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Trump Whipping Up Fears Over Immigration Before Election; Trump Begins 8-State Campaign Blitz Ahead of Midterms; Investigators 70 Percent Sure Ping is From Lion Air Black Boxes; U.S. Calls for Yemen Shrews and Talks; Challenges Ahead for Saudi Arabia amid Backlash over Khashoggi Killing; Police Identify Saudi Sisters Found Dead in Hudson River; Kanye West Distancing Himself from Politics. Aired 11-12p ET

Aired October 31, 2018 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A person comes in, has a baby and the baby is essentially a citizen.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: You cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we are in the battle for the soul of America.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America is at a crossroads. The health care of millions of people is on the ballot. But

maybe most importantly the character of our country is on the ballot.

TRUMP: We are going to have tents. They are going to be very nice.

It's great to be back in the heartland.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This could all go away.

PEOPLE SINGING AT PITTSBURGH MARCH: This land is your land this land is my land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were no Republican leaders who wanted to come with this toxic President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Welcome and welcome. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson live from Abu Dhabi. Happy Halloween. And

of course, there are a lot of frights in Washington this hour. And there is nowhere better than right here to talk you through them all as the

world's most powerful country goes full thrust into a critical vote. And we look at how that stretches from D.C. to Yemen to right here in Abu

Dhabi. We want to break it all down for you with our unmatched depth and breath, as you would expect.

We begin with an all-out blitz. A final frenzied push by President Donald Trump to energize Republican voters before next Tuesday's elections. He is

barnstorming across eight states over the next six days, literally crisscrossing the country to rev up his base at 11 rallies.

It's a hard turn from his somber visit to Pittsburgh yesterday where mourners began burying victims of a mass shooting against Jews. The mayor

and other leaders had asked him to stay away while they keep the focus on funerals and grieving families. But sources tell CNN the President wanted

to keep his campaign schedule and was itching to hit the trail.

Well, his message in the final stretch is heavy on fear mongering and falsehoods as he whips up concerns about Central American migrants and

warns of an impending, and I quote, invasion. Well Mr. Trump himself isn't on the ballot next Tuesday, but his message certainly is as voters decide

between Congressional candidates who support or oppose his agenda. Let's bring in CNN's Sarah Westwood who is live at the White House. And as we

see President Trump hit the campaign trail, what is the mood at this point?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN REPORTER: Well, Becky, President Trump is increasingly focused on immigration. He's trying to inflame passions surrounding that

caravan of Central American migrants who is heading to the U.S. border. And he's introduced a new and very divisive issue into the national

conversation just one week out from the midterms, and that's ending birthright citizenship. It's very divisive even among Republicans. And

you can see that in the fact that Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan was pointing out that this was a suggestion that's clearly unconstitutional.

He is perhaps putting some vulnerable Republicans who are running in tight races in an awkward position.

But, Becky, the President is really trying to move from persuasion arguments to turnout arguments, as are all Republicans and Democrats. Now

they're sort of done trying to convince voters to come to their side and it's all about getting voters to show up at the polls on Tuesday. The

President has those campaign rallies in eight states in six days. Some of those states he'll be hitting twice. He'll be going twice to Florida,

twice to Missouri, twice to Indiana. He's focused more on statewide races at this point than House races, even though the House is considered more

vulnerable for Republicans. And again, the President is leaning on these very emotional issues of immigration and birthright citizenship hoping to

get his base rallied up heading into the midterm six days from now -- Becky.

ANDERSON: And as we said, he's not on the ballot, but his agenda certainly is. Thank you.

President Trump then says he was treated warmly in Pittsburgh as he paid respects to the victims of the synagogue massacre, dismissing protests

against him as small and staged. But as our Sara Sidner reports, his trip highlighted the deep political divisions in the U.S. ahead of Tuesday's

elections.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first funerals of the faithful after the massacre in Squirrel Hill. Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz,

considered family by those he treated for generations. Daniel Stein, a father and husband.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a fun guy. He had a dry sense of humor.

SIDNER: And beloved brothers David and Cecil Rosenthal, who made each soul who entered the synagogue feel special and welcome. This is what the

community is focusing on. There are funerals for seven more yet to come.

[11:05:00] Enter President Trump. The mere mention of his name evokes a reaction.

BECKY GOLDBERG, CANONSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: Please, it is not about him. It's about the deceased. It's about the families. It's about the

community that now we all have to try to survive and move forward. He needs to just stay away and stop his provoking words.

SIDNER: Becky Goldberg is Christian. Her husband is Jewish. She knows a little something about acceptance and doesn't want division entering this

heartbroken place. But it has. Jewish leaders are at odds. Diversity of thought prevalent in the Jewish community as it is in other communities.

The former Tree of Life synagogue president sent this message.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do not welcome this President to my city.

JEFFERY MYERS, TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE RABBI: I am citizen. He is my President. He is certainly welcome.

SIDNER: Tree of Life synagogue rabbi Jeffrey Myers welcomed the President and paid a price for it.

MYERS: When I first said that the President was welcome, I received a lot of emails. The thing that saddens me is those emails also contained hate.

And it just continues in this vicious cycle. Hate promulgating more hate, promulgating more hate. And that's just not the solution.

SIDNER: But he is clear his first duty is to comfort his people as the 20 minutes of terror rattles around in his head. He has not stopped. We

watched as he removed the sacred Torah from his synagogue turned crime scene. At one of the many makeshift memorials that have appeared

throughout the neighborhood his message of unity, peace, and love are abundant, but there was great concern that the President's very presence

would distract from what this community really needs. A message that comforts.

JEFF PARNESS, MOURNER FROM NEW YORK: I am an American and the president's an American. He can go wherever he wants. I hope he chooses words that

are genuine, that are uniting, that are genuinely compassionate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Sara Sidner reporting for you with a message clear there, words matter. That is why Mr. Trump's critics are outraged that he continues to

harp on the caravan that appears to have motivated the accused Pittsburgh shooter. Not only keeping up false talk about looming invasion, but now

threatening to strip away a constitutional right to citizenship for babies born to unauthorized migrants in the United States. He doesn't have that

power, but his supporters deny that this is a political stunt and blatant attempt to throw red meat to his base, as it were, just days before the

elections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, because if only the base had voted for him, he wouldn't be President. So, I think, I

understand that's like the Sesame word of the day. That and fear and some other stuff. But, no, it's not whipping up the base.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Choice turn of phrase there. So as the President embarks on his last push towards the midterms let's bring in a regular friend of this show

and White House reporter Stephen Collinson. In your piece earlier today, which I thought was an excellent analysis, you wrote, from humbling grief

to fire and fury. The President is back doing what we recognize as Donald Trumpism, as it were.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Becky. We are going to have a very bracing and inflammatory six days, I think, going into the

midterm elections. The President has made clear that this message of fear and invasion and fury is the one he is going to use, and whatever Kellyanne

Conway, the President's counselor who you saw there, says, it is an attempt to mitigate the damage the Republicans fear in the midterm elections and to

drive out the maximum number of Republican voters, especially Trump supporters.

The President right from the start has based his administration on that base of supporters -- say 35 percent, 40 percent of the country -- and he

has made little attempt to reach out. So, in many ways he has little option but to pursue this kind of scorched earth tactic. Whatever the down

sides of that may be in terms of national unity rallying into the midterms.

ANDERSON: Well, let's just have a look at his narrative here. The notion that anyone born on U.S. soil, even the child of an undocumented immigrant,

is automatically a citizen, it is clearly outlined in the U.S. Constitution, but on Tuesday President Trump floated the idea I could undo

it with a stroke of his pen.

[11:10:00] Even some of his staunchest exist Republican allies seem to think the President is flat out wrong, Stephen. The conservative editorial

board of "The Wall Street Journal", for example, I writing an op-ed that seemed to troll the President, saying Mr. Trump is on the wrong side of

immigration law and politics. Did Michael Cohen give him this legal advice, the editorial asks. What is the President trying to do here?

COLLINSON: Well, the President knows full well that he cannot just get rid of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which is what is concerned here,

with a stroke of the pen, or even an act of Congress. It would evoke the cumbersome process of amending the Constitution, which requires two-thirds

votes in the House and Senate and then two-thirds of the states to agree. So that's not going to happen.

But he is having the debate about immigration with this issue just as the idea that America is going to be invaded by the caravan. The fact that he

is sending 5,000 troops to the border. The President would be quite happy to have this argument go straight to the Supreme Court because he views

immigration as the key to his political project. Every time he is talking about immigration, he is firing up his supporters. So, you know, it's a

political game and a gambit, but it's one that's worked for him before. The question is going forward, is that a sustainable basis to base his

presidency on, especially as we go from the midterm elections into the Presidential election in 2020.

ANDERSON: Yes, Stephen, let's talk about something really unusual the President did this week. His 2020 re-election campaign bought a $6 million

campaign ad for the 2018 midterms, and the ad casts an ominous tone. The President isn't even mentioned. I want our viewers just to have a listen

to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't get distracted from the biggest issue, which are jobs and our kids' future.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But this could all go away if we don't remember what we came from. You choose the right future. Because the future worth

fighting for is not guaranteed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And an aside, President Trump himself I am told, has raised some $100 million already for his campaign. This ad really makes it seem like

the country will collapse if voters don't back Republicans. Now, we know better than to take polls too seriously, but how are the numbers stacking

up as we approach these what are now crucial U.S. midterm elections Tuesday next week?

COLLINSON: Well, it's looking more and more likely that the Democratic Party will take back control of the House of Representatives in what would

be a grave moment for the Trump presidency since they will then get the power to open all sorts of investigations into the President, into his

past, into his tax returns, into even the way that he has handled the death of Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey. So that would be a very dangerous moment for

this presidency.

But at the same time, it's almost like we have got two elections going on because it looks like the Republicans are going to keep control of the

Senate and at least give the President some kind of shield on Capitol Hill. The reason for that is, is that many Democratic senators up for re-election

are having to run in Trump states where Trump won very easily in 2016.

If you look at the President's schedule over the next week, he is overwhelmingly going to places where he is already popular and is not

campaigning in those House races in suburban districts around big cities where he is not popular and where the House will probably be lost for

Republicans. So, you have two elections here. That is the most likely scenario that I think comes out of Tuesday.

I don't think we can yet rule out there is some big blue wave building, that Democrats could also take the Senate. But it seems, you know, maybe a

10 percent or 20 percent chance of that happening. And maybe, if Trump's campaign gambit works, if he does manage to drive out the Trump supporters,

all of whom came out for him in 2016, he could not only mitigate the losses in the House, but in a long shot scenario, maybe Republicans can cling on.

After 2016, nobody is making any predictions, but most conventional wisdom among political consultants in Washington sees a Democratic House and a

Republican Senate.

ANDERSON: A regular guest on the show and for all the right reasons, Stephen Collinson, White House reporter with his analysis. Thank you.

[11:15:01] And a lot more on CNN.com from Stephen. Most of our coverage of the midterm focuses on President Trump. Even though, as I say, he is not

even on the ballot, because he is a good bellwether for many of the races taking place across the nation. But when you drill down on those

individual contests, the way candidates are trying to win can sometimes be surprising. For example, the Missouri senate race, which features a long-

time Democrat whose campaign message is, I'm not a, quote, crazy Democrat. Here's Dana Bash with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Democrat Claire McCaskill rolling deep in rural conservative Missouri in search of every

possible vote to send her back to the Senate.

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (R), MISSOURI: I mean, were realists about this. It's not that anybody believes I am going to be able to win Jasper County.

But you know what we can do? We can win a few more votes. Because I've got news for you. It's close.

BASH: In many ways it's a political miracle this two-term Senate Democrat even represents this red state President Trump won by nearly 20 points.

She first won in 2006, a Democratic wave year. And again in 2012 after GOP opponent Todd Aiken talked of legitimate rape.

MCCASKILL: Health care is on the ballot.

BASH: Like many Democrats in tough races she tries to stay focused on health care and preserving Obamacare's protections for pre-existing

conditions. Her GOP opponent, Josh Hawley, says he supports them too. But he is part of a lawsuit that could strike down those protections. He's

casting the race as a clear choice.

JOSH HAWLEY, REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: We don't like the Washington establishment. We think that there needs to be a shakeup in both parties.

And you know, voters were adamant about that. And this campaign is really about that.

BASH: Hawley is a staunch Trump supporter, elected Missouri attorney general just two years ago. The blunt McCaskill regularly launches one-

liners at her 38-year-old ivy league educated challenger.

MCCASKILL: As Ronald Reagan said, I am not going to try to hold his youth and experience against him. He may be a Yale educated lawyer but I'm a

Mizzou educated lawyer and I can keep up.

BASH: She is running on her experience yet running from the left wing of her own party.

MCCASKILL: It may irritate some of you in this room that I am proud that I am a moderate. There may be people in this room that think I am not

liberal enough to carry the banner of this party.

BASH (on camera): You have a radio ad out saying that you are not one of those crazy Democrats.

MCCASKILL POLITICAL AD: And Claire is not one of those crazy Democrats. She works right in the middle and finds compromise.

BASH: What does that mean?

MCCASKILL: Well the crazy Democrats are the people who are getting in the face of elected officials in restaurants and screaming at them. The crazy

Democrats is whoever put a swastika on one of Josh Hawley's signs in rural Missouri. That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. The extreme stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Claire McCaskill and the radical left from passing their social agenda.

BASH (voice-over): Tying her to liberal democratic leaders is the centerpiece of Hawley's campaign, seizing on her votes against both of

President Trump's Supreme Court nominees.

(on camera): That was a big deal?

HAWLEY: Big deal. Very big deal.

BASH: Like that could make a difference?

HAWLEY: Yes, I do. Very big deal.

BASH: In what way?

HAWLEY: Because I think voters were so appalled by what they -- just appalled by the smear campaigns.

BASH: She did say how she would vote before the hearing.

HAWLEY: Right. She was honest in saying that she is voting against justice Kavanaugh because he was a conservative.

BASH (voice-over): She says voted no because Kavanaugh has supported unlimited campaign cash.

MCCASKILL: I would be a hypocrite if I voted for Kavanaugh because of dark money.

BASH: She is making an effort to connect with Trump voters she needs to win in other ways, like on immigration.

MCCASKILL: The impression he's giving Missourians is somehow the Democrats are in favor of our border being overrun, I am not. I support the

President 100 percent doing what he needs to do to secure the border.

BASH: Rallying supporters to get out the vote, the Democrat reminds them she's beaten Missouri's odds before.

MCCASKILL: Because of all of you and your commitment they're going to say, that Claire McCaskill, she's done it again.

BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, Kansas City, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: This quick reminder that everything you could possibly want to know about the midterm elections can be found on CNN.com/politics. A lot

more about that report. And Stephen Collinson, who we just spoke to, be sure to check out the CNN forecast with our polling experts, breaking down

the race for the House and the Senate. The upper and lower Houses and tell you how each race is likely to turn out.

Away from the U.S. but not far from Washington's radar, the very latest from Istanbul and the murder of the "Washington Post" columnist Jamal

Khashoggi. Also, the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

[11:20:00] And this Wednesday a potential breakthrough in Yemen as the U.S. calls for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks within the month. How

likely is this? How did it get to be where we are at this point? That's this hour on CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with us.

But before that. Searching for answers and the objects that hold them. The black boxes of the Lion Air plane that crashed off Indonesia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: To Indonesia where the loved ones of 189 people killed in Monday's plane crash are waiting for closure in an excruciating way. A

tragedy like that is almost impossible to put into words. Instead it is told in screams and cries, accusations and incredulity are often in the

face of total stone silence.

Now a quiet new sound is being heard. One that could change everything, at least in terms of getting these families the answers that they need. A

ping, one that could lead to the plane's flight recorders. Ivan Watson tracking developments from the scene joins me from Tanjung Priok, a seaport

in northern Jakarta where the debris is being brought in. What do we know at this point and do tell us more about the families whose lives have been

ripped apart.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the salvage operation has been bringing in pieces of debris from Lion Air flight 610 to

this location since the crash, essentially. Human remains and belongings of some of the 189 passengers and crew.

And for the first time this afternoon we saw some of the relatives of victims brought here to look through some of these belongings. And that

one moment a very emotional scene when 52-year-old Epi Syamsul Qomar, was able to identify a black sneaker belonging to his 24-year-old son Muhammad

Andriyan.

[11:25:01] And the moment he spotted it, he just started weeping. And of course, he reached for it, and the police, the search and rescue people

here held him back because they are not allowing the families to have direct contact, physical contact with the remains here and the personal

belongings. We then saw them kind of removing the shoe, putting it in a plastic bag to be handed over at a later moment. Now, that man said that

he is desperate to get his son's body back, which he believes is in the biggest bulk of what's left of the aircraft. That has yet to be found.

What the authorities say is that they have heard over the course of the last 12 hours that nearly every second ping coming from what they are

almost sure is the underwater locater beacon of the data flight recorder, and with that they think they can get to the fuselage of the plane. But

they say that the underwater currents have stopped their divers from being able to operate at depths of up to 35 meters. They hope to resume tomorrow

morning and to locate the flight data recorder and the main fuselage of the plane. Which they then say they can use a crane to pull out from those

depths within a matter of days -- Becky.

Ivan, Lion Air's technical director we understand is being sacked and is under investigation. Boeing investigators are also on the scene.

Obviously, we won't have the answers until the black boxes are found, but this does seem to be looking more and more like a technical or mechanical

issue correct?

WATSON: Well, that's what the speculation is about right now. Yes, the technical director was fired. The national transportation safety committee

tells us that he is under investigation as investigators are looking at the other Boeing 737 Max 8 model planes that are still in the fleets of

different Indonesian airline operators here.

The question of what went wrong. Well, we've been looking at flight data published by flight radar 24. And that provides kind of information about

all the flights around the world. And from that you can see on the morning of Monday when Lion Air flight 610 took off its altitude was wildly

erratic, at one point plunging 700 plus feet in a matter of seconds. And what aviation experts tell us is that it appears that the cockpit was

battling against something. They don't know what, but that the autopilot seems to have not been functioning and something was going dramatically

wrong, that they were trying to compensate for it in the minutes between takeoff and the disastrous crash into the Java Sea -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ivan Watson in northern Jakarta for you this evening, viewers. Thank you, Ivan.

We're live from Abu Dhabi, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson for you. Coming up, after a brutal war lasting nearly four years,

it has pushed Yemen to the brink of catastrophe. The United States calling for a ceasefire. Why now? Analysis after this.

[11:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: A quick recap of the top story. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi for you. U.S. President Donald Trump is beginning an all-out campaign

blitz in the final days before what are crucial midterm elections. He is stumping for Republican candidates in eight states, attending 11 rallies

over the next six days. Mr. Trump, of course, not only the ballot, but he is trying to help Republicans keep control of Congress in the hopes of

getting more of his agenda passed.

As Mr. Trump focuses on home turf, these critical next few days and weeks, the global big picture still on the White House radar, and nowhere more so

than here in the Middle East. Where to big stories are demanding U.S. attention and U.S. lawmakers, in turn, demanding action. First, a fallout

of the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul a month ago. That continues. In the last hour we've

had some new information from Istanbul's chief prosecutor on that. Jomana Karadsheh outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for you, what has the

prosecutor said, Jomana?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, as you know very well, we've had very little facts in this case over the past few weeks. Much of

what we were getting were leaks. This drip feed of leaks from Turkish officials. This changing story that was coming out of Saudi Arabia.

So, for the first time now we have the chief prosecutor of Istanbul who has been overseeing the criminal investigation to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi

coming out with a statement today on the record. Saying what they know so far, and that is that Jamal Khashoggi was killed, that he was suffocated to

death, as they say, immediately after he entered the building behind me, the consulate, on October 2nd. They say that it was premeditated murder,

as we have heard before, and that his body was dismembered and destroyed.

A vague statement there, unclear what that means, Becky. But they do have some key questions this remain unanswered. This statement came out after

this visit that we had the past three days by the chief prosecutor for Saudi Arabia and Turkish officials were hoping they're going to get those

questions answered. Most importantly, where is the body of Jamal Khashoggi and who ordered the killing of the journalist. They say these questions

have not been answered. They believe the key is the 18 individuals who were arrested by Saudi Arabia for links to the killing of Khashoggi and

they want them extradited to face justice they say here in Turkey.

Something that was dismissed over the weekend by the Saudi foreign minister saying that they are Saudi nationals, they will face justice in Saudi

Arabia.

[11:35:04] And we heard from the chief prosecutor here saying that Saudi Arabia's chief prosecutor has extended an invitation to them today to go to

Saudi for a joint investigation and interrogation there, saying that is how they will get those answers -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Jomana Karadsheh is in Istanbul with the very latest on that story out just in the past hour.

Well off the back of this indication for the once fetid Saudi Crown Prince is on shaky international ground these days. And with it is vision of a

revamped and reformed Saudi economy dubbed vision 2030. His agenda needs Western input and investment. But wooing back Western corporate leaders

may prove challenging as John Defterios explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNNMONEY EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (voice-over): In front of the hometown crowd, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman enjoys near rock

star status, with followers eager to capture his image. Both declarations in front of a packed audience at his investment summit with high profile

regional leaders, were met by rapturous applause. But the multibillion dollars question is, or what the Saudi's call the premeditated murder of

Jamal Khashoggi, be the international undoing of the crown prince's economic blueprint called vision 2030?

MOHAMMAD AL TUWAIJRI, SAUDI ECONOMY AND PLANNING MINISTER: I think ultimately people will go back to the opportunity. We look at reciprocity.

We look at a win-win situations. We look at what's beneficial for one nation with Saudi Arabia and the others.

DEFTERIOS: The region's biggest economy, which is over a half trillion dollars of cash reserves, is counting on a similar amount of foreign

investment to complete its 2030 master plan. The crown prince calls his mega projects dreamers like the neon city of the future and the Red Sea

island resorts that today only east in flashy videos. To come to life they require Western design, engineering prowess and confidence.

(on camera): Foreign investors were rattled by the collapse in oil prices better than two years ago that eventually collided with three key events.

The detention of 300 Saudi billionaires at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, the economic embargo against Qatar and the ongoing nasty war in Yemen.

Combined it raised the level of risk in Saudi Arabia.

FLORENCE EID-OAKDEN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ARABIA MONITOR: Investor memory is all about risk and reward. And if Saudi Arabia is able to present the

risks versus the rewards in a way that's favorable to investors, investors will resume looking at the kingdom.

DEFTERIOS (voice-over): The crown prince may find wooing back the highest U.S. corporate people challenging with a reputational risk at hand. But

the daily tumult over Jamal Khashoggi's murder investigation analyst suggests, could eventually lead to a Middle East political reset driven by

Turkey's President.

EID-OAKDEN: Mr. Erdogan is a fine politician who is certainly leveraging what is going on now to Turkey's benefit, and there are many advantages to

be obtained for Turkey from what is happening now. One advantage is good for everyone, which is more rapprochement between these two large

economies, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, better relations.

DEFTERIOS: Which may be the first step for the Saudi crown prince in rebuilding the kingdom's status, depending of course on how the murder

investigation concludes. John Defterios, CNN, Riyadh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, the United States, which has long been accused of turning a blind eye to the humanitarian catastrophe that is the war in Yemen, is now calling

for a ceasefire and peace talks within the month. A move being hailed by some as, quote, the most significant breakthrough of the nearly four-year

conflict. Senior international correspondent Sam Kylie has reported extensively on this conflict, joining me here in Abu Dhabi. What is being

said in Washington today and why so important?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well we've had a left and a right, a double-barrel left and right. One from Mattis, one from

Pompeo, that's the Defense Department and the State Department both saying that in slightly different words but speaking in unison that there has to

be a ceasefire and that there is 30 days before they want to see talks, real peace talks beginning in a third country.

Now, of course, at you know there have been attempts at peace talks in the past. They fell apart over the movements of various characters. But this

comes at a time when a cynic might say, oh, this is just a reaction to what has happened over the Khashoggi case. And there is a sense, I think in

Washington in which excessive public support for the Yemini campaign prosecuted by the Saudis is at the very least in bad taste. And could be

catastrophic giving the warnings coming from the U.N. of 12 million people being threatened with famine and waning if already gone support on Capitol

Hill. We'll see what happens after the midterms.

In that context, the Americans seem to have suddenly discovered the humanitarian situation.

[11:40:00] That has been seized on though by David Miliband, who just quoted there, former foreign secretary, now the head of a major NGO saying

that this a massive breakthrough. And I think that there is a cause for hope. Because interestingly, talking to officials from the Houthi side,

who are backed by Iran, officials here in the UAE, Saudi officials, none of them saw this coming. But I think there's a strong sense, Becky, that all

of them might actually want for different reasons to see something of a ceasefire established.

ANDERSON: Well you rightly point out that the U.S. call comes after years of similar calls, including from the United Nations Security Council.

Look, not only stuck in the weeds on this, but this is important. Resolution 2216 in particular called for, and I quote, all parties in the

embattled country, in particularly the Houthis, immediately and unconditionally end violence. I want to bring that up so our viewers to

see it. And to refrain from acts that threaten the political transition and political transition now more than three years in the making.

This does all hinge on a political deal. Some will say we have been down this road before. Geneva talks recently, that the Houthis failed to

attend. Just how likely at this point are we on a new path, do you think, to a political solution?

KILEY: Well, the most immediate embrace of this whole thing has been from Martin Griffith who inevitably is the head of the U.N. peace mission to the

Yemen. We haven't heard from the other groups. The language used by the Americans also requires the Houthis to stop shooting first, to top stop

their drone attacks, to refrain from their long-range missile attacks here in the UAE and on Saudi Arabia. And then demands that all of the heavy

weapons be put under United Nations or foreign observer control.

So, it's a big ask. But at the moment militarily the Houthis are holding on that their ground. They've been inflicting heavy losses on their enemy.

And the Saudi Arabia backed coalition and UAE are beginning to be somewhat exhausted by this process. There is very little political capital and it

for them. So, they may have an incentive also to go to the peace -- to a peace process and a ceasefire.

The unspoken, or rather hidden, agenda here in terms of the peace process should one get underway is what would Iran do? Iran are backing the

Houthis, and they may -- the Iranians may feel they have a bit of an upper hand at the moment. They've got a foothold in the chokepoint in the Red

Sea. A strategic pressure point on the Saudis, they are grate rivals, that they would be reluctant to give up. So, there's there is a lot of journey.

There's going to be a lot of road to travel before a ceasefire is agreed, much less a peace process, but at least there are signs, I think, that both

sides may see interest in it for themselves.

ANDERSON: Before I leave you or this conversation, let's just hear from General Mattis. This is exactly what he said earlier on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES MATTIS, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Improved accuracy of bombs is still a war. So, we've got to move towards a peace effort here, and we can't say

we are going to do it sometime in the future. We need to be doing this in the next 30 days. We've admired this problem for long enough down there.

And I believe that the Saudis and the Emirates are ready. And in fact, had the Houthis not walked out of the last effort that Martin Griffith had

going, we would probably be on our way there right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: James Mattis speaking earlier.

Coming up. A New York police releasing a few more details on the deaths of two young sisters from Saudi Arabia who were found dead on the banks of the

Hudson River. We are going to take you to New York City for the latest on that after this.

[11:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This hour new details on what is a tragic mystery along the banks of the Hudson River in New York City. We now know more about the two

sisters who were found dead, bound together with duct tape. One of the young women just a teenager had been reported missing more than two months

ago. Let's go straight to Athena Jones in New York for an update -- Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Becky. You're right, this is a disturbing and bizarre mystery. Why were these two Saudi sisters

found bound together a week ago today, last Wednesday afternoon. They were found bound together on the banks of the Hudson River on the upper west

side of Manhattan just about ten blocks from here. But they were living -- they had been living in Fairfax, Virginia, which is 250 miles away. So

that is one of the mysteries here. Why were these two sisters found so far from home?

I should tell you more about them. It was 16-year-old Tala Farea and her 22-year-old sister Rotana Farea. As I said, they were found a week ago

today, Saudi citizens. They were lying on the rocks near the river. No obvious signs of trauma. They were pronounced, of course, dead at the

scene and they were bound together by their feet and their waists with duct tape. They were also dressed similarly.

We know that the younger sister, as you mentioned, Tala Farea, had been reported missing from Fairfax back at the end of August. August 24th. And

a missing poster from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said she might be with her sister. But there's still a lot that

unknown. It's not clear what the sisters were doing in New York -- as I mentioned. It's also not clear where they've been since August 24th.

Now the New York police department's chief of detectives, Dermot Shea, said that investigators have made significant progress. He said the first

priority was identifying these two sisters. Now that they have identified them, detectives have been down in Virginia interviewing family members and

others to try to get to the bottom of where these sisters were to piece together this puzzle of what happened to them.

One thing that they are not commenting on -- the police are not commenting yet is whether they are treating this as a homicide. So, you have them

saying this is definitely a tragedy, but is it a homicide? That's one thing we still don't know. We also don't know the cause of death. We are

waiting on the forensic reports from the medical examiner for that. Of course, the Saudi consulate, embassy closely following the case -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Athena, thank you.

Up next, he walks away. Why Kanye West is taking a break from all things political. Stay with us.

[11:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KANYE WEST, RAPPER: There was something about when I put this hat on it made me feel like superman. You made a superman. That's my favorite

superhero, and you made a superman cape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Who could forget that extraordinary moment between President Trump and Kanye West at the White House? Now just a few weeks later the

famous rapper has dropped right out of politics. He is not naming names, but says he is, quote, being used and ye, has Kanye has renamed himself,

took to Twitter to say he is now distancing himself from politics and completely focusing on being creative. Who knows what that crave work

could be? But what prompted this change of heart? Our David Swerdlick joins us now to break this down. David, what do you think prompted this

about face, as it were, from Kanye or ye?

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sure. So, hello, Becky. I think we need to know a little bit more about how Kanye arrived at this

conclusion. Your viewers can look at his Twitter thread to see this lead up of tweets last night. It could be someone in his family, the Kardashian

family, up to and including the matriarch Kris Jenner. It could be someone like his friend singer John legend. Or he may have come to the realization

himself that indeed he was being used. I don't think we know how we got here. I think it's fair to say that he was being used by some in the

conservative movement and by President Trump and the White House directly to bolster the idea that the President and the Republican Party -- to a

lesser extent -- were more friendly to African-Americans or should be seen by African-Americans as more friendly than they actually are. And that led

up to that moment that you just played where Kanye West, an entertainer with no depth in politics or policy, was allowed to sort of riff for 20

minutes freely in the oval office with the President standing by.

ANDERSON: Yes. It was quite remarkable sort of session. Kanye got into hot water because of his involvement with Blexit t-shirts, which are meant

to call for African-Americans to exit from the Democratic Party. The woman behind it, Candace Owens has suggested Kanye designed the logo, but ye shot

back on Twitter saying though he introduced Owens to a designer, he never wanted any association with Blexit. What exactly is Blexit? And why is

this the straw that broke Kanye's political fervor, as it were?

SWERDLICK: Yes, Becky. So, Blexit is the new branding of a movement that's taking place particularly in social media right now. You mentioned

Candace Owens who is sort of at the forefront of it. It's younger African- Americans on the political right who are, you know, branding themselves as African-Americans who are moving away from the Democratic Party. Which as

your viewers know, African-Americans typically vote about 90 percent for Democrats.

And here's the thing to understand. There is clearly a discussion to be had in this country about the relationship of African-American voters and

the two major political parties, Republicans and Democrats. But that serious discussion is not being had by this Blexit movement. The fact that

they glommed on to Kanye West, someone who is not really versed in political issues, is an index of just how unserious this discussion is.

I have covered Candace Owens and Kanye at the Post. I covered African- American Republicans and conservatives in depth when I was at an African- American website called "The Root". And what you learn -- we don't have time to go into all of it now -- is that African-Americans have been

involved in Republican and conservative politics throughout American history. This is the latest iteration, but it's a very superficial

movement, in my view.

ANDERSON: Yes, I know, fascinating. Just finally, because I know that, you know, you are so well versed in Kanye, the movement, blah blah.

[11:55:00] Just tell me, just how surprised were you by that extraordinary session, that 20-minute session a couple weeks ago with Donald Trump? I

mean, you would think someone like Kanye West, and given the sort of Kardashian -- the management of the Kardashian story, that he would be

better managed. He says he was taken advantage of. Do you buy that? I mean, briefly.

SWERDLICK: So, Kanye West in my view is a musical genius, but what his Achilles heel that he has south throughout his career, Becky, to sort of

put himself above and apart from other people in his industry and other people in the cultural sphere. And that I think is what led him to this

place. Going all the way back to the transition at the end of 2016, beginning of 2017, he wanted to be associated with Trump. And I think it

led to the fateful and unfortunate conclusion at the White House a few weeks ago.

ANDERSON: David, good to have you on. Always a pleasure. Thank you, sir.

I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching. We'll leave you where we began tonight on American politics and the take of

the former vice President, which you may just find yourself nodding along to, or perhaps you won't. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I am sick and tired of this administration. I'm sick and tired of what's going on. I'm sick and tired

of being sick and tired. I hope you are, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

END