Olympics Kick Off With Spectacular Opening Ceremony Amid Protests And Fears Of Zika; Bar Fire In France Leaves A Dozen People Dead
NATALIE ALLEN, HOST: Amid protests, fears of Zika and other problems, the Olympics kick off with a spectacular opening ceremony. Yet another tragedy in France after a fire at a bar leaves at least a dozen people dead. We'll talk to a reporter on the scene there. And on the rocky road to the White House, Hillary Clinton try to clarify her statement on the e-mails saga, while Donald Trump decides to endorse house speaker Paul Ryan after quite a week in his campaign.</s>ALLEN: It's all ahead here on "CNN Newsroom." We're live in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.</s>ALLEN: Let the games begin. The summer Olympics in Rio are officially under way after a festive opening ceremony. More than 11,000 athletes marched through Maracana Stadium country by country in the parade of nations. Capping the night, Brazilian bronze medalist marathoner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima lit the Olympic cauldron.</s>ALLEN: CNN's Christina MacFarlane is in Rio, she has more for us on the opening night festivities.</s>CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After a week dominated by the Russian doping scandal protests and problems finally, it was time to on focus on the sort and the coming together of thousands of athletes. And it all went off without a hitch. In front of a crowd of 80,000 and 3 billion people watching around the world, Brazil put on a flamboyant feast for the eyes with a homage to legends of Brazil past and present.</s>MACFARLANE: One of the stand out moments of the night came not from an athlete but a super model. Brazil's Gisele Bundchen striding across the stage to the sound of the Bossa Nova classic "The Girl from Ipanema." And then came the athletes from over 200 countries. Michael Phelps stylish in red, white and blue leading the U.S. Contingent followed by the Russians, a bitter sweet moment that raised a cheer from the crowd amid the controversial cloud of doping. One of the biggest cheers of the night, however, was reserved for the refugee team, a first in Olympic history and a moment who none who witnessed it will forget. Finally, the moment we've been waiting for three Brazilian Olympic legends combined to light the cauldron. Vanderlei de Lima the man who was poised to win gold during the marathon in Athens but was attacked by a spectator now getting his moment in the Olympic spotlight. The ceremony is over. Let the games begin. Christina MacFarlane, CNN, RIO.</s>ALLEN: People that couldn't get inside to watch the opening ceremony went downtown to watch and Shasta Darlington was there, too.</s>SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The excitement and the enthusiasm finally building around these Olympics. We have thousands packed in to this square in downtown Rio all here to watch the opening ceremony for free on giant screens. Plenty of Brazilian flags but also American flags, Argentine flags in what have been really troubled Olympics up until now but you're beginning to feel that Olympic spirit. This is in fact one of the main legacies of these Olympic Games. This was an area that used to be a highway overpass literally blown up to create a cultural hub with museums, there's space for people to come and to hear music, to eat at food trucks and now enjoying it as the main fan zone or live site for the Olympic Games. We expect to see people coming back here again and again enjoying not only the opening ceremony but the competitions. And this will be a real measure of whether or not Brazilians can begin to feel that Olympic spirit in a time when the country is in its second year of recession has seen terrible political chaos with the latest polls showing that in fact 2/3 of Brazilians think that these Olympics could bring more harm than good. It's this kind of a show that is finally beginning to lift the spirits. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.</s>ALLEN: Shasta mentioning there the problems leading up to these Olympics. And there was a protest that turned nasty ahead of the opening ceremony there in Rio.</s>ALLEN: Protesters burned a Rio 2016 t-shirt and the Brazilian flag outside the Meracana Stadium. Riot police later used tear gas to disperse crowds. Earlier, protesters forced the Olympic torch to take a different route as it went through the Copacabana beach front. The protest was against Brazil's government and the interim President.</s>ALLEN: Within hours, 12 medals will be awarded on what's officially known as day one of competition.</s>ALLEN: The first gold medal is in shooting; the women's 10 meter air rifle. China dominates that sport in world rankings. Three time Tour de France champion Chris Froome will try to win gold in the men's cycle road race. He has described the course as savage. And swimming kicks off in the evening with four gold medals up for grabs. You can keep up with all the news out of Rio at cnn.com/Olympics. Our website has the latest on the athletes, the venues and the competition. CNN.com/Olympics.</s>ALLEN: We the turn now to France. At least 13 people are dead after a bar fire in the Rouen in the north of the country. For more, I'm joined now on the phone by (Carolyn inaudible) with our affiliate BFM, she's there where the fire occurred. (Carolyn), can you describe the scene for us.</s>BFM REPORTER: Yes what we know so far is that the fire broke out in the bar here in the city of (inaudible) that's where I'm standing right now and there is broken glass everywhere. Perimeter, security perimeter around that bar, but the street is now reopened for the cars. It happened in the middle of the night in the Cuba Libre and it's completely destroyed when you look at it. Police units were called and firefighters intervened very quickly, according to the authorities, to rescue people who were in that bar. There were about 50 men from the fire emergency units tried to extinguish the fire. Bernard Cazeneuve the French Interior Minute confirmed that at least 13 people are dead and six other people are injured. They were taken to the hospital, one of them is fighting for his life as we speak with serious injuries. A psychological emergency unit also has been opened at the hospital for families in shock and people who have seen what happened who witnessed what happened and need to talk about it with some doctors.</s>ALLEN: And as they talk, Carolyn, are we learning anything more about what was behind this, because there have been some reports from local media that an explosion led to the fire. Have you heard that?</s>ALLEN: All right. Well, those are questions that need to be answered. 13 people dead there in that French bar. Carolyn (inaudible) for us, thank you so much.</s>ALLEN: At least 42 fans left a concert in Camden, New Jersey with injuries Friday.</s>ALLEN: The Camden Fire Department says a large piece of fencing collapsed sending dozens of people over a ledge. Rapper Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa were performing at the time.</s>ALLEN: Amateur video purportedly shot in the Syrian province of Aleppo shows a school reduced to rubble by recent air strikes.</s>ALLEN: A man in the vide claims that they are Russian attacks and that two homes were also hit killing an entire family. Another video purportedly shot in homes shows the once bustling city in ruins.</s>ALLEN: Hillary Clinton attempts damage control. Next, hear why she says she may have short circuited early responses about her e-mails.</s>ALLEN: Plus, Donald Trump changes his mind after a tumultuous week. We'll have the latest on the campaign trail as we push on here on "CNN Newsroom."