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Republicans Discuss Immigration, ISIS, and Obamacare; CNN Fact- Checks First Republican Debate; The Search By Air For MH370 Debris; Passengers' Families Remain Frustrated; Malaysia: More Plane Parts Washed Up On Reunion; Researchers Using Technology To Protect Lions; "The Daily Show" Host's Many Faces. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 06, 2015 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Gloves come off for the Republican presidential hopefuls after a fiery first debate. We he have all of the reaction as ten candidates traded blows in the race for the White House.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: At their wits end. Frustration boils over for families of mh370 victims who say they are bewildered by what they're being told.

HOWELL: And this is a farewell fit for a king, a political satire. Details on Jon Stewart's final time in "The Daily Show" anchor chair.

I want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

ALLEN: And I'm Natalie Allen. Thanks for joining us.

HOWELL: U.S. presidential hopeful, Donald Trump says he will not rule out an independent bid for the White House if he does not get the Republican Party's nomination. That is how this first debate started out featuring the top ten Republican candidates.

ALLEN: When he said that, he got boos from the audience. The moderators, though, also questioned Trump about his controversial comments on illegal immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This was not a subject that was on anybody's mind until I brought it up at my announcement and I said Mexico is sending except the reporters because they are a very dishonest lot generally speaking in the world of politics, they didn't cover my statement the way I said it.

The fact is, since then, many killings, murders, crimes, drugs pouring across the border, are money going out and the drugs coming in. And I said, we need to build a wall and it has to be built quickly.

And I don't mind having a big beautiful door in that wall so that people can come into this country legally. But we need Jeb to build a wall. We need to keep illegals out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: On to the next topic, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush admitted that the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq's under his brother's presidency was a mistake.

ALLEN: But he said the bigger problem is the way the Obama administration has handled the situation since.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We know now with faulty intelligence and not having security be the first priority when we invaded, it was a mistake. I wouldn't have gone in.

Here is the lesson that we should take from this which relates to the whole subject. Barack Obama became president and he abandoned Iraq. He left. And when he left, al Qaeda was done for. ISIS was created because of the void that we left and that void exists as a caliphate the size of Indiana.

To honor the people that died, we need to stop the Iran agreement for sure because the Iranian mullahs have their blood on their hands, and we need to take ISIS out with every tool at our disposal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Let's bring in CNN political reporter, Eric Bradner, live in Cleveland with us this hour. Eric, good to have you with us. So it was a fiery debate. Who are they saying are the winners, who are they saying were the losers in this debate?

ERIC BRADNER, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: From the first moment, this is the Donald Trump reality show. Rather than sparring with the other candidates on the stage, though, he went after the moderators. He went after Rosie O'Donnell in a strange moment.

Trump is bombastic and that's why he surged to the front of the Republican polls. People who support him were not turned off. People who I talked to here in town, there is what they were wanting to hear from Donald Trump.

The question is whether some of these hits on him from other candidates about his prior support for Hillary Clinton and his prior support for universal health care will hurt him in the polls now that those issues have been brought in front of a national audience.

Other candidates who did well were Marco Rubio who showed a mastery of policy and John Kasich, the Ohio governor who is in front of a hometown crowd and got some of the biggest applause in the entire night because he had a really supportive audience behind him from the moment he walked on stage.

HOWELL: Now we're talking about this prime time debate, but there was a happy hour debate that happened a few hours before it, a lot of interest, a lot of talk about Carly Fiorina. Talk us to about that.

BRADNER: Yes. So the early debate was an opportunity for perhaps one candidate to really stand out, to really prove that they had earned their way to into the main event and that was Carly Fiorina tonight. She was polished.

[03:05:06] She showed that she can effectively attack both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and she was the person that everyone was talking about tonight. People were talking about her even after the main prime time debit.

So the question is can Carly Fiorina turn her strong performance tonight into a boost of fund-raising and in the polls so that perhaps she will qualify for future debates. But there is no question she was the biggest winner.

And by not appearing on stage in the prime time with the scrum of ten candidates, she didn't have to worry about being challenged too directly or confronted in front of that kind of audience and with that kind of opposition.

HOWELL: With so many people on the stage, keep in mind, there had to be two different debates. Just so many people running in the Republican Party for president, was tonight about substance? Was it about context or was it about posturing and just getting recognized by voters?

BRADNER: It was really about creating a moment. Giving voters something that will stand out in their memory. Now I just said that Marco Rubio had a great night, showed a mastery of policy, but there wasn't any particular moment that you take away and sort of say, right.

That is what Marco Rubio did. That is why Donald Trump isn't going to be hurt too much with some conservatives by his performance tonight. Sure he was confronted by some facts that might alienate a lot of Republican voters, but he did leave you with memories.

Now someone who didn't is Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, who is leading in Iowa, wasn't really attacked by his opponents. He didn't have to put on the body armor. He was able to slip into the background, keep his front runners status and survive to fight another day.

HOWELL: John King brought up a point saying that the general rules of politics haven't applied to Donald Trump so far. We will have to see if his comments about women, the comments that created a dust-up tonight, how they play out moving forward.

But a lot of people talking about Donald Trump as the headliner from this debate. Eric Bradner, thank you so much for your reporting there.

ALLEN: We're joined by CNN political commentator, Peter Bienart, who also serves as contributing editor for "The Atlantic" and "National Journal." Thanks for being with us, Peter. What do you give the first kickoff debate for the Republican field as far as excitability and how it came down?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It was extremely entertaining. I think Donald Trump was extraordinarily bad. But I think from my perspective he's been extraordinary bad since the beginning of the race and he leads the poll.

After watching Trump for two hours giving the narcissistic absurd answers does that start to hurt his position in the polls and do we move to the new phase of the race.

ALLEN: And he said he would not rule out being a third party candidate. So it might come to that as well.

BEINART: It could. How much support does he still have by the end of this process? My suspicion is that ultimately he's going to have a lot less support than he does right now and that tonight's debate will be seen as one step in his political descent.

But again, you know, many people have been wrong about Donald Trump before. I think he's been (inaudible) campaigning yet so far still managed to have a significant amount of support.

ALLEN: I know you're not the first person to use the word narcissist in describing his role there tonight at things he had to say even being a little bit of a bully and not really knocking derogatory comments that have been made about women by Trump. But let's look at some others, some are saying that John Kasich was a break out surprise.

BEINART: Well, remember it was a hometown crowd for him in Ohio so I think that helped him. Kasich answered well especially if you're someone who is more progressive or moderate than the Republican Party is. And a lot of media commentators are. But I suspect that the Republican base will not be as enamored with the answers and won't be as enamored as many people in the media.

ALLEN: I notice that there are applause when he made his comments about gay marriage and it was his home team there in Ohio which can swing around the universe of political parties. Let's talk about Jeb Bush. Some describe him as falling a bit flat. How would you characterize?

[03:10:10] BEINART: Well, he did but I think many people expected him to be flat. Jeb Bush is not a very good public speaker. He was not good. But I think the expectations in many ways were low.

What Jeb Bush has going for him and this is I think a sad commentary on American politics, what he has going for him is that he raised $100 million and that money will loom very large in his presidential race.

I don't think anyone thought he was a real compelling speaker before tonight and he certainly not tonight after this debate.

ALLEN: Well, we will see where Donald Trump stands at that point. Peter Beinart, thanks so much. We appreciate you joining us.

BEINART: Thank you.

HOWELL: The CNN fact-checking team has been hard at work to verify some of the most notable claims made by all 17 Republican presidential candidates.

ALLEN: Yes, took them a little while to do that. Here is Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick Perry went after Donald Trump saying that Trump likes the idea of a government sponsored and paid for insurance plan, so-called single payer plan.

RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How can you run for the Republican nomination and be for single payer health care?

FOREMAN: The thing is Perry is wrong about that. But Carly Fiorina did her homework and she hit Trump on that and two other topics as well.

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Since he has changed his mind on amnesty, on health care, and on abortion, I would just ask what are the principles by which he will govern?

FOREMAN: So let's consider her basic claim here. She said that Trump flip-flopped on health care, amnesty and abortion. Trump said that illegals should be deported, but then says maybe some can come back in the country.

On the question of health care, yes, in with his 2000 book, he said the United States government should consider the single-payer plan. Since then he has soured on Obamacare and now doesn't seem to think it is a good idea any more.

And lastly on the question of abortion, back in 1999, Donald Trump said he is strongly pro-choice meaning he supported the idea that women should be able to get an abortion.

But now he says he is strongly pro-life. In the end, all it adds up to is that Carly Fiorina is right. Her claim that he flip-flop is true.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: All right. Thanks, Tom Foreman. We will have more highlights coming up. CNN will be hosting, we want you to know, the first Democratic debate. That's October 13th in Nevada.

HOWELL: And CNN's first Republican debate will be September 16th at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. We hope you will watch that.

ALLEN: Coming up next, more news for you here. Why some MH370 passengers' families say they are outraged still once again over the way Malaysian officials have handled the investigation of the latest revelations about the missing plane.

HOWELL: Plus there is a powerful typhoon packing damaging winds and rain. Taiwan and China are next in line to feel its effects.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:17:32]

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. France has joined the renewed search for MH370. French officials say they plan to deploy resources to Reunion Island in coming days to hunt for plane wreckage.

ALLEN: Malaysia says more plane parts are washing up on the island but no other country has confirmed that yet. That is what Malaysia is saying. CNN's Erin McLaughlin has more on the search effort.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These coast guardsmen know the odds are against them. After all they don't even quite know what they are looking for. Their mission, find anything that resembles plane debris.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is very difficult to search for a small object from the air.

MCLAUGHLIN: You get the idea there's a lot to search. The water is vast and the coast expansive.

(on camera): Really hugging the coastline, flying very slowly to help with that visual search.

(voice-over): The team scans the crystal blue waters off Mauritius, just over a hundred miles from where they found the MH370 flaperon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has been reports of Reunion has been quite promising.

MCLAUGHLIN: They are on the lookout for anything white or shiny, anything roughly the flaperon size that a radar might miss.

(on camera): Did you spot something?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MCLAUGHLIN: The captain just told me they saw a white object on the water, but they can't find it again. They called in a boat to investigate.

(voice-over): Another look around and still no signs of the object. The captain veers the plane back to base with a glimmer of hope there is something else there, more clues to solving this mystery. Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Mauritius.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: The families of those on board MH370 say they frustrated with how this investigation is being handled. For more on this, let's turn to CNN's Will Ripley. He joins us now live in Beijing with that part of the story.

Will, good to have you with us. You've been on this story from the start. You've been in touch with these families and they have gone through so much. Explain the outrage they are feeling given where the investigation stands at this point.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have to tell you, seeing again here in Beijing this morning, the families and the grief that they are going through, it is just as strong if not even stronger now than what we saw in initial days and weeks after MH370 disappeared.

[03:20:01] We saw family members on the ground, crawling in front of the Malaysian embassy, begging on their knees, trying to tie themselves up in front of the Malaysia Airlines office.

Doing this because they he feel that their voices are not being heard or getting answers from the Malaysian government and they are desperate right now for answers.

They don't believe the prime minister when he went on live television and said there is conclusive confirmation. They don't believe it. The French prosecutor who spoke on behalf of the investigative team said that's not the case.

They don't have definitive proof that this plane part is from the missing plane. They think it is a very good chance. But family members don't want good chances. They don't want educated guesses. They want prove and they don't have it, which means they don't have closure.

They can't fully grieve. So their pain, anger, and frustration, continues to consume them. We saw this once again here in China today -- George.

HOWELL: The Malaysian transport minister also saying that there were other parts of a plane, but as we heard earlier from Andrew Stevens reports, those parts not confirmed to be part of MH370.

But still, there are so many discrepancies in what we are hearing from these officials. How are these families obviously they want 100 percent confirmation. They're not getting it.

RIPLEY: George, you and I might look at all of the facts. Look at the fact the plane has been gone for more than 515 days, 17 months tomorrow. We look at the fact that there's been no contact from any passengers.

There is a plane part that most likely is from MH370 even if it hasn't been officially confirmed yet. We can put that all together and feel with some amount of certainty that the plane did crash and there are no survivors. But for these family members because they've had so many false leads, so much false hopes. Sightings of a debris field that turned out to be ocean trash and underwater ping that did not turn out to be from the plane. They've been through so much.

And to have the Malaysian prime minister announcing that the plane went down and said there were no survivors, did the same thing essentially the other night before family members feel the investigation has run its course.

They think the government is trying to shut this down, quiet them, offer them a settlement and have them move on. They don't feel that is fair to them or their missing loved ones.

They want answers. They don't have answers and so this agony and this uncertainty and limbo continue for them even with these other discoveries of what could potentially be debris. They don't believe anything until they he have proof.

HOWELL: Will Ripley, we appreciate your reporting there. You've been very clear with all of your explanations of what is happening, but at the same time, expressing what the families are feeling. They are outraged and they want 100 percent confirmation on what's happening. Will, thank you so much. We will stay in touch with you as this continues.

ALLEN: And in just a few minutes, we will have a live report from CNN's Saima Mohsin. She is in Toulouse, France where they are doing the investigation. Hopefully, we will have more definitive results from that part of the story.

A powerful typhoon is packing flooding rain and high winds. It's on a collision course with Taiwan.

HOWELL: That's right. Let's turn to our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam here. Derek, it is on its way.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is on its way. In fact, the outer rain band for the storm already lashing the east coast of Taiwan and it does look like the center of the storm will travel south of Taipei, which is Taiwan's most populated city about 7.5 million people.

All the harbors in the area already secured. Their fishing and boating boats and that is obviously going to do as much pre- preparation ahead of the storm as possible.

But look that narrow window of time is closing. You can see the shades of orange and purple reaching the east coast of Taiwan. That means the storm is quickly approaching, 195 kilometer per hour sustained wind.

And it is expected to continue to strengthen before it makes land fall between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning on Saturday along the east coast of Taiwan. Making a second land fall, late Saturday night into Sunday morning across Southeast China, believe it or not. A much weaker state, but nonetheless still a formidable storm. Look at the winds surrounding the storm. Shading of pink is 150 to 180 kilometers per hour. That is possible in the Taipei region, more likely across the coastal regions.

This is called the central mountain range. Look at the topography across the area. The northeastern facing slopes will see rain fall in excess of 500 millimeters. The return flow will bring in rain and the heaviest amount of rain across the southwest facing slopes of the island.

There is going to be two distinct locations where we may see mudslides and landslides. We find our strongest winds and largest waves and swells across the center of the storm.

[03:25:12] That brings in the possibility of storm surge and flooding along the coastal areas as well. Good news about this storm, if we can find some, is that it will hit of the east coast of Taiwan, which is a sparsely populated part of the island compared to the northern and south parts of the island.

HOWELL: That's good news.

VAN DAM: That is some good news. We will take what we can get at this point in time.

ALLEN: All right, thanks, Derek.

With typical laughs and this time a few tears, Jon Stewart had his final night as "The Daily Show" host and his final moment of zen. The show brimmed with wit, warmth and sincerity.

HOWELL: A number of former correspondents and politicians and dear friends all chimed in to say farewell to the beloved funny man. And legendary rocker, one of Stewart's favorite artists closed the show out. Here are a few of the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JON STEWART: Jon Stewart, thank you very much for coming tonight. May guess what, I got big news. This is the final episode.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Jon, I just don't know what to say

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure you will be missed by somebody.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There are plenty of things in the world that keep me up at night, which is why I rely on you to put me he to sleep.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: I'm Jon Stewart. Yes, I'm dumb. I'm stupid. Nae, nae, nae, so long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time to discuss this in-depth, 15, 18, even 20 minutes if necessary. Otherwise, what are you really doing? STEWART: I hear you. But, eventually, we do have to go to commercial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on. What the (inaudible) is a commercial? What are you talking about?

STEWART: Actually, I should -- Trover. Could you give me like 20 more minutes, I'm so sorry, so sorry. It is cool. Great to see you. Real quick, if you don't mind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sure.

STEWART: Thanks, appreciate it. I'm just so touched that everybody could be here tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me too, Jon. Is there a party or anything? I brought a lot of people from CBS and I told them that I know you.

STEWART: Yes, there is a party and you can go to it. Stephen Colbert, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said a number of years ago never to thank you because we owe you nothing. It is one of the few times I know you to be dead wrong. We owe you, not just by employing us to come on this tremendous show that you made.

We owe you because we learned from you. We learned from you by sample how to do a show with intention, how to work with clarity, how to treat people with respect. You are infuriatingly good at your job. OK? And all of us, all of us --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for everything, Jon. We wish you happy and safe travels.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: What a great sendoff.

ALLEN: I got watch the whole show.

HOWELL: What a great thing to say from Stephen Colbert. You see Trevor Noah there. He will take over at the end of September.

ALLEN: We will see Jon Stewart. He'll be around.

HOWELL: I'm sure he's not going away.

ALLEN: Yes. He will be somewhere.

We have more highlights from the Republican presidential debate including the tough questions for frontrunner, Donald Trump.

HOWELL: That's next as this broadcast continues worldwide on CNN International and CNN USA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [03:32:32]

HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. Let's check the headlines for you. France says it will deploy ships, aircraft and troops to Reunion Island in the coming days to hunt for possible MH370 wreckage. Malaysia said more plane parts have washed up there, but no other countries have confirmed that. The items will be tested by the same team examining a wing part found last week on the island.

HOWELL: New York Senator Chuck Schumer says he will vote against the nuclear deal with Iran. Schumer made the announcement on Thursday night after what he called deep, study and careful thought. The senator says he opposed the agreement because he believes Iran will not change.

ALLEN: Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, is center stage as party's leading presidential candidates met face-to-face for their first debate in Cleveland. The billionaire took shots at the president, at Hillary Clinton, and comedian, Rosie O'Donnell and he refused to rule out possible third party candidacy.

HOWELL: There were punches at Rosie and at the debate moderators. They did not pull any punches in this debate.

ALLEN: No, they didn't. I just got lot of -- here is a look at jabs of the night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS: Is there anyone unwilling to pledge support to the eventual nominee of the Republican Party and pledge to not run an independent campaign against that person? Again, we're looking for to you raise your hand now, raise your hand now, if you won't make that pledge tonight. Mr. Trump?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I cannot say I have to respect the person that if it's not me, that the person that wins. If I did win and I'm leading by quite a bit, that's what I want to do. I can totally make that pledge if I'm the nominee.

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, that's a completely ridiculous answer. I want to collect more records from terrorists but less records from other people. How are you supposed to know, Megyn? How are you supposed to --

RAND PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Use the fourth amendment. Get a warrant. Get a judge to sign a warrant.

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS: Governor Christie, make your point.

CHRISTIE: Listen, Senator, when you're sitting in a subcommittee blowing hot air about this, you can say things like that. But when you are responsible for protecting the lives of the American people then what you need to do is to make sure that you use the system the way it is supposed to work.

[03:35:08] KELLY: As president would you bring back water boarding?

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Megyn, I wasn't sure I was going to get to talk again.

KELLY: We have a lot for you, don't worry.

TRUMP: With Iran, we're making a deal. You would be we want him. We want him. We want our prisoners. We want all those things. We don't get anything. We are giving them $150 billion plus. They are going to be -- I'll tell you what, if Iran was a stock, you would folks should go out and buy it right new because you are quadruple. What is happening in Iran is a disgrace.

JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said we'll accept it. Guess what? I just went to a wedding of a friend of mine that happens to be gay. Just because someone doesn't think the way I do doesn't mean I can't care about them or can't love them.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Maybe the bar is higher for me. I'm proud of my dad and certainly proud of my father. In Florida they call me Jeb because I earned it.

MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This election better be about the future, not the past. It better be about our issues the world is facing today. Not the issues we once faced. If I'm nominated, we will be the party of the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: So who had the most talking time? Well, that would be Donald Trump with more than 11 minutes. Rand Paul got the least at about five and half minutes.

ALLEN: So the question, where there any real winners or losers in this first debate? We asked political analyst, Larry Sabato.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SABATO, POLITICAL ANALYST: I think the three strongest performances were by first of all Governor John Kasich, who had a tremendous advantage. He had home field advantage and clearly a lot of supporters packed in that hall because it is Cleveland. Ohio, it's his state.

So he came across looking good and he needed that because he squeaked into the debate in the tenth position. Second, I would say Marco Rubio did well. Most of his answers were crisp and articulate and I think he connected with the viewers.

And third would be Scott Walker. He gave some predictable answers, but they are answers that have sold with the Republican base. As far as Jeb Bush is concerned, I would give him a gentleman's c, which is enough to pass. And I think that's all he wanted.

He wanted to survive. He's going to let his $119 million speak for him. That's far more money than any other candidate has. He will outspend everybody by a mile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Seven Republican candidates trailing in the polls. They got a chance to square off in the second tier debate before Thursday's main event. They discussed everything from terrorism to immigration, the Iran deal, ISIS and the U.S. economy.

ALLEN: Even climate change came up in this debate. Some analysts say one of the stand outs in the happy hour debate as it was called, former Hewlett-Packard CEO, Carly Fiorina. She has been getting a lot of praise for her performance and didn't hold back when talking about Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton lies about Benghazi. She lies about e-mails. She is still defending Planned Parenthood, and she is still her party's frontrunner. The 2016 is going to be a fight between conservativism and a Democrat Party that is undermining the very character of this nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: And there's much more to come from these presidential candidates, like duh. CNN will host its first Republican debate on September 16th. Mark your calendars at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.

HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM this hour. Up next, Malaysia says more items resembling plane parts have surfaced on Reunion Island. More on that plus a live report from France where experts are trying to undercover the mystery of MH370.

ALLEN: Also we will have more from Zimbabwe, researchers there using technology to try and make sure what happened to Cecil, the lion, doesn't happen again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Now to possible new clues in the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, Malaysia's transport minister says items resembling plane parts have washed up on Reunion Island.

ALLEN: But none of the other countries involved in the search for investigation have confirmed this. We want to get more now on the investigation and bring in our correspondent, Saima Mohsin. She us joins near Toulouse, France where experts are analyzing that piece of the wreckage. We're told, Saima, that they will also be examining more of the wreckage if it is indeed found to be part of the plane. Hello.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning, Natalie. Yes, that's a very big if. If that debris is from an aircraft and if they want to test it then it will likely be brought here where investigators have been looking into that flaperon, which is now confirmed to be from MH370 confirmed by the prime minister of Malaysia.

Now what was found, well, what the Malaysian transport minister told CNN is that it is debris like a window pane, some kind of aluminum metal material and seat cushions.

Now the crucial thing with these details is this this is now looking at material that's from the inside of the plane. Of course we've got that large piece, the flaperon, from the wing of a 777 aircraft, which Malaysian Airlines has identified actually as being from MH370.

Now it seems that if this is from an aircraft, an if it is identified as being from MH370, which they should do quite easily because of course, the interiors are very distinctive on each different airline, different aircraft.

Having said that, of course, we don't know the condition of this debris, these are all very small items, which could have been extremely damaged. We don't know how long they've been in the water for.

Of course, the flaperon was a very large piece. It was relatively in fact. They were able to bring that here. They are taking a very close look at that. The kind of equipment here they he have is x-ray, sonogram, 3D imagery.

The flaperon is a bigger clue, but these are crucial elements. Andrew Stevens, my colleague in Kuala Lumpur, covering the story. We are covering this from every angle possible for you.

He has spoken to the Malaysian transport minister, and he asked him, are you certain this is from an aircraft.

[03:45:05] And the Malaysian transport minister answered according to our Malaysian technical experts who looked at it, they believe it is.

He also showed Andrew photographs of it so that will all be brought here. The investigators have been here for the last few days. We have taken a look around the complex from the outside. We are of course allowed in.

Every morning we have seen their cars parked up. We haven't seen them here today yet. It is early in the morning. They may arrive later today. We have seen them around the complex.

The investigators are the United States NTSB, French authorities, Malaysian teams from Malaysia Airlines, civil aviation authority, and who civil aviation authority members from China as well, all these countries trying to do their bit to investigate what is now the greatest mystery on earth, disappearance of MH370.

ALLEN: Hopefully more definitive conclusions will be made for the families. Thank you, Saima Mohsin, covering that angle for us from Toulouse.

HOWELL: There was a powerful car bomb detonated in the Afghan capital of Kabul killing at least eight people. The blast injured over 100 more people and the number of fatalities is expected to rise.

ALLEN: The bomb struck a crowded residential area harming mostly civilians. It destroyed shops and houses as well. No one claimed responsibility so far.

United States Coast Guard has seized more than 7,000 kilograms of cocaine off the coast of Mexico. Authorities apprehended smugglers on a 40-foot submersible carrying drugs worth an estimated $181 million.

HOWELL: This is the largest seizure of semi-submerged vessel in U.S. Coast Guard history.

ALLEN: These submerged vessels, many of them are made just to transport illegal drugs, amazing.

HOWELL: Many people around the world were heart broken by the death of Cecil, the lion.

ALLEN: David McKenzie travelled to the park the endangered animal was allegedly lured away from to see how researches are trying to protect lions by tracking their movements.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For nine years, Brent Staplekamp and his beat up land cruiser have tracked the lions of the national park.

(on camera): There are around 450 lions, but it's here on the borders of the reserve that they are near the real threat.

(voice-over): Staplekamp knows 200 of them by sight and by name, but his favorite lion was always Cecil, a magnificent dominate male with a striking black main poised for a target for hunters.

BRENT STAPELKAMP, LION RESEARCHER, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: A big lion Cecil. We probably knew that's how he was going die.

MCKENZIE: So they call it Cecil, used GPS and radio to track his movements every two hours. But early in July, Cecil left the park, parking this railway in a hunting concession. Lured with bait, the hunters laid their trap.

STAPELKAMP: It's a very emotional thing when you see that signal has disappeared and in the pit of your stomach, it hurts you deeply. It really does.

MCKENZIE: Now Stapelkamp is tracking Jericho who formed an alliance with Cecil and he is protecting cubs. But he thinks Jericho moved out of the park and could be vulnerable.

STAPELKAMP: No, not getting any more.

MCKENZIE: But he gets a faint signal. Jericho is about a mile away in the area where Dr. Walt Palmer killed Cecil. Legal or not, he said Palmer should have known better.

STAPELKAMP: I'm quite sure that he knew what he was doing. He came for the biggest lion he could find and I think that was organized for him. Cecil was delivered to him like a pizza.

MCKENZIE: Stapelkamp hopes that Cecil's killing will help save more lions and that is one fate away. David McKenzie, CNN, Zimbabwe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: And of course, the dentist still has disappeared.

HOWELL: For now.

ALLEN: Well, Jon Stewart made a career out of being outspoken. Sometimes the look on his face said it all.

HOWELL: We will show you even how his expressions managed to leave a big impression.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:53:38]

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. U.S. comedian, Jon Stewart, a lot of people around this country -- I know, we will miss him on the air. He is leaving "The Daily Show." He spent 16 years at the helm of that political satire show.

ALLEN: Did he own it or what?

HOWELL: He really did.

ALLEN: He certainly did. Over the years he's had plenty to say. Even about us. But he didn't always do it with just his words. CNN's Jeanne Moos remembers the many faces of Jon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who needs actual language when a comedian has so much body language? These are the faces of Jon Stewart that many of us will miss.

JON STEWART: Yes.

MOOS: From stroking his chin to placing a finger to his lips. Dr. Evil and of course, exploding in false outrage for instance over how Donald Trump eats pizza.

STEWART: Are you eating that with a fork! MOOS: But the face we will miss is the signature stare. The stare that was there coming out of the video or sometimes startled stare that preceded he the joke or replaced it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wonder if suburban women were turned off.

[03:55:06] MOOS (on camera): OK. Not everyone is smitten by Stewart's signature stare.

(voice-over): Tweeted one critic, Jon Stewart, mugger of faces, was never funny #boring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plus he makes funny faces so when know who to laugh.

MOOS: Stewart himself said the other day that his staff had a running joke that he could run the show without saying anything.

STEWART: I could make faces and grunt.

MOOS: That's what he did for more than 3-1/2 minutes. Actress Melissa McCarthy showed up in a Kimono plastered with Stewart's mug.

STEWART: I am all over you like a cheap suit.

MOOS: Stewart and his mannerisms are going out with a bang, make that a boom, boom, boom! Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: I was going to try a stare.

ALLEN: I was thinking about it. We couldn't do it. No.

HOWELL: But for so many people in the United States, Jon Stewart brought them the news especially millennials.

ALLEN: They think that's the news and it kind of was. Certainly a good, we needed feedback and we got it from Jon Stewart.

HOWELL: He served a good purpose. A lot of people will miss him.

ALLEN: All right, guys. Thanks so much for watching our three hours of live coverage. We're going to go home and good to bed. Thanks for watching. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: Thank you. I'm George Howell. "EARLY START" is coming up for viewers here in the United States and for other viewers around the world, CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)