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Remember 9/11 15 Years After the Attacks; First Responders Gather at Memorial in Jerusalem; Clinton Regrets "Deplorables" Comment; Syria Backs Truce to Start Sundown Monday; Latest Provocation from North Korea Triggers Worldwide Condemnation; Famous U.S. Flag Missing From Ground Zero Found; Village in UK Going Carbon Neutral; Aired 4-5a ET
Aired September 11, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:10] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Remembering 9/11. The day terrorists attacked New York's Twin Towers, the Pentagon and more. Thousands of lives lost. The United States this day is in mourning.
Expressing some regret. The U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says that she is sorry for using the word half when she said this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: And in Syria, these are some of the scenes from Saturday. More than 50 people killed by airstrikes just days after the new U.S./Russia cease-fire deal is set to go into effect.
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.
4:01 on the East Coast, September 11th. 15 years ago Sunday the world changed forever when terrorists attacked the United States. Two airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York. Another into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. In all, nearly 3,000 people died on September 11th, 2001.
Attacks that ushered in a new age of terror, but also unified Americans. And today the nation pauses for the lives lost. Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will set aside their campaigns this day. Both expected to visit ground zero in New York later today.
For many people September 11th is not a distant memory. In fact, it still affects thousands of people each and every day.
Karen Capa tells us how people are remembering those people who died.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREN CAPA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Freedom Tower now stands taller here than the Twin Towers did. And near a glittering monument of resilience, the memorial to nearly 3,000 Americans killed in the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil exactly 15 years ago today.
Commemorations of a solemn anniversary began days ago. Friday, a parade to honor first responders at a ceremony here in Lower Manhattan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On each 9/11 of each year, we look back and reflect.
CAPA: In Washington, at the Justice Department --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A decade and a half has elapsed since 9/11. This is hard to believe but it has.
CAPA: And on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
Echoing a moment of unity in the wake of tragedy 15 years ago.
A CNN/ORC poll released Friday finds Americans more angry and more fearful when they reflect on the events of 9/11 now than five years ago. Perhaps because of terror attacks like Boston, San Bernardino and Orlando since then and the quick rise of ISIS.
But this day is defined by remembrance. The somber traditions the same each year. Moments of silence for the minutes al Qaeda hijackers steered airplanes into each World Trade Center tower and the Pentagon, and when Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania. And when each tower collapsed, the south, then the north, and a reading of the names of those lost by the people who loved them and miss them 15 years on.
Near ground zero, I'm Karen Capa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: It is still very early in New York but in Jerusalem they are making a moment to remember this occasion. Want to show you this live image right there from Manhattan. You see the new World Trade Center there. 4:03 in the morning. This will be a day of remembrance, again. Remembering the many, many people who died this day.
Again in Jerusalem, though, that is the only place outside the United States where a memorial lists the names of all 9/11 victims. And our Oren Liebermann is live by phone this hour near Jerusalem just outside the city with more on what's happening today in remembrance -- Oren.
We should have Oren Liebermann on the phone. Oren, are you with us?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): I'm with you, George. Can you hear me?
HOWELL: Yes, yes, you're live with us just to talk about what's happening outside Jerusalem. We're looking at this live image there where it is 11:04 a.m. If you could give us a sense of what's happening at this memorial, again, the only site outside the United States that lists names of the people who died in 9/11.
LIEBERMANN: George, I've stepped away to speak with you so as not to interrupt the commemoration. A special commemoration on the 15th anniversary with Israelis and Americans coming together around the 9/11 Living Memorial, it's called, to remember what happened on that day.
There's a group here. A group of 50 Americans, police officers, sheriffs, and firefighters, some of whom were first responders at 9/11, from the New York state police, from the New York Police Department, that responded when the Twin Towers were hit and did what they could to save as many lives as they could.
[04:05:09] They've come here to pay their respects right at the beginning of this ceremony that started about an hour ago. There was the U.S. national anthem and then this moment of silence.
Let us pause as we replay this moment of silence as the crowd itself came quiet to remember nearly 3,000 lives lost. Here is that moment.
I asked the head of the delegation what he felt. It is the first time he's commemorated 9/11 somewhere other than the United States. I asked him what is that like not being home, not being where these attacks took place. Here's what he said about commemorating here just outside Jerusalem and Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG FLOYD, U.S. NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MEMORIAL FUND: It could not be prouder to stand with our police colleagues here in Israel, to commemorate that anniversary and to know that they share our grief, and they remember those men and women who died tragically on that terrible day, including 72 law enforcement officers who died trying to save and help those innocent people that were in need. This was, in fact, the deadliest day in American law enforcement history, 9/11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMANN: There are a number of speakers here as would be expected. One of those speakers is the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro. He had a very powerful statement. He said those of us who could smell the flames, who could breathe in the smoke, we will never forget. And he listed all of the people who said afterward we will never forget that day. But he also pointed out that there's a growing population of Americans and others who don't remember that day firsthand, who are simply too young or weren't even born yet now that 9/11 happened 15 years ago.
To them he said it is everyone else's responsibility to pass on the story from year to year and from generation to generation so everyone remembers it as if it was firsthand. Knows the events of the day, knows the pain of that day, for Americans and for others about what happened, about the attacks that happened. And he said it is our job, it is everyone's job to pass on the story of 9/11 so it is remembered by everyone -- George.
HOWELL: And you point that out, passing on a great responsibility to those who did not see it, who were not there, who might not have been born at the time but again to make sure that all know exactly what happened on this day.
CNN's Oren Liebermann live for us in Jerusalem again where this memorial service is taking place this hour.
A programming note also. Later Sunday CNN will air the film "9/11: 15 YEARS LATER." Our Poppy Harlow interviewed the film's executive producers, director Gedeon and Jules Naudet, the brothers were following a firefighter that day for a documentary when he responded to the attacks. They captured the only footage from inside the Twin Towers on September 11th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULES NAUDET, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR, "911": Filming from the inside I think gives a unique point of view to especially this new generation which is so visual. And 15 years later, a lot of the new generation was either not born or were too young to remember it and I think for people to see it, see from the inside what the firefighters lived, what they fought through to save among -- about 20,000 people is amazing. I think gives you a renewed sense of -- I know for me, of being grateful what they do. What they do every day but on that day in particular.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Jules, you've also said, I didn't help anyone. I didn't save anyone. But I could film.
J. NAUDET: That was the only thing I had. I had my camera. I was -- you know, I was there without really a purpose except one that I could do, which was to film what was going on without realizing this would become historic footage. But I knew that the moment I would stop filming, I would go crazy because of the worry for my brother, the worry for what was happening.
HARLOW: Right.
J. NAUDET: It was almost like a defense mechanism.
HARLOW: Yes, to keep filming. It's also important to remember 15 years later the impact of 9/11 still lives on with all of the victims, all of the family members. No one that was in this city or this country will ever forget the firefighters and the first responders are still dealing with the effects, dying of cancer from the air they breathe that day. I mean, this is still perpetuating.
GEDEON NAUDET, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR, "911": Yes. It is incredible to -- for people to discover that 9/11 still kills even today. And it's terrifying, too, for first responders that have to go to health checkup annually, that it's like a lottery for them. They never know what they're going to get, if it's going to be the red flag of this horrible cancer that already so many have died of. I mean, just inside the wall of Metro Tech, which is FDNY headquarter in Brooklyn, you now have a special wall with 117 names of firefighters who passed away due to cancers related to 9/11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:10:01] HOWELL: Of course be sure to watch the full episode of the Naudet brothers' film, "9/11: 15 YEARS LATER." You can see it on CNN at 6:00 p.m. in Hong Kong, 8:00 p.m. in London. Again only here on CNN.
America's choice 2016 this day before the campaigns paused for 9/11 Hillary Clinton expressed regret for being, quote, "grossly generalistic" about Donald Trump supporters. She said Friday you could put half of Trump supporters into, quote, "a basket of deplorables."
Clinton eventually released this statement saying, quote, "I regret saying half. That was wrong. But let's be clear what's really deplorable is that Donald Trump hired a major advocate for the so- called alt-right movement to run his campaign and that David Duke and other white supremacists see him as a champion of their values."
Clinton was apparently referring to Steve Bannon, the CEO of Trump's presidential campaign.
Trump said in a tweet that the insult will cost Hillary Clinton at the polls. And in another post he wrote this, "While Hillary said horrible things about my supporters and while many of her supporters will never vote for me, I still respect them all."
Let's break down the particulars and bring in CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott live via Skype from Washington, D.C.
Eugene, always a pleasure to have you with us. Let's start with Clinton's regret for saying that half of Trump supporters were part of a basket of deplorables. Regret for the word half, not for the statement. Is this an apology? And Eugene, as Trump eludes to here, could it cost her in the polls?
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, she didn't use the word apology. She did say very clearly that what she said was wrong and I think a lot of attention she has received since releasing her statement focused on how quickly she responded considering that how prevalent and widespread the criticism was. So whether or not people understand the point that she was trying to make in the greater context I think will determine how they respond.
I think what's very interesting to notice at this point is that both candidates are hoping to reach independent voters. And whether or not you believe that Hillary Clinton was talking about people already backing Trump, the fact is that there are some people who are independent voters who aren't backing Trump but do sympathize with some of the concerns of his supporters and they may have a problem with what she said.
But it is worth mentioning that since her statement, quite a few people have released calls from people who are supporting Donald Trump that have figures that suggest that maybe she was right in some of the statements she made.
HOWELL: And Clinton also pointing out in her expression of regret that she was also paying note to people who may be frustrated who are part of the Trump camp. I have seen, Eugene, this quote of Hillary Clinton's compared to the quote from Mitt Romney, binders full of women. So we'll have to see how this plays out in the polls.
Let's also talk about Donald Trump, this controversy over his appearance with former CNN host Larry King. Trump saying that he agreed to be part of a podcast but that interview ended up airing on the Russian network Russia Today and all of this is playing into those questions that many people have about Trump, whether he is cozying up with the Kremlin.
SCOTT: Yes, very much so. The timing of that, I think was a bit problematic for Donald Trump considering the criticism he received for his favorable statements about Mr. Putin on the forum on NBC just briefly before the podcast came out. One long-lasting criticism of Trump is that he has not been as critical of Putin as people would expect a Republican frontrunner or candidate at this point to be.
It will be interesting to see if he walks away from that praise, that consistent praise, or at least mutual show of respect of the leader as we move forward in this campaign because criticism of how well he has spoken of him in the past isn't going to stop.
HOWELL: And playing off your words there, show of respect. These campaigns today are pausing to remember the dead. To remember the people, the lives lost on September 11th in Pennsylvania, in New York, and there in Washington, D.C. where you are. Just talk to us about that and what these campaigns want to do.
SCOTT: Yes, I was noting as I was preparing for your show it's pretty interesting. I'm not quite sure that we have had a presidential election where the two major candidates are as closely connected to this issue as we currently have. As you know, Donald Trump is based in New York City and has been there for awhile, and is closely connected to people and businesses and affiliated with the World Trade Center and people connected to it.
[04:15:04] And Hillary Clinton was a senator at the time in New York. And so they both have very personal stories about being affected by the incident. And it will be interesting to see how they pivot from that regarding how they will respond to ongoing concerns about terrorism in the United States and globally.
HOWELL: It is important to point out, New York very central for both of these candidates. CNN Politics reporter, the man who never sleeps, Eugene Scott, live for us via Skype in Washington.
Eugene, thank you for being with us.
SCOTT: Thanks, George.
HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, we are less than a day away now from what could be the start of a cease-fire in Syria. Next why civilians there are cautiously optimistic that more than five years of brutal fighting could soon come to an end.
Plus protesters in South Korea, and well, a fiery touch demonstrations against North Korea's nuclear tests.
Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
In Syria civilians there are looking forward to Monday night. Hoping and praying that more than five years of fighting will finally come to an end that day. That is when a nationwide cease-fire is set to take effect.
[04:20:08] The United States and Russia finalized the agreement late Friday. That agreement meant to allow humanitarian aid and food to get into cities that need it most.
The Syrian government now says its support -- it supports the agreement and Syrian state TV is acknowledging that the deal calls for a political solution to the country's civil war. If this cease-fire takes and holds for seven consecutive days, Russia and the U.S. say they will then work closer together to fight terrorist groups.
CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has more now from Geneva on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, there's really broad agreement from Secretary Kerry to Sergey Lavrov, to the U.N., to the opposition, but from everyone across the border, this is a good opportunity to turn the situation around and some of the suffering. But what could be some of the sticking points, the issues going forward, the opposition concerned that there's no real sort of punitive measures to control Assad, what's going to be done if he doesn't agree and doesn't comply with the steps here.
A concern on the Russian point of view, this breaking apart, the delineation between terrorist rebel groups, al-Nusra, and the more moderate level groups have been fighting together on the battlefield, so getting them to separate, that's going to be tough as strong alliance is formed there. And for the opposition, really going forward, if this is a success, then they're going to want to see what hasn't happened in the past, real pressure. It would have to come from Russia on Assad to go into political transition and leave power. This is the biggest concern going forward. Russia hasn't done that in the past.
The humanitarian effort in Aleppo, some confidence that can get going, the ceasefire can hold for a while, but in the past, these things have broken down fairly quickly and it's often been blamed, at least in the battlefield level, been blamed on the Assad government. Control of the Assad government, precisely how does that work?
Nic Robertson, CNN, Geneva, Switzerland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Nic, thank you.
The victims of the conflict can't be blamed if they are skeptical. They have seen many agreements come and go. Many are withholding judgment for now. Like this resident in Aleppo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): Mostly we are with it. It's in the general interest of the Syrian people to stop the rivers of blood and stopping bloodshed is the first step. It's a good step, but what's the guarantee that it will remain in place? If it continues for seven or 10 days, then what happens after that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: As if to prove the point, airstrikes Saturday killed at least 58 people including a number of women and children targeting a market and other locations in rebel-held Idlib, Syria. Some residents say they saw highflying jets before the bombs fell.
Israel's military has retaliated against Syria. After a stray shell struck the Israeli controlled Golan Heights. The Israel Defense Forces say that it attacked a Syrian artillery post after a third projectile this week crossed its border. No injuries have been reported on either side.
The IDF has been concerned about instability along the border region since Syria's civil war broke out some five years ago.
More than 2,000 migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean this weekend. The Italian coast guard reports the migrants were saved in 18 operations coordinated by Italy. Ships from Spain, from Ireland, and four nongovernmental organizations took part. They pulled migrants off more than a dozen inflatable vessels and a boat. The International Organization for Migration reports over 3,000 migrants have died in the Mediterranean so far in 2016.
North Korea's nuclear weapons program is raising new concerns after its fifth and biggest test on Friday. The latest explosion had the power of a 5.3 magnitude earthquake. South Korea is calling for stronger sanctions and the United States special representative for North Korea policy says separate or joint action by the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, are being discussed. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUNG KIM, U.S. SPECIAL REP. FOR NORTH KOREAN POLICY: North Korea continues to present a growing threat to the region, to our allies and to ourselves and we will do everything possible to defend against that growing threat. In addition to action in the Security Council, both U.S. and Japan,
together with Iraq, will be looking at any unilateral measures as well as bilateral measures, as well as possible trilateral cooperation in response to the provocative and unacceptable behavior by the North Koreans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: In Seoul, South Korea, hundreds of people took part in a protest against North Korea's nuclear tests.
They also then set fire to an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong- un on Saturday. World leaders are also weighing in.
[04:25:07] CNN's Will Ripley has details from Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The shockwaves are still being felt this weekend here in Japan, in South Korea, and really, around the world after North Korea's surprise nuclear test on Friday, believed to be quite possibly its strongest yet, 10 kilotons. The size of the explosion according to South Korean seismologist compared to 46 kilotons for the most recent test back in January, roughly twice the size.
It just goes to show how North Korea's nuclear program is rapidly advancing just like its missile program. There were three successful missile launches last week and the week before that, a submarine- launched ballistic missile. Very troubling for the United States, United Nations, and others. And you heard that chorus of condemnation from everywhere from Ban Ki-moon, to President Obama, to South Korea's president, President Park, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
All of them saying that North Korea needs to stop. And even on Saturday, South Korea's top diplomat, the foreign minister saying that new stronger sanctions need to be imposed on the regime, but we've seen that sanctions thus far have not slowed or even had much of an impact at all noticeably on North Korea's weapons development.
Government officials, when I visited most recently in May, said they'd rather tighten their belts and go hungry than give up their nuclear and missile programs or slow the development that was ordered by their leader, Kim Jong-un, who says that this is the only way for North Korea to remain a sovereign state. And him building this arsenal really is an insurance policy according to many analysts, who don't expect a nuclear strike, but they say that having a nuclear arsenal and these successful tests lets Kim Jong-un project power domestically and internationally.
It allows him to advertise his weapons technology, which could eventually put up -- be put up for sale to terrorist organizations or other rogue states. And they also feel it gives North Korea leverage internationally that if their arsenal becomes so strong, so large, that the U.S. and others will have no choice but to recognize North Korea as a full-fledged nuclear state, something that President Obama reiterated on Friday, absolutely won't happen.
Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Will Ripley, thank you.
Fifteen years ago three firefighters raised an American flag moments after the 9/11 attacks. This picture became a symbol of patriotism and resilience. But the flag there was missing for years. Next, how it was finally recovered.
About 2 million Muslims are making the annual pilgrimage to the city of Mecca for the hajj. What the weather will be in store for those pilgrims as they arrive, still ahead.
Live from Atlanta to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, this is CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:31:08] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is good to have you with us. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour.
The Syrian government says it supports a nationwide cease-fire set to start Monday at sundown. Syrian state TV report that forces with President Bashar al-Assad will stop all hostilities in Aleppo for humanitarian reasons. Russia and the United States finalized that agreement on Friday.
World leaders and citizens alike are condemning North Korea's latest nuclear test. Protesters in South Korea gathered in Seoul to demonstrate on Saturday and you see there they burned an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The gesture is symbolic.
Hillary Clinton says that she regrets her controversial comment on Friday when she said that you could put half of Donald Trump's supporters into, quote, "a basket of deplorables." Trump responded that that insult will cost her at the polls. Clinton later said that she had been grossly generalistic and regrets saying half.
It is September 11th now in much of the United States, and we are marking 15 years since the deadliest terror attack in our history. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives when hijackers crashed planes into New York, into Washington, D.C., and into a field in Pennsylvania.
The terrible images of 9/11, those attacks, are ingrained in the minds of many people. One such moment that became a symbol of the desire to recover from that dark day. Three firefighters, in ground zero, raising the American flag in the middle of complete destruction. And that flag was missing for many years until now.
Our Deb Feyerick has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On 9/11, in the burning ashes of the World Trade Center, three firefighters raised an American flag. It was 5:00 p.m. on a day that changed history.
DAVID FRIEND, VANITY FAIR: This picture became how we said "patriotism," post-9/11.
FEYERICK (voice-over): The iconic image embodied America's resilience. Featured in the 2013 CNN film, "The Flag," it was unfurled at Yankee Stadium. And traveled on board the U.S. aircraft carrier that launched the first airstrikes against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never seen so many grown men and women cry just by touching a piece of fabric. And of course it wasn't just a piece of fabric, was it?
FEYERICK (voice-over): Except it wasn't the right flag.
FRIEND: Somewhere between 9/11 and the Yankee Stadium ceremony, the flag went missing.
FEYERICK: The flag, taken by three firefighters from a yacht in the marina near ground zero disappeared hours after the photo was taken. Its fate remained a mystery until now. About 2900 miles cross country in Everett, Washington, a stranger identifying himself as a former Marine named Brian, turned over the flag to local firefighters.
MARK ST. CLAIR, DEPUTY CHIEF, EVERETT POLICE DEPARTMENT: Brian was purporting the flag to be the missing 9/11 flag.
FEYERICK (voice-over): And so began a two-year process to confirm the flag was authentic and get it back home to the original owner.
(On camera): There was a level of secrecy as to what you potentially had. Why?
ST. CLAIR: I was concerned that there was the potential that a lone terrorist, if they believed there was an American icon in a city of 110,000 people, they might -- may want to either try to steal it or destroy it.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Lead detectives, Jim Massengale and Mike Atwood, created a sketch of Brian, hoping to ask him more questions. All they knew was that he was allegedly given the flag on Veterans Day in 2007, by a man who had received it from a 9/11 firefighter's widow.
(On camera): Did you ever generate any satisfying leads?
MIKE ATWOOD, EVERETT, WASHINGTON POLICE: No, we did not.
[04:35:02] FEYERICK (voice-over): The break came with forensic scientist William Schneck, who painstakingly analyzed photos, fibers, and thousands of particles. Comparing them to original ground zero dust.
BILL SCHNECK, WASHINGTON STATE PATROL CRIME LABORATORY: The key things would be the composition of the building materials themselves. The concrete, the glass fibers, mineral wall, gypsum, all those were critical.
FEYERICK: Critical and ultimately conclusive. As detectives prepared it for the journey home, they asked a retired NYPD officer to make the final fold.
ATWOOD: He actually grabbed onto that flag, held it up to his face and smelled it. And turned and looked at me and said, "That's the smell that I remember from that day."
FEYERICK: The flag, back where it began 15 years ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Deb Feyerick reporting there. The simple fact that he remembered the smell. Wow.
Firefighters are looking for three missing people after a bridge collapsed in southeastern China on Sunday. Five people were injured, they have been rescued, though. Officials say cars and a large truck were buried in the rubble and people inside those vehicles fell into the river below. That bridge was being dismantled when it collapsed. An investigation is presently under way.
At least 11 people are dead and nearly 200 others injured after an earthquake struck northwestern Tanzania on Saturday. This is according to state media citing local officials there. The U.S. Geological Survey reports the 5.9 magnitude quake hit west of Lake Victoria.
Our (INAUDIBLE) reports some homes collapsed and at least one hospital has been overwhelmed with patients.
The hajj is under way in Saudi Arabia. And some 2 million Muslims are already in Mecca for that pilgrimage.
These pictures we want to show you of pilgrims converged there, you can see the people are already coming together. Islamic tradition holds that the Prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon there. It is still summer season in Saudi Arabia. And the simple fact that it is summer we'll talk about how this is affecting people, these live images that you see there, in Saudi Arabia.
Our meteorologist Derek Van Dam here to tell us.
Derek, I would imagine it is pretty uncomfortable but a very important moment to be there.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You have to imagine that 2 million people in any location is going to generate heat on its own. Let alone this is a very hot city, in the middle of summer. Their average temperature, 43 degrees Celsius, 109 degrees Fahrenheit. Very warm, warm location to say the least.
What is it now? Well, to put it into comparison, it's actually 34 degrees in Mecca as we speak so it's cool, at least by Mecca standards. By the way, the record in Mecca for temperatures during the month of September, 49.4 degrees Celsius, that's just a mere 121 degrees Fahrenheit.
Got to put this into perspective, though, because remember this is an extremely dry part of the world. So the climate is, let's say, similar to, for our domestic audience, something like the southwestern United States, perhaps into New Mexico or perhaps into Arizona. So it's not a heat that you would feel, let's say in the deep south. With that said it's still a very hot location. Heat exhaustion obviously needs to be considered.
(WEATHER REPORT)
[04:40:03] HOWELL: Wow, Derek, and again could we just take a look at those images from Mount Arafat if we still have them just to see so many people that have gathered there at the hajj. People coming together, very important, you know, moment for Muslims around the world and incredibly hot there so people will just need to --
VAN DAM: You can see them actually trying to keep cool as we speak so at least they're having some sort of contingency plans to beat the heat.
HOWELL: Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.
This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, an Australian man is charged with terrorism and police say that he was inspired by ISIS. We'll have details on that ahead. Plus, we'll show you how a small town in the United Kingdom is sowing the seeds of ecological revolution.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Welcome back to NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
In Australia a 22-year-old man has been charged with committing a terrorist act and attempted murder. Police say that the suspect repeatedly stabbed a 59-year-old man in a park in Sydney on Saturday. They say the suspect was inspired by ISIS to carry out that attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHERINE BURN, NSW POLICE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER: Now terrorism investigation squad and other police have been conducting investigations overnight, and that has culminated in that 22-year-old man being charged with committing an act of terror and with an attempted murder charge. Both very serious charges.
We will be alleging before court that this was an act that was inspired by ISIS. It was a deliberate act yesterday. It resulted in a person receiving extremely serious injuries. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: That person, the victim, is presently hospitalized in critical condition.
In Taiwan a driver of a tour bus that crashed in July was suicidal and deliberately caused that accident. This according to Taiwan state media. Investigators say the driver set the bus on fire before ramming it into a guard rail near an airport in Taipei.
[04:45:05] That crash killed all 26 people on board including three children. State media report the driver had planned to kill himself because of family pressure and a sexual assault conviction.
Thailand is stepping up security measures for the Zika virus. Visitors arriving in the country's Suvarnabhumi Airport are now required to walk past an infrared thermal scanner before entering the immigration area. The scanner will identify passengers with body temperatures -- with high body temperatures. That is an early sign of the Zika virus. If diagnosed with Zika, patients will be quarantined at a hospital for treatment and for further observation.
Residents of a small village in the United Kingdom are changing their daily habits in order to save energy with the hopes of become carbon neutral.
CNN's Isa Soares shows us how they're doing it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Picturesque, quaint, and traditional, Ashton Hayes is a village that is quietly living a green revolution. And its youngest are leading the change.
(On camera): What are you trying to teach other people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not to make waste and not to waste energy.
SOARES (voice-over): It's a principle they live by. In the last three months, Ashton Hayes primary school has become carbon negative, running entirely on free electricity, thanks in part to roofs covered with solar panels.
These five peoples have become eco leaders, sharing tips with others on waste, energy, and water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've learned like not to leave the tap running while you're brushing your teeth and we've learned not to leave your light on, like, so you can open your curtains, and then the sunlight -- so the sunlight shines in, instead of just leaving your light on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've learned that air-conditioning and things like that, windows would do just as good as the job.
SOARES: Luckily for the children and the community here, there's no enforced eco homework, that's because Garry Charnock has made his Going Carbon Neutral project fund apolitical and voluntary.
GARRY CHARNOCK, CREATOR OF GOING CARBON NEUTRAL PROJECT: We've not told anybody to do anything. We've just said, would you please share with us what happens when you do something. And it's the sharing of the community of ideas, which inspires others, so it's this grassroots movement, rather being told from the top. It's all come up from the bottom, and some people do certain things, and we all learn from them, and we all help one another to do the next step.
SOARES: So they do what they can. Some swap the dryer for the clothesline, others use a hybrid, some install water and solar panels and others buy locally-sourced fruit and vegetables.
(On camera): These changes of habits, these sacrifices, such as getting on your bike rather than using your car, already reaping rewards. In the last 10 years, the community here has been able to reduce emissions by a quarter putting Ashton Hayes on the map and on its way to becoming England's first carbon-neutral village.
(Voice-over): For this community, this is a huge source of pride. After all, they've been able to get here on their own initiative without a single politician in sight. An inspirational community that is hoping their ideas to save the planet can inspire others further afield.
Isa Soares, CNN, Ashton Hayes, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Very cool. Isa, thank you for the report.
Still ahead, she is named "The Hurricane." That's her nickname. She's the Paralympics champion yet again. A look at team Great Britain's superstar when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:52:37] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
Hannah Cockroft is a paralympic racing champion yet again. At the Rio 2016 Paralympics the British wheelchair athlete won the T-34 100-meter on Saturday. She won the same event in 2012 as well as the 200-meter race.
Here's a look at that athlete whose nickname is "The Hurricane."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANNAH COCKROFT, BRITISH WHEELCHAIR RACER: I think people don't realize how much rivalry there is in wheelchair racing. Once you get off the track, we're all quite good friends, but when you're on that track, you're racing as an individual sport.
As people hitting your hands off the rims, as people trying to push you out of packs, it's a bit like being in a pack of lions and you've got to keep up or else you're going to get left behind. My name is Hannah Cockroft. I am a British wheelchair racer. I race
in T-34 category. T-34, the T stands for track, and 34 stands for athletes who have brain damage and cerebral palsy.
When I was one, I had two cardiac arrests. The first one happened about three minutes after my birth and that damaged some parts of my brain. And the second one happened a week after my birth, and that damaged other parts of my brain. And there is no one else in the world like me.
There is a chair custom built to fit me, so the bucket is built for around kind of my lower body. I sit on my legs, which is incredibly uncomfortable. There is the front wheel that's attached to kind of -- I guess it's like steering and then something underneath, like a triangle, but a lot of people know if we hit during the race, that actually does the steering for us when we're in a track race, so you're not missing pushes to go up and steer on the handlebars.
I hold the world record for the 100, 200, 400, and 800-meter. I won two gold medals at the London 2012 Paralympics. London feels like it was yesterday and at the same time it feels like it never happened.
[04:55:04] It changed the world for me and for every paralympian. People start to look at us as actual athletes.
Wheelchair racing, it's my life. When I'm in the chair, I'm totally free. I'm independent and I can do anything that a person on their feet can do. If I put you in a race chair, I bet you couldn't go faster than me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Very cool for her. We wish her the very best.
Chinese engineers are close to completing the world's highest cable- stayed bridge. That bridge connects the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou in southwestern China. The 565-meter high stretching across -- you see it there, wow, it is stretching across the Nizhu River gorge. It is a gigantic structure. It is set to be operational by the end of the year.
Good luck crossing that bridge. I think I'll just pass on that. Too high for me.
We thank you for being with us here for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell at the CNN center in Atlanta. I will be back after the break with more news from around the world. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Remembering 9/11. People in the United States and around the world pause for the lives lost 15 years ago. Those terror attacks that changed the world.
In Syria, just a day away now from a planned cease-fire --
