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Countdown to Election Day; On the Campaign Trail: Commercial Aircraft Crashes into Lake Victoria; U.S. Cities Break Heat Records; COP27 Climate Summit in Egypt; Smog Chokes Indian Capital. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 06, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.
Just two days into the U.S. midterm elections and each of the three last U.S. presidents is on the campaign trail to rally voters in hopes of winning power in Congress.
Record heat across the U.S. Over 70 temperature records are expected to be broken across the country on Monday.
A surprising admission by Iran. How they've helped Russia with the war in Ukraine after weeks of denial.
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ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.
HARRAK: In just two days, American voters will cast their ballots in the midterm elections and potentially shift the balance of power in Congress. Tuesday, every single seat in the House will be at play. In the Senate 35 positions are up for grabs.
Right now Democrats control both chambers by a thin margin and if Republicans take control of either one, they could restrict President Biden's agenda for the next two years. The outcome could be decided in any one of these six states. Five of them are battlegrounds that Mr. Biden flipped in 2020, including Georgia.
Early voting records have been setting records. More than 2 million ballots have been cast in Georgia, that's about 6 percent of the nationwide total.
The number one issue for voters in this election has been the state of the U.S. economy. According to a CNN survey, 51 percent of likely voters said that was their top priority, far greater than any other item on the ballot. But those numbers are divided along party lines. According to the
polls, 71 percent of the Republicans called the economy their top concern, while 53 percent of independents and 27 percent of Democrats said the same.
The polls also show partisan divisions on other issues, including abortion, which resonates strongly with Democrats, and immigration, which Republicans consider a more pressing matter.
To win more support from voters, each of the last three U.S. presidents held rallies in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Saturday. Former president Donald Trump campaigned outside Pittsburgh for the Republican Senate candidate there.
He also used the event to rally his own supporters as he prepares for another presidential run. He is teasing his bid in 2024.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The election was rigged and now our country is being destroyed. I ran twice, I won twice and now in order to make our country more successful and glorious, I'm just going to tell you, I'm not going to say right now, everybody I promise you, in the very next, very, very, very short period of time, you are going to be so happy.
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HARRAK: Well, for the first time this election season, President Biden and former U.S. President Barack Obama stood side by side at a campaign rally. The rare joint appearance in Philadelphia drove home the point that Pennsylvania's Senate seat is considered a must win for Democrats on Tuesday. CNN's Phil Mattingly has this report.
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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: For Democrats trying to beat back a Republican wave or Republican majorities in House and Senate, there's no more important state in the state of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia.
It's a bastion of Democratic support. And that's exactly why you saw the current and former president together at their first rally. Even current President Biden trying to throw a few political jabs in his remarks.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I lived in Pennsylvania longer than Oz has lived in Pennsylvania. And I moved away when I was 10 years old.
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MATTINGLY: That in reference to John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor's Republican opponent there, one in a tight race, one the Democrats think they can win but understand there a lot of dynamics working against them, including very clear Republican enthusiasm, not just Pennsylvania centric, that's really across the country.
That's what they're fighting right now.
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MATTINGLY: That's why they were in Philadelphia. It's a county the president won by more than 16 points, they're going to have to run up huge numbers this time around. They believe they can but they want to get their biggest guns out and they certainly did that.
The two presidents, have different approaches to things but their messages are the same. As President Obama laid out, the stakes are high.
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BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fundamental rights are on the ballot. Truth and facts and logic and reason and basic decency are on the ballot. Democracy itself is on the ballot. The stakes are high. Yes. The stakes are high.
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MATTINGLY: Just a couple of days left, these two individuals, President Obama and President Biden will not be together again on the campaign trail but will be pushing forward.
And right now Democrats don't expect to win the House, they think they have a clear shot at the Senate but they also acknowledge it will be difficult without the state of Pennsylvania -- Phil Mattingly, CNN, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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HARRAK: U.S. presidents aren't usually vilified in public by members of their own party, usually not just before a major election. But U.S. President Joe Biden's recent comments about phasing out coal were too much for fellow Democrat Joe Manchin.
The West Virginia senator was furious after Mr. Biden told an audience in California that coal-fired power plants would eventually be shut down and replaced. In a statement on Saturday, Mr. Manchin slammed the president's remarks as offensive and disgusting to the men and women who work in the coal business.
The White House responded that Mr. Biden's words have been twisted into a meaning he did not intend.
Meanwhile, Georgia has seen a record breaking turnout in early voting. More than 2 million people have already voted, the most ballots ever cast before Election Day in a midterm. Georgia is a key battleground state for the control of the U.S. Senate.
And polls show a tight race between the Democratic and Republican candidates. CNN's Eva McKend is in Athens, Georgia.
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EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: At the University of Georgia, Republican candidate Herschel Walker making his closing arguments. He launched his football career here in Athens. He told supporters that Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock is allying too closely with President Biden.
HERSCHEL WALKER (R), GEORGIA U.S. SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: It ain't about what he did in his personal life and what he did it as a senator. He has failed as a senator, has he not. Spent two years, y'all see what we're at?
He ain't getting six more years. I know it's a joke if he want six more years.
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MCKEND: Senator Warnock busy on the campaign trail, multiple bus stops in Savannah, his hometown, on Sunday. Central to his closing argument, he says that Herschel Walker is not fit to serve in the United States Senate.
And Warnock is really characterized himself as a bridge builder willing to work with Republicans in service of Georgians -- Eva McKend, CNN, Athens, Georgia.
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HARRAK: I'd like to bring in Michael Genovese. He's a political scientist and author of "The Modern Presidency: Six Debates That Define the Institution." He joins us now from Los Angeles.
So good to have you with us. We are in the final stretch -- three presidents, one sitting, two former out on the campaign trail. All in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
What does that tell you?
MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's the final run, the stretch run. And the key now is to get your base energized, excited, committed. That's what the three presidents are there to do.
Donald Trump does that to his base. Obama tends to do that to the Democratic base. Biden is not quite as charismatic. So he may not be able to energize the base. But Obama can do it.
HARRAK: Now President Biden has come under fire from the Democrat senator Joe Manchin, who called his comments on shutting down coal plants outrageous.
How challenging is it for President Biden to walk that tightrope between appealing to progressives in the one hand and not alienating more conservative Democrats?
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GENOVESE: To tell you the truth, the pull is more the past than the future. It's hard to say that. It's hard to digest it, especially if you are in a coal state but that's what leadership is all about.
Leadership has its costs. The costs of speaking the truth to the American people sometimes means that you will alienate people, especially in key states. So it probably did not help the Democrats but it may have helped us in the long run to face the reality of where we are going.
HARRAK: Do Republicans have the same problem or are they on more on the same page on most issues?
GENOVESE: I think Republicans as the out party don't have to worry so much about offending different constituent groups. So what they can do is just attack what the president is doing, attack what the Democrats to do, attack the current situation.
They are focused on some key short term issues. Inflation is a big one, crime, the border. The Democrats on the other hand have been focusing -- and I think this is to their electoral detriment -- on issues like the environment. So climate change is a big issue, it's a long term issue.
But what are the voters passionate about?
It's inflation.
HARRAK: Now as you know, Mr. Trump prepares to announce a third presidential bid potentially in the coming weeks. We don't know when.
Does that influence people's positions at all.
Does it move the needle either way when people go to vote?
GENOVESE: I think if Donald Trump had announced weeks ago, it would've been more of a campaign issue. But that he is waiting until after the midterms, I think is a smart political move.
This will be no surprise that he announces. When he announces he will be the front-runner. He still dominates and controls the Republican Party. The obvious blip in this whole game for Donald Trump, the bump in the road, is the legal problems that he is facing.
And once he announces as president, there's a different political dynamic that takes place, especially relating to these legal cases and the Department of Justice.
There's been widespread talk -- and I think it makes good sense -- that if Donald Trump announces, when he announces, that the Department of Justice appoint a special prosecutor to go over and deal with all of these legal cases because you don't want the Justice Department to do that; it might appear to be political. HARRAK: And so what do you think distinguishes these midterm
elections?
GENOVESE: All midterm elections end up as a referendum on the incumbent president. But if you look at the last four midterms, the out party, the opposition party to the president, the incumbent president has gained 37 seats on average in the House.
I don't think the Republicans will do that well this time and the Senate is a little bit trickier. Usually the out party will gain 4-6 seats. I think they'll gain maybe two.
But the key is that if the Republicans, even if they don't do especially well, they will take control of the House and they probably or may take control of the Senate. That changes the political dynamic completely.
President Biden is on the defensive. He becomes not a legislative president but an administrative president and you will see just a wealth of investigations, from everything to Hunter Biden to Benghazi, investigations into the Afghanistan pullout. You'll see all kinds of investigations, all of it to tee up 2024 for Donald Trump.
HARRAK: I want to get a final thought from you. We're just hours away from Election Day. Americans have been casting their ballots in large numbers in early voting.
Are people energized by these midterms?
GENOVESE: You know, over 35 million people have voted already and we haven't even gotten to Election Day. I think there are a couple of things going on.
One is the enthusiasm level is really high.
A question is for which party is it higher?
Secondly, it'll be a turnout election, whoever can turn out the base is going to win.
The third thing is it's a momentum election. Right now the Republicans have a little more momentum than the Democrats.
HARRAK: Michael Genovese is a political analyst, talking to us about this critical midterm election. Thank you so very much.
GENOVESE: Thank you, Laila.
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HARRAK: And join us on Tuesday for indepth special coverage of the crucial U.S. midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. It starts at 4 pm Eastern time. That's 9 in the evening in London.
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HARRAK: We've got breaking news coming to us from eastern Africa. A commercial aircraft with an unknown number of passengers has crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania.
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HARRAK: The plane was owned by Precision Air, which said a rescue operation was now underway for possible survivors. Precision Air also said the plane crashed into Lake Victoria near Bukoba Airport in northwestern Tanzania. We will be giving you more information as soon as it becomes available.
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HARRAK: Ukraine's military is calling Russia's bluff near the strategic city of Kherson. A military spokeswoman says Russia is creating an illusion that it is pulling out of the city to lure Ukrainian forces into street fighting.
There have been indications of a possible Russian withdrawal from Kherson but Russia has been sending in reinforcements meanwhile. Russia is planning to use more hardcore criminals to fight in the war.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a law to conscript murderers, drug dealers and others who were recently released from prison. The move could potentially allow the deployment of hundreds of thousands of people who were previously banned from the military.
And back in Ukraine, President Zelenskyy says he is not buying Iran's new claim of supplying drones to Russia. Tehran said it sent a limited number of drones to Moscow in the months before the war.
The statement came after weeks of Iranian denials that it provided any drones to Russia but President Zelenskyy says Iran's new claim still doesn't add up.
And for more Salma Abdelaziz joins us from Kyiv.
Surprising admission from Tehran but they're still downplaying the number of drones they've supplied Russia.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a huge "but" in that statement, Laila, that Iran's foreign minister says, yes, they have supplied a limited number of drones to Russia. But he says this was prior to the conflict in Ukraine and that Tehran has no knowledge that Iranian made drones are being used here in this conflict.
Let me just clarify this right away. Iranian made drones are being used in this war. We have seen them terrorize civilians here in Kyiv. Ukraine officials have found the remnants of them after they've attacked apartment blocks and have been able to show them to journalists.
So President Zelenskyy was very quick to call out Iran in the statement. Take a listen.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, there were messages from Iran from official representatives. There, they decided to admit that they did supply drones for Russian terror.
But even in this confession they lied. We shoot down at least 10 Iranian drones every day. And if Iran continues to lie about the obvious, it means the world will make even more efforts to investigate the terrorist cooperation between the Russian and Iranian regimes and what Russia is paying Iran for such cooperation.
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ABDELAZIZ: Now not only do we know that Iran has provided weapons to Russia, we also know that, according to sources, Western sources that are familiar with Iran's weapons program, that they are preparing to send even more weapons, including more drones and ballistic missiles.
That's very important for Moscow. They have been running out, of course, of their own arsenal of weapons, using it up here on the ground in Ukraine. Ukraine's allies and the U.S. have quickly warned Tehran if they continue to boost Russia, they could face more sanctions.
These weapons are absolutely important on the ground for Russia's fight. Those drones terrorize neighborhoods far from the front lines. But ballistic missiles will be needed as Russia tries to fortify its positions for this fight for Kherson.
HARRAK: Reporting for you from Kyiv, Salma, thank you so much.
Iran may of the be the only country supplying Russia with weapons for the war. This is a new satellite image of a train crossing from North Korea into Russia. That's according to think tank 38north. The two countries have recently resumed rail service. And after a two-year break because of the COVID pandemic.
It's unclear what was on this train but earlier this week the U.S. declassified its intelligence that said North Korea is covertly sending artillery shells to Russia. The shipments are reportedly made to appear as if they are going to the Middle East or North Africa.
The governor of Oklahoma declares a state of emergency to get support and resources to people recovering from powerful tornadoes that hit the region. Details in just a few moments.
Plus, it's early November but the temperature doesn't feel like it in some eastern states. We will check in with meteorologist Karen Maginnis about the record breaking heat. Just ahead.
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HARRAK: The death toll now stands at two from the powerful tornadoes that struck Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma Friday night. The governor of Oklahoma declared a state of emergency in four counties Saturday.
He says that more than 100 homes and businesses were destroyed. But the worst damage was in Ida Bell, a small town just north of the border with Texas. He posted a video message identifying the victim as a 90-year-old man. A second person was killed in Texas but no details provided.
Severe weather left more than 200,000 customers without power across western Washington state on Saturday. A strong storm system brought unusually high winds and heavy rains, especially in areas around Seattle.
And now, winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings are up for parts of the state. Heavy snow expected in north central Washington. We could see more extreme heat records set across the U.S. from now through Monday.
On Saturday, more than 2 dozen high temperature records were broken, mainly in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
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HARRAK: The temperatures will be unseasonably warm for the New York City marathon, which is set to start in just a few hours; not ideal for runners.
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HARRAK: Now at least 38 people were injured, two critically in a Manhattan apartment fire on Saturday.
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HARRAK (voice-over): You're looking now at a woman hanging from outside a smoke filled window as a firefighter tries to reach her from the floor above. Officials think the fire started from a lithium ion battery from an electric bicycle inside one of the apartments.
A senior fire department official says there have been about 200 fires this year in the city thought to be caused by lithium ion batteries.
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HARRAK: Still ahead, much more on the U.S. midterm elections, including a closer look at the race for governor in the Empire State.
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HARRAK: Breaking news coming to us from eastern Africa. A commercial aircraft with an unknown number of passengers has crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania. The plane was owned by Precision Air, which said a rescue operation was now underway for possible survivors.
The airline said it went down near the Bukoba airport, which is located on Lake Victoria's western shore. We'll bring you more information as soon as it becomes available.
A reminder of our top story this hour: the U.S. is just two days away from an election that will determine the balance of power in Congress. In the House, all 435 seats are on the ballot with each candidate seeking a two-year term.
Meantime, more than a third of the Senate is up for grabs, with the winners getting six years in office. Voters will also cast their ballots in key races for governor as well as state legislatures.
In New York, Democratic governor Kathy Hochul got a last-minute campaign boost from former president Bill Clinton at a rally in Brooklyn on Saturday. CNN's Gloria Pazmino was there.
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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Democrats delivering their closing argument on this last weekend. President Bill Clinton and the incumbent, who finds herself in a really close race, both trying to draw a contrast between Republicans and Democrats, talking about what they say could be at stake should the Republican win this election.
Now in overwhelmingly blue New York, this is not something voters have had to worry about in a long time. This is a place where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2:1 and the state usually votes overwhelmingly Democratic.
That is becoming more of a concern for political operatives here in New York as this race gets closer and closer.
Governor Kathy Hochul in a flurry of campaigning in the last several days, leading into next Tuesday, again talking about that contrast between herself and the Republican candidate, saying things like women's reproductive rights, climate legislation are all at stake should Lee Zeldin be elected governor.
President Bill Clinton also trying to draw comparisons and encouraging voters to get out and hit the polls.
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BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is serious. This is serious. I know the average election rally, whoopee-doo, whoopee-doo, whoopee-doo.
Your life is on the line. Young people in this audience, their life is on the line.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): We are facing a contrast. There's never been a greater contrast between -- I'm scared, too. You're scared, I'm scared. You should all be scared. That's how we're going to win because we overcome fear with our vote. Don't you worry, we're going to overcome fear with our vote.
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PAZMINO: This is the last weekend of early voting in New York and, across the country people, have broken records by turning out to the polls early here in New York.
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PAZMINO: More than 800,000 people have come out to vote early. And Kathy Hochul, the incumbent, will be getting some additional campaign help on Sunday. She will be joined on the trail by President Joe Biden in Westchester -- in New York, Gloria Pazmino, CNN.
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HARRAK: America's top cybersecurity officials say there are no specific or credible threats to disrupt or compromise Election Day. Even so, authorities tell CNN Election that security is more complicated than ever.
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JEN EASTERLY, DIRECTOR, CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY: It is a very complex environment, probably more complex than we've ever seen, because of the array of threats.
We still have cybersecurity threats from nation states like Russia, Iran and China. You have cybercriminals, you have insider threats, you have these unprecedented physical security concerns, threats of violence and harassment and intimidation.
And then, of course, you have rampant disinformation, which can be used by foreign adversaries, to sow discord, undermine confidence and the integrity of our elections or even to incite physical violence.
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HARRAK: The head U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said her division is more prepared and better funded than in 2020. Jen Easterly also says the agency is particularly focused on combating disinformation around the election.
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EASTERLY: Our mission as America's cyber defense agency is to reduce risk to election infrastructure. And we are very concerned about disinformation from foreign actors. That's what we are focused on. We do focus in many ways to ensure that the American people have confidence in the integrity of their elections and know, when they see disinformation, they can actually recognize it.
They can question it and they cannot amplify it. And so we do a couple of things. We put out information about the tactics of disinformation and then how Americans can build resilience to it, recognize it, question the source, investigate it, not amplify it.
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HARRAK: Easterly adds that social media companies should be responsible for combating misinformation on their platforms.
The U.S. military says its ultra advanced long-range bomber, the B-1B Lancer, was among the 240 warplanes involved last week's air defense drills with South Korea known as Vigilant Storm. Those exercises infuriated North Korea, which fired off dozens of missiles in protest, including a suspected ICBM that apparently failed in midflight.
On Saturday, the European Union strongly condemned those missile launches as illegal and a dangerous escalation.
Thousands gathered in Seoul on Saturday for a candlelit vigil to commemorate the victims of a deadly crowd crush one week ago. Many held signs, demanding accountability for the 156 lives lost. And anger is growing at officials for failing to prevent the deadly incident. CNN's Will Ripley is on the scene in Seoul.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm at a massive candlelight vigil here in Seoul. They're lighting candles and they're expressing their grief, sorrow and anger about what happened at the Itaewon night club district in the South Korean capital on Saturday.
That's when 156 people died, most of them young people in their teens and 20s, who were out celebrating Halloween and got caught in a horrific crowd crush in one of the narrow alleyways of the packed night club district.
It's ironic that the crowd out here is estimated to be around 100,000. That's according to local media. That's the same number of people who packed into Itaewon Saturday night.
And yet unlike Saturday night, the police are out here doing frankly a good job of keeping the crowd under control. There are scores of officers, barricades. Every step that you take is controlled.
The movements of the crowd are controlled to prevent exactly the kind of disaster that happened when all of those young people packed into a very narrow space, unable to get out, unable to move, unable to breathe.
And those who fell down, those who got crushed, those who suffocated and those who died are the ones being remembered here right now. This has in some ways turned into a political event.
A lot of people expressing their anger against the current South Korean president, saying he is ultimately responsible for the lack of planning, lack of crowd control. The fact that the 130 officers who were out were mostly looking for drunk and disorderly conduct or drug offenses and not actually trying to control the throngs of young people, not stopping them from getting into a very dangerous situation in Itaewon.
The questions, the soul searching continues out here as does the grief for so many people in South Korea -- Will Ripley, CNN, Seoul.
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HARRAK: The COP27 climate conference is underway in Egypt. Critics have slammed past summits.
Will there be a better outcome this time around?
We'll ask a climate expert.
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HARRAK: The COP27 climate change conference is now underway. The U.N.-sponsored event takes place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. There are heads of state and climate activists registered for the event. The state of goal to deliver action on the climate emergency.
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HARRAK: David Waskow is the director of international climate initiatives at the World Resources Institute. He joins us from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, host city of this year's climate conference.
So good to have you with us. Egyptian hosts have their work cut out for them. The world's two major polluters, the U.S. and China, they're not talking to each other at the moment. They've suspended climate negotiations. China's leader Xi is not expected to attend the COP27. India's Narendra Modi may not go.
Is COP still the best form to tackle the climate crisis?
DAVID WASKOW, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE INITIATIVES, WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE: Well, this year, there will still be a number of leaders. I should say 195 countries other than the U.S. and China will be here.
And that's the strength of this event. It brings together all of the countries from around the world. There will be leaders from many countries here tomorrow and the next day, talking about the urgent need to reduce emissions and the urgent need to address the impacts, the climate impacts, that are being faced on the ground.
That includes 33 leaders from Africa, presidents and heads of state. And they will surely emphasize that they are facing significant effects from climate change.
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WASKOW: In the form of droughts, in the form of floods and other impacts.
HARRAK: Exactly, because it has been a very, very terrible year. Of course, there's this war by Russia that has launched a host of serious challenges, many countries now grappling with an energy crisis and a food crisis.
How has this affected cooperation on the climate crisis?
How do you think it'll impact climate negotiations where you are?
WASKOW: Well, certainly there has been geopolitical fracturing. But I think with this event, what the summit offers is for countries to show that they can cooperate and that they can demonstrate solidarity.
One of the key factors in that is how to address climate impact. And we know that with the war right now there has been a shift in energy, demand and supply. There's, been a food security crisis. We need to, on the energy front, make sure that we are still moving in the direction of reducing emissions.
I think ultimately that is where we are moving. Renewable energy is still declining in cost.
But we also need to deal with these impacts and the food security crisis really points that out, because we are seeing countries hit both by climate change and by increased food prices at the same time in ways that are really dramatically affecting what they can do.
But countries can come here to cooperate and one of the issues on the table is something called loss of damage.
The question is, what does the world do, is there financing when many countries are hit by severe climate impacts?
Whether that's storms or droughts and so forth. That is something that I think all 197 countries here can band together around and really make some progress on.
HARRAK: So what would your message be to those who say there is little reason to be optimistic?
People who feel that it's difficult to not feel powerless, that the window is now closing on limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
What would your message be to those people?
WASKOW: Well, there's every bit of evidence that we need real transformation to tackle this crisis and keep temperature change below dangerous levels. What we are seeing is that there is quite a bit of progress, the countries leading into Glasgow, countries submitted targets for 2030 for their emissions that would lead to a cut in about roughly the emissions of the United States.
So a significant amount. We also know that from what science says, it needs to be six times the amount that countries submitted on. Similarly we are seeing progress in a number of areas like renewable energy, electric vehicles. They are moving very fast.
The trend lines are all up and moving in that direction quickly. But we also know that even so, these are not fully on track, that we need them to go even faster and we need to develop the kinds of resources to make that happen.
HARRAK: David Waskow in Egypt, where is he attending the COP27, thank you so much for joining us.
WASKOW: Thank you.
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HARRAK: Children in grade schools in New Delhi are being forced to stay at home not only because of COVID but because air pollution is so bad. And after COVID lockdowns, it's yet another headache for parents worried about their kids' education.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Going to school masked or not once again deemed too risky for the health of some students in New Delhi. And this time it's not COVID-19.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We are shutting primary schools from Saturday in Delhi, until the situation improves.
HOLMES (voice-over): The air quality index in New Delhi on Friday reaching severe or hazardous levels, with many people complaining of breathing difficulties and stinging eyes. Many parents say they agreed with the decision to shut primary schools because it's unhealthy for children to leave the house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The immunity of class 9 through 12 students is not that strong. We want online classes to return.
HOLMES (voice-over): Older students, at least for now, are still required to go to school. But outdoor recreation and activities are canceled. The pollution and the closures are an annual problem in New Delhi.
And on top of more than two years of school closings because of COVID- 19, some parents say they worry about yet another disruption.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When I step outside, my eyes get watery. There is a pain in my throat. But there is no point missing out on school, because COVID has already caused huge losses in the children's studies. So we can teach them to wear masks. HOLMES (voice-over): One of the biggest contributors to the smog is
the seasonal stubble burning by farmers, to prepare for the planting of new crops. Many farmers say, it's the only way to clear the fields because machinery to do the same job is too expensive.
It adds up to a yearly toxic cloud breathed in by New Delhi's 20 million residents. According to IQAir, a group that ranks the world's worst polluters, New Delhi is the world's most polluted capital city for the fourth year in a row.
Besides the school closings, five coalfired power plants are being shut down. The city has banned the entry of diesel trucks carrying nonessential goods, stopped most construction and demolition projects.
And half of the city's employees will work from home. The pollution, not only soiling the city's air but possibly stunting the education of some of the city's youngest -- Michael Holmes, CNN.
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HARRAK: And we'll be right back with more news after this break. You're watching CNN.
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HARRAK: Thanks so much for watching. I'm Laila Harrak and we will take a quick break.
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