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Violent Protests In Milwaukee After Police-Involved Shooting; Flood Destroys Homes In Louisiana; Phelps Wins Another Gold Medal In Rio; NYC Imam And Assistant Shot And Killed; Venezuela-Colombia Border Opens. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired August 14, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:05] ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: A police shooting in the U.S. followed by protests and several fires. We'll have latest from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Plus, little or no relief from deadly flooding in the State of Louisiana. We'll show you some of the dramatic rescues that are still being made at this moment.

And Michael Phelps says he has finished his Olympic career, and let me tell you, what a career it was, with one more Olympic gold medal.

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

Police are still out in the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin after protests there became violent. Here's what we know so far. Crowds actually set four buildings on fire and threw rocks at police officers while protesting an officer-involved shooting. We know that one officer was hit in the head by a brick that was thrown into his police car. The protests were sparked after police shot and killed an armed man Saturday during a foot chase. Milwaukee's mayor says the officer was actually wearing a body camera which will be useful, of course, in the investigation. The mayor actually spoke a short time ago about the situation and he asked protesters to go home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BARRETT, MAYOR OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN: If you're a mother who is watching this right now and your young son or daughter is not home and you think they're in this area, get them home right now. Get them home right now. If you love your son, if you love your daughter, text them, call them, pull them by the ears and get them home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: If you love your son, if you love your daughter, get them home. Very sort of firm, strong words from the mayor. He also said that three people have been arrested. We'll of course bring you any developments as and when we get them.

All right, (inaudible) in the United States as well. Heavy rain and deadly flooding have left parts of Louisiana underwater, pretty much completely submerged. We know that three people have died, and one person is reported missing. Louisiana's governor declared a state of emergency on Friday calling the flooding, look at this, a truly historic event. CNN's Boris Sanchez has more from the flood zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now that the flood waters are starting to recede in some parts of Louisiana, we're getting a clearer picture as to the extent of the damage, just how bad this flooding was, how strong these waters were. We're going to take a look over to the left of me. We're in an industrial yard here in Aimee (ph), Louisiana, and that's a body shop, and you see that pick up truck just crushed like a child's toy flipped over. That truck was actually on the other side of that building.

There was a tractor in this area earlier that was helping people get across this flooded area to get to their homes and come back. The truck actually got stuck in the water and had to be pulled out it itself. You can also see pieces of asphalt, huge pieces of asphalt that have just been lifted off the ground and tossed about like pieces of paper onto the street.

And I want to point something out. You see it across the street here in that area just off the street. That white pick up truck, that was actually a man that was trying to cross the road while it was flooded out. He clearly did not make it across. He had to be rescued by officials, one of the 1,000 rescues that firefighters, paramedics, and other emergency officials have had to make here in Louisiana because of this devastating flooding.

The last thing I want to point out, across the street, that trailer, I spoke to the guy that lived in that trailer. He kept it across the street here in the industrial park. Fortunately, he didn't spend the night here last night. He says it ran more than 120 yards and got smashed, flattened against the trees over there. I'd asked him how he felt seeing his home flattened and his state in disarray. Here's what he said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's terrible. Gentleman that has that tractor right there, he lost his house in the flood back in March. He just a couple weeks ago got his house back in order and he's lost everything. He had six, eight feet of water in his house. It's terrible. I mean there's people -- it's a sad thing to see.

SANCHEZ: The major concern now are the cities and towns that are south of here, because all this water that was here just continued moving in that direction. The other question is, when is the rain finally going to stop? It had settled down here a couple of hours ago. Now it's falling yet again. Experts tell us it will continue at least until Monday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: And I want to give you a feel of what residents in Louisiana are experiencing right now. One of our viewers, Barry Suns (ph), who's from Ardnerville (ph), Louisiana, actually sent us these photos of dramatic flooding. So the first picture, take a look here. It actually shows you his backyard -- this is his backyard about a week before the flooding started, the rain started to fall, and then here in this picture, you actually see, this was taken Saturday afternoon, and his yard, if you could show (ph) that picture again, it actually looks like a lake. His yard looks like a lake.

[03:05:12] And in this last picture, if we could go back to that, you can actually see water starting to enter his home as well, but he's certainly optimistic. He says that no amount of water will stop a Cajun from cooking. Certainly some southern charm there. Let's get the forecast now from our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Resilient people.

ASHER: Yes. Some people are certainly resilient. They have a sense of humor. But -- do they have any relief? Do the residents of Louisiana have any relief, any sign of these rains letting up?

VAN DAM: The good news is that the bulk of the heavy rain has moved on from central and southern Louisiana, but there are still scattered showers across the area. So, a very saturated environment. Any additional rainfall is going to cause more problems, obviously, and we've got receding waters from the rivers and lakes across that area, so flooding still a major concern. But Zain, and to our viewers at home, we have got incredible video to show you. This is a rescue effort that took place inside the Baton Rouge area. You can see a woman survived this near drowning experience here in Louisiana. This is in Baton Rouge, the floodwaters, thanks to some very courageous men in a boat who arrived just in the nick of time. The woman's convertible was about 2/3 submerged, and you can actually hear her ask for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you help me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN DAM: The car kept sinking. One man jumped on top, trying to break through the convertible's fabric roof. It was only after the car was fully submerged that the woman is finally pulled to safety. Look at that, unbelievable. But it's not ended there, Zain. This man's courageous efforts went even past this, rescued this woman's dog which was still in the submerged vehicle. Wow.

We're so thankful for the rescue personnel, the volunteers who really put their lives on the line to help save others, and it's not only the people that are being saved here, it's also some of the animals. Something to consider.

Look at these rainfall totals. This is really incredible stuff -- 681 millimeters in Brownsfield, Louisiana. This is a lot of rain in a short period of time. Remember, it started in the evening hours of Thursday. This is going forward over the next 24 hours or so, and the bulk of the rainfall -- again, starting to see that less coverage of the dark oranges and reds. That of course indicates heavier precipitation and the system starting to move ever so slowly to the west, so away from Louisiana. It is, however, bringing a flooding potential, although not as significant in Louisiana, to parts of Texas.

This is the radar-estimated rainfall totals and that shading of white indicates the rainfall totals in excess of 500 millimeters, and we're talking about flash flooding. This is a river gauge from one of the local rivers near Baton Rouge. This thing rose 25 feet in 12 hours, there it is, and it well broke the record which was set back in 1983, wow, by 4 feet even. This is unbelievable to see these statistics coming in. Flash flooding really is such a dangerous -- one of the greatest killers in the United States in terms of natural disasters.

ASHER: Incredible. I did not know that. So, if you are caught in a flash flood, if you do have that nightmare scenario come upon you, what are you supposed to do?

VAN DAM: You know, there's a lot of common sense involved here. It's tough to take action, though, when water is rising so quickly. But naturally, you want to get to the highest point possible. If you're stuck in your house, go to the attic, go to the roof, wait for emergency personnel to come and perform an evacuation (ph).

ASHER: You actually see people in some of these videos actually climbing to the top of trees and waiting for rescue.

VAN DAM: Yes, that's right. And one thing you do not want to do is stay in your vehicle if it's being submerged by rising water.

ASHER: We saw what happened in that video you showed.

VAN DAM: Exactly. You need to get out.

ASHER: Derek Van Dam, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

All right, day eight of the Rio Olympics wrapped up on Saturday, and Michael Phelps finished his Olympic career in style. He is the most decorated Olympian ever. He took gold with his American teammates in the men's 4x100 meter medley. Phelps says he will not compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so his career is effectively over. However, he did actually technically come out of retirement to compete in Rio, so we shall see if he changes his mind. With the latest win, Phelps now has 23 Olympic gold medals.

[03:09:52] The U.S. was victorious in the women's, also the women's 4x100 meter medley as well. Simone Manuel anchored the U.S. team as Australia took silver and Denmark took bronze, and with that win, that win by the women, the U.S. earned its one-thousandth gold medal in the modern era Summer Olympics. In track events, British runner Mo Farah won the 10,000 meter, despite a fall -- despite the fact that he actually fell down, got knocked over during the race, he still won, and the win makes him the first British track athlete to win three gold medals.

Michael Phelps has been the face of swimming for the better part of two decades. He has become larger than life and has a strong case as the greatest Olympian ever. After all those gold medals, it's easy to forget where all this started, with a 15-year-old kid from Baltimore, Maryland who just wanted to win. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIC SWIMMER: I guess my long-term goal is to win the gold medal in Athens and go on more than one event. So I mean I have a lot of goals, but I think that I just want to take it day by day. I haven't even got my learner's yet, so I guess after I get my learner's, I will get my license and I'm going to get a car, so I'm looking forward to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Of course, he basically looks exactly the same. Of course, no one knew back then in 2001, but Phelps would of course go on to dominate in a way that few athletes ever have. Our Andy Scholes looks back on his incredible career as it comes to a close.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Michael Phelps entered the global swimming stage at the age of 15, qualifying for his first Olympic games. Since that time, he has been the most dominating force the world of swimming has ever seen, competing long enough to inspire a new generation of swimmers. Look no further than American gold medalist Katie Ledecky. Here, she posed with Phelps as a 9-year-old. 10 years later, they're winning gold together in Rio.

PHELPS: It's pretty incredible to have helped kids go after their dreams and their goals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible) different capacity. One as an athlete, a fierce competitor, but also Michael Phelps, the mentor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has just become a role model to so many people and taken swimming to a sport that used to be just -- well, that's an Olympic sport. Well, now it's cool.

SCHOLES: Sydney, Athens, Bejing, London, then his first retirement. Phelps did not just come back for a farewell tour at these Rio games. He crushed it, winning five gold medals, and he has now stood atop of an Olympic podium 23 times.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a young person's sport. This is a sport where teenagers are winning gold medals. He's 31. In baseball years, that's probably 55. And the thought that he can still be at the top of the world at this point is extraordinary.

SCHOLES: On top of the world and the water, Phelps sometimes struggled out of the pool. Controversy, two DUI arrests, rehab in 2014, but after all of it, he emerged with a new commitment to compete in his 5th and final Olympic games. This is it for Phelps. He couldn't have written a better ending. Now a father, his fiancee, Nicole Johnson, and his three-month-old son, Boomer, watching and cheering him on at every race.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've adjusted themselves so well, and I just think they have to have a very special, loving bond between the three of them. I just think Michael's in a really good place right now.

SCHOLES: What's next for Phelps? He says he's looking forward to spending time with his family. You won't have to look far to find him pitching a number of products around the world. He'll continue his work with the Michael Phelps Foundation which helps kids learn to swim and be safe around water. Perhaps Phelps also uses his free time in retirement to encourage change in the sport of swimming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If Michael Phelps speaks out about doping, the IOC will listen in a way they're not going to listen to anyone else. And maybe at the end of the day, that's Michael's legacy, a combination of bringing children to the sport of swimming and then trying to clean up the sport of swimming in the same terms of doping and all the bad things that have happened over the years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's changed the sport, and he will continue to change it even past his retirement.

PHELPS: It is finally setting in more and more that some of the things that I've been able to accomplish throughout my career, and wanting to change the sport, I'm seeing it first hand, and I think that's something that is really rewarding.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: (inaudible) his dreams come true. I'm sure this will not be the last time we hear from Mr. Michael Phelps. All right, time for a quick break here on CNN. When we come back, in the Syrian city of Manbij, celebrations, and a real chance to start life again after ISIS is forced out. Why Manbij is crucial in the battle against ISIS.

Also ahead, an imam and his assistant are dead after an ambush in Queens. We'll have details ahead on the fatal shooting in New York as police search for suspects. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:16:49] ASHER: New York police are looking for whoever shot and killed an imam and his assistant outside a mosque. Authorities say they do not believe the men's faith played a factor in these killings, but they're certainly raising questions nonetheless. Here's our Sara Ganim with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here, city police confirming that a Queens imam and his neighbor were both gunned down leaving a mosque on Saturday afternoon following prayers. As they walked down the street towards home, a man approached them from behind, shooting both in the head. Investigators here at the scene still trying to figure out exactly what happened, say they are looking at surveillance video that shows a man with a gun running from the scene. No arrests have been made, but witnesses are also being interviewed.

Investigators say there's nothing for the preliminarily indicates that these men were targeted, but investigators are also looking to see if there was an earlier dispute at the mosque that may have led to a shooting. That's according to a law enforcement source. And as this investigation begins, you can see that the local community has gathered.

News of the shooting garnered a significant reaction from the community here. Obviously it's a very scary thing to think that a local religious leader can be gunned down in the middle of the street in brought daylight, and there are many concerns from people in the community who have gathered calling for justice and also remembering these men. Some people have told me that the local imam was beloved here. He had just eulogized someone else the other day, and he was a very nice guy, very well known in the community, had kids, frequented the local stores, and so obviously the showing of support here in Queens as the investigation continues to try and figure out what happened. Sara Ganim, CNN, Queens, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. Time for some politics now. "The New York Times" is reporting that some of Donald Trump's advisors believe that it actually may be impossible to save the candidate from his own mistakes. The Republican presidential candidate fired back on Twitter, of course, calling "The Times" a failing newspaper of fiction. But Trump's grievance is not just with "The Times". He seems to actually hold an even lower standard, a lower view, rather, of reporters than he does of his own opponent in the election. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'll tell you honestly, I'm not running against crooked Hillary Clinton. I'm running against the crooked media. That's what I'm running against, too. I'm not running against crooked Hillary.

(BOOING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And when Trump talks about his contempt for mainstream media, CNN is certainly no exception. He makes stinks (ph) at us all the time. Our Brian Stelter takes a look at what Trump said and tweets about his campaign coverage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN MONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's campaign is all about getting attention, media attention.

TRUMP: Look at all those cameras.

Look at all the red lights.

I know I'm good for (ph) the ratings, but it's a little bit ridiculous.

STELTER: But Trump likes to have it both ways. His favorite show is beat the press.

[03:20:06] TRUMP: These people are the lowest form of life. I'm telling you.

This sleazy guy right over here from ABC, he's a sleaze.

"The Washington Post", one of the most dishonest papers in the world.

STELTER: When the going gets tough, Trump gets tough on the people covering his campaign. Right now, especially CNN.

TRUMP: Fox has been fair. But CNN has been catastrophic. It's so dishonest.

STELTER: Lately, he doesn't seem to want the attention at all.

TRUMP: They cover things that are -- that should not be covered.

STELTER: Hillary Clinton does face daily scrutiny, especially about her e-mail server, but Clinton usually keeps her media critiques private. Trump tweets his on an hourly basis. CNN, "New York Times", "Washington Post" -- he's objected to a dozen things just this week alone.

On Friday, he called CNN ratings challenged. But odds are, he's watching this program right now. Watching cable news and then reacting to it is a defining feature of his campaign.

TRUMP: You ought to see these news organizations yesterday when I said, Obama, right? Did you see that? That Obama is the founder of ISIS.

STELTER: Time and time again, he says the media is rigged against him.

TRUMP: The media is rigged. It's rigged. It's crooked as hell.

STELTER: He is far from the first candidate to blame the media.

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: And I think here's tje little news flash for those reporters and commentators -- I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion --

STELTER: Sometimes when campaigns are down in the polls, the anti- press talk gets even louder. The difference with Trump is the intensity. He is not just running against Clinton, he is running against us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Oh, yes, no secret that he loves to hate us. That was CNN Money Senior Media Correspondent, Brian Stelter reporting there. And Trump, in recent days, has been under fire -- pretty much since the beginning of his campaign, he's been under fire for refusing to release his income taxes. But his running mate, Republican vice presidential candidate, Mike Pence, says we will be seeing his tax returns. He says he's going to be releasing them before the election in November, and he promises they will be quote, a quick read.

All right. More than a dozen children are dead after two separate Saudi-led airstrikes hit schools in northern Yemen. According to the Yemen health ministry, the first strike hit a private school in Sadah province, killing at least 10 children and wounding 28 others. The students were all between the ages of 8 and 15 years old, extremely young. And another airstrike struck a school nearby killing four children and three adults as well. U.N. led peace talks came to a dead end last week resulting in fierce clashes that are continuing throughout Yemen.

And the battle for the key Syrian city of Aleppo is turning even more violent and even more brutal. The Syrian state news run agency says at least nine more people were killed this Saturday. The Syrian government is counter attacking. Last week, rebels broke a regime siege that lasted for about a month. Experts say the fully controlling Aleppo provides a major military advantage. The U.N. is calling for a weekly ceasefire of about 48 hours to prevent massive humanitarian catastrophe.

People in the key Syrian city of Manbij now have a sliver of hope their lives will get back to normal, that their lives will recover. Fighters backed by the U.S. have forced ISIS out. They have now left the city and the U.S. is hoping to use it as an opportunity to basically get their hands on key intelligence left behind by ISIS. Washington also wants to use Manbij, the city, as a spring board to retake Raqqah, which is the de facto ISIS capital in Syria. Our Senior International Correspondent, Ben Wedeman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: With the fall of Manbij, ISIS has lost another important stronghold in Syria. The latest in the string of towns and cities in Iraq and Syria where ISIS's black banner has been torn down. For the inhabitants of this Syrian town, it was a relief to be liberated by the U.S. supported Syrian Democratic forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, the inhabitants of the town enjoying relief from ISIS's draconian regime. Some men took the opportunity to shave off their once mandatory beards and men and also women had the opportunity to enjoy a smoke in public for the first time in years without fear of a lashing.

[03:24:48] Some women took the opportunity to burn their head to toe Niqab's, a stifling garment required by ISIS of all women who wanted to go out in public. ISIS has now now lost an important supply route between the Turkish border and its de facto capital of Raqqah, but this is just one battle won. The war against ISIS is still far from over. ISIS still controls Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, and it still controls large tracts of northern Syria. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Thousands of desperate Venezuelans crossed into Columbia on Saturday after the two countries agreed to at least temporarily reopen the border. Venezuelans are anxious to buy food and other basic items that they can't find or simply cannot afford in their own country. Venezuela is facing a severe economic recession made even more severe by falling oil prices. The opposition wants to remove President Nicolas Maduro by referendum vote this year. Here's our Rafael Romo with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Hours before sunrise, people were already standing in line at the border. Tens of thousands of Venezuelans desperate to cross into Columbia for the first time in almost a year. Colombia and Venezuela have always been sister nations, this woman says. The border should always be open.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the 2,200 kilometer border closed last August after a clash between Colombian paramilitary forces and Venezuelan troops. He met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Thursday in Venezuela to announce a reopening of the border.

We will open the border in an orderly, controlled, and gradual way, President Santos said. Which means this is not yet a permanent reopening. For now, the border will be open for up to 15 hours a day and only for pedestrians. According to Colombian officials, about 28,000 Venezuelans crossed into their country on Saturday alone.

Authorities briefly opened portions of the border several times in the last few weeks, but this is the first time it reopens as part of a bi- national agreement. For the Venezuelans, it was mainly an opportunity to buy basic food products and toiletries that have been scarce in Venezuela for years. Later in the day, they returned home carrying bags, packages, and boxes full of food and other items.

Others flocked to pharmacies to get medicines that are nowhere to be found in Venezuela. Some even carried tires. This woman said she felt like taking pictures at this Colombian super market where we found her. All she sees back home, she said, are empty shelves. After almost a year of suffering shortages, the abundance of essential grocery store items in Colombia was overwhelming. Rafael Romo, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: At least gives people there a hope. OK. Thank you so much for watching. I'm Zain Asher. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" is next on CNN, but first, I'll be back with a quick look at your headlines.

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