♪ sarah: this is dw news. the final hours of campaigning in the race for the white house. the closing messages could not be more different. >> i love this country and i believe in our people. we have a big agenda ahead of us but i am excited. i think we will get a lot done and i think we will bring the country together. >> she is being protected by a totally rigged system. sarah: will there last-minute pitches make a difference, and who has the edge in what has been the ugliest race for president in recent memory?

we have analysis as americans gear up to go to the polls. also coming up, on the retreat. islamic state militants come under attack as iraqi kurdish forces from the turn -- the town of bashiqa in an attempt to recapture mosul. and from referee to refugee. how one-time fifa ref from syria was forced to leave his country but is finding his feet again on a bavarian football pitch. ♪ sarah: i'm sarah kelly, welcome to the program. these are the final moments and what has been the most germanic campaign for u.s. president in recent memory. with just hours to go until boy begins, hillary clinton and donald trump are hitting the campaign trail one last time

hoping to win over undecided voters. but in the meantime, campaign 2016 had one last major surprise up its sleeve. the fbi thing a second probe of clinton's e-mails to not turn up anything criminal. what will it mean for the final push? more on that just a moment. first, this report. reporter: donald trump began what will be a long last day of campaigning in florida, determined not to let the fbi's announcement give hillary clinton a last-minute boost. >> hillary clinton is being protected by a totally rigged system. and now it is up to the american people to deliver justice at the about box tomorrow. that is what is going to happen. that is what is going to happen. reporter: it was a weekend a

half ago that fbi director james comey lit a bomb under hillary clinton's campaign. he said he need to -- he needed to review new discovered e-mails link to her use of a private server. now he says he will not recommend criminal charges, a finding that might be just as controversial as the initial intervention. clinton's final campaign ad did not mention the fbi. >> it is not just my name and my opponent's name on the ballot -- it is the kind of country we want for our children and grandchildren. reporter: and neither did she while campaigning in pittsburgh on the home stretch. >> let me just say the choice in this election could not be clearer. it really is between division or unity. between strong and steady leadership or a loose cannon. reporter: clinton is still several points ahead of trump in national polls.

which candidate moves in here may depend on whether she can shake off the e-mail scandal or he can keep it in the spotlight. sarah: we're joined in the studio by the political strategist and camp eyeing -- campaign consultants. we just saw clinton focusing on a positive message. trump still holding firm to this idea that the whole system is rate -- is rigged. who would you say they are trying to target tomorrow? guest: the clinton campaign is well advised to have a positive message, to tell voters why they should go out and vote. there are a million volunteers out there this weekend. right now they are banking those votes. the early votes are in, florida has good numbers for hillary clinton. but in those final two days, it

is just turning out voters. sarah: walk us through what the candidates are doing as they try to get voters to come out. guest: one is the candidates is exacting across the country, making sure they talk to as many people as possible. jay z and beyonce are up there, be it -- lebron james. both campaigns have an active over the last couple months to make sure they identify all their supporters in most importantly, unlikely voters. now they want to make sure they turn out. there are very -- there is very much science involved in this. there are a million volunteers out there who know exactly which door to knock on based on data and science to make sure that they have the right message in front of those people, to make sure they turn out. sarah: we know hillary clinton

inherited a lot of the structure that was in place for the obama campaign. tell us, how does -- how do these campaigns compared to when you are working with obama? guest: the clinton campaign has become even more granules when it comes to data. most of these campaigns have been active over the last couple years. when i worked in ohio in 2008 and 2012, it is a state that is so organized. democrats know exactly what to do. this is where the election is going to be decided, even though trump pulled ahead a couple points in ohio. but they know exactly what they're going to do. they have practiced this for months and outages banking on turning out people. sarah: trump has been very successful at firing up his base. what do you make of the structure he has on the ground? guest: it has been very cloudy.

the trump campaign has not told as much of the clinton campaign has. it will be interesting to see whether the connection move those voters that he talks about , the voters who have never voted and are just now coming into the political process. it will be interesting to see whether they can actually turn out. in the primaries the same argument was made by the trump campaign manager putter registration was not all that up -- campaign. voters registration was not all that up. sarah: clinton's lead as the narrowing. and we have to talk about the fbi. there was a favorable result for clinton, basically clearing her of any criminality. but the fact that people were even talking about it -- is this damaging her and her campaign? could she lose because of this? guest: i think she can lose, if she lost i don't know how much i

would've treated to the fbi scandal. she was cleared. fbi director james comey said it was no wrongdoing. but the media narrative has been playing this out for the last few weeks so voters effort about it. there are so many scandals throughout this campaign. the cycle has been extremely negative, as we all know. i don't think this one story stands out. in the end it is about turning out those voters, and that is all that matters. sarah: talk to us about the importance of the surrogates. we're looking at campaign rallies, sometimes they look like rock concerts. bruce springsteen playing today. how important are these stars in motivating people? guest: they are rock concerts. the day before election day 2012 we had a lineup of bruce springsteen, then jay z and barack obama colleges a pretty good show to put on. but we made sure we had

african-american voters turn out. we made sure to take them to early voting locations. this is not just to put on a show, this is to make sure the campaign naturally bank those. sarah: it has been a roller coaster, to say the least. on wednesday, what do you think the main takeaways will be? guest: who will be moving into the white house come january. we will see whether the negativity of this campaign holds true. if donald trump wins come i think this will be a blueprint for it -- for a lot of candidates thinking about running in 2018. if he loses they will have to really examine how to move forward. sarah: campaign consultant involved in both of barack obama's campaign for president, thank you very much for talking to us. let's turn to some other news. iraqi kurdish peshmerga has

thrown the town of bashiqa northeast of mosul battling the so-called islamic state. that adds to military pressure on the group. he comes after kurdish fighters launched an assault on the i.s. stronghold in syria. it comes as part of a wider push to reclaim mosul, iraq's second-biggest city. reporter: counting how all resistance. kurdish troops say they now control bashiqa after a two-week assault. but if you -- but a few i.s. fighters are still hold up. intent on a -- holed up. intent on a deadly finish. >> there were suicide car bombs that held us back.

there were also suicide bombers and snipers in the town. we are slowly cleansing the area. reporter: kurdish fighters hope after dropping out the militants here to open up additional fronts on mosul, the last i.s. stronghold in iraq. caught up in the advance, an increasing number of civilians trying to get out of harms way. an estimated 34,000 since the offensive launched. some tall haunting tales of life and death under i.s. rule. >> the i.s. has killed us. it has been two years since we have been able to work. my brother was executed. look at what happened to us. reporter: more fear for those fleeing. checks for fighters hiding in the stream of refugees.

these men are being screened by iraqi troops in a mosque courtyard. one man is accused and arrested. >> are sources of the military intelligence unit said this man is a member of i.s. who tried to escape with family spirit but we were able to arrest him -- with families. but we were able to arrest him. reporter: capturing bashiqa is just one small step in the most complex military operation in iraq in a decade. the battle for mosul is expected to last months. sarah: let's check some other stories making news. two people have been killed in italy after a tornado tore through a town near rome. it damaged several apartment buildings and brought down trees. heavy rain also saw the river rise significantly on sunday. that prompted officials to issue

a flood alert for tuscany. british prime minister theresa may has laid a wreath in delhi for soldiers killed in world war i. earlier they had talks with her indian counterpart. her visit is aimed at strengthening economic ties between the nations foundering -- following the u.k. decision to leave the eu. the governor of ukraine's odessa region has resigned. he accused the ukrainian president of supporting criminal groups and blocking his efforts to curb corruption. the former georgian president was appointed governor of the region in may of 2015. in sports, sunday's late game -- they had been improving as of late but bremen are an awful form. especially away from home. they desperately needed points

to stay out of the drop zone. reporter: the confidence at shelter is back. leading the way with a stunning long-range it. alessandro was on hand to give them a one lead. the austrians first goal of the season. just three minutes later, it was 2-0. firing in a bullet and taking advantage of poor goalkeeping. his fifth goal in six games, giving the coach much to ponder. but unnecessary challenge gave them a way back into the match. slotting home from the spot to make it 2-1. became came out stronger in the second half. -- they came out stronger in the second half. their defense was an absolute shambles.

shall got -- shalka with a 3-1 victory. sarah: we have to take a short break. don't go away. you're watching dw. ♪

♪ sarah: welcome back. a quick reminder of our top story. every clinton and donald trump are staging final rallies in key swing states on the last day before u.s. voters pick a new president. clinton is sticking to a positive message after the fbi said a second probe of her e-mails found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. trump has said that the system is rigged. donald trump not backing down from his claims that the election is rigged. one reason -- this narrative appears to be working. for more lesser to our

correspondent. guest: we know these claims by now -- the system is rigged, the polls are rigged, the media is rigged. he has been announcing this on rallies and tv but the foundation was actually late on social media going back for months on twitter. we can show you exactly how we found this out. if you take a look at his twitter account, he has mentioned the word rigged 34 t imes in the past six months, going all the way back to april. he said the republican primary was rigged, the democratic primary was rigged, and now the general election. he blames just about everyone for this. in this tweak, he blames the media. -- this tweet he blames the media. he also blames the gop leadership. of course there is large scale

voter fraud happening. why do republican leaders deny what is going on? when he ran out of people to blame, this is my favorite, he just blamed everyone. this is not just about protecting his ego, this is dangerous. he really is calling into question the legitimacy of american democracy and the voting system itself. sarah: this is a strategy that is not new to him. he did the same with this television show, saying the emmys are rigged. has it been working with him with the voters? guest: yes. he is a master at pulling the curtain back and making you look over here. that is exactly what he's doing with this rigged claim. he made us basically look the other way. these are all tweets using the word rigged in just the week leading up to the republican debate. one million tweets on twitter.

that took the focus away are other issues, like his drops in the polls or his allegations of sexual misconduct. his rhetoric is having an impact on voters as well. take a look at this poll. 73% of republicans believe the election could be stolen from donald trump, where is only 17% of democrats worry about elections fraud. he is taking a step further. this is his actual website. you can volunteer to be a trump election observer to help me stop crooked hillary from rigging this election. he is asking people to sign up to be poll watchers. this woman is holding up a badge she said she got an e-mail from the trump campaign. we will see what happens tomorrow with these poll watchers, whether they will be any clashes with voters. but it could be dangerous. if you have people outside and people trying to vote, you never know what will happen. sarah: thank you very much for your reporting.

as we head into election day, one state is very much still in play. this election is michigan, and the candidates have in making an explicit pitch to the auto workers there. our business correspondent with more. daniel: obama and sarah palin campaigning there on behalf of the candidates. amid the noise of the u.s. election, one city has become a byword for a decline in america's once prosperous manufacturing sector. they called motor city. some still do. but little is left of detroit from the car industry's boom years. the car industry has plummeted since then, from 2 million to a little over 670,000. where some see on d -- empty houses, others the chance for regeneration. reporter: welcome to the paris of the midwest. that is what detroit was once called with its white boulevards and factories.

today, the city resembles a ghost town, with the highest crime rate in the u.s. 50,000 homes have been abandoned but some people do not give up on the city. they believe detroit will be america's great comeback story. >> be careful walking through here. needs a lot of cleaning up. this out -- house has been vacant for six or seven years. reporter: they paid $600 for this house, including the land. the plan is to restore and rented out. have done that already with 60 other houses. >> we look at it as we are able to come in and buy properties at a low value. we renovate them, we give people good housing once we are done renovating the houses. and the property values are coming back in detroit. reporter: that's because there are many success stories.

general motors used to manufacture cars here. now if you hundred employees assemble luxury products, specialty watches, and even bicycles. many here are optimistic. they believe detroit will rise again, like a phoenix. donald trump is promising a bright future for detroit as well. the republican presidential candidate reaffirm his plan to slap a 35% tariff on cars made in mexico and sold in the u.s. that is how he plans to bring back jobs to michigan. that is music to the ears in the crowd. >> we will stop the jobs from leaving your state. we are going to stop the jobs from going to mexico and china and all over the world. we will make michigan into the manufacturing hub of the world once again. reporter: the two builders are divided on who to vote for. hillary clinton also promised to

get detroit back on its feet. >> for business, i think donald trump. >> my opinion is that the last two republican presidents, when they left office we were in a recession and almost a depression. i tend to think the democrats might do better. >> we differ on that. reporter: no matter how they vote, they both leave in detroit's comeback. whether the auto industry returns the one-time motor city or not. daniel: sweating over a hot stove under extreme time pressure is unsurprisingly not a dream job for most young people these days. so much so, germany is facing a shortage of chefs. some call it a recipe for disaster. but the industry has pledged to make a change. reporter: if you cannot stand the heat, get out of the

kitchen. that is the model of the professional chef. their work is backbreaking. they have to keep several plates spinning on once, doing with incoming orders, maintaining high standards of hygiene, serving up culinary works of art. all that under extreme time pressure. german restaurants are finding it harder to recruit the next generation of young employees. right now, just 20,000 are training to become cooks. a decade ago, that figure was double. the training takes three years to complete, but many only stay on for a few months. dropout rate is high. one solution could be to offer vocational courses in restaurants to refugees. many german restaurants are already doing this. some of the refugees later get offered on the job training positions to become cooks. 2000 of those positions are currently vacant. restaurants hunger for fresh

talent remain unfed. daniel: that is a funny business desk for now. but sarah has an inspirational story from the world of sports. sarah: 10 years ago, he was a fourth official on the crew in the world cup in germany. sie en, the war in syria has fo h his family to move to germany as refugees. he now referees matches in the bavarian district. a job that has brought some measures of normality back to his life. reporter: getting ready for his second outing in the district league. the 51-year-old is refereeing a match. not exactly the crandall a the footballing world. but he did -- the creme de la creme of the football world. used to work full-time for the syrian f.a.

now fate has brought him back to germany and bavaria. >> of course the matches are different to officiate on account of the level. the higher the level, the easier it is for the referee. the players at a high level are a lot faster. they have to push themselves a lot harder. overall, those matches are easier to supervise. reporter: even know he cannot speak much germany, he has the match under control. he got his referee license from the bavarian federation in september. four years ago the wardrobe his family out of damascus. he has just recently been reunited with his wife and children in germany. >> i want my children to finish their studies and to study what they like. and i hope to be able to lead a stable life. germany is a stable country. the future here is secure. reporter: refereeing in the

district league has given him the chance to gain a foothold in his new home country. sarah: a quick reminder of our top story before we go. hillary clinton and donald trump are staging final rallies in key swing states on the last day before u.s. voters pick a new president. clinton is scking to a positive message after the fbi said a second probe of her e-mails found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. trump says the system is rigged. thank you for watching. see you soon. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

♪[theme music] ♪[theme music] ernabel demillo: hi welcome to asian american life. i'm ernabel demillo. we're at the queens museum in flushing meadows corona park where new york based chinese artist zhang hongtu debuts fifty years of work from his early days in china to present day new york. zhang hongtu showcases ninety contemporary art objects starting with the mao series, which depicts the harsh life of the cultural revolution.