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Top U.S. General: China's Hypersonic Test "Very Concerning"; Taiwan's President Speaks With CNN; WHO: Europe Accounts For 57 Percent Of New Global Cases; Southern Italy Braces for More Rain and Flooding; Trump Endorses Brazilian President; Sheriff: Baldwin Fired 'Suspected Live Round' on 'Rust' Set. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired October 28, 2021 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:38]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause.

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. The Pentagon confirms China tested a new version of a hypersonic missile and warns of a Sputnik like moment, while the leader of Taiwan tells CNN in an exclusive interview the threat from Mainland China is growing by the day.

Russia and China send their regrets. France still not speaking to Australia. Europe disappointed in the United States. Not quite the happy reunion for G20 leaders meeting in person for the first time since the pandemic began.

And lockdown? What lockdown? Business has been booming for some tour operators as an 11 day stay at home order comes into effect for Moscow.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: The president of Taiwan has spoken bluntly about an increasing military threat from Mainland China and has told CNN in an exclusive interview defense cooperation with the United States is more extensive than just the sale of billions of dollars of weapons each year.

But President Tsai Ing-wen also told CNN Taipei is willing to sit down and hold talks with Beijing to try and lower regional tensions.

On the same day came confirmation from the Pentagon that China tested a new hypersonic missile back in August, America's highest ranking military officer Mark Milley indicated the test was a surprise, describing it as being very close to a Sputnik moment, a reference to the Soviet Union launching the world's first satellite into orbit.

The Financial Times broke this story earlier this month, reporting the space launch weapon had the potential to evade America's missile defense systems. And General Milley says he's increasingly concerned about the rapid pace of improvement of China's military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEN. MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Now, what we saw was a very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system and it is very concerning.

I think I saw in some of the newspapers, they use the term Sputnik moment. I don't know if it's quite a Sputnik moment, but I think it's very close to that.

So, it's a very significant technological event that occurred or test that occurred by the Chinese, and it has all of our attention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Live now to Taipei CNN's Will Ripley.

So, Will, what was interesting about the interview you had with Taiwan's leader is that the military relationship between Taiwan and the United States is not quite as clear cut as many people would believe. There is a policy of strategic ambiguity and that's on purpose so that keeps it vague.

But the President of Taiwan shed a little light on that relationship when she spoke with you.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, obviously, we know that Taiwan is buying billions of dollars in weapons from the United States, it would make sense that there would be some sort of other training taking place, if you will. It's kind of an open secret that small numbers of U.S. troops are believed to be here in Taiwan. And this is something that's kind of been reported and backtracked repeatedly over the last several years.

But to have the confirmation from president Tsai, certainly significant as the first Taiwanese leader in more than 40 years since 1979 to acknowledge that U.S. troops are training Taiwanese soldiers, and these remarks come at a critical time, with tensions across the Taiwan Strait. And arguably, 40-year highs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY (voice over): At this temple in Taipei, prayer and politics go hand in hand for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

TSAI ING-WEN, TAIWAN'S PRESIDENT: Normally when I go to the temple, there are hundreds of people there. I will shake hands with each one of them.

RIPLEY: People are remarkably happy at ease.

ING-WEN: You have to give them a sense that there's somebody there to take care of them.

RIPLEY: Elected in 2016, Tsai won re-election by a landslide last year, on a promise to keep people safe from what she calls a growing threat across the Taiwan Strait.

Is Taiwan more safe today than it was when you became president in 2016?

ING-WEN: If it's a threat from China, it's increasing every day.

RIPLEY: The Mainland's massive military, two million strong more powerful than ever. China flew 150 war planes near Taiwan in just five days this month. This democracy of more than 23 million governs separately from the mainland for more than 70 years since the end of China's Civil War, still seen as a breakaway province in the eyes of Beijing's communist rulers who have never controlled the island.

[00:05:11]

RIPLEY: China has pressured most of the world to sever formal diplomatic ties with Taipei. Chinese President Xi Jinping says reunification is only a matter of time.

Are you interested in speaking with President Xi? Would you like to have more communication with him?

ING-WEN: Well, more communication would be helpful so that we would reduce misunderstanding given our differences, differences in terms of our political systems. We can sit down and talk about our differences and try to make arrangement so that we'll be able to coexist peacefully.

RIPLEY: Your predecessor, as you know, did meet with President Xi. Why do you think that things -- the communication has really gone south since 2016?

ING-WEN: Well, I think the situation has changed a lot and China's plan towards the region is very different.

RIPLEY: That plan includes war threats over Taiwan, clashes with Japan and the East China Sea and militarizing manmade islands in the South China Sea, posing a direct challenge to seven decades of U.S. military supremacy in the Indo-Pacific.

In response, the U.S. ramped up arms sales to Taiwan, selling the island $5 billion in weapons last year. President Tsai confirms exclusively to CNN, U.S. support goes beyond selling weapons.

Does that support include sending some U.S. service members to help train Taiwanese troops?

ING-WEN: Well, yes. We have a wide range of cooperation with the U.S., aiming at increasing our defense capability.

RIPLEY: How many U.S. service members are deployed in Taiwan right now?

ING-WEN: Not as many as people saw.

RIPLEY: Defense Department records show the number of U.S. troops in Taiwan increased from 10 in 2018 to 32 earlier this year. The State Department asked for more Marines to safeguard the unofficial U.S. Embassy in Taipei. Any U.S. military presence in Taiwan, big or small, is perceived by Beijing as an act of aggression, state media says. When reports surfaced earlier this month of U.S. Marines training Taiwanese troops, China released this video, a training exercise targeting Taiwan independence and interference by external forces like the U.S.

A warning for President Joe Biden, who vowed to defend Taiwan at this CNN town hall last week.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: So are you saying that the United States would come to Taiwan's defense if China attacked?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, we have a commitment to do that.

RIPLEY: The White House later walked back Biden's comments. They seem to contradict the long-standing U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity, leaving U.S. military involvement in Taiwan, an open question.

ING-WEN: People have different interpretation of what President Biden has said.

RIPLEY: Do you have faith that the United States would defend Taiwan if the Mainland were to try to move on Taiwan?

ING-WEN: I do have faith, and given the long-term relationship that we have the U.S. and also the support the people of the U.S., as well as the Congress, and the administration has been very helpful.

RIPLEY: Taiwan's defense minister says China could launch a full-scale war by 2025. He says military tensions are the worst in more than 40 years.

ING-WEN: We have to expedite our military reform so that we have the ability to defend ourselves. And given the size of Taiwan compared to the size of the PRC, developing asymmetric capability is the key for us.

RIPLEY: How prepared is Taiwan today?

ING-WEN: We are trying to make us stronger in every aspects and increase our military capability and our international support.

RIPLEY: Support bolstered, she says, by Taiwan's critical importance to the global supply chain. The island is a world leader in semiconductors.

Taiwan was Asia's fastest growing economy last year, a fact President Tsai proudly points out over lunch.

ING-WEN: This is one of my favorite foods.

RIPLEY: All right.

Despite everything, she appears calm and confident.

You talked about how really the situation is so complex now.

ING-WEN: Yes, it is very complex. This is probably the most challenging time for people of Taiwan.

RIPLEY: You read the outside headlines, the most dangerous place on Earth.

[00:10:03]

ING-WEN: We read these reports as a reminder to us as to what's the threats that we're under and we have to get ourselves better prepared. But we're not panic, we're not anxious because we have gone through so many difficulties in the past.

RIPLEY: She says Taiwan's future must be decided by its people, the people who've worked hard over the last 70 years to build the world's only Chinese speaking democracy, a democracy under growing threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY (on camera): Just yesterday, Beijing said it won't rule out using force to reunify with Taiwan. Beijing has said repeatedly that this is a red line issue that other countries like the U.S. need to butt out because it's part of China, what they consider their own internal affairs.

President Tsai of course feels very differently. She told me that she's very grateful that the United States is once again renewing its call for Taiwan to have a more meaningful voice at the U.N.

And it's really striking, John, to spend time with her. I mean, Taiwan, you've probably seen the video from Parliament, the politicians fist fighting with each other. She's like the opposite of like, what you might consider to be like a typical, and of course, there is no typical but you know, Taiwanese politician. She is -- she is so precise and buttoned up, really more of a scholar than a natural politician.

But when it comes to this issue with China, she was very clear that, you know, standing up to Beijing is the right thing to do at this time, because she feels that if places tried to cow down, they could fall. Much like Hong Kong did. Of course, in Hong Kong, it was just a piece of legislation that essentially ended the pro-democracy movement.

And President Tsai said that here in Taipei that basically for most Taiwanese people, and public polls show this at all credibility of this one country, two systems' option for Taiwan went out the window when they saw what happened in Hong Kong, and that is what helped her to win a landslide reelection.

And so, a lot of people here to more than 23 million really pointing to her, turning to her to try to chart the course of this very turbulent time and keep this democratic system intact here.

VAUSE: Democratic system a hundred miles off the Mainland coast, very precarious situation (INAUDIBLE). Will Ripley live for us with that interview there with the leader of Taiwan. Thank you, Will.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis served 21 years on active duty with the U.S. Army. He is now a Senior Fellow and Military Expert at the think tank Defense Priorities and author of The Eleventh Hour in 2020 America. Good to see you again. Welcome back.

LT. COL. DANIEL DAVIS (RET.), SENIOR FELLOW AND MILITARY EXPERT, DEFENSE PRIORITIES: Hi, thanks for having me back.

VAUSE: OK, well, there's been some debate, some flak if you like for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Milley whether on he got it right when he compared China's test of a hypersonic missile to being very close to a Sputnik moment. That was when back in 1957, when Russia shocked the world by launching the first satellite into orbit, jumping ahead of the U.S. in the space race.

So, Millie sort of had this extra context, if you like, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLEY: They're expanding rapidly in space, in cyber, and then in the traditional domains of land, sea and air. And they have gone from a peasant-based infantry army that was very, very large in 1979, to a very capable military that covers all the domains and has global ambitions. So, China is very significant on a horizon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, in no way to speak for the general but I guess what he's saying, it's not so much that China is beating the United States in terms of military capability, but rather developing that capability at a pace which is surprising.

So, what are the implications and consequences from all of that?

DAVIS: Well, I mean, with all due respect, I don't know how anyone could be surprised by this, the least of all the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Because the Department of Defense at the Pentagon every year puts out an update on the very detailed report on the development of the Chinese military. We've been tracking this literally for decades, all the way through publicly.

So, anyone who claims this is a surprise that, you know, any capacity of a Sputnik moment, it's just a bit of a head scratcher because I mean, they've been specifically reporting on since 2015 in that Pentagon report about the hypersonic missile. So, all of this is kind of developing a pace.

So, I think that it's a lot of bluster. And I don't know if they're trying to fan up the threat from China so they can give them more budget money or what, but the fact of the matter is that all of this development just shows that China is a modern and developing country that needs to be taken seriously.

VAUSE: Developing a weapon system by itself is not a threat, it's how a country plans to use it, which could be a threat. Listen to the Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PRESS SECRETARY, PENTAGON: These advanced military capabilities are paired with a foreign and defense policy approach that uses intimidation and coercion of neighboring nations to yield to China's interests. And so, taken in some, it reinforces for us the need to continue to treat the PRC as our number one pacing challenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:15:06]

VAUSE: Officials in Beijing will often tell you that China has never started a war, never invaded another country. India, in Vietnam, the South China Sea may beg to differ with that.

And we just heard from the leader of Taiwan talking at length to CNN about the growing threat the island faces from Mainland China.

So, Beijing is willing to use its military, but under what context and how far will, you know, is it willing to go I guess is the question, right?

DAVIS: Yes. And that's the absolute best right question to ask that everybody needs to pay attention to, because Beijing has never and I mean, from 1949 on ever said anything besides that they're willing to use force to take Taiwan back so that they can complete the unification of their country, that they started in their civil war in really in the 1920s.

So, this is kind of an extension of that it's just been paused for a while, a long time. But all these other ones, China has been very careful. They've had very limited objective, military conflicts of very short duration with Vietnam, with India, as you saw it in with the Soviet Union.

But once they got, you know, whenever their limited objective is done, then they stop. They didn't invade the country. They didn't occupy them or any of those kinds of things.

And there's no evidence -- this is the most crucial part, there's no evidence that they have any intention or desire to conquer any other nation outside of Taiwan. And they are very serious about that, which is why I'm so adamant that we need to, you know, stay out of it. Under no circumstances should fight a war with China over Taiwan, we just can't win it.

VAUSE: Well, on Tuesday, the U.S. Secretary of State released a statement about Taiwan, which was not to Beijing's liking, here's part of it. Taiwan has become a democratic success story. We are among the many U.N. member states who view Taiwan as a valued partner and trusted friend. Taiwan's meaningful participation in the U.N. system is not a political issue, but a pragmatic one.

So, if containment of China seems to be a balancing act of maintaining a military advantage, while at the same time not giving Beijing reasons to act out, why would Anthony Blinken essentially poke the panda here?

DAVIS: Well, that's another good question to ask and the right one. Because if our objective is to prevent conflict on the Taiwan Peninsula -- or the Taiwan island than it is, then we need to do things to keep things calm in both Taipei and in Beijing.

And the last thing we need to do is to further insight Beijing to give them more reason to want to do that, to do anything to Taiwan, and talking about doing anything at the U.N. comes very close to violating the 1971 agreement that we agreed with, which made the PRC, the People's Republic of China as the sole representative at the United Nations.

And so, talking about that now just inflames tensions unnecessarily and it doesn't do Taiwan any good. That's -- really, the one thing I want to point out here is that this is not helping Taiwan to further inflame China on something we know is an emotional issue for them.

VAUSE: Yes, it is an existential issue for China. It is a peripheral one, I guess, for the United States.

DAVIS: That's exactly right.

VAUSE: Daniel, thank you so much for being with us. It's good to see you again.

DAVIS: Always my pleasure. Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Three years ago, then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, hoping that would kill the landmark international agreement once and for all. But now what appears to be signs of life and a chance to revive it.

Iran's chief nuclear envoy says talks will resume by next month after they were suspended back in June when hardline president took office in Tehran.

Iran has insisted because the U.S. was the one to walk away, then all sanctions must be lifted before talks resumed.

The Biden administration has been pushing for Iran to return without conditions. Wanting the window for diplomacy was fast closing.

Well, international pressure is mounting on Sudan's coup leaders just days after they launched a military takeover. Among the latest to take action the African Union, which has suspended Sudan's membership and the World Bank, which paused disbursements for all operations.

On Wednesday, Sudanese again took the streets in protest amid a growing call for widespread civil disobedience.

We also learned seven international envoys met with Sudan's Prime Minister -- the deposed Prime Minister at his home.

The U.N. Transition Assistance Mission says the envoys found Abdalla Hamdok in good health and call for "full restoration of his liberty".

Well, still to come, G20 leaders preparing to meet face to face for the first time in two years. Yet, even with the looming climate crisis and an ongoing pandemic, Russia and China will be no shows, those details from Rome in a moment.

Also, some bad news for Eastern Europe (INAUDIBLE) as rising COVID cases and deaths going to a difficult winter ahead, so what's behind the sudden surge? All of that, still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:21:44]

VAUSE: The World Health Organization says Europe is the only region right now which is driving cases higher globally while other parts of the world are seeing declines. While Europe accounted for 57 percent of new infections in the past week.

Russia reported a record number of COVID deaths in the past 24 hours. This is the second day in a row. The surge has forced officials to reimpose some lockdown measures starting Thursday.

Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, also seeing dramatic increases in cases and deaths and dwindling vaccination rates.

Dr. Scott Miscovich is a national consultant in the United States for COVID-19 testing. He joins us now from Hawaii. Good to see you again Dr. ---, how are you?

DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, NATIONAL CONSULTANT FOR COVID-19 TESTING: Hi, John, how are you today?

VAUSE: I'm well, thank you.

OK, so the head of the CDC of the United States, you may have noticed she's been very upbeat in recent days, even encouraging kids to get out there in the United States, enjoy Halloween trick or treating, it's on. She -- the cases are down.

But she also had this word of caution. Now is not the time to become complacent because while cases are falling -- the number of new infections are falling, they're still incredibly high.

And what the concern is, there's coming cold weather. And that means people will be indoors. That means it could spread more.

So, my question is, how much is what's happening in Eastern Europe right now, as well as in Russia prologue for North America and other parts of the world because we've seen this trend before?

MISCOVICH: It absolutely is. But it's going to be a little more regional and a little more focal. And what I mean by that is that, you know, we have some areas like here in Hawaii we're over 70 percent vaccination rate, and we're ready for a big uptick in pediatric vaccines, we have some regions that are hitting into the 70s. Yet, we still have these regions that are 50 percent.

Now, those areas have to be concerned, because 50 percent, 55 percent even is not enough of a rate to even stop the disease when you talk about indoors.

Now, what's also making this a challenge is look at what's going on in Europe, we have the Eastern Bloc countries that are really focusing with this, you know, rise that they're having.

And in the United States, we have a lot of the, you know, areas that were Trump supporters and that are fighting it. Both groups, both in the United States and in Eastern Bloc are resisting the government for this.

So, we have a challenge in the United States, that could be exactly the same. But I still think that there are areas that will not be anywhere near where they were in the past. And you know, indoors is the concern.

VAUSE: That's going to get spread very easily, especially with this Delta variant.

Moscow is now starting another day lock down. But it seems many have decided to, you know, opt out. In the past few days, business has been booming for some travel agents, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MKHISSIN RAMI, TRAVEL AGENCY MANAGER (through translator): It started five or six days ago after they announced the lockdown. Clearly, no one would want to stay in Moscow, because what can you do here? So, demand went up by about five times for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, results is saying that their prices have gone up five or six times as well. And yet, getting in a dodge may seem like a good idea to avoid the hardships of a lockdown. But also it seems to be a very good way of keeping the virus spreading, keeping things alive.

MISCOVICH: Yes, and it's very challenging. Some regions have pre- arrival testing requirements or have vaccination requirements, but not all of them.

[00:25:07]

MISCOVICH: And so, if you're just going to a close location, you're exacting right, you're spreading the disease.

Let's face it, how did we get where we are right now? It's because of the variants and the variants have been able to spread due to the travel, and due to the lack of enforcement and the lack of mitigation.

So, you're exactly correct that, you know, we have the new AY.4.2, which is another, you know, maybe 20 percent more of infective case of Delta that's out there, it's just going to start spreading to more areas.

So, it's a very big concern. And I understand that other areas should be concerned in the region.

VAUSE: In terms of human behavior, we have this track record now when it comes to trying to beat this pandemic of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory time and time and time again. The head of the World Health Organization touched on that earlier this week, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The pandemic will end when the world choose to end it. It is in our hands. We have all the tools we need. Effective public health tools and effective medical tools. Unlike so many other health challenge, we can prevent this disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It's striking, this pandemic will end when we choose to end it. You know, it seems like, you know, we'll always do the right thing once every other option is well and truly exhausted.

Is there any way of quantifying how long the life of this pandemic has been extended by our very own bad decisions?

MISCOVICH: Oh, it's been extended years. And as I sit here, and I'm working with colleagues all over the world right now, we're already projecting that, you know, get used to the next two vaccines you're going to have to get. I believe the United States will be, you know, having vaccines open to the entire country by June.

And when you look at this, you still have only three percent of the poor countries that have been vaccinated.

So, until the world really finds a way to get those vaccines to the rest of the developing countries, we are going to have this continue.

So, I think right now we have to be talking where most of us believe 2025. And yes, if we would have come together as a world.

Let me give you a perfect example. Look at Portugal and Ireland. These countries have come together, they vaccinated, they've mitigated and they've taken control. They are perfect roadmaps for the world to look at to say this is how you control it. This is how you shorten the duration. We need to find those ways.

And we're a long way as you look at Eastern Europe and you look at certain areas in the United States, we have to come together but three years is at least my answer to your question.

VAUSE: That is so depressing. Dr. Scott Miscovich, appreciate your insights and thank you for being with us, Sir.

MISCOVICH: Thanks John for having me.

VAUSE: Take care.

Trouble not over for parts of Sicily overwhelmed by heavy rain and flooding. Forecasters say the storm that caused all of this is not done yet and we'll have more on that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:30:48]

U.S. President Joe Biden will head to Rome in the coming hours for the first in-person G-20 summit since the pandemic began. And just days later, the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

But with Democrats unable to get a budget deal through Congress, President Biden will arrive at both meetings empty-handed.

The Russian and Chinese leaders say they won't be there. Without them, it's questionable whether the Rome summit can lead to any meaningful action on climate, or COVID vaccinations, or anything else, for that matter.

President Biden's busy schedule calls for a meeting on Friday with Pope Francis. After the G-20, he then heads to Glasgow. More now from CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(AUDIO GAP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Really -- OK, we have some problems there, little technical problems with the story there from our diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. We'll try and get back to that in a moment.

But in the meantime, moving on to the weather crisis in Sicily, which is bracing for more rain, flash flooding, as well.

A powerful storm has inundated parts of the island this week. At least two people have died, and one remains missing from floodwaters that gushed onto streets, flooded homes, as well as businesses.

Emergency crews have carried out hundreds of rescue operations.

So how much rain is there still to come? Pedram Javaheri, our meteorologist, has the details on that with the forecast. A lot of rain has already fallen. How much more do they get to look forward to, I guess?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. You know, an incredible amount. I was just writing the numbers, John. Upwards of maybe seven months' worth of rainfall in portions of Sicily have come down just since Monday alone. So it gives you the sense of scale of how things have played out here.

And you'll notice these alerts still at the highest value there from Calabria and points to the south across much of Sicily, even into areas just to the west there seen significant threat here for flooding.

So it tells us the system that is responsible for this rainfall is a very slow-mover. It's not going to move out here over the next several days, and that's the biggest concern.

Because scenes such as this playing out, where we have water-blocked roadways, and of course, water rescues taking place. As you noted, several fatalities also across this region.

And anytime you get several months' worth of rainfall in a matter of hours or just days, especially across an area that has mountains, has elevated terrain, it certainly can be problematic.

But notice here's the storm system, the gusty winds, the heavy rainfall, still stay in place here. And it's actually a classic medicane, or a Mediterranean hurricane, essentially.

Being a cold core system, unlike its tropical cousin, which is warm core. But this system, very slow to move. It is smaller in stature, but you certainly notice the symmetry, the organization, and that persistence as we go in from Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, into even Saturday. That rotation locks in place just off the eastern shores there of Sicily, and that's the major concern here, because we've seen so much rain come down.

The forecast guidance does put the threat here at a level two. Once again, a lot of active weather, severe gusts, excessive rainfall, few isolated tornadoes. All of those remain an area of concern.

And typically, this time of year -- September, October, and also November, December into January -- that's peak season here for seeing medicanes develop. And it typically happens once or twice per year.

And again, these are cold core in nature, so you don't have those tropical characteristics. But rainfall is still as impressive as it gets.

Catania, about 450 millimeters is what you average in an entire year. Would you believe it? About 350 millimeters has come down since Monday alone.

And look at the forecast here. Maybe get a brief break here, albeit very gusty come Thursday, with on and off showers. The rainfall, once again, picks up in intensity come Friday. It tapers off a little bit on Saturday, and we expect the system to try to move away in the weekend come Sunday.

But really, a long, drawn-out process here, as far as how things have played out, given that the rain started as early as Sunday into Monday. And again, we think it will be until at least early this week, John, before conditions begin to improve across portions of Italy. VAUSE: Yes, a very wet time, indeed. Pedram, thank you. Pedram

Javaheri there with the very latest on the flood emergency in Italy.

Well, we'll take a short break. When we come back, new details on the fatal shooting on the "Rust" film set. The shocking admission by a crew member about the gun which was fired by Alec Baldwin. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:36:38]

VAUSE: Brazil's Senate commission has officially recommended criminal charges for President Jair Bolsonaro and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the ultimate decision will be made by the attorney general. He is a Bolsonaro appointee and an ally, and so charges are not expected.

Still, the president's approval waiting has nosedived. But he has received a vote of confidence from a former leader who shares his political outlook.

CNN's Isa Soares has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's been dubbed the Trump of the tropics, and with less than a year until the Brazilian election, President Jair Bolsonaro is getting a reelection boost from the man himself.

In a statement, former U.S. president, Donald Trump, calls him "a great president who will never let the people of his great country down."

Trump's show of support coming just hours after a Brazilian Senate committee recommended that Bolsonaro face nine charges, including crimes against humanity for his mishandling of the pandemic, which has claimed more than 600,000 lives. Only the United States has lost more lives.

The explosive report accuses Bolsonaro of intentionally allowing COVID-19 to spread throughout Brazil in an effort to reach herd immunity. It also claims he delayed vaccine distribution in Brazil by ignoring at least 72 emails from Pfizer.

Bolsonaro has dismissed the charges as politically motivated, blaming his opponents and leftist groups.

JAIR BOLSONARO, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): they label me as genocidal, a charlatan, document forger, and exterminator. It's absurd what these guys have done.

SOARES: Throughout the pandemic, Bolsonaro has repeatedly dismissed the severity of COVID-19, calling it a gripezinha, just a little cold, and spreading misinformation about the virus.

Just last week, he claimed on a Facebook livestream that COVID vaccines could cause AIDS. Facebook finally removing the misleading video, almost a week later.

But with growing anger on the streets and plummeting approval ratings, Bolsonaro has increasingly looked to the American right for inspiration.

DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF DONALD TRUMP: Do you go the path of socialism? Or do you remain steadfast and strong for freedom?

SOARES: Just a few months ago, the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, an American import, joined in, hoping to revive Jair Bolsonaro's dwindling base. Taking a page from the Trump playbook --

STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP SENIOR ADVISOR: Bolsonaro will win, unless it's stolen by -- guess what, the machines.

MIKE LINDELL, CEO, MY PILLOW: The machines.

SOARES: Bolsonaro has been sowing doubt on the integrity of Brazil's entire electronic voting system, calling for printed ballots to supplement electronically cast votes.

BOLSONARO (through translator): You don't have proof that there is fraud, but there's also no proof that there isn't.

SOARES: As the calls for his impeachment grow louder, and the threat of criminal prosecution loom large, Bolsonaro continues to fight for political survival, echoing the words of his U.S. ally and role model, Donald Trump, and threatening not to hand over the presidency next year, if there's a suspicion of fraud.

BOLSONARO (through translator): I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed, or victory.

SOARES: Isa Soares, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, there's no Trump-like admiration for Bolsonaro coming from Venezuela's president. In a televised speech Nicolas Maduro said Bolsonaro was an idiot because of his baseless claims that COVID vaccines could increase the risk of HIV/AIDS.

[00:40:09]

Maduro emphasized vaccines are the result of science, and they're saving lives. He said Bolsonaro's remarks were, quote, "something stupid, typical of someone from the right, discredited and not loved by his people."

The sheriff in Santa Fe, New Mexico, says the gun fired by Alec Baldwin last week on the "Rust" film set shot a suspected live round, killing crew member Halyna Hutchins and injuring the film's director. CNN's Lucy Kafanov was -- has the latest now on the investigation.

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ADAN MENDOZA, SHERIFF, SANTA FE COUNTY, NEW MEXICO: The facts are clear, a weapon was handed to Mr. Baldwin. The weapon is functional and fired a live round, killing Ms. Hutchins and injuring Mr. Souza.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the Santa Fe County sheriff reveals new details about what killed 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.

MENDOZA: This is the firearm we believe discharged the bullet.

KAFANOV: A chilling admission from the man who handed Alec Baldwin that gun, assistant director Dave Halls, who told investigators he failed to fully check it.

In a newly-released search warrant, Halls told detectives, "I checked the barrel for obstructions. Most of the time, there's no live fire. She (Hannah) opens the hatch and spins the drum. And I say 'cold gun on set.'" David advised, when Hannah showed him the firearm before continuing rehearsal, he could only remember seeing three rounds. He advised he should have checked all of them, but didn't and couldn't recall if she spun the drum."

Hannah Gutierrez was the armorer in charge of prop weapons. According to the search warrant, Gutierrez told investigators she handed the gun to Alec Baldwin a couple of times and also handed it to Dave Halls. When asked about live ammo, she responded, "No live ammo is ever kept on set."

The sheriff contradicted Gutierrez today, saying a suspected live round is what killed Hutchins and wounded Souza.

MENDOZA: We suspect that there was other live rounds that were found on the set. I won't comment further on how they got there. I think there was some complacency on this set. And I think there are some safety issues that need to be addressed by the industry, and possibly by the state of New Mexico.

KAFANOV: The weapon used by Baldwin was the only working gun of the three seized by police from the movie set. Other items included 500 rounds of ammo.

MENDOZA: That is a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what we are suspecting, live rounds.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: How did a live round end up in that gun? That is the question I want to know as the D.A. Who's responsible for that? Did someone fail to do their job? That's where you're going to see potential criminal negligence.

KAFANOV: A spokesperson for "Rust" Movie Productions tells CNN, "None of the film's producers have been contacted by the Santa Fe County D.A.," adding, "We will continue to fully cooperate with any and all law enforcement investigations as they work through the details of this heartbreaking tragedy."

MARY CARMACK-ALTWIES, FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We don't know how those live rounds got there. And I think that that will probably end up being kind of the linchpin for whether a decision is made about charges.

KAFANOV: No charges has been filed, as the investigation continues.

(on camera): You heard the district attorney there. She told CNN that involuntary manslaughter charges could be considered in this case, pending the outcome of the investigation, although involuntary manslaughter cases are simply not common in the state of New Mexico.

Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for staying with us here. We've had a lot trouble here on CNN NEWSROOM. We'll get it right after, well, the top of the hour. I'm John Vause. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is up after a very short break. After that, we'll see you at the top of the hour.

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(WORLD SPORT)