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Report: Investigation Indicates Crash Was No Accident; Historic Meeting Between China and Taiwan; White House Rejects Keystone Pipeline; Ben Carson Defends Stories of His Past; Justin Trudeau is Canada's 23rd Prime Minister; Villain Drives Menacing Jag in 007 Flick "Spectre". Aired 5-6a ET

Aired November 07, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:17] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Unraveling the mystery of MetroJet's 9268. Initial information from the black boxes suggests a bomb brought that plane down.

Friends or foes. The presidents of China and Taiwan meet for an historic summit. A live report coming up from Beijing and Taipei on what these talks mean for both nations.

And, firing back, Ben Carson, he goes on the offensive after an investigation raises questions about his past.

From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell.

CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

(MUSIC)

HOWELL: Good day to you.

We start this hour with the investigation into the crash of MetroJet flight 9268.

Egypt's foreign minister says new information indicates the plane was taken down by a bomb, and that was not shared with his government. According to CNN affiliate France 2, the cockpit voice recorder showed a sudden blackout during the flight. The jet's data recorder confirms the explosion was not accidental.

Aviation analysts say the data would be different if the plane had broken apart because of structural or mechanical failure. Egypt's foreign minister says he was hoping that that information would be released to Egyptian officials and not passed on to the media. And now, we are hearing reports of a vacation flight out of the U.K. that had a close encounter, a close call with a missile back in August as it approached the Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

Let's start with the latest on this investigation. Our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman standing by live for us this hour at Cairo, Egypt. And, Ben, we understand here in the coming hours, we will hear a statement, a news conference from officials there. What more do we know about what we could hear?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At this point we don't know what we're going to hear. The news conference by the minister of civil aviation will take place at 5:00 p.m. this evening at the ministry. So far, no hints of what he might be saying.

Obviously as you mentioned, the press conference by Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian foreign minister, expressing frustration that intelligence has not been shared with the Egyptian authorities. That intelligence was shared with the Russian authorities by American officials yesterday. And that's what precipitated the decision by Russia to suspend flights not only to Sharm el-Sheikh but to Egypt as a whole, as well.

Now, this comes with this news that we've learned today that on the 23rd of August, a British airliner was headed to Sharm el-Sheikh when the co-pilot apparently was -- when they were approaching the airport saw some projectile heading toward the plane.

Now, according to the British ministry of transport, this projectile came within 1,000 feet or around 300 meters of that plane before the pilot took evasive action. And the ministry of transport put out a statement early this morning saying that their investigation indicated that it was not a targeted attack likely, but rather was likely connected to routine exercises by the Egyptian military in the area of Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

So, this incident rather puzzling, where a surface-to-air missile perhaps is being fired into the vicinity of the civilian airport will probably also come up at that press conference in Cairo this afternoon -- George.

HOWELL: Ben, can you also talk to us about the situation there in Sharm el-Sheikh? You have so many tourists who are waiting to go home. It could take many days before that can happen. Can you talk to us about what's happening there?

WEDEMAN: Well, we understand that there will be more of these so- called rescue flights coming from the U.K. to take away several hundred British tourists today. But, yesterday, the initial projection was more than 20 flights. But the Egyptian he authority said they can't handle that level of traffic and they don't have the storage facility for what they said was 120 tons of check-in luggage which, of course, these tourist have been told they cannot bring back on those rescue flights.

Now, the situation at that airport may be further complicated by the fact that, of course, there are, according to Russian officials, as many as 79,000 Russian tourist in Sharm el-Sheikh. Now, the Russian authorities haven't indicated whether they will also be putting on the so-called rescue flights.

[05:05:02] But that's going to cause further turmoil in that already troubled airport -- George.

HOWELL: Ben Wedeman live for us in Cairo, Egypt -- Ben, thank you so much for your reporting.

And again, as Ben mentioned, a news conference set to happen here in the coming hours in Cairo. We will learn more about the investigation from authorities there.

Now, let's turn to our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, who is live in St. Petersburg, Russia, to talk about how people are handling the investigation there.

Nic, there are so many questions now. No concrete answers. And this is a time when people are grieving there.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They are. Two hundred twenty-four people died aboard that flight Sunday. Tomorrow, there will be a service at St. Isaac's cathedral behind me. The bell will toll there 224 times.

The pressing questions also about the 79,000 Russian tourist in the holiday resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Russian authorities say they've put in place a hotline for those families who are concerned to call to find out how they can get home. The flight's been suspended. They've had about 400 calls so far.

The special commission and emergency ministry have brought on board elements from the interior ministry, from the federal security services, from the tourism, transport ministry, finance ministry, communications ministry, and as well customs officials to try to handle this.

The Russian passengers have also been told they can only bring handheld items with them back on the flights, that the cargo will travel separately. About 1,200 Russian tourists have now come back from Egypt.

The question, of course, for the family members of those 224 people killed aboard the plane, those questions remain. And, of course, very difficult and painful process with burying their loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In a Russian forest, a wife and the dead man's sister, his mother and his father. A family tormented in grief.

With comes to bury to (INAUDIBLE) 33-years-old, a businessman, a bleak procession. Remembering a life that ended aboard MetroJet flight 9268 as it crashed into the Egyptian desert thousands of miles away.

(on camera): Every day now more passengers are buried. More bodies are identified. But for so many families of victims, closure is still a long way off. The most pressing questions remain unanswered -- why did the plane crash, and what killed their loved ones?

NATALIA MAKAROVA, VICTIM'S SISTER: They want just to know the truth. What is really going on. To be honest and tell us what was happened. But nothing.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Natalia rushed back from New York when she learned her sister Daria, a psychologist, was aboard the ill-fated flight. They were close, soul sisters, spiritual.

MAKAROVA: I have to show my parents that I'm strong and to go through this whole hard process.

ROBERTSON: This once-happy family is struggling to get answers from the government.

MAKAROVA: They don't give us enough information. They don't want to talk about it.

ROBERTSON: Since the moment she arrived, Natalia's mother, like her daughter, has been turning to God for support. But the help she needs now can only come from her government.

MAKAROVA: I think they have answers, but they don't want us to know. That's my opinion.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Why not?

MAKAROVA: Because it's hard truth.

ROBERTSON: You think it might be terrorism?

MAKAROVA: It's my opinion. I don't know.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Back in the forest, Fatima's family, now is the time of final good-byes. In the coming weeks, many more families will have such moments. Moments hung heavier by unanswered questions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: And those families will be looking to the press conference in Cairo today undoubtedly. The hope that they may get small details, some fragments of information that might be helpful, might answer their questions -- George.

HOWELL: Her response, "I think they have the answer, but they just don't want us to know at this point," so difficult for these families just wanting some sort of understanding of what happened on that flight. As you mentioned, a news conference is set for later in Cairo.

[05:10:02] We will, of course, follow it and hope to learn some more information.

Nic Robertson live for us in St. Petersburg, Russia -- Nic, thank you so much.

Anyone who's traveled through the United States and airports here, you're familiar with taking off your shoes, going through the body scanners, or being patted down. So, it may surprise you to learn there are some glaring security holes across this country's airports. Our senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifty- four thousand employees at Los Angeles international airport report to work without mandatory bag checks, no body screening and dozens of doors like this one where a badge and a code gets you right on to the tarmac.

Think that's scary? Put yourself in the shoes of L.A.'s airport police chief, Patrick Gannon.

(on camera): Right now, what you have in place doesn't appear to be protection against the lone wolf scenario.

CHIEF PATRICK GANNON, AIRPORT POLICE, LOS ANGELES: When you say lone wolf, are you talking about somebody a lone wolf that has access to the credentialed employee?

GRIFFIN: I'm talking about that guy right there that just walked in with a backpack, with a mug, we don't know what's in his back pack. We don't know what's in his mug and we don't know what is in his heart or in his head.

GANNON: That's correct.

GRIFFIN: Does that concern you?

GANNON: It concerns me all the time. With 54,000 badged employees, they work in a large airport like this, there is no way that you are going to have the ability to screen every single person that comes to work in the airport.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): L.A. tries to minimize the risk by maximizing random checks like this one. Airport workers never know exactly when or where spot checks could occur. Employees also face background checks, yearly updates, and a system built around everyone watching out for anyone who might seem suspicious.

But Chief Gannon admits nothing is foolproof.

(on camera): As we've been at airports across the country, we have not really seen anything that could prevent what Atlanta went through which was guns being smuggled on to airplanes.

GANNON: No, I agree. I agree. In any airport throughout the United States and here also, there is never a 100 percent guarantee that somebody couldn't who wanted to do something illegal or wrong couldn't make that happen.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): What happened in Atlanta is causing a reaction at airports across the country. And you can see why. These are guns, guns smuggled down to as many as 20 flights by one Delta Airline baggage handler. Authorities say that baggage handler took the guns to work in a backpack which was never screened. The motive for the crime: pure profit selling the guns in northeast cities.

But Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson's general manager, Miguel Southwell, testified to a congressional committee, the real danger the gun running exposed is the threat of potential terrorism.

MIGUEL SOUTHWELL, ATLANTA AIRPORT GENERAL MANAGER: We have started to see that people are being recruited to engage and terrorist acts. Some people being recruited from the United States. So now, we have a greater insight of threat.

GRIFFIN: In the wake of last year's gun smuggling incident, Atlanta began full airport screening. A CNN investigation earlier this year found that only two other airport, Miami and Orlando, conduct full employee screening by requiring employees to pass through metal detectors just like passengers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Scary situation there. Drew Griffin reporting about weapons smuggled through the world's busiest airport, Atlanta. And he also says a TSA study after that incident in Atlanta found full worker screenings across the U.S. wouldn't actually lower the risk to the public. Instead, they recommend more frequent background checks and random screenings.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

And till to come -- a look at a historic meeting between the leaders of China and Taiwan. It's their first high-level meeting in decades.

Plus, Myanmar preparing for an historic election on Sunday. What makes this one so significant? As CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:16:51] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

We are following a historic meeting between the presidents of Taiwan and China this hour, the first high-level contact between these two sides since 1949. We saw Chinese President Xi Jinping and the president of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou, shake hands earlier. Very symbolic handshake there. And in opening remarks, Mr. Xi told Taiwan's leader, quote, "We are from the same family."

CNN is covering this story from all angles this hour. Our Matt Rivers is live in Taipei and Steven Jiang is in Beijing this hour.

First, let's go to Matt in Taipei, where we saw you last hour and see behind you now that there is a protest of sorts there.

What is the feeling among people on the ground about this meeting?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, this protest wrapping up behind me after several hours of loud, intense protests through the streets of Taipei. At its peak, there were only several hundred people as parts of this protest. We've seen far bigger protests here in Taipei in the past. So, relatively small.

But the people here very strongly opinionated, very much against the meeting, but specifically very much against the way this meeting came about. They accused President Ma's administration of a lack of transparency and not really having a public discourse about really the overall desire to have this meeting in the first place. People here would argue that the broad public here in Taiwan really isn't in favor of closer ties to China and in most cases been wary of any growing influence from the mainland.

That said, the people here very strong opinions. We've talked to other people, more average Taiwan residents who say they're very skeptical about any results that might come out of a meeting like this. They say although this is historic, there have been other lower-level meetings in the past that have not changed anything. So, if you talk to some people here on the streets that weren't part of this protest, they might say to you, eh, so what, business as usual.

HOWELL: Matt Rivers live for us there in Taipei.

And, Matt, thank you very much for your reporting.

Now, let's turn to Steven in Beijing for us live.

Steven, good to have you with us.

So, we're talking about two very different governments. One that has been moving toward independence and democracy, and the other very different system.

What is the sense of this meeting about cross state relations?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, the sense is that it's better to talk than not to talk. And as we see now, the two leaders actually having dinner behind closed doors. So, it's a historic dinner after an historic meeting.

We don't know what's on the menu. But Taiwanese media have reported there are local favorites including rice wine to the meeting. So, presumably, the two leaders are drinking some of that, as well.

But, you know, all the warm and fuzzy atmosphere aside, very few expect any major political breakthrough out of this meeting for reasons you and Matt have mentioned, because they are very much growing apart politically. While Taiwan is such a vibrant democracy, you see these protests on the streets against the meeting.

[05:20:05] And you see Taiwanese media reporting the critics accusing Mr. Ma of using this meeting as a political maneuver. Here in China, the same media is all singing the same tune. That the government, they really have not reported any of the controversial aspects of this meeting and have been largely portraying this as a positive historic moment.

So, really because of this underlying difference, nobody thinks that this is going to lead to any talks on reunification, for example, and Mr. Ma himself said until and unless China becomes Democratic, talks on reunification is a non-starter.

But I think both leaders have legacies in mind. That's why they want to have this talk right now to may be lay the foundation to create some sort of framework for future talks about reunification. The future generations and happiness of future generations are some of the things they both have stressed in their opening remark -- George.

HOWELL: Giving us some perspective and context there.

Steven Jiang live for us in Beijing -- Steven, thank you so very much for your reporting.

Matt, thank you for your reporting in Taipei.

Now to Myanmar, preparing for what is being called the country's freest election in decades. Polls there open in just about 13 hours' time. But critics have questioned the legitimacy of the process. They say millions won't be able to vote and point to widespread human rights violations.

Myanmar's constitution wouldn't even allow one of the leading candidates, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, to assume the presidency if her party wins. But the country promises a fair election and says it is working on democratic reforms.

In Brazil, rescue officials, they are still searching for survivors after a burst dam engulfed a village with floodwaters. Only one person has been confirmed dead, but that number is expected to rise.

CNN's Shasta Darlington has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than a dozen people feared dead after a dam burst an open pit mine in central Brazil, flooding the nearby town with a tsunami of sludge, burying homes and carrying cars along with it.

Now, rescue efforts have continued, but the further we get away from the accident, really the less likely it is that survivors are expected to be found. According to the union leader representing workers at this iron ore mine owned by San Marco, there are still 13 people missing. So, the death toll is expected to rise.

Also because of the damage done to that nearby town, Bento Rodrigues, an area with 200 houses literally submerged. So, the rescue efforts continue. They've managed to take a lot of people out of the mud -- more than 500 left homeless.

And part of the problem is this was wastewater. So, when they do get them out of the mud, they've had to decontaminate them. And there's, of course, concerns that this could have long-term effects, health effects on the community and environmental effects in the region. The owners of the san Marco mine, we're talking about Brazil's Vale and Australia's BHP Billiton, it's a joint venture, they say they're investigating the cause. Of course, following rescue efforts.

One particular area that officials have been looking at is actually tremor activity. Reportedly, there were four tremors in the region right around the time that the dam broke. They were very mild tremors. But authorities investigating if that could have had anything to do with this tragedy.

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Switching to weather. A powerful cold front is charging crass the eastern part of the U.S., and you can feel the changes here in Atlanta. It's been rainy for so long.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It has. We're about to cool off dramatically which we need because it's been just so warm and sticky. Unseasonably warm for the entire eastern half of the United States.

But with that collision of temperatures, cold air behind the cold front and warm air ahead of the cold front, you get severe weather.

This was the scene in Ft. Worth, Texas. Take a look at this, George.

HOWELL: Wow.

VAN DAM: Roofs been blown off of buildings. This was all thanks to an EF-0 tornado, that's an enhanced Fujita scale. Ranges from 0 to 5, 5 the strongest, 0 being the weakest. However, enough to cause the damage that you're seeing on your TV screens as we speak.

Now, we talked about the warmth that is prevalent across the eastern half of the U.S. Take a look at the records that have been set yesterday, many locations including New York City. We're talking 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above where we should be this time of year.

Little Side note from climate central, November's the entire month cumulatively has been getting warmer since 1970. About 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than overall average temperatures for November back in 1970.

[05:25:02] So, just to show what's been taking place in our world lately.

Now, this is the cold front that's been responsible for the severe weather earlier this workweek. It's marching eastward. High pressure will clear out the skies by the end of the week and across the New England coast.

You can see the division in temperature across the east, Louisville, Kentucky, 51. New York all the way to Virginia Beach, upper 60s to lower 70s. So, we're talking about a 20 degree temperature swing roughly thanks to the passage of this cold front.

Our forecast future radar across this area shows a low pressure that's building across the Gulf of Mexico, as well. That's our next influx of rainfall.

And get this, folks -- already saturated part of the southeastern United States get more rain, four to six inches in some locations. That means the possibility of localized flooding into the end of the weekend and the start of the workweek.

And I mentioned muggy, muggy weather. Well, the relative humidity had has been near 100 percent. That's allowed for a thick blanket of fog to roll over this region. But that looks to start to ease up a bit, as well, as our cold front presses through.

New York, if you're located there, temperatures will be about 66, cloud cover, no rain. But several gusts of wind expected.

And I'll leave with this image, because -- well, with the record- shattering temperatures, people got out and tried to ice skate at Bryant Park, downtown New York City. Not faring too well, because the ice melted into puddles. You know, ice skate don't work well on water. Needs to be frozen, doesn't it?

HOWELL: That's not pleasant.

Derek, thank you so much.

VAN DAM: Thanks, George.

HOWELL: Now to the controversial Keystone pipeline. The White House has rejected the plan. On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama officially turned down the proposal from a Canadian company.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The pipeline would not make a meaningful, long-term contribution to our economy. The pipeline would not lower gas prices for American consumers. In fact, gas prices have already been falling. Shipping dirtier crude oil into our country would not increase America's energy security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: In fact, the U.S. State Department has been reviewing the pipeline's construction for several years now.

Our Jim Acosta has this story from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Obama rejected the Keystone pipeline, saying the Canadian project would have sent the wrong message to the world on the issue of climate change. The president accepted the recommendation of Secretary of State John Kerry whose department analyzed the project for nearly seven years.

Mr. Obama acknowledged Keystone had become embroiled in politics as Republicans said the project would have created U.S. jobs. While Democrats argued an approval from the White House would have been a damaging defeat in the battle against global warming. In the past, the president had said he would turn down the pipeline if it could contribute climate change, something his own State Department concluded would not occur.

Not surprisingly, though, the president sided with his own party. Here's what he had to say.

OBAMA: America's now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change. And, frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership. And that's the biggest risk we face. Not acting.

ACOSTA: The president will now take that message to the upcoming global climate summit in Paris in a few weeks. White House officials say it would have been very difficult for President Obama to go to that summit having approved the Keystone pipeline project. Both the question behind Keystone, TransCanada, and the Canadian government, expressed disappointment in the president's decision.

Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

He is described as a soft-spoken and mellow person. But something has made presidential candidate Ben Carson lose his cool. Details on what that was, as the broadcast continues around the world this hour on CNN International and CNN USA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:32:21] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.

The headlines we're following this hour:

New reports indicate the black boxes from MetroJet 9268 show that a bomb did bring down the plane. CNN affiliate France 2 says the recorders confirmed there was no accident and no design of mechanical malfunction. The report also says an airport worker may have placed the explosive on the plane.

The presidents of Taiwan and China shook hands before starting a historic meeting marking the first high-level contact between both sides since 1949. The summit in Singapore is historic with the aim of promoting peace, though, no arguments are being signed there.

The World Health Organization says it is set to declare Sierra Leone Ebola free. Since the outbreak started nearly two years ago, the country has had more cases of violence than its neighbors. Ebola has killed more than 11,000 people in the three hardest hit West African countries. And these protests in Romania now in a fourth straight day. Demonstrators there are calling for an end to government corruption. The protests had made an impact. The country's prime minister already facing a corruption trial resigned on Wednesday.

All right. Right into U.S. politics. Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is slamming CNN -- an investigation that this network did which questioned the validity of claims about his own past. Carson said that he is a violent -- was a violent teen, and he claimed that religion transformed him. But several childhood friends told CNN they have no recollection of the incident that's Carson described.

On Friday, Carson called the report a witch hunt. He also defended his claim of being offered a, quote, "full scholarship" to West Point Military Academy. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There was an offer to me. It was specifically made --

REPORTER: Was it --

CARSON: I interpreted it as an offer. I made it very clear -- I don't remember -- I don't remember the names of the people. It's almost 50 years ago. I bet you don't remember all the people you talked to 50 years ago.

But, anyway, you know, they told me this was available because of my accomplishments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Mr. Carson said that he turned the offer down to become a doctor.

[05:35:02] In any case, Dr. Ben Carson is no stranger to making controversial comments.

Here's our own Tom Foreman with that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARSON: I'm Ben Carson and candidate for president.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From his first steps on the campaign trail, Carson has fearlessly admitted --

CARSON: There are a lot of policies that I lack knowledge of. You know, it's a false narrative that you have to know everything.

FOREMAN: But some of these past statements about what he does know are startling. On health care reform --

CARSON: Obamacare is really I think the worst thing that has happened to this nation since slavery.

FOREMAN: On religion --

CARSON: I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.

FOREMAN: On how people should respond to a rampaging gunman --

CARSON: I would -- I would not just stand there and let him shoot me. I would say, hey, guys, everybody attack him. He may shoot me, but he can't get us all.

FOREMAN: Even on the Holocaust --

CARSON: I think the likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed.

FOREMAN: Some of his statements are rooted in his faith and fly in the face of science, dismissing the Big Bang Theory as pure fantasy, speculating about an alternative use for the great pyramids, long considered burial chambers.

CARSON: My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids in order to store grain.

FOREMAN: But others are much more explosive, like his comment about homosexuality and incarceration.

CARSON: A lot of people who go into prison go in straight, and when they come out they're gay. So, did something happen while they were in there?

FOREMAN: Carson backed off within hours and apologized saying, "I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Tom Foreman reporting there for us.

Dr. Carson has repeatedly argued that his words are being deliberately misunderstood. Carson and his fans often suggest that critics are overlooking the context and nuance in his statement.

While Carson defends his description of his life story, he is seeing his poll numbers rise in the key nominating state of Iowa. A CNN/ORC poll shows that Dr. Carson has the support of 23 percent of likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers. That's a jump of 14 percent in August. Carson trails Donald Trump who has 25 percent and Senator Marco Rubio rounds out the top three at 13 percent.

Among likely Democratic caucuses, Hillary Clinton now leads with 55 percent. Senator Bernie Sanders has 37 percent.

Be sure to join CNN this weekend for the return of the great show "Political Mann" with our own Jonathan Mann. It is a show that brings you the latest on the U.S. presidential race from the candidates' platforms to their political missteps. Catch it all at 11:30 p.m. tonight, London time.

We're also looking for your questions about U.S. politics. You can tweet them to politicalmann or use the hashtag #answermann. Jonathan Mann will get to some of the questions with answers.

Now, we move to the U.S. state of Louisiana. Two police officers have been arrested in the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old boy this week. Investigators say the boy was killed as these officers pursued his father's car on Tuesday. The father is hospitalized. Police officials had some harrowing words about this incident. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MICHAEL D. EDMONSON, LOUSIANA STATE POLICE: Tonight is about the death of Jerry Mardis -- Jeremy Mardis, 6 years old. He didn't deserve to die like that. And that's what's unfortunate. We took some of the body camera footage.

Let me tell you something, I'm not going to talk about it, but I'm going to tell you this. It is the most disturbing thing I've seen. I will leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Six-year-old boy shot and killed. The two officers are charged with second-degree murder.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

The oath of office has been sworn. And the new leader gets down to work. We will introduce you to that other Canadian named Justin, now the most powerful man in the northern country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:42:44] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

Canada's new prime minister took the oath of office this week. Justin Trudeau is young. He is 43 years old. Some say inexperienced. But he's from a powerful family and grew up steeped in Canadian politics.

CNN's global affairs correspondent Elise Labott filed this introduction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Justin Trudeau is a relatively new face in Canadian politics, but one with a very popular last name.

With a stunning victory in Canada's recent general election, Trudeau ended a decade of conservative rule in Canada. He was born in 1971 while his father, Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister. His popularity was so great it was dubbed "Trudeau-mania," compared even to John F. Kennedy.

When Justin delivered a powerful eulogy at his father's funeral, it sparked talk of a political dynasty.

The former school teacher took his time getting into politics, trying his hand at acting, charity boxing, even coaching bungee jumpers. But after his father's death, he became more politically active, winning a seat in parliament in 2008. Skeptics said he was too young and inexperienced to become prime minister. But by all accounts, he ran a very impressive campaign sweeping the liberals to victory.

For years, the conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper kept the government running smoothly. Kept taxes low and he ran a robust foreign policy aimed at taking on terrorists.

By contrast, Trudeau is promising to pull out of counterterrorism in the Middle East, restore ties with Iran, and he also wants to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada.

Back home, the father of three intends to raise taxes on the wealthy and double spending on public infrastructure. He also plans to legalize marijuana and push a very aggressive climate change agenda.

Trudeau has shown he has the star power of his father. Now he has to prove he has the political chops and ride this new wave of Trudeau mania into opportunities for Canada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[05:45:01] HOWELL: That was our Elise Labott reporting from Washington.

A risky space walk outside the International Space Station took nearly eight hours to complete. Two U.S. astronauts worked to repair a leaky ammonia cooling system on Friday. It's been having problems since 2012. After restoring the system to its original configuration and refilling those ammonia tanks, they then inspected their spacesuit for toxic ammonia flakes, but fortunately, they did not find any.

NASA scientists have revealed some exciting news about the planet Mars including what they believe led to drastic changes there over billions of years.

CNN's Rachel Crane breaks it down for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks to the space probe Maven, we now have clues in the mystery of Mars' shift from a warmer, wetter environment to the cold, dry desert it is today.

Maven has been exploring Mars' atmosphere since 2014. One of its main goals is to figure out how and why it got so thin. This low high pressure atmosphere is comprised mostly of carbon dioxide will prevent fresh water from being present, because it will boil at ten degrees Celsius or 50 degrees Fahrenheit. On Earth, it boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

And now, NASA scientists think they know the culprit -- solar winds. They observed a massive amount of ions and gases escaping during solar bursts like coronal mass ejections. Since the sun would have been incredibly active in its infancy, the prevalence and strength of bursts could have had a tremendous influence in the evolution of the Martian environment and the thinning of the atmosphere.

Scientists also observed a unique type of aurora called the diffuse aurora in the northern hemisphere. Auroras occur when particles collide with a planetary atmosphere along electromagnetic fields. They're not uncommon. In fact, they've been observed above all planets with a substantial atmosphere, even some moons.

But the aurora seen on Mars was at the lowest altitude observed on any planet. The unique characteristics of this aurora versus those observed on Earth may be determined by the very different magnetic field configurations of the two planets.

As NASA gears up to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s, they hope to gain further insights into the Red Planet's past, so we can better prepare ourselves for these future missions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: And you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Still ahead, live from New York, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump will host "Saturday Night Live" in the coming hours. But his huge personality is no stranger to the show. We'll show you some of the parodies he was inspired as NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:51:38] HOWELL: The James Bond movie "Spectre" is now out in wide release in much of the world. It is the most expensive film of the series. One of the reasons for that, it's the cars in the movie. Besides 007's Aston Martin, "Spectre" also features some dangerous looking Jaguars.

CNNMoney's Alanna Petroff checked them out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALANNA PETROFF, CNNMONEY (voice-over): Forget about sleek, sexy, and heroic. This car was designed to look menacing. This car is for a villain. Meet Jaguar C-X75, the car used to chase down James Bond in the film "Spectre." Jaguar isn't normally known for super cars, but it convinced director Sam Mendez that this bad boy concept car was the best choice for racing around Rome.

David Fairbairn was in charge of delivering vehicles to the set and kept them looking pristine.

(on camera): These cars must have gotten really beat up when they were on the shoot. Tell me how you made sure they were in good condition for all the different takes.

DAVID FAIRBAIRN, HEAD OF SPECIAL PROJECTS, JAGUAR LAND ROVER: For six weeks that we were in Rome, it was 24/7. We had a nighttime shift supporting the cars. Then we had a daytime mechanics team that were repairing the cars when we came out and the production team went to bed.

I would love to say we had so many cars come back damaged. Actually, we designed the vehicle to take various action scenes. So, we got all five vehicles back, all in good condition. Just a little service on them, and we keep them and show them to the public.

PETROFF (voice-over): This particular model is called a Hero. Looks nice but doesn't move. It's just for close-up shots. The stunt cars do the action shots.

The jaguar C-X75 was used to generate buzz around Britain and (ph) France, but you won't find it in a dealership.

(on camera): This is the first time Jaguar has manufactured a car for a James Bond film that will not go into regular production.

Same thing goes for 007's Aston Martin.

(voice-over): Both companies say these will remain as concept cars only, but insists that other vehicles on the market will incorporate some of their design features.

Alanna Petroff, CNNMoney, U.K.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Man, that is a slick car.

All right. Live from New York, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump is set to host the comedy sketch show "Saturday Night Live." But some people are not laughing. They in fact are calling for a boycott of the broadcast because of Trump's controversial comments on immigration. Mr. Trump first hosted "SNL" back in 2004 when he launched his reality TV show, "The Apprentice."

And his huge personality has inspired many parodies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bing, bong, bom, you're fired. And live from New York, it's Saturday night.

You just watch what I do, and I think you'll be blown away.

Right now, I think you're wearing more on your back than most people make in a year. Isn't that weird?

I just learned yesterday that my own Taj Mahal in Atlantic City wasn't the first Taj Mahal. But I guarantee you it's the best.

Doesn't everyone show on television what you see every week by five billion people?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have a really great replacement.

[05:55:01] Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Darrell Hammond.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: The keyboard --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huge.

TRUMP: Huge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's huge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's huge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ratings for tonight's debate are going to be huge.

TRUMP: If I turn away from the camera, your ratings will drop five points. Watch.

And boom, they're back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of you know who I am already because I'm rich and handsome.

First, nobody puts me on the spot. Second, I could buy and sell you and your little freak show dog and pony act, whatever this is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won't rule out a run, Greta, especially the party that nominates a joke candidate.

I might run as an independent. I could beat all them. You know, there's a great American movie called "Citizen Kane." It's about a man who kicks ass who makes a ton of movie. I haven't seen the ending, but I assume it ends with him happy and president. I want to be your citizen Trump.

I don't say outrageous things just for poll numbers. I speak from my heart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really? OK, because I hear your numbers go down a little this week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mexicans are stealing our children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're rubber and I'm gold. So, whatever you say doesn't matter because I'm gold and you're losers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: The many, many faces of Donald Trump.

And we thank you for watching this hour. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center here in Atlanta.

For viewers in the United States, "NEW DAY" is next. For other viewers around the world, "AMANPOUR" starts in a moment.

Thank you for watching CNN, the world's news leader.