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Test on Plane Part as Volunteers Search; Experts: Debris Could End Up Thousands of Miles Away; California Battling 21 Wildfires; Uphill Battle for Obama's Climate Plan; Classified Intelligence Report, Grim View on War on ISIS; Trump Skips Forum, Poll Numbers Surge; Floods Kill 178 in India; Dangers Migrants Face. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired August 03, 2015 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:04] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Volunteers continue to search small islands for any debris that might be from MH370.
Plus, Trump surges once again in the polls as Republican presidential hopefuls prepared for their first debate.
And later this hour, he traveled through seven countries, was detained by police and smuggled across borders. See CNN's exclusive report on one man's escape from Syria.
Hello, everyone. I'm Errol Barnett, with you for the next two hours. A big welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. Thanks for joining me on CNN NEWSROOM.
This is an important day in the search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Investigators from Malaysia and the U.S. today will meet with those from aircraft maker Boeing in France as they prepare to begin their analysis of this, a piece of an airplane wing, called a flaperon, found last week on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Several experts met with French officials on Monday but they had very little to say about the investigation. Right now, the flaperon is in a lab near Toulouse for testing.
Meanwhile, crews from Reunion Island are on the look out for more airplane parts and they are dedicated to helping solve the mystery of MH370's disappearance.
Our Erin McLaughlin is there and went out with one of the search boats.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They look official and they want to help.
(on camera): This crew of five is normally focused on sea rescues such as boats in distress or diving accidents. But since the flaperon washed up on the shores of Reunion Island, they have been on the lookout for anything that resembles a plane.
(on camera): Like all the boats out looking, it's a small vessel with basic equipment. No high-technology here, just radios and word of mouth.
CECILE DUPRE, PRESIDENT, SAUVETAGE EN MERE: Everybody knows everybody. All the people are related to the sea. They know each other. The minute that we see something we'll know it.
MCLAUGHLIN: These searchers are all volunteers, electricians, scientists, retirees. This is what they do for fun after work. They say it is their passion and they want to help in the search for MH370 that has come to their shore.
(on camera): Just over that way is the beach where they found the flaperon. Do the people on this island feel a connection to MH370?
DUPRE: They do. Because everybody was so shocked by the way this plane disappeared without any explanation. It's a rare case.
MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): These patrols aren't scheduled. Just as they say the sea is on its own timetable.
(on camera): Today there is no signs of a plane, no signs of MH370. These volunteers say they will remain vigilant in the days and weeks ahead.
Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Reunion Island.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Erin is in the Western part of the Indian Ocean.
But even as searchers scour that part of the ocean for clues, experts who study currents say the airplane's debris could turn up thousands of miles away.
Brian Todd shows us where.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Reunion Island, people comb the shorelines looking for any clues that could be as tantalizing as this. Now veteran oceanographers tell CNN this could be the new front line of the search for MH370, which is why search teams are looking off not only Reunion Island but Madagascar, the Seychelles Islands, Mauritius, Mozambique, and off the east coast of south Africa. The reason? A powerful stream of currents circulating in the Indian Ocean, called a gyre.
VAN GURLEY, FORMER U.S. NAVY OCEANOGRAPHER: It is a permanent circulation pattern in the Indian Ocean that runs counter clockwise starts off the West coast of Australia and moves north and picks up and moving east to west across the Indian Ocean before it turns south and returns.
TODD: Former U.S. Navy oceanographer, Van Gurley, says that other parts that could be found, seats or objects with foam inserts or foam air pockets. Experts say that may be why this apparent piece made it to Reunion Island. But objects could also be found in the other direction on the other
side of Australia. But Gurley says, based on the drift analysis right now, search teams should continue to focus off Perth, Australia. But they warn for the possibility that the families should prepare for.
[02:05:13] GURLEY: It's possible this could be the only thing they find or recognize from MH370. That's just the way the ocean behaves with the difference in the currents and oceans and winds. This could be the only piece that survived.
TODD (on camera): Experts point to another mysterious case in that same region, the sinking of the Australian warship the HMAS Sydney in World War II. Despite a massive search, there was no confirmed discovery from that ship in the months and years after its disappearance, no bodies, nothing. Search teams did not discover that wreck until 2008.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: We'll get you a live report from France in the next hour.
But now we want to turn to California where nearly 10,000 firefighters are battling 21 wildfires throughout the state. Fires scorched 134 acres, or 54,000 hectares of land. The largest is the Rocky Fire in northern California. At last report, it was only 12 percent contained.
CNN's Paul Vercammen has more from one of the fire zones.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of the biggest challenges for firefighters on the Rocky Fire, the shifting winds. They flip-flopped back on themselves and this caused the fire to jump Highway 20 and firefighters had a new front they had to fight. It has been a tough few days for firefighters here in northern California.
VERCAMMEN (voice-over) California burning. At least 21 major fires are raging in the parched state. The bone-dry landscape, gusty winds and low humidity are creating a tinderbox of sorts fuelled by lightning, daunting conditions for 10,000 firefighters battling the fires. A firefighter was killed. He was scouting ways to attack burning fire when he was trapped by flames.
As the fire ravages anything in its path --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like a bomb went off over here.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: It's scary.
VERCAMMEN: The largest blaze, the Rocky Fire, has burned up to 60,000 acres in three counties north of wine country.
CAPT. STEVE KAUFMANN, VENTURA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: There are firefighters with 20, 25, 30 years on the job that have never seen fire behavior like the one on the Rocky Fire.
VERCAMMEN: The reason, four years of drought and 100-degree heat has created perfect conditions for explosive growth. So far, two dozen homes have been destroyed. Governor Jerry Brown declaring a state of emergency. And evacuations ordered for more 13,000 Californians, leaving many worried that their homes are in the fire's path.
STEPHEN BARRIOS, CALIFORNIA RESIDENT: Hopefully, the fire doesn't come this far and we can come back to our house still here.
VERCAMMEN: From the air, you can see the intensity as the wall of flames moves across the tree-lined mountains. Crews on the scene setting controlled burns hoping to fire in its tracks by lighting brush and fuel in the blaze's path.
DANIEL BERLANT, CHIEF OF PUBLIC INFORMATION, CAL FIRE: The conditions burning like they are right now is concerning and that's why it's so important that we get the public's help. Prevent sparking a fire is what we need. One less spark means one less wildfire.
VERCAMMEN (on camera): Firefighters not wanting to take chances began fighting fire with fire, using the torches that are a mix of diesel fuel and gasoline to burn out huge, huge patches of land. That way the fire could not advance further east as it would have here along Highway 16.
Reporting from California, I'm Paul Vercammen. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: U.S. President Barack Obama is taking action on climate change and selling his plan to the American people. The initiative seeks to reduce carbon pollution from coal-burning power plants over the next 15 years.
But as CNN's Jim Acosta explains, critics are ready to fight it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pointing to wildfires raging out of control, droughts crippling the West, and the threat of thunderstorms, President Obama offered his remedy to the planet's weather worries.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we don't get it right, we may not be able to reverse. I believe there is such a thing as being too late.
ACOSTA: The president's proposal dramatically curbed carbon emissions by nearly one third by the year 2030. The White House says the climate change data is undeniable, noting 14 of the 15 warmest years have come this century.
[02:10:06] OBAMA: I don't want people's lives disrupted and this world more dangerous because we didn't do something about it. That'd be shameful of us. ACOSTA: It's a legacy-defining issue President Obama has chased since
he was a candidate.
OBAMA: This is the moment when the rise of the oceans begin to slow and our planet begins to heal.
ACOSTA: But Republicans charge the unilateral changes through the EPA will kill jobs and drive up energy costs.
REP. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I'm not going to sit by while the White House takes aim at the lifeblood of our state's economy.
JEB BUSH, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: For the first time, they've extended this to require states in a very coercive way.
ACOSTA: Democrats sense a potent issue, labeling GOP Republicans as climate deniers.
SCOTT WALKER, (R), WISCONSIN GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you look at the last 15 to 20 years, I think most scientists, regardless what they believe is the larger question, would say that there hasn't been a notable change in recent times.
ACOSTA: Last year, Donald Trump tweeted, "This very expensive global warming bull has got to stop." With that kind of opposition, the White House is bracing for challenges that could last for years.
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I have no doubt that special interests and the politicians who are in their pockets will fight tooth and nail against this specific rule.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: That was senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, reporting there.
Also in the U.S., a classified intelligence report in the U.S. paints a grim view of the war with ISIS. It suggests the group may be just as strong now as it was a year ago despite thousands of airstrikes. And it comes as U.S. war planes provide air cover for American-trained rebels in northern Syria.
CNN's Barbara Starr has more from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Smoke rising from a U.S. airstrike in northern Syria launched to protect American- trained rebels under attack from an al Qaeda-linked group, the first strike since President Obama approved air cover to protect rebels under attack from any group, al Qaeda, the Assad regime or ISIS, a hint of the expanded mission in the works for days.
ASHTON CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I think we have an obligation to support the fighters when day go in there.
STARR: But what if the Assad regime attacks the U.S.-backed rebels?
MARK TONER, DEPUTY U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We have cautioned Syria in the past not to engage U.S. aircraft and the Syria regime would similarly be advised not to interfere with new Syrian forces.
STARR: The strike here in northern Syria is the area in U.S. crosshairs. Airstrikes are being used to shut down the last major border crossing into Syria near Aleppo to prevent weapons from getting to Raqqa, the ISIS stronghold.
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: They are seeing more difficulty getting their fighters into Syria.
STARR: Despite fewer fighters, a classified intelligence assessment bleakly concludes that ISIS is as strong as it was a year ago when airstrikes began, but is no longer making huge advances on the ground.
(SHOUTING)
STARR: The number of fighters down slightly to 20,000 to 30,000. The Pentagon says that is progress.
But in Iraq, even as the U.S. struck a facility making vehicle-borne bombs, the defense intelligence agency has its own grim assessment. One official saying, quote, "The situation in Iraq between Iraqi security forces and ISIL is in stalemate."
After nearly 6,000 airstrikes and a year of bombing in Syria and Iraq, fundamental questions of whether the strategy will ever be successful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Our Barbara Starr reporting there.
We should note, U.S. military officials have long warned that airstrikes alone would not be alone to defeat ISIS and experts agree. The militants need to be counted on the ground as well.
The United States' largest territory, Puerto Rico, is officially in default. It's part of what its governor calls an economic death spiral. The U.S. commonwealth failed to pay a $58 million debt due on Monday. The island has $70 billion in outstanding debt and is in recession. It's the same about as New York State but the country is 17 times smaller. This is the first default in Puerto Rico's history.
Two young spectators, a boy and a girl, have been killed after a circus tent collapsed in New Hampshire on Monday evening. New video from the scene. Police say the investigation will go well into the night. More than a dozen people were injured in the incident. Authorities say about 100 people were inside the tent watching a performance when a severe thunderstorm with strong winds and large hail ripped through the area.
[02:15:09] Now, his momentum is building but can Donald Trump sustain it for the rest of the U.S. presidential campaign? We'll get you analysis on this after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: You're watching women in the U.S. capital rallying in support of planned parenthood. The happened as the fight to defund it happened in the Senate. Planned Parenthood has come under increased scrutiny after an antiabortion group released highly edited videos claiming that the organization was profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood denies that practice.
A Senate vote to defund planned parenthood failed on Monday. That vote forced the Senators to join a Republican presidential forum via satellite. They wanted to stay behind in D.C. to make their vote.
The other 14 of the 17 presidential candidates participated in a forum in New Hampshire, which offered a preview of the debate to come this week. Donald Trump refused to attend because a local newspaper editorial condemned his candidacy. So that left his rivals to discuss ISIS, immigration and the new retirement age.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[02:20:28] JEB BUSH, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: The president admitted two times that we don't have a strategy as it relates to ISIS. It's pretty amazing. I think we need special forces, the idea of boots on the ground but special forces, embedding troops and trainers with the Syrian Free Army, training them at a much faster rate. We've spent half a billion to have 60 people ready to go. I mean, this is absurd.
RICK PERRY, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER TEXAS GOVERNOR: You can secure the border. It takes boots on the ground. It takes the security fencing in the metropolitan areas and you have aviation assets, and I'm talking about from Tijuana to El Paso to Brownsville, flying 24/7 to see what is going on and identifying where there is activities that are obviously illegal or suspicious.
CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R), NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to tell them the truth. We need to tell them that we are living longer and a better quality of life. That's a blessing. So we need to increase the retirement age over a period of time. I've said two years over the next 25 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Donald Trump did not attend but there was a target on his back for Republican opponents and recent poll numbers show Trump's support surging.
But as Athena Jones reports, Trump is claiming to be the underdog when it comes to debates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the first Republican primary debate away --
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP GROUP: I'm not a debater. I've never debated.
JONES: -- Donald Trump is making the rounds, trying to lower the expectations for his performance. And he is expanding on his critique of President Obama, explaining why he thinks that America won't see another black president for generations.
TRUMP: I think he has set a very low bar, and it's a shame for the African-American people. And by the way, he has done nothing for African-Americans.
JONES: All this as Trump leads the GOP pack in recent polls. He is at 26 percent at the poll out today, more than double Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
SCOTT WALKER, (R), WISCONSIN GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you.
JONES: And Trump's favorability numbers are on the rise with 52 percent of Republicans saying they view him favorably. That is up 43 percent from three weeks ago.
But on the debate, the typically confident real estate mogul told CBS.
TRUMP: I'm not a debater.
JONES: But he's not afraid of a fight and Walker says he is ready.
WALKER: I don't back off of anything.
JONES: Trump's poll position means he is assured a spot thursday night when the top-10 candidates face off in Cleveland. In fact, the top eight spots appear set, with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Ohio Governor John Kasich and former Texas Governor Rick Perry vying for the final two spots, based on CNN's poll of polls.
Christie says he is feeling good about his chances.
CHRISTIE: I'll be happy Tuesday when the 10 names come out and I'm in there.
JONES: With Trump dominating the debate, some are looking for creative ways to get noticed, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Of course, in Texas, we cook bacon differently than most folks.
JONES: Showcasing his culinary and firearm skills.
CRUZ: Machine gun bacon.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: That is John Braybender. He is a Republican political consultant and senior strategist for Rick Santorum, on the right of the screen. As well as CNN commentator, Van Jones, on the left.
Welcome to both of you.
JOHN BRAYBENDER, REPUBLICAN POLITICAL STRATEGIST & SENIOR REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST FOR RICK SANTORUM: Thank you.
BARNETT: Let's start with Donald Trump. He is the man to beat at what is still the early stage of this race.
John, let's begin with you.
But will Donald Trump be able to turn his current momentum into a serious campaign at this first upcoming debate. A lot is on the line here.
BRAYBENDER: I think there is a lot. People want to see if he knows about the issue. Donald Trump is a good messenger that doesn't mean he should be the president of the United States or the nominee of our party. I think he has more on the line by any of the other candidates.
BARNETT: And, Van, how do you see this? Isn't Donald Trump a caricature of the GOP?
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's kind of shocking. The Republican party is just falling down the stairs into this clown show with so many candidates you can't keep up with them. And this one character, to your point, a caricature, Donald Trump who not only is rich, he is also rude, and he also says sometimes really racially offensive things in a country where we are increasingly becoming a non-white country. I don't think it's a good development for the Republican party. But we can't tell is this a side show or is this what the Republican party has become?
[01:25:31] BARNETT: Let's help clear this up for international viewers. John, you don't like the way that currently the rules that depending on how you perform in the polls dictates if you are in the debates, and the debates are supposed to inform the American population as to what is on the candidates' minds. But won't people get a chance to see Trump for his ideas on thursday? Isn't this part of the political process?
BRAYBENDER: Yeah, but the problem with that is we have 17 incredibly good candidates. If this was some type of sporting event and we were playing against the Democrats and it was a football game we would be a two touchdown favorite because we have a better team but it's we are not allowed to field the entire team for the debates. They are focusing on Donald Trump and too few of the players. In one of the polls today a majority of people said they should all be on the stage debating together.
BARNETT: And some suggested Jeb Bush needs to keep the attention off Trump and let voters know what he is about. And I want to talk about what is happening on the Democratic side. Joe Biden now reportedly considering running for the nomination after his late son encouraged him to do so after he passed away. And he would be running on the Obama achievements. Would he have a shot against Hillary Clinton?
BRAYBENDER: I think he would. I think it's a nightmare scenario for Hillary Clinton. Now the focus is on the Democrats and her problems. But what I truly believe will happen is there will be a lot of pressure on Biden to look like an elder statesman and a party leader to unify the Democratic party. And I'd be surprised if he actually runs.
BARNETT: Van, is this welcomed on the Democratic side?
VAN JONES: Not yet. If you asked me a week ago I would have burst out laughing about Biden running. There is no part of the party that would embrace him. He is not a pop list or strong on the racial justice issues. However, Hillary Clinton's weakness now is so profound. Her numbers are so weak and going the wrong way despite her campaigning, it's tempting him to want to come in and we're talking about it. Two weeks from now or three weeks from now if her numbers go down you could see Biden or John Kerry jump in. Right now, the freak show seems to be on the Republican side. If Hillary Clinton collapses, and she could, you could see the same on the Democratic side.
BARNETT: The plot thickens.
Van Jones, our CNN political commentator, and John Braybender, a Republican political consultant, thanks for your time, both of you, joining me from D.C.
JONES: Thank you.
BRAYBENDER: Thank you.
BARNETT: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, a Syrian man risked his life to escape his war-torn country but not without taking a piece of it with him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SYRIAN: I have shrapnel here. When I touch it, it reminds me of Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Coming up, we follow this young man's dangerous travels through seven nations trying to seek a better life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:32:15] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the states and those of you watching from around the world. I'm Errol Barnett. An hour and a half to go with me. Let update our top stories.
International officials will meet in France on Tuesday to discuss the airplane part that may have come from Malaysia Airlines flight 370. A flaperon was found in reunion island last week.
21 wildfires are burning in California state. The largest is the Rocky Fire which at last report was only 12 percent contained.
In India, 11 people are dead and seven more hurt after a residential building collapsed in Mumbai. The search effort is underway but officials don't believe that anyone is trapped in the rubble. Official says the 56-year-old building was declared unsafe and residents were notified.
In India, a government spokesman says that flooding has killed 178 people there in recent days. Monsoon rains have inundated other parts of southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Vietnam.
CNN's Anna Coren has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Myanmar is no stranger to severe flooding during the monsoon season, but this year, the waters are extraordinary. Dozens have been killed with more than 200,000 families displaced. And U.N. teams on the ground fear this is just the beginning of a humanitarian disaster. The full extent is unknown, with many of the worst-hit areas cut off and inaccessible.
EAMONN MURPHY, U.N. MYANMAR: It's affected by landslides and rivers choked with debris, and that makes it that much more difficult in areas that are difficult to access in the best of conditions.
COREN: To demonstrate how much water there is, a local news reporter filed his report from the middle of what should have been a busy street.
Four areas in central and western Myanmar have been declared natural disaster zones by the government, which mobilized the army to lead rescue efforts.
But torrential rain and flooding, as a result of the Asian monsoon, has also affected India and Bangladesh, claiming dozens of lives. Vietnam also hit by the worst flooding in 40 years.
While international aid is starting to arrive to some of Myanmar's desperate communities, humanitarian organizations are pleading for more help. The government has been criticized for a slow and inadequate response, failing to learn from the natural disaster in 2008 caused by a cyclone that left 140,000 people dead.
[02:35:08] MURPHY: We've got to prevent more loss of life and get supplies to the people now that are immediately affected by then help them in rebuilding not just stop after the first part of the crisis but it's we have to help them rebuild their own lives.
COREN: An enormous challenge for an impoverished country that knows the worst isn't over.
Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: And our Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera joins us now.
What's so interesting is these monsoonal rains are seasonal but they seem to be stronger or causing more damage.
IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And in this case, over the last several days, what complicated things and made it worse was a tropical cyclone that parked itself over the Bay of Bengal and did not move.
Let's take you over to the wall. We can show folks at home what has been happening here. Look at this low. The clock now on Wednesday as I put this into motion you will be able to see not much happens. It stays in the same position. We have these downpours off the bay and into Myanmar with very heavy rainfall upwards over a meter of rainfall in just a few days. The low is now over in India. You will see heavy rain there. We will not talk about the low centered and stuck and not moving here. Typical monsoonal rains are what we're back into. But the damage is done and the flood waters that you saw, that is going to take a very long time for the waters to recede. Look at this thunderstorm complex that put down 300 millimeters of water. I want to show you what that did to portions of that province there.
Incredible scenes coming out of the region. Look at this. Gone. Those cars and you can see folks trying to get into the cars. I'm hoping and thinking they were trying to rescue folks in there. We understand that no one suffered any serious injuries there. So that is an incredible feat just when you think about what could have happened with all those cars just giving way as the road just collapsed as result of the heavy rain and the cars went into the river along with the road.
I want to leave you with what is happening in the Western pacific. This is the strongest tropical cyclone in the planet in the entire 2015 here. 285 kilometer per hour winds. That is 180-mile-an-hour winds. That is a category 35 and it is headed toward Taiwan and it doesn't weaken that much. By 72 hours, it's going to clip the northern part of Taiwan. And if the center stays just north of the island that would be worse because the winds would be stronger. Still a ways away but this could be a bad one for them.
BARNETT: And there is no expectation that it will be weaken. Nothing between that storm and land.
CABRERA: A little bit but not much. We'll have to watch it, yeah.
BARNETT: Ivan, thank you very much. We'll see you next hour. Now, in Zimbabwe, officials are pushing for the extradition an
American man accused of killing an African lion named Cecil. Now they say a second U.S. man was involved in a separate illegal hunt.
Our David McKenzie reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zimbabwe officials have named a second American they say was involved in an illegal hunt earlier this year. They've pulled in the safari owner and arrested him and put him in for questioning and they say a Pennsylvania doctor was involved in this hunt but haven't accused him of anything directly.
Of course, they're still trying to extradite Dr. Walt Palmer for killing Cecil the lion. It's probably unlikely they'll manage to do that. And there is some sense that politics is playing a role here. Zimbabwean and U.S. relations are in a tense period. There are questions about why they are naming a second American now so many months after this event allegedly took place.
David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: For so many migrants, the dangerous journey to a new land is worth the risk. CNN wanted to understand the challenge that migrants face during their charges. In part one of this report, Arwa Damon introduces you to a man trying to escape war-torn Syria with the hope of reaching Greece and ultimately Germany.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:40:00] YILMAZ PASHA, SYRIA IMMIGRANT: They see you as a Euro, not a human.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 23- year-old Yilmaz Pasha, a Syrian media activist, is wanted by the Syrian regime and ISIS. Like tens of thousands of others, his journey began on a beach in Turkey.
PASHA: When you cross at sea, you know, somebody, they didn't even wear the life jackets and they didn't know -- they don't know how to swim.
DAMON: The transit from here cost $900 per person. The smugglers gave them a boat, pointed to a Greek island and asked, who wants to be the captain.
PASHA: My friend was the captain.
DAMON (on camera): Had he driven a boat before?
PASHA: No. The smugglers said it's so easy.
DAMON: Were you scared in the boat? PASHA: The boat start, I don't know, left and goes right. So it was
so scary.
DAMON (voice-over): And the relief of being back on land evident on everyone's faces.
PASHA: Local people met us there. They are lovely people. They give to us food, a sandwich, and water, and they say to us, you are saved now.
DAMON: First, they need to register with the Greek authorities. There is a large crowd waiting. Once that is accomplished, he receives this, permission to travel in specific areas in Greece for six months.
We meet up with Yilmaz in Athens where he is planning the trek across Europe on his own to save smuggling fees. Social media will be his guide.
PASHA: There are Facebook groups for the whole journey. And it's like marketing. Numbers of smugglers, maps.
DAMON: Germany is his goal.
(on camera): What are you taking with you?
PASHA: A bag, some clothes, maybe two t-shirts, one pants and one short. You need to buy boots because you will walk -- you will need to walk across --
DAMON: So out of everything you could take?
PASHA: It's a gift from my girlfriend.
DAMON (voice-over): As for mementos, this scarf, and something he won't ever lose.
PASHA: I have shrapnel here. When I touch it, it reminds me of Syria.
DAMON: Arwa Damon, CNN, Athens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Stay right where you are for part two of Arwa's report. See if Yilmaz Pasha makes it to Germany and what happens when he is caught by police in Serbia and Hungary, after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:46:05] BARNETT: Just a few minutes ago, we introduced you to a man escaping war-torn Syria with the hope of reaching Germany. Our special series gives you a close-up look at the dangers that migrants face in their travels.
And in part two, CNN's Arwa Damon catches up with the migrant, Yilmaz Pasha, after his grueling trek through seven nations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PASHA: I lost about six kilograms, I think. You walk a lot. We walked a lot. I forget. We cross countries.
DAMON: Yilmaz Pasha, a Syrian activist looking for a future in Europe, crossed seven countries in 32 days.
The smuggling odyssey began in a rubber boat from Turkey to Greece. In Athens, a train to a town close to the Macedonian border.
PASHA: We start walking. And we crossed to Macedonia and in half an hour.
DAMON: A tide of migrants making its way, often on foot, across Europe.
PASHA: The road is clear. You just need to follow the train track. That's your road.
DAMON: In Macedonia, migrants are banned from using public transport but they can bike.
PASHA: You will see people pulling bicycles on the road speaking English, Syrian? Come, come, yeah.
DAMON: They crossed into Serbia on foot under cover of darkness, especially terrifying for the children among them.
PASHA: Was like a horror movie, you know, you heard scream of children, of little children, babies.
DAMON: Even worse, they were caught by Serbian police.
PASHA: Lucky, yeah. For twice, so it was, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
DAMON (on camera): Humiliating.
PASHA: Yeah. It was so hard. I just remember the Syrian army the same way.
DAMON (voice-over): In Serbia, they are registered and given 72 hours to leave. The next crossing, Serbia to Hungary, through the forest.
PASHA: You can see the road. It's like somebody draw it for you. You can just walk through jungle. There is a red line between countries.
DAMON: Yilmaz, navigating using a downloaded map, got lost in the woods.
PASHA: Two days without water and food.
DAMON (on camera): Walking around?
PASHA: We slept on the green like that. We don't have sleep bags. We don't have anything.
DAMON (voice-over): Finally, they make it to Hungary, only to be caught a few hours later by the police.
PASHA: They put us in a caravan, in a room with some plastic and it was 40 person, I think.
DAMON: He was fingerprinted, as required by E.U. law, which means if his asylum in Germany is rejected, he can be returned to Hungary, where he does not want to stay.
(SHOUTING)
DAMON: Eventually, they are released.
A phone call to another smuggler leads to a car trip into Germany. He made it. And now here, he waits.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Germany.
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[02:49:39] BARNETT: It really is just fascinating. Tomorrow, the reporting will focus on how Europe treats the newly arrived migrants and how many are found hiding in the forests on Hungary's border. Stay tuned for that.
We change topics completely. Just ahead, a death-defying stunt. An Australian daredevil surfs Tahiti waves not on a board but on a bike.
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BARNETT: Welcome back, here's something you don't see every day off the coast of Tahiti, an unusually adept stunt biker surfing waves.
CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on this daredevil's death-defying feat.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It makes walking on water seem lame. Student biker, Robbie Madison, didn't just ride on water. He rode the waves in Tahiti. No way you say?
ROBBIE MADISON, STUNT BIKER: It's an overwhelming experience.
MOOS: It took three years of experimentation culminating on a dirt bike on two skis protruding through cut outs, a custom-made paddle tire propelling the bike from the rear.
(on camera): How many times over the course of the project did you sink the thing?
MADISON, STUNTMAN: Upwards of about 30, 40 times easily. MOOS (voice-over): No wonder his bike wears air bags, so they can
recover it.
[02:55:00] The video released the same weekend as the annual dog surfing contest in California. The pooches managed cool moves on their surf board. None of them hot dogged like this.
His past stunts range from a flip over London Bridge and a stunt double for James Bond, though none of that compared to this.
MADISON: Was one of the most terrifying situations I have been in.
MOOS (voice-over): But you don't see the scariest part of the stunt when he was missing for several minutes. He caught one of Tahiti's monster waves.
MADISON: It picked me up and slammed me and the motorcycle drove in into my back. I lost all of the air out of my lungs.
MOOS: For four minutes, he was stuck under water able to surface for breath three times. As he gave up fighting, he saw the peaceful whiteness of a near-death experience.
To be continued when the behind-the-scenes video is released later this month. Never has a dirt bike been cleaner.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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BARNETT: I think that is the coolest story of the day. Near-death experience aside, I'd like one of those bikes.
You have been watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, Errol Barnett. One hour down, one hour to go. Stay with me. Back after this.
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