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North Korea Fires Missile from Underwater Platform; Police Officer Found Guilty of Murder for Shooting Neighbor; Hurricane Dorian Survivor Shares Story. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired October 02, 2019 - 00:00 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 joining us from all around the world. It is midnight in Washington, noon in Hong Kong. I'm Rosemary Church from Atlanta headquarters and this is CNN NEWSROOM. Let's get started.
Intimidation tactics: Democrats and the U.S. secretary of state accuse each other of trying to scare witnesses in the impeachment probe of President Trump.
Plus a dangerous escalation in Hong Kong, where, for the first time, police have shot a protester in a live ammunition.
And one month after a powerful hurricane tore across their island, some in the Bahamas say things have actually gotten worse.
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CHURCH: Good to have you with, us.
As U.S. president Donald Trump faces a growing impeachment inquiry, sources say the State Department inspector general wants an urgent briefing on Ukraine. He is set to meet with senior congressional staff in the coming hours.
And this comes as the U.S. secretary of state pushes back on a subpoena from House Democrats. CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more from the White House.
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TRUMP: And it's a disgrace.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight secretary of state Mike Pompeo is following President Trump's lead. Accusing Democrats with questions about Ukraine of trying to intimidate and bully State Department officials into giving rushed depositions, the secretary of state writing in a letter, "I will not tolerate such tactics."
The three Democratic chairs fired back quickly, saying Pompeo should immediately cease intimidating department witnesses in order to protect himself and the president. Secretary Pompeo's actions also coming under scrutiny from someone who once held his job.
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: The secretary of state's job is to make sure that he knows, number one, what the president's going to say on those calls.
COLLINS: CNN has confirmed Pompeo was listening in when Trump pressured Ukrainian President Zelensky to investigate the Bidens, even though he seemed surprised by a question about those conversations just days ago.
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: So you just gave me a report about a -- a whistleblower complaint, none of which I've seen.
COLLINS: As Trump maintains his call was perfect, the Ukrainian president is distancing himself from the man at the center of it all.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I've never met Rudy Giuliani. Never.
COLLINS: As the impeachment inquiry heats up, Trump is keeping his focus on the whistleblower, insisting he's entitled to interview the person who started the investigation. The president is questioning the identity of the whistleblower and his allies are questioning their motives.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): What is going on here?
Why did they change the rules about a whistleblower, you can use hearsay, when you could not just weeks before the complaint?
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): He had no firsthand knowledge --
RUDY GIULIANI, ADVISOR TO DONALD TRUMP: He is giving them hearsay evidence.
COLLINS (voice-over): But none of what they said is true. According to Trump's own intelligence community inspector general, who, in a rare pushback, said the official had some firsthand knowledge and none of the rules to be a whistleblower have changed.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley chairs the Whistleblower Protection Caucus and he broke with Trump today when he said the official ought to be heard and protected.
One official still in the president's corner is attorney General Bill Barr, who, in recent months, has pressed multiple foreign leaders for help as he investigates the origins of the Russia investigation, following Trump's orders from May.
TRUMP: And I hope he looks at the U.K and I hope he looks at Australia and I hope he looks at Ukraine. I hope he looks at everything.
COLLINS: Mike Pompeo delivered that to lawmakers today. But one current official who was the special envoy to Ukraine that resigned last week after he got caught up in this scandal is still going to sit down with the Democrats on Thursday for a deposition to question him as a former official, to see whether or not the State Department tried to limit or block what Volker can tell lawmakers -- Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
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CHURCH: And for more, I'm joined from Los Angeles by Jessica Levinson, a professor of law at Loyola Law School.
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CHURCH: Good to have you with us.
JESSICA LEVINSON, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Good to be here.
CHURCH: We now know the U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, was listening in on that controversial phone call, where President Trump asked Ukraine's President Zelensky to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden, and his son.
And yet Mr. Pompeo is accusing Democrats of trying to intimidate and bully State Department officials to give depositions on questions surrounding that call. The three Democratic chairs are pushing back, accusing Pompeo of intimidating witnesses to protect himself and the president.
What is going on here?
And does this amount to obstruction of the impeachment inquiry?
LEVINSON: What's going on here is that this is why I think Americans and viewers worldwide hate politics, is because there is mudslinging, there's recalcitrance, there's, frankly, actions you would not want to see in a 3-year old.
So what we are seeing here is secretary Pompeo simply trying to do, what I think the administration really wants to happen in this impeachment inquiry which is to try and block it, to try and do what they have been doing throughout the impeachment investigation, which obviously has been ongoing for a few months now, which is to say, no, we are not responding to any subpoenas, basically try and catch me if you can.
What the Democratic chairs, as you've said, have warranted is this is accepting of justice because now we're in an official impeachment inquiry and to the extent that you try to stall or try to refuse to comply with that we can charge you with obstruction of justice.
That is true, I think this is exactly what the American public did not want, is this dissolving into partisan bickering but this is well within Congress' oversight discretion to call the secretary, obviously he's a key witness, to ask him and his subordinates what they heard.
And it looks like the Trump administration is continuing to do what it has been doing, which is to block, block, block.
CHURCH: President Trump in the meantime is trying to uncover the identity of the whistleblower in this and insists that because the information provided is not based on firsthand knowledge of events, then it has no value. Of course we know that is not true.
Why did the president and Senator Lindsey Graham not know that?
LEVINSON: I don't know if it's not know that or if it's just want to ignore that, because I think with the president has done throughout this defense of the impeachment inquiry is try to throw a lot of things out, make it sound like a tainted, biased inquiry or, as he likes to call it, a witch hunt and then hope that one of them sticks.
A couple things that obviously are pretty dangerous with respect to his approach with the whistleblower. One is that there's a reason whistleblowers have protection. They take great risks to themselves to go through the proper channels, to say I have observed wrongdoing and somebody needs to investigate that.
The other thing is, obviously, hearsay is a legal term we use for out of court statements used to prove the truth of the matter asserted. What matters here is not whether the whistleblower had firsthand knowledge. What matters is whether or not the words written on the complaint can be corroborated, whether or not they are true.
So it doesn't matter who was in the room. It matters if these things happened.
CHURCH: And the State Department inspector general is requesting an urgent Capitol Hill briefing on Wednesday afternoon on the Ukraine document.
What is likely to come out of this unusual meeting?
LEVINSON: To be honest, I think it's lots of guessing as to why they have called this urgent meeting. I think what the inspector general really wants to do is to assure that when a whistleblower complaints to do come forth, that the proper processes are followed, that their identities are protected and that that we have a problem with the inspector general in that he can review a complaint and said it is urgent and credible.
And we have a Department of Justice, for reasons that we don't yet know, said, no we don't find it urgent and the criminal division of the DOJ saying that we won't even open an inquiry.
I think the inspector general's office is running out of patience and I think they are very worried about what they see in terms of how the executive branch is responding to these congressional subpoenas.
CHURCH: Jessica Levinson, always appreciate your legal analysis, many thanks to you.
LEVINSON: Thank you. CHURCH: A U.S. official says that North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday.
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CHURCH: And it was launched from an underwater platform. This comes just a day after Washington and Pyongyang agreed to restart nuclear talks this weekend. A U.S. official told CNN this latest test is not a surprise. North Korea has conducted a series of tests recently, rattling its neighbors, U.S. president Trump, has downplayed its significance.
But his former national security adviser disagreed with that, here's what John Bolton said about the North Korean leader on Monday.
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JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: He may try to get relief from international sanctions, he may make some concessions, but under current circumstances he, will never give up the nuclear weapons voluntarily.
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CHURCH: Now Bolton added that, it's unacceptable for North Korea to have nuclear weapons, we will have more on this story coming up later this hour.
Police in Hong Kong are defending their decision to use live ammunition on pro-democracy protesters, more than 180 people were arrested on Tuesday, in what the police commissioner calls most violent scenes he's ever seen in the city, 25 officers were injured.
An 18 year old protester was shot and seriously wounded by police, they say they he assaulted an officer. The man was arrested and is hospitalized in stable condition.
Police fired six live shots in four different locations, throughout the city. This is the first time in months of protests that they've used live ammunition. CNN's Will Ripley is live this hour in Hong Kong, joins me now.
Good to see you.
And what more are you learning about that 18-year-old protester who is shot?
And the 25 officers injured in the violent scenes and the nearly 200 people arrested?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know, Rosemary, he's a student at the secondary school in the New Territories which is part of the Hong Kong that's actually closest to Mainland China geographically.
So there have been certainly outbreaks of violence that have taken place here, protests that have taken place here. We know that this young man is in hospital, expected to recover according to Hong Kong government officials. They describe the condition as stable.
But if you see the video, when he was shot, it's remarkably close range, he was hit in chest. He needed surgery, according to news reports. And when you look at the video, you kind of see the police point of view here, because it shows that, that leadup to the shooting, protesters on top of riot police officers, actually physically fighting with them and one of them swinging what looks like a metal rod.
So when the police say they believe the life of the officer was in danger, that's why he fired that shot, keep you mind Hong Kong police have been firing warning shots with live ammunition and talking about the fact they may have to take more aggressive steps, if they feel that the safety of officers is in danger.
Hong Kong police also feel the protesters have become increasingly violent and are confronting them in a more aggressive way, that said, there is still some criticism from the United Kingdom, from elsewhere ,that the use of live ammunition against unarmed high school student protester was disproportionate.
CHURCH: The police commissioner described this as the most violent scenes he's ever seen in Hong Kong, you have explained how, he justifies the use of live ammunition.
Can we expect more of these in protests going forward?
RIPLEY: Gosh, I hope not. This is a horrible situation, to have a high school student, in hospital to, have his friends -- there were hundreds of his classmates and friends who were here outside of the school, conducting a sit-in.
Frankly, this kind of thing, the injury of a protester, from the protesters' point of view, was police again yet again using excessive force because that's one of the complaints from protesters, that, the Hong Kong police have used disproportionate force.
This could continue to light the flames of this fire, of this protest movement and that could encourage others to take more drastic steps, encouraging protesters thinking they could defend themselves from a gunshot maybe by buying heavier body armor.
There's a lot that could really go wrong as a result of the situation so I, think what the police, certainly what officials at school are stressing right now, is for everybody to remain calm. They need to investigate and figure out what happened.
And people need to remember, protesters need to remember, if they physically charge at a police officer, they may not be able to count on the fact that the police officer would not fire back. That shooting might be justified in the eyes of Hong Kong law.
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RIPLEY: That's just the message that police have been trying to share, they're not out there, the police are not out there looking for a confrontation. And these protesters are the ones, who set up the barricades, who decide to choose an area to face off with police.
So it's important to keep that in mind, it's not like the officers are going around necessarily looking for people to shoot. That said, protesters claim this particular officer who fired the live round may have actually run into some sort of altercation that was already taking place, with his gun, knowing that he had a loaded gun.
And by the way, he also had nonlethal ammunition on him, which he did not use. The police defending that, saying it was a very quick, spur- of-the-moment decision and he believes the officers' actions were justified and lawful.
CHURCH: Yes, it certainly a concern and possibly a chilling turning point, we will continue to watch this. Will Ripley, thank you for joining us from the streets of Hong Kong.
Joining me now, Joseph Cheng, a political science professor at City University in Hong Kong.
Good to have you with. Us
JOSEPH CHENG, CITY UNIVERSITY, HONG KONG: Thank you.
CHURCH: I want to start by getting your response to the protests in Hong Kong, the use of live ammunition, by police officers, what was your reaction?
CHENG: All parties concerned, realize that, yesterday was probably a kind of climax, as the protesters wanted to embarrass the Chinese authorities on National Day and Hong Kong people increasingly see that Beijing has been the source of the suppression against them.
The several rounds of clashes, for the police, in the past months, much exacerbated that mutual hostility between the protesters and the police and the level of violence, has been escalating, people obviously are very angry at the high level, the inappropriate level of brutality, as well as the use of the triers (ph) against this in attacking the protesters.
CHURCH: What are some of the possible solutions to the tension in Hong Kong?
Or do you see the demonstrators, on an inevitable collision course with China and Hong Kong authorities?
CHENG: Unfortunately, no one is clear about the way forward and a process of reconciliation has certainly not been started. It is realized, that the Chinese authorities probably will not mobilize the Peoples Liberation Army, because of the tremendous cost involved.
The Chinese authorities have also indicated, they will not make concessions, the likely scenario will be a dragging on of the current situation, hoping that, the crisis will subside. And that was the strategy in the occupation campaign in autumn 2014, it may be possible that the Carrie Lam administration may likely implemented the emergency regulations ordinance which would give the government widespread powers to deal with the protesters.
And even the district council elections may be postponed under such a consensus.
CHURCH: So that's what you think Hong Kong may do.
What do you think China plans to do about these, protesters given President Xi Jinping referred to one country, two systems, in his address on Tuesday, was that perhaps an olive branch or was it something knows?
CHENG: It is unlikely the Chinese leadership will make concessions to mass movements, although international pressure, has probably frustrated the Xi Jinping administration not to use high-level violence against the protesters.
It is aware that, the Sino-American trade negotiation are now connected with the handling of the crisis on the part of Beijing. What happens in Hong Kong will have a very substantial impact on Taiwan, which is going to have its presidential election in January next year.
So probably, a bit of restraint from Beijing but subtle pressure probably will be increasing and the pro-democracy movement has been expecting. This
CHURCH: Joseph Cheng, we appreciate your analysis on this.
CHENG: Thank you.
CHURCH: We will take a short break, here to come, the Duchess of Sussex sues a British tabloid and her husband, Prince Harry, slams the newspaper for ruthlessly attacking his wife, more on that lawsuit to come. And the British prime minister works his party conference as he reveals his Brexit plan, more on that on the other side of the break.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. A royal battle could be brewing in British courts. The Duchess of Sussex is suing "The Mail" on Sunday for publishing a private letter. Prince Harry is also calling out British tabloids for bullying his wife and comparing it to his mother, Princess Diana's, treatment by the media. CNN royal correspondent Max Foster has more.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: This really was a strikingly powerful statement and in it, Harry speaking of his deepest fear, that history repeats itself. He's talking about his upbringing, the experience of his mother with the tabloid media, many people arguing -- probably Harry as well -- that the tabloid media could at least be partly responsible for his mother's death.
He said, "I've seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."
He picks out "The Mail" on Sunday for an article, where they published a private letter by the Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry says they did so unlawfully but he also takes a swipe at the wider media for what he calls "a ruthless campaign" on their behalf against the duchess.
He also points out there's been so much positive media coverage about the tour here in Africa, that it shows double standards. They were very negatively leading up to the tour, these tabloids, and now they're being very positive and that shows the hypocrisy as a good illustration, he suggests, of the problem that he is trying to highlight here.
The tour isn't over; it continues here in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The whole family getting together and we may also see Archie again. But obviously with the tabloid reporters in the ranks of media here, there could be some tension as those events unfold behind the scenes -- Max Foster, CNN, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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CHURCH: And "The Mail" newspaper issued this response, quote, "'The Mail' on Sunday stands behind the story it published and will be defending this case vigorously. Specifically, we categorically deny that the duchess' letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning."
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CHURCH: Reuters reports in a few hours, of Britain's prime minister is to reveal his Brexit plan to his Conservative Party conference and "The Telegraph" reports Boris Johnson's proposal will leave Northern Ireland aligned with the European Union until 2025.
Then, Belfast decides whether to remain. That affords a border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, a contentious part of the negotiations. A lot of will be riding on the prime minister's plan. His party wants to move past Brexit to focus on domestic issues but there are major concerns about the economic impact of a no-deal Brexit. Nina dos Santos has the latest.
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NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN EUROPE EDITOR (on-camera): Welcome to Conservative Party Conference in Manchester where the main message is clear, getting Brexit done.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): The prime minister is doing the rounds in a bid to unite a deeply divided party. JOHNSON: Yes. I'm on it.
How are you?
Good morning.
How are you doing?
How are you?
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Dodging questions about how he plans to deliver on his promise of Brexit by the end of the month, which for members, is for the most part of that talk priority.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Getting Brexit done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting Brexit delivered and focus on our nations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting Brexit done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We now need to move forward and finish this issue. it is a toxic issue which is a boil that needs lancing.
DOS SANTOS (on-camera): It's what's hanging over everybody's heads here in the conference hall and across the rest of the country. After getting past Brexit to then focus on the domestic agenda.
And that's what this Conservative Party Conference has been about thus far with big public spending initiatives announced for health care, education, policing and infrastructure.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Even the novelty items spared the B word, despite Brexit not being everyone's cup of tea.
DOS SANTOS (on-camera): Well, the general election hasn't yet been called, as you can see this is a party in full campaign mode. But the success of that campaign will be determined by one event that could happen within 30 days' time. And it's for that reason, that Brexit is the word you just can't get away from this year at the party conference -- Nina dos Santos, CNN, in Manchester.
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CHURCH: Let's take a short break but still to come, more on North Korea's underwater missile launch, what this latest provocation could mean for the renewed nuclear talks with the United States.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church. Let's check the headlines for you this hour. (HEADLINES)
CNN's Paula Hancocks is live from Seoul with more on all of this, so good to see you, Paula. What are you learning about these ballistic missiles launched from this platform by North Korea?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, this was early on this Wednesday morning, and what we're seeing from this is that it is somewhat of a departure from what we've been seeing in recent months from North Korea.
Now, this is the 11th launch, as far as our tally goes, since May that we've seen from Pyongyang. But -- but we have been seeing different weapons systems. We've been seeing short-range missiles. This is the first time in a few years we've actually seen the missile being launched from under the water. U.S. officials say it was launched from an underwater platform, set off by a submarine itself.
But it shows that North Korea is testing different technology. It shows that it is moving beyond just those short-range missiles, that it knows that the U.S. president, Donald Trump, doesn't mind. He has said publicly that all countries do it. It does not bother him.
So they appear to be pushing the envelope just a little bit further now. And of course, it just comes, Rosemary, that matter of hours after the U.S. And North Korea had finally agreed to sit down at the negotiating table again.
CHURCH: Yes. As you mentioned, it does come after that, because the U.S. State Department had announced to renew nuclear talks with Pyongyang within the next week, possibly the weekend. Why would North Korea launch at this time? And how's South Korea and Japan responding to all of this?
Well, there's a number of reasons that are being touted as why North Korea has done this. For a start, it has done this in the past, as well, ahead of negotiations with different countries, laying down certain -- certain parameters as to what is not on the negotiating table.
But potentially some experts looking to the fact that the U.S. president has condoned these -- these launches in the past and doesn't seem concerned about them. He said he's concerned about the nuclear tests and the ICBMs, the intercontinental ballistic missiles that could hit mainland United States.
So potentially, North Korea feels emboldened to be able to try a little more technology ahead of those negotiations. Now, there has been a national security meeting in South Korea. They say they are concerned by the launch. A stronger response from Japan. We heard from the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, saying that this does violate U.N. resolutions, saying that North Korea is not allowed to use ballistic technology -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Our Paula Hancocks bringing us that live report from Seoul. Many thanks to you. Well, CNN is back in the Bahamas one month after Hurricane Dorian
wiped out parts of the island nation. When we return, one man's heartbreaking story of regret over life lost in that storm.
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CHURCH: One person is dead and several others wounded after an attack at a vocational school in Finland. Police say the suspect was also injured and is now in custody. They say he used a bladed weapon but was also carrying a gun. Police would not comment on a possible motive.
A jury in Dallas has convicted a white ex-policewoman of murder in the shooting death of her black neighbor. Amber Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean when she walked into his apartment. She said she had just come off a long shift at work and mistook his apartment for her own.
The case drew national attention, some saying that it was another example of a white police officer shooting an unarmed black man.
Jurors were given the option of finding her guilty of the lesser offense of manslaughter but chose murder. Guyger says she is devastated.
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AMBER GUYGER, SHOT AND KILLED NEIGHBOR: I felt like a terrible person. I felt like a piece of crap. I hated -- I hated that I have to live with this every single day. I asked God for forgiveness, and I hate myself every single day.
ALLISON JEAN, SON FATALLY SHOT: My life has not been the same. It's been like a rollercoaster. I cannot sleep. I cannot eat. It's -- it's just been the most terrible time.
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CHURCH: The jury is to listen to testimony from character witnesses before issuing a sentence.
Well, it has been one month since Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas, killing at least 56 people. More than 600 are missing and, for survivors, the pain and suffering is still sinking in. Survivors like Howard Armstrong, who first spoke to CNN after he had been rescued. He watched his wife die in front of him, trying and failing to save her.
Here's CNN Patrick Oppmann with an update on Armstrong's story.
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HOWARD ARMSTRONG, HURRICANE DORIAN SURVIVOR: The ports are still here, but that went that night. Obviously, it was probably the worst part of the storm as the night came on. PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):
A month after Hurricane Dorian rained hell down on the Bahamas, survivor Howard Armstrong shows us what remains of his home, his island, his life.
ARMSTRONG: I'm hanging on this tree up there.
They were all pounding and pounding. It was just terrible.
That's the bathroom. A bedroom there and a bedroom here. She was laying, floating, and I checked her out. She died on me.
OPPMANN: Dorian hit Grand Bahama with 200-mile-an-hour gusts and a storm surge over 20 feet high.
When we first met Howard, he had just been rescued by Jet Ski. He had just seen his wife, Lynn, died in front of him.
ARMSTRONG: My poor little wife got hypothermia, and she was standing on top of the kitchen cabinets until they disintegrated. And then I kept with her, and she just drowned on me.
OPPMANN (on camera): I'm so sorry.
ARMSTRONG: I know.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Like thousands of Bahamians, Howard was left homeless by Dorian. Only after weeks of searching did we manage to track him down.
ARMSTRONG: They just popped right out. She was giving up on it.
OPPMANN: He shows us the cabinets he and Lynn climbed on top of to escape the rising waters. Everywhere you look, there are fragments of their old life. One of Lynne's diaries in the yard. Her cross hanging from a tree branch.
ARMSTRONG: Her glasses.
OPPMANN: The glasses she lost in the storm.
ARMSTRONG: I'll have to keep those. She couldn't see. See how thick they are?
OPPMANN: Howard can't find Lynn, her body. The storm carried her away.
(on camera): From what you've told me, you did everything you could to save your wife's life, but you say you feel guilty.
ARMSTRONG: Well, I feel guilty I left her body and didn't take it with me. Otherwise, I would've had her to bury.
OPPMANN: But how could have you? You barely made it yourself.
ARMSTRONG: Well, that's the whole thing. I didn't get to do it. OPPMANN (voice-over): There are the scars that Dorian left on the
landscape here, and then there are the scars that Dorian left on the people.
As of now, there were 56 deaths caused by the storm. A month later, there still over 600 people who can't be located. The Bahamian prime minister tells me many of the missing will never be found.
HUBERT MINNIS, PRIME MINISTER OF THE BAHAMAS: Many will be washed out to sea. And it's not unusual with this type of disaster. You may find remains deposited at various different locations, even on different islands. We expect that may happen.
OPPMANN: Thirty days later and more aid is finally arriving. Power and water are slowly being restored, but places like Marsh Harbour are still a wasteland.
Debris is everywhere, even underwater.
(on camera): Some residents tell us that things actually feel worse now a month later. So much of the foliage here has died. You look around, and you don't see many people. It really feels quite abandoned. And there is a growing realization for those that left that they may have nothing to return to.
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OPPMANN: Bahamians say they will rebuild Abaco and come to deliver clothing from other islands.
Latania (ph) Miller had to evacuate by helicopter after her home was destroyed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are strong, resilient. We are a praying people. So it's going to take some time. It will take some time, because the island has to -- it has to clean up. We're going to build a stronger, better Abaco.
OPPMANN: For some, hope is a rare commodity here these days, harder to find then a truckload of ice-cold water. Many like Howard Armstrong are forever haunted by what they have lost.
ARMSTRONG: I've had these thoughts in the night. One night I was up, and I couldn't even turn the lights out, and then I closed my eyes. I said why don't I just go with her, and we wouldn't -- I wouldn't have to worry about any of this or any damn thing.
OPPMANN (on camera): We're glad you're here, though.
ARMSTRONG: Well, I know, but what's going to happen now, because what am I going to do now? You know? I mean, yes, life goes on, but this is the life I lived. And I'll never get to do this again in my time. And you know, my wife's gone. My partner, my love. And you know?
OPPMANN (voice-over): The Bahamas will rebuild. Tourists will return. The nightmare will fade. Yet, many that faced the true fury of the storm will never be whole.
ARMSTRONG: She kept everything. I'm lost without her. Trust me. I'm lost.
That's it, man. Let's get out of here.
OPPMANN: Patrick Oppmann, CNN, on Grand Bahama Island.
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CHURCH: That's a heartbreaking story there. And thank you so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. WORLD SPORT starts after the break.
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CHURCH: Hello and thanks for joining us. It's 1 in the afternoon in Hong Kong, 6 in the morning in London. I'm Rosemary Church at CNN Center in Atlanta with the second hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's get started.
