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CNN NEWSROOM

Race for the White House; Fighting for Iraq; Crisis in Syria; Maduro Threatens to Arrest Opposition Lawmakers; Antarctica's Ross Sea Becomes Protected Marine Park. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired October 29, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


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HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's imperative that the bureau explain this issue in question, whatever it is, without any delay.

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The issue in question: e- mails. The latest scandal plaguing U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. We don't know yet if it, though, is a scandal or what it is.

Also a smile despite horror: ISIS victims find sanctuary in a refugee camp.

A celebration five years in the making: the new agreement that will make the Antarctic home to the world's largest protected marine park. The penguins they're safe there.

Hello, everyone. This is CNN NEWSROOM. We are live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.

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ALLEN: As the U.S. presidential race counts down its final days until the election, Hillary Clinton's campaign is in full damage control. The controversy over her private e-mail server, which the FBI put to rest back in July, suddenly re-emerged Friday as big as ever.

The FBI revealed it had uncovered thousands of e-mails from a top Clinton aide that appeared germane to its now-closed investigation. Clinton was caught off guard by the news.

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CLINTON: First we knew about it is, I assume, when you knew about it, when this letter sent to Republican members of the House was released. So we don't know the facts, which is why we are calling on the FBI to release all the information that it has.

Even Director Comey noted that this new information may not be significant. So let's get it out.

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ALLEN: The timing could not have been better for Donald Trump. His campaign has been struggling for weeks. But as soon as the FBI director broke the news to Congress, the Republican candidate ran with it. He called it quote, "the biggest political scandal since Watergate." And after Clinton addressed the issue, Trump accused her of lying.

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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In her very brief remarks tonight, Hillary Clinton tried to politicize this investigation by attacking and falsely accusing the FBI director of only sending the letter to Republicans, another Clinton lie.

As it turned out it was sent to both Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress. The FBI would have never have reopened this case at this time unless it were a most egregious criminal offense.

As you know, I've had plenty of words about the FBI lately, but I give them great credit for having the courage to right this horrible wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The FBI formally closed its investigation into Clinton's private server back in July. To explain how the controversy suddenly came back to life, here's CNN Justice correspondent Pamela Brown.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The e-mails that prompted the new probe were on a device being examined as part of the Anthony Weiner sexting investigation, according to law enforcement sources.

Weiner was recently separated from top Hillary Clinton aide, Huma Abedin.

In the letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Comey writes, quote, "In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of e-mails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation."

He went on to say, "The FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these e-mails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation."

The e-mails in question are not from Hillary Clinton but were sent or received by Abedin, according to a law enforcement official. This comes just three months after Comey told Congress the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server was complete. REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: Did Hillary Clinton break the law?

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: In connection with her use of the e-mail server, my judgment is that she did not.

BROWN (voice-over): Law enforcement sources say the newly discovered e-mails did not surface from the FBI investigation into hacked Clinton campaign e-mails released by WikiLeaks or The Clinton Foundation.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I need to open with a very critical breaking news announcement.

BROWN (voice-over): Republicans immediately pounced, Donald Trump celebrating the news in front of a cheering crowd in New Hampshire.

And Speaker Paul Ryan tweeting, "Yet again --

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BROWN (voice-over): " -- Hillary Clinton has nobody but herself to blame. She was entrusted with some of our nation's most important secrets. And she betrayed that trust by carelessly mishandling highly classified information. I renew my call for the director of national intelligence to suspend all classified briefings for Secretary Clinton until this matter is fully resolved."

Comey's announcement potentially reversing course from the FBI's previous decision.

COMEY: Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.

BROWN (voice-over): Now the question is, could that change?

BROWN: Director Comey said in his letter to Congress that he doesn't know when this review of the additional e-mails will wrap up. But there's a strong likelihood that won't happen until after the election.

Now as for the timing of this letter, we're told that Director Comey found out about the additional emails Thursday afternoon and felt compelled to share this information with Congress after he had already given sworn testimony that the investigation had been closed -- Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.

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ALLEN: Earlier, I asked CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza about the long-standing practice at the Justice Department to do nothing that could be seen as trying to influence the election.

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RYAN LIZZA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. A lot of former Justice Department officials have noted today that there is a ironclad rule at the Justice Department, do not do anything that could impact a presidential race.

And that means don't -- you know, there's this sort of a 60-day rule. Now Comey apparently believed that, because he'd already gone public with this investigation, he'd released all the internal documents from this investigation and he had told Congress in testimony that this investigation was over, he apparently believed that he had a responsibility to report back to Congress on this new development.

You know, I think the Clinton campaign is rightfully, you know, upset about this, that he sort of dropped this bomb with no further detail. So as you point out, she came out tonight and said, wait a second, you're throwing this out there without any information, allowing others to sort of fill in the blanks or assume the worst. Give us some more information about what's going on here, what exactly are you looking at?

The fact that this is -- that this is Anthony Weiner's laptop has only been disclosed anonymously from government officials. That was not in the FBI director's letter. So a lot of this is coming out in drips from anonymous officials rather than in a more formal way from the FBI director.

The Clinton campaign is saying that's not good enough. Tell the American people exactly what's going on here. Because look, voters are rightfully confused about this development. And it's very hard for them to sort of understand whether this is something explosive or just some bureaucratic, you know, just the bureaucracy spinning its wheels.

ALLEN: And this gives new fuel to Trump, of course, who has previous seen his poll numbers increase again and this gives renewed oomph to his Crooked Hillary stance.

LIZZA: It sure does. And you know, this campaign has been very unusual in that when the focus is on Trump, Trump's numbers tend to go down. When the focus is on Hillary Clinton, her numbers tend to go down or, at the very least, Trump numbers seem to go up.

So Hillary Clinton lost 2-3 points the last time that this e-mail issue was -- there was a bright spotlight on this. And so just based on that pattern, I think you'd have to expect that this is not good for her.

The spotlight is back on questions about this sort of complicated e- mail scandal. And with 11 days to go, you know, she has to be concerned that this will turn off some of those final voters who are making up their mind.

And it's a tricky thing. She came out today and said she wants more information about this from the FBI director. On the other hand, that will also keep this in the news if the FBI does go forward with some more information. I was sort of curious that they did that.

I thought maybe the best thing for them would be to just not say anything and let the news cycle move on to something else. But it seems like we are going to be talking about it right up until Election Day.

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ALLEN: The recurring e-mail controversy is just one of many issues confronting American voters. Some voters are so conflicted they are having a tough time making up their minds. CNN's Jessica Schneider reports from North Carolina.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really having an issue with Trump this year. And I don't really want to vote for Hillary, either.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just kind of stumped right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really not sure which side I want to go with.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a must-win state for Donald Trump. And with just days to go, it's still a toss- up for some here in Apex, North Carolina. Al Casteletto (ph) showed up to vote early at the town center --

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SCHNEIDER (voice-over): -- still undecided.

SCHNEIDER: You're walking in to vote.

Have you made up your mind?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I have not.

SCHNEIDER: What's keeping you from making that decision?

AL CASTELETTO (PH), EARLY VOTER: It's a tough decision this year. There's so many different aspects of the election this year.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): He prides himself on being independent, but this year's vote left him unsure of his decision, until the very end.

SCHNEIDER: You're going to wait in line a little bit, get that ballot, when are you going to make your decision?

CASTELETTO (PH): When I have the ballot in front of me, I'm going to say, this is my decision. I'm going to live with it and that's it. That's where I stand right now.

SCHNEIDER: Casteletto (ph) thinks he's just one of many of conflicted voters and he may be right.

KITTY SWENNES, EARLY VOTER: When you go in, you want to make sure you make the right choice for my children, for what's going on in the world. It's so hard with what's available to us.

SCHNEIDER: Shannon Martin usually votes Republican, but he's wrestling with his decision. SHANNON MARTIN, UNDECIDED VOTER: If there was a third party option that I knew was going to make a difference that would throw it to whether neither candidate would get 270 electoral votes, then I would probably lean more towards that way.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): So you want neither candidate to get 270 electoral votes?

MARTIN: I'd rather that happen.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Bev McKernie has always voted Republican. This year, she's not so sure.

BEV MCKERNIE, UNDECIDED VOTER: I am, I'm conflicted and I don't know what I going to do until I probably get there.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): You'll just close your eyes and vote?

MCKERNIE: Yes.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Her 26-year-old daughter, Shannon, is equally torn.

SCHNEIDER: Have you made up your mind yet, for your vote?

SHANNON MCKERNIE, UNDECIDED VOTER: No, I haven't. I'll probably lean towards Hillary because I don't like what's been said in the news about Donald Trump and what he's been saying.

SCHNEIDER: You'll look for divine intervention?

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Many looking for divine intervention to help with their decision, but most people agree it is their civic duty and they plan to get out and vote -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Apex, North Carolina.

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ALLEN: Other news now, Iraq says its military is making progress in the offensive to reclaim Mosul. Troops are holding positions just kilometers from the ISIS stronghold city. As they get closer, ISIS appears to be getting deadlier.

The United Nations said ISIS executed 232 civilians this week for being disobedient. The U.N. also said ISIS is holding tens of thousands of people as human shields. Nick Paton Walsh is on the front lines of this offensive.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the last Iraqi special forces position before the hit ISIS' front lines here and we are just within two kilometers of the city limits of Mosul; in fact, seven kilometers from the very city center itself. This really is where exchanges of fire occur hour by hour with ISIS

militants who are, in fact, using, behind the berm here a truck, it seems, to occasionally pop up in position and then open fire.

In the distance behind me over my shoulder is where they've seen ISIS, in fact, moving around quite simply between the houses where they are. Kokjali (ph) is the key town. In the distance, that is Mosul, really. Inside its city limits we hear from residents that ISIS are amassing car bombs in that area to move forward down the road and perhaps attack these positions.

These are Iraqis' elite golden division, American-trained, good equipment and they're tasked with the difficult task of moving into that urban sprawl at some point in the future.

But at this stage, their exchanging mortar fire regularly with ISIS here, seeing some of their most rugged and determined fighters at the end of their scopes here and gearing in for potentially lengthy and bloody fight ahead. But so close to Mosul here, a substantial job left ahead.

At this point, they're still sizing up and trying to soften those ISIS positions that have been in there for months, just across the dust behind me -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, near Mosul.

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ALLEN: As you can imagine, many of the families rescued from ISIS' control are traumatized and, to say the least, happy to be free. They're arriving at refugee camps and telling horror stories of life with ISIS before liberation. CNN's Arwa Damon visited one camp and shares their stories.

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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite the basic conditions at this refugee camp sprouted east of Mosul, there are still smiles.

It's over. They survived.

Nine-year-old Fatima hid with her family under the stairs.

(Speaking foreign language).

She says she was scared. And there were a lot of airstrikes.

Her uncle says an airstrike destroyed the wall in their home and they escaped by using a ladder to try to jump over the wall of their house into another house, where they thought that they would be safer.

Like everyone here Shansa Dinabas (ph) cannot stop talking about ISIS' iron fist. In this particular village, he's saying that ISIS took their cellphones away --

[03:15:00] DAMON: -- over a year ago. And then two to three months ago, they forced everyone to remove their television satellite dishes.

His friends, his neighbors had a little radio that they kept hidden and that's how they were getting snippets of news. Or sometimes they would turn on the radio inside their cars.

Outside his tent, we meet his grandkids. They have just seen their father for the first time in two years.

Oh, she kissed her father when she saw him. And this is his other son. He was 2 months old or 3 months old the last time he saw his father and they were finally reunited today.

These families all say they didn't flee when ISIS first arrived. They believed the fighters, who said we will not interfere in your lives. They had no idea what horrors ISIS would bring.

And for many, it was about long-term survival. They are shepherds. This is their livelihood, all they own in life, sheep and goats, now also being loaded into trucks away from the battle zone.

Dana says they lived in a constant state of terror.

So she's just telling us about the birth of her son. He is just 3 months old and ISIS did let her go out to the hospital to give birth. But she's saying it cost a lot of money, the equivalent of around $40. And that's considered cheap.

Others were charged double.

They brought their pigeons with them because pigeon breeding is quite a hobby here.

She's saying that it's the only thing that they kind of had left that they enjoyed. She's had pigeons in her family ever since she was a little girl. And for the last five months, there was no television at home. So the pigeons went from being a hobby to pretty much being their only source of entertainment, especially for the children.

And though they don't know what the future will bring, now, for the first time in over two years, they can sleep in peace -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Hazid (ph), Iraq.

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ALLEN: A new round of attacks punishes Aleppo.

Who's behind the assault?

And who says he wants to hold back from fighting?

The Russian president?

Yes. We've got Aleppo coming up here. Plus: how nations work together to keep a beautiful Antarctic bay unspoiled for decades to come. That's also ahead. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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ALLEN: At least 15 people are dead, scores more wounded after a new assault on Aleppo by the rebels. The Russian military asked President Vladimir Putin for permission --

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ALLEN: -- to resume its airstrikes after rebels started their offensive. Mr. Putin says now is not the right time. Ivan Watson has the latest.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Residents of the divided Syrian city of Aleppo woke up to an awful sound on Friday, barrage of rockets, mortars and artillery launched by rebels.

It was part of a rebel offensive against the Western government- controlled part of the city, aimed at breaking through Syrian government siege lines around Aleppo's rebel-controlled east.

To punch through government fortifications, rebels unleashed at least three armored car bombs, equipped with devastating firepower. As the rebels attacked, the top diplomats from the Syrian government and its most important foreign patrons, Russia and Iran, met in Moscow, Russia's foreign minister blaming the rebels for the collapse of a brief unilateral cessation of airstrikes, declared by Moscow and Damascus last week.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Today the situation in the region of Aleppo has seriously deteriorated. The cease-fire has been broken by the opposition. The United States and their allies in the region were unwilling or unable to maintain the cease-fire.

WATSON (voice-over): The Syrian government and Russia bombed besieged Eastern Aleppo for months, killing at least 400 people there in October alone, according to a top United Nations official.

STEPHEN O'BRIEN, U.N. EMERGENCY COORDINATOR: The Aleppo offensive by Syrian and Russian military forces has been the most sustained and intensive aerial bombardment campaign witnessed since the beginning of the conflict more than half a decade ago.

The results in human terms have been horrific. Aleppo has essentially become a kill zone. WATSON: The fact is, there are no angels in this awful, grinding five-year war. In the last few days, independent observers have accused both the Syrian regime and the rebels of carrying deadly attacks against schools in Northern Syria.

WATSON (voice-over): The U.N. saying airstrikes against a school near the rebel-held city of Idlib killed dozens, including at least 20 children on Tuesday, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says rebel artillery killed at least six children in government-held Aleppo on Thursday.

And with the rebels' latest indiscriminate shelling of Western Aleppo, the grim death toll in Syria just continues to rise -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Istanbul.

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ALLEN: Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro said his rival's attempt to stage a nationwide strike on Friday failed. Some businesses closed; others stayed open rather than risk arrests that Maduro promised.

The opposition wants to recall Mr. Maduro in a referendum and some lawmakers want to put him on political trial in the legislature. Mr. Maduro says action against him is illegal.

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NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): If they violate the constitution and hold an alleged political trial that is not in our Magna Carta, the attorney general of the republic in representation of all Venezuelans should file suit, file a complaint before the courts and imprison all of those who violate the constitution, whether they are deputies or not.

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ALLEN: Polls show most Venezuelans want Mr. Maduro out of power. Many say 17 years of socialism helped ruin the economy of this oil- rich country.

Record-setting heat is expected this weekend across much of the Central United States. Our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam, is at the International Weather Center.

And if this continues for a month or two, we may have more believers in climate change.

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ALLEN: A remote bay -- really remote -- is becoming a very special sanctuary for the penguins, killer whales and every other creature that lives there. It is located just off Antarctica. Jonathan Mann reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Antarctica's Ross Sea, its icy, pristine waters are home to thousands of species, including penguins, seals and whales and will now become the largest protected marine park.

After five years of negotiations, 24 countries and the European Union agreed unanimously to the deal on Friday. Supporters cheered the decision at a meeting in Australia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a major step forward for marine conservation globally. So it's a wonderful moment.

MANN (voice-over): The new sanctuary covers more than 1.5 million square kilometers of ocean that will be protected from commercial fishing for 35 years. Scientists and supporters call the agreement a milestone in efforts to protect marine diversity and to understand the effects of climate change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so it has to do with the unique qualities of the Ross Sea that has led us to spend all this effort.

MANN (voice-over): Before agreeing Friday, Russia had blocked five previous proposals for the massive marine park. But a United Nations official gave credit to Lewis Pugh and what he called his "Speedo diplomacy" for bringing the Russians around.

Pugh, a swimmer and environmental advocate, actually swam in the near- freezing waters last year to bring attention to the issue. Now he and other Ross Sea supporters will work to make the protected area permanent -- Jonathan Mann, CNN.

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ALLEN: Score one for the animals.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. We will have more on the U.S. election coming up on "POLITICAL MANN" but I will be right back with our top stories.

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