Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Florida Joins Texas in Moving Migrants to Northern Cities; Queue to View Queen's Coffin at or near Capacity; Newly Discovered Mass Burial Site in Ukraine; Modi Publicly Rebukes Putin over Invasion of Ukraine; Women Dies after Detention by Iran's Morality Police; Pakistan Flood Survivors Face Disease, Hunger. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired September 17, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, a cruel and premeditated political stunt, the White House reacts as Republican governors say they won't stop sending migrants out of their states to liberal strongholds.
And pressure on Putin both inside and outside of his own country.
And the suspicious death of an Iranian woman after she was taken into custody by the morality police triggers outrage.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Florida governor Ron DeSantis had dozens of Venezuelan migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard apparently without notifying officials there, similar to the move started by Texas governor Abbott.
Republicans say they are protesting the immigration policies that fail to secure the border and they are vowing to step up the plan. The president has criticized Republican officials for, quote, "playing politics with human beings" and the White House press secretary is comparing them to human smugglers. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These were children. They were moms. They were fleeing communism.
And what did governor DeSantis and governor Abbot do? They used them as political pawns, treated them like chattel in a cruel, premeditated political stunt. GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): These are just the beginning efforts. We've
got an infrastructure in place now, there will be a lot more that is happening. I got 12 million for us to use and so we are going to use it and you are going to see more and more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Migrants sent to Massachusetts were taken to a military base for shelter and humanitarian support. Miguel Marquez has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After less than 48 unexpected hours in Martha's Vineyard, nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants were given a warm sendoff.
Volunteers embracing each person as they boarded buses. Then ferries and on to the next part of their long journey.
Their unannounced arrival, Wednesday, all part of a campaign by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to send migrants to so-called sanctuary cities by surprise.
DESANTIS: All we're trying to do is offer transport to sanctuary jurisdictions, free to the alien but certainly not mandatory, in that way they're able to go in these sanctuary jurisdictions can put their money where their mouth is.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): These immigrants were picked up in Texas, some of them say they weren't taken to a hotel to wait, then boarded planes.
"Well, we didn't know until the last minute our destinations such as New York, where our relatives reside," he says, "We came with, as I say, the idea of reuniting with them."
Yang Pablo Mora and other immigrants we spoke to here say, they were promised all sorts of things, including jobs and housing, things that never materialized.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): "We were told it was humanitarian aid by a foundation that in this case remains unknown," he says. "They didn't tell us the benefactor. They just told us that the person wanted to help us."
While volunteers and officials in Martha's Vineyard promptly responded and cared for their unexpected guests, lawyers assisting the immigrant say the stop did nothing but detour already desperate people.
[04:05:00]
RACHEL SELF, LAWYER ASSISTING IMMIGRANTS, MARTHA'S VINEYARD: It is sickeningly cruel, throwing obstacles in the way of people fleeing violence and oppression, some of whom walked through 10 countries in the hopes of finding safety. It is shameful and inhuman. MARQUEZ (voice-over): The incidents which Governor DeSantis proudly took credit for slammed by some Massachusetts officials.
STATE SEN. JULIAN CYR (D-MA): If this were about sort of alleviating capacity in border towns or in helping migrants seeking a better life, you don't do it by essentially a surprise, I don't know, transport, right?
MARQUEZ: You guys obviously stepped up. But how much more complicated was it because they were sent here?
LISA BELCASTRO, VOLUNTEER: My heartbreaks for them, because they were not the first priority. I hope they feel exceptionally loved. They are in my heart, forever and safe.
MARQUEZ: Look, there is no doubt that these immigrants were well taken care of by the people here on Martha's Vineyard. The people here on the Vineyard and across the country have raised money, almost $200,000, for these immigrants, to help them as they move on in their journey.
But many of these people are trying to maintain their status here. They are here from Venezuela, fleeing political oppression. They have immigration hearings coming up across the country, Los Angeles, Washington State, Cincinnati, back in Texas, Washington, D.C., all over the place.
And so the idea of sending them here to Martha's Vineyard, an island off the coast of Massachusetts, really only complicated an already very complicated journey. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Earlier I spoke with Catherine Cole, the executive director of Grannies Respond, a nonprofit group that was formed in 2018 to protest the separation of children and families at the southern U.S. border.
And they have been dealing with migrants who have been essentially dumped in cities like New York and Washington, D.C. And I asked about her reaction to this latest stunt by Florida's governor. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHERINE COLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GRANNIES RESPOND: I think it is cruel, it is heartbreaking for these people because, unless there are people on the ground like Grannies Respond and our New York City group, Team TLC NYC, these people would just be wandering around the city.
If you are going to send them somewhere, you know, give them the means, sort out the means before you just dump them.
BRUNHUBER: So the migrants, when they arrived, they must have been disoriented to say the least. And we saw in Martha's Vineyard; it sounds as though they were misled and lied to. So what state are they in when they arrive?
And do they have any idea what is going on?
COLE: Some do, some don't. My lead in New York City, Elsa Thelmond (ph), Team TLC NYC, tells me that some of the buses, the people come off looking pretty together and pretty oriented to what is going on.
And some buses, they look disheveled and very tired, extremely hungry. So it really depends on who is sending them off from where. It is a mixed bag. And some of them intend to come to New York; some do not because their hearings are scheduled in different states far away.
And we've had to reticket people, a lot of people, which has cost us a lot of money. And we only operate on funding.
BRUNHUBER: Some people would say, you know, certainly you know, certainly these governors are making this argument, maybe not sincerely but they would say, well, maybe they are better off in these big Democratic cities, where they get plenty of support.
COLE: They are not getting plenty of support from the cities. That is a fallacy. The cities are not prepared for this. New York City did some organizing with us. But now they have stepped back and put the mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, you know, we organize some things with them.
But now they have stepped back and turned it over to the emergency management, which is -- you know, we're really the ones doing the work on the ground. It is the nonprofits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And you can hear more from that interview coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: It is just after 9:00 on a very chilly morning in London, the third full day of lying in state for the late Queen Elizabeth. Public viewing of the queen's coffin set to end in less than 48 hours. Hundreds of thousands of people, bundled up against the cold, have converged on central London to pay their final respects.
The miles-long queue has been at or near capacity for many hours, with wait times up to a full day. Later today, some near the front may actually witness the queen's eight grandchildren hold their silent vigil at her coffin.
The queen's four children, King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, held their silent vigil on Friday. And we've been keeping tabs on the government's live tracker of people, waiting to get into Westminster Hall. And the site continues to warn people not to join the queue at this time.
[04:10:00] BRUNHUBER: The wait is currently so long that people at the back of the line may not get to view the coffin until sometime tomorrow. Nada Bashir has been speaking to people.
I'm surprised how patient most people have been, considering that they have been there waiting for hours and hours.
What is the mood there?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've been at the queue for three nights in a row. And every time we've spoken to anybody, they have been upbeat and they are going to stay in the queue, regardless of how long it may take.
This is an historic moment and so important for the people in this queue, to have that opportunity to pay their respects to the late queen. And we've been speaking to people and it is a lot colder than it has been previous nights. And the queue has been a lot longer.
The first night, it was moving quite quickly. And it has slowed down somewhat because of the sheer number that have come up over the weekend to take part in the long line to pay their respects.
As you mentioned, the authorities have been forced to stagger those queues, often to stop them for periods of time, in order to ensure that we're not seeing those spilling out beyond the park, which is the end part. And in the last few moments it has reopened.
I have to say the people that we've been speaking to are extremely upbeat; they have made friends along the way, despite the cold weather, despite not being able to bring a lot of supplies with them, because there are stringent security checks in place.
More than 1,000 volunteers, stewards and Metropolitan Police officers dotted around, about 30 first aid tents and ambulance services around to make sure that the people in the queues are safe and being protected.
I was speaking to one person who has been in the queue all night.
David, how long have you been in the queue for?
DAVID, MOURNER; Over 10 hours. Over 10 hours. And for the lady of our nation, the utmost respect, the inspiration for many free speaking people of the world. She fought for all the rights of the individuals of the countries and nations of the world. And so (INAUDIBLE) this lady. It is an honor to walk here and to pay my respects to her.
BASHIR: And just how important is it for you to have that opportunity?
Because, of course, there will be a lot of people who will be watching on TV but unable to make it over here.
DAVID: It is a once in a lifetime moment. And you've got to take it while it is here because it will never come again. It's something that can never be taken away from the people paying this homage and respect to our Queen Elizabeth.
And we can pass it on to generations, pass her memory on to grandchildren and their grandchildren, of this moment, of this sad event and to (INAUDIBLE) right to the world.
BASHIR: Thank you so much, good luck with the rest of the queue.
DAVID: Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
BASHIR: -- we're just across the river from Westminster Palace, where the queen is still lying in state and will remain until early Monday morning.
And for many people we've been speaking to, it's a moment of history that they want to be a part of, families with their children, even small children, overnight, despite the cold because it is something that they want them to remember in future. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, appreciate you bringing those man on the street perspectives there. Nada Bashir, thanks so much.
Investigations are underway after a discovery of a mass burial site in Ukraine. And now Ukraine says it is becoming even clearer that something horrific happened there. That is ahead.
Plus dangerous moves in Russia pushing back against President Putin over his failures in Ukraine, while some local leaders see a new opening for the anti-Putin camp. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: CNN is learning that the United Nations will get involved after the discovery of a mass grave in Ukraine. U.N. human rights investigators will go to Izyum as soon as possible. And the White House called the discovery horrifying and repugnant while Ukraine now says some of the bodies recovered the show signs of torture.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There is clear evidence of torture, humiliating treatment of people. Moreover there is evidence that Russian soldiers, whose positions were not far from this place, shot at the buried just for fun.
The world must react to all of this. Russia has repeated in Izyum what it did in Bucha. And now we've just begun to learn the full truth about what has happened in the Kharkiv region at that time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Zelenskyy repeated his call to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. The site was discovered after Ukraine military offensive in the Kharkiv region. I spoke with Oleksandra Matviichuk, who leads the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, and I asked her about that discovery and here is what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OLEKSANDRA MATVIICHUK, KYIV-BASED HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: Russia did arrest civilians in occupied territories. We see the same pattern Kyiv region, Chernihiv region, Soma region and other regions where Russians were. And now we're documenting the same war crimes on those territories. Only in Izyum, six torture chambers were found of a national polistalt (ph).
BRUNHUBER: Yes, it's just really sad to see this. I mean, one image was particularly haunting: a body wearing a bracelet with the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Now we've chosen not to show this picture. It is very disturbing. But I know, for you, for other Ukrainians, it was particularly poignant.
[04:20:00]
MATVIICHUK: Yes. And will just say prescient (ph) and I want to say that it doesn't matter what color it is because like, each people who love their country, can feel the same, when you have -- when you will be killed only because you love your country.
BRUNHUBER: Now we don't know exactly what happened here. We know that the U.N. will investigate.
Do you have any insight into how investigators will determine whether war crimes had been committed here and what role you want from international organizations in this investigation?
MATVIICHUK: This occupation lasted for a half of year, So we have to provide a forensic expertise and understand what was the cause of each death and whether or not the people who are dead were tortured or subjected to sexual violence before their deaths.
So it's very important work and we will see the result. But (INAUDIBLE), we spoke with locals. And locals talked about kidnapping of civilians, about tortures of civilians, about extrajudicial deaths of civilians, which was made by Russians.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile the United States says its military aid to Ukraine will keep coming. John Kirby spoke with CNN on Friday. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: We just announced again another $600 million last night. We're doing everything we can to make sure that the Ukrainians can succeed on the battlefield so that, when it comes to a time at the negotiating table, Mr. Zelenskyy can also succeed in negotiations.
Now both sides have said publicly they are not willing to sit down right now. And we understand that. And that is why we'll continue to support the Ukrainian armed forces for as long as it takes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Ukraine has routed Russian troops from much of the northeast this month, reportedly liberating some 6,000 square kilometers. President Biden was asked what if Putin responds by using chemical or nuclear weapons and Biden said the U.S. response would be, in his words, "consequential" and he added this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't. Don't. Don't. It would change the face of war unlike anything since World War II.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's military successes have led to something that can be risky business in Russia: political pushback against President Putin. And as Matthew Chance reports, that includes calls for Putin to resign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ukraine's gain here set to dramatic music by their own troops is increasingly Putin's loss. Russia's stunning military setbacks, stirring broad public criticism at home with shocked military hardliners voicing anger.
DMITRY PALYUGA, RUSSIAN LOCAL DEPUTY: Hi, I'm Dmitry.
CHANCE (voice-over): And a dozens of elected local Russian politicians too for signing an official petition authored by this local council demanding President Putin to be impeached.
Russians have offered to pay his fines for speaking out, even to hide him, he told me, if the Kremlin tries to put him in jail.
PALYUGA: Well, obviously Russian army is being destroyed right now. So we lose people, we lose weapons and we lose our ability to defend.
CHANCE: And that fact that the Russian army is suffering the setbacks, that is fueling anger, isn't it?
Not just amongst the liberal aspects of Russian society but also amongst hardliners as well, they're furious.
PALYUGA: Yes. Actually pro war activists they are now really feel betrayed. And that there is a point where both liberal group of people and that pro war group of people can have the same goal.
CHANCE (voice-over): Like these early antiwar protesters in Moscow back in February, hardliners complain of Russia being too soft on Ukraine and sending woefully underprepared troops into battle. But it's the heavy price Russia is paying whether may be common cause.
KSENIA THORSTROM, RUSSIAN LOCAL DEPUTY: Hi, my name is Ksenia Thorstrom. I'm a municipal deputy of --
CHANCE (voice-over): And why another Russian counselor has filed a second petition calling for Putin to resign, the Kremlin strong man, she told me, is depriving Russians of a future.
THORSTROM: Russia has become poor. They are not welcome anywhere. Then there was less of facilities supplies. Russia doesn't really produce anything itself.
[04:25:00]
THORSTROM: And I don't know what future can be for the country which is isolated.
CHANCE: Can you talk to me about what impact that lack of a future is having on people that you speak to?
THORSTROM: Ah, well, it's quite depressive now, very depressive atmosphere in Russia and the frustration feeling fear, anger, shame.
CHANCE (voice-over): The Kremlin insists the mood of the people is still with the Russian president. The growing criticism at home and abroad may at least threaten to take the swagger out of Putin's step -- Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: President Biden has met with the families of two high profile Americans detained in Russia. According to the White House, Biden said he is working hard to secure the release both of basketball star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
But the U.S. still hasn't had a breakthrough after months of negotiations. Brian Todd reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden's first- ever face-to-face meetings with the families of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan since they were detained in Russia, a move White House officials say was intended to let the families know Griner and Whelan remain, quote, "front of mind" with the president.
White House officials are frustrated that an offer the Biden administration had made to the releases for Griner and Whelan didn't, according to the White House, bring a serious response back from the Kremlin.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Russia should take this offer. It is a substantial offer.
TODD: Sources have told CNN the White House has offered convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for the releases of Whelan and Griner. But one administration official tells CNN the U.S. has gotten a repeated demand back from the Putin regime for something the U.S. is incapable of delivering on.
EVELYN FARKAS, EXEXUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE MCCAIN INSTITUTE: The Russians are masters at, you know, asking us to do things that we cannot do. It may indeed be something where they think the U.S. controls something that they don't control.
TODD: Meanwhile, CNN has learned independent negotiator Bill Richardson was in Moscow this week meeting with Russian leadership. Administration officials expressing open frustration that Richardson has apparently been working outside official channels.
JOHN KIRBY, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Our message is that private citizens should not be in Moscow at all right now and that private citizens cannot negotiate on behalf of the United States government.
TODD: Griner, detained by the Russians in February for carrying cannabis oil in her luggage, pleaded guilty to drug charges but said she accidently packed the drugs. Whelan has been held for more than three years on espionage charges that he's denied. Could the Ukraine war factor into their fates?
FARKAS: The Russians are looking very weak because of their war effort. They're looking weak internationally. Putin's looking weak domestically. He may have an additional incentive for making a deal right now.
TODD: Analyst Evelyn Farkas says she is certain there is more going on behind the scenes in the Griner and Whelan negotiations than anyone in the administration is letting on and that it is possible that Bill Richardson may not be working quite as independently as it seems.
Richardson and his team have not commented at all on his trip to Russia -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Much more to come on CNN's continuing coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth, including my conversation with an expert about the security preparations underway for her funeral.
Plus the U.S. Justice Department is appealing a district court decision about documents seized last month from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. We'll have that story straight ahead. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:00] (MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Central London is filled with people hoping to pay their final respects to the late Queen Elizabeth this hour. Authorities have shut down the miles-long queue multiple times. It has largely remained at or near capacity.
And in the coming hours, the queen's eight grandchildren will hold a vigil around her coffin. Authorities say more than 2,000 officers will be deployed in Windsor for the queen's burial.
And London police say there will be a huge presence in the city Monday. Highly visible officers will line many parts of the funeral group. And last hour I spoke about the many security challenges with a security expert, Will Geddes. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL GEDDES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE PROTECTION: I don't think we've seen anything quite as large and quite as multifaceted as what we're seeing right now and have done over this week, right up until the funeral the beginning of next.
Perhaps the way to compare it would be to combine the 2012 Olympics, all the royal weddings, the London marathon and many events all on particularly a week.
And what's particularly challenging for the authorities -- and there are many different strands, from the security services, MI-5; the secret intelligence services MI-6; GTHQ (ph) that monitor all cyber and cellular traffic, and Metropolitan Police who are holding the primacy of protection within the palace of Westminster.
That also includes many other stewards and anybody who's been walking through London or has seen some of the recent footage will see that on every day there are 10,000 police officers deployed.
And in addition in support to that, about 1,500 military personnel as well. We are under the world's spotlight right now. And all of those people, working all those different agencies, know we need to get it right.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, just some extreme situations that they have to deal with, one of them being all the foreign dignitaries who will be arriving. I think some 70 of them, each with their own needs, with their own specifications.
How do you mesh and coordinate their security demands with the existing infrastructure?
GEDDES: As you can probably imagine, incredibly difficult. I've looked after a number of former heads of state and a few foreign royal families and quite often, on a state visit or on a particular gathering, it will only be perhaps only for a day or two. With this immense number of heads of state and former heads of state
which will be attending and flying into the United Kingdom, most of them will have to fall, obviously, within the protective directions of the Metropolitan Police.
However, there are three exceptions to that rule; one being obviously President Biden, the emperor of Japan and also the premier of Israel, who have been forwarded because of their heightened potential threat levels, with their own ability to utilize their own security teams.
[04:35:00]
GEDDES: Obviously in President Biden's case, he's using the U.S. Secret Service detail. But everyone else has to fall within the security bubble that the Metropolitan Police will provide.
And that security bubble will also involve many of them traveling together in the journey management (ph) to the funeral ceremony on Monday, is going to be quite a complex project.
But by moving them all in minibuses together -- and we've seen this before on Harry and Meghan's wedding, William and Kate's wedding and on other occasions. It's a way for them to insulate and control the security of those heads of state until they've left the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: And coverage of the queen's funeral begins on Monday, right here on CNN at 6:00 am in New York, 11:00 in the morning in London.
The U.S. Justice Department is asking an appeals court to intervene in the dispute over materials seized at former president Trump's Mar-a- Lago estate.
The request filed Friday night asks the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to exclude classified documents from a special master's assessment and to allow the department's criminal investigation to proceed.
Now this as a source tells CNN that former Trump official assured the National Archives that the boxes at Mar-a-Lago contained only newspaper clippings. Jessica Schneider has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department filing their appeal with the 11th Circuit but in doing it, they are actually asking for just limited relief. They are telling court they want really just two things that Judge Cannon refused to give them when she ruled Thursday night.
First they want to be allowed to continue their criminal investigation into classified documents unimpeded. That means that they want to resume using those 100 classified documents that Judge Cannon has said that they can no longer use, whether it is in grand jury proceedings or with witnesses.
And so they want to finally be able to use that. They are asking the 11th Circuit for that. Plus DOJ is saying they shouldn't have to turn over that classified material to Trump's legal team or even a special master.
They are saying that the lower court judge was just wrong to order the disclosure of some of highly sensitive material in the midst of this ongoing investigation.
And on a broader scale in this filing, DOJ is saying that courts shouldn't be stepping in on this issue because all of the documents at issue here, they say, belong to the government.
They write, saying, "Allowing the government to use and review the records bearing classification markings for criminal investigative purposes would not cause any cognizable injury to plaintiff," that being Donald Trump.
"Plaintiff has no property or other legal interest in those records. Plaintiff has identified no cognizable harm for merely allowing criminal investigators to continue to review and use the same subset of the seized records."
They continue to say, "That is why courts have exercised great caution before interfering through civil actions with criminal investigations or cases."
And so the DOJ really criticizing the lower court judge for even stepping in here. Now we'll see how quickly the 11th Circuit acts. It will likely be a panel of three judges; six of the 11 judges on the 11th Circuit are Trump appointees.
And then the special master review of documents, that is just beginning. In fact, judge Raymond Dearie, who has been named special master, he has scheduled a hearing Tuesday at 2:00 pm to go over how scheduling will work, since, of course, the clock is already ticking.
The judge has said he has to review 11,000 of those documents by November 30th -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Right wing media has been peppering the FBI with harsh criticism ever since the raid on Mar-a-Lago, including allegations the agency harbors political bias. But the FBI is fiercely nonpartisan and apolitical. And a senior FBI agent has issued a rare public defense.
It reads in part, "The work of special agents is difficult, relentless and consuming. It is also completely nonpartisan. Over my 23-year career as an agent, I've seen criticism come from both sides.
"However in the past month, we've heard extreme and irresponsible attacks on the FBI, from pundits and even by some political leaders. The allegations that the FBI is somehow driven by political bias are simply untrue. These attacks, particularly coming from political leaders, could have real implications for the safety of agents and others."
The FBI says that it is assisting ride sharing company Uber in investigating an alleged hack of the company's network. A hacker recently shared supposed proof with journalists that Uber's internal systems had been hacked.
But the company says there is no evidence any sensitive customer information was accessed. And all of Uber's business units remain operational. Uber has been successfully targeted by hackers in the past, costing it large sums of money.
[04:40:00]
BRUNHUBER: There's outrage in Iran after the mysterious death of a young woman. Ahead, why some believe she was a victim of Iran's strict morality laws.
Plus aid agencies in Pakistan say survivors of historic flooding are now facing a range of illnesses linked to the disaster. We'll have that and more after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: In Lebanon, a growing number of people have been holding up banks to try to access their frozen savings. Authorities have reported at least seven incidents since Wednesday, including five on Friday alone.
Officials say they will try to beef up security to stop the recent spate of holdups. Many depositors have been locked out of their savings since an economic crisis three years ago.
In Iran, a young woman has died after being detained by the morality police. Authorities say she suffered a heart attack. But her family and activists question that. Jomana Karadsheh is joining us with more.
What are we learning about her death?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned there, we're getting two versions of events: what the authorities are trying to put forward as her dying of natural causes while in the custody of the morality police.
You've got her family, you have opposition members, you've got international human rights organizations raising questions about this and the circumstances of her death. Now look, what we understand happened, according to activists, who spoke to the family, her family had traveled to Tehran from Iran's Kurdistan region.
They were there to visit relatives. They were stopped by the morality police. And that is the authorities who are tasked with enforcing the country's strict Islamic dress code, including the compulsory head scarf.
[04:45:00]
KARADSHEH: According to her family, the morality police forced her into the car as they were taking her away. Her brother tried to intervene but he was told that she was being taken to a police station for an hour of "reeducation," as they described it.
So her brother reportedly saying that is the last time he saw her awake. He followed her to the police station, waited outside; a couple hours later an ambulance discreetly pulled up and took her to the hospital.
The family was told that she had a heart attack or a stroke while in the presence of other people.
And so Tehran police on Thursday confirmed that she was in a coma, saying that she had a heart attack.
On Friday, Iranian state TV released the CCTV video that they say shows her while she was in this reeducation center, as they describe it. Now we can't verify the identity of the woman in the video. But it is an edited video. The time of day changes in this video.
And what they say it shows is her walking in, sitting down, talking to people and then she gets up and she speaks to a woman, who they identify as a, quote-unquote, "expert." And the expert is basically touching her clothes and then we see her collapsing and falling to the ground.
State TV basically saying she appeared unwell and she fell into a coma. Now we can't verify any of that video or what we are really seeing there. But it does appear to be an edited video.
The Iranian president Raisi has ordered an investigation into her death. We know this morning we've heard from Iranian officials that an autopsy has been performed and that they will release the results of this autopsy.
But I can tell you, there is a lot of skepticism amongst Iranian opposition members and many international human rights organizations that this Iranian regime will deliver a credible investigation.
BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll keep following that story. Jomana Karadsheh in Istanbul, thanks so much.
And right now Alaska is being hit by possibly the strongest storm in more than a decade. So we'll go live to the weather center right after the break. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: UNICEF officials say an estimated 16 million children have been impacted by super floods in Pakistan. Aid agencies are appealing for help, warning that survivors of the historic flooding are now facing a new threat, diseases and infections linked to the ongoing disaster. Sophia Saifi has more from Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: What started off as a summer of deadly floods has become a situation of rising deadly diseases in the flood- ravaged regions. We're seeing figures coming from the provinces of rising dengue, cholera and malaria and other diarrheal related cases.
There is no public sanitation. There is an issue of women being out there in the open, pregnant women. There is data that 650,000 pregnant women have been affected and displaced by these floods.
We've had NGOs putting out calls for gynecologists to come out and volunteer in aid of these women. The numbers of the dead have increased while the flooding waters recede.
We're also seeing about the numbers of 536 children being killed since June. Hundreds and thousands of more children have been affected. Schools are shut in those parts of the country where the floods have been worst.
There is also a situation where climate change experts have come out and slammed Western countries for not giving enough aid to Pakistan. We saw the U.K. initially just give about 1.5 million pounds, which is Pakistan, part of the Commonwealth, that has now increased to 15 million pounds.
The U.S. has given 30 million USD, China about 42 million. There have been aid flights coming in but that is simply not enough to deal with the kind of historic flooding that has affected Pakistan.
And while we see food shortages and rising temperatures, we continue to see how Pakistan will manage to get itself out of the damage called by the natural calamity -- Sophia Saifi, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Parts of Alaska are being battered by perhaps the strongest storm in the state in more than a decade. The National Weather Service warns some areas along the coast may experience the worst flooding in nearly 50 years. The storm is what is left of a typhoon. And flood warnings and high winds are in effect.
(WEATHER REPORT)
[04:55:00]
BRUNHUBER: And thank you for watching. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'll be back with more news after a quick break.
