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Race for the White House; Syrian Troops Prepare for Attack on Aleppo; Duterte Likens Himself to Hitler; Deutsche Bank Shares Rebound. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired October 1, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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


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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. President, will you pledge not to issue a pardon to Hillary Clinton?

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump goes after Hillary Clinton for her e-mails and engages in an epic Twitter rant.

Also ahead, searching for survivors. Residents of Aleppo dig through rubble while Syrian troops prepare for an assault on the city as well.

And a big threat across the Caribbean: Hurricane Matthew is near the top of the storm scale and is due to make landfall on Sunday. We have a live report ahead for you.

A warm welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Zain Asher and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

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ASHER: All right. Donald Trump has made an urgent appeal to President Obama. He's asking the president not to issue a presidential pardon for Hillary Clinton over her past use of a private e-mail server.

It's a bit of a strange request because Clinton has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department as well. But, of course, that is not swaying Donald Trump.

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TRUMP: Mr. President, will you pledge not to issue a pardon to Hillary Clinton and her co-conspirators for their many crimes against our country and against society itself?

Will you make that pledge?

(END VIDEO CLIP) ASHER: That was Trump at a rally. Earlier this week, Trump actually complained that his microphone at Monday's debate with Clinton wasn't working properly.

It turns out he was actually right. The Commission on Presidential Debates said on Friday there were actually issues with Trump's audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall but the problems did not affect the sound on television.

In the meantime, Trump is facing criticism from Democrats and some Republicans for a string of tweets he posted at 3 o'clock in the morning on Friday, bashing a former Miss Universe. He says he has no regrets, though. Jason Carroll has more.

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JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump up early and not letting up on his attacks on former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.

The GOP nominee tweeting before dawn: "Wow, Crooked Hillary was duped and used by my worst Miss U. Hillary floated her as an angel, without checking her past, which is terrible," Trump adding: "Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M. become a U.S. citizen, so she could use her in the debate?" -- yet offering no proof that such a sex tape exists.

Hillary Clinton responding with a tweet of her own. "What kind of man stays up all night to smear a woman with lies and conspiracy theories?"

And during a campaign stop in Florida later in the day:

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, his latest Twitter meltdown is unhinged, even for him. It proves yet again that he's temperamentally unfit to be president and commander in chief.

CARROLL: During Monday night's debate, Clinton raised Machado's accusation that Trump called her Miss Housekeeping and Miss Piggy after she gained weight following her Miss Universe win in 1996.

CLINTON: Her name is Alicia Machado.

TRUMP: Where did you find this?

Where did you find this?

CLINTON: And she has become a U.S. citizen and you can bet...

TRUMP: Oh, really?

CLINTON: -- she's going to vote this November. TRUMP: OK, good. CARROLL: Trump has kept the story alive by criticizing Machado on a daily basis, even as he pushes back on reports some of his advisers were not happy with his debate performance and are considering overhauling his approach before the second meeting with Clinton, this as Trump continues to cite unscientific online polls that are not true measures of public opinion.

TRUMP: Every single online poll said we won, which is great. Every single online poll.

CARROLL: And as for those accounts of debate discord, Trump tweeting: "Remember, don't believe sources said by the very dishonest media. If they don't name the sources, the sources don't exist."

It should be noted, citing unnamed sources are a common practice in the world of journalism.

Trump also at odds with the "USA Today" editorial board. The paper's board has never taken sides in a presidential race, but is urging voters to consider anyone but Trump this year, writing: "Republican nominee --

[05:05:00]

CARROLL: "-- Donald Trump is, by unanimous consensus of the editorial board, unfit for the presidency."

"The Dallas Morning News" and "The Arizona Republic," which historically have supported Republican candidates, endorsing Clinton this year.

Trump slamming the media outlets on Twitter, writing, "The people are really smart in cancelling subscriptions to the Dallas and Arizona papers and now "USA Today" will lose readers. The people get it."

For his part, Donald Trump says that tweeting is a modern form of communication and he called it, quote, "very effective."

But having said that, there are a number of GOP leaders who would like to see less tweeting and more thoughtful discussion on the issues -- Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: And to Jason Carroll's last point, a Trump backer and former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, has some advice for Donald Trump.

He says, when it comes to Twitter, just say no.

Take a listen.

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NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: I think what Trump's got to understand is he's either got to say I've got to be me or he's got to learn a new song, I've got to be president. They're not the same song. He's got to become much more disciplined.

For a while there, I thought he had really turned a corner. This last week, I think, has been, frankly, a lost week, a week which has hurt him, which has shaken his own supporters. And you know, you can't tweet at 3 o'clock in the morning.

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ASHER: So let's talk about polls. A new national poll shows that Clinton is actually gaining some ground on Trump after their first debate last week. FOX News shows that Clinton is at 43 percent; Donald Trump slightly behind at 40 percent.

But because three points between them is basically within the margin of error, they are essentially tied.

Clinton, though, is doing better in some key states, some key battleground states. In Michigan, she's up 7 points, 42 percent. Donald Trump is at 35 percent. You're sort of seeing a similar result in New Hampshire. Again, a 7-point difference between them. Clinton in the lead, New Hampshire is a key battleground state that could really go either way in November.

In Florida, the race has narrowed to just 4 points, which is barely -- barely outside the margin of error.

Let's get more on this, CNN Politics reporter, Eugene Scott, joins us live from New York.

We just saw in the polls that I read out there that Clinton is sort of slightly ahead. It's sort of been going back and forth but she got a boost from the debate. But the problem is, polls are very volatile things.

How does she maintain that lead for the next five weeks?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: I think what Secretary Clinton is going to have to do is focus on the demographics that she is not doing as well with. One of those groups is Millennials.

We saw in Michigan, one of the states you just mentioned, "The Detroit News," I believe, endorsed Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, who is doing very well with the young voters. The secretary needs these voters to be victorious in November. So we are seeing her use surrogates to connect with those voters.

ASHER: You brought up on interesting point because Donald Trump has not really received any sort of major newspaper endorsements.

Is that going to be a major problem for him or does it just not matter?

SCOTT: I think it will be a major problem for him with winning independent voters. His base isn't as concerned with what the mainstream media thinks of him. But people who are on the bubble and who care more about some depth

when it comes to policy issues are very fascinated or at least interested in what people outside of that core base have to say about the issues that Donald Trump will be over if elected president.

ASHER: Donald Trump called on President Obama not to pardon Hillary Clinton over the whole e-mail scandal, even though Hillary Clinton has never been convicted of a crime in the area of her private e-mails.

You know, what can Hillary Clinton do at this point to make the e-mail question just go away once and for all?

SCOTT: There's problem nothing the secretary can do to make the e- mail question go away once and for all. There's some speculation that even more e-mails will be released before the election. But she continues to speak out about it being a major error that she would handle differently if given another chance.

So that's the best that she can do with voters. But for voters who are concerned about that issue, they will remain concerned about it and likely nothing she can say will put it to rest.

ASHER: It's interesting; I thought that she gave a very good response during the debate. She sort of said, listen, I made a mistake, I'm sorry. I made a mistake. But you're right; it appears no matter what she says it will continue to haunt her.

Also another interesting point during the debate, Donald Trump came out the next day and complained about his microphone. He said, listen, my microphone wasn't working and everybody made fun of him. They thought he was making excuses because a lot of people thought that he didn't win.

But it turns out --

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ASHER: -- he was right. There was an issue with his microphone.

Tell our viewers what happened.

SCOTT: Well, that is true. Yesterday, the commission released a one- sentence statement, saying that there were issues with the microphone. The details weren't made clear immediately. But it's certainly something that Trump supporters would look to, to suggest that the system is rigged, which is something that the candidate regularly says.

Of course, the commission will say that they did not do that on purpose but that errors happen. The point is, there will be opportunities, two more debates, to move forward, for both candidates to make their points and their cases clear to the American people and hopefully audio issues will be resolved by then.

ASHER: All right, Eugene Scott, thank you so much for waking up very early in the morning for us. It's 5 o'clock in the morning where we both are. But I'm sure there will be lots of late nights between now and the start of November. Thank you. Appreciate that.

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ASHER: All right. Want to turn now to Syria's civil war and the town of Idlib, where one rescue brought an aid worker to tears. And a warning for you, the images we're going to show you right now on your screen are somewhat disturbing.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

ASHER (voice-over): Absolutely heartbreaking. Volunteers from the White Helmets actually dug for hours to save a month-old baby. An airstrike hit her home and she was trapped underneath the rubble. But they did manage to rescue her. The video was in the back of an ambulance.

The aid worker says he felt like she was his daughter. You can hear him; if you listen closely, in that video you can actually hear him calling out, "Dear God."

And the battle for the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo is intensifying. The U.S. estimates about 10,000 Syrian-led ground troops are gathering east of the city, getting ready for a major assault against rebels there. As many as 300,000 people are currently trapped inside Aleppo.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins us live now from Amman, Jordan, with more.

So just explain to us: amid all of this fighting, is there anything at all, Jomana, that the U.S. can do to put more pressure on Moscow?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is the big question. And at this point, Zain, of course, the issue of these troops that are amassing around Aleppo for what seems to be this final ground assault, as we've heard from U.S. officials.

We've also heard these reports in recent days, that you're talking about, about 10,000 is the estimate Syrian regime troops, also allied militias and Iranian troops that are preparing for this final ground assault into Eastern Aleppo and what can be done to stop it.

At this point in time, there seems to be no indication that anything is being done, at least publicly, to try and stop this. Of course this is coming after what we saw last week. The Syrian regime coming out with this announcement, saying they have launched a military offensive to recapture Eastern Aleppo.

And it started with this unprecedented bombing that we saw, this campaign, a few days of really intense bombardment of Eastern Aleppo, where hundreds of people were killed, really devastating airstrikes that took place in that city.

And talking to people there, Zain, they were saying this is something they have not seen so far during this war. And of course, the really worrying thing for people now is the fact

that you have about 300,000 people who are trapped inside Eastern Aleppo and this possible military assault that the U.S. officials are saying we're going to possibly see here the kind of firepower that is unprecedented, that could be unleashed on Eastern Aleppo when this offensive happens, if it happens in the coming days.

Really no clear sign that anything is being done to stop them after we've seen this real failure of diplomacy to try and stop the fighting in Syria.

ASHER: So you know, as this offensive is going on between the Syrian government forces and the rebels in the east, do the people who are trapped inside, the 300,000 people trapped inside, do they feel that the international community has pretty much given up hope and turned their backs on them?

KARADSHEH: Well, if you talk to people in the besieged part of Eastern Aleppo, Zain, they would tell you that, you know, every time they think they've seen the worst of this conflict, it gets even much worse for them.

And this is very true for what they saw last week, with that intense bombardment where they were -- people were living in fear. They didn't know if they were going to survive a day. And if they did, for how long for were they going to survive.

This is the bombardment that was so intense.

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KARADSHEH: And just to give you an example, I was asking an activist late last night how the situation is. And he said everything is relative in Aleppo. So he was describing the situation as much better, although about 18 people were killed and there were lots of airstrikes in Eastern Aleppo -- Zain.

ASHER: All right, Jomana Karadsheh, live for us there, thank you so much for that sobering report. Appreciate it.

A major hurricane appears to be headed for Jamaica. As I speak, hurricane Matthew has rapidly gained strength. It was a category 5 for a few hours before being downgraded now back to a category 4.

The U.S. National Weather Service says it's the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic since 2011 in terms of its wind speeds; it has sustained winds of roughly around 250 kilometers per hour, which is about 155 miles per hour.

And it's not just Jamaica that's in its path, it could also threaten Cuba, Haiti and the Bahamas as well.

So Derek Van Dam, our meteorologist, our weather expert, is joining us in the studio.

So what's interesting is just how volatile this storm has been in terms of how much it's been upgraded and now it's downgraded.

But if you are in Jamaica, if you're a tourist or a holiday maker in Jamaica and you're watching CNN, what can you expect?

What is some advice you can give to people who are there right now?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, they should be in their final preparation stage for a major landfalling hurricane. If not a category 4, a category 5.

We're talking about a formidable storm that poses a major threat to not only Jamaica, much of Haiti and into the Bahamas as well and the East Coast of the United States. You need to keep your wits about you because things could drastically change over the next five days.

This is some video out of Colombia. This is the farthest, lowest latitude category 5 hurricane that's ever formed. You're seeing footage coming out of Colombia, where unfortunately major Hurricane Matthew has claimed its first victim. A man drowned.

You can see some of the individuals here trying to sturdy their buildings.

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VAN DAM: What I want you to notice is that Miami and the East Coast of Florida still within that cone of uncertainty from three to five days out. They are not in the clear just yet. So we're going to keep a very close eye on this storm to say the at least.

We have hurricane watches for Jamaica that will likely be upgraded as most of our computer models have a direct landfalling hurricane in that particular region. Sustained winds well in excess of 150 miles per hour.

Take a look at the model spread there, just to give you an indication of where the storm could potentially head as the East Coast of the United States monitors Matthew very, very closely. We do not want to see another landfalling major hurricane to say the at least.

ASHER: So, wait, it's pretty much a coin toss at this moment whether or not it hits Florida?

We don't really know?

VAN DAM: There are a lot of dynamics at play here, Zain, that could steer the storm away from the East Coast of the United States. But I think it's important that we focus on the short term here and that is Jamaica, Haiti and all of the Caribbean islands there that are in the path of this major hurricane.

ASHER: It was a category 5 a few hours ago, now it's a category 4. Winds of 155 miles per hour. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much, appreciate that. Well, United Nations is concerned that tensions are escalating between nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. We'll tell you about the new clashes in the disputed region of Kashmir after the break.

Plus, the Philippine president is facing yet another controversy. Rodrigo Duterte has likened himself --

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ASHER: -- to Adolf Hitler. We'll explain how and why he made that comparison next.

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ASHER: Tensions between India and Pakistan are reaching a point not seen in many years. The two nuclear armed countries are blaming each other for their latest clashes in the disputed region of Kashmir. India says that no one was killed after two shootings between troops on Saturday.

Separately, India says it carried out surgical attacks against terrorists along the line of control on Thursday.

But Pakistan disputes that and says that two Pakistani soldiers were killed after a shootout that India started.

So the blame game between them continues. And India has actually taken the step of evacuating more than 10,000 people from the border area. The two nations have fought two wars over Kashmir.

The controversial president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has compared himself to Adolf Hitler. The U.S. says that that comment is deeply troubling and Jewish groups are now demanding an apology from him. Our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson has more.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In his first few months in office, the president of the Philippines has been no stranger to controversy. But his latest comments may be his most inflammatory yet.

The tough-talking Rodrigo Duterte is now comparing himself to Adolf Hitler. Duterte suggested he'd like to kill millions of drug addicts just as Hitler massacred 6 million Jews during the Holocaust.

RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT-ELECT, THE PHILIPPINES: Hitler massacred 3 million Jews. Now there is 3 million, what is it, 3 million drug addicts, there are. I'd be happy to slaughter them.

At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines, whatever, you know, maybe it was -- would like to be all criminals to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from it.

WATSON (voice-over): Duterte's anti-drug crackdown has been brutal and bloody. Since he took office in June, police say they have killed more than 1,000 suspects --

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WATSON: -- all purportedly in self-defense.

There's also been a surge of vigilante murders with killers leaving dozens of victims dead on the streets, next to signs accusing them of being drug pushers. This is being called "cardboard justice."

In his first months in office, Duterte has cursed Barack Obama and made controversial remarks about the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines and he also announced an end to future joint military exercises. That's raising questions about the future of the long- standing alliance between the U.S. and the Philippines.

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ASHER: That was our Ivan Watson reporting there.

Germany's biggest bank is in major trouble. On Friday, shares of Deutsche Bank bounced back from historic lows after the CEO appealed to investors for calm. Investors are worried that the bank won't be able to avoid a multi-billion-dollar fine related to the global banking crisis. Here our Atika Shubert with more.

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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bank secure Germany, the economic powerhouse of Europe. But at its heart lies a threat that could engulf the entire global banking system.

Deutsche Bank, the country's biggest bank, is facing a crisis. Shares have plummeted, in part to multibillion-dollar provisions for lawsuits. Investors panicked and Deutsche Bank lost half its market value just this year. CEO John Cryan (ph) tried to reassure staff in an e-mail.

Quote, "It is our task now to prevent distorted perception from further interrupting our daily business. Trust is the foundation of banking."

Some forces in the markets are currently trying to damage this trust. He also underscored the most important number for any bank: liquidity reserves, currently standing at 215 billion euros' worth, described by Cryan (ph) as, quote, "an extremely comfortable buffer."

But with share prices dropping and the U.S. looking to fine the bank $14 billion for misdeeds during the 2008 financial crisis, there are mounting concerns it will need a bailout.

Now the German government has said that, no, it's not in talks to rescue Deutsche Bank. But as market jitters continue to hurt the bank, the world is turning to Angela Merkel for answers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Germany was instrumental in forcing countries like Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain into bailout agreements during the global financial crisis, a lot of them related to rescuing the banking sector.

So for now, for the German government to say, well, we'd just like to go ahead and bail out Deutsche Bank, isn't exactly going to wash very well with their fellow Eurozone governments.

SHUBERT: The German chancellor is already under tremendous public pressure as a result of her controversial decision to welcome more than 1 million refugees into Germany last year. Her party has since suffered its worst election results ever. A big bank bailout, paid for by taxpayers, may not be popular.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is a wrong approach. Banks are private because one should not help banks until there is a real risk to the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Well, if the bank really went broke, then it would be a catastrophe that would crack the economy open.

SHUBERT: And they are right. The IMF recently named Deutsche Bank as the single biggest systemic risk to the global financial system. Like it or not, Merkel may be forced to consider a bailout. A banking crisis triggered in Germany would be the last thing Angela Merkel and Europe needs -- Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Prince William and Duchess Katherine will wrap up their royal tour of Canada on Saturday. They're set to visit a domestic violence center and meet with mental health representatives, that will be followed by a tour of Victoria Harbor. After that, it is back home to the U.K., ending an eight-day-long visit to Canada.

Up next, Donald Trump on tape, under oath. It is the deposition the campaign does not want you to see.

Plus: this Iraqi housewife says she's fought ISIS and Al Qaeda for years. Her story coming up next.

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ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Zain Asher. Let's get you caught up on your headlines at this hour.

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ASHER: Bill Clinton is opening up about his 40-year marriage to Hillary Clinton. In an interview on the Clinton campaign's podcast, the former U.S. President says his wife is more hesitant than some people to discuss things she thinks are better kept within the family, private things.

He also says Ms. Clinton has been shaped in part by her heartbreaks and disappointments as well.

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BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Hemingway's immortal words, "In some way or another, life breaks everyone and, afterward many are strong at the broken places."

And I think that she has literally spent a lifetime dealing with not only her joys and her blessings but also heartbreaks and disappointment, sometimes unfair treatment.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ASHER: Bill Clinton also said that sometimes when they both

return home after a long day on the --

[05:35:00]

ASHER: -- campaign trail, Hillary Clinton says, listen, we're not going to talk about politics tonight. And they don't.

And Hillary Clinton is speaking out against a series of tweets Donald Trump sent, basically trash talking former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado. Here's our Brianna Keilar with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton taunting Donald Trump after he went on an early morning Twitter tirade about former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.

CLINTON: I mean really, who gets up at 3 a.m. in the morning to engage in a Twitter attack against a former Miss Universe? Why does he do things like that?

I mean, his latest Twitter meltdown is unhinged, even for him.

KEILAR: Clinton is campaigning today in Florida, home to 29 electoral votes.

CLINTON: There are 39 days between now and November 8. Just 39 days left in the most important election in our lifetimes. We have to make every single day count.

KEILAR: The race there has been tight, but Clinton's debate performance is giving her a bump in the polls leading Trump in Florida by four points largely due to her advantage in the decisive I-4 corridor between Tampa and north Orlando. She's ahead by seven points in Michigan and New Hampshire. In Nevada, she's up six.

Clinton hopes the next debate, in a little over a week, will be a 1-2 punch, even as Donald Trump and his surrogates bring up Bill Clinton's infidelities.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: It's fair game to think about how Hillary Clinton treated those women after the fact.

KEILAR: Clinton is not responding.

CLINTON: Look, he can say whatever he wants to say, as we well know.

KEILAR And she's still focusing on this.

TRUMP: I alone can fix it.

KEILAR: One of Donald Trump's key convention themes.

CLINTON: "I alone can fix it."

I alone?

Well, we've learned that that's his way. One person getting supreme power and exercising it ruthlessly. That's why he admires dictators like Vladimir Putin so much.

KEILAR: Looking at these new polls coming out of battleground states, Hillary Clinton is hoping to build on this bump with some help from the star power of her surrogates. Bernie Sanders, we know, is going to be in Michigan soon, campaigning for Hillary Clinton. He was just in New Hampshire with her this last week. And Elizabeth Warren is heading to Nevada next week -- Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Just when you thought the U.S. presidential campaign could not get anymore unpredictable, it did. And I'm sure it will continue to.

Less than a day after Trump's Twitter rant of the former Miss Universe being in a sex tape, the website BuzzFeed found this clip from a Playboy adult video made 16 years ago.

Donald Trump is seen briefly welcoming Playboy Playmates to New York. He pours a bottle of champagne in a Playboy limo.

A Clinton campaign spokesperson said, "There's been a lot of talk about sex tapes today and, in a strange turn of events, only one adult film has emerged today and its star is Donald J. Trump."

In the meantime, new video of Trump speaks under oath during a deposition has now been released. It's part of a lawsuit between Trump and a celebrity chef, who backed out of a deal with Trump after Trump called some Mexican immigrants rapists. Here's our Sunlen Serfaty with more.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Newly released video of Donald Trump testifying under oath.

TRUMP: Unbelievable.

SERFATY (voice-over): The normally animated and bombastic GOP nominee taking a more serious and somber tone.

TRUMP: I believe my lawyer did...

SERFATY (voice-over): This part of a deposition Trump made in June in his lawsuit against celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian (ph) --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's see what this beautiful pantry has to offer.

SERFATY (voice-over): -- the restaurateur who backed out of opening a restaurant in Trump's new D.C. hotel after Trump said this about illegal Mexican immigrants at his presidential announcement.

TRUMP: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They are rapists and some, I assume, are good people.

SERFATY: Trump said the controversial comments in his speech were planned.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you write the statement in advance?

Was it written?

TRUMP: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did you plan in advance what you were going to say?

TRUMP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you talk to other people about it?

TRUMP: No.

SERFATY (voice-over): But it's that statement that Zakarian (ph) says caused him to reconsider his arrangement with Trump and backed out of the deal.

Trump admits Zakarian's (ph) decision hurt his business.

TRUMP: I get a lot of bad publicity because of --

[05:40:00]

TRUMP: -- the way they handled it. They grandstanded it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how has that harmed you?

TRUMP: Just a bad day of press, a bad few days of press. I think it, you know, I don't know how I can quantify it, but I think we were hurt by the way they did it.

SERFATY (voice-over): Still, Trump said his campaign success justified what he said.

TRUMP: What's not like -- you know, like I've said anything that could be so bad. Because if I said something that was so bad, they wouldn't have had me go through all of these people and win all of these primary races.

SERFATY (voice-over): Donald Trump's lawyers did not want this video released. Arguing it could potentially be used politically like popping up in campaign ads saying, quote, "Videotapes are subject to abuse."

After CNN and other media outlets filed a motion for the judge to release the tapes, the D.C. superior judge sided against team Trump, releasing the new footage despite opposition from the Trump campaign to keep the tapes under lock and key.

SERFATY: And with under 40 days ago, having it out there certainly serves as a remainder of one of the most controversial moments of his campaign, a moment the Trump campaign likely doesn't want to revisit, to put that out there fresh in the minds of voters this close to Election Day -- Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

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ASHER: An Iraqi housewife has been fighting ISIS and, before that, Al Qaeda, for years. She says she's lost loved ones in the fighting and has sworn revenge on terrorists. Our Ben Wedeman has her story. And we want to warn you that some of the images in this report are very graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WAHIDA MUHAMMAD, HOUSEWIFE: (Speaking foreign language).

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wahida Muhammad (ph) counts all the times her house has been blown up: 2006, 2009, 2010, three cars in 2013 and 2014, she says.

Describing herself as a housewife, Wahida, better known as Um Hanadi (ph), took up arms and leads men into battle against ISIS and Al Qaeda before that.

"Six times they tried to assassinate me," she says.

"I have shrapnel in my head and legs. My ribs were broken. But all that didn't stop me from fighting."

Her first and second husbands were killed in action. And ISIS killed her father and three brothers.

"This justifies," she says, "the following, I fought them," she tells me, referring to ISIS.

"I beheaded them. I cooked their heads. I burned their bodies."

Grisly photos from her Facebook page bear out her words. Her men showed me the machete they say they use.

General Jemaah Anned (ph) heads combat operations in Saladin province. This is his explanation.

"She lost her brothers and husbands as martyrs," he says, "so out of revenge she formed her own force."

Last week Um Hanadi (ph) and her men took part in the battle to drive ISIS out of her native Shirqat (ph). All ISIS left behind was booby traps and a few dead bodies. Many of the residents stayed put or, like Um Hanadi (ph), joined the fighting.

These boys recount the travails of life under ISIS.

"There was no food, no school, nothing," says one.

"They ruined us."

"If we lose Iraq again," says Um Hanadi (ph), we'll lose it forever.

In ways both tangible and intangible, this ravaged land has already lost itself -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Shirqat (ph), Northern Iraq.

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ASHER: All right. Got to squeeze in a quick break here on CNN NEWSROOM. When we come back, a murder mystery in paradise. Two American sisters found dead in their hotel room at a resort in Seychelles. We will have new information about what might have happened. That's next.

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ASHER: We are learning more about two American sisters who were found dead in their hotel rooms at a resort in the Seychelles. Officials there say the sisters died of excess fluid in their lungs but their family says they need more information from authorities. Our Rosa Flores has more.

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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Loving sisters, best friends who wanted to experience life to the fullest. That's how Robin and Annie Korkki are being described, two women who died in mysterious circumstances while on the vacation of a lifetime in Seychelles.

Police on the tropical island paradise in the Indian Ocean say hotel workers at the Maia Resort found the two Minnesota natives unresponsive in their luxury villa on September 22nd. Robin, 42, a commodities trader, and younger sister, Annie, 37, an administrative assistant at JPMorgan Chase, arrived to Mahe, Seychelles, on September 15th.

After sightseeing in Kenya and Tanzania, local police say the women appeared to be so intoxicated the night before they died that hotel staff had to assist the pair to their villa. It would be the last time they were seen alive.

A preliminary autopsy report revealed both women's cause of death to be fluid in their lungs, a condition known as pulmonary edema. The autopsy for Annie Korkki showed fluid in the brain or cerebral edema as the contributing factor in her death.

Toxicology reports are pending and the police investigation is ongoing. In a place known for its beauty and serenity, described by Annie Korkki as the best place ever, family members face the somber task of bringing their loved ones back to the U.S. on their final journey home -- Rosa Flores, CNN, Chicago.

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ASHER: Coming up next, van Gogh and the mob. Up next, how investigators managed to recover two of the artist's paintings 14 years after the heist.

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ASHER: Pope Francis held an outdoor mass in Georgia earlier Saturday. He led a service with roughly about 3,000 people in a football stadium. He was praying for peace and also drawing attention to the plight of refugees. He also met with the president of Georgia earlier in the day.

This is his second day of a three-day visit to the Caucasus region, which is between Europe and Asia. He'll be finishing up his trip in Azerbaijan on Sunday. That is a country with mostly Muslims but it does have a very small Catholic population, just a little over a few hundred people.

Now 14 years after being stolen, a pair of van Gogh masterpieces could soon be heading back to a museum in Amsterdam. Italian police recovered the paintings in the home of an alleged mafia boss. Our Barbie Nadeau has the story from Rome.

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BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mystery of the missing masterpieces finally solved after 14 years. Authorities in Italy revealed they have recovered two paintings by the Dutch master, Vincent van Gogh. "View of the Sea at Schevenengen (ph)" and "Congregation Leaving the Reform Church in Nunen (ph)," both said to be worth millions.

They were stolen from the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam back --

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NADEAU (voice-over): -- in 2002 in a daring heist that made international headlines. Police said thieves broke into the heavily fortified building through the roof.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we have seen is a ladder on the backside of the (INAUDIBLE) museum and we found the rope. We're still looking if those things has something to do with the robbery.

NADAL (voice-over): Following a massive investigation dubbed "Operation Vincent," police blamed the Italian mafia for the heist. Police say they found the works hidden in a house in Naples that belongs to a suspected mafia boss.

Experts have now confirmed the paintings' authenticity, saying they appear to be in fairly good condition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Needless to say it's a great day for us today to see the works and to know they are safe and that they are in safe hands. Of course we hope they will be able to return to our museum as soon as possible.

NADAL (voice-over): Because the paintings are being used as evidence in the investigation, it's yet not clear when they will be returned but the museum's director says he's been waiting for this moment for 14 years -- Barbie (INAUDIBLE) Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

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