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Hala Gorani Tonight
Drama Over Whether Christine Ford Will Show Up Before the Senate Judiciary Committee; Stormy Daniels Tells All in Her Tell-All Book; Theresa May At Dinner in Salzburg, Austria to Try and Conclude a Brexit Deal; Trump Tours the Carolinas; North and South Korea Promoting Peace and Pageantry; Record Number Of Women Entering Politics; How Women Who Voted For Trump Will Vote In Midterms; Coalition To Investigate Airstrike That Killed Two Children; Probe Launched In Australia Strawberry Needle Scare. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired September 19, 2018 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00] HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani. Tonight the U.S. President is touring flood-hit
communities in North Carolina this hour. But the controversy surrounding Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee refuses to go away. We'll get you up
to speed just ahead.
Also, this hour, full disclosure. Adult film star Stormy Daniels gives the world a sneak peek at the tell-all book about the President and her life.
And a tenuous step toward peace on the Korean peninsula as North and South Korea commit to an era of no war. We'll have a full report from Seoul.
Thousands of U.S. residents are just now facing some of the biggest dangers from Hurricane Florence. A full five days after the storm made landfall on
the east coast, relentless rain has swollen rivers, closing down entire highways and leaving communities stranded. President Trump is at this hour
meeting with first responders and evacuees in the states of North and South Carolina. Praising their ongoing efforts to rescue thousands from the
deadly storms but wherever the President goes the storm of controversy over his Supreme Court choice and the woman accusing the nominee of sexual
misconduct is front and center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I really want to see her. I really would want to see what she has to say. But I want to give it all
the time they need. If she shows up, that would be wonderful. If she doesn't show up that would be unfortunate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And that's the President saying he would like to hear from Christine Blasey Ford who accused Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's
nominee for the Supreme Court of sexual assault when they were both teenagers in high school. Now, CNN has crews across the region covering
the President's visit and the flooding is still reeking havoc. Boris Sanchez is in the White House. Nick Watt is in Wilmington, North Carolina.
We have the latest on the situation there and the President's visit. Nick?
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, the President said he wanted to actually meet people affected by this storm and visit the areas hardest hit
and what he is doing this morning. He's been in New Bern, North Carolina, visiting a community under six feet of water a few days ago, handing out
food to rather surprised people at a relief shelter and also offered to get involved in one woman's insurance claim. She was also a little bit
startled.
He's off somewhere else. We don't exactly where because the situation on the ground is fluid as you mentioned. You know, we just heard that one
river in South Carolina, they don't think it's going to peak until sometime next week. That is how much water has fallen on the care lies that as
Florence passed by. Hurricanes can be politically tricky for Presidents.
We all remember George Bush back in 2005 who was lambasted for his handling of Hurricane Katrina and last year President Trump got a little criticism
for the way he behaved in Puerto Rico, sort of throwing rolls of paper towel to people and also on his first visit to Texas after Hurricane Harvey
for not visiting some of the people affected. So far, he is on the ground another three or four hours and so far, Hala, so good.
GORANI: Nick Watt, thank you very much. Well, while the President assesses the damage in North Carolina and with a showdown brewing in
Washington over a supreme court nominee, President Trump might have another problem on his hands. We'll discuss that in a moment. Boris Sanchez, you
are at the White House. Let's talk about what the President said about Christine Blasey Ford. He said he'd like to hear from her. Where are they
in the support of Kavanaugh that the stage?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have not seen any support waning for Judge Kavanaugh. The White House standing by him. He's continuously
denied that any of the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford took place back when he was a high school student. The President this morning was walking
a fine line as you noted. He did say that he would like to hear from Ford. He said, and I quote, if she shows up and makes a credible showing that
would be interesting. Despite that, the President has not questioned his nominee to replace Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. He's not
questioned his credibility at all.
[14:05:00] He has continuously defended him. In fact, he says that is the FBI knows him well because they have investigated him up to six times
throughout this process. We have heard from sources close to the President that he's frustrated by these allegations but we have heard time and time
again this White House not go as far as the President has previously in sort of attacking those who question people close to him or people that
he's endorsed, clearly the White House trying not to upset supporters of Christine Ford and upset the process throughout the confirmation process
for Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
GORANI: Right. Shown more restraint. I wonder what impact to have on the entire process, the delays, the fact that the nomination thrown in question
if Christine Blasey Ford does not testify next Monday. Now, Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee had this to say
about the invitation extended to Christine Blasey Ford. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Where I'm focused right now is doing everything that we can to make Dr. Ford
comfortable with coming before our committee either in an open session or a closed session or a public or a private interview. That's four different
ways she can choose to come. I'm not worried about anything other than just focusing for the next few days on encouraging her to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So, Boris, what happens if she doesn't make an appearance, behind closed doors or in public?
SANCHEZ: It could represent a stain on a potential justice Brett Kavanaugh and something that would likely come up over and over again throughout his
career. Increasingly so if he is overseeing cases that are sensitive to the topic of alleged sexual assault or women's rights in general.
I did want to point out something in a letter that Senator Chuck Grassley sent to Christine Blasey Ford's attorney within the last couple of hours.
In that letter he makes the argument that it is not within his jurisdiction to have the FBI carry out an investigation of her allegations. He says in
the letter that's up to the White House. Of course, we have heard President Trump say he believes that the Senate should carry out that
investigation.
He says that's not something that the FBI does. Though there is precedent here. Back in 1991, as you know, Hala, the FBI investigated accusations
made by Anita Hill as Justice Clarence Thomas was going through this process, as well. It's unclear if the President will relent or stand by
the position and whether Christine Blasey Ford ultimately decides to come forward in a private or public setting to tell her story.
GORANI: Boris Sanchez, thank you. Echoes of Anita Hill. It's a different era right now. Certainly, there are a few more women on the committee than
there were in 1991. Thanks very much, Boris Sanchez.
It is a case of another week, another tell-all book this time from Stormy Daniels. Contains salacious details. CNN's Sara Sidner has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In her tell-all book, Stormy Daniels writes the first sighting of Donald Trump in 2006 in his hotel
suite in Lake Tahoe was shocking.
"Trump came swooping in wearing black silk pajamas and slippers she writes. What are you doing, I yelled? Go put some f*****g clothes on. He changed
and they joked about his hair. What is going on with this? I know, he said. It's ridiculous."
She says the two talked about family. What would your wife think of you being here with me, stormy writes? Oh, don't worry about that, he said.
It's not a big deal. Anyway, we have separate bedrooms.
She writes, Trump then brought out a picture of Melania holding their son Baron who was just four months old at the time and when Daniels came out of
the bathroom she claims Trump was lying on did bed in his underwear. They had sex and describe his genital. Yes, in great detail. His penis is
distinctive in a certain way. Proof her attorney said she is tired of being called a liar.
Daniels said the night after the encounter with Trump he invited her to a club. She found Trump and NFL Super Bowl Champion Ben Roethlisberger
talking. She writes, Trump eventually suggested Roethlisberger walk her to her hotel room. At the door, Daniels writes, Roethlisberger asked her a
question while pushing lightly on her door. How about a good night kiss?
[14:10:00] I was terrified, she writes. I am rarely terrified. He stood outside not leaving knocking and rapping the knuckles. Come on, he
repeated in a sing song voice. I won't tell. He eventually left.
CNN reached out to Roethlisberger for comment. We have not heard back. But in January, after a few of the details came out "In Touch" magazine
Roethlisberger's agent said he had no intention of addressing the story. President Trump has never spoken her name in public or admitted to any
sexual tryst and spokespeople and attorneys denied it ever happened again and again.
Trump and Daniels allegedly met months later at the Beverley Hills hotel. She reveals in the room as they were watching TV, Hillary Clinton called.
Clinton was vying for the Democratic Presidential nomination against Barack Obama. When he hung up he was effusive about Hillary. I love her, he
said. She's so smart, Daniels writes. Fast forward to the Trump and Clinton campaigns and you would never know it.
TRUMP: Lying, crooked Hillary. Love to say it. She is a liar!
SIDNER: Daniels reveals she was raped as a child. She writes it happened repeatedly by a man who lived next door to one of her friends. I was 9. I
was a child and then I wasn't, she writes. He was raping Vanessa so I put myself between them, continually offering myself up so he would leave her
alone. Daniels said a school counselor called her a liar revealing the rape.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Sara Sidner joins me now. Some pretty lurid allegations in the book. Let's bring in Sara. She is in Los Angeles. Is there anything new
we learned in the book in terms of the alleged affair with Trump?
SIDNER: Yes. There are a few things that we have learned. Some of the details, you know, people are going on about the salaciousness of the
details. Very vivid description of Donald Trump's private parts. And upon asking her attorney Michael Avenatti about that and why -- most people
think she is trying to sell a book and part may be true but there is also this element of wanting and insisting on being believed and that was a
theme throughout the book that she doesn't like being called a liar. And has admitted to lying, for example, to her husband and really doesn't like
being called a liar.
And so, that was one of her ways to try and show proof that, indeed, although the Trump administration, Donald Trump's attorneys, spokespeople
have all denied there ever was any kind of sexual affair between him and Stormy Daniels so this was her attempt after everyone's telling the story
after the story was leaked and then she did a couple of interviews, this is her way of getting her entire story out. By the way, Hala, her early
childhood, reading through that, really touched me. It was stark. It was honest. It was extremely disturbing. She really takes you through her
life all the way through to the point when the public really knew who she was outside of the porn industry. It is a very interesting read, I have to
say.
GORANI: I know you power read through the whole book but I wonder, I mean, is it -- does it read like -- what does it read like, like a memoir of her
life?
SIDNER: Yes.
GORANI: How much does she focus on her -- what she says was an affair with the President?
SIDNER: It's a good question. 90 percent probably of the book or 85 percent of the book is about her. It's about her and think about the life
that she's led. As a child she talks about being neglected. When her parent's marriage fell apart. Something that a lot of people can
understand and have empathy towards, experienced it themselves. She talks a lot about the early life and then she goes into the adult life and how
she got into stripping at 17 years old and that somehow became her family, as well. And on and on and on into the porn industry and I think what
people discount, they see this porn star and somehow, she's not smart.
[14:15:00] This woman has been in the industry many -- for many, many, many years and done very well. She directs films and she is directing 100 or so
films and written films so it is interesting to get to know her in a different way and most of the book is about her life, not about that few
minutes that she spent with Donald Trump and then the subsequent meetings and certainly gets into details that I had never seen about him, about
another famous attorney who was involved in the very beginning. Definitely an interesting read.
GORANI: Sure. And there was a trending topic yesterday on Twitter that was related to the description she had of the more intimate aspects of the
President that I guess we all clicked on and then regretted. Thank you very much, Sara Sidner in Los Angeles.
Still to come tonight an impressive display of pageantry as North and South Korea come together. The leaders say they have entered into a new era of
peace. But as always, the devil is in the details.
And the hills are alive with the sound of Brexit. Right now, May is in Salzburg, Austria trying to convince the EU her Brexit plan is the one to
follow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Another day, another frantic round of diplomacy for Britain's Theresa May. She's made a trip across the Alps to Salzburg, Austria and
sitting down to dinner with her EU counterparts trying to get them on side with her version of Brexit. It sounds easy, right? Like most things in
the long process things are confusing and far from easy. For days there have been hints of progress, especially on the thorny issue of the Irish
border but before that dinner European Council Leader Tusk said the U.K.'s idea needed to be reworked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TUSK, EUROPEAN COUNCIL LEADER: On issues, such as the Irish question, or the framework for economic cooperation, the U.K.'s proposals
will need to be reworked. And further negotiated. Today there is perhaps more hope but there is surely less and less time. Therefore, every day
that is left we must use for talks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Donald Tusk there. We have the story well covered. Hadas Gold is in Salzburg and Bianca Nobilo joins me live on set. Hadas, first of all,
obviously Theresa May wants to sell her plan. Tusk is pouring cold water over that idea. What's the latest? Deal or no deal here?
HADAS GOLD, CNN MONEY EUROPEAN POLITICS, MEDIA AND GLOBAL BUSINESS: Right now, it is hard to tell. We just saw a slew of European leaders including
May come in to this theater right by us to start the dinner and the dinner is a lot about setting the tone and the mood. No formal deal is created
here but clear in the comments of the leaders coming in using warm words with one another of thinking there could be a deal and close and want to
work together, it is so clear there's differences simmering under the surface.
[14:20:00] We heard from the prime minister of Malta, for example. He was saying there's always room for negotiation. As long as those terms don't
necessarily violate our European rules because we're not the ones that kicked Britain out of the European Union. They kicked themselves out.
Clearly there's tensions boiling underneath the surface.
Theresa May will try to make her pitch for her plan at this dinner, probably happening right now and then tomorrow these leader wills get
together and talk amongst themselves about that. The real action will happen in October in the more formal summit and today tusk announced
another special Brexit summit in November when he expects the final deal to finally be realized hopefully.
GORANI: Hopefully in November. If there is one sticking point, the main one, what would it be at this stage?
GOLD: I mean, it is obviously the Irish border. There's a huge issue of what it looks like between North Ireland and the Republic Ireland because
of obviously just how close they are and whether there's a hard border, what are the checks are going forward and may made clear today as
repeatedly she has what happens to North Ireland cannot be treated differently than the rest of the United Kingdom part of the United Kingdom
and a clear issue from the European side, something that has to be worked out, one of the main last sticking points of the entire negotiation but it
could make or break this entire deal.
GORANI: All right. Well, do you know what's on the menu tonight?
GOLD: I know that there's Austrian wine on the menu. Did look quite good and should be interesting. It's a beautiful night out and a lot of leaders
seem to be in high spirits at least. We'll see how it turns out after dinner tonight and tomorrow.
GORANI: All right. Hadas, thank you for joining us. I'm going to turn to Bianca here. I mean, it does seem in the last few weeks that EU leaders
appeared slightly more conciliatory to Theresa May. I wonder if they're concerned that the alternative is a nightmare for them.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Without a doubt. She's synonymous with the plan. They understand painfully that to the extent that they damage
her proposal for Brexit they damage her as a leader. Like a political voodoo if you like. They know that they have to tread very carefully
because if they shoot down Theresa May's plan or give her a deal she can't get through parliament then the tenure as leader looks unstable and the
possibilities to replace her are people they can't deal with, Boris Johnson or Michael Grove.
GORANI: This Chequers plan to remind our viewers, I mean, it cherry picks a little bit, you know, some of the best aspects of EU membership and then
but would exempt the U.K. from paying into the EU budget. If leaders accept that, it's going to give other countries ideas.
NOBILO: That's always been a concern. And there are rising movements in many European countries for populous movements and those like to see more
independence. However, most of the cherry picking is couched in terms of the Irish problem you were just talking about so key among that is the fact
that the U.K. under may wishes to stay in a common market for goods. Industrial goods and agricultural goods. She said that's to solve the
issue of avoiding the hard border between the Republic of Ireland and North Ireland and why the U.K. uniquely needs that special deal.
GORANI: I may be asking a completely stupid question here but if you want free movement of goods but not of people, if someone's driving a truck into
the U.K., does the lorry go on and the driver has to show the passport? I don't understand technically how that's possible. Does that make sense to
you?
NOBILO: Nobody can really solve this issue at this point. There's been suggestions of bar codes.
GORANI: Barcode the driver?
NOBILO: Depends on where the checks happen. So, the EU's priority with Ireland to de-dramatize it to see the border in the Irish sea and there are
some checks of east and west for plants and agricultural goods already. But however, the U.K.
have said you can't economically separate North Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. You have to treat the entire U.K. including Northern
Ireland as one customs union if you like.
[14:25:00] GORANI: Right. Theresa May is writing in "The Daily Express" today about the idea of a second referendum and especially obviously among
the remainers and others in the U.K. and Brexiteers want a referendum on the terms of the deal and writes this was probably the biggest exercise in
democracy in our country's history. If we were to go back on that vote it would destroy trust in politicians. Some would argue you don't need a
second vote to do that but in any case, why is this her position? What's wrong with voting on the terms of the deal? Not the deal itself. Not the
idea of Brexit itself.
NOBILO: I think she understands if she gives any slack at this point or indicates there's potential for a second referendum to add to political
chaos and disaster for her. She is trying to get the plan to succeed. However, you have David Davis, The former Brexit Secretary, making the
point today that only 80 percent -- 18 percent of the British population support her plan and doesn't seem like that's the preference of the people
in the United Kingdom but she's doing everything she cannot to give too much hope to those to see a second referendum and threatening those who
would like one in the party if they don't back the checkers deal it's no- deal Brexit and worse in their eyes than a softer Brexit.
GORANI: Every time she or someone in the party called for a vote it did not end well for them.
NOBILO: Certainly not.
GORANI: Thank you very much.
Pomp and circumstance on the Korean peninsula as the leaders of North and South Korea make tenuous steps towards peace in the three-day summit. The
South Korean President Moon Jae-in addressed thousands of cheering North Koreans at the may day stadium in Pyongyang where he and Kim Jong-un
watched a show by mass games performers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOON JAE-IN, PRESIDENT, SOUTH KOREA, (through translator): The relations of Korea will be developed further and we will reconnect the blood of south
and north and we will advance a new era of peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The north said it will close a key missile test facility, potentially destroy its primary nuclear complex but only if the U.S. agrees
to corresponding measures. And there is a big if there. Right? CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Seoul.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At face value, there's a little something for everyone in this agreement. The leaders of North and South
Korea unveil an initial plan for denuclearization. That plan includes a joint military pact, a plan for railroads, family reunions and even a bid
to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics. Hopefully in November. If there is one sticking point, the main one, what would it be at this stage? Kim
Jung-un says he'll visit Seoul, the first North Korean lead to do so since the Korean War and he mentioned the word nuclear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM JUNG-UN, LEADER OF NORTH KOREA (through translator): Making efforts to make the peninsula a place of peace without nuclear weapons and nuclear
threats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: North Korea pledges to permanently close down the missile test site and launch pad, the key test center for the ICBM program and no time
line given. The program that concerns Washington the most, Donald Trump quickly approved tweeting how exciting the developments were, including a
conditional nuclear concession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Depending on the U.S.'s corresponding measures, North Korea agreed to take additional action such as the permanent destruction of a nuclear
facility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: The military agreement was detailed including dismantling 22 DMZ guard posts by the end of the year, a no-fly zone in some border areas and
a plan to demilitarize the place where north and South Korean soldiers faced off against each other for decades. There have been plenty of
memorable images in the summit, highly choreographed casual moments between the leaders. Thursday promises even more. Kim and Moon will head to the
mountain in the morning, the spiritual home of the Koreans before Moon returns to Seoul. His next stop on September 24th, New York. To brief
President Trump on an ambitious plan. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
GORANI: Well, I want to bring you live pictures out of the United States. Donald Trump has left North Carolina and is now arriving in South Carolina.
Conway, South Carolina. To be exact.
[14:30:00] He has spent the last few hours touring hurricane ravaged areas and areas specifically affected by flooding.
All right. He was as I mentioned in North Carolina and have left North Carolina earlier and there he is with his staff. The U.S. midterms are
fast approaching. We'll explore how the President, the me-too movement and everything else in between to make for a new year of the woman in politics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:28] GORANI: A quick update on our top story. The American president Donald Trump is in Conway, South Carolina, where he is touring
the damage caused by Hurricane Florence. He arrived there just moments ago.
Back in Washington though, he has a political storm on his hands. His Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh stand accused of sexual assault. He
is scheduled to testify on those allegations on Monday.
However, Professor Christine Blasey Ford says she will not testify until there's been an FBI investigation. Even still, Republicans say they're
happy to go forward without either of those two things happening. So we will continue to keep an eye on that.
Now, the allegations against Kavanaugh nominated by president accused of assault himself are just some of the many factors galvanizing women in
politics. This election season.
A record number are running in this November's midterm elections as CNN's Kyung Lah reports they come from all walks of life but do share a common
frustration. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are underdogs, they are first-time candidates and they are breaking records. Over this entire midterm year,
we've been coast to coast, trying to capture some of these key candidates, women who are part of the year of the woman, in 2018.
DR. KIM SCHRIER (D), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, WASHINGTON: The march was the start. Marching is not enough. And so citizens just like me became
activated.
LAH: Dr. Kim Schrier, Washington State pediatrician marched in 2017. By 2018, she quit her job. Now, she's a Democrat running for Congress.
Will women be the difference maker in 2018?
SCHRIER: I'm counting on it. Really having a misogynist in chief to have as our president, a man who grabs women's bodies and has been disrespectful
all the way through to women, that drives us.
LAH: Every politician in every town's parade knows they have to press the flesh to ask for votes. But Democrat Lucy McBath brings a personal story
unlike any other.
LUCY MCBATH (D), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, GEORGIA: Jordan guides me every single day, every single day.
LAH: Her 17-year-old son was gunned down at a Florida gas station six years ago. The gunman saying he shot Jordan Davis because he felt
threatened by him and his friends after complaining they were playing music too loud. McBath, first, a grieving mother at a murder trial. Then, quit
her flight attendant job to become a national gun control activist for every town for gun safety. Then, this year, Parkland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got shots fired right now, guys.
MCBATH: Here we go again.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, good afternoon.
MCBATH: And then, I saw President Trump sitting with our federal legislature, sitting at the table talking about the NRA, and within 24 to
48 hours, he flipped.
LAH: And that's when you decided to run?
Congresswoman Kristi Noem's daily ritual. Her path to make history running to be the first woman governor of South Dakota.
REP. KRISTI NOEM (R), SOUTH DAKOTA: I started thinking out of the box. How can I get to have interaction with other members? And for me, it was
the gym.
LAH: Noem made the lead to state lawmaker. And in 2010, defeated a popular incumbent to go to Congress. Despite her success, this is what she
heard as she announced her historic run for governor.
NOEM: I had a few people tell me that maybe I didn't have the right body parts to be a governor, so --
LAH: Really?
[14:35:00] NOEM: There's just -- yes, but you know, it's a small minority of folks that we just have to change their perspective.
Well, how are you doing?
LAH: Noem is as uncommon here as she is in Washington. Republican women make up just seven percent of Congress. The unprecedented surge of women
running for office this year has been almost completely among Democrats.
Why this year are a record number of women saying that they can run in government?
NOEM: You know, I think it's all about not missing an opportunity. Timing is everything in politics.
LAH: Congresswoman Noem's time may be now. She is regarded as the front- runner.
You prefer a tractor to an airplane?
NOEM: I do, you have control over your own destiny.
LAH: A path she hopes to forge at home.
Afghanistan, 2009, in her third tour of duty, Air National Guard pilot Major M.J. Hegar was shot. Hanging on to the outside of a rescue
helicopter, standing on the skids all while returning fire to the Taliban.
M.J. HEGAR (D), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, TEXAS: Kind of got peppered with different pieces of shrapnel.
LAH: You used the tattoo to cover the scars.
HEGAR: Yes. It's hard to walk away from something like that without a sense of second chance and do more with your life and have a purpose.
I'm a veteran.
LAH: Finding that purpose, now --
HEGAR: I'm fighting for this country.
LAH: In her run for Congress.
In this district, Trump won by a lot.
HEGAR: The Republican leadership has gone off the freaking rails. And the things that the Republican Party stands, for now, are not representative of
the values of the people in this district who have voted Republican.
LAH: She's a Democrat running against a long-term Republican incumbent in a district Trump won by 13 points.
HEGAR: Whoa. Look at those crowd.
LAH: The veteran status cracking opened doors once thought shut for Democrats.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH: 256 women have won House and Senate primaries. Sixteen women have won gubernatorial primaries. All of these are huge new records. Analysts
who watched gender politics believe that all of these women are well poised to smash some records this November.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: President Trump was already a divisive figure among women when he was elected, but that has grown increasingly stark since he's been in
office. Our Alisyn Camerota spoke to several Trump voters about what his performance in the White House means for their midterm votes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NELL JUSTILIANO, REGRETS VOTING FOR TRUMP: I am very confident in the economic status of where we're at now, what Trump has done and hopefully
what he can continue to do in the future. If he has the support behind him. He is a very flawed human being but aren't we all?
ANNIE ANTHONY, REGRETS VOTING FOR TRUMP: I kind of a split person. My children say I'm a very confused Democrat because I vote Republican, but
now I find that the -- I like at the local level, the Democrats, the ones who are affecting my life every day.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Why do the Democrats speak to you more now?
ANTHONY: I think that they're more into social justice and the social programs. We want to make a difference in the lives of these people that
are not seeing what everyone else is seeing.
CAMEROTA: Is any part of your vote in the midterm going to send a message you hope to President Trump? Do you feel differently about your vote today
for him?
ANTHONY: Oh, I definitely feel different about my vote for him. I voted my Christian values. I was hoping he would probably be more of the
candidate that would deliver that for me and I still maintain hope that his Supreme Court picks are going to have made voting for him worth it for me.
AMELIA KENNEDY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I'm standing behind Donald Trump because of his conservative values, you know. Having the faith-based community
with him is very important to the Latino community. So yes. I am voting Republican and I did not register ever until 2015.
CAMEROTA: Is that right?
KENNEDY: Yes.
CAMEROTA: So you never voted until this presidential election.
KENNEDY: Never, no. I felt that, you know, our faith-based community needed support.
CAMEROTA: And what was it about President Trump that made you think that he had those Christian values?
KENNEDY: He was actually talking to faith-based communities.
RUTH BIRCHETT, TRUMP SUPPORTER: For me for the midterm, my message is more to Democrats, than Republicans. My local elected officials are the reason
for and have -- are the reason for the deterioration of our community. It is Democrat decision making that have widened the divide between the haves
and the have nots.
CAMEROTA: You're basically sending a message to your local party.
BIRCHETT: Exactly, because the local politics are why I am Republican today.
CAMEROTA: The latest poll numbers show that only 36 percent of the country approved of the job that he's doing. With women it's lower. Only 29
percent of women approved, 65 percent disapproved. Why do you think that is? Ally?
[14:40:11] ALLY BROSS, REGRETS VOTING FOR TRUMP: Well, it starts with talking about women's facelifts, I think. It's disrespectful. I think the
majority of women, I don't think that they see him as a respectful pro- woman kind of man, especially people my age. In my age demographic, it's a huge deal that he's not supportive of -- easily accessible women's health
care in terms of Planned Parenthood. They feel like they're losing the right to birth control, pap smears, abortions.
CAMEROTA: So, Ally, you're not happy that you voted -- is that a fair characterization that you're not --
BROSS: Yes. Part of the reason I voted for him was because I thought he was going to be one of the two candidates to make our national security a
high priority and make us safer on our own grounds and our own territory. But when you're making fun of foreign leaders and being coming buddy-buddy
with Vladimir Putin, it shakes me up a little bit.
Anthony: My fear with President Trump is that his extramarital affairs will make it more of a norm that the children will think this is acceptable
behavior and it's not. It's hurtful behavior.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Alisyn Camerota there speaking to some female Trump supporters on how their opinions may or may not have evolved over the last year.
Still to come tonight, children in Yemen know to run to safety when they hear the planes. But last week, two didn't make it. Now off the back of
CNN's reporting, the Saudi-led coalition admits there is a probability that it has hit civilians and that is new. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: It's a rare admission following the deaths of two children, CNN's own reporting provided evidence of an airstrike in Yemen last week that
killed the kids. Now, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in the country admits there's a probability that it accidentally bombed civilians. That's
as far as it's ever gone.
It is promising to investigate though -- investigating its own bombing is something some critics say wouldn't necessarily be fruitful.
Nima Elbagir has this exclusive report on the war where children are paying the ultimate price. And we must warn you, as always, you may find some of
the contents of this report disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A direct strike in broad daylight. Rescuers rush in but it's too late. It's too graphic to
show in full, but the bodies being pulled out belong to 3-month-old Samud (ph) and her 3-year-old brother, Savid (ph).
[14:45:05] This cell phone footage was sent to CNN, by the rebel Houthi- backed media group on Ansar Allah media. A rare glimpse of life on the bombardment in Yemen.
Bashar (ph) is taking us down through his house. Down, down, to the family's hiding place. This is where the children have been taught to come
when they hear the familiar drone of planes overhead.
Baraa and her family aren't so lucky. They had to improvise.
BARAA (through translator): This is the place where we hide. These are the things we prepare for when the planes are bombing or we hear them
flying.
ELBAGIR: For the last three years, Yemen has been the site of a devastating proxy war, pitting Iranian-backed Houthi militias against a
U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition, seeking to restore the government of overthrown president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
In that time, local activist groups have collected data showing an estimated 17,000 aerial strikes, as Yemenis attempt some semblance of
normal life. These are some of the stories of life under bombardment.
On August 9th, the world was aghast when images emerged of schoolboys covered with blood after their bus was hit by coalition planes. A CNN
investigation subsequently identified the 500-pound bomb dropped directly on the bus was supplied by the U.S. to the coalition.
We now know that wasn't the first or last incident of civilian deaths, using U.S.-made armaments. Just the first to hit the headlines in years.
Using images collected by award-winning Yemeni activist group, Muthana, and independently verified by CNN is having been American-made. CNN has been
able to identify at least 11 separate incidents of coalition strikes on civilian areas using U.S.-made armaments.
Lockheed Martin during the bus attacks. But also, Raytheon and the U.S. air force material command. It is a litany of death made in the USA.
And yet, the U.S. State Department has certified the Congress that the Saudi-led coalition is undertaking demonstrable actions to reduce the risk
of harm. And that arm sales to the coalition could continue.
When CNN reached out on our findings to the Pentagon, spokeswoman Commander Rebecca Rebarich said, "It called upon all parties to take all feasible
precautions to avoid harm civilians. The final decisions on the conduct of operations in the campaign are made by the members of the Saudi-led
coalition, not the U.S.
Many of these weapons were precision-guided. We wanted to see the aftermath for ourselves. CNN was able to send a team to Hachi (ph)
Province. There, our cameraman met 12-year-old, Hayal Jerad (ph).
In April, a coalition bomb struck a village wedding.
HAYAL, 12 YEARS OLD (through translator): We (INAUDIBLE)
ELBAGIR: You can see here, the moments before the planes arrived, killing 21 people, 11 of them children. This is part of the missile tails used in
the attack. A weapons expert helped CNN trace it back to the U.S.-made GBU-12 bomb manufactured by Raytheon.
Hayal was one of the lucky ones. Biahimad (ph) will spend his life on crutches. But Hayal's brother was killed.
As this team conducts the interviews, in the distance, a plane is heard. And the children scatter.
In a rare moment of respite, Baraa's little brother is allowed out to play with his friends in the courtyard. Our cameraman asks why he doesn't play
in the street. He knows the sound by heart. His cue to run toward safety, there is.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: As we mentioned, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen says the coalition would investigate the evidence presented to it by
CNN. He says the coalition takes any allegations like this seriously and, quote, "targeting operations are carried out I conformity to the rules of
engagement which resemble the highest international standards."
Now, CNN has made repeated requests for comment to U.S. arms manufacturers Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. We have not yet received response from those
companies.
[14:50:04] We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, you see it all around the world. Millions of people practice yoga every single day. It has also become a big business, so we
take you to the heart of India and back to the basics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yoga. A spiritual discipline of body postures and breathing that can be traced back over 5,000 years. And there may be no
better place to master the craft than India.
SANDEEP AGARWALLA, HEAD OF YOGA AT ANANDA IN HIMALAYAS, INDIA: I would say we all have limitations within your body. Within our minds. And at one
point of time, we realize that we want to overcome those limitations. And the whole science of yoga was to come out of that limitations and to be
free.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sandeep Agarwalla is the head of yoga at Ananda Spa located in the state of Uttarakhand.
AGARWALLA: I think this is a perfect location where you are -- you can switch off your phones and just be with yourself, be with the peacocks, be
with the monkeys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This location on the outskirts of Rishikesh is considered by many to be the birthplace of the very activity which
Agarwalla practices, teaches, and continues to learn.
AGARWALLA: Rishikesh is a very important center in terms of spiritual knowledge, because the origin may have been here and then it spread out to
different parts of the country and the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As yoga spread, so did its variations. But at Ananda, which sits in the foothills of the Himalayas, there are no
gimmicks. Yoga is presented in its most pure and traditional form.
To walk the path to wellness, Agarwalla says, you must focus on your breathing using a technique known as pranayama.
AGARWALLA: Prana is the energy, the vital energy which is basically responsible for everything that we are doing, for every movement we need
energy. For every thought, we need energy. So yoga says that Prana is inherited in us. And through the breath, the energy can be harmonized.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A better self, one breath at a time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Metal detectors not something you usually need for snack time, but a scare has sparked a federal investigation in Australia where people have
reported finding needles in their fruit.
Police are investigating a young person who they say admitted to a prank including putting sewing needles inside of strawberries. Unbelievable.
They say that person will be dealt with as part of the youth cautioning system. But they also say, whoever is responsible for more than 100 cases
are still on the loose. Here's Kristie Lu Stout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[14:55:01] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Strawberries tainted by a tiny hidden threat. Shoppers in Australia frightened over 100 cases now of
needles discovered in pieces of fruit across the country.
It began last week in Queensland where strawberries sabotaged in. Now, crisis for farmers as prices plummet. At least one grower forced to dump
all of the new season's crop.
Desperate measures are being taken to build consumer confidence. This farm scans fruit with x-ray machines and metal detectors.
STUART SMITH, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE: In the last two days, we found a young person has admitted to a prank including putting needles in
strawberries. And he will be dealt with under the youth cautioning system.
STOUT: Nobody knows who else to be putting needles and fruit or why. Police have set a $70,000 reward for clues.
SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: It's not funny. You're putting the livelihoods of hard-working Australians at risk. And you're
scaring children. And you're a coward and you're a grub.
STOUT: Australia's new prime minister said drought relief for farmers was his priority when he took the job last month. And now Scott Morrison wants
15 years in jail for anyone found guilty of tampering with the multi- million dollar fruit industry.
MORRISON: What you get 15 years for are things like possessing child pornography and financing terrorism. That's how seriously I take this.
And that's how seriously our government takes it.
STOUT: The latest fright isolated cases of pins found in bananas and apples, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That just freak me out that I'm thinking my daughter normally just grabs and just bites into apples.
STOUT: The government says fake posts on social media spread fears further.
PETER DUTTON, AUSTRALIAN MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS: People might think that they're funny. People might think that somehow, you know, this is an
image to be shared, but all it does is distract the way from the mind choice and efforts.
STOUT: As farmers fear for their livelihood, please for the public to chop before chewing.
JEANNETTE YOUNG, AUSTRALIAN CHIEF HEALTH OFFICER: We really stress that people should cut all strawberries before they consume them.
STOUT: Shoppers torn between a food safety scare and the urge to support farmers that the country already suffering through a record drought.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: It's a question Sesame Street fans have been asking for decades. Bert and Ernie, are they just friends? Well, according to a former writer
for Sesame Street, they are indeed gay. Mark Saltzman is quoted in the LGBT magazine Queerty saying, "I always felt that without a huge agenda,
when I was writing Bert and Ernie, they were. I didn't have any other way to contextualize them."
However, that's not what the makers of Sesame Street are saying. They issued a statement saying, "Even though they are identified as male
characters and possess many human traits and characteristics, as most Sesame Street Muppets do, they remain puppets and they do not have a sexual
orientation."
That's going to do it for me. I'm Hala Gorani "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.
END
