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Fighting for Iraq; Crisis in Syria; Philippines Not Severing Ties with U.S.; Race for the White House; AT&T Woos Time Warner; The Duck that Flew Coach. Aired 2-2:30a ET
Aired October 22, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Lashes out, the militants move against civilians and attack a city south of Mosul.
The off-script (ph) president of the Philippines walks back comments that left the U.S. in the lurch.
Plus: how this diaper-clad duck managed to get a window seat on an airplane.
It is all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for joining us. We're live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.
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ALLEN: Our top story: ISIS and coalition forces are fighting for Iraq in several cities and civilians maybe paying the ultimate price. An intelligence source tells CNN ISIS executed nearly 300 men and boys as Iraqi-led forces try to retake Mosul.
The source said they had been previously used as human shields and are now in a mass grave. Earlier the U.N. said it was afraid militants had snatched 500 families from their homes to use as shields.
Iraq's prime minister is deploying extra security forces to Kirkuk. It is 175 kilometers away from Mosul. ISIS is fighting there, too, possibly as a distraction. Barbara Starr has more now.
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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Gunfire erupted on the streets of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk after ISIS militants launched a surprised attack.
Video captured the terrorists entering at night, ongoing clashes reported.
ISIS's sudden attack into Kirkuk some 100 miles southeast of Mosul is seen by U.S. military officials as an ISIS attempt to divert Iraqi forces from the larger fight to retake Mosul. Kirkuk is a city of strategic significance because of its large oil reserves.
LT. GEN. STEPHEN TOWNSEND, COMMANDER, COMBINED JOINT TASK FORCE, OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE: They are a very resilient and challenging foe. They are very adaptable, very creative, cunning.
STARR: The first U.S. service member to be killed in the Mosul operation died after his vehicle hit an IED.
Up to 200 U.S. troops are in and around Mosul, advising Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
They are confronting initial rings of bombs and booby traps outside the city.
ISIS posting new video of clashes, it's weapons defenses are even greater inside Mosul, U.S. officials say.
The top U.S. commander telling the BBC, ISIS must be stopped.
TOWNSEND: They saw people's heads off on TV. They drown people on video it. They burn people alive in cages. They crucify people. And then they drive over people on the street with bulldozers.
Are they using human shields in there? Yes, they're probably using human shields in there.
STARR: The U.S. believes some ISIS leaders have already escaped Mosul. Remaining are about 3,000 to 4,000 fighters, about 1,000 are hardcore foreign fighters in a city of 1 million.
The U.S. is trying to get a better fix on the strength of the dissident movement inside the city and whether those foreign fighters inside Mosul will fight to the death.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Barbara Starr reporting there.
Iraqi planes have dropped more than 8 million leaflets over three ISIS-controlled provinces. The leaflets have phone numbers that residents can call if they want to exchange information with security forces.
A cease-fire in the Syrian city of Aleppo is set to end in 10 hours. The Russian defense ministry has extended its pause in bombing until Saturday at 7:00 pm local time. The U.N. said it hoped people would use the extra time to leave the city through so-called humanitarian corridors. But mistrust of Russia has complicated that.
Very few people, if any, are reported to have left. A rescue worker tells CNN the corridors are lies.
At least 70 people are dead, 300 others injured after a packed passenger train derailed in Cameroon. Rescue workers pulled dozens from the overturned cars. The train was traveling between the capital and Cameroon's economic hub.
It's unclear what caused the accident. Eight extra cars were added to the train earlier to accommodate more passengers.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is insisting that he's not calling for his country to sever relations with the U.S. Mr. Duterte seemed to suggest earlier this week he would cut economic and military ties with the Philippines' long-time ally while boosting relations with China.
But a news conference Friday, he said he is merely trying to pursue a more independent foreign policy.
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RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT, THE PHILIPPINES: It's not severance of ties.
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DUTERTE: With the severance of ties, you cut the diplomatic relations. I cannot do that.
Why?
It's in the best interest of my country that we maintain that relationship.
Why?
Because there remain Filipinos in the United States or Americans of Filipino ancestry.
Why?
Because the people of my country is not ready to accept a separation. What I was really saying was separation of a foreign policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: So the president walking that back just a bit. Will Ripley is with us somewhere there in Davao. That's the hometown of the president, Duterte. While we establish contact with Will, we will go ahead and run his story for you. Here it is.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A slice of Americana in the middle of Manila, serving up burgers, fries and friendship between the U.S. and the Philippines.
DUTERTE: I announce my separation from the United States.
RIPLEY: A 70-year bond the new Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte seems ready to break in exchange for billions in trade, tourism and low interest lows from China. Vicente Sia says his new president's anti-American rhetoric doesn't
sit well with him.
VICENTE SIA, BUSINESS MANAGER: I am very disappointed that he wants to cut the ties with the America and pairing to the relationship with China.
RIPLEY: He doesn't understand why Duterte is so willing to overlook China's aggressive claim to most of the South China Sea. A recent poll found most Filipinos have little trust in China and much trust in the United States.
So by pivoting towards China and away from the U.S., the Philippines populist president seems to be out of sync with many of the people who got him elected.
Near one of the Philippines largest Roman Catholic churches, a marketplace full of Duterte's key demographics, working-class Filipinos, usually more than happy to speak on camera about their president.
RIPLEY (on camera): Ask you about Duterte, President Duterte.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The silence, a sign of the divisive tone of Duterte's presidency. Locals say anyone who openly criticizes Duterte is swiftly and sometimes viciously attacked.
RIPLEY (on camera): What do you think when he said he wants to separate from America?
MARISA LAGUITAN, STREET VENDOR: I don't think so. It's better to be friends than enemies.
RIPLEY (voice-over): A street vendor, Marisa Laguitan, worries that the president's word could hurt her country, poverty, crime and lack of infrastructure continue to plague this nation of 110 million.
Ian Dulay says he's proud of his president for taking a stand against the U.S., even when Duterte used vulgar language to describe President Obama.
RIPLEY (on camera): What do you think when he uses language like son of a whore when talking about the American president?
IAN DULAY, CALL CENTER EMPLOYEE: Well, I have nothing against that. It doesn't matter what you say, it's how you say it. But he is just being real.
RIPLEY: Do you worry he can provoke other countries by being so real?
DULAY: It doesn't really matter. It's about standing up for your people.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The same people who stand to win or lose from Duterte's risky power play between the world's superpowers.
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ALLEN: Will Ripley there, reporting from the Philippines.
Coming up here, Hillary Clinton's confidence grows, despite new e-mail revelations from WikiLeaks.
Also ahead, Donald Trump says the race is rigged but he is looking ahead to what happens after Election Day if he wins. So we will take you on the campaign trail coming right up here. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
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ALLEN: To a U.S. election news, police are testing a white powdery substance that was sent to Hillary Clinton's office in New York. Her Brooklyn campaign headquarters was evacuated after workers opened the envelope as the final days of the election season wind down.
Clinton is enjoying a growing lead in the polls. CNN's Jeff Zeleny looks at why she is confident she will win on Election Day, despite more revelations from hacked e-mails.
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HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have now spent 4.5 hours on stage with Donald, proving, once again, I have the stamina to be president.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SR. WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton back on the campaign trail in Cleveland, her face-to-face showdowns with Donald Trump behind her. Clinton is hoping to capitalize on her rising momentum and trying to turn a positive corner.
CLINTON: I know you may still have questions for me. I respect that. I want to answer them. I want to earn your vote. I am reaching out to all Americans, Democrats, Republicans and independents.
ZELENY (voice-over): Yet she's hardly resting easy. As her campaign braces for more fallout from e-mails stolen from campaign chair John Podesta, another batch today from WikiLeaks confirming bad blood between Clinton and Al Gore after he declined to endorse her last fall.
Top Clinton aide Huma Abedin writing, "Hard to put on e-mail but there's no love lost in this relationship."
She added later, "No, it's bad."
Clinton aides say that's all in the past, pointing to Gore's appearance last week with Clinton in Miami. CLINTON: I can't wait to have Al Gore advising me when I am President of the United States.
ZELENY: The e-mails also exposing questions about whether Secretary Clinton would attend a Clinton Foundation summit in Morocco, a month after announcing her bid for the presidency. The e-mail suggests her appearance was in exchange for a $12 million contribution from the King of Morocco.
Again, Abedin writing, "It will break a lot of china now to back out when we had so many opportunities to do it in the past few months. She created this mess and she knows it."
In the end, Clinton did not go. The Clinton campaign hoping to drown out these distractions with a powerful new television ad. It features Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father, who spoke at the Democratic convention about his son, a Muslim American who died serving in Iraq.
KHIZR KHAN, GOLD STAR FATHER: I want to ask Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America?
ZELENY: Hillary Clinton is hitting the campaign trail this weekend, joined by running mate Tim Kaine. She'll be holding rallies on Saturday in Pittsburgh in Philadelphia, heading to North Carolina on Sunday.
The Clinton campaign is focusing on early voting, trying to capture this momentum now to ward off any sense of an October surprise -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Donald Trump's campaign team says he'll reveal what they call his closing argument on Saturday, a blueprint for his first 100 days in the White House if he's elected.
During campaign stops Friday, the Republican dismissed polls showing him trailing Clinton and he stuck with his now-familiar charge, that the election is fixed.
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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Remember, folks, It's a rigged system. It's a rigged system. Don't ever forget it. That's why you got to get out and vote. You got to watch because this system is totally rigged.
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ALLEN: If Donald Trump decides to dispute election results, he can ask for a recount.
But what would that actually look like?
It's not as simple as you might think. Tom Foreman explains how it would work. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Each state has its own rules for recounts and they have a lot of details that can make it very complicated. But in general this is what we know:
[02:15:00]
FOREMAN: Twenty states plus the District of Columbia have automatic recounts if you have a very close race. For example, in Michigan, if less than 2,000 votes separate the loser from the winner, you automatically have a recount.
Beyond that, 43 states allow the candidates to petition for a recount if they want to. In five states, the parties can request a recount in 17 states. A voter can request a recount and they all consider having one out there.
But these are very expensive matters. In the state of Washington, they had a recount in a gubernatorial race back in 2004. It costs more than $1 million. In the Seattle area alone, it was about 66 cents per ballot.
Minnesota had a recount in 2008 in the senatorial race, $460,000. And, of course, we all remember Florida back in 2000, the Bush/Gore race, there was a statewide recount in the works until the court stopped it.
"USA Today" and "The Miami Herald" went ahead and did their own recount, just 60,000 disputed ballots. It took three months and it cost a half million dollars.
So, these things don't really occur very often. In fact, a group called FairVote.org which studies voting patterns took a look at all of the statewide races, hundreds of them, hundreds of them, coast to coast, from 2000 to 2012 and they found that out of them, only 19 times were recounts actually put into place afterward.
Who pays for it? Normally, if it's required, if it's an automatic one, the state might pay for it. But if it's requested, unless the results prove the original vote is very, very bad, the requester ends up paying for it.
So, this is a big gamble and it's a big gamble because in recounts, the data difference Fair Vote found between the original vote and the recounted vote is usually this tiny, tiny fraction of a percentage.
So, there's really not much to be gained here in most cases. And in fact, they say in that same period of time, of all of the races and the very few that reached the recount stage, only three of them actually ended up being flipped and those are by razor-thin margins in races much smaller than what you'd normally see for the turnout in a presidential race.
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ALLEN: All right. Tom Foreman there.
We go from the campaign trail to the typhoon trail and what a trail the typhoons are making near China.
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DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Colorado in Arapaho Bay said in Summit (ph) County was the first North American ski resort to open its slopes, yesterday on Friday.
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ALLEN: -- bona fide snow?
VAN DAM: Real bona fide snow. They did blow their own snow as well but those are the first individuals to ride the ski chair.
ALLEN: You can tell by their smile --
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VAN DAM: I think I would be the same way.
ALLEN: We're here. You're not.
VAN DAM: You're not. You're working.
ALLEN: Well, listen, if you have ever been on a flight with some odd ducks, have you?
VAN DAM: I have.
ALLEN: How about this for an odd duck, no, it's a real duck.
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ALLEN: And we'll tell you what it is doing there -- next.
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ALLEN: TimeWarner, the parent company of CNN, is reportedly in merger talks with AT&T. There is speculation a deal could happen as soon as this weekend. Brian Stelter has more about it.
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BRIAN STELTER, CNNMONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, yes, this could be one of the biggest media mergers of the decade. We're talking about AT&T. One of the biggest wireless providers in the United States potentially coming together with TimeWarner, the parent company of CNN, HBO and Warner Brothers.
Now right now neither side is commenting on these talks. But according to "The Wall Street Journal" and Bloomberg, which began to report about this possibility on Thursday, these talks are now very serious and a deal could be struck as early as Monday.
According to "The Journal," there is desire to get this done by Monday morning because AT&T is concerned about other potential bidders for TimeWarner.
So let me unpack what's going on here. You might remember a couple of years ago, Rupert Murdoch made a big for TimeWarner. He, of course, is the owner of 21st Century Fox, one of TimeWarner's biggest rivals. He made an $85-a-share bid for TimeWarner in the summer of 2014, which was rejected at the time.
Now senior sources back then indicated there would be interest in other bidders in a couple of years. And now here we are, a couple years later and TimeWarner is at least unofficially on the block, up for sale.
The TimeWarner CEO, Jeff Bewkes, is reportedly a willing seller at the right price. And what we don't know is what the right price could be. TimeWarner's stock was trading right around $80 before these reports on Thursday and is has bumped up closer to $90 as of Friday afternoon.
And presumably a bid from AT&T would be somewhere above that $90 price range. Now this is interesting because TimeWarner, as I mentioned, it owns CNN, HBO, Warner Brothers, a number of cable channels. It is a pure play video company, morning what it provides is news and entertainment through television and through the Internet.
And that's something that's very valuable to companies like AT&T, Google, Apple and others. AT&T very specifically has a huge wireless business but wants to own more of the content that people consume through their iPhones and through other devices.
So that's why AT&T is making this effort right now and companies like Apple are keeping a close eye on it. They could very well enter this fray, try to --
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STELTER: -- make their own play for TimeWarner in the hours and days to come -- back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Brian Stelter there, we will keep you posted on that one.
All right. A duck walks on to a plane, no, it's not the start of a joke but something that actually happened. Jeanne Moos shows how a flightless fowl ended up a high-flying Internet star.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Passengers seemed delighted when they spotted a duck occupying a window seat on a flight from Charlotte to Asheville, North Carolina.
What is his full name?
CARLA FITZGERALD, DUCK OWNER: Daniel turducken Stinkerbutt.
MOOS (voice-over): Daniel for short; it turns out he is an emotional support duck.
FITZGERALD: Without Daniel I would stay home for the rest of my life. I would never leave the house because I can't.
MOOS (voice-over): Carla Fitzgerald suffers from post-traumatic stress as a result of a serious accident. Her horse and carriage were rear-ended by a car.
FITZGERALD: I love you.
MOOS (voice-over): Carla's psychologist vouched for her therapy duck in writing.
FITZGERALD: So they know that I'm not just some wacko who's bringing her duck with her just because.
MOOS (voice-over): Daniel went viral when passenger Mark Essig (ph) began tweeting photos, including one of the duck gazing out a window.
MARK ESSIG (PH), PHOTOGRAPHER: Looking kind of contemplative.
MOOS (voice-over): It was as if Elton John was singing about him.
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MOOS (voice-over): To protect his tender webbed feet while traveling...
ESSIG (PH): He was wearing some really sharp red shoes.
MOOS (voice-over): -- and gently quacking, this 4-year-old duck is used to showering...
FITZGERALD: No, I'm not getting in with you, Daniel.
MOOS (voice-over): -- wearing diapers...
FITZGERALD: He is wearing his Captain America underpants.
MOOS (voice-over): -- and eating macaroni and cheese.
FITZGERALD: Was it worth the wait, Daniel?
MOOS (voice-over): When you call Carla, you are liable to get Daniel as well.
MOOS: I think he wants to be interviewed.
FITZGERALD: Oh, yes. Oh, yes, Daniel sometimes gets a little jealous of my phone conversations.
MOOS (voice-over): Daniel is a breed of duck that cannot fly.
ESSIG (PH): So I like to think he was looking out at those clouds and it triggered some deep ancestral memory of what it had been like to fly.
MOOS (voice-over): Or maybe he was just dreaming of mac and cheese.
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MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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ALLEN: Well, that's a pretty cute story. Crazy.
Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. We are back with our top stories right after this.
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