Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Protesters Greet President Trump in Pittsburgh; Trump Calls for Ending Constitutional Birthright Citizenship; Investigation Focused on Boeing 737 Max 8; Mattis and Pompeo Call for Yemen Cease-Fire; Pakistan's High Court to Rule on Asia Bibi's Appeal; India May Ban Private Vehicles; Double-Take On Actress Tilda Swinton's Role In "Suspiria"; Human Chain Moves Entire U.K. Bookstore. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired October 31, 2018 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The U.S. president went to Pittsburgh to pay his respects to the victims of the synagogue shooting. But hear why he was shunned by many in the community.
After days of searching, divers are finally detecting signals from the flight recorders on the Lion Air plane that crashed at sea.
Plus freedom for Asia Bibi: Pakistan's highest court acquits the mother of five after she spent years on death row for blasphemy.
Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHURCH: Donald Trump is back at the White House following a somber visit to Pittsburgh, a city grieving over the deadliest attack ever on Jews in the United States. The president kept a low profile on his visit, making no public comments, instead lighting candles and placing flowers for the dead at the site of Saturday's mass shooting, the Tree of Life Synagogue.
He was greeted by the synagogue's rabbi but not everyone thought this was the right time for the president to come. Demonstrators protested nearby, some holding signs saying "Denounce White Nationalism."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHURCH (voice-over): Funerals also began Tuesday for some of the 11 victims of the shooting. One official explained why he thinks it would be better if Mr. Trump had delayed his trip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICH FITZGERALD, ALLEGHENY COUNTY EXECUTIVE: Knowing that this is a pretty politically volatile time, just coming now when emotions are so raw, when we're burying our dead, when we're grieving, when we're trying to comfort the families, it could really turn out to be something different than what we really need here in this community right now.
It just wasn't the right time. And I think you probably saw that other elected officials, Democrats and Republicans, that the Republican leaders from the Senate and the House refused to come here as well, that the Republican elected officials here did not meet as well.
I think they had a sense. We were all together Saturday and Sunday, Democrats and Republicans, who were in town, even those that didn't live here, came here, our Republican Speaker of the House was here. And it was -- it is about being respectful and having a tone that is allowing the families to be first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Pittsburgh, where the protests lasted into the evening Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I want to show you how this day went. The president showed up here and, just blocks, at one point about a block from where he was, thousands of protesters gathered. This is sort of the end of it. People are now breaking up here.
But it was -- it was prayers. It was singing. It was a neighborhood and a city coming together basically to say we don't want the president here and that they will get beyond this.
This neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, everyone just in tears today, walking around here; no matter where you went, you just saw people crying and emotional. It turned to anger at certain points during the protest. There was at least one person who was arrested.
I spoke to a young woman. She is a first generation Indian American who came here. Here's why she was so upset about the president's visit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUGANYA SCHMURA, CARNEGIE, PENNSYLVANIA: I think everyone should feel terrified of what's coming for our country if this is becoming a normal thing in our society. And it has been normalized.
Shootings have kind of been almost expect like what next?
Where's the next place?
And it's sad to feel scared living in America, because this is supposed to be a land where you feel free, you practice your religion, free to be who you are and it doesn't feel that way anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: And what was most remarkable about this protest is that it wasn't planned 24 hours before the president arrived here. We weren't even sure that anybody was going to show up. But there were 20 and then there were 50. And before long, within an hour, there were over a thousand people.
And by the end of it, there were several thousand people in the streets of Squirrel Hill, singing and protesting so that the president himself could hear them as he was paying his respects.
[02:05:00]
MARQUEZ: The city, this neighborhood, this city, this area just torn by this entire episode. And we've only seen the first funerals. The rest will continue through this week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Miguel Marquez reporting there.
With less than a week to go before the U.S. midterm elections, President Trump is trying to move the national conversation away from violence while also rallying his base. He says he wants to sign an executive order that would remove the right to citizenship for children of noncitizens born in the United States. It is an issue that is sure to rile up his far-right supporters. CNN's Pamela Brown has more from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Facing criticism on his inability to unite the country following a week of violence, he's now working hard to change the conversation.
TRUMP: We're the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those benefits. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous and it has to end.
BROWN (voice-over): The president proposing to change the Constitution, one he pledged to uphold...
TRUMP: -- preserve and protect and defend...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Constitution of the United States.
TRUMP: -- the Constitution of the United States.
BROWN (voice-over): -- by ending birthright citizenship with an executive order.
TRUMP: It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. (CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: You don't.
BROWN (voice-over): Except you do, according to constitutional scholars.
Why?
The 14th Amendment states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."
If the president does sign an executive order, it is likely to be immediately challenged in court. Some in Trump's own party already saying trying to change the Constitution is a bad idea.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: You cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BROWN (voice-over): Constitutional reality aside, the political bottom line is Trump is appealing to his base by changing the topic to one of his signature issues: immigration.
The administration also announcing it would deploy more troops to the southern border, even though a large group of migrants are weeks away from arriving.
TRUMP: I called up the military. This caravan is -- they are wasting their time. They are not --
(CROSSTALK)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: What's the military going to -- ?
BROWN (voice-over): Trump is sending 5,200 active duty troops joining the 2,092 National Guard troops already on the U.S.-Mexico border. Altogether that's more than the total number of troops serving in Iraq. But a week before the midterm elections, Trump argues the move isn't political.
TRUMP: When you look at that bridge loaded up with people, that's called an invasion of our country. This has nothing to do with elections.
BROWN: Following his trip to Pittsburgh, President Trump has a very busy campaigning schedule ahead of the midterm elections. He has 11 rallies planned in eight key states and despite the recent string of violence, President Trump is expected to keep up his controversial style at the rallies -- Pamela Brown, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Joining me now to talk more about all of this is Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Good to have you with us.
LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Let's start with President Trump's trip to Pittsburgh.
Why do you think he traveled there, despite the fact that the mayor and others asked him to wait until after the funerals?
SABATO: Well, we know one reason why. He's got rallies stacked between here and Tuesday, the Election Day. He wouldn't want to cancel any of them. He wouldn't cancel the one of the evening of the shootings. So my sense of it is that this was the day that fit into his schedule best -- his schedule best.
Now there was a lot of opposition as a consequence.
CHURCH: Wow, that's pretty damning, given what we're dealing with here. This is a national tragedy. So there are calls for the president to unite and comfort the nation in the wake of that synagogue shooting and other hate crimes playing out across the country at this time.
How likely is it that we could perhaps see the president do that, talk to the nation?
Is he getting any advice from within the White House that he needs to stop this rhetoric that he's using and actually comfort the nation?
SABATO: It is amazing that this president doesn't seem to have the basic ability that other presidents of both parties, even some who were rhetorically challenged, let's say, actually did have in extending the hand and feeling the pain of Americans going through trauma and calming the nation.
He doesn't have it.
[02:10:00]
SABATO: He can't do it. And I don't think he's going to develop it at this age. He's in his 70s and he is what he is. It is just remarkable. It is another tragedy of this presidency. And as I say, I will be surprised if it ever changes.
CHURCH: Let's turn to the other big issue that has everyone distracted and confused, in fact, and that is President Trump's suggestion to end birthright citizenship with an executive order. Now this is what vice president Pence said about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We all cherish the language of the 14th Amendment. But the Supreme Court of the United States has never ruled on whether or not the language of the 14th Amendment, subject to the jurisdiction thereof, applies specifically to people who are in the country illegally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: So legal experts say Mr. Trump would have to change the Constitution.
Is this just politics at play, do you think, ahead of the midterm elections?
Or could Mr. Trump very well try to end birthright citizenship?
We were listening there to Vice President Pence almost tie himself in knots trying to explain how they will go forward with this.
SABATO: Rosemary, there's no doubt this is about the election. Just like the emphasis on the "dangerous" caravan that is a thousand miles away from the U.S. border. These are issues to stir the Trump base and to get more Republicans to vote on Tuesday. That's the main purpose.
Let's say he really intends to do this. It is absolute poppycock what Pence said and what President Trump has said. You can't change a constitutional amendment or any part thereof with anything other than another constitutional amendment, unless there's an provision in the constitutional or in that amendment which permits you to do so.
And that is not true of the 14th Amendment.
So this is -- if it's not made up, it ought to be. Executive orders don't cover the Constitution. One Democrat said to me today, you know what, I maybe agree to that. Let him take the executive order doing away with birthright citizenship if we'll agree that the next Democratic president can abolish the electoral college by executive order.
Of course, the Republicans would never permit that.
CHURCH: When you listen to what vice president Pence says though, he's more or less trying to say that the 14th Amendment doesn't apply here. So it doesn't apply to illegals.
So is there -- I mean, would they move forward on a legal argument like that?
So that -- they would suggest there's no need to change the Constitution because these illegal immigrants don't fall under that amendment.
SABATO: Actually there was discussion in Congress about similar circumstances. It was clearly understood that people could be in the United States, noncitizens, for whatever reason and if someone gave birth, the baby was automatically a citizen of the United States.
By the way, Supreme Court did adjudicate a case in 1898 that dealt in part with this very issue. And it was determined that the 14th Amendment should be upheld and that citizenship should be granted. So I don't know who is advising Trump or Pence, maybe themselves. But they really need to take a refresher course in constitutional law.
CHURCH: And we shall be watching to see what impact all of this has on the midterms, not far away right now. Larry Sabato, thank you so much. We appreciate your perspective and analysis.
SABATO: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: President Trump's vow to end birthright citizenship is his latest salvo against immigration laws he fears lead to chain migration. And we should point out with some irony that his own family has taken advantage of those very same laws.
Earlier this year, Melania Trump, an immigrant herself, finalized the process for her parents to be granted American citizenship through her sponsorship. That type of family visa is exactly one of the categories that President Trump has tried to repeal.
The immigration lawyer who helped Melania Trump's parents get their citizenship said the president's fears are unfounded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WILDES, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY FOR MELANIA TRUMP: The dialogue has deteriorated tremendously. The notion of an anchor baby and the fear that the president is instilling is just ineffectual. I haven't seen in my 30 years of practice a woman coming in pregnant so that, 21 years later -- yes, 21 years later -- a parent can then be sponsored by a child but only if the parent entered legally and overstayed.
So we have legal mechanisms --
[02:15:00]
WILDES: -- and we shouldn't be playing to fears. And this is just another political effort, unfortunately, where immigration is a ping- pong. And again, we have foreign students that are looking to get on board into the workforce. We're going to be competing against them.
We're distracting the most vulnerable and scores of people watching this that are coming to immigration lawyers throughout the nation are living in fear every time something like this happens. Do not fear, this won't work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: We should note: birthright citizenship is not unique to the United States. As you can see here, 30 countries, including the U.S., offer birthright citizenship. It is most common in the Americas compared to other parts of the world.
Almost all European, African, Asian and Oceanic countries grant their citizenship through right of blood, that is children inherit citizenship through their parents but not their birthplace. We'll take a break here. But still to come, a Christian woman on
death row in Pakistan for blasphemy gets a verdict from the country's highest court. We are live from Islamabad with that.
And Indonesian investigators are closing in on possible answers to what went wrong on Monday's Lion Air flight. We're back in just a moment.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHURCH: Indonesian investigators are a step closer to finding the flight data recorders on board the doomed Lion Air flight. Officials say they have heard transponder pings that could lead them to the plane's boxes.
Investigators are trying to determine why the nearly new Boeing 737 Max 8 went down 13 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta Monday. We turn to our Will Ripley now, who joins us from Hong Kong with the very latest.
So, Will, Indonesian officials apparently detected these pings from the black boxes.
What more are you hearing about that?
And how long do they think it will not take to retrieve them?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think everyone need to remain cautiously optimistic here that they have located the actual flight data recorders because remember, five years ago, MH370, Australian search officials heard pings that they were almost certain came from the missing Malaysian airliner.
And of course the airliner still has yet to be found. This really does underscore the difficulty; when a plane goes down in the water, even in relatively shallow waters like this, 35 meters or 114 feet --
[02:20:00]
RIPLEY: -- it often takes a long time for search crews to actually locate the fuselage of the plane, where the majority of the passengers are believed to be.
And of course, the so-called black boxes that will hopefully contain clues as to exactly what could have caused this brand new plane with very limited flight time ,passing all safety checks and yet somehow suddenly it just plunged out of the sky.
CHURCH: So, Will, the big question as we ponder that is -- and needs some answers is why the pilots requested to turn back to Jakarta but never declared an emergency.
Will we only know the answer to that question once those black boxes are retrieved?
RIPLEY: That is what aviation experts are telling us. There's certain indicators here that they have to go on right now. One is the radar which shows that flight 610 made some very erratic changes to its speed, its altitude and direction shortly before it vanished from radar, 13 minutes after takeoff.
That would indicate a possible equipment failure of some kind. Remember, we had learned from Lion Air that the plane did have a technical problem the night before. The airline says it was repaired and that the plane was deemed flightworthy. It passed all preflight inspections, as we mentioned, and took off relatively normally.
But of course just a short distance into the flight, something went wrong. It is impossible to know though, exactly, what, given the fact that the captain, while he said he wanted to turn around and go back to the airport in Jakarta, he didn't say that there was an emergency onboard and didn't indicate that something catastrophic happened, which some experts are telling us it may have led the flight crew to believe that it was a problem that they could fix it or at least they felt they could get back safely, which of course they didn't.
They went down some 34 nautical miles off the coast. Meanwhile, a very grim recovery of the remains of the 189 people on board continues at this hour. Several dozen sets of remains have been discovered, remains that have been found floating amongst the debris from the plane.
It is just horrific. And I think one of the most heartbreaking images that we've seen emerging just within the last 12 hours or so is the pile of clothes that were taken from passengers' suitcases, including that little pair of pink slippers that were clearly intended for a young child.
We know that there were two infants and one child onboard. Plane crashes are always tragic but especially when there are children involved. And this was just a short flight, as we've talked about. It was an hour or so flight that people take all the time and think nothing of it.
And of course, in this case, now you have the families of 189 people really having to grapple with the fact that not only are they never coming home but there's a distinct possibility their remains may not come home. They might not be able to recover all of them, given the violent impact that this plane apparently had when it hit the surface of the Java Sea after plunging very quickly from 5,200 feet.
CHURCH: It is such a tragedy and our hearts go out to all those family members waiting for new and some answers to so many questions as to why this happened. Will Ripley, thank you so much for your live report there from Hong Kong. We appreciate it.
U.S. Defense chief James Mattis and secretary of state Mike Pompeo are calling on all participants in Yemen's civil war to agree to a cease- fire in the next 30 days. They are insisting on a swift end to airstrikes and want to support the U.N. special envoy in finding a solution to the conflict.
Mattis says it's urgent both sides start talking soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JAMES MATTIS, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Improved accuracy of bombs is still a war. So we've got to move toward a peace effort here. And we can't say we're going to do it sometime in the future. We need to be doing this in the next 30 days. We have mired this problem for long enough down there.
And I believe that the Saudis and the Emirates are ready. And in fact, had the Houthis not blocked out of the last effort that Martin had going, we would probably be on our way there right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The civil war began back in 2015. The U.N. says the conflict has killed more than 6,000 people but experts say the real number is likely much higher.
Pakistan's Supreme Court has decided to spare a Christian woman's life. Asia Bibi has been on death row until 2010 when she was found guilty of blasphemy. But she has now won her appeal against the conviction and sentence.
Bibi was charged with making derogatory comments and remarks about the Prophet Muhammad during an argument with three Muslim women. Her case had gained international attention.
CNN's Sophia Saifi joins us now from Islamabad with more on this.
Sophia, what has been the reaction there so far to --
[02:25:00]
CHURCH: -- this decision by Pakistan Supreme Court to overturn the conviction of this Christian woman?
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): This is being seen as a watershed moment with regard to blasphemy laws in the country. Blasphemy laws are a very controversial subject. It's a very sensitive subject in Pakistan, which many people are wary of speaking out about.
She had been -- this case happened back in 2009 and it has almost been a decade where human rights activists, lawyers and many people, many experts around the world have been pushing for her to be freed. And now she's been or will be and that she's been acquitted, there's a feeling of celebration on social media.
You got many people saying it is a moment to be proud to be Pakistani. But on the flip side you do -- we have seen protests across the country. Not very big ones but protests in the capital, in Islamabad. We've seen small protests in Karachi, which is the largest city of the country. There's a fear that these firebrand clerics who are calling for
computer chaos if Asia Bibi is acquitted, which she now has been, that there will be more violence in the streets of Pakistan.
CHURCH: And of course, a big question here is what pressure was brought to bear to acquit Asia Bibi after eight years on death row and what happens to her now because clearly she will not be safe.
SAIFI: Yes, there's this fear. Asia Bibi is still in jail in Islamabad, in Lahore. I just spoke to her lawyer and he told me that she's been informed that she's been acquitted. But she's still very much in her death cell.
There have been -- the pope has spoken out regarding the case. There had been pressure from the European Union on Pakistan. They had threatened economic consequences if this had not been resolved. And there had been a lot of pressure from human rights activists within the country as well.
So this is being seen as something that the Supreme Court has done right with regards to Asia Bibi this, they will take -- it will be about three or four days before she's freed with all the processes in place.
But there's still very much a threat to her life, to her family's life and even the lawyer's life who defended her. So with regard to that, we don't really know much about her movements. There's rumors that she is being offered asylum in some Western country but we're still to confirm that.
That might be confirmed after she's left the country but it is something that we have to continue to monitor.
CHURCH: Sophia Saifi, many thanks to you for bringing us that live report from Islamabad. We'll talk to you next hour on this very issue.
We'll take a short break right now. Still to come, a deadly attack at a synagogue. Pipe bombs in the mail and a hate filled shooting at a grocery store. Homegrown extremist attacks are on an alarming rise in the United States and we will explore what's sparking this.
Plus he lived violently and he died violently. Details on the death of one of America's most notorious gangsters, Whitey Bulger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:35] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. This is CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church. Let's check the headlines for this hour. Protests greeted President Trump in Pittsburgh three days after eleven Jews were gunned down in their synagogue. The president and First Lady lit candles, and laid flowers, and stones at the memorials for the victims. A block away, thousands of protesters gathered, some calling on Mr. Trump to denounce white nationalism.
Pakistan Supreme Court has acquitted a Christian woman who has been on death row on blasphemy charges. Asia Bibi, a mother of five was found guilty in 2010 of taking the Prophet Mohammad's name in vain while arguing with her Muslim colleagues. But she has now won her appeal against the conviction and death sentence. Indonesian authorities have detected a ping signal from the flight data recorders on the doomed Lion Air flight.
This could lead divers to boxes and the fuselage of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane. 189 people were on board when the nearly new plan crashed 13 minutes after takeoff Monday. Well, Saturday's massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue, a place where people had gathered to pray in what they thought was a sanctuary has highlighted an apparent and disturbing trend. Experts say hate crimes have been on the rise in the last few years. CNN's Brian Todd takes a lot at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carnage in Pittsburgh thought to be the deadliest attack ever on Jews in the U.S., multiple assassination attempts with mail bombs, a white man in Kentucky tries to enter a predominantly black church. Officials say when that failed, he shot up Kroger Supermarket killing two African-Americans. All those attacks just in the past week part of what experts say is a jarring trend in American.
BRIAN LEWIS, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY: The terrorist is here. The terrorist is in Pittsburgh, Kentucky, and elsewhere.
CAROLYN GALLAHER, POLITICAL GEOGRAPHER: There's a definite spike. It's been rising since 2012. We're seeing a lot of hate group activity.
TODD: A U.S. government report last year said there have been almost three times as many attacks by far-right extremist than by Islamist inspired extremist in the U.S. since 9/11. What caused the spike and attacks by right-wing extremist and others like them?
LEWIS: They saw a political changes, the election of President Obama, demographic changes, and fear of outsiders as well as a decline in employment during the first part of this decade.
TODD: Those who track hate crimes say that while President Trump may not intend to incite racist violence, extremists tend to use his words as an excuse.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But you also had people that were very fine people obviously both sides.
GALLAHER: And white supremacist circles, they took this to mean this person supports us and we have champion in the White House and we can now fight for a white America.
TODD: The president and his press secretary have vehemently denied inciting extremist violence.
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has denounced racism, hatred, and bigotry in all forms on a number of occasions.
TODD: August 2012, a white gunman killed six people at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. June 2015, Charleston, South Carolina, white supremacist Dylann Roof sprays the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church with gunfire killing nine people. Lone wolf attacks like those from right-wing extremists are what many security officials have been most worried about in recent years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's this new phenomenon now that of the Charleston inspired attack, the lone wolf and it's frankly the thing that keeps me up at night.
TODD: Analyst say since the Charlottesville violence last year when counter protest for Heather Heyer was struck by a car and killed by a white supremacist, the lone wolf threat has increased.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After Charlottesville, the leadership structure of the white nationalist movement imploded leaving an opportunity for the more violent lone wolfs who aren't just content to go to demonstrations rising to the surface and that's the risk we face now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Experts say that while most of the recent attacks have been perpetrated by right-wing extremists that this kind of terrorism sometimes tends to be retaliatory in nature, so we do have to watch out for attacks from left-wing extremists, from groups like Antifa, from some anarchist, and others. Brian Todd, CNN Washington.
[02:35:07] CHURCH: First, do no harm. It is one -- of medical ethics. But it's one with this man, a former nurse admits he violated over and over again at two German hospitals between 2000 and 2005. Niels Hoegel confessed Tuesday to killing at least a hundred patients in his care by giving them drugs they were not prescribed, so he could show off his resuscitation skills and avoid being bored. Authorities say the true number of victims may never be known.
The trial is expected to go on until May. India unveils a tarring memorial to an icon. But there is controversy over the world's tallest statue. A look at the criticism with a live report. Also ahead, a remake of a horror movie classic is out for Halloween. And now, the secret is out about who plays its most mysterious character. Back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: One of the most notorious gangster in American history is dead. Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger was killed in West Virginia Prison on Tuesday just one day after he was transferred there. Jason Carroll reports.
JASON CARROLL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some of the details surrounding Whitey Bulger's death still have not been release. Prison officials say his body was discovered around 8:20 yesterday morning. Staff immediately initiated life saving measures. He was pronounced dead a short time later. Sources telling CNN the 89-year-old did not did not die from natural causes. Bulger had just recently been moved to that facility in West Virginia.
Previously, he was move from another prison in Florida to a transfer facility in Oklahoma City. The facility in West Virginia is a max security prison. Still, many questions about who was responsible for his murder and what was the motive? History will show that Whitey was a notorious mobster who at one time according to the FBI was an FBI informant. Bulger was serving two life sentences after being convicted in 2013 of a litany of crimes including participating in 11 murders.
He was on the FBI's most wanted fugitives list for 16 years until his arrest in 2011 in California. For 12 of those years, Bulger was second on the FBI's 10 most wanted list behind Osama bin Laden. Bulger is best known as the Irish-American former organized crime boss of the Winter Hill Gang in Boston. On December 23rd, 1994, Bulger fled Boston and went into hiding after being tipped off by a former FBI handler about a pending indictment.
[02:40:24] Again, he remained at large for 16 years before he was finally caught. Prosecutors indicted Bulger for murder based on grand jury testimony from his former associates. He lived a violent life and now his life has ended the same way. Jason Carroll, CNN New York.
CHURCH: The world's tallest statue has been unveiled by India's prime minister. The Statue of Unity honors Sardar Patel, the freedom fighter is credited with uniting India during its independence-era. But the huge monument is hugely controversial as well. New Delhi Bureau Chief Nikhil Kumar joins us now with more. Good to see you, Nikhil. So what are the critics saying about this and what's being said about why the Indian government choose to erect this massive statue at this time?
NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Rosemary, critics and there are many and among them I should are many renowned historians as well. They say that this is an attempt on native political attempt by Prime Minister Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party which is of course on the right flag called Indian politics to appropriate the legacy of a figure a towering, very popular national figure who in fact belong to the other end of the political spectrum.
Sardar Patel was a lifelong member of the Congress Party which today of course sits an opposition to Mr. Modi in parliament.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KUMAR: It stands a hundred and eighty kilometers tall, more than double the height of the Statue of Liberty. This mammoth iron and bronze sculpture depicts an Indian national hero. This is India's first deputy prime minister which credited with unifying the country after independence. The project's chief engineer said it wasn't easy to build.
P.C. VYAS, CHIEF ENGINEER, STATUE OF UNITY PROJECT (via translator): The first challenge was its height. Secondly, the location is remote. The third problem was structure. The shape of the statue was such that the foundation is narrow and the upper body is wider, so that was a challenge.
KUMAR: A museum at the site shows how Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the nickname Iron Man because he threatened military force to pressure some five hundred south governing princely state to join the new state of India.
SAURABHBHAI PATEL, GUJARAT STATE ENERGY MINISTER: It was only because of his efforts, his knowledge, and the art of bringing them together. Today, we are one India. We are one united India.
KUMAR: Many see the project as a not so subtle bid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and of Hindu Nationalist BJP Party to appropriate an Indian hero from the opposition Congress Party. Some community organizations say the statue's huge price tag should have been spent improving the lives of local people and came the construction damaged the environment. The Indian government claims that despite the remote location, 15,000 tourists will travel to see India's newest iron man every day.
A food court and guest house complex are under construction. But right now, the nearest city and hotel to stay in are a hundred kilometers from the statue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KUMAR: So as you can, Rosemary, you know, it has divided opinion. There are political divisions and there are forced questions about the huge price tag, $405 million and people are asking whether this money should not in fact have been spent on development, you know, Mr. Modi came to power in 2014 promising a sort of economic renaissance. Lots of economists say that that hasn't happened. There aren't enough jobs for India's young people shouldn't focus they say beyond that and not on a statue, Rosemary.
CHURCH: It is a lot of money to be spending in a country where so many people live in poverty. Nikkil Kumar, thank you so much for that live report. Appreciate it. Well, conservationists say the global wildlife population is facing a crisis. The World Wide Fund just released its by annual report that says over 40 years, the populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians have dropped by 60 percent and we've lost about half of the Earth's shallow water corals.
Human activity covers three quarters of the land on Earth. By 2050, as little as 10 percent of land on Earth might be left untouched by humans. The causes exploitation and agriculture link to rising human consumption, pollution, and climate change. A wildlife researcher who helped compile that report joins us next hour, so stay tuned for that.
[02:45:00] We'll take a short break here. But still to come, New Delhi battles disastrous levels of air pollution and a radical changed on the roads may be their only hope. Also to come, a new take on the classic horror film Suspiria has plenty of shocks and surprises, and also a big mystery behind the scenes. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Impressive images there. Well, India may halt the use of private cars in New Delhi if air pollution gets any worse there. It has already reached severe levels.
Now, the World Health Organization has declared air pollution one of the biggest threats to global health. Michael Holmes has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On the streets of India's capital, masses of cars jockey for position. Their exhaust mixing into a thick toxic smog that hangs overhead. The air quality index now hitting severe levels.
A senior environmental official warns, if the air quality deteriorates further, private vehicles could be banned. Leaving a city of more than 20 million people with only public transportation.
Critics call it a Band-Aid to a much larger problem. But officials have become desperate in one of the most polluted cities in the world where air quality poses a serious danger to public health.
SHAILENDRA KUMAR, DOCTOR, URDULA HOSPITAL (through translator): Patients who are already in treatment for things like asthma, tuberculosis, lung disease, they have more trouble breathing. Because of air pollution, they are more at risk of getting attacks and more severe attacks. And they keep facing these problems again and again.
HOLMES: This time of year is especially bad. As winter approaches, farmers burn off the residue of crops to prepare for next season's plantings, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky.
OM SINGH, PADDY FARMER, DELHI, INDIA (through translator): Tell me how to dispose of it. We cannot plow it. Even if we plow it 10 times, it is not going to be of any use. We cannot plant new seeds of this, so we have to do this.
HOLMES: Officials have debated how to tackle the problem but time is ticking while toxic air takes its toll. A recent U.S.-based study found that impacts of air pollution killed more than a million people each year in India and millions more around the globe.
[02:50:05] TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We know that air pollution is one of the biggest threats to global health, and we need to do something about it, and urgently.
Let me remind you of some of the numbers. Air pollution kills 7 million people each year. Around the world, nine out of 10 people breathe air that has been polluted by traffic emissions, industry, agriculture, and West incineration.
HOLMES: At the World Health Organization's first global conference on air pollution and health, the director-general warns against the staggering cost of inaction. Calling for urgent policy changes. Especially in the worst polluted places including New Delhi, where people still need to get from place to place in a choking gray haze that will likely get worse before it gets better. Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And we turn to the weather now. Tropical Storm Yutu is still causing trouble in the South China Sea, while heavy snow is blanketing parts of Europe. Now, meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is joining us from the International Weather Center covering all of this. Pedram.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we have weather for everyone here have we talked about what's happening with this tropical system. And Rosy, this particular storm has weakened quite a bit in the past 24 so hours. And, in fact, when you take a look, the outer bands of an impact beginning to push in a few showers, a few clouds into places such as Hong Kong.
But the storm itself, at least, the center of it sits about 600 kilometers southeast of the city. And some good news coming out of this particular forecast at least over the next 24 to 48 hours because the storm although it's slated to strengthen just a little bit as we go over the next 24 so hours.
But once we go past that into say to a 48 hours, the storm begins to get closer and closer towards land significant weakening is expected, cooler waters across that region, increased vertical wind shear. So, winds above the storm will want to kind of rip it apart and as in the case, this could be just a tropical depression as it moves its way across northern portions of Guangdong or Southern Fujian.
Sometime late this week into early this weekend. And with it, just the rainfall that we expect here, so the winds not going to be a concern. In fact, you see very quick organization, and then, just like that, it dissipates as it approaches land and becomes just a gusty wind maker across that region.
But, rainfall expected and I did calculate the population across this region estimated right around 16 million. So, still could be a flooding risk but you have several hundred millimeters come down for 16 million people.
Now, take a look at this. Across portions of the southern region of France into the higher elevations, the first bout of significant snow get into the highways. We had reports of some 1,200 people stranded for several hours on the highway here because of all of that snow here slowing down traffic and a massive dip in the jet stream here has really set the stage for significant severe weather, and also, significant snow as you saw.
In fact, we had wind damage reports in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, into Slovakia and Switzerland. And while farther towards the east in Slovenia. We had significant flooding as much as 300 millimeters came down and what happens when that much rainfall falls within a matter of a few hours?
Well, things like this play. We had scenes across this region where roads were beginning to buckle, and with a significant flooding that had been in place, and that the severe weather risk not over yet.
In fact, going into Thursday morning, watching quite a widespread area. Sardinia, Corsica, portions of the Aegean and the Adriatic, some severe weather possibility. And Rosemary, I looked into this.
On Monday alone, four reports of waterspouts or tornadoes across this region, and we could see several more here going on into Wednesday.
CHURCH: Wow, all right. Thanks so much for keeping a close eye on all of that. Pedram, we'll talk again next hour. Appreciate it.
JAVAHERI: Absolutely, yes.
CHURCH: Well, just in time for Halloween comes a remake of the classic horror film, Suspiria. But not everything as is as it seems on screen or behind the cameras. As CNN's Neil Curry reports film critics have been doing a double take on actress Tilda Swinton's performance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEIL CURRY, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Suspiria is a creepy, chiller of a movie, inspired by Dario Argento's revered horror film of the same name.
Set in Berlin in 1977, the era Argento released his film, it centers around a dance studio where a hint of witchcraft pervades the choreography. There are plenty of shocks, surprises, and mysteries.
The mystery, however, wasn't confined to the plot but extended to the cast, in which dancers Dakota Johnson and Mia Goth and their instructor Tilda Swinton, were joined by a hitherto unknown male actor named Lutz Ebersdorf, in the role of a remarkably wrinkled psychologist Dr. Jozef Klemperer.
However, at every premiere from Venice, to London, to L.A., the elderly German actor failed to show. Leaving the rest of the cast the face an increasingly suspicious request.
[02:55:02] TILDA SWINTON, ACTRESS: Lutz Ebersdorf, our colleague, very sadly is not present, but he did send us a message to read to you. "I am a private individual who prefers to remain private. To quote Dr. Klemperer, the illusion that is the handiwork of my colleagues is not mine."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I assume that you played, Doctor Klemperer.
SWINTON: As you will see from the credits and on all of the posters that Dr. Kemperer is played by Lutz Ebersdorf.
CURRY: But eventually, the critic suspicions were confirmed. And the filmmakers confessed to their subterfuge.
LUCA GUADAGNINO, DIRECTOR, SUSPIRIA: We were shooting in Berlin, and then, some paparazzi made the picture of Lutz Ebersdorf coming off of the makeup trailer, which is crazy because we were a little production in Berlin. So, definitely, I'm sure there was a mall on the crew.
Now that we have to talk about it, we can say that to a something that I had always in mind.
DAKOTA JOHNSON, ACTRESS: Honestly, I feel kind of sad but we have to talk about it now. Because I liked -- I liked the mystery and I liked -- I liked that this was a -- this was a thing that was done purely out of creativity and fun.
MIA GOTH: I think, she such a phenomenal actor and such a comedian that she's able to pull something like that off. I don't think everyone could but with Tilda she's exceptional. So, it really did feel like I was performing opposite an 82- year-old man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are living this dangerous people.
GOTH: And I was completely blown away by it.
CURRY: Suspiria opens in the U.S. this weekend, and its petrifying plots will be petting to cinemas around the world throughout November. Neil Curry, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Do adds to the intrigue, doesn't it? Finally, something that's really low-tech, but it still works. Residents in Southampton called it a lift and shift about 250 turned out to form a human chain when their local bookstore had to move to a new location.
And you can see, the line went all the way along 54 doors of High Street to the store's new location. They handed off a total of 2,000 books in just a few hours. Many hands make light work. That's what I tell on my kids.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter. I'll be back with another hour of news in just a moment. You're watching CNN. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
