Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Donald Trump Accuses Hillary Clinton of Exploiting African- Americans as He Makes Direct Appeal for Their Votes; Simone Biles Wraps Up a Remarkable Performance in Rio with Fourth Gold; Fast-Moving Fire Forces More Than 80,000 People to Evacuate in Southern California. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 17, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To every voter living in the inner city or every forgotten stretch of our society, I'm running to offer you a much better future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Donald Trump accuses Hillary Clinton of exploiting African-Americans as he makes a direct appeal for their votes.

Simone Biles wraps up a remarkable performance in Rio with a fourth gold medal in gymnastics.

Also ahead, a fast moving fire forces more than 80,000 people to evacuate in Southern California.

Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States, and of course, all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. And this is CNN Newsroom.

With polls showing him drawing just 1 percent of their votes in key states, Donald Trump is trying to boost his support among African- Americans.

The republican presidential nominee made the most direct appeal of his campaign with a speech in Wisconsin. He said his hard line on undocumented immigrants will help minorities to keep their jobs.

And he accused democrat Hillary Clinton of bigotry saying she sees communities of color only as votes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He doesn't care at all about the hurting people of this country or the sufferings she has caused them, and she, meaning she and her party officials. There has been tremendous suffering because of what they have brought. The African-American community has been taken for granted for decades

by the Democratic Party and look how they're doing. It's time to break with the failures of the past. I want to offer Americans a new and much better future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Trump's speech comes just days after protests turned violent following a police shooting in Milwaukee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The violence, riots and destruction that have taken place in Milwaukee is an assault on the right of all citizens to live insecurity and to live in peace.

(CROWD CHEERING)

Law and order must be restored.

(CROWD CHEERING)

It must be restored for the sake of all but most especially for the sake of those living in the affected communities of which there are many.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And while Trump's stop in Wisconsin focused on national security, Sara Murray reports there's increased scrutiny of the candidate's foreign policy agenda.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Donald Trump hitting the trail in Wisconsin today, hammering home his claim that he's the top choice for voters looking for law and order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have to obey the laws or we don't have a country. You have a case where good people are out there trying to get people to sort of calm down and they're not calming down and we have our police who do a phenomenal job.

MURRAY: Trump touring a memorial with veterans and members of law enforcement in Milwaukee, a city recovering from clashes after police shot and killed an armed man over the weekend.

His security-oriented visit coming just a day after Trump delivered a foreign policy speech laden with promises to defeat ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: My administration will aggressively pursue joint and coalition military operations to crush and destroy ISIS.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MURRAY: But sparse on the details of how Trump would accomplish that

aim as president. As a GOP nominee looks to bolster his foreign policy credentials sources tells CNN Trump will receive his first classified intelligence briefing Wednesday in New York.

It's a primer that's already caused heartburn among some lawmakers and former intelligence officers wary of looping in the freewheeling candidate on sensitive information.

And it comes just days after Trump reiterated his call for closer ties with Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I also believe that we could find common ground with Russia in the fight against ISIS. Wouldn't that be a good thing? Wouldn't that be a good thing?

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: One of Trump's aids seizing on news that Russia sent war planes from Iran to target ISIS and Syria as a positive sign.

Trump's social media head Dan Scavino tweeting, "Another Donald Trump idea becoming a reality. Russia going to bomb ISIS at the moment." Trump has faced blowback throughout his campaign for its call to partner with Russia. And his past praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

[03:05:00] Now he's looking to turn the table. The Trump campaign blasting out a statement to highlight Clinton's ties to Russia and claiming she and her allies sold out American interests to Putin in exchange for political and financial favors.

CHURCH: CNN's Sara Murray reporting there.

And Hillary Clinton is having her own issues later this hour. Hear why the controversy surrounding her e-mails is not going away.

Well, the United States is warning that Russia's use of an Iranian air base to launch air strikes in Syria may violate a U.N. Security Council resolution. Russia says its war planes bombed ISIS and other militant targets Tuesday.

This is the first time Iran has allowed a world power to operate from its soil in decades.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Russia says its long-range bombers like this carried out air strikes in Syria against ISIS after taking off for the first time from a base in northwest Iran.

Russian aircraft according to the U.S. struck in Aleppo, Idlib, and Deir ez-Zor. The Russians has notified the U.S. they were flying into Syria, Moscow insisted it is going after ISIS. The U.S. disagrees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER GARVER, ANTI-ISIS COALITION SPOKESMAN: We have not struck targets in Aleppo in a very long time. We have not struck targets in Idlib in a very long time if we have at all.

Now we don't see concentrations of ISIS in those areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Secretary of State John Kerry called his Russian counterpart to raise concern about using Iran's air base.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It complicates what is already an intense complicated situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And publicly, Russia wants the U.S. to agree to join operations, especially near Aleppo where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped. The Russian Defense Minister says Moscow is in a very active negotiations with the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: That's his messaging on what he wants to happen to gain an upper hand as Russia always attempts to do when they're in these kinds of negotiations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Tonight, the State Department said the U.S. is continuing to pursue an agreement. But the U.S. military has been skeptical of any deal with the Russians because of the continued bombing of civilians in anti-Assad rebel groups rather than ISIS targets.

The U.S. believes Moscow is still aiming at bolstering the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERTLING: We're nowhere close to reaching our final agreement while they continue to bomb civilian facilities, especially hospitals which they have done within the last couple of weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: If the Russians hope to unnerve the U.S. by using an Iranian air base to show more cooperation with Tehran, U.S. officials say it did not work.

CNN has learned U.S. intelligence assets, including aircraft like this AWACA or able to track the Russian military as it landed in Iran and throughout its bombing attacks inside Syria.

The advantage for the Russians in flying out of Iran is it puts them much closer to those targets in Syria. It saves fuel and means they can load up more weapons on these shorter bombing missions into Syria and it may be an indication that Moscow is far from ready to change its serious strategy.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

CHURCH: So, let's discuss this with CNN senior correspondent Frederik Pleitgen. And Fred is in Berlin right now, but he has reported extensively from Syria. So, Fred, what might this signal? Iran allowing Russia to launch air strikes on targets inside Syria from Iranian soil?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it signaled various things, Rosemary. I think on the one hand it shows that the Russians are more than ever entrenched in their strategy in Syria which is to bolster Bashar al-Assad's regime, but at the same time to also work together with the Iranians.

And I think what you're seeing is you're seeing much more of an alignment between the Iranians and the Russians than you have before. Over the past couple of years that I've been travelling to the government controlled part of Syria, you could always feel that the Russians and the Iranians were on the same side of the equation, they were bolstering Bashar al-Assad's forces.

They weren't really on the same page as far as the strategy was concerned. And also, in some cases, the end game as well, especially the future of Bashar al-Assad.

But now it really seems they're aligning their goals. And I think that what we just heard from Barbara is absolutely correct. That I think we could very well see an escalation of the Russian air campaign in the next coming weeks, in the next coming months especially with the use of those strategic bombers.

We've seen the Russians use those over the past couple of days. Now for the first time using them from Iranian soil, which is Barbara said cut the flight time allows them to take more pay load.

That really is upping the ante. That really shows that they want to strike both ISIS and other groups as well a lot harder than they have in the past.

[03:10:01] And the Iranians for their part have come out and said that their cooperation with the Russians is strategic, that the two side have an agreement.

That they will allow the Russians to use their bases and the Russians have also asked the Iranians for over flight rights for cruise missiles as well.

So, it certainly it looks like an escalation could be on the works but it looks like a cooperation between the Russians and the Iranians is much deeper than it has been at any point in time during this entire crisis, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. And I know you'll be watching that very closely. But, Fred, I do want to ask you this. What are we to make of reports of possible cooperation between Russia and the United States on the issue of Aleppo? What are you hearing about that?

PLEITGEN: Well, I think both sides are trying to find some sort of an agreement. I think that both sides are in negotiation, the U.S. and Russia. The U.S., obviously very keen to see something like humanitarian corridors put in place. They want to see an end to the bombings.

The Russians for their part are saying, look, if we do that, then the rebels are going to regroup. The rebels are going to rearm and you'll possibly see of them coming in. So, they certainly have a very different interest as far as that battlefield is concerned.

From what we've been hearing from the U.S. side, it seems as though that both sides are so pretty far off from actually reaching an agreement because the U.S. is so concerned about the civilian casualties about this Russian but also of course Syrian air force bombings that have induced in the past.

And so, therefore it would be very difficult for the U.S. to go into any sort of alliance with the Russians that could possibly see them flying side by side, coordinating their missions.

What they're doing right now is something called de-conflicting where they're keeping out of each other's way, but anymore cooperation than that or coordination like that is something that's very difficult to see, at least in the near future, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our Frederik Pleitgen keeping a very close eye on those developments from his vantage point there in Berlin, where it is 9 o'clock in the morning. Many thanks, Fred.

A landmark day for America's Simone Biles at the Olympics as she becomes Rio's most decorated gymnast. The 19-year-old proved her dominance Tuesday with a near perfect floor routine that won her a fourth gold medal.

As for the host nation, Brazil was knocked out of the women's football semifinals by Sweden after a penalty shootout, but the Brazilian team defeated the U.S. to advance to the women's beach volleyball finals.

So, CNN's World Sport Christina Macfarlane joins us now from Rio with all the highlights. Great to see you again, Christina. And a lot to talk about. Let's start with Brazil beating the U.S. in the women's beach volleyball. What happened?

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, that's right, Rosemary. The dream is over for arguably the greatest beach volleyball player of all time, Kerri Walsh Jennings. You know, she was coming into this Olympic Games 26 games undefeated. She's never lost an Olympic beach volleyball match before tonight. And she was going for her fourth straight Olympic gold medal. But, you

know what? They fell to the Brazilians she and her partner, April Ross. They lost in two straight set. And it was very close indeed, it was 22-20 in the first set and 21-18 in the second.

But Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas had the crowd behind them tonight. They are of course the Brazilian number two pair, the biggest win of their career.

And of course as you were saying, what added to the tension tonight was that the Brazilian women's football team had just lost some half an hour before this in their semifinals to Sweden.

So, there was a lot riding on this result tonight. And Walsh Jennings hasn't lost at an Olympic games since 2000 afterwards -- after the match, she said it hurt badly.

However, they will be back, remember, to compete in the bronze medal match which will be against the number one Brazilian pair. So, I imagine there will be more than a degree of revenge going into that match later on Wednesday.

CHURCH: I would say so. And Jamaica grabbed gold in the 110-meter hurdles. We even have the video of that. Talk to us as that plays out.

MACFARLANE: Yes, there's the Jamaican Omar McLeod proving that Usain Bolt isn't the only, you know, the only Jamaican who can move. You can see here on the track he passes the fourth hurdle and then he just powers away his strength and his ability shining through.

He was of course the favorite to take this event and he did it in a time of 13.05 seconds. As you see there he was absolutely delighted afterwards. This is the first time that Jamaica have won gold in this event and the silver medal went to Spain and the bronze went to France.

Now, interestingly, Rosemary, it's the first time that the Americans have failed to medal in this event since they boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980. So, something of a changing of the guard tonight.

CHURCH: It looks that way. And finally, of course, we did mentioned it, U.S. gymnast Simone Biles winning her fourth Olympic gold and fifth medal to become the most decorated gymnast at the Rio Games.

[03:15:03] And what a date most for her, right. Talk to us about her near perfect floor routine. How about that. And there it is.

MACFARLANE: It really -- it really was, Rosemary. Look at this. Just that move you just saw there actually it was called the Simone Biles. It's her signature move. It's includes a double layout with a second half turn.

We saw it twice in her floor routine. And she was untouchable in her point. She came away 15.966. Now that was actually better than her teammate, Aly Raisman who is the defending champion in the floor routine. She came away with silver. And it was so good to see especially after she'd fallen in the beam

routine and come away with bronze. Now she's obviously not going to make that record breaking five gold medal tallies but she comes away with four and she is of course only the fifth gymnast to achieve four gold medals in one Olympic game.

And the last time that was done was some 32 years ago. It really is one of -- it has been one of the joys and the highlights of these games here in Rio.

CHURCH: Yes. Just can't see enough of her. She's just amazing. Christina Macfarlane, many thanks to you. We love seeing you as well with the Copacabana Beach in the background there. Many thanks as always.

Well, let's take a look now at the medal standings after the 11th day of competition. The U.S. has a commanding lead with 28 gold medals, Great Britain with 19 gold, while China is close behind with 17.

And rounding out the top five is Russia and Germany with 12 and 11 gold medals respectively. The U.S. also leads in total number of medals with 84. How about that.

And here's what's coming up Wednesday in Rio, 16 gold medals are up for grabs in nine different sports. We will see the first women's Olympic Golf competition in more than 100 years.

Plus, Jamaican Elaine Thompson will race for another gold, this time in the 200-meter final. And in beach volleyball, Brazil will face off against Germany in Wednesday's final. Quite the line up there.

Well, South African athlete has sprinted his way into the history books. More on the 17-year-old record he broke just ahead.

And in Southern California, tens of thousands of people are trying to get out of the way of a fast moving wild fire already massive it's growing by the hour.

We'll have the details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good day to you. Pedram Javaheri with you on Weather Watch right now.

Look at the scenes out of parts of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We know the historic flood waters finally beginning to recede across this region and some of the damage that is really coming to the surface puts everything into perspective as far as how widespread this event was over the past several days.

[03:20:05] And in fact, when you average out the entire State of Louisiana's rainfall amount, it gives you just shy of 200 millimeters statewide for the average.

You look at the square kilometers of the State of Louisiana it's about 135,000 square kilometers of land. The numbers I gave you over 26 trillion liters of water. This could fill Maracana Stadium in Rio 22,000 times over. That's how much water has come down in parts of Louisiana in recent days.

Still seeing the flood watches, still seeing the flood warnings in place across this region. And you run the number in this about a 2,000 kilometer stretch of land where you have showers and thunderstorms associated with a very slow moving disturbance and a front that's lined up across that region.

So, that's what we're following across the eastern half of the U.S. Notice the thunderstorms spreading up towards Chicago, even as far as south as Dallas.

Miami gets in to about a 31-degree day there with temps being rather warm. But look what happens here. A couple of shots of autumn, at least for some of the northern portions of the U.S. and southern Canada. They're getting a little change in the season for at least a couple of days. Temperatures expected to cool off across that region.

Take care.

CHURCH: The catastrophic flooding in Louisiana has now killed at least 11 people. The state's governor says saving lives is still the top priority. He's also trying to raise an army of volunteers to clean mud out of homes.

CNN's Rosa Flores shows us the devastation.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In some parts of Ascension Parish, roads look like rivers. We are in one of the hardest hit areas today. We're going out with first responders to check out a community that flooded overnight.

As we venture in we see people evacuating in boats, homes are underwater and the tops of cars peek out of the flood zone. The first responders we are with are checking for the welfare of the owners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire department.

FLORES: The first house they check, there is no answer. That woman lost power, her cell phone died, so they're knocking on her door trying to figure out if she was OK.

First responders document their findings and move on to the next house on their list.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could be put on a secondary list, too, so we can come back.

FLORES: Ascension Parish is one of 20 parishes on the list of areas under disaster declaration. People here say the water rose so quickly many had to rush out of their homes leaving everything behind. What's the toughest part of all of this? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seeing your family suffer.

FLORES: Some are going back into their communities on boats to salvage their belongings and also checking in on neighbors they haven't heard from yet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then we're going to head over to our house and see what we can salvage and help anybody else in need.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need any extra water to take anybody, I got one for him.

FLORES: More than 20,000 people have been rescued from their homes. Many are staying with family and friends or in shelters like Jessica May. She and her six children were rescued by boat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA MAY, RESCUED FROM FLOOD: I was like how long we get out of this, I didn't want to get trapped. They say the more it kept raining, the higher the water was going to get, so the first thing that came to my mind is like I got to get out of there. That's something I don't want to get caught in.

FLORES: This family decided not to evacuate, instead staying inside their mobile home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many days for this (Inaudible).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: In this case, first responders offer them water and provisions. That's all they can do for now.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Ascension Parish.

CHURCH: And from flooding to fires. A fast growing wild fire has forced some 82,000 people to flee their homes in Southern California. The so-called blue cut fire broke out Tuesday morning. It's already charred 18,000 acres, that's more than 7,000 hectares in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles.

Hundreds of firefighters are trying to save more than 34,000 homes from the blaze. The blaze is zero percent contained. California's governor has declared a state of emergency in the area.

And we have Pedram Javaheri here, our meteorologist to talk more about this. Because of course we know (TECHNICAL PROBLEM).

[03:25:00] (TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

[03:30:01] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

CHURCH: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

We do have some breaking news for you from the campaign trail. A major shakeup in Donald Trump's staff. Kellyanne Conway confirms she is being promoted to campaign manager and Steve Bannon becomes chief executive.

Paul Manafort stays on as campaign chairman. The staffing changes come after weeks of political missteps and dropping poll numbers.

So, joining us now for more on the Trump campaign shake up is CNN politics reporter, Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy, interesting we're getting news of this now. Talk to us about these changes and what we can expect to see in the hours ahead.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, well, I can't underscore the importance and the significance of this decision of curse. You know, this is with less than three months to go before Election Day, Donald Trump is completely over hauling the top of his campaign.

You know, he's putting two new people at the top and essentially it appears that he is layering Paul Manafort, putting, you know, Kellyanne Conway who is a senior adviser to his campaign already, and Steve Bannon who is the executive chairman of the conservative Breitbart News at the top as executive -- as the chief executive of the campaign.

Obviously, Trump realized, you know, that he had to make some kind of a change to his campaign that's needed to do something different to bring himself up from, you know, the sagging poll numbers that we've seen in recent weeks.

You know, he's trailing Hillary Clinton right now in almost all of the battleground states and even in some states that typically lean republicans.

So, clearly, Trump, you know, after weeks that also included several controversies and gaffes on his part is realizing that he needs some different political advice around him, perhaps some new faces and something that he hopes will help him change what could be, as of now, a dramatic and a very gloomy outcome for him in November if the polls stay that way that they are right now.

CHURCH: Now, we are already seeing a change in tone from Donald Trump, aren't we? And we saw that just Tuesday evening when he made his law and order speech. It was very much, he followed the prompter. He stayed on track, he stayed on message there.

But talk to us then with his change at the top, what more might we see happen here?

DIAMOND: Well, I think it will be more of the same, but of course, you know, Trump has said repeatedly that he is not looking to change, right, that he is going to stay true to himself and so what made him successful in the republican primaries.

But at the same time I think that he is recognizing that he needs to do things a little bit differently to appeal to the general electorate.

You know, he has given several scripted speeches today on law and order the day before on radical Islamic terrorism and two weeks before (TECHNICAL PROBLEM).

[03:35:00] (TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

IWAN MORGAN, UCL INSTITUTE OF THE AMERICAS PROFESSOR: ... Bush and John McCain. So, the calculation is that if his poll standing among African-Americans is plummeting to around possibly 3 to 5 percent, he then has to boost his standing among white voters to around 65 percent, which is very, very difficult and much higher than the last two republican candidates they manage to get.

So, it's quite clearly, I think, in part designed to try to attract more minority voters and also to send out a message that Trump is changing.

CHURCH: And what do you think is behind Donald Trump's sagging poll numbers in several battleground states and what might that signal do you think?

MORGAN: Well, I don't think that any candidate in living memory has had two such bad weeks as Donald Trump has had of late. So, my feeling is that he has listened to his advisors, that he's falling seriously behind even at this early stage.

And the only way to turn things around is to try to improve the issue on which he's weakest and that is the character issues.

CHURCH: And of course this change in rhetoric and tone and senior management has come after the Wall Street Journal called on Trump to get his act together. What role might that have played in his change here do you think?

MORGAN: Well, Trump, of course affects to believe that the media is entirely against him. But something like the Wall Street Journal taking a republican candidate to task is something that can't be ignored.

So, I suspect that the shakeup in the campaign is aimed at now adopting a different style, toning down the rhetoric, which isn't working. That kind of rhetoric that we've heard in the last two weeks might have worked in the republican primaries.

But you have to adopt a different strategy in the general election where you're trying to win all the voters who do not identify strongly with your party.

CHURCH: Iwan Morgan, thank you so much for your analysis on this. We appreciate it.

MORGAN: My pleasure.

CHURCH: Well, Hillary Clinton's e-mail controversy is back in the spotlight. On Tuesday, the FBI sent a report to Congress hoping to make clear why it didn't recommend charges against her.

CNN's Joe Johns has more.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton campaigning today at a Philadelphia voter registration event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Donald Trump speaks, he speaks about fear. He speaks about such negativity and such pessimism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: But her e-mail controversy still casting a shadow over her campaign. The FBI releasing a new report to Congress detailing why it recommended no charges be filed against the former Secretary of State over her use of a private e-mail server.

[03:40:06] The report also includes notes taken by the FBI during witness interview. The report is classified but it does keep the controversy alive for Clinton, while offering Trump another talking point against her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton lacks the judgment, as said by Bernie Sanders, stability, and temperament and the moral character to lead our nation.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The Clinton campaign saying they prefer the report be released publicly rather than part selectively released by someone with political motives against Clinton.

Meantime, Clinton is polling very well in key battleground states like Virginia. A new Washington Post poll finds Clinton ahead of Trump by 8 points there, 51 percent to 43 percent among likely voters.

In fact, Clinton is doing so well, her super PAC Priorities USA is pulling ads in Virginia along with crucial states Colorado and Pennsylvania for much September.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Priorities USA action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

JOHNS: The group telling CNN Clinton's early success in those states means they can focus their attention and cash in states where it's more needed.

In Philadelphia today, she was working hard to turn out African- American voters in record numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLINTON: We want you all to register to vote.

(CROWD CHEERING)

We have places to register because we don't want you on the sidelines come November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Clinton courting the black vote a day after vying for white working class voters alongside Vice President Joe Biden in Scranton, Pennsylvania trying to hold on to the battleground state that has gone to democrats in every presidential election since Bill Clinton won it in 1992.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Friends should not let friends vote for Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: And the Clinton campaign is already putting together its transition team. Announcing former Colorado Senator, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will lead it.

Joe Johns, CNN, Philadelphia.

CHURCH: Now, one of Clinton's high profile supporters had some trouble Tuesday vouching for her character. Take a listen to how New Hampshire governor responded to questions from our senior political reporter Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Do you think that she's honest and trustworthy?

MAGGIE HASSAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR: I support Hillary Clinton for the presidency because her experience and her record demonstrate that she's qualified to hold the job.

RAJU: Do you think she's honest?

HASSAN: She has a critical plan among others for making college more affordable.

RAJU: But do you think that she's trustworthy?

HASSAN: I think that she has demonstrated a commitment always to something beyond herself bigger than herself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Hassan's team later clarified the governor's statement saying she does indeed believe that Clinton is honest. Well, this is just in to CNN, Papua New Guinea's prime minister say

his country and Australia have agreed to close the Manus Island detention center.

Hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees are being held there. In April, Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court found the detention of refugees on Manus Island was illegal and violated the country's Constitution.

A U.S. family is grieving for their son shot to death in their home. Police say he was killed by their own neighbor. Why the family says the suspect had terrorized them for years.

[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A family in the U.S. State of Oklahoma is grieving over the brutal murder of their son. Police say the victim was shot and killed by the family's neighbor. The family says they have been terrorized by the suspect for years.

Brynn Gingras has the story. And we do want to warn you it is disturbing.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "Dirty Arabs" and "filthy Lebanese" are just some of the insults Vernon Majors allegedly called his neighbors. His anger towards the Jabara family turned deadly on Friday when police say he shot and killed Khalid Jabara.

Majors is no stranger to the family. For years, the Jabara's who are Christian of Lebanese descent say that Majors would terrorize them and call them names.

In 2013, the family filed a protective order which prevented Majors from having any contact with them, but records show majors violated that order. In September of last year, Majors allegedly hit Khalid Jabara's mother Haifa with his car, putting her in the hospital for weeks.

Majors was arrested and charged with felony assault. Two judges denied his request to be released on bond. But three months ago, a third judge, against the district attorney's wishes, allowed the 61-year-old to post bail, releasing him until his trial in 2017.

Neighbors who do not want to be identified say they are not surprised by the allegations against Majors saying he had a history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He walked onto our property and started screaming to my family "all you Mexicans leave out of here," stuff like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: On the night he was killed, Khalid called the police to report Majors had a gun after getting a tip from someone Majors live with. According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded but could not go inside Majors' home, so they left.

Later, police say Majors walked up to the front steps of his neighbor's home and shot and killed Khalid Jabara. His mother says she was on the phone with her son when it happened. Telling CNN "They should have looked at his history at least to see that this is really a dangerous guy. They could have spared my son's life. My son is gone. My son is gone."

Brynn Gingras, CNN, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

CHURCH: Gunman have kidnapped a son of notorious drug lord, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. A Mexican official says Jesus Alfredo Guzman was one of six men abducted from this restaurant in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta on Monday.

El Chapo was recaptured in January six months after breaking out of a high security prison. He is fighting extradition to the United States.

Well, South African sprinter set a new record in Rio, accomplishing what his mother wasn't able to because of apartheid. His story, that's next on CNN Newsroom.

[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAVAHERI: Good day to you. Pedram Javaheri with you on Weather Watch right now.

Look at the scenes out of parts of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We know the historic flood waters finally beginning to recede across this region and some of the damage that is really coming to the surface puts everything into perspective as far as how widespread this event was over the past several days.

And in fact, when you average out the entire State of Louisiana's rainfall amount, it gives you just shy of 200 millimeters statewide for the average.

You look at the square kilometers of the State of Louisiana it's about 135,000 square kilometers of land. The numbers I gave you over 26 trillion liters of water. This could fill Maracana Stadium in Rio 22,000 times over. That's how much water has come down in parts of Louisiana in recent days.

Still seeing the flood watches, still seeing the flood warnings in place across this region. And you run the number in this about a 2,000 kilometer stretch of land where you have showers and thunderstorms associated with a very slow moving disturbance and a front that's lined up across that region.

So, that's what we're following across the eastern half of the U.S. Notice the thunderstorms spreading up towards Chicago, even as far as south as Dallas.

Miami gets in to about a 31-degree day there with temps being rather warm. But look what happens here. A couple of shots of autumn, at least for some of the northern portions of the U.S. and southern Canada.

They're getting a little change in the season for at least a couple of days. Temperatures expected to cool off across that region.

Take care.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk shocked Rio and the world when he smashed the 400-meter record held by American Michael Johnson for the last 17 years.

Don Riddell has more on South Africa's newest hero.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: It was an electric moment in the athletic stadium.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ODESSA SWARTS, WAYDE VAN NIEKERK'S MOTHER: I couldn't stand still. I was jumping from the one seat to the other seat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: The world record for Wayde van Niekerk in the men's 400 meters. When you realized you made a world record, what happened then?

WAYDE VAN NIEKERK, 400 METERS GOLD MEDALIST: I looked up and I just heard the crowd lose their mind and I look up and I saw the world record. At first I thought it's some ad, it's not me, it's probably someone else, maybe one of the jumps or something on the outside.

I think a few seconds later like, no, that's my name, that's my event and I saw the time and I just had to go on my knees immediately and thank God for that occasion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wayde van Niekerk.

(CROWD CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: He's the newest star of the games, a softly spoken young South African whose love of the Liverpool football team and the big winner of arsenal helped him make history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIEKERK: One of my friends, the long jumper rush all, came in the room and he was busy fighting and he was like, you're supposed to be sleeping and you're busy running around here celebrating with goals. Why didn't you rest?

But, I mean, I'm a big fan and so I just went crazy and afterward I think I felt very -- I felt very happy. The mood was good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: Wayde has always been in a hurry but when he was born prematurely three months early, the doctors thought that he'd almost certainly have to live with a disability.

[03:55:01] But he comes from strong genes. Both parents were athletes. And if it wasn't for South Africa's apartheid era and an international boycott, maybe they too could have competed in the Olympics.

SWARTS: If I had all these opportunities, my son wouldn't be here today. So, I want to see that as a double blessing. That era wasn't meant for me, it was meant for the generation that's coming to him now.

RIDDELL: We have a very important in Wayde's life; his coach is a 74- year-old lady. With 50 years between them it seems an unlikely pairing. It works when she juggles coaching world beaches with her other life as a great grandmother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANS BOTHA, WAYDE VAN NIEWKERK'S COACH: I'm living for my grandchildren and I'm playing with them and joking and try to spend time as much as possible, but Wayde is such a very special person. It makes it so much easier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: With Usain Bolt soon retiring from the Olympics, some think that van Niekerk could be the star of the suture. Whatever, he certainly represents the future of his country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIEKERK: To me, it's about inspiring my country. When I went on the stage I didn't see black, white colored, I saw South Africans supporting me and that's what meant the most to me. And that's what when I finished -- when I got over the finish line and I felt like a proud South African not a proud solo South African.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: Wayde van Niekerk is only 24 years old. He used to dream of being a rugby player but in track he's found his calling and you get the sense that this is just the beginning.

Don Riddell, CNN, Rio.

CHURCH: It's a great story there. I'm Rosemary Church. Early Start is next for our viewers in North America. For everyone else, stay tuned for more news with Isa Soares in London. And have yourselves a great day.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)