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Rep. Garret Graves Talks Louisiana Floods; Obama Visits Louisiana Following Flood; Iraqi Army Gaining Ground against ISIS Near Mosul; Voters Interested in Candidates' Health; Russian Hackers Target Reporters at U.S. News Organizations; Obama Speaks in Flood-Ravaged Louisiana. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 23, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, it is everything. Taking walls out, stripping the homes down really to the studs. That's what we are seeing everywhere. Just the clean-up is going to be so monumental.

I've heard a lot of people, Democrats and Republican, urging politicians, presidential candidate, to get down to Louisiana, to bring awareness to this, because folks do need donations. What does it mean to have President Obama there and what do you think about the timing of having him there?

REP. GARRET GRAVES, (R), LOUISIANA (voice-over): I think it is important to have him here. Have you people who just the -- I think the contrast of the news talking about him being on vacation, I don't think that went over well. So very appreciative of him coming down.

Look, this is not a traditional disaster. This will take an extraordinary response because of how huge it is and how big the impacts are. He needs to come down here to see it, smell it to appreciate what is going on. I know there is a lot of because you can't understand the disaster unless you're here on the ground.

KEILAR: We heard one resident earlier on in the hour saying I haven't gotten much help except for my community. My community has really come through. But of course there is a role here for the local government. There's a role for the state and federal government. How much assistance does Louisiana need from the federal government?

GRAVES: Well, look, you're exactly right. There is a role for the local and state government. You can play the scenario out thousands and thousands of times over. People have experienced water anywhere from two feet high to over the ceiling. They've lost both cars because they are flooded out. Their home is destroyed. They lost their cars, furniture. Their employer is under water. They are upside down in their mortgage. Again, play that out thousands and thousands of times. Even schools aren't open. The churches aren't open. So there is the government response from the government. And I think when you look at examples like Hurricane Sandy and Katrina and others this is what you would compare them to. You just look at a different type of recovery or response package. A traditional response simply isn't sufficient. KEILAR: We have a lot of viewers watching and a lot of people have

seen the devastation. What do you want to tell them about how they can help people in Louisiana?

All right, I think we lost Congressman Graves, unfortunately.

You can go to CNN.com/impact. We can link you up with ways to help people there just in this tremendously devastated area.

Coming up, explosions rocking the landscape. Black smoke billowing into the sky and the fight for Mosul rages. The view from front lines, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:37:20] KEILAR: Just to give you a quick update on President Obama, he is visiting victims in Louisiana. Our own Nick Valencia is reporting he is also expected to meet with families of the Baton Rouge police officers killed last month by a gunman. The president will speak to the press after his tour of this neighborhood and we will bring you his remarks when they happen.

I also want to bring back in CNN White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski, for more on this ongoing tour and response from the White House to this disaster.

Michelle, this has been an issue for President Obama.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, definitely. And we will hear what he says in a few minutes now. How much politics plays into that? You know President Obama wants to keep politics out of this. But inevitably it has come in.

Just given the time frame, and we are talking about Superstorm Sandy earlier and the response to that, that was also, remember, right before the 2012 election. You have President Obama told by then- Republican Mayor of New York, don't come just now, wait a little while. So President Obama visited thereabout two weeks after the storm. But before that, if you remember, it was the Republican governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, who welcomed President Obama coming even sooner, within days of Sandy hitting. But at that time, it wasn't President Obama who was criticized for his visit. In the sense of New Jersey at least, very timely visit. It was Christie who was criticized for being seen by some as cozying up to President Obama for complimenting the federal response, for giving him a hug at one point. So it really works both ways here. And we will see what President Obama has to say as well as the response to that.

The White House is mostly concerned with the local response, with reaching out to people, with connecting with them. And most importantly or disbursing federal fund already on the way -- Brianna?

KEILAR: I was waiting in Ohio with President Obama at the time and he cancelled his events and instead went to the Jersey shore and I recall, Michelle, even after the election when Obama won there were folks who had supported Romney who felt that Chris Christie had really -- some say he cost Romney the election, whether that's true or not, but they did not like that he did. That's a good point.

KOSINSKI: Especially right before an election, something like how a storm response can work for or against everyone involved and how politics play into that.

KEILAR: And a risk on which way you go. You don't know how it is going to turn out.

KOSINSKI: Absolutely.

[13:39:00] KEILAR: Michelle Kosinski, at the White House. Thank so you much.

Turning now to the war against ISIS, Iraqi troop saying they cut off a key supply route into the city of Mosul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSIONS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now Iraqi forces say they have detonated at least five suicide car bombs targeting security forces. Iraqi leaders say they believe the city will be retaken by the end of the year.

We have CNN senior national correspondent, Arwa Damon, near the front lines. She said ISIS is trying to inflict maximum damage at it tries to retreat from key areas south of Mosul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under apocalyptic skies blackened by thick smoke is Qayyarah, the next target for Iraqi forces. ISIS used to move around 100 oil tankers of crude a day out of these fields, now set aflame by ISIS fighters to decrease visibility from above.

We are some 65 kilometers or 40 miles south of Mosul. Land Iraqi forces have not stepped in since ISIS took over more than two years ago. Their corpses are left to rot in the sun.

And the commander tells us ISIS appears to be weakening.

UNIDENTIFIED IRAQI COMMANDER: Before, as I told you, the majority of fighters attacking on were foreign fighters. Now they put foreign fighters with local fighters. Now I think they have lack on the foreign fighters.

DAMON: On display, weapons, troops found in residential homes. Among them, home-made mortar tubes and mortars larger than anything the Iraqis have at their disposal.

Another significant gain in this area, this is the third largest air base in Iraqi. Leaving, we are told, explosives under piles of dirt on the runways that need to be cleared. This will always be a vital forward base for the Iraqis and

potentially U.S. forces.

Families fleeing haul what they can, stumbling away from the fighting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): They took half of our men and force them to fight for them. They killed my father.

DAMON: Tears for all they lost. Loved ones gone in a war that few can comprehend. The lives they knew ask loved dissent grade years ago.

To the southeast of Mosul, the Kurdish Peshmerga has pushed their front line forward, as well. The Peshmerga makes its way along east and north. The villages controlled by ISIS visible in the distance.

Here, too, they have noticed is weakening, showing us how ISIS moved this had nondescript buildings like this.

(on camera): The Peshmerga fighters did initially drop down and take a few steps into what appeared to be some sort of tunnel. But rather than taking their chances, they decided to withdrawal and seal off the entrance.

(voice-over): The chokehold around Mosul is tightening and the government pledged to liberate the city by the end of the year. It's still the goal. The battle there with over a million civilians will be different from the ones out here. The success will be defined in land gains, not lives destroyed or lost.

Arwa Damon, CNN, south of Mosul, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And Arwa Damon joining me now from Irbil.

Tell us, Arwa, more about what you have been witnessing today.

DAMON: Well, we were down at that front line and in the town you heard us speaking about in the report in those images with that black thick smoke rising. And for the entire day it continued to darken, all of the skies. Despite that we did see numerous air coalition air strikes. Very slow going for forces. One of the roads they were trying to use to the south to enter into the city was if lane with roadside bombs. Vehicles that were booby trapped in that are they were attacked by some is fighters driving vehicles, basically. Suicide car bombers attempting to attack them.

But the other aspect of all of this, when we are talking about military preparedness is, of course, the humanitarian side of it. And, Brianna, there is an estimate, according to Iraqi commander, 10,000 civilians in the town of Qayyarah alone. We don't know what happened to them at this stage. We do know that historically ISIS has used a population as human shields. And there are children, there are parents there trying to protect their children from the violence. Looking for, but failing to find escape routes. And what we see Qayyarah in and of itself is a fraction of the

military challenges the Iraqis will be facing but also the potential humanitarian catastrophe that will be generated once they reach their final target and that is Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul.

[13:45:17] KEILAR: How does the battle shift the closer they get to Mosul?

DAMON: That's what is interesting to a certain degree. Because bar what we are seeing right now in Qayyarah, both Iraqis and Peshmerga say they see ISIS putting up less than a fight than they had experienced in the past. The ISIS positions outside of the city of Mosul itself, but even within it have been the subject of some very heavy coalition air strikes. And in fact, everyone will admit that without the coalition support they are receiving they wouldn't have been able to reach the point they are at today.

But the key issue is that Mosul is most likely going to be very different. Most of the villages and towns are in open terrain and fairly small. Mosul is a city with anywhere from one to two million people. It has very winding densely packed roads that would be ideal for an entity like ISIS to use if it wants to try to draw in Iraqi security force and engage them in street-to-street combat. It also has some very well-developed portions of the city. So there is a concern for the population there. And this is -- the assault on the city of Mosul taking place on a single city via military in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. That gives an idea of the challenges that lie ahead. And there is unpredictability because ISIS is known to be an entity that quickly changes tactics.

KEILAR: Arwa Damon, thank you for that great report.

Arwa, tomorrow, has the story of the refugee children who has had to flee the city of Mosul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: They spent seven, eight, nine hours walking just to get here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Still ahead, most voters want to know the presidential candidate is fit enough to work in office. Up next, Dr. Sanjay Gupta breaks down what we know about the physical condition of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

And we are just moments away from President Obama -- from President Obama speaking live in Louisiana after touring the catastrophic flood damage. These are live pictures you are looking at now. We will bring you that as soon as it happens.

Thanks. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [13:51:41] KEILAR: We have live pictures we're showing you of President Obama there in Zachary, Louisiana. This is a flood-damaged area. He is touring the catastrophic damage there. Actually, correction, this is just moments ago. These are taped images of a moment ago. President Obama is there speaking to victims in the area. Shortly, he is going to give a statement about his visit and the federal government's role in cleaning up the area. These are live pictures of his visit.

Well, Hillary Clinton says she just doesn't understand why the Trump campaign keeps bringing up bogus claims surrounding her health. She responded to the false rumors by joking about them during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: Can you open this jar of pickles?

(LAUGHTER)

KIMMEL: This is -

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Both candidates released brief health records in 2015.

Let's get a fact check of them. Joining me now, CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, there are these conspiracy theories out there. We want to know what are the facts that we actually know about Hillary Clinton's health.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me preface by saying that, Brianna, doctors, like journalists, would information as possible. In this case, we have letters from the doctors, sort of summarizing the health.

We got a letter from secretary Clinton's doctor who talks about -- ends the whole letter by saying, look, she's fit to be president, she's fit to hold that job. Talks about her health history, going back quite some time. We know, for example, she had a blood clot, known as a DVT, back in 1998. Again, in 2009. Then she had this injury to the head when she slipped and fell and also developed a blood clot in one of the veins around the brain at that time as well. So we know that she's treated with blood thinning medications as a result of these clots. We know that she's treated for hypothyroidism. She has allergies. These are the sorts of facts that they put through in one of these letters. But again, they sort of make an assessment as someone who's examined Secretary Clinton. I have not. But the doctor has examined her says she's if it to car fit to carry out the duties of the job. That's the summary of the letter.

KEILAR: And Donald Trump letter was very different. When you read it, what jumped out as you as a doctor?

GUPTA: To be honest, what jumped out at me was it isn't the type of letter that a doctor would typically write. "Donald Trump would be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." How can one know that sort of thing? But also terms like "astonishingly excellent" as a way to describe laboratory results, and blood pressure. Also talking about test scores. The PSA test score came back. We always talk about "the results," not a "test score." It is not the SAT exam, for example. Then, also looking at things like, "someone that has a positive result." In medicine, it is a good thing if you have a negative result, not a positive result. I only point that out, not to pick on the guy, but rather to say that is typically not how these types of letters are written. So that's what jumped out at me, in addition to the fact that there is just not a lot there. There is not a lot of objective information which we want. We always want more, as I said, Brianna. But this one has an astonishing lack of it.

[13:55:16] KEILAR: How important is a clean bill of health? We are talking about two candidates who are old, comparatively, to others.

GUPTA: This is almost more of a nationwide philosophical issue. There is no panel to sort of say, hey, look, we want to set up an independent panel aside from the doctors to establish what the health of the candidate is and what is necessary to be able to carry out that job. That doesn't exist. So we are working in a little bit of a vacuum here. I think how important is sort of -- how important it is, when you poll people on it, it sort of depends on the overall health of the candidates that they interpret. Someone's on campaign trail, they see them working day and night. They see the kinds of foods that they eat. They see the kind of temperament they may have. That is the only thing that really the voters have to go on, is their judgment based on what they're seeing. Sometimes that can be very deceiving.

KEILAR: Sanjay, thank you so much for breaking that down for us.

GUPTA: You've got it.

KEILAR: A very important and complicated issue. We do appreciate it.

We are monitoring President Obama. He is in Louisiana looking at the flood-ravaged area. He's talking to the FEMA director, Craig Fugate, someone who's been in Louisiana before in closer proximity to the time this started. Obama administration is saying they have their top guys on this but it is President Obama taking several days to make it down to Louisiana that has him facing some criticism from Republicans. And also some concern from Democrats in Louisiana who just want people like President Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton to get there to raise awareness and help bring in the donations that this area so badly, badly needs, where you have tens of thousands of people who are out of their homes, only a small portion of them with insurance to deal with this flooding. It is a clean-up of gigantic proportions. And President Obama is getting an impression of that right now in Zachary, Louisiana.

We also have some breaking news. Hackers thought to be working for Russian intelligence have carried out a series of cyber breaches targeting reporters at "The New York Times" and other U.S. news organizations, according to U.S. officials briefed on this matter.

CNN's Evan Perez joining us live now with the details.

Evan, what do we know?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, the FBI is investigating these series of intrusions that are believed to be the work of hackers working for Russian intelligence, and that these hackers were targeting "The New York Times" reporters, as well as some reporters for other news organizations.

What's really emerging from this intrusion, these breaches, is the picture that perhaps Russian intelligence appears to be trying to breach organizations in Washington who have a window into the U.S. political system. They're going beyond the usual hacks against U.S. government agencies. They're targeting think tanks. Obviously, we know previously that they hacked -- or believed to have hacked the DNC and other Democratic Party organizations. Now we've learned about these hacks are targeting "The New York Times" reporters and reporters for other news organizations.

We did reach out to "The New York Times." They declined to comment on this attack or whether or not there is an investigation of it. But they did say the following, "Like most news organizations, we are vigilant about guarding against attacks to hacks into our systems and there is a variety of approaches we take up to and including working with outside investigators and law enforcement."

Brianna, we're told the "Times" has brought in some outside cyber security investigators and they are working with the FBI to try to figure out how these hackers got in and what the damage is.

There is a scary proposal that comes out of this, obviously, the fact that if you get into reporters' contacts, you might able to learn who they are talking to in the U.S. government, as well as their communications and e-mails. That is all part of this investigation by the FBI -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Evan Perez, thank you so much for that report. Very alarming.

What you are seeing in the small screen there, President Obama is expected to speak to reporters any moment in Zachary, Louisiana, touring a neighborhood impacted by the deadly floods. We'll bring you that live.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK) [13:59:51] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here we are, top of the hour.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank for being with me.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, as you are watching CNN's special coverage of President Obama's response to one of the country's worst natural disasters in recent history.

In fact, let's listen in. Here is the president.