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Trump White House; NFL Protests; Hurricane Nate; Catalonia Crisis; Trump Immigration Wish List Threatens DACA Protections; Film Producer Harvey Weinstein Fired; Thousands Rally Against Catalan Independence; British PM May Faces Deepening Political Crisis; U.S., Turkey Suspended Visa Services In Diplomatic Spat; Erdogan: Idlib Operation Is A National Security Issue; Free Syrian Army Gets Turkish Backing For Operation; Las Vegas Gunman's History Of High-Stakes Gambling; Gunman's Brother: He was A "Big Fish" At The Casino; Having North Korea As A Neighbor; Chinese City Worries About North Korean Nuclear Tests; The Economic Impact Of Ending DACA Immigrant Protections. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 09, 2017 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[02:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): President Trump started a new feud and re-ignited another one this weekend. First a war of words on Twitter with a prominent Republican senator, then when vice president Pence walked out of an NFL game over some players taking a knee, Trump tweeted it was his idea.

Plus large crowds of protesters on the streets of Barcelona rallying against separation of Catalonia from Spain.

Hello and welcome to viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

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CHURCH: A Republican senator is blasting U.S. President Donald Trump after a day-long Twitter feud. During an interview with "The New York Times," Senator Bob Corker said the president's reckless threats could put the U.S. on the path to World War III.

He also slammed Mr. Trump for "treating his office like a reality show" and said, "He concerns me. He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation."

This spat comes as the White House sets some aggressive conditions for any deal to protect young undocumented immigrants in legal limbo. The administration's request to Congress include funding for the president's border wall and cuts to legal immigration.

And vice president Mike Pence also made headlines this weekend for joining President Trump's attack on protesting NFL players. CNN's Ryan Nobles has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White House wading into a number of controversies this weekend, one involving the NFL yet again and another one involving a Republican senator.

First on the NFL. For the fourth week in a row, both the president and vice president voicing their displeasure with NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and inequality.

The vice president was actually at an NFL football game, his hometown Indianapolis Colts. He tweeted a picture of him standing during the national anthem. But when he noticed some San Francisco 49ers were not standing, he left the game.

He brought out series of tweets explaining the reasoning why. Not much long after that, the president took credit for the move, tweeting, quote, "I asked V.P. Pence to leave the stadium if any players kneeled disrespecting our country. I'm proud of him and second lady Pence."

After the game, a member of the San Francisco 49ers said that he thought this whole thing was planned ahead of time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My honest reaction, first of all, does anybody know the last time he has been to a football game?

OK, with that being said, he tweeted out a three-year-old photo of him with a (INAUDIBLE). So but the information that I have, last time he's been to a Colts game was three years ago. So this looking like a PR stunt to me.

He knew our team has had the most Twitter protests. He knew that we were probably going do it again. And so this is (INAUDIBLE) impression it looks like, a man with power comes to the game, tweets a couple of things out and leaves the game with an attempt to thwart our efforts.

It's really disheartening. Everything that you were raised, everything that I was raised on still, was to be the best person I could be to help people that need help. And the Vice President of the United States is trying to confuse the message that we're trying to put out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And the president was busy on Twitter, criticizing a member of his own party, Tennessee senator Bob Corker, who is not seeking reelection. The president suggesting that Corker had come to him begging for his endorsement. And when the president told him no, he decided not to run again.

Corker's been critical of the president this week, suggesting that his closest administration officials, like secretary of state Rex Tillerson and Defense secretary James Mattis, are the only thing keeping the country from chaos.

Now Corker's office flatly rejects this version of events from the White House. In a statement, Todd Womack (ph), the chief of staff to Bob Corker said, quote, "The president called Senator Corker on Monday afternoon and asked him to reconsider his decision to not seek reelection and reaffirm that he would have endorsed him, as he has said many times before."

Now even though Corker is not seeking reelection, he will be in the Senate until the end of 2018. And the president needs as many Republican votes as he can if he wants to pass big ticket items like tax reform and if they attempt another run at health care reform -- Ryan Nobles, CNN at the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Steven Erlanger joins us now from Belgium's capital city, Brussels. He is the chief diplomatic correspondent for "The New York Times."

Thank you so much for being with us.

STEVEN ERLANGER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Good morning, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Let's start with this war of words between President Trump and Senator Corker. Mr. Trump attacking the senator; Bob Corker firing back and, among other things, calling the White House "an adult day-care center."

What do you make of this exchange?

And what are Americans supposed to be making of this?

ERLANGER: Well, I think Trump is at war with his own party. It's not his natural party. The Republicans have been intimidated by his campaign. They were surprised by it. They're worried about the strength of feeling from his base.

But Senator Corker obviously doesn't care. He is not running again. And obviously Trump needs Republicans.

And don't forget, Tennessee has had Al Gore as its senator in the past. If the Republicans lose one more Senate seat, they're in deep trouble.

So I don't really understand the point of the fight except Trump likes to fight and Corker clearly struck back. Basically, he called the president a liar. He said he tweets things that he knows are not true. And I don't know why he does it.

And he called into question, from a very senior Republican who knows a lot about foreign policy, he asks really about whether Trump was capable of being president, whether he had the temperament to be president.

I think the Republicans will take it pretty seriously. And obviously people who don't like Trump will say hooray. And people who do like Trump will think Corker is a terrible person, as usual.

CHURCH: Right. Of course the other big issue from over the weekend was vice president Pence leaving the football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers after a some players knelt during the national anthem.

President Trump admitted he told Mr. Pence to do that, to leave. And we also heard San Francisco player, one of them at least calling that a PR stunt.

Is that what it was?

ERLANGER: Yes. It clearly was a PR stunt. He flew directly there to do it and then left. The press corps with him was told to stay in the press van because there might be an early departure.

Think of the money it cost to protect the vice president in a stadium, a live stadium, just for what appears to be a PR stunt. That's one of the questions one might be asking.

I mean, yes, it's true; Trump has made a big issue of these protests in the NFL and Pence is his loyal vice president. That's fine. And Pence was from Indianapolis. So fine.

But this is a kind of egregious use of the Secret Service, it seems to me, for something meant to be on TV, meant to be on Twitter, meant again to energize a Trump base, that is a little nervous about the way things are going in the country.

CHURCH: Steven Erlanger, thank you so much for joining us with your analysis, joining us there from Brussels. Many thanks.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump is lashing out against critics who say he hasn't done enough to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

On Sunday night he tweeted this, "Nobody could have done what I've done for Puerto Rico with so little appreciation, so much work."

He also shared an apparent Defense Department video, starting with the words, "what the fake news media will not show you in Puerto Rico."

But our Leyla Santiago is on the ground, speaking to some of the island's most vulnerable people. Hospitals are still without power. Patients are still without medicine. Here is what she is hearing from those people.

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LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still a strong sense of desperation, hospitals telling us that they are operating on a day-by- day basis. They are still, two and a half weeks after the storm, finding it difficult to get their hands on what they need -- water, diesel for those generators.

As a matter of fact, when we visited one hospital in (INAUDIBLE), we noticed FEMA stopped by but only to assess their needs. The only delivery we saw was diesel. And it was a delivery the hospital scheduled and paid for. Workers told me it was going to last them just a day and a half.

As a matter of fact, earlier this week, patients had to be evacuated to the U.S. Navy ship Comfort because of a generator failure. And the doctor of one of those patients told me the person was connected to a ventilator.

That's why it was so important to get more help.

Do you think you'll get that help?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hope so.

SANTIAGO: Do you need the help?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SANTIAGO: And because hospitals are struggling, many who are already sick, already vulnerable, are trying to get off the island.

I met an 8-year-old boy named Diego. And he has rare disorder. His mother has really been struggling to find the medications that he needs to stay alive. And, thankfully, through the help of some private donor, the family was able to get on a charter flight to get to Florida and get more help -- not everyone as lucky -- Leyla Santiago, CNN, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast are breathing a sigh of relief after Hurricane Nate spared the region from the catastrophic damage we've seen in the Caribbean from earlier storms.

Hurricane Nate made landfall in the U.S. overnight Sunday. And though it wasn't nearly as powerful as Irma and Maria, it did knock out electricity to tens of thousands of homes in three states and caused storm surges and flooding in some areas.

Now before it approached the U.S., Nate was a tropical storm that pummeled Central America with heavy rains bringing landslides and flash floods. At least 28 people died. Nate is now a tropical depression.

(WEATHER REPORT) CHURCH: Just three days after a bombshell report by "The New York

Times," that alleged decades of sexual harassment against employees, a powerful Hollywood mogul is kicked out by the company he cofounded. Our Brian Stelter has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNNMONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Harvey Weinstein fired from The Weinstein Company. It's a headline that was hard to imagine a week ago. But in the wake of a "New York Times" investigation into a pattern of

improper behavior in his past, The Weinstein Company board decided on Sunday to terminate Harvey Weinstein's contract.

Now here is part of the statement from the board directors, which includes Harvey's brother, Bob.

The company said, quote, "In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days, the directors of the company have informed him that his employment is terminated effective immediately."

That announcement coming Sunday evening after a weekend when this crisis deepened for The Weinstein Company.

For a moment, let's go back to Thursday. That's when "The New York Times" published its investigation into Weinstein. It found a pattern of behavior, involving actresses, assistants and models, spanning decades.

Now this kind of harassment alleged in "The Times" story had been whispered about in Hollywood for years. But it had not been made public. And it had not been reported on in this way before.

Some say that's because, Weinstein had so much power, he was able to keep people quiet and was able to quash unflattering news stories. Now when "The Times" story came out on Thursday, Weinstein denied some of the claims but acknowledged he had behaved improperly in some cases.

He also said he was sorry for causing people pain and said he would seek professional help.

On Friday, The Weinstein Company board said, "We support his decision to take a leave of absence. We know he has some things to work through."

But back then the board kept the door open for him to possibly return in the future. On Sunday, that door slammed closed. What happened in between Friday and Sunday, well, there is a couple things that happened.

Number one, a couple of Weinstein's advisers quit, said they wouldn't work for him anymore.

And, number two, there were more investigations by more news outlets happening. The Weinstein Company aware that there could be more allegations from more women coming in public pretty soon. So The Weinstein Company now breaking from its co-founder; there is no immediate comment from Harvey Weinstein.

We'll see how many in Hollywood choose to support him or criticize him or stay silent about this embarrassing scandal -- Brian Stelter, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Thanks, Brian.

We'll take a short break here. But still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, some called him the man who wants to break up Spain. Others say he is a devoted defender of independence for his fellow Catalans. We'll look at the baker's son turned politician at the center of the crisis gripping Spain. We're back in a moment.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Catalonia's push for independence from Spain may take center stage on Tuesday. That's when the man who has led the independence movement is set to address Catalonia's regional parliament.

But hundreds of thousands of Catalans are saying, let's stay with Spain. They turned out in a huge pro-unity rally in Barcelona on Sunday. And Spain's prime minister is warning he will consider suspending Catalonia's autonomous status.

CNN's Isa Soares is in Barcelona and joins us now.

Isa, always great to see you.

So what are Catalan leaders making of this massive show of support for unity in Spain?

And could this perhaps have an impact on what happens on Tuesday?

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Well, good morning to you, Rosie. We haven't heard from either leader, either Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy or the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, when it comes to those rallies over the weekend. There really was a show of force. Many people calling it silent majority of those who we haven't heard from for a week now coming out.

On Saturday, you saw people dressed in white, asking for peace. Many on both days calling for dialogue. People had placards that said, Spanish, basically "Let's talk."

We also heard very in loud voices, many people were draped in Spanish flags, saying, we need to call for unity. We are Catalans and we are Spanish.

But at the same time, Rosie, we also heard many people basically saying Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan president, does not represent us all. So you're at the point now that people are getting somewhat frustrated that leaders neither are pretty much dithering on their positions. The political standoff is still going now into its second week.

Whether that adds enough pressure on either Carles Puigdemont to drop the declaration of independence or really the prime minister to drop any other form of dialogue and actually sit down at the table, well, of course, that is going to be a critical week.

But clearly, voices have been heard here in Spain -- Rosie.

CHURCH: And, Isa, as you point out, there is still this political standoff.

But is it possible to quantify how many Catalans support and how many reject independence for Catalonia?

SOARES: It's really hard to tell, in all honesty. Because if we just go with what we saw yesterday, we had different numbers of those that were out in the street. If we go with the referendum, those who turned out on October the 1st, you know about roughly 42 percent came out to support a call for independence.

So we know that's not an overall majority of the more than 5 million people who live in Catalonia. So it is very much split. And that is what we have been seeing throughout Catalonia.

We know over the weekend many people came from all parts of Spain to call for unity. But, of course, we cannot forget that many, many Catalans here, the majority in fact do not want independence.

So it's going to be a critical week principally because, on Tuesday, we expect Carles Puigdemont to really go to parliament to talk what he calls the current political situation. It's being interpreted as a way for him circumventing the constitutional court's decision last week not to announce, declare independence on Monday.

So we shall see what his game plan is. But already Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says are options are on the table -- Rosie.

CHURCH: Call for dialogue. We will see what happens. Isa Soares, joining us there live from Barcelona, where it is nearly 8:30 in the morning, thanks as always.

Well, the Catalonia crisis is shining a spotlight on the man who is at the forefront of the drive for independence from Span. Our Erin McLaughlin takes a closer look at the son of a village baker who has stepped from relative obscurity into the heart of the separatist movement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARLES PUIGDEMONT, REGIONAL CATALAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I want to address the king directly in the language that I know he understands and speaks.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) the freedom fighter, the defender of the Catalan voice or the disloyal nationalist, risking it all to break up Spain. It all depends on how you view the crisis that spilled onto the

streets of Barcelona.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).

Those who know the 54-year-old best say one thing is certain about Catalan president Carles Puigdemont: he has always believed in independence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Carles Puigdemont has independence as his core. This is not something he's improved, it's something he knows very well. It's a part of who he is.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Part of who he is, a reflection of where he was born, a remote Catalan village about an hour and a half outside Barcelona. A mayor has always been a stronghold for independence. A village so tiny, we bumped into his cousin in the main square. He tells us what it means to be Catalan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can only be felt. It's really hard to express that in words because we're different from Spanish people. We respect them. But we have a lot of traditions, a lot of culture. And that's why we feel so proud.

MCLAUGHLIN: And you think that Carles Puigdemont reflects that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Not far away, his family's bakery, known for mouthwatering pastries and sweets. This is where Puigdemont grew up. His family still lives above their bakery. His friends tell me he was loyal, intelligent and outward looking.

At 18 he moved to the nearby town of Gerona, where he was a journalist and a businessman. He eventually became the mayor and then Catalan president.

Antony Pugevere (ph) has known him for over 30 years. He says Puigdemont is an unusual politician.

ANTONY PUGEVERE (PH), PUIGDEMONT FRIEND (through translator): He doesn't have any problem to sacrifice, to risk his own political biography, because he doesn't have political ambition. What he has is national ambition.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Pugevere (ph) insists his national ambition stops at bloodshed and economic hardship. He believes Puigdemont will try to de-escalate the situation.

PUGEVERE (PH) (through translator): It's an open wound and we need to get the inflammation down. And I know Puigdemont will try to treat the wound with anti-inflammatories.

MCLAUGHLIN: Even if that means giving up independence?

PUGEVERE (PH) (through translator): To the declaration, yes. To the long-term project, no. But to the declaration, yes, for now.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Sunset over Gerona, not far from where Puigdemont lives with his wife and two children, it looks serene. But things here are tense. Local police moved us on. The man they're here to protect is vulnerable.

In a matter of days, he could declare this land independent. And no one knows what might happen next -- Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Gerona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we'll take another break here. But still to come, Turkish forces are trying to push out an Al Qaeda splinter group in Northern Syria. The latest on that operation -- just ahead.

Plus the reason this man opened fire on a festival crowd last week in Las Vegas is still a mystery. How his high stakes gambling habit could be involved. That's still to come.

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[02:30:21] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: A very warm welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. It's time now to update you on the main stories we've been following this hour. The Trump White House is asking Congress for hard-line immigration confessions. The wish list could prevent Congress from protecting undocumented young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Among other things, the Trump administration is asking for money for the border wall and cuts to legal immigration.

Embattled Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein is out, fired from his namesake film production company. The board of directors announced the decision three days after a bombshell article in The New York Times describing sexual harassment allegations from several women that spanned decades.

Catalonia's regional President is set to address his Parliament, Tuesday, as the crisis over Catalonia's push for independence from Spain grows. Hundreds of thousands of Catalans rallied in Barcelona, Sunday, calling for Spain to remain united.

The British Prime Minister is urging the European Union to be flexible during Brexit negotiations. European officials say they first have to agree on the terms of the Brexit divorce. But Theresa May wants to start discussing the future relationship after the U.K. leaves the Union. She will tell British lawmakers on Monday, the ball is in the E.U.'s court.

Meanwhile, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tells the BBC Brexit talks are chaotic and incomplete because the Prime Minister is weak. And Nina dos Santos has more now on the British political crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Our economy is back on track. Why we will meet -- excuse me.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A sputtering performance of the British Prime Minister at the Conservative Party conference is viewed by many as a symptom of a deeper malaise, a crisis of confidence in the British government, triggered by a disastrous election which cost the Conservative Party its majority, and left some to suggest, Theresa May is in office, but not in power.

Now, words that 30 of her own M.P.s would back a call for her to stand down. That claim coming from the former co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, Grant Shapps. The public face of this rebellion, 48 M.P.s are needed to trigger her removal. Theresa May moved to steady the ship.

MAY: What I think is necessary for the country now, what the country needs is calm leadership. That's exactly what I'm providing. And I'm providing that with the full support of my Cabinet. Thank you.

SANTOS: But this call for calm, like the falling letter behind her conference backdrop as she delivered her speech, is not a good look for the Prime Minister. And the timing is terrible. With Brexit negotiations set to continue on Monday, the Prime Minister's weakness cannot have escaped the notice of E.U. negotiators, or of the markets with the pound having its worst week in a year. The Prime Minister had hoped that a mea culpa over her decision to call a snap election would have turned the tide on her fortunes but to no avail.

MAY: I hold my hands up for that. I take responsibility. I led the campaign, and I am sorry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANTOS: There is one saving grace for Theresa May and that's the fact that faced with resurgent labor and opposition, her party will do all it can to avoid triggering a general election. So, until its members can fix on a suitable successor, it's likely that she may limp on a little while longer. Nina dos Santos, CNN, at Westminster in London.

CHURCH: Washington and Ankara are locked in a diplomatic dispute. On Sunday, Turkey's embassy in Washington announced it was suspending visa services for Americans at its U.S. facilities. That came after U.S. diplomatic facilities in Turkey suspended their routine visa services. This tit for tat rough was sparked when a U.S. Consulate employee was arrested in Istanbul over alleged links to the man Turkey blames for last year's coup attempt.

[02:34:59] Well, Turkey's President says a military operation in Northern Syria is a national security issue to his country. The operation underway in Idlib province is aimed at establishing a de- escalation zone. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey's border provinces are under threat.

Meanwhile, a deadly airstrike hit the City of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province on Sunday. As rescuer search for survivors, they found a man and a child under the rubble. The strike was said to be carried out by the Syrian regime. And joining me now is CNN Producer, Gul Tuysuz from Istanbul. So,

Gul, what is the latest information that you have on this Turkish operation in Northern Syria?

GUL TUYSUZ, CNN PRODUCER: Rosemary, we know that Turkish tanks are lined up on the border with Syria, and heavy machinery belonging to the Turkish government is there. Basically, opening up parts of the border gate for an operation, for vehicles to go in through. And we also know that there are FSA units that are on the Turkish border town of Reyhanli, waiting to go in for the start of the operation. And what is going to be really difficult here is that this is one of the de-escalation zones that Russia, Iran, and Turkey agreed to during the Astana talks in the Kazakh capital.

This is one of four de-escalation zones that is supposed to be established in Syria to allow for civilians to have a little bit more of a -- of a safety living in these zones. But the Idlib province de- escalation zone is expected to be one of the harder or more complicated operation for de-escalation zones to create because of the presence of a group called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, HTS. Better known by their former name, the Nusra Front. They were al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria. And over the last couple of months, they have really gained control over very large swath of Idlib province. So, they will be a complicating factor in this.

CHURCH: Yes. So, it's going to be a very difficult operation. What are you learning about this operation that was apparently carried out by Syrian forces?

TUYSUZ: Well, the Syrian regime backed by Russia and Iran have been carrying out attacks or airstrikes in Idlib province. September has, in fact, been one of the most civilian -- in terms of the civilian death count, has been one of the most deadly months in the Syrian conflict. And really, over the last couple of months, as the group formally known as the Nusra Front has been gaining more and more territory in Idlib province, there has been an increase in the number of airstrikes that have been carried out by the Russian and Iranian- backed Syrian regime forces. So we -- and this de-escalation zone and this operation is meant to go in there and stop these kinds of a -- of airstrikes from taking place so that civilians can live there with a modicum of security and stability, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, many thanks for that live report, Gul Tuysuz, joining us live from Istanbul, where it is 9:00 -- nearly 9:40 in the morning.

Well, in Las Vegas, Nevada, authorities are trying to piece together why a retired accountant with no criminal record accumulated such an arsenal of weapons and opened fire on a crowd. So far, they know he had a gambling habit. CNN's Sara Sidner looks into his world of high- stakes betting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Authorities say killer Stephen Paddock was doing what he normally did in Vegas before his massacre began.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we are -- we are aware he was gambling.

SIDNER: A retiree, he was living off real estate investments and had long been betting big money at casinos.

ERIC PADDOCK, BROTHER OF LAS VEGAS SHOOTER: He was a big fish at the Atlantis in Reno.

SIDNER: Eric Paddock, Stephen's brother, witnessed just how big of a gambler Stephen was when they visited the Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa in Reno.

E. PADDOCK: I mean, we took over the whole top floor of the hotel, it's already in the record. My family, we -- he brought us to Vegas and we took over Reno. We took over the whole top floor of the Atlantis hotel, and you know. This is how he was -- this is the kind of gambler he was.

SIDNER: But he had also been spotted at high-roller events in Las Vegas according to Vegas insider Anthony Curtis.

What does it mean to be a high roller? How much do you actually have to spend to be in that category?

ANTHONY CURTIS, PUBLISHER, LAS VEGAS ADVISER: You know, it's kind of interesting. The high roller strata is different for different places. But when you're talking about the sort of places that Paddock played, you've got to be a really, really big better. He was playing 25 denomination video poker times five. So, he was betting 125 a hand. Playing at a rate of about close to a thousand hands an hour, 800 to a thousand hands an hour. So, he was running a $100,000 through the machine every hour.

[02:40:00] SIDNER: Paddock's game of choice, video poker. What kind of player do you have to be if you're using video poker as your way to try to win big?

CURTIS: Well, video poker is a subset of the slots but it's like a thinking man's game. Because instead of just pulling handles and pushing buttons, you have to make decisions. So, video poker is for people who want to think and try to change the odds and put them in their direction using their head.

SIDNER: So, meticulous, well-informed, intelligent, mathematical?

CURTIS: Yes.

SIDNER: Curtis says video poker is a game that would be attracted to loners. And Paddock was not known to socialize with other high rollers, though they recognized his picture. But Paddock certainly managed close relationships with at least one person, his girlfriend, Marilou Danley who worked at Atlantis as a high limit hostess.

E. PADDOCK: He loved her. SIDNER: He bought her a ticket home to the Philippines and even wired her $100,000 sometime before the shooting. According to her statement read by her attorney.

MATT LOMBARD, MARILOU DANLEY'S LAWYER: While there, he wired me money. Which he said was for me to buy a house for me and my family. I was grateful, but honestly, I was worried that first, the unexpected trip home and then the money was a way of breaking up with me.

SIDNER: He was clearly planning something much more sinister, a shooting, she says, she knew nothing about. In the end, he killed more than 50 people and himself. But authorities now say it appears he initially planned to survive and escape. Still, with all the authorities now know about Paddock, the details do not answer one important question. Why did he do it? That remains a mystery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We'll take a break right here. When we come back, the North Korean nuclear threat is very real for the neighbors of the unpredictable regime. Next, we take you to a Chinese city where the latest nuclear test by Pyongyang was felt as an earthquake. We're back in a moment.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, in the midst of rising tensions, North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un has given his youngest city more power. State-run media say Kim Yo-jong was elected as an alternate member of North Korea's top decision-making body. She is now the youngest member of the powerful group which is run by her 33- year-old brother. And this is all part of the leadership reshuffling in the ruling worker's party.

Meantime, North Korea's big nuclear test last month has many around the world very concerned and that especially true for people in one city in Eastern China. They felt the underground blast as a frightening earthquake and now they fear what their unpredictable neighbor could do next. And Matt Rivers has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The nuclear test on September 3rd was North Korea's largest to date that triggered an earthquake and international reaction was swift. The U.N. Security Council passed new sanctions, Donald Trump threatened to completely destroy North Korea and Kim Jong-un warned his next test would be over the Pacific Ocean.

But at the exact moment of this latest test, the people in the Chinese City of Yanji, just 120 miles from the test site didn't know about the nuclear blast or the international outcry that would follow, all they knew was that the earth was shaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Is this an earthquake in my apartment? RIVERS: Hundreds of thousands of people felt the physical repercussions of a nuclear test without knowing it first what it was. Many rushed outside to safety.

This is where you were when the earthquake happened.

This man, a butcher, was asleep in his bed.

So, were you scared?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): All of a sudden, everything began shaking back and forth, so I ran outside. And everyone was saying it was an earthquake. Had no idea what was going on.

RIVERS: An entire city thinking the same thing, though, collectively, about to connect the nuclear dots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Everybody came in and thought it was an earthquake. A bit later, we realized it was from the North Koreans.

RIVERS: Wong Siu Chiu (ph) runs a restaurant in town where conversations have lately focused on Kim Jong-un's nuclear program and what it could mean for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm worried about the radiation, it could really hurt us.

RIVERS: Concerns of a radiation escaping from the test site have increased with each explosion. Some experts have suggested that the mountain at the site could even collapse, spewing deadly radiation into the air and quickly across the Chinese border.

China says it has not detected anything of the sort and that its military keeps a vigilant watch over air quality levels, but in Yanji, for some parents, it's of little comfort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have a 4-year-old daughter. These tests could make buildings collapse. There could be radiation. I'd like to move to Beijing or Shanghai but I don't have the money.

RIVERS: So, it's fair to say that people are more nervous about the constant nuclear activity going on not that far away from here. But there's also this kind of pervasive sense that, well, there's not much we can do about it and we still got to pay the bills, and we still got to take the kids to school. So, life goes on, right?

So, the restaurants are still open. There are still outdoor recess and new buildings are going up even if they might be shaken by another nuclear test soon. A concerted effort to look past a problem that's becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Matt Rivers, Yanji, China.

CHURCH: We'll take a short break, but coming up, young, undocumented immigrants who started businesses in the United States thanks to the DACA legal protection, now they could lose it all if the U.S. government forces them to live in the shadows again. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:51:07] KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Hello, everyone, I'm CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis, this is your WEATHER WATCH. Two very different weather scenarios across the Northern Hemisphere, specifically in the United States as a funnel system starts to push in across the eastern seaboard but it will also have that added ingredient of what used to be Hurricane Nate, then became a tropical storm.

Now, the remnants of this are just going to produce a very large rain field up and down the eastern seaboard. While across the interior west, it is snow. This is how it looks, tropical depression Nate now supporting winds 55 kilometers per hour, and we have seen some soaking rainfall all the way from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and into Alabama and Florida.

Now, as we go into the next 24, 48 hours, it looks like the spine of the Appalachia into the Pocono and into that Tennessee River Valley, the rainfall could be significant along with some gusty winds, so prepare for that.

In Denver, it looks like a little bit of snowfall expected there. One for a high in Los Angeles, 27, sunshine for Chicago, and you would think we would see some cooler temperatures across the eastern seaboard, not so much, but it is going to be a soggy day in New York City and 23 degrees. How about for Belize City, thunderstorms and 31, Mexico City looking at 25, and mostly sunny and if you are traveling to Lima, 17 for a high.

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CHURCH: As we discussed earlier, thousands of undocumented young immigrants in the U.S. are in legal limbo. Their future depends on will the Congress keeps protecting them under the DACA program. But the Trump White House is now asking lawmakers for aggressive immigration concessions, including money for the border wall. CNN spoke with two young immigrants who fear losing the businesses they've started.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MUSTAFA GONEM, DACA IMMIGRANT: We're not taking jobs we're just competing for it.

DANIELA VELLAS, DACA IMMIGRANT: You can have my job if you could do it.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Mustafa Gonem and Daniela Vellas here in the U.S. through no faults of their own.

GONEM: Our backgrounds set us up to kind of have that fight in us.

VELLAS: A business needs me to help it bring growth, to help it bring diversity.

YURKEVICH: Brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents.

GONEM: We want to be able to pour back into our families, pour back to our communities.

VELLAS: If you can't do my job, then what job am I stealing from you?

YURKEVICH: Now, as the fate of DACA hangs in the balance, their futures do, too.

VELLAS: I was about 9 years old when my parents decided to come to America. And we get on the plane and all I remember was me saying thank you to the hostess. That's all I know in English. We came here through this apartment, and I remember my mother sitting us down and was like, we're not going back.

GONEM: I was born in Egypt and we migrated to States when I was 7 years old. And we came here really in pursuit of the American Dream.

YURKEVICH: Research says more than five percent of DACA recipients have started their own businesses. That's almost double the overall U.S. rate.

GONEM: Today's event is for Sofia Vergara.

YURKEVICH: Mustafa started an event staffing company a little over a year ago that employs nearly 30 people.

What do you say to the people who say that you as someone here with DACA are taking Americans' jobs?

GONEM: I grew up playing baseball. And baseball, for whatever you wanted, you were given the shots to earn what you want, the best man wins. So, it's not that we're taking any jobs, we're competing, and we're creating jobs in the process.

[02:55:03] YURKEVICH: Daniela works a 9:00 to 5:00 and had started her own business on the side. It's called Innovative Lab Designs and lets students who can't make it to classes at school take them online.

VELLAS: Students will buy the kits and take physics lab at home.

YURKEVICH: We don't know if Daniella is going to be here in two years. What would it mean if she had to one day leave?

GREG PERUGINI, PROFESSOR, ROWAN COLLEGE: People around the country have had their two-year schools, four-year schools. They're not doing this probably because they don't have a Danielle.

GONEM: The relationship with my father has been very special to me. One day, he had a massive heart attack and passed away.

YURKEVICH: Do you think that a lot of why you're pursuing the American Dream is for him?

GONEM: Yes. And my mom. I guess, through this business, I was able to retire her, you can say. Like I said, I don't do things for me. It's not so much for myself. My thing is being able to accomplish something and bring it back for my family, bring it back for my community.

VELLAS: Part of me says like, yes, I want to stay here but then another part of me, it's like, how can we go back living to the shadows when we had a taste of what it is to the end of the light?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Thanks so much for your company at this hour on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. For those in the U.S., "EARLY START" is next, for everyone else, I'll be right back with another hour of news. Please stick around.

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