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New Day Sunday
Boy's Remains Found 27 Years After Abduction; VP Candidate Pence to Release Taxes Soon; Trump Visits Black Church in Detroit; Hermine Expected to Strengthen Today; Clinton Skips Public Events for Private Fundraisers; U.S. Press Access Blocked on Chinese Tarmac; Mother Teresa Declared a Saint. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired September 04, 2016 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00] JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even a wall wouldn't have stopped this fly from crossing the Donald's hairline.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Decades after he was abducted on a dark rural road, the remains of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling have been found.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Tensions on the tarmac, so much the Secret Service had to step in after a confrontation with Chinese officials at the G20.
PAUL: And spotlight on Donald Trump's taxes. Doubts over whether he will reveal his finances before Election Day as his running mate says he will.
Good morning to you and welcome to Sunday. So good to see your company as always. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you this Sunday.
Let's start with this, this devastating blow to the family of an 11- year-old boy who was abducted 27 years ago. They have just learned from authorities that his remains have been found. The boy's name, Jacob Wetterling, he was abducted in 1989 by a man with a gun. His mother tells us, "Our hearts are broken. There are no words."
PAUL: Understandably.
Sources tell CNN affiliate WCCO and the "Minneapolis Star Tribune" that a suspect in Jacob's disappearance led the FBI to his remains. However, police haven't said whether anyone has been charged. Now, investigators are evaluating new evidence, we're told, and they do plan to release additional details later this week.
BLACKWELL: Well, after he was taken, his parents formed the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center to end all forms of child abuse. His abduction subsequently led to an act in 1994 requiring states to maintain sex offender registries and guidelines. Now, the center released this statement, let's put it up. "We are in
deep grief. We didn't want Jacob's story to end this way. In this moment of pain and shock, we go back to the beginning."
PAUL: John Lauritsen with our affiliate WCCO has more on Jacob's abduction and how his family was able to save countless other children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACOB WETTERLING, 11-YEAR-OLD: My favorite (INAUDIBLE). My favorite color is blue.
JOHN LAURITSEN, WCCO: Jacob was just 11 years old. And October 22nd, 1989, would be the night that would forever change a family, a city, an entire state.
911 OPERATOR: You've watched.
TREVOR WETTERLING, JACOB'S BROTHER: Sort of.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
TREVOR WETTERLING: And he had like a -- it looked sort of like nylon things as a mask.
LAURITSEN: Jacob was abducted while riding his bike his brother and a friend.
AARON LARSON, WITNESS: He grabbed Jacob and told me to run as fast as I could into the woods or else he'd shoot.
PATTY WETTERLING, JACOB'S MOTHER: There's no explanation. I don't feel the anger yet. I just want him home.
JERRY WETTERLING, JACOB'S FATHER: I'm very optimistic. My son is pretty intelligent. If there's anyway that he can help pull himself through this, he's going to do so.
LAURITSEN: Searches were conducted through the air and on foot the slogan "Jacob's hope" got national attention.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen, Jacob, can you hear our prayers? We love you.
LAURITSEN: But weeks and then months went by with no sign of Jacob. His family, however, has never given up hope. In 1990, they established the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, a national database that helps families of missing children. Later, the Jacob Wetterling Act created a sex offender registry and helped launched the Amber Alert.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm fighting for the world that Jacob knew and believed in.
LAURITSEN: The years had brought hope for answers. In 2010, investigators used backhoes and searched the farm property of the Wetterling's neighbor Daniel Rassier but nothing was found.
They also interviewed convicted murderer Dilbert Huber (ph) about Jacob's disappearance, before Huber died in prison.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never had nothing to do with the Jacob Wetterling kid. Never knew him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: That was John Lauritsen reporting for us from our affiliate WCCO. Now, Jacob's case garnered worldwide attention. It was recently featured on the CNN series "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH". And coming up, we're going to have an in-depth look at that.
BLACKWELL: All right. Let's turn to politics now. Mike Pence says that he will release his tax returns, something that Donald Trump still has not done. He did say, though, that Donald will release his taxes at the end of an audit. But there's no legal reason for him not to do so now. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: You guys have higher ground on this issue, on this whole idea of transparency and accountability if you guys were as transparent, releasing the tax returns, him releasing his tax returns. Whatever you say about the Clintons, we know this because the information has either been dragged out of them or it's been disclosed. We don't have any disclosures. We don't have your tax returns yet.
MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Donald Trump and I are both going to release our tax returns. I'll release mine in the next week. Donald Trump will be releasing his tax returns at the completion of an audit. But the issue here is not --
[07:05:01] REPORTER: But that won't be before the election.
PENCE: The issue here is -- well, we'll see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk about it, bring in Tharon Johnson, former south regional director for Obama in 2012, a Hillary Clinton supporter, and Boris Epshteyn, senior advisor to the Trump campaign.
Gentlemen, good morning to both of you.
BORIS EPSHTEYN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISOR: Good morning, Victor. How are you?
BLACKWELL: I'm doing very well. Thank you, Boris.
I want to start with you, because you're a senior advisor. You know the strategy here and I just don't see what the strategy is. The Trump doesn't gain anything from talking returns because Donald Trump hasn't released his. It may be a net negative. So, why didn't Governor Pence release his tax returns when Tim Kaine did? Instead he says he will, so there's a cycle about talking about returns. Then, when he does it in a week, we'll talk about it again.
EPSHTEYN: It's up to Governor Pence when to release his tax returns. Just like it is to Donald Trump. By the way, you said there's no legal reason for Donald Trump not to release them. That's incorrect. Actually on this network, an attorney from Steptoe & Johnson who counsels on tax said he would never advise his clients who are under audit to release their tax returns.
BLACKWELL: That's not a legal reason.
EPSHTEYN: Victor, that's from a attorney based on legal issues that have to do with any audit. So, there are attorneys who are specifically saying that if their client was under audit, they would not release tax returns. So, that's the situation. Donald Trump has released 104 pages of a financial disclosure, which he has all the information necessary, as you I'm sure know. Tax returns actually don't provide any information that's pertinent to the voters.
BLACKWELL: OK. So, how can both of those things be true, I'm coming to you in a second, Theron, but how can both of those things be true, that there's nothing in these tax returns that is valuable, give very little. But there's so much that this attorney is trying to protect that he adamantly discouraged Trump from releasing them?
EPSHTEYN: Well, if you look at anybody under audit, audit means the IRS doing review of someone's taxes. And that's going on. Attorneys do not -- give advice to not release your tax returns, to not make those public and put that information out there.
So, that's the case. Donald Trump has said it over and over again for months now. Yet the media continues to pound the story. It must be a slow news day.
BLACKWELL: OK. All right. Let's go to Theron. We'll come back to you on that.
Theron, I think that Boris makes a point here, that no one is going to vote for Hillary Clinton on the strength of Donald Trump's effective tax rate.
THARON JOHNSON, FORMER SOUTH REGIONAL DIRECTOR, OBAMA 2012: Well, the issue here is really transparency and making sure that this gentleman who's running for president will basically abide by the standard that's been put in place for 40 years. I mean, everyone who has run for president in the last 40 to 50 years have released their tax returns. I mean, Governor Kaine basically, Senator Kaine released his tax returns 10 years.
And one of the things that Donald Trump can do while his 2009 and beyond tax returns are being audited, he can release his 2008, 2007, 2006 tax returns. But he refuses to do so. But again, every time, every day that goes that he refuses to show the American people his tax returns --
EPSHTEYN: May I respond, Victor?
BLACKWELL: You will in a moment?
JOHNSON: -- it totally gets into his credibility to talk about transparency. I mean --
EPSHTEYN: That's pretty rich for you to talk about transparency as a Clinton supporter.
BLACKWELL: Hold on, Boris.
JOHNSON: Here's my point, though, Boris, if you want to talk about transparency, then be transparent. But --
EPSHTEYN: If you want to talk about not breaking the law.
BLACKWELL: Boris, hold on.
JOHNSON: My point is, Boris, is that you guys with this FBI investigation with the release of the documents and with her questioning, you have pounded Hillary Clinton and her campaign over the answers. My point is, is that your argument is just not relevant because you guys refuse to release the tax returns. So, until Donald Trump releases his tax returns, I just think you cannot continue to criticize the Clintons while --
BLACKWELL: Go ahead.
EPSHTEYN: There's no -- you cannot equate, you cannot equate not releasing your tax returns voluntarily when under audit and lying to Congress, to the FBI and the American people as Hillary Clinton has done. She lied about it.
BLACKWELL: Let's go on the record here.
EPHSTEYN: May I respond --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: But the facts have to be injected here. When you say that she lied to the FBI, James Comey, the director of the FBI said she didn't. but go ahead.
EPSHTEYN: Well, if you look at the notes, the 58 pages of the notes, it's clear that she did. She lied about receiving here training. Either she lied to the FBI or she lied when she signed a non- disclosure form when she said that she did. She told the FBI that she did not receive such training.
She told Congress she'd turn over all her e-mails. We just found out that 72,500 emails that are pertinent to work were not --
BLACKWELL: Boris --
EPSHTEYN: Let me finish now.
BLACKWELL: This conversation is about taxes. This conversation is about taxes.
EPSHTEYN: You absolutely cannot talk about transparency when Hillary Clinton broke the law as secretary of state.
BLACKWELL: Boris, pause please. Let me ask you this. There is this new Monmouth poll out now that shows more than half, 52 percent of voters believe that there's something in those returns that he doesn't want the public to know.
EPSHTEYN: Seventy percent of people don't believe Hillary Clinton at all.
BLACKWELL: Stand by. The 24 percent believe it's audit, 52 percent believe he's concealing something and it's not an audit. Let's go to this, to the IRS website where there is an audit notification that is sent out. And I'm pulling this right from IRS.gov, where it says should your account be selected for audit, you'll be notified in two ways, by mail or by phone. In the case of a phone call, the IRS will still send a letter confirming the audit.
Considering that most voters or respondent to this poll don't believe there's an audit, can Donald Trump simply release the letter confirming that there is an audit?
EPSHTEYN: So, now you're calling Donald Trump a liar? Is that what you're doing, Victor? That's absolutely unacceptable. He repeatedly said he's under audit.
(CROSSTALK)
EPSHTEYN: Let me answer, Victor. You asked me a question. Let me answer.
BLACKWELL: Listen, you asked me if I called you a liar. I'm giving you the numbers, 52 percent don't believe there's an audit.
(CROSSTALK)
EPSHTEYN: Well, 70 percent of people in this country don't believe Hillary Clinton on anything. They say that she's completely untruthful and a lot of that is because over what's happened with the FBI, as well as the Clinton Foundation --
(CROSSTALK)
EPSHTEYN: Hillary Clinton has spent her career --
BLACKWELL: Listen, the question is about the taxes. Will he release the letter confirming that there is an audit?
EPSHTEYN: He has already spoken about this, as have his attorneys. I'm not his tax attorney. I'm here to talk about the issues. Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton.
BLACKWELL: I think you were notified on what the topic was.
EPSHTEYN: Actually, I was not.
BLACKWELL: OK. Well, we'll make sure you are in the future.
EPSHTEYN: Thanks.
BLACKWELL: Boris Epshteyn, Tharon Johnson, stay with us. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
EPSHTEYN: All right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: All right. Boris Epshteyn and Tharon Johnson back with us.
And, Boris, yesterday, Donald Trump was at Great Faith Ministries, appear to really enjoy himself, praised for his tone there with the congregation. But there seems to be discrepancy between what he told the congregation and what he told people at his rallies. And there seems to be a pattern here.
Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm not saying anything other than pathological is a very serious disease and he said he's pathological. Somebody said he has pathological disease.
You don't cure these people. You don't cure a child molester. There's no cure for it. Pathological, there's no cure for that.
[07:15:02] And, by the way, and then said incorrectly -- and I'm not saying this as a knock. This is one of the finest men. You're not going to find a finer man.
Mexico will pay for the wall.
What do you have to lose? You're living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs.
We'll get rid of the crime. You'll be able to walk down the street without getting shot.
Our nation is too divided. We talk past each other, not to each other and those who seek office do not do enough to step into the community and learn what is going on. They don't know. They have no clue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: There's a pattern here that we saw yesterday. Why didn't Donald Trump tell Pena Nieto that they're going to pay for the wall? Why didn't he tell Ben Carson that he is pathological, he compared him to a child molester? Why did he tell the people in that congregation they have nothing to lose? EPSHTEYN: So, listen, of course, somebody who's running for
president, somebody who is president is going to act differently in different areas. When Ronald Reagan was speaking in Germany, he said, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall, very aggressively. But that's not how he spoke to Mr. Gorbachev in Reykjavik and Geneva at their summit. So, of course, you moderate. Any good leader does that, and that's what good leaders do and that's what Donald Trump is doing in his very successful visit to Detroit, while Hillary Clinton was taking a nap.
BLACKWELL: Tharon, let me come to you. Boris, not Boris, Donald Trump yesterday introduced this idea of a new civil rights agenda, talking about jobs, talking about education, talking about safety. I mean, these are the plans that the Clinton campaign has said that Donald Trump does not have anything to address. He seems to be on that page now.
JOHNSON: Well, yesterday was that number one, Donald Trump was so scripted. I mean, he had the questions before he had this interview. And so, then, he went there and read a prepared statement. Now, Victor, you and I both know, the safest place for anyone to go to have a conversation with anyone but particularly African-Americans is in the African-American church.
Now, when he talks about civil rights, it's just really no credibility there, because this is a guy who practiced a lot of civil wrongs.
EPSHTEYN: Such as what?
JOHNSON: He's going to go down in history as one of the most divisive candidates. I mean, he disrespects Muslim Americans. He disrespects women.
EPSHTEYN: Incorrect.
JOHNSON: He does. It's there, Boris, and you guys have been trying to get over that.
EPSHTEYN: That's not scripted. When was the last time Hillary Clinton gave a press conference?
JOHNSON: My point is, you're on message again. So, I think the thing is this, we must judge Donald Trump on his actions. It's easy for him to go there and talk a bunch of words. But let's see how he acts and let's see if he furthers his outreach to African-Americans throughout the rest of campaign. I don't think he will.
EPSHTEYN: Absolutely, and he's done that. He's continue to do it. Listen, the two things you said about Donald Trump is not transparent, he's scripted.
BLACKWELL: Ten seconds, Boris.
EPSHTEYN: That's called projection. That's exactly what Hillary Clinton is.
JOHNSON: That's called scripted, Boris. BLACKWELL: Hold on, Tharon. Let him finish, 10 seconds.
EPSHTEYN: Hillary Clinton is the scripted candidate. She has not given a press conference in 274 days. Donald Trump has given 18. He is absolutely unscripted. He's an authentic candidate. That's why he's winning in the polls.
BLACKWELL: All right. Got to wrap it there. Boris Epshteyn, Tharon Johnson, thank you both.
EPSHTEYN: Thanks so much.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: All right. And be sure to catch our CNN special reports, "The Essential Hillary Clinton", "The Essential Donald Trump", Monday night starting at 8:00 right here on CNN.
PAUL: Also coming up, Hermine threatening to wash out Labor Day plans for a lot I know in the Northeast and the coast.
CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar tracking the storm for us.
Good morning, Allison.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning to you.
Yes, now the track has shifted just a little bit. And while that may good news for some, say, in Jersey and Delaware, not so good news for folks in other locations. We'll take a detailed look at that, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Almost 22 minutes after the hour now.
Hermine is gaining strength and threatening to ruin Labor Day plans for millions of people.
PAUL: Yes, 40 million people in fact under watches and warnings right now, from Virginia, up to New York. The worst is yet to come, we understand. Hermine is expected to return to hurricane strength today.
CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has been watching the trajectory here.
So, we know that it's moving east. We would think that's good news. But you say not so much.
CHINCHAR: Well, it's good news for some but bad news for others. I guess it just kind of depends on where you live, Christi, because the good news is, it's going to be better for folks, say, in Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey because it shifted farther east. But that now makes more of an impact for folks around Montauk, New York, over towards the cape, we're talking Newport, Rhode Island, where we may now have necessarily thought it would have been a bigger threat yesterday, we still have a tropical storm warnings and watches out stretching from Virginia, all the way up towards Massachusetts.
Now, we're looking at track. Again, it kind of brings it a little bit farther east. So, it's called post tropical cyclone Hermine, and we will get to what means in just a minute.
But the one thing I want you to focus on is that it still has a big issue in terms of rainfall. There's still expected to be about three to five inches of rain for Massachusetts and also into Rhode Island.
And this is the start time. So, it's really going to start raining in Nantucket this morning. But the peak time for them will actually be tonight through Labor Day tomorrow. Again, I know that doesn't mean great if you had some outdoor plans. But a similar scenario to, say, Providence, Rhode Island, Newport, Rhode Island, even into Montauk, New York, really the peak is going to be tonight through the day tomorrow and in some cases even into the morning hours of Tuesday.
So, you want to still be on your guard because the storm surge is going to still be a threat. In many areas, about two to four feet, on top of what they already have. But remember we talked about it's now called post-tropical cyclone Hermine. So, what does that mean? Let's kind of break this down for you.
What we have is we have what was typically is a warm core storm. It's warm air from the base all the way to the top. That's what it was when it was saying Florida into the Carolinas. But now, we have that front that moved through and that added some cooler air into the system. So, atmospherically, you've got a mix of some colder air and also some of the warmer air.
So, atmospherically, it changes the name, Christi and Victor, but I want to emphasize, it does not mean the storm has been downgraded or weakened in any sense. In fact, if anything, we may go back to hurricane force winds in the next 24 hours.
PAUL: Wow. All right. Allison Chinchar, thanks for the explainer.
BLACKWELL: $6.6 million, that's what Hillary Clinton raised at a single fund-raiser last month. Should she keep making the rounds, raising money behind the scenes? Or should she get back out to these rallies and speak to voters?
PAUL: Plus, a family forced to relive tragedy all over again. The remains of their 11-year-old son have been found now. We're talking nearly 30 years after he was abducted.
[07:25:00] We're going to hear how their work after his disappearance have saved countless children.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: Twenty-eight minutes past the hour on a Sunday morning. And we get your company, we're grateful for that. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.
Let's start with the remains of an 11-year-old boy from Minnesota. He was abducted in 1989. Well, those remains have now been found. The boy's name, Jacob Wetterling. He was grabbed by a masked man with a gun. His brother and friend watched.
PAUL: Sources said CNN, affiliate WCCO, a suspect in Jacob's disappearance led the FBI to his remains. But police haven't said whether anyone's been charged. Now, investigators do plan to release additional details later this week. But his abduction led to an act in 1994 requiring states to maintain sex offender registries and guidelines.
BLACKWELL: Kate Raddatz with our affiliate WCCO has more on how his disappearance his hometown and eventually the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE RADDATZ, WCCO: Parents stopping by the St. Joe Meat Market remembered a time when kids used to play outside until the late hours.
JEFF KREMERS, PARENT: We went everywhere. We just knew you had to be home for dinner and you had to be home at bedtime. And you could roam anywhere.
RADDATZ: But on October 22nd, 1989, that all changed.
KREMERS: It kind of took away an innocence.
RADDATZ: Eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling's disappearance rocked St. Joseph and took over national headlines. It changed parenting forever.
SANDY STOCKER, FORMER RESIDENT: Life changed after that very much.
RADDATZ: Sandy Stocker used to live in Jacob's neighborhood. She says her two children were outside playing that night and saw Jacob and his friends before they left on their fateful trip to the convenience store.
[07:30:02] STOCKER: They had to stay in the house, and we went with them whenever they went to the playgrounds or to their friends and made sure that that's where they were.
ANNIE SPARROW ROGERS, FORMER RESIDENT: Every day things that we took for granted, allowing them to ride their bikes to a park, go to a park reserve.
RADDATZ: Annie Rogers was living in Plymouth with her two children when Jacob went missing. She says it didn't matter where you lived.
ROGERS: I think it just touched America in a way that there is no such place as a safe haven anymore. We just have to be vigilant.
RADDATZ: With Jacob's remains found, could we ever go back to that time of innocence? ROGERS: I think it's changed forever. I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's gone, I think.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: That was Kate Raddatz with our affiliate WCCO reporting there.
Now, Jacob's case garnered world wide attention. It was recently featured on the CNN series "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH", which details the night that Jacob was taken right in front of his brother and friends. The kidnapper telling them to run away or he'll shoot them.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy wearing a mask came out. You could see his handgun. This guy told him to get off their bikes and lay down in the ditch or else he would shoot. He asked them one by one what their age was. After that, he had Trevor and Aaron, one by one run off into the nearby woods. Not to look back or else he would shoot. As Aaron was taking off he saw the man grab Jacob's arm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he caught up to Trevor and they felt safe enough to turn around and look back, they were gone. They were just gone.
Police asked the boys, are you sure you weren't playing with a gun and Jacob just got hurt and you're afraid to tell us what happened? Which is a legitimate question, but they were absolutely clear, no, there was this man with a gun.
JOHN L. SANNER, SHERIFF, STEARNS COUNTY, MN: So, we start to search the area, the immediate area of the abduction and start to fan out from there. Everybody thought that within a few hours, we would get it taken care of.
ROBERT LOWERY JR., VICE PRESIDENT, NATL. CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: When it comes to missing children, time is the enemy. Seconds count, hours count. If that child is going to be killed, it's going to happen within the first few hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never went to bed that night. Yes, we were up all night. It was just crazy.
JOHN WALSH, THE HUNT: There are so many parallels in the Wetterling case to our case of Adam. And I will never forget that night when darkness fell and we started to search for Adam. I will never forget that realization and that loneliness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: And you know that's how this family feels too. Tonight, we do hope that you join us for "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH". A dispute over a girl at a party turns fatal. That's what it's about tonight. Anthony Boroughs is wanted for allegedly murdering a man and taking off to the Philippines. He's been on the run since 2000. Join "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH" at 9:00 p.m. tonight.
BLACKWELL: A little more than two months until Election Day, and Donald Trump has now visited a black church in a play for the black vote. But there were some protesters outside. His message to the congregation was one, though, of unity -- very different from his earlier rhetoric in the campaign.
Meanwhile, his running mate Mike Pence says he will release his tax returns soon. But there's no word from the campaign or Trump if he will follow suit. He said he will release his taxes at the end of an audit, but there's no legal reason that he cannot release those before then.
While the Trump campaign soaks up the attention of the political world, Hillary Clinton seems to be staying out of the spotlight in some way, going around for high dollar fund-raisers, raising money, $6.6 million at one event alone.
Let's bring in Eric Bradner, joins us live from Washington.
So far ahead in the fund-raising game here than Trump is, but continuing to raise a lot of money because she's spending a lot of money, really high burn rate.
ERIC BRADNER, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: That's right. So, Hillary Clinton spent the month of August focused mostly on fund-raising. She raised $140 million, that smashed previous records, did 37 events in 12 states. Now, she was candid in these fundraisings about also spending some of her time focusing on preparing for their first debate coming up on September 26th. But this was her focus.
And part of the reason Clinton is trying to raise so much money is in addition to spending on ads in obvious swing states, places like Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, her campaign is also looking at some other states. They recently announced a six-figure ad buy in Arizona, a state that is reliably Republican in presidential elections. But Hillary Clinton's strength with Latino voters could perhaps force Trump to play defense in a place he wouldn't want to spend much time. So, that's part of the focus. Other states like Georgia, North Carolina could also be in play.
BLACKWELL: So, what's the calculation from the campaign of spending this amount of time at these high dollar fund-raisers versus the rallies and being with the voters? What's their view on it?
BRADNER: Well, part of it is trying to strike while the iron's hot. Donald Trump had a rough August, especially early on, as you sort of wrapping up that that fight with the Gold Star family, the Khans. And in politics, you don't want to get in a way when your opponent is making a mistake. So, by sort of staying off the trail, focusing on fund-raising, Clinton was able to sort of build on her cash advantage while also allowing Trump to dominate headlines when he was sort of getting a lot of bad ones. That was part of the calculation. BLACKWELL: Are we seeing a consequence for Clinton? I mean, even in
the CNN poll of polls, from the start of the month to the end of the month, that lead has been cut significantly for Clinton. Maybe that could be the withering of the post-convention bounce. But are they seeing consequences for spending so much time at these fund raisers?
BRADNER: Yes, we've seen her lead in a lot of key states evaporate. In Wisconsin in early August, it was 15 points among likely voters according to a Marquette Law poll. And now, it's five points. So, yes, Donald Trump has been critical of Clinton for going nearly 10 months without holding news conferences on the campaign trail.
So, she's certainly facing accusations she's not been an accessible to voters. At the same time, she's been facing this criticism with the Clinton Foundation, this idea that it sort of perpetuates that high dollar donors have a level of access to the Clintons that regular people don't have. So, Trump's definitely trying to make her pay that price and he's been raising it a lot in campaign events. That's something we'll see for the next couple of months as well.
BLACKWELL: All right. Eric Bradner in Washington for us -- thanks so much.
BRADNER: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: Christi?
PAUL: And a reminder, coming up tomorrow on CNN, we take an in-depth look at these two people vying for the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I accept your nomination!
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: For the presidency of the United States.
ANNOUNCER: "The Essential Hillary Clinton".
CLINTON: We are stronger together, in charting a course toward the future.
ANNOUNCER: "The Essential Donald Trump".
TRUMP: I love you and we will make America great again.
ANNOUNCER: All on one blockbuster night.
Clinton has been called the most famous person no one knows.
CHELSEA CLINTON, DAUGHTER OF HILLARY CLINTON: I never understand that, it is so clear to me who my mother is. She never forgets who she is fighting for and she's fighting first and foremost for children and for families.
ANNOUNCER: Trump has a passion for business and the spotlight. DONALD TRUMP, JR., SON OF DONALD TRUMP: No one is going to outwork
him. No one has got more energy than him.
IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: He always said to us, find what it is that you're passionate about and pursue it with your full heart.
ANNOUNCER: They are stories from the people who know them best, CNN Special Report. Hillary Clinton at 8:00, Donald Trump at 10:00, CNN Labor Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:42:24] BLACKWELL: High stakes on the second day of the G20 Summit, likely the last time as president we'll see Mr. Obama together with all of these world leaders at once.
Now, this was a red carpet rollout as he arrived earlier today, a step up from his arrival yesterday. Shortly after Air Force One landed, a Chinese official got into a confrontation here with a White House press aide. Watch.
This American staffer apparently made the mistake of telling reporters where to stand. This Chinese official reminds her who's in charge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our country. It's our airport, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: "Our country", there he says, "our airport." Now, later, the Chinese official you saw there, blocked Susan Rice, the president's national security adviser, from getting to the president, causing the Secret Service to step in.
Let's go live now to China, CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski is joining us.
Michelle, good morning. A lot of tension there.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it was definitely strange. It happened more than once. It's been four times now in the two days that this trip has been going on that Chinese security officials blocked the press from doing what they thought they were going to be able to do.
And from just gaining basic access to events that in some cases are not much more than photo ops. I mean, they're just simple events that would normally be covered. And most cases are covered by cameras anyway.
So, the tensions that flared up there, you saw one U.S. official said, you know what, this is our president and our airplane. We're going to give our press the access they usually get. That's when he yelled, "oh yeah, well, it's our airport and our country."
And then, later, there was another confrontation the same day, I mean, only hours after that. It almost came to blows between a member of the U.S. delegation and again Chinese security, arguing over what kind of simple access the U.S. press is going to get. So, it's another stark reminder that they don't treat openness in the press the same way that we do in the United States, Victor, not by a long shot.
BLACKWELL: All right. Michelle Kosinski, traveling with the president -- thanks so much.
Christi?
PAUL: Well, there is yet another twist in the controversy pro quarterback. Coy Wire has the latest for us.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: The final cuts were made in the NFL yesterday. 49ers chose to keep Colin Kaepernick, who continues to sit out national anthems in protest. Now, the chief of police and the team's city urging officers not to boycott their security duties at games as they protest Kaepernick and his actions.
[07:45:00] That's coming up on NEW DAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: The police chief in Santa Clara, California, wants its officers union to back down from its threat of a boycott over 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
PAUL: Yes, CNN sports anchor Coy Wire has this story that just keeps moving forward somehow.
WIRE: It does, more people getting involved, right? So, he's protesting racial injustice and police brutality in our country. And now, you have police officers getting involved.
Santa Clara's police chief, Michael Sellers, issued a statement yesterday, urging the police union to put the safety of citizens first. The union sent a letter the 49ers demanding they take action against Kaepernick and his stance, or police refuse not to work security at their stadium on game day.
So, Chief Michael Sellers said that Kaepernick's, quote, "blanket statements disparaging the law enforcement profession are hurtful and do not help bring the country together." But he went to say, "As distasteful as his actions are, these actions are protected by the Constitution. Police officers are here to protect the rights of every person even if we disagree with their position," unquote.
Now, one big question yesterday was, will Colin Kaepernick even make the team? Yesterday was final cut down day to the mandatory 53. A lot of people thought he might be released because of his activism and maybe poor play at time, but he did make that team. These protests will continue and both the negative and positive responses to those protests will continue. 49ers open their season at home in just eight days against the Rams on Monday night football. So, the biggest stage, it's the first Monday night game of the season. This controversy, though, doesn't seem to be hurting Kaepernick's jersey sales. He went to one after being 20th on the 49ers website in jersey sales, and also 8th overall in the NFL just behind Tom Brady.
So, you see a lot of divisive topic. You see a lot of divisive topic, a lot of people don't agree with how he's doing what he's doing, but many are hearing his message and rallying to support him.
PAUL: It is something. All right. Hey, Coy Wire, thank you. Good to see you today.
WIRE: You too.
PAUL: Well, Mother Teresa becomes a saint this morning. You just saw the tens of thousands of people who gathered to watch her official canonization. We're going to take you to Vatican City live here in just a moment.
[07:50:00] First, though, a woman struggling with bulimia, she couldn't find any healing. She couldn't find you comfort, until an unexpected turning point from shelter dogs saved her life. So, today she is healthy. She is working with girls battling the same demons that she once had.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHANNON KOPP, BULIMIA PATIENT HELPED BY SHELTER DOGS: I remember it was one night where my father was missing, a mother and sister were having an argument at the table. And I just started eating and eating and eating, and could not stop. Just wanted to kind of shut down the emotions, and went upstairs for the first time and threw up.
I am Shannon Kopp, writer, eating disorder survivor and animal advocate.
My childhood was a bit chaotic. My father became an alcoholic. The home started being an unpredictable place to be at times.
The bulimia started just before my 17th birthday. I didn't realize that within eight, yes, I would be hospitalized. I couldn't think straight. It hurt for me to swallow.
And as I started battling suicidal thoughts, I would find that could be nowhere but inside of a dog habitat to calm down.
Good girl.
The San Diego Humane Society is the most special place in the world to me, and the comfort of an animal it what really rescued me from myself.
I'll celebrate seven years free from bulimia. I work at a residential eating disorder treatment center. I help people who are looking for treatment find the care that they need.
I wanted to be the voice on the other line saying, yes, we can help you. And that has changed my life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:55:35] PAUL: Well, look at the all the people who showed up to watch Mother Teresa be officially declared a saint. Tens of thousands filling St. Peter's Square this morning where the pope canonized the late Catholic nun. Mother Teresa devoted her life to helping the poor in India, caring for people with leprosy and AIDS and other diseases. And he received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. That happened back in 1979.
But let's bring in CNN's Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher live in St. Peter's Square.
Delia, this is such a celebration. But, of course, amidst it, there are some critics I understand who say she didn't deserve to become a saint.
Help us understand what's happening.
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Mother Teresa throughout her life had her critics. I mean, a lot of the criticism was based on things like they felt she, instead of having the homes for the dying, they felt she should have spent that money for better medical care for those people, or she should have addressed the economic injustices that create poverty in the first place.
And she herself responded in part to some of those critics she didn't feel responsible for the masses. She felt responsible for the person who was in front of her. In the same way Jesus did and the same way Pope Francis just reminded everybody in the crowd to do -- reach out to the person who is suffering in front of you. Don't worry about changing the world, but do the thing in front of you.
So, Mother Teresa thought that, yes, material assistance, food and medicine is important, but equally important for her was the spiritual assistance of love, of human dignity and of being with somebody who was suffering. Of course, she was also an outspoken opponent of abortion, which engendered no small amount of criticism. That was something that she was very, very outspoken about.
So, there are a number of issues on which Mother Teresa has been criticized, but at the end of the day, the Vatican has said her life was exemplary. Pope Francis reiterated it today, that she should be a model for people throughout the world -- Christi.
PAUL: And do I understand that, in her honor and for this celebration, the pope is feeding some of the people there who live in less than stellar circumstances?
GALLAGHER: Yes. It was a surprise announcement just before the ceremony that Pope Francis is hosting a pizza party. It's happening right now, actually. We can't see it. He is inside the Vatican, for about 1,500 of the homeless and poor from around Rome and indeed Italy because people have come from all over for the ceremony.
So, it's his kind of gesture to symbolize the importance of reaching out to the poor. It's one of the main points of his pontificate and on this day that represents the life of a woman who gave herself to the poor -- Paul.
PAUL: We know that there are two miracles that had to be considered for sainthood. Talk to us about those. And anything that struck you today, since you are there. What are you going to remember about what happened this morning?
GALLAGHER: Well, one of the wonderful things about this kind of an event especially with Mother Teresa is she was sort of everybody's saint. So, we've got people from India, from Albania, from all countries of the world who feel that somehow she has touched their lives. One of the most interesting things, I think, to come out of the whole 20 years, really, of Vatican investigation into her life was that she actually went through a lot of interior torment. They call it the dark night of the soul.
And it was a secret throughout her lifetime. She went around smiling and she went around helping everybody and talking about Jesus. But inside she said that she felt she had been abandoned by God. She said, I have no faith. She wrote private letters to her spiritual director that only came out when the Vatican was doing its investigation into her life and into those miracles.
So, that adds a whole another element to this woman that most people thought they knew, but now, we know even more about the suffering but doing the good work even with a kind of interior suffering.
PAUL: Yes, I would suspect that you cannot see what she had seen without feeling the weight of a lot of that.
Delia Gallagher, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.
And thank you for sharing your morning with us. We always appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: "INSIDE POLITICS WITH JOHN KING" starts in just a few seconds.
