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6.6 Magnitude Earthquake Destroys Medieval Italian Villages; FBI Obtains Warrant to Look into Newly Discovered Emails; Iraqi Forces Close in on Mosul. 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired October 31, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:17] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

The FBI now has a warrant to search thousands of newly discovered emails from Hillary Clinton's aide, but there are many questions about why the FBI

chose to reveal this information days before the presidential election.

On the front lines of the battle to retake Mosul as Iraqi forces say it is just a matter of hours

until they begin the assault on the ISIS stronghold.

And hundreds of aftershocks rock Italy after the country's biggest earthquake in decades. Now survivors search for shelter as cold weather

sets in.

We begin with the political firestorm surrounding the director of the FBI and new headache facing the Hillary Clinton campaign.

The Justice Department is expected to begin reviewing a newly discovered batch of emails belonging to Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Now, the FBI wants

to know if they are in any way related to the investigation of Clinton's handling of classified information when she was secretary of state. The

case regarding her private email server had been closed back in July, but now the issue is front and center once again.

Brianna Keilar reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an

election.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shockwaves through Hillary Clinton's campaign following a surprise letter Friday from FBI Director

James Comey.

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: If she never heard the word "email," do you think she'd be a very happy woman today?

KEILAR: Comey notifying members of Congress that the bureau discovered e- mails that appear to be pertinent to the now-closed Clinton server investigation. Those e-mails found on a laptop belonging to Anthony Weiner,

the husband of Clinton's long-time aide, Huma Abedin, currently under investigation for sexting with a purportedly underage girl.

Comey can't say if the e-mails are significant. They could even be duplicates of those already reviewed. Now Democrats and some Republicans

are criticizing Comey's decision to go public as political, worrying it could tip the scales in Trump's favor.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: This is an unprecedented move as your folks were describing earlier, because it happens close to an

election, which is in violation of normal Justice Department protocol, and it involves talking about an ongoing investigation, which also violates the

protocol.

KEILAR: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid penning a damning letter to Comey, alleging that he, quote, "may have broken the law by violating the

Hatch Act," a law that prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity. As 100 former federal prosecutors and high-

ranking Justice Department officials, Democrats and Republicans, sign a letter criticizing Comey's actions.

TRUMP: Hillary has nobody to blame but herself. Her criminal action was willful, deliberate, intentional and purposeful.

KEILAR: But Trump's campaign hoping to capitalize on the issue.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We commend the FBI and the director on their decision to keep their word to the Congress and move

forward.

KEILAR: House Speaker Paul Ryan called Comey's move, quote, "long overdue," and he's renewing his call to suspend all classified briefings for

Secretary Clinton until this matter is fully resolved. Clinton remaining confident that she is in the clear.

CLINTON: We've called on Director Comey to explain everything right away, put it all out on the table. Of course, Donald Trump is already making up

lies about this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar reporting.

Now, I'd like to bring in CNN politics executive editor Mark Preston joining us now from our Washington bureau. Mark, good to see you again.

Our viewers around the world thought what many American voters thought, that this issue was put to rest. So why has the email issue been revived?

Why is the FBI so interested in this new batch of emails?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS: Well, basically they had found these emails during a separate investigation, as Brianna had just said, in her piece

right there when they were looking into the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal. Now, he's the former congressman, the estranged husband of Huma

Abedin who is arguably Clinton's closest aide. And in that investigation of Anthony Weiner they came across these emails. Now, it's unclear what

these emails actually are, had they already been reviewed, and were these duplicates that had been sent to Huma Abedin's shared computer that she had

with her estranged husband.

The fact of the matter is, on Thursday when Director Comey says he was fully apprised to the situation, he decided by Friday to send a note to

some chairman on Capitol Hill, as well as some Democrats, telling them that they were going to look into this, then he made it public.

LU STOUT; And there's been a lot of pushback in Washington to that decision, in fact, even from the former U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder.

He's written an op-ed on it, it's out in the Washington Post. He says that the FBI director is a good and honorable man, but he's made a mistake, that

someone at the Department of Justice or FBI must correct. Those are his words.

So, Mark, I mean, just how much outrage is there in Washington about what he did?

PRESTON: Well, not only Washington, but throughout the United States. We're really seeing sides being taken in this.

Look, when you don't normally see the Department of Justice or FBI for that matter get involved publicly in an election, they try to stay away from it,

specifically when you get this close to an election, and that's where Holder's criticism of Director Comey, the FBI director, was in the

situation.

Now, we've seen Democrats come out saying this is partisan. We've seen the Senate democratic

leader say that Comey might have violated the Hatch Act, which is a law that prevents any kind of politicking by a public official. And you have

Republicans now saying, well, the FBI is finally doing something that they should have done months ago, and that is to investigate Hillary Clinton and

the email server as thoroughly as possible.

But make no bones about it, we are ten days before an election and the question is, is this going to affect people's votes there, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, we are in the final stretch. Hillary Clinton, she was just in Florida. She and the campaign there now heading to Ohio today.

What does she need to do and can she divert attention away from the email issue?

PRESTON: Well, what she did immediately was she came out and she said I want all this information released as quickly as possible. She did that

several hours after Director Comey came out and said that the FBI was looking at this information.

We've also seen all her surrogates in her campaign chair people saying the same thing.

Basically what they have made this is Hillary Clinton versus the FBI at this point, trying to say, listen, if you're going to come out and dangle

something out there and then go back into hiding, that's unfair to the voters and you really owe it to the voters to tell us what you know.

The Clintons feel like they are in some pretty firm ground by saying this. But again, we don't know necessarily what's in there. And quite frankly, I

would be surprised if we hear from the FBI. I don't think we'll get more answers from them on this as they continue this investigation.

LU STOUT: Got it. And meanwhile, both campaigns bracing for the final stretch.

Mark Preston joining us live. Thank you, Mark, take care.

Now, if Donald Trump -- if Donald Trump loses the election, he may return to a business that's taken its share of hits. Now, Miguel Marquez reports

that the campaign's potential impact on the Trump brand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Trump in business mode. His presidential bid on brief hold.

TRUMP: As soon as we're finished cutting the ribbon, I'm off to North Carolina, New Hampshire and back down to Florida.

MARQUEZ: But the suggestion by CNN's Dana Bash that he's putting business ahead of politics...

TRUMP: For you to ask me that question is actually very insulting because Hillary Clinton does one stop and then she goes home and sleeps

MARQUEZ: Trump's brand, his name, being hammered, literally, on Hollywood's Walk of Fame over remarks he's made on and off the campaign trail. Three

Democratic senators urging the U.S. Golf Association to move the women's tournament from Trump's New Jersey golf club. The USGA for now says it's

staying, but in June, a PGA tournament moved from Trump's Florida golf club to Mexico when enough sponsorships couldn't be acquired.

At some Manhattan buildings bearing the Trump name, residents now petitioning to have the golden letters removed.

MARJORIE JACOBS, TRUMP PLACE RESIDENT: Why should he get part of my rent and why should his name be on there?

MARQUEZ: There are signs Trump's White House bid is hurting his brand. His latest hotel, not called Trump at all. Instead. Scion. Serta Mattress,

Macy's and Univision have already cut ties with Trump.

Protests outside Trump's new D.C. hotel as he cut the official ribbon inside. Chef Jose Andres pulled his restaurant from the project over the

candidate's remarks about immigration. Trump sued and in a deposition insisted everything on the business front is A-OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What impact do you think your political campaign has had on the success of your hotels?

TRUMP: I don't think it's had much.

MARQUEZ: But at his Mar-A-Lago in Florida, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is now under pressure to move its yearly fundraiser to a new

location. The foundation declined to comment to CNN.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:10:14] LU STOUT: Now, the Iraqi army has launched the next phase of its military operation, advancing on three separate fronts to retake the

city of Mosul from ISIS. With one general saying in a TV interview that Iraqi forces could reach Mosul within hours.

Now, this follows a weekend of gains for the coalition fighting the jihadis. A paramilitary commander says ISIS has been forced out of 20

villages, some of them just a few kilometers from the city. And what you're seeing now are people leaving their villages ahead of the advancing

military.

The UN has said more than a million people could end up leaving Mosul during this assault.

Nick Paton Walsh and his crew braved the frontlines of the fight for Mosul to file this report while under fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The last phase of lifting ISIS' dark curse from Iraq begins here. Trying to hit a spectral

fleeting enemy, lit only by the glow of Mosul city limits barely two kilometers away.

Iraqi special forces trained by the U.S. target with a tank here where they are attacked from

during the day, telling us to use Humvees as cover when they move.

Their commander, Major Salam (ph), has fought ISIS in Fallujah, Ramadi, and now the end is near.

"Where did the artillery land," he asked? Just visible in the distant lights of Mosul. This is the global tip of the spear in the war on ISIS,

surging forward on a thin strip of land into ISIS territory. And as we see in the same area in daylight, facing constant counterattacks.

Here, they can see ISIS just beyond the berms. The incoming is from behind it, a truck that pops up, opens fire, and vanishes.

ISIS less than a kilometer away, firing at Iraqi special forces position. This is a constant day in, day out.

"Where's it moving?" He asks. As fast as it emerged, the truck vanishes.

But here there are yet tougher hours ahead. Darkness has just fallen and the sky is alight with ferocious fire power. ISIS have attacked berms --

suicide bombers, rocket propelled grenades. It is constant, exhausting, closer and closer to the roof we are on. We simply do not know where in

the town around us ISIS may have broken through.

The most intense pack we've seen so far towards this Iraqi special forces position. Now it seems to try to stop them coming down the road.

ISIS, despite being in their end days, still able to conjure the terror of omnipotence that began

their savage rule.

The wounded start coming back, but we cannot film them. A steady stream. The unit we were with earlier on the roof have been hit. Rockets struck

many of them asleep tightly packed in a room. The blast killed 14 soldiers. Many limbs torn clean off.

Major Salam (ph) is shown the weapons of the dead. He pauses in emotion.

"You guys are heroes," he says, "and none of you should be affected by this. Those suicide bombers are nothing."

Two kilometers from Mosul City and seven left to the center to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU SOTUT: Gripping reporting there from Nick and his team.

And Nick joins us now live from the Iraqi city of Irbil. And Nick, Iraqi troops will very

soon center Mosul. There is deep concern for civilians, civilians who could be used as human shields. What are Iraqi forces planning to do to

avoid mass causalities?

[08:15:08] WALSH; It's difficult, as you can see, the volume of fire power being used by both sides does put civilians deeply at risk.

Now, most of the places we go to, they try to mark whereabouts with white flags, that gives some kind of indication. I think the broader fear,

though, is if ISIS intends to use people as human shields, i.e. directly put them in harm's way, that makes life

extraordinarily hard for Iraqi forces advancing.

And they are very sensitive to the presence of civilians. We saw little actually in the fighting around there. A lot of them staying in their

homes, but we're hearing also now that they are moving towards a key district called Gogjali (ph). That t is basically Mosul proper, that's

sort of where we were about two kilometers there away from in that report.

Clashes are being heard on the edges of that and it appears that residents are leaving that area

fearing further advance.

But as you say, it's the future of those civilians as Iraqi forces hit the urban sprawl of Mosul. That is most worrying. They've been called

humanitarian corridors. Well, frankly, that just requires ISIS to play ball. That's not actually going to happen. And then these people have to

leave through very perilous land where there are still pockets of ISIS fighters, too, mines, as well, to eventual safety, then the broader

question, when do they get to go back -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and Nick, witnesses inside Mosul have told CNN that five ISIS officials were killed on Monday. I mean, just how significant is

this?

WALSH: Well, we have been seeing occasional signs that there is potentially, as long been advertised or suggested, a resistance inside the

city itself. We've spoken to people involved in that resistance who had weapons actually taken from the Iraqi police stations at the very time the

city fell years ago now that they've been hoarding and using to attack key ISIS leaders.

These particular five said to have been hit in the east of the city and a key moment, too, potentially that might show ISIS' infrastructure and

leaders are beginning to crumble here.

But as this potentially gathers pace and offensive, we may see more instances like this. We know the resistance tend to focus on high profile

leaders, rather than just taking out occasional ISIS fighters, and suggestions, too, that ISIS are in fact moving aroundnow in larger groups

as militants, because they fear these potential opportunistic attacks.

A very potentially significant development if the resistance gets underway properly, and one that could potentially also speed up the fall of ISIS

inside that city -- Kristie.

LU STOUT; Our Nick Paton Walsh reporting for us live. Thank you, Nick.

You're watching News Stream. And still ahead on the program, South Korea's president faces

growing calls to step down. What is at the center of the controversy she faces ahead.

And terrified residents are dealing with hundreds of aftershocks in central Italy. We'll get an update on the aftermath of the powerful earthquake

next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:01] LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're watching News Stream.

Now, South Korea's president is facing growing outrage over the leak of classified documents. Now President Park Geun-Hye is accused of sharing

those documents with a friend. That friend was met by protesters as she arrived to speak to prosecutors in Seoul.

Protesters have demanded Mrs. Park, the country's first female president, to step down.

Now, she has apologized for the scandal and ordered the resignation of 10 of her senior secretaries.

But those moves do not appear to be enough to quell the anger. Now earlier CNN spoke to Steven Chung, an assistant lecturer with the Chinese

University of Hong Kong. Here is what he had to say about the impact of all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE CHUNG, ASSISTANT LECTURER CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: If the current approval rate of President Park Geun-hye is the lowest point since

she was inaugurated in the South Korean government, so this is a big question now in South Korea, because she lost all the

confidence amongst the all people in South Korea, because the whole general public now in South

Korea, they really are very angry about why the president now in South Korea, they would trust someone who's not inside the government officials,

but she had to change to look at those classified documents.

Also there's no checks and balance on her powers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: So confidence, as he says, has been undermined. Now, Mrs. Park is in the fourth year of a five-year term. Opposition parties have

demanded an investigation.

Now, the prime minister of Italy vows to rebuild after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake leveled villages on Sunday. It struck just north of Norcia,

affecting many of the same areas that were already damaged by the deadly Amatrice quake back in August. This time no deaths are reported, but there

are injuries. And 15,000 people are without power.

Nerves are on edge as hundreds of aftershocks have hit the area.

Now, let's get an update from Rome. Our Barbie Nadeau is there monitoring developments. She joins us now. And Barbie, this was the strongest

earthquake to hit central Italy in decades. What is the latest on the damage and devastation it caused?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, luckily there was no loss of life, as you

said, but that is primarily because most people had evacuated their homes in the dangerous areas when two earthquakes struck last week, and previous

to that, in August, when a deadly earthquake in the same area killed around 300 people.

But the damage is so widespread, complete villages are just wiped off the map. Now 5,000 churches and monuments have been damaged or destroyed

completely, which is a big blow to the cultural heritage of the country, especially in that part, which is really the picture postcard beautiful

hilltop town area in Italy that so many people come to visit.

As you said, Prime Minister Rrenzi says he will rebuild, but it's really going to be interesting to see if the people have the will to come back to

this area when they have nothing left really and have to start from zero, Kristie.

LU STOUT: You know, it is miraculous that no one was killed by this earthquake, but it is

devastating to learn of just the wide spread damage, you know, the cultural loss, the historic loss, loss of property, and there's the outstanding

issue, Barbie, of finding homes for the displaced. I mean, where are the quake survivors going to go to find safe and also warm shelter?

NADEAU: Well, that is a problem. You know, the civil protection authorities are urging anyone who thinks that they can still camp out in

their front yard or who are in tent camps to move to the coast and stay in hotels that are being paid for and provided by the government. But a lot

of people who haven't left yet don't want to leave their houses. They want to stay

as close as they can, but it's cold, you know, it's hovering around 2 degrees overnight there, and it's very difficult to sleep in a tent or in a

car.

But there have been people who have been sleeping in tents since August. There have been a lot of people sleeping in their cars since last week, but

a lot of people, if they could find shelter, had family in another town have left the area. And that's why we didn't see loss of life, also

because the civil protection authorities and the first responders were already in place from last week's earthquakes on Sunday, so when the earth

started shaking, people were able to get out quickly, get to a safe place - - Kristie.

LU STOUT: And that's why there was no loss of life from the latest massive earthquake there in central Italy. Barbie Nadeau report for us. Thank

you, Barbie, and take care.

Now, let's get more on the earthquake with our meteorologist, Chad Myers. He joins us now. And, Chad, there have been nonstop tremors and

aftershocks. Why is that and will there be more to come?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There absolutely will be more to come for months, maybe even for years after this quake. 50,000 people seeing such

severe shaking that the buildings literally fell down.

Now, we're going to talk about the weather here for what they are going to experience.

we're not getting into the warmer season, that's for sure. We're going to get into the colder season. The Cold Front's coming by.

I just camped out with my Boy Scout son and it got down to 5 in the middle of the night. It was cold in a tent, trust me on this. And tonight these

places are going to get down to around zero, maybe one degree Celsius. Up in the afternoon up to around 14, but the higher you go in the mountains,

the colder it will be.

Now, the main towns that were hit so hard are somewhere between 600 meters and 800 meters up in the mountains. So this is the area that we're going

to see. The higher you get, the colder you get at night, and the lower you get, the warmer you'll stay.

Now, the main towns that were hit so hard are somewhere between 600 meters and 800 meters up in the (inaudible) mountains. So this is the area that

we're going to see. The higher you get, the colder you get at night and the lower you get, the warmer you'll stay, and that's why they're trying to

tell people to get to the coast and just stay there rather than be outside, because this is now the

warmest it's going to be until likely May or June when we start to get finally get back up into the

warm season.

So a lot of these towns are just going to be evacuated and nothing's going to happen unless

we finally start to see things warming up and that could be five or six months from now.

Lots of aftershocks. They don't want to be in these buildings at all, Kristie.

We are going to see aftershocks again on the range of hundreds of not more than that for the next weeks on end. Every single week we will have more

aftershocks and you don't want to be in a building that's half fallen down anyway and camping in your car is no fun.

LU STOUT: Yeah, of course, and because of the fear of more aftershocks, more of these quake survivors are going to be spending an additional night

outdoors in their cars exposed to the elements. As you pointed out, it is cold out there.

Chad Myers, thank you so much. Take care.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, 13 journalists arrested, 10,000 public servants sacked in one weekend. We'll take a look at the

major political crackdown in Turkey.

And very heavy smog blankets New Delhi. We'll tell you what's behind the spike in pollution and what residents are doing to prevent respiratory

problems.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:30:17] LU STOUT: The Turkish government is expanding its crackdown on opponents. Over the weekend more than 10,000 public servants were sacked

and 15 Kurdish media companies have been shut down.

Now, let's bring in CNN's Ian Lee who joins us now from Istanbul right outside the offices of the newspaper. Ian, this comes as after 10,000

officials were dismissed. Who was being targeted in this latest crackdown?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And these 10,000 officials who were fired, you have many of them, over 1,000, who are teachers. You also

have health workers, people who work in the prison system, and on the front page of the main secular opposition newspaper today, it has a coup against

the opposition talking about how this crackdown really is going after everyone who is

against the AK Party, the ruling AK Party, and the president, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and it was then this morning where the editor-in-

chief of this newspaper was arrested.

There was arrest warrants out for 12 other members, staff members, of this newspaper and that's what you're seeing right now, people gathering out

front of the newspaper, protesting the detention of these people, saying that the -- chanting shoulder to shoulder, we are against fascism.

We also had a politician from one of the main opposition parties out here talking to the crowd saying that this is a coup against democracy. And

really when you look at this, Kristie, since July 15th, since that coup attempt happened, there have been over 100,000 people who have been

dismissed from their jobs, tens of thousands of people who have been arrested.

Now, the government says these are people who have links to Fetullah Gulan, he is a person,

a U.S.-based cleric who the government blamed being behind the coup attempt, also blaming these people for having ties with Kurdish militants,

but when you talk to people, talking to the various opposition groups who initially supported the democratically elected government after the coup

attempt, that unity broke because they say this crackdown has widened not just to people who were part of that, but anyone who opposes the government

-- Kristie.

LU STOUT; As we see behind you, supporters of the opposition are protesting. They are riled up by the latest crackdown by the government.

We know that the U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning. Will there be more angry demonstrations ahead there?

LEE: Well, what we heard today from the main opposition party politician from the CHP, that they are calling for more street demonstrations, really

to show the anger at what is happening here in Turkey.

And remember, this is very much a divided country. The power, the AK Party, which is in charge right now, has a slim majority. The opposition,

though, has struggled to really present a united front, so there are these calls for protests to show the anger in this latest crackdown, and these

are unsettling times for Turkey in general.

You do have the U.S. consulate here in Istanbul sending the family members of their staff

home or sending them outside because of a threat.

Now, this isn't related with this recent crackdown that we know of. They haven't really specified why this has been issued, but these are some

unsettling times, especially when you have those offensives going on in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

LU STOUT: Ian Lee reporting for us live from Istanbul. Thank you, Ian.

Now, this is the scene in New Delhi. Thick smog just hanging over the city. Now, authorities are reporting record levels of pollution, most of

it caused by the celebration marking Diwali, the Hindu festival of light. Millions of people mark the occasion by lighting fireworks. And according

to the World Health Organization, New Delhi is the 11th most polluted city in the world.

Now, air pollution is a serious global health concern. UNICEF says around 600,000 children under the age of 5 die every year from pollution-related

illnesses. It also warns that pollutants can permanently damage children's brain development.

Around 2 billion children live in places where pollution level exceed WHO guidelines and most of the pollution comes from burning fossil fuel and

vehicle emissions. But dangers also lie at home, around 1 billion children live in homes that use wood and coal for cooking and heating.

Now, UNICEF is calling on world leaders to tackle the issue during the UN climate change conference happening next week.

Now, talks between Venezuela's opposition leaders and the government have ended and both

sides have agreed to tone down the heated political rhetoric. Now, the country has been reeling from a growing political crisis. Pressure is

mounting on President Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela is mired in a deep recession.

The Vatican stepped in to facilitate the talks. The parties agreed to set up four subcommittees to address some of the country's biggest issues and

they are set to meet again on November 11.

You're watching News Stream. Still ahead, the man whose private life is shaking up the U.S. presidential race, how Anthony Weiner's reemergence has

become a potential game changer in the election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:37:31] LU STOUT: Welcome back. Pope Francis has arrived in Sweden. His plane touched down in Malmo where he's to hold mass.

The town has been at the forefront of the refugee crisis in Sweden for years. Pope Francis is to also take part in a joint Catholic-Lutheran

service, marking the 500th year since Martin Luther's anti-Catholic reformation.

It wasn't that long ago that Hillary Clinton was riding high after a strong showing in U.S. election polls, then Anthony Weiner resurfaced. The former

congressman set off a chain of events that have rattled the Clinton campaign.

Now CNN's Brynn Gingras has more on the once riding political star and his long fall from grace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A usually overexposed Anthony Weiner remaining quite private as an investigation into his sexting is having a

ripple effect on the presidential race. Weiner has made no comment and has not been seen leaving his Manhattan home this weekend, as questions remain

about what emails were discovered that launched the Justice Department to reopen the case into Hillary clinton's use of a private email server.

Weiner, a former Democratic congressman, once stood in harmony with Clinton, both serving on Capitol Hill at the same time. Weiner was a

charismatic political rising star, who had his eye on Clinton's quiet closest confidant, Huma Abedin.

Weiner courted Abedin and eventually opposites attracted. The two married in 2010. Bill Clinton officiated the ceremony.

However, marital bliss soon faced a bombshell.

ANTHONY WEINER, FRM. CONGRESSMAN FROM NEW YORK: I'm announcing my resignation from congress.

GINGRAS: Weiner surrendered his political post after inadvertently tweeting a picture of his crotch. The scandal broke as the couple was

expecting a child.

Abedin gave her husband a second chance and Weiner asked New Yorkers for the same, as he ran for mayor in 2013. But that bid soon imploded when

more lewd online conversations with women surfaced.

The final straw for Abedin came this year when the FBI opened an investigation into allegations

that Weiner sexted with an underaged girl.

UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: He'd ask me to undress. He started talking sexually.

WEINER: Abedin announced in August she was separating from Weiner after six years of marriage. Now her estranged husband's choices being felt

again, this one jolting the election less than two weeks before voters head to the polls.

Brynn Gringras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, controversy after controversy seems to be the daily theme of the U.S. election campaign, including a dramatic interview last week.

Now, House Speaker Newt Gingrich told a TV host that she was fascinated with sex for talking about the sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump.

Now, here is how CNN's Anderson Cooper discussed the issue with this panel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: For Newt Gingrich to accuse Megyn Kelly of being fascinated by sex, I mean, this is a guy who's, what, on his third

marriage, cheated on his first two wives and was having an affair when he was impeaching Bill Clinton. Isn't that right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: he is -- he who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones across the board for any of us right now.

I think what you saw last night was two people very passionate about the positions that they've had and that was a conversation I think that's

happening at dinner tables across the United States right now.

COOPER: Again, for a male like him with his record on relationships to accuse Megyn Kelly of being fascinated with sex just seems a particularly

ironic.

UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: His main point was to point out media bias.

COOPER: I didn't hear the words.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, he did. He said certain journalists are focusing -- look at the stories you're focusing, the time you spent on it,

and look at the stories that actually do matter like her pay for play speeches that are happening.

Let's look at -- that was the point of that entire interaction, and it was very uncomfortable to watch, I'll be the first to admit it. Those two are

probably very good friends up until that last night. They'll be friends again. But this is a conversation and a divide that's happening amongst

the Republican Party, and we at least have to respect that at least the conversation is happening and hopefully it won't be too damaging.

ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You said ironic. I think the word you were looking for is hypocritical.

COOPER: That would be another word.

NAVARRO: Yes, that would be another word. now, let's remember that Newt Gingrich's wife when he was running in 2012, told all of us, the media,

said it in public, said it to a camera, that Newt Gingrich had offered her the choice between an open marriage or a divorce. So maybe, just maybe,

just maybe, if all of that baggage is on your shoulders, maybe you shouldn't be the surrogate out there wagging your finger and accusing the

woman who is reporting on sexual assault -- let us also -- let me explain it slowly, sexual assault and sex are two different things. One is

unwanted, one is wanted.

So maybe they need to understand that to begin with. Let us not conflict sexual assault and sex. And if you're going to get a surrogate to speak

on it and wag his finger on national TV, maybe, just maybe, find the pope or somebody that's been on his knees in a chapel for 20 years, not Newt

Gingrich.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere. World Sport with Amanda Davies is next.

END