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Clinton Clinches Sufficient Delegates to Secure Nomination; Abandoned Japanese Boy Released from Hospital; Rio's Beaches Go High Tech Ahead of Olympics; Bombing in Istanbul Examined; Syrian Situation Update; UK Forum on Brexit; Lenient Sentence in Rape Case. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 07, 2016 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:00:00] AMARA WALKER, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Over the top, Hillary Clinton clinches a number of delegates needed for a historic nomination, but Bernie Sanders' team says, not so fast.
Heading home, an abandoned Japanese boy is released from the hospital after spending six days alone in the woods.
And surf's up, how Rio's beaches are going high tech ahead of the Olympics.
Welcome to our viewers around the world. Thanks for joining me. I'm Amara Walker, and this is CNN Newsroom.
And we begin with breaking news out of Turkey. An explosion near a bus stop in central Istanbul has left several people wounded. CNN Turk reporting that a Turkish police bus was targeted during the morning rush hours.
CNN's Nic Robertson joining us now from London. Hi, there, Nic. What's the latest that we know?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Good morning, Amara. Well, the very latest is five people are confirmed to us as injured at this time. A lot of ambulances were seen rushing to the scene. It's not the first time that there have been -- this year, that there have been attacks in Istanbul.
What we understand at the moment is that this was an attack on a police bus. There's been no verified claim of responsibility so far. However, earlier in the year, there was an attack on a police bus in Istanbul, it killed a number of police officers on board that bus.
So, it's not uncommon that the police are being targeted. Back then, that attack was attributed to ISIS. However, there are Kurdish groups, the PKK, the Kurdish Workers Party, who have claimed responsibility for attacks in Turkey so far this year.
But at the moment, it's unclear who perpetrated the attack. It's not clear if the casualty toll will rise at this time, but what does seem to be emerging that this was an attack against the security forces rather than a -- rather than a public place. That this was targeting police, on a bus, as they moved around through Istanbul, Amara.
WALKER: Again, you know, we're just getting some of the details in now, so the story is still unfolding. But as you say, it's unclear, you know, exactly who may be behind this. But you talk about the past.
It's not the first time Istanbul has been targeted, also other cities around Turkey, including the capital Ankara, has also been the site of attacks like this. Tell us a little bit more about, I guess ISIS, you know, aiming at Turkey as a primary target since it began joining in the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition.
ROBERTSON: Sure, well, if you go back to August last year, when Ankara took the decision -- Turkey took the decision to open its air base the army to U.S. aircraft, to allow them to attack much more readily and against ISIS and Al Qaeda targets inside Syria.
That at that time, the Turkish authorities launched their own attacks against ISIS and against the PKK. And pretty much coming hard on the hills of that both ISIS and PKK strike back at targets in Turkey. There were also attacks prior to that date of August last year.
But what we have seen, or the end of July last year. What we have seen is the -- is a sort of a steady increase in the death toll, more typically, closer to the border with Syria and Iraq, in the Kurdish- held area there.
There have been attacks against the security forces there, by the OKK. Explosives, gun battles, that sort of thing. ISIS, more typically, has used explosive attacks, bombs, as appears to have gone off today in Istanbul. More typically use those for their attacks and more typically hit large centers of population, such as the capital, such as Istanbul.
However, again, the information that we have today does point to a targeting of the security forces, and this was something that we saw on a bus, and this was something that was claimed earlier in the year, in a similar attack in Istanbul, claimed by ISIS, Amara.
WALKER: Turkey continuing to face security challenges. Nic Robertson, good to have you. Thanks for that live from London.
Also, another story we're following. This just in from Bangladesh, police say a Hindu priest has been hacked to death in the southwestern part of the country.
The priest was on his way to temple when suspects on a motorbike attacked him with machetes. Police believe Islamic militants carried out the attack, following a number of similar murders in the country.
[03:05:12] Hillary Clinton has scored a major victory going into Tuesday's final round of state primary races. She now has enough delegates to secure the U.S. democratic presidential nomination. This will make Clinton the first woman in the country's history to lead the presidential ticket of a major party.
CNN has also learned that President Barack Obama wants to endorse her. Clinton has 2,384 delegates, putting her just over the number she needed. Voters in six U.S. States will go to the polls on this final Super Tuesday.
Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North and South Dakota, and the big prize, California. Hillary Clinton may be her party's presumptive nominee, but she's not doing a victory lap just yet.
Brianna Keilar has the story.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The Clinton campaign is walking a fine line. They're fundraising off of this news that she has gotten to this all important number that will propel her towards the nomination.
But in that same fund-raising appeal that they're making to supporters, but the primary isn't quite over. Hillary Clinton asked not one, not two, but seven times about this news, that she's hit this number. She didn't answer. She definitely heard the question, but she wouldn't touch it, and here's what she said at one of her events today in Long Beach.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: According to the news, we are on the brink of a historic, historic, unprecedented moment.
(APPLAUSE)
But we still have work to do, don't we? We have six elections tomorrow, and we're going to fight hard for every single vote, especially right here in California!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The Clinton campaign is worried that if it seems that she is definitely going to clinch the nomination, that voter turn-out could be down among her supporters in New Jersey, but especially here in California, where the race is very tight with Bernie Sanders, and there's a huge delegate haul at stake, 475 delegates.
So, important for Hillary Clinton to win so that she can project strength going into the general election, even as Bernie Sanders insists he is going to stay in this race until the democratic convention at the end of July.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Los Angeles.
WALKER: All right. So, as you just heard, rival Bernie Sanders has no plans to bow out of the race any time soon. At a rally in San Francisco Monday, he promised to take his campaign all the way to the democratic convention in July.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNIE SANDERS, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And if we can't win here in California, win in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, do well in New Jersey, we're going to go into that convention with enormous momentum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: And Sanders' campaign is crying foul on Hillary Clinton's delegate count. Their statement, reading in part, quote, "It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgment, are ignoring the Democratic National Committee's clear statement that it is wrong to count the votes of super delegates before they actually vote at the convention this summer." But Sanders says he will reassess his campaign after Tuesday's contests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Let us focus. I really hesitate, as you all know, Jeff, to be engaged in speculation. If I win tomorrow in California, if we do very well, and I don't know that we will, we may, if we do well in other states.
If there are super delegates out there who say, you know what, looking at the objective evidence of polling, looking at the objective evidence of who has the strongest grassroots campaign and can bring out the larger voter turn-out, which I think is crucial for November.
If some of those super delegates begin to think it is Bernie Sanders, I think that that is not an insignificant thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: And turning now to the republican side, details of a conference call were leaked, where Donald Trump is heard urging his supporters to step up attacks against the federal judge overseeing the Trump University fraud case.
Trump is refusing to back down on his calls for Judge Gonzalo Curiel to recuse himself because of his Mexican heritage.
CNN chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, has more.
DANA BASH, CNN'S CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Those who I've talked to did say that he made clear he does not think, though, that he is in the wrong to argue that Judge Curiel shouldn't preside over his case, given that he wants to build a wall with Mexico and the judge is of Mexican descent.
[03:10:01] It sounds like he's not only not taking the advice of even some of his most ardent supporters who have gone out to say that his comments are inflammatory and even racist.
It sounds like, you know, in the face of those public suggestions from his supporters, he's doubling down and tripling down, as we've seen him do so many times before.
WALKER: And as Dana Bash mentioned, even some of Trump's supporters say, this time, well, he's gone too far.
Here's CNN politics reporter, Sara Murray. SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Donald Trump is instructing his
surrogates to hammer home attacks like this one on a judge with Mexican heritage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump, a hater. He's a hater. His name is Gonzalo Curiel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: After a campaign memo instructed Trump supporters to steer clear of this critique Sunday night, Trump launched a call with prominent supporters today saying he had no plans to apologize. And encouraging backers like Scott Brown and Jan Brewer to echo his criticism of the judge.
According to Bloomberg News which first reported the call, Brewer interrupted to say they received the opposite instruction. "Take that order and throw it the hell out," Trump reportedly said. Trump's guidance come as GOP leaders are rushing to distance himself from him in the wake of his attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't disagree more with what he had to say.
PAUL RYAN, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I completely disagree with a thinking behind that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very disturbing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: That's after Trump told Jake Tapper U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel should be recuse from a lawsuit involving the now defunct Trump University. Saying Curiel is bias based on his heritage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This is a case that should have ended. This judge is giving us unfair rulings. Now I say why. Well, I'm building a wall. And it's a wall between Mexico, not another country.
JAKE TAPPER, THE LEAD SHOW HOST: But he's not -- he's not from Mexico. He's from Indiana.
TRUMP: He has Mexican heritage and he's very proud of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Trump telling CBS a Muslim judge might also be biased against him because of his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it were a Muslim judge would you also feel like they wouldn't be able to treat you fairly because of that policy of yours?
TRUMP: It's possible, yes. Yes, that would be possible, absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who some view as a potential V.P. pick says Trump went too far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: This is one of the worst mistakes Trump made. I think it's inexcusable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Sources say that criticism was particularly irritating to trump. And he says he's been taking aback by the party's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As far as Newt is concerned I saw Newt, I was surprised that Newt, I thought it was inappropriate what he said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Still some in the GOP are holding out hope Trump will tone it down as the primary season officially winds down this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB CORKER, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: He's talking with people all around the country that are experts in this regard, and I think they know that they're at a place where this campaign has to evolve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: And we've seen essentially this tidal wave of criticism against Donald Trump continuing today. Florida Senator Marco Rubio came out and said that he predicted that this would happen when he was running against Donald Trump in the GOP primary.
We saw Ben Carson hitting Trump for bringing up the judge's race, and we also saw criticism from Senator Tim Scott, the lone African- American republican in the Senate.
Now perhaps the most interesting criticism though, is what's coming from Newt Gingrich, Donald Trump both publicly and privately has expressed that he was particularly irritated by Gingrich's criticism. That's a kind of thing that could muddy the water as Trump sort of takes the look of who might be on his V.P. short list. Many people thought Gingrich would be on that list.
Sara Murray, CNN, Washington, D.C.
WALKER: The all-important California primary is just hours away, and we will have all day coverage right here on CNN. Be sure to tune in for the final Super Tuesday of the election season.
In Syria, ISIS is besieged on several fronts. Near the militant's several declared capital Raqqah, Syrian forces are pushing into the province for the first time in two years. Northwest of Raqqah, U.S.- backed Kurdish and Arab militias are pressing ISIS near the city of Manbij.
Now in Syria's eastern countryside, an activist group says an air strike killed at least 17 civilians at a busy market, eight children and three women are among the dead.
Russia's defense ministry is denying claims that Russian warplanes helped carry out the strikes. In the meantime, U.S. forces are playing a key strategic role in the battle against ISIS.
And Fred Pleitgen has been getting a firsthand look at the operation. He's joins us now from Crete in Greece with more. Hi there, Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Amara. It's certainly it's on multiple fronts that U.S. aircraft are playing a major role in these offensives of anti-ISIS forces.
You were just talking about Raqqah, also the northern area of Syria around that place in Manbij, which is very important, because the anti-ISIS forces there are trying to cut ISIS supply lines between Turkey and Syria there.
[03:15:09] And then of course, you have Fallujah, where the situation for civilians on the ground remains very dire. You know, we talked yesterday about how the U.S. had moved the USS Harry Truman nuclear powered aircraft carrier from the Persian Gulf to here to the Mediterranean where it's much closer to many of these ISIS targets.
Well, that aircraft carrier has now become the U.S. ship that's dropped more ordinance on ISIS target than any other ship in the U.S. fleet. Now we had to look at what that means for the operations on board.
Here's what we saw.
Even in the night, the USS Harry Truman's operations never stop. A relentless around-the-clock bombing campaign against ISIS, now in a critical stage. Many missions means lots of bombs need to be ready all the time.
Aviation ordinance man, Ronald Kennedy from Baltimore, Maryland shows me some of the most common ammunitions like this 500-pound guided bomb.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD KENNEDY, USS HARRY TRUMAN AVIATION ORDINANCE MAN: This is most common, we drop these on (Inaudible), we also load some air-to-air missiles, but air-to-ground right now and bombs are the favorite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Ordinance constantly hold bombs and missiles into elevators headed to the carriers where they're mounted to the jet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: First we have to get the call that we have to build the bomb and the stuff like that. First the bomb body, then we have to actually assemble the tail piece, then we actually have to figure the nose piece of the bomb, put it all together, assemble it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: This carrier has targeted ISIS more than any other ship in the American fleet. First from the Persian Gulf and now closer to Syria in the Mediterranean.
The crew of the USS Harry Truman has dropped more than 1.5 million pounds on ammunition on ISIS targets over the past couple of months. And now that the ship is here in the Mediterranean, the bombing runs are continuing at a high pace.
That's helped push ISIS back both in Iraq and Syria where allied forces seem close to liberating several of the group's strongholds. But the fast pace of operations also means working overtime for maintenance and logistics crews, preparing aircraft and moving them in and out of the hanger bay.
Now in its seventh month of the Truman's deployment, commanders say they try to make clear to all those on board, that they're making a difference as ISIS continues to lose ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN SCHOLL, USS HARRY TRUMAN COMMANDING OFFICER: We try to explain to each sailor know as they get their different job. They know that, OK, I think the initial numbers were 25 percent, and now we're up to ISIS losing 45 percent of the ground that they had in Iraq. So, those numbers are tangible to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: The Truman's crew will remain here for several more weeks, continuing their intense aerial campaign against ISIS, no matter what time of day.
Now, Amara, of course as more of these bombing missions take place they're from the USS Harry Truman. Of course, one of the things that also increases drastically is the threat of civilian casualties from those, the bombing raids, especially now that a lot of the fighting in Syria, but also especially around the Fallujah area is moving more into urban areas, densely populated areas where ISIS is often hiding among the population. Now one of the things that the pilot and also the commanders that we
-- that we talk to have told us, is they say they try to minimize those risks, first of all by choosing the targets, by approving the targets, but also by using smaller ammunitions.
For instance, 500-pound bombs, instead of 1,000-pound bombs to try to limit the impact area. But of course, Amara, there still is that threat that civilians could get hurt, especially at this point in time when the situation on the ground seems quite confusing and constantly moving, especially in places like Fallujah in Iraq, Amara.
WALKER: And obviously a terrifying situation as well for the civilians. Frederik Pleitgen, thank you for that, live for us there in Crete.
Well, the Japanese boy who was missing for six days is out of the hospital. Coming up, we'll talk about what his parents may face now.
Also, deadly storms are causing mayhem along the eastern coast of Australia. We'll have stock of the damage next.
[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines.
With just four days to go until the European Championship kicks off in stadiums across France, earlier Monday news emerged of a thwarted terrorist attack in the build up to the tournament.
The Ukrainian security service confirmed it prevented 15 terror attacks from being carried out during the competition. The head of the organization said that they had arrested a Frenchman on the Ukrainian- Polish border with a large cache of arms.
The news comes 24 hours after French President Francois Hollande called for those taking part in attending the tournament not to give into fears.
Some bad news for basketball fans hoping to see a little bit more of Steph Curry. Once the NBA finals wrap up the Golden State Warriors star has announced that he will not be going to the Rio Olympics.
And in a statement he said that his decision was down to several reasons rather than just one factor. He added that his recent ankle and knee injury was an issue and that he believed that this was the best decision for him at this stage of his career.
And the Chinese retail giant Suning Holdings is buying a majority stake in the (Inaudible) Italian club Inter Milan for $307 million, the latest big investment from the world's second biggest economy into Europe's high profile soccer team and there could be more in the pipeline.
And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.
WALKER: Welcome back, everyone. A Japanese boy who was lost for nearly a week in the woods is now out of the hospital.
With more on this, Alexandra Field, joining us now from Hong Kong. Alexandra, first off, I want to ask you about this boy's physical condition. I can't imagine the emotional trauma he's been through, wondering in those woods by himself. How is he looking?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at least this part of the ordeal is over for him, Amara. And doctors at that hospital where he was being treated for signs of dehydration and malnutrition say that he's actually in pretty good condition for somebody who went for so long without any food.
Remember, he is 7 years old. He went for six days alone in the woods without food, access only to water. But he was finally released from the hospital. He walked out, he greeted reporters, telling them that he's doing OK, he's looking forward to getting back to school and participating in a sports day.
He was also holding a giant card with a lot of messages from well- wishers. He was with his parents, they were by his side. They bowed deeply to the doctors and the hospital staff who treated him during his stay.
Two hundred people were involved in the search for this little boy, who was able to find an empty Japanese military base, that's where he had shelter while he was alone in the woods. He also had some access to water from an outdoor tap at that base.
He was left on the side of the road six days before he was found by his father. It was a punishment for being naughty. Police have declined to file criminal charges against the parents, Amara, but the case has now been referred to social services.
WALKER: Well, it's just incredible that we're talking a boy who survived this much time, six nights in the woods, and this was an area that's home to brown bears.
But again, just to clarify, because I know there was a lot of outrage when we heard the story about the parents abandoning the boy because he was apparently throwing rocks at cars that were driving by. But to be clear, the parents won't be facing criminal charges. Could they face any other consequences of their actions?
FIELD: Right. The police have at this point said they aren't pursuing criminal charges. They did spent an hour with the boy talking to him about what happened while he was away, what happened that cause him to be left on the side of the road by his parents.
And they're saying that his story matched up with what the parents have said. And the parents have expressed remorse, His father have said that he thought would be good for his son that this seem to go too far, quite clearly as this boy was alone in the woods for some six days.
But again, the case is being referred to social services. They will do an investigation. They'll specifically look at whether or not there's any sort of psychological abuse involved here and then it's possible that we could see some developments pending the result of that investigation.
But right now, police stepping aside and letting social services do their work.
WALKER: Got it. I can't imagine this child would get over the trauma that quickly and easily.
Alexandra Field, I appreciate that, live for us in Hong Kong.
Turning now to heavy storms, which are causing widespread flooding and a lot of damage along Australia's East Coast. Look at that erosion. Three people have died, another is missing.
[03:25:00] Thousands of people have been evacuated throughout the region.
For more on this, gosh, look at those pictures.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Unbelievable.
WALKER: Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joining us. What's going on?
JAVAHERI: Yes, so the timing could not be any worse. We had what's called a king tide in place, Amara, which is the highest high tide of the year that happens once a year, typically it happens in the cool season. We're approaching the cool season down in Australia, then you have a massive storm pending at the same time.
So, the water levels were at their highest points, the storm system really caused that major, major erosion there. So, that's the issue across the region. We'll show you exactly what's in store for our friends down across Australia. The damage, significant.
We know fatalities have occurred across portions of Australia. If you take a look some of the rescues, even live stock being rescued here as the water levels have been incredibly high. With the winds that were at hurricane force in spots.
And of course rainfall amounts that were measuring upwards of several months' worth of rainfall in a matter of two days. You work your way towards Canberra, picking up almost 100 millimeters of rainfall, that doubles the monthly average coming at.
And the Sheffield down to the south around portions of Tasmania. How about or 270 millimeters. What you typically see, around 120 millimeters in an entire month. Now the rainfall right now, what is left of it displaced a little farther back to the west. So we do get a little bit of a break from the immediate coastline being very hard hit in recent days.
But one area of weather we're watching is actually on the other side of the world, as far as a tropical storm is concerned. This is tropical storm Colin. It's sitting across portions of Florida. It made landfall across the big Ben region of Florida, which is right there across the northern and western region of Florida.
This storm is cruising at a very rapid clip. In fact, inside the next few hours, it pushes right offshore of the eastern seaboard of the United States and it moves away.
But at least 16 million people still underneath a tropical storm warning across northern Florida, parts of the Carolinas. Rainfall amounts anywhere from 5 to 10 inches. So, we're talking about a significant amount of rainfall that is come down in this region in just a matter of 24 or so hours.
And if you take a look at what is left about half of that amount still left in the forecast. Across the Tampa area, towards Orlando, across the Disney world region going to be absolutely soggy day here for your Tuesday across this region.
But again, the storm system is moving quite rapidly, and it moves out of the picture quite rapidly, that's the good news when it comes to this particular storm over the next couple of days in this area.
We had of course tropical storm Bonnie last week that made landfall across a this very similar spot. It took four to five days to depart. This storm Colin made landfall just a couple of hours ago. It will be departing by tonight. So, the difference in that sense is good news.
WALKER: Did this hurricane season start early. It just seems like we're only...
(CROSSTALK)
JAVAHERI: Absolutely. June 1st, yes, June 1st is the beginning, the official beginning of the hurricane season. The third one is being Colin, this is actually the most rapid third storm we've ever had on record as far as getting three storms this early into the season.
WALKER: Yes. All right. It sounds like it doesn't bode well for the rest of the season. Does it (Inaudible) Thanks so much, Pedram. Keep us posted.
JAVAHERI: Yes.
WALKER: All right. We're going to take a quick break here. When we come back, Hillary Clinton may be the presumptive democratic nominee, but don't expect Bernie Sanders's die-hard supporters to accept it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, there's all the polling out there, and you guys are straight up just lying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both represent doom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) WALKER: Welcome back, everyone. To our viewers around the world. I'm Amara Walker. Time to update you on our top stories this hour.
CNN Turkey is reporting that a bomb targeted a police bus in central Istanbul Tuesday. The blast hit during the morning rush hour, injuring at least five people. There's been no claim of responsibility for the attack.
A Japanese boy who was missing in the woods for six days is now out of the hospital. His father said he left him on a roadside as punishment for misbehaving. The boy's parents will not face criminal charges, but a spokeswoman says police want to follow up on suspicions of psychological abuse.
Hillary Clinton has secured the delegates she needs to clinch the U.S. democratic presidential nominations. Sources also tell CNN that President Barack Obama will soon give Clinton his endorsement.
Rival Bernie Sanders campaign is calling the delegate count a rush to judgment. Now many of Sanders supporters say it's Bernie or bust.
Gary Tuchman talked to some of them just hours before Clinton hit that magic number of delegates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are true Bernie believers.
Sanders supporters lining up as far as the eye can see in San Francisco hours before the candidate himself even arrives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bernie or bust.
TUCHMAN: But is that bust about to occur? Is this Bernie Sanders' last stand?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he doesn't get the nominee, it would be really depressing. I don't think people will stop believing in him or stop trying to fight the good fight, but that's going to be a really sad day, if that's the case.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We kind of knew this was coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think that's what he meant.
TUCHMAN: How do you feel about that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. She's still better than the alternative.
TUCHMAN: But conciliatory viewpoints like those, seem to be the exception among these fervent supporters.
President Obama and Vice President Biden are likely very soon going to endorse Hillary Clinton. How does that make you feel? What would you say to them? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're friends. I didn't vote for Obama because
I consider him part of the same click, Hillary's establishment.
TUCHMAN: Victoria Jacobs (ph) is representative of many people waiting in this line.
Hillary Clinton is named the presumptive nominee, what are you going to do or say about it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She won't be. Straight up, dude, she won't. What if, what if.
TUCHMAN: She is very angry and has no plans to compromise. The fact that it's very likely that it's going to happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it really isn't. I'm sorry. That's your script. Like you guys that you're scripted. Everybody on the internet, social media, look, there's all the polling out there, and you guys are straight up just lying. It's a black-out.
TUCHMAN: A black-out, which is short for Bernie black-out, which many Sanders supporters allege has kept their man off the news. Many here say they have a message for Democratic Party leadership.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I say to dems their days are numbered. Because they are obviously subverting the will of the people.
TUCHMAN: There's still time for this anger to possibly subside. Election Day is still five months away. Five months ago, the Iowa caucuses hadn't even happened yet. And there have been a lot of tumultuous developments since then.
Five months is a long time. But some here swear they will never get over it.
If you watch TV on Tuesday night and you see Hillary Clinton's name next to the term presumptive democratic presidential nominee, tell me how that will make you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bad, like doom. I mean, I think Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both represent doom.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, San Francisco.
[03:34:57] WALKER: Strong opinions there. Well, earlier, I spoke with Jonathan Swann, political reporter for the Hill, about the odds that Bernie Sanders will stick it out in the presidential race even has Clinton reaches the magic number.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN SWANN, THE HILL POLITICAL REPORTER: In one sense, she already is the presumptive nominee. And we're now sort of about to see a rhetorical battle between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, where he will be arguing that she's not actually the nominee, because she still hasn't got the pledged delegates to be the nominee. WALKER: So, you expect him to continue to make the pitch, if he wins
California, or if it's a close race, hey, you know, it's not over yet, super delegates, vote for me?
SWANN: Yes. So, that's certainly what his campaign is signaling. Michael Briggs, who is a spokesman for Bernie Sanders' campaign, sent out an e-mail outline, I got an e-mail from him I think about 20 minutes ago, saying it's such a shame that the press is rushing to judgment.
You know, Hillary Clinton has not won. These super delegates can change their mind, and we intend to spend the next month and a half persuading them that Bernie Sanders has a much better chance of beating Donald Trump.
WALKER: You know, we know that Bernie Sanders' fans are extremely loyal. They have very strong feelings for him. Some of them have very strong feelings against Hillary Clinton, as we saw.
What do you think will happen in terms of uniting the Democratic Party? We know that Clinton has been calling for the party to unite and is hoping to court Bernie Sanders's voters, but in reality, how effective will that pitch to be to get the Bernie Sanders's supporters to support Clinton?
SWANN: Now is the time in the cycle where there's peak animosity between the two sides. You recall 2008, there were a number of Hillary Clinton voters who said they will never support Barack Obama. In fact, they will vote for John McCain over Barack Obama, and that never really materialized.
If history is any guide, it won't materialize again, in this election. And as the prospect of Donald Trump comes into sharper focus, a lot of those Bernie Sanders supporters will end up, even though they might some of them be doing it grudgingly, voting for Hillary Clinton.
WALKER: Yes. We've seen strange things happen in politics before and it continues to happen in this season.
Jonathan, let's talk about the republican side and Donald Trump again, doubling down on his comments, what critics call a racist comment regarding the federal judge, Judge Gonzalo Curiel.
Are we seeing republicans who, some of whom have begrudgingly supported Donald Trump, becoming increasingly uncomfortable with their support?
SWANN: Yes, very much so. The most uncomfortable was probably House Speaker Paul Ryan. Literally the day before, he had finally sort of been dragged along in this excruciating process where he had sort of this public self-flagellation where he said, you know, I'm not quite ready to support Donald Trump.
I need my comfort levels to be increased. He had this private meetings with Donald Trump and he finally said, you know, I'm ready to vote for him, I don't agree with him on everything, et cetera. And then Donald Trump comes out and doubles down on this attack on
this -- on this judge, who, by the way, was born in the United States, in Indiana. And Donald Trump said because he has Mexican heritage, he has a conflict of interest and he should be precluded from ruling over this fraud lawsuit against Trump University lawsuit.
Paul Ryan immediately had to come out and say, well, this was out of left field. You're seeing these excruciating public denunciations of Donald Trump from various republican figures and others are just trying to avoid the media. There's lots of senators just not answering their phones at the moment.
WALKER: I got you. Jonathan Swann, great to have you on the program.
SWANN: My pleasure.
WALKER: I appreciate your time. Thanks.
And be sure to tune in for the final Super Tuesday of the election season, the primary season. The California primary is just hours away. And we'll have all day coverage right here on CNN.
All right, time now to check on some other news we're following.
Tuesday is the last day of annual talks between the U.S. and China. The world's two largest economy have been holding especially tense meetings, thanks largely to China's slowing economy. And territorial disagreements concerning the South China Sea are only adding to the tensions.
The British Prime Minister and the leader of the U.K. Independence Party will appear at a televised forum on the so-called Brexit vote later Tuesday.
David Cameron and Nigel Farage will take questions from a live studio audience. Voters go to the polls on June 23rd to decide whether the U.K. should remain in the European Union.
And France is holding a security exercise Tuesday to prepare for potential terror threats at the Euro 2016 Football Championship.
[03:40:01] Meanwhile, Ukraine says it arrested a French man who was planning attacks during the tournament. Authorities say he built up an arsenal of weapons and explosives.
Also, outrage over a campus rape case in the U.S. State of California. We're going to take a short break. When we come back, we're going to explain why a former student's sentence is making headlines and creating outrage.
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WALKER: A slap on the wrist. That's what many are calling the six- month jail sentence given to a former Stanford University student. The star swimmer was found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on campus. The victim read a letter in court describing the pain the instant has caused her.
Isha Sesay takes us inside the case.
ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A terrible crime compounded by its aftermath. Outrage over a sentence some feel is too lenient. The case, highlighting questions of liability, punishment, and American society's attitude toward sexual assault.
On Thursday, former Stanford student Brock Turner, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment after being convicted on three felony assault charges. The prosecution had sought a sentence of six years.
The woman was unconscious at the time she was assaulted on the university campus. The incident occurred after a party during which both had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol.
Turner will also be placed on the sex offender's register for life. His victim spoke out in a statement read at sentencing. Earlier, CNN's Ashley Banfield read part of that statement on the Legal View.
[03:44:51] "One day I was at work, scrolling through the news. On my phone and I came across an article. In it, I read and learned for the first time about how I was found unconscious, with my hair disheveled, long necklace wrapped around my neck, bra pulled out of my dress, dress pulled off over my shoulders, and pulled up above my waist, that I was butt naked all the way down to my boots, legs spread apart, and had been penetrated by a foreign object by someone I did not recognize."
"I learned what happened to me the same time everyone else in the world learned what happened to me."
SESAY: Brock Turner's father has further filled anger surrounding the case, penning a letter to the judge in which he states, "His life will never be the one he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20-plus years of life."
Social media reaction has been vitriolic. With many questioning why Turner's father would depict his son as a victim of the incident. And the prosecution has also condemned the apparent leniency of the sentence.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen said, "The sentence does not factor in the true seriousness of the sexual assault or the victim's ongoing trauma. Campus rape is no different than off-campus rape. Rape is rape."
While Brock Turner denies he committed rape, his victim only became aware of the assault when she woke up in the hospital and was asked to sign papers marked rape victim before being allowed to shower.
Stanford University has expressed regret over what happened, but in a statement claimed it had done everything in its power to ensure justice in the case. "This was a horrible incident, and we understand the anger and deep
emotion it has generated. There is still much work to be done, not just here, but everywhere, to create a culture that does not tolerate sexual violence in any form, and a judicial system that deals appropriately with sexual assault cases."
Isha Sesay, CNN, Los Angeles.
WALKER: For more on this case, we turn now to CNN legal analyst, Philip Holloway who is a criminal defense attorney. All right. I want to get your reaction.
You know, there's been so much outrage I'll be seeing on Twitter, online. Six months of a sentence for this Stanford swimmer who sexually assaulted a woman who was unconscious. Six months. What do you think? Too lenient?
PHILIP HOLLOWAY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think the sentence is unconscionable. But almost as unconscionable is what the district attorney was asking for, which was six years to serve.
You know, in many states, in fact, in the State of Georgia where I practice one could theoretically get the death penalty for this type of assault. So, the fact that the judge only had six years to work with is bad enough, but that he only gave six months to serve is an outright miscarriage of justice.
WALKER: Yes, right. So, you're saying the prosecutor was asking for six years, the judge only gives six months of a sentence. What exactly does the judge take into account, you know, to give a sentence like this?
HOLLOWAY: Judges theoretically are supposed to take into account any aggravating factors and any mitigating factors. Now those things that would tend to put the Senate higher and things that might tend to pull it lower.
For example, the lack of criminal history. But specifically the facts of the case generally play the most important role. And I cannot imagine any set of facts involving sexual assault, as I understand them to be in this case, that would justify merely a six months' sentence. I don't care who you are, or in what state you live, this is an absolute inappropriate sentence.
WALKER: And a lot of angry people. Almost 100,000 people have signed this petition online and they're calling for the judge to be recalled over this. Your thoughts?
HOLLOWAY: On that issue, ironically, I think that the judge should not be recalled. I think the judge can answer for it certainly at the next election when he stands for re-election.
But judges as a general rule, should not be bound by public opinion to sentence someone in any particular way either more harshly or more lenient. They should be allowed the discretion to do what they feel is right without bending to public pressure. That said, the sentence is wrong and I think the judge will have to
answer for this, but he should answer for it in his regular election, not a special election.
WALKER: You really have to feel for the family and especially this poor woman who went through what she did. Is there any other legal recourse for her?
HOLLOWAY: She has no legal recourse whatsoever when it comes to sentencing. For him, he plans to appeal the sentence and the conviction, but for the victim, she's going to live with this for the rest of her life one way or the other, no matter what happens with the defendant's appeal.
WALKER: And just to clarify, in the United States, state by state, of course all the laws vary and you're saying California seems to have, I guess maybe not a stronger code when it comes to sentencing when it comes to sexual assaults.
[03:50:01] HOLLOWAY: This is something that the California legislature should take a long look at, do some soul-searching, if you will, to decide how they collectively feel sexual assault should be penalized in the State of California.
WALKER: Good to have you on, Philip Holloway. I appreciate your time and expertise on this. Thanks.
HOLLOWAY: You bet. Any time.
WALKER: We want to bring you an update now on the breaking news story out of Turkey. A bomb blast in Istanbul has killed 11 people and injured 36 more.
Reports say a remotely detonated car bomb targeted a police bus during the morning rush hour. Seven police officers are among the dead.
We'll be right back.
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JAVAHERI: Good morning, everyone. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for CNN Weather Watch.
Watching what is left of tropical storm Colin, it's the elongated area of conducted thunderstorms this morning. We know landfall occurring at this hour across portions of at least the Big Ben region of Florida.
Right across this area winds generally sitting about 50 or so miles per hour. This is a very quick-moving storm system, and a lot of the energy and a lot of the damage associated with it is going to be displaced off to east and it's going to be associated with heavy rainfall.
And again, by this time tomorrow and then tomorrow night, certainly into Wednesday, we're talking about a storm system that is long gone into the record books, as the quickest third storm in recorded history.
The C letter storm. And notice the heavy rainfall there could be over 150 to 250 millimeters from say Tampa out towards the magic kingdom in Orlando there with sitting some heavy rainfall in the last couple of days.
Beyond that, temps warming up into the lower 30s from Atlanta towards Dallas. Frisco and Los Angeles, temps around 21 degrees, and notice the orange contours, you notice how they take over this map in a pretty significant way toward say Thursday and Friday, we're talking about the biggest heat wave of the year upon us across the Eastern U.S. over the next couple of days.
We'll watch that carefully.
And to the south, we expect thunderstorms this time of year. We see them around Managua, we see them around say, Mexico City and Belize City as well. Cartagena around 31 degrees, some afternoon dry storm and some of the drought situation of the south is going to be alleviated as well.
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WALKER: With just two months to go, Olympic organizers say demand for tickets has been strong. Official say more than three quarters the six millions available have been sold. Another 1.5 million tickets could be made available closer to the start of the games.
Hotel rooms in Rio are scarce. The local hotel association says 90 percent of the overall rooms have been booked. And among five-star hotels, it is nearly 100 percent. Sales are slower for the Paralympics games with only 25 percent of available tickets sold so far.
Well, the beaches of Brazil are going high tech just in time for the Rio games.
Let's get the details from CNN's Shasta Darlington.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Out here on Rio's beaches you can find almost anything under the sun. Chilled drums of iced tea, a brand-new bikini, or rent a beach chair that comes with Wi-Fi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just on vacations here and I came here just because they have Wi-Fi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DARLINGTON: Now there's a new app that puts it all at your fingertips, Na Praia are on the beach. Order what you need and vendors bring the items to you. It's the Uber of Rio's white sands, according to founder, Carol Martins.
[03:55:03] "Everybody wants to adapt to this new tendency", she says. Improving sales and service based on user feedback. Beach vendors get a free phone, a 4G plan and intensive training on how to take advantage of all the new data.
"It's not hard," he says. "I think in a day or even an hour you can figure it out." Beach goers can sign up with a credit card. No more lost coins. Also making it safer for both buyers and sellers after a rash of beach robberies.
Four hundred vendors are lining up to join, just in time for the 2016 Olympic Games. "Everything's available in English and Spanish," she says. "And by the Olympics, we'll have French and Italian, and if everything works out, even Mandarin."
Of course we figure we have to try it out. How about an umbrella, beach chair, and coconut water. That was easy. Just a few clicks, and now look what I get to do for the rest of the day. And it's tasty.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.
WALKER: Thanks to Shasta for rubbing that in for us. Having a good all time there.
Well, students in the U.K. have named their Bristol school house after a local hero, mysterious street artist Banksy. In return, Banksy painted a surprise mural on the side of the school building showing a little girl chasing a flaming tire.
The artist also left a thank you note, telling the students to feel free to add to his paintings. Banksy's works can be found all over the world and sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nice touch there.
And before we leave you this hour we want to show you some video that caught our eye of a brazen heist in India. The culprit, a small monkey. You see him there pushing into his way of a jewelry store after being offered some fruit. The primate headed straight for the register, grabbed a handful of cash and then bolted. He knew exactly what he wanted.
I'm Amara Walker. Stay tuned for more news. Live from London including the latest on that deadly attack in Istanbul.
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