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$1B Billion Verdict In Alex Jones Trial; U.N. Votes To Condemn Russian Annexations In Ukraine; Putin Offers To Start Nord Stream 2 Exports. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 13, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:31]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks for joining us. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Russia continues to pound key cities in Ukraine. We've learned that the southern city of Mykolaiv was "massively shelled overnight." We'll bring you the latest.

Plus, the mixed messages from the U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss. Can the country pay for promised tax cuts without chopping public spending?

And is this the hands of Alex Jones' InfoWars media empire? The Connecticut jury awards nearly $1 billion in damages to families of those killed in a Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Will they ever see the money?

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: We begin this hour with new reports of massive shelling in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. The mayor posted on telegram that a five-storey residential building was hit the two upper floors destroyed. Rescuers are on the scene right now searching through the rubble for at least seven people who are missing. And a kamikaze drone hit a community in the Kyiv region but there's no information on damage or casualties.

Ukraine's military claims it has repelled several advances in the Donetsk region and one city near Zaporizhzhia was hit with more than 300 shells on Wednesday alone. Well, Russian President Vladimir Putin's imperil ambitions of making Eastern Ukraine part of Russia have now been roundly rejected by the United Nations. The General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to condemn Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory.

One hundred and forty three countries supported the resolution, which bought a round of applause in the chamber. Only Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua, North Korea and Syria voted no. Moscow staged the sham referendums last month, claiming that four occupied regions had voted to become part of Russia. The U.N. resolution calls for Russia to immediately and unconditionally reverse the decisions.

Well, NATO defense ministers are set to meet in the coming hours in Brussels. On Wednesday, the pledged to help Ukraine build up its defenses against Russian aerial attacks. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promised to get advanced systems to Ukraine as fast as we can physically get them there he said.

Already France, the U.K. and the Netherlands have pledged missiles, weapons, radar systems and other air defense systems. And a senior NATO official is warning Moscow against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. He says that would almost certainly trigger a physical response from the alliance.

The top U.S. general is asking for a coordinated air defense system for Ukraine. Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley says combining systems from different countries will help protect against Russian aerial assaults. He also had this assessment of Russia's tactics in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOIN CHIEFS OF STAFF: Russia has deliberately struck civilian infrastructure with the purpose of harming civilians. They have targeted the elderly, the women and the children of Ukraine. Indiscriminant and deliberate attacks on civilians targets is a war crime in the international rules of war. And this war, is a war of choice, a war of choice by Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, we have some new satellite images of trucks lining up to leave Russia across the Kerch Strait. Dozens of military convoys have been carrying vehicles, weapons and fuel to Russia -- Russian troops in Crimea. The key supply route was largely cut off last weekend by that huge explosion on the Russian-built bridge. Limited current rail traffic has resumed but the larger vehicles like heavy trucks, vans and buses are now being forced to travel by ferry.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following all the developments and joins us live this hour from London. Good to have you with us, Salma. I just want to start with those. That shelling we're just hearing about on that Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. What more can you tell us?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Mykolaiv has long been in the crosshairs right in the south of the country up close to the front lines. And overnight, officials say it was massively shelled by Russian forces.

[02:05:03]

I know we have images to show you, still images to show you of this residential building that was struck overnight. Rescue operations there are still underway one of the survivors just an 11- year-old boy pulled out from under the rubble and all across Ukraine, Lynda, we're seeing this higher tempo. This uptick in Russian attacks, particularly on civilian areas according to Ukrainian officials. We just got word of a kamikaze drone attack in an area outside of central Kyiv, the Kyiv region, we're waiting to find out more details on that. And as you mentioned, as well, one town in Zaporizhzhia reporting over 300 strikes in a single day on just this one small village. So again, this higher tempo, this higher uptick from Russian forces raining down on these Ukrainian towns and cities.

But the reality is, Lynda is that the Ukrainian counter offensive, the actual battlefield reality continues to be the same for Kyiv. And that is that they are making advances. Ukrainian officials saying they've been able to retake five villages in the Hudson region. They've been making really steady progress in the south of Ukraine, particularly along that front line just in the last few weeks capturing thousands of square miles -- recapturing rather, thousands of square miles of territory.

And I think that's what's concerning for Ukraine and its allies right now. You heard there from Mark Milley -- General Mark Milley rather, the concern that Russia is turning to this evermore brutal strategy, the one that we saw really the beginning of the conflict, which is targeting civilian infrastructure, punishing the citizens of Ukraine, punishing the families of Ukraine in the absence of a clear battlefield victory.

So as Russian forces continue to be on the backfoot continue to lose ground right up along the front lines. What you're seeing across the country is more family suffering from these Russian missile attacks. People sheltering of course, in the early hours of the morning as these bombardments, as these projectiles are fired upon Russia and fear and concern around critical infrastructure.

Remember, 30 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure was hit by Russian missiles just this week. So Ukraine really trying to ask for those air defense systems to protect key sites, Lynda?

ABDELAZIZ: All right. Salma Abdelaziz staying for -- across it from London for us. Thanks so much.

Well, you as diplomats have not had consular access to basketball star Brittney Griner for more than two months. That's word from the U.S. State Department which says it's pushing to meet with her own Russian prison. U.S. officials say there are no plans for Joe Biden to meet with Vladimir Putin. But the U.S. president told CNN on Tuesday that he would be willing to meet face to face with a Russian leader to talk about Griner's case.

Well, meanwhile, another American detained in Russia Paul Whelan was moved to a prison hospital last month. His brother says it's still unclear why. The U.S. considers both Whelan and Greiner wrongfully detained.

The European Union is looking to improve its energy crisis. On Wednesday, E.U. officials agreed on the need to start bidding for natural gas as one on by the next year. The goal is to eliminate bidding wars among individual countries. It is still unclear if there's enough support for a proposed price cap on natural gas used for producing electricity. Europe is facing a massive energy crisis and a possible recession as Russian gas exports have largely dried up.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding out a new carrot for the Europeans. He's offering to start natural gas exports through a link of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was not damaged by last month's explosions. He also says Europe can only blame itself for the energy crisis.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Why is Russia to blame? They want to blame someone else for it. In this case, unfortunately, they are to blame themselves. It's not the result of any actions under the special military operation in Ukraine, in Donbas. Russia is ready to start such supplies. The ball is in the court of the E.U. If they want, they can just open the tab.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Germany's economy minister says Mr. Putin will fail to destabilize Europe's economic order. Germany has long relied on Russia for much of its energy needs. But as our Clare Sebastian reports Germans are now moving to wean themselves of their dependency.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Through the early autumn drizzle Germany is racing against time. Construction started on this liquefied natural gas terminal on its North Sea coast in May.

HOLGER KREETZ, COO ASSET MANAGEMENT, UNIPER: Normally it takes four to five years to realize such a project, sometimes even six years.

SEBASTIAN: This one will be up and running by early next year. Its operator says capable of providing up to eight percent of all the gas Germany needs. Gas the needs to come from Russia.

[02:10:02]

Until the war in Ukraine, Russia provided more than half of Germany's gas. Now because of Germany's own efforts to reduce its reliance and Russia cutting supplies no Russian gas is currently flowing.

KREETZ: Obviously, we had to bring coal fired power plants back into operations. We had to invest into bringing for a certain period of time new gas into Germany. It was not a question of whether we like it or whether we will not like it, but really it's a must for the society.

SEBASTIAN: Skyrocketing gas prices have already forced some German companies to curb production. Inflation mostly due to rising energy prices hit 10 percent in September.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We haven't planned.

SEBASTIAN: And amid fears of shortages, the E.U. agreed on voluntary cuts to energy usage this winter. At the same time, the German government says it will borrow almost

$200 billion to shield consumers from soaring costs. A policy that for Claudia Kemfert, a longtime adviser to the German government doesn't make sense.

CLAUDIA KEMFERT, GERMAN INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH: Actually, the households are not saving enough gas but also the government is doing the next mistake and announcing that we might get a gas price cap. And that brings a signal to the private household, oh, everything's fine. We can continue in consuming gas as we did in the past.

SEBASTIAN (on camera): Are you worried about the winter?

KEMFERT: If the winter gets very cold and we do not get any Russian gas anymore, it might come to scarcities.

SEBASTIAN (voice over): Some Germans are not waiting around to find out. Domestic solar panel sales were up 22 percent in the first half of the year. Yuchen and Marika Schmidtmen (ph) have come to this Berlin workshop to learn how to operate one for their balcony.

Because energy costs have skyrocketed so much that we're simply saying we can somehow throttle them.

They are also hoping to be part of a renewable energy transition. One that is now happening alongside an energy emergency. Clare Sebastian, CNN.

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KINKADE: Saudi Arabia claims its move to slash oil production was not politically motivated against the United States. But U.S. President Joe Biden says he was deeply disappointed by that decision. And its national security adviser says all aspects of U.S.-Saudi relations will be reviewed including potential arm sales. U.S. officials and lawmakers view the two million barrels a day cut is only benefiting Moscow and its war in Ukraine. But senior Saudi officials are pushing back on that claim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia is not siding with Russia. Saudi Arabia is taking the side of trying to ensure the stability of the oil market. Saudi Arabia does not politicize oil. We don't see oil as a weapon, we don't -- we see oil as a commodity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, the cut-in oil production threatens to worsen global inflation at a time of soaring energy prices. President Biden says he will be consulting soon with Congress about how the U.S. should respond. In an exclusive interview CNN's Jake Tapper asked the president if he's rethinking U.S-Saudi relations. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am in the process when the house, the Senate gets back. They're going to have to -- there's going to be some consequences for what they've done with Russia. There will be consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, as students across the Rhine continue to join a nationwide anti-government protests. They now face the threat of being detained and center so called psychological centers, where they can be re educated. That's according to the country's education minister. CNN's Jomana Karachi reports.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Calls for nationwide protests on Wednesday brought Iranians back onto the streets of cities across the country. Protesters undeterred by a ruthless regime's crackdown on peaceful demonstrations. And they were met with utter brutality. Baton swinging policemen beating up those who tried to get away. And this disturbing scene caught on camera.

Plainclothes security forces opening fire on the streets of Tehran, after a small group gathered chanting (INAUDIBLE) get lost. But perhaps the most terrifying response to protest this week is the government's decision to detain schoolchildren protesting and send them to psychological institutions to be "reformed and re educated." A chilling message from a regime that now appears to feel threatened by fearless young school girls.

A regime clearly under pressure, not only struggling to contain protests, they're spreading like a wildfire. Now facing strikes that could hit an economy already on its knees.

Some oil workers now striking blocking roads and burning tires, their strikes so far limited and not unusual but some are now joining in the anti-regime chance.

[02:15:07]

This could be a sign of trouble the government literally can't afford.

ROHAM ALVENDI, IRAN HISTORIAN: Strikes have historically played a very important role in Iranian revolts. The oil and gas industry, of course, is particularly sensitive because that is where much of the state's hard currency earnings are derived from.

KARADSHEH: Many businesses in the mostly Kurdish region have been shuttered for days, as calls grow for a national general strike.

ALVENDI: There is a general strike if there is a nationwide general strike. I mean, what can the government do really? I mean, you can't send troops into people's homes, to drag them out and force them to go to work. So, you know, that would completely paralyze the state, and would show the powerlessness of the state in the face of this movement.

KARADSHEH: And movement of nationwide protests that's morphed into an uprising growing stronger by the day, proving harder and harder for the repressive Republic to control.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

KINKADE: Well, Alex Jones view disinformation and retraumatized grieving families and now knows what those lives will cost him. And it is a staggering amount. I had the jury's award to those who lost loved ones in elementary school massacre.

Plus, Liz Truss is saying no to public spending cuts. How the British prime minister plans to fund government's proposed tax breaks? That's next.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is learning that Malicious lies can be costly. That's after jury awarded families of victims of the Sandy Hook School shooting and a first responder nearly a billion dollars in damages. InfoWars radio host Alex Jones had long insisted that the 2012 massacre was an elaborate hoax concocted by the government to pass gun control laws.

Jones's vowing to appeal the verdict and imply the families won't get any money because he says his company is bankrupt. CNN Brynn Gingras reports.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the jury please --

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist who was found liable last year of defaming families of the Sandy Hook School shooting victims must pay for his words.

ROBBIE PARKER, DAUGHTER MURDERED AT SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: I'm just proud that what we were able to accomplish was just to simply tell the truth. And it shouldn't be this hard, and it shouldn't be the scary.

GINGRAS: The Connecticut jury of six unanimously decided Jones must pay $965 million in compensatory damages to the 15 plaintiffs. 14 are family members of victims and the 15th is an FBI agent who responded to the scene on the day of the shooting. Family members sat in court some crying as the verdict was read Jones was not there.

ALEX JONES, HOST, INFOWARS: The whole thing was fake.

[02:20:02]

GINGRAS: The InfoWars host spent years spreading disinformation about the 2012 Sandy Hook School massacre which left 20 Children and six educators dead. Calling the shooting a hoax alleging the families involved were crisis actors. During four weeks of emotional testimony, family members of the victims described how they've been harassed over the past decade, both in person and online.

PARKER: For years, I've been dealing with this. And everybody was online, or everybody was in the comfort of their studio in some other states. And I never had a chance to tell anybody how I felt or what I thought, I'm paraphrasing at this point, but like, just how dare you? You're talking about my daughter. She was killed, who do you think you are?

FRANCINE WHEELER, SON MURDERED AT SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: And she said, Who's that? And I said, that's my son, Ben. He died in his first grade classroom at Sandy Hook School. And she said, what? I said, yes, he died at Sandy Hook. And she said, you're lying. That didn't happen.

GINGRAS: During the trial. Jones took the stand only one time on September 22nd and got in a heated exchange with a plaintiff's attorney.

CHRIS MATTEI, PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: Today, a jury representing our community, and our nation rendered a historic verdict. A verdict against Alex Jones' lies and their poisonous spread and a verdict for truth. And for our common humanity.

GINGRAS: Jones defense team opted not to cross examine him and Jones never took the stand again during the trial. His attorney saying this after the verdict was read today.

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NORM PATTIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR ALEX JONES: Certainly it's more than we expected. That's an understatement. But we look very much forward to an appeal in this case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: Even as the verdict came down, Alex Jones on his show mocking the verdict saying he has no money. His attorney says they plan to appeal this decision. The plaintiff's attorney says they are going to fight this to the very end. Now those plaintiffs are going to also be awarded punitive damages, but the amount is going to be determined at a later court date. Brynn Gingrass CNN in Waterbury, Connecticut.

KINKADE: The gunman behind the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida could soon learn his fate. Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty a year ago to 17 counts of murder, and 17 counts of attempted murder. A jury will now decide whether he receives a death sentence or life in prison without the possibility of parole. And that decision must be unanimous.

In the coming day the jury will see the A.R. 15 Cruz used in that shooting. They also asked for testimony to be read back to them from an expert who said that Cruz has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

The U.S. House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol is set to hold its next public hearing in the hours ahead. It's the first hearing in months and comes just weeks ahead of the critical midterm elections. CNN's Sara Murray is in Washington with more.

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SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The January 6 committee making its closing argument ahead of the November midterms.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): Here's some new material that you know I found as we got into it pretty surprising.

MURRAY: Sources say they're aiming to drive home that former President Donald Trump still poses a danger to democracy. Using a mix of new evidence and reminders of their prior work.

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): It's really demonstrated the breadth and the depth of the effort to overturn the election and to stop the peaceful transfer of power. And it was an effort that at every step of the way the former president was deeply involved in personally engaged in.

MURRAY: Well, live witnesses are not expected. Members are preparing to showcase previously unseen e-mails from Secret Service which recently turned over more than a million communications as well as new video.

Since the last hearing in July.

CHENEY: The president's stolen election lies provoked that mob to attack the Capitol.

MURRAY: The committee interviewed Trump cabinet members including former Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

And they interviewed Jenny Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

THOMAS: We still have significant information that we've not shown to the public that's available to us.

MURRAY: Members hinting the hearing could also highlight the role of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they're assuming is the election will be normal election, the election ties between Trump circle and violent extremist groups.

LOFGREN: The mob was led by some extremist groups they plotted in advance what they were going to do. And those individuals were known to people in the Trump orbit.

MURRAY: The committee reconvening in public for the first time since the FBI search Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and sent to DOJ probe into efforts to subvert the 2020 election has intensified.

[02:25:12]

With midterms less than a month away a key focus is Trump's continued efforts.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I ran twice. I won twice --

MURRAY: To spread the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen and ensure election deniers take office.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): we've gotten a much better handle on the continuing clear and present danger that can front the people of America.

MURRAY: Now even after Thursday's hearing, the committee is going to have unfinished business. It still has to complete its final report and it has to make decisions about whether it's going to send any criminal referrals to the Justice Department. Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

KINKADE: You can watch the January 6 hearing live today with Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper. It begins at 1:00 p.m. Washington at 6:00 .

Kim Jong-un is touting North Korea's nuclear capabilities after yet another missile test. The 26th so far this year by CNN' count. This time the north fired off cruise missiles which are not banned under U.N. -- U.S. but they are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. State media says Kim Jong-un was very pleased with the launch.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us live from Seoul. And Paula, why are we seeing this uptick in activity from North Korea and what's North Korea saying about these latest tests?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, the information we have is coming from state-run media KCNA saying that that Kim Jong-un was guiding as they say these particular long-range cruise missile launches. Now as you say they're not banned under the U.N. Security Council resolutions. They're not using ballistic technology. So technically, they're not breaking any rules.

But it is a continuation of what we've seen today this year, this record number of launches, 26 cruise and ballistic missiles so far, this year, the most that Kim Jong-un has ever carried out during his tenure. Now, according to KCNA, when he was there, he did say that this was another clear warning to the enemies, talking about the capabilities of his nuclear combat forces. So it certainly had an international outlook.

And he had a message for the international world. But we also heard from the South Korean side of it, the ministry of defense say that they knew that this had happened. It was actually 2:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. So well over a day ago now. But they hadn't publicized it at that point, these particular missiles are not always publicized. We haven't heard anything from the U.S. side either.

So certainly the concern is less than previous launches we have seen in recent weeks, but it is just a continuation of what Kim Jong-un has said that he wants to do. And this week in particular has been interesting because on Monday, North Korea broke its six months silence by actually admitting to its own people and to the world that it was carrying out these launches, acknowledging what they have been doing, so showing a slightly different tack there.

But when it comes to the actual missile itself that was acknowledged in state-run media this Thursday, the missile was not of great concern. But the fact that Kim Jong-un was there, the fact that it has been played up in North Korean media shows that they do have a message to give. Lynda?

KINKADE: Yes. It certainly seems that way. Paula Hancocks for us in Seoul. Thanks so much.

Well, still to come. British Prime Minister Liz Truss is rolling out spending cuts, that's despite chaos in U.K.'s financial markets. So what could this mean for the British economy? We'll have a report next.

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KINKADE: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom". I'm Lynda Kinkade.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss is rolling out spending reductions, even though the U.K. is in the midst of economic turmoil. Truss says her government won't reverse its vast tax cuts or reduce public spending, but will instead make sure to, "Spend public money well." Take a look at some.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What we are making sure is that we protect our economy at this very difficult time, internationally. And as a result -- as a result of our action, Mr. Speaker, and this has been independently corroborated, we will see higher growth and lower inflations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The U.K. markets have been in chaos after the finance minister announced massive tax cuts and subsidies for energy bills last month without saying how it would be paid for. CNN European Affairs Commentator Dominic Thomas joins us live from Los Angeles.

Good to see you, Dominic.

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hi.

KINKADE: So, in an effort to avoid shocking the market for a second time, the Truss government will publish its midterm budget on Halloween, October 31st, three weeks ahead of schedule. What can we expect after that disastrous mini budget? THOMAS: Well, Lynda, we just don't know because I think that they've really got themselves, in other words, Liz Truss' government have got themselves in a terrible end bind. She ran for the leadership of the conservative party based on this promise of massive tax cuts and also a promise that she reiterated today in parliament, that she would not cut public spending.

So, in terms of what -- whether change can come from, because the great concern in the markets to that was that this deficit was going to fuel inflation. And so, some kind of adjustment needed to be made. If she changes her mind and goes about cutting public spending, as a way to generate income to cover that debt, she is going to further alienate the electorate.

And the alternative to that is that she goes further down the road of revisiting or abandoning the tax cuts that she proposes which would raise real issues around her credibility. But also ultimately constitute an admission that the problem lay with her when she's been trying to attribute the blame to the, sort of, the global energy crisis, the situation unfolding in Ukraine, and the general state of the economy. And that's a real problem.

And the other solution, which so many observers and economists have talked about, is the possibility of a windfall on oil and gas. And that's something that she has thus far absolutely refused to go anywhere near to. So, it's hard to see how she gets ultimately out of this blind, Lynda.

KINKADE: And there are so many issues right now, right? The outlook for the U.K. government credit rating has been downgraded from stable to negative. Inflation, of course, is at a record high. The government debt is ballooning. And, of course, there's fears of a recession. The finance sector is wanting the cuts are necessary, even MPs within her own party agree with that. Yet, Truss and her finance minister don't be seeming to be on the same page. Why not?

THOMAS: Yes, what's its interesting because -- I mean, within the party, we just go back to that leadership race. I think it's really significant that the two finalists, Liz Truss and the former chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, ended up being the two candidates. And Sunak actually came out ahead in the MPs vote that led to the runoff with the conservative party membership that are far more conservative. That saw in Liz Truss somebody that would provide continuity with the Brexit agenda, and, ultimately, fulfill that aspiration to cut tax.

[02:35:00]

And throughout that process, Rishi Sunak warned them. He said, we need to be very careful about how we go about implementing these policies. And so, what we see here, in many ways, in the kind of aftermath of the two or three years of achieving and talking about Brexit, which was such an emotional debate, we have a government now dealing with some very real and important economic issues that extend, yes, beyond the U.K. but are exacerbated by the policies that she's proposing. And what we're witnessing, what the electorate is seeing is a government that seems, thus far, anyway, unable to come up with policies that can deal with these real issues that are impacting the U.K. population and therefore, of course, the electorate, Lynda.

KINKADE: And, of course, I mean, after the mini budget was announced, MPs told some of our correspondents that Truss has until Christmas to prove yourself. What other options might lawmakers be considering at this stage and in the future?

THOMAS: Yes, well, I find that December deadline even quite ambitious. I think that it is quite clear that Liz Truss would not be able to lead the conservative party into a general election and win. And at this particular juncture, I think that they're trying to make a calculation or a decision as to whether or not they might actually be better going to a general election, as crazy as that may sound. And ultimately have the opposition takeover and deal with these, sort of, challenging times that lie ahead, or whether or not they could actually strategically go about replacing her if the general, sort of, country would even could have withstand that kind of additional election taking place in the conservative party.

Put someone else at the helm and try to go about the process with the majority that they still hold over the next two years when the general election is scheduled and see if they can mitigate that damage and rebuild. Remembering, of course, that the damage was not just done by Liz Truss. She took over from Boris Johnson that did, arguably, irreparable damage to the brand of the conservative party. So, it's an uphill struggle, in general, and lawmakers, Lynda, will be trying to determine what path ahead could potentially be the least damaging for them, moving forward.

KINKADE: None of those options sound that great at this point in time. Dominic Thomas, thank you so much.

THOMAS: Thank you, Lynda.

KINKADE: Well, King Charles met with Liz Truss in Buckingham Palace for the first of their weekly audiences. The meeting came after the British prime minister was grilled by lawmakers in parliament yesterday, as we were just discussing. During her reign, Queen Elizabeth held weekly audiences with prime ministers to discuss government matters.

Striking oil workers in France are not backing down after the government said it will force some employers to go back to work. President Macron told broadcaster France 2, the government will order essential staff to return if workers in energy companies fail to reach an agreement in the coming hours. The union plans to challenge any such order in court. Long lines for fuel have become a common sight. French energy minister says nearly one and three gas stations are facing shortages. CNN's Jim Bittermann explains.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the kind of situation that motorists in France are facing right now as about one third of the gas stations in the country are either completely out of gasoline, or about to run out of some different grades of gasoline. It's because of a refinery strike.

And as a consequence, you can see the line here this morning that stretches all the way around the block, about 500 yards down there. Some people tell us that they've been waiting in line for as much as two hours or more to get gasoline.

And that refinery strike now is something that the government is addressing very seriously. They are taking steps that are very rare. They have requisition workers for the refineries of six of the seven refineries are either partially or completely out of business. And they have requisition employees, which means that they can put them in jail for as much as six months if they don't comply and find them up to $10,000.

So, it's a situation that has gotten just more tense between the government and the unions. We'll see what happens. The unions are challenging it in court. If they -- even if they don't win, and the refineries are back in action. It's still going to take two or three or four days before these stations will begin to look normal again. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

KINKADE: Still to come, actor Tom Cruise is famous for his highflying movie stunts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, action.

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: We'll see you at the movies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: But could the Hollywood daredevil now have his sights set on outer space?

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[02:40:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, for years, Hollywood trade papers have reported that actor Tom Cruise famously does death defying stunt work is working on a film that will shot in outer space. And that could still happen. Speaking with the BBC, the head of Universal Film Entertainment Group says the project is still in development, aiming to film scenes on the International Space Station, with crews potentially being the first civilian to do a spacewalk. CNN Aerospace Analyst Mars O'Brien says the stunt may serve another purpose.

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MARS O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYST: This is going to cost many hundreds of millions of dollars for this shot, which could be created really well on a green screen in Hollywood with many more high- definition cameras and a full retinol people around Tom Cruise of makeup and everything else to make him look good. So, the question I come to is, does this really make the movie any better, or does it make Tom Cruise feel like he is better, somehow?

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KINKADE: Well, finally, this hour, you'd have to forgive this driver if they felt sheepish upon seeing this.

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KINKADE: A massive flock of sheep blocking the road near a national forest in Utah. The video was shared on Facebook by the U.S. Forest Service. And the post read that it is that time of year again when livestock is on the move throughout the forest. A warning, to make sure you take your time and drive very, very slowly.

Although I think you would have no other choice, right? Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Lynda Kinkade. World Sport is up next. And then I'll be back in about 15 minutes with much more on "CNN Newsroom". Stay with us.

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DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND FORMER OBAMA SENIOR ADVISER: But now, my empathy is a lot deeper because I have an even stronger sense for people who struggle, for people who have obstacles. I actually think that's pretty powerful. But Scott's right, this debate is going to be important. One of the reasons, I think, he did the interview was to, sort of, to explain in advance, you know, why he was using --

COATES: Closed captioning.

AXELROD: -- why he was using closed captioning. He can't process auditory communication well, yet they say he will get over the but he can't right now. And that's pretty inconvenient in a campaign.

COATES: What do you think?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Listen, Democrats have been worried about his health, about how he would appear in public at this debate. I think in some ways, some of their fears were a little eased by the NBC interview that he had. I think his progress is a little bit better than some Democrats thought it would be.

But, listen, it's going to be a tight race. You can see that is tightening. Apparently, its tightening because they're running ads in Pennsylvania about crime --

AXELROD: Yes, well --

HENDERSON: -- and his record there. They're also trying to figure out whether or not black voters are going to show up for him. And Oz is trying to compete for black voters, particularly in Philadelphia. So, this is going to be a tight, tight race. AXELROD: But you know, the reason that the debate is important is two-folded. Is, yes, he has to show that he can hack it. The second is he's going to have to confront the crime issue. He was the chairman of the parole board. They're attacking him for that.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: OH, YES.

AXELROD: And there are counterattacks -- there are responses and counterattacks. And the question is, can he manage that in this debate? It's going to be very important. I think people are going to be watching.

COATES: We will --

AXELROD: He does have the lead. We should point out, the people of the state have a -- there is a personal relationship with Fetterman. They don't have that with Oz because he's not from Pennsylvania, which is a big problem.

COATES: Part of the issue. Look. We're going to talk more about it after a quick break, everyone. Stay with me. We're going to be right back.

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COATES: Back with me, Nia-Malika Henderson, David Axelrod, and Scott Jennings. See, what happened during the break is what really happens in green room conversations, which is what's the real conversation people are having? You know, we're talking about this interview. We're talking what it might mean for voters. But there has been a really visceral reaction to what's been happening with the journalists.

HENDERSON: Yes.

JENNINGS: Yes.

COATES: And, Nia, you pointed out that she asked a question.

HENDERSON: Uh-huh.

COATES: And made a statement, actually.

HENDERSON: Right.

COATES: Made a statement about, the word was understanding. Can you tell us what he said?

HENDERSON: Listen, as a journalist, you never want to become part of a story, but this journalist, Dasha Burns, has become part of the story -- in talking to Lester Holt, she made a comment which was in small talk before the interview without captioning, it wasn't clear he, mean Fetterman --

COATES: John Fetterman.

HENDERSON: -- was understanding our conversation. And with that, lots of other journalists who had interviewed Fetterman unleashed on her and essentially made it seem like she was making us --

AXELROD: But every single one of them interviewed him as she did --

HENDERSON: Yes.

AXELROD: -- with close captioning. She just said --

HENDERSON: What he said.

AXELROD: -- what he has explained, which is he has problems with auditory processing --

HENDERSON: Right.

AXELROD: -- as a result of the stroke. It's improving but it's not where it needs and that's why he uses this closed captioning which, which he said was totally appropriate.

HENDERSON: She wasn't making an argument about whether he was fit -- mentally fit --

AXELROD: Right.

HENDERSON: --- for office, it turned into that.

COATES: But it was the understanding that --

HENDERSON: Yes.

COATES: -- people are taking that. And I want -- let's just add his own words because he said something about that. He talks about why he used captioning. Here in his own words.

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JOHN FETTERMAN, (D) PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I use captioning. So, that's really the -- that's the major challenge. And every now and then, I will miss a word, every now and then. Sometimes, I'll maybe mush two words together. But as long as I have captioning, I'm able to understand exactly what is being asked.

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COATES: You have a problem with this, Scott, because you think this -- I mean, in our conversations, you think that this does not bode well for a candidate.

JENNINGS: Well, I don't know yet. I mean, this is so unusual. I mean, to do an interview like this is one thing. To do a debate, which I guess he's going to use this captioning system at the debate is a totally different thing which I don't have any -- I don't know how it's going to go. So, I think they have constantly undersold this guy's health issues. His campaign, in my opinion, outright lied about it when it first happened. He was off the campaign trail. They won't release his medical records now. He clearly is having issues. That was OK in that clip. If you've seen any of the clips of him trying to give speeches, it's really, really rough.

And I think this reporter made a very clear commentary about her observation of interviewing him. And what's crazy is just the number of other journalists and people on the left who have dog piled her today. There's a national AP story about her tonight, and the criticism that she is receiving. It's not right. She did her job and she made a fair observation.

And it reminds me of what happened in 2020, when anyone would criticize Joe Biden about any confused story or weird thing he said. Oh, you know, he has a stuttering problem. It's the same thing. You can't just wipe it away. This guy has to answer some questions because it happened and also because of the way his campaign, I think, has been dishonest about it here before.

COATES: Is it the same thing?

AXELROD: No, I don't think it's the same as the Biden thing because the guy had a stroke. I mean, I don't disagree with you. They should -- you know, I think they weren't as forthcoming as they should have been before the primary. But he had a stroke, he is recovering, and he -- you know, the test will be --

HENDERSON: His debate.

AXELROD: -- the test will be this debate. I mean, in -- and then we'll see. He'll be there. His opponent will be there. He'll be -- they'll answering questions. He'll be answering charges, presumably he'll be making some. And we'll see how he functions in that environment.

The fact that it's adopted for his particular disability, which may be transient, to me is there's nothing wrong with that. And I can actually -- like I said at the beginning, there is something compelling about someone who's gone through a struggle, you know, standing in the United States Senate and speaking to the issues of the day. You know, so, we will see.

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COATES: We will see, and we've actually heard what you all think. I want to see what the audience has to say about this, the ones listening in. Tweet me your thoughts @thelauracoates. We're going to get you into the conversation and get your take as well. Use the #CNNSoundOff.

Next, nearly a billion bucks with a B. That's what Alex Jones was actually awarded by the jurors and the Sandy Hook case involving Sandy Hook families, eight of them, and one first responder. We will take you there next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: The amount was nearly 1 billion dollars. That's how much the jury says that Alex Jones needs to pay to eight families of the Sandy Hook massacre and a first responder. Now, they sued the right-wing conspiracy theorist for lies that he told about the horrific 2012 school shooting.

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