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Terror In Munich; New Development In Search For Malaysia Air 370; Hillary Clinton Announces Her VP Pick. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 23, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

03:00:00]

GEORGE HOWELL: Munich in mourning. Terror strikes the German city with a gunman killing nine people. The very latest, straight ahead.

NATALIE ALLEN: Disturbing new evidence about what may have happened to missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370, and it has to do with the pilot.

HOWELL: And a Democratic duo, Hillary Clinton unveils Senator Tim Kaine as her pick for a vice presidential candidate. Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell.

ALLEN: And I'm Natalie Allen. This is "CCC Newsroom."

HOWELL: Terror in Munich. Officials there say that there was only one shooter behind that attack, an attack that killed nine people.

ALLEN: Police raided an apartment in the city earlier. It is not clear if it belongs to the 18-year-old attacker. we don't know much about him yet.

HOWELL: Right. At this point, though, police say the gunman, that he was a dual German and Iranian citizen. He started shooting, as you see there in the image, at McDonald's there had in northern Munich. It is not clear if the person though wearing black in this amateur video, if that is the gunman.

ALLEN: I don't know how somebody was running from that and, and shooting that video. My goodness. Police say he then moved across the street from the McDonald's to the city's biggest shopping center, the Olympia Mall. Authorities say young people are among the dead and wounded. Our Erin McLaughlin has more from Germany.

ERIN McLAUGHLIN, CORRESPONDENCT, CNN, LONDON: German police now say the sole suspect in the shooting has committed suicide. The Chief called the chaos caused by the 18-year-old German-Iranian the most difficult day he has had in 40 years.

POLICE CHIEF (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The events of yesterday, of this night, makes us sad and speechless. Our thoughts are especially with the victims.

McLAUGHLIN: An intense exchange with what appears to be the shooter turned up on social media Friday. The suspect attacker seems to have a disturbed mental state and insults Turks and other foreigners throughout the exchange. The shots rang out Friday at a popular shopping center. One witness describes the gunman targeting children.

FEMALE: He (start) killing the children. They meant nothing. The children were sitting to eat.

ALLEN: Special forces from Bavaria and surrounding federal states were called in as reinforcements. Authorities locked down the city as they search for the gunman. They urged people to stay home. Restaurants and other businesses closed and public transit shut down. President Obama was briefed on the situation.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Our hearts go out to those who may have been injured. It's still an active situation and Germany is one of our closest allies, so we are going to pledge all the support that they may need.

McLAUGHLIN: The attack is the latest in a series of recent tragedies in Europe. Last week, 84 people were killed in Nice, France, when a gunman ran a truck through a celebration for Bastille Day. And earlier this week, a 17-year-old Afghan man injured several people on a train in southern Germany with an ax.

ALLEN: Erin McLaughlin reporting there, and she joins us now live from Munich. Erin, we know there are three people in grave condition, those that were shot. What more are you learning and what's the reaction there in Munich to all of this?

McLAUGHLIN: Well, people here, Natalie, I would say, are in shock. I spoke to one man who was outside of the McDonald's as the attack unfolded. He described to me the horror as he held one of the victims in his arms. The victim would later die. He also talked about what the attacker was yelling as all of this was going on. He was railing against, quote, foreigners. Take a listen.

MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I heard a scream at first. you [bleep] foreigners. I am German. You will get it. And then the first shots were fired, and a boy of 14 or 17 years of age, who's (left) for me, collapsed, fell to the floor. And then the next shots were fired. And I threw my bicycle to the side and went myself to safety on my belly, in the direction of boy. I spoke with the boy, tried to make sure that he stayed alert. And in the meanTime, more shots were fired. I esTimate about 20 to 30. The boy asked me for help. I tried to talk with him, asked him his age, his name, if he had a girlfriend. I tried to make sure he looked at me, that his eyes were open.

McLAUGHLIN: Such an emotional account.as you can see behind me, this area outside the mall is still cordoned off. Investigators are still inside the mall conducting a forensic investigation. Victims have yet to be identified. Natalie.

ALLEN: Erin, a mass attack like this, a shooting in Germany, that is unusual because there's not that number of guns in the country. McLAUGHLIN: That's right, Natalie. Germany has some of the strictest gun control laws in all of Europe. In fact, you can't get a weapon unless there is some sort of credible reason. Assault weapons also banned. Now, in terms of the weapon this assailant was using, in that press conference, it was something that they talked about. They said that he had a pistol. Now there were earlier witness reports that he had sort of a long-barreled gun. But so far, police say they have not been able to find that kind of weapon on his body.

ALLEN: Nine people dead, people are in the hospital. Any idea how many people perhaps came in contact with this gunman before he committed suicide? How many people, raps, were in that mall? Any numbers?

McLAUGHLIN: Not at the moment. What we do know is it was an incredibly chaotic scene, so much so that investigators are still trying to understand just how this assailant was able to escape. They say that he escaped to an area near the mall, and that is where police believe he turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.

ALLEN: Erin McLaughlin, (force) there in Munich, Germany. Erin, thank you.

HOWELL: The Munich shooting is the latest in a string of attacks putting all of Europe on edge. Julian Reichelt is the editor in chief at the German newspaper, Bild, and joins us live from Berlin. It's good to have you with us, sir. So I, I just wanted to ask you, there was the, the ax attack that certainly happened. There was this attack in Munich. You look back at what happened in Nice, France, in Paris, in Brussels, all of this had coming together. How is, how is it affecting people in Europe?

JULIAN REICHELT: Well, obviously, the situation is very tense. And the first thing that comes to mind whenever you hear something like that, when, you know, you hear the first reports of shots fired in a, in a public space, in a mall, all the previous terror attacks comes to mind. And, obviously, many people in the beginning thought of a, of another Islamic terrorist attack, although right now it seems way more inconclusive. The overall atmosphere is that whenever something hike that happens, obviously, the refugee situation from, from last year and Merkel's policies towards it comes up. If it was the right decision to welcome so many people. Even if the refugee situation does not really apply to, to an attack as it seems in this case, it is constantly on people's mind and, and still a very, it's still a very tense political situation.

HOWELL: And I want to, I want to go, you know, to the heart of that question. Because at this point, we don't know the motive. It is unclear, as you rightly point out, whether this can be terror-related. We had a guest earlier suggest perhaps mental illness. We don't know at this had point but, when it comes to the politics that are playing out throughout Europe, we're seeing more of an isolationist movement in some cases. We're seeing populism and the --we've seen this anti- immigrant senTiment that has been seen quite the publicly in many places throughout Europe. Does this play into that, even though we don't know the motive at this point? REICHELT: It, it absolutely does. And it's being, it's being used or misused in a very irresponsible way by certain political actors. Yesterday, for instance, one representative, high-level representative of the AfD, which is right wing party, right wing movement here in Germany, tweeted only, you know, a few hours after it happened, without any solid information on, on the background. He, he put on Twitter, terrorism in Munich, vote AfD. So he, you know, he, he (vote) -- he used it as, as a straight play for their, for their campaign. And, and that is how several movements are using this. Everyone is jumping on it right away, everyone. Many people jump to very early conclusions. And, you, you know, what we saw yesterday just proves that it's, it's in these scenarios is a good idea to wait until you really have solid information on who the perpetrator is. Because in this case, it doesn't make any sense. It doesn't check any of the boxes that we saw in previous attacks. His background seems not typical for any kind of Islamic-motivated terrorist attack. It's just a very inconclusive picture and I think that is what people should keep in mind whenever they comment on this. But, unfortunately, with so much political attention on the refugee crisis, it is not what's being done.

HOWELL: You know, it's interesting that you point that out on Twitter. There have been a number of shootings that are played out in the United States, as well. And, and you do see that. You point out, use and misuse information. People speculate wildly with not a single credible source whatsoever. So at this point, the very latest that we know is that investigators don't know the motive. And so we can just keep repeating that so that people know, and we can just wait for the information to come forward.

ALLEN: And, Julian, what are we are we hearing from Angela Merkel on this?

REICHELT: Well, so far, this has been handled as, as an active terror situation. So it was more in the hands of her Interior Minister, who landed in New York last night, turned his plane around, and, and flew straight back to, to Germany. It is not something Merkel has touched so far, because I don't think she wants to go into the political dimensions of, of what this was before there is solid information, verified information. And possibly the motives of the perpetrator and, and the shooter. So so far, this is being handled by the Interior Ministry in the State of Bavaria and the Federal Minister of the Interior in, in Germany. And we're, we expect to hear from, from Merkel, you know, throughout the day. But she probably won't be very public before there is not more certainty about the motives.

HOWELL: The head, the headline of this day, certainly the simple fact that nine people were killed, 16 people were wounded. Some of these, children are among the dead. Julian, Reichelt, thank you so much for being with us and sharing your insight.

REICHELT: Thank you very much.

HOWELL: We will have much more of the situation in Munich a little later. Another story we're following is a new development in the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight 370. ALLEN: It's a, it's a new development, but (next)... Listen to this, New York magazine obtained a confidential FBI report about the pilot you see here. It says he flew a suicide route on his home flight simulator less than one month before the plane disappeared. Matt Rivers is live in Beijing with more on this new information. And, Matt, interesting the world is just now learning this, and it's been in an FBI report until now.

MATT RIVERS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN, BEIJING: Yeh, that's absolutely right. And that's some of the questions that are coming out today is, if this document is in fact authenticate, if this report from New York magazine is true, why has it taken so long to come out? But let's go through the details of this one more Time. All of this had is coming, as you mentioned, from the New York magazine report that cites a specific document that was obtained. According to the magazine, it was previously unseen, obtained from the Malaysian government investigation into what happened here. Now what this document purports to show -- and CNN has not actively verified the contents of this document -- but what it purports to show is that, during the investigation, hard drives from the home flight simulator belonging to the pilot of MH370, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, they were obtained by investigators, given to the FBI. The FBI then did a thorough analysis of those hard drives, and were able to find deleted data points, according to this article. Those data points allegedly showed that the pilot of MH370 conducted a simulated flight along a route into the Southern Indian Ocean that very closely mirrors the suspected route of the actual flight, MH370. so it's very, very interesting.

And also, this article, as you mentioned, says that simulated flight happened within a month prior to MH370 taking off. So very, very interesting information, especially given that investigators, Malaysian investigators, have long deflected accusations away from this pilot as perhaps being the cause of this plane's disappearance. In fact, a factual report published on the first anniversary of the plane's disappearance said, quote, the captain's ability to handle stress at work and home is good. There was no significant changes in his lifestyle, interpersonal conflict, or family stresses. So this report, obviously, casts a lot more doubt on this pilot involved in this plane's disappearance.

ALLEN: Right. And, Matt, we remember shortly after the plane disappeared learning that he had a simulator in his home. And many people asked questions about this. So this has to be, yet, more, I would say, harrowing news for all of these people that are affected and have never known what's happened to their loved ones to this date. What have we picked up from MH370, other than this news we're hearing today?

RIVERS: Well, as of where the search stands right now, 110,000 square kilometers of 120,000 square kilometers that were designated in this search area have been gone through so far. But it was just yesterday that we heard from officials from the three countries involved in this search, Malaysia, China, and Australia, that the search would be suspended if, in fact those remaining 10,000 square miles proved no more evidence. Nothing else was found. So these families now dealing with this brand new report from New York magazine, as well as the search being suspended if no new evidence is found. Natalie.

ALLEN: All right. Matt Rivers for us in Beijing. Thank you, Matt.

The well-guarded secret of Hillary Clinton's Vice President pick is secret no more. Next here, a look at who she picked as her running mate.

HOWELL: Plus, there are new doping allegations ahead of the Rio Olympics. The games haven't even started yet. How many athletes are said to be involved, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Well, get ready to hear the name Tim Kaine just a bit. Hillary Clinton has chosen the Virginia Senator as her running mate, the announcement made on social media and via text to her supporters. She will introduce him in person officially at a campaign rally on Saturday in Florida.

HOWELL: In a Facebook post sent out hours ago, Clinton wrote, I am thrilled to announce my running mate, Tim Kaine. He is a lifelong fighter for progressive causes and one of the most qualified vice presidential candidates in our nation's history. CNN's Scott McLean takes a close look now at Tim Kaine's political background.

SCOTT McLEAN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN, WASHINGTON, D.C.: Tim Kaine was widely rumored to be Hillary Clinton's vice presidential running mate. And now it is official. The Clinton campaign spent part of the evening calling VP finalists who were not chosen, including Agriculture Secretary and former Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack. Now CNN confirmed the pick moments before Clinton made it official with a tweet that read, I'm thrilled to announce my running mate, Tim Kaine, a man who has devoted his life to fighting for others.

Kaine is considered a safe choice for Clinton, with a mostly squeaky clean record. He's a former mayor, former Virginia governor, and now a Senator in a state Clinton is hoping to lock up this fall. He's one of only 20 people to hold all three of those offices. Kaine is hardly a political outsider or a liberal firebrand, but can be a charismatic speaker, and also has an undefeated statewide selection track record. He supported Barack Obama in 2008, but this time around he's been an early supporter of Hillary Clinton. Here's what he said at a Clinton event last week.

SEN. TIM KAINE, (D) VIRGINIA: In Honduras what ready means is more than just on time. It means well prepared. Bien hecho. It, it means you're ready to get on the battlefield. You're ready to fight. You're somebody that can be counted on. And we were ready for Hillary because Hillary's ready for us. Hillary's ready for Virginia. Hillary's ready to be President. Hillary's ready to be our leader. Hillary's ready to make history.

McLEAN: Kaine was at a fundraiser in Massachusetts tonight, but his first official event with Clinton will be tomorrow in Miami, a logical choice considering that Kaine speaks fluent Spanish, a quality that Clinton hopes can help her solidify support among Hispanic voters this fall. In Washington, I'm Scott McLean.

ALLEN: Republicans labeled Tim Kaine a Washington insider in a fundraising text message to supporters. Donald Trump's campaign wrote, the ultimate insiders, Obama, Hillary and Kaine. Don't let Obama have a third term. Contribute.

HOWELL: The campaign later issued a lengthy statement, labeling the Virginia Democrat quote, corrupt Kaine.

And now switching to the Rio Olympics, set to begin in two weeks, but in the shadow of security fears and a fresh doping scandal. Brazil announced Thursday that authorities arrested 10 people suspected of plotting terror acts during the Games. They say the suspects were unorganized, but inspired by ISIS.

ALLEN: A new analysis from the last two Summer Olympics has confirmed 45 athletes tested, tested positive for banned substances. This after Russia lost an appeal over its track and field athletes being banned from the Rio Games. World anti-doping officials say Russia ran a state-sponsored doping program for its athletes.

HOWELL: For the latest developments on this story, let's go now to former CNN Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty, live from the Russian capital. Jill, it's good to have you with us. So Russia is obviously upset that the entire team is being penalized. What more are you hearing about reaction?

JILL DOUGHERTY, JOURNALIST: Well the -- George, the track and field team definitely have been penalized and banned. But what they're waiting for, and that will come -- you know, it's Saturday morning here in Russia -- tomorrow, Sunday, is when they will be hearing from the IOC, the International Olympics Committee -- Olympic Committee -- deciding whether or not the entire team should be banned from Rio. And that would be a very, very big deal and, really, a disaster here in Russia. Now President Putin is -- has denied that there is any state-sponsored doping, and he's making it very clear that he's taking it seriously.

So he has that approach, and then another side to it. And showing how seriously he's taking it, he has proposed to the Russian Olympic Committee that they create a new commission. And that commission would be, as he put it, independent, I stress, independent. And it would be a public commission that would look into and prevent doping. On that commission would be experts, not only Russian, but international experts who would come from the fields of, you know, law and medicine and other fields. And it would be headed by a person who is quite well known here in Russia. That's Vitale Smirnov. He's 80- years-old, and he's been a member of the IOC since 1971. And then, finally, another thing here, and that is, of course you remember Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the Soviet Union. He is making a plea to the IOC, saying, look, yes, dirty athletes who are doping should be banned from the Olympics. But there should be -- the rights of individuals who are not doping should be protected. And he does not want any blanket generalized punishment for the entire team. That is what the Russian government is saying. So President Gorbechov is echoing that, as are a lot of people here in Russia right now. George.

HOWELL: Along with President Gorbachev speaking, hearing also the statement from Russian President Putin. And the new commission that you point out, Jill, does Russia really have any other recourse, given what's happened?

DOUGHERTY: Well, it -- you know, it depends, really, on what the IOC does, George. Because you still have this question as to whether they will say, yes, blanket ban, or whether they might put the decision in the hands of these independent -- international, I should say -- federations that deal with the individual sports. You could -- volleyball, etcetera. And swimming, for example. And they could make up their minds. So it could be kind of a mixed verdict. It really depends on whether the IOC comes down and says concretely that is it, the entire team, or whether they kind of disburse the decision to these other federations. But I can tell you there's a lot of anticipation here in Russia about that decision that comes Sunday.

HOWELL: Jill Dougherty, live for us. Jill, we appreciate your insight and reporting, as well. Thank you.

ALLEN: People in Munich, Germany, are waking up to the sad reality of a mass shooting there. Coming up here, police are trying to figure out why a teenager opened fire. We'll have that.

HOWELL: Plus, CNN speaks to a local politician in Turkey about that country's failed coup attempt. What he has to say about Turkey's future may surprise you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:17] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. This is "CNN Newsroom", I'm George Howell.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Natalie Allen, we're live in Atlanta. Here are our top stories this hour.

HOWELL: In Munich Germany, police say a single gun man killed at least nine people, Friday. Authorities identified him as an Iranian and German dual citizen. That is there main suspect. He apparently killed himself near the scene. Investigators have yet to determine a possible motive.

ALLEN: We're learning more about the MH370 mystery. New York magazine reports, the pilot simulated a suicide flight less than one month before the plane disappeared. It obtained a confidential FBI report the magazine did which says the simulation closely matches MH370's suspected route back in 2014.

HOWELL: The Republicans has made their pick down, Hillary Clinton has made hers. It is the man you see here, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine will be Clinton's vice presidential running mate. She has set to introduce him in person at a campaign rally Saturday in Miami. Democrats closer to the campaign say Kaine got the stamp of approval from the U.S. President Barack Obama and the former U.S. President Bill Clinton. ALLEN: We turn back to our top story, the shooting rampage in Munich, Germany. Police say they will have to investigate everything of course, and they say their work will be even more difficult because the shooter is dead.

HOWELL: Little is known know about him publicly, other than the fact that he was 18-years-old and that he'd lived in Munich for the past two years. About two and a half hours from now, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a security meeting with her cabinet. The Munich shooting comes after an increase in violence and terror across Europe and beyond during the past year and a half.

ALLEN: We still don't know the motive behind this latest shooting at all. But from France to Brussel and Turkey, our Randi Kaye looks back on how some of the most devastating attacks unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: January last year, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo under attack. Gun men shouting "God is great" killed 12 inside. Two suspects on the run, Cherif and Said Kouachi, brothers known to French and international intelligence are discovered holed up inside a building outside Paris.

Police stormed the building and kill the Kouachi brothers. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims responsibility.

Less than a year later, November 2015, a horrific attack at the Bataclan Theater in Paris. Three attackers opened fire on hundreds of concert goers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a blood everywhere, even people who were arise were covered with blood.

KAYE: The Segen (ph) when two attackers blow themselves up. A third bomber dies amid police gunfire. But not before 89 are killed. About the same time, five other locations nearby are under attack. Leaving 41 more people dead. At one location international soccer stadium, suicide bombers detonate explosives.

This man, Salah Abdeslam, a Belgium-born French citizen escapes it all. Only to be caught months later in Brussels. In March 2016, Brussels comes under attack when three men disguise bombs as luggage. ISIS later claimed credit for this attack at the airport.

Just a few months later, in June this year, Istanbul Airport is hit. Again, it's three men. This time, they are wearing suicide vests and shooting travelers at random. This terrorist was caught on surveillance video running before he was shot by a brave airport police officer. Squirming in pain, the terrorist is shot again, then he blows himself up. The attack leaves 44 dead.

Less than a month after Istanbul, mayhem returns to France. This time it's Nice, under attack on Bastille Day, July 14th. Eighty-four people are killed as they run for their lives down the street chased by a man using his truck as a weapon. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translation): There were people crying, people covered with blood. It is so sad.

KAYE: Police shoot the attacker dead. He's later identified as a 31- year-old Tunisian man known for petty crimes, but never terrorism.

In Germany just this week, a 17-year-old Afghan man wielding an ax. The terrifying scene on board a train Monday evening.

[03:35:06] Four passengers hit with the ax survived but were in serious condition. The man flees to a nearby town where he is shot dead by police.

An ISIS flag is found inside his apartment though authorities don't believe he was working directly with the terror group. Germany, already on edge, now the target again.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Matthew Karnitschnig is the Chief Europe correspondent for Politico and he joins us now from Germany's capital, Berlin. And Matthew, although there have been so many terrible attacks there in Europe, we don't know anything about the person do we behind this one?

MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, CHIEF EUROPE CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Well, all we know so far is that he is a German citizen who also has Iranian citizenship which would indicate that he might have been born in Iran and came here with his parents or he may have been born here. We really don't know at this stage and we certainly don't know if there is a ISIS link to this shooter. And we will just have to see and I expect we'll find out more in the course of the day.

But it certainly has put people on edge, certainly when something like this happens on a Friday evening at a mall in a big city like Munich, it's a reminder to everybody in Germany of how exposed they are and how easy it is for one person even, to commit these types of terror attacks.

ALLEN: Right, because Germany is not a place where guns are easily found, easily rentable.

KARNITSCHNIG: Well, that will be one of the big questions here if not the main question is how this person managed to get the pistol he was using in these attacks because guns are not readily available. It's not impossible to get one with a license for German citizens. But it's still not something that is easy to do. So I think that will be the focus of the early investigation.

ALLEN: And we just heard that Angela Merkel is having a security meeting. Is that in relation to this or is that something separate, do you know?

KARNITSCHNIG: Yes, it's very much in relation to this and I think she's going to be trying very hard to show people that she and her government have the situation under control, that they are taking measures and reassuring people. I think this is going to be one of the bigger challenges that she has in the coming days.

It took the police in Munich about eight hours from beginning to end to resolve the situation down there. And I -- for long stretches, there was no communication at all from the federal government and I think that's going to be one of the -- one of the challenges she's going to have in the coming hours is to explain what her government was doing. And if they were prepared enough for a situation like this. There were more than 2,000 police in Munich who were in dispatch to handle the events.

ALLEN: We'll probably be hearing more about that certainly. Thank you for pointing that out. Matthew Karnitschnig with Politico, thank you for joining us.

KARNITSCHNIG: Thank you.

HOWELL: The mass shooting in Germany come as Norway remembers yet another attack. Friday was fifth anniversary of the 2011 Norway terror attack.

ALLEN: And we're sorry we have to keep talking about terror attacks, but this was one we probably all remember. Anders Behring Breivik, than man there, set off a bomb in Oslo outside the office of Norway's prime minister. Eight people were killed while the 200 wounded.

HOWELL: Breivik then took a ferry to at nearby island and that's where he open fire on a youth camp. He killed 69 people, he wounded 110 others. After his arrest, Breivik identified himself as an anti-Muslim fascist. He was convicted of mass murder.

ALLEN: And again most people on that island were teenagers because it was a youth camp.

HOWELL: Yeah.

[03:39:12] ALLEN: President Obama made his first public comments Friday on Turkey's failed coup attempt. Up next here, who he voicing strong support for after that attempt?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: President Barack Obama is rejecting suggestions. The U.S. was behind that failed coup in Turkey and he is voicing strong support for the government and the Turkish president.

HOWELL: It's all playing out now. His comments come as. CNN's Nic Robertson met with a politician in Ankara who also backs Mr. Erdogan and he's hopeful of Turkey's future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the hilly fringes of Turkey's capital, Yasha Akalin (ph) the local community leader Mukhtar lays out a rosy vision of Ankara's future. New housing for all away with the old illegal shanks he says, his job to keep everyone happy with the government. As we pass, an old lady in a green scarf listens carefully. We'll come back to her later.

In the valley below, Akalin (ph) proudly shows us a new brand new sports stadium.

We've got a new swimming pool too. He tells me. It's what the people here deserve and we've got it thanks to President Erdogan. Back in his tiny office, he is busy. 30,000 local residents depend on him. He tells me, "He is a bridge between people and government." Indeed, Erdogan describes voters like him as the core of democracy, makes time to meet them, all 50,000.

Akalin (ph) has no high school education had his turn a few years ago.

"Erdogan is a simple man," he tells me. He speaks the language of the people, understands the people. He is a great leader.

And so it was on the night of the coup, bombs dropping, tanks on the streets. Akalin (ph) says he was one of the first to risk his life for the leader.

"I was climbing on the tanks, pulling at soldiers," he says, when I ask him, "Why?" He says, "Because he want our future, the coup people would put us in jail, kill us just when the country was getting better." Outside Akalin's (ph) office, validation he is delivering for government.

I want to ask you how has this area changed in the last ten years? "Erdogan is a great man," she says. "He has made so many and prevalence around here better housing, better life."

[03:45:04] But, not everyone buys the Mukhtar's message. Remember the lady with the green scarf? She lives in one of the old ramshackle houses. We go back to see her.

"The government is not giving us good housing," she complains. And then she starts railing on the Mukhtar. Insulting him, says, "He gets paid by the government and he makes money filling out all those forms." We don't trust him, but, she admits, life is getting better.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Ankara, Turkey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Well, it has been now more than a week since the failed coup attempt in Turkey. And tensions there are still very high. Our Ian Lee is live in Istanbul where pro-Kurdish people's Democratic Party members are planning to have a rally in the coming hours.

Ian, it's good to have you with us this hour. So, given the tensions there and the fact that this had meeting will happen, what is the feeling there right now?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, it really can be divided into two areas. First, you still have everyone, including the opposition parties, very much against this coup attempt and their support for democracy. But we are seeing cracks formed in this unity. And that essentially is behind this state of emergency.

You have opposition parties that say that the state of emergency isn't necessary and they are afraid that Erdogan is going to use it to expand his power and crackdown not only on those people who are behind the coup, but his political opponents. And we're hearing today that over a thousand private educational institutes and dorms, over a thousand NGOs, 35 health centers, 19 unions and 15 private higher education institutes have been closed by now.

That was the decision will go to parliament for an up-down vote on that. But that is where this fear is coming from, that this could be used to crack down on a wide range of political opposition. Now, the government has defended this. And they said that this does need parliamentary approval, that these are linked to the Gulen movement and that they're involved in money laundering and other illegal activities. And that's why these are being shut down.

Now, the bar association here in Istanbul has said that these are the rights and this is law that the government is following, but they also urge caution to not expand this any further to other political opposition, George.

HOWELL: And Ian, I think we got the bulk of your reporting. There's a microphone issue, so we'll leave it there. But we appreciate the insight as to what's happening there, Ian live for us in Istanbul, thank you.

ALLEN: Three of the largest cities here in the United States are sharing crippling, sweltering heat.

Karen Maginnis will have that for us, next.

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[03:52:04] HOWELL: The city of Chicago right there as the graphic coming back to NEWSROOM. Welcome back, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, they are in the middle of the sweltering heat wave right now. It's this thing called the heat dome.

ALLEN: And this is the first time since 2005, these three cities, the largest in the U.S. have been under heat alert at the same time. Chicago's Mayor urged people to look out for the elderly and others who are the most vulnerable.

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RAHM EMANUEL, CHICAGO MAYOR: If there's a sick person or an elderly person in your neighborhood or community or your neighbor. If you could, please check on them. Take care of yourself, but also reach out and be a good neighbor.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ALLEN: Karen McGinnis joins us now from the World Weather Center and -- yes, this is really serious in Chicago's certainly if had deadly heat waves in the past, Karen.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Yes. In 1995, they had nearly 800 people over five days that were killed. They we're not looking at such staggering heat that were seeing records all over the place, but nonetheless, it is very impressive. And the fact that is encompasses about 26 states all across in Northeast, into the Midwest, the deep South, even across the desert Southwest region, you know it's hot when places in the desert are warning of excessive heat.

What we've seen is the upper levels of the jet stream pretty high that heat dome is this rich of high pressure that just kind of doesn't move. It'll just shift a little bit but all of the energy going around this, just on the periphery of this, this is where we see those showers and thunderstorms. And right now, we're picking up some pretty big storms right across the North Central United States.

Well, the other area that I mentioned was in California. They have seen such severe drought years. And I want to show you what's happening just to the North of Los Angeles, about 60 kilometers or about 35 miles.

This is in Santa Clarita. This is referred to as the sand fire. And so far, it is zero contained. But I will tell you, that earlier in the day, this was a small brush fire. And now 300 firefighters are battling this blaze.

You can take a look at this at the nighttime and this is very impressive. They are saying between 200 and 300 homes, mandatory evacuation.

Now, another area experiencing devastating a potentially deadly heat in the Middle East, and we're seeing temperatures here in the mid to upper 50s that you think this is the Middle East. Temperatures are typically hot but this is exceptionally hot.

Look at these readings that we saw on Friday. Even in Basra, the temperature 54 degrees, the average temperature at 46. I took a look at this some of the forecasts coming up, in places like Baghdad and Kuwait are expecting these temperatures once again in the mid to upper 40s, to hovering around 50 degrees. They're saying it's just about the hottest in the Eastern Hemisphere that they've ever seen on record.

Back to you guys.

[03:55:15] ALLEN: After the hottest June on record are here in United States, Karen thank you, our guest.

HOWELL: Well, it's so much to talk about from this terror attack that happened in Munich, Germany. But we also want to show you how social media users are reacting.

ALLEN: And the hash tags pray for Germany and pray for Munich are trending around the world. Twitter users created images to convey their prayers, many of the pictures of Munich hearts in the German flag.

HOWELL: One Twitter user wrote, how many disasters do we need to unite humanity, to love one another more than to hate?

ALLEN: Let's all go retweet that one, I can't wait.

HOWELL: Totally.

ALLEN: Thank you for watching, I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell, at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

The news continues here on CNN. Our colleague Hanna Bon Jones, live from London with the very latest on the Munich attacks and developments on NH370.

Stay with CNN.

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