Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

More Hacking into U.S. Presidential Race; Introduction to First Ever Refugee Olympic Team; Humanitarian Crisis in Aleppo; A Look at Trump's Ties to Russia; Zika Virus Transmitted in U.S. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired July 30, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:13] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: More hacking in the U.S. presidential race. This time, authorities say Hillary Clinton's campaign was the target. Plus this ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm taking the gloves off, right, yes? Take the gloves, take the gloves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE HOWELL: No more Mr. Nice guy, he says, that's Donald Trump's reaction to Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention, both candidates now digging in.

And, a humanitarian crisis in Aleppo. U.N. officials warn of a disaster as the Syrian government tires to take full control of that city.

From CNN World headquarteres in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers around the world, I'm George Howell, CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

4:00 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast, again, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. The race of the White House and the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department are getting involved. They say private investigators discovered a possible breach in the Clinton campaign computer systems, this coming just days after Donald trump invited Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's e-mails. This latest hack a part of a series targeting Democratic organizations.

In the meantime, Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine, they are now on the road on a bus tour traveling through Pennsylvania and Ohio, focusing in on some of Donald Trump's core supporters.

Our Jeff Zeleny has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The new Democratic ticket is taking its show on the road.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTILA NOMINEE: As of tomorrow we have 100 days to make our case to America. ZELENY: Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine on a three-month sprint to

Election Day.

CLINTON: What better place than to kick off this campaign than right here in Philadelphia where it all started 240 years ago.

ZELENY: After a convention steeped in nostalgia, their challenge now, tapping into the country's hunger for change.

CLINTON: I'm not telling you that everything is just peachy keen, I'm telling you we've made progress but we have work to do and we're going to make sure everybody is included.

ZELENY: This fight with Donald Trump is now fully joined, as they try making him an unacceptable choice.

SEN. TIM KAINE, (D-VA) U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The Republican convention was like a twisted and negative tour. It was a journey through Donald Trump's mind, and that is a very frightening place.

ZELENY: So the Democratic candidates set off on a bus tour of Pennsylvania and Ohio, evoking memories of another journey back in 1992. With the Clintons and Gores, this time the Clinton's are alongside Tim Kaine and his wife Anne, still focusing on the economy.

CLINTON: We're going to be visiting a few places where people are making things. Donald Trump talks about, "Make America great again," he doesn't make anything except bankruptcies.

ZELENY: A Democratic convention rich in history.

CLINTON: I accept your nomination for president of the United States!

ZELENY: Is now the script for how Democrats hope to defeat Trump.

TRUMP: Russia, if you're listening ...

ZELENY: She said he doesn't have a temperament for the Oval Office.

CLINTON: A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.

ZELENY: Safety and security now a center piece of her argument.

CLINTON: Donald Trump says and this is a quote, "I know more about ISIS than the generals do." No, Donald, you don't.

ZELENEY: After a week in historic Philadelphia, Clinton made clear the history making moment that matters comes in November.

CLINTON: I believe every time we knock down a barrier in America it liberates everyone in America.

Every parent in this country could look at their son or their daughter and now say the very same thing. You too could be president of the United States. Thank you all. God bless you. ZELENY: Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Jeff, thank you. Donald Trump now on the campaign trail targeting the western part of the United States, as we mentioned, attacking some of the speakers from the Democratic National Convention during a stop if Denver Colorado. He called retired four-star general, I should say, John Allen a failed commander for not stopping ISIS, and he went after Clinton even harder. Earlier in the day, saying he is no longer going to be nice. Jason Carroll explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:05:05] TRUMP: Just remember this. Trump is going to be no more Mr. Nice guy.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump on offense, taking aim at Hillary Clinton on the heels of this week's Democratic National Convention.

TRUMP: I've been saying, "Let's just beat her in November 8." But you know what, well no. You know what? I'm starting to agree with you. I'll tell you. After watching that performance last night, such lies. I don't have to be so nice anymore. I'm taking the gloves off, right.

CARROLL: Trump is also ignoring the advice of a friend who he says told him to stay focused on Clinton.

TRUMP: I was going to hit one guy in particular, a very little guy, I was going to hit this guy so hard his head would spin he wouldn't know what the hell happened.

CARROLL: Trump going after former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who delivered a scalding attack against Trump at the convention.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's running his business? God help us. I'm a New Yorker and I know a con when I see one.

CARROLL: Trump tweeting this response, "If Michael Bloomberg ran again for mayor of New York, he wouldn't get 10 percent of the vote, they would run him out of town." Trump's prolific tweeting not lost on Clinton.

CLINTON: A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.

CARROLL: Trump firing back.

TRUMP: If somebody tweets, I do what I do, who cares? I'll tell you, I think I have the best temperament, or certainly one of the best temperaments of anybody that's ever run to the office of president, ever, because I have a winning temperament. CARROLL: The GOP nominee as he has done so many times in the past,

calling Clinton several names on twitter, all this while his running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence took issue with name calling after the president referred to Trump as a homegrown demagogue during his speech Wednesday night.

GOV. MIKE PENCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't think name calling has any place in public life and I thought that was unfortunate that the president of the United States would use a term like that, let alone laced into a sentence like that.

CARROLL: At his events here in Colorado Springs, Trump attacked everyone from the local fire marshal to New York City's former mayor, the question is, will those type of attacks work in terms of bringing in others into the campaign, bringing in other supporters? It certainly works with his base supporters, will it bring in moderates? Will it bring in independents? That still remains to be seen.

Jason Carroll CNN, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Jason, thank you. A lot to talk about here. To get more insight on the U.S. presidential race let's bring in CNN Politics Reporter Eugene Scott, live with this in Washington D.C. Eugene always good to have you.

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Thank you.

HOWELL: So, let's talk first of all about the new news of the moment that investigators have learned about these new hacks, and that the finger prints point to Russia. Earlier, our colleague Anderson Cooper spoke to Julian Assange of WikiLeaks who says that more leaks are on the way. Let's listen to what he said and we can talk about it here on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN ASSANGE, WIKILEAKS FOUNDER: We have more material related to the Hillary Clinton campaign is correct to say that. Of course, you have to be precise I think in reporting my statement which you're always very precise. And yes, it's extremely interesting and we will see what will come of them in due course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Julian Assange has made no bones about it. He does not like Hillary Clinton. But regardless of who is behind the leaks, there is a real concern that outside actors are trying to influence the election with very precisely timed leaks.

SCOTT: Absolutely. Very much so, people who've been following this election are very aware that Putin is not a big fan of Hillary Clinton. And as a result, some people are suggesting that he wants Donald Trump to win this race. But what would need to be done to show loyalty to the country even if it looks as if he is supporting, his opponent will be Donald Trump needing to speak out against the danger of hacking into a leading candidate's personal records. I don't think anyone on either side thinks this is the best move for anyone involved in the race, that this ultimately compromises the security and safety for United States citizens.

HOWELL: Eugene the Republicans saw a boost after their convention in Cleveland, so when would we be able determine whether the Democratic convention will see a similar boost?

SCOTT: I think those are numbers that we're looking for at least early next year. We do know regarding the ratings who are believe that Democrats won the first several nights. But ultimately, Donald Trump's speech ended up getting more viewers than Hillary Clinton, and I imagined and that is the number that Donald Trump is most interested in. But we will see how voters responded ultimately to both conventions within the next few days.

HOWELL: Clinton and Kaine now. They're both on the road in Pennsylvania and Ohio, focusing in on working class voters. What do they need to do to connect with voters in those battleground states?

SCOTT: Well, what the Clinton campaign definitely needs to do is connect with white male voters. It is the demographic that she is doing the worse with at least in comparison to Donald Trump. And these are voters whose primary concern are -- it's often the economy.

And so we saw yesterday, Hillary Clinton had Kaine as well as her husband on stage I think in part for optics, but also speaking to issues related to the great recession which these areas were significantly impacted by, and hoping to let those voters know that she is the candidate who can best reverse their good fortune in the future.

HOWELL: Eugene, we saw Trump just a few moments ago in a sound bite talking about he wanted to hit that guy, presumably talking about Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg worth some $40 billion, 40 billion. Donald Trump worth 4 billion. He claims 10.

But the question that many people are asking, after seeing Trump talk about those DNC speeches, he says that he doesn't have to be nice anymore. He says that he's taking off the gloves, and someone asked, well, has Trump ever been nice about this?

SCOTT: Right.

HOWELL: But, could we see more stepped up attacks, obviously? What kind of stepped up attacks will see? Can you expect with about 100 days to go?

SCOTT: It depends on which voters he's trying to reaching out to. If he wants to maintain his base then what he has been doing is what he probably will continue to do. I don't imagine he would change that because it's helped him be successful so far. But I think both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are now going after independent voters. This is a demographic that Bloomberg actually is doing well with, so -- or has done well with -- in terms of our recent polling or would have. And so it will be interesting to see what he needs to do to win them. I thought it was very interesting that his response to all of Bloomberg's attacks was violence, opposed to pushing back with facts and policy proposals and discrediting Bloomberg. Ultimately, I think telling people he wants to hit him won't serve him well with those voters who are still on the fence with Donald Trump.

HOWELL: Eugene Scott, live in Washington, D.C. for us. Eugene, thank you so much for the insight. We'll talk to you again in the next hour. Thank you.

SCOTT: Thank you.

HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM, and still ahead a new worry for Rio Olympic games. A fire breaks out at an Olympic dorm, where the Australian team is staying. And now, officials think arson may be responsible.

Plus the U.N. says the clock is ticking for the Syrian city of Aleppo. Why relief groups say a humanitarian catastrophe could happen there. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:17:01] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

Russian's weightlifting team has been banned from the Rio Olympics by the International Weightlifting Federation. The country has been hit with bans in several sports now after watchdog agencies found evidence of state-sponsored doping. Russian lifters will join the country's track and field athletes and a group of swimmers and rowers now on the sidelines.

Some scary moments for the Australian Olympic team in Rio. About 100 of its athletes and staff were evacuated from the team building at the Olympic village after a fire broke out in the building's basement. That fire now under investigation as a possible arson. CNN's Shasta Darlington has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One week before the Olympic game start and the problems just aren't letting up. The latest, a small fire in the Olympic village in the basement of the apartments where the Australian team is staying, they were briefly evacuated. Luckily no one was hurt.

Now, on the security front the officials have announced they've actually had to beef up security around the torch relay after protesters in a small coastal city here in the state of Rio mobbed the relay and actually extinguished one of the torches of the runners. Now, riot police are being incorporated right into the relay to keep it safe from protesters. Here in the city of Rio, you almost feel like it's already on lockdown. There are soldiers on every corner, Navy boats off the coast of the Copacabana Beach where a lot of the hotels are. In total, we're looking at roughly 85,000 soldiers, police and firefighters on hand to secure these games. That's more than twice what we saw in London.

And yet even in that area, we've seen some problems. Police are now having to takeover screening at the venues because the contractor that was hired didn't, itself, hire enough staff. Of course, the big question at the end of the day, is enthusiasm growing? And on the one hand, you do see it. You see people lining up in front of the Olympic Rings to take selfies, to take pictures.

Unfortunately, that hasn't necessarily translated into ticket sales. We're one week away, still 21 percent of tickets up for grabs.

Shasta Darling, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The Olympics have always been national pride. The world's best athletes come together to bring their pride to different countries around the world. But this time, there are some athletes without a place to call home because of the ongoing refugee crisis.

My colleague Lynda Kinkade introduces us to the first ever refugee Olympic team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They come from South Sudan, Syria, Congo and Ethiopia. Together, they form the refugee Olympic team. The athletes that will be competing in Rio under the Olympic flag in an effort to highlight the struggle of refugees worldwide. The South Sudanese athletes have been training in Kenya as they prepare for the games.

PAULO LOKONO, OLYMPIC REFUGEE TEAM 1500 METER RUNNER: I am very prepared. You know you go there so (inaudible).

KINKADE: Syrian refugee, Yusra Mardini fled the war in her home country in a dinghy across the Mediterranean Sea. Now aged 18, she's on her way to Rio.

YUSRA MARDINI, OLYMPIC REFUGEE: It's the first time that happened to me. This is my first Olympic so I think it's going to be an amazing experience for me.

KINKADE: The athletes are hoping their presence in Rio can inspire millions of refugees in camps around the world.

ROSE NATHIKE, OLYMPIC REFUGEE: Before me, I feel very excited because this time, it is the first time for the refugees to participate in Olympics, and to give us hope that for us maybe to encourage the young generation of fellow refugees who are remaining in the camp to continue their talent.

KINKADE: For others, the Rio Olympics are also a chance to reconnect with friends and family, while giving hope to all refugees that better days will come.

PUR BIEL, OLYMPIC REFUGEE: When you call somebody a refugee they feel ashamed. Even some of them maybe they don't have a chance to do everything other human beings can do, like going to school. Most of them, they had to stay in the camp because they lose hope in life.

But as ambassador for them I can say that don't lose hope in life. You have a chance to change your life.

KINKADE: More than a million refugees made their way to Europe last year, many of them originating from war torn countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia.

The United Nation says there are over 65 million refugees world wide, the highest number ever, estimating that 24 people are displaced every single minute.

For this team, these Olympic Games are about more than winning medals, they're about giving refugees the strength to carry on their fight.

Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Lynda, thank you. And then after all that they have been through, you just wish the very best for that refugee Olympic team.

Moving on now to the Syrian City of Idlib. The charity group "Save the Children" is condemning the bombing of a maternity hospital that it supports there. It is the only maternity hospital in Idlib. It serves more than a thousand women a month. Two people were killed in Friday's bombing. Several others wounded, including pregnant women and babies. It is unclear who carried out the bombing there.

And in Northern Syria, this video that you see appears to show fighters backed by the United States trying to force ISIS out off the City of Manbij. A top U.S. official says ISIS used that city to plan external operations and that it was an entry point used by foreign fighters. Recapturing the city could give U.S. some intelligence left behind by ISIS that could help destroy that terror group.

Now on to another key Syrian City, Aleppo, taking full control of that city would be a major victory for the Syrian government. But the U.S. says it is skeptical that humanitarian corridors there would not be used as a strategic way to empty the city.

Our Senior International Correspondent Clarissa Ward has more on that for us.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is what remains of much of Aleppo, once Syria's most populous city now an apocalyptic moonscape. (INAUDIBLE SHOUTING)

This video was released by the Syrian Army as it celebrates cutting off rebel forces in the eastern part of the city. Leaflets have been dropped on the besieged areas warning residents to leave.

Syria's President al-Assad says he will offer amnesty to armed rebels who surrender. Russia claims humanitarian corridors will be opened. But after months of relentless bombardment, many are too afraid to leave their homes and recent history has taught people here to be highly suspicious of government's promises.

JOHN KIRBY, U.S. STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: What needs to happen is the innocent people of Aleppo should be able to stay in their homes safely and to receive the humanitarian access which Russia and the regime have agreed -- in principle have agreed, certainly, according to U.N. Security Council resolution to provide.

WARD: We made the drive into rebel held Aleppo just a few months ago, burns (ph) of earth flanked the road to protect the way from enemy fire.

We now have to drive extremely quickly along this portion of the road because on one side you have the regime, and on the other side, you have Kurdish fighters who are now fighting against rebel forces. And there are snipers all around here, but this is the only road now to get into Aleppo.

That road is now completely cut off leaving some 300,000 people trapped. The U.N. paints a grim picture of life inside.

[04:25:05] Prices are up as much as 300 percent. Food will run out within weeks.

STAFFAN DE MISTURA, U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SYRIA: The clock is ticking for the Aleppo population, that the commodities that probably available in Eastern Aleppo are sufficient for maximum three weeks.

WARD: For most here, the memory of the Siege of Homs is fresh in their minds. Government forces cut off all food and supplies as they continue to bombard the city for years. The Siege in Aleppo would likely be even longer and uglier. Though, it's hard to imagine how much uglier it can get.

Clarrisa Ward, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, Donald Trump is now saying that he has no ties to Russia. We will show you what a CNN investigation uncovered next.

Plus, U.S. health officials saying mosquitoes infected with Zika have made their way to the United States. More details on that ahead.

Live in the United States and around the world this hour. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is good to have you with us. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour.

In Idlib, Syria, the charity group "Save The Children" is condemning the bombing of a maternity hospital that it supports. Two people there were killed and several injured, including pregnant women and babies. It is unclear who carried out the bombing.

Russia's weight lifters are the latest team to receive a ban from the Rio Olympics. The country's track and field athletes and a group of swimmers are already barred from competing. They're being punished after investigators found evidence of state-sponsored doping.

In the race for the White House, Presidential Nominee, Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine, they are out on a three-day bus tour traveling through Pennsylvania and Ohio, pushing their economic plans while also going after some of Donald Trump's core supporters.

Both the FBI and the U.S. justice department now investigating a possible computer hack of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, a campaign spokesperson says a voter database program maintained by the Democratic National Committee and used by the campaign was accessed in a wider DNC breach.

Authorities are looking into whether Russian hackers were involved. The DNC breach lead to the release of thousands of Democratic Party e- mails by WikiLeaks, all indicating the DNC favored Hillary Clinton over her campaign rival Bernie Sanders.

CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke with the founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange about that and about what could be revealed next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Julian, the clear bias by people in the DNC against Bernie Sanders is probably what got the most attention here in the United States. I'm wondering in the documents that you released, what stood out to you as the most significant thing?

ASSANGE: Well, to me, the most significant is a clear instruction by the Director of Communications, Luis Miranda to his staff to undercover without attribution, push out the story through the media that Bernie Sanders supporters are engaged in acts of violence.

That is not nearly sort of internal rhetoric complaining about Bernie Sanders or actually we prefer Hillary. Everyone has their personal preferences, in the workplace environment those can be expressed. This was instruction through the chain of command at the DNC to covertly manipulate the public in order to preference to our candidate (inaudible). COOPER: In terms of the timing of the release of these, how much of this on the part of WikiLeaks was -- I mean clearly you timed it to the start of the DNC. Was that for maximum impact, for maximum, you know, sort of marketing?

ASSANGE: It was for -- that's what we viewed there would be a maximum interests by readers, but also we had a responsibility to, you know, if we publish after, you can just imagine how outraged the Democratic voting population would have been. So it had to have been before. It's quite a lot of work, as you can imagine to verify such material and to organize it, index it, catalogue it, put into a searchable, customized database central.

COOPER: I saw an interview where you said you have, "A lot more material that you might release" pertaining to the U.S. election. Are you referring to more e-mails from the DNC? Because I talked to Donna Brazile, who as you know is now replaced by Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the wake of this, who says that the hack went on for more than a year they believed, and that there very well maybe a lot more things out there?

ASSANGE: We have more material related to the Hillary Clinton campaign, it is correct to say that, else you have to be very precise in reporting my statements, which you're always very precise. And, yeah, those are extremely interesting and we will see what will come of them in due course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: And that was WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaking with my colleague Anderson Cooper. Assange also refused to confirm if Russia is behind the DNC hack.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is now backtracking on his comments earlier this week where he urged Russia to find and publish Hillary Clinton's e-mails if they have them. He also maintains he has no financial ties with Russia, but the Trump family had a very different message about their ties with Russia just a few years ago.

Our senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin takes a closer look for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: The current controversy over Donald Trump's Russian connection comes from a dug-up quote from 2008, made by his son, Don Jr. The younger Trump reportedly told a real estate conference that family members made a half dozen trips to Russia, that several buyers have been attracted to do our projects there, and Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. And according to Don Jr. Back in 2008, we see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.

But what you can't see in Russia is a lot of Trump, an attempt to build a Trump tower in Moscow fell through before it began, and CNN can find no projects that were actually completed in Russia. [04:35:12] The only real ventures, an attempt to sell vodka to Russians which failed. And in 2013, Trump made millions when he partnered with a Russian billionaire to host his Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. Trump appeared in a music video with his billionaire Russian partner Rockstar son.

TRUMP: You're fire.

GRIFFIN: And boasting of the pageant's success Trump even tweeted, Trump tower Moscow is next. He trademarked not one but eight different combination of his brand and name in Russia and that was it.

DIMITRI SIMES, FOREIGN POLICY ANALYST: He tried to negotiate major deals. He was present in Russia. He tried to arrange a meeting with Putin. It did not work out.

GRIFFIN: Dimitri Simes, the president of a Washington think tank that encourages stronger relations between the U.S. and Russia says when it comes to any relationship, especially in business between Trump and Russia they are very hard to find.

SIMES: I am not aware of any major business endeavors of Trump in Russia.

GRIFFIN: The real story may be that Trump's business endeavors in Russia turned out to be failures.

SIMES: What I can say with certainty is that the Trump organization is not a major presence in Russia. When you talk to Americans who invest in Russia, they never mention the Trump organization as a serious player in Russia.

GRIFFIN: Trump has had better luck dealing with Russians living in the U.S., sort of. He partnered with the Bayrock Group, a company run but soviet immigrants and according to a lawsuit filed, financed Russian and Kazakhstan money. Together, they developed Trump properties in Fort Lauderdale in New York and they planned on opening a Trump tower in Moscow.

But, Trump said in a deposition, that plan ended after media reports started to question Trump's net worth and the partners with Russian ties in the U.S. backed out. Trump did make news with another Russian-related deal. He sold his Florida mansion to a Russian billionaire for $95 million. Trump walking away with tidy $54 million profit.

While Trump may have limited ties with Russia the real connection may be the man who seems to be running his campaign. Paul Manafort has been a U.S. Republican presidential campaign adviser for decades, but he raised international eyebrows when he became a political consultant to this presidential candidate, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, Manafort helped Yanukovych get elected in 2010. Back in the days Yanukovych was still friendly with the United States, and Manafort says he was trying to encourage the Ukraine to become closer with Europe. PAUL MANAFORT, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ADVISER: I was

involved in activities that related directly impacting positive U.S. and European foreign policy.

GRIFFIN: Since then, Yanukovych's government crumbled. He fled to Russia and urged Vladimir Putin to invade his own country, which Putin did. In 2014, the U.S. sanctioned Yanukovych with threatening the peace, security, stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine.

CNN reporting finds Manafort has Russian clients, his advised Russians in the United States but he has no ties to the gremlin. The question now is, is Paul Manafort now advising Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin may not be such a bad guy after all? And that Russia had the right to invade the Ukraine? And that if elected president Trump should just leave Putin and the Ukraine alone? A question still lead to some, that became serious when Donald Trump was asked about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to know, if you became president, would you recognize the annexed Russian territory? And also if the U.S. would lift sanctions ...

TRUMP: We'll be looking at that, yeah. We'll be looking.

GRIFFIN: A point reiterated when Trump's campaign reportedly changed the Republican Party platform to take a much more pro-Russian view of the Ukraine conflict.

MATTHEW ROJANSKY, DIRECTOR, KENNAN INSTITUTE: There is a lot of sort of coincidence that is very troubling around this specific issue, especially when you consider just how substance-free most of the other, you know, issue areas in the campaign have been. But on Ukraine they're taking this very firm position, and it's not clear why. That I think is troubling.

GRIFFIN: So is it really something? Is Donald Trump really somehow connected to Russian political interests to Putin and Putin's view of the world? Because he has an advisor that advised a Ukrainian candidate six years ago, or is this all just like Donald Trump's business endeavors in Russia? Lots and lots of talk but in the end as they say in Russian, (inaudible) nonsense.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Drew, thank you.

Now to the latest on the Zika virus, it has made its way to mosquitoes in the continental United States. Federal health officials say four people have transmitted that disease locally. Our Polo Sandoval has the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Health officials had expected this for months. This has not come as a surprise. They believe that it was a matter of time before Zika-carrying mosquitoes would infect people within the continental United States.

Well, now, three men and one woman in South Florida believed to be the first cases of this kind. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believed that the four patients were infected while in this area in early July, it's commonly known as the Wynwood Arts District, the neighborhood is not only residential, but it's also a very popular retail and also dining district just north of Downtown Miami, it also draw some people from across the region.

Another type of mosquitoes don't necessarily travel very far during their life span, so the current preventive efforts right now are focused squarely on this area, hoping to eradicate any of these possible infected insects.

HOWELL: U.S. National Correspondent Paul Sandoval, thank you. Health officials say they expect more cases. Blood collection centers in Florida are now testing all of their donations for the Zika virus.

I want to give you a live look now at Krakow Poland, where the Pope, Pope Francis is holding mass with polish priests, details on where the Pope is stopping next during his trip straight ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

It may not be what you'd expect a bank robber to look like. Look at that, you'll see how two news anchors reacted to this robber in wolf's clothing straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: This just in to CNN, Belgian police arrested two men suspected of planning terrorist attacks somewhere in Belgium. Seven houses were searched on Friday in two Belgian cities.

There is no indication that the arrests are connected to the March attacks, it was attacks against an airport in a metro station in Brussels.

[04:45:08] We'll of course bring you the very latest as we get more word here on CNN.

On now to Poland, Pope Francis stopping at a number of holy sites in Krakow. The Pope holding mass right now. These live images you see at a shrine John Paul II. People gathered a short time ago outside the church to welcome him.

Earlier, Pope Francis visited the shrine of the divine mercy have heard confession from some young people there.

The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is dropping lawsuits that he had file against people who insulted him. Keep in mind insulting the Turkish President is a crime.

And since Mr. Erdogan took office, prosecutors have opened almost 2,000 cases against people including school children who insulted the Turkish president.

There is concern by the international committee of the Red Cross that more than a million people could be forced to find safer ground when coalition forces tried to retake Mosul from ISIS. That city is the Iraqi capital of the terror group and the Red Cross says there could be massive humanitarian problems when the fighting intensifies there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MARDINI, RED CROSS REGIONAL DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE: Already today one-tenth of the Iraqi population that is displaced and everyday, hundreds of families continue to be displaced and/are in need of shelter, protection and assistance.

The scenario is/of a big military operation towards Mosul presents huge challenges for the humanitarian community and may displace over 1 million persons from nine our province and its capital Mosul. The sheer magnitude of the needs could arise as a result require more than just funding. It requires an organization and people that are present on the ground and ready to take calculated risks to help people in need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: According to the Red Cross, it says it needs about $17 million to provide the humanitarian assistance that will be required there. Terrible flooding, mud and landslides and the developing typhoon topped the international weather headlines this hour.

Our meteorologist, Karen Maginnis is at the International Weather Center following at all. Karen.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we have a lot to tell you about. George, let's focus in on what's happened in the Tennessee Valley region of the United States.

Reasonably quiet for now, but take a look at that line of storms that moved across the region. We have images out of north central sections of the State of Tennessee. This is in the southeastern portion of the United States. This coming out of the best page region of Tennessee, there you can see a submerged road.

Now, four people had to be rescued as their home was swallowed up by the flood waters. How much did they see? Well the line of storms produced about four inches of rain or about 100 millimeters of rainfall in just three hours period of time.

And in Nepal, we have talked about the flooding there for the past four days. And take a look at this. They are trying to do recovery efforts. They have seen such devastating flooding there. It already has claimed the lives of at least 86 people and has devastated a number of areas, a bridge washed away and that separated people and cut them off from the rest of the area that they've had to have relief efforts across the region as well.

And now on to our typhoon, it's not a typhoon just yet, but chances are within the next 24 to 36 hours, once this moves across the Northern Philippines, we could see Typhoon Kareem. That will be the local name for the Philippines.

It looks like is it moves to the South China Sea. It will move left towards the north and northwest and more in a westerly direction. Right now, computer models are fairly confident that this is going to impact Hong Kong as we go into the beginning of the work week.

Right now the wind associated with this at 55 kilometers per hour. Its position puts it just over 600 kilometers to the east-southeast of Manila.

Looking a little better organized over the last few hours or so, but that is not to say that a few hours before that we were looking at a very ragged system but still was able to produce very significant rainfall totals across portions of the Philippines, just under 230 millimeters as it moves into the South China Sea, George, we'll watch this. It could gain typhoon intensity then and impact the city of Hong Kong which had just over 7 million inhabitants. Back to you.

HOWELL: Very, very busy time. A lot of happening. Karen, we'll stay in touch with you to follow it. Thank you.

So, if you're a bank robber. What would you choose a mask or well, how about that? A wolf mask? We'll show you how this outfit had a few reporters doubled over with laughter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WORLD SPORTS)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back to NEWSROOM, I'm George Howell. Finland is celebrating its 100 year of independence soon and they may ring in that milestone with one heck of a birthday gift, an actual mountain. Norway's prime minister says she is considering moving their border about 40 meters or that's about 130 feet, giving Finland a new highest peak. It all started with the generous Facebook campaign by a Norwegian student and his argument, we've got plenty of mountains already, why not let our neighbors have one too.

So every once in a while you are bound to come across a story that is just plain odd or strange. And for people like me whose job it is to tell those stories with a straight face, sometimes it's hard to keep a straight face. And our Jeanne Moos takes us to two news anchors who caught a very debilitating case of the giggles with one particular story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A guy robs a bank in DeKalb, Illinois while wearing a wolf mask. He points a gun, demands money, jumps over a counter and takes cash.

[04:55:03] Anchoring Chicago's weekend newscast, ABC 7's Stacey Baca starts to crack up.

STACEY BACA, ABC 7: And got away with an unknown amount of cash.

MOOS: Leaving co-anchor Ben Bradley to cope with the next story.

BEN BRADLEY: University can resume work on its $27 million renovation. The Stevens Academic Bill -- this is Stacey's fault.

MOOS: Oh, yeah, throw your co-anchor under the bus but it really was her fault.

BACA: On the race for the White House with their VO -- I am so sorry folks. A wolf mask, I'm just going to be honest.

MOOS: Maybe it was the wolf mask. Maybe it was the hat worn on top of the wolf mask. But whatever it was, there is a technical term for what happened to these anchors.

KATHY GRIFFIN, COMEDIAN: I get what I call the church giggles.

MOOS: The church giggles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many still dressed in their fury, fury costumes.

MOOS: Can strike an anchor at any time.

ANDERSON: Sorry, this has actually never happened to me.

MOOS: Church giggles can even be triggered by an unsmiling grumpy cat. But laughing at a robber in a wolf mask ...

BACA: The crime, folk, is not funny.

MOOS: ... calls for a demonstration by an anchor named wolf on how to keep a straight face.

WOLF BLITZER: The pussy willows blowing in the wind on the shores of Lake Titicaca -- I make it look easy, don't I, Anderson?

MOOS: The wolf robber lost his red hat when it fell off during the heist and police are testing it for DNA. Meanwhile, these two, drop their newscaster masks.

BACA: Wolf mask, I'm just going to ...

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

BRADLEY: The guy robbed the bank in a wolf mask.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: I know Ben Bradley from my time in Chicago. He's one of the best. But some stories, I have to say, he just can't keep a straight face. Anderson Cooper, I think takes the cake with the giggles. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell at CNN Center at Atlanta. We'll have more news after the break from around the world. Thank you for watching CNN, the world's news leader.