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Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Carol Costello 20141021

good morning, i'm carol costello. we begin with some breaking news. a dallas judge will be speaking any moment now about the remaining five people on the initial 48 who had contact with thomas eric duncan, the first person to die in the united states from ebola. as you remember, the quarantine period ended yesterday for the other 43 people. we are monitoring his comments for any new developments and we'll bring you that as soon as we get it. but first, the cdc lays out new guidelines to protect health care workers from ebola after two nurses who treated duncan contracted the disease. cnn's senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is at cnn headquarters in atlanta with more. good morning. >> good morning, carol. these new guidelines will hopefully prevent the infection, the kind of infection that got nina pham and amber vinson sick with ebola, the two nurses we've heard so much about. let's go over what the cdc wants to change. first of all, rigorous and repeated training. that is so important. training people how the do this. also no skin exposed. the previous guidelines left the possibility for skin exposure. and supervised by a trained monitor. so you're not just doing this on your own. someone is watching you. a few more details, respirators, that's a fancy word for masks. disposable full-face shield. surgical hoods covering the head and neck and a waterproof apron which would cover the torso to the mid-calf. double gloves, mid-calf boot covers and a fluid resistant gown or cover all. so they're being much more specific about what they want. hopefully, again, this will prevent more health care workers from getting ebola. carol? >> i guess the big question is why didn't they do all of this months ago? >> right. they put these guidelines out quite a while ago. and what i'm hearing from folks is, look, the cdc was trying to make it easy for hospitals to do this so they wanted them to be able to use whatever they had on hand. and, you know, now they're thinking maybe that wasn't the best idea. maybe they should have been sort of more -- given better directions, been sort of more dictatorial about this and said, look, you may not have this on hand but you're going to have to get it. >> elizabeth cohen reporting live for us this morning, thank you so much. in gary, indiana, a murder investigation widens and police fear they may have the work of a serial killer on their hands. they questioned darren deon van. he confessed to killing 19-year-old africa hardy, he let them to six more bodies in nearby gary, indiana, and police are looking for more bodies this morning. cnn's poppy par low will be heading out with search teams. are you embarking right now, poppy? >> we are leaving shortly, we're at the gary, indiana, police department. what i can tell you is that this town is on edge. they are looking for possibly any more bodies that may be connected to this string of murders, seven murders, all of the bodies have been led to by the 43-year-old suspect darren van. what is happening in just a few moments, we'll head out with them, they are going to go building to building using what the officers are calling a grid pattern, about 20 different police officers, multiple teams. there are a lot of abandoned structures, homes and abandoned buildings around here. that's where all of these bodies were found over the last few days and that's the big concern, are there more bodies. i asked officers "have you had any indication from darren van that there are more bodies?" and they said no but they are checking as a precaution. we know that they're going to go out with cadaver dogs, that is typical in how they would do this search. we also know that darren van incredibly cooperative with police and we're told by the police chief his mental state is "normal." now, i'm talking about a guy with a string of arrests, a criminal history going back to 1993, an aggravated rain conviction in 2009 for which he served five years in jail. so what we keep asking officers is did the system fail? why was someone like this who was apparently monitored as recently as accept, how could he have carried out at least this one murder of afrikka hardy and the six other bodies he himself led police to. >> poppy, i'll let you get to it. you'll check back with us if anything develops. poppy harlow reporting live from gary, indiana. the family of oscar pistorius's girlfriend reeva steenkamp say they're satisfied justice has been done but prosecutors could still appeal after the olympian was sentenced today. pistorius faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for culpable homicide in the shooting death of steenkamp. the couple homicide charge in south africa means a person was killed unintentionally but unlawfully. pistorius can asked to be released under house arrest after serving ten months. joining me to talk about this, joey jackson. good morning. >> good morning, carol. >> so, you know, i mean five years doesn't sound like much for killing someone. >> it's a very difficult thing, carol, and i have never worn the black robe but i certainly appear regularly before those that do and it's a difficult decision. if you listen to what she indicated when she was rendering the decision she said, listen, i'm going to do two things. number one, i'm going to ensure the sentence i impose sends the right message to the community. we don't want to send the wrong message. you remember, carol, the defense was really pushing for house arrest and community service. she said i'm not going to do that. that's the wrong message. at the same time, i don't want to be vengeful and i don't want to carry out a sentence which would do anything else but impose some measure of mercy. so judges have to balance the equities. and to the extent as you explained it, it's culpable homicide and that amounts to gross negligence, unintentional so she had to balance those two and as a result it's five years. >> the steenkamp family seems to be okay with this but there are some curious things surrounding this. for example, oscar pistorius has been sending the steenkamp family money. is thaun usual? >> it really is unusual. as the hearing proceeded there was the indication by the family they would be returning the money and they termed it quote/unquote blood money. so it's unusual. at the same time oscar pistorius felt it was the appropriate and right thing to do based upon the financial needs of the family and his measure of remorse, at least that's how it came across. it was a remorseful thing, he knew there was some financial difficulties so he wanted to do -- showing some measure of support by doing that but it's unusual to say the least. >> when all is said and done, oscar pistorius actually even though he was sentenced to five years could get out in ten months. >> he could. and there's some dispute from the defense and the prosecution as to whether it's 10 months xx months but nonetheless whether it's 10 or 0, the point to be made, it's far less significant than the five years and some would argue five years is not significant at all. particularly when he could have faced 15 years for doing what he has done. so based upon that, it would certainly seem that ten months you have to wonder whether that would be appropriate at all. also remember, carol, that he'll be in a hospital unit. there was an argument during the sentencing that jail could not accommodate special needs. he has a disability. but they've been assured by the main official at the jail he'll be kept in a hospital unit and serve his time there away from the general population. but ten months 20, months, it begs the question. >> it certainly does. joey jackson, thanks so much for your insight. i appreciate it. >> pleasure and a privilege. still to come, does a drug-dealing action figure belong at a toy store? we're talking about an action figure who deals meth. mothers are demanding toys "r" us remove that toy. we'll talk about that next. ♪ want to change the world? create things that help people. design safer cars. faster computers. smarter grids and smarter phones. think up new ways to produce energy. ♪ be an engineer. solve problems the world needs solved. what are you waiting for? changing the world is part of the job description. [ male announcer ] join the scientists and engineers of exxonmobil in inspiring america's future engineers. energy lives here. a question for you this morning. can abortion be destigmatized. there's a new strat until the battle over abortion rights. i write about that in an op-ed on cnn.com this morning. not only are some tv shows like" parenthood" portraying abortion without shame but activists are, too, as in posting their abortions online for everyone to see as emily lets did. lets, then 25, and an abortion counselor at cherry hill women's center in new jersey videotaped her surgical abortion procedure and posted it to youtube earlier this year. >> i'll be by your side the whole time during the procedure for your hand to hold. i'll be here. >> i just want to share my story. >> extreme. you betcha. after all, extremism works in america. in-your-face behavior seems to be the only message that get us there other noise. pro-choicers say extremism has worked for the pro-life movement so why not give it a try. although a pro-life advocate told me "i don't think women standing up and sayi ining i've an abortion and i'm proud of it is going to have much of an impact." can abortion be destigmatized? go to cnn.com/opinion and post your opinion there or message me at facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me at carolcnn. i'll be right back. >> say my name. >> eisenberg. >> you're [ bleep ] right. >> whoo, heisenberg, walter white, whatever you call him, one florida mother does not want to see his face as toys "r" us. yes, toys "r" us sells drug-dealing action figures inspired by the hit -- inspired by the hit amc television show "breaking bad." which, of course, followed the downfall of a science teacher turned meth kingpin and now a florida mother has kicked off an online campaign to get the toys taken off the shelves. cnn's alison kosik joins me with more on this. not only is it a walter white action figure but it comes with meth! >> with your own little meth bag, sure, that your child can play with. so let me back up for those of you who have no idea what "breaking bad" is. it's seen as one of the greatest tv series of all time. it ended last year after running for five seasons and you alluded to it. it's about a chemistry teacher, walter white played by bryan cranston. he takes on a crazy life of crime, produces and sells crystal meth to make as much money as possible for his family before he dies. okay, he ultimately becomes a drug kingpin. not the kind of role model you want for your children, right? but how about toys based on the series? so that's what's upset this florida mom. she's really upset she launched this petition to have his character and the other "breaking bad" action figure taken off the shelves of toys "r" us. she started a change.org petition. it has 6,000 signatures. she says "hey, listen, i'm a fan of the show, it was riveting but dolls shouldn't be sold next to children's toys" because of what she calls the violent content and celebration of the drug trade. the "breaking bad" doll as you said and we laughed about it, comes with a detachable sack of cash and a bag of meth. imagine your child walking around with that and wondering what that means. now toys "r" us told one of our florida affiliates that the products are carried in limited quantities and the product packaging clearly notes the items are intended for ages 15 and up. a little bit of humor here. br bryan cranston took to twitter he wrote "i'm so mad, i'm burn mig florida mom action figure in protest." [ laughter ] >> i was just going to say. you really want your 15-year-old to have a meth action figure? >> that's another thing. they say it's for 15 or older. but especially don't want my 15-year-old who may have access to get drugs in the first place? come on! >> yeah. alison kosik, thanks so much. it's a strange world, isn't it? i'll be right back. monica lewinsky stepping back into the spotlight with a new mission -- to end cyber bullying. the former white house intern is all too familiar with harassment after her affair with president clinton and the fallout reviewed around the world through the internet. now lewinsky is vowing to help others not only deal with their shame but also to survive. here's what she told the attendees at the "forbes" 30 under 30 summit. >> 16 years ago, fresh out of college, a 22-year-old intern in the white house and, more than averagely romantic, i fell in love with my boss in a 22-year-old sort of way. it happens. but my boss was the president of the united states. that probably happens less often. overnight i went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one. i was patient zero, the first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the internet. there was no facebook, twitter, or instagram back then, but there were gossips, news, and entertainment web sites repleat with comment sections and e-mails could be forwarded. staring at the computer screen, i spent the day shouting "oh, my god!" and "i can't believe that put that in." or "that's so out of context." and those were the only thoughts that interrupted a relentless mantra in my head "i want to die." this was different than the embarrassment i felt when my younger brother read my diary or when my seventh grade crush shared the love letter i had written him with everyone he knew. now my brother and all his fraternity brothers were privy to my most intimate details, as were my dad and his fellow doctors and my step dad and his world war ii war buddies, my step mom and her knitting circle. even both of my grandmothers who were in their 80s knew about the internet. today i think of myself as someone who -- who the hell knows how -- survived. what i want to do now is help other victims of the shame game survive, too. i want to put my suffering to good news and give purpose to my past. >> nearly two decades after her ordeal, lewinsky's message was this -- anyone can be a target of cyber bullying and it can impact not just your career but your entire life. kelly wallace is our cnn digital correspondent and jenny kuttner is the assistant editor with salon.com. good to be with you. so earlier i talked with the organizer and he said the audience was moved to tears. why do you think she struck such a chord. >> i looked at the tweets coming from the speech they said "courageous, inspiring, standing ovation." it's a powerful, powerful message. i'm moved listening to it. it is powerful to hear what she went through. we all know it. many of us were covering it. but it's relatable. one moment someone's reputation can flip on a dime and i think very brave of her to come forward and say i want to dedicate myself to try and prevent this, this kind of internet activity that is damaging lives and leading to some deaths, too. >> on the other hand, jenny, the trolls were out and you wrote about them on salon.com. >> so i -- not to give it more airtime, but i did sort of a roundup of some of the terrible things that were said to or about her yesterday because she also joined twitter yesterday morning. sort of as her first show or a stand against cyber bullying and so at the same time while you had some tweets saying how wonderful her speech was and how honest, there were also people referencing oral sex wherever they had the opportunity or just making really low blows. >> and we're not just talking about -- famous people, too. >> yes, definitely. there was a really upsetting comment from a fox news contributor that stands out in my mind. public figures still slamming her nearly two decades after this all happened. >> why do we continue to want to punish monica lewinsky, do you think? >> that's the million-dollar question. why are people so darn mean, carol? really, i don't understand. look, she obviously admits she was having a relationship with the president of the united states. we had the impeachment of president clinton. it was an incredible political time. people like to poke fun of her. she mentioned in the "vanity fair" article she wrote in june listening to the new york -- a "new york post" page 6 calling her the portly pepper pot. i mean, it's just cruel and mean and i think people aren't able to turn the page and accept her saying she's here, she wants to do something good with her life, why can't we embrace that? >> it's not like she doesn't know she did something wrong, clearly she did but she was 2 and how long are you to be punished for something you did in your early 20s? >> exactly. >> do you think this is the turning point for monica lewinsky. is this her thing. she's been searching for something so she can put the past behind her? >> i hope so. i think it's an important cause and i think the fact that she still has this odd staying power that i don't think anyone would want, i think the fact that we can still tie her name this-to-this concept of being harassed on line and having your private life made so public it could be helpful to other people who this has happened to, something similar. but for other people it doesn't last as long anymore. i think that her story -- >> lots of people come to mind, like angelina jolie, she had an affair with a married man and she's widely admired right now. >> and look at her, too. i think it would be interesting to see what she does from here. no question the people in that room listening to that speech were blown away by her and her message. if she keeps taking that to audiences, to schools, if she works with the tyler clemente foundation, talks about his death and how it impacted her and her mother who knows that she could have lost her own daughter to suicide i think it can be incredibly powering. a lot of people want to see the follow through but it sounds like she's committed to it. >> we'll see kelly wallace, jenny kuttner, thank you for being here, i appreciate it. setting up the perfect wedding day starts with her minor arthritis pain, and two pills. afternoon arrives and feeling good, but her knee pain returns. that's two more pills. the evening's event brings laughter, joy, and more pain. what's that, like six pills today? yeah. .i could take two aleve for all day relief. really? for my arthritis pain, i now choose aleve. 2 pills. all day strong. all day long. and now introducing, aleve pm for a better am. when laquinta.com sends him a ready for you alert the second his room is ready, ya know what salesman alan ames becomes? i think the numbers speak for themselves. i'm sold! a "selling machine!" ready for you alert, only at lq.com. good morning, i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. there's been an outpouring of support for one victim of the ebola crisis -- only he has no idea what's going on. it's for this little guy named bentley, the adorable cavalier king charles spaniel belongs to nina pham. she was the first dallas nurse to be diagnosed with ebola. look at some of these tweets. this one reads "jasper and cooper and i hope bentley and his mama are home soon." another one "if you could say a prayer for nina and bentley and do so daily, thank you." let's talk about this. i'm joined by dallas animal services manager jodi jones, she's been helping to take care of bentley. welcome. >> good morning. >> so i feel kind of silly talking about a dog but people really care about bentley. >> you know, i really appreciate the opportunity to share bentley's journey with the public because it's really been such a wonderful one. and we could not be more fortunate in braving new territory like this to have such a wonderful animal going through it with us. you know, it just speaks to the human/animal bond, the amount of support we've got for bentley and ensuring that he gets the best care possible. >> so give me an example. how many tweets have you received? >> the numbers are overwhelming. you know, being directly responsible for coordinating the care with the agencies leaves me little time to stay on top of all of the social media. i'm blessed that we have a great team here in dallas that is working to provide as much information out to the public as we possibly can. >> so what's going on right now? how much longer does bentley have to remain quarantined? >> so the quarantine period is expected to be 21 days, just like for the individuals that were being monitored. and that will end up wrapping up around the first of november. and we'll do a final set of testing to make sure everything is clear for bentley and being able to safely introduce him back into the public. >> so do you take blood tests? is bentley showing any signs or symptoms of sickness? >> no, as a matter of fact, bentley is just having a blast. we were very blessed and we were able to find a home-like environment to isolate anymore and the quarantine process plays out where we have specialized trained veterinarians in hazmat gear that care for bentley three times a day and bentley has responded amazingly well to the human contact and really not become distracted with the hazmat gear as some animals may. he actually gets a little play time and snuggle time during those visits. his ball is his favorite toy and the public, again, has been so wonderful with providing support for toys and different things to keep him occupied longer than his stay. >> so has nina pham -- i know she's feeling a little better. have they communicated in any way? >> oh, absolutely. nina's family was very forthcoming and saying next to nina's care and recovery that bentley's care was next most important to them. and we've even been blessed enough where dr. mcmanus was able to actually speak to nina on the phone and give her some updates into the direct care of bentley. and then also, too, what we do is we take pictures daily and we send those over to the pham familily-to-make sure nina is getting daily updates so she can use bentley's spirits to help speed her recovery along. >> i hope so. jodi jones, thank you so much for being with us. i appreciate it. >> thank you. with just two weeks until the midterms, congress has officially entered unchartered territory. i'm not talking about negative ads, i'm talking about money. big, big money. try $100 million in the north carolina senate race. that's some money. that's pitting democratic incumbent kay hagen against republican tom tillis. it's shaping up to be one of the most expensive races in senate history. north carolina is not alone, mind you. in kentucky, the battle between mitch mcconnell and alison lundgren grimes is also expected to top the $100 million mark. what does this mean for future and c candidates and voters like you and me. joining me to talk about this, doug heye, former chief of staff for john cantor and john avalon, editor of the daily beast. welcome to you both. >> thank you. >> morning, a girl. >> good morning. doug, you're from north carolina, you woerked on three campaigns there. is the senate seat in your state worth $103 million? >> well, i think it absolutely is. it goes back to high spending not being anything new in north carolina politics. 30 years ago, 1984, jesse helms and jim hunt spent about $26 million on their race 30 years ago. so what we've now seen is that instead of jesse helms and jim hunt controlling their message, outside groups have really come in, over $100 million will be spent there. what that means practically on the ground is that campaigns aren't as in control of their message as they would be. the mail my father receives, the phone call he gets aren't necessarily from the campaign and we've seen a momentum shift and issue shift away from kay hagen and move into tom tillis' favor in the last couple weeks. republicans are more bullish about this race than they were, say, a month ago. >> but something that you said and the uva's larry saab doe agrees with you. campaign finance is out of anyone's control including candidates and voters. john, is that democracy? >> no, it's not democracy when you get a bunch of billionaires driving election cycles and consultants chasing them around with their tongues wagging trying to get a little bit of filthy luker in their pocket. you're talking about 100 million in this state which has under 10 million people. that's ten bucks per citizen of north carolina and it's not going to benefit them. it is all -- it's predominantly attack ads. around $20 million of it is dark money, totally unaccountable making a mockery of justice kennedy's promise that citizens united would create more transparency and accountability. this is a mess. this is a mockery. and let's not pretend that it's just good old-fashioned free speech with a bunch of mudslinging. it is attempts to buy elections, usually in people out of state. >> doug, you have to admit, if you look at congress today, it's not working very well. i mean, there's a problem somewhere. is that a reason why? because actual voters, because they're driven away by negative attack ads, right. so only the extremes come out on either side and you get what you get in washington. >> we've been complaining about negative politics for centuries and i'd go back to 1984 jesse helms/jim hunt race described as the nastiest senate race in american history. >> but the money is making it works. >> well, i think, look, we spend more money on potato chips and advertising coca-cola. senate races are very important. so a lot of money is going to go into that. i think like john, i'd like to see the money channelled differently but we've seen a real affect on the ground in north carolina and kentucky which you've mentioned where it's much more stranges you for republicans now than in previous weeks." >> so what's a voter to do, john avalon? >> what a voter is to do is to first of all feel disgust and then get some righteous indignation up and go out and vote as opposed to letting the extremes on either side disproportionately dominate the debate. i'm a big doug heye fan but he's spinning a bit here. he's spinning it a couple ways. due respect, jesse helms doesn't look so good in the eyes of history in some of his races and his background. second of all, the idea that we've always had these debates, that's true, but the money is unprecedented and sometimes people try to cloak themselves up in the legacy of adams and jefferson and the first presidential election and say "see, it's always been messy so when i o.k. a negative attack ad i'm fulfilling the founding fathers' legacy." that's self-serving bs and i think doug knows. >> it i would say very quickly carol is what voters should do is what my father louisville, north carolina, is doing, go on the campaign's web sites, figure out where you are on the issues and vote for that candidate. >> it's sad but it's a rare voter that does that. that's great advice, doug. so, last thought, the next presidential election over a billion dollars easy? >> absolutely. we saw how much money barack obama raised. it was a staggering amount of money and ultimately made him successful four years ago and eight years ago. >> okay. we'll see how it goes. >> the tale of our democracy not who can buy the campaign. >> well, it is these days. john avalon, doug heye, thanks to both of you. i appreciate it. still to come in the newsroom, invest gators on the case of an alleged serial killer in indiana. they say he's already led them to the bodies of seven women and there could be more victims. so what goes through the mind of someone who kills over and over again? hello... i'm an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal. right here.innovation starts... with a control pad that can read your handwriting, a wide-screen multimedia center, and a head-up display for enhanced driver focus. all inside a newly redesigned cabin of unrivaled style and comfort. ♪ the all-new c-class. at the very touch point of performance and innovation. ♪ the setting is perfect. you know what? 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and, in fact, he doesn't. so one of the characteristic features is they don't have any empathy. another characteristic feature is that within the brain we now know certain brakes are applied to our aggression and people like vann don't have those brakes. we also know that there are some genes that are active, we don't know what all of them are, but those are genes that are involved in reducing aggression and bringing a certain reduced sense of impulsivity in a person so these are all the things that aren't going on in the mind of a serial killer. >> well, police say he's cooperating. he's telling them where these bodies are. is that part of his -- >> psychopathology? >> yeah. >> indeed. i haven't spoken with him so it's hard for me to say he's doing this because of that. the police have said that he's eager to cut a deal with enforcement. i doubt that that's the motive. i believe it is part of his psychopathology that, frankly, people like this don't have a lot of remorse. they don't feel the disapproval of society. they don't think to themselves "god, i've really done something bad" and try to hide it. and then there are other sort of psychological conditions which might predispose him especially to doing something like this. confessing. >> you mentioned it might be something in the genes. does that mean that this sort of condition can be somehow treated? >> well, yes. you're very spot on. first i have to say that people shouldn't get the idea that there's some kind of a crime gene. there isn't. there's a whole set of variable which which may tip a person in that direction. but you're right. we've studied the human genome, we can get real laser-like and see where there are abnormalities not inconceivably at some point we will know where to intervene genetically. of course, before that time, there are lots of other upstream things that we can do to prevent events like that from happening. >> like? >> well, for example, anybody who has been arrested for sexual assault is not just somebody who is your average criminal. so putting him in front of a parole officer, checking in, did you do anything bad, are you doing this and all the rest? you got a job? that's not enough. people like this need the services and should have -- they must be told that they have to undergo some psychiatric, some psychological treatment, ongoing treatment. other upstream issues are that we need to intervene early on, certainly very aggressively ourselves, with children that we think are at risk because it's children who are victims of abuse who almost always are the critical -- that is the critical attribute that we see in the creation of serial killers, which is that they've had some violence or some physical, emotional, sexual abuse themselves. >> lisa van susteren, thanks for your insight. we appreciate it. >> thank you. should jodi arias die by lethal injection or get life behind bars? jurors in arizona will decide as the sentencing retrail begins today. arias was found guilty of first degree murder in the brutal killing of her ex-boyfriend last year. that jury was unable to reach a unanimous needed for the death penalty. a 12-0 vote will also be needed in this retrial. if all jurors can't vote for death, they will then decide whether arias gets life without parole or the possibility of release after 25 years. the lone suspect in the disappearance of university of virginia student hannah graham faces charges in a decade old case. jesse matthew has been indicted for attempted murder, abduction and sexual assault for a crime that happened in 2005. the victim in that case was able to provide a description of matthew that would later link him to the case of that missing virginia tech student. forensic tests are being conducted on remains found over the week end to see if they're from hannah graham, the missing uva student. i'll be right back. 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[ laughter ] >> reporter: a leash breaks and the weather man has a 100% chance of being showered by doggie affection. >> we'll be back with more in just a moment! >> reporter: things really became unleashed at the keene, new hampshire, pumpkin festival. not only did rowdy students riot, a short walk away from what peaceful pumpkin fans were gathered but there was this, the strange dance as a pumpkin fest organizer tried to block the public access tv host covering the festivities. >> she would not like me to tell you what is going on at keene state college. >> reporter: ruth sterling wanted jared good deell to zip >> i'm going to pull the plug on you. you are here as a guest of keene pumpkin festival and i assigned you this spot. >> she went for his mic about five times. >> you heard it here first, everybody. >> you are our guests. thank you. >> when you report the news, when you report the reality, the people in charge want to shut you down. >> reporter: so while pumpkin fest went on relatively undisturbed as students were busy beaning each other with police with cans and bottles not far away. >> i got whit a jack daniels bottle. >> reporter: the organizer and the public access host lobbed verbal bombshells. >> you have no right to self-promote here. >> i'm not self-promoting anything. >> reporter: on monday, ruth sterling doubled down, calling goodell a self-promoting punk who was metaphorically yelling fire in a crowded theater, endangering festival go er. meanwhile, goodell told us he's been contacted by lawyers who said she was guilty of battery, though he has no plans to sue. do you have anything you want to say to her directly? >> apologize to residents of keen he said. >> i wouldn't mind an apology. >> do we agree he's self-promoting? i agree. >> everybody, ruth sterling! >> reporter: no wonder the jack o'lanterns were smiling. >> do not alarm our guests. >> reporter:jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> i've said it before, we live a strange country. i'm carol costello, "@this hour with berman and michaela" after a break. male announcer ] some come here to build something smarter. ♪ some come here to build something stronger. others come to build something faster... something safer... something greener. something the whole world can share. people come to boeing to do many different things. but it's always about the very thing we do best. ♪ and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal. when salesman alan ames books his room at laquinta.com, he gets a ready for you alert the second his room is ready. so he knows exactly when he can check in and power up before his big meeting. and when alan gets all powered up, ya know what happens? i think the numbers speak for themselves. i'm sold! he's a selling machine! put it there. and there, and there, and there. la quinta inns & suites is ready for you, so you'll be ready for business. the ready for you alert, only a laquinta.com! la quinta! they all lost their lives because of preventable medical errors, now the third leading cause of death. only heart disease and cancer take more lives. proposition 46 will save lives with drug and alcohol testing to make sure impaired doctors don't treat someone you love. safeguards against prescription drug abuse. and holds the medical industry accountable for mistakes. i'm barbara boxer. let's save lives. vote yes on 46. >> hello, everyone, i'm john berman. >> i'm michaela pereira. good to have you with us. a possible serial kill we are a trail that could cover multiple states and decades. police are on that trail right now. plus, a huge break in a missing persons case that has captivated the nation. could it lead to more break miss more cases? >> and an athlete who once inspired people across the globe is now a convicted killer. but he will serve just five years in prison at the most and maybe as little as ten months. so is that justice? we're following all the latest developments in these big stories making news at this >>ur.

Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom Live 20181119

the cnn newsroom starts right now. 2:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast, the scope of destruction in the state of california is almost impossible to comprehend. the death toll continues to rise. take a look at the map. you see the state here. these fires in both the north and south, so far they've destroyed an area larger than chicago. the death toll across the state now stands at 80 people who have been killed, 77 of those lives lost in the camp fire in northern california. hundreds of people there still unaccounted for. officials warn the search for the dead and missing is painstaking, and that it is far from over. in the aftermath of so much chaos, there are incredible stories of survival. one of them involving a school bus driver praised for helping 22 students to escape the camp fire in northern california. cnn's paul reports how the man was able to navigate that bus and its passengers to safety. >> reporter: so many stories of absolutely stomach-churning despair, but here's one of great heroism. there was a bus driver just about two or three months into his job. he goes to ponderosa elementary school in paradise. the school would eventually be damaged, but he gets 22 school children, two teachers on that bus, and they begin a harrowing drive to safety. >> it was, um, very scary. it was like, um, felt like armageddon. i don't know another word to say. >> i was like seeing smoke everywhere. i couldn't see hardly anything. i saw, like, houses burning and animals and cars whining. and i love animals. and it was so crazy and, um, there were like fires left and right everywhere you look, there was like smoke everywhere. and people trying to get out and it was like really hard. >> reporter: so the odyssey through the inferno continued. some of the young lungs of these little school children started filling up with smoke. they were on the brink of passing out so they made makeshift respirators, dampening pieces of the bus driver's t-shirt and putting it over their mouths. eventually they made it to safety. parents just so relieved, and that bus driver, kevin mckay, made a joke. he said, i'm sure glad i paid attention closely in class when i was taking those safety lessons, and pointing out that after all, safety is the first issue for a bus driver. >> let's talk more about this now with liz shera. liz and her neighbors were evacuated from the town of paradise as the fire broke out. first of all, we're just thankful that you're okay, that your family is okay. >> thank you. >> and we're so distraught by all the images we're seeing from paradise. tell us about what you've seen, what you've experienced and how things are right now. >> well, right now it looks horrible. all the pictures i've seen. but when we were being evacuated, it was chaos. there were so many cars trying to get out at one time, and we had to rush to try and save my mom and then we got trapped with hundreds of -- probably about 100, maybe more people all trapped in a parking lot for hours. and we couldn't get out. there was no way out. >> what is the sense of what you and so many other families do next? just given how much loss, how much devastation has come about there? where do you go from here? >> i don't know. most everybody lost their homes and jobs. a lot of people lost their jobs, too. but we have a strong little town and we're going to try and rebuild, i hope. i don't know. >> what was it like in those hours when you were trying to escape? because we've seen all of these images, right? we've seen people driving down that main road, fire on either side, and then the question, is there fire around the corner, you know, that would prevent you from getting out. >> yes. >> what was that experience like? >> it was terrifying. in our family it was my mom and my boyfriend and our one-year-old son. we got trapped on the road. they kept telling us to stay in our car, and that -- let the flames go over us and hopefully we'd be okay. and eventually we got to move up and that's when we got trapped in the parking lot and there were flames everywhere. everybody was crying. we all thought we were going to die. we called our loved ones and said good-bye and we texted people. it was horrible. >> i'm sorry. it's hard to imagine what you're going through. i mean, we're looking at the images of your town right now and it seems like everything that was there, mainly everything that was there, is pretty much gone. what about people that you know, friends, people there who may be reported missing at this point? are there a lot of questions for your family and others with regards to missing? >> all our family, all our immediate family made it out. as far as i know, my friends made it out. i'm a hair stylist. i've called and i can't get hold of them. their name sont missiis on the list and i don't know what happened to them. their families got hold of me and told me they did pass away so i have lost a couple and it's really hard. this is horrible. >> liz, it's so difficult to imagine over here in atlanta what you're dealing with over there in california, just the reality of so much loss. i want you to know that our hearts go out to you, everyone there. and we certainly are, you know, hoping for the best, especially for those that are still looking for the missing, the unaccounted for at this point. liz, thank you for taking time for being with us. >> thank you. thank you. >> now we are going to turn to a different story. the mystery of murder journalist jamal khashoggi. the u.s. president spoke about the investigation on sunday and says that he doesn't know if the saudi prince lied to him when he claimed that he wasn't involved, despite evidence to the contrary. here's what mr. trump said about it. >> a month ago you said you had spoken with saudi prince mohammed bin salman and he told you directly that he had no knowledge of this. >> that's right, and still says that. >> but we now know that some of the people closest to him, some of his closest advisors who were part of this question. did mbs lie to you, sir? >> i don't know. you know, who can really know? but i can say this. he's got many people now that say he had no knowledge. >> the saudis have always denied the crown prince was involved, but sources say the cia believe he personally ordered the murder. the u.s. government has yet to reach a conclusion. mr. trump says he will get a full report on tuesday. he's already been briefed on some of the evidence, including an audio recording that details -- that you can hear part of that murder. mr. trump says he does not plan to listen to it and hasn't listened to it. >> i don't want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape. >> why don't you want to hear it, sir? >> because it's a suffering tape. it's a terrible tape. i've been fully briefed on it. there's no reason for me to hear it. in fact, i said to the people, should i? they said, you really shouldn't. i know exactly what went on in the tape. >> and what happened? >> it was very violent, very vicious and terrible. >> the saudis have changed their story multiple times since khashoggi disappeared from the saudi consulate in istanbul. their latest narrative, that he was tied up, injected with a deadly dose of the sedative, and then dismembered. cnn's gentlem let's talk about this. during that interview, mr. trump indicated he is fully aware of the audio taken from inside the consulate. he described it as a suffering tape, but has chosen not to listen to it. >> reporter: you know, george, first, we don't know what is on this audio recording. we don't know how many audio recordings there are. but by all indications, there is something horrific that was recorded. whether it is the statements you heard there from president trump. we also heard from the leaks over the past few weeks as you know very well, there's been very little that's said publicly, these audio recordings have not been released publy. a lot has come out from the leaks and drip feed of information from turkish officials, president erdogan in recent days saying that, you know, it is really shocking. it's appalling. a real disaster that was caught in these audio recordings. he even said saudi intelligence officer who listened to them was so shocked that he said only someone on heroine would be so capable of carrying out such an act. so i think the question right now is if the president doesn't want to listen to it, and there will be many who will be critical of president trump -- others in his administration including secretary pompeo when he was here list ebbed to tened recordings. gina haspel did listen to it. some will be critical of president trump. this is a critical time, a critical moment, a defining moment in u.s./saudi relations and he is refusing to listen to what some say is this critical piece of evidence. the question right now, george, is why is this taking so long? why only now is the united states coming out saying the administration saying they are going to have a report on tuesday? why these statements from the president? you know, keeping in mind, this took place nearly 50 days ago. the cia director was here four weeks ago. there are some in this region, some in turkey, officials, we've heard this from the highest levels of the government here saying that they feel there is a stalling tactic by some in the administration, hoping that the world will move on and just forget about this whole case, george. >> well, let's push on that, jamana. given this report is due out tuesday to the u.s. president and recent reports that the cia has high confidence that the crown prince ordered the murder of this journalist. if what we know of that report is true, where does this leave the u.s. president? >> reporter: listen, i think, george, the thing is if you look at these latest statements, what we understand the cia assessment, the conclusion they reached, none of it is based on a smoking gun sort of evidence. it is several things that they've taken into consideration, several pieces they have put together to reach a conclusion accordingly is what we've been told by some officials, that this is their conclusion, at least, or their assessment at this point. and one key thing here -- and we have been hearing this for weeks, george -- they say something like this that would have involved members of the inner circle of crown prince mohammed bin salman, wouldn't have taken place without his knowledge. he is the de facto ruler of that country. but, i mean, we'll have to wait and see what the next moves -- what this report says when it does come out. i think the u.s. administration and president trump's position has been pretty clear from the beginning. he is prioritizing his relationship with saudi arabia, business and economic ties with that country, over this case, over this murder of jamal khashoggi, and also some would say this is not the first issue with saudi arabia. the administration has pretty much turned a blind eye to an extent to other human rights abuses that the saudi regime has been accused of. whether it is the war in yemen or the imprisoning activists in the country over the past year and other critics. but so many people in this region, george, see this as a very critical moment. that if the united states does not -- there is so much at stake. whether it is turkey here, this nato ally that sees this as a serious attack on its own sovereignty and it has been hoping that the united states would take serious action to make sure something like this does not happen again, and then you also have dissidents, activists, journalists in this region who view this as such a dangerous development. they feel that unless the united states, unless the international community take real action, they feel there will be many more incidents like this, that this will only embolden other regimes in the region to silence their critics, george. >> you know, it could be a bag of mixed messages, in fact, jamana. you could see the sanctions coming up from lawmakers and a response from the house of representatives. it could be very different from that of the u.s. president. so they will -- we'll have to u.s. response will be come he - tuesday. thank you again for the reporting. we'll stay in touch with you. the questions from the president for the special counsel robert mueller in that russia probe, donald trump says he answered those questions himself and is prepared to hand them over. but at least one question remains. will the president sit down with mueller's team for an interview in the investigation? we'll take a look at that. plus this. >> i don't think there is anything that we have established at this point that's going to fundamentally deter them from continuing this kind of operation. >> russian propaganda still in full bloom, spreading misinformation on social media. getting rid of them is proving to be a real challenge. stay with us. as the one who is always trapped beneath the duvet i'm begging you... take gas-x. your tossing and turning isn't restlessness, it's gas! gas-x relieves pressure, bloating and discomfort... fast! so we can all sleep easier tonight. ♪ spread a little love today ♪ spread a little love my-y way ♪ ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ philadelphia cream cheese. made with fresh milk and real cream makes your recipes their holiday favourites. the holidays are made with philly. their holiday favourites. every insurance company tells you they can save you money. save up to 10% when you bundle with esurance. including me, esurance spokesperson dennis quaid. he's a pretty good spokesperson. ehhh. so when i say, "drivers who switched from geico to esurance saved an average of $412," you probably won't believe me. hey, actor lady whose scene was cut. hi. but you can believe this esurance employee, nancy abraham. seriously, send her an email and ask her yourself. no emails... no emails. when insurance is affordable, it's surprisingly painless. ♪ the whole world's coming together now ♪ ♪ can you feel it ♪ can you feel it ♪ can you feel it ♪ can you feel it ♪ can you feel it ♪ can you feel it ♪ can you feel it ♪ can you feel it shhh... [whispering] ♪ can you feel it ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ comfort. what we deliver by delivering. heyi'm craving somethingkin! we're missing. the ceramides in cerave. they help restore my natural barrier, so i can lock in moisture... and keep us protected. we've got to have each other's backs... and fronts. cerave. what your skin craves. welcome back to cnn newsroom. i'm george howell. the u.s. president sat down for a wide ranging interview that aired on sunday. he answered questions about the special counsel's ongoing russia investigation and went after a retired navy seal commander who led the operation that killed osama bin lauden. out boris sanchez has more now from the white house. >> reporter: president trump making news on a multitude of fronts this weekend. first with an interview on fox news in which he criticized retired admiral william mcraven. mcraven previously had criticized president trump suggesting he was unpresidential and saying that the president's comments about the press being the enemy of the people are a threat to democracy. the president, during this interview, shot back saying that mcraven was a hillary clinton supporter, a backer of president barack obama. the admiral spoke to cnn about this providing us with a statement, saying that he did not back hillary clinton or anyone else. he also said, quote, i admire all presidents regardless of their political party who uphold the dignity of the office and who use that office to bring the nation together in challenging times. he went on to say, when you undermine the people's right to a free press and freedom of speech and expression, then you threaten the constitution and all for which it stands. the president also talked about the russia investigation during that interview, revealing that he probably would not sit down for that one on one in-person testimony to special counsel robert mueller, something he said in the past that he was looking forward to. listen to this portion of the interview. >> i think we've wasted enough time on this witch-hunt, and the answer is probably -- we're finished. >> one and 100? >> i don't do odds. i gave very -- you're right, and very successfully actually. we gave very, very complete answers to a lot of questions that i shouldn't have even been asked. and i think that should solve the problem. i hope it solves the problem. if it doesn't, you know, i'll be told and we'll make a decision at that time. but probably this is the end. >> now, president trump did say that he would be handing over his written responses to mueller's questions sometime this week, likely before thanksgiving. boris sanchez, cnn, at the white house. >> boris, thank you. let's talk more about this now with scott lucas. scott, a professor of international politics at the university of birmingham in england, live this hour in birmingham. it's good to have you, scott. >> good morning, george. >> let's start by talking about the questions that president trump says he answered himself, he insists he did it without the help of his attorneys. but mr. trump now saying he most likely would not sit down for an interview with mueller's team. he said before that he would be open to sitting down for an interview, so what's your take on mr. trump's change of heart? >> well, first, if you believe that donald trump wrote the answers that robert mueller will see, i've got a trump tower in new york to sell to you. he sat down with lawyers last monday. they discussed the written responses and the lawyers will be going through them very carefully because, of course, if they are inaccurate or if they verge on falsehood, that opens up further charges against the president, namely perjury. in terms of the change of heart, there hasn't been a change of heart amongst the trump team. there had been discussion with months for months with mueller's team about the president sitting down one on one with mueller to be questioned. the white house lawyers have held out against that, and the move taken the day after the elections to replace jeff sessions with matthew whitaker as acting attorney general is deliberately to block any chance of trump sitting down with mueller, and that's because whitaker can veto any subpoena that mueller issues, trying to get that oral rather than written testimony. >> let's talk about the president's attacks on the retired admiral william mcraven. again, this is a person who is the architect of the bin lauden raid, very significant moment for the united states. the question here, given his background, scott, given his reputation and experience, could an attack like this on a person like that backfire on this president? >> oh, of course, it can. but the question is when do we reach the breaking point on backfires? there are two reasons why donald trump launched this attack against william mcraven. you know, one of the highest ranking, most highly decorated vet rangers. the first is personal. trump doesn't like anyone who criticizes him. mcraven raised the issue of donald trump attacking a free press. and trump lashed out. that is an the only style trump knows. but the second is linked to the trump/russia investigation. trump is going to attack anybody right now because he's frightened and he's scared. will it backfire? donald trump tried to drag the name of john mccain, a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years, through the mud even as mccain was dying, and even as he was being buried. donald trump has attacked former directors of the cia, john brennan, jim clapper, you know, those people who have tried to keep the country safe simply because he fears what they say putsz him in a bad light and exposes him to political risk. they are probably a group of people out there, george, and donald trump could probably invoke the name of our good lord and say that he is a threat to himself and american democracy, and they might stick with trump. the question is, beyond that trump loyalist, where do americans go? because we're not just talking about a president. we're talking about an american system and where it goes from here. >> you know, earlier in the show, scott, we talked about the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. looking ahead this coming tuesday, the president says he will receive a full report from the cia assessment of that investigation. we have seen the saudi narrative, the response, the story shift several times. the president still seems unwilling to change his conclusion to basically leave the door open, saying that it's premature to make any definitive conclusions here at this point. but come tuesday, given what we know of this report, could this further force the president's hand? >> here's how it plays, george. the cia has concluded with high confidence that the crown prince, mohammed bin salman, ordered the murder of jamal khashoggi. donald trump will get this report on tuesday, and the white house will counter spin. they will say that the report is not conclusive, that it doesn't directly link mohammed bin salman. i.e., that he made a call to that consulate in turkey and said, kill khashoggi. the white house will try, then, to sweep away the cia report, hoping the state department will give it cover. why is that? donald trump's highest priority is the $110 billion in arms that he agreed to sell saudi arabia last year. there was a ceremony in saudi arabia to celebrate that in may 2017, 18 months later donald trump says saudi arabia gives us jobs, gives us business. and that is far more important to him than the murder of a journalist no matter how gruesome it is and what his agencies say about the responsibility of the saudi monarchy. >> scott lucas, thank you again for your time and perspective live for us in birmingham, england. >> thank you, george. >> after a contentious senate race and recount, florida will send a new senator to washington. current u.s. senator bill nelson on the right conceded to his republican schale republican challenger, rick scott, on sunday. the margin was just over 10,000 votes. now that florida is settled, here's where things stand in the u.s. congress. you see in the house of representatives democrats have a majority with 232 seats. republicans now have 200 seats. three races still undecided, but no matter what happens, they won't swing the balance of power. in the senate republicans keep their majority, 52 seats, democrats 47 seats. one undecided race in mississippi will be decided later this month in a runoff. the wildfires burning across california left entire cities destroyed, including the hardest hit town of paradise, california. up next we speak with the mayor about how people are coping. plus, it could be a turning point in the war in yemen. what the houthis say about a potential cease-fire. cnn newsroom continues. being detected was not an option. if i was recognized the whole operation was blown. the element of surprise was imperative. wow. he won't even recognize you. seriously. i don't even recognize myself. and thanks to my cashrewards credit card from navy federal with never-expiring rewards it's gonna be a killer honeymoon. woo! maui!! boom navy federal credit union. our members, are the mission. opportunity is everywhere. like here. where you can explore the world knowing you can always find your way home. ♪ winning audience awards greeacross the country.ovie he's only the greatest piano player in the world. there's no better way to spend the holidays than with viggo mortensen and mahershala ali. that's a handsome suit. guys looks just like you. they're so good, you'll wish the movie would never end. where'd you learn how to play like that? 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(phone) there are currently 3 members in this conference. i like that. i like that too. i would use that in a heartbeat. get started with innovative voice solutions for a low price when you get fast, reliable internet. comcast business. beyond fast. welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. you are watching cnn newsroom live from the atl. i'm george howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour. u.s. president indicated in an interview that we may never know if the crown prince of saudi arabia was lying about his investigation in the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. mr. trump also said that he, quote, listened to a recording of the murder, calling it a violent, vicious thing. the israeli prime minister is urging his coalition to hold the government together. many israelis are upset that benjamin netanyahu agreed to a cease-fire with hamas last week. his defense minister quit. his majority in parliament is down to one seat, and now he is calling -- facing calls for a snap election. mr. netanyahu says that that would be irresponsible. in the state of california, a vigil was held on sunday for victims of the deadliest wildfires to hit that state. at least 80 people have been killed, hundreds more unaccounted for. the so-called camp fire in the north is now about 65% contained while the woolsey fire in the south of the state almost 90%. those fires devastated so much of california. my colleague natalie allen spoke with the mayor of paradise, california, earlier. jodi jones spoke about whether more could have been done to warn residents about the dangers of these fires. >> i got a text on my phone at 8:31 to immediately evacuate. i do live sort of on the east side, not on the far eastern side, but, um, i don't know how accurate it is, but i can tell you that fire came in so fast. there was -- it wasn't that notifications were delayed. it was that there was no time to give them. >> reporter: is there anything that could have been done, though? is there anything that should have been done in retrospect? >> you know, the notification system where you get that text on your phone, it's an opt-in system. it's automatic for land lines, but cell phones have to opt-in, and so i think we probably could have done more to sign people up to get them to opt into that system so more people would have gotten that notice. housing is a big problem. there's just not enough housing for everyone in butte county. and so people are having to go far away to find places to stay in the short term. so that is a big need right now. >> and how would you assess the support, though, that you're getting, mayor? how would you assess? there's always heroes in this, people that just show up to do good deeds, to lend a helping hand. >> i would say i'm just amazed by it. the outpouring of support from communities surrounding us and far away. and also the work that fema is doing, and they showed up on saturday. the fire happened on thursday, and they've been working 24/7 ever since. >> the mayor there, i remember seeing her walking through so much destruction, debris left behind. so many people in her town just no longer have homes, and now there is the smoke to deal with and rain on the way? >> and we have rain on the way which, george, you would think it would be a good thing. obviously it will be for the fires. but the potential for mudslides is going to be there. you heard her say there's not too many places to go in butte county. the issue is people are in tents, we have the heavy rain coming in, and that's going to be an issue as well. let's talk about where we are as far as the camp fire. not much containment through the day today. we had some very gusty winds in the morning. we started at 65%. that's how we ended sunday. i think we're going to do better on monday as a result of the winds beginning to subside. that's going to be a good thing. 150,000 acres, of course, have burned so far we're talking about the most destructive fire in california, the camp fire. this is the improving weather conditions, the area we have, winds subsiding so we're not going to have those 50, 60 mile an hour winds. it was 40s in the morning. that's bad enough. humidity will be on the increase. and we have cooler temps on the way along with the fact we're talking about rainfall. we shouldn't be into these kinds of fires this late into the season in california. where we should be is in the rain season. that is affidavit least going to happen the next few days. i'll talk about why that may be a problem as well. the gray you see there, that has been -- when we were talking about this, this is one of the worst outbreaks as far as stagnation and air quality in california. because of the valley the way it's shaped here, everything sinks down and doesn't move despite the fact we have gusty winds up at the ridges here. look at the plume. this is from noaa here the last several days. depending on the prevailing wind, states as far away as the northern plains are seeing some of the smoke. the worst where it has been unhealthy is california. the red dots you see there, that's in the unhealthy stage. we were towards purple, one of the highest numbers we've seen as far as air quality index goes up to 500. we were in the 300s to give you some idea. how much rain do we need to help things out? we need at least half an inch to stop the spread of the fires, right? the winds are also going to help as they begin to calm down, but we need actually upwards of 2 inches to extinguish the fires. so i think, in fact, heading into thanksgiving, this thing is going to be put out because of the heavy rain and the heroic fire fighting efforts that continue at this hour. look at these weather systems. not just one. i'm counting three here. we have one that comes in on wednesday. this will be the first big rain event coming in, and that's going to be heavy at times, as all that moisture gets pumped in from the pau isk is. another one thursday into friday, looking into next week, perhaps even a little more rainfall. when it's all done, we're talking the potential anywhere from 2 to as high as 5 inches. look at chick owe there. this is where the fire is. that's where we're looking at some significant rainfall. when you mix the rain with the scarred and the burn scars in california, you're going tomorrow the potential for i think mudslides over the next few days. we're going to have to watch that very closely. we had that issue last year. we had fires and then we had what usually follows with the heavy rainfall, which is the mudslide threat and that's going to increase big time beginning wednesday. >> that's a big deal. the rain obviously welcome, but real concern there. ivan, thank you. >> you're welcome. >> of course, if you'd like to help, you can find ways to reach to the victims to help ought our website, cnn.com/impact. there you will find a list of vetted charities helping the people there in need. the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi could impact the war in yemen. for several years of war and blood shed now, a saudi-led coalition has been fighting iran backed houthi is there. now a houthi leader says his fighters are ready for a cease-fire. and after the khashoggi murder, riyadh might be open to accepting it. saudi-backed forces hold much of yemen, but the houthis still control much of the west. last month a top u.s. official, several said there need to be a truth within 30 days. cnn's sam kiley is in abu dhabi and has the very latest on this peace offer. >> reporter: just under three weeks ago, the united states and the united kingdom joined voices with the united nations to call or renew their calls and demands for a cease-fire within 30 days in yemen. there has been a dialing down in the violence. and gist in the last few hours, there has been a statement published by the leader of the iranian-backed houthi rebels clinging onto the port city of hedada. that statement said, in part, they are prepared -- this is the houthi rebels -- to end their drone attacks and their use of long-range missiles as a sign of good will. there was an offer of good will that came from the saudi-led coalition side, which about a week ago agreed to allow the medical evacuation of about 50 wounded houthi rebels as a precondition to meeting. there are meetings hoped for to be held sometime over the next couple of weeks somewhere in sweden. but this is a major breakthrough in a conflict that really has run into the sand for the saudi-led coalition which is trying to battle the houthi rebels and above all, to thereby to make sure that iran does not get a foothold in that strategically important part of the arabian gulf that controls access to the red sea. at the same time, of course, the iranians are insisting they are backing their shi'a brethren, the houthis in their efforts to prevent an annihilation, if you like, of the houthi rebellion. but this, after many, many years of blood shed, some tens of thousands of people injured, thousands wounded, and 400,000 children according to the united nations children's fund on the verge of starvation, offers a slim glimmer of hope. just as the united kingdom is expected to sponsor a demand at the u.n. security council, a demand for a resolution calling for a cease-fire, and putting pressure, particularly on the saudis for that, and that would come on the eve of the publication expected from the united states on what the united states government believes happened to jamal khashoggi. the washington post correspondent who was murdered inside the consulate of the saudi kingdom in istanbul. those two issues have been tightly connected now for many weeks because it is seen, really, that the murder of jamal khashoggi, which is now accepted as a premeditated killing by the saudis, was effectively the straw that has broken the camel's back in terms of particularly congressional support for the very, very bloody and humanitarianly disastrous campaign that has unfollowed over the last few years in yemen. sam kiley, cnn, abu dhabi. >> sam, thank you. the u.s. president said hen vice-president to the apec this weekend. he was front and center at the gathering of leaders. why that's angering china. stay with us. tensions between the united states and china kim to a head this weekend at the asia-pacific economic cooperation summit in papua new guinea. for the first time in 25 years, the forum ended without an agreement on a joint communique. the u.s. official says china president xi jinping grew frustrated with the criticism over his country's trade policies, particularly from the united states. the u.s. vice-president mike pence says washington will not back down from the trade war with china until beijing changes its ways. following the story, cnn's ivan watson live in hong kong. ivan, we saw this rivalry on full display impacting the outcome of this overall summit, it seems. >> reporter: yeah. where for the first time in 25 years, you couldn't have this routine joint communique published. apec, the summit, they take place every year and they're usually pretty straightforward affairs where you have heads of state dressed usually in very loud bright ethnically colored shirts. in this case, there was a break down and there was some last-minute drama as well because cnn has learned from a source with direct knowledge that after the host country's foreign minister denied a request from chinese officials to meet with them to try to influence the final joint communique, which was never published in the end, that these four chinese officials then barged into the papua new guinea's foreign minister's office, a rather unusual rupture in normal kind of diplomatic protocol in the wrangling over this final document which, again, was never published, we're hearing from the canadian prime minister, because of disagreements over trade. and that is the big disagreement between china and the u.s., who have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of products going to each other's countries. and there were thinly veiled kind of criticisms coming from xi jinping who was present, and from u.s. vice-president mike pence who went in president trump's stead to this gathering. take a listen to some excerpts from their speeches. >> translator: history tells us to take the road of confrontation, whether it's in the form of a cold war, open war, or trade war, it will produce no winners. [ applause ] >> offer a better option. we don't drown our partners in a sea of debt. we don't commerce or compromise your independence. the united states deals openly and fairly. we do not offer constricting belt or a one-way road. >> george, that's pence taking aim at china's ambitious one belt one road initiative where they have lavished huge amounts of money on infrastructure projects around the world that put xi jinping on the defensive. he was pledging that there is no hidden agenda to his one belt one road initiative. you also had pence announcing the creation of a new military base in papua new guinea in conjunction with the sydney, australiaians, part of bigger jockeying confrontation in the region for influence between china and the u.s. and its allies there. this is the chance, perhaps, at a negotiated way out of this trade war, and that could be an upcoming meeting between xi jinping and president trump in argentina later this month. george in >> ivan watson, live for us in hong kong. thank you. we'll be right back after the break. always a catch. like somehow you wind up getting less. but now that i book at hilton.com, and i get all these great perks. i got to select my room from the floor plan... very nice... i know, i'm good at picking stuff. free wi-fi... laptop by the pool is a bold choice... and the price match guarantee. how do you know all of this? are you like some magical hilton fairy? it's just here on the hilton app. just available to the public, so... book at hilton.com and get the hilton price match guarantee. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25% off that stay. ♪ spread a little love today ♪ spread a little love my-y way ♪ ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ philadelphia cream cheese. made with fresh milk and real cream makes your recipes their holiday favourites. the holidays are made with philly. you may have gum disease and could be on a journey to much worse. try parodontax toothpaste. it's three times more 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so-called trolls continues. here's our fred platkin with more. >> reporter: the russian control factory is still up and running. now operating as various new legal entities under the name project lata, according to a u.s. criminal complaint. cnn has obtained video of this flashy business center in st. petersburg where several of the firms are now apparently working. and month ject lata is putting down more cash to harm america. company financial records in the u.s. criminal complaint reviewed by cnn show huge budget increases since 2013, especially in 2018. around 650 million rubles, almost $10 million in the first six months of this year alone. though prosecutors say not all of that money goes to operations targeting the u.s. >> it is essential to look at these efforts as consistent and persistent as opposed to they rally around a specific geopolitical event or an election. the way that they actually gain influence is by talking to these specific populations over a period of time. >> reporter: a former employee, we are not naming out of safety concerns, tells cnn's the project's operatives constantly create new online identities using tools called anonymizers along with virtual private networks and varying cloud services to mask their origin. >> i don't think there is anything that we have established at this point that's going to fundamentally deter them from continuing this kind of operation because, frankly, it's been successful. >> reporter: a kwording to the criminal complaint, lata is part of a sprawling empire controlled by this man. nicknamed putin's chef because of his close ties to russian president vladimir putin and because of his restaurant empire. putin has denied the two men are close. >> translator: i know him, but he is not among my friends. this is misrepresenting the facts. he is a businessman. he has restaurants and some other businesses, but he is not a state official. we have nothing to do with him. >> reporter: but he clearly has major dealings with the russian state. a firm linked to him runs a mercenary company active in syria that even a takttacked u.s.-backed forces there. this is from russian state tv of a meeting between russian officials and sudan's president, wanted by the international criminal court for severe human rights abuses. his firm tried to push back on the special counsel's indictment arguing, like president trump, that the mueller investigation is a witch-hunt. on thursday, a federal judge refused to dismiss the indictment charging his company with having a role in russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 u.s. presidential election. meantime, cyber security experts say project lata's trolling experts are expanding in the united states and elsewhere. their message, unabashed and unapologetic. like this recent online meme plant the by the group which reads, remember, 90% of online trolls are paid professionals. fred platkin, cnn, moscow. >> fred, thank you. thank you for joining us. let's do it 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[ yells ] it's one of the best films of the year. you're looking for the commode? right out there. how does he shake their hands like that? it takes courage to change people's hearts. you try to pull that on me, i'd piss right on the living room floor. no, don't do that. 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Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Fredricka Whitfield 20181118

numbers from the manual recount that started thursday. it looks as though bill nelson gained about 2,000 votes in the process, but it's not nearly enough. it seems pretty sure that rick scott will be the next u.s. senator from florida. there is still a process in place. the election canvassing committee will meet on tuesday to certify the results. that's just a formality. it seems pretty clear that scott as won. what we are waiting for is a statement from bill nelson. he is expected to release a video statement in about an hour. 3:00 eastern in which we expect he will concede. we don't know that definitively, but it seems to be the most logical conclusion about the statement that bill nelson will make in the next hour. what we learned today is really not that much of a surprise as we saw this process play out over the past five days. we had people in different spots around florida. it didn't appear that there were enough votes available for nelson to make up that gap that scott had built on election night. this was obviously a long drawn out process. many, many lawsuits filed in the fight over this florida recount. at the end of the day the election results we saw at least in the governor and u.s. senate race we saw on election night have held and it looks as though the republican will be the next governor and the current governor will be the next u.s. senator. fred? >> what about the variety of lawsuits? do they go away or would some remain? >> that's a great question. we should point out for the most part, there were nine lawsuits on various levels on the state and federal level. most were not settled. they were denied injunctions and in some cases they have the case to be appealed to the next level of the federal court system. but we should point out that the democrats had a very poor record in this process. they lost and the cases that they did win were narrow rulings that department chandidn't chan. in this race at this time it's basically over. >> ryan nobles, thank you very much in tallahassee. the other big story we are following out of california with the calamity of those fires is growing. the numbers are simply staggering. 79 people are dead. 1300 remain missing. the so-called camp fire in northern california now the deadliest and most destructive in state history. search and rescue combing through the ashes as those forced out wonder what comes next for them. >> my house burned down. it's the picture of your kids growing up. the report card and the first pictures they draw and all that. that you can't replace. >> president trump witnessed the devastation first hand when he visited paradise and malibu on saturday with the state's governor and governor-elect. >> you see what's happened here. nobody would have ever thought this could have happened. the federal government is behind you and we are behind each other. as far as the lives are concerned, nobody knows quite yet. they are up to a certain number, but a lot of people are unaccounted for. this is the kind of destruction, they tell me this is not as bad as some areas. they are just charred. >> it's a tough day for survivors. the camp fire has left hundreds homeless. in the northern california city of chico, many evacuees are camped out in parking lots and pop up cities. the camp fire has scorched more than 149,000 acres and only 60% contained. paul is in chico and paul, we understand the people in these pop up cities, in the tents, there is a deadline in which many have to leave? >> reporter: that's right, fred. it's a fluid situation though. we will see that they will be allowed to stay in the grassy area away from this wal-mart parking lot and people on the ground say that's what they want to do. they created, as you said, this makeshift city. they are cooking food here and there is a medical unit here. what the idea is, they are trying to get people to a shelter in nearby gridly. this area is thinning out, but to suggest that all of them will be gone, if you look at the higher wide shot that we have hereof this village, those are the tents of the people they have been staying in. many of them telling us we are not going anywhere. we don't have anywhere to go but on the horizon. the weather is going to change and they want to get people out of here before it rains on wednesday. we should note quickly that there is a story of these individuals, 22 children, two teachers and a bus driver who made a harrowing escape from the school. up on the hill which is in paradise. i can tell you, they went through a five-hour odyssey that was just miraculous. >> it was very scary. it was like -- it felt like armageddon. >> i was seeing smoke everywhere. i couldn't see and i how -- i love animals and it was so crazy. there were like fires left and right. everywhere you look, there was smoke everywhere. people trying to get out. it was really hard. >> we look forward to telling you more about that miracle. >> look forward to that. thank you so much. so while touring the california wildfire devastation, president trump said the u.s. needs to follow the lead of other countries when managing forests. >> you look at other countries where they do it differently. it's a whole different story. i was with the president of finland and he said we have a much different -- we are a forest nation. he called it a forest nation. they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things and they don't have any problem. what it is, it's a small problem. everybody is looking at that, to that end. >> at the time yesterday you saw standing with the president, the california governor and the governor-elect. today jerry brown responded, saying a lot of the land is run by the federal government and also said part of the problem is climate change, but mostly avoided the topic during the president's visit. why? today the explanation is simple. money. >> where paradise is surrounded by federally managed land. these are national forests. they are not state parks and not private property by californians. it is the federal government. the fact is that managing the forests is part of it. they are a lot denser than they were 200 years ago, but on top of this, we is a five-year drought and reduced rainfall and the dryness that turns vegetation and bushes and houses and trees into literally timber. it's ready to explode. there is an atmospheric element which is part of the natural cycle and then there is an increasing effect of climate change. i have read specifically pure reviewed scientific articles that say the amount of land burnt in california over the last 15 years has doubled because of climate change. >> did you make that case to president trump? >> i certainly raised it, but i didn't feel that was where we needed to go. we need the money. >> i am joined on the phone by cal fire director ken pim lot who was with the president yesterday during the visit. director, give me your point of view. what kind of dialogue did you have with the president yesterday and when you heard the president still blame forest management, what were your thoughts yesterday at the time and your thoughts today? >> i think in all honesty, the dialogue was good and did mostly focus on the need at hand which was to take care of the citizens of butte county in this tragedy. the forest management discussion is important. forest management is one component of the overall problem. governor brown really brought the point home there. it's not just about forests. the fire in southern california, that's a chap ral brush fire and no forest involved there. the common factor of all of this are extreme weather patterns and the wind. these fires were burning where there was 40 or 50 mile per hour winds. vegetation is critically dry. we need to engage in active forest management and as the governor said, a good portion of our forest lands of federally owned. this is a partnership and all lands and all hands. the nongovernment organizations. working hand in hand. they all have to increase the amount of work we are doing. >> what are you hoping will come from the president's visit, seeing firsthand devastation and having the dialogue that you had with him with the governor-elect and him. do you hope that there is greater clarity and it will open the door to federal possibilities? what? >> i think in the short-term it's the task at hand and that's taking care of the people and getting the sheltering and taking care of this community until ultimately things can be rebuilt and supported. that will take a number of years. the dialogue about engaging -- this is a challenge. we are seeing fires unlike we have ever seen before. communities are being destroyed completely. all the tools in the tool box approach. not only do we need to treat the vegetation, but the communities. we need to make sure the infrastructure resists the intense fires. it's going to be working together across the aisles and working in all levels of government. we made a great start in california and invefsting in hundreds of millions of dollars and over the next five years utilizing $5 billion for forest health and fire prevention. >> on the issue of evacuation, i spoke with the paradise mayor yesterday, jodi jones. she wanted to challenge the issue of evacuations and it's not that simplistic. she received a lot of criticism that people did not get notified soon enough to get out. when you look at where that city is, there are very limited routes in which to get in and to get out. what is the answer on improving evacuations when you have areas such as that city which are perched in the foothills and by design, there are few roads to get in and get out. >> this was a community that for several years now has recognized that it is in a fire-prone area. that's because of the work they have been doing to address that. they added an additional evacuation route and highway that was used significantly during this fire to evacuate people. they have divided the city into zones so when the orders come in, you know which zone to use. the treatment around the water supply and actually saved it. they have a water supply now. we need to do more. the fire occurred so quickly, within an hour it was spotted into the city. it was very difficult. these fires are spreading so quickly, notification is a challenge. 6:30 in the morning when they move so quickly. we need to look at all of that and make sure roads of widen and we rebuild the community to make sure the infrastructure and buildings are built to be fire resistant to the current standards to prevent that or mitigate the impact. >> all right. cal fire director, no easy answers here. appreciate it. this breaking news. right now to cnn. florida senator bill nelson has called florida governor rick scott to conceit the race for u.s. senate. scott releasing a statement saying that nelson was gracious in his concession. scott saying that he thanked nelson for his years of public service. u.s. senator since 2000. still ahead, president trump leaves the door open on whether he might do a one-on-one interview in the 2016 election. >> is that your final position that there is going to be no sit down interview and nothing written or in person on obstruction? >> i would say probably. probably. i can change my mind, but probably. >> no ending? >> we wasted enough time on this witch hunt. >> the fate of the mueller probe will be left up to his new acting attorney general. ♪ ♪ -[ slurping ] ♪ -act your age. get your own insurance. [ child babbling ] -aah! -oh! -act your age. get your own insurance. new today, president trump now says he probably won't sit for an interview with special counsel robert mueller after he said he finished writing answers about possible collusion. in a new interview that aired on fox news today, the president said he has no plans to respond to questions about obstruction of justice in writing or in person. >> you are submitting written answers to the special counsel about the issue of collusion, but not on obstruction of justice. >> there was no obstruction of justice. >> if i may, sir -- all you have to do is. >> is that your final position that there is no sit down interview and nothing written or in person on obstruction? >> i would say probably. probably. i can change my mind, but probably. >> no -- >> we wasted enough time on this witch hunt and the answer is probably. we're finished. >> let's bring in white house correspondent boris sanchez and what else did the president say about the mueller probe? >> this was a wide ranging interview by president trump on fox news with chris wallace speaking specifically about the russia probe in detail. the president suggesting it is not likely he will sit down and testify in person with robert mueller. he suggested that he was interested in doing that, looked forward to it instead of saying he is going to hand in his written responses to questions from a special counsel within the next week. the president spoke openly about his acting attorney general, matt whitaker. they made statements suggesting that the investigation could be stifled from within the doj by limiting funding for the probe. the president was asked about the comments. he said he didn't know that whitaker made the statements and he held the strong positions against the special counsel before he named him as the acting attorney general to hold the fort for out going attorney general, jeff sessions. listen to what he told chris wallace on fox news. >> i did not know that. i did not know he took views on the mueller investigation as such. >> when you found that out? >> i don't think it had any effect. if you look at the statements, they can be viewed either way. >> he said no collusion and you can starve the investigation. >> what do you do when a person is right. he happened to be right. he said it and if he said there is no collusion? i am supposed to take someone who said there is? he would have been wrong. if he said there is no collusion, he is right. >> if whitaker decides to limit or curtail the mueller investigation, are you okay with that? >> look, it's going to be up to him. i think he is very well aware politically and astute politically. he's a very smart person. a very respected person. he's going do what's right. >> you won't overrule him if he decides to curtail? >> i would not get involved. >> if you listen closely, president trump did not answer when he found out that whitaker held the views. he told wallace, i don't think it had any effect. the second point, the president was asked a similar line of questions just a few days ago by our colleague. at the time the president didn't take a liking to her questions, calling them stupid. fred? >> who can forget? boris sanchez, thank you so much. former assistant to robert mueller and senior columnist for the badaily beast. the president said he probably won't answer questions about possible obstruction of justice in writing or in a sitting interview. so, would or could mueller subpoena him? >> yes, he could. whether he would remains to be seen. however, of course, when mueller or if mueller seeks a subpoena, he has to get matt whitaker if he replaced rosenstein. he has to get matt whitaker's approval coming into this acting job. >> and matt, the president to that question of whitaker knowing about how he felt about the investigation, the president said he didn't know anything about it. he is essentially saying he doesn't watch television, which we know he does. whitaker was on the air quite a bit saying he didn't believe this probe needed to carry on. so now what? when the president said he is hoping that the acting attorney general wouldn't curtail the probe and he also said it will be up to him. >> yeah, i think the thing that is holding this together is really politics. here's the thing. most presidents, i think would have exercised forbearance. they wouldn't put whitaker in the situation to begin with. it would have been perceived we couldn't do this. we have to make rosenstein the acting attorney general and get senate confirmation. once you decide to violate political norms and they are held together not by statute, but because they are norms that have been observed by presidents in the past. donald trump is basically breaking that apart. the only thing holding this together is because the senate is not apparently going to do anything about it. public opinion. and elections. what will the public tolerate? that's where we are at right now. which, you know, if you are optimistic or pessimistic about the american public. >> it seems as though the president is allowing for wiggle room and said he wouldn't get involved and at the same time he said it will be up to whitaker on whether to curtail the probe or not. what do you buy? >> i think it's correct for the president not to intervene in this case now that whitaker as the president doesn't try to intervene. the president should step back from this and let the process play out as it will play out. if, however, matt whitaker determine that is a subpoena will not be issued, that denial to muller has to go to the senate and house judiciary and intelligence for their review. if he does that, he may be actually extending the life of this investigation in ways that matt spoke about in terms of politics and norms that will be much more detrimental to the president's political interests than if he just let it be and see how the folks are involved. >> that gives more time and color in which to delve into. >> they want to wrap this up as soon as they can and not interfere as a matter of budget or process. if he is correct that there was no collusion nor obstruction, mueller has the fortitude to say that. >> outgoing republican jeff flake is concerned because he threatened to vote against 30 nominees if the senate does not hold a vote on that bipartisan protection bill. take a listen to what he said. >> this has to be priority now. we have a situation where the president has fired the attorney general and has installed and has given responsibility for the mueller investigation to somebody who has not been confirmed by the senate and somebody who expressed hostility to the mueller investigation. how in the world my colleagues don't see this as priority, i just don't understand. it does need to come to the senate floor and think it's worth using a little leverage here. >> so does he have leverage? he is outgoing, but does anybody else want to follow suit. >> there are never trump conservatives that don't even believe in what he wants to do because they think it's unconstitutional. a few people who want to do this on the republican side, but mitch mcconnell will decide and i don't think he wants to set a precedent for letting people like jeff flake use their leverage to tell him what to do. >> didn't it seem earlier in the year mcconnell was all for it as part of that chorus and now deafening silence. matt lewis and michael zeld on, good to see you both. still ahead, president trump said the u.s. has the tape that captured part of the murder of jamal khashoggi, but the president is not going to listen to it. we will tell you why. okay, i never thought i'd say this, but i found bladder leak underwear that's actually pretty. surprised? it's called always discreet boutique. it looks and fits like my underwear. i know what you're thinking. how can something this pretty protect? hidden inside is a super absorbent core that quickly turns liquid to gel for incredible protection. so i feel protected and pretty. always discreet boutique. new color. new size. billions of problems. sore gums? 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"all sites are green." all of which helps you do more than your customers thought possible. comcast business. beyond fast. . president trump said he declined to listen to a recording of jamal khashoggi being kill and his body dismembered by a saudi hit squad in turkey last month. >> we have the tape. i don't want to hear the tape. no reason to hear the tape. >> why don't you want to hear it? >> it's a suffering tape. it's a terrible tape. i have been briefed on it. i asked should i? they said no. >> and what happened? >> it was very violent and vicious and terrible. >> the u.s. state department issued a statement saying there is no final constitution on who is responsible for jamal khashoggi's murder. this follows cnn's reporting that they assessed the sougaudi crown prince who ordered the killing. aaron david miller was there for more than 20 years. good to see you. >> you, too. >> in that wide ranging interview, the president said he doesn't need to see or listen to the tape. is the president reluctant to use any cia findings to shape his approach with saudi arabia? >> a pattern of the president's reaction with the cia has been clear. it seems to me he accepts the intelligence when it's convenient and rejects it when it's not. the decision no to the listen to that tape i think frankly creates the worst of both worlds for the president. he has been briefed on the horrible details of what happens to jamal khashoggi once he interested that consulate, yet in not wanting to listen to it, in a way he distances himself and refuses to accept i think the responsibility for owning the fact that he has to find a way to hold mohamed bin salman accountable and which he wants to do precisely the opposite. >> you see a danger in not listening because it's sanitized when you don't listen to it and perhaps if he did listen to it and heard how gruesome it was, perhaps that might better influence his decisions about how to move forward with saudi arabia? >> it is intriguing because he was moved personally back in april 2017 when he was briefed on the photographs of the impact of syrian chemical weapons attacks on civilians. he was moved emotionally. >> and at the time in his daughter is the who said here's the picture. you have to do something. >> there is an emotional investment, but the problem is broader than that. the u.s.-soughty has been is out of control. it's not just the murder. it's the reckless and impulsive behavior on the part of the crown prince that i think undermined both u.s. interests and values. we have a relationship with saudi arabia and it's important and needs to be maintained. it's out of control and we need to reinject a measure of balance and reciprocity into it. >> the president was asked about it before he went out to california and he said we gain a lot out of saudi arabia. jobs and deals. is the president struggling with the culpability of jamal khashoggi's murder and the value of saudi arabia's cooperation in so many things? >> i think he is exaggerating what the saudis can deliver. job creation and modest arms sales are modest. containing iran are very modest. the peace process yet to be determined what mom -- mohamed bin salman. after all, where did the president go in his first trip to saudi arabia? that was frankly unprecedented. he is looking for a way to maintain the relationship. >> always good to see you. thank you very much. next, an unexpected visitor crashes michelle obama's book tour. we have hold you who it is. it's all in good fun. why the former first lady said she wishes president obama would just speak up more. got directions to the nightclub here. and if you get lost, just hit me on the old horn. man: tom's my best friend, but ever since he bought a new house... tom: it's a $10 cover? oh, okay. didn't see that on the website. he's been acting more and more like his dad. come on, guys! jump in! the water's fine! tom pritchard. how we doin'? hi, there. tom pritchard. can we get a round of jalapeño poppers for me and the boys, please? i've been saving a lot of money with progressive lately, so... progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. >> it's the former first lady, michelle obama's book tour, but the crowd went wild as you saw right there in the d.c. area arena when former president barack obama surprised his wife on stage with flowers. michelle obama's book, becoming, is out and she is promoting it by dotting the map with these appearances. last night as she talked about hershey and her husband are taking a moment to reflect on their time in the white house and how frustrated she said she is with the current state of politics. joining me right now is desiree barnes is a former aide for the obama administration. good to see you. >> thanks if are having s for . >> this tour and the book come at a pivotal time. she makes reference to so much discourse and how important it is to be a class act. what do you suppose it's like for audiences to see her and hear her messages like this and her book. >> it's great that she is defining her own narrative and she is a testament that your political affiliation doesn't need to determine your decency. she is leading by example and that's so important. >> someone was yelling out, we miss you. former obama senior adviser valerie jarrett helped direct the interview. she was up on stage with her and she reflected on how people in the administration wanted to behave perfectly and wanted to have it perfect. how did you see the obamas set the tone for all of you who worked in the administration? >> the wonderful part is that we didn't question their character or judgment. as a staffer, we could focus on doing the work to serve the american people. so i think anyone who goes to work for the federal government knows how important it is to be above reapproach and focus on the work in front of you and producing results. >> she wishes her husband would speak out more on current political events and putting her now -- there are so many times where i just want him like i know all of you to just curse them out and just say these things. he's like well, that's not the point. you know the president is not the president for his own ego. the president is the president for the entire country. so we have to be very mindful of what we say and how we say it. do you wish that the president would speak out or does this exemplify the no drama obama? >> i'm confident in the word that is the former president put out there, but it remains to be said over 22 obama alumni ran for office and won. it's not just about the voice of former president obama or mrs. obama, but people using their voices and platforms to draw attention to the issues that matter. >> what are did you learn about yourself and your responsibility and how to handle things by virtue of being part of that administration? >> i think work ethic was a great learning lesson for me. having consistent work ethic and being a team player. that was something that i learned. i also have to say that there is young people out there who whether or not i choose to be a role model for them, they are seeking guidance and so i tried to do my job as best as i could and pretty much focused on the work in front of me and that was the greatest lesson for me. desiree barnes, good to see you. thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you very much for having me. >> next, why the democratic candidate for georgia governor is stopping short of calling her republican opponents legitimate. and i found out that i'ma from the big toe alian. of that sexy italian boot! so this holiday season it's ancestrydna per tutti! order your kit now at ancestry.com billions of problems. morning breath? garlic breath? stinky breath? there's a therabreath for you. therabreath fresh breath oral rinse instantly fights all types of bad breath and works for 24 hours. so you can... breathe easy. there's therabreath at walmart. former democratic georgia gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams is making it clear she is not going to walk away from an intentional destruction of the election process in her state. she conceded to her republican opponent, brian kemp, who has georgia's secretary of state oversaw in that position. he enforced some of the nation's most restrictive voting laws and was accused repeatedly before and during the campaign of seeking to suppress the minority vote. a brab brams said he continued attempt to block eligible voters. while he is the legal governor-elect, she declined to call him the legitimate winners. >> the law said he received an adequate number of votes. i am a lawyer by training and someone who has taken a constitutional oath to uphold the law. sometimes the law does not do what it should. something being willing does not make it right. this is someone who compromised our system. he compromised our systems and that is not appropriate and therefore my admission is to make sure no one else has to paface this conversation. >> abrams plans to file a federal lawsuit for gross mismanagement of the gubernatorial election. the senate race that was supposed to be an easy win for republicans is headed for a run off. cindy hyde smith raised controversy by attending a public hanging if invited by a supporter. then she had this to say on voter suppression. >> but she also has the president backing her, announcing that he will come to a rally next weekend. hyde smith is facing off against mike espy and he is trying to be the ifrt black senator since just after the civil war. that run off is set for november 27th. much more ahead in the newsroom, but here's this week's staying well. >> without question, running is tough on the body. anywhere between 60 and 80% of all runners will get injured. through running analysis, we are able to identify what part of the runner's form may be driving their injury. >> i have done 10-ks and a few half marathons and the new york city marathon. i go at my own pace so i know i'm not hurting myself or overdoing it. i was training and i started noticing knee pain and it was happening within the first mile. i went to see a physical therapist. she did a gait analysis and saw which areas of form were weak. >> where your foot is hitting the ground and how much forces going through you. your forward lean and loading the joints and assessment on the ground and looking at alignment. >> because i was leaning too far back when i was running, my hips were tilt and pulling my quad muscles and knees and she told me how to correct my form. she has me doing a hip flexor stretch to open up the front of my torso. she set me up with a bunch of exercises to do if i feel pain. usually if i make that adjustment, it goes away immediately. hopefully my options are limitless. smile dad. i take medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol. but they might not be enough to protect my heart. adding bayer aspirin can further reduce the risk of another heart attack. because my second chance matters. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. -of course, daniel. -fridge, weather. -clear skies and 75. -trash can, turn on the tv. -my pleasure. -ice dispenser, find me a dog sitter. -okay. -and make ice. -pizza delivered. -what's happened to my son? -i think that's just what people are like now. i mean, with progressive, you can quote your insurance on just about any device. even on social media. he'll be fine. -[ laughs ] -will he? -i don't know. a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! . hello again, everyone. thanks for being with me. breaking right now, a war of words between president trump and the man who oversaw the raid that killed osama bin laden. in an interview on fox news, trump criticized the military for not having killed

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