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CNN NEWSROOM

Fighting for Iraq; Crisis in Syria; Philippines Not Severing Ties with U.S.; Race for the White House; AT&T Woos TimeWarner. Aired 12-12:30a ET

Aired October 22, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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


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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): ISIS militants move against civilians, trying to escape the fighting around Mosul as Iraq-led forces step up their offensive.

Clarifying the terms of separation: what the Philippines president is now saying about controversial comments he made about the United States.

Plus: brushing aside slipping poll numbers, Donald Trump tries to rally his supporters with the U.S. election less than three weeks away.

These stories are all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for joining us. We're live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.

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ALLEN: Our top story: ISIS and coalition forces are fighting for Iraq in several cities and civilians may be paying the ultimate price. An intelligence source tells CNN ISIS executed nearly 300 men and boys as Iraqi forces try to retake Mosul. The source says they had been previously used as human shields and are now in a mass grave.

Earlier the United Nations says it was afraid militants had snatched 500 families from their homes to use as shields. Iraq's prime minister is deploying extra security forces to Kirkuk. That's 175 kilometers away from Mosul; ISIS is fighting there, too, possibly as a distraction. CNN's Barbara Starr has more.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunfire erupted on the streets of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk after ISIS militants launched a surprised attack.

Video captured the terrorists entering at night, ongoing clashes reported.

ISIS's sudden attack into Kirkuk some 100 miles southeast of Mosul is seen by U.S. military officials as an ISIS attempt to divert Iraqi forces from the larger fight to retake Mosul.

Kirkuk is a city of strategic significance because of its large oil reserves.

LT. GEN. STEPHEN TOWNSEND, COMMANDER, COMBINED JOINT TASK FORCE, OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE: They are a very resilient and challenging foe. They are very adaptable, very creative, cunning.

STARR: The first U.S. service member to be killed in the Mosul operation died after his vehicle hit an IED.

Up to 200 U.S. troops are in and around Mosul, advising Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

They are confronting initial rings of bombs and booby traps outside the city.

ISIS posting new video of clashes, it's weapons defenses are even greater inside Mosul, U.S. officials say.

The top U.S. commander telling the BBC, ISIS must be stopped.

TOWNSEND: They saw people's heads off on TV. They drown people on video it. They burn people alive in cages. They crucify people. And then they drive over people on the street with bulldozers.

Are they using human shields in there? Yes, they're probably using human shields in there.

STARR: The U.S. believes some ISIS leaders have already escaped Mosul. Remaining are about 3,000 to 4,000 fighters, about 1,000 are hardcore foreign fighters in a city of 1 million.

The U.S. is trying to get a better fix on the strength of the dissident movement inside the city and whether those foreign fighters inside Mosul will fight to the death.

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ALLEN: Barbara Starr reporting for us.

Iraqi planes have dropped more than 8 million leaflets over three ISIS-controls provinces. The leaflets have phone numbers that residents can call if they want to exchange information with security forces.

Libyan forces, with the help of U.S. airstrikes, are making progress in their battle to force ISIS out of the city of Sirte. It's the last ISIS stronghold outside of Syria and Iraq.

Reuters reports Libyan troops have recaptured five more buildings in the last area under the terror group's control. But ISIS fighters are resisting with improvised bunkers, booby traps and car bombs.

Thirty-three hundred migrants have been rescued off the coast of Libya. Seven bodies were also recovered. The U.N. says more than 300,000 migrants have arrived in Europe after crossing the Mediterranean Sea this year. Thousands more have died at sea, escaping brutal conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

A ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo is set to end in 12 hours. The Russian defense ministry on Friday extended the pause in bombing until Saturday at 7:00 pm local time. The United Nations hoped people would use the extra time to evacuate through so-called humanitarian corridors. A lack of trust in Russia complicated that. Here's Ivan Watson.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So far, we have heard very few reports of any civilians really taking advantage --

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WATSON: -- of a lull in the punishing and deadly bombardment of rebel-held Eastern Aleppo to try to escape.

This after the Russian military and the Syrian government announced the creation of a number of humanitarian corridors, with the Russian military publishing maps, indicating where these humanitarian corridors are and even broadcasting what they say are live video streams of these checkpoints where civilians have been encouraged to escape from.

Why have we not seen people trying to move out through this?

Well, there seems to be a fair amount of mistrust. And earlier, I spoke with one of the rescue workers in this besieged, rebel-held enclave from the White Helmets. This is what he had to say about the so-called humanitarian corridors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't seen anyone who lives in Aleppo City, I didn't know anyone who left Aleppo City. The humanitarian corridors are just fake and -- like lie -- just lies because there's no humanitarian corridors.

WATSON: On Thursday some residents of Eastern Aleppo even held a small protest, in which they vowed not to evacuate. Of course, many, many opposition people have lost their lives, have bled for this part of the stricken city.

But it's not just the opposition that are speaking out. It's also the United Nations, which has gone on record, saying that conditions simply aren't safe for evacuations out through the siege circle around Eastern Aleppo.

And the top United Nations human rights official has come out, also slamming the siege of Eastern Aleppo, effectively saying that it amounts to crimes against humanity -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Istanbul.

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ALLEN: In other news, at least 70 people are dead, 300 others injured after a packed passenger train derailed in Cameroon. Rescue workers pulled dozens from the overturned cars. The train was traveling between the capital and Cameroon's economic hub. It's unclear what caused it; eight extra cars were added earlier to the train to accommodate extra passengers.

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is insisting that he is not calling for his country to sever relations with the U.S. Mr. Duterte seemed to suggest earlier this week he would cut economic and military ties. But at a news conference Friday he said he is merely trying to pursue a more independent foreign policy.

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RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT, THE PHILIPPINES: It's not severance of ties. With severance of ties, you cut the diplomatic relations. I cannot do that.

Why?

It's in the best interest of my country that we maintain that relationship.

Why?

Because there remain Filipinos in the United States or Americans of Filipino ancestry.

Why?

Because the people of my country is not ready to accept a separation. What I was really saying was separation of a foreign policy.

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ALLEN: Kind of walking it back or clarifying there. Will Ripley was in that news conference. He's now at President Duterte's hometown of Davao City and joins us now.

Will, certainly, this president, this isn't the only controversial thing that he has said or done in his tenure.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is known to speak off script. That press conference last night was supposed to go a matter of minutes; it lasted more than an hour just after he had arrived from China. I was in the room.

And even though he did dial back that comment about separating from the United States militarily and economically, he did certainly blast the U.S. with his typical anti-American rhetoric, saying that America has failed in the area of human dignity.

And when he was asked whether the U.S. would withdraw assistance over allegations of human rights abuses here surrounding the -- President Duterte's war on drugs, where thousands of people have been killed without a trial, these extrajudiciary killings, he said to the U.S. assistants, "You can go to hell." Also talked about the European Union threatening to withhold aid for the same reason, human rights.

And this is a quote, Natalie, "F you, son of a bitch, I'll wipe my ass with your money."

Filipinos who support President Duterte say all of this is simply rhetoric from a leader who's passionate about his country but there are others here who worry that these words could do permanent damage.

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RIPLEY (voice-over): A slice of Americana in the middle of Manila, serving up burgers, fries and friendship between the U.S. and the Philippines.

DUTERTE: I announce my separation from the United States.

RIPLEY: A 70-year bond the new Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte seems ready to break in exchange for billions in trade, tourism and low interest lows from China.

Vicente Sia says his new president's --

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RIPLEY (voice-over): -- anti-American rhetoric doesn't sit well with him.

VICENTE SIA, BUSINESS MANAGER: I am very disappointed that he wants to cut the ties with the America and pairing to the relationship with China.

RIPLEY: He doesn't understand why Duterte is so willing to overlook China's aggressive claim to most of the South China Sea. A recent poll found most Filipinos have little trust in China and much trust in the United States.

So by pivoting towards China and away from the U.S., the Philippines populist president seems to be out of sync with many of the people who got him elected.

Near one of the Philippines largest Roman Catholic churches, a marketplace full of Duterte's key demographics, working-class Filipinos, usually more than happy to speak on camera about their president.

RIPLEY (on camera): Ask you about Duterte, President Duterte.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The silence, a sign of the divisive tone of Duterte's presidency. Locals say anyone who openly criticizes Duterte is swiftly and sometimes viciously attacked.

RIPLEY (on camera): What do you think when he said he wants to separate from America?

MARISA LAGUITAN, STREET VENDOR: I don't think so. It's better to be friends than enemies.

RIPLEY (voice-over): A street vendor, Marisa Laguitan, worries that the president's word could hurt her country, poverty, crime and lack of infrastructure continue to plague this nation of 110 million.

Ian Dulay says he's proud of his president for taking a stand against the U.S., even when Duterte used vulgar language to describe President Obama.

RIPLEY (on camera): What do you think when he uses language like son of a whore when talking about the American president?

IAN DULAY, CALL CENTER EMPLOYEE: Well, I have nothing against that. It doesn't matter what you say, it's how you say it. But he is just being real.

RIPLEY: Do you worry he can provoke other countries by being so real?

DULAY: It doesn't really matter. It's about standing up for your people.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The same people who stand to win or lose from Duterte's risky power play between the world's superpowers.

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RIPLEY: And, Natalie, even though these outbursts continue to happen, Duterte's popularity here in the Philippines remains extraordinarily high.

Before the China trip, it was ranking in the mid- to high 80 percent to low 90 percent in terms of approval, trust and popularity. People say that their leader, despite these comments, they believe his heart is in the right place, which is to make this country better economically, to crack down on crime and corruption here.

But of course, you read those headlines and the things that he says -- and clearly many leaders around the world are quite shocked by it -- people here in the Philippines say it's not shocking. Sometimes they think he might actually be joking. And you heard that one young man saying, hey, he's just being real. That is the view from here, at least.

ALLEN: Right. Well, when you are the head of a country and you make these types of comments, it's always probably best to be crystal clear what you mean. But we appreciate your story, very interesting, thank you, our Will Ripley there in the Philippines.

Mexican authorities have arrested a possible mastermind behind the disappearance of 43 students. This is the first time they've ever had a suspect. The former police chief of the city of Iguala has been captured after two years on the run.

Officials now hope Felipe Flores Velasquez could help the investigation. Prosecutors believe police officers handed the students to a gang and that they were later killed and their remains tossed into a river. It is still a mystery. But perhaps this is a breakthrough.

Coming next here, in the final push in the U.S. presidential race, it is on. The candidates kick it into high gear and Donald Trump is already looking beyond Election Day. That's next.

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ALLEN: Welcome back.

We take you on the campaign trail now. Donald Trump's campaign team says he will reveal what they call his closing argument on Saturday, a blueprint for his first 100 days in the White House if he is elected.

During campaign stops Friday, the Republican dismissed polls showing him behind Democrat Hillary Clinton and he stuck with his accusation that the election is rigged. Here's CNN's Sara Murray on the campaign trail.

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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a bunch of babies running our country, folks. We have a bunch of losers. They're losers, they're babies --

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sharp-elbowed Donald Trump is shrugging aside his sagging poll numbers and vowing to hustle through the final stretch.

TRUMP: Win, lose or draw, and I'm almost sure, if the people come out, we're going to win. But I will be --

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TRUMP: -- I will be happy with myself because I always say, I don't want to think back if only I did only one more rally I would have won North Carolina.

MURRAY (voice-over): The GOP nominee still claiming the election is rigged.

TRUMP: It's a rigged system. It's a rigged system. Don't ever forget it. That's why you got to get out and vote. You got to watch.

MURRAY (voice-over): As Trump's complaints became mere fodder for laugh lines for Hillary Clinton Thursday evening.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a 4, maybe a 5 if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.

MURRAY (voice-over): That's as the two traded barbs at the annual Al Smith dinner to benefit Catholic Charities.

TRUMP: The media is even more biased this year than ever before -- ever.

You want the proof?

Michelle Obama gives a speech. And everyone loves it. It's fantastic. They think she's absolutely great.

My wife, Melania, gives the exact same speech --

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TRUMP: -- and people get on her case.

MURRAY (voice-over): But at times Trump's jokes were perhaps too pointed, even drawing boos from the crowd.

Despite the tension, Cardinal Dolan had this to say about how the candidates interacted off camera.

CARDINAL TIMOTHY DOLAN, ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK: And after the little prayer, Mr. Trump turned to Secretary Clinton and said, "You know, you are one tough and talented woman."

And he said this has been a great -- a good experience in this whole campaign, as tough as it's been.

And she said to him, "And, Donald, whatever happens, we need to work together afterwards."

MURRAY (voice-over): With the major political moments, the convention, the debates behind him, it remains unclear how Trump hopes to turn his fortunes around. But he is certainly relishing the lighter moments at rallies packed with his faithful supporters.

TRUMP: I just got caught in the rain. I'm soaking wet.

How does my hair look?

Is it OK?

MURRAY (voice-over): Sara Murray, CNN, Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

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ALLEN: Well, we have this story is just in. New York police are investigating a white powdery substance found at Hillary Clinton's campaign office in New York. It is unclear what the substance is but it's being tested.

The Democrat, meantime, is on a whirlwind campaign stretch of her own. She is in several battleground states this weekend. Clinton reminded Ohio voters of Trump's comments at this week's debate, accusing him of refusing to respect the outcome of the election. She says he is threatening our democracy. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: He is basically saying, hey, we've been around 240 years. And we've always had peaceful transitions, no matter who won or who lost.

Look, if you lose an election, I've lost elections.

You don't feel very good the next day, do you?

But we know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship.

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ALLEN: Hacked e-mails posted by WikiLeaks show bad blood between Hillary Clinton and former U.S. vice president, Al Gore. In the e- mails dated last November, top Clinton aides discuss Gore's public refusal to endorse her campaign. He ultimately did ultimately endorse Clinton and campaigned with her this month.

This marks the latest batch of hacked emails that U.S. officials say most likely come from Russia in an attempt to influence election results. WikiLeaks says it will continue to release e-mails.

The second typhoon in a week to slam into Southeastern China continues to move inland. Derek Van Dam is keeping busy keeping up with these.

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DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Colorado has seen the first opening day of ski season -- so exciting, Arapaho Bay. So that was the place to open the first ski resort in North America today on Friday.

ALLEN: How about that?

Coming there for -- we don't even have changing leaves yet.

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ALLEN: All right, thanks, Derek.

VAN DAM: You're welcome.

ALLEN: Well, coming up here, it could be one of the biggest mergers of the decade, AT&T courting TimeWarner. That would be CNN's parent company. We'll tell you how the deal could shake up the tech and media industries, coming next.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) ALLEN: There are reports TimeWarner, the parent company of CNN, is in merger talks with telecommunications giant AT&T. There is speculation a deal could happen as soon as this weekend. Brian Stelter has more now on how it could shake up the media and tech industries.

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BRIAN STELTER, CNNMONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, yes, this could be one of the biggest media mergers of the decade. We're talking about AT&T. One of the biggest wireless providers in the United States potentially coming together with TimeWarner, the parent company of CNN, HBO and Warner Brothers.

Now right now neither side is commenting on these talks. But according to "The Wall Street Journal" and Bloomberg, which began to report about this possibility on Thursday, these talks are now very serious and a deal could be struck as early as Monday.

According to "The Journal," there is desire to get this done by Monday morning because AT&T is concerned about other potential bidders for TimeWarner.

So let me unpack what's going on here. You might remember a couple of years ago, Rupert Murdoch made a big for TimeWarner. He, of course, is the owner of 21st Century Fox, one of TimeWarner's biggest rivals. He made an $85-a-share bid for TimeWarner in the summer of 2014, which was rejected at the time.

Now senior sources back then indicated there would be interest in other bidders in a couple of years. And now here we are, a couple years later and TimeWarner is at least unofficially on the block, up for sale.

The TimeWarner CEO, Jeff Bewkes, is reportedly a willing seller at the right price. And what we don't know is what the right price could be. TimeWarner's stock was trading right around $80 before these reports on Thursday and is has bumped up closer to $90 as of Friday afternoon.

And presumably a bid from AT&T would be somewhere above that $90 price range. Now this is interesting because TimeWarner, as I mentioned, it owns CNN, HBO, Warner Brothers, a number of cable channels. It is a pure play video company, morning what it provides is news and entertainment through television and through the Internet.

And that's something that's very valuable to companies like AT&T, Google, Apple and others. AT&T very specifically has a huge wireless business but wants to own more of the content that people consume through their iPhones and through other devices.

So that's why AT&T is making this effort right now and companies like Apple are keeping a close eye on it. They could very well enter this fray, try to make their own play for TimeWarner in the hours and days to come -- back to you.

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ALLEN: All right.

Well, how about that one?

We'll let you know if we are soon a part of AT&T.

I'm Natalie Allen. Your top stories are right after this. Thanks for watching CNN.

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