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Bangkok Police Pursue Bombing Suspect; Crews Finally Reach Devastating Plane Crash Scene In Indonesia; Displaced Chinese Citizens Demand Their Government Do More To Help After Massive Warehouse Explosion. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 18, 2015 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: One day after a bombing rocks a tourist district in Bangkok, police on the hunt for a man they believe may be responsible.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, crews finally reached the scene of a plane crash in Indonesia only to have their worst fears confirmed.

BARNETT: And as mourners pay their respects to the victims, those displaced by massive warehouse explosion demand that the Chinese government do more to help.

CHURCH: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world I'm Rosemary Church.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Errol Barnett. This is "CNN Newsroom."

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us, everyone. Security is tight in Bangkok, Thailand, one day after a bomb ripped through a busy tourist area killing at least 22 people. Police are searching for a man seen on security camera video who they say may be connected to the bombing.

BARNETT: Now we do have some new video of the moment the bomb was detonated. Some of you may find it disturbing to watch. Take a look.

Just terrifying. You can see pedestrians scrambling as the bomb goes off during what was busy evening rush hour. More than 100 people are injured. CNN spoke with several witnesses who were there at the blast site.

SANJEEV VYAS, BLASY EYEWITNESS: At first I really couldn't understand because my ears were ring and I thought I was in a movie set and it just looked like any other Hollywood movie. But I was like this has to be a bomb because of the scale of devastation that I could see in front of my eyes. At first I thought it was an accident, two cars collided and probably something just exploded. But what I felt was normal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The injuries were so serious that it was very difficult to prioritize the patients. They were all comatose states. The people that seemed to survive were the ones that ended up underneath the dead people. I'm guessing the person in front of the blast took the blast and the person behind was somehow saved. CHURCH: Horrifying details there from a witness and a medic. And

Oliver Holmes is the southeast Asia correspondent for "The Guardian" and he was at the site of the explosion in Bangkok. He joins us on the line. So Oliver, talk to us about what you saw when you got to that blast site.

OLIVER HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as I arrived I walked down the road from the nearby metro station and the road was completely empty. Police cordoned it off. As I arrived there I encountered five ambulances screaming away from the scene. There was a hospital just next to the blast site. I imagine it had become completely packed. When I arrived at the actual scene I saw bits of glass on the floor, debris which had been blown dozens of meters across the road across the street and police and medics were combing through the streets trying to find debris and had cordoned off the area.

CHURCH: We are looking at images as you speak to us. Just terrifying situation there. Talk to us about why you think the Hindu shrine would be the target and this particular shopping area.

HOLMES: Well, what I can say about the shrine is it's a very, very busy area. It's a very popular site for Hindus and also for Buddhists and not just in Thailand but also people from other parts of Asia especially people in China. And we've seen in the announcement in Asia maybe 20 of the wounded and some of the dead are Chinese. So it's a very, very busy area. It's popular with tourists. It's a business district. There are hotels. It's very, very central in the city. And so you, you know, whoever planted the bomb would have known that tourists and Thais would have been injured in the attack.

CHURCH: And Oliver, how surprised are you that there has been no claim of responsibility so far. What more are you learning about this man that police are talking about on the security footage who police say could be connected in some way to the bombing? They called him a suspect.

[03:05:00] HOLMES: Well, on the claim the police are looking at CCTV, they are looking at this man, apparently, he was caught on CCTV walking into the area with a backpack and again leaving without. But the government has been clear to say they don't know exactly who has done it. They say they have a small number of suspects. But they're still looking at the footage. As far as claims go in Thailand there was a smaller explosion in 2006 that kill lead the people in a series of bomb attacks and that was never solved and never claimed. It's not unusual that an attack in Thailand goes unclaimed.

CHURCH: Interesting. Oliver Holmes talking to us there. The southeast Asia correspondent for "The Guardian" many thanks to you for speaking with us.

BARNETT: We turn now our attention to in Indonesia, officials say rescue teams have found the black box of the Trigana air service flight that crashed in the country's remote region on Sunday. The bodies of all 54 people on board have been located. Helicopters at this moment are on their way to the area to recover the victims remains. For more on the recovery efforts let's bring in Kathy Novak. She is following the story from Seoul, South Korea, joins us now live. Kathy as we say, the crash site has been reached and the black box and bodies now located. What are investigators learning?

KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The black box was found just over an hour ago, Errol and Indonesia's air transport safety board is deciding where to bring that. Right now, the focus is on getting the bodies out as quickly as possible. This was two days ago that villagers reports seeing the plane go down in the mountain and it wasn't until today that the rescuers were finally actually able to access the site because of the terrain. Steep mountains, thick jungle and the weather was not on their side. They had heavy fog roll in and had to spend the night on the mountain.

They were able to get there today and what they are doing is retrieving the body using a helicopter hoisting them up using ropes and transporting that to a nearby airport. They hope to have that operation wrapped up in about two hours. That will be crucial. By then it will start to get dark and the weather has been very unpredictable and difficult. They want to get this done as soon as they can. Errol.

BARNETT: And the weather already has been getting in the way of the recovery and rescue efforts. What about the performance of this airline? Trigana Air has been banned from flying in Europe because of its performance history. Just walk us through that.

NOVAK: Absolutely. And that's why looking into the flight data recorder and this black box to get more information about what happened here will be absolutely crucial because this is only a small airline, a small fleet of planes operating since 1991 and in that time including this one it has had at least 15 accidents which is relatively high if you compare it to other airlines and one of the airlines that is banned from flying into Indonesian air space.

But in fact all of Indonesia's airlines at one time or another had been banned from flying into the Eu. Only a small handful is allowed to fly including the national carrier Garuda which did improve its safety record. But when you are talking about yet another crash in Indonesia, people are again asking the questions, are safety regulations there up to scratch? Is the maintenance up to scratch? Are pilots trained well enough? And these are all questions that are being brought up again with reference to this airline, Errol.

BARNETT: Just quickly Kathy, what is the Indonesian government saying in response to all of that? Because certainly, this is the third Trigana crash in the last five months. Are they suggesting they will ground this airline?

NOVAK: Well, what we heard from the Indonesian government even in the past couple months is they are looking into safety practices in the country. If you go back to December in less than a year, Indonesia has suffered lead major crashes. We saw more than 160 people die in the Airasia crash and 130 die in the military aircraft that went down in June. They have been promising a top-down review. How long that will take is an open question. But many questions to be asked and certainly, the urgency is there now after yet another crash. BARNETT: Absolutely. Kathy Novak live in Seoul for us. Thank you.

Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, it is the seventh day of mourning in Tianjin, China and thousands of people paused in a moment of silence to remember the victims of last week's warehouse explosions. At least 114 people were killed and 57 are still missing. The cleanup of toxic chemicals at the site is still ongoing. And our Will Ripley joins us from Tianjin with the very latest.

So Will, the Chinese government is trying to assure people that the air and water levels are now acceptable. What are people saying about that and what they want their government to do for them in terms of compensation for lost and damaged homes? [03:10:00] WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People are very concerned

about the safety of their homes. Think about these apartments that are under construction here. People are supposed to move in in less than two months, the inside of the building were obliterated and within sight of them you have all over the place things like this, this a barrel of an unknown chemical that was propelled from the blast site and sometimes there are just piles of chemicals laying ground as we saw here yesterday making people concerned about the safety of living in this area.

With terrifying force, the fireball sent shock waves through Tianjin, leaving massive destruction, piles of debris, and something else. Small mounds of unknown chemicals emitting heat and what looks like steam when exposed to water raising fears of what could happen when it rains.

SHI WEN JING, HOMEOWNER: We're not going to move back until we're sure it's safe. There are so many kids in there.

RIPLEY: This is one of thousands of blast zone homeowners now homeless. Families and the government don't know the full list of toxins propelled through this bustling Chinese port city. Do you feel safe going back home?

JING: No. The chemical stuff is all over. I saw - it was like a firework, you know, exploding, flying through everywhere. Some debris might fall to our yard, to our home.

RIPLEY: More than 2,000 Chinese soldiers and hundreds of biochemical experts are working to neutralize the threat, searching up to three kilometers from the immediate blast area taking air, soil, and water samples. These stray chemicals sitting in an unsecured area less than a kilometer from the blast zone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know what this is or if it poses a danger to anybody?

RIPLEY: The Tianjin chief environmental officer tells me, searchers have not entered residential areas due to safety concerns about broken glass. He says, they'll begin searching those areas if needed. Chemical experts say it's impossible to know exactly what that is or what if any danger it may pose without further testing. But we do know around here, there is a lot of it scattered about and it is sitting close to thousands of homes.

This man owns an apartment under construction next door. He takes us through the dark rubbish building he was supposed to move into in less than two months. After the explosion, he says I worry about the pollution, the water and soil and the structure of these buildings. Like most Chinese homeowners, he saved for years to buy an apartment unaware it was sitting next to a hazardous chemical warehouse now the focus of a criminal investigation.

Are the officials corrupt or what? Asks this homeowner. She and others are demanding the Chinese government buy back their apartments, afraid of living next to what they call a ticking time bomb. The devastation from that explosion is staggering. You look at the good chunk of Tianjin's bus fleet sitting there, the windows smashed in. The clean up under way and it's unclear when people will be able to return to their homes. Chinese state media reporting that 10 top executives of the company that was operating the warehouse have been detained and the investigation continues.

But again Rosemary, even though there may be charges in this particular incident there is a larger issue here in the safety and the Chinese government is promising to take steps to crack down on that in the years to come.

Rosemary.

CHURCH: All very disturbing. Our Will Ripley there with a mask to protect himself from the deadly chemicals. Will Ripley reporting live from Tianjin. Many thanks to you.

BARNETT: A surge in violence in eastern Ukraine. Coming up next, the suspicions about a new surge there.

CHURCH: Plus the U.S is investigating a Syrian rebel in the fight against ISIS. You will hear from one of this fighter about the challenges they face in an exclusive report. That's next.

[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Welcome back. We want to get you this information just into CNN. Look at all that red in China's markets. The financial markets there taking a real beating at this moment. The Shanghai composite pulling back more than 6 percentage points. The slowing domestic economy which we have been talking about for weeks is leading into this and the government saying it will prop up shares can be read into this.

Although, you had the news of home prices up in more places than they are down across China. That is a positive development but to hear certainly unwelcome news on the Chinese markets. We'll keep watching this for you. The Syrian air force has bombed a suburb northeast of Damascus in a rebel held area.

CHURCH: It comes one day after deadly strikes from the town of Douma. Activists say 82 people were killed and hundreds wounded in Sunday's air strikes. Opposition groups say the attacks were meant to cause as many civilian casualties as possible. The United Nations Humanitarian chief was in the town at the time.

STEPHEN O'BRIEN, UNEMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: I was absolutely horrified and distressed for the loss of life and the numbers injured. These were civilians. This is an unacceptable, illegal form of war. It's true of the shelling that took place from Douma back into the Damascus. It's true of cutting off the water to so many people for three days. You can't use cutting off water as a weapon of war. When the shells from the air hit the marketplace in Douma it is simply unacceptable.

[03:20:00] BARNETT: Meantime, the U.S. is spending millions of dollars to vet and train Syrian rebels to fight ISIS.

CHURCH: But the program is facing criticism over its price tag and the small number of fighters it has produced. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has this exclusive report.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what nearly a million dollars' worth of American Syrian rebel looks like. These are the first pictures of the near 54 moderate fighters that the U.S. has painstakingly trained and equipped with these fancy weapons. But there are not enough to them yet to worry ISIS yet.

In fact some were recently detained by Al Qaeda after a fire fight leading to claims the $41 million program was a failure. So one of them in Syria is speak out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nearly 17,000 Syrian men wants to join. But the training is very slow. We need it to be faster. 30 days instead of 45 days. We should have been 500 people and 500 in Turkey. We are thankful but it needs to happen faster.

WALSH: These men are vital. The planes can bomb and the drones can watch but without allied Syrian rebels willing to go on the ground and clear out ISIS and install moderate societies, everything else is pretty much pointless. As of now inside Syria there are just about 40 of them. Here they are entering Syria after training, days before being attacked by rebels from the Al Qaeda linked front.

Some of those detained have now been released. Despite the awful start, this man is determined to fight on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Americans follow him using a GPS on his wrist and in his vest when he targets air strikes for him.

I go to the front and give locations for the war planes to bomb. We have advanced satellite communication devices to target any place on the front line whether we see it or not. There are drones in the sky as I talk to you right now. I speak to the American every hour, a total of four hours a day.

WALSH: One hurdle in recruiting for the Pentagon is their unit is only allowed to fight ISIS. Not most Syrian rebels' first and worst enemy for the Syrian regime. But in spite of this restriction, he insists will also fight the Al Assad regime. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The second rule detaining project is that we will

fight whoever is fighting. Are we going to sit still and not fight Al Assad? We won't flee to Europe but we will stay in our homes. We want the Al Assad regime to be stopped. WALSH: After the vetting, the retentions and confused aims, one thing

is clear, his unshakable enthusiasm for the fight against ISIS and the regime that lies ahead. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN.

CHURCH: Well, turning now to eastern Ukraine where that conflict between troops and pro-Russian separatists is taking a growing toll. A U.N. report says more than 6800 people have been killed since mid- April of 2014 and last month. 17,000 have been injured in the clashes and more than 2.3 million people have been forced from their homes.

BARNETT: The U.N. report comes against the backdrop of a recent surge in violence. Phil Black reports on the threat to a shaky cease-fire.

[03:25:00] PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is just the latest evidence which proves a so-called piece deal often means little on the ground in eastern Ukraine. The national government says two people were killed, six injuries, and more than 50 homes damaged by artillery fired by pro-Russian separatists.

And in Donetsk, officials say five people were killed and more than 40 homes damaged over the same 24-hour period in shelling launched by Ukrainian military forces. These incidents aren't rare. Deadly violence, distraught locals. And competing claims about who is really breaking the peace deal known as the Minsk agreement have remained a reality since February.

But over the last week the conflict has escalated, inspiring dark predictions about what might happen next. Sergei Lavrov is concerned that Ukraine is preparing for a military offensive and Ukraine is throwing the same accusation at Russia and the separatists. Putin's visited to talk up tourism. But the region's prosperity is made harder by the fact that there is no link between the two.

They are afraid of carving out a land corridor. But without such a dramatic move, this daily violence could lead to the total collapse of the already tenuous peace agreement. Phil Black, CNN, London.

BARNETT: Now to heart breaking news out of India. The country's first lady has passed away. She was burned in Bangladesh and married in 1957.

CHURCH: In addition to raising three children she was a fan of the arts and writer of two books. She was 74.

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BARNETT: You are watching "CNN Newsroom." Thanks so much for staying with us today. I'm Errol Barnett.

CHURCH: I'm Rosemary Church. Bangkok police are searching for a man seen on security camera footage who may be connected to the bombing in a tourist area. At least 22 people were killed and 100 injured at a popular Hindu shrine. BARNETT: Indonesian officials say rescue teams have found the black

box of the Trigana air service flight that crashed in the Papua region on Sunday. The bodies of all 54 people on board have been located as well. Helicopters are recovering the victim remains.

CHURCH: Chinese state media report that the top 10 officials in the warehouse company that were involved in the Tianjin explosions have been detained. Four have been hospitalized. Last week's blast killed at least 114 people and 57 are still missing. The cleanup of the chemicals is ongoing.

BARNETT: Let's get you information on the top story, the deadly bombing in Bangkok. Police say it is clear that tourists were the target here.

CHURCH: What is not clear is who carried out the attacks. CNN's Andrew Stephen, Asia Pacific editor is in Bangkok.

ANDREW STEPHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the sun rose here in Bangkok, this was the scene. The center of the blast site, police and forensic teams now moving in looking for any clue that may give a hint as to who was behind this attack and what their motive was. And you can see also clear evidence beyond the line of police of the impact, the strength of that blast. Big concrete pillars holding up a fence, shattered, bent out of shape.

At this stage, this area will remain cordoned off while the police and forensic experts do their work and all the police are saying at the moment is that they believe this was a tourist area which was deliberately targeted. Targeted because it would hurt tourisms which would hurt the economy but they have no clues as to who or why at this stage. This is one of the busiest parts of Bangkok. Big shopping centers on two corners.

The shrine, a popular site for not only tourists but also to locals and police say this blast was timed for maximum impact. 7:00 p.m. when Thais were going home, paying their respects at the shrine, mingling with tourists doing the same thing. This is the biggest attack that Bangkok has seen in recent times. There has been street protests for years here. There have been explosions in the past and fatalities but not on this scale. People here in Bangkok wake up this morning in fear and in shock, looking for answers. Andrew Stephens, CNN, Bangkok.

BARNETT: And we have one update to the report in the past hour or so there is a small clue as to who might be behind this. Anna Coren is following those developments from Hong Kong and joins us more with that a suspect is identified and being pursued. What do we know about this possible lead?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They found this man on CCTV footage around the shrine shortly before the blast. We are waiting for that picture to be sent to us by Thai police. This is a young man wearing a yellow shirt. He's got glasses on and he's also carrying a black backpack and carrying a plastic bag in his hand. After the blast - what we believe after the blast he is no longer

wearing the backpack. This is why police are suspicious of this man and why they want to speak to him. They have named him as a suspect, not just a person that they want to question but a suspect. And they have - excuse me, they've also said they don't know whether he is a Thai national or a foreigner. They are yet to work out his identity from that CCTV footage.

But police say they are not going to just comb through the footage from yesterday, but over the last ten to 15 days, that's what they're going to have a look at to see if there is any unusual, abnormal activity around the shrine and pinpoint any other suspects who may have been involved in what the Thai prime minister has told local media is the worst-ever attack on the country, claiming the lives of 22 people, many of those foreigners and wounding more than 120 people, Errol.

[03:05:00] BARNETT: And hundreds of schools there in the city will be closed today, the immediate area of course has been closed off. But authorities will likely want to get back to normal as soon as possible considering the importance of the shrine location and the symbolism that the economy and tourism of Bangkok will not be impacted by this.

COREN: For sure. They will want life to return to normal as quickly as possible. But at the same time they need to find out who did this. That is the only way they will restore confidence not just in Thailand and the capital, Bangkok but for those who visit Thailand it's one of the most popular tourist destinations, the Erawan Shrine which is a Hindu temple is a massive tourist destination.

And not just for the international folks who come to town but also for Thais even though Thailand is a mainly Buddhist country they go to pay their respects and light incense. And 7:00 p.m. yesterday, that place was packed. It was swarming. As police have said, this is a vicious and cruel, ruthless attack designed to create as much carnage as much death as possible, specifically attacking civilians, international tourists trying to hurt Bangkok and certainly the economy, Errol.

BARNETT: We'll see what happens as they pursue this suspect. Anna Coren, live in Hong Kong. Thanks.

CHURCH: We'll take a short break right here.

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[03:40:00] BARNETT: For the first time in nearly a decade, U.S. military soldiers will battle firefighters in huge parts of the west. 100 soldiers will be trained in Washington state and sent to the fire lines. The military is providing aircraft which can drop huge quantizes of fire retardant. Pedram Javaheri looks at this more now. There is so much fuel on the ground there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a tinderbox. Historic drought and historic heat. 14 of the first 15 years, the hottest years on record since the year 2000. This trend leading to additional fuel with dryer conditions has been in place and now the wildfire season is one of the worst in a long time.

CHURCH: A perfect storm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's not going to improve with the rainfall. You look at what has occurred. 7 million acres has been consumed in the United States. That is the state of Massachusetts and larger than the state of Massachusetts land area when it comes to how much has been scorched. 2 million acres above what would be normal for the fire season. But look at the soil moisture in the region. The areas in brown and dark red that is about 2 percent of normal while working to the central U.S. and the Midwest earn U.S., the greens and blue is 100 percent of normal. And back to the west it's nonexistent. And look at the forecast.

It paints the picture of the next five days. Rainfall on the order of millions and millions of gallons will come down. But a few drops a it the best in the northwest and not much in the works in the forecast for California and Oregon through Saturday. It shows you this pattern is a longer pattern. It will get cooler Friday and Saturday. But the rainfall doesn't come with it. That's the concern with 86 active fires and 7 million acres of land consumed in the United States. It's a big story in the western Pacific Ocean, Goni east of Qualm and Atsani.

The concern is that both of them are poised to make landfall in the next four to five days. Goni toward the northern Philippines, working toward southern Taiwan. And here are the models for the storms. Still could be 215 kilometer per hour winds. That is a category 4 equivalent storm. And the latter storm as we watch it, it will be japan in line for this. So dual typhoons. They looked like they could become super typhoons. That is not happening. But this is unusual. This is the 13th and 14th storms in the pacific this year. Six is what is normal. It is incredible.

CHURCH: Nothing too predictable in the weather world these days.

BARNETT: Democratic U.S. presidential front runner Hillary Clinton is feeling more pressure over the personal e-mail server she used while secretary of state of the United States.

CHURCH: Researchers are looking for messages she may have sent on the server, 305 e-mails have caught their attention so far and they have examined 20 percent of the server.

BARNETT: Donald Trump turned up for jury duty on Monday. He missed his previous summons in the past. It's a civic duty in the U.S. which many Americans try to avoid.

CHURCH: But Trump does not shy away from everything. And he arrived for duty with purpose and panache.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump arrived for his civic duty in a black limousine reporting for injury duty in New York. Far quieter inside as captured on snap chat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had a great time. The potential jurors were wonderful.

ZELENY: A break from the campaign trail where republicans are rendering a winning verdict on Trump. He is leading another national poll, solidifying his role as the G.O.P. front runner. In a weekend stop at the Iowa state fair he said he would spend $1 billion on his campaign.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What difference does it make? I want to make the country great.

[03:45:00] ZELENY: Trump's offering new red meat for conservatives, a hard-line immigration plan. His six-page propose calls for an end to birthright citizenship, a provision in the 14th Amendment in the constitution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate Mr. Trump has a plan.

ZELENY: Criticism like that isn't sticking as Trump and outsiders are turning the race upside down, leading an insurgency against their republican rivals. A Fox news poll shows trump leading with 25 percent followed by Ben Carson at 12, Ted Cruz at 10 and Jeb Bush in fourth place. Scott Walker has led in Iowa most of the year. Today he was heckled at the state fair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not indented by you, sir. I will fight for the American people over and over and over and over again.

ZELENY: But Walker and top republicans are being tested by an antiestablishment electorate driving their poll numbers to single digits.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm so worried. No, it's a long haul.

ZELENY: A long haul now overtaken by Trump on land and in the air. Trump offered children free rides aboard his helicopter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Trump?

TRUMP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you Batman?

TRUMP: I am Batman.

ZELENY: Those rides will never be forgotten. But it's an open question whether all who turned out to see him at the fair will support him in February. The people I talked to were intrigued. Some said they would support him for sure. Others liked the way he was shaking up the race but he need to wait and see. And he did not get picked for injury duty. He'll be back on the campaign trail this weekend. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: One of the biggest and most popular online retailers is not popular with current and former employees.

BARNETT: A New York times report portrays Amazon as a brutal place to work. Amazon is fighting back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amazon, shipping whatever, wherever, with an effortless click of your finger. But some 100 current and former employees claim it's not so magical for Amazon's white collar employees, describing to the "New York Times" a cut throat, dog eat dog workplace, pushing out workers who are considered weak for getting cancer or having children. A saying on the campus, Amazon is where overachievers go to feel bad about themselves.

People commiserated across social media. On Reddit one employee said when I went to the bathroom I would hear one person crying once a day. On glassdoor.com, Amazon's positive reviews carried this concern, advice to management, remember that the employees are people, and not machines. Amazon's own produced videos called inside Amazon showcase employees who call the job challenging and cutting edge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You fit here or you don't. You love it or you don't. There is no middle ground, really.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos responded to the article in an e-mail to his more than 100,000 employees, writing, I don't recognize this Amazon. Adding Amazon would not tolerate the behavior. But tech analysts say this behavior has been around for years and, frankly, other startups. John Sullivan advises Fortune 500 companies and studied Amazon for a decade.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They live in a different world. When you to be first like eBay and Amazon you have to have this kind of people and I would say shame on them if they are surprised.

BARNETT: Still on CNN, community in Maryland is dealing with a huge loss, the sudden death of a man who turned out to be a real life superhero. His story, next.

[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Welcome back. We want to share this heart breaking story with you out of the U.S. state of Maryland. Lenny was the route 29 bat man.

CHURCH: He provided moments of relief and laughter to hospitalized children. Robinson was killed in a highway accident over the weekend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As Batman, Lenny B. Robinson loved bringing smiles to little faces. Arriving in his bat mobile to visit children in the hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are constantly fighting for their lives. This helps them, that's what it is all about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 51 died Sunday when his bat mobile broke down on I-70.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another vehicle came through and struck him and caused his death.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Robinson paid countless visits to the Sinai institute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He loved the Sinai hospital and the Ruben institute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He started and sold his own cleaning business. Years later he would buy the costume and cars and transform into the superhero, a favorite of his three children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even though they are his immediate family I feel like we are all a part of the family here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rachel is a patient.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He talks to all the kids individually and gives them words of encouragement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Robinson was pulled over by police three years ago when he forgot to take off his Batman it is as. Robinson called it good publicity for volunteering.

[03:55:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even the littlest things you do can make a big difference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like the time he visited a girl at school for a walk to stop bullying. Robinson's memory alive inside everyone he touched.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are blessed to have known him and had him for the time that we did and have such a close relationship with him. We feel completely blessed.

BARNETT: That was our affiliate WJZ reporting there.

CHURCH: I want to turn to a true comeback story for Tracy Morgan. The 46-year-old is scheduled to host "Saturday Night Live" on October 17th.

BARNETT: This is his first appearance since he was critically injured in a traffic accident last year. He said le is stoked to be going home.

CHURCH: I'm sure he is. For 16 years, Jon Stewart was host of "The Daily Show." And now, Stewart is stepping into the ring, the professional wrestling wring.

BARNETT: Don't get any ideas he's not going to put on the tights and throw guys around. He is set to host the WWE summer slam before the event takes place on Sunday. He is more of the verbal smack down.

CHURCH: That will be worth tuning in. You are watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett. Stay with us. "Early Start" is next for those of you in the states.

CHURCH: For the rest of you, another edition of "CNN Newsroom" begins after this break.

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