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French Labor Protests Continue; Flooding in Northern Europe; Clinton Calls Trump a Fraud; Al-Shabaab Clains Responsibility for Mogadishu Attack; Air drops of Aid to Syrians Called For. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 2, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


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[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: News strikes. Growing anger, transportation workers bring parts of France to a crawl amid a bitter labor dispute.

Flooding emergency. Parts of northern Europe struggle to cope with days of heavy rain, and there could be more to come.

And on the attack, Hillary Clinton slams Donald Trump as a fraud, even as new signs show the race in California too close to call.

Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us as we begin this second hour of CNN Newsroom.

Police in northern France faced off with striking union workers along a train track just a short while ago. Tensions have eased now, but our cameras caught police firing tear gas earlier at the workers who stormed the tracks. At issue, a proposed labor reform bill that's dividing the country.

So, let's bring in CNN's Erin McLaughlin. She joins us near the scene of the standoff. So, Erin, give us an idea of what happened and why things have eased at this point, and where this is all going.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rosemary. Well, I'm here outside the main train station in Le Havre, an industrial town to the north of the country. And just behind me as you can see striking union workers predominantly dark workers as well as rail workers have assembled.

Earlier, those workers had actually stormed the train tracks not far from here. There was a tense standoff with French police in riot gear. They launched tear gas canisters at the strikers. The strikers responded throwing fire crackers and screaming.

It was part of a surprise action, one of many actions to take place throughout this country in recent weeks. In protest of labor reform laws. Laws that are aimed to try and allow companies easing, making it easier for them to hire and fire employees as well as to reduce overtime pay. Reform laws that are currently making its way through the government,

expected to be tabled again in parliament in July. But it has major unions here in France. Furious calling for a number of different strikes. Heavily affecting the transportation sector in this country as well as the energy sector.

Some 19 nuclear energy signs throughout the country are now subject to rolling strike, leading to power outages. We're also seeing strikes at the trains. This train station operating really only at a third capacity today.

The port here in Le Havre, which is one of the main ports in Europe with the largest port, in fact, for container ships has been brought to a complete stand still. Containers not being off-loaded, not being loaded either, which is really seen as a huge hit to the French economy for the next 24 hours.

Plenty of people here. Very concerned. Now in terms of a resolution to all of this, one of the main unions here in France does not seem to be talking to the government at present. They are calling for a complete withdrawal of this legislation. But the government so far is saying steadfast that these reforms are badly needed for the French economy.

CHURCH: Our Erin McLaughlin keeping a very close eye on the situation there from Le Havre. We will of course, stay in touch with you and watch what has happened. But tensions have eased at this point at least. Many thanks to you.

Al-Shabaab is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack at a popular hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. At least 13 people and three attackers were killed in the siege on Wednesday.

Local media says two Somali lawmakers were among the dead. It all began when attackers detonated a car packed with explosives at the gates of the hotel.

So, let's turn to CNN's Robyn Kriel now. She is following the latest developments from Nairobi, Kenya. Thanks for talking with us, Robyn. So, what do we know about the circumstances leading up to this attack?

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, it has been relatively quiet in Mogadishu ever since about February when there was another deadly hotel attack with a number of people killed, around 20 people killed there. And ever since then it has been relatively quiet.

But today, extremely somber mood in Mogadishu and extremely bloody night overnight. Some devastating pictures of that attack, starting with a car bomb. Three gunmen entering. One was killed at the gate. Another two got inside and killed at least 13 people.

[03:05:03] We're hearing, Rosemary, that that death toll could be much higher. A number of those as seeking treatment in nearby hospitals, including around we're hearing up to 60, even 100 seeking medical treatment inside Mogadishu's Medina hospital.

Now just what led up to this attack, we do know that Ramadan is starting shortly, that Al-Shabaab has promised a very bloody Ramadan in Mogadishu -- particularly Mogadishu, the capital but across Somalia.

We do know as well that U.S.-led air strikes have been sort of keeping Al-Shabaab at bay. Essentially the last few months a very large strike on Raso camp killing up to, according ro Pentagon, 150 Al-Shabaab militia and a number of those air strikes also killing key members and planning members of the group.

So, perhaps that is the reason for this quietness. We're not sure exactly what led to yesterday's attack though, and why it was launched on that particular hotel.

CHURCH: And so, Robyn, how close are authorities to tracking down the perpetrators of this deadly attack? They -- do they have any chance of actually finding these people?

KRIEL: Usually the planners are located, the masterminds really are located quite far away, and it will take a long time to track down those exactly held responsible.

Rosemary, these types of attacks, though, extremely common in Mogadishu. Normally I read a statistic yesterday from Vates Corp security analysis group that said that there have been at least 12 attacks on or adjacent to hotels in Mogadishu since 2015.

So, hitting these soft targets with these guerrilla-style tactic, starting with a large car bomb, and then going in with a gunmen and killing, really, anyone they can. This is Mogadishu -- this is Al Shabaab's modus operandi inside Mogadishu.

What we can also tell you, Rosemary, is that they do kill a number of Somali civilians. But this time when they hit this especially upscale hotels they are essentially going to a very specific type of civilian, as it were, a government official.

So, this particular hotel we know had a number of members of parliament and at least two of those were killed during this attack yesterday evening.

CHURCH: All right. Just after 10 in the morning there in Nairobi, Kenya, where our Robyn Kriel is keeping us up to date on this situation. These developments coming out of Mogadishu and Somalia. Many thanks to you.

All right. So, let's check some other news now. And German lawmakers are set to approve a bill that labels the deaths of more than a million Christian Armenians as genocide.

Turkey is against it saying Ottoman forces did not have an organized campaign to wipe out Armenians during World War I. Germany is expecting a Turkish backlash with this resolution.

Well, football star Lionel Messi is expected in a Spanish court this hour for his tax evasion trial. He is scheduled to testify along with his father. Spain accuses them of defrauding the government of nearly $5 million between 2007 and 2009.

Saudi Arabia has just become Uber's single biggest cash investor. The country gave the popular ride sharing company $3.5 billion. Uber has been in Saudi Arabia since 2014. According to the company, 80 percent of its customers there are women since they're not allowed to drive.

Recovery teams in the Mediterranean may be closing in on the black boxes belonging to the doomed EgyptAir jet.

French investigators say a navy vessel has detected signals from one of the plane's flight recorders. Searchers have about two weeks to find the boxes before their batteries run out.

And our Ian Lee joins us now from Cairo, Egypt with the very latest. So, Ian, if this is indeed signals from one of the black boxes, we should know more about what happened to EgyptAir flight 804. But what are authorities saying about these signals and this recovery effort as well?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, this is a big development in this investigation. Investigators want to get the black box to the surface as soon as possible so they can analyze it.

Now we're hearing from officials that's it only one black box at the moment that they've detected there. There is another black box that they're also hoping to retrieve. They're hoping that it's in the same area so it's a quick recovery. They're also hoping to get the fuselage as well to see if that shows any signs of what possibly brought down the plane.

But right now we are also hearing that a ship from deep ocean search, a recovery company is on its way to the eastern Mediterranean.

[03:10:04] It has specialized equipment to bring the wreckage to the surface. That should be there within a week. Once that's there, the wreckage will be then brought here to Cairo. It will be analyzed, and then hopefully they'll be able to learn what brought down EgyptAir Flight 804.

CHURCH: And of course, we don't know how long it's going to take, this whole recovery effort for if this is a black box, and also if they actually get to what is left of this plane. But give us an idea on where this analysis will take place once they do have one of these black boxes.

LEE: Right. So, the analysis is expected to take place here in Cairo. But talking to Egyptian officials, they say if there needs to be further analysis, more sophisticated analysis, then it's not out of the question to send the black boxes to another country, like they did with the Metrojet crash last October. The Russian plane that was blown up by ISIS.

Those black boxes were brought here to Cairo, and then they were sent on further to Germany for more analysis.

But we're expecting to have some sort of preliminary report according to Egyptian officials within a few weeks' time. So, hopefully they will be able to get those black boxes to the surface, get them analyzed. And then at least also give the family members 66 people died. Give the family members some closure to tell them what happen as well.

CHURCH: All right. Let's hope this is indeed one of the black boxes and the mystery can be resolved at this point for the sake of those family members.

Our Ian Lee bringing us up to date on the situation with Cairo. Thanks very much.

Well, bad weather has been moving through Europe, and it's resulted in deadly floods. We'll have more on that still to come.

Plus, a witness who saw a guerrilla dragging a boy through its zoo habitat describes what we didn't see before the ape was killed. We're back with that.

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KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines.

For the 28 straight Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic is into the court finals. And while that number alone may sound like a milestone, it's not the number everyone is talking about.

With the win at Roland Garros, Novak Djokovic has become the first tennis player ever to eclipse $100 million in prize money. Norway headed into the French Open just shy of that magic number. And with his four-set win over Roberto Batista Agut, he is guaranteed $327,000 in prize money as a quarterfinalist.

Track and field trying to show the world that that sport is cleaning up its act.

[03:15:00] We're learning that the budget for the pre-Olympic doping testing is to be doubled.

The news came from the International Olympics Committee on Wednesday, just two months before the start of the game. Special focus will be put on countries like Kenya, Russia, and Mexico where the testing program is noncompliant.

And Argentina's Football Association appears to have backed down from a threat to fly the Copa America favorite's home from the tournament in the USA.

The AFA is under scrutiny back in Buenos Aires over allegations of broadcasting revenue corruption. And the government's Justice Department is threatening to suspend a proposed election for new president for the country's football association later this month.

And that's a look at all your sport headlines. I'm Kate Riley. CHURCH: People in some parts of Europe are having to navigate flooded

roads after days of heavy rains. German police say the high water killed at least four people after a river turned into a torrent in a Bavarian town.

In France, the same river spilled over its banks. Paris had 172 millimeters of rain in May. That's more than double the monthly average.

Elsewhere in France, people were rescued from submerged cars. And there could be a lot more rain to come. Meteorologist Allison Chincar joins us now. Just incredible. I mean, we were just talking in the break there. You just don't really know mention the River Seine overflowing. I mean, it's not just talked about.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, but I think that's what plays into how important this really is. Because that river doesn't have flooding like this very frequently. And so again, that kind of goes to show you how rare something like that is.

Take a look at some of the images that are coming out of this area. Not just France, but again, this also in Austria. You can see the cars, again, with water up to the height of the doors.

Again, the roadways, parking lots, all entirely covered. And a portion of Bavaria, Germany after the floodwaters finally receded. Again, now you're just left with a lot of the damage, to the structures, to the roads. You can see a lot of the debris and also the mud that oftentimes comes with a lot of these scenarios.

Again, so that's a big cleanup process going forward. Now for a lot of these areas, it's been rain over the last couple of weeks and even months. But even more impressive, look at some of these three-day totals in Austria, 130, 140, 160 millimeters. And it's not just Austria. Even Belgium also having a relatively high amount. Over 100 millimeters in just three days.

But again, we talked about it. It's even longer than that. Paris having its wettest May on record. Over 170 millimeters. Again, keep in mind, average is 65 millimeters. And again, it's not just OK, it covers the road ways. It also has other impacts.

The French open, which is taking place on Monday. All of the matches were canceled. That's the first time in 16 years that's happened. And on Tuesday and Wednesday, also other matches delayed and canceled due to a lot of the heavy rain.

And unfortunately going forward, not much is going to change. We have this upper-level low that's basically just sitting. It's stalled over this region of Europe. And so, again, it's just bringing in all of that moisture back to the same places over and over. You can see the spin here on the radar.

Again, but notice, the rain is still kind of centered over Germany, over Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, all of these areas. Now again, looking at the face value of some of these additional rainfall amounts that we expect over the coming days. Most of them 25, 50 millimeters.

Not necessarily that impressive. But you have to keep in mind a lot of the places have already had 50 to 150 millimeters already. So you add it back on, and unfortunately, that makes it very difficult.

And we're also talking about a lot of the rivers and streams and the creek beds that you have there too. Because that also plays an impact. Let's say we talked about the River Seine. But a lot of the tributaries that flow into it, if those also have water, there is not many places for that water to go.

And so sometimes you'll even have a delayed effect where that water finally makes it into the bigger rivers three, five, seven days down the road you. So, you still have problems even after it stops raining.

CHURCH: Well, let's hope it stops soon. So, at least they can move forward with this. Allison Chinchar, great to chat with you.

We are just a few weeks away now from a crucial vote on Britain's future in the European Union. On Wednesday, the leave campaign laid out a tough new immigration policy similar to the one Australia uses.

Here are some of the main points. The automatic right of all E.U. citizens to live and work in the U.K. would end. Those looking to work or study would be admitted based on their skills and be suitable for the jobs in question. And all those coming to the U.K. would have to be able to speak, quote, "good English."

[03:19:58] Well, the vote leave campaign says it has proposed the plan because the U.K. cannot handle how many people are moving there.

Here is senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, there are several reasons why the leave campaign is targeting immigration. They feel that this is David Cameron, the remain campaign's Achilles heel. Why is that?

Well, you can look at it this way as well that the government, David Cameron has sort of won the argument, the economic argument and the reasons to stay in the European Union, that if we leave, there are uncertainties.

That generally seems to be accepted by some people, persuaded some people over to the remain campaign. On security, Britain is better off being part of the European Union to counterterrorism, these sorts of issues. The government sort of won on that.

But immigration is one where the leave campaign feel that Cameron cannot win. You go back to the general election last year where he said that he would get immigration down to the tens of thousands.

Well, right now the latest statistics show that it's 330,000 immigrants in the country, about 184,000 of those from the European Union. So, when the leave campaign proposes a system to control immigration by this point system that limits the number of people that can come to Britain, that allows only those to come for jobs who are qualified for the jobs that they're able to speak good English, that they are trying to control that -- the flow of immigrants.

And for a lot of people here, the number of immigrants coming into the country sort of correlates in their minds particularly those who want to leave. They kind of see the number of immigrants as making it harder to get seen when they go to hospital. They can't get their kids into the schools they want to. They think that this leads to higher unemployment.

So, these are touchstone heartfelt issues for people. This is the vote of a lifetime. It is a generational issue with huge implications. And it's on that issue of immigration that the leave campaign think that they can do most damage to David Cameron. And of course on top of that is a challenge to his leadership as well.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

CHURCH: The family of a boy who fell into a gorilla habitat at the Cincinnati Zoo is cooperating with police. Both the zoo and the boy's parents have faced days of scrutiny over the incident and the ape's killing.

Zookeepers shot the animal after it dragged the boy for several minutes. His family said he had a checkup with his doctor and he is doing well.

Well, we are learning more about the boy's harrowing experience from 911 calls made that day. Anderson cooper has that and a look at how gorillas have behaved in similar incidents in the past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Cincinnati Zoo. My son fell in with the gorilla. There's a male gorilla standing over him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 SHOW HOST: When a 3-year-old child fell into the gorilla enclosure in the Cincinnati Zoo, no one knew how the male silverback named Harambe would react. At times he seemed protective. Look how he held on to the little boy's arm. But at other times he roughly dragged the child through the water.

Official says he also banged him against a wall. The gorilla was killed. The child rescued before he was seriously injured.

This is not the first time a child has encountered a gorilla in captivity and come out alive. In 1996, the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois, a 3-year-old boy fell nearly 20 feet into the gorilla enclosure.

He lay unconscious on the ground. Then a female gorilla carrying her own baby approached him. Watch as she cradled the boy before picking him up and carrying him to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She carried him gently to the access door where the keepers and paramedics were able to get to the little boy and bring him to safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: In 1986, a 5-year-old in the United Kingdom fell into a gorilla enclosure and was also knocked unconscious. A 250-pound male silverback rushed over to the boy. And instead of attacking him gently caressed him. Then seemed to watch over the child, protecting him from the other gorillas before the boy was rescued.

Despite the massive size and strength of these gorillas, they're usually not a threat to humans. They are one of our closest animal relatives. They live in two distinct groups. I came face-to-face with mountain gorillas in the wild in 2006 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There is nine gorillas in this group. And every gorilla group is headed by an adult male called the silverback. That's the silverback right over there because of the distinctive coloring on his back. A fully grown silverback can weigh about 500 pounds.

At one point the silverback decided to check us out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is just testing us. He is just testing us. It's OK. He is just trying to pass. Now just let him pass. As long as he doesn't feel like we're doing anything threatening, he'll just walk right by us, as he did.

COOPER: Visiting the mountain gorillas, it's probably one of the most incredible and intimate experiences you can have with an animal in the wild when you're this close to the gorillas, when you see their eyes, you see how intelligent they are and how really similar they are to human beings. Each one really has a unique personality. Each one is an individual.

[03:24:59] Whether in the wild or in captivity, gorilla behavior is unpredictable, which is why no one really knows what could have happened in the Cincinnati Zoo with a 450-pound silverback standing alone with a 3-year-old child.

CHURCH: And that was Anderson Cooper reporting. We -- he, I should say, he also spoke to a woman who saw everything unfold at the Cincinnati Zoo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEIRDRE LYKINS, EYEWITNESS: You can see the moat. You can see him dragging through the moat. But what you don't get to see is the part where he comes up. We're on the far left side of this exhibit, and he brings him up on the right. And he has this little boy by the foot.

And he is dragging him. And this little boy is being dragged, fiercely dragged. And I'm not saying that the gorilla had bad intentions or had any intent to harm. It doesn't -- it's a 400 pound gorilla and a 40- pound kid, you know.

COOPER: Do you know did the -- was the boy crying or screaming out at all? I mean, again, you know, what we see is only what was on this video. And I'm just trying to get a sense of what you could see and actually -- or actually hear.

LYKINS: He did go into intermittent spells of crying and then -- and then not crying. But what people don't see before the gorilla is shot and he is between his legs. And people say he was just calm. And he didn't seem to be hurt.

But if you would have seen that gorilla dragging this baby, his little precious face is like literally just bouncing off of the rocks. And he looks lifeless. I mean, he just looked lifeless. We did not leave the zoo until we knew that the little boy was OK.

But it was -- I'll never forget it. It was absolutely a horrific. And no mother should ever have to watch that regardless if he had intent to hurt or not. That child was not a baby gorilla. It was a child who cannot endure this gorilla running across the rocks and dragging him by one foot while his little face is bouncing off of the ground.

When you see this child at the end, and he is setting between the legs and they say he is calm, he is concussed. My heart sank when we heard that gunshot because I didn't want him to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Still tough to watch that.

Well, Iraqi forces have an ISIS stronghold surrounded. But hear why there are serious concerns about the battle ahead for Fallujah.

Plus, even some of the teachers called it a scam. Find out what Hillary Clinton is saying about Trump University. We're back with that and more.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we're following this hour.

In northern France, police faced off with striking union workers along a train track in Le Havre just a short while ago. Things have calmed down now, but police were seen earlier firing tear gas at the workers who stormed the tracks. At issue, a proposed labor reform bill that's dividing the country.

Parts of Europe are dealing with flash flooding triggered by days of heavy rains. German police say the high water killed at least four people after a river turned into a torrent in a Bavarian town. Paris had 172 millimeters of rain in May. That's more than double the monthly average.

At least 13 people are dead after gunmen set off a car bomb and stormed a popular hotel on Wednesday in Mogadishu. Local media say two Somali lawmakers were among those killed. Al Shabaab militants are claiming responsibility for the siege.

The U.S., U.K., and France are calling for air drops of humanitarian aid into Syria. The U.N. Security Council will discuss this on Friday. A small amount of aid reached the Damascus suburb of Daraya on Wednesday.

The convoy carried medicine, baby milk and vaccines, but no food. And this was the first aid to reach the town in four years. The Syrian government faced a June 1st deadline to allow a delivery by ground.

And to the north, thousands of U.S.-backed fighters are trying to block ISIS access to Syrian land along the Turkish border.

Jim Sciutto explains the strategic importance of the Manbij packet.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN'S CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: These are the U.S.-backed Syrian forces taking on ISIS in a critical new offensive. The target? The area of Manbij, ISIS 's critical supply route to get arms and fighters into Syria and terrorists into Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Once you cut off the supply line that ISIS has, you make it very hard for ISIS to sustain its recruitment efforts, its current force levels and its ability to carry out attacks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Some 4,000 Kurdish and Arab forces are joining the fight. Backed by U.S. Special Forces. The offensive is part of a larger strategy to isolate the terror group. In preparation for one day retaking ISIS' capital in Raqqah.

U.S. Special Forces seen here in rare video are now embedded with Kurdish forces on Raqqah's doorstep.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEIGHTON: The Special Forces that are working with the Kurdish and free Syrian army and similar organizations are basically teaching them how to stand and fight, as well as providing them with the tactical wherewithal and how to actually prosecute these kinds of counterinsurgency campaigns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: ISIS is under attack in Iraq as well. Where Iraqi forces are in the midst of a massive assault to retake the city of Fallujah just west of the capital Baghdad.

The force a potentially precarious combination of the Iraqi military units, Shiite militias, U.S. air power, and Iranian forces, with reports that the commander of Iran's Quds forces is on the ground near the frontlines.

As Kurdish forces fight ISIS close to the Turkey border one coalition partner that's not comfortable with is Turkey. It considers those Kurdish forces to be a terror group. Part of the arrangement is that they will leave immediately once ISIS is removed. But Turkey not convinced.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

And for more on the battle for Fallujah, CNN producer Jon Jensen joins us now from Abu Dhabi.

[03:35:00] Jon, good to talk with you again. I do want to start with where things stand militarily right now. What are you able to confirm on that?

JON JENSEN, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Rosemary, there does not appear to be from an official standpoint a lull in the fighting. We understand that there are heavy -- there is heavy fighting going on in the outskirts of Fallujah right now.

The Iraqi army is also shelling positions within Fallujah proper. What is clear is that after some 11 days when this battle to retake Fallujah first started, for the past 48 hours or so, the Iraqi offensive units have been dug in, and the advance into the city proper has halted.

They've taken these entrenched positions outside of Fallujah for the time being. Now the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was on the frontlines just yesterday. And this is what he had to say about the ongoing operations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAIDER AL-ABADI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (TRANSLATED): The main target of the operation now is to reduce the number of victims among civilians, and also to minimize losses among our brave forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JENSEN: Now, he went on the say that within the coming days even, we could see the Iraqi flag planted over Fallujah.

But let's be clear. One of the main reasons likely this advance has halted is because the Iraqi army has encountered stiff resistance from ISIS fighters. They've employed a number of deadly counterattacks including roadside bombs, snipers. A number of houses have been booby- trapped.

And Rosemary, we also understand that the ISIS fighters have dug long deep tunnels under the city. So, all of these reasons perhaps giving the Iraqi army some pause right now.

CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. And of course, while the fight for Fallujah continues, the big worry here is for those 20,000 or so children that are being held in Fallujah by ISIS fighters. What are you able to tell us about the situation for those children

right now?

JENSEN: Well, Rosemary, the humanitarian situation in Fallujah is absolutely dire. The 20,000 children are part of an estimated 50,000 residents of Fallujah that are still trapped inside the city, unable to leave.

The concern about these children is that they could either be injured or killed in the fighting over the coming days, or perhaps made to be human shields for ISIS. Perhaps forcibly recruited to take up arms for ISIS.

This is one of many humanitarian aspects the U.N. now calls an unfolding catastrophe. Keep in mind the city has been under siege for some six months. There are limited food supplies in the city, medical supplies.

And the U.N. Also believes that their water stores may be contaminated, and that we could see an outbreak of cholera in the coming days. So, very dire indeed, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, a lot of problems there for sure. Jon Jenson joining us from Abu Dhabi. Many thanks to you.

Hillary Clinton is sharpening her attacks on her presidential rival. Up next, the evidence she says proves Donald Trump is a fraud.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: The man who set up Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server when she was Secretary of State will not testify in an ongoing lawsuit. Bryan Pagliano is scheduled to be deposed next week.

A conservative watchdog group is suing the State Department under the Freedom of Information act. Pagliano accepted an immunity deal from the FBI and is cooperating with its investigation.

Well, Donald Trump is unleashing a volatile of new vitriol against Clinton. The republican presidential candidate told a crowd in Sacramento, California that Clinton is a lawbreaker who doesn't belong in the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These are crooked people. We don't need another four years of Clinton, believe me. We don't need it.

She is one of the worst Secretaries of State in the history of our country. Now she wants to be our president.

Look, I'll be honest. She has no natural talent to be president. This is not a president. They talk about me.

Actually, a lot of people think I look extremely presidential, you want to know the truth. But do you really believe that Hillary is presidential, this is not presidential material.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, meantime, Trump is on the defensive against a barrage of damning new revelations about his now defunct Trump University.

CNN's senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin has the details.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Trump University preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money. That is the declaration of Ronald Schnackenberg, sales manager at Trump University from October 2006 through May of 2007.

Schnackenberg says that's when he quit, "because I believe that Trump University was engaging in misleading, fraudulent, and dishonest conduct." Schnackenberg even cites an example of a couple he thought "couldn't afford a $35,000 elite program." He was supposed to sell them because of their precarious financial position.

He writes the couple would have had to pay for the program using disability income and taking out a loan based on the equity in his apartment. He refused to make the sale, he says, and was reprimanded by Trump University. Then he stood by as another salesperson talked them into buying the $35,000 seminar. "I was disgusted," he wrote.

Connie Summer, a sales event manager for six months at the school said instructors used high pressure sales techniques no matter the financial situation of the students.

"I recall that some consumers had showed up who were homeless and could not afford the seminar," she writes. "Yet I overheard Trump University representatives telling them, it's OK. Just max out your credit card."

The declarations just released are part of an ongoing class action lawsuit, one of three claiming the school was a fraud.

Trump's defense so far, the declarations will be disputed in court and on the campaign trail. Trump holds up high approval ratings for his school, while individually attacking his former students who have sued him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEUMP: So, you have this guy Bob Guillo. He appeared in TV attack ads, even though he rated the programs a 5, meaning excellent, the top mark across the board.

GRIFFIN: This is Bob Guillo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB GUILLO, FORMER TRUMP UNIVERSITY STUDENT: It was a scam from the start.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [03:44:57] GRIFFIN: He says he was suckered into a $35,000 worthless

Trump University real estate course by a motivational speaker. And yes, at that moment, he did give that instructor a five out of five.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUILLO: And the reason we did that was that at every one of these retreats, the instructors would say your certificates of accomplishments are waiting for you in the back of the room, but you first have to fill out a questionnaire.

And guys, I want Donald Trump to invite me back to New York to teach more of these retreats. So, please be kind. Give me the highest rating possible.

GRIFFIN: Did you think it would get this nasty?

GUILLO: When you take a little guy like me, why not be nasty against me? What can I do to Donald Trump?

Facsimile signature of Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Drew Griffin, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: And Hillary Clinton is trying to capitalize on the Trump University controversy. She told supporters in New Jersey Wednesday Trump has a history of getting rich at the expense of hardworking people. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is just more evidence that Donald Trump himself is a fraud.

(APPLAUSE)

He is trying to scam America the way he scammed all of those people at Trump U.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN political commentator, Maria Cardona. She is a democratic strategist and super delegate supporting Hillary Clinton. And CNN political commentator Kayleigh McEnany is a Trump supporter and conservative columnist.

Thank you both for joining us.

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks.

CHURCH: So, Hillary Clinton's e-mail scandal will not go away. And now we are hearing that the guy who set up her private e-mail server will take the 5th in the State Department investigation. Invoking the Fifth Amendment. What does that tell you, Kayleigh?

MCENANY: To me it speaks to what's been going on for a very long time with the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal. Basically, attempt to cover up. We saw Hillary Clinton supposedly the State Department and preserve all of her e-mails and then she deleted 33,000 of them.

We've seen her change her story time and time again from she didn't have classified information to she didn't send and receive classified information or that mark as classified. She has changed that language three times.

It's an attempt to cover up which was what was a blatant violation of the law. Many say there are provisions under the espionage act that she blatantly violated. And I think the State Department report last week spoke for itself. She covered things up. At worst it was -- at worst it was lying. At that it was incompetence.

CHURCH: Maria, is it a cover-up?

CARDONA: No, absolutely not. Hillary Clinton and her campaign and her office at the State Department have been nothing but open on this. And in fact, Hillary Clinton herself has made herself available for interview with the FBI who is the one who right now is going through the process of focusing on the national security review.

Let's remember that the I.G. report was simply a procedural review of how you keep records, and what it stated unequivocally is that the way that the State Department keeps records is antiquated at best. The rules were blurry. No one knew what they were. Which is why past secretaries have done the same thing in terms of keeping a personal e- mail address.

And yes, she erased 30,000 e-mails. And guess what? Those were her personal e-mails. Had she been at the State Department when she turned over her professional e-mails, she would have been the one to choose which e-mail was going to be handed over and which e-mail was going to be deleted because it was personal.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: No. All that.

CARDONA: That is the focus of this. It has nothing to do with national security.

CHURCH: Let's listen to another subject. Because on Wednesday, Clinton attacked Donald Trump in a way that some have suggested is straight out of his own playbook, having a go at his university, calling him a fraud.

What impact is this likely to have, and will she keep hammering this? Will it have any impact, do you think, Maria?

CARDONA: Oh, absolutely she is going to keep hammering on this. Because Donald Trump has now proven that he is not only dangerous in terms of rhetoric, that he is not only divisive and bigoted, but he is now defrauded many, many people who have looked to him for the kind of guidance that he says he has in terms of being a fabulous businessman.

I think this goes to the heart of what he says is one of the biggest reasons why he thinks we should trust him to be commander-in-chief, and that's his business acumen. Well, it turns out that that business acumen is nothing but a fraudulent scheme, which is why I think it's going to be a very bad issue for him.

CHURCH: Kayleigh?

MCENANY: I think that's a bit of an over simplification because when you look at Donald Trump's enterprise, he has 300 companies. He has employed 250,000 people over the course of his career.

[03:50:01] This is one company, and a few people were upset by the product put forward. Meanwhile, there are 19,478 pages of positive reviews of Trump University, people who were completely satisfied. People who say that they had incalculable results after the fact.

So, I think voters care a little bit more about his overall picture as a businessman than one piece of litigation that is pending in a California court that has a bunch of holes in it.

CHURCH: Kayleigh McEnany, Maria Cardona, thank you both of you for joining us. I appreciate it.

CARDONA: Thank you very much.

MCENANY: Thank you.

CHURCH: And coming up next, the world's longest tunnel just opened deep beneath the Swiss Alps. We'll give you a close-up look at this impressive engineering feat when CNN Newsroom continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHINCHAR: I'm meteorologist Allison Chinchar. This is CNN Weather Watch.

The big story across the portions of the United States is all of the intense flooding that they've had in Texas. And unfortunately, even more rain is on the way. We've got that pattern setting up. It's going to bring in all of that moist, warm air from the gulf, adding to a very wet Texas.

And again, we're not just talking a little bit of extra rain for these areas. Some of them have already set, including Houston. Their wettest April on record. May well above averages.

And here again is a look at the forecast. You notice cities like Houston, Austin, also into Dallas, looking at additional 50 to 100 millimeters of rain. Some spots picking up an additional 150 millimeters of rain over the coming days.

And again, here you can kind of see on the forecast radar all of that extra radar. For the entire southeast in general. But these other states wouldn't mind having the moisture. Texas is an entirely different story.

Now, again, other portions like Chicago looking at a high temperature of 26 with sunny conditions. But enjoy the nice day. Because as we get closer into the weekend, we will have some thunderstorm chances returning to the area.

High temperature of 24 in New York. Partly cloudy skies. A high of 33 in Atlanta. Again, going into the weekend, however, we just start to see an increase in those rain chances.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: It took 17 years, 2600 workers, and 3200 kilometers of copper cable, but the world's longest, deepest tunnel is now open for business. It creates a high-speed rail link beneath the Swiss Alps connecting northern and southern Europe.

And CNN's Lynda Kinkade has more on the tunnel and the celebrations in Switzerland.

[03:55:00] LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dancing construction workers, angels with giant heads, and whatever these things are. It's a surreal ceremony for the opening of what's being built as Switzerland's construction of the century.

Leaders from Germany, Italy, Austria, and France joined Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann at the spectacle in Bellagio, Switzerland, where a record-breaking 57 kilometer tunnel now cuts through the Swiss Alps.

The mammoth engineering project links the station of Erstfeld the north of Switzerland to Bodio in the south. Work on what's now the world's longest and deepest tunnel started 17 years ago.

In 2010, an enormous subterranean drill smashed through the last few meters of rock. Trains will zip under the alps in just 20 minutes, reaching speeds of up to 205 kilometers an hour. When full operations start in December, it will shave an hour off travel times between Zurich and Milan.

The speedier subterranean route does sacrifice an alpine view. The Gotthard Tunnel bypasses the picturesque but slow got headline. The tourist should not be disappointed that winding route that crosses 205 different bridges will remain open.

With typical Swiss precision, the new $12 billion tunnel was completed on budget and on time. An impressive engineering feat that's cause for celebration.

Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me on twitter @rosemarycnn. I always love to hear from you. And I'll see you in a couple of weeks. CNN Newsroom with Max Foster is up next.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)