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Aftershocks Hamper Rescues in Italy; San Angelo Reduced to Rubble; Russia Agrees to Cease-fire for Humanitarian Aide in Syria; Secret Resistance Stages Own War in Mosul; Trump, Clinton Trade Charges of Bigotry; Aftershocks, Weather Affect Italian Rescue Efforts; Syrian Rebels, Turkey Retake Syrian Town; France Top Court to Decide on Burkinis; Videographer Captures Migrant Rescues on Mediterranean Sea. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 26, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:08] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour --

(HEADLINES)

SESAY: Hello, and welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

We begin with a story just into us here at CNN. Turkey's state news agency reports a powerful explosion at a police checkpoint in the eastern part of the country in Cazro (ph). The town is not far from Iraq and Reuters reports it is home to a large Kurdish population. We'll bring you thing information the latest it comes into us.

To Italy now. Aftershocks are hitting the town. A camera crew captured a strong one on Thursday. These aftershocks are hampering rescue efforts. Workers say the possibility of finding anyone alive is dwindling by the hour. So far, 250 people are known to have died. More than 360 are injured. Italy has declared a state of emergency in the devastated areas and that frees up about 50 million Euros in aid. Siletta (ph), a small village saw 22 people killed.

CNN contributor, Barbie Nadeau, joins us from there.

Barbie, tell us what is happening where you are right now.

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: We're right here in one of the hardest hit areas right now. One of the things, when you spend a little time here, you start looking at the rubble and understanding what people went through. Underneath this window, there are sheets tied here. We don't know if anyone climbed to safety. But just seeing that brings home the fact that this is not a movie scene, this is an actual real place where people died. 22 people lost their lives in this place. We know that 22 people died here. We know their bodies have been removed. They're not searching actively for anyone else in this area, but we're

seeing some moment. Rescue workers, still in this area. No doubt trying to shore up this area.

But all over here, you see the destruction. People who lived here, those that did survive are coming back to take a look. They obviously want to get into their houses, they want to take what's left of them. Some houses are standing, others there's nothing left.

Right now, authorities are working with those people trying to give them a sense of comfort, to feel safe, but difficult to do because of the extremely strong aftershocks we've had. There was one that registered about 4.8 a while ago, shook the area, shook a lot of this rubble.

And for the people who got out of these houses alive, those are the types of things they're having a hard time going through and those are the specific priorities of the workers, the civil protection people and the counselors right now that are in action trying to help those people deal with the aftermath of this, people who lost lives, loved love lost loved ones, lost their houses, now have to begin the process of starting over. And there are more than 6,000 people, officials here, right now trying very hard to make that happen for them -- Isha?

SESAY: Yeah. The damage is hard to take in.

Barbie Nadeau, joining us. Barbie, appreciate it. Thanks so much for the reporting.

Residents in a nearby village say they mourn for all the dead saying there are too many. Their village was spared mass casualties but has been reduced to piles of rock.

Atika Shubert is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The village of San Angelo is covered in rubble. When we arrived, soldiers salvaged the church bell, but no one is here any more. Aftershocks keep people from returning. A mother and child were killed, crushed in their beds

[02:05:01] (on camera): It's incredibly eerie walking through the rubble of this tiny village of San Angelo. I want to point this out. This bed sheet here, you can see it knotted to the top, tied together. I think residents inside may have used this to try and come down because as you can see, the doors are stuck because the walls collapsed around them and there was no way for people to come out this way so survivors may have tried to come out here. You get a real sense of just how horrific this was by the scenes here. Whole walls sheared off. You can see inside the kitchens and the living rooms just as they were at the moment the earthquake struck.

(voice-over): As you walk through the rubble here, we step over doors, these twisted pipes, windows that have been sheared off. But this really shocked us. What we're standing on top of now, it's actually a car that has been crumpled by the rubble of the home that's fallen on top of it.

(on camera): At the village green, a tent camp is being built to house hundreds from San Angelo and neighboring villages. Survivors rest in the shade, still in shock.

This grandmother tells us there is no hope, too many people dead. Amatrice doesn't exist anymore. Amatrice has disappeared. There are so many dead, so many children.

(voice-over): The village of San Angelo is one of the places where tent camps are based and this tent camp can house several hundred people. I actually spoke to several teenagers that were right here in this playground when the earthquake struck at 3:00 a.m. That was lucky because they were able to help many of the elderly residents who were trapped inside their homes and they set up the first aid camp here.

In that time, the camp has grown and I want to show you a little bit here. Many of the people from the neighboring towns and villages are coming here now. It's lunchtime, they are getting food, water, whatever medical help they need but also importantly, electricity. They are able to plug their phones in to keep in touch with their families and tell them that they're safe.

(on camera): Here, they are safe, but stunned by the destruction and loss all around them.

Atika Shubert, CNN, San Angelo, Italy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: We want to show you some photos now, a few before and after shots that give you a better understanding of the damage, from the 15th century San Augustus Church to the town's iconic clock tower, and even roadways to other villages. And you can see widespread destruction and bleak reminders of how life used to be.

Now, at least five people are dead from a hostage standoff in Somalia. Police in Mogadishu says they stormed the center. Before the siege, a car bomb detonated near the Turkish embassy. A terror group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Whenever we think the Syrian civil war cannot or should not get more brutal and horrendous, it does. At least 15 people were killed in a barrel bomb attack carried out by the Syrian government. Rebels and the Syrian regime are intensifying their fight over Aleppo, which just used to be an economic powerhouse.

Separately, Syria's main ally, Russia, has agreed to a 48-hour cease- fire in Aleppo. The U.N. has been requesting that for weeks, but says more is needed to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED U.N. OFFICIAL: Unless those step inside, unless those pauses first happen and become permanent, there's millions of people that are trapped inside the country, and I hate to think what their fate is if we could not reach them very with quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Jomana Karadsheh is following developments for us.

Jomana, what's the latest you're hearing about the situation in Aleppo right now?

[02:09:29] JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isha, what we know is these devastating images that we have been receiving overnight of that attack that took place in southeastern Aleppo in a rebel-held besieged area where they say at least two barrel bombs, these according to human rights organizations, these are canisters packed with explosives and fragments of metals that the Syrian regime is close to using, they say they are unguided and thrown out of helicopters and randomly hit various buildings. In this case, according to activists, it hit a building in this residential neighborhood and there are different casualty figures according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that keeps attract of the violence on the ground. They say at least 11 of the people were children, four others were women.

And we have been going through these images and videos that have been coming out by activists since yesterday, Isha, and I have to say they're extremely heartbreaking, just unimaginable suffering that you see in these pictures and these images. And we wanted to share one video with you that we chose to show our viewers. I have to caution them that it is extremely graphic and disturbing. It is not suitable for all viewers. But it shows and reflects the suffering of one mother. And you can imagine other mothers who have lost children. This one woman wailing, screaming over her son, screaming, saying Hassan. She wants to take a photo with him. You can see how distraught she is and you can feel the anguish in their voice. It's unimaginable. And this is the suffering of one mother.

And according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than a hundred children so far this month have been killed in the fighting that has been escalating in Aleppo. Dozens of other mowers going through this kind of grief and also, according to the Syrian state news agency, the regime, there was another attack on the Western side of Aleppo controlled by the regime. They say mortar attacks by rebels killed at least six people including two children, suffering on all sides of this conflict -- Isha?

SESAY: Those pictures of that grieving mother, incredibly hard to watch.

Jomana, what about this 48-hour cease-fire that's been agreed to by the Russians. What are the expectations there? What are the goals for what can be achieved in 48 hours, considering there's so much need there in Aleppo?

KARADSHEH: Well, this 48 hours we first heard this days ago, Isha, where the Russian defense ministry said they are willing to accept a 48-hour humanitarian pause in the fighting, a truce where they would allow the united nation toes bring in this desperately need aid into Aleppo. We have heard warnings from the U.N. saying hundreds of thousands of people, if not more than a million here, are facing severe shortages. And they really desperately need to get this aid, but they cannot do that unless there's a pause in the fighting that would allow them to move in.

Now, the Russians said that they are willing to do this, but according to the U.N., we need to wait and hear from the other parties on the grouped, the rebel parties and, of course, the person powers including the U.S. that have the ability to broker such an agreement that would allow the U.N. to bring in this desperately needed aid, trucks ready to move according to the U.N. -- Isha?

SESAY: It is so desperately needed.

Jomana Karadsheh, thanks, as always.

Now, Iraq says it has forced is out of a strategic town south of Mosul. The terror group has lost a key source of oil revenue. It is a crucial step towards retaking-Mosul, which is capitol de facto in Iraq. Mosul, which is Iraq's second largest city, has been under the brutal control of ISIS for more than two years. Inside that city, a secret resistance is staging a small war of their own.

Here is Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Operating deep within the shadows of ISIS territory in Mosul is a network so secretive even its own members do not know each other's identities.

The letter "M" spray painted on Mosul wall. "M" for "the resistance." The message to ISIS: We are here, we are among you.

The Mosul battalions look for weaknesses in ISIS defenses, carrying out hit-and-run operations or waiting for a moment to strike isolated targets, like had checkpoint on the outskirts of the city.

This man is one of their liaisons.

(on camera): How did the Mosul battalions manage to organize themselves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): It started as two friends who trust each other and they would arrest to target ISIS in a particular point.

DAMON (voice-over): The same happened elsewhere and by the end of 2014 the Mosul battalions formed. Their weapons are basic. What they found and hid in the city or what they snatched from ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): The roadside bombs they use they would steal from ISIS. Is puts bombs in certain area. And those who have previous military experience would target them.

DAMON: They operate in two and three-man cells independent of one another. No cell knows the name of another.

(on camera): The man says he is with the battalions in Mosul.

(voice-over): He's speaking just outside the city. Talking on the phone is punishable by death.

[02:15:27] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We carry out assassinations, sniper operations against senior is members. We target the Houses they live in.

DAMON (voice-over): The distorted voice in this video says they assassinated an ISIS fighter. The images then show what they say is the dead man's I.D., pistol and suicide belt.

He says they are providing intermediaries, intelligence and coordinates to the coalition.

Here is the aftermath of a strike they say is based on their information.

And they are waiting for what they call zero hour, distributing leaflets warning ISIS its end is coming.

And they ready, ready for the day Iraq's army is successful (ph) and they rally the people to rise.

(EXPLOSION)

DAMON: Arwa Damon, CNN, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Time for a quick break now. Next on CNN NEWSROOM, police in Brazil have charged Ryan Lochte with falsely reporting a crime. We'll discuss what other legal options for the Olympic swimmer.

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(SPORTS REPORT)

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[02:20:28] SESAY: Hello, everyone. Police in Brazil have charged Ryan Lochte with falsely reporting a crime for false reporting. The Olympic swimmer had said he and three team mates were robbed at gun point. But the authorities say security guards confronted the swimmers at a gas station after at least one of them vandalized for it. Lochte later apologized and said he exaggerated the story.

Earlier, I spoke with, Brian Clayborn, a criminal defense attorney, and asked him what the chances are of Lochte facing the charges in person in a Brazilian courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN CLAYBORN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Ryan Lochte has a big, huge decision to make. Does he go back and face the indictment or does he send a lawyer and not go back to Brazil? My recommendation is if he's paying all this money to a pr firm now, if he wants to repair his image, hop on a plane, get your butt back there, face this judge, apologize and likely, Isha, he would probably only face paying a fine. Now, if he just sends a lawyer out to Brazil, doesn't show up, that's going to be another slap in the face that Brazilian government and, by the way, the Brazilian government could then, at that point, try him in what's called absentee. That means he's not there and then he could get a conviction. Maybe he never goes to jail, but he can forget about ever swimming again in the Olympics if he's convicted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Now, Bolivia's government has said a group of miners killed the deputy interior minister. Bolivian news reports they threatened to kill if their demands were not met. They are striking in two weeks in protest of a new union law.

Let's talk politics. Hillary Clinton leads the latest poll of likely voters. The Quinnipiac poll shows Clinton with 45 percent, Republican Donald Trump has 38 percent. Libertarian Gary Johnson is at 10 percent and Green Party candidate, Jill Stein has 4 percent.

Clinton and Trump are trading charges of bigotry as they try to win over African-American and Hispanic voters. Clinton has a huge advantage among both groups, but that's not stopping her.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton opening a new blistering line of attack against Donald Trump.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: He says he wants to make America great again, but and more, his real message seems to be make America hate again.

ZELENY: In Reno, Clinton going farther than she goes before, pinning Trump as dangerous, divisive and radical.

CLINTON: The last thing we need in the situation room is a person who can't tell the different or doesn't care to determine fact or fiction.

ZELENY: She said Trump and his new advisers are pedaling hate by embracing an Alt-Right Philosophy.

CLINTON: This is not conservativism as we have known it.

ZELENY: Campaigning in New Hampshire, Trump said Clinton was spreading smears and lies.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: I want you to remember these three words: Shame on you.

ZELENY: More than a full-throated takedown of her rival, Clinton all but shamed Republicans for aligning themselves with Trump's rhetoric.

CLINTON: This is a moment of reckoning for every party dismayed that the party of Lincoln has become the party of Trump.

ZELENY: And Clinton took aim at Stephen Bannon whose website "Breitbart News" routinely publishes conspiracy theories and offers a racially tinged world view.

CLINTON: A fringe element that has effectively taken over the Republican Party.

ZELENY: As Trump seems to be trying to moderate and soften his tone --

TRUMP: And believe it or not, I regret it.

ZELENY: -- Clinton is intent on reminding voters of Trump's greatest and most controversial hits.

CLINTON: Now Trump is trying to rebrand himself, as well. But don't be fooled, we know who Trump is.

(CHEERING)

ZELENY: The Reno speech is the latest in a series of addresses trying to undercut Trump's perceived strength, from national security --

CLINTON: He is temperamentally unfit.

ZELENY: -- to his business acumen.

CLINTON: He's written a lot of books about business. They all seem to end at Chapter 11.

[02:25:11] ZELENY: She's extending a hand to skeptical Republicans as she tries to lure them away from Trump.

CLINTON: Every day, Republicans are standing up, saying enough is enough, including a lot of Republicans, and I'm honored to have their support in this campaign.

ZELENY (on camera): Republicans were a central audience for her speech. She talked about Bob Dole, how he called out racism in 1996, George W. Bush as he embraced Muslims in 9/11, even John McCain, who criticized people who questioned President Obama's faith.

The question is, will Republicans listen to Hillary Clinton's call for them to join her team.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Reno, Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Meanwhile, Trump is repeating his claim that Hillary Clinton is a bigot. He spoke with Anderson Cooper on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, A.C. 360: You called, last night, Hillary Clinton a bigot. Previously, you call her policies bigoted. You've directly called her a bigot --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: She is a bigot. You look at what's happening to the inner- cities, look at what's happening to African-Americans and Hispanics in this country, where she talks all the time, she's talking -- look at the vets where she said the vets are being treated, essentially, just fine. That's over exaggerated what's happening to the vets not so long ago.

COOPER: How is she bigoted?

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Bigots have hatred towards a particular group.

TRUMP: Because she's selling them down the tubes. She's not doing anything for those communities. She talks a good game --

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: She has hatred or--

TRUMP: Her policies are bigoted because she knows they're not going to work.

COOPER: You're saying she is personally bigoted.

TRUMP: She is. Of course, she is.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Her policies. They are her policies. She's coming out with a policy, and others that believe like she does, but she came out with policies over the years. A long time. She's totally bigoted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: And you can see Anderson Cooper's interview with Donald Trump in its entirety next hour right here on CNN.

Coming up next, for our viewers in Asia, it's "State of the Race" with Kate Baldwin.

And France's war against the burkini could come to an end. French lawmakers will rule later on controversial ban as international rage grows.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:27] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour--

(HEADLINES)

SESAY: Aftershocks are still rocking central Italy, the latest just about two hours ago. They're making it difficult for rescue workers to search for survivors.

Meanwhile, Italy has declared a state of emergency after Wednesday's quake which killed at least 250 people.

Francesco Migelo's family survived, but he knows they are lucky and the rescuers are working hard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCESCO MIGELO, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: We tried to help the people that were actually digging with their hands because what I would like to say is that there are so many people that came out, not dead, and that they tried their best to excavate into the rocks. And the police and the rescue team, they were doing and they're still doing an incredible job right there this morning. So they've been digging nonstop for 24 hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: A very, very difficult situation.

Time is of the essence. Rescue workers trying to keep survivors alive in the rubble.

Derek Van Dam joins us now with more on the conditions.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Isha, it is truly a race against the clock, but rescuers need to hold on to hope. Because if this teaches us anything, there is still the chaps for survivors. The earthquake that took place in Haiti or the Philippines, there were documented cases of survivors, surviving underneath rubble for between 10 to 14 days. Is we are now entering into the third day after this magnitude 6.2 struck Italy. So time is of the essence. It's a race against the clock, but survival is still a possibility.

Environmental conditions need to be absolutely perfect for survival. And that means temperatures at night can drop to lower than, say, 15 degrees Celsius. They also can't go or you don't want the temperatures to go above, let's say, 30 degrees in the afternoon, the full daytime sunlight. Also something to consider is will there be rain in the extended forecast? Maybe perhaps there are people buried within the rubble. They need that critical element, being water, to actually stay alive.

Remember, after average human can stay alive without water for roughly three to five days. We need water to help digest food. But if we have that critical element and don't have access to food, one person could survive up to eight days without those two elements. So a lot of those factors that play here, so what does the weather have in store for central Italy and the surrounding areas.

Well, we have warm temperatures. So that is good news, but this is almost a double edged sword kind of weather forecast. Because there is no rain in this extended outlook. So that means that if people are still trapped under the rubble, they need to have the chance to collect that.

We know it was a magnitude 6.2 earthquake. The fact that it was so shallow beneath the earth's surface, that caused the pancaking of the buildings as they eventually collapsed. Earthquake, if it was a deeper earthquake, let's say 150 kilometers into the ground, there will be more rock to absorb that shaking and we wouldn't have had as much damage as was experienced. So the good news here, going forward, that the magnitude and the frequency of the aftershocks that are occurring right now, Isha, should start to diminish as we go forward over the next several days and weeks to come. But there have been 900 aftershocks, believe it or not.

SESAY: Wow. 900. These people have been through so, so much.

Derek, we appreciate it.

And we'll have much more on the aftermath of the quake in Italy and the hours ahead here on CNN.

But for now, let's turn to the situation on the border between Syria and Turkey. Syrian rebels backed by the U.S. and Turkey have retaken the town of Jerablus, the Islamic State's last foothold on the Turkish border. It's Turkey's biggest foray into the conflict.

Our own Ben Wedeman is there and explains how the town fell within hours of the offensive being launched.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[02:35:38] BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a relatively quick victory for the Free Syrian Army fighters supported by Turkish tanks, aircraft and coalition aircraft, as well, when they retook the Syrian town of Jerablus just on the border.

Just behind that line of trees over there, about 200 meters is the Syrian border, beyond that is Jerablus. We're told that there was very little actual fighting when it came to the entry of the Syrian forces and the Turks into the town. One of the Syrian fighters was killed. Three were wounded. As far as we know, they took no ISIS prisoners. The ISIS fighters seemed to disappear into the Syrian hinterland.

The question is, what comes next? We did hear from a senior Turkish official that, among the goals, is the establishment of a terror-free zone. It's well known that Turkish officials are very concerned about the spreading influence of the U.S.-backed YPG, the Syrian Kurdish militia that has been able to expand the territory it controls fighting ISIS. Turkish officials are concerned about that. And we heard from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that one of the goals of this operation or rather the objectives is the YPG. Now, they haven't been involved in armed clashes yet, but they told the Americans they want the YPG to pull back Manbij, which they were able to take control of last week and beyond to the east of the Euphrates River. American officials say that's going to happen, but on the ground, it appears it hasn't happened yet.

So Turkey is now ever more deeply involved in Syria. It may be easier to go in than it will be to get out.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from the Turkish/Syrian border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: We're following breaking news out of Turkey. State media says eight police officers were killed when a car bomb exploded at a police checkpoint in the southeastern part of the country. 45 other people were wounded. Two of the injured are reported to be in serious condition. The town is called Cizara (ph) and it is not far from Iraq. The area has a largely Kurdish population.

France's top administrative court is expected to decide in the coming hours whether a ban on burkinis is legal. Outrage has grown inside and outside of the country after 15 towns decided to ban the full- length bathing suit, citing terror concerns.

Here's Erin McLaughlin

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These images have sparked an intense and global debate, armed police stand over a Muslim women, interrupting her enjoyment of the French seaside. They seems to order to remove some of her clothes enforcing the burkini ban, now in place in the coastal city of Nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How would you feel if a nun was told to take off her habit?

MCLAUGHLIN: Social media decries it as racism, sexism, hypocrisy. #wearwhatyouwant is trending. And cartoonists are having a fun at France's expense.

(CHANTING)

MCLAUGHLIN: On the streets of London, dozens of protests gathered to express their outrage.

(on camera): They have set up a makeshift beach with inner tubes, towels and sand. Organizers say it is an act of solidarity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The women should be able to wear whatever they want, whether is it a bikini or a burkini.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm wearing my uniform and wearing it because I heard this story about women exercising their religious faith by what they choose to wear and they were treated in a way that is unacceptable. I wanted to stand in solidarity with them. [02:40:03] MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): While some politicians warn it

violates the constitution, others are doubling down. Some are calling it "a symbol of the enslavement of women."

And in Belgium, politicians discuss a ban of their own. Earlier this week, in an interview, the mayor of Antwerp said, "In the past, a Muslim woman could only sit in a tent on the beach. Now she is allowed to put that tent on and go in the ocean with it. We're improving."

An Australian designer said these politicians don't understand. She designed a take on the burkini to promote integration.

UNIDENTIFIED AUSTRALIAN DESIGNER: It was born in Australia and it was meant to integrate within the Australian society. We didn't want to be a judged upon non Muslims. We're just out there to swim.

MCLAUGHLIN: Erin McLaughlin, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: A global pharmaceutical company is announcing a series of steps to make its EpiPen more affordable following a public outcry. The drug is used in emergencies to help patients breathe during an allergic reaction. The pharmaceutical company has raised the cost of its product by more than 400 percent, causing stress for many U.S. families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is up at night worried about what we will do. To date, I have not filled his EpiPens. We cannot afford it right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm having a hard time understanding how the drug company can allow this to happen. It will truly save their life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: In response to the intense criticism, the pharmaceutical company now says it will provide instant savings cards worth $300 to patients who have to pay full price for the drug out of pocket.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We responded this morning, first and foremost, ensuring that everybody who needs an EpiPen, holds an EpiPen. As a mother, I can assure you the last thing we would ever want is no one to have their EpiPen due to price.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Despite the CEO's statement, some U.S. politicians call for the move to reduce costs a public-relations fix more than a real remedy. Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, migrants crossing the Mediterranean

face death and disaster on their way to Europe. A look at rescue efforts, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:58] SESAY: Hello, everyone. Migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea face a dangerous and desperate journey. More than a million have made the journey to Europe this year. But more than 3100 others are now presumed dead or missing.

CNN's Moni Basu, and videographer, Joe Schaeffer (ph), spent a week at sea to document the rescue efforts. Here is their moving report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to give everyone a life jacket. You're all safe, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They might not trust us and their concern is they might be attacked by pirates or get arrested again by the authorities. All we were just hearing was people dying, dying, dying, boats capsizing. The Italian Coast Guard cannot talk about it. We have to do something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They called one of my cousins and they said if you did not bring $2,000, you will be dead by evening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get outside from the misery, yeah. They are treating people like an animal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people that we come across are really desperate. They're coming from countries that torture, their beaten.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But they took me with knife when he asked me pore money.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Light. Time now is 7:20. We've started early, since 4:00 in the morning. Now we're on to another two boats.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They do know about this journey before. They know exactly what it's going to be. Maybe they've got two choice, getting across the sea. These are the two choices that we have.

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At times, the way they speak, this is so easy. You know, they're going to get there, find a job, and all this. If they do get what they want, you know.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I treated people like real humans. We are looking for what they look for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I look at these children, they're all happy and laughing, and that. In my mind, I think these children don't know what they're going through. They might, in a time, go back to their country and share their expertise in whatever they do and make their country can better.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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(WEATHER REPORT)

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[02:53:38] SESAY: Election day in the U.S. is still more than two months away and the race for the White House has proved to be unpredictable, sometimes even shocking.

CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What happens behind Donald Trump doesn't stay behind Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton is a bigot.

MOOS: It goes viral. The latest Trump supporter to react with shock to the Donald's words was passed on by a critic who wrote, "We are all this woman's face."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was classic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hilarious.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This lady --

MOOS: Just over two weeks earlier, it was Darrel Vicker's jaw that dropped --

TRUMP: Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, but.

MOOS: -- when the Donald riffed on how the Second Amendment people may stop Hillary.

DARRELL VICKERS, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I can't believe he said it. It was a joke.

MOOS: Darrell says he's still voting for Trump.

TRUMP: We can't play games.

MOOS: We've seen one guy feed another chips behind the Donald.

And who can pay attention to Hillary when a guy covered with stickers chewed over her speech.

(on camera): How many nicknames have you had?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gotten stick man, stick boy, idiot.

MOOS (voice-over): At a Trump rally in Texas, we watched a hyped-up supporter show the Trump shirt, wag a finger, give a thumbs up, thumbs down, signal to cut off immigration, pray when prayer was mentioned and even climb --

TRUMP: To restore the ladder of success --

MOOS: -- his own invisible ladder.

MOOS (on camera): But sometimes it's hard to tell genuine supporters from pranksters who manage to sneak in to clown for the cameras.

(voice-over): Like those who got behind Clinton --

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- incredibly grateful.

[02:55:13] MOOS: -- wearing "Settle for Hillary" shirts.

At a Trump rally, the same pair showed up wearing arm bands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump armbands.

MOOS: The Donald may say --

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton is a bigot.

MOOS: But Trump has startling statements.

This woman's face was more mobile than her hands, which managed a feeble two claps.

And when he's not making funny faces, Trump is no slouch at making his own.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(CHEERING)

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SESAY: There have been a lot of strange faces on this campaign trail so far and a lot more to come, I'm sure. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

The news continues in a moment with George Howell and Natalie Allen. Stay with CNN.

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[03:00:10] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: New violence along Turkey's southern border. A car bomb erupts --