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Dorian Beginning To Make Landfall In Northern Bahamas; Seven Dead In Texas Mass Shooting; Lebanese Army: Israel Drone Drops Incendiary Bombs; Demonstrators Disrupt Train Station Leading To Airport; Johnson: Pro-Deal Camp Making No Deal Exit More Likely. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired September 01, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:00] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORD. I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta. We begin with breaking news.
Hurricane Dorian is now beginning to make landfall in the Bahamas as a very powerful category five storm, the highest level and it's getting stronger.
Dorian is one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the islands in years, the strongest storm anywhere on the planet in 2019. Well, the Bahamas are
already feeling the wind and the rain from Dorian and it's only going to get worse as the hurricane stalls over the islands for most if not all of
Sunday.
But where it goes to from there remains uncertain. The latest forecasts expect the hurricane to charge towards Florida and ride along the coast of
the Southeastern United States over the coming days. Well CNN is on the ground ready for wherever this storm hits next. Patrick Oppmann is in
Freeport on Grand Bahamas Island. Good to have you with us, Patrick.
This, of course, is the strongest hurricane on the planet this year, as I mentioned category five. How are things looking there?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Only the second category five in recorded history to hit the Bahamas. And what really is this
special or in this case scary about the Bahamas is so many of the islands are low lying. You don't have the mountains or the hills here that you
have in other parts of the Caribbean which can help slow down and take away the power from a major hurricane like this.
And because we are in such a low-lying area, when a hurricane comes and it brings 15 or 20 feet of storm surge, that just absolutely envelops,
submerges an island. And many of these islands are 700 islands in the Bahamas our low lying Islands where people live.
So the government in the last few days has evacuated people to higher islands, and I say highlight higher or with an asterisk because where I am
Grand Bahama is considered an island that's higher than other islands in the area but the highest point of land here is only 30 feet high. So
again, 15 storm -- a 15-foot storm surge or higher and still much of this island is going to be underwater.
The fact that this storm is progressing and we're getting some of the first bands now of that wind picking up, it's going to get so much worse than
this though. But you know, for the people who live on the coastal parts of these islands, it will be -- it would just be suicide to stay where they
are.
That's why the government has been imploring people to leave the coast, to leave houses that cannot withstand this kind of wind because in the coming
hours and throughout all day tomorrow, it is just going to be unimaginable. We keep using that word catastrophic and what we're talking about is like a
bomb going off. I've seen these storms before. This will be my third category five storm. They are incredibly unpleasant and scary things to
survive, to live through.
And when you go out after its past, it looks like a bomb has gone off. That is what we were expecting here in the Bahamas, Lynda.
KINKADE: Like a bomb has gone off. That is absolutely terrifying. We spoke earlier, Patrick, and he told me you're in an apartment with people
who do not want to leave, that are -- that are helping to host you there. Just explain, is their apartment built to withstand a category five storm?
What are the building regulations there like?
OPPMANN: So they say they went through Hurricane Matthew here just three years ago which was a category four storm and they never lost a window,
that they have hurricane shutters up, that they have windows that they say can withstand 200 miles an hour. They have been told it is a very solid
building. We have a stairwell. I expect I'll be sleeping tonight with my crew of Jose Armijo and Jay Garcia, and we're ready for this as we can be.
Most people in the Bahamas are not lucky, as lucky to be in a new well- built building like we are in. Many people live here in conditions that are not much better than shacks or houses that have roofs that will fly
away so that's why they've been encouraged to go to hospitals, to go to shelters that are basically concrete bunkers and hopefully can withstand
this.
But anybody says that they have hurricane proof windows, that they have a hurricane-proof housing, you know, that there's no such thing. They've
built newer structures to withstand these winds. I don't know if there's a structure that can withstand 24 hours of category five winds. I just
frankly doubt that.
[11:05:14] The danger here is not just this the strength of the storm, but the fact that is moving so slowly it may even slow down. Our weather
Department says the average will three miles an hour progressing as it goes through the Bahamas. You know, it's basically walking through the Bahamas
but laying waste wherever it goes.
And when you have a storm that just stalls out over you, it's happened to me before. I was in Hurricane Willa in Mexico. We had a category four
storm that stalled all over us. And it's about the worst thing you can imagine if you're covering this thing. To be on a low-lying island is just
another element of danger.
So we are here in the field. We know we are in danger. We were taking that very, very seriously. At some point, we'll probably have to go inside
tonight, tomorrow, and we are prepared to do that because we're not going to risk our lives any more than we have to.
But right now it's ways away from us. We'll be feeling the effects throughout the day and hope to continue to report on do it, report on this
storm until the point we can't, and that's just part of this job. But certainly, in terms of worst-case scenarios, this seems like as bad as you
can imagine.
KINKADE: Yes. The fact that it's going to hover over there as a category five for about 24 hours is absolutely pretty scary. Do you know how many
people have managed to get out, Patrick?
OPPMANN: You know, the ones that actually get out is very, very few. You'd have to fly out and you know, there's there 50 cedar airplanes that
coming in out of here. Many people that I talk to were afraid ironically enough to go to Florida where many Bahamians have relatives because they
felt the storm might go there.
So as so often happens, people would have evacuate. A lot of people simply can't afford to leave and go get a hotel. So most people said they were
going to hunker down. The good thing though is the government said they felt more people in this area we're taking this form seriously than in the
past and we're seeking shelter.
KINKADE: All right Patrick Oppmann, you take care there, you and your team and those you're staying with. We're going to check in with you a little
bit later. Thanks so much, Patrick. Well, I want to get some more information on exactly how this hurricane is tracking. I'm bringing
Meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
Allison, just explain how this continues to change direction. This is now a category five, pretty scary for those in its path.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Especially when you look at the winds, Lynda. I mean, because there's really nothing around it to weaken
this storm which is why we've seen it increase so rapidly across this open water. The problem is now it's actually headed to land and will have
devastating impacts not only on the Bahamas but potentially even the United States as well.
The current winds for this latest update are 285 kilometers per hour, but the gusts are in excess of 350 kilometers per hour. And you have to be
concerned about the gusty winds just as well as the sustained winds.
Now, it's still moving due west. It has slowed ever so slightly now about 11 kilometers per hour. But you look at the scope. The eyewall has
expanded. The storm as a whole has gotten larger and it's still intensifying.
Pressure has continued to drop over these last few hours as they're taking the measurements from the Hurricane Hunters that are out in the storm. The
track still maintains a category five storm all the way through the Bahamas. They are hoping that it begins to weaken a little bit on its
approach to Florida.
The question is when does it make this sharp turn to the north. We know it will at some point, but doesn't do it before it makes landfall in Florida
or does it cross into Florida before you start to see that turn. Florida is not the only state at risk here, Georgia, South Carolina, as well as
North Carolina are all in that cone of uncertainty to have potential impacts.
We also saw at the top of the hour additional watches and warnings put out. We have hurricane warnings for portions of the Bahamas, and we also have
tropical storm warnings as well as hurricane watches in effect for areas of Florida. And the tropical storm watches have since pushed a little bit
farther inland as well because we just don't know exactly when this storm will start to make that transition north.
In terms of storm surge, this is going to be one of the biggest concerns for the Bahamas. You're talking about 18 to 23 feet which is about five to
seven meters. But rainfall is also going to be a massive concern in these areas. You're talking about 10 to 20 feet potentially across these
islands.
Again that ranges from 250 to an in excess of 500 millimeters of rain because as the storm crosses over the Bahamas it is going to slow down.
That allows it to have more time to dump a tremendous amount of rain, Lynda so there's a lot of factors at play here.
Obviously, the wind is going to be a huge issue because of damage to buildings, power outages, but the rain and the storm surge are also going
to be massive factors for this as well.
[11:10:02] KINKADE: Absolutely. All right, good to have you giving us that update. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. We will come back to
you again soon. Thank you. Well, I want to go to that terrifying gun rampage in Texas now over this busy Labor Day weekend. Authorities are
trying to work out why a man began shooting at troopers who had stopped him in his car before he drove off to continue firing at people seemingly at
random.
Now, seven people were killed, about 20 were injured including a 17 month- old baby. She's now in a stable condition. At one point, the gunman hijacked a postal truck using it to make his way into the city of Odessa.
He was eventually killed in a shootout with police.
Well, for more on this story, I want to bring in Ed Lavandera. He is in Odessa. Ed, the death toll has risen to seven now. Several people still
in a critical condition. Just explain how this all unfolded.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this started on Saturday afternoon. And Odessa police say, you know, as many municipalities across
the country have trained for what has become all too common here in the United States, these mass shooting scenarios, but the officers tell us they
usually train for these scenarios in one specified location.
So because this occurred and unfolded over multiple parts of this city, that was a new dynamic that many of these officers had not really trained
for. It was a new episode in all of this as calls of people being wounded by gunfire was coming in to the Odessa Police Department here from all
parts of the city.
And we've seen that little small pockets of a number of crime scenes where bullet fragments and bullets have been discovered in each of those crime
scenes being guarded and waited for investigators to come through those areas. So it's a very different dynamic from previous mass shootings that
we have seen.
But all of this started with a traffic stop between Midland and Odessa. They're about 15 kilometers apart and that is where the gunman started
firing at first at two state police officers. and then started driving around the city of Odessa randomly shooting at targets and at people in
very busy parts of the city as well, and also commandeering a U.S. postal truck and continuing to fire from that as well.
It was an incredibly eerie and frantic several hours. Authorities here were urging people to get off the streets, to essentially go into hiding
until they could track down this gunman. And eventually, it all ended behind a popular movie theater on the northeast edge of town where police
arrived and engaged gunfire with the suspect and that's where they shot and killed him.
KINKADE: So Ed, of course, hours after this massacre, the state relaxed gun laws. These obviously were discussed for some time and there were due
to come into effect. That is despite the massacre last month in El Paso and now this one. Take us through those changes.
LAVANDERA: Well, a number of changes that -- you know, there has been a concealed carry handgun here in the -- in the state of Texas for some time
since the mid-1990s. And since then, gun laws is -- you know, Texas is a place where gun laws are extremely lacks especially when compared to the
rest of the United States.
And it is these particular laws that allow you to take guns into various places where they've been previously prohibited, those types of change.
These are all laws that were passed during the last legislative session at the beginning which ended in May and have -- are now -- which customary
that these laws kind of take place several months after the these legislative session ends and that just so happens that is due for today.
But all of this you know, comes for an increased scrutiny for the governor of Texas who has long championed these types of ease -- easing restrictions
on where you can carry handguns and what you can do with firearms here in the state of Texas.
But it remains you know, a very intense debate here where it has a great deal of legislative support. You do find pockets in certain parts of the
state where there are calls for much more gun control, but there is just as strong voices here especially out here in West Texas where these kinds of
laws tend to be very popular.
KINKADE: Ed Lavandera, good to have you with us on this story, the latest massacre in the United States. We will stay on this story. For now, I
want to return to our top story, Hurricane Dorian. It's dangerous winds and rains starting to bear down on the Bahamas. I want to bring in Captain
Stephen Russell. He's the director of the National Emergency Agency in the Bahamas. He's in charge of the government's response and the recovery.
We were trying to get through to him earlier. We've got him on the phone now. Good to have you with us. This is a category five storm, the worst
possible category bearing down on the Bahamas. How prepared are you there?
[11:15:40] STEPHEN RUSSELL, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL EMERGENCY AGENCY, BAHAMAS: We are -- we've been advising our population and particularly in the
northwest in the Bahamas for the past five days to be prepared. We will get in predictions that we can be facing a category four or five storm in
the area so five days out we have been encouraging persons to prepare for such a storm.
Over the past two days, we've been trying to evacuate person from some of our low lying areas particular Keys and the Abaco Chain, as well as in our
Grand Bahama Island, Western and Eastern Grand -- Grand Bahama, we've been asking person to move from those low liners into the interior.
We are aware that it is a dangerous storm and winds of 180 miles per hour. And you anticipate sea surge of 12 up to almost 20 feet. Those are --
those are dangerous and can be destructive. That what we've been advising our people of what will be coming their way.
KINKADE: Captain Stephen Russell, I understand you've just come out of a meeting with the Prime Minister there. What sort of fears does he have?
Does he feel he has enough resources for people there that are going to have to pretty much hunker down for the next 24 hours as this hurricane
passes over?
RUSSELL: When it comes to the resources, New Providence -- the Island of New Providence, we are basically clear to a certain extent. Just two of
our main island, Grand Bahama and Abaco. So once the "all clear" is given, all the other national resources that are going to come to bear to support
those communities that would have been impacted.
As we speak, I have a number of our international partners who are in my office, from (INAUDIBLE), World Food Programme, USAID, they are in our
office in Nassau. We're strategizing as to how we can quickly get resources into those impacted communities as soon as we get the "all clear"
from our Department of Meteorology, hopefully by Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon at the latest.
KINKADE: This, of course, is not new for the Bahamas, Captain Stephen Russell. You've had three consecutive years where you were battered by
hurricanes. What have you learned from those years?
RUSSELL: Yes, there have been good teaching moments. So we have adopted the concept and encourage our persons to be resilient. They know what have
gone through past four years, and we encouraged them to -- whatever they can do to improve their condition for this particular storm or hurricane or
whatever may ever come for the remainder of the hurricane season.
Let's be resilient, but our main focuses to save lives, minimize injuries, and to try and minimize losses and damages as best we can. But we know
it's a challenge based on how strong and destructive this storm can be. It's a challenge trying to safeguard assets and resources.
KINKADE: Certainly. Captain Stephen Russell, the Director of the National Emergency Agency in the Bahamas, good to have you with us as a category
five hurricane barrels through the Bahamas. We're going to stay across this story and bring you more when we come back. Stay with us. You're
watching CONNECTED THE WORLD.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00] KINKADE: Welcome back. New tensions between Israel and its neighbors. The Lebanese army says an Israeli drone has breached Lebanon's
airspace and started a fire at a farm while Israel says anti-tank missiles have been fired from the border from Lebanon.
We are on the ground in both locations for you. Ben Wedeman joins us from southern Lebanon, Sam Kiley is in the north of Israel. I'll start first
with you Sam. The Lebanese military managed to make a number of direct hits at an Israeli army base. Israel fired back. What is Israel saying?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it wasn't the Lebanese army, Lynda. I think it was Hezbollah, a very important
distinction there. Hezbollah had been threatening to retaliate for what they said was the attack they received from Israeli drones about a week ago
inside Beirut.
But according to the Israeli Defense Forces, they have confirmed that about two hours ago, an anti-tank missile missiles were fired across the border
just about three or four kilometers from where I'm standing. If you look over just behind me there, the green area is Israel, the brown area
effectively is a Lebanon. You can see how tight that border is.
But they say we don't yet have any information on casualties. There are claims being made from Hezbollah but they'd hardly be in a position to
know. What we do know is that the Israelis were very quick to retaliate.
We suspect using artillery which has been very discreetly tucked into hillsides all along this border for just such an occasion following the
Hezbollah threats and that the area -- civilians in the area have been told for -- in a four-mile or four kilometers back from the border to open their
bomb shelters not to panic and not to go into the bomb shelters yet to stand by if there's any kind of red alert.
There are concerns of course among the Israelis that this is the first of what may be more attacks coming from Hezbollah. There's also a hope that
perhaps now that Hezbollah has struck back and taken its revenge, that tensions between the militant group in southern Lebanon and the Israelis
can be dialed down because there is, of course, in the background people reflecting on both sides of the border on the disastrous for both sides war
of 2006 which followed a similar incident as the one that occurred here about two hours ago. Lynda?
KINKADE: Thanks so much. And a good distinction you made there. Ben, I want to go to you because the Lebanese Prime Minister is calling on the
French President and the U.S. Secretary of State to intervene. How is this playing out in Lebanon and what sort of international response can we
expect?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, let me just give you a feeling, Lynda, for where I am. We're in Maroun El Ras
which is right overlooking the border with Israel. And according to the Lebanese army -- I'm just going to step out of the way so you get a better
shot of this -- 40 rounds were fired by Israel into this area below me, these fields right next to what's known as the blue line, the border
between Israel and Lebanon.
So 40 rounds landing in this field below me setting fire to the fields. And we're told by people in this town that the actual strike on the Israeli
armored vehicle which Hezbollah has acknowledged it did, occurred also in the background here just a few hours ago. I think at 4:15 local time which
is about two hours and ten minutes ago.
And this was something that was not altogether a surprise because Hezbollah has made it clear through its secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah that
Lebanon would respond to the drone strikes, not just a drone incidence in southern Beirut that happened very early in the morning on Sunday, but also
to an Israeli strike on a facility outside of Damascus which Hezbollah says resulted in the killing of two of its fighters there
[11:25:34] In fact, the operation, the attack on the Israeli vehicle is being claimed in the name of a group that has been named after those two
Hezbollah fighters. Now, as far as the chances of some sort of diplomatic solution, at this point, it's not altogether clear.
We know that Rafiq al-Hariri, the Lebanese Prime Minister has been in touch with the Americans and the French but certainly given that Hezbollah is a
close ally of Iran, it's questionable whether the Americans will be willing to intervene to try to bring about some sort of calming of the situation.
As far as the atmosphere here in the southern Lebanon, we did see people filling up at gas stations, others were in stores getting supplies, but in
general, I think we just -- we can pan over again, lots of people have come here to take pictures and send messages to relatives.
One man telling me that -- pointing to the fires behind me, that this is the price that Israel pays for what he called aggression on Lebanon.
Lynda.
KINKADE: Right. Ben, just give us some more context here. Talk to us about the fears that this could become wider round of fighting here.
WEDEMAN: Well, you know, in Lebanon, Beirut, everyone is always predicting a war is about to break out. And certainly, this is the closest we've come
since 2006 when a 33-day war resulted in more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians being killed in large parts of the infrastructure of the country being
destroyed.
The airport was knocked out of commission. And the worry is that this could be the beginning of a repeat of that. But it's important to keep in
mind that unlike 2006 when the relationship between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government wasn't very good, at the moment Hezbollah is very much
involved in the daily politics of Lebanon. It has a very good relationship with the Lebanese president and his political party.
And what we've seen certainly in the last week is Lebanese politicians coming out to voice their support for Hezbollah because the Israeli drone
operation -- if we can call it that on southern Beirut that happened a week ago came out of the blue. It was not something that was the result of any
particular action by Hezbollah from Lebanon. Lynda?
KINKADE: All right, Ben Wedeman in southern Lebanon and Sam Kiley in the north of Israel, good to have you both with us. Thank you so much. Well,
meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to apply Israeli sovereignty to all Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
He's not giving a timeframe. Mr. Netanyahu is speaking at one of those settlements marking the beginning of the school year. The vow comes ahead
of elections this month and repeats a promise from the last vote back in April. Palestinian officials say Erekat has called for countries around
the world to condemn Mr. Netanyahu's statement.
Well, still to come, the northern Bahamas are in the path of an extremely powerful and dangerous hurricane. We will be live on the islands where
hurricane Dorian is making landfall after this short break. Stay with us.
Well, after the Bahamas Dorian is set to bring chaos to the eastern coast of the United States. Live reports also from Florida, South Carolina are
ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:32:55] KINKADE: Welcome back. More on our top story. Dorian, already the most powerful classification of a hurricane and it's getting stronger.
Officials in the U.S. say the hurricane is sustaining maximum winds that top 280 kilometers per hour, with gusts that are even stronger. That makes
it the strongest storm anywhere on the planet this year.
Well, the Bahamas are feeling the brunt of the hurricane today. Dorian is expected to unleash its full force Sunday as it churns over those islands.
The hurricane is already pounding the Bahamas with deadly tidal surges and a torrential amount of rain.
Well, making waters even worse, Dorian is a slow-moving storm. Meaning, the dangerous conditions are likely to pile up before the storm moves on.
Well, let's bring in Theo Sealy, he is a journalist for eyewitness News in the Bahamas. Theo, good to have you with us. Just give us a sense of the
feeling there right now as this hurricane approaches.
THEO SEALY, REPORTER, EYEWITNESS NEWS, BAHAMAS (via skype): Good morning. It's good to be able to bring you the perspective as to what's happening
there on the ground in central Abaco and to give the world a look into exactly how this Category 5 storm is giving a pounding to this small
island.
Now, at about 11:00 above this morning, the winds started to really pick up, and you could hear the shutters on the front of our bunker starting to
rattle. We peeked over the balcony, which I going to show you in just a few seconds, and we could see actually shingles from the rooftops lifting
off, tree branches being snapped in half.
We're actually on an ocean-front property here at the Abaco Beach Marina Resort, and we can see the tidal surge, as you've said is coming inland.
Forecasters telling us that we're expecting 10 to 20 inches of rain.
So, when you'd probably those 10 to 20 inches of rain, with the storm surge that's expected on this island. Many areas, the especially, low-lying
areas will be experiencing floodwaters.
A lot of parts in actual (INAUDIBLE). A number of video footage coming into our eye -- chat group, showing many communities on this island already
inundated with water. And the problem with that is this is just the front end of the storm, the eye hasn't passed, but when the tail crosses over
Abaco, nor the central park south, it's going to put quite a beating on this island.
[11:35:11] KINKADE: It's certainly will. And as you say, this is just the front end of the storm. Theo Sealy, we have to leave it there right now.
But we will speak to you and hopefully soon. I want to go to the White House right now where President Trump is speaking. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That as you know, they are pouring money into their economy. So, those two things, they are paying
for their tariffs. As, you know, some new tariffs get on, we're taking in tens of billions of dollars. We're giving some of the money to the
farmers. I'm making the farmers more than whole.
The farmers are doing better than if China frankly we're buying. I'm taking a piece of the massive amount of tariffs were giving them to the
farmers who have been targeted unfairly by China.
We are talking to China, the meeting is still on, as you know, in September. That hasn't changed. They haven't changed and we haven't.
We'll see what happens. But we can't allow China to rip us off anymore as the country. We can't allow China to take $500 billion a year out of our
country. We can't do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have a message for Poland?
TRUMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) 80th anniversary of the Second World War.
TRUMP: I do have a great message for Poland that we have Mike Pence, our vice president is just about landing right now. And he is representing me,
I look forward to being there soon. But I just want to congratulate Poland. It's a great country with great people, we also have many Polish
people in our country. It could be 8 million. We love our Polish friends and I will be there soon.
Say it -- say it. Speak up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, do you believe that (INAUDIBLE).
TRUMP: Well, I think Congress has got a lot of -- a lot of thinking to do, frankly. And they have a lot of -- they've been doing a lot of work. I
will tell you on behalf of Republicans and Democrats. They've been doing a lot of work and having to do with guns. And I think you can see some
interesting things coming along.
On the hurricane, Admiral, would you like to say something as to the size and scope of the hurricane?
REAR ADM. PETER BROWN, ASSISTANT COMMANDANT FOR RESPONSE POLICY: Fairly, Mr. President. Thank you. This hurricane is very strong. Category 5,
which talks about the wind. We will also have substantial destructive, life-threatening storm surge, freshwater rainfall, and four states:
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, can all expect to see tropical storm to hurricane force impacts over the coming days. So, the
time for preparation is now.
TRUMP: And I'll be going with the Admiral and many others over to FEMA in about an hour. And we'll be having somewhat of a news conference over
there, what you won't have the engines blaring. But we'll have a news conference over at FEMA. So, we'll see you most of you there. OK? Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: U.S. President Trump there, speaking moments ago outside the White House. Speaking about the tariffs, he spoke obviously about the
hurricane approaching the U.S., and very briefly about the latest massacre in Texas.
I want to bring in White House reporter Sarah Westwood, who joins us from Washington. Sarah, we missed the start of what President Trump was saying
there outside the White House. Just take us through his comments.
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Lynda. We were out there with him when he was making those comments. President Trump
started off talking about the hurricane, talking about how he's been told that it could be one of the biggest ever. Also, talking about that mass
shooting in Odessa, Texas. The second mass shooting in Texas in the span of a month.
President Trump saying that he has been speaking with members of Congress, speaking with both Republicans and Democrats about something that his
administration can do on background checks, like and -- background checks or any other policies to address mass shootings like in the past when
President Trump has addressed this issue.
He's not gone into specifics, he refused to get into specifics today. But said, background checks are still on the table as are a number of other
issues again referring to this as a mental health issue.
On the hurricane, President Trump acknowledging that soon he will be going to FEMA, the Federal government's Emergency Response Agency, later today to
receive a briefing on hurricane preparations. Trump also, they are talking a little bit about the China trade war, saying that he is working to
address the pain, the economic pain that farmers are feeling as a result of his trade war.
But Lynda, President Trump showing no signs of letting up on those that trade war, those tough trade negotiations, saying, even though the meeting
is proceeding, he's not willing to back off because, in his words, China is continuing to rip off the U.S., Lynda.
[11:39:56] KINKADE: Yes, he also added that farmers are doing better than if China were buying their products, which is not what we're hearing when
we speak to farmers. But, I want to stay on the two biggest stories we're talking about today which is the hurricane and the mass shooting in Texas,
here in the U.S.
And looking at the president's Twitter account today, so much of our news, we have to follow and find out what he thinks about certain issues. Those
two belly rate are mention compared to other thing that is -- all the things that he has been tweeting about.
WESTWOOD: That's right, Lynda, he's been all over the map today on his Twitter he took a shot at the Hollywood actress Debra Messing, who has
gotten criticism from conservative circles for demanding the identities of those who will be attending a reported fundraiser, President Trump is
reportedly having in Beverly Hills later this month.
That is something that conservatives have criticized, President Trump seizing on that earlier today by suggesting that Debra Messing has changed
because she was once polite to him when he was in show business.
Trump also taking shots at former FBI director James Comey who was chastised by the Department of Justice's internal watchdog last week for
his handling of sensitive memos back when he was the FBI director in the -- in the aftermath of his removal.
So, President Trump also focusing on those topics, Lynda, as well as a lot of retweets of the emergency response mechanisms of the government as he is
focusing on the hurricane that was, of course, his stated reason for not going to Poland this weekend, and was to focus on the hurricane.
KINKADE: Absolutely. Certainly, a sign of our times that there's a massacre in Texas. The death toll rising to seven, and it barely rates a
mention with the president of the United States. Sara Westwood, good to have you across all of that from Washington. Thanks so much.
I want to go back to our top story now and time is running out for people in the United States state of Florida to prepare for this hurricane. Right
now, Dorian is not forecast to make landfall on the eastern U.S. coast, but tropical-storm-force winds a possible Monday, landfall is not, of course,
out of the question.
Well, CNN's Nick Valencia is in Melbourne, Florida which is facing mandatory evacuation orders. But first, I want to bring in Leyla Santiago
in Charleston, South Carolina, which has declared a state of emergency.
Leyla, the Carolinas expected to cope it, how are things going there?
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, they actually activated this morning the emergency operations center here in Charleston. They also
have a citizen's hotline for anyone that has questions.
But let me show you, what you'll see. If you just take a quick walk down Calhoun Street here in Charleston, this hotel actually already has flood
panels ready to go. Preparations that you are now actually seeing before Dorian makes its way towards the coast.
And, you know, one of the things a lot of folks hear talk about when you say, are you ready? They will -- a lot of them talk about Irma. Because
Irma came in here, did a little bit of damage -- well, a lot of damage, actually, and they still remember that.
Remember, this can be a very low-lying area here in Charleston. So, something like this. Something to handle the floods, it says is what
you're seeing right.
We also know that folks have been in some of the stores getting water, getting their non-perishable goods. But really the attitude has been folks
know that there is enough time for things to a change, and they also still have a little bit of time to prepare, which is why, I think, we're starting
to see what we're seeing.
The mayor put out a statement yesterday, indicating that very thing. That yes, things may change, but let's not wait until it's too late to make sure
that we're ready because flooding is a major concern for the city of Charleston. Lynda.
KINKADE: It certainly is, and changes is a good point you're making there. Leyla, just standby for us. I want to go to Nick because obviously, we
keep hearing that the direction of this hurricane has changed. Will Florida be hit? Won't it be hit? How are people preparing there?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just a tremendous amount of uncertainty here. And I want to show you the beach here. There's hazardous
conditions, red flag warnings in effect, Lynda.
In fact, just a short time ago, the lifeguards blew the whistle to try to get people out of the water. In the last five days since we've been on the
coast here, we probably have seen this is the most people that we've seen on the beach. A lot of them come out to see these conditions, including
Mike Jaffe and his wife Kim, and their kids. Hey, guys. How are you?
MIKE JAFFE, BEACHGOER, MELBOURNE, FLORIDA: (INAUDIBLE) how is it going?
VALENCIA: Good, good. So, how is this impacted you? What kind of precautions are you guys taking?
JAFFE: Precautions we've taken, I bought a generator this year for the first time and I've got about 30 gallons of extra fuel and shared my
mother-in-law's house and my parent's home.
VALENCIA: So, this is going so much uncertainty, you said, you guys actually had to cancel your little boy's birthday party, right? You had
relatives coming here or something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we're supposed to have family come in from Georgia and the storm originally was coming Saturday, and then, Sunday.
Now, Monday or Tuesday, so it's definitely delayed.
VALENCIA: When they came to the track, you know, how is that impacted like what you guys have done the last couple of days? Like, you know, would
have been sort of the things that used -- the steps you've taken?
[11:44:58] M. JAFFE: Well, you know, I work for a large general contractor in a town called DFI. We employ about 130 employees, and you know, we
built a four-story hotel in Titusville that has a wood frame structure that was in the midst of construction that didn't have any tie-down.
And so, we worked all weekend that ready just in case, sheer wind came in, and would knock it over. But, all our job sites have been put on a hard
hold now for probably, at least a week.
VALENCIA: Like you said, you wouldn't normally be out here on the beach right now, right? But you guys came to check out the conditions. What do
you see out there? You're a lifelong resident.
M. JAFFE: Yes. Yes, I mean, it's -- I mean, there's a big cause for concern. I mean I've been around fora Cat 2 and Cat 3 hurricanes. But
nothing like a Category 5. I mean, like -- you know --
VALENCIA: Well, we appreciate you guys. Stay safe. Happy early birthday, brother.
M. JAFFE: Appreciate it.
VALENCIA: A little shy here. But, maybe it's -- so, we could chalk it up to the nerves, Lynda, amidst, you know, there's some pending storm coming
this way. The National Hurricane Center says, yes, this is tracking off the coast -- eastern coast of Florida. But they want to remind residents
that are in its past, that can change at any point, and there's still a scenario where this could make direct landfall on Florida that's not likely
at this point that people want to -- authorities here want people to keep their guards up. Lynda?
KINKADE: Nick Valencia, good to have you there. Good to hear from those locals as well. Thanks so much for that. Leyla Santiago, thanks to you
also in the Carolinas. Good to have you both.
Well, still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD. A house divided. New tensions flare in Britain's Brexit battle. Find out what the prime minister has
been saying on which top official has stunned political observers.
Plus, protesters in Hong Kong disrupt a train station causing flight cancellations and delays at one of the world's busiest airports.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, to Hong Kong now, where riot police have disposed protesters from one of the main train stations leading to the
city's international airport. Protesters vandalized the station and service was stopped.
But the airport says aside from a few flight cancellations and delays, its operations are largely normal.
Will Ripley explains why the protesters targeted that station.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now, riot police have just moved out of this area and you can hear the crowds shouting at them.
Cheering as they go.
This has been a really extraordinary scene out here because protestors were determined to stage some sort of a disruptive event at the Hong Kong
Airport. But they weren't able to get inside the airport.
Let's get over here because security around the airport is only allowing in passengers and flight crew. So, what the protesters did instead, was they
caused disruption around the airport. They set up barricades, set them on fire.
The streets were gridlocked, the bridge to the airport completely impassable for hours. People had to get out of their cars and walk.
People with their suitcases and luggage had to walk sometimes more than an hour just to make their flight.
And now, the riot police who came here to this station had really nothing to do because all the protesters who came into the MTR, vandalized, spray-
painted, set off the sprinkler system. They all left before the police even arrived.
So, now, officers are leaving after we didn't see them make any arrests here as far as we could tell. And they move on to the next location, where
the next group of protesters might pop up.
And police don't really know what the protesters are going to do next. That's been the whole point of this protest movement. Move quickly, mess
things up, and get out before the police arrive.
They feel that this is a sustainable model to make their point. 13th consecutive weekend of protests here in Hong Kong. And even though the
crowds are smaller, the protesters are more aggressive, and this shows no signs of dying down.
Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.
[11:50:51] KINKADE: Our thanks to Will for that report. We'll going to take a short break. We'll be right here. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. There are now just 60 days until Brexit, and as the clock ticks down, major questions are becoming more urgent. The
biggest, will Britain leave with a deal?
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not answered that yet, but he told The Sunday Times, "People campaigning against no-deal are making it more
likely."
Hadas Gold explains what he meant.
HADAS GOLD, CNN POLITICS, MEDIA AND BUSINESS REPORTER: The battle lines on Brexit are hardening ahead of what will be a pivotal week in the U.K.
parliament. In his first newspaper interview after suspending parliament for longer than normal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told The Sunday Times
that an effort by opposition parties to pass a bill in parliament to stop a no-deal is actually making it more likely.
Johnson questioned what the legislation would actually achieve, considering it would likely force another extension to the U.K. leaving the E.U.,
something they've already done twice.
And then, in an interview with BBC that stunned political observers here, Michael Gove, one of Johnson's senior cabinet ministers, actually declined
to confirm that they would even abide by a bill blocking no-deal if it were to pass.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW MARR, PRESENTER, BBC NEWS: If this legislation goes through parliament, both houses of parliament, does the government abide by it?
MICHAEL GOVE, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS, UNITED KINGDOM: Let's see what the legislation says.
MARR: I bet sure, the answer has to be yes. It's the law.
GOVE: Let's see what the legislation says. You're asking me about a pig and a poke. And I will wait to see what the legislation -- the opposition
may try to bring forward. But we know --
(CROSSTALK)
MARR: For a government to say we won't abide by legislation is impossible, surely.
GOVE: We -- well, we will see what the legislation says when it just put forward. For me, the most important thing is to bear in mind actually, we
already have legislation in place which an overwhelming majority of M.P.s voted for.
MARR: OK.
GOVE: We already have an E.U. Withdrawal Act. We already have the notice on Article 50, the process by which we leave the European Union. The
overwhelming majority of M.P.s voted to do that.
MARR: OK. OK, I understand all that now. What I'm just trying to do now --
(CROSSTALK)
GOVE: What Kier Starmer -- what Kier Starmer, is trying to do now is to say, "You know British people. I said we would leave. I said to my
manifesto that we would leave. But now, I actually think we won't leave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:55:12] GOLD: Meanwhile, on the other side of Brexit, we, of course, have the European Union watching all of this drama unfold. And in an op-ed
for The Sunday Telegraph, the E.U.'s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier wrote that he is not optimistic about avoiding a no-deal Brexit and that
they are rejecting the U.K.'s demands to scrap the Irish backstop. That is the condition that prevents a hard border between Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland.
And, of course, beyond the fireworks in Parliament this week, the government's decision to suspend the Parliament will also be tested in
court, where several cases seeking an injunction are expected to start.
Hadas Gold, CNN, London.
KINKADE: I'm Lynda Kinkade. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thanks for joining us. Every 30 minutes throughout the day, we will bring you the
latest on the Category 5 hurricane, which is the strongest on the planet this year as it barrels through the Bahamas towards the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
