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Latest on Hurricane Matthew; Nearly 15 Hundred Flights Already Canceled; Typhoon Floods Parts of South Korea; Syrian Government to Cut Back Airstrikes to Give Aleppo Citizens to Evacuate; FBI Says NSA Contractor Stole Top Secret Files; Party Like a Russian Controversy. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired October 06, 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] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Bracing for Matthew. The deadly hurricane picks up steam and the southern U.S. could be next.
Syria's military says it will cut back on the air strikes on Aleppo giving people a chance to get out safely.
Also ahead, the Hong Kong asylum seekers who gave up their beds for whistleblower, Edward Snowden.
Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, and this is CNN Newsroom.
Millions of Americans could be in the path of hurricane Matthew. The storm has been lashing the Bahamas and will likely strengthen as it moves closer to Florida's East Coast. Nearly 1500 flights have been cancelled already and that number could go up. Hundreds of thousands of coastal residents are hitting the road.
Evacuations were ordered in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Many store shelves are now empty as people stock up on supplies. The governor of Florida warns there's less than 24 hours to get ready.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SCOTT, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: This thing is going to get close to the coast you better be ready for it. Because if it turns at the last minute you're not going to have time to get ready. You're not going to be able to go get your food and water, you're not going to be able to evacuate. You're going to put your life and your family's life at risk.
I mean, it's not fair to you and it's not fair -- it's not fair to your family and think about it, after the fact somebody is going to go out and try to save you. They can't do it during the storm. They are going to be possibly putting their life at risk to save you. That's not the right thing to be doing.
You should be -- I mean, think about this, we all have one life. We can rebuild homes and businesses, you can't rebuild somebody's family. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And our meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now with more on this. And Derek, of course, the reason why the government is pleading with people is a lot of time people don't get out, they don't move out of the way, do they? And they don't evacuate.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And it's -- and it's concerning for the people who don't evacuate because they are putting the authorities who go to save them at risk. OK. So, that's a concern in itself.
I want to give you the latest information here. And where my concerns are heading for the immediate next 6 to 12 hours. We are really focusing in on Nassau and the Bahamas. Because it looks more and more that they will receive a direct hit with hurricane Matthew.
Keep in mind, if this realizes the storm surge potential between 5 to 15 feet, nearly 80 percent of that capital will be under water by the time the storm system moves through. So, that is a concern going forward.
By the way, this is becoming more and more organized. Well, we are starting to see a really defined eye. So, it's a good indicator to meteorologists that we are starting to see some strengthening with hurricane Matthew right now.
Here's the latest warnings, hurricane warnings across the Bahamas islands. Also hurricane warnings from Brevard County, just north of Miami to the Florida and Georgia border.
Here are the chances of tropical storm-force winds, that winds of at least 63 kilometers per hour and a deep dark shading of purple and red indicates a very high probability. But when it counts it really is the matter of kilometers, as we speak, where the storm will go and who will feel the brunt of the storm.
So, what we've done is we've timed it out for you. We do expect deteriorating conditions for Nassau here within the next hours, if not minutes. It will get significantly worse by sunrise.
And as we work towards Thursday evening, tropical storm-force winds felt from Miami northward and a potential land falling category four hurricane by early Friday morning.
And then look at how it moves along the coastal areas of the southeastern United States and then potentially wraps around and impacts the region once again.
I talked about the forecast track. This is crucial. Because, Rosemary, if the storm moves even 50 to 100 kilometers westward, we're going to will bring the brunt of the storm system inland. So that means places like Orlando, which is several hundred kilometers inland or at least several kilometers inland from the coast will feel the brunt of the storm. But if the storm tracks a little further east, out away from the
coast, that will bring the worst part of the storm with it. And we will get a glancing blow from the storm. But concerns going forward, definitely, Rosemary, will be storm surge, perhaps one and a half to two meters, right along that coastal areas of Florida and Georgia.
The rain threat for the region leading to flash flooding and not to mention the potential of 200 kilometer per hour sustained winds for a long period of time. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes. Derek, thank you so much for the heads up.
[03:05:01] DAM: Yes.
CHURCH: And of course pleading with people to take care in that region. I appreciate it.
DAM: Absolutely.
CHURCH: Well, people in eastern Cuba are also surveying the damage from Matthew. A resident in a seaside town says the storm washed away more than 30 homes. Hundreds of people lost the roofs off their homes. So far no deaths have been reported in Cuba.
A U.N. official calls hurricane Matthew the largest humanitarian event in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. The storm devastated parts of the country on Tuesday. Hundreds of homes are flooded.
More than 300,000 people are in emergency shelters. And the main bridge from the capital to the southern peninsula has collapsed.
Humanitarian aid is pouring into the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest thing that we saw of course as you mentioned is the flooding. We live sort of in a mountainous area of Grand Bois and so a lot of the water off the mountain came rushing through these one-room homes.
And so as a result most of the homes, homeowners lost all of their possessions that were inside the homes. We also saw a lot of roofs have been blown off. And quite a bit of repair needs to be done structurally in terms of that.
And also a lot of gardens and farms have been destroyed. So, another concern is going to be food prices and food insecurity moving forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: An estimated one million people are affected in Haiti.
Deadly typhoon has swamped parts of South Korea. The storm killed at least six people Wednesday after battering the southern tip of the country. The government says four other people are missing. Hundreds of homes and thousands of hectares of farmland are flooded. Syria's military says it will decrease air strikes and artillery fire
on Aleppo's rebel-held areas to allow civilians to evacuate safety.
The move follows an international outcry over its Russian-backed bombardment of civilians over the past few weeks leaving hundreds dead and wounded.
The latest offensive, which activists say targeted public places, such as hospitals and markets, came after a U.S.-Russian brokered ceasefire collapsed last month.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins us now live from Amman, Jordan. So, Jomana, what is the international community to make of Syria's announcement that will now hold back on air strikes? What does that signal exactly? They say it is to allow civilians to get out.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is after the Syrian regime and its allies have come under a lot of criticism for that heavy bombardment, unprecedented bombardment of eastern Aleppo that we have seen over the past couple of weeks. I think everyone is going to wait and see what happens.
We know that the Syrian military through the state news agency came out late last night saying they are going to reduce these attacks on rebel strongholds in eastern Aleppo. They say they are doing this to improve the situation of the civilians in eastern Aleppo and allow for them to leave.
Now, the U.N. estimates we are talking about 275,000 people who live in these eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo. And according to U.N. estimates, Rosemary, they say about half of those people would leave if they are given this opportunity.
These are people who are facing some of the worst humanitarian conditions, we're talking about shortages of medicine, we've seen hospitals coming under attack. They have no safe place and they are running out of food. So, they are facing starvation.
And now the Syrian military is saying that they are allowing them to leave. But there is really a lack of trust here.
The Syrian regime saying it is the rebels who are not allowing them to leave that they are holding them hostage inside of eastern Aleppo. Pretty much using them as human shields is the word that the Syrian regime used.
But talking to civilians there there's real mistrust here. They don't trust that they will be provided with safe passage here. And of course, the concern is that we are seeing what the regime has been accused of in the past, a tactic of starve or surrender. Rosemary?
CHURCH: And, Jomana, a U.N. expert has disclosed findings on the course of last month's deadly attack of the U.N. aid convoy. What all did he say about that?
KARADSHEH: Well, according to the United Nations, according to satellite imagery that was obtained by the U.N's -- the UNOSAT, they say that the analysis it shown that it was air strikes that caused it. This is based on the crater that was created around that aid convoy strike last month.
[03:10:04] Now, of course the big question here, Rosemary, is what happens next? We have heard U.S. officials in the past saying that according to their satellite imagery, according to data that they had available that it seemed to be Russian air strikes that were responsible for that aid convoy strike.
But of course, the big question is Syria is accountability. We have seen so many strikes on targets like hospitals, for example, in recent days, repeated strikes on hospitals that these are crimes.
This could amount to war crimes as we have heard from U.N. officials in the past. But so far, Rosemary, no one is being held accountable for these attacks that we see happening over and over again in Syria.
CHURCH: It is distressing for sure for people watching all over the globe. Jomana Karadsheh joining us there from Amman, Jordan where it is 10 past 10 in the morning. Many thanks to you.
The Italian coast guard has saved more than 10,000 migrants stranded in the Mediterranean Sea over the past two days. They say the people were trying to cross from Libya in boats and rubber dinghies. Twenty eight bodies were also found.
But there is some good news in this ongoing tragedy; three babies were born on a migrant rescue ship. The doctor on board said all of the births went smoothly. Extraordinary.
Well, the former head of the United Nations refugee agency will likely be the next U.N. Secretary General. Antonio Gutierrez will face a formal vote on Thursday. He's Portugal's former Prime Minister and had long been the front runner.
Many eastern European nations wanted someone from their region to lead the U.N. Gutierrez will replace Ban Ki-moon, whose second five year term ends on December 31st.
Well, the high-level security breach at the U.S. National Security Agency. Up next, details on the government contractor the FBI says stole top secret data.
Plus, the White House is unhappy with Israel saying new plans for a settlement are not the actions of a good friend. We'll explain.
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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi. I'm Amanda Davies with your CNN World Sport headlines.
Maria Sharapova may have been cleared to get back to tennis action from April next year but before she puts her doping ban behind her she has been having her say about how she feels she's been treated over her failed drug test and suspension. The former world number one has told us at CNN that the tennis
governing body, the ITF could have and should have done more to avoid the situation.
[03:15:01] On Tuesday, Sharapova had her two-year ban for taking Meldonium cut to 15 months. It's the drug that was only added to the prohibited list at the start of the year and Sharapova and her team claim they were unaware.
On the course, a disappointing day for local fans at the Japan Open where top seed and home favorite Kei Nishikori forced to retire from his second round match through injury.
Better news though, for world number two, Andy Murray at the China Open in Beijing. He crushed Andrey Kuznetsov in straight sets.
And in the latest match in the NBA's global games, Oklahoma City played Barcelona. It was tied until the very end and its counted layup giving the Thunder a one-point lead with just a minute to go. Oklahoma City holding on to win. Final score 92 to 89. The thunder's first victory of pre-season.
That's a look at your sports headlines. I'm Amanda Davies.
CHURCH: The FBI says a contractor with the National Security Agency stole top secret files and took them home. He worked for the same company as a now infamous whistleblower responsible for another high- level security breach.
CNN's justice correspondent Evan Perez reports.
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: The Justice Department says the leak of these documents could cause, quote, "exceptionally grave damage."
Herald Martin is facing charges for allegedly stealing some of the nation's most sensitive secrets. Some classified at the highest levels. Among the information that the FBI believes he stole where documents detailing a sophisticated hacking tool that the NSA developed to break in to foreign computer system.
A couple of months ago, someone calling themselves the shadow brokers began offering the computer code for the hacking tool for sale online. The computer code dates back to a few years ago.
It's not the latest technology but it is still considered highly insensitive. The FBI raided Martin's home back in August and he was arrested then but the charges remain secret until Wednesday.
CNN caught up to his wife outside of his home in the D.C. suburbs. Here's what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE MARTIN, HAROLD MARTIN'S WIFE: He's a good man. And that's all I can really tell you. OK. I would greatly appreciate if you guys would respect my privacy and respect my family's privacy. I love him very much and he's a good man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREZ: Martin worked as a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton and he had a top secret clearance. Booz Allen is also the contractor who employed Edward Snowden, who the government claims for carrying out one of the biggest and most damaging leaks of U.S. government secrets.
The FBI is still trying to figure out what Martin's motivation was. So far, investigators don't think that he was working for a foreign government.
His attorney issued a statement that reads i part, quote, "There is no evidence that Harold Martin betrayed his country. What we know is that Mr. Martin loves his family and America. He served his nation honorably in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant and has devoted his entire career to making America safe."
Not this is just another major blow to the NSA, which has been working to rebuild its reputation after the Snowden leaks. They have been doing a lot of work to try to prevent things just like this, the so- called insider threat.
Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: Let's get more on this from David Kennedy, he is a security consultant and CEO of TrustedSec and has worked for the NSA and U.S. Marines in cyber warfare. Thank you for joining us.
DAVID KENNEDY, TRUSTEDSEC CEO: Thank you for having me on. I appreciate it.
CHURCH: So, let's start by looking at what this NSA contractor, Harold Martin, is accused of stealing. We know this is classified at the highest level. What are the sophisticated hacking tools capable of doing and who might already have access to this do you think?
KENNEDY: Well, what the NSA does and they have, you know, they do everything from what is called signals intelligence to information warfare, cyber warfare. And what is specifically being stated in this is source code to some of the most secret type of hacking tools that are essentially used to infiltrate, you know, our enemies.
And so, you know, we have offensive operations going on against China, Russia and vice-versa. They go after us. And so these are some of the most guarded tools on any NSA's arsenal. Because it is literally things that, you know, require a significant amount of research and to actively go and use for operations.
Think of it as a, you know, essentially precision missile strike but in the cyber side of the house in order to identify or target specific people. So, it's a big deal. It's very, very secretive, very classified. And it's probably some of the best tools that we have in our arsenal.
CHURCH: Now, authorities have said they don't yet know what Harold Martin's motivation was for allegedly stealing the sensitive material, whether it was political or profit driven. They don't know. But given that we do know the sophisticated hacking tools were up for sale on the internet, what does that tell you about possible motivation?
[03:20:04] KENNEDY: Well, we've seen a long history of, you know, espionage and, you know, turning against your country in the past, dating back to World War II. But you've seen recently more so, the activist type models where, you know, against the government like Snowden or Manning and other folks that have gone against the NSA's program.
In this specific case the type of tools that they had were worth a lot of money. We're talking, you know, $100,000, if not millions of dollars if you find the right interested people, including, you know, Russia would easily pay, you know, a million dollars to have zero days into, you know, infrastructure critical things that make the internet work.
So, this is a very lucrative type of thing that someone could actively go and sell on the market. I'm not saying that's what happened here, we don't have the evidence yet. But that's a growing problem from the NSA and especially when it comes the contractors.
You know, while I was in the Marine Corps, you know, we were side loaded what we had access to. It's a little bit more broader for contractors and contractors have a little bit more access in a lot of cases to these systems. So, it's kind of scary because they still haven't been able to lock their systems down since Snowden. And this is just another indication of that.
CHURCH: And it's worth noting that Harold Martin worked for the same government contractor that employed Edward Snowden, Booz Allen Hamilton. How would this happen again? Another embarrassing NSA theft even after Snowden's case exposed security weakness back in 2013. And will heads roll do you think?
KENNEDY: Well, here's the thing, what Snowden did, you know, is taking a significant amount of classified data and publishing that data, which was very damaging to our intelligence capabilities.
But what he didn't do is release things like source code and weapons essentially that you can use against organizations or companies or, you know, offenses against different countries that maybe hostile to us.
You may remember when Sony was breached, that was attributed back to North Korea and the United States shut the North Korean internet down for several days in retaliation. Very much the same type of tools that would have been in this specific case.
And so, you know, these type of tools are extremely, extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. And the NSA has been, you know, also criticized for having these type of capabilities, as well. I personally think that they need to have these capabilities.
However, you know, it's extremely damaging. So, taking all of that into consideration, I don't know how they let these secrets out in the first place and I think it is a big black eye for Booz Allen, which is their second contractor that has especially gone rogue and starting to sell, you know, secrets or using those for different motives.
So, I think it's a big, big deal that we are seeing and the NSA really needs to figure out what they are doing or should they even be trusted with this type of zero days or attack methods or tools if they can't control or protect them.
CHURCH: All right. David Kennedy, thank you so much for your expertise. We appreciate it.
KENNEDY: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: The United States is slamming Israel over its plans to create what it says is a new Jewish settlement in the west bank. The White House says the plan goes against Israel's promise not to build new settlements, and that it calls into question the country's relationship with the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The settlements planned location is deep in the West Bank. In fact, the settlement location is far closer to Jordan than it is to Israel. And it would effectively link a string of outposts that could divide the West Bank and it would make the possibility of a viable Palestinian state all the more remote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And that was White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
CNN'S Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem. So, Oren, how is Israel responding to this tough language from the Obama administration?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, Israel says that this isn't a new settlement. They say this is an expansion of a currently settlement, the settlement of Shiloh in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.
The international community considers Shiloh an illegal settlement. Israel says it's within the meters of the boundaries of Shiloh and isn't an expansion. In fact, they say that these units, these 98 units are specifically being built because Israel, by court order, has to destroy an illegal outpost, the outpost of Amona which is a short distance away.
And that this new housing is specifically for those people. So, they say it's replacement housing for the illegal outpost of Amona.
Now it is worth noting that in the planning papers for this new construction, Israel says will have its own municipal buildings, its own public buildings and that will effectively independent.
So, even if Israel doesn't consider it a new settlement it will be able to act as a new settlement. Rosemary, that would make it the first new settlement here in decades. Also, a scathing response from the Palestinians -- that Palestinians.
PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat says this would be, quote, "Another illegal alternative to the illegal colonial installation of Amona."
CHURCH: And, Oren, just going back to what we heard from the United States, how concerned is the Netanyahu government that these harsher words might signal that President Obama is moving toward laying down guidelines for a proposed peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians before he leaves office?
[03:25:10] LIEBERMANN: Well, that's certainly the big fear on the part of Netanyahu. When Netanyahu was in the U.S. earlier this month he got assurances -- or last month rather, he got assurance from Trump and Clinton that they wouldn't do anything unilaterally at the United Nations. So, he got assurance from the republican and democrat candidates for president.
Notably, when he met with President Obama, that didn't come up. So, there was no assurance there on the part of Obama. The suspicion here is that he could do something after the elections, which is to say after November 8th and before January 20th.
The fear here is that he would lay down parameters for negotiations, which would be a big step from the U.S. which generally protects Israel at the U.N. Security Council.
CHURCH: All right. Our Oren Liebermann joining us there, 10.25 in the morning in Jerusalem. Many thanks to you for that live report.
Well, with another presidential debate just days away, Donald Trump campaigns in Nevada. Coming up, the challenges that both candidates face with Latinos in the swing state.
And the people who help the world most hunted man stay hidden are coming forward. The reason they are breaking their silence about Edward Snowden. We'll have that for you on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to our viewers all across the globe. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check the top stories for you this hour.
Hurricane Matthew is lashing the Bahamas as it moves toward the Southeastern United States. Nearly 1500 flights have been cancelled with possibly more on the way.
[03:30:02] The hurricane will likely strengthen as it moves north. Evacuations are underway in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
France's foreign minister is trying to revive efforts toward a ceasefire that would allow much-needed aid in to Aleppo, Syria. He is traveling to Moscow and Washington in the coming days to discuss French efforts to bring peace to the besieged city. The U.S. suspended its efforts with Russia to initiate a ceasefire earlier this week.
The U.S. Justice Department said a national security contractor stole top secret intelligence. Officials arrested Harold Martin in August but just announced it on Wednesday. Investigators don't know what his motivation was but they don't believe it was for a foreign country.
Donald Trump is campaigning in the swing state of Nevada ahead of Sunday's presidential debate. The republican nominee is scheduled to hold a town hall on Thursday that is seen as a dry run for his face off with Hillary Clinton.
Many republicans are hoping he will put on the same of performance as his running mate did in Tuesday's vice presidential debate.
Jim Acosta has more.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump is taking a victory lap, declaring the bottom of his ticket came out on top in the vice presidential debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mike Pence did an incredible job. And I'm getting a lot of credit because that's really my first so-called choice. I'd argue that Mike had the single most decisive victory in the history of vice presidential debates.
TIM KAINE, (D) U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you can't beat the Nixon standard ...
(CROSSTALK)
ELAINE QUIJANO, DEBATE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, the people at home cannot understand either one of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But in the rumble of the running mates Mike Pence was at times sprinting as fast as he could away from Trump. As Tim Kaine was in hot pursuit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, (R) U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm happy to defend him. Most of what you said is completely false. And the American people know that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: While the Indiana governor stayed cool, deflecting most of Kaine's attacks, democrats are seizing on Pence's defense of Trump's past comment that some undocumented Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals as a defining moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENCE: You whipped out that Mexican thing again. He -- look.
(CROSSTALK)
KAINE: Can you defend it?
PENCE: There are criminal aliens in this country. He also said and many of them are good people. You keep leaving that out of your quote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And Kaine repeatedly raised the GOP ticket's praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAINE: This is one where we can just kind of go to the tape on it, but Governor Pence said inarguably Vladimir Putin is a better leader than President Obama.
PENCE: That is absolutely inaccurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But here's what he said to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENCE: It's inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Instead, during the debate Pence was talking tough on Putin, insisting that President Trump would stare down the Russian leader in Syria. That's despite reservations voiced by Trump himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I would have stayed out of Syria.
PENCE: Russia chooses to be involved and continue, I should say, to be involved in this barbaric attack on civilians in Aleppo, the United States of America should be prepared to use military force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Still, post-debate polls show Pence's Reaganesque performance carried the night. The Indiana governor shrugged off the likelihood that Trump didn't pay federal income taxes for nearly two decades.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAINE: And he stood on the sage last week and when Hillary said you haven't been paying taxes he said "that makes me smart." So it's smart not to pay for our military. It's smart not to pay for veterans.
(CROSSTALK)
PENCE: Senator, do you take all the deductions that you're entitled to?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But after the debate when Trump's son Eric was asked by Dana Bash whether his father had in fact paid any federal income taxes over the last 20 years, his answer hardly put the matter to rest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: Of course. Yes. Absolutely. My father pays a tremendous amount of tax. We, as a company, pay a tremendous amount of tax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: With the next presidential debate just days away the pressure is back on the top of the ticket, and this time Trump's campaign manager says the GOP nominee will be ready.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: We prepare constantly. And he has gotten very excited about the format, the town hall format. It's really a sweet spot for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And the Trump campaign is pushing back on the notion that the GOP nominee is somehow jealous of Pence's performance. In the word of Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, that is truly outrageous.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Reno, Nevada.
CHURCH: Meantime, Hillary Clinton is spending most of the next few days preparing for Sunday's debate. She did attend a fund-raiser in Washington where she praised her running mate Tim Kaine's performance in the vice presidential debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought tim did a great job. And every time he tried to push Mike Pence to defend what Donald Trump has said and done, Pence just bobbed and weaved, tried to get out of the way because, after all, trying to defend Donald Trump is an impossible task.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:35:08] CHURCH: Well, the challenge for Trump, as he campaigns in Nevada is winning over the state sizable Latino population. Though, his stance on immigration is controversial to some.
Kyung Lah reports that hasn't mean guaranteed support for Clinton. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shame on you.
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The battleground state of Nevada, emphasis on battle. The guy on red Trump shirt...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't forget to vote.
LAH: ... is John Elizondo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't forget to vote on November 8. Don't forget to vote. Don't forget to vote for Trump.
LAH: Proud Latino for Trump.
Do you think the Latinos in Nevada are considering Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. Absolutely.
LAH: But the great majority are going democrat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll find out. I don't think so. I don't feel that way.
LAH: The Limo driver believes it's a mistake to think Latinos who make up approximately 20 percent of all voters in Nevada are a uniform voting bloc.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got the crap out of Washington with Trump. You know what toilet paper does? It wipes crap from your hoo-ha. So, I tell people there are a lot of crap in Washington.
LAH: Trump's tough talk is why even though Elizondo's mother and grandparents emigrated from Mexico, his grandparents illegally, he backs Trump's policy like the wall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would electrify it on the top. I'll put sensors in the ground to see if anybody digging through.
(CROSSTALK)
LAH: You would electrify the wall?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I -- the top of it. So, people would go over, yes, I would. I think more Latinos are asking questions, especially now.
LAH: Refrigeration technician, Jehovanny Molina, an immigrant from Guatemala has plenty of questions, an Evangelical Christian, the married father of three is looking to a higher power for an answer before November.
Who are you going to vote for?
JEHOVANNY MOLINA, UNDECIDED VOTER: I'm not sure yet.
LAH: Why would you vote for Donald Trump?
MOLINA: I don't see myself voting for him.
LAH: Molina's biggest problem with Trump, like many Hispanic voters is his stance on immigration.
TRUMP: They are bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they are rapists.
LAH: Then wouldn't you vote for Hillary Clinton?
MOLINA: As you would think...
LAH: But many Evangelicals are against Clinton's stance on abortion and same-sex marriage.
MOLINA: Most people that I've talk to are undecided. Just like I am.
LAH: That undecided voter is the target for Culinary Union 226. The union touts 57,000 members, more than half of them Latino. The union says it will deliver the Latino vote for democrats.
CHRISTINA AGUILAR, CULINARY UNN 226 MEMBER: I love this lady.
LAH: Christina Aguilar takes this election personally.
You took a leave of absence from work?
AGUILAR: Yes.
LAH: She emigrated from Mexico, she's a military mom, her son fought in Iraq.
"I'm walking out here because even though it's hot," she says, "and I'm thirsty, Latinos are a team fighting for our rights."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: Latino support for Clinton has remained strong. True to its nature as a swing state polls in the state of Nevada has swung back and forth in favor of both candidates throughout the year. All eyes will be on the state October 19th when Las Vegas hosts the last presidential debate.
CHURCH: And Donald Trump's problem with Latino voters was on full display just a short time ago. CNN political commentator and republican strategist Ana Navarro was part of a discussion with a former Trump adviser. Things got very heated when the conversation turned to Mike Pence's use of the phrase "that Mexican thing" during Wednesday's vice presidential debate. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The one gaffe he made and I think it was a gaffe because this is not consistent what Mike Pence's record in Congress is when he talked about that Mexican thing. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
NAVARRO: And you know, look, when you are a white male you really should try to stay away from the thing "thing." Because don't talk about the black thing, don't talk about the woman thing, don't talk about the Latino thing, don't talk about the Mexican thing.
And we've seen today -- I can tell you, Latino Twitter is not quite at the level of black twitter but we do pretty well. And Latino Twitter is abuzz today with the reaction against that.
And it's not Mike Pence's fault. I believe the man made a legitimate gaffe, but he is part of a campaign and ticket that has made its purpose to attack Hispanics, to attack Mexicans from day one. And so he had to...
(CROSSTALK)
MICHAEL CAPUTO, FORMER TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: That's outrageous.
NAVARRO: What's outrageous about it? What was the first thing the man said June 15th when he first launched his campaign that Mexicans were rapists. That's what you should find outrageous. Let's not bring it up.
(CROSSTALK)
CAPUTO: That's not what he said.
NAVARRO: Oh, listen, it's on video.
CAPUTO: That's not what he said. You've changed it -- you've changed it...
NAVARRO: For you -- for you to go on TV and say what everybody has seen for the last 16 months not to be true makes you seem insane. That is what he said.
[03:40:03] The video is there, the transcript is there. We know he said Mexicans are rapists and some are good people too. And that is the part you should be outraged by not by me bringing that up.
CAPUTO: Actually he said that -- he said that illegal immigrants were committing rape. He didn't say anything about the way that...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not how he talk about it.
NAVARRO: He didn't say Mexicans were rapists.
CAPUTO: It's not what the transcript does.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's outrageous.
CAPUTO: The transcript says... DON LEMON, CNN TONIGHT SHOW HOST: As close as I can get it is that when Mexico sends its people, they send over their worst, the rapists, the -- yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CAPUTO: He was speaking in the context of illegal immigration.
LEMON: But still, he's still talking...
(CROSSTALK)
CAPUTO: That was about illegal immigration.
LEMON: But he's still talking about Mexican, is he not talking about Mexican people when he says that?
CAPUTO: He is talking about Mexican illegal immigrants...
(CROSSTALK)
NAVARRO: And what was he talking about when he went after Judge Curiel?
CAPUTO: ... who are committing crimes.
NAVARRO: What was he talking about when he dismissed the ability of an Indiana born judge to do his job fairly because he happened to be of Mexican descent, because his parents happened to be Mexican. Was that outrageous too, for me to bring it up or did you not hear that either?
LEMON: So -- so...
CAPUTO: I heard it. I also think the judge had no business on that case. I think that Mr. Trump didn't litigated his position very well and I think that he could have chosen different words. But, Ana, for you to stay here and call Donald Trump him a flat out racist is outrageous.
NAVARRO: Well, let me do it again, and let me do in two languages. He is a flat-out racist and what he has played on for 16 months. He is a bigot, he is racist, he misogynist, he has said horrible things about women, he has said horrible about immigrants, about Hispanics.
He had yet to say one good thing about immigrants. And for you to shake your head and tell me that I'm outrageous one is what outrages me. Republicans need to speak up and people need to know that not all republicans are represented by the hostile, vile voice of Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: It is getting heated for sure. And you can watch the next presidential debate here on CNN. That's Monday at 2 a.m. in London, 9 a.m. in Hong Kong. A new movie is revealing how whistleblower Edward Snowden hid from
authorities in Hong Kong. You will hear from the people who helped him do it. That is next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see this newspaper. That's him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guy who's living in your house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'm very, very shocked. Oh, my God. That was wanted man in world who is in my house.
[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: The new Oliver Stone movie "Snowden" hits theaters in Hong Kong on Thursday. It reveals how Edward Snowden was able to hide in the city after leaking highly classified NSA documents.
Senior international correspondent Ivan Watson joins me now from Hong Kong with more on this. So, Ivan, three refugee families that protected Snowden when he was hiding in Hong Kong are now speaking out. And you had a chance to meet with them. What did they tell you?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they basically opened their doors to a stranger, Rosemary. Even though these are people who live on the edge of the poverty level. They are not allowed to work here. They live in legal limbo. And their children are in fact statements.
But this is the solution that a lawyer came up with when he tried to figure out how hide arguably the most wanted man in the world in one of the most densely populated cities in the world. He chose to put them with a very marginalized community in this city, the asylum seekers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you access an unauthorized program.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: It is Hollywood's take on one of the biggest intelligence leaks in U.S. history. The Oliver Stone film "Snowden." It reveals new details about how NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden escaped U.S. authorities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government knows that we have these documents now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Snowden first went public from this hotel in Hong Kong in May 2013, making his bombshell revelations about NSA surveillance programs in an interview with The Guardian newspaper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARD SNOWDEN, NSA WHISTLEBLOWER: The NSA specifically targets the communications of everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Around that time, Hong Kong-based lawyer, Robert Tibbo was hired to represent the most wanted man in the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT TIBBO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Mr. Snowden was nervous when I met with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: The lawyer hid Snowden in the middle of this crowded city for weeks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIBBO: I advised Mr. Snowden to be placed with refugee families in a populated area that this would be the last place that anybody would look.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: The film shows how Tibbo took Snowden to stay with impoverished asylum seekers who are his clients.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are good people. They won't talk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now after staying in the shadows for years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Hi, there. Nice to meet you.
The real refugees took turns hiding Snowden are going public. Families like Supun Kellapatha and Nadika Nonees (Ph) from Sri Lanka who gave their bed in a tiny apartment to an American stranger.
Where did he sleep?
SUPUN KELLAPATHA, REFUGEES: He sleeps in the upper room in the corner room.
WATSON: Vanessa Rodel from the Philippines says Tibbo showed unexpectedly one night at her door with Snowden.
Was he afraid?
VANESSA RODEL, REFUGEE: Yes, he was afraid. Worrying. He was worrying so much.
WATSON: She didn't know who he was until the next day when she spotted Snowden's face on the front page of a Hong Kong newspaper.
RODEL: I see this newspaper and it was him.
WATSON: The guy who's living in your house.
RODEL: I'm very, very shocked. Oh, my God. The most wanted man in the world is in my house.
WATSON: But Rodel continued to shelter and feed Snowden, even though, as a refugee, she barely had enough money to feed herself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: There are at least 14,500 in Hong Kong, some of whom joined this recent protest on behalf of Snowden. The Hong Kong authorities here refuse to accept any of these refugees. Their children here stateless.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Does he have a passport?
KELLAPATHA: No.
WATSON: Does he have a citizenship?
KELLAPATHA: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: People with the least to give gave the most to protect a man on the run. To this day he is grateful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SNOWDEN: They protected me. They believed in me. And but for that I might have had a very different ending.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now, Rosemary, Edward Snowden of course, eventually found refuge in Russia in the capital Moscow and he is currently evading U.S. charges of theft of government documents as well as espionage.
The three families he stayed with here, well, they are still living in this very precarious situation here in Hong Kong.
[03:50:01] Though, some of them have received some financial assistance from Snowden, they say, via his lawyers, for example, that a Filipino woman, Vanessa Rodel, she says that she is able to send her four and half-year-old daughter to kindergarten only because of funds coming from Snowden. Rosemary?
CHURCH: That is extraordinary. And, Ivan, I did want to ask you, these three refugee families they were very brave at the time to be sheltering Edward Snowden. Are they concerned at all that there might be any ramifications as a result of their actions in helping him?
WATSON: It's a good question. Certainly, in the case of Vanessa Rodel, the asylum seeker from the Philippines who we saw in that report, she is alleging that she did face ramifications when she went public in the last couple of weeks.
She argues that a caseworker from the International Social Services that works for Hong Kong distributing aid and payments to the asylum seekers, that they are punishing her for not answering questions about her time with Snowden and that they have suspended rent payments and electricity payments.
So, the apartment that we filmed her in, that she was sharing a bunk bed with her elderly mother, her four and a half-year-old daughter and another adult woman, four people in a single bunk bed, in a single bedroom. They have been forced to evacuate that flat in the last two days because the Hong Kong authorities have stopped paying them.
We reached out to ISS. They insist that the payments have continued coming and they are not punishing this woman because of the help she gave Edward Snowden. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. Our Ivan Watson, I know you will continue to follow the story. Joining us there live from Hong Kong, many thanks to you for that live report.
Well, Russia is telling Robbie Williams where more than vodka and ballet. Why the pop star's new music video is making some Russians very angry. That's next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: British pop star Robbie Williams is catching heat for his latest song. Some listeners say the lyrics and music video for "Party Like a Russian" go too far.
CNN's Jonathan Mann has the details.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The new music video from British pop star Robbie Williams features ballerinas, beats, and according to some critics, crude stereotypes of the Russian people.
[03:55:05] MANN: Williams sings about Russian vodka, nesting dolls, and samples the famous Procopius ballet Romeo and Juliette.
His lyrics include "Ain't no recruiting, or disputin, I'm a modern rasputin." The speculation the song is poking fun at Russian President Vladimir Putin. With at least one Moscow tabloid demanding Williams never be allowed to perform in Russia again.
But the pop star defended himself on Twitter saying, this song is definitely not about Mr. Putin. On the streets of Moscow, reaction to the song was mixed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): It's really different. The atmosphere, the way the people are is different. It's not like that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): I wouldn't say it was like this in Russia. It's similar to Russia, but the Russia of the 18th century. It's pretty. I like it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATED): Russians can go out and party harder than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: While on Russian state TV, a Moscow music producer claims Williams is just trying to cash in by courting controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATED): We're currently at a time when Russia is news maker number one, and it seems Robbie Williams has tried to increase his popularity with this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: For his part, Williams tells a British newspaper he wasn't out to offend Russians, and even toned down his original lyrics to make the song more politically correct. Whether that worked, the answer would appear to be yet.
Jonathan Mann, CNN.
CHURCH: And he's getting our attention. I'm Rosemary Church. There's more news after the break with Isa Soares in London.
Have a great day.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
