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CNN NEWSROOM
Crews Searching For Lion Air Wreckage And Victims; Suspect In Pittsburg Shooting Appears In Court; Anti-Defamation League: Anti- Semitism On The Rise. Investigators Examine Helicopter's Flight Data Recorder; Family And Players Mourning Leicester City F.C. Owner; German Chancellor: Time To Start A New Chapter; Outpouring of Support for Pittsburgh Community; Calls for Justice; Saudi Public Prosecutor Meets with Turkish Authorities; Brazil's Shift to the Right; Changing South Korea's Workaholic Culture; Typhoon Yutu Hits the Philippines. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 30, 2018 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: -- appearance. And she was a beacon of stability amid calm and -- in calm rather of all the crazy that has been European politics. Now Germany's Angela Merkel has announced plans to step down but will she survive long enough for a smooth orderly exit from public life. Hello welcome to our viewers all around the world, I'm John Vause and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Right now dozens of families are waiting on word on the flip -- on the fate of Lion Air Flight 610. The jet crashed minutes after takeoff from Jakarta on Monday. Crews are still looking for the plane's fuselage where most of the 189 passengers and crew are believed to be as well as the flight data recorders. At least 24 body bags containing victim's remains and belongings have been taken to a Jakarta hospital for examination but it's still unclear precisely how many bodies have been recovered. it is grim work.
CNN's Anna Coren is following the story first live from Hong Kong. Anna, what we know is that this flight have very erratic track in the final moments but is there an idea why the pilot or the co-pilot did not declare an emergency?
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, a really good question and something that investigators are trying to get to the bottom of as well. We just don't have those answers at this stage. Obviously, so much is going to depend on what is in those black boxes, the cockpit flight data recorder as well as -- sorry, I beg your pardon -- the cockpit voice recorder and then the flight data recorder. These are essential and will hold the key, the answers to what went so terribly wrong with that Boeing 737 MAX 8 that was carrying 189 people on board.
Now, authorities have ruled out any survivors. They say that every single person on board that plane is dead and they have been finding body parts including that of a baby that was located earlier today. Debris also from the wreckage of the plane has been located, but the main fuselage which is obviously where the majority of those passengers are believed to be trapped, the bodies believed to be trapped, that is yet to be found.
A search and rescue operation is happening around the clock. It's obviously entered its second day now. There are dive teams, boats, and helicopters scouring about 150 nautical miles. That's what they're looking at as far as the search area looking for those bodies, looking for the debris, looking for answers. But if we talk about this particular aircraft, it was relatively new, John, it had only been operating for two months, had 800 hours flying time, that the pilots collectively between the two of them had 11,000 flying hours. So they don't think it was pilot error. They do believe that it was technical error. That is what investigators are focusing on.
And we also know from Lion Air that this particular plane John had technical issues the day before on a flight from Bali to Jakarta. Obviously, it landed safely but from accounts of passengers on board that flight, they said that it seems to be experiencing problems as well.
VAUSE: It's not just a new plane for Lion, it's also Boeing's most advanced, newest 737 so there's a lot at stake here to try and work out exactly what caused the crash.
COREN: Yes, absolutely. I mean, and this is huge. How can a plane that is only two months old Lion Air took hold of it in in August, it's been operating since then, how can it just drop out of the sky, and that is exactly what happened. It took off on Monday at 6:31 a.m. Several minutes later the pilot contacted air traffic control saying they're experiencing problems, wanted to return to base. Permission was granted. And then moments later it disappeared from radar. Now, witnesses saw it crashed into the Java Sea and obviously that is where they have found the debris. But yes, absolutely. Boeing has obviously offered its condolences. They will be sending investigators as well, but this is a huge problem for the manufacturer because this is -- this is a new plane.
We know that Indonesia has obviously had a checkered past when it comes to aviation safety as has Lion Air. They had a facial downing of a plane in 2004. 25 out of 163 passengers were killed in Solo Central Java. They then had a string of accidents, some -- no fatalities but still enough for the E.U. to put it on the airline safety blacklist. That was however lifted in 2016 but as we say, Indonesia aviation has had a checkered past and this obviously only adds to the problems, John.
[01:05:20] VAUSE: Yes, the worst aviation disaster we've seen in three years, 189 souls lost. Anna, thank you. Anna Coren there with the very latest from Hong Kong. Well, the suspect in the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue has made his first appearance in court. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Robert Bowers, a penalty which must be approved by the U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The U.S. President will visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday and pay his respects along with the First Lady, his daughter Ivanka, and son-in- law Jared Kushner even though some of the city's Jewish leaders are urging the President to stay away because his words and policies they say, have emboldened a growing white nationalist movement which they've pleaded with him to denounce. But on Monday the White House Press Secretary instead spoke about the President's ties to Judaism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He adores Jewish Americans as part of his own family. The president is the grandfather of several Jewish grandchildren. His daughter is a Jewish American and his son-in-law is a descendant of Holocaust survivors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Donald Trump is blaming the media for a spike in political violence tweeting the fake news media is the true enemy of the people. And his Press Secretary once she stopped crying, double down on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: The President -- stop placing blame. The President is not -- is not responsible for these acts. Again, the very first action that the President did was condemn these heinous acts. The very first thing that the media did was condemn the President and go after and try to place blame, not just on the President but everybody that works in this administration. The major news network's first public statement was to blame the president and myself included. I mean, that is outrageous that anybody other than the individual who carried out the crime would hold that responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Pittsburgh's mayor wants President Trump to wait a while before visiting the city. He says for now the focus should be on the victim's families. The first funerals will be held Tuesday. Meantime, the massacre is highlighting a sharp rise in acts of anti- Semitism in the United States. CNN's Sara Sidner has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Investigators say Robert Bowers wanted all Jews to die. The suspect using his arsenal of weapons to try and kill as many Jews as he could now faces a myriad of hate crime and murder charges. In Squirrel Hill, the center of Jewish life in and around Pittsburgh, resident Hallie Goldstein says fear was never a part of the equation until now.
HALLIE GOLDSTEIN, RESIDENT, SQUIRREL HILL: Before everyone was just saying how they felt stronger and they felt braver and I don't feel brave, I just feel scared.
SIDNER: Now there is reason to fear. Eleven people were just slaughtered in a synagogue in America. For years, incidents of anti- Semitism were on the decline in America. Then came the 2016 Presidential Election. Since then, a meteoric rise, 34 percent increase in 2016, a 57 percent increase in 2017 according to the Anti- Defamation League that tracks it.
JONATHAN GREENBLATT, CEO, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: That's the single largest surge we've ever seen since we started tracking this data.
SIDNER: Nothing is sacred, not human life or places of worship, or even where the dead are buried. In Omaha, Nebraska a Veteran's Memorial scarred with a swastika, in Indiana a synagogue desecrated, in Sacramento, California fliers targeting Jewish students on campus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It screams of the same type of graphics and the same type of design that the Nazis used.
SIDNER: This is in Potter County, Pennsylvania just a few months ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my country.
SIDNER: It's great. This is also my country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys didn't win the culture war. Get the (BLEEP) out of here. (BLEEP) now.
SIDNER: And no one can forget that torch-bearing men in Charlottesville, Virginia spewing their hate-filled rhetoric.
AMERICAN CROWD: Jews will not replace us.
SIDNER: What is behind all this, the ADL and those who track hate say, there is no doubt political rhetoric is in part to blame. That rhetoric can be subtle or in-your-face like U.S. Representative Steve King, for example, retweeting messages from a known Nazi sympathizer.
REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: I'm not deleting that because then you all pile on me and say King had to apologize, he was wrong, he knows he's guilty. I'm not. I don't feel guilty one bit. I'm human.
SIDNER: This political ad raised eyebrows featuring prominent Jews to target global special interests.
TRUMP: And for the global special interest.
SIDNER: While those accused of anti-Semitism for years like Louis Farrakhan continue to tweet and make inflammatory statements.
GREENBLATT: When Jews are literally under attack, we should have a zero power -- a zero tolerance policy and intolerance. It's unacceptable that anyone from the President to Minister Farrakhan, to anyone in between should make the risk of comments and all of it should be called out. All of it should be unacceptable.
[01:10:18] SIDNER: It all adds up and let's not forget what's happening online. On the social media site Gab for example, the same site that the suspect used to spew anti-Semitic rhetoric, there are dozens, hundreds of memes and words and vile, vile pictures that are anti-Semitic. Many of those who were white supremacists or neo-Nazis that got kicked off of spaces like Twitter migrated to Gab after what happened in Charlottesville. We need to remember that that too has an impact. Sara Sidner, CNN Pittsburgh.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Brian Levin is Director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. He joins us now from Los Angeles. Brian, it is good to see you. Thank you for being with us.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: -- how many e-mails is sent to the New York Times from the CEO and Founder of Gab regarding you kn0w, the Pittsburgh shooter. Because he was on Gab, law enforcement now have definitive evidence for a motive. They would not have had this evidence without Gab. We are proud to work with and support law enforcement in order to bring justice to this alleged terrorist. Yes, that may be true but I very much doubt that the shooter posted what he did with law enforcement in mind was far more likely to be doing it for his followers and friends on Gab and for some kind of affirmation.
BRIAN LEVIN, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM: I think you're right. And you know, one of the things that we've seen and Andrew Thompson was so kind to help us just magnificently with his research. We saw this increase in anti-Semitic and other types of hate speech, go up dovetailing with the explosion of hate crime that took place election month 2016 and what we've seen is this migration of hardcore hatemongers to places like Gab or V.K. the Russian Facebook, Telegram and other places as more commercial platforms have had used their Terms of Service to get rid of these hate mongers.
So I don't know. That's kind of like saying, gee, the seamstress who made the Nazi flag helped us identify where the Nazis were. I don't think they're that civic-minded.
VAUSE: I guess the question which follows through this also is did the you know, the social media platform like Gab where anything goes, did that radicalize the Pittsburgh shooter? I mean, jihadist can be radicalized online, why not domestic terrorists?
LEVIN: Excellent point. And one of the things I said on Friday to Canadian television was how these loners are now among the big ascendant threat and in particular while it crosses ideological lines, in particular for the four right-wing world. Because after Charlottesville there was this implosion of these major hate groups and an unraveling of the leadership. So what is it left? It's left the Internet as a vessel for this narrative, these folklores -- this folklore and hatred and unfortunately it's a big part of this. (INAUDIBLE) called it Twitter for races.
VAUSE: Yes, that's to put up mildly.
LEVIN: Yes.
VAUSE: You know, it's self-lying. You know, they're arguing the case that it's just basically their First Amendment absolutist. It's all about free speech. And you know, and under net neutrality principles, Internet users should actually have a right to access Gab and say whatever garbage and read whatever garbage they want. But then there are privileges not rights, companies like PayPal and GoDaddy which pull their support that made it difficult for Gab to stay online. You know, that's the privileged part of the Internet. So is it possible though that doesn't seem to be a very effective way of regulating this?
LEVIN: No. And one of the things too. The First Amendment does protect freedom of speech and it gives people a soapbox but it doesn't have to give them a network if you will. And companies can very much determine by terms of contract who can be on their sites and who can. But the bottom line is what we've seen in an era of social media manipulation.
Another thing our research showed that in the run-up to that explosive month of November 2016 which was the worst month for hate crime in 14 years and the worst November ever, we not only saw an increase of hate speech on places like 4chan that Andrew Thompson found but we've also seen all kinds of examples of bigotry taking place not only in public spaces but virtual ones as well. And I think going forward, folks are going to have to consider how people become radicalized as well as how social media can be manipulated,
[01:15:18] VAUSE: Brian, evidence, logical argument, all that kind of stuff. Thank you. We appreciate it.
LEVIN: As always. Thank you. We miss you out here in California.
VAUSE: Thanks. Likewise. Just ahead, marking a tragic moment in football history. Fans and players gather in grief as investigators try to figure out what caused a deadly helicopter crash just outside Leicester stadium.
Also, she is been described as the most powerful woman in the world, but Chancellor Angela Merkel is stepping down. What that could mean to Germany and the world is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: All to the U.K. now where investigators are examining the flight data recorder from a helicopter which crashed, killing the owner of the Leicester City Football Club and four others. The chopper went down moments after taking off from center pitch after Saturday's match.
Tributes have been pouring in, to the club's owner. His wife and son laid a wreath at the King Power Stadium, Monday. Leicester City players paid their respects.
So, to Thailand's youth football team, the Wild Boars. You remember them, they spent two weeks trapped in a flooded cave. They happen to be visiting the U.K. at the time of the crash.
Well, the politics down, Germany's immigration crisis may have been part of what pushed Europe's most powerful woman turn out she's stepping down. The Chancellor says she won't stand again once her term ends in 2021. We have details now from Fred Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was the announcement that spelled the beginning of the end for the German Chancellor.
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): This fourth term is my last term as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany like in the next Bundestag election in 2021, I will not run again as Chancellor. I will not run for the German Bundestag anymore, and I will not take any other political positions.
[01:19:46] PLEITGEN: After 13 years as Chancellor, Angela Merkel's saying she wants to begin a new chapter. Her decision, assign of a weakened position in her party. A party that suffered poor results in a regional election this weekend.
Despite recent struggles over her long career, Angela Merkel became arguably the world's most powerful woman. She adopted several nicknames along the way, including Mutti or Mama Merkel. No matter what she has been called though, Angela Merkel has proven to be a force to be reckoned with.
She grew up in East Germany, under its communist regime. Studying to be a scientist. But after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, she threw herself into the world of politics. Working to reunify Germany after the Cold War. She had an act for toppling those who underestimated her.
Her mentor, the formidable Chancellor Helmut Kohl used to tease her for her provincial manners. And yet, within a decade, she was calling for his resignation as he faced allegations of corruption. By 2005, she'd become the country's first female Chancellor.
MERKEL: I want to serve Germany.
PLEITGEN: Known for being pragmatic and understated, though some found her indecisive. Early on, she was criticized for being slow to act and reticent to speak out.
Merkel showed her resolve in 2015 when she allowed more than a million refugees most fleeing from Syria's Civil War to cross into Germany. It was initially applauded by many Germans. But later, heavily criticized by those who believe Germany was overburdened.
Merkel's answer to her critics was (INAUDIBLE) "We can manage." It was a decision that has come to define her political career.
Merkel is one of the longest-serving leaders in Europe. She's worked alongside three U.S. presidents, four British Prime Minister's, and four French presidents. Under her leadership, the country has grown prosperous and powerful. But Angela Merkel has also challenged Germany to open up and shoulder more responsibility for global problems.
As she prepares to step down in 2021, Germany will need to decide if its new leader should continue down that path. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin. (END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Dominic Thomas is CNN's European affair's commentator. He is with us now from Los Angeles. Dominic, OK, good to have you with us.
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: OK. Hi, John.
VAUSE: OK, the big question, I guess, will she last as Chancellor until 2021? You know, her coalition partners -- you know, they could pull out mid next year. That would trigger a federal election. She could face a leadership challenge inside the party. You would seem -- you know, a smooth exit from a proud Merkel is anything but guaranteed.
THOMAS: Right. Nothing is guaranteed here, and it's obviously, now it's out of her hands. We've known for a while it's been common knowledge that she was not going to be running for a fifth term as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union.
I think that by strategically and getting ahead of the game here, and announcing, first of all, that in December, she will give up the leadership of the party, and is a way of sending a message not just to her party but to others that the post Merkel era as ironic as it may be that people want her out of power has, in fact, she has provided such an consistency.
She's been the rudder for the German Federal Republic for so many years now. And probably what she's asking them to do is to look at the last general elections at which we saw not only mainstream political parties and score terribly, but also a proliferation of smaller political parties, where we saw six parties, the largest to enter into the parliament and the longest coalition talks.
And that this particular juncture, even though the CDU is underperforming in these elections, it still is the major party.
But you have several other political parties that are doing very well in this. And it becomes almost unconscionable to think about what a coalition talk would look like should a federal election come about tomorrow.
And so, I think these parties would be very wise to take their time considering and their new leadership and the new directions that the country is likely to be taken in.
VAUSE: It does so feel all very lame-duckish regardless of how long she survives. POLITICO wrote this, she has stayed on too long, missing that magic moment when she could have walked off stage in a blaze of glory. Now, she will slink off amid the mendacious accolades of those who once feted or feared her."
You know, according to the -- to a former senior Obama aide, it was Donald Trump's election in 2016 which made us stay on. You remember these at famous photo from the G7 in Canada earlier this year.
THOMAS: Right. VAUSE: It seems that you're standing up to at least tanning over Donald Trump. You know, if that is true, you know, has she had much success in actually trying to moderate the impact of Donald Trump? If she did stay on because of his election, how much impact does she have -- you know, on his brand of Trumpian policies?
THOMAS: Well, in general, I think her career, she might argue has been shaped by dealing with men in politics, by dealing with very powerful and German politics, as well. And yet, she's managed to carve out a place for herself. As you pointed out there talking a little bit about her history.
What's so absolutely extraordinary about Angela Merkel is just the number of years that she's been there in power. I mean, she's worked with four different French presidents, four British Prime Ministers and three American presidents. And obviously, beginning with the sort of the second term of George W. Bush, all the way through to Donald Trump.
And she has had a very different and very combative relationship with him in many ways. Now, has she been able to stop him? The answer would not be there. You just have to look at the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran deal, and other kind of foreign policy issues.
The relationship of the United States with the European Union today is at an all-time -- an all-time low. And but until she stepped away from power, and there are many that -- you know, thought that running again on this particular time around was not the -- not the wisest thing to be able to do.
But it's not just the Trump era that's been an issue for him, it's the sort of the general broader political climate that is also seeing Donald Trump give value to so many other far-right leaders in Europe.
Many of them were there beforehand, but the issues that she's faced with Hungary, with Poland, and particularly, within her own political party, and sister party in Bavaria, the CSU.
[01:26:13] VAUSE: Yes.
THOMAS: Very much impacted by these kinds of questions.
VAUSE: We almost out of time, but let me get in on that point. Because this goes suggest who will be her successor. There is no obvious successor at this point. So, you know, the next Chancellor, given the lurch, the right that we are seeing in many parts of the world, you know, could we be seeing a German Chancellor who is a right-wing populist who has the ability to whip up a crowd, you know. Who is a nationalist who -- you know, maybe doesn't sort of turn for Germany's past.
THOMAS: Right.
VAUSE: I mean, is -- you know, anything is possible at the moment in politics. THOMAS: Absolutely, and of so of course, you know in the -- in the sort of the climate of -- you know, Brexit, and Trump, and so on and so forth, you know, Angela Merkel seems like a fairly good proposition.
It's not just the extreme right, the alternative for Germany that's now present in all 16 German states that has entered the German parliament. But it's also those that are speaking analogous kinds of rhetoric in the CSU party, in the CDU and some of the people that are positioning themselves for the leadership of the CDU which is, of course, the path to the chancellorship.
And also embracing and how the record of embracing far-right rhetoric will certainly anti-immigration rhetoric, and so on. And at the opposite end of the spectrum, we have this remarkable rise of the Green Party, and that is opposing this. But this is a political situation where a Chancellor is appointed following coalition talks.
And when you've got a proliferation of parties that are all scoring under the 20 mark except for the CDU, the outcome in the future is incredibly unpredictable. And all of these political parties are going to be positioning themselves now for this post-Merkel voting moment whenever it comes about.
VAUSE: Unpredictable is the name -- I guess is the word that we are dealing with right now when it comes to politics everywhere. Dominic, thank you. Appreciate you being with us.
THOMAS: Thank you.
VAUSE: The massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue has sparked an outpouring of sympathy and support. And among those leading the way, Muslim groups are free to do whatever it takes, whatever is needed. Details when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:50] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.
Crews in Indonesia are trying to locate the passengers and crew from the Lion Air Flight JT 610. The Boeing 737 crashed in the waters of Jakarta on Monday, 189 were on board. The plane's fuselage and flight data recorders are yet to be found.
Angela Merkel says it is time for a new chapter. After 13 years at the helm of Europe's largest economy, the German Chancellor confirms she will not run for another term. The coalition suffered major setbacks in recent regional elections. Chancellor Merkel's term ends in 2021.
Another group of Central American migrants bound for the U.S. has crossed the river into Mexico. U.S. President Donald Trump is sending more than 5,000 troops to try and stop the migrants from illegally entering the country. They are weeks away from arriving.
And President Trump heads to Pittsburgh on Tuesday to pay his respect to the victims of Saturday's synagogue massacre. The suspect appeared in court Monday; prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
There's been an overwhelming of outpouring of love and solidarity to the community at the center of Saturday's mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. No shortage of offers of help and support like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WASI MOHAMED, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PITTSBURGH ISLAMIC CENTER: We just want to know what you need. You know, if it's more money let us know. If it's people outside your next service, you know, protecting you -- let us know, we'll be there.
If you need organizers on the ground engaged, we'll provide them. If you need anything at all -- if you need food for the families; if you just need somebody to come to the grocery store because you don't feel safe in the city, we'll be there and I'm sure everybody in the room would say the same thing. We're here for the community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The man making that heartfelt and generous offer is Wasi Mohamed, executive director of the Pittsburgh Islamic Center.
On the fund-raising side, two non-profit Muslim groups, one called Celebrate Mercy, the other MPower Change started a crowd-funding Web site on the day of the shooting aiming to raise $25,000. They reached that target in six hours. Less than 24 hours later, they hit their next goal $50,000, then $75,000. Then they grew to $125,000 then $150,000 and then they said hey, we're good.
Posting this: "We are currently assessing whether any more funds are needed for the victims' families but we are keeping this campaign. Any leftover proceeds from the campaign, after dispersing funds to the victims' families will be spent on projects that help foster Muslim- Jewish collaboration, dialogue, and solidarity."
They added this, "Please consider donating to help all the victims of a recent hate shooting in Kentucky.
Tarek El-Messidi is the founder of Celebrate Mercy. He is with us from Chicago. Tarek -- thank you for taking the time to talk with us.
TAREK ELMESSIDI, FOUNDER, CELEBRATE MERCY: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: You know, it has been such a bleak and depressing few days with the news. But amid all that darkness, you know, this offer of help from the Muslim community and all those who have donated seems to be that sort of flicker of light that just refuses to be put out.
EL-MESSIDI: Yes. We're in really troubled times. And you know, both the Muslim community and the Jewish community have felt so threatened over the past couple of years with all the bigoted rhetoric, you know, sometimes racial profiling. There's just so much otherizing going on right now of so many different minority communities.
So we felt like what better way to show and to -- and to really display our shared humanity especially because Muslims and Jews are really like Abrahamic cousins. We have a shared -- we have a very similar theology and shared history of a thousand years worth of collaboration and working together.
[01:35:02] There's an amazing -- Muslim-Jewish history, you know, before the mid-1900s which is pretty amazing. So we really wanted to reach out first and foremost as human beings, as fellow believers in faith and Abrahamic cousins and try to help alleviate some of the burden of what they're going through.
VAUSE: You know, in situations like this, let's be honest, money is always helpful but what really struck me was the offer from Wasi Mohamed from the Islamic Center for Muslims to stand outside temple and act as security, to go to the grocery store just to be there.
You know, when it comes to bridging divisions in this country -- that's the sort of action which is what is needed right now. And it is not what we're seeing from the current administration.
EL-MESSIDI: Yes. It is very unfortunate that, you know, it is almost like an ecosystem of hate has been created since the presidential campaign and it has emboldened, you know, some of these extremist to take -- you know, to take up arms.
And what could be lower than going and attacking people for what they believe? And what could be even lower than attacking them in what should be a sacred, safe space? The safest places in America, place of worship.
And what is even lower than that is going after people who are elderly. So it was the lowest of the low. And I feel like a lot of this rhetoric, words matter. You know, a lot of this rhetoric is emboldening extremists, white supremacists, and others to attack anyone that looks different than them. Attack people they don't know and probably they've never met that they have stereotyped against. It is horrific.
VAUSE: Words matter. But actions matter more. And this is not the first time your group Celebrate Mercy has stood in support of the Jewish community. Last year, you raised money to help with Jewish headstones which have been vandalized and destroyed.
EL-MESSIDI: Yes. You know, a lot of this is inspired by what we feel is the core teaching of our faith and core teaching of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him which is to be merciful to people and to respond. If there's evil, if there is someone that treats you wrongly to respond with a better action, to take the high road -- the Quran says to repel evil with that which is better.
And something that really inspired us last year when the cemeteries were vandalized and this year again was one story of when the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was sitting down with his disciples and when he saw a Jewish funeral procession passing by him at a distance he stood up from where he was sitting.
And some of his disciples said why are you standing up? It is merely a Jewish funeral, it's not a Muslim funeral so there's no need to stand up and pay respect. His response was so beautiful. He said, is it not a human soul? Is it not a human soul?
So really at the core of this is our shared humanity. And we wanted to reach out as human beings first and foremost to our brothers and sisters in humanity and help them out, to help lift some of this burden from them.
VAUSE: You know, we like to think of THE shared humanity. But at the same time, you know, all the numbers point to this big increase in hate crimes, not just against Jews and Muslims but, you know, other minorities as well. So, you know, how do you explain this? How do you see the causes of this increase?
EL-MESSIDI: Well, I just think every group has their extremists. There's Muslim extremists, there's Jewish extremists, there's white extremists. There's extremists in every category you can think of, you know. But the question is, is there extremism being is normalized or not? Is it being -- are the fans being flamed of that extremism? And I would argue the political rhetoric over the last couple of years has fanned the flames of hatred towards any, you know, towards many minority groups in America.
But while there is, you know, there are crazy people out there, there are nut cases, there are extremists -- there's a lot more good in people than there is bad. And the fact that this campaign, you know, hit its goal in just a few hours.
And, you know, we started it Saturday afternoon. By the time I went to bed on Sunday night we had hit $100,000. It was raising a thousand dollars every 20 minutes. That says a lot about people. It is not just Muslim donors, by the way.
About a third -- we estimate that about a third of the people donating are not Muslim, many of them Jewish. It's become really an interfaith effort and people of all faiths or no faith are contributing. So that says a lot about what America is and what humanity can be.
[01:40:03] VAUSE: Yes. From your lips to God's ears. Tarek -- thank you for being a bright spot in a pretty bleak couple of days.
EL-MESSIDI: Thank you.
VAUSE: Nearly a month after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi his fiancee is speaking out and demanding the return of his body and she's urging the government not to put financial considers considerations ahead of justice.
Also Brazil lurches to the right electing a new leader with views on guns, crime and a lot of other issues that sound outright Trumpian.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee is calling for the U.S. president to put aside his financial interests and push for the truth in his death. While the story has shifted a number of times, the Saudis admit the journalist was killed inside their consulate in Istanbul.
Riyadh insists the King and the Crown Prince had no knowledge of the operation. The White House says President Trump is weighing a number of different options in response to the Khashoggi killing but Mr. Trump has said he wants to protect a multi-billion dollar arms deal with the Kingdom.
At a London memorial for Khashoggi, his fiancee called for answers from the Saudis. And she wants support from the West in bringing the killers to justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HATICE CENGIZ, JAMAL KHASHOGGI FIANCEE: Jamal Khashoggi is a martyr for the struggle to democracy and freedom in our part of the world. I want to bury the body of the beloved Jamal. Therefore I'm asking once again, where is his body? I believe that the Saudi regime knows where his body is.
They should answer my demand. But this is not only the demand of a fiancee but a human and Islamic demand from everyone, every nation.
I'm deeply grateful for the solidarity of people all over the world. I'm however disappointed in the actions of the leadership in many countries, particularly in the U.S., President Trump should help reveal the truth and ensure justice be served.
He should not pave the way for a cover-up of my fiance's murder. Let's not let money taint that (INAUDIBLE) and compromise our values.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Turkish authorities still want to know who ordered the killing and what happened to the body. Saudi Arabia's chief prosecutor went to Istanbul. They discussed the case. We do not know if Turkey actually received any answers.
[01:45:00] We have details now from Ben Wedeman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor came to Turkey to meet with the Istanbul prosecutor who's leading the investigation into the 2nd of October murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
The meeting lasted a mere hour and 15 minutes. Now, the Turks were hoping the Saudis would provide them with a testimony of the 18 Saudi nationals currently being detained in the Kingdom -- that includes the 15-member hit team that came here as well as three employees of the Saudi consulate. Nor is it clear if the Turks shared with the Saudis the audio recording they say they have that includes the torture, murder and dismemberment of Mr. Khashoggi.
Also on Monday, the Turkish foreign minister said that the Saudis are slowly admitting everything but he warned against stalling in the investigation.
The Turks very much want to know where is the body of Jamal Khashoggi and who was it that gave the order to send the hit team here in the first place?
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN -- reporting from Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Brazil's new president Jair Bolsonaro struck the defiant tone he's known for during his first interview since being elected with 55 percent of the vote. Speaking to CNN affiliate RecordTV he said the answer to the country's sky-high crime rate was to be armed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIR BOLSONARO, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF BRAZIL (through translator): If someone is interested in doing something bad, they don't need to buy a gun in the legal market. It is easy to find a firearm on the on the black market.
We need to abandon this political correctness, this notion that Brazil will be better if everyone is unarmed. It won't be better.
Firearms not only guarantee people's lives. They guarantee their freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Bolsonaro's election comes after a bitter divisive campaign. Now he's president, he faces a (INAUDIBLE) economy, rampant crime and pervasive corruption.
Here's Shasta Darlington reporting in from Sao Paulo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A day after sweeping to victory in Brazil's presidential elections, Jair Bolsonaro met with advisors and received a flood of congratulatory messages and phone calls from world leaders.
President Donald Trump sent out a tweet after their conversation saying the two had discussed how to work together on trade and the military. Now Bolsonaro sold himself to voters as an anti- establishment candidate who would bring radical change, especially when it comes to endemic political corruption and rising violent crime. So some of his first actions are likely to be in the area of security; legislation is already in the works that would lower the age of criminal responsibility, making it easier to try teenagers as adults, making it easier for citizens to own guns and making it easier for police to shoot suspected criminals.
Bolsonaro's economic team is working on a wave of privatizations and a sorely-needed but not very popular pension reform.
And at this point it's not clear whether Bolsonaro is completely onboard. In the past, he's voted against privatizations while in Congress. For his critics, however the biggest concerns are in human rights and in the environment.
Bolsonaro repeatedly defended Brazil's brutal military dictatorship when he was in Congress. He made misogynist, homophobic and racist comments. So critics want to see if he's going to appoint military men from his inner circle or seek out experienced politicians that could really help rein in the rhetoric.
When it comes to the environment, Bolsonaro has back-tracked from initial threats to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. But he's also made it clear that he will be supporting the agribusiness sector which is never good news for the Amazon when he take over on January 1st.
I'm Shasta Darlington for CNN in Sao Paolo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In South Korea, it's often a case of live to work not work to live. But now new laws are aimed at preventing some from working themselves to death.
Here's Alexandra Field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The pain is fresh for the Park Young-Suk (ph), a widow at age 50. Last year her husband Shi Su-hong (ph) went to work and didn't come home. She says it was a heart attack.
This certificated from Korea's Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service recognizes her husband's death as work-related.
PARK YOUNG-SUK, WIDOW, (through translator): He must have thought that working like that was normal. He's part of the baby boomer generation which emphasize he's working hard and doing the duty as a man of the family.
FIELD: Park doesn't in any way blame the company where her husband was putting in 60-hour week despite heart conditions. She knows the problem is much bigger.
[01:49:58] She's now part of a grief group for people who all say their loved one worked themselves to death.
PARK: Korea is a society that demands overworking. They think that working long means working well and being productive.
FIELD: The South Korean workers are indeed logging a lot of hours. In 2017 the average worker logged 2024. The only places where people are working longer hours than South Korea are Mexico and Costa Rica. That's according to the Organization for Economic cooperation and Development which tracks working hours in 37 countries.
But a new law aims to change that, limiting South Korea's workweek to 52 hours down from a maximum of 68.
KIM WOO-TARK, LABOR ATTORNEY: Because Korea had to quickly get back on its feet after the Korean War, as structure was created that forces workers to do a great amount. That structure became a culture.
FIELD: Legislators hope that the new law will inspire new attitudes toward work and that it will create better work life balance.
Here at Seoul city hall, they have already taken a symbolic step forward. On Friday night they killed the lights that forces workers to start their weekends.
At KT a telecom company, the sound of that bell signals the end of every workday before the screens go dark.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After that certain time, the system shuts down and I cannot log in anymore. So even if I want to, I cannot work.
FIELD: Kim Jong-jun (ph) says shorter hours force him to be more productive. But this Jong Hak-dong (ph), a postal worker says he doesn't have enough time to do his job.
JONG HAK-DONG, POSTAL WORKER (through translator): If you don't finish your work by the time you get off in the evening, there's no choice but to come in early in the morning voluntarily to finish it.
FIELD: The law does not apply to public servants like Jong, the Post Office voluntarily shortened the week. They've taken on subcontractors and some full-time workers to fill the gaps. But a commission set up examine postal workers conditions says 2,000 more jobs should be added to make a shorter week feel like less stress.
In Seoul -- Alexandra Field, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Just ahead here, Typhoon Yutu makes landfall in the Philippines. The potential destruction and where it's heading when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Typhoon Yutu is bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the Philippines, known locally as Rosita. The storm made landfall in the province of Isabela just a few hours ago.
(INAUDIBLE) destructive path across the Pacific it's expected to move out of the Philippines by Wednesday evening, local time.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has more now on Yutu. That seems to be a long time to be hovering over the Philippines.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes it has. Up to nine hours -- we were just counting how many hours this storm has been over land -- nine-plus hours and going. And incredible really to think that this storm, still as of this hour, maintains typhoon intensity even over the Sierra Madre Mountains of Luzon.
So certainly a powerful storm and in fact, seven day snow the storm has been at least a typhoon or a super typhoon, of course, a week ago or so across the Mariana Islands there, impacted that region as a Category 5.
But just kind of reference here, this system is now beginning to gradually reemerge over the South China Sea and that is exactly where we will see the storm system try to reenergize over the next couple of days.
And in fact, we do have the officials in Philippines that have issued a signal 3 across there, on the western periphery there of Luzon that includes the Lingayen Gulf in that region, points to the northward where we do have risk here for up three meters storm surge over the next several hours as the system begins pushing away from the island.
[01:55:08] And guess what, it wants to turn off toward the north. As it does, we expect strengthening over the next 24 to 48 hours, potentially up to 165 kilometers per hour.
And really our models have a tough time beyond this of what happens from say Friday into Saturday as we go on towards the latter portion of the week. Some models want to bring it in closer towards Hong Kong and certainly into Guangdong. Others want to take it Fuji on and some outliers, even want to bring it in towards Taiwan.
So a lot of uncertainty when we get closer to this weekend from what is left of the storm system but we do think it will want to weaken as it heads off towards the north. But you notice, how quickly it wants to reenergize here over the next several days as it approaches northern portions of Guangdong.
But one thing is certain with these tropical systems, it is not the wind that causes the most significant damage. It is the water element of this. And there will be storm surge; certainly the storm has packed a punch for many, many days. A lot of energy built behind it.
And of course, the heavy rainfall along the coastal community where flooding and landslides become a real possibility across this region.
Look at this -- over the past ten months now across portions of the Philippines, four tropical systems have impacted the islands -- two of them to the south, the weaker ones; two of them to the north. Mangkut about six weeks ago came ashore as a Category 5, recall. Took with it 70 lives to the north.
Yutu comes in just slightly to the south of that region. As of right now we're not hearing any reports of any significant damage or injury which is fantastic news. And again, this is a Category 1 on landfall. But it has been very busy.
I've said this over and over, the tropical storm, above average; typhoons right on average for this time of year. It is the super typhoons where we really stand head and shoulders above our -- about more than double now what is normal for this time of year to see in a super typhoon category. So certainly not a number you want to see on the increase. And that's been the case over the past several months.
But I want to leave you this, take you out towards Venice, Italy this was in the past 24 hours, a classic aqua alta taking place, essentially means high water.
This happens every October through December when you have winds from the south push up water right towards the lagoon into Venice and in fact, you had the highest aqua alta -- the highest levels of water in Venice on Monday since 1979. Waters as high as 160 centimeters put about 70 percent of Venice under at least some water onto ground across that region.
You expect it to remain very high going into (INAUDIBLE) 110 centimeter waters that should put about 12 percent of Venice under at least some water there. So it becomes a tourist destination for some but if you have to live in it maybe not something fun and with that climate change, John, we've sent the waters want to rise a little more every single year as well.
VAUSE: Water as high as an elephant's eye. Pedram -- thank you.
JAVAHERI: Exactly.
VAUSE: And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Another hour of news is coming up with Rosemary Church. You're watching CNN.
[01:57:52] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
