rocket man should have been handled a long time ago. >> insults from the u.s. president, donald trump, at a rally in alabama friday night. calling out kim jong-un, john mccain, and his critics with insults. we'll have highlights and analysis ahead. news of other devastation in puerto rico. 70,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes with a dam in the northwestern part of the country expected to give way. these stories are ahead. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world, i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. 5:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast. from cnn world headquarters in atlanta. "newsroom" starts right now. u.s. president donald trump had harsh words for a respected fellow republican friday after

john mccain said he would not support the party's latest effort to repeal and replace obamacare. >> mccain's opposition puts the bill now in jeopardy. keeping in mind this is not the first time that he's bucked the white house. mccain cast a deciding no vote in july on the so-called skinny repeal of barack obama's health care law. cnn's kaitlin collins has this report. >> reporter: we saw the president take several swipes at senator john mccain during that rally in huntsville, alabama. we were expecting that after mccain came out and announced he would not support the graham-cassidy, that one more effort by republicans to repeal and replace the affordable care act. john mccain has been hesitant about that all week, saying that he wanted to go the regular order and not go through this rush eed process. but the president said he was not expecting john mccain to be a no on this. he said he had a list of potential nos and john mccain was not on it. >> they gave me a list of ten

people that were absolute nos. these are ten republican senators. now john mccain's -- [ audience booing ] john mccain was not on the list, so that was a totally unexpected thing, terrible. honestly, terrible. repeal and replace. because john mccain, if you look at his campaign, his last campaign, was all about repeal and replace. repeal and replace. so he decided to do something different. and that's fine. and i say we still have a chance, or we're going to do it eventually -- >> despite john mccain saying he's a no on graham-cassidy, the president still sounded helpful during that rally that they can get something done with health care. but as one administration official put it after john mccain came out as a no, this undeniably hurts their effort. now another target of the president's ire during this rally was north korean dictator

kim jong-un. they've been trading barbs all week, starting with the president's combative speech at the united nations in new york on tuesday. but listen to what he had to say about him in huntsville. >> and we can't have madmen out there shooting rockets all over the place. and by the way -- rocket man should have been handled a long time ago. he shouldn't be handled now. but i'm going to handle it. because we have to handle it. >> now those fiery comments come shortly after the president authorized new economic sanctions on north korea and after he spent the week at the united nations rallying the international community to confront north korea. kaitlin collins, cnn. >> joining me is cnn political commentator john thomas. thanks for being with us.

>> great to be here. >> let's talk about president trump at his alabama rally. he talked about a multitude of things and he certainly talked about health care, calling out john mccain for once again standing against this new health care bill that the republicans tried to push through. but john mccain has said in good conscience he can't do that, so what's your response? >> well, look, i understand president trump's frustration. i also understand republicans' frustration. this is obviously the second time that john mccain has put the final nail in the coffin on the repeal and replace. and it's frustrating because the republicans in congress and the senate know that this is a promise that they campaigned on, trump campaigned on, repealing and replacing, they have to deliver this to the american people. what enraged president trump and many of us, myself included as a member of the republican party, is that john mccain is trying to have it body ways.

now he won't support the bill, but john mccain was re-elected just a year or so ago fundamentally in his campaign ad saying that he is leading the charge to repeal and replace obamacare. when in fact he's the one stopping it from happening at all. i just think it's disingenuous of john mccain to block it, and it's also unfair. because in his twitter comment today, senator mccain said, i think that there needs to be proper procedure for this, needs to be a bipartisan solution. who are we kidding? there will not be a bipartisan solution to repealing obamacare -- >> why not? why not? we saw the chuck and nancy show, we saw the president work with democrats, why can't he work with john mccain as well? >> because there's such a staggering difference in ideologies between the republicans and democrats on this issue. democrats don't want to come to

a consensus to modify obamacare, they want to use this as leverage to work to single payer, as we're seeing bernie sanders argue on monday night on this network. they will not work with the republicans. and so for john mccain, look, he's been in the senate for a long time. he knows the dynamics. i think he's just using that as a scapegoat right now. >> let's move on to north korea and the president calling kim jong-un names. it's kind of name-calling back and forth now. it's childish, it's sophomoric, and it's dangerous. we're talking about nuclear war and the nuclear threat. isn't it dangerous to make this just about two guys going after each other and name-calling when this president could be engaging the world on a very important issue? >> this is no doubt, this is serious stuff that we're talking with. and when dump was dealt, i mean on his watch unfortunately, this issue has come home to roost. that he has to deal with.

look, i think the trump administration is dealing with this on two fronts. one is diplomatically, we're seeing the -- we saw trump in his speech at the u.n. talk about increasing sanctions, as well as choking off nations that are helping north korea. rex tillerson i think is doing everything he can do on that front. but on the other hand, president trump is doing only what president trump can, and that is branding his enemies to make them look comical in a way. we saw that work quite effectively in the 2016 presidential cycle. and you can see that it's getting under kim jong's skin -- >> it is, it won't be comical if he does what he threatens about putting a nuclear weapon over the pacific ocean. >> you make a good point. i think president trump's rebuttal to that argument is the last eight years, united states has been by north korea's perspective a laughingstock. you know, we draw red lines, we

cross it. we draw another red line. i think president trump is saying, look, i need to project power. and if they do decide to cross this red line or hurl something at the united states, well, we're going to respond. i mean, this is a real situation. i hope it doesn't come to that. >> let's go to sound from the president, talking about the russia investigation and repeating what we has said before, calling it a hoax. >> in case you're like curious, no, russia did not help me, okay? russia. i call it the russian hoax. >> he's called that again and again and again. even though the investigation continues, even trump's own director of intelligence has testified before the senate that russians were responsible for hacking and leaking information to influence the u.s. election. so how does he continue to just kind of cop out, calling it a

hoax? >> this is classic trump, to me. he uses an overstatement in a way to brand and frame the narrative in the way that he wants it. i think if president trump is being -- it would be candid, he's not going to deny the fact that the russians might have tried to do something. but i think president trump is accurate in saying they did not actually influence the election, particularly with facebook. i mean, natalie, from what we know so far, we're talking about $120,000 in total in facebook ads with no geo-targeting, meaning no swing state in particular was targeted. that $100,000 in total is less than trump or hillary spent in one day online in the internet. >> all right, john thomas, as always, we appreciate your comments. thank you for joining us. >> thanks, natalie. iran says that it has successfully tested a new ballistic missile that can carry multiple warheads.

the missile can reportedly fly a long distance, some 2,000 kilometers, making it capable of reaching israel and saudi arabia. officials say that it will be operational in the near future. >> the new missile was displayed friday at a military parade in tehran. president hassan rouhani says iran will keep strengthening its missile capabilities and military defense. the u.s. recently posed sanctions on iran over its ballistic missile program. officials are warning of an extremely dangerous situation right now in northwestern puerto rico following the two storms they've seen. they say a dam holding back a large inland lake is in imminent danger of collapsing. it is under pressure because of hurricane maria's torrential rains and floods. >> buses are trying to get 70,000 people up to higher ground. puerto rico's governor says the dam suffered a crack from the hurricane.

fit does collapse, torrents of water could surge into low-lying areas. hurricane maria still a category 3 storm. it is gradually moving away from the bahamas after battering parts of the u.s. virgin islands, dominika, and turks and caicos. >> cnn has reporters across the region. nick valencia in puerto rico, he has more on what's happening with that dam. >> reporter: extremely dangerous situation for the island residents are as if puerto rico has not been through enough they have to deal with the potential of a failed dam in the northwest part of this territory. it's being reported that local engineers found a crack in the guajataca dam and they're using buss to evacuate nearly 70,000 residents in two townships uses those buses to evacuate people that cannot evacuate themselves. severe weather also continues to be an issue here days after hurricane maria made landfall. it was earlier that this community in san juan was pounded with heavy rain, lightning, and thunder, making

problems even more difficult for roads and passageways that are already inundated with water. if that wasn't enough, it's been catastrophic damage here to the infrastructure, gas stations under water, people without water, people unable to communicate with loved ones back home. and the ominous warning from local officials here is that modern life may cease to exist for months. the san juan mayor tells cnn that she's telling her residents to expect to be without electricity perhaps up to six months. nick valencia, cnn, san juan, puerto rico. one storm after another, maria was a tough storm, so bad for the caribbean. let's get the very latest on the strength and position of that storm. >> karen maginnis, the bahamas are the latest islands to be affected, what's going on there? >> we received an update from the national hurricane center. i'll tell you about the watches and warnings out for the bahamas and the turks and cake coals. right now the very latest, 195 kilometers per hour.

it looks like the winds have come down just a little bit. still a category 3 intensity. there's a little bit of dry air right along the southeastern edge. i point that out because the more dry air we can fill into the hurricane that means it's going to lose some of its energy. it's already going to move into an environment that's going to be unfavorable for any further development. we knew that, but it has really continued a deadly path across the caribbean that we see time and time again. and this one being from dominika, you can see a vehicle in the foreground that is overturned and a gentleman walking a debris-strewn street. roseburg is the capital. there's a gentleman either cleaning or trying to dry out a mattress amid debris in the aftermath of maria. when it struck the island, what looks to be a salon chair and a sink in the middle of a street. lots of debris across the area. we see that time and time again. i want to mention this.

the two computer models we have talked about with all the previous hurricanes. they overlap. this blue area is the european model, which has probably got more data in it. it does have more data in it than the north american model. but we go into tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. the computer models are bringing it ever closer to the outer banks of north carolina. it has edged a little bit further towards the west. each time we look at this model, we see it coming closer and closer to the eastern seaboard. so we'll have to keep you updated on that. >> maria's not giving up easily, is she. >> no. >> thanks, karen. still ahead on "newsroom," incredible stories from two earthquake survivors in mexico. people rescued from a collapsed building. >> they were trapped for 17 hours. they'll tell you about the time they spent inside that building when we come back.

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president trump says the u.s. wants to help its southern neighbor. >> we also send our prayers to the people of mexico. they got hit hard by a devastating earthquake. taken a lot of lives, a lot more than they even thought. and i've spoken with the president of mexico and we pledged our total support. we have crews in there right now lifting up that heavy concrete. and it's rough. it's a rough sight. it's a rough sight. we got a lot of people we sent down with a lot of big equipment, but it's a tough -- that's a tough go, a really tough thing to look at and to see and to see the sadness, that was bad. >> among those helping out is a team from the united states international aid agency. a leader from that group spoke earlier to cnn about working under such grueling and difficult conditions. listen. >> you got some of the most highly skilled and talented

search and rescuers from around the world, including usa team, with amazing technology and equipment, tirelessly working to try and access egress to six potentially trapped victims. we're just hoping that they are in a void space, uninjured, and they just are unable to extricate. we're going to continue to work tirelessly to access them. until we get there. and hopefully provide their families with a sense of hope. >> seeing them raise their arms like that, being quiet, it's just heartwarming to see people pulling together like that. among those miraculously pulled from the wreckage of a building in mexico city are martin mendez and deanna pacheco. >> they were trapped 17 hours and shared their incredible stories with cnn's ed lavandera. >> reporter: at 1:14 tuesday afternoon, martin mendez, a locksmith, was replacing broken

locks in an accounting office on the fourth floor of this building. when the world around him started to rumble. when the earthquake struck what did you hear? [ speaking spanish ] so the building moved back and forth two or three times? jumping up and down like a horse, he says. when the shaking stopped, martin found himself trapped with three women who worked in the office he was visiting. could you move? uh-huh. he said he could only move like a worm. [ speaking spanish ] he said they started getting nervous because they were running out of air, thought they were going to suffocate. what came next would test every shred of perseverance. diana said they had no time to react and could hear the floors

above crashing down. what was it like when the earthquake struck? [ speaking spanish ] it all happened so fast, she says, we didn't have time to get out, in five or six seconds the building collapsed. diana reached for her phone and started sending text messages to her husband. love, the roof has fallen, we're trapped. i love you, i love you so much. we're on the fourth floor near the emergency exit, there are four of us. then you can see a series of phone calls that wouldn't connect. that was enough to alert rescue workers that there were indeed people still alive inside this building, but the rescuers couldn't hear them. diana says the sounds were horrible. she recorded this incredible video of the space where she was trapped. massive sheets of concrete around them. they used cell phone lights to see the dust billowing around them. there was no escape, no way out. martin and diana and the two

others talked to each other, soothing each other's fears, waiting for rescue workers to reach them. martin's leg was broken. he sat there in excruciating pain. what was going through your mind? [ spieaking spanish ] he said, i was talking to god and hoping that the rescuers -- >> reporter: martin opens his phone and shares a picture he took of himself while he was trapped. he hadn't seen it. the emotions overwhelm him. [ speaking spanish ] i imagine that you believed there was no way you were getting out? [ speaking spanish ] "yes, i did, i always believed i was going to get out alive," he says. finally, after 17 hours, rescue workers pulled all four of them out alive. all these scratches came when he was pulled out. diana pacheco and martin mendez

are recovering in the same hospital, on the same floor, but haven't been able to see each other since they were rescued. they were brought together in an unexpected moment of horror and survived. i teach him a phrase in english that he and his friends can share. "we made it." in english we say, we made it. >> we made it. >> reporter: ed lavandera, cnn, mexico city. >> he made it. >> that's a good one. >> we're also hearing about so many tragic stories from this earthquake. at least 12 people were killed when this church collapsed in puebla state. >> they were attending a baptism of a baby girl right when the quake hit. some survivors spoke with cnn's ivan watson. >> reporter: a community in mourning. crosses on the street to honor victims of the deadly earthquake that shook the village of atsala on tuesday. it was not supposed to be this

way. that morning, locals gathered at this church in the center of the village to attend the baptism of a 3-month-old girl named elida torres de lion. this is a video of the 277-year-old church, filmed in happier times. it was the beating heart of this community. but that all changed in an instant when the earth began to shake on tuesday. tiejo, a church employee, was assisting with the baptismal ceremony when the quake struck. >> translator: it was almost instantaneous. when it started shaking, pieces of the ceiling started to fall. everything went dark. i shut my eyes. when i opened them, everything was covered with dust. i saw a little girl about four years old whimpering. unfortunately, she was under the debris. >> reporter: teijo survived but 12 other people in the church were far less important.

a day after the baptism, the village of atsala held a funeral. this is what is so tragic and incomprehensible about a natural disaster. what should have been the celebration of a new life instead resulted in the death of an innocent family. among those who perished in the church, most of graciana via new we have have a's family. the victims his wife, two daughters, his son-in-law, and two grandchildren. also killed at the church, the 3-month-old baby, elida, her older sister, and their mother. deep in mourning, peres turns philosophical to explain the loss. >> translator: god, he can take everything away. for example, when it rains hard, the road floods. and the water sweeps everything down the river. >> reporter: like the flood, most of peres' family has

suddenly been swept away, leaving him one daughter to hold on to. ivan watton, cnn, atsala, mexico. stay with me, mr. parker. when a critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient. stay with me, mr. parker. the at&t network is helping first responders connect with medical teams in near real time... stay with me, mr. parker. ...saving time when it matters most. stay with me, mrs. parker. that's the power of and.

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a winter storm welcome back to viewers here in the united states and around the world. you're watching "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen. the u.s. president, donald trump, slammed fellow republican, john mccain, friday for not supporting the latest bill to repeal and replace obamacare. last july the arizona senator cast a decisive no vote to an earlier bill. mr. trump called mccain's

opposition "honestly terrible." machine workers in mexico believe survivors of the recent earthquake remain trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. rescue crews are working nonstop to try and find people and free them. at least 298 people are now confirmed dead. the scene in puerto rico, buses are evacuating thousands of people in the northwestern part of that u.s. territory near a dam that is in imminent danger of failing. the governor there says a crack developed in the dam in the wake of the hurricane maria and heavy rains and floodwaters there. if that dam collapses, it is feared that water could surge into low-lying areas. iran says it successfully tested a new ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads. it reportedly has a range that can reach israel, saudi arabia. president hassan rouhani says iran will keep strengthening its missile capabilities and military defenses. china says that it is immediately severing some trade

ties with north korea. beijing says select fuel exports to the country will end and won't import north korean textiles. all of this in part of the new u.n. sanctions aimed at curbing north korea's nuclear program. meantime, the u.s. and north korea are swapping threats and insults over that same program. the leaders are, that is. u.s. president trump calling north leader kim jong-un a rocket man this week at the u.n. mr. kim responded by saying the president was a dotard. not to be outdone mr. trump called the north korean lead area little rocket man. here's more what was he had friday at a rally in alabama. >> this should have been handled eight years ago and four years ago, and honestly, and 15 years ago. and 20 years ago and 25 years ago. this shouldn't be handled now. but i'm going to handle it. because we have to handle it.

little rocket man. we're going to do it. because we really have no choice. >> for more on the tensions with north korea, our senior international correspondent ben wiedeman is live in tokyo this hour. ben, a pleasure to have you with us. let's talk about the president's insults to his rally in alabama, the name-calling plays as red meat to his base. to the north korean leader they are projected as personal attacks. in places like south korea, in places like japan, does this tactic of name-calling set to ease nerves there about u.s. resolve? >> no, it hasn't eased nerves. now both the japanese and the south korean leaders have expressed support for the united states' position in general on north korea's nuclear program, however, when it comes to the specifics of mr. trump's --

president trump's rhetoric, it is causing some concern. there's concern because these are such -- this isn't diplomacy, this is at such a personal level. insults traded by the two leaders. it makes it very difficult, for instance, for north korea to perhaps ponder the possibility of some sort of deal with the united states, with the u.n. security council, along the lines, for instance, of the iran nuclear deal. and of course when we hear president trump saying he wants to scrap the 2015 iran nuclear deal between the five permanent members of the u.n. security council and germany and iran, on the other hand, that also brings into doubt the reliability of the united states even if it were to try to work out a deal with north korea. so this whole environment certainly is causing tensions to ratchet up. and certainly we heard yesterday, the north korean foreign minister attending the

u.n. general assembly in new york saying that north korea is pondering the possibility of exploding a nuclear weapon, a hydrogen bomb, over the pacific ocean. that certainly sets nerves ajitter here in japan in particular, because as we heard the japanese defense minister sayed, they worry that such a missile carrying a hydrogen bomb would fly over japanese territory. >> serious issues at play here, ben. the backdrop, though, third grade name-calling, obviously have to see how that plays out on the geopolitical stage. the other question, though, china severing ties with north korea. is there a sense, ben that this will in fact have an impact on north korea's capabilities? >> well, we'll have to see if that's actually going to be the case. to what extent china is going to cut economic ties with north korea.

keep in mind that 90% of north korea's foreign trade is with china. and china is very concerned about the stability of the north korean regime. because if there were to be a war, if the regime for some reason would collapse, china would be dealing with millions of possible refugees flowing over the border into its territory. and they're also concerned that if the regime were to collapse, the united states would somehow bring its forces even closer. i know china also has huge amounts of trade with the united states, and the latest unilateral sanctions imposed by the united states, the trump administration, on north korea, would penalize companies that are doing business, banks and individuals, with north korea. and of course we're talking about china in this case. george? >> our senior international correspondent ben wedeman live in tokyo this hour, ben, thank you. we'll stay in touch with you. the u.s. president, donald

trump, was again on the offensive friday, ridiculing the notion of russian interference in last year's presidential election, a story that he calls "a great hoax." >> mr. trump and the russian foreign minister appear to be in agreement on this issue, at least. sergei lavrov says he has yet to see any evidence of his government's government in u.s. politics. here's what he told reporters friday at the united nations. >> translator: once again, in about a year of this chaos about the so-called interference of russia into the elections, we have never heard a single fact. when i asked rex tillerson, how can we confirm his words that the interference of russia into american process is well documented, he said, "i cannot show you anything because this is confidential information." >> cnn's clara sebastian joins us live from moscow. hello to you, clair. and not entirely true there from sergei laugh love because we just had that development from

mr. mueller who's heading the investigation involving facebook and ads placed during the election. but still the same response from moscow over and over, kind of the same, as we said, from president trump. there's no there there. >> right, absolutely. as you say, this is something that despite the fact that relations between russia and the u.s., according to both sides, are at a particularly low ebb, this is something russia and the trump administration vehemently agree on, trump calling the whole allegations of russian collusion a hoax. and sergei lavrov saying he's seen no facts over the course of the last year. but it was interesting he went on to say that had there been any facts, the likelihood is they would have leaked out by now. both russia and the u.s. saying the trump administration have not hidden their disdain for the leaks that have happened in this investigation and for the reporting of them by the u.s. media in particular. this is another thing that they vehemently agree on.

sergei love revolver using this in this instance to bolster his argument that had there been any facts in this case, we would have heard them by now. this is something we've heard all along from the russians. they've simply called this anti-russian hysteria in washington. they have plenty to disagree on, the two sides, at the moment. they are at serious odds over north korea. russia feels that the rhetoric we're hearing from washington is unhelpful over syria, over iran. still russia saying the biggest obstacle to relations is that anti-russian feeling, that russo-phobic hysteria as sergei lavrov put it. >> clare sebastian live in most co, thanks. president trump was highly critical of a fellow republican on friday who he said would oppose the latest attempt to repeal and replace obamacare. >> the hard no from senator john mccain puts the bill? jeopardy. just one more no would sink it. elizabeth cohen spoke with

parents who say their children's survival depends on keeping the affordable care act. >> reporter: casey, lillian, john paul, gabriel, all children with special health care needs. in july these children and their parents took a bus from baton rouge, louisiana, to washington, d.c. to confront republican lawmakers trying to repeal obamacare. only to be kept on the steps of the republican national committee headquarters. today these parents fear the new graham-cassidy health care bill will strip their children of the most basic care. among other things, the bill proposes drastic cuts in medicaid. >> the graham-cassidy bill would take away gabriel's ability to live. and the ability to thrive. the medical bills alone would be too costly with the medicaid cuts. >> reporter: for months gabriel's mother, jessica, and other parents have asked for a meeting with louisiana senator bill cassidy. thursday in baton rouge, michelle met with a staffer for

the senator and she says it did not go well. >> if our senator from our state is putting out this bill, and this huge bill that could affect our state so greatly, then i would expect that someone would be giving us answers to our questions. and that didn't happen today. >> reporter: in a statement to cnn, the senator's office said the bill upholds our commitment to take care of our most vulnerable by putting medicaid back on a sustainable, long-term path. jessica said medicaid cuts could mean life or death for gabriel, cuts of the ventilator that helps her breathe. she lost gabriel's twin, michael, when he was about 1 year old. she doesn't want to experience that pain again. >> we shouldn't have to fight for our kids like this. we shouldn't have to fight politicians for survival. we should only have to fight for our kids to survive medically and be healthy. i made a promise to my sons in

the hospital that if they fought to live, that i would make it worth it. and until my dying breath, i will keep that promise. >> reporter: she says the bus trip and her long-term advocacy have all been worth it because it's her son's life. republicans are running out of time to dismantle obamacare with a simple majority vote in the senate and she's saddened the only repeal effort left on the table is her senator's bill. >> i'm very, very disappointed. i'm very upset with senator cassidy as a physician. i think as a physician, he should know better. >> in defending his bill, here's what senator cassidy told cnn earlier in the week. >> can you with a clear conscience say that this bill will have, at the end of the day, as many people covered in this country the way they are now? that they can afford it if they are under medicaid the way they

are right now? >> there are more people who will be covered through this bill than under the status quo. >> access to coverage or actually covered? >> actually covered. >> bill cassidy there. we'll continue to follow that. german chancellor angela merkel making her final campaign stops. we'll tell you how she's expected to fare in sunday's national elections. o only half of your daily routine, so why treat your mouth any differently? complete the job with listerine® help prevent plaque, early gum disease, bad breath and kill up to 99.9% of germs. listerine® bring out the bold™

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in germany, chancellor angela merkel and her christian democrats appear to be heading to victory in sunday's national elections. >> she has a solid lead in the opinion polls over rival martin schulz's social democrats. surveys also suggest the

alternative for germany could be the first far-right party to win seats in parliament since world war ii. >> a lot to talk about. atika shubert following this story live in berlin. ati atika, thanks for being with us. angela merkel, known for her pragmatic style, it's seen as a big positive for her. at the same time, she faced a great deal of heat in her decision to allow thousands of migrants into germany. how did she weather that storm to be where she is now in this election? >> well, you know, it's a really good question. because in 2015, as she was under incredible pressure when she made the decision to open the doors to nearly 1 million refugees coming in here, you know, and i spoke to somebody who was kind of following what was happening there. i talked to a number of mayors and ministers. they say she worked overtime, calling up mayors of individual towns, saying what do you need to accommodate all of these extra people?

really pooled extra resources and mobilized resources to where they were needed. two years later, she used these words, "we can do it." two years later i think what she's campaigning on is proof the country has done it and has pulled together. what the polls seem to suggest is that largely, people support her on that. even if they didn't agree with her initial policy, they seem to feel that the country has so far managed okay. there are still a lot of issues with integration, how quickly are refugees being integrated? that's why we're seeing something of a protest developing for the support for alternative afd, a party that was established four years ago as an anti-euro party, but is now very much a nationalist anti-immigration party. >> we'll talk more about that, the frustration felt by some there over the migrant migration. it has given rise to this right-wing party there that is expected to do well in this election.

tell us more about that. >> it's expected to do quite well. consider that it was only founded four years ago. it's never been in a national election but it has so far competed in regional elections and managed to gain seats in 13 out of the 16 states here. that is quite astonishing for such a young party. and it's really campaigned not behind one candidate, but on the issues. specifically, it's vociferous resistance to immigration. it says, in particular, the party believes that islam, the religion, is incompatible with germany. it wants to man minarets and burqas and stop foreign funding to mosques here. so it is an anti-immigration party and that's what merkel may have to contend with if it becomes the third-largest party in parliament. >> angela merkel sailing into another term, it seems. this is a decision in germany that will have implications around the world.

atika shubert following the story live, thank you for the report. hurricane maria knocked a caribbean island to its knees. no running water, no electricity, a desperate need for food. we'll have an exclusive report from our michael holmes, he is on dominica. ♪ sailin' away on the crest of a wave, it's like magic ♪ ♪ rollin' and ridin' and slippin' and slidin' ♪ ♪ it's magic introducing the all new volkswagen tiguan. ♪ higher and higher, baby the new king of the concrete jungle. my advice for looking get your beauty sleep. and use aveeno® absolutely ageless® night cream with active naturals® blackberry complex. younger looking skin can start today. absolutely ageless®

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hurricane maria brought misery and death to dominica. the island still has no running water and is running low onned too and supplies. >> the village of port michel was one of the worst-hit areas. our michael holmes traveled there and has this exclusive report. >> reporter: the drive between dominica's capital roso and the coastal village of port michel usually takes no more than ten minutes. after hurricane maria, getting between the two is looking back on an odyssey of hurricane carnage, on foot. we've been told point michel was one of the most badly hit areas of dominica and more people died in this community than any other. more than a dozen confirmed dead, many others missing. the foot traffic is constant, mostly out of point michel. food is running low and people

head to the capital to find what they can. we meet jermaine fontaine on the way, leaving home because she no longer has one. >> we are homeless, but we are okay, we have life. our entire home isone,every thing i had in my house is gone. >> reporter: the closer you get the more apocalyptic the scenes become. it is an assault on the senses. here a massive tree shoved into a house and blocking the way. during the storm, ra veeps and waterways became furious torrents, obliterating everything in their path. there's no running water on dominica. these waterways are now the only way to bathe or wash clothes. the scale of this is just impossible to get your head around. this was the main road to point michel from the capital. and -- i mean, just look at it. along the main section of the road to point michel, the trees begin. thousands of them stripped even

of their bark by maria. piled high onto the road until they become the road. you don't walk to point michel, you climb and clamber. these are what's left of the rain forests, giants that stood centuries, thrown like matchsticks across the shoreline. the rain forests now just a memory. once at point michel we hear the stories of those who survived like miranda john. >> when i came back and i saw inside there, i just break down. everything, gone. the sea was right inside there. >> reporter: as we venture further into the community, we find salma francis, who insisted her mother leave her home next door to be with the family as maria bore down. this is what remains of her mother's house. these are stories repeated throughout the village. we met joan frampton further along the road.

born and raised in point michel, still stunned at the ferocity of what she and her family lived through. >> i was so scared. scared. because first time i ever experienced a thing like that. i saw hurricane david. i saw many other hurricanes. not like this one. like it was nonstop. it didn't want to stop. it came with a vengeance. and it just come out not to play, but to destroy. >> reporter: and destroy maria did. three houses vanished from this part of the village. 13 people are still missing. but two bodies were found, including a 10-year-old boy. they lie in point michel's tiny cemetery, the freshly turned earth and a hastily constructed cross marking just two of the victims of hurricane maria. michael holmes, cnn, point michel, dominica. >> wow. >> always remember cnn.com/impact to find out how you can help. >> a good place to get

information. >> thank you for watching "cnn newsroom." i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. for our viewers here in the united states, "new day" is next. for other viewers around the world, "amanpour" is up after the break. thanks for watching cnn, the world's news leader. when heartburn hits, fight back fast with tums smoothies. it starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ♪ tum -tum -tum -tum smoothies! only from tums

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