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The Race To Pick Vice Presidential Running Mates Is Now Heating Up; Florida Beaches And Water Wastes This Weekend, Toxic Algae Bloom; The Democratic Presumptive Nominee For President, Hillary Clinton Meeting With The Fbi This Morning For Three And A Half Hour; New Concerns Over High Lead Exposure On Capitol Hill; Terror Attacks Across The World This Week From Turkey To Bangladesh. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired July 02, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00] CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is something that's been I the works for some time now. And we have a statement from the Hillary Clinton campaign, from one of her spokes people. And I want to read that to you right now.

It says quote "Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her email arrangements while he was secretary. She is pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the department of justice in bringing this review to a conclusion. Out of respect for the investigative process, she will not comment further on her interview."

And that comes in Nick Merrill. He is a spokesman for the secretary. And I talked with some aides who pointed out that she went to FBI headquarters. She sat down with the FBI for about three and a half hours. And this was expected. This is a routine part of an investigation like this. The FBI has also talked to some of Hillary Clinton's top aides, like Huma Abedeen. So we have seen this before. In fact, you know, a campaign aid points out to me that Hillary Clinton first offered to sit down and be interviewed by the FBI way back last August when this review was launched. And certainly Democrats had hoped this would be done before now.

And as we heard Pam Brown reporting a little earlier, you know, the FBI really hoping to get this done before the conventions start in just a few weeks because certainly the Republicans have been hammering Hillary Clinton on this. This investigation has been going on for a year. And in fact, this email issue has dogged her since early spring of last year, back in March when the GOP Benghazi committee in the house found out that he was in fact doing government business on a private email server when they went looking for email about Benghazi. The state department couldn't find any and that led to the discovery that she had a home server in her home.

Now, the FBI is looking into whether there was any classified information that passed over the server that violates the law. So far we are told they haven't found any evidence this Hillary Clinton willfully violated U.S. law and we're waiting to see what happens next, Fred. But this was a big, big step today. And the breaking news, of course, that she sat down voluntarily for the three and a half hour interview with the FBI. We expect that that is the last major piece of this investigation and that things should be wrapping up here pretty soon.

WHITFIELD: And so, Chris, do we know whether she was alone?

FRATES: We don't know whether or not she was alone. The campaign very, very limited on the details that they are presenting. But if I had to guess, I would imagine when you go talk to the FBI you also bring your lawyer. David Kendall has been representing her on a lot of this email issue. He is a long time lawyer with the Clintons. And he had done a lot of the legal work, whether it's with the house Benghazi committee or with the FBI on this case, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris, hold tight. I want to bring in some others to talk about this. Larry Sabato, he is the director of the center for politics at the University of Virginia. David Gergen, a CNN senior political analyst and former adviser to President Reagan, Ford, Clinton and Nixon and Julian Zelizer, a history professor at Princeton University.

All right, good to see you all of you.

So David, let me begin with you. Hillary Clinton, as you heard, Chris said she was willing to do this as far back as August of last year. And now here it is, what, three weeks or so away from the convention and the interview takes place now. Why do you suppose it would take as long as it has and how potentially damaging or perhaps is there more of a silver ling for Hillary Clinton at this point?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That's the big question, isn't it? We simply don't know at this point. Enough to be making intelligent guesses as to how this will come out. What I think we do know is that this has been a long and thorough and somewhat mysterious investigation in that it has taken so long. There are a number of people on the outside who wondered, why was it so complicated? And I guess we will find that out when we get a report or a conclusion.

What I also think is very important is that there has been a growing sense in Washington that they need to wrap this up before the Democratic convention not only for the sake of the Democratic Party but for the public at large because there is going to be some sort of punishment made it out by the justice department. You want the people coming to the Democratic convention to know that in advance so they can resolve, you know, whether they go forward with Hillary Clinton, as many suspect they will, or whether that will deter them and will deter her.

So we have a lot to learn. It is, I think, critically important that they have reached this final step, you know, with some time now before the Democratic convention. I think it's very likely we'll get a result. We will get a conclusion. The event of the weekend with attorney general Lynch and so forth, of course, are going to fan public suspicion of the whole process. Now, it's one more reason to get this, to be as transparent as possible what they're doing and get this wrapped up in a clean way.

[13:05:00] WHITFIELD: So David, your feeling is because the interview has taken place and we have heard our Pam Brown and even Chris say this is the final stages of the investigation. But can you be so sure that the review will be submitted to say the attorney general, the rest of the U.S. justice department before the convention?

GERGEN: We can't be sure of anything. But certainly the rumor mill has it. And it's often unfounded rumors. But there's an expectation among people in politics that especially given the fact that they have done the interview today is they now have enough time to reach their conclusions, to go forward with talking to the independent, the lawyers and the justice department and the FBI to come forward with a recommendation to the attorney general. And she has basically said over the weekend that she's going to go along with whatever they recommend.

The attorney general in the past has exercised discretion. It's really important to remember that general Petraeus case, the attorney general, Eric Holder, liberal Obama appointee stepped in and reduced the recommendation to a misdemeanor, reduced the recommendation that came in from the field after the investigation. Loretta lynch has said basically I'm going to remove myself from that process. I will simply go along whatever is recommended to me. And big to remove as many shadows and suspicions as possible. We are never going to get away from all the conspiracy theories around this. But it would be helpful to the country I think to have this wrapped up cleanly. And with a sense that they've been thorough and fair.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

So Julian, how nerve-racking do you supposed it is right now, this juncture for Hillary Clinton, for her camp, for Democrats as a whole just week leading up to the Democratic convention. This interview would take place, but it's not certain when the review would be revealed?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it's very nerve-racking on two fronts. The first is, what is the actual outcome? And as David said, we don't know, they don't know. And so, you are running a campaign, you are organizing a convention, you are on a path to a victorious stage of your campaign waiting to see what this investigation says. And even with the possibility that there's a bombshell recommendation that's devastating to her.

And then at the same time it's also simply perception and it is what the media is talking about. You know, we have been in a cycle where Donald Trump has been struggling on many fronts, and there has been a lot of coverage with the problems with his candidacy. And all of the sudden now the discussion will move back to Hillary Clinton and the questions about trust and the questions about investigation. And this is not what her campaign wants to be talking about.

So I think in both respects this is a challenge they knew was coming. But they do want this to come to an end.

WHITFIELD: And Larry, if you are Bernie Sanders, you are saying potentially this is why I'm still in the race.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: It's possible. No doubt, he maintains some hope of somehow getting the nomination. And I can tell you for sure that many of his followers do because all of us in the system get daily emails and tweets from them about how Bernie Sanders is still going to win the nomination.

Look. I think if that happened, I mean, if this was a complete disaster and Clinton were indicted and she stepped aside, the substitute nominee would not be Bernie Sanders. It would obviously be vice president Biden. I think that's where the White House would step in and would ensure a transition that was appropriate both for the convention and for the Democratic Party and for the process. But I don't think any of that is going to happen.

David Gergen put his finger on it precisely. The FBI and the justice department, the others involved in this have to deal with this quickly. They have already left this really to the last minute in terms of the electoral calendar. All of us need it resolved. Not just the Clintons, not just Democrats, everybody. We all need a clean process.

WHITFIELD: All right. And quickly before - yes, go ahead.

GERGEN: Can I add one more point?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

GERGEN: I think one more point about this, especially given the controversy over the weekend about the meeting between the former president Clinton and the attorney general is there is a view on both sides of the aisle that the person heading up the investigation at the FBI, Jam Comey is a straight shooter. And I think there is going to be whatever he recommends is going to have standing. And I think will be more readily accepted. And I think that is a good thing for the country. Whether it's yes or no or up or down or whatever it is, James Comey has a reputation of serving the public interest impartially. I think that's extremely important for the outcome and how the public receives this, whatever the report is.

[13:10:03] WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it right there. Gentlemen -- wait a minute. I think we have a little more time.

All right. Let me ask you this one last thing about the CNN poll where voters are asked if Clinton was wrong to use her personal email. It says 67 percent agreed Clinton was wrong, while 31 percent saying no.

So Larry, you know, you said it's very important for the candidate, for the party, for the country. How do those numbers or that kind of polling square with your point?

SABATO: Well, it doesn't help Hillary Clinton. And as so many people have suggested for so many months, this would really hurt her badly if her opponent weren't Donald Trump. You know, the Clinton lot can be very good or very bad. That it has been very bad in terms of his e- mail scandal and some other difficulties during the campaign. It's been very good in her choice or the result of the opponent. The fact is that Donald Trump is probably even more damaged in many key ways that Hillary Clinton is.

WHITFIELD: All right. We are going to leave it right there, gentlemen.

Thank you so much Larry Sabato, Ron Brownstein, David Gergen, Julian Zelizer. All right. Thank you.

All right. So much more straight ahead right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:13:56] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

The race to pick vice presidential running mates is now heating up. CNN has learned that Donald Trump will meet with Indiana governor Mike Pence today fueling speculation that Pence could be Trump's number two. Here are the people we know Trump is also considering. The list includes former house speaker Newt Gingrich, New Jersey governor Chris Christie, both are finalists who have submitted paperwork for vetting.

And Hillary Clinton's short list of potential running mate includes former Virginia governor Tim Kaine and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren.

Joining me now to discuss the race for the number two spot, Larry Sabato is back with us, director for the center for politics at the University of Virginia and CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Now Ron is with us. Where is he? There you are. All right, good to see both of you.

OK, Ron, I kind of had you with us but then not really earlier.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

WHITFIELD: OK. So Larry, you first. Let's begin with, you know, Donald Trump meeting with Indiana governor Mike Pence this weekend. You know, do you read into the tea leaves here or do you just need to meet with a lot of people and let people guess on what the meetings are about or not?

[13:15:08] SABATO: Well, my guess is that he must be under consideration to one degree or another. We are at the point where campaigns often hide what they're really doing and they have cover stories with other candidates, public meetings with other candidates.

Look, Mike Pence would be a very interesting VP candidate. He is very solid with social conservatives. He is well respected in D.C. here he served in senior positions in the house for a number of years. He is running for reelection as governor in Indiana, though. I mean, that's kind of disruptive. If he were to take the VP slot, I'm not sure how they would arrange his successor as the Republican nominee. And also where are the electoral votes he brings. Yes, President Obama carried Indiana narrow in in 2008 but Indiana has reverted to form. It is now much more Republican again and is likely to vote for Trump in any event. WHITFIELD: And so, Ron, if Donald Trump is intimated before that, you

know, he needs somebody who knows Washington politics because that's not, you know, his wheel house, given that, among those seven that we put pictures up earlier, who seems like it would best fit the bill?

BROWNSTEIN: That's a great question. First of all as Larry will remember, you know, I remember 1984 was the most famous example of this with Walter Mando (ph). Often the nominee will publicly consider different candidates that may not really be on their short list as a way of indicating respect for different constituencies in the party. I mean, it is a way of showing that, you know, each faction of the party there, one of their champions is being considered.

But to answer your question, I think Bob Corker is a very intriguing pick for Donald Trump, although there have been moments where Corker has been critical of him. As chair of the senate foreign relations committee, I think he is someone who could not only provide kind of the bridge to Washington that you talk about but also is I think respected in foreign policy circles. John Thune certainly. And as Larry said, Mike Pence is kind of a twofer in that he's a governor out of Washington but he has a long history with conservatives in Washington.

You know, Gingrich and Christie are both intriguing options in their own ways, but I think each of them raise different concerns among social conservatives who are in 100 percent sure about Donald Trump as well. So, it is going to be interesting to see where he goes. I do think he needs a current elected official. I think he needs to send a signal if the party does consider a viable president. If he can't get someone who is prominent and current to run with him, I think it's a bad signal for Trump.

WHITFIELD: And then for Hillary Clinton, what would she be looking for in her potential running mate, Larry?

SABATO: Well, you would think that she would want someone who is well experienced, because that would draw a sharp contrast with Donald Trump. I don't know about her vice presidential candidate. We'll have to see. But she wants somebody who is very experienced. That eliminate some people. But her list generally consists of elected officials. I have long felt her best choice by far was Senator Tim Kaine. And I can tell a lot of people agree with me because Tim Kaine is being hit with opposition research dumps right and left from Republicans and Democrats trying to eliminate him from the list. So I think he is a strong candidate. Senator Sherrod Brown, problem is, senator from Ohio, you get a Republican senator replacing him if he becomes VP. The same with Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts. So every candidate has pluses and minuses. We will see what Clinton does.

WHITFIELD: So Ron, would Hillary Clinton, would her camp be thinking about bigger picture party, what seats would be potentially up for grabs or is the priority who best suits her and positions her best in the White House leading up to the general election?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think they have to be concerned about the impact on the Senate. And with Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, and Corey Booker, you have the same issue in each case that a Republican governor would get to take their replacement. Because obviously, that affects the course of your administration whether Chuck Schumer or Mitch McConnell is the Senate majority leader is going to have a big impact, for example, on the Supreme Court nominee if you win the presidency.

You know, someone said to me, a Clinton said to me the other day, they are looking for someone to help them win, not necessarily as much a priority as someone to help them govern. They kind of feel that they got that, you know. They have been in the White House for eight years. They don't necessarily the first priority is. And I think on that you have a fundamental crossroads here.

If you pick Tim Kaine, you are picking someone who is kind of reassuring to the center and kind of says that you believe that because Trump is such a polarizing nominee. There is a lot pieces that senate right Republican are a lot of pieces that may be available to you and you could maybe peel away.

If you pick Elizabeth Warren who is kind of the most prominent of the senatorial options, you are saying, I'm going to win by mobilizing the Democratic base. There is no question she would be electrifying to the Democratic base. But there's a lot of, you know, kind of polarization that goes with her. And of course, you would have kind of doubling down on the first, you know, ticket. Worth-noting when Bull Clinton --.

[13:20:16] WHITFIELD: So many have argued for a long time that Hillary Clinton is polarizing too. But then you got Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren, both polarizing but in different arenas.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

And Fred, real quick, I mean, when Bill Clinton made his pick, you know, base has pick as vice president, he did not do the traditional balance. He picked another baby boomer, Al Gore, another young parent. And it really kind of sent a reinforcing message. And that would be a fascinating precedent if in fact Hillary Clinton does go the way with Elizabeth Warren. Most people think she won't. That she is probably, you know, feeling pretty comfortable now. Doesn't want to rock the boat with the kind of risk to her pick. Tim Kaine makes a lot of sense in that regard. If you can add Virginia to the states that voted Democratic in every race since 1992, you're on the right on the brink of Electoral College majority with that alone.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ron and Larry. Thanks so much, gentlemen. Good to see you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

SABATO: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right coming up, some counties in Florida are facing a state of emergency and it is all because of toxic algae. Jennifer Gray is joining us from Florida next. JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Fred. It is pretty gross.

Look down here. You can see that blue/green algae covering the rivers and canals here in some counties in Florida. And residents just call it disgusting. They're furious. They want answers. We'll talk all about it coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:24:15] WHITFIELD: An unwelcomed guest at some Florida beaches and water wastes this weekend, toxic algae bloom. It's actually killing some animals and stinking up the beaches and it's driving away a lot of business and a lot of wildlife.

Our meteorologist Jennifer Gray is right there in Stuart, Florida where it is terrible, a horrible example of, you know, what people are having to deal with an animals are deal with.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It really is bad all around. And Fred, there are so many different layers to it.

Let me show you first what we are dealing with. Look down here. You can see the green sludge. In fact, people on social media have described as sticking your head in a trash can of rotted meat and cat litter. It would agree with that. It is absolutely disgusting. Look at blue green color out there. You can see it. It is just a mess. And this is what's filling in Florida's rivers and canals and it is because of the draining of Lake Okeechobee. They have to regulate those lake levels because they don't wanted to get too high because then you could have a flooding situation around the lake when it comes to Florida's rainy season in the summer which coincides to hurricane season. So they drain the lake.

They are draining into the rivers and canals. And it is full of fertilizer from the agriculture industry. It is full of pollutants from the urban runoffs. And all of these chemicals are coming in to the salt water as you wary. And it is not only suffocating the sea life under because it is depleting the oxygen, it is filtering out the sunlight that can't get through. And it is killing the plant on the bottom that say the manatees feed and other marine life like that. So it is a huge problem. It's become a political problem because the voters voted to buy land south of Lake Okeechobee about a year and a half ago and nothing has been done to buy that. That land was going to be to store this water instead of it going into the rivers and canals like it is still doing now.

So we know that Florida has a huge, huge industry. They rely on the fishing industry which is $5 billion a year. They rely on their tourism industry which is almost $70 billion a year. And when you have this muck just filling the rivers and the canals, you are going to hurt that considerably, Fred. And so the people are furious here. In fact nearly 5,000 locals from the Stuart area lined the beaches this morning. They spelled out buy the land and that is trying to urge lawmaker to do what they voted for and buy that land south of the lake. It's agriculture land. And so, that's where the politics come in. So people are screaming. They wanting answers because that could be catastrophic to the state -- Fred. [13:26:50] WHITFIELD: So the people are very angry. They are hoping

that something will be put into place that this doesn't happen again. But in the interim you've got all of this stuff in place. Is there anything that can destroy this algae bloom, that can slow it down, that can scoop it up? Is there anything in the interim short term that can be done?

GRAY: They have actually slowed some of the water being released from Lake Okeechobee. Of course, as you can see, the damage has already been done. This also extends all the way through the water column. So it's not just as easy as going and scooping it up. Besides, you have hundreds of miles of canals and coastline that this is now filtered into. And so, what they are saying is basically it's going to have to disburse on its own. It is going to pass and dissolve out. And also, don't get in the water obviously. And if you see any along the beaches, report it because they want to test it and make sure that it is the toxic type of algae. Not all algae is toxic so they want to make sure. And if they do find that toxic algae then they are going to close those beaches.

One reason they released a lot more water is because they had a very, very wet winter. And so they had to release some of that water ahead of time before the rainy season. And so, that's why this is the worst they have ever seen.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jennifer Gray, thank you so much from Stuart, Florida.

All right. Straight ahead, more on the FBI meeting with Hillary Clinton earlier today over the use of her private email server. More on that breaking news next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:31:33] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

More on the breaking news. The Democratic presumptive nominee for president, Hillary Clinton meeting with the FBI this morning for three and a half hours. Her campaign said she voluntarily talked to investigators about the use of her private email server while U.S. secretary of state.

Let's talk more about this. Let's bring in CNN political reporter Eugene Scott, also with me, CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill.

Good to see both of you, gentlemen.

All right. So Eugene, you first. This was a three and a half hour meeting at FBI headquarters. The statement coming out from Hillary Clinton's camp is that she voluntarily elected to be part of this. And we have also known in our reporting that she requested or said she would do this interview as far back as August. So what do you know about the timing of the rest of this investigation? How long before there might be a review? Any recommendations, et cetera? EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, what we do know is that

the justice department was hoping that they would have been further along in this process before now. They originally wanted all things wrapped up before both conventions and the Clinton campaign has been very clear in response to this meeting that they hope this step moves the whole investigation forward to a conclusion. When that conclusion will arrive is not exactly clear because they are not commenting beyond what they've released so far.

WHITFIELD: And Marc, we are talking just about three weeks away from the Democratic convention. And clearly her interview is crucial to this investigation. She's at the center of it. But then it can't be presumed that there aren't more interviews to come, can it be?

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, that cannot be presumed. We have seen other people interviewed. We always tend to find out afterwards whether it's Human Abedeen or (INAUDIBLE) who was also was given limited immunity, all of those things suggest that it could grow, that there could be more people to investigate.

But what we can't presume is criminal activity. We can't presume there's not going to be a charge. We can't presume there is going to be an indictment. One of the things that the right has done over the last year, particularly the GOP, they suggested that Hillary Clinton is one moment away from indictment. And so while this may gin some of that narrative up about the bid, they may make people incline to be something worse happening. There's no evidence of that either. So it could get much bigger or we could turn that - we could find out that there's nothing else to this.

WHITFIELD: OK. But then Marc, you know, talk to me about the worry that comes with if there is more to the investigation, just few weeks away from the convention, will some of that, you know, come out before, potentially disrupt, change, you know, the tenor, the direction of this investigation or will a conclusion come just in time for the convention and potentially jeopardize Hillary Clinton's standing or mean that other candidates would now be waiting in the wings as a result of something that were to happen to Hillary Clinton and an indictment, et cetera.

HILL: It is entirely implausible that some development would emerge that would lead to a convention fight and Hillary Clinton not being the Democratic Party's nominee. I think that is virtually unimaginable. But what will happen at some point is that more information will come out. More information will leak. And at some point she will pay a political price for it. Whether it's fair or not is a different question. But whenever you are investigated by the FBI, whenever you have an interview, if it is voluntary, there will be people who say there is something to this. So it will hurt her at any points. It's always political.

[13:35:06] WHITFIELD: So Marc, it's unimaginable. But Eugene, won't there be conversations taking place right now within the Democratic Party about backup plans, plan b, plan c?

SCOTT: Well, certainly by some. I mean even though we are not expecting something significant to change from now because we just really don't know what all can happen in terms of further investigation, there is anxiety. I mean, this is something that the party was hoping that it would be able to move beyond at this point. So the fact that we are even having this conversation creates some degree of worry that makes some people look elsewhere and to see what other steps could possibly be taken. But as Marc mentioned, the likelihood of there actually being an indictment is not as high as quickly as the Republican leaders are hoping but they certainly perhaps are enjoying the fact that this is even an issue right now.

WHITFIELD: All right. Eugene Scott, Marc Lamont Hill, thank you so much.

SCOTT: Thank you.

HILL: Pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, terror attacks across the world this week from Turkey to Bangladesh. We will get the latest on threats from groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:39:21] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

The world was rocked this week by two deadly terror attacks in a span of just four days. The U.S. state department is confirming one of the hostages killed in the Bangladesh cafe was a U.S. citizen of Bangladeshi origin. That event ended after police charged the cafe. Twenty hostages were killed, allegedly by those who seized the cafe. Three of the victims were U.S. college students. It isn't clear if one of the students was also the American citizen. So there has been a report of a claim of responsibility by ISIS. But the U.S. state department will not confirm that the terror group is behind the attack.

Meanwhile, investigations are still underway into Tuesday's bombing in Istanbul, Turkey. Official say a top soldier in the ISIS war ministry organized the suicide bombing that killed 44 people and injured 239 others. The chairman of the committee on homeland security says this man, nicknamed Akhmed one-armed ordered the attacks on the Istanbul airport.

CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is there in Istanbul with more on this one-armed man's background. Can you tell us more about him? Is he considered, the mastermind?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's what U.S. officials are saying. His name is Akhmed Chatayev (ph), originally from the very turbulent caucus region of Russia and very well known the intelligence agencies long before this incident took place.

You know, we haven't really gotten an update from the Turkish authorities now, Fredricka, for more than 24 hours about new details about the three suspected suicide bomber and what kind of support they had. The investigation clearly ongoing, dozens of people detained in different Turkish cities as they try to investigate that.

In the meantime, however, we have had confirmation of a 44th victim of Tuesday night's airport attacks. In this case, very tragic, a 3-year- old boy, a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship. And that I think, while tragic, it also highlights another fact of this atrocity. Most of the victims were either from countries that have majority Muslim populations or from Turkey itself which is an overwhelmingly majority Muslim country.

And let me just bring that home to you. We are going to pan over here. This over here in Istanbul's (INAUDIBLE) square is a nightly (INAUDIBLE) feast. That's the fast breaking feast. It's sponsored by the city government here. Every night during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, were crowded with observe I can't Muslims who do not drink water or anything or eat throughout the sunlight hours of the day. This was an attack carried out it in an airport where overwhelmingly the victims themselves appear to have been Muslims killed we believe by a group that claims to be the Islamic state -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ivan Watson, thank you so much for that update out of Istanbul, Turkey.

I want to turn now to more conversations about the attack happening in Bangladesh with someone who knows that region well. Anushay Hossain is a Bangladeshi journalist based in Washington and she is joining me on the phone now.

So what more can you tell me about this particular area that was targeted, known to be, you know, a diplomatic area, just one mile away from the U.S. embassy. Why would this be an area targeted and why, as he heard in our reporting earlier, would those who were -- the hostages that were killed mostly represent, you know, foreign born?

ANUSHAY HOSSAIN, BANGLADESHI JOURNALIST (on the phone): Well first of, Fredricka, thank you so much for having me. It is such a horrible day for Bangladeshis around the world. But I'm still in so much shock. I mean, this area, yes it is a diplomatic zone. But I really want our viewers to understand that Dhaka this is not Kabul. Dhaka is not Baghdad. This is green zone. This is a country with a huge population, was considered a huge development success story. And this has completely taken everybody by surprise. Yes, there were a lot of foreign nationals there but there were a lot of Bangladeshis there. This was a very integrated city.

But the fact that they had - I mean, I can't even tell you. My sister lives down the street. My other sister lives two blocks away. My nephew frequents the bakery almost every other day. It's owned by friends. And whoever is behind this, I mean this was a bold move. They struck not in the heart of the diplomatic zone. They struck in the heart of the city. This is a city center.

WHITFIELD: All the more stunning then why people would be caught off guard. The places you described, be suspected of any place that would be targeted. So then, how has that dictated people's movements there, their mind-set, you know, the terror that comes with this kind of terror attack, the feeling that no place is safe? HOSSAIN: Well this was a big turning point in Bangladesh. This is a

turning point in the socioeconomic landscape of the country and also the politics of the region. I mean Bangladeshis, we have never seen an attack of such scale. And in the past couple of months, it really the past two or three years, what is really been spreading the headlines and we been struggling with are blogger deaths, attacks kind of on our secular identities, our secular voices, the machete killing, and the murders in broad daylight. But we have never seen a coordinated sophisticated attack like this.

Back in 2005 we had several bombings that went off but that was really the last time we had seen such a large scale attack. That people are completely shocked. And I also want to speculate, I'm not an Islamic expert. But the people behind this who claim to represent Islam in any way, this is the month of Ramadan. This is one of the holiest months in Islam, one of our holiest nights. People are breaking their fast and being murdered. I mean it's unbelievable. I'm in complete shock.

WHITFIELD: And is it the overall feeling that the gunmen are all, you know, Bangladeshi and that now has the community there trying to better evaluate how they were influenced, who they are exactly, if anyone could have seen this kind of potential in their individuals?

HOSSAIN: You know, Fredricka, the situation is not as fluid as it was last night but information is still coming out very slowly. They are saying that ISIS has claimed responsibility but there's conflicting reports that it wasn't, that maybe it was Al-Qaeda. Different news outlets are going with different statements.

There's a lot of confusion on the ground. And I know from my family and friends, people are still trying to find out the information about the victims. You know, I feel like the news agencies want to focus on American lives lost but there were lives lost on all ends - Italian, Bangladeshis, Japanese. The people are really just trying to grasp an understanding of the situation. But one thing is clear. The country is political -- I mean, we have turned a corner. We'll never be the same.

WHITFIELD: All right, Anushay Hossain. Thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

All right. Coming up, a focus in this country, the lead in your water. A new report showing that it could be problem for 18 million Americans. That's next.

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[13:50:19] WHITFIELD: All right. A look at our top stories right now. Residents of a Detroit suburb are assessing the damage caused by a natural gas pipe line fire. They had to evacuate in the middle of the night after heart-crashing to the gas main triggering the fire. A person in the car was injured. The flames had been put out but several homes have reportedly been damaged.

And new developments in the search of what brought down an EgyptAir flight in May. The cockpit voice recorder has been reassembled and on its way to Cairo for analysis. The committee investigating the crash says the recorder is in good enough condition to try to pull data. The flight data recorder found earlier in the week indicates signs of smoke in the bathroom. But there has been no official determination about what caused that plane to plunge into the Mediterranean in May killing all 66 people on board.

And the world's fastest man may not be able to compete in next month's Olympic Games due to an injury. Usain Bolt (ph) withdrew from the Jamaican national Olympic trial tweeting earlier about a torn hamstring but that doesn't necessarily mean that Bolt won't be able to defend his Olympic title. He could get a medical exemption if he can get healthy in time for the games, which are just over a month away. There's still hope. He might still be in it.

All right. Meantime, new concerns over high lead exposure on Capitol Hill. Staffers at the Cannon house office building are reportedly being briefed on potential health hazards of lead after potentially drinking tainted water at work. Drinking water in the building has been shut off and the fountains won't be turned on again until further tests are done. Meantime, sources tell CNN that millions of other Americans may have been exposed to water containing unsafe lead levels.

Here is CNN's Sara Ganim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 18 million Americans are getting their drinking water from systems that have violated federal lea rules. Not only does the EPA know about it, they have done almost nothing to enforce their own regulations, according to multiple industry experts.

ERIK OLSON, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: I think that the public needs to be told the truth about contamination in their water supply.

GAMIN: More than 5,000 water systems are in violation, including failure to properly test water, failure to report contamination and failure to treat water properly. According to a new analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council or NRDC.

In nine out of ten cases, the EPA took no enforcement action when water systems violated the lead and copper rule. The federal regulation meant to keep America's top water safe from lead.

OLSON: Imagine a cop watching people run stop signs and speed at 90 miles an hour through small communities and doing absolutely nothing. That's unfortunately what we have.

GAMIN: Eric Olson who is among the experts saying water utilities are routing gaming the system using incorrect testing methods to avoid detecting high levels of lead. What that means is there are even more water systems with lead issues that aren't officially in violation.

OLSON: They don't care if they are violating the law. They don't feel they are going to face any penalties.

GAMIN: Philadelphia is one city accused of gaming the system. In 2014, city officials sent residents questionable instructions for testing, telling them to pre-flush the water and remove aerators which often trap particles of lead. Experts say both techniques would make lead levels appear lower than they actually are. In fact, the EPA instructed as far back as 2007 that they should remove or clean aerators.

JONATHAN KING, THE PHILLY UNLEADED PROJECT: I was concern a way to test my home's water.

GAMIN: Jonathan King's 18-month-old daughter has been drinking Philadelphia's water from the tap since she was born. He is organizing a group of homeowners to get independent answers because he doesn't trust the way the city conducted its testing.

KING: It concerns me that they are not using the best practices available. It concerns me they are not following the latest EPA regulations.

GAMIN: So why doesn't the EPA enforce its own rules? Multiple sources and industry experts tell CNN it comes down to two key reasons, water isn't a main priority for the EPA because the resources are stretched then and the EPA has a cozy relationship with the water systems it's supposed to regulate.

OLSON: They are friends. They hang out with each other. They ask for each other's advice and you get close after a while.

GAMIN: So should citizens be worried?

ALAN MORRISSEY, RETIRED EPA OFFICE OF CIVIL ENFORCEMENT: Citizens should be very concerned.

[13:55:00] GAMIN: When Alan Morrissey retired last year from his job as EPA water department enforcement officer, he said he was frustrated because blatant violations would go without punishment. Morrissey says even EPA employees don't trust what comes out of their tap.

MORRISSEY: So most of my colleagues have all chosen to install a water filter on the kitchen sink.

GAMIN: But you're saying that people who work at the EPA are buying water filters because they aren't confident in the quality of their tap water?

MORRISSEY: Yes.

GAMIN: Even the most blatant violations like the water crisis in Flint, Michigan has been met with no punishment.

Sara Ganim, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, the FBI interviewed Hillary Clinton over the use of her private email server this morning. More on that breaking news next.

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[13:58:49] WHITFIELD: All right. Hello, again. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with the breaking developments in the race for the White House. For three and half hours today democratic presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was interviewed by the FBI. Her campaign said she talked voluntarily to investigators about her use of a private email server while U.S. secretary of state. The meeting may indicate that the federal probe is nearing an end.

CNN's Chris Frates has the details on this meeting.

So Chris, why would this be an indicator that it is nearing the end?

FRATES: Hey, Fred. So some big breaking news here. Hillary Clinton has been interviewed by the FBI. We are learning that she sat down with the FBI for three and a half hours earlier today and as they investigate her use of a private email server.

Now, we have a statement from the Clinton campaign. I want to read that statement to you now. It says quote "Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her email arrangements while she was secretary. She is pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the department of justice in bringing this review to a conclusion. Out of respect for the investigative process, she will not comment further on her interview."

Now, that comes from Nick Merrill. He is a spokesman for Secretary Clinton. So not a lot of details there. But it's important to point out that this was a routine interview in an investigation like this. The FBI has also talked to a number of Hillary Clinton's top aids including Huma Abedin --