Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Mass Shooting Suspect Makes First Court Appearance; Shooting Revives Gun Control Debate In U.S.; Confederate Flag Still Flying After Charleston Attack; Police Hunt Escaped Killers; Greek Pensioners Anxious About Economy; Plane Stowaway Found Dead On Rooftop; Sadness, Rage And Resilience In Charleston; First Day Of Yemen Peace Talks Yield No Deal; Palestinians Make Long Awaited Trip To Holy Site; Victims Of Burundi Turmoil Share Their Fears. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 19, 2015 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: A chilling admission from behind bars. The man accused of starting the massacre at Charleston church reportedly wanted to start a race war.

And amid this tragedy in South Carolina, the U.S. president makes a passionate flee for the country to rethink its stance on guns.

And also ahead, prisoners on the run, could there be a fresh lead in the search for two convicted killers? New York police are investigating a possible sighting as another employee at the prison is stood down.

KINKADE: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. And this is CNN NEWSROOM.

We start this hour in Charleston, a city that has shown an immense amount of grace in the shadow of a mass murder.

(VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: This was the very solemn scene Friday evening in front of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. It's a historic African- American church and now there are more indications that is exactly the reason why it was targeted by the shooter.

Our affiliate WBTV reports the 21-year-old Dylann Roof researched and targeted the church. A source close to the investigation says Roof admitted he shot and killed nine people during a bible study session all because he wanted to start a race war.

Roof made his first appearance before a judge on Friday. He showed little emotion during the hearing. Relatives of the victims were at the hearing to view him over a TV monitor and they spoke directly to him.

Amazingly, given the loss they suffered, some even offered Roof forgiveness. Our Martin Savidge has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE (voice-over): Court documents released Friday afternoon give more graphic detail of the deadly attack inside a Charleston church. All of the victims were shot multiple times. Family members including Dylann Roof's own father and uncle contacted police his photo began circulating identifying Roof and his car even warning investigators that his son owns a 45-caliber handgun.

Standing solemn, mostly silent and staring at the floor, Roof was not in the courtroom where anguished victims' families had come to see him. He appeared via a video link. The judge delivered a statement including a line that surprised some saying those in the courtroom were not the only ones hurt in this racially motivated act of terror.

JAMES GOSNELL JR., CHARLESTON COUNTY MAGISTRATE: We have victims on the other side. There are victims on this young man's side of the family. Nobody would have ever thrown him into the whirlwind of events that they have been thrown into.

SAVIDGE: The judge's questions brought only civil answers from the 21-year-old defendant.

GOSNELL: You're unemployed at this time?

DYLANN ROOF: Yes, sir.

SAVIDGE: Roof faces nine murder charges and the judge allowed a representative of each of those killed to speak. There was heart break in every word. Felicia Sanders survived the attack an watched her son die.

FELICIA SANDERS, MOTHER OF TYWANZA SANDERS: As we say in the bible study we enjoyed you. May God have mercy on you, every fiber in my body hurts and I will never be the same. It hurts. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. May God forgive you and I forgive you.

SAVIDGE: Law enforcement sources say that Roof has admitted to investigators to killing nine African-Americans in Emanuel AME Church. He said, quote, "to start a race war." The gun he allegedly bought in South Carolina around the time of his 21st birthday in April. The weapon is a Glock 41, a powerful 45-caliber handgun capable of firing up to 13 rounds. Survivors said he reloaded multiple times.

Despite previous arrest for trespassing and drug violations, he had not been convicted at the time he bought the gun, the sale was perfectly legal. Dylann's legal future is found to be lengthy and could even end with the death penalty. The victims' families already know their fate, a life sentence of painful grief.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: That was our Martin Savidge reporting there. As you said, we are learning much more about the nine victims who were killed in cold blood as they prayed together on Wednesday night. The youngest, 26-year-old Tywanza Sanders. In fact, you heard his mother speaking to Dylann Roof. According to a family friend, she was in the room when it all happened, and saw her son fall to the floor after getting shot. So not only she a victim of loss, but she is also a survivor.

[03:05:02] Those who knew Sanders say they will remember him for his upbeat attitude.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHADIJAH SHABAZZ, TYWANZA SANDERS' FRIEND: I don't care what kind of day he was having he was always smiling.

JAVETTA CAMPBELL, TYWANZA SANDERS' FRIEND: We said our goodbyes as if we would see him Friday and he said, all right guys, good night, and we took it for granted, we'll see you Friday. Not knowing the very next day. I'm sure he tried to talk this guy out of it. I'm sure he even went down as a hero. I feel like he would have sacrificed himself before he let anybody else in that room lose their life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Also among those killed in the shooting, the church's pastor, Clementa Pinckney. The 41-year-old was also a state senator. He was first elected to office when he was just 23 years old making him one of the youngest people to ever serve in the South Carolina legislature.

Pinckney was a long-time member of the church. He first became a pastor at the age of 18. He was married with two young children who will now be without him this Father's Day.

And earlier my colleague, George Howell, spoke with CNN legal analyst, Sunny Hostin about what we saw in court on Friday, the compassion shown by the victims' families and a controversial moment by the judge overseeing the hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Typically at a bond hearing, the judge gets on the bench and goes through the charges and perhaps also goes through a series -- a checklist. In this case he decided to make a statement and the statement actually -- I think, contained language that was very troubling for so many people because he said that the shooter's family was victims as well.

And many people are outraged. I, as prosecutor for many years attending just so many bond hearings I've never seen anything like that before. And what is interesting is now we know that this judge in 2003 actually -- in court, in a bond reduction hearing used the "n" word with an African-American defendant.

He said -- and this is a quote -- "That there were three or four types of people. White people, black people, white people, red necks and he used the "n" word. He claimed he was using that to try to change the path of this defendant GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: But he used that language in court?

HOSTIN: He used the "n" word in court from the bench and in 2005 the state Supreme Court publicly reprimanded him for that incident and also for other misconduct. If any judge or any magistrate was going to hear this case, a case that is an alleged hate crime, this judge should not have been on the bench.

HOWELL: So Judge James Gosnell, does he have more involvement in this case as it moves forward?

HOSTIN: Well, I think that is the one silver lining, George. As a magistrate, his only job was to conduct this bond hearing. His role is over, but many are calling for his removal from the bench based on his past history and performance and what we heard today.

HOWELL: Seems that the judge's job was simply to do his job, but he took a liberty there that has a lot of people scratching their heads.

HOSTIN: No question.

HOWELL: Sunny Hostin, thank you so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: U.S. President Barack Obama is continuing to press for greater gun restrictions in the wake of Wednesday's church massacre. On Friday he called for an urgent national conversation on the gun violence problem in America. He also said he will not accept lawmakers' inaction and ignorance of the issue any longer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You don't see murder on this kind of scale with this kind of frequency in any other advanced nation on earth. Every country has violent, hateful or mentally unstable people. What's different is not every country is awash with easily accessible guns and so I refuse to act as if this is the new normal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: And earlier I spoke with Brian Levan, the director of the Center of the Study of Hate and Extremism about this push for a change in gun laws in America and whether more restrictions are needed to prevent crimes like this from happening in the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lack of common sense will always trump any kind of regulation. And by the way, the second amendment was adjudicated up to the U.S. Supreme Court. They didn't give a final ruling as to the parameters.

[03:10:02] But while they said it is a personal rite to private gun ownership it could be subject to a regulation, but the court never said exactly what. We will await that in future terms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: And it's because of the shooting that the governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, ordered state flags to be lowered to half- staff. But one thing that really stood out the confederate flag on the grounds of the state capitol continued to fly high.

For many years some argued that the flag is a symbol of history and others say it's a symbol of bigotry and should be taken down. Tom Foreman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even in the wake of overwhelming sadness and amid charges of horrific crimes there, it is, the confederate flag flying above the grounds of the South Carolina capital while outrage erupts be below.

CORNELL BROOKS, NAACP PRESIDENT: This was a racial hate crime and must be confronted as such. That symbol has to come down.

FOREMAN: The U.S. flag was ordered to half-staff, but the rebel flag remained high, padlocked into place. Why? State law. In 2000, civil rights activists successfully lobbied for a larger confederate flag to be removed from the Capital Dome.

But in exchange all other tributes to the confederacy including the flag on the capital lawn became untouchable without an override by two-thirds of the state legislature. That's not likely here or in other places where some have said for years the flag is about southern pride, heritage and in Mississippi it's part of the state flag.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here to show we are proud of who we are and where we are from.

FOREMAN: Opponents equate that to defending what Germany did under Hitler. Actor Wendell Pierce from the Wire, tweeted, "The Nazis are responsible for the autobahn and advancing rocket science. We fly the Nazi flag to remember that heritage? It's an old debate that even top politicians admit it has new resonance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the state will start talking about that again, and we'll see where it goes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the end of the day it's time for people in South Carolina to revisit that decision would be fine with me.

FOREMAN: Maybe times have changed. Just this week, the U.S. Supreme Court said Texas can deny requests for license plates featuring the confederate flag. But nine other states still allow it on their plates including South Carolina even as opponents are pushing a symbol of their own, #takeitdownsc.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KINKADE: And people around the world are shocked and appalled by the killing of nine black worshippers at the hands of one white gunman. It is leaving many wondering if this new violence will spark a change in America. CNN's Paula Newton has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The image of a young man, America's latest mass murderer broadcast around the world. Reporter for a French broadcaster BFM explaining to his audience how 21-year- old Dylann Storm Roof could face the death penalty after he confessed to killing nine black worshippers on Wednesday.

Newspaper headlines all highlighting the shocking facts, a black church, a white gunman. The (inaudible) in France describing it as the racist killing that is shocking America.

From Turkish "Daily Zaman" even stronger wording, a headline reads racist terrorism horror in USA. From afar the world has watched America struggle when rising tensions between its black and white communities from Miami and Ferguson to Baltimore and now this.

In the multicultural streets of London, these ever increasing scenes are difficult to comprehend so, too, the gun debate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought, not again. And I don't know how many times this kind of thing can happen before people start doing things about guns in America. Obama was right. It doesn't happen with this frequency anywhere else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My reaction is that every day, a young black guy, whoever, is being killed off by white supremacist people that don't want to change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America on a whole needs to sort out their gun laws.

NEWTON: As if to sum it up, British news reader tweeted, "only in America" responding to a gun ad being posted on the front page of Charleston daily "The Post and Courier." This was even as the manhunt for the gunman continued. Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Still to come, a possible new lead in the hunt for two escaped killers in the U.S. Up next, where they may have been sighted and who could be in danger now.

Plus we'll hear from anxious retirees in Greece who are concerned about their pensions as the country teeters on the brink of economic collapse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. New York State Police are investigating a possible sighting of two killers who escaped from a maximum security prison. Investigators say witnesses saw two men who may have fit the descriptions of Richard Matt and David Sweat a week after they broke out.

Those men were about 400 miles or 600 kilometers from the prison. Meanwhile the corrections officer has been suspended as part of the investigation into their escape. Jason Carroll has more on the search.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their mug shots added to the faces of the nation's most hardened and dangerous criminals, Richard Matt and David Sweat now on the U.S. Marshal's most wanted list, a $50,000 reward offered on top of the $100,000 offered last week for information leading to their return.

Searchers have cleared more than 600 miles of trails in the rural areas surrounding the Clinton Correctional Facility where the two made their daring escape two weeks ago.

SHERIFF DAVID FAVRO, CLINTON COUNTRY, NEW YORK: We don't have concrete evidence they're here. We may not have concrete evidence that they are somewhere else. They definitely are someplace. We will find them.

[03:20:07] CARROLL (on camera): Now you don't if they here. There is no evidence that they could be somewhere else. Doesn't that essentially mean they could be anywhere? If that's the case, how do you search for two men who could potentially be anywhere?

MAJOR CHARLES GUESS, NEW YORK STATE POLICE: That's a good question. We said I think from day one that they could be anywhere. We continue to search exclusively and extensively in this area with our ground searchers. However, bear in mind that what you don't see is the voluminous leads that are coming into our tips lines, and our investigators that are behind the scenes.

CARROLL (voice-over): Joyce Mitchell, the prison employee is still the key figure in the escape plan. Investigators say she has already admitted to having an affair with Matt and an inappropriate relationship with Sweat, also revealing both Matt and Sweat had planned to murder her husband, Lyle, but has Mitchell revealed everything to her husband?

PETER DUMAS, LYLE MITCHELL'S ATTORNEY: The things that she said to him alone and the things that are just so hurtful, so revealing that she's said everything. She admitted there was a plot to kill him. He doesn't think there could be anything worse than that.

CARROLL: As for the Clinton Correctional Facility, prisoners no longer on lockdown, no longer restricted to their cells, now that the holes Matt and Sweat dug in their cells have been repaired, the tunnels they used to make their escape sealed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: That was Jason Carroll reporting from New York.

Now for the first time in three weeks, South Korea's Health Ministry says there have no new MERS cases or deaths to report. So far the death toll stands at 24 and more than 100 people are being treated right now. On Friday the Health Ministry said the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is leveling off.

Cash for Greece has been thrown a temporary lifeline. The European Central Bank pumped emergency cash into Greek banks on Friday. This keeps the country afloat ahead of a crucial summit between Athens and in its creditors in just a few days' time.

Greece must make a $1.7 billion repayment to the IMF by June 30th or face default. And as Greece's future hangs in the ballots, many retirees who are financially dependent on the government remain anxious. CNN's Isa Soares shares some of their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In one of Athens traditional coffee hangouts, men mostly pensioners talk openly about life's little problems. Here in between coffee sips, card games and old habits there are passionate exchanges.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

SOARES: The 76-year-old Spiros doesn't hold back. He is clearly frustrated because like others here he has seen his pension cut by 50 percent and he is struggling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

SOARES (on camera): Many of the pensioners I have been speaking to here say they have seen their pensions slashed quite dramatically in the past year with soaring unemployment and youth unemployment they tell me that their pensions are often the only source of income for their families.

(voice-over): This man has been coming here for 20 years and heard much talk of crisis, but never as bad as this, he tells me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

SOARES: Luckily, his children don't depend on him for income because as his pension sheet shows -- he wouldn't be able to support them.

(on camera): Are you proud of the government saying no more cuts to the pensions? Is this something that you are proud of?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

SOARES (voice-over): Here there is little hope that he is playing his cards right. For many, he's gambling with their lives. Isa Soares, CNN, Athens, Greece.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KINKADE: A body found on a London rooftop is believed to be that of a stowaway who fell from a British Airways plane on a 12-hour flight from South Africa. Fred Pleitgen reports a second stowaway was found hiding in the plane's undercarriage. He is still alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[03:25:02] FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: People have laid flowers at the site. This is the building where this man's body was found. Now the London police have come out and said that currently, they are treating this as what they call an unexplained death.

But they also say that there are strong indications that this was indeed a stowaway who fell out of the wheel well of this plane as it was coming in to land and of course, the landing gear was coming down.

Now there was a second person who was found on the tarmac at London Heathrow Airport and so far police are saying that he is in serious condition, but he appears to have survived this ordeal.

We have to keep in mind. We are talking about a flight that went from Johannesburg all the way here to London Heathrow. That is about 8,000 miles and takes almost 12 hours and also we have to keep in mind that the wheel well of the plane is not pressurized. There is very little air to breathe and it gets very, very cold.

Now needless to say, the people here in this area say that they are shocked by what happened. We spoke to a local reverend and he said the community here is in mourning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REVEREND NEIL SUMMERS, LOCAL VICAR: I feel very much for people's desperation, actually. You know, with all the stuff going on about migrants coming across from North Africa into Europe and trying to reach other parts of the world where they think they can achieve a better life. It's just horrible when something like this goes so wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: British Airways has come out and they've said this is a very rare incident, but there are incidents where this happens. In fact here around the area of London Heathrow there have been several incidents where stowaways have fallen out of planes shortly before the planes were set to land. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Still to come, we'll have more on the tragedy in Charleston, South Carolina. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Here's an update on the top stories we are following this hour. The man charged in a mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina researched and targeted the historic black church where it happened. That's according to our affiliate WBTV. Officials tell us Dylann Roof told investigators he wanted to start a race war.

New York State Police say killers on the run may have been spotted 400 miles from the prison they broke out of. Investigators say witnesses saw men who matched the descriptions of Richard Matt and David Sweat in Pennsylvania one week after their escape.

Now to the debt crisis that's crippling Greece. The European Central Bank pumped emergency cash into Greek banks on Friday. This keeps the country afloat ahead of a crucial summit between Athens and its creditors in just a few days. Greece must make a $1.7 billion payment to the IMF by June 30th or face default.

For the first time since June 3rd, South Korean health officials say they don't have any new MERS cases or deaths to report. So far the death toll stands at 24 with more than 100 people being treated right now.

We are continuing to follow developments following the church massacre in Charleston, South Carolina. People of different races and from all walks of life are coming together. They are angry and heart broken and talking about how to make sure something like this doesn't happen again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL (voice-over): With flowers in hand it's all she could do to bring them here, to leave her message.

ANN CAMRON, NORTH CHARLESTON RESIDENT: It's just unacceptable and it's sad. And it's a helpless feeling.

HOWELL: So what do you mean by that?

CAMROD: Helpless. What do you do? You just feel helpless as to what to do. Think about all those families that are affected and our whole community is going to be affected.

HOWELL: The racially motivated shooting at this church inflamed an old wound in this historic community, a city that at one point served as the main point of entry for the African slave trade in the southern U.S. and while Charleston like the rest of the nation has come a long way since those days --

CAMRON: I hate it that some young person had so much hate in their heart that it makes us all seem like we are all racist, but I don't think that we really are. I don't think the majority of us are.

HOWELL: Jackie Lewis says this latest tragedy is a reminder there is so much work to be done when it comes to improving relations between people from different backgrounds who experience the world in different ways. REV. JACQUI LEWIS, NEW YORK PASTOR: Lack of housing, lower salaries, higher incarceration rates, black lives don't matter as much in these United States as other lives. That's why that movement is so important and we are all working for racial justice.

And when -- when this kind of tragedy can happen in a house of worship with people's hearts wide open seeking God's love, our hearts are especially broken.

HOWELL: It's because of where this massacre took place that hits especially hard for some. Dylann Roof admits to killing nine people in a fit of racist rage inside a church.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a place that you don't bring violence. And for people to want to lock their doors, you don't lock the doors to the church. Everybody is welcome. And he was sitting next to the pastor with welcoming arms and still do that.

HOWELL: People are coming together, talking about everything from gun rights and whether there should be more restrictions to race relations, typically taboo subjects in this part of the world, not today.

(on camera): If you look around Charleston today, many different people some from the Charleston area, others who came in from out of town to be here to pay their respects. Despite the tragedy that happened here many say that coming together and having a conversation is the beginning of the unity that's needed.

LEWIS: We will not sit idly by.

SHARON GROVE, CHARLESTON RESIDENT: White people have to stop being silent. We have to show up and recognize that white supremacy, which is what this is. It kills all of us in the end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to take people coming together and talk about this. There needs to be actual dialogue.

HOWELL (voice-over): The conversation continues as this community copes with great loss, with hopes to heal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: And that was George Howell reporting. He will be joining us live from Charleston, South Carolina in the next hour.

[03:35:05] The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the church massacre as a possible hate crime as well as a possible case of domestic terrorism.

According to the Bureau of Justice, the number of hate crimes reported in the U.S. in 2012 was about the same as in 2004. It seems the situation is not improving. Earlier I spoke with former FBI special agent, Jonathan Gilliam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JONATHAN GILLIAM, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: We have to start picking these things out very carefully and looking at them to decide if it is a hate crime, terrorism or a person who is mentally deranged. The way we fix these problems is determined unfortunately by the numbers.

And I think this is something that we really have to look at closely. That's probably why you don't see a difference in these numbers. If it's just thrown out there constantly, how can you fix that? I think that is something that we definitely have to start looking at.

KINKADE: Well, if we do look at those numbers, those numbers tell us that there has been an increase in terms of crimes of hate motivated by race whether that is a person's ancestral or social background or national affiliation. Where do you put that down to? Why is that increasing in America?

GILLIAM: That's a good question. And you know, I really -- my own opinion on that is a lot of it has to do with politics. I like a lot of politicians have really jumped on this racial divide in a way to further their political agendas. And instead of trying to mend it they further it by pointing out people's color over and over again.

I judge a person based on the quality of their work or the quality of their personality, but it's it seems like to me a lot of the times what we see in politics and what we see in the news is this is a black man and this is a white man. I just think that is fueling this entire thing. I think it's one of the things that is causing this divide to get ever greater.

KINKADE: Looking at this case in Charleston, we have a white 21-year- old man accused of killing nine black people. How does someone if this person, you know, he has confessed, how does someone build up such hate at such a young age in America for a particular race?

GILLIAM: Again, my opinion, that is a very good question. My training and expertise that I've had in law enforcement and the military what I see in this individual is somebody who has a psychological problem. And a lot of times they can be total social outcasts and inept at doing a lot of things good.

But yet they can plan and carry out an operation in their mind like this that is deadly and so that's why I know that the things that he said were hate filled. I know that you can tell that his heart is clearly hate filled.

But to me the hate seems like the spoon that stirs the pot. It doesn't seem like the recipe is just hate. There is psychopathic behavior and that is what drove this guy to focus on this particular race.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: That was John Gilliam speaking there.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, coming up, a look at how North Korea is managing the worst drought it has seen in 100 years. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back, nature is wreaking havoc on North Korea. The communist state which is one of the world's most secretive says it's in the midst of its worst drought in 100 years. Derek Van Dam is standing by in the International Weather Center.

Derek, we are used to seeing the North Korean dictator bidding his chest about how well the country is doing, but knowing this instance, the country and its people are suffering.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This drought is very extreme across North Korea. In fact, 30 percent of their rice crop and their rice paddies are starting to just completely dry up and become parched. No longer going to produce any agricultural yields and this is very concerning.

Considering that the United Nations World Food Program states that about a third of the children in that country are malnutrition. This is going to exacerbate that problem and significant drought conditions south and west of Pyongyang.

This is the worst drought in 100 years. In 2014 was the driest in 30 years, and this year is on par to be another significantly dry year as well. In fact just in March was the second driest on record, 7 1/2 millimeters. In total this region typically receives anywhere between 1,000 to 1,500 millimeters, but in 2014 only receiving about 450 millimeters in total.

Now the bulk of our rainfall really comes in July and August as we start to see rainfall moves north from south eastern China eventually into the Korean peninsula. So we do look forward to perhaps some relief from the drought conditions and even though we have seen a few sporadic showers and thunderstorms it is still dry and none of this wet activity will help alleviate this drought that is in place.

We will switch to Indonesia. This is the island of Sumatra. Impressive photos and visuals as a mountain which has been dormant for four centuries has erupted once again. You are looking at some of the footage out of this area.

This is one of 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia and it has quiet for quite some time but a new pyroplastic flow of hot ashes spewed from the volcano on Friday. There are about 150,000 villagers that live in this kind of a dangerous area.

But they are refusing to leave because a lot of them have crops and agriculture that they are trying to look after. The hot ash barreled 2,500 kilometers to the northeast. Lynda, back to you.

KINKADE: Incredible pictures there. Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.

Now to Yemen where the first round of peace talks haven't yielded a deal, but the U.S. State Department warns it could be a long process. The U.N. sponsored talks started on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland. Yemen's foreign minister blamed the lack of progress on the Houthi delegation. Houthis overthrew the government early this year and a Saudi-led coalition had been bombing the rebels to restore the government.

It has been 30 years since one Palestinian man has been allowed to visit Alaska, one of the holiest sites in Islam.

[03:45:09] That's because he lives behind the Israeli blockade, but that will changed on the first Friday of Ramadan. Oren Lieberman reports from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first prayers came long before dawn for the man and his wife on the first day of Ramadan, holy day, holy month. They head for Jerusalem for noon prayers. They leave their rented house at 3:00 a.m. their home destroyed in last summer's Gaza war making their way to the border crossing.

They haven't been to the holiest mosque in Jerusalem in 30 years. I'm so happy and emotional. What is better than praying on Friday in Jerusalem, he says, this is the best that can happen. I hope that everyone can freely go to pray like in the past.

Israel restricts movement into and out of Gaza for security reasons. A policy the Palestinians and many in the international community condemned, but for Ramadan, more are allowed to travel, hundreds of elderly Gazans here boarding buses to Jerusalem.

(on camera): This 90-minute bus ride from Gaza to Jerusalem is a very emotional experience for everybody on this bus. They are taking pictures and in some cases holding back tears. Many haven't been here to pray in Jerusalem, in 15, 20, sometimes even 30 years. They are trying to remember every moment of this experience.

(voice-over): As the bus enters Jerusalem, the faithful pray again. You can see their joy, their excitement. The bus stops in the Mount of Olives, an uphill walk to the old city.

They climb into the old city. We are so exhausted we forgot it as soon as we arrived here. It is a dream to pray on Friday in Jerusalem. May God bring peace to this land.

An early wake up, a day of fasting all for this place on this day, tens of thousands of worshippers offering their own prayers before they come together. He revels in the moment praying that he will be here in this crowd again soon. Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: A clamp down on anti-government activists in Burundi shows no sign of letting up. A rights group says more than 90,000 people have fled to neighboring countries amid the unrest. Many of them say it's because of the violent acts of a pro-government youth militia. Diana Magnay spoke with several victims whose lives have been changed forever.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kissing the little brother he has known for a few weeks, happy to help his new mother with the chores of their uprooted life. We can't show his face in case he becomes known to the men who killed his father murdered in Burundi's capital.

He came home from school to find his father dead. His mother vanished after the government's youth militia swept the area. He fled and met the woman who now cares for him along the way. He's pretty sure he knows who is to blame for destroying the life he knew.

This man has good reason to fear. We meet him at a border crossing overlooking the hills of Burundi. He is a journalist for African Public Radio on the run after his radio station was burnt down and his life threatened for publishing explosive details on the group's key missions.

EULOGE NIYONZIMA, JOURNALIST (through translator): Burning the radio wasn't just about the building. It was about destroying the sources too. But they realized that the journalists had information and I interviewed members.

MAGNAY: He says they've revealed to him the extent of the group's military training and its mission to intimidate political opponents and kill those who won't fall in line.

NIYONZIMA (through translator): We published part of our investigation, but there was more. We still have that data. Even if they think it's been burnt.

MAGNAY: Last week, the U.N. High Commission for Human Rights issued a statement saying the activities could tip Burundi over the edge. Refugees fled the country amid the president's decision to run for a third term.

The government says the refugee's testimony isn't credible and they have been manipulated by other political groups and defends the group saying that the violence has been directed against them rather than being initiated by them.

But tens of thousands are in camps in Tanzania, Rwanda and the DRC fearful of what may come. She lost her first husband during Burundi's civil war more than a decade ago.

[03:50:03] He was shot dead and she barely survived a bullet that tore through her back and chest. Now she and so many others wait to see whether the upcoming election can possibly bring peace. Diana Magnay, CNN, Tanzania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: In a protest against elephant poaching, more than a ton of confiscated ivory was destroyed in New York's Times Square on Friday. The ivory was held up piece by piece before being put on a conveyer belt and crushed into powder. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates around 35,000 elephants are killed in Africa every year for their ivory.

Stay with us here on CNN. We'll bring you more from Charleston where the community is remembering the nine people whose lives were cut short.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM. A look at our top stories this hour, U.S. President Barack Obama has made a second plea in as many days for tighter gun control laws following the Charleston church massacre.

[03:55:10] He says the country needs a change in attitude about guns.

Police sources say 21-year-old Dylann Roof admitted to killing nine people inside an historic American church on Wednesday night. He is charged with nine counts of murder and could face the death penalty. During his first court hearing on Friday, Roof showed no emotion as the judge and the victims' families spoke to him.

And for those families there are difficult days ahead. Nine funerals have to be planned and nine families have to say their good-byes. We end this hour with a tribute to the six women and three men who are gone but will never be forgotten.

(VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)