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President Donald Trump Spoke For About An Hour In Nevada, A Key Swing State; Saudi Arabia, Finally Admitting What The World Was Suspecting For Weeks; The President Is Using This Caravan To Fire Up His Base; Situation Growing More Dire By The Day A Year After Thousands Of Rohingya Muslims Fled Parts Of Myanmar; Wisconsin Authorities Are Getting The Public's Help In Their Desperate Search For A Missing 13-Year-Old Girl; President Trump's Closing Argument For The 2018 Campaign. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 20, 2018 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:18] ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Trump spoke for about an hour in Nevada, a key swing state where Republican senator Dean Heller is in a very tight race right now against Democrat Jackie Rosen.

Trump's rally to support Heller capped a three day tour of western states as Election Day is now just a little more than two weeks away. And in many states including Nevada, early voting has begun.

CNN's Kyung Lah was at the rally in the town of Elko and joins us now.

Kyung, President Trump may have talked mobs versus jobs but he also went hard on immigration.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a heavy immigration-themed rally. He spoke many different times, returning to the topic, hitting many familiar themes but also talking about what's happening south of the border with the caravan of migrants.

I just want to tell you, looking over the camera here, the President is actually still talking to the travel pool. This is feeding back to CNN as I'm speaking. I want you to listen in to some of the comments that he just made to reporters a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will be working with Congress because, you know, they are very involved, and I wanted to keep them involved. Much as I did with justice Kavanaugh. I wanted to keep them involved. I think it's important.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: No, we don't. Nobody seems to know. Somebody knows, but -- nobody of the various investigation groups at this moment know, but we will find out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They haven't identified that--?

TRUMP: It's a concern. We would like to find out where it is and what happened. And I think we are inching our way there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has anyone in the U.S. government heard audio or seen video from the --?

TRUMP: No, we haven't. Mike Pompeo has not, secretary of state. Somebody came out with a false report. I think it was ABC. It was totally false. He has not seen that. Has not heard that. And I would tell you if he had. So far we have heard about it, but nobody's seen it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not even CIA or NSA --?

TRUMP: Not that we know of.

(INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: We have not gotten a transcript either. We have heard all about it. We are hearing about it just like you are hearing about it. Probably from the same people. We have not seen it yet.

(INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: It's possible. You don't know that, but it's possible. We have had a tremendously positive development with Mexico. I just want to say on behalf of the American public that we appreciate what Mexico is doing. They have really stepped up. And it will not be forgotten. We signed a new trade deal with the Mexico and with Canada, the USMCA. And now I'm very happy that we signed it.

I really appreciate -- and they have had some people that were very badly injured, six people at least. And we really appreciate what Mexico has done on the border. We appreciate it. First time this has ever happened. And hopefully it's because they respect the leader of the United States. But they have never done that before, and I will tell you that I appreciate what Mexico has done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you said that -- (INAUDIBLE) are you satisfied that some of them have been --?

TRUMP: No, I'm not satisfied until we find the answer. But it was a big first step. It was a good first step. But I want to get to the answer.

With all of that being said, though, we have $450 billion, $110 billion of which is a military order, but this is equipment and various things ordered from Saudi Arabia. $450 billion, I think it's over a million jobs, that's not helpful for us to cancel an order like that. That hurts us far more than it hurts them.

For the military equipment they go to China, they go to Russia, and they don't have great equipment like we do. Nobody does. But they can buy their equipment from other people. So that would hurt us far more than it would hurt them. But there are other things that can be done including sanctions.

(INAUDIBLE) TRUMP: So if it doesn't work out on the border, what I want the Democrats to do -- the beautiful thing of what is happening is the Democrats are watching on television, in this case probably better than reading it because you visually see what's going on at the border, and all of the Democrats that have made it impossible, they have obstructed and they resisted, they made it impossible to do anything because the immigration laws are so bad.

And I could sit down with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. And in one hour I could have an agreement done that would solve all of the things that you are watching that is so vicious and violent where soldiers from Mexico are being injured badly by these -- by people. And I could solve this in one hour with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, but they don't want to, but I think now they do because I think it's a terrible political point for Democrats.

(INAUDIBLE)

[16:05:24] TRUMP: I would call in the military and I would seal off the border. I would close up the border. If that happens and if that continues to move forward, the caravan we are talking about, which is I think a manmade caravan, if you want to know the truth, I think some bad people started that caravan.

More importantly or maybe almost as importantly, you have some very, very bad people in the caravan. You have some very tough criminal elements within the caravan. But I will seal off the border before they come into this country. And I'll bring out our military. Not our reserves, I will bring out our military.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). You watched his rally, he had harsh words for you early today --.

TRUMP: Biden is a man that - number one, he can't draw a crowd. You see what we have. And we have thousands of people that couldn't get in today. Many thousands.

Now look, I wish Biden the best. You know, I hope he is going to be the nominee actually. I mean, one percent Joe. I just hope they pick somebody good, somebody that's going to represent their interests. If it's Biden or Elizabeth Warren, I think she has been very badly damaged by what happened over the last couple of days or a man that ran Newark, New Jersey, into the ground -- a lot of people. But I don't see it yet. But we will see what happens. We will see what happens. Anything else?

(INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: Ambassador Bolton? You got to talk louder -- pull.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull out of the treaty --?

TRUMP: Yes. Russia has violate the agreement. They have been violating it for many years. And I don't know why President Obama didn't negotiate or pull out. And we are not going to let them violate a nuclear agreement and go out and do weapons and we are not allowed to. We are the ones that have stayed in the agreement and we have honored the agreement. But Russia has not unfortunately honored the agreement, so we are going to terminate the agreement. We are going to pull out. Yes, the IMF.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) the ambassador --

TRUMP: We will have somebody great. Nikki is a friend of mine. She is going to work in the campaign. But she has been doing it for a long time. And we are going to pick somebody very quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you prefer it to be a woman?

TRUMP: Say again --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you prefer it to be a woman?

TRUMP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?

TRUMP: I'm going to pick the best person. I think it would be good. I think she has done an excellent job. Great job. And I would love to see -- and I'll tell you, I'm interviewing three women and two men. We have five people. Three women, two men. I think I might prefer that but we will see. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you said you are going to be on more task this week. Do you expect to do something more the next couple of months --?

TRUMP: What? Respect to what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With respect to tax legislation, the -- (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: We are looking at putting in a very major tax cut for middle- income people. And if we do that, it will be sometime just prior I would say to November. A major tax cut. We are going to be putting in and are studying very deeply right now around the clock a major tax cut for middle-income people. Not for business at all, for middle- income people.

Now, the last was for middle income and for business, and our business is now coming back because of it. But we are looking at -- Kevin Brady is working on it. Paul Ryan is working. We are all working on it. And we are looking at a major tax cut for middle-income people who need it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what is your time frame for that?

TRUMP: I would say sometime around the 1st of November, maybe a little before that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I follow up on the IMF real quick? You plan on terminating -- does that mean you plan on developing weapons and deploying -- TRUMP: We will have to develop those weapons. Unless Russia comes to

us and China comes to us and they all come to us and say, let's really get smart and let's none of us develop those weapons. But if Russia is doing it and if China is doing it and we are adhering to the agreement, that's unacceptable.

So we have a tremendous amount of money to play with for our military, $700 billion plus $716 billion. So Russia has not adhered to the agreement. So we are going to terminate the agreement and we are going to develop the weapons. If they get smart, and if others get smart and they say let's not develop these horrible nuclear weapons, I would be extremely happy with that.

But as long as somebody is violating that agreement, then we're not going to be the only one to adhere to it. I think you understand that. OK.

We'll see you on the plane. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:10:19] LAH: And that was the President stopping to speak with reporters just shortly before boarding the plane. There is a bit of a tape delay in the tape that was playing and what we are actually seeing here now. I can see that the President has indeed boarded, the doors have closed, and the President is preparing to leave Elko, Nevada after the rally.

He answered a number of questions, some topics that he did not touch on during this rally. Namely the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, the "Washington Post" columnist. The President saying that they are inching closer and closer to some sort of explanation that satisfies him. He said there is no transcript that he or Mike Pompeo have seen.

He also talked about the migrant caravan saying that he wanted to thank the government of Mexico. That something he said on the rally stage.

And one last thing, Ana, that caught my ear. The middle-class tax cut that had been in development, a lot of talk about whether or not that would come to fruition, the President saying that he's looking to push something forward just before the election - Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Kyung Lah, thanks for wrapping it up for us and breaking it down.

Now with us is Harry Enten, CNN Politics senior writer and analyst and Rachel Blade, congressional reporter for "Politico" and CNN political analyst, as well.

Rachel, I want to pick up where Kyung kind of left off there. He has been talking so much about this immigration issue, specifically about that caravan, saying bad people are behind this caravan. Is there any evidence that these people are actually criminals as the President has state? And that it's been driven by Democrats? RACHEL BLADE, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, POLITICO: You know, there's

been a lot of reporting that these are women and children we are talking about who are fleeing from persecution in south and Central America. So -- what the President is doing here, he is trying to sort of rally his base right now. We are just a little over two weeks away from the midterm elections. And Republicans last week and the week before sort of experienced a little bit of an enthusiasm bump when they confirmed Brett Kavanaugh. Their numbers are looking better.

Now, it's very unlikely that they would keep the House, but what they are trying to do is really turn out their base to come out and vote. And so that's why you see the President talking about immigration. Sort of taking this tough line approach. It is something that Republican leadership in the House and the White House officials think could actually drive out their base. He mentioned their tax cuts, specifically promising sort of a tax cut 2.0.

Again, these are sort of red meat issues that they are hoping will get the voters out and help them keep the house, however unlikely it may be.

CABRERA: Harry, in that last clip, we also heard him talk about Biden and how he hopes to run against Biden in 2020. He has been talking about Biden at his rallies. He mentioned Biden just today in Nevada as well. What do you make of it?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICS SENIOR WRITER/ANALYST: Doth do protest too much. That's what I make of it. I mean, if you look at the polling, Biden is the strongest against the President. In fact, there is some reporting that suggest that despite the strong-man approach that Trump is taking toward Biden in public, in private Trump's aides actually fear Biden the most out of any of the Democrats possibly to run against.

CABRERA: Rachel, do you think the fact the President is talking so much, I mean, he is giving these sort of off-the-cuff news conferences, if you could call them that, just quick Q&As at least with reporters as he is boarding air force one, for example. He is doing all of these rallies. Does he feel confident that the more he speaks, the more likely his voters and Republican voters in general are going to turn out at the midterms?

BLADE: Yes. I think it's not something that he just believes but also the party believes. You know, I have heard a lot of Republican leadership types sort of say in the past couple of days that he is the best messenger when it comes to actually saying to the base this is what we have done. This is what we are going to do. If you keep Republicans in power.

He speaks to a voter that other establishment Republicans can't reach. And if he is out there talking, there's a theory that, you know, these Trump voters who otherwise wouldn't show up at the polls will come out and vote for him.

Now of course, that's risky, right. We heard the President call Stormy Daniels horse-face just a couple of days, and everybody, all the Republicans were kind of, oh, groaning, because they have a problem with suburban women who are turning against the President and turning from Republicans and going to Democrats. This is the key voting bloc. So he has got to be careful. And we know that the President misspeaks and says controversial things quite often. So it's a bit of a mixed bag. But they are taking the risk because they need those Trump voters again if they are going to have a prayer of keeping the house.

CABRERA: Harry, any sign that it's actually working? You have been doing your election forecast, looking at the map day by day. And today you have this column out saying that Republicans could keep the House.

ENTEN: Sure. They could keep the house. I should say most likely probability is that they don't. But I think we learn from 2016 that sometimes the less likely outcome does, in fact, occur. At this point, the forecast is showing that Democrats would have 226 seats in the House. Of course you need 218. So if we are off by just nine seats, which is actually a very small number given that there are 435 seats in the House, they could in fact keep it. And what we have seen is some Republicans coming home.

And just one additional point is white working class voters, that is white voters without a college degree. They are the ones who would be least likely to show up in a midterm election. They're the ones who like the President the most out of the Republican base. And so the President going out on the campaign trail, perhaps getting them enthused, can in fact be a good thing for them.

[16:15:26] CABRERA: On the flip side, you also have been noting that Latino voters don't perhaps see -- seem as motivated or as enthusiastic about voting as they did in 2016. What can you tell us about that?

ENTEN: Yes. Absolutely. If you look at the polls, if there's one group that seems to be lacking enthusiasm in the Democratic base, it is Latino voters. And of course that's very bad news for the Democrats and especially in a state like Nevada, right? You have a very hot Senate race going on there.

And Dean Heller, who I think most people thought at the beginning of the year would be done on arrival, has in fact not only stayed even with Jackie Rosen, the Democrat, on the fall but a number of the highest polling poses actually have been a point or two ahead. And if Democrats can't win the Nevada senate race, simply put, I just don't see how they can take the United States Senate in the fall.

CABRERA: Which kind of brings us back around to this caravan that's happening now, Rachel. And the fact of the matter is it seems that we are hearing a lot from the President about this caravan because he thinks it works to motivate his voters. But why aren't Democrats talking about it?

BLADE: You know, immigration at least just a couple of months ago was something Democrats felt very comfortable talking about. They felt like when it came to DACA, these young dreamers who were sort of put in limbo and their legal status sort of in jeopardy, that that was something that they had the political advantage on.

But ever since we heard them talk about abolishing I.C.E., getting rid of sort of these border security officials and -- Republicans have basically been able to capitalize on that and sort of run with it to try to change the narrative around immigration. And so, now you see Republicans wanting to talk about this. But Democrats, you know, they would prefer to talk about something like healthcare which we are seeing right now in the polls is really helping their candidates try to take down some Republican incumbents. You know, a lot of people support Obamacare's preexisting conditions, and Republicans have voted on legislation that would basically get rid of those protections.

And so right now Democrats would prefer to talk about this. But Republicans, again, feel like they have sort of the leg up on this narrative with immigration. They would rather talk about immigration and switch the topic completely.

CABRERA: Rachel Blade, Harry Enten, good to have you both with us. Thank you.

BLADE: Thanks.

CABRERA: Saudi Arabia, finally admitting what the world was suspecting for weeks. "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi is dead. Details in just minutes live in CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:21:41] CABRERA: President Trump saying just minutes ago he could talk with Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammad bin Salman as soon as today after the Saudis finally admitted that journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside their consulate in Turkey. But they claim the crown prince had no knowledge.

Several officials CNN has spoken with say that is unlikely. So here is what we know about Mohammad bin Salman, more casually known as MBS. His father is the king of Saudi Arabia. And last year, the king made MBS crown prince after removing his nephew from power.

So this means MBS is not only next in line to the throne, but he is now the de-facto leader of Saudi Arabia and one of the most powerful men in the Middle East. Some see the 33-year-old who met with President Trump at the White House in March as a progressive reformer. He has said he wants to move the country away from oil. And for the first time in the country's history, he allowed women to drive.

Now when he visited the U.S., his picture was splashed across the cover of "Time." He also sat for interviews with "60 Minutes" and "Bloomberg." But since Jamal Khashoggi's killing, again, something officials tell CNN wouldn't have happened without MBS' knowledge, the focus has turned to the darker side of his reign.

For instance, last year the prince orchestrated a massive purge that included locking up hundreds of businessmen and his own royal cousins inside the (INAUDIBLE) for months. According to "the New York Times" some detainees were physically abused and only allowed to leave after paying big money. MBS has also seen as the architect of the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. Now, that war has killed 10,000 civilians in Yemen since it started three years ago. Forty of those deaths were children riding on a school bus. It was struck by the Saudi-led coalition which later apologized for its mistake.

Now MBS has also been accused of detaining the prime minister of Lebanon, enforcing him to resign on state TV. And he has overseen a blockade of Qatar. None of these actions have caused him to lose the support of the White House, at least not so far.

With us now to discuss, CNN intelligence and security analyst Bob Baer. Bob is a former CIA operative.

So Bob, the Saudi report that just came out yesterday essentially clears MBS. It claims Khashoggi died after a fist fight at the consulate in what a source says was a choke hold or strangulation. President Trump says he finds the explanation credible. Do you buy it?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Ana, he is the only one that finds it credible. I don't think the Saudis find it credible. I mean, you know, 15 people sent to Istanbul to subdue one middle-aged man who defends himself and gets in a fight and gets knocked out. Just none of it makes sense.

All the evidence we have seen so far, Ana, suggests premeditation. That team, that hit team was sent there to murder him in a very awful way, as an act of revenge, if you like. That's their best guess. The Turks have certainly leaked that out, but they have yet to provide the evidence of premeditation.

CABRERA: I mean, let's just look at the Saudi explanation for just a moment because I mean, they say it was an interrogation gone wrong essentially. What kind of interrogation involves 15 men including some of the crown prince's elite guard, an autopsy expert, a bone saw?

[16:25:09] BAER: Yes. The pathologist suggests they intended to cut him up the moment they got on the plane in Riyadh. You know, what you do in a rendition normally if this had been a rendition is grabbed the person, take him home, then interrogate him there. It's -- time is of the essence.

Turkey's a hostile country to Saudi Arabia. You have got to get him out of the country as fast as possible. So the idea they were going to detain him in the consulate and interrogate him, that doesn't wash either.

CABRERA: Now Turkey has claimed it has audio, possibly even video from the moment Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate. President Trump was asked just a short time ago whether he or anyone in his administration heard the tape. Here's his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have heard all about it. We are hearing about it just like you are hearing about. It probably from the same people. We have not seen it yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Not seen it. Not heard it with their own ears. Does that surprise you?

BAER: No, it doesn't surprise me, Ana, because what the Turks are doing are playing a very nasty game against the Saudis, as well as the Trump administration. They want them to take positions that ultimately they can't defend when they are faced with the evidence. And that's what they have done all along. They have released pictures, times, dates, names, and the rest of it. I'm sure at this point they have got metadata from cell phones. They detest the Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, and they would like to do anything to make him either irrelevant or force him out.

CABRERA: Just moments ago, as well, when the President was making his remarks in front of the plane, he was asked about the whereabouts of Khashoggi's body. And to that question, Trump said quote "nobody seems to know. Somebody knows, but nobody of the various investigation groups at this moment know." And he later added that it is a concern that the body's location has not been identified. What do you make of that?

BAER: Well, the murderers obviously know where -- if they threw it in the forest or buried it or -- you know, got rid of it with acid, we don't know at this point. But remember, these 15 Saudis do not have diplomatic immunity. There's no reason in the world if it was a rogue element that they can't be extradited to Turkey and tried. They are not diplomats. The fact that the Saudis have not provided any details of what happened to the body tells me they are dragging their feet, and they will right until the very end.

CABRERA: According to "The New York Times," the President's son-in- law, Jared Kushner, is now urging him to stand by the crown prince. He thinks the crown prince can quote "survive" the outrage just as he has weathered past criticism. Do you think that's the case this time?

BAER: Well, Jared Kushner knows nothing about Saudi Arabia. He seems to know one Person there, the crown prince. We do not, the United States government, know how to get rid of Mohammad bin Salman. He is in full control of the country.

On Friday, he was appointed the head of the commission to reform the intelligence services which tells is signals that he is still very much in-charge. His father has dementia. Clarity (ph) maybe two hours a day. His son has gas-lit him. He is totally in-charge. And frankly, if someone came to me and say how do we get rid of this guy, move him out? I don't have a clue.

CABRERA: MBS has only been crown prince for now less than two years. Is it possible to keep the U.S. relationship with the Saudis but to push for him to be replaced?

BAER: You know, that would be a dangerous game. Like taking another prince and putting him in his place. And I think a lot of the -- the capable princes right now are either outside the country or have gone completely silent. I know of no opposition to him inside the country, effective opposition. And that's really our problem. The fact that we don't have an ambassador there doesn't help either.

CABRERA: Bob Baer, good to have you with us. Thank you so much.

Now on the Mexican-Guatemalan border, a desperate situation is unfolding right now as thousands of Central American migrants are traveling north. You can see just how many people are there trying to get across the border. We will take you live to the region. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:33:47] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump sounding off on the migrant caravan making its way through Central America bound for the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Democrats don't care that a flood of illegal immigration will bankrupt our country. You saw the sight. Did anybody see that bridge over the weekend? Did you see the bridge yesterday? Today? I mean, is that an incredible situation? It's sad. And it's sad, honestly, it's sad from both sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: The president is using this caravan to fire up his base as thousands wait in sweltering heat on this bridge linking Mexico and Guatemala. The scene calmer today than it was yesterday when some of the caravan pushed past border gates, running smack into riot police and teargas.

CNN's Bill Weir was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At high noon, the bridge over the border was empty. But then for some reason, Guatemalan police throw open the gates.

(SHOUTING)

WEIR (on camera): No. It's closed. It's closed.

(voice-over): The first try to form an orderly line, but it lasts only seconds as thousands more pour across, all with exuberance, frustration and determination.

[16:35:08] (on camera): The surge of the crowd has managed to shove those padlocked gates open.

(voice-over): But waiting on the other side are hundreds of Mexican federales in riot gear. They manage to hold back the human tide with the help of a single teargas canister.

(SHOUTING)

WEIR: After a half hour of chaos --

(CHEERING)

WEIR: -- the crowd calms itself, even turning on the few troublemakers in the crowd, convincing them to climb back down off the fence. Some can't take the heat and the crowd, so they jump into the river.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not criminals. We are coming here because we want to work. We need a job. We need a better life. That's why we're here.

WEIR (on camera): You understand that President Trump is going to use the pictures of thousands of people surging through the gates against you. He's going to point out that to people and say this is scary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's his politics. We respect he's the president, he's the president of the United States. And with all due respect, you know, we don't -- we're not criminals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEIR (voice-over): "Donald Trump is the anti-Christ," this man says. "If he doesn't repent, he is going to hell. We are not criminals. We are workers and fighters."

Eventually, Mexico opens to the caravan, but only a trickle are let through. Women and children first, including Marta Torres, who tells me her husband was murdered by Honduran drug gangs. After walking for a week, her three other kids are still across the river.

(on camera): Do you want to go to the United States? Have you heard, though, that President Trump doesn't want more people coming? He's even separated families who try to come.

(voice-over): "What should we do now then," she says, breaking down.

(on camera): There's no way you can go back home?

(voice-over): "I don't want my kids in the middle of crime. I don't to have the lives of my children further destroyed.

Mexico has taken the rare step of calling on the United Nations to help sort this crisis, but this standoff makes clear that for most of these folks there's no turning back.

Bill Weir, CNN, Mexico.

CABRERA: Next, I want to take you to another international crisis right now. A thousand refugees stuck in no-man's land, too afraid to come back to Myanmar. CNN obtained rare access a week after the U.N. released a full report on the genocide of Rohingya Muslims. Do not miss this.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:44] CABRERA: It's a situation growing more dire by the day. More than a year after thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled parts of Myanmar, the U.S. is among nine nations requesting a U.N. Security Council briefing. The United Nations isn't mincing words, saying Myanmar is committing genocide. But Myanmar says it's not true and denies ethnic cleansing led to those deaths.

CNN's Matt Rivers got rare access to a former village that used to be the home to 6,000 Rohingya Muslims. He found evidence there that was overwhelming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These people are Rohingya Muslims. Some of them fled from what the U.N. called a genocide.

Myanmar's government wants you to believe it never happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We fled for our life. We fled for our life.

RIVERS (voice-over): To meet these people, it took several days and a rickety boat ride to get to Rakhine State in remote western Myanmar.

(on camera): Foreigners aren't allowed in this part of the Rakhine. The only way we're able to be here is via government escort.

(voice-over): We're only taken where authorities want us to go.

Our first stop. There used to be more than 6,000 Rohingyas here.

(on camera): It's Rohingya?

(voice-over): Their existence now all been erased.

[16:45:08] (on camera): That way? OK, thank you.

This is what's left of a Rohingya village that was here. It's overgrown. It's hard to tell there were any structures here at any point. The only clues we have to the violence that took place here are trees like this one, a year later, bearing the scorch marks of the fires that burned this village to the ground.

(voice-over): The government said their forces did respond to Rohingya terror attacks her in 2017, but that the Rohingyas burnt down their own houses. Only local Rakhine Buddhists remain now. This man supports the story.

"The Rohingyas started attacking the army," he says. The Muslims announced that would have a celebration, a slaughtering and cooking soldiers and Rakhine people." Though clear evidence shows it was the Rohingya people who were the

victims of slaughter, 10 Rohingya men were hacked and shot to death by Myanmar soldiers, a massacre the military has admitted to, and that two Reuters journalists were jailed for investigation. The U.N. says many more men, women and children were savagely killed here as well.

The trip then continues through a barren, empty landscape. Makes sense when you remember the U.N. said 720,000 Rohingya fled when the violence broke out last year. A full U.N. report documents how the military and local groups engaged in rape, torture and the murder of at least 10,000 people to get rid of the Rohingya, a group in Myanmar regard as subhuman, noncitizens.

(SHOUTING)

(on camera): So do you continue to claim that it did not happen in Rakhine state?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

RIVERS (voice-over): "During the incident there was damage. Regarding the army, we did everything within the law. We cannot comment on whether it was right or wrong."

(on camera): The question is very simple. Do you believe that genocide happened here or not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

RIVERS (voice-over): "I'd say genocide didn't happen."

Myanmar's civilian leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, also denies genocide. Her government said it's ready to bring back Rohingya refugees like these, stuck in no-man's land, forced out of Myanmar and not allowed across the border into Bangladesh. They're staying put because in part because security forces that would oversee their return are some of the same people accused of carrying out the killing in the first place.

(on camera): The conditions inside that camp are obviously horrific. There's no access to education, no health care, no electricity, food is scarce. Yet still, they'd rather be on that side of the fence than this one because they're too afraid to come back.

(voice-over): Myanmar might continue to deny ethnic cleansing, but the evidence gathered by the U.N. and others is overwhelming. A government-sponsored trip does nothing to change that fact.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Rakhine State, Myanmar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Coming up, a scary moment on a California freeway when a small plane was forced on to make an emergency landing on the road. We'll tell you what happened, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:52:45] CABRERA: Wisconsin authorities are getting the public's help in their desperate search for a missing 13-year-old girl. The Barron County Sheriff's Department says it has received more than 1,000 tips about Jayme Closs. Jayme's parents were found shot dead in their home Monday. Investigators believe Jayme was at home during the shooting, but now she's missing. Someone from that home called 911 early Monday morning. Investigators say no one spoke, but the dispatcher could hear a disturbance. The Barron sheriff says he has a 100 percent expectation that Jayme is alive. If you have any information about Jayme Closs, investigators are asking you to call the FBI tip line. You see the number at the bottom, 1-855-744-3879.

The Mega Millions is now mega billions. After no winning ticket was drawn in last night's Mega Millions lottery, the jackpot now stands at a whopping $1.6 billion, "billion dollars." That is a new lottery world record. The estimated cash payout is $905 million. The next Mega Millions drawing is Tuesday night. You still have time to go try your luck and get a ticket. Good luck.

This is something you don't see while driving on the freeway every day and frequently -- I would say very infrequently, rarely, in fact -- an airplane landing right in front of you. Watch this. Apparently a student pilot and her instructor had some engine trouble in the skies. They were forced to make an emergency landing right there on Interstate 8. This is in San Diego County, California. And look at the drivers. Nobody's even stopping. Even the person who's recording this says the entire incident was caught on camera by a family driving right behind it. This was their reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Look out for the airplane.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at it. There's an airplane on the freeway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:54:48] CABRERA: Look at that! An airplane on the freeway. Ha, ha.

Luckily, no cars were hit. No one was hurt.

We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: We're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera, in New York. Thank you for staying with me.

We begin with President Trump's closing argument for the 2018 campaign. His Republican majority is at stake and Trump is trying to fend off any blue wave with 17 days until Election Day now. Trump just wrapped up a rally in Nevada as part of a campaign blitz.

That will run into next week. The president continuing to hone a new rallying cry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[16:59:50] TRUMP: The Democrat party has become an angry, ruthless, unhinged mob determined to get power by any means necessary. So Democrats produce mobs. Republicans produce jobs. That's become a hash tag.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: That's called hashtag. That's a new hashtag. That's a hot one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)