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Trump's Foreign Policy Gaffes Raise Concerns; U.S. Veteran Seeks Asylum for Iraqi Who Saved Him; 300 Escape Plane Crash Landing; Hurricane Barreling Towards Belize; Actions Speak Louder than Words in New Jason Borne Movie. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 4, 2016 - 01:00   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

[01:00:16] SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Now giving you an update on our breaking news. I'm Sara Sidner. Thanks for joining us.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Vause. There is an increased police presence on the streets of London after a deadly knife attack in Russell Square.

SIDNER: Six people have been stabbed. One woman died at the scene. A 19-year-old man is under arrest.

VAUSE: We had a statement a short time ago from the assistant commissioner from Scotland Yard. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ROWLEY, SCOTLAND YARD ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER: As a precautionary measure tomorrow Londoners will wake up and in the morning they will notice an increased police presence on the streets including armed officer.

This is there to provide reassurance and safety and we ask the public to remain calm, vigilant, and alert.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: There was a witness who saw what happened in the aftermath. His name is Jeremy Chung. He talked to us just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY CHUNG, WITNESS: About six or seven of these vehicles surrounding the scene and the whole area was cordoned off. And the body was still laying on the pavement on the eastside of Russell Square.

The police response was rapid in that there were already groups of police officers going around the square asking questions and shining torches into residences and knocking on doors, and according to the bar owner at -- where I was, the police had already escorted away most of the eyewitnesses who witnessed the event first hand. And so the police were well-prepared, it appears. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Isa Soares joins us now live from the scene.

So, Isa, what's the very latest information that you have now on the stabbing attack?

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. Hi, Sara. Well, what we have seen in the last 45 minutes as you can see behind me over my left shoulder the area is still very much cordoned off, there is still police presence. I have to say there's several few less -- there's less bands of police at the moment but the police are still around the Russell Square area.

You will see that we had under the tent behind me, that's where the body of a 60-year-old woman -- a woman in her 60s, I should say, the one that was stabbed and did not make it to hospital. She -- her body has been removed.

In the last hour or so, John, we saw an ambulance arrive, a private ambulance that also belongs to a funeral service. That body has been moved. And now police still remain in the area cordoned off.

In terms of what we're hearing from police, so far we know the attacker is 19 years of age. We do not know any other information regarding his background. We know that mental health played a very crucial factor here, a key factor according to the met police. And we also know that the lady who died on the scene was in her 60s. Five others have been injured. We do not know the level -- the seriousness of those injuries.

As you heard there on the -- from one of the eyewitnesses, police were very fast in reacting here. Just some six minutes from that call at 10:33 local, John, the moment that they arrested and tasered him and arrested him. And then they went on to move and really eyewitnesses knocking on doors and moving them away from the scene.

Very, very quiet in this area at the moment. But of course Londoners just waking up. And they will be waking up to a heavy police presence, John.

VAUSE: Isa Soares there on the scene with the very latest. Thank you, Isa.

SIDNER: All right. We're going to talk further about this. Joining us now is former FBI special agent Bobby Chacon.

Thank you so much for being here. We appreciate your time. As you look at the scene there and, you know, you see some of the pictures and hear some of the details, two things are very stark. One that we're now hearing that mental illness, as they put it, may have played a role. But they are very clear in saying they haven't ruled out that this is potentially a terrorist attack. They are still investigating.

BOBBY CHACON, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Right. And I think -- and the fact -- if that's their direct quote, they're saying mental illness was a major factor.

(CROSSTALK)

CHACON: Yes. And so I think that they're -- you know, I think they came out with a tossup and now they're leaning much more towards the mental health issues, which could mean a number of things. To me it means he may have uttered some things that may have made it looked like terrorism but now that they are looking into more of his background, he doesn't have that much of that kind of background but he has much more a mental health issue background. And so I think that a picture is starting to develop for them. So they're kind of moving away from the terrorism, maybe moving towards a mental health picture.

VAUSE: There is sort of profile emerging from some of these attacks at least of people who are mentally unstable, who have, you know, mental health issues who then cling to some kind of Islamic terror group and then carry out this kind of attacks.

[01:05:05] CHACON: Sure.

VAUSE: So, you know, one does not exclude the other.

CHACON: No, absolutely not. And I think ISIS would be happy that they are wide net, that they are casting via the Internet to radicalize people is hitting some of these fringe people who have mental health issues that this now causes a trigger and now they're triggered to carry out certain attacks like this.

VAUSE: You have to be in a certain mental state to carry out these attacks to begin with if you diagnose it or not. I mean, in Nice to drive a truck into a crowd of thousands of people and kill them, you know, that's not someone who is mentally stable to begin with.

CHACON: Sure. Absolutely. And that's why it always feels like a terrorist, certainly a suicide bomber or like the terrorist in San Bernardino.

VAUSE: Yes.

CHACON: I think there is always a level of instability in their mental capacity. But I think that their allegiance to ISIS is --

VAUSE: Yes.

CHACON: I think that varies. You know, and I think when ISIS came up with this new paradigm about a year ago where they started saying, look, you don't have to come to the Middle East. You don't have to come to one of our training camps. You can just look online and as long as you attack the infidels at their heart and as long as you pledge allegiance to us and al-Baghdadi, the leader, you do that via social media, we will accept you as one of our own and you will ascend to being a martyr in ISIS and we will list you in our book of martyrs.

And for those people, for the hardened, real terrorist like the San Bernardino people, that's enough. That's what they want. And so maybe for somebody like this if he didn't pledge allegiance to ISIS, if he didn't take that step, you know, maybe he made some utterances during the attack that indicated maybe a possible terror link but I think that maybe now it's looking more towards a mental health issue.

SIDNER: And when it comes to this sort of thing, you know, you've already mentioned the Internet and we've seen this attack in Nice where someone is using something that we use every day, a truck, or a knife which is used in this attack. And there has to be a lot of concern on law enforcement's part that people will use whatever is around them so that they won't get caught if indeed they plan on doing something like. How do you deal with that? How do you try to prevent that?

CHACON: Well, it's much more difficult. It makes it much more difficult when you don't have a system of tracking the weapons they are going to be using, right? Chemicals and things like that. Now that they're using items -- I mean, the Boston bombers, though, they used household items.

VAUSE: Pressure cooker.

SIDNER: Right.

CHACON: The pressure cooker with bombs, you know, so I think that these things have been around for years. I think that, you know, this is still an intelligence driven business and we have to rely on the intelligence community like we saw the FBI tipping off the Brazilians last week about those Brazilian terrorist possible. And so I think that still -- I think you need to rely heavily on your intelligence network.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, Bobby.

VAUSE: Bobby, thanks for the insight.

SIDNER: Thanks for being here.

CHACON: Thank you.

SIDNER: In the U.S. presidential race, Republican Donald Trump is having what many say is one of his worst weeks of his candidacy.

VAUSE: His poll numbers are down against Democrat Hillary Clinton. The largest gap in the general election so far. And sources tell CNN there is despair and disorder within the Republican Party.

Jim Acosta has more from the Trump campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Setting off alarm bells inside the GOP on almost a daily basis. Donald Trump's campaign is swirling in an August hurricane of his own making.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: So I just want to tell you the campaign is doing really well. It's never been so well united. We started on June 16th. I would say right now it's the best in terms of being united that it's been since we began. We're doing incredibly well.

ACOSTA: One day after Trump told the "Washington Post" he wasn't ready to endorse Paul Ryan in his reelection battle, Trump's VP pick Mike Pence is going his own way, announcing he fully supports the House leader.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm strongly support Paul Ryan, strongly endorse his re-election. He is a long time friend, he's a strong conservative leader.

ACOSTA: Trump's battle with Ryan which comes on the heels of the family of a fallen Muslim American shoulder slamming the GOP nominee has the Republican Party on its heels. RNC chair Reince Priebus is said to be outraged over Trump's comments on Ryan and is now planning to show his own support for the speaker.

It's another crisis for Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort who is leading a staff that sources say is growing increasingly frustrated with its own candidate.

PAUL MANAFORT, DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: The candidate is in control of his campaign.

ACOSTA: Manafort is pushing back on reports that some of the campaign's top surrogates like former speaker Newt Gingrich are scrambling to get Trump back on message.

MANAFORT: The campaign is focused. I mean, the campaign is moving forward in a positive way. The only need we have for an intervention is for some media types who keep saying things that aren't true.

ACOSTA: But Gingrich who is one of Trump's VP finalist may be going rogue, too, telling, "The Washington Post," "The current race is which of these two is the more unacceptable because right now neither is unacceptable. Trump is helping her to win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is."

[01:10:01] But another top Trump surrogate, Dr. Ben Carson, predicted on CNN that Trump and Ryan will patch things up, creating unity in the party.

DR. BEN CARSON, ADVOCATE FOR DONALD TRUMP: He is very pro unity in the party. And you know, he will be obviously on board with Paul Ryan.

ACOSTA: Ryan's GOP opponent in next week's primary in Wisconsin, Paul Nehlen, is milking the tensions, in the hope Trump will endorse him.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I formally declare Donald J. Trump --

ACOSTA: GOP insiders are cringing over that prospect especially after Ryan endorsed Trump and took on a prominent role at the party's convention in Cleveland.

PAUL NEHLEN (R), WISCONSIN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat, it's hard to disagree with the fact that Ryan's efforts to undermine the Republican nominee who he pretends to have endorsed is exactly the kind of two-faced dishonest politics that represents what's wrong with Washington today.

ACOSTA (on camera): Trump trying to do some damage control here in Florida. He told a crowd at a rally in Jacksonville he met with six Gold Star families to express his appreciation for the sacrifices they've made. That's as close as Trump has come to an apology after his confrontation with the family of fallen Muslim American soldier.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Jacksonville, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining us now, Wendy Greuel, a formal L.A. city councilwoman and Hillary Clinton supporter, and Republican consultant John Thomas.

OK, their campaign was going pretty well for Donald Trump. He got his attack lines in on Hillary Clinton like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We let ISIS take this position. It was Hillary Clinton that -- she should get an award from them as the founder of ISIS. It's what it was.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: That's what it was. Her weakness. Her weak policies. America's been -- again, it's been humiliated in so many different ways. Wouldn't that be embarrassing to lose to Crooked Hillary Clinton? That would be terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Even got a Crooked Hillary in there. But that lasted about 11 minutes, John, and then he went off message. This guy cannot stay on message. He has no discipline.

JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Yes, he really hasn't shown to have the discipline and there's a different kind of discipline that's required in the primary when there are a lot of candidates, and he's able to get the most coverage and the rest of them, there's so many they can't get match the coverage. Now it's all about Donald Trump and it's feeding into a larger narrative that Hillary Clinton is pushing that he is unfit to be president. And until he makes it about her and her policies, this is not going to go well for Donald Trump.

VAUSE: Wendy?

WENDY GREUEL, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Well, we've heard Republicans on the news today. Newt Gingrich saying he is not a message and the kinds of qualities you need in a president is to be able to control yourself and to be able to not say the things he's doing and he can't do it. And I think that's where the American people are frightened and the whole thing about him being unfit is true. It's not just a difference of opinions. People are scared about him having the finger on the button. He talks about nukes and what he's going to do. That's scary.

VAUSE: We'll get to that in a minute.

SIDNER: Wendy, I want to ask you something because he has been able to give people little pet nicknames that are pretty -- they stick, though. They stick. So crooked Hillary and now he is saying she is the founder ISIS. I'd love to hear you respond to whether you think, even though we're talking about him going off the rails, whether that's going to come back again and again and could potentially hurt her?

GREUEL: No, again, I think his little stunts don't necessarily stick. And what Hillary Clinton and many of the polls have shown that people believe she is strong on foreign policy, that she is someone who has the experience and the knowledge to be able to deal with those issues and be commander-in-chief. And that he does not.

VAUSE: One of the problems he has, he keeps wanting to re-litigate the past. At this rally tonight, he went after Megyn Kelly, the FOX News host. He also went after these comments that he's been slammed for about a disabled reporter. This is what he said tonight sort of trying to soften history. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So I didn't know the reporter. But then it came out that the reporter said he knew me. He met me. He met me. 1988. He met me. And I knew who he was. I didn't know who he was. I didn't. And if I did and he was handicapped. He had a problem with something and he was handicapped. Must be a nice guy. Didn't speak to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That sounds fine if you listen to it tonight. But if you actually listen to what he actually said, which was this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Right after a couple of good paragraphs, and they're talking about northern New Jersey draws the prober's eye, written by a nice reporter. Now the poor guy, you got the see this guy. I don't know what I said. I don't remember. He's going like, I don't remember. Maybe that's what I said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: John, it seems to me that Donald Trump is operating in a world where there is no Interne, there is no history where people can find everything that he --

[01:15:02] THOMAS: It's just Twitter apparently. VAUSE: Just Twitter.

(LAUGHTER)

THOMAS: Yes.

VAUSE: He doesn't realize that people can go find these things.

THOMAS: Yes. I mean, here's the challenge. Donald Trump's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. His greatest strength is that he isn't scripted and that -- and he's not politically correct, and that's refreshing, he says kind of what a lot of us are thinking, but then he goes off the rails.

VAUSE: Yes.

THOMAS: It's also his greatest weakness. So he needs to get a team in place that can allow Donald to appear unscripted but protect him from having these off-color remarks and that's a hard thing to do.

SIDNER: I have to ask you, in your mind at this point with all the things that he himself keeps bringing up and with the Republican Party in the background saying, what are we going to do here, things aren't looking well? I'm going to ask you both this. Can the Republicans pivot at some point if they try to force him not to run?

I know none of us think that that's a possibility. But a lot of things we didn't think was possible and look where we are right now. If that happened, is that really an option? And what do you do from there? What are the Republicans do from there?

THOMAS: Well, first of all, it is an option but it's Donald Trump's option. The party cannot take the nomination away from him no matter what happens. The only scenario is if it got so bleak and it's not nearly there, if it got so bleak that Trump needed to save face, that he needed to bow out. If that happened they'd sub in a Mitt Romney or a Paul Ryan.

VAUSE: Yes.

THOMAS: And I think it would be a landslide for the Republicans because the Democrats are running the most unpopular nominee pretty much in my lifetime if it weren't for Donald Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

SIDNER: A landslide?

VAUSE: Go ahead. I just want to move on. So very quickly, I want to get to Hillary Clinton because we haven't heard from her yet. She had a big bump in the polls. She's staying on message. She's got no problems it seems. Listen to Hillary Clinton earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I really would like him to explain why he paid Chinese workers to make Trump ties. This is one of them. It has his name on it, of course. And instead of deciding to make those ties right here in Colorado.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK. So, you know, that's a standard stump speech. She does have this bounce in the polls. And they don't normally last but this time they are. And it seems to be lasting. The numbers are still there.

GREUEL: I think again because Trump -- you know, I think he is close to that edge. And this is who he is. And that he is not going to change. And today when the Republican Party is in panic mode and intervention, this is going to be a difficult several months. Part of me thinks Donald Trump doesn't want to be president of the United States. He's sabotaging himself. But Hillary Clinton is focusing in on the issues that are important about jobs and the economy and making sure that we're manufacturing things here in the United States, contrary to where Donald Trump has been manufacturing many of his products not here in the U.S.

SIDNER: She is staying on message.

VAUSE: She is. Sorry, we have one more -- we want to get to the nuclear code thing because this was extraordinary. It was raised by the host on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough, who's a Republican. He brought up the issue of nuclear weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC HOST: Several months ago, a foreign policy expert on international level went to advise Donald Trump and three times he asked about the use of nuclear weapons. Three times he asked at one point, if we have them, why can't we use them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right. If that indeed is true, I have to ask you first, because you just said no matter who gets put in, if someone else gets put in, there will be a landslide and Hillary will lose. But this kind of information, what do you think about this?

GREUEL: Well, again, I think not only are people in this country are scared about Donald Trump being president of the United States and talking about nukes like it's, you know, an everyday action, but the rest of the world is. And that they are frightened about his potential of kind of coming unhinged where he responds in a way that is going to damage not only, you know, us in this country but in the world, and being able to press the button and saying nuclear -- you know, we're just going to use nukes. Let's just -- let's do it. He is very lackadaisical about it.

SIDNER: Yes. Do you even believe that is true?

THOMAS: I'm sure he inquired about -- tell me about nuclear proliferation and the strategy. I'm sure he did. Several times. It's a really interesting stuff. Do I think he's going to wipe some country off the planet? I don't think he's going to do that.

VAUSE: It's probably just fitting into a narrative right now.

THOMAS: Right. Yes.

VAUSE: All right. We're out of time. So, guys, thank you very much. Before we go, I do want to bring this up because we are hearing from Clint Eastwood who has come out in favor of Donald Trump. He's telling "Esquire" magazine, quote, "He said a lot of dumb things, so have all of them, both sides. But everybody, the press and everybody is going, oh well, that's racist and making a big hoodoo out of it, just f'ing get over it." Mister Eastwood went on to say.

Some people are saying that maybe he should just stick to talking to empty chairs.

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE: Nice for coming. I want you to hear that post.

THOMAS: Thanks so much.

SIDNER: Appreciate it. Thank you, guys.

GREUEL: Thank you.

VAUSE: OK. And we'll take a short break. When we come back. Russian athletes are on edge as they wait to find out who will be allowed to compete at the Rio games. They have it on Friday.

SIDNER: Plus why U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has a brand new reason to celebrate before he even competes in the games. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:22:30] SIDNER: And now more on the breaking news, one woman dead, five others wounded in a knife attack in central London. Scotland Yard is saying now that mental health is a major factor but that terrorism is still a possibility in this attack.

VAUSE: Police used a taser to stun the suspect. He is 19 years old, in custody right in a hospital. All of this happened in Russell Square, an area popular with tourists, not far from the British Museum.

Russian athletes are still waiting to find out if they'll be allowed to compete in this year's games. Right now more than 100 team members have been banned in the wake of a doping scandal. Final decision expected before the opening ceremony.

SIDNER: Now bans were upheld Wednesday against rowing and weightlifting teams. The IOC will issue its final ruling no later than Friday, which is also coinciding with the opening ceremonies.

VAUSE: Yes. SIDNER: Awfully --

VAUSE: Right down to the wire.

SIDNER: Yes. CNN World Sports' Christina MacFarlane joins us now live from Rio de Janeiro. This has to be really, really rough for these athletes especially those who have nothing to do with this. Why is it taking so long?

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Yes. Absolutely unprecedented, Sara. And the reason it's taking so long is the process. This is what we've been seeing over the past 10 days, the individual sports governing bodies have been deciding whether or not their athletes are eligible. Now those who have been deemed ineligible will have the opportunity to apply to CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sports, to have those bans overturned.

Now we've seen some of the results of that today. As you mentioned, 17 rowers who have been deemed ineligible by CAS and one sailor who actually had his ban overturned. Now once that process is done it's not over yet. So the eligible athletes then need to apply to a three- person panel set up by the IOC four days ago to have their names completely cleared and we are expecting a final ruling as you say to come any time between now and the opening ceremony on Friday.

But it is just such an extraordinary time here in the build up to these games. Remember, it's not just the Russian athletes who are feeling anxious about this, but all the other athletes here at the Olympic Games as well because there is a significant degree riding on the medal count for this year. Remember Russia became fourth in the London Games back in 2012. And you know, I think there's going to be questions asked no matter what, whether a Russian makes the podium here in Rio and I think it could seriously cast a long shadow for the entirety of the games.

[01:25:09] VAUSE: Could all have been avoided if there wasn't a state-sponsored system of doping which was carried out on an industrial scale? But that I guess is beside the point.

Christina, the most decorated Olympian ever, Michael Phelps, he is actually speaking out about doping and his experience. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PHELPS, U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMER: We all want clean sports. It's all we want. We want everybody to be on the same playing field. For me I'm the only one that can control myself and that's really all I focus on. You know, I think I can honestly say as well in my career I don't know if I've ever competed in a clean sport. And it's upsetting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Yes, it's incredible to think that Michael Phelps is this -- you know, one of the greatest swimmers ever, but says he's never actually had a clean competition.

MACFARLANE: Yes. Absolutely is incredible, isn't it? And there hasn't been a great deal of reaction to this. But I'll tell you what, there is definitely going to be. Because this is a profound statement from, you know, one of the greatest Olympians of all time. 18-time gold medalist and it comes just a week after seven Russian swimmers were banned from Rio 2016 and sitting alongside him incidentally in that press conference was his long time coach, Bob Bowman, who actually went one step further than Phelps.

He said that the system is broken and that it needed to be fixed. And I think, guys, what this indicates is this great degree of anger that's obvious right now among many of the athletes who are competing here and the greatest Olympian of all time.

SIDNER: Pretty damning comments. Thank you so much, Christina MacFarlane, live for us there in Rio.

We do want to give you something a little lighter right now. Speaking of Phelps he was overjoyed when he found out that his teammates have said that he would be the guy to be the flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHELPS: When one of our staff members told me last night that I was selected, I think I had the biggest smile on my face you could possibly find. I mean, it was -- I was pretty much -- a little bit of emotion came over me. I probably shed a little bit of tears just of joy, just the honor and the opportunity to do that -- it's incredible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A little bit of emotion from Michael Phelps goes a long way, it seems. Also it could be his -- possibly last Olympics.

SIDNER: Next on NEWSROOM L.A., Donald Trump's grasp for foreign policy is alarming his critics again. We'll explain.

VAUSE: Also you'll hear from a U.S. veteran seeking asylum for the Iraqi officer who saved his life. We'll have more on their unique bond.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:16] VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

SIDNER: I'm Sara Sidner.

Now to breaking news. One woman is dead and five others are wounded following a knife attack in central London. Officer used a taser to arrest a 19-year-old suspect. Police are saying that he has mental health problems and that is major factor in the attack but they have not ruled out this may have been an act of terrorism.

(HEADLINES)

Donald Trump's foreign policy gaffes are raising some concerns about whether he has the basic knowledge or even the temperament to be president.

SIDNER: Our Brian Todd has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHEERING)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just days before he will receive classified intelligence briefings, critics are questioning Donald Trump's America-first foreign policy proposals.

Trump raises eyebrows this week when he didn't seem to know Vladimir Putin had already invade part of Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Look, you know, I have my own ideas he is not going into Ukraine. He's not going to go into Ukraine. You can mark it down, you can put it down, you can take it any way you want.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: He is already there, isn't he?

TRUMP: Well, he's there in a certain way. But I'm not there yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Later in that interview with ABC, Trump acknowledged that Crimea, quote, "has been taken." That was after he told "The New York Times," if NATO was attacked, he would decide whether to defend the alliance if they fulfill their obligations to us.

Trump later said he is in favor of NATO and stressed that some are not meeting their obligations to devote 2 percent of the economies to defense.

The Obama White House has also complained about NATO states failing to pay their fair share. But President Obama didn't hold back on his feelings, unleashing a blistering attack while standing next to Singapore's prime minister.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president. The fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia, means that he is woefully unprepared to do this job.

TODD: Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, a Trump adviser, insists that Trump has the temperament to be president.

LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN, ADVISOR, DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: No doubt. In terms of the decision making ability, his strategic vision for the direction this country needs to go, his ability to listen to advisers around him when we have these kinds of discussions.

TODD: But then there is the North Korean nuclear threat. Trump goes back and forth on whether South Korea and Japan should be able to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. In March, he seemed open to the idea.

TRUMP: We are better off if Japan protects itself from this maniac in North Korea, better off if South Korea frankly is going to start to protect itself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be a calamity of historical catastrophe. It would be the reversal of 70 years of U.S. foreign policy.

But it is logical from his perspective as someone who wants to have a more independent, you know, isolationist United States that isn't permitted to other countries.

TODD: We asked the campaign repeatedly to respond to his foreign policy ideas. We asked for an interview with Senator Jeff Sessions or anyone on his foreign policy team. The campaign never got back to us and a Sessions' aide said he was not immediately available for interviews.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:35:16] SIDNER: Many Muslims stood shoulder to shoulder with American troops during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One U.S. veteran says a former Iraqi officer saved his life during a patrol in 2006.

VAUSE: Chase Millsap is trying to pay back that debt. He is helping the man known as "The Captain" seek asylum in the U.S. That officer was injured in an IED explosion and he lives in legal limbo in Turkey. Millsap spoke to "National Geographic" about how the Captain risked his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHASE MILLSAP, U.S. MARINE VETERAN & FORMER GREEN BERET: We were at the check point together. The sun was going down. It was another day in Iraq. And we were shot at by a sniper. He pushed me down. And he ran toward the sniper, directly at him, risking his own life to protect mine. He saved my life that day. We became more than friends. We became brothers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Now here in Los Angeles, Chase Millsap.

Thank you for being here.

You're a former Green Beret with three tours in Iraq. MILLSAP: That's right.

SIDNER: Your life was saved because of this captain and you are going something for him. I'm curious the lengths you are going through to get him legally into the United States and whether the process was extremely difficult or not?

MILLSAP: It's extremely difficult. It's one of those things as a veteran, especially as a Special Forces veteran, we live by the motto free the oppressed. When the captain called me and said I need help, it's a no brainer to say I'm going to help you out and follow you down this path as long as I can help. We found barriers across the way. This is one of the largest refugee crises since World War II and looking at barriers internationally and nationally here in an election year it is difficult when we talk about immigration policy and things like that. So with this I knew it was going to be a daunting task but bottom line I knew this story needed to be told. And the best thing I could do and other veterans could do is tell that story. That's why I met with the captain years after I left Iraq and said how can I help?

VAUSE: Donald Trump has made it a part of his platform for a temporary ban of Muslims into the United States. The fact that he has put it out there, it's a major part of his stump speech wherever he goes and it does have considerable support from, you know, a large number of Americans in this country. How does that complicate everything for you?

MILLSAP: Well, I tell you things for me are simple. When you overseas and on the ground, you work with and advise, train soldiers from all over. I trained and served next to Muslim soldiers. And I look at this now and think this is so, so political at this point but also you got to go back to the human side of it. And I said it doesn't really matter. I hear things that come over and come out and a lot of it is hate and it comes out as toxic. For those of us on the ground who do this every day we have to trust the people next to us regardless of religion. When we hear those things coming out from both parties it makes our job difficult on the ground.

SIDNER: He saved your life but you have been talking to him for such a long time. He is now in a really difficult spot. He has three kids and his wife. They are in a country where they don't speak the language. How hard is it? There is talk about how easy it is to come to the United States.

MILLSAP: It's not easy. And the first thing he has to do is be declared a refugee by the U.N. before he could start the process. For a year nothing happened. Finally, he got through that. And now he is at the system where we can look at him from the U.S. refugee side and say this is somebody we would consider letting him come in here. For the captain, obviously, this has an emotional toll but I worry about the children. The three kids that have been forced to flee Iraq and pick up everything and now they are like what am I going to do?

VAUSE: They left everything behind. They are living in a small apartment in Turkey, in a strange place.

SIDNER: And he's injured.

VAUSE: And he is injured by an IED. This is a guy who has done his duty for king and country.

Chase, thank you for being here.

MILLSAP: Thank you.

SIDNER: Thanks so much for coming in.

VAUSE: And we'll take a short break. When we come back, terrifying moments for 300 people in Dubai when their plane crash landed and burst into flames. New video from inside the plane in a moment.

[01:39:57] SIDNER: Also, Hurricane Earl barreling toward Belize. We'll look at the storm's strength and path.

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SIDNER: Police are trying to determine the motive for a deadly knife attack in central London. One woman was killed. Five others stabbed. Police did manage to taser and arrest a 19-year-old man.

VAUSE: He is in custody in hospital right now. Scotland Yard says mental health is a major factor. There is increased police presence on the streets of London, including armed officer.

SIDNER: Now to new dramatic video from inside the Emirates airplane that crash landed in Dubai. It shows the moment that 300 passengers and crew escaped the burning airliner on Wednesday.

VAUSE: You can hear a crew member yelling or telling everyone to leave their bags behind and jump on the slide. Our aviation correspondent, Richard Quest, says that Boeing 777s are designed so that all passengers can escape in 90 seconds.

Investigators are still working out, trying to find a cause of that accident.

SIDNER: Our John Jensen has the details from Dubai.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN JENSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The frightening final moments of Emirates flight 521, a Boeing 777-300, traveling from western India, skids on its final arrival and the plane bursts into flames. Amazing, all 300 passengers and crew escaped with no serious injuries.

All flights into and out of Dubai were cancelled or diverted leaves nervous fliers to sit and wait.

UNIDENTIFIED FLYER: They told us there is an accident and we cannot give any information and they put all the flights are delayed, delayed. JENSEN: Some six hours later it reopened but investigators still

don't know why this happened. The Emirates chairman said they have all the data but it could take time to evaluate.

UNIDENTIFIED EMIRATES CHAIRMAN: It's not available. It is there. Only we have really to verify some of the information. So really I don't want to jump to any conclusion.

JENSEN: They'll look at everything from wind shear to the landing gear, which can't be seen in the wreckage. Officials confirmed one death. An Emirate firefighter died working to extinguish the blaze.

Moments of good fortunate for hundreds and one moment of tragedy.

John Jensen, CNN, Dubai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Now to a potential nature disaster. Hurricane Earl expected to make land fall in Belize soon. Heavy rain is drenching that country.

[01:45:11] VAUSE: Belize could get up to 30 centimeters, about a foot, as the storm passes over. The hurricane center says Earl will weaken after it moves inland as the storms often do.

SIDNER: Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is joining us live, with more on the path and the strength at this point.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: (AUDIO PROBLEM). The country all governmental offices have been shut down and in and outgoing flights from the international airport have been cancelled until further notice. 25 percent of the GDP of the country comes from tourism alone. Just in the past few moments, in the last 20, 30 minutes the storm decided to strengthen. It went from 120 kilometer per hour winds to 130 kilometers per hour. Here's the eye wall and Belize City. This is the latest radar. We are seeing the counter clockwise motion build up the stronger waves. We have had a problem with the storm surge just north of Belize City. This is what the outer rain bands look like impacting the region with heavy rainfall and strong winds. The good news is the storm is running out of time to pull in the moisture from the water. We expect it to weaken. Heavy rain and landslides are the major concerns going forward.

VAUSE: OK, Derek, thanks for the update.

Derek Van Dam, there at the International Weather Center.

We'll take a short break. When we come back, Matt Damon is back with a new Jason borne movie. A lot of action, low on words. We'll discuss what is behind the silent treatment.

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(RIO REPORT)

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[01:50:55] SIDNER: Serena Williams is known for her moves on the tennis court but she is going viral for something completely different.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: If you didn't know how to do it, now you do. The women's tennis champ gave a twerking tutorial for "Self" magazine.

VAUSE: Not the first time she has busted out this move. She did it at Beyonce's "Lemonade" video.

OK, the new Jason Borne movie is a crowd pleaser, taking in $72 million at the box office after a big opening weekend and actions speak louder than words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT DAMON, ACTOR: I'm not on your side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: In more than two hours, Matt Damon's character says 288 words, 45 lines and that's it.

VAUSE: We did the math. Assuming Damon was paid $25 million for the film, that works out to be a little more than $86,000 a word.

For more on this, entertainment reporter, Alexander Faez (ph) joins us now.

I get it, you know, this is an action movie. But doesn't this take the whole strong silent type to a new level?

ALEXANDER FAEZ (ph), ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: It truly does. Here's the thing. If there are any directors or producers watching if anyone wants to pay me $45 million to deliver lines like, "don't move," "Stay low," "the next bullet is in your head," "I will take 45 cents to do that," "just put me online," "less is more." But this kind of film I wanted to see more of Matt Damon's character. It has been nine years since he has been in a borne movie.

SIDNER: That's a lot of money, but the industry and how much money they make out of some of these films and they have all been fairly popular if I'm stating that correctly, does an actor like this, it just helps them build a successful brand. He gets paid this money because the studio makes the money, correct?

FAEZ (ph): Correct. I'm glad may made this movie. I love Jeremy Renner's work, but stick to being in "The Avenger," please. Let Matt Damon be the Borne guy. There are some guys who deserve these salaries. Matt Damon is a good guy, an environmentalist, gives back to the community and gives to children. "The Departed," "Oceans 11, 12, 13," "The Martian." Some people work hard and deserve the salary.

VAUSE: There is a trend here. Look at the movies recently. "Superman versus Batman," Superman has 43 lines. "Mad Max" grunts out 52 lines. So how much does it have to do with the Chinese market, the international audience and the dubbing and translations and sometimes the script doesn't translate well.

FAEZ (ph): You are right. You look at "Mad Max," it is award winning because of the score and the visuals. And with "Batman versus Superman" it was a terrible movie. I'm a Batman film. It was awful. But visually there were parts that had its moments. That appeals to an international audience.

SIDNER: You think they're doing this, keeping down the amount that is said because people are SnapChatting and tweeting and doing that whether in theater or at home --

VAUSE: And they can't focus.

SIDNER: -- and they can't focus. It has to be big and bright and in your face as oppose to lovely dialogue?

FAEZ (ph): Exactly. That's just the time and age we live in, SnapCchat, Instagram. Now it is Snap stories, Instay stories. That's why they are box office Hollywood films. But there will always be artistic good films we can appreciate and still enjoy.

VAUSE: Matt Damon did say once, quote, "For any young actor out there, it's not the number of lines you have, ever." A nice point. But we are getting to the point where we don't have the memorable lines anymore. Where's the "Get off my plane" and "to infinity and beyond." Name one memorable line.

[01:55:22] FAEZ (ph): Can I just say, one of my favorite lines, "This is dodge ball," Ben Stiller, OK? And I'm going to look to the camera and say it, "No one makes me bleed my own blood."

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE: I wasn't a mermaid. I was a merman.

FAEZ (ph): I know you and you know you and I know that you know that I know you.

VAUSE: There you go.

(CROSSTALK)

FAEZ (ph): Exactly.

VAUSE: Alexander, thanks for coming in.

FAEZ (ph): Absolutely. Thank you, guys.

SIDNER: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Sara Sidner.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause.

We'll be back with a third hour of news right after this.

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[01:59:54] VAUSE: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.