Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Iraqi Army Gaining Ground of ISIS Near Mosul; Child Suicide Bomber Captured in Iraq; Child Responsible for Bombing in Turkey; Is Trump Changing Immigration Plan; Clinton Jokes with Kimmel on Health Rumors; Pay for Play, Clinton Foundation Resurfaces After Released E- mails; N. Korea Makes Threats as U.S., S. Korea Launch Joint Military Exercise; Israel Could be "Swing State" to Help Trump Win; New Life Born Amid War; Film Celebrates Life of Philando Castile. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 23, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


(HEADLINES)

[02:00:12] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Isha Sesay.

The Iraqi army is gaining ground on ISIS near Mosul. The military along with Iraqi counter-terror forces launched an operation to retake the city from al Kyra from the terror group. An Iraqi group says they're weakening, and they're one step closer to liberating Mosul, as well.

Senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under apocalyptic skies blackened by thick smoke is the next target for Iraqi forces. ISIS used to move around 100 oil tankers of crude a day out of these fields, now set aflame by ISIS fighters to decrease visibility from above.

We are some 65 kilometers or 40 miles south of Mosul. Land Iraqi forces have not stepped in since ISIS took over more than two years ago. Their corpses are left to rot in the sun.

And the commander tells us ISIS appears to be weakening.

UNIDENTIFIED IRAQI COMMANDER: Before, as I told you, the majority of fighters attacking on were foreign fighters. Now they put foreign fighters with local fighters. Now I think they have lack on the foreign fighters.

DAMON: On display, weapons, troops found in residential homes. Among them, home-made mortar tubes and mortars larger than anything the Iraqis have at their disposal.

Another significant gain in this area, this is the third largest air base in Iraqi. Leaving, we are told, explosives under piles of dirt on the runways that need to be cleared. This will always be a vital forward base for the Iraqis and

potentially U.S. forces.

Families fleeing haul what they can, stumbling away from the fighting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): They took half of our men and force them to fight for them. They killed my father.

DAMON: Tears for all they lost. Loved ones gone in a war that few can comprehend. The lives they knew ask loved dissent grade years ago.

To the southeast of Mosul, the Kurdish Peshmerga have pushed their front line forward, as well. The Peshmerga makes its way along east and north. The villages controlled by ISIS visible in the distance. Here, too, they have noticed is weakening, showing us how ISIS moved this had nondescript buildings like this.

(on camera): The Peshmerga fighters did initially drop down and take a few steps into what appeared to be some sort of tunnel. But rather than taking their chances, they decided to withdrawal and seal off the entrance.

(voice-over): The chokehold around Mosul is tightening and the government pledged to liberate the city by the end of the year. It's still the goal. The battle there with over a million civilians will be different from the ones out here. The success will be defined in land gains, not lives destroyed or lost.

Arwa Damon, CNN, south of Mosul, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Also, in Iraq, authorities have proof a child was about to detonate a suicide bomber, except police captured the teen before his bomb detonated. This dramatic video shows police removing a suicide vest from the 15-year-old boy. They say he was acting suspiciously and intended to target a Shia mosque. According to the local governor, the teen was trained and brainwashed as ISIS by one of their child soldiers.

Earlier, my colleague, Robin Kurnow, spoke with Professor Mia Bloom, whose latest book is about how children become involved in terrorist organizations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIA BLOOM, PROFESSOR, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY: They lure them in and then they brainwash they will, desensitize them to violence. But very often what we're seeing, especially if this boy is an IDP, and he's either Iraqi or Syrian, we saw a lot of Iraqi kids deployed in Syria and Syrian kids sent to Iraq. It may be that they had no choice but to join, that perhaps in exchange for food or protection or not upsetting the authorities in Raqqa or in Mosul, that they have no choice, because not all the parents are willingly handing their children over. The foreign fighters are. But the locals are very often in a tough place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:05:17] SESAY: Bloom says child soldiers are also being used as a propaganda tool. Just a few months ago, ISIS released a video called Blood for Blood, showing children being trained for terror attacks.

Turkish authorities now say they don't know whether a suicide bomber who targeted a wedding over the weekend was a child or adult. The Turkish president said on Sunday the attacker was between 12 and 14 years old. The blast happened near the Syrian border. It's Turkey's deadliest terror attack this year with dozens of people killed.

CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So far, 54 people have been killed in that Saturday night suicide attack on what was essentially a street party, a wedding celebration in a Kurdish working class neighborhood. The Turkish officials say of the dead, 22 are under the age of 14. And it's believed the rest of the victims, many of them are women, as well.

Investigators have found pieces of the suicide vest. Adding to this totally disturbing nature of this attack, the Turkish media was at the house outside of which the bomb went off and this was the house where the newlyweds were supposed to move into. When they -- they were only slightly injured in the attack. They spent the night in the hospital. When they went back to see their home, to see what had happened, and they found out how many of their neighbors, friends and relatives were killed in the attack, they were utterly devastated. Friends and relatives tried to console them. That didn't work. They had to go back to the hospital because, according to the Turkish media, they suffered from a nervous breakdown.

Now, Turkish officials do can believe that it was ISIS behind the attack. The city is only 40 kilometers north of the Syrian border. This is a part of the country where ISIS has been known to operate in the past Turkish police have cracked down on ISIS cells in Gaziantip (ph) itself. It is believed those cells are indeed still operating.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will meet with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara next Wednesday. They will likely discuss the U.S.-based cleric who President Erdogan, blames for a military coup in deny. He's requested Gulen's extradition from the U.S. Gulen denies any involvement. Ed want says relations between the two countries have been so-so since the failed coup.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana's capitol hit hard by flooding last week. 13 people were killed by flood waters and more than 30,000 people are staying in shelters. Mr. Obama will tour the area and meet with local officials to discuss how the federal government can help their recovery efforts.

Although Donald Trump claims, he's not changing his stance on illegal immigrants, questions linger after comments from his new campaign manager over the weekend. A speech on his immigration policy set for Thursday has been postponed.

Jessica Schneider has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump insisting he's not changing course when it comes to immigration policy.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION (voice-over): No, I'm not flip-flopping. We want to come up with a fair but firm answer. It has to be very firm. But we want to come up with something fair.

SCHNEIDER: This, after his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, seemed to cast question on his deportation force.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The kind that you heard about in that sound bite and that he talked about during the Republican primaries.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: To be determined.

SCHNEIDER: During the primary, Donald Trump declared over and over that the elected, he would immediately deport an estimated 11 million immigrants.

TRUMP: They're going back where they came. That's the way it's supposed to be. They can come back, but they have to come back legally.

They will go out, some will come back. Some had will come back, the best, through a process. They have to come back legally.

SCHNEIDER: The apparent change comes after Trump and members of the RNC met with a hand picked group of Hispanic supporters at Trump Tower. It's part of his outreach to minority communities that some have questions for its tone.

Trump also reaching out to African-Americans.

[02:10:04] TRUMP (on camera): I say it again, what do you have to lose? Look, with what do you have to lose? You're living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have month jobs. 58 percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?

(CHEERING)

SCHNEIDER: Meantime, Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani pushing untrue rumors that Hillary Clinton has health problems, pointing to go Internet chatter to debunk his claims.

RUDY GIULIANI, (R), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Go online and put down Hillary Clinton illness. Take a look at the videos for yourself.

SCHNEIDER: Donald Trump launched a new set of TV ads over the weekend, but he's still being outspent by Hillary Clinton. Her campaign announcing $80 million in ad buys. Trump's campaign so far spending $4.8 million in a 10-day ad blitz.

So has Trump reset his approach? His campaign manager made this promise Sunday.

CONWAY: It doesn't help --

SCHNEIDER: But first thing Monday, Trump went back on a personal Twitter attack against the host of MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Running mate, Mike Pence, in an interview on CNN New Day, is defending Trump's style.

MIKE PENCE, (R), INDIANA GOVERNOR & VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is not an experienced politician who carefully selects his words and speaks right from his heart, right from the mind.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): And when it comes to the ground game, Trump's team is now relying more heavily on the RNC, rather than building its own infrastructure. Field offices are starting to pop up around the country. And the GOP's top strategist, Sean Spicer, will not be working more closely with the Trump campaign, spending a lot more time right here at Trump Tower.

Jessica Schneider, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: As controversy shadows her campaign, Hillary Clinton took a lighter approach with questions about the election Monday night. She appeared right here on Jimmy Kimmel and talked about the rumors that keep circulating about her health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I don't know why they are saying this. I think, on the one hand, it's part of the wacky strategy, just say all these crazy things, and maybe you can get some people to believe you. On the other hand, it makes absolutely no sense. I don't go around questioning Donald Trump's health. As far as I can tell, he's as healthy as a horse.

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: His doctor said he had the best medical examination he's ever seen in a human being.

(LAUGHTER)

CLINTON: Yeah, I saw that. KIMMEL: Can you open this jar of pickles? This is --

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

KIMMEL: It's not been touched.

CLINTON: That's so funny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, the Pay for Play allegations about the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton's time as secretary of state are resurfacing with a new mention in her private e-mails.

Jeff Zeleny has more on the controversy and her opponent's sharp view attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton's laser focus on Donald Trump interrupted tonight with new developments from old Clinton controversies. More questions about her private e- mail server at the State Department and the future of the Clinton family's charitable foundation.

A federal judge said today the State Department has one month to come up with a plan to release 15,000 new documents discovered by the FBI between Clinton and her top aides.

Republican Chairman Priebus seized on the ruling saying the e-mails in question should be released in full before Election Day.

A Clinton spokesman said, if they're related to her working with re- release those being released, as well.

The judges ruling comes as former Secretary of State Colin Powell is pushing back on suggestions he gave Clinton the idea to use a private e-mail in the first place, tell reporters over the weekend, Here people are trying to pin it on me. In 2009, he said he talked to Clinton regularly, but he used a private e-mail address, not a private server:

COLIN POWELL, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I was having dinner with Secretary Clinton three nights ago in Washington with most of the other secretaries. And I stay in regular touch with Secretary Clinton and with Secretary Gates and with the president.

ZELENY: As Clinton steps off the campaign trail to raise money in California tonight, new questions also being raised about the Clinton Foundation.

In a letter to donors today, former President Bill Clinton said, The foundation will no longer accept foreign contributions. He wrote, While I will continue to support the work of the foundation, I will step down from the board and no longer raise funds for it.

But that's not enough for Trump who called the foundation corrupt, saying it should be shut down immediately.

Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, called the Clinton's hypocritical.

PENCE: Apparently, she'll have a conflict of interest with the Clinton Foundation if she becomes president, but I guess she didn't have a conflict of interest taking donations when she was secretary of state.

ZELENY: Today in Nevada, Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, went after Trump.

[02:15:13] SEN. TIM KAINE, (D), VIRGINIA & VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Before attacking a charity, why don't you come clean about your own business dealings and tell the American people who you are in debt to?

ZELENY: But those new questions, being fueled by a lawsuit by the conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch. It produced more e-mails between Clinton's top aide, Huma Abedin, and long-time advisor to President Bill Clinton, Doug Band. In one,"A portion of this transcript has been removed because a reference was made that the Crown Prince of Bahrain was a donor to the Clinton Foundation. However, the Crown Prince has not personally donated to the foundation. Instead, the Kingdom of Bahrain has donated between $50,000 and $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation, not the prince himself." , and Secretary Clinton, asking to see her. Band writes, "Good friend of ours."

(on camera): Donald Trump called for a special prosecutor to investigate these e-mails, saying that the Justice Department is compromised. The Clinton campaign is dismissing Trump's call, saying he has business dealings of his own that he's not disclosed. But with 15,000 documents and e-mails to be released, it's clear, this political drip, drip, drip, will keep dripping until Election Day.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Time for break. Ryan Lochte has apologized for making up his robbery story in Rio. Why that wasn't enough to save his Speedo, next.

Plus, an Olympic gold medal winner from Brazil celebrates with a parade in the villa where she grew up.

Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:29] SESAY: Russia will appeal the decision to ban their athletes to the Paralympics Games. The Paralympics Games start in September, but seats just aren't selling. Only 300,000 of the available tickets had been sold. That's just about 12 percent. And these numbers pale this comparison to the London Olympics in 2012. There, 2.7 million tickets were sold. So many that organizers, in fact, had to expand the seating.

Well, sponsors have dropped swimmer, Ryan Lochte, after he admitted to lying about an incident in Rio. He said he and three teammates were robbed at gun point, but later apologized at over exaggerating the story.

My colleague, Sara Sidner, spoke with sports agent, Lee Steinberg, explained what could be next for Lochte.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE STEINBERG, SPORTS AGENT: He's probably going to get suspended for a period of time but the USOC and will not be able to spend. Secondly, this is the big stage. People don't normally follow swimming between the four-year span. So it makes the task a little more difficult than a teammate, basketball or baseball player who would be able to go ahead and play and might have a recurrence. Now, everything fades, so if people accept his apology, we don't throw the young man on the trash heap of history for one poor incident. And some of the things he's been doing since in terms of apologizing to his Olympians, so he stole their thunder for a whole week instead of concentrating on the incredible achievements of the 120 gold medals and silver medal and bronze medal winners, it's all Lochte, Lochte, Lochte. They can't be real happy. And he's made some donations. He's done the right thing, but it might be too late. Eventually, yes, this will fade.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: We shall see.

An Ethiopian runner ran across the finish line and won a silver medal. But he made a gesture that resonated with people in his county. Now he could face a political backlash.

David McKenzie shows us what he did and what it means.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Politics and the games don't mix, but that hasn't stopped athletes with a cause. Famously, in '68, the iconic moment of Tommy Smith and John Carlos raising a black power salute, stripped of their medals.

Now, in Rio, another act of defiance. Ethiopian Letta (ph) raising his arms in the defiant moment at the finish line. Ethiopians everywhere would get it. It's a protest symbol. He said he wanted to draw attention to the plight of his people back home in Ethiopia, a runner of the largest ethnic group in the country. But for decades, they said they've been excluded from power politics. Since November last year, massive protests have erupted in the area. As many as 400 protesters have been killed, thousands injured, and tens of thousands arrested in the government crackdown.

Letta (ph) says he's afraid he will be arrested or even killed if he returns home from Rio, but the Ethiopian government said he is an Ethiopian hero. He wanted to put the plight of the people out on the biggest stage of all.

David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: When people arrive in Rio, they're often struck by the poverty stricken favelas along the cities. One of the toughest is called City of God. That's where Olympic gold medalist, Rafaela Silva, grew up. On Monday, the neighborhood threw a parade in her honor.

CNN's Shasta Darlington reports on the celebration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:25:18] SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A victory parade for a home grown hero. I'm talking about Rafaela Silva. She brought Brazil its first gold medal. She has now come home to the City of God, where she was born and raised and where they're celebrating lots of gifts. And now she's being celebrated not only in Brazil, but right here in the very favela where she's becoming a model for kids.

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Happy times.

A quick break now. And polls show Hillary Clinton leading in the race for the White House, but Israel might hold the swing vote Donald Trump needs for the presidency. We'll explain, coming up.

Plus, we go inside a Syrian hospital to witness the miracle of birth amid the horror of war.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:29:30] SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

The headlines this hour --

(HEADLINES)

[02:30:27] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: North Korea is threatening nuclear retaliation as the U.S. and South Korea begin another joint military exercise. 25,000 U.S. troops will join South Korean forces for two weeks of drills.

Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kim Jong-Un's North Korean regime may have now nearly two dozen nuclear bombs and the means to target the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's clearly on a very different track from his father, much more aggressive, much more provocative.

STARR: For the first time, all thee of the U.S. Air Forces strategic bombers, the B-52, C-1 and B-2, all took off from Guam at the same time. A not-so-subtle show of force signaling the U.S. will protect South Korea and the Pacific allies, according to a U.S. defense official, just as a South Korean military drill near the Demilitarized Zone with North Korea heated up.

And 25,000 U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula --

(GUNFIRE)

STARR: -- began an annual joint exercise.

The threat of a North Korean provocation is higher than ever, according to South Korea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): The north's missile missiles are direct threats. The drills should be like an actual fight that prepares for North Korea's provocations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Socialism is not something in the air.

STARR: After his recent defection from North Korea deputy ambassador in London, South Korea fears the North will even try to assassinate anti-North Korean activists.

North Korea says it's prepared to launch a preemptive attack on U.S. and South Korean forces involved in that exercise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They really do want to demonstration that they don't have a rudimentary nuclear force. But they have one that could survive a first strike.

STARR: The International Atomic Energy Agency reports North Korea is increasing its nuclear fuel stockpiles, saying in a recent report the country's arms effort is widening.

And especially worrisome to the Pentagon, the regime is increasingly testing submarine launches and mobile ground missiles, difficult for the West to track, it gives the North a chance of surviving a pre- emptive first strike by the U.S. and then launching its own attack.

(on camera): U.S. officials say they are convinced that Kim Jong-Un knows there's a U.S. presidential election under way and he may even be following it. They believe he may be trying to attract some attention for himself and his regime from whoever may be the next president.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Melania Trump is threatening to sue at least 10 news outlets claiming they made defamatory statements about the model agency she worked for in the 1990s. The U.K. "Daily Mail" cited a story from a Slovakian magazine that claimed the agency also operated as an escort agency for wealthy clients. The lawsuit hasn't been filed yet but the news outlets are on notice. Two make retractions and apologies. The "Daily Mail" has yet to comment.

The latest presidential polls show Donald Trump trailing Hillary Clinton, but 200,000 U.S. voters will be casting their ballots in Israel, and the majority of them typically vote Republican. Could Israel become the swing state that helps Trump win the election?

Ian Lee reports.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Thank you, Scott. Thank you.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By now, we all know Donald Trump's slogan.

TRUMP: We will make America great again.

LEE: At a mall in central Israeli, Republicans have volunteers, balloons and a new Trump slogan, the Israeli interests.

MARK ZELL, ISRAELI TRUMP SUPPORTER: Thank you for coming our.

LEE: Mark Zell presses the flesh to rally support for the GOP nominee.

ZELL: Things have gone up in flames with this administration. They have entered into the worst agreement as possible with the Iranians and we are here on the front lines.

LEE: Relations have cooled during President Obama's tenure, hitting a low point last year when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went behind Obama's back to address Congress, hoping to derail Obama's nuclear deal with Iran.

This registered voter believes Trump will heal the rift.

[02:35:11] DEBRA JAROFI (ph), FLORIDA VOTER: I do. I think he has Israel's best interest in hand.

LEE (on camera): You may ask does Israel matter. If Republicans believe if they get enough votes, they can win a tightly contested state. Remember, in 2000, Florida and the presidency were won by 537 votes.

(voice-over): Israel has 200,000 eligible American voters. Last election, Mitt Romney won 85 percent.

A poll this summer showed Israelis nearly split on candidates. Clinton was deemed more fit to be U.S. president by a 16 point margin.

Trump's path to the presidency looks in peril. CNN's poll of poll shows Clinton leading Trump by an average 10 points in the U.S.

Zell believes it imperative than ever to get Americans here casting ballots.

ZELL: We have an interest. Every vote could make a difference in the history of the world.

LEE: But some American voters have reservations about Trump.

Israel is a land of faith and Zell thinks he can pull off a miracle.

Ian Lee, CNN, Israel

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: In Syria, the terrible toll of air strikes took on a human face last week when the world saw Omran. The boy has known nothing but war. For an expectant mother trying to get to an Aleppo hospital to give birth, even the newest lives face a deadly threat from above.

Nima Elbagir's report contains disturbing video and graphic scenes of an emergency room delivery as she takes us inside that hospital to witness a baby born amid war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New lives, one heartbeat sustaining.

This woman is 9 months pregnant. She was on her way to the hospital when the air strike hit. Her arm and leg broke, her belly sprayed with shrapnel. But what about her baby.

The doctors keep going. The baby out into the bright light, silent and still.

They fight, the little chest pummeled up and down, harder and harder.

His airways clear everything. Thing a flutter, blood in the umbilical cord.

Color floods his body.

(CRYING)

ELBAGIR: Cries of "God is great" break the tension.

(CRYING)

ELBAGIR: A moment of triumph over the specter of death stalking the city's street. A moment in Aleppo must be waged again and again.

(CRYING)

ELBAGIR: Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Difficult pictures. Thanks to the doctors, both mother and baby have survived.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:44] SESAY: Welcome back. More than 2,000 Zika cases have been confirmed in the U.S., according to the CDC. Now we're learning new details about one of the first babies born in the country with Zika complications after her mother contracted the virus in South America.

Here's CNN's Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mikaiela looks like any other 7-week-old baby. But she's not because her mother, Maria Mendosa, had Zika when she was pregnant. She caught it in South America. This scan of her eyes shows scarring on her retina caused by the infection. There are deposits of calcium in her brain that shouldn't be there.

MARIA MENDOSA, HAD ZIKA WHILE PREGNANT (through translation): I cried a lot. One always thinks the worst is going to happen because you don't know what part of the brain is damaged. Doctors wouldn't say a lot because they were doing a bunch of tests. It was horrible. It still is. The fear is there.

COHEN: An infectious disease specialist in Miami is taking care of Mikaiela.

UNIDENTIFIED INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: She has cerebral complications, which are pieces of calcifying tissue in the brain. That means that part of the brain at some point was affected.

COHEN (on camera): What do these complications mean for her future? UNIDENTIFIED INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: I don't know. She's only

2 months old.

COHEN (voice-over): He said doctors will have to be vigilant.

(on camera): With, Mikaiela, you'll be watching for hearing problems, vision robs and cognitive development problems?

UNIDENTIFIED INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: Correct, correct.

COHEN: And how long have you been watching her for those?

UNIDENTIFIED INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: Probably five or six years for a long time.

COHEN (voice-over): Every day, Mikaiela's mother does physical therapy with her to make sure she develops good muscle tone. She said doctors are optimistic with therapy ask constant monitoring, Mikaiela will be fine. But she and her husband won't be sure for years.

MENDOZA (through translation): The future is uncertain. We keep a lot of faith in God and the virgin.

COHEN: Mendosa says she feels for the women who are pregnant now in Miami and trying to avoid Zika.

MENDOSA (through translation): I would say to them to not leave their homes because it's a situation that it's impossible to cope with. It's an anguish that will keep you awake.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Florida. .

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:45:12] SESAY: What a beautiful baby.

Turning now to the Philippines, about 100 officers are expected of having ties to the drug trade. He told the Senate the officers were on a watch list and placed on this list for the suspicion of selling drugs. He says the officers may be charged if believed to be guilty.

Also in the Philippines, a top official now says President Rodrigo Duterte was just kidding frustrated when he threatened to leave the U.N. Duterte made the comment Sunday after facing tough criticism for his anti-drug tactics. But they say Mr. Duterte is very much committed to the U.N.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PHILIPPINES OFFICIAL: We are not leaving the U.N. As I said, the statement of the president is the statement expressing profound disappointment and frustration and it is not any statement that should indicate a threat to leave the United Nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SESAY: Time for a quick break. A new short film pays tribute to an African-American man shot and killed by police. The makers of "Happy Birthday Philando Castile" join me after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:50:27] SESAY: Hello, everyone. Filmmakers are paying tribute to an African-American men who was fatally shot by police. And Philando Castile's final moments were captured live on Facebook by his fiancee. The eight-minute film, called "Happy Birthday Philando Castile," chronicles his family and friends celebrating what would have been his 31st birthday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say his name, Philando.

CROWD: Philando.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say his name, Philando.

CROWD: Philando.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy birthday, Bro.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy birthday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: I'm joined now by the makers of the film, Director Mohammed Gorjestani and Executive Producer Ephraim Walker.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Ephraim, if I could start with you.

Your intention with this short film was very specific and deliberate. What were you trying to achieve?

EPHRAIM WALKER, FILM EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: You know, we were just trying to -- what we wanted to do was we wanted to explore, you know, not the issues that were all over the news. We wanted to make a film that really explored the human side of Philando Castile. The video was very graphic, very sad. And I think we wanted to explore who is this man, and as a human being.

SESAY: Mohammed, to you, what was it like to be there in his community so soon after his death capturing this heartbreaking instance?

MOHAMMED GORJESTANI, DIRECTOR: I mean, it was completely inspiring. His friends, his community invited us with open arms to come and capture their -- it was very quiet. I think they were all exhausted from the media, but, you know, for us, it was really inspiring. Tremendous community, tremendous friends and by all accounts, Philando was loved by everyone. It wasn't anything for us in person, have the opportunity. A story and, especially, being his birthday.

SESAY: Ephraim, how easy was it to get people to speak so freely? It's incredibly intimate, this film.

WALKER: Yeah. I mean, I think it takes time while we were in San Francisco, we were speaking to the family and we had a previous experience with Oscar's mother, which gave us visibility and allowed us to be able to speak to them. They quickly saw we were there to do our job and to share their story. As the day went on, the guard went down and you could tell, they wanted to have that face to be vulnerable and to share. I think by that point, you know, I would say they were pretty close at point.

SESAY: Ephraim, there was a community prayer meeting where even community police take part. Explain the relationship with police there in that community.

WALKER: Well, it was a really interesting dichotomy of what we saw.

The Twin Cities, we stayed in Minneapolis and went across to St. Paul. We learned a lot about that community. There was a celebration of a historically black community that had become more culturally diverse. But especially in rondo, the police practice community policing. So it had very much a family feel to it. 15 minutes away, they didn't have any of the same feeling to it. And I think maybe there was a bit more disconnect between the police and the community and that contributed to what happened.

[02:55:51] SESAY: Ephraim, Mohammed, thank you so much for making such a beautiful and heart-felt theme. Thank you for speaking to CNN.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: Thank you.

And you are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

The news continues in a moment with Rosemary Church. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)