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Migrants Trapped in Hungary; Jitters Persist in Asia-Pacific Markets; 3 Major Hurricanes Churn in Pacific Ocean; Iowa Voters Speak Out in New Poll; Demands for Malaysian Prime Minister's Resignation Rise; Protesters Rally Again Japan's Security Bill; India to Release GDP Data; Obama Heads to Alaska. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 31, 2015 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:12] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: The investigation into a deadly bombing is widening. Police have issued new arrest warrants in the case.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: A slow start to the trading week in Asia. Stocks are largely in negative territory right now.

BARNETT: And Miley Cyrus goes for shock value as host of the MTV Music Video Awards.

CHURCH: Hello. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and, of course, all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett. Thanks for kicking off your week with us. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin this hour with a developing story out of Thailand. Reuters is reporting Thai police issued warrants for two more people in connection with the deadly Bangkok shrine bombing.

CHURCH: Police are looking for a foreign male suspect and a 26-year- old Thai woman. The warrants come after police found bomb-making materials in the apartment of another suspect. He was arrested on Saturday. The bombing killed 20 and injured many more.

BARNETT: We want to address the growing migrant crisis in Europe. Hungarian police arrested a fifth person in connection with the deaths of 71 migrants found in an abandoned truck in Austria last week. The latest suspect, a Bulgarian national, was taken into custody late Saturday.

CHURCH: Three Bulgarians and an Afghan citizen have already been arrested in the case. Authorities suspected Bulgarian/Hungarian smuggling ring.

BARNETT: Meanwhile, in Hungary's capital, hundreds are migrants desperate to reach Western Europe are trapped in limbo at a train station there.

CHURCH: As Arwa Damon explains, these families find their journey blocked by Hungarian authorities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have been here for the last few days and people can't take it. They are all running out of money. And on a number of occasions, we have seen parents break down because mothers say they can't afford to properly feed their babies, their children. At this stage, there is no solution. There is no end in sight to their existence like this.

(voice-over): Each person has a story of misery. Most refugees from the wars ravaging Syria and Iraq, left to languish in the heart of Europe.

This is the Budapest train station-turned refugee weigh station. Some try wash the filth and grime the best they can to restore a bit of dignity after a journey to get here that stripped them of it. They exist in limbo, waiting away the hours hoping the road ahead to Western Europe will open.

This 19-year-old asked that we not disclose her identity. She doesn't want her parents to see her like this. She has a nursing degree and two small children. But Iraq is not a country she can call home anymore. Her husband worked at the family's hair salon, but tragedy struck too often.

(on camera): What made them decide they couldn't go back to Iraq was another attack on the hair salon. His uncle, who taught him everything he knew, was killed and his younger brother was wounded.

(voice-over): They tried to board a train here. They bought the tickets and were told, no, not without a visa. Cars with drivers willing to bend the rules that get them through the price at 500 Euros-plus per person. With scant options and desperation, leaves them vulnerable and all have heard of the fate of the 71 who perished in the truck on the highway.

Piva (ph) doesn't want to appear on camera, wiping away her tears as she told us of her 4 and 6-year-old in Damascus. She is 27, with a law degree, is making the journey and hopes her family can join her without having to go through this.

"People are saying the Syrians smell. The way we are being treated without a place to shower turned us into this," she said.

At the camp near the border, she said treatment was inhumane. "They throw the water at us and you have to scramble for it like an animal."

She escaped under the barbed wire but went back, unable to keep going alone.

Even in Budapest, she says the response whenever she wants to buy something is this:

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) [02:05:00] DAMON: Germany, however, said it will take hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers, so no one here can comprehend why Hungary won't let them go.

(on camera): People also have been demonstrating at the entrance to the train station, pleading and begging with Germany to do something, begging the United Nations and the European Union and anyone willing to listen to find a solution. They do not want to go and report to the Hungarian camps. They do not want to be trapped here. And increasingly, more and more of them are going to begin turning to the smugglers, and the gangs do not have their best interests at heart. They know it is a great risk to go that route, but they are saying the longer they are forced to stay like this, they will have no choice but to put the lives of their children in the hands of those who can even just promise to get them across.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In France, the country's prime minister, interior minster and an E.U. commissioner will visit the port city of Calais and the Euro tunnel in the coming hours. The committee has seen a spike in the number of migrants trying to access the tunnel to get to the U.K.

BARNETT: Several migrants have died in their attempts. Thousands more are camped out in the port. Meanwhile, France's foreign minster is criticizing Eastern European nations, like Hungary, for having so- called scandalous refugee policies. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURENT FABIUS, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translation): With regard to the all the people who are politically chased out of their countries and who are in war-torn countries, we have to be able to welcome them. It's called a plea for asylum. And every country has to respond to that. France, Germany and others have. But when I see European countries who do not accept these groups, I find it scandalous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Strong words there. E.U. ministers will meet on September 14th to try and find a solution to the widening migrant crisis. Ministers are asking for so-called hot spots in Greece and Italy to help to register migrants there.

CHURCH: And the pope is asking for prayers for migrants and refugees. During an address in St. Peter Square Sunday, Pope Francis called for greater cooperation in helping migrants traveling across Europe.

BARNETT: He said tragedies like the death of the 71 migrants in Austria, quote, "offend the entire human family."

CHURCH: Yemen's defense ministry said a Saudi-led air strike on a water bottling factory killed 34 people and left dozens injured. A spokesman for the Saudi coalition said Houthi rebels were using the factory to build explosive devices and provide weapons training to African migrants.

BARNETT: The Saudis say they want to restore the Yemeni government, a key U.S. ally, against the al Qaeda.

CHURCH: The new in trading week for investors in Asia got off to a rough start. Despite the upturn at the end of last week, the arrows are pointing down. The exchanges in Sydney and Tokyo wrapped up their trading day a few minutes ago. Look at the numbers there. We can see Australia lost 1 and one-third percent. More than 2 percent down for the Shanghai Composite. There's been a lot of trouble, a lot of volatility in China. A lot of people saying it's more about a correction. Japan's Nikkei lost 1.28 percent, slightly up there in Hong Kong.

CHURCH: For the latest on all of this, let's bring in CNN's Steven Jiang, who joins us live from Beijing.

Steven, what's happening? We're seeing a second week kick off of losses in Shanghai and the region. Hong Kong flat at the moment. All of this despite efforts by China to steady things. How do you explain what's happening? Is it a simple correction perhaps?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Errol, many would say yes because -- and many say this market in the Shanghai, compared to a year ago, is up despite the economy slowing for some time. You have the bleak economic data from manufacturing numbers to export numbers to energy consumption levels. These are dropping considerably. So before the June 12th crash, that bull run in the Shanghai stock market was really not reflective of the real economy, so despite the plummeting numbers we have seen during the early part of last week and again today, many said this is ongoing and haven't completed yet. That's why you will continue to see a lot of fluctuating numbers in the coming days or even weeks -- Errol?

BARNETT: Two of the acts, you could say, that China took last week as they lowered the amount of required reserves that banks had to hold on to, that freed up cash for the markets. They cut interest rates. But tell us about some of the arrests over the weekend, some executives and a local journalist among the many taken in. What exactly happened?

[02:10:02] JIANG: More like detention, Errol. They have taken in executives from one of the country's biggest brokerage house, officials from the Securities and Regulatory Commission, as well as a financial journalist, who has written a fake report to halt interventions, trying to stabilize the market and the prices. That kind of heavy handed tactics, and some called wrong headed, have not been sitting well with investors because they say this is not a way to do things. These are knee-jerk reactions, going to the old ways instead of keeping their promise of having more market-oriented reforms that would be conducive to the growth of the economy as well as the stock market in the long run -- Errol?

BARNETT: It's important to watch what happens in China. Global investors keep an eye on this. Last week, we saw that when the market stepped in, in China, there was a knock-on effect in Europe and the U.S. How would you characterize China's policy at this time? That hesitant intervention last week leaves some to view China as contradictory, unsure, when it comes to how to steady things there.

JIANG: That's right. Before the stock market crash, a lot of people credited the government here because of the political structure here being very capable of adjusting or launching new economic policies, especially at times of crisis. They don't have to go through congress or parliament. There are recent moves that have given people a second thought about the capability or their knowledge of this economy. But the current government has been saying for a while that they are trying to transform this economy from a domestic -- government- investment driven and export-driven model to a moral domestic- consumption moral. That will take time. There is more of an optimistic train of thought saying this transformation is ongoing, but it will be gradual and that's why it will take time for the growth in the service industry, for example, instead of the manufacturing industry to be reflected in the economic data. Depending who you talk to, many people think the overall the economic picture may not be as bleak as some have painted -- Errol?

BARNETT: Even as you say that, a few hours ago, the Shanghai down 3.5 percent. At the moment, it's down roughly 2 percent. A few more hours to go in trading. Maybe it will end the day flat and balance things out. We will have to keep watching this.

Steven Jiang, thanks so much, joining us from Beijing.

CHURCH: We want to turn to the weather. For the first time ever, three major hurricanes are churning simultaneously in the Pacific Ocean, and two are getting uncomfortably close to the Hawaiian Islands.

Our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with more on this,

Two hurricanes? What's the impact?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. Right now, it's just rainfall. It's all offshore away from land masses. The Hawaiian Islands are the first in line for a potentially disastrous scenario for what happened as far as rainfall. Incredible image for Scott Kelly, an astronaut on board the space station. Hurricane Ji Menna. We have seen multiple typhoons and cyclones before, but not all three have been category three or greater strength. Precisely what we have lined up east of the Hawaiian Islands. The latter one across the Western side of the islands. Pretty impressive when we see what's going on here. We will track the fore daft for the islands. They have dealt with flooding in recent weeks with cyclones. But Ignacio to the east of the islands will weaken and brush by the north of the islands. A lot of rainfall. And notice the heaviest remains to the north and enhances a thunderstorm activity over the region. And it's important noting officials in Honolulu, the average rainfall is about a half inch. They picked up over seven inches, 1400 percent of normal. The scenario with the sewage system flooding and closed the beaches across Honolulu. They are making all the proper precautions and removing what they can from the waterways. Just to make sure it's not just this storm, but Ji Menna, a category

four lined up is also something they are watching. It looks like it diminished and stays away from the islands. But we have about a week left before it comes in closer and rainfall could be in hand. I don't see a direct impact for the islands, but a lot of rainfall on what has been a historic wet month for the month of August, guys.

[02:15:11] CHURCH: Wow. Thanks for keeping an eye on that, and a heads up for everyone in that region.

Many thanks, Pedram.

JAVAHERI: Thanks.

BARNETT: Thanks, Pedram.

CHURCH: Wes Craven, who defined the horror film genre, died after a battle with brain cancer.

BARNETT: His family told the "Hollywood Reporter" he died Sunday at the age of 76. The acclaimed director was the visionary behind "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "The Scream" franchises. Actors have taken to social media to express sadness at his death.

CHURCH: Acclaimed neurologist and writer, Oliver Sacks, has also died after a nine-year battle with cancer. The British-born doctor wrote about the fight earlier this year in the "Wall Street Journal."

BARNETT: Sacks of the inspiration for the 1990 Robin Williams film "Awakenings," about treating patients in long catatonic states. Oliver Sacks was 82 years old.

CHURCH: Let's take a short break here. Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, some voters in a key state for the U.S. general election are mad as hell. Find out how they could determine who becomes the next Republican presidential candidate.

BARNETT: Plus, a look at some of Miley Cyrus's jaw dropping outfits at the MTV Video Music Awards. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAVAHERI: You're watching CNN. This is Weather Watch, and I'm Pedram Javaheri.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:] BARNETT: The U.S. presidential race is still more than a year away, but we're already seeing some significant changes in the opinions of voters in the battle ground state of Iowa.

CHURCH: Iowa is essential to any candidate's run for the White House because it's the first state to vote in the party nomination process.

Polo Sandoval has the details of the latest poll of voters there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The new survey of voters in the key state of Iowa is now revealing both Democratic and Republican voters are turning away from the establishment. The "Des Moines Register"/"Bloomberg Politics" polls shows Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, lost a third of her supporters, but still leads. 37 percent of likely Democratic caucus goers support her. Senator Bernie Sanders is receiving 30 percent. And Vice President Joe Biden, who is still weighing whether to get into the race or not, is getting 14 percent.

Appearing in CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, Sanders credited his pushing for the wealthy to pay more and also college affordability for the rise in his support. He is highlighting some policy differences with Clinton.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that when you have so many banks with so much power, you have to not only reestablish Glass-Steagall but you have to break them up. That is not Hillary Clinton's position. I believe that our trade policy with China has been a disaster. I am helping to lead the effort against the Trans Pacific Partnership. That is not Hillary Clinton's position.

SANDOVAL: Clinton, who last week ramped up attacks on the GOP, still has a commanding lead nationally.

On to the Republicans now. Donald Trump is front-runner in Iowa as well as nationally. 23 percent of likely caucus goers supporting him, but Neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson, is also on the rise. He is in second place with 18 percent, with no other candidate getting double- digits. The polls show Trump has been able to reverse impressions of him. 61 percent questioned now have a positive view. In May, he only had 27 percent. One key factor impacting the Republican contest in Iowa, what the "Des Moines Register" calls the "mad as hell" contingent. It's a large group of likely GOP voters that and or frustrated with everyone from President Obama and Hillary Clinton to Republicans in Congress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The U.S.-Mexico border has dominated the Republicans' talking points in the 2016 race, but one candidate says the country's border with Canada should also be discussed.

BARNETT: Republican hopeful, Scott Walker, said building a wall to separate the two countries is a legitimate idea. This comes as Walker has taken heat in recent weeks for favoring front runner Donald Trump's idea of appealing U.S. birth right citizenship. He later backed off that stance.

CHURCH: Now for something different. MTV promised an unforgettable night of musical moments, and this year's music awards did not disappoint. Miley Cyrus was the host and donned an assortment of colorful and revealing and shocking outfits. And in perhaps the most dramatic moment of the night, Nicki Minaj confronted her for comments she made in the press.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICKI MINAJ, RAPPER: And now back to this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that had a lot to say the other day in the press. Miley, what's good?

(CHEERING)

MILEY CYRUS, SINGER: Hey, we are all in this industry and we all do interviews and we all know how they manipulate. Nicki, congratulations.

And just because the VMAs have already started, that doesn't mean the voting is done.

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: A big sigh there. That was a bit awkward.

Rapper Kanye West was honored with this year's video vanguard away. He made a surprising announcement before dropping the mic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KANYE WEST, RAPPER: Yes, as you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Kim Teramon (ph) joins me now to chat about the highlights of the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

Where to begin. How about Kanye West declaring he will run for president in 2020 after accepting his lifetime achievement award from Taylor Swift, of all people.

KIM TERAMON (ph): This is the VMAs so you know crazy things would happen. You knew with Miley hosting and with Kanye getting the video vanguard award, something was going to happen. Everyone was waiting to hear what he would say and he didn't disappoint. His speech went on and on. And we had a nice intro to call back that moment we all remember when Kanye interrupted her. She gave a polite introduction and saying his album being the first album she ever bought. He said everything from his daughter and he doesn't like MTV and called out award shows and on to MTV, saying things about MTV and talked about his daughter. It was bizarre. And, yes, we know he is running for president in 2020. Get your campaign stickers and buttons ready.

CHURCH: We will see how that goes.

Miley Cyrus hosted the awards in multiple jaw dropping outfits and shocked everyone. Among one of those shocking moments was that run-in she had with Nicki Minaj. What was that about?

TERAMON (ph): She did wear clothes so that was a positive. No one knew what she was going to had moments with the performance and made a lot of comments, saying MTV was giving her free reign. That's why she was hosting.

Now, there have been issues. She made comments about Nicki Minaj. She called out Nicki Minaj, and when Nicki accepted her award, Nicki said, I will go back to this one to make comments about me. Miley seemed stunned but she said, they took things out of context, and went on with her hosting. It seemed like an interesting confrontation that there was bad blood between them.

CHURCH: Yes, it played out in social media and I'm sure we will hear more on that.

Many on social media said he killed it. Justin Bieber getting emotional after his VMA performance after a number of years. What was going on there?

TERAMON (ph): Justin Bieber has not performed live in a long time. This was a big up. His new single just dropped if you were on twitter in the last week or so. They were leading up to the single dropping. He looks like he is trying to be a changed guy. Everyone wanted to see a Justin Bieber, who is focusing on his career, and not the outside antics. That was a fantastic start and a new phase of his career.

CHURCH: He is looking for some sort of purpose.

TERAMON (ph): Yeah.

CHURCH: Interesting. We will be watching that closely.

Kim Teramon, always a pleasure.

TERAMON (ph): Thank you so much.

BARNETT: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, Malaysia's prime minister refuses to resign despite demands of thousands of protesters over the weekend. The controversy is fueling public anger, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:27] BARNETT: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for staying with us. I'm Errol Barnett.

CHURCH: I'm Rosemary Church. We do want to check the headlines for you this hour.

Reuters is reporting the Thai police issued warrants for two more people in connection with the deadly shrine Bangkok bombing. Police are looking for a foreign male suspect and a 26-year-old Thai woman. The bombing two weeks ago killed 20 and injured many more.

BARNETT: The stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region are struggling to start the new trading week. Trading ended for the day in Tokyo and Sydney. Check the numbers shows you that Sydney is down more than a percentage point and Tokyo is down almost 1.3 percent. Hong Kong is relatively flat. The Shanghai Composite pulled back from its loss of 3.5 percent a couple of hours ago. Not to 1.7 and 1.8. We'll see how things proceed over the next hour or so.

CHURCH: The French prime minister, interior minster and an E.U. commissioner will visit Calais and the Euro tunnel in the coming hours. The city has seen a spike in the number of migrants trying to get to the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, E.U. ministers will meet on September 14th to try to find a solution to the migrant crisis.

BARNETT: The visionary behind "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "The Scream" movie franchises has passed away. Wes Craven lost his battle with brain cancer on Sunday. Craven was 76 years old.

CHURCH: It is National Day in Malaysia when the country marks independence from British rule. But the weekend was no celebration for the government.

CHURCH: Michael Holmes reports protesters jammed the streets of Kuala Lumpur angry over a financial scandal involving the prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the capital for a second day, sporting yellow T-shirts in support of Malaysia clean movement. They are demanding the Prime Minister Najib Razak's resignation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALAYSIAN (through translation): The government is dirty. They are corrupted. Very bad. We people cannot stand it anymore.

HOLMES: Razak came under fire recently when the public learned $700 million was deposited in bank accounts in his name. Razak denies wrong-doing, claiming they were legitimate deposits from unnamed donors.

Former foreign minister, Mahathir Mohamad, is the de facto leader of the protests.

MAHATHIR MOHAMAD, FORMER MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER: There is no more rule of law. The only way for the people to get back to the old system is for them to remove these prime ministers.

So far, Razak has weathered the storm. As Malaysians began their independence celebrations, Razak addressed the protests but not the accusations against them.

NAJIB RAZAK, MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER: We reject any form of street demonstration that will threaten the peace and trouble the people because it is not the right channel to voice concerns in a democratic state. There are parties who sparked the fire of hostility. If we're not united and lose our solidarity, no problems can be resolved.

(SHOUTING)

HOLMES: Despite a heavy police presence, protests have been peaceful.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:35:00] CHURCH: Another huge protest in Japan against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's military reforms. Crowds in Tokyo filled the streets nearly the parliament buildings reading "No war" and "Abe quit." They are angry over new legislation that would allow Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War II.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Even if the security bill got scrapped, Abe may try to submit it sooner or later, so I want him to step down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): If I were to describe Japan with a phrase, it would be "a peaceful nation." But right now, the unimaginable, the unrealistic is happening where peace is being destroyed. That fear is being cast upon this nation right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: The bills have passed the lower house and are expected to be approved by the chamber in which the prime minister's ruling coalition controls.

CHURCH: In the coming hours, India is due to release its quarterly gross domestic product data. It is expected to be good news in an otherwise bleak financial landscape. But there's questions about how India arrived at the upbeat numbers.

For more on that CNN's Ravi Agrawal joins us from New Delhi.

Ravi, the numbers are welcome, but are they reliable against this landscape of struggling markets?

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN INDIA BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, Rosemary. Yes, the numbers that we are expecting were once again cementing the status of the fastest growing major economy in the world. The number is 7.4 percent for growth for this quarter, which is the first quarter of the Indian fiscal year. That's just slightly lower than the last quarter's growth, which 7.5 percent. But as you say, the backdrop is what's to trust, whether to trust the numbers or not. Just last year, the Indian data showed that India was growing at 5 percent to 6 percent. The Statistics Office in India has re-done and recalculated its methodology for calculating GDP to include parts of the informal sectors of the economy in India, and that means that they are looking at a larger part of the pie, and that's the reason why India seems to be growing faster. Either way, the macro picture is that India is growing and doing well, but after having spoken to economists and government officials, we are not sure what that means. CHURCH: That's a big problem. Particularly when you are looking at

global markets struggling out there. People are going to ask more questions about how reliable the numbers are. That's not good for India even though, for the most part, things seem to be going well.

AGRAWAL: That's the thing. With the new data, it's a different base. With the previous, they were looking at something like 2002 as their base year. Now looking at 2012 as their base year. To simplify that, it is going to be a number of months before we are able to compare this data with itself. That will give us a more accurate picture of the growth. I should add to this, what we are that the fundamentals are strong. With the collapse in global oil prices, India has been one of the winners because it is able to reduce the deficit and control inflation. We don't know how fast exactly it is growing and, linked to that, we don't know whether it is able to allow this growth to be uniform across both urban and rural India. That's the big challenge that India's government is facing. They came in with a lot of big promises and had a number of reforms they promised. They haven't been able to deliver them so far. The good news we are expecting today, the reason why Indian stock markets are not going to be thrilled is they don't know how to decipher the headline number that we're going to get.

CHURCH: As you say, the fundamentals are strong there. We will keep an eye on that.

Ravi Agrawal reporting live from New Delhi. Many thanks to you.

BARNETT: Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, we will take you to the streets of Los Angeles for a look at how sex traffickers in the U.S. are branding their victims.

We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:35] BARNETT: North America's tallest mountain gets a name change. U.S. President Barack Obama heads to Alaska Monday to raise awareness about climate change. While there, he'll announce that Mount McKinley will be official known as Denali.

CHURCH: It's a nod to the region's native population, which the president said it is threatened by global warming. Native Alaskans have tried for decades to get the mountain's name changed.

BARNETT: For more on the situation and why it is so critical to the U.S.'s Alaska, our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us.

Interesting that he will head to the Arctic Circle.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah.

BARNETT: New exploration territory but it's also part of the world where we see climate change at work.

JAVAHERI: It is. It's ground zero for climate change. We don't often talk about Alaska, but when you think about it, they are home to the 75 percent of the national parks, about 90 percent of wildlife refuges. As far as land area, 70 percent of the entire country's forested area as well. It's a pretty expansive area. We've seen temperatures warm up in Alaska nearly double of what's happening on a national average. This is very, very important what's occurring there.

I also want to show what's also -- breaking down the numbers of the severity of this. The past 50 years, the temperatures year around in Alaska warmed up about 3.5 degrees. In winter, Alaska is 6 degrees warmer in the past 50 years than records indicate. We believe over the next 50 years, 4 to 7 degrees kind of the variants in the temperatures in additional warming. In a 100 year period, over 14 degrees of a variance.

With the arming temperatures, the snow melts earlier, longer fire seasons, precisely what's happening at this very moment. Here you take a look at how many wildfires they had. Over 500 acres burned and almost a record of about a decade ago. A half million acres burning and the numbers continue to be on the increase. That was the average national wildfire season. It gets up to 160 now. In the past decade or so, wildfires have increased. The number continues to be on the increase and across the U.S., the theme has been there where they have over 7.5 million acres. The fire threat is high across Washington State. And a wind storm in recent days with wind gusts up to hurricane force. It exacerbated some of the storms. The other areas getting up to hurricane force.

Going back to Alaska and breaking down what we were talking about here, they released a study talking about every year. 75 billion tons of ice melting in Alaska. 75 billion tons per year are melting. What does it mean? Every decade the sea level goes up two millimeters. That's on the increase. And Alaska, 80 percent is laid down on perma frost, permanent frost. When this melts, you release methane into the atmosphere and that's far more destructive than carbon dioxide.

This is ground zero and that's why President Obama is on his way there now.

(CROSSTALK)

[02:46:00] BARNETT: Eye-opening stuff.

Thanks, Pedram. See you next hour.

JAVAHERI: Thanks.

CHURCH: Thank you.

BARNETT: The CNN Freedom Project is committed to shining a light on human trafficking. This week, we get a look at how girls have been branded by the traffickers and pimps to signify ownership.

CHURCH: CNN's Sara Sidner rode along on a police patrol in Los Angeles and here's what she found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SGT. RON FISHER, LAPD VICE UNIT: There's two girls standing on the corner up here monitoring traffic. They are aggressively hitting up cars in the street.

I have a good shot of it right now. Both of them can go. So if we can all burn on this.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: OK, you heard him, boys. Let's go.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They have been called all sorts of names from ladies of the night to prostitutes. But when they are underage, police now have a different name for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have come a long way in recognizing these children are victims. They are not the suspects.

SIDNER: These days, one of the surest ways to tell that a person has been trafficked, the marks on their bodies.

FISHER: The tattoos tell the story if they have been around long enough.

SIDNER: On patrol with LAPD's vice unit, Sgt. Ron Fisher says it's common to see girls with brands that signify ownership.

FISHER: The typical tattoos the pimp will use are dollar signs. They're a tattoo of a money bag. They'll have a crown that stands for the whole pimping thing.

SIDNER: Police say the girls rarely come to them for help. It's when they get arrested that intervention sometimes happens.

That is how this 15-year-old found refuge from her trafficker, vice cops getting her to a house called Children of the Night.

(on camera): What were you afraid of?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was scared he might kill me or my dad. He used thoughts like that and always had guns. There was just gang relations and it was really hard to avoid him. I was scared.

SIDNER (voice-over): At 13, when she should have been worried about homework, she was being branded, bought and sold by a friend of her drug-addicted father.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't really know how to sleep with people because I was young and never had sex before.

SIDNER (on camera): You were a virgin?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then he's like he will teach you what to do. I just went with it. I thought, OK, this is the style I will live for the rest of my life.

SIDNER (voice-over): She thought nothing of the tattoo he insisted on giving her, his initials on her ankle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One day, he was like, I tattoo all my girls so they took out Indian ink and a needle and he just did it.

SIDNER: The mark of slavery.

LOIS LEE, ANTI-TRAFFICKING ACTIVIST: That's not how kids see it. They belong to somebody. They're important to them. Someone claimed me.

SIDNER: Anti-trafficking activist, Lois Lee, knows how they think. For more than 30 years, her organization, Children of the Night, has been a safe haven for sex-trafficked children.

She says, on the streets, new laws targeting traffickers have had some unintended consequences.

LEE: There's fewer children prostituting because the gangs control them and they serve less time for using them for other kinds of crimes, so why would you use them for sex if you get life in prison or 20 or 40 years for torture and kidnapping? They'll use them for a burglary, a carjacking, give them a gun so you don't go to jail.

SIDNER (on camera): But the result is the same. The kids are stuck in a horrible life.

LEE: There should be a law that anyone who uses a child in any crime suffers the same penalties as if they used them for sex trafficking.

SIDNER: Lee says as horrible as that life may be, far too often, the nightmare begins at home where girls are sexually abused or neglected, making life with a trafficker seem more alluring.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:50:30] CHURCH: Be sure to join us tomorrow for part two of Sara Sidner's special reporting. You will hear from a 17-year-old girl who was sold a dream that never came true and left with a brand she will never forget.

We will be back.

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ERIN HAWKSWORTH, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm Erin Hawksworth with your World Sports headline.

On the eve of the U.S. Open, Maria Sharipova will not be able to compete. She broke the news saying, Unfortunately, I will not be able to continue this year's U.S. Open. I've done everything possible to be ready, but it was not enough time. To all my amazing fans, I'll be back into the Asian swing in a few weeks and look forward to finishing the year healthy and strong." On Sunday, Manchester City confirmed the signing of Kevin Dubru (ph)

on a six-year deal. It's said to be a club record fee in the region of $85 million, and he joins others in the blue half of Manchester this summer.

Jason Day's terrific summer continued as he easily won the Barclays on Sunday. On the 11th hole, par three, Day stuffed the tee shot to the par three and that will set up an easy birdie and he will move to 16 under. On 15, Day was on fire with the putter curling in the put. That will get him to 18 under. And finally, on the 18th hole, Jason Day finished up with one last birdie as he shoots 62 on the day and finishes at 19 under.

That's a look at the sports headlines. I'm Erin Hawksworth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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CHURCH: Welcome back. This year's Little League World Series championship looked like a sure win for the U.S. after the first inning, but the team had different plans.

BARNETT: At the bottom of the first, Pennsylvania was winning, 10-2. Everything changed for the Japanese team after that. They outscored the U.S. 16-1, including back to back home runs in the second. Japan went on to win, 18-11. The two teams had a championship record with 21 combined runs, beating the pervious record of 23.

[02:55:17] CHURCH: What are about this? A picture for the Chicago Cubs has accomplished one of the toughest feats in Major League Baseball. Jake Arietta (ph) threw a no hitter Sunday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

BARNETT: All right. It was almost a perfect game as well, but the Dodgers did get two runners on base. Still, it's only the 6th no hitter this season in the majors. The Cubs won the game, 2-0.

CHURCH: For the third week in a row, "Straight Out of Compton" is topping the box office. The film detailing the rise of 80s rap group NWA has taken in $134 million in the U.S.

BARNETT: I saw this, this weekend, and it's a well done film. It's now the highest-grossing musical in history. It surpassed "Walk the Line," and that was about Johnny Cash, by more than $14 million.

CHURCH: Zack Efron's music drama "We Are Your Friends" could have used a few more friends. The film about an aspiring D.J. made a meager $1.8 million at the box office.

BARNETT: That made it the worst opening of all time debuting since 2000. They expected it to at least make $8 million on the opening weekend, but that was a dream.

CHURCH: I thought the fans loved him. No? Apparently, not.

BARNETT: Not the ones with money.

CHURCH: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett. Please do stay with us. Rosemary and I will be back with a look at the day's big stories after this.

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