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Jerusalem Drive-By Shooting Attack; Republicans Dump Trump; Reevaluating Support for Saudi-Led Coalition; Russia Vetoes U.N. Aleppo Resolution. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired October 09, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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


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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A drive-by shooting in Jerusalem, four people wounded, the attacker killed by police. We'll have a live report from the scene.

And the pressure is mounting for him to drop out of the race but a defiant Donald Trump assuring his supporters he's not going anywhere, hours before the second debate is set to happen.

Plus more anguish in Yemen, this as airstrikes on a funeral hall kill many people, many mourners, in one of the deadliest incidents in that country's ongoing conflict.

Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

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HOWELL: More on the developing story that we're following out of Jerusalem, two civilians and two police officers have been wounded. This after a drive-by shooting that happened there.

Israeli police say the attacker opened fire from a car; it happened at a light rail stop near their Jerusalem headquarters. One of the civilians is in critical condition, as we understand. The shooter was later killed in a shootout with Israeli police. A police spokesman has called this attack "a terrorist shooting."

CNN's Oren Liebermann is live at the scene with the very latest.

Oren, what more have you learned from investigators about what happened there?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, we're standing now, we've changed our position a bit, we're standing at one of the scenes of the shooting here, this is the light rail stop right, the Ammunition Hill light rail stop, right along the light rail in Jerusalem.

Police say one woman was injured here in this drive-by shooting but we also got a look at the shooting, because that shooting blew out one of the panes of glass and also there are bullet holes in the sign that says Ammunition Hill here. So we know that multiple shots fired here.

Police say this all started a short distance away into the neighborhood here. Police say a driver, an attacker, came in his car, opened fire here, hitting at least one woman and sending her to the hospital.

But the driver, the attacker here, kept on driving, opening fire once again and hitting a woman in her car. Police say the driver then turned into a neighborhood that is behind the Jerusalem police headquarters, which is just across the street from where we're standing right now.

That's where police say two motorcycle officers followed him into the neighborhood; when he stopped, police say the driver stepped out of his car and opened fire on those two motorcycle officers, injuring one critically and injuring one lightly.

Border police officers right there who had responded to the scene shot and killed the attacker. We know from police that the attacker was a 39-year-old man from Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, just south of the Old City. Police are saying this is a terrorist attack in Jerusalem.

As for the timing, it is the Jewish high holidays, that's a time of increased tension not only in the Old City of Jerusalem but also around the Old City. There are a number of police forces out and security forces out to preempt any sort of attack. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld saying and telling us that there was no specific information of a specific threat. Here's what he had to say.

MICKY ROSENFELD, POLICE SPOKESPERSON: There was no concrete intelligence of an attack that was going to take place this morning but, at the same time, in terms of the Israeli national police, we're leading up to the festivals, there was a festival last week already and there already another festival beginning in the next few days and, therefore, our main priority is to prevent any further terrorist attacks.

Our different units have been mobilized both in Jerusalem, around the sensitive parts, public places, as well as the holy areas where people are coming in, both for the Christian festivals but for the Jewish festivals in the Old City.

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LIEBERMANN: And saying festivals there, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, is referring to the Jewish high holidays, the increased tension around that, police very much aware of that but also saying specifically there was no information of a specific threat, perhaps indicating from police that this was a lone wolf attack, an attack carried out on its own.

Again to recap here, police say there are four injured, two women were injured in the drive-by shooting, one motorcycle officer was critically wounded and another lightly wounded. We're still waiting for more information from police as the here investigation continues in Jerusalem -- George.

HOWELL: And Oren, pointing out, this is new from last hour but pointing out that this could possibly be a lone wolf attack. Obviously, this investigation underway after what happened there in Jerusalem.

CNN international correspondent Oren Liebermann, live, Oren, thank you for the reporting and we'll stay in touch with you.

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HOWELL: America's choice 2016: and Donald Trump has a message for his fans and for the Republican Party as a whole. The message: he's not going anywhere. Trump tweeted that.

The media and the political establishment that they want him out but he says that he will never quit the presidential campaign. Trump got a --

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HOWELL: -- show of grassroots support in New York on Saturday, despite the degrading comments that he made about women in that video that surfaced from 2005.

The controversy has more than 24 party leaders urging Trump to step aside. One of Trump's top advisers says he isn't surprised that big- name Republicans are turning against their nominee.

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NYC: They largely didn't support him in the first place, so it's not so much of a surprise. If you look at it, they were all Republicans who opposed him and didn't support him in the past.

And this is, basically, the insiders against the outsiders anyway. Donald Trump is the populist candidate, most of the people that have turned on him are members of the establishment.

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HOWELL: Well, the tape that sparked that outrage includes audio of Donald Trump making a series of vulgar comments about women. We'll play a short portion of that tape now but we do warn you before we play it, the content you're about to hear is graphic.

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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful women. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. You just (INAUDIBLE).

(INAUDIBLE).

And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything.

BILLY BUSH, "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD": Do whatever you want. TRUMP: Grab them by the (INAUDIBLE). Do anything.

BUSH: And the legs, all you see is the legs.

TRUMP: No, it looks good.

BUSH: Come on, shorty.

TRUMP: Oh, nice legs.

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HOWELL: All right. So we also heard from Trump's running mate, trying to express outrage over those comments, while also still supporting the man who said them.

The statement from Mike Pence reads as follows, quote, "As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video released yesterday.

"I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people."

Here's a part of that video apology that Donald Trump released from his campaign early Saturday.

TRUMP: Anyone who knows me, knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and I apologize. I've said some foolish things.

But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims.

HOWELL: Trump was set to attend a Wisconsin event on Saturday with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Pence was later scheduled to replace him but neither ended up going.

Many voters are still standing beside Donald Trump. A group of people, as we mentioned showed, came together outside Trump Tower on Saturday, and they came together waving signs and showed support for the person that they chose.

Trump spent the majority of the day meeting with advisers but he did take time to greet that crowd of supporters.

That 2005 footage is threatening to derail the Trump campaign altogether. To talk more about it, let's bring in CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott, live in New York via Skype at this hour.

Eugene, thanks for your time. Let's talk about this. There has been discussions within his own party about whether they can Dump Trump before Election Day.

Are Republicans, though, stuck with Trump? EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Republicans are stuck with Trump. Ballots have already been cast. We're a month out ahead of the election.

In many states, the deadline to change who is at the top of the ticket has passed. And we saw this, quite frankly, around the time of the Republican convention, when people were entertaining that idea.

Yesterday an RNC committee member told CNN that trying to move forward with getting Trump's name off the ballot is unrealistic and politically risky.

HOWELL: Eugene, let's also talk about that list of prominent Republicans who say that they can no longer back Donald Trump.

How significant is that?

You remember, after the convention, that was the time that many Republicans who may have had misgivings about Trump, they still started to coalesce around Trump. But now we're seeing many of them leave.

SCOTT: It is pretty significant. We saw Arizona senator John McCain, a former presidential candidate himself, who is in a state that could go either way, come out. We saw Jason Chaffetz, who has been very vocal and effective in support of Trump supporters and Kelly Ayotte.

There are at least 10 pretty high-profile leaders, who have come out, saying that they now are not on board the Trump train and so it's very possible that voters could take their local leaders' lead.

HOWELL: Let's talk about the debate that is set to happen, Eugene, it will be a town hall format and Donald Trump is promising to make this personal. He says that he will talk about the Clintons' marriage.

And Hillary Clinton also, going into this, we haven't heard much from her but we did see this tweet, if we can put it up full screen, this after that video that surfaced, Hillary Clinton basically telling people, you know, that women can stop Trump.

There was another tweet but we've basically seen --

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HOWELL: -- Hillary Clinton remain silent.

Here's the tweet from Hillary Clinton.

"This is horrific, we cannot allow this man to become president."

So how do these two come together, with this video now setting the stage for this debate?

SCOTT: Well, perhaps fortunately for them, because it's a town hall setup, they will not have to come together in the traditionally visual way that they would in a debate. It perhaps would be a bit difficult to hide the level of awkwardness and tension that we imagine will come forward tonight.

But I think what voters will want both of the candidates to do is focus more on policy than personal attacks.

As we mentioned, it is a town hall, so voters will be able to ask questions in addition to journalists. And I don't imagine that most of the questions will be about both of these candidates' sex lives from a decade or more ago but more focused on where America is going forward.

HOWELL: I want to ask you about that, too, Eugene. So it seems like these old controversies from the 1990s and 2005, are coming back to play, you know, play big in this election.

Will these personal attacks and will these old controversies truly matter in the minds of voters -- and independent voters and women especially?

SCOTT: I think voters want to know if who you were is who you are and who you will be. And if there's some doubt that you are not moving forward away from past mistakes, that will be a concern to voters.

I think many voters realize that really damaging things can be said and done in the past. And we've seen, quite frankly, many of them forgive both candidates for past mistakes.

But if there's any belief that who you were is still who you are, that's going to be problematic and voters are going to vote accordingly.

HOWELL: Also a lot of voters and I think -- I've seen our pundits raise this point -- that the question is, are you the same person, you know, behind closed doors as the person who's speaking to voters and it seems there's question for both candidates, quite frankly, among, you know, given the controversies that have come up.

We saw this clip of Donald Trump, an off-mike moment, where he was talking to the show host, Billy Bush and then there's also a question about Hillary Clinton, given the e-mails that were released from the campaign chairman, e-mails that talked about trade, talked about the middle class.

The question that I have for you, Eugene, is that the big issue, when these candidates are face-to-face with voters?

Will they be looking for the authentic candidate?

And will that matter for them if they, you know -- given what they see at that debate stage?

SCOTT: It certainly will. I mean, likability is one of those ratings that many voters consider when going to the polls, sometimes more so than policy. One of the poll numbers that we've paid attention to quite a bit this election is favorability rankings.

And one of those things that influences and factors into favorability is believability and authenticity. And so one of the things that people who are supporting Donald Trump like about him, even those areas that his critics think problematic, is that he seems authentic.

And he keeps it real and he's honest in himself and that is an area that Hillary Clinton has really struggled with. But many of her supporters say her best self is what is best for the country moving forward.

HOWELL: Hillary Clinton remaining quiet, planning to deal with all this at the debate. All eyes will be on the stage when these two candidates come together.

And of course, Eugene Scott will be with us to help break it all down after it happens, that debate set to happen later. Eugene, thank you for your time and we'll stay in touch with you.

SCOTT: Thank you.

HOWELL: And as we said, the two presidential candidates, they face off Sunday, their second debate. It is a town hall format. It happens at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and moderated by our own Anderson Cooper and ABC News' Martha Raddatz. It happens at 2:00 am on Monday in London, 9:00 am in Hong Kong, right here on CNN.

The Saudi-led coalition says it will investigate reports that its warplanes were responsible for deadly airstrikes on a funeral in Yemen. At least 155 people were killed in the attack.

It happened on Saturday in the capital of Sanaa. The coalition had earlier denied any responsibility for the bombings. Mourners were at a wake for the father of the rebel group's interior minister when the bombs hit the funeral hall.

Authorities warn Hurricane Matthew is still very dangerous, even though that storm has weakened. Still ahead, we look at where the storm is headed now and the widespread devastation that was left behind in Haiti.

Plus: a tough call for the Kremlin. The White House officially points the finger of blame at Moscow over the political hacking scandal. That's all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

The United States says that it will now re-evaluate its support for the Saudi Arabia coalition's fight in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition saying that it will investigate reports now its warplanes were responsible for deadly airstrikes that happened on a funeral in Yemen.

At least 155 people were killed in that attack. It happened Saturday in the capital city of Sanaa. Journalist Hakeem Amasmari (ph) joins me now live on the phone from Sanaa.

Hakeem (ph), what more can you tell us about this specific attack?

And we are also hearing that the coalition is expressing regret for it.

HAKEEM AMASMARI (PH), JOURNALIST: There's no (INAUDIBLE) right now (INAUDIBLE) hundreds of civilians were killed or injured. This is common in Yemen when (INAUDIBLE) airstrikes attack (INAUDIBLE) targets (INAUDIBLE) hospital or school or now a funeral hall. (INAUDIBLE) but now evidence proves otherwise.

There are videos that show that these were warplanes that were attacked and Yemen has no airport, aircraft, Yemeni air force was deployed 18 months ago when this war first started.

But this is without any doubt a Saudi-led coalition airstrike that killed hundreds of civilians, who are now -- the families are mourning and the entire country is in shock of how such an attack could take place and why (INAUDIBLE) is still silent and not condemning this.

And it's in a word (ph) actions, yet the U.S. is right now re- evaluating. But this was to happen long time ago. But better late than never. It's time to end the Yemen war and start a peaceful transition (INAUDIBLE).

HOWELL: Hakeem Amasmari (ph) and I want to be precise in my own wording as I describe this.

The coalition describing it as regrettable but, again, the coalition not taking responsibility for this, still saying that they will investigate what happened there at that site where this funeral was happening.

What can you tell us also, as this conflict has been ongoing?

What can you tell us about the humanitarian situation for the many people who have been caught in the middle of all this?

AMASMARI (PH): It's tragic. It's tragic, it's unbearable, the catastrophe right now, the humanitarian situation in the country --

[05:20:00]

AMASMARI (PH): -- is like nowhere else in the world. You have over 20 million civilians who are (INAUDIBLE) and hungry and dire aid (ph) (INAUDIBLE) population, people who are starving and aid cannot come into the country (INAUDIBLE) a blockade.

This is why people are suffering. Medicine, at least 10,000 children have died over the last year from preventable diseases because medicine is not able to reach them for their relief (ph). After hospitals were attacked by (INAUDIBLE), patients are dying

without getting medical care.

The crisis in Yemen is like nowhere else in the world. And the problem is that it's only getting worse if the world does not intervene and stop this humanitarian crisis that's affecting the civilians (INAUDIBLE) those trapped inside, those who are (INAUDIBLE) have been affected by this war, they are still trying, they are continuing. But those who are paying the price are the innocent civilians of Yemen.

HOWELL: The Saudi-led coalition, describing the situation there as regrettable, the airstrike, again, that happened at a funeral. They say that they will investigate what happened. We will, of course, continue to follow the story and our journalist on the phone who's with us, Hakeem Amasmari (ph), we thank you for your reporting and we wish you safety as we will stay in touch with you to follow this ongoing conflict.

The U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at halting Syrian government airstrikes on Aleppo has failed.

On Saturday, Russia used its veto to block the measure, which also called for access to humanitarian aid. The veto was expected due to Moscow's support of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

A Russian counter-resolution that didn't call for a halt to airstrikes failed to get enough votes to pass. Russia's U.N. ambassador was critical following that failed resolution.

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VITALY CHURKIN, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. (through translator): We are participating in one of the strangest spectacles in the history of the Security Council. We have to vote on two draft resolutions of the council while we are all well aware that neither will be adopted.

Given that the crisis in Syria is at a critical stage when it is particularly important there be a coordination of the political efforts of the international community, this waste of time is inadmissible.

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HOWELL: Russia's veto comes as the United States' secretary of state says that Moscow's backed Syrian airstrikes should be investigated as war crimes. John Kerry said on Friday that the strikes were a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians.

A deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N. continued those accusations on Saturday. Listen.

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DAVID PRESSMAN, DEPUTY U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Russia has the privilege of serving as a permanent member of the Security Council, with a responsibility to maintain international peace and security.

But through the campaign it describes as counterterrorism, Russia has become one of the chief purveyors of terror in Aleppo, using tactics more commonly associated with thugs than governments.

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HOWELL: That was deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., David Pressman, speaking there about Russia's involvement in Syria.

So not only were tensions high at the U.N. but also at the White House, officially accusing Russia of hacking the Democratic Party's computer network. The Obama administration is urging U.S. states to seek federal security aid for their voting systems.

The Kremlin denies any involvement. CNN's Matthew Chance has more from Moscow.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the first time the Obama administration has formally accused Russia of hacking the Democratic Party's computer network. So it is a new escalation in the tensions between Moscow and Washington.

In a joint statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security, "We believe that, based on the scope and the sensitivity of these efforts," the statement said, "only Russia's senior most officials could have authorized these activities."

Democratic Party officials, including Hillary Clinton herself, have for weeks now accused Russian hackers for stealing more than 19,000 e- mails from the server of the Democratic National Committee.

Some of the e-mails made public contained embarrassing details about the inner workings of the Democratic Party, including efforts of party officials to support Clinton against her Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders.

The issue has raised concerns that Russia is trying to meddle in the U.S. presidential election. It's provoked calls to impose additional sanctions on Moscow.

The Kremlin, however, denies any involvement in the hacking scandal, calling the latest U.S. allegations rubbish.

"Every day Putin's website gets attacked by several tens of thousands of hackers," a spokesman for the Russian president told the Russian media.

"A lot of those attacks were traced to the territory of the United States but we don't blame the White House -- "

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CHANCE: -- "or Langley each time," he added -- Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

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HOWELL: Matthew, thank you.

Now to Haiti, which suffered the worst causalities from Hurricane Matthew. At least 330 people have died there, according to a civil protection service official. Other estimates put the death toll much higher.

Officials warn the casualty numbers will likely rise. That happens, of course, as aid workers are able to reach those worst-hit areas. Thousands of people are staying in emergency shelters.

Cuba has sent 38 doctors into Haiti, along with shipments of aid and supplies to help people injured and left homeless by the storm. Keeping in mind, Haiti still recovering from that earthquake that happened back in 2010.

Hurricane Matthew flooded entire villages and it wiped out crops and livestock. Our senior international correspondent, Ivan Watson, has more on the immense damage in a country that is still recovering.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what the path of a hurricane looks like from the air. The storm left trees scattered like matchsticks on the hills.

WATSON (on camera): Look at how these trees are just stripped of foliage here. You can actually see the roofs of homes on the hilltops. The roof just blown away.

WATSON (voice-over): Hurricane Matthew killed hundreds of people and left tens of thousands homeless. We are flying over Haiti's southwestern peninsula, one of the most isolated parts of the country.

WATSON (on camera): This is the only real way that we can get a sense of the scale of the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew because Haiti does not have a great network of roads. And there are a series of islands of Haiti's coast like Ile-a-Vache -- what we're looking at right now.

WATSON (voice-over): Six years ago, this region was largely untouched by the earthquake that shattered the Haitian capital. But this time, the people here weren't so lucky.

WATSON (on camera): How is your house?

RAOUL ROA, SURVIVOR: My house go down. Everything (INAUDIBLE).

WATSON: Everything's gone?

Yes?

ROA: All the trees were going down, electrical pole was down. WATSON (voice-over): Since the storm, residents of Port-Salut cleaned most of the debris off the roads. But at night, they sleep outside their shattered homes, in the dark.

WATSON (on camera): When do you think you'll get electricity here again?

ROA: Nobody know when.

WATSON: This is a close up view of some of the damage that we could see from the sky, just one home that was ripped apart by the hurricane winds that made a mess of people's meager belongings and hurt a lot of people here too who had to wait days for emergency medical care.

WATSON (voice-over): These people survived the most powerful hurricane their country has seen in a generation, a grim reminder of the fury and power of Mother Nature -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Port-Salut, Haiti.

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HOWELL: In the race for the White House, Donald Trump is pushing back against calls to drop out of the presidential race. We'll discuss his strategy for Sunday's debate -- still ahead.

Plus: German police are searching for a possible terror suspect after explosives were found inside his home. The very latest on the manhunt, as CNN NEWSROOM continues.

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome back to our viewers around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is good to have you with us, I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour.

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HOWELL: Let's get the very latest on what's happening with Matthew. Our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam, is live in the International Weather Center -- Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: George, can you believe it, that we have been tracking this storm for over two weeks. It started out as a tropical wave just off the west coast of Africa, started to become more of an organized tropical storm about the 28th of September.

Then eventually became a major hurricane as it moved across the Caribbean sea and who can forget the devastation that it created in Haiti, parts of Hispaniola into Cuba and then just scraping the coastline of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and now North Carolina, as you said. [05:35:00]

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VAN DAM: Good news is, this system is now moving out to sea and we'll see goodbye to Matthew forever, finally.

HOWELL: Bye-bye, Matthew.

Derek Van Dam, thank you so much for being with us.

Hillary Clinton --

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HOWELL: -- America's choice 2016. We have a lot to talk about with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump set to face off hours from now at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. And CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is there live.

Sunlen, good to have you with us. This is set to be a town hall format, it is an ideal time for the candidates to be face-to-face with voters, to hear their questions and concerns.

But, Sunlen, given this video that has been released of Donald Trump and the comments that he's made about women, women a very key voting bloc for both candidates, will that overshadow this debate?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it certainly has the potential to, George, no doubt it is the elephant going into the room, into tonight's debate. It certainly has really caused quite a political firestorm in the last 24 hours.

You know, if you're Donald Trump, tonight you are facing one of the most critical nights of your life heading into tonight's debate. He goes in certainly with his back against the wall. He has now just under 30 days out; he has Republicans, members of his own party, revoking their endorsement. Many also calling for him to drop out.

So tonight he certainly has a lot of explaining to do. We saw him briefly in front of cameras yesterday, kind of giving a defiant fist in the air to his supporters outside of Trump Tower. But we haven't heard much except for two kind of semi-apologies and also this big hit that tonight he might bring a fighter's tone to tonight's debate.

He intimated that he will likely bring up Bill Clinton's past indiscretions in his own defense over his involvement in this video and the words that he says and, certainly, all the backlash of that.

So this is certainly an interesting dynamic. I know, George, Hillary Clinton, we know, according to people who are helping her prep for tonight's debate, does plan to bring this up early and potentially often -- George.

HOWELL: And that's, you know, something we'll certainly have to see, whether those personal attacks, you know, are played out on this debate stage.

Sunlen, let's also talk about the format itself. This is a time for voters to get to talk to these candidates and it's hosted by our own Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz of ABC News is joining as well.

So talk to us about how the questions are designed and how important is it for those face-to-face interactions?

SERFATY: It is so important, you know, this is kind of make-or-break time for any candidate. A town hall format is a very unique setting. It's a little bit more casual in nature. We don't see the candidates debating side by side in a formal way at the podiums.

Typically in town hall format, the candidate can get up, move around stage. The emphasis and the goal for candidates is to really create a personal moment with voters, the people who will be asking questions of both the candidates, they are undecided voters.

So it could solicit (sic) some interesting questions as they try to make up their mind who to vote for. But we all remember some successful town hall moments that candidates have made in the past, Bill Clinton walking over in 1992 to a voter, kind of his "I feel your pain" moment, that's kind of the goal of both candidates tonight, to connect with undecided voters, show a more personal side of themselves but certainly, this backdrop of this debate being about this sexual videotape --

[05:40:00]

SERFATY: -- these comments by Donald Trump, certainly sets an interesting tone going into tonight. It will be interesting to see if the voters bring this up or if it's brought up specifically by the candidates and moderators.

HOWELL: Sunlen, as you point out, this will be a very important debate for Donald Trump, all eyes will be on his performance, given the last performance that happened.

Sunlen Serfaty, live in St. Louis where that debate will happen, Sunlen, thank you so much for your reporting today.

And as we said, these two presidential candidates face off Sunday, their second debate. That is set to happen, a town hall format at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, moderated by our own Anderson Cooper and ABC News' Martha Raddatz. It happens at 2:00 am Monday in London, 9:00 am in Hong Kong, right here on CNN.

Now to Germany: a manhunt is under way there for a man that police believe is planning a bombing attack. Three people who may be connected to him have been arrested. CNN's Isa Soares has the very latest on what authorities have found so far.

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ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the man suspected of planning a bomb attack on German soil. His name is Jaber al-Bakr. He's 22 years of age, from Damascus in Syria. Police raided his

apartment after receiving a tipoff from the domestic intelligence service. Within hours, they found an explosive mix of substances.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We can announce that we have found considerable amounts of explosives in the apartment, several hundred grams. In fact, it's a very dangerous explosive material. So we have to take extreme precautions, which is done at this moment.

SOARES (voice-over): These substances were so volatile that police dug holes outside the apartment and set off controlled explosions.

SOARES: At this stage police don't know whether the man on the run is himself carrying any explosives or whether he is armed. They also don't know the where, the when or, indeed, the why. So you can indeed imagine they're not taking any chances.

SOARES (voice-over): They have been cordoning off key areas and have evacuated more than 80 people while they comb through some parts of Chemnitz. Police wouldn't say how long the suspect has been in Germany or whether he was a recent arrival from Syria.

Germany remains on high alert following two attacks this summer, both carried out by refugees in the name of ISIS -- Isa Soares, CNN.

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HOWELL: Isa, thank you.

Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, these civilians, they have fled one of the last ISIS strongholds in Iraq. How the terror group tried to prevent their escape.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

In Libya, pro-government forces have dealt a blow to ISIS militants. Troops there seized two streets in Sirte from the jihadists. ISIS now controls just a small strip in its former stronghold. Pro-government forces have been working for months now to take back that city. They are getting support from U.S. airstrikes overhead.

Now to Iraq: the government there is preparing to retake the last ISIS stronghold that lies in the way of going to the city of Mosul. And for residents, abandoning the terrorist group is punishable by death. But it's a risk that many Iraqis are willing to take. CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has this report for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They walked 17 hours through the night to reach this ridge, the edge of Kurdish-controlled territory south of Kirkuk.

An officer gives 10-year-old Amal (ph) a kiss and then a thorough search. With ISIS often inserting suicide bombers among fleeing civilians, everyone is suspect.

"The journey," says Amal, "was tiring."

And all the while she was afraid of daish, a derogatory term for ISIS.

"Hundreds, thousands want to escape," says Mahmoud (ph), "but daish is waiting to catch people trying to leave. Twice they caught me. This time I succeeded."

During the night, Mahmoud (ph), his wife and five children hid in an irrigation canal to evade detection.

WEDEMAN: Every day people come to this point, fleeing ISIS control. But it's a long and dangerous journey. Along the way, there are booby traps, there are IEDs and, according to the soldiers here, in the last month, nine people have been killed trying to reach this point.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): It's a terrifying trek but worth all the risks to escape ISIS.

"If you do something small, they jail and beat you. Anything serious and it's off with your head," says Ladif (ph).

Bashir (ph), a farmer, had only one run-in with ISIS.

"They arrested me," he recalls, "for a pack of cigarettes, fined me 100,000 dinars" -- about $85 -- "and gave me 10 lashes."

Food is expensive and scarce; medical care and education, non- existent.

"The children have missed two years of school," says Samira (ph), "and I don't know if any school will take them now."

Here they're given food and water -- and a bit of comfort -- and a cursory interrogation. Intelligence officers will question them further, checking names against a database of ISIS members and sympathizers, and then truck them to camps.

WEDEMAN: This group of people is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of people, who are expected to flee as the offensive against ISIS continues -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, south of Kirkuk.

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HOWELL: On the ground, showing us the efforts of civilians trying to escape the grip of ISIS. And ISIS also saying it is responsible for a targeted suicide attack, an attack that has killed two people in Iraq's capital.

The bombings happened Sunday outside of a bakery in Eastern Baghdad. Seven people were wounded. Iraqi police say that the attack happened as Shiite pilgrims gathered outside that bakery.

This is CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

The controversies in the U.S. race for president have certainly raised a few eyebrows around the world. But we couldn't help keep our eyes off at least one of the candidate's V.P. picks. Jeanne Moos reports on the ups and downs of Tim Kaine's eyebrows.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You could say Tim Kaine browbeat his opponent.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D), VA: Slobs --

MOOS (voice-over): -- with his eyebrows.

KAINE: As he said, "That makes me smart."

MOOS (voice-over): The debate was best summed up by the Grinch.

THE GRINCH, CARTOON CHARACTER: It's a wonderful night for eyebrows.

MOOS (voice-over): From the first word Tim Kaine uttered, his eyebrows rose to the occasion.

KAINE: With that passion throughout their life.

MOOS (voice-over): His left brow in particular.

KAINE: Twitter war with Miss Universe.

MOOS (voice-over): In the political universe, Kaine is famous for his levitating brows.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tim Kaine, of course, is the people's eyebrow.

MOOS (voice-over): The brows first came to national attention back in 2006.

KAINE: My fellow Americans...

MOOS (voice-over): As Kaine gave the Democratic response to the State of the Union.

KAINE: -- from huge surpluses...

MOOS (voice-over): The state of his brows was up.

KAINE: -- when we work together.

MOOS (voice-over): Though the left brow seemed to work separately.

KAINE: We must.

MOOS (voice-over): Tim Kaine's eyebrow must have its own Twitter --

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MOOS (voice-over): -- account, clear eyes, full brows, can't lose.

By the time he was nominated for V.P. --

KAINE: Do you really believe him?

MOOS (voice-over): -- Kaine seems to have tamed his brows a bit. They were no longer the furry caterpillars of a decade ago.

KAINE: And it's an honor tonight.

MOOS (voice-over): But even the more buttoned-down brows of Tuesday's debate launched GIFs and tweets, speculation that Kaine prepped for the debate by lifting weights with his eyebrows.

Can we all be honest and admit that this V.P. debate is really about eyebrows versus no eyebrows?

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), IND.: Play by the rules.

MOOS (voice-over): "Fun fact: Mike Pence doesn't have eyebrows," read another tweet.

MOOS: The Democrats definitely don't think Kaine's eyebrows are lowbrow.

MOOS (voice-over): They flaunt them on T-shirts, Kaine himself Instagrammed a pumpkin with an arched brow last Halloween.

KAINE: I have an uncontrollable left eyebrow?

MOOS (voice-over): He once gave Jon Stewart a button. An eyebrow- raising debate may be a distraction.

But how bad can it be being compared to Spock and The Rock?

KAINE: He trash talks the --

MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos...

KAINE: Hard work --

MOOS (voice-over): -- CNN...

KAINE: There's a better way.

MOOS (voice-over): -- New York.

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HOWELL: Maybe she's a little too tough on Tim Kaine there.

I feel his pain, my wife says that I have thick eyebrows. Anyway, moving on.

No surprise that Donald Trump's Tailgate apology got the full "Saturday Night Live" treatment, actor Alec Baldwin once again portraying the Republican presidential candidate. Take a look.

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ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR, "DONALD TRUMP": I deeply appligize.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you trying to say apologize?

"TRUMP" No, I would never do that. What I am doing is appligizing to all the people who were offended by my statements.

But more importantly, to the people who were turned on by my hair, it's really 50-50.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We now go live to Hillary Clinton's campaign headquarters, where they've just received news of the leak.

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HOWELL: Partying there.

Thanks for joining us, I'm George Howell. The "BEST OF QUEST" starts in a moment. But first your world headlines right after the break.