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Hala Gorani Tonight
At Least 22 Dead in Genoa Bridge Collapse; White House Briefing as Trump Calls Omarosa a Dog; White House Says Dog Comment Is Not About Race; Collapsed Bridge Was Undergoing Maintenance; U.K. Police Arrest Man for Terrorism; London Mayor Sadiq Khan Responds To Attack; WH: Trump Calling Omarosa A "Dog" Not About Race; Erdogan Calls For Boycott Of U.S. Consumer Goods; Police: Vandals Torch, Vandalize As Many As 100 Cars; Fans Pray For "Gravely Ill" Aretha Franklin. Aired 2:30-4p ET
Aired August 14, 2018 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HALA GORANI, HOST, HALA GORANI TONIGHT: Hello and welcome everyone, I'm Hala Gorani. Welcome to a special extended edition of the program.
Tonight, we are broadcasting to you live from Westminster just meters away from where an attempted terrorist attack happened earlier. We'll have more
on that story to come.
But we begin in Italy, where a horrifying bridge collapse has shaken the city of Genoa, indeed the entire country. Drivers packed the bridge around
noon local time, when a violent thunderstorm hit. Some of these images are dramatic. They show you the extent of the tragedy. Take a look here,
moments later the bridge collapsed. At least 22 people are dead. We are seeing estimates of more potentially and a dozen others injured at this
hour.
The company in charge of Italy's motorways says they were carrying out maintenance work before the bridge fell, Nic Robertson arrived to the scene
shortly after the collapse.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, CNN: The rescue effort has been going on all afternoon. Rescue vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances,
police vehicles lined up at the side of the road, where you can see where the bridge just sheared off, debris hanging from the side there. And at
the other end of the bridge, several hundred yards away, that truck just close to the drop-off, a driver there who had a hugely lucky escape. The
road was busy, nose-to-tail traffic, torrential rain, thunder and lightning, water rushing down the road.
The bridge itself had a road sign showing road repairs at this time, no indication yet why it actually collapsed. Dozens of vehicles feared to
have careened off, down into this valley here. It spans the canal and several rail lines linking to the port.
This, of course, a tremendously busy highway at a very, very busy time of year. National holidays in Italy, national holidays in nearby France.
This - the main highway that connects along the Mediterranean France and Italy, a very busy day, a terrible, terrible tragedy for this city.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
GORANI: Well, Nic joins me now live from the scene of the disaster. He's on the phone in Genoa, Italy. Do we have any idea how this happened, Nic?
ROBERTSON: We don't. But certainly, questions are being asked, Hala, of the Prime Minister who came here of the city mayor who came here of the
deputies, the city who came here - they are all being asked where these road works that were underway on the bridge, were they connected to its
collapse? Was it something to do with the heavy weather, with the storm
The Prime Minister, we understand has talked about a number of evacuations of citizens from around some of the other parts of the bridge, possibly as
many as several thousand people evacuated this evening. That seems to be an active prudence at this time.
However, the precise reasons has not been given. The people that we've spoken to here, the police chief who was talking with journalists earlier
called it a tragedy for the city, a tragedy for everyone involved. A tragedy for the rescue team that's involved. But everyone at the moment is
saying they need to look at this carefully, they need to analyze all the facts, but the very fact that this bridge had current repair work on it had
a history of repair work and to my eye, from where I stood through this day, you can see the rust on some of the tension cables and you can see the
aging on some of the concrete. These are very clearly already some of the central questions being asked, Hala.
GORANI: So, the latest death toll is 22. Are there any more people potentially buried under the rubble, do we know?
ROBERTSON: At this time, it appears not to be the case. And I think the reason that we can feel safe to say that is really the tempo here slowed
down mid afternoon. The sirens bracing in slow down and some of that would be natural as the rescue efforts sort of reached their maximum.
But then we saw late in the afternoon, we saw dogs that are normally used to recover people from avalanches and from earthquakes. We saw them being
walked away from the scene by their handlers and I think that gave us an indication then that the search of these piles of concrete seems to
indicate at that stage that there was no one trapped or that they'd identified all those trapped.
And generally, when we look at the pace of work at the moment, it's been - rescue workers walking away slowly. The people coming on-site now, I am
just looking at them, another van full of policemen and they appear to be coming on to here now just as the night is falling here.
[14:30:09]
ROBERTSON: Just to sort of provides some security from what is still an ongoing recovery and clearly, a major accident investigation type, Hala.
GORANI: Nic Robertson, thanks very much. Nic happened to be in Italy when this bridge collapsed. He's not there on assignment, well, he is now. But
when it collapsed, he happened to be minutes away from crossing the bridge himself. But we are glad you are safe, Nic Robertson, our senior
diplomatic correspondent reporting from the scene.
Let's get more on the rescue and recovery efforts, I am joined now by the national spokesperson for the Italian Red Cross, Marcello de Angelis, as
far as your hearing, Mr. de Angelis, is the ...
MARCELLO DE ANGELIS, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON FOR ITALIAN RED CROSS: Yes, yes of course.
GORANI: ... rescue phase of this is over? Can you hear me? Yes, is the rescue over? Do you hope or do rescuers there hope to still find people
under the rubble?
DE ANGELIS: Yes, we do. Obviously, the rescue operation is going to be slowed down by the - during the night, but we are not stopping, obviously.
We have sniff dogs at work and search and rescue units. We hear, but we - obviously, the certainty of this to both our rescue units and the fire
brigade men say that they were still hearing noises and possibly voices from under the rubble.
GORANI: So you are saying that the fire department and rescuers there are potentially still hearing voices under the rubble?
DE ANGELIS: They said during the day, during the day, we have been - we had reports of possibly human voices from under the rubble. It is very
difficult to find their way through because it is not ordinary debris. Obviously, the chunks of the bridge are made of very tough material and
very thick. So, obviously, it will be - that is obviously - makes it more difficult to get through.
GORANI: All right, I imagine it is a very challenging scene there for rescuers. Thank you very much for joining us, Marcello de Angelis is the
spokesperson for the Italian Red Cross for more - with more on the rescue and recovery efforts.
Back to London, we are at a familiar place, but it's literally and figuratively, as here in London, we look at another suspected terrorist
incident. It happened outside the Houses of Parliament behind me, a car attempting to mow down pedestrians before smashing into a security barrier.
Three people received minor injuries and we are finding out more about the suspect who is in custody.
And police are carrying out raids at addresses in Birmingham and Nottingham which is north of London. Police are looking for some kind of motive.
They want to know whether the crash was part of the wider plot. Erin McLaughlin has been at the scene all day, and she joins us with the very
latest. What are we learning of this attacker, Erin?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: We know that he is 29 years old, a British national, although not originally from the United Kingdom, that
according to the Security Minister in an interview that he gave just a short while ago. The minister also is saying they are treating this as
though it was a terror attack, but that has quote "not been fully confirmed" as yet.
So, really motive at this point is central to this investigation why this 29 years old man driving a silver Ford Fiesta at 7: 30 this morning just as
people were making their way to work drove down this road. Surveillance footage shows the car actually beginning to turn this way to the right of
Parliament Square. Suddenly and inexplicably, the car then veers this way and goes down that road which is now cordoned off and you can see security
screens set up there plowing into that security barrier before the suspect was arrested at gunpoint. No weapons found inside the car. It is not
believed at this point that there are any other suspects to their investigation.
We are also learning more about the path of that Ford Fiesta, authorities saying that it arrived here to London from Birmingham just after midnight
and that it was seen driving in the Westminster area at around 6:00 a.m. that's a full hour and a half before the suspected attack happened. Again,
the question is why. What was the driver doing? Why was he driving around this area earlier in the morning? And critically, why did he decide
instead of turning right, why did he decide to turn left? Hala.
[14:40:10]
GORANI: Right, so the authorities told us this morning, he wasn't cooperating, this suspect. But I understand, he has started speaking, is
that the case?
MCLAUGHLIN: It is really unclear, that again from the interview that the Security Minister just gave a short while ago. He said that he's
potentially cooperating, hopefully cooperating as it's not entirely clear if he is fact cooperating. Authorities earlier in the day as are saying,
mentioned that he was not at that time cooperating. They were really struggling to figure out his identity. He was not known to British
Intelligence Services prior to this incident.
So, they're working to figure that out. It seems though given the fact that they now know his age, they know that he was not from here that they
have been able to identify him. But right now, authorities are being tight lipped with those details at this point, Hala.
GORANI: Erin McLaughlin live at the scene. Thank you so much. And this is the fourth vehicle attack in less than two years in London, it's the
second at the same spot. Joining me now is Afzal Ashraf, with the Nottingham University Center of Conflict, Security and Terrorism. Thanks
for being with us. What do you make of this attack? Because it seemed quite amateur-ish, a Ford Fiesta drove around right into barriers that are
designed to block vehicles.
AFZAL ASHRAF, WITH THE NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY CENTER OF CONFLICT, SECURITY AND TERRORISM: You just described it well. I think we might have somebody
who isn't very in control of what they were doing. There certainly isn't any evidence of planning, which there was in the previous attacks you
mentioned last year.
And it may well be somebody who may have links with terrorism, but is emotionally or psychologically disturbed, who hasn't really thought about
what they are doing. And I think, looking at the way the car behaved, he just accidentally hit those cyclists. It appears that he did not have time
to aim for them. If there had been a lorry or a bus that would have been the end of his foray.
GORANI: Yes, and he was driving a little compact car.
ASHRAF: That's right.
GORANI: He could have turned the other way.
ASHRAF: He's ...
GORANI: And actually plowed into pedestrians.
ASHRAF: And he plowed into a barrier that was designed to stop terrorists which worked perfectly, so he has almost put a noose around his own neck.
So it just suggests to me that this is somebody, who thankfully is not very competent at whatever he was trying to do.
GORANI: But these barriers worked, right? That's what they're designed to do?
ASHRAF: Absolutely, and they worked, I think very well in those circumstances and had God forbid, if there had been an explosive, so these
barriers would have been very good at containing the worst effect of those explosives.
But also, one of the things that came out was that we recognize and we see how armed police particularly and the unarmed police at that checkpoint are
putting their lives at risk. Many of them very bravely jumped across the barrier to confront this individual to neutralize him.
GORANI: Very brave, because we all remember what happened last time there was a vehicle attack in this part of London at Westminster and you had a
police officer who lost his life.
ASHRAF: Absolutely.
GORANI: We first heard he wasn't cooperating, now we are hearing potentially he's cooperating. What is the first thing police are doing
now? What is the first thing they need to establish?
ASHRAF: Well, I think they need to confirm with him his identity. They need to find out why he did this, but particularly, the most important bit
of information is who might have helped him? Who might have inspired him? And from there, they want to determine if there are other potential plots
or attacks and that's their priority to detect and disrupt any future plots.
GORANI: But so, the police have said they don't believe there is any more risks to the public. Does that mean you believe that they have established
that he may have acted alone?
ASHRAF: Almost certainly. They wouldn't make that claim unless they were pretty confident that there isn't another plot up stream. That doesn't
mean that they've discounted the fact that somebody might have assisted him, but they would be pretty sure at this stage that there aren't other
similar plots in the planning stage or maybe to be executed by his network.
GORANI: We can all be relieved that there were no deaths in this case, but at the same time, these vehicle attacks are still happening. That should
be a cause for concern.
ASHRAF: Well, it is, but we should think about why they are happening. They're happening because we have had protection around buildings, around
other targets, so increasingly, these terrorists are looking for what we call soft targets, people who are going about their ordinary business that
they can target.
[14:45:10]
ASHRAF: And that sort of also illustrates the desperation. It illustrates the effectiveness of some of our counterterrorism measures and their
absolute random and callous behavior undermines any justification that they may present for what they are doing this far.
GORANI: We learned from the mayor today that there have been a dozen or so, I believe, foiled attacks inspired by Islamist terrorism and four, I
believe, inspired by far right sort of extreme right terrorism. So, this is still happening. This is still boiling kind of under the surface.
ASHRAF: Yes, and it will continue for a while until we can demonstrate to these people that their causes are unjustified. Three days ago, we had an
individual put in prison or convicted of planning a similar sort of attack. Luckily in that case, he was detected and convicted. This is an individual
who had transitioned from white right wing extremism to this so-called Islamist extremism. So, it shows that these people are not really
motivated by any cause, except violence and that is a common denominator.
GORANI: Often, two sides of the same coin though of ...
ASHRAF: Absolutely, yes.
GORANI: ... violence, Afzal Ashraf, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it on the program live on CNN, and stay with us, we'll
have a lot more on this attack and on the search for answers in the next hour.
But, still to come tonight, another secretly recorded tape, a degrading insult and legal action. The latest escalations in the feud between the US
president and a former aide, next, plus, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin is in hospice care. We'll have a live report not far from the singer's
home in Michigan coming up. We'll be right back.
US President Donald Trump's campaign is taking legal action against the former aide, Omarosa Manigault-Newman. It alleges, she violated a
nondisclosure agreement. The move comes as she releases yet another secretly recorded tape and Mr. Trump tweets out degrading insults about her
and I mean, degrading.
The President called the former White House staffer a low-life and a dog that he was glad got fired. All of this comes as Manigault-Newman says she
heard Mr. Trump used the "N" word, the racial slur on an audio tape. She released a recording of which she says is a 2016 campaign conference call
to discuss how to handle it if it should get out. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am trying to find out at least the context it was used in to help us maybe try to figure out a way to spin it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, well, sir, can you think of any time that this might have happened and he said no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, that's not true, so ...
[14:50:08]
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... because how do you think I should handle it? And I told him exactly what you just said Omarosa, which is, "Well, it
depends on what scenario you're talking about." And he said, "Well, why don't you just go ahead and put it to bed."
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said it even there ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Now, one of the aides you heard in that recording tells CNN that she was merely placating Manigault-Newman by discussing what she calls
rumors. And turning to a new development related also to the Trump administration in the court case against the President's former campaign
chairman, Paul Manafort, his defense has rested now and it is not presenting its case or calling a single witness.
Manafort himself never took the stand and this is setting the stage of course for closing arguments to take place, Wednesday followed by jury
deliberations. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges of tax and banking crimes.
Quick word on Turkey. The Turkish President says his country will boycott American electronics. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blaming President Trump's
tariffs on steel and aluminum for the economic crisis in his country. Some economists might disagree.
The lira is now down 40% against the dollar since the start of the year and analysts say tariffs are only partly to blame for that lira selloff. They
point to the Turkish Central Bank's refusal to raise interest rates despite soaring inflation.
Now, Russia is supporting Turkey. It's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov says the countries may decide to forgo using the dollar in mutual trade.
CNN has learned a word as well, I was telling you about Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul is in hospice care at her home in Michigan.
The 76-year-old music icon has belted out hits in a career spanning six decades. Now, we were reporting over the last several days she's been
increasingly in declining health. It has been the case over the last several years. Back in 2005, President George W. Bush awarded Franklin the
Presidential Medal of Freedom and that is America's highest civilian honor. If anyone deserves it, Aretha Franklin does.
I want to bring in Ryan Young who is in Detroit, how is she doing? I was reading reports that she was doing just a bit better than yesterday?
RYAN YOUNG, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, that's what people have been saying on the internet. This is one of those things it's almost like
a Catch 22, you saw people sort of saying she was in grave conditions and then today, some people are saying she's in better condition. What we have
been able to confirm is that she is in hospice care with family and friends surrounding her.
You obviously know the city of Detroit loves here. She moved here from Memphis when she was like five or six years old, so you understand
especially when go across six decades why people would be involved.
But I want to show you something behind me though. This right here is the church that so many people associate Aretha Franklin with. This is the
church where her father actually served. The street that we're on is actually named after her father. Her father was a powerful Civil Rights
Reverend and he used to connect with Dr. King all the time, and they would raise funds and try to go out and fight for rights.
And someone discovered this powerful voice that was inside that church, so as a 13-year-old, that's where she did her first solo. So as you can
imagine, a lot of people have been focusing on that church and all the power that would come from her voice and then you think about the fact that
so many times, her music ended up being sort of like the theme for the civil rights movement and of course, now we are talking to the
international audience where you have a young woman from Detroit known across the world, think about this in 1968, she was in the cover of "Time,"
that is something that was not very common back then.
So you can understand why so many people are paying attention to this especially for a woman who gave so much of her time and love of her art to
the world.
GORANI: I was going to say, received internationally. I mean, she is an icon internationally, "Think," "Respect," these are all anthems. They're
dance anthems. They are anthems ...
YOUNG: Yes.
GORANI: Summer music, they're all about joy and feeling good and loving life. And so many people have been following her health internationally as
well.
YOUNG: I love that you bring that up because one of the things we are preparing for the story is you started listening to her music, and of
course, this is a sad story, a story that we sort of take a step back, but you can't help but to smile when you hear her music. I can think about my
mother singing some of the music from Aretha Franklin.
Look, a lot of times, we put these titles on people in music. The King of this - the pop. But she was the Queen of Soul. There has never been
anybody else called the Queen for quite some time, so it's amazing, and even Jay-Z and Beyonce were here in town last night with their concert and
they dedicated their concert here to Aretha Franklin, so you can understand a lot of people are paying attention to this. She hasn't performed since
November when she performed for Elton John in a fundraiser for AIDS, and since then, she's been kind of silent.
There's been talk of a new record, but we're not sure she's been able to record it, so you understand how people are paying attention to this.
GORANI: And Ryan, you've got to tell me what's your favorite? Do you have a favorite Aretha Franklin song?
[14:55:14]
YOUNG: I think "Freedom" stands out to me.
GORANI: I know you have more ...
YOUNG: And the words, the lyrics ...
GORANI: Which ones?
YOUNG: Yes, and so, "Freedom."
GORANI: Oh, "Freedom," yes. I think, I'm just - I'm boring, it's "Respect," I just love it. Every time it comes on, I have to sing it badly
sing along. It will always get ...
YOUNG: I love it. That's a karaoke favorite. Absolutely.
GORANI: Absolutely. Yes, and just a dance favorite, too. I love it. Ryan Young, thanks so much for updating us and we'll keep following of
course this story.
Just a quick recap of what is going on. Our top stories, of course, we are following that bridge collapse in Genoa, in Italy. We understand the death
toll now stands at 22. It was lowered from about 35. But we were speaking to a spokesperson for the Italian Red Cross and he was saying that the
rescue operation continues, that there could still be survivors under the rubble.
They are not giving up. They are still working into the evening hours. Of course, the sun is setting there in Italy. So, we're going to keep our eye
on that. And we'll also, of course, bring you the very latest on that vehicle attack, that terrorist incident the police are calling it here in
the UK that happened at Westminster just a few meters behind me.
I will be right back after a quick break. Stay with CNN.
Hello and welcome to this special edition of our program. I'm Hala Gorani. Tonight we're live in Westminster, right in the heart of Central London
where just meters from where I'm standing, a man attempted to carry out a terrorist attack this morning. We'll have much more on this story coming
up, but we begin this hour in Italy where a tragedy has struck in the city of Genoa in Northern Italy.
At least 22 people have been killed when part of a highway bridge collapsed. As I mentioned, it happened in Genoa, in Italy's northwest.
You're seeing an animation of it on your screens. Highlighted in red is the section that collapsed. The local governor is warning that more deaths
are expected. It all happened during a really bad storm. Here is how it all unfolded.
This is the moment the Morandi bridge partially collapsed. The person recording the cell phone footage screams "my god." Horror and disbelief
heard through his voice. Aerial footage shows a major section just gone, and a violent storm lashing down around the time of the collapse. About 30
vehicles were on the section of bridge including several heavy-duty trucks. Some are believed to have ended up in the river. Rescuers rushed to the
scene, a scene that looked like the aftermath of an earthquake. The fire service says some people were pulled alive out of vehicles. Far too many
though were not as lucky.
One of our own reporters was only a few minutes away from crossing the bridge himself, when it came down. Afterwards he captured this video on
his mobile phone. Thankfully the bridge is still standing over what is a densely populated area, avoiding railway tracks, shopping centers and
homes. The tragedy that could have been even worse.
Still authorities say the death toll is expected to climb as rescuers comb desperately through the rubble. CNN's Nic Robertson is on the scene now.
He was the reporter I mentioned in that piece. He was only a few minutes from crossing the bridge himself when it came down and he joins me now
live, he's on the phone.
What's the latest in terms of the rescue operation, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You might be able to hear a lot of heavy churning, that noise right now, Hala. That is some
heavy mechanical diggers being pulled off site, they are being driven along the bed of the canal here. The light is now full and it is getting from
dusk into night here right now. Part of the heavy concrete structure, the heavy concrete bridge that collapsed is all piled up.
A good portion of that right now is illuminated by strong search lights. It's not clear from this distance what is going on at the base of the
rubble. It appears there's some recovery effort under way. More police have arrived on the scene. That seems to be putting in a wider cordon.
The last of the helicopters just adjacent to the collapsed bridge. That took off about 45 minutes ago, they had been a ferrying what appeared to be
injured people away from the site earlier in the day.
In these trucks, these heavy digging trucks pulling away now. It seems to indicate that the main part of the recovery effort will at least pause as
it becomes night. There's still at least some work under way here, Hala.
GORANI: How many vehicles -- I understand up to 30 vehicles were on that bridge when it collapsed. Is that the number -- we're going to continue
following this story of the bridge collapse in Italy in just a moment. First, I want to take you to Washington where the press secretary, Sarah
Sanders is speaking. Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did he hire someone he's describing as a dog?
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president wanted to give her a chance, and he made clear when General Kelly came on and he voiced
concerns, that this individual didn't have the best interests of the White House and the president and the country at heart. The president said do
what you can to get along. If you can't, he gave him full authority to carry out the decision to let her go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the strategy to keep responding to the charges in this book? Why doesn't he just ignore it.
SANDERS: He's made again, the frustrations -- not only those of us here in the White House but most of America would be happy to ignore it.
Unfortunately, the individuals in this room continue to create a large platform for someone they know not to have a lot of credibility, for
someone who frankly they refused to give a platform to when she worked here in the White House. It wasn't until this individual started to negatively
attack this president and this administration and tear this entire place down that she received the type of platform and rollout she was getting.
I think it would be great if every single person in this room and every single person in the administration never had to talk about this ever again
and we got to focus on the real policies and the real things that matter not just to people in this building, but certainly all Americans, African-
Americans, Hispanics and everybody in between. I think that would be the best thing we could certainly do for our country. Jill?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you say to critics who see the attacks on Omarosa as a pattern of insulting prominent African-Americans.
[15:05:00] People like Don Lemon, Maxine Waters, claiming football players protesting racial injustice don't know what they are protesting.
SANDERS: This has absolutely nothing to do with race and everything to do with the president calling out someone's lack of integrity. The idea that
you would only point a few of the things that the president has said negative about people that are minorities. The fact is the president is an
equal opportunity person that calls things like he sees it. He always fights fire with fire and doesn't hold back on doing that across the board.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you signed an NDA?
SANDERS: I'm not going to get into the back and forth on who has signed an NDA at the White House. I'm going to tell you it's common in a lot of
places for employees to sign NDAs including in government, particularly anyone with a security clearance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president said he kept Omarosa on despite complaints from her colleagues because she was personally supportive of him
--
SANDERS: Sorry. I can't hear you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said she kept her on despite complaints about her behavior because she was personally supportive of him and said nice things
about him. Is that true of any other officials working in the White House right now?
SANDERS: I'm not aware of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since you don't want to talk about Omarosa, I have a bunch on Turkey. Do you have a reaction for President Erdogan calling for
a ban on U.S. electronics like iPhones and would the president encourage a similar ban against Turkish products?
SANDERS: I don't have a policy announcement at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sort of the same, there was a report from a colleague at Reuters that the U.S. is warning Turkey, increased pressure. I wonder
if you have details on how that was conveyed and what additional steps might look like, if the U.S. would take additional steps before the
hearing for the detained American pastor.
SANDERS: How the information from Turkey was received or how the information from the United States to Turkey? I can tell you at the
Turkish ambassador's request, as you know ambassador John Bolton met with the Turkish ambassador yesterday at the White House and continued to raise
and point out the concerns that we have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One last one. Did the president encourage Israel's government to release a Turkish citizen in July and did that contribute to
his frustration with Erdogan not releasing the American pastor?
SANDERS: Certainly, the president has a great deal of frustration on the fact that Pastor Brunson has not been released as well as the fact that
other U.S. citizens and employees of diplomatic facilities have not been released. We'll continue to call on Turkey to do the right thing and
release those individuals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the president or this White House believe it's a violation of Department of Justice protocol if the special counsel
investigation goes beyond September 1st?
SANDERS: I'm not going to say that we would say necessarily a specific violation, but I think we've been very clear that not only do we but all of
the American people want this to wrap up. John?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Sarah. Two questions on Turkey. As the relationship between the president and President Erdogan grows more
peripheral, my question very simply is are we going to see the restoration of the readouts on calls between the president and other world leaders?
That was terminated on the day after President Erdogan's election. Although we know the president made a congratulatory call to him, there has
been no readout since. Is that going to be restored?
SANDERS: Certainly, we'll continue to keep you all posted, not just with calls on Turkey but other head of state calls as well and provide readouts
when we have them. David?
[15:10:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Taliban in Afghanistan has been on a surprise offensive that killed about 100 Afghan security forces, a couple
dozen civilians as far as we know. The president was visiting yesterday -- is he still committed to his strategy that he outlined a year ago for
Afghanistan or does this new offensive give him the idea that maybe a different approach might be need?
SANDERS: Certainly, no announcements or changes in policy from the president's rollout in August.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you asked the president if he's ever used the "n" word?
SANDERS: The president addressed that question directly. I can say I've never heard him use that term or anything similar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you asked him directly?
SANDERS: I didn't have to. He addressed it to the American people all at one time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why haven't you asked him directly?
SANDERS: Again, the president answered that question directly on Twitter earlier today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you stayed at the podium and guarantee the American people they'll never hear Donald Trump utter the "n" word on a recording in
any context?
SANDERS: I can't guarantee anything, but I can tell you the president addressed this question directly. I can tell you I've never heard it. I
can also tell you that, if myself or the people that are in this building serving this country every single day, doing our very best to help people
all across this country and make it better, if at any point we felt the president was who some of his critics claim him to be, we certainly
wouldn't be here. This is a president fighting for all Americans, who is putting policies in place, that help all Americans, particularly African-
Americans -- look at the economy alone.
This president since he took office, in the year and a half he's been here has created 700,000 new jobs for African-Americans. That's 700,000
African-Americans working now that weren't working when this president took place. When President Obama left after eight years in office, eight years
in office, he had only created 195,000 jobs for African-Americans. President Trump in his first year and a half has already tripled what
President Obama did in eight years. Not only did he do that for African- Americans, but Hispanics, 1.7 million more Hispanics are working now. This is a president who cares about all Americans. It was committed to helping
them. He's putting policies in place to do that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to be clear, you can't guarantee it if.
SANDERS: I haven't been in every single room. I can tell you the president has addressed this directly, directly to the American people. I
can tell you what the focus and the heart of the president is, and that's on helping all Americans. And certainly, this is somebody who has been in
business tore decades. And you're just now hearing some of these outrageous accusations after the fact he's dealt with people all over the
world. It wasn't until he became a candidate for president that you started to hear --
GORANI: Sarah Sanders, the press secretary in the briefing room answering questions, of course, about that tweet, calling one of his former aides,
Omarosa Manigault Newman, a dog and a low life for having criticized him and some of his White House staff and released secret recordings of her
time in the White House, the time she spent in the White House. She said the president was simply voicing his frustration that it's not about race.
She said here is why, because he's an equal opportunity insulter. Basically, he will lob insults and voice his frustration and direct that
frustration at people of all races.
A quick word on Turkey. She said the president would continue to call on President Erdogan to release that American pastor who is being detained in
Turkey. We will continue following that story out of Washington. In fact, we'll have a live report out of the nation's capital in a little bit. I
want to return to the terrible bridge collapse and get an expert's perspective on this.
My next guest is Ian Firth, a consultant engineer and fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering here in the U.K. Ian, thanks for joining us.
IAN FIRTH, CONSULTANT ENGINEER AND FELLOW, ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING, U.K.: My pleasure.
GORANI: You've seen these terrible images of just a huge section of the bridge collapse. I believe about 100 meters. What do you make of that?
What causes that type of failure?
FIRTH: It's too early to say why specifically this collapsed. It's a major disaster. This doesn't happen thankfully very often at all. As a
British designer, it's a nightmare scenario. Nobody wants this to happen. My heart goes out to the people involved. We can begin to speculate,
although it would be wrong to point fingers already to things that could be going on. But the bridge is 50 years old, which means it should be
absolutely fine if it's been looked after properly.
GORANI: You have bridges that are hundreds of years old that are perfectly fine.
[15:15:00] FIRTH: Of course. It's had a history. We know it's had a certain amount of maintenance intervention and we don't know what that was
about, what kind of condition the bridge was in. We don't yet know what triggered this collapse. Clearly one whole section of this very unusual
bridge has collapsed.
GORANI: Why unusual? This is called -- the proper term for it, it's a beamed bridge, the vertical elements where trestles made up of two
superimposed -- you have the trestles --
FIRTH: All sorts of ways to describe this thing. It is unusual. It's kind of a cable stayed. It's got those concrete stays which ties the
bridge deck to the towers. Also, it's got the v-shaped supports underneath. That's what makes it unusual. There are only two others like
it that I know of in the world, one in Venezuela, the Lake Maracaibo bridge also designed by the same guy and also one in Libya, also designed by the
same guy. Unusual, these days I don't think we'd do them quite like that. We've got a lot of lessons to learn over the coming weeks as to what went
wrong here.
GORANI: Of course, they'll spend a lot of time investigating why this happened. It's a concrete bridge. Why does it just crumble like this?
FIRTH: Something went very suddenly. Obviously, a catastrophic collapse. This bridge has steel in it. It is a concrete bridge, yes. It has
prestressing cables in it, steel under very high tension. Who knows? Maybe one of those went, corrosion perhaps. We just don't know. There's
been rumors of the storm triggering --
GORANI: That was going to be my next question. Can a storm bring a bridge down? We should all be very worried.
FIRTH: Personally, I find that hard to believe. One or two people suggested that might have something to do with it. I suppose if a
lightning strike hit the tower -- it's very unlikely. It's been there 50 years, must have had lightning strikes before. I don't buy that. There's
a possibility something is there. It would be speculation.
GORANI: Last one, only a middle section collapsed. The either end remained in place.
FIRTH: You're right. It's a three-tower thing. If you look at the original pictures, one of these things is gone. So, there's a whole
structural system which is gone. 200-plus meters of bridge deck. The others are still OK because they are discreet. They're separate,
structurally independent.
GORANI: If they were connected --
FIRTH: If they were continuous that would have been different.
GORANI: Ian Firth, thanks for joining us, really appreciate your time and thanks for sharing your expertise. Still to come, as I was mentioning at
the top of the hour, another attack here in London as a car smashes into a barrier at the Houses of Parliament. We'll have details on the
investigation.
[15:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, let's bring you up to date with our other breaking news story. An incident that happened right here behind me this morning.
Police are treating it as a terrorist attack after a car smashed into pedestrians before hitting a barrier right outside the Houses of
Parliament. No one received life-threatening injuries, thankfully. We understand the suspect is a 29-year-old man who was arrested at the scene.
In the last few hours police say they have been searching houses in the cities of Birmingham and Nottingham in connection with the attack. Erin
McLaughlin has been on the scene all day. What more are we learning about this suspect, Erin?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities at this point are not divulging much about the suspect's identity. We do know he's 29 years old,
a British citizen. According to the British security minister, not originally from the U.K., but they're not giving out further details, the
security minister says because they don't want to compromise this ongoing investigation. Also, under scrutiny at this point is the Ford Fiesta, the
car the suspect is believed to have used to plow into that security barrier.
The whereabouts of that car obviously critical to the investigation. Authorities say they've traced it to Birmingham which is about 2 and 1/2
hours outside of London. They believe it was driven from Birmingham to London, arriving in London, just after midnight. They also believe it was
being driven around Westminster around 6:00 in the morning, a full hour and a half prior to this apparent suspected attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: Chilling surveillance footage shows the moment a suspect plows his car into a security barrier outside the houses of parliament injuring
two. The car mounts the curb and crashes. Police are treating it as a terrorist incident. London's latest. It happened just after 7:30 in the
morning as people were making their way to work. Surveillance footage shows the suspect driving his car down this road. Initially it looks as
though he's going to turn to the right of parliament square. He suddenly veers this way. The crash happened just beyond those screens
Immediately after the crash the suspect was arrested at gunpoint.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my opinion it was deliberate. He didn't swerve into it. It was a direct hit.
MCLAUGHLIN: Police agree with that assessment. Given the iconic target, the way the suspect was driving, the weaponized vehicle. They seem to have
a good idea how it happened, but they still don't know exactly why.
NEIL BASU, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER: Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method and this being an iconic
site, we're treating this as a terrorist incident. Our policy now is to formally establish the identity of the suspect and establish his motivation
if we can. He is not currently cooperating.
MCLAUGHLIN: Tuesday there was an increased police presence around the capital, although no intelligence to suggest another attack is imminent.
People went about their daily lives.
SADIQ KHAN, LONDON MAYOR: All of us are angry with these acts of terrorism being committed. The British Parliament, the Prime Minister, Theresa May
work closely with me as the mayor to make sure we do all we can do.
MCLAUGHLIN: This is not the first time this London landmark was targeted. In March last year, a 52-year-old Britain, Khalid Masood, drove into
pedestrians on Westminster bridge, killing five and injuring more than 50. London continues to remain on high alert and there's a sense here that
things could have been much worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: Hala, key questions remain unanswered, why the suspect was apparently driving around this area about an hour and a half prior to the
suspected attack. Also, why did he choose to drive into a security barrier that's presumably designed to withstand that kind of impact, all things
authorities at this point are trying to get to the bottom of, Hala.
GORANI: Erin McLaughlin, thanks very much.
[14:25:00] Dal Babu, former superintendent with the metropolitan police here with us. What do you make of this attack? This guy, he had bad
intentions. It was not very effective.
DAL BABU, FORMER SUPERINTENDENT, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE: No. from what I understand he was not on the radar of security services. That's
what we or being told at this moment. Seems an incredibly poorly planned execution of an attack. I think there will be questions around whether
security barriers did their job because he went into the security barriers. I'm sure they'll be reviewed, just like on every single occasion when
there's been a terrorist attack. You and I have spoken about terrorist attacks on bridges that had barriers on either side to protect cyclists and
pedestrians. They'll be reviewing it.
GORANI: The big question, did he act alone, a lone wolf attack? Was he inspired by or radicalized online? Those are things we ask every time.
BABU: Absolutely. Today people will be talking about the bravery of the police officers
who went to the scene. No idea whether the vehicle was loaded with bombs or explosives. Police officers reacted incredibly bravely. But there will
be questions around resources. In Britain we've had a 20 percent reduction in police numbers, significant reduction in police staff and community
support officers. There's been significant questions asked about whether that has had an impact in the ability of this country to deal with
terrorism and knife crime which has increased.
GORANI: Should Londoners, Britons, people in other big cities still be concerned these types of vehicular attacks are still happening, even if
this one wasn't effective? Somebody had the idea to carry it out and did, and attempted.
BABU: This is where we need to make sure we have the confidence of the communities. The only way you solve crime is by communities being
confident in the police and the security services. If they have a concern about an individual they have reported. I think that's a challenge at the
moment in terms of how we maintain that confidence. In this country there is an investigation into comments being made by Boris Johnson, former
foreign secretary.
He made comments that Muslim women look like letter boxes and bank robbers when they wear burqas. Not particularly helpful comments when you are
trying to engage with the community. There is also the issue around former members, senior members of the Conservative Party have accused the
Conservative Party of being Islamophobic. So, I think those issues are very, very important. They need to be addressed.
GORANI: The cultural outreach is important?
BABU: Absolutely. If you look at America and you look at the diversity of the police service, it's something the police service in this country would
bend over backwards for. Some force areas have 1 percent, 2 percent. A couple years ago there was a study there wasn't a single African Caribbean
police officer. It's about --
GORANI: Reflecting the community.
BABU: Reflecting the community. That's a really, really important area. And that's not just to be good. It's about making sure you have the
intelligence, understanding of different cultures and you're able to respond and the community respects you.
GORANI: And could help in counterterrorism investigations.
BABU: Absolutely. Part of that is having an understanding of different cultures.
GORANI: Dal Babu, thanks very much for joining us. We'll bring you an update on the Italian bridge collapse. It happened as thunderstorms lashed
the region. Much more right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: All right. We are getting some new numbers here. We understand that due to that horrific bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy, there have been
440 people displaced. Now, you have probably seen today already some of that dramatic video. If not, take a look. Divers packed the bridge around
noon local time. A violent thunderstorm hit. Moments later the bridge just crumbled in its middle section. At least 22 people are dead. More
than a dozen others are injured.
The company in charge of Italy's motorways says they were carrying out maintenance work on the bridge before it fell. Let's get the latest from
Genoa. Luigi D'Angelo is the head of International Relations of the Italian Civil Protection Department and he joins me on the phone.
Luigi D'Angelo, the latest death toll we have is 22. Is that still the number?
LUIGI D'ANGELO, HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, ITALIAN CIVIL PROTECTION DEPARTMENT (through telephone): I can just update that number, now we have
23 death, unfortunately. And we are still looking and operating on the spot. So search and rescue is still ongoing. So at the moment, it's just
some figures that could be updated later on. But at the moment, we have 23 deaths and 16 people that have been heavily injured.
GORANI: And heavily injured. So you're hoping still to find survivors under the rubble?
D'ANGELO: Yes, of course we're still on going with the search and rescue activities. And we usually compare it to an earthquake and we are very
well confident that we have 72 hours in which we have to work very hard in order to find people that could be still alive. So we are working very
hard with the search and rescue brigade, with police and Carabinieri in order to search and rescue people that have been trapped under the rubble.
So we still hope to find people alive down there.
GORANI: Are the rescuers in communication with anyone who's trapped?
D'ANGELO: Yes. The rescuers are communicating with some people that are still trapped. Now we have localized the three people that are going to be
extracted by their vehicles. So the rescuers are talking with those people. So hopefully we can even get some other people alive quite soon.
GORANI: So you're saying three people are communicating with rescuers right now and you're hoping they will be extracted soon?
D'ANGELO: Yes, exactly. At the moment though, we have three people that are communicating with the rescuers. And so we hope that they can extract
them quite soon. But at the moment, we have a figure of 23 dead and 19 injured.
GORANI: Yes. Nineteen injuries and some of these are very bad injuries, I presume. How long is this rescue and recovery operation going to go on
for? Will it go on through the night?
D'ANGELO: Yes. We are ready to go on through the night. We have lights, camp lights over there and the people can continue rescue. We will keep
going on until we are very sure that nobody else is down there.
GORANI: All right. Thank you so much for joining us. Luigi D'Angelo is the -- of the Italian Civil Protection Department joining us live on CNN.
Just to recap what Mr. D'Angelo has told us. He has confirmed 23 people killed due to this bridge collapse. He has also said that 19 people were
badly injured. And there is hope. Rescuers are communicating, Mr. D'Angelo said, with three people who are currently trapped and the hope
that they will be extracted very soon.
It is, of course, dark now in Genoa. But Luigi D'Angelo of the Italian Civil Protection Department has said they will continue working throughout
the night. They have the light, they the equipment and they will keep on digging until they get everyone that they can out. So there you have it.
Twenty-three, the death toll increases by one, unfortunately, due to this Genoa bridge disaster.
Let's get to the weather center. Tom Sater is live for us there.
And, Tom, we're talking because there was a terrible storm in Northwestern Italy when this bridge collapsed.
TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It was a pretty good size storm, Hala. I mean, at the airport at 11:50, and this is the airport, winds were at 57
kilometers per hour. I mean, they could have been much stronger right over, of course, the bridge. But if you look at the satellite imagery,
you'll see it fire up.
Now, when I first heard about this collapse and saw the video, without knowing much and seeing the winds and the thunderstorm, this is called the
microburst. There's no way this would down this bridge. I thought possibly, if there was enough heavy rainfall, that we could have had a
massive debris flow that could have compromised maybe a supporting pillar.
I mean, we've had those debris flows in Switzerland. It had to be stronger than that one. We had water rescues in the neighboring province early in
the day.
But when you look at this, and I mean no disrespect here, this is not a rural part of India or Laos, where we have seen bridges fall. The
stringent design codes and the building codes and the stringent inspections, these are built to withstand super typhoons if it was on the
pacific or low to even moderate earthquakes.
[15:35:14] The only thing weather-wise, it's not lightning, they can be struck -- buildings and airplanes are struck all the time. Maybe an EF5
massive tornado would do damage. But those do not occur in this part of the world.
So again, we have seen debris flows take out bridges in some areas such as Bangladesh and India and other countries. But only 22 millimeters of rain
had fallen at the airport. So there was an even a mass of flash flooding.
When we look at the storm system again that is well moved off, you can see the skies are clear right now. And for the crews there that are on the
ground, the weather will cooperate.
But again, the only thing I can come up with was that if something was used temporarily to shore up this while they were doing repairs, could a 57-
kilometer-per-hour wind be the tipping point and help the bridge collapse?
I mean, the further investigations and the reporting as you're doing, you'll be able to know. But at least we have -- at least weather that's
going to be cooperative for the responders. But it wasn't that impressive and these really are built to withstand a storm of this magnitude which was
really considered a microburst, nothing more.
GORANI: Tom Sater, thank you very much.
We're getting more information on what happened here in the early hours of this morning. A car slammed into a barrier outside parliament. Now,
thankfully no one was seriously injured. The driver was arrested. He is being held on suspicion of terrorism. We're hearing he's a 29-year-old
British national. Not originally from Britain.
Of course, it's not the first time the U.K. or London has faced this type of attack. So what is going on? What do we make of the fact that it's
still happening. It's a question CNN put to London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Here's his response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: The police on a regular basis disrupt actives of terrorists, whether they're far right extreme groups or whether they're
so-called Islamism groups. Since last year, the police security services have thwarted 12 or 13 attempts to the so-called Islamist terrorist and to
cause acts of terror in our city, in our country. They've thwarted four or five attempts from extreme far right groups to commit acts of terror.
Police service, security service work very closely with colleagues in America, with colleagues across Europe and colleagues around the world. A
lot of this is cross border cooperation. But unfortunately, a lot of it in cities across the world and countries across the world is home-grown
terrorists and criminals, we're going to carry on to now but work with allies which is America. Allies across the world to make sure we learn
from each other.
Just like terrorists and the criminals are evolving, trying to find new ways to commit acts of terror. We the police service, the security
services, politicians, must evolve and find new ways to keep our citizens safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London speaking earlier.
Let's talk about this further, I'm joined by Peter Neumann. He's from the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence
at King's College London.
So, first of all -- we were talking during the break. You're saying the big headline here is what, that this is becoming more amateurish?
PETER NEUMANN, PROFESSOR, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RADICALIZATION AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: Yes, that's
what the police have been saying over a number of months here in Britain. But that's also what researchers like myself are seeing, that these attacks
are not directed from anywhere. They are more inspired, and they are very simple. And this was perhaps the most simplistic attack we've ever seen.
This was someone who has been driving around Westminster for two hours perhaps looking for a target. And then he chooses the most fortified place
in all of Westminster, a place where you can barely make any dent.
And it's also interesting, of course, that police says this was a suspect that was not known to security agencies, the police, someone who perhaps
has become radicalized over the Internet.
GORANI: But still local authorities are saying they foiled more than a dozen attacks, both Islamist-inspired attacks and also far right attacks.
NEUMANN: Very much. And I think there's a big tradeoff here. On the one hand, security agencies are saying, well, this rise of amateur attacks is a
good thing, because these attacking are smaller. They are less well- organized, they are causing fewer fatalities.
On the other hand, of course, they're often committed by people that we know nothing about. So this sort of thing was someone coming out of
Birmingham that has never been on the radar at the security forces, could happen any time. But it's also less likely to cause the sort of Paris or
Brussels-style attack that we saw three or four years ago.
GORANI: Are authorities equipped to prevent the Paris and Brussels-style attacks now more than they were?
NEUMANN: I think they are. Number one, because there are basically no new people being radicalized right now, when we're talking about ISIS in
particular. There are no new people --
GORANI: In prison? No?
NEUMANN: No new people entering the Jihadist orbit. Yes, in prisons, there are some activity going on. But we're not seeing the massive
radicalization into these networks that we saw three or four years ago.
[15:40:14] And that means that police forces which are paying more attention to this know the people that are likely to be suspects. So
that's the good news. But of course, if there's someone who's just watched something on the Internet, has become involved in that goes often strikes.
There's very little that police can do, because all police work is always relying on networks, people knowing each other, communication being there.
There is no communication if that person is acting as a lone wolf, that's not likely.
GORANI: I just want to pick up on one thing you said. I mean, I was under the impression that the returnees from ISIS-controlled territory cause a
big threat. When you say no new people are entering the terrorist orbit, can you expand on that?
NEUMANN: Sure. So the people who went to Syria, of course, have already been radicalized.
GORANI: Right.
NEUMANN: And the threat of returnees is a very significant one, albeit over the long term. I do think that these people have the potential to
professionalize some of these attacks in two, three, four years' time, especially when they connect with some of the people that have not been
part of these networks.
So I do think that is the long-term threat. Right now, we're dealing with more and more amateurish attacks.
GORANI: OK. Peter Neumann, as always, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
Still to come, the most powerful leader in the world is using social media to slam a woman as a dog. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Donald Trump's campaign is taking legal action to try to silence a former White House aide who is making some explosive claims about the U.S.
president. It has filed for arbitration accusing Omarosa Manigault Newman of violating a 2016 nondisclosure agreement.
Omarosa has written a tell-all book and released some secret recordings from inside the White House. Mr. Trump is blasting her on Twitter, taking
his insults to a new low, some would argue, saying, "He's glad that that dog got fired."
Omarosa was the only African-American to have served in a senior role in his administration. But The White House is saying this has nothing to do
with race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is certainly voicing his frustration with the fact that this person has shown
a complete lack of integrity, particularly by the actions following her time here at the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, some new claims by Omarosa are raising eyebrows today. She said she has been interviewed by the special counsel in the Russia
investigation, Robert Mueller.
Jeremy Diamond is following all of the developments from the White House with more. So the White House is going on the legal route to try to
silence her because -- Omarosa, because it seems like every day brings a new secret recording?
[15:45:05] JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm not hearing -- I hear nothing.
GORANI: All right. We have a connection problem with Jeremy Diamond. We will be -- and I can hear myself as well. So we're going to solve these
technical issues and move on to Turkey -- no.
But, Jeremy, I understand you can now hear me? OK. He cannot. OK. Technical problems there with our connection with the White House.
Let's talk about Turkey and tensions between the U.S. and Turkey went up another notch today. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is calling for
a boycott of American made electronics, like the iPhone. This is the latest salvo in a dispute between two NATO allies. That dispute got
significantly worst last week when President Trump announced the U.S. was doubling some tariffs.
And of course, amidst to all of this is Turkey's plunging currency, the lira. Though it did gain some ground today.
CNN Emerging Markets Editor, John Defterios is in Istanbul with the very latest. John?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Thanks, Hala. We had a gathering of the -- countries of the targeted, if you will, both Turkey and
Russia represented in Turkey today with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister. They have been the subject of sanctions and tariffs from U.S.
president, Donald Trump.
In fact, both took issue with the Trump approach of applying sanctions and tariffs and then using it as a negotiating tool. That's why we saw the
response from President Erdogan calling for a boycott against U.S. electronics Apple and other products is what he had I mind.
But what we have boiling down here, Hala, are two strong-headed leaders who don't want to give any ground in negotiations behind the scenes, political
negotiations and even economic. So we went out on the streets and asked some Turks, do they like the fact that President Erdogan, his son-in-law,
the finance minister refused to budge, for example, on interest rates or reach out through the international monetary fund as their currency is down
40 percent year-to-date. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think Turkish government does not know about economy because there are no real economists within the
government. The administration is based on family relations and do not understand economy. Even me, I can run economy better than they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: Pretty frank words from a high school teacher here taking issue with the finance minister and son-in-law of the president who has a PhD in
renewable energy and an MBA from the United States. But an economist. And this unorthodox approach of saying we'll keep interest rates low even
though we have a run on our currency today. And that's where we are even with a six percent recovery that we saw somewhat of relief rally, Hala,
inked to political talks with Andrew Brunson, the pastor in the United States.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much. John Defterios is live in Istanbul with the very latest. The lira just inching slightly upward, but certainly
not gaining back the ground that it has lost over the last several months. And since the U.S. president announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum
coming from Turkey. We'll keep our eye on that.
I believe we can go back to the White House where Jeremy Diamond is standing by. And, Jeremy, before I lost the connection with you, we were
discussing Omarosa and how the White House is trying to go down now the legal route to silence Omarosa who it seems every day has a new secret
recording she's sharing with the media.
DIAMOND: That's right. And it seems like we're going to continue to see that drip-drip strategy from Omarosa. We've seen a new recording each day
for the last three days that she has come out and released. Perhaps we'll get another one tomorrow.
But the Trump campaign is beginning to take legal action against her to try and prevent her from speaking further about her private conversations
during the campaign and even after that, making comments about the president. The Trump campaign has now filed arbitration motions to get in
a room with Omarosa, arguing that she has violated her non-disclosure agreement that they say she signed during the 2016 campaign. So that is
still on going.
But you heard the White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders making the case against Omarosa today, going after her character, saying that her actions
over the last several days during this publicity tour show that she lax integrity, and pushing back on the suggestion that the president's attacks
against Omarosa by calling her a dog, by saying she's a lowlife, that that has anything to do with her race.
Omarosa, of course, is the only African-American individual to have served in a senior White House role in Trump's administration. Still today, there
are no African-Americans serving in the administration in a senior White House role.
[15:50:05] Sarah Sanders saying that the president's attacks there are not about her race and insisting in a pretty interesting defense that the
president goes after and insults people of all races. Hala?
GORANI: Right. And that is interesting. However, it seems as though Omarosa in the recording that was released today is suggesting that
staffers during the 2016 campaign were aware of the fact that the president had used the racial slur, the N-word and that there was a recording of
this. What is the White House saying about that possibility?
DIAMOND: Well, so far there's no denial about the authenticity of any of these recordings, particularly the one involving Omarosa and a phone call
she had with the president after her departure. Sarah Sanders saying that no, she has no doubt that the recording is indeed authentic.
And the other participants on that call that you were just referencing have not denied that they were on that call either. In fact, what we know from
that call is that Lynne Patton, one of the president's advisors during the campaign questioned him directly about this tape on which he allegedly used
the N-word and he denied it. But you saw Katrina Pierson, who was another Trump campaign spokesperson who was on that call, saying that she believed
that he did indeed use that word.
Today, I spoke with her and she said that she was simply trying to move the conversation along and does not believe that the president has ever used
that racial epithet.
GORANI: The question everyone has is, is there a tape on which the president uses that word? And is Omarosa in possession of such a tape?
DIAMOND: Right. That's right. There are a lot of questions still to come. And Omarosa made clear today that she is willing to talk to the
special counsel if indeed he wants to. She said that she was already interviewed by his office but that she's willing to provide him with
additional recordings should he request them.
GORANI: Jeremy Diamond, at the White House, thanks very much.
We are going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A string of arson attacks across one of Europe's major cities in Sweden. Police are investigating after cars were torched in and around
Gothenburg and in the capital city as well, Stockholm. Officials say the level of damage is unprecedented. Robyn Curnow has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Firefighters desperately try to put out the flames, police say after a hundred cars were either set on
fire or vandalized on Monday night. It happened in Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city as well as several surrounding towns. Authorities
believe it's the work of young people and say it appears the perpetrators planned the destruction.
BERNT BACKSTROM, EYEWITNESS (through translator): I looked out of the window and saw all the fire engines and the foam and rushed out to see what
it looked like. It was devastating.
CURNOW: Another eyewitness said that she saw eight to 10 masked men smashing car windows with baseball bats and had a grocery cart filled with
Molotov cocktails that they threw into cars.
Sweden has seen a rise in violence in recent years. In areas with high unemployment and other social problems. Mounting concern about violence is
a top issue in next month's national elections.
This latest incident is reminiscent of the 2013 Stockholm riots which took place in a suburb dominated by immigrants. Those disturbances were
reportedly in response to the shooting death by a police of an elderly man and involved 50 to 60 young people.
[15:55:10] The Swedish prime minister called Monday's arson attacks completely unacceptable and announced that an investigation is underway.
STEFAN LOFVEN, SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): As I said earlier today, I get angry, and the question has to be asked of these
people what the hell are you doing? Who do you think you are? You are destroying things for the whole area, for the neighbors, for the children
who may have to go to nursery school in the morning and see cars that have burned?
CURNOW: Robyn Curnow, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Fans around the world are saying a little prayer right now for the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin. A source confirms to CNN that the singer
is indeed gravely-ill. Franklin started her career singing gospel music at her father's church.
GORANI: Well, she went on to record hit after hit after hit belting out tunes, like "Respect," "Chain of Fools," and "Natural Woman," to name a few
"Think." And she just kept on singing thrilling audiences for six decades.
Franklin is now receiving hospice care and is said to be surrounded by family and by love.
Quick recap on our breaking news story, the Italian bridge collapse. We are hearing from authorities who spoke live on our air that the death toll
has now ticked back up to 23 people and that rescue workers are in communication with three people still trapped under the rubble. They will
be working throughout the night hours. They have the equipment for that, dogs and special lights in order to allow them to continue digging and
trying as they try -- they continue to try to reach those who have survived.
I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(CLOSING BELL RINGING)
[16:00:59] RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. Coca-Cola ringing the closing bell. Not quite sure why.
It's not going not what the honor is. It's to the global transformation or something similar.
END
