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Deadly Wildfire Threatens Thousands in California; Photographer Talks Image of Syrian Boy; Ryan Lockte's Ascent to the Spotlight; Usain Bolt Takes Gold in Men's 200 Meter. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 19, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:19] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour. The swimmers, lies and video tape. The U.S. Athletes robbery story appears to be sinking fast.
Plus, regrets, Donald Trump says he has a few. And Hillary Clinton insists her rival's surprise admission does not go far enough.
And later, it's the video seen around the world. We talk to the man who shot these heart breaking images.
Hello, and thank you for joining us, I'm Isha Sesay. "Newsroom L.A." starts right now.
We're hearing different stories about what exactly happened with four U.S. swimmers this weekend in Rio. Two of them have now left Brazil after being questioned by police. Authorities say the men deny they were robbed and that Ryan Lochte's story is not true. Brazilian police call the swimmers vandals but Lochte is sticking to his story.
Senior International Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh walks us through what we know or what both sides are saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Gas station surveillance video shows Lochte and three other U.S. Swimmers the night they say they were robbed at gunpoint.
RYAN LOCHTE, U.S. OLYMPIAN: And we've got pulled over in our taxi. And these guys came out with a badge. They pulled us over. They pulled out their guns. They told the other swimmers to get down on the ground.
WALSH: But authorities say that's not true. At a press conference today, the civil police chief said the Americans were probably drunk and vandalized mirrors and signs on the property. The gas station owner claims says the athletes urinated on his property.
In the upper left corner, you can see at least one person in the alley way bending over appearing to pull his pants up before the attendant in red comes over. The men hustle back out from the narrow path, as more employees gather. The swimmers attempt to return to their taxi but approached the wrong one at first. Once all are inside a gas station security guard leans in to the athlete's van and seems to ask them to get out. They exit some with their hands up. Police saying the guards were likely armed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): There is the use of a weapon to control probably one of them.
WALSH: Later the group is seen from another angle sitting on a curb together, that's when police say the Olympians came to an agreement to pay for the damages.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): Almost like to pay for the damage that they cause and leave the place before the police could arrive.
WALSH: Lochte's mother first told the media, the swimmers were robbed, gunpoint in a taxi. Olympic authorities initially denied any robbery took place, but Lochte himself raised the stakes with a chilling account to NBC of men with guns and badges posing as police officers.
LOCHTE: The guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and saying get down.
WALSH: Brazilian police pulled Lochte's teammates Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger off their U.S.-bound flight at Rio's airport and seized their passports. An attorney for those two swimmers said his clients were "Frightened and confused and did not understand why they were prevented from embarking".
As for Lochte, he flew back to the U.S. Tuesday joking around in this face warp video on Instagram just as the story was unfolding today.
Now, we are learning more of what sources close to the four swimmers, they say they've spoken to all four men is saying happened that night. And they essentially say that CCTV footage corroborated what Ryan Lochte originally said, that he was robbed by people he thought were police officers.
Behind me here is that alley where you saw. Now, the sources close to the swimmers accept well, yes, they did come back here and they did pee behind this building, they came to use the toilet at the gas station and its possible may be they did as the owners and police suggested take this closer of the wall and damage it. It's when we come back out here that the discrepancies get pretty serious.
Brazilian officials say they eventually got to their taxi over there and then a security guard lent in and a discussion began which lead to them handing over some money and agreeing to calm down and when the police arrived it was all over. Mr. Lochte has sources came close to him and the other swimmers, who say no, that man leaning into the car actually have fire arm and they thought he was a police officer and then they say, there is this a gap of about three minutes in the CCTV footage during which they were forced out f the car and told to hand overall of their money. Unclear if the military police who later arrived anyway involved in that at all. But now we have two very different accounts and missing CCTV footage being blamed for the discrepancy here.
[01:05:08] And the sources close to the swimmers blaming the Brazilian police for lying and the Brazilian police saying it's about time they heard an apology from such high profile athletes for from the athletes.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, former FBI agent Bobby Chacon and Criminal Defense Attorney Brian Claypool, join me here in the studio as well as Clinical and Forensic Psychologist Judy Ho. Welcome to you all it is good to have you with us.
Brian, if I could start with you. The U.S. Olympic committee have put out a statement, it came out just a short time ago apologizing to Rio, obviously the olympic host and the people of Brazil and also confirming that there was an act of vandalism by one of the athletes.
But the statement also goes on to say this, take a listen, "An argument ensued between the athletes and two armed gas station security staff, who displayed their weapons, ordered the athletes from their vehicle and demanded the athlete provide a monetary payment. Once the security officials received money from the athletes the athletes were allowed to leave".
The statement appears to be trying walk a very fine line here between the story from the Brazilians and from the athletes. But where does this leave everything legally?
BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, legally Ryan Lochte can still be charged with what -- I've got four crimes sitting in front of me, false reporting of a crime, false self-accusation, by that way that's three months to two years, perjury possibly as a witness if he lied during a police investigation you might be charged with that, but there's a big one nobody is talking about It's a crime called giving rise to institution of police investigation. Basically that's saying that somebody else committed a crime and you knew that person was innocent.
That carries a penalty of two to eight years. You and I are talking about an apology, an apology by the U.S. Olympic committee. I'm talking about crimes that may have been committed and why didn't our government or this committee say, hey, let's see how the judicial process carries out and if Ryan Lochte did something wrong he should suffer the consequences, why didn't they do that? I think it's pathetic that they didn't.
SESAY: This is what's pointing out that the USA swimming team they have also put out a statement this week. That's why USA swimming authorities and in part their statement says that this whole situation is drawing attention away from team USA's incredible accomplishments in the water and by other athletes across the Olympic games is upsetting. The athletes and their remarkable story should be the focus is what the swimming executive -- the USA swimming executive director said.
I want to bring in Bobby at this point. You have lived in Brazil. You know, as you said, the situation regarding street crime. You have a great understanding of it. How surprised are you though, that Brazilian authorities are putting so much time and resources into getting to the bottom of all of this situation?
ROBERT CHACON, FRMR. FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Oh, I'm not surprised at all. And I think that a lot of it has to do with the lying of Ryan Lochte and some of his teammates initially, I mean when you're investigating a crime like this you seem to want to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible and when you have so called victims, it's making it much harder for you to do that turns them around and may be it looks like they are the perpetrator.
SESAY: I guess I asked you the question because they're having Brazilians closer than media saying they wish the Brazilian authorities would be this committed to solving issues that they face as local residence as they are in this situation.
CHACON: Well, I kind of -- I take that with a grain of salt. I mean if you look at the videotape this is clearly was an incident where they urinated on the property and may have damaged the property a little bit. There was no person who was a victim of this crime. It wasn't a violent crime. So the actions of these guys I think the night of the incident itself, I think pales in comparison with their actions afterwards and lying about it and making public statements about it and going on and disparaging, you know, Brazil as a society I think. And so I think that is much worse than -- and that's what needs to be corrected.
SESAY: To that point, Judy let me bring you in here. You heard Bobby say what, you know, the Brazilian authorities are saying, you know, there have been multiple lies here. And you know, it has raised many questions about Ryan Lochte himself and one of the most I guess one of the key ones is why would anyone lie about something like this?
DR. JUDY HO, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well Isha, I think that Ryan really was trying to save face. They were all started actually when he told this lie just to his mother. But when his mother posted on social media, he then was the one who actually got carried away. He amped it up further and he began to really not just embellish details he just started to make things up where he was showing himself in a very positive light.
So, you know, he gave accounts of the fact that all of his teammates got down on the floor when the gun was being brandished except hey, he was the person who really stood up and said no I'm not going to get down I didn't do anything wrong.
[01:10:06] And so, it really became this thing of feeding his own image, feeding his ego. And it just got out of hand and at that point it was so much in the public eye, that serves just backing off and say, "You know what? I'm sorry. I was a little bit shock that night and none of that happened." He just kept going and running with it and this just shows the type of behavior that Ryan has paralleled in the past. He does have a long history of behaviors that server irresponsible, his gotten away with a lot of things that his never have to be held accountable until now. And to Brian's point maybe he needs to be held accountable now so he can learn his lesson.
SESAY: I think it's interesting Judy that we have some people saying, you know, they're just kids. As they describe the situation and their antics. But to put in contras he's a 32-year-old man.
HO: Right. Absolutely, he is 32, you know, his teammates are a lot younger than he is. They are about 15 to 10 years younger than he is and really he was almost like the ring leader here and he was the person who actually started giving the statements in the first place without consulting with his teammates. And that's why all the stories didn't corroborate, every interview he gave, there were some other discrepancy which is why he eventually got caught.
SESAY: All right, Bobby, to go to you, how much of this is being driven by national pride here. I mean how much is what is fueling the actions?
CHACON: Well, I'm not sure for instance. You know, the Brazilians they are very resilient people and I'm not sure the general population and this is being driven. Because I can tell you their desire is for the next three days to be focused on the games. Their desire is not to have this case be what people are talking about Rio 2016 and that's exactly what's happening. The media has taken the story and run with it.
And I think that, you know, it's my hope and I have a vested interest as my wife is the executive producer of the games. And she has a great team and we've had some amazing athletic performances. And I think the Brazilian people want the story to be about these games and not about these individuals.
SESAY: Brian, this gas station video, that's kind of taken center stage now, right? That's what everyone is scrutinized and to try and piece together what did or did not happen. But the athlete as we heard Nick Paton Walsh say have said there are several minutes missing from the actually footage. Your reaction to that?
CLAYPOOL: What's missing? Were they peeing somewhere else as well? Either we missed that too? I mean there's nothing positive that can come from these missing minutes in the video. Trust me. And I find it also offensive that we're trying to make this argument about well should the security guards have pull their gun.
I was in there couple of weeks ago, we had some protest going on and we had our own police officers for example Dallas had a protest having their weapons pulled and pointing it and people peacefully protesting. How ironic that we are now saying, oh, this security guards shouldn't have pulled their guns on these irresponsible athletes.
SESAY: Bobby, you know, Brazil, so to the point the pulling of the gun is that extraordinary? CHACON: Not down there, no. And in fact I'm not sure it would be here in this case. These guys were clearly, they had committed an act that needed -- this is his job, is to protect his employers -- these are off duty officers who are armed. And these guys were basically trying to flee a crime.
And so, it was quite appropriate for him to pull his weapon, get them out of the car, sit them on the curb like you saw on some of that video. I think it was perfectly appropriate.
SESAY: Yeah. Judy, this kind of episode, you know, the embellishment, Ryan Lochte appearing, you know, in various shows speaking to various hosts about the situation, you know, some might say, you know, this is very much a symptom of this fame-obsessed culture that we live in.
HO: That's right. This isn't really kind of an example of attention getting behavior, you know, and he's actually being reinforced for it because then more people want to interview him, more people want to talk to him. People are sympathizing about this incident that he went through and now they see him as a hero because he actually tried to stand up for himself and his teammates.
And so, it is partially in the culture. It's also because of the fact that he's been in the public eye for so long and the more he embellishes sometimes the more attention he gets. And so, he's been rewarded for this behavior in the past and perhaps he just thought that this time he would be rewarded too.
SESAY: Judy, appreciate that. Brian, Lochte here in the United States, the other two are on their way, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger. So if the Brazilian authorities decide that they do want yo press charges. I mean how they're going to get them back? That's going to be incredibly difficult, what do you see the next steps here?
CLAYPOOL: Well, the first question you have to ask is will Ryan Lochte -- he's really the target here. Will he be charged with a crime, will he be indicted? If he's indicted I personally think he should be indicted.
SESAY: You do think he should be indicted.
CLAYPOOL: I think he should be indicted. There have to be consequences for these actions. I mean you saw the video that was 6:00 a.m. He said at 4:00 a.m. they left this bar and then we forgot to talk about his first story. Oh, a car comes up and people come out and they're pretends to be police officers, what happened to that?
[01:15:05] So this is a very, very serious act and I think it's a crime based on what we've seen. So, if prosecutors decide to indict, then you get an issue can you extradite Ryan Lochte? Two quick answers, one, if he has committed perjury, he's lied as a witness during a police investigation you can extradite him. But a lot of folks are talking about is, you don't need a treaty we have a treaty, but you don't need a treaty to extradite somebody.
So the Brazilian government would then negotiate with the United States to see whether the U.S. would agree to that.
SESAY: I know I said last word, but Bobby, I wanted to ask you yes/no question -- yes/no answers to both question. Do you think he should be charged? Yes or no?
CHACON: No.
SESAY: OK, so the question whether or not he is indicted is a moot point at that point. My thanks to all three of you, thank you for the lively conversation. We shall see how it plays out in the hours ahead. Thank you.
CHACON: Thank you.
SESAY: Thank you, Judy, thank you Bobby, thank you Brian.
HO: Thank You.
CLAYPOOL: Thank you
SESAY: All right, time for a quick break now. And we'll have more from Rio ahead on "Newsroom L.A.". It was his last individual race of the Olympics and as you'd expect Usain Bolt went out with a bang.
Plus, he's known as a man who never backs down no matter how big the controversy but hours ago, Donald Trump said something unprecedented in his campaign. Stay with us for the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello, everyone, this is your CNN Weather Watch. I'm meteorologist Karen Maginnis.
The big changes that we would like to see weather wise across Louisiana are just not going to materialize. It looks like there is a substantial chance for rainfall across many areas in Louisiana.
Already 20 parishes are under a state of emergency because they have been declared disaster areas due to the just far-ranging flooding that has taken place there. But we keep the muggy, sultry weather across the southeast and even shift it a little bit further to the east and to the west.
We've got temperatures that are fairly mild in the western United States but it's not going to stay that way very long. Expected in New York 31, so hot forecast there under partly cloudy skies, this is going to be still in very muggy, that hot and humid weather continues for the next several days but a little bit of a shift temperature wise across the upper Mississippi river valley and great lakes.
[01:20:01] And we will look at the hot and dry weather conditions that will cause even more aggravation for firefighters in San Bernardino County in California. They've been battling that ferocious blaze there.
Temperatures in the Midwest, is going to be cooling down a bit. Not in the east just yet.
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SESAY: Hello, everyone. It was a side of Donald Trump we rarely see. The Republican Presidential candidate held a rally Thursday in North Carolina, his first speech since reshuffling his campaign staff. Trump read from a tightly scripted speech and outlined some key points of his platform, what really got people's attention was this unexpected admission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Seema Mehta joins us now in the studio she's a political writer for the "L.A. Times." Seema, it's always good to have you with us.
SEEMA MEHTA, POLITICAL WRITER, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Thank you.
SESAY: So, we didn't hear the word sorry but he is regretful for some of his power language. Are we looking at Trump 3.0?
MEHTA: I think 16.0, but yes. I mean but it was a remarkable speech for Donald Trump because we have never heard him express regret about anything he's done in his entire campaign even when his fellow Republicans have called upon him to do so.
Also we've seen him try to be presidential to take a more presidential zone every now and then, but then within 12 hours he is Tweeting, he's making statements that some ideas are erotic. So it will be really interesting to watch in the next couple of day is whether he can stick with this.
SESAY: Yeah, that's I think is a -- obviously everyone is scrutinizing the timing of the speech and it comes after the return for the campaign.
MEHTA: Right. And certainly Kellyanne Conway, who's his new campaign manager. She has talked about, you know, in the 24/48 hours since she was named that, she has talked about wanting him to be able to be Donald Trump but to sort of smooth out those edges. And that was the only speech we saw tonight. I thought it was a remarkable speech by him. And if he keeps doing it during the general election, I think it really changes the course of the general election. SESAY: We'll take a listen to what -- take a listen to what Hillary Clinton had to say in response to Donald Trump's speech tonight. Because I think that was quite interesting.
In fact, I shall read it to you. The campaign put out a statement and said "We learned tonight that his speech writer and teleprompter knows he has much for which he should apologize but that apology tonight is simply a well-written phrase until he tells us which of his many offensive bullying and divisive comments he regrets and changes his tune altogether".
So to your point that this could change things, Hillary Clinton and they're still trying to make this a referendum on Trump.
MEHTA: Right, absolutely and He certainly didn't. I mean he has offended so many groups over this campaign, he didn't single out what he was sorry for, he didn't throw what here regretted. Since that that's certainly true. But the question is does this mark a turning point? Are we going to see a more, you know, Trump reading from a teleprompter sticking to his prepared remark not going off on random tangents? If we start to see that I think that is something that will cause some concern for the Clinton campaign.
SESAY: One thing he didn't change were the attacks on Hillary Clinton. So take a listen to what he had to say in one of the attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So while sometimes I can be too honest, Hillary Clinton is the exact opposite. She never tells the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: She never tells the truth. With the hiring of a political operative like Steve Bannon do you expect the attacks to multiply and intensify?
MEHTA: It's hard to imagine, right? No, I expect it to continue but this is something that Republicans establish or Republicans and others Republicans were concerned about tentative candidacy. This is what they wanted him to do which is to stay focused on Hillary and not get drawn into attacks with Gold Star families, to not get drawn into attacks on or John Mccain. They want him to stay laser focused on Hillary Clinton.
So if he can do that that is something that keeps the base in line, keeps -- Republicans who are perhaps wary of him but don't particularly Hillary Clinton, it keeps that in mind. So this I think is-- tonight was a win for him tonight.
SESAY: Yeah. Donald Trump clearly this week has decided that now is the time to make an outreach for the African-American community.
[01:25:01] MEHTA: Right.
SESAY: We saw that in the speech on Thursday. We saw the speech on Tuesday and again it was that similar, you know, extension of the olive branch, if you will. People saying three months to the election and now the outreach begins?
MEHTA: I mean that's a hard reach for him. I mean the African-American community overwhelmingly long before President Obama they voted overwhelmingly Democratic. He launched the birther attacks or he was a major player in the birther attacks on President Obama. It's in some polls you see him at best with single digits with African-American voters. So, that's really, really tough.
SESAY: Has he said anything in the last two speeches that have really been about courting that vote to move the needle? Because I see one of the arguments as the Democratic Party is taking your vote for granted. And you got nothing to lose by giving me a shot.
MEHTA: Well, that's one part, but the other part I think its interesting is the focus on education and the idea about Democratic policies on education have not helped your children and that when you talk to African-American voters that I something that resonates but they have to get past so much other stuff. And, you know, attempts to change voting laws, the birther stuff. I mean it's hard.
SESAY: Before you go and talk about Hillary Clinton and her problems. She does have the e-mail scandal continues to drag her also the questions about the foundation and their practices. We got a remarkable decision from the foundation on Thursday in which they announced that it will not accept foreign or corporate donations if Hillary Clinton is elected and Bill Clinton plans to stop giving paid speeches. People are hailing it as a significant move but is and enough to reverse the damage done by that affection on I guess its murky practices.
MEHTA: It's certainly difficult. Because why not -- you mentioned the secretary of state, why not make this move? When she was the senator from New York why not make this move and I think Republicans have raised, you know, that there is the idea of a bit of hypocrisy here. That, you know, once she was in other positions of power why not stop taking donations from countries like Saudi Arabia and why not subject donations on corporations. With that said I mean they clearly recognize there's problem and that they need to do something about it.
SESAY: About the e-mail problem, that's still ...
MEHTA: And that's ongoing, right? You know, to most recently we had e- mails that suggested donors to foundation were expecting some access. So, it's like a drip, drip, drip, that doesn't seem to be ending.
SESAY: It's something which one would imagine with Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon ...
MEHTA: Right.
SESAY: ... on board they will be focusing on and this ads that they taking out in the swing states on ... . (CROSSTALK) MEHTA: The question in Trump. I mean he has hired people and fired people and move people around, but he likes this at the course of his campaign, so does he listen to advice or does he keep plotting his own way, I think, you know, because it did bring out the (inaudible) in the primary.
SESAY: Then it could be a Trump 17.0.
MEHTA: Right, exactly.
SESAY: Seema appreciate it.
MEHTA: Thank you.
SESAY: Many thanks.
All right, well, next on "Newsroom L.A." a raging wildfire devastates parts of southern California. But with the flames soaring and the smoke still rising, it remains to be seen just how awful things really are.
And a small boy pulled from the rubble of Syria after an air strike. The haunting images are resonating right around the world. But sadly, he is not a rarity in the midst of a forgotten war.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:31:40] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
The headlines this hour --
(HEADLINES)
SESAY: Away from the Olympics for a moment, and emergency crews are desperately trying to get a fast-moving wildfire under control right here in southern California and authorities are urging thousands in San Bernardino County to evacuate.
CNN's Paul Vercammen has more from the fire line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A devilish wind began to whip up in the late afternoon on the Blue Cut Fire and pushed the fire southeast in extremely rugged terrain. Not easy at all for hand crews to get to. They had to hit this from the air. You can see part of the hillside is purple. That is fire retardant. And you can hear the helicopters in the background trying to drop water on the fire.
There is also word from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office that three suspected looters were arrested inside the fire zone, suspected of trying to steal from people who had evacuated their homes because of this hard to fight fire.
The pace of the fire slowed down dramatically. Nevertheless, it was a challenging fight. They did let some of the evacuees return home.
When the winds kicked up, the firefighters again had to kick into high gear and try to get control of this blaze and make a stand in this canyon.
This is in the Cajon Pass, a well-traveled artery in California, that leads both by rail and by the interstate to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and points beyond.
The temperatures out here tough, extremely dry and more than 100 degrees during one tough fire fight.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Thanks to Paul Vercammen for that.
To Syria now, and the Syrian boy, whose image became symbolic of the suffering in Aleppo, has been released to his family.
CNN senior international correspondent, Nima Elbagir, spoke with the cameraman who captured the heart-breaking video of Omran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SHOUTING)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL COMMENTATOR (voice-over): A little boy carried out of rubble into a waiting ambulance. A moment amidst the mayhem, a moment like so many others here in Aleppo.
5-year-old Omran Abnish (ph) unable to even cry. Still unsure if his family survived.
(SHOUTING)
[01:35:08] ELBAGIR: The activist who took this video of Omran described to us over Skype how it took nearly an hour to pull him out from beneath the chaos, all the while, watching for the return of the plane that carried out the strike.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): When we go to a place that has been bombed, raging planes circle around and bomb it again to kill rescue workers who help civilians.
ELBAGIR (on camera): This is, of course, daily reality for you in Aleppo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We live these moments every day in Aleppo. Right now regime planes are shelling nearby as I speak. The whole world is silent to these crimes in Aleppo against women and children. There are thousands of children like Omran who are bombed daily, killed daily. Everyone accepts their families being bombed and homes being destroyed.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): These images have reverberated around the world. But will anything really change?
U.N. special envoy, Stefan de Mistura, is hoping it will. He is asking for a 48 hour humanitarian ceasefire.
STEFAN DE MISTURA, U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO IRAQ: And I again insist on behalf of the inspector-general of the U.N. --
ELBAGIR: This, though, is not the first time an image of a suffering child gave the world pause. Toddler Elan Gulbie's (ph) lifeless body carried out of the treacherous Mediterranean Sea. 40 years ago, Kim Phuk's (ph) naked agony became emblematic of the ravaging of Vietnam. The world paused, shed tears, but ultimately moved on.
Another little boy joins Omran in the ambulance as, one by one, the injured and dead are retrieved. They will not be last children to be pulled out of their wreckage homes tonight or on any of the many nights to come here in Aleppo.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: A new drawing from a Sudanese political cartoonist shows the horror that confronts the children of Syria's war. It's titled "Choices to Syrian Children." On the left, if you stay, and on the right, if you leave. The artist says the picture describes two scenes from different time periods but the same war and struggle of Syrian people and refugees all over the world.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:40:47] SESAY: U.S. gold medalist, Ryan Lochte, is one of the best swimmers of all time but the latest controversy is overshadowing what he became known for.
As Miguel Marquez reports, the champion swimmer who quickly rose to stardom is no stranger to trouble.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN LOCHTE, U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMER: Hi, I'm Ryan Lochte.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 12-time Olympic medalist, including six gold. He has world records in 200 and 400 meter individual medleys, a four-time Olympian, bursting to stardom after winning five of his 12 gold medals in the 2012 London games.
LOCHTE: I'm not one to really get sentimental and get teary eyed but when that national anthem was being played and our flag was being raised I just remember all the hours and all the hard work and dedication I put into the sport, is paying off and my dreams are coming true.
MARQUEZ: Lochte's dreams built on a foundation of swimming and charisma.
LOCHTE: Being called one of the sexiest men alive is definitely an honor.
MARQUEZ: Runner up in "People" magazine's sexiest man 2012. Lochte has millions of social media followers, bad boy antics and boyish charm put him squarely in the public eye.
LOCHTE: Lochte for president. Cheers.
MARQUEZ: The reality show "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" sank after eight episodes in 2013. His clothing line also never took off and his acting played mainly on his public persona.
LOCHTE: Another old guy who wanted to buy my shirt.
MARQUEZ: In "30 Rock," he played himself.
LOCHTE: My character on "30 Rock" is the sex idiot. I get to play myself. I get to play just Ryan Lochte. So it's not too much acting I have to do. That's pretty good.
MARQUEZ: His swimming career starting when he was 8. Named NCAA all American 24 times at University of Florida and a seven-time SEC champ and he had run ins there that echo today. In 2005, two incidents reported by university police, one for trespassing, the second time for urinating in public. In 2010, two years after graduating, university police cited Lochte for disorderly conduct, fighting in public.
LOCHTE: I could be having the worst day in my life. But as soon as I step foot in that water everything disappears.
MARQUEZ: Sponsorships by Ralph Lauren, Speedo and Air Weave now at stake. Over the years, those and many others adding up to millions of dollars. Lochte says he wants to compete in Tokyo 2020 but this could end the career of a guy known for cutting up. Remember the American flag mouth grill in 2012 and that blondish/greenish/bluish hair this year?
LOCHTE: When you think about America, you think about hot dogs. Guess what? Ryan Lochte's got his own hot dog.
MARQUEZ: But has the 32-year-old with a killer backstroke finally bit off more than he can chew? A night out drinking, partying and troublemaking could topple an athlete otherwise on top of the world.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: The CEO of EAG Sports Management, Denise White, joins me more with how it could affect Lochte's career.
Denise, thank you for joining us. Brazilian authorities believe these young men are vandals. They are not victims. And the swimmers, they continue to tell something of a different story. Now we have this apology from the United States Olympic Committee. They apologize to Rio and the people of Brazil. It reads, in part, "On behalf of the United States Olympic Committee, we apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should be a celebration of excellence."
How damaging of this is for Ryan Lochte reputationally and financially?
DENISE WHITE, CEO, EAG SPORTS MANAGEMENT: It's an asterisk next to his name when it comes to damaging his reputation and poor choices on his point at an age where he should be a man and leader and making responsible decisions and it's unfortunate he is involving the younger generation of swimmers into this. That it's unfortunately.
Monetarily, I don't think it's going to be that much of a hit as far as sponsors are concerned. I think they will distance themselves for a while but I think he will stay with the ones he has. I think they will want him to attack this, you know, full stream ahead as far as making sure he is apologizing and that he has some sort -- there will be repercussions regarding this. It's inevitable. And where the repercussions come from, whether it comes from the Brazilian authorities or it comes from the U.S., you know, Olympic Committee, there's going to be some sort of repercussions for sure.
[01:45:52] SESAY: It's interesting you think you don't think it will hurt him monetarily long term. Our Christine Brennan has been saying that sponsors will want to take a step away from Ryan Lochte after all this.
WHITE: I did a bit of a poll. In our office we do -- besides crisis management and what we do we do marketing for a majority of our NFL players. I did a poll with the people I work with and they told me initially it's not something they would end a relationship over but they would certainly take a look at it and maybe step away for a while. This isn't something that you know, I don't know if you're aware, Abby Wombach was sponsored by Mini Cooper. They had her make a statement with MAD, which was a great thing on their part. They said we don't think this is who you are.
I think with Ryan I don't know about any new sponsorships. I think people will be very wary to bring him on and if he does get other sponsorships they will be what we call in the industry one-offs. They won't want him to be the face of the brand but appear here and there. His, you know, his reputation is a little bit scarred at the moment and his choices are questionable. So can you trust him to be, you know, on the straight and narrow and be the face of the brand with the choices he is making right now when he is representing the country in the Olympics?
SESAY: Those are big questions.
WHITE: Big questions. SESAY: Denise White, appreciate it. Thank you so much.
WHITE: Thanks for having me.
SESAY: Thank you.
Next on NEWSROOM L.A., Usain Bolt takes another step in his quest for the triple-triple. We'll take you live to Rio for more of the day's Olympic headlines right after this.
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[01:51:43] SESAY: Jamaica's Usain Bolt is one step closer to the triple-triple, three gold medals in three straight Olympic Games. The lightning Bolt took first in the men's 200-meter on Thursday with a time of 19. 78 seconds. His second gold in Rio after his win in the men's 100-meter.
For more on Bolt and the latest Olympic action, we go to our Christine McFarland, who joins us from Rio.
Christine, good to see you once again.
And for Bolt, the glory just keeps on coming.
CHRISTINE MCFARLAND, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Isha. There is little doubt this would be the result tonight taking his third straight 200-meter crown and going two out of three for the triple-triple. I was lucky enough to be in the stadium and watching it happen. The strangest thing I saw and felt was the hush that came down just before the gun went off ahead of the 200 meters. The whole stadium holding their breath. I have never seen in a sporting event the entire stadium rooting for one guy. The only people not rooting for him were the seven on the track. It was a strange experience and Usain Bolt had his game face on. We have seen him laughing and joking. He was deadly serious tonight. He wanted to break the world record but didn't quite do it. But after the race was run, he tweeted, saying that, you know, one more time. He's won this particular event. And it was interesting to hear his post-race comments. He shared with us the fact that his coach has been trying to persuade him to compete in Tokyo 2020. But he said, this time, this event, I'm done. He said he was disappointed not to run better. His time was 19.78. But this is a guy who has dominated the sport for 12 years and could take the triple-triple. And he probably will later today. And his birthday is on Sunday. That will be the icing on the cake of a special Olympic games.
SESAY: It has been marvelous for him.
I want to talk about Ashton Eaton, defends his decathlon title.
MCFARLAND: From the fastest to the most complete athlete. We expected Ashton Eaton to defend his title today and he did. He became the first time that someone has defended since Daily Thompson (ph) of Great Britain in 1984. He had a score that equaled the Olympic record setback in 2004. And I was watching this unfold. He came out just before Bolt's final. The final of the decathlon is the 1500 meters. You see the guys falling across the line, complete spent, and they were rolling on the ground in agony. It just reminds you that we were through 10 events in two days and it's incredible that Eaton has been a dominant force since 2011. He has taken two world records and two world championships and now two Olympic medals. He is a true superstar.
SESAY: He certainly is.
From the decathlon to the triathlon, another pair of athletes that have been through so much, Alistair Brownlee and his brother, Jonathan Brownlee, both getting gold medals.
[01:55:10] MCFARLAND: He was the night of defense tonight. And Alastair defended his gold and his brother finishing in silver position. That is one better than in London 2012. They are the dominant force in this sport. That's what we saw tonight. They were neck and neck. This triathlon is swim/bike/run. They were neck and neck into the run and 10K and Alastair pulled away and finished six seconds ahead of Johnny. There was a touching moment on the line when they collapsed in a heap and reached over to touch one another's fingers. It was lovely to see. It was interesting. Alastair said after this, if you think this is a routine sport, you have to hear his comments. He said, I have woken up in pain every single day this year training for this particular event. It is an event that requires you to withstand an enormous amount of pain, and that's what he managed to do today.
SESAY: They certainly did.
Christine McFarland, in Rio, appreciate it. Thank you.
And you're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
I'll be back with another hour of news right after this. Do stay with us.
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[02:00:10] SESAY: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.
Ahead this hour --
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