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EU, Balkan Leaders Agree on 17-Point Plan to Manage Refugee Crisis; Bashar Al-Assad Meets with Russian Lawmakers. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 26, 2015 - 03:00   ET

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

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[03:00:15] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWSROOM HOST: A nightmare at sea. A whale-watching trip off the coast of British Columbia goes horribly wrong, killing five people.

Ready and able. Syria's embattled president says he is open to early elections. But, there is a big if.

And the Pope calls for a more welcoming Catholic church after a key gathering of bishops. But, many don't share this Pope's values. The views.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN Newsroom starts right now. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have risked their lives to reach Europe and countries have struggled to cope with this crisis. And now leaders from the Balkans and European Union have agreed on a 17-point plan to start managing the situation.

Among the measures, 100,000 spaces will be create for people at reception centers. These are to be set up along routes that migrants are taking from Greece up into Germany. Half will be in Greece and half will be along the western Balkans route. The EU Border Agency will also ensure that migrants trying to cross the Greek/Macedonian border are registered and management of all borders will be increased.

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JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Immediately imperative is to provide shelter and ensure refugees and migrants along the western Balkans route are treated in a human manner. It cannot be that in view of the 2015, people are left to fend for themselves, sleeping in fields, and wading in chest-deep rivers in freezing temperature.

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HOWELL: And when you look at the numbers of this mass migration into Europe, the numbers are staggering. Nearly 700,000 people made the journey into Europe by sea, so far, this year alone. This according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 3,000 of them, though, died in the attempt. Here is a story of survival. But, this was a very close call. A fisherman pulled an 18 month-old child from the sea and saved his life. We caution you that some of these images may be very difficult to watch. Amara Walker reports.

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AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Baby Muhammed Hasan clings to his mother in Turkey. Their journey to get here, a harrowing one. Their survival, miraculous. Just days ago, fishermen off Turkey's coast, spotted the 18 month-old and others floating in life jackets in the Aegean Sea.

Video of the rescue shows the fishermen rushing to pull the bodies from the cold water. The boy is brought into the boat. The fisherman tries frantically to clear the water from the boy's lungs. He is barely responsive. But, he is alive. Fearing hypothermia, the fisherman proceeds to remove the child's wet clothes and wrap him in a warm blanket. The fishermen were able to pull some 15 refugees from the water. Including baby Mohamed and his mother. They were among 30 refugees aboard a small boat headed for Greece. A boat they hoped would take them to a better life, but capsized before reaching shore.

More than 500,000 people have arrived by sea in Greece this year. Mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Thousands have died. But, to Muhammed and his family, lucky to have made it to solid ground, these fishermen are heroes.

LORIN HALEF, MOTHER OF RESCUED CHILD: You both gave him a second life. We are grateful to you. May God bless you.

WALKER: Amara Walker, CNN.

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HOWELL: Sunday's national election in Poland may impact how the EU handles the migrant crisis. The country's conservative law and justice party declared victory after exit polls indicate they won 242 of the 460 seats. The conservative party opposes joining the EU or having migrants relocate to Poland.

Russia is calling on Syria to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Russian lawmakers in Damascus on Sunday. One of those lawmakers says Assad's first priority is defeating terrorism. Syria's state run news agency told Assad lawmakers, quote, elimination of terrorist groups would lead to a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

The western-backed free Syrian army is scoffing at Russia's offer to provide aerial support to them and other opposition groups that are fighting ISIS. They say Russia must stop bombing them before talking about helping them. The rebels and the United States have both accused Moscow of using its air campaign to target them and civilians instead of targeting ISIS. In the coming hours, EU foreign ministers are set to meet in Brussels to discuss Russia's involvement in Syria. And following it all, our Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson live from Moscow. Nic, good to have you with us this hour. So, this is all happening on the heels of the Russian foreign minister having a phone conversation with the U.S. Secretary of State. Do we know much about what came out of that conversation? [03:05:51] NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know they talked

about the possibility of a political solution inside Syria. And also, about trying to get multilateral talks with all the sort of the key players involved to push this process forward. What is clearly emerging here, we can see this demonstrated by these recent phone conversations between Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State John Kerry. They had that phone conversation. A brief one Sunday. They spoke briefly by phone on Saturday as well. That, of course, came hard on the heels of their first meeting face to face since Russia began bombing in Syria. That was in Vienna. They met for several hours there.

What we are seeing here in Russia is a greater emphasis on the diplomatic political push for a political solution inside. On Syrian television over recent weeks, a lot of pictures of Russian aircraft striking targets inside Syria. Daily briefings and updates from the Ministry of Defense. Over the weekend, those images have tailed away. The specific updates on bombing sorties, targets, etc. in Syria by the Russian air force from the Minister of Defense. We haven't seen those coming out in the proliferation that they have been recently. There is a real push towards a sort of more political direction of how Russia wants to take this at the moment. However, that said, despite these phone conversations between Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State John Kerry, there still seems to be a gulf of opinion between the United States and Russia at the moment on how to tackle Syria. George.

HOWELL: Nick, there are some possible indications that Russia may be looking to expand its scope. There were Russian and Iranian news reports on Sunday that say Russia would begin air strikes against targets inside Iraq. But with no time table. What more do we know about that at this point?

ROBERTSON: Certainly one analysis of this situation is when subjects like this get discussion in Russian state media, then one can expect within a few weeks, that quite possibly that could happen. We look at events in Crimea. We look at events in Syria and sort of follow that same trajectory gets discussed. A couple of weeks later, we find out that is happening. What has been said specifically in the Russian state media, quoting the Iranian state media, quoting Iraqi officials. Convoluted. That's the way it is coming out here. Russia would target ISIS as they move from Syria into Iraq.

Now, this has already drawn the ire of U.S. officials because they say that there is only essentially room in Iraq skies for the U.S. strikes that are going on against ISIS there right now. They're really what we understand. They told Iraqi authorities is that you either go with Russia or the United States on this. Both cannot do this job of air strikes against ISIS inside Iraq together. We have seen a reduction in the number of U.S. sorties against ISIS in Syria and a greater preponderance of U.S. strikes against ISIS inside Iraq since Russia began bombing in Syria as well. So, we can already see the (inaudible) effect of having those two air forces in the sky. Rudimentary efforts at de-confliction so there aren't any mid-air fights between Russian and U.S. aircraft under way. But, you can see already that U.S. tries to stay out of the way of what Russia is doing in the skies above Syria. So, big concern, potentially, if this goes forward inside Iran. Russian strikes there against ISIS. George.

HOWELL: It is a complicated picture. Nic Robertson live for us in the Russian capital. Nic, thank you so much for the reporting and perspective on this.

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In Iraq, we are seeing video of coalition war planes taking out the prison where hostages were held by ISIS. This after the raid to try to rescue them. The Pentagon has just released the video of the air strike. Nick Paton Walsh shows us how the rescue operation unfolded second by second before that prison was destroyed.

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[03:09:55] NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A very secretive world you're about to get. A very rare and intimate window into. The U.S. Special Forces working with the Kurds. The Kurdish Special Forces. Well, they have always been on an advice and assist mission. No one really knew quite what that meant they were involved in the fighting. But, in this video, it's pretty clear they're right up front the tip of the spear.

You are now inside the jailbreak that revealed America's changed role in Iraq. They think they're rescuing Kurds from this ISIS jail. But, look who staggers out. Terrified Iraqis. Even their eyes lit up by fear caught on the Kurdish soldiers' helmet camera. It is edited. But, U.S. officials tell CNN it's genuine. More cells opened it seems. And the Iraqi soldier and civilian hostages keep coming. An office. An ISIS flag. More cells. Perhaps a target through the light of the door. Then, a quick close-up, likely of an American commando. Don't be afraid, he cries, as they search the prisoners. Remember, they were expecting Kurds, perhaps. These men are ISIS, have guns or bombs. It is the Americans who seem in charge here. The captors' relief palpable.

U.S. Officials saying they faced imminent execution. It is unclear when, before or after, this footage the Americans here learned one of their own was gunned down. But, their mission went on to rescue 70. That first combat death since 2011 in Iraq forcing public acknowledgement, American commandos were now boots on the ground. When the last hours the Pentagon, through Centcom, have released what they say is cockpit video of an air strike that destroyed that particular compound in which we've just seen the intense fighting laid to waste really, by that explosion.

It brings perhaps an end to that chapter there in which the United States lost one of their commandos, Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler, age 39. A veteran of 14 tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. Remarkable figure. And it reminds you really of the depth of involvement the United States have had in what used to be called the war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. That is now morphed into the extraordinarily messy and complexed task of taking on ISIS. One which the White House does not want to send U.S. ground troops in to do. But, at the same time recognizing increasingly day by day will require people to actually do the fighting, to do the jail breaks, to release the hostages. And this footage, such a close-up view of quite how much tip of the spear these American commandos were. Nick Paton Walsh. CNN, southern Turkey.

HOWELL: The U.S.-led coalition effort in Iraq has turned into a war against ISIS. In an interview with Fareed Zakaria, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged the Iraq war helped ISIS come to fore. He also apologized for mistakes during the invasion, but says he does not regret ousting Saddam Hussein.

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TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Of course, you can't say that those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015. We have tried intervention and putting down troops in Iraq. We have tried intervention without putting in troops in Libya. And we have tried no intervention at all, but demanding regime change in Syria. It's not clear to me that even if our policy did not work, subsequent policies have worked better.

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HOWELL: Be sure to tune in to Fareed Zakaria's special report Long Road to Hell: America in Iraq. It airs Tuesday at 1:00 a.m. in London and 9:00 a.m. in Hong Kong only here on CNN.

Search-and-rescue efforts have ended off Canada's Vancouver Island after a tour boat carrying 27 people sank. This is a picture of that boat that flipped over in the water. Officials say five people are dead. One person is missing. And 21 others have been rescued. The mayor of the closest town, Tofino, spoke to CNN earlier. She says there is no word on what caused the boat to capsize.

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[03:14:55] JOSIE OSBORNE, TOFINO MAYOR: It was a beautiful day here in Tofino and there were big swells out on the ocean. But, we just don't know anything about what may have happened at the scene. It is quite some distance away from the small town of Tofino. So, the efforts have been coming to one of our main docks here in town and our community which is just 2,000 people, we're just a tiny coastal community, has responded just phenomenally. People are out with blankets and food and with clothing for people and supporting them as we go through this altogether.

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HOWELL: The status for one person is unaccounted for. At this point, it's been turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted police as a missing persons case.

The polls are closed in Argentina and it looks as if the country is headed for a run-off vote with nearly 80 percent of polling places counted. Supporters of both the top candidates were celebrating. Buenos Aires state governor, Daniel Scioli received the same percentage of votes as his conservative rival Mauricio Macri. Now, the two candidates will complete, compete, rather in a run-off to be held November 22nd.

A woman accused of ramming her car into a crowd of people will stand before a judge in the coming hours. The charges she will face ahead as CNN Newsroom continues.

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KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines.

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Lewis Hamilton won a sensational U.S. Grand Prix to seal his third F1 world championship. Hamilton pressured his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg into making a mistake during a hectic final ten laps. He managed to take his tenth win of the year. Hamilton is only the second British driver after Sir Jackie Stewart to win three Formula One driver titles. Sorry. Sebastian Vettel could have kept the title alive had he finished second, but could only manage third behind Rosberg.

Just seven months after Australia and New Zealand met in Cricket's world cup final, the two southern hemisphere rivals will meet again to contest rugby's showcase finale next week in London. The Wallabies held off an inspired Argentina fight back to win another competitive semifinal by a score of 29 to 15. The trio of tries ended up being the difference. There were no fewer than four games in the English premiere league on Sunday with big wins for Tottenham and the goalless draw between Manchester United and City. And Liverpool also drew one all against South Hampton making it three draws in a row for the new man in charge. And canceled out the opener with both goals in the final 15 minutes.

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[03:20:05] That's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

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MARC MCNITT, STEPSON OF VICTIM LEO SCHMITZ: It's been a crazy 24 hours. But, you know the O.U. Medical Center really has helped out. To say the least, you know, the best doctors around. And, everybody kept a cool head. And Leo and the rest of the families, the children, are in the best hands they can be.

Emotions are still very raw in the U.S. state of Oklahoma after a crash that killed four people and injured dozens of people on Saturday. Police say a woman driving under the influence slammed into a crowd of people at a university homecoming parade. Adacia Chambers will appear in court Monday to face four counts of second degree murder. CNN's Nick Valencia has details of the deadly crash.

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NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can hear the horrific screams from the crowd as a car barrels through a homecoming parade in Oklahoma. Cell phone video captures just how fast the driver was going on Saturday afternoon when she crashed into the celebration. Filled with unsuspecting victims.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were here having fun. Literally, they don't know what hit them. I mean, it just came 40, 50 miles an hour.

VALENCIA: The suspect, 25-year-old Adacia Chambers walked away from the crash in handcuffs. Littered throughout the scene, debris from the crash that killed four people. Several others are in critical condition. In all, at least 47 were hurt. Caylee Carter was one of them.

CAYLEE CARTER, ACCIDENT VICTIM: I am never going to forget that in my mind. You know, it's going to replay over and over.

VALENCIA: She says there were bodies everywhere.

CARTER: I just saw something black coming at us. So, I didn't know what it was at first when I got up and ran. The car hit me as it was stopping. Then I flew over some strollers.

VALENCIA: At Oklahoma State University homecoming, a moment of silence. Players kneel to honor the victims. Among those killed, 2- year-old Nash Lucas. Late Saturday, his father posted a message on Facebook. Miss you so much, buddy. Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

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HOWELL: Now, we move on to the Middle East where the bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians shows no sign of stopping. At a West Bank check point, Israeli officers shot and killed a Palestinian woman on Sunday. Police say she approached them screaming and wielding a knife. A Palestinian witness though said there was no knife and described the woman as a 14-year-old girl.

Over the past few weeks, eight Israelis have been killed after being stabbed, shot, or run over by Palestinians. Israel's security forces have killed at least 45 Palestinians. Some during attacks. As tensions in the region intensify, olive trees, which has historically been a symbol of peace, have actually become another thing that Israelis and Palestinians are fighting over. West Bank olive groves have been the scene of attacks on Palestinian farmers. But, as Ben Wedeman reports, some Israelis and international volunteers are trying to promote a peaceful harvest.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Armed with a knife, a masked man kicks and punches Rabbi Arik Asherman on a West Bank hillside near the Jewish settlement of (inaudible). Over the years, Rabbi Asherman has had many run-ins with settlers. He heads a group called Rabbis for Human Rights which brings volunteers to help Palestinian farmers harvest their olives.

ARIK ASHERMAN, RABBI: I think we have, of course, maybe the most, the government most supportive of the settlers ever. And I think that gives the message to settlers and other Israelis who have that violent tendency that they can get away with things. Israeli police are investigating the incident.

Nearly 400,000 Israelis have settled throughout the West Bank. Their settlements often on or near land where Palestinians have cultivated olive trees for generations. The settlers claim they are attacked and harassed by Palestinians. What isn't in dispute is that the olive harvest is yet another time when tensions flare. The troubles that come with the annual olive harvest go to the very heart of this conflict. Yes, religion does play a part in it. But, at its very essence, it is all about control of the land.

London resident David Amos comes to the West Bank village of Bil'in every year to help in the harvest. And last week, another masked settler beat him with stones during the harvest. Israeli police acknowledge that with the recent rise in tensions, there have been dozens of attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

[03:25:15] DAVID AMOS, BRITISH VOLUNTEER: Because I am British. Because I am international, then there is news. It makes me ashamed. So, that makes me angry.

WEDEMAN: He witnessed the beating and complains that many such attacks have been under the eyes of the Israeli army. We are surrounded by the army and settlements he says. And the settlers are protected by the army. They don't come without them. He brought his wife and son and other relatives to their olive grove in the shadow of an Israeli settlement. He insists despite regular harassment, he is not going anywhere. Where can we go, he asks. We aren't going to leave our village. We aren't going to give up our land. And the only way we will leave is if you shoot me and bury me here.

This year's olive harvest is expected to be average. But, as always, one tinged with bitterness.

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HOWELL: And Ben Wedeman joins us live in Jerusalem. Ben, good to have you this hour. We have seen week after week after week after week of violence. After U.S. Secretary John Kerry pulled off this agreement over the Temple Mount, or the Noble Sanctuary as it's also known, do you get a sense that we will see a reduction in the tensions?

WEDEMAN: There has been for instance, George, a reduction in the violence, stabbing attacks in Jerusalem itself. That perhaps is more the result of the security measures Israel took in the city. However, now it seems for instance, yesterday, there were four alleged attacks on Israelis. All of them were in the West Bank. So, it may simply be the case of shifting of the tension from Jerusalem to elsewhere.

And fundamentally, no one really expects the violence to come to an end. There may be a reduction in the level of it. But what we have seen over the last few years, is that increasingly the periods of violence are longer. And the periods between the violence are shorter. Because at the end of the day, George, what Secretary Kerry pulled off with Jordan and Israel and the participation of the Palestinian authority is really just as one Palestinian told me, it is Advil going to a patient that has cancer. George.

HOWELL: Ben Wedeman, putting it in perspective for us live in Jerusalem. Ben, thank you for your reporting and your insight there. You are watching CNN Newsroom.

And still off to come, hurricane Patricia. It didn't live up to its dire expectations. But not everyone was spared the storm's wrath. We will show you the damage ahead. Plus, how hurricanes and other environmental events will now be in focus at the Vatican. The story ahead as this broadcast continues around the world this hour. On CNN international and CNN USA.

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[03:31:46] HOWELL: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. This is CNN Newsroom. The headlines we are following this hour. Search-and- rescue efforts have ended near Canada's Vancouver Island after a tour boat carrying 27 people sank. Officials say five people are dead, one person is missing and 21 others have been rescued.

European Union and Balkan leaders agreed to a 17-point plan to manage the flow of migrants. They held an emergency meeting in Brussels to address the crisis. The measures include the creation of reception centers along the migrants' route from Greece to the Balkans and up into Germany. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with the Russian delegation in Damascus on Sunday. Russia is calling on Syria to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections. But, Russian lawmakers say Mr. Assad's first priority is defeating terrorism and then focusing on elections.

Just a few days ago, Mexican authorities were bracing for a record storm. Now, they are breathing sighs of relief. Damage was much lighter as expected. As CNN's Rafael Romo reports, raging floodwaters still took a toll.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rafael Hernandez says he and his family were barely able to evacuate as the floodwaters rushed into his home.

My brother woke me up, he says. When we got on our truck the water was up to our knees. His wife, Rosa Maria begins to tell this a have lost almost everything. But, then she is overcome by sadness. The Hernandezes live in Mascota, a town located in the Mexican state of Jalisco, one of the areas hit the hardest by hurricane Patricia. Hurricane wind this year were not the problem, the river running through town overflowed. The water is only up to my ankles on this street. Neighbors tell me at one point it got all the way up to this stain on the wall. It's about five feet. As you can imagine, many houses in this area got completely flooded. Officials say the homes of about 3,000 people were damaged here. That's a fifth of the entire population in this town of 15,000.

The river overflowed unexpectedly this town official says. The water covered several streets that had never flooded before. This woman who has a heart condition and is now living at a shelter says the only thing she took with her as she escape the floodwaters was her oxygen tank. And this mother says she had to jump through this window with her 6-month-old baby because the door was already jammed. Mexican government officials say hurricane Patricia spared many areas, but it could have been much worse. The residents say they don't want to think about what something worse would have looked like in their town. Rafael Romo, CNN, Mexico.

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[03:34:55] HOWELL: The remnants of Patricia are adding to the severe flooding in the U.S. state of Texas. Up to 50 centimeters of rain, or some 20 inches, have soaked parts of the state over the last few days. Breaking local records there. On the Texas coast, howling winds are driving tides up a meter and a half or all most five feet above normal levels. The pouring rains are set to continue through the part of this week. Our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is here with us now from the International Weather center. Pedram, as the storm moves into Texas, it's not good news for people.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is not. Moving off to the east. From Louisiana to Mississippi. Parts of the southern U.S. We could see rainfall totals far greater than what we saw even in Mexico. The damage could be larger when it comes to loss of life. I often say it's the water aspect of storms that take lives. Wind aspect is certainly not the case. The wind is long gone at this point. But, of course, plenty of rainfall to go around. You touched on this, George.

When it comes to the amount of rain that has come down in recent days. Look at some of these numbers. In Houston, upwards of nearly 10 inches. South of Dallas. We saw the 500 millimeter totals or 20 plus inches come down on some of these observation points. All the wet weather scooting off to the east. There is Patricia. And you notice remnant moisture works its way out of the mountains. Into the Gulf of Mexico. Feed a storm system in place. Put it together and that's about 10 million people underneath flood watches and warnings in the current hours from Corpus Christi to Houston to New Orleans. Tornado watches issued across the region in the past couple hours because of instability of storms in the area. Look at large coverage. Four to six inches possible from Jackson, Mississippi. Montgomery. Alabama. Panama City. Florida. All these regions could see some rainfall. And it could break records when it comes to the amount of moisture available.

The storm knocked on us. When you go Tuesday into Wednesday, a lot of the moisture surges to the north. So, the Midwest, the Great Lakes region also gets in on heavy rainfall over the area. Going back towards Mexico. Showing you the most powerful hurricane ever observed when it comes to wind speeds. In fact the 200-mile-per-hour winds observed with the storm system was the highest wind speed of any storm anywhere on our planet. That's 320 kilometers per hour. Fatalities, single digits. Damages, several thousand homes for hour. The potential of the storm system had to meander through a very sparsely populated area. It had Puerto Vallarta the north. And very populated areas.

HOWELL: Thread the needle. JAVAHRI: Thread the needle. Precisely. Not often do you see storms

this powerful leave behind this little damage. That at least is one area of silver lining with the storm.

HOWELL: Pedram, just very quickly. You've covered so many storms. Have you seen a storm blow up quickly and then dissipate?

JAVAHERI: Fastest of any storm we've seen in intensification. It increased 115 miles per hour in 24 hours. And just after landfall it went right back down within a few hours. We've never seen that before. No.

HOWELL: Crazy.

JAVAHERI: Incredible.

HOWELL: Pedram Javaheri. Thank you so much.

A divisive, three weeks long meeting of bishops at the Vatican ends with some new ideas for the modern Catholic Church. The Bishops recommended a path for divorced and remarried Catholics to participate more fully in the church. But, there were no changes on the issue of same-sex marriage. Pope Francis called on bishops to show less judgment and more mercy.

Now, the Vatican is focusing its attention on climate change ahead of the big summit coming up in Paris. CNN Vatican's correspondent Delia Gallagher joins us now from Rome. Delia, good to have you with us. So, what was accomplished from the conference?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, George, I think the senate gave Pope Francis the lay of the land where bishops stand on controversial issues. One of the biggest issues that divided the bishops the question of divorce and remarried Catholics. You know, currently in the Catholic Church, if you are divorced and you have not annulled the first marriage and you are remarried, they don't recognize the second marriage. In fact, they consider it adulterous. You are barred from certain church activities like reading at mass, being a godparent, receiving communions. And some bishops say that's not fair. All divorces are not the same.

You may have a partner who has been left or who has no fault in the divorce. What they recommended to the Pope, that there may be a way to make exception for some of the couples by what they call the internal forum. A spiritual counseling between the couple in question and bishop or priest that looks at their case and decides on a case- by-case basis, whether or not they can be readmitted into certain activities in the church.

But, what's important about these, George, is that it just barely received the 2/3 vote to recommend it to the pope. So, there is strong opposition from bishops on the issue. What they have done is thrown it back in the court of Pope Francis to say you decide on the question. The other important issue for the bishops was gays and lesbians. And there was some kind of indication that they would be pope. There is strong opposition from bishops on the issue. What they have done is thrown it back in the court of Pope Francis to say you decide on the question. The other important issue for the bishops was gays and lesbians. There was some indication they might change the language. The Catholic Church currently calls the gay/lesbian Katrina look church calls gay sexual orientation disordered.

But of the bishops in their final recommendations to Pope Francis did not address that issue. They instead reiterated the traditional church teachings gays and lesbians should be respected not discriminated against, and that gay unions are not equivalent to marriage between a man and woman. And what is significant about that, the cardinal of Vienna told reporters on Saturday. The fact that they did not address fully the gay and lesbian issue was they thought it was too delicate given the political and cultural context of the issue in many countries around the world. He said it did not mean for the churches in North America and Europe it was not an important theme for them. George.

[03:40:55] HOWELL: Delia, the bishops are expected to address the issue of climate change today. In a statement, what are they going to say?

MCGALLAGHER: Well, the bishops are going to lend their support to what has already been a full-out effort on the part of Pope Francis, we have seen this whole past year. The pope trying to draw attention to the importance of the environment, not least of which, writing an encyclical, speaking at the U.N. meetings at the Vatican on the topic. And all of this in anticipation of the conference coming up in Paris where they will try to get all countries to sign on to an agreement to keep global warming below 2 degrees centigrade. And the Vatican called this the last opportunity for people to keep global warming in safe range for humanity. A lot of emphasis on the conference and importance of it. Not just for political ramifications. The pope says it is religious. In the bible, it says we should be caretakers of the earth. And also, for the pope, it's injustice. He said it is the poor most affected by exploitation of natural resources and global warming. George.

HOWELL: And these are all topics the Pope touched on during his trip here to the United States. Delia Gallagher, live for us in Rome. Delia, thank you so much for your reporting there. You are watching CNN Newsroom.

Still to come, he says that this soft-spoken manner is being misinterpreted. Coming up. Republican U.S. Presidential candidate Ben Carson's revelations about a violent childhood.

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[03:45:47] Welcome back. In U.S. politics, Vice President Joe Biden is opening up about his decision not to run for president of the United States in 2016. He tells U.S. news show 60 minutes, he believes that he ran out of time to run a winning campaign. Biden also made it clear that his decision had nothing to do with his democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I like Hillary. Hillary and I get along together. The only reason I run is because I still think I could do a better job than anybody else could do. That's the reason to run. I wouldn't run against Hillary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The vice president admitted that the mourning process had held him back from making a decision earlier. His son Beau, as you will remember, died of brain cancer just a few months ago. The family is still grieving.

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BIDEN: At one point, late summer, I thought, well, you know I think we can do this. I never forget, my granddaughter down by the swimming pool. Mom says time for dinner everybody. Everybody goes up. She's lying between my legs, head on my chest, and turns around and puts her arms around me and starts sobbing. Pop, I see daddy all the time. I see daddy all the time. Pop, you smell like daddy. You are not going to leave me are you, Pop? When that happens. You go, I don't know, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Biden says the one thing he will work on during his remaining months as vice president is pushing for more cancer research.

The top U.S. Democrats running for president spent the weekend trading barbs in the state of Iowa. More than 6,000 people turned out for the big Jefferson-Jackson dinner. The historic event is an early test to see who will win the most grassroots support ahead of the Iowa caucuses in early February. Bernie Sanders took the stage first and quickly went on the attack, implying Hillary Clinton takes positions just for political expediency.

BERNIE SANDERS, 2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE-DEMOCRAT: I pledge to you that every day I will fight for the public interest, not the corporate interest. I will not abandon any segment of American society. Whether you are gay, or black, or Latino, poor, working class. Just because it is politically expedient at a given time.

HOWELL: Before the dinner, pop star Katy Perry showed up to show her support for democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton at a brief campaign rally. Later, Clinton tweeted that Perry brought the campaign dress code to the next level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says he wasn't always the soft-spoken person he is now. As new polls show him now leading in Iowa, Carson talked about the violent tendencies he had growing up in the city of Detroit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BEN CARSON, 2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE-REPUBLICAN: As a teenager, I would go after people with rocks and bricks and baseball bats and hammers and of course, many people know the story when I was 14 and I tried to stab someone. And you know, fortunately, you know my life has been changed. I am a very different person now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Carson there was responding to attacks from former Iowa front-runner Donald Trump. On a number of political shows on Sunday, Mr. Trump called Carson, quote, weak on immigration. He said that he couldn't manage the trade, trade, rather the way trump could. And called Carson low energy. And on his new second place status, Mr. Trump had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, 2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just don't understand the number. But, you know what, I accept the number. It means I have to work a little harder in Iowa. I think it is just the same. I am going to make our country great again. We are going to do trade packs that are incredible instead of incompetent because what we have now with china, japan, everybody is just incredible. Nobody can do like, nobody is going to be able to do what I do in terms of making our country wealthy again so we can do all the things we want to do including the military, vets, and taking care of people. I am just going to have to work a little built harder in Iowa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:49:55] HOWELL: Republican candidates will hold their next presidential debate on Wednesday.

U.S. presidential candidate Jeb Bush is taking some heat for his comments about the new TV heroine, Supergirl. The story is ahead.

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Thank you for watching CNN. I'm Pedram Javaheri for Weather Watch. Starting you off around the southern parts of the U.S. where an active storm track across the region with wet weather cruising in. Some moisture drawn into towards an existing storm, what is left of historic hurricane Patricia. Put all this together. Tremendous rainfall in the forecast across much of the deep southern portion of the U.S. From Jackson, Mississippi, to Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola, Florida, rainfall could exceed 100 to 150 millimeters over the next several days and easily can pick up the circulation with the storm system plenty of moisture trapped inside.

So, here we go the next couple days. Moisture does want to spread. Much of the eastern half of the U.S. gets in on some rain showers over the next two or three days. Chicago will warm up to 16 degrees. We'll call for mostly sunny skies. Not bad for late October day in New York City. About 14 in Atlanta on the mild season. W, some rain showers, 1 degrees, on the mild side. And Belize City looking at 31 for forecast high temperature. Thunderstorm is going to be dominant across the region. Kingston, Cartagena temperatures generally in the 20s, 30s. Thunderstorm is the name of the game this time of year. With Bogota looking at a high of 32. Salvador is a cool 29 degrees. Watching storms around Sao Paulo over the next 24 hours.

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HOWELL: Pop star Justin Bieber a big winner at 2015 MTV Europe music awards in Milan. As you just saw, he performed his latest hit What Do You Mean and took home five awards, including Best Male, Best Look and Best Worldwide Act. Taylor swift was a no-show, though, but won Best Song for her hit Bad blood.

And U.S. presidential candidate Jeb Bush. He landed in some hot water on the campaign trail. For his impromptu opinion of the new Supergirl. CNN's Jeanne Moos has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just as Supergirl's new show is about to premiere, she exploded. Under the stage of presidential politics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you sure you are bulletproof?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I hope so.

MOOS: Bullets may bounce off Supergirl, but Jeb Bush shot himself in the foot answering this question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is your favorite super hero?

[03:55:03] MOOS: Jeb should have stuck with his first answer which was Batman.

Instead he brought up the young, female caped crusader, who can lower a crashing jetliner to a safe landing, reminiscent of miracle on the Hudson.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, come on!

JEB BUSH, 2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE-REPUBLICAN: I saw there is a Supergirl is on TV. I saw it when I was working out this morning. An ad promoting Supergirl. She looked kind of, she looked pretty hot.

MOOS: Now, hot is a term presidential candidates usually apply to the weather rather than a 27-year-old actress named Melissa Benoist. Even Jeb didn't need x ray vision to see.

BUSH: That will make news.

MOOS: One commenter says ugh, the woman is about the same age as his children. What a creep. Versus the counter argument. So he said that TV Supergirl was hot. What's wrong with that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be a super hero, you need a crime. A car chase on the 112 freeway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can do a car chase.

WOOS: Maybe Jeb should follow the lead of Donald Trump when it comes to super heroes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Trump, are you Batman?

TRUMP: I am Batman.

WOOS: But, Supergirl and Jeb Bush do have one thing in common. Both seem to have a penchant for unbuttoning their shirts to reveal their true selves. Jeanne Moos, CNN.

HOWELL: Jeanne just always puts it together. We thank you for watching this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. And Early Start coming up for viewers in the United States. For other viewers around the world. Stay tuned. CNN Newsroom continues.