Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Germany Votes; Biden Economic Agenda Hangs in the Balance This Week; At Least Three Killed In Montana Train Derailment; Four Palestinians Killed In Anti-Hamas Operation; Taliban Display Bodies Of Alleged Kidnappers; U.S. And Mexico Migrant Encampments Cleared Out; Over 85,000 Reported Missing Or Disappeared In Mexico 2006-2021; Team USA Holds Lead In Ryder Cup; No To Hate Campaign Against Online Abuse. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired September 26, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Robyn Curnow live in Atlanta.
Coming up on the show, the latest from a deadly train derailment near the U.S.-Canadian border. Hear how one passenger described what happened.
Plus, it is the end of an era in Germany. Right now, voters are casting ballots in a general election as Angela Merkel prepares to step down after 16 years as chancellor. We're live in Berlin with the details on that.
And how Democratic infighting could derail the U.S. President's $3.5 trillion spending plan. We'll tell you what's risk if the bill stalls.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: Emergency crews are on the scene of a deadly passenger train derailment near the U.S.-Canadian border in rural Montana.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (voice-over): Images like this show the scene and it shows multiple train cars on their sides. Authorities say three people were killed and a number of others injured. According to Amtrak, there were more than 140 passengers and 16 crew members on board at the time. The railway says eight cars of the 10-car train derailed.
The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CURNOW: The train was called the Empire Builder and it was traveling from Chicago westward to Seattle, about 4:00 pm Mountain time, when it went off the tracks.
Earlier, one of the passengers on board the train spoke to me about what happened. She described a chaotic and shocking scene, with entire train cars tipped over. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGAN VANDERVEST, DERAILED TRAIN PASSENGER: So when we got off the train -- and initially we saw just our train, the first 4 or 5 cars and the one behind our -- the car behind ours was slightly off. And then the car behind that was in between 2 sets of railroad tracks. And the one behind that one had completely tipped over and fallen over.
That was the most shocking part, like immediate shock when we got off because we didn't know anything that significant had happened. And when we came around, ambulances were blocking our view further on.
By the time we crossed, if you look about 100 yards down, there were three cars that were completely tipped over. And that was completely, completely jarring.
And from then on it was a lot of chaos. The reaction from passengers was mixed. There was a wide range of ages and stuff and a wide range of experiences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Of course, we'll continue to follow that story throughout the day right here on CNN.
So to Germany now, where voters are going to the polls in a landmark election. It is the beginning of the end for Angela Merkel as chancellor after nearly 16 years in office. It has major implications for the future of Germany and also for Europe more broadly.
Since becoming chancellor in November of 2005, Ms. Merkel has become one of the most powerful women in the world, the de facto leader of the E.U. and a symbol of stability across the continent. It is unclear who is likely to fill her shoes, with polls showing the race is just too close to call.
I do want to go straight to Berlin, Fred Pleitgen is standing by.
People are coming to vote.
What is the mood?
What is the feeling right now where you are?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there is certainly a decent feeling of excitement, I would say here, in the air in Berlin. The polling station that you see behind me is getting fuller. Some of the other polling stations we have been to earlier today, you
did see people already actually lining up at some of the polling stations before they even opened. So I do think a lot of Germans do understand this is a key election, a pivotal election and certainly an election that no doubt is going to bring change.
As you already noted, it is the first time in 16 years that Angela Merkel is not going to be on the ballot. So a lot of that change is going to be in the style of leadership that we have seen here in Germany.
There are, of course, concerns around the world, concerns in Europe, who is going to fill Angela Merkel's shoes on the European stage, who is going to fill her shoes on the international stage?
And there are concerns here in Germany about how things are going to move forward. It is quite interesting to see the election campaigns of the main candidates that we have been really following over the past couple of months, where you had the Christian Democrats with Armin Laschet, saying there will be as much continuity as possible.
He's down in the polls or has been down in the polls in the run-up to the election. You also had the Social Democrat, Olaf Scholz, Germany's finance minister, but from a rival party, who is also saying there is going to be a lot of continuity.
[04:05:00]
PLEITGEN: He's essentially making himself out to be the heir -- the successor to Angela Merkel, the true successor to Angela Merkel, because he says he's the one who would be the strongest leader of this country moving forward, with a more social element in the policies.
I think the really big difference that we're seeing, compared to some of the other elections that we have covered here in the past in Germany, is the fact that, in this election, the environment is such a big issue.
It is something where you're not going to become chancellor here in this country unless you put forward some very strong environmental agenda. I think also, Robyn, as we have been talking about, that's one of the reasons why the Green Party is looking to score some pretty big points in this election.
Again, the main candidate of the Greens, Annalena Baerbock, was leading in the polls for a while but now is in third place, still up for a strong showing, as this country does understand that reforms are needed in many ways and it needs to move more into a green direction in the future -- Robyn.
CURNOW: What do we think turnout is going to be like?
How energized are Germans right now?
How much are they behind this need for change? PLEITGEN: So I think it is going to be fairly high. And it is, you know, obviously impossible to see, from the few polling stations that we have been at, but just from speaking to people here, in the past couple of weeks, the past couple of months, having reported from this country for a very long time, you do see people debating this election in various settings, if you will.
One of the other things we noticed is that there is going to be a high turnout of mail-in ballots. But also some people are saying they mailed in their ballot a month ago and in retrospect they're not sure whether they should have done that because this election is now so close that maybe they would have voted for someone else if they would have voted today.
But again, you do see that the electorate -- I wouldn't say it is galvanized but you see people understand that it is a very important election, one where it really appears to a lot of people that it could be decisive for the future of this country and really one where turnout certainly is merited.
If you look at the election in 2017, that, of course, we were also here to cover as well, it was clear that Angela Merkel was going to win that election.
If you look at the election before that, it was clear that Angela Merkel was going to win that election as well.
This one really is too close to call. It really is up for grabs. And the candidates have gone out in the past couple of days. We have been at a lot of these events and tried to get the vote out and that certainly is something we'll see whether or not they'll be able to bring that to the track today and get voters to the polls.
From the early signs that we're seeing, it does seem to be the case, Robyn.
CURNOW: And Olaf Scholz there voting with his mask on, one of the contenders for that chancellorship.
PLEITGEN: In Potsdam.
CURNOW: We'll continue to monitor the story. Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much. Live there in Berlin.
I want to now go to Stefan Kornelius, a German journalist and author of "Angela Merkel: The Chancellor and Her World."
Great to see you; 16 years of Angela Merkel, change is coming whether Germans like it or not. You've spent a lot of time analyzing her leadership style.
What kind of a leader has she been, underestimated?
STEFAN KORNELIUS, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR: Never, actually. Angela Merkel has been a very calm and an ideological (ph) leader. This is probably to span this trademark of her reign being such -- sort of a predictable and approachable leader.
She hasn't been following all those turmoils people are seeing over the past 16 years all over the world. Germany was (INAUDIBLE) populist movement (ph), Germany was spared of too much radicalization.
So all of a sudden now there is this cut, she will be gone, Germans have to adapt to a new leader and this makes these elections so unique.
CURNOW: I want to flip it, I want to talk about her, you know, her successes but I also think that a lot of her failures, including German criticism around climate change and climate innovation within Germany, is certainly one of the pivotal hot button issues that they're voting on.
Is that perhaps one of her greatest failures, is not moving faster on climate?
KORNELIUS: I mean, the climate issue just boiled up the past months because we had those devastating floodings in the west of the country.
But if you look at the records, Germany is still one of the leading forces in Europe in terms of climate (INAUDIBLE) to be (INAUDIBLE) in 2038. The Greens want to push it down to 2030.
And nuclear power is actually fading out much earlier. So the country is leading but the country is also -- people are very aggrieved right now, there is typical German angst, which leads to kids out on the streets. We just saw major rallies the past days with the Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg.
[04:10:00]
KORNELIUS: So the country seems to be on the edge on this. I'm pretty sure the next chancellor will address that.
CURNOW: Many analysts talk about the fragmentation, the division that Germany is seeing. And I think we're seeing that across the world, particularly here in the U.S.
Has Angela Merkel's stability managed to, you know, hold that?
Do you see a continuing and perhaps more divisive fragmented political landscape in the years ahead, with the new chancellor, whoever it is?
KORNELIUS: Well, actually, you're right; Angela Merkel for 16 years kept the country in kind of a bubble. All those turmoils in the world was spared to the Germans. There was no economic slump, there was nothing. It was pretty much a very stable and government of continuity.
Right now, what we see is a new kind of party system. Merkel's party will drop significantly after this election. But we see the leveling of the center. We do have three, four parties who could compete for first place, kind of a cannibalization of party system. Very, very difficult to form coalitions, very difficult to keep a stable government.
So that's the new one in this election. The old times are passed. We do have big tent parties who are catching almost 35 percent, 40 percent of the vote, that's over.
CURNOW: She is also a political figure from another time. Growing up in East Germany, she brings a lot of that to her leadership style. Just talk us through Angela Merkel, she's inscrutable as a woman. Talk us through how she became probably the most powerful woman in the world and the legacy she leaves.
KORNELIUS: Indeed, Angela Merkel is unique. And she not only was first woman leading the country for such a long time, leading it at all, but she also is the first leader from East Germany, who immediately sort of adopted to the Western system, who was brought into the Kohl government of the '90s.
She brought some traits which were extremely helpful in those tumultuous years. She's a daughter of a pastor. She grew up behind the Iron Curtain, in a pastoral household, being guarded by the Stasi, by the secret police, having to stay quiet, having to be very cautious in what she does and who she talks to.
And these kind of very branding experiences, which she (INAUDIBLE). So half of her life was spent behind the Iron Curtain. This is what she carried on in the chancellorship. She led the country with a very calm and steady hand and people never had the impression -- she was undeterred, she wasn't deterred by anything. She was extremely, extremely reliable.
CURNOW: Stefan Kornelius, great to get all of your insight. You know so much about her and about the era she leaves behind, live from Munich. Thanks so much.
KORNELIUS: Thank you.
CURNOW: This could be a make or break week for President Biden's economic agenda. U.S. lawmakers have only just a few days to pass critical legislation worth trillions of dollars. Now the top priorities to avoid a government shutdown on Friday, when federal agencies technically run out of money.
In addition, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants a House vote Monday on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. That's already passed Senate. But a much, much larger $3.5 trillion spending package, backed by progressives, is facing some opposition from moderate Democrats in the Senate, like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
That vote was voted out of the House Budget Committee on Saturday and progressives are resisting making any further cuts. As one Democrat told CNN, we have been the ones constantly giving way; now it is time for our priorities to be a focus.
The political stakes are high for the White House as it tries to get this key legislation passed in Congress over the next few days. We get more from Arlette Saenz. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Biden spending the weekend at Camp David, as his legislative agenda is making a make-or-break week. Speaker Pelosi told her colleagues that she wants to see both the bipartisan infrastructure proposal and that sweeping $3.5 trillion economic agenda reaching the House floor this week, as they are hoping to advance the president's priorities.
President Biden spoke with Speaker Pelosi and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer on Friday. And they talked about the future and way forward on both of those measures.
The president has acknowledged that Democrats have been at a stalemate. But he also says he is learning more about what the moderates are hoping to see with that larger package, since many are opposed -- some are opposed to that 3.5 trillion-dollar figure.
[04:15:00]
SAENZ: The president is expected to the return to the White House on Sunday and could possibly hold other meetings with lawmakers heading into the week as well as make phone calls, hoping to get this agenda across the finish line -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, The White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: The story here, it's about this division within the Democrats, isn't it?
LINDSTAEDT: Yes, and this is something that Biden has had difficulty contending with. He's been used to making deals through long-term relationships, where there has been a lot of trust building. And that's how he's been able to make things happen in his long experience in the Senate.
You have a lot of new congress people who don't have these long term relationships. You have the progressive caucus, which has 96 members. And they really want to fight for a much bigger -- they want to fight for much bigger change in the U.S.
And they don't want these watered down policies to continue. And they feel that if they don't stand up for this, then nothing really is going to happen. And --
(CROSSTALK)
CURNOW: -- in trying to be inflexible on that, are they shooting themselves in the foot and creating no movement?
LINDSTAEDT: Right, that's the issue, because the $3.5 trillion social safety net package will not pass unless there are some changes made because Joe Manchin, the Democrat from West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema, the Democrat from Arizona, have made it clear they are not going to support the package in its current form. That's the reality.
And though this watered down version may make some progressives upset, the bill is in danger of not passing at all. There is room for compromise here. They could decide to restrict the eligibility for some of the social care packages, they could decide to limit the number of years that they fund it.
Then they also have to have discussions about how much they are going to have to tax people and corporations in order to get this bill passed. So there is room for negotiation but it won't pass in its current form.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: That was Natasha Lindstaedt; she teaches government at the University of Essex in the U.K.
Still ahead on CNN, a shootout in the West Bank with the Israeli Defense Forces leaves four Palestinians dead. We're live in Jerusalem with details on that.
Also, the latest from where the Taliban have put bodies of alleged criminals on display as a warning to others.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:20:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: We are tracking an emerging story out of the West Bank, where Israel says it's killed four Palestinians, arrested two others. The Israeli military says it was part of an anti-terrorist operation. For the latest, let's go to Jerusalem, Hadas Gold is standing by.
Hadas, hi, good to see you. Bring us up to date on what we know here.
HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Robyn, in the last couple of hours we're learning about this operation that took place in the West Bank. As you said, four Palestinians were killed, two were arrested.
According to the Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson, this was part of a major days-long operation last night. The spokesperson said they took action to undertake what they said was an imminent terrorist attack. It was across several of Israel's security forces and it took place in five different locations.
What we know so far, four Palestinians were killed, two more arrested. We have no word yet on any Israeli casualties. The Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett made a statement, he's en route to New York for the United Nations meeting.
He said that security forces took action overnight against what he said were Hamas terrorists who were about to carry out terrorist attacks in real time. He said the soldiers and commanders in the field act as expected, engaged the enemy and we backed them completely.
Hamas in response said the operation was a result of normalization meetings, he said, between Israeli officials and the Palestinian Authority and Ramallah. They were threatening, they said, the option of confronting the occupation and resisting it by all means as best able to confuse the occupation and force to stop its crimes.
Everybody is still very tense here after the conflict in May. Seems as though people are just waiting for what may be the next spark that could somehow give rise to another conflict.
But things have not been calm over the past few months. I should note that also in the last few minutes, we received a statement from the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.
He said these crimes are the latest in a series of Israeli violations in which he calls field executions against our people. He said the continuation of this policy will lead to and explosion of the situation and more tension and instability.
We're being told that we may be getting more information in the coming hours about this operation.
CURNOW: OK, thanks for all of that, Hadas Gold live in Jerusalem.
Shocking images showing how far the Taliban seem willing to go to deter crime. I want to warn you, though, the video we're about to show you is graphic and difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (voice-over): Crowds gathered here in Herat after the Taliban killed four alleged kidnappers and hung their bodies on display in different locations around the city.
A journalist tells CNN the men were accused of kidnapping a merchant and his son and were later freed by the Taliban.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Let's go straight to Arwa Damon. Arwa reported extensively from and in Afghanistan, she's in Istanbul now.
What happened here?
And certainly an indication of how the Taliban intend to rule, which doesn't seem very different to the way they did before.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And that's really at the core of a lot of the trepidation and the fear in Afghanistan right now, Robyn.
On the one hand, the Taliban are saying they are different. On the other hand, all of their actions on the ground appear to indicate that they are not. And the images most certainly do harken back to the era of their previous rule 20 years ago.
[04:25:00]
DAMON: When things like public executions, hangings, chopping off the hands of thieves, the stoning of women were part of how they were governing.
What happened in this particular case, well, these four bodies were hung in the city of Herat after the kidnappers were killed in a shootout. And the deputy, the Taliban deputy governor of Herat, gave a few more details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Around 12:45, the kidnappers were confronted at a checkpoint. They clashed with our security forces, which resulted in one Taliban being wounded and four kidnappers being killed.
Thank God, the man was rescued with his son and handed to their family safe and sound.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: In another city in Afghanistan, Robyn, a month ago, the city of Mazar, there was also a Taliban operation against kidnappers, four kidnappers were killed. In this case they were allegedly accused of kidnapping children and their bodies were dumped in a public square.
Also meant to send that message to deter anyone who might even be remotely thinking about carrying out these kinds of crimes.
But of course, the core issue here is what kind of principles is the Taliban going to be ruling on?
And exactly as you're mentioning earlier, how much have they really changed, if at all?
CURNOW: Arwa Damon there, thanks so much for that update. Thanks, Arwa.
I want to turn now to our top story in the show, the general election in Germany. As Angela Merkel prepares to step down as chancellor, we'll look at her legacy after 16 years in office. Where she succeeded and where critics say she fell short.
Plus, also, a migrant crisis playing out on both sides of the U.S.- Mexico border. What is happening to Haitians who decided to stay in Mexico instead of trying to enter the U.S.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: More now on one of our top stories, the election underway to determine who succeeds Angela Merkel as Germany's chancellor. Her Christian Democratic Union is hoping to stay in power but polling shows the race is just too close to call. Fred Pleitgen is watching all of the movement from Berlin.
Fred, hi, good to see you. I mean, this is really about Angela Merkel, the woman, the leader, the legacy that she leaves behind.
PLEITGEN: Yes, I think you're absolutely right. Of course, that was the big topic in the run-up to this election as well, is where this country is going to move next after Angela Merkel.
Also taking stock of the leadership that Angela Merkel provided for this country, over four terms.
And I think one of the other interesting things to point out is most probably, if Angela Merkel were standing in this election, she probably would win this election again as well.
But of course, she isn't and therefore Germany is going to choose a new leader. I think, looking back at Angela Merkel's legacy, a lot of people will say obviously she provided strong leadership, that Germany was economically in a very strong position, basically in the entire time she was in office.
But especially in the early years, even before she became chancellor, she was also someone who was often underestimated as well. Let's have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Back to the roots for one of Germany's longest serving chancellors, Angela Merkel, planting a linden tree in Templin, the east German town she grew up in.
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): It will always be this way. I come from here. My roots are here. And they will always be here.
PLEITGEN: Angela Merkel still calls this place her home. It was from here in Templin that she set out decades ago and eventually became one of the most powerful women in the world.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): It was no easy journey. Often belittled in the male-dominated world of German conservative politics, many rivals failed to take her seriously enough and later regretted it, says Merkel's biographer.
RALPH BOLLMANN, ANGELA MERKEL'S BIOGRAPHER: When they realized that a woman from the East is able to play this game of power, it was too late, of course, for them.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): When Angela Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor in 2005, her style was completely different than previous chancellors; calm, quiet and reserved.
But what Merkel lacked in fiery rhetoric, she made up for as a crisis manager. Both during the Lehman collapse in 2008 and the Greek debt crisis in 2012, she took bold action to prop up the German economy and ailing E.U. member states, possibly saving the single currency, the euro.
MERKEL (through translator): Europe will fail if the euro fails. And Europe will win if the euro wins.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Arguably Angela Merkel's biggest hour came in 2015, as hundreds of thousands of refugees, mostly displaced by the Syrian civil war, were literally on the E.U.'s doorstep, seeking shelter. Angela Merkel led the E.U. as it opened its gates, taking in well over a million people.
MERKEL (through translator): We have achieved a match, we'll manage this. And wherever something gets in the way, we will overcome it.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But integration of the refugees proved more difficult, giving rise to nationalist forces in Germany, a slap in the face for Angela Merkel, says the editor-in-chief of Germany's largest daily, "Bild's" Julian Reichelt.
JULIAN REICHELT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "BILD": Praising Angela Merkel for open borders is much easier when you don't live in a poor neighborhood in Germany, where you live with the direct effects of open borders.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): While Angela Merkel did manage to win a fourth term in 2017, her popularity was waning. She announced she would not seek a fifth one. Still, the challenges kept coming, with the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President in 2016 and Trump's alienation of many of the U.S.' allies.
Merkel, a quantum chemist, often appeared stunned by some of the U.S. president's remarks.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: It's, you know, I have -- I have German in my blood. I'll be there.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Angela Merkel led Germany through the coronavirus pandemic but shortly before she steps down, her party's support has been collapsing, some say because she failed to address many important topics.
[04:35:00]
REICHELT: Zero progress when it comes to huge issues like digitization, for example. Germany, after 16 years of Merkel, basically hasn't moved at all.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Merkel herself says she wants some time off after leaving office. The first female chancellor in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, now waiting to see how her legacy will be remembered.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: So as you can see, it has been a long 16 years that Angela Merkel has been in office and really one also where she has had to manage a lot of crises, not just here in Germany and Europe but internationally as well.
I think, by and large, you know, when speaking to a lot of experts and a lot of Germans quite frankly, they believe she's done a very good job at managing the crises. However, if you look at fundamental social reforms in the country, if you look at Germany trying to get itself on track, to remain a really strong economy, well within -- or into the 21st century, that's where some people feel maybe not enough was done.
And that's all going to be unloaded now on whoever becomes Angela Merkel's successor, whoever wins this election today. So a lot at stake here in Germany with this election.
But also, of course, many people looking back at these past 16 years and, of course, a very prosperous one, with this leader, Angela Merkel, who, no doubt, is going to be one who is going to be remembered here in this country for a very, very, very long time -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Certainly. Great piece there. This is the beginning of a new era as people go to vote there in Germany. Fred Pleitgen, we'll check in with you later. Thanks so much.
A soft-spoken candidate without catchy campaign slogans isn't your typical front-runner but it is a strategy that looks like it might work for Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat and one the top contenders in the election. We'll introduce you to him coming up in the next hour.
But first, the latest in the case of Gabby Petito, killed while traveling across country with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. Now Laundrie is missing and facing an arrest warrant. We'll take you to where the search for him is focused.
Also, tens of thousands of Mexicans have gone missing in recent years. Families of victims speak out about their pursuit of justice and hope.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow. It is 40 minutes past the hour, live from Atlanta.
Well, Haiti's prime minister says migration won't end until inequality does. Ariel Henry spoke in a video to the U.N. on Saturday after thousands of migrants, mostly from Haiti, were cleared out from camps on the U.S.-Mexico border. Matt Rivers has more from the Mexican side of the frontier. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In a sign of how quickly things can change here at the U.S.-Mexico border, I'm standing in what was for the last few days an encampment for Haitian migrants.
As you can see, the camp is now totally empty. Overnight Friday into Saturday Mexican immigration officials cleared out this camp, the remaining dozens and dozens of migrants that were here now formally being put into Mexican immigration proceedings.
And as we walk a little bit, we can show you what the camp looks like. It was emptied not long after the last migrants on the U.S. side of the border, in a camp that was larger than the one in Mexico, that camp also in Del Rio, Texas, formally cleared on Friday.
The people who stayed here in Mexico, they did so because they thought, well, they have a better chance of not being deported. Even though the vast majority of Haitian migrants went to Del Rio, Texas, on the U.S. side, the people that stayed here thought they had a better chance of not being deported back to Haiti.
That fear for all migrants really, that made their way here to the U.S.-Mexico border, many times after a journey of multiple months, scared of being deported back to Haiti. It was on Friday, it struck our team when we heard the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, say the U.S. government, when making the decision to deport these Haitians back to a country many of them had never been to for years, they said that the U.S. -- he said the U.S. government made the determination that Haiti can in fact accept those migrants. They have the capacity to do so.
And that really struck us because we spent weeks reporting, my team and I, in Haiti, July, August, both after the assassination of the president of Haiti on July 7th and then again we went back for an earthquake that struck there on August 14th.
And what we saw was a country that is not ready to accept thousands of Haitian deportees, not only from the United States but from Mexico as well. Poverty remains incredibly high. Gang violence there is as bad as it has ever been.
And when you factor in that earthquake, there are already thousands and thousands of internally displaced people that are already struggling to find places to live. And now with all these other deportees being sent back, you're adding hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people, who also don't immediately have a place to go.
It is a very volatile situation. But despite all of that, the U.S. government, Mexican government proceeding at this point with these deportations, adding to a country that, in many cases, is already reeling -- Matt Rivers, Ciudad Acuna, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Haitian officials are reacting to images of U.S. border guards on horses confronting migrants. Haiti's foreign minister spoke earlier with CNN about how the U.S. is treating people at the border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAUDE JOSEPH, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER: We were really shocked and, as many Americans, as many voices, they have spoken out about the shocking images of horse mounted officials, whipping those migrants. Those are disturbing images.
We only ask that the Haitians are treated humanly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Haiti's foreign minister speaking there.
Haitians trying to enter the United States from Mexico can find themselves stranded in a country facing a different sort of crisis. Rafael Romo reports on the thousands of Mexican families demanding answers about their missing loved ones.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): On sidewalks, plazas, streets and highways around Mexico, the posters are everywhere. These are the faces of the missing people, tens of thousands of mainly young people from the lower and middle classes who have gone missing in the last decade.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
ROMO (voice-over): "Where are our children?"
[04:45:00]
ROMO (voice-over): The question has been asked thousands of times. But the answer remains elusive.
According to a government report published earlier this year, more than 85,000 people were reported missing or disappeared in Mexico between 2006 and April 2021. A journalist association, focused on the disappearances, puts the figure at 92,000.
ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, PRESIDENT OF MEXICO: (Speaking Spanish).
ROMO (voice-over): President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador calls this challenge a painful heritage for Mexico.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).
Others like, this children's rights advocate, says Mexico is facing an epidemic of disappearances.
Few other cases have made more headlines than the 43 students at a rural teachers' college who disappeared in 2014.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish). ROMO (voice-over): After years of uncertainty, President Lopez Obrador met with parents of the missing after he was elected in 2018 and two days after taking office promised there would be no impunity.
ROMO: In spite of repeated pleas over the years, protests and marches and meetings with government officials and several investigations by 2 different administrations, as well as international forensic experts, the parents of the 43 missing students feel they are no closer to knowing what happened to their children today than they were nearly 7 years ago.
ROMO (voice-over): Among the students went missing, this man said that his son called him the night he disappeared to let him know that the students were being shot at by police.
By the time we met again a year later, the government's version, that the students were killed and their bodies burned at a landfill, had been discredited by an independent group of forensic experts. Seven years later, the parents still say they are not giving up.
"Believe me, I will bring him back," he said, a hope that is shared by the parents of all 43 -- Rafael Romo, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Thanks, Rafael, for that story.
A memorial service will be held later today in New York for Gabby Petito. The 22-year-old was killed while on a cross country van life road trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. Laundrie has not been seen in over a week and there is a federal warrant for his arrest.
Now towards totaling $30,000 are being offered for any information that could lead to -- lead authorities to his location. Nadia Romero has more on this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADIA ROMERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are still many unanswered questions and to figuring out what happened to Gabby Petito before her death and where is Brian Laundrie now.
So here in Florida, there is an ongoing search at this reserve to try to see if Brian Laundrie is there. His parents told investigators that he was coming here last Tuesday and that they haven't heard or seen from him since. That's what's happening here in Florida.
In Wyoming, that's where investigators found the body of Gabby Petito. At least two people now have come forward, saying that they know that Brian Laundrie was in the area where her body was found because they gave him a ride when he was hitchhiking.
In Moab, Utah, there is an investigation ongoing about what happened after a domestic dispute call. Police interacted with Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie. And now there is an investigation as to how those officers responded and if they did so in the right way. And on Sunday, in Long Island, New York, there will be a memorial for
Gabby Petito -- Nadia Romero, CNN, Venice, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: London police say they have made a significant developments in the Sabina Nessa murder investigation. A 38-year-old man was taken into custody on suspicion of murder in East Sussex earlier this morning. Authorities say 28-year-old Nessa was murdered last Friday during a short walk from her home to a nearby pub.
With social media, many people in the limelight can experience online abuse and discrimination. After the break, we'll talk to a top woman's football coach in England about the impact this is having on her players.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: The United States could be just hours away from reclaiming golf's Ryder Cup. The American team has a dominant 11-5 lead over Europe, ahead of today's final round at the Whistling Straits course in Wisconsin. They need just 3.5 more points to dethrone the Europeans. Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele is leading the way.
Thousands of fans have packed the grounds, giving Team USA a raucous home field advantage.
And social media allows fans to get close to their favorite football players and sports people. But that's not always a good thing. As the Chelsea club undertakes its No to Hate photography competition, Amanda Davies speaks to Chelsea Women's manager Emma Hayes about the potential consequences of online abuse on players.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you see directly the impact that online abuse and discrimination has on your players?
EMMA HAYES, MANAGER, CHELSEA WOMEN: Yes, I have to live it every day. I have to manage young people and then the impact that has on them and their internal struggle, that translate into massive underperformance.
And I say it is despicable because, to think in this day and age, where we can track people's phones for pedophilia, paraphernalia, for example, that we're not in a position to shut down disgraceful messages.
[04:55:00] HAYES: If that doesn't change quite quickly, we'll be talking about some of the more severe ends of perhaps people taking their lives for some of the abuse they experience online.
DAVIES: You're seeing it have that big an impact on your players?
HAYES: Well, not -- I see what it does to their mood. I see what it does to their mindset. I see what it does to their confidence.
But there is no denying there are vulnerable athletes with mental health issues across the board, that, off the back of a bad game or for being a woman or being gay or being a different color or ethnicity, experience vile, abusive messages that could certainly put them in a position where they could contemplate that, yes.
DAVIES: If you had your way, would you take all your players off social media?
HAYES: One hundred percent, yes, I would, if I could. But we have to live with it. And if we're going to live with it, then those that profit from it should take responsibility. And if not, our national governments should force them to eradicate a culture of hate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: I'm Robyn Curnow. Important conversation that we'll continue to monitor here at CNN. You can follow me, though, on Twitter and on Instagram @RobynCurnowCNN. I'll be back with more. Stay with us.
