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New Questions Over Las Vegas Shooting Timeline; Las Vegas Shooting Victim Fires Lawsuit; NFL Stars Stand Up Sex Trafficking Survivors; Eminem Lashes Out at Trump in Blistering Freestyle; Storm Winds Fuel California's Wildfires; At Least 23 Killed As Wildfires Spread In California; North Korea Foreign Minister: Trump Has Lit The Wick Of War; Producer's Alleged Harassment An "Open Secret"; More Women Accuse Producer Of Sexual Misconduct. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired October 12, 2017 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:00] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, California's deadly firestorm is getting worse driven by strong dry winds forcing entire town to evacuate, and officials warn the worst may be yet to come.

SESAY: Plus, Donald Trump picks a new fight with the American can media after a report claims the U.S. wants a dramatic build-up of this country's nuclear arsenal.

VAUSE: And more women coming forward accusing the Hollywood mogul, Harvey Weinstein, of sexual misconduct.

SESAY: Hello and thank you for joining us. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Great to have you with us. You're watching Newsroom L.A. California's wildfires are on their way to becoming the deadliest and most destructive in the state's history. Nearly 8,000 firefighters have so far been unable to contain 22 separate fires. There's been a return of dry gusty winds and low humidity in the region.

SESAY: At least 23 people are now dead, hundreds more are missing. The fires have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares and forced more than 20,000 people from their homes. These wildfires are also devastating the state's renowned Wine Country, destroying the livelihoods of so many who live and work in the region. Well, Jeff Okrepkie joins me by phone. His home in Santa Rosa was destroyed in one of the fires. Jeff, thank you for being with us. I am so sorry for all that you and your family have gone through this past few days. How are you guys doing?

JEFF OKREPKIE, RESIDENT OF SANTA ROSA (via Telephone): We're maintaining. We're lucky enough to have a good group of friends and family around us and community support. And we consider ourselves to be very lucky and very fortunate, all things considered.

SESAY: Yes. I know that on Sunday you saw the fires advancing on the news; you're watching T.V., this is around 11:00 p.m. But at that point, you thought that you guys were safe. Explain to our viewers what happened next?

OKREPKIE: Yes. We saw -- and we didn't think it was a big deal because it was over in another county in Napa. And so, I started to get ready for bed, my sister called me and she said, hey, there's another one in Calistoga, which is in Napa County, but it's on the county line with where we are. So, I was like, well, it's not that big of a deal, it's still pretty far away, so don't worry about it.

And then, maybe an hour later, she woke me up and said, you know, mom and dad are evacuating, call them. I called them, they said, yes, we're under mandatory evacuation. So, I said come to our house. I woke my wife up. We got the guest room ready, and during that process, I saw my neighbors outside, walked outside, and it was a scene that I can't even describe. Just smoke and ash blowing through at 60 miles an hour.

When you act like, turn your back to it and cover your eyes, you know, it was some of the debris. And while I'm talking to my neighbors, another one comes running around the corner and yells, it jumped the freeway, hopper, which is the street that runs into the subdivision, is on fire. At that point it was, and we just kind of looked at each other and yell like we got to go and just turned, ran back inside and got everything and got out as quickly as we could.

SESAY: What were you able to get -- I mean, we're talking about -- I'm imagining, just minutes here. What were you able to pack up to take with you?

OKREPKIE: Well, we got -- me and my wife, my son, our two dogs, a duffel bag of clothes split between the three of us, and some photo albums.

SESAY: Jeff, tell me about going back to the house on Monday and finding it in this state that we're looking at on our screens.

OKREPKIE: I mean, devastating, heartbreaking. In all honesty, it was really hard to fathom. While we were out on the way, we couldn't in front of it, and see for ourselves, there's kind of a denial. And then, once we saw, it was just, everything became real, came crashing down. So, it became very emotional and very hard to just even be there.

SESAY: You know, what been -- it's all so awful, but I'm wondering for you as you try to process all of this, what's been the most difficult part of all of this for you?

[01:05:12] OKREPKIE: The difficult part for us is, so far, is just remembering all the things that we weren't able to take with us. Whether it's old pictures or my wife, whose father passed away, we had some of his stuff in the house that's now gone. And then, just like the heart-wrenching stuff of remembering where I was standing and what I was thinking and knowing that if I just turned to my left, I could 've grabbed something that, you know, a picture us, and I forgot to do that and run out of the house. That's the hard stuff. It's the stuff that while they're just things, there's a ton of sentiment and emotional weight behind them. SESAY: Yes. No, I totally understand. I also know you that guys

have renter's insurance. I know you plan to build in the neighborhood, and we are wishing you the very, very best through this difficult time. Our hearts go out to you and stay safe out there.

OKREPKIE: Thank you very much.

SESAY: Thank you.

VAUSE: OK. Let's go to Pedram Javaheri at the CNN center with the weather forecast here. Because Pedram, we were hoping that there is going to be a return of humidity, these winds were going to die down, but it's quite the opposite now, and that's what the problem is here.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it was very short-lived. You know, it was early this morning, late last, that was when we had the humidity in place, the winds had calmed down briefly. They're back up; it's very dry, and, of course, the steam's playing out like this. And you know, it is as explosive as a fire weather situation as you see here, really across anywhere in the world.

But in California, in particular, we'll break down exactly what's happening because look at the deadliest wildfires in state history. The tubs fire alone, the one just outside of Santa Rosa County are, now the fifth deadliest all time. Of course, you look at statewide, 23 fatalities known so far.

With that said, that would move it right up since the deadliest, since the 1991 Tunnel Oakland Hills fire that took with it 25 lives. So, the perspective kind of puts it into eerie region there as far as the fatalities are seen. But we started the year with tremendous rainfall and tremendous snowfall. That was January across the state of California, just about everyone saw precipitation.

In April, still very healthy; for May, June, into July, it began shutting off, as you would expect in the dry season. But what occurred is a tremendous growth in vegetation in that few months of heavy rainfall. With that said, of course, the vegetation flourishes, the rainfall shuts off, it instantly becomes now fuel that's in place there for these fires to absorb.

And 35 large active fires seeing an area; six times the size of San Francisco now consumed across the state, much of it around the northern portion of the state with five million people underneath the fire weather concerns of red flag warnings, red flag watches. A critical risk in place now that is -- on a scale of one to three, that is a two right there putting Napa, Santa Rosa, parts of Sacramento in place as well.

Look at these videos coming out of -- from our viewers there across portions of Northern California not far from Santa Rosa. What you want to look for here is the elevated terrain because that place has a significant role in why the firefighters often have a hard time keeping the upper hands on these flames. In fact, on a 20-degree slope, which much of California's rolling hills, very much sloped. But fire will want to travel here around 20 kilometers per hour but

bump that slope up to 30 degrees, that doubles the fire's speed. So, essentially, I often use the analogy of taking a match, holding it straight out against your finger, it gradually burns towards your hand, give it a slope, it instantly begins burning up towards your fingers.

That's precisely what's happening here with this elevated terrain that firefighters have to keep with. And unfortunately, looking at the models, John and Isha, rainfall, the best bet for that would be about seven days away, and it's not a good bet either -- just barely makes it into the forecast seven days from right now. And the winds, of course, are going to be high, the temps want to warm up as well into the weekend. Guys?

VAUSE: OK. Pedram, thank you.

SESAY: Pedram, thank you. All right. Shifting gears now, and U.S. President Donald Trump has "lit the wick of war." That's according to North Korea's foreign minister following weeks of increasingly heated rhetoric between the two countries.

VAUSE: North Korea says the tipping point came last month at the U.N. when Trump warned the U.S. would totally destroy North Korea is forced to defend itself or its allies. And on Wednesday, the U.S. President said, when it comes to dealing with North Korea only one person's opinion matters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think I have a little bit different attitude on North Korea than other people might have. And I listen to everybody, but ultimately, my attitude is the one that matter, isn't it? That's the way it works. That's the way the system is. But I think I might have a somewhat different attitude and different way than other people. I think, perhaps, I feel stronger and tougher on that subject to other people, but I listen to everybody. And ultimately, I will do what's right for the United States, and really what's right for the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:10:00] VAUSE: To San Francisco now, and Paul Carroll, a Senior Adviser with N Square, a group working to eliminate this threat from nuclear weapons. You know, Paul, we had this NBC news report that this past July, the U.S. president -- we showed a graph showing what was dramatic fall over the past few decades in the number of U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons.

Apparently, Mr. Trump points to the peak in 1969 when the U.S. had 32,000 nukes. He said, he wanted that many, up from the current 4,000. OK. Is there any strategic reason, is there any threat facing the United States right now that would require an increase in the nuclear stockpile to that extent?

PAUL CARROLL, SENIOR ADVISOR, N SQUARE: Absolutely not. It's as simple as that. There are several reasons why it was sensible to reduce those ridiculously large arsenals from the height of the cold war, and frankly, continue to reduce the lower levels we have today. You'd be hard-pressed to find a thoughtful military leader, foreign policy expert to come up with a situation where the use of a nuclear weapon would be a sensible thing to do.

VAUSE: And with that in mind, when most people look at that graph and the falling numbers, they see a success story, right?

CARROLL: Absolutely. I mean, the height of the cold war -- I mean, we almost joke about it now. There were nearly 70,000 nuclear weapons on the planet. Nearly all of them owned and operated and deployed by the United States and the Soviet Union. We barely got through that and several secretaries of defense and secretaries of state who served both Republicans and Democrats said, you know what, we were more lucky than smart. Well, do we want to play that movie again? No one thinks so.

VAUSE: The sort of the paradox of having a nuclear arsenal is that it's there not to be used. And with that in mind, you know, there are a lot of good reasons apart from nuclear -- you know, avoiding nuclear annihilation to reduce that stockpile, just the costs alone of maintaining it.

CARROLL: You're absolutely right. In fact, I would go a step further. Those who believe that nuclear deterrence, in fact, works are one school of thought. It's not a proven fact. It's a theory. It's been a national posture over the years. It's really unprovable. Now, deterrence with a small "d" is something there's more evidence for. You know, if you hit me, I'm going to hit you back. Well, that makes you think twice.

When you get into the realm of nuclear weapons with their devastating effects and long-lived effects, you're in a whole different realm. And I would actually, John, respectfully correct you, over the years U.S. policy has, in fact, considered using nuclear weapons. We went through years where our doctrine and our policy envisioned using them in warfighting scenarios, that was very scary. And that's what the president's comments harken back to. Let's have more nuclear weapons? Let's consider using them? It's quite frightening.

VAUSE: Well, just on the flip side of all of this, is the U.S. in any position to increase its nuclear stockpile back to the degree of 1969, 32,000 nukes, from 4,000? And even if it tried, what impact would that have globally?

CARROLL: Right. So, putting aside the fact that it's completely preposterous to do so, that you wouldn't want to do so, could you do so? Well, it would require a lot of things. It would require an awful lot of money, it would require basically capital improvements in some of the most toxic and dirty sites in the country. The former production sites in Hanford, Washington and Savannah River, South Carolina, all over the place where we produced plutonium, highly enriched uranium, chemical poisons, and constituents -- it would be like recreating the Manhattan project on steroids. VAUSE: Good way to put it. You know, Donald Trump was talking about

nuclear weapons long before he became president. Back in 1984, he was developing. He told the Washington Post, he thought he could negotiate a great deal on arms control with the Soviet Union. He claimed, he would know exactly what to demand of the Russians, though, he conceded his lack of experience in the technical field of nuclear weaponry.

"It would take an hour and a half to learn everything there is to know about missiles. I think I know most of it anyway," he said. "You're talking about just getting updated on a situation." Given everything else he has said to about nuclear weapons here, does this paint a picture of someone who just doesn't fully understand, you know, what a nuclear war could eventually look like and what a nuclear missile actually does?

CARROLL: Absolutely. I mean, the reports we have been reading in the past few days, particularly the one based on several sources. You know, whether or not it was precise, I want 30,000 nuclear weapons or not, the fact that someone would suggest greatly increasing the number of nuclear weapons to me demonstrates a complete and utter lack of appreciation for what these weapons can do.

And the fact that when you talk about nuclear bombs and warheads, you're completely in a different room than when you're talking about a conventional war when you're talking about conventional explosives, that is extremely troubling to me. So, these comments and the rhetoric he's used with North Korea, the rhetoric and the sort of the threats he's made on the Iran nuclear deal, lead one to conclude that he just doesn't get it when it comes to nuclear weapons.

[01:15:38] VAUSE: At this point, there are still those around him who do. So, that is some comfort, I hope. Thank you, Paul. Good to see you.

CARROLL: My pleasure. Thank you, John

VAUSE: As for that report by NBC news, claiming the president wanted a ten-fold increase in the nuclear arsenal, not only did Donald Trump denied, but he also hinted the government should consider shutting down the network because of it. "With all of the fake news coming out of NBC and the networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their license? Bad for the country." That seems to be an empty threat because NBC doesn't actually have a license. As Jessica Rosenwatch, a member of the Federal Communications Commission, pointed out, "Not how it works." According to the FCC Web site, we license only individual broadcast stations. We do not license T.V. or Radio Networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC, or Fox."

Despite that, the president followed up with another similar threat just hours ago. "Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged, and if appropriate revoked. Not fair to the public." President Richard Nixon tried a similar tactic during Watergate when his close business associates targeted the licenses of two local stations in Florida owned by the parent company of the Washington Post, which was in full investigation mode. Only this time it seems, the president doesn't understand how the FCC works. Besides that, he has made no demands for NBC to back up the report. He has offered no evidence to prove it is wrong and said strongly suggesting the network should be silenced. And during a photo op with Canada's prime minister, he added this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write, and people should look into it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Which seems to remove all doubt if ever there was any. The president does not value a free press, nor does he understand how a free press works.

SESAY: Well, we're going to take a quick break now. In Hollywood, insiders say Harvey Weinstein's reputation after sexual harassment was an open secret. Just ahead, who knew about and why they didn't speak up?

VAUSE: Also, while people were running from a spray of bullets in Las Vegas, there was a frantic search for the gunman. Just ahead, one account from inside --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:01] SESAY: Hello, everyone. More than two dozen women have now accused movie producer, Harvey Weinstein of misconduct. Allegations, ranging from sexual harassment to rape.

VAUSE: The charges span decades. And now, many are asking who else knew about this abhorrent behavior and why didn't they speak up? CNN's Randi Kaye reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harvey!

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Film producer, Harvey Weinstein's alleged harassment and assault of women, an open secret in Hollywood often finding its way into comedy scripts like this 2012 scene from NBC's "30 Rock."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, please, I'm not afraid of anyone in show business. I turned down intercourse with Harvey Weinstein on no less than three occasions out of five.

KAYE: Funny then, not so much now. Weinstein's reputation for flexing his Hollywood muscle and using his power to inappropriately touch or assault women apparently well-known among Hollywood insiders. Still, the jokes continue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 2012 nominees for best performance by an actress. KAYE: During the Oscar nominations in 2013, Actor Seth MacFarlane

read the names of the actresses up for best-supporting actresses, then joked.

SETH MACFARLANE, ACTOR: Congratulations. You five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: There, at one of Hollywood's biggest moments, a disturbing nod to Harvey Weinstein's reputation. We reached out to Seth MacFarlane asking why he joked about something so serious. His rep directed us to his statement on Twitter released today, which explains a friend of his in 2011 had confided in him about Weinstein's alleged advances, and that he couldn't resist the opportunity to take a hard swing in his direction. "Make no mistake, this came from a place of loathing and anger."

In response to our request, the Academy of Motion Pictures would only say, it "finds the conduct describe in the allegations against Harvey Weinstein to be repugnant, abhorrent, and antithetical to the high standards of the academy and the creative community it represents." We also asked NBC about poking fun at Weinstein's alleged abuses but were told no one was available to respond.

Still, the question is who knew what, when, and how could anyone think any of this was funny? Actress Rose McGowan, certainly, isn't laughing. The New York Times reports that in 1997, when McGowan was just 23, Weinstein paid her a $100,000 settlement after an "episode" he had with her in a hotel room during the Sundance film festival.

In a new twist, McGowan is now attacking actor Ben Affleck in response to his statement about Weinstein on Tuesday. In it, Affleck said: "I find myself asking what I can do to make sure this doesn't happen to others." An enraged McGowen took to Twitter, implying Affleck knew of Weinstein's behavior and told her about it years before.

Quoting Affleck in her tweet, she posted this: "God damn it! I told him to stop doing that. You said that to my face. The press conference I was made to go to after assault. You lie." McGowan later confirmed to the New York Times, she was indeed accusing Affleck of lying by not acknowledging he was aware of Weinstein's alleged behavior. Telling the paper, "I am saying exactly that." Our attempts to reach both McGowan and Affleck were unsuccessful. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Well, joining us now, Civil Right Attorney and CNN Legal Analyst, Areva Martin; also, Weinstein accuser actress, Katherine Kendall. Ladies, thank you for being with us. Catherine, to start with you, you met Harvey Weinstein when you were just 23 years old.

KATHERINE KENDALL, ACTRESS: Yes.

SESAY: Let me ask you this. Had you heard any of the rumors before you met him?

KENDALL: Absolutely, not.

SESAY: OK. So, you hadn't heard any of the rumors. So. you're an aspiring actress, your agent sets up a meeting, and through the course of, I guess talking to his people, he invites you to a screening.

KENDALL: Yes.

SESAY: Pick up the story from there.

KENDALL: The screening isn't actually a screening. It's just a movie. And so, the afternoon, it's me and Harvey and whoever else is in the theater, but it's just a regular movie. And I start to feel pretty uncomfortable, and it was like I've been duped.

SESAY: So, a bell went off, an alarm bell went off?

KENDALL: Yes, a bell went off. And I thought afterward, I'm going to have to get out of this one pretty quickly. And then, there was sort of negotiation to sort of get me to have a drink with him, which I said no. And then, there was a negotiation to get me to come up to his apartment really quickly while he grabbed something. And each one of these moments there was a back and forth and a struggle. I need to, sort of, kind of up for myself, what felt wrong to me or uncomfortable, and him pushing and manipulating and cajoling me.

SESAY: Yes, yes. So, to take it to its conclusion, to your point of escaping, so to speak.

[01:25:06] KENDALL: Right. So, the conclusion is when we're in the apartment. We've had a long conversation. He goes to the bathroom, he comes back, and he's fully naked. And he asked me to give a massage. I won't. I can't. It just not going to happen. I wonder if it's that moment for me where it all goes wrong. He's between men and door. My blood boiling and feel the adrenaline in my body, I can feel myself shaking. I'm wondering how, how am I going to get out here? Is this -- he's huge. I'm just a woman. This is --

SESAY: Terrifying.

KENDALL: Terrifying.

SESAY: Areva, as you hear Katherine tell the story of what happened to her, and you have read all the other accounts, what is striking is how similar they all are.

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

SESAY: Talk to me about what is stand out to you and just the M.O., and this kind of M.O. of young women, targeting them, the power inversion, and what we see over and over again.

MARTIN: We're hearing over and over again, Isha. With respect to the manipulation, to the power struggle, to the manipulation, the almost insistent attitude that they submit to his wishes, that they do exactly what he wants them to do, his refusal to take no for an answer. That's what Katherine, the story she tells, we've heard that throughout the day as new victims come forward and tell their story.

And I think what's been so galling to me about this whole story is this notion that somehow this was happening without this company, this large film production company being unaware of it. That, as a lawyer that has prosecuted these cases, that has represented victims in these cases, I find that incredibly hard to believe.

SESAY: So, Katherine, to pick up from you being terrified, how did you get out of the room? And talk to me about your next steps, once you were out of the room and you didn't go to the police.

KENDALL: No.

SESAY: So, talk to me about being in the room, exiting and the thoughts you had as to how to respond to this.

KENDALL: There was, there was -- through the whole night, there was a sort of a pull, push-pull, and he said, I'll let you leave if you let me get dress, and take you downstairs to a taxi. And I agreed to that, and he then got in the taxi with me, drove me -- you know, went downtown with me. I got out and went to a bar. He sat in the taxi, and he stared at me in the bar for a good 20 minutes, while I begged the bartender to just please, you know, talk to me like you know me.

SESAY: And you're shaking right now, after telling right now.

KENDALL: And I'm shaking. It's true. It's true.

SESAY: I mean, what has this been like for you to have to tell the story? I know you made the decision to speak to the New York Times, and now it's become this. How are you doing?

KENDALL: Well, it's interesting, because, at first, I was going to tell my story anonymously. And then, I saw Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, and I thought they look like brave women. I'm going to -- I want to stand with them.

SESAY: Sure.

KENDALL: I didn't -- you ever know how much this stuff hurts you until you relive it. You know, you can find a way to put it away after a week of, you know, since the incident. You cried about it, you've told your mom, your best friend. You feel like you can't come forward. You feel like, what power do you possibly have? People feel protective of you; other friends have told me they remember the story but felt helpless with me in it. Which is, you know, I felt loved by my peers, but everyone was helpless. And so, then, you know, you run into him years later or something and you find yourself trembling again or feeling emotional, and you realize --

SESAY: The trauma comes right back.

KENDALL: Your body doesn't lie.

SESAY: You know what they say the bod holds trauma, like, physiologically.

KENDALL: Yes.

SESAY: It comes back in the face of it, in the face of a new threat. Areva, what are the chances of charges will be filed? What's the liability for the Weinstein Company here?

MARTIN: Yes. I think we should expect to see a barrage of civil lawsuits. We know that from one of the stories that were in the New Yorker, three women have accused Harvey Weinstein of rape. There's a huge question about the statute of limitations and whether there can be a criminal prosecution. But I expect that not only the victims that we've been hearing from over the last couple of days, that there may be losses from some of those women, but I'm also concerned about the women that worked for that company. Because they have been in a hostile work environment. So, we may actually see some of those women who didn't have a direct interaction with him, but we're in this environment. They may also file lawsuits. And I just have to s thank you, Katherine, for coming forward, because this is how we change the culture.

SESAY: Absolutely.

[01:29:53] MARTIN: This is how we say to those people who would harass women, that you will suffer swift and severe consequences for this action. And when one woman speaks up, it empowers other women to come forward. So, Isha, I suspect we're going to see even more women than those that we've seen over the last couple of days, who will come forward and tell their stories. So you were so brave. We owe you a lot for being willing to share this story.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Sadly we're out of time but let me echo that, Katherine. Thank you.

KATHERINE KENDALL, WEINSTEIN ACCUSER: You're welcome.

SESAY: Thank you for all you do. And as difficult as it is for you, you are strengthening and empowering others so I hope you take something from that.

KENDALL: I'm happy to do that.

SESAY: Katherine, Areva, thank you.

MARTIN: My pleasure.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That was a great discussion. So glad you guys came on.

We'll take a short break. Next on NEWSROOM L.A. a revised timeline of the mass shooting in Las Vegas raising new questions. Could more have been done in those crucial early moments?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour.

Palestinian rival factions Hamas and Fattah have reached a reconciliation deal. They've been holding talks in Cairo mediated by the Egyptian government. Egypt has tried several times to help reconcile the two sides. The former power sharing government in Gaza and the West Bank.

VAUSE: Nearly 8,000 firefighters have been unable to contain the massive wildfires in California, made worse by low humidity and gusty strong winds. The death toll stands at 23 people. Hundreds of buildings have been destroyed and thousands forced from their homes.

SESAY: Spain is giving Catalonians on Monday to confirm whether the region has officially declared independence but Catalan president is delaying a formal declaration, saying he wants talk with the Spanish government to resolve the situation. Meanwhile, Spain is threatening to impose direct rule over Catalonia under its constitutional authority.

VAUSE: Despite an intensive investigation almost two weeks on and there are still no reason why a gunman opened fire killing 58 concertgoers in Las Vegas and now it seems there's no clear reason why he stopped shooting.

SESAY: Shifting timeline is raising many questions.

CNN's Scott McLean has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call the police. Someone has fired a gun up here. Someone has fired a rifle on the 32nd floor, down the hallway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy. Hey, it's on 32.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Newly released police dispatch audio adding clarity to an evolving timeline of the Las Vegas massacre. Sheriff Joe Lombardo now on defense for a significant revision to the official timeline. Police originally believed Mandalay Bay security guard Jesus Campos was shot in the leg after the suspect Stephen Paddock had fired on the concert. The sheriff now says Campos was shot six minutes before the shooting at the concert venue even began.

[01:35:08] Lombardo told CNN affiliate KALS, "Nobody is trying to be nefarious. No one is trying to hide anything. And what we want to do is draw the most accurate picture we can and I'm telling you right now, today, that that timeline might change again because it's human factor involved. The individual that put the timestamp associated with the radio call they received maybe their watch was different. Maybe they look to the different time when they put it down."

The revision leaves open the question of why Paddock stopped firing when he did since police didn't arrive on the 32nd floor until two minutes after he fired his last shot and didn't enter his suite until an hour after that.

The company that owns Mandalay Bay, MGM, is skeptical of the new timeline. In a statement a spokesperson wrote in part, "We cannot be certain about the most recent timeline that has been communicated publicly. And we believe what is currently being expressed may not be accurate."

The timing of the shots is not all that's changed. Sheriff Lombardo says Paddock checked in three nights earlier than originally thought, traveling back and forth between the hotel and his home in Mesquite, Nevada. MGM says that on two occasions a bellman helped Paddock bring backs up to his room through the service elevator. Investigators have spotted Paddock on security cameras around Las Vegas more than 200 times, alone on every occasion.

But none of the sightings have helped explain why he carried out the attack in the first place.

SHERIFF JOSEPH LOMBARDO, LAS VEGAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Those things that you would expect to find, we have not found.

MCLEAN: Campos, the security guard who first spotted trouble, wasn't the only employee who walked into chaos. When engineer Stephen Schuck arrived on the 32nd floor, he was quickly told to take cover.

STEPHEN SCHUCK, HOTEL EMPLOYEE: My whole family and I, we all appreciate him. He -- at first, when the first shooting started, I was kind of frozen for a second. And he yelled at me, take cover, take cover. And if he yelled a second too late I would have been shot so I owe him my life.

MCLEAN (on camera): And there are plenty of questions being raised about that shift in timeline and how it is that 18 minutes could pass between the time that Campos was shot and the time that police arrived on the 32nd floor. But Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said that police did everything right, that everyone at MGM did a fantastic job and if you're looking for a fall guy there isn't one.

Scott McLean, CNN, Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, a California college student injured in the shooting has filed a first lawsuit. Paige Gasper's suit claims MGM, the owners of the Mandalay Bay hotel, also the concert promoter Live Nation and bump stock manufacturers are all liable.

SESAY: And specifically accuses MGM of failing to respond in a timely manner. She says Live Nation failed to build and mark emergency exits and train staff emergency, and named Slide Fire Solutions for making bump stocks which allowed the gunman to fire his rifle like automatic weapons.

VAUSE: Brian Claypool joins us now. He was at the concert when all the shootings started, also friend of the show, criminal attorney, our often guest here. Yes.

VAUSE: Glad you're here, brother. It's good.

BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, thanks a lot.

SESAY: Yes. Good to see you.

CLAYPOOL: Still regrouping. I'm not feeling real social.

VAUSE: You let yourself.

CLAYPOOL: Important to be here, though. You guys have been great. Show has been great but this is how the dramatic effect on me. And imagine I'm a survivor.

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: Yes.

CLAYPOOL: And I wasn't -- you know, I wasn't somebody that was killed, so imagine the grief they're going through, those families.

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: And look, we want you to, you know, obviously, you know, someone who was there, who went through all of this and also someone who is a lawyer. So we're going to talk about these lawsuits, OK. So we just heard from Scott McLean there saying basically, you know, there is no fall guy for this. That doesn't -- I mean, is that case? I mean, who gets blamed?

CLAYPOOL: Who said that? Scott --

VAUSE: Well, apparently the sheriff.

CLAYPOOL: Yes. Well, I was being facetious. I'd like to have coffee with him and I'll tell him there's clearly a fall guy in this because I stayed at the Mandalay Bay. I was there Saturday and Sunday. And I'd like to talk -- ask yourself, why is Mandalay Bay not even giving a statement? I was there on Monday, the day after the shooting, I went back to get my belongings in my room. Do you realize that there was not a single sign anywhere? Hey, we're sorry about this shooting?

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: Has Mandalay Bay contacted you?

CLAYPOOL: Nobody at Mandalay Bay either left a note, contacted me, said, hey, we're really sorry about shooting, number one. Number two, why wasn't that casino shut down? That's a crime scene. I walked in, I can't tell you how sad I was, John. When I walked back there after not sleeping for 48 hours, to get my gear, and I see people playing the slot machines, that whole casino should have been shut down for days and they should have canvassed every hallway, every room, for prints, for surveillance video and shut that place down. Are they more worried about making money the day after a shooting than

taking care of people that were killed and injured?

SESAY: You have a specific take on this and some of that would feed into a lawsuit.

[01:40:03] You say that there are too many corners cut for the likes of Stephen Paddock, these high rollers, which create the gaps that can be exploited by people who want to cause this kind of trouble.

CLAYPOOL: Yes. Look at the culture that we're finding out about how casinos like the Mandalay Bay treat these high rollers. I heard that he had signed in under a different name, possibly his girlfriend's name, was using her name to gamble. He was allowed to -- allegedly allowed to use a service freight elevator. How about that? I mean, did anybody let him use the service elevator noticed he might have been carrying something odd in the service elevator? That should have never happened.

And I think one of the biggest problems I see in terms of potential liability for the Mandalay Bay and MGM is this -- if this timelines, the revised timeline is correct, were the security guys up there at 9:59 and the shooting doesn't start until 10:09, I'd beg to differ with that guy. There's clearly a fall guy. Every second were accounted. The minute he calls down there.

SESAY: Yes.

CLAYPOOL: Hey, hey, I heard there are shots fired. Why wasn't there somebody up there in a couple of minutes? That nine-minute window, Isha, was the different between life and death for 59 people.

VAUSE: OK. This lawsuit against MGM Resorts from this college student, it states that MGM Resorts should have known, their failure to keep their premises reasonably safe would result in catastrophic injury perpetrated by a gunman toting guest with an extreme intention to harm others. So essentially your argument, this is what they're arguing. But in the past haven't these sort of lawsuits been thrown out of court where they've tried to take the blame away from the gunman and put it onto a third party? What's been the history here?

CLAYPOOL: Well, that has been the case. But I think this case is a little different because you have two components that are distinct in this case. One is you have a guy that planned this for days. He didn't -- with a different story, if he showed up at the Mandalay Bay four hours before shooting, and then he does the shooting, then there's a problem --

VAUSE: Reasonable expectation of --

(CROSSTALK)

CLAYPOOL: Exactly. Yes. Usually foreseeable as somebody -- now, John, you've got to bear in mind that we live in a different world. A lot of violence. Vegas is a hot spot for potential terrorism. You've got a venue. I looked out the room and I saw the venue from my room. So I'm not saying that Mandalay Bay and MGM are supposed to predict there's a sniper that's going to be in the room. But when you've got a three-day time period with this, you know, hauling up, you know, arsenal into his room and nobody is going into that room to check for three days, that's the point. You've got to be looking for threats --

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: What's the reasonable expectation here? What can you expect from security from that organization?

SESAY: The legal suit aside, Brian, I know that you are very engaged, which is the response to making sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again. You're working with other survivors. You saw California Senator Dianne Feinstein a couple of days ago. Talk to me about your steps going forward in terms of responding to this and helping others.

CLAYPOOL: Yes. Thank you for asking, by the way. I received hundreds of hundreds of e-mails from people across the country and this world who were telling me how sorry they felt for my grief when I was interviewed by the shooting. But more importantly at the end of a lot of those e-mails, they've said well, you now have a mission. What's your mission? Are you going to do something about gun control? And I felt from a spiritual standpoint that God had anointed me to do something about this.

And we have an incredible mayor in Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, he reached out to me after the shooting. And he asked how I was doing. I sent him a note back, and I said, you know what, dude, I need to meet the woman who's authored this bump stock bill, Dianne Feinstein. And there was an event yesterday where she announced her reelection for the U.S. Senate, and I brought with me -- real quick, I brought a note from my daughter. This was a birthday -- my birthday was the Tuesday after the shooting.

My daughter wrote me a note. She didn't know about the shooting. I read this to Senator Feinstein. I looked her in the face and real quick, if I may.

VAUSE: Real quick.

CLAYPOOL: Yes. My daughter writes me a note, Daddy, you've been there my whole life. We've had many great memories together, such as going to the Mid-state Fair, seeing Broadway musicals in New York, seeing Demi Lovato and Arianna Grande. And she says, I love these times together and I can't wait to make more memories together throughout my entire life.

I read this to Dianne Feinstein. I said, you know what, Senator Feinstein, I almost was not able to fulfill my daughter's birthday wish because of a lunatic shooter with an automatic weapon or using these bump stocks. I wanted her to see it, my face. She promised me that she would get this bump stock bill passed in Congress.

VAUSE: Brian, we're out of time. We're glad you're here. We wish you luck. We will stay in touch.

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: And we -- maybe, you know, that bump stock thing could just be the start, rather than the end.

SESAY: Yes.

CLAYPOOL: Yes, that's a start. I agree.

VAUSE: I'm glad you're with us.

SESAY: Take care of yourself.

CLAYPOOL: Yes, thank you for having me.

VAUSE: Appreciate it. Thanks, man.

SESAY: Thank you.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break here on NEWSROOM L.A. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:47:17] SESAY: Well, CNN's "Freedom Project" is committed to the fight against modern-day slavery and amplifying the voices of survivors.

VAUSE: CNN's Don Riddell introduces us to a U.S. pro-football player. He's a Super Bowl winner. He went to the Dominican Republic to help survivors of human trafficking.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How will they remember you when you're gone? Will it be the tackles? The blocks? The championship rings? Or perhaps something else?

Max Garcia has only been in the NFL for two full years but already he's a Super Bowl champion. The giant Denver Broncos guard is now trying to make an impact off the field as well.

MAX GARCIA, FOOTBALL GUARD, DENVER BRONCOS: When you're done playing, when the lights are off, you know, and no one else wants to talk to you anymore, when you're not famous anymore, you're going to look back and say what did I do that really made a difference in this world?

RIDDELL: So that's why he ventured to the Dominican Republic to get a firsthand look at something others often turn a blind eye to, the trafficking and the exploitation of children in a country where a reported one out of every 10 victims of commercial sexual exploitation is a minor.

GARCIA: It's unbelievable that that's norm. That no one, you know, even bats an eye at that.

RIDDELL: Before the start of the new season, Garcia and a handful of other NFL players made the trip. Some brought their wives and girlfriends to lend a hand. But Max brought his mom.

GARCIA: I immediately thought of my mother. She's been here three times before and I just thought it would be a great experience for us to have together.

SONIA GARCIA, MAX'S MOTHER: It means a lot because I think his passion on helping others is just seen how he cares for everybody else.

RIDDELL: In 2017 alone, pro athletes and their families have donated $1 million to IJM. But it goes beyond just the money. In Santo Domingo these players met young girls who've been exploited but who are now trying to rebuild their lives. On this occasion Max heard from a young woman, only 18, who shared her story about her exploitation and what she went through to survive.

GARCIA: You know, I was then super emotional. You know, just hearing her testimony. So you just don't realize how good you really have it. You don't realize the type of evil that there is in this world. I felt angry, you know, that someone would try to take advantage of a person like that.

RIDDELL: But it's not just young girls who are trapped and victimized but boys, too. These children have been rescued and they're in the process of being rehabilitated. And even though it was only for a few precious hours, Max was able to make them smile again, something that wasn't lost on Fernando Rodriguez, IJM's local field officer director.

[01:50:09] FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ, FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, IJM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: It's also just a great opportunity for these young survivors that are going to be able to play some games where they can engage, enjoy, and just fun, because sometimes it's a little bit scary for them.

GARCIA: You know, the world and have fun. I mean, they don't really know who we are but that doesn't matter.

S. GARCIA: For him to experience this, see what's happening in the real world, is a lot. And I know he's going to take all of these with him and spread the word.

RIDDELL: Between IJM hosted speaking events and supporting them during the NFL's My Cause Week, Max will take what he's learned here and help deliver the message to a wider audience. He also thinks that things will now be different between he and his mom.

GARCIA: In a lot of way I'm the way that I am because of her and the life that she's led. I think it's something that we'll both look back on and say this really was a pivotal moment in our relationship as a mother and son.

RIDDELL: Don Riddell, CNN, Dominican Republic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SESAY: Well, most of Puerto Rico is still without power nearly three weeks after Hurricane Maria. Authorities say the death toll has risen to 45 people and at least 113 more are still unaccounted for. The mayor of the capital San Juan says the island is facing serious health issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR CARMEN YULIN CRUZ, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO: We're not out of the woods yet. We are now starting to see a lot of health issues. Conjunctivitis, scabies, there have been two reported deaths, and I'm sorry if I say it wrong in English, of leptospirosis, which is something that you get usually from -- not only from the rats urine but from animals dying in creeks where people are drinking water. So we are in a great effort, a great humanitarian effort. So always out there. We need a lot of water, drinking water or we need ways to making non-drinkable water into drinkable water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Not sure how many people are actually without drinkable water but the Environmental Protection Agency has described people are desperate enough to drink well water from hazardous waste sites.

SESAY: So terrible.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is apologizing for showing off his company's new virtual reality technology after he decided to do it with a virtual tour of Puerto Rico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: The only thing that's really magical about virtual reality is you can get the feeling that you're really in a place, right? I first should have mentioned this, but Rachel and I actually aren't even I think in the same building in the physical world.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Different places.

ZUCKERBERG: Yes. But it feels like we're in the same place and we're making eye contact, we're talking to each other.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We could high five.

ZUCKERBERG: Yes. There you go. High five. And --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Yes, maybe he should have left the building and actually gone to Puerto Rico. I just -- just an idea. That high five actually took a lot of hate meme, criticized the inappropriate optics. Zuckerberg said in his apology he had intended to raise awareness of the situation on the island. Whatever. SESAY: And finally this hour, rapper Eminem has his latest hit.

VAUSE: Yes. He's gone viral with an impassioned freestyle ripping into the U.S. president. Our Jeanne Moos has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rapper Eminem went nuclear on President Trump.

[01:55:03] EMINEM, RAPPER: Because what we got in office now is a kamikaze that will probably cause a nuclear holocaust.

MOOS: In a video that aired during the BET Hip Hop Awards.

EMINEM: Racism is the only thing he's fantastic for.

MOOS: The rapper didn't tiptoe around.

EMINEM: I came to stomp, that's why he keeps screaming drain the swamp because he's in quicksand.

MOOS: The takedown was quickly picked up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eminem unleashed.

MOOS: No wonder known for kneeling quarterback Colin Kaepernick tweeted, "I appreciate you, Eminem."

EMINEM: This is for Colin, ball up a fist.

MOOS (on camera): For the good old days when Eminem was actually endorsed by Donald Trump.

(Voice-over): At a 2004 publicity stunt rally for fake candidates, Slim Shady, Eminem's alter ego, met Trump's plus-size ego.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm Donald Trump. I'm always great. Slim Shady is the winner.

MOOS: The same year Trump told "Playboy" magazine, "I think Eminem is fantastic and most people think I wouldn't like Eminem. And did you know my name is in more black songs that any other name in hip-hop. Black entertainers love Donald Trump. Russell Simmons told me that."

But now there's a wall between these two.

EMINEM: He's going to build that thing up taller than this.

MOOS: Some of those who are now cheering Eminem for trashing President Trump used to be disgusted when the rapper bashed gays and women while portraying Slim Shady.

And while Ellen sent her love, some Trump supporters said they'd boycott the rapper.

EMINEM: And any fan of mine who's a supporter of his, I'm drawing in the sand a line, you're either for or against.

MOOS: Trump used to be for Eminem.

TRUMP: And he's got Donald Trump's vote.

MOOS: Maybe not after this rap-attack.

EMINEM: Hate Trump.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: He has drawn a line.

VAUSE: Can't wait to hear what the president has to tweet about that.

SESAY: Yes. We are waiting.

VAUSE: We're waiting.

SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I am Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Stay with us. We'll be back with more news after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour --

SESAY: Wildfires sweeping through California's wine country. The death toll rising --