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New Day Sunday

Clinton And Kaine Bus Tour Rolls Through Ohio; Fallen Soldier's Dad: Trump "Faked Empathy"; Streets Washed Out, Cars Carried Away In Baltimore; Donald Trump Slamming Debate Schedule; Texas Hot Air Balloon Crash; Miami Zika Virus Fear; Countdown To The Olympic Games; Chris Paul Challenged Michael Jordan. 6-7a ET

Aired July 31, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:23] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We're so grateful for your company as always. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Your NEW DAY starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He attacked the distinguished father of a soldier who sacrificed himself for his unit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disrespect is something that I think a lot of people are feeling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what we call a person like that in Pittsburgh? A jaggoff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They believe the hot air balloon collided with these power lines igniting the fire and the flames on board.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard the popping sounds. I don't think any of them had any idea what was going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The water got up right about where we were standing here. It would have been waist high on me here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see a car actually into this channel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just happy I'm alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Again, so grateful to have you with us. We are 100 days now until this country elects the next president of the United States and all we can think is, buckle up for the sprint to the finish line, don't you think?

The Democrats Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine embarking on their third and final day of a bus tour through the rust belt. BLACKWELL: Yes, they are hitting Ohio hard today as they look for a bounce in the polls coming off of their convention. More on their message to voters in just a moment.

But first, this morning faking empathy. That's a new angry reaction from the Muslim father of a U.S. soldier killed in combat. He's taking aim at Donald Trump.

PAUL: At the DNC, I know you remember Khizr slammed the Republican nominee for proposing a ban on Muslims. This is what started it all, Kahn saying that Trump had no idea what sacrifice means.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHIZR KHAN, FATHER OF FALLEN U.S. SOLDIER: You have sacrificed nothing and no one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Yesterday, Donald Trump defended himself in an interview with ABC News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How would you answer that father? What sacrifice have you made for your country? I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those are sacrifices?

TRUMP: Sure, I think they are sacrifices. I think when I can employ thousands and thousands of people and take care of their education, take care of so many things -- even in the military I was very responsible along with a group of people for getting the Vietnam Memorial built in downtown Manhattan, which to this day people thank me for. I have raised millions of dollars for the vets. I'm helping the vets a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Those comments sparking a new wave of backlash from Democrats and Republicans. Ohio Governor John Kasich, in fact, tweeted, "There's only one way to talk about gold star parents, with honor and respect. Captain Khan is a hero. Together, we should pray for his family."

Now overnight, Donald Trump issued a statement in response. He called Captain (inaudible) Khan a hero. But he went onto say, quote, "While I feel deeply for the loss of my son, Mr. Khan, who has never met me has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the constitution, which is false and say many other inaccurate things."

In response to that, Mr. Khan told the "Washington Post," quote, "What Trump said originally, that defines him. People are upset with him. He realizes and his advisers feel that his original statement was a stupid mistake."

In that ABC interview Trump also said he wanted to hear Khan's wife at that speech. Khan's response to that statement, quote, "Those words were typical of a person without a soul."

BLACKWELL: All right, let's bring in CNN political commentator, Scottie Nell Hughes. She is a Donald Trump supporter and A. Scott Bolden, former chairman of the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party. He is a Hillary Clinton supporter. Good morning to both of you.

Scottie, I'm going to start with you. Where was the empathy, the sympathy for this family before this written statement? We didn't see any of that in the ABC News interview.

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's interesting, Victor, that you brought up didn't see. That is the point that we need to make here. This is not aired yet. All that we see are the clips that are being released from ABC, George Stephanopoulos, a former advisor, director of communication underneath Bill Clinton.

All we're seeing are the clips they're putting out to tease their segment today. When this came out yesterday, I actually said Mr. Donald Trump is wrong.

[06:05:01]But now that I've read the questions that the Trump campaign and others have released the full transcript, you can see what a setup this is, which is nothing but to trap Mr. Trump going forward.

BLACKWELL: Let me ask you, you mention that the full release and I've got it here that was put out on the website on donaldjtrump.com setting the record straight is what they called it. Stephanopoulos asked what would you say to that father, how was that a setup?

HUGHES: Well, it because -- it says what would you say then? Without taking a break he says, what sacrifice have you made for your country?

BLACKWELL: That's inaccurate. I have it in my hand. From the Trump campaign, what he says --

HUGHES: It's the same line.

BLACKWELL: Yes, he says what would you say to that father? Trump says, well, I'd say we have a lot of problems with radical Islamic terrorism. Why not in that moment say, I am sorry for this family's loss and we honor his service?

HUGHES: Because he said that earlier in the interview. What I'm talking about is farther on down the transcript when he put the two together. When he said what you would say to the father, what sacrifice have you made for your country?

When Stephanopoulos continues to push for an answer because it's obvious that his ulterior motive was to trap Mr. Trump like they have successfully done, control the media because they know that the -- right now, the Democrats have a major issue with the military vote as they were booed and harassed on the stage of the DNC this week. This is nothing but a hit job done on Mr. Trump.

BLACKWELL: Scottie, you say that earlier in the interview and I'll come to you in a moment, Scott, right after this, but you say earlier in this interview that he expressed that gratitude and sympathy for the family. This is the transcript from the Trump campaign. I don't see it there, but Scott, to you.

A.SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER CHAIRMAN WASHINGTON, D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Let me say this, now Mr. Trump is a victim and my good friend, Scottie, I'd love to see her and others become an apologist for the trapping of Mr. Trump, who is a marketing and PR guru. It simply makes no sense.

These were crude, inappropriate and crass statements in a situation whereby all Mr. Trump had to say was that we thank this young man, Captain Khan for his service, we honor those parents.

Remember this, these parents were not attacking Donald Trump. They attacked his idea of banning Muslims. Had Muslims been banned, Captain Khan would not have been there protecting all of us as a soldier and defending our freedom and making us safer.

Now, that's Donald Trump's calls to make. If he wants to respond that way, but don't tell me that somehow Donald Trump is a victim because his written statement later was in response to the criticisms that he drew for two grieving parents.

And then to attack the mother for not being able to talk or not talking when she's stricken with grief and eventually did give an interview, it was highly inappropriate and consistent with Donald Trump's response to anyone that criticizes him. He goes on the personal attack. It's not the temperament or the compassion that we need.

HUGHES: We share time here.

BLACKWELL: Hold on. Both of you, hold on for a second.

BOLDEN: This is case I point.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Scott. Scottie, let me come back to you with that inference that the mother was not allowed to speak. Why say that?

HUGHES: Let me correct two points that Scott made real quick when he say (inaudible) that was a direct attack on Donald Trump. When you hold up the constitution and say, have you read this?

BOLDEN: That was a question.

HUGHES: That was a direct attack on Mr. Trump. Second of all, the policies Mr. Trump has proposed concerning non-U.S. citizen Muslims would not have affected these parents. Somebody has literally purposely frauded these parents to think they would be affected by Mr. Trump's policies. They would not have been affected by the temporary ban of Muslims. BLACKWELL: Hold on for a second. Scottie, now answer the question specifically about why say this mother was not allowed to speak.

HUGHES: Well, unfortunately, that is -- there's different rules in different countries. I imagine that's what he's referencing. I don't know that would have been the course I would have taken with it, but for some reason she didn't speak.

BLACKWELL: It wasn't stage freight. We now that she was emotionally unable to have that conversation about her son and she said that --

HUGHES: Then why is she on the stage in front of millions of people sitting there trying to make a point to slander the other candidate so this is the problem, Victor --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Scott, hold on, both of you. We need to take a break. We'll come back to this in just a moment. We'll continue where we left off here. Stay with us on NEW DAY. We'll continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:13:20]

BLACKWELL: Welcome back. We have Scottie Nell Hughes and A. Scott Bolden here with us. Continuing the conversation on this controversy over Donald Trump's response to those parents at the DNC.

Scottie, before we went to break, you asked why this mother would be on stage if she was so emotional. I want to read for you something her husband told the "Washington Post" just before midnight.

And this is a quote from their write up, "Emotionally and physically she just couldn't even stand there. When we left, as soon as we got off camera, she just broke down. The people inside, the staff were holding her, consoling here, just totally emotionally spent.

Only those parents who have lost their son or daughter could imagine the pain the memory causes especially when a tribute is being paid. I was holding myself together because one of us had to be strong."

That's the explanation from Mr. Khan and you ask why was she even there?

HUGHES: Why was she? The policies that they came out against Mr. Trump was false. They are under the false assumption of what the policies they were going after. Now obviously every parent grieves.

By the way, before this let me point out, I am the wife of a former army captain. I'm in a military family. So my sympathies go for any parent who's ever lost a child and you're right that's an easy thing to say.

Let's take that out of the situation. This is an obvious hit job. The interview had not even aired yet, Victor, and yet all this criticism. Everybody's talking about it. The father is already on a media tour this morning, appearing on "STATE OF THE UNION" later on with Jake Tapper.

If you don't see this for what it is, it's all about spinning and trying to distract from the situation. Let me remind you that at the RNC, you had the parents of the Benghazi soldiers. Benghazi wasn't even brought up necessarily at the DNC.

[06:15:06]So if you don't see -- you know, you can't have this double standard here. If you are going to sit there, you need to respect all mothers that have lost children and not insult them.

Hillary Clinton called Pat Smith (ph) basically a liar and where was this outrage to that. That's how you can tell this is a spin job and it's not actually about protecting. It's using the victims --

BLACKWELL: Let's listen to Donald Trump at the VFW last week because he has in the past expressed sympathy and gratitude. Let's watch that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The members of your organization have fought for the American flag and boy, have you fought, on distant battlefields all across the world. Your members have shed their blood and poured out their hearts for this nation like nobody else. Our debt to you is eternal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: There seems to be, though -- and correct me if I'm wrong here, a difference between what there is a scripted speech and a press release and Donald Trump's rhetoric when he's asked in an unscripted moment about the service of veterans.

HUGHES: If you think Donald Trump doesn't care about veterans, that's ridiculous --

BLACKWELL: That's not the suggestion. I'm saying there's a difference between the scripted speech and the press release. And when he's asked about this father, he goes immediately to radical Islam?

HUGHES: Let's watch the interview to see what -- it doesn't show the entire full transcript.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: Let me remind you that the shooter at Fort Hood, about some of the issues they are facing at the military themselves have to do with this issue. So why didn't he address it if he's going to use it? No. He used that stage to attack Mr. Trump, to sit there and call him out that he didn't constitution, which was false. And now you've got him on a media tour. Like I said --

BLACKWELL: All right, let me get Scott in there because we've got about 45 seconds left. Donald Trump after the Melania Trump speech controversy suggested any press is good press. What he has done is stolen the headline from the bus tour in Ohio and Pennsylvania of Clinton and Kaine.

BOLDEN: Well, I'm not sure he's done that, but let me say this, the Clinton/Kaine campaign going to the heart of the rust belt and talking about jobs, the economy, immigration, and terrorism.

They're getting it their headlines because they're taking it directly to the hard working, middle class Americans and taking their message of hope.

That being said, if you want to take the headlines and say you stole them, and you stole them because Trump is attacking a Muslim American family over the death of their son and his reaction in regard to how successful he's been in building businesses and making money, and all of his successes.

That is exactly what his response was. It wasn't part of something that was written then we'll take that on balance. Quite frankly, because that's a winning strategy. That's a winning time for us, even if it's the headline about Donald Trump.

BLACKWELL: All right, Scottie Nell Hughes, A. Scott Bolden, we will have this conversation again at the top of the hour.

BOLDEN: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thanks so much. Mr. Khan is a guest on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning, 9 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

PAUL: Take a look at this.

(VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Can you imagine being swept up in that? Allison Chinchar following the story for us. Good morning, Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning to you. Many folks are waking up this morning just trying to figure out how to clean up from this mess, but unfortunately more rain is on the way. We'll take a look at the details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:22:17]

PAUL: All right, heavy rain is triggering a flash flooding emergency in Baltimore. Wait until you see these pictures and imagine yourself in this position. Roads are turned into rivers there. We're talking about 4,000 pound cars that are tossed down rapids like driftwood. Look at this.

(VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: In addition to what you're seeing there, thousands of people lost power as well. Here's a look at what happened from CNN affiliate, WJZTV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE SOLIS, WZJ TV (voice-over): The damage intense. The aftermath of flash flooding all over regions in Maryland. Courtney Weglein sharing this dramatic video of water so high in (inaudible) City, one man had to be carried to safety.

COURTNEY WEGLEIN, FLOOD WITNESS: I literally came here. I thought we were going to have dinner within 5 minutes. There was panic and my friend was pulling someone out of there. I've never seen anything like it.

SOLIS: This man telling WJZ the water got so high, cars were swept away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The water got up about to where we were standing here. It would have been about waste high on me right here.

SOLIS (on camera): To give you an idea of how intense these flood waters were, take a look behind me. You can see that some of these cars actually washed into others and if that wasn't bad enough, take a look down here. You can see a car into this channel and even worse still, this car completely totaled.

(voice-over): Take a look at this road flooded in Carol County on (inaudible). This video facing Jones Falls and some are counting their blessings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I can say is I'm happy I'm alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: The flash flooding warnings have expired in the Baltimore area. But the folks who live there still need to stay alert for more flooding, we're told.

BLACKWELL: Yes, for a look now on what to expect, let's go to CNN's Allison Chinchar. You look at those pictures. You hope that it's all over soon.

CHINCHAR: It will be temporarily because the water that's were -- flash flooding goes away just as quickly as it comes in, but we're also expecting more rain. Images like this are possible in other areas once we get additional showers and thunderstorms.

Now here's that system as it move through late Saturday and finally started to clear out up until this point. So no rain there right now. That will help aid in recovery and also into the cleanup.

The estimated rainfall amounts, again, look at this, wide spread areas of about four inches of rain, which is why you had that. Going forward we expect even more showers and thunderstorms too.

But we're also keeping a close eye on the tropics. This is our tropical invest, 97-L just a few miles away from the Leeward Islands. But the reason this is important is what it's going to do going forward.

[06:25:07]Here is a look at that particular storm. Notice the track takes it all the way towards the gulf. This is important, because as of yesterday we officially broke a record, the record of the longest draught that we've had in the gulf since 1886.

Meaning we have had no hurricanes form or lid in the Gulf of Mexico in about 1,050 days. Last time we had a storm was 2013. That was Ingrid that you see here as a tropical storm when it began to go over into Mexico.

The ironic part is that new storm we just talked about will likely end up in the gulf, Victor and Christi, in about the next five to seven days. Certainly something to keep a close eye on.

PAUL: All right, we are glad you are doing so. Allison Chinchar, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Donald Trump is frustrated over the fall presidential debate schedule. Brian Stelter is following that angle for us -- Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN MONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, normally presidential candidates meet three times on the debate stages in the fall, but this is not a normal election. And Donald Trump says the schedule is unacceptable. I'll tell you why right after the break.

PAUL: But first, we want to help you watch your money. Mortgage rates were down slightly this week. Here's your look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:06] PAUL: Welcome to Sunday. Good to see you. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you this morning.

Our top political story, the fiery exchanges between Donald Trump and the parents of a fallen Muslim American war hero.

PAUL: The father of Army Captain Humayun Khan is lashing out at Donald Trump, accusing him of -- quote -- "faking empathy," after a statement from the nominee attempted to clarify earlier comments that were made in an "ABC News" interview when he was asked, Donald Trump was asked about Khizr Khan's DNC speech.

BLACKWELL: So over night Trump issued a statement calling Captain Khan a hero and went on to say, "While I feel deeply for the lost of his son Mr. Khan who has never met me has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the constitution, which is false and say many other inaccurate things." In respondent to that Mr. Khan told the "Washington Post," "What Trump said originally, that defines him." In that "ABC" interview, Trump also said he wanted to hear Khan's wife at that event, wanted to hear her speak. To that Khan said those who are -- those are the words of a person who -- quote -- "A person without a soul."

Donald Trump is slamming the upcoming presidential debate schedule as well, calling the two debates scheduled to run against NFL games unacceptable. And that has led some political watchers to wonder if the GOP nominee is trying to back out of those debates.

We're joined now by CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES" Brian Stelter. So these debates were scheduled in 2015, September, if I remember correctly.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Right.

BLACKWELL: The complaints come now, though. Why?

STELTER: Well, this might be a prelude to further negotiations or haggling with the commission that organizes the debates. There were in 2012 four debates, three of them presidential, one vice presidential. And actually two of those four also overlapped with football games. That's the same case this year.

But Donald Trump said it's a problem for him. And here's what he told ABC about that this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE: Well, I'll tell you what I don't like. It's against two NFL games. I got a letter from the NFL saying this is ridiculous. Why are the debates against -- because the NFL doesn't want to go against the debates because the debates are going to be pretty massive from what I understand, OK? And I don't think we should be against the NFL. I don't know how the dates were picked. I don't know why those particular dates.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS CHIEF ANCHOR: So you don't like the dates that were out there?

TRUMP: Well, I don't like dates against -- you know, Hillary Clinton wants to be against the NFL. She doesn't maybe like she did with Bernie -- Bernie Sanders where they were on Saturday nights when nobody's home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: And Trump went on to say that he's fine with the idea of three debates. He's not trying to back out of having three. In fact if someone told him there's only one debate, he would say, I'd rather have three debates.

But he did say something about the NFL there that was very interesting. He said that he received a letter from the NFL objecting to the schedule. I asked the top spokesman from the NFL and within two minutes he replied and said, no, we did not send a letter to Mr. Trump.

The NFL says it doesn't like the schedule obviously would prefer for the debate not to be on the same night as football games. But the commission that organizes the debates has an incredibly hard job. That's why they do this a year ahead of the debates. They have to pick a number of days of the week that are fair, that are spread out, that don't conflict with other big events or religious holidays. It's a very tough job. So they say they came up with the best possible schedule they could.

I think it'd be highly unlikely we would see a date moved because of Trump's objection. But I think, Victor, this is the beginning of maybe eight weeks or so of Donald Trump flirting with the idea or toying with the idea of attending or not attending the debates. Remember he skipped a primary debate last January. So there is some precedence but it would be almost unprecedented for him to skip a general election debate.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's look ahead to "RELIABLE SOURCES." And we understand that WikiLeak says they could release more emails soon. And you're speaking with the editor Julian Assange later this morning.

STELTER: Yes. You know, he has been in a sort of lockdown for years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on unrelated charges. So we'll be joining him via his computer camera, talking with him about the prospect of more leaks from this from this DNC email hack.

He has said that he has more information about Hillary Clinton, more information about the DNC. And so the question is, when is he planning on releasing that information and, of course, what is the source of that information? There are many -- many people who believe that this is from Russia. That's the source of the hack. That's been unconfirmed by U.S. officials. So I'll ask Assange about that coming up at 11:00 a.m. today.

BLACKWELL: All right. Looking forward to it, Brian. Thanks so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: And be sure to watch Brian Stelter on "RELIABLE SOURCES" 11:00 a.m. eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: It is a really horrific hot air balloon ride that happened over Central Texas yesterday. Polo Sandoval in fact is there. Polo

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Christi, that accident now leaving the families of those 16 people grieving and asking questions.

[06:35:05]

Federal investigators will soon be at the field you see behind me hoping to find some of those answers coming up on your NEW DAY. But we've learned about what is now the deadliest accident of its kind in recent U.S. history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PAUL: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. It is the deadliest balloon crash in U.S. history. Sixteen people were killed yesterday when a hot air balloon on a sunrise tour, image this, appears to have crashed into power lines, burst into flames and fell from the sky.

Correspondent Polo Sandoval is live in Caldwell, Texas. You know, Polo, I saw a picture of authorities. One woman putting her arm around, I think it was a sheriff's deputy. This has really affected the folks there, hasn't it?

SANDOVAL: It certainly has, Christi. And what we're looking at here is a very tough task for investigators as they return to the scene later today. It's very difficult to make out since it's not yet sunrise but may be able to see some of the lights twinkling over my right shoulder. That is essentially where that balloon plummeted towards the ground nearly 24 hours ago.

We're told by authorities that there were 16 people on board that sunrise sightseeing hot balloon tour early yesterday morning. Sadly, we're told there were no survivors. And details or names or identities of these individuals have not yet been released by the authorities who are handling this investigation which is the national transportation safety board. Ultimately investigators will have to (INAUDIBLE) look through what they find here at the scene, Christi, but they will also have to look closer and listen to some of the witnesses who reported hearing a loud pop.

[06:40:04]

That suggests that this balloon may have actually hit some of these high tension power lines that you see running not far from the train tracks that you see over my shoulder. And as you're about to hear from one neighborhood, she heard what could only be described a loud pop and then looked outside (INAUDIBLE).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First I heard a whoosh -- you know, like a whooshing sound and then it just -- a big ball of fire up. I don't think any of them even realized what was going on because we heard the popping sounds. And I didn't look in time to see the balloon go down. But the way it went up, I don't think any of them even had any idea what was going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And so you have that witness statement, Christi. You also have information from at least two law enforcement sources here in Texas telling us that this is the predominant theory right now, this preliminary investigation now suggesting that this balloon may have clipped those power lines causing that fire and ultimately the deaths of at least those 16 individuals. But ultimately the National Transportation Safety Board, Christi, will have to be the ones to actually confirm the cause. We expect them here on the ground later (ph) today (ph). PAUL: Polo, I've never taken a hot air balloon ride. So that is why I'm asking this question for a lot of people who have not. Is there a communication system for the person piloting a hot air balloon to people on the ground? And is there any recording of such that might lend some sort of idea as to what happened?

SANDOVAL: It is going to be something that investigators are going to consider. Obviously those witness accounts here on the ground as they try to put this puzzle together because ultimately (INAUDIBLE) the people who were on that hot air balloon, Christi, all passed away. So now ultimately whatever these people on the ground have to say is going to be crucial for investigators to figure out what happened at what was supposed to be a joyful event for those 16 individuals yesterday morning.

PAUL: All right. Polo Sandoval, we appreciate it. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Just a few days now, continuing the countdown to the Olympic Games in Rio. Now less than a week away to these opening ceremonies.

Rosa Flores is there with a preview. Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, CNN gains exclusive access to an aquatic search and rescue mission. We have cameras by air and by water capturing all of the dramatic events. But how do these intense trainings help firefighters prepare for the Olympic Games? I'll let you know after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:59]

BLACKWELL: Expected parents in Miami are increasingly worried about contracting the Zika virus after Florida officials confirmed four cases of local transmission.

PAUL: Pregnant women are at greatest risk from Zika as it can have devastating consequences for an unborn baby remember (ph).

Here's CNN Nick Valencia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Grant and Christine Stern hope they're overreacting. For the newlyweds their worst fear they say would be to contract the Zika virus, especially now.

CHRISTINE STERN, MIAMI RESIDENT: My biggest concern right now as far as the Zika virus is having it spread through Miami-Dade County and possibly the country.

GRANT STERN, MIAMI RESIDENT: The area inside the box is -- it starts there by like actually a little bit north of us and it runs all the way that way and then about a mile west. VALENCIA: They live a block away from the site of what health officials say is the transmission zone. The fact is not lost on them, but especially not on her.

GRANT STERN: I'd say she talks about it four or five times a week. Like for the last several months, yes. I mean, this is like, you know...

CHRISTINE STERN: Well, we have a lot of --

GRANT STERN: ... we're seeking to make a baby together.

CHRISTINE STERN: We also have a lot of tourism in Miami from South America. And, you know, ever since the news broke about Brazil, that's why I've been concerned about it because it's easy, easy for it to transmit to come here. It was just a matter of time.

VALENCIA: Even before knowing for certain, they changed some of their daily routines to take added precautions.

STERN: I've been avoiding taking the dogs at night at certain hours where the mosquitoes are really out and biting, also wearing bug repellant. That's pretty much all you can do in South Florida.

GRANT STERN: Yes.

VALENCIA: The state government has been at work too. In recent days mosquito inspectors have gone door to door in the Stern's neighborhood to test residents for Zika. Miami-Date mosquito inspectors have also gone block by block to spray insecticides in the affected areas.

CHRISTINE STERN: I think a lot of you read about this one.

VALENCIA: It still doesn't make the Sterns feel any better. The fact the virus is now in their back yard looms large for the anxious couple. It's almost all they can think about.

CHRISTINE STERN: Got to be careful, especially women. Well, women and men. I mean --

GRANT STERN: Yes. I mean, I could contaminate -- you know, I could transmit it to her.

CHRISTINE STERN: Yes.

VALENCIA: Her nervous laugh speaks for them both. Nick Valencia, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Meanwhile, five days to go before the start of the Olympics. Athletes are arriving in Rio. First responders in the city are rehearsing for every emergency. In fact here' CNN's Rosa Flores.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FLORES (on camera): We're heading out with Brazil military firefighters for a drill ahead of the Olympic Games and here is the scenario. There is an athlete in the water and an accident has occurred.

FLORES (voice-over): A helicopter with several first responders is dispatched by air. And lifeguards on jet skis are launched by water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the games time we are going to provide these services 24/7.

FLORES: A fire brigade colonel is in charge of aquatic search and rescue efforts during the Olympic Games and says he has a thousand lifeguards on the ready.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the games we're going to run about -- we are going to run five helicopters and (INAUDIBLE) 37 boats.

FLORES: From the air he says pilots monitor the water below looking for people in distress. Their eyes in the water, lifeguards on jet skis. This time I'm riding along.

In the first days of the drill, a person is drowning and needs to be air lifted. Two lifeguards drop from the helicopter near the victim, a net is dropped and the victim is scooped into the net, lifted and transported to nearby medics who begin first aid immediately.

[06:50:03]

Once the patient is out of the water, first responders say that the first thing they want to do is make sure that the patient is breathing and that the heart is stabilized.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have not good condition of the ocean. The tides are very high.

FLORES: For part two of this drill, a person is drowning and first responders on jet skis take action. A lifeguard jumps into the water and pulls the victim up and onto the rescue board that's on the back of the jet ski.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are going to (INAUDIBLE). That's the end of their mission.

FLORES (on camera): Just like Olympians train for the game, these firefighters train to save lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: And Rosa is joining us now live from Rio.

I've got to tell you. I just want to reiterate that that was a drill, because it looked so real. But, Rosa, how confident is everybody there that they will be prepared and ready for whatever happens come Friday? FLORES: You know, just like you saw in that drill, that was a safety drill and that's the team that's in charge of all of the aquatic search and rescue missions that will happen during the games.

There's also a separate group that's in charge of security. They're running similar intense drills. But they're a little different. They're focused on security. So they're running drills that involve terrorist attacks of various kinds with chemical weapons, biological weapons. And they're running these intense trainings so that they can learn from these trainings and knowledge share among all of the agencies that will be working the Olympic Games.

Now, that's what you see and you will be seeing out on the street. There's 85,000 police officers, soldiers, firefighters are going to be present, out and about. So spectators will be able to see them. What you won't be able to see is what happens -- what is happening behind the scenes.

Intelligence officials tell us that they will be intelligence gathering throughout. They are working with foreign governments. It's not just the Brazilians. It's foreign governments. They're bringing all that intelligence together and they're acting on that intelligence.

So far they've arrested 12 Brazilian nationals with possible ties to terrorism. And so they say that it's working. And, Christi, every official that we talked to says that they are prepared for the Olympic Games.

PAUL: All right. We know that the Olympic panel is reviewing the case of those banned Russian athletes. What do you know about that this morning?

FLORES: You know, the deadline is very, very tight right now. The pressure is on on the IOC.

But here's the background on this. As you know the IOC decided not to ban every Russian athlete after the state doping scandal. And so the IOC decided to give the power to the individual federations and -- for the individual federation to decide what athletes compete and what athletes don't complete.

Well, guess what? The IOC now is coming back and saying, well, we've created a three-person panel and now we are going to review all of those individual decisions that is the federations made. And so, Christi, here we are five days to the games and these Russian athletes -- some of them are already here in Rio and they still don't know if they will be competing.

PAUL: They're still in limbo. That is just astonishing. Rosa Flores, we appreciate keeping updated -- keeping us updated, I should say. Thank you so much. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Did you see this? This really emotional start to the training camp for the Dallas Cowboys. Andy Scholes has it for us. Andy. ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes (ph). Victor, the team opening training camp in Oxnard, California yesterday but the day wasn't about football. It was about honoring the Dallas police department and those who lost their lives in the line of duty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:07]

PAUL: It's a bird. It's a plane. Oh no. It is a skydiver without a parachute people.

Look at this. This daredevil became the first person to jump from a height of 25,000 feet without a parachute. And look at that. Right into a net. He's not new at this. Forty-two-year-old Luke Aikins has 18,000 jumps under his belt.

Here's the thing. How does he control that he lands in the net?

BLACKWELL: That is the question I had. Like how do you know exactly when it starts to end it where you need to end?

PAUL: He has no cape with an S on it is all I'm saying, although I guess he could after that stunt.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I've got the one word question I think everybody at home is asking.

PAUL: Why?

BLACKWELL: Yes. Why? Why do I even know I can do that?

PAUL: He's got some time on his hands.

BLACKWELL: All right.

PAUL: You know, (INAUDIBLE) is made of.

BLACKWELL: At least now we know Luke Aikins can do it.

PAUL: Yes, he can. You clearly will not be -- no, no, no.

BLACKWELL: No. I need a parachute.

PAUL: OK. So a night of hard hitting action in the Octagon ends with a new UFC champion.

BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes has that for us in this morning's bleacher report.

SCHOLES: Hey, good morning, guys.

You know it's the year of the upset in UFC. In the last seven months we've had seven new UFC champions crowned. The latest update came last night right here in Atlanta. Robbie Lawler putting his welterweight title belt on the line against Tyron Woodley in the main event of UFC 201. It didn't take long for the challenger to end Lawler's reign. Woodley landed a massive right hook and then jumped on Lawler to win the fight in two minutes into round one. This was Woodley's first fight in 18 months. So he definitely made the most of it.

All right. Golf's last major of the year will have a marathon ending if it even ends today. Thunderstorms shut down the PGA championship yesterday before 10 players could even hit a shot. Now players are hoping to tee it up again this morning but there is more rain in the forecast and it may actually push the final round to Monday.

America's Robert Streb and Jimmy Walker tied for the lead at nine under par. Defending champion Jason Day two shots off the lead.

In an amazing show of solidarity, the Dallas Cowboys walked onto the field for their first practice of training camp yesterday arm in arm with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas Police Chief David Brown and the families of four of the Dallas officers killed by a sniper earlier this month.

The mother of one of the officers said she'll never forget walking arm in arm with quarterback Tony Romo and Mayor Rawlings. And Chief Brown spoke to the Cowboys' players urging them to have a voice on issues such as race. And Mayor Rawlings told the team, they'll always be Cowboys but this year play for Dallas like they never played before.

All right. Finally, Michael Jordan has been retired for 13 years but, hey, he's still Michael Jordan. (INAUDIBLE) Clippers star Chris Paul he bet M.J. if Jordan missed three shots while going around the world, every kid at his camp would get a pair of Jordans. You guys want to guess how this ends?

[07:00:00]

Jordan made every single one of his shots. So those poor kids.

PAUL: You don't even miss on purpose.

SCHOLES: Not M.J. M.J. always wants to show that, hey, I am in fact the greatest.

PAUL: All right. Andy, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Andy, thank you.