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Super Typhoon Smacks Taiwan; Trump Proposes Child & Elder Care Tax Breaks; Israel's Peres "Critical But Stable" After Stroke; Hackers Target U.S. Olympians; Syrian Cease-Fire Successful So Far; U.S. Olympians' Medical Records Hacked; Rise In Public Attacks Against Muslims In U.S.; Oliver Stone Film 'Snowden' Releases This Weekend; Amazon Tests Shorter Work Week For Some Staff; New Health Scare For Shimon Peres. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 14, 2016 - 1:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:09] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.
[01:00:12] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, the most powerful storm of the year smacks Taiwan. And now, super typhoon Meranti is headed for mainland China.
VAUSE: Donald Trump's homage to the circle of life as he announces his child-care policies. Also taking a few swings at Hillary Clinton.
SESAY: And is he an American patriot or an enemy of the state? I speak with the stars of the new film about world famous whistle- blower, Edward Snowden.
VAUSE: Hello, everybody. Thanks for being with us. I'm John Vause.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. This is NEWSROOM L.A.
VAUSE: But first this hour, we'll head to Israel where the former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres is in a critical but stable condition after a major stroke.
SESAY: According to his office, Peres for now, does not need surgery. The 93-year-old is in intensive care on a respirator and under sedation with family nearby.
VAUSE: Doctors at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center say the Nobel Peace Prize winner is being moved to the neurosurgical intensive care unit, and being evaluated around the clock. Peres suffered a minor heart attack and underwent surgery back in January. Rafi Walden is Mr. Peres' personal doctor and his son-in-law. He joins us now live from Tel Aviv, outside the medical center. Rafi, thanks so much for being with us. We know this is a difficult time for you, your family and for so many people there in Israel. Can you give us the latest? Because I understand that Mr. Peres has reacted to you in the room, and he seemed to be maybe doing a little better.
[01:01:54] DR. RAFI WALDEN, PRESIDENT SHIMON PERES' PERSONAL DOCTOR AND SON-IN-LAW: Yes, indeed. Well, Shimon Peres is not only one of the greatest leaders of our times, he's also a great teacher for (INAUDIBLE) so definitely sticking to his optimistic view of life in general. He is - now, he's sedated and ventilated to keep his (INAUDIBLE) peaceful and quiet as possible, and to enable his brain to recover as much as possible, which we much hope so. Now, there is definitely a certain amount of optimism due to the fact that when we lessened his sedation, he definitely reacted to us. He answered - well, he squeezed our hands. And we definitely gave indication that he is listening to us and he understands what's happening around him. Now, we sedated him again so as to enable his brain to recover as much as possible in the critical condition. Otherwise, he's stable, hemodynamically his blood pressure, pulse, his oxygen saturation in his blood are in excellent condition.
VAUSE: Why was there a decision made not to operate?
WALDEN: Well, there was no need to operate. This was just a (INAUDIBLE) which was given. We consider all possible options. And we have a team of neurologist, neurosurgeon, intensivist -- intensive care specialists, and we have made a evaluation. The thought to operate him was just to raise the very early stage of the disease. But now his condition is stable, he seems to be improving, there's no reason at all to operate.
VAUSE: What will you be looking for in the coming hours and the coming days? What are you hoping for as positive signs of a recovery?
WALDEN: Well, the signs of recovery will be when - again, when we will lessening the sedation to see how he reacts to us, both cognitively and was there movement of his - of his limbs. And this is the - we'll do some more imaging, also CT imaging and so on. And this is the way we'll be following and evaluating his neurological condition.
VAUSE: Mr. Peres is the last of the Founding Fathers of Israel. What has been the reaction there? How are people dealing with this, because, you know, he is 93, but this news was a shock to so many?
WALDEN: Well, he's 93, but he's as alert as possible. Just the morning of his - of his stroke, he delivered a speech of one hour, which was extraordinary speech, really, which was excited with his great enthusiasm by all his listeners. And so is - he until now was in perfect interaction condition. And there is great love for him all over the Israeli population. And we have endless people were around calling us and expressing their love to him and their hopes for his prompt recovery. And obviously we are very grateful to the people of Israel and we're grateful also to the doctors who are treating him so well.
VAUSE: And last question here, please, doctor. What were the symptoms leading up to the stroke? What actually happened? How were you alerted to the fact that Mr. Peres was actually suffering a stroke?
WALDEN: Well, he was not - he was feeling quite not very well in his office. So, he was taken to the hospital. And while being in the hospital here, definitely stroke was a loss of consciousness. And various neurological symptoms. And then a CT scan was done, and we realized that he had a serious stroke.
VAUSE: Rafi, we'll leave it there. But we very much appreciate you taking the time to give us an update on the condition of Mr. Peres. And, of course, we wish you well. Thank you, sir.
WALDEN: Thank you very much.
SESAY: He say he means so much to so many people in Israel.
WALDEN: Yeah, he is the original. He was there with Ben-Gurion and Ariel Sharon and Yitzhak Shamir. He was there from the beginning.
SESAY: 93 years old, he says and alert as ever.
WALDEN: Yeah.
SESAY: All right. We'll continue to follow the situation there regarding Shimon Peres. But moving on, the strongest storm this year is battering the southern tip of Taiwan as it makes its way toward China. Super typhoon Meranti has weakened, but it is still hammering the island with heavy rain and damaging winds.
VAUSE: More than a thousand people have been evacuated from the immediate area. Meranti is expected to make landfall in mainland China Thursday morning.
SESAY: Well, storm chaser James Reynolds joins us now on the phone from Kenting in Southern Taiwan. James, I don't know whether you've been able to leave your apartment where you are. But what are conditions like right now?
[01:06:57] JAMES REYNOLDS, CNN VIDEOGRAPHER AND STORM CHASER: The wind is still howling and the rain is hammering down. And I haven't been able to leave yet, because it's still too dangerous really to venture outside. And the roads, out of where I'm staying, have been blocked by a tree debris and other large pieces of stuff which is being blown around by the storm. So, I'm just holding in place where I'm at the moment, Isha.
SESAY: Yeah, good idea. What do we know about how people prepared for this monster storm? I mean, as it made its way toward Taiwan, the fear was of flooding, of landslides, and serious damage.
REYNOLDS: Yeah, Taiwan is as I said before, is very, very used to typhoons, they get hit very often. But they have a plan they put in place every time a storm is approaching the coast. They're evacuating people out of (INAUDIBLE) communities which are prone to landslides and flash floods. And really just making sure all the emergency services are on standby. We saw lots of military personnel yesterday on the streets, which these units are on a standby phase as well. And as the storm hits, just everyone runs for cover and hides indoors.
SESAY: Uh-hmm. Given the concern surrounding Meranti, were any evacuation orders given?
REYNOLDS: I'm not sure of any specific numbers. I haven't been privy to that information yet. But I can - I can say with confidence, having covered many, many typhoons in Taiwan that they have been evacuating people from vulnerable areas, Isha.
SESAY: Uh-hmm. All right, James Reynolds, do stay safe. Stay indoors until you can go out without any danger. I appreciate the reporting. Thank you so much.
VAUSE: And let's check in with meteorologist Pedram Javaheri with more on this. And Pedram, we heard from James, the winds are still strong. The situation is still dangerous. What's the forecast -
[01:8:47] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: Right.
VAUSE: -- now for the coming hours?
JAVAHERI: You know, it's going to go downhill very quickly for folks across southern China here, John. It's actually interesting to hear James say he's not wanting to go outdoors yet, because, of course, he's seen many, many major typhoons come through a lot of areas around the world. And this particular one, the strongest one we've had in three years since super typhoon Haiyan. The second stronger one we had in four decades. Again, super typhoon Haiyan slightly stronger. But notice, he came within 50 kilometers of a direct strike across the southern tip of Taiwan in the past several hours. And you notice the eye really begins filling in with air in the last few frames. And that's a good sign here that the storm is going through what we call an eye replacement cycle essentially beginning a gradual weakening process, and we're seeing a lot of interaction with the mountains just to its north. So, we've seen wind gusts upwards of 170 to 200 plus kilometers per hour even when the storm system never made landfall with southern Taiwan.
There goes the center of circulation. I just want to show you exactly where the wind speeds stand right now, because on satellite imagery, you see the storm system weaken quite a bit. But you take a look, 285 kilometers per hour. If there was a category 6, it would still be sitting up there at a category 6. So, this is a menacing storm system in super typhoon Meranti. And we've had it moving at about 24 kilometers per hour. It is a good clip that it's moving at. And then, you take a look at where the final destination, and that's really the most concern around this region, because Southern China, of course, within just the matter of a few hours will be in direct line of getting struck with the storm system. Sometime between say, 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., is the best estimation on Thursday morning with the storm system.
And I want to show you exactly where that is. Across southern portions of Fujian, northern Guangdong, this is an area a lot of people think we've seen plenty of typhoons come across Eastern China. This is an area that we've never had a typhoon category 3 stronger or greater come through. And you take a look, a closer perspective in an area from Xiamen towards Shantou, 200 kilometers of land never seen a category 3 or stronger. The storm could get there as a category 3 even with the weakening that's in place over the next several hours. Again, arriving Thursday around sunrise. Heavy rainfall, that's the main concern. I always say it's not the winds that take lives associated with these storms, it is water-driven damage. It's from heavy rainfall, flash flooding and landslides, of course.
And also, the storm surge associated with the coastal damage and coastal erosion as this comes through. So, this is an area right here where we know evacuations would certainly have to be in place. About 60 million people are going to feel at least tropical-storm-force winds with the storm. And notice how far north the rains are going to stretch the next couple of days here as the storm moves ashore again around sunrise. So, you would imagine, John and Isha, this is an area where business would have to be coming to a halt here on Thursday morning, and potentially much of Thursday in the direct path of the storm across Southern China.
SESAY: Very scary stuff.
VAUSE: Fears of a huge storm surges as it hits through Mainland China, so I need to watch that. Pedram, thank you.
SESAY: Always appreciate it, Pedram. Thank you.
JAVAHERI: Thanks.
VAUSE: Yeah. Moving onto Syria now, where the ceasefire seems to be holding, but aid shipments have been stalled. The United Nations is waiting for security guarantees from the Assad government before sending food, medicines, and other supplies into rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Fred Pleitgen reports now from Damascus.
[01:12:00] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: People that we've been speaking to on the ground here in Damascus say that on the one hand, they're still quite skeptical that this new ceasefire will be able to lead to a real decrease in violence here in Syria in the long run. However, of course, after six years of civil war, many of them are clinging on to hope that maybe, against the odds, it will. Now, the United Nations says in the first hours since the ceasefire has gone into effect, there has been a significant decrease in violence across the country. And we always have to acknowledge that we've been in this situation before. They have local ceasefires, mostly brokered by Russia and the U.S. here in Syria in the past, also a nationwide ceasefire. And those have held for a couple of hours, in some cases, a couple of days, maybe even a week or two. But then, always fell apart and it was a return to violence. So, the people here, of course, hoping that this time things might be different.
Now, there have been some instances of violence across the country, especially around the Aleppo area, which, of course, before the ceasefire went into effect. It was one of the most contested and also one of the most violent areas as well. And of course, there are still major problems with it as well. One of those is that barely any aid is getting through to people who need it even with the ceasefire in place. In fact, the Syrian government says that it's not going let any convoys into the besieged areas in Aleppo without the permission of the Syrian government and without the permission of the United Nations, especially if those convoys come from Turkey. And of course, the Turkish border is the closest area to those besieged areas in there, in Aleppo, so that certainly is something that is going to make this all a lot more difficult. Because one of the reasons why the ceasefire was brokered in the first place was, of course, also to offer those people in those besieged areas some respite. Many of them have had shortages for a very long time. In some cases, they've been almost starving for a very long time. So, it was one of the things, to try and get those people some respite. One of the big reasons why this ceasefire seems so urgent in the first place.
So, the folks here on the ground, says - they say they hope that this time the ceasefire could hold. But at the same time, there is, of course, that skepticism that, of course, the folks here in Syria have after so many years of civil war and after so many attempts that have failed in the past to try and end the violence here for good. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.
SESAY: That aid needs to get there and get there fast.
VAUSE: And it's up to Assad to let it through.
SESAY: Yeah. Time for a quick break. Next on NEWSROOM L.A. Simone Biles was at the center of attention at Rio Olympics. Now, the American gymnast is a target of cyber hackers.
VAUSE: Also ahead, politicians and babies, they go together like peanut butter and jelly. Donald Trump gets his moment as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[01:16:57] DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Don Riddell with your CNN World Sport Headlines. The World Anti-Doping Agency has accused Russian hackers of breaking into their database, stealing and then posting confidential medical data of some American athletes online. And they aren't just any old athletes. We are talking about some of the biggest names in American sport. Taking responsibility for the attack is a group called Fancy Bears. And the hackers have claimed that these athletes have been doping.
The Champions League is back with the first round of group stage matches being played all over Europe and Barcelona (INAUDIBLE) with full force against Celtic on Tuesday. The most feared front three in the world game, Messi, Suarez And Neymar all got on the score sheet, but it was Lionel Messi who really filled his boots, scoring a hat trick, his sixth in the Champions League. Barcelona won by seven goals to nil. Arsenal will be making their way home from Paris with only one point in what was really a poor show for the Gunners against Paris St. Germain. Elsewhere, it was a frustrating night for Manchester City whose home game against Borussia Monchengladbach was postponed because of adverse weather. This was the scene that they had - they had on Tuesday night. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning. The pitch was simply unplayable. The game had to be rescheduled and will now be played on Wednesday evening at 7:45 p.m. That's a quick look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[01:18:47] SESAY: Donald Trump is out lining his plans for child and elder care tax breaks. And the campaign stop in Pennsylvania. Republican presidential candidate steered clear of mentioning Hillary Clinton's health.
[01:18:57] VAUSE: His Democratic rival has been criticized for not releasing her pneumonia diagnosis immediately. Trump, though, is focusing instead on the remarks that she made that half his supporters are deplorable.
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you very much. While my opponent slanders you as deplorable and irredeemable, I call you hardworking American patriots, who love your country, love your families, and want a better future for all Americans.
SESAY: Well, Clinton's campaign says she'll be back out in public Thursday.
VAUSE: In the meantime, President Barack Obama has been filling in, making his first solo campaign appearance on Tuesday. He launched a fierce wide ranging attack on Donald Trump. Joe Johns has the details.
[01:19:46] JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Obama is giving Hillary Clinton's presidential bid a lift tonight as the democratic nominee recuperates from pneumonia.
BARACK OBAMA, CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENT: Can I just say I am really into electing Hillary Clinton. Like I - this is not me going through the motions here. I really, really, really want to elect Hillary Clinton.
JOHNS: Clinton tells CNN she had hoped to be able to avoid taking a break from her campaign schedule.
HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Like a lot of people, I just thought I could keep going forward and power through it. And obviously, that didn't work out so well.
JOHNS: But the decision to wait to disclose her illness until after video surfaced of her stumbling while leaving a 9/11 ceremony on Sunday is raising new questions about Clinton's lack of transparency. That as Clinton and her campaign try to turn the transparency issue on Trump, saying he isn't being held to the same standard.
CLINTON: Compare everything you know about me with my opponent, I think it's time he met the same level of disclosure that I have for years.
JOHNS: Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway today suggesting during an appearance on MSNBC that candidates should be entitled to privacy when it comes to health records. KELLYANNE CONWAY, DONALD TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I don't know why
we need such a sensitive medical reporting when we all have a right to privacy.
JOHNS: But it seemed to suggest medical privacy doesn't apply to Clinton in this case.
CONWAY: The question remains, if this is about transparency and medical records and health conditions, then why - you know, why did she - why was she so furtive in the business of concealment here?
JOHNS: President Obama today also calling out Trump for a lack of transparency on another matter, tax returns.
OBAMA: You want to debate transparency? You've got one candidate in this race whose released decades worth of her tax returns. The other candidate is the first in decades who refuses to release any at all.
JOHNS: Trump's campaign deflecting questions about his tax returns, and also failing to provide specifics in terms of his charitable giving after running mate Mike Pence told CNN on Monday that Trump had given away tens of millions of dollars.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN's NEW DAY ANCHOR: Will Donald Trump release anything from the IRS proving that he's under audit?
CONWAY: I don't know. Why? In other words, why are you - are you calling him a liar?
CAMEROTA: Because we're taking his word for it.
CONWAY: Are you calling him a liar?
CAMEROTA: A part of why people are calling for him to release his taxes is so that we do know how much he himself has given to charity. Will you or the campaign release exactly what that number is? And the reason I ask -
CONWAY: I doubt it.
CAMEROTA: Why would you doubt it.
CONWAY: I doubt it, because this is like badgering. In other words, I don't see it as journalism. I see it as badgering.
JOHNS: The Clinton camp says it expects to release additional medical records for Hillary Clinton this week, and Donald Trump will reportedly discuss his medical records on The Dr. Oz Show on Thursday. Joe Johns, CNN, WASHINGTON.
VAUSE: Seema Mehta joins us now. She's a political writer for The Los Angeles Times. Let's talk about a campaign stop in Pennsylvania with Donald Trump, because Trump is out really failing to fill in some of the details on his policies. This is all about child care. It was so not Republican when you listen to some of the details, six-month maternity leave, tax breaks. Here are some of the details on essentially the tax breaks for child-care expenses.
TRUMP: The first part of my child-care plan allows for every parent or family in America, including adoptive parents and foster parent guardians to deduct their child-care expenses from their income taxes. That's a first. They will fully be able to deduct the average cost of child-care for their state from birth through the age of 13.
VAUSE: I think Paul Ryan's head exploded when he heard all of this, because this is so not in their budget plan, and so not Republican. But what he is obviously doing here right now is making this pitch to suburban neighborhood. Right?
[01:23:43] SEEMA MEHTA, POLITICAL WRITER AT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: Right. He absolutely is appealing to suburban woman who he desperately needs to get behind him if he's going to have a chance in some of these Battleground States. The other thing is while we don't typically hear Republicans talk about this, Democrats would argue and Hillary Clinton's campaign argued today that if you look at the actual policies, that they're actually very regressive. That they benefit people at the top of the income scale far more than they benefit people who are lower income, who are working class people. And also that, some of the - I believe Maya Harris is the senior policy advisor to Hillary Clinton. She called it "mad men"-era policy.
VAUSE: Right. Yeah, it is.
SESAY: Regardless of what he is putting forward and how progressive he may want to pitch it as, given how long this race has gone on for, which feels like an eternity, I'm sure to you -
MEHTA: Right. Absolutely.
SESAY: -- as you've been out on the trail. Haven't people already made up their minds? I mean, is that suburban soccer mom, if you will, is she changing sides at this stage?
MEHTA: I think the vast majority of people have made up their minds. But the polls show the race tightening. So, in a state like Pennsylvania and a state like North Carolina, if - you know, if it really comes down to one or two percent of those people, every single voter you get is important. And these women, these suburban women, moderate women who might be somewhat conservative around fiscal point, not super conservative on social policy, you know, they've proven decisive entire elections including for George W. Bush.
SESAY: Uh-hmm.
VAUSE: While he's having this rally which was kind of interesting because you have a lot of women there, a lot of kids in the audience, there was a crying baby, and we saw a very different Donald Trump at this rally. Look at this.
TRUMP: The money that is put into these accounts can also be spent not only on child-care, but also child enrichment activities. See? We'll start with that child. That will be our first child. VAUSE: He was on his best behavior. Ivanka was standing over his shoulder keeping, you know, a tight rein. But he wasn't done then, because after the rally, he did a - did a rope line. He found that little boy, and then there was this moment. Oh, circle of life. Matumba. Donald Trump has no idea how to hold a child. That kid is looking really distressed.
SESAY: (INAUDIBLE)
VAUSE: But yeah, this is an evolving Donald Trump, because, you know -
MEHTA: Right.
VAUSE: -- one rally, he kicked out a crying kid. That was a month ago. Much more disciplined this time. Just chucking the kid up around in the air.
MEHTA: Well, I mean, I think that's a change we've seen in his campaign in the last several weeks, because he brought in all these new people a couple of weeks ago when it was clear that he needed to do something to shake up his campaign. And I think a lot of people including myself wondered how long this would last, because he's had so many reboots.
SESAY: Uh-hmm.
MEHTA: And the reboots usually last 48 hours. And then he's off to being the other Trump that we all sort of (INAUDIBLE) in during the primaries. But he's really been somewhat consistent. You know, he's sticking to his teleprompter speeches. He's not going wildly off- message.
SESAY: Uh-hmm.
MEHTA: So, I think this is the influence of people like Kellyanne Conway and others who have recently joined the campaign to sort of get him back on track.
SESAY: Well, it's working.
MEHTA: It looks like it.
SESAY: We'll see how long it lasts.
VAUSE: Of course, we've got Dr. Oz to look forward to.
SESAY: Right.
VAUSE: Because the minute - got lots to talk about tomorrow. But thank you for being with us tonight.
MEHTA: Thank you.
SESAY: Thank you. VAUSE: Thank you. Take a short break. When we come back, U.S. Olympians are damage control after their medical records ended up online. The hackers' reasons for their attack is just ahead.
SESAY: Plus, we'll explore what could be causing a spike in attacks against Muslims across the United States.
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[01:30:20] SESAY: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us. I'm John Vause. Let's check the headlines. The strongest storm of the year is passing the southern tip of Taiwan. Super typhoon Meranti is forecast to reach mainland China Thursday morning. Winds have reached more than 300 kilometers per hour. Meranti is the second strongest typhoon on record since 1970.
SESAY: Our hospital (ph) spokesman says Shimon Peres is in critical but stable condition and is being monitored around the clock. The 93- year-old former Israeli president and prime minister suffered a major stroke Tuesday and is in the intensive care unit at a hospital near Tel Aviv. Mr. Peres' son-in-law and personal physician says his medical team has determined there is no need for surgery.
VAUSE: Children were out playing in Aleppo the first full day of the Syrian cease-fire. No major violations have been reported. But aid agencies still have not been able to reach rebel held eastern Aleppo with food, fuel, and other supplies. They're waiting for authorization and security guarantees from the Syrian government.
SESAY: Now, several U.S. Olympians have found themselves caught up in a hack of the world anti-doping agency.
VAUSE: Tennis player Venus Williams and gymnast Simone Biles are among the athletes who are targeted. CNN's World Sport Don Riddell has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: During the Olympic games in Rio, there was something of a cold war revival as tensions simmered between Russian and American swimmers in the pool. And of course, many Russian athletes were banned completely from competing because of concerns about doping. The games are over, of course, but now there is a new scandal. The world anti-doping agency has today accused Russian hackers of breaking into their database, stealing, and then posting confidential medical data of some American athletes online.
And they aren't just any old athletes. We're talking about some of the biggest names in American sport. Taking responsibility for the attack is a group called Fancy Bears, and the hackers have claimed that these athletes have been doping. According to their website, they quote regularly used illicit strong drugs justified by certificates of approval for therapeutic use.
It is a nightmare for the athletes caught up in this and who've now had their medical records published for the whole world to see. The gymnastic sensation, Simone Biles, who won four gold medals in Rio responded on Twitter saying, quote, I have ADHD and I have taken medicine for it since I was a kid. I believe in clean sport. I have always followed the rules and will continue to do so as fair play is critical to sport and is very important to me.
The tennis star Venus Williams said, I was disappointed to learn today that my private medical data has compromised by hackers and published without my permission. I have followed the rules established under the tennis anti-doping program in applying for and being granted therapeutic use exemptions.
And the American basketball player, Elena Delle Donne tweeted, I would like to thank the hackers for making the world aware that I legally take a prescription for a condition I've been diagnosed with which WADA granted me an exemption for. Thanks, guys.
The U.S. anti-doping agency is absolutely livid. Its CEO, Travis Tygart said, quote, in each of these situations, the athlete has done everything right in adhering to the global rules for obtaining permission to use a needed medication.
Now, the Russian government has denied any involvement. But whoever is behind it, this hack really isn't going to make it any easier for Russian sports or Russian athletes who have been ostracized during this doping crisis. WADA's new director general, Olivier Niggli said, let it be known that these criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to reestablish trust in Russia. I suspect we're going to hear much more on this in the coming days. I'm Don Riddell. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Thanks to Don for that. Well, the White House plans to increase the number of refugees in the U.S. and will accept next year, that the U.S. will accept next year, rather, to at least 110,000 people. From 2013 to 2015, the goal was 70,000 refugees. And this year, the White House increased it to 85,000.
VAUSE: The U.S. refugee policy has been a big issue in the presidential race. Republican Donald Trump has proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country while Democrat Hillary Clinton wants to bring in more refugees from Syria.
SESAY: Well, there has been a rise in public attacks against Muslims in the United States. On Monday, police in Florida say someone deliberately set fire to the mosque that Pulse Nightclub shooter Omar Mateen attended. Mateen killed 49 people at the Orlando nightclub in June.
VAUSE: In New York, police released surveillance video of a man suspected of setting a Muslim woman's blouse on fire over the weekend. Authorities are treating that incident as a hate crime. [01:35:03] And just last month, a New York imam and his assistant
were gunned down while walking home after prayers at a mosque. A Brooklyn man has been charged with their deaths.
SESAY: Well Edina Lekovic is a communications director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. She joins us now here in L.A. Edina, thank you so much for coming in suddenly under these circumstances.
The Council on American Islamic Relations has in the past said that Islamophobia in America goes through cycles of intensity. Is that what we're witnessing right now?
EDINA LEKOVIC, MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: Absolutely. What we see after each major terror plot or even in every major election cycle is we see these upticks in hate rhetoric and then also hate crimes. And that's certainly what we're seeing. We just got a small taste of the dozens of hate attacks, hate incidents, vandalism, death threats that have been taking place against mosques, community centers, and individual Muslims. And I think that's what's so frightening to the average, everyday person is that -- a South Asian grandmother was stabbed to death on her front stoop for no reason.
These two women were attacked last week walking down the street with their stroller also in New York. One of them was punched in the face by another woman, this attacker who told them to go back to their country. These kinds of attacks, they're un-American, because fundamentally, we're supposed to have freedom of religion, and that's a core American value. So these attacks are an attack on America. They're an attack on American values. They're not a Muslim problem. They're an American problem, and they should signal to us that we need to take this political rhetoric more seriously and that we need more direct counter speech to that political rhetoric.
VAUSE: So with that in mind, when the presidential nominee of the Republican Rarty says statements like, I think Islam hates us, and he proposes that temporary ban on Muslims from entering the country, does that empower someone to act? Does it suddenly mean that it's OK in that political climate to go out and maybe not attack somebody, but to say something, to be abusive, and the entire atmosphere changes?
LEKOVIC: It's lighter fluid on a pile of coals. People are only as good or as bad as what their political leaders feed them, what their media feeds them, all of the information that ends up leading them to come to certain conclusions. But when we have political leaders who are vying for the highest land in the office, highest office in the land, who are using this kind of rhetoric, it emboldens people to make bad decisions, and when people get stupid, they make awful decisions.
People who are not even Muslim who have been Sikh and other faiths have been targeted and killed by hate mongers. A Christian-Arab man was killed by his neighbor in Tulsa, Oklahoma after that same neighbor ran over his mother. This just happened a few weeks ago.
And many of these cases, local folks are just struggling to get them acknowledged as hate crimes. While there are certainly murder charges that are in the works. It means something to put hates crimes charges to them. It's also the same reason that we need political leaders to be pushing back.
SESAY: And to that point of pushing back, what are your thoughts as to -- about the counter speech, about the countering of this, how those in power right now are responding to this moment that America finds itself in?
LEKOVIC: You know, I've been really heartened and felt reassured whenever I hear President Obama remind us of what our values are as Americans and express a zero tolerance policy towards hate towards any group. And we also need to see more of our congressional leaders follow their lead. Well need to see both Trump and Clinton follow their lead and express a zero tolerance policy.
Unfortunately, Donald Trump is expressing the opposite now. Calling for a ban on Muslims, saying that Obama created ISIS. Proposing to -- that we should question the loyalty of Muslim parents of military officers. These kinds of things send exactly the wrong message at a time when American Muslims are valued voters, if they're nothing else, and our votes count just like everybody else's in the election, and we could play a pivotal role in certain swing states like Florida and Pennsylvania.
VAUSE: Yes, I read that Muslims are getting very politically active this season, which may be the way they bring about change.
LEKOVIC: Yes, but fundamentally, every person has a right to life and nobody should fear fearful walking down the street in any of our free societies.
SESAY: Edina, thank you so much for coming in and just driving the point home.
LEKOVIC: Thanks for creating a platform.
VAUSE: Thank you.
SESAY: A quick break now. A new Oliver Stone film explores the case of Edward Snowden, and the filmmaker challenges the current U.S. presidential candidates to go beyond Snowden's story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVER STONE, FILM DIRECTOR: Neither candidate has talked about surveillance in any depth or with any authority. It's not even mentioned. So that's what's scary, too, is because we are in a surveillance state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:43:07] VAUSE: NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden wants to come home from Russia a free man. Snowden made his case for a presidential pardon in a video interview with "The Guardian" newspaper.
SESAY: He says his decision to leak highly classified documents helped bring about much needed change. "The Guardian" interview coincides with the release of "Snowden", a film from Oliver Stone. The director spoke with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that he will get a pardon, first and foremost? Does he really think he will?
STONE: Well, I think he deserves one, and I hope he does. But the odds are long with Mr. Obama. The two central truths that emerge from the movie in my opinion are the fact is that the United States government developed and deployed a massive global surveillance system without Democratic consent. And it was one person who revealed that. That was Mr. Snowden. And he did so with conviction and with love of country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Stone's new (inaudible) about Edward Snowden releases this weekend.
SESAY: I interviewed the director and the stars of the film.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Some call him a traitor. Others call him an American patriot.
EDWARD SNOWDEN, NSA WHISTLE BLOWER: I'm 29 years old. I work as a private contractor for the NSA, for the CIA. I work in various jobs in the intelligence industry for the last nine years.
SESAY: More than a year after the documentary "Citizenfour" won an Oscar for showing Edward Snowden's quest to expose the U.S. government's surveillance programs, "Snowden", the feature film, will hit the big screen this Friday.
SNOWDEN: My name is Edward Joseph Snowden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is this all possible?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Think of it as a Google search, except instead of searching only what people make public, we're also looking at everything they don't.
SESAY: Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt now steps into the shoes of the controversial former CIA contractor. He even met with Snowden in Moscow, where he is currently living under temporary asylum.
[01:45:07] JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, ACTOR: The thing about him is he's always trying to take the attention off of himself personally and put it on the issues that he raises. But I'm an actor. And I was going to be playing him in a movie. So I had to sort of try to observe him as a human and get a sense of, well, how does he sit? How does he stand? How does he talk? How does he eat lunch? How does he shake your hand?
SESAY: We also learned more about the trials and tribulations with Snowden's unique relationship with Lindsay Mills, played by actress Shailene Woodley.
SHAILENE WOODLEY, ACTRESS: This film shows you a narrative and a side to a story that we haven't been told. A lot of us know about Edward Snowden and have strong feelings about him. But those feelings are based off of a narrative that mainstream media fed us when this issue broke out a few years ago.
SNOWDEN: The conversation occurring today will determine the amount of trust we can place both in the technology that surrounds us and the government that regulates it.
WOODLEY: And what this film allows us to see is why Ed chose to do what he did. And a big reason, again, that their relationship to me feels so dynamic in this project is because you recognize that he was selfless enough and courageous enough and believed enough in the understanding of everyone being empowered.
SESAY: This film brings you inside the U.S. power structure, and the stars emphasize the importance of forming an opinion independent of what you may have already heard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you only read one article, you listen to one opinion, you are really not going to get the whole story. It's not a simple story. It's complicated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is this all possible?
SESAY: Director Oliver Stone suggests the political peg is one of the most important and timely messages of the story.
STONE: Neither candidate has talked about surveillance state in any depth, or with any authority. It's not even mentioned. So that's what's scary, too, is because we are in a surveillance state. Our privacy has been violated consistently and is being violated. On top of that, you have the issue of cyber warfare, which has been kept in the closet. But this is a very dangerous business. And cyber warfare endangers the entire world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is something going on inside the government that is really wrong and I can't ignore it. I just want to get this data to the world.
SESAY: But ultimately, this personal look into one of the most polarizing figures of the 21st century is bound to spark more debate about U.S. intelligence in the near future.
GORDON-LEVITT: After I looked into it further, I came to the conclusion for myself I think what he did was a valuable service to the country and to the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: It's a debate which will go on and on for some time. Good movie?
SESAY: YEs. I really enjoyed it. I thought it was very well made. VAUSE: Two thumbs-up. We'll take a short break. When we come back,
amazon.com is trying something different. The pros and cons of a shorter workweek. Bring it on. Oh, yes, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks for staying with CNN. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. We're seeing a lot of snow showers come down across portions of the western mountains of the United States, across parts of the state of California, some of the high ski resorts even reported some decent snowfall this morning into the afternoon hours, seeing the reports still come down around western Wyoming.
[01:50:00] But notice this. This is an unusual setup. A September tropical disturbance that came out of thin air. This was just a disturbed area of weather 24 hours ago. Zero percent chance of it forming. Voila, we have tropical storm Julia explode onto the scene, pushing it across portions of northern Florida on into areas just outside of Jacksonville. That is where it's moving ashore, and we have tropical storm warnings across portions of this region, pushing it into eastern and southern Georgia.
Again, going to be a very short-lived disturbance as it moves over. It will fall apart, but a lot of rainfall going to be produced right over Savannah, Hilton Head, on into Augusta, with this quick moving disturbance that came out of areas right offshore there. Again, could see upwards of several hundred millimeters of rainfall in this area, so certainly flash flooding across the I-95 corridor is going to be the main concern over the next couple of days.
The cool air wants to come in Saturday across parts of the Eastern United States and Canada, and then the warm air rebuilds back in place here. So we're going to warm up rather quickly after this brief break of extreme heat. Temperatures will make it up to 32 in New York city with sunny skies today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Online retailer amazon.com is testing out a shorter workweek. Bless their souls. A few select workers would be on the job for 30 instead of 40 hours a week. Amazon says some teams would be made up entirely of part timers.
SESAY: John is running off to join Amazon, the part timers.
VAUSE: They wouldn't have me.
SESAY: Would get the same benefits -- they wouldn't put up with you. Same benefits as full time staff, but would earn only 75 percent of the full time wages. Amazon says it hopes the reduced schedule will encourage success and career growth.
VAUSE: Eric Schiffer is a best selling author and CEO of Patriarch Equity. He joins us now here in Los Angeles. OK, Eric, so if you look at the Amazon model, a six-hour day, 30-hour week, I guess the bottom line here now is the choice between time, free time, or money.
ERIC SCHIFFER, CEO, PATRIARCH EQUITY: Yes. And it really depends. I think it really comes down to what you value in life. And certainly, Amazon has made the choice that they're going to allow more flexibility. Some people are saying they're doing it for PR purposes. "The New York Times" had ripped them about a year ago --
VAUSE: Yes, 80-hour workweek. People were miserable.
SCHIFFER: They made it look like it was the worst possible hell that you could ever work in. And the truth is, they may be -- as we talked about before, they may be very progressive. They could be perceived also like Sweden who is thinking ahead. We don't know how long we're going to be here. Things could end today. And so you want to think about what really matters to you. And find what is important. Some people, like me, I'm passionate about work. But other people, they want more of a balance.
SESAY: It's one thing to talk about Sweden where you have a culture, a whole culture that supports this kind of work-life balance. Amazon being the outlier in this moment in time --
SCHIFFER: Correct.
SESAY: What does it do to a company and organization's culture? I'm talking about Amazon, being the outlier -- what impacts could this have?
SCHIFFER: I think it can create a caste system to some level. I think it can create resentment as well. If you have people that are working 80 hours, they're fully committed. And then you someone that's leaving halfway through the workweek, and yet they're still getting praised by the boss, it kind of sends up some messages to you. So I think there will be a lot of resentment. There can be loss of respect. These are things that are going to need to get worked out. And it's also the view that you take through the culture that you come from. In Sweden, it's very important to balance things. In the U.S. with millennials, absolutely. But gen X and baby boomers, not so much. Because they're passionate about their work.
VAUSE: There is an obsession, though, in multinational companies, especially in the United States, you got to put in the hours. You've got to be seen. You got to have the face time. And what is interesting is in Sweden, when they looked at the studies, people got the same amount of work done in six hours as they did in eight.
SESAY: They cut out all the distractions.
VAUSE: Exactly. But a lot of people are showing up to work, they're socializing, they're fraternizing, they're frittering their time away. And so in some ways, the six-hour workweek means that you're much more focused, you're much more rested, and you're much more productive.
[01:55:06] SCHIFFER: Yes. What it means is very focused work. You're using technology more. You're cutting out social media. You're really saying, what are the most important things that can make the biggest contribution? So there is an interesting strategy behind that. But the reality is, do people really -- are they really going to stay that focused in that time period? That's what the boss' argument. And so, again, there will be a lot of debates over this. But ultimately it comes down to what do you want? What do you want for your life?
SESAY: What do you want, John?
VAUSE: Oh, I want it all, I want it all. I want to get paid to sleep.
SCHIFFER: That would be nice.
VAUSE: That would be great.
SESAY: Eric, such a pleasure. Thank you.
You got your envelope ready for Amazon?
VAUSE: Absolutely. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. We'll be back with another hour of news.
VAUSE: Yes, no six-hour work day for us.
SESAY: We'll be back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAYL This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.
VAUSE: Ahead this hour, super typhoon Meranti lashes Taiwan. But the worst may be yet to come. A live update and a full forecast ahead.
SESAY: The people of Israel pray for the recovery of their former prime minister and president. We'll go live to Jerusalem for the latest on the health of Shimon Peres after the Israeli statesman suffers a stroke.
