Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
AT&T, Time Warner Agree on $85B Media Mega-Merger; Kurdish Forces Make New Push Toward Northeast Mosul; ISIS Leaves Behind Deadly Booby Traps; Clinton. Trump Campaign in Battleground States; Trump Reacts to AT&T and Time Warner Merger; Cuba Says Efforts to Fight Zika Paying Off; Changing Demographics Could Turn George Purple; Winning Over the Latino Vote in Arizona; Leonardo DiCaprio Pushes Climate Change With New Documentary. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired October 23, 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: A major shakeup in the media world. Telecommunications giant AT&T agrees to buy Time Warner in a deal that could change the telecommunications landscape.
Opening a new offensive ISIS, Kurdish fighters in Iraq expanded their operation near Mosul.
Plus new sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump. Now the Republican candidate says he is going to sue the women who have accused him.
From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
A massive media merger is one step closer to becoming reality. The wireless provider AT&T has reached a deal to buy Time Warner. Time Warner also the parent company to CNN.
Next, it's up to government regulators to sign off on the $85 billion merger. And if approved AT&T would also control entertainment leaders like HBO and Warner Brothers Pictures.
Our senior media correspondent Brian Stelter has the very latest for us.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Hey there. Yes, this is shaping up to be one of the biggest media deals in history. Also the biggest merger of any kind in the United States so far this year.
AT&T, as it stands today is a wireless company. It's one of the biggest wireless companies in the United States providing phone and Internet service to tens of millions of homes. And it's also a satellite TV distributor. It has the DirecTV satellite network. But what AT&T does not have today is content. Programming. Entertainment. And that's what it's trying to gain through Time Warner.
Now you think about what Time Warner has. It has CNN, this channel. And it also has a number of other valuable entertainment assets like HBO, the Warner Brothers movie studio and cable channels like TNT and TBS and the Cartoon Network. AT&T is buying all those up at a cost of $85 billion. That's almost three times as large as the Comcast-NBC merger about five years ago.
Now in that case government regulators spent more than a year reviewing the deal because Comcast is a big cable provider reaching tons of millions of homes and NBC, unlike Time Warner, owns really valuable cable channels. But ultimately that deal was approved with conditions by regulators in Washington.
The experts I've spoken with expect a similar outcome here. That this deal will take over a year to be reviewed in Washington and will then eventually be approved with conditions. In the meantime Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes will remain in charge of Time Warner. I spoke with him briefly right after the announcement and he says he believes this is pro-consumer, very positive for customers. Yet it's about making sure they can receive content news and entertainment in a variety of new ways.
The reality is that's how the media world is changing whether or not this deal happens. You can see it every day in the way you and I interact with media. You might be watching this newscast on a cell phone or you might be texting or e-mailing on your phone while it's happening.
The future of media is mobile centric. And that's what this deal recognizes and represents. AT&T believes it's not just enough to own the cellular data networks. It's important to own the programming as well. So by seeking to buy Time Warner it's seeking more influence, more power over the future of media. Back to you.
HOWELL: And now to the fight against ISIS. Peshmerga forces say that they are launching a new offensive from two points on another town to the northeast of Mosul, Iraq. The Kurdish general commander says it is all part of the campaign to clear ISIS from Nineveh Province.
In the meantime, the governor of Kirkuk says 60 ISIS fighters have been killed since Friday. This after the terror group launched an offensive on that city. He says the situation is now stable and that most of the terrorists have been eliminated.
To get the very latest we go live to Irbil, Iraq. Our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman standing by live for us with developments.
Ben, it was just Saturday that the U.S. Defense secretary made a surprise visit to Baghdad checking on that battle for Mosul. And now we are getting word that Ash Carter has arrived in Irbil where you are. What more can you tell us about that?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, this is really just part of the normal consultations that U.S. officials, senior U.S. officials have with their friends and allies in the region. Now when he was in Baghdad, one of the main topics of discussion was of course the question of Turkish involvement in the Mosul offensive. The Turks have been very clear that they do want to play a role, they're very concerned about the possibility of sectarian fighting during or in the aftermath of the Mosul battle.
[04:05:05] So there's been quite a harsh war of words between Baghdad and Ankara in recent weeks over this subject. The Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi saying that they want good relations with their northern neighbor but there is no role for Turkey in this offensive which they insist is going to be Iraqi-led.
Now of course now that Ashton Carter, the U.S. secretary of Defense, is in Irbil he'll be meeting with Kurdish leaders. There's a possibility that he will also go closer to the action to meet the American forces, several hundred of which are serving as advisers just behind the front line in that battle. But yes, this is just part of the normal meetings that take place in these circumstances for U.S. senior officials, George.
HOWELL: And Ben, what more can you tell us about these Peshmerga pushes into and closer toward Mosul?
WEDEMAN: This is all part of the operation to clear the countryside and the towns and villages around Mosul for preparation for the big battle, which of course is when they enter the city itself. Now this operation began at 6:30 a.m. local time around -- focusing on the town of Bashika which is to the northeast of Mosul and it sits right next to one of the main roads leading into the city, and what we've seen is a real push from the east toward Mosul by Iraqi Security Forces and the Peshmerga.
Yesterday, we heard from a senior U.S. military official speaking on background. Interestingly, he said that there were no plans to encircle Mosul that as far as the west goes, coalition aircraft would keep an eye on the approaches, but unlike previous battles in Ramadi, Fallujah and elsewhere, it doesn't appear that Mosul will be surrounded at this point, George.
HOWELL: Our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman live in Irbil. Ben, thank you so much for the reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.
And with ISIS on the run in towns and villages around Mosul, it is leaving behind roads that are lined with dangerous devices and homes that are riddled with booby traps.
CNN's Michael Holmes spent time with a Kurdish bomb disposal team who risk their very lives each day to save others.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Peshmerga captain Chilhan Sadk comes face to face with death every day. He is showing us the fruits of his labor. He says he has removed hundreds, perhaps thousands of IEDs like these.
"I do it for humanity," he tells us. "The people who plant these things are dangerous for my people, for the world. So it's my decision to help save a life."
As Kurdish and Iraqi forces edge ever closer to Mosul, ISIS has been leaving behind the weapons to kill and maim even once they've gone.
Brigadier General Bajat Mzuri heads of the elite Zeravani Special Forces. He says he loses more fighters to IEDs than on the battlefield. 30 percent of those casualties men working to diffuse and remove the explosives.
"We liberate a village and they're everywhere," he says. "People come back to their homes and open something up and it blows up."
The demining teams have rudimentary equipment, a metal detector if they're lucky. The operator of this one lost his fingers to a booby trap. Usually the tools are wire cutters and their bare hands, their faces inches from the explosives. Not even body armor let alone bomb disposal suits.
"We need training but it is not enough," he tells us. "We need more equipment, new equipment, to find the IEDs and destroy them."
Captain Sadk has lost many friends who do the same job as he. He shows us a photo of one who died a few days ago, trying to diffuse one of a wide variety of devices.
(On camera): This is just an example of one of the devices if you like. This is C-4, high explosive, and this is packed with ball bearings. Now these men killed the man who's carrying this, the ISIS fighter, before he was able to detonate it. You can just imagine the explosion and damage that would have been done had it gone off.
(Voice-over): Captain Sadk diffused that bomb himself as well as countless booby traps. Here a pressure device that's set off by a vehicle driving over it.
It's the danger from booby traps that means that civilians can't go home to their villages yet, even now that ISIS is gone. All they can do is collect a few things and leave again.
[04:10:07] One is Mejwal Ahmed Hade who tells me, we can't live there, no water, no electricity, damage everywhere and explosives, as well. So Captain Sadk and his men will continue their mission to make those villages safe for people like Mejwal to return to.
(On camera): How many IEDs and booby traps are along these roads and in villages like this? Well, countless. We spoke to Peshmerga teams who said they've been clearing one village for three months and they're not done yet. Clearing places like this of rigged explosives is going to take longer, far longer, than the battle for Mosul itself.
Michael Holmes, CNN, near Mosul, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Michael, thank you so much for your reporting.
Across the border and in Syria, regime forces have resumed their punishing attacks on east on -- eastern Aleppo. A Russian declare cease fire there ended on Saturday night. The United Nations hoped that people would be able to escape Aleppo during a three-day pause in fighting, but a humanitarian rights group says it doesn't know of anyone who escaped through those supposed humanitarian corridors. Syrian state news says rebels opened fire on thousands of families who tried to leave through one of the corridors.
Earlier, a rescue worker told CNN those corridors were fake and that people didn't leave because they did not trust the Russian and Syrian governments.
SWAT teams in Haiti are on the hunt for more than 100 inmates who are now roaming free after breaking out of prison. Haiti National Police tells CNN the prisoners escaped after starting a riot. One guard there was killed. Police say about a dozen inmates have been found and captured. Authorities are urging people in that area to be very cautious and to cooperate with authorities.
This is CNN NEWSROOM and still ahead, Donald Trump giving his closing arguments in the United States, laying out his plan for his first 100 days in office if he's elected to the president of the United States.
A look at this Republican nominee's agenda ahead.
Plus, another woman comes forward accusing Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. We will hear from her as the news continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:16:18] HOWELL: America's Choice 2016 just over two-weeks to go until the U.S. presidential election and the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, is laying out his priorities if he wins. Trump held a rally in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Saturday. Gettysburg, the site of a famous address by the president Abraham Lincoln during the American civil war. Trump urged voters to follow President Lincoln's example and heal divisions within the United States. He also listed what he plans to accomplish during his first 100 days in office.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First, a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress. I will announce my intention to totally renegotiate NAFTA, one of the worst deals our country has ever made.
We will cancel all federal funding of sanctuary cities. End illegal immigration act. Fully fund the construction of a wall on our southern border that establishes a two-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence. These are people coming in illegally for illegally reentering the United States after a previous deportation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: At the same time, in that same rally, the same speech Donald Trump vowed to sue every woman who has recently accused him of sexual misconduct.
On Saturday, an eleventh woman came forward with allegations against Mr. Trump. Jessica Drake held a news conference with attorney Gloria Allred then showed this picture of herself with Donald Trump. She says Trump invited her to his hotel suite back in 2006 and she says he hugged and kissed her without permission. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA DRAKE, TRUMP ACCUSER: I am not looking for monetary compensation. I do not need additional fame or the type of attention that this is sure to bring. I understand that I may be called a liar or an opportunist. But I will risk that in order to stand in solidarity with women who share similar accounts that span many, many years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Trump's campaign released this statement, quote, "This story is totally false and ridiculous. The picture is one of thousands taken out of respect for people asking to have their picture taken with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump does not know this person, does not remember this person, and would have no interest in ever knowing her."
In the meantime, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says that she is pushing for unity against what she calls hate and division. She made a number of campaign stops in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Saturday and our Brianna Keilar has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton picking up the pace of her campaign schedule with the packed weekender battleground state, something we don't normally see. And here in the all-important state of Pennsylvania, her campaign really emphasizing the Keystone state because they says as the state -- that they know she's going to win, add to that the states she's confident that she'll win, including the ones she's not advertising and they feel so good about them. And then tack on Pennsylvania and they're on the precipice of 270 electoral votes, that all-important number.
Hillary Clinton also today benefiting from Donald Trump stepping on his own message as he tries to give his closing argument. He said that he plans to sue women who have accused him of forcibly kissing or groping them after the election. Hillary Clinton responding.
[04:20:06] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today we're making our closing argument. We are talking about what's at stake in the election, drawing contrast, but we're giving people something to vote for, not just against, and I saw where our opponent Donald Trump went to Gettysburg, one of the most extraordinary places in American history, and basically said if he's president he'll spend his time suing women who have made charges against him based on his behavior.
KEILAR: And as Hillary Clinton blankets battleground states, she has some help this week from a cast of high profile surrogates. Her husband Bill Clinton heading for the Florida panhandle tomorrow. Chelsea Clinton is going to be Tuesday in Wisconsin and Vice President Joe Biden heading at the beginning of the week to Ohio where polls have tightened up a little bit and Hillary Clinton is hoping to squeak out a win against Donald Trump.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Pittsburgh.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Thank you. Let's now bring in CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott live via Skype in Washington.
Eugene, always a pleasure. Donald Trump laid out his plan for the first 100 days. He talked about everything from term limits to renegotiating NAFTA. But also leaning in on this argument that somehow the system, Eugene, is rigged against him, and Democrats are reading that argument a very different way.
Let's play two sound bites, first from Trump then from Tim Kaine. We can talk about it here on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The system is rigged. You know it, I know it, the politicians know it, the media people know it, they all know it.
SEN. TIM KAINE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, he's losing and he knows it and he's not a guy who would ever accept responsibility and say, oh, I lost the an election because I ran the most divisive campaign in American history. He's not going to accept responsibility, so it's got to be somebody else's fault. Just like when "The Apprentice" didn't win an Emmy Award one year. And he said it was clearly rigged. This guy can't take responsibility for anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So, Eugene, the question that people have, you know, is this a situation, what's the strategy here? Is Donald Trump doing his best to energize his base with this argument that somehow the system is rigged against him or is this Donald Trump preparing for the possibility that he might lose?
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: I think it's a combination of both. So his base definitely thinks the system is rigged, not just against Donald Trump, but against them, and that is what in part spurred him to the top of the ticket. Whether or not this will actually work in creating a momentum that keeps these people with him after the election in the event that he does lose is not clear right now, but he certainly hopes that it will.
The reality of Donald Trump, unlike many of the Republican candidates he ran against, is that if he loses this election, he doesn't have a political office to go back to. He's not a governor. He's not a senator. He doesn't run a think tank. But if he continues this movement and this conversation about a group of people, the silent majority being ignored, perhaps he can remain politically relevant, or at least that's what he's thinking.
HOWELL: I see. And also it was interesting, this again was a speech at Gettysburg, a very historic site here in the United States, and Donald Trump laid out his policy agenda. Again, we're talking about everything from NAFTA, talking about immigration, topics that are very important to many Americans. But Trump taking the opportunity also to talk about the women who are accusing him of sexual misconduct and Eugene, Trump saying this in that very same speech. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: The optics of that, Eugene, to give a major policy speech at Gettysburg but also to take a moment to indicate that as president, he will sue these women.
SCOTT: Yes, the social media reaction from some of the women even was very interesting saying that they hope this does not discourage more women from coming forward. One of the main questions many people asked on both sides not familiar with how sexual assault allegations come about is why did women wait so long to say something. There's some fear and some concern that a threatened lawsuit could keep more women from moving forward.
[04:25:02] If it's any consolation to these women, Donald Trump also threatened to sue "The New York Times" two weeks ago and has a history of threatening to sue organizations and individuals but doesn't always follow through.
HOWELL: Let's also take a snapshot right now, Eugene, at what the race looks like today. We have a map that shows the battleground states and we are seeing some states, though we don't have the color purple on here. Fair to say many of the states that you see there in yellow could be turning purple and that's a concern certainly for the Trump campaign, the state of Utah, for instance, the state of Georgia, Arizona. These are states that are typically Republican strongholds but now many of them are a lot closer than many Republicans thought they would be in a race for president.
Eugene, what is the strategy for the Trump campaign to make sure that those states stay in the red column?
SCOTT: Well, the Trump campaign strategy has always been to sign up new, first-time voters who have felt isolated and left out by the system who would register and vote for him. Whether or not he's able to do that is not really clear right now. One of the biggest indications of whether or not you will vote in the future is if you have voted in the past. And so whether these people will actually due more than attend a rally remains to be seen.
I will say an important note about some of those states which I've reported in like Arizona and North Carolina, while they historically have been red, there's huge blue pockets in the urban areas. And so this conflict, this tension, that is presenting purpleness, is not really new.
HOWELL: CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott, live via Skype in Washington.
Eugene, it is always a pleasure. And we'll chat with you again the next hour. Thank you.
SCOTT: Yes.
HOWELL: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead a massive media merger is now one step closer to reality. How AT&T and Time Warner hope joining forces could help with both companies. Still ahead.
Plus, Cuba declares war on the Zika virus and it's showing other countries how it's stopping that disease from spreading uncontrollably.
This is CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:39] HOWELL: Welcome back. To our viewers around the world, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is always good to have you with us. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour.
Peshmerga forces say that they are launching a new offensive on another town to the northeast of Mosul, Iraq. The Kurdish general commander says it's part of the campaign to clear ISIS from Nineveh Province. Also U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has now arrived in Irbil where he is meeting with Kurdish officials to talk about that offensive.
Somali pirates have freed 26 men that they held hostage for four and a half years. Pirates hijacked their fishing boat in 2012 south of the seashells. The men are all from Asia and said to be in reasonable condition despite that ordeal.
AT&T has agreed to buy Time Warner, which is the parent company of CNN. That merger would help the wireless provider to expand into programming. Government regulators now have to approve that deal that is worth over $85 billion. That merger would turn AT&T into a massive media powerhouse.
The deal also shows how AT&T and Time Warner are trying to prepare for the future of media. Our senior money correspondent Cristina Alesci has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: One of the biggest media deals ever with a headline number of $85 billion. Time Warner shareholders are getting $107 a share. That is a lot higher than what FOX offered for Time Warner just about two years ago when it was offering about $85 a share. So some vindication for Time Warner for holding out and negotiating a better deal.
Now this seems like a win-win situation because For AT&T, it means more customers, a greater base, right? It has a large presence in wireless, it has pay TV, indirect TV, and now it has content, which is extremely powerful. And it makes AT&T a way more powerful company, possibly having more leverage to negotiate with all parties.
And of course there's the regulatory question. Will regulators sign off on this deal? And that is still a question mark. It's going to take a long time, possibly a year, to negotiate this with regulators. But it does seem, based on the conversations that I've had today that they can get this through. The two companies, Time Warner and AT&T, can get this through regulatory approval with probably some concessions.
Also, AT&T has to issue a lot of debt to get this through. So that's another consideration there. But all in all, for both sides of the deal, it does seem like a good one.
AT&T also, you know, there's not really a ton of targets out there that AT&T could have easily bought. Disney is $150 billion market company, much bigger than Time Warner. CBS is out there as a target, but that is controlled by a family. Could get more complicated to execute that deal. So, so far it seems like a good one for both sides.
HOWELL: Cristina Alesci there.
Now the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has not yet publicly reacted to this deal, but her opponent Donald Trump is responding. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As an example of the power structure I'm fighting, AT&T is buying Time Warner, and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Additionally, Comcast's purchase of NBC concentrates far too much power in one massive entity that is trying to tell the voters what to think and what to do. Deals like this destroy democracy. And we'll look at breaking that deal up and other deals like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Trump has often criticized how media outlets cover him. Some analysts are speculating that Trump wants to start his own television network if he loses the election on television or online. Trump has dismissed those rumors.
Several thousand protesters took over the main highway in Caracas, Venezuela on Saturday.
[04:35:05] They are angry that a push to recall President Nicolas Maduro was stopped. The election board suspended the referendum after a federal court found that cases of fraud during the signature- gathering process existed. The opposition-led national assembly will hold a special session on Sunday.
Cuba has declared war on the Zika virus. Fumigation squads are going house-to-house now to prevent that disease from spreading. Officials say that their efforts seem to be paying off and Cuba is coordinating with other countries in the region that are hit by Zika.
Patrick Oppmann has more now from Havana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Cuba, where there's smoke, there's usually the massive effort to control Zika. The island's hot and humid tropical climate is an ideal breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spread Zika that is easily put birth defects in infants. So all summer long, Cuba has been on the counter attack. House by house Cuban government health workers search out the areas where mosquitoes can breed. No potential threat is too small, even the shell of a pet turtle must be cleaned to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs there.
If you see eggs, the health inspectors says, you have to eliminate them.
After placing chemicals in standing water to destroy mosquito larvae health workers fill the apartment with thick pocket smoke to kill any of the insects that could be flying in the air.
(On camera): As soon as Zika began to threaten the Caribbean, the Cuban government put all the limited resources into fighting the disease. Just about every house has been inspected, thousands have been fumigated like this one, even the military has been brought in to fight Zika.
Raul Castro says Cuba is fighting a total war against the disease.
(Voice-over): Of the 33 cases that Cuba has reported, two occurred in this Havana neighborhood. Local doctors told CNN they were able to stop the spread of the disease by immediately isolating the patients.
"It's very difficult if you don't isolate in the first 72 hours the cases of sickness to stop the spread of the disease," she says. "If there are mosquitoes and people who are sick, it will keep spreading."
While Zika has spread virtually unchecked in much of Latin America and the Caribbean, Cuba says it has the disease under control. On Thursday, Cuba began a two-day regional conference to coordinate
the Zika fight with 31 countries.
"As the disease affects the region," he says, "it's important to have a regional strategy where we unify the efforts and strengths of each country."
While Cuba has reported success in containing Zika, there is still no vaccine against the disease, which means the battle against Zika will likely go on here for some time to come.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Patrick Oppmann, thank you for that reporting.
Last week, the Philippines were struck by two typhoons and now residents are trying to regain some sense of normalcy.
Now meteorologist Derek Van Dam is at the World Weather Center with the very latest on that.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: George, how do you come back to normalcy after your house is completely ripped off of its foundations? I mean, two typhoons in one week. The Philippines and southeast China had it very bad.
I want to recap what happened, kind of put it into perspective for you at home so you can understand just how difficult it has been in the Philippines. First on Sunday, we had typhoon Sarika make land fall. We're talking about a week ago. That was a powerful storm, to say the least. But then four days later, we had Typhoon Haima that made landfall as a strong category 4 Atlantic hurricane equivalent. This only separated by 150 to 200 kilometers, so relatively same part of the Philippines were struck by this particular -- these two dual typhoons only four days apart. Unfortunately, 13 lives were lost and millions and millions of dollars were damaged. Damage estimates for the Philippines are into the hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars, I should say.
Now cross southeast China, that's where the second landfall made for both of these typhoons, and that just in China alone destroyed over 6,000 homes there and nearly a billion dollars in damage for that area.
So it has been relatively busy across the western Pacific, to say the least. But this begs the question, how does this compare to previous years? We put it into perspective, we've crunched the numbers for you. The Philippines, on average, experiences between eight and nine named storms making landfall across this large island nation. But this year, the storm season, which lasts from May to about the end of October, has only had three land falling named tropical systems.
[04:40:01] I want to bring you to the other side of the world. This is Honduras where a landslide has claimed seven lives with several people still being searched for by some of the members of the community. You can see the rainfall that's moved through Central America, more rain, topography, very steep gradients in some locations means that the potential for landslides and mudslides continues -- George.
HOWELL: Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are in a dead heat among voters in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Peach State could vote Democrat in November's election for the very first time in 20 years. We'll have details on that, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Welcome back to NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell. And more now on the race for the White House.
A newspaper poll right here in Atlanta, Georgia, shows Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton by two points among likely voters in this battleground state. Hillary Clinton is hoping that for the first time since 1996, Georgia will vote for the Democratic nominee.
CNN's Nick Valencia reports the changing demographics could turn the Peach State purple.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's Friday at the Mosqueda household. The sun hasn't even come up yet and they're already talking about their future.
KEISHA MOSQUEDA, GEORGIA VOTER: Do you want to try this avocado?
VALENCIA: Alberto and his wife Keisha moved from Virginia to Georgia about two years ago. This will be their first presidential election as state residents, and it's people like them who are changing the historically red state purple.
Mosqueda is a conservative. He didn't vote for President Barack Obama in 2008 or in 2012, nor does he really support Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton but he says he's voting for her anyway.
A. MOSQUEDA: If it wasn't for the candidate that's running now, I'd probably would have voted that other candidate rather Clinton.
VALENCIA (on camera): You would have voted Republican?
A. MOSQUEDA: More than likely.
VALENCIA: What is it about her that's -- it's hard for you to totally accept her?
[04:45:01] A. MOSQUEDA: The e-mails, the Benghazi stuff. Being a military guy, you know, you take all that into account, the Benghazi, especially the e-mail security, and all that and this is just -- they're just direct breaches and direct violations of what the simple thing that they teach you, even as a lower enlisted guy in the military.
K. MOSQUEDA: Try it. It's good.
VALENCIA (voice-over): The Mosquedas are a house divided. While husband Alberto usually votes Republican and relies on his Christian values, he says he can't bear to vote for Trump, especially after what he said about Latinos. His wife Keisha has always voted Democrat. Her vote, she says, is guided by what she wants the future to look like for her 5-year-old son, Solomon.
K. MOSQUEDA: I'm very concerned about him in the future, a minority male that's something that's just always on my mind.
VALENCIA: Solomon might not yet understand the importance of his parents or the effect their votes could have in Georgia, but he knows this much.
K. MOSQUEDA: Which color are you voting for?
SOLOMON MOSQUEDA, SON: Blue.
VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, Lawrenceville, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: As the U.S. election gets closer, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are trying to rally the Hispanic vote in the U.S. Latino voters in Arizona share their views on the nominees with CNN's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How many of you are voting for Donald Trump? Two. And how many of you are voting for Hillary Clinton? Three.
(Voice-over): In Phoenix, this group of Latino voters we gathered at Arizona State University is split on who they want to be president. Despite Trump's hard line on immigration and comments about the Latino community, some are supporting him because of his business background.
(On camera): Why do you think Donald Trump will create jobs or help the economy for the Latino population?
SERGIO ARELLANO, TRUMP SUPPORTER: He's a self-made businessman. He's an entrepreneur. He creates jobs.
FRANCISCO MENDOZA, CLINTON SUPPORTER: Just because you're going to get a job from him or some Mexicans or some Hispanics are going to get jobs, at what price? What is going to be the nature of the United States now after if he -- of course, he's not, but in case that something happens and if he wins? It is going to be a disaster.
KAYE (voice-over): And what about the wall Trump wants to build at the border with Mexico? On that, our group was also split. This woman wants immigration reform instead. DEEDEE GARCIA BLASE, CLINTON SUPPORTER: If you're going to build a
wall, they're going to build tunnels. So let's just focus on the problem and take care of it once and for all.
KAYE: Trump's talk of a deportation force rounding up millions of illegal immigrants and shipping them out of the U.S. has also turned off some voters.
(On camera): If Donald Trump does win and we do have a deportation force, what would that look like and how would you feel about it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's going to be chaotic. It will put us in a crisis mode.
KAYE (voice-over): Those in our group voting Clinton like that she isn't looking to separate immigrant families.
(On camera): Why should they be able to stay here legally, though, if they came here illegally?
BLASE: I'm for family. I'm for grandmas being close to their grandchildren and keeping the family together. It's inhumane to force families apart.
KAYE (voice-over): The latest Arizona State University poll shows Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump by five points, which has both campaigns heavily targeting Latinos. The divide among them became even more clear as the conversation among our group grew more heated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why does it hurt you so much in talking about Mexico? Are you a Mexican from Mexico and are you loyal to Mexico or are you loyal to the United States? I'm an American citizen. What are you?
MENDOZA: I am talking here about --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm asking you question. It's a yes or no answer. What are you?
MENDOZA: I am a U.S. citizen. I was born in the United States.
KAYE (on camera): As a member of the Latino community, how can you be voting for Donald Trump? A lot of people can't understand that. What do you say?
ARELLANO: What I say is look, look at what you've had these past eight years. We're talking about Nogales, Arizona, Douglas, Yuma, it's impoverished. These Hispanics have seen nothing but Democratic rule for over 20 years. Impoverished. There's no jobs, the economy, the infrastructure's gone. They're tired of it.
KAYE (voice-over): Those saying no thanks to Trump are tired of his pandering to the Latino community such as when he tweeted this picture of himself on Cinco de Mayo eating a taco salad. The caption read, "I love Hispanics."
MENDOZA: He's not a good representation for the United States. Donald Trump is not what United States is all about.
KAYE: Randy Kaye, CNN, Phoenix.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio used his Oscar wins to address environmental issues earlier this year and how he's continuing that theme with a new documentary. That story ahead as NEWSROOM presses on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
[04:53:30] HOWELL: Welcome back to NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
Leonardo DiCaprio is hoping to push climate change into the U.S. political agenda. The actor is addressing environmental issues in a new documentary released just in time for the presidential election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: We've known about this for decades, for over half a century. Try to have a conversation with anyone about climate change, people just tune out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Climate change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Climate change.
DICAPRIO: And the problem seems to be getting worse and worse and worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost a decade after his eco dock "The 11th Hour," Leonardo DiCaprio has returned to green issues, this time joining forces with Fisher Stevens, the actor turned filmmaker who won an Oscar for the documentary "The Cove."
FISHER STEVENS, DIRECTOR: We really made this film for young people and other people that don't think about climate change, don't think about how important this issue is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the film, DiCaprio travels the world, talking to scientists, environmentalists and world leaders.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we keep pushing, there's no reason why we can't solve this problem.
DICAPRIO: Well, there's still this dialogue that's going on in our country where people are still denying manmade climate change and as one of the scientists puts it in this movie very bluntly, it's like denying gravity exists at this point. You have over 97 percent of the consensus of the scientific community, saying that this is real, we are doing this damage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While making the film, DiCaprio won his first Academy Award for "The Revenant." Presenting the filmmakers with the perfect opportunity to underline their message.
[04:55:05] STEVENS: He was like, we got to talk about environment. And it was a great platform. And after his speech, I think more people Googled climate change than had ever before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The film is being released in cinemas and on the National Geographic network, deliberately timed in a move to push climate change onto the political agenda ahead of the U.S. presidential elections. But the producers accept they face a tough fight to wrestle the headlines away from the more lurid stories surrounding the presidential candidates.
STEVENS: What we wanted to do was not totally freak people out, but we wanted to shake them enough. But we wanted to let them know that we can turn this around on time.
DICAPRIO: The world is now watching. We ask you to protect it. Are we and all living things we cherish are history?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Curry, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: All right. For any of you who know anything about the city of Chicago, you know that this is a big deal. The Cubs now headed to the World Series. They beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the National League pennant Saturday night. They will now face the American League champion, the Cleveland Indians. The Cubs haven't been to the World Series since 1945. The last time they won the series was 1908. Game 1 is set for Tuesday night in Cleveland.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell at the CNN center in Atlanta. I'll be back after the break with more news from around the world. Thanks for watching CNN, the world's news leader.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
