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Former Pakistan PM is Shot in Leg; Ukraine Accuses Russia of Setting a Trap; North Korea Fired Artillery Rounds at De Facto Maritime Buffer; Acting PM Congratulates Netanyahu on Winning; Militia Member Killed, Five Others Injured During Clashes; Ecuador Vows To Take Back Control Of Its Prisons; Paul Pelosi Released From Hospital Six Days After Attack. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired November 04, 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 am Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on "CNN Newsroom," Pakistan's former prime minister, Imran Khan, wounded after being shot in the leg in what his party is calling an assassination attempt, now triggering pro-Khan protests around the country.

Plus, Ukraine is accusing Russia of setting a trap as both sides prepare for a battle on the city of Kherson. We are live in Kyiv with the latest.

And a new right-wing government takes shape in Israel as the country's current prime minister concedes defeat to Benjamin Netanyahu. We will look at the man who is once again preparing to become prime minister.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is in stable condition after being shot in the leg in what his political party calls an assassination attempt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: A gunman opened fire at a political rally, killing one person and wounding several others, including Khan, before being detained. Khan, a former Pakistani cricket star, was on the seventh day of a nationwide tour calling for new elections.

FAISAL SULTAN, DOCTOR, SHAUKAT KHARUM HOSPITAL (through translator): Imran Khan was brought to the hospital a moment ago. He is stable now. We have done his emergency evaluation, scans, and x-rays, but there are some particles of bullets in his leg, there is a minor fracture on his leg, and the bone has been chipped.

BRUNHUBER: Protests broke out across Pakistan following the shooting in support of Khan, who accuses Pakistan's prime minister, interior minister and a senior intelligence official of being behind Thursday's attack.

Anna Coren is following the story for us. Anna, what more can you tell us?

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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, in relation to the gunman that was arrested, the government has released a video of his confession, filmed by the police. It was filmed within an hour of Khan being shot. The gunman says he acted alone, that he wanted to kill Imran Khan because he was misleading the public. He said that there were loudspeakers playing music at the time for the call to prayer and that, obviously, upset him.

We should mention, Kim, that we don't know what circumstances this video was filmed under. So, we don't know if the suspect was under duress. But he claims that he had no accomplice and that he acted alone.

Now, Imran Khan, he was telling the media just last week that he knew he was in threat -- under threat. He said, and I want to quote, "There is always a threat when you are challenging the status quo," that his campaign was a freedom struggle, and that "it is better to die than to live under these criminals."

The criminals he is referring to are the Pakistani government. As you mentioned, he accuses the prime minister, the interior minister, as well as a senior military official of this attempted assassination. Let us now recap what happened yesterday in Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COREN (voice-over): A political campaign turns deadly in Pakistan when gunshots erupted from the crowd.

(GUNSHOTS)

COREN (voice-over): In the chaotic moments after the shooting, Imran Khan was carried out and whisked away from the crowd. A gunman had opened fire at a rally of tens of thousands of his supporters. The target, Khan's party claims, was the former prime minister himself.

Shot in the lower leg, he was bundled into a bulletproof car and driven to two hours for Lahore for surgery.

A senior party leader released a statement from Khan, saying the cricketing hero blamed the Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, his interior minister, and a senior intelligence official for an attempt on his life, calling for their removal from office. The government responded, saying that this was a grievous accusation.

Outside the hospital, crowds gathered, desperate for any updates. Protests broke out across the country as news of the shooting spread. Six others were injured in the attack and one was killed, according to a senator from Khan's political party, the PTI.

[02:05:01]

COREN (voice-over): Please pray for Imran Khan, for our fellow workers who are injured, the senator says, and for our party member who has died.

Khan have been on the campaign trail to demand snap elections in Pakistan after he was ousted in a vote of no confidence in parliament just six months ago, accused of bad governance and mismanaging the country's flailing economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: March that began last week on its way to the capital, Islamabad, due to arrive in the capital next week, it will start in the next hour. Now, it's Friday prayers today in much of the Muslim world, but certainly in Pakistan, rhe concern will be, will crowds take to the streets and protest what happened to Imran Khan? He is without doubt the most popular politician in Pakistan since he was ousted back in April. His supporters will be very much emboldened by what took place.

And these accusations that are being hurled out to the government, they claim that they are baseless, that there is no evidence that the government is behind these assassination attempt. But certainly, these are statements, highly-charged statements that his supporters are grabbing on to them.

People within Khan's team are now calling for revenge, Kim. So, obviously, we will be monitoring any developments in Pakistan over the coming hours.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. All right, thank you so much for that reporting. Anna Coren, live in Hong Kong for us.

A major victory or a dangerous trap? That is the question for the Ukrainian troops advancing towards the southern city of Kherson. Top pro-Russian official had suggested that Russian troops will likely pull out of the strategic city. But Ukrainian officials say they are not necessarily buying that. They believe the statement could be an attempt to lure their forces into a trap.

That is happening as Ukraine faces widespread blackouts after waves of Russian strikes on its power system. President Zelenskyy says about four and a half million homes and businesses are now in the dark. Despite the difficulties, the U.S. defense secretary is confident that Ukraine can still take Kherson. Here it is.

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LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: On the issue of whether or not the Ukrainians can take the remaining territory on the west side of the Dnipro River in Kherson, I certainly believe that they have the capability to do that. Most importantly, the Ukrainians believe that they have the capability to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Our reporters are standing by to cover developments in Ukraine from all of the angles. Salma Abdelazis is in Kyiv and Clare Sebastian is in London. So, Salma, before we look at the power situation, let's start with the latest from the frontlines.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I think all eyes right now, Kim, are absolutely on the area of Kherson, the region of Kherson. A lot of reports coming out of there. But before I get started, I just want to emphasize how important this battle is for Ukraine.

It does look to be the next step in their counteroffensive. It is absolutely territory that President Zelenskyy has promised to win back for Ukraine. But you have to remember, Russia is not going to back down easily. Kherson is one of the regions that President Putin illegally annexed a few weeks ago.

It is also a major moment for the Russian troops in the course of this invasion. It was one of the first -- rather the first, actually, regional capital and the only regional capital taken by Russian troops. It serves a very strategic purpose. It is that corridor that connects Crimea up through those other Russian-occupied regions.

But to those reports that we have coming in in the last 48 hours, we saw a Russian-backed official who took to a Russian state television, saying that most likely, Russian troops would withdraw from the city of Kherson, so that is on the west side of the Dnipro River, that they would withdraw to the east. There was also a social media video that showed the Russian flag had been flying over the main administrative building in Kherson that appear to be taken down.

But Ukrainian officials are worried that this is simply a trap, Kim. They say, yes, there may be some movements of Russian troops, but absolutely no mass withdrawal. And again, as I said, this is a battle that is extremely important to the Kremlin. So, all eyes there.

And then to those infrastructure strikes, Kim, that you mentioned as well, millions across the country without power. Look, this country has sustained weeks of attacks on its infrastructure. It is now fragile, it is precarious, it is weak.

Running water, electricity, power, all of that simply not a guarantee anymore for residents. We are starting to see starting to see this get even worse in the coming days and weeks because of the winter. Now, the scheduled power outages are becoming emergency power outages. That makes it ever more difficult.

[02:10:00]

ABDELAZIZ: But, you know, Kim, what we are seeing here in Kyiv is also -- these difficulties are also breeding a sense of resistance. Many people here say, look, we absolutely stand behind our troops, even if it means hours in the dark, unclear how we get water or whatever it may, but we still continue to stand with our Ukrainian forces. Kim? BRUNHUBER: All right. Now, Clare, Russia had accused Ukraine of planning potentially a dirty bomb attack. So, the U.N. investigated. What more can you tell us about the results?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, Russia, Kim, have not presented any clear evidence despite very elaborate claims, phone calls, graphics, materials that they put out claiming that Ukraine is planning to use a dirty bomb on its own territory and try to frame Russia in that. They did not prevent any clear evidence.

The International Atomic Energy Agency under the United Nations that Ukraine invited to come and inspect several sites that Russia had named did not find any clear evidence of what they called undeclared nuclear activity or materials either.

As I said, they inspected three sites. They originally been talking about two, but this was a mining and processing plant in central Ukraine, a nuclear research institute in the capital of Kyiv, and a machine building plant in the Dnipro region. So, several sites that they inspected. They did not find anything.

They were there at the invitation of Ukraine. They apparently had unfettered access to these sites. This is what's President Zelenskyy had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): We have clear and irrefutable evidence that no one in Ukraine has created or is creating any dirty bomb. The only thing that is dirty in our region now are the heads of those in Moscow, who unfortunately seized control the Russian state and are terrorizing Ukraine and the whole world.

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SEBASTIAN: So, this shuts down instantly as Russia claims that Ukraine is trying to make a dirty bomb. But the fear in west was not that Russia can be proved right and that Ukraine is, in fact, building a dirty bomb. This was, in fact, a Russian false flag operation trying to cover the fact that they might be planning some kind of radiological or nuclear attack.

This does not really change those fears because those western officials are known to be worried about the situation that Salma was talking about in Kherson, that Russia is on the backfoot there, and that is territory that they claim to be their own, having illegally annexed it. So, this does not really change those concerns about what Russia might do next.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. All right, thanks so much, Clare Sebastian in London and Salma Abdelaziz in Kyiv.

Two U.S. senators met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Thursday. Senators Chris Coons and Rob Portman met with him in Kyiv and spoke about U.S. support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy thanked them for what he called unwavering support. Senator Coons said the U.S. assistance to Ukraine is important. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): We have asked questions today about making sure that the money that is being spent here for military support, for budget support, for humanitarian relief is needed. It is. It is being well-spent. It is. And that we will continue to support the Ukrainian people.

The United States has long been a nation that fights for freedom, and this is the most important fight for freedom in the world today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Zelenskyy said that they also spoke about Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy system, which he said has a strong global response.

The Korean Peninsula is on edge as North Korea continues to wrap up missile launches and other provocations, their highest level in years. We will have a live report from Tokyo, next.

And an ultranationalist (INAUDIBLE) who played a key role in Benjamin Netanyahu's comeback could soon get a (INAUDIBLE) position in the Israeli government. Stay with us.

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[02:15:00]

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BRUNHUBER: After a blistering round of missile launches this week, North Korea on Thursday used artillery to show its displeasure over ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills.

South Korea's military says that the north fired about 80 artillery rounds into the maritime buffer known as the Northern Limit Line. The joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises began on Monday and were extended one more day after North Korea fired off a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile that apparently failed in flight.

It was against this tensed backdrop that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted his South Korean counterpart at the Pentagon on Thursday. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUSTIN: At this time of heightened tension, our alliance is ironclad. United States remains fully committed to the defense of the ROK. Our extended deterrence commitment is firm.

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BRUNHUBER: CNN's Blake Essig joins us live from Tokyo. So, Blake, take us through what has been happening and what may be behind this.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, so far this year, North Korea has launched ballistic or cruise missiles possibly capable of carrying nuclear warheads on 30 different days.

Many of the headlines following yesterday's launch of North Korea's newest missile to date, the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, which Kim Jong-un showed off in a highly-produced propaganda video earlier this year, has actually failed to have -- believed to have failed mid-flight after its second phase separation. That is according to a South Korean government source.

But even if the ICBM did fail, progress was, of course, made since the last time it was tested back in May, according to the South Korean government. It is believed that the same type of ICBM only flew to an altitude of 540 kilometers yesterday. It reached an altitude of about 2,000 kilometer and likely failed in the third and final stage of flight. Those stages include the boost, mid-course, and terminal phase when the missile reenters the atmosphere and strikes its target.

But the key here is that no one single test on its own is special. North Korea gains knowledge from each weapons test, and just like anything you do in life, the more you practice, the better you are going to get. So, when talking to experts, they say the aggressive pace of testing by Pyongyang, that is the most concerning thing here, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much. Blake Essig, live in Tokyo for us. With more on this from South Korea is Robert Kelly, a political science professor at Pusan National University. Thank you so much for joining us.

So, I want to build on what Blake was just talking about. Why now, why so many tests? Is it just a matter of making up for lost time or is he sending a message by showing off his arsenal during this period of high tension here?

ROBERT KELLY, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, PUSAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me. I think that some of it is making up for lost time. That is actually a good way to put it for a couple years there. When Donald Trump was president and he was talking to Kim Jong-un, the North Korean halted, there might be sort of a backlog of testing.

As your correspondent pointed out, practice makes perfect, and the North Koreans are really leaning heavily into nuclear weapons and missiles in part because conventionally, their military, although large, is somewhat out of date. So, they're leaning heavily into this, and so they need to test on a regular basis.

A particular question is, why there has been so much this year? I think some of that is because of the U.S.-South Korea drills. Those are kinds of things that set the North Koreans off.

I think also some of it is the turn towards the right here in South Korea. There is a new government, a new president. Conservatives are more hawkish on North Korea, and the North Korean certainly do not like that because they prefer a more (INAUDIBLE) administration that is willing to talk to them and negotiate, which is not happening now.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right, so, the U.S. has called for a U.N. Security Council meeting later today. What can actually be done, do you think?

KELLY: Not a whole lot, to be honest, because of the Russian and Chinese veto at the U.N. level. I would also sort of point out that North Korea is already fairly heavily sanctioned.

[02:19:58]

KELLY: The issue, I would argue, is not really to put more sanctions on North Korea. It is to get them enforced better. That also requires China and Russia to help.

As the U.S. and China drift further apart as we get into this strategic competition or great power competition, as the president says, it is going to be harder to get Chinese help, obviously, Russian help because the Ukraine war won't be forthcoming at all.

And so, I'm actually fairly pessimistic. It is important to go through the procedural motions because if anything ever actually happens, if there is any actually a kinetic event on the Korean Peninsula, we need to make sure we have gone through the actual proper procedure so that we can't later say that we did not make all efforts.

BRUNHUBER: So, that procedural motion, does that basically explaining all the joint exercises, the American aircraft carriers cruising around Korea? Do they really have any impact at all on North Korea's behavior and decision-making?

KELLY: So, it is deterrence, right? The idea that it sorts keeps the North Koreans from taking even more irresponsible chances. North Koreans are fairly reckless. I think this is sort of new in the last month or so, a little bit newer than in the past. It's how reckless they have been firing missiles towards Japan and into South Korean waters. That is actually a little bit new. And so, it is important, I think, that we do this kind of demonstration counter shows to sort of remind them.

Ultimately, I think that what it does is it contains North Korea. But that doesn't really stop them. They will continue to test again, I think, primarily because the conventional (INAUDIBLE) on the peninsula is sort of eroding and North Korea really needs to step up the equalization benefit of missiles and nuclear weapons, which are much harder to defend against. No, they are not going to stop.

BRUNHUBER: So, let's get at the motive here again. What does Kim Jong-un actually want? Some have said that it is to generate pressure and pressure to engage with them, I guess. But President Biden has offered to negotiate and basically heard back nothing.

KELLY: Yeah, that's right. I think to be fair to the Biden administration, they have actually reached out. There has been criticism that Biden is not really taking it very seriously because he's distracted by inflation and Ukraine war and so on. I think the real issue for the North Koreans, I think they really wanted two things. First, they want sanctions rollback. The sanctions have gotten pretty harsh on North Korea since 2017. They've taken a pretty significant bite out of the economy. This is far as we can sort of gather the data from North Korea (ph).

They also want recognition that they are, in fact, a nuclear weapon state. The North Koreans have fought for 30 or 40 years, maybe even longer, in order to climb into this status. They have made enormous sacrifices to get these weapons. They don't want to trade them away. They want us to recognize that they have them and that these things are not bargaining chips at the table, that they are going to keep them.

This is something that the Biden administration and U.S. allies just don't want to admit. We do not want to formally say that North Korea has nuclear weapons. We are hoping to get them to some kind of arms control deal or something, and they just don't want them. I think that is why you have a stalemate at the moment.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. I want to dig into that because our correspondent in South Korea wrote an article recently about a growing sentiment in that basically, the U.S. dream of forcing North Korea to give up their nuclear arsenal, the dream of denuclearization is basically unrealistic. So, they will have to tacitly accept that North Korea is a nuclear state.

KELLY: Yeah, I hate to admit that, but I think we are going to that direction. There is an increasing drift in the analyst community that say, look, this is something that we just have to give up on.

The only thing I would add to that, I do not care for that position, but if we are going to do it, the only thing I would add is that we should trade this away, which is to say that if we are going to give the North Korean sanctions rollback, we are going to give them recognition as a nuclear weapon state, we are going to exempt them from MPT and stuff like that, then we should get something back for that.

We should get some kind of an arm control deal, we should get inspectors, cameras or something. What we shouldn't just do is give things away. All that will do is bring the North Korean back further.

So, if we're going to deal with the North Koreans, we are going to make these major concessions and recognitions and stuff like that, then I would argue that we should get something. Something fairly substantial, too, right?

If we rollback sanctions, that allows North Korea to reconnect to the world economy and that would help their military and things like that. So, we want to make sure that we are going to get a major concession from them. So far, they have not offered anything. They did not offer anything good to Trump, for example.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. All right, we really appreciate your analysis. Robert Kelly, thanks so much for joining us. KELLY: Thank you for having me.

BRUNHUBER: Well, he was once considered too extreme for Israeli politics, but now, he is a kingmaker and could soon snag a senior spot in the new government.

Deadly clashes in Iran as police fire at protesters, and protesters fight back by hurling rocks. We will have a report on the latest violence when we come back. Please, stay with us.

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[02:25:00]

BRUNHUBER: Israel's outgoing prime minister has congratulated the country's longest-serving prime minister on his imminent return to power. Yair Lapid said he has instructed his entire office to prepare for an organized transition.

Final but not official result showed Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and its far-right allies will take 64 seats in the Knesset, which is more than enough for a majority, Lapid's block came up short with 51, and the Arab party that won't support either leader is getting five seats. Results will be certified on Wednesday.

Now, along with Netanyahu, the big winner in this election is the ultranationalist, religious, Zionist, Jewish party, the alliance, which will more than double its presence in parliament and its controversial co-leader could end up with a prominent position despite history of racism.

CNN's Hadas Gold explains.

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HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA AND GLOBAL BUSINESS REPORTER (voice-over): Until recently, this man, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was considered a fringe far-right activist settler lawyer. His signature white kippah, almost always askew on his head. Now, a leader of the projected third largest block in the Israeli parliament. Said to be a key component of Benjamin Netanyahu's not likely comeback as prime minister.

The 46-year-old has been a provocateur since his youth. Once a supporter of the Jewish nationalist (INAUDIBLE) Party, deemed a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and ultimately outlawed by Israel.

He was once filmed holding a hood emblem he claimed was from a car of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, an architect of the Israeli- Palestinian peace process, vowing we got to his car and we'll get to him, too. A Jewish extremist assassinated Rabin three weeks later.

Exempted from the military draft. He says he was denied for his political views. Ben-Gvir became a lawyer, often representing Jewish extremist settlers. He famously hung a portrait in his home of Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli doctor who massacred 29 Palestinians in a mosque in the West Bank in 1994 before being killed himself. Ben-Gvir later tweeted he would take the portrait down.

In 2007, he told CNN the holiest most contested site in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, is for the Jews only.

ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, JEWISH POWER PARTY LEADER: That is for the Jewish people, not for the Islamic people, mecca, medina, we had the temple (ph).

GOLD (voice-over): That same year, he was convicted for inciting anti-Arab racism and supporting terrorism. In 2020, his sights turned to politics, winning a seat in the Knesset in 2021, on a platform that included annexing the West Bank, relaxing the Israeli military open fire policy against Palestinian rioters and post (ph) for the death penalty for terrorists.

[02:30:04]

He spent his time in Parliament attracting the spotlight from stunts like pulling a gun during clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in East Jerusalem telling police to shoot Arabs who throw stones, to being forcibly removed from the floor of the Israeli parliament for calling a fellow member, the leader of the Arab movement party who's also an Israeli citizen, a terrorist saying he didn't belong in Israel.

Just last year, Netanyahu himself dismissed the idea of Ben here leading a government ministry, saying, a Minister, no, not in my government. But this year his tune changed. Asked again if Ben-Gvir will be a minister, he answered. Of course, he can be, while vying to be put in charge of the police as a minister Ben-Gvir that could affect Israel's relationship with its most important ally, the United States.

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: And we hope that all Israeli government officials will continue to share the values of an open democratic society including tolerance and respect for all in civil society, particularly for minority groups.

GOLD: The extremists once shunned from Israeli politics now a top figure appearing on cooking shows and possibly soon the Israeli cabinet.

Hadas Gold, CNN Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Violent clashes in Iran. A volunteer with a paramilitary militia was killed and five others injured in violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters on Thursday. Protesters threw rocks at a police truck after they say police chased them and fired at them. Police outpost was set ablaze. A top UN official says as many as 14,000 people have been arrested during the protests, which began in September after the death of a young woman detained by the morality police. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has more on the protests and the violent crackdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Protests continued in different parts of Iran on Thursday, including a large demonstration in the city of Karaj, just outside of Tehran, where mourners gathered to commemorate 40 days since the killing of Hadis Najafi one of the many protesters who have lost their lives over the past few weeks. That gathering turned violent to security forces trying to crackdown. Violent clashes erupted. And according to state media, a number of security forces are among the casualties.

The regime has been using all the same kinds of tactics it's used in the past to try and crush these protests. We have seen the brutality that they have unleashed on the streets beating and shooting at protesters. According to the harrowing firsthand accounts we've had from protesters as well as the horrific videos and images that have emerged over the past few weeks. The government has also detained thousands of people, according to UN officials, more than 14,000 people who so far have been arrested. And that is an estimate that the number could be much higher than that.

More than 1000 people have so far been indicted, some of them facing very serious charges, including corruption on earth and war against God. These are charges that could carry the death penalty in Iran, a country where human rights defenders say there is no such thing as fair trials. In this seventh week, these protests turned into a national uprising, all these tactics used by the governments don't seem to be stopping and deterring these protesters who have told us that they have had enough of the more than four decades of the repressive Islamic Republic.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Ecuador is vowing to take back control of all of its prison facilities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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BRUNHUBER: Gunfights and attacks with explosives have broken out at multiple detention facilities leading to the deaths of at least five police officers. It started after officials tried to transfer some inmates to other prisons. Stefano Pozzebon has details.

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: The government of Ecuador is stepping up security operations and vowing to take back control of the penitentiary centers in the country after the Andean nation experienced an escalation of violence in recent days. On Thursday, the National Security Council which comprises all the major state officials, as well as the heads of the armed forces, met for over two hours in the city of Guayaquil to address a wave of coordinated attacks against police forces that killed, at least five policemen on Tuesday, according to the Ecuadorian police. In response to these attacks, the president of the country, Guillermo Lasso, had already declared that -- a 45-day state of emergency in the two provinces that have seen the largest number of violent episodes.

[02:35:04]

Much of this violence is spreading from penitentiary centers that have seen a real escalation of clashes in recent years. On Thursday, at least 15 servicemen were injured during an operation from the police forces to try to regain control of parts of the literal penitentiary in Guayaquil. The government is blaming the violence on international drug cartels but is saying these actions will not be left and punished.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

BRUNHUBER: Paul Pelosi, the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is out of the hospital and recuperating at home six days after he was violently attacked in his home. Pelosi required surgery for a skull fracture but is expected to make a full recovery. U.S. Capitol Police say the home wasn't being actively monitored at the time because the speaker was in Washington. The Department of Homeland Security revealed on Thursday that Pelosi's alleged attacker is a Canadian National who's in the U.S. illegally. And we'll be back with more news coming up after this break. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, here at CNN, we're saluting people who are doing their part to make the world a better place. We call them CNN Heroes. Today, we're announcing the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2022. Here's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Anderson Cooper. All year long, we have in introducing you to inspiring individuals making the world a better place. And at a time when we all could use more kindness and courage, we're thrilled to announce the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2022.

From California when elderly dog owners can no longer care for their pets, Carie Broecker helps them stay together or finds these beloved family members new forever homes. From Nashville, Richard Casper uses art to heal the wounds of war. He's helping fellow veterans share their stories visually and vocally. Nelly Cheboi is bringing technology to young people in her native Kenya. Recycling old computers, she provides the tools and education for brighter futures.

North Carolina innovator, Nora El-Khouri Spencer is training women for well-paying careers in construction, while also helping seniors age safely at home. From South Philadelphia after spending five years in prison on drug charges, Tyrique Glasgow is now providing his neighborhood long challenged by poverty and gun violence to safety and opportunity. Alaska nurse Teresa Gray leads volunteer medics into global hotspots delivering vital care and support to those in need. Meymuna Hussein-Cattan is helping refugees and immigrants, transition to lodging in the U.S. with critical resources and support while also sharing their culture with the LA Community.

[02:40:10]

Aidan Reilly brought together a nationwide network of young volunteers to tackle food waste and insecurity. They're rescuing tons of excess produce from farms to feed the hungry. From Chicago, Debra Vines struggled to find support and resources when her son Jason was diagnosed with autism. Now she's providing services and education to African American families and first responders. And Atlanta's Bobby Wilson is feeding and healing his urban community by teaching thousands of people how to plant, grow, and prepare their own healthy food.

Congratulations, the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2022. Now, it is time for you to help decide who will be this year's CNN Hero of the Year and receive $100,000 to continue their life-changing work. Go to cnnheroes.com right now to vote and be sure to watch CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute as we announce the winner and celebrate all of this year's honorees, live Sunday, December 11.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, 10 amazing people there and they all prove that one person can make a difference. Well, now you get to decide which one of them will be the CNN Hero of the Year, you can go to cnnheroes.com and vote up to 10 times every day for the heroes who inspire you the most. Be sure to watch CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute live on Sunday, December 11.

Well, the world of Marvel's Black Panther is coming back to the big screen. Have a look.

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BRUNHUBER: Yes, it's a sequel to the 2018's mash called Wakanda Forever. Front and center in the film are the women that surrounded Black Panther's lead character, T'Challa. Director Ryan Coogler said they weren't thinking about gender when they wrote the sequel, they just wanted to explore the characters who cared about T'Challa the most. The sequel had been in the works when actor Chadwick Boseman died of cancer in 2020. And rather than recasting his role, the script was rewritten. It stars in the new film talked about how important the legacy of the late actor was to the film. Here they are.

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LETITIA WRIGHT, PLAYS "SHURI": It's important for me to understand why we're moving forward, and I feel like he would have really wanted us to move forward to inspire the next generation. DANAI GURIRA, PLAYS "OKOYE": Losing Chadwick was, of course, very much something that led us to create the film in this way. It was about honoring him. It's about honoring his legacy and living in something that felt as he was authentic, real, truthful, courageous.

LUPITA NYONG'O, PLAYS "WAR DOG NAKIA": So, T'Challa was surrounded by powerful women, women with agency, and very specific women, distinct women. And so in his absence, it's only natural and organic that these women come to the moral of the story. In Wakanda, it is unremarkable for a woman to be -- to be powerful. And wouldn't that be nice for the world we live in today?

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BRUNHUBER: And Wakanda Forever hit theaters internationally starting on Wednesday. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM. "WORLD SPORT" is next.

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