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War in Syria; Trump Defends Giuliani; SDF Commander Suggests Kurds Could Ally with Russia; One Missing in New Orleans Building Collapse; At Least 10 Die after Record Rainfall in Japan; Sanders Ready to Go after Heart Attack; FOX News Poll: Majority Want Trump Impeached and Removed; Ecuador Orders New Restrictions as Protests Rage; Marsupials Go Viral. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired October 13, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Turkey pushes deeper into Syria as the Kurds issue a desperate message to the U.S., saying they are being left to be slaughtered.
The U.S. president now defends Rudy Giuliani. Donald Trump says he stands by his personal attorney.
Also ahead this hour, dangerous wildfires burning in California. Firefighters doing their best to contain those fires.
Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, we want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm George Howell. The CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
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HOWELL: It is 4:00 am here on the U.S. East Coast. Thank you so much for your time today.
They were key U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS but right now Kurdish fighters are being targeted by another U.S. ally. That would be Turkey. The U.S. withdrawal from that region cleared the way for an offensive by the Turks and Arab militia in northern Syria. Despite criticism, U.S. president Donald Trump keeps defending the move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The Kurds are tending to leave and that's good. Let them have their borders. But I don't think our soldiers should be there for the next 50 years guarding a border between Turkey and Syria when we can't guard our own borders at home. I don't think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: The largely Kurdish-Syrian Democratic Forces accuse on the United States of betraying them. Barbara Starr has the story from the Pentagon. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: As the Turkish military action in Syria continues, CNN has learned new details about how the Syrian Kurdish military leader, General Mazloum, feels about what has happened with the U.S., in his view, very much turning their backs on his people.
CNN has obtained an internal U.S. administration readout of a meeting that Mazloum had with a senior State Department official, where the Syrian military leader was furious to say the least. Let me read a bit of what the general, according to this readout, had to say to the U.S. State Department official.
He said, and I quote, "You have given up on us. You are leaving us to be slaughtered. You have nothing for us. You are not willing to protect the people but you do not want another force to come and protect us. You have sold us. This is immoral."
General Mazloum very passionate about defending the area where the Kurdish Syrian fighters have been working so closely with the U.S. to defeat ISIS, their villages, their towns, their areas where they consider it to be their home. And they consider the Turks to be invading them.
The readout goes on to say, "I need to know if you are capable of protecting my people, of stopping these bombs falling on us or not. I need to know, because, if you're not, I need to make a deal with Russia and the regime now and invite their planes to protect this region."
He, of course, is very concerned about Turkish aircraft bombing his people and the U.S. is making it clear it will not step into the fight between the Turks, which are a U.S. NATO ally, and General Mazloum and his Syrian Kurdish fighters -- Barbara Starr, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: The SDF commander there making it clear he thinks the U.S. sold the Kurds out as the Turkish military operation continues, pushing into Syria. Now we are seeing now new and very graphic video coming out of the northern part of that country.
In this video, it appears to show Turkish-backed fighters shooting captives. One of the man who gets shot has his hands tied behind his back. We warn you the video you are about to see is very graphic. Here it is.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
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HOWELL: An activist tells "The New York Times" that happened on Saturday. The gunmen are Turkish-linked militants. [04:05:00]
HOWELL: They can be heard shouting in Arabic, "Film me shooting him with a sniper rifle," and "Pigs, prisoners, kill them."
There are millions of Kurds spread across several countries in the Middle East. That means they've been victims of the latest fighting on both sides of the Syrian-Turkish border. CNN's Arwa Damon has more from southern Turkey.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The wails of all-consuming sorrow echo throughout the gravesite in the early morning. A woman cries out for her dead son.
"He was too young. He was too young to die."
Others unwilling to let go of those they loved, those taken away too soon, too senselessly.
Buried here is 50-year-old Hussain Chukud (ph), a father of five, killed when a barrage of rounds fell in front of the grocery store he owns. And all eight people, civilians, were killed. Six of them buried here in the small cemetery up against the Syrian border in the shadow of the Syrian city.
They were members of Turkey's ethnic Kurdish minority, a minority with a tormented past, a painful present and an uncertain future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Turks fire and the other side retaliates. When that happens, who does it hit?
It hits us. We just collect our dead and bury them.
DAMON (voice-over): He said goodbye to his cousin, who was a father of four.
DAMON: This is one of his four kids, the 4-year old. But he has a newborn as well.
DAMON (voice-over): He describes his cousin as a happy man, whose only problem was that he was Kurdish. Many of those here also have relatives on the other side. Families on both sides of this border are caught in the crosshairs of an offensive whose consequences are unknown.
The cemetery clears out quickly. Even in their sorrow, people are afraid of gathering in large groups, lest more rounds fall again.
For Turkey, the YPG, the Kurdish-led fighting force in Syria, poses an existential threat Ankara is determined to destroy, no matter the cost. The YPG is an offshoot of the PKK, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the E.U.
The PKK has been battling the Turkish state for decades. Nusaybin is in Turkey's southeast, a region whose population has been caught in Turkey's war on terror before.
DAMON: We are being told there used to be single-story homes here but they were destroyed in the most recent clashes, very fierce fighting that broke out between Turkey and the PKK. That was back in 2015. And many of the homes here were subsequently destroyed.
What people are telling us is, about a month ago, the Turkish government gave them keys to these apartments. They had only just returned. Now they have found themselves in the middle of a war zone once again.
This is a video right after the strike. It's very hard to look at.
DAMON (voice-over): A mother and her two daughters died. They were barely teens. The Kurdish population along both sides of this border know war. They know fear and uncertainty. And that war often blurs the lines between those who are armed and those who are innocent -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Nusaybin, Turkey.
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HOWELL: Back here in the United States, the U.S. president is now defending his personal attorney, a day after he appeared to distance himself from Rudy Giuliani.
"The New York Times" reporting that Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine are under criminal investigation and may have violated federal lobbying laws. Our Jeremy Diamond reports from the White House.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Even as president Donald Trump is mounting his own defense in House Democrats' rapidly advancing impeachment inquiry, the president now also tasked with defending his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who has come under fire for his role in the Ukraine scandal.
And now "The New York Times" reporting that federal investigators are probing whether or not Rudy Giuliani may have violated federal foreign lobbying laws.
The president on Saturday taking to Twitter defending his personal attorney, writing, "So now they are after the legendary crimebuster and greatest mayor in the history of New York City, Rudy Giuliani. He may seem a little rough around the edges sometimes but he is also a great guy and wonderful lawyer. Such a one-sided witch hunt going on in USA. Deep state. Shameful."
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DIAMOND: We're being told privately the president has begun to express concerns about Rudy Giuliani and the legal exposure he may face, particularly after two of his associates in the Ukraine matter were arrested on campaign finance charges.
Now despite the president focusing also on defending his personal attorney, he is still on the attack against House Democrats, who are continuing to investigate the president over his call with the Ukrainian president and the matters arising from that.
The president saying that he is considering a lawsuit against congressman Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is one of Democrats' leaders on this impeachment inquiry. I spoke on Saturday with Jay Sekulow, who would say nothing is off the table but they are only in the research phase of considering potential legal action -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.
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HOWELL: Let's put it into focus with Natasha Lindstaedt, a professor of government at the University of Essex, joining us live from Colchester, England.
Thanks for being with us.
NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Thanks for having me.
HOWELL: Mr. Trump expressing his public support for Giuliani but behind the scene sources telling the CNN the White House is concerned about legal exposure. We know loyalty matters most to this president until it doesn't, as we saw with Mr. Trump's other personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
Does loyalty, in your view, have an expiration date with Giuliani?
And, if so, when do you believe that will happen?
LINDSTAEDT: I think it will soon. They have had a long relationship. They have known each other for decades. What Trump loves about Giuliani is he is very aggressive. He came on board to serve as a surrogate during the 2016 Mueller probe. I thought he would be fired the first day he went on TV because he was so confusing.
But that may be by design to sow chaos and confusion. Misinformation campaigns can be really effective when you really don't have a good defense. But as we are starting to see some cracks in this relationship, now that two of Rudy Giuliani's associates have been arrested, he is reportedly under investigation himself.
This is really pushing Trump to see how loyal he can be to Giuliani. I think it is only a matter of time that he will start to distance himself. We started to see the seeds of that when he said, well, I don't know if he's my lawyer or not. Then he backtracked a little bit. But I think it is just a matter of time he'll feel he has to distance himself.
HOWELL: "The New York Times" is reporting the former mayor is the subject of a criminal probe into whether he broke any foreign lobbying laws. Giuliani is saying he's not aware of any investigation, suggesting this is nothing but leaks, calling it a political attack and adding, if it were an appropriate investigation, then officials would try to keep it secret so the subjects are not aware of it. What do you make of that argument?
LINDSTAEDT: It's a crazy argument. It doesn't make sense. Again, it's classic Giuliani. He just puts out a lot of information out to the public that is not true. He doesn't seem to be aware of the laws that he is allegedly violating, lobbying related laws, related to his efforts to oust the former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.
He doesn't seem to be aware that he is central to this Ukraine probe. He is one of the central figures in trying to get the Ukraine government to investigate Trump's political opponents. So his normal response is, as I mentioned, he just creates confusion with his answers.
HOWELL: The president is taking heat within his own party over his foreign policy to pull troops out of Syria and to abandon the Kurds. The Kurds fought alongside the United States against ISIS. That move has been criticized as betrayal and in the eyes of allies as an example of unpredictability.
So in the short-term, how do you see this playing out on foreign policy?
And in the long term, what's the impact here?
LINDSTAEDT: This is a huge mistake by the president because the Kurds were the only effective militia in dealing with the Islamic State. They are currently holding in detention centers over 12,000 members of Islamic State, 4,000 of which are foreigners. They are in secret detention centers along the Turkish border.
In March of 2019, they had announced they had basically defeated the Islamic State. By August the Pentagon warned they were coming back. They will need the U.S.' help. Instead, the U.S. has abandoned them. So we will see several implications of this.
One, we have no credibility with some of the non-state actors that are very critical to providing stability and to advancing U.S. security interests.
The other big issue, it seems to be inviting Russia, from the clips that you already presented, to get involved in this.
[04:15:00]
LINDSTAEDT: To be seen as a peacemaker and to engineer a deal between the Kurds and the Turks and to have more of influence in the region.
And the biggest issue is that it may lead to the resurgence of the Islamic State. We just don't know how powerful it may be able to come back, given the void that we have left in the region and the fact that the Kurds are completely vulnerable to this aerial bombing campaign by the Turks.
HOWELL: Giving us perspective on this, Natasha, thank you so much. Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the ground in southern California, the people there dealing with raging wildfires. We met with some of them. Many say they still feel blessed. Now that we have your attention, we will bring you that after the break.
Rescue efforts are in full swing in Japan after a powerful storm and record-setting rain. We'll have details on that operation. Stay with us.
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HOWELL: In the city of New Orleans, rescue crews are searching for the last person missing after a building collapsed Saturday morning.
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HOWELL: Take a look at this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.
HOWELL (voice-over): Eyewitnesses captured that moment that the Hard Rock Hotel that was being built crashed to the street. The building under construction. More than 100 workers were on site. The accident killed two people. At least 18 others were injured there. Officials brought in a crane to help stabilize what's left of that building.
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HOWELL: In southern California, firefighters are working around the clock to contain several fast-moving wildfires. In Riverside County, two people died in the Sandalwood fire. That fire is still burning, as we understand.
Also the Saddleridge fire has destroyed 31 homes and burned more than 3,000 hectares. Evacuation orders are also slowly being lifted. More than 100,000 people in the L.A. area were forced to leave their homes. CNN's Paul Vercammen is in Granada Hills with this story.
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PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So with the fire not growing any more, a lot of homeowners are returning to see what's left. The 31 homeowners who saw their houses either damaged or completely destroyed, this house belonged to the Silver family. They have a son who is 10, a daughter soon to be 5.
And they are overcome with emotion because they live in a tight-knit community here and on this cul-de-sac. They said they cannot thank neighbors and the community enough.
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DREW SILVER, FIRE VICTIM: We have had such an outreach from the neighborhood. We had a lady who didn't even know us at Starbucks, she said, I want to pay for your meal. Sorry.
MONICA SILVER, FIRE VICTIM: Our kids' teachers and staff at the school have reached out and...
D. SILVER: They said they bought him a backpack and Bookbinder and don't worry about school. You know, all the stuff is taken care of. They set up a -- a friend of hers back east in Florida, her best friend, set up a GoFundMe page. People are donating. It's just amazing.
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M. SILVER: It renews your faith in humanity just to see the love and support we're getting. So...
VERCAMMEN: Reminds us the names and ages of your children, please.
M. SILVER: Our son is Elijah, he is 10.5 and our daughter Violet will be 5 in a couple weeks.
VERCAMMEN: When you think of an elementary school-age kid like Elijah and a teacher who notoriously sometimes don't have enough supplies goes out and gets a backpack, that's pretty touching.
M. SILVER: It's amazing. It's amazing.
VERCAMMEN: If you could say something to that teacher and these people, what would you say?
D. SILVER: Thank you.
M. SILVER: Thank you so much.
D. SILVER: It's just -- I don't know what to say because I'm not one to take handouts or ask for help from people --
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D. SILVER -- and I'm not asking for help. But it's just, you know, I -- they see the devastation. They know what it is to lose everything. I mean, to me, I'm like, well, we'll just rebuild everything. It's just the next chapter.
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VERCAMMEN: So for everyone at the end of this cul-de-sac, they hope the Silvers rebuild on the fire front. Moisture returning to the extremely dry air and winds calming down, meaning a much better fire outlook here in California -- reporting from Granada Hills, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOWELL: Paul, thank you.
Now to Japan, that nation is in recovery mode after a strong typhoon hit the country's northeast. It is no longer an active system but the rain caused a great deal of damage. At least 10 people killed, more than 100 people injured. Search and rescue efforts are still underway.
The storm has also canceled some Rugby World Cup matches. But a match between Japan and Scotland will be played. Let's go live to Japan. Christina Macfarlane is with us.
Tell us the aftermath given this storm that has passed through.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, here in Tokyo, we have had bright blue skies. The typhoon ripped through at about midnight last night, wind speeds of up to 195 kilometers an hour. The situation right now is sadly 15 people have died as a result of that storm, 141 injured, nine are still missing.
The biggest concern right now is still around the flooding and the potential for landslides across the country. We saw unprecedented rainfall in the last 48 hours. Up to a meter in certain parts of the country. That's still very much a concern.
There are still people trapped in their homes. That is what emergency services are attending to as we speak. As you can perhaps tell behind me, I am here in Tokyo in front of the stadium. One of the big questions with regard to sport today is whether these rugby matches would go ahead.
[04:25:00]
MACFARLANE: Three out of four of the scheduled matches have been given the green light. The biggest will be the match that take place in two hours' time when Japan face Scotland for a chance at the final quarterfinal spot.
HOWELL: Christina, so many people who were there, who went through this storm, what are people saying to have experienced such a massive storm?
MACFARLANE: Well, I think with regard to the storm, you know, we saw many people just basically keeping out of it last night, staying in their homes, not venturing outside.
As you can see now, we have thousands of fans who have come to the stadium in the hope of witnessing history here tonight. Japan on the brink of qualifying for the first time in their history. And in order to do that they're going to have to win or draw against Scotland tonight.
If they do go through, that would set up a quarterfinal against South Africa, which would be a rerun of the Miracle of Brighton, when Japan defeated South Africa at the Rugby World Cup four years ago. If they are able to do that, what a story that would be on home soil. But right now we are counting down to the big match in the stadium behind me.
HOWELL: Wearing both the news and sports hat today, Christina, thank you.
In the aftermath of a health scare, CNN sits down with candidate Bernie Sanders.
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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The God's truth is, that if you were sitting there and you said, Bernie, did you have a heart attack last week, I would say, what are you talking about?
I feel great.
HOWELL (voice-over): Sanders opens up about his recent health issues and the race for the White House.
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HOWELL: Plus, there's no shortage of opinions about the impeachment investigation of the U.S. president. But not everyone wants to share their opinion on camera. We'll explain that story as CNN NEWSROOM pushes ahead. Stay with us.
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HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour.
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HOWELL: The race to the White House just 13 months to go; 12 U.S. Democrats will participate in the next debate. That debate hosted by CNN and "The New York Times" in Westerville, Ohio.
These candidates met the minimum fund-raising and polling requirements required by the Democratic National Committee to participate in that debate. This is the party's fourth sanctioned primary debate for 2020.
And it will be moderated by my colleague Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett and "The New York Times" national editor, Mark Lacey.
The latest poll conducted among Democratic voters by FOX News shows that Joe Biden leads the pack with a 32 percent preference rate. He is followed by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
And as for Senator Sanders, he plans to be at that debate on Tuesday. This after having a heart attack less than two weeks ago. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has an update on the presidential candidate's health.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We now have a better idea of exactly what the senator was experiencing. He was quite candid about this. As we learned, the symptoms in the weeks leading up to this as well.
It's almost a silly question to ask how you are feeling because you said that you feel --
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SANDERS: Sanjay, the God's truth is, that if you were sitting there and you said, Bernie, did you have a heart attack last week, I would say, what are you talking about?
I feel great. Not an ounce of pain. I have been walking around a whole lot, playing ball with the kids. So you know, I feel very good. And I'm confident we're going to be running a very, very vigorous campaign.
But what I would say, I don't know if you wanted to talk about this, is what I do kick myself a little bit about and I hope people understand this and hear this, is that I should have paid more attention to some of the symptoms that were occurring. When you do four rallies a day and you run all over the country, you get tired.
(CROSSTALK)
SANDERS: But I was more tired than I usually have been, had more troubling sleeping than ordinarily. Occasionally, I'd be up there at the podium and I'd feel a little bit unsteady.
And, you know, one time I was just lifting -- literally holding the mic up to my arm and my arm hurt -- up to my mouth and my arm hurt. And I should have paid more attention to those symptoms. And I hope that people learn from my mistake.
GUPTA: They tell you you are having a heart attack. This is when you go into the clinic. This is Tuesday night.
SANDERS: Yes.
GUPTA: Obviously that's frightening. It is the worst kind of news.
SANDERS: Shocking.
GUPTA: Did you think that this could be fatal?
SANDERS: No. I -- this is what I thought. First of all, we were driving, my staff and I.
[04:35:00] SANDERS: And I was at an event. And because I was speaking and for the first time in my life, I said to someone, get me a chair. I have to sit down. And I was sweating profusely.
And normally we do selfies, we take questions, we have discussions. I was in no state to do that. And I felt badly for the people in the audience. But essentially I took a few very -- questions. I was very brief in my response. And I said to my staff, guys, we've got to get out of here. And my first thought was let's go to the -- back to the hotel. And I started --
GUPTA: You felt the pain.
SANDERS: -- felt pain in my arm. And we went to an urgent care place in Las Vegas near the hotel. And the doctor there -- she made a diagnosis in about three seconds. And I went by ambulance to Desert Springs Hospital. And they had been warned or told that I was coming. And the procedure was done in about 45 minutes, I think.
GUPTA: So pretty quick.
SANDERS: Very quick.
GUPTA: I don't know if you have ever seen this before. I took the liberty of actually finding a stent and a balloon. Now you have two of these now in one of the blood vessels in your heart. They use the balloon to open it up and there's the stent.
Is that strange to look at?
SANDERS: It is strange -- well, it's not strange to look at; it's strange to know that it is in here.
GUPTA: It's in your body. But it's doing the job.
SANDERS: Look, who knows. You know, there's some folks that think I may be a little bit stronger because I don't have an artery that's not blocked. But what I've learned more in the last week more about cardiology than Ive ever wanted to know is that my understanding is many hundreds of thousands of people have this procedure.
GUPTA: How is this going to -- how is this going to impact, balance the campaign and the follow-up visits and the things that you need to do now to keep your heart healthy?
SANDERS: Well, we have a great doctor in D.C. and we made a new doctor friend here in Burlington. The folks in Las Vegas were great as well. But we're going to play it by ear. But I am feeling great and look forward to a vigorous campaign. I will be at the debate next week.
GUPTA: You're going to be there?
SANDERS: Yes.
GUPTA: So as you can see, the senator very clear about the fact that he is staying in this race. He is not dropping out, not quitting, as you just heard there. There was a little bit of confusion, as you know. He said he was going to dial back his campaign, the senator said.
But then he said he misspoke. I asked him about that as well.
What he basically said was, look, the doctors have told him that, you know, he's probably not -- shouldn't be doing four rallies a day as he has been doing. He will have to take it easy a little bit. But eventually he plans on getting back to all these states and getting back to 100 percent.
The senator's words, keep in mind something. When you think about the heart as a big muscle, you're not getting enough blood flow to the heart, that hurts. Any muscle would. Restore that blood flow as the stents would do and that muscle starts to not hurt. So he actually said he feels better than he did at the beginning of last week certainly when he ultimately went into the hospital.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: That's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta there.
Next here on CNN, we travel to the critical swing state of Florida.
What will the president's base think there, given this impeachment inquiry that is underway?
Will it sway them?
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[04:40:00]
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HOWELL: A majority of Americans approve of the House of Representatives formally starting an impeachment inquiry into President Trump, this according to the new poll over his phone call with the president of Ukraine.
That poll conducted by PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist finds 52 percent approve, 86 percent of Democrats approve, only 9 percent of Republicans want an impeachment inquiry and 54 percent of independents want the House to investigate the president.
FOX News released a poll on Wednesday that found 51 percent of registered voters want Mr. Trump to be impeached and removed from office. That's a new high on FOX's polling. Up 9 points since July, increases coming across party lines.
We wanted to gauge how voters are viewing all of this so we went to Florida. Our Martin Savidge went to see what President Trump's base thinks and what he discovered, well, it might surprise you. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to Orlando, Florida, not the land of make believe, but where people really live and vote. And we're talking to Trump voters about impeachment.
RICHARD DOMZALSKI, TRUMP VOTER: I don't think he's getting a fair deal out of it. I think it's very political.
SAVIDGE: Nearly three weeks into the formal congressional inquiry, polling shows a noticeable shift in the public's attitude towards impeachment. A Fox News poll released this week found 51 percent of registered voters supported President Trump's impeachment and removal from office.
We wanted to see if shifting polls suggest Trump vulnerability among his base in the swing region of a key state. For most, the short answer is no.
(on camera): It doesn't change your opinion of this president?
BRIAN BARNES, TRUMP VOTER: In this case, no. No.
SAVIDGE: And you don't believe he's done anything wrong or broken any sort of oath of office?
BARNES: In this case, no.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): On camera, no Trump voter would tell us the president should be impeached.
(on camera): Do you believe this president has used his office for political gain?
DOMZALSKI: In this particular case?
SAVIDGE: Yes.
DOMZALSKI: I don't think so.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Most Trump voters we spoke with called the impeachment inquiry a sham put on by Democrats followed by unsubstantiated claims. They downplay the president's phone call with the president of Ukraine that seems to seek dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden.
(on camera): You've seen the transcript of the phone call: I'd like you to do us a favor.
DOMZALSKI: I've seen the transcript, but I haven't read the whole thing.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): But off camera, we did find Trump voters troubled by the president's actions. In fact, two admitted it was wrong but stopped short of calling for the president's removal. SAVIDGE: At a "Latinos for Trump" rally outside Orlando, we found something that should concern the Trump administration. Though these Trump voters say they've heard nothing so far in the impeachment inquiry to change their support -- (on camera): Has this caused you to question or second guess your vote in '16?
NANCY ACEVEDO, TRUMP VOTER: Never, ever. We need Trump to be elected for four more years to make sure his agenda is completed.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): -- all we've spoke with did say the inquiry should continue.
(on camera): Do you want the process to at least go forward?
SERGIO ORTIZ, TRUMP VOTER: I want the process to go through the whole shebang.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Even as they work for Trump's reelection, these Trump voters say they reserve the right to change their mind.
(on camera): Is there something that come to light that would change your feelings?
MARIA SCOTOLONGO, TRUMP VOTER: Maybe. It depends what it is, what is truth.
SAVIDGE: There's no question that the impeachment inquiry has raised the level of political tension in this country to a whole new realm.
We've been talking to Trump voters for years now on all kinds of topics in all different places.
[04:45:00]
SAVIDGE: But never have we had as much difficulty engaging or getting people to talk on camera with us on a subject more so than this one, impeachment. People are either so angry or so over it, they simply just don't want to talk -- Martin Savidge, CNN, Orlando.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Martin, thank you.
CNN's election team projects that Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards has been forced into a runoff vote. Edwards, seen here on the left, was the top vote-getter on Saturday but will fall short of the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff ,where he'll face Republican Eddie Rispone in a runoff election on November 16th.
Police in New Hampshire are investigating what led a man to barge into a church during a wedding and then to open fire. The shooter injured the bride and the bishop presiding at the ceremony just before wedding guests tackled him. Polo Sandoval explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An intimate wedding in a small New Hampshire town came to an abrupt and violent end on Saturday. Police say 37-year-old Dale Holloway walked into the New England Pentecostal Ministries in Pelham after the wedding began and opened fire.
He is accused of shooting two of the nearly 40 people inside, including Stanley Choate, the 75-year-old bishop officiating the ceremony. According to the town's police chief, Holloway was arrested on site after being wrestled to the ground by guests.
CHIEF JOSEPH ROARK, PELHAM POLICE DEPARTMENT: From my understanding is they basically gang tackled him. There was a struggle ensued. Minor injuries occurred to the other guests, who were in the struggle with the shooter.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Others were making their way inside the church, adds Police Chief Joseph Roark. An afternoon funeral for the church's former pastor, Luis Garcia, shot and killed last week, was scheduled to begin later in the day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were not inside. No, we just got here. And this is what we found. So we're just waiting to find out what to do now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just surreal. Luis was shot and now there is a shooting at his church.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Investigators now looking into whether both incidents could be related, authorities believe Saturday's groom is the father of the suspect charged in the death of Pastor Garcia.
ROARK: This does not seem to be a random event at this point, at least that's what preliminary investigation is telling us.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.
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HOWELL: Still ahead, following the situation in Ecuador where more violence has erupted. The streets of the capital city now resemble a battlefield. What the government there is doing to curb the violence.
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HOWELL: In Ecuador, violent protests over austerity measures have been raging on now for 10 days. To calm the violence, the government will meet with indigenous groups and has imposed a curfew across the country. Gustavo Valdes has this.
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GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A whole country under curfew. The government of Ecuador ordering its citizens to stay at home for at least 24 hours to try to deal with violent clashes that erupted for the past 10 days in this South American country.
What you are hearing right now, in the middle of the night, people are using pots and pans. They're banging them. This is a sign, some call it a protest calling for peace. Some others are saying that this is a way of telling the government that they will not be silenced due to this curfew.
What happened?
Today was the 10th day of protest. And it was a violent one. We witnessed all day how protesters built huge fires close to the national assembly the same way they did on Friday. But this time more people joined. It was not just the indigenous community as in prior days.
Many regular citizens from the capital, from other cities joined in. This group that came from outside the capital, the many indigenous people that live in this country, and were upset first with the increase with the price of gasoline and other fuels.
But now they are saying that the way the government has responded to this protest requires that the president resigns. It was very, very tense, huge fires, tear gas. We were able to get to the front lines from the side of the protesters. We saw how the police fired tear gas in great numbers, great quantities, to the point that, even with a gas mask, it was hard to breathe.
We also saw how the protesters tried to push in. They were throwing whatever projectiles they could, call it Molotov cocktails. This is the situation that led to the president, Moreno, to impose this curfew that has started to be just in the capital, Quito.
But it was later extended to the whole country and it is being implemented, it is being enforced by the armed force of the nation. And the problem the citizens are telling us is now that, even though they might be in agreement with the protesters or those who disagree, the problem now is that the country is paralyzed and the economy is going to suffer -- Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Quito.
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HOWELL: The king of Spain and a crowd of onlookers watched in disbelief as a parachutist misjudged a landing during a National Day parade. The scene in Madrid, a skydiver was swooping down dramatically, apparently in control when his chute suddenly snagged onto a lamppost.
That brought the jump to an abrupt end and left him dangling there. He appeared to be OK but frustrated as he tried to untangle himself. Finally, here in the United States, when it comes to politics, elephants symbolize Republicans, donkeys symbolize Democrats. But now from down under, the kangaroo is having a viral moment in American politics. Our Jeanne Moos explains.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you see kangaroos start to hop around the limb, many of them dressed in judicial robes, it's a safe bet President Trump had something to do with it.
Kangaroos are holding court because the president accused the impeachment inquiry of being a kangaroo court. Defenders picked up the refrain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because this is a kangaroo court.
MOOS (voice-over): Representative Matt Gates took it a step further.
REP. MATT GATES (R): What we see in this impeachment is a kangaroo court and Chairman Schiff is acting like a malicious Captain Kangaroo.
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BOB KEESHAN, ACTOR, "CAPTAIN KANGAROO": No, no, no!
COSMO ALLEGRETTI, ACTOR, MISTER MOOSE": Yes, yes!
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MOOS (voice-over): But many wondered if Congressman Gates thinks the term "kangaroo court" comes from the show, which only rarely dabbled in politics.
"CAPTAIN KANGAROO": What is this nonsense about you running for president?
"MISTER MOOSE": Why can't a moose be president?
MOOS (voice-over): Or even a kangaroo?
MOOS: The thing is, unless you're of a certain age, you're probably saying, Captain Kangaroo who?
MOOS (voice-over): OK. I Googled "Captain Kangaroo" and I only have more questions now.
Someone helpfully explained, "Famous for getting ping pong balls rained on him unexpectedly."
"CAPTAIN KANGAROO": The sky is falling.
"MISTER MOOSE": That's the one.
"CAPTAIN KANGAROO": Yes, no, no. No way!
MOOS (voice-over): The president's kangaroo court tweet caused the term to trend. It was Merriam-Webster's number one search. The origin of the term is uncertain. But this guy didn't coin it.
Some took offense to...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: like a malicious Captain Kangaroo.
MOOS (voice-over): -- morphing President Trump with the captain instead.
Captain Kangaroo got his name from the pouch-like pockets in his coat. He wasn't an expert in impeachment but he might have appreciated the political circus.
"CAPTAIN KANGAROO": The circus and all the fun that you can have at the circus.
MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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HOWELL: Thank you for being with us from NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell. Let's do it again. Another hour of news after the break.
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