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Flight Recorder to Give Answers to Lion Air's Tragedy; Trump Wants to get Rid of Birthright Citizenship; Flight Recorder Recovered; Khashoggi was Suffocated and Dismembered; No-fly Zone over DMZ; Russia's Underwater Threat; U.K. Legalizes Medical Marijuana; Pakistan in Outrage over Acquittal; Two Women Found Dead in Hudson River; Kellyanne Conway's Husband Slams Trump. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 01, 2018 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:00:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN HOST: Indonesian investigators think they found a flight recorder after days of searching in the Java Sea. Just ahead, we have the details on the clues it could hold about the deadly Lion Air plane crash.
And a new push toward peace from North and South Korea on one of the dangerous borders in the world, the DMZ.
Plus, the U.K. joins a revolution by reversing its stance on medical marijuana. We'll take a look at the people who may benefit from this treatment.
Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us all around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. And this is CNN Newsroom.
We have a major breaking development out of Indonesia. The transport minister there says one of the flight recorders has been recovered from the Lion Air flight that crashed on Monday killing all 189 people onboard.
Just a short time ago, the officials confirmed what a navy diver had said a couple of hours ago that he had retrieved one of the devices. It was tough to obtain. Divers who hampered by strong currents. Finding one of the flight recorders may mean some answers for the grieving families of those who died aboard the doomed plane.
CNN's Ivan Watson joins us now live from near Jakarta with more. And Ivan, one of the plane's black boxes finally it appears it has been recovered. When are we going to get answers about what happened to this flight?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, it has been recovered from a depth of about 30 meters below the Java Sea from the seabed on route here to the mainland and we're hearing from the head of the National Transportation Safety Committee that it once it comes in and they're still not a 100 percent sure if it's the cockpit voice recorder or the flight data recorder that it would probably take two or three weeks to extract all the information and then two to three months to analyze it.
Now, Kristie to better understand what's going on right now, I have it just to speak with. It's Captain Daniel Putut who is managing director. Please, come in, sir. Managing director of Lion Air. The operator of flight 610 which are tragically crashed on Monday morning shortly after takeoff with the 189 passengers and crew on board.
So, captain, thank you for taking the time to speak with CNN. And first of all, let me express my condolences to your company. Of course, and the families of your employees and the many passengers on board in the wake of this terrible disaster.
DANIEL PUTUT KUNCORO ADI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, LION AIR: Yes. Allow me also to express my -- our deep condolences and sympathy to all families and our crew's family as well.
So, it is, look, fur us, we don't know exactly what went wrong. So just now we are waiting that -- you heard that they both say already found in the seabed and already bring to this site, so yes, as the company as management as well waiting for the result from the NTSC working with this black box.
WATSON: Do you, sir, have any understanding of is this the voice recorder or the flight data recorder that has been retrieved and what information do you think it could give you about why this disaster happened?
ADI: I don't know. I don't have any idea, but even though they found CVR or FDR we still don't know until the black boxes are here. So, our position right now is we're working, waiting and let the NTSC done their job.
WATSON: Now do you have any suspicions any ideas for how this disaster happened with a brand-new Boeing 737 Max eight, and with the crew that as far as we know, had thousands of hours of flight experience?
ADI: This is the same equation from a management probe Lion Air that what went wrong with this a new aircraft, so we don't know actually.
[03:04:57] Obviously, we also wait from them to explain to us what went wrong. So, we don't know.
WATSON: The National Transportation Safety Committee, the directors of it have told CNN that they have ruled out that the runway or that the weather were contributing factors to the accident. They say they're focusing now on the crew, on the airplane itself, and on the company Lion Air. How are you cooperating with this investigation?
ADI: Yes. We have to respect to the NTSC and we respect to the Boeing manufacturer as well, we respect to our crews, our pilots specifically. And we improve everything. And we full support to the stakeholder that conduct this search and rescue and also the investigation.
We support until the end of this search and rescue and also the investigation. I'm curiously also want to fly to the Boeing manufacturer to see what went wrong and I will ask to the NTSC chief to come also with us to the Boeing manufacturer to hear actually what their opinion as well after black box been investigated by the NTSC.
WATSON: The night before the plane crashed, the same aircraft flew from Bali Denpasar to Jakarta. There was a delay. And the NTSC tells CNN they have reports that at least one of the instruments was malfunctioning. Can you tell me what went wrong on that flight, what exactly went wrong and could it happen again Monday morning when the crash happened?
ADI: I give all of the information, all the datas all the maintenance log book to the NTSC why they can't tell us about the things that they found before the flight. So now let me respect to the NTSC because all the data, all the things they need I already give to the NTSC.
WATSON: But what malfunctioned Sunday night hours before this crash on the same plane, sir?
ADI: Yes. We give all of the books to them. So, I cannot tell about what went wrong. But the flight before the accident, so NTSC will answer this question.
WATSON: Well, I mean, the NTSC has told us one of instrument malfunctioned. Your pilot who flew that night told them one of the instruments malfunctioned, which instrument was it, sir?
ADI: I may not say in this discussion. So, you can ask through NTSC because, yes, we have all the information and since we have nondisclosure agreement with them, so everything cost related to this accident let the NTSC will tell to the media and to the people as well.
WATSON: So, we're sure you're not going to share that detail, can you tell me did whatever went wrong Sunday night, could it have contributed to Monday's disaster?
ADI: I don't know. I don't know.
WATSON: OK. Also, the transportation ministry has ordered for a number of members of the board of directors of your company and a number of executives to be fired essentially. Temporarily as part of the investigation. Do you still have your job, sir?
ADI: For sure, yes, obviously. But I may correct your statement. He did not fire our board of director. But he recommends to retrieve from the duties as the board of director for the investigation purposes. So, this is the letter that we have. So, we retrieve the director of engineering. So, to respect the decision of the MOD (Ph).
WATSON: And finally, sir, on behalf of Lion Air, do you have any message that you want to give to the victims of this disaster and to the wider public right now?
ADI: Yes. We in the same situation with the family of the victims. Now we do hope that the research, the search and rescue they are analyzing from the black box soon take NTSC provide to us so we will know what went wrong on this JT 610 flight.
WATSON: All right.
ADI: So, my deep condolence, sympathy. I express from all of the board of management and condolence to all the family.
WATSON: Captain Daniel Putut, thank you very much for taking your time to speak with us.
[03:09:59] ADI: Thanks, Ivan.
WATSON: Thank you. And during this difficult time.
So, Kristie, there you have it from the managing director of Lion Air which is working with the authorities here in Indonesia on this investigation and I press the gentleman on the issue of the flight the night before the final doom's journey of this aircraft where there were reports of at least one instrument malfunctioning.
We still don't have details of what instrument that could have been and whether it could've contributed to this deadly tragedy that resulted in the deaths of 189 passengers and crew, some of whom have their belongings here laid out on the white tarp here at this hub for this complicated and very difficult salvage operation. Kristie?
STOUT: Ivan, we thank you for bringing us an interview with the managing director of Lion Air who is offering condolences to the victims' families, offering support to investigators, but frankly, not offering many answers in terms of what happened to this doomed flight.
Ivan Watson reporting live from Jakarta. Ivan, thank you.
Now let's bring in CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo who was also the former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department. She joins us live via Skype from Dubai. Mary, thank so much for joining us.
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Thank you.
STOUT: We know that this black box has been obtained as we heard from the managing director of Lion Air just now, we don't know if it's a voice recorder or a data recorder. But what happens next. What could this black box reveal?
SCHIAVO: Well, the black box, and I think whichever one they found, the other one is going to be near and they are going to have them both very soon.
The unconfirmed report is the malfunction that the gentleman from Lion Air couldn't discuss. And he was correct, when you're a party to an air safety investigation, you actually do have to sign a nondisclosure agreement. And aviation safety investigation boards around the world have started to exclude parties from the investigation if they disclose parts of the investigation to the media and the public.
So, he was telling Ivan the correct -- the correct situation there. But if it is indeed as unconfirmed reports now that they had problems on the previous flight with airspeed and altitude indicators, now, remember, modern planes are flying computers, that very well could be the most -- you know, it's really very, very serious because the plane relies on that to set the airspeed, set the altitude, literally fly by wire, fly with the computer.
And in many cases the pilots have great difficulty overcoming those inputs into the plane. If the plane believes that the airspeed and the altitude is x or something that has been told by erroneous sensors it's hard to override or it can be hard to override and the pilots must be trained to do that.
The flight data recorder will tell that exactly in great precision exactly what their readings were from those sensors and what the pilots has tried to do to deal with what may have been -- we don't know for sure -- but may have been erroneous information. That will all be covered in the flight recorder to great extremes.
Thousands of lines of data will be there, probably well over 1,000 lines of data. And when they read that flight data recorder out, it looks like an EKG. Each line of data gets trace out, and that's what take -- it doesn't take two weeks to download it. It takes weeks to figure out what each line of these data are trying to tell us in the aftermath of the crash.
If it's the voice recorder, they will have that downloaded literally within in minutes but they have to transcribe it. They never release the actual voices of the pilots as they are fighting literally for the lives of themselves and their passengers. And so, they have to prepare a transcript and the parties to the investigation have to agree on the transcript. So that's what takes so long in that.
STOUT: Yes, the black box will give us some answers. But we need to now wait, wait for the data to be extracted. Mary Schiavo, we'll leave that. Thank you so much for joining us here on CNN Newsroom.
Now authorities in Turkey, they have now made their first official statement about the killing of the Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, a statement from the office of Istanbul's chief prosecutor says that Khashoggi died of suffocation immediately after he went inside the consulate on October 22nd.
The prosecutor's office says they are obliged to release the gruesome details because of a lack of concrete results in its talks with Saudi investigators.
Jomana Karadsheh has been tracking all the latest development, she joins me now live from Istanbul. And Jomana, we've learned more about the brutal circumstances surrounding the death of Jamal Khashoggi. What more can you tell us?
[03:14:57] JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, as you mentioned there, after weeks of these -- of this dripped feed of leaks that we've getting here in Turkey. This was the first official statement, the most detailed so far from the chief prosecutor for Istanbul who is overseeing the criminal investigation into the murder Jamal Khashoggi.
And according to the statement they say that Khashoggi when he entered the building on October 2nd he was immediately strangled to death. His body was dismembered and destroyed after that. Unclear what they mean with that word destroyed.
Now there are many questions that remain unanswered that Turkey is seeking answers to. Most importantly they say where is the body of Jamal Khashoggi or his remains at this point. And who ordered the killing of Khashoggi, who sent that hit squad that carried out the killing.
Now, Turkish authorities were hoping to get these answers during the visit of the chief prosecutor of Saudi Arabia who was here for three days and left the country yesterday. But it seems they did not get the answers, according to senior Turkish officials, he told CNN that it seemed that the Saudi side was more interested, more keen on finding out what evidence Turkey had rather than genuine real cooperation in this investigation, Kristie.
STOUT: Jamal Khashoggi was suffocated, dismembered and destroyed. And this was part of, as you put it, a drip feed of leaks from the Turkish officials. Jomana, how long have officials known about the manner of this murder and do they have more information that they're waiting for the right moment to reveal?
KARADSHEH: It would seem so, Kristie, based on this -- you know, the leaks that we've seeing over the past few weeks. It seemed they have known this for quite some time. It's really unclear how much of this -- how much incriminating evidence Turkey actually has. We do know based on leaks according to information that we have gotten from various sources that Turkey has an audio recording of the killing of Khashoggi.
We do know that they also share that with the CIA director Gina Haspel during her visit last week according to two U.S. officials. But it is still unclear how much incriminating evidence they do have.
And you know, the feeling has been that Turkey has been doing this. It's been a strategy of drip feeding these leaks this information as they've been trying to also gather international support. They don't want to go head-to-head against Saudi Arabia on their own. They want an international backing especially from the United States. And it doesn't seem they have that fully just yet.
Take a listen to what President Trump had to say yesterday when he was asked if he feels that he was betrayed by Saudi Arabia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just hope that it all works out. We have a lot of facts, we have a lot of things that we've been looking at. They haven't betrayed me. I mean, maybe they betrayed themselves. We'll have to see how it all turns out.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KARADSHEH: And you know, Kristie, according to the White House we heard from Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary a couple of days ago, saying that following that visit by the CIA director and the briefing that President Trump got from her following that visit that they are weighing their options on how they are going to respond. All eyes on that.
Everyone is waiting to see what the United States next step is going to be. Is it going to be putting more pressure on Saudi Arabia to come up with more satisfactory answers after, you know, this constant change in narrative that we have heard from the Saudis.
But you know, the message we've been getting from President Trump so far is he's not willing to go very far with that, putting financial interests with Saudi Arabia ahead of human rights and that is something that is very concerning and very worrying for so many dissidents and human rights activists in this region that we have been speaking to. Saying that unless the United States, unless the international community really hold those who ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable for what happened there will be many other Jamal's in this region.
STOUT: Now, the pressure is on the U.S. president to provide a meaningful response to this murder.
Jomana Karadsheh reporting live for us from Istanbul. Jomana, thank you. You're watching CNN Newsroom coming to you live from Hong Kong. And up next, in the U.S. we're following a Republican civil war of sorts. When we come back, why Trump is slamming House Speaker Paul Tyan for opposing some of his immigration plans.
[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUT: Welcome back. Now President Trump wrapped up a campaign rally in Florida hours ago where he continued to push his divisive immigration message ahead of next week's midterm elections.
He reminded reporters that he wants to sign an executive order that would remove the right to citizenship for children of noncitizens born in the U.S. But it's a message where top Republican congressman has criticized.
Mr. Jim Acosta now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You don't need a constitutional amendment of birthright citizenship. I may very well do it by executive order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Less than one week before the midterm election, President Trump has picked a new fight. This time with the top leader in his own party. House Speaker Paul Ryan. The battle over the president's pledge to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. with an executive order, something Ryan says Mr. Trump can't do because it's in the Constitution.
The president tweeted, "Paul Ryan should be focusing on holding the majority, rather than giving his opinions on birthright citizenship, something he knows nothing about." That was in response to the speaker saying, hold on.
(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)
PAUL RYAN, UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, you obviously cannot do that. You cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order.
(END VOICE CLIP)
ACOSTA: A senior GOP aide jump to Ryan's defense, telling CNN "This is a great way to screw up the message a week before the election, first the birthright comment itself and now attacking the top Republican in Congress who is trying to save our majority."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No, I'm not fear mongering at all. Immigration is a very important subject.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Top White House officials like Kellyanne Conway insist the birthright issue is an open question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISOR: There are constitutional scholars who say the 14th amendment has been misinterpreted and actually the Supreme Court has never gave a solid opinion on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But Conway's husband, George Conway, a prominent D.C. lawyer disagrees. Writing in a Washington Post ep-ed what countless legal scholars have already stated. "Such a move would be unconstitutional and would certainly be challenged and the challengers would undoubtedly win."
The White House fixation on immigration is the October no surprise with the president touting his move to send U.S. troops to the border to halt the caravan of migrants who were still weeks away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As far as the caravan is concerned, our military is out. We have about 5,000 aid will go to do anywhere between 10 and 15,000 military personnel on top of border patrol ICE and everybody else at the border.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: The president is lobbying more insults one day after his trip to Pittsburgh where he visited the scene of the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, accusing the media of hyping the demonstrations against this trip.
[03:24:57] Tweeting, "Melania and I were treated very nicely yesterday in Pittsburgh. We were treated so warmly. Small protest was not seen by us, stage far away. The fake news stories were just the opposite. Disgraceful."
Campaigning with Democrats, former Vice President Joe Biden says it is time for the president to stop demonizing his adversaries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need to recognize that words matter. We have to understand that our opponents are not our enemies. They are our opponents. The press is not the enemy of the American people.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Joe Biden there. And thanks to CNN's Jim Acosta for that report. Now let's bring in Scott Lucas. He is a professor of international politics at the University Birmingham, and he joined us via Skype. Thank you so much for joining us here in the program.
Less than a week before the midterms why is Donald Trump so laser focused on this one issue, immigration?
SCOTT LUCAS, POLITICS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM: Because that's been the strategy of Donald Trump and top advisers like Stephen Miller for months. This isn't new. The idea that was pushed by Miller and supported by advisers like Kellyanne Conway is, if you focus on immigrants, whether they are undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, and if you continue to, in that word you just heard there, demonize them, you can scare the American public into voting for you and you can hold your base together.
And Trump is not going to back away from that. It doesn't matter if we pipe bomb, it doesn't matter if we have synagogue shooting Trump is going to continue to pursue that aggressive message all the way up until next Tuesday. And the question is whether he and his advisers are right that most Americans will back Republicans in congressional elections because of that message, or whether they may not accept that this is a way to go.
STOUT: I want to get your thoughts on that Axios interview on birthright citizenship. We know that Paul Ryan, Donald Trump have been feuding on the issue. Is Donald Trump deep down fully aware he can do it, that he can change the Constitution with an E.O. with the stroke of the pen. This is all about the politics. This is all about next week. LUCAS: No. I mean, in Trumpland or in the land of Trump's mind, he
can do anything he wants. This is not someone who recognizes checks and balances. This is someone who have the courts oppose them or say that judges are unqualified or that they're politically motivated.
This is someone who will say that the media of course is fake news and he'll even oppose his own members of Congress like Paul Ryan. If say, look, you cannot pass an executive order, which is the legal position. You know, there is something beyond this. This is an election stump. Let's be clear about that.
But let's also be clear that, again, Stephen Miller wants this done. He wants birthright citizenship strip away because he wants not only to continue to put pressure on undocumented immigrants, he wants to reduce legal immigration in the United States by at least 25 percent. And this is just one of the ways to try to achieve that.
STOUT: The migrant caravan, the U.S. president now says that he wants to send 15,000 troops to the border. This is a -- this would be a major, major deployment. Is Trump just saying words to fire up his base? Or he's not planning an actual military deployment?
LUCAS: Yes, he's planning a deployment. Because you don't just use words, you have the photos of those troops regarding the border, more troops than we deployed in Afghanistan. The fact is they're being deployed against 3,500 people, mostly of them women and children who are on foot, unarmed, six weeks away from the U.S. border.
But Trump wants to portray that if Republicans lose the election next week, there will be an invasion of America by this supposed terrorist. He went so far yesterday as to repeat the implication that this is a caravan which is being funded by the Jewish billionaire George Soros. Even though words like that were part of the motivation for last week's synagogue attacks in Pittsburgh.
So, no. We are going to have this amazing reality show which move from the apprentice to the idea that the U.S. army's biggest threat are women and children who are seeking asylum. And that's how far we've come in less than two years of the Trump administration.
STOUT: So, is this going to work? You know, what's going to be the political impact of Trump's threats and anti-immigrant rhetoric? Is he going to help the GOP win next week or is he going to damage the party while deepening the national divide?
LUCAS: if I could predict that I'd be at the Rookies and I'd be a very rich man predicting the outcome. I don't know. It could vary from state to state. It could vary from age group to age group. It will vary between men and women.
What I will tell you is this. That politics is never clean and politics is not a game for innocents, but we're beyond this.
[03:29:57] We're beyond a type of tactic which is meant to divide us just next Tuesday. If this continues, and it will with Trump's days in office. [03:30:00] (JOINED IN PROGRESS)
LUCAS: It will damage us and it would turn us against each other not only for a week or for months, but for years and possibly a generation.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWSROOM HOST: All right, Scott Lu there on the potential impact of Trump's scorched earth campaign strategy just a week out before the midterms. Scott, thank you so much. Take care.
LUCAS: Thank you.
LU STOUT: Now, up next on the program, it has been called the scariest place on earth, perhaps one of many. But now, North and South Korea are working to turn their DMZ into a peace zone. We're going to look at their latest effort, next.
Also in the program, medical marijuana, it is now legal in the U.K. and not a moment too soon for some. We'll show you how it could bring desperately needed relief to patients suffering from serious health conditions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back. I'm Kristie Lu Stout and let's update you on our top stories this hour.
Confirmation from Indonesia, that one of the flight recorders of Lion Air flight 610 has been retrieved. The recorder could help explain what caused the plane to crash on Monday killing all of 189 people onboard.
Istanbul's chief prosecutor said Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was suffocated immediately after entering the consulate in Istanbul. Still not known is what happened to his body. The statement from the prosecutor's office said it was dismembered and destroyed as a part of a premeditated plan.
U.S. officials believe the Saudis are in a position of weakness after Khashoggi's killing and they think they could possibly leverage that to push Saudi Arabia to end the war in Yemen. A senior U.S. official has called for a cease-fire within 30 days, but a Houthi leader in Yemen says only the Americans who have backed the Saudi coalition can stop the war.
The Korean Demilitarized Zone, a place former U.S. President Bill Clinton once called the scariest on earth is now becoming a little bit les scary. A no-fly zone is to take effect just days after North and South Korea removed their weapons from the DMZ's joint security area.
This all came about in the last inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang where South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korea's Kim Jong-un agreed to halt all hostile acts. Now, CNN's Paula Hancock is with us from Seoul. And Paula, this DMZ no-fly zone, it goes into effect today. In practical terms, what does that mean? PAULA HANCOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Kristie, this is really the
implementation of what the two leaders agreed in Pyongyang last month. So what we're seeing today, November 1st, is this night -- no-fly zone is going to be up to about 40 kilometers from the MDL, which is the Military Demarcation Line, which is the actual border between the North and the South.
So, what we're going to see is no drones, no helicopters, no aircraft entering that particular area and on be top of that, what both sides have agreed is that there won't be any live fire training within five kilometers of the MDL. Also, no field training between either military.
[03:34:58] So what we're seeing here is the implementation of the agreement and what the leaders said at the time, is that they were trying to make sure that tensions on the Korean Peninsula did not spike again. They were trying to set in motion the issues that would make sure there could be in miscalculation, there could be no increase in tensions in the near future.
Now, also they -- we understand that they have been putting covers on artillery that is pointing at each other. At this point, North and South Korea have a lot of artillery on the coastline pointed at each other, but that is all being covered. Gun posts have been closed down. So, it really is this -- part of this bigger effort between North and South Korea to make sure that the tensions don't spike, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Got it. And as this no-fly zone goes into effect and tensions ease between North and South Korea, how does the United States feel about all this? HANCOCK: Well we did hear a few weeks ago when the South Korean foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, spoke to the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the telephone and explained what was happening with this no-fly zone. We did hear from the foreign secretary that she admitted that he had been discontent and expressed that he was discontent on the phone when hearing about this.
Now that's since then been lessened somewhat we've heard. But publicly, the position between the U.S. and South Korea when it comes to this inter-Korean relationship is on the same page. But certainly it appears that North and South Korea are moving faster than Washington wants to.
For example, the declaration of the end of the Korean War. Pyongyang and Seoul would like to announce that. They would like to announce it by the end of the year and they've said that they wanted to but Washington is more reticent. They want to see more tangible steps, more clear-cut steps that North Korea is moving toward denuclearization before they give that kind of concession, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Al right, Paula Hancocks, live from Seoul. Thank you.
Could the biggest Russian military threat to the west come from underwater? It's a question on the minds of NATO partners who are concerned about the growing presence of Russian submarines in the north Atlantic. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has this look on how the U.S. is responding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Yuri Dolgorukiy nuclear submarine, one of Russia's newest on the prowl, test firing intercontinental ballistic missiles from under the sea putting America and its allies on notice.
JAMES FOGGO III, COMMANDER, U.S. NAVAL FORCES EUROPE-AFRICA: They are letting us know that they're out there. They are operating in much greater numbers in places they have not operated before.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): As tensions between the U.S. and Russia rise, America says it is not overly concerned about Vladimir Putin's fleet of warships. But that the stealthy and powerful subs pose a serious threat to American and allied navy supply lines and even ports.
America is reacting, sending its most advanced P8 anti-submarine planes to the northern Atlantic region and spending $34 million upgrading the space in Iceland where CNN was given exclusive access.
RICK DORSEY, U.S. NAVY FLIGHT OFFICER: The ocean is big. It is a test match between the sub commander and all of the ASW assets that are trying to find them.
PLEITGEN: Submarines are now one of the center pieces of Russia's navy, the U.S. says, like the massive Oscar class nicknamed the "Carrier Killer" because its mission is destroying U.S. aircraft carriers. And the modernized Kilo class now capable of carrying cruise missiles. CNN was on hand when Kilo's launched several off the coast of Syria, hitting ISIS targets hundreds of miles away. A threat America has to respect and react to the U.S. top naval commander for Europe and Africa tells CNN.
FOGGO: Well we can no longer take for granted that we can sail with impunity in all of the oceans whether it be the North Atlantic, the Baltic, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Arctic Ocean..
PLEITGEN: The U.S. says it won't be intimidated by Russia's resurgent submarine fleet, but is rallying allies to get serious about countering Moscow's underwater moves. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Reykjavik, Iceland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Several hours ago it became official. medical marijuana is now legal in the U.K. The British Home Secretary Sajid Javid says at the change in policy came in response to concerns from parents of children with conditions like severe epilepsy. Erin McLaughlin spoke with one such family desperately awaiting treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ayib (ph) is the light in our house and basically, when Ayib (ph) is happy, we are happy. ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Five-year-old
(inaudible) was born partially blind. He suffers from cystic fibrosis and epilepsy. The frequent and uncontrollable seizures worry his family most.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first time when we got seizures we were so scared and we didn't know what was happening.
[03:40:00] MCLAUGHLIN: His parents believe medical marijuana may help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he has had about three medications at the moment to keep the seizures down. The amount of medication he takes for a small baby like this is a lot. I want to try to --
MCLAUGHLIN: You want to try something else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something else definitely.
MCLAUGHLIN: You want to try medical marijuana.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, because there's a lot of success stories, you know, and there is a lot of people, a lot of countries have legalized it and I need to have a right to try to my son.
MIKE BARNES, MEDICAL CANNABIS ADVOCATE: You have children with several hundreds seizures a week and they can go down to a very, very few seizures, a week on some case or even stop the seizure altogether. At the same time, stopping or certainly reducing the dose of their existing anti-convulsants.
MCLAUGHLIN: Ayib (ph) may now get that chance. As of November 1st, doctors in the U.K. can legally prescribe cannabis products. The full plant will be made available for medicinal use. British Home Secretary Sajid Javid released a statement saying, "Having been moved by heartbreaking cases involving sick children, it was important to me that we took swift action to help those who can benefit from medicinal cannabis."
Which is vital news for Carly Jane Barton. This is her daily routine. She admits to skirting the law for years.
CARLY JANE BARTON, DIRECTOR, UNITED PATIENTS ALLIANCE: So this is THC (inaudible).
MCLAUGHLIN: Barton suffers from fibro myalgia. An agonizing condition in which the central nervous system misfires pain signals around the body.
BARTON: Morphine for pain. Fentanyl for pain.
MCLAUGHLIN: Her doctors first prescribed opioid painkillers.
BARTON: -- duloxetine. The Tramadol is not working. OK, have morphine. The morphine is not working, OK, have fentanyl. Fentanyl is not working, OK, have more Fentanyl, have more Fentanyl, have more Fentanyl.
MCLAUGHLIN: Desperate for a solution, she tried cannabis and it worked.
BARTON: All of that is gone for this, just this one medicine. This is the reason I can get out of bed and this is the reason I can walk my dogs, go see my friends, run a business.
BARNES: There are some people like Carly who can actually stop all of opioids they were on and replace with cannabis which is much, much safer. You don't die from a cannabis overdose.
MCLAUGHLIN: The global domino effect of cannabis legistlation has landed in Britain. For those like Carly and Abe (ph) it gives hope.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: This is potentially life changing treatment. And joining me now live from London with more on the story, CNN's Erin McLaughlin. Erin, again, medical cannabis on prescription will be available in the U.K. providing relief to so many including Ayib's (ph) family. Why is this happening now?
MCLAUGHLIN: You know, that's a good question, Kristie, especially when you consider countries such as Canada legalized medical marijuana all the way back in 2001. Why has it taken the U.K. some 17 years to follow suit. And it is due in large part to a see (ph) change of public opinion over the last few months.
Over the summer there was a campaign spearheaded by parents of children who suffer from epilepsy. There's the case of 13-year-old Billy Caldwell. He and his mother were traveling back from Canada with cannabis oil that he needed to treat his epilepsy. They were stopped at Heathrow Airport. That cannabis oil was confiscated.
Outraged ensued and eventually the Home Secretary at that point, Sajid Javid had to step-in allowing for the first time a license to a hospital to prescribe medical marijuana so that Caldwell could get the treatment that he needed from there.
The Home Secretary ordered a review by the chief medical officer here in the U.K. who then decided in that review that yes, there are medicinal properties to cannabis. Many people say that had that review been ordered years ago, a number of patients, countless number of patients rather could have benefited from medical marijuana.
LU STOUT: Patients and their families desperate for access to medical cannabis. They have been lobbying for years. It is finally legal there in the U.K. Who will have access to it?
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, according to the guidelines issued by the Home Secretary, the GP, general practitioner here in the U.K. will not be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis. That would be up to specialists. Specialists would be able to prescribe it to their patients as they see fit as I pointed out in that story. The entire plant will be available for medicinal use. I've been
speaking to experts in terms of the immediate patients who stand to benefit this, patients suffering from epilepsy, patients suffering from pain as well. But really the hope is among members of the medical community that this is a first step.
That this opens the door to more research, more guidelines to be issued on the properties of medical cannabis so that doctors will the prescribe, feel comfort prescribing this to their patients for a variety of ailments.
[03:45:03] The concern is that doctors even though it is now legal here in the U.K., because there isn't that body of research to fall back on, will be hesitant in prescribing this that could benefit, you know, thousands and thousands of patients here in the United Kingdom.
LU STOUT: Yes, these are still early days. Erin McLaughlin, reporting live for us. Thank you so much Erin. Take care.
Protesters hit the streets after Pakistan high court overturns a woman's death sentence for blasphemy. When we come back, we'll be going live to Islamabad to see if tempers have cooled.
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LU STOUT: Now, Pakistan's prime minister says he is disgusted by the protest that followed that decision by the country's top court to spare a Christian woman's life.
Protesters took to the streets after the court overturned Asia Bibi's conviction and death sentence. They staged sit-ins and chanted slogans condemning Pakistan officials and judges. Bibi, a Christian, had been on death row for almost eight years for blasphemy.
She was accused of making derogatory remarks about the prophet Muhammad during an argument with three women. The case attracted worldwide attention. CNN's Sophia Saifi is with us from Islamabad. And Sophia, there have been these angry protest after this decision came out. Are tensions still running high?
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Kristie, yes, very much so. I mean, there had been a state of panic in the country previously before the acquittal actually came in. As soon as people heard the news that the verdict is coming out, there was this widespread fear that something would happen and rage would spill out in the streets after this acquittal happened.
Because of the sort of sensitivity and fury that comes around last (inaudible) in the country. Now, just last night, you know, the prime minister, Imran Khan, actually took on these protesters head-on by saying that the state will not, you know, stand by while these protesters damage public property and threaten the military as well as the judges.
Now, we've seen the protests actually slow down a little bit. Traffic is moving more regularly across Islamabad, across Karachi. Lahore, which is the capital of the Punjab province where Asia Bibi actually is from, that is still a bit fiery. We're seeing there had been some clashes with the police in the city of Lahore.
Islamabad has cooled down. Karachi as well has cooled down. However, all of the main interchanges between these cities still have protesters kind of clogging up those entries into the main cities of Pakistan. Now, we do fear that there could be violence. There is a sense of unease across the country, but there's a cabinet meeting happening right now with the prime minister.
And there are, you know, there are some sort of rumors that there could be a decision made after this cabinet meeting. You know, the security forces which are out in full force in the city in Lahore as well as in Karachi. They could be given the green light to go out and actually tackle them.
They've been standing by so there hasn't been any clash between security forces and these protesters. That could change in the hours to come. Meanwhile, Asia Bibi is still very much still in her jail cell in Punjab. Still not having been freed yet, Kristie.
[03:49:59] LU STOUT: And what will happen next to Asia Bibi, and can her personal safety as well as the safety of her family -- she's a mother of four -- can that be ensured in Pakistan?
SAIFI: Well that's one thing that's on everybody's list at the moment. I mean, you know, a lot of people are saying that that could not be the case. I mean, there are questions. There have been, you know, suggestions that some western countries have provided asylum to her, to her family.
The fact is that even her lawyer the man who defended her throughout these many years, he's not safe either or his family is not safe as well. I mean, considering the fury that we're seeing out in the streets as well as on social media, these are fringe elements.
Now, local media has not been giving them any oxygen whatsoever. It's a bit frustrating because we haven't been able to get some proper reports as to what's actually happening on the streets because they have been attacking the media as well.
So, you know, her lawyer told me yesterday that Asia Bibi is still going to be in jail for another three to five days while the processes take place for how to be free. However, one really can't say how free she really is going to be in the country of Habad (ph).
LU STOUT: Yes. A lot of concern about her future, the future of her family. Sophia Saifi, reporting live for us. Thank you so much.
In New York City, new revelations about two young women who's bodies were dumped near the Hudson River. The Saudi consulate says that the sisters were Saudi citizens and remains found bound together by duct tape last week. Athena Jones has more on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ATHENA JONES, CNN CORESPONDENT (voice-over): A disturbing and bizarre mystery. How did two Saudi sisters who had been living 250 miles away in Fairfax, Virginia, end up bound together with tape on the banks of the Hudson River in New York?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I seem odd. It's seems like an odd way. I'm stunned. I'm stunned.
JONES: New York police detectives say they have made significant progress in investigating the deaths of 16-year-old Tala Farea and her 22-year-old sister Rotana Farea, but so far won't say whether they are treating this as a homicide.
DERMOT SHEA, NYPD CHIEF OF DETECTIVES: Detectives have been down in Virginia and they've conducted a number of interviews in Virginia, including the members of the immediate family as well as others. And those -- those interviews are really unraveling in some way, a piece of the puzzle of behind the scenes, what was going on in the two young ladies lives.
JONES: The Saudi consulate in New York confirming Tuesday the sisters were Saudi citizens, saying in a statement that the young woman were students accompanying their brother in Washington. Tala Farea was reported missing from Fairfax just outside D.C. on August 24th, two full months before the sister's bodies were found.
And "New York Times" citing police, reports that the sister's mother received a call from the Saudi embassy in Washington informing her that the daughter has applied for asylum. This investigation comes just weeks after another Saudi citizen, "Washingtron Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi who would also been living Virginia and was a critique of the Saudi regime was killed in Istanbul. Athena Jones, CNN, New York
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: You are watching "CNN Newsroom," but up next, the wife defends the U.S. president, the husband attacks him. Look at the very interesting marriage of Kellyanne and George Conway.
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LU STOUT: All right, the White House counsel Kellyanne Conway is one of U.S. President Donald Trump's most loyal defenders. And lately, it seems she might have to defend him from someone very close to home, her husband. Jenny Moss takes a look at this very intriguing family feud.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNY MOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some families feud against other families.
STEVE HARVEY, FAMILY FEUD HOST: Welcome back to Celebrity Family Feud.
MOSS (voice-over): But this is an internal family feud. She is the president's pitbull.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSEL TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: How dare you?
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: How dare you and who dare the president --
[03:54:59] MOSS: While her husband, the guy holding her coat is also holding President Trump's feet to the fire, writing critical op-eds and essays and especially tweets describing president's position using words like absurd, flabbergasting, ceaseless, shameless, and witless prevarication on virtually all topics. .
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is up with your husband's tweets?
CONWAY: It is fascinating to me that CNN would go there. It's now fair game what people's -- how people spouses and significant others may differ. It was meant to harass and embarrass, but let me just tell you something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely not.
MOSS: In a "Washington Post" article headlined. "She works for Trump. He can't stand him." Kellyanne said of her husband's anti-Trump tweeting, " I think it's disrespectful. I think it disrespects his wife.
TRUMP: I see my Kellyanne. Oh, Kellyanne.
MOSS: No disrespect from her boss who sends her out to fight the lions.
TRUMP: There is no den she will not go into.
MOSS: Imagine the den at home when she gets back from work. George Conway is a respected lawyer and conservative who once represented Paula Jones in her case against Bill Clinton.
(on-camera): Sometimes George's tweets inspire uninvited relationship advice.
Suggestions like "Divorce her, George," and "You and Melania should start a chat room for useless spouses." Maybe someday the Conways can do what Mary Matalin and James Carville did. This political odd couple turned their marriage into a cottage industry of commentary and books.
MARY MATALIN, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: James and I needed space, mostly from each other.
MOSS: At least George probably hasn't stopped holding Kellyanne's coat, even if the fur is flying. Jenny Moss, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now, the legendary entertainer, Barbara Streisand has performed around the world, but here's one video that may surprise you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: She did it. The singer appeared on James Corden's late night TV show in the popular carpool karaoke segment. Striesand says, believe it or not, she says it is the first time she has ever sung out loud in a car. Hard to believe. Thank you very much for joining us. I'm Kristie Lu Stout and you are welcome to connect with me anytime on twitter if you want. The news continues next with Bianca Nabilo in London. You're watching CNN.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
