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Rare Banners Of Protest Appear & Disappear In Beijing; High School Mass Murderer Spared The Death Penalty; Tropical Storm Karl Sets Sites On Part Of Southern Mexico; January 6 Committee Subpoenas Trump; Ukraine Reports New Rocket Strike on Zaporizhzhia; Korean Tensions Escalate; Rising Inflation Spurs Rate Hike Worries; Iranian Children Dying Amid Brutal Crackdown. Aired 2-2:45a ET
Aired October 14, 2022 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on "CNN Newsroom" --
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REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion.
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BRUNHUBER: The January 6 Committee subpoenas former U.S. President Donald Trump as the committee shows never-before-seen footage of congressional leaders during the Capitol riot.
Plus, Russia's brutal revenge on Ukraine. We are learning about a new rocket attack on Zaporizhzhia. And North Korea fires off another missile test leading to condemnations and new sanctions against the hermit kingdom.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: And we begin this hour with never-before-seen footage obtained exclusively by CNN. It shows in vivid new detail congressional leaders fleeing the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, transforming a nearby military base into a command center, frantically coordinating with Vice President Mike Pence and Trump cabinet members to (INAUDIBLE) insurrection and finish certifying the 2020 election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ON-SCREEN TEXT: Pelosi staff on security camera.
BRUNHUBER: This video is from filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, the daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She was at the Capitol to film the peaceful transfer of power for a documentary project. When the riot started, she kept recording. Now, a warning, this next clip contains profanity.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Okay. D.C. has requested the National Guard, and it has been denied by DOD. I would like to know a good God damn reason why it has been denied. I apologize for speaking like that.
RYAN MCCARTHY, SECRETARY OF THE ARMY (voice-over): Don't apologize.
SCHUMER: This cannot be just we're waiting for so and so. We need them there now, whatever you got. Okay?
REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD): You have -- you also have troops -- this is Steny Hoyer, troops at Fort McNair, Andrews Air Force Base, other military bases. We need active duty, National Guard, all the people who are sworn to protect and defend the Constitution.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Just pretend, just pretend for a moment it was the Pentagon, or the White House, or some other entity that was under siege.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Release of the footage comes the same day as the House Committee investigating January 6 voted unanimously to subpoena Donald Trump for testimony and documents. Now, he is not expected to comply which could lead to criminal charges and a protracted court battle.
The Trump subpoena wasn't the only bombshell development from the January 6 hearing. The committee also presented a trove of evidence about the former president's plan to claim election fraud before the first vote was even cast.
CNN's Manu Raju has details.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The January 6 Committee tonight revealing new evidence --
(GAVEL SOUND)
RAJU: -- showing Trump planned all along to try and stay in office.
CHENEY: President Trump had a premeditated plan to declare that the election was fraudulent and stolen before election day, before he knew the election results.
ROGER STONE, POLITICAL CONSULTANT AND LOBBYIST: The key thing to do is to claim victory.
Let's get right to the violence.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST (voice-over): If Biden is winning, Trump is going to be so crazy.
RAJU (voice-over): Even drafting a prepared election day statement days before votes were cast declaring that Trump had won.
But while Trump privately admitted to some that he lost, he continued to fight, becoming enraged when the Supreme Court threw out a republican effort to overturn the election, telling his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, that something else needed to be done to stay in power.
CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, FORMER AIDE TO WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF MARK MEADOWS: I don't want people to know we lost, Mark. This is embarrassing. Figure it out. We need to figure it out.
RAJU (voice-over): Trump began pushing the bogus notion that voting machines switched votes from Trump to Biden, even something his own advisor said had no basis in truth.
WILLIAM BARR, FORMER UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: I went into this and would, you know, tell him how crazy some of these allegations were. There was never an indication of interest in what the actual facts were.
RAJU (voice-over): And the committee showing deposition from witnesses describing Trump's inaction.
UNKNOWN: I believe he's watching TV.
UNKNOWN: It's my understanding he was watching.
RAJU (voice-over): All while playing new video of lawmakers running for shelter from violent rioters who are trying to keep Congress from certifying the 2020 election for Joe Biden.
[02:05:03]
PELOSI: Apparently, everybody on the floor is putting on the gas masks.
SCHUMER: I'm going to call the effing secretary of DOD.
PELOSI: I have something to say, Mister Secretary. I'm going to call the mayor of Washington, D.C. right now.
They are doing all kinds of things. They said that somebody was shot. It's just horrendous. And all on the instigation of the president of the United States.
SCHUMER: Why don't you get the president to tell them to leave the Capitol, Mr. Attorney General, and your law enforcement responsibility?
RAJU (voice-over): New messages revealed by the committee showing how the U.S. Secret Service was well aware of the violent rhetoric in the days leading up to January 6th.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): In this email, an agent received a report noting a lot of violent rhetoric on Parler directed at government people and entities, including Secret Service protectees. One of these protectees was Vice President Pence.
UNKNOWN: Every single (bleep) in there is a traitor! Every single one!
SCHUMER (voice-over): They are moving to the Capitol after the POTUS speech.
RAJU (on camera): I asked the chairman of the committee, Bennie Thompson, about what the committee would do if Donald Trump decided to fight this. Will they go to court? He would not go that far. He said, ask Donald Trump, when I asked him about some of these next steps.
Now, he didn't indicate that they would not go forward with a separate subpoena for former Vice President Mike Pence. Now, Donald Trump himself has responded, he posted it on his social media page, attacking the Select Committee, not saying whether or not he would actually testify but calling it -- quote -- "un-select committee" and asking them why didn't they ask him to testify months ago.
Now, the committee revealing also in this hearing that there could have been a potential for obstruction, trying to deny witnesses from cooperating and testifying before the committee. They said that will be continued to be investigated in the months ahead and ultimately will be detailed in their final report.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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BRUNHUBER: And joining me now with more from Los Angeles, Jessica Levinson is a professor of law at Loyola Law School and host of the "Passing Judgment" podcast. Thanks so much for being here with us. So, why subpoena Donald Trump and why now, why wait so long?
JESSICA LEVINSON, PODCAST HOST, PROFESSOR OF LAW AT LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: So, I think in part because of what Liz Cheney said at the end of the hearing today or the meeting today. She said, we try to get this information and former President Trump's supporters refused to answer.
And then, she showed the video of Michael Flynn, the former National Security adviser, of John Eastman, of one of Trump's former councils, basically saying, Fifth, Fifth, Fifth. They all pled the Fifth against self-incrimination.
Then she mentioned Peter Navarro, who is not cooperating. She mentioned the former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who is claiming executive privilege.
She is basically explaining why we can't get this information from anyone else. Now, why not right away? In part because this is always how these investigations proceed. You start basically at the bottom, and if there is a target, you move your way up to the target.
And I think in part because they had to lay out the facts, they have to let them develop to see whether or not it was really vital to hear from the president, if they can get the former president, if they can get that information any other way.
BRUNHUBER: He was always going to be central to this. I'm wondering, you know, he is unlikely to comply, so is this anything more than just symbolic?
LEVINSON: So, I think you are absolutely right, he is unlikely to comply. Is it anything other than symbolic? I mean, there is still something to be said for this is the rule of law, this is a congressional hearing, and we are attempting to uncover all evidence. We are not just saying we throw up our hands because we don't think somebody will comply with a valid legal subpoena.
So, there is always the option that the House could, as it was discussed in the previous package, that House could decide to refer this to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecutor just like Steve Bannon is being currently prosecuted. The House could decide on its own to go to court.
So, I don't think we are going to hear from the former president, but I do think it is important to say we have a rule of law and we still follow it.
BRUNHUBER: One of the other striking headlines from this, further evidence that Donald Trump knew he lost and that he planned on declaring victory, anyway. Still, you know, we kind of knew this but it is still shocking to hear it.
LEVINSON: I think that has been one of the big takeaways from the hearing. There has been new information. And by the same token, there has been information that we already knew. But to hear those closest to the president explain why, basically, he knew that he lost the election, he knew he was lying when he said there is fraud, he knew he was lying when he said we can't trust the election, and he still kept going forward with that.
And then he basically set in motion the events of January 6 and then did nothing about it.
[02:10:01]
LEVINSON: You can know it, but then still to hear it all play out and see it all play out, I think it has a different impact.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. All right, so, let's pull back, have a look at the big picture. Last night, President Biden said the committee will lead to real change. Those were his words. But will it? I'm wondering.
Despite all this very damning testimony we've just talked about there through all of these hearings, it hasn't affected Donald Trump's hold on the party or shifted the Republican Party away from election denialism. Some 300 election deniers will be on the midterm ballots, and some of those who are running for positions in which they could actually determine how votes get counted.
And polls haven't really moved. Public outrage seems to be very pretty much siloed to people who are never going to vote for Donald Trump anyway. So, what change do you think it will lead to if any?
LEVINSON: That's the really remarkable thing about this, which is if you really watch these hearings with an open mind, it shouldn't be a question of what your policy views are. It should be a question about whether or not you believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, and the continuation of our democracy. But it really has not moved the needle I think the way it frankly should have.
Again, this shouldn't have anything to do with your view of tax policy or immigration policy or environmental policy. It should be about, should we allow the leader of the free world to engage in this type of behavior? But it seems like this is such a different place than it was, for instance, during the Watergate hearings, and we are not all reading from the same script.
Most -- many people who I think would be the target audience are simply not watching. They have been told and believe that this is just a political witch hunt.
And when it comes to the midterm elections, you know, any politician that wants to run just on January 6 and ignores things like the economy does so with their own peril.
BRUNHUBER: Jessica Levinson, always appreciate and enjoy getting your analysis, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
LEVINSON: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: U.S. Supreme Court has dealt another setback to Donald Trump this time over the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago state.
CNN's Evan Perez has the details.
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EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Supreme Court refused to intervene on Donald Trump's behalf in his legal fight with the Justice Department over documents seized by the FBI and search of his Florida beach club in August.
Trump had asked the high court to allow a third-party judge called a special master to get access to about 100 documents marked as classified. The Supreme court rejected the request in a brief order with no dissents noted.
The special master is already reviewing more than 21,000 pages, looking for documents that could be personal or subject to attorney- client privilege.
The Justice Department prosecutors and the FBI have already resumed their investigative work using the documents to talk to witnesses. There is still a broader appeal pending before the federal appeals court in Atlanta.
Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: In Ukraine, we are getting reports the southern city of Zaporizhzhia has once again come under Russian rocket fire. Ukrainian officials say a rocket damaged the city Friday morning on the heels of similar strikes that have left dozens of people killed or wounded.
That is happening as Russia says it will evacuate civilians from the Kherson region as Ukrainian forces gain ground. It is one of the occupied areas Moscow declared annexed last month.
And in Brussels, NATO is pledging more firepower to bolster Ukraine's air defenses. But at the same time, the U.S. defense secretary says the alliance will also strengthen its own legs. Here he is.
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LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: NATO continues to make clear that we will not be dragged into Russia's war of choice, but we will stand by Ukraine as it fights to defend itself, and we will continue to strengthen NATO's collective defense.
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BRUNHUBER: Salma Abdelaziz is keeping an eye on developments in Ukraine. She joins us now from London. So, Salma, what more can you tell us on those attacks in Zaporizhzhia?
SALMA ABDELAZIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are coming to the close of a rather extraordinary week of events across Ukraine. It was almost a week ago now that that bridge in Crimea was attacked. That explosion, of course, setting off these retaliatory attacks, some of the worst attacks that the country has seen since the beginning of the conflict, dozens of missiles and rockets fired by the Kremlin into Ukraine. That continues into this morning.
We hear that there are strikes in Zaporizhzhia on infrastructure. We are waiting for officials to provide us with more details there. But I think what has been most astounding is these attacks on civilians and innocent families that we've seen throughout the week.
I know yesterday we reported on an 11-year-old boy who was pulled out from under the rubble of a building in Mykolaiv that had been shelled by Russian forces.
[02:14:56]
ABDELAZIS: That 11-year-old boy, unfortunately, although he survived six hours under the rubble, was pulled by rescue workers, later died in hospital of his injuries. It is just a reminder of the stark cost that Ukrainian families are paying in this war.
What we are also seeing, of course, is the flurry of diplomatic activity this week from NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels, to that emergency G7 meeting earlier this week, with President Zelenskyy pleading these weapons and it seems he is getting exactly that. President Zelenskyy saying yesterday that only about 10% of the air defense systems that the country needs, that's all he has, just about 10%. Now, NATO leaders pledging they are going to give more. The U.K., France, Germany, the United States, all providing air defense systems in one way or another while also trying to increase NATO's own supplies of weapons and defensive systems as well. And then, of course, there is this pledge from the IMF for more money, more support.
So, at the end of this week, you have President Zelenskyy who has made gains on the ground in terms of the battlefield. Ukraine saying that they have been able to reclaim some of that territory that was captured by Moscow's troops earlier this year. So, able to continue that counteroffensive, able to regain territory, gaining back support from western allies who are pledging more weapons, more money, more support.
But you also have President Putin who is increasingly angry, increasingly cornered, trying to demonstrate strength and launching these attacks not just on civilian areas and residential areas, but also on the very infrastructure of Ukraine that could inflict serious suffering. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. Salma Abdelaziz live in London for us, thank you so much.
Another day, another missile test by North Korea, but this one drew a very sharp response from South Korea. Now, they are both accusing each other of provocations.
And prices are rising here in the United States. That could mean more interest rate spikes from the fed. Rundown of latest grim of financial numbers, next. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: For the first time in five years, South Korea has imposed new sanctions on North Korea. The South Korean foreign ministry says they're targeting 15 individuals and 16 organizations involved in the north's nuclear and missile development programs and the dodging of sanctions.
This move follows yet another missile test by North Korea. The latest, according to Seoul, was a short-range ballistic missile launched from Pyongyang early Friday, local time. And by CNN's count, this is North Korea's 27th missile test this year.
CNN's Paula Hancocks has the details.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been yet another busy night on the Korean Peninsula. The joint chief of staff here in South Korea confirming that North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile in the early hours of Friday morning and that was shortly after North Korean aircraft flew close to the no-fly zone near the border. [02:20:00]
HANCOCKS: This no-fly zone is a zone that has been agreed by North and South Korea and it was part of the 2018 military agreement between the two sides. The South Korean military saying that they did activate an emergency (INAUDIBLE) in response.
Now, we have heard from North Korea through state-run media saying they took strong military response in reaction to something that South Korea had done, that there was an artillery fire, a 10-hour artillery fire drill close to the border.
Now, we've heard from the South Korean side, they do say they had artillery fire drill and that was about 10 kilometers away from the MDL in the DMZ, the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
So, this is really showing that we are in the midst of a solid tit for tat action by both sides, response reaction and strong military responses, according to North Korea. Of course, it comes just a day after we did see Kim Jong-un showing up on North Korean state-run television.
He, according to KCNA, had overseen the launch of two long-range strategic cruise missiles, which themselves don't break any rules when it comes to U.N. Security Council resolutions. But he was also quoted saying that it was another clear warning to the enemies, saying that North Korea is fully prepared for war and they were showing off their nuclear combat forces.
Now, both sides blame the other for increasing the tensions on the Korean Peninsula at this point, but certainly, with this latest launch that we have seen from North Korea, that makes 27 missile launches, cruise and ballistic, this year alone, according to CNN's tally. That is Kim Jong-un breaking his own record.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Busan, South Korea.
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BRUNHUBER: As the Iraqi parliament prepare to pick new leaders, nine rockets hit Baghdad's heavily-fortified green zone and the surrounding area. According to the Iraqi military, several members of the security forces were wounded, and one of those rockets hit near the prime minister's office about a kilometer outside the green zone. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid, on the left, was the elected Iraqi president. He appointed Mohammed Shia al-Sudani prime minister, who is on the right. Al-Sudani has one month to form a new government.
Inflation is hitting everywhere in the world and top financial leaders are meeting in Washington to try to chart a path forward. The head of the International Monetary Fund said it is imperative that global inflation is brought under control. Listen to this.
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KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR: We need to continue to fight inflation until we win this fight. And the fed is going to do exactly that. It is necessary because if you lose price stability, we undermine growth and we hit people's well-being.
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BRUNHUBER: The economists and bankers worry that the United Kingdom's plan to kickstart its economy can short circuit international efforts to tame inflation. They said the global strategy right now should be for all of the world's major economies to slow their growth, not speed it up.
The White House is trying to put a positive spin on some grim new economic figures that shown inflation is still rising. President Biden acknowledged the economic pain Americans are feeling, but pointed out inflation has dropped significantly from the start of the year. As Rahel Solomon says, it is small comfort to many people who are still struggling.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is a CPI report delivering a tough but unmistakable message. The fed has a long road ahead in its inflation fight. Consumer prices rose 0.4% in the month of September, twice what many economists were expecting. Inflation also higher by 8.2% over the last year.
Costs continue to rise in key essential categories like shelter or accommodations, medical care, and food. In fact, grocery prices rose on all six major food categories that the report tracks, including fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish.
On the other hand, prices for gasoline fell in September at 4.9%, although we know that they have been creeping up more recently. There is a CPI report also illustrating that inflation has spread beyond volatile categories like food and energy.
Core inflation, which strips away those two categories, rose 0.6% in September or 6.6% annually. That is a fresh 40 year high. The report comes after months of inflation reading that suggested perhaps inflation was moderating. Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody's, tweeting in response, no amount of handwaving can make today's CPI less ugly.
The higher than expected inflation report increasingly odds that the Federal Reserve will hike its benchmark interest rate by another three quarters of 1% at its November meeting. If so, that would be four consecutive rate hikes of that size, something we have not seen in modern history.
[02:25:03]
SOLOMON: If the fed raises rates, the cost of borrow goes up, making things like a home loan and practically anything with an interest rate more expensive, which is the point. The fed is trying to cool spending just enough that prices start to cool. But if spending cools too much, we could experience a recession.
One part of the economy still working in Americas favor is the jobs market, which remains very strong with unemployment at historic lows.
Rahel Solomon, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Iran's brutal crackdown of anti-government protesters has led to dozens and dozens of deaths. Amnesty International says a shocking number of those victims are children. We will have a live report from London just ahead.
Plus, a jury rejects the death penalty for the killer of 17 students and teachers at a Florida high school, and here is the stunned reaction from the victims' families.
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UNKNOWN: This jury failed our families today. He should have received the death sentence today.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."
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BRUNHUBER: There is no way to know for certain how many people have died in weeks of violent anti-government protests in Iran. But Amnesty International says at least 23 of the victims are children ages 11 to 17. Those were just during the last 10 days of September when the government unleashed a ruthless crackdown on demonstrators.
Since the protests first erupted, Amnesty reports at least 144 men, women and children have been killed. We should say CNN isn't able to verify that figure and many believe the actual death toll is much higher.
CNN's Nada Bashir is following these developments for us in London. Nada, I mean, the growing death toll, including the number of children we just saw there, underscores how brutal this crackdown has been. What is the latest?
NADA BASHIR, CNN JOURNALIST AND PRODUCER: Yeah, absolutely. This is a shocking and lengthy document issued by Amnesty International detailing the names and photographs of 23 children, young people, who were killed over the course of these demonstrations. As they highlighted there, this is just the period of September, since those protests began in the middle of the month. This does not include further deaths, which had been recorded by human rights organizations in October.
[02:29:50]
BASHIR: We know, just over the weekend, according to one Iranian human rights organization, that at least five people were killed in the northwestern city of Sanandaj, including a seven-year-old child who died in his mother's lap after security forces opened fire on the mostly peaceful protest taking place in this city.
And this really has been a brutal crackdown. Amnesty International in its report saying that all of these children had died as a result of either, metal pellets, mostly live fire, ammunition, and fatal beatings. And these have been the tactics that have been employed by the Iranian security forces and paramilitary troops across the country in order to quell these demonstrations that we've been seeing up and down the country.
And of course, we've heard from rights groups, of course, expressing their concern over the involvement of children and teenagers, students, of course, playing a central role in these demonstrations. We've seen numerous protests taking place across universities and schools. Young school girls who have grown up under the regime's control, under the strict restrictions placed on women's rights, removing their mandatory hijabs and headscarf, and a brief show of defiance against the regime. And, of course, these protests are continuing despite that crackdown.
And we've heard from the Iranian authorities they've blamed these demonstrations, this level of unrest on what they've described as foreign agents working within the country, or those aligned to foreign powers. Take a listen.
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EBRAHIM RAISI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT: Speaking in a foreign language.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Iranian nation has invalidated the American military option and, by their own admission, dealt a humiliating defeat to the policy of sanctions and maximum pressure. Now, following the failure of American militarization and sanctions, Washington and its allies have resorted to the failed policy of destabilization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: And what many of these protesters are, of course, demanding is essentially the removal of the Iranian regime. They are calling for a complete overhaul. They want the human rights to be respected. They want the restrictions placed on women's rights to be lifted. And they are calling for change to the economic system. The country is facing a floundering economic crisis.
But of course, this has really been targeted now at students as well as Kurdish minority groups. We've seen that being the focus of protests. We're even hearing now from Iran's interior minister that some students are being sent to psychiatric institutions for reform and re-education after taking part in these protests, Kim.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks so much, Nada Bashir in London.
Well, just days before the start of China's big communist conference, a very provocative protest took place in the capital and the Chinese government is trying very hard to pretend this surprising display of dissent never happened. CNN's Selina Wang explains.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A brazen show of defiance in Beijing, an extremely rare demonstration directly criticizing China's supreme leader Xi Jinping, a leader who has crushed dissent in China, the protest stage just days before the opening of the Communist Party Congress when Beijing has been stepping up surveillance and security. At this key political meeting, Xi Jinping is expected to step into an unprecedented third term.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WANG (voiceover): An extraordinary sight in China's capital. Two big banners attacking China's supreme leader and his policies hung on a busy overpass in Beijing. One of them reads. Go on strike remove, dictator and national trader Xi Jinping. A voice repeats the message on loudspeaker. Plumes of smoke below from the bridge, the cause, unclear. Demonstrations are rare in China, especially once directly criticizing Xi, and especially ahead of the crowning of his unprecedented third term in office. The other banner reads. Say no to COVID test, yes to food. No to lockdown, yes to freedom. No to lies, yes to dignity. No to great leader, yes to vote. Don't be a slave, be a citizen.
Punishment for the people involved in the demonstration could be very severe, including prison time or even worse. The brazen display of defiance already scrubbed from China's internet. A few hours after the incident hashtags of its location and even the word Beijing banned from Chinese social media. Chinese draconian, zero COVID policies have pushed a man over the edge, fights with COVID enforcers, screens for freedom from locked departments, protests for food and supplies, resistance of snap lockdowns, entire cities are still being locked down over a handful of COVID cases.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Speaking in a foreign language.
WANG: This woman yelling out in frustration that she's been in isolation for six months already. But the images of anger erased from China's internet, just like the anti-Xi Jingping banners folded, taken away by police the bridge sanitized and cleaned up like nothing ever happened, the party clearing a smooth road ahead for its supreme leader.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:35:15] WANG: When CNN went to the scene on Thursday afternoon, there were no traces of any protest but there were a large number of security guards in the area. This is a regime obsessed with stability, one that has built one of the world's most sophisticated surveillance states. And this incident also happening at a time when authorities have turned Beijing into a fortress to maintain security and stability. So this was a shocking show of defiance, but it was short-lived. Selina Wang, CNN, Hong Kong.
BRUNHUBER: In a Florida courtroom, the families of the Parkland High School massacre four years ago couldn't believe what they were hearing as the jury spared the killer the death penalty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH SCHERER, JUDGE, BROWARD COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT: Adjudicated of 17 counts of murder in the first degree, the jury having returned a verdict of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The gunman pleaded guilty to killing 14 students and three teachers in 2018. Prosecutors presented a litany of gruesome evidence as they argued for the death penalty, but three of the 12 Jurors said no, and instead called for life in prison. And the parents who desperately hoped for a death sentence were visibly crushed.
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FRED GUTTENBERG, FATHER OF PARKLAND VICTIM JAIME GUTTENBERG: Not only is he evil and a murderer. He is still sitting in his cell thinking of people he wants to kill. And so knowing all of that, knowing that if ever in this country, there was a death penalty case that was justified it was this one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Formal sentencing is set for November 1 when victims' families will be allowed to address the court. But under Florida law, the judge can't change the jury's recommendation of life imprisonment.
We're tracking another powerful weather system in the Atlantic. Tropical storm Karl sets its sights on parts of southern Mexico. We'll have latest forecasts next, please do stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Officials waded through chest-high water in Thailand on Thursday to distribute relief packages going from house to house on boats. Floodwaters have made life difficult. One resident said she was forced to cook while standing in knee-deep water. The government says it'll spend more than $600 million for assistance and rehabilitation.
Well, we're tracking another powerful weather system, Tropical Storm Karl currently sitting in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico. It's forecast to make landfall in either Veracruz or Tabasco on Saturday, heavy rains and flooding in the region are expected. CNN meteorologist Derek van DAM joins us now. So, Derek, you've been following the storm's path. What's the latest there?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, we just received the 2:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time update from the National Hurricane Center on tropical storm Karl.
[02:40:03]
And what they've noted time and time again is a more easterly track. So not only was Veracruz in the -- for -- the actual projected path yesterday at this time, but we started to notice it moving a little further east into the Tabasco region. But now even the Bay of Campeche is at play here for a land-falling tropical storm by late tonight, that's Friday evening into early Saturday morning, local time.
This storm is battling a lot of dry air. It's at 75-kilometer-per-hour sustained winds. It's having trouble keeping its act together really it's because of the strong winds and the upper levels of the atmosphere. But all of this dry air -- you see that shading of brown that is dry air that's working against the re-strengthening of this particular storm. So, we do anticipate this storm to actually weaken as it approaches land.
But regardless, the tropical storm force winds, they extend about 70 miles out or roughly 112 kilometers out from the center of circulation. And you can see the tropical storm warnings that are in place, which by the way, include the Bay of Campeche as well, that's new with the latest update as well. Now, this is not going to be a U.S.-impacting storm. That's good because we've got a cold front that's going to help nudge it further and further south.
Again, the strong upper-level winds are going to help degrade the storm as it approaches land. So tropical storm force winds are a concern, but it's not the main factor that I'm more concerned with. It would actually be the heavier rainfall that will make its way across this region that could total in excess of seven inches or over 150 millimeters for many locations.
Remember this is a mountainous part of Southern Mexico so it won't take much to ring out the storm into those higher elevations. And then that drains into the valleys and some of the communities below so flash flooding, mudslides, landslides also a possibility as the storm makes landfall within the next 24 hours. So it's not only Karl that we're monitoring but another tropical wave that's moved off the west coast of Africa, 20 percent chance of development, according to the National Hurricane Center. But all at all, generally quiet across the central Atlantic, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much, Derek Van Dam, I appreciate it.
VAN DAM: You got it.
BRUNHUBER: The World Wildlife Fund -- the World Wide Fund for Nature is calling for immediate action as animal populations around the globe are dying off at a shocking rate. The group's final report for this year says animal populations on average have plummeted by 69 percent between 1970 and 2018. The WWF says the evidence is unequivocal we're living through the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change driven by the unsustainable use of resources. The group says one million plants and animals face extinction right now. It says Latin America and the Caribbean show the greatest regional decline with the Amazon rainforest nearing the point of being non-functional.
Well, we have liftoff, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng has successfully launched a flying car in Dubai. The two-seater features zero carbon dioxide emissions and can apparently fly autonomously. Guests and reporters lined up to check out the new vehicle and watch the historic 92nd test flight. XPeng described it as an important base for the next generation of flying cars.
All right, thanks so much for joining us, I'm Kim Brunhuber. "WORLD SPORT" is up next, and I'll be back in 15 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM. Please do stay with us.
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