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Coronavirus Pandemic; The Biden Agenda; Fumio Kishida Takes Office As Japan's New Prime Minister; Facebook Under Fire; China Tensions. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired October 04, 2021 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[01:00:16]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes, appreciate your company. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom. Cheers the season to avoid COVID. The CDC has released new guidelines to help your family stay healthy over the holidays.

Also a Facebook whistleblower is speaking out why she says teenage girls are victims of the company's corporate greed.

Also potential ecological disaster a dire warning tonight from local leaders after a major oil spill off the California coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: And with the U.S. finally seeing some positive trends in the fight against COVID-19. Health officials urging Americans not to let their guard down especially with the busy holiday season fast approaching.

The CDC has released new COVID guidelines for the holidays saying the most important thing you can do to stay safe is get vaccinated, of course. The agency is also encouraging people to mask up in areas with high transmission rates and consider virtual celebrations rather than in person gatherings.

Meanwhile, in New York City public school employees who have not been vaccinated, well, they're not going to be allowed back in the door on Monday. Under the district's new policy unvaccinated employees could be placed on unpaid leave until next September. Some teachers are challenging the policy in court but on Friday, they failed to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to hold enforcement while the case plays out.

For the first time in months new COVID cases and hospital admissions in the U.S. are on the decline. And on Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the U.S. appears to be turning a corner but he warned Americans against getting too complacent, saying millions more still need to get vaccinated. CNN's Polo Sandoval with more. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): United States may be turning the corner when it comes to its latest COVID surge but in order to keep the hospitalization and infection numbers down, more people need to get vaccinated. That's the word from the nation's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci was also Chief Medical adviser to President Biden over the weekend as the United States surpassed 700,000 deaths.

Anthony Fauci said it's still more needs to be done in terms of vaccination efforts. The latest CDC numbers showing that about 56 percent of Americans are fully protected right now against the virus through a vaccine. He also expressed some concern that with the promise of a new COVID treatment and new, oral, antiviral, and many of those on vaccine Americans may simply choose to bypass getting vaccinated. Fauci saying that is not a good idea.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONLA INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It is never okay to get infected. You know, you heard the numbers, it decreased the risk of this pill did have hospitalizations and deaths by 50 percent. You know, the way to decrease the risk by 100 percent don't get infected in the first place.

SANDOVAL: Merck and Ridgeback Therapeutics, the maker of that antiviral says that their product can potentially cut the risk of COVID death and hospitalizations by nearly half those companies saying that they plan to submit their product for emergency use authorization to the FDA as soon as possible. Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HOLMES: U.S. President Joe Biden has a busy week ahead in the coming hours, he'll speak about the need to raise the debt ceiling to prevent the U.S. from defaulting for the first time in history. And on Tuesday, he heads to Michigan to rally support for a pair of multi trillion dollar bills that represent the heart of his legislative agenda.

The vote on the bipartisan infrastructure deal, which was delayed twice last week has now been pushed back to the end of the month. And progressive Democrats insist it will not pass unless they get the even larger spending bill across the finish line as well.

So, here's where things stand right now. The White House offering a compromise with just -- a number of just over $2 trillion, but there's no indication yet if moderates such as Joe Manchin, who wanted 1.5 trillion and willing to go that high or if progressives who already compromised down from 3.5 trillion will agree to that number. CNN Suzanne Malveaux with the latest details.

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SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressing pause on these high stakes fast paced negotiations between the warring factions of her own party now issuing a new deadline of October 31 for a vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

[01:05:09]

She said in a Dear Colleague letter issued on Saturday, a very blunt language that they did not have the support that they needed more time more Democrats to get on to vote for that infrastructure bill, along with a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, a bigger spending package that the President is pushing forward.

And despite multiple visits from the president with these groups of moderates, and progressives, they were not able to come up with a figure that they could agree on. We heard from Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate, saying that $1.5 trillion is what he's looking at. But the chair of the progressives in the Democratic Caucus say that's not even close.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL, (D-WA): That's too small to get our priorities. And so it's going to be somewhere, you know, between 1.5 and 3.5. And I think the White House is working on that right now. Because remember, what we want to deliver is childcare, paid leave --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

JAYAPAL: -- climate change.

MALVEAUX: So while this new deadline gives the progressive Democrats more time to negotiate, there's real frustration among the moderate Democrats like Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who believed that this undercuts undermines the momentum from Republican support for the infrastructure bill.

And there are some Republicans who are now beginning to say yes, that might in fact be the case. They're using this division within the Democratic Party to make a case that the party is incompetent. But they are also saying too, that they have leverage that perhaps some of these republicans will withdraw their support for that bipartisan infrastructure bill.

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): When that bipartisan bill passed a 50-50 Senate it had 69 votes, it was a lot of momentum on its side, in any kind of a normal world that would have been signed into law by the President. This was two months ago.

MALVEAUX: While progressive Democrats say they're reticent to talk about the final number on that reconciliation bill, the cost of it they said they'd rather talk about the issues the priorities of the agenda, the programs that they would like to fund first, but they are in a situation where that might actually take more time and even be more difficult than talking about dollars and cents. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN at the Capitol.

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HOLMES: Japan's parliament has formally confirmed for confirmed Fumio Kishida as prime minister. The 64-year old former top diplomat now takes the reins of the world's third largest economy while navigating the coronavirus pandemic and of course regional challenges like North Korea.

Kishida emerged as the winner of a hotly contested election for leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party last week. Selina Wang joins me now live from Tokyo. Tell us about the election and how differently this new prime minister might govern especially since he's got an election coming up almost immediately.

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kishida is considered to be the status quo pick. He's expected to largely continue the policies of his predecessors and in fact, his cabinet is set to be heavy on allies a former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and his first test, as you say is going to be this upcoming general election. He's going to be the face of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that has faced heavy criticism for the leadership of outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Suga was criticized for his handling of the pandemic for pushing ahead with the Olympics despite surging COVID-19 cases.

And Michael while the LDP is expected to maintain its dominance, the risk here is that it could weaken if Kishida isn't able to excite the voters because Kishida was not the popular pick as Japan's next prime minister. He is a ex-Ford minister. He's a political veteran, but he has struggled to shake off this image as just another boring politician.

But ultimately the ruling party went with Kishida, who is seen as a safe and stable choice as prime minister.

Now because she campaigned on boosting the incomes of the middle and lower class on narrowing the income gap and on spending billions to boost the Japanese economy that has been hard hit by the pandemic.

Domestically, one of his biggest challenges is going to be keeping COVID-19 cases low. Japan has dealt with multiple ways, multiple surges and infections and finally it is starting to exit the state of emergency and these restrictions are being slowly lifted.

Now on foreign policies, his key challenges are going to be dealing with growing risks from North Korea and China. He's expected to support a strong U.S.-Japan alliance and alliances with other allies to form a bulwark against China.

Now the business community here is going to be closely watching how Kishida navigates and balances the growing Beijing military assertiveness from China as well as the deep economic ties that Japan has with China.

I spoke to the CEO of Suntory, who is an economic adviser to the outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and this is what he had to tell me about Kishida.

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TAKESHI NIINAMI, CEO, SUNTORY Many complicated issues and he is not the strongest leader in the ruling party of LDP. So I'm so concerned about the revolt being the Prime Minister system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:10:20]

WANG: The big question in Japan is just how long Kishida is going to remain as prime minister because prior to Shinzo Abe, who was Japan's longest serving Prime Minister, Japan cycled through six prime ministers in six years, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Selina thanks so much. Selina Wang there in Tokyo for us.

Now Facebook whistleblower is speaking out publicly accusing the company of placing profit over public good. During an interview with 60 Minutes, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager says the social media giant knows its platforms are used to spread hate violence and misinformation. And she says Instagram which Facebook bought back in 2012 makes eating disorders and thoughts of suicide worse in teenage girls, and it's hiding all of this damning evidence, she says in order to protect its profits. Here's more from 60 Minutes and it's report.

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SCOTT PELLEY, "60 MINUTES" CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Evidence of harm she says extends to Facebook's Instagram app. One of the Facebook internal studies that you found talks about how Instagram harms teenage girls.

FRANCES HAUGEN, FACEBOOK WHISTLEBLOWER: Oh yes.

PELLEY: One study says 13 and a half percent of teen girls say Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse. 17 percent of teen girls say Instagram makes eating disorders worse.

HAUGEN: And what's super tragic is Facebook's own research says as these young women begin to consume this eating disorder content, they get more and more depressed. And it actually makes them use the app more. And so they end up in this feedback cycle where they hate their bodies more and more.

Facebook's own research says it is not just that Instagram is dangerous for teenagers that are harms teenagers, is that it is distinctly worse than other forms of social media.

PELLEY: Facebook said Just last week it would postpone plans to create an Instagram for younger children. Last month, Haugen's lawyers filed at least eight complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission which enforces the law in financial markets.

The complaints compare the internal research with the company's public face. Often that of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, here testifying remotely to Congress last March.

MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK CEO: We removed content that could lead to imminent real world harm. We built an unprecedented third party fact checking program. The system isn't perfect, but it's the best approach that we've found to address misinformation in line with our country's value.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Facebook released a statement about the report you just watched it says on Sunday, CBS 60 Minutes ran a segment that used select company materials to tell a misleading story about the research we do to improve our products. The segment also disregards the significant investments we make to keep people safe on our platform and seeks to impugn the motivations of our company.

Let's bring in Mike Isaac a technology correspondent for The New York Times. Thanks so much for being with us. Among the many things that whistleblower Frances Haugen said was this quote, The version of Facebook that exists today is tearing our societies apart and causing ethnic violence around the world. Just how damning are these allegations?

MIKE ISAAC, TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: Yes, I mean, this is pretty much one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sort of research dumps of internal Facebook data I've ever seen in the company's existence. They've had people sort of churn through as you know, sort of leakers over the years and express different kinds of dissatisfaction.

But, you know, for the past three weeks, it's been story after story, whether it's human trafficking and drug dealing and money laundering on the platform, or, you know, Instagram harming children or different two tiered system for people on the platform. So it really is the most sustained set of crises they've been in in some time.

HOLMES: And in part as we said, the company says Haugen tells a quote, misleading story and impugns Facebook, what do you make of the Facebook response? I know you said one thing they're doing is hunting down leakers.

ISAAC: Yes, that's right. So I mean, it's hard to, I guess, be fair to Facebook. It's hard to tell an entire story of very granular research in a headline and you know, smallest summation of a story. You know, we're talking about thousands of pages of internal documents and slide decks research.

[01:15:08]

So, you know, Facebook's argument is we're taking this sort of blunt approach to very nuanced stuff. I think that's true. But at the same time, if you notice in a lot of their statements, they don't directly refute a lot of the assertions that they make, particularly because it's their own research that's being presented.

HOLMES: Yes, that's a really good point. Congress has more than once expressed its concerns about social media companies and Facebook in particular, can we expect these latest allegations to garner more political attention? ISAAC: I'm very curious about that. You know, on Tuesday, in the United States, we have a hearing in front of senators, Blumenthal and Blackburn. And we're going to see at least this whistleblower testify, you know, I would have said, you know, I would have thought it was a certainty maybe we'll see regulation or momentum, but 2018 around Cambridge Analytica, if you remember that held a series of hearings, no bills have come out of that, or have made it out and passed into law. So very curious how long the momentum stays up around this.

HOLMES: Yes, good point and Analytic -- Cambridge Analytica excellent point. As the whistleblower herself said, and I think it's a fair question just, you know, Facebook's all about profits, which she said, Will advertisers and investors care about any of this? It's a good question, isn't it?

ISAAC: No, absolutely. I mean, that, you know, last summer, there was a advertiser boycott called by some groups that seemed to last about a few weeks. But ultimately, Facebook, ended up posting record profits and making more money than it ever has before. So it's very difficult to convince Wall Street investors as well as advertisers to change their minds, especially when Facebook has such a stranglehold on how digital advertising works in the first place. So it's really until there's an alternative for them to choose. They're kind of stuck with buying Facebook ads, for better or worse.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. Did Facebook take any concrete steps when these allegations these concerns were raised about the negative impacts of Facebook and Instagram and the various platforms? Did -- What do they do about it?

ISAAC: Yes, so you know, one of the things they've been saying and sort of maintain is, look, this is our own research that we're doing. Part of this finding harm in our products is so we can change the products and make them better over time. And to be fair to the company, they have taken some steps, you know, part of the impetus for creating Instagram kids is to put more safeguards around the app.

But at the same time, you know, none of this research would have ever seen the light of day basically, unless we had this leaker whistleblower sort of come through and put it out there. And Facebook will always have the sort of incentive to present their best face to the public and say, here's all the good things that we're doing without really wanting us to know the actual costs of the platform and society.

HOLMES: Yes, great analysis, Mike Isaac with the New York Times. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

ISAAC: Thank you for having me.

HOLMES: North Korea picks up the phone after more than a year of radio silence with South Korea. The North reopens a hotline between the two countries but it comes with conditions. We'll have the latest from Seoul. Also the U.S. weigh in on the rising tensions between Beijing and Taiwan. We'll go live to Taipei for the latest on those incursions by warplanes from the mainland. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:22:31]

HOLMES: The Chinese property giant Evergrande Group has halted trading and shares of its stock. The massive real estate firm did not specify a reason for the stoppage. Evergrande is one of China's largest developers and one of the world's biggest businesses by revenue. However, it's also China's most indebted developer and disclose financial challenges in recent weeks.

North Korea has reopened communications with South Korea after cutting ties back in 2020. South Korea's unification ministry confirms the North responded on a hotline early on Monday morning, a communications link between the two countries militaries has also now been restored.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowing to reestablish hotlines with the South during his speech last week. CNN's Paula Hancocks, following developments for us from Seoul joins me now live. Obviously good news, what's behind the decision? And might it last?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the second question, Michael is really an impossible one to answer. We have seen the hotline being restored and then cut off once again by Pyongyang to show its displeasure at Seoul. So it's really used quite often by North Korea to show that they are angry about something.

As you say back in June of last year, it was cut off and in fact that the liaison office between North and South Korea was blown up by North Korea because they were unhappy with South Korea, it was reinstated briefly. In July of this year, they did start these hotlines once again, but they only lasted a couple of weeks before North Korea cut them off once again saying that they were angry at the U.S.-South Korean military drills going ahead.

So it is positive news that they are being reconnected. We know the South Korean officials have spoken to the North Korean officials on these hotlines this morning. But we don't know how long it will last. We did hear what the South Korean officials said quote, it's been a while and I'm glad that the communication lines have been restored like this. I hope that the inter-Korean relations can develop into a new era and the communication now the communication line has been restored.

So suddenly (ph), Seoul is putting a positive spin on it and it was the North Korean leader himself Kim Jong-un, who floated the idea last week of these hotlines being reinstated. We've also been hearing from North Korea that they advise South Korea to abandon quote, double standards and delusion, saying that North Korea has the right to test weapons to self-defense, especially at a time when we're seeing South Korea testing its own missiles.

[01:25:10]

Now we have seen a number of missile tests from Pyongyang in the last week, in the last few weeks, including a hypersonic missile, some what they call strategic cruise missiles, also anti-aircraft missiles. So we have seen an uptick in the amount of new weapons testing coming from North Korea. And yet at the same time we are seeing this reconnection between North and South, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Paula, thanks for the reporting there in Seoul. Paula Hancocks for us.

Now the U.S. is urging Beijing to deescalate after reports the mainland keep sending warplanes into Taiwan's air defense identification zone. Taiwan officials say they saw a record number of incursions on Friday and Saturday. The self-governing Island scrambling its own aircraft and air defenses in response.

For the latest developments, let's bring in CNN's Will Ripley, who is live for us in Taipei. Tell us about the reaction, the U.S. reaction to it. And the risks being that, you know, actions of rhetoric ramp up even further.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there certainly is growing concern of some sort of miscalculation that could lead to a military conflict. And if you have a large number of Chinese aerial hardware in the skies, uncomfortably close to Taiwan, at least from the perspective of the leadership here.

I'll show you the list of what flew into Taiwan self-declared Air Defense Identification Zone from Friday to Sunday, a total of 93 Chinese warplanes including 80 fighters, four bombers, five anti- submarine aircraft and four early warning aircraft. You have a statement that is now out from the U.S. State Department talking about American concerns in this region, saying quote, the United States is very concerned by the People's Republic of China's provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilizing risks, miscalculations and undermines regional peace and stability. We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan. The U.S. commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.

We'd love to get a response from Beijing, but they're in the middle of a holiday period. They celebrated their national day on Friday, Michael, more than 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China. A lot of analysts think that this kind of military incursion, this intimidation of Taiwan, as they view it here is actually a propaganda message for the audience in the mainland to project strength.

At this time that the Chinese Communist Party is celebrating more than seven years ruling the mainland, of course, they also extended their claims of sovereignty to Taiwan itself. They've claimed this island ever since the end of China's Civil War. The government here democratically elected rejects those claims and says the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China has never ruled this island, even though they have a territorial claim over at Taiwan rejects that, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, and real quick. You've spent a lot of time in Taiwan of late. I'm curious what the average citizen there thinks of China and its claims on Taiwan and what China's long term goal might be.

RIPLEY: It's more divided than you might think, in terms of the pro- Beijing camp and the pro current government, the pro Taipei camp, if you will, it's hard to find somebody here in Taiwan who wants to be taken over by the mainland who wants the authoritarian system, the internet censorship, the lack of human rights and all the things that come with being ruled by the mainland, but you will find a lot of people here who support a return to -- when their view more sustainable cross state relations, dialing back the rhetoric, trying to work together, trying to find common ground, trying to cooperate economically, there certainly is significant economic benefit for any country that plays by China's rules.

But for those who feel that the government should take a harder line stance and push back against China. They think that President Xi has changed the equation and that if you give China just an inch, they'll take a foot in terms of what, you know, they're going to expect from Taiwan.

And so there really is quite a division here in terms of people that want to work with China, people that want to push back and distance themselves even further from China. And a lot of people after watching what happened in Hong Kong really don't have a whole lot of trust in the Mainland's motives at this stage.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. Great reporting. Our CNN's Will Ripley there in Taipei for us.

Quick break here on the program. When we come back, California might have a new environmental disaster on its hands after an oil spill near Los Angeles. What we're learning about investigation into the spill coming up.

Also a young mother shot by school safety officer is on life support and her family say the officer's actions were not justified in any way. We'll be right back.

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[01:33:13]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: A potential ecological disaster is unfolding off the coast of southern California. Thousands of barrels of oil are being poured into the ocean, after a leak in a pipeline discovered on Saturday.

Drivers have been inspecting a stretch of pipelines spanning 17 miles, or about 27 kilometers, hoping to find the exact source of the spill. Officials now say the leak appears to have stopped, but the threat to areas near Los Angeles far from over.

For more on this, I'm joined by meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. What are you seeing in terms of where this is headed, Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, Michael this is a very different setup than what we saw in 2010 with the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico because that was a raw crude. And you've got to keep in mind, what we are looking at here is the tar now arrives on the coastal communities there -- Newport Beach, Huntington Beach.

This is more of a post-production oil, so it is a lot less than, it certainly is a lot more readily spread with the winds across this region, certainly the shores as well, the offshore winds that can push some of this towards the coastal communities. And we've already begun to see that take shape here in the last several hours.

But the area of coverage sitting at about 8,300 acres, that is the oil sheet that is just offshore or little over 3,000 hectares. That is larger than the city of Santa Monica, as far as how much area of water it encompasses.

So it is a pretty expensive area of the spill that has taken place. And going in for a closer perspective, we know of at least 23 oil rigs that are offshore in southern California. Some of them have been decommissioned, a lot of them have been there since the 1960s into the 1970s.

[01:34:47]

JAVAHERI: Elly is the one of concern right now. You notice here, it sits about 9 miles or 15 kilometers offshore and in that area of polygon that again, it's about 15 kilometers offshore, that is where we have the several oil rigs that are in place.

The red lines, those are indicative of the pipelines that Michael kind of referenced being about 17 miles or 27 kilometers. That stretches all the way to Long Beach, California. And it is in that northern red line right there, where we have had the spill -- where we've had the essentially jeopardized part of the pipeline that has led to the spill that has taken place.

Important to note, when it comes to all of this and what has taken place, of course, we have seen this happen in years past. Most recently, in southern California, back in 1990, some 400,000 plus gallons spilled at that time.

And in 1969, that was the highest amount, 3 million gallons spilled. Currently sitting at about 130,000 gallons. But you notice, Michael across this region not only quite a bit of wildlife, of course, that we have talked about. The ecological damage potential.

When you look offshore in this region of southern California, one of the most productive fish habitats in the world, studies have shown that about 27 times greater fish production happens offshore here than most areas with similar depth around the world.

So again, potential very high here to see widespread damage with the oil spill in place there.

HOLMES: That is just dreadful.

Pedram, thank you. Pedram Javaheri there. Appreciate it. Now the family of a young mother shot by a school safety officer is planning to take her off life support. Police say 18-year-old Mona Rodriguez was shot in the head after getting into a physical altercation with a 15-year-old girl near a California high school campus.

Natasha Chen has more details on what unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 18 year old Mona Rodriguez has lost all brain function and is being taken off life support, according to her family. She leaves behind her 5-month-old baby.

Her family's attorney says she was shot in the head by a school safety officer on September 27th. Investigators say 18-year-old Rodriguez and a 15-year-old were fighting outside the Millikan High School campus.

The school safety officer intervened. Then, police say Rodriguez got in the front passenger seat of this gray sedan. A warning, this cell phone video taken by a student can be disturbing.

It shows the car starting to leave and the school safety officer can be heard firing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has his gun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. Get down. No.

RAFEUL CHOWDHURY, MONA RODRIGUEZ'S BOYFRIEND: I don't think my girlfriend deserved this, you know? It was all for no reason. He never told us anything. All we did is got in the car and left.

CHEN: Rodriguez's 20-year-old boyfriend, who is also the father of her 5-month-old child, was driving the car. His 16-year-old brother said he was in the backseat.

The brother said the school safety officer had only warned about using pepper spray.

SHAHRIEAR CHOWDHURY, MONA RODRIGUEZ'S FRIEND: He said that when the two females were fighting, if they don't stop, that he's going to pepper spray, and which they stopped.

CHEN: A vigil was held outside Long Beach Memorial Hospital this week where Rodriguez's heartbroken family demanded justice.

CHEN: Long Beach police, who were not involved in the shooting, are investigating, along with the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Family attorney Luis Carrillo (ph) is also calling for the California attorney general to investigate.

LUIS CARRILLO, RODRIGUEZ FAMILY ATTORNEY: Everybody is upset that a rogue officer did this ugly thing that he did, shot at an 18-year-old young lady and is still walking the streets. This officer should be in jail right now.

CHEN: School safety officers are employees of the district, not of any police department, according to Long Beach Unified School District. The public information director said the safety officer had been employed since January of this year and had completed more than 600 hours of state-required peace officer training and twice yearly firearms training.

The officer is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, the school district said.

ALEX VILLASENOR, MONA RODRIGUEZ'S COUSIN: She might have been doing something she wasn't supposed to, but she was unarmed, she was already fleeing. There was no reason for that cop to fire.

CHEN: Long Beach Unified School District shared its use of force policy with us. It says, school safety officers have the duty to use firearms only for self-defense or defense of others, to prevent death or great bodily injury.

It also says officers shall not fire warning shots, shall not fire at a fleeing person, at a moving vehicle, or through a vehicle window unless, quote, "circumstances clearly warrant the use of a firearm as a final means of defense".

Cheryl Dorsey, a retired Los Angeles Police officer, saw the witness video and noted that there were many children around who could have inadvertently been harmed by the gunfire.

CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LOS ANGELES POLICE OFFICER: There is no imminent threat to that officer or anyone else, as they are seated in a vehicle and driving away. Get a license plate number, there were so many other options, tactically available.

CHEN: Instead, now a baby is left without his mother and her family is left seeking answers.

Natasha Chen, CNN -- Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:39:54]

HOLMES: There is much more to come here on CNN, including a look at the dangerous journey through the Americas made by Haitian migrants and many others, in hope of finding a better life.

And the head of an independent commission investigating sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church sharing details of what they have uncovered.

We will have more from Paris after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Welcome back.

Senior U.S. officials confirmed their commitment to the humane repatriation of migrants during meetings in Port-au-Prince, with Haiti's prime minister last week. Now, that pledge will likely be put to the test because thousands of Haitians are still attempting the dangerous trek to the U.S. from South America.

Stefano Pozzebon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Trudging across rivers up rocky slopes and through gorges of mud they crossed nearly 100 kilometers of jungle. The terrain as much of a threat as criminal gangs lurking inside.

These Haitian migrants are among thousands in Colombia, continuing a perilous journey with a singular goal.

"The fear is there," says Haitian migrant Francisco, "but it last for a minute or a half an hour then goes away. Because you regain motivation to reach the United States."

Francisco is following a route thousands of migrants have taken northwards, from Colombia, they (INAUDIBLE) in Necocli, ride by boat to Acandi - then cross Colombia's Darien Gap jungle towards the Panamanian border.

Most travel three to four days in that stretch of rainforest partially controlled by criminal groups and traffickers, who allegedly rob, rape, and assault some of those passing through.

Undeterred, thousands are braving the dangerous journey. Many had migrated from Haiti to South America years earlier, but recently, increasingly strict immigration policies, pandemic impacts, and in some places racism, are pushing them out of the countries where they had once settled.

[01:44:57]

POZZEBON: In recent months, easing pandemic travel restrictions has led to a surge in migrant traffic along the treacherous route. It is a continued dilemma passed from one country to the next.

In August, Colombia and Panama agreed 500 migrants will cross for each day but local officials say that quota is too low, leaving thousands stacking cities and towns where resources are running out.

JORGE TOBON, NECOCLI, COLOMBIA MAYOR (through translator): The people feel desperate because they can no longer get food. In addition, many migrants are running out of money. Migrants have been more than a month in our municipality. The situation is unbearable and very complicated for us.

POZZEBON: It seems few places in Latin America are well equipped to welcome Haitian refugees, who are among scores of other migrants here, also fleeing political upheaval, economic unrest, and violence at home.

In recent years, millions have ford across the borders of Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras, and elsewhere in the region while hundreds of thousands more have arrived from west Africa.

One of them is Edam Agranzo (ph), a chef from Togo who migrated to Chile to work as a gardener. When we first met several weeks ago, Edam was crossing the same stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama, determined to reach his final destination.

(on camera): Where in the United States you want to go?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Georgia. Georgia. Because I have --

POZZEBON (voice over): On September 15th, Edam message me saying he made it. He had crossed into the United States, but that was the last I heard from him. Since then, he was been unresponsive. What became of his long journey, unclear.

Tracing Edam's path, these migrants also facing uncertain fate. But they desperately seek a better life and risk everything in hope they may find it.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN -- Bogota.

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HOLMES: Now, we are learning new and disturbing details ahead of a report into sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church set to be published on Tuesday. The head of an independent commission says the number of pedophiles that have worked in the church over seven decades number in the thousands.

CNN's Cyril Vanier has more from Paris.

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CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): France's Catholic Church has never known anything like this. A report on abuse within the Church unprecedented in scope and scale.

The headline: up to 3,200 pedophiles have work in the French Catholic Church since 1950. And victims number in the thousands. That is according to the president of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse.

Now the reports, the result of the commission's 32 months of investigation, is described as extremely thorough and is set to publish Tuesday, and will contain a lot more damning detail.

Numerous stories of abuse committed on children and an investigation into how this was allowed to happen. One victim who testified before this commission was abused when he was 11 and says that the church is still in denial. Separately, the head of the victims group warned that the report would hit like a tsunami and show the collective responsibility of the church.

Now, it is worth noting that this was initiated by the Catholic Church here, which has taken steps in recent years to prevent abuse. The Conference of French Bishops mandated an independent commission to look into the churches failings.

The commission's Web site, however, says its purpose is not to establish personal responsibility in individual cases, but to understand how the abuse was allowed to happen and prevent it from ever happening again.

The French church now bracing for the fallout. Church authorities sent a message to be read at every parish in the country during Sunday mass. That message, that the publication of the report would be, quote, "a test of truth".

Cyril Vanier, CNN -- Paris.

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HOLMES: Arguably the greatest NFL player of all-time has added another record to his already illustrious career. Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady becoming the National Football League's all-time passing yards leader on Sunday night. And he did it against his former team, the New England Patriots.

Brady's career passing yards now stand at 80,560 just ahead of former New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees. And the cherry on top, Brady and the Buccaneers beat the Patriots 19 to 17.

The latest James Bond film premiered in London last week. After the break, a conversation with the man who keeps Daniel Craig in peak 007 physical condition. Nice jacket.

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The new James Bond film, "No Time to Die", premiered in London last week and has already pulled in nearly $120 million in limited international release.

Christina MacFarlane spoke with the man who trains actors for the role as the world's best known super spy.

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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Despite an uncanny physical resemblance, this isn't Craig's body double, but rather his personal trainer and close friend, Simon Waterson.

SIMON WATERSON, DANIEL CRAIG'S PERSONAL TRAINER: I have a military background. I was in the Navy myself. Then I transitioned out of the Navy into the fitness world. Out of the blue, I got a few calls from different movie productions to actually look after their actors, with that kind of like that military mentality.

In the beginning from "Casino Royale", Daniel -- he had a firm vision of kind of what he wanted and what he wanted to portray. He always from the very, very beginning, he never wanted a trainer. He wanted a training partner.

So, whatever he did I did. So, sometimes a bit complicated because we don't know who was training who. We mapped out a certain sudden path that was relevant to kind of like the script.

[01:54:51]

WATERSON: So, the first one, you can see, it's that quite iconic shot of him coming out of the water in the blue trunks, which happened -- is almost like a happy accident. We didn't plan for that because our mantra or the way we work is not really around the complete aesthetic. It is all about performance.

That physique just so happens to look like that because of the nature of the work.

I will look at a certain sequence and I will try to mimic that sequence within the content of the gym. So for instance like where there are a lot of times -- everything is movement based. It's a lot of kind of like a very fast feet and being to move around corners very, very quickly, be on the ground, get up off the ground, you may have something in front of you that you need to climb over whether it be a wall or whether it be a balustrade.

So if you condition all those in the gym, then take it to the stunt room, then take it to the stage.

It's like training for the Olympics doing your event, but then doing your event every day for seven months. A shooting schedule is brutal. It is not an easy task to ask a guy to perform as an athlete every day, six days a week.

and the thing is that with Daniel, he is just meticulous, he is compliant, and he is probably one of the fittest people that I have ever trained in my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Looks fun, doesn't? Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @HolmesCNN.

Do stick around, my colleague and country person, Rosemary Church will take over in just a moment.

You are watching CNN.

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