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Indian Parliament Approves Changes for Disputed Region; Mother Mourns Daughter Killed in Dayton Attack; Professional Soccer Player Demands Lawmakers Act on Gun Violence; Remembering Toni Morrison. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 07, 2019 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: President Trump heading to Texas and Ohio as anger grows over two senseless mass shootings and inaction in Washington over gun reform. Tensions on the rise again in Kashmir, the major move by India's Parliament and how Pakistan is responding.
Plus, a trade war may be developing into a currency war as the world's two biggest economies face off. Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
In the wake of the two mass shootings, U.S. President Donald Trump is set to visit El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio in the coming hours. 31 people are now confirmed dead in the twin massacres including 22 in El Paso.
The suspect, in that case, is a white supremacist and it's believed he posted a manifesto railing against immigrants and Latinos. Members of his family have released a statement and say they are struggling to understand how he adopted such a hateful ideology.
Here's part of that statement. "His actions were apparently influenced and informed by people we do not know and from ideas and beliefs that we do not accept or condone in any way. He was raised in a family that taught love, kindness, respect, and tolerance, rejecting all forms of racism prejudice hatred and violence. There will never be a moment for the rest of our lives when we will forget each and every victim of this senseless tragedy."
The El Paso case is being treated as domestic terrorism but the FBI is still trying to piece together a motive in the Dayton shooting. Video like the one you're about to see might help. It's exclusive footage of the gunman at the bar he would attack roughly two hours later.
Now, he comes in wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He's with his sister and a second companion, and he's not wearing the body armor or mask he wore during the massacre. About an hour later, he speaks to bar staff before leaving alone. His sister and companion leave around 45 minutes after that. The attack begins moments later. The gunman kills his sister and eight others before being shot dead by
police. The companion was wounded. For more on the case, here's CNN's Brynn Gingras.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These greedy images show the moment a gunman emerges from a dark alley, a dark figure seen in this exclusive surveillance video hunched over a high-powered gun taken from the crowded patio of a Dayton restaurant as the shooting rampage began.
Another camera shows the chaos amid the hail of bullets. One man jumping to the ground to shield his girlfriend from gunfire. As investigators search for a motive --
TODD WICKERHAM, FBI AGENT: We have uncovered evidence throughout the course of our investigation that the shooter was exploring violent ideologies. And based upon this evidence, where initiating an FBI investigation side by side with the Dayton police homicide investigation to make sure we get to the bottom and we explore everything. And we got try to understand the best we can why this horrific attack happened.
GINGRAS: Red flags are emerging around the deceased gunman Connor Betts. A former girlfriend says she saw signs of troubles firsthand. This is a man who is in pain and didn't get the help that he needed. Betts was also a member of a misogynistic heavy-metal band known for songs about sexual violence.
CHRIS SHAW, CITY COMMISSIONER, DAYTON: Well, it sounds like there were some missed opportunities but it speaks to the lack of mental health services in our communities. It's problematic.
[01:05:01] GINGRAS: Until a motive becomes clear, state officials under pressure to act. Governor Mike DeWine proposing a new law that would allow courts to temporarily take guns away from people who could act out.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): We have to empower people to get help for family or loved ones who may be a danger to themselves or danger to others.
GINGRAS: The governor did not propose any gun restrictions that would limit high-powered weapons like the one Betts used to cause so much destruction.
DEON GREEN, FATHER DIED IN DAYTON SHOOTING: I just got to say, I love you. Get up. Get up.
GINGRAS: On what should have been a night of fun, Deon Green didn't realize his father had been hit until he held him in his arms as he took his last breath.
GREEN: As soon as I get closer on to him, I grab him and get behind his head and I see the blood just coming from both sides of his head, and I just lost it. And then I just grabbed on to my dad until somebody can pull me off.
GINGRAS: He then encountered an injured woman nearby, he will later come to believe was the gunman sister.
GREEN: She's like can you call the police, I've been shot. So I'm calling the police, I'm trying to tend to my dad, trying to check on her. She turned out to be his sister.
GINGRAS: And investigators say they have three questions that they are trying to answer at this point. What ideology was influencing Connor Betts? What sort of particular videos or information influenced him to actually carry out this attack? Number two, was there anyone who had any clues any signs as to knowing this was going to happen?
And number three, the big question, of course, is why? They want to know the motive. What is the whole picture reason as to why Connor Betts may have carried out this attack again killing nine people here in Dayton, Ohio. Brynn Gingras, CNN in Dayton, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now to talk more about this is retired supervisory special agent with the FBI and CNN Law Enforcement Contributor Steve Moore. Thank you so much for being with us.
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So the motive for the El Paso shooter was revealed in the suspect's hateful manifesto that he posted online. He gave himself up to police directly after that attack, but we're still learning more about the early response of police to that shooting with some questions being raised at this time. What were you learning about that attack and the aftermath?
MOORE: Rosemary, I think what's concerning me is not, by the way, the bravery of the officers who went in there and we're ready to put their lives on the line to stop this guy. What concerns me is the fact that it took six minutes to get officers there.
This in no way is a question of anybody's bravery or anybody's willingness to do this, it speaks more to staffing levels and preparedness to respond to stuff like this. And as we -- as we know statistically, an average of one person dies every minute it takes for the shooter to be confronted.
Tragically, this was more than three times that. And I think we have to start thinking in terms of response times.
CHURCH: Right, OK. And they'll certainly be looking at that. And now, some politicians in the meantime are pushing for domestic terrorism to be treated as a crime in the same way that international terrorism is. What's your view on that? Would it make it easier for the law to respond to attacks like this?
MOORE: Well, I work both. I worked international and domestic terrorism probably you know, almost a decade in each. And to me, there's not a whole bunch of difference at least as far as the FBI is concerned.
You may have some extra warrant capability with the FISA courts and the international stuff, but I never had problems getting the information and the warrants I needed on the domestic side. And already you know, federally domestic terrorism is criminalized up to the same level as international terrorism. You -- the federal government can seek the death penalty in these cases.
So I don't know if the politicians who are calling for this realized that most of the tools are already there.
MOORE: Interesting. And of course, the Dayton, Ohio investigation is now being handled by the FBI focusing on the shooter's obsession with violence. We do want to bring up that exclusive video again showing the shooter entering the bar that he later attacked.
The shooter enters with his sister and companion. Everything looks very normal there. And he later talks with the bar staff before leaving by himself. Now, we don't know what they talked about but we do know that a short time after that, the shooter returns and starts his deadly attack.
When you look at this video, with all of your extensive experience as an investigator, what do you make of this and how does this help investigators?
MOORE: On the face of it, and again, I'd have to look more deeply into this, but my first impression is he's casing as he's going in. When he walks in the first thing he does is he looks to where the entrances from where the security point is. Where do you go after you get security to pass you through?
Then he's looking at how many security people there are, how many people are in the room, and then you see him looking up above people's heads. And my only take on that is that he was probably looking for cameras and other security that might alert them to his presence.
It doesn't appear that he saw the right camera because you would -- in those cases you see them looking at the cameras directly. But I would tell the investigators in this case, this is what you're going to be doing for the next few months of your life. You're going to be recreating this man's every -- or this person's steps for the last 24, 48 hours before the attack at least.
[01:10:57] CHURCH: So if you're saying that you sense that he was casing that bar, then your sense is that this was a premeditated attack. What about that conversation he had with a bar staff before he left?
MOORE: Likely asking him questions that might either give him information about -- that would help him in his attack or maybe even to disarm them in a way in a psychological way, saying this guy is a friendly guy, and if he approaches again, maybe we don't see him as an immediate threat unless of course, he's carrying a firearm. But I have no doubt in my mind that this was planned ways before the
attack, certainly days before the attack. And maybe he was ready to do it and maybe a couple of times he might have gone to a bar and decided not that night, but he was ready that night to do it.
And that comes down to this you know, can he be -- can he be hateful, can he be psychotic and can he -- or at least personality disordered and still plan things? Yes, we know that to be the case. Even if they're mentally ill in some way, they can still be methodical and careful in their planning.
CHURCH: Right. Of course, the investigators want to find out why he selected this particular bar, what the motive was here to sort of try to get some sort of understanding about what has happened. Let's look at some numbers from the Anti-Defamation League on domestic extremists related killings.
And we see 78 percent of those killings are perpetrated by white supremacist like the El Paso shooter, 16 percent by anti-government extremists like the Dayton shooter. How does that break down help investigators?
MOORE: You know, it just -- you know, you always go where the statistics points you, you know, as a matter of course. But this evidence that you see might change your opinion. But what they need to realize is -- I mean the last shooting I worked was a man who said that he shot people because they were Jewish.
Well, he had already -- he had also spent almost a year in a mental institution because he had violent ideations. He wanted to kill people. And so what we're finding is that you can be horrifically white supremists in your beliefs and at the same time be mentally ill. In fact, I would tell the investigators, I think most of the time that would be the case.
CHURCH: Right. In Dayton, of course, investigators work to find a motive certainly in the Dayton shooting and try to find some sort of solution to this gun violence issue this country has it has confounded world leaders and all of us in fact. We want some sort of solution to come out of this. Steve Moore, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you.
MOORE: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, President Donald Trump will visit Dayton and El Paso in the coming hours. His aides say he will express condolences and offer support. But he is anti-immigrant rhetoric and recent attacks on lawmakers of color have critics saying he should stay away. Jim Acosta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: With the presidents staying out of sight, his aides are responding to leaders in the shell-shocked cities of El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio who question whether Mr. Trump should just remain at the White House. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your reaction to lawmakers in Dayton and
El Paso saying the President is not welcome (INAUDIBLE)?
HOGAN GIDLEY, WHITE HOUSE PRINCIPAL DEPUTY SECRETARY: The president is the president of all the people.
ACOSTA: Dayton's mayor is encouraging her residents to speak out against the president.
NAN WHALEY (D), MAYOR OF DAYTON, OHIO: Look, I know that you know he -- you know, he's made this bed and he's got to lie in it, you know. He hasn't -- you know, his rhetoric has been painful for many in our community, and I think that people should stand up and say they're not happy if they're not happy that he's coming.
ACOSTA: While former El Paso congressman, a Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke is telling Mr. Trump don't come.
[01:15:05] BETO O'ROURKE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the most racist president we've had since perhaps Andrew Johnson in another age and another century, and he is responsible for the hatred and the violence that we're seeing right now.
ACOSTA: The president was glued to supportive segments on Fox News tweeting, I am the least racist person. But the president is facing plenty of new questions about the connections between his slurs against migrants and the El Paso gunman's manifesto, adopting Mr. Trump's use of the term invasion.
TRUMP: This is an invasion. This is an invasion. We have a country that's being invaded.
ACOSTA: Something his campaign did as well on Facebook as noted by the New York Times. The White House is rejecting any notion the president is to blame for the violence.
GIDLEY: It's not the politicians fault when someone acts out their evil intention. You have to blame the people here who pulled the trigger.
ACOSTA: The president jumped into the debate on Twitter asking did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after the Sandy Hook school shooting? That was in response to a statement tweeted out by former President Barack Obama who said we should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred.
The Department of Homeland Security is calling for more funding to guard against white supremacists violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it now our top domestic terrorist threat?
KEVIN MCALEENAN, ACTING SECRETARY, DHS: Well, I think that's the information we have from the FBI over the last two years. The number of their investigations are racially motivated and within that category, the majority are white supremacist extremist motivated. ACOSTA: Democrats are calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell to bring lawmakers back to Washington to vote on new gun control measures, after protesters gathered outside his home this week.
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know what he's waiting for, and I don't know what Republicans in the Senate are waiting for. They should be calling on Mitch McConnell to bring the Senate back to vote on this legislation today.
ACOSTA: White House officials say the president was in meetings with aides preparing for his trip to Ohio and Texas looking at a wide range of policies potentially aimed at preventing mass shootings. Those officials maintain the president understands the gravity of this moment. Jim Acosta, CNN the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And just before midnight in Washington, President Trump tweeted about Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke who as you heard has been very critical of his leadership. He essentially says O'Rourke should respect the victims and law enforcement and be quiet about the president's upcoming trip to Texas.
Well, the Democratic presidential candidate reported just a few minutes ago tweeting this. 22 people in my hometown are dead after an act of terror inspired by your racism. El Paso will not be quiet and neither will I.
While many Americans are demanding action to stop these mass shootings, people around the world are viewing them with disbelief. They are wondering why the U.S. seems powerless to stop them. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has the global reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The grief here is local and agonizing.
JUAN MARTINEZ, SUPERINTENDENT, HORIZON HIGH SCHOOL: Not our children. Please don't. Not one more.
WALSH: But the anger and bewilderment has slowly turning global. The U.S. has been here many times before and so as the rest of the world watching on, bewildered by the all-too-familiar debate about gun control and the U.S. paralyzed by politics. Elsewhere in their moment of violent tragedy, the answer seems clear.
JACINDA ARDERN, PRIME MINISTER, NEW ZEALAND: Australia experienced a massacre and changed their laws. New Zealand had its experience and changed its laws. To be honest with you, I do not understand the United States.
WALSH: Other leaders more conventional in their condolences and condemnation. The U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeting, our hearts go out to the victims and all those affected by these appalling acts of violence.
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel added, families and entire cities have been plunged into mourning and suffering by these acts of violence and hate. But the Mexican president went a step further. It's time for American leaders to take action, he said.
ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, PRESIDENT, MEXICO (through translator): The U.S. needs to control the indiscriminate sale of weapons. I say this with all due respect. It is not our intention to meddle in the internal matters of any country, but yes, the matter should be reviewed.
WALSH: The suspected El Paso shooter was a 21-year-old apparently fueled by a hatred of immigrants and Hispanics. It's prompted some Latin American countries to update their travel warnings. Venezuela is urging its citizens to postpone their plans or exercise caution and Uruguay is warning travelers of "the growing in discriminatory violence in the U.S.
The reality is this is an American malaise with only American solutions at which the rest of the world simply looks on in disbelief. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:20:15] CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. When we come back, markets rebounded Tuesday after China shook Wall Street by dropping the value of its currency. We look at the chances of a currency war on the horizon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone well we are getting new details on Tuesday morning's missile launch in North Korea. According to North Korean state media, Leader Kim Jong-un supervise the live-fire drill that tested two newly developed missiles.
The reclusive nation says the test was meant to be a warning to the U.S. and South Korea over upcoming military drills. The U.S. downplayed the launches. This is North Korea's fourth missile test in two weeks.
U.S. financial markets rebounded Tuesday on optimism that currency tensions between the U.S .and China would ease. The Dow closed up 312 points in a major comeback from its worst day of the year on Monday. The S&P500 and the Nasdaq each gained more than one percent. Both recorded their first positive finish in seven days.
Well, China is rejecting U.S. claims they've manipulated its currency to gain a trade advantage. It's central bank says it doesn't plan to use the Yuan as a weapon in the trade war, and the U.S. labeling it a currency manipulator is unreasonable.
Despite the recent escalation in U.S.-China tensions, Donald Trump's chief economic adviser says the U.S. is still planning to hold talks with Chinese negotiators at the White House in September. Larry Kudlow made it clear the U.S. has the upper hand going forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL, UNITED STATES: China's getting hurt significantly much more than we are. The Chinese economy is crumbling. It's just not the powerhouse it was 20 years ago, everybody knows that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And as these tensions flare between the U.S. and China, investors are growing more concerned a currency fight could be on the horizon. Julia Chatterley breaks down what that would look like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is a currency war the next front in the U.S.-China trade war? Well, that's what some investors fear after China allowed the Yuan to drop to its lowest level in a decade. For the first time since the financial crisis, the Yuan slid past the symbolically important level of 7.00 Yuan to the dollar, and the Trump administration responded labeling China a currency manipulator.
[01:25:18] Now, although that's a largely symbolic move, the designation dramatically escalates trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. China, for its part, says it's not manipulating its currency. The country's central bank says trade protectionism and fresh tariffs have led to a fall and the value of many global currencies. And that's also meant pressure on their currency the Yuan.
But unlike the United States and other developed nations, China has far more control over the value of its currency. It sets a rate every single day, and the currencies only allowed to move two percent up or two percent down from that point.
China has also said it won't engaging competitive devaluations, "to deal with a trade dispute." But it is one way China can retaliate against President Trump's tariffs on its goods. Weakening the currency makes China's exports cheaper, and that blunts the impact of tariffs.
That's what the Trump administration insists China is up to here, but many analysts question that. They point out that China has spent billions of dollars buying its own currency to prevent it falling too much. And as the Chinese central bank said, weekend growth has caused some of the other regional currencies to lose value versus the Dollar since the trade war began.
So it's kind of reasonable to suggest that the fall of the Chinese Yuan could reflect the currency simply readjusting to the Dollar's recent strength. But the big fear here is that it starts a deliberate currency war.
What if the Trump administration tries to hit back by devaluing the U.S. dollar? They've been mixed signals from the president of whether he would ever intervene like that?
TRUMP: I could do that in two seconds if I want. I mean --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
TRUMP: Well, I didn't say I'm not going to do something.
CHATTERLEY: The key here is weakening the greenback would have serious risks, not only the fact that it would mean less purchasing power for all Americans, and that would have repercussions across the entire global economy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Julia Chatterley with that report. Well, tensions are rising once again in one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints, Kashmir. When we return, how a major move by India's parliament is rattling India's neighbors.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:00] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church.
I want to update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour.
The family of the alleged El Paso gunman says they will never forget each and every victim. They've released a statement saying the suspect was influenced by people they don't know and ideas they don't accept. The white supremacist is accused of killing 22 people Saturday. Hours later, a separate attack killed nine in Dayton, Ohio.
U.S. President Donald Trump will visit the scenes of the weekend's back to back mass shootings Wednesday. Aides say he will visit with first responders and victims families in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas.
Democratic presidential candidate and El Paso native Beto O'Rourke said the President helped create the hatred behind the shootings and should stay away.
Well now to a ratcheting up of tensions between two nuclear armed nations -- India and Pakistan. India's parliament has voted to change the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, a highly contentious move that will give New Delhi greater authority over the disputed region.
CNN's Sam Kiley has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indian troops move swiftly to stifle opposition to a red line cross imposing total rule over the disputed Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir.
A sudden vote to amend India's constitution which had guaranteed semi- autonomy for the region --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motion is adopted.
KILEY: -- was swiftly passed after ending 70 years of Indian and international law which reinforced that the deployment of thousands of Indian troops and the house arrest of two former chief ministers of the region.
Mehbooba Mufti tweeted "Today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy. The decision of the J&K leadership to reject the two- nation in 1947 and allying with India has backfired. The unilateral decision of the government of India to scrap Article 370 is illegal and unconstitutional which will make India an occupational force in Jammu and Kashmir."
India has blamed years of terror attacks by Muslim separatists on Pakistan which Pakistan denies. But the Pakistanis' response to India's move was swift and threatening.
IMRAN KHAN, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): If India dares to try any mischief in Azad Kashmir by God I tell you every man, woman and child will stand up with their armed forces.
So God willing, we will be making a cemetery for the Indian soldiers. God willing, God willing inside Kashmir.
KILEY: The danger of a violent backlash prompted another former chief minister to tweet from house arrest. Omar Abdullah said, "To the people of Kashmir, we don't know what is in store for us but, I'm a firm believer that whatever almighty Allah has planned, it is always for the better. We may not see it now, but we must never doubt his ways.
Good luck to everyone. Stay safe and above all please stay calm."
Foreigners were ordered out of Indian Kashmir where phone and Internet connections were cut immediately after the disputed annexation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More news from Kashmir --
KILEY: Kashmir joined India with independence from Britain and partition from Pakistan in 1947. Pakistan captured about a third of its territory and still runs that. India took much of what remains and gained significant autonomy to it. But since then, India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir.
Today the stakes could be higher. Both countries have nuclear weapons.
Sam Kiley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Michael Kugelman is a senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center. He's with me now from Annapolis in Maryland. Thank you so much you joining us. MICHAEL KUGELMAN, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FOR SOUTH ASIA, WILSON CENTER:
Thank you.
CHURCH: So what does India's sudden crackdown on the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir signal to you? And where is this all going?
KUGELMAN: Well, I mean what India has done was not a surprise. The ruling BJP party in India had been telegraphing its intention for several years to repeal this Article 370. And I think that what it has done is essentially follow up on something that it always wanted to do.
But I think it wanted to deliver a very strong message to a number of audiences, one being the United States. A few days ago, and President Trump offered to mediate the Kashmir dispute which is something that India has never wanted. And so I think that India by essentially integrating this region into India formally, that really sends a message to the United States that not only does India not want mediation on the dispute but there is no dispute at all, I mean simply because India has now formally integrated it into the union of India.
[01:34:57] So it's clearly a very bold, unprecedented, and controversial move that in my view is only going to complicate the dispute. It's not going to resolve it.
CHURCH: So how legal is this? And what are the possible ramifications?
KUGELMAN: Well, the legality of it is certainly in question simply because this was done unilaterally. You know, first off, there is an agreement between India and Pakistan that was signed back in the early 1970s that said that any dispute between the two countries including the Kashmir dispute needs to be resolved through bilateral negotiations. And yet here is India unilaterally announcing that it is going to change the status of Kashmir.
And so, you know, no one -- there is no consultation in parliament and for sure, Kashmiris were not consulted either. And on the contrary, as you know, India cracked down, very heavily imposed this lock down that remains in place now on Kashmir so that not only were Kashmiris not consulted about a decision that impacts them so much, they were literally kept in the dark.
They didn't know what happened. And even now there's so many people in Kashmir that don't know what has happened. So to me the fact that there was no consultation or anything like that is very worrisome.
CHURCH: Indeed. And Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan says India's move to downgrade the state of Kashmir and Jammu to a union territory is an attempt to change the region's demographics and as an example of the ruling party's ideology to what he says ethnically cleanse India of its Muslim population. Do you agree with that?
KUGELMAN: Well, those are strong terms to use. And I'm not sure that I would endorse those terms. However, to be sure there is a fear that India and particularly it's Hindu nationalist government which is intent on enhancing the status of Hindus in the society in the state in India is essentially going to try to alter the demographics of what is at this point the only Muslim majority region in India by changing the laws, changing the status of Kashmir in a way that it will allow Indians around the country to go into Kashmir and acquire land.
That was something that's been very difficult to do when cashmere had its special autonomy status. But the fear is that you're going to have -- the members of the majority Hindu community in India coming into Kashmir, acquiring land, setting up shop there and thereby affecting the demographics of the region that again, has been majority Muslim for quite a few years.
CHURCH: Right. And of course, this has been a problem for some 70 years. And you could say it was the leadership back then that failed to make a decision that's caused all of these problems.
So now here they are. They need to find a solution. What is the likely future for the disputed region? And what is the possible solution -- is there one, do you think?
KUGELMAN: I'm very concerned. I think for me the biggest question is what happens after India eases its grip on Kashmir after it ends this lock down that's been in place. Once Kashmiris, and particularly Kashmir Muslims in the Kashmir Valley, once they find out what has happened, I would imagine that there's going to unrest. I would even argue that perhaps this move by India could spark a new phase of a long running insurgency in Kashmir.
So the prospects for new violence, for new unrest is significant. How Pakistan, which of course rejects this decision altogether, how Pakistan reacts is also unclear. One thing that we have to fear is that Pakistan could turn to India focus terrorists on Pakistani soil that are close to the Pakistani state.
Pakistan could encourage those militants to go into Kashmir and retaliate by blowing things up, by targeting Indian security forces. And that brings us to a point where you have to worry about another crisis between India and Pakistan and even a possible conflict.
We know that earlier this year, the two sides almost went to war, but given what India has done with this dramatic decision to repeal Article 370 changing Kashmir's status unilaterally, to me that raises the likelihood significantly of not just a crisis, but a conflict, a military conflict between India and Pakistan. A
CHURCH: Right. A real concern for the region there. We'll continue to watch that story. Michael Kugelman -- thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
KUGELMAN: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: And coming up -- an anguished mother, whose daughter was killed by a gunman on a rampage, remembers her daughter.
Plus, a U.S. footballer urges lawmakers to stop gun violence. Philadelphia Union's captain spoke to CNN about his public message. That's just in a moment.
[01:39:38] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: More now on the deadly shooting in Dayton, Ohio that left nine people dead. Federal authorities said Tuesday that before the shooting, the gunman was exploring violent ideologies and was obsessed with mass shootings. But they have no clear motive for the attack. We're also learning more about the victims.
CNN's Randi Kaye has one family's heartbreaking story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sandra James is mourning her daughter Lois Oglesby who was struck by a bullet and killed in the Dayton, Ohio shooting. Lois has a seven year old daughter and had just given birth a couple of months ago to a baby girl. She was looking forward to a night out with her girlfriends.
SANDRA JAMES, MOTHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM: She said "Mommy I can have fun too." I said "Yes, you can have fun sometimes too."
She said "I hadn't been out so I'm going to go out and I'm going to have some drinks." I said "Ok, be careful." That was it.
KAYE: You told her to be careful.
JAMES: Be careful, I knew she was going to call me. And then she didn't call me (INAUDIBLE).
KAYE: Her mother says after Lois was shot she called her boyfriend who was watching the kids.
How did you find out what happened?
JAMES: We were asleep and her boyfriend called and he said mom, Lois face-timed them. she said she was grazed by a bullet, she said babe, come and get me. She said no you need to go to the hospital. She said, no I need to get to my kids and then that was it.
KAYE: So she was able to Facetime?
JAMES: She Facetimed to him.
KAYE: Her boyfriend after she had been shot?
JAMES: Yes. She thought she was grazed. She said I have been raised by a bullet.
KAYE: Sandra and her daughter's boyfriend rushed to the scene but Lois' injuries were more severe than she thought, she died before they arrived.
JAMES: I couldn't get to where she was. He got to her. He could see here lying there with the covering on here. He was angry because he wanted her off the ground.
KAYE: She was in the street.
JAMES: Yes.
KAYE: Lois was just 27. This recent video shows Lois getting her baby girl to smile for the first time.
LOIS OGLESBY, SHOOTING VICTIM: Hey mommy.
[01:44:54] JAMES: I actually talked to the young lady who heard her say her last words which was "somebody get my kids". She said they weren't their three minutes. They didn't have any drinks.
KAYE: Before it happened?
JAMES: They didn't even get inside the bar. They were outside.
KAYE: I'm so sorry.
Sandra says her daughter was a loving mom who loved not only her own children but all children.
JAMES: This is Lois.
KAYE: Lois worked at a daycare center and had dreams of becoming a pediatric nurse.
JAMES: My daughter was beautiful inside and out. And the love that she showed for kids, the compassion that she had for children, it was just amazing.
KAYE: During Lois' first pregnancy years ago she had been carrying twins. But when only one survived she explained to her daughter Hanna that her twin sister had gone to heaven. Now this.
So does Hanna now understand what happened to her mom? Does she think she has gone to the same place?
JAMES: Yes but she says she wants her to come down. She knows she is in heaven but she wants her to come down. (INAUDIBLE) if we phoned.
The people who were here. She kept asking is that my mom. Somebody call my mom. I want to call mommy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Randi Kaye with that heartbreaking report.
And mass shootings are nothing new on the United States but the latest rampages have hit an especially raw nerve. And the debate over gun control is once again a center of discussion with one of the most prominent statements coming from the sporting world.
On Sunday evening Philadelphia Unions' Alejandro Bedoya took the mic after scoring in his major league soccer game and urged Congress to act to end gun violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO BEDOYA, PHILADELPHIA UNION: Hey, Congress -- do something now. End gun violence. Let's go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Bedoya's actions received heavy media attention and raised questions over how MLS would react but instead of sanctioning the player he was named player of the week by fans and the media.
CNN's Amada Davies spoke to the midfielder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: What is it about what happened at the weekend that made you take a stand and speak out this time?
BEDOYA: Well to be honest it was a spur of the moment thing. It really was. But having felt a tragedy so close to me after the Parkland shooting which happened literally 10 minutes where I grew up, you know, that really hit home. That really hit close.
And then, you know, reading up on the news and seeing how everything on TV on Saturday night, Saturday Day and then waking up on Sunday morning to another one -- it was just non stop running through my mind.
DAVIES: You mentioned your relationship with Parkland, with Florida -- can you just attempt to put into words for us when something like that happens in a community that you are so close to where you know people who were affected by it, how does it impact that community?
BEDOYA: It's heartbreaking. You know I've played at that school, at Stoneman Douglas many times. I stayed there -- at times I'd gone there as a teammate here with the union actually who lost a friend in that tragedy. So it is heartbreaking.
You know, I can't even put into words how really kind of messed up that is -- all the emotions you go through.
DAVIES: What have you made of the reaction to what you said. ?And as you said, it was a spur of the moment emotional reaction.
BEDOYA: Yes I do realize that guns and this type of issues are very polarized. I do. But I'm thankful that I have such a great group of friends and family and support and my group chat, about 10 of us you know, are gun owners. It's just --
DAVIES: So are you a gun owner yourself?
BEDOYA: I am not myself, no. But in talking with them, you know, people tell me well are you just going say you're commented. And you know, it's that easy. You're being such -- say sarcastic -- I should just tell stuff about gun violence by saying that. That's not the point, you know. I'm not a policy maker in our country. These people are the ones that make laws that affect us and things like that. And for me some basic solutions that are talking among friends and families and gun owners and law abiding citizens that are gun owners.
You know, universal background checks -- we can start with that. I think that's something most people can support.
[01:49:58] DAVIES: We have seen for a couple of years the anthem protests in the NFL started by Colin Kaepernick. But the criticism is that actually while we have seen it, we've talked about it, has any real change taken place?
How confident are you that people will sit up, take notice, and make a change in this scenario?
BEDOYA : I have lots of hope. And I have faith. Like I said that just a voice and I happen to use my platform and with my voice being heard, the conversation continues right. And like with anything the more you converse about something, you get back and forth and have dialog eventually it leads to some action right. Like I said I'm a human being before and after and we're all human beings. We don't want any -- one person dead is one too many.
DAVIES: When you hear President Trump speaking as he did on Monday saying perhaps more has to be done. What is your message to him about that?
BEDOYA: Take out the word perhaps. More needs to be done. We have a gun violence problem in this country that no other civilized nation in the world has. So let's be there as Americans and people and our family (INAUDIBLE). Let's support each other. Build on each other and not be so divisive and have this terrible political divisive rhetoric that's been going is in our country.
So I'm hopeful. I have faith.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Powerful messages there.
Well, another story into CNN, authorities in Galveston, Texas are apologizing after photos emerged of police arresting a black suspect with what appears to be a rope. This picture shows two mounted white officers leading Donald Nealy (ph) handcuffed through the streets with a rope tied to the cuffs. Nealy was charged with criminal trespassing. An attorney for his family says they are appalled by what they saw. And the photos have created an uproar on social media. Galveston's police chief says the officers showed poor judgment and the department would end the practice.
Her words spoke to generations of Americans. Noble prize winning author, Toni Morrison has died. Why her writing still holds such special meaning.
We're back in a moment with that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: We have this just into CNN. At least 34 people have been injured in a large explosion in Afghanistan's capital. That's according to the country's ministry of public health. A military spokesman says three suicide bombers in a Humvee detonated their explosives at a police headquarters' gate. Two of the attackers were killed and the third was arrested. No one has yet claimed responsibility.
Well, the world is mourning the loss of a literary icon, Nobel Laureate and author Toni Morrison died on Monday. Her career spans six decades and her novels painted an unflinching portrait of black life in America.
CNN's Stephanie Elam has more on this remarkable woman of letters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Toni Morrison, one of the worlds most celebrated writers --
[01:54:59] TONI MORRISON, AUTHOR: You know, the point of writing is to take what's common and estrange it, make it new again, and to take what's strange and familiarize it.
ELAM: Born Chloe Anthony Wofford in 1931, Morrison had an interest in story telling at a very young age. Her father often told her African- American folktales, something she would later weave into her work.
Morrison attended both Howard and Cornel Universities. She began teaching at the height of the civil rights movement.
It was then Chloe became known as Toni Morrison. Toni, a nickname, and Morrison, the last name of her ex-husband.
During her time teaching, she began sharing stories with a campus writing group. One of those stories became her first book, "The Bluest Eye". Released in 1970, the novel was praised for its in-depth look at race and American beauty standards, but criticized for its explicit nature.
Morrison became more widely known in 1977 with "Song of Solomon". The book was a featured election for the Book of the Month Club, the first written by an African-American in nearly 40 years.
Morrison became known for characters who challenged views on race and gender.
MORRISON: I don't describe any of my characters. I mean a little bit, you know, it's tall, short, man, woman, but nobody knows what they look like. And the reason is deliberate, because I want you to do that.
ELAM: No novel had greater impact than "Beloved". Loosely based on a true story of a runaway slave, the book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988.
A decade later, Oprah Winfrey took the story to the silver screen, but the film tanked at the box office.
Morrison's prolific storytelling was acknowledged internationally. In 1993, she became the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. The same year, she nearly lost it all in a fire on Christmas Day. Only a portion of her manuscripts survived.
But tragedy struck again Christmas of 2010. Her son Slade died of pancreatic cancer. The death weighed heavily on Morrison and she didn't write a sentence for months.
Toni Morrison left an indelible mark on literature, spanning over five decades. While presenting her with the presidential Medal of Freedom, President Obama said this.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Toni Morrison's prose brings us that kind of moral and emotional intensity that few writers ever attempt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news after this short break. Stay with us.
[01:57:49] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
