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Outrage Over Air Strike on Afghan Doctors Without Borders Hospital; Russia Intensifying Air Strikes in Syria; North Korea to Release South Korean Student; Joaquin Causes Major Flooding in South Carolina; Flooding in France; Another Typhoon Hits China, Bringing Powerful Tornado; Oregon Campus Shooting Witnesses Give Their Accounts; Bloodshed in Jerusalem Caught on Camera; Global Vatican Meeting Surrounded by Same-Sex Relationship Scandal; Trump: "Mideast Better Off if Hussein, Gadhafi Had Lived; Is Living on Mars a Realistic Goal. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired October 05, 2015 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:15] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Doctors Without Borders is leaving the city in Afghanistan where an air strike blew its hospital apart, and now the aid group is demanding answers from U.S. and Afghan forces. We will go live to Kabul.
ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: And North Korea may soon release a U.S. resident who's been detained since April. A live update from Seoul.
Also coming up --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We haven't seen this level of rain in the low country in 1,000 years. That's how big this is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Historic flooding turns roads into rivers in the U.S. state of South Carolina as rescue crews work to bring people to safety.
Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to be with you, Rosemary.
Hey, everyone. I'm Errol Barnett. And we're here for the next two hours. Thanks for joining us. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
There is outrage in the wake of Saturday's air strike on an Afghan hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders.
CHURCH: The aid group says at least 22 people, 12 staffers, and 10 patients were killed. The U.S. is trying to figure out if an American gunship is responsible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ASHTON CATER, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: My reaction, I think, was the same that anybody's would be, which is that this is a tragic loss of life. As far as the United States is concerned and as far as our forces are concerned, that we be fully transparent about our investigation and also that we hold accountable, if there is someone to be accountable, anybody responsible for doing something they shouldn't have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And Medecins Sans Frontieres is demanding an independent investigation.
BARNETT: Now on its website, the group responded to comments by some Afghan officials that the Taliban were taking shelter inside the hospital. Take a look at this. Quote, "MSF is disgusted by the recent statements coming from some Afghanistan government authorities. These statements imply that Afghan and U.S. forces working together decided to raze to the ground a fully functioning hospital with more than 180 staff and patients inside because they claim that members of the Taliban were present. This amounts to an admission of a war crime."
Now an executive director from Medecins Sans Frontieres explains why her organization is demanding now a third-party investigation. Listen.
VICKIE HAWKINS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (voice- over): It's just completely unbelievable and unacceptable. We want somebody -- we want a body to have a look at this attack that wasn't involved in it. We feel it's really important that there is an independent body that holds an investigation. And we want full access to whatever findings come out and full transparency, not only, of course, for those that were actually affected by the attack, the families of our staff and the patients that have been killed, it's very important for them to know how this could have happened, but also in terms of our future work in Kunduz and in Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, for more on the attack and the anger, let's go to Sune Engel Rasmussen, a reporter for "The Guardian" newspaper, and joins us now live from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Sune, Medecins Sans Frontieres describes the attack on its hospital as a war crime, says it's disgusted by Afghan authorities saying Taliban members were in that hospital. What is being said about that, and what's the latest on the investigation currently underway by the U.S., NATO, and Afghan authorities? We've heard Medecins Sans Frontieres call for an independent investigation. That's not going to happen, is it?
SUNE ENGEL RASMUSSEN, REPORTER, THE GUARDIAN: I don't know if any international body is going to be able to investigate this incident. As you said, NATO and the U.S. military are conducting investigations into it, and MSF sees that as tantamount to investigating their own possible war crimes. Here in Afghanistan, there are a lot of officials who are repeating these claims that the Taliban were inside the compound. MSF insists that was not the case. They say there are no reports of the Taliban firing from the hospital. On the contrary, they say all Taliban and other people who were wounded in the fighting were outside. If there had been Taliban inside the hospital, they would have been patients and, in that case, considered civilians, not combatants, according to international law.
But we also have prominent Afghan politicians who are maybe not saying that the Taliban were inside the compound but who have shown some sympathy for the fact that the U.S. military were firing against Taliban in the area and, in that sense, had some sort of understanding for the dilemma of the U.S. military.
But there's also a lot of anger from people in Kunduz who now have to deal with the fact that there's no medical facility in the area of the standard that MSF could provide. The fighting is still going on in Kunduz, and there's a lot of injured people to come in the coming days. During the past week, before this incident on Saturday, there were about 400 patients. So this is a huge blow to the community and this village in Kunduz, no matter what the politicians in Kabul say.
[02:05:53] CHURCH: Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about that and find out also what the people from the hospital are saying about what happened. And you mentioned that Medecins Sans Frontieres are pulling out of the hospital. What happened to those people who were there, who survived? Where have they gone? And the impact, you mentioned some of it, on Kunduz with Medecins Sans Frontieres pulling out.
RASMUSSEN: Some of the worst injured from that attack on Saturday have been transferred by road either to a neighboring province, about a two-hour drive away, and a few of them have been taken by road to Kabul, which is five or six hours away, where they are now in safety. But there's also a provincial hospital in Kunduz, which was already working over capacity where some people have also been taken to. The international staff from MSF in Kunduz were all unharmed, physically at least, and have been flown and evacuated back to Kabul where they are now in safety. Some humanitarian organizations are trying now to prepare for food delivery, for example, in Kunduz because of the fighting. A lot of the people can't leave their houses and get food there in the markets. There's also hopefully something we'll see in the coming days. But it's difficult with the ongoing fighting.
CHURCH: It is a tragedy in the making, for sure.
Sune Engel Rasmussen, reporting live from Kabul in Afghanistan. Many thanks to you, Sune.
Russia says its air strikes in Syria have considerable reduced the fighting power of ISIS militants. The strikes began Wednesday and Russia stepped up the pace over the weekend. Moscow says it carried out 20 flights targeting ISIS positions in Idlib Province.
BARNETT: But the U.S.-backed coalition accused Russia of firing on Syrian rebels, not ISIS militants. Syrian President Bashar al Assad says the Russian effort has to succeed to save the entire Middle Eastern region from destruction.
CHURCH: Turkey's president is harshly critical of Russia's military action in Syria.
BARNETT: Turkey has supported Syrian rebels in their fight against ISIS and the Assad regime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translation): The latest steps taken by Russia in air strikes in Syria are unacceptable for Turk in anyway. I conveyed our stance to Mr. Putin both when I went to Moscow and when we had a phone conversation a couple of days ago. Russia is making a grave mistake, and this mistake could be a step that might isolate Russia in the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: So Turkey is obviously upset.
Phil Black joins us now from Moscow to talk about this.
Phil, there have been multiple daily updates provided by the Russians. Explain in further detail the types of targets the country are claiming to be aiming for.
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Errol, they are all military type targets, at least in description. They talk about a wide range of objects and facilities, from armored vehicles to bomb factories, training grounds, ammunition depos, command-and-control centers, even underground bunkers. What we're hearing with these updates is talk about how precise the Russian weapons and strikes are, the fact that all of these facilities and targets are attributed to either ISIS or terrorist groups. And Russia insists that no civilians have been hurts in these attacks. Now that's all, as we are hearing, different from United States saying Russia and its allies, its coalition partners in Syria. They say Russia is, in fact, not targeting ISIS but other opposition groups that are a threat to the Syrian regime and Bashar Assad. They say that, yes, those attacks are pretty indiscriminate and that civilians are suffering. But as you touched on there, Russia is talking up the effectiveness of its strikes in recent days, insisting that it's made a big difference in reducing the effectiveness of the ability of these fighters on the ground to engage in combat and it's making unsubstantiated claims, at least claims that are difficult for us to verify about fighters on the ground fleeing in panic and terror, abandoning their positions -- Errol?
[02:10:12] BARNETT: Phil Black for us in Moscow. 10 minutes past 9:00 in the morning there. Phil, thanks.
CHURCH: North Korea is reportedly ready to free a South Korean student who has been detained since April.
BARNETT: The South Korean Unification Ministry say Won-Moon Joo is expected to be handed over to South Korea at the border in a few hours. He was a New York University student but took a semester off, he says, to travel.
CHURCH: And our Kathy Novak is in Seoul. She joins us now with the details.
Kathy, what do we know? Why was this student in North Korea, why was he detained in the first place, and why are we seeing his release now?
KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This student spoke to CNN in May a little while after he had originally been arrested. He had been studying at New York University. He's a U.S. permanent resident but a South Korean citizen. He took time off from his studies to travel and he had crossed, he says, from China into North Korea, and did so illegally, and he said at the time that he wanted to be arrested, that this whole incident would, he said, bring about some kind of great event. He wanted to be able to tell the world that an ordinary college student could cross illegally into North Korea and be released safely back home. That seems to be what's happening now. We're told by the South Korean Unification Ministry that North Korea authorities has informed South Korea that this student will be returned to the border in the next few hours. At that point, we expect he will be questioned by the South Korean side. It is illegal for South Korean citizens to go to North Korea without permission, so you would imagine there would be questions and about everything that happened to him while he was in North Korea. Everything, of course, that we're hearing from him was happening under their watchful eye. He said he had been treated well and he had been well fed, but wasn't able to speak to his family and we haven't heard more details of exactly what happened when he was being detained. But it seems he was very lucky, because the South Korea authorities say there are three other South Korean citizens that remain in North Korea, who were sentenced to life in hard labor camps, and they remain there on spying charges after going through the trial system and being found guilty of spying. So Won-Moon Joo could have been facing a much harsher punishment. But it seems, instead, he will be returned in a few hours to South Korea -- Rosemary and Errol?
CHURCH: We will certainly watch that count down and see what this release may signal, perhaps, for those other people who have been detained in North Korea. Keeping a very close eye on this.
Kathy Novak joining us from Seoul. Many thanks.
BARNETT: Lots more to get to for you this hour. Record levels of rain are causing major flooding in parts of the U.S. Coming up, we'll take to you South Carolina where officials say the worst isn't over yet.
CHURCH: Plus, another typhoon hits China and brings a powerful tornado. We'll have a full weather update for you in just a moment.
Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I was sitting in front of the classroom facing the teacher when everything happened. He just came in and shot towards the back of the wall and told everybody to get in the center of the room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: A survivor of the Oregon college massacre describes the chilling first moments of the attack.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:16:01] PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, there. I'm Patrick Snell with your CNN "World Sport" headlines.
One of Britain's biggest football clubs, Liverpool, has begun its search for a new manager. This following Saturday's dismissal of Brendon Rogers. Rogers spent big in the off season, lavishing over $120 million on new signings. Just managing four wins from eleven matches in all competition. Now in a statement, the club's owner, the Fenway Sports Group, saying, "Ambition and winning are at the heart of what we want to bring to Liverpool and we believe this change gives us the best opportunity to deliver it." Rogers' last act was to be presiding over a 1-0 draw with neighbors, Everson.
Elsewhere in the Premier, Arsenal finally rediscover the art of beating Manchester United. A 3-0 victory on Sunday, their first win in nine Premier League matches against the Red Devils. United conceded three goals in the first 19 minutes. Chilean International elected Sanchez with two of them. Arsenal wins 3-0 emphatically.
And at the Rugby World Cup on Sunday in England, Ireland taking on Italy. The Irish win will seal their place in the quarter finals. It was a tough, tough work out for them against them. The Irish finally get in. They were pushed hard all way in this one. 16-9 the final score to confirm Ireland through to the last stage of the tournament.
Thanks so much for joining us. You're bang up to date. A look at your global sports headlines. I'm Patrick Snell.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: In the U.S., historic levels of rain are causing major flooding in parts of South Carolina. More than a half meter, or two feet, of rain has hit some areas since Friday. Search-and-rescue operations will pick up Monday morning for those who need to be evacuated.
CHURCH: Officials say more than 200 water rescues took place from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon. At least five people have died in weather-related incidents.
BARNETT: You can imagine everyone's still trying to deal with all the water that came down over the weekend. And now the state is bracing for more rain in the coming hours.
CHURCH: Major highways are closed and curfews are in effect.
CNN's Nick Valencia reports on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Simply a desperate situation here in the state of South Carolina as this rain has continued to pound all of these cities across the state. Some of the areas most-hardest hit, well, we're standing in it, Columbia, South Carolina. You can see to the left of me a community we're told by some residents that are still strand there in their apartment complex. Over to my right, another community as well, another neighborhood that has submerged and under water. You see the cars that have tried to make a path through this road. Not a good idea. Simply a bad situation here at this intersection.
If we can say there's some good news, in the hours we've been here, the water level has slowly receded, but there are plenty of impacted residents dealing with this. Hour by hour, this storm not letting up. And that's part of the problem. This water hasn't had the time to recede.
Some of these local residents -- come on in here -- local University of South Carolina students, Jim and Will.
Tell us how you've been affected and how you've been dealing with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went to Clemson last night for the football game and tried to come back to our apartment today but no way to get there. We tried to multiple exists and made it to this one, and can't get back.
VALENCIA: You're victims of this flash flooding?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say so. Our roommate told us it was pretty bad down here but I didn't expect anything like this.
VALENCIA: When you look at these images behind us, when you see this Title Max that has collapsed, these other new businesses that are almost entirely submerged in water, what do you think? This is your hometown right now.
[02:20:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it's pretty crazy. We always go to Mo's Mondays to get our groceries and now we can't get there. Pretty wild.
VALENCIA: Does it impact you at all? I mean, is there an emotional level to this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I hope it goes away pretty soon. I got to get home and get to my homework honestly.
VALENCIA: We hope you get to that homework soon. We hope you guys stay safe. Take some shelter inside.
The governor, Nikki Haley, had a press conference asking residents to shelter in place, saying this storm could last well into Tuesday.
Nick Valencia, CNN, Columbia, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Nick Valencia in the middle of it all.
Let's bring in our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
Because it really is an incredible amount of water that fell across the region. As you heard there, folks are being told to just hunker down and stay where they are.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's the best you can do. We know this is one of the most dangerous events when it comes to flooding and fatalities across the United States.
Let's take a look at this. Rainfall totals, when it comes to exactly what transpired in recent days, it opens the record books. 45 inches, the single wettest period for single storm was a tropical storm that made landfall, Claudet in 1979. Allison, 37 inches in Mount Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston, we had rainfall totals of 24 inches with this particular event, putting it among one of the wettest periods in United States storms.
We want to show you the state of South Carolina, because you look at the state as a whole, the rainfall over an expanse of a large area of this region. We're talking about this area of rainfall that came down not just in Charleston, extending all the way up to Columbia, the state capital, so a tabulation of how much water this accumulates to and we're talking about roughly the size of 6.7 million Olympic-size swimming pools. That's how much water that came down on South Carolina in three days. That's why this is so destructive event across the region. Again, we're showing you the pattern over this area because we did tape on to plenty of tropical moisture, one of which was associated with Joaquin that was in place. Easy to pick out the plume of moisture that stretches right out of Joaquin and goes right into the Carolinas. As Joaquin pulled away, we had a storm situation in place that led to some of the disastrous flooding across the region, Rosemary. So we'll certainly follow this. It looks like a couple of more days of rain in the forecast as well.
CHURCH: Unbelievable.
And, Pedram, stand by for a moment, because we do want to look at another part of the world.
In France, parts of the country are also dealing with extreme flash floods that killed at least 17 people. That's according to CNN affiliate, BFM TV, which also reports at least four more people are missing along the country's southeastern Mediterranean coast. The sheer force of the floods moved cars, piling them up on top of each other. Officials are warning people against traveling because of the damage to roads and rail networks.
Let's go back to our Pedram Javaheri. Pedram, you have more on this flooding. Talk to us about this. And I
also understand you're covering the typhoon in China.
JAVAHERI: That's right. A lot going on. With this particular flooding event, incredible to think more rain came down in this region of France in two hour then we ever saw in two hours than we ever say in South Carolina in that time, two hours. We picked up six inches, about 175 millimeters that led to the disastrous scenario in this region. In total, 195 millimeters out of Cannes, which is well know for the film festival. But the images show the destruction left in place. The vast majority coming in from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. local time. It is the most-wettest time of the year, but not upward of six inches or 175 millimeters in this region.
How about this perspective? We'll leave you with this. We know a typhoon made landfall across southern portions of China on Saturday and Sunday. We often see this with tropical features. You see a tornado touch down with it as well. Storms typically not strong as the ones across the plains states of the United States, but as you have the storm moving over land, the friction that takes place with the land mass interacting with the storm system, you can spot several twisters. This is what happened here. 80 people injured. Multiple fatalities over this region as well of China, and that is certainly a big story developing out of that region. And the rainfall total also pretty staggering across this region of China when you're looking at the amounts of rain, eight inches coming in from this particular tropical feature across that area, a densely populated southern China -- Guys?
CHURCH: Terrifying images there.
BARNETT: Stunning weather events all over.
CHURCH: Yeah.
Thanks very much, Pedram.
BARNETT: Thanks, Pedram.
CHURCH: And days after a horrific shooting at a U.S. community college, witnesses are coming forward with their accounts of what happened.
BARNETT: Nine were people killed when a gunman open fired on a campus in Oregon.
CNN's Sara Sidner spoke to one survivor who talked about the moment the shooting began.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She is a mother of three children and, at one point, during this shooting, she thought she would never see them again. She's trying to deal with the thoughts of death that she's had throughout this experience. But she did survive this harrowing situation. [02:25:06] UNIDENTIFIED SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I was sitting in front of
the classroom facing the teacher when everything happened. He just came in and shot towards the back of the wall and told everybody to get in the center of the room.
SIDNER: Did he hit anyone when he first shot that first shot?
UNIDENTIFIED SHOOTING SURVIVOR: No he just got everybody's attention. And everybody looks to the door he had guns guys him. He was armed. He had a bulletproof vest on. And he didn't seem stressed like he was anxious or anything. He told everybody to get on the ground. Everybody huddled to the ground. The girl in the wheelchair tried to get -- she got off and tried to get on the ground.
SIDNER: Wait. There was a woman with in a wheelchair during all this?
UNIDENTIFIED SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Yeah. She had a dog. The dog was on the ground. She got off the chair. She went on the ground. And then he told her to get back on the chair, and then she tried to climb back on the chair, and then he shot her.
SIDNER: She knew at that moment, if he would shoot a woman in a wheelchair after making her get up and down on that chair, that no one would be spared. She says she thinks he just missed her when was shooting people on the ground. She laid there in someone else's blood and pretended to be dead. That's how she survived.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: A gut-wrenching account of what happened. Some survivors say the gunman asked victims about their religion. The witnesses say he shot them anyway, no matter what they answered.
We have more stories after the break. New rules and new clashes. Details on the deadly violence in Jerusalem and what sparked changes and who is allowed in the old city.
CHURCH: Plus, a Vatican priest challenges the Roman Catholic Church on homosexually, after announcing he's in a same-sex relationship.
Coming up later this hour --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Something to lighten your spirits. Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, proves she can carry a tune, and apparently she has a sense of humor.
Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:31:00] CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Let's update you on our top stories this hour.
Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, says the apparent U.S. air strike on one of its hospitals is a war crime. The attack on Saturday killed 22 people at the hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. The U.S. and NATO are now investigating.
CHURCH: In Guatemala, families are mourning the victims of a massive landslide that hit a small town near Guatemala City. At least 131 people died after the side of a rain-soaked hill collapsed Thursday night. Residents and rescuers are digging through mud and debris in search of hundreds still missing.
BARNETT: The results from Portugal's general election are now in with the ruling center right coalition claiming victory. The party won with 38 percent of the vote Sunday but fell short of a clear majority in parliament. This is the country's first general election since emerging from an E.U. bailout.
CHURCH: In Jerusalem's old city, Israeli authorities taking extreme action, banning Palestinians from entering the old city. The action taken after a knife and gun attack that killed two Israelis and injured two others.
BARNETT: Increased violence between Palestinian and Israelis escalating tensions to new heights in recent weeks. Just last week, an Israeli couple was shot and killed in front of their four children. A week before, a Palestinian teenager shot by Israeli soldiers at a military check point.
The latest developments are shocking and we have to warn you that they may be difficult for many viewers to watch.
CHURCH: The overnight events, captured on cell phone video, scenes that not only depict the horror of what happened, but threaten to enflame tensions even more.
CNN's Erin McLaughlin reports
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SHOUTING)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Panic in the old city of Jerusalem. About 8:30 in the evening --
(SHOUTING)
MCLAUGHLIN: -- screams of a dying rabbi. Israeli authorities say, moments before, he had attempted to defend an Israeli couple and their infant from a stabbing by a 19-year-old Palestinian man. The subsequent attack on the rabbi captured on shaky cell phone footage by a Palestinian shop owner. Israeli Police say by the time they arrived, the attacker had grabbed the rabbi's gun.
"Now they will kill him," says an off-camera voice in Arabic.
(SHOUTING)
(GUNFIRE)
MCLAUGHLIN: The shooting happens out of frame. Israeli police say when the teenager fired, police shot and killed him. He was later identified as a Mohammad Mohabi (ph), a Palestinian from the West Bank. His last Facebook posting, "According to what I see, the third infatada has started," he wrote.
The rabbi and the Israeli father died of their stab wounds.
(SHOUTING)
MCLAUGHLIN: In that charged atmosphere, a group of far right Israelis gather outside the Damascus gate of the old city.
(SHOUTING)
MCLAUGHLIN: "People want revenge," they say.
(SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MCLAUGHLIN: In Hebrew, a young boy shouts, "Death to Arabs."
(SHOUTING)
MCLAUGHLIN: Then two hours later, a block away, another incident captured on a cell phone. Another 19-year-old Palestinian man is seen running along a tram line outside the old city --
(SHOUTING)
MCLAUGHLIN: -- followed by Israelis shouting, "He's a terrorist, shoot him, shoot him." In another video, you see the police arrive and you hear seven gunshots and the man falls to the ground.
(GUNFIRE)
(SHOUTING)
MCLAUGHLIN: You see a police officer is pointing his gun.
(SHOUTING) MCLAUGHLIN: Voices off camera ask, "Did he stab someone?" Someone answers, "No, he did not succeed." "Who did he try to attack?" Israeli police say the 19-year-old man was shot holding a knife in his hand, covered in blood. Police say he had just stabbed a 15-year-old Israeli boy. The shooting prevented additional attacks.
Palestinians say he'd attacked no one, just got into a verbal altercation with the Israelis protesting outside the Damascus gate. They say the Israeli protesters simply wanted him dead.
He was later identified as Sali Alane (ph) of east Jerusalem. His friends say he was peaceful, that he loved fashion and wanted to be a model. His father says he was executed in cold blood.
(SHOUTING)
MCLAUGHLIN: For days, there have been running clashes as Palestinians protest restrictions that prohibit Palestinian men under the age of 50 from worshipping at the mosque. Far right Israelis, too, have been visiting the mosque compound. Now stone throwing and tear gas have escalated to stabbings and gunfire. The anger and passions captured on video, video that will likely make tensions worse in this already tense city.
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:35:52] BARNETT: Erin McLaughlin joins us live from Jerusalem with more on this.
It's difficult to watch all of this, Erin, but how are officials on both sides of this divide responding to this violence?
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, Errol, Israeli officials are blaming Palestinian leadership for inciting violence. And according to Israeli media reports, they're considering a range of security additional security measures, from the fast tracking of the razing of attackers homes to increasing the number of what they call administrative detentions, which is detaining suspects without trial or charge. We're expecting the Israeli cabinet to have a meeting tonight to take a decision on the additional security measure. Palestinian officials, for their part, are blaming Israeli authorities for trying to start what they say is a religious war. So both sides blaming each other, and the situation really remaining tense -- Errol?
BARNETT: And we're seeing some footage from the area on Sunday. You were in the old city yesterday. Just describe for us how tense the atmosphere is there. The fear now is that one small incident, one small clash could again become deadly.
MCLAUGHLIN: Yeah. Well, I was there in the old city yesterday. I would say it was eerily quiet. Now, that area is normally bustling, full of shoppers and shop keepers. Yesterday, with the restrictions in place, preventing Palestinians access to the old city, the shops were shuttered. There was a small number of tourists we saw there, but there was also a very heavy security presence. And on the ground, evidence of clashes, pieces of glass, marble, stone, tear gas canisters, rubber bullets.
Now, as for the Noble Sanctuary, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, we didn't see them allow anyone into that site, man or woman. In fact, we saw a 75-year-old woman try to enter the site. She was turned away. Outside the old city at prayer time, men and women praying in the streets. I spoke to some of them. They said they were angry and frustrated at the restrictions, restrictions that Israelis say were put in place for security purposes.
BARNETT: And those restrictions, they're allowing Muslim men over 50, Israeli citizens, old city residents, tourists, business people in the area, and students, but not allowing anyone else. Of course, it is causing more anger as well.
Erin McLaughlin, live for us in Jerusalem with the latest information. Erin, thanks.
CHURCH: We'll take a very short break here, but coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, surrounded by a scandal, the Vatican kicks off its global meeting on family just a day after relieving a gay priest of his duties.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:41:54] CHURCH: A global meeting of Catholic bishops and cardinals kicked off Sunday at the Vatican as church leaders addressed the issues facing families. But the event is surrounded by scandal after a polish priest announced he's in a same-sex relationship.
BARNETT: The Vatican responded by relieving Monsignor Krysztof Charamsa of his duties.
CNN spoke with him earlier, and he says he hopes the Catholic meeting with address the issue of same-sex relationships.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRYSZTOF OLAF CHARAMSA, POLISH CATHOLIC PRIEST (through translation): My hope is great, and my hope is Pope Francis. Because Pope Francis is, for us, he's this guy, which, for me, to discuss, to dialogue, to open heart and reason, in synod. I think, I'm sure that we must, like all the church, to understand, to reflect, and to meet all families, all families of our world and of our church.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Pope Francis opened Sunday's synod by reaffirming the Catholic opposition to gay marriage, but he also urged the church to be more open and merciful to all people.
During the pope's recent trip to the U.S., he held a private meeting with a long-time friend from Argentina who has been in a same-sex relationship for almost 20 years.
For the latest, we want to bring in Vatican correspondent, Delia Gallagher, live from Rome.
Delia, what impact might this admission by the priest that he's in a same-sex relationship have on the Catholic Church, do you think?
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, as you mentioned, they begin their meetings this morning, and on their agenda, which is a very large agenda, discussing a number of issues, there is a small part reserved for gay issues. It's interesting to note that they come right out and say that they are opposed to gay marriage, that they cannot condone it. What are they discussing? They are discussing how to be more welcoming to gays, how to make the announcement and let people know that they respect gay people, that gay people have dignity, but it's in the language, it's in their approach. The question of actually condoning gay marriage does not seem to be on the table.
What Monsignor Krysztof Olaf Charamsa's coming out this week has done has focused more attention on this upcoming meeting, but the cardinals that I've spoken to in the role up to this and in their official agenda suggests that change on the question of gay marriage is not on the table.
CHURCH: And, Delia, this polish priest also called the Catholic Church homophobic. What will this mean for him when he's sent back to Poland? What happens next for him now?
GALLAGHER: Well, what's happened at the Vatican is he's lost his job. He remains a priest. What has to happen now is he goes back to Poland with his bishop and discusses the procedure now for the defrocking, where he is removed from the priestly state. He can ask for it himself, or the Vatican, together with the polish bishop, can initiate a procedure to do that -- Rosemary?
[02:45:30] CHURCH: All right. Delia Gallagher reporting there live from Rome. Many thanks to you.
BARNETT: We turn our attention now to U.S. politics. The race for the speaker of the House of Representatives could turn into a big public fight within the Republican Party.
CHURCH: A long shot, Representative Jason Chaffetz from Utah, has announced his plans to run for the post John Boehner is leaving later this month. He is running against front runner and House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy, in a vote set for this Thursday.
BARNETT: House Republicans were hoping for a smooth transition after Speaker Boehner's surprise resignation.
Now to the U.S. presidential race. Republican front runner, Donald Trump, says he thinks that the Middle East might be better off had Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi stayed in power. He also believes the U.S. should stay out of Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And you know what? I'm not saying Assad is a good guy. He's probably a bad guy. But I've watched him interviewed many times, and you can make the case, if you look at Libya, look what we did there. It's a mess. Look at Saddam Hussein with Iraq, look what we did there. It's a mess. It's going to be the same thing.
CHUCK TODD, MODERATOR, MEET THE PRESS: You think the Middle East would be better today if they were all sort of, if Gadhafi, Saddam and Assad were sort of -- if Saddam and Gadhafi were still there and Assad were stronger?
(CROSSTALK)
TODD: Do you think the Middle East would be safer?
TRUMP: It's not even a contest, Chuck. It's not even a contest. Iraq is a disaster. And --
(CROSSTALK)
TODD: It would be better off if Saddam were--
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: ISIS came out of Iraq.
TODD: Right. I understand.
TRUMP: It was the leftovers that didn't get taken care of.
(CROSSTALK)
TODD: -- Saddam and Gadhafi, you think things would be more stable?
TRUMP: Of course, they would be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Trump has yet to reveal his formal position on foreign policy, but he keeps weighing in on the campaign trail.
And here's how CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, explained Trump's position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Trump really has put together what could be a defensive nationalism, in which the world is seen as a dangerous, corrupt, confusing place, where they are always trying to take advantage of us, and our interactions with the world on any front, a wall on immigration, tariffs on trade, real suspicion of intervention in foreign conflicts, all of that is dangerous and kind bristling against that kind of engagement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And on the Democratic side, front runner, Hillary Clinton, has been fighting the perception she's impersonal. But Saturday night, she showed off her funny side.
BARNETT: That's right. Clinton appeared on the season premier of NBC's "Saturday Night Live." Her role, just a casual bartender named Val. She even impersonated Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATE MCKINNON, ACTRESS: Oh, Val, I'm just so darn bummed. All anyone wants to talk about is Donald Trump.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump? Isn't he the one that's like, uh, you're all losers?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
BARNETT: Good impression there.
The Clinton camp is hoping to boost her likability. All of this is ahead of the first Democrat presidential debate right here on CNN next week, in eight days.
Politics, all about timing, right?
CHURCH: Yeah.
Well, now that NASA says there is flowing water on Mars, could we earthlings will closer to living there? We take a look at what it would take to make Mars home. We'll be right back.
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[02:50:] JAVAHERI: Good Monday morning to you. Pedram Javaheri, for CNN "Weather Watch."
Weather patterns across the Americas, on the eastern side, it's been a historic rain season, even snowfall across the high Sierras. A flash flood warning issued for portions of Death Valley, one of the driest places in the world.
But the bigger story in recent days has been the historic amount of rainfall with what eventually became part parts of the storm from Joaquin. Some moisture moving its way towards the southern portion of the U.S., interacting with an existing front that was in place, put down some 600 millimeters of rainfall in some places across the state of South Carolina. A one in a 1,000 year event took place with the storm system, and still some moisture that will exit the picture in the next 24 hours. Generally speaking, about 25 or so millimeters could still come down over this region.
Atlanta shoots for 22 degrees today. In San Francisco, same temperature but sunny skies. No fog across the area as a high pressure tries to build as we work our way towards the middle of the week. Across the Caribbean, temps in Kingston, Jamaica, 32. San Juan, mid 30s as well. Some thunderstorms possible. La Paz, about 17 degrees and sunny skies. Further to the South we go, temps about 13 degrees.
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BARNETT: All right. We know Mars is a planet, but, really, if you look right now, it seem more like a star. From Silicon Valley, inventor, Elon Musk, for example, unveiled his plan to make Mars livable.
CHURCH: And from that to Matt Damon's new movie, "The Martian," debuting just as NASA found water on the planet, but is moving to Mars just a dream or a realistic goal?
Rachel Crane takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Andy Weir's book "The Martian" blew my mind. And now it's getting the Hollywood treatment.
(MUSIC)
CRANE: It's the story of Mark Watney, an astronaut who gets left behind by his crew on Mars, and it turns out, there's some science fact intertwined in this tale of science fiction. NASA has a manned mission to Mars planned for the 2030s, and it's developing right now the technologies to pull it off, many of which we see in one version or another in the film.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT DAMON, ACTOR: Surprise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CRANE: Take, for instance, the habitat Watney is housed in, aka the hab. Mars is a dusty, freezing place with tons of radiation. In order to shield the astronauts from those elements, NASA is developing structures like 3-D printed habitats and inflatable modules.
There's also a structure at Johnson Space Center that can host astronauts for two weeks. And they're also funding missions like High Seas where researchers train for long-duration deep-space missions in a dome on the top of a volcano in Hawaii.
We all have to eat, and Watney, being stranded on Mars for hundreds of days, needs to figure out a way to grow his own food. His crop of choice? Potatoes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAMON: I am the greatest botanist on this planet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CRANE: In reality, NASA is growing lettuce on the international space station and astronauts just took their first bite.
Mars' atmosphere doesn't have enough oxygen, so Watney needs to make his own. On ISS, astronauts use an oxygen generation system that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. NASA is also looking to produce oxygen on Mars using microbes that give off oxygen as a byproduct.
In space, no drop of water goes to waste. Watney actually drinks his urine. Now, it's filtered, and that's what the astronauts do on the international space station. They filter their tears, their urine, even their sweet. NASA is working on making those filters more efficient. And the recent discovery of flowing water on Mars could be a game changer for how astronauts would bet water on the red planet.
NASA is also working on space suits, rovers, propulsion systems and power sources, many of which we see versions of in the film.
While on the surface it's a block buster movie, "The Martian" gives us a glimpse of what a journey to Mars might look like.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:55:35] CHURCH: I think we'll have to check out that movie.
BARNETT: People liked it. Reviews were positive.
CHURCH: Yeah. Absolutely.
All right. Before we finish out this hour, while bishops and cardinals gathered at the Vatican Sunday, Catholics in Peru took their furry and feathered friends to the annual blessing of the animals. And dressed in their Sunday best, these pets were blessed in honor of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals.
BARNETT: As you see, all kinds of pets were there. You had dogs, cats, hamsters, even parrots and rabbits.
St. Francis believed that household pets and livestock should receive the blessings of God just like their owners.
CHURCH: Absolutely.
And thanks for watching this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Our second hour begins after the break. We'll see you then.
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