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Donald Trump Changes His Tone; State Department Discusses Iran Payment Issue; U.S. Swimmers Robbery Story Examined; Louisiana Flooding Aftermath; Talking with Syria Victim Photographer; Searh for Son of El Chapo. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired August 19, 2016 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:00:00] ZAIN ASHER, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: A changing tone from Donald Trump. The U.S. republican presidential candidate talked about regret.
And intrigue and confusion in Rio where Brazilian police and U.S. swimmers have very different stories about a late night encounter.
And it's the video seen all around the world. We talk to the man who shot these very heartbreaking images.
Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Zain Asher. And this is CNN Newsroom.
All right. We often talk about Donald Trump's bravado and how he shoots from the hip. But a few hours ago, we actually got to see a sign to Donald Trump that we rarely ever see.
The Republican presidential candidate here is holding a rally Thursday in North Carolina, an important swing state, by the way. And this was his first speech since he had that cabinet -- campaign rather staff reshuffling and he read from a very sort of tightly scripted speech.
Prompted and everything and he outlined some key points of his platform. But I want you to listen to what really got people's attention, got people talking. This unexpected admission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. 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 things. I have done that.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And believe it or not, I regret it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. Joining me now is someone who has written about Donald Trump at length. Tim Stanley joins us live now from London. He's a historian and a columnist for the Telegraph. So, Tim, I'm not sure if you got to see Donald Trump's speech. It was
very early in the morning where you are in London just a few hours ago. But he read from a teleprompter. This is like the third time this week he's actually read from a teleprompter during these rallies.
And the whole point is obviously he's trying to sound more presidential. But, my question to you is could this approach back fire, especially given that his voters, his base, just want authenticity?
TIM STANLEY, THE TELEGRAPH COLUMNIST: There's voters who are looking for someone who speaks from the gut. Yes, they're going on be a little disappointed, although I don't think they're fools. I think that they understand that Trump has to reach out beyond his base and get other people on his side.
So, sticking with the teleprompter, I don't think that's going on be a major problem for him. What is going to be a problem is that even when Donald Trump uses a teleprompter, he still sounds like he's making it up as he goes along. And that was the extraordinary thing about that apology.
Everyone is talking this morning about the language of it. You really need to hear it. It doesn't sound like an apology. It is delivered without any humility, any modesty or whatsoever.
And the fact that he drops in the line, believe it or not I've done some things wrong. A lot of people know he's done things wrong. He still can't strike the right tone.
ASHER: So, what was the point of this speech, you know, you mentioned the apology. He's obviously trying to appeal to independents, people who ordinarily would have questions about whether or not they would vote for him. What was he trying to do? And is what he wants to do before the election, given that it's only 80 days away, is it achievable?
STANLEY: He was trying to do something complicated, the classic politician's no-apology. What he was saying was I didn't mean to cause offense, but if I caused offense, then I'm sorry for that.
Well, for a lot of people, that translates as Washington speaks. As I say, a politician's apology. For a lot of other people will be asking themselves, I don't think he's done anything wrong, so what's he apologizing for? And some people will be saying, well, all you've done is highlighted what I feel you've done wrong. You've not actually corrected it.
For those people who feel that Trump has done wrong is go after a judge because he's Mexican-American or say that all Mexican illegal immigrants are the criminals or rapists, those people are looking for a specific apology and they're looking for truth that Trump will not be look like that in the White House.
Simply giving up blanket, regret of saying I may have said some things, believe it or not, I didn't mean to say them. ASHER: Right.
STANLEY: That's not good enough for those swing voters.
ASHER: But Timothy, I want you to put on your historian path for me for just a second. Have we ever seen a candidate who is this far behind in the polls specifically in swing states, because in America that's what matters most, have we seen a candidate who as this far behind the polls with this little left to go until the election who is actually gone on to win? Has that ever happened?
STANLEY: The only comparison I can think of is 1948 in Harry Truman who is well behind republican Thomas Dewey. But then again, in 1948, polling was very, very limited and it was very difficult to judge what people were actually planning to do.
[03:04:59] There are last-minute surprises, but they tend only to build upon the momentum that was already growing. So, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were quite close in 1980 going up until the last week of the election, then Ronald Reagan's famous performance in the debate when he was very relaxed and presidential supposedly put him over the top.
But the reality is that these last minute surprises, these October surprises really only affirm trends that are already there and the trend in this election, all way through, in fact, including during the primaries, has been for Trump to be behind any generic republican would beat Clinton.
The only republican during the primaries that consistently struggled to beat Clinton was Donald Trump. So, we're seeing a long-term trend here. And it's very difficult to turn those around in just two months.
ASHER: Gosh, I have to say I'm very impressed with your knowledge of 20th century American politics.
STANLEY: It's my job.
ASHER: It's your job, exactly. So, Donald Trump brought in Steve Bannon. He was supposed to be -- people talk about him as being obviously this ultra conservative, they use the moniker street fighter.
If that is the case and his sort of mandate is let Donald Trump be authentic, let him be Trump, then why is Trump now pivoting towards a more presidential start? Does that make sense?
STANLEY: I think it does. We talk about a pivot and when most people think of a pivot, they think of moving towards the center. I think the Trump pivot we're going to see is the teleprompter is being slightly cooler
That may be the influence of Bannon. It's more likely the influence of the new lady who has just come in to take charge of the campaign who is a more old-fashioned, old star political operator. But Bannon and the... (CROSSTALK)
ASHER: Kellyanne Conway, right.
STANLEY: That's right. Kellyanne Conway. But Steve Bannon is not a fool. He may be very, very conservative, but he's a very clever man. He's from a Goldman Sachs background; he's from a Wall Street background.
And I suspect that kind of media background, someone who understands what projects well is actually the right kind of person to handle Trump's image.
The issue is the content. As I've said before, the swing voters are looking for a pivot on the content and the substance and the issues. One key thing right now is that Trump, according to some polls, is losing every kind of college educated voter.
Now, that's bad for the republicans because Romney actually won those people by 14 points in the last election. Trump is losing well- educated aspirational people. Those people are going to be won back not by a halfhearted apology, they're going to be won back by a change in content.
ASHER: No, it's not just one day, it's not just one speech.
STANLEY: Yes.
ASHER: They look at the whole spectrum of what's happened throughout the year. Tim Stanley, we have to leave it there. I appreciate you being with us. Early in the morning you time.
STANLEY: I appreciate it. Very early.
ASHER: It's even earlier here, by the way. It's 3 a.m. Anyway.
STANLEY: That's right.
ASHER: Thank you so much, Tim. I appreciate that.
A Ukrainian member of parliament says he has damning evidence against Trump's campaign chairman. Ukraine official say that Paul Manafort has been named in a widened investigation into potentially illegal payment made by Ukraine's former pro-Russian ruling party.
Now, Manafort worked as a political consultant for Ukraine's former President Viktor Yanukovych who is ousted you remember in 2014. Manafort has been denying any wrongdoing. He's calling the allegations unfounded, silly and nonsensical.
In the meantime, Donald Trump is attacking the U.S. president again over payment of $400 million the United States sent to Iran.
On Thursday, the U.S. State Department said that the cash transfer was delayed and actually used as leverage to ensure that Tehran released American prisoners. A very different story to what they were telling us a few months ago.
But U.S. officials said the payment though, did not amount to ransom. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We now know from the State Department, just announced, that President Obama lied about the $400 million in cash...
(CROWD BOOING)
... that was flown to Iran. He denied it was for the hostages, but it was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: And later on this hour, CNN's Michelle Kosinski takes an in- depth look at the U.S. State Department's admission about why specifically that plane was filled with cash.
Now, you may be somewhat confused about the stories coming out of Rio with Ryan Lochte, et cetera, and that's because U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte and Brazilian police have very different stories about what happened early Sunday morning in Rio.
Now, Lochte says he was robbed. He says a robbery took place. They were held at gun point. Police are calling that statement a lie. And now USA Swimming, that's the governing body here in the United States, they are considering consequences for the swimmers.
Two of those other swimmers involved are heading back to the U.S. after authorities questioned them. They told police that Lochte actually made up the story. He fabricated the story about being robbed.
[03:09:58] The U.S. Olympic Committee has issued a statement. I'm going to read some of it to you. "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 -- should rightly be a celebration of excellence."
Now, Brazil's civil police chief says the authorities have not decided whether to indict the swimmers and called them vandals, not victims.
Here is our Martin Savage with more.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brazilian authorities now saying Ryan Lochte's stunning story about being robbed at gunpoint, all a lie. Surveillance video just released tells a very different story about what happened to the American gold medalist and his three teammates.
Police say the four were drunk when they vandalized this Rio gas station around 6 a.m. on Sunday. According to authorities, a security guard pulled a gun on the four swimmers, forcing them to get out of the cab and on the ground. The athletes eventually paid for the damage and left. In an interview
the next day, Lochte told a very different story, claiming it was an armed robbery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN LOCHTE, U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMER: They pulled out their gun. They told the other swimmers to get down on the ground. They got down on the ground. I refused. I was like, we didn't do anything wrong. The guy pulled out his gun. He cocked it, put I to my forehead. He took our money, he took my wallet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Brazilian authorities say that didn't happen
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FERNANDO VELOSO, BRAZILIAN CHIEF OF CIVIL POLICE (TRANSLATED): There was no robbery the way it was reported or claimed by the athletes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Today's press conference adding just another layer of confusion that's followed days of elaborate and now conflicting stories. Lochte and his teammates, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Fiegen spent the hours before the gas station incident partying at a club in Rio.
But the group's story being robbed starts to unravel Tuesday when video at the Olympic village shows them going through security gates. They appear to be joking around and with their watches and cell phones. Something many believed thieves would have taken.
Wednesday, as questions mounts, a judge orders the seizure of Lochte and Feigen's passports to keep them from leaving Brazil. But Lochte is already back in the U.S., talking to NBC's Matt Lauer, changing the most dramatic part of his story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, NBC ANCHOR: When he talked to me tonight, he said that's when the guy pointed the gun in my direction and cocked it. And I pointedly said to him, you had said before it was place on your forehead and cocked. He said, no, that's not exactly what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: That same night, authorities board a plane bound for the U.S. and pull off Bentz and Conger. Now the story of Americans Olympians being robbed at gun point in a foreign country appears to be a night on the town and too much celebration.
ASHER: Joining me now is CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos in New York. So, Danny, are you convinced that these swimmers fabricated that story? DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALSYT: Well, you know, there's a lying --
there's a lot of people saying they lied, darn it. But, you know, there's really a lot of space between truth and a lie. And often the real truth lies somewhere in between of two diametrically opposed stories. That may be the case here.
But, look, it's never a good idea to give anything less than the truth to authorities like the police. But the practical reality is police will tell them themselves that they spend all day their entire shift being lied to by citizens.
Sometimes it's involuntary, sometimes it's intentional. But in this case, you know, we have to look at what we know so far, which seems to be changing by the minute. These swimmers said they were robbed. Brazilian authorities held a press conference today where they said it's impossible. They were not robbed.
But it's possible the authorities said that somebody may have demanded money and pointed a gun at them. Now, that sounds a lot like robbery. So, that's a little inconsistent right there.
And I think that just because the authorities in Brazil held a press conference, we back here in the states should not simply accept that as gospel.
ASHER: But, you know, if you look at Ryan Lochte's account, he said, you know, I was in a taxi, and then these guys got out, they were dressed as police officers, they came up to us, they took our money, they had guns.
That's sort of very different from actually the truth is that, you know, we got drunk and we vandalized a gas station and then we were demanded to pay for it the...
CEVALLOS: Is it, though? Look at the video you're showing right now.
(CROSSTALK)
ASHER: I'm looking.
CEVALLOS: And consider every fact, every fact that you just gave me. He got into a cab. Somebody approached, ordered him out of the car. We saw other video of them being forced to sit down and we don't know for a fact that he may or may not -- that person may or may not have brandished a gun.
The authorities even acknowledge that possibility. And, you know, you brought up another good point. A lot of people today have been saying, you know, they vandalize that bathroom. I haven't seen that video.
[03:14:59] There may be some competent testimony that there was vandalism to the bathroom, but I haven't seen any video of Lochte smashing a soap dispenser, kicking a bathroom door or even possibly urinating on some bushes outside of the back of the gas station.
And if there is some inconsistency in that story if he left that out, it's entirely possible he didn't think it was germane to a later event which was somebody ordering him out a car and demanding money to them.
Now should he have thought they were related? Maybe. But there's a lot of gray area here.
ASHER: So, for Brazilian, I mean, what was the point of all this? They're not going to press charges, there's not going to be any sort of extradition, what was this, what's the point of all of this, was it just to preserve some sort of public image for them?
CEVALLOS: yes. What if this ends up being that the whole reason Brazilian authorities made a big case about this is really just embarrassment?
ASHER: Right.
CEVALLOS: And that would be incredibly ironic because they're essentially saying, look, here in Brazil, we will accept being known as a country or as specifically Rio a city with a major street crime problem. We have real crime problems here in Brazil.
But one thing we won't stand for is fake crime. Fake crime or imaginary crime, we're going to prosecute that. But the real crime that's going on every day, that we're pretty much OK with.
It's a really strange message and really I think from a public relations standpoint, Brazil has called unnecessary attention to a problem that people have just stopped talking about during what has been otherwise a very enjoyable Olympics.
ASHER: Right. Good point. Right. And the Brazilian authorities have already said, listen, all we want is an apology at this point. Danny Cevallos, I have to leave it there.
All right. Now for some Olympic legal trouble that's actually unrelated to Ryan Lochte. The head of the European Olympic Committee is actually set to complete a deposition at a police station in the coming hours.
Pat Hickey, here he is, he was arrested at his hotel in Rio because of allegations of international ticket scalping, basically reselling illegally tickets to the Olympics for more than they were worth.
The 71-year-old told police he wasn't feeling well and he was subsequently taken to a hospital. He's now out of hospital and the case is ready to move forward. This information coming to us from the Olympic Council of Ireland, which Hickey is also the ahead of.
But despite troubles in Rio, the Olympic Games are set to continue, have been continuing with some breathtaking feats. Jamaica's Usain Bolt, of course, cruised to first place in the men's 200-meter sprint on Thursday with a time of 19.78 seconds. It was not a world record. It was still pretty good nonetheless. It is his second gold in Rio after his win last weekend in the men's 100 meter.
And in the men's decathlon, U.S. star Ashton Eaton defended his title in the 2012 games, taking gold yet again. For more on the Olympic highlights and take a look at the events on Friday, I want to go now to our Christina Macfarlane who is joining us very early in the morning in Rio.
So, Christina, I watched the race of Usain Bolt really inspiring and really inspiring to see him shoot straight to the finish line. Although I could have predicted that result myself.
It's interesting because even though he won, it wasn't his best time ever. It wasn't a world record. He sort of seemed, you know, a little bit disappointed.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. He absolutely was, Zain. And he mentioned that actually in the press conference afterwards. He said he was disappointed, but there was nothing more he could do to prove that he was the best in the world.
And let's not forget that he did finish almost a clear meter ahead of the rest of the field, although I think it was a slightly depleted field he was racing against. This is clearly not the Usain Bolt of yesteryear, of 2012, of 2008.
But as you say, you know, he still came out, he put in the best score. And it was so interesting to watch inside the stadium, just the magnitude and the effect Usain Bolt has on a 65,000 stadium.
Before the gun went off, there was this incredible hush that came over the entire stadium. I've never seen in a sporting event everyone in that stadium rooting for just one guy. It's not something you see in sports.
And he did say afterwards that this will be the last time of course that he'll be racing in the 200 meters. But let's not forgets that he will be back to compete in the 100 meters next year at the world championships.
And, of course, we will be seeing him in 24 hours' time or within 24 hours' time going for his triple-triple. He still got the 4 by 100 meters to go. And if the he can compete that, it will be the icing on a very big birthday cake for him because he turns 30 this Sunday, on the day of the closing ceremonies.
So, looking forward to seeing him again in actually a couple of hours' time.
ASHER: The triple-triple could be within his grasp after all.
And switching gears, I want to talk about men's volleyball. Brazil tied Italy. Brazil ended up winning. I just can only imagine what the cheers must have been like on the beach there.
[03:19:59] MACFARLANE: Yes. I could hear them all the way down the beach. And this was a particularly loaded game because I don't know if you saw it yesterday, but the Brazil women in their number one and number two seeding missed out on the gold medal and the bronze medal to the Germans and the Americans. It was a shame base for the Brazil yesterday. So, there was a lot
riding on this match. You can just see how packed it was. And I can tell you, it was pouring with rain here and people were still thundering in the sand and of course Brazil took it.
It was Bruno Schmidt and Alison Cerutti. And this marked Brazil's fifth gold medal of the game. Now this is the best medal tally they had in any Olympics. But I suppose, you know, a home Olympics, that's what we can expect.
ASHER: Yes, certainly. Certainly home team advantage there. Our Christina Macfarlane, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much. I appreciate that.
All right. Now to the look at the Olympic medal count, the U.S., of course, is in the lead as you know with 35 gold medals and 100 medals overall. After them, it's Great Britain and China, they are pretty much neck and neck vying for the number two spot.
China has 58 medals to Great Britain's 56. But Great Britain has 22 gold to China's 20. Russia and Germany, round out the top five with 44 and 32 medals respectively. Germany has 13 goals to Russia's 12.
All right. Coming up ahead on CNN Newsroom.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, unable to even cry, still unsure if his family survived.
ASHER: This image, this video has outraged the world. We'll have more on the child who became the face of the horror in Aleppo.
And later on this hour, go inside the restaurant where El Chapo Guzman's son was abducted in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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's 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 across the Western United States. But it's not going to stay that way very long.
[03:24:58] Expected in New York, 31. So a hot forecast there under partly cloudy skies. It's going to be feeling 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.
We will look at the dry 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 going to be cooling down a bit. Not in the east just yet.
ASHER: The little Syrian boy whose photo went viral and whose image really became emblematic and symbolic of the suffering happening right now in Aleppo in Syria has now been released to his family.
And, in fact, one of our correspondents, Nima Elbagir actually ended up speaking with the cameraman who captured this very heartbreaking video of Omran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: 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. Five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, unable to even cry. Still unsure if his family survived.
The activist who took this video of Omran described to us over Skype how it took nearly an hour to pull Omran out from beneath the chaos, all the while watching for the return of the plane that carried out the strike.
MUSTAFA AL SAROUQ, ACTIVIST (TRANSLATED): when we go to a place that has been bombed, raging planes circle around and bomb it again to kill rescue workers that are helping civilians. They kill these people who are trying to rescue people.
ELBAGIR: This is, of course, daily reality for you in Aleppo.
AL SAROUQ, (TRANSLATED): 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 being bombed daily, killed daily. Everyone just accepts that their families are being bombed, that their homes are being destroyed.
ELBAGIR: These images have now reverberated around the world. But, will anything really change?
U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura is hoping it will. He's asking for a 48- hour humanitarian ceasefire.
STAFFAN DE MISTURA, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SYRIA: And I again insist on behalf of the Secretary General of the U.N.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: This, though, is not the first time.an image of a suffering child gave the world pause. Toddler Aylan Kurdi's lifeless body carried out of the treacherous Mediterranean Sea.
Forty years ago, Kim Phuc's 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 the last children to be pulled out of the wreckage of their homes tonight or on any of the many nights to come here in Aleppo.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
ASHER: And Nima actually asked a very important question there, will anything change? Obviously, a lot of people were made speechless, made speechless by those images.
One person in particular, though, was political cartoonist Khalid Albaih. He was moved by the stories of Omran and Aylan and he actually made this drawing, this picture and it captures the heartbreaking stories of both of those little boys.
And it reflects the costs of this war on all Syrian children who deserve so much better from life. We heard from Albaih earlier from his home in Doha, Qatar, and we asked him why he drew the cartoon. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHALID ALBAIH, CARTOONIST: I saw the video this morning of Omran. And, you know, it was so humid and we always -- I think people now are detached because of all these images and all these really violent videos that come out of Syria and come out of all these war zones. So nothing affects people any more.
So, seeing a kid just being a kid, just sitting there and, you know, wondering what happened to him. And all of us are wondering what happened to him and how he survived, just really struck me, as well. Because I have kids the same age and everybody knows, you know, kids that same age and knows how they react. And the way he reacted was so natural.
[03:30:03] And, you know, it really touched me in that way. So, it instantly brought to mind, again, you know, the images of Aylan Kurdi, you know, the image that went viral.
So, for me, the situation is revealing itself over and over again and all we have are these images or videos that come out of Syria. And there is nothing -- there is nothing we can do more, you know?
So, I just wanted to draw attention that this is not the first time this happens and it's definitely not the last time. And these are just the images that we see. There are thousands, tens of thousands of kids and people who are going through this every day.
ASHER: And if you've been moved by all these images and you really want to help civilians in Syria and children, as well, go to our web site, Impact Your World, you can find a list of organizations that supporting Syrian, Syrian children just like Omran there. Just go to cnn.com/impact.
All right. Coming up on CNN Newsroom, the U.S. has a new explanation about why it sent a plane with $400 million in cash for Iran. We'll explain. That's next.
Plus, parts of Louisiana fight to comeback after a deadly once in a thousand year rainfall. A look at the damage and how a high profile person is touring the state in the coming hours. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Zain Asher. Let's get you updated on your top stories.
[03:35:01] USA swimming says it will review the ordeal involving four of its Olympians in Rio over the weekend and decide whether or not they will face consequences.
Brazilian police say that Ryan Lochte lied about the men being held up to cover up their act of vandalism.
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is on her first major diplomatic visit to China. It's mostly focusing on a suspended down project Beijing wants to resume in northern Myanmar. China has invested billions of dollars already Suu Kyi is vowing to find a solution and deepen diplomatic ties.
The Clinton Foundation says it won't take corporate or foreign donations if Hillary Clinton is elected. President and the spokesperson says former U.S. President Bill Clinton will not make any paid speeches between now and Election Day and afterwards.
If she wins the foundation will work worldwide. But critics say it goes too close to the State Department during Hillary Clinton's time as secretary.
Donald Trump says that he regrets saying wrong things, especially when he has caused personal pain. The U.S. republican presidential candidate had refused before to back down from some of his controversial comments.
It was Trump's first speech after he reshuffled his campaign staff. Polls show him falling behind Hillary Clinton nationwide.
The USA Department is now confirming that a plane filled with $400 million in cash was, quote, "leverage to get American prisoners released by Iran." It is the first time the U.S. has actually linked the two events, causing an uproar, as you can imagine, with critics like Donald Trump.
Here is our Michelle Kosinski with more.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Now that more details have come out in the press about the timing of this payment, the State Department is releasing more details of its own saying that, yes, they delayed paying this money to Iran until Iran released the U.S. prisoners back in January because the U.S. was worried that they wouldn't release the prisoners.
That give you a line, this has been really confusing from the beginning. I mean, even just this money, this $400 million, it was Iran's money, it was owed back to Iran by the U.S. It would have been paid eventually, it was from decades ago.
And initially, you know, we asked the White House, would those prisoners have been released then, if that money wasn't on that plane on that day? Did this function essentially as a ransom payment, which is what Iran has been calling it. The White House wouldn't answer that question.
The State Department, though, said yes, the prisoners would have been released even if the money wasn't there at that time. And now we hear the State Department saying well, we needed to wait until the prisoners were released because we had that concern. Then we paid them the money. And now they're using the word leverage. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: It's already publicly known that we returned to Iran its $400 million in that same time period as part of the Hague settlement agreement, which confirms that Iran may renege on the prisoner release, given unnecessary delays regarding persons in Iran who could not be located as well as, to be quite honest, mutual mistrust between Iran and the United States.
We, of course, sought to retain maximum leverage until after American citizens were released.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: OK. So, now let's look at the question what really here has changed? From republican's perspective, they say this proves that this was a ransom payment. And initially the administration said there wasn't really a connection and the timing. Now they're saying there was some connection in the timing.
From the White House's perspective, nothing has changed. They say this was not a ransom payment. They say these were separate items that all came together at the same time because of the Iran nuclear deal and how could this be a ransom payment if the prisoners were released first and then Iran's money was paid?
But, you know, the timing of this is convenient for republicans they're jumping all over this, using some strong language and we're sure to hear much more of this.
Michelle Kosinski, CNN, West Newbury, Massachusetts.
ASHER: I want to take you to Louisiana now because Donald Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, they're going to be traveling to Baton Rouge to tour the damage there. They are going to be going in the coming hours.
Now about 40,000 homes in Louisiana have been damaged because of all the water and actually a majority of the owners do not, do not have insurance. Very sad twist to this.
CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great big houses out there under water.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From the air, the scale of the devastation is overwhelming. CNN spending the day with the National Guard to survey the scope and severity of Louisiana's historic flood.
Tens of thousands have abandoned their homes and from this vantage point, it looks like very little will be salvaged when the water finally subsides.
General Joseph Lengyel overcedes the National Guard including the estimated 3,800 guardsmen of the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH LENGYEL, U.S. CHIEF NATIONAL GUARD: It's what makes the guard different, you know? Fighting war is one thing. And then when you're not fighting wars, you're here helping at homeland. And that's something special.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:40:06] SANDOVAL: Some of the National Guard members helping in the recovery are also flood victims themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENGYEL: In many parts of the region, 75 percent of the homes were destroyed and those were the homes of the men and women of the National Guard. Really of all the people who are doing the response. So, they're affected by it, but they're also have the burden of having to help to respond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Touring an evacuation center, many flood victims are worried about how long it will take for the region to recover.
Is there something that you've dealt, ma'am, that you need? I mean, you've got medical, you got food, you got clothing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do, but we are not turning anything around because we don't know how long...
(CROSSTALK)
SANDOVAL: How long it will go on? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: At the same time, there is growing criticism of President Obama for vacationing at Martha's Vineyard as the people in Louisiana deal with the aftermath.
The Baton Rouge advocate writing in an editorial, "If the president can interrupt his vacation for a swanky fund-raiser for fellow democrat Hillary Clinton, as he did on Monday, then surely he can make time to show up for a catastrophe that's displaced thousands."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the disaster of the magnitude of this disaster requires federal leadership, it requires federal intervention.
This is a poor state and a lot of people have lost everything they own and, you know, we're going to need help just as we did in Katrina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: FEMA director Craig Fugate was on the ground here on Tuesday. Today, the Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEH JOHNSON, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The Federal government is here. We have been here. We will be here as long as it takes to help this community recover.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Back in the sky, whole communities remain submerged.
ASHER: Devastating. Let's talk more about this. CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis is joining me live now in the studio. So, let's get the politics out of this. When you look at that video, are people actually getting the help that they really need?
MAGINNIS: It appears as if there is this coordinated effort. However, the area is so broad, that it is very difficult to access everyone all at once right when they need it. This is a very difficult situation.
We haven't seen a storm like this since super storm Sandy in 2012. Let's go ahead and show you what little people can salvage. They're trying to. Everything is wet and soaked.
I've been through a flood situation myself and it is so upsetting. It is upsetting personally, it's upsetting environmentally. Also monetarily. It affects everyone.
But take a look at Louisiana. We're expecting some areas right in that devastated area, seeing and expecting roughly one to two, possibly three inches of rainfall. But that's over the next five days.
We've got a ridge of high pressure building across the west. Weather system that is sweeping towards the east and much cooler temperatures for the Midwest. While across western states, take a look at the fire situation here.
Now just about 50 miles approximately to the east and northeast, that's that Blue Cut fire. Blue Cut because that's the trail that runs through the Cajon Pass. They have about 1600 firefighters that are battling this blaze.
And you know what? Firefighters are not going to be helped by the weather. It appears as if the humidity is still going to be low. We're looking at gusty winds. We're expecting those temperatures back up in had the mid to upper 90s.
For the meantime, there's just no break. It's so extraordinary, 36,000 acres already burned.
ASHER: Very different stories in California and Louisiana.
MAGINNIS: Exactly.
ASHER: Those wild fires just move so quickly to control. Karen Maginnis, thank you so much.
MAGINNIS: Thank you.
ASHER: I appreciate you being with us.
A massive search is underway for the abducted son of a notorious Mexican drug lord.
Up next, we'll head to the scene of the kidnapping to learn more about what exactly happened in that restaurant.
[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Mexico's Human Rights Commission is criticizing a decision by police to execute nearly two dozen suspected gang members on a ranch last year. The group says that officers used excessive force in the arbitrary execution of 22 civilians.
The commission found that police lied about their role during that specific incident. And actually moved weapons in order to manipulate the scene. Mexican officials are defending the officers. They've actually acted in self-defense and did follow the law.
Experts say that three major cartels are battling for control of Mexico's drug trade. The Sinaloa cartel highlighted here in red which is to the left, dominates much of Mexico's northwest, including a larger portion of the U.S. border.
Tamaulipas, another group that shown in green has long been a major rival to Sinaloa and more recently, a third originally base group. Tierra Caliente, that's in blue has emerged in Mexico's southwest. Officials suspect a rivalry between cartels may be responsible for a
very high profile kidnapping. This is huge news in Mexico. Authorities have a major case on their hands and a massive search is underway for the son of the former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.
The son and five other people were actually abducted on Monday in a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
CNN's Rafael Romo visited the scene of the kidnapping to learn more.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: When did you learn that something had happened here?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NACHO CADENA, LA LECHE RESTAURANT OWNER: About 8 o'clock in the morning of the next day or Monday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: For the last nine years, Nacho Cadena has been working hard to make this restaurant the business he always dreamed of.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: His restaurant in the Mexican beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is called La Leche.
It's hard not to notice that the restaurant is called the milk and you see the white color everywhere. Like I was checking out these cans. All the way to the ceiling, they're all white. And then you take a look at the furniture, the chairs are white, the tables are white. Even the floor is white marble.
It has slowly become one of the trendiest restaurants in Puerto Vallarta attracting both domestic and international tourists. But this week, it was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
A group of armed men stormed the restaurant in the wee hours of Monday morning and abducted six people inside. Among those abducted was one of the sons of this man in prison, Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.
Speaking publicly about the incident for the first time, Cadena says nobody knew who they were.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CADENA: This was a reservation made by a concierge of an international name on hotels. So, what a -- I don't know.
[03:50:04] SANDOVAL: So, you had no clue?
CADENA: No. I don't know. I mean, I say hello to everyone that comes to the restaurant, but I never know who they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Cadena says his employees told them the armed men La Leche and yelled at the workers to get inside a room and not come out. The chef wasn't at the restaurant at the time says he doesn't care who was kidnapped and doesn't want to know who abducted them.
Are you angry about the fact that you have worked to build a place for so many years and a single incident like that can disrupt everything?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CADENA: No. I'm not angry. I was sad a little bit, but the only way I feel at this moment is we have the strength to keep going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: All he cares about now that he has reopened the restaurant is getting back to business.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
ASHER: All right. Coming up next on CNN Newsroom, treasure hunters have been searching for maybe a train of Nazi era's gold. We'll tell you what they discovered, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MAGINNIS: 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's 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 across the Western United States. But it's not going to stay that way very long.
Expected in New York, 31. So a hot forecast there under partly cloudy skies. It's going to be feeling 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.
We will look at the dry 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 going to be cooling down a bit. Not in the east just yet.
[03:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Welcome back, everybody. So, no one really knows if the so- called Nazi gold train actually exists. A lot of historians and treasure hunters believe that it was actually buried in a tunnel in Poland.
And inside it they think there's a lot of looted treasure and that includes precious metals, jewels and artwork, as well. Now treasure hunters may soon solve the decades-old mystery. Take a look.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ASHER: And you, too, at home can follow the search for the Nazi gold train. The treasure hunters are posting updates and live streams. Just go to their Facebook page @goldtraininfo.
All right. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Zain Asher. Remember to connect with me @zainasher on Twitter anytime.
Early Start is next for viewers in the United States. For everybody else, stay tune for more news with our Isa Soares in London.
Have a great day.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
