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Two Olympic Giants Fall Short Friday; Source of Some Water Pollution in Rio; Bombings Across Thailand; Hillary Clinton Releases Tax Returns; Trump Blames Media for Latest Controversy. Aired 12- 12:30a ET

Aired August 13, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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

[12:00:12] ZAIN ASHER, ANCHOR, CNN ANCHOR: Once untouchable, two Olympic giants fall short at the first whitely (ph) at Friday's competition. Michael Phelps slips to second place, and he tied with two others. Sweden shocked the world by beating four-time Olympic gold medalist, the U.S. Women's Football Team. And you head the stories about the polluted waters of Rio. CNN takes you to the source of that very pollution.

Plus, the latest twists and turns in the race for the White House. Hillary Clinton releases her tax returns, while her opponent, Donald Trump, refuses to do the same, and he blames the media for his latest campaign controversy.

Hello, everyone. I'm Zai Asher, and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

All right, she has done it again. American Katie Ledecky is continuing her dominance in Rio.

Not only did she win the 800-meter freestyle a few hours ago, but she also broker her own world record. And, on top of that, she beat out her newest rival by roughly only 11 seconds.

But a slightly different story for Michael Phelps, fellow American Michael Phelps. He narrowly lost the 100-meter butterfly, coming in second to Singapore's Joseph Schooling. But the big shock of the day was the upset in Women's Football Tournament. Sweden eliminated the U.S. on penalty kicks. OK, let's talk more about this.

Our Kate Riley joins us live now here in the studio. Kate, glad to be with you. I do want to talk about Katie Ledecky because I am in awe of that woman.

KATE RILEY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Right. How can you not? Not only did she win, but it's just how much she won by. And then you have this other story with Michael Phelps, came in second. I didn't, I didn't think anyone saw that coming.

ASHER: No. OK, so we're going to come to Katie Ledecky in just a minute. But let's talk about Michael Phelps because in that buildup it was all about could Phelps go for his fifth gold metal of this game. Lots of excitement, lots of pressure on him. But constantly throughout this game he's been able to deal with that

pressure. And then, Zain, in true fashion, this is the year of the underdog. And the year of the underdog did not disappoint once again.

Because we saw Singapore get their first ever gold medal.

ASHER : Incredible.

RILEY: Many congratulations to, to them. It comes in the form of Joseph Schooling, clearly giving folks an education in the pool tonight.

ASHER: Right, right, right, right.

RILEY: And actually, turns out that Phelps is Schooling's boyhood hero.

ASHER: Oh, wow.

RILEY: So there's a really endearing picture that's circling the Internet right now. And, yeah, they posed as Schooling was just a, a school boy as it were. So, yeah, really...

ASHER: Phelps is an inspiration to so many people.

RILEY: Yeah, he also met Katie Ledecky when she was just a young girl as well.

But I do want to talk about the American Women's Football Team. What happened there? They lost to Sweden, and what happened with Hope Solo in particular? Because there's so much controversy around -- surrounding her comments, what she said about the Swedes.

ASHER: Yeah, very much so. And of course, going into this competition, the U.S. were favorites and the U.S. aren't used to losing of course.

And of course last summer in Vancouver they became world champions for a record third time. So huge upset, the U.S. going out to the hands of Sweden, and in the cruelest of fashions as well.

Sweden went ahead in this one. The U.S. then equalized it. It was one-one after 90 minutes. That went to extra time, of course. After extra time, still one all. And of course it went to penalties. Hope Solo didn't stand a chance. Sweden goes though. Interestingly enough, in the heat of the moment, Hope Solo, the, the goal keeper for the U.S. come out and this is what she said. She told reporters afterwards, I think we played like a bunch of cowards. But she obviously feels though, despite that, that the U.S. should have advanced.

ASHER: Yeah. And, by the way, incredibly nerve-wracking watching those penalty kicks, can I just say.

RILEY: I know. As a Briton, you get used to it, right? ASHER: But let's talk about cyclist Bradley Wiggins, because he's a name that we're going to hear more of. He is the most decorated British Olympian ever. So the British version, our version of Michael Phelps.

RILEY: Yeah, exactly.

And Great Britain had a great day on two wheels, didn't they? Wiggins now becomes the first Britain ever to win eight Olympic medals. How did he do it on Friday? Well, he cycled to victory in the team pursuit in a new world record. This is how it breaks down. Wiggo (ph) now has five golds save (ph), one silver and two bronzes to his name.

Chris Hoy, who held the previous record of being the most decorated Great Britain cyclist, he had a tally of seven medals. And of course, so Bradley Wiggins has now eight Olympic medals.

ASHER: It so exciting these games. Just one week and I've got to say that swimming -- I love the cyclists, but swimming is still certainly my favorite. Kate Riley, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

Well the U.S. is cemented its lead in the medal standings with a powerhouse performance, as Kate and I were just talking about, in swimming on Friday. American athletes have the most medals. Get this, they have 20, 20 in just one week. They also have the most medals over all, with 50 total. China is firmly there, you can see them there in second place with 13 golds and 37 altogether. Britain and Japan are locked in for a tight race for third place. Both have seven each. And just two medals separate for their total score.

All right, Brazilian authorities have been trying to clean up the water around Rio. The World Health Organization says that athletes competing in open waters, open waters, are at risk of getting sick. Our Shasta Darlington found the source of some of the water pollution in Rio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rio's sailing venue called the dirtiest Olympic athletes have ever competed in. Floating garbage, even a sofa, seething with raw sewage. You've seen the pictures. We want to show you where it's all coming from. Even after recent improvement, only half of homes in Rio connected to a sanitation network. All you have to do is head up hill. That's where you find raw sewage and garbage flowing freely between houses. In the sprawling favela of Rocinha (ph) Jose Martin sil Rivera (ph) has been fighting for basic services for decades.

JOSE MARTIN SIL RIVERA (ph) (through translator): If we had sewage systems, we'd have good health, he says. Instead, we have tuberculosis, rashes, and gastrointestinal infections. He takes us on a tour of some of the 23 open sewage canals he's documented in the neighborhood.

DARLIINGTON: Oh, my God. Here you can really see what this is all about. You have pipes coming straight out of people's bathrooms and kitchens, dripping the sewage down. There's even rats running around. It doesn't get worse than this. Flushed out, untreated. Families of rats and a smell that just makes you gag. Flowing past houses and along footpaths, whisking trash along with it, especially in heavy rains, until it all ends up on Rio's beaches, in the lagoon where rowers are competing. Team U.S.A., armed with antimicrobial suits, and Guanabara Bay where sailors and windsurfers are warned to shut their mouths against the toxic spray.

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: And for all the latest Olympic scores, stories, and Rio highlights, just go to CNN.com slash Olympics.

No one has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings across Thailand that killed four people. Authorities don't know the reason for the blasts, but they say the attacks are not, not linked to international terrorism. Here's Ivan Watson with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This normally bustling nightlife district is all but deserted right now because it was the scene of a small but deadly bombing on Thursday night. You can see evidence of some of the damage here. The blast ripped through from the street corner and killed at least one street vending woman here, and seriously wounded several more. And on the blood-stained pavement you can even see discarded shoes and bouquets of flowers here, after this attack. It's important to note this was just of at least 11 bombings to hit in a period of 24 hours in at least four different tourist resort cities across Thailand.

A busy bore (ph) street in a popular tourist resort transformed into a crime scene Thursday night after a deadly bomb blast, the bomb just one of a series of explosions that erupted across five provinces in Thailand over the course of 24 hours. The targets mostly major tourist destinations popular with locals and foreigners alike. The coast resort city of Hua Hin sustained the most casualties after two explosions Thursday evening, followed by another twin bombing Friday morning. Two explosions also hit popular holiday spot Phuket, one at a dolphin park on the beach and another at Bangla (ph) Street. Another two bombs hit Surat Thani city, which is a transit point for tourists going to Ko Samui and the other islands that Thailand is famous for.

Thai police say the attacks don't appear to be related to international terrorism.

PIYAPAN PINGMUANG, DEPUTY POLICE SPOKESPERSON: What we know for sure is that the incidents do not link directly with the any class of terrorism. Is in fact to say the local sabotage by which we are trying to identify those suspects who are behind the scene. So it's still too soon to jump to any conclusion. WATSON: Authorities tightened security across Thailand, but many tourists are clearly rattled. CNN spoke to one foreign witness of Thursday night's attack. Shane Brett has been to Hua Hin six times already, but says this may be his last trip.

SHANE BRETT, WITNESS: I love it here. Beautiful scenery, lot of foreigners here that just want a nice, quiet vacation. But after this, after this visit, and I feel -- I've heard about other bombings in other areas, areas of Thailand, I -- it's very unsettling and I -- I might be looking at other places in Southeast Asia to vacation.

WATSON: If others feel the same way, it could seriously hurt Thailand's economy, which depends heavily on tourism.

Many of the bombs were placed in potted plants like this. Now the Prime Minister of the country has come out on television. He's called for calm, and insists that Thailand does not have enemies abroad or at home. And he didn't cast blame for this attack. But clearly the coordinated appearance of this series of bombings in so many cities, in such a small amount of time, it suggests that there was some kind of coordinated effort here. The big question, what is the political message and who was trying to send it with these deadly bombings?

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hau Hin, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. Time for a quick break here on CNN. Coming up, Hillary Clinton throws down the gauntlet, challenging Donald Trump.

She releases her tax returns for the last year, for 2015, but will that persuade Donald Trump to release his? How his campaign is responding, coming up. And Trump says that he was being sarcastic when he claimed that President Obama founded ISIS. We'll have more on that very controversial story coming up here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is challenging Donald Trump to release his taxes.

Clinton ramped up pressure on her Republican rival, releasing her own tax returns of last year, for 2015. Those documents actually show that her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, earned $10.6 million last year, much of their income coming from speaking fees. And, in case you're wondering, they actually paid about $3.6 million in taxes. In response, the Trump campaign says that Clinton is trying to deflect attention away from the e-mail controversy that has been swirling around her for months.

Bill Clinton meanwhile is defending his wife over her e-mails. At a gathering of Asian-American journalists in Las Vegas, Mr. Clinton was asked why Americans should trust Hillary Clinton when she apparently allegedly lied about never reading classified e-mails on her private e-mail server when she was Secretary of State. Here's how the former President responded. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, first of all, the FBI Director said when he testified before Congress, he had to amend his previous day's statement that she had never received any e-mails marked classified. They saw two little notes with a C on it -- this is the biggest load of bull I ever heard -- that were about telephone calls that she needed to make. And the State Department typically puts a little C on it to discourage people from discussing it in public, in the even the Secretary of State, whoever it is, doesn't (ph) make a telephone call. Does that sound threatening to the national security to you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Bill Clinton there desperately trying to defend his wife. And earlier this year the FBI decided not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton over e-mails. But just this week newly-released e- mails are raising questions about the possible inappropriate ties, inappropriate links between the U.S. State Department during Clinton's tenure there and the Clinton Foundation.

Donald Trump is telling voters the only way he will lose the key state of Pennsylvania is if Hillary Clinton cheats.

During a campaign stop there on Friday he said that he wants law enforcement officials to closely monitor the polls to make sure that people don't vote more than once, don't vote multiple times. Both campaigns have been devoting significant resources to Pennsylvania, which has a base of working class voters, particularly in western Pennsylvania, that both candidates are hoping to tap into.

In the meantime, Trump appears to be walking back his widely- criticized claim this week that President Obama and Hillary Clinton were the founders of ISIS. Here's our Jim Acosta with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Have you heard the one about the presidential candidate who called President Obama the founder of ISIS?

DONALD TRUMP, 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So I said the founder of IS -- obviously being sarcastic. Then, then, but not that sarcastic, to be honest with you.

ACOSTA: Donald Trump says that one-liner is more standup than stump speech.

TRUMP: Barack Obama is the founder. He got everybody out and he let them know ehn and we're leaving. He is the founder in a true sense.

ACOSTA: Just kidding, says Trump, who asked a certain television network in a tweet, they don't get sarcasm? That explanation follows ample opportunities to clear up what he meant.

HUGH HEWITT, TALK SHOW HOST: I know what you mean. He meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace.

TRUMP: No, I mean he's the founder of ISIS, I do.

ACOSTA: But it's more of a head scratcher than a knee slapper to even his own top surrogates.

NEW GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: His candidacy is the, the imprecise language. He sometimes uses three words when he needs 10. I know what Trump has in his mind, but that's not what people hear. And I think that's a -- he, he has got to learn to use language that has been thought through and that is clear to everybody.

ACOSTA: The GOP nominee's attacks on the President come as a reminder surfaced that Trump also wanted a quick exit from the war in Iraq.

PIERS MORGAN, BRITISH TALK SHOW HOST: If you were President, would you take all American troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq now? Straightaway?

TRUMP: Well, Iraq, we shouldn't have been there and I'd get them out real fast. Afghanistan is not the bigger problem. The bigger problem is Pakistan.

ACOSTA: Trump's steep drop in key battleground states is no joke. He trails by double digits in Colorado, North Carolina, and Virginia. But he's hanging on in Florida. The slide follows days of damaging moments like this one in Florida when he asked Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton's e-mail server.

TRUMP: Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.

ACOSTA: Trump said that was sarcasm too.

TRUMP: And I obviously was being sarcastic. In fact, the people in the room were laughing. They found it very funny. Everybody knew that.

ACOSTA: But it's a pattern that makes it hard to determine when Trump is playing it straight on important policy issues like whether U.S. citizens could be tried for terrorism at the detention center at Guantanamo. Trump says they should, even though that's a departure from current U.S. laws.

TRUMP: I know that they want to try them in our regular court systems, and I don't like that at all. I don't like that at all. I would say they could be tried there. That'll be fine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: And that was CNN's senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, reporting there.

For more news about America's race for the White House, watch State of the Race with our very own Kate Bolduan. That's week nights at 7:30 pm London time. And Tuesday to Friday at 2:30 pm in Hong Kong. Right here of course on CNN.

We want to go and tell you about some weather now because we have some historic disastrous flooding that's impacting states like Louisiana. In times like this, you really have to tip off -- I should say Derek Van Dam is joining us now. I forgot to introduce you.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No problem.

ASHER: No, but you really have to sort of tip off your hat to rescue workers...

VAN DAM: Yeah.

ASHER: ...who are braving the floods, braving the storms, to help people.

VAN DAM: Yes. The National Guard's even been called in as well.

The Louisiana governor, John Bel, declaring a state of emergency here in Louisiana. By the way, his own basement is flooded because of this, what is being described by the National Weather Service as close to a one in 500-year rainfall event. I mean just incredible amounts of rain, Zain. The worst hit areas north of Baton Rouge. Unfortunately, there have been two fatalities. The big story here you can see some of these mansions being also impacted by the water, let alone the small towns in the area.

One of the most amazing things, though, that's coming out of this area is that one river which I'll show you in a moment, hopefully we can get to it, rose six meters in just a 14-hour period. That's an incredible amount of rain.

So let's get to Baton Rouge. This isn't even the most impressive amounts of rainfall. They saw, just on Friday along, 242 millimeters of rainfall. That's their second wetest day on record. Records going back to 1800s, or the 1800s, and by the way that 150 percent of their average August rainfall. No wonder we're getting pictures and images just like that. Very astounding to see those images coming out of the deep South of the United States.

Here's the pesky low-pressure system, really just hovering over Louisiana. We zoom in on the current radar taking place. This is over the past day and a half. And you can see precipitation moving over the Baton Rouge area, just north and west of the New Orleans region. That's where the bulk of the heaviest rainfall has taken place. You can see the flash flood warnings. That's the rapid rise in rain. And the flash, or the flood warnings taking place again just outside of the Baton Rouge area. They've had rainfall estimates over 500 millimeters in some of these locations.

Here're some of the specifics that we're getting from the National Weather Service. These are historic, very impressive rainfall totals. And here's the rain gauge at the river, this is, that I was talking about, the Tickfaw River. That rising over six meters in a short period of time, and that is called flash flooding. You can see it right there. It doesn't expect to drop below flood stage any time soon. So this flooding event is really just getting underway. Something we're going to monitor for days.

ASHER: You know, even if you lose everything -- you know, if you lose your house, you still have to be thankful of the fact that you survived, that you made it out.

VAN DAM: Absolutely.

ASHER: That's what important.

VAN DAM: Yeah, very important.

ASHER: All right. Derek Van Dam, thanks so much.

VAN DAM: Thank you.

ASHER: Appreciate that.

Sprinter Usain Bolt is set to make his Rio Olympic debut in the coming hours.

His mom tells us how he was a hyperactive boy, coming up that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: He is one of the biggest stars at the Rio Olympics, and he hasn't even competed yet. I'm talking about Jama -- Jamaican runner Usain Bolt. He won three gold medals in each of the last two Olympics and looks to repeat that success in Rio. So you can catch the lightning bolt on track, but our Don Riddell caught up with the woman who knows him best, his mother.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Usain Bolt is such an iconic Olympic sprinter that you could easily think he was born that way. But that wasn't quite the case. And nobody knows him better than his proud and loving mum, Jennifer.

JENNIFER BOLT: As a young boy he was, you know, hyperactive, very jovial, friendly. He can go up to people, you know, and say something to them that can, that will make them laugh.

RIDDELL: Jennifer has witnessed his development from a happy-go-lucky kid to a six-time Olympic champion, and hoping for an unprecedented sprint treble treble. Usain oozes confidence now, but he wasn't so sure ahead of his first major event, the World Junior Championships in his homeland of Jamaica. It was a scene portrayed in a new animated film about his life.

In the film there is this moment where you talk to him and you give him some advice. What was it that you told him and, and how did he process that information?

BOLT: I literally talked with him. He, you know, he stopped crying. And I think he think about it. And then he say, OK, mommy, I'm going and I'm going to do my best. RIDDELL: And what did you say to him?

BOLT: I said the Lord is with you and I'm going to pray for you. And, and I saw the, the race, and saw him in front, and the crowd started to shout his name. I think that helped to motivate him a bit because he could hear the crowd in the stadium.

RIDDELL: Bolt won the 200 meters that day and, at the age of 15, became the youngest ever World Junior gold medalist. These days he's well used to all the acclaim and celebrity. He'll be the biggest draw in Rio with fans and many fellow athletes all hoping to meet him.

Your son is not just an amazing athlete, people adore him. There's adulation for him everywhere he goes. How do you feel when you see the crowd at these races and how people respond to him?

BOLT: Oh, I'm so overwhelmed. The joy, sometimes I cried tears of joy.

RIDDELL: What does he say to you when he finds you in the crowd after these gold medal performances?

BOLT: He doesn't really say anything, just hug, hug me. But I can see that it is joy within him.

RIDDELL: Rio will be Bolt's fourth, and he says, final Olympics. And he's planning to retire from the track after the World Championships next year.

As a mother, what would you hope for Usain in the future, once he stops competing?

BOLT: I would hope he'll settle down, get married, and start his family.

RIDDELL: Can you see him settling down?

BOLT: Yes, I know he'll settle down because he had told me that many times that he's going to start his family.

RIDDELL: What do you think Usain's message is?

BOLT: He's trying to, you know, to get everybody to, to love, to love. Because he has grown, you know, close to us and he has, he has gotten a lot of love. So I would like to see us (ph) share that joy with others.

RIDDELL: There's no doubt he'll do that again in Rio. And whatever happens, whenever he retires, Usain Bolt's athletic prowess and infectious personality will be sorely missed.

Don Riddell, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: He will indeed be missed. One of the greatest runners of all time. Right. Thank you so much for watching. I'll be back with a quick look at your headlines after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)