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Obama, Biden and Kaine Make the Case for Clinton; Trump Encourages Russia to Hack Clinton E-mails; Turkey Closes Media Outlets, Fires Soldiers; Scramble to Clear Russian Athletes Headed for Rio; Security Concerns in Rio Ahead of Olympics; Kids Dance Group Threatens to Sue Trump; "World Sport" Report. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 28, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:06] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, Barack Obama hands the mantle to Hillary Clinton, making the case why she should be the next president of the United States.
While Clinton's Republican challenger, Donald Trump sparked outrage by calling on Russian hackers to target her and find her missing e-mails.
And the crackdown after the failed coup continues with the Turkish government closing down more than 100 media outlets.
Hello, everybody, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
The biggest names in the Democratic Party have been making the case for Hillary Clinton and the nominee herself made a surprise appearance on stage at the party's convention Wednesday. She joined U.S. President Barack Obama as he finished his rousing speech, at times taking some shots at Donald Trump. And his clear message was a ringing endorsement for his former secretary of state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can say with confidence, there has never been a man or a woman, not me, not Bill, nobody, more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN Politics reporter Tal Kopan joins us now live from the convention center in Philadelphia.
And, Tal, Barack Obama, he spent most of that 44 minutes talking up the country. America was great, he said, praising Hillary Clinton, what drives her, and I thought this is interesting. He also addressed why some have a negative view of Secretary Clinton. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: She knows that sometimes during those 40 years she'd made mistakes, just like I have, just like we all do. That's what happens when we try. That's what happens when you're the kind of citizen Teddy Roosevelt once described. Not the timid souls who criticize from the sidelines, but someone who is actually in the arena.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At the end of the day, this is so historic. The first black president making the case for the first woman to be U.S. president.
TAL KOPAN, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: That's absolutely right. And, you know, if you listen to the text of President Obama's speech, it was very focused on this idea of America being more than sort of, you know, the one face, right? It was, you know, his story and other stories. And that's sort of a theme that's emerged over the whole DNC of just, you know, a multiplicity of identifies that we've seen on stage. And so yes, the symbolism of the first black president as he said sort of figuratively passing off the baton to the woman who could become the first woman president who has already broken the glass ceiling here tonight.
That symbolism was not lost on the proceedings tonight and in fact was emphasized in sort of a subtle way to draw contrast with Donald Trump's portrayal of America, which is, you know, this notion of being anti-immigrant or anti-other. It was sort of an inclusive vision that was talked about tonight.
VAUSE: Speaking of Donald Trump, Obama also went after the Republican. At times he seemed to be ridiculing Mr. Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The Donald is not really a plans guy.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: He's not really a facts guy, either.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: He calls himself a business guy, which is true. But I have to say, I know plenty of businessmen and women who've achieved remarkable success without leaving a trail of lawsuits and unpaid workers and people feeling like they got cheated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, you know, Tal, it seems the president almost has a disdain for Donald Trump.
KOPAN: Yes, you know, he coined this term homegrown demagogue, which was really striking in his speech. And, you know, he spoke his name but he didn't focus the speech all on Donald Trump. But it was clear who he was talking about and it was clear the contrast he was trying to make. And you know, I saw one tweet that, you know, this is the way that President Obama has wanted to go after Trump for months but, you know, sort of couldn't from the bully pulpit of the White House.
This is his chance, you know, hitting the campaign trail, being here for a purely political event. And you know, remember, keeping in mind through all of this, President Obama is definitely out there for Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party is united behind her. But in a very real sense, you could feel tonight that President Obama knows it is his legacy on the line here as well. And when he talks about passing the baton to Hillary Clinton and when he talks about the accomplishments he's made throughout his career and continuing those, he really feels like it is a personal stake in this election against Donald Trump.
VAUSE: Yes. The other big surprise of the night was a speech which came from the former New York mayor, the billionaire businessman himself, Michael Bloomberg. Listen to a part of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:05:06] MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's running his business? God help us.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
BLOOMBERG: I'm a New Yorker. And I know a con when I see one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Why was this such a key endorsement for Hillary Clinton?
KOPAN: He absolutely, you know, one of the really smart things about the way the program was laid out tonight is that you had layers, and every speech hit a slightly different point, a slightly different demographic. You had, you know, Vice President Joe Biden talking to the middle class, the sort of average Joe kind of guy.
Michael Bloomberg was really important because he gave the Democrats an opportunity to rebut the idea of Donald Trump as the successful businessman. And Michael Bloomberg is a famous independent. He is not partisan. He started his speech by calling it an unconventional convention speech because of course you don't normally see him at party conventions. But he said, you know, as an independent it was important for him to see Hillary Clinton elected. And he spoke against this idea of Donald Trump as a successful businessman.
And when you have Michael Bloomberg who is, you know, in his own right definitely a billionaire, definitely a successful man, railing against Trump's record, that's a lot more powerful than sort of a career politician could ever be. And so the Michael Bloomberg's speech was really designed to speak to that sort of middle voter, that maybe soft Republican, that sort of moderate, independent-leaning type voter who may be questioning their choices in this election.
You know, he spoke last night about the few undecideds that are left out there. Michael Bloomberg was designed to capture those people tonight. VAUSE: Tim Kaine, the VP nomination for the Democrats, he accepted
that nomination tonight. And like everybody else, he had a few shots at Donald Trump as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TIM KAINE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's going to be great, believe me. We're going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it, believe me. We're going to destroy ISIS so fast, believe me. There's nothing suspicious in my tax returns, believe me.
Here's the question. Do you really believe him?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Not exactly the Rottweiler attack that we've seen in the night. I think the "Wall Street Journal" said it was more like the gentle nuzzle of a wet-nosed poodle.
(LAUGHTER)
KOPAN: I hadn't heard that. I'm also just laughing at the Donald Trump impression that to me sounds a little more like Bernie Sanders.
VAUSE: Yes.
KOPAN: But, you know, I mean, I think that's the appeal of Tim Kaine, at least in the Clinton campaign's eyes, though. Right? I mean, you know, yes, he played the attack dog role, but it was sort of the subtlety of the fact that it could be just your dad kind of trying to make this attack. This is sort of the genius of it because one of Hillary Clinton's biggest problems is her credibility gap, it's this trust and honesty issue that is plaguing her, that the American people still don't view her as honest and trustworthy, and Tim Kaine comes across as, you know, maybe too sincere, right?
He can't even -- he can't even make fun of Donald Trump enough. You know, and so to have him say, look, I trust this woman. I trust her with my son's life who's deployed overseas. I do not trust Donald Trump. And he sort of flipped the script on that and tried to turn that trustworthiness attack back on Donald Trump. And so the sort of ah, shucks down home charm that Tim Kaine brings to the table is perfect for that specific kind of attack.
VAUSE: Very quickly, the current vice president, Joe Biden, he continued that theme that Trump is a fraud.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That's a bunch of malarkey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And out of all of them, some are saying Biden was by far the most effective at tearing Trump down.
KOPAN: You know, he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. They were chanting "malarkey." You know, they loved Joe Biden, and he really brought everything to the table tonight. This was a speech that was in the shadow of the fact that he could have run in this election and he gave a full-throated endorsement of Hillary Clinton and tore down Donald Trump. And he -- like I said, he brings that average Joe demeanor. And he really embodies that sort of blue- collar, middle-class ethic that Donald Trump has been making some inroads with in the rust belt. And so to have Scranton Joe sort of give that endorsement was really important for Hillary Clinton.
VAUSE: Yes. At one point, malarkey was trending on Twitter. Testimony for Joe Biden. Part of his legacy.
Tal, as always, thanks very much for staying up with us.
KOPAN: Thank you.
VAUSE: And Donald Trump has sparked a firestorm with his call for Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's e-mails. He made that statement at a news conference in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Yes, I will tell you this. Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e- mails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let's see if that happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:10:02] VAUSE: The Clinton campaign says Trump's comments prove he lacks the knowledge and temperament to be commander-in-chief. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Trump is a threat to national security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: As someone who was responsible for protecting our nation from cyber attacks, it is inconceivable to me that any presidential candidate would be that irresponsible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Dylan Byers is our senior reporter for Media and Politics, he joins us now from the convention hall in Philadelphia.
So, Dylan, to be clear, the 30,000 e-mails that Trump was talking about, they're the ones that Hillary Clinton deleted when she was secretary of state because they were considered personal. So I guess at the very least, what, he's inviting a foreign country in to violate the privacy of an American citizen?
DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR MEDIA AND POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, that's absolutely right. And what it is, is unprecedented. I mean, it's truly a historic moment, and you know, you think about all of the things that Donald Trump has said over the course of the last year, both through the primary and now through the general election, he's been accused time and time again of going beyond the pale. You didn't think he could take it any further and yet he has.
I mean, some people would say that this is almost borderline treason. It's really an incredible thing and it's a sign of just sort of how much this campaign has sort of been dragged down into the gutter, that you have the candidate for a major political party in this country inviting another country to hack into the United States and to hack into his rival candidate's e-mail. It's truly a historic employment.
VAUSE: Some, though, have said, hey, listen, Donald Trump, he was just joking. This is just another way to turn the focus back onto Hillary Clinton, all those missing e-mails. You know, it's like, I guess, in some ways the guy who jokes about having a bomb in his bag at airport security.
BYERS: Right. That's the thing. Whether it's a joke or not, it's probably irrelevant because the ramifications of it are huge, and you have to think that if you are a hacker in Russia or anywhere in the world, you're certainly thinking very hard about taking him up on that offer. It's -- look, Donald Trump has done so many -- so many times he has said things where he's given himself just enough wiggle room to say, I didn't mean it. I wasn't serious. You're misinterpreting me.
He's been doing that since the very day he announced his candidacy, and yet, once again it doesn't matter. And you have to just, you know, for a moment imagine if any other politician or political candidate had said something akin to what he had said. Imagine if it was Joe Biden. Imagine if it was Barack Obama, imagine if it's Hillary Clinton, imagine if it was any of the Republican candidates who've been standing on stage with Donald Trump during the primary season.
You could consider their candidacy effectively dead. Of course not so with Donald Trump. He somehow seems to keep upending all our expectations about political norms.
VAUSE: And in some ways not just continuing to upending all the political norms and all the expectations but this seems to be a tactic, not just when he's up against Hillary Clinton but up against the 16 other Republican challengers. He has done this time and time again to steal the news cycle. And now it seems that again it's working. We're all talking about this. No one's talking about what happened at the DNC.
BYERS: Well, that's absolutely right. Like you said, I mean, on nearly a daily basis, if the story was not about him, he made it about him, and he made it about him by saying something incendiary, something controversial. What that means is that he constantly has to go further and further beyond the pale than he already has in order to command news attention.
The Republicans had their convention last week, despite Trump's claims that it gave him a -- you know, an unprecedented bump, it was sort of something of a disaster of a convention for the Republicans. At least up until the final night. And now he's looking for a way to interrupt what should be four days of uninterrupted press and news coverage for the Democrats, and like you said, he's proved very effective at doing that.
VAUSE: If this is just another diversion by Donald Trump, could the Clinton campaign -- could they have afforded to ignore this?
BYERS: Well, now that's an interesting political calculation because it's such a big story and it's such a historic moment that they -- I really don't think they could afford to ignore it and also, say, that they probably saw an opening. You know, what's going on behind me right now at this convention, so much footage of Donald Trump's own words, his own statements to try and make the case that he doesn't have the experience and the temperament to be president of the United States.
They saw in this press conference today perhaps the best evidence yet that he doesn't have the experience and the temperament to be the president of the United States. So I think they thought that they could use this to their advantage, and we'll have to wait and look at the polls maybe two or three weeks down the line to see exactly how that played out.
VAUSE: Yes. We'll see if he remains Teflon Don.
[01:15:02] Dylan, always good to speak with you. Thanks so much.
BYERS: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, for more on the hack, Hemu Nigam is an Internet security analyst, he's the founder and CEO of SSP Blue. He joins me now in Los Angeles.
Hemu, thank you for being with us. Just I guess the physical, how did this all actually happen? Had how did they manage to get into the DNC server? How did they manage to pull off this hack?
HEMU NIGAM, FOUNDER AND CEO, SSP BLUE: There's a lot of security experts talking about exactly what went down but they're doing a combination of which security experts often do of circumstantial evidence or some direct evidence and there's some possibilities of how they may have gone through just pure social engineering.
VAUSE: OK. So there's some talk, this is the digital finger prints, I guess, is there was what, a fake Google page? This IP address. Is that right?
NIGAM: Right. The IP addresses are actually coming from Russia as well as a page that you think you're going into a real Google page but it's not. And that's actually a common, very simple technique used, especially if you have individuals like in a political campaign, you have lots of people working quickly to make things happen, they might not be as trained or as aware of what to do.
VAUSE: Then there's the circumstantial. NIGAM: Right. During the timeframes that it's happening, and I think
there's some suggestion that it was during the holidays and all tied to certain Russians --
VAUSE: Those sort of working Moscow hours.
NIGAM: Right. Exactly.
VAUSE: They took Russian holidays off. That kind of stuff.
NIGAM: Right. So they're very well aware of the times, date stamps on when things were coming in and backtracking and saying well, that's a Russia time stamp. So that makes sense.
VAUSE: And know that -- within the computer system for about a year or so, I think, is what they've been saying. There's also the issue of the role that WikiLeaks is playing in all of this right now because everyone is looking at Donald Trump. But WikiLeaks are actually the ones who are doing the dump, Julian Assange.
NIGAM: Right. That's the most interesting thing. All eyes have been tonight and yesterday on Donald Trump, but the real topic here that may be brewing is what's going on with Julian Assange? WikiLeaks used to be like the Switzerland of the past. The independent place. So you just went there, they didn't take sides. They released things when they got them. And all of a sudden, Julian Assange is timing his releases. He released the DNC e-mails related to the DNC chair just recently.
VAUSE: And (INAUDIBLE), she was forced to step down.
NIGAM: And she was -- and that had actually an impact. And now he's saying, and he's saying it publicly, which is really unusual, that he is about to release certain things related to Hillary Clinton that are going to, in his words, get her indicted.
VAUSE: Is there a theory about why the shift with WikiLeaks?
NIGAM: Well, my own -- this is my theory.
VAUSE: Yes.
NIGAM: It's not based on anybody's else, you know, evidence.
VAUSE: We'll take it.
NIGAM: But my theory is that she was secretary of state when he was looking to get himself not extradited by the U.S.
VAUSE: Right.
NIGAM: She was a messenger for the White House and for the Justice Department, saying, hey, country who's housing him, better watch out, you better give him to us.
VAUSE: So this is some kind of payback. NIGAM: So there's payback going on.
VAUSE: OK. If somebody's smart enough, though, to hack into the DNC, to set up a fake Google page, you know, all this kind of stuff, and there's some suggesting that it may have actually hacked into the German parliament as well, it could be the same hackers. Aren't they smart enough to hide their tracks so it might just look like they're Russian hackers?
NIGAM: John, that's a great question because the fact of the matter is hackers know how to erase their digital fingerprint or move their digital print to somewhere else -- fingerprints. So if they went through Russia as the last jumping point, they could on purpose make it look like it came from Russia because they want all of us to be talking about it, when in fact it could be coming from some other enemy nation state. Could be coming from inside the United States. We actually don't know that.
VAUSE: I know that point, your mind just goes around and around trying to figure out who would have done this.
NIGAM: Right.
VAUSE: Were they Russians? Were they not? Were the Russians do -- making it look like they were Russians but maybe they weren't? Anyway.
Hemu, thanks for coming in.
NIGAM: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Good to speak with you. Appreciate it .
We'll take a short break. When we come back, almost two weeks after a failed coup, the Turkish government is shutting down dozens of media outlets and firing more than 1,000 soldiers. How far is Turkey's president prepared to go?
Also ahead, ISIS takes deadly aim in northern Syria. Details on their intended target in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:22:48] VAUSE: A devastating attack in northern Syria has left 48 people dead. ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide truck bombing which targeted a Kurdish defense complex area near the Turkish border. Kurdish officials still don't know how ISIS was able to breach that stronghold.
And separately state-run media report the Syrian army has surrounded Aleppo, cutting supply lines to rebel-held neighborhoods. The regime is sending texts advising residents to leave, but a local photojournalist says there is no way out.
The Turkish government is widening its crackdown after a failed coup almost two weeks ago. State-run media report nearly 1700 soldiers have been fired including 87 generals. Turkey is also shutting down dozens of TV channels, radio stations and newspapers.
Ian Lee joins us live this hour from Istanbul.
So, Ian, Erdogan has clamped down on schools, universities, the police, the military, now the media. How far is he prepared to go?
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as far as necessary, according to the Turkish government. They accuse these institutions of either belonging to the Gulenist movement or being sympathetic to it. The Gulen movement being the movement that is behind the cleric in the United States, Fethullah Gulen. An enemy of Erdogan, considered a terrorist organization here.
But this crackdown has a lot of people concerned, including rights groups and the international community. Over 15,000 people have been detained in this crackdown, including over 9,000 soldiers.
There also have been allegations of abuse in these prisons, going as far as sleep deprivation, people going without food in stress positions, and in some rare cases also allegations of rape. So some very serious stuff there, but the Turkish government denying that, saying that these people are being treated fairly and that this is a purge of those elements that were behind the coup in Turkey -- John.
VAUSE: And when we look at the crackdown which is currently under way on media organizations, how widespread is this?
[01:25:03] LEE: It is very fairly widespread. These are small to medium outlets, news agencies, which include three news agencies, 16 TV channels, 23 radio stations, 45 newspapers, 15 magazines, and 29 publishing houses, and one really stands out, which Cihan, which is a news agency that monitors the elections. It's one of three big ones. And one of the three that isn't belonging either to the state or Erdogan. So there is some concern there, also, about that.
But these are news agencies that the government says are Gulenist, but also this is very concerning as Erdogan has been accused and is accused of having authoritarian tendencies, that this crackdown on the media is just going after opposition voices that he does not agree with.
VAUSE: Very quickly, that meeting coming up with the Supreme Military Council. What are the changes now expected within the Turkish military?
LEE: This is very interesting. And it's happening later today. It was initially scheduled for August, and a lot of people say this was the reason really behind the coup was that there was going to be a shakeup within the military structure and that those elements in the military preempted that with that coup. But today we are expecting a reshuffling of the military. Remember, a third of the generals here in Turkey have been arrested,
accused of being behind this coup. So we're expecting changes within the structure of the military. But there are some major questions, as Turkey has a raging civil war on its southern border. You have Syria. You have Iraq. Also there fighting Kurdish separatists in the southeast. So the military readiness will be a high priority. So we'll be watching that meeting later today.
VAUSE: Ian Lee, thank you. Ian Lee live this hour in Istanbul.
A short break here, when we come back, to Rio they go. Russian athletes are off to the Olympics, but some don't even know if they'll be allowed to compete.
Also ahead, we'll talk to a former FBI agent about security in Rio. What's the bigger concern, terrorism or being mugged?
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[01:29:50] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause, with the headlines this hour.
(HEADLINES)
VAUSE: Russia's Olympic team it on its way to Brazil for the 2016 games. Sports governing bodies are scrambling to figure out who will be allowed to compete. More than 100 Russian athletes are banned from the Olympics after an investigation found widespread evidence of doping.
Clare Sebastian is at the airport near Moscow and joins us live.
Clare, the big question, when will we finally learn just how many Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at Rio?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they keep telling us it will be soon. The head of the Russian Olympic Committee saying about 270 have been cleared out of about 387. We watched them just now gathering at the airport. This is the major portion of the team. Some of them have already left. Some are already in Brazil as we know. But a large portion gathered for a ceremonial sendoff at the airport in Moscow.
The head of the Olympic Committee telling them the country is going to be rooting for them twice as much as usual, that this is the time to set aside all the unpleasantness of recent days and go ahead and win. We spoke to him as well. Obviously, he is a man who has promised to do more to crackdown on doping in Russia. Under huge pressure to do that.
I spoke to him about that a few moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Why should we believe that Russia is willing to change and fix the problem with doping?
ALEXANDER ZHUKOV, DIRECTOR, RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMISSION: I have no idea why you should believe. Because of (INAUDIBLE).
SEBASTIAN: Are you worried that situation that --
(CROSSTALK)
ZHUKOV: I think now that the Russian team is the cleanest team in the world. And this team is just going today to Rio.
SEBASTIAN: Are you worried that the uncertainty has --
ZHUKOV: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: So, John, the athletes we've been speaking to are very glad that they are going to the games. Just a week ago, Russia didn't know if any of its athletes would be able to go. But they say they feel an extra responsibility because of the fact that so many of their colleagues aren't able to go this time around -- John?
VAUSE: Well, that settles it. The cleanest team to head off to the Olympic Games.
Clare, thank you. Clare Sebastian, live there at Moscow.
For more on the security situation in Rio, Bobby joins me. He's a former FBI special agent.
Also, I think you spent part of your time in Rio, so you're well positioned to talk about this.
If were you heading to the Olympics as an athlete or visitor, would there be a bigger risk of being mugged or murdered or blown up in a terrorist attack? Place your bets.
ROBERT CHACON, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: It's a good question. There's more chance of one happening and there's a bigger chance of you getting killed in the other. So it's obviously, street-level crime has been endemic to Rio. Terrorism is not. Street-level crime is probably not going to get you killed. Terrorism will.
VAUSE: But you could be a victim of it more likely than a terror attack.
CHACON: Sure.
VAUSE: Rio has this pre-9/11 mentality when it comes to security, in places like the airport and dealing with intelligence gathering and that kind of stuff. What's your assessment?
CHACON: Very much so they have that attitude, but think have gotten that end of it together. Operationally, the military and police have joined forces and trained well together. They've also brought in the assistance of other western countries who have recently hosted the Olympics. They brought in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and countries like that that have lessons learned from previous Olympic Games and how to handle that. You saw a result of that last week when the FBI gave them the tip that lid to ted to the arrest of ten who were possibly going to disrupt the Olympics.
VAUSE: This is the first time the games are held in South America, is there any home-grown terror that we haven't heard of?
CHACON: Not that we know of. What we're seeing is an extension of these home-grown or self-radicalized people online. That's what the result was last week
VAUSE: When we do talk about the terrorist, on the terrorism index, United States is 35th. But once the Olympics come to town, doesn't all that go out the window?
CHACON: It's a whole new ball game. The world's attention is focused on Rio for those 16, 17 days, and if the object of your attack is to garner attention, that's the place to be.
VAUSE: No better place.
CHACON: No better place.
[01:35:12] VAUSE: Are you encouraged thought, because in the last couple of years, in Rio and Brazil, they've had these major international events, the World Cup, the climate change summit. So they have had the focus of the world on them with a lot of international visitors and high-level delegations coming to town, and it's gone off pretty much incident free.
CHACON: Yes, and I have a lot of confidence in the military and police that have been trained and are going to handle the bulk of the terrorism side of the security. My concern is more with the Olympic committee itself, the local organizing committee down there and the contract to the screeners, which we hear were awarded recently and they're not training these people properly, and those are people employed by the Olympic committee it itself.
VAUSE: If are you a tourist, best piece of advice?
CHACON: Be aware. Avoid large public gathering that don't have a lot of security, I hate to say it, like the plaza in Nice, the Olympics are known for those types of gatherings, and everybody likes to attend them. Right now, it's a heightened risk.
VAUSE: Once you get to Rio, once you get two streets back from the beaches, you get to real sort of dodgy areas.
CHACON: Yeah, dodgy with regard to violent street crime, sure. But when you're talking about terrorism, you're talking about closer to the beach.
VAUSE: Don't go to the beach. Stay in your hotel?
CHACON: It's going to be a tough situation.
VAUSE: Bobby Chacon, thanks for coming in.
CHACON: Thank you.
VAUSE: Appreciate it.
Commercial break here. When we come back, a kids' performance could land Donald Trump in court. We'll talk to the kids' manager on why he plans legal ahead against the Republican nominee.
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VAUSE: Hard to forget it, the patriotic song and dance routine which went viral performed by USA Freedom Kids at a Trump rally in January. But the manager of the group says the kids haven't been paid, a verbal agreement was broken, and he's considering legal action.
The manager and dad of one of the girls, Jeff Popick, joins us from Marco Island in Florida.
Jeff, bottom line here, what are you looking for from the Trump campaign?
JEFF POPICK, MANAGER, USA FREEDOM KIDS: Really, truly, the bottom line is we were hoping to have the Trump campaign step up and make this right. Making it right meaning giving us what they've promised us, which is a performance. They've not done that. I've given them countless opportunities over many months. And they basically forsaken -- incredible as it is -- they have forsaken this amazing group of girls. And so we are pursuing legal action in light of the fact that they've not stepped up and made this right.
[01:40:18] VAUSE: OK. So we're talking about legal action.
I want to play one line from the song which the girls performed at that rally in Florida earlier this year. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
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VAUSE: "Deal from strength or get crushed every time." Are you dealing with a position of strength with Donald Trump? He is no stranger to legal action?
POPICK: I wish I wasn't here talking to you about this, that this was not on my agenda for 2016. It is very sad, but I'm also not going to run from this. And the fact of the matter is we will prevail in a court of law. We will beat Donald Trump if we have to go that far. So there is no question that we will prevail. This was a contract that they breached twice. And we will prevail. I hope we don't have to go that far, but that's what we're going to do.
VAUSE: OK, so you say it was a contract. But my understanding it was a verbal contract, which obviously is not as good as a paper contract, but still a contract, right?
POPICK: It's absolutely a contract. What that means is the burden of proof is harder on me, because I have to prove my case, but I have no concerns about that. I am 100 percent confident we will prevail on this.
VAUSE: May I ask, were you a Trump supporter before all this happened?
POPICK: I've been a Trump admirer for decades, long before he was an international celebrity, long before he was a presidential candidate. I've been a supporter and admirer, really, probably is the better word, for decades. I grew up in New York. He was essentially a celebrity there before he was a celebrity. And I admired his acumen. I admired the way he got things done and put deals together and all that stuff. So this is really hard for me.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Very quickly, are you still a fan of Donald Trump?
POPICK: Hard to say. My personal first-hand experience with him now as a result of USA Freedom Kids, it's not what I thought I knew of him. And I'm still trying to sort through that.
VAUSE: OK, Jeff, we shall leave it there, but we wish you the best of luck. And our best to the girls, because obviously, they sang their hearts out for him.
POPICK: Absolutely. Thank you very much.
VAUSE: We should add, we did reach out to the Trump campaign for a comment and no response so far. We'll let you know if we get one.
"World Sport" is up next, including a report from New Jersey as they gear up for the last golf major of the year, the PGA championship on Thursday.
And then I'll be back with news from all around the world.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
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[01:44:51] ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Welcome to "World Sport." I'm Andy Scholes. We start in Moscow where President Vladimir Putin gave a personal
sendoff to a diminished Russia Olympic team. The athletes traveled to Rio on Thursday as global sports bodies continue to decide whether or not to ban them from the games. It comes after the International Olympic Committee decided on Sunday to ignore a call for a blanket ban over allegation of state-backed doping. How many will be competing remains to be seen. 105 have been banned so far with more expected to follow. The IAAF has already banned Russian track and field athletes, and they said on Wednesday they won't reconsider their decisions.
A sendoff earlier was an opportunity for Putin to slam what he referred to as discrimination against the country's banned athletes. The Russian president said those banned were the target of a deliberate campaign and called it a blow to the entire sporting world and the Olympic Games. He added that the absence of Russian athletes would significantly affect the intensity of the competition and diminish the spectator value of the events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: That's the two-time Olympic champion, there breaking down in front of the group but composing herself to say that the team was banned without proof, quote, "boldly and roughly without being given the chance to justify themselves." The 34 year old had come out of retirement to try and win a third pole vault gold medal, but she is one of the 67 banned track and field athletes and will miss out on the Rio games.
In the meantime, 11 weight lifters, including six medalists, have failed doping tests in the latest wave of retests from the 2012 London Olympics. Four Russians failed tests. Three of them won silver medals. And the London International Weightlifting Federation said all 11 athletes have been provisionally suspended.
Well, to golf's final major of the year. The PGA championship set to tee off in New Jersey on Thursday. Jason Day, the defending champion and world number one, but he hasn't tasted victory since mid-May when he won the player's championship.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy, he hasn't won since 2014 PGA championship.
And our own Patrick Snell caught up with Rory and asked him about his major's drought.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK SNELL, WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Since your last major in 2014, there have been five first time major winners out of the last six. How difficult does it feel do you feel to win a major? RORY MCILROY, PRO GOLFER: The fields are deep. I think the fields in
golf are deeper than they ever have been. And I've always said this. Whenever people are trying to make Jordan, Jason and I the big three. I kept saying, but there's so many other guys waiting in the wings that are great golfers and so capable of doing stuff, and that's what we've seen. Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stinson, there are so many guys who have a chance this week. And it's a matter at the end of the day of who can execute the best that given week. And sometimes that might be me. It might be somebody else. When you are playing well, it's a bundle of nerves coming down the stretch. And I feel like with my major championship experience and being able to win a few, that definitely gives my an advantage over quite a few of the guys.
SNELL: We know you don't play in the Olympics, but how important is it to be a success in Rio this time around?
MCILROY: Golf has already had its ups and downs, and I think, you know, Rio in general has been, you know, it's been going through some tough times. So I just hope the Olympic games in general passes well, it's the best sporting event in the word with the best collection of athletes coming together every four years, it's a great spectacular a spectacle that I've always enjoyed watching and I hope it goes well for everybody going down there.
SNELL: I want to ask you about the longest drive competition. You looked like you were going to win it. And then the young South Korean picked you by what, two yards? Describe the heartbreak?
MCILROY: It's not the best way to start the week, I must say, but I thought when I hit the leading drive, it was 314, and I got it right there at 345. And I thought, I'm not sure anybody's going to get past that, but conditions changed a little bit yesterday afternoon. Things got a little firmer. It's fun. It's a fun part of the work. It's a cool tradition. It's great that they brought it back and hopefully one of these years I'm able to win it.
SNELL: You're a Manchester United Fan. What do you think of United's latest new manager?
[01:49:55] MCILROY: I'm looking forward to it. I think Jose coming in has brought a lot of optimism to the club, players, fans. It's given everybody a lift. And obviously, the new signings coming in. There's a lot of optimism around Man United right now, which is a great thing. I'm excited for the season to start.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHOLES: And Rory's going to be part of the featured group on Thursday teeing off alongside Jason Day and Phil Mickelson.
The U.S. men's basketball team putting on a show in their exhibition against China on Tuesday. Coming up, we'll take a look at what Lebron James says could have been one of the best dunks of all times.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SCHOLES: An Argentina's player was mobbed by fans as he arrived on Wednesday, and that's after the old lady completed a $99 million transfer for the former Napoli man, the third most-expensive in history. And it comes after he broke the scoring record last season.
NBA superstar, Kevin Durant, also enjoying a homecoming on Tuesday. Durant along with Team USA playing exhibition in Oakland, California against China in Oakland, California. That's his new home. And Warriors fans giving their new star a huge ovation as he was introduced and looking right at home from the get-go. Derozan scored the first points, knocking down a three from way down the town. Check this out, Derozan goes for the 360 dunk on the defender. Lebron James, watching from home, tweeted, "If Derozan would have landed that dunk it would have been one of the top five slams of all time." Team USA would go on to squeak by China, 107-57. Unstoppable.
We asked CNN basketball analyst, Steve Smith, if anyone has a chance of beating them in Rio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE SMITH, CNN BASKETBALL ANALYST: I think a country that can give them a little scare is France or Spain. They have Ricky Rubio. France, they have some guys. And Rudy Golbear, I think, can be the guy that can change things for USA. Yes, you can beat those guys off the dribble. But with no restricted area, he can stand there and block shots, and that can be a problem for USA
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Team USA will open play at the Olympics against China a week from Saturday.
On Tuesday, Roger Federer announced he will miss the upcoming Rio Olympics and the rest of the 2016 season to recover from a knee injury. So he will not be joining tennis players from around the globe who will get to play in brand new state-of-the-art facilities.
CNN's "Open Court" host, Pat Cash, recently got a look at where the teams will be going.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[01:55:07] PAT CASH, CNN HOST, OPEN COURT (voice-over): I traveled outside of Rio to the Olympic Park where most of the sports venues are based.
(on camera): I'm getting my first look at Rio's Olympic tennis stadium where the biggest names in the game will soon be competing to take home a medal.
(voice-over): Builders broke ground more than two years ago. The design is an open plan, featuring a bright mosaic of red, yellow and orange seating. Construction crews and welders are on site, putting the finishing touches on the show court.
This man is responsible for making sure the sports venues are up and running on time.
(on camera): When I think of Brazilian tennis players, I think of clay courts. Why isn't this clay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a long discussion with the international federation who obviously wanted a clay court, but given the time of year, it's very important for the players to keep the pace on the hard courts very close to the U.S. Open. So they would prefer to play on hard courts.
CASH: What is in the facility?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In here, we have six warm-up courts, the main court being 10,000 seat, court one, 1,042.
CASH: You're managing all sorts of stadiums around here. Why is tennis a little more complex than the others?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some sports are very predictable, given the time of the sessions, the time of the tournament. In tennis, you have to play a little loose in time. You don't know how many sets they're going to play. You don't know exactly how is going to be the weather. You have to adjust the competition schedule. So this is a challenge by itself. It's a great challenge.
CASH: Thank you very much. Good luck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll need, but we're going to be ready.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHOLES: All right, that will do it for this edition of "World Sport." I'm Andy Scholes.
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[02:00:08] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.
