Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Hamas Praises Tel Aviv Terror Attack; Sanders Fights on, Clinton Talks V.P. Pick, Uniting Party; Republican Leaders Walk Fine Line to Defend Trump; Iraqi Forces Claiming Major Victory against ISIS in Fallujah; What Brexit Could Mean for Greece; Stanford Rape Case Outrage Grows. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 09, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:25] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour --

(HEADLINES)

SESAY: Hello. And welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Great to have you with us. A third hour of NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

Hamas is praising a brazen terror attack in Tel Aviv that has taken the lives of four Israelis. Police say two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on people eating dinner and drinking coffee in a busy upscale district Wednesday night.

SESAY: The crowds ran for cover as police shot one suspect. Both men were arrested. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the killings a savage crime. And Israel is now freezing Ramadan entry permits to 83,000 Palestinians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I think a larger tragedy was avoided by the resolute action of citizens, of security people, of police. We're going to take the necessary steps to attack the attackers and to defend those who need to be defended.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us now from Tel Aviv.

Oren, Israel's attack to this response beginning to take shape.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we are seeing that with the freezing of entry permits from the West Bank into Israel for Ramadan.

We'll talk about security in a just a moment, but I want to point something out. Not 12 hours ago, there was a terror attack in a restaurant that started right behind me at Max Brenner and continued this way. The terror attack has we've learned left four Israelis dead and a number of others injured. Both restaurants, Max Brenner and another one here to my left, are open for business. They have taken to heart a message from the Tel Aviv mayor. What he said last night was, "No act of terrorism will defeat us and I call on all of us to aspire to peace." They have come out. They are eating here. They are sitting here. And it feels just like it would on any normal day. But it is not a normal day after the events of last night.

There are questions about security. Is this too open? Is it too accessible to others? And how did two Palestinians from the West Bank bring automatic weapons through an Israeli military checkpoint? All of those questions have to be answered.

Isha, as you mentioned. We're now beginning to see the Israeli response. First, this morning, we learned that the IDF was in the West Bank, where the two suspects are from. Koga, a coordinator of governor affairs in the territories, have informed us they have frozen 204 permits for relatives of the suspects. They've frozen 83,000 entry permits for Palestinians and canceled visits for prayers during Ramadan. We'll see where the Israeli response goes from here -- Isha?

SESAY: And, Orin, no claim of responsibility as of yet, but we are hearing from Hamas. What are they saying?

LIEBERMANN: Right. No claim of responsibility yet. That could come in the next days. But Hamas has praised this terror attack. One of their spokespeople said the fact that those who took part in the operation came from the West Bank and executed the attack near the ministry of war indicates there are failures on all levels on the part of the enemy, which wants to kill the infatada and the spirit of resistance amongst the youth.

We're seeing Hamas praising this terror attack that claims the lives of four Israelis and injured and a number of others.

SESAY: Oren Liebermann joining us there from Tel Aviv. Oren, appreciate it. Thank you.

Steve Moore is a retired special agent for the FBI and CNN law enforcement contributor, and he joins us here in Los Angeles.

VAUSE: And Bob Baer is a former CIA operative and now CNN's intelligence and security analyst, and he's in Telluride, Colorado

Bob, first to you.

This attack seems to be a bit more ambitious, better planned than other attacks in recent months. Is this a one off, or is it the start of something else, an escalation, if you like?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE & SECURITY ANALYST: Well, John, it is Ramadan and these attacks were expected to pick up. The fact that the two had automatic weapons is disturbing. Apparently, these things were homemade, easy to make, fairly easy. They also can be disassembled and hidden in cars, which is concerning Israelis, because if these people could get automatic weapons into a place like Tel Aviv, so close to the ministry of defense, where do you even start to defend this? So this should worry Israelis and frankly it's going to really setback any sort of peace negotiations at this point.

[02:05:26] SESAY: Steve, let me bring you in here.

These individuals wandered into this outdoor complex. They sat there, ordered dessert, according to some reports, were seemingly calm enough not to attract any attention. Does that tell you anything about a level of training? What does that say to you?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Certainly. They've been trained. They've gotten to a point of a certain sophistication, where they can move about, not call attention to themselves, at least great enough attention to call authorities, and still have the resources and the skills to conduct the attack.

VAUSE: Steve, witnesses are saying the attackers used an imitation Swedish-made Carl Gustav recoilless rifle. Bob mentioned this, the concern of automatic weapons coming into Tel Aviv. The Palestinians, this is their own version of it. It's called a Carlo. What sort of weapon is this?

MOORE: The Carlo is a very crude weapon. It started out as a Swedish weapon that was built during World War II. The plants went to Palestine in the '70s. You can make this thing. They're not rifled. Like all other barrels, they are no rifled, and that makes them extremely inaccurate past about 10 yards. But they will fire the weapon. You can use actually water pipe for these things. So if you take them down and take the plastic handles off, the plastic grips, take the barrel off, it's not even going to show up in x-rays as something recognizable.

VAUSE: Which is why there are reports that the victims were shot almost at point blank range.

MOORE: You have to, because you're not going to get any accuracy from far away.

SESAY: Bob, what will be the fall-out from all of this as you look at the situation and you listen to the comments coming from the Israeli prime minister?

BAER: Well, Israel was already drifting to the right at this point, with the new defense minister as a hard-liner. He's intent on cracking down on the Palestinians. What's Israeli -- what are they going to do at this point? Are they going to go into the West Bank and force -- you know, the two attackers are apparently from Hebron, a contested area, a very radical area. When you have these small cells operating without any central authority, they're very hard to close down. This is going to be a dilemma for the Israelis, how strong they go in.

VAUSE: And the Israelis -- sorry, Bob. I just want to bring in Steve on this. The Israelis are normally very good with their intelligence-gathering,

yet they say there was no indication a terrorist attack was imminent. Did they miss something here or did that tell you something else about that?

MOORE: As Bob said, it's Ramadan so two things happen at Ramadan in Israel. Number one, you expect attacks and, number two, you're loosening up the security measures between Gaza and the West Bank and Israel. So it's kind of the worst of all worlds. So maybe they didn't have an individual indication of this specific attack, but they knew attacks were coming.

SESAY: And to focus in on this area where it happened, the complex, you and I, we've all talked about this, the perimeter, how far do you extend it. Obviously, the conversation is, what do you do in terms of security in this space? You point out, the further it goes out, the more the difficulty.

MOORE: And this, if you look at this place -- Sarona, I believe it is. If you look at this place, it is really indefensible. It is a mall. Think about our own malls. You are not going to be able to set up a system whereby, absent body searches, you are going to stop these things.

VAUSE: Steve Moore with us here in Los Angeles and Bob Baer in Colorado, thank you both.

SESAY: Thank you.

VAUSE: Appreciate it.

MOORE: Thanks.

SESAY: Time for a quick break now. As Hillary Clinton makes history, she's talking about a possible V.P. pick and uniting the Democratic Party. She shared her plans with our own Anderson Cooper.

VAUSE: Also ahead, Republican leaders are walking a fine line trying to defend their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:13:15] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. The British government is warning football fans about a serious threat of terrorism for the European championships in France. The foreign office issued a new travel advisory naming ISIS as one of the possible threats.

SESAY: Prime Minister David Cameron said half a million people are expected to travel from the U.K. to the tournament.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We have set out very clear travel advice because people do need to know that obviously there is a significant terrorist threat in France today, and there is a potential threat to this tournament. We've set out very clearly, the threat level in France is critical. The threat level for the tournament is severe, and people need to know that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: France is increasing security for the Euro 2016, which begins Friday. 100,000 security forces will be sent to guard the tournament, match venues and fan zones.

SESAY: But organizers say they understand why Britain has concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACQUES LAMBERT, EURO 2016 PRESIDENT (through translation): We, the organizers, do not know of any precise, concrete threat of Euro 2016, on a specific stadium, or on a specific match. I have a feeling that the messages sent by some countries are more messages of caution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the French interior ministry has launched a security app for the tournament as well. It alerts people if there's an attack and gives advice on what to do. The app is free and available in French and English.

SESAY: India's prime minister celebrated the close ties between his country and the United States during a speech he delivered to a joint meeting of Congress in Washington.

VAUSE: Before he even spoke, Narendra Modi was greeted by nearly three minutes of applause. He told U.S. lawmakers, the shared believe in democracy and liberty creates a strong bond between the two countries, and says he believes their relationship is primed for a momentous future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:15:12] NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: In granting me this opportunity, you have honored the world's largest democracy and its 1.25 billion people.

(APPLAUSE)

MODI: As a representative of the world's largest democracy, India, it is our privilege to speak to the leaders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Mr. Modi also met with the House speaker, Paul Ryan, a day after sitting down with President Barack Obama.

SESAY: And this programming note for you. Join Fareed Zakaria as he speaks with some of India's key figures from the countries richest land to the Bollywood number-one star. That "India's Big Chance" on Saturday, 2:30 p.m. in London, and 9:30 p.m. in Hong Kong.

VAUSE: The Democratic presidential nomination is pretty much out of reach for Bernie Sanders. Still, he is not giving up. He is set to meet with President Obama at the White House on Thursday.

SESAY: There are some calls for Sanders to drop out, but Vice President Joe Biden says Sanders has earned the right to make his own decision. Biden says, "It's clear we know who the nominee is going to be, I think we should be a little graceful and give him the opportunity to decide on his own."

VAUSE: Hillary Clinton is the first woman to become a major party's presumptive nominee. And her next task is to try and unify the Democratic Party.

SESAY: Clinton spoke with Anderson Cooper about what's ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, A.C. 360: Secretary Clinton, congregation on your historic achievement last night. Today, Trump's campaign is saying they'll make a concerted effort to attract Sanders' supporters. I know you spoke to Senator Sanders last night. According to a "Politico" article, he feels, quote, "rage against you. He's filled with resentment." That's according to people in his campaign. How do you overcome that and overcome that in his supporters?

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, Anderson, I know how to feels to have waged a hard- fought campaign and to fall short. As I said last night on my supporters were passionate. Senator Sanders' supporters were passionate. I totally respect their feelings. I called Senator Sanders last night to congratulate him on the really extraordinary campaign that he has run. And I'm looking forward to working with him to achieve our common goal, which is to defeat Donald Trump. And Senator Sanders has said he'll work every day, every week, to see that happen. So we're going to be working to make sure that we have a unified party going into our convention and coming out. I know Senator Sanders will be meeting with President Obama tomorrow.

COOPER: Do you have specifics of how to do that?

CLINTON: Well, I do intend to reach out to his supporters and a lot of his supporters and our supporters share the same goals. We want to raise the national minimum wage. We want to have universal health care coverage. We want to fight inequality and create more economic opportunity for hard-working people. We want to make college affordable, so it doesn't bankrupt kids and their families. We have a lot of the same goals. Now we may have approached it somewhat differently, but our goals are the same. And contrast that with Donald Trump, who set up a fake university -- Trump University -- that committed fraud on people, who doesn't want to raise the minimum wage, who wants to go backwards when it comes to universal health care, who has proposed a tax plan that would be great for billionaires and terrible for everybody else. So as we reach out and talk about what's at stake in this election, I really believe a lot of Senator Sanders' supporters will join us in making sure Donald Trump doesn't get anywhere near the White House.

COOPER: Trump has said he's clearly going to be focusing on the Clinton Foundation. Last night, he said the Russians, the Saudis, the Chinese, all gave money to the foundation and got favorable treatment in return. It's not always been transparent. Tens of millions of dollars have come from a Canadian partnership whose donors can remain secret. There was a large donation from Algeria that wasn't submitted to the State Department for approval. If you're president, will your husband divest himself of any association with the foundation?

[02:19:52] CLINTON: We'll cross that bridge, if and when, we come to it. But let me try to set the record straight. We had overwhelming disclosure. Were there one or two instances that slipped through the cracks? Yes. But was everything that anybody gave the foundation disclosed? Absolutely.

I'm proud of the foundation and the work that it's done. Nine million people have lower costs for aids medication. We have women across the country, from Latin America and Africa, across the world, I mean, getting good jobs, being able to support themselves. We have better food and nutrition that is helping young kids in America be healthier and not fight obesity. We have so much that we're proud of. And I will put that up against any of the innuendo and accusation coming from Donald Trump, because the work that has been done has garnered accolades and appreciation from every corner of the world because it has been so far-sighted, visionary, and effective.

COOPER: But some big donors clearly want the association with you or your husband that being linked to the foundation gives them as president. Obviously, it's vital that you or certainly your husband appear to be not in any way compromised. Have you considered the idea of him stepping down?

CLINTON: Again, I'm not going to consider anything until we see what the circumstances are. But let me just point out that people give lots of money to presidential campaigns, don't they? They give lots of money to political parties as well. So, you know, that is money that goes directly to support political activities of candidates. Money that has been given to the foundation goes to support humanitarian work. And if people want to influence anybody in office, I think they would choose the political route. And, indeed, the work of the foundation really speaks for itself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Hillary Clinton there, speaking to Anderson Cooper.

Now to the Republican side. And there's pressure on Donald Trump to tone down the rhetoric and start running a more conventional campaign.

Here's Sara Murray.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day after Donald Trump insisted he'd stop talking about Trump University, he's back on the subject, telling Bloomberg, "Nobody cares about the case," but stopping short of attacking a federal judge he's previously accused of being biased because of his Mexican heritage.

On Tuesday, Trump turned to a teleprompter and a carefully crafted statement to calm the nerves of his GOP colleagues.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantel, and I will never, ever let you down.

MURRAY: The change in tone, easing some hand wringing among top Republicans.

SEN. TOM SCOTT, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I think it shows leadership when he takes responsibility and walks those comments back that's a good direction, a new direction, frankly, and one that I'm pleased with.

TRUMP: RNC chairman, Reince Priebus, tweeting, "Great victory speech by Donald Trump tonight. Exactly the right approach and perfectly delivered."

But some Republicans remain skeptical.

SEN. DAN COATS, (R), INDIANA: I think it's time for Donald Trump to shift from the thought of the moment spontaneously uttered to a more disciplined way of running a campaign for president of the United States.

MURRAY: And others insist Trump needs to go much further in overhauling his image.

REP. SUSAN COLLINS, (R), MAINE: He should apologize to the judge and to the American people.

MURRAY: It's an overhaul some in his campaign aren't eager to embrace, arguing Trump's unscripted style is part of his formula, one that's not likely to change in a general election fight.

But Trump's unpredictable tangents are already putting GOP leaders in a bind, one the tabloids are eager to exploit. Today, the "New York Daily News" is blasting Paul Ryan on the cover, under the headline, "I'm with racist." The House speaker is still supporting Trump, despite delivering this blistering criticism Tuesday.

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Claiming a person can't do the job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Our thanks to Sara Murray for that report.

The Senate's Republican leader underscored that criticism coming from Paul Ryan.

SESAY: Mitch McConnell says Trump's toned-down speech is a good start, but he says Trump has to change his style going forward into the general election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Donald Trump's got a lot of good qualities, but he needs to put them forward and suppress some of these other actions that while they may have been issues that didn't defeat him in the Republican primaries, he's got a totally different electorate. All across America, people of different ethnic backgrounds, they want to -- if he's going to be president, he's going to need to be president of all the people, not just some of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: That's the challenge, isn't for Trump?

VAUSE: It's a different game. It's like playing gold at St. Andrews or playing golf at, you know --

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: He's saying his swing got him to this point, why change now?

VAUSE: Different course, different game. Got to get the irons out.

[02:25:13] SESAY: OK. We'll end this right now.

Let's talk about President Obama who joined Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show" and weighed in on Trump's campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW: Has Donald Trump called you for advice or talked to you at all? First of all, you're giving him pretty good advice so far. But has he called you? I would call --

(CROSSTALK)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No.

FALLON: He hasn't?

OBAMA: No, he hasn't. No.

FALLON: No?

OBAMA: No.

(LAUGHTER)

Not that I know of.

(LAUGHTER)

FALLON: Do you think the Republicans are happy with their choice?

OBAMA: We are, but I don't know how they feel.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

SESAY: Oh, my goodness.

VAUSE: That was very honest.

SESAY: They say he's raring to get on the campaign trail.

VAUSE: It's funny, because it's true.

SESAY: Interesting.

VAUSE: OK. Snoop Dogg, you've heard of him. He should stick to rapping, because turns out, not so good at throwing a baseball.

SESAY: Watch as he nearly threw it at the camera crew during the ceremonial first pitch before this Major League Baseball game.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: Yes, yes. In San Diego.

VAUSE: And you thought I knew nothing about sports.

(LAUGHTER)

SESAY: Not too amused by Snoop there.

VAUSE: OK. For some reason, we have this promo now. Much more on the race for the White House. CNN's new show, "State of the Race" with Kate Bolduan, is just ahead for our viewers in Asia.

And coming up here on NEWSROOM, L.A., terror in Tel Aviv. More details on the attack.

SESAY: Plus, the Iraqi military is claiming a major victory in the city of Fallujah. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:13] VAUSE: And welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay.

The headlines this hour --

(HEADLINES)

VAUSE: Judah Ari Gross is a security and military correspondent for the "Times of Israel". He joins us now from Tel Aviv.

Judah, thank you for being with us.

Just on this response we're getting now from the Israeli government, the freezing of 83,000 entry permits for Palestinians, what sort of reaction are you expecting from the Palestinians and what sort of impact will that have?

JUDAH ARI GROSS, SECURITY AFFAIRS & MILITARY CORRESPONDENT, TIMES OF ISRAEL: Just to clarify a little something, the 83,000 permits, it's not work permits or regular travel permits. It's specifically permits for Ramadan, for people to be able to go into Israel to see family. So those are the specific permits that were frozen. There's also a few other cases in terms of people from Gaza not being able to come to the Temple Mount for prayers.

In terms of their response, it's the sort of thing where you wonder how much our people are expecting for these kinds of permits to be canceled. So it will be interesting to see if what the response will be, real anger, or if it's just, OK, this is what's happening now.

VAUSE: Right. Hamas has put out a statement, not claiming responsibility, but embracing the attacks and warning of, quote, "more surprises during Ramadan." As a security analyst, as a military affairs writer, what does that generally mean, in your opinion?

ARI GROSS: Ramadan is, in general, a very tense period in Israel. It has been quite frequently. And so on the one hand, for Hamas to say that, Hamas has been throughout -- throughout the past 10 months or so of violence that has been in Israel, Hamas has not necessarily been going out and perpetrating every attack, but they've been encouraging it and promising more. So we still don't know if these two men, like you said, if they belong to Hamas, or just two sorts of lone wolves, as people like to refer to them, or what. It's not at all out of the ordinary for Hamas to make a claim like that. If they're actually going to back it up in terms of attacks, obviously, it depends on how much they try and how successful Israeli security forces are at preventing attacks like that, and they have been fairly successful over the past year or so.

VAUSE: There were some security concerns about this open-air shopping district a few months ago. Police actually wanted to close it down for a time. Was security increased at all, do you know, because of the earlier concerns?

ARI GROSS: From what I -- I'm not really -- I wasn't -- I'm not as familiar in terms of what the security preparations were ahead of time versus not. I know that there were -- there were -- there were concerns, but it's not necessarily clear if that was real on-the- ground issues or if it was more permits and different -- you know, different bureaucratic issues. But the police definitely made it clear that this was something they were taking an interest in and trying to prevent. In terms of the location where it happened, there was no security

guard that was there. And, indeed, the security guards for the actually shopping center were not the ones that stopped the attack eventually. It was private security guards and police from other locations when the two men fled. So that definitely raises some concern that if not only can they not prevent it, but they can't do anything after it already happens. Clearly, there's some problem with that security situation.

VAUSE: It is unusual for a big open air market or shopping mall, if you like, if for a big venue like this not to have their own security. Israel is no stranger to terror attacks, and Tel Aviv has also been hit too in the past. But a shooting spree like this, in the heart of Tel Aviv, is there something more significant in this?

[02:35:13] ARI GROSS: Well, we did -- Tel Aviv actually was also hit not too long ago, unfortunately, by a large shooting spree in downtown Tel Aviv on January 1st. An Arab Israeli opened fire and killed a number of people and injured a lot more, and sort of led the country on a week-long manhunt. So this has happened not too long ago in Tel Aviv. And then just a few months ago, there was a horrible stabbing spree in which a number of people were killed, including an American tourist.

In terms of why Tel Aviv versus other places, because it's Tel Aviv, because it's a cultural center. A shopping market is a soft target, as they say. It's the kind of place that, when you hurt it, it hurts everybody, because everybody goes shopping. Even if there are -- there are security guards around the perimeter, but they're not necessarily checking every bag. It's an open-air market. They're not checking every bag. They're not necessarily running the people through metal detectors or anything, which is how these two men appeared to have snuck in to improvise the weapons.

VAUSE: Judah, we'll leave it there.

But thank you very much for your time. Judah Ari Gross, with the "Times of Israel," thank you very much.

ARI GROSS: Thank you.

SESAY: Turning now to Iraq, and Iraqi forces are claiming a major victory against ISIS in Fallujah. This video purportedly shows military attacks on multiple targets in the city on Wednesday.

But as CNN's Ben Wedeman reports, tens of thousands of civilians trapped there face a life-or-death situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Iraqi officials announced today their forces were able to retake the first neighborhood in Fallujah, Shuhada, which is in the southeastern corner of the city. They say they managed to battle their way in, driving out ISIS and raising the Iraqi flag over government buildings. They say the focus of the current offensive is that southeastern part of the city, which is the closest to the city center. They say they were able to retake Shuhada with minimal casualties, although officers I spoke with didn't give specific details on casualties and fatalities. They say their biggest challenge so far has been the hundreds of improvised explosive devices laid by ISIS in this city.

Now, at this point, there's rising concern about the welfare of tens of thousands of civilians still stuck inside Fallujah. Estimates range anywhere from 40,000 to 90,000, according to the United Nations.

Now, there's also concern about persistent reports that Iraqi paramilitary units are abusing and, in some cases, summarily executing some of the civilians who are leaving the city. We have been told by Iraqi officials they have launched an investigation into the allegations and that whoever is found guilty will be harshly punished.

Now Iraqi officials and Western diplomats say as many as anywhere between 1,000 to 3,000 militants remain in the city. Now, we were outside Shuhada neighborhood yesterday and we did hear ISIS militants communicating with one another on the radio. Iraqi officials who monitor that radio traffic around the clock say they have heard that orders had gone out to ISIS militants to shave off their beards and prepare to blend in with the civilian population. At this point, Iraqi officials believe those ISIS militants left in Fallujah, particularly the non-Iraqis, are likely to fight to the death.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Pakistani police say they've arrested a woman for burning her daughter alive over a marriage dispute. Authorities say the daughter eloped, moved away, but the woman returned home because she thought she could reconcile with her family.

SESAY: Investigators say, instead, her mother and brother tied her to a bed, doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. The woman died on the spot. Police say her mother turned herself over to authorities without expressing any kind of remorse. The brother is on the run.

[02:39:42] VAUSE: Short break. When we come back, the Brexit, a big issue for the U.K. but also, in Greece, what it could mean for the already ailing country if Britain leaves the European Union.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: We are two weeks away from the U.K. voting on whether to leave the European Union. Thursday night, former London mayor, Boris Johnson, and the first minister of Scotland will go head to head over the so-called Brexit.

VAUSE: On Tuesday, British Prime Minister David Cameron, who wants to remain, and U.K. Independence Party leader, Nigel Farage, who wants to leave, took questions from a fiery crowd.

People flooded the government's website to register to vote in the referendum and have until the end of Thursday to do so. SESAY: Every summer, Greece is packed with British tourists. That

could change if Britain leaves the E.U. because of potential visa restrictions.

VAUSE: That's worrying some people living and working in the debt- ridden country.

Here's CNN senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Those lovely vacation selfie snapshots, affordable for ever more Brits thanks to cheap flights and virtually no border controls, the result of European integration.

Annie Kapapablos (ph) is from Britain and runs a glass-bottom boat with her Greek husband. She's seen the number of British tourists suddenly rise as the borders in Europe have all but fallen.

ANNIE KAPAPABLOS (ph), CO-OWNER OF GLASS-BOTTOM BOAT IN GREECE: We do get a lot more British now. We have a boat full of British today. And it's higher now, maybe about 60 percent.

PLEITGEN: Tens of thousands of Brits visit the Greek island of Crete every year. But what if Britain leaves the E.U.? The Association of British Travel Agents warns European holidays could become more expensive and less convenient for Brits with a possible return-of-visa restrictions and a loss of European consumer protection rights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For instance, we have free medical coverage in the E.U. Would we have that if we were to leave? We don't know. We have a cap on roaming fees for your mobile phone. People were coming back from their holidays and finding a really nasty shock when they opened their phone bill. That's been capped at the E.U. level. Would we be able to benefit from that if we came out?

[02:45:15] PLEITGEN: And it could be a lose/lose situation, both for British travelers and for Greek business owners.

(on camera): At this point in time, it's impossible to tell what the implications of a possible Brexit would be for Greece, but there are some here who fear fewer British tourists would further strain this economy that is already dealing with a major debt crisis and refugees.

(voice-over): While the British tourists on the glass-bottom boat want to relax and have fun together, they, like much of Britain, remain divided on the Brexit issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't doubt that will affect the tourism coming to Greece and will affect my trips, but it's time for the U.K. to have a change. I think it's a good opportunity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anyone knows what's going to happen. I think that's one of the dangers of coming out of the European Union.

PLEITGEN: Equally divided, the British/Greek entrepreneur couple, Annie Kapapablos (ph) and her husband, Nick.

(on camera): Where is your heart on Brexit?

KAPAPABLOS (ph): Out. Yeah, definitely out. Only because I think I've lived in Greece and I've seen how disastrous it's been for them.

PLEITGEN: What's your advice, stay in or get out?

NICK KAPAPABLOS (ph), CO-OWNER OF GLASS-BOTTOM BOAT IN GREECE: I think stay in.

PLEITGEN: Why?

NICK KAPAPABLOS (ph): Because I think Europe is better getting help from other countries. I think it will be better.

(MUSIC)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Brexit is a big issue in Greece as this country that so depends on foreign tourists waits to see if the Brits will decide to sail away from the E.U.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Greece.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The outrage over the Stanford University rape case continues to grow and now we're learning what the convicted rapist told the court about his crime.

SESAY: Brock Turner assaulted an unconscious woman behind a dumpster here in California. CNN obtained his probation report and, in it, he says a conviction and six months' sentence is ruining his life.

VAUSE: Here we go. This is what the report says. "I've been shattered by the party culture and risk-taking behavior that I briefly experienced in our four months at school. I've lost my chance to swim in the Olympics. I've lost my ability to obtain a Stanford degree. I've lost employment opportunities, my reputation and, most of all, I've lost my life."

Here's Dan Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Despite being found guilty, it seems clear from that letter to the judge that the defendant in this case, Brock Turner, is not acknowledging that he assaulted the victim. Instead, he seems to be blaming his actions on alcohol and the party culture of college.

In that letter, he writes, quote, "One decision has the potential to change your entire life. I know I can impact and change people's attitudes to the culture surrounded by binge drinking and sexual promiscuity that protrudes through what people think is at the core of being a college student." In the meantime, it is a bit ironic that the judge in this case, Aaron

Persky, just got a brand-new six-year term. He was supposed to face re-election, but because nobody challenged him, he automatically got re-elected. There is this effort under way to recall him. They'll need about 70,000 signatures for his name to appear on the ballot.

Now there are some defenders. Somebody who knows the judge very well, a public defender in Santa Clara County is speaking up on the judge's behalf. He says the judge is a good person and this recall is really misguided.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAY GOODMAN, PUBLIC DEFENDER, SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: I think it's absurd. I think it's absolutely absurd. The man is an excellent jurist, he does things the proper and correct way. And I hope it doesn't have a quelling effect on other judges around the country that are voted for, that if you make a wrong decision, people are going to come after you and try to make you change your decision, when those people have no idea of what happened at that trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: It should be pointed out that the Santa Clara County Probation Department gave a sentence recommendation and the judge basically went along with it.

As for the victim, she said this about the sentence: "The probation officer's recommendation of a year or less in county jail is a soft time-out, a mockery of the seriousness of his assault and the consequences of the pain I have been forced to endure."

It seems that this issue is not going away. The "Stanford Daily" said that an e-mail is circulating around campus is calling for there to be some kind of protest at this weekend's graduation on campus.

Dan Simon, CNN, Santa Clara County, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: A story we'll continue to follow for you.

Now, terrifying video of a man trying to reportedly kidnap a teenage girl, has gone viral. Take a look at this with us. You're looking at surveillance images captured from a store in Florida.

VAUSE: You can see the man grabbing the girl by the arm. At the same time, the girl's mother, struggling to free her. When the man tried to flee himself, he was apprehended by an off-duty officer outside the store. The suspect is now facing kidnapping and child abuse charges.

SESAY: Terrifying.

VAUSE: Yeah. Gosh, unbelievable.

[02:50:10] SESAY: Quick break now. Hillary Clinton is taking a sledge hammer to the highest and hardest glass ceiling. More on her historic moment, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Hillary Clinton is clearly savoring her victory over Bernie Sanders after that bitter nomination battle in the Democratic Party.

SESAY: As Jeanne Moos reports, Clinton is also enjoying how she's rewriting the history books one page at a time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Remember when she was standing by Bill's side, playing second fiddle? Now she's the power in the power couple, and he's tweeting, "I couldn't be more proud. History made."

As the cheers washed over her --

(CHEERING)

MOOS: -- you'd think she was having palpitations from the number of times she clutched her heart. At one point, opening her arms, as if to embrace everyone.

The first woman to claim the nomination inspired sober headlines and exuberant ones.

And there were some sweet tweets. "Mood at 1:45 a.m.," tweeted one supporter.

JAMIE KING, ACTRESS: God bless America!

MOOS: Actress Jamie King held up her son to the TV.

(SHOUTING)

(BARKING)

[02:55:10] MOOS: The glass ceiling was invoked by the sign "Caution: shattered glass."

Until now, we've seen men breaking through glass ceilings in movies.

And they tend to be going the wrong way.

On Hillary's way to making history, she got mad.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I am so sick of the sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it.

MOOS: She got blase. REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D), MARYLAND: -- evaluating her e-mails, but

my interest --

MOOS: She got laughs.

UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Well, well, I wish you could be president.

CLINTON: Me, too.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: Now Val, the bartender, is drinking in the cheers.

(on camera): Back when 21-year-old Hillary gave a commencement speech as she graduated from Wellesley College, she mentioned her mom.

CLINTON: My mother used to say, I will always love you, but there are times when I won't like you.

MOOS: When she graduated to presumptive nominee, she was still mentioning mom.

CLINTON: I wish she could see her daughter become the Democratic Party's nominee.

(CHEERING)

MOOS: Right after college, Hillary worked briefly at an Alaskan fish cannery.

CLINTON: My first job was to gut the salmon.

MOOS: Now her job is to gut Donald Trump.

CLINTON: -- reminding us daily just how great he is.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: History-making.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.

VAUSE: Yeah, it was incredible watching last night.

SESAY: It really was.

VAUSE: It was a moment that many people will remember.

SESAY: Yeah.

I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause.

The news continues with Amara Walker in Atlanta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)