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Real Madrid win Champions League; No Plans to Relocate Rio Games; Greece Clears Migrant Camp; U.S. Citizen Imprisoned in DRC; America's Choice 2016; Indy 500 Milk Tradition. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired May 29, 2016 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Real Madrid win a record 11th European Cup. Look at the fans. They can't help but celebrate well into the morning.
The World Health Organization responds to a plea to move the Summer Olympics because of the Zika virus.
And in the race for the White House, Bernie Sanders keeps his eyes on the biggest prize for the primaries: California.
It's all next here on CNN NEWSROOM. We are live in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.
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ALLEN: And let's start with sports, shall we?
Real Madrid and their fans basking in the glory of the team's 11th Champions League title. The stars paraded the silverware, there it is, through the heart of the city. Real beat crosstown rival Atletico Madrid on penalty kicks in Milan. "WORLD SPORT's" Amanda Davies was there.
Here she is.
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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Zinedine Zidane had said it was too close to call and so it proved to be. For Real's dominance in the first half, it was Atletico who had the better of the second. But ultimately after a battling, grueling 120 minutes of football, to the dreaded penalties it went.
It was Atletico's Juanfran, who will forever be remembered as the fall guy. And then more than a hint of dramatic scriptwriting irony, it was that man, Cristiano Ronaldo, who asked for, stepped up and then ultimately converted Real Madrid's fifth and winning penalty.
Quite something for a player, who had, I think, quite frankly, one of his poorer performances of the season. Quite obviously still struggling with his fitness.
So much of the credit for Real's success needs to go to Zidane, who stepped up to his first top job in coaching just six months ago. It was only six months ago that Real Madrid were written off and heading apparently for a trophyless season.
So a manager's winner's medal to add to the one he took home as a player in 2002.
For Diego Simeone and Atletico, it's another final, another heartbreaking failure and another feeling of what might have been.
So with Real Madrid celebrating an historic 11th European Crown, it's back home to Madrid for both sides, a city now not just divided by two football teams but with an even bigger gulf in European footballing pedigree -- Amanda Davies, CNN, Milan.
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ALLEN: What an intense game that it was.
Well, the World Health Organization says the Rio Games should go on. The WHO was responding to an open letter from a group of doctors globally, who said the upcoming Rio Olympics should be moved or delayed because of the Zika virus.
Brazil has been the epicenter of the outbreak. The WHO says it has a good understanding of the virus at this point and the health risks it poses.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: WHO's response to the concern about the timing of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro is that, based on a very careful risk assessment and all the information we have gathered so far about this disease, these games should go ahead as planned. And we should continue to work to make sure they're as safe as possible.
Now if there should be something spectacularly new in terms of the kind of disease it causes in the adult population and the consequences, then you would have to do a reassessment of the overall risks.
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ALLEN: Olympic officials in Brazil say they will continue to follow the WHO's guidance but there are no plans to postpone or relocate the summer's Olympic Games.
Migrants by the thousands are still being pulled from unsafe boats in the Mediterranean Sea. The Italian coast guard said Saturday that it had rescued almost 2,000 people over the past 24 hours.
And it says, in all this past week, some 14,000 people have been pulled from rickety boats at sea. Dozens of others are believed to have drowned when their boats overturned. Across the Mediterranean, Greece has cleared a migrant camp at its
border with Macedonia. The camp once housed nearly 14,000 refugees and migrants. Now they're all gone. And our Atika Shubert shows us what they left behind.
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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the beginning of the refugee crisis, people would come here by train, by bus. That's actually the old train station there. But then the border slowly began to close. People were no longer able to walk across.
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SHUBERT (voice-over): So they began camping out here on the train tracks, on the fields nearby.
And actually, there used to be a number of abandoned rail cars here. People would camp inside. There was even a volunteer soup kitchen. But all of that now has been taken away.
SHUBERT: So we're right on the border now. And you can see some of the graffiti left behind by refugees. This is where, at the beginning, refugees would line up to cross the border. That's the IOM, the International Office for Migration, where refugees would register before crossing over into Macedonia.
You can see, it's completely sealed off. There's still Macedonian border police on the other side. And the great hope of many refugees is that if they waited long enough, they would then be able to cross into Macedonia and make their way across Europe.
Now, there were really the beginnings of a community here. There were barbershops. Other storefronts had opened. This was the Idomeni Cultural Center and it was really sort of a center for kids. You can see they still left their hand prints here. And all the countries that they wanted to get to, Germany, Greece, Canada, Spain, Norway, the U.S.A. and they still hope to get to, but their wait may be a little bit longer.
Now, at one point, up to 14,000 people were camped out here and they lived in tents like this. And in some cases here, it's almost as though people were simply sitting here and then they just picked up and left their lives behind. Shoes, clothes, tins of food, toys, even baby strollers I've seen here. And all of this now is being completely dismantled.
If you look here, in fact, there are bulldozers moving away much of the tents. And all of this will soon be cleared.
Now, all the refugees should be moved to safer places, better camps with more secure facilities. But there's still a real sadness here, even as the cleaning crews come in, because it's the feeling that all their hopes have now been abandoned -- Atika Shubert, CNN, at the Idomeni border crossing in Greece. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Quite a poignant story there.
Pro-government Iraqi fighters say they have found underground tunnels built by ISIS on the outskirts of Fallujah. The fighters are from the popular mobilization units, mostly Shiite paramilitary groups formed to fight ISIS.
They say these tunnels were used by ISIS to approach and escape the front lines. Iraq has been engaged in operation to take Fallujah from ISIS for the past week.
A U.S. citizen working as security adviser in the Democratic Republic of Congo is behind bars, facing allegations of being a mercenary. But U.S. officials say he is just caught up in the middle of a political power struggle and wrongly accused. Here's his story from CNN's Jonathan Mann.
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JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): American contractor Darryl Lewis was doing his job. He and three others were hired to provide security advice to DRC opposition candidate, Moise Katumbi, ahead of a highly volatile presidential run. Without warning, police raided a Katumbi rally on April 24th, firing tear gas and ammunition into the crowd.
The Jones Group International says three contractors managed to escape. Darryl Lewis did not. He was arrested. And despite not being formally charged with a crime, remains behind bars in Kinshasa.
Katumbi is seen as the most viable candidate to unseat current president Joseph Kabila, who's constitutionally barred from running again but far from eager to relinquish power. Several weeks after the rally, the Kabila government arrested and charged Katumbi with hiring mercenaries in a plot to overthrow the president, a move critics see as a ploy to postpone elections scheduled for November and extend his presidency.
MATEBA LUHUNGA, CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVIST (through translator): What is going on is that this is a political trial, that's all, in order to block a candidate who was expressing himself, a candidate who wants to prepare for November 19th this year so he may present himself for the elections and may get the people's vote.
MANN: The DRC's justice minister says Darryl Lewis, who was not armed at the time of the arrest and was in the country on a legal work visa, is one of those mercenaries.
The U.S. State Department adamantly refutes the claim in a statement to CNN: "We are concerned that the Minister of Justice is using the case of a detained American to manufacture claims of U.S. mercenaries in the DRC. We have no reason to believe such claims.
"We are aware of the detention of American citizen Darryl Lewis, who was working in Katanga province as a private security advisor. Again, we have no reason to believe claims of mercenary activity by U.S. citizens in the DCR."
The DCR embassy in Washington --
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MANN (voice-over): -- has not returned our calls for comment. And Lewis remains a political pawn in a country marred by corruption with a president who doesn't want to give way -- Jonathan Mann, CNN, reporting.
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ALLEN: In Colombia, officials say three journalists allegedly held by a Marxist guerrilla group have been freed now. All three, Spanish journalists and two Colombian TV reporters, were in a remote region known for guerrilla groups and organized crime when they went missing this past week.
Officials say they were held by the group ELN. One of the journalists spoke about what happened to her.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): And when they showed up, they said, "You're going to stay with us a few days."
They took all of my stuff and they said, "We're going to bring you some clothes."
And they brought me some. And I thought, OK, if this is how it is, I will stay a few days. And then five days passed. All of these days. And we moved from place to place.
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ALLEN: The release of the reporters could help move the ELN and the Colombian government toward beginning the peace talks they announced in March.
At least 14 people were injured severely by lightning strikes in France and Germany. Eight children and three adults were hurt when lightning hit a park in Paris, three of the children suffering life- threatening injuries. Two others are listed in critical condition.
In Western Germany, lightning hit a youth football match. Three adults were severely injured, 29 children were sent to the hospital as a precaution.
Karen Maginnis has been following the conditions that caused this.
I don't think I have ever talked, Karen, about two countries, back to back, having this many injuries from lightning.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you don't usually hear about that kind of thing because typically these types of events are in more remotely located areas. But we have seen kind of a wide swath of areas, where the severe weather has materialized all the way from portions of Germany and then we heard about France.
I want to point out one other thing, that lightning deaths, around the world, are escalating. And they're one of the primary causes of weather related fatalities. But just sometimes we forget about the basics of what to do when there is lightning and that is don't go under a tree. That is a given. It's very easy to do because you think of that as shelter. But it, in fact, is a lightning conducer.
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MAGINNIS: Pretty wet weekend along the coast, the Deep South, for this national holiday.
ALLEN: Yes, I'm headed there tomorrow. Thanks for that, Karen.
MAGINNIS: Oh, sorry.
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ALLEN: I just might miss it. Thank you, though. Take care.
All right. Britain will soon decide whether to stay or leave the European Union. We'll tell you how the debate over Brexit is utterly dividing one family of farmers. That's next.
Plus: it is one of the strangest prizes in sport. Why the Indy 500 winner is rewarded with a bottle of milk that he pours over his head.
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ALLEN: Well, we investigated that weird tradition. We will have that in a moment.
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ALLEN: This is quite a pivotal summer for Britons, who will head to the polls June 23rd to vote on whether to stay in the European Union.
And in the green pastures of Southwest England, the Brexit is a hot topic of debate for a family in the dairy business. CNNMoney's Nina dos Santos reports on a farmhouse divided.
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NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN MONEY EUROPE EDITOR (voice-over): after 10 years of marriage, three kids and a growing family business, Ceri and Chad Cryer have started to have their differences.
CERI CRYER, COFOUNDER BRINKWORTH DAIRY: You will be saying I told you so.
CHAD CRYER, COFOUNDER BRINKWORTH DAIRY: I'm not like that.
SANTOS: Their beef?
Not with each other but over Brussels, which Chad believes has sown the seeds of unfair competition.
CHAD CRYER: I'm going to be voting Out because I think the E.U. favors large business and big business and I don't think that is really the way farming in this country should be going.
DOS SANTOS: Whilst Kerry credits the E.U. with access to the larger market and essential funds to upgrading to upgrading their facilities.
CERI CRYER: I'm going to be voting for Britain to stay in in the referendum. I think farming will do better if we stay in. I think that there's more support of European governments for farming than there is from the U.K. government.
DOS SANTOS: Across the British Isles agriculture is an emotive issue. About 70 percent of the land mass is dedicated to it. But it's a sector that only employs about one percent of the work force. And for that 1 percent, Brussels provides a financial lifeline.
For farms like this, that's equivalent to almost half of their yearly income in the form of subsidies.
The E.U. may sound like a cash cow, but such subsidies don't go far, especially in the dairy sector. Where a collapse in milk prices have sent more than half of the UK's dairy farmers out of business since 2000.
And to keep the farm going for a fourth generation, the Cryers had to diversify into higher margin products like cheese, yogurt and honey.
As irony would have it, it was a trip to the European parliament to receive an award for their prized Wiltshire loaf that left Chad cheesed off.
CHAD CRYER: I went there with an open mind, but I made up my mind while I was there. Our voice in Europe is too divided. We can never vote together as a bloc as the French and Germans do. And for that reason I think we should renegotiate somehow and the only way to do is to come out.
DOS SANTOS: Whether the UK decides in favor of pastures new or days with the herd, the effects of that decision will live on in the next wave of Cryers.
What do they make of that?
We should stay in Europe or go out?
Your Mummy's team or Daddy's team?
CRYER CHILD: I guess it's whichever is best for farmers.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Nina dos Santos, CNNMoney, Wiltshire, England, CNN.
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ALLEN: Maybe they will give their son the winning vote for the family. You can find out more about the U.K. referendum and the fight over Brexit on our website. That's cnn.com/ukreferendum. It certainly has the U.K. divided.
Speaking of divided, the U.S. presidential race is certainly shaping up to be a divisive one. And the Libertarian Party, yes, them, the third party hoping to take advantage of that and make major inroads with voters disenchanted with Republicans and Democrats.
It's holding its national convention in Florida to select its presidential and vice presidential nominees.
Debating his rival Saturday, White House hopeful Gary Johnson made it clear how he felt about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
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GARY JOHNSON, U.S. LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You know, I really don't even want to comment on Donald Trump. I really don't. I really think that when Donald Trump talks about deporting 11 million illegal immigrants, that's just wrong.
When he talks about building a fence across the border, that is just wrong. When he talks about killing the families of Muslim terrorists, that is just wrong. When he talks about free market but he's going to force Apple to make their iPads and their iPhones in the United States, that's just wrong.
When he talks about a 35 percent tariff, that's just wrong. When he says he's going to bring back waterboarding or torture or whatever is taken, that's just wrong.
He's just wrong.
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ALLEN: Gary Johnson there in Florida at the Libertarian convention.
Trump is getting support from a former Republican presidential nominee, former senator Bob Dole, who ran for president in 1996 is urging other Republicans to support Trump. Of course the Republican establishment hasn't been keen to do that.
Dole told CNN he has been a lifelong Republican and it's easy to call for him to back the party's presumptive nominee regardless of who it is. And he suggested for Trump's vice president pick, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Democrat Bernie Sanders is battling for California ahead of the state's primary on June 7th. And despite trailing far behind Hillary Clinton a number of delegates, the Vermont senator says he is in it to win it. CNN's Dan Simon is on that story in California.
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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bernie Sanders doesn't really seem to care that Hillary Clinton has what appears to be an insurmountable lead when it comes to the delegate math. He's campaigning hard in California. He had this event in Santa Barbara City College. He has a few others today.
He is calling California the most important battle in this primary season. Right now the polls show a statistical dead heat. Secretary Clinton's lead has now essentially vanished.
One of the lines that seemed to draw the biggest applause had to do with Donald Trump. As we know, Bernie Sanders challenged Donald Trump to a debate. Trump seemed open to it, then changed his mind. This is what Sanders had to say.
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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VT., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump initially said yes, then he said no, then he said yes, then he said no. So I think for a guy who changes his position so many times, I would hope he would change it one more time and say yes.
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SIMON: Now if somehow Sanders can win the primary on June 7th in California, it would certainly strengthen his argument that super delegates should come over to his side. Of course, that is a farfetched scenario. The more realistic scenario is that it would give him more leverage when it comes to the party's platform at the convention in Philadelphia -- Dan Simon, CNN, Santa Barbara, California.
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ALLEN: Get an inside look at America's remarkable race for the White House. Watch "STATE OF THE RACE" with Kate Bolduan weeknights at 7:30 pm in London and Tuesday through Friday at 2:30 pm in Hong Kong, only here on CNN.
The 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, the Indy 500 auto race, begins in a little less than nine hours. The winning driver will receive nearly $3 million and a bottle of milk. We get the $3 million part but not so sure about the milk. So Don Riddell looked into the origin of one of the most unusual traditions in school sport.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the most prestigious motor races in the world, 200 laps at the track, 500 grueling miles of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, also known as the Indy 500.
They've been racing at the iconic Brickyard track since 1911. And this year marks the 100th running of the event. It's steeped in history and it holds one of the most unusual celebrations in all of sport.
When you've been racing hard for hours on end, you're going to want a drink. And if you've just won the Indy 500, you're going to want to celebrate.
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RIDDELL (voice-over): But they don't give you an adult beverage like a bottle of champagne to mark the occasion at Indianapolis. No, they're full-on dairy. In Victory Lane, you're going to be handed a bottle of milk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No matter who you meet at some point in the conversation, they're like, you guys drink the milk, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it started with Louis Meyer, way, way back in the day. He won the race and it was just like in his head, all he wanted was a big glass of milk.
And so he gets in Victory Lane and he chugs the milk.
RIDDELL (voice-over): That was in 1933. And when Meyer drank it again three years later, a tradition was born.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before the race, they come up to all the drivers and ask you, what type of milk do you want?
Do you want 2 percent, you want skim, you want buttermilk?
Which is what Louis Meyer had, buttermilk, which does not sound very good on 100-degree day.
RIDDELL (voice-over): Graham's father, Bobby Rahal, won at Indy in 1986 and he's hoping it will be the drink of choice for him on the 30th anniversary of his dad's achievement. And those who've indulged in the iconic celebration say that you've got to make the most of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They keep it in a nice little cooler, ice cold, so when you drink it, it's not like warm milk or anything like that. It's very cold and tastes great. You have to take, you know, your fair share of sips, because you may never get that opportunity again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting handed that glass of milk is such a significant sign that you (INAUDIBLE) this is really it.
RIDDELL (voice-over): There are some dos and don'ts when it comes to Victory Lane. First, make sure you have some kind of actual milk and something that looks like milk, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually kind of joked to them once and said I'll take chocolate milk if I win and -- because I'm a chocolate milk addict. And they didn't find that too funny.
RIDDELL (voice-over): It certainly wasn't funny in 1993, when Emerson Fittipaldi completely broke with tradition and drank orange juice instead, promoting the Brazilian citrus industry. Racing fans booed Fittipaldi for many years afterwards.
And if you are sticking with tradition, you might want to think twice about pouring it all over your head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After the race, it's media interview after media interview, satellite media tour, you know, you're sitting in a chair doing interviews with a camera until about 9:00 pm at night. And the race is over at 2:00 pm. So the milk's sitting on there for a good 6- 7 hours and by the end, mixed with sweat, not many people were too fond of the smell.
RIDDELL (voice-over): So at Indianapolis, it's not always the sweet smell of success; oftentimes it's a little sour. But the winning drivers wouldn't have it any other way -- Don Riddell, CNN.
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ALLEN: Well, how about that?
Now we know. And pretty soon, in a few hours, someone will be pouring milk over their heads.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. "SUPERCHARGED" is coming up next here. But first, I'll be right back with our top stories in just a moment.
