so, donald trump dumped. a major gathering of conservative voters kicking off right now without the republican front-runner. hear the cnn interview that got trump disinvited. ferguson one year later. cnn sits down with the man now leading the most scrutinized police department in america, at least one of them, as the ferguson community remembers michael brown's death. and sentencing shock. the aurora, colorado, theater shooter going to prison for life. why one juror says james holmes will not be put to death. you are in the "cnn newsroom." and we want to wish you a very good morning. hope saturday's been good to you so far. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. always good to start the morning with you. getting a lot of reaction to the breaking news we've been following all morning, including donald trump's reaction on social media. >> donald trump disinvited, of

course, from a conservative event after comments that he made on cnn last night. now, here's the backstory. the comments were about debate moderator megyn kelly. if you recall, during the debate, kelly pressed trump about past controversial comments concerning women. well, here's what trump said about kelly last night to cnn's don lemon. >> do you think there was an agenda on the part of fox news to target you? and if you do, why is that? >> well, probably, i don't know. probably. who cares? i don't really care. i mean, i do my thing, and whatever it is. i'm leading in all the polls, so they probably have an agenda. i'm very disappointed in fox news. i think they're, you know, not -- i think they probably had an agenda. but certainly, i don't have a lot of respect for megyn kelly. she's a lightweight, and you know, she came out there reading her little script and trying to, you know, be tough and be sharp. and when you meet her, you realize she's not very tough and she's not very sharp. she's zippo. i have no respect for her. i don't think she's very good. i think she's highly overrated.

but when i came out there, you know, what am i doing? i'm not getting paid for this. i go out there, and you know, they start saying lift up your arm if you're going to -- and i didn't know there would be 24 million people. i figured, i knew it was going to be a big crowd because i get big crowds, i get ratings. they call me the ratings machine. so, i have, you know, she gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. and you know, you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever, but she was -- in my opinion, she was off base. and by the way, not in my opinion, in the opinion of hundreds of thousands of people on twitter, because it has been a brutal day. in one way, a great day for fox, and another day, in the twittersphere, it's been very bad because she's been very badly criticized. >> let's take a look at -- >> hey, she's a lightweight. i couldn't care less about her. >> as a result of the comments, the event organizer disinvited trump from the conservative

redstate gathering here in atlanta. and moments ago? >> erick erickson addressed his decision to disinvite trump from today's conservative gathering here in atlanta, and here's what he had to say. >> so, last night during the -- [ inaudible ] if you haven't heard, i disinvited donald trump. [ cheers and applause ] hang on. just hang on. for those of you who haven't heard, you all deserve an explanation. i'm glad, despite some of the comments that the trump team made last night, i can honestly say this event was sold out before we even announced he was coming. i've given donald trump a lot of latitude because he's not a professional politician. he's been a very blunt talker. i've said some dumb things in my life and i've apologized for them. i reached out to the donald

trump campaign last night and said, is mr. trump willing to apologize or clarify that he wasn't suggesting that a national reporter who asked him a tough question was having her peri period? >> now, moments ago, trump responded on twitter to all of this backlash from his remarks, and here's what he said -- "so many politically correct fools in our country. we have to all get to work and stop wasting time and energy on nonsense!" he followed up by saying, regarding megyn kelly, "you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever" in parentheses "nose," "just got on with thought." >> all of this is going on as the redstate gathering starts. mike huckabee first in a series of gop candidates set to speak at the event today. joining us now, cnn politics executive editor mark preston, live at the event. first, we now have this new

response from donald trump. your thoughts on if that is going to resonate and to be received warmly by the people there. are they going to accept that, or if this is going to continue? >> reporter: well, victor, i think it's certainly indicative of where donald trump stands, certainly at this hour, on this whole issue. he has not apologized for those comments last night. erick erickson, as we just heard, the head of redstate here, the one who's running this conference, asked for that apology, was not able to get it, disinvited him. what's interesting is that this group of conservatives that are meeting here in atlanta, between 900 and 1,000 of them, they like how trump speaks truth to power, so to speak, this antiestablishment talk. however, the question is, has he really gone too far? and as we heard from the audience, there were several people in the audience that were happy with redstate's decision to disinvite him from tonight's event. victor? >> how about reaction from the other candidates who were involved? >> reporter: well, so, we've heard from just a few of them right now.

we've heard from carly fiorina. she is the only woman seeking the republican presidential nomination. last night after mr. trump made those comments here on cnn, carly fiorina tweeted a couple times. one, she said, "i stand with megyn kelly." and in another tweet, she said that it was inappropriate for donald trump to make those comments. she's certainly in an interesting position because she is the only woman that we have in the field seeking the gop nomination. we've also heard from the new york governor, george pataki, who jumped on this right away, also said that it was inappropriate. i suspect we will hear more throughout the day, convict rohr. >> all right, mark preston there outside the event. mark, thank you so much. >> reporter: thanks. >> and the man who kicked trump out of this weekend's event, erick erickson, he is no stranger to controversy of the same nature. back in 2012, erickson had this to say on twitter the first night of the democratic national convention. let's put it up. he says, "the first night of the

vagina monologues in charlotte going as expected." now, as you might expect, that tweet was met with significant backlash, leading erickson to respond the next day by saying "my apologies to those offended by my tweet, wasn't my intention." let's talk about this. we've got two of our political commentators with us, tara setmire and earl lewis. good to have you both with us. >> thank you. >> good morning. >> i wonder, let's start with just the erick erickson comments versus the donald trump comments, tara. is there a double standard here? because erick erickson has said many other things. >> well, the difference here is that erick erickson apologized, more than once, and he came out again today and apologized and admitted that he has said some dumb things in his life. there's a difference. donald trump hasn't apologized. he's doubled down and continued to throw visceral, venomous attacks at any of his critics, which, frankly, to me is juvenile. it's juvenile, it's classless,

it's low-brow. and frankly, it's not presidential in any way. and unfortunately -- just to finish the point -- >> go ahead. >> unfortunately, the reality show aspect of this campaign has, the celebrity of this has overtaken any kind of seriousness and level of respect or dignity. and that concerns me, frankly, to be honest with you. you know, trump has been able to turn this around and make himself look like the victim, but then when he continues to do these kinds of things and doubles down on them, i don't think that that helps his cause at all. and people need to really think about, really? this is who you really want to be the president of the united states? it's concerning to me that he's continuing to surge in the polls like this. >> earl, let me come to you. the comment this morning, the response from donald trump, under yiding the media and political correctness. will this resonate? >> no, i don't think so. i mean, the general point that political correctness can get in the way of honest, blunt dialogue, sure. in the abstract, that's true. but if you look at individual

cases, and this one i think is one of the more interesting ones, it doesn't really hold up. i mean, it's one thing for donald trump to be blunt, tasteless, even racist, arguably, when it came to his characterization of what's going on with mexico and mexicans and border control. that's a fight on behalf of the whole nation. and maybe if he's being blunt on behalf of some national interests, that's one thing. in this case, he just didn't like the question that he was asked. and it was obviously a fair question. and to then turn around and sort of make these kind of personal attacks. because you know, look, he's now trying to sort of change the characterization of the blood out of whatever, you know, that sort of thing, and we don't need to parse the statement. the reality is, he was attacking megyn kelly. he was attraacking a profession journalist who asked him a question they didn't want to answer. there were other candidates on the stage who were asked questions they didn't want to answer, but only one, donald trump, has chosen to lash out at the character and the motives of the people who brought up what was a legitimate question.

the republican party -- last point -- has not won a majority of women voters for their presidential nominee since 1998. it's a serious and valid point, and questions need to be answered by anybody who wants to lead that party. >> so, tara, let me ask you this -- >> absolutely true. >> the response, though, from sean spicer, the communications director for the rnc, this morning on the "today" show was that he needs to clarify. he would not renounce the comments. i mean, what's the damage, the residual damage, if donald trump doesn't run the entire primary race of this conversation? >> well, i would have liked to have seen a stronger denouncement of what trump said from the rnc, but they have to tread lightly. you know, donald trump is holding running as a third-party candidate over their heads. he's dangling it as leverage. he said so himself. if he's not treated fairly, then he is flirting with the idea, which would be a disaster for the republican party. we would lose the race. it would be '92 all over again. >> so, the party's held hostage?

>> unfortunately, from a political perspective, yes. the party's being held hostage because donald trump is a loose cannon with money and he can buy and sell whomever he wants. he's admitted it. and this is demonstrating the uglier side of the political reality that we live in. and that's on both sides. this happens on both sides. it just so happens that we have donald trump, who is out there running as a presidential candidate, garnering all this attention. and you know what? what donald trump said going after megyn kelly that way, it was a sexist comment. i don't care what he says in his twitter feed about blood coming out of his nose. we all know what he meant. he knows what he meant. he claims that she came after him because it was hormonal, that she was having her period. that was a direct slam at women. everyone knows what he was talking about and i think that's unfortunate. errol is right, republicans can't afford to lose the women's vote again and it was a missed opportunity on thursday to talk about issues that resonate with women. so, this is unhelpful all the way around. >> errol, quickly to you. i mean, if this is -- if he's

indeed holding the party hostage, how does one explain that he is the top choice for registered republican women in the latest cnn poll? i mean, if everyone believes, or so many people believe that these comments are inexcusable, why do so many women excuse them because of his business acumen, because of his net worth? >> well, i don't know if that's the reason, victor, but your put your finger on exactly the point. it's very easy to demonize donald trump, and he kind of makes it easy. he says things. he likes to play the role of the bad guy, the blunt talker and so forth, but the reality is, there are a lot of people who like what he's saying and those people will make a very big difference, not just now, but after primary season gets under way and votes are cast starting in february of next year. that's the question that everybody, journalists, the party officials, the other candidates all need to answer. why do so many people think that that's the right way to do politics? and what do we do about that in a country that really needs some healing, maybe a little bit more

gentle talk about issues that really matter? it's a country where a lot of people are hurting, and this blunt talk doesn't always really do the trick. so, that's the hard part of all of this. >> tara, hold on for a second. we've got to take a quick break. we'll be right back. i want to keep you and errol with us. we've got a lot more to discuss. chri christi? >> obviously. the thing is, megyn kelly apparently was not the only person attacked by donald trump last night. he had some fiery comments about the other ceo in the republican field. what he said to cnn about carly fiorina. and later, with trump dominating the race, as victor was just talking about, what do the other candidates need to do to stand out to deliver their message when the spotlight isn't on them? also, life in prison. after months of testimony and deliberations, a colorado jury says no to the death penalty for this man, james holmes. one juror explains what went on behind closed doors.

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hey, look, i'm a smart guy. i went to the wharton school of finance, i was a really good student and all that stuff. i built an empire, i did "the art of the deal," "the apprentice." i've had a great life. i'm a smart person, so i can handle the toughest question. give me a question on physics i can handle. >> he says he's a smart guy. give him a question on physics, he can handle it. we're talking donald trump this morning, controversial republican candidate hitting back at his opponents and taking on critics who call him thin skinned. we've got back with us cnn political commentators tara seitmeir and errol lewis. i want to talk to you, errol, about the fairness in the debate. "antiques roadshow: tasty treats" an analyst said something it was unfair including who will take the pledge not to run a third party. what do you think?

do you think the debate was fair? >> yeah, i thought the debate was fair, and i say this as somebody who has moderated many, many, many debates, nothing national like presidential, but i mean, for state offices, for state attorney general, for mayor. i mean, literally, dozens of debates. and they did exactly what you're supposed to do. they asked tough questions that needed answers, and they directed them right at individual candidates. so, lots of candidates got asked the question that they really didn't want to hear. do you think chris christie wanted to hear about the credit downgrades of his state? that was the question that they aimed at him. do you think ben carson wanted to be asked about his lack of experience in foreign policy? he didn't want to be asked that. and so, you know, this is what happens. you know, you want to lead the free world, you want to lead this country, you want to deal with putin, you want to deal with mexico, you want to make the big decisions, well, you're going to have to develop an ability to answer when tough questions are asked of you. >> let's play the sound from last night where donald trump talks about that question right off the top of the debate, and

tara, we'll get your comment right after it. >> what happens is, you know, look, i'm leading as a republican. obviously, it's better to run as a republican. but i'm leading as the republican. that's what my choice is, and if i'm treated fairly and with respect, and even if i don't get it, i would, you know, most likely go ahead and not do that. but if, on the other hand, i'm not, i might, very well might. now, at some point, i may switch over and make everybody happy and i'd be happy also. i will say, with that being said, i'm being treated very nicely by the rnc. and reince priebus and everybody. they're treating me very nicely. and that's what i want. i want a level playing field. and if i get a level playing field, fairness, then it's highly unlikely that i do the other, which would be, you would call a third party. >> it's that pledge right at the

top, not taking that pledge that many analysts believe might hurt trump the most. i mean, people who do not want a repeat of '92, that a billionaire businessman runs third party, siphons vote from potentially a bush, and hands the white house to a clinton. i mean, is this the most resonant point here, beyond the comments about john mccain, even the comments about megyn kelly? >> yeah. i said that earlier in our last segment, that this is the leverage he's dangling over the heads of the republican party, and i think that people are very fearful of this. you know, donald trump said that he's a smart guy. ask him a question about physics. i can tell you that he has definitely -- he is not -- he's violated all the laws of political physics, okay? they don't apply to him. and so, this has created an environment where no one really knows how to handle him. >> why not? >> well, i think because he -- like i said before, because he has so much money, so much name i.d. and so much influence in a culture now that is driven by

celebrity and sensationalism. people respond to those things more than they do to substance. obviously, look at his poll numbers! he hasn't said anything of substance. okay, you know what, i agree, we are way too politically correct in this country. i think that political correctness is one of the things that's destroying this country in a lot of aspects and making people afraid to say anything, to be honest about things. but donald trump has taken it to a level that is classless and offensive to a lot of people. and i think that that is not the way that you unify and that's not what you do when you're a presidential candidate. you know, i wanted to say before, really quickly, why do people like him? they appreciate the fact that he speaks his mind. but at some point, that's going to wear thin because you have to come up with actual solutions to how you're going to solve these problems. you can't run around and say, because i'm donald trump and i'm smart and you're stupid and you're pathetic and weak, so you know, you should listen to me and not to them. that does not fly when you're actually coming down to being

president! >> we're going to have a conversation later in the show, too, about how he speaks in mass about american leadership. others point to specific candidates and talk about policies. he just blankets leaders are stupid, military is weak. we'll have that conversation about the rhetoric of the conversation as well. tara, errol, good to have you this morning. >> thanks a lot, victor. >> thank you. >> christi? james holmes gets life in prison. a colorado jury says no to the death penalty, but one juror is talking about those deliberations and how this conclusion was reached. also, one year later, the man who now leads the ferguson police department sits down with cnn. the changes he's making to restore public trust there. stay close. withof my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... ordinary objects often seemed... intimidating. doing something simple... meant enduring a lot of pain. if ra is changing your view of everyday things orencia may help. orencia works differently by targeting a source

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25 minutes past the hour, and new this morning, james holmes, the man who shot and killed 12 people in a colorado movie theater, is going to spend the rest of his life in prison without parole. now, the jury just could not come to a unanimous decision on the death sentence. cnn's ana cabrera has the details for us. >> reporter: christi, victor, life in prison without parole is now the sentence for the man convicted of one of the worst mass shootings in u.s. history. and it's the result of a long and emotional trial, 15 weeks, 306 witnesses who testified, more than 2,600 pieces of evidence admitted. and the jury deliberating for just under seven hours on whether james holmes should live or die, concluding that they were not able to reach a unanimous verdict. and as a result, james holmes will receive life in prison without parole for killing 12 people inside that crowded movie theater in july of 2012 and

wounding 70 others. now, all along, the prosecution had argued justice is death, while the defense urged mercy, saying james holmes was mentally ill and is mentally ill and you don't kill a sick person. even though this jury did convict him on all counts of murder and attempted murder, saying that they believe he understood right from wrong at the time of the crime, this jury also heard from several mental health experts who testified that james holmes does, indeed, suffer severe mental illness, and perhaps that was a big part of the deliberations. so, again, the punishment for this crime, life in prison without parole. and it concludes more than three years that the families of the loved ones killed have been waiting for justice. and at the very least, this brings some closure. >> tomorrow the sun is going to come up. we're going to have a little more pain, a little more hurt in our lives, but the sun will come up. and there will still be love in our lives.

we have to remember that. we have to remember the victims. >> we didn't lose loved ones. our loved ones were ripped from us and they were slaughtered in that movie theater. but the jury chose another way, and we have to accept that. >> reporter: to add some more perspective, a death sentence in colorado is relatively rare. in fact, there's only been one person executed in this state in the past 50 years or so. back in 1997 was the last execution. and currently, there are only three people on colorado's death row, and ironically, they were all sentenced in this very county. christi, victor? >> ana, thank you so much. now, the 12-member jury did reach this decision after deliberating almost seven hours. and one juror later said there was just no way to resolve the disagreement in regards to what this sentence should be. listen to this. >> we did our best to come to a unanimous verdict, of course, and it was not possible. our conclusions were just

different. and so, we respected each other. that's what we felt bound to do and that's what we did. and we didn't feel that talking further would change anything or anybody's opinion. so, we came to that conclusion fairly quickly. there was one firm holdout against the death penalty and two that were still in the process of discussing. they were on the fence. but i don't know if they could have been swayed or not. >> by the way, in case you're wondering, james holmes stood in court with his hands in his pockets as the judge read the sentencing verdicts there. victor? well, it's one of the most scrutinized police forces in america. one year after michael brown's death, the ferguson interim police chief is trying to reshape the department. we'll see how that's going. also, what activists want now from the ferguson police force. how can officers gain the community's trust? next hour, they'll start marching, and we're going to speak with one of the organizers next.

33 minutes past the hour right now. and you know, tomorrow marks one year since michael brown was shot and killed by a ferguson, missouri, police officer darren wilson. the death of the unarmed 18-year-old sparked months of protests around the country and the federal government answered by launching an investigation into the ferguson police department. well, though the department of justice did not charge officer wilson, it did find that the police department exhibited a broad pattern of racial bias. since then, ferguson hired a new city manager, municipal judge and a new police chief. and cnn correspondent sara

sidner sat down with the chief. >> i just really wish we had peace. we don't need this. no one needs this. it's not just the police officers i'm concerned about. i'm concerned about everyone. >> reporter: this is the man leading perhaps the most scrutinized police department in america right now, the ferguson, missouri, police department. [ sirens ] the city where an explosion of anger against police tactics erupted a year ago when officer darren wilson killed unarmed teenager michael brown after the two scuffled at the police vehicle. when you were looking from afar at what was happening here in ferguson one year ago, what was your take on all that was going on here in ferguson? >> it bothered me. it really did. >> reporter: what was it that bothered you? what disturbed you? >> to see that divide that was evident in this community. that's what bothered me.

it just didn't feel like we should be this way in america. but i understand that there are differences, and i wanted to be part of making a change. >> failure to disperse may result in arrest and/or other actions. >> reporter: that change coming in big part after the streets of ferguson looked more like a war zone than small city america. >> look out! >> reporter: protesters took to the streets for more than 100 days straight with sometimes violent outbursts. their persistence influencing the department of justice to investigate. the investigation cleared officer darren wilson in the shooting but issued a damning report on the department as a whole, saying it "helped create the racial tensions by unfairly targeting, searching and ticketing black people to help fill the city's coffers." what happens if your bosses, the city manager comes to you and says we need you to generate more money, we need you to ticket more people? what do you say to them? >> i won't do that.

>> reporter: you'll just say no. >> i will. and they won't do that either. i've had conversations about the new leadership, and i didn't sign up as a police officer to go out and write tickets to generate funds. that is not our job. >> reporter: this year a new law has been passed to stop missouri's cities from using their police departments as atms, lowering what they can make on traffic fines. for ferguson, that means a reduction from a maximum of 30% to 12.5% of its operating revenue. the new chief says his officers are eager to move forward. black officers have been hired, though still make up only 10% of the force, while the community they say is 67% black. does ferguson have a riacist view? is there a problem within the department? >> i think that within the department, there are individuals and fascists that don't understand the community. but in fact, there have been some issues with respect to

having race problems. there has been. and i think that the police department is doing a good job, has done a good job at getting rid of people that have caused those types of problems. >> reporter: while the chief and city leaders insist that change is happening in ferguson for the better, there are some residents here still skeptical. there is a divide among racial and sometimes generational lines about whether the change that's happening here will be long-lasting and real for the people who live and work here. some saying that all these big titles have interim before them, and they'll wait and see if the change really makes a difference. christi, victor? >> all right, sara, thank you so much. the big story this morning, donald trump. even when he's kicked out of a conservative gathering, he's still the candidate so many attendees are likely talking about. so, how do you grab the spotlight if you're 1 of the 16 other republican presidential candidates? can you turn the tables on trump to get your message out? we'll talk about that next. i'm gonna crack like nobody's watching

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the redstate gathering going on in atlanta is going on without donald trump. he's been disinvited for slamming debate moderator megyn kelly in some pretty graphic terms. but in his absence, can the other republican presidential hopefuls take the spotlight? trump is still tweeting up a storm and plans a new campaign stop today. moments ago, trump responded on twitter to the backlash from his remarks. he said this. let's put it up on the screen. "so many politically correct fools in our country. we have to all get back to work

and stop wasting time and energy on nonsense." and he followed it up by saying regarding megyn kelly, "you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever," then in parentheses writes "nose" and says he just got on with the thought. david, i wonder before we get to the other candidates, your response to what we're hearing from donald trump and why so many people are saying that the typical rules of campaigning do not apply to him. >> well, you really have to ask the question whether donald trump wants to be the republican nominee, or does he want to command the kind of anger, the vitriol that appends to the 25% of the party base that does support him? and does he, in fact, intend to ride that into a third-party bid in a general election? if he can't build beyond that 25%, then that's what he's got to play, and this is clearly a man who relishes the spotlight and relishes needling the other

people on the republican stage. >> now, for the 16 others running for the republican nomination, how do they get a bit of that spotlight, and not just in the media, but in front of the crowd in atlanta today? >> well, infront of thecrowd in atlanta, at least donald trump won't be there, but a lot of people are going to be looking at trump trending on twitter even while other people are occupying the stage. but i think there are at least two audiences that you have to think about here. one is the sort of standard official political audience, political forums, but how do you control the social media dimension? how do you control who people are talking about? and the only thing that can happen there, i think -- i am not sure that the candidates have it within their power to change that narrative by themselves -- but things like the questions that megyn kelly asked on thursday night that force donald trump to respond in ways that are very uncomfortable and sustain a counternarrative to the one that he would like people to focus on, which is this notion of a brash man who stands against the crowd but who's also a bully, who also

threatens a female correspondent and uses language that no one thinks consistent with the demeanor of a president. >> does it behoove a candidate to either get close to him and not criticize him, hoping, rather, that he will drop out of the race at some point and they can get some of his supporters, or would you suggest that they be pretty critical of donald trump now, and that would gain them some support? >> well, in many respects, i'm not sure that that 25%, or perhaps five percentage points worth of that 25%, will be up for grabs for other candidates. but if people like very specifically the smashmouth politics, getting into that game with donald trump, you're not going to do that better than he does it. if you look at the approach that john kasich took in the debate on thursday, i think that's probably as good an approach as you can take, and some people did it in the undercard matchup at 5:00 as well. acknowledging that he's tapping into anger, acknowledging that

he's tapping into a frustration with government and politics as usual, but then showing a different way to respond to those frustrations. that won't help during the heat of the trump period of this primary, but it will help down the road. and by the time we pivot to iowa and new hampshire at the beginning of next year, it will be a different kind of a conversation, and there's a real question whether mr. trump will still be a part of it. >> you know, the democrats on the night of the debate tweeted out a photograph with all of the candidates with donald trump's hairstyle, essentially saying, you know, what donald trump is sying represents the views of all the republicans. but i wonder, is there some residual damage that's done about people who view these comments negatively, even after he drops out? or is he such an anomaly that those comments will not be connected to the larger republican party or whomever the eventual nominee is? >> i think there is great danger for the republican party as long as donald trump is associated

with the party and standing on stage with the other candidates. he is creating a discursive environment that is openly demeaning of and hostile to women, demeaning of and hostile to racial and ethnic minorities. he has been very free and loose with the facts. credits to the fox moderators on thursday for trying to pin him down on sources like the mexican government's deliberate effort, in his words, to push felons and other criminals across the border and saying it's people i talk to. and it reduces the tenor of the debate to a point that it's very easy to characterize it as the habit of a party. democrats are clearly going to try very hard to make that exactly the takeaway from his participation. and it's a great, great risk for the republicans at this point, both in terms of keeping the primary electorate in check but also being able to move toward a general election message that has to be more inclusive if it's

going to win. >> all right. political scientist david byrdsell. thank you so much for your insight. >> pleasure. >> and the republican presidential contenders will debate next month here on cnn, september 16th. write that down. the democrats will also hold their first debate right here on cnn. you can watch that one tuesday, october 13th. a major blow for president obama after his nuclear deal with iran is rejected by a key democrat, chuck schumer. is this going to pave the way for more undecided democrats to defect, in a sense? also, stunning claims today surrounding bobbi kristina brown's death. the $10 million reason her boyfriend could soon be heading to court. when you're living with diabetes, steady is exciting. only glucerna has carbsteady, clinically proven to help minimize blood sugar spikes. so you stay steady ahead.

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. . this morning, president obama is in martha's vineyard enjoying some vacation time with his family after a week of pitching the iran deal to congress. congress says, they are saying no to the pack, which the president has pledged to veto. there are some democrats that are saying no to the deal as well, including schumer. the president has to make sure that the democrats don't go, and i'm using his words here, squishy, in this deal to sustain his veto. you have to wonder. does schumer's decision influence all the undecideds out

there? there are plenty of them. >> it absolutely could. schumerest highest ranking lawmaker on capitol hill. his voice goes a long way. it was the way he so strongly voiced his opposition ticking through his rational for not supporting it that could pave the way for other democrats to do the same. a more aggressive push by the white house to build support. interviews with the presidents, speeches by administration officials and meetings with members of congress. >> the reason that mitchell mcconnell and the rest of the folks in his caucus who oppose this, opposed it before they even read it, before it was posted, is reflective of an idealogical commitment not to get a deal done. in that sense, they do have a

whole lot with hard liners who are much more satisfied with the status quo. >> whether than this crass political rhetoric, we ought to treat this with the dignity it reserves. >> reporter: democrats are key to sustain a veto if congress passes a resolution of disapproval. democrats say they think they will end up having the needed votes. for the white house, welcome news with a series of leading senate democrats coming out in favor of the agreements but a setback when influential jewish senator, chuck schumer, revealed his opposition. he wrote, quote, i believe iran will not change and under its agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals, eliminating sanctions and retaining their nuclear and nonnuclear power. >> an announcement that was not

particularly surprising to anybody here at the white house, even if it was disappointing. with congress out of town, both parties expect pointed questions at town halls during the congressional recess, which could go far in influencing the debate. >> the white house has been attempting to down play the significance of schumer's defection pointing to times in the past where the senator has disagreed with the president, like schumer's support in 2003 to support the iraq war. some allies are bringing a little more heat, some questioning whether this will jeopardize schumer potentially becoming the next democratic leader of the senate. >> sunlen serfaty, so appreciated. thank you, ma'am. >> you can see fareed zakaria's exclusive interview with the president. tune in to farid zakaria, gps tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. donald trump no longer invited to speak at a

conservative gathering. his comments against megyn kelly hurt him with women voters. republicans have been working tirelessly to win over this key voting group. we will speak with a key trump supporter in our number hour. i found her wandering miles from home. when the phone rang at 5am, i knew it was about mom. i see how hard it's been on her at work and i want to help. for the 5 million americans living with alzheimer's, and millions more who feel its effects. let's walk together to make an even bigger impact and end alzheimer's for good. find your walk near you at alz.org/walk.

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edging to the 10:00 hour. new stunning claims surrounding the death of bobbi kristina brown. brown's estate has filed a multimillion-dollar wrongful death lawsuit against her boyfriend. >> it accuses nick gordon of giving bobbi kristina brown a toxic cocktail that knocked her out, later placing her face down in the tub, a move that ultimately led to her death last month. gordon's lawyers called the lawsuit slanderless and meritless. in taiwan, a powerful typhoon is being blamed for the death of at least four people now. look at the fierce winds, torrential rain. the typhoon is setting its sights now on china as that storm is still forecasted to be packing hurricane strength wind as it makes landfall there later tonight. >> look at these pictures. a federal cleanup crew

accidentally caused this huge, potentially hazardous mess in colorado. they accidentally dumped about 1 million gallons of wastewater into the river here turning it orange. the spill occurred when one of the teams was using heavy equipment to enter abandoned home. >> oh, my goodness. >> lots more to tell you this morning. >> next hour of "newsroom" starts right now. i've got my wife here, my daughter here. i've got 800 friends of mine here. it is a family friendly program. if he is not going to clarify this isn't what he meant, i don't think i want him at my event. >> the leader of the conservative event explaining why they dumped trump over the comments he made about the fox debate moderator.