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Clinton Campaign Pushes Bank on FBI; CNN Team Reports from Front Lines of Mosul; Central Italy Recovering from Powerful Earthquake; South Korea's Park Approval Rating Tanks Amid Scandal; Robots Usher in More Jobs for Humans. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired October 31, 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 Clinton e-mail saga adds another chapter. U.S. Justice Department officials obtain a warrant to search a computer containing e-mails of a top Hillary Clinton aide.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: At the front line in Mosul, a CNN team witnesses intense fighting between Iraqi-led forces and ISIS.

ALLEN: Also, central Italy recovers from a powerful earthquake, the third major tremor since August.

VANIER: Thank you for joining us. And a very warm welcome. I'm Cyril Vanier.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. We're live in Atlanta. "CNN Newsroom" starts right now.

VANIER: The renewed controversy over Hillary Clinton's e-mail server will likely persist through the U.S. presidential election justice over a week away. The FBI now has a search warrant for a computer containing e-mails by Clinton's top aide Huma Abedin. The computer belonged to Abedin's estranged husband Anthony Weiner, and was being examined in an unrelated criminal case. Investigators believe that computer may contain e-mails that were deleted from Clinton's server before it was handed over to the FBI.

ALLEN: And now, FBI director James Comey is being criticized for bringing up these e-mails on Friday, even though the bureau knew about them weeks ago. The revelation was a bombshell for Clinton's campaign as she'd been surging in the latest polls. The senate's top Democrat Harry Reid said Comey is playing politics and may have even broken the law with the timing of this news.

In a letter, Reid accused Comey of withholding potentially damaging information about Donald Trump while spreading innuendo about Hillary Clinton. Reid writes "Your highly selective approach to publicizing information along with your timing was intended for the success or failure of a partisan candidate or political group."

But Hillary Clinton for her part has largely ignored the e-mail issue on the campaign trail. However, she did have some pretty strong remarks this weekend about the timing of this. She is now moving around the critical battleground state of Florida. VANIER: The recent polls show it's a toss-up right now between her and Donald Trump. The closest she came to addressing the controversy Sunday was to simply dismiss it as, quote, noise and distraction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There have been ups and downs and all that we've gone through over the years and even in this campaign, but I want you to know, I am focused on one thing, you. Your lives, your future. The problems that keep you up at night. That's what I'm interested in. And that's what I'm going to be talking about here today and throughout the next nine days. That's really what this election is about. You know, there's a lot of noise and distraction, but it really comes down to what kind of future we want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: So Hillary Clinton trying to keep it back on the issues. Donald Trump, however, has been getting plenty of mileage out of these new e- mails.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're leading all over the place. And we're leading numerous national polls. And those polls are all before the bombshell of corruption that was additionally exposed, or exposed for a second time on Friday. So this was all -- this was all before the big bombshell, these polls came out. So I don't know what that's going to mean. I can tell you, I wouldn't be voting for her. We can speak for days, for weeks, months about Hillary's many crimes against this country, and its people and her efforts to conceal those crimes by destroying 33,000 e-mails.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Now Anthony Weiner had mostly stayed out of the public eye since his failed bid to become New York mayor in 2013.

ALLEN: But as we now know, his private actions are having unintended, possibly damaging consequences, for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

CNN's Brynn Gingras has more on the once rising political start and his dramatic fall from grace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A usually overexposed Anthony Weiner remaining quite private as an investigation into his sexting is having a ripple effect on the presidential race. Weiner has made no comment and has not been seen leaving his Manhattan home this weekend as questions remain about what e-mails were discovered that launched the Justice Department to reopen the case into Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server.

Weiner, a former Democratic congressman, once stood in harmony with Clinton, both serving on Capitol Hill at the same time. Weiner was a charismatic political rising star who had his eye on Clinton's quiet closest confidante, Huma Abedin.

[01:05:06] Weiner courted Abedin and eventually opposites attracts. The two married in 2010. Bill Clinton officiated the ceremony. However, marital bliss soon faced a bombshell.

FRM. REP. ANTHONY WEINER, (R) NEW YORK: I'm announcing my resignation from Congress.

GINGRAS: Weiner surrendered his political post after he inadvertently tweeted a picture of his crotch. The scandal broke as the couple were expecting a child. Abedin gave her husband a second chance and Weiner asked New Yorkers for the same as he ran for mayor in 2013. But that bid soon imploded when more lewd online conversations with women surfaced. The final straw for Abedin came this year when the FBI opened an investigation into allegations that Weiner sexed with an underage girl.

Abedin announced in August she was separating from Weiner after six years of marriage. Now her estranged husband's choices being felt again. This one jolting the election less than two weeks before voters head to the polls.

Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Larry Sabato is the Director for the Center of Politics at the University of Virginia. He joins us now via Skype. Hi, Larry. Thanks for being with us.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you. Natalie.

ALLEN: Well, we've learned in the pass view ours that investigators have known about these new e-mails by -- allegedly by Hillary Clinton's right-hand woman Huma Abedin for weeks. And now they have just gotten warrant to look at them. What do you think of the timing of all of this?

SABATO: Well, it's very strange. It's more than passing odd and, of course, Republicans are thrilled and are congratulating the FBI director, Mr. Comey. Democrats are furious, and denouncing him. And pretty clearly, he has violated the usual protocols of the FBI. You do not take actions like this in an ongoing investigation and certainly not 11 days prior to an election. But it's -- the cat's out of the bag. There's simply no way for people not to consider this. And I think the remaining question is, will Director Comey qualify anything that he has said or explain it further? Give people more information before about 60% of America votes on November 8th?

ALLEN: Right. How can he stay mute at this point with the Clinton team, as you say, letting their anger be known. They've gone on the offensive toward this. And his name keeps coming up. SABATO: He can do whatever he likes. Essentially, he's in that position for a fixed term. Although there may be, once the election is over, depending on what happens, some calls for his resignation. That's certainly percolating among Democrats. We'll just have to see what he does. He's been, obviously, unpredictable, and what he did last Friday, perhaps he thought it wouldn't have this kind of major reaction. I don't know how he could have thought that. But it's been a bombshell or an earthquake or whatever metaphor you want to pick.

ALLEN: Right. And it seems, Larry, surreal that in this cutthroat, down and dirty, long election campaign that it's winded back to Anthony Weiner, Huma Abedin's estranged husband, doesn't it? It couldn't get any stranger, or could it?

SABATO: Well, I'm afraid it might. I doubt this is the end of the October/November surprises. Usually campaigns save something for the end. So, if this is the last subject, I will be surprised, as I say, but we'll see. As far as Mr. Weiner is concerned, I think that's one thing on which everybody is united. We hope we never see him again. But you just never know what's going to happen.

ALLEN: I know. Well, of course, Donald Trump seizing on this news about these new e-mails. But at a rally a few hours ago, he was back to talking about his claims the system is rigged. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Who has sent their ballots in? Now, do you think those ballots are properly counted? Do you think? So when you send them in, do you think they're properly counted? You can check on your ballot to make sure it's counted properly. I know they're all saying, oh, of course, everything is so legitimate, everything is so -- perhaps I'm a more skeptical person. OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: He keeps doubting the election process, even though those that watch the election process say he doesn't have any basis for his claims. Now he's continuing to say it's rigged. What if he started inching up in the polls? Might he change his tune about whether this election is rigged?

SABATO: Oh, of course. He's very flexible on these things. It's irresponsible, of course, and he doesn't have a smidgeon of proof.

[01:10:04] This is something we've learned about Donald Trump. He will say essentially anything, and it's very difficult for the fact- checkers to catch up with all of the misstatements that he makes, even in a single day. He's also saying, and I need to add this, that the Clinton, quote, scandal about e-mails is worse than Watergate. He has said that over and over.

Well, anyone who lived through Watergate or, as I have, interviewed some of the principals or read a number of books about Watergate knows that, however, serious this e-mail matter is, it isn't even 100 Watergate. Watergate was a constitutional crisis, and it was an octopus with arms reaching everywhere.

ALLEN: But it's been kind of his tactic to use superlatives a lot. "This is the worst thing ever. Never seen anything like this." kind of how he does it. And his devoted voters rally him on and cheer him on. It will be an interesting week ahead, won't it, Larry. We'll leave it at that.

SABATO: Certainly. We hope we can make it through it.

ALLEN: We always appreciate your time, Larry Sabato, Director of Politics at the University of Virginia. Thank you.

SABATO: Thank you, Natalie.

VANIER: Now if Trump doesn't win the election, he may not have as strong a brand to return to.

ALLEN: His often provocative campaign and some revelations from Trump's past have led a number of companies to cut ties with him.

Here's Miguel Marquez with that from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Trump in business mode. His presidential bid on brief hold.

TRUMP: As soon as we're finished cutting the ribbon, I'm off to North Carolina, New Hampshire and back down to Florida.

MARQUEZ: But the suggestion by CNN's Dana Bash that he's putting business ahead of politics.

TRUMP: For you to ask me that question is actually very insulting because Hillary Clinton does one stop and then goes home and sleeps.

MARQUEZ: Trump's brand, his name being hammered, literally, on Hollywood's walk of fame over remarks he's made on and off the campaign trail. Three Democratic senators urging the U.S. golf association to move the women's tournament from Trump's New Jersey golf club. The USGA, for now, says it's staying, but in June, a PGA tournament moved from Trump's Florida golf club to Mexico when enough sponsorships couldn't be acquired. At some Manhattan buildings bear the Trump name, residents now petitioning to have the golden letters removed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why should he get part of my rent, and why should his name be on there?

MARQUEZ: There are signs Trump's White House bid is hurting his brand. His latest hotel, not called Trump at all. Instead, Scion. Serta Mattresses, Macy's and Univision have already cut ties with Trump.

Protests outside Trump's new D.C. hotel as he cut the official ribbon inside. Chef Jose Andres pulled his restaurant from the project over the candidates remarks about after immigration. Trump sued and a deposition insisted everything on the business front is A-OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What impact do you think your political campaign has had on the success of your hotels?

TRUMP: I don't think it's had much.

MARQUEZ: But at his Mar-a-Lago in Florida, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is now under pressure to move its yearly fundraiser to a new location. The foundation decline a comment to CNN.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The Iraqi army is making progress in their fight to retake Mosul from ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ISIS less than a kilometer away firing at Iraqi special forces position. This is a constant day in, day out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: That's our team on the front lines. And we'll have a report for you from them coming next.

[01:14:02] VANIER: Plus, Italy gets hit by the strongest earthquake it's seen in decades. Just ahead, the promise made by the prime minister in the wake of Sunday's devastation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PARTRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HEADLINE: I'm Patrick Snell with your World Sport Headlines. Lewis Hamilton keeping his hopes alive in the race for the Formula One divers crown after winning the Mexican Grand prix. On Sunday the Brit had series of poor start recently, very nearly does again and here in Mexican capital. From pole position, the defending champ had to swerve off the track, cutting across the grass, but this time, it doesn't cost him dear. Hamilton holds off the challenger of the points lead and teammate Nico Rosberg tying Alain Prost record of 51 wins in the process.

It's a huge career breakthrough win for the Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova the WTA finals in Singapore, the 27-0 from Bratislava. Playing this tournament for the very first time but you wouldn't have known. Cibulkova winning the first set in just a half an hour against Germany Angelique Kerber. Just look what it means to her. She ultimately prevails 6-3, 6-4. Emotion etched right across her face.

It's been a weekend to remember to for the Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama. The 24-year-old one of the game's bright young stars. So now he can lay claim to the biggest title of his career after winning the World Golf Championship in Shanghai on Sunday. The world number 10 winning by seven shots nevertheless. Rattling off a 6 under 66. A tournament tally of 23 under par. The first Asian player to win a WGC event.

That's a look at your headlines. I'm Patrick Snell.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: And Iraq forces keep edging closer to Mosul to take it back. Paramilitary forces are battling ISIS militants there. Officials say 20 villages west of Mosul have now been liberated.

VANIER: Meanwhile, the Iraqi forces are making advances in their push to reclaim Mosul from ISIS. One town south of the city was completely cleared of ISIS. However, the Militants are putting up strong resistance with reports of civilians being used as human shields.

ALLEN: Senior International correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is embedded with Iraqi troops near the front line.

VANIER: And photojournalist Scott McWhinnie and Producer Ghazi Balkiz were also with Nick for this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: The last phase of lifting ISIS's dark curse from Iraq again here, trying to hit a spectral fleeting enemy lit only by the glow of Mosul's city limits, barely two kilometers away. Iraqi special forces trained by the U.S. target with a tank here. Where they are attacked from during the day. Telling us to use Humvees as cover when they move. They Commander Major Salam has fought ISIS in Fallujah, Ramadi, and now the end is near.

Where did the artillery land, he asks? Just visible in the distant light of Mosul. This is the global tip of the spear in the war on ISIS. Surging forward on a thin strip of land into ISIS territory. And as we see, in the same area in daylight, facing constant counterattacks. Here, they can see ISIS just beyond the berms. The incoming is from behind it.

[01:20:07] A truck that pops up, opens fire and vanishes. ISIS less than a kilometer away firing at Iraqi special forces position. This is a constant day in and day out.

Where is it moving? He asked. As cross as emerge the truck vanishes but here there are yet tougher hours ahead. Dark has just fallen, and the sky is alight with ferocious firepower. ISIS have attacked the berms. Suicide bombers. Rocket-propelled grenades. It is constant, exhausting, closer and closer to the roof we are on. We simply do not know where in the town around us ISIS may have broken through.

We have intense compact between so far, toward this Iraqi special forces position. Now, (inaudible) it seem to try and stop those coming down the road.

ISIS, despite being in their end days, still able to conjure the terror of omnipotence that began their savage rule. The wounded start coming back, but we cannot film them. A steady stream. The unit we were with earlier on the roof had been hit. Rockets struck, many of them asleep, tightly packed in a room. The blast killed 14 soldiers. Many limbs torn clean off.

Major Salam is shown the weapons of the dead. He pauses in emotion. You guys are heroes, he says, and none of you should be affected by this. Those suicide bombers are nothing. Two kilometers from Mosul city, and seven left to the center to go.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Bazwaya near Mosul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: We'll return to other news now. A powerful earthquake has hit central Italy yet again injuring at least 20 people and leveling homes and historic sites.

VANIER: And the 6.6 magnitude tremor is the strongest in the country in more than three decades.

CNN contributes to Barbie Nadeau has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The devastating earthquake that struck central Italy on Sunday morning may not have caused any loss of life, but it certainly ruined communities and people's daily lives. These villages in central Italy which were hit by twin earthquakes last week and in a region that was struck by a deadly earthquake that killed nearly 300 people in August are devastated.

People have nowhere to stay. Their homes are unsafe. The civil protection agency is urging anyone that still thinks they can sleep in their homes in this area to leave for a safer place until the aftershocks stop and until the earth settles back down. Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi vowed that the Italian government will rebuild the communities that have been destroyed.

Let's listen to what he had to say.

MATTEO RENZI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (Through Translator): We will rebuild everything. Houses, churches, shops. They are beautiful landscapes, territories whose identities are tied to beauty and the sense of welcoming.

NADEAU: but it really is going to be up to the people who have lost everything to see whether they have the courage and the will to return to an area that they've called home for so long that's no longer there.

This is Barbie Nadeau for CNN in Rome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Let's get you the latest now on the quake's aftershocks. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis is joining us with more from the international weather center. Karen?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's really been very impressive to see the number of aftershocks. I want to show you this Google Earth image. This is right across central Italy. Right down here, we have Rome. And just about 120 kilometers to the north, that is the area that is really seeing quite a bit of the seismic activity. Not just for the past several days but over the past several months.

They were saying some of these regions, they were actually evacuated because the seismic activity has been so intense here. Well, this is the epicenter of the 6.6 magnitude earthquake. But this region has historically seen phenomenal amounts of seismic activity.

[01:25:00] Just to give you some idea, we have seen hundreds upon hundreds of reports of aftershocks. By one estimate what we've seen is in excess of 300 aftershocks across this region. But if you were to travel a little bit further towards the north, just about ten kilometers, that's what we saw that other earthquake, 6.1 magnitude that occurred back on October 26th.

Well, just what kind of devastation have we seen with the 6.6 magnitude? And the 10 kilometers depth. That's relatively shallow, but you have to remember that we've got a lot of collision of tectonic plates across this region. We have the Apennine Mountains across this area as well.

Well, after an earthquake, what would you typically see? You might see a magnitude 5.0 earthquake expected as an aftershock but already 4.0 magnitude aftershocks across this region. I counted them just a few minutes ago. Some of them within a few minutes time of each other, but there were 15 4.0 magnitude aftershocks.

Now I emphasize that because in this region, you probably are going to at least feel a slight shaking but a lot of these buildings are already very vulnerable. There you see the before and then the after of this basilica in the region that was destroyed during that earthquake. Other debris about 24,000 people are estimated to be without homes.

Now there is some shelter across the area, which is just not much. So what can we expect in the way of weather? Well, typically this area, because of its elevation, is going to be rather cool. But we will see temperatures mostly in the mid-teens for the most part. It's going to be a little on the cool side because of the elevation. Those overnight low temperatures, Cyril and Natalie, are going to be right around the freezing mark. So they need to get shelter very quickly. Back you guys.

VANIER: All right, Karen Maginnis, thank you very much from the CNN International weather center there. And of course we'll have to look out and see whether there are more tremors, more aftershocks and what the consequences of those might be. Do still tuned to CNN's.

Still coming up, ahead the man in charge of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign goes on the offensive as the e-mail controversy comes back to haunt the Democratic candidate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:48] VANIER: And a warm welcome back to our viewers around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Cyril Vanier.

ALLEN: And I'm with the new guy.

Cyril, welcome again to CNN.

I'm Natalie Allen.

Let's look at the headlines now.

(HEADLINES)

VANIER: The FBI has obtained a search warrant for newly discovered e- mails belonging to one of Hillary Clinton's top aides. Sources say the FBI first learned of the e-mails weeks ago. It could include some messages deleted before the private e-mail server was handed over to the FBI.

ALLEN: The Clinton campaign is pushing back against the renewed scrutiny over Hillary Clinton's e-mail server. The campaign chairman, John Podesta, says FBI Director James Comey needs to explain why he took this dramatic action so close to the election.

VANIER: Podesta spoke earlier on CNN's "State of the Union."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN PODESTA, HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: This was an unprecedented action. It broke with policy Democratic and Republican Justice Departments. It was done over the advice of senior Justice Department officials. And, you know, I think the Justice Department has had a long tradition of not interfering in elections, coming 11 days before the election.

And, as I said yesterday it was long on innuendo, short on facts. We're calling on Mr. Comey to come forward and explain what's at issue here. So far there's no charge of wrongdoing. No charge even that Hillary and the reporting that backs it up coming from anonymous law enforcement sources indicates it may not be about her server. It may not be about her at all.

So I think this is something that has been tossed into the middle of the campaign. We would have preferred that that not happen, but now that it has happened, Mr. Comey really needs to come forward and explain why he took this unprecedented step, particularly when he said himself in a letter to the Hill that these may not even be significant.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, STATE OF THE UNION: He said that it was pertinent to the investigation.

And here's the world according to James Comey's perspective. FBI agents are investigating the husband of one of Hillary Clinton's top aides for allegedly sending illicit material to an underage girl. In the course of that, they stumble upon e-mails that seem to be relevant to the other investigation, the Clinton investigation. Suddenly, Comey finds that his sworn statement from September that the FBI had completed its review was no longer true. They had nor materials. Now Clinton didn't follow protocols when she started her e-mail server. Huma Abedin didn't turn over that's computer. Weiner was doing what he was doing.

And you and the Clinton campaign seem to be blaming Comey for being transparent with Congress. What was he supposed to do?

PODESTA: You know, look, Jake. He should have done, in my view, and in the view of many senior people in both Democratic and Republican administrations to deputy attorney generals from the Bush administration have already come out. He should have taken further steps. Yahoo! News reported last night that they haven't even looked at the content of these. So to throw this in the middle of the campaign 11 days out, just seemed to break with precedent and be inappropriate at this stage. If they aren't significant, they aren't significant. So you might have taken the first step of having looked at them before he did this in the middle of the presidential campaign so close to the voting.

TAPPER: But it's not that they haven't read any of them. Obviously, the FBI agents who stumbled upon them read some of them and determined them to be pertinent --

(CROSSTALK)

[01:35:15] PODESTA: Do you know that, Jake? Do you know that?

TAPPER: That's according to the report. I'm telling you according to the reporting of Evan Perez, our Justice Department correspondent. It's not as though they didn't know anything in the e-mails. They stumbled upon them. Found they seemed to be pertinent to the Clinton e-mail server investigation and that is why --

(CROSSTALK)

PODESTA: Seemed to be pertinent, may not be significant. 11 days before the election, is that something you toss on the table or do you take the time to do what other prosecutors have done in the past and make sure that if it -- that it is so significant that you had to go forward with it?

I don't fault him for taking a look at whatever he's found. We don't really know what that is. But at this stage, having taken this step, then you have to explain if he thinks they're significant or not, if they not significant. Let's let him come forward and say why.

TAPPER: Do you accept the fundamental premise the reason we're here is because Hillary Clinton and her inner circle, not including you, made a horrible decision to set up her private e-mail server, and everything that's happened since then is her fault?

PODESTA: Well, look, I think she's apologized for setting up her e- mail server, says it was a mistake. She said she wouldn't do it over again. It's very clear that this has been an issue through the course of this campaign. I think she, obviously, would like to take that decision back. But she's learned from it. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: And we'll continue to hear more about the story, no doubt.

VANIER: Undoubtedly. Nine days.

ALLEN: Nine days away.

All right, we want to turn to the political turmoil in South Korea. All these people hit the streets earlier this weekend to demand their president step down. Park Geun-hye is under fire for allegedly leaking state documents to a friend. The prosecutor's office is investigating a lawyer for that friend who recently spoke on his client's behalf.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SOUTH KOREAN PROSECUTOR (through translation): She'll actively respond to the prosecutor's investigation and will testify according to the facts. She's deeply remorseful that she has caused frustration and despondency among the public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Ms. Park is the country's first female president. She has apologized and vows to reshuffle her staff.

Meantime, her approval ratings are tanking. According to a local pollster, they're now at 21 percent.

VANIER: Let's get you more on this. Earlier, our colleague, Amara Walker, discussed it with David Kang, director of the Korean Studies Institute in the University of Southern California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID KANG, DIRECTOR, KOREAN STUDIES INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Koreans are very used to corruption scandals. You know, all the elites know each other. They trade influence with each other. So that's actually, although they don't like it, they expect it. This is something where the president herself doesn't seem to be the one influencing the -- using her influence. It's the people that control her. And that's why it's -- no one knows what's going to happen. Can she rule, even if she gets rid of the cabinet? The cabinet wasn't the problem. She was the problem. How can she rule for the next year? Yet how than they not have her -- how can they create a crisis for one year? No one knows what's going to happen.

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you -- would you be surprised if the president resigned over this?

KANG: I would be surprised. She only has a year left. Almost all Korean presidents in their fifth year are lame ducks. They all face plummeting approval ratings. This is worse than most.

What was surprising about Park Geun-hye is that she admitted her friend had -- she didn't throw her friend under the bus. She had admitted she e-mailed her friend. So even if she tries to limit the relationship, no one thinks the relationship will be limited. But at the same time, why would she voluntarily quit? So it will be very interesting to see what happens.

WALKER: You're talking about this culture of corruption. I was reading about how every South Korean president in the past three decades have been rocked by a corruption scandal. You're right when you say Koreans are used to these kinds of scandals. Why is it such a deep-seeded issue in Korea?

KANG: Partly because the elites all live in one city. So sharing influence, helping a friend out is very, very easy to do and very hard to legislate against it. So in some ways, Koreans are -- expect corruption scandals. What made this one so different is it's not out of self-interest from President Park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: South Korea's presidential office says five of the top presidential aides, including the chief of staff, have resigned.

[01:39:57] VANIER: It's been called the forgotten war. Coming up after this, millions of innocent people in Yemen struggle to survive as the conflict triggers widespread starvation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Welcome back. At least 68 people, including inmates, are dead after two air strikes on a prison in western Yemen.

VANIER: The Houthis defense ministry says the coalition led by Saudi Arabia targeted the coastal city of Hodeida on Saturday. The Saudis claim their raid hit a building the Houthi rebels were using for military operations.

The Arab world's poorest country has been embroiled in a devastating conflict since 2015. Caught in the crosshairs are millions of innocent women and children.

ALLEN: Many of them on the brink of starvation.

CNN's Muhammad Lila filed this report.

We want to warn you, this video is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are the shocking images showing what life is like in parts of Yemen. This is 18-year- old Saida Barini (ph), so malnourished she can't even stand on her own.

(on camera): Mr. Goldrick, thank you for taking the time to talk to us today.

(voice-over): James Goldrick is the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for Yemen. We spoke to him about the crisis getting worse by the day.

(on camera): On a scale of one to 10, how bad is this crisis?

JAMES GOLDRICK, U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR YEMEN: It must be up there a nine, because we're seeing every single day things getting worse. The fact the health and social services have collapsed. We have a cholera outbreak, a massive malnutrition problem here.

LILA: That malnutrition has now left nearly 1.5 million children in danger of starving, according to the U.N.'s latest figures. And in a country of 26 million, nearly half can't survive without some kind of outside assistance.

It's all the result of this, 19 months of air strikes that have crippled the economy and infrastructure. The Saudi-led coalition behind the air strikes says their goal is to reinstall the internationally recognized government of Abdur Mansour Hadi (ph), who fled with Houthi militias, overran most of the country.

Over the weekend, an air strike targeted this prison, killing more than 68 people. The coalition saying that it was being used as a military command center, something the Houthis deny.

And like with so many world conflicts, as these two sides fight, it's innocent civilians, like Saida (ph), who are suffering the most.

(on camera): If you had a chance to broadcast one message to the entire world, what would you say right now?

[01:45:39] GOLDRICK: If we don't step in soon, and we don't step in, in a bigger way, in terms of funding and our ability to address it, there's going to be a lot more throughout this country.

LILA (voice-over): And that's why the U.N. is sounding the alarm, warning much of the damage that's already been done is irreversible, and pleading for the international community to start paying attention.

GOLDRICK: It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be quick, but we have to do it. The people of Yemen have suffered long enough over the past 19 months. We cannot forgive ourselves. We have an obligation to make sure we address those needs better.

LILA (on camera): And speaking of addressing those needs, the U.N. says they're able to provide minimal assistance to about 8.5 million people, but their real concern are the many more millions who still need help.

Muhammad Lila, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

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ALLEN: Muhammad mentioned the conflict has unleashed a cholera outbreak. The World Health Organization says the number of cases has ballooned to more than 1,400 in just the past three weeks.

VANIER: Much of the country's infrastructure is destroyed. That's created a water crisis for millions of people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): The main cause at this stage is water contamination. About 70 percent of Yemenis currently don't have access to clean drinking water, and, therefore, are at a much higher risk of contracting disease. And likelihood of contamination is very high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Before we pump water to residents, we have a lab staffed with highly experienced teams that test the water for chemical imbalances and germs. And after we are confident it is safe, we pump it to residents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: And the World Health Organization says it needs more than $20 million to get that outbreak under control.

Up next, one German manufacturer employees dozens of robots at its factories.

ALLEN: Plus, the company says these machines mean more jobs for humans, not fewer. How is that? Atika Shubert tells us at the top.

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[01:51:37] VANIER: Welcome back. Usually, when robots come to your workplace, your office, it means some people are going to lose their jobs.

ALLEN: What are you talking about?

Yeah. It's always -- humans versus the robots, right? Leaders at German factory SEW say it's doing the opposite and allowing them to hire more humans.

Atika Shubert has that one.

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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carmen is just one of dozens of cobots, co-worker robots, on the production line at German machine manufacturer, SEW. She's now being designed to pick up loads as heavy as 500 kilos and help even a novice like me gently guide a motor for assembly.

(on camera): I'm pretty bad at this.

SHUBERT (voice-over): It takes some practice but Carmen does the heavy lifting.

(on camera): Good job, Carmen.

(voice-over): Since adding Carmen, Tonia, Jesse and other cobots -- they all have names -- SEW has seen a 15 percent increase in productivity and a 40 percent decrease in production time.

In this factory alone, they make more than a million different kinds of specialty motors. The key, says SEW's managing director is to think of all the difference ways cobots can assist humans.

UNIDENTIFIED MANAGING DIRECTOR, SEW (through translation): We created a different way of working with human robot cooperation. It's has the human workforce at its center.

SHUBERT: The most popular robots here are the smart work stations that roll across the factory floor alongside employees on bicycle. These cobots don't just deliver parts. They can spot mistakes and alert their human co-workers.

German factories have long embraced the robot revolution. This year, Adidas announced its newest shoes will be made by speed factory robots. And Volkswagen has used robots to manufacture its cars.

Early this year, the World Economic Forum estimated as many as five million jobs worldwide could be lost to robots and other technological changes in the next four years. But SEW insists that the robots' increase in productivity has actually allowed them to expand and create more jobs, not lose employees.

SEW says it wants robots not for fully automated factory line but assistants. They are here to help humans, not replace them, explains the supervisor who has worked here for more than two decades.

UNIDENTIFIED SUPERVISOR (through translation): We used to have 35 meter assembly lines and long production lines. It was hard work and monotonous. Now the robots give us some relief and there's greater variety in how we work.

SHUBERT: SEW is developing new robots and Carmen will soon have a younger, stronger sister, Karina.

For the robots and humans in this factory, there's no looking back.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Stuttgart, Germany.

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ALLEN: Bob Dylan, certainly, no one can replace him with a robot. He famously sang "It Ain't Me You're Looking For, Babe." The Nobel Prize Committee was really looking for Bob Dylan for a while. They've been absolutely looking for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP) [01:55:16] ALLEN: After recently awarding him with the Nobel Prize for literature, the committee tried to hunt Dylan down and tell him he had won.

VANIER: Weeks went by without a word from the man himself, the man often described as the voice of a generation. Now speaking to "The Telegraph" newspaper, Dylan says he will "absolutely" -- those are his words -- be at the ceremony in Stockholm to receive the award. Another quote, "He'll be there if possible." Let's hope a simple twist of fate doesn't prevent him from showing up.

ALLEN: I know. Kind of missed out on that.

VANIER: Kind of interesting. He's above it.

(CROSSTALK)

VANIER: I'll take it.

ALLEN: Yeah.

Finally, an update on baseball's World Series, in case you hadn't heard. It's headed back to Cleveland. The Chicago Cubs kept their title hopes alive beating the Indians 3-2, in game five Sunday night in Chicago.

VANIER: So the Indians still hold that 3-2 lead in the best of seven series. And they have not won a title since 1948, so they are going to want to nail this one. For the Cubs it's been even longer, 108 years since they won a championship.

ALLEN: Chicago, probably still celebrating right now.

Thanks for watching NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen.

VANIER: I'm Cyril Vanier.

The news continues next with Rosemary Church and George Howell.

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