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Trump to Black Voters, "What the Hell You Have to Lose"; Zika Warning for Pregnant Women; Louisiana's Tough Road to Flood Recovery; Op-Ed: Maybe Trump Wants Trump TV, Not White House; International Committee Assesses Punishment For Lochte; Route 66 Landmark Destroyed By Fire; "Says Who?" Lights Up Social Media. Aired 11a-Noon ET

Aired August 20, 2016 - 11:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:01:42] MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: It's 11:00 in the East Coast. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield. It's nice to be with you. We're going to begin with a new campaign promise from Donald Trump. He is renewing his effort to reach out to minority voters and he told the crowd in Dimondale, Michigan, get this, that he will win 95% of the African-American vote once he's reelected in 2020. He also addressed black voters directly, pleading for their support, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I say it again, what do you have to lose? Look, what do you have to lose? You're living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58% of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: I sense a new slogan. And today, Trump is going to be meeting with his national Hispanic Advisory Council and the RNC. This outreach effort comes, of course, on the heels of a major campaign overhaul. Chairman Paul Manafort is out. Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon is in. And we already may be seeing sign posts of a campaign that has changed its strategy. CNN's Chris Frates is following this story from beginning to end and he joins me from Washington.

Chris, first, you know, were there many minorities that were in that crowd? And let's also talk about where do the polls stand right now when it comes to Trump and black voters?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's all great questions, right, Martin. Because he's continuing this outreach to African-Americans and, as you - as you ask, he's telling a mostly white crowd in a predominately white suburb that Hillary Clinton is taking black voters for granted.

Now, Trump promised that if he were to run for reelection at the end of his first term that he'd win 95% of the black vote. That's a really, really tall order considering that President Obama, the nation's first black president, only won 93% of the black vote in his reelection. And it's a particularly tough lift for Donald Trump.

Look at where he's starting from. A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal shows Trump support among African-Americans at just 1%. Now, Clinton, meanwhile, is supported by 91% of the black community according to that poll. So, Trump's question of, what the hell do blacks have to lose by voting for him was answered very swiftly by the Clinton campaign in a statement, the Clinton campaign said this.

"Donald Trump asked what the African-American community has to lose by voting for him. The answer is everything. From a man who questions the citizenship of the first African-American president, courts white supremacists and has been sued for housing discrimination against communities of color. Trump painting the entire community as living in poverty with no jobs continues to show he is completely out of touch with the African-American community."

So, the Clinton campaign really not mincing any words there, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Uh-hmm. Yeah, she certainly has laid into him there. All right, Chris Frates, we're going to check back with you later. Thanks very much for that.

So let's talk some more about this and we're going to do that with Boris Epshteyn. He is the senior advisor for the Trump campaign. Thank you for joining us, Boris. Good to see you.

BORIS EPSHTEYN, SENIOR ADVISOR TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Absolutely, good morning.

SAVIDGE: So, Trump has listed the problems with the African-American community, at least as he sees it, but, he didn't necessarily go into solutions. He has raised the issue of illegal immigration in his anti-Clinton ads. So, I'm wondering, do you think this is the right way to outreach to minorities?

EPSHTEYN: Absolutely, 100%. If you look at the black community, over 26 million people are living in poverty. The unemployment percentage is double of that of the white population.

Donald Trump is saying the Obama/Clinton economy has failed African- Americans in this country. It's failed the inner cities. And Donald Trump will be the one that creates jobs, that keeps American job safe, and that reinvigorates the inner cities.

SAVIDGE: But is it just the fact that you say, I will do this for you? That's enough to convince black voters?

EPSHTEYN: Martin, what's enough to convince them is if you look at the proposal, look at the proposal on the tax brackets, the simplified tax bracket, the 15% corporate tax rate which would help those small business owners, those middle class business owners, it would help them, again, reinvigorate the inner cities.

If you look at proposals on immigration, of course, on keeping out workers who are here illegally who are taking jobs from Americans. Those are specific proposals that will reinvigorate and revitalize the inner cities and will give African-Americans hope back in this country. Again, 26 million African-Americans living in poverty, that is a crazy number, that number should not be that high. It's an absolute failure by Clinton and Barack Obama.

SAVIDGE: But why not make this speech, this outreach, say, in a predominately African-American community with predominately a mixed audience?

EPSHTEYN: As we go forward in this campaign, Donald Trump will be giving speeches all over the country. The key is not just where you give the speech the key is who hears the speech. And every speech he gives is heard all over this country because it's played on networks such like this one.

SAVIDGE: But the key is also the reflection of your candidacy, I mean, who makes up as far as who working, who is helping, who is assisting, who's volunteering. Doesn't that reflect the candidate and, in some ways, we don't see that reflecting the African-American community?

EPSHTEYN: Well, first of all, there are African-Americans on the - on the campaign, second of all, Americans vote based on the candidate. They want to hear ideas from the candidate and they want to hear why this candidate should be elected.

Donald Trump is putting up specific ideas, again, on the tax back, on the economy, on trade. You know, America has lost 700,000 jobs just because of NATA - NAFTA, I'm sorry, because of NAFTA, and Donald Trump is the one that's going to renegotiate NAFTA.

Hillary Clinton has --

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: I got it. His message - his message you believe will resonate with the African-American community.

All right, let me move on to another community, and that is the Hispanic Advisory Council with whom, you know, Trump is going to meet today. These are people who are already supporters, correct?

EPSHTEYN: Well, the people who are - he's meeting today are leaders in the Hispanic American community and the discussion is how to make sure that Donald Trump's message is heard throughout that community. He's reaching out to all communities in this country to make sure they know that he's the one that will make America safe and will make America prosperous again.

SAVIDGE: Uh-hmm. There is, of course, an anti-immigration theme that some had picked up from Mr. Trump and I'm wondering how does that fit in, then, for this particular group of people which -- with whom he's meeting today?

EPSHTEYN: There's an anti-illegal immigration theme. I'm a immigrant. My family came here illegal immigrants in this country, went to a process, waited in line. Donald Trump is -- he wants to make sure that people are not here illegally. Not taking jobs from Americans illegally, not committing murders in this country. That's what he wants to make sure that we stop illegal immigration in this country. He's absolutely pro legal immigration.

SAVIDGE: Right, and I agree. Because I have spoken to many in the Hispanic community and there is somewhat of a divide. There were those who have come here, say, as you point out, maybe illegally or have come in a way that is not considered the proper way. And then there were those who have been here for a long period of time and there is a divide politically there.

EPSHTEYN: That's right.

SAVIDGE: How do you bridge that divide, though, as a candidate? How do you try to reach through all?

EPSHTEYN: Well, you don't have to reach to people who are here illegally, they can't vote. What you have to do is reach people who are here legally, citizens of this country who care about the future of this country. Who care about jobs, national security, and that's all Americans and that's what Donald Trump is doing.

SAVIDGE: Beyond that though? I mean, is it just to say -- what specific campaign appeal does he make? What --

(CROSSTALK)

EPSHTEYN: Again, on -- the appeal is on trade, on stopping illegal immigration, on jobs, on taxes, and of course, on national security. So, these are specific policy issues, policy points which he's putting out there.

And if you look at what Hillary Clinton is doing, she's just putting out the same policies, same issues that she's been talking about for 30 years, but hasn't been successful on -- at all. She has not one success she can point to from her time in the Senate. And she was an absolutely failed Secretary of State. This country is worse off all over the world because Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.

SAVIDGE: Let's talk about the overhaul that is taking place within -- inside the Trump campaign. Let's talk also about, you know, Kellyanne Conway. She was formerly a Republican pollster. She was a regular face that appeared all the time on CNN.

So, you sound like from the Primaries in April where Conway herself called for Trump to relax his tax returns, and in fact, let's just take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to ask you about this alliance between you first, Kellyanne, between John Kasich and Ted Cruz. This alliance, shall we say, that Donald Trump is calling collusion. Is this fair game? Are they playing by the rules?

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Absolutely. It's completely transparent. Donald Trump's tax returns aren't. I'd like to see those be transparent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Uh-hmm. So, what do you think of this change that has taken place? And is she going to change him or is this campaign, simply, going to change her?

EPSHTEYN: The change is wonderful. Kellyanne Conway is somebody who's experienced with politics, knows the folks in D.C, but also an outsider, a businesswoman and a leader. Steve Bannon is a leader in media and business. So the change is very exciting. And Donald Trump is an agile leader and he's someone who values vision and this is a visionary team to bring the campaign across the finish line to win on November 8th.

SAVIDGE: All right. One last question. She's also hinted that Trump may be giving an immigration speech next week, and I'm wondering if you can preview the talking points on that, Boris.

EPSHTEYN: So Donald Trump is going to be talking about all issues as this campaign moves forward, on immigration. As - you know, as Americans know, Donald Trump is for insuring that Americans who are here legally, who are citizens of this country and legal immigrants to this country keep the jobs that are here, that we prevent folks coming here illegally from hurting Americans, murdering Americans, and Donald Trump will make sure that that's the case. He'll make sure America is protected in terms of economy and security.

SAVIDGE: And those are the points you think that he will be forcefully making in when he speaks?

EPSHTEYN: That'll be some of the points when you hear the speech, I'm sure you'll be impressed.

SAVIDGE: Boris Epshteyn, thank you very much for joining us. We'll have you back, thank you.

EPSHTEYN: Thanks.

SAVIDGE: Still ahead, switching to another subject, the CDC offering a major warning to pregnant women. Officials are urging them to avoid travel to another part of South Florida because of Zika. We'll have that update coming up.

Plus, Louisiana has a very tough road ahead for recovery. What is in store for the battered state? Is the deadly flooding over? We'll get a live update from the ground, next.

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SAVIDGE: You named it, and chances are the people in Southern Louisiana have lost it. The flooding there is now considered to be America's worst natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy. And there is more rain, unfortunately, in the forecast.

A preliminary analysis of the area revealed some stunning numbers. More than 110,000 homes at a combined value of $20.7 billion are located in the flooded areas. And then listen to this, only 15% of all the homes in that area, have flood insurance. Polo Sandoval joins me now from Ascension Parish in Louisiana. At least they see the sun is out, even though, there is a tremendous amount of water behind you. Is it getting better or where do we stand?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For some, at least, Martin, I would add to some of those sobering statistics and tell you that after spending several days here and speaking to people in Southern Louisiana, some who have been here for perhaps just 60 days, others 60 years, they will tell you that they have never seen this kind of flooding, much less been directly affected by it. And now, as you - as you just pointed out here, Martin, you are seeing still neighborhoods at least partially submerged over a week since that rain swept through the area here.

For the folks who live in this part of Louisiana, they are still waiting to actually make their way into their home to see what, if anything, was actually salvaged. As the waters recede they leave behind, what I -- a terrible putrid smell and also wide spread devastation which is why this road to recovery will be a very long and difficult one. Many people here have, obviously, lost material items. Sadly at least 13 people died during the flooding, so they have lost loved ones.

But then there is one story that also stands out for me, Martin, actually about two miles from where I'm standing right now. I met a woman named Yvette who actually has a cemetery on her property where she has laid her loved ones to rest, the flood waters saturated the ground that some of the vaults that contained the caskets of her loved ones, essentially, floated up out of the ground and then floated away.

So what I witnessed a couple of days ago, keeping our cameras at a distance out of respect for her and her family and after having a conversation with her. She basically said that, yes, people are searching for what they've lost. But for her, it's about searching for those she loved. And so we are seeing here is a very difficult moment for many people here in Louisiana. Whether they were weren't directly affected or even those people who are helping.

And now, there are - there is really a high hope that a presidential visit will shed an even brighter spotlight on what people are still experiencing here. Martin?

SAVIDGE: You know, I've covered just about - well, I have covered every natural disaster there is known. Flooding though, is probably the worst when it comes to recovery. Because it is so difficult and so slow.

Government help, federal government help, are you seeing it?

SANDOVAL: FEMA funds is really what a lot of people will be turning to. We know that at least 87,000 people have actually filed requests for federal assistance. And this morning, we're also getting word that federal food stamps will be made available for those individuals who simply want to get their hands on something to eat. Because as one National Guardsman told me only a few days ago, that the demand for food and the demand for water is as great as what we saw during Hurricane Katrina.

SAVIDGE: All right, Polo Sandoval. Thank you very much for that update on the ground there. President Obama will be in Louisiana on Tuesday. Meanwhile, to find out how you can help victims of the flooding there, you can go to cnn.com/impact.

Tomorrow on State of the Union, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards will join Jake Tapper to talk more about this historic flooding, the nation's response, and what's ahead as that state begins to rebuild. That interview will be at 9:00 A.M. Eastern right here on CNN.

SAVIDGE: Coming up, a new Zika virus warning in the U.S.? Health officials are advising pregnant women to avoid another area in South florida. We'll have those details next.

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SAVIDGE: Pregnant women are now being warned against traveling to certain areas of Miami-Dade County. Health Officials are reporting there are new cases of, what they call, non-travel related Zika virus in Florida. That brings the total number of locally transmitted Zika cases to at least 35. CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us down from Miami Beach.

Elizabeth, nice to see you. I know you've spoken to local residents and I'm wondering what are they telling you, how do they feel?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Martin, the pregnant local residents are worried. I'm right here in South Beach, I'm in one of the two so-called Zika zones where it's spreading locally. You don't have to leave the area in order to get it.

Now, what the pregnant women are saying according to the obstetricians who are treating them, you know, the obstetricians some, it looked, they're pretty calm. You know, people are by and large doing okay. But they said, in general, they're very worried, they're spraying bug spray a lot which is exactly what they should be, they're covering up which is tough in this heat, but that's what they should be doing.

Some pregnant women are so nervous they're going so far to kind of basically barricade themselves inside their homes. A few women, not many, but a few have gone so far as to actually leave the area and they intend to, you know, live out the rest of their pregnancies in another area. Martin?

SAVIDGE: And, we know, of course, that this is a huge tourist area and I'm wondering if people have travelled there recently, is it okay to get pregnant? Where do we stand on that medically speaking?

COHEN: Right. Well, doctors tell me they are getting that question a lot. I mean, this place is tourist central. Luckily, there is an easy answer to that question.

Your immune system gets rid of Zika pretty quickly and pretty easily. So if a woman has been in this area, she then goes back home and she wants to get pregnant, authorities say they -- she should wait a month or so before getting pregnant. By then the Zika will be out of her system and it shouldn't be a threat.

SAVIDGE: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, we will continue to track this story through you. Thank you very much for joining us.

COHEN: Thanks.

SAVIDGE: Still to come, Donald Trump has been enlisting a pair of conservative media executives to advice his campaign. But could there be a plan B in the works for after the election, a media empire maybe? Next, we'll discuss why some analysts say that possibility could be very real.

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SAVIDGE: Good morning, nice to see you. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Donald Trump may be courting battle ground voters this weekend, but Trump already may be looking past The White House and on to the possibility of building a media empire. Well, it's an idea that at least some say may be gaining steam. The Atlantic writes, "What if Tuesday, November 8th marks not an end for Donald Trump and associates, but the beginning of phase two in launching an effort of some kind of media juggernaut that challenges Fox News for supremacy on the right across all platforms."

And this from an op-ed in the LA Times that is saying, "Trump has therefore recruited Ailes and Bannon to lay the groundwork for his backup plan. A new career as a right wing media personality." This is fascinating stuff.

So, let's talk about this with historian and professor at Princeton University and co-author at L.A. Times, Op-Ed, Julian Zelizer, plus CNN Senior Media Correspondent and host of "Reliable Sources" Brian Stelter, and senior political analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic, Ron Brownstein.

Julian, let me start with you. How feasible is this? Because it just -- when I read this, it was like, holy cow. Do you see this as a real end game for Donald Trump?

JULIAN ZELIZER, HISTORIAN & PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Well, I'm not sure it's all planned out, but I'm sure it's in the works. This is a response to his bringing on an executive from Breitbart News. It's a response to the fact he comes from the world of the media through his reality show, and he has crafted a campaign that resolves around the media, and he is in a difficult position in terms of the election. And we really do believe that if he loses, this would be a very viable path forward. How he does it, we don't know, a TV station and online presence, but this would be a natural way to continue with the political campaigning that he seems to enjoy.

[11:30:00] SAVIDGE: Ron, are we planting a seed here or when you look at who is currently running the Trump campaign, ex Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, Breitbart News chief, Steve Bannon, does this possibility make more sense?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it does. I mean, it's a reminder to me how much Trump and Trumpism is a reflection of a civil war and a shift in the balance of power inside the Republican Party.

You can go down a long list of issues on which he's reversing decades in some cases of Republican priorities on global engagement, on trade, on entitlements, and I think it is also a reminder his base is the media.

There are very few elected officials in the Republican Party who kind of sign on to the full range of Trumpism as it's defined. Its core support, its core institutional support are media institutions in the conservative coalition.

And so I think it could be very logical and very ominous for a Mitch McConnell or Paul Ryan if Donald Trump is not elected president.

That the fusion with Breitbart would continue and become the institutional voice in the Republican Party for this set of ideas which guarantees conflict with their existing power base. For example, the Chamber of Commerce, how would the Chamber of Commerce react to a Trump Republican Party after this election that is a very open question?

SAVIDGE: And the reason this sort of struck me with an aha moment was the fact that I've been out on the campaign trail and spoken to a lot of Trump supporters, if he does not win, of course, you've got this huge d dissatisfied audience and these are the people he could immediately appeal to.

Brian, you know, if this is indeed Trump's plan, it's one thing to talk about it, but starting a network from the ground up, that's incredibly difficult thing to do.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: It's getting harder and harder every single year. Cable operators the people deliver CNN in to their home right now. They don't want new channels. They are actually trying to get rid of small channels.

It would be hard for Trump to get on cable. It would be hard for him to launch a Netflix style streaming service. Sarah Palin tried that a couple of years ago and it folded within a year.

But even the CEO of the company that ran Palin's streaming service said he believes Trump could be incredibly successful doing this, raising $5 or $10 a month from Trump supporters and creating an online channel. It would be difficult, but it is feasible.

Both "Vanity Fair" and "The New York Times" have reported that yes, Trump advisors have at least informally looked into the idea of some sort of media investment. I think this all gets to the broader question of what does Trump do if he loses, where does he go? I don't think anybody expects him to just go quietly into the night the way Al Gore or John McCain did after they lost. So what does he do and how does he empower his supporters?

SAVIDGE: This is another reason why this seems to make some sense.

BROWNSTEIN: I think it's a very interesting point Brian makes because there is no question there is an audience in the Republican coalition for the set of views that Donald Trump has put forward.

He's demonstrated there is a big piece of the Republican coalition response to this mix of anti-immigrant, anti-global and really pro entitlement. It's that older white blue collar coalition.

There is very little institutional support. There are very few elected officials that will be advocating Trumpism after Trump if he loses. Not only could this be a media play in the sense of making money.

I mean, this could be the kind of the corner stone of an effort to continually shift the party in that direction and speak to those voters. It's not clear what other institutions in the Republican Party other than a few hosts on Fox would continue to raise the Trump torch after the election --

STELTER: So you're saying Trump 2020 would start --

ZELIZER: Trump comes to this with a lot of expertise in the media. She did not have that. So he knows how this institution works. He is very good at it. Say what you will about the rest of his campaign, he has proven himself to be effective. He would be going into some kind of operation like this with a lot of knowledge and savvy.

SAVIDGE: Right. I believe, you know, who would fear this most is Paul Ryan and the establishment Republican Party. They're the ones who would have the most difficult time with this.

STELTER: Just wonder just to be devil's advocate here for one moment. Marty, you and I have great jobs on cable news. Does Donald Trump want to be a television host if he loses the election? It might fell kind of small. I'm throwing it out there.

SAVIDGE: I suppose he is the head of the network, but it's not like he's the entire voice all the time. I presume he'll hire people who are like minded --

STELTER: Sean Hannity.

SAVIDGE: -- and he spreads a message through surrogates.

BROWNSTEIN: To Julian's point real quick, if Donald Trump loses this election, he will have lost this election and kind of the mix of views that he has put forward will have shown to be short of a majority of the country. So think of this from the point of view of the Republican Party after an election potentially in which Trumpism falls way short. You could then have a voice continually pushing the party in that direction after its electoral limits had just been demonstrated.

[11:35:01]That is a very kind of ominous prospect. But again, one that speaks to portion of their coalition will make it harder together manage that aftermath if in fact Donald Trump loses and this is the way he responds.

SAVIDGE: You know, Brian, we were talking about the problem of getting on cable. This is actually getting on the internet. On top of this with Breitbart, he's already got a multiplatform bed so to speak.

STELTER: Yes, that's absolutely true. Certainly if Donald Trump wanted to launch a Facebook live channel today he could do it tonight over at Trump Tower, he'd have millions of viewers on his channel.

He wouldn't make a lot of money off of it, but he would have influence from it. It comes down to what does he want? If he does not win the election, does he care more about making a profit or having political power?

Does he want to think ahead towards 2020 or 2024? The choices he makes after November 8th if he losses will tell us a lot about what he wants in the years to come.

ZELIZER: Look what he's done with Twitter. He's used Twitter to build a whole campaign around it. So we shouldn't under estimate the way he can see opportunity in parts of the media that are not being fully exploited.

STELTER: This is all only if he does lose. We'll see.

SAVIDGE: Right. Right. We'll see. Brian Stelter, thank you very much. Julian Zelizer and Ron Brownstein, great conversation. Talk to you again, thanks.

Still ahead, the International Olympic Committee now setting up a disciplinary commission to investigate Ryan Lochte and his three other teammates following that controversy in Rio. What one of the swimmers is now revealing about what happened. It's pretty interesting. Stay here.

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[11:40:07]

SAVIDGE: The International Olympic Committee is announcing that it set up a disciplinary commission to investigate that incident involving Ryan Lochte and the other U.S. swimmers in Rio. Lochte could be suspended from U.S. swimming organizations as International Committee decides whether the swimmers should face punishment over this. The debate continues over whether the Olympic swimmers were robbed at this gas station. Moments after at least one of those swimmers vandalized the business. In a newly released statement that comes from Lochte's teammate, that's Gunner Bentz, he gives a very different account.

He says this, quote, "Ryan pulled to the ground a framed metal advertisement that was loosely anchored to the brick wall." In the statement, "Bentz also admits that members of the team urinated on the side of the building."

Brazilian police say that behavior is what prompted an armed security guard to confront the men and order them to pay for damages. Lochte maintains that he was held at gunpoint and robbed.

So let's bring in CNN contributor, Christine Brennan, she's live in Rio and also CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Philip Holloway.

Christine, let me start with you. What can you tell us about the suspension?

I'm sorry I couldn't hear you, about the what?

SAVIDGE: Suspension or talk of possible suspension.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST (via telephone): Sorry yes. From Rio to you, it's an interesting connection, my apologies. Yes, what we're certainly hearing is then I have been reporting is that the USA swimming, the USOC will take some action at some point.

That could be many, many weeks down the road. They usually act very quickly, Martin. They suspended Michael Phelps within a weeks for three months for a photo of a marijuana pipe during the smoking ban in 2009.

USA swimming is no nonsense. The fact that there are so much what we don't know about what happened is of course concerning to everyone, but we also know if Gunner Bentz if it's true that Ryan Lochte pulled down that sign and there were other things you mentioned.

So that's the kind of behavior we might accept that high school or college pranks in the United States. Representing the United States at an Olympic games is a whole different matter. And that is why the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA swimming are taking this so incredibly seriously.

SAVIDGE: Of course. Christine, do you think that this would impact any chance for Lochte to say in the Tokyo games?

BRENNAN: Well, Martin, he's 32. I know a lot of people have said that this behavior is alarming for anyone, much less someone who is 32 years old. I'm guessing many of us can agree on that. He's 32. He had the gold medal from the games in the relay, but he certainly was not at his peak. My sense would, Martin, from a sports aspect just guessing it would be hard for Ryan Lochte to return four years from now although he certainly could. So now if he's suspended, when he's suspended, when there's punishment, when there's something that happens to him and interrupts his career, which I believe is going to happen.

And I've written in "USA Today" that we are expecting that at some point. That makes it a little harder. I don't think it's not like he was on top of the world and he peaked a previous Olympic games. Athletically I think it would be hard for him to return. He is one of the greatest swimmers in the world I would never count him out.

SAVIDGE: All right, Christine, thank you. Phil, let me turn to you. He's apologized, come out on Twitter and given a statement. I'm wondering now, do you think it's possible that the officials down in Rio, the city police are going to move forward and press charges?

PHILIP HOLLOWAY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They can try but they're never going to get him back in Rio unless he goes voluntarily because under the U.S. extradition treaty with Brazil, the crime, the offense of making a false police report doesn't rise to the level of severity required to trigger the clause in the extradition treaty.

So I don't think they'll get him back unless he chooses to go back, but I think they're going to let this go. But speaking of his apology, you know, I think what he's apologizing for is the public indecency, misdemeanor trespassing and other petty type misdemeanor offenses that these guys were so foolishly involved in.

That being said, Martin, he's not apologizing for what he feels like was a robbery. In the U.S., from our perspective, if you take the guns that we now know were displayed. They were pointed and we know these security guards or whatever they were said you're going to have to give us money before you can leave.

[11:45:04]In this country, that would at a minimum be armed robbery, if not false imprisonment, aggravated assault and a whole host of other things. So he's maintaining his position that he was in fact robbed, at least from his perspective.

SAVIDGE: However, of course, that they hadn't done the steps prior to that then there would be no security guard to begin with.

HOLLOWAY: Correct. They didn't report this to the police. What got this whole thing started is he reported it to his mother. I'm sure he left out those details and then his mother went on television or on the radio I guess and the media got it picked up and so the police has --

SAVIDGE: But he did go to NBC and he, you know, he described this very dramatic moment of a gun pointed or even placed to his head.

HOLLOWAY: Yes.

SAVIDGE: Can you be charged for lying to media?

HOLLOWAY: No, it's not against the law to lie to NBC --

SAVIDGE: I guess, we get a lot of people locked up.

HOLLOWAY: It's not against the law to lie to your mother either, although it's not a very good idea, I think we can all agree on that. But when he gave a statement to the police, in the U.S., if you make a false statement to the police, that can be a crime. Falsely reporting a crime is a crime. As I said, false report of crime in Brazil does not rise to the level of severity to extradite him for further prosecution.

SAVIDGE: All right, OK, well, we'll continue to follow this. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of it.

HOLLOWAY: Absolutely not.

SAVIDGE: I'm sure we are not. Philip Holloway, thank you very much.

Still to come, a massive fire in California. It's forcing thousands of people from their communities. We're going to check on the situation there as that fire has destroyed nearly 100 homes and also an iconic piece of history on Route 66. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:25]

SAVIDGE: Earlier we were talking about flooding in Louisiana. In California, Southern California in particular, it's just the opposite. It's drought and now the aftereffects of that. The blue cut fire has destroyed nearly 100 homes and blackened almost 40,000 acres.

Also lost in the flames, a Route 66 landmark, the legendary Summit Inn visited by stars like Elvis Presley and John Wayne. Here's CNN's Paul Vercammen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wine rack and a lot of other stuff, old gum ball machine over there.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cecil Stevens, longtime owner of the Summit Inn before he sold it a month ago can't believe the blue cut fire torched his life's work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes me sick on my stomach. It's awful because I know every light switch, every pipe. After 50 years, you've had to repair half of that stuff.

VERCAMMEN: That's right. A half century of owning a favorite hangout on Route 66. Stevens bought the Summit Inn and Restaurant Friday the 13th in 1966. Shutdown the motel and focused on food and the history of the fabled route from Chicago to the Pacific Ocean.

Cecil and his wife of 41 years, Debbie, became the mom and pop of a nostalgia stop for classic car craze patrons, Route 66 worshippers, even locals obsessed with both.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's been many times where I would stood at the bar having coffee when it was snowing and just said I'm not going to work.

VERCAMMEN: Smoldering tales of these ashes have it that celebrities rolled in too including Elvis Presley. The King reportedly saw Cecil's jukebox didn't offer a single one of his records.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He kind of stood back and kicked the jukebox lightly and said maybe next time when I come back in here you'll have one of my records in here. I went out and got a record right away.

VERCAMMEN: Music serenated generations of people who pulled off the road, eat everything from ostrich burgers to banana splits to the popular hillbilly burger.

(on camera): What's a hillbilly burger?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was sour dough bread with hamburger, lettuce, tomato, onion. It was really good. It was delicious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a meal, a meal in itself.

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): The kitchen is now a pile of charred heartbreak, but perhaps the good omen, the Summit Inn sign still stands and the new owners tell CNN they plan to rebuild and try to recapture every charming inch of Cecil Steven's American treasure. Paul Vercammen, CNN, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Fires and floods aren't the only things in the news. Let's take a look at the top stories. A fugitive is behind bars after attempting to fool police with, take a look at this elaborate disguise.

Police in Massachusetts said 31-year-old Sean Miller was posing as an old man when they raided the house where they suspected that the drug dealer was staying. Officers pulled off his disguise and placed him under real arrest. They also seized two loaded weapons and $30,000 in cash.

Tough talking Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio could soon be facing criminal charges. A federal judge asked the U.S. attorney's office to file contempt charges against Arpaio claiming he failed to follow instructions in a racial profiling case.

In that case, Arpaio and three subordinates are accused of violating an order to prevent their department from profiling Latinos. So far there has been no comment from Arpaio.

Still to come, it was the question of the week that dominated the political headlines and social media as well. We'll take a look at what it all means next.

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[11:57:34]

SAVIDGE: This next story began with a simple question about Donald Trump's latest pivot in his presidential bid, but it soon turned into a social media sensation. Jeanne Moos has more on how the Trump's interview, one of CNN's own dominated political headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a little like the old Abbott and Castello routine about the guy with the last name "who' playing first base.

Imagine that in slow motion, an exchange between CNN's Brianna Keilar and Trump attorney, Michael Cohen has become an instant campaign classic.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: -- you guys are down and it makes sense that there would --

MICHAEL COHEN, EXECUTIVE VP, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Says who? Says who?

KEILAR: -- most of them. All of them.

MOOS: That led to an awkward five seconds of silence.

COHEN: Says who?

KEILAR: Polls. I just told you. I answered your question.

COHEN: OK. Which polls?

KEILAR: All of them.

MOOS: I watched it five times. It's hypnotic, posted one person, her single raised eyebrow at the end deserves an Emmy on its own.

COHEN: Which polls?

KEILAR: All of them.

MOOS: That ended up on a mock make America great again hat. But the big takeaway seemed to be --

COHEN: Says who?

MOOS: The #sayswho became a thing. The aftermath of the interview you're fired, says who? Who else says who? Either Trump's attorney was in denial about the polls --

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Or doing his best impression of an owl.

MOOS (on camera): The exchange even inspired, we kid you not, knock, knock jokes. (voice-over): The #allofthem picked up steam with an Olympic theme. So you're losing this race. Says who? The clocks. Which clocks? All of them.

There was even a poll pitting says who against all of them. All of them won by a landslide. In the wake of Brianna's interview Trump's attorney told Yahoo! News, "I think I unraveled her." Let's take a poll on that. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: We have much more ahead on the NEWSROOM and it all starts right now.

Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield.