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Chemical Attacks Injure Dozens in Syria; Trump, Clinton Make Case to U.S. Voters; Clinton Hammers Trump on Illegal Donation to Florida A.G.; Obama Wades into South China Sea Dispute; Indian Government Expected Consider Controversial Bill to End Commercial Surrogacy. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired September 08, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:07] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN news. Ahead this hour --
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VAUSE: Hello, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. We're now into the third hour of NEWSROOM L.A.
Some tough words from the U.S. for Russia over Syria, asking if Moscow really wants a viable cease-fire in the five-year-long civil war, and warning that Russia is responsible for the actions of its close ally, President Bashar al Assad. Despite that, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian minister Sergei Lavrov will expected to meet Thursday in Geneva to try to reach a deal for their countries to work together to fight ISIS.
As these talks go on, the Aleppo Media Center says a fresh round of air strikes killed at least seven people in that city just a day after a suspected chlorine gas attack.
CNN's Hala Gorani has details now.
And a warning, some images in her report are graphic.
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(SIRENS)
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The relentless bombardment of Aleppo has taken an even more savage twist. On Tuesday, according to local medics, more than a hundred people were victims of a chemical gas attack.
"Everything smells of chlorine," these people shout, as they try to wash the toxic chemical from a small boy.
Rights groups blame the Assad regime, saying government forces dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine on a rebel-held neighborhood of Aleppo. (CRYING)
GORANI: At least 37 of the victims were children, according to the Aleppo Free Doctors Committee. Many left coughing and gasping for air.
As the full brutality of the war pounds Aleppo's streets, diplomats met in London, trying once again to hammer out a plan to end the conflict. Syria's main opposition group set out its road map for political transition, proposing a six-month cease-fire to begin immediately. After that, they want President Assad to step aside in favor of a unity government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We cannot allow Assad and his clique and those who are torturing people to stay on.
GORANI: It is this that remains the biggest sticking point to progress because Assad and his allies in Moscow are refusing to go back down.
After the talks, the host, Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary, sounded hopeful.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Listening to everybody today, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that with common sense and flexibility and energy, this vision and this plan that Dr. Hijawithby (ph) and his colleagues have put forward, this can be put into effect.
GORANI: But neither Russia, nor the Assad regime, of course, were present today in London, so a break through might have been impossible, anyway. And this may all simply be a photo-op.
Although President Obama said in the past that chemical warfare in Syria would be a, quote, "red line," the international community still looks far from any concrete action that could end the suffering.
Meanwhile, children can drowning in their hospital beds is becoming the new normal.
Hala Gorani, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Barbara Walter is a professor at the University of California, San Diego, also an international security expert. She joins me now, via Skype.
Barbara, let's talk about that plan being the put forward. There's some movement on the diplomatic front, but there was flow presence by the Syrian regime, no one from Iran was there, no one from Russia was there. So why did they actually put that plan out? Who exactly was it for?
BARBARA WALTER, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO & INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT: I think that signaling to the on international community and in particular to the two big supporters of the Assad regime, Iran and Russia, that eventually this war is going to end in negotiated settlement and it's going to be up to them to decide if they want to do it now or they want to wait a number of years while they're paying the costs and additional civilians suffer before the same outcome is reached.
VAUSE: But under this plan, though, Bashar al Assad, the dictator in Syria, him stepping down has been a nonstarter for the regime from the get-go and right now it would seem that Assad is probably in the strongest position he's been in since the war began.
[02:05:21] WALTER: Exactly. Assad has absolutely no incentive to negotiate right now. He has the unconditional support or Russia and Iran. He's doing quite well militarily, as you said. In addition, and probably most importantly for him, the condition for negotiations that he leave office is simply a nonstarter for him. So I think what it's going to take to get him to actually participate is either for the Russians and the Iranians to cut him off, to essentially begin to back a different individual in his government, or they have to give him a significant share of power in the first post war government.
VAUSE: U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter had some blunt words for the Russians. Listen to this.
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ASH CARTER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Obviously, if we could get them to a point where they stop doing the wrong thing and started doing the right thing in Syria, it would be very good for them. That's a decision they're going to have to make. But meanwhile, they bear the responsibility of the consequences of things that they could avoid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So given the tension right now between these two countries, what are the chances that John Kerry, the secretary of state, and Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister can find a deal in Syria?
WALTER: They're not going to finalize the deal this month or even this year. This is something that's going to be going on for a long time. I think one of the back stories here that hasn't been mentioned is that the Russians -- there's a deal to be made with the Russians, to have them eliminate their support for Assad. They want sanctions lifted by the United States regarding Ukraine. And my guess is they're negotiating about this behind the scenes.
VAUSE: Wow. It is never what it appears to be.
Barbara, thank you for your insight. We appreciate you being with us.
WALTER: My pleasure.
VAUSE: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are making the case to U.S. voters that they are the most qualified to be commander-in-chief. They appeared separately at an NBC forum in New York on Wednesday. Trump says he'll give his generals 30 days to come up with a plan to defeat ISIS. But he still might use his own secret plan.
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DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I do come up with a plan that I like and that perhaps agrees with mine or maybe doesn't, I may love what the generals come back with.
MATT LAUER, NBC ANCHOR: But you have your own plan?
TRUMP: I have a plan, but I want to be -- I don't want to -- look, I have a very substantial chance of winning. If I win, I don't want to broadcast to the enemy exactly what my plan is.
LAUER: But you're going to --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Let me tell you. If I like, maybe a combination of my plan and the general's plan or the general's plan. If I like their plan, Matt, I'm not going to come up and say, Matt, we have a great plan. This is what Obama does. We're going to leave Iraq on a certain date.
LAUER: But you're going to convene a panel of generals and you've already said you would know more about ISIS than those generals.
TRUMP: Well, they would probably be different generals, to be honest with you.
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VAUSE: Hillary Clinton says she would not spend troops to ground to fight ISIS. But much of her time was spent discussing her use of a private e-mail server when she was secretary of state. Clinton says it was a mistake and she sorry.
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HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What we have here is the use of an unclassified system by hundreds of people in our government to send information that was not marked, there were no headers, there was no statement top secret, secret or confidential. I communicated about classified material on a wholly separate system. I took it very seriously.
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VAUSE: Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress released e-mails to Clinton and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. He says he used his own personal computer to communicate with friends and foreign leaders, and sent e-mails without going through the State Department server.
And FBI Director James Comey is defending his agency's handling of the e-mail investigation. In a member to staff, he says, "Despite all the chest-beating by people no longer in government, there really wasn't a prosecutable case. Those suggesting we are political or some part of fix either don't know us or they are full of baloney and maybe some of both."
The Clinton campaign is hammering Trump over an illegal donation to a Florida official.
Senior political correspondent, Brianna Keilar, reports after receiving that donation, the official decided not to investigate fraud allegations at Trump University.
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CLINTON: How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm well. How are you?
CLINTON: I'm excellent.
[02:10:08] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: After months spent fighting allegations of influenced pedaling between the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton's State Department --
TRUMP: This is like Watergate, only it's worse.
KEILAR: -- The Clinton campaign sees an opening to turn the tables of Donald Trump with the revelation that he made an illegal contribution through his non profit foundation to a group backing the re-election of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2013.
PAM BONDI, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: The next president of the United States of America, Donald Trump.
(CHEERING)
KEILAR: Four days after Bondi said publicly she was weighing an investigation of the now defect Trump University, now at the center of two federal class-action cases, the Trump foundation made a donation of $25,000. Bondi never investigated Trump University.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, good morning, Orlando.
KEILAR: In her home state, Bill Clinton on the attack for his foundation and his wife.
BILL CLINTON: Her opponent attacked my foundation. I think that's because he knew they were about to report that he used his foundation to give money to your attorney general, which is not legal.
(SHOUTING)
(SINGING)
KEILAR: As Clinton and running mate, Tim Kaine, take a break from the trail today, she's relying on help other big names, including her daughter, Chelsea, campaigning for the first time since giving birth to her second child.
CHELSEA CLINTON, DAUGHTER OF HILLARY & BILL CLINTON: I am deeply and unapologetically biased towards my min mom.
KEILAR: She's holding two events in Pennsylvania despite her mom's lead in the polls there. It's a must win to get to the White House, or as the Clinton campaign sees it, a must lose.
CHELSEA CLINTON: Even if I weren't a mom, this would be the most important election of my lifetime because everything I care most about I worry about is at list.
KEILAR: That, as Clinton gets a boost with the reliably red "Dallas Morning News" editorial board supporting a Democrat for the first time in 75 years. "Resume versus resume, judgment versus judgment, this election is no contest," writes the board. Criticizing Clinton over her lack of honesty, her e-mail controversy and concerns about the Clinton Foundation, but still concluded, "Clinton has made mistakes and displayed bad judgment, but her errors are plainly in a different universe than her opponent's."
And in Arizona, where a Democrat hasn't won since Bill Clinton was victorious in 1996, a new poll shows Clinton and Trump nearly neck and neck, though nearly a quarter of voters there say they aren't sure who they'll vote for.
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VAUSE: Our thanks to Brianna Keilar for that report.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, a summit in Southeast Asia is wrapping up. We'll tell you what's been left off the agenda.
Also ahead, the fight over commercial surrogacy in India. Why some say women are being exploited, used as womb factories.
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[02:16:49] VAUSE: President Barack Obama is wrapping up his trip to Laos and his meeting of the U.S. and Southeast Asian nations. The trip has been marked by a diplomatic dust up, a pledge to Laos to clear unexploded bombs, and avoidance of discussing a ruling on the South China Sea.
CNN's Asia-Pacific editor, Andrew Stevens, joins us now live.
Andrew, President Obama making a last-ditch effort, it seems, to bring up the issue of the South China Sea and that ruling against Beijing.
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: Very clearly, he did, too, John. The president was making opening remarks just before a meeting between the U.S. And the ASEAN summit leaders where he pointedly talked about the ruling by that international tribunal at The Hague in July, which effectively said that China's claims to its territory in the South China Sea, they have expanded territory, are illegal. He said that this was a binding decision. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With respect to maritime issues, we'll continue to work to ensure that disputes are resolved peacefully, including in the South China Sea. The landmark arbitration ruling in July, which is binding, helped clarify maritime rights in the region. I recognize this raises tensions, but I also look forward to discussing how we can constructively move forward together to lower tensions and promote diplomacy and regional stability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEVENS: What we're hearing, John, is that China has been lobbying intensely behind the scenes to make sure that that decision in The Hague was not included in any sort of communique, indeed, was not brought up at any of the ministerial leadership summit discussions. So it wasn't brought up. There was a statement from the chairman of ASEAN, which this year is Laos, and Laos is a close ally of China. That statement did point out the fact that there were tensions. It said that they remain seriously concerned over the recent and ongoing developments in the South China Sea and take note of the concerns expressed by some of the leaders on land reclamation. But it didn't actually mention China in that communique. So we have this situation at the moment where there are four members of the 10-member ASEAN community who are in dispute with China about their territorial claims. But China has not been mentioned by name in the discussions or at least in the communique we've seen so far.
And just to add to the tensions, the Philippines in the past 24 hours have released new pictures of the area, about 200 miles west of the Philippines. The Philippines releasing pictures showing Chinese dredges, barges in the area, and other vessels, as well. It's not clear what they're doing there, but the fear from the Philippines is that they may be turning these reefs into manmade islands, which are capable of sustaining some sort of operation there, which would be Chinese controlled.
So it is very much the elephant in the room at this meeting and it's been -- they've been walking around it very, very delicately. Only Mr. Obama pointedly saying, John, that there is an arbitration ruling at The Hague and it is binding internationally.
[02:20:31] VAUSE: OK, Andrew. Thank you. Asia-Pacific, Andrew Stevens live from the ASEAN summit. Thanks, Andrew.
Lawmakers in India are expected to consider a controversial bill that would end commercial surrogacy. India is a top destination for many around the world seeking surrogate mothers, often at a cheaper price. The Indian government says women are being exploited, but opponents of the legislation say fertility services need better regulations.
Alexandra Field joins us live from New Delhi -- Alexandra?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John. We've been speaking to go women who tell us they make thousands of dollars by agreeing to be surrogate mothers. It's only about a fifth of what women in, say, the United States would make for offering the same service. So you have these questions of exploitation that have been raised by some lawmakers. They say they want to take the money out of surrogacy altogether. But on the flip side, you have people who say if you eliminate commercial surrogacy, you are effectively eliminating all surrogacy here in India.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CRYING)
FIELD (voice-over): That's the sound they waited 22 years to hear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
FIELD: And it was a labor of love, requiring the help of a surrogate mom, which is big business in India.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations.
FIELD: The country has been called the womb of the world. A few years ago, CNN took you to the heart of it, a town filled with women dubbed by critics as having wombs for rent. Now the government is working to put the whole business out of business.
DR. SOUMYA SWAMINATHAN, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INDIAN MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL: We thought the government felt that it's very, very important that we move a bill to protect these women. We've received a large number of complaints, but with most of the complaints are about people who are either not given the amount that they were promised or who had some complications that were not covered medically or to do with the children who were left behind.
FIELD: Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, director general at the Indian Medical Research Council, helped draft the bill. It would clamp down on the more than 2,000 under-regulated fertility clinics operating in the country. If passed, it would put an end to paid surrogacy, and an end to paychecks worth thousands of dollars for these women, among the country's poorest, women who might otherwise earn a few hundred in a year.
They didn't want to be identified because they say there's a social stigma surrounding surrogacy.
"With the money, the future of our children will be good, we will educate them. We are benefiting from it and helping others who don't have children, she says."
(on camera): If passed, India's ban to prevent surrogacy would not only prevent poor women from making a substantial amount of money as surrogates, it would stop people from all over the world from coming to India to have babies, and that includes Indian parents, gay couples and single women. The only people that could have babies would be married heterosexual Indian couples who have not been able to have a baby in five years and who are unable to find an unpaid surrogate family member.
(voice-over): This doctor can delivered hundreds of babies from surrogate mowers. She delivered this baby and a hundred other babies from surrogate mothers. She argues the government is stripping women of the right to make choices about their bodies and earn money they need.
UNIDENTIFIED PHYSICIAN: Perhaps their intention is good, by the government, but I feel they are ill informed.
FIELD: A disservice, she believes, to the women who need paychecks and the ones who still hope to hear this.
(CRYING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD: And the proponents of this say there are not dashing the hopes of the would-be parents. They say there are other options for parents, like adoption, and they also say altruistic surrogacy, unpaid surrogacy, would be open. But on the flip side, when we speak to couples who want to become parents through surrogacy, they say all truism surrogacy isn't really an option here. They say there's too much of a taboo surrounding infertility. It would be difficult to ask other relatives to carry these pregnancies for them -- John?
VAUSE: OK. Alexandra, thank you for that.
I know a couple who actually went to India. They did the surrogacy thing. It worked out great for them. For a lot of people who have been there and done that it would be a tragedy if they could not have that service for them. But, obviously, a lot of arguments on both sides.
Alexandra, thank you.
We're told U.S. swimmer, Ryan Lochte, will be suspended from swimming for ten months over that gas station incident in Rio. He will be banned from competing in next year's world championships. Lochte and three other U.S. swimmers were accused of vandalizing a gas station bathroom last month. The other three could face suspensions, as well, but not as long as Lochte's.
American football player, Colin Kaepernick, is standing by his alleged protest against police brutality and racial injustice. He refuses to stand during the national anthem before games. On Wednesday, Kaepernick reiterated that he means no disrespect towards the men and the women of the military. Kaepernick was asked whether he thought more athletes will join his protest.
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[02:25:53] COLIN KAEPERNICK, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS FOOTBALL PLAYER: Players aren't comfortable speaking what's really on their mind and what's right because they're afraid of consequences that come along with it. And that's not an ideal environment for anybody. And I think that also speaks to the pressure that we have here where if you don't fall in line, then we're going to get you out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And one athlete has been effectively banned from joining Kaepernick's protest. Before a women's football match on Wednesday, the Washington spirit deliberately played the anthem before the players took the field. That was meant to prevent Seattle rains star, Megan Rapinoe, from kneeling during the anthem. "The Washington Post" reports that Rapinoe called that incredibly distasteful.
Coming up next for our viewers in Asia, CNN's "State of the Race" with Kate Bolduan.
And coming up next here on CNN NEWSROOM, a new wall will be going up soon to stop migrants from entering one country, but many say the so- called great wall is down-right dangerous.
Also, the road to safety for some Syrian refugees can be difficult and dangerous, especially when you cannot use your legs. One family's story of determination is next.
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[02:30:26] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.
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VAUSE: Top diplomats for the U.S. and Russia are scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday in Geneva. They're trying to on work out a Syrian cease-fire agreement. Meantime, Syria is accused of dropping chlorine gas in a rebel-held neighborhood on Tuesday, killing several in air strikes on Wednesday.
Syrians are fleeing their country, but imagine making that dangerous trip in a wheelchair.
Christian Amanpour introduces us to the Syrian refugees who did just that.
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(CROSSTALK)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): We've witnessed the treacherous route that more than a million people have taken on the high seas and on land, risking their lives on perilous journeys for way too many months now.
But imagine crossing mountains without even the use of your legs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For normal people, it's very difficult. But for disabled people, it's like a miracle to cross the borders.
AMANPOUR: Siblings Aylan and Gian were born with muscular dystrophy, a degenerative disease, that severely hampered their escape from ISIS in Syria. For them and their family, Europe seemed to offer a safe haven. But the route through Turkey and over those mountains was almost impossible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we arrived at the top of the mountains, we took two horses, one for me and my sister, disabled sister, and one for our wheelchairs.
AMANPOUR: Strapped to these horses, they slowly made their way to the people smugglers selling boat passages in Turkey. Crushed into a six- meter long board with around 60 people on board, they were forced to abandon their wheelchairs on board. Their mother wondered whether they would ever make it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
AMANPOUR: Four hours later, they landed on this Greek island and were given another set of wheelchairs. They were sent to the Rifusona Refugee Camp on the mainland. It is not easy to navigate in a wheelchair there and winter is fast approaching.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
AMANPOUR: Waiting since March to reunite with their father and sister in Germany, Aylan spends his days teaching English to other Syrian refugee children, uncertain that he'll ever get there, but still hopeful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have family there, have a job. This is my dream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: That was Christiane Amanpour with that report.
A camerawoman seen kicking and tripping migrants in Hungary is now facing charges. The video caused a lot of outrage last year. Petra Laszlo was fired from her job at the news station. She later apologized. She's charged, though, with breach of peace and reportedly could face up to two years in prison.
A Mexican official apparently linked to Donald Trump's visit there has lost his job. The finance minister offered his resignation to Mexico's president. On Wednesday, Enrique Pena Nieto said he accepted it. It was the finance department's idea to invite Trump to meet the president. They hoped to get the American billionaire to moderate his tone, but just a few hours later, Trump was back in the U.S. pledging again to build a border wall at the expense of Mexico.
The U.K. is planning to build a new wall in France to prevent migrants from hoping on trucks and heading to Britain, but there are those who believe it is not a good idea.
Erin McLaughlin reports from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) [02:35:35] ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some are calling it the great wall of Calais, others comparing it to Donald Trump's plans for Mexico. But there are some stark differences here. This planned wall will only stretch for about a kilometer, separating a main port road from the migrant camp known as the Jungle. It's been mutually great upon by the French and British governments.
Take a listen to what the U.K.'s immigration minister had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GOODWILL, U.K. IMMIGRATION MINISTER: The security that we're putting in at the ports is being stepped up with better equipment, we're going to start building this very big new wall, very soon, with the 17,000 buckets we're doing with the French. So there are people still getting through --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It's not a wall, is it?
GOODWILL: We've done the fence. Now we're doing a wall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: Earlier this week, the truck drivers held a protest there in Calais. They say they're very upset with what they argue are increasingly aggressive tactics being used by the migrants to try and get aboard the trucks to illegally sneak their way into the United Kingdom. They say the migrants have been throwing objects at the trucks. But the Truck Drivers Association here in the U.K. says a wall is not an answer. They say they want that $2.5 million to be the put towards more security around that main road.
Also against this wall, aid organizations inside the so-called Jungle camp. They say that it will not deter the immigrants, but what it will do is make the situation more dangerous. And they say the only people who will profit from it are the smugglers, who they argue, will simply increase their prices.
Nevertheless, the British and French governments plan to go ahead with this wall and it's expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Erin McLaughlin, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: I'm no expert, but this may not be good. Take a look at this river in Siberia. It suddenly turned a brilliant shade of red. Residents sent out the pictures surreal scene on Tuesday. But a leak of an unidentified chemical may be to blame. You think? Officials say the river is not linked to the public water supply, so there's no need to worry.
Security drills are under way in Saudi Arabia in preparation for the Hajj. Why Iran is criticizing the measures. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:41:22] VAUSE: The annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca begins this week. And Saudi forces are bracing for millions who will visit it. Security is a major concern after last year's stampede. It's creating a big division between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saudi security forces ready for action in response to a disaster in Mecca. But this isn't the real thing. It is a drill in preparation for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Saudi officials say they are taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of the pilgrims this month.
UNIDENTIFIED SAUDI OFFICIAL: We are really ready to serve the guests and providing the most extreme levels of security of their arrival in the country until they leave.
HOLMES: Authorities say they are taking no chances following last year's stampede in which Riyadh said more than 700 people died. But according to counts of countries that repatriated bodies, the death toll could have been more than 2,000.
This strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. More than 460 of those killed were Iranians. Tehran has already barred its citizens from participating in this year's pilgrimage. Iran's supreme leader has suggested Muslim countries consider ending ownership of the Hajj. Riyad accusing Iran of trying to politicize the event and compromise safety.
(SHOUTING)
HOLMES: Each pilgrim is being given an electronic bracelet and there are more surveillance cameras, all intended to avoid a repeat of last year. But those measures are being criticized by Khomeini. In a statement on his website, he accused the Saudis of collaborating with, quote, "spy agencies of the U.S. and the Zionist regime" to make what he calls, quote, "the divine sanctuary" unsafe for evan.
The Saudis believe the new measures are already working. More than a million people arrived this week amid tight security.
The Red Crescent Society also getting involved, saying it's using lessons from last year's disaster.
UNIDENTIFIED RED CRESCENT SOCIETY EMPLOYEE (through translation): God willing, the service will be better this season and this season we consider it very hot, as you can see. So we have made good preparation for sun stroke cases.
HOLMES: Michael Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We go to Rio de Janeiro now, where the Olympic fever is still burning hot, now that the summer Paralympics games are under way. More than 4,000 Paralympics athletes were in the stadium. 161 nations are represented, but that does not include Russia. The International Paralympics Committee banned all Paralympics Russian athletes, many of them over state-sponsored doping.
The Paralympics games are filled with stories about athletes overcoming incredible odds. One of them is Kurt Fearnley. He's a three-time gold medalist from Australia. Here is his story.
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[02:45:42] KURT FEARNLEY, PARALYMPICS ATHLETE: There was no indication that I was going to be any different to any other of the four other kids that mom had had. There was a period of time where they weren't sure whether I would live out the hour, the day, the week, the month.
I was born without the lower portion of my spine. My name is Kurt Fearnley, and I'm the three-time world medal Paralympian.
My life motto is struggling is already. If anything is struggling, it's strengthening.
I won two silver medals in Sydney, two gold medals and a silver medal in Athens. Gold, two silvers and a bronze in Beijing and a silver and a bronze in London itself.
I grew up in a little town called Corkel. It's a town of 250 people. We had this incredible kind of family atmosphere. Introduction to wheelchair sport, it changed my world. I saw wheelchair racing in 1994. I saw these guys who were just these big men, you know, and they were these gladiators and I loved it. I kind of just, you know, found where I'm meant to be. Most people were surprised. Telling your mom and dad that you're going to turn down your traditional kind of place at university to be a wheelchair racer, you know, I could have been sitting across from them saying that I want to be a professional unicorn hunter, you know, like it was just a bit of an unknown experience.
I've won 35 marathons, placed in another 15 all around the world. I think my biggest day that I stop ration wheelchairs is there's no rock unturned.
There have been just occasion after occasion that I wonder whether I'm living someone else's life when you're going through these things, but those moments, those themes, those things that you never saw coming, they are some of the most memorable and some of the most incredible experiences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And we wish him well. Good luck.
A short break. When we come back, Apple has unveiled the future of its iPhone and it's wireless. What's missing, just ahead.
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[02:51:29] VAUSE: So, if you had a few too many drinks last night, hitting the gym after a big night out may sound like an awful way to cure a hangover, but new research suggests regular exercise might cancel out the higher risk of cancer caused by drinking. Working out for two and a half hours a week should be enough, but this only applies for moderate drinkers. Not those who go out there and, you know, get wasted. That means no more than eight drinks in a week for women, 12 each week for men, but big ones, of course.
If you want to sweat out the booze without being tethered to your IPhone, you may like Apple's new IPhone 7. The company unveiled the iPhone 7 on Wednesday. It has some cool new features, but it's missing one thing which some customers say they actually really want.
Here is Brian Todd.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The unveiling many couldn't wait for and some dreaded. Now, after its trademark slick stage production at a packed theater in San Francisco, Apple is out with its new IPhone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the best IPhone that we have ever created. This is IPhone 7.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has a gorgeous new design.
TODD: The new IPhone 7 is water resistant, has a fancier camera, it's sleeker, has two new shades of black. But the biggest change, no new head phone jack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This plug right here that we're all used to, to listen to music, this will no longer exist on the IPhone 7.
TODD (on camera): What is the up side to that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For everyone who has ever gone on a run and had the cord get tangled or put it in the bottom of their bag and had to untangle it, that will no longer be an issue.
TODD (voice-over): To save space, headphones will only charge into the lightning port. Included in your purchase, ear buds with an adapter.
But the biggest innovation? For another $159, there will be wireless ear buds called air pods. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The air pods deliver truly an Apple magical
experience.
TODD: But air pods need charging. You can't use them with non Apple phones and you wouldn't want to lose them during workouts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really comes down to one word. Courage. The courage to move on.
TODD: But after this latest unveiling, some serious pushback on local media.
(on camera): Why have so many of us been so reluctant to get rid of this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's the cliche that change is hard, but it goes beyond that. The cord on the headphones serves multiple purposes.
TODD (voice-over): Analysts say Apple needs to push new products, like wireless headphones, accessories. And it just unveiled a water- resistant Apple Watch to recoup after recent setbacks.
Over the past year, Apple's sales of IPhones dropped for the first time since the device was introduced in had 2007.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've declined because of competition like Smartphone makers like Samsung. And data shows people are updating their phones more often.
TODD (voice-over): Cynics say, with Apple stock in desperate need of resurgence, the company is under new pressure to produce new products and upgrade existing ones to make money. But Apple fans, the faithful, say products like the air pods are a way to push us all past entrenched technologies, like the company did when it got rid of floppy disks and C.D. drives on the Mac.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: And before the big launch, CEO Tim Cook kicked off the event in San Francisco, California, with some car-pool karaoke alongside TV host, James Corden.
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[02:55:14] JAMES CORDEN, TV HOST: What are you -- what are you going to wear for the launch?
TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: I was planning on just wearing what I've got on here.
CORDEN: This is a big deal.
COOK: I know. CORDEN: If I was you, I'd be, like, wearing a suit made entirely of
Apples or maybe a cane with the Apple logo on the top, shades. And then you just walk on and you go, this is it (EXPLETIVE DELETED), get in line.
I've read the security on the new IPhone will be the best of its kind.
COOK: Absolutely.
CORDEN: Do you know how I read that?
COOK: How?
CORDEN: A leak on the Internet.
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Do you see the irony of that?
COOK: I do see the irony of that.
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VAUSE: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
Stay with us. The news continues next with Rosemary Church.
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[03:00:10] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: As chlorine bombs fall children and civilians, diplomats talk about --
