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U.K. Pays Tribute to MP Jo Cox As Suspect Prepares To Appear in Court; Iraqi Forces Move Into Heart of Fallujah; Competition Ban Upheld for Russian Track and Field; Investigators Uncover New Details About Orlando Shooter's Past; Venezuela in Crisis. Aired 1-1:30a ET
Aired June 18, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:09] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.K. paid tribute to MP Jo Cox as the suspect charge in her killing prepares to appear in court.
A key city in Iraq on the verge of being retaken from ISIS, the Iraqi forces move deeper into the heart of Fallujah.
And investigators uncover new details about the Orlando shooter's past and how his attack may have been plan well in advance.
It's all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. We're coming to you live from Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen. Thank you for joining us.
The suspect to the horrifying slaying of British politician Jo Cox is due in Westminster Magistrates' Court later Saturday. Thomas Mair is charged with murder, grievous bodily harm, and possession of a fire arm. Police are looking into report he had links to right wing extremism. Mair's brother said he had a history of mental illness but he also said Mair had received help for that and was none violent.
CNN Senior International correspondent Frederik Pleitgen joins us now from Jo Cox home district of Birstall. Another sad morning there and what is the news Fred. Hello.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there Natalie. You're absolutely right. It's certainly is another sad morning here as this community and indeed this nation. But remains in mourning at the killing of Jo Cox.
There have been people actually even after this very early hour. And it is before was, before it 6:00 a.m. that many people came to here to this makeshift memorial to just pay their respects as they came. But at the same time of course this country and this community is trying to find out why exactly Jo Cox has to die.
Now you've noted, that's Thomas Mair is now in custody, that they has now been charge. But at the same time the big question is, what could the possible motives have been?
We took a look at the life of Thomas Mair who this person is and what might have driven him to come with this act. Let's have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PLEITGEN: Britain remain in the state of shock and outrage after the violent murder parliamentary in Jo Cox. And now details about the suspect have emerged.
52 year old Thomas Mair is in police custody British media reports. He live alone in this house near Leeds. His neighbor shock at the news.
DIANA PETERS, SUSPECT'S NEIGHBOR: This is totally unexpectable to Mair. He was very mild-mannered. Kept himself to himself, would never I would have thought of leaving for of being of doing. Make never mind actually doing it.
PLEITGEN: Labour MP Jo Cox devoted a lot of energy fighting to help refugees and people affected by conflicts around the world, leading to the question could racism have a possible motive in her killing. Thomas Mair appear have showed interest in white supremacy in the past. Purchasing material from the American white supremacist group the National Alliance as late as 2013. According to the southern poverty law center, and also subscribing to a South Africa pro- apartheid group magazine in the 1980s.
There also question about Mair's mental health. His brother Scott Mair reported killing the Sun Newspaper that he "A history of mental illness but has had help," and further, "We are struggling to believe what is happened. My brother is not a violent man and is not that political."
According to English Media reports Mair's receive treatment as this mental health clinic outside Leeds. The clinic staff would not confirm the reports. Mair also volunteered as gardener at this park.
Local stuff here have confirmed to us that Thomas Mair volunteered here as a gardener both in 2010 and in 2011. They describe his present here as sporadic. Now the local newspaper, he was also quoted as saying that "Volunteering as gardener here had a done a lot to help with appeared mental issues.
As this complex investigation into the murder of Jo Cox, the possible motives for the killing continue to captivate the nation in disbelieve and mourning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: And there certainly it is a very complex investigation that continues to go and certainly one that is being watched, not just here in Britain but the entirety of Europe and indeed around the world at this point in time.
Of course at this very important political time but also for this country, but at the same time you can feel that all this political -- the political thinking around all of this is really evaporated here in this country as really as -- right now, it is a nation that is in mourning and that really is thinking of Jo Cox and her family and love ones as well, Natalie. ALLEN: After I was going to ask you about the intensity that this country has seen and the lead up to Brexit. But that's kind of been perhaps pushed back a little bit has it?
[01:05:00] PLEITGEN: Yeah. It's been push back and I would also say that it actually had change a great deal as well. You could see that before this horrible incident happen that atmosphere here in Britain really was very much politically charged. Love the rhetoric between the Leave campaign and Remain campaign was very vitriolic.
Politicians accusing each other of phony arguments, trying to charge the situation up. All of that has evaporated thought with the murder of Jo Cox. Both the Remain campaign and the Leave campaign have suspended their campaigning, it is something where every now is coming together and saying we have to warn this individual.
I quite frankly a lot of politicians are also saying that they have to take a look at the political rhetoric here in this country specially as regarding issues for instance like migration, like the European Union.
It's interesting because both David Cameron, the Prime Minister of this country and the opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn came here to this spot yesterday laid down flowers and both had very similar messages. Both said that what happened here was an attack on the democracy of this country. This call for this nation to come together of course in this very important time, at this point in time with just a few days left to go till the Brexit vote is set to take place.
This is really something that shaking this country and it has really cause it to reflect on the way politicians and indeed the people here look and speak with each other, Natalie.
ALLEN: Certainly could understand that because my goodness, what a senseless killing there. Thank you Fredrick Pleitgen for us live.
The U.S. President Obama phoned Jo Cox his husband Brendan on Friday. He offered his condolences on behalf of the American people. Obama went on to lament her unjustifiable murder. But he noted that the world was a better place. Thanks to her life of public service.
Hundred of people attend a memorial for her in home district. As Fred mentioned there as he mentioned the British Prime Minister and the opposition leader as Nic Robertson report's they both pay a tribute to the young member of parliament, wife and mother who's life was so terrible cut short.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They came young and old to say their goodbyes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never trusted politicians until I spoke to Jo and she change my mind. He had 10 minutes I talk with her and before the election and she just changed my mind that people can work for the good of mankind. We're sad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I live around here and I just I think such a cruel act and say full of hate that is just, you know, discuss really.
ROBERTSON: A town in mourning, joined by the nation's leaders. Together they pause in silence.
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If we truly want to honor Jo. Then what we should do is recognize that her values, service, community tolerance. The value she live by and worked by. Those are the values that we need to redouble in our national life in the months and in years to come.
JERMY CORBYN, LABOUR PARTY LEADER: She was taken from us an act of hated in a violent act that just killed her. It's an attack on democracy what happened yesterday. It's the will of hatred that killed here.
ROBERTSON: Jo Cox was 41. She'd been in her job just over a year. But such as the love as usually quite West Yorkshire town is bearing its heart and it's painful. Doubly so knowing her alleged killer live among them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think keep up of this community than you should know better really. And there's no excuse for it. That's all.
ROBERTSON: With each well wisher more flowers left at the statue overlooking where she was murdered.
Every message her so heartfelt, read this here. Jo was a great friend to Batley High School. Joe Cox would be deeply missed by us all. And then this card here so touching, we will miss you and your smile, and your kindness.
It is a hurt, some fear they may never lose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think, you know, outcome it. Yes, some lost a life (inaudible).
ROBERSON: Birstall a town, a community forever changed.
Nick Robertson, CNN, Birstall, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Before she became a rising star in politic Jo Cox work for the charity organization Oxfam. One of their top executive described her legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENNY LAWRENCE, DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OXFAM: She achieve all short of things. She was. I suppose sort of working on some of the most difficult issues that we face as the world. And want to do with half a million refugees in Sudan and how on earth to tackle the government on -- in Sudan on tricky issues around the war. And what was happening the trust is already happening and therefor.
[01:10:15] The responsibility that we have to protect people and very difficult sort of international humanitarian law issues trimmed to very personal issue of domestic violence and violence from the war in the Congo for example.
So she was both out there in the field, talking to affected women. She was talking a lot with U.N. and E.U. policy makers and lawmakers and focusing a lot on the implementation of any laws, or any of you possess that government practiced, they got pass from it in order to make sure that they actually made the difference to the people on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Jo Cox work for charities throughout her life focusing on issues like refugee aid and children's welfare.
In other news, we're following Iraq says most of central Fallujah has been retaken from ISIS. The key city has been under control of the militant groups since 2014 but Iraqi forces with U.S. air support started the push on Fallujah a few weeks ago.
CNN's Arwa Damon has more from neighboring Turkey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. They coming out and congratulating the country and the Iraqi security force for fulfilling their promise of returning Fallujah to the people, he did however say that they were still facing pocket of ISIS resistance but that the Iraqi security forces had manage to plant the country's flag in the municipal building and that they were largely in control of the center of the city.
Now, in the past, we have scene in previous battle the pockets of resistance taking quite some time to clear out but this has meant, is that tens of thousand of civilians so far have been able to flee. Some of them reporting to very different humanitarian organizations that they witnessed the ISIS spiders abandoning their positions at some check points.
Words spreading fairly quickly throughout these areas and then people started walking with whatever it is that they could carry and with a city that had been under siege for quite some time now. A various reports of water, electricity shortages, food and very critical low supplies medicine, very difficult to access, a lot of those fleeing ended up having to walk four hours to be able to reach the various different refugee camps.
Iraq's prime minister bowing that the next phase of the battle would be the offensive against Mosul and that the Iraqi security forces would not stop until the entire country had been cleared of ISIS.
But despite the fact that at this stage, yes the nation can say that they have made significant games against the terrorist organization and at least Fallujah, the battle there not yet over and it most definitely is not for the rest of the country.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Searchers in the Mediterranean have recovered the flight data recorder from Egypt Air 804. Officials say it's damaged like the cockpit voice recorder they found on Thursday until Egypt civil aviation ministry says they have the crucial memory given it.
The flight data recorder gathers 25 hours of technical data from the airplane. EgyptAir Flight 804 crashed nearly a month ago on its way to Paris from Cairo with 66 people on board.
The Olympics are less than 50 days away and Rio de Janeiro's governor has declared a state of emergency. This order is meant to authorized more funding so, Rio can meet its obligations. However, it's not clear who will supply the money. Brazil has been struggling to its worse recessions than of 1930s. Games officials say this has no impact on the Olympics which will start August 5th.
To a major blow now in Russian sports, Russia's track and field athletes are now unlikely to compete at the Olympics in Rio. The governing body for world athletics, it's maintaining a ban. A competition ban due to Russia's insufficient efforts to curb widespread doping. The international Olympic committee is expected to decide Tuesday, whether to uphold this drastic measure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUNE ANDERSEN, INSPECTION TEAM HEAD, INTL, ASSOC. OF ATHLETIC FED: The head coach of the Russian alethic team and many of the athletes on that team appear unwilling to acknowledge the nature and extent of the doping problem in Russian alethics and certain athletes and coaches appear willing to ignore the doping rules. Has strong and effective into doping infrastructure capable of detecting and the tearing doping has still not been created.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:15:03] ALLEN: One Russian athlete says she's getting ready for the Olympics, no matter what. Another even called it a violation of human rights. Our Matthew Chance has more on the reaction from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a massive blow for Russian sports. The country's track and field athletes banned from competing at the Olympics since they held the calls (ph) in Rio.
Officials said the IAAF, the world athletics governing body are essentially saying, we still can't trust Russian athletes on not doping. Decision of course comes after months of allegations, about states-sponsored doping in Russia. Not just individual athletes cheating but an alleged government conspiracy to enhance the performance of the country's sports men and women.
Russian officials deny that and say that the Olympic ban is unfair because it also punishes clean athletes. But IAAF officials say the problems in Russia are so deep. It's hard to know who is clean and who is not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Just a moment ago, I reported about EgyptAir Flight 804 which crushed a month ago. I want to correct myself. It was going from Paris to Cairo when it went down in the Mediterranean.
Still to come here, new evidence, the Orlando shooter may have started preparing for the attack week in advance. We'll have the latest on the investigation as more victims are buried.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: Welcome back. Mourners are saying their final goodbye to some of the victims of the Orlando massacre. More funerals were held Friday including this one for 25 year old Anthony Luis Laureano Disla.
Forty-nine people were killed by a gunman who claimed support for ISIS. But investigators believe his motive maybe much more complex and they're digging into his past and getting a lot of clues. His behavior in the weeks prior to the massacre suggests premeditated murder.
Officials say Mateen gave his wife access to his bank account and added her name to his life insurance. Records show he also transferred his share of a home to his sister for just $10.
People who live in the neighborhood with the gunman, who was a security guard, are angry he got the job in the first place. Brian Todd talked with someone there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mid afternoon Saturday, just hours before his murderous rampage at the Pulse nightclub, Omar Mateen manned these checkpoints at this gated Florida community. What residents of the upscale PGA Village didn't know was that there was a killer in their guardhouse.
NICOLE RODRIGUEZ, REPORTER, TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS: The residents of PGA Village are outraged that Mr. Mateen had gone under the radar for so long without being detected by G4S.
TODD: Nicole Rodriguez is a reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers who's very familiar with the PGA Village.
[01:20:01] Rodriguez attended a contentious community meeting Wednesday night, when residents grilled Drew Levine, a top official of G4S, the security firm which hired Mateen as a guard.
RODRIGUEZ: Residents wanted to know when the G4S Security contract with PGA Village will be up. They have concerns that G4S might not be providing adequate security for residents.
TODD: One resident said if Mateen had snapped any time while guarding PGA village, he could have gone door-to-door killing people there. State representative Larry Lee lives in PGA village near a gate where, he's been told, Mateen guarded.
LARRY LEE JR., RESIDENT: Many of the them are very afraid and, but I think not just in our development, I think that this is a wake-up call to anyone in America. You know, just because a guy is a security guard, you don't know.
TODD: Mateen was screened when G4S hired him in 2007, just months after being fired by the Florida Department of Corrections. The company says that background check included psychological testing for, quote, "mental disorders."
Another background check was conducted by G4S in 2013. But a company official tells CNN in that check, Mateen was not given psychological screening. At that time Mateen was transferred out of a security guard job at a local courthouse after making inflammatory remarks about terrorism. A G4S spokes person said Mateen himself claimed he was harassed by co-workers at the courthouse.
The place he was transferred to? PGA Village.
LEE: If such Incidents happened at a prior location that our homeowners association should know about it.
TODD: Do you think the residents and the homeowners association was properly informed of anything about this man?
LEE: I can't say.
TODD: We tried to find out if G4S notified the PGA village home owners association about Omar Mateen's past problems. So far, no word back from the security firm.
We called the homeowners association, a staff from there said, they had no comment and hung up on us.
Brian Todd, CNN, Port Saint Lucie, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: If you are watching us from Germany, Derek Van Dam is her with us now to talk about the tornadoes that people saw there in the past few days.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We've heard about tornado alley in the United States while across Europe bell (ph) so we have to deal with severe weather that can lead to tornadoes as was the case. This particular week, we actually had eight reported tornadoes, four of which coming out of Germany, Natalie. I'll try to highlight that here for you.
All in all, the storm system produced over 240 storm reports, that means wind or hail damage, eight confirmed tornadoes across central Europe and there were, in fact, 85 flooding reports as well as. Some of these storms moved over the same location across some of the small towns and cities across central Europe creating flooding conditions throughout that area.
Just a little bit of climatological background on the average number of tornadoes across Europe throughout the year.
The United Kingdom has an average about 50 tornadoes. But you can see Germany roughly about 30, Italy 12, Spain 30. So you can see, basically every country across Europe has an average at least one to upwards of 50 tornadoes per year.
And this is all thanks to a storm system that's really starting to edge its way our of the region but you can see the conductive nature of the thunderstorms, meaning, the thunderstorms formed rather quickly and they really did potentially leave a path of destruction as tornadoes formed within this particular region.
You can see the storm system pulling away. We still have more scattered showers and thunderstorms but we are not anticipating the white spread severe weather that we experience on Thursday and Friday across Germany and moving into Eastern Europe. This is just a broad look at where we're anticipating the rainfall to move from France and Germany today heading southward throughout the Adriatic.
And that's where we're going to focus our attention on Sunday and Monday to end off the weekend and the start of the work week next week.
But it's not all that bad if you got a beautiful picture. I wish I could transport myself into this particular serene environment. This is coming out of France, a beautiful double rainbow which is tough to see on the other side of the T.V. screen there over one of the wonder vineyards there.
I want to end with some phenomenal footage coming out of the holiday destination in Bali and Indonesia. Take a look at this, Natalie, this is a tidal wave, not a tsunami, tsunami is generated by an earthquake under the ocean. This is a tidal wave that's actually forms from high tide. Thanks to the gravitational pull of the moon. So, scary moment for residents and tourists across that area. Looking for sun, they get waves.
ALLEN: Yeah, they certainly do. At least it's not a tsunami.
VAN DAM: That's right.
ALLEN: All right, Derek, thank you. Well, Venezuela's fiscal crisis isn't just causing power outages and food shortages, it is possibly costing lives. Medicine is in high demand but no where to be found even, at the country's largest children's hospital.
Rafael Romo shows us the heartbreaking impact.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He used to be good at football. Now the 11-year-old boy can barely walk.
[01:25:01]
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: Jesus Alejandro Perez was diagnosed with a brain tumor in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, 18 months ago.
I love playing football but I can't play anymore because I'm sick, he says.
He had the tumor surgically removed but his treatment was interrupted. The medication he needs for his chemotherapy is nowhere to be found in Venezuela.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: His mother says she fears Jesus may die if she doesn't find his chemotherapy medication soon.
We ran into the boy and his mother at De Los Rios hospital in Caracas. Doctors there say a severe shortage of medications, supplies and medical equipment is putting the lives of many children like Jesus at risk.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: Children's treatment protocols are delayed and this means many of our patients may die, Dr. Perida (ph) says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem is that this is not just any hospital. It is the largest children's hospital in all of Venezuela. Just as a point of reference, doctors tell us that they used to perform 400 surgeries a month. Nowadays, they're lucky if they can do 20.
ROMO: The doctor say the socialist government's tight control of the dollars used to import medicines and medical supplies are to blame for the shortages throughout the Venezuelan healthcare system.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: It all started they say, when the late Hugo Chavez rose to power in 1999, and got even worse under his successor.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: Current President, Nicolas Maduro.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE) ROMO: The Caracas health department director says Venezuelan government is working on a solution to the shortages. He also acknowledged Venezuela as a country is shortage on its physiologists (ph) which causes delays in performing all kinds of surgeries.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: As if on cue, the power briefly went out well. He was addressing doctors and reporters. Doctors say out of nine operating rooms, only two are usable. The hospital lacks replacement parts for broken medical equipment and many bathrooms are out of order.
Back at the oncology department, Jesus and his mother pray for a miracle.
I want to be like my President Hugo Chavez and I want to be a footballer when I grow he says. Listening nearby, his mother sheds a tear. She later tells us the prognosis is not good, seeing her boy grow into a teenager would be a miracle. Rafael Romo, CNN, Caracas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: And that is CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you for watching. I'm Natalie Allen. Our top stories are right after this and then it's "VITAL SIGNS".
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