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NEWS STREAM
Super Typhoon Hits Philippines; Iran Nuclear Negotiations; Polio Outbreak Risk; Drones in U.S. Skies; October Jobs Report; NFL Investigation; Tiger Talks; Blockbuster Bust
Aired November 08, 2013 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to NEWS STREAM where news and technology meet.
One of the most powerful storms ever recorded slams into the Philippines. The country battered by over 20 storms already this year.
Signs of significant progress at nuclear talks with Iran as the U.S. secretary of state and several European foreign ministers head to Geneva.
And he admitted to smoking crack; the trouble doesn't stop there for Toronto's mayor. We'll tell you about yet another damaging videotape.
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STOUT: One of the strongest storms ever recorded is hammering the Philippines. Super typhoon Haiyan has laid waste to some areas, leaving damaged homes and buildings, uprooted trees and flash flooding in its wake. You get a sense of the power of those winds from these pictures.
At landfall, they were clocked at some 315 kph with gusts as strong as 380 kph. This monster storm has claimed three lives and authorities fear that the death toll will rise when communications are restored to battered areas and the scale of the devastation becomes clear.
Let's get a closer look at the areas hit hardest by the storm. It made landfall near Tacloban City. And we have a team there in the city; they're all safe, but they say roads are blocked by fallen trees and debris and communications are sporadic at best.
Just to the south of the eye's path is the island of Bohol, which was devastated by a large earthquake last month. The center of the storm passed close to Cebu City, considered the Philippines' second city after Manila and is close to the well-known resort island of Boracay.
Mary Ann Zamora is a field specialist for the charity World Vision. She joins us now live on the line from Cebu.
And Mary Ann, what kind of storm damage have you seen today?
MARY ANN ZAMORA, WORLD VISION: (INAUDIBLE). We are estimating some of the areas are actually (INAUDIBLE) power outage. And in some areas, electricity areas, electricity is actually back on.
I do not see -- I do not see so much here. (INAUDIBLE) falling debris from (INAUDIBLE). But I've been (INAUDIBLE). It's a small (INAUDIBLE) center that's where stranded passengers going to another island are being held.
But they just informed me that this afternoon, when the (INAUDIBLE) slowly passing by there, passing back to (INAUDIBLE) Beach, those evacuees are actually going back to their houses. So I actually saw in one of the evacuation centers, which is the Cebu City (INAUDIBLE), stranded families, (INAUDIBLE) another island.
What we are very concerned (INAUDIBLE) and what we're very worried right now are those aid workers, World Vision aid workers and people in (INAUDIBLE) because we don't have any contact with them as of the moment because communication lines are actually -- are still down.
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STOUT: That is very alarming to hear. And we need to -- that's right. And once the communication lines are restored, then we'll be able to get that clearer picture.
ZAMORA: And others are actually (INAUDIBLE) the house was actually damaged by the strong (INAUDIBLE) wind and heavy downpour.
STOUT: OK, Mary Ann, now as far as your group is concerned, what are you worried the most about?
ZAMORA: We're just (INAUDIBLE) about these people, especially those vulnerable families, especially children, who are in evacuation centers right now. As you can remember, we just experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. (INAUDIBLE) imagine how these families, how these children are coping up from disaster after another disaster. That's really heartbreaking.
I actually responded to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake and now, I mean, this is really horrible. I haven't seen the devastation yet in Tacloban. (INAUDIBLE). But I'm just hearing (INAUDIBLE) or text messages from (INAUDIBLE) aid workers.
STOUT: That's right. Mary Ann, you were just referring to communities of people on the island of Bohol, the most vulnerable since they're just reeling from last month's mega earthquake.
Mary Ann, thank you for giving us a picture of the situation on the ground.
Mary Ann Zamora's with World Vision. She joined us on the line from Cebu.
Let's get more now on the power of this monster storm with Samantha Mohr. She joins us from the World Weather Center -- Samantha.
SAMANTHA MOHR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kristie, it is an incredibly powerful storm as you said. In fact it's still a supertyphoon after some 54 hours or so. Incredible, with those max sustained winds at 270 kph, gusts up to 325, moving to the west at a very fast pace, 41 kph. So it's just ripping across the Philippines here, continuing to affect the islands.
As it made landfall, it was early in the morning right around 4:30 local time and look how well-defined and symmetrical the whole storm is, with that eyewall, that center of circulation here, just south of Tacloban as it moved on it, was incredibly well-defined with those powerful winds, actually peaking upon landfall, which generally storms tend to weaken before they make landfall, not always. And definitely not in this case; it actually peaked at 315 kph. So that makes it likely that the strongest tropical cyclone ever to make landfall anywhere. And on the Saffir Simpson Scale, it was off the charts, a category 5 on the Saffir Simpson Scale. The Saffir Simpson Scale is considered catastrophic damage. They don't rank it any higher than that. And this system, at least, as far as the winds are concerned, were well above this level. So capable of taking down homes, of course taking off roofs, power failures, collapsed walls and also making much of the region uninhabitable for weeks to come or perhaps even months to come, and we saw that with Bopha last December with that system. The storm also is a huge storm. Look at this. It's some 1,760 kilometers across. If you were to compare that to a region that a lot of people are familiar with, say much of Western Europe. It would pretty much expand all the way across Western Europe. So that gives you an idea of just how huge this storm is and how many millions of people are being affected by this expansive system.
OK. So it's maintained that super typhoon status now for over two days. Now it is approaching the Palawan Island chain here to the north of that is Mimaropa, and there are mountains there around 2,000 feet in elevation. So they're going to be feeling an additional winds, winds tend to increase with elevation. So they're likely to really feel the winds as it moves on through.
The across the South China Sea, it should be within 24 hours right over the central part of the South China Sea, starting to weaken at that point. So it should lose its super typhoon status in about 24 hours. But still a very strong typhoon as it approaches Da Nang, 48 hours out. So that's what we'll be looking at towards the end of the weekend. We'll end up seeing those winds pick up, the rains pick up and just the very strong effects being felt by this typhoon. It won't be a super typhoon at that point, like it still is here, over the Philippines, Kristie. So we're going to watch for those torrential rains. The only good thing it is moving at a fast pace. So potentially the flooding potential hopefully will be a little bit lower here. But, boy, it is an incredible storm with those horrible winds.
STOUT: That's right. And right now remains a huge storm in both size and intensity. Samantha Mohr joining us live, thank you.
Now we will keep you updated on all the latest developments with the super typhoon and also ahead right here on NEWS STREAM, there is increasing optimism in Geneva that a deal with Iran over its nuclear program could be within reach.
And the number of drones in American skies is expected to soar, bringing a host of safety and security issues.
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STOUT: Now I want to recap the major news from the Philippines this hour. We are tracking the path of super typhoon Haiyan, this massive storm carrying tremendously destructive winds. And it is sweeping across the island nation. Three people are confirmed dead, but that death toll is expected to rise as the storm passes and communication to isolated and cut- off areas is restored.
Haiyan is expected to make landfall in Vietnam within 48 hours. We will continue to cover the storm throughout the hour and throughout the day right here on CNN.
But now I want to take you to Geneva, where there is optimism over key talks on Iran's nuclear program. World leaders have a meeting in Geneva for two days. And there are signs that a possible breakthrough could be imminent. Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said both sides could reach an agreement today that as the U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, and several European foreign ministers announce that they are headed to Geneva.
But what would a deal look like? For that and more, Karl Penhaul joins me now live from Geneva.
And Karl, just walk us through this phased agreement that's being discussed right now.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For sure, Kristie, and even before I do that, let me just tell you, this sense of expectation really is ramping up because French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is now here on the ground; German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is also on the ground. Minutes ago, British Foreign Secretary William Hague jetted into Geneva. And we understand that the U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, is also in the air right now, all contributing to the sense that a deal could be signed in the next few hours.
Let's listen to what the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, had to say.
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LAURENT FABIUS, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): I have personally come to Geneva to work on difficult negotiations. But it is important for our daily security and the security of the international community to act in order to obtain an agreement to create a solid first stage to respond to the questions of the Iranian nuclear program. There have already been advances. But I must express that there are still agreements being made here. Thank you.
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PENHAUL: Let's remember, as you rightly say, that this is being billed as a two-phase agreement. And what we're talking about that could be signed over the next few hours is the first-step deal.
Now what the American delegation have told us that they want from a first step is from Iran to halt and even roll back part of that disputed nuclear program. What a spokesman for the Europeans said in broader terms was that he wanted a first-step deal to get assurances from Iran that its nuclear program was being used only for civilian peaceful purposes, and that none of those resources were being diverted to build a nuclear bomb. Because, of course, that is what the great fear is at the core -- at the core of all of this.
And for its part, the Iranians want some relief from those crippling economic sanctions that have been posed on that country, particularly the oil and the banking sector. And the Americans have signaled that they're willing to give that relief. All of this, if they do come to this first- step deal, will open the door to a second and final deal, what the Iranians are calling an end game. And that could take more months of talks and the end game there is to permit Iran to pursue peaceful civilian nuclear power while at the same time guaranteeing that it won't build a nuclear bomb, Kristie.
STOUT: So they're in Geneva. There's this sense of growing anticipation and optimism that there will be some sort of an agreement in this first-step deal.
But there's no deal yet. At this stage, at this hour, Karl, what is the main sticking point in the talks there?
PENHAUL: Not quite sure that the delegates are talking about sticking points. But what they are talking about is really the key issue right now in this first-step deal is the issue of uranium enrichment and the European Union spokesman said that was where all roads led to and from at this stage.
The key question is how much if at all Iran will be allowed to enrich in terms of uranium, the point being there that you enrich uranium to a certain level, to using nuclear power plants to generate electricity, and then if you want to use it for more sinister purposes, such as building a nuclear bomb, you have to enrich it to much greater levels.
And that's what the international community want to stop. The Iranians, for their part, however, almost as a sense of national pride, have said that uranium enrichment is a national right, that they have, it's a question of national pride. And they say that is a red line.
So it's like the Iranians are going to be pushing back a bit and saying, well, allow us to enrich some uranium, at least to a certain level, at least for those power plants.
Then there will be other things; not clear whether that will be here in the first step or as we move towards an end game. But things like the underground enrichment facility at Fordo near the holy city of Qom, that is seen by international observers as the possible location of a military enrichment facility because it is underground and resistant to bomb attacks.
And then also the question of the Iraq heavy water reactor, and that, again, is seen -- it's not online yet. But if it were to come online then weapons experts believe that that could be used to process plutonium. Again, that could be used in some weapons process.
So all of these things are some of the key points there that will be on the table, both in the first-step deal and as these parties move towards the end game, Kristie.
STOUT: Karl Penhaul across all the points we've put on the table as these talks are underway there in Geneva.
Karl Penhaul, thank you.
For more now, especially on the Iranian perspective, let's go straight to our Reza Sayah in Tehran.
And Reza, how much is Iran willing to give up at these talks to ease the nuclear standoff?
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, here's what they're not willing to give. Their position is that they're not willing to give up what they call a peaceful nuclear program. They're not going to give up uranium enrichment. You have to remember that for Iran, their nuclear program has become a source of national pride, the symbol of independence and defiance against Washington, against what they call Western bullying. And they believe that it's their right, just like anyone else under international law, as a signatory, to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, to enrich uranium and to have a peaceful nuclear program.
However, they've certainly made signals that they're willing to make concessions. It's not clear what those concessions are. We could find out in the coming hours. However, what's been talking about is possibly the halting of uranium enrichment at 20 percent. If they agree to do that, that would seemingly make it impossible for Iran to produce the nuclear fuel necessary to make a nuclear bomb.
There's also the possibility of them opening up some of their facilities to broader inspections, perhaps, shutting down some of their facilities, like the heavy water reactor in Iraq. So all of these issues on the table. And we'll find out in the coming hours if they've made some of these concessions, Kristie.
STOUT: And a bigger picture question, what brought us here? I mean, what brought Iran to the negotiating table there in Geneva to reach a possible deal? I mean, is it because of the new, more reformist president, Hassan Rouhani? Or is it the impact of sanctions on Iran?
SAYAH: It could be all of that, Kristie. Remember many of the major decisions in Iran's leadership happened behind closed doors with the Supreme Leader. It's hard to find out what's happened in these past few months, where you have all these political factions, even some conservatives coming and going down this path.
But you have to look at the realities on the ground, the fact is that the sanctions have made an impact. Hassan Rouhani, the new president, came in and he said his agenda is to improve the economy. The only way you're going to improve this economy is to lift and ease some of these sanctions.
And the only way you're going to do that is to have a nuclear settlement with the West and reach some sort of agreement.
And then you also have to consider Hassan Rouhani himself. He's come in, and at warp speed in a matter of just a few months, he's changed the tone, changed the dynamics and made an aggressive push to reach a settlement. And that's where we are. And that's why a lot of people, not just here in Iran, in the region, around the world, eager to see if history is made today with an agreement.
STOUT: All right, Reza Sayah, joining us live in Tehran, thank you so much for that perspective there, Reza.
Now experts are sounding a new warning about a possible reemergence of polio. Last month polio was seen in Syria for the first time in 14 years. Now infectious disease experts writing in "The Lancet" medical journal have raised serious concerns that polio could spread across the region and even to Europe, where the highly infectious disease has not been seen for decades.
The World Health Organization has today announced a mass vaccination campaign across the Middle East to curb a potential outbreak. It says it aims to immunization 20 million children in the region against polio.
This is NEWS STREAM. And when we come back, we'll tell you why airspace in the U.S. could soon be a lot more crowded and what unmanned aircraft like these have to do with it.
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STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching NEWS STREAM.
In the U.S., the skies may soon be dotted with remotely piloted and privately operated drones. The Federal Aviation Authority has taken the first steps toward expanding the use of unmanned aircraft over the U.S.
But as Rene Marsh reports, serious safety concerns are being raised.
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RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): April 2006, an unmanned aircraft patrolling the Mexican border loses contact with its ground-based pilot. It goes on an uncommanded joyride, flying 30 miles until it crashes close to an Arizona home.
It's that kind of scenario or even worse, a midair collision, that the Federal Aviation Administration is trying to avoid as it looks to open airspace to thousands of drones.
MICHAEL HUERTA, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: We must ensure that safety and efficiency of the entire airspace including all aircraft, all people and property --
MARSH (voice-over): In the next five years, drone use by businesses and governments is expected to soar. The FAA estimates as many as 7,500 drones could be flying in the U.S. airspace at any given time. Thursday the agency released a blueprint of steps necessary to make it happen, requiring drones to have sensors enabling it to avoid crashing into another aircraft. Standardized training for operators and identifying safe distances drones should keep from other planes.
MARSH: The FAA is working on rules for small drones like this one to even larger ones, with a wingspan of a 737 capable of flying up to 60,000 feet. But some commercial pilots fear (INAUDIBLE) the skies could mean disaster.
JOHN BARTON, AIRLINE CAPTAIN: I think that most pilots, commercial aviators across the country are deeply troubled with the accident rate of drones at this time. I think the number in the last report that I saw was 9.31 accidents per 100,000 hours flying. That's three times the amount of any aircraft category.
MARSH (voice-over): Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.
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STOUT: After the break, we'll return to our top story, the super typhoon that's tearing through the Philippines. It is threatening millions of people. We'll get the latest on disaster relief efforts. Stay with us.
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STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching NEWS STREAM and these are your world headlines.
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STOUT (voice-over): One of the most powerful storms in recorded history is tearing across the Philippines. These pictures give you an idea of the power of the storm, severely damaged houses, debris flooding the streets, overflowing rivers. At least three people are dead. But officials say that the death toll is likely to rise. Once they get into areas battered by the typhoon.
A deal may be imminent on Iran's nuclear program. World powers and Iran are at the bargaining table in Geneva, Switzerland. The U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius are joining them along with top diplomats from Britain and Germany.
Israel is rejecting the possible agreement.
The Pakistani Taliban say that they will carry out revenge attacks against the government. The group has chosen a new leader, Mullah Fazlullah, and says that it will initially target Punjab province. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has a stronghold. The Taliban blames the government for the death of former leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone stroke a week ago.
A recent outbreak of polio in Syria may be a threat throughout the region and even Europe. That's according to German doctors who published a warning in the medical journal, "The Lancet." Now the World Health Organization is announcing the largest-ever vaccination campaign. It's an effort to immunization 20 million children in the region.
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Millions of people in the Philippines are dealing with the devastating impact and aftermath of one of the strongest storms ever recorded. Super typhoon Haiyan slammed into the archipelago's eastern islands early on Friday, flattening houses and cutting off power and communications.
Some of the areas hit by this megastorm are still recovering from past typhoons as well as last month's killer earthquake. Earlier I spoke to SBS Australia correspondent Kathy Novak about the disaster.
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KATHY NOVAK, SBS AUSTRALIA CORRESPONDENT: The problem, of course, is the infrastructure and a lot of these places just can't handle it. Some of the areas that we're talking about, the (INAUDIBLE) particular, it has been hit by an earthquake just last month. And the infrastructure there is very unstable.
(INAUDIBLE) around (INAUDIBLE) we heard a report that people who had been moved into a sports center that was designated evacuation center had to be evacuated again because the roof was ripped off that evacuation center. And then those people who had left their homes were again all moved.
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STOUT: Correspondent Kathy Novak there.
Now for the latest on the ground in the Philippines, I'm joined now on the line from Cebu by Neil Sanchez. He is a disaster officer from the provincial government.
Thank you so much, sir, for joining us here on the program. It's such a difficult time for you, the community and the entire nation of the Philippines.
I was wondering if you could start first with clarifying the human toll so far.
What do we know about the number of deaths and injuries and the extent of devastation in the aftermath of this storm?
NEIL SANCHEZ, HAIYAN EYEWITNESS: Yes, hello.
STOUT: Neil Sanchez, this is Kristie from CNN. I'm asking what can you tell us about the human toll of the storm.
SANCHEZ: Yes, good evening, Kristie, and good evening, those who are listening to us right now, watching the CNN news.
Well, we -- right now we are under total (INAUDIBLE) Cebu entirely powerless with only a little portions are remaining lighted. Ongoing power restorations are still being conducted by (INAUDIBLE) group and there are a certain number of (INAUDIBLE) which we haven't reached yet.
And (INAUDIBLE) the area. As to casualties, we received a number of two casualties so far, one who still remains missing, while the other one was (INAUDIBLE) a fallen tree.
In one of the (INAUDIBLE) municipalities of Cebu.
STOUT: You're reporting two casualties, one the result of falling debris there.
How many people are out of harm's way, have been moved into evacuation centers there?
SANCHEZ: OK, we're talking about around 7,155 estimated families in (INAUDIBLE) municipalities and component (INAUDIBLE) province of Cebu. We're still trying to penetrate the northern municipalities, island municipalities, particularly the island municipality of Bacayan, and on Bacayan municipality (INAUDIBLE) because up to now our teams are still in the area, trying to find out road clearing operations because of fallen debris, trees and posts, electric posts.
But we're trying to do the rapid assessment first day, first light tomorrow morning as soon as the area is already rendered passable.
STOUT: OK. So you can't reach those municipalities because of the state of the roads, the fallen debris has gotten in the way and you're working to clear out the debris right now.
What is your priority at the moment to help the victims of the storm, because really at the moment just trying to clear out the debris?
SANCHEZ: The priority right now is to clear the road of debris and immediately send the very basic, immediate needs in the affected areas. We're planning to go on an area tour with -- together with the Philippine Air Force and the armed forces (INAUDIBLE) tomorrow morning if the weather warrants that it's good enough. But we're going to (INAUDIBLE) going to send out immediately (INAUDIBLE) affected populations.
STOUT: And once you reach the affected populations that are more remote, once you're able to get to them, what do you expect to see? And what kind of help do you have on hand to offer to them?
SANCHEZ: Yes, OK. We're already (INAUDIBLE) got reports that there's some massive -- there are damages, especially in the residential areas. By the way, these municipalities are (INAUDIBLE) municipalities of Cebu. And the people have been evacuated to different evacuation centers, such as schools and government facilities. So we're looking at the damaged houses and of course the very (INAUDIBLE) that they need -- that they need to give them are power, food, water at the same time medications. We also plan to bring along with us a team of doctors and engineers, who are going to assess the damage of in the area.
STOUT: You and your team have assessed and worked through many typhoons before there in the Philippines.
How does this super typhoon Haiyan, how does it compare with all the others you've had to deal with?
SANCHEZ: The last -- the last strong typhoon that the province of Cebu experienced was way back, 1991. And this is much, much stronger that Typhoon Uring (ph).
STOUT: All right, Neil Sanchez, we'll have to leave it at that. Thank you so much for joining us here on the program.
Neil Sanchez, a disaster official, provincial official there, joining us on the line from Cebu. (INAUDIBLE) he was reporting two casualties there in Cebu. And the difficulty of trying to reach the more remote municipalities given all the debris that has fallen in the road. They have to clear it out of the way so they can reach the people who desperately need their help.
At its peak, Haiyan packed sustained winds of over 315 kph. That is an incredible speed. And to put it into context for you, this wind was roughly the same speed as a Japanese bullet train. And that was just sustained wind speeds. At its peak, gusts from the typhoon reached 380 kph.
We'll keep watching this powerful storm's impact on the Philippines. We'll go back to Samantha Mohr at the World Weather Center a little bit later in the program.
But now let's turn to some other news just in to us here at CNN.
The U.S. jobs report for October, that has just been released. They came in much better than expected. The U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October. We'll have a lot more on this when the markets open in just under an hour from now.
Now in Afghanistan, allegations that U.S. troops were involved in the torture and even the killing of Afghan civilians are being investigated by the U.S. Army. Jim Sciutto has more on this latest probe sparked by evidence provided by the Red Cross.
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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An Afghan detainee aggressively beaten by Afghan soldiers while what appear to be foreign soldiers look on and do nothing.
It is this kind of abuse and worse that the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Command is now examining. In a separate investigation, detailed in a news story by "Rolling Stone" magazine, the U.N.'s Afghan mission documented two incidents of torture, three killings and 10 forced disappearances from November 2012 to February this year, with victims and witnesses blaming elite U.S. Army Green Berets and their Afghan interpreters.
In a statement, the U.N. says, if true, the allegations, quote, "may amount to war crimes."
Following angry local protests and pressure from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the Green Beret unit withdrew from post in April. Soon after, residents discovered human remains near the team's former base. If true, it could constitute one of the worst alleged crimes by deployed U.S. forces since American soldiers killed 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005.
Asked repeatedly by CNN in recent months, U.S. military officials said the matter had been investigated, but not substantiated. That changed, however, when the International Red Cross submitted new evidence, which it told CNN it received from families of victims and others.
(on camera): The Army is now bringing the investigation out of Afghanistan, so it's not run by forces there. How important is that?
FRANK JANNUZI, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: This is essential. Having outside investigators means that the culture of impunity that been enjoyed for too long inside Afghanistan is likely to be cracked here.
SCIUTTO (voice-over): The revelation comes at an extremely sensitive time for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In just two weeks, Afghan leaders will decide whether U.S. troops in country will have immunity from local prosecution, a continuing sticking point in negotiations over the future of the U.S. military presence.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's certainly topical and it's right in the crosshairs of how well the United States can negotiate.
SCIUTTO: The U.S. military has taken steps to bring down the number of civilian casualties, from reducing the airstrikes to setting up a civilian casualties tracking cell. The military credits those efforts with reducing casualties by 60 percent from 2012 to this year.
But an alleged crime like this one has the potential to be particularly damaging -- Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
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STOUT: This is NEWS STREAM. And coming up, another day, another scandal for Toronto's mayor, Rob Ford. This time he is caught on tape in an apparent drunken tirade.
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STOUT: I want to recap the major news from the Philippines this hour. Three people are confirmed dead as super typhoon Haiyan batters the country. And the number of casualties is expected to rise as authorities restore communications to areas cut off by the storm.
The system is carrying tremendously destructive winds which may prove to the biggest storm ever recorded. Haiyan is set to cross the South China Sea and hit Vietnam within 48 hours.
More allegations have emerged about the bullying story at an American football team. Miami Dolphins player Richie Incognito is at the center of an investigation into claims that he bullied a fellow Miami Dolphins teammate.
And now a newly disclosed police report from 2012 reveals a woman accused Incognito of inappropriately touching her. She is said not to have filed charges.
There are also concerns being raised about the physical well-being of American football players. And one former NFL player says the injuries he sustained from his sport in the 1980s are still giving him trouble today. As Brian Todd reports, he is not the only one raising concerns.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This hit in 1984 against the Philadelphia Eagles was the worst one Tony Dorsett ever took.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tony Dorsett is still on the ground.
TODD (voice-over): Dorsett now says hits like that have left him with some menacing symptoms, depression, outbursts of temper and.
TONY DORSETT, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Not remembering. You know, I've been taking my daughters to practice for years and all of a sudden, I forget how to get there. I have to ask my wife, how do you get there.
TODD (voice-over): Dorsett doesn't know how many concussions he got in his 12-year Hall of Fame career or during his four seasons in college, but he's one of nine former NFL players who've had a new brain scan that may help identify chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, a brain disease caused by head trauma linked to dementia and depression.
Dorsett says he's tested positive for symptoms consistent with CTE. Previously, the only way to find out if someone had CTE was after their death, with an autopsy on the brain. Now.
DR. JULIAN BAILES, NORTHSHORE NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE: This test involves a tracer which is injected into a vein and then it will bind to these abnormal proteins that we see in CTE. So if you have them in your brain, it can diagnose this in the living person.
TODD (voice-over): Neurosurgeon Julian Bailes, former physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is part of a team that devised the new brain scan. Bailes acknowledges it's too early to tell if this test is reliable. The sample size is too small, he says, and the results need to be peer reviewed.
It's believed CTE played a role in the deaths of former NFL players Dave Duerson, Junior Seau and others. But Alan Schwarz, who covered many of those stories for "The New York Times," says the NFL brushed aside some key early research.
ALAN SCHWARZ, NEW YORK TIMES: Each one of those steps from roughly 2005 through 2009 was met with a response from the NFL that this evidence did not really mean anything. One of the doctors on the lead committee called an important study "virtually worthless," that's a direct quote.
TODD (voice-over): The NFL changed, later acknowledged some of the lingering effects from head injuries and recently settled a lawsuit by thousands of players for $765 million.
Contacted by CNN, an NFL spokesman wouldn't comment on Tony Dorsett's case, but he did say the league will review that new brain scan by Dr. Bailes and his team and he says the NFL remains committed to making the game safer for players of all levels -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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STOUT: Turning now to a much milder sport, the golfing star, Tiger Woods, has been braving thunderstorms and bad weather in this week's Turkish Open. But he took some time off to sit down with Rachel Nichols in Istanbul to talk about the ups and downs of his career and the great pressure that comes with success.
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RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So you've had these great wins all over the world and yet when there are those big moments on the weekends of the biggest tournaments, you haven't been able to pull through.
What's that juxtaposition like for you?
TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: Well, it's frustrating because I've -- I had a chance this year in two of the major championships right there. So I've been there with chances to win on the weekend. I just haven't done it yet.
NICHOLS: So as that stretch gets larger and larger without a major, what's that like when it builds? What's that pressure like as it builds and builds?
WOODS: For me, I look at it, the fact that it's -- it takes a career, you know, for Jack it took him until he was 46. It takes a long time to win a lot of major championships. And you're going to have your years where you play really well. You may clip two or three out of there. And then you're going to have years where you just don't win anything. But you're there, just don't happen to win. And quite frankly, over the last - - well, since '08, I've been there with a chance to win about half of them. Just haven't seemed to have won one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: And that was CNN's Rachel Nichols, speaking to golfer Tiger Woods. You can see more of Tiger's interview on "UNGUARDED WITH RACHEL NICHOLS." You can see it Saturday morning at 11:30 in the morning in Hong Kong.
Now still to come right here on NEWS STREAM, a victim of the digital age, Blockbuster Video shuts up shop. Stay with us.
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STOUT: To the United States now and the continuing fallout from the troubled rollout of ObamaCare, the new health insurance law.
On Thursday, President Obama apologized to those Americans whose policies are being canceled because of the new law. Athena Jones reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama is apologizing to Americans losing their health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, despite his frequent promises they'd be able to keep plans they like, telling NBC News.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me.
JONES (voice-over): About 5 percent of Americans buy their insurance on the individual market and some are losing their plans as insurance companies cancel policies that don't meet tough new ObamaCare standards.
OBAMA: We weren't as clear as we needed to be in terms of the changes that were taking place. I want to do everything we can to make sure that people are finding themselves in a good position, a better position than they were before this law happened.
JONES (voice-over): The president said most people getting cancellation letters will be able to get new plans at the same price or cheaper on the new marketplaces. He stuck to his administration's latest promise, that the troubled healthcare.gov website will be fixed by the end of the month.
OBAMA: It's better than it was last week and it's certainly a lot better than October 1st. I'm confident that it will be even better by November 30th and that the majority of people are going to be able to get on there. They're going to be able to enroll.
JONES (voice-over): Obama's apology comes as a bipartisan pair of senators filed legislation Thursday to delay for a year the fine to be levied on people who don't buy health insurance by the end of March, citing the problems with the website.
West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Illinois Republican Mark Kirk say, quote, "This common sense proposal simply allows Americans to take more time to browse and explore their options, making 2014 a true transition year" -- Athena Jones, CNN, the White House.
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STOUT: And "Star Wars" fans finally have a highly anticipated date to mark in their calendars. December the 18th, 2015. That is when the upcoming "Star Wars" film Episode VII will hit the theaters.
The announcement was made on the official "Star Wars" website, the latest installment was originally set for a summer 2015 release. But the delay is not surprising, given director J.J. Abrams and writer Larry Kasdan have taken over as screenwriters. And shooting is expected to begin next year.
And those Friday night business-to-Blockbuster, they're about to be a thing of the past. The movie rental stores are officially closing shop in the U.S. Blockbuster has been rewinding for years. And now its remaining stores are finally closing.
Richard Roth reports the digital age and streaming have killed the physical rental business.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look like a new release.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Now there's nothing new at Blockbusters. The remaining hundreds of video rental stores are closing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it just means that nobody wants to buy or rent videos anymore, technology. That's all.
ROTH (voice-over): This Manhattan Blockbuster is now a popup Halloween store.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we need Blockbuster? Do you use Blockbuster? Let's say you went into a Blockbuster.
ROTH: I'm not going to let you into my home (INAUDIBLE) my video collection.
ROTH (voice-over): The ruthless march of new technology and changing consumer tastes led to a bloody end for yet another physical media icon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's kind of sad. I used to love going to Blockbuster with the family.
ROTH (voice-over): Nostalgia mocked in the comedy program, "South Park."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All on Blu-Ray or DVD. Well, what do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's awesome. You should try to get it on that ancient civilization show so that people can see how cultures used to live.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm upset that it's gone and I don't think it'll be back, considering all the latest in technology that people have now.
ROTH (voice-over): "Seinfeld" reminds us how people used to get and return their movies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That'll be $3.49.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $3.49? It says $1.49.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You didn't rewind it. There's a $2 charge.
ROTH (voice-over): Yes, people used to have to leave their homes to obtain "Rocky IV." "The Onion" news network claims there are now Blockbuster museums in America.
A specialty shop where customers exchanged money for the short-term use of videos in an archaic system called renting.
JOSEPH KLIEN, BLOCKBUSTER CUSTOMER: The store is amazing. It's like stepping into a time machine.
ROTH: Do you ever use eight-track tapes anymore?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen an eight-track tape.
ROTH (voice-over): And CDs, DVDs and video games are also disappearing under a digital tidal wave. After looking at a tiny video screen in 1987 technology analyst Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street" saw it coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tell you, we're going to a new age, pal.
ROTH: It's difficult for me and others to keep up with all the changes in technology. Would you like a one-year-old newspaper or how about a VHS cassette for home viewing tonight?
ROTH (voice-over): In Greenwich Village, people can still touch the classics, the music album stubbornly survives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's part of history. It's one of the things that you learn to appreciate. It's art.
PETER KAYE, BLEECKER STREET RECORDS: Because they didn't think something like this exists anymore. It's like they're walking into a time capsule.
ROTH (voice-over): The owner makes house calls to record owners to evaluate their collections.
Kids, doctors used to do that, too -- Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
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STOUT: End of an era there.
Now we return to our top story, the powerful typhoon that hit the Philippines on Friday. Samantha Mohr is at the World Weather Center. She joins us now -- Samantha.
MOHR: Hi, Kristie, yes. It continues to be a very strong supertyphoon as it works its way west of the Philippines here, actually affecting this line of violence, the Palawan Islands on up into Mimaropa as well. There's some mountainous regions here that's going to see some effects from the change in elevation and these strong supertyphoon winds, max sustained right now at 270 with gusts up to 325, rocketing to the west at 41 kph, as it makes its way at a speedy pace towards the South China Sea.
So it is affect these folks with some torrential rainfall amounts coming in so far, some of the most impressive ranging from 150-250 millimeters at this point. And the rain here is still coming down as well.
Look at these winds, too, and the interesting thing, you would say, well, I mean, if you have max sustained winds upon landfall at 315 why are we only seeing amounts here up around 119 kph, 81 kph, 155? Likely after these strong wind gusts came in, some of the anemometers or some of the reporting stations started sending us nothing because the wind gauges actually broke with these strong gusty winds. They can't handle 315 kph winds in many cases. So that's why a lot of these wind gusts, you would think, would be even more impressive than this. But in many cases the wind gauges have actually broken as a result of these strong supertyphoon force winds.
This is the latest radar out of Manila. You can see where we have some very heavy rain bands working their way on still. So we'll continue to see that as we head into the next several hours across much of Luzon as well as Visayas, as the system works its way off to the west.
And it is going down in the history books so far as one of the strongest typhoons ever. It's already had a huge impact, over 25 million people affected, 200 local flights canceled, Kristie, and around 1 million people having to seek shelter as a result of this huge storm.
So we'll continue to watch it as it moves to the west and heads towards the south, through the South China Sea, towards Vietnam, Kristie.
STOUT: All right. Samantha Mohr there, thank you.
And before we go, just a quick apology because we will not be showing you the piece that we promised on the latest scandal surrounding the mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford. It was due to a technical problem, but you can still see that story right on our website. Just go to CNN.com/international.
And that is NEWS STREAM. But the news continues at CNN with special coverage of the impact of the typhoon next.
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