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Hurricane Hermine Makes Landfall in Florida; New Poll Shows Trump Cutting Clinton Lead in Half; Kaepernick Sits for Anthem Again; Brock Truner Set to Be Released Early from Prison; Pakistsani Taliban Claims Responsibility for Two Attacks in Northern Pakistan; Venezuela Protest Examined; Mother Teresa to Be Beatified Sunday. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 02, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: For the first time in 11 years, a hurricane make landfall in Florida. And the governor warns it is life threatening.

A new CNN poll of polls with two months until the election, Donald Trump has cut Hillary Clinton's lead in half.

And later, Colin Kaepernick take the seat once again, refusing to stand for the national anthem and now it seems other athletes are joining his protest.

It's all ahead here. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen from CNN center live in Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom.

Our top story is hurricane Hermine. It has made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast leaving a major mass in its wake. The storm is dumping heavy rain from Tampa of Florida Panhandle.

Hermine is the first hurricane to come ashore in Florida since Wilma back in 2005. Widespread flooding is expected as the storm threatens millions of people of Florida, Georgia, and into South Carolina.

Power is out in many places including Florida's capital Tallahassee where 70,000 customers we're told are in the dark.

CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray joins us now from Apalachicola, Florida. You've been waiting for the storm to come ashore. Now it has, and what are conditions there, Jennifer, and what are you hearing up and down the coast there?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we've really been here from the start to finish. We were here when those very first waves came ashore and now we have watched the very last bands where we are pull away. So, conditions actually much, much better.

But it was rough for a couple of hours. We had very, very heavy rainfall, very, very gusty winds. The center of the storm was basically east of where we are. So, we got the side of the storm that wasn't as intense as that east side of the storm. That's where the heaviest rainfall, the gustiest winds were and that's where we've gotten a lot of that rainfall, especially in that Big Bend of Florida, some flooding rains across there that will continue into the overnight hours.

In fact, the way that Florida is with that Big Bend from Apalachicola, and then that curve down towards Tampa Bay, that's where we get all of that storm surge that just pushes into those canals, those bays, those lagoons, and so that's why we were seeing storm surge anywhere from five to nine feet, basically two to three meters above high tide.

And so that is going to continue through the overnight hours. We are also going to see that tornado threat remain for the overnight hours, as well, not only for the Panhandle of Florida but also for central Florida, even Georgia, and so on.

And we're also going to continue to have that wind threat, the center of the storm near Tallahassee were still right now that's going to continue to push through the north and east. We have a lot of pine trees in this area, the soft that will snap, so a lot of power outages as you mentioned reported across the Panhandle in Georgia.

But this storm is far from over. It's going to continue on that northeast track. It's going to impact the Carolinas, even the northeast New England for this holiday weekend. And so, it is going to be a rainy, windy, miserable weekend across much of the eastern seaboard.

But this storm came ashore between just a couple of hours ago and it will be several days before we stop talking about this storm because it will continue to have impacts all up and down the East Coast. Natalie.

ALLEN: Right, Jennifer, it's important to take into concern the people that evacuated but it might not be safe for them to try to get back anytime soon because of the threat of more weather as this storm moves up through Georgia.

GRAY: That's right. You know, they really tried to evacuate a lot of these coastal areas. Florida is very flat so a lot of that water went several miles inland. And so, they did the mandatory evacuation to try to get every one out.

I think it will be until morning before we can really get an idea of what damage was caused; roads were watched out, things like that. We also have a lot of barrier islands where people lived on, and some of those roads could possibly be watched out. So, that's one of the things that folks will be looking into as we get into tomorrow and the days to come, Natalie.

ALLEN: Right. We'll know in just a few hours as we get a first glimpse from the morning.

Jennifer Gray for us there in Apalachicola. Thank you, Jennifer.

Let's turn now to our meteorologist Derek Van Dam. And, Derek, this storm is going to have ramifications as you said for some time. [03:04:59] DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We've got several

days where this storm could impact the East Coast of the United States. We'll highlight that in just one second.

But here is the most important information that you need to know about right thou. Hermine has obviously made landfall at 1.30 a.m. local time just east of the St. Marks Florida region as a weak category 1 hurricane. Take note of the pressure, 982 millibars. That drop a few millibars which is an indication that it strengthened right before it made landfall.

And, boy, am I glad that this storm is no longer over water. Because effectively what we have done, now that that eye wall is just east of Tallahassee, we have removed its moisture source, we have removed its potential to strengthen any further, which is good news.

So we're going to see a general weakening trend with this as it continues to move in. That's not to say that the threat is over. So, let's highlight those threats. Right now we zoom in to the Tallahassee region. Remember, Florida State University located right here.

Look at some of the heavy rainfall moving into that region. This is on the northern periphery of the eye wall. They are under currently a flash flood warning, so something to take note of if you're located or perhaps watching at home.

Let's move farther to the south. This is an area that people really haven't been talking about. These are some of the outer rain bands of hurricane Hermine that have impacted the greater Tampa Bay region. They have a major ban not also to move into this region. Flash flood watches and warnings included across that particular area get a load of some of rainfall totals.

Almost 20 inches in Baskin which is the Pinellas County region. Largo, 14.5 inches. So, flash flooding certainly a concern going forward.

Jennifer talked about the potential of storm surge and tornados certainly a concern going forward. I fact, Cedar Key, which is south of Tampa Bay, or excuse me, north of Tampa Bay, they are actually nearing that high tide which occurs roughly in about so, let's say, one minute or so.

And so it is coinciding with this storm system, moving on shore with high tide. And that means that we could see storm surge in excess of seven feet above the astronomical normal. Natalie, something we're going to monitor very closely.

ALLEN: Right. And that map right behind you shows really this is the holiday weekend where people go from Florida all the way up to the East Coast. I mean, it couldn't be hitting in a worse area for people there.

DAM: Yes. You can see how it's impacting the Carolinas through Labor Day, which is on Monday. Not a good time to hit the beaches.

ALLEN: All right. All right. Derek, thank you. DAM: All right.

ALLEN: And we turn to the presidential election now. The race for the White House is growing tighter. CNN's poll of poll shows republican Donald Trump has cut democrat Hillary Clinton's lead in half. Clinton leads Trump by five points now.

Her lead was 10 points right after the democratic convention. And just 24 hours after his hard line immigration speech, Trump says he's softening his position on deportation.

Meantime, some Latino supporters are dumping him saying they feel misled.

Jim Acosta reports.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump proved once again today his stance on immigration is a moving target.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to build the wall. Mexico is going to pay or the wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: At two different events in Ohio, the GOP nominee was both talking tough on immigration while toning down his rhetoric on Mexico one day after his historic visit with the Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. A visit designed to show he can be diplomatic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: A just came back from a wonderful meeting with the President of Mexico where I expressed my deep respect for the people of his country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Adding to the confusion, a talk radio appearance where Trump insisted he is softening, suggesting he will prioritize the deportation of undocumented criminals over the removal of law-abiding, unauthorized immigrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Oh, just softening. We got a lot of people in this country that you can't have and those people will get out. And then we're going to make a decision at a later date once everything is stabilize. I think you're going to see there's really quite a bit of softening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Problem is...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: There will be no amnesty. You cannot obtain legal status or

become a citizen of the United States by illegally entering our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Most of his supporters and critics heard Trump hardening in his immigration speech in Phoenix, warning any undocumented person in the U.S. is subject to deportation. The address sent some of his own Latino surrogates straight for the exits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB MONTY, FORMER TRUMP HISPANIC ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBER: I've resigned. I know other people have resigned. It's not a good feeling because the alternative is not much better, but I'm unwilling to be part of his propaganda machine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The Clinton campaign insist Trump hasn't soften a bit except when it comes to confronting Mexico's President over who should pay for a wall on the southern U.S. border. The matter Trump claims he didn't discuss with Pena Nieto.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:10:09] TRUMP: We did discuss the wall; we didn't discuss payment of the wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The Mexican President insists he made his stance clear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENRIQUE PENA NIETO, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): I was emphatic to affirm that Mexico wouldn't pay by any means for the wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Tim Kaine accused Trump of cracking on the wall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM KAINE, VIRGINIA STATE SENATOR: That was a choke and I think it shows the diplomacy is not for amateurs. Donald Trump is an amateur.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The question is whether Trump shifting back and forth on immigration will change the equation in battleground states like Florida. Trump could lose even more support among Latinos here in South Florida. But Trump clearly energize his base which will help in the northern part of the state. The next chance to pin down Trump on this issue may come later this month when he and Hillary Clinton finally start squaring off in their debates.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Miami.

ALLEN: Joining me now from Washington is Jonathan Swan. He's a national political reporter for The Hill. Jonathan, thank you for being with us.

JONATHAN SWAN, THE HILL NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Thank you.

ALLEN: We want to start with what we just saw there. Several of Trump's Hispanic surrogates are either resigning or reconsidering their support. So, what is the payoff for Trump's immigration speech and his meeting with the Mexican president?

SWAN: Well, the payoff from the speech is that republicans who were very worried basically his base, who were worried that Trump is softening on immigration no longer were worried after that speech last night.

So, the payoff is very clear. The people who were with him but were sort of wavering are now energized and excited. But the downside is, you would have to say that any chance of reaching out the on minority voters is probably a bit tougher after the speech last night.

ALLEN: Well, let's look at the CNN poll of polls to get the bigger picture here where we stand. We see Clinton's lead has been cut in half since the convention, but she is still leading by five points. If you compare that to Obama in 2012 in the same week, he was about tied with candidate Mitt Romney. So what did the signal about November to you?

SWAN: Well, the tightening was predictable in the sense that Clinton had a big bounce out of the convention. Donald Trump had a terrible convention and subsequently engaged in an extended fight with the family of a fallen war hero.

So, you know, it was never going to be good for him. Tightening was to some extent pretty clever because the country is really divided and there's a lot of people who will just vote republican no matter who is on top of the ticket.

Clinton's objective is to make Trump so toxic than he is more toxic than she is. And she is going a very job of that at the moment. The numbers, yes, they're tightening, but if you look at across the swing states, she's in a very strong position.

ALLEN: Right. And with her war chest she's in a strong position, as well.

SWAN: Yes.

ALLEN: The Clinton campaign claims it raised $143 million in August. That was her best month yet. With her campaign, though, continues to be dogged by those questions about ethics during her time as Secretary of State. Vice President Biden was asking about that on the campaign trail. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think Americans should be concerned at all about the ethics of the Clinton Foundation? Has the Clinton Foundation always been 100 percent ethical, in your view?

JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Look, I think the Clinton Foundation, like all foundations, have found themselves in a position where things are changing and I think she's going to change and adjust to the realities of how complicated it will become.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Jonathan, he didn't really answer the question there. What's the campaign strategy here?

SWAN: That was not a ringing endorsement of the Clinton Foundation from Joe Biden. Look, there are a lot of people in the Obama administration who are uncomfortable now and were certainly uncomfortable then in late 2008 when they were considering Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

That's why they did this very detailed document, it was called a memorandum of understanding that the Clinton Foundation signed with the Obama administration, it was to prevent there being any appearance of conflicts of interest of foreign cash coming in.

Now we know and I've done extensive reporting on this that they failed to meet those transparency promises in very substantial ways in some instances and it's a real problem. It's a huge problem. And now Bill Clinton has promised, OK, when Hillary Clinton is president we're not going to take any foreign money and no corporate money. But we're already finding loopholes in that.

ALLEN: Well, it's September now, so we'll see in the next few weeks what shakes down. It continues to get more interesting. Thanks so much, Jonathan Swan, national political reporter for The Hill. Thanks, Jonathan.

SWAN: Pleasure.

ALLEN: Well, in just a few hours, a former U.S. college student convicted of rape is set to walk out of jail early. Brock Turner has served three months of his six-month sentence. A jury convicted the 21-year-old in March of raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster.

[03:14:57] Outrage spread after the judge gave Turner his sentence. It was widely seen as too lenient.

Dan Simon joins us from San Jose, California, where this young man is about to walk out after serving three months. And this is a case that has generated outrage, Dan. So what are you expecting as he leaves prison? DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going to be interesting,

Natalie. We know there's going to be a rally here this morning in San Jose where you have critics of this judge, Judge Aaron Persky who are going to be calling for him to be removed from the bench.

We know that Brock Turner is going to be walking out of the jail sometime this morning, as well. And he is most likely headed straight to the airport where he will get on a plane for Ohio, that's where he's from, and he's going to have to be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

You know, he could have gotten 10 years behind bars in state prison, Natalie, but the judge gave him a six-month sentence. In California, assuming you behave yourself behind bars that sentence gets cut in half, so only spending three months and of course, that's not sitting well with a lot of critics. Natalie.

ALLEN: Yes, absolutely. And, you know, many people will recall that this case got worldwide attention when the victim read that gripping, emotional letter addressed to him in court. Has there been any reaction or anything coming from her family over this?

SIMON: No. I mean, we haven't heard from her since she read that very powerful impact statement. That's really what brought this case to national prominence. And ultimately, it gave critics more ammunition in terms of them wanting to have this judge removed.

Ultimately, there will probably be a recall election that will take place in November. Critics can begin getting signatures from voters in April. They have to get a certain amount of signatures and that will automatically get the judge -- the judge's name on the ballot.

He himself hasn't commented much. He did -- he did, though, launch his own web site called retainjudgepersky.com, he has a little bit of a statement on there saying that he's a fair judge, he tried to do his best. He does have some supporters who are trying to get the word out that he's an honorable person, but he's definitely in for a fight, Natalie.

ALLEN: All right. Dan Simon, waiting outside the courthouse there for this young man's release. Thank you, Dan.

A U.S. football player is not backing off from his protest against racism. We'll show you how San Diego fans reacted to Colin Kaepernick, coming up.

[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines.

On Thursday, champions of Europe Portugal face Gibraltar in a friendly. Now it wasn't quite the Portugal sign that defeat of France in June Euro 2016 final Cristiano Ronaldo and Renato Sanches, arguably the team's two most exciting players, were out with injury. But it was no problem for them. Portugal cruised to a 5-0 victory. With a big question mark hanging over the health of defending champion Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray could head into the second week of the U.S. Open as a favorite to lift a fourth major title of the Current Wimbledon.

And the Olympic champion Greece, so his second round match with Spaniard Marcel Granollers in three straight sets. On Thursday, Murray has yet to drop a set in New York. And with the exception of a minor blip in the end of the first set, the 2012 champ was never tested.

And as Monza ready to the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, Felipe Massa announces that is retiring at the end of the season. The flag will come down on the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the Brazilian's 15-year career which saw a massive win 11 Grand Prix, and very nearly the F1 championship in 2008.

And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

ALLEN: And welcome back. We continue to follow hurricane Hermine. There it is, making its way across Florida. It's barreling across the southeastern U.S. with at least 25 million people in its path.

The storm has made landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast. It is drenching the state with heavy rain right now. Florida's governor calls it a life threatening storm.

American football player Colin Kaepernick has again, refused to stand during the U.S. national anthem. The 49ers quarterback knelt on Thursday. He says his refusal to stand is a protest against racism. And that he is not anti-American or anti-military.

Our Paul Vercammen was at the game, and he has more from San Diego.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Colin Kaepernick continued his protest here in San Diego. And when he looked on to the field in the pregame warm-ups with his helmet off, he was booed and he was booed for the rest of the game.

When the anthem started, Kaepernick was standing and then he dropped down to one knee. Then, when the anthem ended, there was a cheer by the San Diego fans, but they then resumed their booing of Kaepernick. He got the ball first for the 49ers and he was booed every nap ever since.

And after the game the fans gave Kaepernick mixed reviews.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a free country. He can do what he wants. I don't think it's very respectful, you know, being someone ignorant, you know, but it's his right to do what he wants.

I don't feel he respects the country. He know it. The military fights hard for this country so he has the right. I do understand where he's coming from, but I just don't respect it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: It was military night inside the stadium. There was a lot of pomp and there was a lot of circumstance. The fans were enjoying the game. But there sure was a cluster of them that seemed to enjoy, more than anything, booing Colin Kaepernick.

Reporting from San Diego, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you.

ALLEN: Kaepernick later spoke with the media. He said the decision to kneel along with his teammate Eric Reid was done after speaking with military veteran and NFL free agent Nate Boyer. Kaepernick insisted the protest was not anti-military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN KAEPERNICK, SAN DIEGO 49ERS QUARTERBACK: As far as taking a knee tonight, Eric, as well as myself had a long conversation with Nate Boyer, who is a military vet, and we were talking to him about how can we get the message back on track. And not take away from the military, not take away from pride in our country, but keep the focus on what the issues really are.

And as we talked about it, we came up with taking the knee because there are issues that still need to be addressed and it was also a way to try and show more respect to the men and women that fight for this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the dream result of your protest? You get done with all of this where you come to a point where maybe you feel like you don't need to take a knee any more, what would be the dream result of these demonstrations?

KAEPERNICK: The dream result would be equality, you know, justice for everybody. This is really something about human rights. It's about the people.

[03:25:01] This isn't about anything other than that and some people aren't given the same rights, aren't given the sail opportunities as others. And that's really what the issue is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Colin Kaepernick speaking there on his protest during the U.S. national anthem.

A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban is claiming responsibility for two separate attacks in northern Pakistan. The first attack we learned about was in a Christian community in Peshawar.

Pakistan's military says at least one person was killed and three injuries. Police has said earlier that four people were killed. The other attack was a suicide bombing at a district court in a building in Mardan. Police say at least 10 people were killed there.

Thousands of Venezuelans flooded the streets of Caracas on Thursday, many wanting President Nicolas Maduro kicked out of office. Protesters blamed the collapsing economy on his government and are demanding a recall vote. Towards the end of the march, National Guard officers fired tear gas at some protesters.

We continue to follow breaking news as hurricane Hermine batters Florida's Gulf Coast. We'll see where the powerful storm is headed next. You're watching CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: And hello again. I'm Natalie Allen at CNN center at Atlanda.

Hurricane Hermine has made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rain and flooding. More than 25 million people are in this storm's path across Florida, Georgia, and into South Carolina.

[03:30:03] The category one storm had maximum sustained winds of about 80 miles or 130 kilometers an hour when it came ashore. Hermine is the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma 11 years ago.

At least 70,000 customers are without power in the state capital, Tallahassee.

Dustin Hinkel is the county administrator in Taylor County, Florida. And he joins us now on the line. Mr. Hinkel, thanks so much for talking with us. We know it's a busy night. How close did the eye of the storm pass over or come near your area?

DUSTIN HINKEL, TAYLOR COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR: Thank you for having us. We were right at the -- we believe that we were right at the center of the eye of the storm. Our northwest corner of our county probably so. The eye of the storm passed right over us. And then that left us with most of our coast and area right at the -- right on the right hand side of the eye as it passed over us.

ALLEN: And so what do you know about the storm surge and are you getting any reports of damage or destruction?

HINKEL: We have substantial flooding down on the coast with that report of upwards of 10 -- of 10 feet along our coastal areas of flooding above ground. We do have -- we do have damages that have been reported. We've already been on at least a dozen search and rescue missions throughout the night and we're still working a few search and rescue missions as we speak.

ALLEN: Well, we certainly hope the people that are left blind there do get some help. It must be terrifying if they didn't get out of harm's way. But, what about the issues moving forward, Mr. Hinkel, I mean, you've got people that evacuated, but with the storm and the threat of more rain and flooding, it may not be safe to when to try to come back.

HINKEL: Right. You know, we're waiting for the daylight to come and so that we can really get in there and make a better assessment of the area. But there's going to be some time for that water to recede. And, you know, we've reached to our state partners to help bring in some resources to help keep control of the area and make sure that we've got the resources in place to serve the people of our coastal region.

ALLEN: And finally, you know, it's been over a decade since Florida took a direct hit from a hurricane in this area has been impacted. Were people there really prepared? Do you think they heeded the warning? Because it's been such a long time since they've gone through something like this.

HINKEL: We think the majority of people on our coast and in our county heeded the warnings and took -- and took this storm very seriously. These storms always have a tendency to strengthen and bring unique characteristics that the forecasters just won't ever be able to catch a 100 percent. And we're doing the best we can. But we feel that on the whole people took this storm very seriously.

ALLEN: We were glad to hear that. We know you're having a long night. Thanks so much for taking the time out to talk with us. Dustin Hinkel, the county administrator there in Taylor County, Florida.

HINKEL: Thank you.

ALLEN: In other news now, it is an image as shocking now as when we first saw it one year ago. Three-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, his lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach. It sparked an international outcry and became a symbol of the refugee crisis.

Senior international correspondent Atika Shubert reports and we must warn you about that graphic image.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been one year since the number of boats arriving in Greece reached staggering levels. Forcing Europe to open its doors to refugees.

One year since this, 3-year-old Alan Kurdi's lifeless body was found on a beach in Turkey, drowned as he fled Syria for Europe. An image that shocked the world and the grieving Kurdi family made this plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMA KURDI, ALAN KUDI'S AUNT: Abdullah told me his message to the world. My kid is a wake-up call for the whole world. I hope now the whole world will step in and help other refugees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUBERT: What has changed in that year? The Syrian war still rages, nearly five million have been forced to flee Syria. More than a million of them are children.

Only a few weeks ago, 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh was photographed in the aftermath of a barrel bombing. Like Alan, this image of a confused and injured boy covered in dust became an iconic symbol.

[03:35:05] But this time, Europe's doors are closing after more than a million refugees entered the country, Germany and other E.U. states quietly pressured Greece and the Balkan states to close their borders. In Greece, once the doorway to Europe, nearly 28,000 children are now

stranded, more than 2,000 are unaccompanied, no parents, no family to steer them through safely.

In March, Turkey and the E.U. agreed to a contentious one in, one out deal. Aimed at resettling Syrian refugees or making financial and political concessions to Ankara.

The number of people crossing the Aegean Sea has dropped from 10,000 a day at its peak to virtually none on most days.

Even for those that do manage to get to Europe, a happy ending isn't guaranteed. In Germany alone, local officials report 9,000 unaccompanied minors are now missing, many teenagers that have run away from their shelters.

From Alan Kurdi to Omran Daqneesh, what has changed for the thousands of children fleeing Syria's war? Sadly, not very much.

ALLEN: And that was Atika Shubert reporting. And she joins me now live from Berlin. And it's so true what you report, Atika, despite the fact that we've had these two unbelievable pictures and video of these had children, this nightmare continues.

SHUBERT: Yes. Part of the problem here is, of course, that the origin of the conflict, the Syrian war, still has no end in sight, particularly in Aleppo where that carnage has really put pressure on Turkey.

What we've seen is refugees still fleeing the area into Turkey. And Turkey now has more than three million refugees that's more than any other country in the world. And with Europe closing its borders, we're simply seeing a backlog in the neighboring countries of Syria, but also to a much smaller extent in Greece because those refugees that did reach Greece, but when the borders close now have nowhere to go.

And it's been described as the Greek Prime Minister as a country that's become, quote, "a warehouse of souls," some 50,000 people, more or less, are waiting there in tent camps for refugee status in Europe to be resettled, but the process has taken months or more than a year in some cases.

And the Turkey/E.U. deal that is supposed to help resettle refugees from Turkey has only resettled something in the low hundreds, I believe in May the last new data said that less than 200 refugees have been resettled. So, it's a very painstaking process to actually get resettled as a refugee in Europe, and yet the numbers of those fleeing Syria keep climbing, Natalie.

ALLEN: Yes, absolutely. It seems unrealistic already been a year since we saw that horrifying photo. And to think there's so many more stories like this that we just don't happen to see the pictures or get the video.

Atika Shubert for us there in Berlin. Thank you. The U.S. president is urging people to take climate change seriously. On Thursday, Barack Obama visited Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii. That atoll is part of a wildlife reserve that Obama quadrupled in size.

Last week, Mr. Obama just returned to Hawaii from midway atoll.

And CNN's Stephanie Elam joins me now live from Honolulu. The president going out of his way to bring attention to this issue, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Natalie. He went to the Atoll purposely because he wanted people to pay attention to what is happening across the planet. He's really concerned about climate change and how for the Pacific countries and nations, how they really feel it because of water levels, he's saying.

But he said he expanded the size of this marine national monument simply because he wanted to protect the animals there and also that they can be studied, that we can learn things from them, as well. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: I look forward to knowing that 20 years from now, 40 years from now, a hundred years from now, that this is a place where people can still come to and see what a place like this looks like when it's not overcrowded or destroyed by human populations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And he did tour Midway Atoll. And then we are told that after that, he did snorkel to get a little up-close encounter with some of the 7,000 species that do live around Midway. But really hoping that this trip will make people pay attention. And he pulls no punches about it, Natalie when he talks about it.

[03:39:59] He's saying global warming is a real thing and this is what's happening to our planet and we have to do something to stop it.

ALLEN: Certainly looked lovely there when he was standing on the beach. And thank goodness that more of this will be preserved.

Thank you so much, Stephanie Elam, following the president's trip there to Hawaii.

The Catholic Church will soon have a new saint. We think you've heard of her. A look at the life of Mother Teresa who will be canonized on Sunday nearly two decades after her death.

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ALLEN: We continue to follow the track of hurricane Hermine dumping heavy rain and knocking out power in central and northern Florida right now. The storm made landfall about 90 minutes ago east of St. Mark's.

A number of coastal communities have issued mandatory evacuation orders and tornado watches are in effect for dozens of counties in Florida and Georgia.

A huge crowd is expected at the Vatican on Sunday when Pope Francis makes Mother Teresa as saint. When she died in 1997 at the age of 87, she was known and loved the world over. Mother Teresa spent decades helping the poor in India. Many people consider her a living saint and see her canonization as a formality.

Our Mallika Kapur grew up in Kolkata and has a personal connection to Mother Teresa. And, Mallika, I was in the anchor chair that day in 1997 when we learned of her death and announcing that to the world was a moment I'll never forget.

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, for most people in the world, there is a story that they can tell you about Mother Teresa, a time when they heard of her death, or the time when they heard about her winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

[03:45:05] Now growing up in Kolkata, I do have many stories about meeting her and about my association with her. And it was actually very common for people in Kolkata to have those kinds of stories and to have the opportunity to meet her because she was so accessible.

Now, of course, she is being made a saint tomorrow, she is a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. But for people in Kolkata, she was really just one of us. She was accessible. She lived in the heart of the city in this big gray house.

And honestly, the doors of that house were always open and people could walk in, as I often did. You could walk in just to say hello, you could walk in to volunteer, you could walk in to pray there, to ask the sisters to pray for you.

People from all walks of life from all backgrounds and different religions were always welcome at her house.

When Mother Teresa came to India, she came to this bustling city in the east and never left. Kolkata became her home. It's where my home is, too. I enjoyed a simple, happy childhood here. It revolved around family, friends, school, and Mother Teresa figured prominently in each of those spheres of my life.

Initially, Mother Teresa was part of the Loreto Order of Nuns. The same order that set up this school, Loreto House, my school. And I remember sitting in these very classrooms listening to nuns tell us stories about Mother Teresa.

Locals calls her simply mother. And I often saw mother and her sisters going about their work, helping, caring, feeding the poorest of the poor. Back then, I had no idea I was watching history unfold.

She lived in the heart of the city, in this simple room where she later died. Visitors from all faiths and all walks of life were always welcome at Mother's house. It's where I first met her. She gave me this prayer and then she took my hands in her hands. She had a really firm grip. And then she said to me over and over again, "God bless you, my child, God bless you."

Mother adored children and many local families, including mine, often helped out at her home for abandon children. When I was a little girl, I wrote a poem on Mother Teresa. And the next time I came here, I just tagged along with my mother who was volunteering here at the children's home.

And Mother Teresa met me and she said, "come here, come here. I want to show you something." And she had taken my poem and framed it, and by framing, I mean, put it in a sheet of plastic and she stuck it right here.

Some residents complained she put Kolkata on the global map for the wrong reasons, poverty and desperation. But most locals are protective of her. They say they're proud our city produced a saint.

And, Natalie, I do go to Kolkata often and it's heartening to see her work and her legacy live on in the city.

ALLEN: What a wonderful personal story you have there, Mallika. And thank you for sharing with us. We will cover of course this event this weekend, the Vatican. Thank you.

They spent a year on Mars, kind of. And lived to tell the tale. I speak with the leader of a simulated mission to the Red Planet that occurred on Hawaii, coming up after this.

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DAM: Hurricane Hermine making landfall across the Big Bend portion of Florida, that's near the Gulf Coast. And you can see this storm rotating about throughout this region. It's producing strong winds. Even isolated tornados and dangerous storm surge, as well as localized flooding.

Winds sustained at 130 kilometers per hour, especially near the center of circulation. Higher wind gusts, as well, with some of those bands moving through.

Now here is a look at those hurricane warnings including the Apalachicola and the Perry region. We also have hurricane watch from Cedar Key down towards the new Port Richey region. Now you can see tropical storm warnings extend along the Carolinas and through the Georgia Coast, as well.

That's through the rest of the weekend. Extending towards the Delmarva Peninsula. We have tropical storm watches something we need to monitor as we head into the first parts of next week. Remember this is a holiday weekend for the United States Labor Day taking place on Monday.

Here is the projected path over the next four days. And we anticipate this storm to remain on shore at least through the next three days but then again entering the Atlantic where we'll see what happens after that. Nonetheless, here's our rainfall totals going forward, precipitation in excess of 250 millimeters in some locations leading to localized flooding.

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ALLEN: Earlier this week, six scientists returned to civilization after living in a Mars simulation habitat on a Hawaiian volcano for the past year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three, two, one. Come on!

(CROWD CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: And they're back. Volunteers from France, Germany and the U.S. lived in this isolated dome set environment about 2500 meters above sea level. The experiment was designed to study the effects of isolation, which will eventually help create guidelines for future missions to the Red Planet.

The project was dubbed HI-SEAS, short for Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation.

And joining me on the phone now from Hawaii is Carmel Johnston who is the HI-SEAS crew commander. Carmel, hello. Thank you for talking with us. And welcome back to Earth, I guess, sort of.

CARMEL JOHNSTON, HI-SEAS CREW COMMANDER: Hi. Thank you for having me.

ALLEN: Well, I want to ask you, first of all, when we say you were confined in a dome. Can you give us the sense of how much space you had inside this dome?

JOHNSTON: Well, we had about 1200 square feet divided over two floors. We had a large common space on the floor and then our lofted bedrooms up above. So, we had quite a bit of room to move around, but it's definitely not as big as anyone would wish to live for a year.

ALLEN: Yes. We're getting a sense of it now. We see some video over there. Which was more challenging, having to be indoors for all this time and to deal with conditions from just being indoors, or learning to get along with others? When you really can't go anywhere and blow off steam, exactly?

JOHNSTON: Well, I think definitely getting along well with others was the primary concern for us because we weren't able to go outside. We weren't able to go on EVAs where we wear a space suit, we go on extra vehicular activity, and we go outside and explore the landscape like you would if you were on the surface of Mars.

So, we were exploring the outside quite a bit and so the timing is almost focus was on getting along, making sure everything got down from day-to-day and making sure we completed our research task on time and correctly.

ALLEN: Did you have very much downtime? Were you bored or were you busy most of the time?

[03:55:02] JOHNSTON: I'm not really a person that really get bored, anyway. But, no, we were -- I went over work. But we always had something to do. We had research task that the research team was conducting on us. We also had our own research projects going on. And when inside (Ph) there is always something to do in order to maintain a house afterwards.

ALLEN: Right. We're seeing some plants in containers. What were you having to come up with as far as your ingenuity in your life there?

JOHNSTON: Oh, we had -- I mean, like any person's house, you have stuff that breaks or something we cannot go to the grocery store or to the hardware store in order to find a part or piece that you need for whatever thing has broken. And so we would have to -- we sometimes we 3D printed a part that we did not have available to us or we would make guide (Ph) or something that would make you for the duration of the mission.

ALLEN: Well, what was -- what was the hardest part for you?

JOHNSTON: The hardest part for me was probably being away from my friends and family because I enjoyed spending time with them quite a bit. And so I felt like I was missing out on a lot of things that were going on at home. But at the same time, we were doing something really unique and absolutely essential for the future of Space Exploration.

So, it was meaningful at the same time as being challenging.

ALLEN: Well, we hope that your work will help those who may go to Mars one day. We thank you for joining us, Carmel Johnston. Thanks.

JOHNSTON: Yes, thank you very much.

ALLEN: It really looks like they were on another planet right there, doesn't it?

Thank you for watching us this hour. I'm Natalie Allen. We'll have much more in our breaking news coverage of hurricane Hermine in just a moment for you.

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