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London Bridge Terror Attack; Trump, Lawyers Face Sunday Deadline To Participate In Hearing; Ukrainian Officials Discussing Ways To Improve Standing With Trump; Taliban Appeared To Be Caught Off Guard By Trump's Announcement; Refugee Crisis; Black Friday Backlash. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired November 30, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): And ahead this hour, new details about the man behind the terror attack on London Bridge. Hear from one of the bystanders who risked his life to stop him.
Also, the White House facing a new impeachment deadline.
Will Donald Trump take Democrats up on their offer to participate in his own hearing?
Also, thousands of Americans hitting the road after this week's Thanksgiving holiday.
Any word of advice?
We'll check the forecast. There could be some road blocks.
Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes and CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
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HOLMES: Welcome, everyone.
We are learning new information about Friday's fatal knife attack near London Bridge. British media reporting a police search underway in Staffordshire, England, believed to be in connection with the investigation of 28-year-old Usman Khan, who was a convicted terrorist who police have identified as the man who stabbed two people fatally. And wounded three others before he was shot and killed by police.
Video of that moment is disturbing. Police believe the attack began in Fishmongers Hall where he attending an event sponsored by Cambridge University. He fled that location; eventually, he was tackled near London Bridge. Among those who reportedly subdued him was a former inmate who was in prison with Khan. Police arrived on the scene moments later. Now Phil Black joins us live from London.
Good to see you, Phil.
What more are we learning about Usman Khan?
There are so many questions; why he was released from jail, was he being monitored.
What can you tell us?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Michael, he was 19 when he was first arrested; that was back in 2010 as part of an investigation into a fairly complex plot to bomb the London stock exchange.
It was a big investigation. Police were monitoring this group for some time. Around 1,000 officers or so were involved. And at the point they decided that the risk to the public was too great, they moved in to break up the group.
His charges specifically related to planning and financing. His goal was to set up a training camp in Kashmir on family-owned property. He was convicted in 2012. His sentence was set at 16 years. He served half that time, minus the time he'd already spent in police custody, and was released on license, as it's known here, essentially a form of probation, which allows criminals to serve out the second half of their custodial sentence, essentially at home but under close supervision with tight restrictions.
We know that Khan was wearing an electronic tag at the time. Presumably, the authorities knew what or where he was going to be, yesterday. That is at that criminal justice seminar in the Fishmongers Hall that you mentioned, a historic building on the north side of the London Bridge.
And he was then able to use that as cover, it seems, in order to carry out the attack which then followed. It seems that, despite time served, despite the benefit of the doubt, if you like, the attempted rehabilitation and reintegration, which being a license in probation is supposed to promote, he was a man who was determined to do harm.
And that's what happened just over my shoulder here, you can see, my shoulder here yesterday, that tent that you can see on the left side of your frame, that's where Khan was initially pinned down and then moments later shot dead by police -- Michael.
HOLMES: All right, Phil Black there in London for us. Appreciate it, Phil, thanks so much.
And Will Geddes is managing director of International Corporate Protection joins us now from London.
And thanks for doing so. It really does seem stunning that a man convicted of terror activity, released on license while obviously still a threat.
Should he have been monitored -- you know, it's hard to stop everything.
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HOLMES: But is this a security failure of sorts?
WILL GEDDES, INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE PROTECTION: Well, it's a very difficult one to say at this particular time, Michael, with the little bit of information that we have. But I think my speculation will draw more to the deradicalization programs run here in the United Kingdom.
And this is under the banner of what we call the contest strategy. One of the biggest risks we face when a radical individual is convicted and sent to prison, the problem is they can then also make others susceptible.
And there is an awful lot of recruitment that actually takes place in person. And I think it's clear evidence of what happened yesterday, that even if they're convicted for an extended period of time, when they are released within the boundaries of the U.K. judicial system, that they can sometimes circumvent or suppress themselves sufficiently to be able to be released and believed to be no longer a threat to the general public.
HOLMES: Yes.
Does this speak to the difficulties going forward when it comes to other radicals who are being sent back to various European countries, not just the U.K., what happens with them?
GEDDES: Well, yes, exactly. And this is the big challenge. There are deradicalization programs, which I think are still in a very, very good degree of immaturity. These individuals, we've got to remember, they're unlike other criminals, although in many regards most of the terrorists that have been subsequently apprehended or neutralized as was yesterday did have some involvement in criminality to some degree.
But it's about their motivations. Now the problem that we face, with these individuals, the British nationals, they have to be treated -- but I think there has to be a massive takeup in this country because this country problem is going to continue to prevail until we come up with other slightly more drastic measures.
HOLMES: As you say, there are captured ISIS fighters that have returned to places like Germany and France and so forth. It's going to be a European problem.
I want to ask you, too, you have a situation here, the members of the public acted brilliantly, police were on the scene quickly. The whole incident speaks to the effectiveness of these so-called low-tech attacks, very easy to carry out and difficult to prevent.
GEDDES: Yes, looking at Fishmongers Hall, I know Fishmongers Hall very well, I've been at that location. The problem is while it's low tech, it's simply a question of carrying a knife.
And albeit, there are more measures applied by the police because we do have a serious knife problem here in London, anyway, you can evade detection. Therefore it takes just one individual in a crowded space to carry out one of these attacks.
Inevitably if they're carrying something that is perceived to be a body-worn device, that is tougher in these situations.
HOLMES: Will Geddes, thank you for being with us.
GEDDES: Thank you.
HOLMES: Meanwhile, Dutch police are searching for a suspect who stabbed and wounded three minors. This happened on Friday in a very busy shopping district in The Hague.
Video shows crowds of shoppers running away. Police say the situation is complex and have not named a suspect nor possible motive as of yet. Dutch national broadcaster NOS reporting no indication terrorism was a factor. Dutch authorities are asking for witnesses to come forward.
We'll take a break here on the program, when we come back on CNN NEWSROOM, the U.S. House Judiciary chairman sends a new deadline to president Donald Trump. He has one week to decide if he'd like to participate in the committee's impeachment proceedings.
Also, a major announcement from Iraq's prime minister as violent protests continue across the country. His concession to anti- government movement, coming up.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
Police have identified the man who killed two people and injured three others in a knife attack on Friday in central London. Updating you now, 28-year-old Usman Khan was previously convicted of terror events. Video of Friday's incident is disturbing, bystanders tackling Khan before police arrived. One person spraying him with a fire extinguisher, another one jabbing him with a narwhal tusk. That's the tusk of a whale, if you didn't know. Police say he was wearing a fake bomb.
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HOLMES: And now turning to the impeachment inquiry into U.S. president Donald Trump. The White House has one week to tell Democrats if it wants to participate at all in the House proceedings. Mr. Trump's lawyers already facing a deadline as the House Judiciary Committee preparing for the first hearing on Wednesday. Alex Marquardt reports.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Tonight, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler telling President Trump in a letter he has now until next Friday to determine whether or not he will participate in the next round of impeachment proceedings.
That's in addition to a Sunday deadline the White House was given to say if it will take part in the Judiciary's first impeachment hearing set for Wednesday the 6th.
Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham had first responded to the invitation, saying Nadler's offer is being reviewed, but: "The president has done nothing wrong and the Democrats know it."
REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): When you complain and complain and complain and then you have an opportunity to put your story to the American public and you don't want to do it and you don't want to be subject to cross-examination yourself, it shows you don't have a very good story and a very good defense.
MARQUARDT: This coming week, the House Intelligence Committee is expected to submit to the Judiciary Committee its report detailing the findings of its eight-week-long investigation, which included historic public witness testimony with current and former officials with roles related to the Ukraine scandal.
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL): I think there's a mountain range of evidence that has come to light through public testimony, through the private depositions that I have had an opportunity to listen to.
MARQUARDT: Nadler will use the Intelligence Committee's report as a guide to help write the articles of impeachment on those Ukraine- related charges, the allegation being that the president traded a White House meeting with Ukraine and military aid in exchange for dirt on the Bidens.
Democrats are also considering additional articles, including obstruction of justice based on the Mueller probe, all this as most Republicans continue to bash the process and stand by the president.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): This will be the first partisan impeachment in the history of our country. I think Chairman Schiff and Speaker Pelosi knew from the very beginning what -- how they would vote and what they were going to try to prove.
MARQUARDT: And amid all of this, Ukrainian officials are now trying to figure out how to improve the tattered relations with the White House.
Two sources telling CNN that Ukraine could still announce new investigations. What kind is unclear. Ukraine, of course, got that security aid money in the end.
[05:15:00] MARQUARDT: But they are still very reliant on the U.S. for both political and financial support as they fight with Russia in the eastern part of the country.
They very much need the Trump administration's help going forward -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: President Trump, meanwhile, appears to have overstated the status of peace negotiations with the Taliban. A senior administration official tells CNN the U.S. is in the process of restarting formal talks.
Now that's in contrast to Mr. Trump's announcement not only that have talks resumed but the Taliban is open to a cease-fire. A spokesperson for the group saying they're ready to pick up where they left off back in September when Mr. Trump abruptly called off talks because of a Taliban bombing that killed an American soldier and the president said the Taliban to him were dead.
Thomas Gift joining us from London.
Let's start with the politics, the hearings, the Judiciary Committee, what are you expecting in terms of the White House taking part in the hearings?
We heard the argument made in the piece earlier with Alex Marquardt, you can't complain about not being heard if you don't turn up?
THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, AND ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, never say never with Donald Trump. I mean crazier things certainly have happened. But I think it's unlikely that he will participate in the process for one reason.
In some sense, it would legitimize the impeachment trial. He said from the very beginning this is a witch hunt and this is presidential harassment. By participating he would kind of undermine that argument.
He seems much more comfortable standing on the sidelines, hurling insults at the Democrats on Twitter and on the campaign trail. We've also seen him impose gag orders on White House officials and former White House officials, including former White House counsel Don McGahn.
So I think it's highly unlikely that he will end up participating.
HOLMES: Having seen it unfolding in terms of the Democrats and their process, what articles of impeachment, do you think they'll keep it simple?
Leave off other things, like Mueller report, stuff regarding possible obstruction, perhaps emoluments?
GIFT: I think you're right, Michael. In the most straightforward terms possible, it's all about Ukraine and presidential abuse of power. Certainly, they could throw the kitchen sink at Donald Trump and they would have every right to do so.
I think in terms of making a cogent article to the American people it makes much more sense to keep it straightforward and as simple as possible. One of the challenges that arose with the Mueller report, that was so much complexity and so much going on, I think the Democrats want to avoid this.
HOLMES: I want to ask about Afghanistan, it's important, Donald Trump when he was visiting the troops, he said they don't want to do a cease-fire and now they do want to do a cease-fire, I believe, and it probably will work out that way.
There really is not much suggestion that it's even true.
Do you think he just riffed on the notion that the talks have started and the Taliban have magically agreed to a cease-fire, which would be a shock to most observers?
GIFT: You're right. This could be a classic Donald Trump off-the- cuff remark. There really is no indication that in fact the Taliban would be open to this cease-fire. And in fact it would require extracting significant concessions from them at this point and they haven't been willing to do so.
I think the statements by Donald Trump surprised a lot of people, including in the Taliban but also other Western diplomats.
HOLMES: The thing is, it's an election year, Donald Trump did campaign on getting out of Afghanistan, the Taliban, they know that, the president talking about bringing down troops while he was over there.
How does this impact the leverage that the U.S. has?
The Taliban could just sit and wait this out.
GIFT: That's a good point, Michael. Certainly, Donald Trump has made the case that he wants to extricate the United States from foreign meddling and what he refers to as endless wars.
At the same time, I do think Afghanistan, despite its tremendous importance, is a low salience issue for voters. So it's unclear as to whether or not he is able to exit from Afghanistan, whether that would really sway a lot of voters.
I think kind of Americans are much more focused on some of these other big ticket items, including impeachment and so on.
HOLMES: You know, you've got to wonder, you know, not just what are the chances the Taliban would compromise.
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HOLMES: But the odds that they would become part of some democratic cooperative with the existing elected government and magically give up the notion of running the country the way they did before, which is to say, brutally, how are they to be trusted?
And how would it look for the U.S. if the U.S. backs out of this and all of a sudden we're back to pre-9/11 Taliban rule of Afghanistan?
GIFT: That's the big risk here. You're right, any true, negotiated peace would not only require a cease-fire but require some sort of broader political solution in the region. I think at this point that looks highly unlikely.
Certainly, you would like to see talks resume and ongoing conversation and dialogue between the president and the Taliban and the Afghani government. But at this point I think it's very much a very open question.
HOLMES: Other thing, too, you know, if the U.S. did come to some sort of -- you know, some sort of agreement with the Taliban, cease-fire or no cease-fire -- and the Taliban don't seem to want to agree to that -- you know, if the U.S. is sort of pulling back and disengaging, how are they going to enforce any agreement?
GIFT: Well, I think, I think that's another big question. I mean, this is a real challenge for the president because, on the one hand, he's really pushing this America first agenda, trying to keep the focus on domestic politics, not trying to get involved in these overseas interventions.
But at the same time, I mean, of course, there are really big challenges to actual enforcement. And the Taliban can agree to a settlement. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they are going to follow through.
HOLMES: Exactly.
GIFT: So all of this are kind of part of the broader set of considerations of the administration will have to consider.
HOLMES: Indeed, Thomas Gift with University College of London, good to see you, thanks so much.
GIFT: Thank you, Michael.
HOLMES: Pro democracy protesters have returned to the streets of Hong Kong. Right now, hundreds of students holding a rally in the city's financial district, calling for reforms and denouncing police brutality as they have for months now. Police say 6,000 people have been arrested with the protests.
And protests are flaring in Iraq, they do appear to have sparked some political change potentially after almost two months of unrest the country's foreign minister says he will submit his resignation to parliament.
It is significant he hasn't submitted it to the president, which would be more immediate. He does say he's going to step down after Iraq's top Shiite cleric criticized the government's response to the violence.
Baghdad reacting to the news with celebration. It follows yet another deadly week in the streets. In the country's south, at least 42 people were killed when clashes broke out; several hundred have been killed in the protests overall. CNN's Arwa Damon has been following the developments. She has more now from Baghdad.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Demonstrators danced, shot off tiny fireworks in Baghdad's Tahrir Square as the news spread.
The Iraqi prime minister would resign. It's a celebration that came at an unbearable, unnecessary price.
"Wake up, wake up," a mother shrieks over her son's body. He one of more than one of 40 gunned down in 48 hours, in the southern Shia city, where eyewitnesses describe streets being turned into rivers of blood.
This young man killed there wears a T-shirt that says, "We want a nation."
This is the scene at the morgue, home to some of the Shia Islam's holiest sites. A heartbreaking post asks, "Does anyone know this young man?"
"He's my son, Mehti," is the first comment.
The square at the epicenter of demonstrations is lined with shrines, nearly 400 countrywide. Observers pray. For Sadib, it's her way of thanking them for the future she can now dream of for her two children, who she brought here for the first time.
"Yes, they are too young to really understand," she says, "but I want them to come and experience this."
There is a sense and a determination that this will be the chapter in Iraq's bloody history that finally alters the status quo that has governed the population's lives since the U.S.-led invasion, one that traded Saddam Hussein's dictatorship for another form of captivity, defined by chaos and violence, rampant corruption, rising unemployment, divisive sectarian politics and Iran's looming shadow.
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DAMON (voice-over): "Iran wants to make us a part of Khomeini's Islamic republic," this man says, "just like ISIS wanted to make us a part of their state."
Rare to hear such harsh words expressed publicly against their neighbor. But militias and political influence wield ultimate power here. The barrier of fear is breaking. Iraqis want to control their own destiny and are willing to risk it all. The prime minister's anticipated resignation is just a first step.
For those who have taken to the streets, it's about reclaiming their country and upending the political system that has brought more destruction than democratic rights -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
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HOLMES: When we come back, more on Friday's knife attack near London Bridge. For many Londoners, an unwelcome reminder of that other terror attack at that same location two years ago.
Also to come, you'll hear from one the bystanders who helped subdue the attacker until police could arrive.
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HOLMES: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, I'm Michael Holmes, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Updating you now on our top stories at this hour.
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HOLMES: We are learning new details about Friday's knife attack near London Bridge in London, which has been declared an act of terrorism. Police say a man and a woman were killed, three other people wounded and taken to the hospital.
The attacker, who was killed by police, has been identified as 28- year-old Usman Khan of the Staffordshire area in England. He was convicted in 2012 of a foiled terror plot and released from prison last year.
Video of the incident is disturbing. Police believe the attack began in Fishmongers Hall, Khan running to London Bridge where passers-by wrestled him to the ground, police quickly moving in.
One witness said Khan appeared to have two knives, one of them taped to his hand. No one knew at the time that a bomb that Khan was apparently wearing was fake. In the aftermath, London's mayor praising the people who took action.
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SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: Members of the public didn't realize at the time it was a hoax device. And they really are the best of us, another example of the heroism, of ordinary Londoners rushing to help. I want to say thank you on behalf of all Londoners, but also because it shows the best of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: In the wake of the attack, the U.K. government says it is looking at the sentences handed out to the most violent offenders. CNN's Nina dos Santos recounts the moments as Londoners was confronted by terrorism.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clear the area.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR (voice-over): Terror once again in the heart of London, passengers on this bus became witness to a shocking scene.
LLOYD GRIFFITHS, WITNESS: The public where fighting with a man. He appeared to be pinned down onto the pavement. It looked like a shine of light coming across from the man. I realized quickly it was a knife.
And the police went over with some guns and the man was shot.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Police say they were called to the area just before 2:00 pm following reports of a stabbing. A suspect wearing a hoax explosive device was shot dead by officers.
CRESSIDA DICK, METROPOLITAN POLICE COMMISSIONER: I also want to thank the members of the public who have helped by showing extraordinary courage and stepping in to tackle this attacker.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): It wasn't far from London Bridge, one of the busiest commuter stations in the capital city, that things began to unfold in that direction behind the security cordon.
Witnesses said they heard what they later realized was a blast of gunfire. They were told to evacuate the area urgently; some panicked and they began to flee down streets like these.
Then chaos as people tried to make sense of the scene. One woman found the situation all too familiar.
This is the second time that you've had a lucky escape from an incident like this?
OLIVIA BIZOT, WITNESS: Yes, I was also in the Boston Marathon attacks in 2013. I was at the marathon 20 minutes or something but just before it actually happened. And it was a very similar thing, of having a flood of people just running and not knowing what's happening.
Just fear, fear on their faces and you could feel it as well, the energy of just everyone stressing out.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): London Bridge was the target of another attack two years ago when eight people killed and 48 were injured. This comes weeks after the terror threat of this part of the U.K. was reduced to substantial at the head of a crucial general election. As for the motivation of the suspect, police say they are keeping an open mind -- Nina dos Santos, CNN, London.
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HOLMES: Tom Gray is a London tour guide.
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HOLMES: He was on London Bridge as the incident unfolded and he describes what happened.
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TOM GRAY, WITNESS: My colleague, Stevie, and I were driving northbound over London Bridge. We sort of came up behind a double decker bus. Several people sort of jumped in from the left side of the bridge, to the centralization, sort of out to the right.
And just sort of peered our heads around it. One chap running from five guys with a fire extinguisher and Stevie and I thought just what to do and ran towards it. And tried to do our very best to apprehend the suspect.
When we got there, he was wielding two knives, one was duct taped to his hand. All I could do, after the guys held him down and were sort of pinning him to the ground, kind of try to stamp as hard as I could on his wrist, try and release the knife, as it were.
So I kicked the knife away, went northbound up London Bridge and, after that, the police got there almost instantaneously. And at that point, we were told he had a bomb vest on. And so we cleared house and got out of the way.
And the guy got shot a couple times. And then hit the deck. And then after that, we basically -- I hid behind the school bus full of little children and made sure the girls in the back were OK. And smiling, OK, it's OK, you'll be all right.
Got the bus turned around and they went south over London Bridge. At that point, we were told to stay where we were, then told he had a gun as well. Kind of stayed put. And heard another shot. A small explosion. And we just heard "run."
So we turned and high-tailed is south of London Bridge and heard 15 or so gunshots and just kind of hung around southbound of London Bridge and just waited to see how to be useful to anyone and knowing any information.
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HOLMES: Well, caught in the cross fire of diplomacy why European aid workers are being for helping migrants at sea.
And also around the world, shoppers crowding into stores in search of the best bargains. Some European lawmakers hope this will be the last Black Friday. The reasons why, when we come back.
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HOLMES: Welcome back. An update now on our top story this hour, that is, of course, Friday's terror attack in central London. Police say 28-year-old Usman Khan fatally stabbed two people, injured three others near London Bridge, before police shot and killed him.
Witnesses say several people tried to tackle Khan to the ground. They wrestled a knife away before police opened fire. Police say he had a fake explosive device strapped to him when he was shot. And that is probably why he was shot.
Khan was released from prison last year after he was convicted in 2012 for a foiled plot to bomb London's stock exchange. Earlier, we heard from a woman who took refuge in a nearby cafe. This interview was just moments after the attack.
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NOA BODNER, WITNESS: There was a rush of people running into the cafe, we're at the cafe at the base of the bridge. People rushed in. Immediately, the manager shut the door and locked it. Everybody was basically under the tables and we were told that shots were heard.
And then at some point, where we saw police coming to the bridge and closing it off, we were asked to move to the back of the restaurant, obviously, away from the windows. And everybody has been here ever since, trying to piece together all of the information that we're getting from what we're seeing, which is a loss.
And basically, nobody is allowed to come through on the main roads and the station here. We've heard there's been a stabbing. We've heard that it was probably police that shot. And now everybody is here to waiting to hear it's OK to come out again, which is not heard yet.
Hopefully that will happen soon. People are quite calm and just trying to support each other, I think.
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HOLMES: And we will, of course, keep you updated on any developments here on CNN.
Now when migrants travel by sea, the trip to Europe can be, obviously, life or death. And we've seen that story unfold many times. Now some of the aid workers who set out to rescue those making the journey, well, they're being prosecuted, a problem charities warn could lead to even more deaths. Simon Cullen with those details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SIMON CULLEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In different circumstances, these rescuers might have been considered heroes, pulling migrants from dangerously overcrowded boats, as they make their way towards the Greek island of Lesbos.
SEAN BINDER, SEARCH AND RESCUE VOLUNTEER: We have two search and rescue boats, we have scuba equipment, we have a very well-trained medical team, which could respond within seven minutes, whereas the ambulance sometimes trundled along at 40 minutes.
CULLEN: So, the difference is life or death for some.
BINDER: It can be.
CULLEN: But rather than being celebrated, they're being charged. Sean Binder is facing a string of serious accusations in Greece.
BINDER: Being part of a criminal organization, money laundering, obviously tantamount to smuggling or actions that are tantamount to smuggling and espionage or spying and so we still face centuries in prison.
CULLEN: He's not alone. In June, the captain of the Sea-Watch rescue ship, Carola Rackete, was arrested by Italian authorities after docking on the island of Lampedusa.
CAROLA RACKETE, CAPTAIN, SEA-WATCH RESCUE SHIP: We unfortunately didn't have any other option than to enter the port without permission.
CULLEN: On board with 40 migrants who had been rescued from the Mediterranean. Rackete was later released from arrest, but still faces an ongoing investigation under anti-people smuggling laws, laws enabled by an E.U. directive.
The 2002 directive was designed to combat people smuggling. It allows countries to prosecute anyone helping someone else enter Europe, illegally. It doesn't require them to be a financial motive, but the humanitarian exemption clause is only optional, many countries can choose whether or not they enact it.
Over recent years, the number of migrants arriving by sea, has been falling.
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CULLEN: At the same time, according to E.U. funded research, there's been an increase in the number of criminal investigations targeting aid workers and NGOs.
RACKETE: They're criminalizing human beings helping other human beings, being in need. And not just (INAUDIBLE) some.
CULLEN: As a result of the crackdown, there are now fewer rescue ships operating on the Mediterranean, a region that has claimed the lives of nearly 20,000 migrants in the past six years. In a statement to CNN, the European Commission acknowledges there is a lack of clarity in the implementation of the humanitarian exemption clause and says it will continue to gather more evidence about how the directive is being applied.
ELISA DE PIERI, RESEARCHER, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: The case has been made to them, that these prosecutors are in large part trumped up and they shouldn't happen at all. I think they are not convinced yet that this is a sufficiently serious problem in the world and that the change of the directive.
CULLEN: Rescuers warned if it's not changed, the criminal charges will continue.
BINDER: The effect has been to embroil us in costly and lengthy legal procedures and this act as a form of deterrence. It has frightened people away from doing this kind of work and this is work that is sanctioned by international law, without a doubt.
CULLEN: A situation he says that will result in more deaths at sea. Simon Cullen, CNN, London.
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HOLMES: U.S. immigration authorities have deported a worker injured in the New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel collapse last month. Attorneys for a Honduran national say he was targeted at the hotel's construction site. And at least two people died in that collapse. He was arrested just two days later.
Officials deny any connection. But activists say the deportation could cause potential whistleblowers to remain silent.
And an American man has been arrested, accused of helping North Korea evade U.S. sanctions. According to the Department of Justice, Virgil Griffith traveled to North Korea to teach cryptocurrency after the U.S. government denied his request to travel there.
He's accused of teaching them how to exchange the currency with South Korea. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
And millions of U.S. travelers could be in for a rough couple of days after a storm is going to sweep into the U.S. We'll have a look at how it may affect travel, next.
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HOLMES: Welcome back. U.S. shoppers breaking holiday records for shopping this weekend.
They spent more than $4 billion on Thanksgiving Day. But it was Black Friday that raked in the big bucks. Adobe Analytics said online sales are projected to reach nearly $7.5 billion. That's almost a 20 percent increase from last year.
While Black Friday might be a U.S. tradition, the shopping frenzy has expanded around the world. As you can see, many countries, in many countries, bargain hunters flooding the stores. Have a look at the images there.
In Brazil, a pretty tense scene, as shoppers fought each other for a television.
While many countries have embraced the Black Friday tradition, in France, the day has been met with resistance. Climate change activists staged protests and strikes while some lawmakers are pushing to ban Black Friday altogether. Melissa Bell with that.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Lyon, the police had to clear them by force. Climate and anti-capitalist protesters held sit-ins this Friday outside Amazon offices in several French cities.
The object of their anger, Black Friday, an American tradition that's found its way onto the boulevards of France in the last few years, promising sales but without the Thanksgiving.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking French).
This is also a social disaster.
BELL (voice-over): And the very things angering protesters are also worrying the French government.
France's Parliament is debating banning Black Friday on the grounds it is bad for the planet and promotes overconsumption. Meanwhile, the shoppers were out in force.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I look always for sales. It's really nice because you can buy a lot of things for a small amount. That's really good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The discounts really amazing. And you can shop until you drop.
BELL (voice-over): But this might be the last opportunity for the French to shop until they drop. MPs could vote to ban Black Friday as part of a new anti-waste bill that will be debated next week -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
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HOLMES: As the Thanksgiving holiday comes to a close here in the U.S., millions of people brace for a travel nightmare. Have a look at that there. This weekend, a storm expected to bring heavy snow and strong winds to the central United States and the northeast.
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HOLMES: That wraps up CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes. If you're joining us here in the United States, "NEW DAY" coming your way.
For our international viewers, "Borneo Burning" is just ahead. I'll have the update at the break and see you in just half an hour on CNN International.
