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Race is Close Days Away from Iowa Caucuses; International Olympic Committee Concerned Over Zika Virus; Refugee Exodus to Europe Causes Migrant Crisis. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired January 30, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Polls say the race is close, just a couple of days away from the Iowa caucuses. A day that could make or break some US candidates' campaign. The idea of coming up short doesn't phase Donald Trump, and the Republican front runner threw out a derogatory word to describe the competition.

Also, ahead here a warning from the International Olympic Committee ahead of the games in Rio de Janeiro. How it's handling the worrisome Zika virus.

And hello everyone. We're live in Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you for joining us, I'm Natalie Allen.

We begin with the final push to the US presidential race before the key Iowa caucuses. Monday night's event could effectively kill campaigns in both parties. Former president Bill Clinton campaigned with his wife, democrat candidate Hillary Clinton on Friday. S he has a series of events scheduled for Saturday. As you might imagine, Bernie Sanders does too. Also a whirlwind of rallies planned for Saturday, including a large rally and concert.

Meantime, Hillary Clinton's emails are back in the spotlight. The US State Department says it will not release 22 emails from Clinton's time as Secretary of State because they contain top secret information. They weren't top secret at the time. The Clinton campaign says this is a case over "over-classification run amok." CNN political commentator and democratic strategist Hillary Rosen agrees with that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY ROSEN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The emails that were circulating in question actually were being circulated by State Department officials on the unclassified system. So it really is sort of irrelevant whether or not Hillary Clinton was a recipient of those emails. The issue now is that the State Department is trying to change the classification for emails that had previously been on their unclassified system. So really right now what you have is sort of a dispute among intelligence officials that in some respects really has nothing to do with Hillary Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ALLEN: Well the Republican candidates have dozens of events lined up this weekend. Donald Trump returns to Iowa Saturday for at least three rallies, and his current main rival Ted Cruz will also be traveling around the state stumping for votes. CNN political correspondent Sara Murray has more on the big push to Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ted Cruz is an anchor baby in Canada.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: After a tough night for Ted Cruz, Donald Trump is piling on.

TRUMP: Cruz is in second place. He got really pummeled last night. Actually, I'm glad I wasn't there, because he got pummeled. Wow. And you know, they didn't even mention that he was born in Canada.

MURRAY: Sharpening his attacks on Cruz's citizenship and delighting in his decision to skip Thursday night's debate.

TRUMP: I did something that was very risky, and I think it turned out great, because I'm on the front page of every paper. I'm getting more publicity than if I, you know, I don't know.

MURRAY: Cruz is coping with a rockier reception after sparring with debate moderators and facing incoming fire from his GOP rivals.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The truth is Ted, throughout this campaign you've been willing to say or do anything in order to get votes.

MURRAY: Cruz woke up to this front page in Iowa. And tried to get back on offense at taking shots at his opponents.

TED CRUZ: It's easy to come Iowa and propose as Donald Trump did, let's expand the ethanol mandate. Now next week he may have a different position, but that's the position today.

MURRAY: Cruz isn't the only one drawing scrutiny as Rubio's rivals put him on defense over his shifting stance on immigration.

JEB BUSH: You changed your position on immigration, because you used to support a path to citizenship.

MARCO: So did you.

MURRAY: Meanwhile, Trump's opponents predicted his debate fun could undercut him in Iowa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the disdain and arrogance that Trump showed by not coming, may well turn off Iowa voters.

MURRAY: But Trump told CNN's Brianna Keeler it was a show of strength. TRUMP: I think you're going to find that a lot of the voters and a lot of the caucus goers, I think they're going to say he was the one person that will stand up for himself.

MURRAY: And today Iowa conservatives seem to believe it won't do much damage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did it hurt him? Did it not hurt him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it hurt him at all. His nearest competitor kind of bloodied, I think the headline of the Des Moines Register which says Rough Night for Ted Cruz says it all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Well the Iowa caucuses are the first nominating contest of the US presidential race. A caucus is a neighborhood meeting open to any registered voter in the party. In the state of Iowa the two parties caucus differently. Republicans come together and try to persuade each other to vote for their favorite candidate, then they cast a ballot for their preference. But Iowa democrats caucus in a more traditional way. Here's our Jonathan Mann with the explanation.

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JONATHAN MANN: First, the caucus goers gather in a public space like a high school gymnasium. Each candidate has a representative who speaks on their behalf, trying to sway undecided voters and everyone else too. It looks like the speeches are done. Now the voters are headed for their respective candidates' corners.

George Washington has the most support with seven of our faceless little people. But the caucus isn't over yet. It's time now for community discussion and persuasion. Jefferson supporters are headed for the Washington corner with cupcakes, and every reason they can imagine for their rival's supporters to join them. And they have succeeded in convincing one Washington supporter to move over to the Jefferson camp.

They don't actually have eyes, but Lincoln supporters see an opportunity, and one of them is headed over to Jefferson's camp armed with evidence of Lincoln's achievements and every argument he can summon up. But note the Washington supporter that defected to Jefferson is going back to the first president's corner, and he's taking a Lincoln supporter with him. So the tally is now eight for Washington, four for Jefferson, and just three for Abraham Lincoln. Does anybody want to change their votes? No. So it looks like the caucus is over, and George Washington will have his cupcake and eat it too. If they had mouths, they'd be smiling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: We will of course bring you all the events leading up to Monday's caucuses all weekend long. And CNN's Political Mann has the US presidential race covered as well from the positions of the candidates to their flops on the campaign trail. Join host Jonathan Mann Saturdays at 8:30 AM in London as he guides you through the world's wildest and most expensive exercise of democracy. Now here's more on Donald Trump.

Joining me now is Margot Nyugen (ph) with Reporters Without Borders, and she is in Washington, DC. Thank you Margo for talking with us.

MARGOT NYUGEN (ph), REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: Thank you for having me.

ALLEN: And we're talking about the limits of the press in a country where freedom of the press is protected of course, it's a foundation of this country, but Donald Trump has taken a different course. He is the talk right now, boycotting the debate because basically he didn't like a female reporter's questions earlier. What do you make of that?

NYUGEN (ph): So it's pretty clear that it was an attempt to manipulate Fox News into removing Meghan Kelly from the moderators. He referred to her as dishonest with bias, a third rate reporter, and he took to Twitter last night saying the debate was going to be a disaster without him and the ratings were going to drop like a rock. Of course his feud with Meghan Kelly is not new. He has been bullying her on Twitter since the last debate, and he has re-tweeted tweets that have referred to her as a bimbo, when merely she was just asking the tough questions of a presidential candidate like any journalist would do during a debate. He has also targeted on Twitter Politico calling the journalists dishonest and clowns. So it's not just against Meghan Kelly.

ALLEN: Right. He even kicked a reporter out of a news conference before.

NYUGEN (ph): That's correct. We all heard of Gorge Ramos getting kicked out. That's the anchor for Univision and that was back last summer, and recently he blocked access to a New York Times journalist just this month to an event, and he has denied or restricted credentials for the "Des Moines Register", the "Huffington Post," and "Buzzfeed," all throughout his primary campaign.

ALLEN: We have seen Donald Trump is certainly way out there when it comes to handling of the media as far as just not allowing them to do their jobs covering him. But Hillary Clinton to some extent, at the start of her campaign, wasn't taking questions from reports on the campaign trail.

NYUGEN (ph): That's correct. She sometimes had similar treatment as Trump of the media, especially where the foreign press was concerned. She banned access for a Daily Mail reporter to one of her trips to New Hampshire. She has been criticized by journalists for denying basic sourcing information, for basic information, and she has also just restricted access to her campaign in ways you would not expect because Donald Trump does it so brazenly in contract to Hillary Clinton's treatment of the press has been a little quieter. But it has been bad. The "Huffington Post" has even mentioned longstanding tensions between her and the press even though no recent events have occurred in the past six months. ALLEN: What about overall, as far as the United States, when you

think of the US, you think of freedom of the press. But I was reading that it may be true that our rankings have dropped in that.

NYUGEN (ph): Yes. Actually the United States has fallen 14 places since 2013 on Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. It now ranks 49 out of 180 countries. And it's really alarming for a country such as the United States that prides itself on the First Amendment to be falling so hard so fast. But it really can be explained by the recent administration's treatment of journalists, lack of transparency, going after journalists' sources, for example the Obama administration has prosecuted more whistleblowers than any previous administration combined. And when you add to that that journalists have been arrested while covering protests in Baltimore and Ferguson, it's easy to see why there is such decline.

ALLEN: And this is supposedly the era of transparency, but it's a difficult job, and you're up against institutions. We appreciate your time Margot (Nyuyen), Reporters Without Borders. Thank you.

NYUGEN (ph): Thank you.

ALLEN: US President Obama announced on Friday a new rule meant to achieve equal pay for women. Private businesses with more than 100 employees will be required to report pay data broken down by gender, race and ethnicity. The White House says that having better information is crucial to closing the salary gap between men and women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to keep pushing until every single girl has the rights and opportunities the freedom to go as far as her dreams will take her. That's the spirit that I intend to keep pushing as long as I have the privilege to be in this office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The White House says in the US women on average make only about 79 cents for every dollar men earn.

Brazil's president says her country is losing the battle against a virus linked to a serious disorder in newborns. Coming up, her plea to address the issue and a look ahead to what it means for the Olympics in Brazil this summer. And what may have caused this shark to eat another shark at a South Korean aquarium.

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ALLEN: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. The International Olympic Committee is advising athletes and visitors about how to lower their risk of infection from the Zika virus during the summer games in Rio de Janeiro. The committee says the teams will be safe from the virus but added precautions are necessary. It's recommending, for now, things that we know to repel mosquitoes, using insect repellent and wearing long sleeves and pants. In the meantime, Brazil's president is speaking out about the virus.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DILMA ROUSEFF, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (via translator): We are losing the battle against the mosquito. As long as the mosquito keeps reproducing, each and every one of us is losing the battle against the mosquito. So we have to mobilize so we do not lose this battle.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ALLEN: Zika has been linked to a dangerous disorder in newborns and no vaccine or treatment is available. And umbrella group representing Syria's opposition says it will attend peace talks led by the United Nations. Preparatory meetings began Friday in Geneva. Members of the opposition high negotiations committee had threatened to boycott the talks if the Syrian government did not end sieges of towns and stop bombing civilians. Now they say they will participate to test the seriousness of the Syrian government's involvement in the negotiations.

Since Syria's civil war erupted five years ago, a quarter million Syrians are said to have been killed. More than four million have fled their homeland, and millions more have been internally displaced. The refugee exodus to Europe has helped trigger the migrant crisis we are now witnessing. Thousands of migrants arrived in Norway last year, making the crossing from Russia. But as Phil Black reports, many are afraid they will be sent back to Russia and ultimately back to Syria.

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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The winter weather in Norway's arctic region changes quickly. When the sun shines, it's brief. Just a few hours a day this time of year. when it goes, temperatures drop, and sharp winds cut through fabric. But thousands of migrants have still come here to this stark, striking landscape to find safety and perhaps prosperity.

The Norwegian/Russian border. Here, the countries flags fly together. There are souvenirs from both, and signs in multiple languages declare this is a frontier, the borderless Schengen immigration zone. This is the end goal for what's become known as the arctic route to Europe. During 2015, 5,400 migrants from various countries traveled through Russia and crossed this border on bikes because they weren't allowed to walk or drive across. Now something has changed here. there are no more bikes. The Norwegian government says no asylum seekers have tried to cross this border since the start of December last year, they think for a couple of reasons: because of the tougher checks they put in place, but also because of the tough arctic winter conditions.

Now Norway is working to send many of the migrants back in the other directions. Eighty have been brought from across the country to this nearby camp. The government says they are to be deported because they already had permission to live in Russia, which it considers safe. That's little comfort to the (Ibrickin) family. Ahmjad (ph), Nohar (ph), and a five year old daughter Letser (ph) from the Syrian capital of Damascus. They fled to Russia three years ago. To live, to work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, to, we thought they have treatment for my child, and ...

BLACK: Ahmjad (ph) says his daughter was diagnosed with Autism. The couple hoped escaping the Syrian war and seeing Russian doctors would make a difference, but it didn't. Ahmjad (ph) says the treatment his daughter needs doesn't exist in Russia, and Norwegian doctors have since told him they can't help.

What will happen to you if you return to Russia?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My child will stay like this, and she will never be like another child. That will happen to her.

BLACK: And as a father, what does that mean to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That means I am dying.

BLACK: Syrians travel to Russia because it's one of the few countries where they can get temporary visas relatively easily. Russia and Syria remain allies, but that also means, Moscow believes, few Syrians need protection from their own government. So migrants here say being returned to Russia will inevitably see them sent back to Syria to live under a regime condemned by European countries including Norway. Phil Black, CNN, Kirkenes, Norway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: This is an unreal ordeal for these families that have come so very far to flee war.

The Bank of Japan has surprised investors barely a week after the central bank governor said he had no plans to make interest rates go negative; the Bank of Japan has done exactly that. The benchmark rate cut to minus point one percent is supposed to encourage commercial banks to make more loans rather than pay interest on a portion of their deposits. Investors were happy with the change. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index ended trading up 2.8 percent and other markets followed.

Well now to the US where one of the inmates who escaped a Southern California jail has turned himself in. The Orange County sheriff says 43 year old Bac Duong who has multiple convictions, walked into a friend's auto shop Friday morning and gave himself up. Now the manhunt is ramping up for the other two escapees, and investigators say they likely broke out after the 5:00 AM headcount last Friday. Authorities though, did not discover the escape until 15 hours later.

The people in Flint, Michigan will be getting some much needed help dealing the consequences of the city's lead contaminated water. Friday the governor approved 28 million dollars in funding to be used for filters, testing kits and some water infrastructure issues. The lead contamination started after the city changed its water source in 2014. In some cases, that's the water right there. Drinking water. Environmental officials say they have found sources of lead too high for filters to remove it effectively.

In Canada five people are dead after an avalanche in British Columbia. A search team rescued six survivors near the small town of McBride. Details around what happened are still unclear, but authorities say it was human triggered and warned people to exercise caution in the area. That is so very dangerous, and Derek Van Dam is here to tell us more about it.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Natalie, once an avalanche is triggered, it can reach speeds of 130 km per hour just in five seconds, so that shows you just how dangerous an avalanche can be. Worldwide avalanches kill roughly about 150 people per year.

ALLEN: Yes, remember the ones on Everest and we had the man talking when it happened.

DEREK VAN DAM: I remember that, and it was caused obviously by an earthquake and the aftershocks, the subsequent aftershocks that took place. This was a man triggered avalanche. We have a group of snowmobilers that were riding through some deep country powder in the Canadian Rockies, and you can imagine the machines' motors and engines and the kind of sound waves that they can you know exhibit, and that can create avalanche concerns, obviously.

I want to bring you into this particular area with a Google Earth image just so we can get a geographical perspective of where we're talking about. This is the Canadian Rockies across the eastern sections of British Columbia. McBride is the name of the very small town. But what I want to you pay attention to is the extremely steep terrain that the snowmobilers were traversing at the time of the incident. And just how much snowfall that this particular region has had lately.

Take a look at the area that I've highlighted with the green circle, and notice the cloud cover that continues to sweep over that region. That is the storm system that continues to impact this part of the world, bringing impressive amounts of snow, well over 100, even in some cases 150 cm of snowfall already on those mountain peaks. But there is a danger within this region, because they are getting a lot of moisture laden snowfall that's picked up from the Pacific Ocean as those storms move on in. we get fluctuating temperatures, and that creates very unstable snowpack. Eventually gravity wins, and we only need a trigger mechanism like an earthquake or a group of snowmobilers traveling through the mountains to allow that destabilized layer to collapse, creating a deadly avalanche.

We are going to move to the United Kingdom where they have had impressive wind gusts lately in excess of 200 km per hour in some of the higher elevations of Scotland. very, very windy, so if you felt that in London or into Glasgow, here's the reason why. A very active weather pattern is moving through the region at the moment. We should have some decent wind totals this morning, but it really picks up once again. It's the first punch of February. Snow is expected into the northern portions of the UK and more wind, unfortunately .

ALLEN: All right. February beckons already. Thank you. here we go again.

Coming up, some proof that sharks will eat anything, including each other. Find out how long it took her to eat him. That's next.

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ALLEN: Four miners in China have been rescued after being trapped for 36 days. the miners were brought up one by one on Friday from more than 200 meters underground. Days ago the men were told they were going to be rescued, and this cell phone was sent down to record their experiences.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking in Chinese)

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ALLEN: They must be so relieved, though at least one miner did die in the collapse that occurred on Christmas Day. Thirteen are still missing. It is unclear what caused the gypsum mine to collapse, but China has been criticized before for poorly enforcing safety rules.

Well world number one Serena Williams looks to make tennis history in the Australian Open finals if she defeats seven-seated Angelique Kerber. It will be William's twenty-second grand slam singles title, and that would match the all time record currently held by Steffi Graf. Williams has yet to lose a single set in the tournament down under.

The Fiat car used by Pope Francis on his Philadelphia trip last year went to auction on Friday. The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper reports the car sold for $82,000. That's about four times as much as its original price. The archdiocese says all proceeds from the auction will benefit Catholic charities in that area. Pretty cool.

In an aquarium in Seoul, South Korea, a shark attacked another shark. You can see the lower body of the smaller shark hanging from of her mouth. It took the eight year old about 21 hours to eat most of this younger male.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sharks have their own territory. However, sometimes when they bump up against each other, they bite out of astonishment. I think this shark swallowed the whole body because they usually eat it all when they bite the head part.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ALLEN: That would be TMI. Too much information. That will do it for us. Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. Top stories right after this.

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