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Bashar al-Assad Says Army is Undermanned; Turkey Requests NATO Meeting; A Terrorist Attack in Mogadishu Has Killed at Least 15 People; CNN Poll: Donald Trump Leading GOP Field; Christians in Gerissa Standing up to Terrorism; Hulk Hogan Apologizes for Rant Caught on Sex Tape. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 27, 2015 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Stretched thin and losing ground, Syria's President makes some remarkable admissions in his first public statements in a year.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN, ANCHOR: And turmoil in Turkey after a wave of violent protests and deadly attacks. The government steps up the fight against terrorism.
VAUSE: And the Teflon Don. The brash talking, mudslinging Donald Trump leads the field in the race for the republican nomination for U.S. President.
ASHER: Thank you so much for being with us wherever you may be around the world. I'm Zain Asher.
VAUSE: Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. This is CNN NEWSROOM. We begin this hour with that surprising admission from Syria's President about the state of the country's civil war.
Bashar al-Assad says his army is undermanned. In a televised speech Sunday, al-Assad conceded the country's forces are stretched thin and the government is struggling to fend off ISIS and other Islamic militants.
ASHER: al-Assad also announced amnesty for draft dodgers and deserters to boost the military's numbers. He said he's prioritizing the areas the Syrian forces will defend simply because there aren't enough people in the fight. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOPLAY)
BASHAR AL-ASSAD, PRESIDENT, SYRIA: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPOKEN). We must define the important regions that the armed forces hold on to so it doesn't allow the collapse of the rest of the areas. (FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPOKEN). Everything is available but there is a shortfall in human capacity.
(END VIDEOPLAY)
VAUSE: Well all us go to our military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. So Colonel, if Assad is willing to admit publicly that his forces are stretched thin, how back is the reality?
RICK FRANCONA, CNN COMENTATOR : That must be really bad. I was shocked when I heard this. I listened to the speech and I've been following the Syrian press and even up until yesterday, it was all -- you know, they're in control of the situation.
I know that -- you rally on the ground is much different for the president to come out and say that, and for he to admit that they're going to have to prioritize orders, things are really bad. And having to extend an amnesty to all of the deserters and draft dodgers just underscores how bad it is.
VAUSE: And with that question of territory, it seems that Assad in many ways is kind of acknowledging what a lot of people predicted that his forces would hold to maybe -- what, about a half or maybe a third of what was Syria before the war. So is this the future? Is this what Syria will look like from this point on?
FRANCONA: It's hard to say. You know, if you look at the disposition of forces there, it's not just the, you know, the Syrian Army and a group, an organized group of rebels. You've got multiple groups in there controlling sizeable portions of the country.
ISIS probably has the biggest chunk. Then you've got the Kurds, then you've got the Free Syrian Army and the al-Qaeda in Syria. The Jebatal Mistral (ph) group. All of them holding different areas.
If you look at what the Syrian government actually controls, it's just the main highways and that Al Owe (ph) homeland up in the mountains and the city of Damasks. So we could see the breakup of Syria if something isn't solved here in the near future.
VAUSE: He did talk about the changing political landscape and how many countries are now recognizing the dangers posed by, I guess ISIS and those other militant groups. My read on that is that he was essentially saying, that's taking the pressure off him in some way.
How real is that shift especially in the focus by the U.S. and its allies?
FRANCONA: Well it's interesting when you look at the situation in Iraq compared to the situation in Syria. In Iraq everybody is allied against ISIS, even people we call strange bedfellows, we, the Iranians, and the Arab Coalition.
And, but in Syria you've got groups working against each other in one country and then with each other in the other. And al-Assad is hoping that at some point people are going to say, ISIS represents the greater threat, and we should all ally and defeat ISIS.
And if we can work out our differences political later. Up until now the United States has been very reluctant to do that and with the introduction of American trained rebels back into Syria, I think that we're telling Assad, we're not ready and willing to talk to you about cooperation with ISIS.
VAUSE: And --
FRANCONA: In the fight against ISIS.
VAUSE: And if the United States isn't willing to talk, Assad certainly isn't will to talk. He said there's no real desire for any kind of peace negotiations. And is that a direct result of what he sees each faction playing -- each one off I guess.
FRANCONA: Yes, I think that's right, John. But I also think that he would be willing to sit down and talk to anybody that could guarantee his survival. And that will be his bottom line going in, is that I have to survive this, of course.
You know the Turks are not going to go along with that, and we certainly aren't right now. So something has got to change in Syria. It can't go on like this. It's just a -- it's just a blood bath with no real side gaining the upper hand. I call it a real stalemate right now.
VAUSE: Yes, it seems we've been saying something's got to give for years now, and I guess, you're that the question is when. Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, we appreciate you being with us. Thank you, sir.
FRANCONA: Always good to be with you, John.
ASHER: More now on the fight against ISIS and the injured now. Brookman surrender to Turkish officials before being returned to Australia. He faces up to ten years in prison. Turkey is struggling to deal with a series of violent attacks in the meantime.
On Sunday a Turkish police officer was shot to death while trying to break up a demonstration. The protesters were denouncing a crackdown on groups outlawed by the government. The crackdown is part of a reaction to a week of attacks in southern Turkey that kills dozens of people.
VAUSE: And Turkey has requested a NATO meeting to discuss it's ramped up offensive against terror groups. That meeting set for Tuesday. Arwa Damon has more now on Turkey's new forceful response to terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARWA DAMON, CNN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Since Monday's suicide bombing in the southern town of Suruc (ph) that left at least 32 people dead. Turkey has opened two fronts against terrorist organizations it deems to be a national security threat, blaming the suicide bombing on ISIS.
And now for the first time, actively and aggressively going after, using fighter jets and artillery, ISIS targets inside Syria. And at the same time, Turkish fighter jets also pounding Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK positions in Northern Iraq.
And on the domestic front, launching a nationwide anti-terrorism operation, sweeping up some 600 individuals, Turkish authorities claim are members of or parts of various different terrorist organizations.
And while all this is unfolding, Turkey finally coming to an agreement to allow coalition aircraft, the use of Turkish airbases and Turkish airspace to launch attacks inside Syria against ISIS. But all of this is really causing a lot of concern amongst the population here that had been hoping this country could somehow avoid being dragged deeper into war.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And earlier we spoke with Soner Cagaptay, an expert on Turkish politics and nationalism.
ASHER: That's right. He explained just what Turkey expects to get out of the NATO meeting on Tuesday. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SONER CAGAPTY: I think this is really to build international support for their actions against ISIS and PKK. As we know in the last few days, the country has been striking bases of ISIS and PKK a Kurdish group inside Iraq and Syria.
So what they're trying to do, is they're trying to shore up international support, short of U.N. resolution, this is the best they can do. And I think the alliance will come forward in strong favor in Turkey's acts.
The White House has already supported Turkey's right to defend itself against the PKK. So I think that members of NATO alliance will support Turkey, say that Turkey is doing the right thing to defend itself.
But it will be a stretch of political reality to imagine that the alliance would actual invoke Article 5, which is when it would call it's members to help Turkey militarily. In this decade plus in the history of NATO, Article 5 has only been invoked once after the September 11th attack to defend the United States.
So I think it's going to stop at Article 4.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: We turn now to terrorism in Africa. An attack by terror group, al-Shabaab has killed at least 15 people in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Police say a suicide bomber drove a vehicle loaded with explosives into the front gate of a luxury hotel there.
VAUSE: al-Shabaab says it was targeting western diplomats. The hotel is home to a number of diplomatic missions including China. U.S. President Barack Obama is in neighboring Ethiopia for 2 days. He flew out of Kenya and landed Sunday in capital Addis Ababa.
ASHER: Mr. Obama is the first U.S. president to visit the east African country while in office. He's set to talk about anti- terrorism and other issues as well. A more serious tone than the rock star reception he got while visiting his father's homeland in Kenya. Jim Acosta has more on Obama's trip there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITEHOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Obama capped an emotional return to the land of his father with an impassioned speech steeped in Kenyan pride.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And of course I'm the first Kenyan American to be president of the United States. (LAUGHTER). (APPLAUSE). That goes without saying.
ACOSTA: But even as he tried to weave his own family into a larger narrative of hope for the African people --
OBAMA: I believe there is no limit to what you can achieve.
ACOSTA: The president issued a challenge to the continent of his ancestors to change by rejecting the oppression of women --
OBAMA: Treating women as second class citizens is a bad tradition. It holds you back. (APPLAUSE). There's no excuse for sexual assault or domestic violence. (APPLAUSE) There's no reason that young girls should suffer genital mutilation.
ACOSTA: Mr. Obama likened the problem to American's who cling to the Confederate flag as a symbol of white power.
OBAMA: Just because something's a tradition, doesn't make it right. (APPLAUSE).
ACOSTA: The president vowed to back Kenyans in their fight against the al-Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shabaab.
OBAMA: We're going to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in this fight against terrorism for as long as it takes. (APPLAUSE)
ACOSTA: But standing in front of Kenyan's president, Mr. Obama risked offending his host by calling on the country's leaders to crack down on corruption.
OBAMA: Here in Kenya it's time to change habits.
ACOSTA: Still the president pointed to his family's humble beginnings, insisting Kenya, like the Obama's can overcome obstacles.
OBAMA: In the end, we're all part of one tribe. The human tribe.
ACOSTA: The president described his trip to Kenya as something of a family reunion.
(MUSIC)
ACOSTA: He sang and danced with relatives like half-sister Auma, who introduced Mr. Obama as a man who first visited Kenya in an old Volkswagen and returned in a motorcade.
AUMA OBAMA: -- I listed. He gets it. (FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPOKEN). He's one of us.
ACOSTA: Kenyan's swarmed the president as he departed, knowing the next time he returns to this land, it will be when he's out of office, though one woman told us, he left a message that will last.
(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): I think it's going to change my life actually by preventing women from harassment.
ACOSTA: Just as the president departed Kenya for Ethiopia there were reports of casualties from large terror attacks in both Nigeria and Somalia. So expect the president to intensify his discussions with African leaders about the fight against terrorist groups like al- Shabaab and Boko Haram. Jim Acosta, CNN, Nairobi, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We go to Nigeria now where a deadly blast has ripped through a crowded market in the town of Maidurguri (ph) on Sunday. Nigeria's emergency management agency says at least 15 people were killed. Dozens more were wounded.
Officials say the bomb was set off by a woman. No one has claimed responsibility but the terror group, Boko Haram has a history of attacking this region and using female bombers to do so. Residents say the woman lived in the area.
ASHER: Boko Haram is also suspected in a deadly explosion in neighboring Cameroon as well. It happened in a military town in the north of the country where troops fighting Boko Haram are based.
A teenage girl with a bomb wound up killing at least 20 people and herself at a crowded bar. It's not clear if she'd been forced to wear the explosives. Two Saudi led airstrikes hit Yemen less than two hours into a five day humanitarian cease-fire.
Yemen's Defense Ministry says, one of the strikes hit a medical center in Hajah used as a shelter by Houthis. At least one person was killed and seven injured. No casualties were reported in the airstrike that hit Saada.
VAUSE: Meantime the death toll from a Saudi led airstrike in Taiz on Saturday has risen to 80. That is according to Reuters. A Saudi led coalition has been bombing Houthis rebel forces in Yemen since late March. At least 3,000 people have died so far in this conflict.
And we have this just coming into us at CNN. Four people are dead after a group of terrorist stormed a police station in northwestern India. Police in Punjab State say they are still exchanging fire with the gunman hold up inside the station but there are no hostages.
ASHER: One official describes it as terror attack, although it is not clear which group the attackers belong to. Okay, we are going to take a quick break here on CNN. When we come back, U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump never seems at a loss for words, especially after learning he's leading a new poll. You'll hear from him right after this quick break.
VAUSE: Also witnesses describe the terrifying moments before a small plane crashes into a Tokyo suburb.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. There is a brand new CNN ORC poll on the U.S. presidential nominees and it shows Donald Trump leading the entire Republican field. When asked which candidate Republican respondents were likely to support, 18% picked Mr. Trump.
That was followed by 15% to Jeb Bush, and trailing in third Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker with 10%.
ASHER: All other GOP hopeful are in single digits. You can see Scott Walker, 10%. Ted Cruz, Mark Rubio as well. Here's how Trump reacted to the news this morning on CNN's State of the Union with Jake Tapper. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's a movement going on. This is more than me. This is a movement going on. People are tired of these incompetent politicians in Washington. They can't get anything done. They can't make deals.
They can't do anything. I mean they go and they -- all they care about is getting elected. They don't care about anything else. And they know that, you know, I built an incredible company, and you know, a lot of people including yourself, but a lot of people thought that I wasn't going to be running, and I wouldn't put in my financials.
I put in my financials. They're much better than anybody ever thought. People said, oh, well maybe he's not a rich as everybody thinks. Well, I'm -- it turned out I'm much richer. And I built a great company. It has nothing to do with my being rich, but I've built a great company.
And you know, well it's -- I wrote a book that was the number one best-selling business book, and many best sellers, and you know, just as the Apprentice was a tremendous success.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Right.
TRUMP: And I told NBC, I'm not going to do it again. I mean, you know, I told them. Nobody does that, to turn off a money making show like that, but I do it. You know, this cost me a lot of money, but I want to see our country be great again.
TAPPER: Right.
TRUMP: And we have chance to do it. TAPPER: So let me ask you. This is without question a great poll for you. It does however, if you dive deeper into the numbers, it does show some weaknesses potentially with the general electorate, as opposed to with Republicans and you lose to Hillary Clinton in a head to head matchup. What do you think you need to do to turn those numbers around?
TRUMP: It's just step by step. Honestly, it's step by step. I haven't focused on Hillary. In fact, yesterday in Iowa I made some really strong statements about Hillary. Really for -- I wouldn't say the first time, but they were strong, and the fact is that what's she's done is criminal.
I mean what she has done is criminal. I don't see how she can run, because if the prosecutors, who are all Democrats by the way, and that's, you know, part of the problem with fairness here. They're all Democrats. So they're protecting her.
But if you had an impartial prosecutor and they were honorable and maybe they are, we're going to find out, but what she's done is criminal. And frankly --
TAPPER: What exactly are you saying is criminal?
TRUMP: -- what she did is far worse than what General Petraeus did, and he's gone down in disgrace. I mean, you know, what he did is not as bad as what Hillary Clinton did, and it's similar. But it's not as bad. I mean, she got rid of her server. He never did anything like that.
TAPPER: But Mr. Trump, what -- what --
TRUMP: And she did after getting a subpoena from the United States Congress.
TAPPER: What are you -- what are you saying that she did is criminal?
TRUMP: So I mean what she did is criminal. We'll see what happens. But I think Hillary's got a lot of problems. But you have to -- if it was me, it's step by step. When you and I spoke three, four months ago, I wasn't even going to be in the contest, according to, you know, various people.
TAPPER: Right.
TRUMP: And now I'm leading easily in a lot of the races, because people are sick and tired. So with Hillary, I think I'll beat Hillary easily. I think I will beat Hillary. I don't think these other guys will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Donald Trump there speaking with Jake Tapper on State of the Union. So with 469 days until Americans actually vote for the next president, are these surging poll numbers for Mr. Trump a summary fling, or an early indication the election might actually be the Donald, versus the Hillary. For more, Jeffrey Lord joins us now from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
He was a political director during the Reagan administration and is a contributing editor to American Spectator. Jeffrey, when we last spoke, last week, you were right, I was wrong. I thought we'd reached peak Donald after those remarks about Senator McCain.
So now, if we look at the polling numbers, is it possible to make a distinction that a lot of people that say they would vote to Mr. Trump are actually saying, they just like what he's saying.
JEFFREY LORD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, AMERICAN SPECTATOR: No, I think they do like what he's saying. And I mean I think the Donald is the message. And, I think he's got a very potent messages and I think this is going to go on.
I mean, I really do think he stands a shot at this. As you recall John, people didn't think he was going to get in the race, and then they didn't think he was serious, and then after the McCain thing they said, the New York Post famously said, Don Voyage, and that hasn't happened either.
The one who called it right was Rush Limbaugh, believe it or not, who said that he thought this was not going to amount to anything, and the Donald would out live this, that the Republican base was sort of familiar with the way this kind of process in the media and the establishment works, and they were pleased that he was going to stick, and they'd stick with him.
And that has turned out to be right.
VAUSE: Now one of Mr. Trump's rivals, Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday, that Mr. Trump is appealing to the darker side of American politics. This is some of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSEY GRAHAM; (R), SENATOR, SOUTH CAROLINA: I think he's appealing to the dark side of American politics. He is not offering solutions to hard complicated problems. He is basically selling fear and prejudice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He went on to say, there is a market in both parties for people who say outrageous things. Does he have a point?
LORD: No, you know, I wish Lindsey Graham had read a little history. I did work for Ronald Reagan, and I know that these kind of things were said exactly about Ronald Reagan, that he was divisive, he was too extreme.
Vice President Rockefeller at the time said he was a minority of a minority and it went on from there. I mean he was called a ridiculous fantasy, as the idea of his being president. So all -- we've sort of been there and done that.
Donald Trump is not Ronald Reagan, but the things here, critics are saying, are pretty much the same, in some case word for word.
VAUSE: How much of a bind is the Republican party leadership in right now. They can't really control Donald Trump, and if they try to derail his campaign, he'll do the political suicide bombing act and run as an independent and that would give the presidency to Hillary Clinton. Wouldn't it?
LORD: Well, I think that's what a lot of people think. I think that he's in the process of bringing new people into the Republican party, which again was a Reagan trademark. A lot of people who had never been involved before, who made a point of getting involved for Ronald Reagan and overturned the establishment of the day.
I think that's what we may be seeing here. We may be leaving the Reagan Democrats of old and moving on to Trump Democrats. We'll have to see. It's too early to tell yet. But I do think that all this turmoil indicates that something is going on out there.
VAUSE: Last question, some say that Donald Trump is the face of the Republican party and that face is an angry older white guy.
LORD: (LAUGHTER). I don't think so. I mean again that was a steady drum beat about Ronald Reagan who was pretty optimistic guy. Donald Trump's pretty much of an optimistic guy. He's pretty much of a doer. I think that, that kind of is projection on the part of the people who say that kind of thing.
VAUSE: Jeffrey Lord, this is not the last time we will talk.
LORD: I don't think so.
VAUSE: We shall do it again. Thanks for being with us.
LORD: Thank you, John, my friend.
ASHER: And in terms of actual policies, what are we going to see from Donald Trump when it comes to the debate stage.
VAUSE: We'll see Godzilla on the stage.
ASHER: We'll see Godzilla, exactly.
VAUSE: Wiping al before him.
ASHER: He's going to be very aggressive. Okay. In the meantime, a small plane crashed into a Tokyo Sunday, killing three people and setting homes and cars on fire. The Tokyo fire department says, the plane took off from a nearby airfield and then it crashed moments later.
VAUSE: Some residence describe the chaotic scene to Japanese State Broadcaster, NHK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): The plane seems very large because it was flying lower than usual.
(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): I heard a large crashing noise and thought there was a car accident. When I came outside there was a huge flame rising.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): There was smoke everywhere. Very terrifying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It's unclear right now whether there were any casualties apart from the two men and one woman who were killed. The fire department said, at least three houses and two cars caught on fire.
To China where they're conducting safety checks on airports after a passenger was detained for trying to set fire on a domestic flight. These pictures apparently show the aftermath of Sunday's incident.
There were burn marks on one of the doors, and a passenger seat also appears to have been damaged by flames.
ASHER: It happened on Shenzhen Airlines flight as the plane was landing. And according to China's Xinhua News, all 104 people on board were evacuated after the plane landed. We know that two people on this plane were injured.
VAUSE: Six people were seriously hurt in a bus accident in northern France. The bus was full of Spanish passengers and attempted to drive under a low bridge, which prohibits vehicles higher than 2-and-a-half meters.
The bus was taller than that, obviously and the top of the bus was taken right off. The driver apparently had a clean record, said he was just following those instructions provided by the GPS. Good lesson not to follow the GPS. Take a short break.
When we come back, Iran has sent his foreign minister out on a job offensive. You will hear how the country's top goober man is trying to calm some nervous neighbors.
ASHER: Also ahead Christians worship in Kenya defying a threat of death of the hands of al-Shabaab. We'll have that story in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. How fly through our second hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. Let's give you your headlines.
(HEADLINES)
ASHER: And President Obama started his trip in Kenya where he promised the U.S. would stand with the country in its fight against terrorism. Now some Christians in Gerissa, Kenya, are also standing up to terrorist, coming together to worship despite facing death threats.
VAUSE: The residence are still coping with the recent massacre at that university where al-Shabaab militants targeted and killed dozens of non-muslins. Here's Nima Elbagir.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEMA ELBAGIR, cnn CORRESPONDENT: Sunrise over the Tana River. Traffic starts to flow over the bridge and into Garissa town. The morning community into Garissa, it's day laborers, it's people going into their offices, but it's also so many Christians who are too scared to sleep inside Garissa town. They've decided to move themselves and their families across to the other side of the river to safety.
Al-Shabaab militants brutally attacked Garissa University back in April killing 147 people, mostly students. Today the school still stands empty and desolate. We've been invited to Sunday service at Our Lady of Perpetual Consolation, the Garissa Cathedral.
This Sunday like nearly every other brought with it threats from al- Shabaab. If you worship here they're told, you'll die.
(MUSIC).
They're praying under armed guard, but they're praying none the less.
PATRICK GITAU, GARISSA RESIDENT: Every Sunday I'm here. It's my cathedral. Yeah, I'm here. I was birthed in this church.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): (FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPOKEN).
ELBAGIR: This is one risk they're still willing to take. The Bishop of Garissa, Bishop Joseph Alessandro is giving the benediction. He along with this fellow bishops and nuns have been a constant in this community.
BISHOP JOSEPH ALESSANDRO: It's not a matter of choice. It's our duty to remain here, no? Even the Pope, yes, he had words of encouragement to us. He asked us to convey his condolences to the families who have suffered and lost their dear ones, to people who are injured, and also he promised that he will continue to pray for Kenya, for peace in Kenya, for unity in Kenya.
(MUSIC)
ELBAGIR: At the invitation of the Diocese, Bishop Alessandro tells us, the Pope added Kenya to his Africa trip in November. He says, members of the congregation will be chosen to travel to Nairobi to meet him, a trip of a lifetime. For now though, he and his bishops are focusing on the daily task of keeping their flock safe as best they can.
(MUSIC)
ALESSANDRO: We are people of God. We are people of faith. God never abandons us and maybe in moments when we feel that we are left on our own, there are those moments that God may be very close to us, now inwardly even if we don't feel him.
(MUSIC)
ELBAGIR: Nema Elbagir, CNN, Garissa, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif is waging a charm offensive. He's on his first regional trip since striking a nuclear deal with the west.
ASHER: Many of Iran's Arab neighbors worry that the deal will embolden Tehran to meddle in the affairs of its neighbors. The Foreign Minister says, that's just not so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(TRANSLATOR): The Islamic Republic of Iran stands next to the peoples of the region, in the face of the common threat to the region, namely terrorism, extremism and sectarianism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Sunni Muslim Arab states say, Iran has provided financial or arms support for opposition movements in countries including Bahrain, Yemen and Lebanon. Iran, which is predominantly Shiite denies that interference.
VAUSE: In northern India, travelers on their way to Hindu shrines are stranded after heavy rains caused landslides and flooding.
ASHER: Look at this video.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
The slides have forced officials to close a national highway in the area cutting districts off from other parts of the state. The public works department is trying to clear the road, but falling rocks are making the task both difficult and very dangerous.
VAUSE: Our meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now with more on this, and this is the time of year when we see more landslides, and then for especially flooding.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, the southwest monsoons starts to bring in the much needed rainfalls. Unfortunately, it's bit too much too quickly, obviously and eventually gravity takes hold, winds on the sides of these slopes of these mountains and the ground just gives way, leading to scenes just like this.
Did you know that these landslides can actually accelerate over 50 kilometers per hour and most countries are susceptible to some sort of landslide or mudslide including here in the United States. In fact, every year we have roughly $3.5 billion worth of damage just thanks to mudslides and landslides alone.
And again, we have heavy rainfall. It may not be raining at the moment in time that the landslide actually occurs. It could have rained 24, or even 48 hours prior to that, but it soaks into the soil. It gets so heavy and so condensed that eventually that slope just gives way, gravity wins and the slope slides down, and it can be extremely dangerous.
Obviously you do not want to be in the path of rocks and boulders and trees and mud sliding down a mountain side at 50 kilometers per hour to say the least.
(WEATHER)
VAUSE: We'll take a short break on CNN NEWSROOM. A lot more when we come back.
ASHER: Wrestling star Hulk Hogan is at the center of controversy for comments he made about a decade ago, what he said and how it came to light. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. Bobby Christina Brown, the daughter of the late singing star, Whitney Houston has died after five months in a medical coma.
ASHER: Okay, here's what happened. Back in late January, Brown was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her home in the U.S. State of Georgia. She was just 22-years old and CNN Alina Machado reports, her short life became caught in both the light and dark sides of her parents world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the adorable daughter of pop icon Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina Brown was thrust into the spotlight at a tender age. Born in Livingston, New Jersey in 1993, she was the only child of Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown. At just 12-years old, her family's drama was turned into reality TV fodder on Being Bobby Brown.
WHITNEY HOUSTON: I'm watching you young lady.
MACHADO: Then in 2012, tragedy. Whitney died suddenly. Her mother shocking death sending Bobby to Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN: I'm going to make it now. It's going to be good.
MACHADO: As Bobbi tried to recover from the loss, cameras went along for Lifetimes, The Houston's: On Our Own.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are your happy, huh?
BROWN: Yes, it was.
UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: Better find this girl again.
BROWN: That girl has just been through a lot. I miss her so much.
MACHADO: Estranged from her father for nearly two-and-a-half years after Whitney's death, she shared this photo of them reuniting in June of 2014. Her parents struggled with addiction and Bobbi, too, faced allegations of drug use.
CISSY HOUSTON: I wanted to do the right thing. And all I'm trying to do is guide her to the right place in her life.
MACHADO: But Bobbi tried to move forward, explaining on Oprah's next chapter, how she was coping with her mother's death.
BROWN: I can hear her voice, you know, in spirit talking to me and telling me, you know, keep moving baby. You know, that, you know, I'm right here. I got you.
MACHADO: As Bobbi Kristina dealt with the loss of her mother, she sparked a romance with Nick Gordon. The relationship raised eyebrows.
Days before she was found unresponsive in a bathtub at the home she shared with Gordon, she posted these photos on Instagram and tweeted Miss you Mommy, so much. Loving you more every second.
Now, more than three years after her mother's death, the 22-year old's life, also cut short by pain and tragedy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: That was Alina Machado -- Alina Machado there but obviously so sad, especially because the way in which she passed was so similar to how her mother died just three years earlier, almost to the week.
VAUSE: And of course a reminder that Whitney Houston was find in a bathtub just before the Grammys. Of course --
ASHER: Beverly Hilton Hotel.
VAUSE: Yes, and three-years after that then Bobbi Kristina also in a bathtub.
ASHER: Right. Hulk Hogan is apologizing for a racist rant caught on an unauthorized sex tape from nearly a decade ago. The wrestling super star and the WWE have now parted ways.
VAUSE: CNN's Jason Carroll has more on Hogan's rant and here's a heads up. What is a good rant without some pretty strong and offensive language?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HULK HOGAN, FORMER WWE WRESTLER: There's all kinds of Hulkamanics running wild. That's why -- JASON CARROLL, CNN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wrestling super star Hulk Hogan got a smack down from World Wrestling Entertainment firing the WWE star after he was repeating the N-word in a racist rant.
According to Radar Online and the National Enquirer, Hogan is heard on the tape, which was recorded in 2006 talking about his daughter Brooke, who he accused of sleeping with an African American.
"I mean I am a racist to a point, f--- n----, but then when it comes to nice people and sh-t, and whatever." Then says, "I mean, I'd rather if she was going to f--- some n-----, I'd rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n---- worth $100 million, like a basketball player." "Guess we're all a little racist. F---ing n-----."
Hogan's rant capture during his performance in a secretly recorded sex tape and he's suing Gawker to try to stop the online Website from releasing it. Hogan responded Friday in a statement saying, "It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it."
"I am disappointed with myself that I use language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs. It is not who I am."
LISA BLOOM, THE BLOOM FIRM, AVVO LEGAL ANALYST: I don't know who would want to enter into a contract with him after this. I wouldn't be surprised if everybody just drops him cold.
CARROLL: Hogan says he is resigning from the WWE, while the WWE is staying Hogan was fired. "WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea, (aka Hulk Hogan). WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:: What we say on that tape is exactly what 21- century racism looks like. You may like black people and be friendly to black children, but you don't want your child to marry a black person.
CARROLL: When Hogan used the n-word during a 2012 radio broadcast, he explained that a black wrestler, Booker T called him the word during match.
HOGAN: And they're all taking trash. Booker T goes I'm coming for you Hogan, you n----.
CARROLL: Hogan got a pass that time, but now finds himself in the same position of other celebrates caught using racially charged language. Remember Mel Gibson's rants?
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR: "And if you get raped by a pack of n---- it will be your fault."
CARROLL: And Michael Richards.
MICHAEL RICHARDS, ACTOR: (Bleep). (Bleep). (Bleep). CARROLL: Both caught. Others such as Paula Deen, Justin Beber and Madonna also caught and also apologized for using the word. Apology alone works for some, not for all. As for Hogan, his name and likeness stricken from the WWE Website.
We did reach out to Hogan's daughter Brooke, her representatives did not return our calls. A number of people have actually taken to Twitter to support Hogan. One of those people supporting him, Dennis Rodman, who tweeted out, he did not believe that Hogan had a "racist bone in his body."
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: You know you've got problems when Dennis Rodman is vouching for you.
ASHER: Yes, he's supporting you, exactly.
VAUSE: Okay, the first episode of Caitlyn Jenner's, "I am Cait," docu-series premiered on Sunday night. It follows Caitlyn, formerly Bruce Jenner as she goes public with her gender transition.
ASHER: It also chronicles her journey as a transgender advocate as well. The series opened with Jenner confessing her fears on the morning of her Vanity Fair Cover debut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAITLYN JENNER, "I AM CAIT": Okay, it's like 4:32 in the morning. And I can't sleep. God, I look on the monitor, I look like crap. Anyway, I feel bad that these, especially young people are going through such a difficult time in their life. We don't want people dying over this.
We don't want people murdered over this stuff. What a responsibility I have towards this community. Am I going to do everything right? Am I going to say the right things? Do I project the right image? My mind's just spinning with thoughts. I just hope I get it right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Caitlyn Jenner there. We'll take a short break. A British cyclist has ridden across the finish line to a victor at the Tour de France and right into the record books. Those details up next.
ASHER: Meantime in Moscow, more proof for an old adage, what goes up --there you have it, will certainly come down. That's coming up.
VAUSE: It didn't go up did it.
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ASHER: There he is. That's British cyclist Chris Froome. He clinched the yellow jersey at the Tour de France on Sunday and he secured his place in the record books.
VAUSE: He is the first British cyclist to win the tour twice. The 30-year old rode into Paris on Sunday, linking arms with his teammates to finish the race's 21st and final stage. Now to some extreme failing.
Keep a close eye on the boat on the left there. The spectacular capsizing all caught on camera during an extreme sailing event in Germany this weekend.
ASHER: It was actually the team from Denmark that suffered the mishap during a race with nine other boats. Fortunately though no one was injured. The crew ended up finishing third overall despite that. Ouch, that looked quite painful.
VAUSE: That's called cartwheeling a hull.
ASHER: In Moscow, participants in an annual contest need a wing, a prayer and a very healthy sense of humor. One by one contestants in the Red Bull Flugtag rolled their flying -- and by the way we use that word very lightly -- creations up a ramp and promptly into the water below. There it goes.
VAUSE: The competition brought out some wildly costumed teams, testing their skills as aircraft designer, one contestant wearing a Putin mask had some high hopes for his craft, which was fashioned after the U.S. dollar.
ALEXEY SINITSYN: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPOKEN).
(TRANSLATOR): Our team, Dollar Goodbye will today show how the dollar falls. Our apparatus represents a large dollar bill, which will be placed on that pile of 50 cent coins and with its President Barak Obama, we'll set off to fly.
How long this flight will be, will predict the exchange rate of the dollar against the ruble in the nearest future.
ASHER: The Flugtag has run in Russia for about 15 years. It started in Vienna in 1992, and is now held annually in more than 100 locations.
VAUSE: The guy in Putin mask was silly.
ASHER: That was funny. Very creative. Okay. Well, thank you so much for watching everyone. I am Zain Asher.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Ariel Barnet is up next. Give him some company, because he's all on his own.
ASHER: He's lonely. Rosemary's off.
VAUSE: He'll have all the latest from around the world. You're watching CNN.
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