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Glittering Opening Ceremony Kicks Off Rio Olympics; Trump Makes Nice with Republicans; 13 Killed in France Bar Fire. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired August 06, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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


GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It went off without a hitch. After months of scathing headlines out of Brazil, the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics grabs the world's attention.

Getting along just fine. Donald Trump endorses big names in the U.S. political race after fighting within the Republican Party.

And a disastrous Friday night in France as a bar bursts into flames.

[05:00:02] Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell.

CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

(MUSIC)

HOWELL: Five a.m. on the U.S. East Coast.

The opening ceremony is on the books, and the first full day of official competition is underway. What better way to kick off South America's first-ever Olympics than with a party and a party that is carnival style. Thousands of people filled Rio's Maracana Stadium for Friday's opening ceremony. The festivities featured fireworks, they featured dancers, acrobats, and lots of samba music.

The other big highlight to talk about -- the world's best athletes marching in the parade of nations. What a sight that was. And the lighting of the Olympic caldron.

The opening ceremony's message was rebirth and regeneration. Fitting, perhaps, given the problems that Brazil has faced in the run-up to these games.

CNN's Shasta Darlington is live for us in Rio with the very latest.

What a day. What a night, Shasta.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, George. It was a really vibrant start to been such a troubled lead- up, raising hopes that Rio might finally turn the page. It was a spectacle done with just a fraction of the budget used in London or Beijing, telling the story of Brazil's history from its indigenous roots to its multiethnic history, African slaves, the Portuguese who first arrived, even Japanese immigrants.

All of this while sending a powerful environmental message. Of course, the biggest cheers were reserved for supermodel Gisele Bundchen when she strutted her stuff in the middle of the Maracana Stadium, paying tribute to the iconic bossa nova song "Girl from Ipanema."

And the biggest honors for Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, the Brazilian marathon runner who saw the gold medal snatched from under him in Athens when he led the pack and a fan tackled him, pushing off course, and he ended up taking home the bronze.

So, I suppose in some ways, this makes it up to him, George. The day did start in a very different way with protests on Copacabana Beach and also protesters trying to march up to the Maracana Stadium. People who feel that all of this time and energy and of course money shouldn't be spent on a global sporting event at a time when Brazil is in a deep recession and political chaos that seemed -- its president sidelined as she faces an impeachment trial.

This is a troubling moment for Brazil, but at this point the hope is that all eyes will turn toward the Olympics, George.

HOWELL: Shasta, as a correspondent who has covered Brazil for us for such a great extensive time, covering so many things from the political turmoil to the Zika scare to the run-up to the games and building of infrastructure for them, what was it like for you to witness, to see this opening ceremony come together?

DARLINGTON: You know, there was a certain sense of pride where we were, George. We watched the whole show from a fan zone set up in downtown Rio. Thousands of people packed in, mostly Brazilians, but also plenty of American flags, Dutch flags, Argentines, Colombians, people coming together to watch the spectacle for free on the giant screen and really celebrating it.

The Brazilian fans were cheering at various moments, not only when Gisele Bundchen came out but when the spectacle showed the African history, whether it seemed to put together the image of the favelas, the shantytowns here.

People I think also breathing a sigh of relief. We pulled it off, we can do this. So, a real sense of pride and joy, something long overdue here, George.

HOWELL: Shasta Darlington live for us in Rio de Janeiro -- Shasta, thank you so much, and we'll stay in touch as the world is watching these Olympic Games.

What began as a peaceful protest turned into a nasty situation ahead of the opening ceremony there in Rio. Protesters burned the Rio 2016 t-shirt and the Brazilian flag outside the Maracana Stadium. Riot police later used teargas to disperse the crowds that you see there.

Earlier protesters forced the Olympic torch to take a different route as it went through the Copacabana beachfront. The protests was against Brazil's government, and the interim

president. For many of these Olympic athletes, training and performing can be a lonely shoot. For two people, it's a family affair.

"World Sports" jock Don Riddell has the story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, WORLD SPORTS JOCK: When you're competing in your eighth Olympics, one would think you'd have seen it all. Nino Salukvadze has been shooting at the games since 1988, first for the USSR, and then Georgia after her country gained independence. She's won gold, silver, and bronze.

But this year, it's something new, something historic. This year, she's also competing with her son, Tsotne.

NINO SALUKVADZE, GEORGIAN SHOOTER (through translator): This was my father's dream, but he was more planning for this dream to come true for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. We kind of did this beforehand, so it was a big surprise for him. This is his dream coming true more than ours.

RIDDELL: At the age of 18, this is Tsotne's first Olympics. It's already more than he imagined.

TSOTNE MACHAVARIANI, GEORGIAN SHOOTER: It was very far goal for me. I thought it was very difficult to achieve. But when I grow up, now I realize every day that it's something tht I can really achieve.

RIDDELL: Nino is used to making headlines. She took bronze in 2008 while at home her country was at war with Russia. She made the point of hugging the Russian silver medalist on the podium.

It is obviously your dream to come here and succeed again. It is every mother's dream to see her child succeed. If you had to choose between your personal success or your son's success and you could only have one, what would it be?

SALUKVADZE: This is first time in the history of Georgia when two athletes acquired license for participating in the Olympic games. And already it's been a huge happiness. I'm more happy that this has turned out to be my son. Of course, I would be more happy with the success of my son.

RIDDELL: Is he too big to hug? Does she embarrass you?

MACHAVARIANI: Yes, because sometimes I try to be cool, and girls think she's coming to give me a hug. It's so corny.

RIDDELL: That's going to be hard in the Olympic village. You need your mom to give you space.

MACHAVARIANI: Yes, but Olympic village, she's my coach, not really my mom. RIDDELL: It's an athlete's job to compete, of course. But it's a

mother's job to embarrass her son.

Don Riddell, CNN, Rio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: A family affair for that team. That's great.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I wonder what kind of advice the mother gives the son. Just shoot a little further to the left. She gets the bull's-eye, right?

HOWELL: You know, for those people indoors, hey, if you're outdoors, the weather's playing along. Not a bad thing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

[05:10:30] VAN DAM: How many ways can you say blue, sunny, and perfect in Rio de Janeiro?

HOWELL: Several times I would imagine.

VAN DAM: I think I just did.

HOWELL: Derek, thank you.

American swimmer Michael Phelps is looking to add to his tally of gold medals at the games. He's already boasting about impressive Olympic pedigree. Take a look at some standout Olympic records.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUBTITLE: Incredible Olympic records.

Michael Phelps, 18 gold medals.

Most appearances: Ian Miller has ridden in 10 Olympic games.

Youngest gold medalist, Marjorie Gestring, 13 years & 268 days in 1936.

Longest held Olympic record: Bob Beamon's '68 long jump hasn't been beaten at the Olympics.

Most female competitors: 4,676 women competed at London's 2012 Olympics.

Most medals won by a country: Team USA picked up 239 medals in the 1904 Missouri Games.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Within hours, 12 gold medals will be awarded on what's officially known as day one of competitions for these games. The first gold medal is in shooting the women's ten-meter air rifle. China dominates that sport in world rankings. In the men's cycling road race, three-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome describes that as savage.

And swimming kicks off in the evening, with four gold medals up for grabs in swimming.

You, of course, can catch up with all the action, all the news out of Rio at CNN.com/Olympics. Our special website has the latest on the athletes, the venues and competition. Again, you can find it all right there at CNN.com/Olympics.

This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Still ahead, Donald Trump changes his tune, now endorsing two top U.S. Republicans just days after declining to do so.

Plus, new video fueling the controversy over $400,000 that the United States sent to Iran the very same day that hostage were released.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:15:36] HOWELL: America's choice 2016, the U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has changed his mind, now endorsing top Republicans that are running for re-election. On Friday, he announced his support for House Speaker Paul Ryan, the country's highest ranking Republican.

His refusal to endorse Ryan caused contention within the party. Trump also gave his backing to Senators Kelly Ayotte and John McCain while stressing party unity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: In our shared mission to make America great again, I support and endorse our speaker of the house, Paul Ryan.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Paul Ryan, good. He's a good man. He's a good man and he's a good guy.

I hold in the highest esteem, Senator John McCain.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

For his service to our country. And I fully support and endorse his re-election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Meanwhile, own Fareed Zakaria has his own word for Donald Trump. He calls him a "BS artist". Zakaria wrote an opinion piece for "The Washington Post", which has been praised and also been criticized. He tells Don Lemon the candidate boasts and makes wild claims that are not based in fact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: His whole mode of operation is really a B.S. artist. There's a distinction as I talk about an essay by an eminent Princeton philosopher who says there's a distinction between telling lies and telling B.S. Lies you're intentionally trying to falsify the truth. With B.S., you don't care what the truth is, what lies are. This is a great act -- it's like a performance.

Trump is sort of surprised that people call him on it. He's like, but actually you haven't met Putin, he's like, who cares? And that's what --

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Are you saying he doesn't know he's lying?

ZAKARIA: I think he's convinced himself that in a case like that, look, I'm a big shot, I went to Russia. I could have met Putin. You know, it would have been -- fact that it actually didn't happen is irrelevant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Now, she has been criticized for being untrustworthy. Hillary Clinton now admits she may have, in her words, "short- circuited about some of the answers that she gave on her controversial emails. She has under fire for recent interviews where she claims the FBI said she was truthful to the public. On Friday, though, Clinton tried to explain what she meant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I have said during the interview and in many other occasions over the past months that what I told the FBI which is consistent with what I have said publicly. I may have short circuited it, and for that I will try to clarify, because I think Chris Wallace and I were talking past each other. Of course, he could only talk to what I had told the FBI, and I appreciated that. Now, I have acknowledged repeatedly that using two e-mail accounts was a mistake, and I take responsibility for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The e-mail controversy has been dogging Clinton's campaign for some time. Many voters, again, saying that she is just not trustworthy. As for Donald Trump, there are many voters who also question or doubt whether he should be trusted with control of U.S. nuclear weapons. The next president of the United States will always have near him or her a briefcase that is dubbed "the nuclear football."

Our Brian Todd has details from Washington:

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a few feet from the president, no matter where the commander in chief happens to be, a military aide carries a briefcase. It's nicknamed the football and the power of this can unleash is legendary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Immense unprecedented power. The United States currently right now deploys approximately 900 nuclear warheads that are on the order of ten times more powerful than the weapons that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

TODD: Five military aides, one from each branch of the Armed Forces, worked in a rotation carrying the football.

For three years, as a young marine major, Pete Metzger, carried the nuclear football for President Reagan. The responsibility can be nerve-wracking.

PETE METZGER, CARRIED "NUCLEAR FOOTBALL" FOR PRESIDENT REAGAN: I wouldn't say I was on edge, but I was very, very focused on what I was going to do. The time is so ort, between alert and execution. You have to be ready anytime for any moment. And that's why one of us was always very close proximity to the president.

TODD: Metzger says there's a separate football for the vice president if the commander in chief becomes incapacitated.

(on camera): How does it compare to this, bigger, heavier?

METZGER: It's somewhat longer. A little bit wider and somewhat heavier.

TODD (voice-over): Inside the case he says, there is communication equipment. Metzger won't discuss the other contents.

But Bill Daley, a former director of the White House military office described in his book, four crucial components inside. A so-called black book listing strike options for retaliation if the U.S. is attacked with nuclear weapons. A book listing bunker locations where the president can be taken in an emergency. A manila folder listing procedures for the emergency broadcast system, and a small card with authentication codes to verify it's the president ordering a nuclear launch.

KINGSTON REIF, ARMS CONTROL ASSOCIATION: That's known as the biscuit. Interesting name.

TODD: Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump doesn't have the right temperament to be trusted with the nuclear launch codes.

CLINTON: Anyone who can be provoked by a tweet should not be anywhere near nuclear weapons.

TODD: Trump has vehemently refuted that. Metzger says to carry the football, he had to undergo rigorous background checks by the military, Secret Service and FBI. It included extensive psychiatric screening. [09:55:02] METZGER: The result of the decision the president would

make is so grotesquely horrible, so grotesquely horrible, it would change the face of the earth. It would change humanity. It would change mankind. And I guess when you're on duty, you try not to think about the import of that, but you're fully prepared to do so if you have to.

TODD (on camera): If the president actually launch a nuclear strike, is there anyone in the chain of command that can stop the order? The White House won't comment on that. But Pete Metzger and other experts tell us that unless there's a full on mutiny, no one can stop that order.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Thank you.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is pulling ahead of Donald Trump in several key swing states where the Republican led just weeks ago. In the battleground state of New Hampshire, Clinton is up 17 points, quite a wide gap there. In the historically critical state of Florida, she's ahead by six. In a surprise twist, Hillary Clinton is also ahead in the state of Georgia which typically goes Republican. The spread is only 4 percentage points within the margin of error, but Georgia has gone for a Democratic president only three times since 1964.

The new video is adding fuel to a controversy over cash. a cash transfer of $4 million from the United States to Iran. That payment happened at the same day, the same time Tehran released four American prisoners.

Our chief U.S. security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, has more from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESONDENT (voice-over): A pallet loaded with what Iranian state television claims is cash sent by the U.S. The narrator says to pay back Iran's money after 35 years.

This video which CNN cannot authenticate aired in Iran just days after the release of four American prisoners. At the Pentagon Thursday, President Obama dismissed any connection between the cash payment which he acknowledged and the prisoners' release, saying negotiations were entirely separate.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We announced these payments in January. This wasn't some nefarious deal, and at the time, we explained that Iran had pressed a claim before an international tribunal about them recovering money of theirs that we had frozen.

SCIUTTO: Until today, Donald Trump repeatedly claimed to have seen what he called secret video of cash being unloaded in Iran just as those American prisoners were freed.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The tape was made, you saw that with the airplane coming. Nice plane. And the airplane coming in and the money coming off, I guess, right?

That was given to us, has to be, by the Iranians, and you know why the tape was given to us? Because they want to embarrass our country.

SCIUTTO: But this morning, Mr. Trump withdrew that claim, tweeting this reversal, quote, "The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran."

Trump apparently referring to this entirely differently video, showing the plane that carried the freed Americans.

However, the timing of the two transactions, U.S. prisoners going out, hundreds of millions of dollars going in still raises the question of whether the Americans' release was conditional on the payment of money.

[05:25:05] CNN asked a U.S. State Department official whether Iran would have freed the prisoners without that payment. This official told CNN, it is, quote, "unknowable".

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: That was our chief U.S. security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, reporting from Washington.

The party that has ruled South Africa for 22 years is facing its worse electoral performance since the end of racial segregation under apartheid. Voters in local elections are showing their discontent with the African National Congress. The ANC, as it's called. That's the party that Nelson Mandela helped to build into a national powerhouse.

Our David McKenzie has more now from Johannesburg.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The election results are a stinging rebuke for the ruling ANC. It's their worst showing for more than two decades in a Democratic South Africa.

The key issue here are the major metropolitan areas. Three major cities the ANC was unable to get the majority to rule those cities outright. And most embarrassingly, they lost Nelson Mandela Bay to the opposition Democratic Alliance. Nelson Mandela, of course, their most famous struggle icon.

It's a different picture in the rural areas. The ANC is still an election juggernaut. Many South Africans are angry at the level of income inequality and sluggish economy. Youth unemployment is more than 50 percent in this country. The ANC now faces tough questions after this election, particularly

about Jacob Zuma, the country's president. He's been racked by a series of corruption scandals. Many people now are blaming him in part for the loss.

David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg, South African.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: David, thank you.

This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, why one Olympic athlete's name and flag is stirring up mixed emotions at the Olympic Games.

Live across the U.S. and around the world this hour, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:34] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is good to have you with us. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following this hour.

The Summer Olympics in Rio are officially underway following a glittering opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium. Bronze medalist marathoner Vanderlei de Lima lit the Olympic after 11,000 athletes marched in the parade of nations. For the first time ever also, a refugee Olympic team is also taking part in the games.

In France, at least 13 are dead after a bar fire in Normandy. It happened in the city of Rouen. Several more injured there. Local media report a birthday party was taking place at the time of the incident.

The party that's ruled south Africa for 22 years is facing its worst electoral showing since the end of racial segregation under apartheid. Support in local elections for the African National Congress has fallen below 60 percent nationwide. Corruption and poor public services were big issues in the election.

Donald Trump gave a ringing endorsement to Republican leader Paul Ryan Friday night. Earlier this week, U.S. presidential candidate, he outraged people in the party by withholding his support. He also publicly backed Senators John McCain and Kelly Ayotte days after refusing to support them.

Aiming for the gold in Rio, the opening ceremony is over. Now it's all about the competition at these games.

Here are five things to watch. Saturday, 12 gold medals awarded. The first of those will be in shooting, the women's ten-meter air rifle. The men's cycling road race features a grueling course, one that three-time Tour de France rower Chris Froome calls savage. In rowing, the Americans will be competing in antimicrobial suits due to concerns about the quality of the water there.

In basketball, the U.S. men's team faces China. And three gold medals will be won in the pool, as swimming gets underway, those events on Saturday. Rugby is also returning to the Olympics for the first time since the early 1900s.

CNN's Coy Wire spoke with a National Football League player, Nate Ebner, about why he felt inspired to join the U.S. team.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATE EBNER, RUGBY SEVENS: I had some good conversations with people at the patriots. I was able to come to a deal and be allowed to do this, be able to chase a once in a lifetime opportunity and a dream to play in the Olympics in a sport I grew up playing. I mean I'm really lucky.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: This is how we carry football, three points of pressure. Like carrying a loaf of bread. Any reason why?

EBNER: It's nice and easy to offload like that if I'm in the tackle. Around your body or come here and pass it on that way.

WIRE: What type of rugby compared to football?

EBNER: One, the cardiovascular aspect, 100 percent. Number two, the cardiovascular aspect, 100 percent. You don't have any pads and technique and form plays a huge role in that. And you have to learn how to tackle the right way, or you won't have a very long career.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: In Taiwan, some Olympic fans are becoming increasingly angry that their team is once again flag of Chinese Taipei. The island begrudgingly agreed to compete that way in 1981. China considers Taiwan a renegade province, but Taiwan sees itself as independent and democratic. Over the years, polls show many Taiwan residents describe themselves as Taiwanese. They'd like to see their Olympic compete under Taiwan's name and flag.

A bar fire in France has killed at least 13 people and injured several others. It happened in Rouen, in Normandy. Local media report the bar was hosting a birthday party at the time of the fire and that the victims were in their late teens and 20s. A witness to the fire was shaken by the tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:00] VALERIE FOUQUET, FRENCH FIRE WITNESS (through translator): I told my friend, let's get a spot on the terrace. I was about to sit when all of a sudden, everything blew. We saw the smoke and we saw flames, blew up the window. We got scared. We stepped away.

I feel bad because I could have died if my friend had not been there and I have children. I had two friends who were downstairs who were mothers with three children. Bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: A rap concert in New Jersey came to an end on Friday when at least 42 fans were injured there. The Fire Department says a large piece of fencing collapsed, sending dozens over a ledge. Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa were performing at the time. Most of those injure, though, had minor injuries.

Zakaria Bulhan will appear in front of Westminster's court soon. He's 19 and charged with murdering one woman and injuring five in London. Darlene Horton, a 64-year-old American, also died in the attack. Initially authorities seemed to think he was motivated by terrorism. They say evidence suggests the attack was instead triggered by mental health issues.

Police in the U.S. city of Chicago have relieved three officers of their duties after the killing of an unarmed African-American teenager as he fled in a suspected stolen car. Now, we are seeing dramatic footage of the moments surrounding that shooting.

Our Rosa Flores has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SIRENS WAILING)

(GUNFIRE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Newly released dash and body camera videos show the dramatic moments leading up to a deadly police shooting in Chicago.

The suspect, 18-year-old Paul O'Neal, was fleeing from police in a black Jaguar reported stolen, as he drives towards a police car two officers jump out. Firing at the Jaguar as it speeds by, one officer even pointing his gun in the direction of his partner as he turns around.

Seconds later, O'Neal slams head-on into a police SUV. The violent collision covering the SUV's dash cam with smoke as O'Neal takes off running. Body cameras show officers chasing him and moments later, the sound of gun fire. O'Neal was shot in the backyard of a home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your hands behind your back!

FLORES: The county medical examiner says O'Neal, who was unarmed, died of a gun shot wound to the back.

The officer who fired the fatal shot was wearing a body camera, but it was not recording. Investigators are trying to figure out why.

O'Neal's family watched the videos before they were released to the public.

BRIANA ADAMS, PAUL O'NEAL'S SISTER: I'm very hurt. Words can't describe how I feel at this moment, and how I felt when it happened. But I really want everybody to know that Paul was loved by my mother, his family, me.

FLORES: The family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the department and the officers involved. Family members say some of the most disturbing moments are what the officers say after the shooting while O'Neal is still bleeding and handcuffed on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) man. I am going to be on a desk for 30 (EXPLETIVE DELETED) days now.

I have the gun.

He shot back, right?

He almost hit him.

FLORES: This shooting happening in what has been deemed a new era of transparency and accountability in Chicago.

EDDIE JOHNSON, CHICAGO POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: As it appears right now, departmental policies may have been violated.

FLORES: The new police superintendent took swift action, taking the police powers away from the three officers who fired their weapon.

It also only took eight days for officials to release the video, a move that at times has taken more than a year.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Chicago.

(VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Rosa, thank you.

The Black Lives Matter movement staged a protest in the United Kingdom Friday. Demonstrators marked five years since police in London shot and killed Mark Duggan. His death sparked riots in the capital and British cities. One protester explained the anniversary protests this way --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is to highlight of issue of black lives not mattering, United Kingdom as well as the U.S. we've seen the big movement in the United States. We have our own problems here. For example, more than 1,563 people have died in the United Kingdom. As a black person who's twice as likely to be represented in that figure than your white counterparts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: An inquest in 2014 found that Duggan was killed lawfully even though he didn't have a gun and was shot and killed.

Airstrikes are still happening over Syria on a daily basis. The latest video that claims to show the damage to two once-vibrant cities.

And later this hour, the amazing story of an Olympic rower once terrified of water and grew up in a drought-stricken village in India. Wow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:43:31] HOWELL: Israel has charged the top director of an international aid organization with funneling millions of dollars to Hamas. World Vision denies the allegations, though.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has more from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This investigation focuses around Mohammad El Halabi, 38-year-old Gazan and director of the Gaza branch of World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization.

El Halabi is charged with siphoning millions away from World Vision and funneling that money to Hamas, according to an indictment filed in Israeli district court. Hamas is the militant group that runs Gaza.

El Halabi was arrested on June 15th at the Erez border crossing between Gaza and Israel. The Shinbet which conducted the investigation and Israeli's security agency says El Halabi used as his position as the Gaza director to funnel money away from donations and take money away from humanitarian projects and give it to Hamas' military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Shinbet says he sent about $7.2 million that way per year using methods including inflating the cost of humanitarian projects and sending the difference to Hamas and taking building supplies, supplies meant for humanitarian project, and sending it to Hamas for the construction of attack tunnels into Israel.

El Halabi's lawyer said Mohammad Mahmoud told CNN that El Halabi has no link to Hamas and the fact that he was held for 50 days without being charge sudden a sign that Israel's evidence against him is weak. He says that evidence will fall apart in court.

World Vision also released a statement denying the charges and calling on Israel to conduct a fair trial. The statement reads in part, "World Vision programs in Gaza have been subject to regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations, and a broad range of internal controls aimed at ensuring that asset reach the intended beneficiaries and are used in compliance with applicable laws and donor requirement."

Following the investigation, one country, Australia, announced that they would be suspending the funding they give to World Vision projects in the Palestinian territories pending the conclusion of the investigation.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOWELL: Amateur video shot in Aleppo shows a school that was reduced to rubble by a recent air strike. A man in that video claims they're Russian attacks and that two homes were also hit -- the attack killing an entire family there.

Another video purportedly shot in Homs shows the once-bustling city now in ruins.

Aid was delivered to the Jordanian/Syrian border on Thursday for the first time since it was closed in June. Seventy-five thousand displaced Syrians are stranded there. The border was sealed after a suicide bomber drove an explosive-ridden car from the Syrian side into a military post killing six Jordanian border guards. The U.N. World Food Programme says it used cranes to drop 650 tons of food and medical supplies off. The organization explained the unorthodox delivery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGEED YAHIA, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, JORDAN DIRECTOR: As you see, this is the first time we use the cranes. And this was the only way that we could do this distribution given that there is no access. We could not cross to the other side, nor the population can cross to this side. We came up with this idea that we could drop the food in there and then monitor the distribution from the Jordanian side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The U.N. refugee agency says that ISIS is capturing thousands of internally displaced Iraqis as they attempted to flee their northern villages for Kirkuk. They reported that 12 of those people were later killed. ISIS has been known to try to use these so-called IDPs as human shields. U.N. data says that more than four million such people are in Iraq.

On to Libya now. Troops loyal to the U.N.-backed government there are fighting to its stronghold city, Sirte. Commanders believe they have a few hundred ISIS militants surrounded at the center of that city.

It's no greyhound, but this little dog can race. How it formed a bond with an extreme athlete coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:51:53] HOWELL: The Olympics are filled with stories of athletes who overcame incredible odds to be at the games.

CNN's Sumnina Udas introduces a rower who grew up in a dusty Indian village constantly hit with droughts. He says his Olympic quest means so much more than just a shot at a gold medal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMNINA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was once terrified of water. He'd never seen so much water in his life. But life is strange sometimes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready?

UDAS: Call it irony or fate. Twenty-five-year-old Dattu Bhokanal is going from a drought-stricken village in western India to Rio de Janeiro. He's the only Indian rower to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

DATTU BHOKANAL, ROWER (through translator): When I think out how much my life has changed, I just laugh. When they told me I'd qualify for the Olympics, I didn't even know what it meant.

UDAS: Dattu grew up in a small village in one of the worst affected cities by drought.

BHOKANAL: My only dream was to become the best farmer in my village. I wanted to produce the best crop. The lack of water made it very difficult to survive as a farmer.

UDAS: He spent hours from village wells, every drop so precious. This is his home, and inside --

(on camera): So, he's saying he lives here with his entire family in one room with a kitchen. He has no running water, no TV, no refrigerator. This is life.

(voice-over): It's a life he long wanted to overcome. He joined the army, picking up a paddle for the first time in 2012. The rest, as they say, is history.

(on camera): Gearing up for the Olympic is no easy feet. Dattu has been going through some intense training, rowing up and down this 200- meter stretch, he's looking pretty good.

(voice-over): Prioritizing performance over everything else. His hardships back home only motivating him to push harder.

BHOKANAL: I have so many problems at home. My father is dead. My mother is paralyzed. Our fields are dry. We're in debt. So I need to win to support my family, to have a better life.

UDAS: Rowing himself and his family out of poverty. Dattu's aiming for gold in Rio. He knows it's a long shot, but for his family and drought-ridden village, in many ways, he's already won.

Sumnina Udas, CNN, Maharashtra, India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Sumnina, thank you.

Now for a story of an extreme athlete and his new canine companion. They met during a race across the Gobi Desert and formed a lasting bond.

Our Robyn Curnow has the story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dion Leonard run some of the most extreme races around the world. The marathoner says he's never seen anything like this.

[05:55:01] Earlier this summer, Leonard was competing in a grueling week-long run across China's Gobi Desert when a friendly little dog started to follow him.

DION LEONARD, EXTREME MARATHONER: He was looking up in my eyes, and she just kept staring at me, looking up at me. And I'm looking down at her thinking, this little dog's not going to stay with me all day. She'll leave. That's exactly what she did.

CURNOW: The stray, which Leonard named Gobi, stuck with him for days over mountains, through scorching heat, 125 kilometers, all the way to the finish and a second-place medal.

LEONARD: It was an amazing experience to run into the finish line with her. My wife actually says to me, it's the only time I've ever seen you smile at the end of a race.

CURNOW: After the race, Leonard knew he couldn't leave his furry friend behind. He started "Bring Gobi Home," a Crowdfunding effort to raise enough money to bring the dog back with him to Scotland. It quickly became an international sensation.

LEONARD: It was awesome to see the support from around the world. The notes, emails, and messages that we're getting for it has been incredible.

CURNOW: Leonard has raised thousands from backers all around the world and is now waiting to officially adopt Gobi.

Before that can happen, the dog must spend up to four months in quarantine. But Leonard's hoping they will be reunited in time for the holidays.

LEONARD: An amazing Christmas present to have her here.

CURNOW: There could be more racing ahead for Gobi.

LEONARD: She's going to definitely be wanting to compete. She'll run every day if you allow her. She's got a big heart.

CURNOW: Leonard is already looking forward to getting back on the trail with his new best friend.

Robyn Curnow, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Very cool.

That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

The news continues on CNN right after the break.