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Four Killed In U.S. School Shooting; U.S. Accuses Russia Election Interference; Ukraine Tests New Fire-Spewing Drone; Netanyahu Says He Won't Change Israel's Policies in Gaza; Pope Francis Strengthening Interfaith Bonds in Indonesia; Asteroid Seen Hitting Earth's Atmosphere Over Philippines; Popular Video Game "Minecraft" Gets Big Screen Adaptation. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired September 05, 2024 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[02:00:11]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max, I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. Another American community in mourning after a school shooting leaves four people dead. The suspected gunman, a 14-year-old student at the school.

With just two months to go until the November election, the U.S. accuses Russia of trying to influence American voters.

And Ukraine ups the ante, testing a new weapon, a drone that rains fire and molten metal onto the battlefield.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church. And we begin here in the U.S. state of Georgia, where families, students and faculty are mourning their fellow classmates, their friends, their neighbors. Four people are dead and nine others hospitalized in a school shooting in the city of Winder about an hour north of Atlanta. The victims include two 14-year-old students and two math teachers.

Investigators say there's no known connection between the suspect and his victims. Members of the community held a vigil Wednesday night, several students spoke with CNN about what they saw including the girl who sat next to the suspect in algebra class.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He turns to the classroom, to what would have been my right, and he just starts to shoot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard gunshots. Sounded like someone was just banging on a door. And then as a red alert popped up on the screen, and then a light went off, and it sort of hit me what was happening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another teacher was watching us, and so she was like, oh my God, oh my God. She's like, going to closet, everyone going to closet and we heard, like, really loud shots and stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a place where I'm supposed to feel safe. Like, this is honestly a place I did honestly feel safe. Every time I walked in the school, I never thought anything would happen to me. Like, that's honestly a place I've honestly felt protected. Now I don't even want to be in the hallways alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Authorities say the suspect is a 14-year-old student who used an A.R.-15 style rifle. He immediately surrendered to school resource officers when they confronted him. Law enforcement officials say the FBI interviewed the boy last year about school shooting threats, but they found no probable cause to take action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JUD SMITH, BARROW COUNTY, GEORGIA: They're the true heroes as well. They were actively looking. They had an alert, I guess, if you will. And when they interjected, or when this shooting began, they interacted with the shooter, Mr. Gray, and as soon as they made contact with him, he gave up immediately. Hate is not going to prevail in our county, and hate is not going to prevail in our state and pure evil did what happened today. That's all I can tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Investigators are talking to the suspect and his parents but they've released no information on a possible motive. The shooting sent students scrambling for safety as their parents rushed to the school, waiting for answers.

More now from CNN's Isabel Rosales.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): High school students evacuating in Winder, Georgia, one by one out to safety. Some joined a prayer circle after surviving the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. since March of last year. According to the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, two students and two teachers were killed at Appalachian High School. Nine others were injured and hospitalized, four with gunshot wounds.

The shooter who opened fire Wednesday morning, shortly after 10:00 a.m. identified as 14-year-old student, Colt Gray who surrendered after being confronted by school resource officers.

CHRIS HOSEY, DIRECTOR, GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Within minutes, law enforcement was on scene, as well as two school resource officers assigned here to the school who immediately encountered the subject within just minutes of this report going out,

once they encountered the subject, the subject immediately surrendered to these officers, and he was taken into custody. ROSALES (voice-over): Multiple law enforcement officials tell CNN, the school received a phone call this morning warning that there would be shootings at five schools, starting with theirs. The call is now being investigated. The sheriff, meanwhile, says he wasn't aware of any calls. A massive law enforcement response, including the FBI and ATF were on the scene, working with state, local and federal officers.

Junior Laila Fohrman was in the bathroom when the school alarm went off.

LAILA FOHRMAN, WITNESS: I was scared, I was going to die, to be honest. And when I heard hard lockdown, I knew it was in the drill. I immediately took texted my dad and I was just like, I don't know if this is a drill, I'm really scared and I just kept my feet up and I prayed.

[02:05:06]

ROSALES (voice-over): Many parents rushed to the school like Aaron Clark after receiving these text messages from her 17-year-old son, Ethan. School shooting. I'm scared, please. I'm not joking. I'm leaving work, says the mom, I love you. Love you too, baby. Others in disbelief.

MATTHEW STRICKLAND, PARENT: I tried to get here as soon as possible. I mean, it's just -- it's crazy. Something like this happens in such a small town, such small county, you just never know what's going to happen. I was just grateful that she was still good.

ROSALES (voice-over): Sheriff Jud Smith vowed to stay strong for his community.

SMITH: I went to school in this school system. My kids go to this school system. I'm proud of this school system. My heart hurts for these kids. My heart hurts for our community. But I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And the American flag here at Appalachia High School has been lowered to half staff, a reminder that something terrible has happened here at the school, and a mark of respect to for those that have been killed and those students that have been injured as well. We know from the superintendent that they have closed down the schools through the remainder of the week.

Meanwhile, officials vowing to charge this alleged shooter with murder and also to try him as an adult.

Isabel Rosales in Winder, Georgia, CNN.

CHURCH: Bobby Chacon is a retired FBI special agent. He joins me now from Los Angeles. Appreciate you being with us to discuss yet another deadly mass school shooting in this country. This time in the state of Georgia and taking the lives of two students and two teachers. The suspected shooter is just 14 years old, a student at the school and now in custody. What was your reaction to the police response to this tragedy?

BOBBY CHACON, RETIRED FBI AGENT: Well, I think it was a good response. I think the hearing the school resource officer is the one that confronted him first is exactly how the system is set up. These officers are positioned at the schools to be the first one to intercede in these incidents and to know that they were able to not only intercept him, stop him, but actually get him to surrender I thought it's exactly how it should happen.

All too often, you know, these shooters commit suicide by cop, as we call it, by shooting out with the police, knowing that the police are going to overwhelm them and kill them. But in this case, it didn't. He got him to surrender. So, I thought the response was very good. Unfortunately, in these situations, when the shooter unknowingly start shooting, they can kill a number of people before anybody can intercede and that's what happened today.

CHURCH: And authorities say that the 14-year-old suspect was questioned last year about school shooting threats but there was no probable cause to take any action at that time. What's your reaction to that?

CHACON: That's right, the FBI national threat center got anonymous tips, tips plural, in and they didn't know who it was but they figured out it had come from Georgia, these threats that were given by these anonymous people. And they were -- they referred down to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office to say, hey, this threat's coming from your jurisdiction, you know, find out who this is and the Jackson County Sheriff did find out this person and this kid and they went and interviewed both him and his father.

And then they -- at that point, they determined that, for whatever reason, they didn't have enough public cause to further an arrest. You know, I think that's going to be subject to some examination. I don't know the nature of the threats that were made. We don't know how harsh they were, what was included with them, but it was enough for us to refer the FBI, at least, to refer them down to the sheriff's office.

And the sheriff did identify them. We didn't know who the kid was, but the sheriff was able to identify him, go talk to him, and unfortunately, it turned out to be the shooter today.

CHURCH: And police say that the suspect used an A.R.-15 style rifle in this shooting and appeared to act on his own, but we don't know how he got access to that weapon, and we don't know his motive at this point. What would be happening right now to try to answer these questions?

CHACON: A lot of interviews with his classmates, anybody who was close to his family members, friends. The FBI has what's called a social media exploitation team that's probably doing a deep dive into his digital footprint, any of his online activity, all of that is happening now. It's been happening since this morning and they're trying to build a picture of who this kid was. He is talking or the -- at least, he's alive and he's in custody. So, I assume that the investigators are talking to him about what his motive of all too often, when the person is killed in these incidents, the motive dies with them. But hopefully we'll figure out, you know, how he did it.

[02:10:05]

CHURCH: And Bobby, what needs to be done right now do you think to stop these deadly school shooters happening over and over again in this country?

CHACON: Well, look, I think, you know, I think, you know, if you know this kid's 14, he shouldn't have access, unsupervised access to a gun. They have to look at how that happened. I mean, we recently had a case in the U.S. where a mother and father are now sitting in jail because their son access to gun that they should have kept secure, I think. You know, if it's the father's gun, you know, you need to help -- start holding people accountable for letting children have weapons like that when they are not legally able to have those weapons.

If it's -- if it's a crime, then they should be charged with that, and accountability should be applied. And, you know, we need to have a conversation about what level of threats we're going to take so seriously that we remove a 14-year-old from school and maybe put them in a juvenile facility because up until the day of the shooting, it's only a threat and a lot of these threats are not taken seriously.

But I think that it's a multiple-tiered solution, I think you have to have less access to those weapons. You have to have more accountability to anyone that allows access to those weapons to children like this who are troubled. And you need to have better monitoring procedures in place at schools when a kid is identified as somebody who made a threat. What are we doing to monitor that kid and his behavior?

So, it's multifaceted solution. It's a difficult solution and that's why it hasn't happened yet.

CHURCH: Bobby Chacon, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

CHACON: Thanks for having me. The U.S. Justice Department is accusing Russia's media arm of funding a Tennessee company to push Russian propaganda. It was meant to influence the U.S. presidential election and help get Donald Trump back in the White House. CNN's Paula Reid explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Justice Department announced indictments against two employees of Russia Today. A state-controlled media outlet funded and directed by the Russian government, alleging it's part of a broader effort to influence the U.S. presidential election.

MERRICK GARLAND, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: As part of that effort, R.T. and its employees, including the defendants, implemented a nearly 10 million scheme to fund and direct a Tennessee-based company to publish and disseminate content deemed favorable to the Russian government.

RIED (voice-over): The company then allegedly contracted with U.S.- based social media influencers to amplify the content.

GARLAND: The American people are entitled to know when a foreign power is attempting to exploit our country's free exchange of ideas in order to send around its own propaganda. And that is what we alleged happened in this case.

RIED (voice-over): Prosecutors say the goal was to sow divisions in the U.S. to weaken opposition to core Russian interests, particularly its ongoing war in Ukraine, and to help Donald Trump get reelected.

GARLAND: More generally, the director of national intelligence test has testified that Russia's preferences have not changed from the preceding election.

RIED (voice-over): While the Attorney General didn't mention the former president by name, he did reference Russia's previous efforts to back him. A R.T. spokesman responded to today's indictments with mockery saying 2016 called and it wants its cliches back. And three things are certain in life, death, taxes and R.T.'s interference in the U.S. elections. Remember this?

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.

RIED (voice-over): The two employees charged in the case allegedly managed the operation from Moscow using fake personas and shell companies. The department also announced the seizure of 32 domains tied to an alleged Russian propaganda campaign.

GARLAND: These Web sites were designed to appear to American readers as if they were major U.S. news sites like the Washington Post or Fox News, but in fact, they were fake sites.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: CNN has learned the U.S. company, the Justice Department alleges, was being funded by Russian operatives working as part of this Kremlin-orchestrated influence operation is tenant media, which is linked to right-wing commentators with millions of subscribers on social media. I'll note though, the FBI director said that Russia is not the only foreign actor trying to meddle in the democratic process. He specifically called out Iran and China as well.

Paula Reid, CNN Washington.

CHURCH: Two months to go before the U.S. presidential election in November, and less than a week before the first and possibly only debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

[02:15:04] ABC News has officially announced the rules of the September 10th faceoff in Philadelphia and both presidential candidates have agreed to the format. The 90-minute debate will have two moderators and no audience.

The former U.S. president won the virtual coin toss and chose to offer the last closing statement. The Harris campaign has agreed to a key sticking point, muted microphones while the other candidate is speaking but it again laid out its objections to the condition insisting the Vice President will be "fundamentally disadvantaged by this format."

A new CNN poll shows Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are locked in close races in key swing states with no clear leader in the battleground states of Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Harris holds an advantage over Trump among likely voters in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Trump has the edge in Arizona, while Georgia and Pennsylvania are the key toss up states.

Former U.S. House member Liz Cheney says she will vote for Kamala Harris in November. The lifelong Republican has been a fierce critic of Donald Trump ever since the January 6th insurrection. She noted the importance of voting for Harris in states like North Carolina, a key electoral battleground. Cheney told an audience at Duke University that she did not make the decision lightly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ CHENEY, FORMER UNITED STATES HOUSE REPUBLICAN: As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Kamala Harris's campaign said she is proud to have earned Cheney's vote.

Fierce battles continue in eastern Ukraine and outgunned Ukrainian fighters are using drones to try to level the playing field. That's just ahead after a short break. Stay with us.

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CHURCH: Ukrainian forces are deep in the trenches in eastern Ukraine, as well as in Russia's Kursk Region. And while they're making gains inside Russian territory they are struggling to match Russian firepower and manpower in the Donetsk region. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen shows us how advanced drones are helping bridge the gap.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Elite soldiers from Ukraine's third Assault Brigade get out of their armored vehicle and right into a massive firefight. One of the soldiers is wounded, the others scream for a tourniquet. But the unit keeps moving while Ukraine's army has been losing ground in many areas in this part of the Kharkiv region, they've turned the tide. Later, taking several Russian dugouts, the deputy commander says.

[02:20:14]

The enemy has no results, he says. Moreover, we have positive results. We've pushed the enemy back and captured a battalion line of enemy defense.

While the third Assault Brigade says they'll keep pushing forward. Ukraine remains badly outmanned by the Russians. And the third Assault Brigade wants ever more combat drones to be their great equalizer. This is their drone school they call the Kill House.

PLEITGEN (on camera): Drone technology is developing extremely fast on the battlefields in Ukraine and the third Assault Brigade believes in the future they will need even more drone pilots. So they're training as many as possible, as fast as possible, to get them combat ready.

PLEITGEN (voiceover): They've already trained more than 1500 perspective drone aviators here, not just to fly the FPV drones effectively, but to use them as lethal weapons capable of destroying even tanks and armored vehicles.

The greatest effectiveness of a pilot is his or her desire the school's boss tells me. FPV pilots are people of a special mindset. They know how to hit the target, what ammunition to use. The ammo is becoming more lethal as well. A different Ukrainian unit now acknowledging they're using a trial version of a fire spewing drone that drops an incendiary substance on Russian positions.

But the Russians keep hitting Ukraine with much bigger munitions, missile strikes killing several people in Lviv, in western Ukraine. Overnight search and rescue crews recovering the bodies for hours. Kyiv's leadership has vowed revenge for Russia's aerial attacks against Ukrainian cities, a driving factor also for the soldiers attacking Russian positions on the northeastern front.

Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A total of seven people were killed by those Russian airstrikes in Lviv on Wednesday. The city is near the border with Poland and has long been considered one of the safest places in Ukraine since the war began. But residents say that sense of security has been shattered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANASTASIA TARANENKO, PSYCHOTHERAPIST (through translator): As long as the war is going on nobody's safe. We may forget about it at times, and we may believe that it will all be good somehow. We may believe it is an illusion, that we're in the West. We're close to Poland. Nothing will happen here, but no we see what's going on. Nobody is safe.

MYKOLA HORBEL, LVIV POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY STUDENT (through translator): I've said it before. The war has become part of our lives, and as horrifying as it may sound, we become used to these strikes, in a way. I'd say that life is going to the bomb shelter and back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Of these seven people killed in the attack, four of them are from one family. A warning. These images are graphic. Yaroslav Bazylevych lost his wife and three daughters when a missile struck their home. They had been taking shelter under a staircase at the time. One of the girls who was killed had written about her incredibly close, knit and harmonious family in her college application letter. Now, Ukrainians across the country are mourning their loss.

Well, in the coming hours, Ukraine's parliament is expected to consider the resignation of foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba. He and five other cabinet ministers submitted their resignations Wednesday, only four have been accepted so far. Kuleba is one of the most widely recognized members of the Ukrainian government. Shortly before announcing his intention to step down, he spoke to CNN urging Western allies to send more powerful missile defense systems.

If lawmakers approve his resignation, Kuleba's departure will be part of a major government shakeup, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says is needed to give the war effort some new energy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): I'm very grateful to the ministers and the whole government team that worked for Ukraine and the Ukrainians for 4-1/2 years. And some for five years. We need new energy today, and these steps are related only to the strengthening of our state in different directions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Let's get more on this now from Michael Bociurkiw. He is a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He joins me now from Odessa in Ukraine. Always appreciate you joining us.

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL SENIOR FELLOW: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tended his resignation Wednesday ahead of this cabinet reshuffle, just as a new wave of deadly Russian missiles struck the country overnight. What is going on behind the scenes politically with President Zelenskyy explaining this as giving the war effort new energy?

[02:25:07]

BOCIURKIW: Yes. So, very good question. Zelenskyy team is spinning this as a reset of the government, although a lot of analysts, including myself, view this more as a move to consolidate power within the Office of the President, specifically the Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak. I think, Rosemary, they've really overstepped this time. And as one former Deputy Prime Minister put it, the government is careening towards a severe governance crisis because Dmytro Kuleba, I mean, this is a diplomat's diplomat, one of the most recognizable faces of the Ukrainian government.

I can tell you, there was a lot of dismay here on the European continent overnight and Brussels and Berlin, London, United States over his departure. And, you know, I -- to give you an example of his kind of visionary and intelligence. He was on our podcast, global impact, and he told Melissa Richie and myself that the war is coming. This was a few months before the war. He said the war is coming.

And secondly, he said that the world should stop looking at Ukraine through the prism of Russia. In other words, too much is calculated on Russia's ration in terms of what's going to happen to Ukraine. But I don't see as strong as replacement coming. And I think one of the reasons, Rosemary, kind of to wrap up here is he's leaving is that I think he got sick and tired because the office of the president has basically taken over communications for the government.

And earlier on in the war, they cut the budget severely of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A lot of embassies have very few resources. Probably he couldn't take much more anymore.

CHURCH: The timing is a concern, isn't it? I mean, you have to ask, why is a cabinet reshuffle planned in the midst of deadly Russian strikes on parts of the country, when citizens of Ukraine are being killed and others are also under threat of losing their lives. Just many questions being asked here.

BOCIURKIW: Yes. In fact, in that interview with Christiane Amanpour that you mentioned he actually -- Mr. Kuleba actually said part of his family is from Poltava. So really struck him personally. And, you know, why would you change him and so many other respected faces, including Olga's definition yet, another deputy prime minister, right at the time when you're begging for more resources from the West, especially those long -- the OK for those long range Western supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia.

It just doesn't make sense. And then one more thing, Rosemary, into this complicated mix, admittedly, is also forced out was the head of the Ukrainian state owned Ukrenergo, the transmission generating company shot by the main of -- name of Volodymyr Kudrytskyi was forced out against the wishes of Western allies, including, reportedly, the White House. So, I don't know. It just seems a lot of shooting yourself in the foot at the worst possible time.

CHURCH: Yes. And as you touched on, I mean, the question has to be asked, how much does this cabinet reshuffle hinder and undermine President Zelenskyy's efforts to acquire more weapons from the west to defend his country, his people, particularly when these Western nations see this political drama playing out? I mean, they pretty much know what's going on here, I would assume. BOCIURKIW: You know, my gut feeling on this is that we're at a pivot point in terms of this current government. As you know, Zelensky came in with a wave of popularity. He had a majority in parliament, but right now he's even having problems summoning the votes to get some of these resignations, so-called resignations, accepted. So, there's going to be some work for him to do in the parliament in terms of getting those rights together.

But I think you're seeing also, as the clock ticks down to the November elections, a race to kind of future proof assistance to Ukraine and again, why would he remove someone like Mr. Kuleba (INAUDIBLE) the other ones who had such respect in western capitals and replace them with people who are virtually unknown. So -- but again -- and Western capitals are also telling Ukraine, look, the war is not a pass for you to neglect your fight against corruption and the moves that happened at (INAUDIBLE) which has done really, really well in the past few months.

In fact, it's the reason I have power right now, and I'm able to speak to you, is because they've done such a good job protecting power stations. A lot of this just doesn't make sense. Sorry to say.

CHURCH: Yes. So many questions, looking for some answers on this. Michael Bociurkiw, many thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

BOCIURKIW: My pleasure. Thank you.

CHURCH: Straight ahead, under pressure and doubling down. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to make concessions for a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas amid reports he torpedoed a potential deal in July.

[02:30:02]

We'll take a look at that.

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[02:32:45]

CHURCH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doubling down on his handling of the Gaza ceasefire negotiations just days after the bodies of six hostages were recovered from the enclave. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, he said he is not going to change his policies to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza and claimed the Israeli military is already taking unprecedented steps to do so. The prime minister again blamed Hamas for the lack of a ceasefire-for-hostages deal.

As part of any potential agreement, Mr. Netanyahu insists Israel retain control of Gaza's border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor. He argues that Israel's prior lack of control of the corridor allowed Iran to smuggle weapons to Hamas. A senior U.S. official says the prime minister's comments on the corridor are not helping the ongoing negotiations. CNN's Jeremy Diamond asked r. Netanyahu about the fate of the hostages. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: I spoke to Aviva Siegel tonight, a former hostage whose husband is still being held in Gaza. She told me that she believes that you are sentencing her husband, Keith, to die by prioritizing the Philadelphi Corridor over a deal. And she has this question for you. Is Keith going to come home alive or dead?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I'll do everything to make sure that Keith and all the other hostages come back. I'm telling you that if we relieve the pressure, if we got out of the Philadelphi Corridor, we're not going to get the hostages back. Certainly, we're going to condemn a lot of them to stay there. We could get a few out, don't give us that (ph), but then leave a lot with them. We won't have the pressure point and something else will happen. We will not be able to come back, so we won't release all the hostages and we won't achieve the defenses that we must have to prevent more October 7th again and again and again.

I don't stand in judgment of these tormented souls because they're undergoing an agony that is hard to fathom. And I understand that. But the responsibility of leaders is not merely to share the sentiment, the emotion, but also to exercise judgment, the correct judgment to make sure that these horrors do not happen again.

[02:35:00]

I believe that our strategy is the best way to achieve both goals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The prime minister's strategy is under further scrutiny as a new report alleges he derailed a potential hostage deal back in July by making new demands at the 11th hour. That is according to the Israeli newspaper " Yedioth Ahronoth" citing a government document which lists the new demands. According to the paper, at least three of these six hostages found dead in Gaza over the weekend were due for release as part of an earlier draft agreement.

In the coming hours, Pope Francis is set to hold mass in Jakarta with more than 80,000 people expected to attend. The catholic leader is in Indonesia on a whirlwind tour of the region. He spent the morning with the Grand Imam of Southeast Asia's largest mosque in an effort to strengthen bonds with Muslim leaders. And CNN's Anna Coren joins me now with more details on the pope's trip.

Good to see you, Anna. So, what was the significance of the pope's meeting at the mosque Thursday morning? And what's on the pope's agenda going forward?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you say, he will be giving mass this evening, Rosemary, before 80,000 people and crowds have been lining up for hours now, to get inside the national stadium of Jakarta. We've just learned that as a sign of respect, the government has asked for local broadcasters to suspend the Muslim call to prayer this afternoon during the mass. The pope's trip, as we know, it's really about bridging divides and bringing different faiths to get together. And what better place to do it than in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

It was on display this morning in the capital when Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Indonesia, Nasaruddin Umar, signed a joint declaration rejecting religiously motivated violence. It happened during a visit to the Istiqlal Mosque, which is the largest in Southeast Asia. The declaration said it was worrying that religion was being used to justify violence. Take a listen to what the pontiff had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): I hope that our communities may be increasingly open to inter-religious dialog and be symbols of the peaceful co-existence that characterizes Indonesia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Now, this mosque where the pontiff and imam were -- it happens to have been designed by a Christian architect and it's linked by a tunnel, the 'Tunnel of Friendship' to the catholic cathedral, which is just opposite. Pope Francis, he visited the tunnel before signing that agreement. Rosemary, the declaration also called for action on climate change, saying it's an ongoing environmental crisis that has become an obstacle to the harmonious co-existence of peoples. And we know that Indonesia is a country certainly feeling the effects of climate change, so much so that it's taking moves to move the capital because it's sinking and the country itself deals with chronic flooding.

Tomorrow, the pope will head to Papua New Guinea, then onto East Timor and Singapore, and we understand that he will have traveled nearly 33,000 kilometers by the time he returns to Rome in just over a week, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All alright, our thanks to Anna Coren, joining us live from Hong Kong with that report. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:45]

CHURCH: An asteroid about a meter wide struck the earth's atmosphere over the Philippines on Wednesday, creating a spectacular fireball as it burned up during entry. Asteroids this size are harmless and pretty common with one hitting earth about every two weeks or so. That's according to the European Space Agency. But they're rarely seen before they strike. Experts say it's just the ninth asteroid that's been spotted before impact. That's pretty cool.

All right, so we are getting a first look at a new film based on the popular video game 'Minecraft'. The sandbox type game is known for allowing players to create their own world with no rules, where the only limitation is their imagination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything you can dream about here, you can make.

SEBASTIAN EUGENE HANSEN, ACTOR: Who are you?

JACK BLACK, ACTOR: I am Steve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Now, unlike the video game which has no official goal or story, the movie's characters are trying to find their way home after being transported to a strange square-shaped world. "A Minecraft Movie" is produced in part by Warner Bros. Pictures, part of CNN's parent company, and it will be in theaters next April.

I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is up next. Then I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

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[02:45:00]

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