[Rosemary Church, Cnn Newsroom Show:] Trapped. The U.N. warns as many as 200,000 children are caught up in the fight for Fallujah.
[Donald Trump,  U.s. Presidential Candidate:] I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job.
[Church:] Lashing out. Donald Trump rips reporters for his questions on his fundraising for veterans. Also ahead, new questions about the safety of the Summer Olympics, amid reports of real sewage, trash and body parts in Rio's waterways. Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us as we kick off the second hour of CNN Newsroom. ISIS militants are threatening the lives of innocent men, women, and children in a major battle in Iraq. The U.N. estimates about 50,000 people are trapped in Fallujah as Iraqi forces try to retake the city from the terror group. Civilian and children make up nearly half of the figure. And then n Syria, deadly air strikes have hit the rebel-held city of Idlib but it's not clear who is responsible. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has the details.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Syria's youngest caught in the line of fire in Idlib. Rescue crews worked desperately. A small body pulled from the wreckage. At least 23 people were killed in air strikes, one hitting near a hospital. The Russians deny they conducted the strikes. Across Syria and Iraq, civilians are caught in the middle, as is tries to defend its turf. In Fallujah, the last major ISIS stronghold in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, Iraqi forces are pushing from the south and east. Iranian backed militias from the north. The U.N. says there are heavy civilian casualties as ISIS carelessly uses them for protection.
[William Spindler, Unhcr Spokesperson:] There are also reports of several hundred families being used as human shields by ISIL in the center of Fallujah.
[Starr:] Iraqi and militia forces not yet in the city center, there are thousands of boobie traps and mines laid by ISIS.
[Cedric Leighton, Cnn Military Analyst:] If they are being used as human shields as the U.N reports indicates, that means that they have absolutely no way out. And they are going to be pawns in the struggle between ISIS and the Iraqi government as well as the Shia militias and it is going to be one of the worst scenes that we can possibly imagine.
[Starr:] It's significant the Iraqis are staying to fight in Fallujah and not running away as the battle intensifies.
[Steve Warren, Anti-isis Coalition Spokesman:] We think that the state of play is much improved from a year ago. You know, a year ago, here in Iraq, the barbarians were at the gate. Baghdad was actually threatened. And in theory, was in direct danger of being invaded by these animals that we call ISIL, now we have driven them back.
[Starr:] But from the top U.S. commander, continuing caution.
[Joseph Votel, U.s. Central Command Commander:] I am being very pragmatic in this as I think we will continue to work through more obstacles and we will continue to see some setbacks, but I think we'll also see some continued progress.
[Starr:] There is another complication, Iranian backed Shia militias are also in the fight to retake Fallujah, a Sunni town. A lot of concern that sectarian violence could break out. Barbara Starr, CNN, The Pentagon.
[Church:] And senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen, who recently came back from Syria and he joins us now from London. Fred, let's talk about those deadly air strikes in Idlib. Because of course we don't know who is responsible but many are pointing the finger at Russia.
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Yes, certainly. And the reason for that, Rosemary, is that it was in the past the Russians who were mostly the air force that would operate in the area around Idlib, it's actually fairly close to where the Russians have their base in Latakia. And one of the things that the Russians had been trying to do, is they had been trying to strengthen the position of the Syrian military. They are in that area, therefore a bombing, for instance, target Al- Jabhat Al-Nusra which is Al Qaeda's wing in Syria. But also some other rebel groups as well. One of the things that U.S. was saying, they've been accusing the Russians of bombing mostly moderate rebel groups rather than ISIS. The Russians for their part deny this. Now as far as these air strikes in Idlib that happened two days ago are concerned the Russians vehemently denying that it was them. They say that not only they were not conducting any sorties in that area. In fact, they didn't any planes in that area of operations is what the Russians said. So far, it's absolutely unclear who may have been behind that. The U.S. coalition or the U.S. backed coalition usually doesn't operate very much in that area around Idlib. And the other air force that could have been here would have been the Syrian government's air force, the Syrian military, unclear however, at this point in time who may have conducted those air strikes. But they certainly are very intense air strikes, and speaking to people there on the ground in that area, even though Jabhat Al-Nusra was not part of the actual cessation of hostilities in Syria. That area had been fairly quiet for the past couple of weeks, but certainly very, very intense, very deadly for the folks there on the ground, Rosemary.
[Church:] Yes, and as we mentioned, Fred, you just got back from Syria, paint us a picture of what people are going through on the ground there?
[Pleitgen:] Well, yes, you know, it's interesting, because what you have had in the past in Syria there was little hope for any of the people. I spent most of my time in the last time in and around the Damascus area. And that's actually one of the places where this cessation of hostilities at the international community has brokered, where that's holding. And where it does hold, it is actually a big benefit to the local civilian population there. For the very first time, they're able to go out, go about their business not in fear of getting hit by mortars or by air strikes from above. So certainly it's a benefit for them. The big problem right now, and it's certainly something that's weighing very heavily on people is the lack of any sort of political progress. You have had the head of the opposition negotiating group quit. Mohammed Al-Lusha saying there had been no progress and blaming the government. The government of course, for its part, blames the opposition for the lack of progress. But that really is the big question. They don't get out of this political impasse, that they make a headway on terms like reconciliation, the freeing of political prisoners. Getting aides of the sieged areas which is still a major problem. The U.N. is now talking about air dropping aid, which is really the last resort for them. As long as there isn't any progress on these fronts, the fighting could come back very intensely at any point in time, in some places like Idlib, like Aleppo, it already is, Rosemary.
[Church:] All right. Our Fred Pleitgen joining us there from London, where it's just after eight in the morning. Many thanks to you. A warning, an image in our next story may be difficult to watch. It involves a Mediterranean migrant crisis. And the U.N. refugee agency says since the start of the year more than 2500 people have drowned while trying to cross into Europe. At least 880 migrants died in the past week alone in a series of shipwrecks. And here is a look at one of the youngest victims. This baby's lifeless body was pulled from the sea last week. Now we don't know the child's gender, age or nationality, but the German humanitarian group says it decided to publish this photo to raise awareness. Well, French rail workers are striking to protest labor reforms, reports say the strike is expected to hold 40 percent of high-speed TGV trains and up to two thirds of services on other lines. The walk-out is the latest in a series of moves against a bill that gives employers more flexibility to hire and fire workers and weakens the power of unions. The U.S. State Department is issuing a travel alert warning Americans of the risk of potential terrorist attacks across Europe in the coming months. There isn't a news specific threat, but the State Department wants travelers to be on guard and alert. More now from CNN's Elise Labott.
[Elise Labott, Cnn Global Affairs Correspondent:] The last time that the State Department issued a continent-wide travel warning for Europe was in late March after the Brussels attacks. But now, State Department saying that with the large amount of tourists traveling to Europe this summer, this presents a target of opportunity for terrorists groups like ISIS, who may be planning attacks at public locations, especially those that are hosting large events. Where lots of tourists could be traveling. Now, they are singling out the European soccer championships in France and also the Tour de France, in June and July, and they are also singling out the Catholic Church's youth day in Krakow, Poland in late July. Officials says they don't have any particular or credible information about plots at any of these events, but they say these are the kinds of events that terrorists could be looking for where large amount of people are gathering. And they are just calling for Americans to be vigilant, to make sure that they are aware of any security precautions and to just be aware of their surroundings. Official say that they are not discouraging Americans from traveling to Europe, they just want them to be on alert. Elise Labott, CNN, the State Department.
[Church:] Donald Trump is on a fierce offensive against the media over how they've covered his donations to veterans. He called a news conference Tuesday to clear up questions about millions dollars he's raised, but it turned into an all-out assault against reporters. It's the latest example of how hard Trump hits back at any critics. Jim Acosta has more.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] It was supposed to be a day for Donald Trump to salute the nation's veterans and highlight the $5.6 million he's raised for their causes.
[Trump:] This is a check for a million dollars.
[Acosta:] Trump ticked off to more than 40 groups he claims of receiving donations. Some in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. From the Fischer House Foundation to the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. But clearly furious after months of questions about exactly where the money is going, Trump engaged in some verbal combat of his own, against a target he has attacked before.
[Trump:] You know my opinion of the media. It's very low.
[Acosta:] The news media.
[Trump:] Instead of being like, thank you very much, Mr. Trump, or Trump did a good job, everyone is saying who got it? Who got it? Who got it, and you make me look very bad.
[Acosta:] So, Trump took aim at the reporters asking the questions. To follow up on that, you keep calling us the dishonest press, it seems as though you are resistant to scrutiny, the kind of scrutiny that comes with running for president of the United States.
[Trump:] I like scrutiny but you know what? When I raise money...
[Acosta:] You raise money for veterans...
[Trump:] Excuse me, excuse me. I've watched you on television, you're a real beauty. What I don't want is when I raise millions of dollars, have people say, like this sleazy guy right over here from ABC, he is a sleaze in my book.
[Acosta:] Trump went to say he never wanted any credit for helping veteran's causes.
[Trump:] I don't want to have credit for it. Now, actually though, what I got was worse than credit, because they were questioning me.
[Acosta:] But it was Trump who launched this fundraising drive as a major media event, rivaling a GOP debate in Iowa that he was skipping.
[Trump:] We actually raised close to six to be totally honest.
[Acosta:] The presumptive GOP nominee also fired off on the questions being raised about Trump University, the real estate school he founded that's being sued by former students who say it's nothing more than a fraud. Newly released documents in the case reveal some of the programs aggressive sales techniques, including a playbook that focus on how to market more expensive courses to students. Trump has questioned the motives of the judge handling the case, noting his ethnicity.
[Trump:] So what happens is, the judge who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that's fine.
[Acosta:] When asked why he highlighted that the judge's heritage, Trump didn't answer the question. Why mention that judge is Mexican?
[Trump:] You know what, because some of men are principle. And most of the people that took those courses have letters saying they thought it was great essentially.
[Acosta:] As Trump told reporters today his combative style isn't about to change, even at White House press conferences.
[Trump:] That is going to be like this, David, if the press writes false stories like they did with this.
[Acosta:] Trump also wrote off the odds of a third party challenge in the upcoming general election describing libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, as a fringe candidate. Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.
[Church:] Now, outside that news conference, at Trump tower, a small group of veterans protested, they say Trump has repeatedly over stated the amount of money he's raised and they accused him of using them as political props. Take a listen.
[Perry O'brien, Miliray Veteran:] I think what Donald Trump doesn't understand is, veterans are not for sale. We are not interested in making a deal when it comes to the safety and security of our brothers and sisters who still serve in uniform.
[Church:] And democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says Trump does not deserve much credit for making the donations.
[D) U.s. Presidential Candidate:] He has bragged for months about raising $6 million for veterans and donating a million dollars himself. But it took a reporter to shame him into actually making his contribution and getting the money to veterans.
[Church:] Joining me now from Los Angeles is CNN senior reporter for media and politics, Dylan Byers, great to talk with you. Now of course, Donald Trump targeting political reporters, calling them dishonest. We've seen it before from other politicians, but is Trump taking this to a different level?
[Dylan Byers, Cnn Senior Media And Politics Reporter:] Yes, he absolutely is, you know, anti-media rhetoric has been a feature of Donald Trump's campaign for the 10 months that he has been running. He always rails against the dishonest media scum. He's even targeted specific reporters. But what we saw today really took it to a new level. He was unable to sort of withstand even the most basic level of scrutiny about the amount of money he's raised for veterans. And you know, this was an issue that may have just sort of fizzled out and been forgotten, had it not been for pressure from various media outlets including the Washington Post and CNN and others, and the fact that he was so resistant to this questioning and seemed to be so angered by the fact that the media didn't, you know, just sit around and laud him for raising $5.6 million, was really telling about what his attitude toward the press is. At one point during this press conference he was asked is this what we have to look forward to if we are in, you know, a Trump presidency? Is this what your relationship with the press is going to be like? And he said absolutely. He was unequivocal about that. He said he would continue to attract to attack the press. So this is a flavor of what's to come for at least the next five or six months.
[Church:] And attacks on the media helped Trump of course in the race for the GOP nomination, but is it likely to play out in the general election. Will he still benefit his supporters seem to love it, don't they?
[Byers:] Well, that's a you know, this is a really great point. Because of course the primary audience is very different from a general election audience. There's no question that his base holds very little stock in the media. They don't trust the media, they don't like the media. They don't feel like the media represents their concerns. And they feel like they have been abandoned by this sort of liberal coastal elite. When we're talking about the general election audience, we're talking about people who do sort of care what the media reports, who do believe that there are legitimate questions that Donald Trump needs to answer. And that he can't just sort of shake them off by going against the media and trying to scapegoat the media or inoculate himself from the media simply by saying that we're all a group of, you know, distrustful and dishonest liars. So, yes, it's very curious to see why he is continuing to strike this stance, even as he heads in to a general election against Hillary Clinton. You would think that it would be far more to his advantage to try and court the media a little bit more as he had done before he started running for president.
[Church:] And of course, CNN's Jim Acosta confronted Trump and suggested he was resistant to scrutiny. Had we ever seen a presidential candidate as resistant as this? And will voters even care or could it become his Achilles heel perhaps?
[Byers:] Well, it's so soon to say if it will become his Achilles heel. But you're absolutely right, we have not seen presidential candidate who has been so resistant to the media. Usually what happens, we've always seen republican candidates who are able to go against the media and that's sort of red meat for their base. But at a certain point, candidates run up against the accountability issue, when it comes to tax returns to fundraising to money to their past, to statements they've made. Statements they've made now that may contradicted statements they've made in the past. You found candidates in the past, whether it's Mitt Romney or John McCain, running up against this where they do feel like they have to answer the media's question, and they sort of buckle under pressure. If there is one thing we know about Donald Trump doesn't buckle under pressure. You know, he is very much calling the shots from this regard. He is very content to sort of charge straight through the media inquiries and go after us and really make this less of a story about his own controversies and more of a story about Donald Trump verse the media. And again, that plays very, very well to the base.
[Church:] All right. Watching it very closely. Dylan Byers, always a pleasure to chat with you. Thanks so much.
[Byers:] Thanks for having me.
[Church:] Well, meantime, the libertarian presidential nominee is showing Trump a little love. However, sarcastically, Gary Johnson appeared on CNN's New Day to pitch his socially liberal and fiscally conservative brand of politics. And when Chris Cuomo ask him about Trump, Johnson showed he is not worried.
[Chris Cuomo, Cnn'c New Day Show:] Are you ready for Donald Trump once you're in this thing and he recognizes you to give you a punch in the nose for calling him a racist?
[Gary Johnson, U.s. Libertarian Presidential Candidate:] I think that they have already started coming. So, Donald.
[Church:] Get it. As we said a little while ago, Trump is dismissing Johnson, calling him a fringe candidate, which Johnson tweeted, "strangely enough, that is what he was called just a few months ago." Well, still to come in the race for the White House, Clinton versus Sanders, the democratic front-runner announces a last minute change of strategy in California. To Asia now, and the Philippines controversial president elect is taking his own shot at journalists. At a news conference Tuesday, Rodrigo Duterte said reporters killed in the Philippines were often corrupt and he said, quote "just because you are a journalist, you are not exempt from assassination." Duterte was asked how to protect press freedoms after a crime reporter was killed in Manila last week, a journalist union called Duterte's comments appalling. Deadly flooding is taking a toll on parts of Texas and a lot more rain is on the way. We will take a look at some of the record breaking totals. Plus, North Korea's latest missile test may have failed, but U.S. officials are just as worried as ever. We will explain. You are watching CNN Newsroom. Back in a moment.