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Iraqi-Led Forces Facing Fiercest Battle Yet; More than 10,000 Displaced Since Iraq-Led Invasion Began; 2 Earthquakes Hit Italy; Violent Protests Against Venezuelan Government over Financial Crisis; Trump Campaign Impacting Trump Business Empire. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired October 27, 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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[02:00:30] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour --
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SESAY: Hello, and welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Isha Sesay.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause. We are now in the third hour of NEWSROOM L.A.
SESAY: Iraqi-led forces may face their fiercest battle yet in the Mosul offensive. They surrounded a town south of the city on the Tigris River. Witnesses report ISIS has sent in their most effective foreign fighters to defend it.
VAUSE: Iraqi commanders say six more villages were liberated on Wednesday and more than 1,000 citizens held as human shields were set free.
Michael Holmes is near the Mosul offensive, joining us live.
Michael, ISIS is putting up strong resistance on the southern approaches to Mosul. Do you know why they have decided to make a stand there?
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The closer the Iraqi and Kurdish troops get to the outskirts of Mosul, John, the fearer the resistance, probably a delaying tactic, trying to stop the advance as much as they can and give themselves time to prepare the defenses they are putting up in Mosul.
The town is 15 kilometers south of Mosul. It is surrounded, say the Iraqi forces. But witnesses inside say foreign fighters have been brought in, real determined fighters, prepared to fight to the death. We're talking about Chechens and Tunisians, Moroccans, Afghans, as well. Not a massive number but they can do damage. I think that's the point, trying to delay the advance of Iraqi forces. Also do as much damage as possible, both literally with car bombs and truck bombs and perhaps to morale as those fighters are determined and capable. It also takes a lot of resources to pour into a place with comparatively few ISIS fighters if those fighters are able to punch above their weight, if you like.
Nevertheless, the advance does continue, in some places with, four kilometers or so from the outskirts of Mosul, in other places, more like 20 kilometers, but that noose, that circle is tightening. At one point where it does lead is to the West where ISIS controls territory west of Mosul all the way in to Syria. We have heard that Shia paramilitaries are moving in to that area to deal with that issue -- John?
VAUSE: Michael, we're also hearing ISIS is sending in suicide squads to defend Mosul. Who are these fighters, and where are they coming from?
HOLMES: Again more of the foreign fighters coming from the open territory to this west. It is ironic, a couple of days ago, we were talking about a Sunni leader saying that ISIS fighters, families, even leaders have been leaving Mosul, to the West, across the territory into Syria. In the last few days the traffic is coming the other way. On this occasion, foreign fighters, again mainly foreign fighters, suicide squads wearing distinctive uniforms, and came in to town wearing their suicide belts and carrying light arms. Clearly, suicide squads are part of the defense of Mosul that is being prepared. They have had two years to get ready for this assault.
We have heard of ISIS fighters moving east of the city across the Tigris, rigging the bridges there, four main bridges with explosives and moving to the Western part of the city where the old city is, narrow roadways, better fighting position if you are the incumbent in an urban warfare situation. Also heard that ISIS has been pre- positioning car and truck bombs around the outskirts of the city, also rocket launchers. The car and truck bombs have been a nuisance to Kurdish and Iraqi forces. More than 130 have been destroyed so far in this campaign, that's nine or so days old -- John?
VAUSE: Early days yet.
Michael, thank you. Michael Holmes, live this hour with the latest.
[02:05:08] SESAY: Well, the International Organization for Migration says more than 10,000 people have been displaced since the offensive began. Many more are trapped where they are in a war zone.
Nick Paton Walsh visited one village where survivors are cautiously emerging.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Each new day is hard-fought here in the dust around Mosul, where it covered even the tiniest village.
(GUNFIRE) PATON WALSH: Even with American help and armor, it takes days to tackle ISIS, dug in.
(GUNFIRE)
PATON WALSH: The problem, civilians, trapped inside here, but also in the town next door.
(on camera): That tiny white flag symbolizing an increasingly hazardous problem for advances forces here moving against ISIS, and that's civilians, caught, in this case, inside that tiny town, and increasingly now, in the crossfire.
(voice-over): There could be as many as 1.2 million people caught between ISIS's medieval death cult and the rival forces taking them on. They, with the village, before ISIS kicked them out, and they sheltered for months in an old farm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We were humiliated, humiliated in every way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): My brother, nephew and another relative went to Mosul when it fell to ISIS. They were abducted and disappeared.
PATON WALSH: Suddenly, two men are led forward. The village has informed on them. One, the father, and an ISIS leader, and another brother.
(on camera): This is the process of recrimination that will be happening now slowly over villages all across this area in northern Iraq, who collaborated with ISIS, who worked with them. And what happens to these people now?
(voice-over): Tomorrow is no easy task. They're assembled on still spotless at Astroturf, children, insuppressible. Yet, still mortars land, meters away. The men trying to digest it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I took my cousin's body from the morgue. It had a bullet in the head. They came after him, took him for 20 days, then told me to pick up his body from the morgue. I saw horrible things there. It was full of bodies. That's what they do to people.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): We drive into the village to see what is left.
(voice-over): Endless mines we are warned. Yet, very few ISIS flags. Maybe not needed as only ISIS' loyal fighters lived here and then died here, too. Their contortions hide whether they felt fear or abandoned when they fell.
(on camera): The nightmare of having ISIS, live it in and be purged from it. But they can't even clear away the dead bodies from the fighting in case they're booby-trapped. This is a place where ordinary life will be impossible for the near future. (voice-over): Dust falls and yet more flee the olive groves into the dust again, frisked, herded, unsure who to ask where home is now.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, northern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To Syria now. Air strikes have killed 35 people, including 11 children. A monitoring group says a school in Idlib was hit on Wednesday.
SESAY: The head of UNICEF said if the school was deliberately targeted and it would be a war crime. Idlib is near Aleppo and has the largest populated area controlled by Syrian rebels.
VAUSE: A mayor in central Italy says their small village doesn't exist anymore. Two powerful quakes hit on Wednesday, not far from where a quake killed 300 two months ago.
SESAY: The first 5.5 magnitude and then a 6.1 quake hit. No reports of death or injury but there is some damage.
Barbie Nadeau joins us now from Italy near the epicenter of the earthquakes.
Barbie, it is just after 8:00 a.m. where you are. Tell us what is happening now.
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can see a 15th century church. The first quake that hit about 7:00 p.m. last night. There were two fissures that were created by that earthquake. Two hours later, a much stronger 6.1 earthquake completely destroyed this church. This is a 15th century church. People come to visit it as part of this beautiful area in Italy, central Italy that's so prone to earthquakes. We've got so much seismic activity here, yet there seems to be so much damage.
Also a question after these earthquakes why won't people put some of the seismic reinforcements in place and why don't they do what is necessary to stop things like this from crumbling. In 2009, a massive quake killed more than 300 people nearby. All of these structures were supposed to be shored up. It is clear that didn't happen, or if it did, it wasn't enough.
[02:10:11] SESAY: Barbie, what are we hearing in terms of the scale of the damage and the emergency response?
NADEAU: Well, now the sun is up, emergency vehicles and some of the rescue people can go out and comb the area. Especially the low lying area where there are enclaves of houses together, no commercial center but where people live together. We haven't heard of fatalities yet but the sun is basically just up now. You have movement of the people going around. The schools are closed in the area.
One of the things that have saved lives in this particular earthquake is the fact in August so many people evacuated the area. They left their homes because they were damaged. They went to more stable ground. They went to the larger cities to stay with families. So many people are living in hotels and tent camps in the area, as well. Those people will obviously have escaped harm in this particular earthquake.
There is widespread damage in the villages. The homes we have seen, and we heard the mayor that you quoted, as well, says his village is destroyed but lives are probably saved by the fact that people weren't here after the August devastation -- Isha?
SESAY: That's a silver lining in this terrible situation.
Barbie Nadeau, joining us from Italy. Thank you, Barbie.
VAUSE: Demonstrators out in force across Venezuela on Wednesday with protests both for and against the government.
SESAY: The interior minister says unrest led to dozens of injuries and the death of a police officer.
CNN's Shasta Darlington has more.
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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets on Wednesday in protest, some turning violent in different regions. In Caracas, demonstrators packed a highway. They called for a general election on Friday and said they would march on the presidential palace next week if their demands aren't heard.
The opposition accuses the embattled President Nicolas Maduro of acting like a dictator when his government squashed efforts to hold a nationwide referendum that could have seen him voted out of office this year.
Anger and frustration have grown since the crisis has deepened. Inflation is skyrocketing. There are serious shortages of food and medicine that have sent Venezuelans pouring across the border into Colombia and Brazil.
But last week, the government blocked efforts to hold a referendum. And now the opposition said it will take to the streets again if those objections aren't lifted.
Supporters of the government also held demonstrations on Wednesday. Smaller demonstrations in Caracas. Maduro himself addressed the crowds. He accuses the opposition of trying to stage a coup d'etat. But he called on all parties to participate in a national dialogue.
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translation): I invite the people to a political dialogue, to a political dialogue.
DARLINGTON: The Vatican has offered to mediate talks that start on Sunday. But at this point, it is not clear who from the opposition would participate.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Time for a quick break. Profits for the world's largest Smartphone company have gone up in smoke. Next, how much Samsung lost after killing its highly touted new device because some of them caught fire.
VAUSE: Also, a new national poll shows the race for the White House is getting a little tighter.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.
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[02:17:42] VAUSE: Bad news for Samsung. Quarterly earnings have fallen 30 percent.
SESAY: The Korean electronics company lost $3 billion in revenue and is down 2 billion in operating profits. Samsung blames the massive recall of the Galaxy Note 7 Smartphones. There were numerous reports of them catching fire.
Our Alexandra Field is live for us in Seoul, South Korea, with more.
Alexandra, when your phones start to go up in flames you know you are going to be in trouble. Samsung executives were bracing themselves for dismal third quarter report.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They certainly were, Isha, considering the nature and concerns over the problem, phones bursting in to flames. Samsung got ahead of it a couple of weeks ago when they believed they would take losses of several billion dollars and see additional losses of several billion dollars up to the half way point of next year. The third quarter earnings, which were released today, did confirm those estimates that executives put out a couple of weeks ago. Although they are expressing a note of optimism saying they are hoping and expecting for some recovery in their mobile sector based on the solid sales of the S7, which is a different phone they make and the edge.
Of course, the fallout is after what was a recall of the Note 7 and then a cancellation of the product, which certainly had a massive ripple effect. A lot of people closely watching Samsung. They want to see if there will be further fallout in the fourth quarter. You should see it in the fourth quarter as well, of course.
Here in South Korea, Samsung's future closely related to the economy throughout this country. Just this past week, you had state officials coming out and saying there had been slower growth compared to the second quarter of this year and pointed to Samsung's problems as being one of the issues behind that -- Isha? SESAY: The worst is not necessarily over for the company. They are
facing lawsuits from hundreds of customers.
FIELD: Right. This isn't just about their profits. This is about the people they serve, a global brand, global image, global reputation. Now at this point, you have more than 500 Samsung customers who have filed suit. Some 441 -- it doesn't sound like much. And the psychological shock of carrying a flame. That 441 may sound low but that's because they only allow for compensation, not damaging. But, Isha, this isn't over yet. It won't stop with 500 people. The attorneys representing the plaintiffs say hundreds of more cases remain in the pipeline.
[02:20:39] SESAY: We shall keep watching it closely.
Alexandra Field, in Seoul, South Korea, thank you so much.
VAUSE: The latest polls show Hillary Clinton still in front in the race for the White House, but Donald Trump is gaining ground. A new FOX News poll shows Clinton ahead nationally by three points, 44 percent to Trump's 41 percent.
SESAY: In the battleground state of Florida, a new Bloomberg poll has Trump ahead by two points, 45 to 43 percent.
And Hillary Clinton is spending a lot of time in Florida. She says Trump is not only wrong on policy, but his claims of election rigging and voter fraud are a threat to democracy itself.
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HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And listening to Donald Trump's campaign, I truly doubt that he has ever read the Constitution.
(LAUGHTER)
Or if he did back in school, he doesn't remember it or understand. It is the most important founding document for the longest lasting, greatest democracy in the history of the world.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Donald Trump heads to Ohio on Thursday, a must-win state on a narrow path to the White House.
But as Jim Acosta reports, Trump's decision to take time off for the official opening of one of his hotels has drawn some questions and criticism.
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(CHEERING) JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Trump campaign insisted this wasn't a political event, but as Donald Trump cut the ribbon on a new hotel in Washington surrounded by his top campaign aides, he also carved out some time to give a shout-out to Newt Gingrich, a top surrogate.
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: By the way, congratulations, Newt on last night. That was an amazing interview.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: We don't play games, Newt, right? We don't play games.
ACOSTA: Trump was talking about this interview on FOX News where Gingrich bitterly clashed with host, Megyn Kelly, who was pressing the former speaker on the accusations of sexual misconduct hounding the GOP nominee.
NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: You are fascinated with sex and don't care about public policy.
(CROSSTALK)
GINGRICH: That's what I get out of watching you tonight.
MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You know what, Mr. Speaker, I'm not fascinated by sex, but I am fascinated by the protection of women and understanding what we're getting in the Oval Office. I think the American voters would like to know --
GINGRICH: And that's why we are going to send Bill Clinton back to the East Wing because, after all, you are worried about sexual predators.
ACOSTA: The interview was a reminder of Trump's own run-ins with Kelly that led to this moment cited time and time again as an example of his trouble with women voters.
TRUMP (voice-over): Blood coming out of her, wherever.
(on camera): My theme today is five words, under budget, ahead of schedule. We don't hear those words too often in government, but you will.
ACOSTA: Trump is pointing to his hotel to show voters what he can do for the country. He repeatedly used his properties as backgrounds, from Florida to Scotland.
TRUMP: This is what I want to do for our country and this is what we are working so hard to do. Right now, just about everything our government touches is broken or they break it. It's always over budget, behind schedule, and simply nothing works.
(CHANTING)
ACOSTA: But his hotels, like his rallies, draw their shares of protesters. Trump's daughter, Ivanka, who was at the ribbon cutting with her brothers, argues critics just don't understand her father.
IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: I'll tell you, one of the most telling signs of his success over decades is the thousands of people who worked with him, worked for him, fought for him and continue to stand by his side in their quest to achieve great things.
ACOSTA: Trump, in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash, rejected the notion the stop was a waste of precious campaign time.
TRUMP: I did yesterday eight stops and three major speeches. I have been doing this weeks straight. I left there for an hour and a half. I'm going to North Carolina right now, then I'm going up to Florida, then New Hampshire. For you to ask that question is insulting. Because Hillary Clinton does one stop and goes home and sleeps, and yet you ask me that question.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: CNN's Jim Acosta report there from Washington.
One more controversy from the campaign trail.
[02:25:09] VAUSE: Donald Trump is rekindling his feud with the father of a fallen U.S. soldier. Khizr Khan spoke at the Democratic convention in July. This is what he told ABC News on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Had I been president, Captain Khan would be alive today. We wouldn't have been in this horrible, horrible mistake.
KHIZR KHAN, FATHER OF U.S. FALLEN SOLDIER: This is the cruelest thing to say to grieving parents that if I was there this wouldn't have happened. There is no sincerity in those remarks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Khan's son was killed in Iraq in 2004. Khan is actively campaigning for Hillary Clinton.
VAUSE: Baseball's Chicago Cubs have accomplished something they have not done since 1945. They have won a World Series game. They outhit the Indians for a 5-1 victory.
SESAY: The best of seven series is now tied. The action now moves to Chicago at legendary Wrigley Field. Game three is set for Friday night.
"State of the Race" with Kate Baldwin is next for our viewers in Asia.
VAUSE: For everyone else, next on NEWSROOM L.A., with the battle of Mosul intensifying, Western leaders are moving against ISIS on another front.
VAUSE: Plus, France closes the Calais migrant camp and aide workers turn their concern towards the youngest refugees. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:14] VAUSE: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.
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[02:30:14] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Isha Sesay.
The headlines this hour --
(HEADLINES)
SESAY: Iraqi commanders say six more villages are free of ISIS militants as forces advance to Mosul. They face a key battle for a time south of Mosul. Witnesses say ISIS is sending suicide squads from Syria to help defend the town.
VAUSE: Joining us is CNN's military analyst, retired Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona.
Colonel, thank you for being with us.
Is the use of suicide fighters a sign of desperation by ISIS?
LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: These are foreign fighters they're brining in. Many are coming in to Syria and they are moving them in to Mosul. It is a sign of what we expected. They can't fit in with local population so they will fight. I think it shows a certain willingness of ISIS to fight for Mosul. You remember the Iraqis were hoping that ISIS would melt away and head to Syria. We're not seeing that. Instead we are seeing people come from Syria in to Mosul. The Iraqis have to close off the western approach.
VAUSE: What we have seen so far is this has been ahead of schedule, not easy but moving faster than expected given the presence of the foreign fighter and the warfare setting fire to sulfur factories and that kind of thing. This appears to be the moment when it starts to get very difficult.
FRANCONA: I think so. You are seeing some of the Iraqi units getting bogged down. This was the ISIS plan. They want to blunt that offensive and slow them down and make them pay a price for each town, each village they take. The use of the suicide car bombs, some of the commanders reporting, hundreds of these car bombs, very effective by ISIS. It causes units to slow down and have to engage them. Of course, they have to take each village, root all of these guys out. They are dug in. It is starting to bog down some areas, although on the eastern flank the Kurds and Iraqi army seem to be doing a fairly good job there. I would say things are going according to plan but the reality of how difficult it will be has set in with the Iraqis. VAUSE: Colonel, thank you for being with us.
SESAY: Meantime, Iraqi-led forces are stepping up the push to isolate the terror group's stronghold in Mosul.
Barbara Starr reports on the effort to head off ISIS attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The top U.S. military commander now sounding an alarm about Raqqa, a city of a nearly quarter million, where the top ISIS commander, including Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, have long been thought to be hiding.
LT. GEN. STEPHEN: J. TOWNSEND, U.S. COMMANDER, COMBINED JOINT TASK FORCE IN IRAQ: There is an imperative to get isolation in place around Raqqa because our intelligence feeds tell us that there's a significant operations attack going on, emanating centralized in Raqqa.
STARR: How you are sent is it?
TOWNSEND: We think it is very important to got isolation in place around Raqqa to start to control that environment on a pretty short time line.
(GUNFIRE)
STARR: This, as the fight for Mosul in Iraq goes on.
(CRYING)
STARR: Emotional scenes of families being reunited.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter says this second front in Raqqa will begin very soon.
ASH CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I think it will be within weeks. That's what I want to say.
STARR: From earlier fighting in northern Syria, the U.S. already has intelligence on ISIS plotting against the U.S., Townsend says. The concern here, in Raqqa, the target and timing of ISIS's next attack is not clear.
TOWNSEND: We know they are up to something. And it is an external plot. We don't know exactly where or when, but we will try to head it off.
STARR: But in this densely populated city, finding plotters and those who may have already have sent operatives overseas will be tough.
The secret of Joint Special Operations Command, which includes Navy SEALs and Army Delta Force, is now in charge of stopping ISIS plotters. And U.S. troops will continue to train and advise local forces earmarked for the Raqqa fight, but a huge hurdle, getting enough Kurdish and Arab fighters to get Raqqa back and hold on to it.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:35:25] VAUSE: The U.S. is targeting al Qaeda in Afghanistan with air strikes, in a remote province. They're aimed at two of the senior leaders in Afghanistan.
SESAY: The results of the strike, but if successful, the Pentagon says it would be a significant blow to the terror group's presence there.
VAUSE: U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is suspending efforts to collect millions of dollars in reenlistment bonuses given to soldiers. They were paid to some members of the California National Guard who didn't actually qualify.
SESAY: Recruiters who handed out the money were under pressure to meet enlistment targets. Investigators found fraud and mismanagement. The Pentagon says 4,000 servicemembers will keep the cash and another 3,000 are out of the military and are difficult to find.
VAUSE: A short break. When we come back, Donald Trump's brand has taken a hit. Is his presidential campaign bad for business? The numbers, when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: 25 migrants were found dead in the bottom of a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea. Doctors Without Borders says more than 100 people were rescued.
VAUSE: It's the latest tragedy in what is the deadliest year ever for migrants. The U.N. says 3800 people have died this year trying to reach Europe. The Calais migrant camp closed, France is planning to bulldoze the
site.
[02:40:08] SESAY: Thousands of migrants and refugees are in temporary shelters. Aid workers say some children have been left behind.
CNN's Melissa Bell reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Smoke fills the sky. In the end, parts of France's biggest migrant camp were not so much dismantled as burnt to the ground. Firefighters fought the blaze and that left the Jungle looking like that. Once the fire was tamed, those who still call it home, its children were allowed back in, much to the anger of the humanitarian workers.
UNIDENTIFIED HUMANITARIAN WORKER: The only people left here now are the unaccompanied children. Some have been processed and put back in the containers. Some did not get processed and were sent back to the camp, which it's very worrying where they will sleep tonight. BELL (on camera): One of the most potent symbols of the migrant
crisis is in smoky ruins. But there are those who fear it could come back. It isn't those just those who protect the migrants. Local authorities point out that Calais has been the victim and for years now of a policy failure that lies on the other side of the channel.
UNIDENTIFIED HUMANITARIAN WORKER (through translation): The British government refuses to welcome migrants but we know they keep crossing the border. When they arrive, the British government let them integrate Britain, and it is hypocritical.
BELL (voice-over): CNN is trying to get Britain's response.
In the meantime, the mayor of Calais says her main war, "I have the 1500 migrants who will sleep in the charred remains of their former home."
Melissa Bell, CNN, Calais.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The woman whose photo came to symbolize Afghan war refugees is under arrest in Pakistan.
SESAY: Her haunting green eyes became world famous after this "National Geographic" cover in 1985. She was living in a refugee camp when the photo was taken.
VAUSE: She is in her 40s now, and officials say her documents are fake and she's in Pakistan illegally. She faces 14 years in jail or deportation. The International Organization for Migration says her arrest is symptomatic of the pressure on Afghan refugees to return home.
A 100-year-old woman who survived a Nazi concentration camp is now a U.S. Citizen.
SESAY: Anita Pearlman has been living in south Florida the past 13 years and said she became an American so she can vote for president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
ANITA PEARLMAN, NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP SURVIVOR: (INAUDIBLE)
(MUSIC)
PEARLMAN: (INAUDIBLE)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Hillary Clinton supporter. She's waited a long time. SESAY: It is Donald Trump's biggest asset, his name. But his brand
has taken a hit. Booking at his hotels are down and threats of boycotts suggest his business may be on a downward spiral.
VAUSE: For years, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation held a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. But after the Republican nominee was accused of sexual assault by a dozen women, the organization has been pressured to cancel the event.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: We are joined by Sociologist Anna Akbari. She is the author of "Start Up your Life, Hustle and Hack Your Way to Happiness."
Anna, good to have you with us.
The Trump brand taking a hit. We are seeing that, due, of course, to this campaign. Give us your view. If the brand previously stood for high-end, exclusive luxury, what does it stand for now?
DR. ANNA AKBARI, SOCIOLOGIST & AUTHOR: I think that's what we are figuring out. I think that is what Trump's team, what his brand is trying to figure out. I see this new venture as in a way being an experiment for them to see if his demographic has shifted, which we know, his demographic has not been sort of seen as this luxury, exclusive, New York City demographic during the campaign. Perhaps with this luxury for the masses approach that they are taking now, perhaps that's what he is exploring in terms of the new products he may roll out in the future.
VAUSE: Before he started his campaign, it would be safe to say that Trump supporters were not traditional Trump customers, right?
AKBARI: That's correct.
VAUSE: Trump has always believed that all publicity is good publicity. Are we at the point where maybe that isn't true?
[02:45:16] AKBARI: Yeah, I wonder would Trump agree with that? I think we could agree, yes, the publicity and I bet his family would agree, as well. They are really feeling, I think, the hit for their brand. For Trump, I would wager to say we are not seen the last of him putting his name on his products. That is a detour or something they are doing until perhaps time is able to pass after the election.
SESAY: That's a good point. Can you rehabilitate the brand? With other high-profile individuals that have taken a dip in the reputation, like Martha Stewart, is it successful to rehabilitate the brand.
AKBARI: I have to wonder if his brand will ever be what it was. He has experienced bankruptcy before. It is not as if he has never failed and he said he has never truly failed because he's learned from his failures but we have to wonder what he has learned. Because to grow from failure you have to be capable and willing to self reflect.
(LAUGHTER)
He has stated himself that is not something he engages in.
(CROSSTALK)
AKBARI: No.
VAUSE: What we've seen in this election campaign is that it was just that he was associated with his brand because his name was on all his buildings.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: He has actively campaigned on his business experience and the luxury hotels, the marble. He was in Scotland during Brexit, promotion for the same D.C. hotel he was at. Today, if he had quarantine business in some way and not involved it in his campaign, would they be going through the same amount of trouble they are now?
AKBARI: Yes, I think it would. Again, here's someone who has put his name in gold letters on everything. He wasn't sort of a subtle CEO- type figure off to the side of this brand. He was the brand in many ways. Even now he is shunning the media, he is holding his nightly news conferences on Facebook from the Trump Towers. So he is completely blending the two. He's going all in on that.
SESAY: All in. He's the brand. The brand is him. To remove his name from any buildings or to go this covert way, you have to think, it seems painful given what we know of his personality type.
AKBARI: I would argue it would be more painful for him to remove his name from the brand than to lose the election.
VAUSE: The name, according to Donald Trump, is worth $3 billion. That's what he said. November 9th, we'll find out what it is really worth.
(CROSSTALK)
SESAY: Anna, we appreciate it.
AKBARI: Thanks.
SESAY: Anna Akbari, thank you so much.
AKBARI: Thank you.
SESAY: Good luck with the book.
VAUSE: Thanks for coming in.
AKBARI: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Coming up, a wife's desperate plea to get her husband re- elected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLYN DAUGHERTY, WIFE OF GERALD DAUGHERTY: Please re-elect Gerald. Please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:52:09] SESAY: Hillary Clinton spent her birthday on the campaign trail but it wasn't all business for the Democratic nominee. She was surprised by her staff with a lovely cake for her 69th birthday.
VAUSE: And that's not all. Clinton received a special serenade from music legend Stevie Wonder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Note to campaign staff, when Stevie Wonder is singing --
SESAY: Be quiet.
VAUSE: -- shut up, because you can't.
SESAY: I'd like Stevie Wonder to serenade me for my birthday.
VAUSE: Sure. I'll arrange it.
We should note, Hillary Clinton, if elected, would be the second oldest person to become president, a few months behind Reagan.
SESAY: I think you are insincere on my Stevie Wonder birthday.
VAUSE: You picked up on that.
SESAY: I did. Yeah.
VAUSE: A political ad unlike any other is going viral.
SESAY: Jeanne Moos reports on the wife desperate, desperate to see her husband elected and out of the house.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Had enough of Trump bashing Clinton?
ANNOUNCER: How did Hillary end up filthy rich?
MOOS: And Clinton bashing Trump?
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA: He's a con artist
MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A phony.
MOOS: Maybe you would prefer a political ad in which a wife begs voters if to relieve her of her husband.
GERALD DAUGHERTY, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS, COUNTY COMMISSIONER: It costs $103 a day.
DAUGHERTY: Gerald really doesn't have hobbies.
GERALD DAUGHERTY: Last year, tax rate was 1.469.
DAUGHERTY: Is he always like that? Yeah, all the time.
MOOS: He is Gerald Daugherty, a Republican running to be a Travis County, Texas, commissioner, with a little eye-rolling help from his wife of 21 years.
(on camera): Does your wife roll her eyes that often?
GERALD DAUGHERTY: She actually does. She didn't have to take two or three takes on that.
DAUGHERTY: Most people leave work at the office.
GERALD DAUGHERTY: We have three light rail cars. You can put 60 people on each car, even if you add two cars.
MOOS: Do you like your light rail cars well done?
GERALD DAUGHERTY: My opponent, I asked is there anything he didn't like about the ad and he said I think the meat was overcooked.
MOOS (voice-over): Gerald's political consultant dreamed up the ad, inspired by the office that took six hours to shoot. The neighbors were played by friends.
DAUGHERTY: All he wants to do is fix things.
GERALD DAUGHERTY: Quite frankly, it is not a code violation.
I think I like to help around the house here.
DAUGHERTY: Please re-elect Gerald. Please.
MOOS: Gerald thinks his ad went viral because humor takes the edge off the rancor of the campaign.
(on camera): Do you think your wife really wants to get you out of the house? GERALD DAUGHERTY: Oh, absolutely. She does love me a lot but she
loves me away.
DAUGHERTY: Please re-elect Gerald.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --
DAUGHERTY: Please.
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(CROSSTALK)
[02:55:18] VAUSE: It is funny because it's true.
SESAY: She does it like she needs saving.
VAUSE: Absolutely.
SESAY: It's been 108 very long years since the Cubs won American baseball's biggest prize. This fan has been around most of them.
VAUSE: She is 102. She said she likes the team so much because they just seem like nice guys.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, when they get up to bat, they haven't got an angry look. They smile. I mean, they are going to do their jobs, and I think that is what keeps me going with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: She would be happy tonight. She has been keeping a Cubs score card for just about every game for 50 years. The Cubs on course right now. Playing the first World Series since 1945.
SESAY: She says I hope they win, I certainly hope they win.
VAUSE: Direct quote. We're not making that up. She actually said that.
SESAY: That's right. We gave it all the passion.
(CROSSTALK)
SESAY: That's it for us tonight. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause.
The news continues with Rosemary Church.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
