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At This Hour

South Korean Officials Identify All 154 Victims Of Crowd Crush; Now: Supreme Court Hears Challenges To Affirmative Action; Suspect Arrested In 2017 Murder Of Two Indiana Teens. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired October 31, 2022 - 11:30   ET

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


[11:30:00]

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Officials in South Korea have now identified all 154 victims of this weekend's tragic crowd crush at a Halloween celebration. 55 men, 99 women were killed by the surging crowd in the narrow streets of Seoul's very popular nightlife district.

The country has now begun a period of national mourning and the investigation into how this happened is just getting started. CNN's Will Ripley is live in Seoul for us. Will, you were on the scene pretty much right after this happened, what are you hearing there now?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know we're still talking to witnesses just in the last few minutes, Kate. And earlier today, the crime scene investigative unit was out here in this alley where thousands of people were packed in.

And witnesses are telling me that there was an -- there what was drowning out all of the noise or people who started to say, push, push because the crowd was so big, and it was so tight, that there were people actually instigating everybody to push forward.

The problem is, is that some of the people in front including many of the young women who died were pushed over and down onto the ground, and that's when they started to pile up.

The description from first responders that we spoke with yesterday, there all you could see were faces about 10 people high, just packed -- jam pack right in that narrow alley right there. One of the people who survived spoke to my colleague Ivan Watson.

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ANNE-LOU CHEVALIER, SURVIVED CRUSH: There were like so many people who are like, pushing us and like, we cannot breathe at all for a moment.

ALICE SANNIER, SURVIVED CRUSH: At some point, I have no error and we were so crushed to other people that I couldn't breathe at all so I just passed out.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Unconscious?

SANNIER: Yes, unconscious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: She was lucky to survive. And in fact, those who didn't survive are being memorialized here. This has just grown exponentially since we first saw -- the flower starting to appear here at the entrance to the subway station where a lot of -- a lot of young people came here. But, Kate, the really big burning question is, where were the police?

Yes, there were extra officers assigned here. Some of them were sent to another area, to a protest. There were no barricades up. And we have just learned today from the government here in Seoul, that in fact, they did not have a plan.

They do not have a crowd control contingency plan for events that don't have a single organizer, events like the one here in the nightclub district of Itaewon were 100,000 young people came spontaneously and packed into that alley right there.

So you have huge questions about why the police were not responding sooner. Why was there not a plan in place? How was this allowed to happen? And what needs to be done to prevent it from ever happening again, Kate?

BOLDUAN: It's just so -- just terrifying. Every detail that is learned is just more and more horrifying. Will, thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

Let's turn now to the war in Ukraine. Russia launched a series of new strikes today against Kyiv, knocking up the water and power supply in parts of the city. Ukraine says it actually intercepted 44 of 50 missiles fired by Russia. Let's go over to CNN's Salma Abdelaziz. She is there for us. Salma, do we know what sparked this latest round?

[11:35:10]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, we woke up this morning to the sound of air raid sirens here in Kyiv. We heard loud explosions just behind me here. We could see smoke rising from the horizon. Now we understand a barrage of missiles, as you mentioned, more than 50 cruise missiles fired across 10 regions in Ukraine hitting 18 different facilities, most of them energy-related, electricity- related.

What that means here in the capital today is that 80 percent of the city's residents do not have access to running water. The mayor says officials are scrambling to bring that back up as quickly as they can.

All of this taking place just a couple of days after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking its black sea naval fleet with drones. Ukraine has denied that accusation. But in response, Moscow pulled out of this very important UN-brokered with turkeys help grain deal. A deal that's allowed Ukraine to export millions of tons of grain despite the conflict. Now that's in flux, but we understand is dozens of ships, potentially up to 200 vessels could be trapped in the Black Sea unable to get out those exports. Ukraine is saying that they were able to get 12 ships out today with the help of the United Nations. But Russia's response to that was to say if Ukraine carries on without Russia's involvement in the initiative, that could be "risky or dangerous." That's very worrying rhetoric there.

But again, Kate, this is the continuation of the pattern we've seen, right? Russia taking the battle out of the battlefield, right into people's homes because we're talking about the basics, food, water, energy, all of those now Ukraine says being used as weapons by Russia, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Salma, thank you for being there. Thank you.

So the Supreme Court, meeting as we speak, to hear arguments in a case that could shake up college admissions and overturn decades of precedent, that's next.

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BOLDUAN: At this hour, the fate of affirmative action is front and center at the Supreme Court. Justices are hearing arguments right now on whether colleges and universities can continue to consider race as one of many factors in the admissions process. Challengers are targeting policies at Harvard University as well as at the University of North Carolina. CNN's Jessica Schneider is live in Washington following all of this for us. Jessica, what have you heard so far from oral arguments?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kate, we're 90 minutes into these arguments and there really is this clear clash between the six conservative justices and the three liberals. In fact, the newest justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, she has been really leading the questioning on the liberal side. She has been stressing that race is crucial to student identity, and she just wonders how colleges could practically be barred from considering race.

On the flip side, though, some of the conservative justices have been asking whether other factors other than race could be just as effective in creating diversity on college campuses. And we know that Chief Justice John Roberts has repeatedly in many cases over many years, been skeptical of factoring in a race in any number of situations.

And he's taking the same line in the cases he's hearing this morning, He actually asked an attorney for the group against affirmative action whether other factors besides race could be just as effective in creating diversity. Here he is.

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JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: The discussion has been about the dramatic plummeting of the number of African American students that would take place if the practice of checking a box with race is taken away.

And my suggestion is if that's not, then maybe there will be an incentive for the university to in fact, truly pursue race-neutral alternatives, such as you know, allowing, which I think would be allowed students -- applicants to indicate experiences they have had on -- because of their race.

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SCHNEIDER: And that seems to be the sentiment for many conservative justices here, Kate. So the question is, you know, after 45 years upholding affirmative action, will a supreme court overturn precedent? It seems quite likely here. And you add to that the fact that nine states around the country have in fact banned affirmative action in admissions decisions.

Those -- some of the colleges in those states, though, have filed briefs with the Supreme Court. They say that they haven't been able to achieve maximum diversity in the year since affirmative action has been outlawed here. So, Kate, we'll see if the Supreme Court probably wouldn't rule until next year, spring or summer.

BOLDUAN: Right. And to stay, you know, just to kind of the obvious reality we're looking at here, Jessica, the Supreme Court upheld affirmative action for what, almost five decades and would now have to overturn this precedent. What are the justices saying just about that?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I was just listening in. Justice Amy Coney Barrett was just talking about this, as well as Justice Brett Kavanaugh, other conservative justice as well. They're wondering out loud if a time -- if time might essentially be up for affirmative action, Kate.

And that's because in the 2003 case that upheld affirmative action, it was Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who wrote in the opinion that she said maybe the practice wouldn't be needed after 25 more years. So this spring will actually mark 20 years since that 2003 decision.

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Conservatives on this court have increasingly been talking in these arguments about maybe using that timeline as a rationale for banning affirmative action maybe in the coming years, maybe in the next five years. So we'll see how the court comes to a conclusion on that, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. It's great to see you. Thank you.

Let's turn out to this. More antisemitic hate that needs to be called out, this time in Florida, officials there are condemning a series of antisemitic messages that appeared around Jacksonville over the weekend.

One scrolling message on a football stadium reading Kanye was right about the Jews, referencing the antisemitic rants that we've talked too much about made by the rapper in recent days and weeks. CNN's Leyla Santiago is live in Jacksonville for -- Jacksonville for us. Leyla, what are you hearing about this?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, just in the last half hour, the FBI has confirmed that the Jacksonville sheriff's office is investigating this. They are in contact with that office and may possibly be investigating for federal crimes if warranted.

Now, still, a lot remains unclear. Who was behind this? How was that message projected onto the outside of the stadium here during the Florida-Georgia game on Saturday? All of that remains unclear.

What is clear when you speak to folks from the Jewish community here is that at the -- at the root of this, as they see it is hatred. And they find this unnerving because it wasn't just that message on the stadium, also over the weekend antisemitic banners over an overpass of a pretty busy highway in this area.

You know, I spoke with the ADL and they tell us in their last audit, they had 2700 antisemitic incidents reported. That's a 34 percent increase over the previous year. And they believe that extremist groups are engaging even more when it comes to trying to stir up fear and anxiety in these communities.

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OREN SEGAL, VICE PRESIDENT, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE CENTER ON EXTREMISM: We need to keep extremists on the fringes. But when they get a degree of aid and comfort from influential figures, is that a surprise that they are engaging around the country in more of these sorts of outward activities? In other words, what happens online and what leaders say has consequences in the real world. It doesn't just stay online. It doesn't just stay in the ether. It animates people to action.

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SANTIAGO: And, Kate, this afternoon, we expect that there will be a meeting with Jewish community leaders that will -- is expected to include the FBI in some pretty important conversations regarding this.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Leyla, thank you.

A cold case now that has haunted in Indiana town for five years may have finally been solved -- may. Police in Delphi, Indiana in the last hour announced that they have made an arrest in the killings of teenagers Abigail Williams and Libby German. The man now charged, Richard Allen. Let me bring in CNN's Jean Casarez. She has been following this. I mean this has been years, Jean, what more are you learning?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know this is amazing. Delphi, Indiana, it's a very small town. And at a press conference in 2019 when they actually released a second sketch of who they believe may have done this, they also said -- law enforcement in the room, it may be a local person, he may be right here in the room right now with us. And it is a local person. Richard Allen, 50 years old, CNN and HLN have just confirmed that he worked at the local CVS in Delphi, Indiana.

Delphi has less than 3000 people. It's a very small town. This all began in 2017, February, Libby German, Abigail Williams, they wanted to go to the park area where everybody goes to in Delphi. They didn't have a school that afternoon. Their families dropped them off. They were going to meet them in a couple of hours. They never returned. They couldn't find them. And then the next day, their bodies were found close to a bridge that everybody loved to go to in Delphi and that's how this started.

There have been sketches, but finally, on October 13 -- and we do have some pictures and HLN is responsible for getting these photos, there was a search conducted, and who we now know is the defendant who has been charged with murder. According to Barbara McDonald, who is a stellar producer for HLN, we do know that Allen and his wife were taken out of the home.

They actually stood outside of their car for hours while this search ensued. He was then taken into custody last Wednesday. He was formally arrested on Friday.

Now here's the thing. There is a charging document, a probable cause affidavit, they are all sealed. No one can know anything. Let's listen to the state Attorney.

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BOLDUAN: Well, Jean, it looks like we don't have that sound coming in.

CASAREZ: Yes, Kate.

BOLDUAN: But -- I mean as they have also said, the investigation is far from complete still, so much more to come but still a major break.

CASAREZ: And they're asking for anyone to come forward. But no information which is a highly unusual charging document is a public document.

BOLDUAN: Yes, absolutely. All right, Jean, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: So one lucky lottery winner is in for a real treat this Halloween. Powerball hitting a jackpot we have only seen twice in 30 years.

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RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What's the first thing that you would do if you guys won?

VICTOR, POTENTIAL LOTTERY WINNER: I would disappear. No one will be able to find me.

YOUNG: The question is would you disappear if you won a billion dollar?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. I'm going to go for good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Details on tonight's drawing, that's next.

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[11:55:11]

BOLDUAN: And finally, have you bought your Powerball ticket yet? I have not. So just you can join me in that. The jackpot for tonight's Powerball drawing is now more than $1 billion. That's just the second time in the lottery's 30-year history. Ryan Young is in Atlanta for us looking at this. Ryan, what are people telling you about this?

YOUNG: Kate, I can tell you a billion dollars, everyone's walking into the gas station with a smile on their face thinking they're buying the winning ticket. And the place that I'm staying is about 15 miles outside the city. People think this place has good juju, because look, they've won the big ticket here before $116 million. And they're driving in from all over Atlanta to get to this location. We talked to a couple of folks in the last half hour or so who told us why they're so excited.

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YOUNG: How much money did you spend right here?

VICTOR: $280.

YOUNG: OK. Is this an office pool or is this you?

VICTOR: This is the office.

YOUNG: OK?

VICTOR: This would be the last time this man wears a badge.

YOUNG: So what happens if you win? Are we in trouble? Because if all these officers are a winner, is the entire community in trouble at the same time?

VICTOR: Yes, we'll be short.

YOUNG: If you win, what would you do with the money?

EZE ONUIGBO, POTENTIAL LOTTERY WINNER: Oh, it's so funny. I'm sending the money to Ukraine.

YOUNG: Really?

ONUIGBO: Yes.

YOUNG: Why? ONUIGBO: Just to save lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: So you can think about it, you can see all the victories they've had at this location alone, the line has been steady all day. And we're told that the lunch hours when everyone comes in to buy these tickets, if you think about it, Kate, if you had a chance to go someplace that was lucky, this is the place to do it. It's Halloween, maybe it's going to be more trick than treat, but we'll figure out what happens a little later on.

BOLDUAN: Clearly, a lot of people think that lightning can strike twice or multiple times at that location. It's great to see you, Ryan.

YOUNG: Multiple times. Good to see you.

BOLDUAN: Good luck, everyone. Thanks for watching, everybody. I'm Kate Bolduan. "INSIDE POLITICS" with John King is after this.

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