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France Clears Out Calais Refugee Camp; Peshmerga Forces Said to be within 8 Kilometers of Mosul; U.S. Supporting Iraqi Forces Against ISIS; The View on Race from A Swing State Florida. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 24, 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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[02:00:56] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Authorities in Calais, France, are beginning to clear out the migrant camp, better known as the Jungle. Clashes there between migrants and riot police intensified ahead of the planned conviction. As many as 10,000 migrants living there have to choose between two options, apply for asylum in France or leave the country.

CNN's Melissa Bell joins us now from Calais, France, with the latest.

Melissa, we see what's happening behind you and we also have some images, some shots, if we can pull those up to show our viewers, of people queuing up to evacuate. What more can you tell us -- we lost those shots. What can you tell us about what's happening behind you, right now.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, that operation is just getting underway, George. What you can see behind me is the queue of the very first migrants from the Jungle that have decided to take up the French government on the offer you just mentioned. The choice is simple. These are the ones who have accepted that once they get into the anger and the doors are just about to open, beyond that they are much to take them away. When they get inside, they'll be asked which region of France do you want to move to in order to or seek asylum. If they decide not to choose a French region, then all they can do is decide to go home. If you look at the queue, they gathered here with all of their worldly belongings. Because once they get through that hangar andmade that choice, they essentially will get put on a bus either to a French region or home. That second option is not one many of them are going to choose. That's for those who have decided to take up the government's offer, even this morning. These are the first ones.

But inside the Jungle, just down the road, there are thousands of migrants still making up their minds. Within that group, a group of unaccompanied minors George, who are still hoping to get to the U.K. We met up with two of them, have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BELL (voice-over): As far as the eye can see, the Jungle in Calais will soon be no more. It's 1,300 unaccompanied children are hoping that means they'll soon be in the U.K., like 14-year-old Muhammad who crossed 12 countriesin 75 days with just one idea in mind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to join my aunt. I left more than a year ago but I have not heart from my uncle yet. I love football. I want to play football. But I want to rest in peace.

BELL: So far, though, he said he's had no help from authorities. He's been trying to get to U.K. for a year now, waiting in a camp where he says only the most brutal survive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will never forget. It's been hard for me.

BELL: Ryad (ph) is also 14 and from Afghanistan. He, too, has family waiting for him in England. Three months ago, he left the camp and sought refuge with an NGO. After eight months on the road, he found a place to rest and do much more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The French, this journey here, they give us some money for our needs by clothes, and we are just waiting here to going there.

BELL: But Ryad (ph) says he's been waiting too long. He's also worried that leaving the Jungle, he may have made a mistake. So many of friends, he said, have already left to start their new life on the other side of the channel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL: Now those two boys clearly hoping they're still going to get to the United Kingdom.

You can see behind me the line has so started moving. The doors of that sensor where they will be -- the migrants will either be sent to a French region or back home. The doors have just opened, the line have begun moving.

In a sense, George, this is easy part. These are the migrants who have accepted the government's deal. The ones still in the camp and the ones likely to cling on over the coming days, who do not want to give up on their dream of getting to the United Kingdom, those are likely to be the tricky ones. That will be the real test of the French government's resolve for this camp once and for all.

[02:05:19] HOWELL: Melissa, if history is a guide, looking back to when the southern side of that camp demolished earlier in the year, and the resistance that authorities saw there, obviously, the concern now is that could happen once more.

We'll stay in touch with you as this operation presses on.

Melissa Bell, live for us in Calais, France. Thank you so much for your reporting today. Kurdish Peshmerga forces are pushing ahead faster than expected,

getting ever more closer to Iraqi's second-largest city, Mosul. There has been tough resistance from ISIS on theway into Mosul. One example of that resistance, this clip we will show you of an ISIS vehicle as it approached Peshmerga fighters near Bashika (ph). Look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(GUNFIRE)

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HOWELL: Fair to say, it's a tough fight and it is expected to get tougher. But Fighters on the ground have been able to secure a major stretch of the Bashika (ph)-Mosul Highway, and that is limiting the militants' movements.

CNN's Michael Holmes is on the ground following it all live for us this hour in Iraq.

Michael, let's talk about the position right now of the Peshmerga forces pushing ever so closer into Mosul.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they are. They're closest forward positions is about anywhere between six to eight kilometers from the outskirts of Mosul. They made good gains yesterday. The Iraqi military also taking over an important town as well, as they come up closer from the southeast.

Now, where we are, near Bashika (ph), it was a significant win, if you like, for Kurdish forces. They came in from two directions and encircled the Bashika (ph) and surrounding villages. Around mid- afternoon, they met up and so they had completely encircled that area. We're talking about 100 square kilometers or so of significant geography of this battle.

What they've been doing over night is consolidating that ring around. And this morning over the last few hours we've had a lot of out-going mortars from near out position, heading into Bashika (ph). We've heard aerial activity as well. Earlier today, some artillery. Over night, we saw some illumination flares going up trying to spot ISIS position. So it's a very active situation.

We heard about 20 minutes or so some pretty active small arms fire for a while, for a few minutes. And that, obviously, a sign what these Kurdish forces are going to do, start to go inside these villages and Bashika (ph) itself. We're told we don't believe there are civilians in great number inside there. So it's going to be the Peshmerga fighters against however many ISIS are in there. We heard a commander yesterday, when asked about the ISIS fighter, he said, there are bad people. They have to die -- George?

HOWELL: Michael, also what more do we know about the 40 or so people, we understand, were are celebrating and found themselves in the hand of ISIS and have also executed by that militant group.

HOLMES: Yeah, this is one of those down sides, I suppose, the speed of the movement of Iraqi forces and Peshmerga force as they get closer to Mosul. They're going through these towns and villages but there's also the phase of what the Americans used to call of clear and hold. Clearing and holding has not happened in every case. Iraqi forces, for example, in this one case, went through this village. If you would like, quote/unquote, "liberated it," and a number of local villages came out and celebrated. The Iraqis, well, they kept going on their mission towards Mosul. But ISIS fighters, and this has happened in a number of places, had been hiding and after the Iraqi military came and left the town or the village, those fighters emerged. They rounded up, we're told, around 40 locals who had been celebrating and killed them. That's the sort of thing that we've been seeing with some of these ISIS fighters staying behind, not just laying traps and the like but coming out and creating mischief behind the lines. And those Iraqi and Kurdish forces have to go back. And in this case, there were dozens of civilians falling victim to ISIS after celebrating their liberation -- George.

[02:09:55] HOWELL: So moving fast, these forces, moving a lot faster than anticipated to Mosul. But at the same time, moving so fast that perhaps some people caught behind could find themselves in bad company.

Michael Holmes, live for us. We'll get more context later this hour. Thank you for the reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.

About 100,000 troops are involved in the Mosul offensive in one way or the other, some are fighting and some are there as support. That includes more than 54,000 Iraqi armytroops, 40,000 Peshmerga fighters, 14,000 fighters from the Popular Mobilization Unit militias. And Pentagon officials say about 500 U.S. troops are currently in northern Iraq, mostly working in support and logistical roles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Joining me now from Eugene, Oregon, is CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona.

Lt. Col. Francona, a pleasure to have you with us.

Let's talk about the situation around that city. Iraqi and Peshmerga forces apparently moving a little faster than anticipated. Peshmerga commanders say they are within eight kilometers of Mosul. What are your thoughts on that?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think we're going according to plan. I think they're going slowly and methodically, because they have to clear those areas. ISIS is putting up a fight. That was their plan. Their plan was to slow it down and maybe stall it and giving themselves time to launch other attacks. I think the Iraqis made a strategic by not closing off the other areas to the West and areas to the southwest of Kirkuk. That allowed the -- I'm sorry, ISIS to launch an attack there. And they've also launched other attacks in Anbar Province trying to divert attention. But overall, the Iraqis have the upper hand here.

HOWELL: At the same time, there have been major losses and officials telling us that ISIS executed about 40 people.

FRANCONA: Yeah, this was attack on the part of Iraqis. Once you take the villages, you have to live behind a residual force to secure them rather than pushing on through. ISIS, they hide. They melt in with the population. And then they come back and attack. The Iraqis are learning the hard way that they've got to secure this area, not just take it.

HOWELL: A good point. You also notice they leave behind many things that are incredibly dangerous for people who may still be in those communities, the booby traps, the explosives that are left on road, IEDs, and crews are dealing with that as they try to sweep into these towns.

FRANCONA: Yeah, and the Iraqi engineers have a real problem on their hands as they go through. They're finding more and more of these traps. ISIS has been doing this for a long time. They've had two- and-a-half years to prepare what they knew was going to be the final battle in Iraq. They've laid the mine fields, the oil trenches, the IEDs, as you say, the booby traps. The engineers have to go very slowly and methodically. It's very difficult work. From what I'm seeing they're doing quite well here. But the real fighting hasn't started here. We're only eight kilometers from the city. Once they get into the city itself, then we'll see the real ISIS fight.

HOWELL: From what we're seeing right now, as I mentioned, the forces are all moving in, but there is still tension between Iraq and Turkey. Turkey wanting to take part in this. We're seeing these tensions play out. What happens as we continue to see Iraq telling Turkey to stay out of this fight?

FRANCONA: This is a fight we don't need. We're looking at possibly a war within a war. Turkey wants to be a power player when this is all over. They have vested interests. Unbelievably, President Erdogan has said that those two are Turkish cities, and I wonder if he's going to make a play for the city after all is said and done. I think he wants to make sure of is Turkey gets a seat at the table to decide what happens in northern Iraq. The Iraqis are pushing back because they believe that is an Iraqi sovereignty issue. We'll see what happens.

In the end, the Turks will be -- they'll be satisfied that they can get some sort of agreement with the Iraqis that the Kurds are going to remain subordinate to Baghdad. We'll see what happens. It's a problem we don't need. HOWELL: I'd like to get your thoughts on Ash Carter making that visit

to Baghdad, then also visiting Irbil to talk with commanders thereabout that operation. Do you feel that the Americans that are involved in these air strikes that are happening overhead, is there a sense that it is effective in this fight?

FRANCONA: It's been effective right now. I think the big problem will be once we get into Mosul itself, how effective can the air power be. Once you get into that rabbit war and those small buildings, narrow streets, house-to-house fighting, street-to-street fighting, it will be very difficult to effectively use the air power as they're using it now. But I think Mr. Carter was smart to go up there, you know, show the flag, talk to the Kurds, talk to the Americans that are out there. And I hope he's consulting with the Iraqis on what they're doing out west. The original plan -- and he even mentioned it -- was to envelope the city and then fight. What the Iraqis are doing are leaving the western approach open, hoping it will eventually run away to Syria. That's great if you're an Iraqi planner. That takes the problem out of your hand. If you're an American or coalition planner, you've got a problem several hundred miles to the west.

[02:15:43] HOWELL: You say the real fighting has yet to happen, and from what we've seen from our teams on the ground there, it's already quite a dangerous situation, so, obviously, this operation continues.

Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, military analyst, thank you so much for your insight.

FRANCONA: It's good to be with you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, continues to blast the United States in speeches laced with profanity. Why many Filipinos are worried it could impact their livelihoods, still ahead.

Plus, in the United States, Donald Trump trails badly in the polls behind Hillary Clinton, and now he's ramping up claims that the election is rigged. It's not.

Stay with us.

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[02:20:18] HOWELL: America's choice, 2016, just two weeks to go before election day, and the U.S. presidential candidates are in full swing in the final stretch of their campaigns. And here is the latest, a new ABC News poll shows Hillary Clinton with a 12-point lead over Donald Trump. The Democratic nominee is at 50 percent, Donald Trump, presently, at 38 percent.

The latest CNN poll of polls shows Clinton with a wide lead. She is at 48 percent, Donald Trump at 39 percent.

But Trump recently said that he no longer believes in the polls you saw. At a rally in Florida on Sunday, the Republican nominee vowed to get rid of the rigged system, if he is elected in November.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My message is this, if we win on November 8th, we are going to fix our rigged system. It's a rigged, broken, corrupt system. It's rigged. It's broken. It's corrupt. They want me to take that back. Let me tell you, folks, it's a rigged system. And we are going to drain the swamp of corruption in Washington, D.C.

(CHEERING)

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HOWELL: But keeping in mind the facts do not bare out is the election system is rigged. In fact, it is decentralized. We're pointing that out.

Hillary Clinton campaigned in North Carolina on Sunday, blasting Trump on those comments. She said democracy is at stake in this election.

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HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's said a lot of things throughout the three debates. I've got to tell you, there's one in particular out of that third debate that no presidential nominee of either party has ever said before. He refused to say that he would respect the results of our election.

(BOOING)

CLINTON: Now, I have to admit, you know, when we were both asked the question, I assumed he would say what everybody has always said, which is, hey, of course, you know, because to say you won't respect the results of the election, that is a direct threat to our democracy.

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HOWELL: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump certainly on the campaign trail looking for those last votes.

Let's bring in Scott Lucas to talk more about all of the political headlines. He's the professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham, live.

Scott, always good to have you with us.

Let's take a look at the latest snapshot showing where the voters are presently. You see Hillary Clinton now at 50 percent. Donald Trump 38 percent at. But, Trump saying that he doesn't believe in these polls anymore. At the same time, Scott, his campaign manager acknowledging something different, saying that the reality is true. Let's listen to her.

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KELLYANNE CONWAY, DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: We are behind. Our advantage going in, we're behind one, three, four points in some of these swing states that Mitt Romney lost to President Obama. Our advantage is that Donald Trump is going to continue to take the case directly to the people. TRUMP: We are leading nationally by two points.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: Numbers are looking phenomenal in Florida. Don't believe the media. But even the media are giving pretty good numbers. They can't help it.

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HOWELL: So, obviously, a dig on the media there, saying he doesn't believe in polls then quoting polls. So the question is, do the polls matter to the Trump campaign. Are they seriously concerned about these numbers that we're looking at right now?

SCOTT LUCAS, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM: Oh, I think Trump's campaign strategists are definitely concerned about it. Kellyanne Conway had it right. There are nine critical states that Trump has to win. And he is nearly ahead in two of then, Utah and Arizona. He's a toss up in two, Iowa and Ohio. And he's behind in the other five. That's the mountain they face.

What you're seeing for Trump is something more than that. He's basically going off message. Rather than saying we're going to fight them on the issues, we're going to pull this back, since the third debate, he's escalated this to everyone is against him, the Republican party is against him, the media are against me, Washington is against me, trying to appeal over the heads of everyone to something called the American people. I'm not sure it's going to work. Whether you're Republican or Democrat, you tend to have pride in democracy. Trump is taking on that pride. He's saying, if I lose, I'll tear the whole system down. And I think that's even bigger battle than what the polls are showing right now.

HOWELL: Let's talk about the plus/minus from Trump's latest speech at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This was designed to be a policy speech where he talks about everything from immigration to renegotiating NAFTA, but Trump taking the opportunity to tell his voters that he will sue every woman that has accused him of sexual misconduct. The optics of that, in your opinion?

[02:25:32] LUCAS: I think it's a mistake.  I think you now have 15 women who have come out against Trump alleging sexual misconduct. Unless you believe that all 15 are lying, there's a vast conspiracy from the Clinton campaign, those are serious allegations. I think Trump will be hard pressed to stay on the report. Now, I think what's the content behind this is. Women are critical in this campaign. Many of them are undecided. Trump is alienating women, by continuing, rather than dealing with the issues, they're kids, their education, their employment, by going off on this defensive mode of, well, I didn't do it, I couldn't have done it, these women are all lying. That's not going to hold up well.

HOWELL: I remember speaking to another person that we were getting some insight about this particular election cycle saying the universe is at play here. The inverse being that you would expect the candidate at this stage in the election would want a lot of media attention getting closer to November 8th. It seems that when the candidate is out of the spotlight seems to be doing better, and at this point, that seems to be Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump is making the major headlines. Hillary Clinton, though, is still dealing with the constant drip of the hacked e-mails from WikiLeaks. Is it becoming background noise to Donald Trump?

LUCAS: Let's be clear, you know, Trump has risen and fallen because of the media and the Clinton story as secretary. Trump goes on the media to raise the Republican primary to beat all the other candidates, using social media and drawing coverage to himself where he didn't have to spend on advertising. He did that very effectively. The polls were close in September, all the statements that he made, he was getting the headline, he was grabbing, and almost 50/50, and then the downfall, because of the failure to release his tax returns and then the media focusing on of sexual misconduct. That's what trying to poll the other direction at least in part. So Trump can't complain about the media. They helped build him up. But he cannot turn around and say they're all against him now that he runs into trouble.

HOWELL: Scott Lucas, live in Birmingham. Scott, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your insight. We'll be in touch with you again. Thank you.

LUCAS: Thank you.

HOWELL: The state of Florida, voters there have very strong opinions when it comes to the U.S. election. And Richard Quest talks politics with pub goers in the Sunshine State. That story ahead.

Plus, could Nicolas Madura's days as Venezuelan president be numbered. More on this developing story, as CNN NEWSROOM continues.

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[02:31:37] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: 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 this hour.

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HOWELL: A former British investment banker is on trial in Hong Kong for the mutilation killings of two Indonesian women almost exactly two years ago. The suspect says he's guilty of manslaughter but more the more serious charge of murder. He said a personality disorder, drugs and alcohol impaired his judgment.

Let's get more on this case. Mallika Kapur joins us live outside the courthouse in Hong Kong.

So, Mallika, the jury has seen extremely graphic evidence to consider.

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Some extremely graphic evidence and there was a dramatic moment in court even before the trial began today when the judge who is presiding over the case warned the nine-member panel of jurors that that they will be watching some extremely graphic video and seeing some extremely gruesome images over the next couple of days and that's part of the evidence is that the prosecution has because it turned out that the defendant, Rurik Jutting, had recorded half of the first murder on his phone. That is something that the court learned today.

The court also learned about some of the items the defendant had gone out and purchased and some of the items that were found in the flat, and that includes things like weapons, like a serrated knife, a knife, sex toys, pliers, a blow torch, things like that. Extremely graphic evidence.

The court also had to hear some very disturbing details about how the defendant had tortured one of the victims for three days before he eventually killed her.

This is the prosecution laying out this case. The defense has not had a chance to speak yet, but will do so over the next couple of days.

This trial that began this morning is expected to last for about two to three weeks before a verdict is reached.

HOWELL: Mallika, how is this particular case, a very gruesome case, how is it this playing out there in the media?

[02:35:08] KAPUR: Well, people here in Hong Kong are absolutely shocked. This incident, the double murder, took place two years ago and, back then, it really did shake the city to its core, because Hong Kong is known to be a very safe city. This is right here in the heart of the city, and really, just by less than one kilometer from where I'm standing right now. It did shake people to the core.

Another group that has been very affected by this particular incident is a group of migrant workers, because those Indonesian women had come here to Hong Kong to work as migrant workers. So a group representing them has been protesting. They had a peaceful protest here in Hong Kong on Sunday. They say they're demanding a speedy trial, a fair trial, and that they want justice for the two women who were brutally killed.

HOWELL: CNN's Mallika Kaput, live for us in Hong Kong following this case. We'll stay in touch. Mallika, thank you.

The president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte shocked the world when he announced a vague but sternly worded military and economic separation from the United States. Now, many Filipino workers who rely on income from the U.S. and companies here are worried about their job.

CNN's Will Ripley is live in the Manila, following this story and Will visited a call center which is part of the country's thriving out- sourcing sector.

Will, what do people have to say about all of this?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, George, just within the last few minutes, the rain clouds opened up on this here, and President Duterte's remarks in Beijing were like opening up the rain clouds on much of the business community in Manila and elsewhere in the Philippines, especially businesses that rely on the United States for a vast majority of their cliental, of their income. There are more than a million jobs at stake here.

And one particular industry, which is business out sourcing, and we've been talking to people in that industry to find out how they are responding to these provocative remarks from President Duterte about the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (voice-over): The Philippines firebrand leader once again taking shots at his favorite target. Fresh off his first official overseas trip, President Rodrigo Duterte blasted the U.S. and U.S. threats to withhold aid.

RODRIGO DUTERTE, VENEZUELA PRESIDENT: At it stands, U.S. aide, you can go.

RIPLEY: During a rambling Friday night news conference in his hometown, the president used the "A" word, the "B" word and the "F" word in the same 30 seconds, and that was in damage-control mode, trying to walk back from the shocking announcement in Beijing of his separation from the United States and shift towards China and Russia, saying it's only applies to foreign policy.

DUTERTE: Better be careful with the world, we separate and sever our diplomatic relations. The second one is not feasible. Why? The Filipinos and the United States --

RIPLEY: Those Filipinos working in the U.S. send back billions of dollars a year to their families, one of the biggest sources where tens of millions live in poverty.

(on camera): Here in Manila, some fear President Duterte's anti- American rhetoric could destabilize one of Asia's best performing economies. Since he took power less than four months ago, stocks are down and the Philippines peso is trading near a seven-year low.

(voice-over): One sector that could be hit the hardest, business out sourcing. Philippines call center jobs are expected to double by 2020, jobs that help grow the middle class.

CHRISTINA CONCEPCION, PRESIDENT & CEO, You don't want to have to deal with one more. But you know what? Every day there is one more thing that happens.

RIPLEY: Christina Concepcion is president and CEO of the company that does payroll and financing. She's been getting nervous calls from her American clients.

(on camera): What are you telling your clients?

CONCEPCION: I think our clients -- with our clients, it's business as percents, and they know it.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The Philippines' out-sourcing industry employs more than one million people. Experts say more than 80 percent of their work on average is for American companies.

(on camera): Do you worry about your job?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, of course. This is our livelihood.

RIPLEY (voice-over): These call center employees tell me they still support their president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not. I don't think that they've been trying to combat the U.S.

RIPLEY: Duterte remains wildly popular. Most Filipinos see him as a strong leader, fighting to make his country better.

But many worry his alienating the U.S. will only make things worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: At least, for now, the message certainly from the president's administration, if not the president himself, is that it will be business as usual. There are no changes to the long-standing treaty relationships, business relationship. The laws haven't changed here. But the tone of the president's remarks and concerns about what kind of hostile language could come out in the future and how that could effect and hurt growth, that's the big concern on the grown here in Manila. But even though a lot say, hey, their president speaks off the cuff, from the heart, what's on his mind. But the president's word do have an impact and we we've seen the shock waves and all of the scrambling as a result of what he's said last week, even though he walked away from it.

[02:40:31] HOWELL: Those words do have an impact, as you point out. As you say, people concerned that there could be, you know, problems within the economy, given the remarks. We'll have to see how it all plays out.

Will Ripley, live for us in Manila. Will, thank you so much for your reporting.

Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Venezuela's president could face impeachment proceeding as political passions boil over in that country's congress.

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(SHOUTING)

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HOWELL: Why the supporters of the president stormed the National Assembly and why the opposition wants him out. Plus, CNN's Richard Quest traveled the length of Florida to find out

if voters prefer Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump or just want to drown their sorrows over a beer over the U.S. election.

Stay with us.

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

In Venezuela, lawmakers say they'll push for impeachment proceedings against the president of the nation, Nicolas Maduro. The opposition- controlled National Assembly approved the measure on Sunday declaring there has been a break down of constitutional order and a continued state of coup led by President Maduro. Violence also erupted during Sunday's special session of Congress.

We've got more on this from CNN's Rafael Romo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[02:45:14] RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Venezuelan National Assembly was holding a special session Sunday with the purpose of finding a solution for the country's political crisis. Shortly after noon, a group of government supporters, some of them reportedly armed, stormed the assembly building after overwhelming security and breaking across barriers. Opposition legislatures told CNN that some of the people who broke into the assembly meeting hall committed acts of vandalism. Others, the legislators said, stole cell phones from opposition lawmakers, throwing punches and pushing their way into the main floor while security guards unsuccessfully tried to stop them. Some journalists covering the meeting said their cameras and phones were also stolen. The government legislators were finally able to convince the protesters to stop the attack and leave the building.

The opposition is trying to find a way to oust President Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela continues to battle an economic crisis and massive shortages of food and medicine. Maduro refuses to hold a recall referendum on his presidency. His opponents say he has violated democracy in his own country.

12 members of the Organization of American States, including the United States, signed a letter Friday calling for dialogue to preserve peace in Venezuela.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Rafael, thank you.

Rafael also traveled to Columbia recently where he found rampant sex trafficking shattering the lives of thousands of women there. But he also may have found people and programs working to bring hope to many of those victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know girls that have been trafficked from birth, so much so that when they arrive at one of our programs, they don't even speak a language. They only know how to scream and scratch because they've been abused from birth.

ROMO (voice-over): Julia Stein works with the Orphan Starfish Foundation, an organization that provides scholarships and job training to more than 10,000 children across much of Latin America and other parts of the world. She says, no matter what country you travel to, the stories of abuse these girls tell can stop your heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: An important story. We'll have more on Rafael's report for the CNN Freedom Project right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

Still ahead, Donald Trump may be trailing in the polls of the United States but his supporters are sticking with him. Still ahead, we find out what voters in the pivotal state of Florida made of the latest developments in the presidential race.

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[02:51:40] HOWELL: All this week, our Richard Quest is taking his "American Quest" to the Sunshine State, Florida, as the presidential candidate's campaign there. Richard's first stop was in Tallahassee, Florida, where pub goers like the spirited debate over politics.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If I'm going to travel the length of Florida on my "American Quest," there's probably no better vehicle upon which to do it than this, the 2016 Ford Mustang G.T. California Special convertible, with its V8, 5-liter engine, developing 435 horsepower. We're going to be going from Tallahassee in the north, where I am today, right the length of Florida all the way down to Key West. And since it's the sunshine state, the top will be down all the way.

We're making the journey, of course, to introduce you to the American workers, and in these final days before the election, what they're really thinking in the battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. And on the way, we're going to hear extraordinarily views.

As always said that when it comes to the presidential election, Florida is really seven states in one. The perfect place to test that theory is here at the Four Paws' full house on a Saturday night. The beer is ridiculously cheep and the views are expressed at great volumes.

Of course, it's too simplistic to say that one part of Florida is always for Trump and another part for Clinton. As you're about to hear, the reality is that they're keen on neither, but they feel the need to vote either.

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QUEST: Four Paws prides itself on its local welcome and its cheep drinks.

Here, students and locals come to put the world to right.

With voting less than two weeks away, the election is never far from bar talk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd vote for Hillary Clinton.

QUEST: Did you think of voting for Donald Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never thought about that at all.

QUEST: Maybe it's the bar, perhaps it's the booze, but it's not long for Donald Trump supporters makes themselves known.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump is much better than Hillary so we don't have much choice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, why?

QUEST: So is it a pro Trump vote or anti Hillary vote?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary, get her out of here.

QUEST: Sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get Hillary out of here. We don't like Hillary.

QUEST: Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She ripped us off once, why give her another chance?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's a liar and a murderer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look what Clinton did, and he made this country money.

QUEST: Before we know, there's a full-throated argument under way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God, you people are crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm giving a vote of no confidence because I don't --

QUEST: By the time we get to November 8th, which way are you going to go?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Backwards.

Either way you vote, you're going backwards. QUEST: Who am I going to vote for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who am I going to vote for? I'm not going to vote for either one of them.

QUEST: Donald or Hillary, here they're not voting for one, they're voting against the other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to vote for Trump.

QUEST: My next question is why?

[02:55:11] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because Hillary is kind of a nasty woman, I think, he called her.

QUEST: The evening is getting late and the bar getting more crowded, and on a Saturday night they want to drink to forget the election. We take our leave.

Richard Quest, CNN, Tallahassee, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Richard, thank you.

Thank you for being with us this hour. I'm George Howell at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

We'll show you these images from Calais, France, this hour. Again, these are live images as people who have been in this camp, known as the Jungle, in Calais, where people are evacuating before that camp is set to be demolished. We'll have more of this straight ahead as CNN NEWSROOM continues after the break.

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[03:00:11] HOWELL: No way forward. Thousands of refugees hoping to --