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Trump Faces Backlash for Khan Family Attacks; Russian Helicopter Shot Down after Aleppo Aid Trip as Syrian Rebels Battle for Aleppo; Superbug Detected in Waters Off Rio; Getting Around at Rio Games; Trump Tries to Clarify Statements on Russia/Putin; Did Trump's Go Too Far in Feud with Muslim-American; Unsolved Murders in Lead Up to South African Elections; Arrest in Nigeria in Global E-Mail Scams; Locals Give Dos and Don'ts in Rio for Olympics. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired August 02, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:24] SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour --
(HEADLINES)
SIDNER: Hello, and welcome to viewers around the world. I'm Sara Sidner, in for Isha Sesay.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Thanks for staying with us. Another hour of NEWSROOM, L.A. starts right now.
SIDNER: There's been a shakeup in the polls in the U.S. presidential race. Hillary Clinton has gained a major boost from the Democratic convention, surging ahead of her Republican rival in the latest polls that are out.
VAUSE: A new CNN/ORC poll shows her nine points ahead of Donald Trump because of a post-convention bounce. She was trailing by five percent with the Libertarian and Green Party candidates.
SIDNER: Post convention numbers put her back in front. The convention also boosted the number of Americans who believe Hillary Clinton would take the United States in the right direction.
Billionaire investor, Warren Buffett, has a challenge for billionaire presidential candidate, Donald Trump, you show me your tax returns and I'll show mine, and then let the public discuss the details.
VAUSE: Buffett made that challenge before introducing Hillary Clinton at a rally in his home state of Nebraska.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BUFFETT, INVESTOR: I would be delighted to meet him any place any time between now and election. I'll bring my tax return. He can bring his tax return. Nobody is going to arrest us. It is not -- no, there are no rules against showing your tax return and let people ask the questions about the items that are on there.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Donald Trump's campaign is urging his supporters in Washington to defend him in his latest controversy, sending an e-mail to Republican members of Congress asking them to try and counter Khizr Khan's criticism.
SIDNER: Khizr Khan is a father of a fallen U.S. soldier who denounced Trump at the Democratic National Convention.
Jason Carroll has the latest on the growing feud.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Donald Trump blasting the media amid the latest controversy dogging his campaign.
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: We're battling the press because the press is very dishonest, OK?
CARROLL: Trump facing a bipartisan attack over his attacks on the family of a slain Muslim U.S. soldier. Trump not backing down.
And neither is the family of Army Captain Khan who was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for helping save fellow soldiers in Iraq by walking toward a car loaded with explosives in 2004.
KHIZR KHAN, FATHER OF FALLEN U.S. SOLDIER: This is proof of his ignorance and arrogance. And I again and again ask his advisers to get him in a room, close the door and set him right.
CARROLL: Trump tweeting today, "Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over TV doing the same. Nice."
KHAN: Donald Trump --
CARROLL: The war of words starting after Khan rebuked Trump during last week's Democratic convention.
KHAN: You have sacrificed nothing.
(CHEERING)
KHAN: And no one.
(CHEERING)
CARROLL: Trump responding by suggesting Chazala Khan's (ph) Muslim faith must have been the reason she did not speak at the convention. TRUMP: I saw him. He was very emotional and probably looked like a
nice guy to me. His wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably -- maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say.
CARROLL: Prompting this response from Chazala Khan (ph).
CHAZALA KHAN (ph), MOTHER OF FALLEN U.S. SOLDIER: I can say my religion or my family or my culture never stop me saying whatever I want to say. And anybody can see that how difficult that time was when I was standing there in front of America. Without saying a word, I had lots of love.
TRUMP: He's not a war hero.
CARROLL: Arizona Senator John McCain, who Trump once said was not a war hero because he was captured, issued a lengthy statement, denouncing the GOP candidate writing, "I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump's statement. "I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of the Republican Party, its officers or candidates."
Other prominent Republicans also stepping forward in support of the Khan family, including Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
(CHEERING)
[02:05:21] CARROLL: President Obama weighing in on the issue this afternoon.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No one has given more for our freedom and our security than our Gold Star families.
CARROLL: All this, as Hillary Clinton accuses Trump of, again, crossing the line with his remarks.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: To have Trump do what he did, I -- I don't know where the bottoms are. I don't know where the bottom is.
CARROLL (on camera): So despite all the criticism coming in from so many different sides on the issue, many of the people who attended this town hall here in Columbus, Ohio, tell still support Donald Trump. They say he may not say the right thing in the right way, but they still support him. They believe this whole controversy with the Khan family is something being created by the media and the Clinton campaign.
Jason Carroll, CNN, Columbus, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: The United States is expanding its air strikes against ISIS with bombings in Libya. The U.S. targeted the militant stronghold in the coastal city of Sirte. VAUSE: A report by Human Rights Watch says the terror group has
devoted fuel, medicine, and money to its fighters and has seized homes from the fighters who fled the city.
The Pentagon says Libya's government asked for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER COOK, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: They felt that there were specific capabilities we could bring to bear that they were limited in terms of their military capabilities being able to conduct. Ask one of the things that we're able to do is to conduct precision air strikes in an urban area like this, reducing the risk of civilian casualties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: To Syria now and those who are trapped in the country's largest city, Aleppo. They are taking protection into their own hands for a second day, setting fires in hope that the smoke will prevent government war planes from finding targets in the city.
SIDNER: A Russian helicopter was shot down in northwestern Syria. Moscow says it has just delivered aide to the Aleppo. All five people on board were killed.
VAUSE: Ian Lee, tracking developments. He joins us live from Beirut in Lebanon.
So, Ian, there was word that there had been a counter offensive by the rebels, what the state of play is right now?
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, John, it really is an offensive of meters. As these rebels are trying to break the siege on Aleppo. In some parts, there's roughly a kilometer between where the rebels are fighting and is a besieged parts Aleppo because with we haven't heard word if the rebels were able to make it through and break the siege talking to sources yesterday. They said that they haven't been able to make it, that they've faced strong resistance. We're hearing reports that the Russians have stepped up and that so has the Syrians, stepped up air strikes. And so this is really, for them, a matter of meters, trying to break that siege. But in the meantime, that is the humanitarian situation in that part of Aleppo is growing more dire by the day as doctors say medical supplies, medicine supplies are running out, food is running out, oil for cooking, gas for cars as well as diesel for running generators for the hospital. They desperately need these supplies and that's what the rebels are trying to do is open up a corridor so they can resupply those people.
VAUSE: As it presently stands, how long can the civilian population hold out if this siege continues as it is right now by the Syrians and the Russians?
LEE: Well, that's something sources we've spoken with inside the siege area don't want to test. They say they desperately need to be supplied. And the United Nations has come out and said let's have a 48-hour cease-fire so we can get humanitarian assistance inside of Aleppo, although with we haven't heard from the rebels or the Syrians if they are going to go forward with that. But that you go to a market and you're not seeing any sort of fruits or vegetables. Or any sort of food products on the shelves. Most people -- or they're seeing malnutrition rampant inside that area.
VAUSE: And what's the latest on these humanitarian corridors that the Russian government announced? Three corridors for the civilian population and another for the armed rebels. Are they being established? Is anyone looking at that seriously?
[02:10:04] LEE: Not really, when you talk to people inside the besieged parts. There are at least three corridors set up for civilians and rebels who want to lay down their arms for amnesty to leave the besieged parts. According to the Syrian government, only 169 people and 69 fighters have passed through. You compare that to the population of that besieged area, you have 200 to 300,000 people. When we talk to the sources inside, they say that they frankly don't trust the Syrian regime to uphold its promise that people will be given humanitarian aide. And they point to similar incidents in the past where these corridors have been opened up in other parts of besieged areas and according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Amnesty International, when people leave through those corridors, men are separated from women and children and those men are never heard of again. So those people inside the besieged parts, they remember that and this is why we're probably not seeing a large number of people fleeing.
VAUSE: Ian, thank you. With the latest on the situation, a dire situation in Aleppo. Thanks, Ian.
SIDNER: Hong Kong is getting back on his feet after Typhoon Nida soaked the city. Winds topping 145 kilometers an hour. It has since weakened to a tropical storm and is moving into the mainland.
VAUSE: Many cities in the region are on red alert for flooding. Flights have been canceled and bus, tram and ferry routes have been suspended.
Let's go to Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri with the latest at the International Weather Center.
So it's not as bad with as it was?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI: Yeah. And it could have been worse. It was within 40 kilometers of the heart of Hong Kong. The last time a tropical storm or a typhoon got this chose to Hong Kong was back in 2009. The storm itself is moving near Guangdong, the storm well inland of this region. There's been an active line of storms right there. That's begin to go push in had. Take over the next several hours, we'll get a band with of heavy rainfall right over Hong Kong. So the storm's center is long gone but, of course, the rainfall with it, far over in the next couple of days. When it comes to the location of the storm, well on the bottom of your screen across southern China, that particular region where you see the spin in the atmosphere, that's an area northwest of Hong Kong precisely where the storm is located. Moving at a rapid clip away from Hong Kong, but some of the outer bands could still affect this region. In fact, signal three at this hour, meaning gale-force winds at 63 kilometers per hour. Still saying stay away from this area as we see bands with of heavy rainfall love in across the region. At one point, there is the potential of the storm being the top of the food chain. The last signal 10 was back in 2012. On a scale of one to 10, it is the third highest as it comes to the damage potential working its way across Hong Kong. Heavy rainfall in the forecast for tomorrow afternoon. This time of year, not usually to see heavy rainfall. In fact, rainfall potential could still get up to about a quarter of a meter of rainfall forever Hong Kong. So the center of the storm will be long gone but, again, you get more of these outer bands that will work there way towards the city. We'll watch that carefully.
VAUSE: On the bright side, they'll on have some nice blue sunny skies in Hong Kong for the next couple of days while blowing that pollution elsewhere.
(LAUGHTER)
PEDRAM: It's someone else's problems.
VAUSE: Pedram, thank you.
Thanks, Pedram.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, the Zika Virus has cast a shadow over the Olympics, but could water quality pose a greater health risk? More on that in a moment.
SIDNER: Plus, a new outbreak in Miami prompted unprecedented warnings from U.S. health officials. That story is coming up.
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(SPORTS REPORT)
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[02:18:29] VAUSE: Three days to go before the Rio Olympics begin. Athletes and fans are excited for the start of the games, but problems with the water quality and infrastructure and security remain.
And the Russians should know within the next few hours which of their athletes should be able to compete. That's when the IOC makes the final decision on who doped and who didn't.
SIDNER: The city of Rio has a lot to prove as critics continue to question its readiness even as the games are set to begin in a short time.
Shasta Darlington joins us live from Rio.
We're talking about water quality issues. What are athletes being told to do? SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sara, they're
being told to basically keep their mouths shut. And that's because people here Rio de Janeiro have known literally for years that you can't go swimming in the bay where the sailing event is being held. That's because of the floating garbage, but also because it's clogged with raw sewage. Now they may have found something even more dangerous.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARLINGTON (voice-over): The marvelous city, stunning views and golden beaches. But you might think twice before you splash in. Lurking under Rio's waters, raw sewage, and now what scientists describe as super bacteria.
Researchers at the Rio federal university tested the city's beaches for a year and discovered high levels of the dreaded super bug, drug resistant bacteria that have been turning up like hospitals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We believe that raw sewage, it goes to the municipal sewage and gets to the bay or through other rivers and it finally gets to the beach.
DARLINGTON: The highest levels of super bacteria found on the shores of the bay, the site of the Olympic sailing event.
Gold medal sailor, Fernando, says Rio has the dirtiest water he's competed in.
[02:20:20] UNIDENTIFIED OLYMPIC SAILOR: We have some cuts. The food or whatever you can infect yourself. That's the problem.
DARLINGTON: German sailor, Eddie Kyle, blamed the bacteria-infested waters for a skin infection he got while training.
Authorities, however, say athletes and visitors will be safe and the sailing arena has internationally acceptable levels of bacteria.
According to Rio's water utility, half the homes in Rio's state are now connected to the sewage system, up from 11 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And to care for the super bacteria because brand new. It's something new.
DARLINGTON: And something the water utility says it will look into further.
But scientists say the super bug is also washing up on some of Rio's most touristy beaches, which are already deemed too polluted to swim in by authorities a good third of the year.
(on camera): This water right here isn't treated. It's supposed to be for rain runoff, but it often fills with garbage. It stinks of raw sewage and stops right here on the beach.
(voice-over): Another cloud over-shadowing Rio's troubles Olympics. (END VIDEOTAPE)
DARLINGTON: Researchers say there's still a lot of work to be done to determine what the impact of this super bacteria could be on people when they're having contact with it in open water. But in the meantime, they say athletes and doctors should be aware of the risks -- Sara?
SIDNER: Now we're going to move on from the health concerns there and talk about security concerns. What's being done in advance of the opening ceremonies, which is just in three days?
DARLINGTON: Well, actually, police have just announced they're beefing up their numbers. They're going to add an extra 3,500 officers on the streets of Rio. They're going to patrol near the venues, but in the precarious hillside venues, this is one part of the massive security detail. They're beefing up security around the security cameras. In total, 85,000 soldiers, police, firefighters have coming come from around the country. Double what we saw in London. But we're seeing problems with violent crime. Just over the weekend, on the main highway come from the airport, there were armed robberies in traffic. This will help alleviate some of that, but we have yet to see if they can reign in some of this violent crime -- Sara?
SIDNER: Shasta, thanks so much, live from Rio de Janeiro.
VAUSE: So how easy is it to get from one venue to the other, what's working and what isn't?
We sent Christina McFarland to find out.
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CHRISTINA MCFARLAND, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Over the next three weeks, half a million people will descend here in Rio to watch 42 different sports across four different locations. Today, we're going to attempt to visit every single one of those venues to find out how ready Rio is on the eve of the games.
That didn't take us very long. Just 16 minutes in total from the Copacabana. And now here we are outside the iconic venue of the 2016 World Cup and now the enter piece for the Olympic Games.
(voice-over): The country's most recognizable stadium will stage the opening and closing ceremonies and the football, where pressure will be on Brazil and star player, Nemar (ph), to deliver their first ever football Olympic medal.
Contrary to what people might think, the track and field will be 15 minutes away from the stadium, which has been expanded.
(on camera): We're lucky enough to be driving in a special Olympic lane that's been laid on for media like us, but more importantly, for the athletes to get to their venues in time. So far, it seems to be working. We're avoiding all the traffic. (voice-over): The next location is the Diadora complex, the most
remote of the four clusters. This former active military base holds 11 venues where fans will flock to watching the BMX, hockey and where rugby makes its Olympic debut.
(on camera): Here we are at the Olympic Village and it is a sight to behold. No other area has undergone such a dramatic transformation. This used to be swamp land, but now we have the tennis stadium, swimming and basketball, as well as 19 other sports.
[02:25:18] (voice-over): Outside the venue, we get the chance to meet one of the true veterans of the games. Dan Baker has been trading Olympic pins his whole life. Now on his 18th Olympic games, he says he has a good feeling about this one been.
DAN BAKER, OLYMPIC PIN SELLER: One thing I know about Olympics, people from all over the world get together. Yes, maybe everything is not perfect, but it has to be a good thing.
MCFARLAND: Back on the Copacabana as the sun sets on the fourth Olympic cluster, it's hard not to agree with hill.
(on camera): It's taken all day to get back here, nearly eight hours and you can see why the organizers are calling this, the Copacabana, the beating heart of the Olympics games.
Christina McFarland, CNN, Rio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: Certainly beautiful. And here is another beautiful shot.
VAUSE: Nice segue. 10 points.
SIDNER: Lava from a Hawaiian volcano has reached the Pacific Ocean for the first time since 2013. But here is the thing, that image has moved some because it moves and --
VAUSE: You can sort of see it.
SIDNER: It was a smiley face. That the cracked part was turned so it looked just like a smiley face.
VAUSE: That just looks unhappy. It began flowing in late may down to the water. Authorities say the lava doesn't pose a threat to anyone besides towns. They're warning people to stay away.
SIDNER: it's almost impossible.
VAUSE: Good advice.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Don't go into the lava.
SIDNER: But we want to get as close as possible to see it. I'd love to see that.
Coming up next for our viewers in Asia, CNN's "State of the Race" with Kate Bolduan.
@l: And coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, Donald Trump tries to explain what he meant when he said Russia is not going into Ukraine.
SIDNER: Plus, a series of unsolved murders cast a shadow over South Africa's upcoming elections. That story just ahead in live report.
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[02:30:17] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Sara Sidner, in for Isha Sesay.
The headlines this hour --
(HEADLINES)
VAUSE: Donald Trump is trying to clarify some controversial comments he made about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine. First, this is what he said over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: He's not going into Ukraine. Just so you understand. He's not going to go into Ukraine. You can mark it down, you can put it down, you can take it any way you want.
STEPHANOPOULOS: He is there already, isn't he?
TRUMP: Well, I'm not there in a certain way but I'm not there yet. Obama's there. And frankly, that part of the world is a mess under Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: At a campaign rally, Monday, Trump tried to further shift blame to the Obama administration. And he was critical of NATO's handling of the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Josh Rogen is a CNN political analyst and a columnist from "The Washington Post." He joins us.
Josh, Donald Trump did clarify his remarks with a tweet. He said this, "When I said in an interview that Putin is not going into Ukraine, you can mark it down, I'm saying if I am president. Already in Crimea." And to be fair, Trump has talked about a number of Russian troops in Crimea in the past. But perhaps the with biggest story here is when he talked about the people of Crimea want to go be part of Russia and that seems to echo the Vladimir Putin Russian propaganda.
JOSH ROGEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. We should point out that in his correction tweet, he made another factual error. Russian troops are in Ukraine proper. They have been in Ukraine since 2014. It's been well documented. So even though Trump seems to be making an effort to learn the facts of the Ukraine crisis after he mangled them on national television on Sunday, he still doesn't know them. That's right off the bat.
Now, the greater issue is the one that you just spoke to which is that he seems to be getting his information from the Russian government. This whole idea that Crimeans wanted to be part of Russia is a well- worn Russian propaganda line. They point to elections, which most international observers have deemed were not free and fair as evidence because they were held at the point of a gun that evidence that Russians -- that's Crimeans wanted to join Russia. And even so, regardless, it misses the point entirely which is that Russian little green men forces invaded sovereign Ukraine territory and took the peninsula by force. (END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Josh Rogen there talking to us a short time ago.
SIDNER: Trump's feud with the father of fallen Muslim-American soldier has some political pundits wondering if he's finally gone too far.
VAUSE: CNN's Tom Foreman reports, it's not the first time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the very start, Donald Trump has peppered his political message with dynamite. On Mexican immigrants --
TRUMP: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.
FOREMAN: On Senator John McCain --
TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK? I hate to tell you.
FOREMAN: On women in general and a debate host in particular --
TRUMP: You can see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her -- wherever.
FOREMAN: Every time, pundits have predicted a backlash would bring Trump crashing down, and every time they've been wrong. It happened in December. Trump took aim at Muslims.
TRUMP: Donald J. Trump is calling for a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell going on.
(CHEERING)
[02:35:16] FOREMAN: And his poll numbers did not change. In February, he spoke up on how the U.S. fights ISIS.
TRUMP: I would bring back waterboarding and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding.
FOREMAN: The polls did not budge. In May, he went after the father of his opponent, Ted Cruz, with a bizarre claim.
TRUMP (voice-over): His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald being -- you know, shot.
FOREMAN: And Trump still stood firm.
(on camera): Sure, Trump's support has gone up and down and his unfavorability rating, like Hillary Clinton's, is unusually high for a major party candidate. But his supporters have shown fierce loyalty and the polls suggest what others see as outrages, they see as courageous outspoken truths.
(voice-over): So he tweets a picture of his opponent with what looks like a Star of David and his critics go wild. But Trump seems to have figured out the reaction to all of this long ago.
TRUMP: I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?
FOREMAN: And that statement did not hurt him in the polls, either.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: OK. Moving on here, Tuesday marks the eve of Election Day in South Africa. The vote will be a test of support for the ruling African National Congress.
SIDNER: But the lead up to the Election Day has been darkened by a series of unsolved murders of ANC politicians in one part of South Africa.
VAUSE: David McKenzie joins us live with more details on this had.
David, good morning.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Sara. It's been a real race to the finish here at this election with the parties from all the major parties doing last minute canvassing in this crucial election in South Africa. But there's been a spate of unsolved murders in one part of this country. Many are asking if it's an election hit list.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (SINGING)
MCKENZIE (voice-over): They're celebrating the life of their comrade. This man was an up and coming politician of the ruling ANC.
(SINGING)
MCKENZIE: But her family is convinced someone in this hall ordered her murder, leaving behind five children, gunned down right before a critical national election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was following behind. Not even a minute later, I heard the first gunshots, not knowing my mother was shot. Then I heard the second gunshots.
MCKENZIE (on camera): She was traveling along this road to deliver blankets for a charity event on Mandela Bay when witnesses say gunmen pulled up along side and shot her eight times in broad daylight. This feels a lot like a professional hit.
(SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lost my mother. You can't understand the feeling I was having. I was panicking, shocked, I was shocked by disbelieve. How could it be that my mother has been shot?
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Her election posters still hang on the road where she was murders. In recent months, more than a dozen ANC politicians have been killed in suspicious circumstances in this province alone.
(SINGING)
MCKENZIE: Former investigators of South Africa's police told CNN ANC members could be killing rivals to access government positions, which can mean access to corrupt wealth.
(on camera): It seems like the ANC is tearing itself apart before this election in this province.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not one to say that in terms of whether it is fake or not. They must be serious investigations. We must know why there is no prosecution on these issues.
(SINGING)
MCKENZIE (voice-over): He blames competing ANC factions. In a country with such an awful history of violence, killings like this in a Democratic South Africa are a dark reminder of a bloody past.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE: It's well know that the local levels of government here in South Africa have a great deal of problems with corruption. Some investigators are saying that those politicians are willing to kill to get those provincial seats -- John? VAUSE: A lot at stake here, David. Exactly what are we looking at
for this election?
MCKENZIE: Well, on Wednesday, South Africans are going to the polls, more than 60 million of them could be voting at polling stations across the country. Now, this is a municipal election. A referendum, as it were, on their ruling ANC, Nelson Mandela's party, which has for more than 20 years ruled this country and not lost a lot of support in these city and local elections. What the opposition is saying is that it's time for a change. They could foreseeably win cities like Johannesburg, Mandela Bay and other key urban centers and that could mean a real sea change in politics in South Africa. One thing that's definitely being debated is the legal of Nelson Mandela himself. This opposition party is trying to say that they are the party of Mandela and they, of course, is not very happy about that -- John?
[02:40:39] David, thank you. David McKenzie live in Johannesburg. Appreciate it, David.
SIDNER: The U.S. Center for Disease Control has issued its first travel warning for a domestic location after a Zika outbreak in Miami, Florida. They're advising pregnant women and their partners not to travel to a small community just north of the downtown area. 14 people have been infected with the Zika Virus in Florida after being bitten my mosquitoes there. But officials say Florida isn't the only place where people should be vigilant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASE: They also need to be very alert in other areas that have the right ingredients for a local outbreak. A lot of mosquitoes, perhaps poor control of mosquitoes. That is something generally that we see along the gulf coast. Florida is one of those states. You have to worry about the other states in that area. But you have to keep your eye open for this kind of local transmission anywhere in the United States, but particular in the more vulnerable areas where you have a lot of mosquitoes and a semi-tropical climate at this time of the year in the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: After the break, we will head to Nigeria where authorities have made a very big arrest in one of those global e-mail scams that netted millions. You know the ones. I'm a Nigeria Prince and I need to give you $10 million.
Back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:28] SIDNER: Authorities in Nigeria have arrested the alleged mastermind of a global scam that swindled people and companies out of $60 million.
Stephanie Busari joins us live from Lagos with the details. Can you tell us how this bust went down, Stephanie?
STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This appeared to be quite a sophisticated operation spanning multiple individuals across many countries. The Nigerian agency was working with Interpol. A man known as 40-year-old Mike Sheerhan (ph) was arrested. He masterminded this operation to defraud companies as cross the globe up to $60 million. And it appeared to -- a variety of scams, including hacking e-mails and then taking control of those e-mails to access client databases and get the clients to send money to accounts that the fraudsters controlled. It was a sophisticated operation spanning many countries with -- Sara?
SIDNER: Can I ask you, do authorities believe that in getting the mastermind that they are going to basically crush this kind of scam or is it just going to keep popping up in other variations?
BUSARI: Well, the fraudsters seem to be getting increasingly sophisticated. The Nigerian scams that we are familiar with are the e-mails from people who claim to be princes or son of dictators or people that come into large sums of money and try to persuade victims to give them account details. But it seems to have moved on and hacking into accounts now and using malware and things like that. Another popular one is the so-called love scams whereby, you know, unsuspecting lonely people who are seeking lovely online are duped with by these fraudsters and often they're too embarrassed, authorities tell us, to report that they've been victims in this way.
SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, Stephanie Busari, live for us in Lagos.
VAUSE: You know, I kept an e-mail exchange going with one of those guys.
SIDNER: You did?
VAUSE: Oh, for about 12 e-mails, back and forth, back and forth. He finally gave up when I said I want a pony. That's when he realized something was up. It was a lot of fun.
(LAUGHTER)
SIDNER: But they do take advantage of the elderly.
VAUSE: Yes. The fact that people still fall for this is pretty amazing.
SIDNER: Yes.
In one of Paraguay's prisons, police have busted a Brazilian drug lord for turning his prison cell into a luxurious three-room suite.
VAUSE: He is serving an eight-year sentence. He allegedly bribed prison director to allow him to deck out his space. But now he's been transferred to another cell.
That looks pretty nice.
SIDNER: That looks very nice compared to the rest of the prison.
VAUSE: Yeah.
SIDNER: Seeing and doing all that Rio has to offer is many, but it's going to be tough with all the Olympics going on. We'll have some insider travel trips, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(RIO REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:53:00] SIDNER: All possibilities of a new city can be pretty daunting for travelers. That's especially true when you're visiting the city to see the Olympics as well.
VAUSE: Our Rosa Flores has tips on making the trip to Rio straight from the locals.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So you get to Rio for the Olympics, and then what do you do? Let's CNN do the work for you. I just got here and I'm asking locals about just dos and just don'ts during Rio 2016.
I'm going to start with my taxi driver, Carlos.
Thank you, Carlos.
UNIDENTIFIED TAXI DRIVER: You're welcome.
You can go to the Chinese area.
FLORES: How close are we?
UNIDENTIFIED TAXI DRIVER: We'll take this street and then we'll have to climb the mountain.
FLORES: What would you recommend?
You moved here 21 years ago?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. Well, there's just so much. The music is probably the most important thing, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your drinks.
FLORES: When you're out and about in Rio, you're going to want a snack. So our friend tells us he has three favorites. Imagine the inside of a Reeses without the chocolate. And then bananada (ph) made out of bananas. And finally, peanuts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Rio.
FLORES: Rio is always dress to impress. It always looks with beautiful everywhere you go. But that doesn't mean if you come to Rio for the Olympics, you should bring your diamonds or your Rolex, right? It's not safe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it's not. You shouldn't wear any chains around your neck, even if it's not real gold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can see the beaches.
FLORES: We see the beaches.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very beautiful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get a Brazilian to go with you.
(LAUGHTER)
FLORES: Thank you.
Here is my personal tip. At the end of the day, order the national drink and just take in the beach and the view.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN's Rosa Flores reporting there.
And if you are in Rio, we would like to know about your experiences. What's it like to be there right now?
[02:55:13] SIDNER: And what are you doing for fun? Go ahead and post photos on social media, #CNNRio. You might seem then on air.
VAUSE: Tell us if you got the Zika Virus or if you got mugged.
SIDNER: I'm sure we'll hear about that as well.
VAUSE: Drank the water and got sick.
(LAUGHTER)
Finally, what do you get when you put together just under a million Lego blocks? If they're in the right hands, you get this, a replica of the entire city of Rio de Janeiro.
SIDNER: It's a flattering gift from the Lego Company. It features major Rio landmarks as well as the Olympic rings and some of the newly built sites and stadiums.
VAUSE: Which are not crumbling.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
SIDNER: So negative.
VAUSE: Rio will be great. Have fun.
SIDNER: Thanks for watching.
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