both of them, back down. Let's really talk about the policies and the issues."

And I just caught up with the Senator myself here before she took the stage a few minutes ago and she says this name calling needs to stop. And I asked her if she intends to talk about this to Donald Trump about that today when they are back stage she says if I see him I will bring this up to him and tell him to focus on the issues -- Jim?

SCIUTTO: And she was talked about for a while as a possible V.P. choice.

Sunlen Serfaty, thanks very much.

Donald Trump did not acknowledge that he misspelled Dwyane Wade's first name in the original tweet and, instead, deleted that tweet, reposted it, same wording except for correct spelling for the name. More than five hours later, Trump tweeted his condolences to the family, but no apology, no admission he might have stumbled here.

Let's talk about this with our panel. We have Ryan Lizza, Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker"; Hillary Clinton supporter; A. Scott Bolden, former chairman of the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party; and Trump supporter, Jeffery Lord, a former Reagan White House political director.

Jeffrey, to you first.

You and I talk a lot and you're a reasonable man. You look at this tweet, can you say at least clumsy, perhaps too opportunistic in the hours after a death to say something like that?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, maybe it was a little clumsy, but I don't think it was opportunistic. What is unfolding here with this death is the version in the African-American community of what happened with Jameal Shaw Jr, who was an African-American kid, headed for a bright career, who was gunned down by an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles, and Kate Steinle, the young woman in San Francisco, who was killed by an illegal. It's the same kind of thing.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: No -- we're talking about something different. This had nothing to do with illegal immigrants.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: This was gunfire. I know that there is an issue and have been crimes by illegal immigrants but this particular shooting had nothing to do with that.

LORD: I understand that, but we're talking about violence here that is out of control. Out of control. The people who perpetrated this shouldn't be on the streets. I mean, how did they get there in the first place? What is going on?

(CROSSTALK)

[15:05:20] SCIUTTO: No one is praising the crime. I suppose -- I'm just asking the question, was this the right way to make a connection between that crime and his larger outreach to African-Americans?

LORD: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. It was. This is a terrible, terrible thing for this family. Terrible. It should not have happened. And it is happening all the time in the city of Chicago. And as he has been pointing out relentlessly, there are cities across this country who have been run by the same party for decades, and this is what's happening. It's terrible.

SCIUTTO: Scott Bolden, if I can give you a chance to respond?

A. SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER CHAIRMAN, WASHINGTON, D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY: You know, listen, first of all, certainly was politicized, not once, but twice, because this is a tragedy. News flash, Donald Trump, if you're going to politicize it, send your condolences first not second after your handlers have gotten to you. That's the first thing. Second, this gun violence, quite frankly is a problem in black, Brown and white communities, poor communities, and it is an American problem. It is no not a black or Democratic or Republican problem. I wish Donald Trump would talk about how we fix this issue.

Having run for office and been a former prosecutor myself, I can tell you it's about jobs, job training, getting illegal guns off the street, and getting people who use illegal guns off the street and the Republicans, however much an issue with that, about that, with their allegiance to the NRA as the Democrats are. This is an American problem. I wish we could talk about resolution, equal access to education, because these communities are suffering and Democrats and Republicans in leadership positions, federal state and local, who simply need do more.

Specifically in Chicago I can tell you 70 percent of all of these shootings and killings are gang related. They need to go in, shut down these gangs or have intervention, because if you talk to these gang members the way I have over the years, and I'm from Chicago, but in Washington, they will tell you that the young people who are out here doing this, if they had jobs, job training, entrepreneurship, they wouldn't be engaged in this type of illegal conduct. It's an American problem.

SCIUTTO: Fair point.

And, Ryan, the point -- I speak with Jeffrey, I speak with other Trump supporters, but even folks who aren't Trump supporters will make the point that really both parties have failed inner city black communities in terms of addressing not just crime issues but job opportunity issues here. And when Donald Trump, when you have longer conversations with Donald Trump that's the point he will make about the party. I suppose the question is, is that deeper message getting across?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I think the problem Trump brings to this issue is he doesn't bring a long record of speaking to the African-American community. He's a recent convert on trying to appeal to that community. So what I've heard from, if you listen to Congressional Black Caucus members or other African-American elected officials, there's, obviously, a lot of suspicion that someone now that he's running for president and is getting, you know, 1 to 5 percent in the polls, is already talking to that community.

So I think, you know, Republicans who have had a tough time in the black community, the ones that really try hard to win over that vote, they do it consistently and over the course of years. You know, think of like Jack Kemp, Bob Dole's 1996 running mate, who really made a point to that. You know, you can't -- just like any community you can't just dive in during an election and expect to have credibility.

I do want to point out one thing, Jeffery, that the rate of crime, for undocumented citizens in America, is actually lower than citizens in the United States. So the idea that --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: That doesn't help Jameal's family and Kate Steinle's family.

(CROSSTALK)

LIZZA: I'm must saying, if you're talking about a problem that's out of control, it's not -- it's not like the crime rate among illegal immigrants, undocumented citizens, whatever you want to call this group, is higher. And I agree it doesn't help them. And the second point, and Jim pointed out, I don't know what we know about the suspect in the case, I have not heard any information that it is an illegal alien, undocumented immigrant.

LORD: I agree.

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: Could I jump in for a second?

SCIUTTO: I don't want to get diverted by the illegal immigration, because that's not the subject of this case.

But, Jeffrey, the criticism has been about -- and this is not coming from me, it's coming from members of his party, some of his own inner circle, is staying on message. And we know, and CNN is reporting, that there were those encouraging him to stay on message. Are you seeing evidence of that?

[13:10:05] LORD: Sure. I mean, when something like this happens, which is unexpected, this is sadly, this is part of his message, we have a problem. I want to agree with Scott. This is an American problem. And one -- we discussed this the other night when I was on with you at 7:00 -- is that my belief is the Democratic Party has historically divided people by race. That's their political calling card. And we have to stop it. We have to stop it.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: I will give you a chance to respond before we go.

BOLDEN: If I can. It's really ironic and hypocritical for the Republicans to say, that the Democrats have separated this issue by race when it is the Republicans who have fought gun control, historically, who are in bed with the NRA, and are not for reasonable gun control. The Democrats aren't for the Second -- to do away with the Second Amendment. They want reasonable gun control. That's a great first step for the Republicans if they want to address issues like this in the poor community, black white and brown, to get on board with reasonable gun control, and get these guns off the streets.

SCIUTTO: Folks, it's a good conversation and part of a longer one on all these issues.

Ryan, Scott, and Jeffery, thanks very much. Do stay with us.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: We're going to come back to some of these issues.

At any moment, Donald Trump is expected to take that stage in Des Moines. Will he address this tweet as well as the larger issue?

Plus, Hillary Clinton's V.P. pick is going on the attack, saying Trump is pushing -- listen to this -- KKK values. The Republican responds to that coming up.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:07] SCIUTTO: We are awaiting remarks from Donald Trump in Des Moines, Iowa, at an event hosted by the Iowa Senator Joni Ernst. All week, Trump and Hillary Clinton have been accusing each other of racism and bigotry. Now Clinton's running mate is echoing those calls, taking them to a new level, trying to equate Trump values with KKK values.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM KAINE, (D), VIRGINIA & VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has supporters like David Duke, connect the with the Ku Klux Klan saying Donald Trump is their candidate because Donald Trump is pushing their values. Ku Klux Klan values, David Duke values, Donald Trump values are not American values. They're not our values, and we've got to do all we can to fight, to push back and win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Chairman Reince Priebus didn't like those comments, and responded to Kaine's accusations saying, quote, "Tim Kaine sunk to new lows with dirty attacks which have no place in this campaign. No matter how desperate he is to distract from Hillary Clinton's scandals, there is no excuse for these vile and baseless smears."

I want to bring back our panel, Ryan Lizza, A. Scott Bolden, Jeffrey Lord.

Scott, if I can go to you first, you heard Reince Priebus' response there saying that this is a new low. Do you think it went too far?

BOLDEN: Well, absolutely not. You know, it was a pivot by the RNC chairman, god bless him, but the reality is, I think the difference you hear from Hillary Clinton and from her running mate is chapter and verse, documented, citations, Trump's own words, and evidence that this alt-right, these white nationalists, the Ku Klux Klan his inability to deny and denounce immediately and all the facts and figures and words of Donald Trump's alone used in her presentation, her vice president, the vice president was merely extending that narrative because it does go to whether this country wants Donald Trump and whether his temperament makes him fit for presidency. When you look at Donald Trump, he name calls her a bigot, but no follow-up, no documentation, it's a pronouncement like we get from him all the time. There's no plan, no premise, if he follows it up with a plan or premise and evidence we might be able to have a constructive dialog about the race question. But without it, it's just name calling by Donald Trump, and it's facts and figures by Hillary Clinton and her running mate.

SCIUTTO: Jeffery Lord, you heard Scott there saying that Tim Kaine is basically just quoting Donald Trump's words and positions against him how he arrives at the KKK, how do you respond.

LORD: For once, I disagree, rarely, with Reince Priebus. This is not a new low. This is the aim old low. In 1964, the Democratic Party put together a commercial saying -- featuring a grand wizard of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan, saying quote/unquote, "I like Barry Goldwater, we have to help him." In 1980, Jimmy Carter was trying to pin the Ku Klux Klan to Ronald Reagan. Here they go again. This is what they do.

The irony, Jim, is, to this moment, the Democratic Party hasn't apologized for using the Ku Klux Klan to use their party, to elect presidents, to elect Senators, congressmen, governors, who were members of the Ku Klux Klan, including Hillary Clinton's self- described mentor, Robert Byrd.

BOLDEN: Jim, if I can jump in quickly.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Quickly, and we'll move on and then get to Ryan. BOLDEN: Quickly, we never had a presidential candidate who retweeted

the tweets of white supremacists. That's the first thing. Second of all --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: Why call Ronald Reagan --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDEN: If I may -- Robert Byrd was head of the Ku Klux Klan in West Virginia almost 80 years ago, and denounced them almost 50 years ago. That's the best evidence that somehow Hillary is embracing racists, well, that fails, too, because she's got a record of working and advocating for communities of color.

SCIUTTO: Ryan, you've been covering the campaign a long time.

LIZZA: Too long.

SCIUTTO: Is there evidence -- your hair is going gray like mine. All of our hair.

Look at Jeffrey's hair.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: Is it that noticeable? Oh, man.

(LAUGHTER)

SCIUTTO: Is there evidence from the folks you talk to on both sides, but also from voters, that the message from Donald Trump is resonating with some African-Americans, calling Hillary Clinton a bigot, the outreach. If you look at the numbers, her support is high, depending on the poll you see, 60s, 70s, 80s, among African-American, his in the low, single digits. Are you seeing that change?

[15:20:05] LIZZA: Not yet. The polls are pretty consistent with him staying in the low single digits with African-Americans.

Look, it can never hurt to open up a dialog with any community where a candidate is doing poorly, but I think he's got to put a little bit more policy meat on the bone with his African-American outreach. And even, you know, I know it's kind of a low blow for him to call Hillary Clinton a bigot but more high-minded case you can make is to say hey, here are the policies that the Democrats have championed for years that are not working for the African-American community. You've got lots of Republican candidates who have done that over the years and can point to specifics. He's not doing that in a sustained way and I'm surprised. He could point to her support for the 1994 crime bill if he wanted to attack her. But just calling her a bigot, I don't think that's going to resonate because there's not a lot to back that up. Not to keep fact checking you, Jeffrey, because you know I love you --

(LAUGHTER)

-- but that ad in 1964 never aired, is my understanding.

LORD: I believe they -- it was for regional use.

LIZZA: It's on YouTube now. Anyway.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

SCIUTTO: More recently, in fairness, in fairness, you have ads out there now on both sides that makes that link, and a Democratic Party web video making a link.

LIZZA: Absolutely.

LORD: And, Jim --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: Factually based. That is factually based.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: In both directions.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Unfortunately, unfortunately, we do have to end for this segment, but we will have you back.

Ryan Lizza, Scott Bolden, Jeffrey Lord, thanks very much. These are big issues. You can't do them in a couple minutes, as we know.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Tomorrow morning, Donald Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, will be on "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper. You can catch that at 9:00 a.m. eastern time and at noon.

Coming up, two American medics risking everything to help the people fighting ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, man, stay with us. Come back to us, man, come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes we can't fix everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: It's powerful stuff. Their harrowing stories from the front lines, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:55] SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto, in Washington.

In the fight against ISIS, Kurdish fighters are gaining ground in Mosul, Iraq, a city the Iraqi army has vowed to liberate by the end of this year. But this has never been Iraq's fight alone.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, met two Americans using their medical training to save lives on the front line, whatever the victim's nationality is. Their challenges are enormous, their sacrifices even greater. She filed this powerful report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(EXPLOSION)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's early morning and the Kurdish Peshmerga are launching a major push into ISIS controlled villages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking for a place to set up our medical triage here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have five dead and eight wounded.

DAMON: Jon Reith and Pete Reed are two Americans on the medical front line.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED U.S. MILITARY SERVICEMEMBER: We have two casualties. Let's treat them appropriately. Get him on. Black box. Black box.

(SHOUTING)

DAMON: It's a chaotic frantic effort compounded by a language barrier, different culture and significant lack of resources.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need more plastic, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) plastic.

DAMON: Jon is an emergency medical technician from Syracuse, New York, is a volunteer. Pete, of New Jersey, is a former Marine-turned medic who works with a non-profit providing medical training and assistance.

There is no advanced warning, no time to prep before the next one arrives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The toughest thing about being out here as a combat medic is when your patients don't live. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, man, stay with us. Come back to us, man,

come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes, we can't fix everything. So I think that's the hardest part for me personally. You want to save everybody but you can't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a breakdown in communication between us coalition forces, Peshmerga, it's difficult when you are trying your best to work on someone but -- just -- the rest of the system isn't there. Or it's not working properly.

DAMON: They both say they had comfortable, happy lives at home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here. Right here.

DAMON (on camera): Was it guilt?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilt or sense of purpose, sometimes those overlap. Somewhere in the middle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can help people at home, for sure, and I do. I feel good for what I do there. But here that feeling is much greater.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Peshmerga need significant help. They need training. They need actual combat medical unit. People are throwing ammunition and guns at this place all day long. That's not saving lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I think of ISIS, I think of, you know, Khmer Rouge and the Nazis. There are few times in history there is such a black-and-white, good-versus-evil situation. They have been carrying this war in this region on their backs with not nearly enough support and people back home are upset about shootings and things like that and ISIS is involved there. And they don't have a clue what it's like a day here or a day in Baghdad or in Syria. It's very horrible.

(SHOUTING)

DAMON (voice-over): Arwa Damon, CNN, Iraq. /

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Really powerful stuff.

Back to politics now. Donald Trump is in Iowa. He's expected to speak live in just a few minutes at a rally in Des Moines. He lost Iowa in the caucuses. What does Trump need to say today to win over more voters there?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:00] SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto, in Washington.

Earlier today, Hillary Clinton wrapped up her first White House intelligence briefing as a presidential nominee. She was spotted leaving the FBI field offices in White Plains, New York, late this morning. According to a Clinton aide, the briefing lasted a little more than two hours. You may remember that Donald Trump received his briefing last week. That one, at FBI offices in Manhattan.

Trump is in Iowa this afternoon. He's expected to speak at any moment. This, at an event sponsored by Republican Senator Joni Ernst. Trump lost the Iowa caucuses, the very first, to rival, Ted Cruz, back in February.

Let's bring in Kathy Obradovich, with the "Des Moines Register," and knows Iowa politics extremely well.

Thanks for joining us on this Saturday.

KATHY OBRADOVICH, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, DES MOINES REGISTER: Thanks for having me, Jim.

SCIUTTO: As you're aware, the word of the week, I suppose in both directions has been racism charges from both Trump and Clinton at their opponent. How does that issue play in 92 percent white in the last census?

OBRADOVICH: I think it's interesting if you ask people should Donald Trump tone down his rhetoric. I think the answer to that question depends on whether the person you're asking is male or female in a lot of ways. I've been asking women here, they say he ought to be focusing on policy. That is what Senator Joni Ernst herself said that both sides need to tone down their rhetoric. Men are likely to say Donald Trump we like him sassy, this got him here, saying what he thinks and he shouldn't worry about whether the media or other people criticize him for it. But Donald Trump isn't doing that well with women in Iowa. Doing better with men. It's tied up here. He wants to appeal to women he might need to be listening more to Joni Ernst.

SCIUTTO: His strength as you say, not just men, but also white men, looking at a state like Iowa, knowing its composition, where do you think the state stands now in the national race?

[15:35:07] OBRADOVICH: Iowa is one of the closest in the country. It's a battleground state and it is one of the closest the latest poll had a two-point race Hillary Clinton leading took place just slightly. That's with the third party candidates in the race. Some of them are in double digits. So the Hillary Clinton campaign is very, very organized in Iowa. They never stopped after the caucuses and know who their voters are and how to get them out. The Donald Trump campaign is not as big and not quite as visible in Iowa as far as organization. That's going to be important when it comes to identifying those voters in a close race getting them out to the polls.

SCIUTTO: Can you describe that to our viewers? There's a lot of talk about how Trump doesn't have an organization on the ground and Hillary Clinton certainly has an advantage there. How do you see that in state like Iowa? Just in terms of personnel and signage and so on, how is that visible?

OBRADOVICH: Yeah. I mean every week that Hillary Clinton campaigned in Iowa, has surrogates coming in, phone banks going on, they have events for their volunteers and supporters. The Trump campaign has had the principles come in, Donald Trump and Mike pence have been coming to Iowa. But you don't see a lot of surrogates or a lot of that visible activity that's going on. Now I know people are knocking doors for Donald Trump, but you just don't see as much of that.

SCIUTTO: And as we await Donald Trump on stage, what do you expect his main message to be today?

OBRADOVICH: You know, I really expect him to talk about a lot of the themes that made him popular in Iowa, the first time, immigration, the U.S.'s place in the world, hitting Hillary Clinton on her e-mail issues. I really wouldn't expect him to break a lot of new ground here in Iowa because this is already a friendly crowd. He's just here to fire them up.

SCIUTTO: Right.

All right. Kathy, thanks very much for giving us the on the ground view. Appreciate having you on, on Saturday.

OBRADOVICH: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, two nuns who dedicated their lives to helping others murdered in their own home. Police now say they've made an arrest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:05] SCIUTTO: A Mississippi man has now been charged in connection with the stabbing deaths of two nuns. Rodney Sanders faces two counts of capital murder. Police found the bodies of Paula Merrill and Margaret Held in a home they shared in Durant, Mississippi, on Thursday. Both women were nuns and nurse practitioners well known in the area for their selflessness and the charity work they did around the state. Co-workers felt something was wrong when the two nuns did not show up for work that morning.

CNN's national correspondent, Polo Sandoval, has more on the story.

Polo, some progress about charges here. What do we know about the man charged in connection with the murders?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that arrest made, Jim, about 48 hours after the bodies of these two women were found in their home. I asked investigators if they have any reason to believe that either one of these women knew Sanders but they wouldn't say. Law enforcement says only a vehicle appears to have been taken from the home of the victims. It was later left behind, leaving many people in central Mississippi to question if robbery was even a motive in the brutal killings of two nuns who served their communities as nurses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SISTER PAULA MERRILL, ST. FRANCIS: Margaret and I have worked together for many years. We just see patients and do what needs to be done.

SISTER MARGARET HELD, ST. FRANCIS: This is one of the poorest counties in all of Mississippi. It rivals the bottom place in all sorts of statistics.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Margaret Held and Paula Merrill, Catholic nuns and nurse practitioners, were found stabbed to death in their rural Mississippi home on Thursday. Police say there was evidence of a break-in. A car that belonged to one of the victims was found on an abandoned road less than a mile from their home.

This morning, 46-year-old Rodney Earl Sanders is under arrest, facing two counts of capital murder. Police say he was identified early in the investigation as a person of interest. After what they call an exhaustive interview, he was charged. Authorities have not revealed the motive of the killings or discussed a possible relationship between Sanders and the nuns, but they do say, quote, "This heinous crime has been solved."

DAVID MERRILL, VICTIM'S NEPHEW: It's sad that people come to this, whatever motivates them. My aunt and sister, Margaret, they lived their lives to try to make the world better for the people who have nothing.

SANDOVAL: Those in the community who knew the two nuns described them as outgoing, compassionate, and always willing to lend a helping hand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody was in same in their eyes. All you had to do is go to them, ask them for help, and they help any way that they can. It really pained the community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And in that community, the clinic that both sisters worked at is now without their primary caregivers. Members of the central Mississippi community will come together to honor the legacies of both Sister Merrill and Sister Held in the coming days. They are each described as outgoing and very compassionate.

SCIUTTO: Such a senseless murder.

Polo Sandoval, thanks very much.

"Heartbreaking" is how the U.S. surgeon general is describing a sudden frightening spike in heroin overdoses in several states across the country. In Ohio, there have been nearly 90 overdoses in just the last week, and there have been another 12 in Indiana, and in West Virginia 28 people overdosed within just a four-hour period. The U.S. surgeon general talked about the crisis on CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: The opioid epidemic in America is one of the most urgent threats we're facing and it's important for us to do everything we can to address it. I've seen this problem, as a doctor practicing medicine in Boston, having cared for many patients dealing with addiction, but also as surgeon general, as I traveled across the country and met with families who tell me that they got started in many cases on the road to addiction with the simple prescription for pain medications after an injury.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:44:52] SCIUTTO: A real problem across the country. The epidemic prompted the surgeon general to do something he's never done before, reach out to every doctor in the country. He's urging physicians to rethink the way they prescribe potentially addictive pain killers. He's asking them to screen their patients for addiction in advance.

Back now to the campaign trail, where this addiction problem has also been an issue, a company in the spotlight after Donald Trump called it out for closing down a U.S. plant and sending jobs to Mexico. Why it's now closing and how workers feel about Trump's comments.

But first, in a country that is struggling to fight terrorism, something as simple as medical care is almost nonexistent. Today's "CNN Hero," wants to change that. Umra Omar founded safari doctors to reach people in remote areas of

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UMRA OMAR (ph), CNN HERO: We have about six villages that have absolutely zero access to health care. When an individual is in a remote area and has an absolute emergency, it's considered a matter of destiny.

I feel like there's no purpose if you don't challenge your comfort zone and do something that's a little bit bigger than who you are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Someone making a difference. To find out more about her story and nominate a "CNN Hero," please go to CNNheros.com.

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[15:50:23] SCIUTTO: In this week's "American Opportunity," we head to Indiana where Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, made headlines when he called out the air-conditioning manufacturer, Carrier, for its plans to close its Indianapolis plant and ship those jobs to Mexico.

Cristina Alesci looks deeper into why the company is leaving, and where workers fall on the issue.

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UNIDENTIFIED CARRIER REPRESENTATIVE: It became clear that the best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterrey, Mexico.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED CARRIER EMPLOYEE: They are taking our livelihoods away. Just shock. Shock and awe. And confusion. Upset. I've been there 14 jeers.

CHRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): T.J. works for Carrier, which makes heating and cooling equipment. The company announced it was moving jobs to Mexico where minimum wage is about $4 a day.

CHUCK JONES, PRESIDENT, UNITED STEELWORKERS LOCAL, 1999: The trade bill that is directly influenced on this Carrier move is NAFTA, which was put in by President Bill Clinton.

ALESCI: Why do you think Carrier made the decision now?

JONES: The shareholders were having a hard time with the profits that they were getting.

ALESCI: This is all driven by what?

JONES: Corporate agreed and unfair trade.

ALESCI (voice-over): Let's take those one at a time. First, unfair trade. A rallying cry of Donald Trump's campaign.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The single worst trade deal ever done. It's called NAFTA.

ALESCI: Business researcher, Carol Rogers, says it's not that simple.

(on camera): Can we change the free trade agreement?

CAROL ROGERS, BUSINESS RESEARCHER: I don't think so. That's cutting off your knows despite your face because we are going to be able to sell our stuff out the United States.

ALESCI: So Donald Trump is wrong?

ROGERS: I think so, yes.

ALESCI (voice-over): She's points to the numbers. Exports from Indiana have doubled in 20 years, even when adjusting for inflation. That's more than 10 percent of the state's economy. Plus, all the jobs the exports support. Indiana's biggest customers, Canada and Mexico.

Free trade advocates argue that you want to be selling to billions of people around the world, not just the 320 million customers in the U.S.

JENNIFER RUMSEY, EXECUTIVE: International business is actually an important part of American businesses being successful.

ALESCI: Jennifer Rumsy is an executive Cummins, a major manufacturer and employer in the state.

DARREN WILDMAN, SEYMOUR CUMMINS PLANT MANAGER: Labor is only one element of any manufacturing cost. What is your quality, what is your efficiency rate? We can't compete with that hourly rate. No point suggesting that we could.

ALESCI: Bottom line, America has to be innovative. The country can't compete on wages alone. That means giving up certain jobs. The benefit should be cheaper goods.

JONES: I haven't seen where it makes the goods cheaper. The companies are making more profit.

ALESCI: So is it the trade deals or corporate greed that's behind Carrier's moving jobs to Mexico?

The business unit that includes Carrier had an operating profit of must under $3 billion in 2015. And when "CNN Money" asked Carrier about the move, the company provided this statement: "We must continue to protect our business in a relentless competitive global marketplace."

And to soften the blow, the company plans to present a slew of retraining and education opportunities for the workers losing their jobs.

Chuck isn't convinced.

JONES: What they ain't telling you is some of the qualifications on some of the jobs they are creating is you have to be able to say, "Do you want french fries with that."

ALESCI: And that's what a lot of this comes down too, wages. How will working people in America make more money? And how does America ensure that everyone gets some benefit out of globalization?

UNIDENTIFIED CARRIER EMPLOYEE: When we vote, when we go out and vote, we have to vote for our jobs.

JONES: People get caught up on issues, guns, God, and gays.

TRUMP: Believing in God, so important.

ALESCI: These guys are voting with their wallets.

UNIDENTIFIED CARRIER EMPLOYEE: He said I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. You didn't really tell me how. I mean, you say all this stuff about jobs. But I mean, this guy is an entertainer. He is a clown.

ALESCI: Cristina Alesci, "CNN Money," Indianapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SCIUTTO: Good look into a big issue in this election.

Donald Trump also in the middle another Twitter controversy. Coming up, the backlash to his tweets today about the shooting death of Dwyane Wade's cousin, Nykea Aldridge in Chicago.

Plus, we are also watching for Donald Trump to speak at a rally in Iowa.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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SCIUTTO: Recovering from painful back surgery drove one man to make a big life change. He became an obstacle course racer.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that story in this week's "Fit Nation."

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[13:35:36] DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Meet Miguel Medina. He's a professional obstacle course racer.

MIGUEL MEDIAN, PROFESSIONAL OBSTACLE COURSE RACER: You kind of get addicted to it. There's nothing like it.

GUPTA: It wasn't always easy for Medina to compete. As a teenager, he was diagnosed with congenital spinal stenosis, a debilitating back condition that required surgery.

MEDINA: The whole idea behind pain showing you a lesson, it's true. I knew at that point I needed to change almost everything about my life. I needed to be able to move, to run, to be free, you know.

GUPTA: Now Media is one of obstacles course racing's top athletes.

MEDINA: I'm training for the Montreal ultra beast. It's like an ultra marathon with obstacles on a ski slope.

GUPTA: For an elite competitor, like Medina, the race takes seven to nine hours to finish. 45 minutes into the race, he stumbled and sprained his ankle. But like he did years ago, when he clawed his way back from surgery, Medina pushed through the pain.

MEDINA: The only way I was not going to get that medal is if I couldn't finish. But I would have been on my hands and knees of I had to, to keep going.

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