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Turkish Government Blames Attempted Coup on Cleric Living in U.S.; ISIS Claims Affiliation of Man who Conducted Attack in Nice, France; Memorials Held for Victims of Attack in Nice, France; Donald Trump Names Indiana Governor Mike Pence as Vice Presidential Running Mate; Possible Policy Differences Between Mike Pence and Donald Trump Examined; Presence of Guns at Republican National Convention in Cleveland and Law Enforcement Response Assessed. Aired 2-3P ET

Aired July 16, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the next hour of the Newsroom begins right now.

Hello again, everyone, and thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with breaking news. Turkey's president says a dissident cleric based right here in the U.S. is the one to blame for plotting a coup attempt overnight, and now he wants him arrested and sent back to Turkey. CNN's Ian Lee is in Istanbul. So Ian, what more can you tell us about this cleric?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredericka, really he is public enemy number one at least according to President Erdogan and his supporters we have been talking to, saying that he was responsible for this coup attempt. Now, Fethullah Gulen is a very influential and popular religious figure here in Turkey. He's been in self-imposed exile since having a falling out with Erdogan back in 2013. And Erdogan was blamed him for trying to undermine his government.

And so that's when you saw this roundup really of the military, of the judiciary being moved aside after this coup because they are cracking down, they say, on Gulen's influence here in Turkey. They called for an extradition. They are calling for him to be brought back to Turkey to be held accountable, but we heard from Secretary of State John Kerry saying that there is a process to this. You need to file a formal extradition as well that U.S. wants to see the evidence that he is behind it. Gulen hasn't come out and said he's behind it. So really this is from what the president is saying.

WHITFIELD: And then we're hearing noise behind you. Unclear, or perhaps you know, is that response to what President Erdogan said from Istanbul before a large crowd of people. Were people in support of what they were saying, or were they vocal against what he was saying?

LEE: The real interesting thing about what's happened in the last 24 hours is that you've seen all of the political parties here from across the spectrum come together and issue a statement against the coup and for democracy. And this is quite astonishing because Turkey has some of the most divisive politics in the world which at times can get deadly. But they have come together against this coup.

And the people here outside in Taksim Square, the people in Ankara, are coming out. They are supporting of the government. You hear the honking. These are people on motorcycles that are waving flags and are chanting that the martyrs, the people who died yesterday will never be dead, that the country cannot be divided.

So you haven't seen anyone on the streets supporting the coup. And probably you won't see them as it is somewhat of a charged atmosphere out here. People we talked to in the periphery around these protests, there are some who are still afraid that there could be more violence tonight, but tonight this crowd as we're seeing it is continuing to grow.

WHITFIELD: And there were what, reportedly five generals who were dismissed from their positions, 29 colonels. There have been judges removed from their post. Is it clear whether there will be dozens more, a handful more of people in leadership roles who this president wants removed?

LEE: When you look at it, 2,800 members of the armed forces have been arrested. You have 2,700 judges who have removed, and that is in the last 24 hours. It looks like this will continue. This will expand to more people. They said that their retribution is going to be painful, and they are out for retribution. They are out to get the people they believe are responsible for this, and for those who led this coup, it almost had an opposite effect. They wanted to remove Erdogan from power, to reduce his influence. But it looks like it's almost having the opposite effect, that he is being able to hold on to power, and it really has emboldened him in some ways.

WHITFIELD: Ian Lee from Istanbul, thank you so much.

Joining us right now, U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee who is the chairman of the Senate's foreign relations committee. Senator, thanks so much for joining me. So what is your response to the Turkish president now saying that he wants the U.S. to deport, hand over this Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gulen, and also blaming him in part to this failed coup.

[14:05:00] SEN. BOB CORKER, (R) TENNESSEE: When I met with Erdogan on my last trip to Turkey he expounded on his feelings towards this gentleman. And obviously as has been stated, there has to be evidence. There has to be a process to go through. And they've got to provide the evidence that he was involved in this.

WHITFIELD: So should that process be encouraged? To what extent will the U.S. either remind or direct the Turkish president what he needs to do, what his administration needs to do to formally request something like this?

CORKER: So, again, you know, it's hard to tell if there's any fact to this. Again, there's been a long running feud between the two of them. And there's been accusations that he's been trying to build a parallel government within Turkey itself. I have no knowledge of that, and I think that what Erdogan has to do is to show that is the case for him to be extradited back to Turkey. So my sense is they'll try to build that case and go through the processes here in America. But I just have no knowledge as to whether any of that has actually occurred or not.

And then how worried are you or overall how worried is the U.S. about the unrest this deadly coup attempt that did take place involving Turkey, a key ally for the U.S., how worried are you about what's next or does this reveal a certain vulnerability of that government?

CORKER: Well, look, President Erdogan has been moving in a somewhat autocratic way. We had conversations about that. I think some of the military leaders felt they were going to be purged and therefore attempted this coup that took place.

But I think what's happened is he's been strengthened with all of the parties coming out today in support of him. The way that he, in fairness, deftly handled this and getting on a mobile device and getting people to the streets, I think what it's going to do is strengthen him at a time when, by the way, he's been doing some things that most democratically elected leaders don't do. The country as you know has been a secular country. It's been moving on an Islamic bent. That's been concerning.

But back to the stability of the country. I was on the phone last night until fairly late. We have a lot of equities in the country. They are a NATO ally. And to have instability at a time when we're trying to deal with ISIS and we're trying to deal with the unrest in Syria obviously is something that is not in our national interest.

WHITFIELD: Senator Bob Corker, thanks for your time, appreciate it.

CORKER: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: We're also covering breaking news on developments on the terror attack in France that killed 84 people and injured more than 200 others. France announcing just moments ago it will deploy 10,000 soldiers to boost road and border security. This as the media branch of ISIS issuing a statement claiming the deranged truck driver is a, quote, "soldier for its cause." Plus, the French interior minister says the attacker got radicalized very rapidly. CNN's Brooke Baldwin is covering the developments for us live from Nice, France. So Brooke, nightfall is encroaching. How has that changed the perspective there?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it is just after 8:00 at night and people are out and about. This is Nice. People are on vacation. Though you can see the mega-difference over my shoulder, these white police vans, this is exactly where two evenings ago that madman just drove through all of those hundreds of people here, 60,000 people on this gorgeous promenade just next to the Mediterranean ocean, killing dozens of people, injuring dozens more.

We have heard from the French prosecutor who has said five people are now in custody today, they are being questioned potentially connected to this plot. We don't yet know of those five, Fred, includes this attacker, soon to be ex-wife. They are questioning her to figure out any sort of possible motive. That is the key question here -- why? The suspect had reportedly fallen into a deep, deep depression following their separation.

Joining me to discuss more on what we're learning about this attacker, CNN's Will Ripley. And Will, before we get into where you are and all of these growing memorials, I was just so stunned walking around Nice to see flowers everywhere. I want to ask I about this attacker, because we're hearing from the fringe interior minister who is saying thus far no known ties to jihadism.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And the French interior minister also saying if indeed he was radicalized it would have happened very quickly, Brooke. I do you want to show you because you talked about the extra security our here, 10,000 French soldiers being deployed. And we have seen a security presence out here on the promenade, although things are pretty relaxed today.

[14:10:01] People do not seem to be fearful as this investigation does continue. What we've learned about the attacker so far, there is a profile of somebody who was violent towards his estranged wife, their three children, his former mother-in-law. He was jailed for a time for getting into a fight.

But no indication according to French authorities that he was on the radar. And they have hundreds of people who they are monitoring who have suspected ties to terrorist activity. He wasn't one of them. When they searched his apartment, they looked through computers, they looked through documents. And there is some indication now that perhaps there was some phone communication with a terror suspect who used to be here in Nice, was known as a recruiter, was known to radicalize French jihadists. And then this person left Nice and went to Syria.

But the connection still unclear, the significance still unknown. But what we do know is this is somebody who had tendencies towards crime and they turned in a horrible way here.

BALDWIN: Sounds like according to both law enforcement and this attacker's father, he was extraordinarily violent. Just quickly, for people watching and never been to Nice, it's just a stunning seaside area here in France. And it's just so bizarre to be standing here, literally the Mediterranean is 10 feet from me, and 10 feet the other direction are all of these different memorials, including where you are, Will.

RIPLEY: That's right. And we've seen all day tourists outs here with their sunglasses. Earlier people were out sunbathing. But you see a lot of people who are coming up and they're stopping at really heartbreaking, spontaneous memorials like this. This is an area where they were selling candy, and you can a couple of teddy bears, three teddy bears there, people with flowers and candles.

And over here, Brooke, one of the most heartbreaking notes this way. There's so much to see. But I just wanted to show you this, Brooke. It says "Our thoughts are with you little princess." We believe this is where a young girl died, somebody's daughter died right here after watching fireworks with her family. And all along the promenade there flowers. There are places where people were catastrophically injured and some of them still in comas, some of them being treated in the hospital. Eighty-four people died and 16 of them are still unidentified, Brooke, including the youngest just six months old.

BALDWIN: Will Ripley, thank you so much for that.

And, Fredericka, just tossing back to you, just no words. I think so much about the children here in Nice. It's terribly sad.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Brooke. And Will, appreciate it.

Next, more on the tense situation in Turkey. It's already affecting our mission against ISIS. What does it mean for American national security?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:16:01] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

So moments ago Turkey's president called on President Barack Obama to arrest or return the cleric he blames for the overnight coup attempt. Fethullah Gulen is said to be living in Pennsylvania. It's a name most Americans probably are not familiar with, but here's what we know about him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the world's most powerful Muslim preachers lives behind these gates in a compound located in the small leafy town of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. The reclusive Turkish cleric's name is Fethullah Gulen. If you believe the government of Turkey, supporters of the cleric in Pennsylvania are spearheading a coup attempt here in Turkey that's destabilizing one of America's most important allies in the Middle East.

Turkish prime minister recently compared Gulen and his supporters to a virus and a medieval cult of assassins, while a top official from the prime minister's political party told me Gulen and his supporters have infiltrated the Turkish police force and judiciary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are confronted by a structure that doesn't take orders from within the chain of command of the state but rather takes orders from outside the state.

WATSON: So who is the mysterious man in Pennsylvania?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fethullah Gulen leads the largest Islamic community in Turkey. His followers are estimated to be millions in number. And this is also the best organized Islamic community in terms of NGOs, the media, schools, charities, dormitories. WATSON: Every year students from Gluen's schools operating in

more than 100 countries around the world including one of the largest charter school networks in the U.S., gather in Istanbul for a lavish event called the Turkish Olympics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That moment is a civil society moment with a civic approach. It is not Islamist. It doesn't have any strict political ideology. It is games fusing religion and politics.

WATSON: Throughout most of the last decade the Gulen movement was also a strong supporter of Turkey's religious conservative prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. And in recent years it became increasingly dangerous to criticize the Gulen movement. Police arrested and imprisoned writer Ahmet Sik for more than a year, and a court banned his book criticizing the movement before it was even published. Now out of prison but still facing charges, Sik argues that the forced political marriage between the government and the Gulen movement has turned into a nasty divorce.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via translator): On the one side there's the Gulen community, a dark, opaque power that can damage the most powerful government in Turkish history. On the other side you have a government under the guise of fighting this community can and has suspended all democratic principles.

WATSON: On December 17th, police launched a series of raids detaining dozens of people close to the Turkish government on charges of corruption. The government immediately claims the corruption probe was politically motivated and began demoting thousands of police officers and prosecutors believed to be linked to the Gulen movement.

Gulen has since denounced the government in a fiery online sermon, but also denying he gives orders to anyone in the Turkish judiciary. With his supporters embroiled in a power struggle with the Turkish government it is highly unlikely this enigmatic man in Pennsylvania will return to Turkey any time soon.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was Ivan Watson in a 2014 report. So CNN has requested interviews with Gulen in the past but has been denied.

So let's talk more about this with CNN global affairs analyst David Rohde and Kimberly Dozier. Good to see both of you. So David, you first. The U.S. has been aware of him being in Pennsylvania, clearly. This is a 2014 report. There has been some kind of common knowledge, but why now would Turkey's president blame Gulen for this attempted coup?

DAVID ROHDE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS, ANALYST: He may have evidence. It's not really clear. It's a really sort of strange situation right now. But this could become a major problem I think in U.S. relations with Turkey. As you just said, Erdogan, the president of Turkey, just called for the U.S. to extradite Erdogan. I'm curious what evidence if any the U.S. has of communications from Erdogan, did he have any role in this coup? But this coup has taken this sort of obscure relationship, as Ivan's piece talked about, and now elevated it to a central, central issue in U.S.-Turkish relations, almost the central issue.

WHITFIELD: Even if there is some evidence, I just spoke with Senator Corker who said there is a process, and Turkey would still be encouraged to follow a process in order to have Gulen extradited. It can't just come from a plea from one president to another?

KIMBERLY DOZIER: Turkey has said that they have never turned down a terrorist extradition request by the United States. But Secretary of State John Kerry who is traveling in Europe just countered with, well, we have a process, a legal process, where you have to present us credible evidence. Kerry said they would consider such a request, but they have to see direct ties showing that Gulen somehow directly ordered this. And as you said, Gulen is saying that he took no part in this, and he had suffered at the hands of the military in the past and he would never support a coup.

WHITFIELD: And in the meantime we're looking at live pictures as night falls there in Turkey. And we're seeing a large number of people who are still out in the streets. Just under two hours ago was the president, Erdogan, in the streets addressing people trying to allay fears, trying to underscore that the country is still very much in his power, the power of his administration, even though they will continue to remove a number of people they think were complicit in that attempted coup.

So David, if the U.S. by way of Kerry and others continues with this message to the president that there is a process, what does this do about the relationship between the U.S. and Turkey? It has been a strong relationship, but is it now tenuous or is it now uncertain because of what is happening?

ROHDE: Well, the most important thing and biggest point of leverage that Erdogan was is the Incirlik air base, this very large air base in southern Turkey. The U.S. is carrying out air strikes and drone strikes against the Islamic State. There's a lot of political pressure. It's a presidential election obviously in the United States. The United States wants to move in using that air power based on from that base in Turkey and eliminate as much territory that ISIS has as possible, possibly to take Raqqa.

Earlier as the coup unfolded, the Turks blocked military aircraft from operating out of that base. They said that was to stop any rogue Turkish aircraft from attacking pro-government forces. But it does show how the U.S. is dependent on Turkey and Erdogan and how important this issue now has become.

WHITFIELD: And then Kim, we still don't know enough about the philosophy or the influence of those members who are part of this attempted coup. How concerning is it that there may be some connection to ISIS or those who have taken control of key cities in Syria and even Iraq? DOZIER: Well, it's less likely that the plotters had anything to

do with ISIS or any militant group and more likely that they were part of the army that sees itself as the protectors of democracy in Turkey. And a lot of both military and security forces, even a police officer I spoke to who had to flee the country, feel that Erdogan's moves to increase his power and to turn the presidency into the top position in that country instead of being the prime minister being the top, that all of these moves are limiting democracy in that country, limiting freedom of expression.

This is the place where the former Miss Turkey was sent -- given a suspended sentence for tweeting an insult about Erdogan. It's getting tough to express yourself there, and a lot of members in the military are upset with that. So I think it's more likely that that's going to be who ends up being responsible. But just to say one last thing, Erdogan will use this as an excuse to round up anyone he sees as an opponent.

[14:25:13] WHITFIELD: So Kim and David, this was just brought to my attention, and this is now a response from Gulen, who we've been talking about in Pennsylvania. And apparently, I'm going to read it directly, saying the apparent coup attempt in Turkey could have been staged rather than real, according to this cleric. And apparently saying this, quote, "I do not say this is the case, only that it could be the case," that from Fethullah Gulen speaking through a translator. So David, what's your response to this statement and this reported quote from him?

ROHDE: It just shows the level of distrust and suspicion and tension in Turkey that he thinks this may have been staged. There's no evidence it was staged. This was a serious thing. Hundreds of people lost their lives and thousands have been detained. So it's really critical. And I think the message from the U.S. officials is a correct one. It's we're going to follow this legal process and look for evidence, because there's a real danger of overreaction from Erdogan, as Kim mentioned. He will use this, and he's got a right now to be very suspicious of many different forces in the country, but he will overreact and round up too many people. The whole key is to slow this whole down. And Gulen, I just disagree, there's no evidence this was staged.

WHITFIELD: So Kim, is this mind games to say this is staged? How do you interpret this?

DOZIER: I think we're hearing the political counterattack, the supporters of Gulen inside his country, inside Turkey will say, yes, that's a -- this is possible, this is just another way that Erdogan is seeking to crack down on our movement, expand his power and turn from democratic leader into a dictator.

WHITFIELD: Kim Dozier, David Rohde, thanks to both of you, appreciate it. Always good to see you.

Next, we'll talk more about U.S. politics. The GOP ticket is now complete, but these two men aren't in step on a whole lot of issues. Next, the policy differences between Donald Trump and his new running mate, Governor Mike Pence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:31:05] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. You're looking at live pictures right now out of Turkey following last night's unsuccessful coup attempt. This is an expat -- this, rather, as an ex-pat and cleric accused of the Turkish government of leading the coup says it might have been staged. He is saying that from Pennsylvania, which is where he's been living. You're looking at live pictures right now. To the left Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey there. All of this, many in the streets after hearing from the Turkish president who earlier also took to the streets, but in Istanbul tried to allay fears and also tried to demonstrate that he is very much still in power of the government there. We'll continue to follow the story throughout the hour.

Now to this, U.S. politics, Donald Trump and Indiana Governor Mike Pence have just made their first appearance as official running mates, announcing their new partnership at the news conference this morning in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Since January of 2013, Indiana's labor force was increased by more than 186,000 jobs. You have to understand, I've gone around to all of these states, I've gone to all of them. And every time I have statisticians. I say give me the stats on this state. And it's always bad, down, down, down. Down 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent in some cases. Here's somebody where it's gone up.

GOV. MIKE PENCE, (R) INDIANA: And grateful to this builder, this fighter, this patriotic American who has set aside a legendary career in business to build a stronger America, Donald J. Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And while both Trump and Pence emphasized their similar vision today, the two have had several noticeable policy differences. Here are just a few. Pence supported free trade agreements like the TPP and NAFTA which Trump blasted. The Indiana governor also opposed Trump's proposal about to ban Muslims from the U.S. He also criticized Trump's comments about the Trump University judge. And Pence, unlike Trump, has cut a hard line on LGBT issues.

So joining me right now from Cleveland, the site of the Republican National Convention Jamie Weinstein, senior writer for "The Daily Caller," and CNN political analyst Josh Rogin who is also a columnist for the "Washington Post." Good to see both of you.

All right, so substantial areas of disagreement between these running mates. So Jamie, could this be problematic, or do you see this as complementary to have two diametrically opposing men now standing together as a unified front?

JAMIE WEINSTEIN, SENIOR WRITER, "DAILY CALLER": Well, it's interesting to see what Donald Trump's strategy is here is picking Mike Pence. We know he lamented over the issue after he made it and want to see if he could go back on it --

WHITFIELD: Although today, he tried to clarify, did he not, by saying Pence was his first choice?

WEINSTEIN: Of course he would say that. I don't think he would come out and say he was my third choice but I went with him anyways.

But the reports are that he did have a long night of the soul trying to figure out whether he should go with Pence. But if his strategy is to take Mike Pence in order to consolidate the conservative base and make sure that they rally around him going into general election and that might give him free reign to move to the center on some issues that he is maybe more naturally to the center or the left on, having Mike Pence to try to keep that conservative right flank with him, it might not be a terrible strategy for Donald Trump to choose Mike Pence.

WHITFIELD: So Josh, how will voters see these two very different men would actually complement one another, or does it say something more about Donald Trump and a willingness or eagerness to appeal to the establishment?

[14:35:00] JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the idea here, and Donald Trump said this very clearly during his press conference, was to bring unity to the Republican Party, so doubling down of his strategy to shore up his base and not to sort of reach across the aisle to those new pool of voters that may be on the fence between him and Hillary Clinton.

The bottom line here is that the rollout showed that they were not doing a good job of projecting the convergence of these two men. We saw that Mike Pence tacitly endorsed a ban on bringing Muslims to the United States, which is now a suspension of immigration from countries affected by terrorism. They haven't even gotten to all of the other big ones, including trade, including that Mike Pence was a supporter of the Iraq war, including that he had an agreement on immigration that he signed that Trump doesn't agree with. So I think they really haven't gotten to the actual work of convincing voters that this is a good team that can work well together.

WHITFIELD: Jamie, was it kind of an odd rollout? I mean, 29 minutes or so, nearly 30 minutes of Donald Trump talking, and he had very scattered messages. He didn't speak in a kind of direct line about why or even justifying why the choice of Mike Pence. Instead he kind of went all over the place and then occasionally went back to Mike Pence. Was that strange?

WEINSTEIN: It was strange. What's that famous Rousseau line, "man is born free but is everywhere in chains"? I think we're seeing right now Donald Trump in chains by the advisers around him. They are trying to tame Donald Trump, the Donald Trump we saw in the primary. They're pushing Mike Pence, which, according to reports if you believe them, that wasn't his first choice. They're trying to make his speeches less rambling or at least less incendiary. That's what he's trying to project right now.

The question is, this is a man born free, and at some point I think he's going to break those chains and the old Donald Trump from the primary is going to come back because that's the natural Donald Trump. That's the instinctual Donald Trump. The Donald Trump we're seeing right now is kind of the Trump that maybe his advisers are trying to force him into that box on. That's not the natural Donald Trump, and I think eventually he's going to break free of those chains.

WHITFIELD: Still a week away from the start of the DNC and still unclear who Hillary Clinton will be selecting as a running mate. One name that keeps popping up, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, and she was quick today to tweet out her response, Josh, about this pairing of Donald Trump and Mike Pence, saying this, "Donald Trump and Mike Pence are a perfect match, too small, insecure, weak men who use hate and fear to divide our country and our people." She also says "Terrifying to think of Mike Pence being a heartbeat away from presidency, but the direction GOP wants to take our country is more terrifying."

So Josh, we didn't hear directly from Clinton and her camp but did hear from Elizabeth Warren. What does this say to you?

ROGIN: It shows that Elizabeth Warren is still taking the role of attack dog, the role that a traditional vice presidential candidate or aspiring vice presidential candidate would play. But what's interesting here is that Mike Pence is not suited for the role of attack dog. This is a guy who swore off negative campaigning, and he said personal attacks in public life have no place in a campaign. So if you think about it, whoever Hillary Clinton chooses, that person will go after Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Mike Pence will not go after Hillary Clinton and her nominee. That will remain Trump's job for the foreseeable future.

WHITFIELD: Josh Rogin, Jamie Weinstein, thanks so much to both of you, appreciate it.

WEINSTEIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We're also back to France after a short break. Live pictures of a memorial now set up in Nice. Some 200 people are still recovering from this week's terror attacks. Plus we'll continue to monitor events in Turkey as people pour into the streets there after that failed coup attempt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:07] WHITFIELD: All right, let's go back to France now where hundreds of people are still recovering from Thursday's terror attack. CNN's Brook Baldwin is live there from Nice.

BALDWIN: Fred, we're live along the promenade, just checking my watch. It's about 9:00 here at night. People out and about heading to dinner here in beautiful Nice, France. But let's keep it in perspective as dozens of friends and family members lost their loved ones after a man used a 20-ton truck to plow down hundreds of people right along there killing 84 of them during their massive fireworks filled, music filled Bastille Day celebration.

Joining us live is CNN senior international correspondent Atika Shubert just down the promenade from me here in Nice. And Atika, you have been in some of the hospitals today and yesterday as well talking a lot about the children. Do you have updates as far as injuries go?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, still 28 children remain in the hospital -- quite a few still remain in the hospital. Some of them discharged, but five were in serious condition yesterday. One has stabilized and another, still however, teetering between life and death.

We have spoken to families today, and there has been frankly some good news and bad news. the good news is that one of the victims that was unidentified, a young boy we know as seven-and-a-half years old has been identified as a Romanian national and his relatives have come and identified him. Unfortunately, however, it may well be that his parents died in the attack as well. We're still trying to find parents and identify them.

We also spoke to another family whose four-year-old son remains in a coma. As we were speaking to the family, they got a call telling them to come upstairs. And unfortunately he stopped breathing on his own. He's now on an artificial respirator and has been stabilized. But it's still very difficult for the family, as you can imagine.

And so this is the kind of very raw emotion happening here, and it's why so many people have been coming out on the street here where this happened. You might be able to see behind me all the flowers and candles. Each of these spots here is sadly where there was a victim, where a victim fell. The dark spots underneath the flowers are some of the blood stains that have not been able to be washed away entirely. This whole promenade has become a memorial, an eerie memorial really, more than a mile long of those victims that lost their lives in this attack, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Memorials where you are, so struck just getting a minute to myself this morning walking around and seeing the memorials on this end of the promenade as well. And I know you spent so much time, Atika, with doctors also saying they just were simply unprepared. It's one thing from what I understand to treat let's say a bullet wound, but quite another to handle what happens when a truck comes barreling into you.

[14:45:02] So can you just talk a little bit about what doctors have shared with you? And also, is there a need for blood in the city?

SHUBERT: In the immediate aftermath call out for blood donations. We know that there was a massive loss of blood. What we saw, the kinds of injuries, I spoke to one doctor. He described it as massive blunt trauma. You can imagine the kind of horrific injuries you would sustain in a car crash and then multiply that by dozens becoming involved. At one point they had more than 30 kids, just kids alone, brought into the children's hospital with these kinds of injuries. But it wasn't just because people were being crushed by the truck

and dragged under its wheels. A lot of youngest children actually sustained injuries because they were trampled upon by the crowd in the chaos of just trying to escape. So we did see a lot of head injuries, for example, as kids tried to protect themselves but simply couldn't. So doctors really faced a huge challenge how to deal with that and how to deal with so many young children being affected as well. They'll be affected not just by the scars of surviving this but the psychological trauma as well. So there are a number of psychological units in the hospital as well helping kids and their families to get through this.

WHITFIELD: Just talking to people saying because precisely your point of the stampede just rolling into a ball, trying to protect themselves as everyone is running in different directions to try to get away. Atika, thank you so much for that along the promenade in Nice.

Fredericka, just as I toss it back to you, I think one of the images that is still so haunting for a lot of people who were here is not only the blood on the promenade but the crumpled bikes and strollers that remain as this was, let me say it again, a happy family affair, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Brooke and Atika, appreciate that. We'll continue to monitor events from Nice as well as in Turkey. Live pictures right now, people pouring into the streets after that failed coup attempt. We're back in a moment.

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[14:50:49] WHITFIELD: Welcome back, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. So when the Republican convention kicks off officially in Cleveland on Monday, various weapons and items will be banned from the event zone around the arena. They include knives, toy guns, tennis balls, and aerosol cans. But people inside that event zone and outside on the streets will be able to carry loaded guns. Ohio's open carry law permits that. Cleveland's police chief Calvin Williams says, quote, "Our intent is to follow the law and that the law says you can have open carry. That's what it says. Whether I agree with it or not is not issue," end quote.

The Secret Service has banned guns from a smaller securer zone immediately surrounding the convention center. So this could lead to quite a legal quandary. Our legal guys are here, Avery Friedman who lives and practices law in Cleveland with us, good to see you, and Richard Herman, a law professor joining us from Hawaii. Aloha to you. All right, so gentlemen, always good to see you. Avery, how will police and others find balance in both enforcing and honoring this law?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, it's a very interesting issue. Yes, Ohio is on open carry law. The city of Cleveland, interesting enough, tried to pass a law regulating guns and firearms. And you know what, the Supreme Court of Ohio threw it out, saying unless you're a convicted drunk or a convicted felon, you've got a right to carry that gun right out in front.

But the interesting twist, you actually nailed the issue. It is the jurisdictional battle. We're going to have a presidential candidate here in Cleveland, and I'm here on the ground. And I can tell you Secret Service is running everything near the convention center, and that means that there is about as much chance of holding a gun and possessing a gun as Sonny Corleone in a toll booth. Guns are banned.

WHITFIELD: But then, Richard, you called the situation a security nightmare for Cleveland, because there are certain barriers in place, but then there are certain areas where it might be permissible and other times it's not. How will people in general know and feel safe and secure, and why do you call it a security nightmare in the making?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They won't, Fred, just because Avery says guns have been banned, oh, boy, I guess no one is going to carry guns. That's so wrong.

FRIEDMAN: Really?

HERMAN: There will be so many people armed around this convention.

FRIEDMAN: Really?

HERMAN: This convention and the environment in the United States right now is so wound up, this is a perfect storm right here, Fred. To have these people legally be able to carry assault rifles in public, handguns in public like the wild west in a situation where police are now getting shot, where, like them or not --

FRIEDMAN: That has nothing to do with it.

HERMAN: The Trump campaign is a divisive campaign objectively speaking, people are wound up. Avery, you ought to get out of Dodge. This is going to be rough out there.

FRIEDMAN: I'm happy to be here, pal. I'm happy to be here, because we're not going to get out of control. The fact is there's coordination between the FBI, Secret Service, Cleveland police department and patrol. And believe me, the cops are everywhere. They are on bicycles. They're everywhere.

But the reality is that despite the general idea that guns are going to be rampant in Cleveland is a fallacy. I can see in the street what's going on. The fact is that everybody coming to Cleveland is going to be safe, and, believe me, law enforcement is going to watch over those guests.

WHITFIELD: But then Avery, you also understand the concern of those who say, you know, this convention and any convention is really inviting an environment where there are going to be protesters from all walks. And if there's also in place the allowances of, because of the open carry law, there's concern by many that some folks might take that privilege, that honor a bit too far, especially as it pertains to conflicting views coming together.

[14:55:00] FRIEDMAN: As a matter of fact, that's exactly right. We are going to have mass protests. They are lawyers lined up to make sure constitutional rights of those individuals are protected. They courts are going to be open 24 hours.

But the fact is that law enforcement is so strongly present, even though some of the groups, Fredricka, have said they are bringing guns, there's no chance based on what we can see out there that anyone with any kind of firearm is going to get even close to this. So despite the generalizations, we see out there that everyone is going to be safe and sound despite what anyone else is saying out there. It's going to be just fine here in Cleveland.

HANNITY: And Richard, why do you continue to disagree?

HERMAN: Well, I continue to vehemently disagreement. If you take a list of the groups that have organized and filed petitions to be able protest this, you're going to grab your heart. It's unbelievable. It's from A to Z, the West Baptist nuts, the New Black Panther Party --

FRIEDMAN: Not going to happen.

HERMAN: Everyboyd under the sun is coming to us, they're coming armed. I hope Avery is right. I pray that Avery is right here, but I just think this is a perfect storm, Fred, and I feel for the people in Cleveland.

WHITFIELD: And of course just because people have conflicting and differing views doesn't necessarily mean that something terrible is going to happen. People are gathering with different points of persuasion.

FRIEDMAN: That's right. Exactly right.

WHITFIELD: Avery Friedman, Richard Herman, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Good to see you guys.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Much more of the Newsroom straight ahead.

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