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Exclusive: Khashoggi Sons Issue Emotional Appeal For The Return Of Their Father's Body; U.S. High Court Won't Block Climate Change Lawsuit; Study: Oceans Absorbed More Heat Than Estimated. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired November 05, 2018 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:07] NATALIE ALLEN, NEWSROOM ANCHOR, CNN: Game on. We are one day away from crucial elections here in the U.S. We'll tell you what's at stake as both Democrats and Republicans make a final push amid an already heavy voter turn out.
GEORGE HOWELL, NEWSROOM ANCHOR, CNN: In Teheran, tough (Inaudible) and despair, the violence (Inaudible) as renewed U.S. sanctions strike Iran's oil and gas exports, plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDULLAH KHASHOGGI, SON OF JOURNALIST JAMAL KHASHOGGI: I would say the truth, like a basic human, just a good person, as simple as that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The sons of Jamal Khashoggi break their silence, speaking exclusively with CNN for the first time since their father was killed inside the Saudi consulate. They told us how they wanted him to be remembered. It is ahead this hour, hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. From CNN world headquarters, Newsroom starts right now, 2018 midterms.
ALLEN: They are here.
HOWELL: It's getting there yeah, coming down to the wire here in the United States. One day left before the Tuesday's midterm elections.
ALLEN: U.S. President Donald Trump is not on the ballot, but Tuesday's vote is seen by many as a referendum on his presidency. Former President Barack Obama was in the heart of the Midwest, U.S. Sunday seeking to boost Democratic Congressional and state candidate. He took aim at Republicans and at Mr. Trump, saying the character of the country is at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: And in the closing weeks of this election, we have seen repeated attempts to divide us with rhetoric, to try to turn us on one another. It's an old playbook where the powerful and the privileged say whatever it takes to protect their power and their privilege, even if hurts the country, even when it puts people at risk.
The good news is in the end, when you vote, you can reject that kind of politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: And for his part, Mr. Trump also on a campaign blitz. He heads to three states on Monday, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri, all of the states that he carried in the 2016 Presidential election. In Georgia on Sunday, he sought to rally his base, stoking fears about migrants coming in to the United States if Democrats gain control. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. DONALD TRUMP (R), UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: Democrats want to invite caravan after caravan of illegal aliens to pour into our country. These are the same caravans that have violently overrun Mexican soldiers and police. You saw this. We're not dealing with babies here, folks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Important to point out, though, this narrative that the President is pushing is just a false narrative. There are no people coming to get you. It's just not happening. Witnesses saying most of the people in the caravan that President Trump is talking about there are women and children. CNN's Ryan Young is in Chicago with the former President Obama.
ALLEN: But first, CNN's Boris Sanchez is on the campaign trail with President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS SANCHEZ, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN: President Trump continued his full court press throughout the weeks before the midterm elections, crisscrossing the country and stumping for Republican candidates. Just this weekend, he stopped at six different campaign rallies. He has three more scheduled for Monday, the day before Tuesday's election. Here in Chattanooga, Tennessee the President was stumping for Representative Marsha Blackburn.
She's trying to capitalize on the President's popularity in the (Inaudible) day. His approval rating here has hovered over 50 percent for quite sometime. Blackburn is close to the President when it comes to certain key issues, including immigration. She's maintaining a hard line stance on that issue. The President spoke about it here on Saturday night.
Talking about the caravan of Central American migrants headed to the U.S. border. Listen to some of what the President said.
TRUMP: They want to impose socialism on our country. And they want to erase America's borders. Democrats want to invite caravan after caravan after caravan after illegal aliens to pour into our country. I don't think so. I don't think so. No nation can allow its borders to be overrun. And that's an invasion. I don't care what they say. I don't care what the fake media says. That's an invasion of our country.
[02:04:52] SANCHEZ: The President there defiant amid criticism that he is mischaracterizing those migrants as invaders. Now, in this race to replace outgoing Senator Bob Corker who is retiring, Blackburn is in a dead heat with her opponent, former Governor Phil Bredesen. Bredesen has tried to cast himself as a moderate in this race, someone who would actually work with President Trump on a number of issues.
The two of them, again, in a dead heat, though, Blackburn does maintain a small advantage. It is still well within the margin of error. Boris Sanchez, CNN, travelling with the President in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
RYAN YOUNG, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: This is a busy day on the campaign trail for the former President. President Barack Obama took to the stage here in Chicago. You could feel the energy from the crowd, especially after a 45-minute concert by Common. This crowd was ready for the former President to step to the stage. J. B. Pritzker was also here. Of course, he is the man running for Governor in this state.
He has a long lead right now. So you could feel the energy in terms of when they made the handoff. There was a lot of conversation about people getting out to vote. There was a big focus on the Democratic ticket here, because they feel like they can make a significant change in terms of the sweep of the state. President Obama pointed to the fact that not every single vote may change life for everyone.
But listen to the words he said as the people in the crowd were absorbing his pep rally like conversation.
OBAMA: When you vote Illinois, you can reject that kind of politics. When you participate in the political process, you can be a check on bad behavior. When you vote Illinois, you can choose hope over fear.
YOUNG: Like we said, the former President had a busy day. He was in Indiana. There's close senate race there. They are hoping that the closer, known as former President Obama, can help get people out to vote and make a difference. He called it a great awakening that people are getting more civically minded and even someone on a ticket right now who may not feel like they are getting the focus that they need, and maybe people went out and vote and made a small change. That's something that all Americans could feel. Ryan Young, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Ryan Young, thank you so much. Let's talk midterm elections with Glenn Shive. Glenn, the Director of the Hong Kong-America Center at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, live this hour in our Hong Kong bureau, good to have you with us.
GLENN SHIVE, DIRECTOR, HONG KONG-AMERICA CENTER: Very nice. HOWELL: Let's talk about the two messages at play here -- playing out
to a divided electorate. The President focused on fear, this mischaracterization of the migrant caravan. The Democrats essentially running against that, and the past two years of Donald Trump, which do you believe will be the greatest motivator, come Tuesday.
SHIVE: Well, Trump believes that the politics of division worked for him. And, you know, it's amazing to me that when you have got a humming economy and all the numbers go in favor of what the Republicans have been able to do on economic terms, that he is deciding to not talk about the economy but talk about these divisive issues, about the caravan, and the fear factor that he's evoking.
He wants to appeal to his base. He believes that generating enthusiasm out of his base is more important than reaching out to the middle. And he's giving up the middle in a sense to the Democrats if they can, you know, their candidates focus on local issues, and not just be driven by the Trump issue. I think that Trump is so loud and he's so in your face all the time, everyday, with all the tweets.
I am wondering if people are getting tired of that. And whether they say, they've got to tone this down, and that, you know, should go in the Democrats' favor. But, you know, I think for our midterm election, this is the first time that people can vote their view of the first two years of the President. And historically, as was mentioned, there is a lot of, you know, the party in power loses an average of 25 seats.
The Democrats should be able to, you know, make that or more. But we are on the edge here where we don't know. And we are a bit gun shy about what the polls say and how to interpret them after 2016. So I think this is going to be a long night. It's going to be on the edge. In fact, a lot of the congressional districts out in the west are going to be undecided, could be for several days, which could then hold the Democratic majority in the House, you know, in abeyance until some of these -- some of these congressional districts get resolved
HOWELL: Well, you know, let's talk about that. So the map shows significant gains made by Democrats possibly in the House of Representatives to regain control of that chamber of Congress. That's less likely to happen in the senate but still a possibility. It all comes down, to as you point out, who shows up to vote on Tuesday. But should Democrats regain the House or even both chambers, Glenn.
[02:10:03] What would that mean for the U.S. President, Donald Trump over the next two years.
SHIVE: Well, he's put himself out saying this is about me, which he always does. And so this is going to be if the Democrats win big, it will be a rebuke to Trump. And he will have to interpret why that's the case. I mean he may look out to say Ryan and say why did you step away, and this is your responsibility and on the House. So he's find some way to explain this.
But he will not have a compliant Congress. And there are a lot of things that he has gotten used to doing through executive signatures and just Presidential action. He has a very strong Presidential posture in the three, you know, branches of government. And he is going to get frustrated because the Democrats will be in a position to push back, not least the question of the Mueller investigation.
That's probably going to come out with a report within a week or two after this election. He's been holding back not to do it in the run up to an election. So there's going to very quickly a different tone, which the Democrats are saying, wait a minute. We are in this in a deeper way than just looking onward and complaining from the sidelines, which is what has been happening over the past two years.
HOWELL: All right. And look, you know, what about the possibility of Republicans holding both Chambers of Congress? What would that mean for President Trump over the next two?
SHIVE: Well, he would be empowered and emboldened to say, you know, I have -- again, you know, confounded all of the experts and the pollsters and the pundits, and I am connected to that base, and that base wants me and what I do is going to roll on for the next two years. So you are going to see -- you know it's hard to say. A Trump on steroids seems to be that way all the time anyway.
But you are going to see a more powerful Trump who has got the Republicans who said now the Republican Party is really the party of Trump. And we are just going to go along with whatever he says.
HOWELL: All right. We will of course, see what happens come Tuesday. Glenn Shive, thank you for your time.
SHIVE: Pleasure.
ALLEN: Join us Tuesday night for extensive coverage of the elections. It starts at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time and we go until all the results are known.
HOWELL: The sons of murdered Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, are talking about the grief and pain that they have been feeling.
ALLEN: Salah and Abdullah Khashoggi spoke exclusively with our Nic Robertson. They described what it was like growing up with their dad and what they want now more than anything.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
A. KHASHOGGI: He was amazing. He was a good dad like motivational, understanding, challenging sometimes.
SALAH KHASHOGGI, SON OF JOURNALIST JAMAL KHASHOGGI: All that we want right now is to bury him in (Inaudible) with the rest of his family.
NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: In Saudi Arabia?
S. KHASHOGGI: In Saudi Arabia, yes. I talked about that with the Saudi authorities. And I just hope that it happens for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ALLEN: The brothers also discuss why they believe their father is being misrepresented and how difficult it is to wait for updates on the investigation. You can certainly see the pain in their eyes, can't you?
HOWELL: Absolutely, absolutely. You just feel for them and for their loss. We'll, of course, have the rest of their emotional interview later in this newscast. Still ahead here on Newsroom, renewed U.S. sanctions, striking Iran, CNN live on the streets of Teheran ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:15:00] ALLEN: The United States has now re-imposed sanctions against Iran. And in a show of defiance, thousands of Iranians marched on Sunday at a government-organized rally in Teheran.
HOWELL: You can see there images burning flags. Those sanctions have been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. But President Trump backed out of that agreement earlier this year, the measure's aim to cripple Iran's energy, shipping, and banking sectors.
ALLEN: Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us now from Teheran. You have been reporting there is for several days in the run up to this day, Fred. What are people saying about this move by the Trump administration? Certainly, those pictures tell a lot about the mood there.
FRED PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Yeah, they certainly do. And there certainly are a lot of people, Natalie, who are extremely angry at the United States government, but especially of course, against -- at President Trump and the Trump administration about all of this. There was that big show of defiance that went on yesterday outside what was, of course, before the U.S. embassy.
It was a very significant date yesterday. November 4th, 1979 was the date that the U.S. embassy here in Teheran was stormed. And then, of course, yesterday again those protests taking place there once again. Now, this morning, those sanctions went in to effect about two hours ago. It's quite interesting to see, because Iran's President, Hassan Rouhani, has already come out just about an hour and a half ago.
And his speech, denounced the sanctions, and said that Iran would quote, proudly break what he called the unjust sanctions. He also called on other countries to do the same. Rouhani also said that he was calling on other countries to do exactly the same thing. And he was saying that even if those sanctions waiver against those eight countries had not been put in place by the United States, that Iran would still break the sanctions because Iran considers them illegal.
Now that, of course, is the rhetoric that's coming out of Teheran. But of course, that can't mask the fact that there are many people who are extremely concerned about the situation. Prices have been skyrocketing anyway. The currency has been in decline for a couple of months now. And there are a lot people on the ground here who feel that things could get a lot worse in the not too distant future, Natalie.
[02:19:55] ALLEN: We'll talk more about that in a moment. I want to ask you though, what are the chances, are they absolutely nil, that this will cause Iran to engage the Trump administration in any dialogue?
PLEITGEN: Hmmm. Well, that's a very good question, actually. And there are some people who are calling for that. They are not necessarily in the structure of the government. But there are some people who are quite influential who say look, why not. I mean they saw the example of North Korea. They feel that North Korea got some concessions from the United States.
So there are some who are saying why not try that as well. However, if you look at the power structure, if you look at the government, if you look at the clergy, they have come out pretty strong at least initially and said they don't believe, at this point in time, negotiations are something that they should do. The Supreme Leader has said he believes the U.S. can't be trusted.
Hassan Rouhani, the President has said he believes President Trump can't be trusted. Even though, the past he had said that he might be willing to do negotiations. I think right now, the Iranian government does not seem to have that in the cards, at least at the moment, because they simply feel that after the U.S. has left the nuclear agreement. And they consider that an illegal move on the part of the U.S.
They consider the U.S. to be in breach of the nuclear agreement. They don't think at this point in time negotiations are something that's necessarily -- or that they want at all. But I mean if things do get a lot worse here, very quickly, then at some point maybe that is something that could be in the cards. But right now, you really see the government still trying to put on that very strong face, and saying right now, at least with this President, they certainly don't want to negotiate, Natalie.
ALLEN: They don't seem like, yes, that is what they want to do. When you consider, too, what the people think of President Trump. And what they are doing on the streets with signs of President Trump not well liked there at all. We understand that. Fred Pleitgen for us, thank you so much, Fred. We want to talk more about the situation in Iran with an expert there.
Adnan Tabatabai, he's the CEO of the German-based think tank Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient, or CARPO. Thanks so much for joining us, Adnan. I want to ask you. Mr. Trump called these sanctions the strongest ever imposed. What effect do you think it will have on Iran's economy and on its citizens?
ADNAN TABATABAI, IRAN EXPERT: I mean there is no doubt that these sanctions will have an effect on the business environment of Iran and the economic context of Iran. So the idea of what was in the nuclear agreement or the initial idea of it was economic relief, but more importantly for sustainable development and growth, this obviously was undermined by this move. So there will be an effect on international trade. There will be an
effect on the Iranian market. And it will certainly harm the Iranian market. Whether that leaks to changes in the economic and political attitudes, I'm very doubtful of that.
ALLEN: Right. The two countries have been enemies since 52 Americans were taken hostage in the embassy there on November 4th, 1979. How would you characterize the relationship between the United States and Iran, some 40 years on since that event?
TABATABAI: It's defined by deep-rooted mistrust, and the taboos that were overcome in the course of the nuclear negotiations were certainly important. I think that there was no real prospect for a normalization of relations. But there was a prospect for de- securitization in the course of the nuclear agreement. This however, is now unfortunately over with the current administration's position in Washington, D.C. And I am afraid it will stay for that -- for the early future.
ALLEN: Well, what is the United States, the Trump administration's ultimate goal do you think with its harsh tactics on Iran?
TABATABAI: I think we have to differentiate between President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo or his National Security Advisor Bolton. Bolton and Pompeo certainly wants this regime -- or the Iranian political leadership and regime as they say to collapse and to seek regime change, whereas Trump I think is really after finding a better and new or whatever deal that he believes is stronger, mainly, for his aim to do something different than Barack Obama.
So I think there are these two different approaches which also are recognized in Iran. And that is why Teheran is very skeptical about any formal talks with the current administration in Washington.
ALLEN: Do you think there is a divide between older Iranians and youth when if comes to, you know, thoughts on the United States and Donald Trump? Is there less tolerant as far as people who are older rather than the young?
TABATABAI: I mean interestingly enough, there is really -- even up to the supreme leader, there is the differentiation between U.S. policies and U.S. culture, U.S. education, U.S. -- even food. U.S. food is popular in Iran. The Iranian leadership has always said that we don't have problems with the U.S. citizens. A lot of daughters and sons of Iranian officials are studying in the U.S. or there is ongoing academic exchange with the U.S.
[02:25:01] But obviously, the anonymity on the side of the political leadership and establishment is much stronger as they have been the ones who have been defining the political direction of this republic, whereas Iranian people are a bit more open. But we have to say that the U.S. policies of the recent months since President Trump took over have created more hostility also on the level of society.
ALLEN: What about the E.U.? The E.U. did not want this to happen, be imposed by the United States. Do you think they will look for ways to go around it?
TABATABAI: It is at least quite remarkable how unified the European position is on this. And then there is now this special purpose vehicle, which has been developed. But we will have to wait and see how much that can actually translate into economic trade. So that is something that is a new mechanism. It's a blueprint. Whether or not that will is going to be sufficient to keep up European-Iranian trade that remains to be seen.
But at least there is a strong political will. And I think that is unprecedented. And it's also an argument against what Donald Trump is saying as the U.S. sanctions being the hardest and harshest ever. The U.S. used to have Europeans on their side when they had these sanctions. Currently, it's not really the case.
ALLEN: Adnan Tabatabai, thank you so much. We appreciate your insights.
TABATABAI: My pleasure.
HOWELL: Still to come this hour, an exclusive interview with the children of the murdered Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. How his sons are remembering their father.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:02] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A warm welcome back to viewers all over the world. I'm George Howell.
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm Natalie Allen. Let's update you on our top stories this hour. U.S. President Donald Trump continues his campaign bliss for Republicans on Monday ahead of Tuesday's midterm election. He will headline rallies in three key states, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri in the coming hours. Mr. Trump is dismissing any predictions of a blue wave victory by Democrats saying he thinks Republicans will do well in the House very well in the Senate.
HOWELL: His predecessor the former U.S. President Barack Obama back on the campaign trail showing sport for his fellow Democrats. On Sunday, he campaigned in the U.S. States of Illinois and Indiana in both places and U.S. President Donald Trump of lie of ear mongering and (INAUDIBLE) the character of our country is on the ballot.
ALLEN: The U.S. had new sanctions against Iran hours before they went into effect. Thousands of Iranians marched in protest in the nation's capital. The sanctions have been lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that President Trump abandoned that pact earlier this year.
HOWELL: It has been now more than a month since the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and now his sons are speaking out for the first time in an exclusive interview with our Nic Robertson.
ALLEN: Saudi Arabian government now admits the Washington Post columnist was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. But his son say all the information they're hearing is confusing and there's only one thing they really want now. Here's Nic's exclusive interview with Salah and Abdullah Khashoggi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALAH KHASHOGGI, JAMAL KHASHOGGI'S SON: It is a mystery and this is putting a lot of burden on us, all of us that everybody is seeking for information just as we do and they think that we have answers. Unfortunately, we don't.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Abdullah, we've heard from the Turkish government that have said that they believe that he -- your father walked into the consulate that he was chocked, that he was -- that he was then killed. From the Saudi government, we understand that he was killed.
ABDULLAH KHASHOGGI, JAMAL KHASHOGGI'S SON: Until now it's vague like it's the story like the details that exactly happened inside. As you know, as the media, Twitter, T.V. stations televised telling a different story. And for me, I -- I'm trying to simplify it as much as possible that he died, yes. And as simple as that and --
ROBERTSON: And you were the last one of your father's children to see. You saw him two months ago in Turkey. How was it then?
A. KHASHOGGI: He was happy. He -- it was very -- like it was a very good opportunity for me to see him. He (INAUDIBLE) Istanbul (INAUDIBLE) and I think I was really lucky to have that close a moment with him.
ROBERTSON: How was all this been on your family, on your mother, and your sisters?
A. KHASHOGGI: It's difficult. Like it's not easy specially when the story gets this big. It's not an easy -- this. It's a confusing -- even the way we grieve, it's a big confusing like because we're grieving, at the same time we're looking at the media and there is information like there's a lot of ups and down. It's not a normal situation. Like it's not -- it's not a normal this at all.
S. KHASHOGGI: All what we want right now is to bury him and (INAUDIBLE) within Medina, with his -- with the rest of his family.
ROBERTSON: In Saudi Arabia?
S. KHASHOGGI: In Saudi Arabia, yes. I thought that -- I talked about that with the Saudi authorities and I guess hoped that it happens soon.
ROBERTSON: But you need to find -- somebody need to find his body?
S. KHASHOGGI: Yes. I believe that decision is ongoing and I'm really hopeful about that.
ROBERTSON: But what you placed your hope in?
S. KHASHOGGI: It's an Islamic tradition. It's not on the Islamic. It's basic humanitarian issue. We just need to make sure that he rest in peace. Until now, I still can't believe that he's dead. It's -- I know -- I mean it's synching again with me emotionally. He has disease for sure. But the emotional burden that is coming with the puzzle is really -- is really big.
[02:35:09] ROBERTSON: When you went into your father's apartment here in the United States, you discovered something that made you realized just how important you -- his grandchildren were to him, what was -- can you tell us about that?
A. KHASHOGGI: Yes. Going to apartment, I was maybe the most emotional moment I have like in this past days. This picture especially it was next to his bed stand, next to his bed, and his grandchildren and that's the last thing he looked at before he goes to bed. It's -- that thing shocked me like that shocked -- like it's just -- it sure a sign -- and nothing you would put an emphasis on his gentle tender side of loving his family, his grandkids and --
ROBERTSON: The last thing he was here (INAUDIBLE) and he put that there so he would see it?
A. KHASHOGGI: Yes. It's just something huge and it touched me (INAUDIBLE)
ROBERTSON: What are you proud of stuff?
A. KHASHOGGI: He always say the truth like basic human just a good person as simple as that and he was very brave. He was always out there like for me it was like broken roster and jerk as a journalist --
ROBERTSON: Because he was (INAUDIBLE)
A. KHASHOGGI: Yes. And he's always pushing. He was always, yes. He is brave.
ROBERTSON: There have been people who've been trying to sort of create a different impression about him, a different legacy, allegations that he was sort of supported the Muslim Brotherhood.
A. KHASHOGGI: I don't believe so (INAUDIBLE) I used to teased him like the last time (INAUDIBLE) I did this on Twitter like they're saying you're Muslim Brotherhood. Where is your beard? Where is -- and he laughs and he tried -- he goes in details. I'm not Muslim Brotherhood because of this, this, this (INAUDIBLE) yes. And it just labels or this people that doing their homework properly and greeting his article going in depths, so that's easier for them just to stake a label on him by calling, you're something, you're that, you're that, you're that.
ROBERTSON: Can you tell us about that meeting with crown prince and the king?
S. KHASHOGGI: Yes. In that meeting with the king and the crown prince, when I went there with my Uncle Sam, the king has stressed that everybody involved will be brought to justice and I have faith in that. This is what happened. ROBERTSON: You're placing your faith in the king?
S. KHASHOGGI: Yes.
ROBERTSON: And your heart of hearts, what do you think happened?
A. KHASHOGGI: Something that happened, something might be but I really hope that whatever happened, it was just maybe it was -- it wasn't painful for him or something like that or least it was quick or he had a peaceful death.
S. KHASHOGGI: That's what I wish for. I'm not sure. I'm just waiting for the facts to come out. It's -- for me, it's just death. I know that he's dead. All I'm waiting for is for the investigation to be over, so the facts can turn out.
ROBERTSON: How do you think your father would want to be remembered?
S. KHASHOGGI: As a moderate man who is -- who has (INAUDIBLE) with everyone, genuine and honest, a man who love his country will be so much in it and its potential. Jamal was never dissident. He (INAUDIBLE) the monarchy that is the thing that is keeping the country together and he believed in the transformation that is where it is going through and that's how -- that's how he should be remembered.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: That family deserves answers. The pain on their faces and in their -- in their voices and this --
HOWELL: There are so many unanswered questions. There are politics at play in so many different nations and to hear them say they're just simplifying it to the point where they realize he's not with them anymore. Your heart has bleed.
ALLEN: And there are -- he has more children too. We are -- our thoughts are with them. We'll be right back.
HOWELL: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:42:55] ALLEN: Historic rainfall and flooding continue to ravage Italy. Over the weekend, 12 people died on the Island of Sicily bringing the death toll now to 29.
HOWELL: Italy's prime minister says the government will declare a state of emergency for the hardest hit areas. CNN's Amara Walker has more now on the devastation there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMARA WALKER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All week, rivers overflowed causing damaged throughout the country, high winds snapped trees like toothpicks. In Sicily, nine people from two families died as floodwaters from a nearby river suddenly swept into the home where they were having dinner. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was in Sicily Sunday.
GIUSEPPE CONTE, PRIME MINSTER OF ITALY (via minister): It's an enormous tragedy. Being in your house and from one moment to the next being submerged by the water.
WALKER: Among the dead were two children, one and a three years old. Earlier in the week, flooding in Venice put historic buildings at risk. Terrace adjusted to the high waters. Some Venetians dealt with the flooding in their own way. In Rome, cars were damaged by falling trees. This week's extreme weather was caused by a seasonal high tide and a strong low pressure system in southern Europe and Italy is preparing for more. Meteorologist say climate change is making flooding more common.
CONTE: The government has already allocated to the environment ministry one billion Euro for the interventions on the hydrogeological safety.
WALKER: The full economic impact of the extreme weather will take a while to calculate. Amara Walker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Amara, thank you. Let's now bring in our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri in the international weather center with more. Pedram?
[02:44:50] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, George, Natalie, you know, this pattern has been so persistent for so many days and as Amara broke it down there, we've seen the rainfall. We've seen the winds and certainly the flooding as well and take a look. The elements in plays here from the southwest with the local winds libeccio winds from the southeast, you put this together, and you support this with a very strong jet stream that's going to park in place for about a seven-day period, and that's essentially what we've really seen.
This pattern, not break down. High pressure has been locked into the East. And with this said, we've seen rainfall almost every single day, and we see tremendous rainfall, to say the least. And, in fact, you take a look at what has come down in this heart of -- wet season across this region. And what is occurring in the next few days.
In fact, here's the perspective right now. There's a system right there across a Corsica and Sardinia. Back towards the west, near the Iberian Peninsula, a similar storm beginning to say it takes shape all of these systems are just being displaced off towards the east.
And, in fact, in a seven day period, we've seen rainfall estimations as much as 300-plus millimeters to the north. As much as about 200 millimeters a little farther towards the south. And, of course, when you factor in the heavy rainfall into the saturated soil, and then on top of this powerful winds, there's an estimated 14 million trees that have been down across this region of Italy in just seven days alone.
And a lot of these trees coming down in the Dolomite Mountain Range. And, of course, that is a prominent area when it comes to very well- known wood in that region that produces the highest quality of musical instruments known as the Violin Forest.
And perspective looks as such with the trees coming down across that region. And notice, this is the severe weather outlook going into today, this Monday morning, right along the Tyrrhenian Sea off into areas of Northern Africa even the threat there is once again for flooding, for some tornadoes, for some large hail.
This pattern, unfortunately, does not look to break down. We'll get a little breaks here and there the next couple of days, guys. But it really looks like this could be something we'll see more and more, at least, this week before conditions may improve into next week. Guys?
ALLEN: All right, we hope that people can stay safe. Thank you, Pedram.
JAVAHERI: Yes, thank you.
ALLEN: Still to come here, the U.S. Supreme Court hands young environmentalists a win. We'll tell you about a legal battle on climate change that involves Donald Trump and a group of kids.
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JAVAHERI: As always, thanks for joining us here on CNN. I'm meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for "WEATHER WATCH". And a pattern shaping up here to be for some severe weather, at least, across areas of the Southeastern South Central United States back towards the Northwest.
Still seeing the same snowy pattern that's been in place while towards the Northeast. It is all about the wet weather just about 24 hours or so in advance of, of course, Election Day later on Tuesday.
But you notice severe weather risk widespread from areas of Alabama on into Tennessee, eventually, into Kentucky as well, on a scale of one to five. Pretty high concern here for some of these areas Nashville, south towards northern Mississippi. That is a three in line there with tornadoes being one of the primary threats across this region.
All of this really expected to ignite sometime towards the afternoon and evening hours. Of course, daylight saving time has come to an end. Meaning, the Sun sets sooner making these storms that much more dangerous once you have to deal with them post-sunset as it gets dark outside.
To the north, we go where we do have wet weather in store across portions of the Northeast. Higher elevations happen to some wintery weather as well. But you've got to go north of Montreal to really see significant snows. But look what happens here going into later this week. And eventually into early next week.
The coldest air of the season eventually sets up shop around portions of the Midwest, and you notice that lingering effect into the northeastern U.S., temps gradually inching back down closer towards the single digits. Your Monday, four in Winnipeg, 20 down in Atlanta.
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[02:50:46] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. A new study suggests that earth is more sensitive to fossil fuel emissions than previously thought. That research found that oceans absorb 60 percent more heat per year than experts had originally estimated. The paper was published Wednesday in the journal, Nature.
ALLEN: And it came out just days before the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop a lawsuit that was introduced by young people fighting climate change. The suit seeks to hold the government accountable for neglecting to address that issue. The Trump administration has requested to block the lawsuit.
Julia Olson is executive director and chief legal counsel at Our Children's Trust and represents the young people who brought the case. Julia has spent much of her career focused on the environment and conservation. She is joining us from Eugene, Oregon.
Thanks for being with us and considering that you spent much of your career in the environment space, what does this motion by the Supreme Court indicate, is it hopeful?
JULIA OLSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OUR CHILDREN'S TRUST (via skype): Thanks for having me on. I think the decision is really an important one. Because what the Supreme Court has said is said that even the federal government needs to follow the proper procedures in the course of litigation.
And, at least, a majority of the justices found that the federal government does not have a fair prospect of succeeding in obtaining the relief that it's sought from the Supreme Court at this point in time. Which means, we're back in the trial court, and we're asking for a new trial date, and we'll be moving forward as quickly as possible.
ALLEN: Do you think this lawsuit has a chance, and how did it -- how did it get started anyway?
OLSON: Well, I represent 21 young people. And really what these youth are seeking is a freedom to live in this country without the dangers and ravages of climate change. And the fact that that's worsening every day in part due to the conduct of the federal government.
And for over 50 years, the federal government has understood that if we continue to burn fossil fuels, and if they continue to promote fossil fuels as the main source of energy in our energy system, that it would cause catastrophic consequences including sea-level rise and increased wildfires. And even the health effects that some of our plaintiffs are experiencing in this case which is increased incidents of asthma.
ALLEN: So, what do you have going for you now in this case? OLSON: Well, we have 20 of the top experts on not just climate change, but also economists, the technical experts who understand how we can successfully transition our energy system in this country towards one that is clean and safe for these young people.
So we have an amazing array of experts. We also have young people who are really already experiencing the harms of climate change.
So, Levi for example lives on a Barrier Reef Island off of Florida. And he's at 3 feet of sea level rise, and he has had to evacuate his home numerous times on the flooding they've been experiencing. And our experts say that his Island will be uninhabitable within the next couple of decades. So, he's looking to lose his home entirely. And in part, because of the conduct of the federal government.
ALLEN: Well, the case was originally brought during the Obama administration. So, now, how challenging will it be to continue to go up against the Trump administration, which has rolled back initiatives to help curb pollutants?
OLSON: Yes, it's a really important point that we did file first against the Obama administration. Because this case is not about one administration. It's not about Republicans or Democrats, it's every presidential administration since really the 1950s and certainly by the 1960s, knew of the catastrophic harms that we would face and we are facing now. And they all acted in the same way to increase the fossil fuel energy system.
And so it's really different now that the Trump administration is it's continuing to promote fossil fuels as our primary source of energy. But it's also behaving in a ways in this litigation that it's surprising in terms of acting as if it's above the law, and it doesn't have to sit or trial and defend itself in court.
And so, it's going to the appellate courts trying to evade the normal judicial process so that the facts don't see the light of day. But we're confident that the appellate courts will hold our federal government to the ordinary process at litigation in our democracy.
[02:55:53] ALLEN: Well, this must be -- this ruling brought to the Supreme Court must embolden the youth whom you represent who brought this case. And we'll talk with you again as it moves forward. Julia Olson, thank you so much.
OLSON: Thank you very much.
HOWELL: And we thank you for being with us for this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell. And I'm Natalie Allen. We'll be right back with our top stories. The midterm elections just one day away.
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