and there are thousands of subway employees around the world that are probably equally appalled right now. so the question of what that franchisee said or didn't say to the subway people isn't something that's been part of our charging package here. fogle doesn't -- we met with him, we did meet with fogle he said nobody tipped me there was anything serious going on here. so we don't think that process, as this that witness may or may not have described it, successfully worked in terms of preventing fogle from doing anything or encouraging them to do anything. so right now obviously we still investigate all of those questions but there are no charges or allegations right now that anybody at subway knew he was doing all of these things and decided to let him do that for some crazy reason. okay? >> okay, folks, thank you very much.

>> there's the breaking news coming out of indianapolis, indiana. jared fogle, the subway pitchman pleading guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we're following the breaking news. i want to get right to ashleigh banfield who's been listening in on all the details from from the very start. ashleigh, this is an individual that's obviously very well known here in the united states, indeed, traveled for subway around the world trying to promote subway and now all of a sudden this. tell our viewers what just happened. >> yeah. well, what was interesting is that he emerged from the federal courthouse in indianapolis and has not made that plea yet. the intention is there, the admission is there, the recommendations are there for sentencing which the prosecutors want to be as high as 13 years in prison. his attorneys are recommending closer to five. it will probably fall somewhere in the middle.

but some really interesting revelations that just calm from the u.s. attorney's press conference, wolf, if that this all started as a tip from a private citizen. the investigation that has now spent the b spanned the better part of a decade started with that and now we're learning there were 47,000 images investigated, 3,000 videos, 14 different victims in two different states. i'm also hearing repeatedly the words "child prostitution" not just child pornography. clearly many of this -- many of the details and the charge relating to images and child pornography but there are also these extraordinarily serious charges of traveling to a different state to engage in child prostitution, soliciting other child victims. i mean, this is remarkably serious stuff, wolf. the prosecutors also said that there's a $1.4 million restitution payment that jared

fogle will be paying to those 14 victims. do the math, that's $100,000 per victim. and just sequentially speaking, what happens now? he is obviously not in custody. prosecutors would not talk about whether he's being electronically monitored but they said something very telling, wolf. there's not many places where jared fogle could go or travel without being recognized. that alludes to the notion that they don't expect him to be a flight risk at this time. there are a couple of things that have to happen before actual sentencing. there have to be arguments regarding these sentences. the judge has to listen to those arguments and come up with a sentence. there has to be a pre-sentencing hearing and then ultimately that sentence will be levied against jared fogle. but i think you know, as many of our viewers know, we're talking about the federal system until the united states of america. those sentences are pretty much to the day. maybe about 90% of a sentence will be actually served but you don't get a lot of time for good

behavior. so if jared fogle is going behind bars for upwards of, say, seven to ten years, he will likely spend almost all of that time behind bars. and there will not be a very lengthy process between right now where you watched him walking out of that federal courthouse just within the last hour to when you see him being marched right back into a federal facility where he will stay for a long time. >> and just to be precise, the recommendation is at least five years in prison as long as, what, 12 and a half years? that's the recommendation, the leeway the federal judge will have in deciding whether he goes with the five years or closer to twelve and a half, 13 years? >> there's two recommendations that come from the defense and from the prosecutors. the prosecutors want that 151 months. they want the big long 13-year sentence. the defense has said how about closer to five? we think that would be better. so they don't you have been split the difference. it depends on who your federal judge is. this is an extraordinarily egregious case, wolf, involving so many victims and an

extraordinarily long period of time. we're not talking about being embroiled in someone else's issues and turning a blind eye, we're talking about child prostitution, two victims in another state. we're talking about 14 other victims and tens of thousands of images. surreptitious cameras placed in his colleague's house to videotape and photograph children as young as six years old bathing, showering, changing, they had no idea they were victimized until they were made aware of it, sometimes by the internet, sometimes by the investigators. sol it could be as high as 13 years, make no mistake. federal judges can be real tough and they can issue anything that comes from a defense attorney. >> i want you to stand by, ashleigh. because while the news conference, which we just aired live on cnn, was happening, the prosecutor explaining what was going on, one of the attorneys for jared fogle spoke to reporters outside the courthouse where the -- where his client agreed to plead got these child

pornography charges. here's what the attorney jeremy margolis had to say moments ago. >> jared fogle is going to plead guilty toll the charges that were filed today in the southern district of indiana. in so doing, he will fully and completely acknowledge his responsibility for his wrongdoing and his acts and his conduct. he has already volunteered to make restitution to those individuals who have been impacted by his behavior. he knows that restitution can't undo the damage that he's done but he will do all in his power to try to make it right. jared also knows that he has a medical problem. he has already sought evaluation by a world-class psychiatrist experienced in these matters and he will seek appropriate treatment. jared fogle expects to go to prison. he will do his time. he expects to get well.

he expects to continue to make amends to those people whose lives he has affected, both family and non-family members. he at some point hopes to become once again a productive member of society. hang on one second. i'm sorry to tell you that's all i'm going to say. it's in the process now. it a necessary the court. i don't have a next appearance for a change of plea to guilty, i don't have a date for sentencesing. we'll have no other comments whatsoever, i'll do no interviews, side pieces, phone calls. i can't do it properly while the process is ongoing so please respect that and understand that. i know the phone will ring off the hook but i'm not able to return the calls until we speak in court at the time of dispo disposition and speak after court after that disposition. >> reporter: what type of gps is

he wearing? >> that's it. have a good day. >> that's jeremy margolis, one of the attorneys for jared fogle explaining his client's perspective. we also just received a statement from fogle's wife through her attorney. katie fogle saying this. "obviously i'm extremely shocked and disappoint ed by the recent developments involving jared. i'm in the process of seeking disillusion of the marriage. my focus is exclusively on the well-being of my children. neither i nor my family will have any further comment on the matter. she adds, i appreciate respect for my family's privacy during this difficult time. let's get analysis on what's going on. jean cassarez is joining us fro new york. our legal analyst, cnn correspondent. jean, he pleads guilty, could get as little as five years, maybe as much as 13 years. had he gone to trial, though, and let's say he lost he could have gotten a much longer sentence given the charge of

abusing 14 children. >> you're talking about 50 years because count one the maximum is 20 years, count two the maximum is 30 years, thus we see the benefit of him entering into this plea agreement here because the federal prosecutors are saying they will argue and ask for more more than 12 and a half years in prison. he's saying he'll agree to five years in prison but it's all up to the judge in the end, wolf. and today was just the initial hearing. today is when he was actually charged formally with these federal crimes. and now he has agreed that he will agreesy from to a plea deal. he will accept that but he has nod pled guilty yet. he has not been sentenced yet. some of these facts are so particular. he will admit he traveled to new york city, staying at the plaza hotel. this would be in 2012, engaging in sexual relations with a 17-year-old and giving her money

for that. she then told authorities that when she was 16 years old, so a year before, that he came to new york on several occasions telling her at the same time if you can find me other minor young girls i will give you a finder's fee and there was another, victim 14, a 16-year-old victim right here in new york city. at that time he stayed at the ritz-carlton hotel. authorities are saying they found audio recordings where he called people in florida, georgia, washington state asking if they could find young female minor victims for him. also text messages saying that he interacted and had discussions with prostitutes. it seems to be adult prostitutes saying that he would give them a finder's fee if they could find him minor victims and according to the plea agreement he engaged in sex the prostitutes first to make sure they were not part of law enforcement before he asked

them to find him minor female victims. >> stand by for a moment. i want to bring in danny zef los, our cnn legal analyst, criminal defense attorney himself. danny, you heard the prosecutors say they're treating him, jared fogle, who's obviously well known, as a pitch man for subway, at least he used to be a pitchman for subway. they're treating him exactly as t same as they would treat somebody who isn't well known. no harsher, no lighter. is that your sense? is he being treated more or less harshly as a result of his fame? >> i can think you can say the federal government treats all defendants with the same level of harshness. they prosecute very harshly all child pornography charges irrespective of the wealth or fame of the defendant. his wealth, his notoriety, his fame, it may come into -- it may come into factor when you're talking about bail because that can affect whether or not he's a

risk of flight. as defense attorneys recognize him and he's a part of the community, he's not going anywhere. that may change, at least considers of bail or electronic monitoring but it's fair to say both defense attorneys and federal prosecutors alike would say they prosecute child pornography and similar crimes with an equal level of harshness across the board, wolf. >> and each of these 14 victims, these children, these young girls who were abused according to this affidavit, they'll get $100,000 each. here's the question. what about subway? are they liable? are they going to be charged with anything? have they done something wrong as well? now we're talking about tort liability. civil liability. if subway had some knowledge and

that's a remote possibility. if subway had some knowledge or facilitated any of these acts then of course a creative plaintiff could find a way to charge them in civil court with monetary liability for these wrong wrongs but when it comes to criminal liability, you'll need a stronger nexus and more actual involvement before the federal prosecutors try to bring in other employees from subwayment that's not something we've heard so far. it doesn't mean that if they found subway employees were somehow involved, that means encouraged, assisted, any of those would bring a criminal prosecution from the federal government but on the civil side, a creative plaintiff could find an attenuated relationship between subway and jaurd and at least file a complaint in court. whether or not that complaint or lawsuit would be thrown out

depend on the quantum of evidence against subway if any exists. >> danny cevallos, thanks very much. once again, the headline, jared fogle, the subway pitchman, will plead guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography across state lines to pay for sex with minors, 14 young girls specifical specifically. we'll stay on top of this but there is other news we're following as well, including hillary clinton. she's still leading but donald trump is gaining. we'll tell you how they do in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup. results from our brand new cnn/orc poll coming up. i'm caridee. i've had moderate to severe plaque psoriasis most of my life. but that hasn't stopped me from modeling. my doctor told me about stelara® it helps keep my skin clearer.

with only 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses... ...stelara® helps me be in season. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your risk of infections. some serious infections require hospitalization. before starting stelara® your doctor should test for tuberculosis. stelara® may increase your risk of cancer. always tell your doctor if you have any sign of infection, have had cancer, or if you develop any new skin growths. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to stelara® or any of its ingredients. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you or anyone in your house needs or has recently received a vaccine. in a medical study, most stelara® patients saw at least 75% clearer skin and the majority were rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. stelara® helps keep my skin clearer. ask your doctor about stelara®.

you premium like clockwork. month after month. year after year. then one night, you hydroplane into a ditch. yeah... surprise... your insurance company tells you to pay up again. why pay for insurance if you have to pay even more for using it? if you have liberty mutual deductible fund™, you could pay no deductible at all. sign up to immediately lower your deductible by $100. and keep lowering it $100 annually, until it's gone. then continue to earn that $100 every year. there's no limit to how much you can earn and this savings applies to every vehicle on your policy. call

to learn more. switch to liberty mutual and you could save up to $509. call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. hillary clinton hanging on to her front-runner status overall but donald trump, he is certainly gaining ground on her if the election were held today. our brand knew cnn/orc poll shows hillary clinton with a six percentage point lead over donald trump but in july she was

ahead by 16 points and in june she led 59% to 35%, a 24-point margin. clinton tops the field of democratic candidates but that lead is also shrunking. she's ahead of vermont senator bernie sanders 47% to 29%, an 18-point margin in july. only a month ago she was ahead by 24 points. vice president joe biden remains in third place even though he hasn't said whether he's running. let's bring in our panel, our cnn political director david chalian is here along with senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny and senior political reporter nia-malika henderson. guys, thanks very much. what's your take on trump in this new poll. what's the message the respondents are giving the american public? >> he's in an entirely new position as a dacandidate becau now he is as competitive as any other republican against hillary clinton and that was not the case, as you showed. she was beating him by 24 points so he has made a tremendous amount of progress among republican which is has now

allowed him to be seen as an actual contender for the presidency and now he's in the ball game with his fellow republican competitors. >> it's almost within the margin of error if you think -- what's the margin of error? four or five points, right? that's almost within a margin of error. nia, the numbers for hillary clinton and bernie sanders are moving in opposite directions. hillary clinton is now ahead 47% 29% over bernie sanders but a month ago he was ahead 56-19. that's not a good trend for her. >> that's right. she's going down, he's going up. listen, sanders has had the political summer of his life. i talked to folks who've known him for years and years in vermont, they say even he's surprised at how well he's caught on, drawing huge, huge clouds, but the clinton campaign very much watching his next move which is to go down to south carolina over these next days, he'll be in columbia, greenville, they want to see what kind of crowd he draws down there and this would be a test of whether or not he can do well with african-american voters, with women voters and the more

kind of democratic base that he hasn't been able to draw so far. even though he's drawing big crowds. >> and you're going to south carolina as well. >> i'm going to south carolina. >> and a big chunk of that democratic vote in south carolina, people who show up for the democratic primaries are african-americans. >> over half will be african-american in that democratic primary. this is why barack obama was able to do so well in 2008 and obviously hillary clinton trying to replicate that and sanders trying to steal her thunder, meeting with black lives matters protesters and trying to gain an edge there. jeff, let's talk about the e-mail controversy that's been chasing hillary clinton. we asked this question. was she wrong to use personal e-mail during her four years as the secretary of state in march 51% said she was wrong, now 56%. not a huge change but it's upup right now. i suspect a lot of democrats are not as concerned as a lot of republicans out there are. republicans are furious about this. >> that is an overall number of registered voters so certainly republicans are more concerned

about this but democrats are concerned about this as well. you know how you can tell? you can see by the reaction of their campaign. always watch what a campaign is doing to see. so she has changed her strategy. over the last couple days she is doubling down as another heartman attack. we've seen this movie before. she's trying to rally democrats to her defense but she had a moment in las vegas yesterday in nevada after a town meeting, a testy exchange with a reporter on this. now her campaign is out trying to say she's answered enough of these questions, they're trying to move this on. but it's one of the reasons that joe biden is still being discussed in this race. so democrats are not as concerned as republicans but it would be wrong to say they're not concerned at all. >> david, let me play a clip. one of those awkward exchanges she had with reporters yesterday in north las vegas. >> my personal e-mails are my personal business, right? so that's all i can say. >> did you try to wipe the whole server? >> i'm -- i have no idea. that's why we turned it over.

>> reporter: but in your opinion charge of it. you were the official in charge. did you wipe the server? >> what, like with a cloth or something? >> reporter: i don't know, you know how it works digitally. >> i don't know how it works digitally at all. >> that was a little awkward. she told a joke about it the other night as well, snapchat and all of that which automatically deletes what goes on but let's take a look at -- and i want you to respond but look at these favorability numbers she has in our brand new cnn/orc poll. favorable 44%, unfavorable 53%. that's not necessarily encouraging. >> and obviously since march she's become a presidential candidate so you would expect some of that to happen as she gets into the daily combat of politics. but clearly this ongoing story is having a drag on her as well. listen at the end of that news conference last night in north las vegas there she basically threw her hands up. she said nobody's asking me about this except you guys and it was this level of exhaustion. when i compare that news conference to the one she had a couple weeks ago, i think you

were at in new hampshire, where she was talking about donald trump and on offense, it's a totally different hillary clinton and she has been on defense on this story from the beginning of her campaign and only in moments has she been able to change and be on offense but once again she's going to answer questions like this because it's impossible to put to rest. >> but let's not forget, she's overwhelmingly still the front-runner among democrats and on key issues in our new poll, nia, on whether the economy, race relations, income gap, foreign policy, she's still doing a lot better than any of the other democratic candidates. >> leaps and bounds ahead of bernie sanders on most of these fronts. he does a little better in term who was would be able to handle the income gap between rich and poor. but she's got to like these numbers but, as well, she's got to be worried there is some fraying at the edges in terms of how people view those trustworthy numbers. their bet is that maybe this e-mail problem will be a problem

but ultimately that voters will say they trust her to do the right thing on all of these other issues. >> there's not a single candidate on the race on the republican side who wouldn't trade places with her in a heart beat. she's over 50% in all the theoretical head-to-head matchups so we have to judge her against the context of this field. but there are some warning signs. overall, not a bad place to be as a candidate. >> and some perspective, when he does give a speech, it's usually very well received and the democrats who show up a very excited by her at this point. although she's got significant political issues she has to deal with as well. any indications he's going to be doing more substantive brianna keilar interviewed her, she's going to be on the ellen degeneres show. any indications she'll be doing substantive one on one interviews. >> she's taking a break this weekend as the summer winds to a close but in september she will

be ramping that up. i'm not sure about interviews with journalists but she will be doing more substantive speeches and look for her to keep defining herself against this republican field. the best way to get democrats enthused about her is to go after these republicans hard and she seemed too enjoy it yesterday with donald trump. >> circle next friday on your calendar. she'll be addressing the democratic national committee as they meet in minneapolis and it's that crowd, those establishment democrats, that's a clinton crowd that she can take that whole bashing the republicans to great enthusiasm. >> joe biden was thinking of going that meeting, too but -- is he going to go? >> i don't know that we have that locked down. >> i know if he shows up people will interpret it one way. if he doesn't show up people will interpret it another way. thanks, guys, very, very much. donald trump also weighing in on the hillary clinton e-mail controversy. he says it's not -- i'm quoting him now "like watergate on steroids." our own chris cuomo sat down with donald trump today. they talked about hillary clinton, a wide range of important topics.

you can watch the full interview, a special cnn report coming up later tonight 9:00 p.m. eastern. the donald trump interview with chris cuomo. up next, we turn to the deadly bombing in bangkok. there are significant new developments in the search for the chief suspect and possible accomplices. we're going there live. and first it was the u.s. army rangers, now the u.s. navy seals. a navy admiral says there's no reason women shouldn't be excepted into the seals program as long as they meet the requirements. but when? we have details. stand by. why do so many people choose aleve? it's the brand more doctors recommend for minor arthritis pain. plus, just two aleve can last all day. you'd need 6 tylenol arthritis to do that. aleve. all day strong. we stop arthritis pain, so you don't have to stop. because you believe in go. onward. today's the day.

carpe diem. tylenol® 8hr arthritis pain has two layers of pain relief. the first is fast. the second lasts all day. we give you your day back. what you do with it is up to you. tylenol®. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit

any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. there's a range of plans to choose from, too, and they all travel with you anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. ♪ call today. remember, medicare supplement insurance helps cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. expenses that could really add up. these kinds of plans could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. you'll be able to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. and there are virtually no referrals needed. so don't wait. with all the good years ahead,

look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. everyone is looking for ways while to cut expenses.s unique, and that's where pg&e's online business energy checkup tool can really help. you can use it to track your actual energy use. find rebates that make equipment upgrades more affordable. even develop a customized energy plan for your company. think of it as a way to take more control over your operating costs. and yet another energy saving opportunity from pg&e.

find new ways to save energy and money with pg&e's business energy check-up. welcome back to our viewers and the united states around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. a number of new develop, today in the hunt for the bangkok bombing suspect. here's what we know right now. police questioned the motorbike taxi driver who believes he

picked up the suspect shortly after the blast. the driver said the man handed him a note in english telling women will to go. the driver added the suspect spoke on his phone but was not speaking thai or english. a thai court issued and arrest warrant for the calling him "an unnamed male foreigner." please say they have zeroed in on two accomplices in the attack. let's bring in our international correspondent joining us live from bangkok. simon, what do we know about these alleged accomplices? >> wolf, i spoke to the bangkok police spokesman earlier this evening and he told me they have identified two men from the cctv footage where they identified the main suspect. that man in the yellow t-shirt. we see him going in with the backpack, we see him leaving it underneath the bench. right in front are two other

men, one in a red shirt, one in a white shirt. you see them standing up and coming together in front of that man and police believe that they are there positioned strategically to hide him while they're placing the bomb. they can't say 100% they are accomplices. they want to speak to them. they say their movements are suspicious. they left the shrine at the same time as the bomber and now as we know -- as the alleged bomber, wolf. cnn has spoken to the motorbike taxi driver you mentioned there. that that man in the yellow shirt took that motorbike taxi to the central park in bangkok shortly afterwards. wolf. >> you're speaking to the police there, saima, do they believe these men belong to some sort of terrorist cell? >> that's exactly what they're trying to configure right now, wolf. it looked like this could be a

potential lone warrior attack on the erawan shrine. now it's looking like there were more people involved. of course there was that second bombing on the tuesday. they are still investigating. luckily that pipe bomb missed the pier that it was trying to target. a crucial indication, wolf, as to whether hay might be part of a bigger network is what prime minister prayut chan-o-cha said speaking to local media. he said he advises these men to come forward and turn themselves in because their lives may be at risk. he said if there are others behind this bombing they may try to kill them to silence them. incredibly sinister consideration, wolf. but so far no claims of responsibility as as you know, wolf, they are quick to claim responsibility for terrorist attacks like this. they want the fwlorry, they want the power and authority but so far no claims.

wolf? >> we'll stay on top of this with you, saima mohsin on the scene in bangkok. coming up, hillary clinton versus the gop. we'll dig deeper into how she matches up against her republican rivals. plus this, how the biden factor could impact the race for the white house. stay with us. no student's ever done the full hand raise in ap calc. but your stellar notebook gives you the gumption to reach for the sky. that's that new gear feeling. this week, these office depot brand notebooks just one cent. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac.

see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern.

new poll numbers are shedding light on how the presidential race in the united states is shaping up. donald trump is gaining ground on hillary clinton in a hypothetical general election matchup. in our cnn/orc poll she leads trump and wisconsin governor

scott walker by a six-point margin. she's ten points ahead of the only other woman in the race, carly fiorina. let's bring in alex castellanos, the founder of newrepublican.org, chairman of purple strategies. also joining us, donna brazile, our cnn political commentator and democratic strategist. guys, thanks for joining us. you're a good republican, alex. hillary clinton with the e-mail controversy but still significantly ahead of all the other republican candidates at least so far it hasn't had a huge debt on the hypothetical head-to-head matchup. >> that's pretty true, wolf. because republicans are struggling, too. we still have a brand that people aren't very proud to put on the republican jersey overall in a general election. our negatives are high as a party and our candidates need to grow. all of them are undeveloped. right now their promise and potential but no certainty. hillary should be doing better.

things just seem to go wrong for her. >> i don't know what he's looking at. 74% of democrats in this new poll consider her for their first or second choice. that's significant. 83% of democrats are happy with the fact that she is quote/unquote the democratic front-runner. so there's not a lot of malaise, not a lot of second guessing, not a lot of bed-wetting. it's just a lot of talkers inside the beltway that's not on cnn and can't get their views out. >> i know you admire and like joe biden, the vice president of the united states as well. >> absolutely. >> we asked the question, among democrats should joe biden run for president? 53% say yes, 45% say no. what do you make? >> i still believe that there's a healthy the number of

democrat, people who like joe biden, they would like to see joe biden consider running. the question is can he get into this race this late? we were talking back in the room about it might be a little late to reshape the race, to put that kind of organization together but there are more -- >> >> is it too late for joe biden? >> look at donald trump. in a couple weeks, really, boom, he's vaulted to really the lead in the republican party, it's not too late for a joe biden and hillary is out of position. her party has moved left of her. this is not bill clinton's era of bilge government is over party. this is barack obama, the era of big government is back. imagine joe biden running as a populist working class version of barack obama. i'll give barack obama a third term. he's in a better position to capture the soul of the democratic party than hillary is. >> the soul and spirit of the democratic party is one and i think if joe biden decides to run, he will have significant support within the party. that won't take away from the

fact that hillary clinton commands a solid democratic lead because people like her. they know her and look, alex -- >> they like her? >> come on, yes, they like her, they respect her, they know she will fight for the middle-class and she has a record of accomplishment that not one of the republicans -- i would say all of the republicans combined could not beat her. >> but in this hypothetical matchup between hillary clinton and donald trump, he was 20 points behind a couple months ago. he's only six points behind. he's moving ungetting within that margin of error if you will. >> donald trump is growing. he was just a small campaign stick your funger in washington's eye, break washington's china and anti-washington elite vote. but now he's beginning to grow into the make america great campaign. he's not just an anti-vote for washington, a pro-trump vote. that's making him a serious

contender, i don't think that's healthy for the republican party. i think at the end of the day he's not a republican or conservative but it looks like he's getting his feet on the ground and those two campaigns are a very powerful thing. >> i've spoken with some people, donna, who are close to joe biden, lo v joe biden if you will and they say he feels upset that he's not the automatic heir apparent. he's been vice president for six and a half years. whenning are was president, george w. bush was vice president for eight years, he got the nod. when bill clinton al gore was vice president for eight years, he got the nod. and he feels upset that democrats have not automatically said you know what? you've been an excellent vice president, you were a great senator, you're a great guy, you should run for president he feels democrats have not run to him because of hillary clinton. what do you say? >> i disagree. >> should he be snubbed?

>> no! i would never snub joe biden. >> because he feels democrats are snubbing him -- >> do you think i should go over and make him gumbo and show him that love? i wanted to make a cake for bunk, it's his birthday. the truth is that joe biden said in january that he would make -- he will consider it. that was january, that was before we knew how severely ill beau was. joe biden needs the time and space in order to not just grieve but also figure out the next step. he's helping the president now in the iran deal making sure the president finishes up this term. i want to give him the time to make the decision, he makes the decision, we'll see what happens. >> and it will be soon, i'm told, one way or the other. >> i got two, happy birthday bill clinton and joe, i like you. >> i say he runs. >> i say he's going to think about it. >> thanks very, very much. following in the footsteps of elite u.s. army rangers, the u.s. navy may be opening up ranks to women as far as the

navy seals are concerned giving them chance to prove they're among the best of the best. that story. more news coming up.

i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. my psoriatic arthritis caused joint pain. just like my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. and i was worried about joint damage. my doctor said joint pain from ra can be a sign of existing joint damage that could only get worse. he prescribed enbrel to help relieve pain and help stop further damage. enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common,

or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. joint pain and damage... can go side by side. ask how enbrel can help relieve joint pain and help stop joint damage. enbrel, the number one rheumatologist-prescribed biologic. after news that the first females ever will graduate from the u.s. army ranger school another military branch may be following suit. the u.s. navy is now considering the possibility of allowing women into the ranks of the navy

s.e. s.e.a.l. teams. the navy calls it the most mentally challenging physically challenging training in the world lasting 323 weeks. some of the challenges include running 200 miles in five days and physically training for 20-plus hours a day. less bring in our pentagon correspondent barbara starr and also joining us from new york, jonathan gilliam, a former u.s. navy s.e.a.l. and trained as a former fbi special agent. barbara, what prompted the u.s. navy to even consider allowing women to become navy s.e.a.l.s? >> reporter: wolf, what's been going on at the pentagon the last several months is a review of opening all combat jobs to women, women who volunteer obviously to serve this country and the u.s. military. the feeling for some time first set out by the former defense secretary leon panetta was open up all the jobs. let the women compete. stop keeping that ceiling in place. so all of the services have been looking at this, and they have

been steadily opening up more and more jobs in the military to women, but now we're at the point where it is special operations that they are looking at as well as some of the front line combat jobs. can women serve in the army ranger regiment? can they serve in navy s.e.a.l.s? what is on the table right now are a series of recommendations that will go to the defense secretary by the end of the year about whether these jobs, all of these jobs, should be opened up to women. wolf? >> jonathan, as i mentioned, you went through navy s.e.a.l. training, u.s. army ranger training. how tough really is it? >> well, i'll tell you. there's different levels on all this stuff, wolf. let's start with ranger school. you know, barbara said something there a second ago about being in a ranger battalion. i went through army ranger school, did not go through ranger assessment selection process, the r.a.s.p. program. what these females graduated from is a leadership school. ranger school is a leadership program. once you get into r.a.s.p. and

s.e.a.l. training, that's a huge difference. the level of technical abilities and really just the overall physical and stress level goes up tremendously. now, you take ranger school where i'm hearing from my sources at ranger school that two females that made it through and i quote my sources are beasts. these females are, you know, just amazing women. however, ranger school doesn't even hold a cookie to what s.e.a.l. training is, and to be considered a ranger we need to look at r.a.s.p., so the reason i'm bringing all this up is social engineering in war fighting needs to be left out. there's always going to be politics in fighting wars, but creating a warrior should be void of politics, and we should look at what's effective for each gender and each team. >> well, let me ask you this question, jonathan. if women can be army rangers, do you believe women potentially can be navy s.e.a.l.s?

>> i don't know. you can train anybody with the skill sets that we have, how to shoot, how to enter room, blow things up, but it's the process to get to that point to specifically know if the person on your left and the person on your right will -- will quit or won't quit, and if something happens to you, can they carry you out of the battlefield? i mean, we're creating warriors, wolf, and this is thing that is infuriating to me. i'm sick and tired of dod officials, these admirals and generals at the top, making political statements instead of sticking to their guns, so to speak and saying we need to do what's effective. i would much rather see individual teams set up for females, training, set up for females, so that we can develop a well-rounded, well, you know, suited warrior that's a female to their standards. there's different physical standards. two women out of all the people that went to ranger school, economically alone. that's not feasible to make all adjustments to get them into the

teams. >> barbara, when is the navy going to make a decision? >> well, i have to tell you there's a multi-part effort here. the navy may say let's have women in units, but it's going to be largely up to the recommendations of the special operations command led by general joseph otell, the chief of all special operations, and i want to underscore one of the things jonathan is talking about. when you speak to special operations officials, what they will tell you is they are looking at the notion there must be a uniform standard, that if you're going to put women into these units you cannot have lesser standards for women to join the units, lesser physical training standards, lesser performance standards in the field under fire. you know, everybody's got to basically pull their own weight and carry their own rucksack so there's a lot to look at here. right now we don't see a final decision until the end of the career. >> we'll stay on top of this story, important story for our

viewers. guys, thanks very much. that's it for me. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in the "the situation room." for our international viewers "amm" "ammanpour "amanpour" is coming up next and for our other viewers "newsroom" with brooke baldwin is coming up next.

rise, it is wednesday. you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you so much for being with us. the top of the hour here. you know this guy. he had a lot of subway sandwiches. he lost a lot of weight as the face of the world's largest fast food chain. he now admitted he victimized 14 underaged girls. under the deal he could be sent to