Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
New Insight into Shooter's Workplace Behavior; Journalists' Deaths Reignite Gun Law Debate; Asia Pacific Markets Look to Extend Gains; European Migrant Crisis; Remembering Hurricane Katrina 10 Years On; U.S. and South Korea Wrap Military Exercises; Tropical Storm Erika Battles Caribbean; New "Dragon Tattoo" Novel Caught in Controversy; WORLD SPORT Highlights. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired August 28, 2015 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
[00:00:00]
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A call to action to end gun violence as the U.S. mourns two murdered journalists, grieving relatives plead for a crackdown on weapons.
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Asian markets following Wall Street's lead, bouncing back from their recent plunge.
HOWELL (voice-over): And in protocol or provocation? South Korea holding a last day of military exercises with the U.S., despite boiling tensions with the North.
ALLEN (voice-over): And welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLEN: Thank you for joining us. We begin in the U.S., where people in Virginia and across the country are remembering two journalists killed while doing their job. An activist group held a vigil a few hours ago to honor Alison Parker and Adam Ward outside the station where they worked.
It was also a call to action to end gun violence.
HOWELL: A former coworker of Parker and Ward shot and killed them during an on-air live shot, during a broadcast for affiliate WDBJ's breakfast show on Wednesday. Less than 24 hours after their death, their breakfast show colleagues were back on the air but it certainly was not an easy morning for them all.
The station's news director explained how staff are coping with what happened. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KELLY ZUBER, WDBJ-7 NEWS DIRECTOR: I have the greatest news team. I love each and every one of them and they have performed so well. I have watched anchors and reporters, half an hour before a newscast, be crying in the newsroom and then get on that set and deliver the news to the people of Southwest and Central Virginia.
They have had to talk about their colleagues and deal with some difficult situations. I give you the example of our meteorologist this morning, found a candy wrapper while on the air that Adam Ward had always eaten and had left somewhere. And it is those kinds of little thing that are just kind of getting to us now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Terrible tragedy. And you know we both came up in local news. Those news stations, they're like families and they lost members, family members.
ALLEN: Absolutely, the very close work very odd hours, as you and I know. That brings people closer, doesn't it?
Well, we are learning more about the shooter. Former coworkers are giving us insight into his hirings and firings and angry outbursts at work.
HOWELL: And investigators now have reason to believe that he had planned a getaway after that shooting. Brian Todd reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police found a wig, sunglasses, a shawl, three license plates and six Glock magazines inside Vester Flanagan's rental car.
A search warrant reveals that Flanagan had a to-do list along with a book bad with assorted handwritten letters and notes. It's unclear what was on that to-do list. But we are learning new details of Flanagan's career troubles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): County officials say there --
TODD (voice-over): As far back as 15 years ago, there were signs that Flanagan had problems at work.
MIKE WALKER (PH), WORKED WITH FLANAGAN: He was in yelling incidents. Again, this is stuff that's normal, you know. There were with times when he probably misread something and became frustrated with himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Here in the state of Georgia --
TODD: Flanagan moved from Savannah, Georgia, to Tallahassee, Florida, for his first big anchor job for WTWC. According to his former news director, Flanagan's contract was not renewed in Tallahassee.
Flanagan sued for racial discrimination, alleging that a producer called him and another employee who was African American monkeys. The case was settled and dismissed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't say that there was any racial discrimination.
TODD (voice-over): Flanagan was hired by WDBJ in 2012, where he reported under the name Bryce Williams.
FLANAGAN: Bryce Williams, WDBJ-7.
TODD (voice-over): He was fired in 2013, roughly a year later. The station's general manager said the day he was let go he became agitated and threatening.
Police were called. Flanagan was escorted from the building but Roanoke police say no arrest was made.
WDBJ's station manager says Flanagan was asked to seek mental health assistance and he complied.
JEFFREY MARKS, GENERAL MANAGER, WDBJ: We made it mandatory that he seek help from our employee assistance program. Many companies have them. They provide, you know, counseling and other services and we made it mandatory that he do that.
TODD (voice-over): The station's former news director says Flanagan handed him a wooden cross in 2013 saying, quote, "You'll need this."
TODD: WDBJ is right over there. This is the apartment complex where Vester Flanagan lived, just about a block away. Right now it is under 24/7 security. His neighbors didn't want to go on camera with us but did tell us that after the shooting, they were made to evacuate their units as police and bomb squad teams moved in.
TODD (voice-over): Brian Fuqua (ph) worked as a photographer with Vester Flanagan. Fuqua (ph) says he was always on edge around Flanagan because of --
[00:05:00]
TODD (voice-over): -- his temper and recalls one instance when a live report had technical problems.
BRIAN FUQUA (PH), PHOTOGRAPHER: He got so irate, threw all his stuff down and just walked out into the woods, stayed out there for like 20 minutes.
TODD (voice-over): Flanagan outlined his frustrations in a 23-page manifesto that he faxed to ABC News. CNN has obtained a copy, where he writes, quote, "In the final weeks of my life, I put on a smiley face to disguise what was to come.
"Around town, I told some random strangers or people I interacted with at various businesses how I hated people, but I would often say it with a smile on my face."
In that manifesto, Flanagan writes about his admiration for Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho. He also cited the shooting at an African American church in Charleston, South Carolina, in June of this year, describing it as the incident that, quote, "sent him over the top."
He says he put down the deposit on his guns two days after that shooting took place.
CNN has learned Flanagan purchased those guns, two Glock 9 millimeter pistols legally at a gun store in the Roanoke area of Virginia -- Brian Todd, CNN, Roanoke, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: The shooting has reignited the gun control debate in the United States. U.S. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday he is against tightening gun laws.
When asked about the shooting, Trump said it wasn't because of gun program; rather, he said, it's a mental health issue, something he called a massive problem in the U.S. that needs to be addressed.
ALLEN: When it happened, many people were critical of playing the mental health issue card. President Obama said the killings are yet another argument for new gun legislation. Alison Parker's father agreed. He said he plans to be a crusader in the gun control debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY PARKER, FATHER OF SLAIN JOURNALIST: And I know that the NRA, their position is going to be -- I can hear it now. They're going to say, oh, gee, well, if they were carrying, this never would have happened.
I've got news for you. If Alison or Adam had been carrying an AK-47 strapped around their waist, it wouldn't have made any difference. They couldn't have seen this thing coming.
So I don't want to hear that argument from the NRA and you know that's going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Joining us now to talk more about this is CNN law enforcement analyst Cedric Alexander, also the public safety director for Dekalb County here in the Atlanta area.
Cedric, thank you for your time.
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Thank you for having me.
HOWELL: Terrible situation that played out the other day. And front and center again, gun violence, gun laws. You've heard the politicians saying we want to make sure we keep the guns out of the hands of criminals. But here's a case where a person bought the gun legally -- and you see what happened.
What can be done here in the U.S.?
ALEXANDER: Well, you know, we're going to have to as a country begin to take another look at our gun laws. We certainly want to respect the rights and the Second Amendment rights that we all have.
And because there are a lot of people out there who are gun owners, who quite frankly are very responsible and very respectful of firearms, however, in the sad and unfortunate loss of life of these young reporters the other day, here was a former colleague of theirs, who probably did not have any known history of any health concerns or issues or criminal past.
So therefore he was able maybe to purchase that weapon legally and there was probably very little in between which could have been done. But we still have to go back and I think as this case continues to unfold, investigations continue, we'll learn more.
But it is an issue that we're going to have to sit down address on both sides of the aisle.
HOWELL: Let's talk more about that gunman. You know, when it comes to the case of people who have been let go from companies, disgruntled employees, what should people do, employees do, if they have tips, if they have concerns or if they're heard threats?
ALEXANDER: Well, what is reportedly unique about this particular case, he was released from that television news station a couple years ago. And kind of went his own way, stayed around town, as we understand, and did not appear to be any threat.
But obviously he was harboring his anger towards that station and employees for some time. And that is very hard to predict and to get in between because normally what we would tell people, if you've -- if a person separates from employment, they leave in a way that appears to be violent, that they may do harm to themselves or someone else, is that we need to make note of that, notify the correct authorities so that we can make sure that we're protected and take all the necessary precautions.
But I think it's also important to note, too, when we hire an employee from another place to be able to inquire about what do we know about their behavior on the job, were there any cases of violence, did they make any threats, whatever the case may have been do, we live in a very, very different time now, George. And we have to take a great deal of precaution.
And I am so saddened by the loss of the --
[00:10:00]
ALEXANDER: -- the loss of life of these two young reporters, who were just totally innocent and were gunned down by someone who we can only come to understand as just being a very unstable person. And that's putting it mildly.
HOWELL: Our hearts certainly go out to the families of those involved.
ALEXANDER: Absolutely.
HOWELL: CNN law enforcement analyst Cedric Alexander, thank you so much for your time.
ALEXANDER: And thank you for having me.
ALLEN: And again, calls for gun legislation at least something to stop all of the gun violence in the U.S. that's so prevent, every 16 minutes there's a shooting. But we'll wait and see if that goes anywhere.
HOWELL: Topic keeps coming up, keeps coming up; at some point it seems that people are demanding something be done about it.
ALLEN: (INAUDIBLE).
Well, we want to turn to the markets now, another story that we're watching, financial markets in the Asia Pacific region are looking to follow Wall Street's lead again with more big gains today. The Shanghai Composite -- let's take a look -- it's up, 1.93 percent. The Hang Seng is up just half a point. Tokyo's Nikkei up 2.69 percent and S&P ASX 200, just barely up.
So again, green arrows.
HOWELL: Positive, looks good on; Wall Street stocks surged for a second day in a row. The Dow finished up 369 points.
ALLEN: Let's take a closer look at what is driving the markets. Let's bring our Asia Pacific editor, Andrew Stevens. He is live in Hong Kong.
Andrew, let's talk about the roller coaster that we're on and where are we now on the ride?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we seem to be climbing back up on that roller coaster, Natalie. The question is for how long? And I'm talking about Shanghai specifically here, because China was the epicenter, if you like, of that quake on the markets over the past few trading days.
Important to remember: China's manufacturing numbers spiked it's over here last Friday and if you take what happened on Wall Street on Friday, we're still a couple of percent below where we started last Friday. So there's a bit more ground to make up in the U.S.
But certainly it has been a strong performance towards the end of the week and China was up sharply yesterday. And it did seem to look like there was some sort of state buying going on right at the end of the day, because that's where the big rises came.
And there could well be follow-through by today. It's very difficult to say for sure. But it certainly would fit in with what we've seen before in China, where state institutions have been directed by the authorities to actually prop up the market by buying. So we may be seeing more of that today.
Certainly just the numbers, though, will give some sort of reassurance in China as well for investors. But at least the government is doing something to help them. And that's important in the government sides to be seen to be showing their support for these investors.
ALLEN: Yes, the government has been trying to think of every trick in the bag to try to help them out.
Well, while the markets catch their collective breaths around the world, Andrew, we still don't really know, do we, how bad the China economy might be?
STEVENS: Well, it's accepted now that the real economic performance of China is weaker and perhaps quite a lot weaker than the official figures. The official figures has China growing at around about 7 percent. That was in the last quarter of announcement the second quarter.
The figure, according to most analysts, would have that around 5-6 percent. Some are a little bit lower; some are a little bit higher. It -- the point here is that we haven't seen the Chinese government throw the kitchen sink at the economy. We haven't seen any sort of massive stimulus packages.
Yes, we've seen an interest rate cut. Yes, we've seen a change in policy on how much banks have to leave with the central bank so they can spread more money throughout the economy.
But we haven't seen big panic moves, which does suggest that although it is a slowing economy or a slow economy, it's not a critically slow economy and it's not in danger of falling off a cliff -- Natalie.
ALLEN: All right. Maybe not a roller coaster; maybe like that ride behind you there; it's more like a slow-moving Ferris wheel, up and down.
(LAUGHTER)
ALLEN: All right. Andrew Stevens for us in Hong Kong, thanks, Andrew.
HOWELL: Pleasure that people are happy to see some stability right now just in the last couple of days.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, CNN tags along with people making the dangerous journey from their homelands into Europe. More on that story -- next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:15:00] (MUSIC PLAYING)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: I'm Richard Quest and these are the top business headlines.
U.S. stocks surged on Thursday as the Dow Jones rose 2 percent with 369 points. It followed the U.S. GDP numbers for the second quarter being revised sharply higher. The economy grew 3.7 percent on an annual basis, up from 0.6 percent at the beginning of the year. It's a bit of good news after weeks of fears over China's economy.
The strong GDP number pushed U.S. crude prices 10 percent higher as well on hopes there'll be more demand for oil. West Texas crude is now back above $40 a barrel.
Ukraine secures a crucial debt deal with its creditors after five months of talks. It includes a 20 percent write-down on $18 billion worth of bonds. The IMF praised the agreement, saying it would help restore debt sustainability. Ukraine's finance minister told me it's a beginning, not an end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATALIE JARESKO, UKRAINIAN FINANCE MINISTER: This agreement basically gives us the debt sustainability, relief on the balance of payments for the next four years and it gives us security in our financing needs going forward. That basis, that basis for stability, should now give us more room to do everything we need to do to attract additional investments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: You're up to date. Those are the top business stories. I'm Richard Quest in New York.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLEN: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Two hundred people are feared dead after reports say a ship -- we've heard this story before many times this year -- a ship filled with African migrants bound for Italy sank off the Libyan coast Thursday.
HOWELL: An official in Libya says many of the victims appeared to be trapped inside the ship when it capsized. Another 200 people were rescued in that incident.
ALLEN: And that is on the way to Italy. As you know, the migrant crisis is playing out on many fronts. There was a horrific discovery in Austria. The bodies of up to 50 people were found inside an abandoned truck.
HOWELL: And officials believe most of the were refugees and were told the refrigerated truck came from Hungary. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the deaths show that Europe must unite quickly to help the thousands of people that are fleeing their homelands. For so many people, this dangerous journey to a new land is worth a lot of risk. Many of these refugees are fleeing wars from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and making the exhausting, dangerous journey into Greece and then crossing into Macedonia.
ALLEN: That map right there, that red arrow shows you how far these people are trying to go. Well, now thousands sit at the border to Hungary. Their entry point to the European Union. CNN's Arwa Damon has more on the desperate situation there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Exhausted children slump on their parents' shoulders.
Others, like 9-year-old Ahmed bravely declare that --
[00:20:00]
DAMON (voice-over): -- no, he is not tired. He is from Deir-ez-Zor in Syria, one of his relatives from the ISIS capital of Raqqa.
"It is famous," he jokes.
A dark humor is all many have left in the face of all they have endured, both in their homeland and much to their dismay here.
"We tried to cross yesterday but the Hungarian police were being very harsh. So we got scared," Ahmed's uncle tells us.
As night falls the human highway trudges on under the moonlight on a journey to Western Europe. Waiting in groups, some will try to smuggle through. Most hand themselves over to the Hungarian authorities, through one of the few openings in the fence.
This was not a demarcated border, now a razor wire snakes its way menacingly throughout. This is Hungary's attempt to control the record flow of refugees, making it even harder to evade capture, something many dread, worried it will hinder their asylum applications in Western Europe and fearful of dismal treatment by the Hungarians that they have been warned about, something many end up experiencing firsthand.
Waiting for hours under the beating sun with little water, no shelter and no translator that we saw to tell them what's going on. Eventually they are bused here to the processing center, which takes a couple of days and is hardly set up to accommodate the numbers coming through.
On Wednesday, some of the refugees refused to be fingerprinted and were teargassed by the Hungarian police when a scuffle broke out and, according to the refugees, beaten.
Out the window at the bus station, these refugees who were there that day say, "The four days under the rain in Macedonia was more bearable than the torture we've been through here. It's a prison and they won't respond to us. They just say, 'Go back to Syria.'"
No one really told them exactly where they are going or what they are supposed to do when they get there. So everyone is very confused and asking what's going on.
People just want to get out of Hungary. It is their gateway to Europe, but so far their experience has been more of a nightmare than a dream -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Szeged, Hungary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Men, women, children all making a very dangerous journey.
ALLEN: It is unreal and the numbers just -- they just keep coming.
HOWELL: Yes. We'll continue to follow this story of course here on CNN.
Saturday is the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's rampage through the city of New Orleans. As soon as the storm made landfall, it was apparent that the city was not prepared for what was to happen.
ALLEN: Yes, it ravaged many areas of the Gulf Coast. We're focusing on New Orleans right now. CNN's Martin Savidge was there and he recalls what it was like to cover one of the worst disasters in U.S. history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I was in the Superdome when Katrina struck. A couple of days later, I was here at the convention center.
This place was far worse. There were thousands and thousands of people in days in without any help. They were desperate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't take this. We've been out here for three days.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): They begged us to take them with us. They assumed that we were leaving every day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want help.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): We weren't. We never left the city.
And so when we told that to them, they then said, well, you got to have some way of talking to people.
We said, well, we have satellite phones. And that's when people began tearing up pieces of paper or grabbing cardboard or writing down telephone numbers. They were certain if someone knew, that they would come and be rescued. And they gave me the numbers and begged that I call. And every
evening when I got done with work and when there were a few free moments, I started making my way down the list.
The first thing I realized is that nobody answers their phone anymore. It's always voicemail after voicemail and the message I would always leave was the same, you don't know me. I'm a reporter, I'm in New Orleans. I saw your uncle today in the convention center or I saw your aunt. I saw your sister. They are OK.
One of the people actually wrote specifically what I was supposed to say on the phone call.
And it goes, please call my daughter, Amethyst (ph), and tell her her daddy, quote, "ain't dead yet."
I hung onto that note all these years just because it was a reminder of how desperate people were.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: I think we all remember the world was watching. I remember my cellphone ringing from friends in New Orleans and friends on the Gulf Coast because I was anchoring that day, trying to --
[00:25:00]
ALLEN: -- see if I could help get them information. Everyone was so desperate, especially in New Orleans.
HOWELL: A lot of families were separated and just a lot of questions that remain unanswered even to this day.
ALLEN: Well, the city does really come back, that's so great to see. And we'll be doing that as part of our coverage as well.
HOWELL: Absolutely.
Of course, don't miss that continuing coverage on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Anderson Cooper will host our powerful documentary, "Katrina: The Storm that Never Stopped."
ALLEN: It airs this Saturday, 3:00 pm in the U.S., 8:00 pm in London.
HOWELL: We also have a special section online for our coverage. You can find it at cnn.com/katrina.
The show of military might on the Korean Peninsula; up next, the United States and South Korea hold live fire exercises just days after the South agrees to ease tensions with the North.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING) HOWELL: A warm welcome back to our viewers around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.
ALLEN: And I'm Natalie Allen. Our top stories this hour, stocks in the Asia Pacific area hoping to keep their positive momentum going. Right now it's staying high. Composite is up 1.93 percent. The Hong Kong Hang Seng is up just under a point in Tokyo up over 2 points and the SNP ASX 200 just at barely as well.
HOWELL: The United States and South Korea, they are wrapping up military exercises on the Korean Peninsula today. These drills were delayed after a spike in tensions last week between North and South Korea.
Officials from --
[00:30:00]
HOWELL: -- both sides met Tuesday and agreed on measures to reduce animosity.
ALLEN: The murders of two TV journalists Wednesday morning have sparked several politicians and one victim's father to speak out on the prevalence of guns.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Alison Parker's father are pleading for tougher laws. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said it's not a question of laws but a mental health issue.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is hailing this week's agreement to ease tensions with South Korea as a landmark occasion. But he also claims it was the strength of his country's armed forces that made the deal possible.
HOWELL: This comes as the United States and South Korea wrap up military exercises which had been delayed amid the tense standoff between these two nations.
For the very latest, let's turn not to our own Kyung Lah, live in Seoul, South Korea, following developments there.
Kyung, good to have you with us.
So these exercises between the U.S. and South Korea are wrapping up. Both North and South are deescalating forces.
Where do we go from here?
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hopefully it is towards some sort of conversation between the two countries. At least that's the hope from both the South and from that statement that we got from KCNA today. Also the hope from the North, so that is the hope.
What is wrapping up today are these joint drills. It is U.S. combined forces and South Korea; they happen every single year. They're computer-generated drills. It is like -- almost like -- in some parts like a video game, where the U.S. combined forces simulate what they would do if North Korea were to attack.
Now there have been some live fire drills as well. But those are -- just happen to be timing wise happening at the same time. So all of this happening on the peninsula, George. Now that these drills are going to be ending after 12 days, it is going to help things on the peninsula as well. At least that's what outside observers are hoping for -- George.
HOWELL: During those negotiations, obviously there were specific issues that both countries wanted to address, the loudspeakers, also the land mine issues. But we also learn that there were broader topics that were important to both sides.
Does the dialogue continue?
LAH: That's the hope, that the broader issue of human rights, the issue of -- at least from what North Korea wants, as far as trying to get some more economic aid, all of that will be continuing as well. Those discussions were certainly critical.
But in the dialogue of what's been happening between these two countries, you can't talk about the current fight, this fight about the land mine and the loudspeakers without looking at the larger issue, these 65 years of fights that these two countries have had.
So they're all interconnected. The immediate issue, that being the land mine and the propaganda speakers, that's considered behind at the two countries. They now look forward to issues like family reunions between these long separated families on this divided peninsula.
HOWELL: Kyung, from you -- from what you saw there, the rhetoric from North Korea to South Korea, the rhetoric is nothing new. But this time, it was different.
Did you experience, do you get a sense that people felt this was different?
And what's the sense now that things are deescalating?
LAH: A little bit of both. If you watch North Korea and you hear what comes out of that country, it is very similar. It sounds like the same sort of argument that they have every single time, the same sort of language, the difference this time was that it was a piling- on. Not only were those two soldiers injured in a land mine attack in the DMZ, which is extraordinarily rare, that South Korea put up the propaganda speakers, which is also very rare, something they had not done in 10 years.
Then the drills began. All of this was piling on; the tensions were much higher because all of these things happened at once. The tempers were much higher.
So the rhetoric within that prism seemed to be much more serious. Then you also had troop movements. So all of this was taken much more seriously, George. Now that we're moving forward, it's very much life as usual. People
are actually wondering how long this tentative piece is going to last on the peninsula.
HOWELL: Kyung Lah joining us live in Seoul, South Korea, Kyung, thank you so much for your reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.
And stay with CNN. We'll be right back after the break with more news.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:35:00]
HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. We're turning now to weather and the Caribbean Sea, where Tropical Storm Erika is blamed for at least four deaths on the island nation of Dominica.
ALLEN: Yes, they have been getting hit hard, more than 20 are presumed missing. The storm has left extensive damage to the island, according to officials there. It's projected to head north towards the United States. We know that houses have been swept away there.
HOWELL: Let's turn to our own meteorologist, Derek Van Dam here, tracking it all.
Derek, storm's coming through and it's not good news --
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This has quickly become our lead story in the weather department because we start to see on social media some of the first-hand accounts of what's actually taking place there, houses being torn apart because of the floods. This is a very mountainous part of the world and also a very poor community as well.
So their ability to handle this situation is going to be very, very difficult in these adverse conditions.
ALLEN: Well, we have heard other islands are chipping in with search and rescue.
VAN DAM: That's right. I've also heard about that; even Mexico as well is sending helicopters in Martinique.
Devastation, extensive damage, that's what they're reporting. It's an island nation of about 70,000 people; 60 percent of the island does not have electricity at the moment and from reports on the Internet, there's no access from the west, the east, the north or the south and, again, people are in very remote parts of the island.
So it's going to be very difficult for any search and rescue operations to actually unfold because of the nature of this island. And I'll show you why in just one moment. But look at some of these photos coming out of the area. This is the main airport, Canefield Airport, in Dominica. And you can actually see just what has caused all this destruction, 6-hour rainfall totals, 225 millimeters over the past 12 hours, 322 millimeters.
And as we zoom into this island nation, again, this is a commonwealth, you can see just how mountainous the terrain is there, some of the highest peaks just shy of 1,500 meters. But that allows the rain to pool up in those valleys and gorges and eventually just stream right into the towns and cities below, leaving devastation like that; flooding taking out bridges and roadways, not allowing any accessibility to some of those remote areas.
This is the latest on Tropical Storm Erika, 45 mph sustained winds; we have rainfall that will move across the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. There are currently flood watches in effect for both of those locations.
On top of that, we have tropical storm warnings --
[00:40:00]
VAN DAM: -- and watches that stretch towards the Bahamas and, guess what?
We have the U.S. mainland in its sight as well. That's for Sunday and Monday; latest National Hurricane Center track actually runs this storm system parallel with the Florida Coast.
And it is possible that it starts to intensify and becomes a category 1 hurricane. There are lots of variables at play, including the upper level winds. Just how warm the water temperatures are, but nonetheless, this is a storm that everyone, from Florida down through the Leeward Islands, needs to be watching very, very closely.
HOWELL: And a lot of the weather officials there in the state of Florida already keeping a very close eye on what this storm --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN DAM: I saw that government officials actually getting together to talk about how to prepare for the storm already.
(CROSSTALK)
ALLEN: -- anniversary of Katrina --
VAN DAM: That's right, ironic.
HOWELL: Derek, thank you.
VAN DAM: Thanks, guys.
HOWELL: She is one of the world's most well-known hackers and she doesn't even exist.
ALLEN: Perhaps you've read about her. Now Lisbeth Salander at it again in a fourth novel featuring Stieg Larsson's famous character. But Larsen himself died 11 years ago. And that's part of the new book's buzz. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMERA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's back. Lisbeth Salander, the tattooed gun hacker from "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" has returned in a new novel with fans in Stockholm lining up to buy "The Girl in the Spider's Web" when it went on sale at the stroke of midnight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here for the new book and I'm very excited for the story.
WALKER (voice-over): It's the fourth book featuring the Swedish heroine that became hugely popular in the Millennium Trilogy, the thrillers selling more than 80 million copies in 50 countries and became a Hollywood movie starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.
But there's a twist: original author Stieg Larsson died back in 2004, long before his books became popular. Now a new author picks up where the story left off.
DAVID LAGERCRANTZ, AUTHOR: I have the deepest, deepest respect for Stieg Larsson.
WALKER (voice-over): David Lagercrantz, a Swedish author and journalist, was picked to pen the new novel. He says the assignment terrified him at first. But he tried to honor Larsson while adding something of himself to the story.
LAGERCRANTZ: If it would be a good book, I have to put my own passion in it, my own ideas.
WALKER (voice-over): One person who said they won't be reading the new novel is Stieg Larsson's long-time partner, Ava Gabrielsson. And Larsson left behind no will when he died. So this multimillion-dollar estate, including the rights to his books, went to his father and brother.
Gabrielsson has spoken out against the new book, saying it was just written for the money. Lagercrantz said he had the deepest respect for Gabrielsson, but ultimately it will be readers who have the final say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see a problem in a new writer.
WALKER (voice-over): Nearly 3 million copies of the new novel are now available in more than 2 dozen countries with plans for another movie already in the works. It seems Stieg Larsson's story is far from over -- Amara Walker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Well, our news is far from over; another hour coming up. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. Stay tuned for "WORLD SPORT," just after the break. (MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there and welcome to WORLD SPORT from CNN Center. I'm Don Riddell.
Usain Bolt is not exactly a man with a point to prove. The Jamaican sprinter has dominated his sport since 2008 and he really has transcended athletics. But in the buildup to the World Championships in Beijing, it seemed as though he'd lost his touch. Guess we should know better by now.
In the weekend, he edged out his main rival, Justin Gatlin in the 100 meters and over 200 meters on Thursday, he destroyed him. He was quicker on the blocks; he dominated the bends and it was an unassailable lead by the home straight.
And to emphasize just how easy he found it, you can see there, he just cantered over the line in a time of 19.55 seconds, the fastest in the world this year.
He's now won every major 200 meter title race since 2008.
USAIN BOLT, RUNNER: I think I'm already later now. I've proved to the world just adding to my legendary status now. I want to be -- if I want to be among the greats, I have to continually add to that until I retire and that's my aim and that's what I want to do.
RIDDELL: Bolt's performance was electrifying. But it's a sign of the times that more people were talking about what happened to him after he crossed the finish line. As he was milking the applause, a cameraman on a segue somehow lost control of his ride and just plowed into the back of the world's fastest man.
As you can imagine, Bolt's misfortune prompted a wave of social media jokes and memes and he, too, thankfully, was able to see the funny side.
BOLT: I'm starting a rumor that Justin Gatlin paid him off. That's what I'm starting, all right?
(LAUGHTER)
RIDDELL: Justin Gatlin says he wants his money back.
For every athlete competing at the World Championships, a lifetime of training has obviously brought them to this moment. And gold, silver or bronze is the ultimate goal.
But for one American competing in the 110-meter hurdle final on Friday, there's a lot more than medals on his mind. Aries Merritt is suffering from a rare genetic kidney disorder and he's due to undergo surgery next week when he'll receive a transplant from his sister.
For Merritt, he says the competing in Beijing has been good for his mental sanity. He knows that if the surgery doesn't go well this could be his final championship.
Paris Saint-Germain have big aspirations in the Champions League and after Thursday's draw for the group stage, they and Europe's other big teams are now plotting their path to the knockout round.
Group A produced a mouthwatering clash between PSG and Real Madrid. And for Paris' Latin Ibrahimovic, the draw takes him back to his roots. A couple of games against his very first club, Malmo in Sweden.
Manchester United always seem to get an easy draw, don't they. They'll feel pretty good about their lot in Group B. And in a twist of fate, their new winger, Memphis, will go up against the club he left just this summer, PSV Eindhoven.
Group D seems to be the toughest; Manchester City will face last year's beaten finalist, Juventus; the Europa League winner, Sevilla and the German side Borussia Monchengladbach.
Champions Barcelona will hope to become the first-ever repeat champions. No one's done that before. And they shouldn't have too much trouble getting out of Group E alongside the likes of Leverkusen, Roma and Bate Borisov.
Now Bernie Ecclestone is one of the most powerful men in sports. And he's also one of the most controversial. He's all for women running Formula 1 but you'll be surprised by what he thinks of their aspirations. We'll have that for you next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:50:00]
RIDDELL: Welcome back.
Bernie Ecclestone is one of the most powerful women in world sport and he is no stranger to controversy.
Ten years ago, F1 supremo said that women should be dressed in white like all kitchen appliances. And while these days he actually thinks a woman could run his sport when he retires, he clearly still has reservations about their ambition -- if not perhaps their talent.
As part of CNN's series about women in Formula 1, we reached out to Mr. Ecclestone and this was his response, a two-paragraph letter in which he stated, "In business in general there is no reason not to have women as CEOs of companies, including Formula 1 Management Limited."
But then he continued. "The problem is that most women do not wish to take the responsibility of being held responsible for a big company."
There's no doubt that F1 used to be a macho, men-only kind of sport. But perhaps Mr. Ecclestone hasn't been paying attention more recently. We reached out to all 10 teams to find out how many women were working in their organizations.
And of the seven that responded, it seemed that about 10-15 percent of their workforce was female, with some involved in key positions like engineering and aerodynamics.
Monisha Kaltenborn is the team principal at Sauber; Claire Williams is the deputy principal at the team her father founded, Williams.
And for the record, the sport's biggest teams, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, for whatever reason, didn't respond to our inquiries.
Meanwhile, the world's most high-profile female racer, Danica Patrick, has been reflecting on her experience of trying to make it as a woman in a man's world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANICA PATRICK, AUTO RACER: Sexism to me is not something that I've had to deal with. Either that or I have a really thick skin.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PATRICK (voice-over): I actually never thought about being a girl in racing until I was about 14 and that's when TV shows were wanting to do programs on me and specials and then, of course, that question came up all the time. And but it wasn't until then that I even thought about it.
And I really attribute a lot of to where I am because my mom, my dad, they never let me use that as some sort of a benchmark, like you're the best girl out there.
Like, I'm the only one, huh? Really, too.
It was really about being the best driver.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PATRICK (voice-over): When I was younger, I was told that you could learn a lot more in England than you could learn in America racing. And so I said, well, that sounds like a good idea.
So I went over to England and raced. And it was, by all means, an education but it was not an education in racing. It was an education in life. And it served me well. It showed the commitment to what I wanted in my life.
And being a race car driver and -- but it taught me life lessons and helped develop that thick skin that's important to navigate through criticism and judgment and tough times.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PATRICK (voice-over): I wasn't feeling like I was getting a fair shake and Formula 1 was all I thought about doing. But to be honest, when I came back home to the States, I thought this is where I want to be.
So you can never say never about anything. But at this point in time, I'm happy where I'm at.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PATRICK (voice-over): Winning in Japan, in the Indy Car Series was a big relief for me. I felt like it was a long time coming. I felt like it was what I should be doing. But honestly, my most memorable races are ones that I don't think any -- that would stick out for anyone else.
They're races where I passed like Tony Stewart and Dale Jr. on one corner; you passed Jimmy Johnson around the outside on a restart.
It was -- those are the things that, for me, that are very memorable. The great races where I was --
[00:55:00]
PATRICK (voice-over): -- very competitive all day long and just missed it.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PATRICK (voice-over): I believe that you have to be a complete package. Definitely sports, it's very helpful, you know, look the part, act the part, speak the part, you know, perform the part.
That's what's very much helped me in my career. And I think really the difference between success for people and unsuccessful is just how many times you get back up and keep trying and keep dreaming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIDDELL: Sentiments there from Danica Patrick.
We're going to end the show with a terrific story from Texas, where a 103-year-old woman threw out the first pitch at a Rangers game. And the team picked her after hearing what a hardcore fan she is. And she proved it.
This is Lucille Fleming. She told a local television station that she'd been in the hospital a few weeks earlier and had actually flatlined with no heartbeat for three minutes. When she regained consciousness, would you believe she told a nurse that they had to keep her alive so she could watch the Rangers game later that day.
And in the end, she did a lot more than just watch. Good for you.
Terrific story.
That's it for this edition of WORLD SPORT. Thanks for your company. I'm Don Riddell. See you soon.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
