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Leaders Focus On Ending Russia's War On Ukraine; Ukraine Seeing A Lull In Russian Missile Attacks; Hundreds Stranded As Flash Floods Hit Southeast Australia; CNN Projects Katie Hobbs Will Win Arizona Governor's Race; Republican Blame Game Begins as Congress Returns after Midterms; Calls for More Regulation of Crypto after FTX Collapse; Syrian Woman Detained in Connection with Deadly Bombing; Student Accused in Shooting Deaths of Three Football Players; NASA's Moon Rocket Slated for Wednesday Launch; Jeff Bezos: Space Travel Will Be Attainable for Everyone. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 15, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:28]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: All around the world this hour you're watching CNN Newsroom. The beginning of the end of the war, a triumphant Ukrainian President travels to liberated hosts on just days after a Russian retreat.
Fallout from the U.S. midterm elections sees another high profile election denier turn high profile election loser.
And a CNN exclusive sit down with Jeff Bezos when he thinks space travel will be attainable for all of us, not just the billionaires.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: The G-20. Summit is underway in Bali, Indonesia with a plea from the Ukrainian president to help end the war. This is the first in-person gathering of the world's 20 biggest economy since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
The U.S. president will use the gathering of world leaders to try and maintain support for Ukraine. For months, negotiations have been underway on a former condemnation of Russia, but it remains uncertain which countries will sign on and which ones will not.
French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the war in Ukraine with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. According to reports from state media in Beijing, China wants a ceasefire and peace talks. And with the Russian President Vladimir Putin a no show, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a statement saying Russia will never have a legitimate seat at the table until the war in Ukraine comes to an end.
President Biden and Xi met on the sidelines of the G-20 for three hours of talks on a number of flashpoint issues, including Taiwan. Chinese leader warned that Taiwan was a red line, while the U.S. President raised concerns about human rights as well as cooperation on climate change. And he told reporters, there were no concerns about a new Cold War starting between the United States and China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: He was clear and I was clear, they will defend American interests and values, promote universal human rights and stand up for the international order and work in lockstep with our allies and partners. We're going to compete vigorously, but I'm not looking for conflict. I'm looking to manage this competition responsibly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN reports Ivan Watson and Kevin Liptak are in Bali and Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang also standing by live.
So first you Ivan, the Ukrainian president, not there in person, but he made his presence felt so genius who if you like with the U.S. president to maintain support for Ukraine as this was just 1/9 month now?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And the war in Ukraine is clearly overshadowing this summit here in Bali. The host of this summit, the Indonesian President Joko Widodo, he immediately in his opening statements talked about global threats such sas rising food prices, shortages of fertilizer, and then called for an end of this grinding war. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOKO WIDODO, INDONESIAN PRESIDENT: If the war does not end, it will be difficult for the world to move forward. If the war does not end, it will be difficult for us to take risk on stability for the future of current generation and future generations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now, over the summer, Joko Wi (ph) engaged in shuttle diplomacy, he traveled to Kyiv, he traveled to Moscow. He personally invited both of the warring presidents to come and attend this summit. With Russian President Vladimir Putin is a no show. He sent his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead. The last time he came to an international conference was at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. And there he looked somewhat humbled. It wasn't the swaggering Russian president we've seen in years past that he had to concede to both the Chinese and the Indian leaders that they had questions and concerns about his destructive war, so perhaps no surprise that he didn't come here.
Instead, we've seen a fiery speech from the Ukrainian president of fresh front his visit to the newly liberated southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, which he described the Ukrainian recapture of that city. He compared it to the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
[01:05:00] And he said that Ukraine should not be asked to compromise when it comes to trying to end this war. He also had this to say about Russia's recent nuclear threats, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The same goes for the crazy threats of nuclear weapons that Russian officials resort to. There are in cannot be any excuses for nuclear blackmail. And I thank you, dear G-19, for making this clear. However, please use all your power to make Russia abandon nuclear threats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: And there we have that statement there. Zelenskyy clearly rising high right now. Vladimir Putin, nowhere to be seen.
VAUSE: Ivan, thank you. Let's get to Kevin now also in Bali. So for the U.S. President, Kevin, possibly the most consequential moment of his trip has already happened. It was this hour long, several hours long to general either with China's President and for both these leaders essentially to draw red lines and boundaries.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and I think President Biden went into these talks, really with one goal, which was to have President Xi and him agree that they don't actively want conflict between their two countries. And they did come out of the talks, both with that as their message and President Biden said that he found President Xi the way he's always found them open, straightforward. He said he wasn't confrontational. And he said that he used the word blunt. He said that they were able to be blunt about areas of conflict, but also areas where they didn't necessarily understand where each other stood.
President Biden now says that there are no misunderstandings between the two men. Of course, they wanted to lower temperatures but that doesn't mean that this whole litany of disputes between the two countries was resolved. Areas like Taiwan, restrictions on technology, and certainly human rights is one of the biggest ones.
Those remain disputes after this meeting has ended, President Biden said that it wasn't what he called a kumbaya moment between the two men. So there were points of contention during the talks. But really, the work is starting now. This was the beginning of what they hope will be a resolution of a lot of these topics. They both assigned some of their senior most cabinet members, diplomats, to start working on these issues.
Again, one of the biggest ones is climate change, you know, you really cannot solve the climate crisis, if you don't have the U.S. and China working together. They're the biggest emitters of greenhouse gas. So that was sort of one of the biggest takeaways from the talks yesterday.
They've also assigned their teams to work out some other issues. They will be talking more regularly now than they were before. And the Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to China in the new year. So President Biden coming out of these talks, basically saying that he's happy with how they went. He learned some things from President Xi that he might not have known before.
For instance, he said he doesn't see an imminent invade -- Chinese invasion of Taiwan that was something very important that he learned. But the President will want to keep talking with Xi, that was sort of the goal of this to establish these communications. But more importantly, continue that communication is going forward. John.
VAUSE: Kevin from (INAUDIBLE) to Beijing and Steven Jiang, standing by there. And Steven, it seems that the meeting for Xi Jinping was probably about three issues Taiwan, Taiwan and Taiwan.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, that's why this is still the most contentious issue between the two sides. And you heard Kevin say, how the President have a more slightly more optimistic assessment after this meeting. But, you know, as far as the Chinese are concerned, Mr. Biden has also said all the right things, including not supporting Taiwan independence and sticking to the One China policy, but you know, things can get very precarious in this area, especially with domestic U.S. politics to (INAUDIBLE).
Now with the Republicans are still very much favored to win the control of the House, that likely new speaker is Kevin McCarthy, who has previously said he would visit Taiwan as a speaker. So if that happens, things could be really plunged back into where they were before the meeting. So all the smiles on the two leaders face could be just a fleeting moment.
But of course, they, you know, given how low the bar is or was, in terms of expectations, the two leaders didn't seem to clear that bar when it comes to dining down to temperature, and also, of course, buying themselves some time for very different reasons, of course.
And when it comes to Ukraine, for example, Mr. Xi reiterated a point that he made to the visiting German chancellor in Beijing just a few days ago in terms of China's opposition to the threat and use of nuclear weapons in in Ukraine.
So that obviously, is a very telling moment, given Mr. Putin's nuclear posturing, and Mr. Xi's supposed No Limits friendship with him. But still, it's very interesting, John, at this point was not included in the Chinese government readout. It did appear later in a separate Foreign Ministry statement. So there seems to be some hesitation on the Chinese part in terms of how to address this still very delicate and sensitive issue. John.
VAUSE: Steven in Beijing we thank you for that. Also Kevin and Ivan in Bali, thanks to you both.
Ukraine is reporting a lull in Russian airstrikes targeting the power grid for almost a month multiple Russian missiles and Iranian made drones have been fired almost daily. Now spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force says Russia appears to be going -- running low rather on cruise missiles, and also Ukraine has managed to improve its air defenses which has prevented many of these attacks.
But the spokesman also noted Russia still carrying out some attacks with rockets and anti-aircraft systems. Ukraine says it's been launching attacks of its own hitting Russian held positions on the eastern bank in Dnipro River.
Moscow's troops have been trying to reestablish their defensive lines after retreating from Kherson City on the opposite side. Ukraine now controls the western bank and is working to restore order and security. In time the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited close on Monday celebrating the city's liberation. In a speech, he said Russia's retreat marks the beginning of the end of the war. CNN's Nic Robinson is in Kherson with details.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voiceover): Flanked by troops who helped liberate the city, President Zelenskyy made a lightning trip to Kherson, Monday, the nation's most significant victory in months.
ZELENSKYY: This is the beginning of the end of the war. You see our strong army, we are step by step coming to our county, to all the temporarily occupied territories.
ROBERTSON: A morale boost for the country and President alike. Zelenskyy pledging peace on Ukraine's not Russia's terms and vowing to reconnect Kherson's residence to the rest of the country.
To make them feel that we are not only talking about it, he says, but we really returning, really raising our flag.
Today's flags are much needed temporary cellphone tower erected reconnecting residents to loved ones cut off since the retreating Russians destroyed the phone and internet services and a truck full of humanitarian aid, the first to arrive since liberation 72 hours ago, candles, bread, water handed out to eager residents who have been without electricity and water since the Russian retreat.
ROBERTSON (on camera): How much is this needed here?
SVEYATOSLAV YRASH, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Desperately. I was speaking with people about what is lacking, what they have. What they've lost and basically supermarkets don't work. Shops are crazy expensive or don't work.
ROBERTSON: In the city's neighborhoods, poorly stocked street markets hint at how much more help is needed. Some goods like drinking water nearly impossible to find.
ROBERTSON (on camera): What help you need from the government now here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Electricity, water and where it opened the home. Very cold. ROBERTSON (voiceover): Within hours of Zelenskyy's visit, Russian artillery destroyed a house in the north of the city. A reminder Russian troops are not far away. Where they retreated Friday, the pontoon they used to flee across now partially sunk. The once mighty Antonovsky Bridge crippled by U.S. made HIMARS that helped trigger the Russian collapse in tatters too. But the Russians didn't go far.
ROBERTSON (on camera): And that's where the danger is for Kherson just on the other side of the bridge. That's where the Russian positions are. They've dug in, within easy shelling range of the city.
ROBERTSON (voiceover): Zelenskyy is visit perhaps the closest to the front line since the war began. Nic Robertson, CNN, Kherson, Ukraine.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VAUSE: To Canberra now, Malcolm Davis, a senior military analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Good to have you with us, Malcolm.
MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: OK. So during your visit to Kherson, the Ukrainian president talked about the cost of liberating Kherson in terms of life loss. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY (through translator): The price of this war is very high. Many people were injured, many people died. That's why they pulled out or ran away. We believe they ran away because our army surrounded the enemy and they were in great danger. There was fierce fighting. And here's the result. We are in Kherson today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He also went on to say this was the beginning of the end of the war that was suggested the Ukrainian offensive is likely to continue through winter despite the high costs. But where is the next battle? What's the next major city they're heading for?
[01:15:00]
DAVIS: Look, I think the most likely avenue for advanced for the Ukrainians would be up the river towards Zaporizhzhia, that makes a lot more sense to go, that direction rather than trying to forge across the river into the eastern bank of Kherson. Because trying to do that, that option of going across the river could be a potentially costly in terms of lives lost going up the river, following the river long to Zaporizhzhia would allow them secure Zaporizhzhia, and then advanced south, from Zaporizhzhia towards Melitopol and Mariupol, and ultimately to isolate and take Crimea.
VAUSE: They had the momentum, they had the manpower to keep doing this? DAVIS: Look, I think they do. I think what is critical is that the Ukrainians continue to receive Western military support right through the winter. And I think also, when you look at how poorly placed the Russians are, if the Ukrainians slow down, if they stop, and if they pause, then they're giving the Russians essentially time to regroup and recover, which would be a bad mistake.
So I think it's absolutely vital that the Ukrainians sustain this momentum, sustain operations. And in some respects, it's actually potentially easier for the Ukrainians to operate in the winter, than it would be for example, in the spring, for example, when you are seeing a lot more rain and potentially muddy conditions,.
VAUSE: Part from a major humiliation, what else has losing Kherson cost the Russians and the Russian military, I guess from, you know, from a military perspective.
DAVIS: Look, I think that it really has opened up the prospect for the Ukrainians to take Zaporizhzhia and then as I said, moves out towards Crimea. It opens up the door to Crimea. And I think that that's a huge blow for the Russians.
Obviously, the Russians are going to fight back in the Donbas. So you're going to see an intensification of battles there. And I think the Ukrainians have to be very careful that if they do take Zaporizhzhia and then turn south, but they don't open their rear to a Russian attack from the Donbas.
But I think for the Russians, they are facing a desperate situation in the sense that they don't have enough forces that are well equipped enough, that have the motivation, that have the fighting spirit and have the logistics sustainment to be able to fight back against the Ukrainian. So essentially, I think what we're seeing is the potential for a solid Russian defeat in the war to emerge in this in essentially the spring of the summer of 2023.
VAUSE: In the meantime, appears that the pace of Russian airstrikes on Ukraine's power grid is slow. There are no strikes in the past week, that seems to confirm what many have suspected that their position missiles and the drones from Iran are not being resupplied fast enough. Where does that leave them?
DAVIS: Look, I think they are going to be more dependent on the Iranians, particularly for the supply of more advanced ballistic missiles is not just about drones. It's about ballistic missiles with a precision attack capability that would enable them to complete their campaign of attacking Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure.
If those missiles don't turn up, or if Western air defense capabilities are effective in shutting down those ballistic missiles, then the Russians really have nothing left at least at the conventional level, to be able to hit the Ukrainians. Their partial mobilization has not delivered the amount of troops that are effectively trained and motivated to fight.
So they're running out of options. And in a way, this is obviously good, because it greatly increases the potential for Ukrainian victory. But it also is risky because it increases the desperation of the Russians. We're already seeing increasing political tensions in Moscow. You could see once again, the return to rattling nuclear sabers.
VAUSE: Yes. And there's also the chemical weapon choice and the biological of choice before we get to nuclear. So there's a lot of bad options that the Russians may still have in this. But Malcolm, it's always, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
DAVIS: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, heavy rainfall and flash flooding in south eastern Australia have left thousands stranded. Many homes are underwater rooftop rescues are underway by the air. New Zealand sending in extra crews to help with this emergency as well. Let's go to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri in more details. This is suddenly came out of nowhere. The grounds incredibly wet.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, yeah, and going after many years of course of dry conditions here we see incredible rainfall in the last several weeks and several months across portions of Australia, John. And notice rainfall amounts just in the past 24 hours, enough here to be impressive by anyone's standards up to 110, 120 millimeters already observed and this round of wet weather is already on the move and much of what is left of it is going to impact portions of the coast but really minimal amounts, generally about 25 millimeters left from Sydney and points just southward over the next several days.
But you've got to look at what's in store here and what certainly is played out in recent months to really kind of understand the magnitude of what is played out across Australia. Now, there is the system again it caused the problems it is shifting over towards portions of New Zealand in the coming 24/7 hours and conditions should begin to quiet down across portions of Australia.
[01:20:03]
But notice the rainfall amounts. Sydney has observed across this region so far in 2022, over 2,400 millimeters of rainfall has been observed. On average, a good year brings you 1,200 millimeters. We're talking a factor of two here increase in what is considered normal. So any additional rainfall you'll see in the recent weeks here is certainly going to cause flooding and that's the concern.
This soil is fully saturated. You look at the climatological norm the month of November, typically not one of the wetter months. Those are reserved for the first half of the year where we have some of the peak wet months and say April and into May, but certainly October, November even September have brought an incredible amount of rainfall across this region.
In fact, going in to, again, what is considered the dry time of year, September and October, you'll notice between the 23rd of September and the sixth of October, 13 of 15 days and Sydney's saw rainfall recorded. So, all of this to say that we've seen so much recent rainfall that going to lead to some significant problems. And again, you kind of noticed the previous record for an annual rainfall amount that 2,400 millimeters I noted that exceeds the 1950 record where 2,194 millimeters came in Sydney in an entire year.
So the reason this is all playing out. La Nina has been taking shape across portions of the equatorial Pacific which means cooler than normal sea surface temperatures across this region which typically translates to warmer conditions across areas off towards Australia and certainly wetter conditions as well. And that is precisely what the forecast, John, indicates here going into the month of December as well.
So, a lot of folks may be looking forward to getting some warmer weather across this region. For now it is forecast to remain wet into next month. You'll notice kind of how unsettled it is even over the next several days here before the warming trend is restored. 23, John, is what's normal here. 17, 18 or so is what we're going to be looking at here over the next two to three days.
VAUSE: Pedram, thank you. Appreciate the update. Thanks.
Still to come here on CNN, for so long you do no wrong, but now more and more Republicans want to dump Trump. As the president number 45, he's unfazed. Expected to launch a third bid for the White House.
Plus, she began blasting her state's election process before the final votes were counted. Now the results are in for the Arizona governor's race, she lost.
Also later this hour, a massive vigil held at the University of Virginia as police learned more about the student accused of killing three of the school's football players and more of that later this hour.
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VAUSE: Despite a growing number of Republicans who want former President Donald Trump to go quietly into the night. Trump adviser says expect an announcement on a third run for the White House in the coming hours. Many in the GOP blame Trump for their lackluster results in the midterms. Say he doesn't have the same appeal which swept him into the White House six years ago.
Trump is eager to launch his 2024 campaign for a variety of reasons including he would like to get ahead of other contenders like the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Also may insulation for his growing legal woes.
[01:25:03]
If Trump does run for the White House, he will do it without some of the support he enjoy for years from conservative media. There are just a few of the big headlines which are out there condemning (INAUDIBLE) midterms rather, which includes one from Fox News that calls DeSantis, the new leader of the Republican Party, and on Fox, this other talking now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WINSOME SEARS (R) VIRGINIA LIEUTENANT GOVENOR: The voters have spoken, and they have said that they want a different leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that Trump should step off the stage.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: The populist movement is about ideas. It is not about any one person. If the voters conclude that you're putting your own ego or your own grudges ahead of what's good for the country, they're going to look elsewhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Meantime, Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence, hinting at his own presidential run, he says Trump is not the best choice to lead the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe that Donald Trump should ever be president again?
MIKE PENCE, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: David, I think that's up to the American people. But I think we'll have better choices in the future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Better choices than Donald Trump.
PENCE: And for me and my family, we will be reflecting about what our role is in that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you run for president in 2024?
PENCE: Over giving a consideration in our house, prayerful consideration.
(EDN VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You going to get lot more from Mike Pence when CNN hosts a town hall was the former vice president who take questions from Jake Tapper and the live studio audience, that's Wednesday 9:00 p.m. in New York, 10:00 a.m. Thursday in Hong Kong.
Another 2020 election denier has lost her bid for Office. CNN projects Democrat Katie Hobbs will win Arizona's governance race, defeating Trump favorite Kari Lake. Obviously Kari serves as Arizona Secretary of State tweeted thanks to voters saying democracy is worth the weight.
Appearing on Fox News shortly before the race was called, Kari Lake baselessly called the state election botched. And then when the call was made, she did not actually acknowledge that Hobbs won tweeting Arizona -- Arizonans to no BS when they see it. Even for those Republicans who actually won their elections, it's not ideal right now in Washington, congressional Republicans returned to the Capitol Monday for the first time since the midterms, and as they move towards choosing a new leadership, the blame game for last week's elections for showing is already underway. Totally circular firing squads. CNN's Manu Raju reports from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): As Republicans move closer to securing a razor thin House majority, they are confronting this question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That we have the wrong strategy.
RAJU: Republicans are likely stuck with a narrow House majority, which would make governing difficult and complicated House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy's path to the speakership. Democrats like Michigan's Hillary Scholten who picked up a GOP seat says voters sent a message.
HILLARY SCHOLTEN, U.S. HOUSE-ELECT DEMOCRAT: People are tired of the divisiveness and the extremism that today's Republican Party embodies.
RAJU: As the incoming freshmen gathered in the capitol today, McCarthy was behind closed doors, trying to lock down the votes to become speaker and wielding the support of former President Donald Trump. Also winning the backing of the stars Trump ally and controversial conservative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): It's very, very risky right now to produce a leadership challenge especially for Speaker of the House.
RAJU: Also backing McCarthy, incoming Republican Mike Lawler, who won one of four key GOP races in New York, likely enough to secure the majority.
MIKE LAWYER, U.S. HOUSE-ELECT REPUBLICAN: I think ultimately, you know, you can always quibble about margins, but a majority is the majority. I fully support Kevin McCarthy and we'll support him for Speaker.
RAJU: Yet, McCarthy can only afford to lose a handful of GOP votes to win the 218 he needs in January to become speaker and Arizona's Andy Biggs is considering a challenge to deny him the votes.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Would rather be waterboarded by Liz Cheney, then vote for Kevin McCarthy.
RAJU: In the Senate, an even bigger GOP debacle after Democrats retain the majority following victories by Arizona's Mark Kelly and Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto, and could add a seat after next month's runoff in Georgia.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY) MAJORITY LEADER: The red wave proved to be a red mirage. RAJU: Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell facing backlash from some conservatives who want to hit the brakes on this Wednesday's leadership elections.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): It would be insane if we reelect the same leadership two days from now.
RAJU (on camera): Trump is blaming McConnell. Is that fair?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, that's not fair at all.
RAJU (voiceover): All as Democrats are prepared for their own shakeup when Speaker Nancy Pelosi decides whether to step aside.
[01:29:49]
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): My decision will then be rooted in what the wishes of my family and the wishes of my caucus.
RAJU: New members of Congress including the first Gen Z member, 25- year-old Maxwell Frost are watching closely.
Do you think that your leadership reflects this younger -- the younger class of members?
REP.-ELECT MAXWELL ALEJANDRO FROST (D-F): Yes, I think generally we need younger people in office across this country. And in Congress, I do think we should have young people represented in leadership as well.
RAJU: Republicans met behind closed doors for the first time since the midterms, and with each of the members of the leadership team made their pitch to the members ahead of tomorrow's leadership election in which Kevin McCarthy needs to get just a simple majority of his conference to get nominated as speaker.
His bigger challenge will come in January when he needs to get 218 votes of the full house in order to lock down the speakership. Meaning, he cannot afford to lose potentially more than a handful of Republican defectors.
And no candidate came forward at the closed-door meeting, but it is very likely, if not certain, that someone will come forward ultimately during the leadership election.
On the Senate side, Republican leader Mitch McConnell has the votes locked up to become speaker but he could face a long shot bid on Wednesday to his own leadership perch if Senator Rick Scott decides to mount a challenge against him.
And I asked him if he would, he said he had not decided whether to challenge McConnell.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE) JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Could this be the moment of truth for cryptocurrencies? When we come back how the collapse of crypto giant FTX might not only bring in new regulations, but maybe a possible dose of reality.
Also Jeff Bezos may be one of the world's richest men but even he has to find ways of unwinding, doing his sweet time as he told CNN in an exclusive interview.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
CNN has confirmed federal prosecutors in New York are investigating the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Internal documents show FTX had $900 million in liquid assets to cover billions of dollars worth of liabilities.
That prompted the CEO of crypto.com to (INAUDIBLE) to investors the strength of his exchange's balance sheet. Once they quit (ph) their currency exchange Binance's CEO also working to calm the market.
Changpeng Zhao says his company is starting a recovery fund to help other crypto companies facing liquidity issues. And he's calling for more regulations.
[01:34:45]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHANGPENG ZHIAO, FOUNDER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, BINANCE: There is a lot of risks, we are in a new industry. We have seen over the past week things go crazy here -- so in the industry.
So we do need some regulations, we do need to do this properly. We do need to do this in a stable way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yesha Yadav is a professor of law and associate dean at the Vanderbilt Law School. She specializes in financial and security regulations, especially how regulations respond to innovations in financial engineering which is why you are the perfect guest to talk to about crypto. Good day to you.
YESHA YADAV, ASSOCIATE DEAN, VANDERBILT LAW SCHOOL: Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here today.
VAUSE: Sure thing.
I've always thought about creating your own money out of nothing is kind of totally dodgy, and I'm not alone in this. The billionaire investor Warren Buffett described crypto as a worthless delusion, rat poison squared, plus he compared it to the 17th century tulip craze. Global economist Nouriel Roubini appearing before U.S. Senate Banking
Committee described crypto as the mother of all scams. And yet there is a long list. And now with the collapse of FTX and the serious questions over the viability of crypto, is this the emperor has no clothes moment?
YESHA: You know, this is a technology that is evolving, that we are trying to understand the risks of. And it is not necessarily a monolith. For example, there are certain kinds of crypto for example that is stable (INAUDIBLE) that are actually being used as payments and savings devices around the world today.
Particularly in nations which are war torn, which are lacking confidence in their local monetary regime. But what we are seeing increasingly is, you know, the crypto can be contextual.
In the U.S., for example, it is an asset class, it is a kind of place where you put your money for risk purposes. But in other cases, we are seeing crypto actually being used, potentially as more of a currency though obviously the volatility of that does make it harder.
But at the same time, certainly you are right. that we're coming to a moment which is really an inflection point for the industry as a whole because so really one of the most credible, one of the most sort of forward-looking and compliant (INAUDIBLE) has suddenly fallen in the ashes and that brought down crypto as a whole with it at the same time. And so the industry as a whole is wondering what comes next from here.
VAUSE: Changpeng Zhao, who is the chief executive of Binance, also known as CZ, main rival to FTX. He's the among those within this industry who's been pushing for increased regulation. Here he is speaking at the G20 in Bali.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZHAO: The natural response is to borrow the regulations from traditional financial systems. How do we regulate banks? Most regulators think of the crypto exchange as like banks. But crypto exchanges operate very, very differently from banks.
You know, banks -- it's very, very normal for a bank to move or use their assets for investment and try to make returns. In crypto, if you want a crypto exchange that way, it is almost guaranteed to go down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, in other words, what sort of regulations are needed?
YESHA: You know, the cryptocurrency industry has essentially grown up without a comprehensive regulated framework. And there is a reason for that.
Here in the U.S., for example, regulators have puzzles over what exactly crypto is coming back to your earlier question, John, trying to understand what in fact this asset had to do with us. So for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the securities
regulator has argued that many types of cryptocurrency are in fact security.
On the other hand, some folks arguing, for example, that commodity isn't the same as (INAUDIBLE) CFTC, that it's in fact a commodity, right. Others are saying that this could even be a currency, right.
And so we are in a world in which regulators are engaged in a turf war because it is becoming harder and harder to understand really what it is and then much more importantly to devise a framework to deal with some of the risks that are emerging here.
VAUSE: An opinion piece in the "Washington Post" argues that the collapse of FTX reveals that crypto itself is kind of irrelevant. Here's part of it. They write, "It is remarkable how little effect this has had on markets beyond crypto or even on the larger cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two most popular tokens, lost significant value during FTX's death throes, but by Monday morning they had already regained a lot of lost ground. As for more conventional markets there has as of yet been barely a ripple."
Ok. That is here and now. that's right now. But you know, that may not be the case in the future. So as the currency grows, or the industry grows, does the risk of the contagion grow?
YESHA: Yes, absolutely. You know, one of the things that has been remarkable about crypto over the last four or five years, and particularly about FTX and some (INAUDIBLE) efforts has been to try and financialize crypto. And as referred to in CZ's earlier comments, right, that you know, increasingly you are seeing crypto through the lens of traditional market participants like exchanges and like banks.
I mean in fact there are many of the technologies, many of the terminologies are being borrowed from traditional markets and used quite systematically across crypto as a whole but that is not all. In fact, you know, many of the investors in FTX for example, as well as in other crypto ventures come from the, you know, storied likes of the Silicon Valley venture funders. The top billing names that you can find in Silicon Valley have put their money into these crypto ventures as a way to sort of get a part of this new technology on the way up.
[01:39:58]
VAUSE: Yesha, thank you so much. We'll leave it there but we really appreciate your time and insights.
YESHA: John, thank you so very much for having me. It was a pleasure.
VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN, new details on the Syrian woman suspected in Sunday's deadly blast in Istanbul. The very latest on the investigation in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: Strict Islamic law, or Sharia law will once again be the law of the land in Afghanistan. Taliban's supreme leader has ordered judges in cases of robbery, kidnapping, and sedition to be punished according to Sharia law which includes floggings, amputations, executions.
(INAUDIBLE) about more moderate Taliban.
The European Union and the U.K. are imposing new sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran's crackdowns on anti-government protesters. These sanctions target multiple Iranian officials and organizations including state (INAUDIBLE) TV.
The move comes after an Iranian court issued its first death sentence to a protester after weeks of nationwide demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, in morality police custody in September.
And new details about the Syrian woman accused in Sunday's deadly bombing on a busy street in Istanbul. This comes as mourners pay their respects to the victims of the blast, which left at least six people dead and 80 others injured.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sunday's attack sending shockwaves across the city and across the country, reminding many of some of the recent dark days that this country witnessed between 2016 and '17 where there were frequent attacks on Turkish cities carried out by extremist groups like ISIS as well as Kurdish separatist groups.
Within hours of that attack on Sunday, authorities announcing that they had detained a suspect. They say a Syrian woman with links to a Kurdish separatist group. They say that authorities combed through footage from more than 1,200 cameras in the city, tracking down this woman as well as 21 addresses linked to her, raiding of those addresses, detaining the woman and more than 40 other people.
They say this woman sat on a bench in this area around Istiklal Street for about 14 minutes and then she left a bag and walked away. And within a minute or two of her leaving the scene, the explosives in that bag detonated, killing and injuring dozens including children, some people remain in critical condition in intensive care in hospitals here in Istanbul.
[01:44:48]
KARADSHEH: Authorities say the woman crossed illegally from northern Syria. They say that she received training and orders from Kurdish militant groups including PKK, the separatist group that has waged a bloody insurgency in this country for decade. It is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the E.U.
They also say that it was the YPG, the Syrian-Kurdish fighting group that has been the U.S. ally for years in the fight against ISIS in Syria.
Both those groups denying any links or involvement in this attack. The bombing really also threatening to raise tensions between the United States and Turkey. The Turkish interior minister on Monday rejecting a message of condolence from the United States because of its support for Syrian-Kurdish fighters that Turkey considers the YPG as a top national security threat for this country.
And this issue has been at the heart of disagreements between these two NATO allies for years. The minister slamming Washington yet again for its continued support for Syrian Kurdish fighters, and also warning that Turkey will soon be responding to this attack.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN -- Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Police have released new details about the University of Virginia student and former football player accused of shooting dead three current players and injuring two others. The suspect, Christopher Jones, Jr. allegedly opening fire on a bus after a class field trip.
School officials say Jones was on the football team for one season in 2018, but a pre-existing injury prevented him from taking the field.
Tributes have been pouring in for the dead students. At Virginia Tech's women's basketball team wore T-shirt during pre-game warm-ups on Monday night honoring the victims. And on Virginia's Campus in Charlottesville, silent vigil for the victims.
We have more now from CNN's Miguel Marquez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 10:15, Sunday night, police say, gunshots fired on the University of Virginia Campus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard some of the shots and then almost immediately rumors were flying.
MARQUEZ: One witness tells CNN they heard shots inside the bus as it pulled up to campus. The doors flying open, people tumbling up.
JIM RYAN, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: The shootings occurred on a bus full of students returning from a field trip. Three of the victims did not survive.
MARQUEZ: 10:40 p.m. U.V.A. police tweet a "shelter in place" order. For the next 12 hours, students trapped wherever they were, in libraries and dorms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were -- basically turned the lights off, hunkered down, trying to just stay put. I was feeling pretty anxious.
MARQUEZ: The dead all football players, all with their lives ahead. Devin Chandler, D'Sean Perry, and Lavel Davis Jr. In a statement their coach said these were incredible young men with huge aspirations and extremely bright futures. Our hearts ache for their families, their classmates, and their friends. These precious young men were called away too soon.
Around 11:15 Monday morning, in the middle of a press conference, the news everyone was waiting for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just received information the suspect is in custody.
MARQUEZ: Henrico police say they picked up that suspect, a University of Virginia student and former football player, about 75 miles away from the Charlottesville campus. U.V.A. president says he wounded two additional students, one in good condition, the other critically injured.
RYAN: My heart is broken for the victims and their families, and for all of those who knew and loved them.
MARQUEZ: This is not the first time the suspect has come to the U.V.A. police department's attention. They say he was involved in a threat assessment with the investigation revealing a 2021 concealed weapon violation. The accused shooter for now faces multiple murder and handgun charges.
A vigil was held on the University of Virginia campus. Students pouring out from around the university to attend after a very, very somber day. And also all around the campus, now signs pointing up of "Charlottesville Strong", "U.V.A. Strong", and the numbers of 1, 15, and 41 -- the jersey numbers of those three players who died.
Miguel Marquez, CNN -- Charlottesville, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll take a short break, when we come back. You're watching CNN.
[01:49:29]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: That is the band of the Household Cavalry performing at Buckingham Palace as King Charles celebrated his 74th birthday on Monday. His first as Britain's monarchy -- monarch, I should say. He's also officially became the Ranger of Windsor Great Park taking on that 70 years after his father Prince Philip was appointed to the post.
Happy birthday.
If at first you do not succeed, NASA will make a third attempt Wednesday to launch the Artemis moon rocket. It comes just days after the rocket took a hit from a hurricane.
CNN's Lynda Kinkade reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: NASA says it is on track for the Artemis 1 mission to launch Wednesday. That could pave the way for U.S. astronauts to return to the moon. The launch of NASA's most powerful rocket ever, which is carrying the uncrewed Orion space craft, is targeting a two hour window for lift off. Beginning at 1:04 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. That. if all goes to plan.
Previous launches have been scrubbed because of bad weather and technical issues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Launch Director Charlie Blackwell Thompson has called a scrub.
KINKADE: NASA says the mission is still ready to go, even though the mega rocket sustained some minor damage after Hurricane Nicole swept across Florida last week.
Artemis 1 was already on the launchpad when the storm unexpectedly strengthened. NASA says it was designed to withstand high winds and needed minimal repairs. But the launch date was pushed back by two days.
It is the latest in a series of delays for the Artemis 1 launch, which was initially set for late August. The first two attempts were scrapped after issues with a fuel leak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The team now going into the cut off procedure after being unable to resolve a hydrogen leak.
KINKADE: The third scuttle by the threat of an (INAUDIBLE) hurricane, which has forced NASA to roll the rocket back to the hangar for safety.
If and when Artemis gets off the ground, it has some lofty goals. The first mission is expected to be a 25-day journey to the moon's orbit and back. Artemis 2 repeats the trip, including astronauts and a lunar fly by. Artemis 3 plans to put astronauts back on the moon's surface.
Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: One of the wealthiest men in the world and one-time space traveler Jeff Bezos says soon, at least two of them will be available to all.
The founder behind the Blue Origin Space Tourism startup in an exclusive interview to CNN's entertainment reporter Chloe Melas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Do you believe in our lifetime that space travel is going to be attainable for everyone? JEFF BEZOS, FOUNDER, BLUE ORIGIN: I do. Let me give you an example. It
was only a little more than 100 years ago the Wright brothers flew this tiny little plane, just a couple of hundred feet.
And if you told the Wright brothers, you know, 100 years from now, there is going to be a 787 carrying 400 people.
MELAS: You'd laugh. You got to go. There's been a lot of firsts.
BEZOS: She's a future astronaut. She's ready, she wants to go.
LAUREN SANCHEZ, VICE CHAIR, BEZOS EARTH FUND: I'm ready.
[01:54:54]
MELAS: Are we talking in 2022, or are we talking soon?
SANCHEZ: Well, that is pretty quick. Not by the end of 2022, but 2023.
BEZOS: Soon.
MELAS: Together?
SANCHEZ: No, he's already been.
BEZOS: We'll see. I think she has some ideas about who she wants to go with. We'll see.
SANCHEZ: I think it will be a great group of females.
MELAS: Talk to me about what Lauren has brought your life.
BEZOS: Lauren is the most generous, most big-hearted person that you would ever meet. So, you know, she is an inspiration in that way, she is -- she's just -- at every level, you know, she is generous with somebody she just meets. She is generous with every person and she's generous in the large too.
She never misses a birthday, the network of people that she gives birthday presents to is gigantic. And that's just a small example.
MELAS: That is so sweet.
BEZOS: It's true.
MELAS: That's very sweet.
BEZOS: She is a very big hearted person.
MELAS: I would love to know what does a typical Saturday night look like for Jeff and Lauren?
SANCHEZ: We can be kind of boring.
BEZOS: You are never boring. That's not true. I can be boring. SANCHEZ: It is really -- I would say normal. We have dinner with the
kids. That is always fun and a great conversation. There is seven between us so there is a lot of discussion.
And then we watch a movie --
BEZOS: A typical Saturday night, probably a movie.
SANCHEZ: But by committee, it takes a lot of time to find that movie. Wouldn't you say?
BEZOS: Yes we probably spend more time picking the movie than we need to.
SANCHEZ: But I think that's the fun part.
BEZOS: It's fun.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: I want to thank (ph) Amazon Prime for that.
Some good news for any Blur fans. The Brit pop band has announced they will be back with a one-off gig next summer.
(MUSIC)
VAUSE: Top man Damon Albarn says "We really love playing these songs and thought it's about time we did it all again.
Yes, why not?
All right. Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
More news next hour with my colleague and friend, Rosemary Church.
Hope to see you right back here, tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:01]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
