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NATO Bolster Its Support to Ukraine; E.U. Bids for Natural Gas; Russia Hits Mykolaiv, Ukraine; Alex Jones Compelled to Pay $1 Billion to Sandy Hook Victims; January 6 Committee with More Bombshell to Show. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired October 13, 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]
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us.
Just ahead on CNN Newsroom, a barrage of shelling in key cities across Ukraine. This as defense NATO ministers meet in Brussels in the coming hour. We'll bring you the latest.
Plus.
The more Iran cracks down, the more protesters turn out. We'll have a look at what is now week four of protests across the country.
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBBIE PARKER, EMILIE PARKER'S FATHER: What we are able to accomplish was just to simply tell the truth, and it shouldn't be this hard and it shouldn't be this scary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: A Connecticut jury says Alex Jones must pay for his words after a decade of hateful lies about the Sandy Hook massacre. He must pay nearly a billion dollars in damages.
UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center. This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: NATO leaders are gathering this hour in Brussels for a second day to discuss how to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses. The alliance wants to establish a coordinated system to guide against Russian strikes. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has promised to get advanced systems to Ukraine as soon as possible.
France, the U.K., and the Netherlands have pledged new missiles, weapons, radar systems, and other air defense systems. The NATO leader and the U.S. defense chief spoke a short time ago. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: I think it is a very important message that NATO allies and partners and the Ukraine defense contact group that you share, delivered yesterday, that we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will step up our support, and in particular, we will provide more air defense systems to Ukraine.
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I also agree with you on, on the fact that we're going to stay with, our efforts to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. And you've heard us say that over and over again.
The other thing that you've heard us say over and over again is that United States is absolutely committed to his article five commitments, and we are committed to defending every inch of NATO's territory if and when it comes to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. One hundred forty-three countries supported the resolution, which drew a round of applause in the chamber. Only Russia, North Korea, Syria, Belarus, Nicaragua voted no.
Moscow staged the sham referenda last month, claiming that four occupied regions had voted to become part of Russia. The U.N. resolution caused rash to immediately and unconditionally reverse the decision.
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LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Colleagues, the facts are clear. A U.N. member state one with a permanent seat on the security council has attempted to annex territory from its neighbor by force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Russia's U.N. ambassador said western leaders had blackmailed countries into voting for the resolution and added that people in the annexed regions did not want to return to Ukraine.
On the battlefield, new reports of massive shelling in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. The mayor posted on Telegram that a five- story residential building was hit and the two upper floors destroyed. Rescuers are on the scene searching for seven missing people. Also, a kamikaze drone hit a community in the Kyiv region, but there's no information on damage or casualties at this stage.
Ukraine's military claims it repelled several advances in the Donetsk region, and one city near Zaporizhzhia was hit with more than 300 shells on Wednesday alone. The top U.S. general says NATO and its allies need to help Ukraine build a comprehensive missile defense system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: A lot of the countries that we're here today have a wide variety of systems. And the task will be to bring those together, get them deployed, get them trained, because each of these systems is different. Make sure that they can link together with a command and control and communication systems and make sure they have radars that can talk to each other so that they can acquire targets on the inbound flights.
[03:05:07]
So it's quite complicated from a technical standpoint. It is achievable. And that's what we're aiming at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: More now from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen in Kyiv. And a warning that his report contains some graphic images.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Another mass casualty attack in Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. Bodies strewn across the market in the eastern town of Avdiivka. Just one reason why the Ukrainians disagree with President Joe Biden's remark from the interview with CNN's Jake Tapper that Putin is a rational actor.
The advisor to Ukraine's presidential administration tells me he believes the opposite is.
MYKHAILO PODOLYAK, ADVISER TO UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE (through translator): He is not rational. He is emotional. He takes a lot of decisions from an emotional position and without a deep understanding of what is going on. Every decision that President Putin makes is a mistake.
PLEITGEN: As jets patrolled the sky over Ukraine's capital, Russia continued its blitz of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities hitting the town of Zaporizhzhia and targeting critical infrastructure, especially power plants.
The adviser telling me Ukraine is working hard to repair the damage and appreciate support from the U.S. and its allies.
PODOLYAK (through translator): Our partners all reacted very quickly to what happened on Monday the 10th. All our official partners, including the United States, announced that the types of strikes were inhumane because they consciously targeted civilian infrastructure.
PLEITGEN: Ukraine's military says it's able to shoot down many of the missiles and drones Russia fires at its territory, but only has old Soviet era surface to air systems and not enough of them.
At a meeting in Brussels, NATO made clear providing Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles is a top priority.
AUSTIN: This contact group stands united and determined. We will continue to boost Ukraine's defensive capabilities for today's urgent needs and for the long haul.
PLEITGEN: The Ukrainians say they continue to make headway against Russia's forces on the battlefield, Kyiv saying its forces took back several key villages in the south of the country. And the presidential advisor telling me, despite Vladimir Putin's nuclear threat, Ukraine must prevail.
PODOLYAK (through translator): Look, the threat of the use of nuclear weapons is not the problem of Ukraine. In any case, we cannot stop our counter offensive. In any case we cannot give up our territory to Russian control because it will mean an endless war for us. It will be impossible to rebuild the country.
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PLEITGEN (on camera): Well, one of the things that Ukrainians say they have managed to do is stabilize the power system here in Kyiv and also in the surrounding areas as well. They say as a result of that, they're not going to have to force people to use less energy, but they are calling on people to conserve as much energy as possible and use as little as possible. As, of course, the threat of further Russian missile attacks on critical infrastructure remains.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.
KINKADE: Well, the European Union is looking to cushion the impact of the energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, E.U. officials agreed on the need to start bidding for natural gas as one by next year. The goal is to eliminate bidding wars among individual countries, but it's still unclear if there's enough support for a proposed price cap for natural gas used for producing electric.
Also Wednesday, President of Russia, Putin offered to start natural gas exports through a link of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was not damaged by last month's explosions.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Let me see one thing. Russia's actions will not defy common sense, will not pay for others while being at our own expense, we will not supply energy to those countries that limit energy prices. To those who, instead of business partnership and market mechanisms prefer cheating tricks and brazen blackmail.
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KINKADE: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following the developments live for us this hour from London and joins now. Good to have you with us, Salma. So, President Putin there claiming he has nothing to do with the European energy crisis, saying that the E.U can just turn on the tap. What is he trying to suggest?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I mean, President Putin really muddying the waters there trying to turn an accusation on its head. This is a really worrying aspect of the conflict, Lynda, the weaponization of energy sources by Moscow. You have to remember that the E.U. was heavily dependent, over 40 percent of its gas imports prior to this conflict. Over 40 percent of its gas imports came from Russia.
[03:10:02]
So, this is absolutely an Achilles heel for European leaders to be cut off from Russian gas and oil supplies. And that happened in early September 1st when President Putin turned off the top himself to start, under the statement that they needed to have repairs of these Nord Stream pipelines. And then in the end of September, this very mysterious underwater explosion hitting both these Nord Stream pipelines, causing damage that essentially cut off or did cut off, rather, that very important connection, that very important supply route.
Now, there are multiple investigations ongoing right now as to who is behind those attacks. And European leaders have stopped short of pointing the finger directly at Moscow. But that's the subtext here, is that Moscow is suspected of being behind these attacks on these Nord Stream pipelines.
President Putin, again, flipping that accusation yesterday in the statement to an energy forum saying, no, it's actually the United States or Ukraine's allies or others that have interest in attacking the pipeline. We do not, and sort of taunting European leaders and saying, I'll try -- You know, it's the ball is in your core. I can turn the taps back on if you, the E.U. will allow that.
Now this is technically difficult. First of all, Nord Stream 2 was never up and running. That was a plan that was scrapped after the start of Russia's war on Ukraine. And E.U. leaders, yes, scrambling to find other sources for energy through the winter, but absolutely steadfast, and that they don't want to provide that economic support, provide that financial support to Russia by buying their gas and oil.
So real standoff here between the E.U. and Moscow. And President Putin very quick to point out that he holds this card, this all-important weak point for European leaders, Lynda.
KINKADE: And Salma, obviously more shelling in Ukraine, both in the Kyiv regions and drone strikes, but also, in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. What can you tell us?
ABDELAZIZ: We are absolutely seeing an uptick in Russian missile attacks across Ukraine, not just on the front lines. But yesterday the city of Mykolaiv in the south of the country, a place that's been a flash point throughout this conflict. Officials there saying that city was massively shelled overnight. I
know we have pictures to show you of a residential building that was struck. Rescue operations are still ongoing there. One of the survivors was just an 11-year-old boy, pulled out from under the rubble, still recovering of course from wounds and injuries.
And I think this is the fear and concern here, Lynda, is this uptick of missile attacks, this increased tempo of strikes from Russia that's taken place during the course of the week. That doesn't change the reality on the battleground and that reality is, is that Russia is on the back foot.
Ukraine claiming just in the last day that five more villages have been recaptured in the Kherson region. The counter offensive there has been able to gain tens of square miles of territory just in the last few weeks.
So, the concern is, is that President Putin is inflicting punishment on the civilians of Ukraine in the absence of a clear battlefield victory there, Lynda.
KINKADE: Yes, it certainly seems the case. Salma Abdelaziz staying across all those developments for us. Thanks very much.
Well, after almost two decades of waiting, Bosnia and Herzegovina has made a big step towards becoming a part of the European Union. On Wednesday, the E.U. Commission recommended granting candidate status to the small Balkan country. It was recognized as a potential candidate back in 2003, but progress has been slow.
Now Bosnia needs to make reforms to meet the E.U. succession criteria, which is a lengthy process. The commission president says all part of big changes that are sweeping the continent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Ukraine and Moldova are now candidates for joining -- to joining our union. And today we have proposed to grant candidates status to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the college decision. We have recognized Georgia's European perspective too. So, wind of change is once again blowing through Europe, and we have to capture this momentum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the crackdown on anti-government protests continues to escalate in Iran. Video from a pro-reform activist web site shows both uniformed and plain clothed police officers firing weapons into the air to disperse crowds in Tehran. Eyewitnesses also report tear gas and rubber bullets were used to chase protestors away on Wednesday.
This comes as Iran's education Minister admits that some student protestors are being detained and sent to so-called psychological where they can be reformed.
CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now from London with more on this. Nada, good to have you with us.
[03:15:02]
It's only a month after Mahsa Amini died after being taken to one of these so-called reeducation centers. What more are we hearing about, what the regime is doing to these protesters?
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Look, Lynda, this is certainly a concerning and development. We already heard from UNICEF on Tuesday, warning and sounding the alarm bell on the reports of children and teenagers being detained, injured, and killed.
And now, of course we are hearing from Iranian officials how exactly they're dealing with some of these students, young people across Iran who are taking part in these demonstrations. And of course, children and teenagers have played a crucial part, students in particular in these demonstrations.
But we heard those remarks from Iran's education minister, Yousef Nouri speaking to the reformist Sharq newspaper. And in those remarks, he confirmed that some students had been detained so that they weren't being sent to prisons, but rather some of them being sent to psychological institutions after displaying what he described as antisocial behavior.
Now it's unclear what that program within the so-called psychological institutions would entail. But the minister detailed the aim there being for reform and reeducation, and that experts would be examining these students to ensure that they're no longer presenting, what he's described as antisocial behavior before they are allowed to return to their classes.
But this is, of course, a hugely concerning development. We also heard yesterday from Iran supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, somewhat alluding to this development. He said that while some of these, in his words, rioters would require the authority of the Iran in security forces, the police, others, he said he described them as being agitated and required cultural attention.
So, we are seeing a different approach here, but clearly there is growing concern around the treatment of young people. We've already heard that concern being expressed because students, of course, are paying a key part in these demonstrations. We've seen a number of universities continuing to come out in their droves, demonstrating, protesting in the streets, refusing to go to classes in protest of the Iranian regime's repressive restrictions not only on women's rights, but on the perpetration of human rights abuses across the board. Lynda?
KINKADE: All right. Nada Bashir in London. Thank you.
Well, North Korea is celebrating yet another missile test. This time it fired off long range cruise missiles, which are not banned under U.N. sanctions, but are still capable of carrying nuclear weapons. By CNN's count that was North Korea's 26 missile test so far this year. State media reports that leader Kim Jong-un guided the launch and is pleased with the results, which he says proves our nuclear combat forces are fully prepared for war and to bring the enemies under their control.
A big win in the fight against disinformation and conspiracy theories. Radio host Alex Jones gets hit with a massive financial penalty for lying about an elementary school massacre. We'll hear from him and the victim's families.
Plus, the January 6th committee is set to introduce new testimony in evidence when it holds its first public hearing in months. We'll have a preview ahead.
Plus, how the British Prime Minister plans to rule out spending cuts while giving massive tax breaks which could impact the U.K. economy. We'll hear from an expert, next.
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PARKER: The families that I've been associated with for 10 years through this tragedy are the most beautiful people you'll ever encounter. And their children, that their moms and their wives are the most beautiful people you could ever get to know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: That was the father of a little girl killed in the 2012 massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
A jury in the U.S. state of Connecticut has awarded nearly $1 billion in damages to some of the victim's families, as well as the first responder. They sued radio host Alex Jones over his unrelenting lies calling the massacre a hoax staged by anti-gun activists. After the verdict was read, Jones mocked the decision. And even tried to fundraise to pay the damages.
ALEX JONES, HOST, THE ALEX JONES SHOW: Fifty-seven million, 20 million, 50 million, 80 million, a hundred million, blah, blah. You get a million. You get a hundred million. You get a 50 million. Do these people actually, they're getting any money?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, Jones claims his company, Free Speech Systems is nearly bankrupt, but his legal and financial troubles are far from over.
CNN's Alexandra Field picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNKNOWN: Your damages passed the future --
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After nearly a decade of profound and excruciating suffering, a jury awarding nearly $1 billion to the families of eight victims killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School and an FBI agent who responded to the scene of the massacre.
CHRISTOPHER MATTEI, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILIES OF SANDY HOOK VICTIMS: Today, a jury representing our community and our nation rendered a historic verdict. A verdict against Alex Jones's lies and their poisonous spread and a verdict for truth and for our common humanity.
FIELD: The money compensatory damages, not for the brutal loss of their loved ones, but for the lies that followed spread by Infowars host Alex Jones, who called the massacre a hoax, its victims crisis actors.
ERICA LAFFERTY, DAUGHTER OF SANDY HOOK PRINCIPAL DAWN HOCHSPRUNG: I know that this is not the end of Alex Jones in my life. I know that his hates -- his hate, lies, and conspiracy theories will follow both me and my family through the rest of our days. But I'm also hopeful for what happened here today that it may save other family -- families from high profile tragedies from the cycle of abuse and re- traumatization.
FIELD: The plaintiffs holding hands comforting one another and weeping while the judge read the jury's decisions, each of them rewarded tens of millions of dollars. The largest award of $120 million to Robbie Parker, the father of a six-year-old girl, Emilie, killed at Sandy Hook. He had testified to the pain he and others endured from lies believed by so many.
PARKER: And I was especially starting to feel like I was failing her in her death because of what people were saying about her. And what they were saying about me trying to remember her.
FIELD: The jury's award as close to a win as any these families could have.
PARKER: All I can really say is that 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 this scary.
FIELD: Jones was not present in the courtroom for the reading of the verdict. He never testified in his own defense during the course of the nearly month-long trial, but he made fiery statements during a cross examination.
JONES: And I don't apologize for him.
FIELD: His attorney says Jones and his company Free Speech Systems will appeal the jury's decision. Jones, who has derided much of the legal process calling the trial a kangaroo court was back on the airwaves where he mocked the decision and used it to fundraise.
(END VIDEOTAPE) FIELD: Jones is already saying he won't have the money to pay the families with his company in bankruptcy. He says the company is nearly entirely out of funds. Still, he is expected to be on the hook for even greater damages next month, following some hearings, the judge will determine what the punitive damages are in this case.
In New York, Alexandra Field, CNN.
KINKADE: Well, after the verdict, some of the families spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper about the sense of justice they received from this trial and how that's helping them heal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[03:54:57]
PARKER: But for me, the payoff for me was being able to take Emilie's story back. And being able to, throughout all of this mess remind people about who she was and what she meant to me and her mom and her sisters, and for me personally, getting my own story back. And, so for me, the payoff was Alex Jones used the statement I gave years ago as a way to torture me and to profit from it.
And he was forced to sit in the courtroom and listen to every word that I had to say that night. And I hadn't done that since that night. And I almost forgot what it was that I shared with the world. And he had to listen to that. And that was a huge payoff for me to get that back.
And then the second I stepped off the stand, I knew that I had done exactly what I needed to do in this. And it didn't matter what -- what the outcome was. That's what I gained and that was enough for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, later today, the U.S. House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the capitol is set to hold its first public hearing in months. It comes just weeks before 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 6th committee making its closing argument ahead of the November midterms.
REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): There'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: While 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 stolen election lies provoked that mob to attack the capitol.
MURRAY: The committee interviewed Trump cabinet members, including former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and former transportation secretary Elaine Chao, and they interviewed Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS), CHAIR, JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE: 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.
ROGER STONE, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: What they're assuming is the election will be normal. The election will not be normal.
MURRAY: And ties between Trump's 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 searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. And since a DOJ probe into efforts to subvert the 2020 election has intensified. With midterms less than a month away, a key focus is Trump's continued efforts.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 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 confronts the people of America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY (on camera): 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 tune in to Attack on Democracy, the January 6
hearings Live with Anderson Cooper in New York and Jake Taper in Washington. That's Thursday at 1 p.m. in Washington, 6 p.m. in London right here on CNN.
The Trump employee has told the FBI that former President Trump directed boxes be moved out of a basement storage room to his residence at Mar-a-Lago. A source telling CNN that came after Trump received a subpoena for classified documents.
We've also learned the FBI's surveillance footage showing a staff are moving boxes out of the storage room. In August, the FBI seized thousands of documents at Mar-a-Lago, including about 100 marked as classified.
Today could be a gloomy one on Wall Street. The latest U.S. inflation figures will come out soon, and if the news is as bad as many fear, the Fed may fill the need to impose another stiff rate hike.
Plus, fears of a new COVID wave in Europe. What the World Health Organization is saying when we come back.
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KINKADE: Wall Streeters bracing for the latest inflation figures from the U.S. Labor Department when the Consumer Price Index is released in the coming hours. The Dow closed down 28 points on Wednesday.
The reason behind investor pessimism, more inflation data with a producer price index released Wednesday attracts how much American producers paid for their goods and services.
The rise of 0.4 percent in September was much higher than anticipated, though the annual rate did drop slightly to 8.5 percent. And because those rising production costs are eventually piled onto consumer, it strongly suggests the U.S. economy is still overheated and could trigger more interest rate hikes.
The Federal Reserve's aggressive efforts to call the economy run the very real risk of causing a recession if they overdo it. President Biden is downplaying that scenario.
CNN's Rahel Solomon reports.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. President Joe Biden pushing back against growing concerns of a recession. During an exclusive interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Biden said, I don't think there will be a recession. If it is, it will be a very slight recession.
Biden also saying that the U.S. is better off than any other major country, both economically and politically, a reference to global inflation around the world. Now, the labor market does remain very tight here in the U.S. with the unemployment rate at historic lows. Inflation, well, that's proven to be persistent. The Federal Reserve's efforts to tame inflation by raising interest rates is meant to slow the U.S. economy, but critics warn it could also derail it.
A new inflation report Wednesday. showed producer prices or wholesale inflation rose last month at 0.4 percent. That is twice what a sample of economists surveyed were expected. Over the last year, producer surprises are higher 8.5 percent. Producer inflation gives us a sense of what's in store for consumer inflation.
The idea being if it costs more to make a good service, part of that increase could make its way into prices that we pay as consumers. Speaking of consumer inflation, Thursday will learn if consumer prices rose in September when the government releases its CPI report.
Last month, it showed prices rose slightly, 0.1 percent from the month prior, or 8.3 percent over the last year. Friday. We also hear from three major U.S. banks when they kick off earning season for the third quarter.
Rahel Solomon, CNN, New York.
[03:34:53]
KINKADE: Just one more day before the Bank of England ends its emergency bond buying support, its governor, Andrew Bailey had a blunt message for British pen -- pension fund managers. Giving them until Friday to adjust investments and is sticking to that plan.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss is ruling 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, quote, "spend public money well." Take a listen.
(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 inflation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, earlier our CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas how the Truss -- Truss government's financial plans could impact the U.K. economy. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: They've really got themselves, in other words, Liz Truss's government have got themselves in a -- in a terrible 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 -- where the 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's 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 bind, Lynda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Dominic Thomas there. 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 is grilled by lawmakers in parliament.
During her reign, Queen Elizabeth held weekly audiences with the nation's prime ministers to discuss government matters.
Long lines for fuel have become a common site in France after striking oil workers refused to back down. President Macron told broadcaster France to the government will order essential staff to return if workers and energy companies fail to reach an agreement in the coming hours.
But the union plans to challenge any such order in court. The climber nickname France's Spiderman is calling for an end to the strike. Alain Robert climbed a famous skyscraper in Paris to draw attention to the issue.
Europe may be on the cusp of another wave of COVID-19. The World Health Organization and European health officials say there were one and a half million cases in the E.U. last week, up 8 percent from the week before. Hospital admissions across the continent are also up as well.
Globally, the WHO confirms that more than three million cases this week have prompted this warning from the director general.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The pandemic is not over, and there is much more work to be done with large vaccination gaps, reduce surveillance, low rates of testing and sequencing, and uncertainties about the potential impact of current and future variants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Boosters to find specific COVID variants are being rolled out across Europe and the U.K., but only for select groups, including the elderly or those with a compromised immune system.
In the U.S. children as young as five can get the updated COVID booster shots. They target the original COVID strain as well as the new Omicron sub-variant. They can be given to children at least two months after becoming fully vaccinated.
For the updated, Pfizer booster it's now authorized for children ages five to 11, and for Moderna's versions available for those age six to 17.
Well, the White House COVID response coordinator says there will not be enough COVID tests this winter.
Dr. Ashish Jha blames Congress for the shortage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS COORDINATOR: We are going into this fall and, and winter without adequate tests because of congressional inaction. We're going to do everything inside the administration to make sure that we have testing capability, that we can ramp up as quickly as possible.
[03:40:04]
But all of this is made just dramatically harder by congressional inaction. You can't fight a deadly virus without resources.
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KINKADE: Well, the tough journey to the United States border are becoming even tougher for many Latin American migrants.
Still ahead. More people head north, even as dangers and obstacles mount along the way.
Plus, we're tracking another powerful weather system. Our meteorologist Derek van Dam is keeping an eye on Tropical Storm. Karl. Derek?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right, Lynda. We do have tropical trouble in the western Gulf of Mexico. After the break, I'm going to tell you who's at risk for the strong winds and the potential for localized flash flooding. Stick around.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you think it's time for the U.S. to rethink its relationship with Saudi Arabia?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes. And by the way, let's get straight where I went. I didn't go to -- went about oil. I went about making sure that we made sure that we weren't going to walk away from the Middle East. We should, and I am in the process when the -- when the -- this House and Senate gets back there. They're going to have to -- there's going to be some consequences for what they've done with Russia.
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KINKADE: U.S. President Joe Biden speaking earlier in an exclusive interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.
The decision to cut production only adds to the growing frustration in Washington towards the longtime ally. Those relations -- that relationship was badly strained after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The U.S. intelligence community pointed the finger at the Saudi crown prince who denied any involvement. Some U.S. lawmakers are now calling for the U.S. to cut ties with Saudi Arabia, saying U.S. interests in the region might be better served elsewhere.
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SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I think we now have to ask ourselves whether they are an ally at all. We have looked the other way when it comes to their human rights abuses, their war in Yemen, because we assumed when the chips were down, when there was a global emergency, the Saudis would choose to support us, not to support the Russians or the Chinese.
I just think it's time for us to, you know, figure out whether there's a better way to deploy our defense assets, rather than using them to support a country that doesn't seem to have our interests at heart. I just think that's smart foreign policy.
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KINKADE: The Biden administration has singled out Russia and the invasion of Ukraine is the most immediate threat to global stability. He says China remains America's most consequential geopolitical challenge.
That assessment was detailed in President Biden's first national security strategy. The document required by Congress. In it, the president explained the difference between Russia and China. Writing in part, that Russia poses an immediate threat to the free and open international system, recklessly flouting the basic laws of the international order today, as its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine has shown.
[03:45:08]
China, by contrast, is the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and increasingly the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to advance that objective.
U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, says the U.S. will need to act quickly to counter China's expanding global influence.
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JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The stakes could not be higher. The actions we take now will shape whether this decisive decade is an age of conflict and discord, or the beginning of a more prosperous and stable future.
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KINKADE: Washington is preparing to roll out a new program for the Venezuelan migrant seeking to come to the U.S. Under the program, up to 24,000 Venezuelans will be admitted into the U.S. annually. There's been a massive increase of migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua trying to cross through the U.S. border with Mexico.
As Rafael Romo reports, the journey stretches for thousands of kilometers with obstacles every step of the way.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: In Panama, they're the target of an air and land military operation.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: In Colombia, the country's coast guard is trying to intercept them in the ocean. And in Guatemala, national police and riot gear try to stop them but they lack the numbers to do so.
From South America to the United States, trying to stop yet another wave of migrants seems to be a losing battle for all the countries involved. It seems like more than ever migrants are willing to face any risk and pay every increasing amount of money to reach the United States.
In Panama, the number of migrants who continue crossing the perilous Darien jungle is increasing. By the end of September, over 134,000 migrants had crossed the Colombian border into Panama, already surpassing last year's total of 133,000.
This marine corps captain in Colombia says that smugglers used to charge a thousand dollars per person to cross from the Colombian San Andres and Providencia Islands to Central American countries like Nicaragua. An amount that he says has now increased to 4,000.
The influx of migrants is not only increasing, the nationalities of those seeking to reach the United States have also changed in the last few years.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: These Guatemalan immigration officials says they routinely detained migrants from countries as close as Cuba and Haiti, and as far as Senegal. But these days most seem to be Venezuelan nationals.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: This man in Caracas who chose not to reveal his identity because he works for the government of Venezuela, says he's desperate to leave his country. He says his government job pays about $5 a week, which forces him to hold two other jobs to make ends meet.
He says he's decided to leave. The question is how to get safely to the United States with no visa for any Central American country or his final destination.
Cousins Mario Mosquera (Ph) and Jefferson Lozada (Ph), also from Venezuela have already made it as far as Guatemala.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: Venezuela is unlivable, the father of three says. The economic crisis has been very hard, and the truth is that I'm making this sacrifice to give my children a better life.
As the United States approaches midterm elections, immigration has once again become --
REP. JODEY ARRINGTON (R-TX): This crisis is a direct. Let's be very clear, a direct result of President Biden's unilateral actions.
ROMO: -- a political hot potato with Republican governors from Texas and Florida, busing immigrants to places like New York and Washington, D.C.
RAUL REYES, ATTORNEY AND IMMIGRATION ANALYST: What we have here just is sort of a perfect storm. New York shelter systems were overcrowded and overwhelmed before any of these migrants arrived. Meanwhile, at the border, we are seeing the same similar situation with the different population of migrants where their resources are very strained.
ROMO: Back in Guatemala, cousins Mario Mosquera (Ph) and Jefferson Lozada (Ph) press on. In Venezuela minimum wage is not even enough to eat, they say, before leaving to join a group of other migrants with whom they share the same dream of reaching the United States regardless of the risks.
Rafael Romo, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: We are tracking another powerful weather system in the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Karl located near the Bay of Campeche is making its way towards Mexico. Under the current forecast, the storm will make landfall near Vera Cruz, bringing the threat of flash flooding and mudslides.
[03:50:02]
Meteorologist Derek van Dam joins us now. Good to see you, Derek. So, when is it expected to make landfall and how much rain are we talking about?
VAN DAM: OK, we've got about a 36-hour window before this storm makes landfall, but I've got to lead with this, because it's really having trouble keeping its act together. And let me show you why.
I want you to see the top portion of your screen, the movement with Tropical Storm Karl is stationary, right? So that's the center of the storm, at least from the latest reconnaissance aircraft that flew through this cluster of thunderstorms, you see.
But I want you to notice how the bulk of the thunderstorms are, those cloud tops, the shades of red and orange and greens are kind of moving away from that stationary center. Basically, what's happening is we're getting the strong upper level winds that's shearing the top parts of a, of this tropical system.
And so, it is de-organizing the storm. It is helping weaken the storm, and this storm will be more of a rain threat than it will be a wind threat because it's just going to lose its punch as it moves south.
Now I want to be clear, this is not going to be a U.S. threat, and here's the reason why. That's a cold front, that blue line with the blue triangles that is going to sag south and it's going to give the nudge to the tropical storm just what it needs to be pushed away from the mainland of the U.S. It will travel south and as I'd already mentioned, it explained a moment ago, it's going to weaken as it does. So, it will be more of a rain threat in this area.
But it is a large and formidable storm. Tropical storm conditions extend out 105 miles from the center of circulation. So, we have gusty winds in the forecast for much of mainland Mexico, particularly in the Vera Cruz and Tabasco states. That is again through the course of the weekend.
That is why there is a trouble storm watch across this area, highlighted in that shading of yellow. There's Vera Cruz there. And there's the tropical storm that is going to start to move in a general subtly direction.
And you can see the official forecast track from the National Hurricane Center shows a weakening storm going to 60 miles per hour by this evening, 45 miles per hour by Friday evening before making landfall sometime Friday evening to early Saturday morning.
Again, somewhere between the border of Vera Cruz and Tabasco. This will be a rain threat as it moves across this portion of Mexico and the potential here for upwards of three to seven inches of rain or roughly 150 millimeters for those areas that you see shaded in the yellows and oranges. Lynda?
KINKADE: I'm lucky we've got you to stay it across it for us over the coming days. Derek van Dam, thanks as always.
Well record low water levels in Lake Mead in Nevada and Arizona have exposed evidence of the ancient eruptions. River bed rocks lays with volcanic ash from more than 12 million years ago. Researchers say there were several volcanic blasts from places as far away as Wyoming and California.
Scientists telling CNN The discoveries like this aren't as rare as you would think. Ash from even moderately explosive volcanic eruptions can travel hundreds of thousands of miles.
We're going to be right back. We'll take a quick break. See you shortly.
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UNKNOWN: How did you know all that?
UNKNOWN: I didn't know, I was just following you.
UNKNOWN: You were following me?
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UNKNOWN: Yes. Attack is new for me.
UNKNOWN: Yes.
UNKNOWN: It's a very expressive medium.
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[03:55:00]
KINKADE: Christmas is coming only for a new trailer for a highly anticipated movie. The musical is called "Spirited." Apple TV plus dropped the teaser Wednesday for the film starting Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer.
Now, this is a new take on the Christmas carol story starring Reynolds's Ebeneezer Scrooge. Adaptations of the Dickens classic go all the way back to 1938. "Spirited" will hip theaters for a short time in November before going to Apple's streaming service in time for Christmas.
Well, the new fragrant -- fragrance from the man who brought you SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk calls it the finest fragrance on Earth. The smell of burnt hair. Musk ever the salesman says the new scent idea spun off from a flame thrower his so-called boring company sold back in 2018.
Burnt hair is really a gag, yet it sells for about a hundred bucks a bottle. Somehow Musk claims he's already sold a million dollars' worth.
While we're on the shopping theme, who wants a pair of old jeans from the 1800s? We'll take a look at this Levi's sold to a vintage clothing dealer in California. Get this, $76,000. This says the antique jeans were found years ago in an old mine. They're the oldest known Levi's from the gold rush era. Considered the holy grail of vintage denim. And apparently, still in good enough shape to wear.
Well, actor Tom Cruise famously does his own death-defying stunt work, but he could soon be taking his dare devil skills where he's never flown before to outer space. The head of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group told the BBC the project is still in development aiming to film scenes on the International Space Station.
With Cruise potentially being the first civilian to do a spacewalk.
CNN aerospace analyst Miles O'Brien says the stunt may serve another purpose.
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MILES 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 retina of people around Tom Cruise, with makeup and everything else to make it 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's better somehow?
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KINKADE: Either way, it's generating a lot of interest. Thanks so much for your company. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Have yourself a wonderful day. CNN Newsroom continues with my colleague Max Foster in London.
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[04:00:00]
