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Death Toll Rises in Bomb Blast in Turkey; Trump Heads to George; Sanders in Colorado; Last Images of Student's Life; Russian Jets Attack More Targets Inside Syria; American Journalist Spends 446 Days Behind Bars; Female Sports Announcer Hit With Sexist Remarks. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired October 10, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for watching.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, there's so much more ahead in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. We are going to turn things over now to our colleague, Martin Savidge. Good morning -- Martin.

KOSIK: Good morning -- Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning -- Victor. Good morning -- Alison.

Horrible news coming out of Turkey. We will begin there.

And we begin with that breaking news. The death toll rising now to 86 after a deadly explosion at a peace rally in the heart of Turkey's capital; at least 186 others have been injured -- that, according to the Turkish health ministry. The bomb blast caught on video.

Journalist Andrew Finkel is in Istanbul, Turkey, for us. And Andrew, let me begin by asking, has anybody claimed responsibility for this yet?

ANDREW FINKEL, JOURNALIST: No. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for this. And of course, this is leading to all sorts of speculation and all sorts of conspiracies. The attack comes against a peace rally -- a rally which was calling for peace in the Kurdish complex in the southeast of the country. There has been a great deal of mutual recrimination. People are accusing each other of having provoked this attack. But so far, we don't actually know who has done it.

SAVIDGE: And what has been the reaction from the Turkish government?

FINKEL: Well, the Turkish government has tried to appeal for calm. It has called for three days of mourning. It has tried to stop the media from reporting images of the attacks. They say this will certainly just inflame the situation.

But some of the opposition parties are saying well, you know, the fact that no one has resigned and no one has actually claimed responsibility, the police weren't doing their job. This somehow means that you are encouraging this attack. And the background is that Turkey is going to an election in a month's time -- the Kurdish issue is going to be a very big factor in that election. However well the Kurdish Nationalist Party does, the worse the government will do. So as you can imagine, there is a very bitter atmosphere here in Turkey.

SAVIDGE: And you sort of implied, though no one has claimed responsibility, there seems to be, what, a feeling of who may be responsible?

FINKEL: Well, we've seen attacks before never on this scale, I have to say. It may have to do with Turkey's involvement in Syria and the support it is now getting for the allied effort against the Islamic state. This could be a sort of revenge for that.

It could be some sort of provocation within, who knows. I mean in order to discredit the Kurdish Party or to discredit the government. They encourage IS in Turkey. There are many theories but no facts.

SAVIDGE: All right. Andrew -- thank you very much for that. Andrew Finkel in Turkey.

Let's get to our other top story. Tons of action taking place now in the race of 2016 in this country with just three days until the first Democratic debate. Democrat Bernie Sanders is preparing for a big rally in Boulder, Colorado in just a couple of hours. This, after he was greeted by 13,000 supporters last night in Tucson, Arizona.

And right now, in Georgia a large crowd is awaiting Republican Donald Trump to arrive within the hour. We have, of course, teams covering all of this.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is in Boulder where Bernie Sanders is stomping. And our M.J. Lee is outside Atlanta at the Trump event.

M.J. let's go to you first. Why Georgia

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Donald Trump is about to make his big debut in the state Georgia. As you can hear behind, the crowd is getting energized. Some thousands of people are pouring into this event place. And I can tell you that the parking lot -- there is a long line of people still waiting to get in.

If you recall, Donald Trump was supposed to be in Georgia earlier this year in August. He was supposed to participate in the Red State conference but he ended up being uninvited at the very last minute because of some controversial remarks that he made about Fox News host, Megyn Kelly.

Now, why Georgia? It is important to keep in mind that the state of Georgia is one of the many states that will participate in the primary process in March on the day that we refer to as Super Tuesday. So this is another indication that Donald Trump even though there have been some questions recently about maybe he is looking at the exit door. He is thinking about the long-term. That he is not just focusing on the early states like Iowa and New Hampshire. SAVIDGE: And M.J., I understand he is going to have a private

meeting. What do we know about this?

LEE: That's right. A campaign source is telling us that Donald Trump, before he takes the stage, will be meeting with a group of African-American pastors in a private meeting. We are still waiting to hear some details on how this came about, exactly what they will talk about. And we will have that for you later.

[11:04:55] But this is particularly interesting because Trump has been talking more and more about his religious background just looking at this purely through a political lens. Of course, for the Republican candidates especially, it is important to appeal to the evangelical voters -- that part of the Republican voting bloc.

And so it is interesting that before he takes the stage that he will be having this private meeting to make sure that he is making connections with this important group.

SAVIDGE: Real quick, I can see some of the crowd behind you. I am wondering -- a lot of people. It certainly sounds enthusiastic.

LEE: Well, this event place is supposed to hold over 7,000 people. The room is starting to fill in. I know that there is still a line outside. You know, the issue of crowd size has obviously been something that Trump has been particularly sensitive about. So we'll see if the room actually ends up filling in all the way.

SAVIDGE: We will, indeed. We'll hear what the candidate has to say. M.J. Lee -- thanks very much. Weather is not very good in Atlanta either -- so it's another factor.

Let's get back to Sunlen Serfaty. She's in Boulder. Sunlen -- Bernie Sanders, he's been very outspoken about reforming gun laws since the campus shooting in Oregon. So what are you expecting from him today? That's been a big controversy in that state.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely has been. And I think it was interesting. We saw Bernie Sanders, Martin, last night in Tucson, Arizona specifically address gun control measures -- really deviating from his regular stump speech to make pains to tell the crowd where he stands on this.

This is a huge area of vulnerability for himself as a candidate. He understands that because this is one of the very few issues where he actually runs to the right of Hillary Clinton. He is much more moderate than Hillary Clinton on this issue and recently we've seen really her make a big push on her gun control measures though he is trying to counter that a bit especially in the lead up to the Democratic debate next week trying to align himself more with the party.

Last night in Tucson, he spoke about really his evolution on this issue, mentioning that he has at times been more conservative. Going through how he would like to see stronger background checks and really trying to close the gun show loophole. But here is how he explained it to the crowd last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: While yes, there are disagreements of how we go forward in terms of gun safety. I think the vast majority of the American people want us to move forward in sensible ways which keeps guns out of the hands of people who should not have --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Now, given these recent shootings, you can expect to see Hillary Clinton really try to drill down on her message on the Tuesday debate stage. This really provides in the Clinton campaign a good contrast they feel one where Bernie Sanders is on the defensive, the very few issues that he is on the defensive among these progressive voters.

So certainly, Martin, this will be an area of potential flash point between the two next week.

SAVIDGE: And as you point that debate is just three days away from CNN's Democratic debate here. And I'm wondering whether the Bernie Sanders camp has told you anything about, you know, his preparations. How will he try to sort of stand out and take the floor?

SERFATY: Well, this is really interesting. He is really preparing in an atypical way. He is not holding any mock debates. He's not standing in a practice lectern. No one is standing in and playing Hillary Clinton much like many of the other candidates prepare.

Instead, he is reading briefing books. He's taking calls with experts, his campaign says. They say that he really wants to take on all the policy issues. It's very clear that he is not going to go come out with any one-line zingers, not ready to go against Hillary Clinton.

But he wants to engage her, his campaign says, on the policy issues. And we have one, not so subtle hint, a little preview of that sort of line of argument. Today the Sanders campaign sent out, out of the blue, e-mail to reports with the link to his 2012 floor speech when he opposed the Iraq war.

This is a big area of difference between him and Hillary Clinton. She supported the Iraq war. She has since said she regrets that vote but certainly this is something that they feel can help him up there on the debate stage -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Do you think that there's going to fireworks up on the stage or to you think this is going to be a methodical debate?

SERFATY: Well, it is interesting. Both candidates have really gone out of their way to really avoid getting in a hand on hand combat, so to speak. They really tried to take it away from any sort of personal attacks. But It will be interesting given that this is the first time they are standing next to each other on the debate stage, the very first debate -- we'll see how feisty they get.

Bernie Sanders prides himself on being someone that doesn't attack people in a personal way. And he certainly, this week, I asked him if he anticipates these attacks. He indicated he does. Certainly, his campaign told me behind the scenes he is preparing for lines of attack from Clinton, from other candidates. They say he will be ready to fiercely defend himself.

SAVIDGE: I bet he will. Sunlen Serfaty -- thanks very much for that preview.

[11:10:00] And don't miss that first Democratic presidential debate -- of course, it is right here on CNN. It will be Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. Eastern.

And stick around because after the break, we asked former presidential adviser David Gergen to weigh in on the debate.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Did I mention? Just three days until the first Democratic presidential debate right here on CNN. It could be a chance for one of the lower polling candidates to try to breakthrough.

In the latest national poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hillary Clinton is still out in front. She's followed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb and former Rhode Island governor and senator, Lincoln Chafee -- they barely registered.

So let's talk about this more with CNN senior political analyst, David Gergen. David -- very nice to see you as always.

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: The advantage you bring is that, of course, you have worked on both sides of this, Democratic and Republican president. You think this debate really is going to sway voters? Does it matter much because most of the focus has been right on the Republicans?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think this debate is rapidly building up as one of the most important events on the Democratic side, as important to Democrats as the first two Republican debates were for the Republican candidates. The drama is building we -- after a horrible summer, we have now got a new, more relaxed. Seemingly Hillary Clinton is on a comeback trail. And can she use this debate now to leapfrog ahead of Bernie Sanders and ahead of Bernie Sanders and to quiet or release and calm some of the momentum?

Can Bernie Sanders continue the momentum? He's getting huge crowds. He's coming off of -- we just heard about. I think that's going to make -- that dynamic. This debate could change the dynamics of the Democratic race and we're waiting to see which way.

In the background, of course Martin, is Joe Biden, who is maybe making the decision this very weekend on whether he is going to get in or not or he could wait until after the debate. So he is going to be watching. Does this present an opportunity for me?

[11:15:03] And then this horrific news we have had out of Turkey. That's going to bring this extra dimension to the debate because now, they need to be pressed not only for what they do to close income gaps in this country.

But what are they going to do about with the unraveling Middle East. They have sharp differences. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, sharp differences over what they might do in the Middle East. We will hear those Tuesday night.

SAVIDGE: And we should point out Mr. Vice President, if you're listening, the invitation is out there, you could show up all the way I guess until Tuesday.

Talk about those lower ranked candidates. Any chance that they can breakthrough or is it really the focus on the two frontrunners.

GERGEN: I think the focus is going to be on the two frontrunners. But a really terrific debate performance by one of them just as Carly Fiorina had on the Republican side. She was an asterisk before the first two debates and now she is actually a competitor.

So debates matter, one of these people could catch fire. I'm not sure, you know, the public is not expecting that. There is very little expectation any one of them could ever be the Democratic nominee. One could potentially be a vice-presidential nominee.

Yes, but sure -- I think for Hillary Clinton and for Bernie Sanders and the issue, how do you keep the focus on you and the real tension right now between the two of them? Could one of these others break loose? Possibly -- I think it is unlikely. We will all be watching to see.

SAVIDGE: Do you expect that Bernie Sanders is going to will go after Mrs. Clinton on the subject of how she has changed apparently in her feelings towards the Pacific trade deal?

GERGEN: Bernie Sanders has not been lambasting her in the way -- or she hadn't been attacking in the way we've seen on the Republican which is almost cannibalistic at times on the Republican side.

But I think this is important for Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton to highlight differences between them. I do think he is going to go after her on inconsistencies. Because it does play to that narrative that she is somehow not trustworthy or never quite sure what she is telling you is what she believes.

He has been campaigning as a candidate of conviction. He will try to show that she is not a person of conviction. She blows with the wind as with the trail deal. She supported the trail deal 45 times as secretary of state and here she has flipped on it.

And of course, he is going to try to make -- he's going to dry to make some gains on it. I don't think what you will see -- I don't think he will come out slamming her. That's just not the style that either of them have shown in the past.

SAVIDGE: All right. David Gergen, thank you very much. I was dying to ask you about that --

GERGEN: Ok, Martin --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: that will have to wait to another time. Nice to see you and great to talk with you.

GERGEN: Another time. Thank you.

Don't miss that first Democratic presidential debate -- there I go again, it's right here on CNN. It will be this Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Ahead, a newly released video showing a young man's violent fight with police moments before he was found dead in a jail cell. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST: So it's been a week of martial arts madness. And between the Okinawan sumo and karate -- there is really no part of my body that doesn't hurt.

On the other hand, I've eaten really well and I've learned something. Okinawa is nothing like the Japan I know at all. Everything is different here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happiness is number one.

BOURDAIN: Happinest first. Yes. It's laid back, it's mellow, the food is completely different. People are expressive and open and tell you what they think. What is the literal translation of that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once we meet, we are family.

BOURDAIN: Once we meet we are family. Oh, thank you. It is all very, very, very confusing.

Also, there is pork -- delicious, delicious pork. And lots of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: For the first time, we are seeing surveillance video of the young African-American man in police custody moments before he was found dead strapped to a restraint chair. This new video shows 21-year-old Matthew Ajibade's violent battle with

police, at one point grabbing a taser from an officer before being punched and then kicked in the head.

CNN correspondent Nick Valencia spoke with Ajibade's cousin and the family attorney. What are they telling you?

Nick Valencia, CNN correspondent The family has been waiting for this video for nine months. They were hoping to get this. They finally saw it at trial this week and it is this video that jurors will use to determine the fate of a three Georgia authorities charged in the death of a 21-year-old college student who died while in police custody.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: This police surveillance footage from the night of January 1, in Savannah shows 21-year-old Matthew after Ajibade after he is arrested for a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. In the long- awaited video seen for the first time, Ajibade diagnosed as bipolar according to his family ppears agitated and resists with police during what his family calls a medical episode.'

Seen here, he trashes on the ground after deputies wrestle him down. At one point, a deputy enters the scuffle with a taser. But Ajibade is He is able to grab it. Then, the situation escalates.

Ajibade is struck in the head several times. He is eventually hog tied and dragged off camera. It is the last images of him alive. Hours later, he dies in a Chatham County Jail cell. The family attorney says the video shows officers went too far.

MARK O'MARA, LAWYER FOR MATTHEW AJIBADE'S FAMILY: There has been this philosophy of disrespect and then of covering up for it.

VALENCIA: But in court this week, the jail supervisor at the time of the incident says the video stands in favor of the officers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It appeared that he punched the subject because he had a weapon in his hand at that time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That force is considered to be justified -- yes, sir.

VALENCIA: Nine deputies were fired as a result of the incident. Two have been charged with involuntary manslaughter as well as a nurse who was accused of not checking on the inmate's well-being as required by state law.

[11:20:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's painful just talking about it.

[VALENCIA: Ajibade's cousin told CNN the entire incident has been shrouded in secrecy.

CHRIS OLADAPO, cousin of Ajibade: The whole world actually got the news the same time the family did. It is just not American.

VALENCIA: Was it excessive force or was it justified?

That's the question jurors will attempt to answer in a man slaughter trial that is just beginning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: We have reached out to the attorneys for the three defendants. Only one of them got back to us only to say that it was not incumbent on his client to check on the well-being of Ajibade, that all deputies there at that Chatham County jail had that responsibility. He says that his client was overcharged -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: That's a story we'll continue to follow through you. Thank you very much Nick.

Still ahead, one week into Russia's military intervention in Syria, the U.S. is changing its strategy. Details with our military expert -- that's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Good morning. Thanks for joining me. I'm Martin Savidge. Fredricka Whitfield is off.

Russian jets are continuing to pound targets inside Syria. Its air force carried out another 64 combat missions in the last 24 hours. And that is according to the Russian defense ministry.

Meanwhile the U.S. says it is suspending its training program to Syrian rebel groups. So let's bring in CNN military analyst, Lt. Col. Rick Francona. He is a retired defense intelligence agency officer who served in the U.S. Air Force. Lieutenant colonel, it is good to see you again this morning.

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning.

SAVIDGE: So, you know, the U.S. had set aside half a billion dollars to train select rebel groups to fight the Assad regime. There was a lot made out of this. And now it all just seems to go away. What happened?

[11:29:57] FRANCONA: Well, first of all, they were under the mistaken impression that we were training these people, that they were going to go back and fight ISIS when in reality, their main goal was to go after the Assad regime. And that was just the nonstarter. And then we -- it probably did not properly vet these guys. -- mistaken impression that we were training these people, that they were going to go back and fight ISIS when in reality, their main goal was to go after the Assad regime. That was just a nonstarter.

We did not properly vet these guys because as soon as they went back, most of them hooked up with their former colleagues, anyway. Many of them defected to the al Qaeda affiliate. Others defected to other groups.

It was just a poorly conceived notion. If you are not willing to put your own forces in there, at least in an advisory role, you have no control of them after they go back. I think the whole thing was flawed from the start.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: All right, well, then let's move on to what the Russians are doing and see if that is flawed. Is there any doubt in your mind that Russia is targeting Syrian rebels and not ISIS?

FRANCONA: No. I think it is very apparent from the target sets that we are watching, even the maps that are released by the Russians themselves, show where they are concentrating their airstrikes. If you look at the map, most are concentrating between Hamah and Aleppo.

They have had success there over the past two months. We see the Russians focusing their efforts on that to soften up that area for a Syrian ground offensive, which kicked off just in the past few days.

It has set the rebels back on their heels. The Russian Air Force is much more effective in doing this than the Syrian Air Force has been.

SAVIDGE: Right. It seemed like the Syrians were striking with one or two aircrafts at a time. The Russians are going in with more than that. So what do you think Russia's next move in Syria is? I presume there is a grand strategy. Will they target areas along the border?

FRANCONA: Well, only if it fits their objective. Right now, they are going to be concentrating on propping up the Assad regime. Once the Assad regime is able to take back that main highway that stretches from Damascus to Aleppo, then they will be able to move out from that and consolidate their positions.

The Russians want to make sure that Assad survives. To survive, he has to control that Damascus-Aleppo corridor. We'll see if they are ready to take on ISIS.

This was all portrayed they are going in there to defeat the Islamic state and we haven't seen that yet. They have hit a couple of targets, but that's to put a leaf on this.

SAVIDGE: The United States and Russia have been talking about safety and I presume they are talking about interaction of air force. So I'm wondering the US says that a no-fly zone isn't on the table for Syria. Why wouldn't that be a good idea? Would it end up in a confrontation or prevent it?

FRANCONA: If we declared a no-fly zone, that would mean that the Russians wouldn't be able to fly either and I don't think that's in the cards. They didn't deploy three squadrons of combat aircraft there to sit on the ground.

I think the window of opportunity to declare a no-fly zone has closed with the deployment of the Russians. That was one of the reasons that pushed the timing for Putin to move the aircraft air. He felt we were on the verge of declaring a no-fly zone.

That would have crippled the Syrian ability to conduct their operations. Now, the Russians, I think, have taken that chance away from us.

SAVIDGE: What can the U.S. do now when it comes to Syria? It almost seems like we have been marginalized as a result of what the rush cranes were up to.

FRANCONA: I think that's a fair characterization. You know, the Russians are in the driver's seat because they know why they are there. They are there to prop up the Assad regime. If that means taking on is, they will do that, but that's coming later.

They are going to ensure that Assad survives and then and only then will they go after ISIS. The United States has this murky goal that we are going to remove Assad. We are not going to remove Assad. Our goal is to go after ISIS.

There is commonality of purpose with this ISIS, but we are at loggerheads with the Russians over what happens to the Assad regime.

SAVIDGE: Right, a different approach. Lt. Colonel Rick Francona, thank you very much. Always good to see you, thanks.

FRANCONA: Good to be with you, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Ahead, a grim milestone for an American journalist in Iran. We'll update you on the status of the detained "Washington Post" reporter and tell you why there is potentially new optimism for his release.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:37:51]

SAVIDGE: Languishing 446 days in Iran's notorious prison. It's a nightmare scenario that sadly has become reality for "Washington Post" reporter, Jason Rezaian. His time behind bars now two days longer than the detention of dozens of Americans taken hostage by Iran revolutionaries and that was in 1979.

Rezaian's family is anxiously awaiting word on his fate that's months after his trial ended. CNN's Becky Anderson takes a look at the events leading up to his arrest and the efforts to win his release.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): June, 2009, protests rocked Tehran after the disputed elections saw the radical president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, return to power. A young reporter, Jason Rezaian had just left Iran.

JASON REZAIAN, JOURNALIST: I was so much upset about being detained, but I was told last Wednesday that I had to stop working. They revoked by press pass a couple of days before it was set to expire.

ANDERSON: But Rezaian went back and began working for "The Washington Post." In the spring of 2014, he and his Iranian wife talked with CNN's Anthony Bourdain about the challenges of reporting from the country.

REZAIAN: The difficult part is convincing people on the other side of the world that what we're telling you we're seeing in front of our eyes is actually there. When you walk down the street, you see a different side of things. People are proud. The culture is vibrant. People have a lot to say.

ANDERSON: There were frustrations.

REZAIAN: I miss certain things about home. I miss my buddies. I miss burritos. I love it and I hate it. It has become home.

ANDERSON: Six weeks later, Jason and his wife were detained, their home ransacked. She was released on bail, but Jason remained in prison with only one visit to his lawyer and unable to talk with his family for four months until last Thanksgiving when he was suddenly allowed to make a call home.

MARY REZAIAN, JASON REZAIAN'S MOTHER: We talked about past Thanksgivings with people who are now departed. We both choked up a number of times.

[11:40:06] ANDERSON: His mother, Mary, appearing on CNN's "AMANPOUR" in December, 2014, worried about his health.

MARY REZAIAN: His continued mental state is in question. Simply because I understand he has been in chronic pain.

ANDERSON: Rezaian was finally put on trial five months later accused of espionage and facing a 20-year sentence if convicted. The trial ended late this summer. "The Washington Post" appealed for his release saying Jason is a dedicated law-abiding journalist and a good man, who has been targeted with nonsensical, unsupportable and entirely baseless allegations of espionage and other offenses.

Iran's judiciary news services said his arrested has nothing to do with his being a journalist. Through a web site and on Twitter with the #freejason, his family had kept up the pressure to get him released.

ALI REZAIAN, BROTHER OF JASON REZAIAN: These delays are completely inhumane. They are illegal by Iranian standards and international standards.

ANDERSON: But months after the end of his trial, still no verdict announced. Only a recent hint from President Rouhani that Jason and other Americans in Iranian jails could be part of an exchange for Iranians convicted in the U.S. on charges related to nuclear technology.

PRESIDENT HASSAN ROUHANI, IRAN (through translator): If the Americans take the appropriate steps that set them free, certainly the right environment will be open and the right circumstances will be created for us to do everything within our power and our purview to bring about the swiftest freedom for the Americans held in Iran as well.

ANDERSON: Jason's mother says all her son ever wanted to do was report.

MARY REZAIAN: He loves Iran and he took it upon himself to try to show modern Iran to the rest of the world, to the western world that's been closed out for so many years.

ANDERSON: Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Two other Americans that are detained in Iran and they have been behind bars even longer than Jason. Amir Hekmadi has been is imprisoned in Iran for 1,503 days and Saed Abudini (ph) has been held now for 1,109 days.

Joining me now from New York, CNN global affairs analyst, David Robe. David, you were kidnapped by the Taliban while working as a reporter for the "New York Times" and managed to escape after more than seven months in captivity.

And now we've heard about the physical challenges for those who are being held in captivity in Iran. What does captivity do to somebody mentally and emotionally?

DAVID ROHDE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, it is very difficult for Jason from what I've read. He has been held in complete isolation. This is a standard tactic that the Iranian hardliners use to get prisoners often to produce false confessions so it is heartbreaking what he has gone through.

"The Washington Post" has called these charges beyond ludicrous. They are absolutely right. Jason is completely innocent as a journalist. I feel incredibly for him. There is absolutely no reason he should still be in jail there.

SAVIDGE: There has been hope now that the U.S. and five other world powers have reached a nuclear deal with Iran. I'm wondering are you hopeful that some kind of prisoner exchange can now be worked out between Iran and the U.S.?

ROHDE: It is hard to say. As Becky reported, President Rouhani talked about the release of 17 Iranians that broke American law in trying to violate the sanctions that were in place in the past before the deal was reached.

All of the Americans, the three Americans you mentioned, there is a fourth American, Robert Levinson, who went missing in Iran seven years ago. His family is heartbroken as well.

As far as I know, none of them had broken any laws, so yes, a deal is possible. It is unclear. Jason's family has talked about this. Why the freedom of Jason and the other Americans wasn't part of this deal?

So yes, there is a small chance that would happen. Given the opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, I don't know if the Obama demonstration would take the political risk of releasing 17 Iranians from U.S. prisons for three or four Americans who are innocent held in Iran.

SAVIDGE: Yes, we have already seen how these lopsided deals can politically become a firestorm. Rezaian's trial ended a couple of months ago and yet no word. Why the silence?

ROHDE: There is really no explanation for it. It is against Iranian law. The way his case has been held the entire time, he should have had more access to a lawyer. His trial should have been held faster and at the very least, once the trial ended, the verdict should have been publicly announced.

There is really a power struggle here where hard liners are seen as dominating this case. One of the hopes of the Iran nuclear deal was that it would strengthen moderates like President Rouhani.

[11:45:02] Rouhani apparently wants to release Jason, but he does not have the power to do that. So there is a broader context here. There is no sort of great diplomatic dividend coming out of the Iran deal.

Iran is very active in Syria. An Iranian general just died in fighting in Syria this week. Iran seems more aggressive than ever in Syria. They are not moving at all in releasing Jason. People thought he would be released as a sign that relations could thaw in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal. That's not happening.

SAVIDGE: Can I ask you as a person who clearly has been held in captivity, what do you think is the best approach to constantly publicly bring this story forward or do you take it out of the headlines and allow for some back channel?

ROHDE: I think when it is a government holding a prisoner, it is best to be absolutely public to pressure the Iranian government and pressure the U.S. government. Jason's brother, Ali, was interviewed yesterday by Jake Tapper on CNN.

He said that the Rezaian family has been kept in the dark by the Iranian government and the U.S. government. Again, why wasn't this case and the case of the other Americans part of the Iran nuclear deal?

So I think when it is a government, if it's the Iranian government, the Egyptian government detain journalists recently. You've had prisoners in North Korea. You absolutely complain loudly and publicly as much as you can.

SAVIDGE: Yes, we agree. David Rohde, thank you very much.

ROHDE: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Backlash off of an offensive critique of a female sports announcer who just made history. Next, our Rachel Nichols talks with ESPN's Jessica Mendoza after the sexist remarks hurled at her after she announced a Major League Baseball game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:56]

SAVIDGE: If you're a sports fan, you know this already, ESPN's Jessica Mendoza made sports casting history this week. The former all-American softball star became the first woman to call a nationally televised playoff game.

And while she has been met with rave reviews, she had one particularly vocal critic whose sexist comments really stirred outrage. Atlanta Sports radio host, Mike Bell, now suspended after sending out an offensive tweet, calling Mendoza a derogatory name that was used in the movie "Anchorman." Bell has since apologized.

Our Rachel Nichols joins me now from New York. Rachel, you spoke with Mendoza. What's been her reaction to all of this?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: She's incredibly refreshing. I'll show you some of our interview in a minute. To give you a little bit more background, she's not just a four-time all-American softball player from Stanford. She's also a two-time Olympian. She won a gold and silver medal at the Olympics.

So she's played this sport at the elite level, softball and baseball obviously not the same thing, but kind of inarguable they're close cousins. She grew up playing baseball first. So that qualifies her to be able to talk smartly about baseball, and she does.

She did get rave reviews for her performance in the booth, not just in this playoff game, but over the past couple of months that she has been doing it. Mike Bell, the radio host you referred to, he never played any kind of sport on an elite level.

He's also paid to talk about sports all day, but somehow he thinks he's qualified and Jessica Mendoza isn't. Didn't just send out that one tweet you put out briefly, but a string of tweets telling her that she shouldn't be allowed to do this sort of thing.

I talked to her about that and also just about how much fun this crazy ride has been. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA MENDOZA, MLB ANNOUNCER, ESPN: It has been crazy. I mean, I was just so pumped to do the game and I felt like a lot of my nerves and energy, you know, went in to prepping for the Astros playing the Yankees for the wild card, you know, one all, take all.

And when the game was over, I was like, phew, the craziness has ended, and obviously, the aftermath has been really great, but my life has changed just a little bit.

NICHOLS: Not everyone is comfortable with change. You got so much complimentary coverage, really a mountain of it, but there was the predictable, you know, "get back to the kitchen" reaction from these social media trolls, even some talk radio reaction, a sports radio host from Atlanta, he was the most atrocious. What do you think when you heard about that? MENDOZA: You know, I guess I expect it, as much as it's sad and you would hope that there would be a day when that wouldn't happen. But come on, even if we're just hanging out with a bunch of buddies, there's always that guy.

There's always going to be that guy, who's got to say something where you're like, seriously? Come on. There's going to be that question. And to be honest, I feel like that's why I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that I was prepared and that I did a good job, because I felt that responsibility.

Because I knew people would be questioning me because of my gender. I was very aware of it and whether it is men or women, they're going to make remarks. They're going to have statements out there. I just wanted to make sure that everything I talked about had substance behind it, had confidence. And that I at least owned who I was, and the points that I was making.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: She's so refreshing, right, Martin? I mean, she makes you want to see her more on television. She did say the real critical review she got was from her 6-year-old son, who said, mommy, everyone's talking about how important what you just did was.

But I listened for a little bit of time, and it was kind of boring, he said, because all you did was talk. He's used to seeing her play. So, you know, the real tough critics are at home. But she's great.

"The New York Times" is reporting that ESPN might give her a more central full-time role in the broadcast booth next season. We'll look for that. It's great to see someone who deserves getting the opportunity, Martin, no matter who she is.

SAVIDGE: Yes and she is just so poised in her responses there. Thank you very much, Rachel Nichols, for bringing this to us. And we'll be right back right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:58:35]

SAVIDGE: All right, how about a quick check of the top stories? Just three days before the Democratic debate, the candidates are hitting the campaign trail. Senator Bernie Sanders is preparing for -- with a big rally in Boulder, Colorado, this after he was greeted by some 13,000 supporters last night in Tucson, Arizona.

On the Republican side, frontrunner, Donald Trump is expected to speak at any moment in Georgia. We'll stay on top of all the campaign events throughout the day.

A terror attack in Turkey that was captured on video, today, at least 86 are dead, with well over 180 wounded when two powerful bombs exploded during a peace march in the capital of Ankara. Nobody has claimed responsibility, but authorities think it could be ISIS or Kurdish separatists attacking in advance of Turkey's upcoming elections. The prime minister has called for three days of mourning.

North Korea putting on a show of military might today, as its leader, Kim Jong-Un tells its people. His nation is prepared to defend itself against the U.S. Thousands of troops marched in today's parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Ruling Worker's Party.

And then live pictures here, as crowds are gathering in Washington today, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Million-Man March. The Nation Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan called for the original march as day of healing for the black community in 1995.

Farrakhan is again calling for the mass gathering, this time with a theme of, quote, "Justice or else." Trayvon Martin's mother will be among those attending. We've got much more ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all is going to begin right now.