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Security Scare on the Campaign Trail; Candidates Hit Swing States; CNN Crew Under Attack in Mosul; Boko Haram Schoolgirl Rescued. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired November 06, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:11] CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: A bit of a scare on the campaign trail as Donald Trump Donald gets whisked off the stage at a rally Saturday night adding to the tension just two days before the presidential election.

And a grueling 28 hours under fire, CNN's Arwa Damon and her cameraman Brice Laine recount the moments. Their convoy came under attack in Mosul.

Plus a sign of hope, another schoolgirl taken by Boko Haram has been rescued.

Hello, I'm Cyril Vanier. Thanks for joining us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

So, the United States is just two days away from choosing its next president on Tuesday. The latest CNN poll of polls shows the race tightening even more with just three points separating Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

You see her 46 percent to his 43. Both candidates are campaigning hard in key state that could go either way on Election Day.

Now, one of those states is Nevada where Donald Trump rally Saturday night was interrupted by a security scare. Someone in the crowd shouted gun and this is what happened next.

The secret service rushed the candidate off stage. A man near the podium was taken into custody but no weapon was found. CNN politics reporter Jeremy Diamond was at the scene.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: I was able to get over the pass barricade and into the crowd to film what exactly happened. And that's where I found a man detained on the floor.

He was laying face down surrounded by a dozen police officers and secret service agents as well as an additional unit of S.W.A.T team. Police officers from Reno, Nevada here who were carrying assault rifles as well.

That man was on the ground for a period of time. It appeared the police were perhaps patting him down, searching him would be standard practice when somebody is detained.

That man was then brought to a separate room where we believe that he was in the bathroom of a separate room there where we believe that he may have been interrogated by secret service and local police. But certainly, a frightening incident, a lot of people in the crowd were frightened but Donald Trump quickly reemerged several minutes after he was detained saying that -- you know, thanking the secret service, saying that they did a fantastic job and saying that he is not going to be or certainly his movement is not going to be taken down that easily.

Now, it's so unclear exactly what happened, what this man was doing. Some of the supporters who I spoke to in the immediate aftermath said that there was a man who appeared to be a protester, perhaps raising a sign.

It's unclear exactly what happened at this moment. We're still waiting on more information and details from both the secret service and the Trump campaign.

VANIER: Yeah, and we now have that information. That man is called Austin Crites at the center of the security scare there. He was questioned and then released without charges. So he describes himself as an anti-Trump Republican. Here's his version of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUSTIN CRITES, DETAINED AT TRUMP RALLY: I just came with a sign. I literally just had one sign that said Republicans against Trump. And when I pulled out the sign, people around me were trying to grab the sign.

Somebody yelled something about a gun. And so, that's when things really got out of hand. I mean people are just you know kicking me, grabbing my arms, twisting them.

And finally, I'm very thankful for the law enforcement who was able to quickly come because had they no not been there, it's possible these people could have you know, strangled me and killed me right on the spot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: That goes to show how tense some people become as we near the election.

Now, with the race so close, both campaigns are making their final push. Donald Trump is stopping for his key swing states throughout the weekend. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Trumps side by side in neck and neck North Carolina, a must win state to hit 270. Melania Trump on charm offensive, a rare appearance on the campaign trail.

MELANIA TRUMP, WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP: He's also compassionate, thoughtful, giving, and loving. Donald cares.

LAH: Three days to Election Day, Donald Trump mostly on message on script in North Carolina.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESDENTIAL NOMINEE: The Clinton family have made themselves rich by being in politics.

LAH: But earlier at a camp rally in crucial battleground Florida.

TRUMP: Here's your construction worker.

LAH: Donald Trump cast teleprompter Trump aside, lashing out at Hillary Clinton's celebrity support from Beyonce and Jay-z. Talking about Jay-Z's explicit rap lyrics.

TRUMP: We don't need Jay-z to fill up arenas you know. Should I use that language for one event? Can you imagine if I said that?

[03:05:04] LAH: Of course, Trump has used plenty of other language that's landed him in trouble. Trump then pivoting back on script, pounding away at Clinton's Achilles heel, her use of a private e-mail server.

TRUMP: If she were to win, it would create an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

LAH: The e-mail controversy is central for the closing message Trump is toting as he zigzags across the country, visiting at least ten states between now and Monday, four to crucial battleground states. The states Trump can't hit, we'll see this.

TRUMP: Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American people.

LAH: An unconventional $4 million two-minute long ad. Trump's final national message will run during NCAA, NFL and NASCAR events this weekend and during major prime time programming before Tuesday.

TRUMP: The only thing that can stop this corrupt machine is you. The only force strong enough to save our country is us.

LAH: Trump also taking the conventional turn as a Republican presidential candidate, delivering the weekly Republican address.

TRUMP: It's time to close the history books on the Clintons and open a bright new chapter focused on the great citizens of our country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: So let's look at the Hillary Clinton side of things now. For her part, she got some major star power enlisted to win over young voters. She was with singer Katy Perry on Saturday to try to lock up Pennsylvania, and before that she has been campaigning in Florida. Possibly the single most important swing state carrying 29 Electoral College votes. CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton campaigning in Florida.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESDIENTIAL NOMINEE: It's a big state. I got a lot of ground to cover.

KEILAR: The fourth time she's been in this state this week, thanking the crowd for braving the rain to see her.

CLINTON: My friends, you are a hardy bunch, standing out here in the rain. I don't think I need to tell you all of the wrong things about Donald Trump. But here's what I want you to remember. I want to be the president for everybody, everybody who agrees with me, people who don't agree with me, people who vote for me, people who don't vote for me.

KEILAR: Recent polls put Florida at a statistical tie, and with 29 electoral votes at stake, Clinton's campaign sees the sunshine state as one way to block Donald Trump's path to the White House and they're encouraged by high Hispanic voter turn out among those voting early.

CLINTON: Every day in this campaign is exciting and being here with all of you, the last Saturday before Election Day really gets me geared up. We are seeing tremendous momentum, large numbers of people turning out breaking records.

KEILAR: Clinton and her long bench of surrogates are fanning out across battleground states in these final hours before Election Day. Her running mate, Tim Kaine also campaigning in Florida and Vice President Joe Biden in his home state of Pennsylvania, slamming Donald Trump.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A guy who wants to be president getting up at 3:30 in the morning and Tweeting vitriol, now I'm demanding, Tweeting vitriol about a woman's body, her weight, calling women pigs and call, I mean, imagine -- I get the back of my father's hand quicker than -- no, I really -- I really mean it. You do. You know what I'm talking about. Can you imagine at your dinner table your father or mother allowing you to speak that way?

KEILAR: Clinton is also tapping star power. The campaign is out with a new ad in tossup states featuring Katy Perry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: A poll show Donald Trump leading in Utah. Traditionally a Republican state, but he is facing a strong challenge there on the list. And it turns out Hillary Clinton might be the least of his worries in Utah. Stephanie Elam has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Never Hillary, and turned off by Trump, voters like Greg Fix are turning deeply red Utah into a battleground state.

GREG FIX: I'm a conservative.

ELAM: The difference in the beehive state this election is Evan McMullin, running for president as an independent. The 40-year-old Mormon says he's advocating true conservative values.

EVAN MCMULIIN, INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT: Hello sir how are you doing?

ELAM: Fix, a Mormon who votes Republican shows McMullin for president.

FIX: Looking at the main party candidates, neither one of them really have the values that I feel and the character that this country needs to represent the United States of America.

[03:10:04] ELAM: Other Republicans in Utah, about 85 percent are Mormon.

QUIB MONSON: It's pretty surreal this year to see electoral maps that have Utah painted as a battleground state.

ELAM: He says never before has a Republican nominee been so out of sync with traditional Mormon values.

MONSON: Do you have Mormons that are siding with Trump. Many of whom are doing so reluctantly, and another group who have been waiting all year for some alternative that they could live with because they couldn't vote for Hillary Clinton. You add on top of that his own personal morality, the reaction of the tape, the way he treats women, the way he just lashes out at people.

ELAM: This has made McMullin appealing to many members of the church of Latter Day Saints in Utah. On top of that, there are more than 515,000 active registered voters unaffiliated with any party in the state. That may also vote well for the independent candidate. But for some, a McMullin victory is ultimately a Clinton victory. LDS member Maureen Anderson voted for Trump.

ELAM: So, in that way you weren't swayed to perhaps vote for Evan McMullin?

MAUREEN ANDERSON, LDS MEMBER: No.

ELAM: Why not: What was it about him that didn't appeal to you?

ANDERSON: I just think that right now, I have the two party system and voting for a third party candidate is not placed at the marks and just because he's LDS isn't a reason why I would pick someone to vote for him.

UNINDETIFIED MALE: I think you need to vote your conscience. And vote what you feel is best for us as a country.

ELAM: Stephanie Elam, CNN, Salt Lake City, Utah. (END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Stay with CNN for full coverage of this historic Election Day. Coming up, we'll bring you nonstop coverage on Tuesday from before the polls open until long after they close.

Coming up on CNN, the battle for Mosul intensifies in Iraq. CNN Arwa Damon was caught in frightening ISIS ambush along with Iraqi soldiers and civilians. Her story, ahead.

Plus a girl kidnapped by Boko Haram finds her way home. How she saved her own life and another's.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: Iraqi forces face stiff resistances as they continue to battle ISIS inside Mosul. The terror group has held the city for more than two years and has set up defenses and booby traps.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Arwa Damon saw firsthand Iraqi troops face a hardened enemy determined to fight to the death. She and a photo journalist Brice Laine were with Iraqi Special Forces for more than 28 hours and survived a brutal ISIS ambush. Arwa spoke earlier with CNN's Poppy Harlow about the experience and the civilians caught in the cross fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Our photographer, camera man. Brice and I were with this unit of Iraqi counter terrorism forces.

[03:15:01] And what happened was ISIS ambushed them in a very complex attack on one of these narrow streets that they were going down, and they managed to split the convoy in two. I have to say that this is the most harrowing experience that I personally have ever been through despite having covered war zones for more than a decade.

What happened was once they managed to split the convoy in two, initially with gunfire, rocket-propelled grenade, they then began to systemically take out the convoy's vehicles, Humvees and MRAPs starting on both ends and moving towards those that were in the middle, forcing the soldiers and eventually us out of our vehicles onto the streets and into the buildings, basically, putting the troops in more vulnerable positions because then the ISIS fighters were moving in and attacking the buildings that the troops were sheltering in.

At the end of a very long 24 hours, the bottomline is that we were under siege with around 22 wounded soldiers, six who were not wounded. It got so bad at one point in the morning, Poppy. And this is despite the fact that the unit was repeatedly calling in for backup. None came.

That they were saying that they were running out of ammunition and this how close the ISIS fighters were, they were in the building right behind where all of us had spent the night along with an Iraqi family. An air strike took out the building, the house right behind us.

Later, we found out that eight ISIS fighters were there. At one point, there were ISIS fighters on the roof top right next throwing grenade into the courtyard that wounded even more of the soldiers that they were with.

They were screaming for anyone who could walk even people who are wounded in one arm carrying their weapons and the other arm to come up to the roof and defend this position. The reason why backup couldn't arrive?

Well, based on what we were told, the units that were supposed to be coming as reinforcements also got bogged down because of clashes they were undergoing with the ISIS. And this really just illustrates the challenges that the Iraqis are going to be facing as they try to clear Iraq's second largest city.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: The family, Arwa, I mean, in those notes that you sent back in the midst of all this, you talked about the family with their children. Do you know what happened to them?

DAMON: The family that we were with that we spent the night with, they didn't want to be filmed. They were very friendly. They were very welcoming, but at the same time, they were terrified.

Overnight, we were chatting. We were laughing. We were joking, but then in the morning when the ISIS counterattack began, they were crying. They were hiding under the staircase. They were trying to leave the house to go to their neighbors because they thought they would be safer there.

They made a few attempts to run out but the gunfire kept driving them back. One of the little boys was screaming out, I don't want to die today. Eventually, they did leave their own home running out without their shoes on.

We weren't even able to say good-bye to them. And I don't know what happened to them right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: So, let's follow up on that. We're joined now live by Michael Holmes in northern Iraq in Erbil. Michael, we heard from Arwa how so many civilians are regularly caught up in the fighting. Some of them fortunately, thousands in fact, have managed to flee Mosul in the fighting there. You met up with some of them.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right Cyril and you could see from Arwa's piece there, just what they're leaving as that fighting continues and expands and becomes more intense, you've got eight organizations saying they are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of displaced people.

The estimates so far, about 35,000 since this campaign began now what, just three weeks ago. And it's interesting, you drive around the region between Erbil and Mosul and a place like that. And you see camps being built and expanded to cater for those numbers.

And yes, we visited one of those camps.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

At a camp for the displaced, mother and daughter reunited, separated by ISIS for two long years. The reunions here come one after another.

A very public torrent of emotions for which words do no justice. The scenes here are both heart breaking and joyous, just imagine if it was you on the inside of the camp.

You got families from previously ISIS-held territory. On the outside, you've got their families and loved ones who haven't seen them in two years. But the problem is this, security.

Those on the inside need to be screened and processed. There could be ISIS among them, and that processing is yet to be completed.

This is my brother Ikram Akten (ph) says. For so long, we didn't see each other or even talk. Ikram's story repeated throughout the camp.

[03:20:09] And along the road leading to it, lines of cars and trucks headed towards the gates and safety.

This man tells us he walked 20 kilometers here with his family at last for security, he says. At the fence his brother-in-law, Asmed, a young family reunited.

I'm overjoyed he says, but it is frustrating to not be able to come in. This is Hada camp. It was originally built with 1,000 tents and meant for 8,000 people. 4,000 arrived in one 24 hour period. This camp is now full. They're extending it but for now, they're having to send families to other camps.

Aid organizations expected these people to come and have prepared as much as possible, the problem not knowing what's yet to come, the fear that this is just the beginning of the possible long feared deluge of the desperate and the dispossessed.

HOLMES: And, Cyril, the UN estimates perhaps as many as way for 700,000 people might need assistance of some sort as this campaign continues at the staggering number. One angry batch, they told us that facilities will start to struggle with numbers around 250,000. But you can certainly see the challenges ahead, and we mentioned there in that story the screening and the importance of that, and that's not for nothing.

We've been told by talking to an Iraqi commander near the front, just after we did that story. And he was telling me that, yes, they have actually detained ISIS members among those fleeing civilians. They say they're being, say, mingling with the local population.

Some of them in fact are locals and it is the displaced who appointed out to security these guys, they're the bad guys. You know, look at them and there's been a number of people detained. They didn't have numbers for it, but it is happening so that screening is very important still.

VANIER: All right that's going to be a huge challenge in sorting out the former or still current ISIS fighters who are mingling with the civilians. Thank you very much Michael Holmes reporting live there from Erbil in Northern Iraq, thanks a lot.

Turkish authorities have two suspects in custody after officers spied on the neat Ataturk Airport in Istanbul. Airport security tells Turkish media, the suspects were on a motor bike riding toward the airport's entrance and ignored multiple orders to stop. One suspect was injured. The other took off running, but he was caught. CNN Turks says police did not find any weapons on the suspect.

A former aide of South Korea's President has been arrested. It's in connection with the abuse of power scandal that has tarnished Park Geun-hye's administration. Authorities also have a warrant out for a second former aide of Parks.

President Park is accused of letting a confidant view confidential documents. Critics say that that confidant used Park to rake in millions of dollars and donations for her foundation. Tens of thousands of people protested on Saturday calling for Park's resignation. She has apologized twice now for the scandal.

And the Nigerian army said it has found another Chibok schoolgirl kidnapped by Boko Haram. She says she escaped from the terror group's hide out in the Sambisa forest along with her ten-month old son. Many people believe that forest is where the girls were taken when they were abducted in 2014. Some of those girls since made it back to their families, but a majority of them roughly 200 still remain missing.

New Delhi has been struggling to breathe through days of thick smog blanketing the city. Derek Van Dam joins us now for more on this from the CNN International weather center.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's the world's most populated city and it's now one of the most air-polluted cities on this planet as well. And it all has to do with the topography and also the layout of this particular area. Look into the detail first and take a look at some of the video. Just, you can imagine just choking down some of this extremely polluted air mass, and it may not be coming from what you think.

I remember, we were just wrapping up the Diwali festival of lights, and a lot of people pointing to the bursting of crackers or fireworks there as the main cause of that severe air pollution. But images which I'm about to show you published by NASA actually are going to show that the direct cause of this thick layer of smog is actually burning of agriculture in the Punjab province just to the north and west of New Delhi.

Here's some of the images coming out of the Diwali festival that took place a few days ago, and here's where we stand. We are above the charts, beyond the index of hazardous air quality at 659 parts per million here in New Delhi unbelievable. [03:25:08] This is the NASA image that I was talking about. What

you've got here, just to give you a bit of a geographical reference. This shading of green with white on top, that's the Himalayan Mountains. That acts as a barrier for the smog or air pollution really to filter north. It really just settles in to the low-lying areas leading up to the hill of lands.

And then as we zoom in a little bit closer, those little red dots there, those are all the active fires that are burning across the Punjab province. And you guessed it, the very light north westerly winds helping push that smog and thick layer of smoke right into New Delhi giving us our very poor air quality index and you ask well, why does this impact human's health? You have to consider the size of air pollutants to really get an understanding and what this, why this is important, so.

Human hair, for instance is 50 to 70 microns in diameter. That's not going to get stuck in your lungs. Sand, 90 microns in diameter, that won't get stuck in your lungs either. But we could just talk about combustible particles, combustion particles from vehicles, fossil fuels burning of cold. Those are only 2.5 microns in diameter. So that means that it's very easy to inhale that. And unfortunately, that's where, as an asthmatic and believe you're an asthmatic as well, breathing does kind of thickly dense particles like that can cause such bad breathing problems and health concerns for so many people.

VANIER: All right, Derek Van Dam. Crystal clear. Thank you very much.

VAN DAM: All right.

VANIER: And before we go this hour, a final look at the election but don't worry, this was not so serious. Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon parodied the candidates again on Saturday night, live just one last time before Tuesday's vote, Cecily Strong joined in as CNN's own Erin Burnett.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECILY STRONG, ERIN BURNETT IMPERSONATOR: Then, you've traveled to four different states just today. What gives you the energy for all that?

ALEC BALDWIN, DONALD TRUMP IMPERSONATOR: My deep love for America and a really, really big handful of uppers that are meant for racehorses.

BURNETT: Okay, well let's get to what's obviously the big story of the week.

KATE MCKINNON, HILLARY CLINTON IMPERSONATOR: Please be it taxes. Please be it taxes. Please be it taxes.

BURNETT: Secretary Clinton's e-mails.

MCKINNON: Okay.

BURNETT: FBI Director Jim Comey announced that they're looking into more e-mails that were discovered on Anthony Weiner's laptop.

BALDWIN: That's right, I called it, and his e-mails are very bad for you, Hillary. That's why I never, ever use e-mail. It's too risky. Instead I use a very private, very secure site where one can write whatever they want to and no one will read it. It's called Twitter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Okay, brief moment of levity there in the election coverage. Thank you very much for watching, I'm Cyril Vanier. The real Erin Burnett is a matter of fact will be with you in just a moment on CNN. But first, I'll be back with your headlines. Stay with us.

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