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Rescuers Search For Survivors After Deadly Quake; Clinton and Sanders Start To Go After Each Other; Crane Collapse Kills One in New York; U.S. Unemployment Falls Below Five Percent. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired February 06, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:00:10] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Frantic efforts to rescue dozens of people still trapped in collapsed buildings following a powerful earthquake in Taiwan. We have a live report ahead.
Plus, three days before the next ballots are cast in the race for the White House and the candidates are hunting for both up and down the state of New Hampshire. We'll have a report there.
And it is Super Bowl weekend in the United States with one of the starting quarterbacks making a fashion statement. You see it there. Zebra style.
From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome. To our viewers here in the United States and around the world, I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
And a very good day to you. We begin this hour in Taiwan. The aftermath of a 6.4 magnitude earthquake near the city of Tainan in the southern part of that country. These live images that you see here in Tainan, it has left at least seven people confirmed dead, more than 150 injured. Rescue workers are now combing through the rubble of the 17 story residential building that was toppled by this earthquake. They're looking for at least eight people who may still be trapped inside there. Some 12 hours keep in mind after this earthquake hit. So far rescue teams have pulled more than 200 survivors from the debris, including a mother and her two children. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): The rescuers broke in floor by floor. In the beginning they told us to try climbing out. I told them my two kids were too little to do that. Then they had to cut open a bigger hole and one of the rescuers was able to get in and help me get my kids out. And then I climbed out myself out slowly. I was definitely determined to get my kids out. Definitely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So thankful that she was able to escape. But again, this has proven to be a deadly earthquake. Let's get the very latest now with Leslie Chang, a reporter with CNN
affiliate Set TV joining us now on the line from Taipei. Leslie, what is the very latest as you understand it?
LESLIE CHANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yet, the 6.4 magnitude earthquake heavily struck in Taiwan early this morning. It's been over 12 hours. The search and rescue operations are continuing. And the death toll rises to seven. And though the epicenter is in Kaohsiung (ph) but the exact (INAUDIBLE) is in Tainan. The most serious disaster is a 16 story apartment building that collapsed. Two hundred and fifty six people comprising 92 households living in there at the time of the quake. And there are some casualties including a ten day old baby girl and a little girl and at least five people died in that falling down building.
And the latest information we've acquired is the underground foundation is only one story deep and they are 16 stories on the ground. Some experts say, that could partially explain why the surrounding building, Wei Guan residential building collapsed. Also the construction company went bankrupt while the building was still under construction. And lots more shocking is a lot of cooking oil containers plastic or metal are seen inside the broken structure. The cause of the collapse is under investigation.
HOWELL: And that investigation certainly will be under way. Leslie Chang, we appreciate the understanding of the reporting there of what is happening.
Now, let's turn to Elise Hu, she is a reporter to U.S. broadcaster NPR, National Public Radio, who is in Taiwan's capital of Taipei. Elise, it is good to have you this hour with us. So, you know, you're a couple of hours away from the epicenter but you still felt it there in Taipei. What was your experience?
ELISE HU, NPR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This was a quake that was strong enough to not only be felt here in the capital city of Taipei, but also in the southern provinces of China, of Mainland, China. And so this was strong enough to both awaken my mother and my six month old daughter. I amazingly slept through it, but I was awakened after the baby woke up. And so significant enough and this is an island obviously that is used to earthquakes since it is in that pacific ring of fire that we learned about in Science class. The juncture of two titanic place. And so Taiwan is very used to earthquakes and tremors. But this is far more significant than the island has seen in quite a while -- George.
HOWELL: A significant earthquake and happened as you point out while people were asleep. So you can only imagine a scary situation for folks there. You've been following also the rescue efforts there on the island. What can you tell us about that?
HU: Yes, rescue workers are working frantically right now especially at the site of that 16 or 17 floor apartment building that is the scene of most of the damage and destruction that is going out across the world right now. The building essentially collapsed on to itself kind of like an accordion. And so you can imagine the rescue efforts are quite dangerous because folks are trying to get to people who are trapped underneath a lot of rubble and the structure obviously not sound as you heard from that previous reporter there. There is already an investigation underway into why the building collapsed like it did, especially when you see the aerial images around Tainan, the rest of the buildings are standing, but this particular apartment complex is as damaged as it is. And so there is going to be quite an investigation in to the tragic occurrences there -- George.
[04:05:55] HOWELL: And Elise, we're talking about some 12 hours, more than 12 hours since this earthquake struck and we're looking at these images while we speak to you as the rescue workers comb through that building. But look, you'll going to have so many people who have been displaced from homes, people who are without water, without power. What are the efforts to help people in that situation?
HU: Yes, so this is a huge event that has affected people not just in the city of Tainan but really the southern half of the island. Because this is the start of a nine day Lunar New Year holiday where many Taiwanese have as many as nine days off. So, if you can imagine something like this happening in the U.S. during a Thanksgiving holiday weekend or Christmas travel, that's the equivalent of what is happening here in Taiwan right now. And so bullet train services in the southern half of the island have been canceled, so you have a lot of stranded travelers as well as displaced people because of water service and power is out for at least 100,000 Taiwanese homes. And so government has been setting up shelters. There is at least 1500 beds set up in temporary shelters and hotels are offering free rooms for folks that are temporarily displaced by this event.
HOWELL: Elise, one of the question to you. After shocks. Have you felt them?
HU: I haven't felt aftershocks here three hours north of the epicenter, but there have been aftershocks down in the southern half of the islands. In fact, the 6.4 magnitude quake came after a series of smaller quakes. And so this is something that the Taiwanese are used to, but of course rescue workers are concerned about aftershocks especially for those buildings that you see that are kind of standing tilting or leaning at angles. It's pretty perilous situation.
HOWELL: Elise Hu, who happened to just take the weekend there in Taiwan and found herself in the middle of this earthquake situation in Taipei. Elise, thank you so much, with NPR, National Public Radio.
The race for the White House, it is getting down to the wire for candidates. Just days away now from the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. Our new CNN/WMUR poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire survey center finds Donald Trump with an 11 point lead. Marco Rubio in a solid second place. Ted Cruz and John Kasich now tied for third. And Jeb Bush in fourth.
And on the democratic side of things, Bernie Sanders, he leads Hillary Clinton almost two to one. He is at 61 percent. And she is at 31 percent. The democratic candidate have been relatively civil with each other, that is until now. They're putting it all on the line in New Hampshire starting to go after each other a bit. CNN's Joe Johns has this story.
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JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The calendar might show four days until the New Hampshire primary, but Hillary Clinton is already looking beyond the fight for the nomination.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will call Senator Sanders, the first call I will make. I'm so fortunate as to get this nomination. We have a lot of work to do. I look forward to working with him as a partner in the Senate.
JOHNS: And today, Bernie Sanders today decrying the role of money in politics.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are obsessed with raising money. It is getting worse because of Citizens United. So I think we need to move toward public funding of elections.
JOHNS: The fight between the two Democrats growing more intense. Hillary Clinton airing an ad in New Hampshire jabbing Sanders for his idealistic proposals.
CLINTON: The American people can't afford to wait for ideas that sound good on paper but will never make it in the real world.
JOHNS: And in their final debate before voters head to the polls Tuesday, Clinton and Sanders engaging in a series of feisty exchanges.
CLINTON: I think it's time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out in recent weeks and let's talk -- let's talk about the issues.
JOHNS: Continuing to trade barbs over which of them is a true progressive.
CLINTON: If we're going to get into labels, I don't think it was particularly progressive to vote against the Brady bill five times.
SANDERS: One of the things we should do is not only talk the talk but walk the walk. I am very proud to be the only candidate up here who does not have a super PAC, who's not raising huge sums of money from Wall Street.
[04:10:20] JOHNS: Clinton calling out Sanders for repeatedly saying her campaign takes money from big banks and special interests.
CLINTON: Enough is enough. If you've got something to say, say it directly. But you will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation that I ever received.
JOHNS: And assuring voters there will be no more surprises in the e- mail controversy hanging over her campaign. CLINTON: Before those e-mails, it was Benghazi. And the Republicans
were stirring up so much controversy about that. And so, I think the American people will know it's an absurdity. I have absolutely no concerns about it whatsoever.
JOHNS: Sanders will step off the trail and on to the "Saturday Night Live" stage this weekend where he will appear alongside host Larry David who impersonated the candidate earlier this season.
LARRY DAVID, HOST, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": I own one pair of underwear. That's it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: And that was CNN's Joe Johns reporting there after a six place finish in Iowa. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush has turned to his famous family ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Here is a portion of Jeb's newest ad featuring his brother, the former U.S. President George W. Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FMR. PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH (R), UNITED STATES: I know Jeb. I know his good heart and strong backbone. Jeb will unite our country. He knows how to bring the world together against terror. And he knows when tough measures must be taken. Experience and judgment count in the oval office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: And we have also seen Jeb's mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, who has already hit the campaign trail with her son in New Hampshire. The Republican race is getting a little too close for comfort for the frontrunner Donald Trump. The real estate mogul is leading in the polls, but his Republican rivals, they are not far behind.
CNN political correspondent Sara Murray has the very latest on the party's final push to the state of New Hampshire and the primaries.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump is kicking his campaign up a notch.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have your votes, right? Do I have people's votes in here, right?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MURRAY: Unwilling to let another victory slip from his grasp.
TRUMP: I'm actually starting to spend good money. And the reason is, number one, I don't want to take a chance. OK? Number two, I don't want to blow it.
MURRAY: On top of spending on the airwaves, today, Trump doubled his schedule from two events to four.
TRUMP: Got to do it. It's called crunch time, right?
MURRAY: But with just five days until New Hampshire. Trump's campaign schedule is still relatively light, including today, Trump has just six events planned before the primary.
After losing Iowa, Trump loathe to admit mistakes, acknowledged he could have built a more solid ground operation.
TRUMP: In retrospect, we could have done much better with the ground game.
MURRAY: In a day since, he has made a point of stopping by his campaign offices to rally the troops.
TRUMP: I'll see you in a little while. I'm going to stay here for a while.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MURRAY: One thing he's not doing, downplaying expectations, making it clear, he's playing to win in New Hampshire.
TRUMP: I want to win. I've been here a lot. I have a great relationship with the people of New Hampshire. I love them.
MURRAY: A new CNN/WMUR poll shows for now, Trump is well-positioned. He leads in New Hampshire with 29 percent support from Republican primary voters, compared to 18 percent for Marco Rubio who's moved into second. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz at 13 percent, is nearly tied for third with John Kasich at 12 percent.
Trump's position on top has Cruz, the Iowa victor, sharpening his knives.
SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is very rattled right now. He told the entire world he was going to win Iowa and then he didn't win.
MURRAY: And accusing Trump of being a sore loser after Iowa.
CRUZ: You could call it a Trumper-tantrum.
MURRAY: And after Jimmy Carter suggested he would prefer a President Trump over Cruz, the Texas Senator turned that around on Trump, as well.
CRUZ: Jimmy Carter said the reason is simple. Donald's views -- this is almost a quote. It's not a direct quote but it's close -- Donald's views are malleable. He has no core beliefs on anything.
MURRAY: But Trump's vowing to New Hampshire voters, one way or another, he is ending up on Pennsylvania Avenue.
TRUMP: Seriously. Who would want to leave the White House? (CHEERING)
TRUMP: Although, I'm building a hotel next door, which is also located on Pennsylvania Avenue.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But I'll still be on Pennsylvania Avenue, one way or the other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: That was Sara Murray reporting. Saturday, is the final Republican debate before the New Hampshire primary. And make sure you join us here for special post-debate coverage, you can see it at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday Eastern Time or noon Sunday in Hong Kong. Only here on CNN.
[04:15:12] You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still ahead, a deadly accident in New York when a crane comes tumbling down during the morning rush. Witnesses describe the scene there, next.
And in Syria, thousands of people fleeing for their lives. We'll tell you why Turkey says another humanitarian catastrophe could happen at any time. Stay with us.
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[04:16:54] NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Nina dos Santos. These are the top business headlines. The official U.S. job support shows that unemployment fell to 4.9 percent in January. It's the first time since 2008 that it's been below five percent. The economy added 151,000 new jobs. That is fewer than expected, but not -- said that the numbers were a sign that employment conditions in the United States are still healthy. Well, U.S. shares -- traders say that that report made another interest rate hike more likely in the months to come. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 212 points. All the main U.S. indices in fact lost ground over the week with the biggest losses coming from the tech heavy NASDAQ.
Shares of the networking website LinkedIn plunged by 43 percent wiping off more than $10 billion from the company's market valued. Investors dumped the stock after its guidance for future growth fell well short of their expectations and losses for 2015 ballooned. The shares had been trading at levels that suggested that investors were banking on strongly rising revenue.
The World Health Organization has told CNN that it wants an extra $25 million to help governments contain the Zika virus outbreak. One of the countries that is the worst affected by the Zika virus is Brazil which is set to welcome more than one million tourists for the Rio de Janeiro carnival. Those are the top business headlines on CNN. I'm Nina dos Santos in London.
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[04:19:28] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
One person was killed in New York sitting in his car on Friday morning when a construction crane collapsed. Crews were in the process of securing this crane because of increasing winds when if you see it there it came down. Three other people were hurt by falling debris. A witness said after crews started lowering the crane, it gained speed and then it flipped over. The cause of this collapse, though, is still being investigated.
CNN's Miguel Marquez was at the scene of that collapse and shows us the chaos from the ground.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a 565-foot crane that collapsed here in downtown New York, a very, very narrow street down Wall Street crossing two blocks literally crushing several cars. That person who was killed was in a parked car but many other cars were crushed. Luckily enough, nobody was injured in them. Others were injured by some of the falling debris. One young man who saw this crane come down described what he saw.
NICHOLI (ph) WHITE, WITNESS: I saw the crane coming down. A bunch of construction workers running towards panicking. So, when it crashed it sounds like bomb is going off. So, I ran to the scene with my phone and there's the crane on top of four or five cars.
MARQUEZ: The crane was working on an existing building putting an air conditioners and generators on that building. An extension piece that just been added the day before. It has also been inspected and okayed by inspector here in New York City. When the winds hit about 20 miles per hour, they started lowering that crane into a safety position when it then collapsed entirely. The crane hitting the ground so hard, some people in the neighborhood say it felt like an earthquake. It hit the ground so hard. They feared that there might be a gas leak so they have had officials on from the gas company here checking that to make sure that there are none. So far everything is safe. But it will take some days before that crane can be moved.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.
HOWELL: Now for a look at the U.S. economy and new numbers that reflect low unemployment, but still slow job growth. The U.S. created only 151,000 jobs in the month of January. That was fewer than expected and far short of the previous month's gains. But there was a big plus. The unemployment rate fell below five percent. It is now at its lowest level since the financial crisis of eight years ago. And a positive report about wages, as well. They rose. The average hourly worker took home 2.5 percent more than last year. The U.S. President Barack Obama weighed in on these numbers saying it's a mixed outlook and that economists need to keep an eye on it. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: There is softness in the global economy. China is going through a transition. Europe's economy is still slow. A lot of the emerging markets are challenged. So that is all creating headwinds for a lot of U.S. companies who do business overseas. It makes it more difficult for us to sell exports. So we have to pay attention to this and we have got take some smart steps this year to continue progress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So describing it as a mixed outlook. So, more details now about what is going on with the economy from Anthony Chan, he is the chief economist at JP Morgan Chase. And he spoke with our Nina dos Santos earlier on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY CHAN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, JP MORGAN CHASE: Over the last four months you've seen over a million people joining the labor force and we are starting to see really strong job creation. If you are going to pick something that's disappointing in this report is that the wages are still not in the three to four percent range that Fed Chair Janet Yellen wants to see but it's picking up. It is now rising in two-and-a-half percent and that is pretty strong. So by and large, this is a report that shows pretty good strength. Maybe not as much as the market wanted, but pretty good. Now, what are the things that are making the market nervous, they really wanted a number that was strong enough to basically dispel fears of a recession, but not so strong as to suggests that the Federal Reserve is going to go out there and raise rates as aggressively if they projected.
DOS SANTOS: How psychologically important is the fact that the unemployment rate is now down below the five percent mark?
CHAN: I think it's he very important very important to see that. And the most important part is that it's not occurring because the labor force participation rate is declining. In fact it has increased for two consecutive months. In the labor household survey that used to compute the unemployment. Yet over 600,000 new jobs being created. It's true that after you adjust for population, the number is always over 400,000, but still a very strong number. So when you see the unemployment rate fall below five percent and it's not because are dropping out of the labor force which they're getting, it is significant and that's why this report tells you, there is solid strength out there.
[04:24:20] DOS SANTOS: The next question is, do you think that the Fed will be raising rates anytime soon looking at these figure because as you said, it is a sign of strength, but on the other hand, that wage growth isn't really what Janet Yellen wants to see. In fact, that's often what she wants to see.
CHAN: Well, it is significant in the sense that it shows a lot of strength. But remember the Federal Reserve is not only looking at employment, they're looking at a lot of things. They're look at the global financial markets. Bill Dudley, the New York Federal Reserve president also said, they're looking at whether financial conditions are tightening. You look at the global equity markets, the U.S. -- look at the U.S. markets selling off today, look at global markets as they have been also selling off. All those things tell me that that would cause the Federal Reserve to pause a little bit. I think the Federal Reserve is going to raise rates this year anywhere from one to two times, not the four times they projected earlier. But it really tells me that the labor market is strong enough for them do something. But when you look at the entire picture, not strong enough for four Federal Reserve tightenings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still ahead, Syrians are running for their lives from the city of Aleppo. We'll tell you why activists are warning of yet another humanitarian disaster.
Plus, we take you to a border crossing between Syria and Turkey. Why Syrian refugees are in limbo waiting for a chance at a better future. Live from Atlanta and broadcasting right around the globe this hour, you are watching CNN worldwide.
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[04:29:12] HOWELL: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you with us this hour.
I'm George Howell. The headlines. Live pictures now in Taiwan. The devastation from a powerful earthquake there that has killed at least seven people in Tainan, in Southern Taiwan. The 6.4 magnitude quake struck early Saturday toppling a 17 story residential building and damaging many other structures. Hundreds of rescue workers are searching for survivors at this hour. They pulled more than 200 people from the rubble so far. In the U.S. presidential race, it is all about New Hampshire right now. Voters voted polls on Tuesday to choose their party's nominee. Our latest poll shows Donald Trump significantly ahead on the Republican side and on the Democratic side. Bernie Sanders has a two to one lead over Hillary Clinton in the race.
The Vatican says, Pope Francis will meet the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, next Friday in Cuba. It's the first meeting between the heads of both churches since the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity split, split apart nearly 1,000 years ago.
Thousands of Syrians are waiting to cross into Turkey. The refugees are fleeing the city of a Aleppo to save their lives. Regime troops are fighting rebel forces to control Syria's economic power house, and Syrian troops, backed by Russian air power, have cut off opposition supply lines. Yet another humanitarian catastrophe, that's what activists say is about to happen in Aleppo. There are fears the Syrian regime could effectively make it impossible for aid to be delivered. The opposition says the military assault led the U.N. to temporarily suspend peace talks, and U.S. Secretary of State says Syria's key allies -- ally, Russia, I should say, is slaughtering civilians.
SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY: There is evidence that is clear that Russia is using what are called free-fall bombs, dumb bombs as they are known. They're not precision bombs and there are civilians, including women and children, being killed in large numbers as a consequence. Hospitals have been hit, civilian quarters have been hit. And, in some cases, after the bombing has taken place, when the workers have gone in to try to pull out the wounded, the bombers come back and kill the people who are pulling out the wounded. This has to stop. Nobody has any question about that.
HOWELL: This has to stop, he says. The latest wave of refugees could intensify the worst humanitarian crisis seen since World War II. CNN's Arwa Damon has more from the Turkish-Syrian border.
ARWA DAMON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN, ISTANBUL: (deon) is warning that upwards of 300,000 civilians are potentially at risk if Assad's forces are able to lay siege to the city of Aleppo. These are people who live in the eastern portion of the city, and that is not counting the tens of thousands who are already fleeing the Aleppo countryside as the regime forces advance under cover of Russian air strikes. And those who have made to the border in Turkey have been forced to wait because the border continues to remain closed. One nonprofit able to go through and provide those who are on the other side with some tents, but they are still in desperate need of food, water and additional medical supplies. People describing the bombardment by what they say is mostly Russian fighter jets as the most intense they have seen since the fighting broke out some five years ago. One man who we spoke to on this side saying that he was waiting for his relatives to eventually, hopefully come through, describing their village where he said they were facing Russian bombardment, and advance by Assad's forces, but also the ongoing threat of ISIS. And those families who are now fleeing, they are families and people who waited this long because they truly hoped that there would be some sort of resolution, some sort of end to the violence. And now they themselves find themselves forced to make that impossible decision of leaving everything and their homeland behind. Arwa Damon, CNN, at the Kilis border in Turkey.
HOWELL: Millions of Syrians have sought refuge in other countries since the war began almost five years ago. The majority have settled mainly in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. More than four million Syrians are in those four countries, with more than six million others displaced inside Syria. There are also more than 813,000 Syrians currently seeking asylum in Europe. For some Iraqi refugees, Germany did not turn out to be the promised land. They are leaving in droves to return to the homeland that they risked everything to leave. Senior International Correspondent Atika Shubert explains.
ATIKA SHUBERT, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN INTERNATIONAL, BERLIN: Starting out at about 9:00 am every morning, a queue forms in front of Berlin's Iraq embassy. A line of refugees who have given up on their dreams of Germany and now want to go home. It costs $6,000 for this man to get on a crowded smuggler's boat from Turkey to Greece and (trek) through the Balkans. Most of the Iraqis here want to go back, 90 percent he told us. Here there is only bread and cheese, we can't live like this. I would tell people don't come, you'll regret it. Rain or shine, there is always a much longer wait at Berlin's Social Services. Some are here to register their asylum applications, others have medical claims or unemployment benefits to process. Some refugee applications take just a month to clear. but many can take a year or more, a wait so long that some refugees are now suing the German government. And now Germany has ruled that refugees may have to wait two years before their families can join them. Mind-numbing bureaucracy, cold winters, strange food, a language and customs that many here find hard to understand. For an increasing number of Iraqis, heading back to their war-torn home is the better option. Every week there is now a direct flight from Berlin airport on to Erbil and Baghdad. And, according to Iraqi Airways, they say in some flights as many as 30 percent of the passengers are refugees who want to go home.
The mood is good at check-in. Many of those in line are Kurdish, showing off their temporary passports currently issued by the Iraqi Embassy. I'm going back to my family, this man tells us. It's a surprise. I didn't tell them. I'm just going to knock on the door and then they will know I'm home.
Since September, Iraqi Airways has had at the least 100 refugees flying home every week and that number is rising. A ticket costs about $250. That's a bargain compared to the $9,000 Mohammed (inaudible) Kook spent to be smuggled into Germany. Today he leaves bitterly disappointed. Honestly, it's a joke, he tells us. We heard it would be wonderful here, but it wasn't. It's very crowded and it gets worse as more people come. The bureaucracy is slow. Many applications are not even accepted in the end because too many people are coming in And that's the reason I'm leaving, he said For some Iraqis it seems their dream is a one-way ticket back home. Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.
HOWELL: You're watching "CNN Newsroom." Still ahead, we will tell you what happened to a former football player after his head was hit repeatedly as part of the game. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm George Howell. So if you are a fan of American football, this is your weekend. It's the Super Bowl this Sunday, and there are a lot of things to look forward to. The 50th match-up of Conference champions will be played in Santa Clara, California. Part of the hype is focused on veteran Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, here on the right. It could be his final game, but Manning could be passing a torch on to rising star Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. And British band Cold Play will be joined by megastar Beyonce for the halftime show. It will certainly be an exciting event.
We're also learning about another side of the game. A former NFL player who suffered from a degenerative brain disease known for its initials CTE - it's caused by repeated blows to the head. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta brings us the story of former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Fred McNeill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The night before he passed he was watching Monday Night Football and had his UCLA slippers under his bed. He loved the game and he was proud of what he did.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA: Even to the very end of his life, linebacker Fred McNeill loved football. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a monster, he was a monster indeed, like all over the field, first one to the ball.
GUPTA: Despite how much of his life football later took from him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fred did everything he was... You know, he played ball, went to law school, prepared for life after football. You know, we had the kids. You know, it was a good life.
GUPTA: McNeill played in two Super Bowls, was really no ordinary player. His sons say no ordinary man.
UNIDENTIFIFED MALE: He was the best friend of ours. Our first best friend, you know. He was like Superman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then it changed.
GUPTA: It changed. CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy entered their lives. Of course, at the time, the had no idea what was happening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember we were playing basketball, me and him, and we kind of got into an argument while playing. And, and he started getting aggressive with me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was maybe two moments where he lost it and punched holes in the walls. And it was like, wow.
GUPTA: CTE can hit hard and fast. McNeill, just in his forties, lost his job as a lawyer, filed for bankruptcy, lost the home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had a conversation with my mom, and I was like I think something is going on. Like he needs to go see a doctor, a therapist, something to figure out what it is.
GUPTA: And the it is something I noticed myself when I first met Fred back in 2010.
Just talking to you, I can tell that it, it's a little bit difficult for you. Do you remember my name?
FRED McNEILL: Sanjay.
GUPTA: You got it.
McNEILL: Oh, right. OK, good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rage, memory loss, depression.
GUPTA: Yeh,did your father have all three of those?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely, yeh. That was another point of worry for us because there was times when he would talk about ending it. And we were like, no way, this is not, this is not our dad.
GUPTA: But it was their dad, a different dad, and it was easy to be angry with him. After all, they didn't know he had CTE. It couldn't be diagnosed unit will until after his death.
And you also made the decision to have Fred's brain donated after he passed away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, had made the decision early on, but yes.
DR. BENNET OMALU, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: The first thing I want to show you is this.
GUPTA: and now for the first time, she's seeing her husband's brain and exactly what football did to it.
OMALU: And all the brown blotches you're seeing are Tau, which is a protein we see in CTE.
GUPTA: Dr. Bennett Omalu, recently made famous when Will Smith portrayed him in the movie "Concussion."
OMALU: If you look at his hippocampus, this is a part of the brain that controls his memory. He had significant memory impairment.
GUPTA: You can see how CTE ravaged McNeill's brain. But perhaps even more remarkable, Dr. Omalu tells us he already knew Fred McNeill had CTE before he died. How? Using a PET scan technology that he helped develop and partly owns.
OMALU: You can see the rights areas is identifying the Tau it in his brain.
GUPTA: If it is true, Fred McNeill be would be the first person in the world to have his CTE diagnosed while still alive, and then confirmed with an autopsy after his death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It explains a lot because I am seeing a lot of that, the Tau protein.
GUPTA: but it is early, too early. Just 14 NFL players, including Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett have been examined using this technology. Only McNeill's diagnosis has been confirmed. The question is, will the test be able to distinguish CTE from other dementias like Alzheimer's?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fred played in the first 10 years of the League, so this is what? Super Bowl 50 is coming, OK? So I know that there is a huge number of players and families between, you know, that point and now, when Fred first started playing, that are going to be experiencing this. And it, it's important to have information for them to get help and support.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Los Angeles.
HOWELL: You're watching "CNN Newsroom." We'll be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PATRICK SNELL, SPORT ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Hi there, I'm Patrick Snell with your world sport headlines. The FIFA presidential elections later this month feature five candidates looking to replace Sepp Blatter, with one of the now appearing to receive a major boost ahead of the key date, February the twenty-sixth in Zurich
On Friday, Bahrain Shaikh Salmn Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who's the head of the Asian Football Confederation was endorsed by Africa's (two) CAF, as a total 54 full voting members. Another day, another Asian transfer record in the Chinese Super League for the third time in no less than 10 days. We all thought the Brazilian footballer, Alex Teixeira was headed to premier league Liverpool, but the (shag continental) midfielder agreed to join Jiangsu Suning for a fee of around $56 million. Earlier this week, another Brazilian, Jackson Martinez, joined Guangzhou Evergrande for just under $46 million. And to the Dubai Desert Classic in the UAE where South African great Ernie Els is turning back the clock. The 46-year-old has been making life difficult for himself of late, especially with his had a problematic short game. Els has dropped to 205 in the world rankings, but a five under 67 has him within one shot of the lead at the halfway point. The Big Easy is looking for his fourth win there. Meantime defending champ, Rory McIlroy is six back after a par 72 on Friday, the Northern Irishman than finishing strong, though making birdies on the last three holes. That's a look at your CNN World Sport Headlines. Thanks for joining us. I'm patrick Snell.
HOWELL: So with all the attention on Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, it is time to find out, Derek Van Dam whether the weather will have affect voter turnout.
DEREK VAN DAM, WEATHER ANCHOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL, ATLANTA: You know, the weather was so crucial in Iowa a few days back, a lot of people will be focusing on the weather this time around in New Hampshire, of course. And it doesn't look as if there's going to be any major concerns, although it is going to be extremely cold for everyone heading out to the primaries.
HOWELL: Great, great.
VAN DAM: Exactly. Let me get to the details, show you exactly what we can expect if - well, perhaps you are listening in from New Hampshire. Thanks for your viewership this morning. We are dodging a major storm. It's very close call for the East Coast of the United States. Let me explain why. As we head into the rest of the weekend and early parts of the workweek, look at what's developing on the East Coast. Any of my New England friends, they know exactly what that low pressure just off the coast of Nantucket means, a potential nor'easter. Well, we're still monitoring that, but it looks as if in New Hampshire, when we're talking about that specifically, probably won't feel the effects of this storm so much. Maybe a few scattered snow showers. Our latest five day extended forecast totals only indicates a few inches of snowfall across the states, which has about a population roughly of 1.37 million, by the way. But the other story to this is the Arctic blast of air that's going to impact the Eastern half of the U.S. Temperatures will be well below average from the Midwest right through the East Coast. And it's only going to go down from there. So, yes, Winter will make a triumphant return. So let's talk Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. And you can see the temperatures into the rest of the weekend still above average. We should be about 33 degrees this time of year, but look what's coming for Monday and Tuesday, just in time for the primaries. Temperatures will be very cold, so bundle up, be prepared for that. That's the main weather headline going forward. Buffalo will also feel the cold temperatures as does Boston, New York and into Philadelphia for Monday and Tuesday. Below normal temperatures for the Eastern half of the U.S., but look what's happening over the Western U.S. Of course we've got all eyes on New Hampshire for Tuesday, but what about that little football game that's being played on Sunday in San Francisco? Super Bowl 50 coming up, the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. Kickoff temperature looking fantastic, lots of sunshine, no chances of rainfall into the San Francisco area. But here's some interesting statistics for you. George and everybody at home, we'll leave it with this graphic just so you can see. Over the past 50 years of playing the Super Bowl, we've had 1.3 degree temperature warming in Charlotte, North Carolina; a1.1 degree warming of temperatures over the past 50 years in the Denver Broncos' Mile High Stadium. if you care to know.
HOWELL: Very cool, very cool. Derek, you take your dressing seriously, yeh?
VAN DAM: I do.
HOWELL: Would you wear zebra pants?
VAN DAM: I don't think i could pull it off as well as where you're taking this. I've seen the video.
HOWELL: We're talking about Cam Newton. So he is in the Super Sowl this weekend. He's also creating a great deal of buzz about his unique fashion choices. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
JEANNE MOOS, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN, NEW YORK: Could quarterback Cam Newton get penalized for those pants? His arriving for the Super Bowl in zebra pants a fashion fumble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those are female's pants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's ugly, I'm sorry to say, but it's ugly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tres chic, but a little, little too loud for my taste.
MOOS: Chic and not cheap, they're Versace and sell for around 850 bucks, if they weren't sold out. Though they may have been sold out before the Carolina Panthers quarterback wore them. He posed to his teammate. Actually the flamboyant quarterback was restrained, at least he didn't wear the matching shirt. One guy on Twitter compared Cam to a retired wrestler. Does Brutus Beefcake know Cam Newton stole his pants? Wait a second, were Cam's pants yellow and black or blue and black?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't be caught dead in those. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would not be caught wearing those.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me, no?
MOOS: Would you wear them?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I would actually.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean he's totally rocking them.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's good.
MOOS: It's good? Note the matching gold heeled loafers. But what's a panther doing wearing zebra? After all, in Africa a panther has spots. It's called a leopard and it preys on young zebras. A meteorologist joked that Cam Newton's pants were apparently from the you Okapi collection, that's a relative of the giraffe with striped legs like a zebra. But most guys weren't ready for zebra pants.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me it's too tight for men, but...
MOOS: No tighter than his uniform. Besides, no one complains that this guy wears his stripes skin tight.
ANNOUNCER: He's at the 10, he's at the 5, touchdown.
MOOS: Talk about backfield in motion, Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
HOWELL: A sartorialist in zebra style there. All right, now on to Southern Japan. A volcano spewed its top on Friday, ejecting streams of lava, spewing ash into the night sky, and unleashing spectacular bolts of lightning. The mountain is about 30 kilometers, that's about 30 miles, from a nuclear plant, but operations there were not affected, and there are no immediate reports of damage. Japanese officials warned people to stay away from it.
And as we wrap this hour, we have some parting shots to share with you, a photographer in Lithuania taking a 21st century approach to a bird's eye view. Take a look.
REPORTER: For centuries it was a humanity dream to fly, at least if not to fly, but we can see the world from a bird's point of view. The biggest challenges in drone photography was to get the flying skills. But once I got confident, it's all up to my imagination, creativity and hard work. Most of all, I like taking pictures of people in their daily life and at their hobbies. I just love natural and real moments. It's very difficult to choose one. All of them are really interesting and I like them, but probably the most interesting is the Gediminas Castle. It symbolizes the freedom. Photography became like an expression for me and all what is comes out and is what came out already, it was from my soul, from my heart. And I'm just trying to speak my own language through photography. My name is (Karlis Alonis) and these, they are my parting shots.
HOWELL: That wraps this hour. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More news after the break. You're watching CNN, the world's news leader.
