four days until the rio olympics and athletes are arriving. brazil says they're ready. we'll take you to the city to see if that seems true. it's now trump versus card. a war of words heats up between the republican candidate and the father of a fallen u.s. muslim soldier. some prominent republicans are speaking out in support of khan. a growing humanitarian crisis in the city of aleppo. rebels trying to retake portions of that city from government forces. >> hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm george howell.

good to be with you. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, "cnn newsroom" starts right now. ♪ just from the graphic it looks exciting. the rio olympics four days away. the excitement continues to build. but also the questions are building as well. there are concerns over the readiness of the infrastructure. even health concerns for the athletes and spectators that threaten to spoil a smooth start. >> that's not even counting what else is happening in the streets of rio. on sunday brazilians demonstrated against suspended president dilma rousseff. they want her out for good. that's all adding to a flurry of existing issues that brazil is hoping to put its problems aside to host a successful olympics. our christina mcfarland joins us live from leo.

we see the beach of copa cabana behind you there as the countdown continues, four days to go, so many challenges for the coast nation. what is the mood there and what's being said about all these problems and challenges and whether these games will indeed be a success? >> yeah, rosemary, george, welcome to one of our first-ever lives from the copa cabana and the first olympic games to be staged in south america. just look at the scene behind me. this is the copa cabana, one of four olympic clusters where the games will take place. we'll have the beach volleyball, the swim marathon, and the triathlon all happening here just behind our live position. but as you say, rosemary, perhaps unlike any other games in history, this olympics has been besieged with problems in the run-up. we've seen as you say the impeachment of president dilma rousseff, concern over zika virus, and deep economic

recession. but i can tell you, i've been on the ground for about a week and the mood is different from what i was expecting. there's an air of anticipation and excitement and that has been building each and every day that the athletes have been arriving here into the airport in rio de janeiro. just a few days ago we saw the fastest man on the planet, usain bolt, arrive at the airport with some fanfare it has to be said. he of course going for that historic triple triple here in rio. the 100 meters, 200 meters, and the relay gold medals. the third and straight olympics in a row we saw the u.s. gymnasts out here on the copa cabana shopping and taking pictures with fans. just earlier today a lot of the rugby sevens athletes have arrived in rio and they will compete in their first-ever olympic games. of course the rugby sevens along with golf the new sport on this the block here in rio. you mentioned those protests just a few minutes ago. there were protests planned here on the copa cabana earlier today

but turned out to be very small indeed. i think the focus is shifting now subtly from the problems we've seen to focus on the sport, which is just due to kick off in four days' time. certainly among the brazilian people i've been speaking to, they are pleased the olympics has arrived in rio. >> yes, certainly. that is where they want the focus, of course. but there is another drama brewing. involving russia's athletes in a state of limbo, not sure if they'll be competing. what is the latest on that, what impact is the whole doping drama having on the games? >> yes, rosemary, it is incredible to think, with just fur days to go, still uncertainty whether russian athletes will be able to compete. they're already here, we've seen them around the beach. they may still have to fly back home. what we're waiting on is a decision from the ioc on this. ioc have been roundry criticized for not taking a stronger

stance, for not issuing a blanket ban following the report from the world anti-doping agency where there was evidence found of widespread state-sponsored doping. earlier the president of the ioc faced the press and media for the first time at the olympics. he faced very strong questions over whether this doping scandal has damaged the credibility of the games and if the ioc have been too slow to respond to this. he was very defensive and he said that they've done the best they could under the circumstances. have a listen. i trust the people that they realize the difficulties we are in reserve. they realize that it was not an easy decision to take. they realize that we did our best to address this situation in a way which allows to protect

all clean athletes all over the world. >> the ioc have set up a three-person panel to decide which russian athletes pill compete at the games. the ioc determined they will have the final say on this, but of course time is running out. >> it certainly is. very frustrating for those athletes. christina mcfarland joining us from rio, just after 3:00 a.m., let's talk again next hour. when it comes to putting on the olympics it requires a lot of a host city, specifically it requires a great deal of new infrastructure to support the huge influx of people. our shasta darlington went out on the streets of rio to see just how ready that city is for the millions of people who will be coming in for these games. >> reporter: it's a beautiful day. we're going to head to some olympic stadiums and test out

the public transportation system which is coming together at the very last minute. olympic transport tickets cost about $49 for a week, or $8 for a one-day card. for the first leg we're taking this journey underground on the metro. and here we go. so we're going to head up to the escalator and up to the train that will be our next leg of this journey. so there are no signs yet for the olympic parks. tourists are going to be pretty lost. they would probably head to the information booth. we'll head over there. which is empty. let's ask security if they know. excuse me, olympic park? olympic park? part two, getting on the train. this used to be called the can of sardines train. obviously it's looking better now. they've put more cars on the

tracks, especially as we get close to the olympics, and more computer. so if you're coming to see track and field, this is your stop. and -- let's see, if you calculate the time to switch trains, it's about 50 minutes from your hotel door. if you continue on for bmx or rugby, give yourself a good hour and 15 minutes from the hotel. if you've just seen an equestrian event or canoe slalom and you want to get to the main olympic park, you're going to take this dedicate ed bus line. right now it's empty. it looks like they're still finishing it. once the olympics start this is going to be an important triple digit tree. it's going to connect the olympic park to all the main hotels on rio's south side. this has its own exclusive lane, so hopefully we won't be sitting in traffic. that was fast, comfortable, and air conditioned. i'd be getting on the metro now, but the new line won't be open until four days before the

olympics start. for now, stuck in traffic. shasta darlington, cnn, rio de janeiro. donald trump's bitter feud with the parents of a fallen u.s. muslim soldier is sparking widespread outrage from the leadership of his own party. the war of words began when kazir khan, whose son died in iraq, spoke at last week's democratic convention. he denounced the republican presidential candidate for proposing a ban on muslims and said trump had sacrificed nothing. trump later criticized khan's wife for remaining silent on stage. >> while not specifically mentioning donald trump by name, u.s. house speaker paul ryan spoke out in defense of the khan family saying, many muslim americans have served valiantly in our military and made the ultimate sacrifice.

captain khan was one such brave example. his sacrifice and that of khizir and ghazala khan should always be honored, period. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell offered similar sentiments, captain khan was an american hero and like all americans i'm grateful for the sacrifices that selfless young men like captain khan and their families have made in the war on terror." >> trump's former republican rival had an even sharper response. jeb bush tweeted, this is so incredibly disrespectful of a family that endured the ultimate sacrifice for our country." >> a spokesperson for his brother, the former u.s. president george w. bush, said, "president bush remains deeply grateful for the sacrifice of all gold star families, as we should all be. he thinks about them and prays for them each and every day." khan's father is calling on

those republican leaders to withdraw their support for donald trump. he addressed them on sunday here on cnn saying they have a moral obligation to repudiate their presidential nominee. khan also had very sharp remarks for trump's criticism of his wife. >> this person is total incapable of empathy. i want his family to counsel him, teach him some empathy. he will be a better person if he could become -- but he is a black soul. and this is totally unfit for the leadership of this beautiful country. >> we're also hearing from the democratic presidential nominee, hillary clinton, who weighed in on this feud at a campaign stop in the state of ohio. listen. >> -- to launch an attack as he did on captain khan's mother? a gold star mother who stood

there on that stage with her husband, honoring the sacrifice of their son, and who has in the days since spoken out about the overwhelming emotion that any mother would feel as her son was being honored, and then to have trump do what he did? i don't know where the bottoms are. i don't know where the bottom is. >> but trump doesn't seem to worry about the controversy. the republican candidate says his party's convention boosted him in the polls and he says he got more television viewers than hillary clinton. >> i had a very big bounce, in fact, i think you even said it was one of the biggest bounces in 50 years. it's been a long time since somebody had a bounce like that. look. i think the republican convention was great or i wouldn't have had the bounce that i had. as you said, i had 3 million people more than she had on the final night.

she had a thursday, i had a thursday. she had a speech, i had a speech. i had 3 million people more than she did. >> republicans had a boost after their convention and we're expecting to see some information or numbers on the boost for the democrats after their convention just last week. at the same time, the commission on u.s. presidential debates says it will not change the present schedule for the televised debates set for later this year. >> that is despite complaints from donald trump's campaign that the schedule is unacceptable. >> hey, there, yes. the debate about the debates is under way. almost two months remain before hillary clinton and donald trump are scheduled to meet on stage for the first of three highly anticipated presidential debates. but this weekend donald trump started to challenge the debate schedule saying he's willing to debate three times but he does not like the dates that have been selected. so let me tell you what's going on here. dat bates in the united states are organized by a nonpartisan group called the commission on

presidential debates. it's been around for about three decades. actually, its model has been borrowed by other countries as well. this commission, made up of democrats and republicans, sets the dates for the debates about a year beforehand. then also selects the moderators, the formats, and the locations. so the commission chose four days, three for the presidential debates, one for the vice presidential debates, last september. two of them conflict with nfl football games. and that is the thrust of donald trump's complaint. he says it's unfair to have the debates up against football because it will take away viewership from the debates. initially trump told abc news that he received a letter from the nfl complaining about the schedule. well, that turns out not to be true. the nfl says there was no letter sent. and today trump's campaign backtracked and said, actually, it was a source close to the league that told him about this overlapping. as for the scheduling issue, it is a real issue. two of the games are scheduled on the days of the debates.

but the commission says it had no other choice, this happens all the time, including in 2012, when mitt romney and barack obama debated. let me show you part of the commission's statement. an unusual statement they issued about this subject. they said, it is impossible to avoid all sporting events and there have been nights on which games and debates occurred in most election cycles. a debate has never been rescheduled as a result. the indication from the commission is, we're not going to change the dates this year either. what's really happening here is the beginning of a negotiation. the beginning of seven weeks, long weeks perhaps, of haggling between the campaigns and the commission that organizes the debates. normally these negotiations happen in private. the campaigns argue over everything, even the temperature of the air conditioning in the debate hall. but as with everything about this election in the u.s., donald trump is doing it differently. donald trump is starting the negotiating in public. back to you. >> we'll take a short break. still to come, a battle is raging.

the control of syria's largest city. witnesses say the civilians trapped there are setting fires to protect themselves. the fight for aleppo coming your way. hundreds of soldiers detained after the failed coup attempt in turkey. they've been released but the government is putting a tighter grip on the military. what powers the digital world? communication. like centurylink's broadband network that gives

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clean versus sonicare diamondclean. my mouth feels super clean! oral-b. know you're getting a superior clean. i'm never going back to a manual brush. there is a major syrian offense offensive under way. >> witnesses say people inside aleppo are setting fires hoping the smoke will keep war planes from hitting their targets. >> amateur video claims to show extensive damage to a hospital after weekend air strikes. it is the third hospital reportedly attacked in a week. cnn is following this story with our ian lee who joins us live in beir beirut. what more can you tell us about this new offensive? >> joernl, this offensive was announced yesterday by the military spokesman of a rebel

group in syria saying that they have a major offensive under way to break the siege on aleppo. a frontline about 20 kilometers long, roughly 16 miles. their objective is to break that will siege and as they say restore the flow of humanitarian aid. and just goods in general into that besieged part of aleppo. >> ian, the situation inside aleppo, we've seen so many images like the ones we're seeing now. what more can you tell us about what it's like for people that are there and humanitarian corridors for people to escape? >> the situation grows worse by the day. we did hear they are trying to obscure the sky so air strikes can't be done. there was one day of reprieve. but yesterday talking to sources in the city say those air

strikes have been ramped up, especially near the front lines. the situation for the general public, the 200,000 to 300,000 people there, it is really a humanitarian disaster. you go to the market. there's no food on the shelves. no fruit, no vegetables, no food products. doctors describe a lack of medicine and medical supplies. one doctor telling us they're reusing syringes, sterilizing them and using them over and over again because they've run out. then you look at the fuel. ambulances are on their last tanks. you have generators that are running the hospitals that are running out of diesel fuel. once that runs out, that will just sxoucompound the crisis th doctors say are already there. most people are suffering from malnutrition. there's a desperate need for this humanitarian aid. the syrian government and the russians have said they've opened at least three corridors for civilians to get out. they've said 169 civilians have

made it out. so really a drop in the bucket if you consider the hundreds of thousands of people who are in the city, those people not trusting the syrian government or the russians to live up to that promise that they will be giving humanitarian assistance. they're also offering amnesty to rebel fight hoarse want to cross over and lay down their arms. but a lot of skepticism there. and they point to events in the past where similar amnesty, similar humanitarian corridors have been open, but people are describing how they're separated the men from the women and children, and those men are never heard of again. >> this issue of mistrust at the same time, such a dire situation in aleppo for people there. cnn international correspondent ian lee live for us in beirut, we appreciate your reporting, thank you. another story we're watching closely, turkey's military is

now under tighter government control after a series of decrees following the failed coup attempt two weeks ago. the government discussed close to 1,400 military personnel on sunday saying they have ties to the alleged mastermind. >> the muslim cleric gulen lives in exile here in the united states. cnn's fareed zakaria sat down with gulen, who again denied any involvement in the coup. >> translator: let an international organization investigate this matter in deps. if there's anyone i told anyone about this verbally, if there's any phone conversation, if one-tenth of this accusation is correct, i will burn my neck and say they are telling the truth, let them take me away, let them hang me. but i am talking with certainty. i have neither talked to anyone nor did i say anything to anyone

on the phone. now in the background there could be people sympathetic to you or appear to be sympathetic with you in this situation or pressure to say things with promise of reward. >> i don't know and i won't be able to say anything about them. however, one of the most important proofs of a hastily made decision is the fact that the day after the event, thousands of people were fired from their jobs. this clearly shows that they have been labeled previously and they needed a scenario for such operations. common sense and good conscience tells us such. >> it's worth noting cnn has asked for a response from the office of the turkish president. so far we have not received a reply. in munich, german chancellor angela merkel attended a memorial service for victims killed in a shooting rampage at a morgue. >> a german and iranian tier

anger gunned down nine people on july 22nd before killing himself. police say he had no connection to islamic militant groups. muslims in several parts of france attended mass at catholic churches over the weekend. >> their presence a gesture of solidarity after the killing of a priest in normandy. the priest died last week when two 19-year-old terrorists attacked him with a knife. authorities say they killed him in the name of isis. historic firsts when it comes to the territory for tokyo's newest governor. ahead, the challenge that she will be tackling in her first few weeks on the job. plus neighbors form a human chain to save a woman trapped in a car by a flood. how eastern maryland is trying to recover from some incredible rain. you've wished upon it all year,

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welcome back to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm george howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour. with the olympics starting on friday people in raemg are demonstrating in favor of making suspended president dilma rousseff's removal from office permanent. the country's political turmoil has long been a point of concern for the rio games. donald trump caught up in a bitter feud with the parents of a fallen u.s. muslim soldier. at the democratic convention, khizr khan denounced trump's proposal to ban muslims from the united states in response. donald trump criticized khan's wife for remaining silent on the stage. khan told cnn that the republican candidate has a "black soul" and is unfit to be president. . syrian rebels are battling to end the government siege of aleppo. they began a major offensive sunday. syrian state television reports more than 150 civilians, mainly

women and children, left the city through a safety zone set up by syrian and russian forces. russian media report that syria and russia will establish four more humanitarian corridors into aleppo, but there is skepticism about how safe those corridors will be. to talk more about the situation there, let's bring in indy sedki, international committee of the red cross in syria. let's bring you in by phone. good to have you with us. i want to talk about this situation in aleppo. how bad is it? earlier we heard from our correspondent who said that when it comes to food, water, medicine, there's not a lot in supply there. >> yeah, effectively yeah, the situation in aleppo is deteriorating from one day to another. unfortunately, it's the civilians who are paying the higher price with the ongoing fighting. basically there is -- no one is

safe in aleppo. there are many areas which doesn't have any access to food or medical supplies or many of the water infrastructure and the hospitals have been highly damaged. so the situation is really very bad nowadays. and there is a lack of food, lack of -- increasingly higher prices in the the city. >> looking at these images, you get a sense of just how dire the situation is for people there. but at the same time, there is a question about trust. many people there concerned, wonder whether the syrian government will fulfill their promises when it comes to overseeing these humanitarian corridors. so if you could just talk to us about what people are saying, from whati do hear, given that

there are escape routes, but still this question of trust. >> referring to development in the last days, any initiative that can allow to spare the civilian population from ongoing hostilities and the fighting and to allow the injured people to have access to medical care or to be evacuated is positive. however, we have some humanitarian concerns when it comes to humanitarian corridors. because by definition, humanitarian corridors, they are limited in geographical scope. and they need to be well planned and implemented with consent of all the parties. that being said, a cease-fire is a must in order to ensure the safety of the civilian and also to leave the city. >> this is a logistical question. i'm looking at this video of

what seems to be supplies that are getting into aleppo. i'd just like to ask you, when it comes to getting that very important cargo to the people who need it, how is that going for groups like yours? >> unfortunately, from our side, we don't have access to eastern aleppo. and this is -- this situation there is very dire. and we have been asking a long time to have access to eastern aleppo and to be able to assess the needs of the people there. and to provide the humanitarian aid there in collaboration with the red crescent. >> indy sedky joining us live by phone, appreciate your insight on what's happening there in aleppo, thank you. voters in tokyo have elected their first female governor. eureka koyka was the first woman to serve as japan's defense

minist minister. >> koike beat her closest rival in the governors' race by over 1 million votes. he was the former internal affairs minister backed by the ruling party. >> anna fyfield joins us now from the tokyo post, thanks for being with us. how significant is koike's landslide victory and why did voters decide she was best equipped for the job? >> it is very significant. as you said, she is the first woman governor of tokyo, a city of 14 million people with a budget bigger than some european countries. she had previously talked about there being a -- not a glass ceiling but a steel ceiling in japan. so in some ways she's put a crack in that now. but i think the reason that she managed to harness so much support is not so much because she's a woman but because she was presenting herself as an

outside candidate who could come in and fix up the city after a series of missteps and scandal involving her predecessors. so as you mentioned, she was not backed by the ruling party. even though she has been a member of it for a long time and served in parliament as a representative of that party, she was able to portray herself as something of an outsider. >> and that's monumental in itself. ms. koike's predecessor was embroiled in a financial scandal linked to tokyo's hosting the 2020 olympic games. now it falls on ms. koike to ensure the games' success. how big a challenge will this likely be for her? >> this is a huge challenge for her and will be top of her agenda now. there's a lot of expectations surrounding these olympic games. japan has been in this economic malaise for decades. and so they are really looking at this olympic games as a way to inject some new momentum into the economy.

but it has been plagued by a series of scandals and missteps, plagiarism claims, corruption, all sorts of fiascos have bedeviled these games. there will really -- it will be in miss koike's court to fix this up. she will be going to rio later this month to collect the flag and take over the mantle of the games once brazil's done. >> miss koike is a former news anchor and speaks fluent arabic. what else do we know about her and the type of leadership she will likely bring to tokyo? >> right, she has a very interesting backstory. she speaks fluent english and is fluent in arabic which she learned at a student in cairo in the 19 physician. she went on to become a journalist interviewing gadhafi and libya and arafat, the palestinian leader. she had the history as a journalist and was quite well

known here as a result of that before going into politics. since she's been a politician she has really been on the read wing of the ldp part and has been promoting a conservative stance when it comes to things like historical issues in japan. so we can expect to see more of that from her. even though she's the governor of the city, she is the most high-profile woman politician in japan now and she carries a lot of clout because of that. >> anna fifield, "washington post," we'll all be watching very closely of course to watch this new leadership there in tokyo. many thanks to you. we'll have you back again next hour. recovery efforts are starting after a deadly flood in maryland. it is the worst the area's seen in decades. coming up, how quickly it grew out of control. and for the first time in the olympics, athletes without a place to call home will compete in rio. meet the olympic refugee team as

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two people are dead and an entire city is ruined after his tieric floods in the u.s. state of maryland. officials there calling it the worst they've seen in 57 years. >> incredible. a month's worth of rain hilt the ellicott area. within an hour a wol was swept away and died, a man was killed leaving his car. the focus now is on recovery. >> reporter: the ellicott city ravaged after severe flooding. cars sitting on top of each other. others swallowed at part of main

street collapses. >> people running out of the restaurant in panic. >> it's devastating to the businesses and the restaurants that are in town. it's very sad. >> reporter: gill robinson considers herself lucky. only dealing with four inches of water in her basement. but her neighbors in the historic district facing tremendous devastation. the raging floodwaters tossing cars around like nothing. one man seen in this video holding on for dear life. he was rescued after going under. >> the personal loss of life and just people's lives and livelihoods changed in a moment. >> reporter: maryland governor larry hogan spent the morning surveying the damage. he signed a state of emergency declaration and is calling this damage the worst he's seen since taking office. >> we're going to be trying to help house people that have lost their homes, we're going to try try to provide the assistance to get the entire community back together. >> reporter: main street is the hardest-hit area. sidewalks are missing and buildings are facing significant structural damage.

crews spent the day pulling up chunks of concrete. tonight officials are vowing to rebuild. >> we will make it vital and vibrant and even more vital and vibrant than it was before this occurrence. >> the images there just incredible. everyone asking, is in the end of this bad weather? >> let's bring in our meteorologist karen mcginnis in the international weather center following it all. >> good to see you guys too. what we saw were some slow-moving thunderstorms, but they had a tremendous amount of moisture with them. it took about two hours for this six inches of rainfall along a very peculiar weather system that just kind of is waving right across the mid-atlantic region. it will be the focus point for more thunderstorms, but let's talk about this particular rain event by the numbers. the timeline. in about 10 minutes they saw almost 1.5 inches of rainfall. in 10 minutes. then you go another 10 minutes

and we see 2 inches of rainfall. and before you know it, we've got 6 inches. in recent times, this is one of the most significant flooding events in ellicott city in a city that is historically known to flood, has over the centuries in recent times, 1972, that was due to hurricane agnes. so will ellicott city see the moisture today? hit or miss thunderstorms. it will be eastern pennsylvania, northern new jersey, that will see the bulk of the moisture. a couple of inches of rainfall or maybe 25 to 50 millimeters. but other than that, just scattered storms. but by wednesday it looks like a return to a little bit more of a moist pattern there. let's talk about our other big story and this is typhoon nida moving west-northwest fairly rapidly. there is a signal 3 out for hong kong. and that signal 3 indicates that small craft on waters should be in harbors.

that you should take action to protect yourself from flooding or storm surge. also wind damage. shortly they will probably up it to a tropical cyclone signal 8. will it make landfall in hong kong? well, on either side of hong kong, to the east or to the west, there's still going to be an impact. probably sooner than later because it is moving fairly quickly. if it is to the east, if it makes landfall to the east, that is going to cause the water, that storm surge, to pull out of that hong kong region. if it moves to the west, makes landfall to the west, then we're looking at a much more significant system. either way the impact is going to be significant rainfall, some wind damage, power outages, could see over 200 millimeters of rainfall. we'll keep you updated. back to you guys. >> karen, thank you. the refugee olympic team. they are already making a statement before the games even

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the olympics will have an historic first this time around. a team of athletes made up entirely of refugees. and they come from all over the world. but they're competing under one flag. >> it's just so beautiful. the world will get its formal introduction during the opening ceremony on friday. david mckenzie dacaught up with the team while training in kenya. >> reporter: morning training in the hills. a mecca for kenya's olympians. but these runners are refugees. they ran from their homelands from war and family. they have no flag of their own. >> one of them came in first, we went out training. and people were laughing. these are not athletes. coach, what are you doing with these people? that was very discouraging. at the beginning, as i thought,

are we going to make it? >> reporter: the coach is molding raw talent. refugees selected from south sudan, somalia and the congo training for a chance to make it to the rio olympics. it's the first ever refugee team. >> you see their times improved a great deal. >> oh, it does. it was not the way they're running now. >> reporter: rose has been running her whole life. when the war came to her village in south sudan, she fled the killing on foot. then in the back of a truck. >> people undermine refugees as if they are not human beings like them. if they can discover their talents and make it like other people so they cannot be undermined. >> reporter: rose says her tough

training can't compare to the hardship she has already gone through. growing up in a refugee camp in kenya's outer fringes. a city of refugees who fled from south sudan's old and new wars. here rose took care of her brothers and sisters, volunteering for an ngo, going to school, and running. >> i would not just let them sit in the camp. >> reporter: 43 athletes from around the world were selected for training. only ten will go to rio. overcoming a lifetime of trauma to compete on the world's biggest stage. rose will run the 800 meters.

she'll be running for her family, for the refugees of kakuma and for every one of the 21 million refugees around the world. given the chance, rose says, they can achieve anything. david mackenzie, cnn, kenya. >> when you consider everything they've been through, to get to that point and they are excelling, it truly is a beautiful thing. >> it is. >> you wish them all the best. >> so inspiring to see that. >> the excitement clearly building for these games. be sure to stay with cnn. our continuing coverage of this. >> just head to our website, cnn.com/olympics. there you can read more about the athletes, festivities and host city rio de janeiro. plus you can take the great cnn olympics quiz and put your knowledge of the games to the test. go on. do it. that's at cnn.com/olympics. >> i don't think i'd do so well on that quiz. >> i don't think i would either.

a skydiver in the u.s. has made history by plummeting to earth without a parachute. can you imagine? luke akins jumped above the california desert nailing the landing at almost 200 kilometers. that is 125 miles an hour. terrifying. >> look at that. how did he prepare? he did dozens of jumps each time wearing a parachute but opening it at the very last possible moment. in saturday's attempt he did it without a parachute landing squarely in a net. >> i can tell you, i will never do that. >> i don't think i will, too. >> unless you push me out of a plane. >> push with a parachute immediately. >> thank you for joining us. >> i'm george howell. the news continues here on cnn right after the break. (vo) a lifetime of your dog's

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a major offensive by syrian rebel forces in aleppo to try and take back parts of the city from russian-backed government forces. caught in the middle, more than 200,000 people. the growing threat of terrorism in europe. cnn brings you perspective from our correspondents around the world in several cities that have been hit in recent weeks. a look at how people there are coping. plus, history in the making in tokyo as the city elects its first female governor. hello and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm george howell. from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, newsroom starts right now.

3:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast. a battle is raging for control of syria's largest city. rebels there trying to regain ground they lost last week in aleppo. >> amateur video claims to show the extensive damage left by a weekend of air strikes. this is the third hospital reportedly attacked in a week. >> here's the thing witnesses say people inside the city they are setting fires, hoping the smoke will keep government war planes from hitting their targets. cnn is following this story with our international correspondent ian lee live in beirut with the latest. what more than you tell us about these latest offensie. >> george, the announcement was made yesterday by the military spokesman of a rebel group they've been planning this offensive for about 20 days to break the siege on aleppo. they say that the front line is

about 20 kilometers. 16 miles long. and that they hope to go in there and to restore the flow of goods into that besieged area where 200,000 to 300,000 people are living right now. the area is being besieged by the syrian government. they do have these humanitarian corridors they say open so civilians can leave and any fighter who wants to lay down their arms for amnesty, they can also leave, but talking to sources inside of aleppo, they are telling us they've been to these corridors. they haven't seen anyone cross over. they haven't seen any evidence that people had crossed over. syrian state media has aired video of people crossing saying that 169 people have made the journey across. 69 rebel fighters. but there is some discrepancy there between what the syrian

government is saying and what people inside aleppo are saying. >> ian, when it comes to the passage through those corridors, there is also an issue of trust for many people who are in aleppo dealing with the dire conditions there. but wanting to escape. they question whether the syrian government will uphold its promises. >> that's right. and, really, i think it's the numbers that speak louder than anything. the syrian government saying 169 people have made it across. this is a city under siege. the humanitarian condition there grows more dire. there's a lack of food, lack of water, lack of medical supplies and medicine. they're reusing one-time use items, syringes. people are saying -- or doctors are saying that most everyone is suffering from malnutrition. and so the situation gets worse, you aren't seeing people use these humanitarian corridors in large numbers. there's 200 ,000 to 300,000

people. when you talk to people inside aleppo, they say they don't trust the syrian government to live up to its promise that if people were to leave they'd be treated well. the russians have said they have 14 tons of humanitarian aid waiting for people to cross over. but when you talk to people, they point to other incidents in the past where people have gone through these humanitarian corridors, the syrian observatory for human rights has said that when people have crossed over in the past that men are separated from women and children and those men are never heard of again, george. >> you see these images. you get a sense as best you can from just seeing images of the hell that people are going through there. and the uncertainty of whether to take these routes that would allow them to escape. our international correspondent ian lee live in beirut. thank you for the report. europe has been grappling with the series of terror attacks over the last few weeks. in germany, isis claimed two of

five attacks in the span of eight days. >> authorities made arrests connected with last week's terror attack at a church in france, and now uk authorities say an attack on british soil is, quote, a case of when, not if. >> yeah, and with more on all this, we're joined in london. alexandra field is in paris and fred pleitgen is in germany. nema, a sobering warning from uk authorities on the likelihood of an upcoming attack on british soil. what are authorities doing to try to reduce the possibility of a future attack if they think it's imminent perhaps? similar to what we're seeing across europe. >> this is very much in the aftermath of paris, rosemary. what they are saying is, although the uk terror threat level remains at severe, which is the second highest level, just below critical, what's

about how the country's police officer is saying that for him means when, not if. this means an attack is highly likely, especially post paris. they are increasing the number of trained police officers who can operate firearms by substantial number. that gives you a sense of the threat level here. they've gone from something like 200 to 2,800 police officers able to use firearms and able to be deployed. they've also moved all terror police officers to a 24-hour level of preparedness. that means they are immediately deployable. and sadly, sir bernard howe is saying it's about managing expectations. they have been so far both lucky and good, as he put it. but the reality is in this current climate, it's not just about what they claim. it is about the reality they are claiming everything.

we've seen this increasing elastisity in the so-called islamic state are able to detail as successes. and often there's been -- there have been huge question marks about really whether they were on the ground level of these attacks. it's part of that mythology jising, that's allowed them to pull in recruits. they're saying it doesn't have to be a spectacular. it doesn't have to be another lee rigby attack where we saw a british soldier murdered on the streets of the capital as we did three years ago. it can be anything at any time. and they are as it stands now prepared for the worst. >> nima, thank you so much. now let's go live to paris. alexandra field following more developments. these developments in france and belgium. >> that's right. continued counterterrorism operation in the aftermath of these repeated terror attacks in

france and also in brussels. here in france we know the men who carried out that vicious attack on a church taking nuns hostage and churchgoers hostage, killing a priest were known to authorities. they were on that list of people suspected to have been radicalized. we know authorities in this country are struggling to monitor that list. it includes thousands of names. 10,000 alone here in france. so in the aftermath of that attack, you have had police launching additional operations. we know they took five people into custody in connection with the investigation into that attack. two people now remain under arrest. over the weekend, we're learning the cousin of one of the attackers, that attack ethe cousin is suspected of having had information about his co cousin's plan to attack the church. officials don't believe he had specific information about where or when or how exactly that attack would take place, but he is now facing charges for whatever he did know about his cousin's intentions. another associate remains under arrest. he's suspected of being an individual who was radicalized

and attempted to travel to syria. however, the charges he is being held on are not directly related to the attack on the church. and over in belgium, more counterterrorism operations over the weekend. we have seen a number of operations, countless operations in brussels since the attacks that occurred in that city back in march. and even as early as november when the attacks here in paris were connected to operatives in brussels. so over the weekend, authorities went to eight different locations. they initially took two brothers into custody. a judge released one of the brothers, but the other brother has been charged with attempted terrorist murder. and officials suspect that he was plotting some kind of attack somewhere in belgium. they have not released any details about what kind of attack he may have been planning, where he was in the planning stages or what the target could have been. this is more evidence when you put it all together of authorities across europe struggling to intercept, struggling to intervene before more attacks can be carried out.

they've got big lists here to monitor, george. >> alexandra field joining us live from paris where it is just after 9:00 in the morning. german chancellor angela merkel is under scrutiny after a series of terror attacks in the country. critics are pointing the finger at her open-door refugee policy. cnn international correspondent fred pleitgen joins us from cologne where merkel attended a service for attack victims on sunday. let's talk more about that memorial service and, of course, the intense pressure that angela merkel is feeling now, of course, due to her immigration policy. >> she certainly is feeling pressure due to that immigration policy. the memorial service she attended in munich yesterday was for the victims of the munich attack and the attacker there was more of a neo-nazi or right winger than he would have been sort of coming from an islamist sort of corner. so this is something where she was at the memorial there on

sunday. she attended it. it was certainly something that shook german society. at the same time, a string of attacks that took place in germany. two of them were inspired by isis and those two apparently were carried out by people who came here to germany as refugees. and that certainly is something that has caused angela merkel to feel a considerable amount of pressure. she cut her holiday short. she came back to berlin. the first thing she did was a large press conference where she presented a nine-point plan where she says she's trying to get the authorities but also society to come to terms with what she believes and what everybody else here believes is an increased threat here in this country. she said on the one hand she wanted to increase the number of police officers. their kit as well. also give them more powers than they had before. one of the other things the germans were also talking about is allowing the german military to operate inside the country. that's something that's been a no-no for the german military since world war ii.

and there are other powers as well where she says there needs to be more intelligence gathering, better cooperation between the intelligence services. at the same time, she understands that if there is a major attack that happens here in germany, because they were very concerned about the attacks that did take place. by and large they weren't as bad as in paris or brussels. if there is a major attack, she knows that the mood here in germany could swing very, very badly, especially in light of the fact this country took in 1.1 million refugees in 2015. a lot of germans very concerned. and that certainly is something that's weighing on the german chancellor as well. >> indeed. and a lot of nervousness right across europe there. fred pleitgen reporting from cologne, germany. many thanks to all three of you. the olympic countdown clock is at four days right now. but the excitement is being undercut by problems and concerns that remain. we'll take a look at whether rio is actually even ready.

>> a lot to look at there. plus, donald trump's latest war of words isn't directed at his political rivals but at the parents of a fallen soldier. how other republican leaders are responding to the bitter feud still ahead. whoo! oh, don't worry it. they can't hear me. i'm just in your head. (announcer vo) no matter how you use your data verizon's got your back. introducing the new verizon plan. now get 30% more data. no surprise overages. and keep the data you don't use. all on america's best network.

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makes you want to move. four days. it's exciting. four days to go until the rio olympics. the excitement absolutely building. but there have been wide-ranging concerns about the city's readiness for the games that are just about to happen. critics have issued -- raised issues about the infrastructure, about security and even health issues. >> as if that's not enough, this was the scene in rio on sunday. brazilians demonstrated against their suspended president dilma rousseff. they called for her removal from office to be permanent. amid the political turmoil and everything else, the fans and athletes are nonetheless very excited to kick off the

games. let's bring in christina mcfarland with copacabana beach behind her. just four days to go. so many challenges for the host nation. what's the mood there and what's been happening on the ground as the countdown to the start of the games gets under way. >> there's been a lot happening on the ground here. it's a little over 4:00 a.m. in the morning. despite the hour, you can see the beach behind me completely lit up. can you believe there are already people out here walking their dogs and running alongside the beach. this is one of four olympic clusters where the games will be played out. here we'll have the beach volleyball, swimming marathon and triathlon to name but a few. as you say, there has been perhaps unlike any other games in olympic history such -- so many problems in the build-up to these olympic games. the impeachment of president rousse rousseff, concern over the zika virus and deep economic recession. but i can tell you, i've been on

the ground now for about a week. and the mood here has been somewhat different from what i expected. it's been fairly upbeat. it's been a growing sense of anticipation and excitement, especially as we've seen the athletes arriving in rio de janeiro. just a couple of days ooh three days ago, the fastest man on the planet, usain bolt arrived at the airport with a typical fanfare. we saw the u.s. gymnasts out here yesterday on the copacabana taking photos, shopping, taking in the sites and a very special moment on saturday when those refugee athletes arrived in rio for the very first time. they've been out taking in the sites as well traveling up to the christ the redeemer statue on saturday. a special moment for them. there was a protest planned here by local brazilian people on the beach of copacabana a few hours ago but that turned out to be very small. the mood is shifting from the problems we've seen in the run-up to the sports themselves

as we count down to that opening ceremony in just four days time. >> and all positive stuff there. want to go back to one of the negatives because russian athletes in a state of limbo right now. not quite sure if they'll be competing or not. when are they likely to find out about that and what impact is the whole doping drama having on the games? >> it's incredible to think, isn't it, that just four days to go until the games start and this issue of the doping crisis is still looming over the olympics. and there is still uncertainty as to whether the russian athletes are going to be able to compete here. they've already arrived. we've seen them at the bars and cafes around the town. they still could be shipped back to russia. we understand the decision over their involvement in the games may not come until a couple of hours before the opening ceremony here on friday. the ioc have been criticized for dragging their heels over this issue. they've also been criticized for not responding strongly with a blanket ban of russian athletes

following that scathing report by the world anti-doping agency just a few weeks ago of -- where they found evidence of state-sponsored doping. in the past 24 hours, the president of the international olympic committee thomas backe has been speaking out to the press and media for the first time here at the olympics, knocking back suggestions that's the ioc have gone about this in the wrong way. and also knocking back suggestions that the credibility of the games will be damaged by this doping scandal. but the time is running out, rosemary. only three or four days to go now for a decision to come on these russian athletes. >> that's pretty tough on the athletes for sure. christina macfarlane there joining us at 4:20 in the morning with incredible backdrop of the copacabana beach. you live a great life. thanks so much, christina. big question for everyone, are you excited about the games? stay with cnn for continuing

coverage. >> absolutely. head to our website, cnn.com/olympics. find out more about the athletes, the festivities and host city there, rio de janeiro. plus take the great cnn olympics quiz. i don't know how well we would do with that, but test your knowledge of the games all there at cnn.com/olympics. donald trump's bitter feud with the parents of a fallen u.s. muslim soldier is sparking widespread outrage from the leadership of his own party. the war of words began when khizr khan whose son died in iraq spoke at last week's democratic convention. he denounced the republican presidential candidate for proprosing a ban on muslims and said donald trump had sacrificed nothing. trump later criticized khan's wife for remaining silent on

stage. >> the u.s. house speaker paul ryan spoke out in defense of the khan family saying, many muslim americans have served valiantly in our military and made the ultimate sacrifice. captain khan was one such brave example. his sacrifice should always be honored. mitch mcconnell offering this sentiment saying captain khan was an american hero and like all americans, i'm grateful for the sacrifices that selfless young men like captain khan and their families have made in the war on terror. >> trump's former republican rival had an even sharper response. jeb bush tweeted, this is so incredibly disrespectful of a family that endured the ultimate sacrifice for our country. >> and a spokesperson for his brother, the former u.s. president george w. bush says, quote, president bush remains deeply grateful for the sacrifice of all gold star families, and we should all be. he thinks about them and prays

for them each and every day. khan is calling on those republican leaders to withdraw their support for donald trump. he addressed them on sunday here on cnn saying they have a moral obligation to repudiate their presidential nominee. khan also had some sharp remarks for trump's criticism of his wife. >> this person is total incapable of empathy. i want his family to counsel him. teach him some empathy. he could become a better person if he could be but he is a black soul, and this is totally unfit for the leadership of this beautiful country. >> also hearing from the democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton who weighed in on this feud at a campaign stop in the state of ohio. listen. >> to launch an attack as he did on captain khan's mother, a gold

star mother, who stood there on that stage with her husband honoring the sacrifice of their son and who has in the days since spoken out about the overwhelming emotion that any mother would feel as her son was being honored. and then to have trump do what he did. i don't know where the bounds are. i don't know where the bottom is. >> but trump doesn't seem too worried by the controversy. the republican candidate says his party's convention boosted him in the polls, and he says he got more television viewers than hillary clinton. >> i had a very big bounce. i think you even said it was one of the biggest bounces in 20 years. it's been a long time since someone had a bounce like that. look, i think the republican convention was great or i wouldn't have had the bounce that i had. i had 3 million people more than

she had on the final night. she had a thursday. i had a thursday. she had a speech. i had a speech. i had 3 million more people than she did. >> the clinton campaign is hoping for a similar bounce in the polls following the democratic convention last week. we are awaiting those poll results and we'll bring them to you as soon as we have them. the commission on presidential debates says it will not change the present schedule for televised debates set for later this year. >> that's despite complaints from trump's campaign the schedule is unacceptable. brian stealther has that story. >> reporter: yes, the debate about the debates is under way. almost two months remain before hillary clinton and donald trump are scheduled to meet on stage for the first of three highly anticipated presidential debates. but this weekend, donald trump started to challenge the debate schedule saying he's willing to debate three times but he does not like the dates selected. let me tell you what's going on here. the debates in the united states

are organized by a nonpartisan group called the commission on presidential debates. it's been around for about three decades, and its model has been borrowed by other countries as well. this commission made up of democrats and republicans sets the dates for the debates about a year beforehand and also selects the moderators, the formats and locations. so the commission chose four days, three for the presidential debates, one for the vice presidential debates, last september. and two of them conflict with nfl football games. and that is the thrust of donald trump's complaint. he says it's unfair to have the debates up against football because it will take away viewership from the debates. initially trump told abc news he received a letter from the nfl complaining about the schedule. well, that turns out not to be true. the nfl says there was no letter sent. and today trump's campaign backtracked and said it was a source close to the league that told him about this overlapping. as for the scheduling issue it is a real issue.

two of the games are scheduled on the days of the debates but the commission says it had no other choice. this happens all the time including in 2012 when mitt romney and barack obama debated. let me show you part of the commission's statement. an unusual statement about this subject. they said it is impossible to avoid all sporting events and there have been nights on which debates have occurred in most election cycles. the indication from the commission is we're not going to change the dates this year either what's really happening here is the beginning of a negotiation. the beginning of seven long weeks perhaps of haggling between the campaigns and the commission that organizes the debate. normally these negotiations happen in private. campaigns argue over everything, including the temperature of the air conditioning in the debate hall. as with everything about this election in the u.s., donald trump is doing it differently. donald trump is starting the negotiating in public. back to you. >> brian stelter, thank you.

talking about the debate about the debates. we'll have to see how that goes. hundreds of soldiers detained after the failed coup attempt in turkey have been released. but the government is putting a tighter grip on the military. and tokyo's new governor faces an olympic-sized challenge after her historic election. details ahead. it is 3:29 on the u.s. east coast. live in the u.s. and around the world this hour, this is "cnn newsroom."

a warm welcome back to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm george howell with the headlines this hour.

donald trump embroiled in a bitter feud with the parents of a fallen u.s. muslim soldier. khizr khan denounced trump's proposal to ban muslims from the united states and in response, trump's criticism, he criticized khan's wife for remaining silent there on the stage. khan told cnn the republican candidate has a black soul and is unfit to be president. the taliban have claimed responsibility for a suicide truck explosion targeting a hotel in kabul, afghanistan. three armed suicide attackers who tried to enter the hotel were killed. one police officer was also killed and four others were wounded in that attack. syrian rebels trying to break a government sieged aleppo. it launched an offensive on that city. witnesses say the people are setting fires to fill the skies with smoke so that syrian war planes cannot see their targets.

turkey's military is now under tighter government control after a series of decrees following the failed coup attempt two weeks ago. the government dismissed close to 1400 military personnel on sunday saying they have ties to the alleged masterfind fatu fatula gulen. >> he again denied any direct role in the coup. >> translator: let an international organization investigate this in depth. if there is anything i said about this verbally, if one-tenth of this is correct, i will say they are telling the truth, let them take me away. let them hang me. but i am talking with certainty. i have neither talked to anyone

nor did i say anything to anyone on the phone. now in the background there could be naive people tricked who are sympathetic to you or appear to be sympathetic or promise to say something with promise of a reward. >> i don't know, and i won't be able to say anything. however, one of the most important proofs of hastily made decision is the fact that the day after the event, thousands were fired from their jobs. this shows they've been labeled previously and they needed a scenario for such operations. common sense and good conscience tells this as such. >> cnn has asked for a response from the office of the turkish president. so far, we have not received a reply. the turkish president has received the strong show of support in germany. tens of thousands of people there turned out for a rally in cologne in support of recep tayyip erdogan after the failed

coup in that country. >> the rally took place amid a heavy police presence. japan's former defense minister made history when she took that position and now she's added another historic first to her political resume. voters in tokyo have elected yuriko koike as their first female governor. >> koike won the race with more than 1 million votes over her closest rival. he was the former internal affairs minister and backed by the ruling party. we're joined by the tokyo bureau chief of the "washington post." good to have you with us, anna. let's first talk about koike. this is notable. an historic election. what are the differences between her and her predecessors? >> right. it's a very historic election. she's the first woman to be elected governor of tokyo. a city of more than 14 million

people. and previously, she's prepared -- compared herself to hillary clinton and margaret thatcher and talked about japan not just having a glass ceiling but a steel ceiling for women. so this is a big moment for women leaders in japan. she has promised to be more transparent than her predecessor. both of her two predecessors actually had to resign early because of financial scandals involving financial irregularities. and so yuriko koike has come in saying she'll run a much more transparent administration and that she will run city hall like japanese people have never seen before. >> and let's talk just a bit more about that. when it comes to her style of leadership, what can be expected for tokyo? >> well, she has very clearly put the 2020 olympic games at the top of her agenda. after the rio games wrapped up

this month, tokyo will take over the mantel for the next summer olympics. and this whole process has been plagued by fiascos one after another. plagiarism scandal, allegations of corruption, stadium designs torn up and started over again. so there's a lot of disillusionment with the process of preparing for the games. and a lot of expectation that these games will be a big economic boost for not just tokyo but all of japan. so koike will come in, and she will clearly have putting the olympic games back on the right track at the top of her agenda. >> it will be very interesting to see, you know, what the differences are as she takes leadership in tokyo. ann a anna, we appreciate your insight. eastern maryland is dealing with the worst flood in decades. but people there are responding in some amazing ways. look at that video there. you see what people did there. a breathtaking human chain.

>> unbelievable. plus, for the first time, refugees will be represented at the olympics. and we will introduce you to their team. that's still to come. stay with us. behold the power of protein in birds eye protein blends. ok. they're delicious side dishes with the protein of beans, whole grains.. ...and veggies! mmm good. my work here is dooooone! bird's eye protein blends. so veggie good. get your beauty sleep and use yonew aveeno®r? absolutely ageless® night cream with active naturals® blackberry complex. younger looking skin can start today. new absolutely ageless® from aveeno®. "are you okay?" "yeah, i just got charged for my credit monitoring. that's how i know it"s working." "ah. you know you can go on creditkarma.com and check it out there. it's completely free." "really?"

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welcome back. in the u.s. state of maryland, officials are calling it the worst flooding they've seen in 57 years. two people there are dead, and an entire city is ruined. >> a month's worth of rain hit the ellicot city area within an hour. a woman was swept away and killed. a man died after leaving his car. as ryan hughes tells ut s us, t focus now on is recovery. >> reporter: the historic el ellicot city left ravaged after massive flooding. cars flooded after part of main street collapses. >> people running out of the restaurant in panic. it's devastating to the

businesses and restaurants in town. it's very sad. >> reporter: gail robinson considers herself lucky, only dealing with four inches of water in her basement. but her neighbors facing tremendous devastation. the raging floodwaters tossing cars around like nothing. one man seen in this video holding on for dear life. he was rescued after going under. >> the personal loss of life and just people's lives and livelihoods changed in a moment. >> larry hogan spent the morning surveying the damage. he signed a state of emergency declaration and is calling this the worst he's seen since taking office. >> we're going to be trying to help house people that have lost their homes and try to provide the assistance to get the entire community put back together. >> reporter: main street is the hardest hit area. sidewalks are missing and buildings are facing significant structural damage. crews spent the day pulling up chunks of concrete, and tonight officials are vowing to rebuild. >> we will make it vital and

vibrant and even more vital and vibrant than it was before this occurrence. of course, what everyone wants to know is when this bad weather will likely come to an end in maryland. >> our meteorologist karen maginnis is live with details on that. >> what we've got, or what we did see anyway, was a situation where these thunderstorms just roared through and then just piled on that rainfall in a two-hour time period. they saw six inches of rainfall. 150 millimeters of rain. this in a city that historically has seen multiple floods or flooding. in the forecast, here's the forecast radar. there you can see just a scattered thunderstorm pattern. that will allow folks there to kind of recover. start the rebuilding process picking up after this

devastating flood that they saw where after ten minutes, when the thunderstorms hit this area, this historic city back from the late 1700s, they saw almost an inch and a half of precipitation. another ten minutes, two inches. and that rainfall just really escalated from these storms that moved through. i want to show you just what happened. about 9:00 p.m. on saturday, local time, look at the storms that moved across this region where you see that red shaded area. that's where we saw those embedded storms. it moved out but the flooding wasn't over as you saw those streets. and so many people with their cell phones and so we got to see not a realtime situation what took place across ellicot city but certainly lots of images to report. lots of citizen reporting across that area. well, now we're talking about typhoon nita and it's moving

across the south china sea. out of the northern philippines after several days, they saw, in some cases, over 300 millimeters of rainfall. now taking aim at hong kong. where will it make landfall? long before it makes landfall, you're going to see a heavy surf. you're going to see pretty good downpours as the just the outer bands of this system move through. if it lands on the eastern edge of hong kong, that's a little bit better situation where the winds will kind of pull the ocean waters, that storm surge away from the coast. if it makes landfall along the western edge, that's a more dire situation. either way, you're going to see tropical storm, typhoon force winds. there's currently a tropical cyclone signal three in effect for hong kong meaning residents need to take precautions now. in the next couple of hours, they're anticipating there's going to be a signal eight. that means you really need to

batten down the hatch s. we'll see those tropical storm force winds on shore. >> appreciate that. thanks much, karen. a team of refugee athletes poised to make history at the olympics. >> their road to rio incomparable. their story next. with kindness" playing) play it again. (selena gomez's "kill 'em with kindness" playing) play it again. (selena gomez's "kill 'em with kindness" playing) play it again. (selena gomez's "kill 'em with kindness" restarts) play it again. (announcer vo) however you use your data, verizon has the best deal. now, get four free samsung galaxy phones, four lines, and 16 gigs for only $150. switch to verizon now for the best deal on america's best network. only on verizon.

the olympics just days away and for the first time in olympic history there will be a team of athletes united under a flag that belongs to no single country. instead, they'll be competing in the name of refugees everywhere. >> they've come from countries all over the world. and now they're going for gold in rio. before arriving in rio, some of the refugee athletes were training in kenya. our david mackenzie visited them while they were there. >> reporter: morning training in

the hills, a mecca for kenya's olympians. but these runners are refugees. they ran from their homelands from war and family. they have no flag of their own. >> when they came here first, went out training at the stadium, and people were laughing at the athletes. these are not athletes. coach, what are you doing with these people? that was very discouraging. at the beginning, i thought, are we going to make it? >> reporter: the coach is molding raw talent. refugees selected from south sudan, somalia and the congo training for a chance to make it to the rio olympics. it's the first ever refugee team. >> you see their times improved a great deal. >> oh, it does. when they started, it was not the way they are running now. >> reporter: rose has been running her whole life.

when the war came to her village in south sudan, she fled the killing on foot. then in the back of a truck. >> people undermine refugees as they are not human people like them. if they can discover their talents and make it like other people so they cannot be undermined. >> reporter: rose says her tough training can't compare to the hardship she has already gone through. growing up in a refugee camp in kenya's outer fringes. a city of refugees who fled from south sudan's old and new wars. here rose took care of her brothers and sisters, volunteering for an ngo, going to school and running. >> so they're very nervous today. >> yeah, they are nervous, but i

would not just let them sit in the camp. >> reporter: 43 athletes from around the world were selected for training. only ten will go to rio. overcoming a lifetime of trauma to compete on the world's biggest stage. >> rose natika. >> reporter: rose will run the 800 meters. she'll be running for her family, for the refugees of kakuma and for every one of the 21 million refugees around the world. given the chance, rose says, they can achieve anything. >> when you consider what they've opinion through and now they're in a place where they're going to the olympics and excelling. it's so exciting. >> david mckenzie joins us live from johannesburg, south africa, with more on this. as your report says, most of the refugee runners hadn't ever

competed, which just seems extraordinary. how did they get them ready for the olympics? >> it was a real privilege to spend time with the refugee team in their training camp. you're right. not only have they never competed. some of them were not even runners. they were picked from football teams in the refugee camps. some felt this was a good opportunity. what they did is took a truck through the camp saying, come, we're going to train. we're going to run. we'll have races, and the winners could be going to the rio olympics. and the contrast from that camp, which has a lot of problems, including security problems on the border of south sudan, and the olympic stadium where they will be competing in just a few days is quite extraordinary. some of them didn't have any kit when they arrived at the camp. it had to be donated. some runners for the shorter distances when they were given spikes to run on the track, they

thought that was just a running shoe and went and trained in the hill ngong with that. so the coach said most athletes it takes around five years to take that athlete to the highest level. he had eight months, and they're going to be competing at the biggest stage. >> this is a team that all eyes will be watching. there's so much excitement for them. >> yeah, it is quite the story. david, just a great story for you to cover. we appreciate that. >> thank you. thanks for joining us. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm george howell. "early start" is next here. for other viewers around the world, "newsroom" continues with max foster in london. thanks for being with us. >> you have a great day.

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political controversy swirls around donald trump this morning. a heated debate with a muslim-american family who lost their son in iraq. new criticism from the left, the right and the soldier's father himself. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is the 1st day of august. 99 days until the election. 4:00 a.m. in the east. unprecedented beginning to the