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Hala Gorani Tonight

UN Releases Climate Warning to The World; Saudi Journalist Goes Missing; Trump Is on Campaign Trail. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 08, 2018 - 14:00   ET

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

[15:00:00] HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hannah Vaughan Jones in for Hala Gorani.

Tonight, you have 12 years to get your act together. That's the stark warning for all of us as experts warn of a climate catastrophe. Also,

tonight, what happened to a Saudi journalist who walks into a consulate in Turkey and hasn't been seen since? We are live in Turkey with the very

latest.

And President Trump and the Republicans still on their victory lap after Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court. But what affect will

the bruising process have on those upcoming midterm elections?

We begin tonight with an incredibly dire warning for the planet. United Nations top experts on climate change say the world has about 12 years to

get the problem under control or the results could be catastrophic. The new landmark report said the planet is two thirds of the way to a climate

tipping point and the panel says if we don't reduce greenhouse emissions, the earth will reach that crucial threshold as early as 2030. I want to

bring in Tom Sater to walk us through this. Good to see you, Tom.

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You, too.

JONES: This is a damning report from the United Nations.

SATER: It is.

JONES: What are the things to sit up and listen to?

SATER: Well, I think the first aspect of this is unlike other climate reports, it's a wake of up call for politicians and they were sitting the

snooze button. This is a call that says fire or should. 6,000 scientific papers by 130 scientists and authors from 40 countries. This is all been

gathered since the Paris agreement. And it really gives us a conclusive evidence even though the threshold hoping not to warm the planet to 2.0

degrees Celsius, better do go for 1.5 because other than that it's irreversible. Talking about the strongest evidence, heat waves.

Europe, you had a heat wave and Scandinavia, 32, 33 degrees this summer. The hottest days wherever you are in the world at least 3 degrees warmer

than that. Coastal flooding occurring right now. Islands losing the coastlines. Once in 500-year floods. 1 in 1,000-year floods more often.

Drought. Australia just had their not only driest September on record but they had the driest month in 116 years. What it is saying here is the

world disasters are increasing. Going back to '85 to '95, 163 world disasters that now it's a 50 percent increase.

The report says this. If we can keep it at 1.5, yes, more heat waves, floods and droughts and the coral reefs, won't lose completely. This is

sad. Only lose 70 percent to 90 percent and breaks it down more. By 2030, cut emissions to 45 percent by 2050, 100 percent off all emissions that

give us the CO2. This is extraordinary. The U.S., China, India, Russia. Those are the big components not doing enough for the globe to understand

the understanding of this report.

JONES: And the date that really stands out for most people learning about this report now, tom, that 2030. 12 years away. So, what can ordinary

people, ordinary citizens around the globe do right now and recommend they can do to play their part in trying to cut these emissions?

[14:05:00] SATER: They list led lights, cut out meat. The production of meat is much greater than the benefit we get from it. The methane gases.

We have a 66 percent chance of limiting the warming. That's not a great percentage by 2047. By 2058, the grand kids have a 50 percent chance and

the best thing is to get educated. Many people think it's a hoax. Go back to 400,000 years and we can tell from core samples, co2 is up and down.

But since the industrial revolution, our CO2 output is never higher. And the direct correlation of that and the global warming cannot be argued.

The last three years have been the warmest in our history. And if you've never seen the graphic, I have to show you. One of my favorites. These

are the countries of the world. Blue is cool years. Brighter lines are warmer and runs through the cycle and tells us the average temperatures and

now the global warming continuing. You get into the late '80s here and you see more and more of the bright colors.

This is a fantastic animation that actually ends two years ago and we've been even warmer than that. First time in history shipping lanes are open

in the arctic. Never before. This year has the ice melted away for ships to go through. Getting to 2.0, we will never have ice again.

JONES: Fantastic. Not fantastic but fascinating graphic at least. Thank you so much for explaining all that to us, tom. Education is obviously the

key there. In order to take action.

SATER: A person who knows how governments can indeed act is Gina McCarthy. She was an administrator of the environment agency under Barack Obama and I

began by asking whether this report was all doom and gloom or what could actually be done to address climate change in the short period of time that

we have. And she was surprisingly optimistic. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GINA MCCARTHY, FORMER ADMINISTRATOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY UNDER BARACK OBAMA: I think you're bringing up one of the best points ever

which is we know that climate change is a problem for us. We know it's a problem for our health, well-being, safety, national security. We

understand this.

And the important thing about that is that we understand what science is telling us in terms of how much reductions we need to achieve. But the

important thing to keep in mind that we have the knowledge, the scientific knowledge. We have the technical capability and we have the economic

resources we need to not just tackle this but to turn it into an opportunity. A low carbon future is healthier, safer, it is where you want

to be. It can build our economies. We just have to be smarter.

JONES: Talking from an individual's point of view, though, you say we have to be smarter, we have the technology. We know that economically it's more

beneficial for us. What can I the individual do in just ten year's time to try to make an impact?

MCCARTHY: Well, I mean, obviously, you need political will and you need leadership. But every individual can contribute. Every individual can

look at how they transport. Do they take public transportation? Can you buy an electric vehicle instead of a fossil fuel fired? Can you look at

exchanging the light bulbs and saving money to do the energy efficiency programs? There are technologies today that everybody can participate in.

But we also -- I very well know having worked in government that you do need government leadership to keep pushing the envelope to broaden the

reductions to achieve because that's what report told us. We have to move faster and further. Every single year.

JONES: Then thinking about the governments and the bigger picture on all of this, you used to work under the Obama administration.

MCCARTHY: I did.

JONES: The current administration in the U.S. obviously every country in the world is important when it comes to climate change and tackling it but

this U.S. administration, what is the current policy as far as climate change is concerned and what policies that you put in place have been

reversed just in the last couple of years?

MCCARTHY: Yes. That clearly new administration, the Trump administration, is not interested in following the science, not interested in following the

laws.

JONES: Is the EPA in climate change denial?

MCCARTHY: Yes. Not the individuals that work there but the leadership is.

JONES: Right.

MCCARTHY: So, they're attempting to roll back all of the progress we made on clean cars, on our clean power plant to reduce emissions from our

utility sector but what I really want people to understand is that the federal government may be asleep but the rest of the government has woken

up. We have states, cities, working on these issues. Our clean energy transition is continuing to move forward.

And this administration is trying to roll back things but I will tell you we did them right and by the science and the law. They're going to stick

and we're going to be back in action and we're going to rejoin the international community.

[14:10:00] JONES: But I'm wondering if you think the argument is pervasive enough. For individuals much more concerned about what's in the wallet at

the moment rather than future generations, their great, great, great grandchildren to come and what they might have to live through.

MCCARTHY: The funny thing is in the United States looking at the polling is vast majority of the people understand that the climate is changing and

they know we're getting whacked with storms that we have never seen before. So, they're ready to act and they're acting in a quiet way. They are

acting with their pocketbook because energy efficiency saves you money. Solar energy when it's accessible as today competes very well against coal.

We are winning those battles. But you need leadership to go as deep and as quick as we need and you need the federal government to move forward. So,

while the rest of us are going to continue some progress, we know we need to be there and we know the United States needs to show that we're not only

understand this issue but join hands with the international world to face a planetary threat.

JONES: One of the facts out of the UN report or one of the claims is that $26 billion in economic benefits could be achieved through 2030. The

problem with that is as great as it sounds is politics is, of course, very temporary and the Trump administration at least will certainly not be in

power come 2030. So how do you translate what seems like a great economic environment, $26 billion, extra on top into the economy and translate it to

politics happening right now saying it's worth doing that right now?

MCCARTHY: We do see it happening in the energy world in the United States because it's not run at the federal level. It's run at the regional level.

We see states even states run by Republican governors in states that do not vote generally for Democrats, they are investing in renewable energy. It's

cheaper. You know? Once it gets into the market it can move. But it's the job of the federal government to send long-term signal. While we can

do a lot in a short period of time, we need a new generation of technologies if we're going to really get to zero.

JONES: OK.

MCCARTHY: Which is where we need to be.

JONES: You seem very upbeat which is positive especially because a lot of time speaking to people campaigning on climate change issues it is

difficult to find an upbeat argument about it. Are you worried or hopeful?

MCCARTHY: Sure. I have to be both. You know? I'm worried because it is the health of my kids today and my new grandson. It's the future for my

children. We have to be worried but if all we do is sit and stew about it and we don't take action then we are defeating ourselves in the future for

our kids.

I'm not doing it. So while the President Trump may want to say that the United States is disinvesting in climate change I'm not and many people

including a lot of states and most of the mayors, they're all in and we're going to keep making progress, it's embarrassing for me to sit here and

have to make the statement that the federal government isn't in when President Obama showed that you could take strong action and save money,

save dollars for consumers. We have to continue to have that positive energy or we'll already have lost before we have an opportunity to succeed.

JONES: Gina McCarthy, wonderful to have you on the program. Thank you.

MCCARTHY: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Well, we have been talking so much then about expecting more extreme weather events in the future and residents in the U.S. state of

Florida are hoping that doesn't happen to them any time soon. They're bracing for Hurricane Michael. Hours ago it was upgraded to a hurricane

from a tropical storm. Forecasters say it could make landfall on the Florida coast. As early as Wednesday bringing coastal flooding and high

winds as well, of course, we'll stay across that here at CNN.

Now, to a story we have been following. The baffling disappearance of an outspoken Saudi journalist, a few hours ago Turkey's President made it

clear to the Saudis that they need to prove that Jamal Khashoggi left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He has not been heard from since entering the

consulate last week. Our Nic Robertson has more now on this strange story.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Last Tuesday, Jamal Khashoggi walked through these doors into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

A simple visit to collect marriage papers for his wedding in a few days. It was the last time he was seen.

[14:15:00] According to Turkish officials, Khashoggi's fiancee waiting for him outside raised the alarm nearly four hours later. The Saudis insist he

left the building. My understanding is he entered and got out after a few minutes or one hour. I'm not sure. But despite all the cameras around the

consulate, there is no video footage of him.

On Saturday, Saudi diplomats allowed journalists into consulate to show he wasn't there. But at the same time, unnamed Turkish officials were

claiming Khashoggi had been killed at the consulate and his body removed. Official Turkish media also report that the very same day that Khashoggi

vanished some 15 Saudis arrived in Turkey and had gone to the consulate. Turkish prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, through translator: Everything including entries and exits to the consulate are being investigated. And departures and arrivals

to the airport is under investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: The Turkish President said he hopes Khashoggi will resurface and friends of the journalist in Istanbul say they are making funeral

preparations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Today we were meant to meet. It should have been today that he had his papers.

This week. Either today or next Sunday he was planning to get married. But this never happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Jamal Khashoggi was not a Saudi dissident but a powerful critic, an insider that fell out with the all-powerful crown prince. Over

the war in Yemen, the crisis in Qatar and the way he thought debate at home was being suffocated. It always pushed the envelope, religious

conservatives loathed him. Last year, he moved to Washington, a self- imposed exile telling CNN that reformers in the kingdom were being stifled. He said he, too, was under pressure. Khashoggi's colleagues at "The

Washington Post" say they won't let this drop raising the specter of increased scrutiny of Saudis already closely watched leader in waiting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not going to shut up. We're going to keep his name out there and we're going to, again, if anything anybody who would

want to silence him, they've only made us want to present who he is, who he was to the world even more strongly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: As the mystery deepens, and Saudi Arabia vehemently denies knowing anything about Khashoggis disappearance, some in Saudi even suggest

that Turkey which sided be Qatar in its dispute with the kingdom is exploiting the situation. But if as some Turkish officials insist evidence

emerges that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, the repercussions will be profound and the vision that crown prince wants to project for

Saudi Arabia will be severely tarnished. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

JONES: Reports of officials there are making the unusual move now of asking for permission to search that Saudi consulate.

Joining with us the very latest from Turkey is senior international correspondent Arwa Damon. Arwa, bring us up to speed with the latest on

the investigation and the cooperation of Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Of course, you know, led by Turkey and this all went down officially at least

on Saudi territory.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hannah, it did. Now we did hear from Turkish President Erdogan a few hours ago being blunt

and putting the responsibility of producing evidence that Khashoggi did leave the consulate squarely in the Saudis' hands saying, look, if you

claim he did leave your consulate and nothing to do with his disappearance, provide the proof. Should not be that hard for the Saudis to provide

footage of him leaving and a main reason why there's so many questions of what happened and skepticism of the continuous Saudi claims that they were

not involved at all. Turkey for its part is trying to look into what sort of evidence it does, in fact, have access to.

[14:20:00] Things like security camera footage, looking into whether or not there were other entrances in and out of the consulate. Of course,

screening airport entries and departures but they only have access to what was outside of that building. Yes, they have asked officially to be let

inside but about a week has already passed and not clear as to whether or not they would be able to uncover anything should they be allowed into the

consulate itself.

The Saudis in the past said they would allow the Turks to go inside. And then, of course, you have this ongoing mystery perhaps that surround these

15 Saudi nationals, among them officials, as well. This is according to a police statement that was provided to Turkish state-run news agency where

these 15 Saudi nationals arrive to Istanbul and they also were in the consulate at the same time that Khashoggi went missing and they are

believed to have departed the questions and you can just imagine, Hannah, how devastating this is for his fiancee and family.

JONES: Of course. We'll stay across the story as you will, as well. Arwa live for us in Turkey, thank you.

Still to come, Donald Trump says sexual assault allegations against his newly confirmed Supreme Court justice were a hoax. And he says Democrats

will pay the price at the polls. When you're looking for answers, it's good to have help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JONES: Welcome back. Donald Trump is taking a victory lap today over the hard-fought battle to confirm the controversial Supreme Court nominee. The

U.S. President currently in Florida but he'll be back in Washington later tonight for a ceremonial wearing in of Brett Kavanaugh. Earlier today, Mr.

Trump dismissed the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh as a quote hoax conjured up by the Democrats and he says they're going to pay for it

at the polls in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I thought the way they behaved was absolutely atrocious. I've never seen anything like it. The way they

really tortured him and his family I thought it was a disgrace. Now they think about impeaching a brilliant jurist, a man that did nothing wrong, a

man that was caught up in a hoax, that was set up by the Democrats using the Democrats' lawyers and now they want to impeach him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:25:00] JONES: Well, CNN's Sarah Westwood is traveling with President Trump and joins us now from Orlando, Florida. Sarah, I wonder what the

reception is there for the President. Not the usual adoring base support but a good reception for the President?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Hannah, that's right. President Trump did receive a relatively warm reception here at this gathering of

police chiefs in Florida. Although you're right that it wasn't the typical rally crowd. There were actually people in the audience that stood and

clapped when President Trump mentioned his Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh.

It got an even bigger round of applause than when President Trump was praising the work of the police officers who are here. President Trump has

been using this example of Kavanaugh's bitter senate confirmation battle as a way to motivate Republican voters that might be complacent in November, a

part of the political messaging heading into the home stretch of the midterms and President Trump today during the event called the people who

were opposing Kavanaugh's nomination evil and like you mentioned he has been continuing to refer to this controversy as a hoax conjured up by the

Democrats to try to block the nomination.

JONES: Yes. Sarah, this is obviously a tactic then, you know, with less than a month to go than for -- ahead of the midterm elections, a tactic by

Donald Trump, possibly by the whole of the Republican party, as well. I mean, how well is it going do go down? As you say, he's not there talking

to a bunch of supporters but police chief association so is this the message that he's going to repeat irrespective of what the crowd is?

WESTWOOD: Well, certainly he'll have plenty of chances to do that this week in addition to the event here which was technically an official event.

He has rallies later in the week in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa so he'll have a lot of opportunities to continue using this message. We

should note, though, the Democrats also think that the Kavanaugh confirmation helps their side because of the intensity of the opposition

that we saw develop across the country but Republicans are hoping that this can help them compete in terms of energy and for months now political

energy is concentrated on the left.

JONES: And, Sarah, just briefly, we were hearing earlier that Rod Rosenstein the deputy Attorney General on air force one with the President

on his way to Florida. Presumably to attend the same event, as well. Do we have more information of what they may have said to each other?

WESTWOOD: Well, we know that they spoke for about 45 minutes aboard Air Force One. President Trump stating on the stage here describing that

conversation as good. Rod Rosenstein has a job at the Justice Department and Republicans in the White House don't want to blunt the momentum they

have right now.

JONES: OK. Thank you for updating us on that, Sarah. Live for us from Orlando, Florida.

Still to come tonight, no one is above the law. Not even the world's top cop it seems. The alleged crimes that forced the head of Interpol to

resign when we come back.

Also, as friends and family cope with the grief, we're learning disturbing details about the driver of the limousine involved in the deadly accident

in upstate New York.

[14:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JONES: The top police officer in the world is in trouble with the law. China announced on Monday that it is investigating the head of Interpol for

bribes and other crimes. Meng Hongwei in Chinese custody right now and has resigned as head of Interpol, the latest high-profile arrest in China's

wide-ranging corruption crackdown. CNN's Sam Kylie has the very latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The last communication to a wife. Wait for my call. And then four minutes later, the image of a

knife. Her husband had been President of Interpol. Now, Grace Meng says she fears for her life and will not show her face. She's had death threats

since her husband disappeared in China. She appealed for help from the Chinese people but not the government.

As head of the organization that links police forces around the world, not even Meng Hongwei, who was also a vice minister of public security in China

was above suspicion in China's crackdown against allegedly corrupt officials. He vanished in China at the end of September. Two weeks later,

his detention confirmed.

LU KANG, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): Since Meng Hongwei has allegedly taken bribes and violated laws, he's handed over

his resignation as Interpol president.

KILEY: The move by authorities had been kept a secret. Earlier reporting by CNN on his disappearance was blacked out in China. Interpol accepting

the resignation of its president with a meek tweet. Replaced him without apparent protest. This is a nation that is executed government officials

convicted of corruption and jailed many senior figures.

DAVID CHAIKIN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY BUSINESS SCHOOL: It certainly sends a message that no person, whatever their position, I mean,

this was a leading member of the communist party is immune from the campaign against corruption.

KILEY: His detention come soon after China's most famous actress and Hollywood star Fan Bingbing also vanished for several months. She's been

asked to settle $130 million debt. She's told that she allegedly owes in back taxes.

For now, Meng faces detention and possible torture. If he's convicted on corruption charges, the odds are that China will want to make an example of

a man who was once the world's top cop.

Sam Kiley, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Interpol's headquarters are in Lyon, France and that's where our Melissa Bell is right now.

Melissa, we now know after this mystery starts to unfold. We now where he is but we still don't know how he is. And the accusations are flying

tonight, right?

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: And that, Hannah, really is the crucial question. After these extraordinary few days of mysteries, it's

all been so cloak and dagger.

And remember that it was from his wife Grace Meng that we were first alerted, that the world was first alerted to his disappearance on Thursday.

She waited several days after getting that extraordinary text message from her husband with the knife and the message saying, "wait for my call" and

waited for the call.

The call hadn't come and then alerted the world and then she'd alerted the world. And since then this extraordinary series of developments we now

know much more than we did but there is so much more that we still don't know.

And one of the most surprising things, perhaps, Hannah, is how tightlipped Interpol are remaining. We've essentially had two statements from the

organization. The one on Saturday saying that they were pressing Chinese authorities for more information on his whereabouts, that they were

concerned about their head's welfare.

Then we had the statement on Sunday saying that they'd essentially received word of his resignation, appointed an acting leader and that we'd have to

wait another month, of course, before we find out who the next head of Interpol will be. That will be decided in the meeting in Dubai in

November.

So very little from this global policing watchdog at all. We've tried repeatedly, Hannah, to find out more about what their view was, about what

they believe had happened, about whether they'd heard more precisely from Meng Hongwei himself, what the feeling was within the organization.

Nothing at all. No e-mails. No phone calls. We're also not even going up to the building today to try and speak to someone yielded anything at all.

So a great deal of silence around what's going on and, of course, all of these questions, as you say, we now know where he is, we now know what the

Chinese authorities are accusing him of.

By the way, we've spoken today to his wife Grace Meng who said to whom we put the idea that he was being charged with bribery, how did she feel about

that? She said this was political persecution.

Beyond that, we know very little about how he is, about where specifically he is and about when she might hope to see her husband again.

JONES: Melissa, you mentioned there about us knowing what the Chinese authorities are accusing him of. Are all of those accusations based on the

time since he's been the Interpol chief which, of course, presumably at the time of his appointment was a moment of great pride for China?

BELL: A moment of great pride, absolutely. I think that is one of the greatest unanswered questions in all this. It's why something that was

greeted with such pride at the time.

2016, he was appointed the first Chinese person ever to lead Interpol, why that pride on the part of the Chinese authorities should have been trumped

essentially by what is an eternal corruption drive to clean up Chinese politics.

The man who was his mentor in China, the man under whom he rose through the ranks was himself imprisoned. In 2015 he had been the security czar in

China. It was thought perhaps there had been some connection.

[14:35:07] But, of course, he was imprisoned in 2012 for life. And of course, Meng Hongwei was appointed here in 2016, so it's very difficult to

see what the link could have been. But clearly, Chinese authorities have decided that whatever the world was going to say about this, whatever

questions were asked, it was more important to get their hands on this particular man at this particular point and that really is quite

astonishing, Hannah.

JONES: And just briefly, Melissa, you mentioned there about speaking to Meng Hongwei's wife today. I understand she is under quite a lot of

security at the moment because she's been receiving death threats, as well. Do we know who they may have come from?

BELL: Quite right. We know nothing about who may have made those threats. We know that she has received them on social media. And more directly,

she's now been put under police protection and it was to the local police authorities that she reached out on Thursday to say, look, I believe that

something's happened to my husband. He has gone missing.

French police have now organized her security, they're organizing her protection. She is in a great amount of fear. She believes that her life

is in danger. And so communicating with her is very difficult.

This is a woman who for the time being has chosen not to show her face to cameras and yet to express to the world with great bravely, really, Hannah,

her concern and the fact that wherever her husband is, whatever has happened to him in her words, their hearts are still connected.

JONES: Yeah. Well, not so much mystery anymore but still indeed huge amount of intrigue. We appreciate your report tonight, Melissa. Thank

you.

Still to come tonight on the program, the journalist Jamal Khashoggi said almost a year ago on this program the Saudi government threatened him to

keep silent. Now he's missing. The details of that threatening phone call, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JONES: We take our attention to New York State now with stunning new developments in the investigation into the deadliest U.S. road accident in

nearly a decade.

The Governor of New York says the limousine driver did not have the appropriate driver's license and that the vehicle failed inspection last

month and was not even supposed to be on the road.

Authorities say the limo was carrying several couples to a party when it went through an intersection and hit a parked vehicle on Saturday. Twenty

people were killed. Among them, this newlywed couple and four sisters.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is at the scene of crash in Upstate New York, joins us now live from there.

Polo, just the most horrific investigation. Bring us up to speed with the very latest on it and where any blame should indeed lie for this.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hannah, we should mention that just in the last few minutes we were relocated by authorities to about three

kilometers away from the actual crash site that's because the National Transportation Safety Board, one of two agencies handling this

investigation. They're flying a drone overhead. They wanted a clear view as they document the site here already.

Well, over two days, after that fatal crash here, I can tell you that this part of Upstate New York, they have clearly been struck with sadness,

heartbreak, but now anger to the news that you mentioned a little while ago here.

[14:40:11] Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing these findings that the driver that was behind the wheel of that limousine was among the dead, was not

appropriately licensed to be driving that kind of vehicle.

And also, that that vehicle had been inspected by the state of New York just last month and it failed said inspection.

So clearly, there is this call here for accountability. That's happening right now. Not only its residents here but also officials in the nearby

town of Amsterdam, New York, which is where some of these victims were from.

People there are certainly asking or -- and demanding not only justice but accountability as well. We should mention we're learning more about the

victims themselves as well, including a newly -- a pair of newlyweds who was taking part of the birthday celebration and rented this limousine to go

to a nearby beer brewery to be able to celebrate doing what most people should do.

Instead of driving while intoxicated, they will hire these kinds of services, which is the right thing to do. But instead, of course, this is

the outcome. There's certainly some tragic irony.

I had an opportunity to speak in the last few hours to the younger sister of one of the 17 passengers who were being driven in that limousine owned

by the name of Karina Halse. She told me about her 26-year-old older sister Amanda who died in the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINA HALSE, AMANDA HALSE'S SISTER: My heart is completely sunken. It just hurts coming here and seeing what happened to the landscaping and I

can't even imagine how it happened or why it happened.

SANDOVAL: What do you want the rest of the world to know about Amanda, about your big sister?

HALSE: My big sister was so great and she was so wonderful. She was such a spontaneous person and she did whatever she could to have fun, with

anyone and everyone around her. She was the peacekeeper of the family as we say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: We should mention this new information released by Governor Andrew Cuomo, still does not answer that key question, Hannah, of what

exactly happened. Was it something wrong with the driver or something wrong with the vehicle? We'll hear from authorities in the next hour to

see if perhaps there's new evidence to be shared.

JONES: Polo Sandoval at the scene of that horrendous crash, Upstate New York. Thanks, Polo.

Almost exactly one year ago Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who is now missing, appeared on this program talking about Saudi Arabia. He was

speaking to Hala Gorani about reforms in the kingdom when he mentioned an ominous and disturbing phone call. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMAL KHASHOGGI, JOURNALIST: -- I told you either should not be only for radical Salafism but it also be politically. We need also social and

political reform.

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: But you yourself -- you say you wrote you were banned from Twitter when you cautioned against embracing Donald

Trump too enthusiastically. You yourself say you were in self-exile. Why do you have an obvious level of concern that you wouldn't be able to --

that you wouldn't be safe in Saudi Arabia?

KHASHOGGI: Yes, because exactly what you said. I received a phone call ordering me to go silent. With no court decree. With just someone from

the royal court and official from the royal court who was close to the leadership and ordered me to be silent. That offended me.

GORANI: So when you received that call from the royal court saying be silent, you thought to yourself I better leave because I might get myself

in trouble here?

KHASHOGGI: Exactly. And that's why I decided to leave. And unfortunately, a month later I meet with a friend here in Washington hall,

Essam al-Zamil -- two days after he returned to Saudi Arabia, he was arrested. That proved my worries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Sarah Leah Whitson is the executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, joins me in the studio, as you

can see. Sarah Leah, thanks for being with us so ominous there listening to Jamal Khashoggi talking about that phone call that he had just a year

ago and talking on this program.

What is the precedent of Saudi critics being silenced by the authorities in the past?

SARAH LEAH WHITSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA DIVISION, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Well, just in the past few months, we've

really seen a spate of efforts by the Saudi government to silence critics. First of all, in addition to what's happening inside the country where

there has been a very dramatic and wide scale campaign of arrests of people across the political and religious spectrum.

So from women's rights activists who were championing women's rights to drive, to clerics, some conservatives, some reformists, to business men, to

other royals, there has been wide scale of arrest of anyone whose expressed an independent voice, any voice at all with their thoughts and opinions of

what should be happening in the kingdom that might be at odds with what the government was doing or proposing at the time.

[14:45:09] Now, we've seen it shift to outside the kingdom and we have seen, for example, the abduction of (INAUDIBLE) from the UAE brought to

trial in Saudi Arabia. We've seen, of course, the kidnapping and abduction of the Prime Minister Hadidi (ph).

We've seen Saudi activist and critic here in London beaten by thugs, speaking on behalf and in the name of the crown prince. And we also had a

recent case, interestingly, of a Saudi student activist whose phone was wiretapped from Saudi Arabia.

JONOES: Of course, Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince would say that he is trying to wipe out corruption within the kingdom at the moment and that

is why he's sort of having this clear-out, if you like.

Does he though allow any critics of him or his kingdom to speak freely?

WHITSON: No, he does not.

JONES: In law. Is that just stated law you cannot criticize the crown prince?

WHITSON: Well, indeed. The counterterrorism law of the kingdom or the terrorism law of the kingdom specifically makes it a terrorist offense

punishable by up to 10 years of prison for insulting the ruler, insulting the royal family or doing things as vague and broadly defined as harming

the reputation of the kingdom.

And what the crown prince really more than his predecessors, more than prior royals who have really sought to rule by consensus, is his refusal to

accept any criticism from anyone in the country.

JONES: We often wonder about whether people think they are above the law. He seems like he's very much within the constraints of the law though, but

I'm wondering given his power, his influence not just only in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia but globally, as well, his influence, his wealth, his

political allies whether that means that he somehow feels bolstered and more enable to take these more dramatic steps to silence critics, as you

say outside of Saudi Arabia or be potentially within the consulate which is Saudi territory?

WHITSON: Absolutely. I think he's seen that there has been no accountability for his brazen outrageous acts, whether it's the ongoing war

crimes in Yemen that has brought death and destruction to that country, whether it's the arrest and silencing of critics within his country,

whether it's the abduction of a prime minister, and now the reported kidnapping and potential murder of a journalist in a Saudi Consulate.

When he sees there's no consequence, he recognizes, well, he doesn't have to follow the rules.

JONES: But the Saudis are saying at the moment that all of the allegations lauded at them by the Turks and the international community, this is

outrageous. They've allowed journalist, Reuters journalists to go into the consulate. They've opened cupboards and said, look, he's not here, he's

not there.

They would say that they are cooperating with this. What more can they do now to prove their innocence?

WHITSON: Other than refuting and denying that everything is false, the Saudis have offered not one single shred of evidence to support their claim

that Jamal Khashoggi left the consulate.

They preposterously claimed that every single CCTV video camera within the consulate was out of operation. Now, I don't know the exact number of

cameras in there but it's been estimated to be dozens, if not more cameras. Not a single camera was working so they've offered not a shred of evidence.

On the other hand, we have his fiancee who dropped him off at the consulate, took his telephone. He asked her to call authorities if he was

not out within a period of time. That is what happened. There is no doubt that Mr. Khashoggi entered the consulate and did not leave of his own

accord.

JONES: OK. And as you mentioned there that the cameras are key, this is what the Turkish authorities are pretty much saying, prove to us that he

left the building and then we can -- we can turn our investigation elsewhere.

We have to leave it there, but we very much appreciate you coming in and talking to us about this. Sarah Leah Whitson from Human Rights Watch.

Thank you.

WHITSON: Thanks.

JONES: All right. More to come on the program this evening including, would you let Facebook watch your every move? The company is launching a

product that would bring a camera and microphone into your living room. All the details, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:51] JONES: Forget bottomless margaritas by the pool. For stressed out holiday-makers, it's all about holistic healing brakes and meditation

weekend. Wellness travel is no longer a niche trends, but one of the most popular ways to vacation. And India is home to some unique retreats.

CNN's Amara Walker takes us to Bangalore to find out more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMARA WALKER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: At Soukya Holistic Health Center in Bangalore, Ayurveda often influences naturopathy treatments. Treatments

that have been around long before modern medicine. According to Soukya founder Dr. Isaac Mathai.

DR. ISAAC MATHAI, FOUNDER, SOUKYA HOLISTIC HEALTH CENTER: Ayurvedic medicine is more than 5,000 years old and naturally practiced globally in

(INAUDIBLE)

WALKER: Dr. Mathai and his team often refer to five elements when it comes to naturopathic therapies. Fire, water, air, earth and ether or space.

MATHAI: Five elements theory is coming from mainly from Ayurveda, which is going with five forces in the universe is responsible for our health, as

well as diseases. These forces actually keep us in good or bad shape. Our job is to identify what are the elements are not in balance in your system.

WALKER: Identifying which elements are present and which need to be adjusted, Dr. Mathai believes patients can eliminate toxins from their

bodies, toxins he says are the root cause of disease.

MATHAI: In this situation, accumulation of toxins in the body, that was a lot imbalances. That's a very fundamental thing. In naturopathy, a lot of

treatments are focused on cleansing and detoxification.

WALKER: For example, he says someone with a lot of stress could have a fire dosha. Therefore water therapy along with the cooling effect of mud

therapy can help improve circulation.

Freshly warmed herbs packed into satchels used for massage can relieve inflammation. And warm oil poured on to the forehead can induce a deep

state of relaxation.

MATHAI: So it isn't for investing medical mind, it is nonsense. But for an eastern understanding about the person as a whole and consider these

elements it is very sensible. But only ourselves we can see that this philosophy or understanding is useful for treating a disease or preventing

diseases or improving health.

That we are proving on a daily basis. It's not in the last 20, 25 year I am practicing or my institution is doing. Thousands of years it is done in

India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now, since its inception Facebook has said it wants to bring the world closer together and now it's taking the next step in achieving that

aim by putting a camera in your home that watches your every move. Sounds great, doesn't it?

But it's releasing its own smart speaker, it's called the Portal and it lets you make video calls the other Facebook users. It's the first time

the company would gain a physical foothold then in people's home.

But would you trust Facebook with an always listening device in your house? Well, some say it's a bold move for a company currently besieged by privacy

issues including a massive hack, of course, just last month that may have compromised 50 million users.

Let's bring in our business and technology correspondent, Samuel Burke who has all the details of it. So the Portal, it's a permanent camera in your

living room. Why now? One wonders.

[14:55:01] SAMUEL BURKE, CNN BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: It is rather an inopportune moment for this company. First, they had the

Cambridge Analytica scandal, which wasn't the hack that was your data being handed over and they knew about it.

Then you have this hack. So you have to give them an A for, well, trying to move ahead with their products. But it's very similar to the Amazon

Echo. This is the box for that product. The Amazon Echo is one of those Alexa smart speakers, but it already has a camera and a screen so that you

can make video calls.

And in fact this new Facebook product even uses the Alexa technology and that's when you say, Alexa, turn on the music. Alexa, turn down the

thermostat.

So let me just put up on the screen how it's different from the Amazon Echo because it actually has something very strong setting it apart. Number

one, it has Facebook Messenger. That's something that more than a billion people have on their phone, so that way you can connect to many more people

than the Amazon Echo could connect you with.

Even if you don't have the Facebook device that they're selling now, I could call you from that device to your phone and then all likelihood,

Hannah, you have the Facebook Messenger app on your phone.

Each zoomed in on your face when you walk around. So let's say you put one in your kitchen. As you move around, it will stay locked on your face so

that I can see you the way we would -- some people are already uncomfortable.

But listen, of course, the privacy concerns that you were talking about, you saw up on that screen. A mute button that cuts off power to the

microphone and a plastic cover that slides over the camera. That's like the little piece of tape that a lot of people, including Mark Zuckerberg

keep up with their camera. This is kind of the official version of that. $200 for the small ones, $350 for the larger one. They ship in November.

JONES: So you put the tape over, just in case it comes on when you don't want it to?

BURKE: Well, just in case if you're worried about a hack or you're just walking through your house maybe without any clothes on and you decide --

just in case I want to put it down. Instead of having the piece of tape, it's actually a piece of plastic that goes over the camera part of the

device.

JONES: OK. Let's talk about then the bonuses, the plus sides of this. No doubt Facebook want to talk about as well. I mean, it gives people more

interactive like family time. If you've got parents or perhaps separated from their children for whatever reason.

BURKE: Exactly.

JONES: It makes long distance relationships now more plausible as well. We need never interacting.

BURKE: Well, I could release it as a device for grandparents wanting to interact with their children. But the problem that I might see with it is

because it's just seated there -- I have one of these devices, for instance. I have the Amazon Echo, so it just sits in my living room. It's

hard to just be in one place.

We're quite used to this having the phone walking around and I think even grandparents have gotten good at that. So I don't know how well it will

sell.

JONES: Samuel, I know you've got some other breaking news at the top of the next hour, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" talking about Google, as well. So

viewers, stay tuned for that.

Thanks you so much to everyone for watching tonight. Stay with us, of course, in CNN. You'll see Samuel --- also Quest, as well, on "QUEST MEANS

BUSINESS," up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END