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Mixed Messaging Now On North Korea; Medical Crisis Unfolding In Puerto Rico; Former President Barack Obama Sent Off His Daughter To Harvard Dormitory; Cop Stabbed, Pedestrians Mowed Down, And An ISIS Flag Found At The Scene In Canada; Head Of Air Force Academy Making A Powerful And Impassioned Speech To Thousands Of Cadets; FEMA Task Force Built A Pulley System To Cross The River. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 1, 2017 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00] ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Save your energy, Rex. It not fair what prompted the tweet but it does seemingly contradict Tillerson's comments yesterday after he met with China's President and said the Trump administration can and does talk directly to Pyongyang.

Now Trump sending the tweets from his New Jersey club. He has seen here watching the Presidents golf tournament at a club nearby. And he is spending of new criticism about his inflammatory tweets for Puerto Rican officials. An accusation that he and his administration are again losing focus on the scope of the devastation there. An island where millions of Americans are rationing lifesaving resources. They are having to go to bed hungry, thirsty, most still without power. Many still without clean water and gas.

Now, President Trump spoke about the crisis just a short time ago at the Presidents cup awards ceremony where he dedicated the trophy to hurricane victims in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On behalf of all of the people of Texas and all of the people of if you look today and you see what's happening, how horrible it is, but we have it under really great control, Puerto Rico and the people of Florida who have really suffered over this last short period of time with the hurricanes, I want to just remember them and we're going to dedicate this trophy to all of those people that went through so much that we love. Part of our great state. Really a part of our great nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let's go live to Puerto Rico, CNN's Chris Cuomo is joining us from San Juan.

Chris, the President, he just said the situation there is under control. Does that match what you are hearing and seeing there on the ground?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, it will be interesting to see what the President thinks, Ana, when he actually gets down here on the ground in Puerto Rico. There is absolutely zero chance that if you are here, if you have moved around, you would be talking about this as a good news or success story.

Is there good news at all? The answer is of course, yes. There is a restaurant open right next to us, Italian food. It is filled with people. There are cars. There's traffic. That means they have fuel. They are getting back to way of life.

But that's only part of the reality. Nothing as trite as to say tale of two cities, but it's a tale of how much truth you want to tell. We went and we will show you the piece tomorrow morning on "NEW DAY," only 15 minutes from where we are standing right now. We did that by design because the thought was with all the manpower, all the resources and all the talk about logistics and improvements of military command, surely, 15 minutes from here, in the place where we went, Telebaja, you would have FEMA all over the place. You have resources all over the place.

Everybody would tell you about how they had been helped and that was not the case. So how can these two things be true? How can we be told by the administration that all 78 municipalities have received aid then everyone you talk to tells you they don't know what you're talking about? How can the two things be true?

The answer is this, logistics. Yes, there's a lot that's been put on the ground here, but is it getting where it needs and to whom needs it? The answer can't be yes. It just can't be yes. All these people on the ground can't be telling some huge conspiratorial lie. So the reality is somewhere in the middle. Are things getting here? Is there improving information? Is there improving logistics? Yes. But is it near where it needs to be? The answer has to be no. And hopefully, that reality sets in very quickly for the President when he is on the ground.

CABRERA: Chris, we have heard from a lot of our reporters there is who have been there now for days. That one of the biggest challenges is for a lot of the folks there is this information void because they don't have communications systems that are working. So, how are people getting the most important information about one where they need to go to get some of the aid or the supplies or where those gas stations are that have the fuel or the stores that are now reopened and restocked?

CUOMO: And look, Ana, you put your finger right on such a huge and critical factor. And you can't deal with that with logistics. It doesn't matter how many people you have on the ground. There is no communication here for so many. Even what you are seeing around here in terms of power, it's almost all generator motivated. They have got fuel, that's good. But this isn't the city, this isn't the municipality powering this.

There is no cell phone communication here. It's spotty in and around San Juan, different places, but not where the help is needed most. So we heard today firsthand people saying well, I heard from a guy who heard from a guy when I was in line for gas who told me FEMA that is going to go (INAUDIBLE), neighborhood by neighborhood and then they are going to get to us eventually. It's all second and third hand information because they can't get it.

I just talked to somebody who was here volunteering for JetBlue and they are trying to help with the airline. People are coming. Their flights have been canceled. They don't know why. Communications. So that matters. We know it's being worked on, but you're only as good as you are today and right now, we're nowhere near where we have to be.

[19:50:08] CABRERA: Just a lot of help there that they need.

Thank you, Chris Cuomo. And we know you will have a great report for us tomorrow morning on "NEW DAY." It starts at 6:00 a.m. eastern here on CNN.

Now before the President boarded his plane to his New Jersey golf club, he told reporters the loss of life is always tragic, but it had been incredible the results that we had with loss of life. People can't believe how successful that has been. Grow every speaking (ph). A reminder here, at least 16 people have died.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us now from San Juan.

And Sanjay, you are there on the ground. You have been holding people as they cry for help and you have delivered lifesaving treatment and medicine. So I want to get your perspective on the situation and the President calling it incredible, the results in respect to loss of life.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I mean, it's tough to reconcile that obviously. And you know, when you are on the ground, Ana, you have covered stories. You are immersed in it. It's just hard to understand that kind of description when you are seeing what you are seeing here.

People will look at numbers, I think. And they will look at the number 16, which is as you say, maybe the official count. They will say how is that compared to hurricane Katrina or how is that compared to Haiti? And I understand that it's a simple, easy metric. Problem is, that there's lots and lots of suffering. And how do you put a number on that if you will.

And also, this idea as Chris was starting to talk about, this idea there are people right now, who can be saved, who can be treated, who can be OK. But if what some of these medications, some of these therapies, some of these things that are sitting around but are not getting to these people if they don't get there, they are going to be vulnerable and that's the definition, Ana, of a humanitarian crisis, when people die that absolutely don't need to, that could have been prevented, preventable death. And that's a huge concern.

You know, a week from now, two weeks from now, you may say, well, it wasn't 16. It was 116 or whatever the number may be. Those hundred people extra, those are people who could be saved. And that focus needs to be on those people right now and getting some kind of medications may just cost a few pennies to those people to try and help them and maybe save them. CABRERA: A simple solution, but in your assessment, why is there such

a struggle to get the right medicine, to get the right supplies to where they need to go?

GUPTA: I don't know. I don't know the answer. I think it's one of those things, you say there's lots of different factors here. I wanted to show that I could do it. So I went out and rounded up a bunch of medications. I went to this organization called direct relief. And it was literally a bunch of people who had taken donations of medications. They were sitting in the bottom of a parking garage with duffel bags handing things out.

I talked to the mayor, you know. You have seen the mayor on TV a lot. I saw her. I said, hey. I was at this shelter. Here is the medications they say they need. She started sitting down with me. OK, here's where you get that, here is where you get this. She brought a bunch of medications. It's a (INAUDIBLE) right now.

It's working to some extent. And that, you know, sometimes through this (INAUDIBLE) system, people can get help, but it's not dependable as if now. Hospitals are told have hours of fuel. And how do you run a hospital on that? How do you continue to take care of people? Would you admit a patient if you're not sure you can be open tomorrow in case you need to transfer the patient back out? That's the frustration and reality of what is happening. And yet, you know, we are ten, 11 days out now, so this is ongoing.

CABRERA: No doubt. Sanjay Gupta, thank you for that report.

And here a look at some of the federal response efforts that are underway. A FEMA task force built a pulley system to cross the river to bring relief to dozens of families stranded in the mountains of Puerto Rico. A bridge was their only access to the rest of the island, but it was washed away by flood waters from hurricane Maria.

Now Brynn Gingras crossed that river with a group of first responders and filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Myriam Cruz rode out hurricane Maria from inside this bedroom. The storm's eye wall traveled right through (INAUDIBLE), a city about 90 minutes from San Juan. The river that runs through this area rose more than 20 feet.

What was your thought look out the window and seeing this river go up?

MYRIAM ROSARIO CRUZ, RESIDENT: Terrible. I thought it was going to come, you know, up here, but it didn't.

GINGRAS: But the flooding caused landslides and knocked out this bridge. The only way for Cruz's community to get out.

CRUZ: We were afraid that we will be left alone.

GINGRAS: But they weren't. Right now, we are crossing a river with a pulley system constructed by a task force under the direction of FEMA. And really, across the river, about 40 families who haven't seen relief up until today, up until this whole system was constructed.

This group of specialized officer, firemen and EMS, come from New York, Indiana and Ohio. In the past week, their teams across Puerto Rico have saved more than 800 people. This task force took us to Cruz's neighborhood.

[19:10:13] LT. MIKE MCGUINNESS, TASK FORCE 1/FEMA: While we were conducting those assessments, that's how we were receiving information from the local emergency management officials that hey, in this particular areas, we haven't been able to get there yet. We have no communication with them. Can you help us? And that's really what we are here today to do.

GINGRAS: Now, residents are rationing this new shipment of supplies and they are grateful.

CRUZ: When I saw them come the first time, I saw heaven. So finally, we knew that they knew about our situation.

GINGRAS: But with a broken bridge, food and supplies will be needed again. And communications are still out. This man can't in touch with his daughter, bringing him to tears.

What do you want to say to your daughter in Texas?

GILBERT SERRANO, STRANDED UTUADO RESIDENT: We are surviving. We appreciate your help, man.

CRUZ: Even without the help, we found this community doing all they can to stay alive.

CRUZ: You see that line this there? That's how we got the water on this side.

GINGRAS: You did that yourself?

CRUZ: No. Yes, the people did. Not me, but the men, you know. The men.

GINGRAS: So, you didn't have that. That despite President Trump's recent criticism of Puerto Rico's leaders and local response.

CRUZ: Of course, we get frustrated because you know, we have done what we can.

GINGRAS: As for the task force, this assignment is over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

GINGRAS: And they are on to the next mission, continuing to help the people of Puerto Rico.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, guys. CABRERA: And some good news after that report, Ana. That man who

could not reach his daughter, well, his granddaughter, Victoria, reached out to me on twitter and in capital letters said that's my grandfather. She asked how he was doing. She asked if he was able to evacuate and we luckily, we were able to give her an update.

But that just gives you a clear picture of the dire situation of many parts of this island are still in. Many parts don't have communication, they don't have enough food and water. And quite frankly, because there's no communication, many don't even have a clue that the President is coming here on Tuesday -- Ana.

CABRERA: Brynn Gingras, thank you.

They are resilient. They are problem solvers and you showed us how.

In a stunning move, President Trump publicly subverted his own secretary of state's message on diplomacy regarding North Korea. The President tweeting this. I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful secretary of state, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with little rocket man. Save your energy, Rex, we will do what needs to be done. And this, being nice to rocket man hasn't worked in 25 years. Why it work now? Clinton failed, Bush failed and Obama failed. I won't fail.

A quick fact check, Kim Jong-un would have been 10 years old 25 years ago and only became the leader of North Korea in 2011.

Joining us now CNN's Ryan Nobles. He is near President Trump's golf resort in New Jersey where the President spent much of the weekend.

And then Ryan, the President saying in this message that Tillerson is in his words wasting his time. What does that mean for the diplomatic efforts?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it seems as though the state department believes they need to push ahead with trying to find some sort of diplomatic solution to the situation in North Korea. And this all tracks back to a statement that the secretary of state made after a meeting with the President of China. And let me read that to you si you get an idea of what set the President of this morning.

Secretary Tillerson saying quote "we are probing so stay tuned. We as. we are hoping, we asked would you like to talk, we have lines of communication to Pyongyang. We are not in a dark situation or a blackout. We have a couple of channels to Pyongyang, we can talk to them. We do talk to them directly through our own channels."

And so, for a long time, the closest advisers to the President, not just secretary Tillerson, but also the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, have said time and time again, that a military option is the last option on the table. They would much prefer to have some sort of a diplomatic exclusion, whether that is through North Korea themselves or with some of the other countries in the region. At this point though, the President seems to be indicating to those close advisers that not worth their time -- Ana. CABRERA: So that last tweet the President sent on North Korea quote

"Clinton failed, Bush failed, Obama fails, I won't fail." Ryan, what would the President be referring to here when he says not failing? What would that look like?

NOBLES: Yes. It's really hard to get an assessment of exactly what the President would deem a success as it relates to North Korea, but the state department did attempt to clean up this back and forth between the secretary and the President in a series of tweets of their own coming from their spokesperson, (INAUDIBLE). And she essentially said that all diplomatic options are on the table, but military options are on the table as well. And she said that it is up to the regime to decide which path they go down. She said that the stated goal is to disarm North Korea to end their nuclear program and what former fashion that comes, we still don't know -- Ana.

[19:15:12] CABRERA: And now, we have come full circle again.

Ryan Nobles, thank you for that report.

Coming up, chaos in Canada. A cop stabbed pedestrians mowed down and an ISIS flag found at the scene. Police now calling this a terror attack. We'll get an update, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:19:30] CABRERA: We take you to Canada where police are investigating a terrifying and violent attack as terrorism. This is Edmonton in the province of Alberta. Watch now as that white car crashes into a uniform police officer, throwing him to the ground. The driver of that car in dark clothing then runs to the fallen officer and begins stabbing him. We stop this video because it really is so graphic. The violence did not stop there. Police say the suspect then led them on a vehicle chase. He struck at least four pedestrians before crashing. That man, the attacker is now in custody.

On the phone with us now, crime reporter for the Edmonton journal, Catherine Ghiwkowski.

And Catherine, first of all, that policeman and the others, do you know how badly they were hurt and what their condition is right now?

[19:20:18] CATHERINE GHIWKOWSKI, CRIME REPORTER, EDMONTON JOURNAL (on the phone): Thanks for having me on, Ana. So miraculously, despite being stabbed and thrown through the air, that police officer is released from hospital today. We are being told he's in good spirits. Two of the other pedestrians who were hit have also been released from hospital. Two more are still in hospital. The worst was a brain bleed skull fracture, but that person is now in stable condition and is conscious.

CABRERA: That is all good news to hear that they appear to be doing OK, given the gravity of this situation. Unbelievable that the police officer is out of the hospital. Who's the suspect? What do we know about him? GHIWKOWSKI: So he is actually a Somalia national and a refugee. He's

30 years old and he is known to police. In 2015, he was investigated by the national police force. But he was released because they don't have enough evidence despite the claims that he was espousing extremist views.

CUOMO: Is he connected in any way to known terrorist groups? I understand there was perhaps an ISIS flag involved in the scene?

GHIWKOWSKI: Well, police confirmed they did seize an ISIS flag. They have also stated that there's no indication as of yet he was working directly with ISIS. They are saying he was more of a local of operative.

CABRERA: So, you mention and police have said that he is from Somalia. Have there been any more events involving this Somali community there in Edmonton?

GHIWKOWSKI: A few years back, there was a rash of violence involving Somali-Canadians. And tension had grown between police, but - and the small community but sense then, there had been a lot of work building bridges.

CABRERA: All right, Catherine Ghiwkowski for us, thank you there in Edmonton. As we continue to follow a terror attack as the officials are now named it. Attack on a police officer and pedestrians. Again, everybody at this point has survived.

Let's take you to Spain now. There were 800 people injured in incidents there after fighting with police.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

CABRERA: Now, this is in northeastern Spain near Barcelona. The region called (INAUDIBLE) where people are trying to vote to make that part of Spain independent. The vote was not allowed to happen. It is illegal according to the Spanish government. Police today forced their way into polling places, grabbing boxes full of votes, getting physical with voters who tried to stop them. Leaders of the independence movement claim that an overwhelming majority of people there want to be a separate country.

Coming up, an air force general's passionate speech about race goes viral. Why many are saying he is just the kind of leader this country is missing now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can't treat someone with dignity and respect, then you need to get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:28:02] CABRERA: A moving call for a few good men. The head of air force academy making a powerful and impassioned speech to thousands of cadets after racist notes were left outside the rooms of five African-American cadets. In short, he tells racists to get out.

CNN's Tom Foreman reports.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ana. This speech was very clearly the action of general who has simply heard enough and has drawn a firm line in the sand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LT. GEN. JAY SILVERIA, SUPERINTENDENT, U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY: If you can't treat someone with dignity and respect, then you need to get out.

FOREMAN: In a blistering address to all 4,000 cadets and hundreds more staff, the superintendent lashed out. Lieutenant general Jay Silveria raging over racial slurs. Go home and the n word written outside the rooms of five African-Americans in the prep school.

SILVERIA: If you are outraged by those words, then you are in the right place. That kind of behavior has no place at the prep school. It has no place at USAFA and it has no place in the United States air force. You should be outraged not only as an airman, but u as a human being.

FOREMAN: Over recent years, the academy's reputation has suffered from allegations of sexual harassment and assault, claims of religious bias and racial animus. Even the last year, a quarter of the cadet core was female, a quarter from minority groups.

SILVERIA: Reach for your phones. I'm serious, reach for your phones.

FOREMAN: So, the general explicitly invited students to record and remember his hard hitting words.

SILVERIA: If you can't teach someone from another gender whether that's a man or a woman with dignity and respect, then you need to get out. If you demean someone in any way, then you to get out. And if you can't treat someone from another race or different color skin with dignity and respect, then you need to get out.

[19:30:11] FOREMAN: Against the news of recent up-hovels involving white supremacist and the ongoing dispute over "the national anthem", the general said it would be naive to imagine racism could not be a problem at the academy.

SILVERIA: We would be tone deaf not to think about the backdrop of what's going on in our country. Things like Charlottesville and Ferguson. The protests in the NFL. That's why we have a better idea.

FOREMAN: That better idea, for all cadets to stand up against bigotry of all types or pack up and leave.

SILVERIA: This is our institution and no one can take away our values. No one can write on a board and question our values. No one can take that away from us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: The general's team says it is making progress now working with the students who were subjected to these racial slurs. And just as importantly, he says he is getting a lot of support from the rest of the community there at the academy for his words -- Ana.

CABRERA: What a great speech. Thank you, Tom Foreman.

Coming up, a CNN exclusive report. Russia leaked a twitter and Facebook accounts disguised to look like they were run by a black activist. Now the role this played in a run up to the election.

Plus, as the now makes its big return, offering its take on the President's response to Puerto Rico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to get you more help to you. We will get you immediately probably by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, that's not good enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you should have paid your bills. FEMA takes a few days unless you join FEMA prime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you talking about?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:35:52] CABRERA: It is the first day of October. Fall is in the air. You know what that means. All of your favorite TV shows are coming back, including one that's probably the President's least favorite. That's right. "Saturday Night Live" premiered last night with Alec Baldwin, reprising his Emmy award winning role as President Trump. And the show opened with a skit of Trump talking with the mayor of San Juan. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to get you more help to you. We will get you immediately probably by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, that's not good enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you should have paid your bills. FEMA takes a few days unless you join FEMA prime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, I don't know if you know this, but you are in an island in the water. The ocean water, big ocean. With fishes and bubbles and turtles that bite. We want to help you but we have to take care of America fresh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait. You do know we are a U.S. territory, don't you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do, but not many people know that, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Joining us to discuss this and more, CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES" Brian Stelter and CNN.com opinion contributor and host of the "Dean Obedallah" show Sirius XM, Dean Obedallah.

So, Brian, I think people would have probably been even more surprised if SNL didn't have a skit going after President Trump and some of the more controversial things he has done in recent days. But how SNL always gone after the President in the past this hard in the past, not just this President, but Presidents.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Comedy has definitely become more polarized and President Trump is more of an easy target in some ways for the mostly liberal writers of SNL. And I was really amazed how quickly they turned this skit around involving the San Juan mayor. I mean, Dean, you know firsthand, a lot of these skits are worked on days ahead of time.

CABRERA: Because that was in the morning.

STELTER: That's right. This battle happened on Saturday morning and by Saturday night, SNL was ready with a reaction to it.

DEAN OBEDALLAH, CONTRIBUTOR, THE DAILY BEAST: It worked for eight seasons. That's actually a typical thing. It is hard work, but you know, when you have the dress rehearsal at 8:00. That's where we really test out the staff. And what works, if it works, it goes on air. If it doesn't work, it gets cut.

But you know, I worked there from 1998 to 2005. SNL crushed Bill Clinton. So it is not liberal conserve, yes. Most writers are probably (INAUDIBLE). But the jokes about Clinton, Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinski scandal were crushing. They hit it night after night, show after show.

STELTER: At one point last night, they called him words we can't say on air. They call him names in a way that is different. We were shocked.

OBEDALLAH: I agree.

STELTER: They are channeling the fact that a big chunk of the country hates the President.

CABRERA: They have also gone after his family, too which I think that is different. I mean, do you remember them going after Chelsea right the --?

STELTER: No. But Chelsea was a little kid at the time in 1998, 1999 when I was there. And if Chelsea Clinton had been older and had inserted herself into politics, works in the White House, let's say, and was out there cheerleading for her dad, and for their policy, I think perhaps they would have. But it is good as those facts, Trump is ageing. Look at me, I'm 23. What he's done to me. He would need to laugh. We all need -- left or right, we need to laugh.

CABRERA: But you also kind of - you sorted of implied that it is in a laughing matter, you wrote in op-ed for CNN.com. You write, SNL is right. Trump's chaos is part of a plan. And you referenced specific line in the show. I want to play that clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, just me. May seem like what's coming out of my mouth is b-a-n-a-n-a-s. But it is all part of the plan. The more chaos that goes, the less people can focus (INAUDIBLE). So tired. Let me show you. How long ago did I declare war on North Korea and little rocket man?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wrong. It was last Friday. See.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: OK. Explain why you think that joke was spot on.

OBEDALLAH: I think it's great because I think Donald Trump, the way he's worked has been a chaos strategy where there's so many issues we can't focus on just one. Look at the issue with the secretary of health and human services. That should have been like a week-long headline, but instead, it's overshadowed by the NFL issue. You have Donald Trump (INAUDIBLE) with the healthcare bill. We couldn't focus on that. In fact, Jared Kushner had a personal email, getting to tell the Senate about that. All usually was get lost --.

[19:40:09] CABRERA: Amid all in the past week, which is kind of hard to believe.

STELTER: Yes. My favorite story the past week was President Trump making up a fake senator saying there's a fake senator in the hospital, that's why we couldn't pass health care and no senator was in the hospital.

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: Right and -- technically, untrue though. That's the kind that SNL could have had fun with. But there is so much material for these shows. Not just SNL, but all of the late night shows these days.

CABRERA: I want to switch gear real fast, guys, because I want to talk about some other serious, real serious reporting that we have had in the past week. Brian, CNN has exclusive reporting regarding how social media impacted - well, it was impacted by the Russians who are trying to, of course, meddle in the election. And what we learned in the past week through our colleagues reporting is that there was this group called blacktivists on Facebook and Twitter, has been linked to Russia, posted some videos of police brutality against African- Americans and wrote about injustice to black. So just how influential was this blacktivist group?

STELTER: This is one sliver of these Facebook linked ads and accounts. These ads that were being purchased by groups linked to Russia, their Russian hackers or operatives and they were buying ads directing those to American voters. And they were also creating these real looking Facebook groups and events. In this case, this blacktivist group. Trying to sew discord and create conflict within the United States. We don't know a lot about all the other ad that were targeted or the other groups. But this gives us our first sense of how it works. Now, apparently --

CABRERA: Do we know how it was linked back to Russia?

STELTER: This is something Facebook has done over the past few months, trying to figure out exactly where these fingerprints were from. Now, they are handing the information over to Congress. Hopefully, some of it will be shared with the public, but it's a demonstration of how little we still know. About what Russian meddling actually looked like. We are starting to get a sense of it. Thanks to this Facebook investigation.

CABRERA: And in fact, Dean, you say you became a victim of this Russia propaganda.

OBEDALLAH: Well, it's not like I say like I'm alleging it. I was writing an article in "the Daily Beast" about the soup they had about Russian linked hackers pretending to be a Muslim Facebook group, for a doormat Muslim group and they were out there so I'm writing about this. And they go, and the people doing investigative stuff said guess what, one of your pictures was used by the fake Instagram account, Muslim voices. So that was not fabricated. That was a real issue.

That's a real picture from the foundation for ethnic understanding I'm involved with. They made this and they were sharing it. What happened is it could be used real Muslim-Americans who were someone known in our community to gain credibility. First, they tweeted a lot of stuff on this and posted a lot of stuff on this, Instagram. Then they start doing the propaganda once they had the credibility. They had over 70,000 followers in Instagram for this account. So they weren't saying things about me that were untrue. They just used this one image of me and numerous other Muslim-American activists.

CABRERA: What went through your mind when you found out that your picture was used?

OBEDALLAH: Well, all of a sudden, the whole Russia hacking thing went from this ambiguous thing to very personal. Like my image is being used. It also shows they understand American politics. Because part of the whole plan that the Russian hackers did was play on anti-Muslim bigotry for this Facebook page. And that's unfortunate. That's not the Russians. They didn't create that. That's an American now from some people to write and gin that up. And they were savvy enough to understand in American politics using (INAUDIBLE) and bigotry, it will score your points. Especially among some Trump supporters who overwhelmingly supported a ban on all Muslims coming to America.

STELTER: That we know no yet is whether this was just foreigners doing this by themselves, coming up with this really sophisticated targeted by themselves or if there was help from Americans.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Well, here's what the President tweeted in response to this story about Russia using Facebook to spread false information. We have the tweet. He says Facebook was always anti-Trump. The networks were always anti-Trump, hence fake news, at "New York times" apologized and "Washington Post" were anti-Trump. Collusion? Brian?

STELTER: Facebook is pro Facebook, not anti-Trump or pro-Trump. They are pro- Facebook. They want you to spend more time on Facebook. And that's why this ad targeting is an issue because it's not going to stop in 2016. It didn't stop in 2016. It's not going to stop now. We are going to continue to see various countries, various interest groups, use ad targeting on a very personal way to reach individuals and you don't always know what they are motives have. I think this Russian meddling investigation is sort of reminding us or teaching us that. And it's a lesson for the future. But the idea that Facebook was pro Hillary Clinton doesn't add up to me.

CABRERA: And just so we know, this is actually a live image now. The President just arriving, touching down at joint base Andrews following his trip in New Jersey this weekend where he spent time at his golf club and also participated in some of the events with the Presidents cup going on. And in fact, today dedicating the trophy at the Presidents cup to the victims of the hurricanes in Puerto Rico, in Texas as well as Florida.

Gentlemen, thank you. Brian, thank you. Dean, for the great conversation.

Coming up, one of the most chefs in the world taking matters into his own hands to feed the hungry people of Puerto Rico. Now, as we go to break, here are live pictures at the White House, I believe we have, lit up in pink for breast cancer awareness month.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:49:41] CABRERA: Tonight, about half of Puerto Rico is still without clean water as the massive humanitarian crisis continues. And FEMA says it has distributed millions of meals and liters of water to the hurricane victims, so that's not nearly enough to bring all the relief that's necessary to those suffering in the aftermath of the storm. But in one of the hardest hit parts of San Juan, one of the most famous chefs in the world is on the ground trying to help too.

CNN's Bill Weir reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) [19:50:10] BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Happier times and barking orders at sue chefs in one of his 26 restaurants from Spain to the Beverly Hills. But today, Jose Andres is in one of the poorest neighborhoods in San Juan with volunteers from eight to 80, working pans and sandwich assembly lines, all in an urgent race to feed as many hungry Puerto Ricans as humanly possible.

Which is more satisfying to you as a chef, serving a gastro creation in New York or Washington, or helping someone here?

JOSE ANDRES, CHEF: I always say that chefs like me, we love to feed a few, but I think we love even more feeding the many.

WEIR: It's become almost a fixture in disaster zones from Haiti to Harvey, but most recently in the headlines for a two-year legal battle with the presidents after candidate Donald Trump referred the Mexicans as rapist. Andres pulled his restaurants from the Trump hotel in Washington, both sides sued and later settled.

You had rather public feud with President Trump in recent years. What is your reaction to him lifting the Jones' acts (ph) today?

ANDRES: For me, the Jones' act (ph) has been one of the best thing that happened to Puerto Rico over many years. I (INAUDIBLE). You are going to have the island, you need pragmatic, smart, business-like decisions. I will say I will have it in for doing this but we need to make sure that this is happening and is used for the betterment of the lives of the people of Puerto Rico. We know that after situations like Haiti, we had between 25, I'm saving thousand military on board. I was there. I watched it. Both are very good operation for a very big disaster. I hear that we have only 5000 people in this island. As long history short, we had great military we have, great national guards. It is a moment to be using them for the betterment of the lives of so many Americans, yes. And watch the moment, the moment is now.

WEIR: He says half his job here is navigating around the red tape. Its narrows (ph), massive federal projects like this. Some but not all of the food is donated. And sometime after things have calm down, they will figure out how to (INAUDIBLE).

ANDRES: Who has the money? I don't know. I'm sure Red Cross has money. I'm sure FEMA has money. And I'm sure they are using that money well. But I can tell you that as a private sector, we can use the money better than them.

WEIR: It turns out the (INAUDIBLE) guy is faster than San Juan traffic will allow.

ANDRES: (INAUDIBLE)

WEIR: Of the day's first sandwich delivery is ready, on for the doctors and nurses at the University of Puerto Rico hospital. We raced across town. And as we arrived in a place where emergency room is full, generators are nearly empty. There is a stark reminder of why they are all working such urgency. Just as nourishment has willed in, a victim of Maria's brutal aftermath is willed out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: That's a stark reality there. And that effort to help is amazing. That outpouring just warms the heart, doesn't it?

Bill Weir, thank you so much.

For more information on how you can help the victims of hurricane Maria, log on to CNN.com/impact.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:46] CABRERA: It is a feeling many parents can relate to that overwhelming emotion of dropping your child off to college for the first time. And recently, a very famous proud parent, former president Obama went through that very same thing.

Here is Jeannie Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNIE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We first saw them hug when she was a little girl who last saw them hug when she was a young woman. And now we hear what it was like when former president Obama moves Malia into a Harvard dorm over a month ago and said goodbye.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was a little bit like open-heart surgery.

MOOS: Sure, other students were excited. They all on like 20 feet away from Malia Obama in the dining hall. Wow, I'm shook. But her dad were shook in every way.

OBAMA: I was proud that I did not cry in front of her.

MOOS: But behind the sunglasses on the way back.

OBAMA: The secret service was all looking straight ahead pretending they weren't hearing me as I sniffing, wiping my nose.

MOOS: In the fish bawl of the White House, their close relationship was palpable. There is the voice smiles and whispers. Things like nothing get president Obama to tear up faster than his daughters.

OBAMA: Malia and Sasha, you are kind and you are thoughtful and you are full of fashion. Of all that I have done in my life, I'm most proud to be your dad.

MOOS: But not proud to cry, the Obama's moved Malia into a Harvard dorm during the solar eclipse back in August, diversion perhaps to keep their presence no key. No wonder the president compare to leaving his grown up daughter to open heart surgery.

Jeannie Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: That does it for me tonight. Coming up next on CNN this evening from your "PARTS UNKNOWN" Singapore. And first, you can relive all the delicious moments for the past nine seasons of Anthony Bourdain prime cut.

I'm Ana Cabrera. Thank you for being here. Have a great and night and a great week.