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U.S. Missionary Group Kidnapped In Haiti; Venezuelan President's Alleged Moneyman Extradited To U.S.; David Amess Remembered; Police Officer Killed In Texas Shooting; Russia Hits New Record For Daily COVID-19 Cases; U.S. To Open Borders To Vaccinated Travelers; Steve Bannon Defying House Subpoena; U.S. Capitol Police Officer Indicted For Obstruction of Justice; NASA Launches Mission To Explore Asteroids. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired October 17, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I want to welcome all of you watching in the states and around the world. I'm Paula Newton. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Breaking news right now: as many as 17 Americans are reported kidnapped in Haiti.

Also, new security concerns for British lawmakers after Friday's terror attack took the life of a member of Parliament.

Plus, how the U.S. is planning to welcome international travelers in the age of COVID.

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NEWTON: OK. We begin with the latest developments in that breaking news story we're covering out of Haiti, a group of 17 Christian missionaries abducted by gangs outside of Port-au-Prince.

"The Washington Post" reports one of the victims posted a call for help on the WhatsApp messaging service while they were being kidnapped. An Ohio-based organization called Christian Aid Ministries has confirmed that the victims are members of its group. And we got more a little earlier from CNN's Matt Rivers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Basically, this is an ongoing situation at this point. I can tell you, is we were doing stories about kidnappings months ago. When we were, there after the Haitian president was assassinated, July 7th. This has been an issue that is played Haiti for a long time.

This year, specifically, a significant spike in kidnappings. And I have a couple statistics I can read to you. Since January, at least 628 kidnappings have taken place, 29 of, them

before this latest kidnapping 29 of whom, were foreigners. That is according to data from a nonprofit group, that tracks this, in Port- au-Prince.

All these gangs, do this for ransom money, which they are were often paid, sometimes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Depending on the analyst you speak to, 50 percent of Port-au-Prince is in the hands of gangs, Robyn.

So it is an extremely dangerous time, for people, right, now in Port- au-Prince. And, this latest kidnapping, is just further proof of a horrific situation, right now, in that country's capital.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: That's Matt Rivers there, speaking to us earlier. And we'll continue to follow developments in that story.

Meantime, a money laundering case in the United States could have big consequences for six oil executives currently being held in Venezuela.

There are five U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident in the so-called CITGO six. And it's feared they could pay the price after a suspect with close ties to embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was handed over to U.S. officials. Stefano Pozzebon has the latest on this extradition case.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Five U.S. citizens and a U.S. (INAUDIBLE) resident, who were serving house arrest in Caracas, Venezuela, were picked up by the country's security service on Saturday, just hours after Alex Saab, a Colombian financier, who works very close with embattled leader, Nicolas Maduro, was extradited, from the Cape Verde, to the United States.

He was first arrested, in Cape Verde 2020. Saab faces charges of money laundering in Florida, related to his activity as a government contractor in Venezuela. The men, detained in Caracas, are known, collectively, as the CITGO 6.

They are former executives of U.S. oil refinery CITGO. And their arrests, in Venezuela, since 2017. They are facing corruption charges, which they deny and, they were moved to house arrest, just in April, this year.

One of them was able to send a video message to his family, shortly before his detention.

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JOSE PEREIRA, VENEZUELAN DETAINEE (through translator): We are here, recording this video, because at this time, we are very worried and our families are very worried. We don't know what's going to happen to us, now that Alex has been extradited. We are worried. And our families are very worried.

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POZZEBON: Saab is now expected to face a U.S. court, in the coming weeks -- for CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

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[05:05:00]

NEWTON: To the U.K., where a government source says that the suspect in fatal stabbing of MP David Amess is Ali Harbi Ali, a British national of Somali heritage. Police are treating the case as a terror attack and crown prosecutors say they are supporting the investigation.

The fatal attack, the second in five years against a member of Parliament, has heightened security concerns for all lawmakers. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us now from London with the latest.

There is more to be said about the investigation as we continue to get more details. But I was struck, Salma, by the fact that there were some lawmakers, some MPs, that held those open office hours in the last day, even though many of them admit to being terrified.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is one of the most crucial details of this brutal murder that has this country reeling, the fact that Sir David Amess, this Conservative MP, was doing something that he loves to do, which he has done for decades, which is to meet with his voters, in which is called here constituency surgery hours, essentially, open hours.

And it's during this very important work that that 25-year-old man entered this church and stabbed Amess multiple times, killing him. We went to the town in Southend, which Amess represented. And we really found a community that was heartbroken, mourning not just the loss of a lawmaker, Paula, but really a community leader.

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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): David Amess doing what he loved the most, serving his community.

DAVID AMESS, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: These people have proved that music is magic and that dreams can come true.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): He helped organize this event in 2019, where 200 people with learning disabilities performed at the famous Royal Albert Hall. It was a dream he accomplished with his friend of 25 years, David Stanley.

DAVID STANLEY, FOUNDER AND CEO, MUSIC MAN PROJECT: I think Sir David Amess was probably the proudest he had ever been and he was in his element at that moment, telling the audience that, we have done it, we have achieved our goal. ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Stanley teaches music to people with

disabilities. And as news of the brutal stabbing broke, he was with his students.

STANLEY: Some of them were becoming aware of what had happened. And as we always do we, used music to somehow come to terms with what was happening on that Friday.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The 69-year old passionately represented Southend and Essex for nearly 4 decades. First elected to Parliament in 1983, he was one of Britain's longest serving MPs. Amess was a Conservative but seen as a moderate voice at a time of divisive politics.

AMESS: I would ask my right our noble friend if you would find time for debate on World Animal Day.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The father of five was also a dedicated animal welfare advocate and a huge dog lover. He was also fiercely dedicated to the needs of his constituents. His friend, Father Jeffrey Woolnough, told us.

JEFFREY WOOLNOUGH, EASTWOOD PARISH PRIEST: He was just so easy to like. If you wanted something done, you just had to ask Sir David Amess. And you can bet your bottom dollar that would happen, you really could.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Now Woolnough is consoling a heartbroken community.

WOOLNOUGH: We are carrying this together, there is not an individual loss unless you're the family but, the community, we must grieve together.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Grieve and come to terms with the life of a public servant extinguished too soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: What's really causing a reckoning across this country, Paula, is this is the second time that an MP has been murdered in that fashion in about five years' time. In 2016, Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered during her open hours when a radicalized right-wing man that stabbed her to death.

So rightfully so now, lawmakers concerned about their safety, about their ability to perform their jobs. And they're holding this government to account. I'm standing in front of 10 Downing Street. And it's the home secretary who ordered a review of security for all MPs.

And she's now having to address their concerns. She talked about that this morning. Take a listen.

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PRITI PATEL, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: There are many practical measures and I don't want to sit here and discuss them all --

QUESTION: Such as --

PATEL: -- but for example, I've alluded to one already, booking appointments in advance, checking the details of the individuals that you are seeing.

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PATEL: Checking the locations in advance that you are going to, making sure you're not on your own. I could go on. There are other things linked to policing and security as well that -- there are things already in place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now there's a few details there that the home secretary goes through, making sure you have appointments. Well, MP David Amess did just that. On Twitter, he asked people to book appointments before arriving. He used that location multiple times. It was known to him.

Not to be on your own, again, he was not on his own, he was with his staff. There were other individuals there. What I'm trying to say here, Paula, is that none of those arrangements could have necessarily saved his life.

And the other potential here, do you add security anytime an MP wants to meet with the public?

Well, there would be a huge cost to that.

Is it practical for the state to be able to do that?

The question here, Paula, what is really under threat here, is something that local politicians hold very dear because, both in the case of Jo Cox and David Amess, these were very local lawmakers, not prominent on the list of their own political parties but still, very local lawmakers, meeting with local people in a local place.

Can that tradition continue, Paula?

That's what's at stake here. And some lawmakers saying, that may not be able to take place anymore. This is a threat to the very democracy, the very political process of Britain.

NEWTON: You're right to point out that, look, Sir David did many of the things that the home secretary was talking about there. Salma, thanks so much, as we continue to get updates on the investigation. Appreciate it.

Now the U.K. government is vowing to review those safety measures, following the MP's murder. CNN's Phil Black has more now from London.

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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris Johnson visited the site where the lawmaker David Amess was stabbed repeatedly on Friday. The prime minister laid a wreath, a symbol of the anger and grief being felt by politicians across the spectrum here because, while this attack was shocking in many ways, for many members of Parliament, it did not come as a surprise.

There have been growing concerns here about what is a longstanding and important tradition in British politics, the easy access voters have to their elected representatives, their ability to easily meet with them one on one and discuss their concerns, often in close settings, with little to no security.

The concern is, that is no longer appropriate, that it's out of date, because it's unsafe. David Amess himself had spoken with concern about the growth of harassment, intimidation, even violence against members of the Parliament.

So the government is promising to review the security that is in place when members of Parliament meet with the people that they represent, meetings that are known here as surgeries.

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PATEL: We are open to surgeries, doing our job. We will continue to do that. And let's not forget, let's think about David right now as well. I've already described David, who was a dear friend of mine, a loyal friend and colleague, a man of the people.

He was killed serving his own constituents and constituency members. We will carry on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: Meanwhile, police are developing a clearer idea about why this attack happened. They suspect that it was an act of terrorism. They believe the 25-year-old man they are holding was motivated by Islamist extremism -- Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Here to the United States now, where a manhunt is underway in Houston for a gunman who opened fire on three police officers outside a sports bar on Friday. One deputy was killed in the ambush, two others were wounded. CNN's Jean Casarez has more.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We were told this happened about 2:12 this morning at a Houston sports bar in the package lot. Deputies were called to that lot, because of something that was happening. They believed it was a robbery. They thought they had the person that was responsible.

They were arresting the person. He was on the ground and all of a sudden, someone came from around a car with an AR-15 assault rifle and started shooting at the deputies. One officer was shot in the back. Another officer succumbed to his injuries and a third deputy came out, hearing what was happening, and was shot in the leg with multiple fractures.

We know the identities of these officers. We want to show them to you.

First of all, Kareem Atkins. He was 30 years old. He just returned from paternity leave. He leaves a wife and a 2-month-old baby.

Darryl Garrett, 28 years old, he was shot in the back. He has been in surgery for much of day. He is now in the intensive care unit.

And finally, Juqaim Barthen, 26 years old, he has been at the precinct since 2019.

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CASAREZ: Now these officers, they work together. The deputies knew each other. They were buddies, we are told. I want you to listen to what the constable, Mark Herman, told us about what one officer was told as he was just about to be wheeled into surgery this morning.

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CONSTABLE MARK HERMAN, HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 4: He found out laying, bleeding out on a gurney, that his buddy he'd just been with was deceased. And -- but I can tell you, all three of them, they work the same area. They're good friends. They -- they -- it's just a complete tragedy, is what it is.

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CASAREZ: The criminal investigation continues. The deputy that did succumb to his injuries, his body is at the Harris County medical examiner's office.

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NEWTON: So it was supposed to be the one-and-done COVID vaccine but now experts say Johnson & Johnson recipients likely do need that second dose. We'll tell you about it just ahead.

And it's about to get a little easier for international travelers to make it into the United States. A look at the new travel rules are set to take effect soon.

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NEWTON: Some hopeful news here. COVID vaccination numbers are slowly ticking up in the United States. As of Saturday, nearly 57 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated. That's about two-thirds of everyone who's eligible for the shots, those 12 and older.

Now to date, more than 65 million eligible Americans have not gotten the vaccine. Health experts are now urging Americans who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, meantime, to get a booster shot as soon as it's available.

On Friday, an FDA advisory panel voted unanimously to recommend boosters for all adults who have received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot. But the CDC will, in fact, have the final say on who's eligible.

Meantime, the director of the National Institutes of Health says J&J recipients might be better off, in fact, mixing and matching. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: There was data presented yesterday from NIH about the mix and match question. And there was data that suggested, if you are going to get a booster for J&J, maybe getting a Moderna or Pfizer booster would actually have some advantages, in terms of giving you an even stronger immune response.

So don't run out, anybody who got J&J. I would wait another week right now and see what CDC's advisory committee does with this next week. And by maybe a week from today, I'll tell my grandkids what I think they ought to do.

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NEWTON: Convicted murderer Robert Durst, who was the subject of the HBO docuseries, "The Jinx," has been diagnosed with COVID-19. His lead attorney confirmed the diagnosis for CNN but did provide information on his client's whereabouts. The lawyer told the "L.A. Times" Durst has been hospitalized and is, in fact, on a ventilator.

The 78-year-old Durst, an eccentric real estate tycoon, was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the shooting death of his friend, Susan Berman, more than 20 years ago.

COVID cases and deaths are surging in Russia. On Monday, the government reported more than 1,000 COVID deaths for the first time ever. For the latest on the COVID situation right around the world, we're joined by CNN's Nada Bashir in London.

I want to start with Russia, though. Russian media reports are now that, in fact, there's been another record set for the caseload, for the number of cases in Russia. It does seem at this point that things are getting much worse there.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Paula. The pictures that we're seeing now, the data that we're receiving is really worrying, particularly as we near the winter months.

And what we've seen over the last decade is record numbers in the deaths; as you mentioned, 1,002 deaths over a 24-hour period and record numbers in cases. Over 33,000 new cases of coronavirus recorded in just 24 hours.

So this is particularly worrying for Russia, as they've seen a low uptake of number of people getting the vaccine, just over 30 percent of people in Russia have received that vaccine. And that is worrying as we continue to head into those winter months.

And particularly with these highly transmissible variants, like the Delta variant, which could threaten Russia and push the country back into crisis, as we saw in previous months during the pandemic, with the health care sector really struggling to cope with the number of people getting that infection.

And we've heard from medical professionals saying that there needs to be more of an effort to really ramp up that vaccine rollout.

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ANNA NAZAROVA, EMERGENCY DOCTOR (through translator): There must be more adequate campaign to get more people vaccinated, more advocacy.

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BASHIR: And more advocacy is what they're calling for. President Putin said that he wanted all citizens to get out there and get the jab.

He said that citizens should listen to the medical advice and trust the medical advice and get the vaccine. That will be crucial in helping Russia cope with the pandemic over these coming months.

It's a similar situation for much of other countries in Europe, who have pockets of resistance to that vaccine, pockets of hesitancy.

We've seen protests in Italy, in Switzerland over the introduction of the health pass or green pass in some countries, which would mandate citizens to provide some proof that they've either had the vaccine or recently recovered from infection or can provide proof of a negative COVID test within the last 48 hours.

That differs from country to country. In Italy, they are asking all workers either in the private or public sector to carry that vaccine green pass in order to prove that. And there are some hefty penalties, a fine of up to around $1,700 for those that don't comply.

But we have seen some positive results, as a result of measures like that. In France, for example, after president Macron announced the health pass in July, there was a surge in number of people going in to get the vaccine.

We can see that there are some efforts across Europe and Russia now to really encourage people to get the jab, to get the vaccine and really boost the immunity of countries, as we head into the winter months and as concerns are raised over rising cases.

[05:25:00] BASHIR: And the spread of variants like the Delta variant. Paula?

NEWTON: Yes, and there has been varying degrees of success in trying to get those vaccine hesitant to actually line up for the jab. Nada Bashir, appreciate the update.

Now the U.S. is preparing to ease restrictions for international visitors. Starting next month, fully vaccinated foreign travelers will be finally allowed to travel into the United States or enter at the border, the land border, that is, from Mexico or Canada.

Now the new policy applies to anyone fully vaccinated with an FDA or WHO-approved COVID vaccine. That means at least two weeks out from your final dose.

Now visitors flying into the U.S. will also be required to test negative for COVID within three days of their flight. The new vaccination requirements will not apply, of course, to children, who are not eligible yet for the vaccine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Joining me now is Henry Harteveldt. He's a travel industry analyst and he joins me now from San Francisco.

Henry, long time in coming.

Despite all of the new rules and regulations, there's a lot of pent-up demand and anticipation, right?

HENRY HARTEVELDT, TRAVEL INDUSTRY ANALYST: There is. Airlines are reporting that their reservations shot up six times or more when it was announced that the U.S. would reopen. There's just an enormous amount of demand and a lot of excitement that the U.S. is reopening now to 33 countries.

NEWTON: Wow. Six times. Think of that. I have heard anecdotally from people all over the world, you know, either wanting to have leisure travel or being kept from friends and loved ones.

What will change?

What is most pronounced about the way that travel will be different now?

HARTEVELDT: So, Paula, the requirements are, first, you have to be fully vaccinated before you can come on the trip. And international visitors, just like Americans returning to the U.S., will have to take a test for COVID within three days of their departure to the U.S.

And that, of course, must test negative. Aside from that, there will be no other restrictions, other than the usual ones we're seeing, everywhere, wearing a mask on the plane, observing physical distance to the best extent possible. No post-arrival test will be required or quarantine will be required. This is important for leisure travelers and business travelers. I

think we'll start to see the first wave of international visitors coming over in November as well.

NEWTON: And that will certainly transform things for many people and the industries that they support.

At this point, do you believe that the travel is industry is ready?

At times, we have seen a lot of hiccups about things that used to be routine.

HARTEVELDT: The travel industry is not one single block. That's a fair question to ask. Let me try to break it down.

I believe that airports and airlines will be ready. Hotels in the U.S. have been struggling to hire staff, just like many other businesses have, even though they have been raising their wages, improving benefits and so on.

So there are big questions about hotels that will be serving international visitors. And hotels who have been struggling to serve their local guests and domestic travelers will now immediately need to hire more people.

Other services that cater to travelers may be struggling to hire. I expect there to be a few hiccups. Add to this, that the U.S. opens just ahead of the Thanksgiving season crush and the Christmas season crush, it's going to be a little bit of a rough going.

But I don't think it will be a terrible one. I think, hopefully, also people will be in good spirits and take it all in stride.

NEWTON: I think the cliche, pack your patience, goes with everything here.

Do you think we've gone beyond the point of no return, in the sense that we're at a point where travel has been transformed really forever?

HARTEVELDT: Absolutely. I think whether masks remain required planes or not, I think we as travelers have changed. I just noticed that people just keep more distant from people they don't know at airports. They are more mindful of things.

We're far more conscious of hygiene, not just at airports and on airplanes but in hotels, at restaurants, at stores, at tourist attractions and more. Business travel will change. There will be a lot less business travel in the next couple of years and the type of business travel will change, too.

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HARTEVELDT: Sustainability is a big factor now for businesses, as they look at how to rebuild their business travel programs.

NEWTON: And I don't have a lot of time left.

But do you think that the issue of having to be vaccinated is going to be a hurdle to travel?

Or do you think this will just be standard?

HARTEVELDT: For international travel, vaccinations will be standard. And I think people will have to accept that.

The big question is, will we see a mandate either for negative COVID tests or vaccinations on U.S. domestic flights?

That is a big question mark. I don't think the airline industry could handle that, at least right now. It would take them time. They don't want to lose customers and it requires a lot of effort. So I don't think we'll see vaccination requirements for U.S. domestic travel in the next year.

NEWTON: And we'll point out that Canada will have that policy in the next few weeks and they'll be an important test case to see if it can be implemented domestically in other countries. Thank you so much, Henry.

HARTEVELDT: Thank you, Paula.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton could be discharged from a hospital in California in the next few hours. He has been in the intensive care unit since Tuesday, getting treatment for sepsis after a urinary tract infectious spread to his bloodstream.

A source says he must remain in the hospital because of the antibiotics that he needs and they have to be administered intravenously. On Saturday, his wife, Hillary, and daughter, Chelsea, paid a visit. A spokesperson tells CNN that the 75-year old is making excellent progress and is in good spirits.

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, the January 6th committee has questions for those involved in the capital siege, including a Capitol Police officer and a former Trump adviser. Details, coming up.

Plus, more protests are expected in Beirut after the worst violence Lebanon has seen in more than a decade. We'll have a live report, coming up.

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NEWTON: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Paula Newton and this is CNN NEWSROOM. More protests are expected in Beirut just days after some of the worst

violence Lebanon has seen in years. And it comes on the second anniversary of the nation's October revolution. We want to bring in Ben Wedeman now. He is live in Beirut's Martyrs' Square, the epicenter of those 2019 protests.

You know, Ben, give me a sense of what's expected today, especially given the rough week that the country has already had.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've only seen one man come here with a flag and a sign. For the most part, the only people in Martyrs' Square at the moment seem to be foreign tourists, getting walking tours of the landmarks of the revolution.

We are expecting, later in the day, weather permitting, because rain is forecast, that there will be marches and protests that will converge on Martyrs' Square.

But you have to keep in mind what has happened over the last two years since that uprising began. You have had the collapse of the Lebanese economy. And when I say collapse, the World Bank says it's one of the worst economic collapses the world has seen since the middle of -- well, 150 years ago.

So you have had coronavirus, which has killed around 8,500 people. You have had the Beirut port blast that killed more than 200 people, caused billions of dollars of damage and now, of course, last Thursday, you had the worst violence Beirut has seen since 2008.

So taken all together, there is a sense of hopelessness, in a sense, that the optimism that was so palpable right here two years ago has evaporated. Many of the best and brightest are rushing for the exits, trying to leave the country, because there is no future. They see no future for themselves here.

So we are expecting a protest but it is going to be just a weak echo of what we heard in this square two years ago today -- Paula.

NEWTON: And more despair, especially for the young people, who want a future in their own country and are now fleeing. Ben Wedeman, I know you'll continue to stay on top of this story. Appreciate it.

Now there's little respite for Shia Muslims in Afghanistan. ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for two recent attacks on Shia mosques there. Now for protection, the religious minority has to rely on another group known for targeting them in the past, the Taliban.

We take a look at the continuing threats in the country -- and a warning, this report contains graphic and disturbing content.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON (voice-over): Row after row of dusty graves, a crowd gathers in Kandahar to burn the dead.

Relatives weep as their loved ones are lowered into the ground. It was just a day earlier the victims were at the city's largest Shia mosque for Friday prayers, a solemn moment that was abruptly silenced, when a group of suicide bombers set off their deadly explosions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My own brother died in that attack. My brother had 2 little children. He had a home to live in. He had everything. The pain of the loss cannot be described in words. It's a matter of the heart.

NEWTON (voice-over): Members of the Taliban visited some of the wounded in hospital, the group reaffirming its pledge to bring peace and stability in the embattled country. Officials in Kandahar say special security officers will guard Shia mosques and those responsible for the attack will be punished.

The terror group ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the Kandahar attack, as well as a similar assault on a Shia mosque in Kunduz the week before. Members of the country's Shia minority have long been persecuted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The entire world should condemn this. The Islamic world should condemn this. It should be condemned from every corner of this proud nation.

NEWTON (voice-over): But it's these continued assaults on civilians, even on the Taliban itself, that are spreading doubt that the new leaders of Afghanistan can actually bring peace and whether Taliban protection is enough to prevent more mass graves like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Coming up, it will be a busy week ahead for the investigation into Capitol Hill insurrection --

[05:40:00]

NEWTON: -- as lawmakers move to hold Trump ally Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for not complying with a subpoena. The latest on that after the break.

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NEWTON: It was a big week on Capitol Hill, with key decisions made in the investigation into the January 6th insurrection; most notably, the House committee took a critical step toward holding Trump ally, Steve Bannon, in criminal contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena. CNN's Jessica Schneider has the latest from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We're entering a week where we could see the House move forward on a criminal contempt referral for Trump ally, Steve Bannon, since he has so far refused to comply with the January 6th Select Committee's subpoena for information.

The Justice Department actually put out a statement after President Biden said he expects his DOJ to move forward with the contempt prosecution. The spokesman for the attorney general making it clear the DOJ will make its own independent decisions.

Meanwhile, a 25-year veteran of the Capitol Police department will appear in court on Tuesday for his arraignment on two counts of obstruction. He's accused of instructing a rioter to delete Facebook posts that showed that rioter inside the Capitol on January 6th.

Capitol Police officer Michael Angelo Riley allegedly wrote to the rioter one day after the attack, this over Facebook.

"Hey, I'm a Capitol Police officer, who agrees with your political stance. Take down the part about being in the building. They are currently investigating and everyone who was in the building is going to be charged. Just looking out."

Well, the second obstruction charge is for later deleting all of his interactions with that rioter once officer Riley discovered the rioter had been arrested and was talking to the FBI. Officer Riley is the first on-duty officer to be charged in connection with the Capitol insurrection.

[05:45:00]

SCHNEIDER: He was on duty that day but not actually at the Capitol during the riot. He is now facing up to 20 years in prison for each count of obstruction -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now you just heard Jessica say that Steve Bannon is actually refusing to comply with the House committee subpoena.

So what's motivating the Trump ally and his one-time adviser?

CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is not ready to speak to Congress about the violence of January 6th but Steve Bannon is talking plenty on his daily podcast whipping his followers into a frenzy.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER DONALD TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER (voice-over): Elections have consequences. Stolen elections have catastrophic consequences and that's what we're seeing in this country right now.

And we need your blood to boil. We need to be in a situation you're not going to back down, OK.

FOREMAN (voice-over): He's done it all along. He appeared to confirm reports that just days before the insurrection, he was on the phone with Donald Trump discussing how to kill the Biden presidency in the crib.

BANNON: Forty two percent of the American people, four two percent of the American people think that Biden did not win the presidency legitimately. We told you from the very beginning, just expose it, just expose it. Never back down, never give up and this thing will implode.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Promoting the big lie of election fraud fits Bannon's longstanding affection for radical right-wing theories and his apparent appetite for conflict.

BANNON: If you think they're going to give you your country back without a fight, you are sadly mistaken.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Take his fascination with the book "The Fourth Turning," which argues every 80 years or so, cataclysmic upheavals are necessary to political and social realignment.

BANNON: Turnings are like the seasons, every turning is necessary.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Bannon was so taken with the idea, he made a movie about it, savaging liberals, blasting traditional governments. And as one film critic put it, "pushing a clear message."

ANN HORNADAY, FILM CRITIC, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Bring on the apocalypse. There's an almost fetishistic desire to see everything blow up. It's almost like he is inviting a cleansing fire to just raise the edifice, raise the institutions. I think it's that dramatic.

BILL MAHER, TALK SHOW HOST: Steve Bannon is over here. Steve Bannon.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Bannon's turns in the spotlight have not always thrilled his most famous boss, who was reportedly annoyed when Bannon showed up on the cover of "Time," which Trump clearly craves.

He was pushed out of Trump's immediate orbit but never far away.

MAHER: I would love to know what advice you would give to Donald Trump if he didn't leave, even after he lost, because I saw Hillary Clinton --

BANNON: You're obsessed with this.

MAHER: I am obsessed with this.

BANNON: You're obsessed with this thing. He's not going to leave.

MAHER: Wait a second --

BANNON: Just because -- I know he is having the time of his life.

MAHER: Well, because he is an insane narcissist.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And since the uprising, Bannon has been firmly in the losing candidate's corner, trotting out guests to insist the riot was the work of Antifa and undercover Federal agents. RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY: Two hundred

and twenty six Antifa members were tasked with making that -- what should have been a peaceful protest, a riot.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And insisting prosecutors are dead wrong to say these are Trump's and his people.

BANNON: Either they're totally incompetent or they're lying to you. Right?

They are either totally incompetent or they're lying to you. They are either they're totally incompetent or they're lying to you -- pick them.

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FOREMAN (on camera): There are no facts to back that up. But listen to Bannon's podcasts, watch his interviews and you will see he has very little use for facts, unless they support this notion that America as we know it must end -- so America, as he would have it, can begin -- Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

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OK. Next for us, like the famous Beatles song says, Lucy is in the sky and even as a diamond. Lucy, being a NASA spacecraft, sent to gather clues about the very beginning of our solar system. We'll have details, ahead.

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NEWTON: A Russian film crew is back home after wrapping a trailblazing movie in space.

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NEWTON (voice-over): This is Russian actress Yulia Peresild, you can see her there being helped out of the Soyuz capsule after returning to Earth. Russia is the first nation to shoot a feature film in space. The crew filmed it in 12 days on the International Space Station.

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NEWTON: Now rocket scientists at NASA clearly had a blast with this one, right?

They named a spacecraft that just launched "Lucy" after not just an ancient human ancestor but, yes, the famous Beatles song, as well. It's even carrying a diamond. Lucy is actually an asteroid hunter that's now zooming toward Jupiter's rings. CNN's Kristin Fisher explains.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3, 2, one, lift off. Atlas 5, takes flight.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lucy is finally in the sky. The NASA spacecraft is on a 12-year mission, covering 6.4 billion kilometers, to fly past eight ancient asteroids.

Lucy is the first mission to investigate the Trojan asteroid swarms, which are asteroid clusters along Jupiter's orbital path. Armed with cameras, a thermometer and an infrared imaging spectrometer, Lucy will collect the first high-resolution images of these asteroids.

The spacecraft gets her name from the Lucy fossil, an ancient human ancestor, whose remains transformed the study of hominid evolution. NASA hopes its Lucy transforms the understanding of the evolution of the solar system. Both the fossil and the spacecraft's name are nods to The Beatles' hit, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

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RINGO STARR, FORMER BEATLE: Lucy is going back in the sky with diamonds, joining all the love there (ph). Anyway if you meet anyone up there, Lucy, give them peace and love from me.

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FISHER (voice-over): And Lucy does indeed carry a diamond as part of a beam splitter assembly. About 3.5 years from now, after making a few fly-bys of Earth for a gravity slingshot boost --

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FISHER (voice-over): -- Lucy is expected to reach her first objective, an asteroid named Donaldjohanson, in the asteroid belt between Earth and Jupiter.

She'll then travel to the Trojan asteroids, all named after the heroes of Homer's "Iliad."

KEITH NOLL, ASTRONOMER, NASA'S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER: The power of what Lucy is able to do by having so many targets, we can construct all these comparisons between all the different varieties and the diversity that we see in the Trojans, the unexpected diversity, the different colors, the different collisional histories.

It's really a repository of fossils, as we like to say, of things that happened at the earliest stages of solar system evolution.

FISHER (voice-over): The spacecraft, a little more than 14 meters from tip to tip, is powered by two giant solar arrays, that will expand outward like Chinese folding fans. They'll carry Lucy farther away from the sun than any other solar-powered spacecraft.

Lucy will never return to Earth but she won't be the last to visit the asteroids; NASA plans to send more. China and Russia are teaming up on an asteroid mission in 2024 and the UAE in 2028 -- Kristin Fisher, CNN.

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NEWTON: Before I let you go, I'm sure you saw this one coming.

Adele has another hit song. Spotify says her hit single, "Easy on Me," is its most streamed song in a single day.

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NEWTON: It's so nice. "Easy on Me," is Adele's first single from her new album entitled, "Thirty." That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Thankfully, I won't be singing you out. I'm Paula Newton for our viewers in the U.S. and Canada, CNN's "NEW DAY WEEKEND" is next. For everyone else, it's "TECH FOR GOOD."