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Tampa Bay, Florida Prepares for Hurricane Ian; Rescue Workers All-hands on Deck for Hurricane Ian; Sham Vote in Kherson Region Wrapping Up; Nineteen People Lucky to Survive a Blast; Russian Men Refuse to Join War in Ukraine; Japan Gave State Funeral to Shinzo Abe; Taiwan Recognized Shinzo Abe's Accomplishments. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 27, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Paula Newton.

Just ahead for us, bracing for impact. Hurricane Ian set to slam Florida with powerful winds and dangerous storm surge, and Western Cuba already feeling Ian's fury. We're tracking the latest forecast.

Plus, desperate to escape crowds building at Russia's borders. Thousands try to flee Putin's mobilization orders.

And yep, they crushed it. NASA slams his spacecraft into an asteroid on purpose. We will explain why the mission could provide critical information about averting a doomsday collision.

And we do begin this hour with Hurricane Ian which is now grown to a powerful category three hurricane as it closes in on Cuba. And in the coming days will take direct aim at Florida. Right now, the storms eye wall is nearing the coast of western Cuba. You see it there. Conditions deteriorating rapidly.

Tens of thousands have evacuated ahead of the storm's landfall. Now here's a look at the hurricane from space. Authorities in Florida are telling people to get out now, warning, it could be the storm of a lifetime when it arrives.

CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is tracking this storm for us. And it has been difficult to keep up with. We have the latest, it is now a category three, but what's the latest modeling? Is there a chance that it could wobble west and hopefully spare Tampa?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, absolutely is. You know, when you look at two, three days out before a potential landfall, Paula, the storms typically within that kind of timeframe, have about a 50-mile average air of distance between its western periphery and its eastern periphery. So, certainly can wobble off towards the west and avoid Tampa and its entirety, but unfortunately, because as you just noted with that satellite imagery, the sheer size, the magnitude of the storm system, the impacts are going to be wide reaching.

In fact, you notice portions of western Cuba storm surge potential in the coming hours as high as 14 feet. That'll decimate some of those coastal communities, and the system is still forecast the strengthened beyond portions of Cuba into portions of the Eastern Gulf.

But notice, model guidance in the past 24 hours has generally wanted to bring it a little bit closer towards areas of the Florida coast. But that parallel track towards the coastline is really what's most menacing about this particular storm. Because you look at the guidance of this forecast, take it up to category four. We know counterclockwise flow around the system will usher in water up towards the bays, the inlets, the waterways, the channels, and that storm surge threat is really what's most devastating with any tropical system.

And again, kind of line by side by side between these two models. Very close agreement as far as where they think the storm will be by Wednesday into Thursday, one of the models has it about 25 miles west of Tampa. So a potential direct impact is going to be out of the question with that particular model run.

But keep in mind, the storm is big enough here to where the storm surge threat is going to bring that water directly into Tampa. And that surge is the most dangerous aspect of any tropical system. Paula?

NEWTON: Yes, Pedram. And I've been driving you crazy about the storm surge because it's with these larger storms and specifically that area of Tampa that you say is so vulnerable, why? What is it about storm surge?

JAVAHERI: You know, this storm system is forecast to slow down, so it's going to pile up additional rounds of water. It's going to slow down, down to about three miles per hour. So, more water essentially gets an opportunity to channel its way up through this region because the system could take a couple of days from Wednesday into Friday before it passes west of Tampa.

Another factor here is you look at the Florida shelf, essentially the continental shelf west of Florida extends about 150 miles west. It's a very broad, shallow shelf that it's only about 300 feet deep, so you have to shallow shelf, a massive hurricane category four over this -- over in the span of let's say, three to four days, you're going to pile up quite a bit of water versus a system coming in across Eastern Florida where the shelf is quite more narrow.

So, essentially, you don't get that much more effect. So, the same system that can produce a 12-foot storm surge in parts of West Florida, and some of these models do take it up close to nine, 10 feet within a Tampa Bay region. Then you look at this. A 50 percent of damage in fatalities from any tropical system is related to that storm surge. [03:04:55]

It's not the wind speed, Paula. And this animation kind of shows you what we're looking at. Anytime you exceed nine, 10 feet with a storm surge, you're bringing water up towards the top floor, the first floor of these coastal properties, which about $30 billion worth of property resides across this region of Pinellas County near Tampa.

NEWTON: You know, Pedram, you just told us so much in the last couple minutes and it's so much that we didn't know, we didn't want to know, right?

JAVAHERI: Yes.

NEWTON: But it -- this is obviously dire and I know you'll continue to track it there for us from the CNN weather center. I appreciate it. We will get to you every hour here as we continue to track that storm.

Now, meantime, you heard Pedram, and for that reason, officials in Florida say the storm's path is raising fears of a near worst-case scenario for the Tampa area. Now residents have been busy preparing for hurricane Ian, of course, stocking up on groceries, fuel, other supplies. One woman said she waited three hours in line for sandbags.

Florida's governor, meantime has activated the National Guard ahead of the hurricane's expected landfall. Thousands more troops are on the way from other states and the utility company, Florida Power and Light says 1,300 workers are ready to go for its emergency response.

CNN's Carlos Suarez has the latest now from Tampa.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are two mandatory evacuation orders in place. Forty-three hurricane shelters have opened, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has put on standby 5,000 members of the Florida National Guard.

All of this is taking place ahead of a possible impact with Hurricane Ian. We are at a sandbag distribution site, which has been busy for the entire day. The folks out here have been lining up for hours just to get a hold of 10 bags that they have to fill up themselves.

There are two lines at this one location. The first are folks that are showing up in their cars. The other are individuals that are coming here because they left their cars a few blocks over and they decided to just walk up here and try to get a hold of some of these sand bags.

The concern ahead of Hurricane Ian is the storm surge that we might be getting in this part of Florida. The forecast modeling right now is calling anywhere between five to 10 feet of a storm surge. And so, officials out here, they want folks to be prepared. They want them to get their sandbags, they want them to be done with all of their hurricane supplies, and they want them to keep a very close eye on the forecast track.

Because right now, even if Ian doesn't make a direct hit in the Tampa Bay area, we are expecting a great deal of flooding because of the storm surge.

Carlos Suarez, CNN, Tampa.

NEWTON: Opposition to Moscow's troop mobilization is growing and, in some cases, becoming more destructive. Now in western Russia, a man was seen pulling up to a military recruitment center and hurling what appears to be a volley of petrol bombs. Now you can see the building there catching fire before it reportedly burned down.

Meantime, in Siberia, there was this violent scene. Authorities say a gunman opened fire at another enlistment office and wounded a recruiter who was said to be fighting for his life. And in Dagestan, people in the largely Muslim area have been protesting the draft with more scuffles and arrests reported in the capitol.

Now nearby Russians have been trying to dodge conscription by crossing the border into Georgia. You see those satellite images. It's that long, long line of cars waiting to pass. In some estimates it takes a day or two to actually get through that border.

All of this as separatist in Ukraine are wrapping up referendum votes to join Russia. Now that includes those in the Russian occupied Kherson region, which according to Ukrainian military, has been completely closed for entry and exit after the referendum there. And Ukraine and western countries like the U.S. have called the votes a sham and say they will not recognize the results.

CNN's Clare Sebastian joins us more now. And you've been following this for quite a few days. We have the issue, of course, as the staged votes, they should be wrapped -- wrapping up soon. And yet, Clare, Ukrainian forces, right, continue to push as far as they can into Russian occupied territory. What more are we learning about that so- called counteroffensive which continues, right?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Paula, it's still ongoing even as these referenda continue. By the way, Russia says the turnout has been huge. A state news agency were obviously putting out new numbers this morning suggesting Donetsk and Luhansk of the Donbas regions turnout is in the 80s and the other two regions, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the 60s.

And meanwhile, as you say, this counteroffensive does continue. President Zelenskyy saying in his address on Monday evening that Donetsk is now the priority. He says because this is the number one priority for Russia. Donetsk of course, one of the two regions that make up the Donbas, which Russia has said that it wants to gain control over as part of one of the key objectives of its special military operation.

[03:09:58]

Donetsk because they're not fully occupied by Russia, Ukraine has held on to parts of it and it is continuing to trying to push. Zelenskyy saying, we want to thwart all enemy activity.

Russia also reporting that Ukraine shelled a school in the Luhansk region. This is according to the TASS News Agency, a school that was being used as a polling center in the referendum there. We cannot of course verify this, but if true, it would suggest that one of the ways they're trying thwarts enemy activity is by thwarting these referenda, Paula.

But as you noted, this is the last day of scheduled voting. There have been reports that it is happening in the presence of armed guards, for example, in the Luhansk region. Not a free and fair vote, but we expect things to sort of move pretty quickly once the voting is over and Russia to declare that these regions have voted to join Russia.

The head of the Ukrainian -- head of the -- the Russian backed head of the Kherson region has already said that he believes they have enough of a margin to declare there.

NEWTON: Yes, and we've heard anecdotally that, you know, people armed, people have been looking over voters' shoulders just to see how they're voting. Lots of evidence there that this is in fact staged vote.

Clare, what was also surprising though, is that the Kremlin, there was an admission, right? That things aren't going according to plan in terms of what we see. We just noted all the confusion there, but also the exodus at this point.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, this was an admission by Dimitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson. Not an apology, but an acknowledgement that there have been issues when it comes to executing the decree on mobilization. He acknowledged in his call with journalists on Monday that basically, there have been people who have been erroneously drafted in who did not fit the criteria, but he punted this to the governors in various regions and say -- said that work is actively ongoing to fix this problem.

And this had been sort of building over a number of days. Over the weekend, the heads of both the upper and lower house of parliament had criticized the process saying that lots of complaints had been coming in about people who shouldn't be drafted in being drafted. And so perhaps the Kremlin is also trying to calm the anger that it's seeing in the population around this mobilization.

And interestingly, Paula, Vladimir Solovyov, who is a very sort of fire brand talk show host seen as a very enthusiastic Kremlin propagandist also criticized the protest calling the officials carrying it out themselves, quote, "idiots," saying they should be punished, including suggesting they should send to the front lines, but he did stop short of criticizing Vladimir Putin himself.

So, the official line at the moment seems to be that the process has issues, but overall they're not criticizing the actual sort of principle behind it.

NEWTON: Still, as you said, it's important that you noted, because he is very influential. Clare Sebastian for us in London. I really appreciate that update. Now meantime, Ukraine's president says his number one goal right now is to stop Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region. Now Volodymyr Zelenskyy describes the situation there as, quote, "particularly severe after months of intense shelling."

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh shows us what residents in one town are going through.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice- over): When the blasts pause in rare quiet in Toretsk, there are a few blessings to count and most a bitter. One is here a familiar scene of private world's torn open by a Russian rocket two days earlier, but a place that might persuade you to believe in miracles.

Nineteen people were trapped up here when rubble blocked the stairs, but somehow not one of them was even injured. A fiber grade ladder getting them all out. Not even survivors like Natalia know how.

NATALIA, TORETSK RESIDENT (through translator): A noise. I blink twice and couldn't see. The balcony door flew open and trash blew in. I'm terrified of flames and I realized we're on the seventh floor and it's collapsing. Then someone screamed, don't come out as there's no way. It's a miracle. I can't call it anything else.

WALSH: As Putin's fake referenda, just a few miles away threaten yet worse here. Just now, the shelling has finally become too much for some

UNKNOWN (on-screen text): I am so much trouble.

WALSH: Rescuers are evacuating Nina, 73, after six months living alone without water or help.

NINA, TORETSK RESIDENT (on-screen text): God let it finish fast before I die.

WALSH: We're told she's the last person to leave her block.

NINA (on-screen text): It's painful to leave but it is also good. I've never been so scared. I am strong but I do not have strength for this.

WALSH: Two days ago, a rocket hit her building. Yet also magically she was unscathed and just sat here under the gaping hole. The lonely agony of the struggle before this moment lying around.

[03:15:03]

The pictures of life left of her a student daughter who died of meningitis age 40 of the choices of what to leave and what to take, of how hard just eating, washing, and drinking has been. Winter will rip through here and this may be the last time the lights go out on this home. She's taken to the courtyard where dozens of similar agonies are gathered waiting for the evacuation bus. Even after six months, hell faces that no, still worse is coming and that are baffled by the heaviest question. Why?

NINA (on-screen text): I don't want to be rude or smart but I just want to ask why did you, Russians, come to us? Who asked you? Or are we that silly that you wanted to liberate us? I think we will come home soon. Home will wait for every one of us. It will wait.

WALSH: Elena is leaving. She does not know where to with her three children.

UNKNOWN (on-screen text): It was very scary. It is hard. The most scary moment was when my kids nearly died.

MYKHAILO, TORETSK RESIDENT (on-screen text): A house on my street blew up in front of me. There were fragments all over the courtyard.

WALSH: Then the guns pick up again. Even in leaving there's a sense of urgency because artillery firing from near where we are, well, that's been responded to by the Russian when a shell landed over here, so they're trying to get people on the bus as fast as they can to get them out of here.

UNKNOWN (on-screen text): Come on, come on faster. No time to relax.

WALSH: Dozens of lives with everything left behind them and nothing certain ahead.

Nic, Paton Walsh, CNN, Toretsk, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Still to come for us, Japan holds a state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. We'll have the latest from the ceremony and why protestors didn't want the memorial to happen.

And later this hour, a CNN exclusive. We've obtained video of Trump ally Roger Stone that may be featured in the July 6th committee's hearing this week.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Japan says it's last goodbye to Shinzo Abe. A state funeral for Japan's longest serving prime minister is wrapping up in Tokyo. Those are live pictures we're bringing you now.

Abe died in July after being shot during a campaign speech. Dozens of world leaders were among the guest list of some 4,300 people. Now, the ceremony was originally the idea of current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, pushing for Abe's diplomatic achievements to be honored.

But meantime, protestors marched in the streets of Tokyo speaking out against the government's use of some $12 million to -- of public funds, in fact, to bankroll this event.

CNN's Will Ripley has more for us from Taipei, but we want to go first of course to Tokyo, where our Blake Essig has been watching all of the events there. And Blake, of course, a solemn event with dozens of world leaders and dignitaries in attendance. And yet, you know, for days now you've been tracking what has been a very contentious memorial service.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, Paula, those -- those dignitaries that you mentioned, they're here to honor an international statesman who, you know, did so much to raise Japan's profile globally. You know, as for the events that have played out around us today, I mean, we've seen protesters constantly throughout the day, some that have been tackled by police.

And even right now just about 25 meters from where I'm standing you have protestors on a loud speaker and they have been nonstop for several hours. Now this controversial state funeral absolutely has divided a nation. It is still underway as we speak inside Japan's iconic Budokan.

Prime Minister Kishida says that this event is being held to honor the diplomatic legacy of Japan's longest serving prime minister who was gunned down more than two months ago while delivering a campaign speech. Now, throughout the roughly 90-minute plus service, flowers were being offered and they continue to be offered right now.

A video tribute with images of Abe was played and several people, delivered speeches. Here's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FUMIO KISHIDA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): You preached the intersections of the two oceans. You have taken your ideas further and developed them into a framework for a free and opened Indo-Pacific region that serves many countries and many people.

You have dramatically strengthened relations with the U.S., dramatically enhancing U.S./ Japan deterrents, and you have enhanced relations with India and Australia to create Quad framework. Your multi-layered diplomacy has noticed good relations with every country in the world.

[03:25:01]

ESSIG: Now, as a result of the high-ranking officials and world leaders, who have attended the state funeral, roads have been blocked off, and the police presence around this area has been drastically increased to ramp up security. Now just around the corner, there are also long lines of people telling us that they've been waiting for hours for the chance to lay flowers at areas set aside for mourners to pay their respects and say a final goodbye to Japan's longest serving prime minister as we mentioned earlier on.

At the same time, a constant stream of protestors have been marching chanting and getting into altercations with the police here where I am near the state funeral venue. And these latest polls show that a slight majority of the public, 56 percent stand in opposition of this state funeral. A few reasons as to why the opposition has been growing include deep divisions about Abe's leadership, Abe's connection to the controversial Unification Church.

And the fact that this state funeral will cost taxpayers and estimated 1.6 billion yen or about $12 million U.S. dollars at a time of inflation, a weak yen and rising prices that are putting a strain on the people. That all being said, Paula, there's still a lot of people who credit Abe with shaping the Japan that exists today and feel that a state funeral is appropriate.

NEWTON: Yes. And the protestors obviously, there're such a stark contrast to what we were seeing just now, which was the reverence of people, dignitaries, bowing to Abe's widow.

Will, I want to go to you now. There's so much more than meets the eye to this state funeral, and not just from what Blake was explaining, but the fact that he really ushered in a game changing relationship between not just, you know, Japan and Taiwan, but also influencing Japan/China relations.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and not for the better, some would argue, Paula. Even though, Shinzo Abe did make an official state visit in 2018 to Beijing to try to thaw the icy relations that really, you know, deteriorated during his tenure as Japan's longest serving prime minister. You know, the Chinese were unhappy with a lot of things that Shinzo Abe did.

You -- you know, you heard about -- you heard the prime minister of Japan mention that he was the brain child of the Quad. He was the one who came up with the term Indo-Pacific deliberately to try to shift focus away from, you know, what the Asia-Pacific region, which was centered right there in mainland China.

Here in Taiwan, of course, he is being celebrated. And in fact, just over the weekend there was a statue that was unveiled in the city of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan that says in Chinese, Taiwan's eternal friend. And it is precisely because Shinzo Abe did develop such close ties with Taiwan, and even in his final months was speaking out on behalf of Taiwan's democracy and the importance of defending Taiwan.

Even saying that the United States should move away from its policy of strategic ambiguity, leaving an open question whether it would get involved if China were to make a move on this self-governing democracy. He said that at the time for ambiguity was over, and that China's increasingly assertive actions in this region could potentially pose a threat not just to this island, but to Japan, which some of its outlying islands are within, you know, 100 or 200 kilometers from -- from Taiwan.

And so, he is certainly, it's certainly easier in a sense for other countries around the world to celebrate a leader when there are a lot of more complex issues domestically in Japan that people grapple with in their daily lives that have helped shape their opinion in Shinzo Abe. But certainly, here in Taiwan, he is considered, you know, as that statue says, a friend, in mainland China. However, even though the government officially put out statements of condolence, on the day of his assassination there were scores of comments on the Chinese social media sites, Paula, that celebrated the fact that he was assassinated.

And it's noteworthy that the Chinese government did not censor those at that time. And they actually only sent a former technology minister as part of their delegation, even though they sent their vice premiere to London for the funeral, state funeral of Queen Elizabeth.

NEWTON: Yes, striking there and certainly you laid out how the legacy of Shinzo -- Shinzo Abe will be so polarizing, not just at home, but abroad as well. Will Ripley for us, thanks so much for your insights. I appreciate it.

Still to come for us, CNN has obtained video clips of Trump ally Roger Stone that have been handed over to the January 6th committee. A look at what video in Stone's reaction to it. That's next.

Plus, Italy is expected to select its most far-right prime minister since World War II, putting it on a potential collision course with the E.U. We're following reaction from Rome, next.

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: We're getting an exclusive look at Roger Stone's whereabouts and involvement surrounding the January 6th capitol insurrection. Now the longtime Republican operative and ally of former President Donald Trump was followed around by a Danish documentary film crew for three years. They have shared eight minutes of footage with the House select committee investigating the capitol riot.

In one of several clips obtained by CNN, Stone says Trump should declare election victory before the actual vote is even finished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER STONE, TRUMP ALLY: Let's just hope we're celebrating.

UNKNOWN: Well, I know.

STONE: I suspect it'll be -- I really do suspect it'll still be up in air. But when that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory. Possession is nine-tenths of law. No, we won, (muted) you. Sorry. Over. We won.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

STONE: You're wrong. (muted) you.

UNKNOWN: ABC.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:34:57]

NEWTON: A statement provided by Stone's attorney reads, I challenge the accuracy and the authenticity of these videos and believe they have been manipulated and selectively edited. I also point out that the filmmakers do not have the legal right to use them.

How ironic that Kim Kardashian and I are both subjected to computer manipulated videos on the same day. The excerpts you provided below prove nothing, certainly they do not prove I had anything to do with the events of January 6th. That being said, it clearly shows I advocated for lawful congressional and judicial options.

Now, we'll have more coverage of the January 6th investigation coming up next hour, including reaction from the filmmakers who shot that video of that -- of Roger Stone during those tumultuous times. And newly revealed text messages that appeared to link the White House with a capitol rioter.

So Giorgia Meloni and her far-right Brothers of Italy have claimed victory in the country's general election. Other leaders of the European right, including France's Marine Le Pen are celebrating her victory. But the E.U. of course, wary.

The vice president of the European Parliament saying this will be difficult times for Europe.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau has more now from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): The leader of Italy's center right coalition, Giorgia Meloni will now likely become the first female prime minister of Italy. Despite low voter turnout, she was able to secure the majority together with far-right Lega leader Matteo Salvini, and center right politician Silvio Berlusconi.

As Italians woke up on Monday morning, they grappled with a new reality. It was clear that the result wasn't to everyone's taste.

UNKNOWN: I am not really happy with the action they want to take. I think that the main problem of the -- my generation, the next generation, the environmental problem is not really a priority for them. We have a lot of problems now, economic and social with the energy crisis. So let's see what they want to do. And I'm not really that confident by --

NADEAU: Italy, like the rest of Europe is in the midst of an energy crisis. Everyone is feeling the pinch. This coffee bar in Central Rome has been in Lorenzo Vanni's family since 1929.

LORENZO VANNI, VANNI CAFE OWNER: The biggest problem we have is the cost of the energy because we had an increase of five times more than before. From 15,000, now we had the bill of 54,000.

NADEAU: Vanni wants a government that puts its people first.

VANNI: Well, we have to see if they will find an agreement among the three Berlusconi, Salvini, and Meloni to make things for Italy.

NADEAU: Giorgia Meloni has become a symbol of hope for that change. This woman tells me that even though Meloni has a very strong character that could intimidate some, she likes her and she hopes that there will be change.

We met Antonio Mosca (Ph). He told us it was others' weaknesses that led to Meloni's victory. "Brothers of Italy were able to understand voters' discontent," he says, but he also tells me "in Italy, we change our mind very often. We are a very divided country and very different from north to south. Today, Meloni has 24 percent, but that could be 10 percent in a couple of months."

Meloni's coalition when a clear mandate not seen in Italy for decades, she campaigned on traditional family values against irregular immigration and on giving dignity back to Italians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NADEAU (on camera): You know, Paula, it's -- there's a lot of pressure on her to do a good job and to unite the country. At least had 67 governments in the last 75 years, and people are really looking at to her now. She's got a clear mandate. She's got to do something with it.

NEWTON: Yes. And Barbie, thanks so much for bringing us the voices of those Italians. You know, their -- their opinions are so nuanced and it's important to really try and understand them, as you said, as she tries to put this coalition together. Our Barbie Nadeau there for us in Rome. Thanks so much.

Still to come, mission to protect the planet, NASA slams a spacecraft into an asteroid on the name of defending humanity.

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: So, it's the first of its kind mission. An unmanned NASA spacecraft has now slammed into an asteroid. And though, Bruce Willis was not involved, the goal here is to actually prevent Armageddon.

CNN's Kristin Fisher explains.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there were big chairs at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where I am right now. The place that is responsible for building and operating the DART spacecraft when it successfully hit its target.

[03:45:01]

The Dimorphos asteroid on Monday night. this spacecraft had been traveling in space at about 14,000 miles per hour, four miles per second for 10 months. And in the vastness of outer space this spacecraft was able to successfully hit an asteroid that's about the size of the pyramid of Giza, and this spacecraft not that big about the size of a -- of a vending machine.

So, really, just an incredible feat that NASA was able to accomplish just that. But the big question of course is, was NASA able to successfully push that asteroid Dimorphos just a little bit off its current trajectory. And the reason that's so important is because this asteroid poses no threat to planet Earth whatsoever.

But the reason this is important is, if there ever were a potential killer asteroid in the future bound to wipe out all of life on planet Earth, this type of technology, this type of maneuver could potentially save all of us all life on the planet.

And so, this was NASA's first ever planetary defense test mission. We know half of it was successful. Now we have to wait a few days, perhaps even weeks before we'll know if it was successfully able to bump this asteroid off course.

Kristin Fisher, CNN, in Maryland.

NEWTON: Just ahead for us, after more than a week of nationwide protests, the Iranian government is doing everything it can to discredit them or shut them down.

We'll have the latest on the unrest.

[03:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Well, you see it there. Defiance remain strong right across Iran, despite Tehran's widening and brutal crackdown on anti- government protests that have now stretched into their second week.

Now they began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was in the custody of Iran's morality police. Her family has blamed police brutality. Authorities claim she had a heart attack.

Regardless, the public anger over her death has exploded into the largest protests in Iran in three years.

CNN, Jomana Karadsheh is in Istanbul with more on this. And you've been following this for seven days, and it seems like even the use of deadly force seems to be no match for the momentum behind this protest.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you know, Paula, it's very difficult for us to assess how big, how widespread these protests are because the government is severely restricting the internet. It is blocking social media platform. So, what usually happens in the evening, we start getting some video because that is when the protesters take to the streets, and that is what we saw on Monday night.

A video began emerging showing protesters back out on the streets of different cities across the country, and they really do seem undeterred by this government cracked down with more than a thousand people detained, including 20 journalists according to the committee to protect journalists.

You've got estimates of dozens of people killed according to different organizations like Amnesty International, state's media, and others. And it does seem that with all that concern that the -- this crackdown is going on, there's also a lot of worry that it is only going to intensify in the coming days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH: Regime supporters out on mass. These organized pro- government rallies a show of unity against the so-called rioters, they say. Iran's leadership is dismissing the thousands of protestors across the country as a handful of mercenaries. They claim it's all a foreign plot to destabilize the Islamic republic that is only just beginning to unleash its brutal force to crush the rising voices of dissent.

It's throttling the internet, walking social media sites, dragging protesters off the streets. And using lethal force to silence those rising up for their rights. No one really knows how many lives have been lost. But the gut-wrenching scenes of those grieving their loved ones are slowly trickling out.

The heartache, the agony of families bearing their dead need no words to explain. Jabbat Haideri (Ph) was 36, shot at a protest last week. His family says he bled to death. Amir Fouladi was only 15, one of several children killed according to Amnesty International.

Her name is Hadis Najafi, one of countless women who've said enough to tyranny and repression. Hadis never made it back from a protest. Her family says she was shot six times. Her Instagram post tell a story of a young woman who loved her country, loved life, music, dressing up, and dancing.

Her devastated sister mourning her in this Instagram post. She writes, sis, how did they have the heart to shoot you? My tears have dried up. I can't breathe. Forgive me, I wasn't there to defend you. Hadis was 23.

[03:55:03]

The threat of bullets, of prison, of flogging hasn't stopped the protest. Nightfall brought hundreds back on the streets. Their daring chants of just to the dictator echoing through the dark streets of Iran. A defiant generation risking it all for freedoms they've never known.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH (on camera): And Paula, we must add that CNN cannot independently verify death toll claims. But as we mentioned earlier, we are getting different casualty figures coming in from different organizations, human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, state media, and opposition groups. And they put the death toll anywhere between 30 to 50 people. But there's a lot of concern that it is far worse than that. And we

may not know the true extent of this crackdown until the internet connectivity is restored, Paula,

NEWTON: Right. Terribly heartbreaking. Jomana Karadsheh in Istanbul, thank you. And I am Paula Newton. I'll be back with more CNN Newsroom in just a moment.

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