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Trump Delays Increasing Tariffs On $250B Of Chinese Goods; Pompeo May Become National Security Adviser; Trump Says He Fired Bolton, Bolton Says He Resigned; U.S. Moving To Ban Flavored E- Cigarettes After Deaths; Los Angeles And San Francisco Face Homelessness Crisis; Abbas Threatens To End All Signed Agreements With Israel; Netanyahu, Gantz Face Off In Israel Elections Next Week; Purdue Tentatively Settles Thousands Of Opioid Cases. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired September 12, 2019 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Coming, up what a no-deal Brexit could mean for the United Kingdom. How disruptive it can be to crash out of the E.U.
Donald Trump is defending his decision to fire the national security adviser. He is now considering a familiar face to replace Bolton.
Plus CNN goes inside Syria, where the residents are a cross-section of what ISIS left behind, victims, prisoners, widows, survivors and some apologetic sympathizers.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
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CHURCH: We begin with more Brexit backlash for Boris Johnson. Scotland's highest civil court has ruled that his suspension of Parliament as the clock ticks down to the Brexit deadline was illegal and there is more.
Mr. Johnson's government has been forced to publish a document that details worst-case scenarios if the U.K. crashes out of the E.U. without a deal on October 31st, Downing Street was trying to keep it a secret, but Parliament voted to have it released. Here's CNN's Nic Robertson with more.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Early in the day, the decision by three senior Scottish judges essentially saying that Boris Johnson's proroguing of Parliament was unlawful and that he had in effect lied to the queen about his reason for doing it.
That will go to the Supreme Court in London Tuesday next week. In the meantime, the document Operation Yellowhammer, which was the government's document for its preparation of a no-deal Brexit, the government had been ordered to release that.
They did that shortly before the deadline. It makes difficult and troubling reading particularly about food and medicine supplies coming into the U.K. It points to the border crossing, the channel crossing between England and France and the southeast of England as being a chokepoint, saying that trucks are not ready for the customs inspections that they will have on the either side, that there will be delays for trucks crossing over into France, back from France as well, that could last a day and a half to 2.5 days.
That's how long it could take to cross the border, that three-fourths of Britain's medical supplies come in across that border, across the channel and that some of those medicines are perishable, that the government cannot stockpile the necessary medicines and that therefore there will be shortages of medicines if there is a no deal Brexit.
They also say there will be a shortage of some perishable food. They say that will drive up potentially drive up the price of food, that this could affect the elderly, particularly that this will come into effect prior to Christmas, a time that food products generally -- there are more food products being bought and sold.
Also saying -- this is perhaps a plus for the government here -- that the electricity and gas supplies for people in their houses will not be affected, that they will continue to be available. However, they say that over time the price of electricity will likely rise and this could have economic and political consequences that will play negatively for the country, that could affect businesses.
That is one of the conclusions. So a lot to digest for the public in that report. Also the government had been expected and had been called in Parliament to produce the documentation that had gone into that decision making to prorogue Parliament. Government has not done that before the deadline. They say they won't be doing that because that is not normal precedent they say.
The opposition will likely criticize the government again having got now in the public domain all these detail in Operation Yellowhammer. Of course, the government not in session so the opposition cannot question the government and the prime minister about precisely what they're doing.
Now some of the more precise details are known -- Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
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CHURCH: So, let's now turn to our European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. He joins us from Los Angeles. Good to see you.
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hi, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, Dominic, we'll talk about Operation Yellowhammer in just a moment, but first, Boris Johnson got more bad news Wednesday, this time from Scotland's highest civil court, saying his suspension of Parliament was illegal and he misled the queen. That will now go to the Supreme Court in London early next week.
What's the most likely outcome of that?
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CHURCH: And what are the possible consequences of this whole sorry tale?
THOMAS: Yes. Well, once again, we are in uncharted territory. It was extraordinary that the Scottish court reversed its decision and, as you just said, you know, underscore the very fact that Boris Johnson had deliberately attempted to essentially prevent a debate around a no deal Brexit and to put himself in front of Parliament and subjected to scrutiny and be accountable to the MPs.
So, at this particular stage I think there are perhaps two ways of looking at it. On the one hand the court in London could simply now agree with the Scottish court, in which case, Boris Johnson would essentially be forced to reconvene Parliament and further discussion would go on.
But I think that at the end of the day, the damage has been done. Everybody knows that the reason why Boris Johnson attempted to shut down, to suspend Parliament, is to prevent discussion around the question of a no deal.
And the consequence of that paradoxically was to mobilize the opposition and to get them to pass legislation to block a no deal, which is another legal issue that he faces now and has talked repeatedly about potential ignoring that legal ground as well.
So he finds himself in a very precarious position, it's a further blow to his administration and it reinforces the idea to the general public that there is a discrepancy between what Boris Johnson is telling the public about his plans to negotiate with the European Union and what in fact his Brexiteer cabinet are doing and scheming and have been doing so all along, which is to distract from the realities and the dangers of this particular project and as confirmed by the report that you mentioned earlier.
CHURCH: Right. Let's turn to that, that troubling document, Operation Yellowhammer, that the government was forced to make public. It reveals some disturbing risks involved in leaving the E.U. without a deal, including food price hikes, reduced medical supplies and street riots.
And given these worst-case scenarios will hit the most vulnerable across the United Kingdom. Why is there so much enthusiasm on the part of the prime minister and others to pursue a no deal Brexit that could potentially plunge the country into economic turmoil?
THOMAS: Right. Absolutely. And what so many people have said, you know, all along is that, you know, really at the end of the day the best deal is to remain in the European Union. And everybody has been talking about the consequences of a no deal.
And what we see here is a completely reckless cabinet, we are on the third conservative prime minister around this particular question. It is dividing and further dividing the Conservative Party. There is no end in sight to being able to solve this. And it just reinforces the idea that this Brexit cabinet does not care about the consequences.
It is happy to manipulate and instrumentalized the British public, in many cases, the most vulnerable. Those that will be most negatively impacted by the consequences of a no deal. And all along where experts have been pointing out, is that extricating oneself from the European Union is sort of like doing surgery on conjoined twins.
You have to prepare for this, it's extraordinary complex and it is not something that you can deal with in the way that they have been talking all along. And this cabinet is simply interested in delivering Brexit.
And I fundamentally just do not believe that they care about the consequences of this and this is just a reminder here of the disconnect between what they are promising and have been promising the British people all along and the actual reality of Brexit outside of this emotional debate that has been going on now in the U.K. for so many years.
CHURCH: Dominic Thomas, we thank you as always for your analysis.
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THOMAS: Thank you so much, Rosemary.
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CHURCH: Officials in the Bahamas say 2,500 people are still registered as missing, more than a week after Hurricane Dorian ravaged the islands. But that figure could include people that are evacuees and people who stay in the shelters. The death toll remains at 50 but that number will likely change as emergency crew go through the rubble.
The Bahamian prime minister understandably sympathetic to the suffering so many face right now.
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HUBERT MINNIS, BAHAMIAN PRIME MINISTER: There are many who are still missing, the number of deaths is expected to significantly increase. The grief we will bear as a country begins with the families who have lost loved ones. To those who have lost loved ones, I know there is absolutely nothing
we can say that will lessen your pain and your loss. We will provide accurate, timely information on the loss of life as it is available.
We will, first and foremost, put the priority on notifying families and giving them the help they need to grieve. We are ramping up efforts to collect those who died in the storm. We are being transparent and responsible in this process.
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CHURCH: CNN's Paula Newton shows us the recovery efforts underway in one of the most devastated areas in this exclusive report.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's tough but crucial to reach every corner and crevice of these battered islands. We touched down in the now scarred Great Guana Cay on a mission with the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. They've tasked search and rescue from Fairfax County, Virginia, to help out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here used to be the police station.
NEWTON: Local residents give them some bearings --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one's missing so far that I know of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that's -- I mean, really, really good news.
NEWTON: -- and they get an assessment. Incredibly, no one has died here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys, help unload the truck over there while we talk to the head honcho.
NEWTON: They help stock food in the church -- now a makeshift shelter -- offer medical assessments and then move on to a house-to-house search, gathering intel for the Bahamian government as they try and get a handle on the magnitude of what happened here.
DANIEL GAJEWSKI, FAIRFAX COUNTY URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE: So what we've done is I've walked around the building, I've assessed the building to make sure that no one's calling out, nobody's in there, so I marked it clear.
NEWTON: The truth is, Dorian's cuts through these islands and cays were menacing. The cat 5 storm path is in red and it slashed right through the Abacos.
You can see Great Guana Cay, just north of its path. The darker the dots, the more structures destroyed or damaged. USAID says the first sweep of all the islands and cays is now nearly complete. GAJEWSKI: Lately, it has been a lot of reconnaissance, a lot of building structures. And then from there, kind of, getting a pulse on the locals on what they need.
NEWTON: Getting to isolated local residents has been a challenge. And because of money and means, there has been an island divide.
Places like Guana Cay are only now getting any kind of official help. It's been the wealthy patrons of the exclusive Baker's Bay Golf Club on the island that have sent private helicopters and supplies, even evacuating the injured and vulnerable, residents say.
Tom Brady, a star quarterback for the New England Patriots, posted that his family had been traveling to the Abacos for many years, adding it was "now our responsibility to help them."
TROY ALBURY, CHIEF, GREAT GUANA CAY FIRE DEPARTMENT: I am not the biggest fan of Baker's Bay. I have not been. I fought them for 10 years in court because I didn't want that golf course built. But they have been our savior during this.
This is going to take a lot of money, a lot of time and a lot of dedication. And I pretty much stood up in the meeting last night and cried.
I said, "We can't do it alone. We need help, lots of help."
NEWTON: USAID will continue to help with recovery efforts, taking its cue from the Bahamian government. But the truth is, some locals have lost everything and have no insurance. It was just too expensive in recent years.
The cruelty of this storm did not distinguish between rich and poor. But already, the recovery has -- Paula Newton, CNN, Great Guana Cay, the Bahamas.
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CHURCH: Still to come, a sprawling tent camp in Syria is now home to thousands of wives and children of ISIS fighters, now worry it could become a new version of the ISIS caliphate, CNN goes inside the camp.
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CHURCH: It has been months since ISIS lost its last stronghold in Syria. Many of its fighters were killed or locked up. But there are fears the terrorist group's ideology is alive and thriving in a sprawling camp in northeast Syria, where it is now home to thousands of wives of ISIS militants and their children.
CNN's Arwa Damon got a rare look inside the camp where those perceived as infidels face severe punishment, even death.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called al-Hol, a camp that sprung from nowhere, now the size of a small town. The wind and sand mercilessly blow through the tents in the baking heat of the Syrian summer.
But it's the anger -- the seething hostility that strikes you. To step into this camp is to witness a strange mutation of the caliphate, kept alive by the widows and wives of ISIS.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There are cells here, they are organized.
DAMON (voice-over): A spirit of vengeance seeps into the next generation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I tell them your father was killed by the infidels.
DAMON (voice-over): Hatred and enmity is magnified by the wretched conditions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think it's a camp --
DAMON (on camera): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- but it's a prison.
DAMON (voice-over): It's a place in limbo, like no other refugee camp on earth, shunned by the international community.
Kurdish forces say this place is a ticking time bomb. An ISIS academy where its brutal ideology is incubated. They don't have the resources to keep control.
Many of the women here don't know where their husbands and teenage sons are. They tell us quite openly they're teaching their children to hate the infidels, who imprisoned and killed their fathers and brothers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): If the prisoners aren't released, the hatred will go. The biggest ISIS cell will be the women. If the men aren't released, I will go crazy.
DAMON (voice-over): The camp's population swelled while ISIS was making its last stand not far from al-Hol. Many of the new arrivals have direct ties to ISIS. They were organized and quickly established their version of the moral police, terrorizing those who refused to wear the full veil.
Beneath the black uniformity, some women want nothing more than to leave.
[02:20:00] DAMON (voice-over): "I don't care if the Kurds or even the Americans who control my town," this woman pleads.
But there is no reintegration program. This is an open-air prison.
DAMON (on camera): What do you want?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to go home. Are you scared of -- from us?
DAMON (on camera): Should I be?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I I'm just asking. A lot of people, that's why they're talking in our countries because they're scared to take us back.
DAMON (on camera): If they gave you an option, let's say, of creating another caliphate for you --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I No.
DAMON (on camera): No, you're done?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I A lot of women, they think the same.
DAMON (voice-over): But few countries are repatriating their nationals.
The living conditions are horrendous. It's filthy. There's little access to medical care. Clean water is scarce, food is rationed.
A Telegram chat group has turned this place into a cause for ISIS, referring to it as the al-Hol death camp, alleging atrocities by the pig enemies of Islam.
DAMON (on camera): There is a lot of propaganda here -- a lot of promoting of the ISIS ideology. But then, they're also using this platform to send messages.
DAMON (voice-over): It's where they posted this video -- the ISIS flag being raised inside the camp. That happened here in a part of the camp for Syrians.
"It's the reaction to the psychological pressure on us," one woman says. "They should know that more can be done than the raising of a flag."
And more has been done. Foreign women here are no longer allowed to leave their annex and go to the market after two incidents when Kurdish guards were stabbed.
The more radicalized women threaten and terrorize those less devoted to ISIS. One woman says her tent was burnt down; another, that she's so afraid of being stabbed she barely sleeps at night.
Outside the camp, we get access to a prison -- a surreal scene. Former ISIS fighters painting and crafting papier-mache models.
This man says ISIS held his family hostage to coerce him to join. "ISIS gave me the bombs," he tells us, "and then showed me on WhatsApp how to plant them." He's serving 20 years, the maximum sentence.
In the crowded cell, some men say they never supported ISIS.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My cousin turned us in. He said we were ISIS. But he is an ISIS spy.
DAMON (voice-over): Others accept their fate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I raised my hand. I said, "I am ISIS." I'm not scared. I'm here -- I will pay the price.
DAMON (voice-over): The Kurds are doing their best to separate the true believers from the rest.
In this rehabilitation center, there are scores of teenage boys. This 15-year-old was an ISIS fighter. His first mission, to plant explosives at a U.S. base.
He describes how they were given the bombs, weapons and suicide vests. "We covered everything with the women's black niqab," he says, "so the jets in the sky would not target us."
The operation failed and he ended up in prison. "But even there, ISIS ruled," he says. "But at the rehab center, things are different."
"I've left ISIS behind," he tells us. "It was a mistake. I learned from it."
But the center barely reaches a fraction of the children indoctrinated. They're just aren't enough resources.
"If the situation stays like this and nations don't help, ISIS will come back," Musaab Khalaf, an administrator here, tells us. "We hear about it -- the sleeper cells. They take advantage of the children, trying to recruit them."
And the children are so vulnerable. They know nothing but conflict, destruction and grief. Some have no parents, like this little boy.
DAMON (on camera): He's just visiting his friends here -- his tent is somewhere else. And he says that his mom was killed and his dad has been detained and it's just him and his siblings, the oldest of which is 16.
DAMON (voice-over): Children pay the price for the sins of their parents but in turn, are preyed upon.
There's only so much Kurdish officials can do to contain the situation and there is shocking lack of international involvement here. The place is forgotten, the legacy of yesterday's war and that makes it uniquely dangerous because, if allowed to fester, this sprawling camp contains the seeds of the next war and ISIS' revenge generation -- Arwa Damon, CNN, al-Hol camp, Syria.
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CHURCH: Some relief may be in sight for thousands of refugees being held in detention centers in Libya. The U.N. Refugee Agency says Rwanda has agreed to take in refugees and asylum seekers under a voluntary basis.
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CHURCH: Five hundred people from the Horn of Africa, including children, will make up the first group. Some will be given permission to remain in Rwanda while others will go to nations where they've been granted asylum.
It comes two months after an airstrike hit a migrant detention center in Libya, killing dozens.
President Trump is claiming a big win from the Supreme Court on immigration. The court is allowing a controversial restriction to take effect while it's being challenged.
The rule requires migrants to first seek asylum in a third country through which they have traveled before reaching the United States. It will block nearly all of the Central American asylum seekers traveling through Mexico from reaching the U.S. border.
The case had bounced around the lower courts since July and the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
In a congressional hearing, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services dodged questions on another controversial policy. The agency abruptly stopped considering non-military requests for temporary relief from deportation.
Last month letters went out to families saying field officers would no longer consider requests for what's called deferred action. The committee heard from immigrants who came to the U.S. legally to receive medical care.
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JONATHAN SANCHEZ, CF PATIENT: They told us that the medical deferred action program was canceled. I started crying and telling my mom, I don't want to die, I don't want to die. If I go back to Honduras, I will die.
After this, I feel so tired, both emotionally and mentally. I could not even sleep properly. I feel disappointed with the USA government, that they canceled this program.
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CHURCH: One Republican lawmaker accused Democrats of using scare tactics.
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REP. GLENN GROTHMAN (R-WI): You know, that kind of bothers me a little bit, when what the other party is doing here, I think they're trying to scare people into believing they are going to be deported when they are not, for political purposes.
Do either of you in your two agencies believe that as this worked its way through the process, either of these two individuals are going to be kicked out of this country?
TIMOTHY ROBBINS, U.S. ICE: We cannot speak to the individuals and the effects of the case but my understanding -- and look, the reality is people with medical issues, severe -- two young people with severe medical issues, it draws on our heartstrings and I cannot see them being removed in the future but I cannot speak to their specific cases. But cases similar to that, we would use discretion.
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CHURCH: Even so, there was no answer on why the policy was changed or what immigrants should do next.
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REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD.), MEMBER, JUDICIARY AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEES: Can you tell us why we have the new policy of rejecting the medical deferred action requests?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, because of the pending lawsuit and at the advice of counsel, (INAUDIBLE).
RASKIN: Can you tell me who ordered The policy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot.
RASKIN: Can you tell me where the policy came from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the same reason, I can not.
RASKIN: Can you tell me when the policy was developed or when it will be finalized?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.
RASKIN: You cannot tell me why there is a new policy, you can't tell e what motivated the policy and you can't tell me what the new policy is.
Is that a corrective assessment of the situation?
RASKIN: That is my testimony, sir, yes.
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CHURCH: Will take a short break here. Still to come, how President Trump justifies firing this third national security adviser, John Bolton.
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TRUMP: He made some very big mistakes. Frankly, he wanted to do things not necessarily tougher than me. John's known as a tough guy. He's so tough he got us into Iraq.
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CHURCH: Coming up, who might take the job next?
Plus California is facing a homelessness crisis despite being the state that is home to tech giants and film stars.
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CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check the headlines for you this hour. U.K. lawmakers forced the government to release a document that lists worst case scenarios if Great Britain leave the E.U. without a deal. Operation Yellowhammer warns channel crossings could be disrupted for three months. There could be an increase in food and petrol prices, a delay in getting medicine and widespread protests.
2500 people are still registered as missing in the Bahamas more than a week after Hurricane Dorian. But officials note that list has not been checked against government records of who's staying in shelters or who's been evacuated. The death toll remains at 50, but is expected to climb as recovery efforts continue.
U.S. President Donald Trump is delaying a plan to five percent increase in tariffs on 250 billion dollars' worth of Chinese goods until mid-October. He says it's a goodwill gesture down at the request of China's Vice Premier. He also praised Beijing's decision to waive its tariffs on some U.S. goods ahead of more trade talks planned for next month.
One day after U.S. President Trump fired his National Security Advisor, there is talk of having the Secretary of State fill that role as well. Sources say administration officials are discussing having Mike Pompeo take the job of his former rival, John Bolton. He'd be the second person in history to do both jobs at once. The first was Henry Kissinger. Bolton's dismissal was one of many topics the president touched on with reporters, Wednesday. Kaitlan Collins has the details.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I never did that. I never did that.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump denying he was involved in White House efforts to clear his name after he falsely and repeatedly claimed Alabama was in the path of Hurricane Dorian. The New York Times reports his chief of staff directed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, to have NOAA issue a statement disputing the National Weather Service after it contradicted the president, which NOAA did but with no name attached. As Trump claims he was right about the weather, he's also insisting he fired John Bolton.
TRUMP: And he sat right in that chair. And I told him, John, I wish you well, but I'd like you to submit your resignation.
COLLINS: The President still blames his hawkish former National Security Advisor for interfering in talks with North Korea.
TRUMP: When he talked about the Libyan model, for Kim Jong-un, that was not a good statement to make. You just take a look at what happened with Gaddafi.
COLLINS: The Libyan leader was overthrown and killed shortly after agreeing to give up his nuclear ambitions. And the North Koreans were offended after Bolton said this last year.
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: And I think we're looking at the Libyan model of 2003, 2004.
COLLINS: The President was furious at the time.
TRUMP: And I don't blame Kim Jong-un for what he said after that.
COLLINS: But he kept bolting around for another 16 months, until abruptly firing him yesterday.
TRUMP: He made some very big mistakes.
COLLINS: No prior president has ever had four national security advisors in their first three years, but Trump will name his in a matter of days.
TRUMP: But there are five people that I consider very highly qualified.
COLLINS: His last meeting with Bolton turned into a bitter fight over his decision to invite leaders of the Taliban to Camp David. Talks Trump brought up at the Pentagon today, as it marks the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
[02:35:05]
TRUMP: I called them off when I learned that they had killed a great American soldier from Puerto Rico.
COLLINS: Though he left out where he planned to host them.
Now, that same Oval Office appearance today, the president left open the idea of potentially easing sanctions on Iran and hopes of securing a meeting with him. He only said, quote, we'll see what happens. But if the President does do that, in order to get that meeting, it would be a pretty big change, and so far what his administration is built as a maximum pressure campaign against the Iranians. That's certainly something that that former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who just left yesterday, would be opposed to. Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
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CHURCH: Well, the U.S. president has declared war on teen vaping. Mr. Trump says his administration is now moving to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.
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TRUMP: Vaping has become a very big business as I understand it, like a giant business in a very short period of time. But we can't allow people to get sick and we can't have our youth be so affected. And I'm hearing it and that's how the first lady got involved. She's got a son together that is a beautiful young man. And she feels very, very strongly about it. She's seen it. We're both reading it. A lot of people are reading it, but people are dying with vaping.
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CHURCH: At least six deaths in the U.S. have been linked to vaping along with more than 450 cases of lung illness. But authorities don't know what is causing this epidemic. The American Vaping Association says flavors and nicotine are not the issue, the harm is caused by vaping THC from marijuana bought on the street. The Food and Drug Administration is to finalize the policy in the coming weeks.
Well, President Trump has sent a team to Los Angeles on a fact-finding mission on homelessness in the city. It's a crisis in both L.A. and San Francisco as well as other cities. L.A.'s mayor is urging the Trump administration to back legislation to fight the problem. CNN's Dan Simon reports.
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ADAM MESNICK, ADVOCATE FOR THE HOMELESS: What was once just a microcosm in a small area has spread tremendously.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're on the streets of a San Francisco neighborhood called SOMA, short for South of Market, home to tech giants like Twitter, Uber and Salesforce.
MESNICK: As we walk around, users are really everywhere.
SIMON: For a few years now, Adam Mesnick, a local restaurant owner has been documenting the city's homelessness problem.
It doesn't feel like we're in America right now.
MESNICK: It's like Third World squalor.
SIMON: His images depict the grinding despair and sadness of a problem spiraling out of control. Not just in San Francisco, but throughout California. In Los Angeles, you find tents lining entire city blocks. The numbers are staggering. Nearly 60,000 homeless in L.A. County, a 12 percent rise in just one year.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Everywhere I go, people are outraged. They're angry about what's happened or not happened on the streets. It's no longer a coastal issue. This defines the state of California.
SIMON: No matter which locale, you hear about the same problems, skyrocketing rents, not enough shelter beds or mental health services, and rampant drug usage exacerbated by the nation's opioid addiction.
Jessica, how many times a day would you say you're shooting up?
JESSICA, HOMELESS DRUG ADDICT: On a good day -- actually, no, on a good day less times probably than on a bad day.
SIMON: Back in San Francisco, these images shot directly next to one of the most well-known courthouses, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Fresh data reveals the homeless population here has spiked to 30 percent since 2017.
KELLEY CUTLER, ORGANIZER, COALITION ON HOMELESSNESS: This city has so much wealth, and yet, we see so much poverty and suffering and death on our streets because we have the means to be able to help people, but we don't have the political will.
SIMON: San Francisco Mayor London Breed elected last year, has made tackling homelessness her signature issue. She's added more than 400 beds, helped 1600 people exit homelessness, and has cracked down on 10 encampments. But residents, tourists, and workers alike continue to see the problems daily.
LONDON BREED (D), MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO: You're going to see it more because it's in areas where a lot of people walk, a lot of people catch public transportation. You see it more because it's in the center of the city, it's downtown, it's in U.N. Plaza, it's in Mid- Market. You just see it a lot more because it's right in your face.
SIMON: Indicative of the times, she's had to install a dedicated team to clean up human waste. Adam Mesnick who helps many of the people he encounters with food, a few bucks, or just conversation, says he's embarrassed to have his out-of-town relatives come for a visit.
[02:40:05]
MESNICK: It's one thing on television, it's one thing in the movies, but this is real life, and real-life San Francisco, the streets are really, really tough, really tough right now.
SIMON: And the problem is growing faster than the city can fix it. For every person the city gets into supportive housing, another three will wind up homeless. Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And musician Kanye West apparently had plans to build some unique low income housing for the homeless. But he's been forced to abandon that idea. He had built a number of unusual dome structures on his property in Los Angeles County. CNN affiliate KCAL reports that the domes were inspired by the planet Tatooine from the Star Wars films. But neighbors complained about the construction noise and West didn't have the right permits, so he's been ordered to tear them down.
Well, the misuse of -- and addiction to opioids has been called a public health emergency in the United States. Now, a tentative settlement has been reached with the pharmaceutical company that many say played a role in the crisis. We're back in a moment.
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CHURCH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under fire for his controversial campaign pledge to annex parts of the West Bank if he's reelected. The U.N. European Union and Arab League are among those slamming his plan to claim the Jordan Valley as part of Israel. And Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas is threatening to tear up all signed agreements with Israel. Clearly, Israelis and Palestinians have stark conflicting views on Mr. Netanyahu's plans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We don't accept this. Whether he will succeed or not, we don't accept. This is our land, not Netanyahu's land. This land is for Palestine, for the Palestinians, not for Israel, and we don't accept this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think it's about time. It's blessed that finally it was decided to give our region's some attention and answers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I wish it would happen but I don't think it will, because they don't have enough courage to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:44:55]
CHURCH: And next week, Israel goes to the polls for the second time this year. Prime Minister Netanyahu is running neck and neck with the Blue and White Party's Benny Gantz. Last time, Gantz lost by less than 15,000 votes. So, does he have a better chance this time? CNN's Oren Liebermann takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: This victory speech on election night in April came too early. But next Tuesday, Benny Gantz has a second chance to do what he couldn't do then. Defeat Benjamin Netanyahu.
At Gantz's campaign events, his supporters chant, "Look who is coming? The next prime minister." After trying and failing to beat Netanyahu the first time, Gantz is vowing to pull out all the stops.
BENNY GANTZ, FORMER CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES (through translator): We're continuing to work to approach the people. That's what is needed until the end and beyond.
LIEBERMANN: Even those who support Netanyahu, realized Gantz is on paper, anyway, a formidable challenger.
BELLA ALKALAI, VOTER OF LIKUD PARTY (through translator): I'm realistic. Even though I come from Bibi's camp and I will vote for Bibi, I see the political map and I know the center-left will form the next government.
LIEBERMANN: But analysts, say his campaign has lacked a message and argue Gantz often comes across as lackluster. Leaving some here wondering if you really wants it.
CHEMI SHALEV, POLITICAL ANALYST, HAARETZ: There might be a secret in his very inept campaign in the sense that it presents such a counter to Netanyahu.
LIEBERMANN: Gantz was a career soldier, rising to become Israel's 20th chief of staff. He led the military through two wars in Gaza, serving under the man who is now his rival.
Netanyahu has painted Gantz, says, inexperienced, passive, incapable of running the country, and handling world leader. He says Gantz is a leftist who form a government with the Arabs.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL (through translator): The choice is between a weak left-wing government led by Gantz, or a strong right-wing government led by me.
LIEBERMANN: But in April, Gantz says Blue and White Party pulled in a million votes. Falling less than 15,000 votes short of Netanyahu's Likud Party. When Netanyahu couldn't form a government for the first time in the country's history, he called new elections instead of giving Gantz the chance to lead the country. If Gantz wants that chance this time, he's going to have to fight for it.
Do you feel confident?
GANTZ: I feel excellent.
LIEBERMANN: For a soldier who made it to the top, this may be the fight of his life. Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: In the U.S., multiple state and local governments have reached a preliminary settlement with the company they accused of helping to drive the opioid drug crisis. Details of the proposal with Purdue Pharma and its owners, members of the Sackler family are still being hammered out that a person with knowledge of the negotiations told CNN, the Sackler family could give up its ownership of the company and up to $4.5 billion of their own money as one possible settlement option.
New York's attorney general called the proposed deal a lowball offer. North Carolina's Attorney General plans to sue the Sackler family for more money to help pay for drug addiction treatment and other remedies.
It's estimated that more than 130 people die in the U.S. each day after overdosing on opioids, which include painkillers, heroin, and synthetics such as fentanyl.
All right. Let's turn to the weather now, and our meteorologist Derek Van Dam is keeping an eye on a system in the tropics that's headed for the Gulf of Mexico.
So, Derek, great to see you back in the studio. But what's coming -- what's going to -- what's in store for people as we go over this again, right?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL WEATHER ANCHOR: Yes, right. It looks like we're going to rinse repeat here. Unfortunately, we're going to actually remove the proverbial lid on the tropics, across the Atlantic Ocean.
We've been calm for the past week. We know we were very busy with Hurricane Dorian, then we went into more of a low. But things are going to really start to become very active going forward.
We have a tropical disturbance that's developed across the southeastern Bahamas, right over the Turks and Caicos. And you can see its projected development over the next five days. That shaded red line there. That's -- according to the National Hurricane Center has a 70 percent probability of development -- tropical cyclone development. This is again over the next five days.
Very disorganized cluster of thunderstorms right now, so, it doesn't look like much. But this is the last thing we want to see. Especially, considering how much rainfall the Bahamas experienced. Not to mention the wind and the devastating effects from Hurricane Dorian.
But I checked and they had over 36 inches or 900 millimeters of rainfall in and around Abaco Island in the northern Bahamas, from Dorian. So, any rainfall on top of that, of course, will lead to very difficult circumstances in an already troubled scenario, right?
We do have multiple waves moving off the east coast or the west coast of Africa. These have potential tropical development going forward as well. This would be more towards the second to the last parts of September. But you can really see how the Atlantic is becoming much more active right now. Rosemary.
[02:50:05]
CHURCH: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Derek. Appreciate it. Again, good to see you back.
VAN DAM: Yes, but -- Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, fighting racism in football, we will hear from a former manager who speaks candidly about the lack of black managers in the sport he loves. We'll back with that in just a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Well, now to our "FIGHTING RACISM IN FOOTBALL" series that we are featuring all week, ugly verbal assaults on players on social media have escalated and the athletes are speaking out. The focus is now falling on the managers for all the ethnic diversity on the pitch.
In the Premier League, for example, there's a limited black presence in the managerial ranks. CNN "WORLD SPORT" contributor, Darren Lewis spoke with a man who's been there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS HUGHTON, FORMER FOOTBALL MANAGER, BRIGHTON: And I came through an era where, you know, the perception of black individuals in football was good center forwards, good wingers, fast, strong, but not really captain or management material.
The disappoint, in fact, is at -- that we haven't made that progress. We lost a generation of really influential black players that we feel, you know, could have made very good managers.
DARREN LEWIS, CNN WORLD SPORT CONTRIBUTOR: Does what you say about the number of black players lost to the game means that there have been a whole generation of players deprived of the opportunity to have a role model?
HUGHTON: Yes, I think so. And, you know, I've spoken to numerous, numerous black and ethnic players over the years that wanted to manage -- that wanted to gain to the game, that have looked for that pathway, and they couldn't see those role models that could in effect shown them a pathway.
LEWIS: We have had a lot of talk about the rainy rock, it is football league policy as we know, in English football, but it does have its critics. There are even some black players, who say look, I prefer not to have a renewal, I prefer to get a job on my merits, but we do need it. Where do you stand on the issue?
HUGHTON: Now, I -- I'm in favor of whatever form that the Rooney Rule takes, I absolutely understand the critics. You know, the rule, you know, is not given an individual job.
LEWIS: No.
HUGHTON: You know, all the rule is doing is putting that individual in -- you know, a position where he can, at least, be a -- goes through an interview process, so, that's the balance.
[02:55:01]
LEWIS: Perhaps, people these days don't grasp just how bad it was back then. Can you give us an insight into how bad it was?
HUGHTON: You know, I made my debut in 79. So, my fear was late 70s and the 80s. It was something that happened very constant. You would have, at times, you know, host, you know, sections of a -- of a crowd giving you a racial abuse.
Players calling you a black so-and-so. And at the time, I was the only black player in the team. In effect, you took the brunt of that by yourself.
LEWIS: It's not only for some time now, and even for me, it does beg the question, it must have been a really lonely place, you know. How do you -- how do you deal with that?
HUGHTON: I would have played with players that weren't able to cope with it as well as others. And, you know, very talented players. So, you have two choices. You know, you either had to grin and bear it, work through it.
LEWIS: Yes.
HUGHTON: Have broad shoulders to aspire to what you want to be, or let it get to you and certainly, I wasn't going to allow them to affect me.
Raheem came out. The support that he got, particularly, social media, the media, newspapers, within the change room, and of course, I think he was able to do that. I think, with far more support, he's in a very multicultural changing room. He is a world-class player
And also a young player, you know, this is not -- this is not player that's come through -- you know, to where to -- at the end of each career. This is somebody speaking that they could go down, it could be remembered as a -- as, you know, one of the present-day great players.
LEWIS: Do we hope now that maybe the authorities take the lead? Maybe, they've talked about increasing punishments about making the deterrent worthwhile?
HUGHTON: Well, all of the responsibility is down to the authorities. The fines, suspensions, or so, you know, have to be greater. There is definitely an issues, as I mean, quarters, and some quarters for the game to stamp this out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Great story there. I'm Rosemary Church. Much more CNN NEWSROOM, still to come. Do stay with us.
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[03:00:00]
